T.I.T.S are four ladies from San Francisco known singularly as Kim West, Abbey Kerins, Mary Elizabeth Yarbrough and Wendy Farina. Their name is a "revolving" acronym, with one of the finer ones being Technicolor Inner Troll Syndrome. The quartet ply their trade in a kind of witchy, experimental doom-laden pop, which could easily evoke reminiscences as diverse as Sabbath, The Shop Assistants, Boris, or Christian Death with some Terry Riley/Eno repetition added for good measure.

The T.I.T.S sound is underpinned by Mary Elizabeth's tumbling darkened bass lines and Wendy's totally animal drum pound. Abbey's guitar lays down the acerbic riff, while Kim's emits a subtly oscillating sheet of feedback. Over the top, all four harmonise with a kind of semi-operatic, fantasy whisper. The effect is this inexplicable feel of time-travelling castle metal - of four ladies of the lake casting forth a single Excalibur, sinking it into stone so deep, no Arthur shall ever wield it.

'SECOND BASE'

Void

UTR024 | LP | 9 tracks, 32 mins | 30 Mar 2009 | Buy

'Second Base' is the band's sophomore release, following on from their split album debut with Leopard Leg. It's an album that draws similarly from metal and doom, but in which individual songs are stripped down to an icy core. Chanted vocals, sparse, jarring guitars and a drum-centric focus all lend to a compelling sense of drama and impending ruin. Tracks like "Childs" and "Octopus" certainly show how the band's sound has moved on from their first record, not afraid to push the songs to the end of the road and into oblivion.

There's also a greater use of cyclical narratives both in the group vocals and song structures shown best with "Void", which seems to draw on a compulsion to unlock the hypnotic and instinctual. Songs move into and out of chaos, regimented rhythms collapsing into squally feedback like a '60s freakout taken to almost parodic extremes. 'Second Base' is a remarkable record that scales mountains and breaks cages. It's hard to imagine 'Third Base' getting more serious.

'THROUGHOUT THE AGES'

Strong Arms | Math

UTR004 | Double gatefold LP | 8 tracks, 70 mins | 14 Aug 2006 | Buy

'Throughout the Ages' is an album that draws from metal and doom, but in which individual songs are stripped down to an icy core. Chanted vocals, sparse, jarring guitars and a drum-centric focus all lend to a compelling sense of drama and impending ruin. Songs move into and out of chaos, regimented rhythms collapsing into squally feedback like a '60s freakout taken to almost parodic extremes. And through this caterwaul, ethereal voices, invoking chants of the medieval and mystical, are barely heard.

'Throughout the Ages' is released as one half of a split double gatefold LP with Leopard Leg's 'The Seven Sistered Sea-Secret of Shh Shh Shh'. Intended as a transatlantic gathering of kindred spirits - two female tribes on a mission to push the boundaries of experimental rock - the record documents the complex and spooky coincidences that exist between two unknown, unheard, unrelated, but highly imaginative bands living thousands of miles apart.