As evidenced by the ‘review here’ parenthetical I’m about to put behind the album’s title, I did in fact review Kadabra‘s second album, Umbra (review here), which came out last month on Heavy Psych Sounds, and you know what? I stand by that review. Maybe I was feeling a little cheeky at the time, but if you’re going to do this thing — to hone a sound that’s sharp in its execution and clever in its turns, but carries both memorable melodicism and an overarching groove — this is the way to do it. “The Serpent,” the video for which premiered sometime in the past few weeks, brings this into clearest emphasis. Songwriting is first but the performances throughout are stellar, and in the Washington trio’s skillful hands, choruses gain persona and Umbra builds an atmosphere not only through the strut of instrumental opener “White Willows” or in the organ-laced midsection of the later “Mountain Tamer” or in acoustic finale “The Serpent II,” which reprises the central melody of “The Serpent” — that clip below — and gives the record a sense of completion beyond 2021’s Ultra (review here).

“I’m at the altar/Dagger in hand” is a key line in conveying the song’s ritual-sacrifice theme. Of course, the “serpent” itself — the image — is rooted in religious dogma and aligned with malevolence. The serpent is Satan. It creeps. It bites. It poisons. Etc. The snake that, by its very nature, betrays you. On the record, “The Serpent” arrives after the volleys of “High Priestess” and “Midnight Hour” have picked up and added to the momentum coming off “White Willows,” bringing the sense of threat that “The Serpent” makes plain lyrically and fostering a similarly rich blend of thickened, doomly tones, classic heavy rock manifest via organ, rampant melodic hooks and choice riffs. Kadabra — the three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Garrett Zanol, bassist Ian Nelson and drummer Chase Howard — established this in the first record as the core of their methodology and the backdrop against which their development as a group would take place. In short, Umbra is the manifestation of that growth, both in its air-tight A side — looking at you, “High Priestess” and in the movement through “The Devil” into the pre-closer pair of longer tracks “Battle of Avalon” (7:26) and “Mountain Tamer” (8:03).

Those two are an immersion unto themselves, and Kadabra deftly draw the listener there with “The Serpent” and “The Devil” beginning a shortest-to-longest procession that will continue until the acoustic redirect of “The Serpent II” rounds out, sort of booking an album that break down to more than just one side and the other. “Battle of Avalon” is full in its movement but has dreamier stretches in its second half atop the declarative toms of Howard and some militaristic snare soon to take hold. “Mountain Tamer”  –presumably not named in honor of the Californian band but you never know — flows with an easy nod at its outset and gives an addled sway until a crescendo of layered melodic vocals on the line, “In your eyes…” and a wah-soaked solo provide the album’s peak stretch and a righteous if momentary jam as they bring it back around to that hook before the fadeout on the long-held organ note and residual rumble, some sparse aftermath noise setting up “The Serpent II” in its own place, a kind of perch, from which it looks down and folkishly recalls recent horrors.

As a matter of principle, I don’t know shit about shit. As a human being, I’m largely incapable of handling even the basic functions and interactions one needs to get through a day — yesterday I joked about getting “JOMO” tattooed across my next in olde English letters because that’s how committed to my own misery I apparently am. But I’ll tell you something else. This record has burrowed its way into my fucking head such that even after a month and a half I decided to write about Umbra again. Whatever one might think of its themes, this is one of 2023’s best heavy rock offerings. The songs are inarguable. I’m putting this year to tell you that if you haven’t heard it, you should, and to give a heads up for a third Kadabra record hopefully sometime in the next couple years, because if they take a step from here like they did from Ultra to Umbra, then everything they will have done leading to it will have been a show of potential not to be missed and instructive for bands in their wake. It ain’t a secret and it ain’t easy. Write songs.

Or, to put it another way: This is how you fucking do it.

Here’s a video from the internet. I hope you enjoy:

Kadabra, “The Serpent” official video

SAYS THE BAND:
The song “The Serpent” details the internal battle of temptation the continually rears it’s head. “The Witch” refers to somewhat of a paralysis figure the constantly holds me back from progression. The Witch is described as being defeated by the serpent aka myself. – Garrett Zanol

Music Video produced by Mothpowder Light Show !!

KADABRA is:
Garrett Zanol – Vocals/Guitar
Ian Nelson – Bass
Chase Howard – Drums

Kadabra, Umbra (2023)

Kadabra, “The Devil” official video

Kadabra, “High Priestess” visualizer

Kadabra on Instagram

Kadabra on Bandcamp

Heavy Psych Sounds on Facebook

Heavy Psych Sounds on Instagram

Heavy Psych Sounds on Bandcamp

Heavy Psych Sounds website

Look. This probably won’t be the last time today I talk about a video that came out a couple weeks back, and I know that maybe from outside, a 2022 album that did pretty well on Bandcamp and whatnot getting picked up for a vinyl release doesn’t seem like a big deal. But in the case of Fargo, North Dakota’s Gypsy Wizard Queen, I assure you it is. To be able to say someone — never mind that it’s Buddy Donner of Glory or Death Records (also Sabbath Buddy Sabbath and Great Electric Quest) as the individual in question — thinks enough of your work to get behind putting it on a 12″ platter, and then the test pressings show up at your house? I don’t care if you’ve put out 40 albums in your career — that’s a good day.

Preorders are up for the vinyl now, and the band has a video for the 10-minute languid-roll opener/longest-track “Witch Lung,” which is about as NSFW as a bunch of Hammer Horror exploitation flicks because that’s where at least most of the footage comes from. I think the lady with the skull and the knife by her breast was used by Electric Wizard at some point or other, but it’s been used by a lot of people, so maybe you’ll recognize it. In any case, if you’re at work, don’t watch the clip — and yes, it’s not new unless you’re some kind of weirdo who thinks just because something has been out for more than 48 hours it might still have relevance; and if that’s you, congrats on staying off social media — and if we’re being all the way sincere here, I don’t really like perpetuating this kind of imagery. I don’t feel like there’s much aesthetic gain at this point from slathering ’70s boobage all over your riffs, but I’m clearly in the minority there considering how many do. It’s a big universe, though, and the arc of history at least in this case bends toward inclusion, so it’s another instance where, as George Carlin reminds us, “Evolution is slow; smallpox is fast.”

Think maybe I’ll go back to bed for a bit. Link to buy the thing, the video embed and the album stream all follow here, because one likes to be thorough:

“Witch Lung” is the opening track of the Self-Titled album released in 2022

Test Press Vinyl is available now via Glory or Death Records https://gloryordeathrecords.bandcamp.com/album/gypsy-wizard-queen

“Gypsy Wizard Queen is a heavily fuzzed-out power trio hailing from the frozen tundra of Fargo, ND. The band consists of Chris Ellingson on guitar/vocals, Chad Heille on drums, and Mitch Martin on bass/vocals. Their dynamic, bluesy grooves can be found on their latest self-titled release.”

Shipping begins around November 28

Gypsy Wizard Queen are:
Chris Ellingson – Guitar/Vocals
Chad Heille – Drums
Mitch Martin – Bass

https://www.facebook.com/GypsyWizardQueen/
https://www.instagram.com/gypsywizardqueen/
https://gypsywizardqueen.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Gloryordeathrecords/
http://gloryordeathrecords.bigcartel.com/
https://gloryordeathrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.gloryordeathrecords.com/shop/

Gypsy Wizard Queen, “Witch Lung” official video

Gypsy Wizard Queen, Gypsy Wizard Queen (2022)

Athens heavy rock and rollers Diesel Cindy released their debut album, Spill the Dirt, last week through Sound Effect Records. If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere and don’t yet miss the summer, it might do the trick. Comprised of eight tracks running an unassuming 33-minutes, the record breaks into four tracks across two sides and is a smooth amalgam of desert-imported tones offered with a careening groove born out of garage rock, vocal melody over top in opener “Sons of Nothing” from guitarist Lee hinting toward Queens of the Stone Age but without much of the caricature that many Homme-style vocals end up portraying and a loosened swing and push that in “Angels” comes with a Mediterranean-folk-ish stretch filtered through scorching lead guitar — also a heaping dose of noise; two guitars between Lee and Red, while Gabriel R. holds down bass and Fivos Flat pounds away behind on drums — and a burst of a chorus near its culmination. What one learns early in Spill the Dirt is that Diesel Cindy are able to affect a change of mood in the span of three minutes without losing the listener.

It’s not the last time that message is delivered. “Seeds” opens up a bit in its verse and is casually psychedelic in the bridge with the martial undertones of space rock in the vocal cadence but a mellower crux overall at least for the most part. At 5:41, it is the longest piece on Spill the Dirt, but not by much and the ‘extra’ time compared to cuts like “Sons of Nothing” or “Angels” before it isn’t some shoehorned-in jam or radical departure from the established structure. It gets raucous enough by its finish to justify the shouts, but its more methodical tempo makes the subsequent side A capper “Bazooka Witch” feel that much more like a ’60s boogie biker party right up to its finish in psych drone and feedback. By then, both momentum and songwriting are on their side, so there’s really no stopping them as “No Truth No End” picks up at the outset of side B with a verse held back an extra measure or two and declarations of truth and lies set against more burner lead work and a subtly insistent backing strum.

Generally when one thinks of ‘headphone records’ it’s something expansive in breadth or minute in its sonic detailing. A lot of really trippy prog, etc. Diesel Cindy don’t necessarily fit with what I would usually say works well listening that way, but it does. The character in the drums and bass comes through as a backdrop for the guitars, the vocals malleable in their position in the mix, the tension in “Chieftains” at once like Talking Heads and synth-affected cosmic post-punk on its steady, rhythmically centered foundation. Tied with “Sons of Nothing” for the shortest track at 3:20, “Spill the Dirt” is the most resonant hook on the record sharing its title, as well as the full reveal of the Stooges influence that’s been a driving factor all along. It’s also something of the finale, since “The Walk” pivots to piano and turns heavy into creepy malevolent blues to round out, but fair enough for the last-minute switcheroo toward the unexpected. I don’t know that you’d say it fits, but it’s not supposed to.

And hell’s bells, I’m not about to hold a band laying claim to atmospheric territory on their first album against them, since in addition to being a kind of cool vibe in itself in a Velvet Underground-y kind of way, who knows to what it might lead. So mark it a win all around, but in terms of representing the record, the title-track appears below in a new video following up on the release date. I’m happy to be able to premiere it and I very much hope you enjoy. PR wire info follows, as you’d expect.

Have fun:

Diesel Cindy, “Spill the Dirt” video premiere

Diesel Cindy is a band of friends from Athens Greece. Them people share a common passion for a wide spectrum of fuzz sounds blended with a dry bass and old school drum sound. This sound, together with the distinctive voice of a tall angry shadow, deliver melodies inspired from favorite garage bands, mostly from the 60’s till the 90’s in a contemporary form of expression, revealing stories from the past, and whispering true tales from the present and future.

The friends, being members of other bands in the past such as One Man Drop, Vibratore Bizarro, Delightful, The Same River, Headquake, have been part of the Athenian underground scene in Greece for many years and have toured around the country several times. However, this time, they share a common project all together. The result is Diesel Cindy’s debut LP titled “Spill the Dirt”.

about the album:

recorded at AUX ‘studio’ Athens / Greece
produced by Diesel Cindy – Yiotis Paraskevaidis – Kimonas Vlachakis
engineered by Kimonas Vlachakis & Yotis Paraskevaidis
mastering at ‘Vu Productions Mastering Studio’ Piraeus / Greece by Nasos Nomikos
graphic design, coordination, photography by Peg Leg Green
front cover illustration by Dekel Hevroni

track list :
side A
1. Sons of nothing
2. Angels
3. Seeds
4. Bazooka Witch
side B
1. No truth no end
2. Chieftains
3. Spill the dirt
4. The walk

DIESEL CINDY
Members:
Lee – vocals, guitar
Red – guitar
Gabriel R – bass
Fivos Flat – drums, percussions

Diesel Cindy, Spill the Dirt (2023)

Diesel Cindy on Facebook

Diesel Cindy on Instagram

Diesel Cindy on Bandcamp

Sound Effect Records on Facebook

Sound Effect Records on Bandcamp

Sound Effect Records website

Finnish sludge extremists Lähdön Aika are set to issue their Hourevuode EP this Friday, Nov. 24. Self-released in an edition of 50 tapes and presumably infinite downloads, the 20-minute outing is a caustic crasher and basher, but is rife with atmosphere as well, basking in elements of post-metal as the eight-minute opener and longest track (immediate points) “Katelepsiapatsas” maybe layers in acoustic guitar with its electrics as it pushes closer to its finish, having emerged with a great gnashing of teeth from its ambient middle.

The weight of the tones in Akseli Kahra and Aki Heikiheimo‘s guitars and Anna Uski‘s bass aren’t to be understated, but the dynamic extends to tempos as drummer Sampo Kuisma pushes the subsequent “Kolmas Solmu” at a speedier, hardcore-informed clip while maintaining the claustrophobic distortion. There’s even a chorus, whether or not one speaks Finnish, and a break into a noisier middle, some banging-on-a-thing percussion and a building rage marking the path to the residual drone that caps.

Furious, then, but methodical too. A little flash of electronics opens the 2:27 “Houreet,” which is a stretch of ambient and gently distorted guitar, a meditation on reverb with a resonance that sounds like a happy studio accident so that’s the narrative I’m going with. Vocalist Eeli Helin (Fawn Limbs, Ditch Organ, etc.) smoothly shifts to lower-register growls for the closing redux of “Ihmisraunioita 2023,” the original track taken from the band’s 2004 self-titled debut EP, which had five songs.

“Ihmisraunioita,” the first one, was made with a different lineup and is a hardcore cruncher delivered in raw, compact form. By comparison, “Ihmisraunioita 2023” is a churning malevolent sprawl; a brutal culmination for this short outing that places emphasis on how far Lähdön Aika have come in their nearly-20-year run. They’ll likely spend at least part of 2024 celebrating that anniversary. As a herald for that, Hourevuode (“hell bed?”) rightly focuses on the now rather than the past and portrays a band in steady, consistent progression.

Along with the requisite slew of shorter outings and splits, Lähdön Aika have three albums out, the latest of which is 2019’s Alku. That was the final appearance of founding frontman Marko Nyman, whom Helin replaced for 2021’s Valonaara four-songer. Unless they decide to not, which is always possible, one assumes they’ll get around to making a fourth LP sooner or later, and the hints of diversity around the central bludgeoning of their sound — the acoustics, the electronics, the ambient elements so carefully mixed here — could very easily come forward to stand alongside the guitar and bass and drums as the vocal cacophony cuts through in Helin‘s impressively harsh, not-unipolar scream.

I don’t know that they will, but it might be fun to find out, and if Hourevuode is where that experimentation happens while the group continues to integrate their new vocalist and celebrate 20 years together, well, it’s a good thing they made it heavy enough to be up to the task.

Some more info follows, courtesy of the PR wire. Please enjoy:

The Finnish sludge/doom quintet Lähdön Aika are releasing their new EP Hourevuode on November 24, 2023, on tape and digital formats. The four-track monolith constitutes of three brand new songs alongside a revision built on the foundation of a song from their debut released all the way back in 2004. On that note, Hourevuode is simultaneously a celebration of the band’s present self in all of its devastating glory, as well as its twenty-year history, showcasing both accustomed and new nuances and tonal aesthetics to Lähdön Aika’s output.

While the wall of near-immovable pummeling rhythms front the band’s signature sound, there’s new flair introduced by means of noisy electronics on the new EP, as well as perhaps the most hook-oriented compositions the band has crafted in their two decades of existence.

Lähdön Aika are:
Eeli Helin – vocals
Akseli Kahra – guitar
Aki Heikinheimo – guitar
Anna Uski – bass
Sampo Kuisma – drums

Lähdön Aika on Facebook

Lähdön Aika on Instagram

Lähdön Aika on Bandcamp

I haven’t seen a lyric sheet, but the lines I can pick up from the new track “Weed Machine 2023” are gold. “I never leave this house/My brain is numb/Only difference is, boy, my opposable thumbs.” I could go on. The track originally appeared on Ironrat‘s 2015 debut, Monument, and the doom rockers give it a refresh with Chris Fielding (Conan, etc.) producing, rolling out a clarion riff and stoner-bluesy psychedelic midsection amid the lumbering heft of the riffier parts. “And you’ll see me vanish in a cloud of smoke…” leads to the ending section of solo and riffing, and in the crashout, frontman Chris Flear informs, “there is no fucking hope.” Well yeah, dude. Why do you think we’re here in the first place?

The forthcoming second Ironrat LP is titled Beneath it All and I don’t know if “Weed Machine 2023” (2024?) will feature on it when it releases next year, but I do know the record’s coming out through Argonauta, because why on earth would the PR wire lie about that kind of thing? I mean, really. Would just be mean.

Info and the song follow for your perusal and hopeful enjoyment:

UK Doomsters IRONRAT Sign With Argonauta Records, Unveil New Version of Band Old Classic Song

UK doom heavyweights, IRONRAT, proudly announce the signing record deal with Argonauta Records.

Drawing influences from the likes of Red Fang, Alice In Chains, Corrosion Of Conformity, and Mastodon, IRONRAT is gearing up for the release of their highly anticipated album, “Beneath It All,” scheduled to drop in 2024. This marks the band’s return after their impactful debut, “Monument,” in 2015.

In celebration of this partnership, the band is excited to unveil the re-release of an old classic, providing fans with a taste of their upcoming musical direction.

While the band faced a temporary setback with the departure of vocalist Chris due to health reasons, IRONRAT utilized this time to regroup and revitalize. The result is a strengthened and revamped lineup that is now more than ready to make a powerful comeback with their upcoming record.

Despite the hiatus, IRONRAT remained active on the gig scene, sharing stages with renowned acts such as Orange Goblin, Phil Campbell, OHHMS, Kal-El, Psychlona, Desert Storm, and more. Their memorable performances at events like Bloodstock, SOPHIE Fest, and Manor Fest have solidified their status in the heavy music landscape.

Recorded at Foel Studio with Chris Fielding of Conan at the production helm, the new album captures the essence of IRONRAT’s signature sound with massive riffs and unparalleled heavy tones. A notable transformation in the vocal approach brings a fresh sense of melodicism and emotional weight to the core of their sound, allowing the band to expand their songwriting.

“We feel that this new record offers an exciting blend of sludge, doom and grunge influences,” says the band. “We’re super happy to be signing with Argonauta. They have some incredible artists on the roster (past and present) and we’re honoured to be part of that family. We’ve recorded an album that we’re really proud of and we’re extremely grateful to Argonauta for giving us the opportunity to share it with the world.”

IRONRAT’s collaboration with Argonauta Records signifies a union of musical forces that is poised to elevate their unique sound to new heights. Stay tuned for the release of “Beneath It All” as IRONRAT embarks on a thrilling chapter in their musical journey.

https://www.facebook.com/ironrattheband
https://www.youtube.com/user/Ironrattheband
https://ironrattheband.bandcamp.com/

www.instagram.com/argonautarecords
www.facebook.com/argonuatarecords
www.argonautarecords.com/shop

Ironrat, “Weed Machine 2023”

Retrovisor is the fifth full-length from Chilean four-piece Adelaida, and in a surprising twist on the norm for a release announcement, it’s already out. That’s right. Not a single. Not two or three. The full record. You can stream it now and the vinyl will be out in February through Spinda Records, which announced it picked up the band at the end of last week. The band’s sound is varied in texture — room for The Cure and Nirvana in there, among others — but deeply informed by alt and psych rock, and has a kind of low-key progressive range that, to be honest I’m not even sure why I’m going on about it since you can just friggin’ listen to the thing. It exists.

Been trying to get this posted for days, obviously, but it’s something worth checking out if you have time. ‘South American heavy’ is often thought of as a monolith that it absolutely isn’t — as though an entire continent has one thing to say or one way to say it — and Adelaida remind of this with their melodic flourish and atmospheric push, songwriting and ambience.

Dig:

Chile-based band Adelaida released their fifth studio album ‘Retrovisor’ yesterday, announcing a surprise signing with Spinda Records. The album will be coming out on vinyl and CD in February 2024. For fans of 90s spectrum, grunge, indie rock and shoegaze.

Preorder: https://spindarecords.com/product/adelaida-retrovisor/

Bandcamp: https://spindarecords.bandcamp.com/album/retrovisor

Chile’s music scene lights up once again with the vibrant energy of Adelaida, indie band currently formed by Anke Steinhöfel, Jurel Sónico, Joaquín Roa and Tomás Pérez. In 2021 they won Premios Escuchar to best rock album with ‘Animita’ and best rock artist. And now, they’re presenting their fifth studio album, ‘Retrovisor’.

This highly anticipated full-length, available since yesterday in all majors streaming platforms via Disco Intrépido, promises to immerse the listener in a unique experience that will find its definite place in the hearts of their existing fans and in the of the new listeners approaching the band’s sound for the first time from this side of the pond. In ‘Retrovisor’ Adelaida takes a step forward, blending the evocative 90’s sounds of grunge, indie-rock and shoegaze with poetic and introspecive lyrics. However, for those looking to enjoy it in physical format, they’ll have to wait until February 2024 when its respective vinyl and compact disc editions will arrive -preorder here- through Spinda Records. In a surprising announcement just a couple of days ago, the label revealed the signing of the band from Santiago de Chile.

Advanced single “Desdén”, “Girasoles” and “Caída libre” already hinted that ‘Retrovisor’ was a true sonic odyssey that transports the listener through time, capturing the raw and emotive essence of the 90s while infusing a contemporary touch. In doing so, Adelaida align themselves with the new wave of alternatie rock from the Americas alongside bands like Fin del Mundo, El Shirota, Las Ligas Menores, Margaritas Podridas or La Ciencia Simple. The fact that they enlisted the talents of Pablo Giadach and Federico Zeppelin in the recording; Daniel Velásquez and Jurel Sónico in the mixing; and none other than Jack Endino in the mastering likely played a significant role – yes, the same Endino who worked with bands like Mudhoney, Nirvana, Tad, Melvins, Soundgarden, Screaming Trees or Mark Lanegan.

‘Retrovisor’ consists of 9 new songs and 4 tracks from ‘Monolito’, their iconic debut album that now celebrates a decade and which the band has revisited, giving a second life to some tracks that now sound more similar to their live performances. The digital edition includes a surprise titled “Brilla”, in which Adelaida takes on a contemporary classic by Chile band Suárez.

RETROVISOR CVR 1 1
RETROVISOR
1. Retrovisor
2. Océano mundial
3. La montaña
4. Caída libre
5. Espirales
6. Resplandor
7. Mi ventana
8. Girasoles
9. 12 días
10. Frutos de otoño
11. Solo por hoy
12. Pólvora
13. Brilla
14. Desdén

‘Retrovisor’, whose digital edition is now available, will be released on February 16, 2024, on compact disc and on a limited-edition-vinyl (350 copies in red, and 150 copies in black), which will be part of the ‘Noisy Series’ by Spinda Records. Physical formats can be pre-ordered on the website as well on as on the Bandcamp of the Andalusian label.

Preorder: https://spindarecords.com/product/adelaida-retrovisor/

Bandcamp: https://spindarecords.bandcamp.com/album/retrovisor

https://www.facebook.com/Adelaidabanda/
https://www.instagram.com/adelaida_banda/
https://adelaidaperdida.bandcamp.com/
https://linktr.ee/adelaidabanda

https://www.facebook.com/SpindaRecords
https://www.instagram.com/spindarecords
https://spindarecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.spindarecords.com/

Adelaida, Retrovisor (2023)

[PLEASE NOTE: This post will remain on top of the page until the poll ends in January. New posts will appear directly underneath. Thanks.]

Best post, best time of the year. I’ll admit the year-end poll kind of snuck up on me in 2023 because, well, that’s pretty much everything, but I’m glad we’re here and I know there’s a ton of music that’s come out in the last 11-plus months worth celebrating.

I’m extremely excited to see what people select as the best offerings of the year, not the least since I don’t consider Album of the Year to be a settled issue for me personally. It’s always a pleasure to watch the lists roll in and see the frame of the year take shape. 2023 has been overwhelmingly packed with releases, and I can imagine a tight race for the top spot. Our maybe I’m wrong and everybody will just turn in the same five records over and over. That’s fun too.

Every year is different. What were the highlights of your 2023?

Rules and whatnot follow the form below:

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Thanks for reading and taking part. Please share the link if you can.

Same rules as always and here they are cut and pasted from last year: Anything from Jan. 2023 to whatever’s coming out between now and Dec. 31 is eligible. If something is out digitally now and physical later and you want to include it, do so. Two lists are tabulated; one of the raw votes, and one in which a 1-4 ranking is worth five points, 5-8 worth four, 9-12 worth three, 13-16 worth two and 17-20 worth one.

I said this last year too: If you’re not sure what counts or what to include, please know that the intent here is to be as open as possible. In all things, when you can, err on the side of inclusion. If you’re the only person who votes for a thing, so much the better to turn other people onto it.

As ever, I extend deepest gratitude to you for participating and to Slevin, who even amid a move to Chicago and needing this crap like a hole in the head generally continues to support the site and help it run every now and again. Thank you.

Poll runs until Dec. 31, 2023, unless I decide to give it an extra day. Barring disaster, eesults will be out Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024, along with individual lists.

Have fun, and thanks again!

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Canadian atmospheric doom mostly-solo outfit Uncle Woe will offer a new EP, Well, on Dec. 20. The four-track outing — which is arguably album-length at 32 minutes — is an offshoot of what had originally been an LP to be released earlier this year titled Oblivion and Further Disaster. As founding multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Rain Fice — working with Melbourne, Australia-based drummer Marc Whitworth — tells it below, EP tracks “Well” and “The Many Comforts of Calamity” both also appear on that record, and there was simply more to say.

Fair enough. The textural instrumental “Sermons for the Electrical Lost” complements the long and ambient ending of “The Many Comforts of Calamity,” and as the four inclusions run shortest to longest, the 16:08 “Oblivion and Further Disaster” feels duly like an arrival point as the closer. The highlight, though, might be “Well” itself, which finds Fice layering some subtly intricate melody in the chorus, soulful as ever, the sound still drawing from the cosmic doom of YOB a bit, but never more its own in its reach or affect. Uncle Woe‘s last two full-lengths, 2022’s Pennyfold Haberdashery & Abattoir Deluxe (review here) and 2020’s Phantomescence (review here), worked toward similar ends, but “Sermons for the Electrical Lost” feels more willing to dwell in its drone even with some kind of percussion or other captured rhythmic noise in amidst the layers of guitar noise, maybe-synth, effects, and so on as the wash builds and recedes across the six minutes.

A sense of departure from “Well” and “The Many Comforts of Calamity,” which are both on the will-still-be-out-but-next-year Oblivion and Further Disaster, to “Sermons for the Electrical Lost” and “Oblivion and Further Disaster” — which are not on the LP — almost can’t be helped, but the grounding of the choruses to “Well” and “The Many Comforts of Calamity,” even as far out and echoing as they are, puts the listener in good position to take on the back half of the tracklisting. “The Many Comforts of Calamity” turns left into an airy solo over churning post-metal chug before looping back to the hook at about three minutes in, a lumber and guttural melodicism reminiscent of Beastwars but present in its craft enough for “The Many Comforts of Calamity” to serve as the transition between “Well” and the two songs built off it that became the impetus for this release.

The long fade at the end of “The Many Comforts of Calamity” is hypnotic en route to the sweeping entrance of “Sermons for the Electrical Lost,” and the intention holds firm as Fice explores the ebbs and flows of frequency layering and mashing different sounds together, kind of like they do with particles at the Large Hadron Collider — only much, much, much slower. Mournful plod marks the outset of “Oblivion and Further Disaster,” a not-there title-track for the next Uncle Woe record — anyone remember that time Blind Melon didn’t put “Soup” on Soup and it was like the best song they ever did? — and the meditative feel and downward trajectory of the first couple minutes give over to more intense battery and a harsher, heavier verse. Over the next 10-plus minutes, Uncle Woe carry “Oblivion and Further Disaster” across a multi-movement course, dropping nearly to silence after the early payoff and beginning the march toward the EP’s suitably consuming end.

And I won’t discount the journey to get there, but while raw in the recording aesthetic, when Fice rears back after the 10-minute mark and the song begins its lurching crescendo in earnest, then finds another level of impact entirely and seems to expand until 11:46 when it drops to standalone guitar and residual drone, like the bubble just popped. Some stately, doomier riffing, a light Danny Elfman influence maybe, atmospheric vocals seeming to be swallowed by the procession as it makes its way out, the last couple minutes mostly silent as if purposefully taking the time.

Whatever the actual percentage breakdown might be — it’s imaginary, so it doesn’t matter — a goodly portion of Uncle Woe‘s impression has always been based around mood, and that remains true for Well, but it’s worth emphasizing the crush that’s so vital here and how it feeds into this material’s breadth, even in ways one might not necessarily expect. Plenty of songs crush. Far fewer sound like they’re crushing the sky.

Please enjoy:

Uncle Woe, “Well” visualizer premiere

Uncle Woe – Well

EP / Lead Single from the album, Oblivion and Further Disaster

Written by Rain Fice. Performed and recorded by Rain Fice and Marc Whitworth, in Bancroft, Ontario, Canada, and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, respectively.
Release date: December 20, 2023
Label(s): Owlripper Recordings (DL), Packard Black Productions (LP)

“Well” was the easy first choice for a lead single once production of our forthcoming full-length, Oblivion and Further Disaster, started winding down. It exemplifies not only a lot of what Uncle Woe does, with its churning and revolving rhythms, and tendency to straddle the depth of pummeling molasses chug work, and vivid dream state floating (without falling hard into either extreme), but also the vibe of the whole album. It’s a bit more dialled in and dire than some of our previous works; more up front, and less meandering.

Once we’d chosen Well for the lead and the similarly straightforward album track, The Many Comforts of Calamity, as its B-side, something clicked and said that there was a bit more to the journey. It felt like there was just a little left in the story that the album hadn’t told so far.

Almost overnight the 5:00 single and matching B-side spawned another 22:00 of exploration, rounding what could have been a simple single up a bit, into a true, old fashioned EP; an Extended Play Single, as it may be referred to by the hippest of today’s youth.

The 3rd and 4th songs are the new material that fell out just for this little record. Sermons for the Electrical Lost is a six minute bit of post-rock contemplation. A Squall of feedback, some sombre clean guitar parts, and a grand, pulsing crescendo, all drenched in glorious bowed lap steel.

The sprawling, Oblivion and Further Disaster (which is not on the album of the same name) is sixteen plus minutes of pure post metal expression. Slow motion chord progressions, chaos, chugging and screaming, protracted, reverb drenched soft bits, several crescendos, and a long farewell. This is Uncle Woe in true form.

“Well” proved to be a gateway into its own little world within the world of the album. A music side-quest; this time with maybe a little bit of that aforementioned propensity for meandering, foregone on the LP itself.

This single/ep makes for a great counterpoint piece to the actual album. Also, it’s only a few minutes shy of being an album on its own.

Tracklisting:
1. Well (4:55)
2. The Many Comforts of Calamity (5:20)
3. Sermons for the Electrical Lost (6:16)
4. Oblivion and Further Disaster (16:08)

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