I dug Geezer‘s Handmade Heavy Blues pretty well, but the loose, live atmosphere of the Gage EP (review here) stuck out to me even more. The Kingston, NY-based trio managed to capture an ultra-natural, tossed-off, we-do-this-every-day-like-all-the-time-man vibe and laid back feel that not only gracefully displayed their instrumental chemistry, but highlighted especially well the bluesy vibe that has underscored all their work to date. Good news from the band then that they’ve signed a deal with STB Records to release a limited vinyl edition of Gage. 100 copies will be pressed and the record will arrive in a hand-screened burlap jacket with two newly-recorded bonus tracks included.

The PR wire sends word:

Geezer to release Gage (EP) on vinyl through STB Records!

Geezer and STB Records are proud to announce that we have joined forces to release Gage (EP) as a special Limited Edition Vinyl Release.

Pat says of STB, “Up until now, Gage has only been available as a digital download. Our main goal has always been to press it up on vinyl. Ever since I saw their first release, the Die Hard Edition of Dopethrone’s Demonsmoke, I knew STB was the label I wanted to work with. STB Records is reinventing how vinyl is packaged, marketed & sold.”

Steve from STB Records says, “I have been a fan of the Electric Beard Of Doom podcast for a while now.. Once I met Pat and started talking to him it was only a matter of time that we started to collaborate on ideas. One night he let me hear the new Geezer EP and I was sold. The rest is history.. STB is truly honored to be a part of the US Doom revival alongside Geezer and The BEARD!!

Gage is the follow up EP to Geezer’s debut full length album, Electrically Recorded Handmade Heavy Blues, which is being released via Blues Blvd. Records (Belgium) on Sept. 15th, 2013.

Specs:
Geezer: Gage (EP)
Limited Edition of 100 (color vinyl)
Hand numbered, hand screened cover in a hand sewn burlap outer jacket which will then be hand screened
Artwork, colors, and other details are still being developed

*The EP will include 2 previously unreleased tracks that are being specifically recorded for this Ltd. Edition release.

https://www.facebook.com/geezerNY
https://www.facebook.com/pages/STB-Records/471228012921184

Geezer, Gage EP (2013)

In the Gozu interview that went up yesterday, there was a discussion of that feeling when a song fits together almost instantaneously in the rehearsal space — no real back and forth, no drama over parts, nothing like that. It just happens and then is done. New York heavy bluesers Geezer seem to have recently experienced such a phenomenon, and their new self-released EP, Gage, is what they have to show for it.

It’s only been a couple months since Geezer released their debut full-length, Handmade Heavy Blues — not enough time for me to review it, apparently — an album rife with slide guitar and gravely vocals, easy grooves and even an early-featured cover of The Beatles‘ “Why Don’t We Do it in the Road,” which sums up a good deal of the attitude present throughout. Gage came together as a quick follow-up when the trio — guitarist/vocalist Pat Harrington, bassist Freddy Villano and drummer Chris Turco — entered the studio to record a track, presumably the fuzz-dreaming opener “Ancient Song,” for an upcoming Grip of Delusion Radio compilation. One became three, the live cut “Dude, it’s Molecular” was added, and an EP was made. Sometimes it’s just that simple. Rarely, but sometimes.

The EP itself reflects the relative smoothness of the process that bore it into the world. Harrington‘s guitar leads the way through “Ancient Song,” but the laid back groove that Villano and Turco throw down is not to be understated, the band departing from some of Handmade Heavy Blues‘ insistence in favor of a languid pace and jammy feel, the vocals tapping into American stoner rock burl while staying deep in the mix and giving the riff the primary space it deserves. Second cut “Thorny” is shorter and bluesier, but also quiet, and the shift to a more subdued atmosphere is at once unexpected and naturally done. The three-piece prove more dynamic throughout than one simple meter or vibe, and “Thorny” feels quick at just over four minutes of airy electric strum, warm bass and minimalist timekeeping, like the psychedelic Americana that Scott H. Biram forgot he always wanted to make, or like Larman Clamor at its most reserved.

With a rhythm and inflection similar to a less bombastic take on Halfway to Gone‘s “Great American Scumbag,” “Ghost Rider Solar Plexus” is the highlight of Gage for its open verses turning Sunday school into a bad trip and extended its solo break, which Geezer skillfully bring back to the chorus at the end, never letting the jam get the best of them. Reportedly played only the one time, “Dude, it’s Molecular” fades up with a clearer live guitar swell and snare rattle to gradually morph into an organic, improv-sounding instrumental that sounds as close to the jam room as we’re likely to get with the band, ending as unassumingly as it started. Geezer — who will play The Acheron in Brooklyn on July 27 as part of The Eye of the Stoned Goat 3 (more info here) — are a relatively new band, but comprised of veterans who obviously know the value that chemistry between players can bring to a lineup. I’m thrilled to get Gage added to The Obelisk Radio this week.

You can hear it there now as part of the regular playlist, or check it out on the player below from the Geezer Bandcamp, where it’s also available for a pay-what-you-will download:

Geezer on Bandcamp

Geezer on Thee Facebooks