Band of Skulls: Baby Darling Doll Face Honey (4/5)

Jonathan's #14 out of 20 Album of 2009



Year: 2009
Label: Shangri-La
Genre: Psychedelic Garage Rock
TRT: 42:24

Trendy...yes maybe. Groovy...for sure. Creatively showing off...probably. This recording at the beginning is letting you know that you're supposed to be having fun while you're listening. It will also give you subliminal truth for the future...[whatever that means]. By the time you reached the end of the song "I Know What I Am"....you've reached a certain peak. The next two songs slip you below the landslide as "Honest" ends with something that sounds familiar to Stevie Nicks. The rest of the album twists in and out of interesting transitions and wild comparisons that continue to come about.

There's something deep going on in that cover.

01 Light of the Morning
02 Death by Diamonds and Pearls
03 I Know What I Am
04 Fires
05 Honest
06 Patterns
07 Bomb
08 Impossible
09 Hold Still
10 Blood
11 Dull Gold Heart
12 Cold Fame

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Sleepy Sun: Embrace (4/5)

Jonathan's #12 out of 20 Album of 2009



Year: 2009
Label: ATP/R
Genre: Psychedelic Garage Rock
TRT: 54:43

Sleepy Sun can say a lot about their sound just by reading the name. To me, they seem to give the perfect soundscape to that mental image. The band takes garage rock and adds a psychedelic down-tempo whirlwind. The vocals remind me a lot of BrightBlack Morning Light....but with enough of an original flavor to not rip them off. The band still brings a lot of surprises to the well-rounded listen. They really mix it up sometimes with organs, harmonica, swirling guitars and some great reverb laid over the whole recording.

Overall this is a great album with a lot of great sounds to offer.

01 New Age
02 Lorg
03 Red Black
04 Sleepy Son
05 Golden Artifact
06 White Dove
07 Snow Goddess
08 Duet With the Northern Sky

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