Stoner HiVe’s Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Week…

 

 

Stoner HiVe’s
Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Week…


Midland
James LaBrie
Michael Schenker Group
Rodeo
The Black Keys
Smoke
Gnome
Last Fuzz
Besvärjelsen
Blue Heron

Rodeo – Moira

 

 

Rodeo – Moira
Sixteentimes Music – 2022
Rock, Stoner, Desert
Rated: ****

We thank that awesome Carson album for discovering Moira by Rodeo. Cause it is out on the same Swiss Sixteentimes Music label. Which as it turns out has been releasing some damn fine music for quite a few years. No Mute, Midnight Deadbeats, Slap Guru, Walross, Bronco and many more. But we’re here now, to talk about Moira by Rodeo. Rodeo will probably be the only stonerrock band that in the whole wide world that sings in Euskara, the language from the Basque part of Spain. On their third full-sized album the four give us fast paced stoner rock and high energy, intensely gritty desert rock. Not every track moves into stoner or desert rock territory; but all of it has that sundried edge, that sandy feeling and that rough and dirty atmosphere. Full on riffs and a maximum amount of groove! It’s time for a Rodeo!

(Written by JK)

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The Black Keys – Dropout Boogie

 

The Black Keys – Dropout Boogie
Easy Eye / Nonesuch – 2022
Rock, Garage, Blues
Rated: ****

We haven’t mentioned a lot of the albums released by The Black Keys, but Brothers made it to the Number 19 of the second edition of the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown, back in 2010. And henceforth we mentioned El Camino the year after. After that we failed to mention three releases before the new record Dropout Boogie immediately boogied into our hearts. Last year’s Delta Kream was that full on country blues, that Mississippi Hill, those swampy sweaty roots, and this year’s Dropout Boogie takes all that, makes it go boom and makes you want to dance. It seems to reference all those old origins as much as it refers to their older records. Especially those two albums we mentioned; and it all sounds so righteous, suave, and cool. Less gritty perhaps and whole heaps of oxygen to making everything sound spacious and wide. And then they have Billy F. Gibbons join them on a guitar once owned by Mississippi Fred McDowell, which he immediately plugged in and started playing along with that Good Love track, feeling it, feeling it up, making it Dropout Boogie legendary.

(Written by JK)

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Gypsybyrd – Visions

 

 

Gypsybyrd – Visions
Self-released / Kozmik Artifactz – 2022
Psychedelic/Doom/Stoner
Rated: *****

Jake W. Lewis (Burn Ritual/King Earth) ethralled us all back in 2020 with his debut as Gypsybyrd: six hazy, languid pools of shimmering Doom-tinged Psychedelia that had the pundits raving! Gypsybyrd returns now with the sophomore album Visions and the trademark fuzziness and soporific, swirling ambiences are all there, only this time emboldened by both craft and encouragement. Opener (and first single) "Crimson Earth" automatically resumes where Gypsybyrd left off...a rumbling, yet serene riffer that draws the ear and sparks the attention. Next track "Born Of Electricity" opens on stabs of Hammond and heavy power chords before settling into a mid-paced groove, Jake's shrill vocals providing a vehicle of trippy lyrics to flavor the punch. Bluesy riffs are the order of the day on "Fly With Me" - Sabbathian, yet unmistakably Gypsybyrd in it's delivery and ambience - the organ swells and guitar work weaving hypnotic patterns and emotions. A snaking bassline ushers in "The Frog" - another languid, ponderous piece brimming with echo and atmosphere, complete with understated but apropos guitar before developing into a Funk-filled Santana - like groove towards the end. It's all systems normal on track 4, "A Soul On Fire": more slow, heavy riffage with presence and intent. A heavy bassline introduces the fuzz-smeared trudge of "Captive By Your Choices", whilst "Earth Meets The Sun" provides an ambient atmosphere of bass and sonic architecture, but as with all of Gypsybyrd's music, is dreamy and ethereal. The closing track "Travel The Universe" is built on a solid Doom riff, echoing voices and fuzz-laden guitar fueling a heavy, heavy monster tune with spaced-out guitar solo, bass drones and that Vox AC40 swirl doing the business throughout. Visions is an album of immense pleasure to recline and listen to. It takes the listener off to journeys unforeseen, wrapped in a loving cloak of Lysergia and skill.

(Written by Reek of STOOM)

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Stoner HiVe’s Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Week…

 Stoner HiVe’s
Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Week…


The Soft Eggs
Cave In
Soul Glo
Red Sun Atacama
Rodeo
RedWhore
Sabotør
Great Rift
The Smile
Anvil

Great Rift – Utopia

 

 

Great Rift – Utopia
StoneFree Records / Self released – 2022
Rock, Psych, Stoner, Doom, Seventies, Blues
Rated: *****

We all love the heavy stuff, and we all love to play all of that heavy rock loud. But sometimes, an album NEEDS to be played loud, and when you do, it all surrounds, encompasses and ensnares you even more. Utopia by Great Rift is such an album. The Austrian quartet take us on a journey through space to a planet named Utopia, which is actually meant as a metaphor for a journey inward and an encouragement to reflect on oneself. And even though there are some spacious elements, the album is steeped in the classic rock from the seventies and honors those blues roots. Which they use to produce a psychedelic and stoner rock exploration of the universe and microcosm, as well as the tonal disparity between guitars and certain progressive elements. Which in turn gives it all a more modern edge. Every instrument gets its time to shine, thanks to the air in the production and certain moments in the spotlight. Majestic basswork and royal drums take the entire sound of every song to an incredibly profuse level of fatness. Fatness as in thick, large and huge! The six tracks on the album work as a cast iron structure of massive heavy rock, a Utopia for all us heavy rock loving fiends… Who love to play stuff loud!

(Written by JK)

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Crobot – Feel This

 

 

Crobot – Feel This
Mascot – 2022
Rock, Hard, Stoner, Southern, Seventies, Metal
Rated: *****

Crobot. Our much-loved Crobot. Remember 2012, when Legend Of The Spaceborn Killer came out? Followed by the Something Supernatural album, featuring that single once again in 2014. After which came Welcome To Fat City in 2016 and then Motherbrain in 2019. Interspersed by singles, EP’s, of which Rat Child was the latest. We loved them all! And now there is a fifth, full-sized Crobot banger called Feel This! On it we hear the band we all love so dearly do what we want them to do, bring you that classic rock, hardrock and stoner mixture, with a seventies approach, superb vocals and a furious edge, to rev you up and get you crazy. This time however moving more into southern rock regions and metal territories. Highly dynamic and bursting with conviction, the twelve tracks of Feel This are extremely infectious and fun. Feel This will undoubtedly put a smile on your face and a spring in your step. It sounds like a band that has found the exact sound they want to take with them into the future without forgetting to sound like that band they were in the past. Impressive, willful and incredibly cool. That’sCrobot alright!

(Written by JK)

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Geezer – Stoned Blues Machine

 

 

Geezer – Stoned Blues Machine
Heavy Psych Sounds – 2022
Rock, Stoner, Metal, Blues, Hardrock, Seventies
Rated: *****

As a member of the Pat Harrington Appreciation Society, PHAS for short, our heart jumped with joy when we saw the new Geezer promo for Stoned Blues Machine come in, on yes, of course, 4-20. And let’s immediately cut to the chase, Stoned Blues Machine is simply put stunning, swinging, and stoned to the core. And sounds like a continuation or better yet distillation of Groovy from 2020. And we all dug that album! I sure as hell did! And what do you get when you distill the groove, when you break down that laidback stoner blues, that bounce and that pounce. Well, you get a colossal sound that aims for the universal nod on a massive scale. Whether they inflict some righteous social commentary on you or profess they’re natural born pot smokers, it’s all got that hip, far-our, funky, to cool for school feeling that will have you moving your head in unison with that almighty beat. Of set perhaps by that finale on the final track The Diamond Rain Of Saturn, which sees them explode into space, into kool-aid territory, before grounding again and crashing the machine in a pile of ringing shimmering gems. Leaving you with the feeling that this incarnation of Pat Harrington’s Geezer is exactly how they should sound; and that this Stoned Blues Machine has been created to search for the perfect groove and the perfect stoned out boogie. And that, as it turns out, is exactly what they found!

(ps. And today is the official release!)

(ps2. Awesome artwork by Ryan T. Hancock once again!)

(Written by JK)

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Cave In – Heavy Pendulum

 

 

Cave In – Heavy Pendulum
Relapse – 2022
Metal, Sludge, Stoner, Hardcore
Rated: ****

Formed in 1995, American metalcore formation Cave In has seen quite a few members come and go; as is often the case with all music outfits. But the incarnation featuring bassist and vocalist Caleb Scofield seemed to be the version of Cave In that would be in it for the long haul. Unfortunately, tragedy struck and he had fatal car accident back in 2018. The already recorded songs were finished and released as the Final Transmission album in 2019, which could have been the swan song for the grief-stricken band. But with the drafting of Nate Newton the band has found a way to move forward. And forward they go on Heavy Pendulum. Heavy, harsh, and full of unbridled aggression the album sees only a few moments of cessation. A few moments where the listener might take a breath of air and enjoy that small ray of sunlight. Title track Heavy Pendulum is one of those moments; slower, calmer, and melodic it might be viewed as one of those tracks that sets an album apart. Cause for the most part the album is a hardcore, mothersludge approach to metal that will flatten everything in its path…  

(Written by JK)

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Sabotør – Skyggekæmper

 

 

Sabotør – Skyggekæmper
HQ REC/Pudsige Herrer Musik Aps – 2022
Rock, Garage, Stoner, Pop, Punk
Rated: ****

I learned much from my wild nights in Copenhagen, but can only remember how to say ‘Rub A Duck’ in Danish. Which is a bummer, cause I would have loved to hear the exact lyrics of the new Robot album by Danish trio Sabotør. But even if I have no clue what they actually sing about, the spirited vocals still rev me up, gets me up and make me want to jump on the barricades! Or at least dance my little furry ass off! The title of their new album Skyggekæmper; had me thinking it meant something like ‘mock fight’ or ‘shadow fight’, which, it turns out, isn’t completely far from the truth. Cause we learned it means ‘Shadow Giant’ but could also be read as ‘Shadow Boxing’. And when reading part of the press-release or better yet the Sabotør, ‘mission statement’ I wished even harder I remembered more: “Life is hard. It has always been so. Today most Europeans go through life embedded in technology with an abundance of necessities, but this abundance creates new problems. In the 2020’s technology, media and the state conspire to brainwash us into acting and thinking in certain ways that are perceived as beneficial to society and capitalism. This process often leaves us feeling exploited, empty and alone. The terror of being different and excluded is greater than ever before.” Right on! But hey, we can also simply just enjoy their music, for the highly pop sensible, danceable rock has a punk feel, stoner and garage influences, but can perhaps be best qualified as off beat disco stoner to go absolutely bonkers to! Electrifying! It’s sexy and full of nasty and gyrating gritty riffs. There seem to be not limit to the groovy stompy beats and defiant party atmosphere! Look out, dangerous nights ahead! Fuck! Skyggekæmper is simply orgasmatronic! Gnide en and!

(ps. And in a dream world, they would go tour the world together with Jimmy Glitschy… A man can dream…)

(Written by JK)

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Red Sun Atacama – Darwin

 

Red Sun Atacama – Darwin
Mrs. Red Sound – 2022
Stoner, Garage, Desert, Punk, Rock, Fuzz, Psych
Rated: *****

Praised be the Parisians that have been rocking out under the moniker Red Sun Atacama since 2015! And praise be Darwin, their newest album! Even though the release date is still almost a month away, we could not help but immediately jog down a few words of praise about the six tracks featured on this slab of heavy gold. Cause we already mentioned that so incredibly many great promos arrived in the past weeks and months; well… This is one of those records that immediately grabbed us by the throat as well! If Brant Bjork was here we would tell him that this is some true desert punk. Inspired by not only the Californian desert, but also the mystical magic from the South American ocean of sand, the six tracks on their new Darwin album have this furious and angular edge to it all; turning riffs into choppy and bouncy propellants. And it all starts so lovely, laidback, and classic with that one-minute opening intro 11-CH. But as it shifts gear into the eight-minute following second track Furies, the drums slowly but steadily preparing you for what will surely be arriving soon, the riffs circling, building it all even more into a hotbed of anticipation… And then… The release! Here we go! Kamikaze! Let’s attack! Let’s go! With psychedelic touches, mostly used for a moment or respite and to make what comes next even more volatile and dangerous, and yes, a whole lot of fuzz the Red Sun Atacama three have delivered one of those legendary records that will surely turn everybody’s head and turn everybody on. And, well, make everyone go crazy! For Darwin is explosive, wild, stunning, and extremely addictive! Can’t wait to see these cats live; it will be a night for straight legged tackles! (As a buddy of mine would say…)

(Written by JK)

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Greenbeard – Variant

 

 

Greenbeard – Variant
Sailor Records – 2022
Rock, Classic, Stoner, Blues, Desert, Hard
Rated: *****

The promo album arrived somewhere in March and immediately upon spinning Variant; we could not get over the fact that the vocals often shared the same color as Chris Goss and that there were these definite musical moments, mystical melodies that reminded of Goss’s Masters Of Reality as well. Second track Burns Like Basketweave being the pinnacle in that. And it turned Variant immediately into a household favorite and a much-played record. Variant is the classic and blues-tinged heavy rock, stoner infused album by Austin, Texas quartet Greenbeard. And indeed, it’s not just simply that… For the way they implore all the different heavy rock elements make them move ever more away from the trodden path and into a wild, strange and definite desert and alchemic rock adventure. And in the way the album dares to dive into the wind and take a look behind the veil of existence makes it even more reminiscent of Masters Of Reality. And then there’s more, more in the way of a saxophone, in soulful gospel breakdowns, in the width of every composition and the warmth of the production. Variant can easily and instantly be recognized as an amazing album and one that will ring on for a very long time to come…

(Written by JK)

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Jon Spencer & The Hitmakers – Spencer Gets It Lit

 

Jon Spencer & The Hitmakers – Spencer Gets It Lit
Bronze Rat / PIAS
Garage, Alternative, Rock, Punk, Blues
Rated: ***

Pussy Galore, Boss Hog, Heavy Trash and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion have all come, get us lit, kicked some ass and gone. Gone… The way of the knife wielding dancing dodo… Errr, anyway, back in 2018 maestro Jon Spencer brought out an album under his own name and we had the honor to interview the king trashcan kicker. And now he’s back with a new outfit called Jon Spencer & The Hitmakers and an album called Spencer Gets It Lit. Garage punk for the now people! Which is basically the same outfit he used for that solo record, with addition of Pussy Galore and Sonic Youth drummer Bob Bert, which means good news for all those lovers of noisy and trashy garage rock! And for all of those who want their nights to get weird and good taste to fly out the window whenever the weather is hot! Whenever the summer hits the city! Whenever the thirst for wild nights, copious amounts of dubious quality alcohol and horrible junk gets too big! And it's all here...  That dying Farfisa, begging to be put out of its misery! Those rusty screwdriver riffs penetrating every orifice of your tiny little body! The abundance of filth distilled to the most economically foul few minutes that every track might last.  Spencer Gets It Lit burns the candle at every end you can imagine and gets away with it. This is the junk man!

(Written by JK)

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Stoner HiVe’s Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Week…

 

 

Stoner HiVe’s
Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Week…

Britof
Fatima
Sludgebucket
Gnome
The Gathering
Carson
Greenbeard
Ufo över Lappland
Jon Spencer & The Hitmakers
All Them Witches

Carson – The Wilful Pursuit Of Ignorance

 

 

Carson – The Wilful Pursuit Of Ignorance
Sixteentimes Music – 2022
Rock, Stoner, Sludge, Grunge
Rated: *****

There were so many great expected releases that arrived in April. Such an unbelievable amount of awesome heavy rock. Stöner, Ufomammut, Greenbeard, Steak, Alunah, Somali Yacht Club, Helms Alee, Ealdor Bealu, Geezer and we could actually keep this list going for quite some time. Insanity! But Carson came out of nowhere for me; even though somewhere in those dark recesses of the mind their 2017 release Drown The Witness still lingered. But what a grand surprise this new album is! And logically it entered high on the April Doom Charts! Just check out opener Dirty Dream Maker; and its massive mother sludge approach to stoner rock and you will know what we mean. It was also an eye opener to all that great music that their label Sixteentimes Music release and al lot of other Swiss bands doing great things. But for now, we will stick to trying to come to grips with The Wilful Pursuit Of Ignorance. For the trio that hails from both New Zealand and Switzerland have delivered eight wild tracks that beg to be devoured over and over again. Whether it’s the vocals that draw you in, the pop sensible melodies or that hefty sludgy edge, Carson brings it all in absolute golden form! Indeed, we’ve got a new very favorite band!

(Written by JK)

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Silver Gallery – Head Will Roll

 

 

Silver Gallery – Head Will Roll
Cursed Monk Records – 2022
Metal, Doom, Sludge, Stoner
Rated: ***

Marseille, France is home today for the soccer game between Feyenoord and Olympic Marseille in the Conference League second leg of the semi-final. But it is always home to Silver Gallery; a four-piece doom sludge band formed somewhere around 2002. The initial tone sets the scene, paints the picture and it is one of doom, glood, murder and cannibalism. For the seven tracks on their new album Head Will Roll functions as a sort of sonic crime documentary detailing the exploits of Issei Sagawa, also known as Pang or The Kobe Cannibal. A man of extreme passion, a hungry man; a Japanese murderer who did all sorts of cannibalistic rituals with his victim back in 1981. Truly disgusting and sickening; and the four from Silver Gallery have matched that with some growling doom and bleak sludge metal. With some punk and noise influences to top this all off; it will surely spark the imagination of some, and of course, we know, imagination can open any door – turn the key and let terror walk right in…

(Written by JK)

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Demonauta – Low Melodies About Chaos

 

 

Demonauta – Low Melodies About Chaos
Self released – 2022
Rock, Stoner, Fuzz, Psych, Doom
Rated: *****

Are you in dire need for something extremely fuzzy? Want to get hit by an almighty groove? Those sandy riffs; that sun bleached sound straight out of the Chilean wastelands? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Demonauta’s new release Low Melodies About Chaos has it all and more! You will surely be transported to the Demonauta wasteland domain by all that doom proggy brilliance! And did we mention it’s Chilean? That damn awesome country that has been delivering brilliant heavy rock album after brilliant heavy rock album. Well, Low Melodies About Chaos, is yet another one of those albums. Opener Tinto will grab you with its bluesy groove and swing and the eight tracks that follow will not let go! Deservedly placed at Number 6 of the April Doom Charts; it could easily have reached higher… For it is a stunning album!

(Written by JK)

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Steak – Acute Mania

 

 

Steak – Acute Mania
Ripple Music – 2022
Rock, Alternative, Stoner, Desert
Rated: *****

Steak’s new album Acute Mania is a righteous tour de force. Which might start off straightforward, easy and simple, but even then you feel this new album will become something larger than all of the records they produced before. For some strange and possible insane reason, you immediately feel the tracks will build and there’s an arc present underneath it all and that you will only be able to truly stand back and appreciate all you’ve heard when those final tones of the final track die away…  Cause, sure, we mentioned Corned Beef Colossus back in 2013 and Slab City in 2014, but Acute Mania is of a complete higher order. A higher and extremely dynamic order; in the overreaching arc of the album but also in every single track. Making more use of the width, length and air to let it all breathe. Just go back to opening track Wolves when you’re finished and listen minutely to the sparse, yet with golden thread written arrangements, the seemingly easy transitions into bridges, choruses and the way it all floats and lets so much of it just ‘hang’… Exquisite!  They were a good, tasty, meaty, and fun band before. But with Acute Mania, Steak turns into premium class, high grade, with the very best of marbling, Japanese Kobe beef. Which, as it happens, will go great with their album cover, the Mad Lord Samurai of 100 Deaths movie they provided the music for and that wild Steak Comic book. I’m gonna stand back now and truly appreciate the magnitude of Acute Mania…

(Written by JK)

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Inche Kai Che – Inche Kai Che

 

 

Inche Kai Che – Inche Kai Che
Self released – 2022
Rock, Stoner
Rated: ****

A hectic weekend with a rush assignment and the April Doom Charts had to go up! But luckily there was a certain region in the world where we could go to get away from it all. In our heads and hearts that is... For yes… There is a time and a place for everything! And this month’s time and place on the Doom Charts, is CHILE! Many bands from that majestic country have been delivering awesome albums for a while; but it almost seems like they decided to release another one all at the same time… The stoner force is big there! And on the self-titled release by Inche Kai Che we are treated to the stoner in full force; with old blues roots, psychedelic meandering and a gritty filthy fuzz sauce that just oozes off all those fat sounds… Intense, tight and exceptional! And then there's also a dreamy desert track like '48 Horas Sin Dormir', which is sure to make your go into a hallucinatory daze.. And this is only their debut after having been playing together for a year or two… Wow! And that artwork! Man, look at that cover art…

(Written by JK)

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The Doom Chart For April 2022

 

 

Doom Charts

“The bigger, the better… In Everything”

Freddy Mercury

Festival season is upon us! Finally! Oh, how we missed all those live shows… Which means many of the Contributors are out of bounce and bouncing hard to all those heavy tunes everywhere! Don’t worry, they all delivered their votes; but perhaps the blurbs are written by a lot of the same cats this month. It happens… But it happens exactly on the month that the Doom Charts crazies did something crazy once again… Indeed, we’ve extended the list to 40. There are multiple reasons to do so. But… We weren’t sure if we should. I mean, we could just post the total list of 299 albums that received votes this month. But then, that would defeat the purpose of the chart, we reckon. No, the main reason is the fact that the amount of albums released on a monthly basis, continues to grow and the sheer brilliance of many of those albums continue to shock and awe. Not so long ago albums could easily carry over a month. Or even two… You know, Lore by ELDER made the list three months in a row. This does not happen anymore, NOT because the albums aren’t that good, but because there are more and more albums THAT good. The amount of voters might also have something to do with that or perhaps that some promos are sometimes a bit too much ahead of the actual release date… Anyway… We’ve extended the list by ten… Should we keep it that way? Or go back to thirty? Let us know… O’ and let us know which albums you dug the most! Cause it might just be our next favorite album as well! Check’m out! Check’m all out!

Oh no! The fuzz might fracture your nose! It's the all new April Doom Charts!This time around; with 40 amazing albums listed!

Personal votes went out to: Greenbeard, Alunah, Steak Band CARSON, Somali Yacht Club, Blues Weiser, Geezer MESSA and Helms Alee!

But we sure as hell could have voted for each and everyone of those magnificent albums on this list! Check'm out! Check'm all out!

 

Welcome to Doom Charts, representing some of the finest bloggers, journalists, radio, podcasters and reviewers from the heavy underground around the globe.  Each month, our critics submit their picks for the best new doom, sludge, metal, stoner, psychedelic and heavy rock albums.  The results are compiled and tabulated into the chart below.  This is a one-stop shop for the best new albums in the world…

THE DOOM CHARTS FOR APRIL 2022 !

Stoner HiVe’s Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Week…

 

Stoner HiVe’s
Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Week…

Carson
Sleeping Child
Greenbeard
Oh Hiroshima
Blues Weiser
Greenseeker
Helms Alee
Ealdor Bealu
Ribbons of Euphoria
Stereochrome