Trouble In Mind

What a year it’s been for the four ladies & one gentleman in Chicago band Hollows - after releasing their Trouble In Mind debut (the "Bobby Blueheart" single) in late 2010, the quintet has played a score of shows (including a hi-profile gig in Millennium Park, performing to approximately 10,000 people), & honed their singular sound into a razor-sharp musical talon! Hollows have taken the girl-group influence of their debut album and time warped 20 years, creating a sound that has more in common with Kate Bush than Ronnie Spector and more Go-Go’s than Shangri-La’s. Their sophmore effort "Vulture" finds them mining more sophisticated & nuanced sonic territories - the opening track "V is for Vulture" sets the tone for the album, with its yearning throb that swells into a (literal) symphony of bittersweet horns & strings, and "Ma Cat" is a somber ode to a lady trucker, with vocalist/organist Maria Jenkins cooing o‘er it’s soothing melody.

It doesn’t end there; "Field Fire On Jordan Street" bops along like Nikki & the Corvettes, "Shapeshifter" boasts a Caribbean rhythm that would make Belafonte blush, & "Up & Down" careens toward oblivion with crashing drums & swelling organ trills. The first edition LP of 500 copies comes pressed on 150gm randomly mixed vinyl & includes a download code.

The anxiously awaited follow up to the Estrogen Highs excellent self-released 2011 album "Friends and Relatives" is finally here and let us be the first to say that if you aren’t already a fan of these guys, you are about to become one. After two LP's, one 12" EP, four 7-inches, and one cassette, the project that started as Stefan Christensen in 2007 playing and recording everything by himself has now fully jelled into a rock-solid, full-band quartet. "Irrelevant Future" synthesizes all of the bands best attributes into one hit packed, perfectly paced LP. It expounds on the the wiry (and Wire-y) DIY whiffs from previous releases, emphasizes the thinking mans punk of the Minutemen and all the while an under-current of Kiwi-jangle ebbs and flows. With all of this in mind Estrogen Highs thankfully don’t sacrifice the off-kilter weirdness that already established fans know and love. Songs like "Alchemy Contest" and "Status Quo (Oh No)" have a quirky melodic sensibility that plays off intricate guitar and bass lines. "Grass of Leaves" holds down the chugga-chugga punk angle while "They Told Me I Was Everything" meditates on Shakesperean betrayal - and just when you think you’ve got a handle on the record’s direction they hammer you with "Seventh Sunday of the Ordinary Times", a "ripper" if there ever was one in the band’s canon. The album’s closer "I Wanna Be Tall" is a measured leap forward, focusing the band’s strength’s into the first perfect pop song of 2012 ~ guaranteed to be stuck in your head for days! The first edition LP of 500 copies comes pressed on 150gm randomly mixed vinyl & includes a download code. CD is packaged in a LP-style slip-sleeve pocket!

RIYL: Tyvek, The Clean, Desperate Bicycles, Wire, The Chills

One of our absolute favorite bands is back with a killer new single! This two-songer is the perfect follow-up to their TiM debut LP from last March. All the elements are here that made their full-length so great; the guitar work, thumping bass and drums, great lyrics, and the same one-two, eff-you pop-punch. "I Will Change Your Mind" has singer/guitarist Josh Miller hitting some new highs not only in guitar riff-ery but hitting those vocal high notes like he is some kind of power-pop Rob Halford - it’s a real roller coaster of a tune, that takes the listener on a journey through the melodic vocabulary of folks like Roy Wood, Nick Lowe & Paul Collins without losing their own personal voice. The flip, "How To Keep A Straight Face" kicks open the door & stomps in with a killer riff & some down and dirty wah-wah action, before smartly swaying into a great laid back northern California-cool melodic feel not-unlike Boz Scaggs jamming with the Barracudas. A terrific teaser for what’s on the horizon from this trio!

What started off as a fun idea in 2010, has turned into an annual release for us at TiM headquarters - our annual Record Store Day 4-way covers split! For the uninitiated, each year, we ask four TiM artists to pick a song they love (any song) & record a cover version which we subsequently compile onto these limited releases, & this year is a DOOZY! Orange County heartthrob Mikal Cronin starts things off with a bang with his woozy, infectious cover of "I Enjoy Being A Boy", written by bubblegum songsmith Joey Levine & from the soundtrack of Sixties kiddie show The Banana Splits. Not to be outdone, Bloomington, IN’s Apache Dropout crack open a can full of bees with their sinister version of Harry Nilsson’s "Cuddly Toy". Flip this bad-boy over & you’ll be greeted by the warm embrace of The Paperhead’s take on "Stacey Grove", a Tyrannosaurus Rex deep cut from their debut album. We say "adieu" with a heady translation of The Troggs tune "Come Now" (literally translated into French as "Tu es à moi") fuzzed out to the max by The Limiñanas! Each copy comes pressed on white vinyl, is housed in a special METALLIC SEAFOAM edition of the Trouble In Mind factory sleeve, & is hand-numbered & strictly limited to 1000 copies for maximum collectibility! Buy now or pay later!

Not quite all grown up yet, Nashville wunderkinds The Paperhead return to Trouble In Mind with a single that shows that these boys are maturing musically by the hour. Not only have Ryan, Peter & Walker absolutely mastered their 8-track recording skills, with the A-Side, "Pictures Of Her Demise" they’ve honed in on a thrilling synthesis of their influences. From Pink Floyd to The (Dutch) Outsiders, or Q65 and The Golden Dawn, they’ve added a dash more dandy flair a’la Rainbow Ffolly or Jason Crest. "She Is Above Me" taps into some prime "moustache-era" Beatles, resting comfortably in a Strawberry Field while a lysergic carousel whirls around & drops tab after tab of "Blue Sunshine" on your tongue. All hyperbole aside, the arrangements are more intricate and these lads are continuing to be at the head of the class when it comes to the idea that psychedelic music isn’t always about indulgence - there is a simplicity and beauty in the careful construction of a song. The first edition of 500 copies is pressed on randomly mixed vinyl, includes a download code, & comes housed in a glossy, U.K. vintage-style pocket picture sleeve!

RIYL: Thee Oh Sees, The Beatles, White Fence, The Move, The Outsiders

Is it possible that the energy and genius created by the entire membership of The Hollies, The Move and The Who could be embodied in one guy living in Arizona? You just might start to believe it after giving this 7-inch a spin. Matt Rendon is the one man hit machine behind the Resonars, writing & recording every instrument & singing every note all by his lonesome. This 4-song EP (and the third installment in our "Solo Series") represents his first collection of new material in almost three years, after releases on Get Hip, Star Time & Burger Records, focusing his paisley-tinted vision with one ear in the past & his eyes on the future. These tracks hit the sweet-spot between the bittersweet harmonies you love about "Evolution" era Allan Clarke and Graham Nash with the triumphant guitar and off-the-chain drum fills of a "Who Sell Out"-era Pete Townshend and Keith Moon. You’ll be hooked from the first La’s of "Long Long Thoughts" till the last faded notes of "Stumbling On Stones." HOO BOY, you’re going to need a new needle after you get through with this one - sorry ‘bout that.

RIYL: The Hollies, The Who, The Move, Teenage Fanclub

Conceived and recorded as a sort of therapy to help cope with adjusting to life post-college, an insuing break-up and geographic isolation Mikal Cronin steps momentarily away from the rhythm section of Orange County surf-punk bashers The Moonhearts with his debut solo LP. Fans can take heart, this isn’t a “vanity project” or half-baked endeavor - Mikal’s solo debut is fully realized, cohesive and beautiful, with themes that are as personal as they are universal; questioning your future, accepting your past and living in the moment. Taking influences such as late sixties Del Shannon and The Everly Brothers and filtering them through his own mutant California fuzz, Mikal deftly explores his singer/songwriter side that at moments feels like a punk Harry Nilsson or Curt Boettcher that balances sweet melodies & chords with chunky, psychedelic guitar freak-outs. Don’t let the opening Beach Boys-ian harmonies of “Is It Alright?” fool you into thinking this record can be easily pinned down... with long-time friend & collaborator Ty Segall producing, Eric Bauer (Ty Segall, Royal Baths) running the tape machine and guests like John Dwyer of The Oh-Sees, you can be positive you’re in for something special. Once those guitars kick in, and you hit that first transcendent chorus, you’ll be hooked and anxiously awaiting what comes next.

Trouble In Mind - er, we mean TIM Records is proud to present this limited vinyl reissue of psych-wunderkinds The Paperhead's debut cassette! Before they dosed the world with their vinyl debut earlier this year, these three teenage journeymen were known as The Looking Glass, & honed their chops playing extended jam-sessions at house parties & shows in their hometown Nashville scene. Originally released as a limited cassette by Infinity Cat, this recording is a "further-out" trip - a bit more experimental & free than their s/t debut, but no-less engaging. Psych-pop nuggets are peppered in between & on top of extended sonic explorations, creating their own musical vision filtered through the prism of greats like Pink Floyd, Blossom Toes & The Soft Machine. This "bootleg" edition is a one-time pressing of 500 copies on mixed vinyl, hand-numbered & is brought to you by TIM Records (a division of Trouble In Mind Records, LLC).

RIYL: Soft Machine, Pink Floyd, Dungen, Parson Sound

Any number of bands cite 60’s Texas psych as an influence, but rarely does a group actually capture what made those bands special. Following their debut EP also on Trouble In Mind, The Night Beats have expanded on the bedroom immediacy of their first recordings to create an LP that perfectly captures and modernizes the hallucinogenic and exhilaratingly demonic aura of bands like The 13th Floor Elevators and Golden Dawn. With blazing guitar work and a razor sharp rhythm section Danny Lee Blackwell and company mutate conventional chords & progressions into a mind-blowing sonic sprawl. The record reels you in with 2-3 minute pop songs like ‘Ain’t Dumbo’ and ‘Dial 666', forging a landscape that then throws you into a chaotic journey of jams a’la ‘Dewayne’s Drone’ and ‘Little War in the Midwest’ that bend and meander but never overstay their welcome. Tune in, turn on, & drop that needle on this record! The first press of this LP is on randomly-mixed vinyl & includes a download code!

RIYL: Black Angels, Thee Oh Sees, 13th Floor Elevators, Electric Prunes

Wait, have the Wax Museums MATURED?!?!?! After a 3 year hiatus north TX’s lovable misfits (who share members with The Bad Sports and Mind Spiders) are back with a four-headed thirteen eyed monster of an album that while still slightly awkward, is undeniably focused and endearing.

‘Eye Times’ is a musical step forward with moments of glammy art-rockness that proves once and for all these clowns ain’t just one-joke jerks. ‘Mosquito Enormo’ swarms and stings with it’s way-out delay pedal induced chaos and ‘Bruiser’ proves the Wax Museums still just write killer punk anthems. The charming nerd-o aesthetic that was so prevalent on the early singles and first LP remain, but NOW with added sexual frustration, ‘Breakfast for Dinner’ just very well might be the Wax Museum’s “Me So Horny“… or something. The first press of this LP is on randomly-mixed vinyl & includes a download code!

RIYL: Bad Sports, Cheap Time, Icky Boyfriends, Dickies, Devo

Upon your first listen to this record you may think that you’ve stumbled onto some lost nugget from 1968. The Paperhead take their name from a lyric in July’s golden-age psychedelic single “My Clown” and while the record may have a vintage sound, it’s mind boggling to learn that it was written and recorded in the summer of 2010 by three 18 year old kids from Nashville, Tennessee. Neo-psych fans may hear a more ambitious ‘White Fence’ or a poppier ‘Spacemen 3’ while more classic minded listeners may recall ‘The Pretty Things’, their namesake ‘July’ or post-LSD ‘Beatles’. Before they all went their separate ways to start college Ryan Jennings and his closest childhood friends Walker Mimms and Peter Stringer-Hye holed up to record an album that combines all the orchestrated pop layers, eastern influence and groovy instrumentals of a classic British Psych record. With Cheap Time’s Jeffrey Novak as producer & “spritual advisor” these guy’s technical and songwriting abilities far outreach their young age, while still maintaining a sense of wonder about the world and a dash of charming naivete.

RIYL: White Fence, Black Angels, Pink Floyd, J.K. & Co, Kaleidoscope (U.K.)

For those of us who take our record collection maybe a little too seriously, it’s a comfort when a band just seems to get it. While there isn’t much left to be said about the current music scene in San Francisco (where The Wrong Words hail from) we like to think they have combined all of its best elements (power pop, punk and a dab of flower-psych) on this amazingly solid debut LP. Recorded by Greg Ashley of The Gris Gris and mastered by Mikey Young of Eddy Current Suppression Ring, The Wrong Words have been referred to as a “West Coast Gentleman Jesse”. While there is no denying the Californian influence, there is a midwestern blue collar pop feel as well a’la The Scruffs or more than a few tracks off of the Yellow Pills comp. This album has pop hooks galore, great lyrics and ripping guitar work.The Wrong Words take tried and true themes such as hating your day job and letting your girl down but put their own ‘catchy as hell’ spin on them. Stick it on the turntable, but be warned, it’s going to be there for a while.

“Sounding like the best moments of The Quick and maybe even a little Shoes thrown in...a vintage blast of power pop soul that's sunny with just the right dose of syrup on top.”
— Raven Sings the Blues

“You'll hear some of the touchstones (The Turtles, The Troggs) that citymates like Thee Oh Sees incorporate into their attack, but there's a crystalline melodic intuition that runs through the core...”
— Impose Magazine

RIYL: Gentleman Jesse, Jaill, XTC, Nick Lowe, Barracudas