Soce
The Lemonade Incident
www.GreatHipHop.com
Out east-coast hip-hop homo and lyricist extraordinaire Soce delivers another solid set of great groovers for the homo-hop set with witty takes on everything from getting laid to not getting laid and everything in between. Unapologetic and with great music to back it all he weaves amusing and clever diatribes worthy of the clubs. My picks: “I Am (So Gay),” “SD (Sucking D***),” “Stagnancy,” “Work/Play (Bar Mitzvah remix),” “Bad Hair Day” featuring Sandra Grace, “Robotics” and four fantastic untitled bonus tracks two of which could be great videos.

Liquorette
When You Work I Sleep
www.Parasol.com
Liquorette’s only offering from 1998 is re-released for those that need an injection of sultry white noise sonic riffs layered in boozy lyrics and melancholic grunge. Pleading lyrics drift through a wall of garage rock licks and bruises. My picks: “Don’t Quit Your Job Joan,” “I Work In A Mall,” “Oh Sheila,” “Gum Sharers,” “Look Around,” “Margaret Los,” “Vic Frith,” “Light Bulb,” “Santa Claus,” “Prancer And Daner” and “What Is Purchased Is What Is Pure And Chaste.”

Munk presents
Gomma Gang 3
www.Gomma.de
Funking out somewhere between punk, disco and electronica land is the two guys of Germany’s Munk slipping slurpy beats with blessed vocals and a punky aesthetic to flow nicely including underground remixes, club hits and unreleased songs from the last few years. My picks: Munk’s “Disco Clown (Midnight Mike remix),” Who Made Who’s “Space for rent,” “Satisfaction” and “Space Fore Rent (Dirt Crew Remix),” Hiltmeyer Inc.’s “Chefsong” and “Final Ahh (Nicky remix),” Midnight Mike’s “Hot In The Kitchen,” Munk & Chloe’s “Ce Kul (Francisco remix),” Rammelzee’s “Cheesy Lipstick” and Munk & James Murphy’s “Kick Out The Chairs (WMW version).”

Sleepless In Seattle: The Birth Of Grunge
www.LiveWire-
Recordings.net
Coming up on the 20th anniversary of the Seattle grunge movement is Sleepless In Seattle: The Birth Of Grunge honoring the groundwork of garage rockers and queercore musicians who paved a way for those who later became multi-platinum artists including Nirvana. Witness quirky rockers, messy walls of moving sound, reverb-a-rama and feedback galore perfect for stage diving and thrashing around the floor in an epileptic fit. My picks: Blackout’s “Happy Hunting Ground,” U-Men’s “Solid Action,” Babes In Toyland’s “He’s My Thing,” Tad’s “Giant Killer,” The Gits’ “Second Skin,” Hammerbox’s “Trip” and 7 Year Bitch’s “The Scratch.”

Audio Bullys
Generation
www.AudioBully.co.uk
Schooled in classic pop and old-school hip-hop is London’s Audio Bully’s culling the classic touchstones of great dancefloor hooks and spicy lyrics to throw down cosmic, punked electro dance beats and jungle-ish dance hits. Think remixed Fatboy Slim with more bravado and funkiness. My picks: “Shot You Down” featuring Nancy Sinatra, “Bring Light,” “Generation,” “I Won’t Let You Down,” “Eq-ing,” “Made Like That,” “All Sing Along,” “I’m In Love,” “If You Want My Love” and “Rock Till I’m Rollin’.”

Latrice
Illuminate
www.LatricaBarnett.com
Gig alert! Latrice serves soul food at her release party Feb. 7 at SF’s Duplex. You might recognize Latrice Barnett as the lead singer from San Francisco’s neo-soul Five Point Plan or even New Orleans’ funk group Galatic. The singer/songwriter and studio musician also has toured extensively as well but now lands her own debut release of RnB-tinged soulful house grooving the blessings on all. Well-produced groovers will be popping up all over the dancefloor and look too for live appearances as she does seem to travel quite a bit. My picks: “Illuminate,” “Make My Heart,” “Love Is,” “Lessons Learned,” “Déjà vu,” “Bless This House,” “Spirits,” “Pleasures Unlimited” and “My Endless Way.”

Irving
Death In The Garden, Blood On The Flowers
www.ThebandIrving.com
Gig alert! Irving steps off the spaceship and has a good relationship talk Feb. 11 at SF’s The Hemlock. Consistently lovely indie rocksters Irving deliver a full helping of worthy songs for the life and soul. Psychedelic folk rock undertones with deceptively relaxed vocals slip big ideas into your brain while your feet become fully engaged in their own dance. My picks: “The Gentle Preservation Of Children’s Minds,” “She’s Not Shy,” “Jen, Nothing Matters To Me,” “I’ll Write The Song You Sing For Me,” “The Longest Day In The Afternoon,” “I Want To Love You In My Room,” “Care, I Don’t Care,” “Lovely, Just Like Her,” “Hard To Breathe” and “The Look Of Flowers That Are Looked At.”

Twin AKA King Cobra
ROI!!
www.TheKingCobra.net
Kick-ass chick punksters King Cobra release a cute “hand-numbered limited edition mini three” CD w/ hand letter-pressed cover and include a bonus temporary tattoo!” Punk’s DIY credo has never sounded better as they plow through three rockers “Malefic,” “E.M.E.R.G.E.N.C.Y” and “Beneath Between Behind” all guaranteed to stimulate your nerves and disenfranchise the powerful.

Brazilian Lounge
www.Putumayo.com
Gig alert! Brazilian lounge artist Luca Mundaca and DJs hold a full-press lounge CD release party Feb. 4  at SF’s Supperclub. Uber-lounging with Putumayo is nearly addictive as they prove again with the latest in the lounge series exploring Brazil’s world influence on music culture. Liner notes in several languages including song lyrics will get you up to speed while all your cares slip away. My picks: Mundo Livre S/A’s “Meu Esquema,” Luca Mundaca’s “Ha Dias,” Bossacucanova’s “Previsao” featuring Adriana Calcanhotto, Marcos Valle’s “Agua De Coco,” Bia’s “Mariana,” BiD’s “E Depois” featuring Seu Jorge, Dois Irmaos’ “Como Vou Fazer (Remix)’ featuring Mariana De Moraes and Marcela’s “Os Grilos.”
Sacred Ground: A Tribute To Mother Earth
www.SilverWave.com
Awards show alert! Grammy-nominated Sacred Ground: A Tribute To Mother Earth is up for Best Native American Music for this year’s Grammy Awards. Bay Area based Katahdin productions stunning compilation presents contemporary Native American music artists in a call to action. Great soul-stirring compositions invoke timeless people to “save the environment,” according to Katahdin president Lisa Thomas. “Life and our planet are precious and we need to regard it in a sacred way.” My picks: Star Nayea, Primeaux & Mike’s “Mountain Song,” Bill Miller’s “Spirit Wind,” Joanne Shanandoah’s “Seeking Light,” Little Wolf Band’s “Raven” and “Prayers In The Wind,” Primeaux & Mike and David Carson’s “Let Us Dance: Song Of The Elders” and Walela & Joanna Shanandoah’s “Mother Earth.”

William Orbit
Hello Waveforms
www.WilliamOrbit.com
Grammy Award-winning writer/mixer/producer William Orbit launches a new solo album of sonic blissed-out electronica beats with funky undercurrents and angelic vocals. Total ambient chill-vibe with a snuggly hidden agenda perfect for starting off or ending your day. Think love scenes on your favorite dramatic shows when you get swept away in the kiss. My picks: “You Know Too Much About Flying Saucers,” “Spiral” featuring the Sugebabes and Kenna on vocals, “Who Owns The Octopus?” featuring Finley Quaye on acoustic guitar and Laurie Mayer on vocals, “Fragmosia” and “They Live In The Sky.”

The Ebb And Flow
Time To Echolocate
www.TheEbbAndFlow.com
Gig alert! The Ebb And Flow wash up Feb. 16th at SF’s Bottom of The Hill. Sonic garage rockers with lyrical gymnasts flying big ideas through your ears with clever pixies drilling in from the side while you’re distracted. Best be careful. From “See You In The Fjords,” “When we robbed your house I took the living room I took just what I needed Bruno took the basement and the bedroom he looked under your sheets he made a mess…” My picks: “Sonorous A) Time To Echolocate B) Ear Of The Other,” “Framer Framed,” “Interlude,” “See You In The Fjords,” “Country Verses” and “Sweet Southern Harmony” including the hidden Doors-like part.

Elbow
Leaders Of The Free World
www.Elbow.co.uk
Maybe it’s the shared weather that helps me appreciate San Francisco and London on equal footing. Perfect at night for clubbing and the moonlight is ideal for trolling in parks, then the morning is actually better when the fog has to burn off. Elbow gristles under that emotional weather – sunny, overcast, distant, learning. Emo rock with introspective lyrics and strong verse seeping into our lives like a great statue in a lovely park on a cloudy day. From “My Very Best,” “Give that girl my very best / Though it never made the grade / When it seems that it’s just not enough to love / Then love lie down / And would you tell her / Not to talk as if I died / Though a tiny part just did / And would you tell her / I’m from a long line of survivors / And I’ll be swinging with the kids”. My picks: “Station Approach,” “Mexican Standoff,” “My Very Best” and “Great Expectations.”