It’s difficult to describe the encapsulating power behind Ham1. The Athens-based band’s latest album, Let’s Go On And On And On With Ham 1, is perhaps most engrossing release in their half-decade career. “It’s Only A Dream Unto Itself” is one of the album’s top tracks, molding together a unique array of rock, folk, country and psychedelic for a sound that hints of wide influences from local friends Dark Meat, to the grunge master J. Mascis himself, to the epic genius John Cale.

“It’s Only A Dream Unto Itself” is a gritty rock song with a hint of the south with an almost southern drawl, a hint of psychedelic experimentation thanks to minor forays into oblivion on guitar (remnant, in my opinion in the too-short-lived Royal City), and full-on great songwriting.

Let’s Go On And On And On With Ham1 is available now from Orange Twin Records.

Download: “It’s Only A Dream Unto Itself” by Ham1

Elf Power is one of the great leftovers from the epic Elephant 6 collective — you know, bands like Of Montreal, Neutral Milk Hotel, Essex Green, Beulah, and Apples In Stereo to drop a few names. On their tenth — yes, tenth! — studio album, they go the self-titled route. But don’t think that safe move has lessened any of their creativity as it absolutely has not. Elf Power begins strong with “The Taking Under” and it refuses to quit impressing through the last song.

Contrary to some, I found Back To The Web to be one of the band’s greatest works. I’ve spent many hours obsessing over “Come Lie Down With Me”, “King Of The Earth” and “Somewhere Down The River”. They have remained favorites and have been mainstays on my playlist since the album’s release.

The purpose for this side banter is that I can see many songs off Elf Power following suit. The opener, of course, and the first single “Stranger In The Window”. “Ghost Of John” has a unique time signature and a clever melody while “The Concrete And The Walls” has a wicked guitar riff that repeats behind the vocals.

Elf Power is a band you should know. Period. They’ve worked with some of the most cherished artists of today and yesterday, from E6 alums Kevin Barnes (Of Montreal) and Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel), to the ever amazing (and recently deceased) Vic Chesnutt. Elf Power comes out September 14 on Orange Twin Records.

Download: “Stranger In The Window” by Elf Power

Orange Twin Records [CD, 2010]

1. The Taking Under
2. Wander Through
3. Stranger In The Window
4. Like A Cannonball
5. Boots Of Lead
6. Spidereggs
7. Ghost Of John
8. The Concrete And The Walls
9. Goldmine In The Sun
10. Tiny Insects
11. Little Black Holes
12. Little Hand
13. Spiral Stairs

Madeline Adams from Orange Twin Records stopped by Department Of Safety in Anacortes during the summer of 2008. With some local artists and a few well-known names, she recorded with them what would become Tour EP, a collection of six songs previously available only via a CD-R sold while on the road. It now gets proper release via Orange Twin on vinyl 7″. The songs feature Clyde Peterson from Your Heart Breaks and Karl Blau. Other staples dropped by to lend expertise, including Mount Eerie/Microphones master Phil Elverum and Gus Franklin of Architecture In Helsinki.

What’s surprising about Tour EP is how amazing the songs are, from opening track “Boy You Love To Make Me Cry” to the orchestral romp “I Waited All Day”. Tour EP blends the lo-fi genius of K Records with the post-Elephant 6 brilliance that populates Orange Twin. “I Waited All Day” leads into the exceptional slow duet “Unbind These Roots” featuring Your Heart Breaks. The EP concludes with the haunting “Post To Wire”, performed by Madeline and Blau.

You don’t typically see a collection of tunes as powerful as these on a mere tour EP, which is likely why Orange Twin is giving it a full release on March 4.

Madeline: I Waited All Day [mp3]

Orange Twin Records [7" EP, 2010]

1. Boy You Love To Watch Me Cry by Madeline
2. Holding On by Your Heart Breaks
3. I Waited All Day by Madeline
4. Unbind These Roots by Your Heart Breaks
5. You’ll Never Know by Madeline
6. Post To Wire by Richmond Fontaine performed by Madeline and Karl Blau

My God… just how long have I had The Captain’s Table by Ham1 (MySpace) in my promo pile!? (That question warrants the exclamation point due to the excessive time it has spent there.) Let’s see, the album hit in November of 2007. You’ll likely need to subtract a few months due to the standard promo time. And yeah, that means I’ve had it for damn close to a year. And there’s simply no excuse—the album is quite decent.

I didn’t like the contrast of the blue on the TV screen and the orange of the wall; the album cover wasn’t aesthetically pleasing to my ocular sense, and that unfortunately led to the album finding a more and more comfortable home on my ever-growing rack of promo albums in need of a listen.

But the audible sense is the opposite—it’s quite pleasing. Songs like “Hare Lipped Bust” and “Moonie” have elements of power pop and rock. Then they toss in western-y guitar riffs and give select tracks a surf-rock feel, like in the mostly instrumental “Saluki”. But much of the album finds Ham1 playing space-y ballads.

In the harder, more rockin’ tunes, the vocals tend to have a sizable rasp, which carries through lightly to the ballads that make up the middle of the album. I’ve included “Hare Lipped Bust” below. It’s one of Ham1’s rock-based tracks, and my favorite on last year’s The Captain’s Table, available on Orange Twin Records (a label that enjoys a few beloved Elephant 6 leftovers).

Ham1: Hare Lipped Bust [mp3]

I love the spacey guitars and mellow, harmony vocals on The Instruments’ “Sounds Electric”. But, even moreso, I love the consistent, repetitive percussion; it is the percussion that, in my opinion, makes this a great song.

There’s plenty of skill here. The Instruments include names like Heather McIntosh, whose E6 background in groups like Elf Power and Japancakes can be heard throughout The Instruments’ third release, Dark Småland, out now on Orange Twin Records.

In fact, McIntosh recruits a few of her old label cohorts—most notably, Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel—for inclusion on the album. Despite the hefty emphasis on E6, not enough can be said of drummer Eric Harris’ percussion skills or guitarist Derek Almstead’s engineering abilities (he runs Pixel Studios).

The Instruments’ style of pop is very melodic and soothing. It’s beautifully crafted folk-pop for fans of Eno and Elephant 6, though “First Signs” has Stereolab written all over it.

The Instruments: Sounds Electric [mp3]