Mod out. Released in 1967 (and penned by Marc Bolan), this proto T. Rex nugget found itself banned by the BBC due to the lyric, lift up your skirt and fly, How quaint! A high watermark of the short lived Leatherhead, England art/pop outfit, Johns Children, Desdemonas eccentric charms continue to refrain. And though Bolan departed shortly thereafter, he would soon rework the groups Mustang Ford and Hot Rod Mamma for the nascent Tyrannosaurus Rex

2022 beckons. Thursday, February 24th, Aquarium Drunkard presents Cate Le Bon with Mega Bog at the Teragram Ballroom, Los Angeles. Tickets on sale now

Welcome back to the stacks. It’s Aquarium Drunkard’s Book Club, our monthly gathering of recent (or not so recent) recommended reading. On the deck this month, books on The Velvet Underground, legendary bootleg purveyors, an acid western urtext, and more.

Via satellite, transmitting from northeast Los Angeles — the Aquarium Drunkard Show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35. 7pm California time, Wednesdays.

34.1090° N, 118.2334° W

Chicago kosmische collective Bitchin Bajas covered Sun Ras Angels and Demons At Play back in 2017 on their brilliant Bajas Fresh double LP. And it was so good that it left the bands fans clamoring for an encore. Well, here it is: Switched On Ra: eight awesome Sun Ra interpretations, a fitting tribute to a composer whose stature seems to grow with each passing year.

A two-piece from Melbourne, Australia, Sleeper And Snake is the nom de tune of the collaboration between Al Montfort and Amy Hill. Aesthetically moody and mid-fi, the project’s two releases seemingly exist outside of current trendscapes, instead recalling various shades of 80s UK underground. Post-punk in approach, last year’s sleeper lp, Fresco Shed, is comprised of a low-stakes charm not unlike The Raincoats, The Way of The Vaselines or the Breeders’ 4AD debut, Pod. High praise, indeed.

The sprawling automatic compositions of Red Resonant Earth spring like mycorrhizae from the groundwork laid by kosimiche forerunners like Gottsching, Fricke, and Rother, reaching simultaneously toward realms both celestial and terrestrial. Immaculately looped passages of electric twelve-string wind like nimble tendrils through the opening textures of ‘Born Free’ and ‘Sprout’ before burrowing into the darker hues of ‘Mammoth’ and ‘Taos Hum > Claymaking,’ which spin out like Terry Riley and Roger McGuinn locked in perpetual dervish.

Nick Saloman of the Bevis Frond first began banging out psychedelic guitar riffs as a schoolboy, starting out on his instrument at age six and immersing himself in an exploding U.K. and American rock movement. His latest album, Little Eden, is his 30th full-length, a roaring, raging triumphant double album that Saloman recorded almost entirely by himself during the COVID lockdown. We caught up with Saloman to discuss early musical fascinations, the pros and cons of recording alone, the state of psychedelic music, his substantial collection of singles, and the ways in which ageing—he’s nearly 70—has and has not had an impact on his music. 

Via Los Angeles, Bondo is a four piece riffing on a vibe something like Spiderland floating in a quarry with Fugazi’s latter era instrumental explorations. 77, their five song ep, is the first taste.

Its a classic case of the ignored contractual obligation album. By late 1971 (fifty years ago this month), the Mamas the Papas had all but fizzled out. The overnight, rollercoaster trajectory from Greenwich folkies to Hollywood excess was fast and turbulent.

A mellow conversation with John Andrews concerning his dreamy album Cookbook, which plays like an extension of his personality; the foot-tapping and head-swaying effect from his previous two albums is still there, but its more relaxed, more easy-going. A perfect soundtrack to the incoming fall weather.

For her debut Lagniappe Session, Le Rens Lauren Spears digs in on her roots—tackling country and bluegrass popular songs, the pioneering Hazel Dickens, and the forward-thinking feminism of Kitty Wells—and weaves them her own: a warm, gentle tapestry with threads growing ever new.

Theoreme—the one-woman band of France’s Maïssa D—returns next month with Les Artisans. On Lenfer Définitif” she offers up discordant and clanging minimalist proto-punk and avant-garde electronica.