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Big Scenic Nowhere Premiere Title-Track of Lavender Blues EP

Posted in audiObelisk on September 17th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

big scenic nowhere

Big Scenic Nowhere will issue their new three-song EP, Lavender Blues, on Oct. 23 through Heavy Psych Sounds. The 24-minute outing, captured over the course of three days last November in the Californian desert, demonstrates plainly just how much this project ignited by a guitar collaboration between Fu Manchu‘s Bob Balch and Yawning Man‘s Gary Arce has take on a life of its own. It arrives on a quick turnaround from the group’s Jan. 2020 debut full-length, Vision Beyond Horizon (review here), which itself came with relative expediency as a follow-up to their first EP, 2019’s Dying on the Mountain (discussed here).

With Mos Generator frontman Tony Reed and Yawning Man drummer Bill Stinson incorporated as full-time members alongside Arce and Balch, the endeavor only grows more expansive in terms of sound on Lavender Blues, which breaks up into two-sides the first of which is comprised of its 13-minute title-track — a lush jam built out into a work of immersive progressive psychedelia the likes of which few could hope to conjure. As per their established modus — also how the band formed — they reach out beyond themselves to include guest performances as well, this time bringing standout organ lines from the esteemed Per Wiberg (Spiritual Beggars, ex-Opeth, and the dude you call when you want keys), as well as Voivod‘s Daniel Mongrain (one of the happiest-looking headbangers I’ve ever seen) and Masters of Reality founder Chris Goss (beware his Twitter) on guitar.

Wiberg and Reed both contribute keys/organ to “Lavender Blues,” and the latter handles vocal duties as well. There’s an early verse, but the essential portion vocally is starts a little before six minutes in, as Reed begins with the lines, “Every time I wonder/All inside my slumber…” as each lyric appears at just a slight overlap to the one before it, adding to the otherworldly feel of the deep but mellow and airy and melodic fluidity that surrounds. Proggy synth follows to lead the way into a wash of a jam that, if you dig deep enough, has a discernible anchor riff, but feels wonderfully untethered creatively. It’s not all improvised — obviously keys and vocals were added later — but that spirit of the original jam beneath is there and the rest of the song feeds off it in a way that lives up to the potential that both Dying on the Mountain and Vision Beyond Horizon set forth.

As if to prove this is an outfit that can go anywhere it pleases whenever it pleases, the subsequentbig scenic nowhere lavender blues “Blink of an Eye” runs just four minutes and seems to directly call out the main riff of “Don’t Fear the Reaper” at its start. In the hands of Big Scenic Nowhere, it unfolds into a subdued desert rock bounce to which Reed brings a suitably straightforward verse, doubling his vocals in the chorus for a sing-along-ready effect — “I’ve been a fool for so long,” etc. Arce‘s floating tonality does much to add to the ethereal vibe that complements the underlying structure, and two solos follow, the latter presumably Reed on keys, before a last hook rounds out. Clean, clear, done. It’s territory the band claimed as their own in Dying on the Mountain, a kind of forewarning that they might jam and write songs, and an unmitigated win in terms of the result.

That tasks “Labyrinths Fade” to close out at 6:35. The finale, suitably enough, fades in and out on a progression that is marked by tom runs and crashes from Stinson and an immediate verse from Reed, not nearly rushed enough to be manic, but more urgent in its repetitions than one might expect after “Lavender Blues” and “Blink of an Eye.” Solos intertwine running up and down in the mix before the drums shift to hi-hat to open up the groove in the instrumental midsection. Is that you, Daniel Mongrain? With so many potential sources of shred, it’s hard to know for sure, but I’d believe it. A righteous moment of guitar harmony (blink and you’ll miss it) precedes the resurgence of vocals, likewise harmonized, and some synth beneath that would make Bernie Worrell smile under his purple hat.

Opportunity for another solo isn’t missed, and the vocal progression from the beginning of the song returns to top the fade out, giving symmetry to what, at least compared to the song before it, is a marked departure from verse/chorus patterning. It is also, however, fair enough ground for Big Scenic Nowhere to cover as they will, and one more piece of evidence to cite when arguing that good things happen when these players get together. Their time in the desert last Fall may have been brief, but what comes across clearest on Lavender Blues is just how much they’re taking inspiration from each other, playing off each other, and enjoying the outward sonic adventure that comes from that. Frankly, it seems unlikely this project would have made it past the first EP if it wasn’t fun — the logistics are just too complex for something that’s a drag — but from that spirit comes a forward-thinking take on progressive heavy psychedelia that sees BalchArceReed and Stinson and their invited company enhance each other’s work in striking, sometimes surprising, and delightful ways.

Fair enough to call them a supergroup if you must, but really they’re explorers.

Balch has a few words to offer on “Lavender Blues,” which you’ll find beneath the premiere of the track below, followed by preorder links and so on.

Please enjoy:

Bob Balch on “Lavender Blues”:

This jam is the first take with all original parts. I tried several times to re-do my parts and improve them and I couldn’t do it. The flow of this jam can’t be replicated. You can really hear all of us playing off each other and that needed to stay. Per Wiberg (OPETH, SPIRITUAL BEGGARS) added some killer key parts, Tony added some awesome keys too along with vocal passages. This song is meant for travel… whatever that means to you. LAVENDER BLUES has a HAWKWIND meets ALAN PARSON PROJECT meets PINK FLOYD vibe to it. I really like when bands take inspiration from different genres and mix it up into a unique sonic stew.

New EP ‘Lavender Blues’ out October 23rd on Heavy Psych Sounds: European presale // US presale

TRACKLIST:
1. Lavender Blues
2. Blink of an Eye
3. Labyrinths Fade

BIG SCENIC NOWHERE is
Bob Balch (Fu Manchu) – Guitar / Bass on “Blink of an Eye”
Gary Arce (Yawning Man) – Guitar on all tracks
Tony Reed (Mos Generator) – Bass / Vocals / Synths / Guitar
Bill Stinson (Yawning Man) – Drums
Per Wiberg (Kamchatka, ex-Opeth) – Synths / Piano
Daniel Mongrain (Voivod) – Guitar
Chris Goss (Masters Of Reality) – Guitar

Artwork by @haxloeffler
Mixed and Mastered by Tony Reed

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Big Scenic Nowhere Announce New EP Lavender Blues

Posted in Whathaveyou on July 30th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

A pleasant surprise from out of the California desert in that Big Scenic Nowhere are following up their 2020 full-length debut, Vision Beyond Horizon (review here) on a quick turnaround with the new Lavender Blues EP. You can add this to the onslaught list of releases Tony Reed has in the coming months, what with his own solo debut impending as well as sundry thisses and thats from Mos Generator, as he’s a core member here, along with Bob Balch of Fu Manchu — who’ve been self-releasing a series of EPs that I sadly have yet to hear — and Gary Arce and Bill Stinson of Yawning Man, who are soon to release a live CD/DVD. I guess everybody’s busy, come to think of it. Fair enough.

Also returning is Per Wiberg — because if you can have Per Wiberg play keys on your record, then, yes, you do that — and newcomers to the fold include guitarist Daniel “Chewy” Mongrain of Voivod and none other than desert rock’s master of ceremonies producer Chris Goss, whose Masters of Reality were due to make a comeback this Spring with a new album and European tour before… well, before. Sadly he apparently doesn’t contribute vocals here, only guitar, but I’ll take what I can get.

Three new songs? Sign me up.

Here’s info as posted on social media:

big scenic nowhere lavender blues

BIG SCENIC NOWHERE is mixing a new E.P. named “Lavender Blues” right now. Three jams from our three day session back in November of 2019. We’ll post some clips soon! This E.P. will be released in the fall. Here is a list of the players involved….

Gary Arce (Yawning Man) guitar
Bob Balch (Fu Manchu) guitar, bass
Tony Reed (Mos Generator) bass, vocals, synth, guitar
Bill Stinson (Yawning Man) drums
Per Wiberg (Opeth, Spiritual Beggars) synth, piano
Daniel Mongrain (Voivod) guitar
Chris Goss (Masters Of Reality) guitar

Artwork by @haxloeffler
Mixed and Mastered by Tony Reed

https://www.facebook.com/bigscenicnowhere/
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https://bigscenicnowhere.bandcamp.com/releases
https://bigscenicnowherestore.bigcartel.com/

Big Scenic Nowhere, Vision Beyond Horizon (2020)

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