Posted in Whathaveyou on April 5th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
You know, last year, when Psycho Last Vegas hosted the likes of Bell Witch and Wolves in the Throne Room at its Pool Party pre-show (review here) in the 100-plus degree heat, the “this I gotta see” factor was pretty high. The tone of spectacle that the Pool Party sets is in no small part a defining factor for what makes Psycho Psycho. And by that I mean it’s completely insane, front to back, concept to execution, and yet somehow it not only works, but works well. You’re gonna put Primitive Man — one of the most abrasive, filthiest-sounding, heaviest acts on the planet right now, on a stage used for poolside dance parties and techno nights? How does this even make sense?
It doesn’t need to. Corrosion of Conformity headline the newly-christened Psycho Swim — because you’re god damn right they do — and Lucifer, Danava, ASG, indeed, Primitive Man, Idle Hands, Howling Giant and Thrown into Exile will play. It’s the biggest Pool Party yet that Psycho has hosted, because duh, of course it is, and it seems that as the fest itself continues to scale upward on just about every level — creative scope, reach of the acts it pulls in stylistically and geographically, and the number of venues and attendees — it’s bringing the Pool Party along for the ride. All the better.
Lineup and ticket info follow. It’s going to be limited space, so keep that in mind before you get stoned and try to wander in late or something.
Dig:
PSYCHO SWIM 2019
Official Psycho Las Vegas 2019 pre-party Aug. 15. Daylight Beach Club, Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino.
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY LUCIFER DANAVA ASG PRIMITIVE MAN IDLE HANDS HOWLING GIANT THROWN INTO EXILE
limited to 1500 people, 300 vips get in for free and receive private cabanas and dipping pools as part of the psycho vip experience….tickets are only available online while supplies last. tickets are $35 & $55.
[Stream Fatso Jetson’s Idle Hands by clicking play above. Album is out Friday, Oct. 7 on Heavy Psych Sounds.]
There are not many rules to which Fatso Jetson are not an exception. Think bands invariably stagnate after, say, 21 years past their debut? Nope. Think desert rock is limited in scope? Nope. Think punk can’t be soothing? Nope. The pivotal Californian outfit, who indeed formed in 1994 and issued their first album, Stinky Little Gods, the next year on Greg Ginn‘s SST Records, continue to reinvent the wheels that roll them forward. It’s been six years since Archaic Volumes (review here) classed up the joint in 2010, playing to jazz ideologies with liberal inclusion of sax, and going into their seventh full-length, Idle Hands (on Heavy Psych Sounds), they’ve made it nearly impossible to know what to expect of them through varied work over the last several years on splits with Yawning Man, Herba Mate (review here) and Farflung (review here), as well as a recent collaboration with Yawning Man‘s Gary Arce and France’s Hifiklub (review here).
One second they’re oozing out languid psychedelia, and the next they’re dug into a pocket of angular rhythmic tension. With the 11 songs/56 minutes of Idle Hands, Fatso Jetson offer a little bit of everything and plenty more besides, founding parties Mario Lalli (guitar/vocals), Larry Lalli (bass) and Tony Tornay (drums) joined for the first time on record by guitarist Dino von Lalli (also of BigPig), Mario‘s son. Also, Sean Wheeler (Throw Rag) and Olive Lalli (sister to Dino, daughter to Mario, etc.) provide guest vocals, and in addition to the Lallis and Tornay writing, producer Mathias Schneeberger at Rancho de la Luna reportedly helped solidify some of the ideas within tracks. Ultimately, it is no real wonder Idle Hands sounds as multifaceted as it does.
And yet, that’s not really anything so uncommon for Fatso Jetson. They’ve always broken those rules. Going back to Stinky Little Gods and its 1997 follow-up, Power of Three, they’ve never failed to harness underlying punk rock energy and imbue it with a wide open creative spirit, and whether it’s the starts and stops of opener “Wire Wheels and Robots” or Wheeler‘s takeoff into spoken word on the subsequent “Portuguese Dream,” that’s still very much the case.
But for the fact that they’ve been doing it for more than 20 years, one might be tempted to say it’s a miracle Idle Hands flows as smoothly as it does, but Fatso Jetson always manage to sound like they’ve blown the doors off their own wheelhouse; a band who refuse to fall into a comfort zone. A notion of dreams ties the first two songs together — the chorus begins, “Dreams of wire, wheels and robots…” — but doesn’t seem to be an overarching theme, though symmetry is found elsewhere as Wheeler appears on the second and penultimate tracks, the latter being “48 Hours,” providing a bookend that continues as instrumental closer “Dream Homes” answers the sharper edges of “Wire Wheels and Robots.”
Between the front and back, Fatso Jetson wander vast spaces as they please, dropping choice hooks in “Royal Family” and “Nervous Eater” with a calming or a more shuffling delivery depending on which second of which song you’re hearing, and stretching out over the more extended instrumentals “Seroquel” (6:33) and the later “The Vincent Letter” (6:54), the latter of which finds fluidity in thuds and interplay of lead lines that move Idle Hands into its closing duo. By then, the title-track has fed out of “Seroquel” and into the winding “Last of the Good Times” — part of the fun of the album is trying to guess who wrote what part — but no matter where Fatso Jetson go, the jaded boogie vibe of “Then and Now” or the hi-hat driven push of “Nervous Eater”‘s chorus, they never lose sight of the song, never get crossed up in a way they don’t want to be, and never fail to imbue their tracks with a spirit of performance that lives up to and expands on their storied legacy.
It’s worth emphasizing that while Idle Hands proves anything but idle, it’s not disjointed. Fatso Jetson have basked in dissonance and weirdo excursions over the years, absolutely — 1999’s Flames for All comes immediately to mind, trailed by 2001’s Toasted prior to the more mature and smoothed out Cruel and Delicious in 2002 — but while their latest work clearly has some of those same impulses at its foundation, there isn’t a moment at which it lacks cohesion or when something feels out of place. Of course, given their general breadth of songwriting and everything-fits style, it would be hard for something to be, but however this material was carved out and with whomever at the lead position at any given moment, there’s an overarching sonic personality at work that can be heard in “Portuguese Dream” as much as “Seroquel” as much as “Dream Homes” that is very, very much Fatso Jetson‘s own.
The word “inimitable” comes to mind, and maybe part of the reason they’re so ready to slip into and out of the bizarre is that Fatso Jetson have never really fit in to one idea of what rock music should be. They continue here to toy with the form, and as a summation of the last several years’ of their ongoing progression, Idle Hands delivers their peculiar charm in a batch of quality songs that underscore how special a band they always have been. Further, Idle Hands proves that aside from being one of the essential, formative acts of California’s original desert rock movement, Fatso Jetson are a band who’ve never found reason to compromise their individuality or draw back the reins on inspiration.
Their progression has never stopped and one expects that for as long as they continue to make music, they will keep moving forward on a variety of levels. An infusion of fresh blood here in Dino no doubt has a hand in some of the energy present throughout, but Fatso Jetson are and remain Fatso Jetson, and whether a given listener is a newcomer to their work or a longtime follower, the scope that they encompass is ripe for appreciation.
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 29th, 2016 by JJ Koczan
Preorders are available now for Fatso Jetson‘s upcoming full-length, Idle Hands. Heavy Psych Sounds, which will release the album on Oct. 7 and co-present the Italian leg of the band’s upcoming European tour, has also posted two new songs on their Bandcamp page that you can and (I probably don’t need to tell you) should stream below. As previously noted, this is Fatso Jetson‘s first new LP since 2010’s Archaic Volumes (review here), and is well due for the fanfare it seems to be receiving. Not that I’ve heard it or anything, but it’s awesome and the collaboration between guitarist/vocalist Mario Lalli and his son, guitarist Dino von Lalli, is at the core of a righteous breadth of intensity and spaciousness.
It’s also been announced that Idle Hands producer Mathias Schneeberger will sit in on bass for Larry Lalli for the European tour in the rhythm section with drummer Tony Tornay. Not minor shoes to fill as regards groove, but if anyone’s up to the job, he’d seem to be the guy.
Copious info follows:
HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS RECORDS is proud to offer you a new incredible title: ***FATSO JETSON-IDLE HANDS***
Cover Artwork by Kelly Keith Produced by Mathias Schneeberger and Mario Lalli Recorded at Rancho de la Luna June 2016 Mixed and Mastered by Mathias Schneeberger
Tracklist Vinyl: A 1 WIRE WHEELS AND ROBOTS A 2 PORTUGUESE DREAM A 3 ROYAL FAMILY A 4 THE VINCENT LETTER A 5 THEN AND NOW B 1 LAST OF THE GOOD TIMES B 2 NERVOUS EATER B 3 48 HOURS B 4 IDLE HANDS
Tracklist Cd: 1 WIRE WHEELS AND ROBOTS 2 PORTUGUESE DREAM 3 ROYAL FAMILY 4 NERVOUS EATER 5 SEROQUEL 6 IDLE HANDS 7 LAST OF THE GOOD TIMES 8 THEN AND NOW 9 THE VINCENT LETTER 10 48 HOURS 11 DREAM HOMES
RELEASE DATE OCTOBER 7th in SINGLE 12″ LTD CLEAR BLUE VINYL / SINGLE 12″ BLACK VINYL / CD / DIGITAL.
Mathias Schneeberger (Masters Of Reality, Gutter Twins, earthlings) will be the bass player on this tour.
Fatso Jetson Italian tour: 23.10. IT Pisa/Livorno – Stones from the Hill 24.10. IT Zerobranco – Altroquando 25.10. IT Torino – Blah Blah 26.10. IT Roma – Init 27.10. IT Cagliari – La Cueva Rock 28.10. IT Sassari – The Hor 29.10. IT Parma-Mu / HPS Fest 3 30.10. IT Erba – Centrale Rock 31.10. IT Savona – Raindogs
