Posted in Whathaveyou on July 15th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
As previously noted, this tour announcement isn’t exactly unexpected, given Hippie Death Cult‘s prior confirmation for Desertfest Belgium. The full tour also feature stops at Up in Smoke and Heavy Psych Sounds Fest, plus maybe more where there are open slots, and will go from the end of September through to the Nov. 1, which if it needs to be said is a siginificant bit of touring. Not their first, presumably not their last.
In August, the Portland trio will tour on the West Coast as well, hitting stops with Abronia and Earth Tongue, either of which would/will make for a special kind of evening. Last I saw Hippie Death Cult was at Desertfest Oslo 2025 (review here), and they were barnburning. Seriously. I had to get a new barn. Worth it.
Fun ensues:
Heavy Psych Sounds BOOKING to announce HIPPIE DEATH CULT – European Tour 2026 !!
We are stoked to announce that our US based hard rockers HIPPIE DEATH CULT will smash Europe and UK in October 2026 !!
*** HIPPIE DEATH CULT – European Tour 2026 ***
30.09 IT Pescara – Scumm 01.10 IT Bologna – Freakout 02.10 SI Ilirska Bistrica – MKNŽ 03.10 AT Ebensee – Kino 04.10 CH Pratteln – Up In Smoke 05.10 FR Chambery – Brin De Zinc 06.10 FR Marseille – Le Molotov 07.10 IT Genova – Trinità Live Club 08.10 IT Castel D’Ario – Hostaria 09.10 ***OPEN SLOT*** 10.10 AT Kufstein – Kulturfabrik 11.10 LI Vaduz – Camäleon 13.10 DE Leipzig – Conne Island 14.10 DE Munich – Sunny Red 15.10 ***OPEN SLOT*** 16.10 DE Berlin – HPS Fest 17.10 DE Dresden – HPS Fest 18.10 BE Liege – Desertfest 19.10 FR Reims – 1001 Bières 21.10 DK Copenhagen – TBC 22.10 SE Stockholm – Geronimo’s 23.10 ***OPEN SLOT*** 24.10 DK Esbjerg – Kulturscenen 25.10 ***OPEN SLOT*** 27.10 UK Nottingham – Mist Rolling Inn 28.10 UK Huddersfield – Parish 29.10 UK Norwich – Voodoo Daddy’s Showroom 30.10 UK London – Blondies Brewery 31.10 UK Bristol – Moor Beer 01.11 UK Faversham – Saturnalia Records
Hippie Death Cult’s journey through shameless and triumphant artistic expression has led them to become a vibrant force in the realms of psychedelia and riff-heavy rock n’ roll. This journey has not been without its challenges, but the band has always managed to emerge stronger and more determined than ever. Throughout their formative years, the band underwent what proved to be a very significant evolution, transitioning from a 4-piece to a more cohesive and harmonious power trio. This lineup currently consists of guitarist and founder Eddie Brnabic, vocalist and bassist Laura Phillips, and drummer Harry Silvers.
HIPPIE DEATH CULT is: Laura Phillips – Bass/Vocals Eddie Brnabic – Guitar Harry Silvers – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 15th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
What’s that you say? Weedeater touring? Madness! Unheard of! Who could’ve seen it coming?
True, the North Carolinian sludge mainstays have been on the road consistently for, I don’t know, at least the last 20 years, but the Fall tour listed out below — I didn’t even have to type the dates; pro-shop — includes a notable headlining stop through the reinvigorated Emissions From the Monolith Festival in Youngstown, Ohio, on Oct. 11, as well as a string of dates in September in the company of Gwar, so, you know, it’s a familiar-enough situation but with some extra flourish. That’s not to take away from dates with Royal Thunder, speed rock heroes Zeke and/or Yes Ma’am either, mind you.
But yes, Weedeater tour a lot. We know this. But someday they won’t, and if you’ve never seen them, or if you have and you just take them for granted as I so obviously do, I’ll remind you that nothing lasts forever and if you haven’t seen them, they’re one of their generation’s most crucial live acts, whether or not they spend their days creating engaging short-form video content for the algorithm — which, much to their credit, they don’t.
The PR wire has dates and particulars:
Weedeater Announce 2026 U.S. Fall Tour
Cape Fear’s Legendary Weed Metal Cultivators Hitting Both Coasts with Buds in Zeke, Royal Thunder & Yes Ma’am + dates supporting GWAR
After lighting up the ol’ dusty trail with Conan and Telekinetic Yeti, Weedeater are re-upping with a fresh supply of U.S. tour dates. This fall, the Cape Fear Legends will smoke stages from coast to coast with their buds in Zeke, Royal Thunder and Yes Ma’am.
To pour more Evan Williams onto the fire, along the way, for three special dates, the Weed metal trio will join forces with the mighty GWAR before headlining Day 4 of Emissions from the Monolith.
Weedeater 2026 U.S. Fall Tour Dates with Zeke, Royal Thunder & Yes Ma’am + dates supporting GWAR September 17 – Lexington, KY @ Green Lantern % September 18 – St. Louis, MO @ Golden Record # September 19 – Davenport, IA @ Capitol Theatre $ September 20 – Grand Rapids, MI @ The Intersection $ September 22 – Memphis, TN @ Satellite Music $ September 23 – Austin, TX @ Far Out Lounge # September 24 – El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace # September 25 – Tuscon, AZ @ 191 Toole # September 26 – Jacumba Springs, CA @ Jacumba Hotel # September 28 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah # September 29 – Costa Mesa, CA @ Wayfarer # September 30 – Fresno, CA @ Mario’s # October 1 – San Jose CA @ The Ritz* October 2 – Sacramento, CA @ Colonial Theatre * October 4 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon * October 5 – Boise, ID @ Shrine Ballroom * October 7 – Colorado Springs, CO @ Black Sheep * October 8 – Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck * October 10 – Chicago, IL @ WC Social Club * October 11 – Youngstown, OH @ Westside Bowl ^ October 13 – Rochester, NY @ Montage Music Hall * October 14 – Reading, PA @ Reverb * October 15 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat * October 17 – Chattanooga, TN @ The Boneyard * % with Royal Thunder $ supporting GWAR # with Royal Thunder & Yes Ma’am * with Zeke, Royal Thunder & Yes Ma’am ^ Weedeater only at Emissions from the Monolith
Weedeater’s full discography is available now on Season of Mist
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 15th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
Turn of the century heads will likely recall 7Zuma7 from the days of message boards and file sharing, before everything was beards and Bandcamp and still not making any money on streaming. MySpace days. Maybe you heard of them on Friendster? I don’t know. I didn’t have that one.
But the Dutch outfit was one I found in my genre early days — and the convention of numbers in band names wasn’t as jarring then as it is how; Hypnos69, 35007 et al — and especially as the current heavy underground is so enamored with progressive stylizations, their individualized take on the conventions of was then just tagged as stoner rock should resonate well as Ripple Music reissues their 1999 debut Deep Inside…, as the latest installment of its righteous ‘Beneath the Desert Floor’ series.
The PR wire has it like this:
Dutch stoner rock pioneers 7ZUMA7 to reissue debut album “Deep Inside…” on Ripple Music this summer; LP preorder available!
Formed in Eindhoven (NL) in the mid 1990s, 7Zuma7 was founded by singer and guitarist Jerry van Eyck, guitarist John Peate, singer and bassist Nick Sanders, and drummer Jacco van Rooy. Before settling on the name that would follow them through the European underground, the band briefly carried the gloriously ridiculous title Nymphoid Barbarians From Dinosaur Hell. They soon renamed themselves after Zuma 777, an offshore powerboat, a name that better captured the band’s sense of speed, excess, sun, sleaze, and volume.
From the beginning, 7Zuma7 stood apart from the heavier rock scene around them. They were often placed near stoner rock, but the band never felt entirely at home with that label. Their own description was more precise, and much more entertaining: sleazy sludge rock with glam and soul influences. The sound was heavy, loose, warm, lightly psychedelic, and driven by thick guitars, top-notch riffs, swaggering seventies grooves, and a certain wrongness that became part of the band’s identity. Their music felt like hard rock seen through smoke, glitter, tequila, and an old B-movie projector.
The band’s first full-length album, Deep Inside, was released in 1999 on Suburban Records and brought wider recognition from the European press. The record sharpened the band’s sound and pushed its image even further. For the album campaign, 7Zuma7 leaned into a deliberately “wrong” visual world, including the now-infamous photo shoot in a brothel bubble bath, surrounded by scantily dressed women, with the band looking somewhere between amused, lost, and completely at home. It was part provocation, part humor, part glam rock theatre, and entirely 7Zuma7.
Now this cornerstone piece of European fuzz history is seeing a long-anticipated vinyl reissue, as part of Ripple Music’s revered Beneath The Desert Floor series, unearthing and breathing new life into gems from the stoner and desert rock underground.
7ZUMAZ “Deep Inside…” (vinyl reissue) Out August 21st on Ripple Music
TRACKLIST: 1. Mirrorman 2. Over&Over&Over 3. Fistful of Dolls 4. One At A Time 5. Diamonds 6. Crawling 7. Savannah 8. Acid Manic 9. Quicksand 10. Heroin Chic 11. The Seeker
7Zuma7 was never just a stoner rock band. It was heavier than glam, dirtier than hard rock, stranger than sludge, and too full of soul to be reduced to a genre. For a brief and blazing moment, they sounded like the ultimate soundtrack to a lost seventies exploitation film, played at full volume by four guys who understood the groove, swagger, humor, and strange beauty of rock and roll.
While it’s true that Sealess‘ Aura is the first full-length from the project, it would be difficult to dive into its atmospheric sprawl and separate it from the overarching creative progression of which it’s part. Wrocław, Poland-based Kamil Ziółkowski is the sole denizen of the band, apart from Maha Sohona‘s Johan Bernhardtson sitting in on vocals and the last guitar solo in opener “Days of Gone” and Sandra Rutka adding vocals to “The Last Breath of Winter Glow,” and Ziółkowski handled the recording as well at Electric Witch Mountain Recordings while Haldor Grunberg mixed and mastered.
One might recognize Ziółkowski‘s name and style of composition from either Spaceslug or his other solo-project, Mountain of Misery, as well as bands like Palm Desert, O.D.R.A., Solar Trip, running the Electric Witch Mountain label, and so on, but for the stylistic diversity of the outfits in which he’s been involved, Sealess belongs specifically to a thread from Spaceslug to Mountain of Misery to it as the embodiment of a creative pursuit — and I mean that in the sense of chasing something, not just an endeavor — that brings together heavy ideologies with broader atmospherics, a stated love for The Cure shown in some of the brighter keyboards and airy guitar, and post-heavy rollout.
The band appeared on the Ziółkowski-led compilation, Deep Seven Vol. 1 (review here), in 2024, but Aura is the most substantial outing from the project to-date. It is comprised of seven songs and runs an immersive 44 minutes, beginning with the meditative keyboardery of “Days of Gone,” finding ground between the grunge-tinged heavy tones of Mountain of Misery and the vague Eastern lean of Om.
The latter aspect makes it a standout compared to most of what follows, but the effect that has is mostly to make Aura a less predictable listen, which is a strength as Ziółkowski moves between longer pieces and shorter-ish ones, “Days of Gone,” at 7:40 rolling into a fadeout ahead of the due cascade of “When the Water Breaks,” where the resonance comes into deeper focus as intentional and more of the aural purpose is revealed. “Days of Gone” is hookier, in its patient way, and the combination of Ziółkowskiand Bernhardtson on vocals should be enough to please even the most discerning of nerds for Northern European heavy, but “When the Water Breaks” finds a place between texture and groove that seems at this point to be the heart of the project.
Ziółkowski isn’t a stranger to serving as an entire band on a release, and as a multi-instrumentalist and engineer, he’s practiced at creating a vibe, or a mood, or ambience, whatever you want to call it. The guitar rings out on Aura in a way that is familiar, but a step further on the path Ziółkowski has been walking from band to band, and particularly as Mountain of Misery grew out of Spaceslug‘s lush atmospheres, so too does Sealess feel extended from Mountain of Misery‘s style, or maybe extrapolated from it in-part.
Whatever the phrasing, Ziółkowski is recognizable as a composer and performer in this material, and while he’s working with and under influences outside the heavy underground norm, he brings everything into a cohesive, overarching sound that is Sealess‘ own and speaks to intentions toward taking the ‘band’ forward, developing a sound as he has with Mountain of Misery and as he’s been a part of with Spaceslug. I refuse to predict the future, but listening to Aura, part of what distinguishes Sealess from Ziółkowski‘s other ongoing projects is this sense of having branched off, and while I don’t know the origin of Sealess as distinct from Mountain of Misery, the songs present enough of a departure to justify starting another project, however they might’ve come about in the first place, in a very similar way that, when starting out, Mountain of Misery felt distinct enough from Spaceslug to warrant being a different band.
Does any of that make sense? It might in the future if Ziółkowski keeps Sealess going, and the tonal flourish on intertwining layers at the end of “The Last Breath of Winter Glow” — let alone the combined-vocal/duet aspect — continues to expand, or the daring-toward-positive-sounding “Interiors,” which wouldn’t seem to be accidentally placed as the centerpiece, becomes a blueprint, though of course that’s impossible to know now. The sweetness of melody in “Interiors” feels telling, however, as to the end goals of the project, and in just four minutes, it doesn’t capture the same kind of expanse as the penultimate “The Road is Promising,” which is twice as long, but it does come across as more straightforward in its verse and arrangement, and it demonstrates both the familiar elements Ziółkowski is using and the less familiar expression he’s building from them.
The forward drumming in “In Mortality” provides a strong foundation for the float in the vocals and guitar alike, and while the slower pacing makes it feel broad, “The Road is Promising” provides contrast with a double-time hi-hat amid its sprawl of keys and guitar. But here too, Ziółkowski holds to patience, and if you’re waiting for the breakout moment that so many records might shoehorn into a contemplative or emotive procession — you know, like when the post-rock band starts playing blackthrash to release the tension — closer “Endless Clouds” goes the other way entiretly, cutting the drums out of the picture for most of its four and a half minutes and wrapping Aura instead with its most ethereal stretch.
It’s easy to read defiance in that, but I don’t know that Ziółkowski is thinking in those terms rather than looking to finish with a priority on ambience over movement, though it’s a question of balance between them anyhow. The greatest impression Aura makes, from “Days of Gone” onward, is of being intentional. Of that pursuit referenced earlier. Of Ziółkowski chasing something, maybe the sound he’s hearing in his head, and working to manifest that in the audio. That’s a personal consideration, and so it’s not up to me to say whether he got there or not — most often, one tends to think of ‘creative goals’ as moving targets anyway — but Aura brings that chase to somewhere new, and hopefully Sealess becomes a vehicle for continuing the exploration portrayed here.
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 14th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
I pieced together the below from a Bandcamp update, from the Bandcamp page for the song and from the YouTube page where the video is posted, so if it’s a bit of a mash, yes, it is. The point is there’s a new Sun Voyager single out today, and the fullthrottleness and willful repetition of the three-minute “Coming Down” feel like a suitably rousing follow-up to their last one, “Running Hot” (posted here), which came out this past February. The New York three-piece took footage from multiple regional shows — including that one in my hometown that I missed last year because I was away that I still regret not seeing — and the video is colorblasted accordingly, but if that’s too much on your senses, the audio is below as well and you’ll find it’s a burner all the way.
I won’t call it “no-nonsense,” because chincanery is part of what Sun Voyager do — it’s fun and it’s supposed to be — but it does feel direct-to-the-brain in a way that they’ve grown into being over the last couple years since they added guitarist/sometimes-vocalist Christian “Shaman Smoke” Lopez (also Heavy Temple) to the lineup with bassist/vocalist Stefan Mersch and drummer Kyle Beach. The fadeout feels like it’s hitting early, but the song still has plenty of time to establish its hook and pummel you with it. So yes, enjoy that.
If you’re reading that Sun Voyager have two singles this year so far and thinking new album, slow down. They basically had to go back to ground zero before they brought in Lopez, so while they might or might not have a bunch of new songs in the tank, I think it’s still going to be some time before it all surfaces as an LP. In the meantime, the rush of this one feels just right, and they’re correct when they tell you to turn it up:
Our new song “Coming Down” is out now.
It captures the vision we’ve been building over the last couple years. It’s heavy, psychedelic, loud, and the riff is pummeling.
Built around a massive riff, soaring guitar leads, and a relentless groove, Coming Down captures the band at full volume. This official music video was assembled from live footage shot across multiple performances, documenting the energy and chaos of the band and bringing the song to life the way it was meant to be experienced.
Visuals by Hydrosonic Light Show (@hydrosoniclightshow )
We’d love to know what you think after you’ve had a chance to listen.
Performed by Sun Voyager Recorded at Artfarm Recording, Accord, NY Mixed and engineered by Dave Andersen Mastered by Alan Douches, West West Side Music Logo design by John Scarperia Original photo by Pictureman Bob Artwork by Kim Zangrando
Sun Voyager is: Christian “Shaman Smoke” Lopez – Guitar, Vocals Stefan Mersch – Bass, Vocals Kyle Beach – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 14th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
There are three of the total 15 pieces streaming now from Brad Frye‘s first solo album, Reverberations From the American Southwest. Set to issue Aug. 7 through his own Desert Records label, the offering stands more in league with Frye‘s drone duo Droni Eye Omi than the desert-heavy doom rock of his main outfit Red Mesa, being comprised as it is of baritone-guitar adventures in open spaces, with field recordings and organic ambience threaded across the songs, as much as part of the music you’re hearing as anything running through an amplifier. The concept is right there in the title. Frye is speaking to and of the desert landscape. He calls it “a love letter to New Mexico,” and fair enough.
Kind of funny though that you could call the entire genre of desert rock ‘reverberations from the American Southwest’ and not be wrong. The individual pieces thus far posted are relatively short, but I think you can get a picture of the kind of immersion Frye is going for, so by all means, dive in. The following came from a Bandcamp update via the PR wire:
Hi everyone! Been a while since a Desert Records release announcement.
Excited to announce my debut solo album, ‘Reverberations from the American Southwest’.
In the spring of 2025, I set out to self-record my first solo album.
Armed with a Reverend baritone guitar, a Fender Champ tube amp, a solar powered generator, and a pedal board, I hiked out to remote locations around Albuquerque, NM.
I set up a Zoom H6 recorder to capture the ambient natural sounds of the New Mexican landscape. Birds, trains, rivers, wind, insects, and animals are heard throughout the songs.
Drone meets spaghetti western. Partially composed, but mostly improvised, this is hypnotic and mesmeric instrumental electric guitar music. 100% recorded outside in the high desert. A love letter to New Mexico.
Tracklisting: 1. Cactus Wrench 2. The Immense and Bloodslaked Waste 3. Ghosts Along the Bosque 4. The Raven Sees All 5. Merciless Sun 6. Celestial Skies 7. Three Gun 8. Desert Is As Desert Does 9. The Good, the Brad, and the Ugly 10. Crossing the Malpais 11. Drone of the Spotted Towhee 12. Temazcal 13. Stone Hut 14. Upon the Bones Cholla Cactus Sat Vultures 15. Gila
Releases August 7, 2026 on Desert Records.
Written, Performed, Recorded, and Produced by Brad Frye Guitar, Harmonica, and Field Recordings by Brad Frye Mixed by Ronaldo Baca at Orange Cat Studios Mastered by Alan F Jones at Laminal Audio Photos by Diego Pani
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 14th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
No, this single isn’t out yet, but I’m putting it here kind of as a note to myself ahead of the Aug. 5 release of “Lost Highway” and the subsequent Oct. 9 slating of Sacred Buzz‘s self-titled debut album on Sound Effect Records. The Berlin-based psych rockers made an impression with their 2024 Radio Radiation EP (review here), and there’s some continued garage-chic to their sound in the new song, which isn’t nearly as creepy as the David Lynch film for which it’s named, but I guess you’ll be able to hear that in a couple weeks, at which point presumably more info about the album will also be revealed.
So yeah, sorry for the “hey more to come” hype-type posting, but this is a cool band and I haven’t seen a ton about them around at this point, which if we’re being honest is part of the appeal, at least for me. And since I have nothing more to say at the moment without ripping on the very-online heavy underground hivemind, and that’s poor diplomacy even though I’ve already just done it, I’ll turn you over to the PR wire:
Sacred Buzz – “Lost Highway” – new single out August 5th
About the single:
“Lost Highway” captures the feeling of being on the run, hunted by something you can’t name, whether it lurks in the world around you or deep within your own mind. A driving krautrock rhythm is spiced with raw guitar and embellished by a brooding synthesizer. A fuzzy, phased-out riff between verses evokes a sense of being chased with nowhere to run, before it all culminates in a climax that sounds like a speeding car, screeching brakes, and the sudden end of the road. Inspired by dark ambience of Joy Division and fueled with mind-bending imagery of David Lynch, “Lost Highway“ channels the paranoia simmering beneath the daily grind of modern city life.
About the upcoming LP:
The album spans 8 tracks across 42 minutes – moving through post-punk, kraut-rock, and psychedelic rock. It was recorded at Monoton Studio (Berlin), mixed by Pablo Thiermann (Chicos de Nazca), and mastered by Pete Maher (Fuzz Club, Bella Union, EMI). The artwork is created by Ardneks, a prolific Indonesian artist known for working with Barcelona Psych Fest 2026, Kikagaku Moyo, Night Beats and Khruangbin. The vinyl pressing of 400 copies (black, colored, and special editions) will be released 9th October 2026 and distributed across EU, UK, and US through Sound Effect Records’ partners. A support tour follows in October–December 2026.
Dead Meadow‘s new collection, Foundlings, is out July 31 on Heavy Psych Sounds. And of course, with a release compiling seven songs from different recordings sessions between 2002 and 2024, there are always going to be variances in sound even before you get to different personnel involved — drummers Mark Laughlin and Stephen McCarty mostly trade off, but it’s Steve Kille, who passed away in 2024, on bass and Jason Simon on guitar and vocals throughout — but considering it’s Dead Meadow, you’re never not going to have a flow, and sure enough, as “Lost to Light” (premiering below) from the sessions of 2025’s Voyager to Voyager (review here) opens and shifts into the light-touch shuffle of “Nobody Home,” the fuzzy, ‘gazey-hazy vibe is on lock and it stays that way across the somewhat perfunctory 40-minute span.
I say ‘perfunctory’ because obviously the intention with Foundlings is to assemble something to sell to Dead Meadow‘s established fanbase, so they hit that mark, but — especially in the case of this band — that doesn’t mean the only thing they have to offer is fodder for completists. The ultra-eased roll of “Everything is Goin’ On,” originally from 2003’s Shivering King and Others and here taken from a 2002 ‘Committee to Keep Music Evil Session,’ makes a whole world in its early low end, following the centerpiece take on The Beatles‘ “Tomorrow Never Knows” tracked eight years ago because time is an illusion anyway and if you’re here, you might as well keep warm.
Yeah, there are stark-ish changes in sound, as from the uptempo “Nobody Home” to the more foreboding Powell St. John cover “Kingdom of Heaven,” or the later fuzz-march/cymbal wash of “Everything is Goin’ On” — which if you believe in riff worship should have you building an altar; or, you know, starting a band — rumbling out ahead of their take on “No Quarter,” bringing new spaciousness to the Led Zeppelin classic.
The loss of Kille continues to resonate, particularly as he recorded some of this material in addition to playing on all of it. As Dead Meadow have moved forward, they’ve given due homage to Kille‘s importance in the band, and it’s not explicitly stated on the record, but that’s part of what’s being summarized in Foundlings as well through recordings spanning more than two decades. He was and remains an important part of the band, and grief takes (1:) multiple forms, and (2:) time. His loss is an inevitable part of the story here.
Nonetheless, soothing as they are, “Lost to Light” as the opener demonstrates the undercurrent that runs through Dead Meadow songs when they want it to, and the way Foundlings is set up, it draws the listener further in with “Nobody Home” and the jammy “Kingdom of Heaven” following, “Tomorrow Never Knows” — which, honestly, is worth the price of admission on its own — leading to the side B plunge with “Everything is Goin’ On” and “No Quarter” ahead of the ambient finale “From the Children of Planet Earth,” which finishes with the sample of Nick Sagan (son of Carl) that went out with the Voyager probe in 1977 greeting future alien travelers, the song an otherwise instrumental landing point as much as you can ‘land’ while floating in zero-gravity.
So yeah, it’s off-album tracks and odds and ends, and no doubt the band have accumulated enough of them over the last nearly-three decades that Foundlings could be a series if they wanted it to, but while it might be a fan-piece rather than a place for newcomers to start — there are so many arguments on where to begin with this band that thinking about it makes my head feel like it’s going to explode, so I’ll just say start at the start and work your way up — there’s still a richness to the sound that is signature to Dead Meadow, and a fluid procession between the songs that gives an album-style impression. You will never doubt what band you’re listening to while hearing it, but between the covers and jams and the experimental edge with which they top it off, Foundlings captures more range than it might at first appear.
“Lost to Light” premieres on the player below, followed by more from the PR wire.
Featuring the core lineup of guitarist and vocalist Jason Simon and late bassist Steve Kille, with drum duties split between Mark Laughlin and Stephen McCarty, Foundlings compiles material recorded between 2002 and 2024. Highlights include a rendition of Powell St. John’s “Kingdom of Heaven” (from the Sonic Cathedral sessions), a take on The Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows” (from The Nothing They Need sessions), and a version of Led Zeppelin’s “No Quarter” originally cut for a Cleopatra Records tribute, alongside originals drawn from the Voyager to Voyager album recording sessions, a EarthQuaker Devices session, and a Committee to Keep Music Evil session recorded with Anton Newcombe and Rob Campanella (The Brian Jonestown Massacre).
Foundlings is poised to be essential listening for both long-time devotees and new converts. It arrives as the band continues to cement a legacy defined by fearless exploration.
TRACKLIST: 1. Lost To Light (2023 Voyager to Voyager sessions) 2. Nobody Home (2022 Earthquaker Devices Session) 3. Kingdom Of Heaven (Powell St. John cover) (2010 at The Psychedelic Sounds of Sonic Cathedral) 4. Tomorrow Never Knows (The Beatles cover) (2017 The Nothing They Need sessions) 5. Everything’s Goin’ On (2002 Committee to Keep Music Evil Sessions) 6. No Quarter (Led Zeppelin cover) (2017 Cleopatra Records Led Zeppelin tribute) 7. From The Children Of Planet Earth (2024 Voyager to Voyager sessions)
DEAD MEADOW on “Foundlings” Jason Simon – guitar, vocals, organ Steve Kille – bass (recording tracks 3, 4, 6) Mark Laughlin – drums (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7) Stephen McCarty – drums (tracks 3, 5) and organ (track 5)
