From the Bottom of the Record Box

New Year 2022 is fast approaching and our traditional "best of" playlist is back — bigger, noisier, faster, more. Dive right in. That's the end of Season IV folks. Join us in April 2022 for more musical meanderings with Richard, Tobin and Jamie.

Christmas 2021 is officially upon us. And we are in a better place than this time last year, so let's party god damn it! like it's 1999. On today's Christmas 2021 Special please do join us for the best in alternative festive music and some idle chat. No big Christmas hits here, clear off Cliff Richard as we welcome artists as diverse as Christopher Lee, Asmodeus, Aloe Blacc, John Fahey and Sabaton amongst others. And to boot we are joined by may friends of the show all wishing you a very Merry Christmas.

We hear from Ben (Wolf City), The Black Armadillos, Wesley Bennett and Jacob Campbell plus many other friends and collaborators. So turn off that radio and tune in to From The Bottom Of The Record Box for a Christmas 2021 music playlist like no other. You'll also learn Jamie's secret formula for the best mince pie ever, our favourite Christmas tipple plus there's a quiz question or two.

Psykidelic Oven Mit return to the show with their new EP which is released on gorgeous transparent red vinyl and CD - yes, we have both! We have played Psykidelic Oven Mit before on the show — way back in February 2020. We played and discussed Staring Into The Sun from their debut LP Ghost Machine. Richard was lucky enough to be have given the pre-release CD of that LP (which he has since passed on to Ben from Wolf City). Whilst at an in-store event at X-records (Janus Stark) Richard stumbled across Ghost Machine on Vinyl. So yes, it was added to his collection. He was delighted to find it on coloured vinyl.

Further to that Frank and the boys from Psykidelic Oven Mit — ever generous — furnished us with their new EP on vinyl and CD, plus a copy of Ghost Machine on cassette. Add to that various bumper stickers and fridge magnets and you get the picture. Spooky Action At A Distance (their new EP) is a collection of rough mixes and demos recorded mainly through the COVID lockdowns of 2020. Well, the first three of four tracks are anyhow. Room With A View is the final of four tracks on the EP and is a demo from early 2019. It all comes beautifully presented in a full colour jacket featuring artwork by Rick Tyner. To cap it all, the record has been mastered by Greg Reierson (The Cure, Micky Dolenz, Grant Hart).

Tochiro is a project by a dude from Pennsylvania who felt sad and is still sad but at least he doesn't drink anymore. Furthermore, his debut 5 track EP The Age of Rock 'n' Roll Death has landed. It is limited to a run of 50 cassettes and you can buy your copy here. The cassette release of the EP also comes with an exclusive commentary about the recording. Jacob Campbell (guitars, vox, bass) and Danielle J Gallardo (drums) make up this band with an uncompromising and difficult to pin down sound.

Ethereal, Swedish-born multi instrumentalist joins us this week with her hauntingly beautiful ballad Black Mist. Ethereal has since formed an alliance and now records and gigs under the name Ethereal & The Elevated. During the UK's second lockdown Ethereal continued mainly as a solo project again although decided to keep the name & The Elevated as well for guest appearances and collaborations.

Then in April 2021 a Mancunian gentleman by the name of Ant O'Donnell was seeking a female vocalist for the song that would later become Mesmerize me and the rest is history. Ethereal is very proud to share the work that they have done together with absolutely no funding and only their own experience and knowledge in music production and their mutual love for trip hop.

Wesley Bennett joins us on today's show with a live performance from Saint Peter's Church together with pianist and cellist. It's a stunning performance, full of emotion and truth with a smattering of heartbreak. Having spoken to Wesley he mentioned that he was actually quite nervous about performing some of these songs because of that raw emotion. His fear was that an audience wasn't yet ready to be exposed to something laid so excrutiatingly bare. Without doubt though, it was clearly a massive success. And as Richard points out… "Wesley has grown up."

The Zipheads hailing from Jamie's home town of St Albans provide us with the rarest of beats - a cover that is way better than the original. Their take on a musical staple is both energetic and raucous without losing the sentiment of the original. In fact, in a post Dickensian world the sentiment carries even more weight. We've got two belters from The Zipheads and lots more information and links so please read on.

It's a wonderful return to form from show favourites, Philadelphia's very own Godcaster. There's a new album in the wings which leaves Richard evidently salivating. Jamie's on board too. And, when paired with West Yorkshire three piece The Lodger and their kitchen sink classic Bewildered even Tobin is convinced. Speaking of whom, he unwittingly sparks a vox-off between Brent Cowles and The James Hunter Six. Looks like Brent is edging into first place.

And then there's The Bins. What a fantastic and original concept this is. Tobin will tell you more, and there's talk of a bookend in the next few weeks from The Bins. So until next week, when we'll welcome the return of Wesley Bennett and Jack Hubbell, dive right in and enjoy.

Thai Elephant Orchestra provide you with a listening experience quite different from anything we've ever played on the show before. You can learn more about this engaging project later on in these show notes. Richard has gone down the vinyl rabbit hole again and snapped up their only vinyl release on RSD2. That should tell you how good these "boys" are. Do we have a gender breakdown on the band? Interesting question.

The bad news is, however, that you're going to have to listen to Richard railing on The Puppini Sisters before you get there. Jive, swing-based covers just aren't his thing it would seem. Cue a bulging email inbox full of complaints about him. There is hope though. Jamie brings the beyond excellent Wet Leg to the show as well as Black Pistol Fire. There's also Tobin's Bahamas and authentic glam rock from Sheffield-based The Voltz. It's frothy man (thanks Richie!).

The Black Armadillos are a rock duo from Genoa, Italy. The band was formed in 2019 by vocalist/guitarist Santo Castagnaro and drummer Maurizio Nuzzi. With sounds heaped in fuzz and reverb it's reminiscent of garage rock revival bands like The Black Keys and The White Stripes. Secondly, there are bigger influences at work here like Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin.

The Black Armadillos have released a self-titled 8 track LP to wax and here at Record Box HQ we are very much looking forward to it landing in our crates. The lyrics are written in English (the language of rock 'n' roll if Wolf City is to be believed) and are predominantly about everyday life, dreamlike experiences, love, money etc. The sound is strong and highly processed to compensate for the lack of bass player.

Snowglobe give us cause to question whether you need to be writing and performing garage rock to make it in Memphis. And the answer would appear to be "no". We spin five tracks in all in today's show from their 2 albums. Our Land Brains was Snowglobe's debut LP released on Nine Mile Records and is beautifully produced and features a completely blank side D. Followed up by the brilliant Doing The Distance which was never pressed to vinyl. Until now that is. Black and Wyatt Records of Memphis, Tennessee have now released this excellent LP on wax.

Both Snowglobe albums are interspersed with dainty little musical diversions that far from being filler, are sweet moments in themselves. Horns, glockenspiels, keys and the usual guitar suspects weave a tender web of uplifting music. There is certainly a little of the Elephant 6 Collective to be heard on both recordings. However, we find Snowglobe's music to be less avant grade than their stablemates.

Notable tracks include Adrenalin Mother, Baby and Medium. It is a refreshing sound that comes from these releases and a welcome change to most of the mass produced and manufactured sound that gets fed to the masses. We only hope that Snowglobe attract the interest and recognition they richly deserve, and of course we want another LP!