Bent Wind - Sussex (1969)

Nobody has heard of Bent Wind. Even the most trained of psychedelic connoisseurs could be forgiven for having not heard of them. They were a Canadian garage band formed in 1969 and in the same year released their debut album Sussex. Sussex has an almost unique sound, despite using established psychedelic rock conventions. The guitars are sharp and heavy, the drums are thick and booming and the vocals seem to float hauntingly over the rhythm. During the song Riverside the sounds of a bird singing and screeching over the top completely catches you by surprise and changes the song entirely.

Altough the sound is as lo-fi as can be, It's a credit to the production of the album that the band can sound eery as well as loud unlike any other band I've ever heard. The highlight of the album is the first track on the second side ('Look at Love'), a beautiful slower song proving that Bent Wind can chill out as well as rock out. This album is as brilliant as it is hard to find, nowadays its quite a collectors item and an album any die hard psychedelica fan would love to have in their collection.

Label: Heyoka

Tracklist:
1. Sacred Cows
2. Riverside
3. Mistify
4. Going To The City
5. Look At Love
6. Hate
7. Touch of Red
8. The Lions

Big Brother and The Holding Company - Cheap Thrills (1968)

Sex, Dope and Cheap Thrills was the intended album title for Big Brother and The Holding Company's second record, later shortened to meet their record label's more mild taste. It comes as no surprise then that this record is a celebration of youth and freedom like only the 60s can do. A milestone album for psychedelic and blues rock coming out of San Francisco in the mid to late 1960s. Big Brother and The Holding Company were one of the first 'acid rock' bands in San Francisco. Acid rock bands were called so because they regularly played at gatherings of people taking LSD with the groovy music aiming to improve the trip of the audience.

The outdated cartoon artwork might shows its age (over 40 years old) but the music is only as young as it sounds. Lead singer Janis Joplin wails and screams in joy, pain and anguish as vintage psychedelic rock blasts out from behind her. The album opens with 'Combination Of The Two', a song that you cannot help but move to. There's songs to dance to, there's songs to sing along to, there's songs to that make you sad and songs to make you feel good. Although Big Brother and The Holding Company did little else in their short career, this album will always be remembed for it's perfect representation of 60s counterculture, like a zeitgeist moment for late 60s alternative music. Well, that and the guitar solos.

Label: Columbia

Tracklist:
1. Combination of The Two
2. I Need A Man To Love
3. Summertime
4. Piece of My Heart
5. Turtle Blues
6. Oh, Sweet Mary
7. Ball & Chain

The Black Lips - 200 Million Thousand (2009)

In the face of their growing fame you could be forgiven for thinking that The Black Lips might finally warm to a cleaner sound, without the screaming and scratchy guitars. But their new record proves that they haven't lost any of their edge, despite being together for a decade now. If anything, their latest release hints at a darker edge than before. The production sounds almost claustrophobic at times, like the band are trapped in a basement, crying for help (which, appropriately enough, is actually what the song 'Trapped In A Basement" attempts to portray).

At first, it sounds as if the band are hiding behind their wall of harsh noise, too scared to use open and honest melodies and sounds. But if you continue listening, The Black Lips' brilliance shines through once more. From the first two raucous opening tracks all the way through to the climactic ending (from which this blog takes it's name), the album oozes style. It's not easy for a band to create a piece of work that has it's own feel and it's own personality but all that and much more has been accomplished by the garage rock American band. Wailing solos, simple sing-a-longs, block rocking hip-hop, latin flavoured riffs and an encounter with god: what more could you want from a rock album?

Click here to listen to 'Drugs' by The Black Lips

Label: Vice

Tracklist:
1. Take My Heart
2. Drugs
3. Starting Over
4. Let It Grow
5. Trapped In A Basement
6. Short Fuse
7. I'll Be With You
8. Big Black Baby Jesus Of Today
9. Again & Again
10. Old Man
11. The Drop I Hold
12. Body Combat
13. Elijah
14. I Saw God
15. Meltdown (Hidden Track)