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The Obelisk Presents: The Top 20 of 2017 So Far

Posted in Features on June 12th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

the obelisk top-20-2017-so-far

The time has come to take a look at some of the best albums of 2017 so far. I hardly know where to start. In some ways, this list is harder to put together than the end-of-year one that comes out in December, because by then not only do you have the full year to draw on, but it’s easier to sort of put a narrative to the course of events of 12 months, whereas in this case, obviously, the story is half told. So I guess if the list feels incomplete, that might be part of why.

Even with just six months to work from, the list has become fairly immense. I’ve been keeping track of 2017 releases since about September of last year, and the amount of stuff that’s come through has been staggering. Every year brings good music, and the basic fact of the matter is that if you don’t think so it’s because you’re either unwilling to find it or unwilling to let yourself hear it, but 2017 has been a multi-tiered assault of sounds from all over the world, and it seems like whatever you might be into, the universe stands ready to accommodate.

There’s a lot to say about that — is the market flooded? — but it’s a topic for a different post. I’ll keep it short here and just say that as always, it’s an honor to be covering the stuff that I cover and that I deeply appreciate you taking the time to read. I hope if there’s a release you feel deeply passionate about that you don’t see on my list below that you’ll please let me know about it in the comments.

Also, please note that in order to qualify for this list, a record had to come out on or before June 9. That’s the cutoff.

Okay, here goes:

The Top 20 of 2017 So Far

elder reflections of a floating world

1. Elder, Reflections of a Floating World
2. All Them Witches, Sleeping Through the War
3. Samsara Blues Experiment, One with the Universe
4. Colour Haze, In Her Garden
5. Atavismo, Inerte
6. Sun Blood Stories, It Runs Around the Room with Us
7. Cloud Catcher, Trails of Kozmic Dust
8. Vokonis, The Sunken Djinn
9. The Obsessed, Sacred
10. Mothership, High Strangeness
11. Spaceslug, Time Travel Dilemma
12. Electric Moon, Stardust Rituals
13. Alunah, Solennial
14. Arc of Ascent, Realms of the Metaphysical
13. Rozamov, This Mortal Road
14. Siena Root, A Dream of Lasting Peace
15. PH, Eternal Hayden
16. Geezer, Psychoriffadelia
17. T.G. Olson, Foothills Before the Mountain
18. Telekinetic Yeti, Abominable
19. The Devil and the Almighty Blues, II
20. Lord, Blacklisted

Notes

If you keep up with this site at all, there probably aren’t a lot of surprises in there. These are all records that have been discussed at great length over the last six months, reviewed, streamed, analyzed, whathaveyou’d all the way. If you don’t believe me, search any of the names. Still, as far as my personal picks go and who I think has crafted something special over the last six months, this feels pretty representative to me. I managed to live for a full week with the list as you see it above, without making changes. That’s usually my standard.

And as always, it’s a combination of what I’ve listened to most and what I feel has had the greatest impact thus far into the year. Between the two, there was little doubt Elder would take the top spot. I’ve probably listened to the All Them Witches record more than anything else this year, including Elder’s Reflections of a Floating World, but the truth is the Massachusetts trio are working at a level of their own making in terms of their sonic progression, and that they’ve emerged as one of if not the most pivotal American underground heavy rock bands going. The situation was much the same when they put out Lore in 2015 and claimed that year’s top-album spot, but even since then their sound has expanded and they continue to demand ultimate respect.

As for the All Them Witches album — absolute stunner. The increased depth of their arrangements on Sleeping Through the War came at no expense of songwriting, resulting in ultra-memorable material that could either wash over you with melody or shove you out of your seat with the force of its rhythm, and that band continues to be a treasure. No other way to put it.

From there, we move into what I think are the four best heavy psych offerings of 2017 so far, with Samsara Blues Experiment, Colour Haze, Atavismo and Sun Blood Stories, in that order. Samsara Blues Experiment’s return has been a joy to witness and their first album in four years lived up to the occasion. Colour Haze expanded the palette from their last album with In Her Garden and proved as immersive as always. I’m still getting to know that record. Atavismo’s second full-length upped the progressive influences without losing fluidity or cohesion in songwriting, and Sun Blood Stories’ hypnotic shoegaze offered expansive thrills and a sense of varied, beautifully crafted exploration.

A pair of exciting young bands thereafter in Colorado’s Cloud Catcher, whose boogie is right-on-right-on and whose development continues to hold much potential, and Vokonis, whose crushing riffs on The Sunken Djinn were met with an increased focus on structure and tightening of approach that maximized overall impact. The Obsessed’s unexpected return could only be called a triumphant one, and Mothership’s third long-player found them working in a richer sense of mood than previous outings, adding yet more character to what was still a blast of good-time rock and roll. They round out the top 10 in full command of who they are as players.

Granted, the next 10 releases are kind of all over the place, but I think that just shows the overarching quality of work being done across the board. From Spaceslug’s melodic stoner-psych to Electric Moon’s studio return — so, so, so good — to Alunah’s continued growth in nature-worshiping heavy and Arc of Ascent’s comebacker of rolling heavy riffs and metaphysical themes, there’s been so much to take in. I especially like the pairing of Rozamov and Siena Root as a sense of scope for 2017 so far; the former being so dark and crushing and the latter who lived up to calling their record A Dream of Lasting Peace. You want to know both ends of the spectrum? There they are.

PH’s Eternal Hayden gets a nod for its effective reset of the context of that band following the completion of their trilogy of albums, and Geezer’s Psychoriffadelia might have been something of a tossoff in the making, but the level at which the New York trio jams nonetheless assures it a spot here. Plus, a Nazareth cover. So duh.

I couldn’t help but include T.G. Olson’s Foothills Before the Mountain on the list as the Across Tundras frontman creeps closer to a full-band sound for his solo work, adding to his acoustic singer-songwriter foundations, and the crush of Telekinetic Yeti’s post-Sleep riffing evoked so many nods I thought they deserved one here as well. Placing The Devil and the Almighty Blues was difficult, but especially after seeing them live, I felt like I had a better idea of where they were coming from on II, so knew they belonged somewhere, even if it was tucked in at the end. And of course, Lord. Always killer, always experimenting, always chaotic. Never have grind and sludge sounded more cohesive together. They’re the band I wish Soilent Green had become, and yes, I mean that.

Honorable Mention

Let’s do another 10 releases, shall we?

21. Beastmaker, Inside the Skull
22. Arduini/Balich, Dawn of Ages
23. Brume, Rooster
24. John Garcia, The Coyote Who Spoke in Tongues
25. Six Sigma, Tuxedo Brown
26. Demon Head, Thunder on the Fields
27. Summoner, Beyond the Realm of Light
28. Steak, No God to Save
29. Six Organs of Admittance, Burning the Threshold
30. Dool, Here Now There Then

And just to make the point, here are even more worthy of note in this space:

Elbrus, Elbrus
Cortez, The Depths Below
Ecstatic Vision, Raw Rock Fury
Child, Blueside (a December 2016 release, maybe, but I think the vinyl was this year, so whatever)
Pallbearer, Heartless
Spidergawd, IV
Green Meteor, Consumed by a Dying Sun
Loss, Horizonless

There are of course other names as well that come to mind. Like I said at the outset, it’s a crowded field: Hymn, Arbouretum, Green Meteor, REZN, Demon Head, Galley Beggar, Devil’s Witches, Orango, Heavy Traffic, Coltsblood, Mt. Mountain, Vokonis, Solstafir, High Plains, on and on.

Also worth highlighting several really, really quality live records that have surfaced so far this year. I didn’t really know where to place them among the other studio offerings, but they deserve note for sure:

Causa Sui, Live in Copenhagen
Death Alley, Live at Roadburn
My Sleeping Karma, Mela Ananda – Live
Enslaved, Roadburn Live

More to Come

Of course, we’re still just barely halfway through the year, so keep on the lookout for more to follow. If you didn’t see my massive 200+ albums to watch for list in January, it has many that have come out and many more still to surface, but here are a few highlight names as well that you’re going to want to keep an eye on in the months ahead:

Queens of the Stone Age
Radio Moscow
The Atomic Bitchwax
Kadavar
Ufomammut
The Midnight Ghost Train
Moon Rats
Clamfight
Egypt
the Melvins
Bison Machine
Seedy Jeezus
High on Fire
Monster Magnet

Thanks for Reading

Before I check out, I’d like to give special mention to Lo-Pan’s In Tensions EP as the best short release of the year thus far. Along with EPs from Godhunter, Kings Destroy, Solace and Shroud Eater, it has assured those seeking a quick fix are handed their ass in return for asking.

Well, that’s about where I’m at with it. As per usual, I’m sure there are things I forgot and/or left off here, because I’m human and whatnot, so please if you have something to add, feel free to do so in the comments so long as you can keep it cordial. No name calling. I’m sensitive and you’ll ruin my whole day. I mean that.

Thanks again for being a part of this and here’s to an excellent rest of 2017.

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Six Organs of Admittance Touring Europe in June

Posted in Whathaveyou on May 5th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

Cool that Ben Chasny is heading abroad once more with Six Organs of Admittance, but the reason I’m really glad to run into the news below is that it’s given me an excuse to put on earlier 2017’s Burning the Threshold (review here) this afternoon. One tries to listen to an artist when writing about them — seems the least I can do, most of the time — and the chillout of “Things as They Are” and “Adoration Song,” for which you can also see the recently-unveiled video at the bottom of this post, are just about right for where my head’s at, and more to the point where it needs to be, at the moment. So yeah, the timing is nice.

I missed Chasny coming through to support the album at the start of April, like I’ve missed pretty much everybody coming through for every reason for the last year-plus, but if you’re in the UK, Netherlands, Belgium or France, you should still go check out his show. I’ve seen him with a full band and I’ve seen him (mostly) on his own, and both are a great way to spend an eevning.

From the PR wire:

six-organs-of-admittance-photo-Elisa-Ambrogio

Six Organs Of Admittance announce European spring/summer tour

The threshold continues to smolder as Six Organs of Admittance keep the flame. Burning the Threshold, released in February, sees Ben Chasny’s cyclical resurgence of acoustic guitar love. The Burning The Threshold tour is preparing to leap continents, as Six Organs of Admittance announce its European spring and summer tour. Solo acoustic guitar from a bona fide wizard of the six string, the shows are as follows…

TOUR DATES
5 JUNE – NL, UTRECHT – LE GUESS WHO @ CULTURAL SUNDAY
6 JUNE – NL, HAARLEM – PATRONAAT
7 JUNE – NL, TILBURG – SOUNDS (RECORD STORE)
8 JUNE – BE, BRUSSELS – BOTANIQUE – WITLOOF BAR
9 JUNE – FR, LILLE – CENTRE CULTUREL DE LESQUIN
10 JUNE – FR, PARIS – TBC
11 JUNE – UK, BRIGHTON – KOMEDIA
14 JUNE – UK, NEWCASTLE – THE CLUNY
15 JUNE – UK, LEEDS – BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB
16 JUNE – UK, EDINBURGH – SUMMERHALL
21 JUNE – UK, LONDON – MOTH CLUB

Chasny is currently holed up in a Cleveland, OH castle scoring music for Things As They Are, David Todd’s play about Wallace Stevens (a Six O inspiration), which runs this month at the Reinberger Auditorum. Immediately following is when 6OOA propels towards across the Atlantic – everyone in the UK, Netherlands, France and Belgium, prepare to embrace Six Organs with open arms, like the comet that will surely save us all.

Additionally, on a recent trip to London for the exclusive release show for Burning The Threshold, Chasny took his acoustic guitar on a little detour over to Maida Vale Studios for an improvised recording session for BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction Session, with sitar player Baluji Shrivastav and drummer Steve Noble. The whole thing was recorded and mixed in one day, and it’s supremely beautiful.

Finally, we invite all to enjoy the first music video and third single from Burning The Threshold, “Adoration Song” which enervates and elevates ones mind with images of the raw majesty of nature and haunting reminders of the unknowable. Directed by Elisa Ambrogio, the sun hangs over the moss and lichen, the cliffs and sandy shores of wintery northern California. Ben’s melody and lyrics work as layers with the sharp focus and gauzy allegorical bent of the video, which features Ben as elephant man, a remote wanderer fearful of the world around him, until he removes his sheath, obtains the third eye and rises up, to become a part of the natural world, moving forward with two sets of footprints in the sand behind him.

http://www.dragcity.com/products/burning-the-threshold
http://geni.us/SOOABurningiTunes
http://geni.us/SOOABurningAmazon
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http://www.sixorgans.com/

Six Organs of Admittance, “Adoration Song” official video

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Six Organs of Admittance Post “Adoration Song” Video; US Tour on Now

Posted in Bootleg Theater on March 8th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

six-organs-of-admittance-adoration-song

Ben Chasny has spent the better part of the last week on the road along the West Coast supporting the latest outing from Six Organs of Admittance, Burning the Threshold (review here), which is out now on Drag City. He’ll have more tour dates starting at the end of this month and rolling into April along the Eastern Seaboard and into the Midwest, and to further mark the album’s arrival, he has a new video for the track “Adoration Song” directed by Elisa Ambrogio that mirrors the song’s bright and pastoral melodic flow with ambient visuals, some psychedelic experimentation, and perhaps most crucially, dogs.

Burning the Threshold is something of a repatriation for Chasny in how Six Organs of Admittance works following 2015’s Hexadic (review here) and 2016’s Hexadic II, both of which were constructed using the titular Hexadic system of songwriting. One can hear echoes of the project’s past in “Adoration Song,” in the blend of folkish traditionalism and psych nuance, and of course Chasny‘s voice owns the melody as few could hope to, but the album could hardly be called a backward step. Six Organs of Admittance has always approached a given work with a sense of intent — even if that intent is no intent — and the latest offering proves no different. One gets the sense of a cleaning house in terms of material, and there’s a corresponding push toward the far-out that later pieces like “Taken by Ascent” unfurl toward colorful and immersive splendors.

“Adoration Song,” the second of the nine tracks on Burning the Threshold, is somewhat humble by comparison, but it’s also one of the record’s most memorable inclusions, proving how few frills are needed for raw songcraft at its best to make a lasting impression.

Tour dates and more info off the PR wire follows the clip below.

Please enjoy:

Six Organs of Admittance, “Adoration Song” official video

On the cusp of two full decades of music-making, Six Organs of Admittance has ridden winds and waves spanning passion and logic and myth. The brand-new full length, Burning the Threshold, exudes a warmth not always found in Ben Chasny’s music – but that’s how life works, taking us up and down over time. Ben’s records have charted that passage, making his arrival at this seemingly sweet moment a special pleasure, and as always, a magic and musical one as well. It is now available for all to hear via vinyl, CD, cassette and digital files. What more can Ben Chasny do? Well, how about a brand new music video to unveil in anticipation of his tour? Done!

For the first music video and third single from Burning The Threshold, “Adoration Song” enervates and elevates ones mind, with images of the raw majesty of nature and haunting reminders of the unknowable. Directed by Elisa Ambrogio, the sun hangs over the moss and lichen, the cliffs and sandy shores of wintery northern California. Ben’s melody and lyrics work as layers with the sharp focus and gauzy allegorical bent of the video, which features Ben as elephant man, a remote wanderer fearful of the world around him, until he removes his sheath, obtains the third eye and rises up, to become a part of the natural world, moving forward with two sets of footprints in the sand behind him.

600A ON TOUR
08/03/17 Wed in San Diego, CA at Soda Bar
23-26/03/17 in Knoxville, TN at Big Ears Festival
28/03/17 Tue in Atlanta, GA at The Earl
29/03/17 Wed in Asheville, NC at Mothlight
30/03/17 Thu in Raleigh, NC at Kings
31/03/17 Fri in Washington, DC at DC9
01/04/17 Sat in Brooklyn, NY at Union Pool
02/04/17 Sun in Boston, MA at Great Scott
03/04/17 Mon in Portland, ME at Space Gallery
05/04/17 Wed in Philadelphia, PA at Johnny Brenda’s
06/04/17 Thu in Pittsburgh, PA at Club Cafe
07/04/17 Fri in Cleveland, OH at Beachland Tavern
08/04/17 Sat in Detroit, MI at Third Man Records
09/04/17 Sun in Chicago, IL at Empty Bottle
10/04/17 Mon in Minneapolis, MN at 7th St. Entry
12/04/17 Wed in Milwaukee, WI at Collectivo Coffee
14/04/17 Fri in St. Louis, MO at Duck Room at Blueberry Hill
15/04/17 Sat in Louisville, KY at Zanzabar

Six Organs of Admittance website

Six Organs of Admittance on Twitter

Six Organs of Admittance at Drag City

Drag City webstore

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Six Organs of Admittance, Burning the Threshold: A Return from the Hexadic

Posted in Reviews on February 13th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

six organs of admittance burning the threshold

Considering how much of Ben Chasny‘s approach in the nearly 20 years he’s operated under the banner of Six Organs of Admittance has been experimental — from solo-crafted noise drones to full-band psychedelic blowouts on various albums, limited releases, one-off collaborations, and so on — it doesn’t seem fair to think of his latest outing, Burning the Threshold, as some kind of “return to roots,” but it does represent a marked realignment of his sound. Burning the Threshold arrives via Drag City as the follow-up to 2015’s Hexadic (review here) and 2016’s Hexadic II, which served as a vehicle for a complex, mathematical, somewhat opaque (to my caveman brain) method of composition of Chasny‘s own devising — he wrote a book about it as well — and were arguably his most progressive and conceptual offerings the guitarist also known for Comets on FireRangdaAugust Born, and so on, has put forth.

Unsurprisingly, as Chasny moves away from the Hexadic system at least for the time being and shifts toward a more straightforward songwriting style, his material seems far less angular and far more accessible. At an unassuming nine tracks/40 minutes, Burning the Threshold breathes out richly melodic folk, tinged with psychedelia particularly on “Taken by Ascent” in a way that pieces like “Close to the Sky” from 2012’s Ascent (review here), or the tense title-track of 2007’s Shelter from the Ash have dared to be — the album between, 2009’s Luminous Night, looked more toward Easternisms for its psych explorations, when it wasn’t droning out — including arrangements of drums, bass and guitar, but the core of Six Organs of Admittance is Chasny as the auteur.

Where the Hexadic records were more of a display for the system itself — not to say they weren’t expressive, but in a different manner — Burning the Threshold reemphasizes the human such that pieces like “Under Fixed Stars” or the instrumental “Around the Axis” in the album’s midsection feel burn of folk traditions despite remaining forward thinking. If that isn’t the definition of “neo-folk,” it should be, but whatever one calls it, the execution is Chasny‘s own and will be immediately recognizable as such to those who’ve followed him from releases like the aforementioned Shelter from the Ash or the earlier The Sun Awakens (2006), School of the Flower (2005) and Compathia (2003). He’s not recreating those sounds, varied as they were, but moving ahead with perhaps a similar foundation. The sweetness of opener “Things as They Are” comes across as a marked statement of intent; immediately Burning the Threshold is a return to reality, even with its chorus about angels and moral portrait of the universe.

six organs of admittance (Photo-by-Elisa-Ambrogio)

Followed by “Adoration Song,” which along with gorgeous layers of self-harmonized singing subtly introduces backing vocals, electric guitar, bass and drums that will be pivotal later on “Taken by Ascent,” the beginning of the record is as wonderfully immersive as only a sigh of relief can be. As he guides listeners through the tracklist, the short, acoustic-only instrumental piece “Reservoir” leading to the aforementioned, more fleshed out pairing of “Under Fixed Stars” and “Around the Axis,” Chasny seems to bask in the brightness he’s creating, such that “Adoration Song” and “Under Fixed Stars” exude patience bordering on the meditative; an aural stop for rose-smelling, maybe. Like the best of his work and others still to come here as well, these songs are progressive and affecting as well, familiar and strikingly new, and as the bouncing bassline of “Around the Axis” fills the space beneath the acoustic guitar with a tonal warmth not to be understated, Six Organs of Admittance sounds very much like a project come home to find its footing.

Such evocation is nothing new for Chasny, and I’ll allow my interpretation could be way off — certainly happened before — but even as the buzz of “Taken by Ascent” pushes outward into a standout hook with Chasny joined on vocals by Hayley Fohr, Chris Corsano on drums and Cooper Crain, breaking at almost exactly its midpoint and moving into a smooth instrumental psych-jam (again, the low end resonates), there seems to be a search for serenity happening. That continues as “Threshold of Light,” which is as close as we get to a title-track here, picks up with its swirling vocal effects and more earthbound acoustic figure, both vaguely ritualized. The second half of “Taken by Ascent” is hypnotic enough that just about any transition away from it would be jarring, but “Threshold of Light” presents a calm psychedelic folk, with vocals playing forward lines off chants and repetition that underscore a spiritual sensibility. If this indeed is the threshold that’s burning, one is left to wonder why as the keyboard flourish arrives late in a kind of soothing revelation, but not having it explained outright seems to fit with the notion the album originally proffered: it’s things as they are.

A resurgent bounce in the finger-plucked instrumental “St. Eustace” makes that track the third in a pastoral trilogy — arranged from shortest to longest — with “Reservoir” and “Around the Axis,” while the title references the Roman saint whose trials included the loss of his children to wolves and lions and being burned alive in a bronze statue. Hardly as uplifting as the redemption one hears in Chasny‘s guitar, but the closer, “Reflection” keeps to the theme in pleading, “Please, please peace,” amid repetitions of “Dull, abstract aching…” and so on atop wistful lines of acoustic strum and airy electrified notes. If one looks at Burning the Threshold as two vinyl sides with the split occurring between “Around the Axis” and “Taken by Ascent” — the latter leading off side B — then the second half seems to dig into more personal territory compared to “Things as They Are,” which is a more external parable. This progression toward inner emotionalism gives Six Organs of Admittance‘s latest a linear trajectory despite how far-out it goes in terms of sound, and the intimacy and depth of communication that emerges from it is perhaps what ties Burning the Threshold most to the body of Chasny‘s formidable catalog, to which these songs are a welcome addition.

Six Organs of Admittance, Burning the Threshold (2017)

Six Organs of Admittance website

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Drag City Records website

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Friday Full-Length: Pearls and Brass, The Indian Tower

Posted in Bootleg Theater on February 10th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

Pearls and Brass, The Indian Tower (2006)

Through what seems in hindsight like some miracle of interwebular happenstance — and by that I mean it likely happened through StonerRock.com or the All That is Heavy store — I managed to catch wind of the self-titled debut from Nazareth, Pennsylvania, trio Pearls and Brass around the time of its release through Doppelganger Records in 2003. That record was killer, and I’ll admit that if anyone had put it up on YouTube in its front-to-back entirety, I’d probably be closing out the week with it instead of its 2006 follow-up, The Indian Tower, which came out on Drag City, but the second outing was more fully developed in its approach, bringing together the bounce and desert-perfection thrust of Queens of the Stone Age‘s Songs for the Deaf with rolling Pennsylvania hillsides on cuts like opener “The Tower” and the subsequent “No Stone” while saving room for acoustic blues on “I Learn the Hard Way” and closer “Away the Mirrors,” and ’70s-style boogie that seems absolutely prescient in hindsight on “Pray for Sound” and only gets more manic with the kick into next gear on “The Boy of the Willow Tree.” First record or second, you don’t really lose either way, is my point. While keeping to organic undertones and the occasional flourish of pastoralia, Pearls and Brass could absolutely scorch the earth when they chose to do so — see “The Mirror” here — but they’d ultimately be no less defined by that than the heavy blues vibe of “Wake in the Morning.” Dudes were just awesome.

Last time I saw Pearls and Brass was in 2011 (review here). It was my first experience ever going to Saint Vitus Bar — I appreciated the fact that it wasn’t in Williamsburg but had little forethought as to the institution it would and has become — and the three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Randy Huth, bassist/backing vocalist Joel Winter, and drummer Josh Martin still brought it. By then, they were already overdue for a third full-length, but watching them live gave some measure of hope they’d be able to get something going again. Four years earlier, in 2007 Huth had also released a solo album of unplugged Americana folk blues, also via Drag City, under the moniker of Randall of Nazareth. Copies still exist for purchase on the interwebs if you’re interested in hunting it down, which if either “I Learn the Hard Way” or “Away the Mirrors” pique your interest as a complement to the rush of “The Face of God” here build on that nicely. Intimate vibe, like a bluesier take on some of Ben Chasny‘s stuff, but unpretentious to the point of recorded-in-the-living-room humility. Some five years after that record came out, I was fortunate enough to catch Huth — who had been playing for years with aggro punkers Pissed Jeans already — do a Randall of Nazareth set in Philly opening a show for EYE and Serpent Throne at Johnny Brenda’s (review here). I felt like I was getting away with something, and given how much he and/or Pearls and Brass have done since — not much — I probably was.

I don’t know what Winter or Martin have been up to, but Pissed Jeans have kept Huth busy. They have a new album, titled Why Love Now, out in two weeks on Sub Pop, for example, and they’ll tour to support it, so while Pearls and Brass are very likely tabled for good — as much as anything is ever permanent in rock and roll; never say never, never say die, always say “hiatus” — at least Huth has managed to find success elsewhere. It’s not really my thing compared to the pull and shove of “Black Rock Man” on The Indian Tower, but good on him anyhow. The self-titled Pearls and Brass, its follow-up and the Randall of Nazareth outing can remain as ripe-for-reissue fodder for the time being, like so many righteous offerings of the pre-Facebook oughts era.

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

Sort of a procedural note here — some bookkeeping, if you will — but at the end of last week I changed the name I post under from from H.P. Taskmaster to JJ Koczan, which if you didn’t know is my real name. It wasn’t a secret or anything. It’s what I post as on Thee Facebooks and I think Twitter and Instagram as well, but I’d been using H.P. Taskmaster for years here basically because it felt self-serving to see “published by JJ Koczan” on every post. Still kind of does.

It’s a weird name, not particularly attractive to the eye, so I avoided looking at it for a long time. I guess I finally decided I didn’t give a shit anymore. It’s not anything that has a bearing on what I’ll cover or how I’ll cover it — like I said, just bookkeeping — but it was a change I made and I thought I’d mention it, if only so I could go back later, search for “when I started posting under my real name” and find the date. I had decided not to mention it on social media and see if anyone even noticed. If they did, nobody mentioned it. Fair enough.

We got a decent-sized snowstorm yesterday on the Eastern Seaboard, and I was given the day off work as a result. Back at work today, but the bonus day was a welcome gimme and I was glad to take it. My commute is an hour each way — not nearly as bad as the last one, and neither is the job itself, but still, it’s not nothing — and it’s started to wear on me a bit, particularly in the winter evenings. I leave in the morning, it’s dark. I come home at night, it’s dark. I don’t think I saw the sun at all in January. Hello, Norway. It’s started to get lighter earlier and stay lighter later, but I find myself looking forward to summer in a way that can only mean I’ve forgotten how unpleasant life is when it’s 100 degrees out. Humans are simple creatures. Whatever I qualify as, it’s even simpler.

Next week (and actually the week after, too) is already packed. Here’s what’s in my notes:

Mon.: Six Organs of Admittance review (doing myself a favor there) and Dot Legacy video premiere.
Tue.: Full album stream/review of the new Thera Roya, video from Deep Space Destructors.
Wed.: Track premiere from the new Sweat Lodge EP, video from Lung Flower.
Thu.: Track premiere from the new Libido Fuzz album.
Fri.: Full album stream/review from Deep Space Destructors.

Yeah, it’s gonna get pretty far out by the time we hit Friday next week, and that’s definitely okay by me.

The Patient Mrs.‘ birthday is this weekend, and while the snowstorm curtailed my prior present-picking-up intentions yesterday, we’ll nonetheless be celebrating with family on Saturday and likely eating homemade jalapeno poppers on Sunday, which is the day itself, so I expect that will be good. Whatever you’re up to, I wish you a joyous time, relaxing if that’s what you’re looking for, or otherwise action-packed and suspenseful, if that’s more your speed.

Have fun, be safe, thanks again for reading, and please check out the forum and radio stream.

The Obelisk Forum

The Obelisk Radio

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Six Organs of Admittance to Release Burning the Threshold Feb. 24

Posted in Whathaveyou on December 7th, 2016 by JJ Koczan

six-organs-of-admittance-photo-by-elisa-ambrogio

This is the time of year that kind of has me randomly scouring social media accounts and websites of artists I dig looking for signs of impending new music. It just so happens that I visited the Six Organs of Admittance page last week and found an update from Ben Chasny saying he’d finished work on a new record, so yeah, Six Organs was already included in my notes for the inevitable Most Anticipated of 2017 list, but it’s cool to get a name for the impending — Burning the Threshold — as well as a confirmed Feb. 24 release date through Drag City and, best of all, new audio in the form of the seven-minute “Taken by Ascent,” into which I’d encourage you to dig below. Seriously. Hit that up.

Chasny has spent the last year-plus with Six Organs of Admittance pursuing the elusive limits of his own Hexadic songwriting system, as first explored on 2015’s Hexadic (review here) and then subsequently on the complementary Hexadic II, but Burning the Threshold seems to be a return to a more grounded approach. You’ll note the acoustic foundation of “Taken by Ascent,” but that’s hardly the limit of the arrangement, which winds up working in keys, acoustic strum and leads, drums, bass, and so on, for a full-band feel that maintains the serenity of its opening even as it continues to expand into psychedelic see-you-later-ism.

Really, you should hit that up.

Art, info, tour dates and whatnot from the PR wire:

six-organs-of-admittance-burning-the-threshold

Six Organs Of Admittance announces new LP Burning The Threshold for Drag City; record release show in London

Six Organs of Admittance’s recent output has been a fascinating exercise in relinquished control, as Ben Chasny spread the word of his Hexadic system of musical composition by creating two albums according to its principles. Now, for the first time since 2012’s Ascent, Chasny is restoring his authorship of Six Organs of Admittance, and Drag City will be releasing the brand new full length record Burning The Threshold on February 24th – and to mark the occasion, there will be a special show at London’s St Pancras Old Church on 22nd of February.

As ever, a head full of ideas were driving Chasny to think and speak music as a spirituality superimposed onto a reality, with the ghosts of both whispering at each other. In the end, what sits in our listening ears is the sound of communion. Nobody plays acoustic music quite like Six Organs of Admittance, and Burning the Threshold brings a wealth of his established lightness into one of his sweetest musical meditations yet.

Ben is in a particularly expansive mood this time around, singing and playing with all the thoughts affixed to a quiver of potent melodies launching forth and arcing out through dimensions, seeking infinite space. This space radiates out from the album’s first single, “Taken By Ascent”, a seven minute plus burner that engulfs the surrounding realm with empathetic waves. Featuring resounding vocals by Hayley Fohr, polished drumming provided by Chris Corsano and flourishing keys by Cooper Crain; “Taken By Ascent” fervidly pushes Six Organs of Admittance into new and thrilling territory.

With this new music, Ben Chasny has created a potent tonic for our times. Looking at the world through clear eyes beneath a knitted brow, but with a laugh rising up from its heart, Burning the Threshold brings us a powerful draught of essence.

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE – RECORD RELEASE SHOW
Wednesday February 22nd at St. Pancras Old Church in London

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE – US TOUR
02/03/17 – Vancouver, BC at The Cobalt
03/03/17 – Seattle, WA at Fremont Abbey Arts Center
04/03/17 – Portland, OR at Bunk Bar
06/03/17 – San Francisco, CA at The Chapel
07/03/17 – Los Angeles, CA at Bootleg Bar
08/03/17 – San Diego, CA at Soda Bar
23-26/03/17 – Knoxville, TN Big Ears Festival – TBD date
28/03/17 – Atlanta, GA at The Earl
29/03/17 – Asheville, NC at Mothlight
30/03/17 – Raleigh, NC at Kings
31/03/17 – Washington, DC at DC9
01/04/17 – Brooklyn, NY at Union Pool
02/04/17 – Boston, MA at Great Scott
03/04/17 – Portland, ME at Space Gallery
05/04/17 – Philadelphia, PA at Johnny Brenda’s
06/04/17 – Pittsburgh, PA at Club Cafe
07/04/17 – Cleveland, OH at Beachland Tavern
08/04/17 – Detroit, MI at Third Man Records
09/04/17 – Chicago, IL at Empty Bottle
10/04/17 – Minneapolis, MN at 7th St. Entry
12/04/17 – Milwaukee, WI at Collectivo Coffee
14/04/17 – St. Louis, MO at Duck Room at Blueberry Hill
15/04/17 – Louisville, KY at Zanzabar

http://www.sixorgans.com/
https://twitter.com/6organs
http://www.dragcity.com/

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Six Organs of Admittance Announce Nov. Release for Hexadic II

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 16th, 2015 by JJ Koczan

six organs of admittance (Photo by Elisa Ambrogio)

Seems unlikely that it was Ben Chasny‘s intent going into the project, but with the acoustic Hexadic II, a foll0w-up to earlier 2015’s Hexadic (review here), what Chasny is basically doing is marrying his current experimental forms with the folk intimacy for which Six Organs of Admittance is most known. Again, doubtless he went into the studio thinking, “I’m going to marry my current experimental forms with the folk intimacy” blah blah blah or whatever I just said. More likely, he just felt there was more to say with the Hexadic songwriting system he developed — which is legit — but it does feel that way listening to the newly-revealed “Exultation Wave.”

Release date for Hexadic II is Nov. 20. Write it down so you don’t forget or just bite the bullet and place a preorder. Either way, not one to miss:

six organs of admittance hexadic ii

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE ANNOUNCES ACOUSTIC SECOND CHAPTER, HEXADIC II, OUT VIA DRAG CITY NOVEMBER 20TH ON LP AND CASSETTE

Sounding forth from a resonating body, the music of Six Organs of Admittance seems to reach us from an ancient remove. Ben Chasny’s 6OOA vehicle is a wide-ranging craft, spanning over a dozen albums whose gaze is always shifting, but whose focus never wavers. With Hexadic II, Ben Chasny’s unique touch on acoustic guitar is brought back to our ears after what feels like a kind of forever. What may identify to some ears as folk music is caught in an equally compelling undertow of powerful subterranean energy.

Hexadic II is ultimately what the listener hears it to be – a darkly spiritual listen, filtered through their ears and their perceptions and choices. As ever, Chasny has a head-full of ideas that are driving him; Hexadic II simultaneously explores the same charts and paths that gave birth to its predecessor, while creating music of a totally different order. The Hexadic II songs have direct correlation to the Hexadic songs, yet are much more than mere acoustic versions. “Exultation Wave”, for example, simmers with an undercurrent of ethereal transcendence, the strings bending under the virtue of Ben’s voice. Think of them as distant cousins to the songs on Hexadic, obsessed with greek choir, the desert, and the sea.

Simultaneously more inviting and challenging than Hexadic, Hexadic II is a powerful musical journey into the enigma of interpretation and inspiration; begin the journey on November 20th.

You can purchase the Hexadic bundle (including cards, instruction book and the first record) via Drag City, and place orders for Hexadic II.

http://www.dragcity.com/products/hexadic-ii
www.sixorgans.com
twitter.com/6organs

Six Organs of Admittance, “Exultation Wave”

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