Here I go again. I'm about to launch another band 'gush' torrent so climb into your wetsuits, or, at the very least, leave a towel or two nearby. But before I get into that, let me say thanks for the emails on the Classic Masterpieces that I put up last post. It was fun doing it, and I hope that it shed a bit of light on Argus, an album that I feel is too unknown. There are tons more out there, and with some of your help, we can bring them to light for others to research and check out. It's never too late. And now:

A few years back, I stumbled onto a band that hails from Canada, Vancouver to be exact. Headed up by Stephen McBean, and rounded out by a fine group of musicians including the super voice of female vocalist, Amber Webber, Black Mountain has created some of the finest "stoner," psychedelic, FM-styled AOR music this side of the millennium. But you'd think you'd found a wormhole to the '70s when music like this was everything to most people. That's Black Mountain. And they're about to release studio album number 3.

They began their classic sound with the release of their Self-Titled album in 2005 on Indiana-based indie label, Jagjaguwar Records. It contained eight tracks (plus a bonus cut making nine) of highly listenable material. Amongst them are "classic" tunes like "Druganaut," "Don't Run Our Hearts Around," and "Heart of Snow." And those are just my very favorites from that album. Really, "No Satisfaction" and the rest of the album really hit it out of the park. With varied styles just like you remember from the '70s (a touch of Country, a bit 'o Jazz, and lots of great Rock), the album is complete.

They followed it up in 2008 with the equally great, although progressively improved, In The Future. Ths album contain some memorable music that immediately jumps out with the opener, "Stormy High," a song that maintains that "stoner" Rock appeal. It's followed by other "classics" like "Angels," "Wucan," the heavy pounding Rock of "Tyrants," and six other tracks you can hang your memory on. Truth is, you'll likely be revisiting these two albums quite frequently.

A few days ago, I was informed that album number three is expected on September 14 (US/CN), and September 13 (UK). The album is to be called Wilderness Heart and is actively preceded by an already available single that the band has gifted to fans for free. The song, "Old Fangs" goes a long way in letting fans know that they are in for more metal and folk (and everything else the band infuses their music with). You can get that track by visiting this link and providing your email address (it's totally worth it, believe me). The album is produced by the man who has produced Wolfmother so you get an idea of what Black Mountain is going after.

I'm hoping that you'll at least check out what you may not have already heard by visiting the sites that I'll provide you shortly. For fans of late '60s and early '70s Rock, you will not be sorry as Black Mountain pokes right into the vein. It's a heavy dose of Rock and Roll, metallized and stylized.

Just tryin' real hard to bring you the best!

Black Mountain Website

One of my favorite NYC bands, Dead Heart Bloom, is releasing a 'song by song' collection of their archival tracks in a digital Summer series called Alt Takes, Live Songs, Unreleased Tracks. The releases will continue until the release of their new album, Strange Waves, which is expected in August of this year.

The set is started with the release of "Must I," an outtake from their In Chains EP sessions. The songs will release every 1-2 weeks until their new album is delivered. Who knows, they might even extend it. It's a very cool idea from a very good band.

Get started here.

And while you're at it, they have their studio albums available for free download. You can also purchase their physical CDs at very reasonable rates. Enjoy Dead Heart Bloom.

I want to alert TAP readers to the fact that I have finally put together a FaceBook fan page that you can access and join by clicking on the badge below.  What this offers is the exact same thing as my Twitter feeds provide and that is first buzz on upcoming releases and free offered downloads, many announcements  that beat our main post, sometimes by days.  We also provide a Google BUZZ page that expands on most of the Twitter/FB feeds. On Buzz, you can even hear the music stream if a stream is offered.  There are still things that I'm working on in the FB page, like calender notes as well as links to great sites like The Second Disc.  I invite you to join us at our FB page and bookmark it.  Visit it daily and you'll be rewarded with much news and info.  Of course, you'll still want to come to the main MusicTAP page for our noisy commentaries.  Remember, with our Twitter feeds, you can elect to receive the news bursts as text on your mobile phone keeping you effortlessly up to date with stuff.  Lots of choices.  Find one, or two, that fits.

MusicTAP

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Laurie Anderson's latest, Homeland, arrives on June 22 as a CD/DVD Deluxe Edition.

Island Records plan to release a 10" vinyl single from Brandon Flowers (The Killers) of "Crossfire/On The Floor," scheduling for July 13.

On August 3, Time/Life will release Sacred Songs by George Jones.

Dream Records will release NY2LA by Press Play on August 24.

Sire Records will release I'm Alive, I'm Dreaming by The Ready Set on July 13.

Legacy label, Decca Records has 20th Anniversary featuring The Three Tenors planned for CD on August 10.

Sanctuary Records will release a DD of Michelle: The Pye Anthology by The Overlanders on June 29.

And for those that love the thought of Christmas quite early in the year (yes, here they come folks) there are Metal Xmas (Various Artists) coming on August 10, Compadre Christmas (Various Artists) arriving on October 5, and Holiday Volume 2 (Various Artists) planned for October 5.