New Release Tuesday: 13th Floor Elevators & Spiritualized
Colored by a near fatal bout with pneumonia and periorbital cellulitis, Jason Pierce's sixth release (and first since 2003) as Spiritualized covers well-tread ground in many ways. References to medication, God, pain and eidos are all present, but there's a sense of revitalization, too. The first single, "Soul on Fire," escalates quickly into a chaotic crescendo of hope, with Pierce begging his baby to hang on, letting her know that he's got "a hurricane inside my veins, and I want to stay forever." Pierce (aka J Spaceman) has credited cult filmmaker Harmony Korine with the record's completion, saying that after recovering from his illness, he wasn't inspired to return to songs he'd begun previously until Korine added some encouragement. As a result, the record's recurring "Harmony" pieces act as dedication. One other undeniable influence makes its debut on Songs in A&E: a 1929 Gibson L/00 (referred to as "The Devil" in the liner notes). "It was in a store full of the things, and it just sounded unlike anything else in there," Pierce says. "I had no money but I kind of knew that I had to have the guitar, we found the man and took the guitar away, and it almost seemed like it came with the songs attached.” Spiritualized will play only a handful of American tour dates before heading back to Europe, but will return in September for the ACL Festival.
Spiritualized Official
Stream Songs in A&E
"Soul on Fire" (YouTube)
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For the first time in 40 years, listeners have the ability to shop for a high definition, mono vinyl edition of Roky Erikson & Co.'s 1966 classic, featuring "You're Gonna Miss Me," a song that earned the revolutionary psychedelic outfit a chart hit, reaching #55 on Billboard in the '60s. We could sit around all day discussing the band's storied history and undeniable influence, but here's a short version. They formed in Austin around 1965, and began playing shows around the state (and beyond) the same year. Though the band's counter culture roots and LSD advocation earned them some raised eyebrows back then, they helped foster Texas' ever-growing independent music scene, as well as spurring then-unknown Janis Joplin's career. She went on to form Big Brother & the Holding Company in California after doing several shows with the Elevators. As the '60s came to a close, and Erikson faced marijuana charges, he opted to do a stint in a psychiatric hospital rather than jail time, at which point the band's foreseeable future came to a drastic halt. Since that time, Erikson (and others) has gone on to be one of Texas' most beloved artist and performer, having just received Musician of the Year prize at the Austin Music Awards. If you've got a soft spot at all for Texas music's roots or the beginning of the psych movement in American rock'n'roll, you owe it to yourself to check out this vinyl release, which might be the most authentic way to experience what kids back in the '60s were listening to in their basements, high out of their minds.
Best bet: swing by End of an Ear for this one.
Roky Erickson Official
13th Floor Elevators Official
Okkervil River performs with Erikson at Austin Music Awards
13th Floor Elevators: The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators (mono reissue edition) [vinyl]
Al Green: Lay It Down
Al Green: Lay It Down [vinyl]
Alanis Morossette: Underneath (import single)
Booka Shade: The Sun & The Neonlight
Brian Jonestown Massacre: My Bloody Underground [vinyl]
Butcher the Bar: Sleep at Your Own Speed
Butcher the Bar: Sleep at Your Own Speed [vinyl]
Colour Revolt: Plunder, Beg, and Curse [vinyl]
Cyndi Lauper: Bring Ya To The Brink
Eat Skull: Sick To Death [vinyl]
Eliza Gilksyon: Beautiful World
Ellen Allien: SOOL
Free Blood: Never Hear Surf Music Again 12" [vinyl]
The Herbalizer: Same as It Never Was [vinyl]
I Love Math: Getting To The Point is Beside It
James Pants: Welcome
Jenny Scheinman: Jenny Scheinman
John Hiatt: Same Old Man
John Hiatt: Same Old Man (with bonus DVD)
Joy Electric: My Grandfather, The Cubist
Julie Ocean: Long Gone and Nearly There
Landon Pigg: Coffee Shop
Langhorne Slim: Langhorne Slim [vinyl]
Lettuce: Rage! [vinyl]
Lil' Kim: Ms. G.O.A.T.
The Lodger Life Is Sweet
The Lodger Life Is Sweet [vinyl]
Malcolm Middleton: Sleight of Heart
Melou: Battery Park
Midnight Juggernauts: Dystopia
moe.: Warts and All, Vol. 6 (3-disc box set)
Mogwai: Young Team
Morrissey: All You Need Is Me (import single)
Mt. Eerie: Black Wooden Ceiling Opening
Ozric Tentacles: Sunrise Festival
P.F. Sloan: Here's Where I Belong - The Best of the Dunhill Years 1965-1967 (import)
Patton Oswalt: Feelin' Kinda Patton (limited edition reissue) [vinyl]
Paul Weller: Have You Made Up Your Mind/Echoes Round the Sun (import single)
Pogues: Just Look Them Straight in the Eye & Say...Pogue Mhone (import 5-disc box set)
Porcupine Tree: Lightbulb Sun
Scorch Trio: Brolt
Smithereens: Live in Concert - Greatest Hits and More
Spiritualized: Songs in A&E
Spiritualized: Soul on Fire (import single)
Steinski: What Does It All Mean? 1983-2006 Retrospective
Tetuzi Akiyama: The Ancient Balance to Control Death
Underoath: Survive, Kaleidoscope
Usher: Here I Stand
Val Emmich: Little Daggers
Various Artists: Love, Peace & Poetry: Chilean Psychedelic Music [vinyl]
Various Artists: Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump
Various Artists: Putumayo Presents: Cafe Cubano
Various Artists: Sex And The City: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Various Artists: Verve Remixed, Vol. 4 [vinyl]
Various Artists: Son of Rambow (soundtrack)
Walter Meego: Voyager
