Gotta Groove Records
Author Archive
Dead Milkmen – (We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang
The Dead Milkmen make a triumphant return with their new single, a spirited cover of Heaven 17’s classic anti-fascism anthem “(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang”. With righteous indignation and a thumping four-on-the-floor beat, the recording marks the legendary satirical punk band’s first new release since 2017’s Welcome to the End of the World EP—and a characteristically grim pronouncement on the upcoming Republican National Convention.
The new single is accompanied by a b-side, “A Complicated Faith,” a Milkmen original buoyed by Depeche Mode-inspired rhythms and a scalding guitar solo courtesy of Joe Jack Talcum. “It’s obviously a very emotional song for Rodney to sing,” drummer Dean Clean says of the tune.
Following the Giving Groove model, all label profits will be donated to a 501(c)3 music-related charity. The Dead Milkmen have chosen Girls Rock Philly as the recipient for this release.
Sciflyer — The Illusion of Unlimited Choice
There had been a few reunion gigs since 2014 featuring original members from various mid-2000s lineups including Roger Chandler (2001-2004) and Scott Eberhardt (2006-2008) but different times and priorities demanded a different configuration. That new lineup finally solidified when Sciflyer’s head space cadet Steven Kennedy’s longtime friends Sophia Campbell on bass joined in 2016 and Sonya Trejo on drums (2018) …both former members of LSD & The Search for God.
Now with a new female rhythm section and new album The Illusion of Unlimited Choice, Sciflyer is stronger than ever. Sonically, still very pretty. Prettier in fact, and with depth and resonance not previously expressed. Definitely heavier and harder too. We’re in new territory here: A Spacemen 3 / Loop-doing-Telescopes-style pop reimagined by The Meat Puppets place, with Jim Reid singing in a lower register. The trademark hazy vocals are more present than ever and are still haunting. I like this record more each time I listen to it. I’m very grateful to Dan Sostrom, Clairecords for sending Steven to Darla.
Steven Kennedy jokes that Sciflyer couldn’t get arrested in the SF Bay Area back in their mid-2000’s heyday, but with a decade plus in the rear view, the recent shoegaze revival no one saw coming and the exponential growth of social media, that has changed. Apparently some had actually been listening to their two Clairecords releases (2003 and 2005) and liking them… a lot. And so their reputation and legend grew while they were out of commission.
Available from Darla now.
Video Age – Pleasure Line
Video Age’s first two albums were about loneliness and discovering oneself, but Pleasure Line takes on a whole new attitude, considering songwriting partners Ross Farbe and Ray Micarelli are both getting married this year (just a few weeks apart from each other, too). But these songs aren’t expressions of one-dimensional puppy love—this is euphoria with depth, ecstasy with complications.
Video Age’s third album, due out from Winspear on August 7, 2020, pairs neon-bright 80s pop melodies with a vast range of influences (including Janet Jackson, David Bowie, and Paul McCartney) to create an optimistic sound all their own. The influences vary song to song, but they’re all tinted with the same rosy hue. These are catchy, memorable songs that radiate big “glass half-full” energy. Pleasure Line is a salve that protects against cynicism—listening to this album, you can’t help but feel the world around you is full of romantic potential.
Airto Moreira — Seeds On The Ground
Airto’s second album, and second and last release for the Buddah label, brought back largely the same crew that appeared on his debut record Natural Feelings (also reissued by Real Gone): vocalist (and wife) Flora Purim, composer and multi-instrumentalist Hermeto Pascoal, and bassist Ron Carter, with contributions from Dom Um Ramão (who later replaced Airto in Weather Report) and Severino De Oliveira a.k.a. Sivuca. Given Airto’s connections to Miles Davis, Weather Report, and Return to
Forever, Seeds on the Ground could easily get lumped into the jazz fusion category. But that would be a mistake. This totally unclassifiable (and, by the way, exceedingly rare) album was no mere blend of rock and jazz influences. Instead, Seeds on the Ground was truly a fusion, an ecstatic melding of bossa nova, psychedelic rock, Brazilian folk, Latin jazz, free jazz, and what we call nowadays “world music.”
If that sounds a bit calculated or intimidating, it’s not; what makes this album so compelling is how organic and intimate it all sounds. Airto played with probably the three most legendary fusion groups in jazz history, and later released a bunch of albums, many for the CTI label.
Available for a limited time from Real Gone Music.
Anne Waldman — Sciamachy
Pete & The Amusements – Laff In The Dark Soundtrack Vol. 1
Keeping in the same spirit of his original motion picture soundtracks, Peter McGennis steps out with a twelve piece band marking his first record as “Pete & The Amusements” who perform and appear in his rock opera “Laff In The Dark.” Teaming up again with master musicians like saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis and Kofi Burbridge, McGennis takes you on a fun, multigenre ride paying tribute to a beloved Canadian amusement park that played prominently in his youth before its demise.
Available on vinyl now!
Tha God Fahim — TGIF
Tha God Fahim is a U.S. rapper and producer currently working out of Atlanta, GA. Also known as the Dump Gawd and the 100 Tape Legend, Fahim has consistently put out project after project since first coming onto the underground scene in 2015 with his tape Shadows Over Nazereth.
His album TGIF is available for the first time on vinyl in a limited edition of 300 copies.
Liz Longley — Funeral For My Past
Get an early copy by pre-ordering! The album is out online 9/18/20 but these will ship out when ordered!
Produced by Paul Moak at Smoakstack Studios. Mastered by Pete Lyman at Infrasonic Sound. Pressed on natural (uncolored) vinyl.
Emily Keener — I Do Not Have To Be Good
The vulnerability found in Emily Keener’s music traces back to a distinctly Midwest upbringing, characterized by the canopied forests that surrounded her home. It’s here Keener pensively grappled with the rigid qualities of rustbelt spiritualism. And where she experienced the literal and figurative isolation as a homeschooled country-dweller.
On her new album – I Do Not Have To Be Good, she subtly sheds her Americana roots and embraces atmospheric moody indie folk, equally tender and powerful as it unfolds. Taking almost complete creative control throughout the recording process, the only fingerprint is Keener’s own. This is her; raw, exposed, very honest in her emotional depth.
