***AVAILABLE AGAIN AT A NEW LOWER PRICE!!! The artistic leap taken by the IMPEDIMENTS between their self-titled debut and their second album Broken Hits is unparalleled in the annals of popular music. Okay, not really. But with Broken Hits the Impediments have gotten even better at being the Impediments. And that’s pretty great, as it turns out. These Bay Area boys get that Love, the Stooges, and Alice Cooper have more to do with punk than any of the hardcore monkeys who insist that it sound like Paranoid played at 45rpm. The Impediments borrow shamelessly from the power-pop melodicism of the Plimsouls and Zeros. Then, they filter it through a little Sorry Ma piss and vinegar. The result is the polar opposite of most so-called alternative music. In other words, it’s fun. The twin guitars of NICK ALLEN and MIKE LIEBMAN gleefully defy all rhythm/lead archetypes. Combining the Buxton-Bruce attack of vintage Alice Cooper with the angular, spitfire splinters of classic Voidoids and the discordant skronk of the Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments, Allen and Liebman sound like two Bob Stinsons in overdrive. The vocals of Allen and bassist RAY SERAPHIN are the dirty sweet culmination of every rocker’s Nuggets/Pebbles dreams. The Impediments remind of the Dictators, Radio Birdman, the Dead Boys and the Ramones—all within the first sixty seconds or so of Broken Hits’ opener, “Useless Eyes.” And then there are thirteen more songs. Limited edition of 239 copies, so don’t sleep.
LP $10.00
11/29/2011
MP3 $9.90
10/04/2011
***Practically everything that can be said about the personnel details of These Hills of Gold will be qualified with a brief summary of their rock’n’roll genetics. This new West Coast pop, rock and psychedelic outfit’s seasoned journey begins with a conditioned upbringing that could only inspire grander works. Too modest for common artists, THOG’s members have kindly requested the focus be on the music. But I digress. This is good stuff. For starters, band architect Jefferson Parker is an estranged, bastard grandson of Colonel Tom Parker (Yes, Elvis’ manager) Parker’s mother Lucille worked at Memphis Wall-Drug back in 75’. (This might explain the warm Big Star sound found in these 4 tracks) After giving Memphis Mafia errand boys constant grief (bless her soul) about the extensive Rx harmaceutical refill routine for the King, Lucille Parker and son received an enforced, all expenses move to Phoenix. Rather than make new friends, Jefferson became acquainted with his mom’s record collection. To avoid further riff-raff, he traveled north to San Francisco to blend in, so to say. Now for the rhythm intersection of Weed and Mod: Drummer KC Kozak (Jefferson’s childhood friend) was incarcerated at the fine young age of 18 for smuggling sativa across US border. He called Folsom Prison home until 2007, completing 8 years on a 10-year stretch. Released for good behavior, he is now couch surfing. Nick Marcantonio’s mother‘s maiden name, Piaggio should ring a Mod bell. Nick’s Great Uncle developed the essential maximum rock’n’roll commuter: Vespa. Jaime...
7" $5.40
04/27/2010
MP3 $3.96
04/27/2010
***It feels like the first time: Let’s face it– not un-like a cockroach, true soul rock and roll will never die and high-energy rock and roll warms the heart. Call it what you will – punk, rock, proto-punk, or hitmakers, Impediments are a bright light at the end of the hipster tunnel. It’s obvious these cats have not been paying attention to the blogsphere. Having been born and raised in Berkeley, CA - where Frat Boys still clash with Hippies, and Crusties walk the streets of Telegraph – Impediments have stayed true to the fundamentals of classic 70’s punk rock and roll. Discovered on a cold Monday night at Oakland’s trash rock epicenter The Stork Club – Home of Budget Rock festival – now in its eighth glorious year – Impediments music will provide relief for those suffering from a pure rock and roll jones. Having record collections hopped-up on family dysfunction– this band is built for the ages – all ages –geezer or ingénue– you’d have to be beyond pretension not to enjoy the loud and fast guitars, played effortlessly – as if riding the Big Wheel ™ for the first time. Their self-titled debut on HappyParts Recordings is now yours for the spinning. This is pure adrenaline fueled rock and roll composed, performed and delivered by four lads straight out of Berkeley High School. They co-produced with local rock and roll recluse, Greg Ashley. (Gris Gris, Sir Lord Von Raven) Granted they focused on band rehearsal,...
CD $12.00
10/20/2009
LP+CD $17.25
10/20/2009
MP3 $9.90
10/20/2009
***“The rock 'n' roll rave-ups and in-the-red rawness of the SIR LORD VON RAVENS’ new Please Throw Me Back in the Ocean tap into a whole 'nother brand: screw-it-all naughty snotty. ‘Maybe I'll jump in the river /Maybe I'll cut out my liver ... I'm tryin' /I keep on tryin',’ sneers frontman ERIC VON RAVENSON, once of the TIME FLYS, on ‘I Keep on Tryin'.’ Recorded by indispensable organ and guitar pinch-hitter GREG ASHLEY, with producer JAY BRONZINI on drums, Please Throw Me slices the cheesiness thickly, with a sense of cut-and-run fun. It's throwback—hence a cover version of Fats Domino's ‘I'm Ready’—but not necessarily throwaway. I like a band unafraid to pay tribute to its true, unlovely loves, but I prefer originals like ‘Take It or Leave It,’ ‘Spit on Your Grave,’ and ‘PC Action,’ the latter two of which intentionally subvert the garage rock, allowing glitter to seep in.”—Kimberly Chun (SF Bay Guardian)
CD $12.00
05/05/2009
LP+CD $17.00
05/05/2009
MP3 $9.90
05/05/2009
MP3 $4.95
09/30/2008
***GOLDEN ANIMALS have completed their debut album, Free Your Mind And Win A Pony. The album is eleven tracks deep, entrenched with pre-war blues influenced, classic rock and roll. Fans of their sold out EP will dig the sonic transition of this mystical, desert dwelling, rock and roll duo. Their song-craft: savant, their sound: dynamic, their songs: timeless. Produced by CHRIS COADY (Yeah Yeah Yeah's, T.V On The Radio, Entrance) and mixed by TOM MONAHAM (Devendra Banhart, Vetiver) with additional support from NADAV EISENMAN (RTX) Golden Animals' debut has a solid long player sound that will stand the test of time. Prepare to get loaded on quality, rhythm and blues.
CD $12.00
08/18/2008
MP3 $9.90
08/18/2008
Like a great find at the flea market, HappyParts discovered Golden Animals by clicking around in the digital age. The melodic pathos was oddly comforting, similar to the warmth of Tyrannosaurus Rex, yet disjointed, like Syd Barrett’s pop genius. It was now or never, and HappyParts could not sleep. This blessing must be shared. The mystical early rock & roll / blues duo, Golden Animals was formed on a chance meeting on a fateful night in 2005, on a Brooklyn street corner. Out of a mutual love for 60’s rock & roll and early blues recordings, the duo (Tommy & Linda) have blossomed in Brooklyn clubs and in their basement home studio, releasing their self-titled EP recorded in 2006 by Chris Coady (TV on the Radio, Blonde Redhead, Entrance).
MP3 $3.96
08/14/2007