Have you ever drifted asleep at the bottom of a dried up well, but when you woke up you realized that you’d actually been floating on a crude bamboo raft on a murky urban river, the bends and bows of which had deposited you on the beer-sticky parquet floor of the dive-est night club in your town?

When this does happen, Paul A. Rosales–performing under his own name or as Wonder Wheel–will be crafting a sonic wicker lounger upon which you will be tempted to dance and, eventually, melt.  Rosales’ sound is an excavated pop, stripped of it’s syrup and shine, leaving behind a lustre of echoing vocals that spiral around the fuzzy color wheel of lo-fi synths and beats that Rosales manipulates with the terrifying dexterity of an artist whose bodily extremities can materialize the nightmares and sex fantasies that lurk deep within in his–and our own–sub-conscious. Honing his chops through collaborations with R. Stevie Moore, Rosales cuts some bomber tracks.

See for yourself in this video for “Crimes”

“Crimes” is currently available as a 7inch single on Care in the Community Recordings. It’s also the first track on his debut full-length, Wonder Wheel I –a welcome addition to our summer indie rotation.

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Helloooooo, Robert Mapplethorpe.

Listening to a Scissor Sisters album is like getting into a car with a friend who, while being brash and exciting, might lack a tiny bit of common sense and doesn’t give a damn about it. Finally, after four years, countless scrapped songs, and a near dissolution of the band, we can go on more magical adventures with Jake Shears, Ana Matronic, Baby Daddy, and Del Marquis.

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“So after working for eight years I discovered at the end that nobody had ever paid my taxes and I owed a fortune. So then you have to leave the country. So I said fuck it, and left the country” -Mick Jagger

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Mr. Elk!

Elk’s “Honey Range EP” is a CD that for about a month, had fallen by the wayside. It was released only limitedly in the begining of December and I neglected to download it until I returned to this log cabin in January. Since I finally recovered it’s digital-only files, it’s been a non-stop play for me at home and on both of my radio shows (Cabinet of Curiosities bows down to it every week).

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Dadfag kills it

We love (a brand new “we love”): Dadfag. Yes, offensive. Yes, dirty dirty grimy thrashy and sexy. Dadfag’s newest record is called “Scenic Abuse” and was described as a mix of Sonic Youth, Lydia Lunch, and hardcore punk. Dear god I’m in love. Give it a listen here. Also, these guys are from San Francisco so if you need some more sweat in your life you can probably catch them live. You know. All the time.