Posted in Whathaveyou on October 25th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Been trying to post this for a few days, or maybe it was just the weekend and that’s how long things take me on Saturdays and Sundays by now, but here we are at last. Desert Suns have a new record coming and a new song up from that record in a video. It’s rockin’. Pretty simple story, actually. Have to wonder what’s taken me so god damned long.
I’ve been sick a couple times this Fall — The Pecan beginning kindergarten has opened up a whole universe of malevolent biology, it would seem — including now. I’m writing from bed, where a large-sounding vehicle outside just woke me up and it’s now two hours since I wrote the sentence before this one. So here I go taking even longer with this stuff. You know what? I’d better finish before I get derailed again.
Check out Desert Suns calling themselves “one of the original Ripple bands.” Funny because in my head that label is still new 11 years later. Ha. They’ve got a new lineup since then anyhow, as you’ll see.
From someplace or other, who can remember:
Fata Morgana, the new single by Desert Suns
“Fata Morgana” is the first single we just released on Oct 13th to help promote our upcoming album. We also created a new video for “Fata Morgana”. Desert Suns has been around since 2014 and was one of the original Ripple bands. In 2020-21, Desert Suns had a bit of a line up change adding Lucas Fisher on guitar and Jason Busiek on vocals. We are looking forward to unleashing the new album with the input of the new members resulting in a bluesy, psychedelic, stoner rock sound.
We have not completely confirmed the exact date for the new album, but with the holidays coming up, we were planning on releasing in the Jan/Feb timeframe. We are also going to release a live album as well with some of the older and new tunes just to breathe new life into the catalog with the new lineup.
Music Recorded & Mixed by AJ Belluto Mastered by Jason Busiek
Desert Suns: AJ Belluto – Guitar Lucas Fisher – Guitar Gabe Fonseca – Bass Ben McDowell – Drums Jason Busiek – Vocals
Posted in Bootleg Theater on October 12th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
With the ever-present caveat that I know nothing about anything basically as a general condition of existence, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to think that the video streaming below for “Maiden Star” from Author & Punisher‘s 2022 LP, Krüller (review here), is perhaps an unofficial drawdown to the cycle for the album from whence it comes. And that maybe after embarking on statistically-significant tours in the US and Europe for the better part of the last 18 months, vocalist/synthesist/machinist Tristan Shone and guitarist Doug Sabolick (also of Philly freak rock forerunners Ecstatic Vision) might begin the however-long process of moving toward the next outing. Writing, in other words. And because we’re talking about Author & Punisher, perhaps also building.
I didn’t see Author & Punisher supporting Krüller, and looking at having now apparently missed my chance, I’ll count it as a character flaw on my part. To say the album still resonates almost feels like an insult by proposing the idea that it wouldn’t, but in terms of ‘holding up,’ I had it on spontaneously in the car the other day and its dystopia is no less sprawling than it was emerging from covid winter last February. And I’ve seen a bunch of videos from sundry locales in likewise sundry countries, and with Shone running midi through his homemade drone machines — which I couldn’t decide whether or not to capitalize; are they a proper noun, I wonder? — and Sabolick alongside conveying organic distortion through lumbering riffs and emphasizing the depth of character in the material and the traditions of industrial metal that are in-part a launch point for Author & Punisher generally. Not like they didn’t come to New York. I just missed it. Turns out sucking at life kind of sucks sometimes. Go figure.
Homage is paid to the live experience from the band’s point of view in the James Rexroad-directed — if you were a good band from the Pacific Northwest there would be at least a 79 percent chance he took your awesome promo photos — clip for “Maiden Star.” We see Shone and Sabolick traveling, hurry-up-and-waiting and, of course, playing on stage which is the point of the rest in the first place, burning through a steady supply of ‘these machines kill fascists’ shirts all the while. They’ll be back out at some point, if potentially with a different set.
In addition to the video, the PR wire brings word that Shone‘s Drone Machines manufacturing concern — which definitely gets capitalized — is in NYC doing cool shit, which isn’t necessarily directly relevant to “Maiden Star,” but you can see below what’s detailed in a photo by that absolute non-Machiavellian prince of a human being, Dante Torrieri, speaking of people who do cool shit.
Enjoy:
Author & Punisher, “Maiden Star” official video
AUTHOR & PUNISHER SHARES “MAIDEN STAR” MUSIC VIDEO
BEGINS ARCA x DRONE MACHINES PARTNERSHIP NOW THROUGH OCT 15 IN NYC
KRÜLLER FULL-LENGTH OUT NOW
Industrial mastermind AUTHOR & PUNISHER shares the official “Maiden Star” music video from the 2022 release full-length Krüller! Watch the full video on A&P’s YouTube Channel HERE.
“Maiden Star” video was shot during AUTHOR & PUNISHER’s 2023 June European tour by James Rexroad who joined A&P across the northern EU territories and edited by Augie Arredondo.
AUTHOR & PUNISHER comments on the video:
“”Every time I watch this video it hits me…it’s a beautiful music scene and it really makes me so thankful that I get to do what I do. Thanks to James Rexroad for coming along and capturing the community, the energy and the power of heavy music in our lives. Shout out to my bandmate Doug Sabolick, John Cota (sound engineer) and Augie Arredondo for editing the damn thing. From the fjords of Norway, the wood fired saunas of Helsinki and Tallinn, to the beer halls of Bochum, with friends new and old, this one goes out to the fans who support underground music. The community is strong. We love you.”
Additionally, AUTHOR & PUNISHER and his intrepid gear company DRONE MACHINES announce a partnership with visionary multi-discipline artist ARCA designing and building machines for her live work Mutant;Destrudo at Park Avenue Armory in NYC now through October 15!
AUTHOR & PUNISHER comments on Arca:
“There aren’t many artists out there as innovative and groundbreaking as Arca. Her style of production and visual design is visceral, dark, and bleak; yet always intriguing and exciting. She’s produced amazing solo works as well as music for Bjork, Kanye West, and FKA Twigs to name a few. When she asked me to build her some machines I immediately jumped on it. We’ve worked on this now for the past 8 months with Alejandra and her creative team focusing on building some industrial controllers that would interact with her DJ setup and allow her to make broader, more physical strokes with levers, sliders, and large knobs. There are five machines in total: one Fader, two Throttles, and two Platters that are all rack mounted above her DJ setup with the table suspended from the ceiling by chains. The aesthetic of Drone Machines (the small gear company birthed from Author & Punisher) is raw and industrial, with heavy machine components. Functionally, there is MIDI, USB, DSP Audio output, and CV/Gate; they are completely open source. Many thanks and shout outs to the team at Drone Machines working with me who helped on this project as well as the other devices we are making: Adam Reed-Erickson (mechanical engineer), Jason Begin (sound designer, producer, composer), and Hanri Thayyil (software engineer).”
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 18th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Parker Griggs-fronted heavy rockers El Perro will tour next month — who won’t, amirite? — in the Midwest. All well and good, except as I recall from seeing them this past summer, a decent portion of what at least was then the current incarnation of the band was based in Europe, including guitarist Dorian Sorriaux of Blues Pills and Joaquin Escudero of Prisma Circus. Mucho Drums from Great Electric Quest was holding down that position, and so far as I know he’s US-based — his band is, anyhow — so he might still be on board and it wouldn’t be the craziest shit in the world if the Euro El Perro contingent flew over, but, well, it was a new lineup when the band went to abroad, so I guess maybe I’m a little bit expecting a domestic incarnation.
Will there be one? I have no god damned clue. Nobody tells me anything. But if there is, whoever is on board, it’s Griggs‘ band. And as El Perro seem to take priority over from his other outfit, the heavy blues mavens Radio Moscow, it seems likely that trend will continue. Not complaining. El Perro‘s debut album, Hair Of… (review here), was a funkified burner of the highest order. One of last year’s best debuts. And even though that version of the band didn’t last, Griggs is a reliable enough songwriter and player that I only look forward to what a follow-up might bring.
Dates were posted on socials thusly:
NEWS! OCTOBER USA TOUR DATES announced!!!
Stoked to be making our way east and hitting some rad new spots! Dates below! See y’all on the road! (#128021#)(#128062#)(#128588#)(#127998#)(#129304#)(#127998#)
Huge shout to @callahalia for the poster! Poster photo @jeremyjensen76! Thank y’all (#128588#)(#127998#)
10/6 Iowa Falls, IA @timbukbruiowafalls 10/7 Chicago, IL @reggieslive 10/8 Louisville, KY @portal_louisville 10/11 Columbus, OH @rumbacafeoh 10/12 Pittsburg, PA @brilloboxpgh 10/14 Greenville, SC Fall For Greenville Festival 10/17 Memphis, TN @hitonememphis 10/18 St. Louis, MO @sinkholestl 10/19 Burlington, IA @thewashingtonburlington 10/20 Davenport, IA @bootleghillhoneymeads 10/21 Oskaloosa, IA @rockislandtap
Posted in Reviews on August 21st, 2023 by JJ Koczan
It doesn’t seem out of line to think of Sacri Monti as survivors of the San Diego heavy rock/psych scene, which is also to say that not everybody has lasted so long who circa 2015/2016 was ripping it up in what had become arguably the most vital underground in the US. And they were never the flashiest band — that was and remains a flashy scene — but they’ve put out two quality records in their 2015 self-titled debut (review here) and 2019’s Waiting Room for the Magic Hour (review here), and toured domestically and internationally to support, going about their business in almost defiantly unpretentious fashion.
Their music is not arrogant, for all its ’70s-derived swing and strut, the swirling and shredding guitars of Brenden Dellar and Dylan Donovan, Evan Wenskay‘s organ right alongside to drive the apex of “Staggered in Lies,” which also began the first LP, as it opens Live at Sonic Whip MMXXII, their first official live album. Even as they hit that crescendo, the song becoming an upward sweeping churnfest, guitars in freakout mode as bassist Anthony Meier and drummer Thomas Dibenedetto hold it together in forward movement. “Staggered in Lies” ends with a semi-big crashing rocker finish, not overdoing it, and Dellar, who’d said hello to Nijmegen before the song started as well, says, “Thank you. We’re Sacri Monti from San Diego, California.”
And so they are. Live at Sonic Whip MMXXII (on Sonic Whip/Burning World Records) is the third live release to come from the 2022 edition of the Dutch Spring festival, behind offerings from Kaleidobolt and Elephant Tree, so clearly recording the fest is producing the desired result. With a mix and master by Scott “Dr. Space” Heller (also Øresund Space Collective, Black Moon Circle, etc.) at Éstudio Paraíso, the wubbing impression made as the synth swallows the quiet guitar at the start of “Staggered in Lies” doesn’t feel like a coincidence, but there is clarity in among the stems, and way the organ emerges solo from the power-shuffle intro to new song “Immediate Death” is duly churchified. Clearly this is the magic hour they’ve been waiting for.
“Immediate Death” is one of two new inclusions, with “Desirable Sequel” later on, and has a proggy enough bounce to its verse to earn an Astra comparison, flourish of lead guitar carrying through under the verse, which is vintage wistful heavy rock of the sort Led Zeppelin could make believable and repeated depressive lyrics, “Running through this world on empty,” it sounds like the song is reassuring itself when Dellar follows with, “Trying to do the best I can.” It moves into a quick run to cap, and after, there’s a natural pause perhaps to tune up. That’s a detail not always worth keeping, but having it here makes the shift into the mellow start of “Fear and Fire” feel that much more organic. So maybe Sacri Monti aren’t the biggest bunch of showoffs ever to come out of San Diego. I don’t think you could see them live or hear them twist their way around “Fear and Fire” on Live at Sonic Whip MMXXII and not come away thinking they’re hot shit nonetheless.
It’s a rare thing for a live album to work well on headphones, by which I mean that ‘live albums,’ as a general category, can vary widely in terms of the character or flatness of their sound and the general quality of the recording — it’s off the board, fine, but mixing, mastering, and so on — before you factor in something like the actual performance. Live at Sonic Whip MMXXII has dimension enough to its execution that elements like the fluid kickdrum as “Fear and Fire” gives over directly to “Armistice” as the second in a three-song salvo completed by “Starlight” that appears in the set in the same order as on side A Waiting Room for the Magic Hour.
Particularly fiery is “Armistice” as it reminds that the prog lean showing itself in “Immediate Death” isn’t entirely new in Sacri Monti‘s aural playbook and cymbal washes into the languid groove at the outset of “Starlight,” gorgeous and bluesy and, again, worth hearing in detail as the keys and one of the guitars shift to the verse while the other guitar continues the spaceout under the vocals. Compared to some from San Diego and elsewhere, I’ve never really thought of Sacri Monti as a vintage or retro band. They’ve never touted antique recording technics or fancy costs-as-much-as-a-car amplifiers, though they might have both, but on “Starlight” especially and “Winter” to come, Live at Sonic Whip MMXXII has a vibe that’s way more MCMLXXII, which works to its benefit and adds to the vitality of the show itself. It must have been a hell of a set to see, but they sound like a band actively coming into their own touring around Europe, not yet old enough to be jaded about it (much) and about to put out a third album that will be a defining moment.
The second of the new songs, “Desirable Sequel” calls to mind some of Deep Purple‘s balladeering — as I guess it inevitably would — but has a trippy comedown after its verse and chorus that recalls the quiet start and builds to the live album’s most fervent thrust before the band lines up for cascading downward crashes for a false ending and turning back to end “Desirable Sequel” with a final chorus and instrumental run. Maybe they are flashy. Maybe they are arrogant. Maybe it’s just all in the music. Fair enough if so, as they take on “Winter” by rediscovered original-era heavy rockers Iron Claw with its memorable line of lead guitar and spaciousness to fill out in the midsection, a surge of volume and another controlled-cacophony finish not far behind. When the guitar stops, you can hear some whistling as Meier starts the bassline of 11-minute closer “Sacri Monti,” and there’s cheering at the end, but otherwise the crowd isn’t really the point here so much as the performance itself, and in that, “Sacri Monti” arrives like a victory lap (not on the vinyl), perhaps some sense of exhale after the new song and the cover back to back as they return to a comfortable, signature piece from their debut — it’s the band’s eponymous song and it’s closing the set, safe bet they know it pretty well — and explore some reaches around its well-established central groove.
Dellar offers the quick reminder, “Thanks, we’re Sacri Monti,” as they presumably begin breaking down pedal boards and keyboards and such and leaving the stage. In an hour-long set though, Sacri Monti put forth a vision of themselves as the veteran act they may yet become, mature and poised, experienced on the road and with a chemistry born out of that between players. They’re not the type of act to be out there selling themselves as a product on social media, and as dug-in as they get on Live at Sonic Whip MMXXII, they’re never any more indulgent than the song needs them to be. They perform with class, distinction and purpose, and I come away from hearing this with a really good feeling about their next studio full-length and an appreciation for the moment they’ve captured here.
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 3rd, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Who doesn’t appreciate a low-drama lineup change? One player out, another player in. Nobody’s being cagey about announcements, not trying to sneak in a new bass player or some such — just easy peasy and on to the next thing. Kudos to Formula 400 on applying the sans-bullshit aesthetic that results in the kind of driving heavy rock and roll of their 2023 album, Divination(review here), to the logistical functioning of the group itself. Guitarist/vocalist Ian Holloway bows out, Alex Zambon steps into the band alongside guitarist/vocalist Dan Frick, bassist Kip Page and drummer Lou Voutiritsas, and business proceeds. The four-piece will be at the second annual SoCal Heavy Jam on Sept. 30, sharing the bill with Sasquatch, the reinvigorated Unida, Zed, Salem’s Bend, Whiskey and Knives, Mezzoa, Desert Suns and Lords of Dust.
That’s a single day, by the by, which you should take to mean it’s packed, and it looks like it’ll be a rager to (maybe, maybe not depending on one’s intake) remember. You’ll recall that Kip Page is one of the organizers, along with members of Mezzoa and Desert Suns, and they don’t print it on the flyer or anything, but the vibe I get from last year and this year’s lineups is that it’s as much a party as a festival in a way that, one hopes, is as low-drama as the lineup change bringing Zambon to Formula 400. The band announced that swap thusly on the ol’ social media:
Hey everyone wanted to give you an update on Formula 400!
Just a little while back Ian decided to leave Formula 400 to pursue other projects and Ian was instrumental in Formula 400. We wish him well but the show must go on!
We are excited to announce Alex Zambon to our rocking family. He not only plays a mean guitar but can sing as well. He has played in such SoCal bands as Redrum and Honey Child. His most influential artists are Black Sabbath, Soundgarden and SRV. Good influences we think!!
Please give a warm welcome to Alex Zambon and we can’t wait to play our 1st show together with him!
Here we go day four of the Quarterly Review. I would love to tell you it’s been easy-breezy this week. That is not the case. My kid is sick, my wife is tired of my bullshit, and neither of them is as fed up with me as I am. Nonetheless, we persist. Some day, maybe, we’ll sit down and talk about why. Today let’s keep it light, hmm?
And of course by “light” I mean very, very heavy. There’s some of that in the batch of 10 releases for today, and a lot of rock to go along, so yes, another day in the QR. I hope you find something you dig. I snuck in a surprise or two.
Quarterly Review #31-40:
Dorthia Cottrell, Death Folk Country
Crafted for texture, Death Folk Country finds Windhand vocalist Dorthia Cottrell exploring sounds that would be minimal if not for the lushness of the melodies placed over them. Her first solo offering since 2015 runs 11 tracks and feels substantial at a manageable 42 minutes as delivered through Relapse Records. The death comes slow and soft, the folk is brooding and almost resistant in its Americana traditionalism, and the country is vast and atmospheric, and all three are present in a release that’s probably going to be called ethereal because of layering or vocal reverb but in fact is terrestrial like dry dirt. The seven-minute “Family Annihilator” is nigh on choral, and e-bow or some such droner element fills out the reaches of “Hell in My Water,” expanding on the expectation of arrangement depth set up by the chimes and swells that back “Harvester” after the album’s intro. That impulse makes Death Folk Country kin to some of earlier Wovenhand — thinking Blush Music or Consider the Birds; yes, I acknowledge the moniker similarity between Windhand and Wovenhand and stand by the point as regards ambience — and a more immersive listen than it would otherwise be, imagining future breadth to be captured as part of the claims made in the now. Do I need to say that I hope it’s not 2031 before she does a third record?
It’s been a quick — read: not quick — five years since Italian heavy rockers Fvzz Popvli released their second album, Magna Fvzz (review here), through Heavy Psych Sounds. Aptly titled, III is the third installment, and it’s got all the burner soloing, garage looseness and, yes, the fvzz one would hope, digging into a bit of pop-grunge on “The Last Piece of Shame,” setting a jammy expectation in the “Intro” mirrored in “Outro” with percussion, and cool-kid grooving on “Monnoratzo,” laced with hand-percussion and a bassline so thick it got made fun of in school and never lived down the trauma (a tragedy, but it rules just the same). “Post Shit” throws elbows of noise all through your favorite glassware, “20 Cent Blues” slogs out its march true to the name and “Tied” is brash even compared to what’s around it. Only hiccup so far as I can tell is “Kvng Fvzz,” which starts with a Charlie Chan-kind of guitar line and sees the vocals adopt a faux Chinese accent that’s well beyond the bounds of what one might consider ‘ill-advised.’ Cool record otherwise, but that is a significant misstep to make on a third LP.
San Diegan riffslingers Formula 400 come roaring back with their sophomore long-player, Divination, following three (long) years behind 2020’s Heathens (review here), bringing in new drummer Lou Voutiritsas for a first appearance alongside guitarist/vocalists Dan Frick and Ian Holloway and bassist Kip Page. With a clearer, fuller recording, the solos shine through, the gruff vocals are well-positioned in the mix (not buried, not overbearing), and even as they make plays for the anthemic in “Kickstands Up,” “Rise From the Fallen” and closer “In Memoriam,” the lack of pretense is one of the elements most fortunately carried over from the debut. “Rise From the Fallen” is the only cut among the nine to top five minutes, and it fills its time with largesse-minded riffing and a hook born out of ’90s burl that’s a good distance from the shenanigans of opener “Whiskey Bent” or the righteous shove of the title-track. They’re among the best of the Ripple Music bands not yet actually signed to the label, with an underscored C.O.C. influence in “Divination” and the calmer “Bottomfeeder,” while “In Memoriam” filters ’80s metal epics through ’70s heavy and ’20s tonal weight and makes the math add up. Pretty dudely, but so it goes with dudes, and dudes are gonna be pretty excited about it, dude.
Each of the two intended sides of Abanamat‘s self-titled debut saves its longest song for its respective ending, with “Voidgazer” (8:25) capping side A and “Night Walk” (9:07) working a linear build from silence all the way up to round out side B and the album as a whole. Mostly instrumental save for those two longer pieces, the German four-piece recorded live with Richard Behrens at Big Snuff and in addition to diving back into the beginnings of the band in opener “Djinn,” they offer coherent but exploratory, almost-Uncle–Acidic-in-its-languidity fuzz on “Thunderbolt of Flaming Wisdom,” growing near-prog in their urgency with it on the penultimate “Amdest” but never losing the abiding mellow spirit that manifests out of the ether as “Night Walk” rounds out the album with synth and keys and guitar in a jazzy for-a-walk meander as the band make their way into a fuller realization of classic prog elements, enhanced by a return of the vocals after five minutes in. They’re there just about through the end, and fit well, but it demonstrates that Abanamat even on their debut have multiple avenues in which they might work and makes their potential that much greater, since it’s a conscious choice to include singing on a song or not rather than just a matter of no one being able to sing. The way they set it up here would get stale after a couple more records, but one hopes they continue to develop both aspects of their sonic persona, as any need to choose between them is imaginary.
Led by nine-string bassist Frédérick “ChaotH” Filiatrault (ex-Unexpect), Montreal four-piece Vvon Dogma I are a progressive metal whirlwind, melodic in the spirit of post-return Cynic but no less informed by death metal, djent, rock, electronic music and beyond, the 10-song/45-minute self-released debut, The Kvlt of Glitch confidently establishes its methodology in “The Void” at the outset and proceeds through a succession marked by hairpin turns, stretches of heavy groove like the chorus of “Triangles and Crosses” contrasted by furious runs, dance techno on “One Eye,” melody not at all forgotten in the face of all the changes in rhythm, meter, the intermittently massive tones, and so on. Yes, the bass features as it inevitably would, but with the precision drumming of Kevin Alexander, Yoan MP‘s backflipping guitar and the synth and strings (at the end) of Blaise Borboën (also credited with production), a sound takes shape that feels like it could have been years in the making. Mind you I don’t know that it was or wasn’t, but Vvon Dogma I lead the listener through the lumbering mathematics of “Lithium Blue,” a cover of Radiohead‘s “2+2=5” and the grand finale “The Great Maze” with a sense of mastery that’s almost unheard of on what’s a first record even from experienced players. I don’t know where it fits and I like that about it, and in those moments where I’m so overwhelmed that I feel like my brain is on fire, this seems to answer that.
Two sprawling slow-burners populate the self-titled debut from UK three-piece Orme. Delivered through Trepanation Recordings as a two-song 2LP, Orme deep-dives into ambient psych, doom, drone and more besides in “Nazarene” (41:58) and “Onward to Sarnath” (53:47), and obviously each one is an album unto itself. Guitarist/vocalist Tom Clements, bassist Jimmy Long (also didgeridoo) and drummer Luke Thelin — who’s also listed as contributing ‘silence,’ which is probably a joke, but open space actually plays a pretty large role in the impression Orme make — make their way into a distortion-drone-backed roller jam on “Nazarene,” some spoken vocals from Clements along the way that come earlier and more proclamatory in “Onward to Sarnath” to preface the instrumental already-gone out-there-ness as well as throat singing and other vocalizations that mark the rest of the first half-hour-plus, a heavy psych jam taking hold to close out around 46 minutes with a return of distortion and narrative after, like an old-style hidden track. It’s fairly raw, but the gravitational singularity of Orme‘s two forays into the dark are ritualistic without being cartoonishly cult, and feel as much about their experience playing as the listener’s hearing. In that way, it is a thing to be shared.
The UK-based experimentalist psych collaboration between Fred Laird (Earthling Society) and Mike Vest (Bong, et al) yields a third long-player as The Gateless Gate finds the duo branching out in the spirit of their 2021 self-titled and last year’s Pancosmology (review here) with instrumentalist flow and a three-dimensional sound bolstered by the various delays, organ, synth, and so on. Atop an emergent backbeat from Laird, “Twilight Chorus” (16:13) runs a linear trajectory bound toward the interstellar in an organic jam that comes apart before 12 minutes in and gives over to church organ and sampled chants soon to be countermanded by howls of guitar and distortion. Takest thou that. The B-side, “Sound of Desolation” (19:55), sets forth with a synthy wash that gives over to viol drone courtesy of Martin Ash, a gong hit marking the shift into a longform psych jam with a highlight bassline and an extended journey into hypnotics with choral keys (maybe?) arriving in the second half as the guitar begins to space out, fuzz soloing floating over a drone layer, the harder-hit drums having departed save for some residual backward/forward cymbal hits in the slow comedown. The world’s never going to be on their level, but Laird and Vest are warriors of the cosmos, and as their work to-date has shown, they have bigger fish to fry than are found on planet earth.
What a show to preserve. Heavy Petal Music, while frustrating in that it’s new Rainbows Are Free and not a follow-up to 2019’s Head Pains, but as the Norman, Oklahoma, six-piece’s first outing through Ripple Music, the eight-song/43-minute live LP captures their first public performance in the post-pandemic era, and the catharsis is palpable in “Come” and “Electricity on Wax” early on and holds even as they delve into the proggier “Shapeshifter” later on, the force of their delivery consistent as they draw on material from across their three studio LPs unremitting even as their dynamic ranges between a piano-peppered bluesy swing and push-boogie like “Cadillac” and the weighted nod of “Sonic Demon” later on. The performance was at the 2021 Summer Breeze Music Festival in their hometown (not to be confused with the metal fest in Germany) and by the time they get down to the kickdrum surge backing the fuzzy twists of “Crystal Ball” — which doesn’t appear on any of their regular albums — the allegiance to Monster Magnet is unavoidable despite the fact that Rainbows Are Free have their own modus in terms of arrangements and the balance between space, psych, garage and heavy rock in their sound. Given Ripple‘s distribution, Heavy Petal Music will probably be some listeners’ first excursion with Rainbows Are Free. Somehow I have to imagine the band would be cool with that.
It’s the marriage of complexity and heft, of melody and nod, that make Slowenya‘s “Angel Raised Wolves” so effective. Moving at a comfortable tempo on the drums of Timo Niskala, the song marks out a presence with tonal depth as well as a sense of space in the vocals of guitarist/synthesist Jan Trygg. They break near the midpoint of the 6:39 piece and reemerge with a harder run through the chorus, bassist Tapani Levanto stepping in with backing vocals before a roar at 4:55 precedes the turn back to the original hook, reinforcing the notion that there’s been a plan at work the whole time. An early glimpse at the Finnish psych-doom trio’s next long-player, “Angel Raised Wolves” comes paired with the shorter “Horizontal Loops,” which drops its chugging riff at the start as though well aware of the resultant thud. A tense verse opens to a chorus pretty and reverbed enough to remind of Fear Factory‘s earlier work before diving into shouts and somehow-heavier density. Growls, or some other kind of noise — I’m honestly not sure — surfaces and departs as the nod builds to an an aggressive head, but again, they turn back to where they came from, ending with the initial riff the crater from which you can still see right over there. The message is plain: keep an ear out for that record. So yes, do that.
Let’s start with what’s obvious and say that Elkhorn‘s four-song On the Whole Universe in All Directions, which is executed entirely on vibraphone, acoustic 12-string guitar, and drums and other percussion, is not going to be for everybody. The New York duo of Drew Gardner (said vibraphone and drums) and Jesse Sheppard (said 12-string) bring a particularly jazzy flavor to “North,” “South,” “East” and “West,” but there are shades of exploratory Americana in “South” that follow the bouncing notes of the opener, and “East” dares to hint at sitar with cymbal wash behind and rhythmic contrast in the vibraphone, a meditative feel resulting that “West” continues over its 12 minutes, somewhat ironically more of a raga than “East” despite being where the sun sets. Cymbal taps and rhythmic strums and that strike of the vibraphone — Elkhorn seem to give each note a chance to stand before following it with the next, but the 39-minute offering is never actually still or unipolar, instead proving evocative as it trades between shorter and longer songs to a duly gentle finish. Gardner formerly handled guitar, and I don’t know if this is a one-off, but as an experiment, it succeeds in bridging stylistic divides in a way that almost feels like showing off. Admirably so.
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 27th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Check out El Perro kind of becoming the ‘Parker Griggs All-Stars,’ and nothing against it. As a fan of headspinning guitar work generally, one can’t help but look at the prospect of Blues Pills‘ Dorian Sorriaux shredding alongside Griggs is plenty enticing, and that’s before you get to Mucho Drums from Great Electric Quest/Sabbath Buddy Sabbath in a rhythm section with Joaquin Escudero of Barcelona’s Prisma Circus while Jeremy Davy — whose pedigree I’ll admit I don’t know — holds down percussion.
If it wasn’t clear before — and it was — the reconstruction of El Perro, whose debut album, Hair Of… (review here), came out just last year, makes it plain that the band is Griggs‘ own. Fair enough. He’s been at this particular dance before, certainly with Radio Moscow if not with El Perro until now, and the volatility is part of the personality of the music. It almost has to be this way or it wouldn’t be what it is.
There are a bunch of fests on the European docket, but I’ll say specifically that I’m looking forward to seeing the band finally at Freak Valley in Germany. That date and all the others follow here, as posted on social media after being put in doubt by the dissolution of the prior lineup:
NEWS!!! Full European tour dates + poster! Plus new EU Lineup!
Europe is just a month away! Happy to announce the full dates and to debut the awesome poster designed by artist Paula Mosica. Thank you Paula! @paulamosica
I’m also very excited to announce the new team of musicians joining me for this tour : Dorian Sorriaux – Guitar (ex Blues Pills), Joaquin Escudero – Bass (ex Prisma circus), Jeremy Davy – Percussion, and Mucho Drums on Drums. They are some of the best jammers from all around the globe :) I have a lot of respect for these musicians and for their talent and I’m honored to have them be part of the El Perro journey! We are going to cook up some great jams!
I’d like to thank the former members for their time with El Perro. I wish them the best in their future endeavors, musically and otherwise.
Excited about this new tour and team of players and I can’t wait to see you all overseas very soon! Dates (#128071#)(#127998#)
Parker / El Perro
25/05 IT TREVISO – ALTROQUANDO 26/05 CH MARTIGNY – LE CAVES DU MANOIR 27/05 CH WINTERTHUR – GASWERK 29/05 HR ZAGREB – ZAGREB 30/05 RS NIS – AKC FUZZ 31/05 RS BELGRADE – KC GRAD 01/06 HR VIROVITICA – HORN PUB 02/06 AT EBENSEE – KINO 03/06 SI Å KOFJA LOKA – PRI RDEÄŒI OSTRIGI 05/06 CZ PRAGUE – CROSS CLUB 06/06 CZ LOUNY – HOTEL CARAMELL 07/06 CZ BILINA – KAFÃÄŒ 08/06 DE SIEGEN – FREAK VALLEY 09/06 FR PARIS – SUPERSONIC 10/06 FR BELLOCQ – CHÂTEAU DE BELLOCQ 11/06 ES VALLADOLID – SALA PORTA CAELI 13/06 ES BARCELONA – RAZZ 3 14/06 ES MADRID – WURLITZER BALLROOM 15/06 ES ZARAGOZA – ROCK & BLUES CAFE 16/06 FR BORDEAUX – DEUS EX MACHINA 17/06 FR SEIGNOSSE – THE BLACK FLAG 18/06 FR CHAMBERY – BRIN DE ZINC 20/06 FR NANTES – CRUMBLE FIGHT 22/06 NL SITTARD – POP PODIUM VOLT 23/06 DE SAARBRUCKEN – HORST 24/06 FR MANIGOD – NAMASS PAMOUSS FESTIVAL 25/06 IT PISA – PONTILE 102 29/06 IT CAGLIARI – CORTO MALTESE 01/07 IT CATANIA – ROCK REVOLUTION
(#127470#)(#127481#) (#127464#)(#127469#) (#127469#)(#127479#) (#127479#)(#127480#) (#127462#)(#127481#) (#127480#)(#127470#) (#127464#)(#127487#) (#127465#)(#127466#) (#127467#)(#127479#) (#127466#)(#127480#) (#127475#)(#127473#)
Earthless and Harsh Toke offered their split LP, Acid Crusher / Mount Swan (review here), through Tee Pee Records in 2016. By then, the former trio were already on their way to being legends in the live performance space, their various stage-recorded offerings — arguably highlighted by 2008’s Live at Roadburn (discussed here) but by no means limited to that — some with wider distribution, some for the merch table, and studio works like 2013’s From the Ages (review here), 2007’s Rhythms From a Cosmic Sky having propelled them to the forefront of heavy consciousness as a landmark act for their generation and an influence for others to work from. Their latest LP, Night Parade of One Hundred Demons (review here), came out last year and they’ll continue to herald it live throughout 2023.
Enter, then, Harsh Toke, who were always more toke than harsh, and whose penchant for heavy jams came through the speakers in oozing fashion on 2013’s impressive debut, Light Up and Live (discussed here), also on Tee Pee. The Earthless comparison was obvious even before the two bands teamed for Acid Crusher / Mount Swan, but guitarist Justin “Figgy” Figueroa, keyboardist/vocalist Gabe Messer, drummer Austin Ayub and bassist Richie Belton dug in deep and came out of doing so with an individual chemistry and an energy that was smoke-cloud-thick in vibe and engaging to follow on its outward course.
How the two met and how the split came about, I don’t know — bands working in a similar style in the same city, it doesn’t seem unlikely they’d run into each other sooner or later — but it tells an important part of the tale of San Diego’s heavy underground in the early- and mid-’10s. It was happening, man. There were a few years there where it seemed like every couple weeks another San Diego band was popping up — and Tee Pee fostered a lot of them, but there was even more than what they put out from bands like Joy, Sacri Monti, Harsh Toke, later Pharlee, Volcano, and many others if you want to open geography to greater SoCal — and the material coming out of that town right around 2016/2017 was largely unparalleled in the US as regards single scenes. They could do no wrong.
Sure, Portland has been a heavy hotbed now for at least the last 15 years, and the doom of the Chesapeake Watershed will outlive us all, and there’s Chicago’s post-whathaveyou, Florida’s post-Cavity sludge rock, Boston’s traditional heavy songwriting, New York trying to be all things to all people all the time, on and on, but what came up in San Diego felt big and special and fresh, and so it was. I don’t know that I’d call the scene ‘over’ now, since certainly Earthless are actively touring and releasing records and they are a guiding light for newer bands some two decades into their tenure, and Sacri Monti and Zack Oakley and El Perro (maybe?) and Birth are rolling, but the boom has abated as it inevitably would, and Acid Crusher / Mount Swan serves as not only a reminder of the vitality of spirit that was behind much of what came out of that place and in those years, but emphasizes the mentor role Earthless played in shaping the classic-heavy and boogie rock methodology that in part defined the boom in the first place.
As ever, the trio of bassist Mike Eginton (who also did the cover art here and for most of what they put out), drummer Mario Rubalcaba (Hot Snakes, Rocket From the Crypt, etc.) and guitarist Isaiah Mitchell (ex-Howlin’ Rain, Golden Void, collabs with Seedy Jeezus and a ton of others, touring guitarist for The Black Crowes, etc.) offer quintessential heavy exploration in “Acid Crusher,” while in more of a rarity for Earthless, their piece is actually the shorter of the two side-consumers on the release. With a mood quickly set by its initial fuzzy bassline, organ (Tim Green played on the first record, not sure if he’s doing so this time), echoing tambourine flourish and Mitchell‘s shimmering guitar over the steady groove held down by Rubalcaba and Eginton that ensues, “Acid Crusher” isn’t two minutes into its total 14:56 before Earthless have dug out a space for themselves in the pocket of a mellow swing.
Some hand percussion enters after seven minutes in, and the wah overdose past the 10-minute mark has more soul than most rock records all by itself, but “Acid Crusher” is basically set around repetitions of its central groove, a light bounce that gives the keys and guitar room to play around it. As to how much is or isn’t improvised, one never really knows with Earthless, but they manage to carve a hook out of the interplay of guitar and keys, and they roll it out casual-like to make that 15-minutes go by in a semi-conscious flash. One could hardly ask for a more appropriate setup to Harsh Toke‘s “Mount Swan,” which checks in at 19:37 and fades into its takeoff with an early sense of doom overarching in the riff, but turns quick to jazzier punch in transitioning to a verse with watery vocals from Messer that even seven years later feel like a surprise after Earthless‘ instrumental take.
They don’t last, not that it would be a problem if they did. It’s a quick few lines before Harsh Toke crash out to noise and the bass picks up the thread on a slower roll, ambient psych guitar feedback and effects swirling around it. Ayub‘s drums return sooner or later, slow taps on the ride cymbal with crash for accent, an easy fluidity that defines the instrumental remainder of the song that feels correspondingly jammed out, band-in-room, and if it wasn’t recorded live, they make it easy to believe it could’ve been.
Dual-channel guitar solos take hold as the band approach the seventh minute, and they bring it to a head gradually before slowing down again, the organic nature of how they ride the main progression all the more fluid for its shifts in tempo, a bit of shred tossed in for good measure along the way. “Mount Swan” comes apart at about 12:05 and over the remainder of the track seems to hold on by a thread — or by the bass and drums, if you prefer — but it holds on just the same until its final fade, faster here, groovier there, abidingly languid all the while in complement to “Acid Crusher” before, willing a kind of warts-and-all approach that most bands wouldn’t dare even in the context of heavy psych jamming.
Repetition again serving a key role as regards rhythm, Harsh Toke still manage a showcase of dynamic that lives up to what Earthless do on side A, which, yes, is a compliment. Their last release (to-date, because one never knows) was 2019’s Burnout (review here) split with Sacri Monti and Joy, and they toured Europe that year as well. In 2018, Harsh Toke had taken part in the ‘San Diego Takeover’ at the Roadburn Festival in the Netherlands, which was arguably a crescendo for that league of San Diego heavy outfits. Earthless by then were headliners — at that fest and elsewhere — and artists-in-residence playing multiple sets, and had signed to Nuclear Blast to release the daringly-song-based Black Heaven (review here) that same year.
This split LP — a deceptively accessible listen at 34 minutes — was old news by then, but in hindsight it casts a light on the creative blossoming that took place in San Diego around this time. That scene wasn’t and isn’t perfect, but the sense of community was real, and Acid Crusher / Mount Swan underscores this as well as the heady pleasure of losing oneself in the unfolding of these longform pieces.
Thanks for reading. As always, I hope you enjoy.
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Coming on 5AM now. I’ve been up since two. It’s been like that. The other night I rolled over at 12:30 and was awake for the duration. I stayed in bed and tried to sleep for 45 minutes or so before admitting defeat and waking up. I’ve been reliably waking up around three most nights. Alarm goes off at four. I think I made it that long once this week. To be honest, at the end of the day I’m tired no matter what I do, and if I was going to ‘catch up on sleep’ or readjust my circadian rhythm to something approaching normalcy, it would probably be a process of weeks and months more than days. Maybe I’ll get there at some point. Maybe a piano will fall on my head.
While we’re on fascinating subjects, anyone want to talk about the weather? This week was The Pecan’s spring break from pre-K, and the weather fortunately cooperated for the most part. On Tuesday we went to the Turtle Back Zoo for the first time this year — it’s a regular stop for us — and plotzed around, and it was so nice out that we hit a playground after. And yesterday was actually hot in the sun, so life-affirmingly beautiful that I broke out three Amorphis records to listen to in the car as we drove from one playground to another in the afternoon.
We’d gone for an ADOS evaluation earlier in the day, which assesses a bottom line on whether or not a given brain is on the autism spectrum. The prevailing thought is no, which I’ll take — one of my three nephews is very much ASD, limited verbal, and so on, so we’re pretty attuned to it — but I think we’re all just kind of hanging around the ADHD-with-sensory-features thing. But everyone says the kid is brilliant, and it’s kind of true, so it’s possible the situation is just a ‘gonna be a smart weirdo’ kind of thing. Fair enough, I guess.
Gender continues to be a big topic in our days, and you’ll notice a lack of he/she pronouns in the two paragraphs above. I think we’re genuinely moving from ‘he’ to ‘she’ in that regard, happening like right now, and it’s kind of incredible to see this kid coming to feel so right about a thing. I remember when The Patient Mrs. first got pregnant — oh the harrowing tale, let me not relive it though I do anyway pretty much constantly — we talked about how much we wanted a daughter. Well there you go. Again, fair enough, though one does worry about things like nazis in government and shitty kids in school and violence against trans people and so on.
But the last few weekends there’s been an Our Whole Lives class at the UU church in Morristown and that has seemed to help a lot with framing at least as far as The Pecan’s own mindset goes. Dare to say she’s a good boy or some such and you’ll be corrected, with gusto. I think we might be in dresses by the time kindergarten starts this Fall, which is only an issue because all of the handmedowns we have — and we have so, so many — are boy clothes. Fucking of course it would be a money thing. Alas, we roll with it.
As 700 or so emails have already informed me this morning, today’s Bandcamp Friday. If you’re celebrating that or whatever pagan version of Easter is cool this year, I wish you all the best. We’re having family over as we will and I feel fortunate to be able to do so even while acknowledging the inevitable fuckton of work to be done. While we’re on the subject, the next seven days are a Quarterly Review, because I’m both an idiot and way backed up on shit. I might even do another week in May, then one in early July, as there’s so much coming out to try to keep up with. I’ve got most of the rest of the year planned out in that regard. At least space blocked off for fests and QRs.
And speaking of fests, I might end up at SonicBlast this August. Keeping my fingers crossed that comes together over the next week. Would be an awesome trip to add to Freak Valley in Germany this June and Høstsabbat in Norway in October, along with Grim Reefer in Baltimore later this month, hopefully Maryland Doom Fest in June, and Desertfest New York in September. Fests are easier for me at this point than club shows. Time does weird things to you.
I’ve gone on long enough so will leave it there. No Gimme show this week, but thanks if you check out any old ones in their Vault, or hit up Obelisk merch, or make it to the end of this sentence, or just exist. Have a great and safe weekend, and don’t forget to hydrate. It’ll be summer (winter in the southern hemisphere) before you know it.
