Many people have heard of Starving Weirdos and have become familiar with their brand of free-flowing, Northern Californian psychedelia. However, less are familiar with the equally great project from Weirdo bros, Jon & Brian Pyle, as well as Cloaks mastermind Spencer Doran and recently added Greg DeVaney. Their first release is a CD called "Trinity Rivers" on Jefre Cantu-Ledesma's always-amazing label, Root Strata and doesn't disappoint in any way, shape, or form. Like Starving Weirdos, these songs flow from some unknown place, but RV Paintings tread in darker waters, offering up their own antidote to the light... feature :: by Brad Rose

Language of Stone is off to a good start. With two new releases under their belt from Orion Rigel Dommisse and Mountain Home, this label from Espers' Greg Weeks and his wife, Jessica, should be of serious interest to fans of said band and those like it. It also doesn't hurt to be distributed by Chicago giants, Drag City. With releases on the way from the likes of Ilya Monosov, Woodwose, Ex Reverie, and others, Langauge of Stone is definitely one place to keep your eyes fixated. Greg Weeks was gracious enough to answer our questions... label-spotlight :: by Brad Rose

Fallout concludes their impeccable reissue series of the rare albums from the late Ananda Shankar (Ravi’s nephew) with these three new releases. “Missing You,” a mini-album from 1977 dedicated to the memory of his late father, is coupled on a 2-fer CD with the “Musical Discovery” album, which was released the following year in conjuntion with the Indian tourist board. By the mid-70’s, Shankar had been working extensively in L.A. and had incorporated the rock idiom into his Eastern modalities (and viceversa)... feature :: by Jeff Penczak

If Willy Wonka and Sergeant Pepper had two test-tube-baby lovechildren, raised them up and gave them a piano and an accordion, Belly Boat would be the result. Smelling like teen spirit in a way that has nothing to do with Nirvana and everything to do with girlish memories of the Teen Spirit era and sleepovers, Zoe Latta and Silvie Deutsch could easily convince even the biggest skeptic that aliens have not only landed on earth but have taken the form of teenage girls with a knack for weird, catchy tunes and are now trying to take over the world with simple instruments (and the infantry support of Not Not Fun) as their only weapons. .. feature :: by Eden Hemming Rose

When someone who is an excellent artist and musician in their own right starts their own label, I generally think that's a good sign of what's to come. Afterall, he or she clearly knows something about good music, so odds are that the label will crank out some solid jams too. Such is the case, anyway, with CLaudia. Run by the inimitable Tim Coster, this imprint is well on its way to becoming the finest New Zealand currently has to offer. With releases under his belt from the likes of Metal Rouge (so, so good!), Sam Hamilton, Plains, & of course Coster himself, there's a lot to dig into. CLaudia just released it's first 'real' CD, a compilation called "Compact Listen" that is already proving to be my favorite comp of the year. Fucken NZ... label-spotlight :: by Brad Rose

Comprised of percussionist Seth Nanaa, bassist Jordon Shranz and reed player Brent Bagwell; The Eastern Seaboard have been laying down their own brand of ecstatic jazz for over five years. Musically they invoke the ghosts of the '60s, while managing to keep their sounds fresh and avoid any form of retro rehash, by incorporating subtle elements of post-punk, soundscaping and the occasional dash of electronics. .. feature :: by Cory Card

Tape Hiss is a (semi) regular column focusing solely on cassette releases. For the uninitiated, this feature was originally run on Stylus Magazine's website, but with Stylus shutting its doors, Bryan Berge is bringing it to Foxy Digitalis. So rejoice and all that, and check out some of these recent happenings in the world of cassette labels... feature :: by Bryan Berge

My first contact with Future Rapper was on a diving expedition off the east coast of Veracruz. While hunting for a rare species of snook indigenous to the region I found myself alone, deeper than I had intended to dive. As sunlight faded from my view, surrounded by the strange, alien organisms of the deep, I heard the faint sound of a chromolodeon. Hearing microtonal music at such a great depth raises many questions but I found myself not asking “How can I hear music at the bottom of the ocean?” or “How did a chromolodeon get down here?” but instead only one question came to mind, which I repeated like a mantra for years to come... (Part 2 of 3).. feature :: by Nick Hennies

Paul Metzger may just be one of the finest American instrumentalists alive today. His newest album “Deliverance,” released this month on Locust Music, is a mind-blowing epic of modified-21-string-banjo improvisations. Metzger’s skill and genre-defying sound manages to place him in a realm somewhere far beyond mere-psychedelia, into the world of universal musical-dialogue, where the mind struggles to place what it’s hearing, be it Appalachian folk, or Classical Indian raga, or some sort of progged-out weirdness. .. feature :: by Jon Pitt

Taking a page out of my “boss’s” book, I present the first Short Cuts label spotlight. This debut edition chronicles the most recent and epic batch by LA’s Static Aktion Records run by one Michael Firestein. A label that so far is only seven releases big, but the quality of the releases are beyond that of most other labels. Considering that the label is so young, it is impressive that the label has such a developed aesthetic identity. Pure black labels/black vinyl, photocopied fold over sleeves, and the sounds of some of the biggest players in harsh sounds. The past releases were all by LA units: Deep Jew, Moth Drakula, and The Cherry Point. This newest batch features some more LA dudes: Impregnable, and Sissy Spacek, but also expanding northward to Portland’s Redglaer and to the East Coast with Hospital Records’ Prurient. All of the releases so far have been on the 7” format. That is something that I here need to praise especially. In a genre where the c10 is the format of choice, it is always rad when someone decides to put some cash behind an artist and put the record on vinyl. What the noise world needs is more seven inches like these. Straight and to the point, no messing around. .. feature :: by Mike Pollard

In a perfect world, or at least my perfect world, Aaron Lennox would be a household name to more than just a few. He first came to my attention through the always great aQuarius Records email list with his seminal release, "Sibilance." I've still never heard anything quite like it and it's safe to say it's a mini-masterpiece. He's a true artist. Lennox has gone on to release a handful of excellent albums with the most recent being "Heliopause03" on the Magnanimous imprint. It takes his majestic drones a step further, offering a deeper glimpse into the path he seems to be creating for himself. The bottom line is that it's brillaint stuff, and his enthusiasm and passion ring through loud and clear... feature :: by Brad Rose