Altered Zones

Tucker Rountree can shred. You may not know from it from listening to Total Slacker, but the lanky golden-hair has serious guitar chops, as you can see him soloing next to renowned guitarist Eric Johnson. But here, Rountree takes jangly, pop-infused chords over sweeping hammer-ons and scales. On their debut full-length, THRASHIN, the band trades their lo-fi beginnings heard "Crystal Necklace" and previous seven-inches, and puts a slightly glossier spin on their Transformer-esque melodies. Album-opener "Psychic Mesa" seethes with crunchy guitar and eerie lyrics about hippies, farmers, and other strange characters who gain magic powers from an alien burial site. --Ryan Ellis, Weekly Tape Deck

MP3: Total Slacker: "Psychic Mesa"

THRASHIN will be released on September 26th via Marshall Teller Records.

New Yorkers: International Tapes is teaming up with Prince Rama, The Present, and Total Slacker to bring you a night you'll never forget. The event will take place in the city of dreams: Manhattan. Lots of movies have been shot on location there-- Goodfellas, Wall Street, Gremlins 2: The New Batch-- and they're all really good. Have you seen Prince Rama lately? They just finished recording their second album for Paw Tracks and have a new set that rips even harder than before; their lineup has been whittled down to just sisters Nimai and Taraka Larson. Frequenters of the local DIY scene have probably seen Total Slacker bring the prog-jazz shred before-- those of you who were at Shea Stadium show awhile back, where frontman Tucker Rountree lit his guitar on fire, know what kind of antics to expect. But perhaps the most special performance this Saturday night could come from Animal Collective producer Rusty Santos and his project called The Present, with Jesse Lee of Gang Gang Dance on drums. And to top it all off, DJ International Tapes (plus surprise guests) will be pressing play all night long. You cannot miss this. --Ric Leichtung, International Tapes

MP3: Prince Rama: "Lightening Fossil"

MP3: Total Slacker: "Crystal Necklace"

MP3: Juanito: "'90s Hip House Mega Mix"

RSVP on Facebook, get your tickets here