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Solar Halos Premiere “The Living Tide”; Coiled Light LP Due in May

Posted in audiObelisk, Whathaveyou on February 22nd, 2019 by JJ Koczan

solar halos

You know, usually when you think of something landing like a brick, it’s not a positive image. Like the thing — whatever it is — should be flying. Well, Solar Halos land like a brick even as they fly. It’s a duel-persona that’s writ large all over their upcoming second full-length, Coiled Light, which will be released in April digitally and May 10 on vinyl through Cursed Tongue Records. Drenched in melody and atmosphere, the release finds the North Carolinian three-piece digging into vibes out of post-metal and heavy psychedelia, but while their tones are thick and their plod considerable thanks in no small part to John Crouch‘s right-upside-the-head kickdrum, the intertwining vocals of guitarist/cellist Nora Rogers and bassist/keyboardist Eddie Sanchez bring a Kylesa-style sense of progressivism to the songwriting, albeit somewhat more patient than that band managed to be during their time.

In cuts like “Personal Levee” and “River of Grass” and the more intense shove of closer “Nebulas,” there’s a lot to dig into and one expects that’s a significant part of what led to the Cursed Tongue pickup, as that label’s taste is only growing more reliable by the release. You can hear “The Living Tide” at the bottom of this post, and as the leadoff track, it does the work of establishing the tone and setting the atmospheric foundation for both the largesse and the impact that follows. I think it was the label said something about “crushing psychedelia.” That’s as good as anything I could come up with.

Enjoy:

Solar Halos Coiled Light

SOLAR HALOS SIGNS TO CURSED TONGUE RECORDS FOR A WORLD WIDE RELEASE OF THEIR NEW ALBUM ‘COILED LIGHT’ ON MAY 10TH, 2019.

Cursed Tongue Records is thrilled to announce the signing of the thunderous and soulful yet equally dark and hypnotic heavy psych rock ensemble Solar Halos, NC. Their sophomore album ‘Coiled Light’ will be released on vinyl May 10th via Cursed Tongue Records, with pre-orders coming early April.

It’s been almost 2 years since the band last released new tunes onto the world and over 5 years since Solar Halos released their self-titled debut album via Devouter Records (UK). The passing of time has failed to dim a great first experience. Still vividly remembering the almost religious awakening that was brought upon Cursed Tongue Records owner back in 2014 when first laying ears to Solar Halos pulsating, ground-shaking and beautifully heavy tunes. Hence, we are not far from a dream come true when being passed the opportunity to work with the band on releasing their follow-up album. The debut never left heavy rotation and the new album ‘Coiled Light’ will sure follow troop.

Behind Solar Halos’ Carrboro, NC practice space there are train tracks and a concrete factory. You feel the rumble of diesel engines and sliding stone as much as you hear it. Like the digestive noises of a nation-sized beast, it jars your teeth. It rattles your marrow. It makes you feel small.

Within Solar Halos practice space, John Crouch (drums and percussion), Nora Rogers (guitar, cello, vocals) and Eddie Sanchez (bass, keys and vocals) take the long view. There is an even larger, more patient, more powerful beast, and it will level the field. “When time awaits / when monuments breathe / when mountains return to the sea,” rings Rogers clear and confident call over nuanced, propulsive sludge. “The calm water hides.”

Human endeavor can rumble and rattle and challenge nature, like the heavy industry all around, or it can tap into forces older and more powerful than anything anthropocene. This is a band that thinks in geological time, and an air of levelheaded patience pervades even the most driving songs. With obliquely poetic lyrics that wax mystical and scientific both, Solar Halos sings to the stones, the grass, the sea, the stars and time itself on their second album ‘Coiled Light’.

Recorded summer 2017 by Kris Hilbert at esteemed Greensboro, NC studio Legitimate Business, ‘Coiled Light’ finds Solar Halos tightening its already impressive structures and expanding its expressive horizons both. On “Nebulas” dual vocalists Rogers and Sanchez adopt a Carl Sagan-esque wonder at humanity’s vulnerability to cosmic forces: “It won’t warn you when it fades to black / it won’t charm you as time yields to mass.”

‘Coiled Light’ is psych-metal for naturalists, for philosophers and for listeners willing to take the long view, to accept our species’ impermanence and to walk paths that fade in the light of day.

It’s our anticipation and hope that many more ears will be opened to this truly unique and magnificent band and the heavy underground scene will learn of this phenomenon of nature. “We are happy to help bestow a second sonic revelation upon the Earth’s inhabitants”, the label owner notes.

So get ready to travel through chilled and dimly lit climes brought through an ever shifting provocative aural landscape. Utilizing a doom like weight, Solar Halos finds a radiant and transfixing resourcefulness through varied textures and sounds making their second album an enthralling and intensive examination of and feast for senses and emotions.

Once more Earth will tremble under the soundscapes that emanates from Solar Halos when ‘Coiled Light’ releases digitally on their Bandcamp page April 12th, 2019. It’s a journey you won’t want to miss!

CTR-021: SOLAR HALOS – ‘COILED LIGHT’, vinyl official release date: May 10th, 2019 (Digital release April 12th)

Written and arranged by Solar Halos
Engineered and mixed by Kris Hilburt at Legitimate Business, NC
Mastered by James Plotkin
Drawings & photos by Nora Rogers
Layout & design by Michael Andresakis

Track listing:

side A
1. The Living Tide
2. Personal Levee
3. Ground the Fire

side B
4. River of Grass
5. Conduit
6. Coiled Light
7. Nebulas

Solar Halos is:
John Crouch – drums, percussion
Nora Rogers – guitar, cello, vocals
Eddie Sanchez – bass, keys, vocals

https://www.facebook.com/SolarHalos/
https://www.instagram.com/solar.halos
https://solarhalos.bandcamp.com/
http://cursedtonguerecords.bigcartel.com/
https://www.facebook.com/CursedTongueRecords
https://www.instagram.com/cursedtonguerecords

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