Baltimore heavy prairie rockers Lathe release their debut album, Tongue of Silver, July 29 on Grimoire Records and Apt. 66 Records. “Vinegar,” which is the opening track premiering below, begins the record with an immediate Americana wistfulness of pedal steel and electric guitar, the trio of Tyler Davis, Eric Paltell and Flynn Diguardia working to convey an emotional presence as well as to gather spaces for their tones to inhabit. Instrumental for the duration, the eight-song/36-minute offering is outwardly heavy at times in a way that some other acts of this ilk don’t dare to be, but the vibe is maintained, both throughout “Vinegar” and what follows as “Drain” finds a midtempo roll, “Heat Wave” taps more countrified sounds ahead of “Rodeo Fumes” channeling rockabilly gallop before a noisy blowout leads to the sub-two-minute harsh noise interlude “351W” reminding of something The Body or Primitive Man would try to hurt you with — plus pedal steel. Meantime, “Cauliflower” honors that most noble of vegetables by diving into blues guitar via Earth‘s Hex: Or Printing in the Infernal Method for a different kind of drone, the six-minute penultimate “Journey to the East” seems to find water at last and closer “Morris” brings thicker tones and a less Western-tinged spirit on the whole, swelling in volume for Tongue of Silver‘s last march into residual amplifier hum, organ notes and feedback.

What was I talking about again?

Oh yeah. Paltell, Davis and Diguardia recorded with the esteemed Noel Mueller at Tiny Castle, whose one-stop-shop as an engineer, mixer and label continues to cross genres with ease and no dip in quality. To wit, Tongue of Silver is one of few Grimoire Releases to come this year, but it adds something that even the once-instrumental Cavern didn’t bring to the roster with its deep focus on atmospherics and the subtleties that inhabit therein. If we’re picking favorites, I might go with “Journey to the East” for the quiet urgency of the tempo in its bassline and the volume shift in guitar at around two minutes in, but the entirety that surrounds is evocative and feels like it’s telling a story, whether that’s the languid drawl of guitar in the midsection of “Heat Wave” — remember, Baltimore is humid in summer — before it breaks to tambourine-punctuated minimalism or “Morris” adding more than just a touch of Euro-doom style melancholy to the record’s final apex, something surprising but even more surprising for how out of character it doesn’t actually feel.

Which is to say, it works without pulling too far away from the world Tongue of Silver has worked diligently to create up to that point. It gives the ending that follows a sorrowful tinge, but especially with this being the trio’s first full-length, it seems fair to grant that they’re looking to set up future avenues of growth either consciously or not, and in terms of identity, that last track stands out as one of Tongue of Silver‘s most individualized. I won’t try to predict how their sound might develop over time, but that they put enough depth into this outing to make one curious in the first place says something.

This was supposed to be an album announcement, not a review, but screw it, here we are. Little bit of everything. “Vinegar” is streaming on the player below — or will be at some point soon; private Bandcamp embeds are hard — and you’ll find it duly immersive and transportive as you go. Keep your mind open, maybe close your eyes if you’re not driving or whathaveyou.

That album announcement follows, courtesy of the PR wire. Because there’s only one new song out as of now, I’ve also included Lathe‘s 2021 Cavalier EP at the bottom of the post should you be up for digging further.

Enjoy:

Baltimore, Maryland-based instrumental Americana-inspired drone/doom trio LATHE will release their Tongue Of Silver full-length debut via Grimoire Records with Apt. 66 Records on July 29th, today unveiling the record’s track listing, cover art, and first single.

LATHE’s sound can be found somewhere between sand and rust, where sparkling leads and pedal steel are met with blistering riffs and a pummeling rhythm section. Tongue Of Silver is a collection of songs that began as a studio project in 2018. After countless revisions and setbacks, a pile of demos were brought to producer and Grimoire Records owner Noel Mueller for a proper studio assessment throughout 2021. Now, nearly four years since most of these songs were initially composed, they are finally completed and pressed to vinyl!

Across its eight engrossing tracks, Tongue Of Silver seamlessly blends elements of doom, country, punk, swing, and black metal into a heavy wall-of-sound. A hearty array of instruments familiar to the spaghetti western landscape — organ, tambourine, and pedal steel to name a few — significantly alter the common tropes of stoner music. While each song has an independent story to tell, they are unified as a whole through driving bass lines and persistent percussion. This aesthetic comes to total fruition on “Rodeo Fumes,” as the d-beat track featuring field recordings of a monster truck rally climaxes into a full-on wave of distortion that drones into the dark oblivion of “351W.”

Tongue Of Silver will be released on limited edition 12″ vinyl and digitally. Find preorders at THIS LOCATION: https://grimoirerecords.bandcamp.com/album/tongue-of-silver

Fans of Earth, Sunn O))), David Lynch, Grails, Ennio Morricone, and the like, pay heed.

Tongue Of Silver Track Listing:
1. Vinegar
2. Drain
3. Heat Wave
4. Rodeo Fumes
5. 351W
6. Cauliflower
7. Journey To The East
8. Morris

Tongue Of Silver is the third vinyl release for LATHE. Their first, a 7” titled APT66 Split, was a distant collaboration with George Cessna after he moved away from Baltimore. LATHE’s second 7”, Cavalier, presented the band for the first time as a trio and was mixed by Matt Williams of Hell and Sub Odin Studios. As with those prior releases, Tongue Of Silver combines pieces of classic country twang with a roaring wall of amps; a fitting soundtrack to a demolition derby.

LATHE:
Tyler Davis – guitars, bass, organ
Eric Paltell – pedal steel, guitars
Flynn Diguardia – drums

http://www.facebook.com/lathe66
http://lathe.bandcamp.com

http://www.grimoirerecords.com
http://grimoirerecords.bandcamp.com
http://twitter.com/grimoiremetal
http://www.facebook.com/GrimoireRecords
http://www.instagram.com/grimoirerecords

https://www.apt66.com/

Lathe, Cavalier (2021)

Tags: Apt. 66 Records, Baltimore, Grimoire Records, Lathe, Lathe Tongue of Silver, Maryland, Tongue of Silver

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 9th, 2022 at 9:13 am and is filed under audiObelisk, Reviews, Whathaveyou. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.