The Peawees- Moving Target (Rum Bar Records/Wild Honey Records)

The Peawees are a rock and roll band from Italy. They have been around for 20 years. I have never heard any of their records though. This is their 5^th album (they have also released a lot of 7” records) and features 10 tracks of straight up rock and roll inspired but the early days of rock and also the slick 80s.  The CD digisleeve is nice with all the lyrics and a lot of information. Walking through my Hell starts things off with a solid rock and roll song but not that memorable (Check out the video below). A Reason Why keeps the pace about the same but throws in a bit of organ to make the music a bit different but this one is a bit of a slick garage rocker with a guitar solo, only school Chuck Berry style. Stranger is a real throw back to the early 60s rock and roll including the cliché piano! Christine is a bit more of the same but a bit faster paced, just good time rock music, ala the Kinks but not as original. Justify slows things down and features a bit of organ here and there and some great singing. Leave this Place raises the pace again for another dose of catchy R&R with a dash of organ. Phil Spector has that old footstomping rock and roll feel, as you would expect in a tribute to the crazy Phil. As long as you can Sleep is another track not unlike others on this record. Til my Mojo Works closes the record. This is a solid rock and roll album but the band are not really offering anything new or exciting here. Just straight up old school rock and roll music. 

http://thepeawees.it

http://rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com

Mountain Dust- Seven Storms (Bilocation Records ARTIFACT 54)

Mountain Dust is a Canadian band and really nice guys and powerful emotional live band. ØSC played with them in Berlin last year but I have never heard any of their records. This is their 2^nd full length record. They have also released a 7”. The title track starts things off with a mid paced rocker with some powerful vocals, and the main melody played by the organ. There are some short guitar solos thrown in here and there as well. Lots of changes in this track and it really rocks to the end. Powerful starter. White Bluffs (See the official video below) is a more moody track with a nice bluesy feel and great vocals but also quite heavy at times. 

Turn you In starts as a slow ballad with some great vocals, inspired by the best of the US southern rock vocalists. The pedal steel is quite spacey on this one and then the track gets quite dramatic and powerful as we close in on the 2min mark. The organ takes over later on. Inside the Rift is a more footstomping track with a bit of an Uncle Acid (the first record) feel to it. The track builds a tension in a brilliant way. Track has a lot of different changes in it as it grows before coming back to the main vocal lines. This track really could have been more jammed out. The band has very few guitar solos on any of the tracks. You Could ends side A and is almost like a horror film track with the eerie organ and dramatic parts. Passionate vocals. Into the Depths is another mid paced one and also very dramatic and one of the most heavy guitar riffs on the record. Almost doom, but not quite. The keyboard around 3.5 mins draws the track to an end. Witness Marks starts with the piano and one of the best vocal performances of the record. The female backing vocals are quite a nice touch on this powerful ballad. Wow. A true highlight of the record and what lyrics as well (“When the devil comes to ruin your life”). Old Chills is slow moody track to start with pedal steel. The organ takes the main lead though and makes the track sound a bit too much like some of the others. It does feature the only track with a longish guitar solo section with both the pedal steel and other guitar player taking parts. Should have left the organ off this one and focused on the guitar instead. Stop Screaming is the final track and starts with a nasty distant guitar and harmonica as the mood is dark with the pedal steel as the main focus. The vocal style is more laid back to start but then evolves into another epic performance. Some nice guitar parts and solos on this track, which has a very heavy ending.  This album reminds me of the Danish band Grusom at times, both the way the songs are heavily organ based and the singers have a sort of similar singing voice and intensity.

http://mountaindust.bandcamp.com

http://kozmik-artifactz.com/

Touch-We Feel Fine 7” (Fruits de Mer CRUSTACEAN 88)

This is the first ever reissue single on Fruits. Touch were a 60s band and this 7” collectable feature is a unreleased track from 1968 that has never appeared on vinyl before (We finally met Today). I have never heard this song (or the band) but it is a catchy raw track with a mix of rock and soul music. A lot happens in the few minutes of this track with many changes. Fantastic song. Down at Circe’s Place is next has a noisy start to the track and then gets really quiet and trippy before exploding into something quite psychedelic with a harpsichord like organ sound being the main instrument with lots of stuff going on in the background. Wow!!   Finally, the ultra rare, We finally met Today. The vibe of this track is more like the first one with some fuzzed out instruments, a nice piano line and a cool song but not as tripped out as the other tracks. Still very cool stuff. I will have to hear more by this band. 

http://www.fruitsdemerrecords.com