Lapalux Smoke Streams

Stuart Howard had the kind of alias, as well as a winking debut album title, Nostalchic, that could have had him mistaken for a lounge music revivalist indebted to Esquivel and Les Baxter. With Lustmore, the producer ratchets up the deception potential with kitschy artwork like that of '90s lounge revivalists Combustible Edison or Love Jones. There are no traces of lounge revival revivalism, however, within the grooves and atmospheres of Howard's second album for Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder label. Lustmore does make for slightly easier listening compared to Howard's previous output. Its melodies are relatively starry, and its contours are softer, crafted with the intent to make the listener feel as if she or he is lodged in a state between sleep and consciousness…

Brainfeeder kingpin Flying Lotus has a talent for stargazing. The label's ranks include jazz fusionists (Thundercat, Austin Peralta), psych-rap futurists (Samiyam, Teebs), and the endearingly inscrutable (Matthewdavid) existing together in dazzling constellation. But when Baths signed to Anticon, Brainfeeder lost their experimental pop artist, the kind of producer who could marry head-swiveling beats to ghostly vocals.
Consider that niche filled. Lapalux, aka Stuart Howard, makes a similar type of sparkling deconstructed pop. He fits the Brainfeeder aesthetic perfectly, as he likes to envision his songs as aural paintings– a visual tie-in obviously appealing to a synaesthete like FlyLo. Lapalux's snares first started snapping on his remix of Thundercat's "For Love I Come"…

Sweet Smoke Live is the third release from the progressive jazz rock band Sweet Smoke. Released in 1974 it was their second record to feature only two tracks, the first being their debut effort Just a Poke. It showcases the band's live talents with extended jamming, the guitar solos are the showcase. It was recorded live in Berlin, Musikhochschule. The last track is actually two songs that were combined during the LP engineering. The tracks were later listed separately when three additional tracks were added to the 2001 CD re-release. After the 1997 CD re-issue had already used a different cover than the original LP, the cover for the 2001 re-release was changed again, re-using the typographical design of the LP cover.

Regardless of who came up with the term "freakbeat" - either Bam Caruso czar Phil Smee created it in the mid-'80s or Richard Allen came up with it as the name for his psych fanzine - it's generally agreed that the Smoke were one of the best examples of the style (along with the Birds, the Creation, Les Fleur de Lys, and a few others) during the "swinging London" era of the mid-'60s. This 23-track comp of feedback-rich primeval psych-beat is highlighted by their finest moment right up front: "My Friend Jack" hit the U.K. Top 50 in 1967, despite the fact that it was banned by the BBC. (According to the excellent liner notes, the Beeb banned the song after the Bishop of Southwark - who misconstrued it as a celebration of drug abuse - contacted EMI head Sir Joseph Lockwood to complain about the song right in the midst of hysteria over a then-recent Rolling Stones drug bust, LSD, and "moral decline")…

Copies of the Smoke's self-titled album are highly valued by collectors of West Coast soft rock and psychedelic music. The album certainly deserves its reputation as one of the masterpieces of 1968. It opens with the organ-driven "Cowboys and Indians," which was producer/songwriter Michael Lloyd's personal homage to Brian Wilson's "Heroes and Villains" and lyrically makes mention of war (obviously the Vietnam War was very much on everyone's minds at the time). Lloyd had met Wilson after Beach Boy Bruce Johnston invited him to the recording sessions for "Good Vibrations." In addition to Beach Boys-style production values, there are also references to the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band throughout.

Hailed as "the reigning heavyweight champions of Southern rock" (No Depression), Atlanta- based quintet Blackberry Smoke celebrates their 20th anniversary with a magnificent tribute to their home: You Hear Georgia. Produced by Dave Cobb (John Prine, Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson), the album is inspired by and a celebration of the South and all it has to offer. In true Blackberry Smoke fashion, the band masterfully weaves through genre, with everything from Southern Rock anthems about overcoming preconceived notions to life lessons wrapped in heartfelt Americana. And they bring a few friends along for the ride, with guest features from Jamey Johnson and Warren Hayes (The Allman Brothers Band, Gov't Mule).

Blackberry Smoke Homecoming: Live in Atlanta - Blackberry Smoke electrifies the audience at one of Atlanta's most iconic venues, The Tabernacle. Filmed and recorded live on Nov 23rd, 2018, a concert and crowd like no other. Touring most of the year world-wide, Blackberry Smoke has made it a tradition to come back once a year, to their hometown of Atlanta, GA…

Georgia rock quintet Blackberry Smoke could write the book on how to "slow build" a career. Since 2000, singer/guitarist Charlie Starr, guitarist Paul Jackson, keyboard player Brandon Still, and brothers Brit and Richard Turner on drums and bass, respectively, have played in excess of 250 dates a year in funky honky tonks, rock clubs, and on festival stages on both sides of the Atlantic, learning how to write songs in the process. Holding All the Roses is their Rounder debut, the follow-up to 2012's killer The Whippoorwill. It was recorded in less than two weeks, during a brief touring respite, with producer – and Georgia native – Brendan O'Brien (AC/DC, Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam). While it might startle longtime fans, there are no sprawling jams on this set – all 12 tunes are under five minutes.