West Coast psychedelic exports JOY and Amsterdam proto-punk riffers Death Alley will pair up for a run through Europe in September. Labelmates on Tee Pee, Death Alley will be supporting their 2015 debut full-length, Black Magick Boogieland (review here), while JOY have been tossing out word of their next outing for about two months now without any official confirmation of a release date, which presumably is coming soon. When it arrives, their second offering for Tee Pee will serve as the follow-up to 2014’s lived-up-to-its-name Under the Spell of Joy (review here).

Cool pairing, in any case, which each band offering something of its own in a way that I’d imagine will make for a complementary vibe at the shows. Tour announcement follows, as sent down the PR wire:

Swamp Booking and TeePee Records are pleased to present:

DEATH ALLEY & JOY European Tour 2015
05/09/15 Siegen/Germany Vortex
06/09/15 Amsterdam/Netherlands Vrankrijk
07/09/15 Rotterdam/Netherlands V11
08/09/15 Wurzburg/Germany Immerhin
09/09/15 Münich/Germany Backstage
10/09/15 Wien/Austria Arena
11/09/15 Marina di Ravenna/Italy Hana-Bi
13/09/15 Villimpenta (Mn)/Italy Parco Giochi
14/09/15 Torino/Italy Blah Blah
15/09/15 Zurich/Switzerland Kinski
16/09/15 Kreuzlingen/Switzerland Horst Club
18/09/15 Berlin/Germany SWAMP FEST
19/09/15 Mannheim/Germany Mohawk Festival
22/09/15 Hamburg/ Germany Rock Cafe´St. Pauli
23/09/15 Copenhagen/Denmark KB18
25/09/15 Oslo/Norway Hostsabbat Festival
26/09/15 Linkoping/Sweden The Crypt

The sound of JOY has been described as “a spaced-out sonic groove-ride” and “outer reach freak out”, but that hyperbole alone doesn’t do justice to the group’s measured mode of attack. JOY puts a premium on establishing both structure and dynamics, its kaleidoscopic flurry and full-throttle riffage is anchored by both subtle detail and surprising textural depth. Record Collector says that JOY “take the blues about as far out as they can stretch ’em and they’re far more psychedelic than a band like Blue Cheer ever was, even in their most lysergic moments,” a claim that can be debated by those whom have seen JOY share the stage with acts such as Dead Meadow, Harsh Toke, Hot Lunch, Sacri Monti and at last year’s well-documented west coast tour with psychedelic giants (and new labelmates) Earthless. The follow-up to JOY’s 2012 self-titled debut, Under the Spell of Joy was recorded and mixed by ASTRA guitarist Brian Ellis and features eight smoldering songs that suck the listener into a a surging sea of searing solos and psychedelic swagger. Special guests on Under the Spell of Joy include Nik Turner (Hawkwind), Parker Griggs (Radio Moscow) and Ellis.

Amsterdam’s heavy, punked-out, proto-metal outlaws DEATH ALLEY have signed to NYC’s Tee Pee Records. The ferocious four piece will let loose the full length LP, Black Magick Boogieland, on May 19. The album is the highly anticipated debut from the underground band featuring former The Devil’s Blood guitarist Oeds Beydals and ex-members of Gewapend Beton and Mühr.

The sound of DEATH ALLEY has been described as “an unorthodox cross contamination of MC5, Captain Beyond, Blue Öyster Cult, Motörhead and Black Sabbath” and “Rock ‘N’ Roll played with metal finesse and a pitch black psychedelic soul”. In 2013, DEATH ALLEY released the limited 12? split vinyl single, “Peter Pan Speedrock vs. Death Alley”, which announced the group’s formation with a vengeance. The band’s debut 7? — Over Under b/w Dead Man’s Bones — dropped last year via Van Records and was hailed as “a serious musical Rock ’N’ Roll statement.” DEATH ALLEY followed the release of the 7? with an appearance at the 2014 Roadburn Festival and month-long European tour with new label mates, The Shrine.

“It’s thrilling to release our first full-length on Tee Pee, to become part of a family of bands whose music inspires us and with people we know well,” says DEATH ALLEY front man Douwe. “It’s about time Tee Pee opens the gates to Black Magick Boogieland.”

https://www.facebook.com/JOYBANDOFFICIAL
https://soundcloud.com/deathalley
http://deathalleyband.tumblr.com/
http://teepeerecords.com/

JOY, Live at the Casbah 2012

Death Alley, “Forever My Queen”

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Since I don’t do theme podcasts or anything, the thoroughly unofficial subtitle of this latest one is “SOME of the Best of 2014.” Truth be told, it’s four hours long and I feel like I barely scratched the surface, so definitely the emphasis should be on “some.” By no means is it meant to be comprehensive, or am I claiming that it’s all the best and the rest sucked or anything like that. But some of the best stuff is here, so, you know, I hope you enjoy.

My intent was to make it three hours long, and then I got there and it just didn’t feel done without another hour’s worth of extended psych jams. That’s an odd habit to have. Could be worse. For what it’s worth, I was thinking of this as a companion for some of the year-end coverage that’s already been posted and is still to come. Some of this was inspired by picks from the Readers Poll, the submissions for which are still open. If you haven’t added your list yet, I’d greatly appreciate it.

And once again, hope you dig it:

First Hour:
YOB, “Nothing to Win” from Clearing the Path to Ascend
Fu Manchu, “Radio Source Sagittarius” from Gigantoid
Radio Moscow, “Death of a Queen” from Magical Dirt
The Golden Grass, “Stuck on a Mountain” from The Golden Grass
Monster Magnet, “No Paradise for Me” from Milking the Stars: A Reimagining of Last Patrol
Pallbearer, “The Ghost I Used to Be” from Foundations of Burden
The Skull, “Sick of it All” from For Those Which are Asleep
Electric Wizard, “Time to Die” from Time to Die
Orange Goblin, “The Devil’s Whip” from Back from the Abyss
Moab, “No Soul” from Billow

Second Hour:
Sleep, “The Clarity” from The Clarity 12”
Mars Red Sky, “Hovering Satellites” from Stranded in Arcadia
Floor, “Rocinante” from Oblation
Slomatics, “And Yet it Moves” from Estron
Conan, “Foehammer” from Blood Eagle
Druglord, “Feast on the Eye” from Enter Venus
Apostle of Solitude, “Die Vicar Die” from Of Woe and Wounds
Pilgrim, “Away from Here” from II: Void Worship
Blood Farmers, “The Road Leads to Nowhere” from Headless Eyes

Third Hour:
Lo-Pan, “Regulus” from Colossus
Elephant Tree, “Vlaakith” from Theia
The Well, “Mortal Bones” from Samsara
Lucifer in the Sky with Diamonds, “Counting Time” from The Shining One
Brant Bjork and the Low Desert Punk Band, “Stokely up Now” from Black Power Flower
Joy, “Driving Me Insane” from Under the Spell of Joy
Greenleaf, “Depth of the Sun” from Trails and Passes
Mothership, “Priestess of the Moon” from Mothership II
Truckfighters, “Get Lifted” from Universe
Mos Generator, “Enter the Fire” from Electric Mountain Majesty
Mammatus, “Brain Drain” from Heady Mental

Fourth Hour:
Øresund Space Collective, “Beardlandia” from Music for Pogonologists
My Brother the Wind, “Garden of Delights” from Once There was a Time When Time and Space were One
The Cosmic Dead, “Fukahyoocastulah” from Split with Mugstar
Montibus Communitas, “The Pilgrim to the Absolute” from The Pilgrim to the Absolute

Total running time: 4:02:57

Thank you for listening.

Download audiObelisk Transmission 043

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[mp3player width=480 height=150 config=fmp_jw_widget_config.xml playlist=aot39.xml]

This one’s a couple minutes shorter than the last few have been, but lacks nothing for substance, and particularly after YOB‘s “Marrow,” anything I put at the end would’ve just been filler to meet some imaginary obligation on my part. If you feel like you’re lacking the four minutes, give me a call and we’ll chat about records for the rest of that time. It’ll be a hoot. In any case, I think there’s plenty here to sink into — stuff that for a lot of people, myself included, will be on year-end lists and albums for which 2014 will be remembered when all is said and done. Two of my four current contenders for Album of the Year are featured, first and last.

Parts of this podcast are gorgeous, parts are ugly, but I think everything here holds up in terms of quality and listening back, I like the way this one gets immersive with a mix of longer tracks and shorter ones, slower and faster, etc. As always, I hope you enjoy, and I thank you sincerely for taking the time to check it out.

First Hour:
Lo-Pan, “Regulus” from Colossus (2014)
Steak, “Liquid Gold” from Slab City (2014)
The Well, “Mortal Bones” from Samsara (2014)
Orange Goblin, “The Devil’s Whip” from Back from the Abyss (2014)
Kvlthammer, “Hesh Trip” from Kvlthammer (2014)
Snailking, “To Wonder” from Storm (2014)
Earth, “From the Zodiacal Light” from Primitive and Deadly (2014)
Pallbearer, “Watcher in the Dark” from Foundations of Burden (2014)
Sorxe, “Her Majesty” from Surrounded by Shadows (2014)

Second Hour:
Humo del Cairo, “Tres” from Preludio EP (2014)
Joy, “Miles Away” from Under the Spell Of… (2014)
Megaton Leviathan, “Past 21” from Past 21: Beyond the Arctic Cell (2014)
Bong, “Blue at Noon” from Haikai No Ku – Ultra High Dimensionality LP (2014)
YOB, “Marrow” from Clearing the Path to Ascend (2014)

Total running time: 1:53:47

Thank you for listening.

Download audiObelisk Transmission 039

The gnarly flows like wine all through Joy‘s Tee Pee Records debut, Under the Spell Of…, and the trio rip into an assortment of classic heavy rock jams comprised of tripped out explorations, psychedelic and organic in kind. A trio based out of San Diego, the bluesy circles they run offer a touch of earlier Radio Moscow, but with longer songs — all but two over six minutes and one of those is the album’s intro — Joy distinguish themselves with a raw sense of killing it for the sake of killing it, and the only real question is whether they named themselves after the joy they get in creating this sonic thrust or the joy they give crowds lucky enough to watch them do it. Maybe both.

Guest spots show up throughout Under the Spell Of…‘s eight tracks/46 minutes including Hawkwind‘s Nik Turner, Parker Griggs of the aforementioned Radio Moscow and Astra‘s Brian Ellis, who also produced, and each of them mesh smoothly with the classic power trio dynamic of guitarist/vocalist Zach Oakley, bassist Justin Holson and drummer Paul Morrone, honed over the two years since they made their self-titled, self-released debut in shows alongside the likes of Earthless, Harsh Toke and Mystery Ship. To wit, an early groover like “Evil” subtly draws back the initial charge of “Miles Away” and “Confusion,” setting up the later boogie of “Driving Me Insane,” which smooths progressive shifts in tempo and rhythm with tossoff-style ease. Supreme shuffle ensues, and after the quieter, semi-acoustic sojourn “Death Hymn Blues,” closer “Back to the Sun” feels like a victory lap touting the parsecs traveled since the record’s psyched-out launch in the intro “Under the Spell” and “Miles Away.”

Under the Spell Of… doesn’t make a show of nuance, but it’s there for those who want to hear it, nestled into the airtight, live-sounding performances, particularly West Coast take on heavy psych and blown out echoes of “Miles Away,” which you can hear on the player below. Its seven minutes only comprise a small piece of what Joy have to offer, but I think you’ll find it’s almost impossible not to get lost in it once you start out, and in that, it definitely represents the spell that trio are looking to cast.

Good vibes and busted amps:

Joy will release Under the Spell Of… on Aug. 19 through Tee Pee Records. More info at the links.

Joy on Thee Facebooks

Tee Pee Records