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************************************************************************ SEWERS OF MARS 13 by James Jackson Toth

Having toured tirelessly and stupidly for many years, I played the unlikely hot spot of Columbia, Missouri no less than three times one summer. Don’t ask me how—logistically the cursed itinerary is still a mystery—but I can probably tell you why. The chance to play a gig with that city’s Jerusalem and the Starbaskets always made it a worthwhile and necessary stop. Basically a duo (although sometimes augmented by other members), Jerusalem and the Starbaskets play unfashionable, unpretentious and completely devastating pop music, and they're one of my all time favorite live bands. Criminally under-recorded up until now (with only a handful of impossibly rare cassettes and a split LP with Skarkraou Radio to their name), their brand new The Howling LP (Radio Fonico) is a great sampling of their unique vibe, sounding like the third Velvets LP played by The Terminals. Note the righteous guitar tone any stoner rock Chud would envy, and catchy, infectious tunes (with a recent emphasis on country melodies) that will stay in your head for weeks. Completely necessary and great. Album of the month! ************************************************************************

Jerusalem and the Starbaskets The Howling LP (Radio Fonico) Second effort for this uncanny lo-fi duo out of Columbia, MO, and it’s as good or even better than their first. There are certainly bands who play up a shitbox in-the-red recording as some sort of innovation, but there’s usually just some bar band picking away behind the wall of crud that, to some, divines art. Then there’s bands like this one, who embrace not only the sound, but the legacy behind it. As you may have read elsewhere, there’s a very distinct and inexplicable New Zealand pedigree to the sound of J&TSB (formally a Jeremy on guitar and a Kim on drums, with a handful of auxiliary members), picking the scabs off a well-worn sound to the point of torment but not stepping over that line. Lots of folky sing-along campfire ritual jammin’ like on “I and I Cannot Radiate With You Gone, Mama” and the solid “Sister Ray” monochord haze of “Everybody’s Dig Accounted For,” closing out the LP with a solid ten minutes or more of awareness in the key of F. Think the Renderers with more scuzz, or early Pavement sans their aloof presence, and you’re right where these two want you. Impeccably styled sounds of feeling and abundance from the heartland – grab a piece. 300 copies, going fast and worth it. (www.myspace.com/jerusalemandthestarbasket) -Doug Mosurock Dusted Features/Still Single: Vol. 4, No. 7 ................................................................................................................... "...this split lp by Jerusalem & The Starbaskets (b/w Skarekrauradio), a band who have seemingly looked to the constellations of the southern hemisphere & used bins around Columbia, Mo in search of similar inspiration & motivation... One thing you gotta understand when you attempt to chugalug is that the Velvet Underground is the life blood w/'Loaded' at the heart of it all. The other is that the 13th Floor Elevators (notably the 1st lp) function as the medulla oblongata...Believe me it's there...And their cover of Roky's 'Unforced Peace' would make even a seasoned sodbuster like Dwayne Zarakov rethink his retirement clause." -Roland Seward Woodbe, siltblog **************************************************************************** "An amazing split LP is to be had from Jerusalem and the Starbaskets and Skarekraouradio (Apop). J.A.T.S.B’s side is some kind of unholy union betwixt an early lost Pavement session and maybe if the Velvets did jam with the Modern Lovers. It’s almost that cool, but it stands alone. A boss meander that works wonders. Skarkouradio is a messed up amalgamation of free zap noise guitar and girls on LSD with nowhere to go except into the dungeon of your burning brain. Sweet stuff. Missouri and Illinois is where these nutrockers come from so dig it: this is some new killer American mung. Fugkin recommended." -bull tounge, arthur magazine......................................................................." Jerusalem and the Starbaskets play a very exuberant, saturated lo-fi half-natural take on early Flaming Lips and the first Neutral Milk Hotel, ebbing around a lazy, countrified vocal akin to Mike Nesmith on those early solo records. When they break into tear-in-the-beer Country Teasers style retardation on “Werewolf Picnic,” and early Pavement knock mode on “Unforced Peace,” I'm sort of flummoxed, these three youths of Columbia, MO traversing specific places with groundbreaking confidence and a smart-alecky laugh." -Doug Mosurak, Dusted Magazine