It is a fortunate happenstance of relative geographic positioning that so many live streams taking place in European primetime occur right in the midst of my toddler son’s afternoon nap. An 8PM start in Elephant Tree‘s native London meant 3PM for me, and amidst global pandemic and a chaotic year that no one could have anticipated except for all the people who did and were ignored, I’ll take what I can get. As far as I’m concerned, 3PM is primetime anyway.

I parked myself on the couch to stream Elephant Tree‘s hour-long performance at Buffalo Studio in East London — presented and produced/directed by The Preservation Room — and even managed to cast it to the tv, which the Facebook app has been iffy on in the past. Presumably, the four-piece would’ve been on tour by now under different circumstances, supporting their album-of-the-year-contending second LP, Habits (review here), on Holy Roar/Deathwish Inc., but like everybody’s everything, well, you’re alive, so you know.

Shit luck. The record deserves to be hand-delivered by the band to audiences far and wide. Elephant Tree‘s progression as a four-piece, what guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist John Slattery — who joined in 2018 — brings to the lineup, was evident when I last saw the band in Nov. 2019 at Magnetic Eye‘s Brooklyn showcase at Saint Vitus Bar (review here), and they seemed all the more comfortable highlighting songs from Habits, moving from a windy drone opening similar to that which starts the album with “Wake.Repeat” into lead-single “Sails,” quickly adjusting the line sound to pull Sam Hart‘s reverby snare down and bring up fellow founder Jack Townley‘s guitar and vocals, joined in the chorus as he was by Slattery and bassist Peter Holland (also of Trippy Wicked). Under studio lighting with two movable cameras, it was very much a made-for-tv stream, as opposed to more of a concert-minded experience.

If there was a warmup-factor, they were through it fast. I don’t know how often the four of them have been able to get together or rehearse over the last several mostly-locked-down months, but they ended “Sails” tight and shifted immediately to the between-song banter that has become a staple of their live sets, Townley remarking on how is ears were too small for the in-ear monitors in what would become a running gag for the set — Slattery later referred to himself as “blessed” in that regard — before they moved into the harmony-focused roller “Faceless,” continuing to follow the progression of the album’s tracklisting, Townley chastising himself after for getting the lyrics wrong. New songs. Likewise, Hart reminded Holland before they went into “Wasted” that the count-in was six stick-clicks. Holland pointed to the camera: “Six clicks. Remember.”

They had threatened new material — newer even than the album, which came out in April — but none was aired. The combination of fuzz tones and keys in “Wasted” would be a highlight just the same, Slattery bringing more synthy melody later in the song, before they wished a happy birthday to superfan Sister Rainbow and APF Records‘ Andy Field and launched into “Aphotic Blues.” It was one of two cuts from their 2016 self-titled debut (review here) they would play, and perhaps shifting into something older let them loosen up a bit more, but as that track turned to its bigger-riffing second half, they seemed to let fly a little and get into it, having pushed through the three-part vocal midsection and positively nailed it.

Goofing their way through a vinyl giveaway that would continue after — the game was that Townley was thinking of a number between 1-1,000 and if you guessed it you won a vinyl; I guessed eight and 42 — they soon went into “Bird,” another Habits high point and particularly emblematic of the progressive edge that’s emerged in their sound. With a duly floating vocal above Hart‘s steady drum and Holland‘s bass, they segued smoothly into the song’s atmospheric middle and dynamic ending with energy worthy of a live show, and though I’d seen them play it in November, knowing the song from actually having the record of course made a difference. Not ashamed to say I was singing along with the television at several points during their set, “Bird” being one of them.

Holland, who had been handling shout-outs (though Townley mentioned Sister Rainbow), gave me a hello — hey Pete — and “Exit the Soul” followed, with its extended break, three-part vocal and before closing with “Dawn” from the first record, they gave away the Habits vinyl. The winning number was five. At least I was close. Finishing off, they seemed once more right at home, as they had long since gotten momentum on their side and rolled through with apparent ease. Newer songs or older, they had it down and I don’t know if it was me projecting or an actual feeling on the part of the band, but there was evident relief when it was over before the feed cut, like they were glad to have gotten it off their collective chest. There wasn’t a full audience in the room to see it, but hell, at least they got to play and at least those who tuned in got to watch.

I was glad I did, and again, thankful for the afternoon timing making it possible to do so. I wound up spending a decent portion of the second half of the set being chewed on by our new puppy, which reminded me not only to take her out, but of how “real life” and music interact with live streaming in a way that never happens with actual live shows. If it was 10PM, would I have watched in bed on my phone before crashing out for the night? If it was 7PM, would I have been annoyed at having my nightly Star Trek viewing interrupted? Maybe. These are weird times and they’ve forced those who care about art and creativity to adjust the balance of the space they occupy in the day to day. The dog nipped at my hand while they played “Exit the Soul.” I was happy that at no point did she pee on the floor.

Watching the several streams I’ve seen — some trying to capture a band-on-stage experience, some a fly-on-wall camera in the rehearsal space, some, like this, kind of in-between — I can’t help but feel some pressure to bring it in the context of the “current moment,” but honestly, screw that. Bands are trying to get by, like everyone else. They can’t play shows so this seems to be what’s happening. It’s interesting seeing different acts’ personalities come through their A/V presentation, and of course it’s different than watching a band on stage. Do I need to say that? Do I need to say how important supporting each other through a global pandemic is? If I do, I shouldn’t have to. Whatever.

I took the dog for a walk after Elephant Tree were done, then got the kid up from his nap at the appointed wake-up time (4:38PM, if you’re curious). We drove around for a bit while he looked at sundry construction vehicles and ate some food, and when we came home, watched PBS Newshour, took the dog for another walk. I made leftovers for dinner, we watched Star Trek, the dog peed on the floor, and we went to bed. The Yankees — also playing without a crowd — had a day off. Life happened, and the stream got folded into the day, not quite the escapist experience a live show would be, but still something special while it lasted. Listen to Habits.

If you’re still reading, thanks and I’ll make it easy:

Elephant Tree, Habits (2020)

Elephant Tree on Thee Facebooks

Elephant Tree on Instagram

Elephant Tree website

Holy Roar Records website

Holy Roar Records on Thee Facebooks

Deathwish Inc. website

Deathwish Inc. on Thee Facebooks

They recommend watching in 4K, but I think even if you’re slumming it in 1080p the focus on professionalism comes across in Bismarck‘s whole-album playthrough of their 2020 sophomore full-length, Oneiromancer (review here). The video, which trims the 35-minute long-player down to just under 32, was reportedly shot in one take and features pro-shop sound and lighting — there’s even a fan on frontman Torstein Tveiten — as well as three working cameras throughout. Lights flash, cuts are sharp, and the band themselves waste none of their or the audience’s time. Clearly it was a show-up-and-get-down-to-business kind of affair.

With it, the Bergen, Norway, five-piece give an impression of some of the intensity they might bring to a stage show, the darkened hammering of their rhythms bringing together post-metal’s claustrophobia with the sheer bite of aggressive and extreme sludge, and unsurprisingly, their performance proves worthy of the presentation they’re making of it. When I reviewed the album, I called it thoughtful, and the same applies here. Aggro as they are, Bismarck know exactly what they’re doing. The low lighting during quiet stretches, the attention to detail in the camera swaying, the balance of ambience and crush that pervades — it all serves the experience of the record as whole, and if the underlying point of Bismarck playing the thing front-to-back is to emphasize just how well it functions in that kind of listening context, the message isn’t at all lost.

Obviously the intent here, aside from maybe telling you to put in the entire and eminently manageable 35-minute ask that Oneiromancer is making, is to capture a live feel, and in that sense, the manner in which they do so actually runs against the current expectation born of so much of the live-streaming happening by bands around the world due, duh, to the COVID-19 pandemic. This may be Bismarck‘s answer to such a thing, since they are playing live and all, but this is professionally filmed and edited, wasn’t premiered live at the same time it was played. Thus it’s more like a concert video than a live performance being aired at the same time it’s played.

In either case, Bismarck crush it.

To wit, the video:

Bismarck, Oneiromancer live playthrough

This is a 100% live, one take playthrough of our latest album “Oneiromancer”! Performed, filmed and recorded at Carte Blanche’s Studio Bergen!

Bismarck is
Torstein Tveiten – Vocals
Eirik Goksøyr – Guitar
Tore Lyngstad – Drums
Trygve Svarstad – Guitar
Leif Herland – Bass

Lights by Thomas Bruvik
Filmed by Martin Borge & Lars Inge Torp
Edited by Martin Borge
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Leif Herland in Polyfon Studio

Bismarck, Oneiromancer (2020)

Bismarck on Thee Facebooks

Bismarck on Instagram

Bismarck on Bandcamp

Here’s how listening to the first single/opening track from Jahbulong‘s debut album, Eclectic Poison Tones, is going to go. For the first minute of “Under the Influence of the Fool” — capitalized in the tracklisting below I assume to emphasize the tarot-ness of the LP as a whole — you’re gonna be like, “Yeah, okay that’s some pretty cool fuzz.” Then the real fuzz is gonna hit and any and all questions about the Verona-based trio’s intent will be answered. They lock in a hair-covered nodding groove early on and don’t let it go, stoner-doom lumbering their way through the proceedings with enough roll for your entire socially-distanced summer barbecue. Even the solo has fuzz. I don’t know how eclectic or poison they might be over the course of the record as whole, but “tones” Jahbulong‘s certainly got. Hypnotic ones at that.

Album’s out Oct. 30. Info and audio came via the PR wire:

Stoner Doom unit JAHBULONG premiere first single from upcoming album!

“Eclectic Poison Tones” to be released October 30th on Go Down Records!

An album like a flow of acidic mantras, rich with dark atmospheres and full of distortions: “Eclectic Poison Tones”, the upcoming brand new full length record by Stoner Doom unit JAHBULONG, will see the light of day October 30th on Go Down Records. Being influenced from 70s psychedelia to Seattle’s 90s grunge, “Eclectic Poison Tones” is the result of the band’s ongoing development and hunger to explore new noise digressions.

A first promising peek of what to expect from the upcoming album can now be heard in form of the track “Under The Influence Of THE FOOL”, streaming here:

Says the band about the song: “Under The Influence Of THE FOOL” is the opening track of our upcoming album “Eclectic Poison Tones”. The beginning riff recalls the Black Sabbath sound, then the spatial resonance expansions culminate into a distorted and thundering ending. It all started from the skeleton of this song, which was composed before the idea of the whole album was born and that’s why it represents a kind of bridge between now and our recent release, a split record with Mongoose in 2018. Beside the stoner-doom sound that we have always played, we are about explore new noise digressions and more elaborated musical incursions.”

“Eclectic Poison Tones” will be coming out October 30th on Go Down Records and is now available for pre-order HERE: https://www.godownrecords.com/jahbulong

Tracklist:
1. Under The Influence Of THE FOOL
2. THE TOWER Of The Broken Bones
3. The Eclipse Of THE EMPRESS
4. THE EREMITE Tired Out (Sweed Dreams)

JAHBULONG are:
Martino Tomelini | bass
Nicolò Bonato | drums
Pierpaolo “Paul Vinegar” Modena | guitar, vocals

https://www.facebook.com/JAHBULONG/
https://www.instagram.com/jahbulong/
https://jahbulong.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/GoDownRecords/
https://www.instagram.com/godownrecords/
https://www.godownrecords.com

Jahbulong, “Under the Influence of the Fool”

The apocalyptic intensity conjured by San Diego one-man machine-doom/industrial outfit Author & Punisher has garnered praise far and wide over the better part of the last decade, and certainly the fact that Tristan Shone started the project over 15 years ago and has had a broad influence on the current heavy underground fascination with industrial sounds is a part of why. When it comes to artists and bands so hyped, as Author & Punisher has been at least since Ursus Americanus and Women & Children came out on Seventh Rule and more people began to experience it live, with Shone‘s homemade-or-at-least-workshop-made “drone machines” taking the place of instruments and serving rhythmic and melodic functions while he shouts into a custom vocal processor — quite a sight — my immediate response is to shut it out. The thing about most hyperbole? It’s bullshit. And very often it’s not so much about the artist involved as the person writing wanting to be ‘the one who said so.’ It is as much ego on the part of writer as it is plaudit of the work, and I think it’s gross. Total turnoff, and as a result, I’m less inclined to really dig into an album or whatever it is because, well, ugh, so chic.

Am I always right? Nope. But the thing about music is it’s not a race to be first to find a thing, and once a record’s out, it’ll still be there after the fever-pitch has come down a bit. There’s a certain freedom in being late to the party. Thus it is that I’ve recently taken on Author & Punisher‘s Beastland, which is positioned as Shone‘s sixth long-player (though I’m not sure how that count actually works). Issued in 2018 as a first offering through Relapse Records, it is a smartly-executed eight-track/36-minute collection that wastes neither its own nor your time, and Shone‘s connection to doom can be felt not so much in the audio itself — though certainly the sounds he makes are weighted, sometimes cruelly so — but in the structures and traditions he’s following. As one might expect, there’s a good deal of influence from Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails to be felt throughout — and how Reznor isn’t beating down Shone‘s door to collaborate, I don’t know — but the lumbering tempos that punctuate most of Beastland, from “Pharmacide” and the shouty single “Nihil Strength” into the noise-soaked “Ode to Bedlam” onward, certainly offer a thread. Also a threat. Further, the fullness of sound and depth of the mix, Shone‘s vocals being alternately buried and at the fore, sometimes switching in the span of a lyric, as on “Ode to Bedlam,” which is the shortest inclusion at 3:29 and soon devolves into noise and drone before building back as a transition to the more melodic centerpiece duo “The Speaker is Systematically Blown” and “Nazarene,” both of which dare to be catchy and soaring in their duly-blown-out melody, more brazenly so even than “Nihil Strength,” the very beat of which is a hook unto itself.

And like a more traditional doom record, as Beastland moves into side B, the palette expands, from the angularity and atmosphere of “Apparition” into the closing pair “Night Terror” and “Beastland” itself, the former which dons a techno siren at the outset and moves into a steady hum and roll that cycle through and pull apart in a way that feels built outward from the false restart at the end of “Nazarene,” and the latter title-track which is more purely a work of ambient noisy chaos, still set to a beat as much of it is. “Night Terror” and “Beastland” both top six minutes, with the finale echoing Blade Runner in its echoing keyboard melodies like ethereal horns sounding, even as static grit underlies and Shone‘s voice follows the notes. Beastland ends with a churn and a plod that fades into what seems to be a last grunted exhale, which runs counter to the kind of inhuman(e) aural assault that much of the record has provided but is a reminder nonetheless that there’s a person behind the operation of all these robotics and all these willfully horrifying sounds.

If you’ve ever seen Author & Punisher, you probably don’t need me to describe what it’s like, with Shone surrounded by these machines of his own making, becoming the machine himself, etc., layers on layers of multimedia metaphor. I’m not inclined to add to the din of praise that’s been heaped on dude for the last however long — though by all accounts I’ve heard, he’s a nice guy, and the very, very least one can say of his work is that it’s innovative, and that’s before you get to the quality of the songcraft, which is palpable in a manner beyond whatever novelty of the individualized aesthetic — but the influence he’s had on others is plain to hear in these songs, and as bands and groups pick up on Shone‘s ends, if not the means, and hopefully adapt that to their own styles, that only stands Author & Punisher out as all the more singular. What strikes me about listening to it rather than watching it, though, isn’t the forward nature of the aggression. That’s there, sure enough, but it’s the methodical feel of so much of what Shone brings to bear. By its nature, you can’t really call Author & Punisher raw in how it’s made — it would seem just to require too much effort, as opposed to plugging in a guitar and letting rip — but there is a drive toward the primal in some of the underlying simplicity of the beats, that when you strip away all the surrounding and sometimes overwhelming cacophony, feels markedly and purposefully primitive. Organic? Maybe.

Maybe that’s Shone himself serving as the unifying presence in what he calls his ‘control room.’ Fair enough. Shone is set to tour Europe in January with Igorrr, though of course life itself remains a shrug-and-wait-and-see kind of deal for the time being, so Author & Punisher has opted to share videos from a recent tour opening for Tool instead. As to what comes next, if it’s more dystopia, at least I know whose records to put on.

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

—

The mornings have become a challenge, though perhaps not as much of one as they could be. The Pecan has been waking up around 6:30, which feels like a gift. General process is The Patient Mrs. gets the puppy — Omi; now permanent title, short for Iommi — and I get him. She takes dog out, I change a usually-poop-filled diaper. Potty training is a process. Anyway, it’s when she comes back in with the dog that he gets super-excited, then the dog gets excited, and the energy feedback loop ignites. Once he’s cleaned up, he goes where he goes, and inevitably, he’s going for the dog. But he’s still two — that’s exactly how my wife and I say it: still two; it has been a very long year — and so can’t really handle it. He gets worked up, gets worried, then inevitably swats at or kicks at Omi and, yeah, that shit just doesn’t work for me.

Yesterday and today, she stayed in the kitchen while I made him breakfast before coming to work on this post, and The Patient Mrs. and I have been switching off one and the other. It’s easier to get work done with the dog than the kid, so whoever’s working has Omi and whoever’s got The Pecan has The Pecan. That’s her right now. I’ll go in the other room in a little bit and trade off so she can work, and she’ll take the dog. It’s not so cut and dry as all that — most of the time I give him breakfast since he eats better for me; I’m not shy about shoving food in his mouth — but it’s Friday and she knows I like to end the week early, so I am grateful for the chance to bang this out.

Dog’s asleep somewhere in this room. Kid’ll get a bath in a bit — I took a break from writing during the second-to-last paragraph of the Author & Punisher writeup above (could you tell?) and we went for a run, which now that it’s pouring rain, I’m glad we did — so I’ll handle that and hopefully The Patient Mrs. doesn’t get saddled with too much what we call “puppy time” and usually seems to involve chewed shoes, feet, or furniture, or peeing on the floor.

The key to little things — dogs or people — is wearing them out. Walks for the dog, runs for the kid. Fine in the summer, though I guess we made it through this winter, and plague-permitting we’ll make it through the next. I have a bit before I need to worry about it, anyhow.

I hope you and yours are well. I’ve been struggling with having put on a bit of weight, and trying to manage that while at the same time dealing with other stresses. All anxiousness immediately goes to food/body image for me, which, if I needed further proof of disordered eating, there it is. Didn’t need that proof.

So.

My father fell on July 3 and has been in the hospital since then, in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He’s 77, I think. He was planning to move from nearby his sister in North Carolina to Allentown to be close to other friends and live in a retirement community. This was a move I advised against voraciously and was ignored. My mother, same on one of the rare occasions they spoke. Ahead of his move, he was staying with a friend and fell backwards down a flight of stairs. Portrait of an old man, falling.

Okay.

Among my family — and given the further-than-arm’s-length nature of our relationship, this feels surreal to say — I am probably the one in recent years who has been most in touch with him. We communicate semi-regularly. We have nothing much in common beyond blood and name — though the older I get… — but we keep it light, avoid politics or discussion of my mother or sister when possible, and there you go. He’s shown increasing signs of dementia over the last few years — he forgot he met my son, for example — and since his fall has been what the hospital case worker described to me as “confused.” He doesn’t know where he is, doesn’t always know what year it is or who he is.

Okay.

Though he and my mother have been separated for the last 25 years, they’ve never officially divorced. Why? I don’t know. Holdover stigma? My mother, a teacher 11 years retired, has decent state insurance and has kept him on it all this time, but because the American healthcare system is fucked — something COVID has only aggravated — Medicaid can maybe go after her assets to cover the cost of longterm care, which he’ll need since he has to relearn how to walk, and this lengthy hospital stay. This week, we all got on Zoom with a divorce attorney. I was writing the Turtle Skull news post on Wednesday when that happened; it just finally went up today. It’s been a lot.

But okay.

Court appoints a custodian once it’s proved my father is non compos mentis, which should not be a challenge, and I guess everything moves forward at a snail’s pace there. In the meantime, The Patient Mrs. and I have started mortgage proceedings to buy the house we live in from my mother, who inherited it from my grandmother, so there’s that additional layer of something-happening over the last couple weeks, which along with puppy, kid, pandemic, fascism, on and on and on and on, has meant that, among other things, I was feeling too overwhelmed to put together a Gimme Radio show this week.

It’ll be back on in two weeks.

Okay.

I’m exhausted now, so I must be finished, and in any case, it’s time for me to trade off dog for kid with The Patient Mrs., who has more than earned that title during this period. My only regret is not calling her The Brilliant Mrs., because even more than her patience with me — which is ample — it is the continued light she shines that makes my life possible. I have said this before and will continue to say it until I die: she is the center around which my universe spins.

I hope you have a great and safe weekend. Please be well most of all, and thank you for reading, whether or not you still are.

FRM.

The Obelisk Forum

The Obelisk Radio

The Obelisk merch

Vancouver heavy rock trio La Chinga have signed a deal to release their next album through Ripple Music. The classic-influenced three-piece put out their self-titled debut (discussed here) in 2013 and were picked up by Small Stone for the 2016 follow-up, Freewheelin’ (review here), as well as 2018’s Beyond the Sky (review here). In aligning with Ripple, they follow in the footsteps Small Stone veterans like Wo Fat, Roadsaw, Freedom Hawk and Gozu — though the latter have since moved on — as well of course as Ripple homegrown staples in Mothership, Salem’s Bend, War Cloud, High Priestess, and so on.

All told, it’s a lot of good bands, and as the last few years have seen Ripple grow into the US’ foremost purveyor of underground heavy rock, they’re now in a position to pick and choose the artists they work with more than ever before. So that’s how you get Wino on Ripple. How you get Colour Haze, etc. They’ve simply gone to another level through the quality of what they’ve put out and the audience loyalty they’ve earned over the course of their decade. Bringing La Chinga into the fold definitely isn’t going to hurt their reputation any.

The announcement came through social media:

Ripple Music welcome Pacific Northwest’s wildest 70s-worshipping hard rockers La Chinga to their rifftastic roster for the release of their new album in 2021.

“We are so thrilled to be on Ripple Music, having been big fans of the music they have been cranking out! We are in the studio as I type this, working hard on our Ripple debut album. And we can’t wait to put it out there on such a killer label!” says the band.

Keep your eyes peeled for more La Chinga news, and get ready to blow your speakers with the generous hooks, wicked psychedelic highlights and unequaled firepower of the three Vancouver gentlemen!

http://www.facebook.com/La-Chinga
https://www.facebook.com/theripplemusic/
https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/
http://www.ripple-music.com/

La Chinga, Beyond the Sky (2018)

Kind of a note to myself here. This record came in this morning and I was curious, so checked it out and I think it might be awesome. It’s the Sydney-based band’s second full-length behind a 2018 self-titled and it’s coming out through Art as Catharsis and Kozmik Artifactz, so that’s good backing either way, but it was the actual sound of the thing that might’ve sold me. Folky, bright, but still heavy underpinnings to the psychedelic flow to what I’ve heard. I guess everything coming out of Oz at this point is represented as being influenced by King Gizzard but I can’t really speak to that one way or the other, but if you know that Khruangbin record and Kikagaku Moyo, you know that’s good territory to be in.

So why the post? Well, my time’s pretty bare these days so it’s a reminder to myself to put on the record tomorrow and listen through the entire thing when this post goes live. It’ll be Thursday so I’ll have a couple extra minutes. If I told you what was going on on my right-hand side right now — first, it would be a longer explanation than the press release below, but second, it still wouldn’t make any sense. It’s been quite a week. I’m looking forward to checking Monoliths out.

Dig:

TURTLE SKULL – Monoliths 28.08.2020, Art As Catharsis / Kozmik Artifactz

Art As Catharsis are proud to announce the release of Turtle Skull’s second album, Monoliths – a texture-rich record that dances between bone-crushing lows and ethereal highs.

Taking inspiration from Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd and Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Turtle Skull’s blend of warped psychedelia, shattering doom and indie-rock sensibility merges into their own brand of music dubbed ‘flower doom’.

While the final product contains a faint similarity to the sounds of King Gizzard & The Lizzard Wizard, Khruangbin, or Kikagku Moyo, Monoliths is distinctively its own beast. It’s a record that heaves and soars, taking joyous compositions and steering them headfirst into a realm of fuzz and fury.

“For me this album and this band was an opportunity to take everything back to the simplest form,” says vocalist/guitarist Dean McLeod. “I’d been listening to lot of drone, heavy psych, stoner doom, ambient stuff, and one of the things that often unite these somewhat disparate genres is the extensive use of drones and ambient synths.

“This record is about the intimate connection we share with the Earth on which we stand. It’s about the world and your place in it. It’s about looking deep inside yourself and seeing what you find. It’s about life and death and everything in between… and most of all it’s about the pure joy of creation. We are very happy to share it with you.”

At the end of its runtime, Monoliths undeniably displays a much more fleshed-out realisation of the doom, psych rock and indie fusion that launched the five-piece into the public eye following their self-titled release. Tipping between heavy and catchy is the strength of Monoliths – the roar of the fuzzed-out amps is counterbalanced by feather-light vocals, creating a contrast as clear and harmonious as sun and sky. For fans old and new, this is fusion at it’s finest – a record with something to offer every listener.

1. Leaves
2. Rabbit
3. Heartless Machine
4. Why Do You Ask?
5. Who Cares What You Think?
6. Halcyon
7. Apple Of Your Eye
8. The Clock Strikes Forever

This record is about the intimate connection we share with the Earth on which we stand. It’s about the world and your place in it. It’s about looking deep inside yourself and seeing what you find. It’s about life and death and everything in between. It’s about greed, racism, colonialism and technological destruction. It’s about hopelessness and despair. It’s about self love and introspection. It’s about friendship and the power of shared experience. It’s about life-changing psychedelic journeys. It’s about connecting with the source. And most of all it’s about the pure joy of creation. We are very happy to share it with you.

Tobia Blefari – Percussion (congas, rain stick, shaker, tambourine)
Julian Frese – Bass, piano, vocals
Dan Frizza – Synths
Charlie Gradon – Drums, vocals
Dean McLeod – Guitars, vocals

https://www.facebook.com/turtleskullmusic/
https://www.instagram.com/turtleskullmusic/
https://turtleskullmusic.bandcamp.com/
http://www.facebook.com/artascatharsis
https://instagram.com/artascatharsis
http://artascatharsis.bandcamp.com/
http://kozmik-artifactz.com/
https://www.facebook.com/kozmikartifactz

Turtle Skull, Monoliths (2020)

It’s almost hard to believe it’s real life, what with a band putting out videos, getting ready to release an album and, most surreal of all, preparing to go on tour. The latter, of course, is pending further outbreaks of COVID-19 and lockdown — speaking from the disease-infested hellscape that is the United States of America, I wish them the best — but Daily Thompson have it all worked out. The whole plan. Same goes for their sound too on the new single “On My Mind,” a two-stage blues rocker that in the video below gives listeners a six-minute sampling of the kind of right-on grooves and vibe one can expect from the upcoming Oumuamua album being released next month by Noisolution.

While circumstances might make the trio playing in a room seem like a novelty — at least from my point of view; I haven’t been to a show since January — Daily Thompson‘s ease in portraying “On My Mind” speaks to the natural foundation from which their style stems. They’re steeped in classic heavy blues rock but not really a retro-minded band, instead bringing what was together with what is and forging their sonic persona from it. As guitarist Danny and bassist Mercedes come together on vocals in the song’s second half, it brings the track to a different stage of its progression  and adds to the already palpable swing and energy behind it. Like the preceding single “Sad Frank” (posted here), it also demonstrates the songwriting progression on which the band have embarked since their last outing, 2018’s Thirsty (review here).

Noisolution are taking preorders for the limited-to-1oo ‘Club 100’ edition of the album as of today, and you’ll find that link as well as more info under the video below.

Please enjoy:

Daily Thompson, “On My Mind” official video

++ NOISOLUTION – CLUB 100 ++
– Daily Thompson – Oumuamua –
24.07. /// 12:00 /// 100 Copies /// 4 weeks before release

Only @ Noisolution:

https://www.noisolution.de/shop/Vinyl/Daily-Thompson-Oumuamua-Club-100-strictly-limited::264.html
(link will go online 24.07., 12:00 CET)

– 100 copies / strictly limited
– each copy in a unique color
– 180g heavy weight champion
– ecological re-vinyl
– gatefold cover
– signed bandphoto & certificate
– hand numbered

Daily Thmpson European Tour:
11.09.2020 – DE Forum / Bielefeld
18.09.2020 – DE Live Club / Bamberg
19.09.2020 – DE Südsternhaus / Landau
24.09.2020 – ES La Triangu / Sopelana
25.09.2020 – ES Paruqe Municipal / Burlada
26.09.2020 – ES La Ley Seca / Zaragoza
27.09.2020 – ES Anvil Live Pub / Castellón
29.09.2020 – ES ZZ Pub / Malaga
30.09.2020 – ES Louie Louie Rock / Estepona
01.10.2020 – ES Ambigú Axerquía / Córdoba
02.10.2020 – ES Tebernas Desert Rock Fest / Alméria
10.10.2020 – DE Hagenbusch / Marl
17.10.2020 – DE Turbojugend Party at Zukunft / Chemnitz
13.11.2020 – DE Diemelkult Festival / Marsberg
26.-28.11.2020- PIN Music Conference / Skopje MKD
06.12.2020 – DE Cadillac / Oldenburg*
08.12 .2020 – DE Markthalle Marx / Hamburg*
09.12.2020 – DE Museumskeller / Erfurt*
10.12.2020 – DE Piano / Dortmund*
12.12.2020 – DE Zauberberg / Passau*?
14.12.2020 – DE Backstage / München*
15.12.2020 – DE Instant / Budapest HU?*
17.12.2020 – DE Sputnik Café / Münster*
18.12.2020 – DE Treibsand / Lübeck*
*w / Kamchatka

Daily Thompson are:
Danny – guitar and vocals
Mercedes – bass and vocals
Matze – drums

Daily Thompson on Thee Facebooks

Daily Thompson on Instagram

Daily Thompson on Bandcamp

Daily Thompson website

Noisolution website

Noisolution on Thee Facebooks

Noisolution on Instagram

Slovenian heavy rock four-piece Blackoutt will release their new album, Madman, this Fall with the backing of Rocket Panda Management. The record represents the completion of a trilogy of LPs from the Slovenski bruisers — also the end of a sentence — and it’s preceded by the first single “Empty-M,” which premieres in the video below.

Hey! You got two minutes for brash, raw heavy rock and roll? Yes, of course you do.

Blackoutt start and finish “Empty-M” with a due sense of charge, and their are vocals, or at least what seem to be vocals, but they’re so blown out it’s hard to know what’s being said. Either way, in following up 2013’s Behind and 2018’s The Culture Of, Madman encloses the theme that has served the band’s work up to this point in their career. It’s worth noting that “Empty-M” is shorter than anything that appeared on The Culture Of, which you can also stream at the bottom of this post, and even a rocker like “Sinister” on that album, or the guest-vocalized closer “Catacomba,” had a different sense of atmosphere. “Empty-M” is more punk, more about the sheer impact of the thing than the breadth, and so its stripped-down nature suits it well.

As to how it might represent the rest of Madman, beats me; I haven’t heard it. But energy behind “Empty-M” is infectious, and the color flashing, performance footage and constant motion of the camera in the video only suits the track as it thrusts through its brief runtime.

Two minutes. You’ve got two minutes.

Enjoy:

Blackoutt, “Empty-M” official video premiere

Blackoutt is a four-member instrumental grunge stoner rock band from Slovenia who, with its uncompromising riffs and psychedelic guitars, has been paving the way for other Slovene stoner bands on the club and festival scene, both at home and abroad for many years.

Blackoutt are releasing a brand new album called MADMAN, coming out Fall 2020. The release is is the final piece of a trilogy called “BEHIND THE CULTURE OF MADMAN”.

A music video of the track EMPTY-M is dropping out today and it’s definitely nearer to punk rock than dark stoner grunge sounds as we are used to hearing from them in the past. Remember: listen to it with the speakers at full blast!

The album is loaded with crushingly heavy riffs, noise and experimental parts. It tells a story of unrest and unease in the band’s trademark grunge/punk style. Although the end of a trilogy the band is far from done. We’ll be hearing more from them sooner rather than later, they say. But for now let’s dive into the foggy atmospheres, drug addiction stories and suicidal tendencies of MADMAN.

The album was recorded at the Studio Trainstation Kranj and mixed in UK by James Atkinson. MADMAN will be released in Fall 2020 with the support from Rocket Panda Management.

In 2013, the band released its debut album BEHIND, demonstrating decisive development in the band’s trademark atmospheric direction, which is even more clearly expressed on the second album THE CULTURE OF, which has been released in 2018.

BLACKOUTT is:
Klemen Cepar – guitar
Andrea Abbrescia – guitar
Luka Kralj – bass
Tomaž Cepar – drums

Blackoutt, The Culture Of (2018)

Blackoutt on Thee Facebooks

Blackoutt on Instagram

Blackoutt on Bandcamp