Landlocked Music - 202 N. Walnut St. - Bloomington, IN - 47404
info @ landlockedmusic . com
(812) 339 - 2574
Hours of operation:
Monday - Saturday : 11:30 - 7:30pm
Sunday : 12pm - 5pm
Every week (or so...), the proud employees of Landlocked Music attempt to help guide you along the path of auditory redemption. We take time away from our busy schedules and craft, in our own words, a tiny little review of a great piece found in our bin that is for sale. We are happy as a clam when a customer purchases our picks, we gotta feed our egos somehow, right? But don't just take our word for it... or rather, DO take our word for it!
Archive: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
If you haven't seen the Sauna play here in Bloomington in the past few years, you must be living under some kind of really heavy rock. They seem to pass through every few months and blow the roof off of each and every venue they visit. Which is saying quite a bit, because they are only two simple men from Lawrence, KS with acoustic instrumentation. Chord organ, mandolin, one-man-band percussion, guitar and the sweetest vocal harmonies. Like the Stanley Brothers covering the Everly Brothers at an acid revival. Does that equal the Holy Modal Rounders? Kind of. They are indeed modern day troubadours, laying to the land, weaving tales of the absurd and the benign. They might single-handedly bring their warm old-timey sound into the cold hearts of hipsterdom and make everyone dance and sing Hallelujah! - Heath
Sick and tired of non-songs from bearded weirdos? This might just be your winter prescription for a cure. These boys aren't from some California canyon nor will they try to convince you of such. No noize, quirk, yelping, strange time signatures, or any of that stuff. Just simple three to four minute mostly acoustic based slow-burning tunes akin to Sonic Youth on Codeine (the band -and- the drug). Which makes sense when you realise that Sonic Youth's engineer and touring soundman Aaron Mullan is one of the Firs. Lazy dual male vocals, one gravelly and the other slightly deadpan - similar to Mascis vs Thurston. They follow along to finger-picked guitar passages with simple accompaniment - organ washes, brushed drums, etc. At 38 minutes of warmth you can easily find yourself visiting their woods time and again, and you should. - Heath
Forever remembered as the band that made "Come on Eileen." And in America their name has become a byword for one hit wonders. But the massive worldwide success of that song unfortunately continues to overshadow their brilliant debut, which did contain a few hits of its own, including "Gino", which was a British #1. They emerged from the UK Northern Soul club scene, combining elements of American R&B with the upbeat tone of British ska, the attitude of punk, the swagger of pub rock, and a vocal style that approached the emerging new romo movement, but without the synthetic texture of, say, Japan. The songs are mostly portraits of working class British life; singer Kevin Rowland spits out lyrics like cold porridge before wooing you with a sweet, swaying falsetto. The band split apart before the folkier follow-up, Too-Rye-Ay, making this somewhat of a stand-alone piece. Overlooked and derided in the US, it's time Soul Rebels got its due as a classic, timeless pop album. - Jason
The Soft Boys never really fit in to the UK "punk" rock scene which dominated late 70s underground music. Taking their influences more from the psychedelia of Beefheart, Syd Barrett and the Byrds than the garage and early rock n roll that influenced the punks, they were just too weird and a little too "soft" to be accepted by the leather-clad masses. Underwater Moonlight was, like their other releases, not successful, but has now been accepted as a highly influential masterpiece. Frontman Robyn Hitchcock's always amazing songs provide the perfect foundation for Kimberlew Rew's beatlesque guitar leads and the band's stellar harmonies to work their magic. Full of bizarre, surrealistic imagery, blistering guitar-work and strange psychedelic left-turns, nothing else in the late 70s sounded anything like this, nor does anything now. The reissue adds bonus cuts from the album sessions, as well as rehearsal tapes which showcase just how ahead of their time this band really was. - Cyrus
What better Halloween staff pick than this duo whom I have been pleading to come to Bloomington for years now? Pittsburg's Zombi are nothing to be afraid of, that is, unless you are scared of extreme musical chops and air drumming. And don't let their metal record label fool you - these guys are - and I hesitate to say this word - prog. Don't stop reading though... for their sound is a stripped down bass and drums with HUGE synth. Like the best soundtrack music from John Carpenter (Halloween, Escape from NY) or early Tangerine Dream, as well as Italian horror film composers Goblin (Dario Argento's Profundo Rosso, Dawn of the Dead) and Fabio Frizzi. Analog waves roll and build and repeat and soon you too will be a zombie (in a good way) to Zombi. We also have awesome vinyl issues of their earliest works. - Heath
Kevin Ayers was a founding member of British prog-psychers the Soft Machine, playing bass and acting as principal songwriter from their early demos through their debut. Too laid back to handle their intense touring schedule, Ayers decided to venture out into his own little world. This, his 1969 solo debut easily stands among the best pop-psych albums of the late 60s and is, in my own little world, an absolute masterpiece. Musically, it is a flawless collection of unique pop songs, peppered with unexpected twists and turns, unforgettably lovely melodies and the stellar musicianship of Ayers, aided by his former bandmates. Lyrically it's almost like a series of nursery rhymes, chock full of clever wordplay and deadpan observations delivered in Ayers' soothing baritone. Combine these aspects with note-perfect production and engineering courtesy of Abbey Road and you have a perfect album on your hands. - Cyrus
Ever wonder what happened to Ian McDonald after leaving King Crimson but before forming arena rock monsters Foreigner? Well, before he figured out that weird art rock was not going to buy him that fleet of Bentleys, he gave it one more try with fellow KC alum, Michael Giles. This, the duo's lone, self-titled album was sketched out while on the lengthy tour to promote the first KC album, and it bears many of the hallmarks of that band's early work, especially the unmissable, stutter-step drumming of Giles. In contrast to early KC, however, the mood is kept pretty light and breezy; akin to some Traffic (who's leader, Steve Winwood, appears on one track) or even Donovan. The album was a flop of course, and it's been resigned to "King Crimson-side project" status ever since. But even non-completists will appreciate the album's jazzy, light prog noodling and winsome, very British charms. - Jason
Another LP I knew I'd like before hearing a note. The cover is a naked dude seen at a distance on a deserted beach, and the title translates to "The Child Killer of Flies": it promised to be, at least, interestingly bad. Turns out, I was already unknowingly familiar with the guy's music. JCV scored a few films with the immortal Serge Gainsbourg, and will be forever be known as the genius arranger behind Gainsbourg's 1971 classic Histoire de Melody Nelson. This LP was to be his solo breakthrough. It was not to be however. And listening now, it's easy to hear why: who is this music for? Even after a few dozen listens I'm still left guessing. But that's what's great about it. Elements of jazz, slick pop, lounge, sleazy listening, circus music, even klezmer all combine for a pleasantly confusing experience. - Jason
It's a crime that Beachwood Sparks can't keep their collective act together and release another album. Clearly obsessed with the LA psych-country scene of the late 60s, these 4 fellows stay true to the spirit of those times and music, focus on the most spaced-out, cosmic aspects of it and add their own indie twist. A gorgeous, sprawling melting pot of LA vibes, space-echo steel guitar, acoustic strums and just plain great modern 'cosmic-american music.' Classic melodies gently drift along the multi-colored breeze, hand-in-hand with a series of psyched-out instrumental interludes that simultaneously tie the album together, and send it farther out into the 5th dimension. A little more succinct and easily digestible than their epic second album 'Once We Were Trees,' this is right up there with the best 3rd-eye country-rock ever made, i.e. the Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers, Buffalo Springfield, Gram Parsons, Gene Clark. - Cyrus
Logan was a mechanic from Athens, GA (still is?), who was recording songs in his spare time for years until someone (Peter Buck?) hooked him up with Twin Tone. Story goes, the label asked him to send them some songs to consider, and he sent them a whole box full, over 100 and some dating back as far as '79. They liked what they heard and released 44 of them unaltered as his debut album, thus the title: "Bulk". This is American lo-fi at its best, before it became a fashion or genre, just a man exploring his musical obsessions with a few buddies and a few cases of beer. No expectation. Styles run the gamut from folk and country to bluesy rock and pop, all tossed off with convincing nonchalance and killer lyrics. A word about his collaborators: they include Vic Chesnutt and guys who later went on to be in Lambchop. - Jason
