17 from 17... Atom Heart Mutha's Favourite Albums of the Year So Far...

One of the great things about the radio shows is getting to hear brand new music and get it out there for the world to hear; the blog itself is great place to post some of that music so you too can listen too and hopefully go on to purchase it yourselves to support the artists and labels.
As we approach the middle of the year it's time to look back on some of the releases I've really enjoyed so far in 2017, most I will have reviewed and some i haven't, Ive included the Space Witch album, the review for this be will up shortly. There's a variety of flavours here, Hard Stoner Rock, tripped out Spacerock and Kosmische, Experimental Psychedelic and Fuzz. Check out the Bandcamp players to listen, the album titles hold the links to the bands pages where you can support the artists and buy their  music.
As with Last year, there will be an end of the year review in early December; for now there's plenty here to listen to and enjoy..
You can hear lots of these bands and artists on the weekly radio show for Hard Rock Hell Radio as well as the monthly Shows for Grip of Delusion Radio and Bigjaf.net, check 'em out.


*Please note that Siena Root's 'A Dream of Lasting Peace' wasn't included as currently it isn't available via Bandcamp or elsewhere to stream,you can read the review for that album HERE



10,000 Russos - Distress Distress



Buried Feather - Mind of the Swarm



Cachemira - Jungla



Cobra Family Picnic - Magnetic Anomaly



Doublestone - Devil's Own/Djævlens Egn



Devil's Witches - Velvet Magic


Electric Moon - Stardust Rituals



Ecstatic Vision - Raw Rock Fury



Gnoomes - Tschak!



Her Lies Man - Here Lies Man



Hibushibire - Freak Out Orgasm!



Knall - Raubkatze Auf 12 Uhr



Lamagaia - Lamagaia



Samsara Blues Experiment - One With the Universe



Space Witch - Arcanum



Sula Bassana - Organ Accumulator



White Light Cemetery - Careful What You Wish For

Album Review... Siena Root - A Dream of Lasting Peace

13 years ago Siena Root released their debut album 'A New Day Dawning' and from that moment, they became a mighty force in heavy rock and roll.  The Swedish rockers have 5 highly acclaimed studio albums and a killer double Live record under their belt; and whilst there have been some lineup changes over the years, they've continued to move and evolve always for the better.

With the release of their next opus 'A Dream of Lasting Peace' also comes the news that they will be supporting the legendary Deep Purple on the German dates of their next tour, which of course is a perfect fit and evidenced over 10 fantastic tracks on the record.

The album opens to the shuffling groove of 'Secrets' led the by the vintage organ sounds of Erik Petersson and musically transports you back in time to the early 70's. 'Tales of independence' follows with the feel of Led Zeppelin too it, a track that wouldn't be out of place on Houses of the Holy with its funky, yet classic rock stylings. 'Sundown' emulates the beautiful experiences that must have made the summer of love a wonderful thing; drenched in late sixties psych pop, lush vocals and Matte Gustavsson's wonderful guitar work. Things mellow out a little with the bluesy 'The Piper Won't Let you Stay' and 'Empty Streets' both showcase the vocal talents of Samuel Björö and his distinctive and emotive tones. 'Growing Underground' unleases a torrent of prog n roll and delivers the sound of a band enjoying themselves under promise of the kind of force you can expect to see performing live.

Elsewhere tracks like 'Outlander' and 'No Filter' show off the bands flare for classic rock, whilst proving their own distinguishing traits lift the music to be being more than respectfully retro.
'Imaginarium' is a jazzy improvisational jam taking in psych, blues and moves to the tracks conclusion with a hard rock Stomp.  Album closer 'The Echoes Unfold' is more measured rock track and a consolidation of songwriting skills and musicianship from the tracks before; Bass player Sam Riffer and percussionist Love Forsberg must also take credit for being the glue that holds each track firmly together, both demonstrate finesse and serious mastery of their art.

A Dream of Lasting Peace is a wonderful thing, harking back to the early days of the album being a musical art form that has has to be played in full, care has been taken on every aspect of the LP right down to the cover art; that is not to say these tracks don't proudly stand alone too, they absolutely do!
Theres a welcome familiarity to whats on offer here and masses of new flourishes played with conviction, I've been very lucky to be living with the album for a while now and it absolutely gets better with every play; it has the look, feel and joy of a record you'd find in a cooler elder siblings record collection when you are discovering  music for the first time, one that stays with you for a lifetime.

If you love classic vintage rock, I doubt you'll hear anything this authentic for a long time.  This is essential listening.


Siena Root Website

Siena Root Facebook

Siena Root Bandcamp

Made in Germany Music

Album Review... Psychedelic Porn Crumpets - High Visceral (Part 2)

I’m often found browsing through new releases in the psychedelic, stoner, desert regions of the musical spectrum.  Sometimes it’s an interesting album sleeve or title that catches my eye only to be disappointed by lacklustre contents.

During one such delve in 2016, I stumbled across a colourful psychedelic sleeve with from a (then) unheard of band with quite a unique name.  Psychedelic Porn Crumpets. That album was their debut release High Visceral {Part 1} which surprised me on two levels; one, it was not what I was expecting to hear and two, just how good it sounded. This prompted numerous recommendations to friends, plus the odd tweet or two, bestowing its virtues.

Since coming together in 2015, the band from Perth, Australia have gained a strong homegrown following and toured with the likes of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard; fast forward to now and they have just released their sophomore album High Visceral {Part 2}.
Opening at breakneck speed with first track 'Nek' the melodic guitar stands to the forefront, counterpoint to the solid drumming.  This is what really sets the tone for the album; it sounds different from what you’d perhaps normally expect.  Second single 'Gurrzle' follows with a mixture of the intense riffs of the opener, but now slows and swirls, with an added saxophone accompaniment, without losing any pace.  'First Light in the Garden at Chipping' is a dreamy wash of new psychedelia that I can’t help but compare to having some of the overtones of the more recent QOTSA albums.
The interestingly titled 'Ergophobia' has a spiky riffed intro, before a wonderful, lolling, rhythm guitar tone (bottle this tone into a guitar pedal) no aversion to working in this song.  Throughout the album, you’d be hard pressed to find any of the usual cliches belied by a band with psychedelic in their name.  There is so much to please the listener and this changes from track to track, including  strings, jazz guitar intros, reggae rhythms and it's a perfect accompaniment to part one. I might try the OK Computer /In Rainbows experiment and blend parts 1 & 2 into a single mix.  It's a superb album and yes you can't get away from comparing them to fellow Australian compatriots Tame Impala, but I can also hear Queens and maybe a little Arctic Monkeys.
It’s said that sometimes you wear your influences on your sleeve but trust me, the beast that is music has many sleeves that reach far and wide and has no boundaries.

Viva El Swain


Psychedelic Porn Crumpets Bandcamp

Psychedelic Porn Crumpets Facebook

Rhubarb Records Facebook

Rhubarb Records

Streaming Now...

It's been another strong month for new releases and through bandcamp they're there for you to hear too. This Month sees Moon Duo follow up their excellent 'Occult Architecture Vol.1' with the more mellow but equally as compelling Vol.2. Scotlands brilliant Psychdrone duo Boobs of Doom have put out a split release with Stupid Cosmonaught and offered up one of their strongest tracks (Vibrations From a Dying Soul) to date. Psychedelic Spacerock label Sulatron Records released Electric Moons new lp 'Stardust Rituals' to huge acclaim in April, and you can hear that hear now.
Jonathan Morgan recently announced he is working on his next full length; whilst we wait for that to arrive you can hear his fantastic EP 'Bells of Divinity from earlier this year.You can also stream in full the new releases from Samsara Blues Experiment, L'lra Del Baccano, The Janitors and Cachemira.
I'll be playing lots of these bands/tracks/records on the various radio shows for Hard Rock Hell Radio, Grip of Delusion Radio and Bigjaf.net as well as a ton great new music.
The title links are clickable and will take you to the bandcamp page. As always, if you like what you hear support the artists and pay for the download, or check out their pages and buy a physical version. A lot of the bands here will be selling vinyl versions and special edition packages, Enjoy!





Cachemira - Jungla




Samsara Blues Experiment - One With the Universe




The Janitors - Horn ur Marken




Stop Cosmonaut // Boobs of Doom (Split)




Moon Duo - Occult Architecture Vol.2




L'lra Del Baccano - Paradox Hourglass




DSW - Tales from the Cosmonaut




Jonathan Morgan - The Bells of Divinity




Witching Waves - Fear of Falling Down




Electric Moon - Stardust Rituals

Streaming Now...

It's been another strong month for new releases and through bandcamp they're there for you to hear too.  This Month sees Moon Duo follow up their excellent 'Occult Architecture Vol.1' with the more mellow but equally as compelling Vol.2. Scotlands brilliant Psychdrone duo Boobs of Doom have put out a split release with Stupid Cosmonaught and offered up one of their strongest tracks (Vibrations From a Dying Soul) to date.
Psychedelic Spacerock label Sulatron Records released Electric Moons new lp 'Stardust Rituals'  to huge acclaim in April, and you can hear that hear now.
Jonathan Morgan recently announced he is working on his next full length; whilst we wait for that to arrive you can hear his fantastic EP 'Bells of Divinity from earlier this year.You can also stream in full the new releases from Samsara Blues Experiment, L'lra Del Baccano, The Janitors and Cachemira.
I'll be playing lots of these bands/tracks/records on the various radio shows for Hard Rock Hell Radio, Grip of Delusion Radio and Bigjaf.net as well as a ton great new music. The title links are clickable and will take you to the bandcamp page.
As always, if you like what you hear support the artists and pay for the download, or check out their pages and buy a physical version. A lot of the bands here will be selling vinyl versions and special edition packages, Enjoy!


Cachemira - Jungla




Samsara Blues Experiment - One With the Universe




The Janitors - Horn ur Marken




Stop Cosmonaut // Boobs of Doom (Split)




Moon Duo - Occult Architecture Vol.2




L'lra Del Baccano - Paradox Hourglass




DSW - Tales from the Cosmonaut




Jonathan Morgan - The Bells of Divinity




Witching Waves - Fear of Falling Down




Electric Moon - Stardust Rituals

Album Review... Geezer - Psychoriffadelia

Now here’s a conundrum; do I research a band's bio before a review? Do I allow their words and photos positively or negatively influence my interpretation of the music? Nah! So all apologies upfront.

Geezer - 'Psychoriffadelia' opens with low guttural sounds then straight into a de-tuned cover version of Nazareth’s 'Hair of the Dog'.  The easily recognised riff surges forth, you can almost feel the sound wave created by those open strings.  Riff laden with quiet/loud sections, the next track 'Stressknots' maybe should have opened the album, but hey that’s my opinion.

The instrumental title track 'Psychoriffadelia' is where the album really starts to take shape; a combination of riffs and carefully constructed melodic chordal progression that draws the listener in.  It circles around but rewards you with the expected result; slowly building, yet always extenuating the main riff.  The drums drift in and out, giving a trippy, distant, hazy sound.  The tracks all intersect together, without any space, so seamlessly next up is fourth song 'Red Hook'.  Tremolo intro, with a haunting backing; the guitar riff has a superb repetitive eastern flavour and atmospheric slide guitar parts with the song featuring minimal vocals, six minutes long to soak up the centre of the album, nicely.  Spacey flanger sounds kick in, leading into the main riff of final track 'Dirty Penny'; a song of two halves.
Underpinned by a solid rock riff, soaked in modulation, the song starts; tight bass and drums carry the song for the first five minutes, before morphing into a guitar jam.  Halfway through the track, the guitars slow down in pace, as a more spacey sound swirls around, before the drums wind it down to silence for a few seconds before kicking back in. The guitar returns with a fresh wah laden riff. This starts what I’d call the second movement of the song, quickening pace with a more free form jam atmosphere, of a similar vein to the title track, these parts are where the album really shines.
'Dirty Penny' closes the album brilliantly, with an bluesy acoustic slide guitar section that drifts away to the end of the album.
Overall, a great album that I’ve grown to like and replay many times; the parts where it really excelled are the more wig out instrumental sections where the musicianship involved shone through. I'm still not too sure about opening with a cover version...
Recommended.

Viva el Swain



Geezer - Bandcamp

Geezer Facebook

Kozmik Artifactz Facebook

Kozmik Artifactz

You can order the Exclusive Die Hard Vinyl Edition of Psychoriffadelia through Geezer’s Indiegogo campaign HERE

Listen to Atom Heart Mutha May 2017 Now and Anytime

This Month's Atom Heart Mutha RadioShow is now available to listen to anytime on Mixcloud. You can go to the AHM Mixcloud page HERE or listen on the embedded player below. This months show went out on the Bigjaf.net RockShow on May 13th and again for American Radio Station Grip Of Delusion Radio on the 14th. This month features a ton of brand new releases from the likes of Electric Moon, Farflung, Grombira, Samsara Blues Experiment and Phoenician Drive.
As always if you like what you hear please support the bands and labels by buying their music, there are direct tags on the AHM Facebook Page, check it out. Atom Heart Mutha is now also a weekly 2 hr Show on the newly launched Hard Rock Hell Radio, you can hear it every Friday from 13.00 - 15.00 by clicking the link HERE

Track list:

Electric Moon - The Loop
Phoenician Drive - Two Coins For The Boatman
Moon Duo - New Dawn
Föllakzoid - Electric (feat J.Spaceman)
Farflung - You Will Kill For Me
Grombira - Priest of the Horny Kong
Motherdust - Mind the Gap
Samsara Blues Experiment - Sad Guru Returns

Album Review... Grombira - Grombira Oriental Space Rock.

Hypnotic Bavarian Oriental Spacerock, makes perfect sense to me; and it definitely makes sense to Tonzonen records as they've just released the new Grombira record.
The band biography promises magic carpet rides with plenty of space to dance, in a nutshell, thats exactly what you get here.

The record begins with chimes and atmospheric rhythms of the track 'Pürreé'; the groove builds slowly over Eastern sound patterns and then suddenly explodes in to an incredible  high charged (oriental, yes) space rock freakout; the music is tight and engrossing. The trippy 'Carpe Noctem' follows with gongs and pipes and once more builds an ambience of cosmic oriental auras.  As with the opener, the song transforms into another hypnotic exploration of psychedelia and world rhythms before introducing trancey mantra-like vocals.
'Caravan is more stripped back piece played over simple rhythms and an acoustic guitar whilst hushed soundscapes of human interactions can occasionally be heard in the background.
'Goats in Space' is much more a traditional space rock track, the guitars are heavier and musically so too.
For me, one of the standout tracks is 'Priest of the Horny Kong' an irresistibly groovy piece that incorporates funky rhythms and bass over the Eastern styles and rocks out relentlessly, it's a trip you'll dance all the way through! The same can be said for the last track 'Selma'; whilst much shorter than most of the record at just under 6 minutes, it follows on as a full on freakout and really satisfying way to conclude the album.


The tripped out trio have put together a blend jazzy and psychedelic space rock and added oriental flavours with the use of sitars, ouds and lutes to make something very special; I hadn't heard anything by the band previously so some online reading explains just how hard working a band they are, especially live.
In fact the more you know, the more it makes sense that they have signed to Tonzonen; like label mates Knall this is a band that capture songs as moments in time, with every play live the songs morph and evolve, the recording process merely captures a snapshot and if you want to hear the bigger picture you need to see them perform. GOSR is a fantastic record and comes highly recommended; and to this day is the only LP I've ever been told goes well with olives and roasted potatoes.

Grombira Bandcamp

Grombira Facebook

Tonzonen Facebook

Tonzonen Records

Album Review... Doublestone - Devils own / Djævlens Egn

Back in 2001 in Copenhagen, Doublestone originally formed as a duo by long time friends Michael James Bruun and Bo Blond Daugaard.  Doublestone later became a trio with the addition of Bo’s bass playing cousin.  In 2013 they released the 'Set The World Ablaze' EP and the self-titled 'Doublestone'.  The trio progressed further with Mos Generator’s Tony Reed to record their first full-length LP 'Wingmakers' in the basement of an old cheese factory in central Copenhagen.  This catapults the band to gain wider attention and praise with their reputation for playing 70s-influenced hard rock, psychedelia and southern metal.

'War Machine' leads the way setting out the tone of the record; vintage 70's style production and riffs straight from the dark lord (Ionni) himself.  As with the majority of the record, it wears its influences proudly for all to see. 'Here Comes the Serpent' rolls up next, again the track has a classic rock aesthetic to it's approach and delivers a sound like contemporary artists Kadaver and Siena Root.  The band demonstrate a real love for a time in rock history gone by, noted characteristically by the sounds of the guitars and bass work, resulting in real joy and a desire to get lost in it all.  The title track 'Devil's Own' slows things down to an engaging partially folk rock influenced piece.  Benefiting from a more acoustic style, it tells its own story before slowly introducing electric guitars for the emotive solo.
The second half of the album is sang entirely in Danish which makes it harder to comment on the themes, so far we've had wizards, snakes and lightning (although I'm pretty sure someone drinks coffee at some point)  its difficult for me to say where the final four tracks are going lyrically, not that it matters; musically the themes remain the same.
'Djævlens Egn' has a really cool rock n roll swagger to it, flirting with the 70's blues rock of bands like Dr Feelgood. 'I Natten' follows and once more harks back to distinguished sounds of bands such as Nazareth. The LP ends with the brilliant 'Solen Sover' a laid back beat and baseline give way to harmonised vocals and sporadic guitar licks before building into a perfect heavy rock blast out.

'Devil's Own' gets a release through Ripple Music, a label that over its past 5 years has proved to be a force to be reckoned with signing the likes of Wo Fat, Mothership, Zed, The Judge and the truly awesome Salem's Bend; those familiar with the label won't be surprised to read or hear Doublestone are a perfect fit for them.  It probably won't come as a surprise too that given they have a really authentic vintage rock style and loose stoner grooves to the tracks, I was sold on the first listen.  This is a record I can't stop listening to.  Get on it and pass it on.




Doublestone Facebook

Doublestone Bandcamp

Ripple Music Bandcamp

Ripple Music Facebook

Album Review... Motherdust - 1500

Hailing from Bielefeld, Germany; Motherdust are a 5 piece band renowned for hard-rocking, cosmic freakouts, and their contemporary Krautrock sound. Their album 1500 was originally released in 2014 digitally with a very limited run of CD.
Now it gets a, much deserved, vinyl reissue via German label Clostridium Records.

'Quarantine' opens to hypnotic swirling guitars and a steady beat over Lanneganesque vocal growls and fuzz.
'Mind the Gap' is a confident strutting piece of sonic blues; the build towards the intense wall of noise is intensely satisfying and really fitting with Stefan Popovic's gravelled tones. 'The Prisoner' is another track firmly influenced by heavy blues and whilst follow on track 'Shadows' continues the theme, it becomes darker before exploding into a mammoth dope-fuelled, space rock freakout.
'Coded Messages' is a filthy fuzzed up bass driven wall of distorted noise and squelching blasts of synth madness that builds to an oscillating end with guitars and baggy drumbeat.
The record concludes with the harmonica lead 'Same old Thing', once more influenced by smoke hazed blues and fierce vocal delivery.

It's an astounding record and a deeply satisfying listen; one of those rare records that once it ends you want to flip it right back to side A and put the needle back on.
1500 is my introduction to the band and I look forward to hearing more from them in the future.  I'm also intrigued as to how these tracks are served up live.
There's an energy that runs through the whole record that surely needs to be heard plugged in and amped up.
Mind bending and psychedelic; dirty, heavy and bluesy; these are irresistible combinations and this record delivers all of these things and more.  In fact, it's fair to say that Motherdust don't fuck about and you really should hear this record.  Highly Recommended.

Motherdust Bandcamp

Motherdust Facebook

Clostridium Records Facebook

Clostridium Records

The Next Atom Heart Mutha For Bigjaf.net and Grip of Delusion Radio...

...goes out live online on Saturday May 13th at 9pm as part of the Bigjaf.net RockShow. You can hear it live as it happens by going to www.mixlr.com/wwwbigjafnet 
There will be a clickable player on the AHM Facebook and Twitter pages as well on Bigjaf.nets own social media. As always the encore performance will go out on the awesome American Station Grip of Delusion Radio  the next day on the 14th at 10amEST/4pmCET/3pmUK.
This months show will feature brand new tracks from recently released and upcoming records and showcase the best that HeavyPsychedelicStonerRock has to offer; until then you can check out May 2016's broadcast on the mixcloud player below.

Track List:
Zone Six - The Insight
Knall - Prologue
Jakob Skøtt - The Variable
Ozone Mama - Hard Times
Dschinn - I'm In Love
Mondo Drag - Out of Sight
Sweet Crystal - Warlords
May Blitz - Smoking the Day Away
Plant Tribe - Croakin'
The Spacelords - Synapse