Alabama:

Wizzard Sleeve

CITY: Alabama
SONG TO DOWNLOAD:

CITY: Mobile
SONGS THAT GOT US: "Pterodactyl Meltdown," "Setting Fire to Your Loft"
MYSPACE ADDRESS: myspace.com/wizzardsleeve
RECORD LABEL: HoZac Records

WHY THEM?: Amid the quatrillion fake-ass psych trend-jumpers, it’s rare to find a band that truly revels in actual sonic scuzz: not merely content to bang on an ironically cheap guitar run through a pedal, but to cake its entire sound in thick grime. Listening to a track from Mobile’s finest on an actual phonographic player would likely require a wipedown of our needle afterward, with each track dragging the record player arm through a trough of mud that will eventually glop off the side. Frontman Captain Beyonce leads the group through track after track where guitars, keyboard, drums, and vocals all manage to sound unclean without coming across as pandering to any older styles — all while tromping on the listener with nihilistic brain-melting dirt rock.

BONUS BIT! Captain Beyonce and Co. have almost tired of explaining that their band name precedes the 2006 Sascha Baron Cohen film Borat — even if the joke is the same.