Seattle's long-running shoegazers Snail were one of the bands that never saw their share of the spotlight when their town blew up. [Tad Doyle feels your pain, Snail.] They broke up in the Nineties, got back together in the Naughts and have released an album every few years since then. Their latest, Feral, is a fuzzed out marriage between shoegaze and stoner rock. The giant mushrooms on the album cover spell out both the band's sound and how it's meant to be enjoyed. [$10]
Like the great Sergio Leone, My Home On Trees are Italians with a thing for the desert. On How I Reached Home, the Milanese band sink their teeth into Kyuss' laconic desert groove and won't let go, with vocalist Laura Mancini doing a pretty good approximation of John Garcia's soulful pipes. A new take on the spaghetti western. [€7]
If the lack of vocals on Earth and Pelican albums was ever an issue, Old Man Lizard has you covered. Their new self-titled album keeps the ominous heft (and twang) of Earth's best albums, and adds some Neurosis-styled yelling. Even if the field they're playing in is overcrowded, this is a smart and somewhat unique album. [€7]
Minnesota's Low are slowcore pioneers - just don't tell them that. Ones and Sixes grafts the dual voices of Alan Spearhawk and Mimi Parker over sparse beats and simple guitar work, making the band's trademark minimalism sound expansive and overpowering. The band says it best on the opening track: Careful, measured, tortured, stable. A new high for Low. [$10]
