The Obelisk Radio Adds: Big Kizz, Mt. Mountain, Mage, Hypertonus, Lee Van Cleef

Posted in Radio on May 22nd, 2017 by JJ Koczan

the obelisk radio cavum

We’re only slightly overdue for a batch of adds to The Obelisk Radio. I need to start setting a reminder or something. By the time this post goes up, my hope is that we’ll actually be off the backup server and back on the full or at least mostly-full playlist. It’s been a long road, as the terrible opening theme to Star Trek: Enterprise once said, but I think Slevin has it ready to roll, and there’s still some rebuilding to do, but I think it can be an ongoing thing working on the new hard drive. We’ve worn the crap out of that backup playlist. It would be nice to not have to use it for a while. Fingers crossed, anyhow.

Whichever server these files wind up on, they’ll be joining some playlist as soon as humanly possible. Let’s do the rundown in the meantime.

The Obelisk Radio Adds for May 22, 2017:

Big Kizz, Eye on You

big kizz eye on you

Some who take on the debut single from Swedish trio Big Kizz will find the band reminiscent of some of the rawer moments of long-running Danish garage-psych rockers Baby Woodrose, but for many, an additional draw to the three-track/eight-minute offering (delivered via Tee Pee Records) will be the lineup, which features bassist John Hoyles (Spiders, ex-Witchcraft), guitarist/vocalist Pontus Westerman (also of Lady Banana), and perhaps most notably, drummer Axel Sjöberg in his first recorded appearance after splitting with Graveyard. Turns out he’s still a fantastic drummer. His play in leadoff cut “Eye on You” and the push he brings to “Baby Boy” and the closing Roky Erickson cover “White Faces” will surely lead some to relate Big Kizz to Sjöberg‘s former outfit, if only in their earliest going (which was also on Tee Pee, remember), but the truth is the trio show themselves to be on a different trip throughout Eye on You, as they bring the aforementioned garage stylization forward amid classic boogie and, particularly in “Baby Boy,” nod toward mid-’60s psychedelia in a quick but fluid bridge. The Roky Erickson cover could hardly be more fitting, handclaps and all, but it’s the sense of movement in the two originals that shows the most potential here as Big Kizz seem to set their eyes on establishing their dynamic and building from there. Will be interested to hear what they do with the context of a full-length and if some of the psych in “Eye on You” and “Baby Boy” is relegated to flourish or if it comes to the fore as they develop, but they’re off to a rousing start.

Big Kizz on Thee Facebooks

Big Kizz at Tee Pee Records

 

Mt. Mountain Dust

mt. mountain dust

Devotees and pilgrims of longform psychedelia will no doubt and should rejoice at Dust (on Cardinal Fuzz), the maybe-second long-player from Perth, Australia, five-piece Mt. Mountain, which from its 17-minute titular opener and longest track (immediate points) unfolds a ritual of superior immersion and conscious trance inducement. Over the course of four songs/37 minutes total, Mt. Mountain unfold a sprawl reportedly intended to capture the atmosphere of the Australian Outback — and maybe they get there, I don’t know; I’ve never been — but either way, the balance of repetition and depth in “Floating Eyes” and the shimmer of the nine-minute “Kokoti” speak to a varied ecosystem that, indeed, one might get lost in, never to return. Mellotron, organ, djembe and percussion play a central role in the overarching sense of mind-expansion along with the guitar, bass, vocals, drums, etc., but it’s the combination of elements, the variety between tracks — they’re jam-based, but distinct songs, to be sure — that really stands Dust apart from much of drift-minded modern heavy psych. One advises patience with the drones of the opener and the cautious first steps that the fading in percussion seems to be taking, as the rewards are considerable when it comes to the front-to-back experience Mt. Mountain offer, which is stark, striking, marked by underlying threat and casts a feeling of the infinite that no doubt was the very intent behind its making.

Mt. Mountain on Thee Facebooks

Cardinal Fuzz webstore

 

Mage, Green

mage green

Self-released in a six-panel digipak with decidedly grim artwork courtesy of Dominic SohorGreen is the third full-length from Leicestershire, UK, heavy rockers Mage. Last heard from with 2014’s Last Orders (review here), they retain the blend of heavy rock groove and metallic aggression that’s become their signature sound, and continue the march forward in finding a space between post-Down/Orange Goblin dude-rockery and doomlier fare. Vocalist Tom blends harsh growls and a cleaner approach on opener “Nowhere to Nothing” and the later “Primitive Drive” while mostly avoiding sounding like Phil Anselmo, and as guitarist Woody, bassist Mark and drummer Andy dig into the slower roll of “Eclipse King,” Mage seem to hit the mark they’re shooting for in terms of style and songcraft. The centerpiece title-track has a little more head-bob to its central progression — and then there’s that wah; always fun — but they’re right to mess around with the proportion of stylistic elements throughout to add variety, and the 10-minute closer “Vultures Mass” does well in taking the punch of “Nowhere to Nothing” and “Heroic Elegy” at the album’s start and pushing it outward into a satisfying apex. Straightforward in its intent, given a sense of mass via a recording job at Skyhammer Studios and executed with a clean conscience, Green is the work of a band who know what they want from their sound and know how to make it happen, which, thankfully, they do in these tracks.

Mage on Thee Facebooks

Mage on Bandcamp

 

Hypertonus, Tidal Wave

hypertonus tidal wave

Tidal Wave is the self-issued debut full-length from German instrumentalist three-piece Hypertonus, and it lands some six years after the band first got together, preceded by a semi-eponymous 2013 EP, HPRTNS. If the more-than-half-a-decade stretch seems like a while for a group to get to their first long-player, it might be, but one suspects the Bremen-based troupe comprised of guitarist Patrick Büch, bassist Arne Staats and drummer Hannes Christen spent a significant amount of that time in the jam room developing their sound, because what they cast over this nine-track/45-minute outing is a keen progressivism and chemistry that feels not at all happenstance. With shifts into and out of technically-minded parts that seem to be driven by Staats‘ bass, Hypertonus reportedly tracked Tidal Wave live, and I have no reason not to believe it, particularly given the eight-minute closer “Phantasmagoria (Improvisation Jam),” which departs from the quick psych-meditation of “Aeropause” and the almost jazzy rhythms and post-rock guitar of “Expect the Sky Below” to bring the band’s style even more to life for the listener to take on. It’s a heady release, and some of the changes come across as willfully choppy — playing with expectation in a “now we’re over here!” kind of way — but there’s a marked sense of accomplishment throughout that’s nothing if not well earned.

Hypertonus on Thee Facebooks

Hypertonus on Bandcamp

 

Lee Van Cleef, Holy Smoke

lee van cleef holy smoke

Pressed to gorgeous-sounding vinyl by White Dwarf Records last November, the five-track instrumental Holy Smoke is the debut LP from Naples, Italy, jammers Lee Van Cleef, and aside from its righteously striking cover art, one finds primary impressions in the gotta-hear-it bass tone of Pietro Trinità La Tegola, the molten lysergism in Marco Adamo‘s guitar and the grounding-but-not-too-grounding effectiveness of drummer Guido Minervini in anchoring a jam like the 13-minute “Banshee,” which takes the best lessons of groups like Germany’s Electric Moon and Portugal’s Black Bombaim and brings them to methodical, engagingly rumbling fruition. Nod persists through the more uptempo, Tee Pee Records-style centerpiece “Hell Malo,” but the three-piece seem even more comfortable dug into the post-Sleep riffing of the subsequent “Mah?na,” finishing that track with a standout wash of a guitar lead ahead of the brighter-feeling closer “Towelie,” which underscores an otherworldly vibe that turns out to have been in Holy Smoke all along. Lee Van Cleef have already followed Holy Smoke up with a single titled “Everyone Should Kill an Old Hippy” (discussed here) — it’s worth noting that this album starts with “Heckle Yuppies,” so they’re not fans of them either — and one can’t imagine it will be long before they answer back with another full-length offering. The question is how they’ll ultimately distinguish themselves from the crowded European jam-based heavy psych underground, but there’s nothing in these tracks to give the impression they can’t or won’t do so as they continue to grow.

Lee Van Cleef on Thee Facebooks

White Dwarf Records on Thee Facebooks

 

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audiObelisk Transmission 061

Posted in Podcasts on May 15th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

the obelisk podcast 61

Click Here to Download

 

Yes! A new podcast! Are you stoked? I’m stoked. If you’re not, you will be when you look at the list of bands included. In any case, let’s be stoked together, because rock and roll, and heavy psych and good music and, well, yeah. That’s pretty much stuff to be stoked about. It’s been absurdly long since the last time we did one of these. Too long. I don’t really have an excuse other than… gainful employment? Don’t worry, though. That’ll be over soon enough. Then it’ll be podcasts out the ass.

There’s some killer goods here though. Yeah, I decided to do a “Yeti” double-shot with Green Yeti into Telekinetic Yeti. That’s my version of me being clever. But both bands are righteous, and if you haven’t heard the Savanah record, or that new Tia Carrera jam, or the Cachemira or Big Kizz or Yagow or Vokonis or the Elder — oh hell, frickin’ all of it — it’s worth your time. That Emil Amos track just premiered the other day and I think will surprise a lot of people, and I liked the way it paired with the dark neofolk of Hermitess. And of course we get trippy in the second hour, as is the custom around here. But first a moment of prog clarity from the aforementioned Elder. That’s a good time as well.

As always, I hope you enjoy.

Track details follow:

First Hour:

0:00:00 Vokonis, “The Sunken Djinn” from The Sunken Djinn
0:06:47 Tia Carrera, “Laid Back (Frontside Rock ‘n’ Roll)” from Laid Back (Frontside Rock ‘n’ Roll)
0:16:33 Supersonic Blues, “Supersonic Blues Theme” from Supersonic Blues Theme / Curses on My Soul
0:19:28 Emil Amos, “Elements Cycling” from Filmmusik
0:22:28 Hermitess, “Blood Moon” from Hermitess
0:26:24 Savanah, “Mind” from The Healer
0:34:22 Yagow, “Non-Contractual” from Yagow
0:42:35 Big Kizz, “Eye on You” from Eye on You
0:45:53 Cachemira, “Jungla” from Jungla
0:52:05 Green Yeti, “Black Planets (Part 2)” from Desert Show
0:58:02 Telekinetic Yeti, “Stoned and Feathered” from Abominable

Second Hour:

1:02:10 Elder, “The Falling Veil” from Reflections of a Floating World
1:13:20 Riff Fist, “King Tide” from King Tide
1:24:15 Cavra, “Montaña” from Cavra
1:39:18 Causa Sui, “A Love Supreme” from Live in Copenhagen

Total running time: 1:55:53

 

Thank you for listening.

Download audiObelisk Transmission 061

 

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Big Kizz Post Video for “Eye on You”; Debut Single out June 9

Posted in Bootleg Theater on May 9th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

big kizz

For those about to boogie, there are likely few debuts set for the remainder of 2017 as anticipated as that of Swedish trio Big Kizz, who hail from the fertile ground of Örebro, boast a pedigree that includes names like SpidersWitchcraft and Graveyard, and are set to issue their first single, Eye on You, via Tee Pee Records on June 9. The 7″ offering will feature three songs — two originals and a take on Roky Erickson‘s “White Faces” — and the three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Pontus Westerman (also of Lady Banana), bassist John Hoyles and drummer Axel Sjöberg have newly unveiled the leadoff track in a video that you can see below.

The clip emphasizes a party vibe with the band playing in a small room, people jumping around, some drunk dude beforehand saying he likes punk and so on — standard tiny-show fare — but more importantly, the song itself finds Big Kizz digging into a stylized blend of garage fuzz and classic-style boogie rock that leaves little room for frills. Stripped down to the point where proto-glam and punk rock were hardly distinguishable from each other — think circa 1976 — “Eye on You” has a bounce and hook that even if they hadn’t been told to do so would likely have the crowd in the video jumping around anyway, and bodes well early for the rest of the single to come. It should fit well alongside that Roky Erickson cover, to be sure.

And Big Kizz have a long way to go before they get there, but remember that it was a decade ago that Graveyard made their debut through Tee Pee Records as well, so it’s a bit of a reunion for Sjöberg and the imprint and some symmetry that I like. Will be interested to hear when it shows up if the full-length plays to these kinds of influences exclusively — if it does, it might be like 28 minutes long — or if they present a more multifaceted sound, represented only in part by the initial single. A teaser! Intrigue! Questions! Sometimes it’s nice to have a reminder of what makes anticipating a new album so much fun.

PR wire follows the video.

Enjoy:

Big Kizz, “Eye on You” official video

BIG KIZZ is the red hot new rock band featuring drummer Axel Sjöberg (ex-Graveyard), guitarist John Hoyles (Spiders, ex-Witchcraft) on bass and vocalist / guitarist Pontus Westerman from Swedish garage outfit Lady Banana. The classic power trio, who plays good time Rock ‘n’ Roll energized with elements of power pop and punk, has signed to NYC indie Tee Pee Records and will release its debut EP, Eye on You, on June 9.

BIG KIZZ’s bad-as-hell debut features the swinging originals “Eye on You” and “Baby Boy” and a rousing remake of the Roky Erickson ripper “White Faces”. The 3-song release is but a precursor to BIG KIZZ’s full-length debut, tentatively slated for release this fall.

“We used the multibillion dollar budget that Tee Pee gave us for this video and spent it all on something else other than the video,” Sjöberg comments. “But we’re pretty confident that it will win all the awards in the world! And that you’ll have a good time watching it!”

Big Kizz is:
John Hoyles (bass)
Pontus Westman (guitar / vocals)
Axel Sjöberg (drums)

Big Kizz on Thee Facebooks

Big Kizz on Instagram

Big Kizz preorder at Tee Pee Records

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Big Kizz to Release Debut EP Eye on You June 9

Posted in Whathaveyou on April 12th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

big kizz

Former members of Graveyard and Witchcraft come together in Big Kizz, a new trio who’ll release their debut EP, Eye on You, June 9 via Tee Pee Records. Since the split last year and subsequent reformation of Graveyard earlier in 2017, the central question is what would become of now-former drummer Axel Sjöberg. He joins former Witchcraft and current Spiders member John Hoyles (here on bass) as well vocalist/guitarist Pontus Westerman, also of garage rockers Lady Banana. It should come as no surprise that Tee Pee would pick them up. If you’ll recall, it was the same label that issued the debut Graveyard album a decade ago.

No audio has surfaced yet, but it seems like Big Kizz are on a much different wavelength than either Sjöberg‘s or Hoyles‘ former outfits. I guess we’ll find out in June.

This just came in off the PR wire:

big kizz eye on you

BIG KIZZ (ex-Graveyard, Witchcraft) to Release Debut EP, ‘Eye on You’, June 9

Scandinavian Power Rock Trio Signs with Tee Pee Records

BIG KIZZ is the red hot new rock band featuring drummer Axel Sjöberg (ex-Graveyard), guitarist John Hoyles (Spiders, ex-Witchcraft) on bass and vocalist / guitarist Pontus Westerman from Swedish garage outfit Lady Banana. The classic power trio, who plays good time Rock ‘n’ Roll energized with elements of power pop and punk, has signed to NYC indie Tee Pee Records and will release its debut EP, Eye on You, on June 9.

BIG KIZZ’s bad-as-hell debut features the swinging originals “Eye on You” and “Baby Boy” and a rousing remake of the Roky Erickson ripper “White Faces”. The 3-song release is but a precursor to BIG KIZZ’s full-length debut, tentatively slated for release this fall.

Pre-order “Eye on You” at THIS location.

“I’ve been doing this too long to quit rocking now,” Sjöberg comments. “When I turn a page and wonder what to do in life, I go to country lyrics and in this case Willie Nelson: “The life I love is makin’ music with my friends, and I can’t wait the get on the road again.” So that’s just what I did; I made music with my friends. We’re taking it to Norway first and then we’ll just see where it takes us after that. That’s the beauty of it: music is fucking magic. I hope you feel it too.”

Live premier!

May 3th Oslo – Revolver
May 4th Kristiansand – Vaktbua – Odderøya
May 5th Bergen – Hulen
May 6th Sandnes – Tribute

https://www.facebook.com/bigbigkizz/
https://www.instagram.com/bigkizz4you/
https://teepeerecords.com/products/big-kizz-eye-on-you-7
facebook.com/teepeerecords

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