Centered around the core duo of Dave Catching and Kevin Bingo Richey, Joshua Tree’s Mojave Lords made their debut in 2014 with the Unfuckwithable LP (discussed here) and in so doing basked in a revelry of desert rock and punk that was at once familiar and decidedly their own in its presentation. The follow-up single, Gloria in Absentia, arrives officially via Left Front Door Records later this month — it’s streaming now, like, at the bottom of this post — and takes a more melancholic approach. Its two songs, “Gloria in Absentia” and “Rodeo Drive,” are presented each in English and French, and taken either way, they bring a moody sensibility from Richey and Catching that plays more to nighttime desert than the sun-baked chug of, say, “Dancefloor Slammer” or the driving “Microwave Me Baby” from Unfuckwithable, which were rawer in style and spoke to Catching‘s pedigree in contributing to outfits like Eagles of Death Metal and Queens of the Stone Age.

Gloria in Absentia hits in a more subdued way. Engagingly melodic, its chorus is memorable and unfolds atop a running line of cinematic keyboards, dreamy guitar to deliver the title line before receding once more into the verse. In English or French, “Gloria in Absentia” is a work of efficient songcraft, classy and atmospheric, but over in a crisp three and a half minutes and onto “Rodeo Drive,” which is led by a start-stop guitar riff with echoing vocals over top somewhere between Bowie and Mark Lanegan (if you gotta stake out territory, that’s good territory to stake out) toward a bounce-laden hook and subtly dynamic rhythmic turn, peppered with extra layers of guitar that set up the late arrival of a fuzzy line marking a welcome if somewhat understated apex that, like “Rodeo Drive” as a whole and “Gloria in Absentia” before it, hits as being overdone in no way but serves to stand Mojave Lords out in the storied pantheon of Californian desert vibes.

Nov. 24 is the release date for Gloria in Absentia, but again, you can stream the quick offering in its bilingual entirety now. I’m thrilled today to be able to host the video premiere for the title-track, which you’ll find below, followed by more info from the PR wire.

Please enjoy:

Mojave Lords, “Gloria in Absentia” official video premiere

Mojave Lords
“Gloria In Absentia”
Gloria In Absentia EP
Left Front Door Records / Mojave Lords Records ML-002
Director – Art Haynie
© & Publishing 2017 by Mojave Lords
itcamefromwithin ASCAP / Hoopsnake BMI / District 6
All Rights Reserved

GLORIA IN ABSENTIA, the new single from MOJAVE LORDS, was made at Rancho de La Luna in Joshua Tree, California. The song is dedicated to the memory of all victims lost during the Bataclan terrorist attack in Paris in November 2015. The label releasing our vinyl is LEFT FRONT DOOR RECORDS. Based in Paris, LFDR was started by Arthur Dénouveaux. Arthur is a survivor of the attack and LFDR is his way of giving something back to the life-affirming force of Rock & Roll. There are two versions of Gloria In Absentia: One in French and one in English.

RODEO DRIVE, the B-side of Gloria In Absentia, is a more personal offering of a love song to a lost lover. There are also two versions of Rodeo Drive available: One in French and one in English.

Mojave Lords are from Joshua Tree, California. In 2014, Bingo Richey and David Catching (QOTSA, Eagles of Death Metal, earthlings?) decided to put a band together. Along with help from Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees, Tuatara, Walking Papers), Brian O’Connor (EoDM), Chris Goss (Masters of Reality), and Gene Trautmann (QOTSA,EoDM) they birthed a new wave of Desert Stoner Rock. This is the Rancho de La Luna home team doing what they do best, originating and creating new rock music.

Mojave Lords, Gloria in Absentia (2017)

Mojave Lords on Bandcamp

Mojave Lords on Thee Facebooks

Mojave Lords on Instagram

Left Front Door Records website

Left Front Door Records on Thee Facebooks

The punkish underpinnings of Sinner Sinners can certainly speak for themselves without help from the likes of me, and as regards the Los Angeles-based duo-plus and their new video for “Last Drop,” the boozy heavy rock swing of the track comes through with likewise clarity. They’re not hiding it. They are, however, clearly in denial about their problematic drinking, though that doesn’t seem to have impaired their songcraft any, since “Last Drop” is nothing if not tight in its structural execution and crisp in the delivery of its verses and choruses.

Founded by Steve Thill and Sam Thill, Sinner Sinners have their roots in the Netherlands and France, and there’s maybe some of that European commercial heavy rock possibility to what they do as well — the idea that pop and heavy rock aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive, one represented by a vapid mainstream, the other by an unrecognized underground. That notion, brought together with the sunshine of the American West Coast — not this week, but generally — and the already-noted root influences, gives “Last Drop” a personality of its own to coincide with its classic aspects, which are basically writ large across this track.

I haven’t heard the full album as yet, but they set a pretty high standard here. More info (including preorders for vinyl) follows the clip below.

Please enjoy:

Sinner Sinners, “Last Drop” official video

Listen to “Last Drop” the first single out of our new album “Optimism Disorder”!

The LP was recorded at Rancho De La Luna in Joshua Tree, California (mostly known for giving birth to the Desert Sessions and recording artists such as Queens of the Stone Age, Iggy Pop, Kyuss, Arctic Monkeys), assorted Los Angeles hide-outs, and engineered in Clermont-Ferrand France. Optimism Disorder was produced by Adam Greenspan (Refused, INVSN, Maximo Park) and Thomas Bellier (Spindrift, Blaak Heat), mixed by Pascal Mondaz in France, and mastered by Simon Capony at @Basalte Studio. The album also features additional engineering by Nic Jodoin (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club) and Jon Russo. Last but very not least, vocalist/guitarist Jesse Hughes of rock n‘ roll groundbreakers Eagles Of Death Metal makes his mark on Optimism Disorder via flute contributions. Video by Jettho (Jeremy Thomas).

Optimism Disorder is available for iTunes pre-order (including instant download for 2 tracks, “Last Drop” and “Hate Yourself”) here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/optimism-disorder/id1189385985.

Optimism Disorder will hit stores on March 7, 2017 via Cadavra Records in North America in digital and CD formats. In addition, Optimism Disorder will also be available on limited edition, colored 12-inch vinyl via Last Hurrah Records in North America. Visit www.lasthurrahrecords.com to order your vinyl copy. European fans can order their vinyl via Left Front Door Records here: http://leftfrontdoorrecords.bigcartel.com.

Sinner Sinners is:
Steve Thill (Vocals / Guitar)
Sam Thill (Vocals / Keys)

with Macy Mullen (Lead guitar), Michael Amster (Drums), Mike McCrary (bass) and Ben Palmer (Rhythm guitar)

Sinner Sinners on Thee Facebooks

Sinner Sinners on Twitter

Sinner Sinners website

Last Hurrah Records website

Left Front Door Records webstore

Cadavra Records website

Sidewave‘s Glass Giant will be the first vinyl release from newly-minted French label Left Front Door Records. The imprint was founded using money from an indemnity from France’s government after the attack at Le Bataclan concert hall in Paris last November, paid out to founder Arthur Dénouveaux, who was fortunate enough to have escaped the shooting and the bomb blasts. Wanting to do something that supported his love of music with the money, Dénouveaux started the label and hooked up with the California-based heavy alt rockers, who first issued Glass Giant last Fall as their debut full-length. The 180g vinyl, which includes a download, also comes with a download for a 10-track B-sides offering.

Bottom line is don’t call it a premiere, but I’m glad nonetheless to feature “Honest to God” from Glass Giant. It’s the centerpiece of the album’s nine tracks and offers particular crunch in relation to the bulk of its surroundings, though as you can hear a clear sense of atmosphere is maintained through the Jesu-style softened churn. A strong undercurrent of Failure runs throughout songs like “Moonshine” and the especially airy “Supersonic,” but there’s a post-rock sense of patience across the record as well, the Los Angeles four-piece of vocalist/guitarist Phil Golyshko, guitarist Bill Collins, drummer Brandon Dickert and bassist Matt Russell bringing open-feeling textures to traditional structures and working in varying degrees of heft along the way.

Most of Glass Giant finds Sidewave exploring a line between emotionalism and psychedelia, but there is something grounding the release as well, and I think it’s the songwriting. All songs but the shorter opener “Grounded” and the longer closing duo of “Hearts” and “This is Who You Are” run in the four-minute range — and the others aren’t far off — but more than that, there’s an ambient consistency that ties the material together so that as Sidewave lean in one direction or another, their songs stay true to the overarching flow of the whole work. A few catchy hooks along the way certainly don’t hurt either, as “Honest to God” also shows.

You’ll find that track streaming below, followed by some more info off the PR wire. If you caught wind of it around its release in October, or if this is your first time checking it out, I hope you enjoy:

The band recently released their debut album mixed by Aaron Harris (Palms, ISIS) and is now ready to release it in vinyl format.

The songs from the album started as a collection of demos written by songwriter, singer, and guitarist, Phil Golyshko. These demos were dubbed the “Big Time Demos” and once shared online, opened the door to a new chapter in the early life of Sidewave.

It was these demos that allowed Phil to reconnect with his cohorts from Chicago – now Southern California residents – drummer Brandon Dickert and guitarist Bill Collins. Within weeks, the group had found bassist and composer Matt Russell to round out the low end and provide “more bass”.

The band has already shared the stage with great rock acts such as The Life and Times, Black Map and Æges. With a new album on the market and a live show that just keeps getting bigger and better, 2016 promises to be even more exciting for fans of epic live rock music.

Sidewave on Thee Facebooks

Sidewave on Bandcamp

Sidewave webshop

Left Front Door Records