Posted in Whathaveyou on February 3rd, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Swedish heavy/prog traditionalists Hällas will head out on a round of European touring starting March 12. Their new album, Conundrum, is already out in Scandinavia — was released the other day — but will see broader issue through Napalm Records this Spring. They’ve a fair amount of road time since issuing 2017’s Excerpts from a Future Past, and it was hard not to be struck by their stage show and general presentation when I saw them at Høstsabbat 2018 (review here) in Oslo. They are not a band who take what they do lightly and I don’t think they’re kidding around when they call it “adventure rock.”
I haven’t heard the new album yet — if you’re wondering why not (and you’re not in Scandinavia), click play on the Spotify player below — but it’s one more worth looking forward to once we get through the doldrums of winter. Here’s news and tour dates in the meantime:
Swedish Adventure Rock Pioneers HÄLLAS Sign Worldwide Contract with Napalm Records (excl. Nordics)!
European Tour Starts On March 12, 2020!
The mind-bending retro fantasy of Swedish adventure rock pioneers HÄLLAS has just reached a whole new frontier. The band has taken the next step of their collective journey by signing a worldwide contract with Napalm Records (excl. Nordics).
Founded in the northern parts of Småland, Sweden in 2011, HÄLLAS saw their initial breakthrough with their highly-acclaimed most recent album, Excerpts From A Future Past, and the hit single “Star Rider”. Now, the quintet invites everyone into their cosmic adventure accompanied by music forged on tales of sorcery and courage.
After supporting stoner rock phenomena KADAVAR on their massive European Tour in 2019, HÄLLAS is ready to conquer Europe with a headliner tour starting in March 2020. Hitting major cities, they’ll draw their listeners into an energetic, 70’s inspired mix of psychedelic art rock with progressive influences. This intoxicating, dynamic fusion is nothing less than their very own trademark which they call adventure rock!
Fans outside of the Nordic countries – don’t fret! After the album’s release in Scandinavia on January 31, Conundrum will be available internationally via Napalm Records. The release is currently planned for spring 2020.
HÄLLAS on the signing: “We are excited to announce that Napalm Records will be responsible for the release of our new album Conundrum outside of Scandinavia. We look forward to working with a team with their kind of knowledge and we truly believe this might be a successful partnership. This is a special album which has meant hard work for us and we really can’t wait to share this adventure with you.”
Catch HÄLLAS on their European Tour! HÄLLAS European tour: 12.03.20 DE – Hamburg / Knust 13.03.20 NL – Amsterdam / Melkweg 14.03.20 BE – Aarshot / De Klinker 15.03.20 NL – Tilburg / Hall Of Fame 16.03.20 FR – Paris / La Maroquinerie 17.03.20 FR – Lyon / Rock’n’Eat 18.03.20 DE – Stuttgart / Club Zentral 19.03.20 DE – Berlin / Musik & Frieden 20.03.20 DE – Leipzig / UT Connewitz 21.03.20 DE – Munich / Strom 22.03.20 AT – Vienna / Arena 24.03.20 CZ – Prague / Klub 007 Strahov 25.03.20 DE – Nuremberg / Der Cult 26.03.20 DE – Cologne / Club Volta 27.03.20 DE – Wiesbaden / Schlachthof 28.03.20 DE – Hanover / Chez Heinz
HÄLLAS are: Tommy Alexanderson: vocals / bass Marcus Peterson : guitar Kasper Eriskon: drums / percussion Nicklas Malmquist: organ / synthesizer Alexander Moraitis: guitar
Fair enough if you remember Grande Royale from their 2017 Nicke Andersson-produced label debut on The Sign Records, Breaking News (review here), as having kind of a different sound. They were kind of a different band. On Sept. 13, the Swedish troupe will release their fourth album and second for The Sign, the 11-track/39-minute Take it Easy, and with it they undeniably enter a new era. Consistencies include a classically-influenced sound, prevalent boogie vibe and tight songcraft — all welcome — and among the striking changes are the fact that the band parted ways with their frontman and that guitarists Gustav Wremer (who took on the vocalist role) and Andreas Jenå have swapped out their rhythm section, bringing in Samuel Georgsson and drummer Johan Häll to complete the now-four-piece incarnation of the band.
As to the title, which one almost can’t help but hear in the pleading voice of Jeff Bridges as The Dude, it seems to be the entire message of encouragement from the album itself, and it arrives in “Decelerate,” a sub-three-minute tracklist-centerpiece rife with organ and recorded naturalism — Ola Ersfjord (Lucifer, Hypnos, The Riven, The Hellacopters, etc.) produced this time around — after the band has already unfurled five cuts of semi-Southern, ’70s-via-’10s argument in favor of doing just that. With Tove Abrahamsson stepping in on vocals for two tracks — among them “Hands Up,” for which the video is premiering below — Grande Royale hardly seem to have missed a beat despite all the tumult of the last two years. They even had a live record out between the two studio offerings. Kind of scary productivity, considering.
But the news is good and the prevailing spirit of Take it Easyis one of positive, upbeat times. There’s an element of escapism at play in the shove of second cut “Out of Gas” or the slide-infused “Sweet Livin’,” but little reminder of what one might actually be escaping from, which is refreshing. As they were on Breaking News, Grande Royale are an unremittingly straightforward band, and while one might hear the vocal performance on “Baby You’re a Fool” and wonder why Wremer wasn’t just fronting the band the whole time, the fact is that while they might make having been through so much change sound easy, it couldn’t possibly have been. Or at least not as easy as it sounds here. “Going Strong,” “Standing in My Way” and “On and On” round out in striking and engaging fashion, hooks prevalent and delivered smoothly with a confidence that makes one think that not much has actually changed in their approach to writing.
Meet the new era, same as the old era? Maybe, in some ways. Grande Royale do sound different than they did two years ago — how could they not? — but Take it Easy just sends its core message with such believable fluidity throughout its LP-ready run that one can’t help but think maybe they’ve been taking their own advice all along. It clearly works for them.
The video for “Hands Up” follows here, with a single-camera shot of someone dancing to the song and kind of letting loose a little bit, which is obviously the intention behind the thing. You’ll find it below, followed by more info from the PR wire.
Enjoy:
Grande Royale, “Hands Up” official video premiere
Hands Up is taken from Grande Royals fourth studio album Take It Easy released by The Sign Records 2019. Video by Filip Pilthammar. Thanks to Tove Abrahamsson for Lead vocals.
Take It Easy is the new album from Grande Royale. The album holds eleven tracks of Scandinavian rock with a strong southern influences: music that speaks the universal language of rock. The album mixes things up by adding brass, soul choirs to the guitar-filled music. Take It Easy is the fourth studio album by Grande Royale, succeeding the live album Captured Live from 2018 and the studio album Breaking News from 2017, all released by The Sign Records. Grande Royale is releasing Take It Easy on the 13th of September.
The album is produced by Ola Ersfjord, who has previously worked with Imperial State Electric, Honeymoon Disease, Primordial, Tribulation and Dead Lord. Since the release of their previous studio album Breaking News, guitarist Gustav Wremer has taken over vocal duties in the band. Vocalist Tove Abrahamsson appears on two tracks. The album artwork is made by Revolver Design.
Live Dates: 26/9 – Burgerweeshuis, Deventer, Netherlands * 27/9 – Muziekcentrum De Bosuil, Netherlands * 28/9 – Sonic Ballroom, Köln, Germany * 29/9 – Lola, Groningen, Netherlands * * With The Dirty Denims
More live dates are set to be announced in Spain, Italy, Germany, Finland and Sweden among others….
Grande Royale is: Andreas Jenå – Guitar Gustav Wremer – Guitar / Vocals Johan Häll – Drums Samuel Georgsson – Bass
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 15th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
I had a couple crucial learnings at this year’s Hostsabbat Festival in Oslo. Among them? Patchy pants are all the rage in Norway. I guess it’s a post-apocalyptic kind of thing? Like acknowledging that the dystopia is already here? Anyway, by the time I left town two days later, I wanted a pair. Still do.
More relevant: Hällas do not screw around on stage. Their set opening the fest in the Kulturkirken Jakob was likewise pro-shop and raucous; hot rock delivered with a cool hand but not at all staid or boring to watch. I felt fortunate to be able to catch them, and they more than stood up to the task of the high ceiling under which they played.
In addition to being one of the first bands announced for Desertfest Berlin 2019, they’ll be out for more than a handful of Scandinavian dates alongside kingpins Graveyard starting in early November and finishing up just before the holidays.
Don’t forget your patchy pants:
Hällas Announces Tour supporting Graveyard
Hällas announces a Scandinavian tour supporting Graveyard. These dates will provide a perfect mixture of Swedish rock during eleven dates. Tickets to the tour is running low on several dates. Secure your tickets through Ticketmaster.
Hällas Tour supporting Graveyard 2018.11.02 – SE – Nöjesfabriken – Karlstad 2018.11.03 – SE – Nordfest – Sundsvall 2018.11.09 – SE – Frimis Salonger – Örebro 2018.11.10 – DK – Pumpehuset – Copenhagen 2018.11.22 – SF – Tavastia – Helsinki 2018.11.23 – SF – Lutakko – Jyväskylä 2018.11.24 – SF – Klubi – Tampere 2018.12.14 – SE – Pustervik – Göteborg 2018.12.15 – SE – Pustervik – Göteborg (Sold Out) 2018.12.21 – SE – Cirkus – Stockholm
Hällas album “Excerpts from a future past” was released in October 2017 by the Sign Records. The band have toured all over Europe upon the release. The band have played festivals as Høstsabbat (NO), Devilsstone (Lit), Fusion Fest (De), Roadburn (NL) and Muskelrock (SE) during the last couple of months. The bands just released their hit single ‘Star Rider’ as a flexi seven inch as the band once again heads out on tour, this time in Scandinavia.
Hällas is: Tommy Alexandersson (bass/vocals) Alexander Moraitis (guitar) Kasper Eriksson (drums) Marcus Pettersson (guitar) Nicklas Malmqvist (keys)
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 10th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
I don’t care if each one was five copies — and rest assured, each one was substantially more in this case — getting through two full album pressings and releasing a third in the span of eight or nine months is pretty impressive. Such is the cast for Swedish heavy rockers Hällas, whose Excerpts from a Future Past came out last October through The Sign Records to wide-ranging “ooh”s and “aah”s. Good on ’em, what with the rock and roll and all. They’ll start taking it to the people — the people! — this week in support of the album, heading out for a weekender in Finland and Lithuania ahead of more fest dates later on. Much to do, much to do. The five-piece have been a steadily growing presence in the European heavy underground, and even as they seem to be gearing their summer toward hitting as many eyes as possible each time out, I wouldn’t be surprised if they kept up the festival appearances going into the busy Fall season, unless other plans should interfere. One never knows.
The PR wire sent the dates along, as follows:
Hällas Announces Summer Tour!
Today, Hällas announces their summer tour. The band will play 8 show between July and August in Finland, Lithuania, Germany and Norway.
Hällas just released the third press of their album “Excerpts from a future past” that was originally released in October 2017 by the Sign Records. The band has reached great success with their single “Star Rider”, and are now ready for the European festival summer.
Since the release of their debut album back in 2015, Hällas has gained a lot of popularity amongst rockers all over the world. With a sound that crosses the borders between the future and the past, between experimentation and catchiness, all wrapped together by spacey storytelling lyrics, the band has created something totally unique – by themselves referred to as “Adventure Rock”.
Summer Tour Dates: 12/7 Klubi -Tampere, Finland 13/7 Devilstone -Anyksciai, Lithuania 14/7 Uleaborg Psych Fest -Oulu, Finland 21/7 Chaos Descends Festival -Crispendorf, Germany 3/8 Kaupungin Aanet -Lahti, Finland 10/8 Aquamaria Festival -Plattenburg, Germany 11/8 Void Fest -Sinzendorf, Germany – SOLD OUT 25/8 Beyond The Gates -Bergen, Norway
Hällas is: Tommy Alexandersson (bass/vocals) Alexander Moraitis (guitar) Kasper Eriksson (drums) Marcus Pettersson (guitar) Nicklas Malmqvist (keys)
[Click play above to stream the premiere of ‘Hillside’ from Svvamp’s new album, Svvamp 2, out June 8 on RidingEasy Records and available now to preorder.]
The soothing effect of the 42-second intro to Svvamp 2 is immediate, and from there, the Swedish trio of vocalist/guitarist Henrik Bjorklund, vocalist/bassist Erik Stahlgren and vocalist/drummer Adam Johansson present a run of pointedly classic-vibing heavy rock and roll. They made something of an understated self-titled debut (review here) in 2016, catching ears among the converted and reaping praise for their endearing sonic naturalism. That theme very much continues on Svvamp 2, which moves from its introduction into the heavier-riffed highlight “Queen” and the blues-rolling “The Wheel,” with the first of several vocalist switches working subtly to add variety and texture to the straightforward songwriting and traditionalist, vintage spirit of the recording.
While the groups who arguably led the charge for recrafting heavy ’70s sonic warmth — fellow Swedes like Witchcraft, Graveyard, Burning Saviours, etc. — have moved on toward more modern aesthetics, Svvamp hold firm to the tenets of the subgenre while proving there’s still new ground to cover, as the poppy, soul-derived bounce of “Sunshine Street” demonstrates, the fuzz subtle and the drums spacious like they were beamed straight in from 1969, and the subsequent “How Sweet Would it Be” only reinforces this notion, like a lost studio cut from the Get Back sessions, the guitars leading the easy groove punctuated by steady, languid cymbal timekeeping. Semi-harmonized vocal melodies evoke the sweetness in the title without losing the effectiveness of the hook that emerges: “Oh, out in the country/Me and my baby/We’re gonna be so damn free now.”
It is the fodder of humid summer singalongs, and much to their credit, they make you believe it. Plenty of vintage bands have popped up in the wake of the likes of Kadavar, Blues Pills, and so on, and attempted to capture heavy blues lightning in a psychedelic bottle. Well, Svvamp may be reverse-engineering innovation, but whatever they might be doing throughout their second album, their heart is in it, from the chorus of “Queen” through Stahlgren‘s bassline in (presumed) side B opener “Hillside” and on to closer “Alligater” (sic), the expression remains genuine and the swing remains a fervent, crucial factor. With a current running through it of analog synth or effects, “Surrender” nonetheless mirrors the fluidity of “The Wheel” earlier, and while the “beep-boop-beep” might seem a little out of place among all the focus on organic elements and execution, it’s ultimately the latter that win out in the song.
To follow side A/B symmetry as they have so far, Svvamp should be dipping into more soulful fare à la “Sunshine Street” with “Out of Line,” but they change the script and instead offer a swaggering bounce and riff-forward groove, a touch of wah worked into a midsection that seems to layer its guitar solo across both left and right channels. More akin to “Queen” and “Hillside” for its rhythm and good-time rocking feel, “Out of Line” caps with another call and response solo — maybe in three layers? — on a long fadeout and gives way to the acoustic penultimate cut “Blues Inside,” the shortest inclusion on Svvamp 2 save for “Intro,” and a quiet reflective moment before “Alligater” taps Blue Cheer for the most raucous stretch on the album to close.
Once again, Svvamp find themselves nestled into heavy blues, but “Alligater” is more blown out on the whole and more of a wash than any of its rocking predecessors on Svvamp 2, and the crashing, the layers of fuzz, the rumble beneath all come together to give a sense of the kind of party the trio can hone when the mood strikes. I wouldn’t exactly call the record subtle in its purposes, but Svvamp 2 does build on the debut’s accomplishments, and for all the changes in singer and approach it presents throughout its 35 minutes, the flow remains consistent across the span, and perhaps the band’s greatest strength lies in their utter lack of pretense. While some in a vintage mindset have attempted to capture a progressive feel and met with varying degrees of success, by keeping their material outwardly simple, catchy and friendly, Johansson, Stahlgren and Bjorklund are able to give their audience something to latch onto without an overdose of self-indulgence or a departure from their core purpose.
Apart perhaps from “Intro” and “Blues Inside” — and mostly for length in the case of the latter — there isn’t one song between “Queen,” “The Wheel,” “Sunshine Street,” “How Sweet it Would Be,” “Hillside,” “Surrender,” “Out of Line” and “Alligater” that wouldn’t work as a 45RPM single, its paper sleeve crinkled and found in some dusty record shop bin like so much buried treasure. And though they may be looking back aesthetically in terms of finding their points of inspiration in classic heavy rock circa 1968-’72, they’re also pushing themselves forward as songwriters and stewards of this sonic legacy. They wield it better than most, and on Svvamp 2 they demonstrate plainly that even something so plainly tied to a specific era can also sound timeless.
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 29th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
It’s entirely possible that by the time they get the pre-production finished, start and complete a recording process, mix, master, press up the inevitable vinyl and secure a proper release, Snailking will be a full four years out from having issued their second full-length in the form of 2014’s Storm (review here). That record was the Jönköping, Sweden-based cosmic doom trio’s follow-up to 2012’s Samsara (review here) and their debut on Consouling Sounds, and while it’s unclear at this time if the same label will stand behind the new offering, it should be interesting to hear what the YOB-influenced outfit have come up with this time around, since in the time since Storm guitarist/vocalist Pontus Ottosson has completely revamped the rhythm section behind him.
Now comprised of Ottoson, drummer Olle Svahn (who takes the place of Karl Jonas Wijk) and bassist Anton Eng (come aboard for Frans Levin), Snailking are marking the start of what could easily be a new era for the band by kissing the old one goodbye via making Storm and Samsara as well as the 2014 Live at the Kinky Star Club available from Bandcamp in name-your-price fashion, hoping to entice listeners and build funds up for the impending studio time. If you didn’t hear it, Stormis worth the price of admission for the 17-minute roll of “Requiem” alone, never mind the more aggro take of songs like “Premonitions” and “To Wander,” but whatever your poison, there’s plenty of space-sludge to go around.
They put word out like so:
Finally some good news, Snailking is currently doing pre-production for our next full-length album! We feel like this calls for some kind of celebration so we’re giving away both our previous albums for free on our Bandcamp. We’re also doing a sale where you can find cheap t-shirts and CDs, all sales goes to financing the recording of the next album.
Snailking is: Olle Svahn – Drums Anton Eng – Bass Pontus Ottosson – Guitar & Vocals
[Click play above to stream Breaking News by Grande Royale. Album is out Friday, Aug. 25, via The Sign Records.]
Whatever one’s associations with the phrase they’ve chosen as the title for their third album, Breaking News, that’s not Grande Royale‘s fault. Chances are the Jönköping-based heavy rockers had some motivation in mind behind the choice, but without knowing the media climate in their native Sweden, I can only go by the lyrical content of the 10-track/34-minute The Sign Records long-player, including the title-track and catchy toe-tappers like “Brake Light,” “Got to Move,” “Devil’s Place” and closer “I’m on the Loose,” and note it doesn’t seem to be a commentary either on the media or the greater sociopolitical sphere. That’s something of a relief coming from the five-piece of guitarists Gustav Wremer and Andreas Jenå, vocalist Hampus Steenberg, bassist Calle Ljungström and drummer Mackey Gustafsson, who worked with producer Nicke Andersson (The Hellacopters, Entombed, Death Breath, etc.) to instead evoke the positive, warm and bordering-on-wholesome Thin Lizzy-esque bounce of “Live with Your Lie” and classic rockers like the low-end-driven “One Second” and proto-motoring “R’N’R Business.”
Front to back across the offering, which follows Grande Royale‘s self-released 2014 debut, Cygne Noir, and the 2015 follow-up, No Fuss – A Piece by Resolute Men, the band basks in a classic heavy rock sunshine and analog depth, leaving no room for pretense when it comes to bringing forth ’70s influences as filtered through more modern garage push. Yes, The Hellacopters are a factor in their sound, but the harmonies in the four-minute “Daily Illustration” and in the hook of the suitably thrusting “Got to Move” add an individualized edge to the proceedings, and the overarching impression of Breaking News — again, despite any tragic or otherwise unfortunate connotations the words “breaking news” might convey — is so inviting and friendly to the ear that the listener is more inclined to embrace familiar aspects than be caught up in feelings of redundancy. In this way, Grande Royale effectively interpret ’70s, ’90s and ’10s rock without losing themselves in a mire of aping any one band’s sound in particular.
There’s not much mystery as to how the feat is accomplished: it’s the songwriting. I won’t take away from the natural sound Andersson‘s production brings to Jenåand Wremer‘s guitars or from Steenberg‘s crisp delivery throughout on vocals. Indeed, though the roots of their style are more toward the modern/organic than the we-only-use-amps-from-1970 vintage worship — which is expensive, time-consuming and often difficult in terms of repairing busted gear — the balance of that naturalism with the tightness of their craft is perhaps what most of all dogwhistles Grande Royale‘s three albums’ worth of experience. Otherwise, with the plays between swing and urgency among cuts like “Devil’s Place” and “One Second” — shifts in tempo and push handled fluidly by Ljungström and Gustafsson — might find the band losing their grip in a way detracting from the memorability overall, but as it stands, Breaking News makes easy transitions between 7″-worthy cuts and thereby sets up a classic-feeling full-length flow that holds on loosely for the duration and steers its audience with a subtle but firm guiding hand.
Not that they make the journey especially difficult, either. From the opening come-on-let’s-go shove of “Know it All” through the more Southern-style organ flourish of finale “I’m on the Loose” — some Thin Lizzy again, maybe via Skynyrd — Breaking News holds onto its aural optimism, and whether it’s the channel-swapping interplay of start-stop riffs in the verses of the title-track all the while underscored by a steady bass and drum progression or the efficient mid-paced execution of “R’N’R Business,” it does so finding consistency of mood doesn’t need to necessarily come with a repetition of sonic ideas. This also relates to the quality of songcraft, but Grande Royale are able to carry through this vibe with chemistry between them and a variety of the basic impression each inclusion makes. The whole thing is even, balanced, smooth, but not at all falling into the trap of dullness to which those things might lead. There’s still an energy here in terms of the root performance.
I don’t know whether or not Grande Royale recorded Breaking News live in full, in part or at all, but the vitality they bring to their pieces would seem to have its foundation in stage-work one way or another, and the album benefits tremendously from that when it comes to tying the songs together and honing the momentum that moves from one into the next. Part of that stems as well from the fact that Breaking News, whether it’s in the individual tracks or the entirety built from them, doesn’t stick around long enough to wear out its welcome. Were it 50 minutes long instead of the tidy, ultra-manageable 34 that it is, that might not be the case, but even this correct editorial decision on the part of the band — knowing how much is enough — is a facet of their aesthetic worth appreciating, and like the clear-headedness of their verse/chorus structures, it speaks to the depth of consciousness beneath what on the surface is such an outgoing execution. That is, none of this is happening by mistake, on any level.
Rather, as one would hope for a third LP, Breaking News finds Grande Royale well in command of their style and sounding fully aware of who they are and who they want to be as a band. The tracks, while not necessarily reinventing classic heavy rock in their construction, are nonetheless refreshing for the sincerity of the group’s approach and the obvious value they place on attention to detail. As they also largely avoid the heavy ’10s boogie rock that has so largely affected the broader European underground, and as they avoid the woeful associations their choice of title could bring forth on the part of their listeners, it becomes even clearer that Breaking News is the work of professional-grade songwriters and that it is all the stronger for that. In other words: Don’t worry. It’s good news.
Posted in Reviews on March 28th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Feeling groovy heading into Day Two of the Spring 2017 Quarterly Review, and I hope you are as well. Today we dig into a pretty wide variety of whatnots, so make sure you’ve got your head with you as we go, because there are some twists and turns along the way. I mean it. Of all five days in this round, this one might be the most wild, so keep your wits intact. I’m doing my best to do the same, of course, but make no promises in that regard.
Quarterly Review #11-20:
Ulver, The Assassination of Julius Caesar
Norwegian post-everything specialists Ulver have reportedly called The Assassination of Julius Caesar (on House of Mythology) “their pop album,” and while the Nik Turner-inclusive freakout in second cut “Rolling Stone” (that may or may not be him on closer “Comign Home” as well) doesn’t quite fit that mold, the beats underscoring the earlier portion of that track, opener “Nemoralia” and the melodrama of “Southern Gothic” certainly qualify. Frontman/conceptual mastermind Kristoffer Rygg’s voice is oddly suited to this form – he carries emotionally weighted hooks like a melancholy George Michael on the electronically pulsating “Transverberation” and, like most works of pop, shows an obsession with the ephemeral in a slew of cultural references in “1969,” which in no way is likely to be mistaken for the Stooges song of the same name. While “So Falls the World” proves ridiculously catchy, “Coming Home” is about as close as Ulver actually come here to modern pop progression, and the Badalamenti-style low-end and key flourish in “1969” is a smooth touch, much of what’s happening in these eight tracks is still probably too complex to qualify as pop, but The Assassination of Julius Caesar is further proof that Ulver’s scope only grows more boundless as the years pass. The only limits they ever seem to know are the ones they leave behind.
Last year, Louisiana four-piece Forming the Void had the element of surprise working to their advantage when it came to the surprising progressive edge of their debut album, Skyward (review here). Now signed to Argonauta, the eight-song/55-minute follow-up, Relic, doesn’t need it. It finds Forming the Void once again working proggy nuance into big-riffed, spaciously vocalized fare on early cuts “After Earth” and “Endless Road,” but as the massive hook of “Biolazar” demonstrates, the process by which guitarist/vocalist James Marshall, guitarist Shadi Omar Al-Khansa, bassist Luke Baker and drummer Jordan Boyd meld their influences has become more cohesive and more their own. Accordingly, I’m not sure they need the 11-minute closing take on Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir,” since by then the point is made in the lumber/plunder of “Plumes” and in the more tripped-out “Unto the Smoke” just before, but as indulgences go, it’s a relatively easy one to make. They’re still growing, but doing so quickly, and already they’ve begun to find a niche for themselves between styles that one hopes they’ll continue to explore.
Though it keeps a wash of melodic keys in the background and its approach is resolutely laid back on the whole, “Beautiful Void” is nonetheless a major factor in the overall impression of Hidden Trails’ self-titled debut (on Elektrohasch), as its indie vibe and departure from the psychedelic prog of the first two cuts, “Lancelot” and “Mutations,” marks a major distinguishing factor between this outfit and Hypnos 69, in which the rhythm section of the Belgian trio played previously. “Ricky” goes on to meld acoustic singer-songwriterism and drones together, and “Hands Unfold” has a kind of jazzy bounce, the bassline of Dave Houtmeyers and drumming of Tom Vanlaer providing upbeat groove under Jo Neyskens’ bright guitar lead, but the anticipation of heavy psych/prog never quite leaves after the opening, and that doesn’t seem to be what the band wants to deliver. The sweetly harmonized acid folk of “Leaving Like That” is on a different wavelength, and likewise the alt-rock vibes of “Space Shuffle” and “Come and Play” and the grunge-chilled-out closer “Denser Diamond.” If there’s an issue with Hidden Trails, it’s one of the expectations I’m bringing to it as a listener and a fan of Houtmeyers’ and Vanlaer’s past work, but clearly it’s going to take me a little longer to get over the loss of their prior outfit. Maybe I’m just not ready to move on.
Naturalist vibes pervade immediately from this late-2016 self-titled Svvamp debut (on RidingEasy Records) in the bassline to “Serpent in the Sky,” and in some of the post-Blue Cheer heavy blues sensibility, the Swedish trio bring to mind some of what made early Dirty Streets so glorious. Part of the appeal of Svvamp’s Svvamp, however, is that among the lessons it’s learned from heavy ‘70s rock and from Kadavar‘s own self-titled is to keep it simple. “Fresh Cream” is a resonant blues jam… that lasts two and a half minutes. The bouncing, turning “Oh Girl?” Three. Even the longest of its cuts, the slide-infused “Time,” the subdued roller “Big Rest” and the Marshall Tucker-esque finale “Down by the River,” are under five. This allows the three-piece of Adam Johansson, Henrik Bjorklund and Erik Stahlgren to build significant momentum over the course of their 35-minute run, casting aside pretense in favor of aesthetic cohesion and an organic sensibility all the more impressive for it being their first record. Sweden has not lacked for boogie rock, but even the most relatively raucous moments here, as in the winding “Blue in the Face,” don’t seem overly concerned with what anyone else is up to, and that bodes remarkably well for Svvamp’s future output.
There are few songs ever written that require whoever’s playing them to “bring it” more than MC5’s “Kick out the Jams.” True, it’s been covered many, many times over, but few have done it well. Belgium’s Black Mirrors signal riotous intent by including it as one of the four tracks of their Napalm Records debut EP, Funky Queen, along with the originals “Funky Queen,” “The Mess” and “Canard Vengeur Masqué,” and amid the post-Blues Pills stomp of “The Mess,” the mega-hook of the opening title-track and the more spacious five-plus-minute closer, which works elements of heavy psych into its bluesy push late to welcome effect, “Kick out the Jams” indeed brings a moment of relative cacophony, even if there’s no actual threat of the band losing control behind the powerful vocals of Marcella di Troia. As a first showing, Funky Queen would seem to be a harbinger, but it’s also a purposeful and somewhat calculated sampling of Black Mirrors’ wares, and I wouldn’t expect it to be long before an album follows behind expanding on the ideas presented in these tracks.
No doubt that for some who’d take it on, any words beyond “members of Monarch!” will be superfluous, but Bordeaux three-piece Endless Floods, who do indeed feature bassist/vocalist Stéphane Miollan and drummer Benjamin Sablon from that band, as well as guitarist Simon Bedy, have more to offer than pedigree on their three-song sophomore full-length, II (on Dry Cough vinyl and Breathe Plastic cassette). To wit, 24-minute opener and longest track (immediate points) “Impasse” rumbles out raw but spacious sludge that, though without keys or a glut of effects, and marked by the buried-deep screaming of Miollan, holds a potent sense of atmosphere so that the two-minute interlude “Passage” doesn’t seem out of place leading into the 19-minute lumber of “Procession,” which breaks shortly before its halfway point to bass-led minimalism in setting up the final build of the record. Slow churning intensity and longform sludge working coherently alongside ambient sensibilities and some genuinely disturbing noise? Yeah, that’ll do nicely. Thanks.
Boasting four eight-plus-minute instrumentals, Couldn’t Handle… The Heavy Jam finds New Jersey trio Tarpit Boogie rife with classic style heavy rock chemistry, bassist John Eager running fills around the dense-toned riffing from guitarist George Pierro as drummer Chris Hawkins propels a surprising thrust on opener “FFF Heavy Jam.” I’ve been a fan of Pierro and Eager’s since we were bandmates a decade ago, so to hear them unfold “Chewbacca Jacket” from its tense opening to its righteously crashing finale is definitely welcome, but the 37-minute offering finds its true reasoning in the swing and shuffle of the eponymous “Tarpit Boogie,” which digs into the very challenge posed by the title – whether or not anyone taking on the album can handle its balance of sonic impact and exploratory feel – inclusive, in this case, of a drum solo that sets a foundation for a moment of Cactus-style rush ahead of a return to the song’s central progression to conclude. They round out with “1992 (Thank You Very Little),” Chevy Chase sample and all, bringing more crashing nod to a massive slowdown that makes it feel like the entire back half of the cut is one big rock finish. And so it is. A well-kept secret of Garden State heavy.
The self-released Dead Seeds, Barren Soil is Horseburner’s second full-length, and it arrived in 2016 from the four-piece some seven years after their 2009 debut, Dirt City. They’ve had a few shorter outings in between, demos and 2013’s Strange Giant EP, but the West Virginia four-piece of Adam Nohe, Chad Ridgway, Jack Thomas and Zach Kaufman seem to be shooting for a definitive statement of intent in the blend of heavy rock and modern, Baroness-style prog that emerges on opener “David” and finds its way into the galloping “Into Black Resolution,” the multi-tiered vocals of “A Newfound Purity” and even the more straight-ahead thrust of “The Soil’s Prayer.” Marked out by the quality of its guitar work and its clearly-plotted course, Dead Seeds, Barren Soil caps with “Eleleth,” which at just under eight minutes draws the heft and the complexity together for a gargantuan finish that does justice to the ground Horseburner just flattened as they left it behind.
Lafayette, Louisiana, five-piece Vermilion Whiskey telegraph participation in the New Wave of Dude Rock to the point of addressing their audience as “boy” in second cut “The Past is Dead,” and from the cartoon cleavage on the cover to the lack of irony between naming the record Spirit of Tradition and putting a song called “The Past is Dead” on it, they sell that well. The Kent Stump-mixed/Tony Reed-mastered six-tracker is the band’s second behind 2013’s 10 South, and basks in dudely, dudely dudeliness; Southern metal born more out of the Nola style than what, say, Wasted Theory are getting up to these days, but that would still fit on a bill with that Delaware outfit. If you think you’re dude enough for a song like “One Night,” hell, maybe you are. Saddle up. Listening to that and the chunky-style riff of closer “Loaded Up,” I feel like I might need hormone therapy to hit that level of may-yun, but yeah. Coherent, well written, tightly performed and heavy. Vermilion Whiskey might as well be hand-issuing dudes invitations to come drink with them, but they make a solid case for doing so.
If the cover art and a song title like “I Swear I’m Not My Thoughts” weren’t enough of a tip-off, there’s a strong undercurrent of the unsettled to Hex Inverter’s second long-player, Revision. The Pennsylvania-based experimentalists utilize a heaping dose of drones to fill out arrangements of keys, guitar and noise that would otherwise be pretty minimal, and vocals come and go in pro- and depressive fashion. Texture proves the key as they embark on the linear centerpiece “Something Else,” with a first verse arriving over a sweetened bassline after four minutes into the total 9:58, and the wash of noise in “Daphne” obscures an avant neo-jazz groove late, so while opener “Cannibal Eyes” basks in foreboding ambience prior to an emotionally-driven and explosive crunch-beat payoff, one never quite knows what to expect next on Revision. That, of course, is essential to the appeal. They find an edge of rock in the aforementioned “I Swear I’m Not My Thoughts,” but as the loops and synth angularity of closer “Fled (Deadverse Mix)” make plain, their intentions speak to something wider than even an umbrella genre.
