Weepin' Dave and the Diamond Boys

Self-titled

(Self)

It's heartening that real country is still being issued, as current airwaves reek of insipid pop-country. That this is unlikely to turn up on corporate radio playlists is testament to its genuineness. Pressed here are hard-luck narratives to which plain folks can relate. Somewhere, across the years, humanity in music faded from fashion; works such as this restore it.

Recommended: "She'll Never Settle," "Happy Hour," "Drinkin' For Two"

Video: "Drinkin' For Two"

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The Speeding Bullets

Space Rumble

(Chaputa! Records)

The Portuguese Speeding Bullets have forged a singular identity. With flabbergasting guitar hijinx a constant, they've mixed psycho, surf, outer space, and spaghetti-western elements into a riveting melange. Each vivid passage is an active one. They're not like other bands.

Recommended: "Inspector Maggot," "Slow Burn," "Race Over Tombstones," "Space Rumble," "Resident Evil," "Crash Landing," "We Are the Psychos"

Video: "Space Rumble" (live)

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Wild Jimmy Spruill

Scratch 'N Twist, Rare and Unissued New York Rhythm and Blues 1956-1962

(Tuff City)

Accompanied during this period by sundry crack combos, popular session-guitarist Jimmy gave out with provocative stylings that surely caused many a-dance floor jam  (That's him on Wilbert Harrison's "Kansas City.") Of particular note is Jimmy's penchant for sitting down hard, in his soloing. This is the stuff of down-and-dirty parties and nocturnal interactions. It grabs sensuous instincts and urges their physicality.

Recommended: "Memphis," "Mind On Loving You," "Kansas City March," "Hard Grind," "Cut and Dried," "Raisin' Hell," "Driving Home," "Scratch 'N Twist," "Charles Walker Slop," "Party Hardy"

Video: "Driving Home"

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Jared Petteys and the Headliners

"Get Out Of My Own Way" b/w "You're My Baby"

(Retro-Sonic Records)

Always welcome is blues-grounded rockabilly that charges out of speakers intent on top-volume ruckus raising. That a trio can produce such a big and brawny sound is cause for wonder. They do so with confidence, ever certain of their place in the sound that changed the world.

Video: "Get Out Of My Own Way"

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Iskanbila

Maketa

(Iskanbila)

Herein lies a mystery. Who are the conspirators of this fleet and brutish endeavor? Little in English of them can be located online - no site or social media page. Not even a perfunctory appraisal. (They do have a Spanish-language Wikipedia entry and several Youtube videos.)

Regardless of that enigmatic shroud, though, what most moves the auctorial pen is their ability to encase anthemic banners within Punk of relentless mien. For that cause, surveillance is advised.

Recommended: "Hau Bai Putada," "Ihesa," "Jende Faltsua," "Oi! Oi!," "Skinhead," "Zu Akatzeko

Video:  live

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The Hoodoo Tones

Three Steps To Evil

(Rhythm Bomb)

A solid beat, relentless in its mission, undergirds guitar-centric Rock 'n' Roll mindful of its Country and Blues parentage. Consider this seriously. Because while it's so that many roots-music purveyers follow the sacred calling, these tracks illustrate that the most rewarding efforts incorporate distinctive personality.

Recommended: "Drag!," "I Need a Confessor (Boom Boom Boom)," "Jitterbuggin'," "The Fool," "Coolest Cats," "The Last Of Our Kind"

Video: "Drag!"

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Off!

FLSD EP

(Fat Possum)

Have a caution: aggression that communicates itself in bold strokes can be hazardous to the unsuspecting. Here postures intense hardcore rendered at maniacal pace. Encompasses (in its potent brevity) all the bluntness and raw purposefulness that first typified that DIY fashion.

Recommended: "Keep Your Mouth Shut," "Not Our Kind," "Johnny Can't Come Home"

Video: "Keep Your Mouth Shut"

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