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Sneakin’ a Peak at Some New Brant Bjork

Two weeks from today, Brant Bjork and the Low Desert Punk set off on a West Coast US tour alongside Corrosion of Conformity, Bl’ast and Lord Dying. Earlier this summer, the four-piece outfit — Bjork himself on vocals/guitar, drummer Tony Tornay, guitarist Bubba DuPree and bassist Dave Dinsmore — took flight on an inaugural run through Australia and New Zealand that reportedly followed completion of a new album set to serve as Brant Bjork‘s long-awaited debut on Napalm Records. It’s also his first solo-ish offering since 2010’s Gods and Goddesses (review here) and the first record he’ll have out since reuniting with vocalist John Garcia in the Kyuss-offshoot Vista Chino, who released one of 2013’s best full-lengths in the form of Peace (review here), also on Napalm.

Those familiar with his 10-album solo stint between 1999’s classic Jalamanta and Gods and Goddesses already know that Bjork (interviews here and here and Questionnaire here) is a purveyor of some of the finest sandy soul known to man. Instrumental to the coalescing of heavy rock in the ’90s as part of Kyuss and Fu Manchu, in the aughts, he dug into an inimitable style of groove that became as distinct as anything he did with either of those bands or any of his other numerous collaborations along the way — lest we forget Ché or his time with Nick Oliveri in Mondo Generator.

A four-year break between outings is the longest Bjork has had since he started putting out solo records (and yes, that counts the …and the Operators and the …and the Bros. iterations), but as is inevitable in the age of the digitally instantaneous, some new material has started to leak out from the Aussie gigs. Not much is out there that I’ve seen. A quality clip of a Star Wars-referencing track called “We Don’t Serve Their Kind” is on Vimeo, and that’s worth a look since it’s pretty close-up and you can really see the band nailing it, but the vocals are low. This version of “Requiem” is kind of far back, but the sound is clear enough to give an idea of what they’re up to — you’ll note the low-end shaking the camera — and for fans of Brant Bjork, there’s an awful lot to like.

Dates for the aforementioned West Coast tour follow the video (recorded by YouTuber “Dav Ozz”), and the band will also head to Europe this fall for gigs at Up in Smoke and Desertfest Belgium, among others. Please enjoy:

Brant Bjork, “Requiem” Live in Geelong, Australia, May 30, 2014

Corrosion of Conformity, Bl’ast, Brant Bjork and the Low Desert Punk, and Lord Dying tour dates:
8/20/2014 The Hop – Spokane, WA
8/21/2014 In The Venue – Salt Lake City, UT
8/22/2014 Summit Music Hall – Denver, CO
8/23/2014 Sister – Albuquerque, NM
8/24/2014 Club Red – Mesa, AZ
8/26/2014 Brick By Brick – San Diego, CA
8/27/2014 The Roxy – Los Angeles, CA
8/28/2014 DNA – San Francisco, CA
8/29/2014 Catalyst – Santa Cruz CA
8/30/2014 Dante’s – Portland, OR
8/31/2014 El Corazon – Seattle, WA
9/01/2014 The Rickshaw Theater – Vancouver, BC

Brant Bjork on Thee Facebooks

Brant Bjork’s website

Napalm Records

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