If the Velvet Underground were to take a dark depressing trip down a rabbit hole, then they might end up sounding like Royal Baths. However, Royal Baths have risen from said hole and bring with it an aggressive edge that keeps their tunes from being anything but melancholy. Their recent offering, Litanies, came out on the New York Label Woodsist late last year and has been generating headlines. A lengthy listen is recommended, as it is one of those rare gems that stand heavily on not one song, nor two, but the complete set.

CHAD MITCHELL

Jane Jane Pollock... a tasty sticky candy coated Thai dried fish treat. We practice in the country in a tin-roof playhouse trailer while our cats listen outside. Three gents and two ladyfolk, we play cooking pots, pianos, higher brass, some winds, banjo, samplers, bent toy keyboards, acoustic guitar, drums, ukulele, lap harp, whistlings, harmonium, melodica, tambourine, bass guitar, wandering genie organ, and mouths.