Successful Retro

I am just listening to the debut album of the Allah-Las. An album that sounds like it was recorded in the 1960s. Psychedelic garage rock with tunes. Very much like I always imagined the Nuggets compilation to be. But it wasn't, most of it was deceiving and very average guitar rock without any interest to me. More chaff than wheat. The Allah-LLas on the other hand seem to succeed in condensating the best of the 1960s underground rock. What are your examples of new music from today that apes older stuff but actually sounds as good or even better?

Here is their single Tell Me What's on Your Mind:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYTj7pnEF8I

Damn dog that allah las is ok but there are so many better songs on any nuggets box set

I dunno they don't seem that different than lots of in the red records axis stuff

the dap-tones

mike delinquent

Zombi

Lansing-Dreiden. The way they mix glam, art rock and psychedelia is absolutely stunning but it always sounds as if it had been done before. There is always this "but I have heard this before" feeling when listening to their stuff. but it doesn't matter, on the contrary it gives their music even more credibility.

I always felt like Bobby Conn really had the 70s glam/funk/west coast sound really down, particularly through the arrangements on "The Golden Age".

the people's temple, to a degree

there's at least one track on that record that would not raise an eyebrow on 'out of the bachs'

That Allah-Las song, Tell Me What's On Your Mind, was decent, but at best I'd give it a 7/10. The drum sound isn't exactly right, and there are loads of things from the 60s that are quite similar yet super superior. Haven't heard anything else by them, though.

I'll nominate Naz Nomad & the Nightmares, and 80s project posing as a 1967 horror film soundtrack of garage psych tunes, by what was essentially the Damned in disguise. Most of the songs, save a couple, are covers, and they do a pretty great job of selecting and performing them. Dave Vanian has the perfect voice for this kind of sound and the whole thing works really well.

What do people reckon of Alabama Shakes? I've become somewhat anti-retro in music in recent years but I thought I'd give it a go. My g/f really liked it and asked for it for Christmas; my jury's still out, but I think it's the fact it's so obviously retro-styled that I'm put off, rather than anything to do with the music so in that respect I feel like I'm being a bit unfair to it.

the dukes of the stratosphere kind of set the benchmark for successful retro didn't they ?

The Stairs did a similar thing in the early 90s - recording in mono, claiming to be "going back to the early 69s and work forwards from there to see where it all went wrong" (a paraphrase from one of their interviews that I remember), and generally acting like they should have been signed to Pye in 1965. "Weed bus" and "Woman gone and done me wrong" are all I remember, but it seemed in the same area.

Early 60s, not early 69s. Sorry.

the dukes of the stratosphere kind of set the benchmark for successful retro didn't they ?

― mark e, Tuesday, December 11, 2012 6:15 AM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This is OTM, although they seemed to dial it back (production-wise, especially) on Psonic Psunspot. But the sound of 25 O'Clock is eerily perfect.

shimmering stars
http://shimmeringstars.bandcamp.com/

the young sinclairs
http://theyoungsinclairs.bandcamp.com

The drum sound isn't exactly right
to be honest i don't really care about a perfect clone of something. that would be super boring. the allah-las song just has this great melody, it is very relaxed and reminds me just of another time. i also love the psychedelic guitar sound. btw the singer makes me think of mick jagger. and the whole album is more or less like this, flowing nicely without hardly any filler.