Take a seat in Dr. Lorenzo‘s office for a bit of psychedelic self-care. Danish garage-psych mavens Baby Woodrose released their self-titled long-player in 2009 through Bad Afro Records. Still fronted by founding vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Uffe “Lorenzo Woodrose” Lorenzen after shifts in their lineup, the band operated in the studio as Lorenzen and guitarist/bassist/backing vocalist Adam Olsson, and after returning to Bad Afro for 2007’s Chasing Rainbows following the release of 2006’s Love Comes Down on Playground Music Scandinavia in a flirtation with broader commercial reach, the inward-looking declaration of Baby Woodrose as a self-titled long-player seemed to suit the band just fine. I really don’t have a bad word to say about the band’s catalog on the whole, no matter who’s involved, but as Lorenzen‘s (multicolor, swirling) vision became the basis for their sound and his songwriting matured to the sharp, no nonsense point one finds it here, it was obvious what were the essential elements at play in construction.

And songwriting is where it’s at for Baby Woodrose. Produced by Lorenzen and Johan Lei Gellett, the album comprises 12 tracks across 37 minutes. The longest individual cut is the finale, “Secret of the Twisted Flower” at 5:32, but nothing else touches four minutes, and the sharp, Stooges-style proto-punk of “Take It” and “No Mas” meshes brilliantly with the more kaleidoscopic mindsets of “Laughing Stock,” buzzing opener “Fortune Teller” — a telltale “yeah alright!” to get things rolling early — and the sweeter strums of the duly ’60s-tinged “Open up Your Heart.” The subtle variations in arrangement — a tambourine here, backing vocals there, a change in effects — and Baby Woodrose is/are able to affect turns from psychedelia through raw heavy rock, keeping a classic air about them all the while even as the sound fleshes out in a fashion decidedly modern. Neither are they retro, at least in terms of the ‘vintage heavy’ movement that was beginning to take hold elsewhere in Scandinavia or in Germany at the time. Formed in 2001 and with four studio LPs and a covers collection under their belt by the time they got to 2009, Baby Woodrose always operated separate from the rest of all that, and they still do. The self-titled is precisely what it says it is — the band staking their claim on who they are in terms of aesthetic and approach, and refusing to be anything but what Lorenzen wants them to be.

Tone has never been an issue for Baby Woodrose, from ’01’s landmark Blows Your Mind! onward, and in songs like “Hollow Grove” and the presumed side A capper “Countdown to Breakdown,” each guitar strum and each line of bass seem to hold purpose in serving the song as a whole, as much thoughtful as they are obvious, like some never-seen tree discovered in middle of a public park of pop songcraft. The hooks of “Emily” and “Laughing Stock” arrive back to back ahead of “Countdown to Breakdown” and though they’re united by the basic underlying structure, the two songs are completely different in mood, the former somewhat wistful in a poised regret and the latter defiant in lyric and fuzz alike, the position of Lorenzen‘s vocals and the effects thereupon enhancing the notion of a transition from one atmosphere to another. The pinging melodies of “Countdown to Breakdown” likewise represent another place-to-place movement, but the theme of the song being mental collapse, the psychedelia is almost a disguise the lyrics wear to get away from themselves. Not gonna say I don’t get it.

Perhaps, then, “Changes Everywhere” is all the more appropriately placed at the start of side B, but in any case, it emphasizes another aspect of Lorenzen‘s work that has held true throughout his career, in Baby Woodrose as well as the prior On Trial, and subsequent side-projects like Dragontears and Spids Nøgenhat as well as his recent solo work, and that is his ability to make a short song a journey. As barebones as some of these tracks can seem, they’re meticulous, purposeful and presented with a care that is rare in or out of psychedelic heavy rock. To wit, the build of the last three tracks on Baby Woodrose, with the acoustic-led pair of “Mikita” and “Scorpio” following the brash “No Mas” and leading into the spacious, drifting and experimental-feeling “Secret of the Twisted Flower” to close, hypnotic but still aware of the drumming taking place in the recesses of the mix. Whether it’s there or earlier in “Hollow Grove,” “Fortune Teller” or “Emily” there’s a sense of storytelling that comes through without a direct narrative across the album as a whole, and each piece becomes habitable even as the procession from one to the next is quick and sometimes (again, purposefully) blindsiding.

The post-Playground Music era of Baby Woodrose had begun two years earlier, true, but I tend to think of the self-titled as a standout moment — not the least for being self-titled — that began a more mature stage for Lorenzen‘s take. 2011’s Mindblowing Seeds and Disconnected Flowers (review here) looked back on demos and lost tracks from the period of the debut, but 2012’s Third Eye Surgery (review here) pushed engagingly forward on the ideas presented across Baby Woodrose, and though it would be four years before the band would turn around with 2016’s Freedom (review here), that record and the pair of solo offerings Lorenzen has since issued under his own name and in his own language, 2017’s Galmandsværk (review here) and 2019’s Triprapport (review here), continued to progress in terms of scope and confidence, the solo albums taken on an ethereal singer-songwriter feel that owes as much to rock as acid folk and is entirely Lorenzen‘s own.

Freedom was the last Baby Woodrose album, and four years matches the longest stretch the band has had between LPs. My understanding is Lorenzen has a third solo offering in the works for later this year — though of course it may meet with some delay as so much has — but whether and whenever another record shows up, there’s little doubt it will further the band’s progression of being simultaneously far out and dug in as only Baby Woodrose can be.

As always, I hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading.

—

I wrote the above yesterday, and yesterday, I needed that bit of psychedelic self-care. The early part of the day sucked. It was awful. I was pissed off, the morning was a pain in the ass, everything, terrible. I took half a xanax and watched that Enslaved stream and that helped. The kid/puppy combo though has been pretty brutal this week.

Just got off the phone with a hospital coordinator in Allentown, PA, trying to put my father in a rehab center after his July 3 fall. He apparently still needs help from two people to stand up and is confused and uncooperative which, having grown up as his son, sounds about right to me.

They want a legal guardian for him. That’s gonna end up being me, I know it. Not a job I want, but there it is.

He has no assets to speak of or that I know of — a car. Doesn’t own a home, signed away his half of any of my mother’s assets 25 years ago, and then did so again 15 years ago, so that’s pretty much settled despite the fact that they’ve never divorced. That I would be 38 years old dealing with this shit? Not something I saw coming. Probably should have.

So it’s been a week.

I await a call from a financial coordinator at a rehab facility. Phone tag. I look forward to having a conversation, feeling totally overwhelmed and sad, and then going back to the rest of my life.

That Enslaved stream though, right?

No Gimme show again this week. I think next week? They’ve been doing a bunch of artist sit-ins, and I was the one who pulled the plug on the last episode — just didn’t have it in me to do one more thing — so yeah. I’ll make a playlist over the weekend and try to get some voice tracks down. You don’t care. It’s fine. I’m not out here trying to pretend I’m entitled to anyone’s time. I just need to say these things.

Moving on.

In especially cruel moments, life shows you the aspirations and accomplishments of those braver than you. The things people do. I’m trying to teach the puppy to fetch a tennis ball. Things are pretty mundane these days. I try to write as much as I can. Nothing new there.

Great and safe weekend. Think I’ll go for a run.

FRM.

The Obelisk Forum

The Obelisk Radio

The Obelisk merch

I kind of rolled my eyes last month when Norwegian progressive black metallers Enslaved announced their ‘Cinematic Summer Tour,’ but from the sweeping ambient camera shots that launched the proceedings of the Roadburn-presented ‘Chronicles of the Northbound’ hour-long set to the sense of ceremony with which they wrapped up “Death in the Eyes of Dawn” chanting over acoustic guitar, the emphasis indeed was on a cinematic feel. Visually and aurally, this was a produced affair — far from the rawness that some live streams shoot for — much more of a concert film. They may have played the songs live, but it was a live stream premiere rather than a live show happening at the moment it aired, though as the long-running Bergen, Norway, five-piece tore through the fan-selected setlist, it was hard not to be blown away anyhow by the force of the show they put on.

One has to think it helps that drummer Iver Sandøy is a noted music producer in terms of the sound captured. Bassist/founder Grutle Kjellson‘s telltale rasp came through with a studio-quality fullness that was a close match to some of what Enslaved have done on their albums, and in addition to apparently being the kind of percussionist who can tear into blastbeats on “Fenris” from 1994’s sophomore outing, Frost, Sandøy — who joined the band in 2018 — periodically added harmonies to the clean vocals of keyboardist Håkon Vinje, who made his debut with Enslaved on 2017’s E (review here) and only sounded more integrated in the band on the older material here. Vinje and Sandøy quickly brought a marked sense of presence to “Ethica Odini” from 2010’s Axioma Ethica Odini (review here) at the start of the set, and Vinje‘s and Kjellson‘s subsequent handling of the chorus to “Roots of the Mountain” was likewise a soaring early highlight that preceded the more dug-in vibes of “Fenris” and “793 (Slaget om Lindisfarne),” the latter epic taken from 1997’s Eld.

The live chat on the YouTube feed, which gives one an odd sense of togetherness while watching something like this, blew up at that point. People had been well on board with “Fenris” and the organ that kept it in line with the more recent, progressive fare surrounding, but when “793” hit, there was a palpable sense of digitally-expressed joy and copious exclamation points. Well earned on the band’s part, twisting through the various stretches of that track before bringing things back to ground with the landmark title-cut of 2004’s Isa; the song that made black metal swing and the album that set Enslaved on the proggier path they’ve spent the last 16 years marching. The placement of its hook after the more expansive “793” was a clever way to snag wandering or otherwise hypnotized attentions, and the keys running alongside the guitars of Ivar Bjørnson and Arve “Ice Dale” Isdal sounded incredible. Really. I took notes of the setlist while watching, and next to “Isa” I wrote: “keys sound incredible.” I stand by it.

It was a little bit of a bummer not to hear anything off the forthcoming Utgard album that Nuclear Blast will release on Oct. 2 — they’ve put out videos thus far for “Homebound” (posted here) and “Jettegryta” (posted here) — and having asked to hear the record in advance and been shut down for not being cool enough, twice as much so. Still, Enslaved will wrap the cinematic tour with a full performance of the album on Sept. 30 co-presented by the Summer Breeze Festival, so they’ll take care of it one way or the other, and I found no argument with the fan-picked songs they played. “The Watcher,” which caps 2008’s Vertebrae, is one of few pieces that could hope to follow “Isa” and not stand in its shadow in terms of chorus grandiosity, and as they tore through it — again with Vinje making his presence felt — and shifted into “Death in the Eyes of Dawn,” I suddenly realized just how quickly the stated hour of the set was proceeding.

Taken from 2012’s Riitiir (review here), “Death in the Eyes of Dawn” enabled the band to express many of the strengths of their current incarnation. After the memorable “Isa” and “The Watcher,” “Death in the Eyes of Dawn” unfolded with a more progressive feel, still keeping extremity at its core, but allowing room for Sandøy to return on harmonies with Vinje, and finding Isdal moving to acoustic for the Viking-folk finish already noted. Along the way, the various turns and executions were sharply brought to bear and the band as a whole handled the song with the poise of the established masters they are. In reality, one could hardly have expected less. I could’ve done with more shots of Sandøy at work, but that might just be curiosity as well to see what “the new guy” is up to behind the kit. The final setlist:

“Ethica Odini”
“Roots of the Mountain”
“Fenris”
“793 (Slaget om Lindisfarne)”
“Isa”
“The Watcher”
“Death in the Eyes of Dawn”

Though the presentation style was something of a surprise, the manner in which Enslaved proceeded through that set brought a live show’s intensity to such outright professional smoothness, making for a showcase worthy of the scope of 20-plus years the band wound up covering. For those seeking a rawer take from Enslaved, I might suggest their 2017 offering, Roadburn Live (review here), recorded in 2015 when Bjørnson curated alongside Wardruna‘s Einar Selvik. That was Enslaved‘s first official live release, and it was before either Vinje or Sandøy were in the band — between the two of them, they simply bring the melodic reach to a new level — but I wouldn’t be surprised either if this ‘Chronicles of the Northbound’ set showed up as a live album either, or a BluRay/video download or some such kind of A/V outing. While the quality of the product was outstanding for a live stream, frankly, to have it end there seems like a waste of material, even with the special merch they’ve made available.

As one looks forward to the arrival of Utgard this Fall, and mourns the actual-touring Enslaved won’t get to do to herald its coming, the start of their cinematic tour was a refresher on just how far the band has pushed their sound and their live chemistry and how — as they approach 30 years from their founding by Bjørnson and Kjellson in 1991 — they only continue to grow and evolve.

Enslaved‘s cinematic tour continues on Aug. 20 playing Below the Lights in full as presented by Beyond the Gates Festival, and wraps with the aforementioned Sept. 30 rendition of Utgard presented by Summer Breeze. I’ll hope to have more on Utgard closer to the release, and thanks for reading in the meantime.

Enslaved, ‘Chronicles of the Northbound’ live stream (limited time only)

Enslaved on Thee Facebooks

Enslaved on Instagram

Enslaved merchandise

Enslaved website

Nuclear Blast on Thee Facebooks

Nuclear Blast on Instagram

There’s no way All Souls would know this, but I’ve always imagined the end of the world coming in October. Aside from it being the month of my birth, it also happened to be the first of several apocalypses my father believed would consume humanity in his end-days religious zealotry. Oct. 14, 1994, I think it was. I was 12 about to turn 13. That was a fun kind of abuse. Consuming more than bruising.

Anyhoozle, while we’re being vulnerable, I’ll note the resonant emotional undercurrent that stems from All Souls‘ second album, Songs for the End of the World. That’s particularly apparent in the track “Winds,” which is streaming at the bottom of this post, along with the prior-unveiled video for “You Just Can’t Win.” All Souls — which features veteran players of Totimoshi, Black Elk and Fatso Jetson — will have the record out on Oct. 2, and let me just save you the trouble and say you should preorder it. That’s available at their Bandcamp.

To the PR wire:

All Souls – Songs For The End Of The World – Oct. 2

Los Angeles quartet All Souls share the first single from their forthcoming sophomore album Songs for the End of the World today.

A stunning animated video for album track “You Just Can’t Win” was released earlier this year. Watch the dark portents via YouTube.

All Souls formed in Los Angeles in the winter of 2016 and have gone from playing local gigs to performing in theaters and arenas. Featuring Tony Tornay (Fatso Jetson, Josh Homme’s Desert Sessions, Deep Dark Robot with Linda Perry) Antonio Aguilar and Meg Castellanos (Totimoshi) and Erik Trammell (Black Elk), they were recently hand-picked to tour with Tool, The Jesus Lizard, (the)MELVINS, and Meat Puppets.

All Souls creates songs that are lyrically dark, infused with the band’s unique style and perspective on the state of today’s world. Their music has been described as intelligent, majestic, exciting and original. They are unafraid to bridge into big open spaces discovering new wastelands; ultimately stepping from dark to light.

Throughout 2016, the quartet — Aguilar [vocals, guitar], Castellanos [bass, vocals], Trammell [guitar], and Tornay [drums] — recorded what would become their self-titled full-length debut, All Souls, during intermittent sessions at Sound of Sirens Studio in Los Angeles with producer Toshi Kasai known for his work with Tool, Foo Fighters and (the) MELVINS.

Following tours with the likes of Red Fang, The Sword, Kvelertak, and Torche, the band released All Souls in 2018 via Sunyata — the label founded by iconic Screaming Trees and Mad Season drummer Barrett Martin. Earmarked by Spaghetti Western-style expanse and rough-and-tumble riffing, the music proudly bears the wild wear-and-tear of the nineties Palm Desert scene with a twist of psychedelic voodoo and metallic edge.

For Aguilar and Castellanos, the music spoke to a dormant primal need that harked back to their time in the fan favorite underground mainstay Totimoshi.

All Souls just-completed second album which they recorded in 2019, Songs for the End of the World, reunites them with Kasai. This follow-up recording is an evolution for the band. Aguilar’s distinctive vocals are at times lyrically bleak and deeply personal, set against a musical backdrop that challenges listeners with inventive songwriting and ethereal melodies. Tornay’s explosive drumming matched with Trammell’s innovative guitar and Castellanos’ low end and feminine back-up vocals lend to their power and unique approach. One could say they are connecting the dots between Led Zeppelin to the Pixies, Soundgarden to the Cure all the while carving their own road with authenticity.

Songs for the End of the World will be available on LP, CD and digital on October 2nd, 2020. Pre-orders are available HERE: https://allsoulsband.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/allsoulsband/
https://www.instagram.com/allsoulsband/
https://allsoulsband.bandcamp.com/
http://allsoulsband.com/

All Souls, Songs for the End of the World (2020)

All Souls, “You Just Can’t Win” official video

Today, Church of the Cosmic Skull founder Bill Fisher announces the release of his first solo album under his own name. Set to arrive on Aug. 21, the title isn’t being revealed yet, though presumably that will come with subsequent announcements of things like the tracklisting, preorders and so on. In the interim, Fisher is offering a link where one can sign up for updates and details on all of the above. He calls it the “Billuminati,” which is adorable and you know it.

Though a solo record in name, it is very much a rock album in the main, and those curious as to just how much of Church of the Cosmic Skull bears the hallmark of Fisher‘s songwriting — he’s also a former member of Mammothwing — will find the answer to be plenty, but while there are melodies a-plenty, the upcoming collection is a marked turn from, say, Church of the Cosmic Skull‘s most recent offering, late-2019’s Everybody’s Going to Die (review here). Let’s hope the solo album is less prescient.

Here’s his announcement:

billfisher.net/join

Church of the Cosmic Skull Founder Bill Fisher to Release Solo Album

Album Release Date: Friday 21st August 2020

As an aside to the musical works realised by Church of the Cosmic Skull, I have decided to release some other material under my own name via Septaphonic Records and a new website: billfisher.net

Rest assured that the Church has never been stronger, and will continue to spread the light of the Cosmic Rainbow with full and unstoppable force, with new songs and other announcements soon to follow.

The works to be sent forth from this new platform will be myriad and multiform, varied in genre but of high standard and rich with heart.

The first will take the form of a full studio album, an exploration into heavier realms but still very much melody driven; prog with elements of proto-metal and stoner rock.

Super-deluxe limited edition vinyl, CD, and other merch will on preorder soon via Septaphonic Records and billfisher.net

Listeners can get an exclusive pre-listen of the whole album before public release via a sequence of emails and secret web pages about the concepts behind the album and how we can stop sociopathy taking over the universe.

To get access to this and avoid missing out on the other mind-blowing surprises to come, you are invited to join the suitably-titled ‘Billuminati’ here: billfisher.net/join

Yours in peace and harmony,

BF

billfisher.net
churchofthecosmicskull.com
cosmicskull.org
facebook.com/churchofthecosmicskull
churchofthecosmicskull.bandcamp.com
instagram.com/churchofthecosmicskull

Church of the Cosmic Skull, Everybody’s Going to Die (2019)

If you’ve ever been in a band and had a moderately friendly conversation with someone else in a similar band, you’ve probably somewhere along the line heard the phrase “we should jam” used once or twice. Rarely does jamming result and even more rarely does it go any further than that. Melbourne two-piece Light Pillars — whose origins would seem to be based in similar proceedings — have beat the odds and will release their self-titled debut on Sept. 4 through respected Greek purveyor Sound Effect Records (sign up for their newsletter; doesn’t matter where you live). The outfit features Toby Wrecker (né Matthews) of Hotel Wrecking City Traders and Andrew Pana (né Panagopoulos) of Comacozer, and each offers a distinctive presence from within the increasingly populated sphere of Australian heavy psychedelia.

One might also think there’s nothing but self-indulgent chaos to come out of such an affair, but it actually seems like Wrecker and Pana meshed well in the studio, and had a fitting sense of where they were headed in their jams. They made the record in two days. Two days. And one was writing. How can you possibly mess with that? I can’t.

Here’s the announcement. Preorders are up today:

Light Pillars – Light Pillars – Sept. 4 2020

Australian noisy psych project LIGHT PILLARS consisting of Toby – Guitars (Hotel Wrecking City Traders) and Andrew – Drums (Comacozer) came together in June 2019 at Cellar Sessions Studios in Melbourne for an improved jam session. Both bands having played together previously and after some ideas and banter being thrown around the two decided to finally get together and see what the cosmos can produce and this release debut self-titled release resulting in 4 tracks of noisy dark heavy instrumental psych rock. Recorded in one session with Max behind the recording desk and mastered by Kent Stump (Crystal Clear Sound Studios, Dallas, Texas USA) and amazing artwork by Dora Wednesday, this is one journey taking diverse release.

Day 1: Go into a room and throw around some ideas. Day 2: Enter a studio and record. This is Light Pillars.

Album will be up on Sound Effect Records for Pre-Sale on Friday 31st July. www.soundeffect-records.gr

Street Date for release is 4th September 2020.

Light Pillars are:
Andrew Pana (Comacozer) – Drums
Toby Wrecker (Hotel Wrecking City Traders, GOUTS) – Guitars and Bass

www.facebook.com/LightPillars
www.instagram.com/lightpillarspsych
www.lightpillars.bandcamp.com
http://www.motljud.com/
https://www.facebook.com/SoundEffectRecords/
https://www.soundeffect-records.gr/

A pleasant surprise from out of the California desert in that Big Scenic Nowhere are following up their 2020 full-length debut, Vision Beyond Horizon (review here) on a quick turnaround with the new Lavender Blues EP. You can add this to the onslaught list of releases Tony Reed has in the coming months, what with his own solo debut impending as well as sundry thisses and thats from Mos Generator, as he’s a core member here, along with Bob Balch of Fu Manchu — who’ve been self-releasing a series of EPs that I sadly have yet to hear — and Gary Arce and Bill Stinson of Yawning Man, who are soon to release a live CD/DVD. I guess everybody’s busy, come to think of it. Fair enough.

Also returning is Per Wiberg — because if you can have Per Wiberg play keys on your record, then, yes, you do that — and newcomers to the fold include guitarist Daniel “Chewy” Mongrain of Voivod and none other than desert rock’s master of ceremonies producer Chris Goss, whose Masters of Reality were due to make a comeback this Spring with a new album and European tour before… well, before. Sadly he apparently doesn’t contribute vocals here, only guitar, but I’ll take what I can get.

Three new songs? Sign me up.

Here’s info as posted on social media:

BIG SCENIC NOWHERE is mixing a new E.P. named “Lavender Blues” right now. Three jams from our three day session back in November of 2019. We’ll post some clips soon! This E.P. will be released in the fall. Here is a list of the players involved….

Gary Arce (Yawning Man) guitar
Bob Balch (Fu Manchu) guitar, bass
Tony Reed (Mos Generator) bass, vocals, synth, guitar
Bill Stinson (Yawning Man) drums
Per Wiberg (Opeth, Spiritual Beggars) synth, piano
Daniel Mongrain (Voivod) guitar
Chris Goss (Masters Of Reality) guitar

Artwork by @haxloeffler
Mixed and Mastered by Tony Reed

https://www.facebook.com/bigscenicnowhere/
https://www.instagram.com/bigscenicnowhere/
https://bigscenicnowhere.bandcamp.com/releases
https://bigscenicnowherestore.bigcartel.com/

Big Scenic Nowhere, Vision Beyond Horizon (2020)

And a significant ensemble it is. Traveling from his native Denmark to San Diego, California, guitarist Jonas Munk of heavy psych innovators Causa Sui was set to meet up in Sept. 2019 with Brian Ellis (Astra, Psicomagia, Birth, etc.) whose solo work has been issued through Causa Sui‘s label, El Paraiso Records. By the account in the liner notes for the release, it wasn’t the first time Munk made the trip, but it would seem to have been an occasion nonetheless, as Munk and Ellis, based in Escondido, were to spearhead what has been tagged as the Ellis/Munk Ensemble featuring players from bands like Radio Mosow, Sacri Monti, Psicomagia, Joy and others. It’s a pretty extensive roster. To wit:

Brian Ellis (keys) – Astra, Silver Sunshine, Brian Ellis Group, Psicomagia, Birth, etc.
Jonas Munk (guitar) – Causa Sui, various solo-projects and collaborations

Plus:
Dominic Denholm (bass) – Monarch
Thomas DiBenedetto (drums/guitar) – Sacri Monti, Monarch, ex-Joy
Dylan Donovan (guitar) – Sacri Monti, Pharlee
Paul Marrone (drums) – Astra, Cosmic Wheels, Radio Moscow, Psicomagia, Birth, Brian Ellis Group
Trevor Mast (bass) – Birth, ex-Joy, Psicomagia, Brian Ellis Group
Anthony Meier (bass/keys) – Sacri Monti, Radio Moscow
Conor Riley (keys) – Astra, Silver Sunshine, Birth
Andrew Velasco (percussion) – Love, the City & Space
Andrew Ware (drums) – Monarch
Evan Wenskay (organ) – Sacri Monti
Kyre Wilcox (bass) – Truth on Earth

The most striking thing about this lineup — aside from the fact that among the 12 participants, there are no women — is the sheer amount of overlap. Members of Sacri Monti playing in Monarch and Joy, members of Astra resurfacing in Birth, and so on. Like any scene worthy of the designation, San Diego is plenty incestuous, but in no small part that’s essential to what makes it the heavy psych haven it’s become. The entire situation is fluid, so how could the music be anything else?

With Munk‘s arrival in town as impetus for the get-together, San Diego Sessions arrives (via El Paraiso) as seven tracks/48 minutes carved out from these several evenings’ worth of jams and fits with Munk and Ellis‘ apparently shared vision of the stylistic interaction between psychedelia and jazz. Indeed, the stated comparison is to Miles Davis‘ Bitches Brew, and track titles like “Pauly’s Pentacles,” “Munk’s Dream” — as opposed to “Monk’s Dream,” i.e. Thelonius Monk — and “Larry’s Jungle Juice” honor that tradition as well, as does the immediate thrust and twist of 10-plus-minute opener “The Wedge,” which features eight players, three of whom are on keys, and sets a tone with scorching runs of lead guitar atop intricate rhythmic turns.

One thing: they picked their drummers right. In Marrone, DiBenedetto and Ware, the Ellis/Munk Ensemble — whoever else happens to be around at any given moment — have some of the best San Diego’s underground has to offer on board when it comes to drums, Mario Rubalcaba of Earthless notwithstanding. With this foundation, guitarists like Munk — who appears on every track except the penultimate madcap freakout “Larry’s Jungle Juice”; Ellis likewise sits out the brief but spacious “Munk’s Dream” — Donovan and DiBenedetto are able to freely explore various reaches and textures of sound, and so the variety of San Diego Sessions stems as much from its sonic moods as from its personnel.

Still, much of the tone — and much of the album, frankly — happens at the outset with “The Wedge” and “Pauly’s Pentacles.” As the latter tops 11 minutes, the two songs comprise 22 of the total 48-minute stretch here, so not an insignificant portion, and more important, it’s in them that the spirit of San Diego Sessions is established in looking toward the aforementioned tradition of the jazz session. “The Wedge” locks in a solid groove early before spinning heads with guitar and keys alike, and “Pauly’s Pentacles” turns more mellow lead vibes into a vibrant apex ahead of dipping into a bit of cosmic funk, the drifting end of which is a suitable transition into the ethereal “Munk’s Dream” — the shortest inclusion at just 2:24 but an atmospheric highlight nonetheless.

By the time, then, that they dip into album-centerpiece “Electric Saloon,” which runs just under nine minutes long, the expectation is wide open for what might actually take place within that span of time but set in the sphere of heavy psychedelic improv. “Bucket Drips,” which follows, is another more meditative vibe, so “Electric Saloon” is given a mindful showcase, led into and out of as it is. It’s a two-sided LP and certainly there’s a flow across the span as one jam ends or fades out and the next arrives, but one might think of San Diego Sessions as taking place in three distinct movements: the opening two, the middle three, and the finishing two. Elements of personality drift in and out along the way — much like the people — but the way in which the pieces complement each other, right up to how the finishing chase of “Larry’s Jungle Juice” gives way to the smoother procession of “Stone Steps” to close out with a relative wash of keys, is such that each chapter has something of its own to offer the listener.

There is further nuance to how the pieces are arranged and how they bleed from one to the next that one might point out, but what that goes to underscore is the fact that San Diego Sessions has been carved out from the raw material that emerged over those nights. It’s got its warts-and-all feel intact, but one assumes there was more recorded than appears in the completed product. Maybe that means a San Diego Sessions 2 is in the offing, or maybe these were all the highlights; I don’t know. But Ellis/Munk Ensemble captures a special stretch of time when talented players — many of whom already had established chemistry from years of collaboration in various bands — joined together to welcome a friend into the fold.

The instrumental and improvisational nature of the record might mean that not every listener is up for making the trip, but what comes through most of all in the tracks is the feeling of celebration, of challenging each other, of playing with sound and technique like the implements of magic they are, and of enjoying all of it. That atmosphere is infectious.

El Paraiso Records on Thee Facebooks

El Paraiso Records on Instagram

El Paraiso Records on Soundcloud

El Paraiso Records website

This one was released independently by the band last year, but has since been picked up by Small Stone and Kozmik Artifactz. To the best of my admittedly faulty recollection, that’s the first time Small Stone has picked up a release from this generation of Bandcamp records and handled the physical pressing in this manner. Of course it’s done reissues before but this would seem to be more in line with the “first official” rather than a reissue coinciding with another, corresponding new release.

Does that distinction matter? Maybe, if Small Stone makes a habit of it or if you’re the sort to be particularly interested in the evolution of indie label business models. Either way, The Electric Mud’s Burn the Ships has a Sept. 25 release date and there’s a new video out to mark the occasion.

You’ll find that and PR wire info below:

THE ELECTRIC MUD: Florida Stoner Rock Unit To Release Burn The Ships Full-Length Via Small Stone September 25th; New Video Now Playing + Preorders Available

Florida-based stoner/retro rock unit THE ELECTRIC MUD will release their Burn The Ships full-length September 25th via Small Stone Records.

Crawling from the humid, mangrove-choked banks of the Caloosahatche River, THE ELECTRIC MUD drifted from late night jam sessions, backyard keggers, and a revolving cast of members until one night, in the taproom of a closed up brewery, Peter Kolter, Pierson Whicker, Tommy Scott, and Constantine Grim found themselves in an old fashioned Morricone-style standoff. Each had reputations around their Florida town as serious musicians and hard workers, and after throwing lightning bolts around the room for a few hours it became clear that they had found not just a band, but a sound. Alongside their love for The Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd and their shared Florida roots, came also a deep appreciation for the proto metal of Black Sabbath and the prog metal of Mastodon, and the band aimed to slow cook it and serve it to the masses. After countless hours of grueling rehearsals and gigging in the dives and biker bars of their hometown, THE ELECTRIC MUD released its debut album, Bull Gator, in 2018, and hit the road.

With hard work came opportunity that found the band opening not just for Southern rock legends such as Molly Hatchet, Blackfoot, The Devon Allman Band, Brother Hawk, and others but also winning a tri-state battle of the bands competition that drew the eye of Matt Washburn owner/operator of Ledbelly Sound Studio (Mastodon, Elder, Royal Thunder) in north Georgia. Washburn and the band hit it off immediately, and the band decamped to The Peach State in 2019 to write and record its follow up album, falling in along the way with the legendary Small Stone Records. THE ELECTRIC MUD calls upon a punishing rhythm section and dizzying twin guitars alongside gritty, soulful vocals to remind audiences that rock and roll is a timeless, cosmic giant that never truly dies.

In advance of the record’s release, the band is pleased to debut a video for opening track, “The First Murder On Mars” shot at Sonic Studios in Fort Myers, Florida by Matt Anastasi.

Following an independent unveiling by the band, Burn The Ships will see official release on CD and digital formats via Small Stone as well as limited edition vinyl via Kozmik Artifactz. For preorders, visit the Small Stone Bandcamp page at THIS LOCATION. Fans of The Sword, Radio Moscow, Clutch, Captain Beyond, The Allman Brothers, and the like, pay heed.

Burn The Ships Track Listing:
1. The First Murder On Mars
2. Stone Hands
3. Reptile
4. A Greater Evil
5. Call The Judge
6. Priestess
7. Good Monster
8. Led Belly
9. Terrestrial Birds

THE ELECTRIC MUD:
Constantine Grim – guitar
Pierson Whicker – drums, percussion
Peter Kolter – vocals, guitar
Tommy Scott – bass

http://www.theelectricmud.com
http://www.facebook.com/TheElectricMud
http://www.instagram.com/theelectricmud
http://www.smallstone.com
http://www.facebook.com/smallstonerecords
http://www.smallstone.bandcamp.com

The Electric Mud, “First Murder on Mars” official video