Six years and a rhythm section later, Cloud Catcher are back with a third full-length, Return From the Cauldron released on their own Cauldron Audio Works imprint. The follow-up to 2017’s Trails of Kozmic Dust (review here) arrives three years after the Denver trio offered their split with alter-ego outfit Tricoma, Royal Flush Sessions Vol. I (review here), which makes it four since founding guitarist/vocalist Rory Rummings dismantled the band in 2019 after canceling a tour and an EP The Whip. Rummings ended up revamping Cloud Catcher, with Matt Ross on bass and Will Trafas on drums, and Return From the Cauldron is the first long-player from this version of the three-piece.

The consistency of songcraft, then, and of Cloud Catcher‘s stylistic niche between classic heavy rock, proto-metal boogie and NWOBHM — not to say the whole album is all three at the same time all the time, but “Wield the Blade” certainly is and it still nods at Black Heaven-era Earthless — one might credit to Rummings as a principal songwriter. Certainly to go back to “Visions” from Trails of Kozmic Dust and put it next to some of the boogie on Return From the Cauldron, the style is recognizable.

Though never quite as willfully dizzying as The Atomic Bitchwax, Cloud Catcher are no strangers to making heads spin, and they do so across the first half of Return From the Cauldron while also finding themselves dug into a sludgier-rocking vibe, the verses of “I Am the Storm” calling to mind Backwoods Payback or early Alabama Thunderpussy as “Burning Might” will again soon enough, which the hot-shit noodling and Sabbath-blues shoftshoe of “Boundless Journey” only echo, Rummings‘ solo casting space outward from the cyclical riffs. Also consistent with the last album is a studio sound, by which I mean they have one.

I won’t claim to know Cloud Catcher‘s ethic as regards attempting to capture live energy in a recording. For sure they don’t sound like they’re trying to make it boring, but whether or not they’re specifically geared toward conveying stage-sound on record, I’ve no idea. But they use the studio space. You can hear the separation of the instruments in “Gemini’s Ascent,” the echoing layers of lead guitar taking off around the barebones psych expanse after two minutes in, room left for verse and flute alike. Fleet as “Wield the Blade” and “Wretched Moon” are, there’s nothing about them to muddy the clarity of their impression.

This is a mature Cloud Catcher. They are cognizant of what their songs are doing and how they relate to each other, the double-kick of “Wretched Moon” and motorshove of “Magician’s Chariot,” for example. And while there are parts that can and do sound raw, whether that’s the bassy fuzz of “Burning Might” or the chase in the guitar and bass after two and a half minutes into the closing title-track, that suits the band’s style, which is impressive enough in technique if not overly technical in what is being played.

But the amalgam of nod and thrust, within the earlier tracks (side A) leaning toward the lumber and in the back end delving deeper into the metallurgics of the thrashy “Wield the Blade” and “Wretched Moon,” which gallops later and crunches like ’90s doom in its first verses, drums building in intensity in the latter like they’re ending the album, even though that doesn’t actually happen for another eight minutes or so with “Return From the Cauldron,” with its creeper and obscure-samples intro and ensuing janga-janga chug, a slower-developing riff than many here that leads to plenty of gallop later. But if Cloud Catcher are going to take their time anywhere, the closer is the place to do it, and their patience is rewarding in the central groove and the twisting payoff alike.

I would love to go on about the band’s accomplishments a decade on from their start, but I’m sick. I can’t keep my eyes open and can’t keep food or water in me and I need to go to bed, now. But please don’t take that as a slight against Cloud Catcher or their achievements in this material, the efforts on Rummings‘ part to find and gel with a new bassist and drummer, and the resulting righteousness of the songs. That I managed to be upright at all to talk about them should be seen as a sign of respect for their work.

You can hear the entirety of Return From the Cauldron on the player below, followed by tour dates and whatnot off the PR wire.

Please enjoy:

CLOUD CATCHER has toured the US several times, including one run with Earthless and an appearance at Psycho Vegas 2017. The power trio has also had the pleasure of sharing the stage with the likes of such stoner/doom luminaries as Dead Meadow, The Obsessed, Danava, Acid King, Lecherous Gaze, and Pike Vs The Automaton. The band is set to embark on a West Coast tour in the Fall in support of Return From The Cauldron. See all confirmed dates below.

CLOUD CATCHER – Live From The Cauldron Tour 2023:
9/30/2023 Hi-Dive – Denver, CO * Return From The Cauldron Record Release Show
10/06/2023 TBA – Fort Collins, CO
10/07/2023 Ernie November Record Store – Cheyenne, WY
10/12/2023 Aces High Saloon – Salt Lake City, UT
10/13/2023 Artifice – Las Vegas, NV
10/14/2023 Poor House – Oceanside, CA
10/15/2023 Knucklehead – Hollywood, CA
10/16/2023 Cocktail Lounge – Ventura, CA
10/17/2023 Thee Stork Club – Oakland, CA
10/18/2023 Cafe Colonial – Sacramento, CA
10/20/2023 High Watermark – Portland, OR
10/21/2023 The Shredder – Boise, ID

CLOUD CATCHER:
Rory Rummings – guitars, vocals
Matt Ross – bass
Will Trafas – drums

Cloud Catcher on Facebook

Cloud Catcher on Instagram

Cloud Catcher on Bandcamp

Cloud Catcher website

Hurst, Texas-based ambient/psych experimentalist solo-outfit Slow Draw will release The Mystic Crib on Nov. 10. The project of multi-instrumentalist Mark Kitchens, also known for his work on drums in Stone Machine Electric, has issued a handful-plus of full-lengths and singles, etc., over the last six years, but the 11-song/56-minute collection stands out in sound and purpose, Kitchens honing a style that finds root between stonerjazz, mellow desert, acid funk, krautrock, quietpsych and ambient prog, and it’s never quite doing the same thing twice from song to song, even if it wants you to think it is.

Fair enough. As they invariably would be, Earth are a touchstone here, in “The Mystic Crib” (premiering below) and its album-closing companion-piece “Return From the Mystic Crib,” and in the shimmering cymbal splash of “I See Her,” but Slow Draw is too satisfying a project to stick to one kind of weird. “Daily Jacuzzi Weekly” puts some old funk in the keys and some dub in the drums and is still sad — call that a Grails influence, no less for its intangibility — a fitting precursor to the later loopmaking in “Soggy Chips.” “Funeral Kabob” digs with heart into a Brant Bjork-style groove, while “Legitimate Wizard” and “Embroidered Waistcoasts” mark out more psychedelic pathways, the sample-laced “Milk Carton Complex” adding urgency in its guitar turnarounds that one could liken to King Buffalo as well as Sonic Youth (a comparison drawn below). There are far fewer wrong answers when the sound is encompassing.

Whether that’s coming through in the drums and synth of centerpiece “Sons of the Culinary Arts” or the swirling guitar effects of the subsequent “Invisible Entities Stealing Thunder,” Kitchens sets up his pieces as finished works but does not completely depart the impulsiveness that would seem to have sparked their creation in the first place. That might be a guitar line, a keyboard line. But it’s there and it’s usually something, some foundational sound Kitchens chases down until it becomes a song. It’s the guitar on both “I See Her” and “Milk Carton Complex,” but in two different ways. The vague Sgt. Pepper reference happening in the organ or whatever that is on “Embroidered Waistcoats.” Slow Draw‘s experiments are not unconsidered, or un-built — very pointedly, these are songs with identities derived from their respective sounds — but they have that underlying aspect just the same.

One might argue that makes Slow Draw less predictable, and I’d agree with that, but that extends outside this standalone release. What Kitchens might do next with the project is anyone’s best guess, but with a stated goal that seems to have been based on atmosphere, The Mystic Crib delivers on that promise in a big way and makes even its shorter cuts feel immersive.

Please enjoy “The Mystic Crib” premiering below, followed by more word from Kitchens and the PR wire:

Slow Draw, “The Mystic Crib” video premiere

For the videos I make, they are usually based on a spur of the moment idea similar to how the music is created. The use of the masks only came up because the Mrs had ordered these for one of her art projects, but she didn’t like the masks once they arrived in the mail. So I decided to paint them all instead of sending them back. I was only going to make a few, but ended up spending a few weeks painting them all. There are about 16 total, but I don’t think all of them made it into the video. I wore a full black-out bodysuit under them to hide behind so that the masks stood out and people wouldn’t get distracted by my beady, squinty eyes or any glare off my head. I hope the “mystic” part comes through in the video, as that was the main purpose.

As for the album The Mystic Crib, I wouldn’t say I had a theme in mind as much as I just wanted the album to set a consistent vibe. That’s also the reason the song, The Mystic Crib, is split into bookend tracks on the album. I want listeners to feel like they enter into the album and it carries them through and then it lets them know the journey has come to an end. Hopefully it is the kind of journey they want to embark on again, or at least use it as background music to a chill evening or something like that. All the songs on this album use titles I’ve been collecting over the years. I have a list of “band names” or album titles that I keep on my phone. So, I just went through the list as I listened back to the recordings and named them with titles that just seemed to fit. Not like I need 50 different bands just because I came up with a cool name. There are a couple that are not from that list, one of them being Daily Jacuzzi Weekly. I saw that on the bottom of one of those letter board signs at a motel and thought it was funny because it made no sense.

Slow Draw departs from the noisy ambient improvised pieces and journeys into The Mystic Crib with a structured vibe described as a mishmash of Sonic Youth with the psychedelic side of The Beatles. There is a distinct tonal setting for this work. It provides an ambient groove meant to for one to lose themselves to, or just to simply have floating in the background to calm the mind as one goes about their day.

Tracklisting:
1. Into the Mystic Crib
2. Funeral Kabob
3. Daily Jacuzzi Weekly
4. I See Her
5. Legitimate Wizard
6. Sons of the Culinary Arts
7. Invisible Entities Stealing Thunder
8. Embroidered Waistcoats
9. Milk Carton Complex
10. Soggy Chips
11. Return From The Mystic Crib

Slow Draw, The Mystic Crib (2023)

Slow Draw on Facebook

Slow Draw on Instagram

Slow Draw on Bandcamp

Slow Draw website

This past weekend was Ripplefest Texas, and I gotta say, even having gone to a fest last friggin’ week, I was looking hard at that lineup and thinking to myself it’d be awfully nice to see a whole bunch of West Coast acts I don’t normally see. Maybe next year.

Wait, who’s thinking about next year when the festival is barely done? They are. Ripplefest Texas 2024 is bringing over Dozer and Mars Red Sky — oh I hope they tour together — and will have The Skull-offshoot Legions of Doom, Boston’s Gozu, The Heavy Eyes, High Desert Queen, Bone Church, Blue Heron, Demons My Friends and, as you might guess looking at the packed lineup that was assembled for this year’s event, many more to come.

Honestly, you had me at either Dozer or Mars Red Sky, but the appeal here goes well beyond those, and in a US festival sphere reeling without a major summer event or two this year it’s gotten pretty used to having around, Ripplefest seems to be stepping in at least to give the heavy rock end of the underground somewhere to flourish. I’ll be interested to see in the next two or three years how it will continue to grow, but also just for next year. I’d imagine there’s a whole bunch of people who’ve already made their travel plans to get to Austin. Can’t say I really blame you.

More to come as we get closer to a year from now, obviously, but they’re throwing down. Pretty sure those earlybird tickets are gone:

DATES AND FIRST BANDS ANNOUNCED FOR NEXT YEAR!

DOZER
LEGIONS OF DOOM
MARS RED SKY
GOZU
THE HEAVY EYES
HIGH DESERT QUEEN
BONE CHURCH
BLUE HERON
DEMONS MY FRIENDS

and many many more!

Only 100 Early bird tickets available so get yours now!
www.lickofmyspoon.com

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

https://www.facebook.com/LOMSProductions
https://www.instagram.com/LOMSProductions/
http://www.lickofmyspoon.com/
https://linktr.ee/Lickofmyspoon

Dozer, “Rising” live at Desertfest Berlin 2023

Over the weekend, UK melodic heavy prog rockers Elephant Tree put out word that guitarist/vocalist Jack Townley was having medical complications after a severe accident earlier this year and that as a result they’d be canceling all upcoming live activity for now. That’s a bummer of a reason not to play a show, a festival, anything, but of course, one wishes Townley continued success in his recovery. As to what happened to Shaman Elephant, I’m not sure, but fair enough.

Lowrider will take that lineup spot. You might recall the Swedish four-piece got you through the pandemic with 2020’s Refractions (review here) album, their first long-player in 20 years and a celebration worthy of that time. Again, it’s not a trade you want to be making in the first place, especially under the circumstances with Elephant Tree, but if you’re getting Lowrider out, at least you know things will be okay. And there’s always 2024 for Elephant Tree. And me.

One endeavors to keep these things in perspective:

HØSTSABBAT 2023 – Lowrider

Yes, there is absolutely NO reason to weep because of last night’s cancellations. Just look to the east, and what do you see? Sweden.

Can you believe we only have one Swedish band on the lineup so far?

Far too few for an anniversary addition of Høstsabbat!

Lowrider is most likely familiar to most of you, as they have been a quintessential force in the European stoner scene for what feels like ages, and rightfully so.

Bursting into the scene with a split with Nebula back in 1999 already, these guys have never looked back. They are a classic example of what continuous grinding will do to a band. They never lean on previous endeavours, but continue to expand their sonic palette with every release, and it has been a true joy to follow them over the years. Their visit to church feels way overdue.

Lowrider never disappoint, and is a live beast well worthy of the recognition they have gained. Airy compositions combined with progressive structures, killer riffs, and of course an always present monster groove makes them one of the bands not to be missed this year. And the vocals also need to be mentioned. They have an ethereal quality, almost like a velvet roof in a Mustang.

As you know, our love for all those Swedish bands has been a pivotal part of making Høstsabbat what it is today. It feels both right and great to keep that tradition alive moving forward.

We are humbled and stoked to welcome Lowrider to our Church of Riffs!

TICKETS
https://bit.ly/HS-festivalticket23

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST
https://spoti.fi/3tkuMZl

NEWSLETTER
https://bit.ly/HostsabbatNews

https://www.facebook.com/hostsabbat/
https://www.instagram.com/hostsabbat/
http://hostsabbat.no/

Høstsabbat Spotify Playlist

Twenty years ago, Relapse Records had a distro booth at the Palladium in Worcester for the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival. Coincidentally, the fest was held last weekend in roughly the same spot (it’s outdoors now). Fair enough. Relapse‘s booth was inside, as were both stages in what was apparently 2003. I was walking through from the larger downstairs area to the upstairs stage — I don’t remember whom I was seeing just then, but I know I definitely saw Stampin’ Ground up there one time, and I’m pretty sure Brand New Sin played up there at one point — and passed by the large banner and the table that had vinyl and CDs (more of the latter then) arranged in boxes with some flat on the table for display.

Amorphis‘ Chapters was one of those out. A CD and DVD with music videos — that was a big deal then — it was released in 2003 to some murmurings about an anniversary. I dug the band a lot, had seen them in Worcester a few years earlier, and it caught my eye, but it was like $20 and I know for a fact didn’t have $20 in 2003. I don’t have $20 now. And I don’t think they were taking cards at merch tables two decades ago, so I left it on the table and went about my business in the mildewy upstairs of the Palladium.

I’d return to Relapse distros many times over the subsequent years at various events — not to mention their record store, glorious as that was, in Philadelphia — and never saw another copy of Chapters in-person, there or anywhere else. It went out of print quickly, all parties seeming to silently agree that it was for the best, and languished on my Amazon wishlist basically since. I won’t say I was on some Odyssean quest to find it, scouring the earth in its many nooks and hithers and yons, but it became something of a regret of the early century in my head that I didn’t manage to make that purchase. That I let that one go.

Found it the other day on Discogs. Six bucks, plus six bucks shipping. It’s in great shape.

Since the package came in — it’s in a jewel case and just brims with turn-of-the-century thickness in its plastic; the guilt-free excesses of a world that didn’t understand how mad it had gone — I’ve been through it a couple times and I’ve tried to place it as well in the band’s history. The thing is, if Chapters was supposed to be an anniversary thing, it was off. Begun as a cavernous death metal act informed by their native Finnish folklore and eventually, by then, progressed into a melodic heavy/hard rock act with plenty enough of that metal left over to give them some edge, Amorphis marked their 10th anniversary in 2000, and their first long-player, The Karelian Isthmus, came out in 1992.

Plus — and here’s the one that’s had my eyebrow up lo these many years — Amorphis released their Story – 10th Anniversary comp in 2000, so if Chapters was somehow intended to complement that, which doesn’t seem unreasonable on its face given the two titles, the fact that it came three years later is puzzling (I’d thought it was earlier). DVDs had ‘chapters.’ Was that why they called it that? Rest assured, I continue to have no idea.

On the most basic level, it could just have been contract fulfillment, I guess. In 2003, Amorphis released Far From the Sun (highlighted by the bonus acoustic version of its title-track) as their first non-Relapse offering, through Nuclear Blast. Certainly possible they owed their former label a release and the CD/DVD was where they landed. However they go there, the audio disc is packed. In addition to the bonus tracks “Too Much to See,” a highlight of the special edition of 2001’s Am Universum (discussed here) and “Northern Lights” from the recordings of 1999’s Tuonela (discussed here), it’s got a whopping 17 songs total, culled from the band’s first decade of releases.

And in addition to any revisit to this era of Amorphis‘ catalog (and other eras as well) bringing renewed appreciation for the complexity of their arrangements, from flutes and instrumentation that helped them become credited as early practitioners of folk metal — which they never really were, but they influenced the mindset with their lyrics culled from the Kalevala, the national poem of Finland, and some of their transposed-onto-death-metal groove — the layeres melodies of the vocals as heard on Chapters resonate with depth. As they would. At this point in their history, Amorphis were fronted by Pasi Koskinen (also Ajattara, ex-Mannhai), who took over on lead vocals for 1996’s Elegy and helped make that one of the band’s most crucial landmarks. As frontman through the aforementioned Far From the Sun, Koskinen‘s contributions aren’t to be understated and the malleability of his voice to work from harsh to clean played a large role in the band’s overarching progression. He set the model that Amorphis would follow with subsequent singer Tomi Joutsen, who is about to enter his 20th year with them and is their longest-tenured vocalist.

But whether one listens to Chapters or Story, or just to the albums themselves, that progression is the narrative. It’s just presented differently, and something I appreciate about Chapters as opposed to Story is that our presents Amorphis‘ growth in reverse order such that the then-newest material, which was the Am Universum and Tuonela stuff, is up front, and the listener can trace back from there, through Tales From the Thousand Lakes, not all the way to 1991’s Disment of Soul demo, but at least to the raw first record that was built out therefrom.

And while it’s true their sound has settled from the radical shifts it presented in the decade covered by Chapters (and the earlier compilation), they continue to grow. Now signed to Nuclear Blast offshoot Atomic Fire, they oversaw a series of catalog reissues last year and put out their 14th studio LP, Halo (review here), and undertaking an ongoing full touring cycle to support. Just yesterday they released a live video for “Wrong Direction” from an upcoming third live record, Queen of Time (Live at Tavastia 2021), out on Oct. 13. They have a Fall tour in Europe lined up (of course), were in Japan earlier this month, toured the States last year, tour Finland in December and already have fests lined up for 2024, including Summer Breeze in Brazil next April. So yes, very much active.

I usually say when I write about Amorphis that they’re one of a few acts I write about to zero response, and I suspect that this being a silly contract-fulfillment comp from 20 years ago that I once passed up won’t help that. But you should know that I bought this CD with money from Obelisk merch and that I appreciate the support that let that happen.

Thank you for that, and thank you for reading. As always, I hope you enjoy.

—

Week was proceeding. Monday and Tuesday were recovery from Desertfest New York last weekend. Then it was just digging into the rest and getting through. Yesterday the first of what I expect will be a lifetime’s supply of emails from The Pecan’s school came in, this one from the principal asking what the hell we can possibly do with this kid who puts her fist in other kids’ faces, hits the aide in the classroom and, on Wednesday, bit her teacher. That one took the wind out of our sails a bit. She’s doing all her academic work, which is a thing upon which one might hang some kind of hat, but everything else is hard. Very much a challenge.

I told the principal I didn’t have an easy answer but reminded him as well that before the year we had a whole series of meetings on how to handle her and this was why and that the plan we agreed to at those meetings, the first of which was before last school year even ended, has yet to be put into place. We have another meeting next Friday. I expect it will be a conversation.

But it sucks to see my kid having the hard time that I think we knew she was going to have even as we parent-denial’ed ourselves into some hope otherwise. If I sound defeatist about it, I am. We have muddled through camps (until we couldn’t) and various other activities like soccer and tae kwon do, and pretty much anytime she’s somewhere with other kids her age and there’s an adult in charge, especially if she’s there more than once for longer than, say, 40 minutes, it’s going to be a problem. That’s based on past history.

But now, instead of having her own paraprofessional in class to help her stay on task and resist urges toward physical violence — biting a pregnant lady is never a good look, regardless of one’s grade level — she’s flailing, feels like a failure, and has entered a negative cycle of feeling ashamed at her behavior, scared of her surroundings and like she needs to lash out when basically any demand is put on her. I cannot properly emphasize how much the school has dropped the ball here, nor how disappointed I am in their having done so. These are legal questions and obligations.

She’s there today. Her teacher was out yesterday — one might want a day off, yes — and I don’t know what the score is today yet and won’t until we pick her up, so I exist in a nebulous zone of cluelessness, which rest assured is a big change for me. We’ve started taking her upstairs, no warning, when she hits us. It gets her to stop hitting and does nothing, apparently, to prevent the next one. Yesterday she started behavioral talk therapy in hopes of learning some strategies to cope with her brain being apparently on fire all the time, which, yes, rest assured again, is a perspective on existence I blame myself for teaching her.

Oh, and we’re getting the dog groomed like right now as I’m writing. And I taught her to spin for a treat in like three minutes the other night. And she hasn’t had an accident in the house in like two weeks. She’s a good little dog, this Tilly. Surprisingly so.

Have a great and safe weekend. Watch your head, hydrate, enjoy the emergent Fall if it’s Fall where you are. Try not to bite any pregnant ladies on your way to next Monday.

FRM.

The Obelisk Collective on Facebook

The Obelisk Radio

The Obelisk merch

After seeing their name on European festival bills for over half a decade, I finally had the chance this summer to get clued into what Israeli trio The Great Machine are all about live. And they’re all about over-the-top. Their performance at this year’s Freak Valley (review here) was little short of jaw-dropping in terms of just how much show they put on, the three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Omer Haviv, bassist/vocalist Aviran Haviv and drummer/vocalist Michael Izaky playing with full physicality and audience arrangement. You know how you go see a band and it’s like six dudes and they all play the songs and maybe it sounds cool but nobody actually even looks at the crowd? Yeah, it was basically the opposite of that.

They were out in the crowd, on top of speaker cabinets. They were jumping off the drum riser, playing at being possessed by their own riffs. It was a show, and fun in a way that few bands ever seem to let themselves be. And they came across as no less passionate or ‘dug in’ than anyone on that bill — more so than many, at least, for the obvious effort they put into the presentation.

Shows with Ruff Majik will be awesome. Those two bands will get along, I think:

THE GREAT MACHINE OCTOBER TOUR 2023

Hey friends,

we’re super happy to announce that our beloved friends from @the_greatmachine will hit the European roads again this Fall!(#128165#)

After their successful tour in May we can’t wait to finally see them live again!(#128293#)
Especially as they teaming up with @ruffmajik for many shows.(#129705#)
This is something you should definitely not miss!(#128064#)

Check out the tour dates below, grab your tickets and join the madness!(#128640#)

18.10. (DE) Berlin, Supamolly
19.10. (DE) Würzburg, Immerhin *
20.10. (DE) Buchum, Trompete *
21.10. (BE) Antwerp, Desertfest
22.10. (DE) Wiesbaden, Schlachthof *
23.10. (DE) Regensburg, Alte Mälzerei *
24.10. (DE) München, Orangehouse *
25.10. ***FREE FOR BOOKING***
26.10. (CH) Pratteln, A Day In Smoke
27.10. (DE) Freiburg, Crash *
28.10. ***FREE FOR BOOKING***
* w/ Ruff Majik

Cheers,
Your SOL-Crew

The Great Machine are:
Aviran Haviv
Omer Haviv
Michael Izaky

https://www.facebook.com/tgm11band/
https://www.instagram.com/the_greatmachine/
https://thegreatmachine1.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/noisolution
https://www.instagram.com/noisolution/
http://www.noisolution.de/

The Great Machine, Funrider (2023)

If you want to suppress a population, take away free access to information. The notion that Shameless‘ new single, “Victim of Data,” is about the high cost of data plans in the band’s native South Africa, but the truth is that issue goes right to deeper infrastructure issues. Corporate, capitalist greed, lack of investment in public goods and services — these things should be familiar to people in many places of the world.

With its punk-metal bookends repeating the title-line, swapping between pronouncing it day-ta and dah-ta, which is kind of fun, a hook is cast forth in the three-minute track with a bruiser’s subtlety. The idea here is brash. ‘Get up’ as conveyed through rhythmic urging, and with the social message underpinning, it seems clear the trio are trying to shake things up, to fight complacency, apathy. Doing so may sometimes be like throwing rocks at a mountain, but the aim is noble and every little bit counts.

And while the front and back are heavier, with a noise rock riff that reminds of Helmet circa 1991, and the visuals are suitably in-your-face, “Victim of Data” also breaks in its midsection to a stretch of dub guitar and cymbals. It soon enough circles back around to the distortion, crunch and urgent shove, but that momentary departure does a lot of work in conveying the multi-tiered style of the band, and especially as a quick sampling ahead of a to-be-revealed debut release, every little bit counts there too.

“Victim of Data” follows here, with copious PR wire background beneath.

Please enjoy:

Shameless, “Victim of Data” official video

Shameless are a trio from Soweto, South Africa, where they are one of a few rock/alternative bands. Their music is influenced by the music they grew up with, they have dubbed their sound Nkabi Rock / I Rock Yase Kasi (Assassin Rock / Rock from The Township, in isiZulu).

They describe their sound as “an extension of rock” which fuses metal, blues, kwaito, mbaqanga, isigxaxa and a smattering of jazz. On the first of September they will release the first single from their upcoming album (to be officially announced soon).

Victim of Data begins with the hook & chorus line “I am a Victim of Data!” as the band explode into action at full tempo. The song is characterised by Musa’s screeching guitars, Thabang’s intricate and groove-filled bass, and Rock’s thundering drums.

It is a multi-genre song with its roots in punk & heavy-rock, complimented by a controlled breakdown in the middle of the song which acts as a mood-setter for a manic guitar. All this is made more impressive by the fact that the band recorded the song live in a single take.

The inspiration for Victim of Data came during the pandemic’s extended lockdowns in South Africa. When the world moved online, it became very clear that lower income communities were excluded because of the cost of data which results in low internet access rates.

According to Musa “We have the most expensive data plans in the whole of Africa so when we wrote the song, we really felt victimised by the cost of information.” The result is an undeniably political statement and song; to which Musa adds “Just like when the Sex Pistols sang “God Save the Queen”.

Similarly to their sound, the recording process was far from conventional. It was done at DiscovrTV’s studios in Johannesburg with owner Julian von Plato and his team filming the sessions, and producer Hugh Davidson recording the audio. All instrument were recorded together, live, which gives the song their massive energy.

While the band felt some pressure with the cameras in and the sweat from the South African summer pouring down their faces. The band thought they were doing a warm-up take – little did they know Hugh and Julian were rolling. And just like that, in one take the song was recorded. One and done, as they say.

At the end of the recording you can hear some laughter from the band as they found out that the practice take was not for practicing, and that the song was done. The footage (of this recording session and all others for the album) will be released in various projects, music videos and BTS clips as the release-cycle continues.

“We have come a long way as a band – from not believing one bit that what we do is unique or even good, to playing 78 shows in one year” – Musa Zwane

The single is accompanied by a music video, directed by Julian von Plato and shot at DiscovrTV’s studios, it is a frantic play-through styled video with visual glitches and spasms. These visual tropes make the viewer feel like they can’t quite see the full picture – not dissimilar to the feeling many South Africans get when they are excluded from the online world because of the price of data.

The band have come a long way since their very DIY beginnings; recording their debut EP “Impicabadala” and playing every small stage or room that they could find. They have now signed an exclusive deal with von Plato’s DiscovrMe (DiscovrTV’s indie label) which is underwritten by Tic Tic Bang.

The combination of these two organisations and the producer means that three big fans of the band – Hugh Davidson, Finn MacKinnon and Julian von Plato – have stepped into management, production and label roles with the combined goal of growing Shameless’ audience both in South Africa and in international territories.

According to Musa “This year was a year of getting our shit together. We’re slowly getting there and looking forward to getting back on stage to celebrate the release of the new music.” Their first show after the release of “Victim of Data” is Boogy Central’s “That Spring Fest” at Sognage on September the 9th.

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Oh that? That’s just German good-vibes heavy rockers Daily Thompson heading out again for another two and a half weeks of touring. You know how they do.

The trio will hit up the UK this time supporting The Atomic Bitchwax — am I crazy thinking these two bands have toured together before? — and making stops through Sound of Liberation-related fests Up in Smoke in Switzerland, Keep it Low in Munich and Lazy Bones at Hamburg, where they’ll wrap the run. It’s the umpteenth tour or at least the fourth that the group have undertaken since the release last year of their God of Spinoza (review here) long-player, which they followed quickly with a live album recorded at last summer’s Freak Valley Festival (review here), titled suitably Live at Freak Valley 2022.

I may forever associate their friendly grooves with summer sunshine after seeing that set, but I have no doubt they do just fine in an autumnal context as well. And guess what? It’s more October tour dates! Who’d’ve thought?

From socials:

We`re ready when you are!

Next week the first leg of our Europe and UK tour starts and we are super happy to support The Atomic Bitchwax and play some rad festivals (every single line up rocks and we are thrilled to be part of it)

All tickets are up for sale: https://linktr.ee/tickets_dailythompson_live

These are our last shows for 2023, let`s party!

28.09. NL Nijmegen, Doornrosje*
29.09. NL Rotterdam, Baroeg*
30.09. CH Pratteln, Up In Smoke
06.10. DE München, Keep It Low
14.10. UK Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach*
15.10. UK Manchester, Rebellion*
16.10. UK Edinburgh, Bannermans*
17.10. UK Newcastle, Anarchy Brew Co*
18.10. UK Huddersfield, The Parish*
19.10. UK Milton Keynes, The Craufurd Arms*
20.10. UK Bristol, Lost Horizon*
21.10. UK London, Dingwalls*
24.10. DE Berlin, Cassiopeia*
25.10. DE Düsseldorf, Pitcher*
26.10. NL Amersfoort, Podium Fluor*
27.10. DE Fulda, Kreuz*
28.10. DE Hamburg, Lazy Bones Festival
*with TAB

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Daily Thompson, Live at Freak Valley 2022 (2022)

Daily Thompson, God of Spinoza (2022)