JACKPOT!!!

LOOK WHAT TURNED UP ON BANDCAMP TODAY:

GOAT: OH DEATH

Goat's been around for quite awhile, but they keep perfecting their craft, and their albums get better and better with time.  I saw this was released this morning, and I can't get enough of it.  Goat is a collection of Swedish hippies who are GREAT musicians, and who play a really trippy variety of music that might best be described as acid-folk rock.  Every album is unique and covers a ton of musical ground, but my favorites make use of a super-fuzzy guitar distortion, as heard in this album's opening track:

And here's another early favorite, managing to combine funk and fuzz with a folk rock undercurrent:

Goat describe themselves as "Formidable psychic warriors, channelers of the mystic and proponents of a spiritual quest that transcends this realm".

They are from Norrbotten County, Sweden, and seem to prefer to go unnamed:

In consecutive years, Goat has produced masterpieces.

And also released this morning...

RUBY THE HATCHET: FEAR IS A CRUEL MASTER

It's been five years since "Planetary Space Child", one of my favorite albums of 2017, and it appears that time was spent hard at work, because "Fear Is A Cruel Master" is another gem.  Aggressive, masterful songwriting, performed by top-rate musicians and a truly special vocalist, this album checks every box in my wish list.  Sometimes when the featured track on bandcamp is not the opener, it's because the featured track is the best one and the rest aren't quite as good.  

Not the case here; this opener showcases some of the greatest ideas from late '70s/early '80s hard rock, and is the perfect setup for all the great tunes to come.

Here's another early favorite:

This is another album that probably won't leave my car playlist for the rest of the year.

Ruby The Hatchet are from New Jersey.  They are:

Jillian Taylor: Vocals

Johnny Scarps: Guitar

Owen Stewart: Drums

Lake Muir: Bass

Sean Hur: Organ

and last but not least.......

ELDER: INNATE PASSAGE

This one's not out yet, but I think this pre-released track came out today (or at least that's when I stumbled into it)

Anyhow, it's new Elder, and anything that's said after that is unnecessary and a waste of keystrokes and bandwidth.

Elder are from Western Massachusetts, but now reside in Berlin.

They are:

Nicholas DiSalvo - Guitar, Vocals, Keyboards
Jack Donovan - Bass
Michael Risberg - Guitar, Keyboards
Georg Edert - Drums

Try to fit all that in your pipe and smoke it

TOP TEN  ROCK TUNES OF 2017

Finishes with my pick for #1 Stoner Rock tune of 2017, but otherwise the order is simply determined by nice transitions.  This and the 2015 top ten albums playlist are my two greatest playlists to date.  

Even if you don't agree with my choices for top ten, I think you have to agree that these are ten awesome tunes, that flow really nicely into each other.  Let me know what you think:

Six of the ten songs are the lead track on that album.

Working on my top ten albums playlist - more challenging, because I try to use tunes that I haven't posted on the blog yet, almost to make the point that there are so many great tunes on each album, which is why they made the top ten.  

Back soon with more

-ULTRA

RUBY THE HATCHET:
Planetary Space Child

Hits The Spot

Philadelphia's Ruby The Hatchet are hard to categorize, but it comes close to the truth to say that they are like Electric Citizen mixed with a bit of Emerson Lake and Palmer.  Planetary Space Child really delivers on every tune, and moves into the stratosphere of 2017 releases.  Very thoughtful songwriting, with good variety and great musicianship make this a winner.  

Not sure I have a single favorite yet, but here are a couple of candidates:

Here's "Killer."  Stick with this one and you'll see.

And here's the epic "Symphony Of The Night."  There's a Blue Oyster Cult type of vibe going on here and I love it.  

Jillian Taylor: Vocals 
Johnny Scarps: Guitar 
Lake Muir: Bass 
Owen Stewart: Drums 
Sean Hur: Organ

Planetary Space Child was released on August 25, and can be found here on Bandcamp.

That's all for now, will check in next weekend.

-ULTRA