Quarterly Review: Jason Simon, Smoke, Rifle, Mother of Graves, Swarm, Baardvader, Love Gang, Astral Magic, Thank You Lord for Satan, Druid Stone

Posted in Reviews on January 10th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

quarterly-review-winter 2023

Oh, hello. I didn’t see you come in. What’s going on? Not much. You? Well, you see, it’s just another 10 records for the Quarterly Review, you know how it goes. Yup, day seven. That’s up to 70 records, and it’ll keep going for the rest of this week. Have I mentioned yet I was thinking about adding an 11th day? What can I say, some cool stuff has come along this last week and a half since I’ve been doing this. Better now than in a couple months, maybe. Anyway, make yourself comfortable. Hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading.

Winter 2023 Quarterly Review #61-70:

Jason Simon, Hindsight 2020

Jason Simon Hindsight 2020

What this sweetly melodic and delicately arranged 2022 collection lacks in marketing — the title Hindsight 2020 is accurate in that that’s when it was mostly recorded, but ‘let’s remember an awful time’ is hardly a way to pitch an audience on a vinyl — but as Jason Simon (also Dead Meadow) languidly meanders through covers of Tom Petty (“Crawling Back to You” becomes ethereal post-rock), Jody Reynolds & Bobbie Gentry, The Gun Club, Jackson C. Frank, Bert Jansch and John Prine, the latter of whom passed away after contracting covid-19, without the lockdown from which this record probably wouldn’t exist as it does. Probably not a coincidence. On banjo for three peppered-in originals starting with a relaxed mood-setting intro, as well as guitar, vocals, Moog, bass, Juno-60, and mandolin throughout, Simon and a few companions dig into these folk roots, making them his own and creating a whole-album flow for what might in less capable hands be a hodgepodge of competing influences. As it stands, by the time the melancholy strum of “October” takes hold, Simon has long since succeeded in creating a vibe that rightly has “Ghosts Gather Now” as its centerpiece, pulling as it does from these spirits to make something of its own. 2020 sucked; nobody’s arguing. But at least in hindsight something beautiful can come out of it.

Jason Simon on Bandcamp

Piaptk store

 

Smoke, Groupthink

Smoke Groupthink

Virginian trio Smoke cast an eye toward the trailblazing heavy psych of Sungrazer on “Temple” from their early 2022 debut album, guitarist Dalton handling the melodic vocals that will soon enough grow throatier in their passionate delivery, but even more than this, Groupthink sees the band — Dalton, guitarist Ben and drummer Alex; first names only — digging full-on into turn-of-the-century-style nodding heavy, shades of Man’s Ruin-era classics from the likes of Acid King, maybe even some of Sons of Otis‘ bombed-out largesse, showing themselves filtered through a next-generational execution, varied enough so as not to be single-minded in idolatry as “Davidian” picks up energy in its late solo, the 18-minute “One Eyed King” earns its lumbering payoff and lines of floating guitar, “The Supplication of Flame” arrives based around acoustic guitar forward in the mix ahead of the electrics (at least at first) and closer “Telah” basks in a righteous stomp that underscores the point. At 58 minutes, Groupthink isn’t a minor undertaking, but it is one of 2022’s most impressive debut albums and laced with potential for what may develop in their sound. It is stronger in craft than one might initially think, and has to be to hold up all that heft in its fuzz.

Smoke on Facebook

Smoke on Bandcamp

 

Rifle, Repossessed

Rifle Repossessed

Not so much ’70s-style retroism as tapping into a kind of raw, ’90s heavy rock vision — Nebula, Monster Magnet, as well as Peru and greater South America’s own storied history of fuzzmaking — Rifle‘s Repossessed is relatively rough in its production, but as in the best of cases, that becomes a part of its appeal as the Lima-based three-piece of guitarist/bassist/vocalist Alejandro Suni, guitarist Magno Mendoza and drummer Cesar Araujo ride their riffs down the highway and into a fog of tonal buzz, fervent, butt-sized low end and druggy, outsider vibes. “The Thrill is Back” struts coated in road dirt as it is, and that thrill is found likewise in the scorch-psych of “Demon Djinn” and the earlier blowout “Fiend” that follows opener “Seven Thousand Demons” and sets a bluesy lyrical foundation so that six-minute finale “Spirit Rise” seems to offer some sense of realization or, if not that, then at least acceptance of this well-baked way of life. As the band’s first release, this late-2022 seven-song/32-minute offering feels ready to be pressed up on vinyl by some discerning purveyor, if not for the underlying desert rock drive of “Madness” then surely for the swing in “Sonic Rage,” and it’s one of those records that isn’t going to speak to everyone, but is going to hit just right for some others, dug as it is into a niche between what’s come before and its own encapsulation of a red-eyed stoner future.

Rifle on Instagram

Rifle on Bandcamp

 

Mother of Graves, Where the Shadows Adorn

Mother of Graves Where the Shadows Adorn

If there should be any doubt that Indianapolis’ Mother of Graves are schooled in the sound they’re shooting for, let the fact that Dan Swanö (Katatonia, Opeth, on into infinity) mastered the recording/mix by the band’s own Ben Sandman make it clear where their particular angle on melancholic death-doom is coming from in its grim, wintry soul-dance. Where the Shadows Adorn follows 2020’s likewise-dead-on debut, In Somber Dreams (discussed here), but the stately, poised rollout of a song like “Rain” and the subdued sections before “Of Solitude and Stone” enters its last push, has all the hallmarks of forward growth in songwriting as well as in confidence on the part of the band. Front to back, Where the Shadows Adorn is deathly in its consumption, a fresh interpretation of a moment in history when the likes of Katatonia especially but also acts like My Dying Bride and others of the Peaceville ilk were considered on the extreme end of metal despite their sometimes-grueling tempos. The question remains whether this is where Mother of Graves will reside for the duration or if, like their influences, their depressive streak will grow more melodic with age. As it stands, adorned in shadow, their emotional and atmospheric weight is darkly majestic.

Mother of Graves on Facebook

Wise Blood Records site

 

Swarm, Swarm

swarm swarm

This self-titled four-songer is the first release from Helsinki, Finland’s Swarm, and though it’s billed as an EP, its 28 minutes are wrought with a substantial flow and unifying melodic complexity due both to the depth of vocal complementary arrangements between singer Hilja Vedenpää and guitarist Panu Willman, as well as the intertwining of Willman and Einari Toiviainen‘s guitars atop the rolling grooves of Leo Lehtonen‘s bass and Dani Paajanen‘s drumming; the whole band operating together with a sense of purpose that goes beyond the standard ‘riff out and see what happens’ beginning of so many bands. A line of rhythmic notes atop the riff in “Nevermore” around five minutes is emblematic of the flourish the band brings to the release, and one would note the grungier float in “There Again,” and the moodier acoustics of “Frail” and the more full-on duet in the verses of closer “We Should Know” — never mind the pre-fade chug that caps or the consuming heft offsetting those verses — as further distinguishing factors. Self-released in June 2022, Swarm‘s Swarm carries the air of a precursor, and though it’s not known yet to precisely what, the note to keep eyes and ears open is well received. To put it another way, they sound very much like they know what they want to be and to accomplish as a group. If they’re heading into a debut album next, they’re ready to take on the task.

Swarm on Facebook

918 Records on Facebook

 

Baardvader, Foolish Fires

baardvader foolish fires

The self-titled-era Alice in Chains-style vocals on Baardvader‘s second LP, Foolish Fires, make them a ready standout from the slew of up and coming European heavy rollers, but the Den Haag trio have a distinct blend of crunch in their tone and atmosphere surrounding that make a song such as “Understand” memorable for more than just the pleading repetitions of its title in the hook. Opener “Pray” sets a hard-hitting fluidity in motion and “Illuminate” answers back as it caps side A with (dat) bass and airy guitar in an open soundscape soon to be filled with a wall o’ fuzz and more dug-in grunge spirit. As they make their way toward the louder, vocally-layered, highlight-solo finish that the 10-minutes “Echoes” provides, there’s some trace of The Machine‘s noisier affinity in their tones on “Blinded Out,” including the solo, and “Prolong Eternity” culminates with intensity leading into the already-noted closer, but “Echoes” has the throatier shouts — like “Illuminate” before it — to back its case as the destination for where they’ve been headed all along, and works to send Foolish Fires out as a triumphant demonstration of Baardvader‘s appeal, which is relatively straightforward considering how much they nod along the way, their sound sharing grunge’s ability to be aggressive without being metal, heavy without being aggressive, and something of their own that still rings familiar. They’re just beginning to realize their potential, and this record is an important step in that process.

Baardvader on Facebook

Baardvader on Bandcamp

 

Love Gang, Meanstreak

Love Gang Meanstreak

Rest easy, you’re in capable hands. And even if you didn’t hear Love Gang‘s 2020 debut, Dead Man’s Game (review here), the fact that the Denver four-piece went down to Austin, Texas, to record with Gian Ortiz of Amplified Heat producing tells you what you need to know about their boogie on Meanstreak. And what you need to know is largely that you want to hear it. As one might expect, ’70s vibes pervade the eight-tracker, which puts the guitars forward and de-emphasizes some of the organ and flute one might’ve encountered on their first LP, saving it for side B’s “Shake This Feelin’,” the six-minute stretchout “Headed Down to Mexico,” and the closing “Fade Away,” where it ties together with the thrust of earlier cuts like the circuitous “Blinded by Fear” (not an At the Gates cover, though that would be fun), or “Deathride” and the title-track, which shove shove shove as the opening pair so “Bad News” can complete the barnburning salvo. Tucked away before the finale is “Same Ol’ Blues,” a harmonica-laced acoustic cut dug out of your cool uncle’s record collection so that some day, if you’re lucky, some shitbird younger relation of yours may come along and find it here in your own record collection, thus perpetuating the cycle of boogie into perpetuity. Humanity should be so lucky.

Love Gang on Facebook

Heavy Psych Sounds store

 

Astral Magic, We Are Stardust

Astral Magic We Are Stardust

The first and probably not last Astral Magic release of 2023, We Are Stardust, finds project-spearhead Santtu Laakso — songwriting, synth, bass, vocals, mixing, cover art, etc. — working mostly in solo fashion. Jonathan Segel of Camper Van Beethoven/Øresund Space Collective adds guitar and violin (he also mastered the recording), and Samuli Sailo plays guitar on “Drop It,” but the 11-song/60-minute space rocker bears the hallmarks of Laakso‘s Hawkwindian craft, the songs rife with layers of synth and effects behind the forward vocals, programmed drums behind bolstering the krautrock feel. There’s a mellower jam like “Bottled Up Inside,” which puts the guitar solo where voice(s) might otherwise be, and “Out in the Cold” touches loosely on Pink Floyd without giving over entirely to that impulse or meandering too far from its central progression, letting the swirling “Lost Planet” and “Violet Sky” finish with a return to the kosmiche of the opening title-track and “The Simulacra,” which feels almost like a return to ground after the proto-New Wave-y “They Walk Among Us,” though “ground” should be considered on relative terms there because by most standards, Astral Magic start, end, and remain sonically in the farther far out.

Astral Magic on Facebook

Astral Magic on Bandcamp

 

Thank You Lord for Satan, Thank You Lord for Satan

Thank You Lord for Satan Self-titled

Self-recorded exploratory songcraft is writ large across the Buh Records self-titled debut from Thank You Lord for Satan — the Lima, Peru, two-piece of Paloma La Hoz (ex-Mitad Humana) and Henry Gates (Resplandor) — and the effect throughout the born-during-pandemic-lockdown eight-song offering is a kind of poised intimacy, artsy and performative as La Hoz handles most of but not all the lead vocals with Gates joining in, as on the moody shoegazer “Wet Morning” ahead of the pointedly Badalamenti-esque “Before EQ1.” Opener “A Million Songs Ago” is a rocker, and “Wet Morning” too in at least its including drums, but that’s only a piece of what Thank You Lord for Satan are digging into, as “Isolation” feels duly empty and religious and “Conversations al Amanecer” and “When We Dance” has a kind of electronic-inflected pop-psych at its core, willfully contrasting the folkish “Sad Song” (with Gates‘ lead vocal) and “Devine Destiny,” a side B counterpart to “Isolation” that reveals the hidden structure beneath all this go-wherever-ism, or at very least ends the album on a suitably contemplative note, some electronic snare-ish sound there rising in the mix before being cast off into the ether with the rest of everything.

Thank You Lord for Satan on Facebook

Buh Records on Bandcamp

 

Druid Stone, The Corpse Vanishes

Druid Stone The Corpse Vanishes

Consider this less a review of The Corpse Vanishes, which is but a single Dec. 2022 three-songer among a glut of releases — including at least one more recent — from Herndon, Virginia’s Druid Stone available through their Bandcamp. The ethic of the band, as led by guitarist Demeter Capsalis, would seem to be as bootleg as possible. Shows are recorded and presented barebones. Rehearsal room demos like “The Corpse Vanishes” and “Night of the Living Dead” — which jams its way into “What Child is This” — here are as raw as raw gets, and in the 20-minute included jam on Electric Wizard‘s “Mother of Serpents,” which was recorded live on Dec. 2 and issued four days later, the power goes out for about three of the first five minutes and Capsalis, who has already explained that most of the band had other stuff to do and that’s why he’s jamming with two friends for the full set, has to keep it going on stage banter alone. Most bands would never release that kind of thing. I respect the shit out of it. Not just because I dig bootlegs — though I do — but because in this age of infinite everything, why not release everything? Don’t you know the fucking planet’s dying? Why the hell would you keep secrets? Who has time for that? Fuck it. Put it all out there. Absolutely. Whether you dig into The Corpse Vanishes or any other of the slew, you might just find that whatever you listen to afterward seems unnecessarily polished. And maybe it is.

Druid Stone on Facebook

Druid Stone on Bandcamp

 

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Supersonic Blues Announce Lineup Changes

Posted in Whathaveyou on March 23rd, 2022 by JJ Koczan

The upshot here is that Supersonic Blues — who just released their debut album, It’s Heavy (review here), in January — have restructured the band. In doing so, they move former bassist Gianni Tjon-Tam-Pau to guitar and backing vocals, and bring Bob Zurcher in as a replacement on low end. With this lineup — completed by drummer Lennart Jansen and guitarist/vocalist Timothy Aarbodem — the now-four-piece will take stages this Spring at various festivals including RoadburnFreak Valley and Sonic Whip. One imagines there’s more to come there as well as the rest of 2022 plays out.

It was a number of years waiting for It’s Heavy since it was recorded in 2019, so the question was just how much the album represented where Supersonic Blues were at to start with, despite one way or the other being a righteous execution of retroism on its own merits. This news means the answer is perhaps less, since invariably a band so focused on presenting themselves in on-stage fashion in their studio work will find that dynamic changed with new personnel involved. Ultimately though, Supersonic Blues went into that record with a strong idea of what they were going for, and I suspect they’ll continue to work along those lines, however long a follow-up might take and whoever will be involved in its making. This is a band with a mission, and I’m posting this news as much to point you to the album stream at the bottom of this post as I am to keep up with their doings more generally.

So yes, if you see this and you haven’t listened to the album, go ahead and do that.

From social media:

supersonic blues 2022

SUPERSONIC BLUES- ANNOUNCEMENT!

As some of you may know, we founded Supersonic Blues back in 2014 already. It took us some line-ups, but as of early 2016 it was steady to the point where we are now. In October last year, our now former bassist Gianni expressed that he wasn’t happy anymore playing the bass, being a guitar player originally. It took us some days to process this news, but realising we can’t change his feelings and we don’t want to put ambition before our friendship and brotherhood, the idea of continuing as a four-piece felt like a natural progression.

Luckily we found our old friend and ex-roomie to fit the role perfectly. We have been rehearsing for a couple of months now and we have to say it is working out nicely! So please give a very warm welcome to our new bass player: Bob Zurcher (Twin Shades, The Womb)! And of course, we’re introducing Gianni on 2nd guitar as well. On to new adventures… Looking forward seeing you all this season at Roadburn Festival, Sonic Whip, FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL, a.o. Until then, take care.

Photo by Lina Selg

Supersonic Blues is:
Timothy Aarbodem – Guitars, vocals
Gianni Tjon-Tam-Pau- Guitars, backing vocals
Lennart Jansen – Drums
Bob Zurcher – Bass

https://www.facebook.com/supersonicblues/
https://supersonicblues.bandcamp.com/
http://whocanyoutrustrec.bigcartel.com/
https://whocanyoutrustrec.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Who-Can-You-Trust-Records-187406787966906/

Supersonic Blues, It’s Heavy (2022)

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Review & Track Premiere: Supersonic Blues, It’s Heavy

Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on December 14th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

supersonic blues

Netherlands-based vintage heavy rockers Supersonic Blues release their debut album, It’s Heavy, on Jan. 10 through Who Can You Trust? Records. And while one would not accuse the awaited eight-tracker of being inaccurately titled, the heaviness is really just scratching the surface of what they have on offer as a band. From the first blowout fuzz of lead cut “High as a Kite,” the Den Haag three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Timothy Aarbodem, bassist Gianni Pau and drummer Lennart Jansen throw down a retro-ist gauntlet that few acts outside of some lost ’70s private press archive could ever hope to match. With close compatriot Laurens ten Berge at the helm and Guy Tavares (The Mercury Boys, ex-Orange Sunshine) bringing Motorwolf tutelage and flair to the master, Supersonic Blues turn raw edge into aesthetic purpose and whatever format one might hear it on, their overmodulated-sounding grit is a dead-on accompaniment for their songwriting.

To wit, “High as a Kite” itself with its bareknuckle hook, or the fuzz-funk of “They See Me Comin'” and the sub-motorik biker chug of the title-track, which is also the longest inclusion at just over seven minutes. So much of what Supersonic Blues do is about the vibe and from the way “They See Me Comin'” roughs up its solo section in its second half to the quick, tape-running-out fade at the end of “It’s Heavy,” there’sSupersonic Blues its Heavy live energy across the record that “Crawlin’ Back” and the winding “Got No Time for Trouble” answer on side B. It’s not Pentagram worship, and it’s not Graveyard or Kadavar worship. While one could hardly say Supersonic Blues are the first band to try to harness a sound directly reminiscent of the era of heavy rock’s birth, I’ve heard few do it with such a level of buy-in or accomplishment, and even more than the band’s 2017 debut 7″ Supersonic Blues Theme b/w Curses on My Soul (review here), It’s Heavy finds individual expression in the familiar backdrop of microgenre.

They cover “Phantom Child” from New Mexican heavy rockers Lincoln St. Exit‘s sole LP, 1970’s Drive It!, and include a bonus take on 13th Floor Elevators‘ “Reverberation,” both of which feel right at home alongside “Got No Time for Trouble” or the two-minute strut of “No Good for Conversation” that presumably leads off side B of the vinyl. In the tones of Aarbodem and Pau and the far-back stomp of Jansen‘s drums, Supersonic Blues‘ originals are obviously well schooled in the spirit they’re attempting to capture — and, I’d argue, capturing — but to listen to “It’s Heavy” or “They See Me Comin'” or “Crawlin’ Back,” the impression they make isn’t just about production value. It’s Heavy is bolstered by its recording on stylistic terms, of course, but “It’s Heavy” is an ace jam, and “They See Me Comin'” is memorable from its first bounce onward. Same goes for the heavy blues of “Got No Time for Trouble” and “High as a Kite.” You may in fact be transported through time, but it’s hard to know if you’re going back or forward by the time they finish with “Reverberation.”

It’s Heavy was finished in late 2019. It’s been waiting for release ever since. I’ll tell you straight out, I’ve had the record since early 2020, and I’ve yet to put it on and regret it. I’m not sure what more I can than that, other than that if Supersonic Blues wanted to go ahead and make a follow-up on a shorter turnaround, that’d be just fine too.

Enjoy “It’s Heavy” on the player below, followed by some comment from Aarbodem, links, etc.

Dig:

Timothy Aarbodem on “It’s Heavy”:

I think Guy suggested it as the album title, since it’s bold, maybe a bit tongue in cheek and sorta self-explanatory. Almost like a slogan, “Hey, how does the album sound? It’s Heavy, man!” We like the visual aspect of it.

We rehearse in this small warehouse kinda place, next to a skatepark. By that time, it was really still a ‘room’ inside the warehouse, and our buddies placed their studio gear in there. Now they (The Womb Studio — Tijmen, Laurens and Domenico) built a proper studio in there together with Gianni (SB bass player). they managed to get some funding for it. It’s a privilege to rehearse there as well, but back then when we recorded it, it was still nice and ‘primal’ — all analog studio gear.

When recorded, we went to Guy Tavares for his take on it. His style is wild, but we love it. We finished it late 2019, early December I think, but yeah, then shit hit the fan in 2020, so we were not really in a rush to release it. But we’re happy how it turned out, record cover came out beautifully. It’s still ‘standing’ as an album, to our perception. Even if it has been a while hehe. Quite some positive stuff happening now at the SB-camp, more on that later.

PRE-ORDER HERE:
https://whocanyoutrustrec.bigcartel.com/product/supersonic-blues-it-s-heavy-lp

Supersonic Blues on Facebook

Supersonic Blues on Bandcamp

Who Can You Trust? Records store

Who Can You Trust? Records on Bandcamp

Who Can You Trust? Records on Facebook

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Supersonic Blues Set Jan. 10 Release for It’s Heavy

Posted in Whathaveyou on December 9th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

Been waiting a while on this one. Like two years. And now that the moment’s here, I’m not sure what to say about Supersonic Blues‘ debut album, It’s Heavy, other than the fact that it’s out Jan. 10 and up for preorder now. I guess that’s an okay start.

I’ve been fortunate enough to see the Den Haag trio twice at Roadburn Festival in the Netherlands — first in 2018 (review here) and then again in 2019 (review here) — and the album brings out the most vintage-sounding sides of what they do. The fuzz-overload on “They See Me Comin'” alone sounds like a blown-out gauntlet being thrown down to anyone who’d groove ’70s style in its presence, and the scorch of the Lincoln Street Exit cover “Phantom Child” comes across like an aged tape unearthed from decades-past obscurity. Supersonic Blues are admirably set in their mission and the head space they put you in while listening to It’s Heavy is a standout even among acts of a nostalgic frame of mind.

Note the linkage here to the Hague’s Motorwolf scene here and mastering by Guy Tavares — late of Orange Sunshine, currently in Mercury Boys with Supersonic Blues‘ own Timothy Aarbodem — as you can for sure hear that link in the band’s output, if in next-generation fashion.

I want to go on about it, but I’ve got a review/premiere planned for next week (yeah, even aside from the Quarterly Review), so sit tight for that.

Meantime:

Supersonic Blues its Heavy

SUPERSONIC BLUES – It’s Heavy LP

** OUT JANUARY 10TH 2022 on Who Can You Trust? Records **

Three buddies laying down that heavy, fuzzed-out, psyched-up, blues-based rock n’ soul. No strangers to The Hague’s gritty underground scene, Supersonic Blues have an unhealthy obsession with diggin’ out that one obscure 60s/70s rarity. Still, these guys sure enjoy a 21st-century dystopian boogie! For fans of Taste, Grand Funk, Sabbath and the Hendrix Experience.

“It’s Heavy” was completed over the course of 2019 and delivers 7 solid tunes, heavily road-tested in their home country and abroad including 2018’s Roadburn Festival to which the band was invited to play not one but two shows! Recorded by Laurens ten Berge at The Womb Studio and mastered at Motorwolf by Guy Tavares. Artwork by Ruud Aarbodem and Maarten Donders.

Released in an edition of 300 copies on black vinyl.
The first 50 copies include a handnumbered print with art by Maarten Donders.

PRE-ORDER HERE:
https://whocanyoutrustrec.bigcartel.com/product/supersonic-blues-it-s-heavy-lp

More news to follow…

https://www.facebook.com/supersonicblues/
https://supersonicblues.bandcamp.com/
http://whocanyoutrustrec.bigcartel.com/
https://whocanyoutrustrec.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Who-Can-You-Trust-Records-187406787966906/

Supersonic Blues, Freaks (Gotta Be Free) b/w Wicked Man (2018)

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Friday Full-Length: Monomyth, Further

Posted in Bootleg Theater on March 20th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

Dutch progressive heavy psychedelic rockers Monomyth‘s second full-length, Further, was released in 2014 through Suburban Records — maybe Suburban/Burning World? — as the follow-up to the Den Haag five-piece’s 2013 self-titled debut (review here). And it was and is true to its title. Comprised of four tracks running about 45 minutes long, the album’s expanse is matched only by its sense of control. While one might be misled by looking songs 10, 12 and 17 minutes long into thinking Monomyth were simply locking in space jams and improvising their way into the trance-inducing cosmic ether, that’s not really the case. “Ark-M,” which opens the proceedings with welcoming and warm tonality and an, underlying pulse that is just tense enough to keep things moving, runs 10:11 and is thoughtful and considered in its flow and progression.

Bassist/baritone guitarist Selwyn Slop, guitarists Tjerk Stoop and Thomas Van Den Reydt, keyboardist/guitarist Peter Van Der Meer and drummer Sander Evers (formerly of 35007, also Gomer Pyle) use keys to underscore rhythmic guitar in extended and melodic lines of organ that give the tension in the strings and drums a foundation on which to rest intermittently, and though the entirety of the album is instrumental, the motion Monomyth undertake, with its periodic bouts of louder distortion and moves into fluidity and quirky adventurism — again, this is just in the first 10 minutes of the record — is every bit emblematic of the goal they clearly laid out for themselves in calling Further what they did.

The intricacy of patterns well matched by the Maarten Donders cover art out front and captured with due grace in the recording by Jordi Langelaan (who also mixed with Van Der Meer, while Wim Bult mastered), Further moves easily into its lower-end-minded second cut “Spheres” with a sureness of purpose that can only be called Floydian. There’s a drama that unfolds between the bass and guitar — a conversation there — happening at about three minutes into the total 12:28, but the band soon return to the sense of drift that got them to where they are and use it as the beginning of a subtle and almost jazzy linear build that moves ahead not with tension headed toward an overblown crescendo — though there’s a payoff, to be sure — but with the message that it’s the journey that’s most important and the act of getting there that matters more than whatever level of wash one might find upon arrival. And that payoff, it’s worth noting, is still reasonably restrained, which is telling of the band’s ethic overall — monomyth furthereven in their moment of “letting go,” they keep control of the groove enough not to let it get away from them.

It’s not just about restraint or control, of course, as Further‘s rampant melody, rhythm and exploration head them out into a space rock of their own making. The penultimate cut “Collision” is a departure in length at just 5:37 and finds the band coming to ground in a reasonably straightforward movement, the lead guitar line winding out over organ where vocals otherwise might be but not simply taking their place so much as doing things a human voice simply couldn’t do in weaving in and out of the accompanying rhythm lines. Percussion and keys and a corresponding proggy shuffle keep “Collision” tied to its surroundings enough that as the song moves into its second half and unfurls a surprising turn into ultra-winding leads and more technical stylizations, it’s still only as inconsistent as it intends to be. The finish is as raucous as Monomyth get on Further, which is fair enough, but it’s still a sustained melody of keys and guitar that ends the track on a long fade, bringing about the first synth rumblings of 17-minute closer “6equj5,” the title of which refers to the ‘Wow! signal’ captured by Ohio State University’s Big Ear radio telescope in 1977. The Big Ear project is to listen for extraterrestrial radio transmissions, and that detected wave remains the best candidate discovered.

So Monomyth, then, are working with a more cosmic palette on the finisher, and the increased scale is a fair enough representation of that, but the patience in the track too befits its space-centric title. A swirl of synth and guitar soloing has taken hold by about five and a half minutes in, though the band seem to have gotten there through only the most hypnotic of means, taken their time rather than rushed through a build. It’s a marked and willful contrast, of course, to “Collision” just before, but as “6equj5” divides into its component movements, it does so only on its own terms, bringing changes and surges of volume where it will as it moves into its second half before getting quieter and stretching out a line of organ across a more rushing current of guitar and steady drums. The grand finale? Sure, and one that consumes the better part of the last six minutes of the song. A ‘Wow! signal’ unto itself, “6equj5” culminates in as fervent a wash as Monomyth have created anywhere on Further and pushes through to an ending of residual noise suddenly cut off rather than faded out, which seems like one last directed choice intended to shock the listener into the realization that the journey has capped. And so it has.

The band have released two more full-lengths since Further in the form of 2016’s Exo and 2019’s Orbis Quadrantis, and they’ve become fixtures at continental European festivals like Desertfest Berlin and Belgium, Roadburn and so on. They’re booked for Freak Valley in June and the Burg Herzberg Festival in August — both in Germany — though of course those plans like everything else have no doubt been rendered “shrug? here’s hoping?” by the COVID-19 pandemic. Whatever happens there, it seemed important to emphasize the sense of purpose and control that Monomyth brought to the writing and construction of Further, from the making of the material itself to the fact that the tracks got longer as they went — “Collision” notwithstanding, but even that was intentional. In chaotic times, sometimes it’s just a relief to know that it’s possible to have a handle on anything, ever, and that’s what I’m taking from Further these six years after its release.

As always, I hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading.

I got The Pecan about 20 minutes after he woke up. He usually takes a few minutes to wake up and I’ve found it’s best if you let him handle that process on his own rather than burst in and bug him right away. By the time I got upstairs, there was poop on the wall. Not that he’d actively spread it there or anything, but it was up his back out of his diaper and he’d rubbed his back on the wall. The outfit he was wearing I just threw out. He went in the tub and I gave him a bath while The Patient Mrs. took care of the bedroom. I got bit twice in the process of washing him off. He got me later too on the back of my arm when I wasn’t looking and again on my shoulder as I was putting him in the car after that, I guess just to remind me I’m a fucking asshole.

Fair enough.

We went in the car early because we had to leave the house because he was too miserable to eat and there’s nothing else to do. We drove to Newark and looked at cherry blossoms in a park at The Patient Mrs.’ suggestion. They weren’t all out and the ground was wet because apparently it rained overnight, but whatever. It was a thing to do. Two hours, a granola bar, a cheese stick and other assorted snackies later, it was at least a partial reset, and the day very, very, very much needed one.

I haven’t been sleeping all week and I’m fucking miserable. Chicken and egg, right?

We’re still going out to grocery stores and all that. Social distancing, washing hands, all that coronavirus shit is what it is. I don’t think New Jersey will have to shelter in place like San Francisco, and even if we did, I don’t think we’d be arrested for taking a walk through the neighborhood, so we’ll see. It’s hard. It fucking sucks. It could be worse I guess. Everybody is anxious. Everybody is miserable. Everybody is covered in shit. No one is sick at the moment.

Except my nephew, who has the flu. Kid’s always got the flu.

Anyway. Next week is the Quarterly Review. I have no idea how, but that’s the plan.

Today’s a new episode of the Gimme show. 5PM Eastern. Listen at http://gimmeradio.com.

Other that and my anxiety-driven desire to consume garlic en masse, that’s all I’ve got. If you wanted to bludgeon me with a shovel, as long as I didn’t know when it was coming, I don’t think I’d fight you.

Great and safe weekend. Enjoy the memes about washing your hands.

FRM.

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Monomyth to Release Orbis Quadrantis Sept. 13; Playing Desertfest Belgium and More

Posted in Whathaveyou on June 19th, 2019 by JJ Koczan

monomyth (photo by Michael Mees)

By the time Monomyth‘s new album, Orbis Quadrantis, is released on Sept. 13, it’ll be nearly a year after the track at the bottom of this post was first made public. 11 months, anyhow. That’s a pretty long wait, but fortunately, the depths offered up in “Aquilo” are plentiful enough to sustain, and double-fortunately, the album, which was originally slated to be out in February, will now be timed to the swath of autumnal live dates the Netherlands-based outfit have booked. So maybe the release is old news and maybe the track is old news, but the confirmed release date is new and while I wonder what pushed the thing back seven months — which, whatever it was, must have been frustrating for band and label alike, as well as anyone who heard “Aquilo” and wanted to dig into more — I’m at least glad there’s more to come now.

If you haven’t heard the track yet, and hey, maybe you have, maybe you haven’t, it might be the quickest 12 minutes you spend today.

Have fun:

monomyth orbis quadrantis

Monomyth – Orbis Quadrantis

RELEASE DATE: September 13, 2019

Monomyth: Five Flying Dutchmen who make the most thrilling instrumental soundscapes. Formed in The Hague in 2011, Monomyth are not afraid to push the boundaries of space / stoner rock. After playing festivals like Roadburn and Desertfest, 2019 sees the band starting a new chapter with their fourth album.

On Orbis Quadrantis the band delves into unexplored waters, yet their meticulous open-ended psychedelics remain in-between Ariel Pink and Pink Floyd.

The first vinyl editions in both 180g ‘black‘ and limited 180g ‘clear transparent blue and black mixed‘ vinyl comes in a 6-panel fold-out cover with double-sided artwork, black polybag inner cover and transparent plastic outer cover with Monomyth logo! The first 100 orders will also receive a hand-signed A5 photo card!

Tracklist:
01. Aquilo
02. Eurus
03. Auster
04. Favonius

TOUR
10-08-2019 – Yellowstock, Geel (B)
04-10-2019 – EKKO, Utrecht
18-10-2019 – Desertfest, Antwerpen (B)
19-10-2019 – Burgerweeshuis, Deventer
01-11-2019 – Merleyn, Nijmegen
02-11-2019 – Gebr. de Nobel, Leiden
15-11-2019 – Melkweg, Amsterdam
29-11-2019 – t Beest, Goes
30-11-2019 – De Gelderlandfabriek, Culemborg
06-12-2019 – VERA, Groningen
12-12-2019 – PAARD, Den Haag
13-12-2019 – Hall of Fame, Tilburg

https://www.facebook.com/monomyththeband
https://monomyththeband.bandcamp.com/
http://www.monomyththeband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/suburbanrecords
https://www.instagram.com/suburbanrecords/
https://suburban.nl/

Monomyth, “Aquilo”

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Friday Full-Length: Orange Sunshine, Homo Erectus

Posted in Bootleg Theater on February 16th, 2018 by JJ Koczan

You wanna hear something wild? Go ahead and click play on Orange Sunshine‘s 2001 debut, Homo Erectus. That’ll qualify for sure. Something else, demonstrably less wild: I was all set to close out thweek with their second album, 2003’s Love = Acid Space = Hell, but as I started putting the post together, it turned out I already did, like two years ago. Hell, at least I’m consistent.

When it comes to boogie and/or fuzz rock, they don’t come much more undervalued than the Den Haag-based power trio. They were there early — Homo Erectus lit a fire under the ass of anyone who heard it upon its release in 2001 as the band — now comprised of Arthur van Berkel (guitar), Mehdi Rouchiche (bass), Guy Tavares (drums/vocals) — dove headfirst into the fuzzed-out heavy blies of “Catfish” — coated in ’60s whiteboy soul like a slightly less frantic Radio Moscow — ad the unmitigated swing of… well, just about all of it. In its original form, the album’s got six tracks. Take your pick and insert namedrop here.

Of course, Blue Cheer are a influence in sound and style, but one can hear plenty of bluesier-minded Hendrix throughout Homo Erectus, as well as The Kinks on album-closer “Free” and some shades of Sabbath on the otherwise Leaf Hound-referential “Girl, You…” or the Stoogesy vibe in opener “Hush Hush” serve as distinctive moments, driven by powerhouse basslines and the loose-feeling vocals of Tavares, who also mans the helm of Motorwolf Studios where the album was recorded for release on — wait for it — Motorwolf Records. These sonic references would become even more of a theme on Love = Acid Space = Hell, when Orange Sunshine dug deeper into specifics on Thin Lizzy and MC5, but “Magic Ship” here does a damn good job of getting the point across of proto-heavy swing, and the immediate shuffle of “Hush Hush” and stoned bluesy stomp of “Catfish” do pretty well too. If you’ve never heard Orange Sunshine before, you’re not going to come out of Homo Erectus with any mistake about where they’re coming from, is what I’m trying to say.

A few different versions of Homo Erectus have been released over the years, by Motorwolf as noted and then subsequent reissues in 2004 through Leaf Hound Records and Headspin Records. Leaf Hound would also do versions of Love = Acid Space = Hell and the third Orange Sunshine LP, Bullseye of Being, which saw initial release in 2006 under the title Ruler of the Universe before a revamp made the collection of covers what it wound up being. The band put out a couple live records this decade — both Live at Roadburn 2007 (released in 2011) and 2014’s Live at Freak Valley (review here) — but there hasn’t been much activity on the studio front. Still, I recall fondly seeing them at Roadburn 2010 (review here) and watching them play three Blue Cheer covers. In fact, it was regaling The Patient Mrs. with that story a couple days ago for probably the 80th time that made me want to close out the week with them. So there you go.

When I was a lad. Just a wee college boy doing wee college radio playing heavy rock and roll even as I was still in the process of discovering what it was, I wrote an email to Guy Tavares as representative of Motorwolf. I sent out a lot of that kind of note in those days to bands and labels I discovered mostly by perusing SoulSeek and the All That is Heavy store : “Hey, send me CDs and I’ll play them on the radio in the NY market.” It wasn’t a bad pitch, to be honest. Tavares not only sent me Homo Erectus and Love = Acid Space = Hell, but also the Den Haag Motor Rock compilation and a few other odds and ends. This was maybe in 2003. I still have those copies of those records, and there continue to be times when nothing else quite seems like enough of a party.

As always, I hope you enjoy.

I made this pot of coffee yesterday, it was so good you would not have fucking believed it. It was a medium roast custom blend I’ve put together through Dean’s Beans, and I don’t know if it was the grind, the water temperature, the amount of water or what, but wow. It was smooth and delicious and so god damned good that I actually stopped drinking my first cup of it so that it could come to room temp and I could make The Patient Mrs. — who prefers colder coffee to hotter — give it a shot, even though she’s supposed to take it easy on caffeine while breastfeeding. If our son got some second hand, I feel like it can only go toward developing his palette for the better. Or make him poop, which he was going to do sooner or later anyway.

I’ve got another pot of the same roast brewed right now and I’m a little nervous to take it on, to be honest. What if it’s not as good? What if it was a fluke? A one-time deal? Guess I’ll never know until I give it a pour.

The Patient Mrs., The Pecan and I have shared a cold all week. Same cold, the three of us. Only the Little Dog Dio seems to be immune, and more power to her, because it’s been more than its fair share of terrible. Hurts to swallow my delicious coffee and all this food that medical professionals are obliging me to consume — I’ve put on so much weight in the last month-plus it makes me so sad; let’s not talk about it — plus my sinuses feel like they’re in one of those hand-crank vise grips, and I’m all coughy and swollen throat glands and all the rest. It has sucked and continues to suck. I’m hoping over the weekend to get better but I’ll be plenty busy this weekend too.

Because next week — actually through the end of the month — is totally and completely packed. Here’s notes subject to change:

Mon.: Blackwulf video premiere/album review; Supernaughty album stream/track-by-track.
Tue.: Apostle of Solitude album stream/review.
Wed.: All Souls Six Dumb Questions; maybe a Besvärjelsen track premiere.
Thu.: Deathwhite album stream/review.
Fri.: Strauss EP stream/review.

I’ve got a couple other projects I’m working on and so forth — somebody’s willing to pay me to write bios! — and the process of putting stuff together for the Roadburn Weirdo Canyon Dispatch has begun, so I’ll be dedicating some time to that as I continue to recover from this cold this weekend, but beyond that, I’ve got a good friend coming north tonight to spend some time with us and the baby, The Patient Mrs. plans to make lentils for dinner that I’ll have with brown rice and I’ll make homemade peanut butter granola sometime either today or tomorrow using my own mixed-nut butter and oats and cereal and whatever else I can get my hands on.

It’ll be a good time all around, even with the screaming baby who doesn’t understand why he feels so crapped out. Sorry kid.

Whatever you’re up to, I hope you have a great and safe time. Please enjoy yourself, check back Monday for more whatnottery, and in the meantime hit up the forum and the radio stream, which Slevin was kind enough to fix this week when it went offline. Much appreciated, sir, as always.

PS: The coffee is delicious.

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Supersonic Blues Release Debut Single Supersonic Blues Theme / Curses on My Soul

Posted in Whathaveyou on May 4th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

supersonic blues Photo-Ruud-Aarbodem

Keen observers of things rock and/or roll should note the Motorwolf namedrop when it comes to Den Haag newcomer trio Supersonic Blues. That studio, headed by Guy Tavares, also of Orange Sunshine, has been responsible for some of the finest in raw-energy heavy/garage traditionalism, from Tavares‘ own outfit and a slew of others, including Death Alley, who discussed the influence recording there had on them back in our 2015 interview. That’s by no means the be-all-end-all of Supersonic Blues‘ appeal, as the two cuts on their debut single showcase, but it definitely lets you know they have their collective head screwed on right when it comes to choosing with whom to work.

The 7″ release, Supersonic Blues Theme / Curses on My Soul is out now via respected purveyor Who Can You Trust? Records, and you can and should take the time to stream both tracks below, especially if you’d like a quick lesson in how something can sound so laid back and raucous at the same time. It’s the vibe, man. The vibe. The vibe. The vibe.

Dig it:

supersonic-blues-supersonic-blues-theme

SUPERSONIC BLUES – ‘SUPERSONIC BLUES THEME / CURSES ON MY SOUL’ 7″ VINYL

Emerging from the same musical underground that spawned the classic acid blues rock of Orange Sunshine, a new generation on the rise is bringing us the first offering of SUPERSONIC BLUES, a young band from The Hague. Inspired by the late 60s/early 70s blues, funk and soul, there’s no doubt they had to take the shortest and best way into the halls of Motorwolf Studios, The Hague, led by Guy Tavares of Orange Sunshine / Motorwolf Records.

What came out is a debut of old school garage blues and fuzzy acid rock in it’s perfect tonal and physical form! This is the type music you only want to listen to on your record player …nowhere else.

With the mutual love for obscure, groovy, heavy and fuzzed out music from the 1960s and 70s, soon Gianni and Timothy found themselves spinning their record collection on The Hague’s underground radio station, Radio Tonka. With the addition of drummer Lennart Jansen, Supersonic Blues was a fact. Expect some nice jams, inspired by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Blue Cheer, the MC5, Cream and even some hints of funk and soul music! Right on!

Edition of 400 copies on black vinyl.

Tracklisting:
1. Supersonic Blues Theme 03:01
2. Curses On My Soul 05:01

Supersonic Blues is:
Lennart (drums)
Gianni (bass)
Timothy (guitar)

https://www.facebook.com/supersonicblues/
http://whocanyoutrustrec.bigcartel.com/product/supersonic-blues-supersonic-blues-theme-curses-on-my-soul-7-Vinyl
https://whocanyoutrustrec.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Who-Can-You-Trust-Records-187406787966906/

Supersonic Blues, Supersonic Blues Theme / Curses on My Soul (2017)

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