Posted in Whathaveyou on September 16th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
You know what’s rad about the new Lowrider video for “And the Horse You Rode in On?” Well, the song, for one. Also the video itself. But also also the fact that they made it like a week ago. I saw on social media the band was doing some filming and kind of assumed it was for the next video, whatever and whenever that might be, but no. As straight-ahead as “And the Horse You Rode in On” is in terms of both message and structure, the clip would seem to have shared a similar sans-bullshit mentality. This is a thing to appreciate.
If it needs to be said, the first part of the idiom is “fuck you,” and Lowrider aren’t shy in getting the point across. Following behind Elephant Tree‘s “Long Forever” as a single from the split LP, The Long Forever, that the two bands will share next month on Blues Funeral — it’s the last PostWax release for the second wave; I did liner notes for it that last I heard will be available with the regular edition as well — the arrival of “And the Horse You Rode in On” means that the LP’s opening and closing tracks are both out there. I don’t need to tell you to listen. I have no doubt you already have.
In the PR wire info, Peder Bergstrand mentions it’s the first music video Lowrider have done. That may be true in terms of one featuring the band themselves, but if you’ll recall, the one they put out for “Red River” (premiered here) in 2021 was a gem as well, however you want to count it.
Enjoy:
LOWRIDER share new track off upcoming split album with Elephant Tree, out October 25th on Blues Funeral Recordings.
Swedish stoner rock heroes LOWRIDER share their new single “And The Horse You Rode In On” on all streaming services today! The song is taken from “The Long Forever”, their eagerly anticipated split album with London psych-doom royalty ELEPHANT TREE, to be issued on October 25th through Blues Funeral Recordings.
“We just wanted to do something different,” says LOWRIDER frontman Peder Bergstrand. “How do you follow up the 11 minute closing track everyone loved on our last album? I have no idea, but a two-and-a-half minute punk banger on the current state of the world seemed like the only way” he chuckles. “Weirdly enough it’s also our first music video ever. I’ve done more music videos for others than I can remember (for Greenleaf & Dozer among others) but somehow this is our first. Feels nice to have ripped that bandaid, 25 years into the career haha!”
“We just wanted people to see the raw energy of the band. And Niclas’ tshirt is a slight nod to current events and kind reminder to take care of your pets and not eat them… and also to not believe everything you see on TV” he adds with a smirk.
Watch Lowrider’s new video “And The Horse You Rode In On” + listen to the single on all streaming services:https://lnkfi.re/lowriderhorse
Elephant Tree and Lowrider have come together to present the collaborative album “The Long Forever”, easily one of the most eagerly awaited split releases in heavy rock history. Arriving in the wake of their landmark 2020 releases, “The Long Forever” finds both bands at critical junctures: each has a broad and expanding influence, each is revered onstage and off, and each is about to deliver its first proper new music in four years to tremendous anticipation.
“The Long Forever” takes its title from the nickname Elephant Tree singer and guitarist Jack Townley gave to the multi-week coma he was kept in for medical reasons following a near-fatal biking accident in early 2023. Dreaming without waking and losing all sense of time as his mind attempted to process and cope with the ordeal, that lyrical description can only hint at the enormity of Jack’s experience. And yet, the year or so that followed manifested a musical freedom in the bands’ respective approaches. Lowrider has grown more complex and expressive, while Elephant Tree has chosen a rawer, set-up-the-mics-and-go approach. “The Long Forever” is the vehicle through which the bands meet, subverting and superseding the expectations on them, with a traumatic nexus as the gravitational singularity around which the entire LP orbits, bending and shaping every note that escapes forth.
Stress, trauma, time, gravity, sound, joy, catharsis and texture all find a place across the record’s 43 minutes, but what resonates is the stridence with which Elephant Tree and Lowrider meet at the convergence of timelines and complement each other in evolving listeners’ ideas of who they are. In the end, perseverance, healing and stubbornness of passion are what made “The Long Forever” a reality. We invite fans to listen with open minds and love in their hearts. Check out the album’s debut single with ELEPHANT TREE and LOWRIDER’s collaborative track “Long Forever”!
TRACKLIST: 1. Lowrider – And The Horse You Rode In On 2. Lowrider – Caldera 3. Lowrider – Into The Grey 4. Lowrider – Through The Rift (feat. Elephant Tree) 5. Elephant Tree – Fucked In The Head 6. Elephant Tree – 4 For 2 7. Elephant Tree – Long Forever (feat. Lowrider)
Posted in Reviews on September 15th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Before Show
Truckfighters soundchecking outside with “Desert Cruiser.” There’s a concrete rise in back of the Knockdown Center, up to a train platform presumably leftover from when whatever what manufactured here, and last year it was open for people to go up like a balcony and watch the bands on the outside stage. It would be hot up there today with the sun beating down, but it doesn’t matter since it’s closed off. So it goes.
Today is the last day of Desertfest New York 2024, and it brings that third, outside stage, where yesterday alternated between the two in the building itself. There are picnic tables out here, corners you can put yourself in if you want, and I appreciate that kind of thing, especially on a day with a crunch of bands. The most brutal schedule conflict? High Desert Queen playing in the Texas room during Truckfighters. Hard choices will be made. I don’t know that I’ll get to take pictures of both, but I plan to watch at least part of each set since it’s not like you have to go down the block to see one or the other. We’ll see how it goes.
Got back and crashed out last night around 1AM. It’s the last day here, so of course one’s head drifts to thoughts of returning to real life after this relatively brief but certainly welcome sidestep. I started packing that glut of stuff I brought with me. I was thinking of driving home tonight, maybe splitting out during Russian Circles, throwing my bags in the car and letting out for Jersey, but I don’t actually expect to be in any shape to do such a thing by then, and Saturday night traffic in New York is like Thursday afternoon. By the time I got home, any favors I’d have done myself by leaving early would have evaporated. That’s me, talking myself out of a thing.
Doors are in four minutes, reportedly. People were waiting out in the sun when I got here. I don’t have an AAA pass or anything because I’ve never been cool, ever, but I do like getting j and sitting a bit before the show starts, writing and whatever else. Calm before the storm? Maybe. Some quiet for the subsequent volume to contrast once the day actually starts. Light tension in the air. You know how it goes.
Like this:
Kadabra
There’s a lot to look forward to today, front to back, but Kadabra must definitely aren’t to be left out of that consideration. The Spokane, Washington-based trio played Desertfest London earlier this year as well and are a better band than the general underground consensus seems to know, though they drew a decent crowd for being the first band on, so maybe I’m wrong on the hype level. Fine. They’re here supporting their 2023 album, Umbra (discussed here, review here), and I very clearly was not the only one who thought to get to Knockdown Center early. The groove and sinister vibe came quick like the haze from the fog machine, only not so quickly breezed away. “The Serpent” and “The Devil” from the latest album featured, and if you wanted to call either a highlight, I won’t fight you. The sound came through clear enough to do justice to the vocal melodies, and their swing was the start today needed.
Gozu
I don’t know how long it’s been and I don’t feel like looking, but it’s too long, in any case. Soul and hard-hitting groove, fury (of the markedly impatient) and craft underneath it all. And every now and again, Gaff might do a softshoe. Well earned. I was watching them play and trying to write, but couldn’t get out of my head, and in what might be the best decision I make today, I stopped trying to write. I put my phone in my pocket and let Gozu bowl me over with their particularly classy roll. It was the right choice, and after half a decade — I felt guilty and looked; last time I saw Gozu was before the pandemic; too long — they both played songs I’d never heard live before and, as of course they would, nailed new material and old. Never a doubt in my mind. Honestly, I was just happy to see them, let alone see them kill it. Not going to pretend to be the impartial observer. I missed Gozu.
Spaceslug
You know that feeling when you’ve dug a band for a while and you see them live for the first time and you dig it and it’s a relief? Seeing Spaceslug for the first time was like that for me. Because it was that, exactly. It was also good to finally see for myself how the live show and the sound of their albums — a consistently evolving thing, definitely on a path — intertwine in terms of presenting the material. The division of duties on vocals and the arrangements have gotten more complex with time, and while you might put on their 2016 debut, Lemanis (discussed here), and 2024’s Out of Water (review here) in succession and know it’s the same band, their breath changes what they mean, and on stage, they can lean into different sides at different times, dynamic without being hurried about it. I don’t know that I’d ever get to see Spaceslug if this wasn’t happening — though I’d certainly make it happen if I could — so thank you Desertfest, and thanks Spaceslug for making the trip and for the show.
Hippie Death Cult
Hippie Death Cult and Kadabra have been out on a tour since last week and were in Rhode Island last night. Meanwhile, Boston got a dose of High Desert Queen, Gozu and Dozer. It’s a good weekend to be on the Eastern Seaboard. Last time I saw the band was at Psycho in 2022 (review here), and that was before basisst Laura Phillips took over on lead vocals. Last Fall brought the release of their first album with Harry Silvers on drums and Phillips on vocals, and with a foundation in Eddie Brnabic’s fluid riffing, they were a Hippie Death Cult able to bring more of an aggressive roll to bear with intermittent harsher vocals; something of a sludgier potential that may or may not be explored over time as they continue to grow. But they were rad when they had Ben Jackson singing and they’re rad now. Hypnotic enough that I forgot to be anxious about missing the start of Eagle Twin, which was nice for a couple minutes to get out of my own head. Twice today. I’m coming dangerously close to letting myself enjoy a thing.
Eagle Twin
Doom with antlers, but not literally, because that also exists. They’re not a band who comes to the East Coast every day, or year, and though I imagine a specific ideal is seeing Eagle Twin out in the woods someplace, they brought a more than solid main stage crowd. I was thinking it hadn’t been that long since I saw them but it turns out it was six years ago at Høstsabbat (review here), where they made a specifically bluesy impression. Go figure. Their sound feels no less born of bigger, more ancient forests than one finds here, but on a level even just of performance and the aforementioned tone, they brought it. There’s a lot to dig about them, I’m just out of metaphors. I took a peak in the Texas stage at Trace Amount, then found a spot at a table with some friends and planted there until a bit before Dozer went on. Eagle Twin were cool, but until I looked just a bit ago I thought I’d seen them in the last few years, and I don’t get a lot of nice, human conversation with people I like in my day-to-day.
Dozer
Powerhouse set, and Dozer’s first time in the States in at least two decades. The urgency of last year’s Drifting Through the Endless Void (review here) speaks for itself, and I’m not here to sell records anyway. But I’m lucky enough that this is my third Dozer show in the last three years after seeing them on what was then a one-off at Desertfest London 2013 (review here), and as classic as their early work is, they’re vital, moving forward in sound from where they left off after 2008’s Beyond Colossal (featured here), coming back after a stretch of time that in hindsight they made short. Propulsive unto themselves in the sphere of heavy rock, people clapping along to Sebastian Olsson’s drums. Their show with High Desert Queen and Gozu in Boston last night precedes them much as it did Gozu, put there were clearly people in the crowd who’ve never seen Dozer before, one can only hope they come back again. Bonus, the train platform was open, so I got to watch from there for a minute too. Enough to witness a light mosh taking shape for the last song.
Green Lung
I wouldn’t hazard to predict the future, but Green Lung look like they’re in it for the long haul. Stage presence enough that I don’t feel ridiculous imagining them playing festivals like this 20 years from now. They could probably play “Mountain Throne” then too. Their organic cultistry, nature-worship and on-stage harmonies were on point, and though I knew all of that would be the case going into the set, it was exciting to see them play songs from last Fall’s This Heathen Land (review here) and take advantage of the full breadth of their sound and a reach that only seems to be expanding. Part of the appeal is that they’re over the top, and they are, but there’s so much raw talent on stage when they play, and they’re clearly learning how to wield it. This is their first US tour. I have a hard time imagining it will be their last. “Maxine (Witch Queen),” “Old Gods,” “Hunters in the Sky,” “Graveyard Sun.” Fucking “Let the Devil In.” Everything they played sounded like it could’ve been on a greatest hits collection. Hooks and performance. They made it a show. It was a spectacle, classic metal in many ways, some of them theatrical, but brought to life with its own take on both conceptual and stylistic traditions.
Truckfighters
This was my moment to both have and eat cake. Truckfighters went on five whole minutes before High Desert Queen. The Ruins (outside) stage is about a minute’s walk from the Texas room, so I watched the start of Truckfighters and then went back and forth for the duration. Acid King was getting started soon enough as well, so it’s probably the most ‘go’ moment of the fest, at least for me, but those are three different parties you want to be at. Truckfighters aren’t the only band this weekend whose reputation precedes them, and they had the biggest crowd of the night outside — also at some point it became night; when may or may not be clear in the photos — and another mosh. Surprising amount of mish this year. It’s like New York is extra antsy since the Saint Vitus Bar closed, which is reasonable, frankly. I got to see Truckfighters do “The Chairman,” and that was justification enough for the back and forth, a mellower vibe in the buildup to the payoff, as opposed to some of their stuff, which is more pure shove and roll. A reputation well and continually earned. Weren’t they recording an album? Or is that just me hoping for a thing?
High Desert Queen
Just a blast of a band. For a good time, call. Up from Austin, they’re on the already noted tour with Dozer and Gozu, playing in support of this Spring’s Palm Reader (review here), their second album and first for Magnetic Eye. Those songs rightly featured heavily in the set, which started 30 seconds after I walked into the Texas room like it was on cue. Tight, heavy groove, nothing too fancy stylistically — I always hear some C.O.C. in their sound, one way or the other, and that was true tonight, but not the end of the story as regards their sound either. You can hear the influence of pre- and turn of the century heavy — if I held up Dozer and Acid King as examples, I’m not discounting the relevance of either’s present work in doing that; I’m just thinking of when they got going — and you can tell watching them that they’re into it. Not everybody on stage is dancing around like vocalist Ryan Garney might be to a given riff from guitarist Rusty Miller, but he, bassist Morgan Miller and drummer Phil Hook were right there too in the moment on stage. It was great to see, and even against Truckfighters on the bill, the room filled up.
Acid King
Fair to say Acid King remain at a crucial moment about a year and a half out from Beyond Vision (review here), which was my pick for album of the year last December — not just me, they topped the year-end poll as well. I’m not worried they’re about to immediately do another record right away — you never know, but Beyond Vision was eight years after 2015’s Middle of Nowhere Center of Everywhere (discussed here, review here), and that was down from 10. But the reason I’m saying see Acid King now isn’t just that Lori S. is a hero and bassist/synthesist Bryce Shelton and drummer Jason Willer are so dead on in the nod, but it’s the songs they’re playing from Beyond Vision. The material itself. “Mind’s Eye” and “Destination Psych.” Closing with that insane build from “Color Trails?” Come on. Any chance you’re afforded, see this band.
Russian Circles
Chicago instrumentalist forerunners Russian Circles came out with a burst, hitting hard in the spirit of 2022’s Gnosis (review here) and building outward from there in multiple directions. Post-hardcore is part of it, but so is psychedelic rock and the occasional time-to-crush bit of riffery, and they’ve found a way to keep structured songs from falling into a verse/chorus trap. They genuinely sound like a band who listen to more kinds of music than the kind they make, amd benefit from it in being able not just to pay loud or quiet, but evoke a different feel from song to song. A lot of anything would have been a comedown after Acid King, but Russian Circles in the headlining spot had a level of volume that was their own as much as their sound, and as it had been a while, I was glad to watch them, or at least listen in a spot where the strobe wasn’t quite so fast. Even as Desertfest draws down, it delivers. There were even more bubbles.
—
It was good to see old friends, new friends, and Desertfest friends, since as the years have gone on I’ve found there are people I see here and that’s it. I take that as a good sign — though I suspect I’d see more people if I went out more — since it means people are coming back, which is the ideal. Desertfest delivered a show to New York a show and a lineup worthy of the Desertfest brand, and I hope it continues to bring European acts over each year as it did in 2024 with Dozer, Spaceslug, Green Lung, Domkraft, Truckfighters, Belzebong, even Amenra. They’ve been working to build a sense of community since the inception, and between killer shows and returning patrons, I’d say they’re on their way.
A note about the Texas stage today before I leave off. I only got (some) photos of High Desert Queen, but I did get to pop in for some of Beinn and Trace Amount as well. I’d never seen either, so at least a few songs. Beinn were a pleasant surprise, kind of a heavy-ended post-hardcore thing, I heard some noise rock and some Cave In, and they went for it on stage, as did Brooklyn industrialist Trace Amount, whose studio work I’ve dug in a kind of machine-misanthropic vibe. On stage, it’s just Brandon Gallagher, and he was all-in, pacing back and forth and throwing himself around, screaming and in the crowd headbanging. It was by no means packed, but I respect the one-man show for sure. Not easy to keep up energy when you’re by yourself. Ask a standup comedian. Tower headlined the room and they continue to make a party out of trad metal in a way that is only endearing.
Thank you to Reece, Sarika, and the Desertfest crew. Thank you to Tim Bugbee, Dante Torrieri, the Great Tomoko, and Sean in the photo pit, and I’m sorry for taking up space. Thanks to everybody who said hi or something nice about the site — or both — and I can’t tell you how warm and welcoming it felt to be in a place where I felt like what I do matters to someone, even just a little bit. Thank you. Thank you for reading. And thanks, as always and most of all, to The Patient Mrs., though whom all things are possible.
More pics after the jump. And I’m mostly taking tomorrow (Monday) off to catch up on writing. Back Tuesday. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go take a 90-minute shower.
Posted in Reviews on September 14th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Before Show
Doors aren’t for a while yet, and I’m sitting out the back of the Knockdown Center as far out of the way as I can put myself and still be here. It’s good to be here. I crashed hard after the pre-show last night, and it wasn’t painful when the alarm went off at 8AM, unless of course you count the various old-rocker ailments that hit me alongside consciousness. There’s a reason I bring ibuprofen to these things.
I’m staying with Tim Bugbee — a photographer and one of those people who proves you can be both insanely talented and kind — in an AirBNB down the way, and it was about five minutes by car from a to b. Coming into town, I did not travel light. Big suitcase, laptop bag, camera bag; I felt as though all my belongings were compressed to a maximum extent coming back from Budapest last month. This is hardly the same kind of trip, but I wanted to spread out a little. I brought a pack of seltzer, some leftover chicken. I can be comfortable while doing a thing. It’s allowed. I stopped short of bringing a coffee pot, but should have. I’m not usually much for Keurigs, but it was functional. My grinds can come home with me.
This was basically the mellow morning before two days of go. Fine. I sat in my car for an hour and a half from 11:30AM-1:00PM so it didn’t get ticketed or towed because alternate side parking — it didn’t — and hung around in air conditioning because it’s hot in the sun. The whole weekend is supposed to be gorgeous weather, warm and sunny, but the light is Fall. Can’t climate change the Earth’s orbit, I guess. Angles of the light and all that.
Seemingly random, but sitting off to the side in the main venue space, I just saw Amy Tung Barrysmith from Year of the Cobra checking bass and vocals with Amenra. It was a surprise; wouldn’t have been if I kept up with the band’s social media. No drama. Their bassist couldn’t make the trip, so she’s filling in. They announced it a few days ago. I wonder what the connection is there, but I’ll take it either way. I’ve never been huge on Amenra on a personal-listening level, but I’ve yet to hear Amy Tung Barrysmith play on a thing and not like it more for her involvement. Should be an interesting set. Cool. It will be the eighth one of the total 10 sets played today. I hope to see at least part of everybody. Will keep you posted how it goes.
To that end:
Guhts
My first time seeing Guhts, which is a thing worth remembering. Their first album, Regeneration (review here), is my one to beat for best debut of 2024, if that matters. More to the point, they were fucking great. Obviously I dig the record too, but at full volume and assault, it was just the right combination of expansive and oppressive. They had the laptop going the whole time with keyboard parts and various electronic atmospherics, and with the four of them up there, it was pretty clear ever were giving 100 percent of everything to the performance. The passion came through raw, and actually, having the backdrop and transitional drones happening apart from the band, emphasizing the ferocity of the delivery when they let loose. As they did. Righteously. If that had been the end of the night, the day would be a win.
Blackwater Holylight
It had been a couple years and, admittedly, there was the contextual weirdness of it being Psycho Las Vegas — that’s not a dig; their whole thing was absurdity — last time I saw Blackwater Holylight, but the sinister sound of 2021’s Silence/Motion (review here) came to life as part of an ambient pastiche. It was more immersive than a lot of heavy bands are willing to be, and I guess you could call that ‘gaze of some variety or other, but that almost implied a kind of laziness and Blackwater Holylight were as much fuzzy progressive grunge metal as they were languid nod, with keyboards adding to the texture of the melodies, some toward psychedelic but clearly mindful of place and time. And maybe they riff out for a while too. How is that anything but awesome?
Abrams
Among the bands I haven’t seen before, I was most curious and what Abrams would bring. The Denver heavy rockers are ultra-reliable somgwriters, and they’ve always had a clarity of purpose in their arrangements and structures that is underrated by exponents, but in the Texas room it was more about hitting hard and representing the scope of their craft. Some emo in there, or at least the punk of the aughts. In any case, they were dynamic and leaned into the impact of their heavier stretches. At the same time, they weren’t void of mood at all, and guitarist/vocalist Zach Amster is the charismatic frontman he has always seemed to be. Dude can sing. I stood in the back for most of the set, and I could feel my earplugs shaking in my ears. People had their fists up. I’m not shitting you. And seeing them live, maybe part of why they’re undervalued is they’re a bit between styles. They’re a heavy rock band, but that’s not it. They’re metal, prog, punk and a few besides. Practiced but not at all dry in their delivery, I have to wonder if Abrams ever plays a show without making a new fan.
Primitive Man
Brutal turn of vibe. You know on paper what you’re getting with also-Danver’s Primitive Man — punishment; sounds no less likely to consume you having just bludgeoned you into oblivion — but the reality of the thing is even more destructive. Caustic doom as a genre? Crushing doom? Those sound like words that could be things. Doesn’t matter. Also from Denver, the trio were a vision of aural misanthropy, extremist in purpose and volume. There have only been like three bands today, so it doesn’t mean a ton to call them the heaviest as even their quiet parts had a rumble beneath that you could feel in your chest, but they were the heaviest of the fest so far and it would take a lot of noise to beat. Frequencies as weapons. Malevolence and probably a truckload of dry ice. I wouldn’t call myself well adjusted by any measure — if I was, I’d have stopped doing this years ago — but even on a level of catharsis, Primitive Man are a lot to take. Which, wait for it, is the point of the thing. If dystopia’s coming, they’re ready. And brutally sad. I didn’t know any of the songs. Mostly they were terrifying. And it was astonishing that it could still be daylight while they played. If Khanate are hacking you to pieces, Primitive Man are pulling concrete blocks on your chest until you can’t breathe anymore.
Spirit Mother
About as fresh in my mind as they possibly could be since the album they put out today was streamed here yesterday. They played a good deal of Trails, and brought a heap of noise to the prior single “Locust,” and were thick in vibe while still keeping the songs moving. A fill-in violinist/vocalist held down that role without question, and Armand Lance pushed his vocals into screams and was still able to carry the melody alongside said violinist when the guitar and bass dropped out and it was vocals and ride cymbal only for a few measures in “Wolves.” Some aspects of Young Hunter, All Them Witches, but Spirit Mother are very much their own thing on the balance, and their songs are getting darker, more expansive, and better. My second time seeing them, and I’m extra glad to have seen them play the Trails material. I’ll look forward to the next one.
Belzebong
Riff-forward instrumental stoner sludge metallers Belzebong came all the way from Poland to elicit crusty vibes in fog that I couldn’t tell if it was theirs or leftover from Primitive Man. Surely they’re used to haze, one way or the other. Big nod, ‘Bong Fire Death’ — because Bathory, god damnit! — in the backs of the bass and guitars, amd an absolute lock on tone, there was precious little to not like. You would not call them subtle and neither are they trying to be. Doom. Fucking. Riffs. Black. Fucking. Sabbath. You get the idea. Like their countrymen worshipers in Dopelord, they wear their love of weed on their collective sleeve, and I get it. And “it” in this circumstance means stoned. But the reason it works is because the music and their performance of it is as much a celebration as anything else, and they’re not trying to convince anyone they invented Sleep riffs. They’re the kind of band that, if you’re in this thing, make complete sense, and would confuse the shit out of normal people. It’s a very specific idea of fun. Always a pleasure to see them.
Deathchant
I crossed paths with Deathchant in June at Freak Valley (review here), so not quite topping Spirit Mother for being in my head, but not terribly far off either. They were going to be a ripper on stage and they were. Thin Lizzy and Motörhead and Sabbath and DRI or whoever; they own records. But volume and energy and shove were the order of things, however much the two guitars might veer into NWOBHM-type harmony on the way. I was late getting in to take pictures, but that’s okay. I don’t really like taking pictures most of the time, and I do like talking to friends, so if I’m not in front of the stage for everything, fine. I was on the side. Still enough perspective to know Deathchant were the start of the party for a lot of the heads in the room, which was later-in-evening crowded, and fair enough. The West Coast skate thing doesn’t always translate in New York, but some things hit just right. I’d never seen them before last August at SonicBlast (review here) — to which they returned this year — now it’s three times in 13 months. Maybe I’m a fan.
Amenra
Sure enough, Amy Tung Barrysmith on bass. They’re not a casual band, Amenra. They’re not the kind of thing one might put on in the background of an otherwise quiet afternoon. And it’s all so very important-feeling, very solemn, whether a given part is loud and screamy or subdued and melodic. It’s a genre trope — partly in Amenra’s wake, I think — for pprt-metal to take itself seriously. So they do the thing where Colin H. Van Eeckhout bangs the sticks together while kneeling at the start, and there’s the strobe matching the heft of tone and emotional immediacy with its own kind of sensory overload. They have a lurch and an undulating waves of distortion that’s their own, and it’s not a hot take they’re incredible at what they do, but I’ve never managed to get fully on board. My loss. It was a blast to watch Amy from Year of the Cobra playing with them, though, and just because they may not be a band I put on all the time doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate what they do and the influence they’ve had. It just means I’m probably going to be early for Domkraft.
Domkraft
And so I was. A band worth being early for. I spent most of the set right in the front, obnoxiously so, I’m sure, and kind of let go and nodded out for a bit. I didn’t fall asleep while Domkraft were playing or anything close to it. But it’s not a conscious thing when that riff hits you just right anyhow. I have to think the moshers know what I’m talking about. Starting out on a nine-day US run, the Swedish three-piece indeed were a culminating force from the Texas Stage, riffs bouncing off concrete walls and back again, creating that much more presence in the sound. There was a technical issue with the guitar, but it wasn’t actually that long in fixing, and they were right to restart “Whispers.” They’re are a lesson in the difference a great drummer can make, but they’re also a lesson in the difference a great everything can make. The lesson I learned was that I don’t appreciate their guitar solos enough, and the way I learned it was by being fortunate enough to be on the planet at the same time as the band.
High on Fire
The band who taught the world to shred riffs. Last met at the beginning of July in Croatia for Bear Stone (review here), though certainly they’ve been elsewhere since then, and they continue to hold their own standard. There was some not-fun-kind feedback intermittent early on, but it was a High on Fire set, like they wouldn’t deliver? They’re returning headliners at Desertfest New York, having played in 2022 (review here), and I don’t have a ton to say about them that didn’t apply two months ago, but to sum up they’re one of the best heavy-anything bands of their generation. I continue to dig the way they’re able to vary tempo in the live show while keeping the balance toward intensity on an LP. Of course they’re headlining. Hopefully it won’t be the last time they do. This forever will be the time that somebody was blowing bubbles during “Rumors of War,” however.
Unless they want to make it tradition or something. Which would be okay too, for sure. Hashtag Bubbles of War.
—
On that happy note, good night. I’ve been writing all day at the fest, and I’m ready to call it an evening. Tomorrow brings Dozer, Spaceslug and sundry other delights. There are more pics after the jump, and as always, thank you for reading.
Posted in Reviews on September 13th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Before Show
Desertfest New York 2024 gets underway in less than an hour. The annual pre-party has been held at Saint Vitus Bar for every edition of the caricature festival to-date, but of course the Vitus’ being shut down precludes that, so it’s up to The Meadows to fill those shoes for the evening. That’s no small task. Show me somebody who doesn’t think venue matters and I’ll show you someone who has never felt like a rock show was home. In any case, I’m sure it’ll be fine. Desertfest hasn’t let its attendees down yet.
Four bands tonight. It’s Thursday, and though I find my eyes wandering over the next two days of the schedule above, tonight is a more than solid kickoff, with Legions of Doom celebrating their debut album, The Skull 3, picking up where The Skull left off following the death of The Skull frontman Eric Wagner, as well as Satan’s Satyrs and Mirror Queen, who both have new records out, and Mustafina opening, from whom I could find no audio streaming. Clearly worth putting sneakers on for, despite the sandal-ready weather.
A two-hour dove to get here reaffirmed my decision to stay in the city this year. That’s a choice not without some level of investment, but I tried to do commuterfest last year and it was hard and I sucked at it, so The Patient Mrs. was well on board with getting my ass out of the house during fest time rather than have me try to cover a thing with one foot in domestic life. I am loved and cared for. I will do my best to do justice to that love and care by not getting towed this weekend. Fingers crossed.
Doors at 6 was applied casually, but the line wasn’t bad by any means. I had a few minutes to stand around awkwardly and not know where to put myself. Shit that I should’ve learned before middle-age. Alas.
The night went like this:
Mustafina
They loosened up as the set went on, and the crowd warmed accordingly. Some connection to AmRep, maybe? Obviously it was my first time at the dance with Mustafina, from New York. They bill themselves as psychedelic punk, and that might not be wrong, but there was more to it than that, with quirk and bounce in the bass and a crunch of guitar tone that indeed felt NY-punker in its root — at least mostly; they hit into a couple bluesier nods as well, and that was welcome; “Metasin” might have been one, if I have it right on the setlist, which I assume I don’t — but a healthy dose of grunge mixed in with that and the dude standing next to me (his name is Eric, he’s from Tennessee, works from home, has a badass backyard and it was nice to chat) cited Mr. Bungle, so I guess it’s fair to say the sound was open for interpretation. That’s not a weakness as a new band gets going — and Mustafina are that, whatever else the members have or haven’t done on whichever legendary noise rock label — but there was a definite moment where it all gelled and from there the groove came easy. For knowing nothing about them going into the set, I felt like by the finish they gave a decent sense of their persona and scope, and I’ll keep an eye for the record when the time comes.
Mirror Queen
Their new album is called Dying Days, and its title-track and “Strider” — which guitarist/vocalist Kenny Sehgal said, “only has like 85 parts” — featured in the set along with the more familiar “Riders” and “Scaffold in the Sky” and a closing cover they said was obscure and sure enough, I didn’t know the provenance from which “Lizzy” came. They’re a reliable good time in my mind. I stood by the bass side of the stage, and dug into the bouncing classic progressive heavy that is such a staple of the NYC underground in my mind. Sehgal, who doubles as the head of Tee Pee Records, mentioned it was kind of a label night — which bodes well for Mustafina, I suppose — and the various releases out. It would be very easy to spend a lot of money at Tee Pee’s table this weekend. If I had any, I might be concerned about that. It was by no means the longest set I’ve ever seen Mirror Queen play, but they know how to make a song that has 85 parts (allegedly) still be a good time to a room that doesn’t already know it, and that’s not an easy thing to do or something to take for granted, even though, yes, I very much take Mirror Queen for granted. There has to be some tradeoff for that two-hour drive to get here. New York has to have an upside.
Satan’s Satyrs
Tore it up. That’s the long and short of it. Sean Saley on drums was a treat; 10 years ago I watched him bash and bash his kit in Pentagram on two successive tours, and tonight was the same story, only faster. I said hi. Plus Morgan McDaniel, who had just played in Mirror Queen, doing double duty. Neither is original to Satan’s Satyrs, but hell, the energy, the drive. Killer set. Big change in vibe from Mirror Queen, whose style is downright soothing in comparison to the brashness on display from the Virginian outfit, who were reborn around bassist/vocalist Clayton Burgess and guitarist Jarrett Nettnin last year after however long it was since they last did a thing. It wasn’t a huge stage at The Meadows, but they used every inch of it, Burgess back and forth like a ’79s thrash icon if such a thing ever existed or could possibly exist, and the swagger was backed up by the charge of the material itself; yeah, new album. I haven’t really dug into it yet — only so many hours in the day — but if it’s got a quarter of what they brought to the stage they’d still be readily kicking ass. I wondered how Legions of Doom could possibly keep up.
Legions of Doom
Then they came out with Karl Agell fronting the band and opened with “Dance of the Dead” from C.O.C.’s Blind record, which I’ve had in my head since I was about 10 years old, and I don’t know what anyone else did in the room, but I certainly lost my shit. In addition to songs from their aforementioned new album, The Skull 3 — a title that does better with context, yes — and bringing out Scott Reagers (original Saint Vitus singer; he shouted out Saint Vitus Bar) to do “War is Our Destiny” and to trade off fronting the band with Agell, they did a few Trouble cuts in “The Wolf” and set-capper “Psychotic Reaction,” and it was a celebration of all of it, including the new stuff and The Skull’s “For Those Which Are Asleep,” which was a highlight even among the highlights. Agell coming back out, “What are you still doing here? Don’t you have a pressing engagement with your cat or your couch?” They thanked Desertfest and Tee Pee and were a doomed pleasure to behold front to back. The place started to clear out as it edged toward 11PM, so maybe there were a couple couchly appointments to keep, but I knew I didn’t need to drive home after, so sticking around was no problem. I’m glad I did. Reagers and Agell sharing “Psychotic Reaction” was priceless.
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More tomorrow, of course, but it was a rousing start, to be sure. My back? Killing me. Gonna think really hard about whether I need the big lens tomorrow, but I’ve got time to dwell on it. Until then, there’s more pics after the jump, and thanks for reading. If you’re here, lucky you.
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 12th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Look. I know there’s a lot of information below. And you might be on your phone or wherever you’re at and wondering if there’s really any reason you need all the details and album credits for who’s doing what on the songs on Crippled Black Phoenix‘s two anniversary LP releases, The Wolf Changes its Fur But Not its Nature and the covers collection Horrific Honorifics Number Two (2). Maybe not? Probably not.
In all likelihood, I won’t either. Even if I review the thing, the various comings and goings will be handy to have but I can’t imagine having space to write anything else if I was trying to include a list of personnel for each track throughout the 105 minutes or so of music included across both outings. So does it need to be there?
Here’s the thing. Maybe. Who the hell knows. Maybe 10 years from now when Crippled Black Phoenix are turning 30 as a band, I’ll want to go back and see who was involved in their 20th anniversary goings on. Maybe one of these names will come up in a search on the site’s back end for something else and clue me into some relevant information I could make use of at some point. It’s happened before. But the point is that now that it’s here, it’s here for as long as the site is, and while I know there’s no such thing as permanence — even less so on the internet — at some point in the future I might want to know this stuff. So if you see it and it looks sloppy and it’s a lot, at least know that I thought about it before I decided to put it all in.
No idea if that helps at all, but I do know for a fact that nobody gives a shit and it’s purely imaginary on my part that anyone might. Congrats to Crippled Black Phoenix on 20 years purveying heavy melancholy. Provided this site still exists, I’ll look forward to linking back to this post in a decade.
From the PR wire:
CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX Announce New Double Album
The UK shape-shifters celebrate 20 years with compilation of re-recorded favorites and haunting covers
When the world drowns its sorrows in silence, Crippled Black Phoenix scream into the abyss. Since its inception in 2004, the UK band served as a voice for the voiceless, whether they be animals, the unequal or the different. This year, Justin Greaves (ex Iron Monkey and Electric Wizard), long-time vocalist Belinda Kordic and their many collaborators are celebrating 20 years of shedding light on our troubled existence by releasing a new, two-part compilation.
Horrific Honorifics Number Two (2) continues Crippled Black Phoenix’s tradition of haunting homages with covers that span from Fugazi and Laura Branigan to NoMeansNo, Deep Purple and Built to Spill. The Wolf Changes Its Fut But Not Its Nature offers something different. This disc collects reworked versions of CBP’s early signature songs, including “Goodnight, Europe”, which was the first song that Greaves ever wrote for the band.
The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature and Horrific Honorifics Number Two (2) come out November 29 on Season of Mist.
While originally posted to MySpace after watching Eurovision, “Goodnight, Europe” has become a staple of Cripple Black Phoenix’s live set. The reworked version on The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature reflects how the song has changed with each performance over the past 20 years. The darker, gloomier “Goodnight, Europe (Pt2)” swells like Europe’s fractured landscape. Kordic threads through the shadows with eerie melancholy, as if haunted by the nostalgia for what once was.
“It’s almost impossible to choose which songs to pay respect to”, Greaves says about this new compilation. “There’s still respect for the original version but ‘Goodnight Europe’ needed to be re-imagined in the studio because of what the song has become over time and what it’s now come to represent. Our close friends – both old and new – add more righteous power to these recordings”.
The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature 1. We Forgotten Who We Are (11:17) 2. You Put The Devil In Me (6:18) 3. 444 (7:23) 4. Goodnight, Europe (Pt2) (8:37) 5. (-) (4:39) 6. Song For The Unloved (14:22) 7. Whissendine (6:58) 8. Blizzard Of Horned Cats (4:43) Total runtime: 1:04:21
Horrific Honorifics Number Two (2) 1. Vengeance (4:16) 2. Self Control (5:23) 3. Blueprint (4:03) 4. And That’s Sad (6:52) 5. Hammer Song (4:52) 6. When A Blind Man Cries (3:22) 7. My Pal (3:51) 8. Goin’ Against Your Mind (8:53) Total runtime: 41:36
The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature & Horrific Honorifics Number Two(2) are a double album celebrating the 20 year existence of CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX.
Cast of Suspects: Justin Greaves, Belinda Kordic
with
Andy Taylor, Helen Stanley, Matt Crawford, Georg Paco Nitschke, Wesley J. Wasley Ryan Patterson, Justin Storms, Kostas Panagiotou, Robin Tow, Martin Hyde.
Album Credits: All songs on The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature are rerecorded songs from previous Crippled Black Phoenix releases.
We Forgotten Who We Are (Music – Greaves, Words – Volk) Justin Greaves – Drums, Guitars, Samples Belinda Kordic – Vocals Justin Storms – Vocals Matt Crawford – Bass Helen Stanley – Piano, Synth Andy Taylor – Guitar
You Put The Devil In Me (Music – Greaves, Words – Volk) Justin Greaves – Drums, Guitar, Saw Belinda Kordic – Vocals Kostas Panagiotou – Accordian, Piano, Hammond Matt Crawford – Bass Andy Taylor – Guitar
444 (Music – Greaves, Words – Storms/Volk) Justin Greaves – Drums, Guitars, Samples Justin Storms – Vocals Belinda Kordic – Backing Vocals Kostas Panagiotou – Piano Matt Crawford – Bass Robin Tow – Additional Drums Martin Hyde – Additional Drums
Goodnight, Europe (Pt2) (Music – Greaves, Words – Kordic) Justin Greaves – Drums, Guitar Belinda Kordic – Vocals Kostas Panagiotou – Piano, Accordian Matt Crawford – Bass
Song For The Unloved (Music – Greaves, Words – Patterson) Justin Greaves – Synth, Drums, Guitars, Samples, Bass Ryan Patterson – Vocals Belinda Kordic – Vocals Georg Paco Nitschke – Saxophone, Synth; vocoder Robin Tow – Additional Drums Helen Stanley – Piano, Synth Andy Taylor – Guitar
Whissendine (Music – Greaves, Words – Volk) Justin Greaves – Drums, Guitar, Ebow, Acoustic Guitar Belinda Kordic – Vocals Helen Stanley – Trumpet Kostas Panagiotou – Piano Wesley J. Wasley – Bass
Hey, here’s a tour I haven’t posted about in… days? But, you know, sometimes shows get added to a thing, then sometimes more shows get added to that same thing, and here we are. When last we left US jaunt from Bordeaux’s Mars Red Sky in the company of Nashville’s Howling Giant, the groups had added a stretch of Dec. 5-15 to the in-progress September stint. The span of dates is the same as of now, but the shows taking place over that time have begun to fill in. Asheville, Toronto and Youngstown are new here at least, so hey, if you live in one of those places, good for you. I see an open date where a New Jersey show could be handily slotted, but more likely they’ll split that drive from Philadelphia to North Carolina, because that’s a hike.
Also notable, Baltimore’s Black Lung will jump on board for the first four nights, in their hometown as well as Brooklyn, Boston and Philly. Mars Red Sky, Howling Giant, Black Lung is a pretty sick show. I can’t and won’t tell you how to live your life, but that doesn’t seem to me to be a terrible way to do it, again, if that’s where in the world you happen to be at the time.
Crucialfest tomorrow, though, and a bunch more to go — also Ripplefest, because it’s also been like three minutes since I talked about that, on the 21st — before they get there, as the post from Mars Red Sky‘s socials reminds:
USA TOUR / NEW DATES
A quick update on the US tour with all the confirmed dates in December! Still with our dear Howling Giant and also with BLACK LUNG for a few gigs. Cheers!
FALL (remaining) 09.13 SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Crucialfest 09.14 LAS VEGAS, NV – Sinwave Vegas 09.15 SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Bottom of the Hill 09.16 SACRAMENTO, CA – Cafe Colonial 09.17 LOS ANGELES, CA – El Cid on Sunset 09.19 ALBUQUERQUE, NM – Launchpad 09.20 EL PASO, TX – Rosewood 09.21 AUSTIN, TX – RippleFest Texas
WINTER 12.05 BALTIMORE, MD – Metro Baltimore * 12.06 BROOKLYN, NY – TV Eye NYC * 12.07 CAMBRIDGE/BOSTON, MA – Middle East * 12.08 PHILADELPHIA, PA – MilkBoy * 12.10 ASHEVILLE, NC – Eulogy 12.11 LOUISVILLE, KY – Portal Louisville 12.12 DETROIT, MI – Sanctuary Detroit 12.13 YOUNGSTOWN, OH – Westside Bowl 12.14 TORONTO, ON 🇨🇦 Monarch Tavern 12.15 MONTREAL, QC 🇨🇦 Foufounes Electriques * with BLACK LUNG
MARS RED SKY are: Julien Pras : guitar, vocals Jimmy Kinast : bass, vocals Mathieu “Matgaz” Gazeau : drums, vocals
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 12th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Not saying I’ve conceded defeat when it comes to trying to keep up with label-branded festival shows happening in various cities across Europe and the US — Ripplefests and Heavy Psych Sounds Fests scattered to various reaches of hither and yon — but I have definitely come to terms with the fact that if I posted every time one is announced or adds to its lineup, I probably wouldn’t be able to cover much else. Only many hours/so much brainpower in the day. Both are fleeting fast as a given morning progresses toward a hurried, inevitably dumber afternoon.
If I recall correctly, Ripplefest Germany is put together by members of Plainride, so seeing them at the top of the thus-far bills for shows in Köln and Berlin isn’t such a shocker, and fair enough both for their involvement in making it happen and for their 2023 self-titled (review here) that was released, of course, on Ripple Music. They’re joined by Håndgemeng and Crowley on both bills, while hotly-tipped rockers Scorched Oak are a fourth name unveiled for the Köln date. The two shows are a week apart — you could feasibly attend both; congratulations on your life if you do — and while some of the lineups will likely continue to be shared as they already are, it seems reasonable to expect not everyone who plays the one will make it for the other. Maybe Scorched Oak have something else going on Dec. 7, you never really know.
Whether I can hold to the pace of announcements or not — not, surely — you’ll find ticket links and more info on Ripplefest Germany 2024 below, courtesy of the PR wire. Note the secret venue in Berlin, because who doesn’t love a mystery?
Have at it:
Heavy rock festival RIPPLEFEST GERMANY announces first names for 2024 edition in Berlin and Cologne; tickets on sale now!
Curated by Californian independent label Ripple Music, heavy rock festival RIPPLEFEST reveals the first bands to play its Cologne and Berlin editions on November 30th and December 7th, with tickets on sale now!
Californian heavy label Ripple Music is known and revered worldwide for unearthing the finest bands in heavy rock and heavy metal and bringing together a vast and passionate community of fans from across the globe. The Bay Area-based label is home to international acts such as The Obsessed, Hermano, Scott “Wino” Weinrich, Tony Reed, Poobah, Wo Fat or Colour Haze.
Dubbing their festival series “Ripplefest”, the record label has been organizing showcase events in cities such as Austin, San Francisco, London, Stockholm, Cologne and Berlin over the years. Now the German chapter of Ripplefest is ready to celebrate its fifth edition this fall! Returning to the cities of Berlin and Cologne, the festival is once again set to shed light on an array of bands from scene veterans to new blood, from occult rock to doom ‘n’ roll!
Dark desert psych rockers Spirit Mother are playing three shows on the Eastern Seaboard this week, including Desertfest New York, coinciding with the anticipated release tomorrow, Sept. 13, of their second album and first studio outing through Heavy Psych Sounds, Trails. If you recall, the now-mostly-West-Coast-I-think outfit made their debut with 2020’s Cadets (review here) and took part the next year in the ‘Live in the Mojave Desert’ pandemic-era streaming series.
The resultant live album, Live in the Mojave Desert (review here), was issued via Heavy Psych Sounds, and gave the then-Cali-based outfit a showcase next to the likes of Earthless, Nebula and Stöner, as well as Mountain Tamer. Spirit Mother met that moment with a richly textured sound based in scrub-bush sprawl but nascent in the pursuit of ideas beyond the bounds of microgenre. The Eddie Brnabic-produced Trails, as one would have hoped, sees the potential Spirit Mother demonstrated on that evening at Giant Rock beginning to come to fruition in their sound. Across 10 tracks and 38 minutes, the band explore aural nightcraft, setting a creepy atmosphere in the quick intro “Passage” before the title-track takes hold with stark standalone guitar.
It’s not about violence, or at least not specifically — maybe Uncle Acid are a subtle influence, but so far as I can tell nobody’s sexualizing murder — but between the various guitars woven through “Trails” and the subsequent pieces from Armand Lance (electric, acoustic, baritone, bass) and Sean McCormick, the violin and backing vocal contributions of SJ and the fluidity Landon Cisneros brings to the drums holding the arrangements together, the band are able to bring a cinematic atmosphere to songs that are pointedly concise; the longest of the bunch is forebodingly catchy closer “Wolves” at 5:29 and nothing else touches the five-minute mark. Depth and brevity, impact and sprawl.
There are shades of Americana in the warnings being issued amid the sinewy grooves of “Veins” or even the string-anchored drone and crashes of “Tonic,” and volatility to match the attitudinal sneer as Lance‘s vocals don’t shy away from screaming when the song calls for it. If we’re out in the desert, we’re out there alone, at night, huddled in the surprising cold and vastness, waiting to be eaten. There’s some respite to be had as “Below” weaves acoustic guitar strum into the suitably expansive mix and paces itself to highlight flow leading into Trails‘ second half, and “Vessel” has a sense of breakout as it shoves uptempo to its finish, one of the more propulsive stretches on a record that’s plenty brash and accordingly brooding.
But, in part because Spirit Mother never dwell too long in one song or arrangement, Trails puts momentum on its side early and holds it there for the duration. The swing in “Emerald,” or the dug-in cycles of “Vessel,” or even the penultimate “Given,” where the drums sit out and acoustic guitar, ambient drone and atmospheric vocals set up the arrival of “Wolves” with the last and maybe most memorable of Trails‘ hooks, taking the warning of the title-track — “You should’ve stayed/Back where you came/This city is a grave” — to a place of more direct threat with the lines, “You have no idea/Who is wolf and who is deer/All around you.”
If you’ve been following the band’s course across the record in all its dynamic shifts and immersive, consuming arrangements, that’s a hell of a place to end up, but it’s not a record about safety, and at least in terms of style, Spirit Mother aren’t playing it safe either. Cadets had no shortage of mood, but these songs portray a different side of the heavy Americana proffered by the likes of Lord Buffalo or All Them Witches, and they distinguish Spirit Mother as a band more about their own creative impulses than one playing to style. I don’t think it’s a coincidence they called it Trails. As a group, they’re out there too, walking a path into the unknown, and as much as Trails builds up the world in which that path resides, the essence of the thing is the movement through it and the way the band carry the listener from front-to-back.
As the cover art attests, there is more happening dimensionally in the material that comprises Trails than it might first appear, and to be sure, it’s a record that reveals more of its methods and ideologies on repeat listens, but without exception, even in “Given” where the balance is most tipped toward impressionism over impact, the song is paramount. That’s evident from the way “Passage” leaves off and “Trails” picks up from the silence — not what one would expect in terms of transition, but it works — through the nonetheless hypnotic push of “Wolves,” and even more than the heft or severity of a given moment, it’s how it all feeds into the overarching reach of Trails as a whole where Spirit Mother seem to find themselves.
And by that I don’t just mean where they end up, but where they discover who they are as a band. I won’t hazard to predict how their development will play out from here — a third full-length always tells you a lot about who a band are, and Spirit Mother will get there — but if there’s a plot, it’s only made thicker by the progression evident in their approach to this point and the individualism stemming from it. Approach it with an open mind and it’s a record that might just speak to you in unanticipated ways.
Trails streams in its entirety below, followed by the preorder links and Spirit Mother‘s upcoming tour dates, the bulk of which are supporting the freak-legendary Acid Mothers Temple.
The undeniable next chapter in the band’s creative process, “Trails” brings the energy of the US foursome’s visceral, all-in live performances while expanding on the sensibilities of their debut album “Cadets”. The darker tonality, heavier, fuzz-fueled riffs, and relentless rhythm section accompany prolific structures and arrangement. The violin summons a brooding, atmospheric pedestal for the remaining power trio to wield with fervor. Lance’s haunting vocals and stark lyricism intersperse the instrumentals with a melody as dynamic as it is accessible.
Spirit Mother with Acid Mothers Temple (except *): 9/12 @bugjar Rochester NY* 9/13 @desertfest_nyc * 9/14 @33golden New London CT* 9/27 @casbahsandiego San Diego CA 9/28 @lodgeroom LA CA 9/29 @moesalley Santa Cruz CA 9/30 @theestorkcluboakland Oakland CA 10/1 @harlowsnightclub Sacramento CA 10/2 @johnhenryseugene Eugene OR 10/3 @tractortavern Seattle WA 10/4 @aladdintheater Portland OR 10/5 @silvermoonbrewing Bend OR 10/6 @realms.7 Boise ID 10/7 @urbanloungeslc Salt Lake City UT 10/8 @bluebirdtheater Denver CO 10/9 @recordbar Kansas City MO 10/10 @turfclubmn St. Paul MN 10/11 @cactusclubmke Milwaukee WI 10/12 @sl33pingvillag3 Chicago IL 10/13 @highnoonmadison Madison WI 10/14 @portal_louisville Louisville KY 10/15 @sghrevival Newport KY 10/16 @thegrogshop Cleveland Heights OH 10/17 @buffaloironworks Buffalo NY 10/18 @alchemy_providence Providence RI 10/19 @tveyenyc Queens NY 10/20 @milkboyphilly Philadelphia PA 10/21 @metro_baltimore Baltimore MD 10/22 @thepourhouse Raleigh NC 10/23 @masquerade_atl Atlanta GA 10/25 @the_merrywidow Mobile AL 10/26 @siberianeworleans New Orleans LA 10/27 @freetown_boomboomroom Lafayette LA 10/29 @thehitonecafe Memphis TN 10/30 @mercuryloungetulsa Tulsa OK 10/31 @levitation Austin TX 11/1 @resonant_head Oklahoma City OK 11/2 @sisterbar Albuquerque NM 11/3 @therebelphx Phoenix AZ 11/4 @wayfarercm Costa Mesa CA
Spirit Mother are: Armand Lance: Vocals, Bass, Baritone, Acoustic & Electric Guitars SJ: Violin & Vocals Sean McCormick: Electric Guitar Landon Cisneros: Drums & Percussion
