Jimmy at the Prom
"Escape" b/w "Fist of Doom"
Gorp
7" 45-RPM single, colored vinyl in a picture sleeve

Put on yer tux, buy a corsage and…oh never mind. Forget renting a limo; Jimmy at the Prom is in the driver's seat and they've already taken care of the whole affair for you with "Escape," a woozy and slow-boiling number that channels what Alice in Chains might have sounded like had they been a '70s prog outfit. "Escape" is delightfully constructed in slow motion but "Fist of Doom" finds the band unshackled and headed skyward with soaring vocal and searing guitar, again with a prog feel. This brief taste from the Milwaukee-based four-piece will no doubt leave you hungry for more; this collectible is apparently the only vinyl the band has on offer but you can find more J@TP music at digital retailers. Chuck Garric from Alice Cooper's band produced these tunes. Official site.

Berhane aka Snoop Lion aka Snoop Dogg
"La La La"
Doggy Style
7" 45-RPM single, colored vinyl in a picture sleeve

Whoop, whoop; what's going on with Snoop? The rapper has reinvented himself as a Rastaman for his latest project, an album of reggae music called Reincarnated that he recorded under the alias Snoop Lion. Rasta elders, however, decided he should be called Berhane and so "La La La," a double A-side single from the album, is released under that moniker. Confused yet? One listen to the song will get you sorted as Snoop lays a smooth vocal over a classic laid back reggae groove while female background vocalists chirp out a chorus of, yes, la-la-las. Unlikely that Snoop has given up on rap but clearly he also excels as a reggae artist.

Digital single and Vinyl

Darren Deicide
"Bomb This Joint" b/w "Hudson River Hangover"
Ever Reviled
7" 45-RPM single

Deicide has a fondness for the blues and the attitude of a punk, causing "Bomb This Joint" to sound like something Joe Strummer might have written had he been raised in the Mississippi Delta. The stripped down song, just guitar, Deicide howling and a foot stomp rhythm, also recalls the blues the way Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper interpreted them. Darren mostly sets the punk leanings aside for "Hudson River Hangover" though, choosing instead a fairly straight bluesy vocal to accompany his eerie sounding acoustic finger picking.