HMNR has heavy, early Gun Club action going here, but that’s a sound with a lot of life in it anyway, especially if deployed by the kind of band that will play anywhere the cops can’t catch them. They love that sex beat—actually, it’s closer to the beat on “For the Love of Ivy” and they tear into it on a lot of these songs.

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It’s like an alternate-reality Beck, the kind who’d prefer L. Ron Hubbard’s sci-fi to his self-help. He’s critical, yet warm—in “I’ve Got a Flare for Setting Fires,” he even stops his chorus mid-stream, changing “nothing to say” to “wait … everything to say!” It feels good to say that, despite all the talented kids screaming on the floor of Mime School, some of the best music around is made by an old loner in his Long Beach bedroom.

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Foam on the Waves of Space-Time… is as complex as its title suggests; it’s a gentle exploration of classically-informed ambient electronics, warped beats, drone minimalism, and astral jazz, with hints of early Aphex Twin and Squarepusher seeping in quietly.

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Two cool-cloudy-creepy songs that come from the secret side of the 60s—the kind of songs they bootleg cuz no reputable company cares to be aware, from the kind of bands who come and go in the space of one weird lonely howl. Greg Shaw once said this kind of thing was bottomless, and I agree—it’s music that goes down forever, and Allah-Las don’t mind a night dive, so here we are.

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Jeremiah Jae’s spirit curls up when he listens to radio rap. It’s an involuntary reaction not to the style but the substance—the auto-tuned odes to anatomy, the excess in every possible sense. His Rappayamatantra EP isn’t a response to that overindulgence; rather, it’s an expression of otherness, a pseudo-rap statement meant to connect his mostly instrumental DXNCE EP and his upcoming full-length Raw Money Raps.

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Sound collagist and Leaving Records label head Matthewdavid brings lush organic textures, warned samples of field recordings, and carefully manipulated hazy beats to his first Brainfeeder EP. These sounds are comforting like yuk.’s warm wilderness in A D W A; Matthewdavid too captures the lo-fi ambient calm of the natural world and the feeling of getting lost in it.

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Sound of the Police is the most mind-blowing live record I’ve heard in a while. Cut Chemist comes correct with one turntable, one mixer, one big old loop pedal (a Boss RC-50 for the gearheads), a lot of vinyl and an overwhelming amount of creativity. He weaves scratchy, generally unheard of LPs and 45s from South America and Africa into new fresh sounds.

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If Awaken! is a peek into the psyche of band mastermind Jesse Rakusin, then the inside of his head must be a hazy and oddly comfortable place. Firmly rooted in lo-fi psych and smoky bedroom blues, the eponymous full-length finds Rakusin attempting otherworldly heights equipped only with a 4-track.

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I’m wrapped up in the idea of Emily Lacy and her comforting voice, and the strange, beautiful ways she pronounces words. “Take” turns me into little particles, the ghost of reverb following behind her elongated vowels and pinched syllables.

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As a rule I prefer demos and practice recordings to slick studio finishes, but Hot Tropics may be the exception. This brilliant work showcases the Growlers in their fullest stride, like fancy new boots that make you feel mature and confident.

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