There hasn’t been much word out of the camp of Athens rockers The Dive since they released their impressive self-titled debut in 2011 (review here), but it seems the band, which formed all the way back in 2000, have been active all the same. This weekend, they sent over notice of a limited vinyl issue of their first album through The Lab Records and nonprofit Greek collective Spinalonga Records and a mini-tour supporting the concurrent release of their sophomore outing, Zo’e, on the latter label. I guess sometimes a band can be busier than they appear.

News came down the PR wire, and you can find it and their current dates below, as well as the self-titled in full, in case anyone needs a refresher:

THE DIVE – ZO’E (new album out now!! + mini tour!!)

Primal, organic, instinctive playing. The Dive release their second full length album named Zo’e. Detecting the flow rather than defining it. Roaming rather than wandering.
Out now on spinalonga records!

At the end of May the band is hitting the road for a mini tour including stops in Germany, Netherlands Turkey and Greece.

Dates booked so far:
1/6 @ Rotormania Fest, Germany
6/6 @ Mukkes, Leeuwarden, Netherlands.
8/6 @ Kastanienkeller, Berlin, Germany
14/6 @ Peyote, Istanbul, Turkey
18/6 @ K44, Athens, Greece
..more info soon..

* Also, The Dive’s debut s/t album out now on limited edition of 275 copies in 180gr black vinyl. By The Lab records and Spinalonga records.

http://thedive.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/thediveband
http://www.soundcloud.com/thedive
http://www.twitter.com/thediveband
http://www.spinalonga.net

The Dive, The Dive (2011)

Greece may be in the throes of an economic crisis — my understanding is the new austerity budget and continued bailouts didn’t go over so well, though I’m more than happy to admit my grasp of international financial policy is limited at best — but hard times mean good art. The Athens-based label/collective has three new releases available now for stream, download and purchase, and they were kind enough to send over a summary of what each band is all about.

The PR wire — now three times as informative:

Cube – self titled (2012, Spinalonga Records/Body Blows Records)

Self-titled debut LP by Cube, released digitally and on vinyl 12” (in a limited pressing of 250 copies).

In the midst of the economic crisis in Greece, Cube are releasing what seems like a 90’s heavy rock revival. Focused on groove and straight-up heaviness, the band delves into prog-rock experimentation but never loses the grungy aesthetic that cuts through the entire album. The quartet have released a few tracks over the years on various compilations such as the “In the Junkyard” series -featuring fellow greek acts the Dive, Planet of Zeus, the Bliss, Nightstalker among others- (Spinalonga Records, Greece) and the “Rock’n’Roll Blvd vol.1” -featuring bands like Honcho, Monkey 3, Kayser and more- (Buzzville Records, Belgium).

Listen, download or vinyl-order at: http://cube-1.bandcamp.com/
Perfect Monkey [official video]: http://youtu.be/AFUvNKZKxkI
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cube/96555009108

Circassian – Procrastinational (2012, Spinalonga Records)

2nd EP by Circassian, released digitally.

The name derives from a North Caucasian ethnic group and obviously its reputation reached the steps of Athens, Greece only to be one of many ‘ethnic’ influences for the band. Their music is fused by neo-psychedelic patterns, often forms of atonality and of course traditional melodies drawn from parts of Asia and Northern Africa. Major musical influences that characterise the band, include the 70’s german krautrock scene, surf/garage scenes (both modern and older) and traditional/contemporary mediterranean music.

In 2011, Circassian released their first s/t EP and by early 2013, they will enter the studio to record their full length debut.

Listen, download or vinyl-order at: http://circassian.bandcamp.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Circassian/199199250098036

One Leg Mary – Yes Exactly, Maybe Not (2012, Spinalonga records)

Debut EP by One Leg Mary, released digitally.

OLM balances between sweet melodies and edgy instrumentals. Following the thread from the 80’s indie american scene up to the latest math-rock acts, the band finds its own voice; the voice of four young men from the suburbs of Athens in 2012. This is extremely tight, syncopated indie rock with clever vocal lines. It is exactly this contrast that you can find in their neighbourhood. The rough future-less decline of society in crisis mixed with a peaceful idealistic upbringing, that is reflected in their music. It is tight and energetic, even aggressive occasionally, but it has to remain witty at all times. This is a first taste of one of the most promising young bands in Greece.

Listen, download or vinyl-order at: http://onelegmary.bandcamp.com/
http://www.facebook.com/OneLegMary

They formed in 2000 and released their self-titled debut full-length earlier this year through Spinalonga Records, but if you told me that Athens four-piece The Dive spent the whole of those 11 years working on the cover art for their album, I’d believe it. The 11-plus-track CD comes in a gorgeous fold-out digi-sleeve, six panels on each side, to unveil the full picture of which the running wildebeest cover art turns out to be only one-twelfth. The artwork is a narrative in itself, and with it, the band immediately sets a high bar for creativity. It’s not every album that has to live up to its cover, but The Dive’s The Dive is clearly working to attain a standard, and for the most part it does. The band specializes in a kind of progressive desert rock, at times inflected with a grown-up punk feel, as on the perhaps misplaced Social Distortion-esque opener “Fresh Blue Coffee,” and rounded out through the fuzz tones and interplay between guitarists Titos and Monkey J. – the latter also vocals – and the sometimes Toolish rhythmic churn of bassist Livy and drummer Taz. If it’s taken The Dive 11 years to put a record together, they’ve got a complex creative range to show for it. I don’t know the disparity in how old some of these songs are versus others, but despite a few missteps here and there, they by and large remain consistent atmospherically and in terms of quality.

The reason I say “Fresh Blue Coffee” is potentially misplaced because it works outside the tone of much of the rest of the album, which is more rock-driven than punk-based. Certainly those elements show up again later on “Plan 9 From Outer Space,” but even there, the effect is more like Totimoshi taking on Fatso Jetson than trying to shirk off the desert aesthetic as much as the opener does. Right from “Lockjaw,” The Dive takes a different turn, Monkey J. adopting a different hue for his melodic vocals – he stays clean for the most, though a few choice screams in “Fabio, Fabio…” to well to play up the dynamics – to better match the darker and more cerebral overall vibe of the music. His and Titos’ guitars complement each other well, and rarely get locked into the same riff or break when they don’t want to be. Noodling abounds on “Lockjaw” and continues through “Billie Jean” (not a Michael Jackson cover) and most of the record, adding to the prog feel. At times, they come off like a sped up Kyuss, and “Lockjaw” definitely has a ‘90s atmosphere, but particularly after “Fresh Blue Coffee,” it’s hard to get a handle on where The Dive are headed next stylistically. Maybe that’s the point. Either way, “Lydia and the Pigheads” finds Livy stepping to the fore as the guitars drop out, and his Justin Chancellor-style runs prove a solid foundation for the song, Taz filling the space creatively on his toms. The earthy tones of The Dive’s artwork suit well the deep atmosphere and the dark but by no means bleak vibes of the music, and though “Desden” is one of the more forgettable tracks on the album, that might be due in part to its being situated next to the standout “Fabio, Fabio…”

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They’re part of the burgeoning scene in and around Athens, Greece, and true to form, double-guitar four-piece rockers The Dive inject their heavy rock with a ’90s-style alternative feel. The band formed in 2000 — that’s about all the biographical info they’re willing to give — and their self-titled album (released on Spinalonga Records), is available for listening in full via their Soundcloud page.

Their influences are pretty well in order, and The Dive runs a gamut from Tool-style riffy churn to Monster Magnet‘s “how are they coming back from this one?” spacing out, never seeming to totally lose track of the rhythms driving the songs. Finale “Fresh Blue Coffee” even works in a little garage rock, reminding of Baby Woodrose or one of Eurostoner’s many like-minded acts. “Iguana”‘s cadence makes it something of a misstep, but the bassline in “Floating” makes up for a lot.

You can find The Dive on Thee Facebooks here, but I basically just wanted to post the tracks for anyone who might be into checking them out, so here you go:

It’s with a keen ear for the avant and toward representing the individuality in its native scene that Greek imprint Spinalonga Records presents the two-disc Miss Fortune was a Henhouse Manager compilation. I know I’ve said before that I’m not a fan of reviewing comps – and I hold to that, as with most various artists releases, you get neither an album flow nor much of a sense of what each band has to offer stylistically – but taken on the level of ambassadorship, Miss Fortune was a Henhouse Manager’s total 19 tracks do an excellent job highlighting the variety Greece has to offer the international heavy underground. There’s some horrific noise and drone, scathing ambient metal, booze-fueled sludge and even a bit of experimentalism from where one might not expect. And with intros and outros on each disc handled by Athens black metal outfit Yassa – sort of a SunnO)))-esque terrifying drone – there’s even some measure of continuity between them, and it’s obvious that despite the wide variety of creative avenues included, Miss Fortune was a Henhouse Manager was conceived as a whole.

That said, my usual reservations with comps apply. It’s a collection of tracks, not an album – despite the gorgeous and appropriately disturbing artwork, the total four Yassa lead-ins and –outs, and how many of these songs start with feedback – and should be read as such. The discs are labeled Side A and Side B on the packaging, though in truth each would actually two full vinyl sides, and each has its high and low points. Sun of Nothing kicks off Side A with the 13-plus-minute “Dead End Nights and Bright Mornings (and the Things Between ‘em),” which is a monstrous slab of molasses riffage topped with far away screams, and without a second thought, National Pornographik launch next into mathy prog noise with a vocalist who sounds like a self-harmonizing Julie Christmas from Made Out of Babies fronting. Clearly diversity is going to be the name of the game as Miss Fortune was a Henhouse Manager progresses, and that turns out to be precisely the case. Speaking of appropriate names, Drunk Motherfuckers give a firm mission statement on the charmingly titled “Ain’t Give No Shit about Sobers,” sounding like a mix of Eyehategod – who 1000mods cover on the second disc – and Entombed. I don’t know if I’d let them drive my car, but they sure sound good coming out of the speakers. On blanket appeal alone, that song is a highlight, but the 10-minute instrumental “Stoner City Dub” which follows from Nechayevschina isn’t without its own dreamily psychedelic appeal. A jazzy bassline underscores Last Rizla’s “Battles: Sinatra,” Korsikov sample Scarface on their way to answering what Weedeater might sound like with Matt Pike singing on “Liqweedator,” and before “B.I.I.D.” holds more horrors from Yassa, Stonenrow bust out 8:34 of solid and, relative to its surroundings, straightforward, doom on “The Harvest.” Even among the strange and furious, a heady doom groove isn’t out of place.

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