SC Distributon

When Jerry Fuchs joined Maserati in 2004, he initiated a complete overhaul of the group: old songs were dropped, tempos were drastically sped up, and the budding psych-rock impulses of guitarists Coley Dennis and Matt Cherry were given room to grow. Beginning with the electrifying inventions For The New Season, Maserati were a better, faster, stronger beast. That spirit shines bright on Maserati VII, their first album conceived since Fuchs' passing. Maserati has an uncanny ability to toggle time back and forth between the past, present, and future ? often in the span of one song. On Maserati VII, they're grounded and driven by new drummer Mike Albanese (Cinemechanica), whose dexterity and stamina prove a perfect fit for Maserati's trademark relentless, driving rhythms and epic song lengths, anchored by bass badass, Chris "Coach" McNeal. Maserati VII perfectly captures the essence and evolution of Maserati as face-melting, bone-rattling, ass-shaking Moroder Metal.

Recorded throughout 2009 and 2010, Pyramid of the Sun is the most dynamic, melodic and tuneful Maserati album of the band's decade-long career. Retaining the trademark driving momentum that makes the band's live shows so euphoric, Pyramid explores the lighter and darker sides of their sound, anchored by more melodic and varied song structures and exhilarating production. In other words, you'll not only bob your head and tap your feet, you'll also involuntarily find the tunes lodged in your brain. Mixed with Justin Van Der Volgen (!!!, Out Hud, TBD) and Temporary Residence founder Jeremy deVine (Sonna), Pyramid includes two collaborations with friend and tourmate Steve Moore (Zombi) in the form of? the Cluster-meets- Jan Hammer scorcher "They'll No More Suffer From Thirst" and the synth-heavy dance epic "Oaxaca". Closing the album is the bittersweet "Bye M'Friend, Goodbye," a motorik summer punk jam that splits the difference between Wipers and Neu!; it also carries the bittersweet distinction of being one of the band's finest songs, and the final track written and recorded with their legendary drummer Jerry Fuchs, who tragically passed away during the making of this album. Pyramid of the Sun assures Maserati their rightful place in the pantheon of rock bands who have not just painted outside the lines, but painted them over completely with a vibrant array of colors that glow in the darkness of long overnight drives and early morning after-after parties.

In anticipation of their long-awaited new album coming in 2010, Athens, GA's premier (or maybe only) psych-dance-rock-etc stalwarts collect their rare and out-of-print vinyl tracks from the past couple years onto CD for the first time. Featuring all four tracks from their blink-and-it's-gone limited-edition split LP with Zombi, as well as their remix LP (featuring The DFA's Tim Goldsworthy and !!!'s Justin Van Der Volgen), Passages is augmented with two previously unreleased tracks ? the Moog-fueled meditative trance of Steve Moore's "Monoliths" remix, and the positively sublime emotional heft of "Do You Hear The Nightbirds Calling?", all remastered from the original master tapes and packaged with eye-popping new artwork. Also included on the Enhanced CD are two brilliant videos for "Inventions (Live)" and "This Is A Sight We Had One Day On The High Mountain."

Last year Georgia's Maserati ended a four-year absence with Inventions For The New Season, a delirious soundtrack for late-night cityscapes and never-ending car chases. The first album featuring new drummer Jerry Fuchs (LCD Soundsystem, !!!, The Juan Maclean), Inventions quite literally reinvented Maserati as a motorik psych-rock band with a disco ball for a kick drum. It makes sense, then, that Maserati have commissioned a pair of remixes by two producers most likely to shove their songs onto the dancefloor feet-first.

Side A finds Thee Loving Hand (Tim Goldsworthy of The DFA, Hercules and Love Affair) stripping "The World Outside" to almost nothing, reimagining it as a vintage European disco track from the ground up. Starting with a steady, far-off kick drum and a rogue, in-your-face hi hat, the song's seemingly disparate parts eventually lock into the kind of dirty disco that has made Goldsworthy a club legend.

Equally club-friendly, !!!'s Justin Van Der Volgen brushes away the grit of the original "Inventions" and painstakingly buffs it to a shine as slick as black ice. The side-long trance mix maintains the sweaty atmosphere of the original, but removes the top-down drive in favor of a midnight jog.

Strictly limited to a one-time pressing of 1,000 copies, Inventions Remixes is both an addendum to the successful reboot of Inventions For The New Season, as well as a testament to the broad spectrum of influences that flow in and out of Maserati's music.

Much has changed in the four years since Maserati's last release. In that time, the band's sound has evolved so significantly that only shades of the reverb and delay-drenched guitars resemble their previous output. The rhythm section has been overhauled, with Gerhardt Fuchs (!!!, Turing Machine, LCD Soundsystem, The Juan Maclean) replacing Phil Horan on drums. The result is Inventions For The New Season, a bloodshot, 3AM soundtrack to a Michael Mann movie that hasn't happened yet; a sweaty, delirious mix of mid-to-late 70s Pink Floyd, German psych-rock, Krautrock, and mid-80s action film scores. Produced by longtime friend Andy Baker in his Athens, GA home studio, Inventions drags the glory years of psychedelic arena rock kicking and screaming into the 21st Century, with the pomposity (and vocals) carefully removed. The mix is pushed firmly in the red, giving the songs a white-knuckled energy that ? coupled with the ethereal guitar theatrics ? puts one foot on the dance floor and the other on the ocean floor.