Posted in Whathaveyou on September 24th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
A busy couple years have gone by quick for Swedish heavy rockers Deville. The Malmö four-piece will release their fourth album, Make it Belong to Us on Truckfighters-helmed imprint Fuzzorama Records Nov. 13 as the follow-up to their 2013 full-length, Hydra (review here), which came out on Small Stone, and a reissue of their 2007 debut, Come Heavy Sleep, that was put out on Heavy Psych Sounds.
Make it Belong to Us will be the first Deville album to feature the lineup of guitarist/vocalist Andreas Bengtsson, drummer Markus Nilsson, bassist Markus Åkesson and guitarist Andreas Wulkan, the latter having joined since the release of Hydra, which in league with the reissue also served as the impetus for the band’s first US tour last year (review here). Whether or not they have similar intentions to support the new record has yet to be revealed — I don’t think one could really hold it against them either way — but they’ll be out in Europe next month to herald the forthcoming release alongside long-running rockers Mustasch, as well as playing at Desertfest Belgium 2015 and the Into the Void festival in the Netherlands.
As a first bit of audio to be made public, Deville and Fuzzorama have offered up the song “Life in Decay,” which you can find under the quickie announcement and the tour dates below:
Fuzzorama Records is streaming a first song “Life in Decay” of the new album” Make It Belong To Us” out 13th of November. The album is produced by Markus Nilsson. Recorded at Sunnanå Studio by Markus Nilsson and Tobias Ekqvist.
Do you like it?
Deville on Tour 10.10 Antwerpen BE Desertfest Belgium 10.16 Essen DE Turock* 10.17 Leipzig DE Hellraiser* 10.18 Berlin DE Magnet* 10.19 Hamburg DE Knust* 10.20 Koln DE Underground* 10.21 Pratteln CH MiniZ7* 10.22 Munchen DE Backstage* 10.24 Leeuwarden NL Into the Void Fest * supporting Mustasch
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 23rd, 2015 by JJ Koczan
Baltimore heavy psych rockers The Flying Eyes recorded their impending single in Brazil. They’ll release it through a label based in Germany. The cover was shot by a Polish photographer. If they hadn’t yet been cemented as an international act — and they have been, make no mistake — this should probably do it. Following up their 2014 Leave it all Behind Sessions mostly-acoustic collection and their last full-length, 2013’s Lowlands (review here), the H42 Records 7″ finds the four-piece taking on The Stooges in a cover mashed-up with their own “Poison the Well,” a track from their 2011 sophomore outing, Done so Wrong (review here).
You can see a video of them playing the mashup live in Germany below, but the studio version was tracked at Estúdio Superfuzz — also where Mars Red Sky recorded their last album — and will be out in three different editions early next year. The label provided the following details:
## The Flying Eyes News ##
After their last years excursion into blues and country-heavy fields, now the The Flying Eyes returns musically to the sound robes of their first albums: Psychedelic Rock!
On their last tour through Brazil, they recorded a mushup of ‘Poison The Well’ and ‘1969’ (Iggy And The Stooges Cover). The Track was mixed and produced by Gabriel Zander in the Super Fuzz Studio in Rio de Janero!
Wojtek Dobrogojski is responsible for the wonderful live shot.
On the occasion of the third anniversary of H42 Records early 2016 the single will be released in three different editions: – Retail Edition with red artwork – 3rd Anniversary Edition with orange artwork (Given free only for H42 Records customers) – Testpress with black/white artwork
More about presale start and street day coming soon….
Adam Bufano- Guitar Mac Hewitt- Bass and Vocals Will Kelly- Vocals and Guitar Elias Mays Schutzman- Drums
Posted in Bootleg Theater on September 23rd, 2015 by JJ Koczan
German trio-turned-four-piece Wight continue to tease their sonic evolution with a new video for “The Love for Life Leads to Reincarnation.” The closing track of what will be their third full-length — titled Love is Not Only What You Know — it’s a sprawling 11-minute psych-funk jam that just seems to be waiting for its boarding number to be called to get on the Mothership, following up on the funkified vibes of the Helicopter Mama 7″ (review here) that the Darmstadt outfit released earlier this summer in time for another European tour and expanding on them as well. Of course, the limitations of format have a stake in that as well — one can only fit so much on a 7″ as opposed to an LP — but with “The Love for Life Leads to Reincarnation,” Wight showcase just how fluidly they’ve been able to shift their sound, making a jump no less dramatic than that between their 2011 debut, Wight Weedy Wight (review here), and its 2012 follow-up, Through the Woods into Deep Water (review here), weaving their way from chunky-style riff rock to heavy psych and now beyond that into something even more their own.
And don’t get me wrong, the video’s cool — filmed live by Terrotika at Oetinger Villa on an off-day from the most recent tour, it’s got visual rhythm enough to match the sleek grooves with which Wight are getting down — but the highlight is the song itself. Moving from synth to guitar and vocals, René Hofmann channels Bernie Worrell en route to Chris Cornell while let-me-put-my-sunglasses-on-so-I-can-see-what-I’m-doing bassist Peter-Philipp Schierhorn holds the jam tight before letting it explode into an all-go heavy psych freakout, propelled by drummer Thomas Kurek with swing further underscored by percussionist Steffen Kirchpfening, whose smile throughout the clip only underscores how much fun Wight are having at this point. The clip was recorded in one take, in case there was any doubt Wight could bring it, and like the 7″ preceding, it just makes my want to hear the band’s third album even more.
Hofmann offers some comment under the video, which you’ll find below. Enjoy:
Wight, “The Love for Life Leads to Reincarnation”
Says René Hofmann:
Our new album will have the name “Love is Not Only What You Know”. It is the result of the past 3 years. We let things happen in our lives and so we never force a song to be finished. Sometimes we have missing party for years! And sometimes it just happens that you write a whole song in 2 or 3 rehearsals. It all depends what happens in life at the moment… I could write a lot about it, but just for this song “The Love For Life Leads To Reincarnation”… I read about buddhism and the author wrote that you get salvation if you can free yourself from all delights, wishes, greed etc. you don’t need human relationships anymore, no property. You are just completely happy with yourself if you can achieve this stadium.
I really liked the idea about it. If you can free yourself, you will get one step “higher” or wiser in the next life cycle. If you get the complete epiphany, you will leave the “game of life” Sansara and your soul will be happy in the Nirvana.
The song title just says it all. I don’t need much material goods but I am really into getting emotional rich. I need to travel and see the whole world, I love to let myself go in foreign cultures and for most… I love senses, touching, smelling, hearing, making music, having sex.
So I just accept I don’t wanna be ready to leave life. For me life is too short to get all my stuff done. So If I die, My soul will fly around just for some seconds to grab a new life, which will be born somewhere on earth.
…and then I will make more Wight albums haha! My Band will survive me baby!
Cheers from mad-city Darmstadt! Rene
First take, filmed by the girl and boys of Terrotika.
Wight performs live at Oetinger Villa Darmstadt Sunday Aug 23rd 2015
Wight is: René Hofmann – Vocals, Guitar and Synthesizer Peter-Philipp Schierhorn – Bass Thomas Kurek – Drums Steffen Kirchpfening – Percussions
Credits: Johanna Amberg – Kamera & Schnitt Fabian Weber – Kamera Gabriel Sahm – Kamera & Colour grading Josko Joketovic – Audio recording René Hofmann – Audio mixing and mastering
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 23rd, 2015 by JJ Koczan
It has been a pretty wild ride watching Desertfest Belgium 2015 take shape. From the first announcements through these — which are reportedly the final ones before the schedule of runtimes is put out on Friday — the festival has taken on bigger and bigger names, expanding well beyond the desert to grow into an entity of its own and a landmark for the fall season. The last adds are The Machine, newcomers Bathsheba, who intrigue on lineup alone, and Wucan, who I don’t know but who pretty much win the contest for genre descriptors based on what they’re quoted as being below. They join one of the least fuckwithable lineups in the multi-year, multi-city history of Desertfest.
Announcement came through like so:
We still owed you a couple of names to complete our line-up, and here they are: from The Netherlands we have THE MACHINE to provide their experimental heavy rock sound. From Germany we have WUCAN with their “Topsy-Turvy Higgledy-Piggledy Folk-Blues-Psych-Stoner-ProtoMetal-Soul”. And to round things off, there’s the Belgian BATHSHEBA, a super doom band of sorts involving members from Serpentcult, SardoniS and Death Penalty.
Later on this week we will announce the names of the turntable wizards (including a very special guest on Saturday!) that will rock the time inbetween the concerts & the afterparties.
We also know a lot of you are waiting for the time schedules so you can start plotting your trajectory. Well, the wait is almost over… on Friday we publish the schedules!
Bands already confirmed are: Earth, Goatsnake, Orange Goblin, Bongzilla, Fatso Jetson, Dozer, Moon Duo, Greenleaf, Valient Thorr, Ufomammut, Stoned Jesus, Causa Sui, Siena Root, Monolord, Mars Red Sky, Glowsun, Papir, Carlton Melton, Monomyth, Child, Harsh Toke, Planet Of Zeus, Pendejo, Vandal X, USA Out Of Vietnam, Banda De La Muerte, Tangled Horns, Psychonaut, The Progerians, Crystal Head, The Heavy Crown, Wheel Of Smoke, Sunder, Fever Dog, Black-Bone and 3rd Ear Experience.
DESERTFEST BELGIUM 2015 October 9-11th at Trix Muziekcentrum – Antwerp 3 day tickets (96€) on saleHERE
They might lead off with the creepy and cold impression of “Winter,” but by the end of their How I Reached Home debut LP, Milano four-piece My Home on Trees owe much more to warmth than freeze. In particular, to warmth of tone. The Italian outfit effectively blur the line between heavy rock, psychedelia and doom, leaning toward faster, post-Kyuss desert push on side B’s “Arrow” before sliding fluidly into the slower, trippier “Resume.” As their first release for Italian imprint Heavy Psych Sounds, itfinds My Home on Trees — the lineup of vocalist Laura Mancini, guitarist Marco Bertucci, bassist Giovanni Mastrapasqua and drummer Marcello Modica — carving an identity for themselves of largely familiar genre elements, but hardly wearing out their welcome across the record’s seven tracks/36 vinyl-primed minutes.
It’s worth noting that the first half of the album rounds out with two minutes from Orson Welles‘ War of the Worlds, seemingly as a complement to the sample at the beginning of “Winter” from the film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy‘s The Road wherein a boy asks his father how many people he thinks are still alive and the answer comes back, “In the world? Not very many.” How or if this is actually intended to tie the songs together — the “Winter” in question could just as easily be nuclear, I guess — I couldn’t say, but they start at a rush after that sample and seem aware enough of the expectation of their audience to throw an immediate curve in by slowing “Winter” circa its midpoint and adding a growling, semi-spoken guest appearance from The Midnight Ghost Train‘s Steve Moss, who adds a lurker atmosphere to the track that immediately widens the context for the rest of the material that follows.
The effect is that How I Reached Home throws you for a loop before it’s hardly begun, and it’s a crucial effect when it comes to listening to the rest of the album, because as “I Forgot Everything” stomps its way through its intro to make way for the first verse topped by Mancini‘s bluesy vocals, one doesn’t necessarily know what’s coming next. As to the answer — it’s a barrage of big, hairy riffery and choice groove, the songs maintaining catchy vibes and rough-edged psychedelic flourish of effects and subtle melodic intricacy delivered at varying speed. Starting out with a sparse bassline and ethereal, far-back vocal, “Don’t Panic” teases otherworldliness but winds up steeped in Vista Chino-esque fuzz, playing out at a comfortable middling pace for the first half before shifting into a slowdown that only enhances the nod later on, Bertucci and Mastrapasqua constructing a wall of fuzz that they proceed to tear down once the shuffling chorus returns, setting up the last fadeout into “War of the Worlds.”
And once again, that seems to be drawn right from the 1938 Orson Welles broadcast. I’m not sure if that’s in the public domain or what (if it is, it’s a treasure), but its inclusion on How I Reached Home is somewhat curious both in the context of the The Road sample earlier and the album in general, leaving one to wonder what exactly the apocalypse at hand might be and if “Don’t Panic” is the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy-style advice on how to deal with it. If the record has a front-to-back narrative — it certainly has a front-to-back flow, but that’s different — I don’t know about it, but there’s a thematic leaning in the first half that, in light of the opener, seems to delight in the confusion it’s creating. I, for one, enjoy that.
With “War of the Worlds” rounding out side A, it’s up to the three cuts on side B — “Arrow,” “Resume” and “My Home on Trees” — to further expand the album’s scope. As noted, “Arrow” is the most purely Kyussian of the inclusions here, a heads-down “Green Machine”-winking riff that makes the most of Mastrapasqua‘s bass tone and finds Mancini doing a decent John Garcia from deep in that swell of fuzz, Modica‘s snare cutting through to punctuate the rush. It’s also the shortest song on How I Reached Home (“War of the Worlds” aside), but not by much at 4:52, and one might account for the difference in pacing alone. The more active feel suits the band well and feeds smoothly into the laid-back opening of “Resume,” which picks up with harmonica, bigger riffing and a sustained shout before the wave recedes into more open, patient roll. If that’s My Home on Trees weirding out, then I’m all in favor.
Being their debut — following a self-titled demo in 2013 — it’s encouraging to find them so ready to break the rules they’ve established, and the eponymous “My Home on Trees” continues the thread, effectively summarizing across a near-eight-minute span what’s come before it in trading thrust for nod and tossing in some airy spaciousness in Bertucci‘s post-midsection lead while also toying with a more linear instrumental structure behind Mancini‘s verses. They end big and groove, which feels about right, and the last remaining element to fadeout is the fuzzed guitar — only too fitting since that’s been what has led the way through so much of the material. That’s not to take anything away from the prowess of the rhythm section or the potential vocal powerhouse up front. Rather, these aspects combine with that underlying drive toward the bizarre to make How I Reached Home a satisfying first album that establishes firm ground under the band’s feet and shows them as quick to depart from there to more individual territory.
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 23rd, 2015 by JJ Koczan
French heavy psych rockers Sunder will make an anticipated debut on Oct. 30 with their self-titled on Tee Pee Records. The four-piece, formerly known as The Socks and having released a self-titled (review here) under that moniker on Small Stone last year, seem to be departing from the straight-ahead boogie of their old band in favor of more ethereal vibes. The album’s release will follow a run through Europe alongside Harsh Toke that includes a stop at Desertfest Belgium 2015, as well as a flexi-single issued for the track “Cursed Wolf” that came out on Sept. 11.
Album details and those tour dates follow, as seen on the PR wire:
SUNDER to Release Self-Titled Debut Album October 30
Heavy Psych Four-Piece Premieres New Single “Cursed Wolf”
French heavy psychedelic rock band SUNDER will release its self-titled debut album on October 30 via Tee Pee Records (and in Europe / Japan via Crusher Records). Formerly known as The Socks, the group is known for its edgy, electric sound that draws from the heavier side of 1960’s / 70’s rock and swings with acid grooves. SUNDER, who has performed live with like-minded bands such as Earthless, Danava and Radio Moscow, will tour Europe this October with new Tee Pee label mates Harsh Toke.
In advance of the album’s release, SUNDER has issued the new single “Cursed Wolf” as a special silver foil stamped 7” flexi disc.
“It’s with great pleasure and pride to be part of two of the most amazing heavy/psych labels in the world,” said the band in a statement. “The Socks were of Lyon, France. Sunder is of the world and it is with the sounds of Sunder that the shores of the world will be plundered.”
Track listing:
1.) Deadly Flower 2.) Cursed Wolf 3.) Daughter of the Snows 4.) Wings of the Sun 5.) Bleeding Trees 6.) Eye Catcher 7.) Thunder and Storm 8.) Don’t Leave it Behind 9.) Lucid Dreams
SUNDER features Julien Méret (guitar / vocals) Jessy Ensenat (drums), Vincent Melay (bass) and Nicolas Baud (Farfisa, Mellotron, backing vocals).
HARSH TOKE and SUNDER on tour Oct. 01 – Holland, Landgraaf – Oefenbunker Oct. 02 – Germany, Siegen – Vortex Oct. 03 – Germany, Mannheim – mohawk club Oct. 04 – Germany, Kassel – Goldgrube Oct. 05 – France, Paris – La Mecanique Ondulatoire Oct. 06 – France, Lyon – Ayers Rock Boat Oct. 07 – France, Strasbourg – Mudd Club Oct. 08 – Germany, Köln – Limes Oct. 09 – Germany, wurzburg -Immerhin Oct. 10 – Belgium, Antwerp – Desertfest Oct. 11 – Germany, Berlin – Bassy Oct. 12 – Austria, Vienna – Arena Oct. 13 – Germany, Munich – Backstage Oct. 14- Germany, Lichtenfels – Paunchy Cats Oct. 15 – Swiss, Horstklub – Kreuzlingen Oct. 16 – Swiss, Olten – Le Coq D´Or
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 22nd, 2015 by JJ Koczan
It seemed reasonable to expect Denver, Colorado, trio Abrams would hit up the West Coast at some point after making their way east earlier this year. Next month they’ll begin and end with hometown shows at The Hi-Dive and play copious Californian and other dates in support of their 2015 debut full-length, Lust. Love. Loss. (review here), steeped in neo-prog heft and crisp rhythmic push.
They start out Oct. 16 and go till Nov. 1, as the PR wire informs:
West Coast Tour starts less than a month from today. We’re looking forward to seeing our old friends and family, as well as make some new ones out on the road. We’re coming for you, soon!
Abrams West Coast Tour Fall 2015: 10.16 Denver CO The Hi-Dive 10.17 Vernal UT Tattoo Shop 10.18 Billings MT Aesthetic Angry Tattoo 10.20 Seattle WA The LoFi 10.21 Portland OR The Kenton Club 10.22 Eugene OR The Wandering Goat 10.23 Sacramento CA Cafe Colonial 10.24 Oakland CA The Golden Bull 10.25 San Jose CA Back Bar SoFa 10.26 Fresno CA Dynamite Vinyl 10.27 Los Angeles CA 5 Star Bar 10.28 Long Beach CA Black Light District 10.29 Spring Valley CA The Bancroft 10.30 Tempe AZ 51 West 10.31 Santa Fe NM The Cave 11.01 Denver CO The Hi-Dive
The synergy of melody, groove, and bullet-train force displayed on Lust. Love. Loss. sets Abrams in line with heavy transcenders like Mastodon and Pelican. Drummer Michael Amster pushes forward with crisp, ghost-noted beats that nod to Dailor at his best; twin brother Zach Amster scrapes shimmering melodies and massive crunch out of his axe; Taylor Iversen’s basslines roll along like boulders down mountainsides.
When asked about their influences, the guys name-check heroes of post-hardcore like Fugazi and At the Drive-In. Indeed, Abrams’ sound could be perceived as a turbo-boosted, sludged-up incarnation of those bands’ spirits – driving and impassioned, traversing the spectrum of feeling, from mournful to triumphant.
Posted in Reviews on September 22nd, 2015 by JJ Koczan
Among the most striking aspects of the 2012 self-titled Golden Void debut (review here), was just how distinct it was in personality from Earthless despite the presence of Isaiah Mitchell on vocals and guitar. Known for the blow-the-roof-off sprawl and classic rocking righteousness of the latter instrumental outfit, Golden Void‘s Golden Void was by and large a humbler affair, and as their second album for Thrill Jockey, Berkana follows suit on a stylistic level. The lineup of Mitchell, keyboardist Camilla Saufley-Mitchell (also of The Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound), bassist Aaron Morgan and drummer Justin Pinkerton returns, and though the core of Golden Void‘s sound remains intact, it’s not as though they’re mere continuing along the same lines.
At seven tracks/41 minutes, Berkana is the same number of songs but a full six minutes longer than its predecessor, and one can find the extra time in the spacey wanderings of “Astral Plane” and “I’ve Been Down,” both casting a wide berth sonically still without sounding overblown or needlessly grandiose. Saufley-Mitchell adds backing vocals on “Silent Season” and the aforementioned “Astral Plane,” and the hooks are all the more resonant for it, the Bay Area four-piece finding a comfortable place between catchy craftsmanship and hypnotic instrumental meandering that gives Berkana a flow distinct from the debut and a sense of the progression the band has undertaken over the last three years. Recorded by Tim Green (The Fucking Champs) at his Louder Studios, the album retains a natural, live-sounding vibe that rests well alongside its overarching pastoral feel.
There is a deceptive amount of movement throughout. Across its span, Berkana stays relatively fluid — that is, there isn’t much to pull the listener out of the front-to-back experience, even with a side split between “Astral Plane” and “I’ve Been Down” — but the ways in which it keeps its momentum shift almost song by song. True to the album’s title, which derives from a rune of growth and fertility (also represented by birch trees as seen on the cover), it expands and branches out as it moves forward from the opening bounce and swing of “Burbank’s Dream,” weaving memorable impressions of itself along the way, whether it’s in a chorus or exploratory-feeling progression. It seems fair to call it a more patient record than the debut, but neither was in any rush, and as Morgan‘s air-pushing low-end fuzz begins “Silent Season,” soon topped by dreamy wisps of guitar and keys with some underlying tension in Pinkerton‘s drums, it’s pretty clear Berkana is constructed for headphones and tilted-head/closed-eye hearing.
“Silent Season” provides one of the more immediate choruses, building as it pushes through its five minutes but ultimately guided by Mitchell with a casual prog atmosphere. As happens throughout, that atmosphere sets up the jump into the quicker “Dervishing,” a song that conjures whirl in lyric and instrument alike, dizzying but undizzied, a mix providing enough depth to give a spiral impression without the band getting lost in the process. There are moments, as in the change from “Silent Season” to “Dervishing” and “Dervishing” to the following “Astral Plane,” where their holding it together seems miraculous when you step back and look at the ground they’ve covered, but the truth is they very deftly keep a foot in heavy psychedelia throughout, so that as far as the material seems to range, it’s never so far as to completely untie itself from its surroundings.
In that way, Berkana feels more like a complete album than Golden Void, but it’s more of a symptom of the progress of the band overall than the end-result. At nearly seven minutes, “Astral Plane” leads the way toward Berkana‘s immersive back half, side B opening with a companion-piece in “I’ve Been Down” as the two tracks provide, in a linear format (CD or digital), the record’s most satisfying chillout. That’s not to say either is a languish. “Astral Plane” strikes in both its chorus and the interplay of keys and flute in its midsection jam, and “I’ve Been Down” echoes the bounce of “Burbank’s Dream” without repeating it and breaks down after the three-minute mark to launch a singularly engaging ground-up build, patient, progressive and still drippingly psychedelic. At first “The Beacon” seems to echo its otherworldly vibe, but turns toward its own earthy, fuzzier vibe, more forward rhythmically and in Pinkerton‘s insistent snare.
One could almost call Mitchell‘s bombastic solo at the end snuck in, but there’s nothing sneaky about it, comprising the better part of the song’s final two minutes, teasing an end then kicking back in for another go and giving Berkana a due apex before “Storm and Feather” closes the album on a more subdued but not at all sour note. The slowest inclusion, it’s also arguably the most spacious, with what feels like an extra layer of echo on the vocals and a loose-head tom sound in Pinkerton‘s drums, expansive guitar and bass tones and a gradual swirl that gets brought to bear with a late arrival of overlaid Floydian acoustics near the finish. I don’t know whether it was Golden Void‘s intent to cap Berkana as far as possible away from the opening crashes of “Burbank’s Dream,” but they would seem to have come pretty close to that either way, showing on the journey between the two that the identity of the band is not only individualized but on its own creative path in ethereal space rock, more drift than thrust but still explosive when it sees fit to be so.
