Glasgow duo Lucid Sins — joined in the cause by a host of friends and collaborators — release their third album, Dancing in the Dark, this week through Totem Cat Records. Deeply informed by classic progressive rock, with more than a flash of Canterbury folk in “Sanctuary Stone” but a broad enough scope that when the two-piece of multi-instrumentalists Andreas Jönsson (lead vocals, guitar bass, organ, synth) and Ruaraidh Sanachan (backing vocals) jam out with returning collaborator Stuart Coleman on sax at the end of closer “Catch the Wild,” indeed they seem to have done just that, but more to the point it’s not out of place. The record begins with “Jack of Diamonds” and within two minutes is basking in dappled sunshine through leaves of classic, organic melody.
Through the entirety of its 10 songs and 37 minutes — which you can and probably should hear premiering on the player below — Lucid Sins‘ Dancing in the Dark unfurls (sometimes not) subtle breadth and craft a sound that’s heavy at its root but that can grow expansive enough to account for the harpsichord of “In the Woods (The Drifter),” which follows the storytelling of “Jack of Diamonds” with an outright promotion of a naturalist ethos; the character of The Drifter is, you guessed it, in the woods. “Some call him crazy and some call him weird/But his is a life without burden or fear/So spare him your pity, for he carries no shame/And who is the lord of his own domain if not he who lives free as the wind and the rain?” And the lines in the fadeout, “In the woods/Life is good,” reinforce the message. Still light-touch and ’70s warm in tone, “The Dance” blends acoustic and electric guitar, leaving room for handclap flourish in its shuffle, lush vocals over top, and the party continues in “Take Me With You,” which brings Dunbarrow‘s Espen Anderson in for a duet and Coleman again on organ.
Shifts in arrangement and guests coming and going are part of the personality of Dancing in the Dark, but by no means are they the substance of it. The above-quoted lyrics from “In the Woods (The Drifter)” lay out a position and perspective against modernity, and the aesthetic follows through on that, but somehow Lucid Sins aren’t retro. Production might have something to do with that, but what they seem to envision across Dancing in the Dark is a malleable heavy folk, inherently progressive rather than consciously showy in terms of technique, and in “Take Me With You” they push about as far into rhythmic urgency as they’ll go, and it’s not so much that it’s faster than “The Dance” just before — “The Dance,” by the way, is the best gothic post-punk boogie I’ve ever heard from an ostensibly psychedelic folk-prog Scottish two-piece; admittedly not a lot of competition, and yes, that’s a compliment — which makes it exceptionally well positioned to lead into the soft guitar harmonies and all-in folk cultism of presumed side A capper “Sanctuary Stone.”
Multi-media artist and experimentalist Hanna Tuulikki contributes the first of two guest vocal spots to “Sanctuary Stone,” taking on the lead role with backing from Jönsson to mark Dancing in the Dark‘s turning point. On the most basic, superficial level, at this point the listener has had “The Dance,” and side B will bring “A Call in the Dark” to fulfill the title’s promise. While remaining consistent in tone — in other words, it’s still the same record — Lucid Sins lean into proto-doom through “A Call in the Dark” while nonetheless bouncing almost maddeningly through repetitions of “A call in the dark/A call in the darkness” like some woodland satyr about to cast a spell to make your face fall off.
A brooding, creeping riff matches the lyrical narrative, and the song almost seems to be teasing as it moves through the catchy-if-intentionally-disorienting hook. Though it has plenty of stops as it loops around, “A Call in the Dark” gives over to the organ melancholy and watery verse vocals of “The Toll,” a quiet dirge that rises in the chorus and recedes again from there. “The Toll” is the shortest cut on Dancing in the Dark at 2:55, and one can’t help but wonder if we’re meeting the same character from “In the Woods (The Drifter),” whose potential unceremonious end is marked by, yes, a bell, and the final lines, “He’s frozen and his eyes are turning blind/He starts to stumble and he falls/The final words that no one will recall/Now lying still without the strength to crawl.”
It’s not a minor jump from there to the handclaps in the second half of “From the Bough,” but side B centerpiece is a masterclass in how to sound angular without being inaccessible, proto-doom in form and progressive in construction. With shades of some of earlier Hexvessel‘s stately delivery and folkish base, organ or synth runs alongside the guitar and gives some melodic shimmer to the distortion, mixed for complement rather than contrast. When that song — which is kind of a dance, if we’re being honest — finishes, the penultimate “The Raven’s Eye” marks the return of Tuulikki, this time sharing a duet with Jönsson over a languid procession of contemplative heavy folk. With the relative blowout still to come in “Catch the Wild,” Lucid Sins can afford to really dig into “The Raven’s Eye,” and they seem to do just that, with what starts as a richly arranged waltz shifting toward chime-inclusive soothing psych-rock. They drop out for a last verse, Jönsson alone at first, then with Tuulikki and organ as they gently let go.
As they have been all along, the band remains clever, classy and thoughtful in “Catch the Wild,” setting out with an acoustic/electric guitar blend and cycles through medieval-ish intro twists before smoothing out and suggesting someone open a window. Like in “From the Bough,” there’s tension in the groove of “Catch the Wild” pulling the listener forward through the measures of the verse, and there’s a chorus that takes hold just once before they’re into the instrumental ending, sax and all, but the entire five-minute span (the longest inclusion here) is about the linear trajectory more than anything, and Lucid Sins seem to be finding their way back to the bit of swagger in “Jack of Diamonds” as they wrap “Catch the Wild.” Fitting somehow for the record to follow a full-circle trajectory as so much of it feels rounded at the edges and it derives the bulk of its heaviness not from tonal manipulation, but atmosphere, then mood, and yes, the lyrics throughout, which should be considered an essential facet of engaging the whole of Dancing in the Dark‘s almost counterintuitively vibrant realization. The album is gorgeous the way moss on wood can be art.
Please enjoy:
LUCID SINS “Dancing In The Dark” Out October 27th on Totem Cat Records
The story goes as follows… You stumble through the forest. Alone and far from home. All paths have returned you to this place. Lost in a world of green. Hidden in the dark. As the light fades you glimpse flickering flame and catch the scent of smoke. In a tiny clearing, shadows cast by a dying fire take human-esque forms. Leaning in for warmth, they share ten tales of hope and betrayal, magic and madness, love and death. Whispered words mingle with distant memories, and as the fire grows higher, your sense of self is scorched and burned. One by one now, the figures begin to dance and spin as occult psychedelic sounds drift through the trees. Caught in the maelstrom, suspended high in a swirling mesh of leaves and perception, you release your grip on space and time… On the forest floor, stirred by dawn, you try to make sense of the mist within your mind. To recall where you have been. To know who you once were. Around a glowing fire, deep in the woods, LUCID SINS are Dancing In The Dark… Will you dance with them?
TRACKLIST: 1. Jack Of Diamonds 2. In The Woods (The Drifter) 3. The Dance 4. Take Me With You 5. Sanctuary Stone 6. A Call In The Dark 7. The Toll 8. From The Bough 9. The Raven’s Eye 10. Catch The Wild
LUCID SINS on “Dancing in the Dark” Andreas Jönsson – Vocals, guitars, bass, organ, synthesizer Ruaraidh Sanachan – Drums, bass, percussion, organ, mellotron, recorder, backing vocals
with guests Espen Andersen, Vocals (track 3) Stuart Coleman, Hammond Organ (track 3) Hanna Tuulikki, Vocals (tracks 5 & 9) Alex Ward, Clarinet (track 10) +++ Cover art by David V. D’Andrea
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 26th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
No public audio yet to share around still more than three months ahead of the Feb. 2 release, but heads up on Troy the Band‘s psych-stoner-doom roll on Cataclysm. The London four-piece made their presence known with 2022’s The Blissful Unknown EP (review here), and answer the promise of that short release with six new tracks of dense aural foam, a sound that’s as must post-now as back-when, a psychedelia that’s able to be loaded with weighted grit or float with a Dead Meadowy lightness, but wherever they go, they’re headed farther out. I’m just listening for the first time, but for the first external band signed by Bonebag Records, the Swedish imprint run by members of Cavern Deep, they seem to have hit on a gem.
Lumbering, drifting, shoving in “IHOD” which stands for who knows what and expansive in its approach throughout, Cataclysm will no doubt have preorders and all that as we get closer to its arrival. I’m not sure if I can personally consider a record ‘most anticipated’ when I’ve heard it, but I’ve started my albums-to-look-forward-to-in-2024 list, and Troy the Band‘s first LP is on it either way. So again, heads up.
The PR wire brought word:
Troy The Band – “Cataclysm” out February 2nd
Cataclysm, the debut full-length album from London-based Doom-gaze four-piece Troy The Band, will be released on Sweden’s Bonebag Records on February 2nd 2024. Since the release of their debut EP, The Blissful Unknown, Troy The Band have become mainstays in the London heavy music scene, with a list of accolades in 2023 that includes appearances at Desertfest London, Masters of the Riff, and Stoomfest, as well as a craft beer collaboration with East London’s Old Street Brewery.
With Cataclysm the band have taken the most unique elements of their debut EP and forged them into an album that blends elements of Stoner-Doom, Post Rock, Shoegaze and Heavy Psych. Cataclysm is dark, heavy, and identifiably their own.
For this album the band went back to work with Wayne Adams at Bear Bites Horse studio in East London. From the band’s point of view, this was a no-brainer: “We knew we wanted to work with Wayne again on this album. He’s great to work with and he had an important hand in shaping the sound of our EP. We knew he would get what we were trying to do with this album, and we really couldn’t be happier with how it has turned out.”
Each track is built from a sturdy foundation of Sean Durbin’s bass riffs which are then overlaid with Sean Burn’s distinctive guitar playing and Craig Newman’s unique and ethereal vocal style, adding layers of harmonic complexity and tension that is a defining feature of their sound.
The album title is derived from the name the band gave the initial demo of the title track, driven by its musically jarring feel rather than its lyrical content. It was then self-consciously adopted as the album title to reflect their aim of causing a musical upheaval in the heavy music scene. We believe it will.
Posted in Questionnaire on October 25th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Helena Goldberg of Akris
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
What I do on a daily basis currently encompasses a pretty broad range within a personal, musical and community leadership spectrum. I’m a single mom of a 9 year old girl. I own a music school, and get to teach piano, voice, composition and theory, serve as CEO and co-founder of Green Sloth Records, a student led nonprofit record label, perform as pianist for The Main Street Chamber Orchestra, and served on the executive board of Berryville Main Street since June 2023, a branch of the larger National Main Street organization whose ideals of bringing small town communities together by promoting teamwork through events, programs and initiatives align with so many of my fundamental underlying themes in my music itself.
Striving to be an example of a strong female role model to my young daughter, teaching music, being able to continue playing classical piano with an orchestra and my Dad conducting, and moving my nonprofit in the direction of larger community activism projects — these are things that truly fill my life.
However, “what I do” would be nothing without Akris.
To define it for myself today, it is my spirituality. It is my church- it connects me to something ancient inside me. It helps me put one foot in front of the other on days when nothing else can.
Performing with Akris is when I am able to enter a transcendental meditation state. I do wade through fields of emotion when I’m there performing- usually I am sucked up out of my body into the roof or ceiling of the room watching. There are many times I am not actually seeing the room I’m performing in at all but seeing a place at the bottom of the deepest part of the ocean. There seem to be ancient ruins there and very tall shadowy figures. I know they love me and they’ve been with me my whole life.
I am able to express and feel my own personal pain, grief, and absolute excruciating, bone crushing loss but then I find through the music itself the presence of actual beings who I have had experiences with in real life, in visions and in dreams. They are there, in the room, brought down with me during an Akris set and it’s then that I know it’s all going to be ok in the end.
How I came to do it? You were THERE right at that time JJ! There I was, fresh out of the Manhattan School of Music conservatory and I started jamming with Viveca Butler while living in NYC around 2006. At the time, this first incarnation of Akris was called Aquila – because of the uncanny coincidence of our matching swooping bird tattoos and matching dreams about these possible other dimensional beings- the constellation “Aquila” which means swooping bird was a logical choice.
I have to stop myself here though and ask for a second how did it come to pass that I went from practicing 6-8 hours/day in a classical competition piano course at one of the top schools in the world, receiving my degree in classical composition, to playing bass and developing a band so influenced by the heavy music genre, and I have to give credit where credit is due to someone who I really owe these beginning moments of inspiration to.
It’s been extremely difficult for me to talk about until now because of the nature of the circumstances surrounding our relationship, his sudden rise to extreme fame and our subsequent break up which was and still is to this day one of the hardest things I have ever had to cope with in my life.
Truly my first bass teacher, I’ll go ahead and say the love of my life at least up to this point and longest relationship I’ve ever had was with James Richardson of MGMT, whom I met when we were classmates at MSM, dated and shared a home and a dog with during all my years of living in NYC.
He was the one who introduced me to heavy sound, first through multiple sans amps of which I’ve used like 5 through the years. He’s the one who got me my first EHX bass microsynth, something that truly defined my early sound.
As an 18 year old involved in the world of classical music only- he was the one that played me Babes in Toylands “Fontanelle” for the first time and completely blew my mind apart.
I learned bass on his Rickenbacker, thunkin out lines to Dead Meadow and 13th Floor Elevator songs. I had never even listened to Led Zepplin or Black Sabbath before him. He truly opened that door for me into the world of heavy music for the first time.
When I started jamming with Viveca he enthusiastically encouraged us to go in the direction of being a loud, heavy bass and drums two piece – around this time Big Business released “Here comes the Waterworks” and I remember listening to this and having long talks with James about it being such an inspiration for vocals and bass tone.
MGMT was just starting to blow up in Brooklyn at that time around 2006/2007 and Aquila even played several “secret” shows at Glasslands with them and the other buzzy band of that time Chairlift.
This was around the time I was obsessing for the first time with the entire Melvins discography, Karp, Bretwaldas of the Heathen Doom,… . and then “Blood Mountain” by Mastodon came out. I poured through all of Mastodon’s earlier releases at that point and knew I was finding a way for what I truly wanted for our sound.
We went to the Mastodon/Neurosis show at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple — hoping to meet the Mastodon guys we hung around backstage and ended up becoming fast best friends with Ben Teeter and Chad Davis from US Christmas, who were in the band at that time and opening that show.
They invited us to come play in Hickory NC and those first tours down south introduced us to other extremely inspiring musicians and bands as we met and shared the stage with Joel and Chris from Subrig Destroyer/demonaut, Sea of Bones, Armazilla, Weedeater, Rat Babies. These bands from the southeast, throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee were always so incredibly kind, impacted Akris’s sound tremendously, were there and still are there for me — and I’m so lucky to still call them and so many more from those early times friends to this day.
Describe your first musical memory.
I was 3 or 4, and my older brother had started taking piano lessons ahead of me. Both of my parents are classical musicians, and decided my brother and I would take piano as part of our education until we graduated high school.
They signed my brother up with the most feared (still to this day) chain smoking, piano studio competition winning teacher in the Northern Virginia area.
I remember my brother being scared s-less going up to her piano with his beginner book and opening it up, and playing something with a picture of a cat.
I was so little I had to jump down off my chair but I definitely ran over and bombed their lesson to play the cat song and see the picture- luckily I didn’t get in too much punitive trouble but I did start lessons the following week. definitely influenced how I teach piano today especially to little kids and being aware of how much a visual like that can link to a musical memory!
Describe your best musical memory to date.
I have to give an honorable mention, maybe it’s cheating but its right up there-
– Anytime I get to play with my Dads orchestra it’s extremely special and rare. This is for several reasons- one being that as a pianist, we just don’t have the opportunity to play with an orchestra as much as other orchestral instruments do. Playing amidst an orchestra is just straight up THRILLING. Add to the mix my Dad, who was Leonard Bernstein’s assistant conductor in the ’70s and had a regular weekly spot at Carnegie hall with his orchestra, The Endymion Ensemble, is the conductor- it’s such an incredible experience because I get to spend the time with him, observe what an awesome leader he is as a conductor of that many people, and learn from him about these great works of music
However I think the winner for me of the best musical memory to date was probably recording the Akris self titled album at Chris Kozlowski’s Polar Bear Lair with Sam Lohman on drums. Over the course of a couple months, several sleepovers, friends like Ron “Fezz” McGuinness, Dave Sherman, Scott Nussman and the legendary Steve McKay coming in for guest recording appearances, Chris and Sam helped capture a piece of my literal heart and soul.
I was and still am crushed by Chris Kozlowski’s passing. From the time I first started having recording experiences with this band until today I have never worked with an engineer who seemed to care about, and GET… . ME, my sound, and my music like Chris did on that album.
Not only that but in re-studying the album again this past year to prepare to develop several sets of these older songs, I realized the intricacies and genius of Sam Lohman’s drumming style. The fact that it is nuanced by his jazz and noise influence, bringing in elements of the same energy evident and needed to support groups like Acid Mothers Temple and Hawkwind, while still being directly supportive and intertwined with the bass makes this such an extremely special album and the best musical experience of my life.
Sam is now spending more time in Japan with his daughter which is wonderful- we have been in communication about continuing to play together in some capacity in the future, which I truly hope for. I also hope that, while I may never meet another sound artist like Chris Kozlowski, that I can find an engineer someday that is kind, respectful, and truly cares as much as he did.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
This past year Akris went through a major lineup change and speed bump in the release of a project that has been about 13 years in the works- “Wake the Sleeping Village”. You may remember having released the prequel song and music video to this in “Brown”- Akris had a plan at that time to record the music that had already been written by 2015 for WTSV, shoot the sequel short film and release the work as a concept album with a fully illustrated storybook.
Instead, “Your Mantis” was released, comprised of older Akris songs and a few shorter ones written in 2015, which unfortunately can no longer be found online anywhere that I am aware of. The members of Akris who were playing drums and guitar from 2015-Feb 2023 stated to me that I was to take down all materials involving them, refrain from naming them, and to disregard this would result in legal action.
The WTSV album actually initially had been recorded with this lineup by a studio engineer in Baltimore in February of 2020. An artist was also hired around this time to begin work on the storybook, which shifted into a prospective comic book.
I still have so much love for these individuals who were my friends and bandmates for SO long. However ultimately, there were choices that were made starting from around this time and worsening with extreme isolation in the pandemic that has culminated in quite simply, currently, one of the worst depressions I may have ever dealt with in my life.
Telling these longtime friends I didn’t want to play with them anymore, and knowing that we had a product ready to be released, was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my entire life. However I knew that the sound of the album felt, synesthetically, like disrespecting myself. And while I have GREAT appreciation for the comic book artist, he was chosen by my previous bandmates and it was again made clear to me in our last conversations that I would need to find another artist for the project to avoid legal repercussions.
Jason Fletcher (Gradius) stepped in on drums to play several shows with Akris temporarily over the spring and summer while a short North Carolina tour was booked in October but my depression continued to worsen as thoughts of giving up started to ring out louder in my head.
One day pretty recently my brother called.
I think he may have caught wind that I’d been having a harder time than usual lately with depression and anxiety..
I love my brother and I know he was offering me a way out. Just, a logical, rational minded human beings take on this stage in my life.
He said “ You know, Helena… .you don’t HAVE to do Akris … you CAN just … let it go? You’ve got a lot going on right now with the school and the nonprofit and Mary, maybe just let it go and you’ll feel better.”
Up until that second- I had been considering just letting it go. More than ever. Letting EVERYTHING go. Just big old, total complete give up on music. Just be a mom and that’s it, throw in the towel on life, I’m done.
But… I found myself saying… “actually… I think I would… NOT feel better if I gave up Akris. I think actually I NEED Akris. To FUNCTION.”
Somehow it miraculously worked out within the next few hours of that conversation for Zak Suleri (Foehammer, Et Mors) to be able to do the October tour with Akris.
This short mini North Carolina tour is not in support of a new recording or release. It’s a homecoming. It became clear to me the moment my brother verbalized the option of giving up, that I couldn’t.
As long as some venue will let me have a stage somewhere, and as long as someone will beat two sticks on something with me I now know – I may have those thoughts again, and those difficult moments where it does seem like giving up is the easy way out. But there is something in me that has NO way out other than Akris and I just can’t survive without it.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
This question is so individualized and subjective for each person. Generally I feel that it leads to an understanding that you will always have new opportunities for learning and progressing further.
This does relate in a way to my own personal take on what artistic progression has been like for me; it’s been an unraveling rather than an enlightening process.
My artistic progression has led me to the brink of absolute no return and when there are no other options and no other ways forward I realize progress doesn’t even matter. It’s just simply having the ability to listen, feel and look for the sounds that exist inside me, or are being given to me from a spiritual place, and then attempt to express them. Artistic progression is knowing I have to do this for the sake of myself and in my belief that I am not alone.
How do you define success?
This QUESTION JJ!
You WANT me to say happiness don’t you?? That WOULD be the thing to say wouldn’t it?
I mean, that would be nice. I guess I’ve come to the point where I’m just really thinking about relationships.
Here’s a question I’d love YOU to answer sometime JJ – how much does a band’s conventional success (like, getting to the point where you’re actually lucky enough to be getting paid something, you get to have promoted touring and play actual well attended shows) do you think depends on the good relationships and communication skill set of the band members?
[Depends entirely on the band, but that kind of broader success often requires those elements, absolutely, unless you have enough money to just do whatever you want anyhow. I’ll note that’s not necessarily my definition of success. –ed.]
I think- a LOT. How many bands can WE ALL NAME right now that we LOVED that broke up forever because of bandmate communication issues or squabbles.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot because as I move forward into a potential new Akris era I try to ask myself have I been doing things the wrong way in this regard- have I counted on bandmates too much to be more than business professional work colleagues and be more like friends? Is that appropriate and ok in a band setting? Is it needed?
I think when you’re out there in the middle of nowhere on tour in the dead of night and something goes wrong… or when you’re on stage giving it your absolute ALL cause your entire LIFE hurts and that stage is your only safe space … I think you do need a bandmate there that’s also a friend you can count on.
Success for me would be continuing to cultivate the kind of bandmate relationships where communication could be easily expressed in a constructive way, from a standpoint of kindness and support.
I think with that success, anything can be done.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
No matter what bad memory I come up with … the unwanted, or scary, or gross, or even life altering things I have SEEN that come to mind as examples… after a few moments I realize I never would take it back. I would never wish I had not seen that thing.
I DO feel certain images, if we are talking strictly visuals here. Of course- maybe the most unproductive of these examples… I can’t even write too much about cause I will literally go pass out and barf, but if I see anything too gorey, or too leg/arm choppy, it may be over for me.
“Master and Commander” for example was truly a waste of a money ticket because at that amputation scene I was a goner, barfin in the movie theater trash cans, passing out on the movie theater floor.
But even in those examples – I still learned something about myself. That’s what makes this question so hard. I don’t know if I’d wish that experience away because it helped me learn something about me.
Any bad example I thought of here was like this. Some of the most pivotal moments in my life, where if I hadn’t seen something, maybe there would have been a more lucrative outcome- i realize there’s always a sacrifice of something from my present life that might have been lost.
Truly one of those, every bad moment leads you to where you are today, kind of scenarios.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
Akris’s next multimedia release, Wake the Sleeping Village. Even though this music was written almost 9 years ago and I’m dying to write and release NEW new material- I feel like I can’t until this is released. It’s just the next part of the Akris storyline and there’s something in me that really has to keep things chronological.
The 12-14 panel storyboard, illustration notes and film outline (and the actual dream I had in 2011) begin with the robed travelers picking up where they left off in the “Brown” video and traveling through an undefined eternal landscape of time. They eventually come to a wide open field with mountains in the distance – a tiger that fills the sky suddenly appears over the mountain range and the travelers know this is their purpose.
They help each other fly up into the mouth of the tiger, discovering an inner world within. Eventually they come out upon a mountain ridge to discover a village buried in snow- as they make their way down, they are invited in by a sleepy villager and reveal a surprising twist that wakes the entire village.
One major theme of the album aligns directly with the passion I have always felt about touring specifically through small town communities. It’s been my intention to include a letter to the reader within this book stating that if they live in one of these communities, particularly one that is underserved, to reach out to Akris and we will work towards putting their town on our future tour list.
I have mentioned synesthesia a couple times already here and this project is extremely synesthetic for me. This is one of the reasons why I ultimately, physically, could not support the release of materials that had been completed as of February 2023. There are visual artists who absolutely align with the sound and feel of this work for me, and my hope is to work with my friend and California based artist Skillit (Sean McEleny).
This project will be a multimedia release marketed not as Akris’s next album of music, but as a Story Book with Music and short film.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
After having taught the methodology for answering this question for almost two decades; thinking about this, meditating on it, researching it scientifically and spiritually my entire life; the best answer I can give is that I think art functions to help us as human beings express emotion — whatever that may mean subjectively to the individual.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
My nonprofit organization is in the middle of approvals process meetings for a monument recognizing the 4,735 formerly enslaved individuals (according to the 1860 census) in Clarke County VA that never received acknowledgment for their lives.
I heard about this shocking statistic while listening to a speech given by a dear friend of mine, civil rights pioneer Dorothy Davis, at the Juneteenth celebration this past year. I have gotten to know Dorothy and the rest of the congregation at St Mary’s Episcopal Church very well over the past 3 years of being the pianist and music director there- it’s an extremely historic African American church located here in Berryville.
My students actually raised close to $2,000 over the course of their summer program for the cause and presented before the Board of Supervisors- since then I established a Descendants Committee to make decisions about the prospective monument, and we now have about 12 representatives from different areas of the county.
The initiative has now passed the first three approvals meetings and is on its way to being presented before the Bishop of the Episcopalian Diocese of Virginia (this is due to the vote by descendants of location choice being on St. Mary’s church grounds). They have delegated myself and Dorothy to represent the committee in Fredericksburg before the Bishop after which time it will go before the Architectural Review Board.
It’s crazy to me that this had never happened in 160 years and I am VERY much looking forward to the ongoing process- even though we have already met with some extremely difficult opposition, the fact that it’s got momentum is absolutely groundbreaking.
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 25th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Been trying to post this for a few days, or maybe it was just the weekend and that’s how long things take me on Saturdays and Sundays by now, but here we are at last. Desert Suns have a new record coming and a new song up from that record in a video. It’s rockin’. Pretty simple story, actually. Have to wonder what’s taken me so god damned long.
I’ve been sick a couple times this Fall — The Pecan beginning kindergarten has opened up a whole universe of malevolent biology, it would seem — including now. I’m writing from bed, where a large-sounding vehicle outside just woke me up and it’s now two hours since I wrote the sentence before this one. So here I go taking even longer with this stuff. You know what? I’d better finish before I get derailed again.
Check out Desert Suns calling themselves “one of the original Ripple bands.” Funny because in my head that label is still new 11 years later. Ha. They’ve got a new lineup since then anyhow, as you’ll see.
From someplace or other, who can remember:
Fata Morgana, the new single by Desert Suns
“Fata Morgana” is the first single we just released on Oct 13th to help promote our upcoming album. We also created a new video for “Fata Morgana”. Desert Suns has been around since 2014 and was one of the original Ripple bands. In 2020-21, Desert Suns had a bit of a line up change adding Lucas Fisher on guitar and Jason Busiek on vocals. We are looking forward to unleashing the new album with the input of the new members resulting in a bluesy, psychedelic, stoner rock sound.
We have not completely confirmed the exact date for the new album, but with the holidays coming up, we were planning on releasing in the Jan/Feb timeframe. We are also going to release a live album as well with some of the older and new tunes just to breathe new life into the catalog with the new lineup.
Music Recorded & Mixed by AJ Belluto Mastered by Jason Busiek
Desert Suns: AJ Belluto – Guitar Lucas Fisher – Guitar Gabe Fonseca – Bass Ben McDowell – Drums Jason Busiek – Vocals
This Friday, New Jersey-based heavy rockers Ego Planet will issue their self-titled debut through Argonauta Records. The band took kind of a roundabout path to existence — as you can read below, the songs on Ego Planet began life as solo demos by Chris Baker, who plays guitar and bass on the album; vocalist Jarrett Mead lived in Seattle, etc. — but you’d hardly know any of that from the music. Comprised in its vinyl edition of 10 songs that run 38 minutes — the LP has two bonus tracks; the hook of “Dead Man’s Float” is enough on its own to justify shelling out for the whole record but thankfully isn’t close to being on its own making the argument — Ego Planet engages classic structures and rock songwriting forms while interpreting them through big, accessible hooks and a style that borders on the commercial.
Now, when I say commercial, there’s a bit to unpack, particularly as relates to Ego Planet. Where a lot of modern heavy plays atmospherics through effects or synth or just noise off of verses, choruses, bridges, and so on, perhaps in intros or outros or breaks; it becomes a distinct thing within a whole work. The ambient parts. Ego Planet have some of that as well, at the beginning of opener “Swallow the Sun” to immerse the listener at the outset, or as a preface to the tense metal chug of “Entertainment” — the acoustic start of “Order of the Tree,” but even the openness of the verse in the two-minute “Leviathan” holds depth in its sound en route to its even-bigger-hook ending, and Ego Planet use that space effectively in changing the mood and character of their songs without indulgences. The album is sharp and professional in a way that many heavy rock records are not interested in being, and Ego Planet‘s drawing from ’80s metal in cuts like “Entertainment,” “Butcher’s Blade” and the first of the bonus tracks “T.H.E.N.” brings that much more personality to the deftly set course through grunge and heavier styles that show up in the songs.
But “commercial” as regards heavy rock and roll doesn’t exist. There’s no MTV to shoot for, no radio play. Chasing streams and cynically manipulating algorithms feels lesser in scale than “The Call” and “Reflection,” which round out the opening salvo after “Swallow the Sun” — presumably not about the Finnish band, but you never know — impact-swings to its cold finish. Among the messages conveyed in those first three songs before “Entertainment” and “Butcher’s Blade” start roughing up the place is the focus on songwriting throughout, but performance meets that on every level across the span, whether it’s Steve Iannettoni‘s drums declaring the apex of the leadoff or maximizing the roll in the already-noted chorus of “Dead Man’s Float” or Mead‘s harmonizing there. And that remains true as Ego Planet explore the post-grunge hard rock of “Faceless Children” with hints of Dehumanizer-style Iommism in the riff of its verse, following up in the chorus of the subsequent “Order of the Tree” with a metal-informed largesse that’s not aggressive in the delivery and defined in no small part by its likewise expanse of melody.
They’re more than flirting with heavy metal here, and that’s not a negative judgment by any means. Without tipping over into outright anger in the presentation, Ego Planet find and successfully manipulate a balance of elements that makes their self-titled feel even less like a debut and even more professional. Some bands just know what they’re going for at the outset. As “T.H.E.N.” bases itself around a sharper, defined chug en route to its chorus, it seems to be working toward a big finish and bounces its groove with extra stops in the second half, but if it hasn’t gotten across yet, it’s “Dead Man’s Float” that delivers on that promise, with Lo-Pan soul, Alice in Chains breadth and a roll that makes its four-minute runtime feel short. It is the kind of track that rings in your head afterward, and so is impeccably placed.
And if you didn’t know, this is the part where I generalize that last statement to Ego Planet as a whole, because while “Dead Man’s Float” has that memorability and is positioned to highlight it, the awareness on the band’s part of the moves they’re making here resonate with intention. I don’t know where Ego Planet see themselves going in terms of sound — there are hints dropped in a few progressive twists, and I’ll just mention that they haven’t actually thrashed out at this point and they wouldn’t necessarily be out of line if they did next time — but moving forward from such an expertly-crafted first LP, they’ll be in that much better position to continue to push themselves as they audibly do here.
That’s it, kids. Album streams below, followed by the preorder link and PR wire info. Hail Garden State heavy.
Ego Planet is a Heavy Rock band based in New Jersey, formed in 2020 from a collection of instrumental demos founder, Chris Baker, wrote in the midst of the Covid-19 quarantine.
After several months of writing, Chris partnered up with vocalist/lyricist, Jarrett Mead, to add a voice to his music. The two collaborated to finish 10 songs remotely while Jarrett was living in Seattle, WA. In January of 2021 recording began at Backroom Studios in Rockaway, NJ with owner/engineer Kevin Antreassian. The studio band features Jarrett Mead (Vocals), Chris Baker (Guitars/Bass) and Steve Iannettoni (Drums).
TRACKLISTING: 1. Swallow The Sun 2. The Call 3. Reflection 4. Entertainment 5. Butcher’s Blade 6. Leviathan 7. Faceless Children 8. Order Of The Tree 9. T.H.E.N. (Vinyl Bonus Track) 10. Dead Man’s Float (Vinyl Bonus Track)
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 25th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
I like that Edena Gardens basically go, “Yeah, maybe this’ll be the last record or maybe not.” If I’d already put out a self-titled debut (review here) and the follow-up, Agar (review here) and put together a third LP for release — that’s Dens, out Dec. 1 as per the headline above — between 2022 and 2023, I might be somewhat cautious too. If they’re thinking of these three records as a trilogy — they might want to rename the first one Eden for subsequent pressings if they’re using the four-letter-words-from-the-band’s-name as a uniting theme — that’s fine, but they’ve already also done a live album (review here), so they’re not necessarily limited by anything other than what they themselves impose.
Dens is the third Edena Gardens LP. If it’s the last one, well, the collaborative outfit formed by Jakob Skøtt (drums) and Martin Rude (baritone and bass guitar) of Causa Sui and Papir guitarist Nicklas Sørensen didn’t owe anyone anything when they started and they certainly don’t now. If it’s not the last one, and maybe a fourth surfaces sometime in the vast unknowable future, be it six months, six years or whatever, I have no doubt the explorations will continue to resonate as they have through their efforts to-date.
“Veil” in the video below comes from Agar. I haven’t found any a/v from Dens yet but I’m sure both that and preorders are coming. El Paraiso Records knows what’s up, so keep an eye out.
From the PR wire:
Edena Gardens: Dens
Members of Papir & Causa Sui finalise Edena Gardens trilogy.
Formats: CD/LP (600 copies) / Digital Download Release date: December 1st, 2023
True to El Paraiso fashion, Dens concludes a trilogy of albums, aptly spelling out the last third of the group’s name. And true to form, the band turns inwards rather than outwards, drawing on deep shades of ambient, slowcore, and the ghost of Mark Hollis. While maintaining their psychedelic edge, the trio weaves the lines between genres in a way that’s becoming a signature of its own. Never in a hurry, but always moving somewhere.
Causa Sui drummer Jakob Skøtt & Martin Rude’s bass and baritone guitar lay out a robust yet fleeting foundation. Papir’s Nicklas Sørensen’s glistening guitar lines never felt more free and explorative. While The Durutti Column tribute Vini’s Lament is drenched in nostalgia, a cut like Morgensol (Morning Sun in Danish) explodes in Popol Vuh-esque gloomy euphoria.
Engineered by Jonas Munk & produced by Jakob Skøtt, the album culls hours of free improvisation into a coherent size. Seamless edits and studio wizardry enhance the feeling of an almost narrative nature as the album progresses. Invoking anything from a crackling campfire, rattling bones, and the singing of sand dunes. The culmination lies in the 14-minute track Sienita. A fully formed blistering improvisation, abandoning any studio trickery, besides a singly dubbed organ, rising and falling like the tide.
Is Dens the final chapter of Edena Gardens? Who knows, and who cares… Edena Gardens is all about the present anyway.
Portland heavy rockers Robots of the Ancient World will release their second album for Small Stone Records, 3737, on Nov. 17. The five-piece issued their first record for the label, Mystic Goddess (review here), in 2021, and have gone from tracking with Jack Endino to producing themselves with Billy Anderson as an engineer, so pretty clearly they’re not looking to waste time in the recording process. Their actual-debut was 2019’s Cosmic Riders, and especially considering the years between, they’ve managed productivity where others have stagnated or disappeared altogether, which is something to be commended.
As one would hope, one of the aspects carried over from Mystic Goddess to the newer six-tracker is a lack of pretense. Dudes aren’t trying to be anything other than the fuzz-toned weirdos they are, and with the returning lineup of vocalist Caleb Weidenbach, guitarists Nico Schmutz and Justin Laubscher, bassist Trevor Berecek and drummer Harry Silvers (now also in Hippie Death Cult), that particular brand of quirk is all the more identifiable as the band swings, sways and swaggers toward and through the organ-laced culmination of 10-minute apex finale “Silver Cloud,” which ends the procession with all due ceremony without losing sight of the fact that even in those last moments, they’re headed somewhere.
Lest you doubt their stonerly bona fides, “Hindu Kush” leads off with a rising buzz of amp noise that becomes the riff — feedback still there until the crash-in — and proceeds to unveil the roll. Mellow, not hitting too hard and certainly not quiet, the two guitars, bass and drums leave room for Weidenbach‘s vocals, though honestly he sounds like he wouldn’t necessarily have trouble cutting through anyhow. Circa-’75 Ozzy and first-two-LPs Danzig might be touchstones there, but one way or the other, Weidenbach is the source of a lot of the attitude of 3737, and with “Hindu Kush,” the record gets a classic-feeling (those backing vocals in the chorus) fuzz rocker that leans into doom and psych in the spirit of the modern underground.
Opening catchy was clearly a priority between “Hindu Kush,” which is the shortest of the non-interludes at 4:45, and “Creature,” which follows, and after its own quiet guitar intro sweeps into full-brunt tonality chugs into its verse with subtle pace and genuinely seems to shove its chorus forward through the speakers. They throw some jabs in the bridge in the second half, and rally around that one more time after the last hook, and then they’re quickly onto the “Children of the Grave”-esque start of “Holy Ghost.” Feels like fair enough use of that chug. I’m pretty sure everyone on the planet who didn’t wishes they wrote that song.
“Holy Ghost” takes off with due thrust and a sharper edge to its riff. The guitars split in the verse, one channel chugging, the other strumming, but they align in the chorus to emphasize the message being sent about songwriting — namely that Robots of the Ancient World are on it — and find their way back with renewed vigor, Silvers in back pushing the entire thing forward. While maybe not as outwardly catchy as “Hindu Kush” or “Creature,” “Holy Ghost” pulls the listener deeper into 3737 and maintains the standard of craft, the mix of influences at work showing metallic flashes in the solo, some maybe-organ in there maybe-prefacing the closer, scorch and toms building to a head, pushing, pushing, finally crashing. Side A over.
The personality shifts somewhat as they move into “Moustache” — a love song? for a moustache? I haven’t seen lyrics, so I’m going with ‘yes’ with lines like “I miss you so bad,” and so on — and top the seven-minute mark for the first time, some of that additional minute-ish as compared to “Creature” or “Holy Ghost” no doubt due to the trippy outro that bookends with the subdued beginning. The methodology would seem to be ‘hypnotize, punch, hypnotize again’ for “Moustache,” but it’s also got a hook as the guitars wait then don’t to solo, and when it shifts back to the intro part to finish, they just kind of drop everything, which one can appreciate. “Screw it, we’re doing this now.” Right on.
Turn up the volume near the end and you can hear a TV in the penultimate acoustic interlude “Apollo,” which for sure gives a recorded-at-home vibe, whether or not it was. But while the 2:26 purposeful-meander is intended to lead into the direct-to-riff start of “Silver Cloud,” which is a crescendo even before the already-noted big finish. What might be an extra, semi-backward cymbal is worked into the mix after about two minutes in, both adding psychedelic flair and grounding the march for a few measures as a precursor to the classic-style dual soloing that Robots of the Ancient World have been apparently holding in reserve.
That looseness of swing is a misdirect — “Silver Cloud” would come apart were it not so sharply performed — but the 10:49 cut begins its build by going to ground at around four minutes in. Some Doors-y ranting in a sparsely-guitared midsection jam — somewhat ironically it’s the bass that holds it together — carries them through the next stage, and then it’s all-in, all-go, where’s-the-tambourine-oh-good-I-think-it’s-in-there-somewhere until the last strains of keys fade out. In 37 minutes, 3737 has come farther than it might at-first seem, and the level of control and balance in Robots of the Ancient World‘s approach makes difficult moments in songcraft sound easy.
Being their third album overall, one expects a certain level of realization to take place. It’s reasonable to think that nearly five years after their first record, the band collectively has an idea of their sound and what they want their songs to do. If that’s not the case, and the actual-math of 3737 is these dudes rolled out of bed and these jams just magically happened, well, I’m glad someone got it on a hard drive because that’s a pretty special moment right there. But more likely is this material has been worked on and thought through, and in that, the organic nature of its presentation is doubly striking.
“Holy Ghost” premieres on the player below, and more info follows from the PR wire.
Please enjoy:
Portland psychedelic stoner doom outfit ROBOTS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD will release their 3737 full-length via Small Stone Recordings on November 17th.
ROBOTS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD released their Mystic Goddess full-length in 2021. The high-octane recording offered up a hallucinatory sound excursion through a wide range of styles that kept listeners engaged while never losing focus or sacrificing flow.
Two years later, the band is back and more potent than ever. With the assistance of renowned engineer, Billy Anderson, ROBOTS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD delivers a relentless rock ‘n’ roll album spanning thirty-seven minutes and thirty-seven seconds. But the title is more than just the duration of the recording, and the band took notice of the number’s significance. There exists a theory in numerology that guardian angels attempt to communicate through divine numbers – specifically the repetition in numbers, and this one specifically is to remind us that, “magic and manifestation are knocking at your door,” and that, “you are about to attract your inner most desires.” Emerging from the pandemic and coping with the loss of loved ones, heartache, and mental anguish, the band decided to harness this energy and pour it into 3737.
As a result, we are left with an album rich with addictively heavy riffing complemented by pummeling drums, groovy bass lines, and Caleb Weidenbach’s raw and commanding vocals. ROBOTS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD intended to deliver something meaningful, not only to the band but to the world. 3737 is the answer.
3737 was written and recorded by the band, mastered by Justin Weis, and comes wrapped in the cover art of Zaiusart.
The record will be released on CD and digital formats via Small Stone Recordings and on limited edition vinyl by Kozmik Artifactz. For preorders, visit THIS LOCATION: https://smallstone.bandcamp.com/album/3737
3737 Track Listing: 1. Hindu Kush 2. Creature 3. Holy Ghost 4. Moustache 5. Apollo 6. Silver Cloud
ROBOTS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD: Caleb Weidenbach – vocals Nico Schmutz – guitar Justin Laubscher – guitar Trevor Berecek – bass Harry Silvers – drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 24th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
You might remember that long-running Cali sludgecore aggressors -(16)- played the Heavy Psych Sounds Festin San Francisco and Los Angeles in 2022. The Italian label, festival organizer and booking company has now sent word that it will handle booking for the band as they look toward a round of 2024 European touring. I’ll be in Europe next summer, reportedly. Maybe I’ll go see them in Budapest if they get there.
Fair enough. What’s here today is barely news compared to, say, announcing that tour, but the basic truth here is I want to listen to 16. That’s absolutely, 100 percent why this post is here complete with 16‘s longform bio (you’ll note it’s in the present tense as it goes through their later albums on Relapse; no, I didn’t write it). And I feel no need to hide the fact that I just want to hear a thing. 30 years on from their first album, 16 are not only still a pissed-off powerhouse, but they’re both heavier and broader in sound. Last year’s Into Dust (review here) is the stuff of misery-obliterating catharsis, and I don’t know about you, but I’d go for a bit of that this morning, afternoon, whatever time it is where you are.
Needing a copy edit aside — look woh’s talking — the band’s bio does well in telling the tumultuous story of this tumultuous sound and the shape it’s taken over the better part of the last 15 years since the band returned with 2009’s Bridges to Burn, which I can’t believe I haven’t had yet as a Friday Full-Length. On the list it goes. Into Dust‘s pummel is doing ever so nicely in the meantime. “The Floor Wins.”
Use your anger to smash your anger. What’s left? Who are you without it?
From the PR wire:
*** -16- *** The sludge metal legends are now part of the Heavy Psych Sounds booking roster
We are so stoked to announce that the sludge metal riffers -16- are now part of the Heavy Psych Sounds booking roster !!!
The band will tour Europe in July/August 2024 !!
BIOGRAPHY
SoCal sludge stalwarts -(16)- are among the most consistent and most underrated purveyors of the heavy riff. The band was formed in Santa Ana, Ca. by Bobby Ferry (guitar), Cris Jerue (vocals), and Jason Corley (drums) in 1991, and was later joined by bassist Tony Baumeister in 1993. The band’s debut 7″, Doorprize, was recorded at the end of 1991, and was shortly followed by their first full-length album, Curves That Kick (released in 1993 on legendary artist Pushead’s label Bacteria Sour). Working with Pushead enabled the band to have the album released in Japan and gave them the opportunity to tour Japan, which happened in the summer of 1994. Soon after, the band performed select live dates with Slayer, the Melvins, Unsane, and Jawbreaker. -(16)-‘s follow-up record Drop Out was released by Pessimiser/Theologian records in 1996 to critical acclaim, which the band followed with a series of local and semi-local performances.
Jason Corley was ejected from the band at the end of 1994, and was replaced by Andy Hassler. Phil Vera was also added as a second guitarist. The band released Blaze of Incompetence in 1997 (again on Pessimiser/Theologian), and completed a US tour with Grief in 1998. Andy Hassler was fired shortly after the tour. R.D. Davies replaced Andy, but he overdosed on heroin 6 months later and was replaced by Mark Sanger. The band’s next album, Zoloft Smile, was recorded in 1999/2000, but wasn’t released until 2002 via At A Loss Recordings. By the time the album was actually released, Bobby and Tony had both quit the band. The rest of the guys carried on, while Phil Vera remained as the band’s lone guitar player. Phil then took over vocal duties in 2003 after Cris was forced to go to rehab for alcohol and drug dependency. -(16)- toured the US and Japan as a three-piece (Phil, Mark, and Rafa) before calling it quits in 2004.
The band couldn’t fight its love for heavy music, though, and reunited in 2007 with a lineup consisting of Bobby, Cris, Jason, and Tony. -(16)- subsequently inked a record deal with renowned label Relapse Records and released their Relapse debut Bridges to Burn in Jan. 2009. The band parted ways with Jason Corley yet again (notice a pattern?), and recruited Mateo Pinkerton (ex Buzzov-en, Crom) as their new drummer. In early 2012 they released the album Deep Cuts from Dark Clouds via Relapse to widespread critical acclaim. Deep Cuts was followed by an eastern US with labelmates Tombs and still more lineup changes: in 2013 Dion Thurman joined as the band’s new drummer, and Barney Firks entered the ranks on bass. In support of Bridges to Burn and Deep Cuts, -(16)- have toured Europe twice, even appearing at major festivals such as Hellfest in France and Roadburn in The Netherlands. Additionally, the band has performed at US festivals Day of the Shred and Southwest Terror Fest and has shared the stage with a wide range of artists, from Neurosis, Nails, Indian, and Inter Arma to Noothgrush, Graves at Sea, ASG, and dozens of others.
In 2016, -(16)- return with their 7th full-length album Lifespan Of A Moth, the band’s heaviest, darkest, and most complex material to date! Self-produced by the band and recorded with Jeff Forrest (Cattle Decapitation, The Locust) at Doubletime Recording Studio in San Diego, CA, Lifespan Of A Moth saw the band sounding uglier, rawer and more visceral than ever. Down-tuned feedback-driven riffs and bludgeoning rhythms violently clash with vocalist Chris Jerue’s distorted, tortured howls across eight tracks of -(16)-‘s signature blend of hardcore punk, thrash and sludge. Lifespan Of A Moth is the sound of a band that has spent 25 years wallowing in addiction and anguish, and will leave you feeling crushed and confronted by the negativity of existence. Despite constant lineup changes and internal turmoil, -(16)- have persevered.
Fast forward to 2020 and -(16)- return with their new album, Dream Squasher. A testament to the power of loss, every moment of Dream Squasher casts the now San Diego based band into new, deeper depths. “A conscious effort was made to inject positivity into the lyrical themes,” guitarist and lead vocalist Bobby Ferry explains. “The best we could come up with is loving your dog so much, you’d end up killing yourself if the dog dies.”
The tragic, violent intent in this expression won’t be lost on listeners either; at any given moment of Dream Squasher, -(16)-‘s bouldering guitars crash into one another, set atop equally pulverizing bass and drums. Thunderous riffs express equal parts melancholy and fury. For the first time in the band’s 29-year career, Dream Squasher sees Bobby Ferry stepping forward and taking the helm on lead vocals, rounding out the band with both monumental moments of singing and pained screams of pure vitriol. From standout tracks like “Candy in Spanish”, to bruisers like “Agora (Killed by a Mountain Lion)” and the mountainous melodies of “Sadlands”, Dream Squasher proves to be -(16)-‘s return to form – where riffs dominate and anger reigns supreme.
Now in 2022, -(16)- return with their heaviest and most devastating record to date, Into Dust. The new album, a collection of cautionary tales of survival and redemption, is set to an amalgamation of sludge, punk, metal, hardcore, and stoner riffs, that could only be built through 30 years of commitment to their dark sonic craft, which -(16)- continues to improve upon. From the frantic opening of “Misfortune Teller” to the undeniable pounding and swagger of “Scrape the Rocks”, Into Dust lives up to its name, as -(16)- beat the listener into submission through the lowest of ends and the sour, palpable malaise prevalent throughout the album’s dozen tracks.
“There’s a story arc in the lyrics that start with an eviction notice served amid the ruins of Hurricane Irma in the Florida Keys, to running aground metaphorically and drowning in midlife, bearing witness to the modern suffering of hunger and poverty on the Mexico California border,” guitarist and vocalist Bobby Ferry says. The negativity persists on tracks aptly titled “Null and Eternal Void”, and the dizzying, pill-induced “The Floor Wins”. Elsewhere, “Born on a Bar Stool” sends the listener off with a sobering album closer; ending on a foggy and rainy jazz-tinged San Francisco night, with an anti-drinking drinking song, proclaiming “Raise your glass all things pass”.
– 16 – is: Bobby Ferry: Guitar, Vocals Alex Shuster: Lead Guitar Barney Firks: Bass Dion Thurman: Drums
through repetitions of “A call in the dark/A call in the darkness” like some woodland satyr about to cast a spell to make your face fall off.
