When I started this post, it was about the US tour that Blackwater Holylight announced the other day. Then there was word of a slot at Roadburn playing an album that hasn’t been released yet. Then there was the announcement of the album. Then there was the European tour that fills in the gaps between prior confirmations at Desertfest in Oslo, London and Berlin. They’ll also play A Colossal Weekend in Copenhagen, Obsidian Dust in Brussels and Sonic Rites in Helsinki, as well as others.

All of this information came to me in succession as I was trying to put the post together. I found this, then that. I have to think if I was cooler I’d be on some press list that I’m not, but so it goes. Now there’s a song streaming too — it’s called “Heavy, Why?” and continues the thread of Blackwater Holylight being way more complex in terms of style and progression than anyone expected them to be from their psychedelic beginnings — and a bunch of info from the album’s Bandcamp page, so what I’ve done is my very best to assemble all the information from various sources — the US dates were from Nanotear‘s Nathan Carson, the album info comes from Bandcamp as noted, the Euro dates are cut and pasted from the band’s Linktr.ee, because I couldn’t find a typed out list anywhere. Also so it goes.

I don’t know if any of that or any of the below makes sense, but there’s a lot of info and I wanted to get at least what I think is all of it in, so here we are. Album’s out Jan. 30, they’ll tour the US, do it in full at Roadburn, then head back over for more shenanigans in May. No doubt what follows will be more touring.

From the internet:

When Blackwater Holylight left their hometown of Portland OR three years ago, their mission was to escape the gloom of the Pacific Northwest and the placating comfort of familiarity. Aiming for the sunnier climes of L.A., the band found themselves not only in a warmer environment, but in a blank slate landscape—one without jobs, longtime friend groups, and the easy retreat of old habits. And it was here, unencumbered by the contentment of security, that Blackwater Holylight began diligently working on their fourth full-length album, Not Here Not Gone.

As with their previous work, Not Here Not Gone explores the duality of light and dark—menacing riffs provide the bedrock to beguiling melodies; dense walls of shoegaze guitars pair with lighter-than-air synths; and heavy subject matter is delivered by siren song vocals. Across their work, the listener gets a sense of empowerment at one turn, vulnerability the next. As drummer Eliese Dorsay describes it, “some songs we’re the predator, and some songs we’re the prey.” The juxtaposition of confidence and uncertainty is never in as such stark relief as when one makes a life changing decision, which may explain how the band’s relocation intensified their study in contrasts to intoxicating new heights on Not Here Not Gone.

The title is the perfect description of the band’s adjustment. “It’s one foot in, one foot out,” vocalist and guitarist/bassist Sunny Faris explains. “It’s about how you can lose people in your life but still have their presence and energy around you.” And indeed, listening to Not Here Not Gone, you get the distinct sense that Blackwater Holylight dragged some of the Northwest gloom down into Southern California. The opening chords of “How Will You Feel” are drenched in the muddy weight of perpetually overcast skies. But a Jacob’s Ladder of light shines through the scuzzy guitars in the form of Faris’ lilting vocals and Sarah McKenna’s blissed-out ambient synth work, guiding the listener out of the mire and into the garden.

Even in their heaviest moments, like the sludgy psychedelia of “Bodies” and “Spades,” Blackwater Holylight masterfully sculpt the thunder and grime into something that feels transcendental. Lead single “Heavy, Why?” is perhaps the apex of the band’s masterful duality and an appropriately titled examination of the ensemble’s methods. Mikayla Mayhew’s low, dirge-like riff and Dorsay’s propulsive drums could easily find a home in the catalog of an amp-worshipping Roadburn act, but Faris’ fragile vocals transform the composition into a question, a pointed and probing examination that uses beauty and grace to offset the threatening instrumentation.

In one of the biggest stylistic shifts of the album, the instrumental track “Giraffe” churns out a hallucinatory blend of woozy keyboards and pulsating bass over a beat provided by David Andrew Sitek (TV on the Radio, Run the Jewels, Solange). The song serves as a dividing line of sorts, as Not Here Not Gone shifts gears into even more nuanced territories. The band asserts that the primary change to their music has been the addition of time. On previous albums, youthful urgency yielded material that felt immediate and direct. But on Not Here Not Gone, Blackwater Holylight deliberately slowed their creative pace. “If there were to be a theme to the album, it would be patience,” says Faris. “Some of these songs we’ve been working on for three years, just giving the songs time to breath and develop while we were exploring a new place and new lives.” It’s especially evident on the latter half of the album, where tracks like “Void to Be,” “Fade,” and “Mourning After” deliberately eschew the big riff in favor of fever dream melodies and layered instrumentation. But forever savoring the paradox, the album’s final track was composed just days before the band entered the studio. “Poppyfields” is a harrowing account of a friend losing their home in an LA wildfire, set against a backdrop of blast beats, double kick drum, symphonic synths, and black metal-inspired guitars. In what feels like a counterweight to the album’s general tilt towards less tormented territories, “Poppyfields” serves as a stark reminder that no paradise is permanent, and everything will be reborn through ashes.

Not Here Not Gone was recorded at Sonic Ranch outside of El Paso TX by Sonny Diperri (Narrow Head, DIIV, Emma Ruth Rundle), allowing the band to once again step outside of their comfort zone and isolate themselves in a place where they could focus exclusively on their art. The result is the crown jewel of Blackwater Holylight’s catalog—a rich and immersive study in tonal chiaroscuro, where light finds its way out of the shadows.

Tracklisting:
1. How Will You Feel
2. Involuntary Haze
3. Bodies
4. Heavy, Why?
5. Giraffe
6. Spades
7. Void To Be
8. Fade
9. Mourning After
10. Poppyfields

Written & Produced by Blackwater Holylight
Producer, Mixer, Engineer – Sonny Diperri
Mixing Assistant – Zach Capittifenton
Engineering Assistant – Felipe Aldana
Mastering – Howie Weinberg

Sunny Faris – Vocals, Guitar, Bass
Mikayla Mayhew – Bass, Guitar
Eliese Dorsay – Drums
Sarah McKenna – Synths
Camille Getz – Violin
David Sitek – Beats on “Giraffe” (Track #5)

Blackwater Holylight are HITTING THE ROAD early next year to celebrate the release of their new album Not Here Not Gone. Glassing supports 2/13-2/27. SOM supports 2/27-3/14.

Tickets on sale now.

Fri 2/13 – San Diego, CA – Casbah
Sat 2/14 – Phoenix, AZ – Last Exit
Sun 2/15 – Albuquerque, NM – Sister
Tue 2/17 – Austin, TX – Radio/East
Wed 2/18 – Houston, TX – White Oak
Thu 2/19 – New Orleans, LA – Siberia
Fri 2/20 – Pensacola, FL – Handlebar
Sat 2/21 – Atlanta, GA – Drunken Unicorn
Sun 2/22 – Asheville, NC – Eulogy
Tue 2/24 – Charlottesville, VA – Southern Cafe
Wed 2/25 – Baltimore, MD – Metro
Thu 2/26 – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
Fri 2/27 – Brooklyn, NY – Meadows
Sat 2/28 – Braintree, MA – Widowmaker Brewing
Mon 3/02 – Youngstown, OH – Westside Bowl
Tue 3/03 – Indianapolis, IN – Black Circle
Wed 3/04 – Chicago, IL – Sleeping Village
Fri 3/06 – Denver, CO – Hi-Dive
Sat 3/07 – Denver, CO – Hi-Dive
Sun 3/08 – Salt Lake City, UT – Aces High
Tue 3/10 – Seattle, WA – Neumos
Wed 3/11 – Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater
Thu 3/12 – Sacramento, CA – Starlet
Fri 3/13 – San Francisco, CA – The Chapel
Sat 3/14 – Santa Cruz, CA – Moe’s Alley
Sat 3/21 – Los Angeles, CA – Pacific Electric

BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT 2026 EU/UK TOUR
4/18/2026 Tilburg: ROADBURN FESTIVAL
5/6/2026 AMENRA/BWHL in Brussels
5/7/2026 Hamburg
5/8/2026 Copenhagen: A Colossal Weekend
5/9/2026 Desertfest Oslo
5/12/2026 Poznan
5/13/2026 Leipzig
5/14/2026 Desertfest Berlin
5/15/2026 Neunkirchen
5/16/2026 Brussels: Obsidian Dust
5/17/2026 DESERTFEST LONDON
5/18/2026 Newcastle
5/19/2026 Glasgow
5/22/2026: SONIC RITES Helsinki
5/20/2026 Manchester

https://www.blackwaterholylight.com/
blackwaterholylight.bandcamp.com
https://linktr.ee/Blackwaterholylight
instagram.com/blackwaterholylight
https://www.facebook.com/blackwaterholylight/

Blackwater Holylight, Not Here Not Gone (2026)

Blackwater Holylight, If You Only Knew (2025)

Because it’s the future, the poster with the new round of lineup additions for Roadburn Festival 2026, in always-accommodating Tilburg, the Netherlands, is a video. And Roadburn is one of few places on the planet where ‘the future’ is a hopeful prospect. While you and I live in dystopic hellscapes of various shapes and oppressive, overwhelming, strip-you-of-your-rights-on-our-way-to-passively-if-not-actively-murdering-you realities, Roadburn unrepentantly brings a sense of optimism. The future isn’t that boot on your neck. It’s whatever you want it to be.

This is a message I appreciate as much as I appreciate being obliterated by bands on stage, and surely the likes of Inter Arma, Primitive Man and Slift meet that need here, among others. Look at Warning becoming a Roadburn house band. And a full-album performance from Blackwater Holylight for a record that isn’t out until Jan. 30 — the band will be back in Europe in May for more touring and more fests, and has a US tour slated for February/March, as I think went up yesterday. I have trouble keeping up sometimes with when things are actually getting posted these days. See horrors above.

A beacon amid perennial awfulness and distraction:

Maruja, billy woods, Inter Arma, aya and many more announced for Roadburn 2026

Roadburn festival has today announced a second wave of bands for the 2026 edition which will take place between April 16-19 in Tilburg, The Netherlands. Among the names announced today are festival favourites Inter Arma performing their epic 2014 release The Cavern for the first (and last) time, American rapper billy woods, and Manchester’s genre-bending four-piece Maruja.

Roadburn’s artistic director, Walter Hoeijmakers comments:

“As the path toward Roadburn 2026 unfolds, the energy around us is rising. Every connection, every sound, every spark of creativity is drawing us closer together as the festival comes into view. This second announcement marks another step on that journey, an open invitation to feel the pulse of what’s ahead.

“The artists at the heart of this year’s edition are each shaping worlds of their own, their past, present, and future intertwining in bold new ways. At Roadburn 2026, you’ll hear echoes of where we’ve been, glimpses of where we’re going, and the raw emotion of right now. Each performance will remind us that art can move us, heal us, and bring us together – that through music, we find our shared humanity.

“We’re letting optimism light the way. Let’s meet in Tilburg next April – alive, open, and ready to share this amazing energy, face to face.”

All ticket and accommodation options for Roadburn are on sale now and more information including the full line up can be found at roadburn.com

The latest additions to Roadburn 2026 are as follows:

Additions to Roadburn 2026:

Ak’Chamel
aya
Backengrillen
Blackwater Holylight performing Not Here Not Gone
billy woods
Haress
Inter Arma performing The Cavern
Kowloon Walled City
Mandy, Indiana
Maruja
Milkweed
Orcutt Shelley Miller
Pain Magazine
Primitive Man performing Observance and a set of early years’ material titled Remembrance
Prostitute
RÓIS
Saetia
SLIFT
Slow Crush performing Aurora and premiering a special audio-visual presentation of Thirst
Slowhole
Truck Violence
Unsane performing Occupational Hazard
Warning

These artists will join a slew of previously announced artists including Oathbreaker, Krallice, Agriculture, Habak and many more. The full line up can be found at roadburn.com

Artwork by Douwe Dijkstra

http://www.roadburn.com
http://www.instagram.com/roadburnfest
https://www.facebook.com/roadburnfestival/

Blackwater Holylight, If You Only Knew (2025)

Slift, Ilion (2024)

Big-drummed heavy-psych Americana rockers Abronia are coming back with their fourth album, Shapes Unravel, on Feb. 20, 2026. Set to release on Cardinal Fuzz in Europe and Feeding Tube Records in the States, it’s the Portland, Oregon, six-piece’s follow-up to 2022’s Map of Dawn (review here) and 2023’s The High Desert Sessions (review here), and the opening track, “New Imposition,” is streaming now to mark the launch of preorders.

I like this band. I’ve liked them since their first record, and that was only eight years ago so I’m not bragging or anything. But they’ve been consistent in some ways — Keelin Mayer remains a core presence on vocals, and the arrangements surrounding with pedal steel, tenor sax and other-than-big-drum percussion have always been there — and as the PR wire posits, are plenty recognizable in terms of their sound. You know them when you hear them, but as “New Imposition” reminds, they’re always up to something a little different than they were last time out.

The track gets a little wild, but well it should for being at the start of the record. I haven’t heard the full-thing yet, but I’m willing to speculate it doesn’t get any less outbound from there. So much the better. I look forward to finding out:

Abronia Announces New LP, Shares “New Imposition” Single + Video

PRE-SAVE: Abronia – Shapes Unravel
Pre-Save: https://show.co/jf49ZZx
Pre-Order (US): https://feedingtuberecords.com/releases/shapes-unravel/
Pre-Order (UK): https://cardinalfuzz.bigcartel.com/product/abronia-shapes-unravel

Some bands make it obvious from the first few notes—a single tone, a specific push on the tempo, the way the air moves around the instruments—and you know it’s them. Abronia is one of those bands.

From the first thud of their 32-inch bass drum to the coil of pedal steel winding through the haze, the sound of this Portland-based six-piece is unmistakable. Over the past decade, Abronia has been refining their singular blend of widescreen psychedelia, desert noir, Eastern drone, avant-jazz, doom, post-punk, and acid-folk—channeling something that feels at once ritualistic and cinematic.

Today, the band is announcing their fourth studio album, Shapes Unravel. Sonically, this is Abronia’s most ambitious and compositionally daring record to date—the album moves with a strange gravitational pull, layering grief, haunted memory, and flashes of transcendence into something emotionally expansive and structurally bold. Moments of crushing weight give way to eerie stillness, held together by an urgency that feels vital, not calculated. It’s a record that doesn’t politely wait for your attention; it pulls you into its orbit whether you’re ready or not.

Our first glimpse into Shapes Unravel is the single “New Imposition.” The track opens with echoing guitar plucking and eerie pedal steel and unfolds quickly into a cinematic score, transporting you instantly into the world of Abronia.

When asked about the song, singer/saxophone player Keelin Mayer says, “Going into a Fred Meyer (Pacific Northwest one stop shopping) during the pandemic–walking around the store while your drug addicted boyfriend shove racks of ribs, ice cream and deodorant down his pants, while people are shooting up in the bathroom. We think someone steals his iPhone at the self-checkout, but it turns up shoved between two bags of chips. You only realize your boyfriend was shoplifting when he pulls the stolen things out of his pants in the car. The guilt and shame you feel as you watch so many people succumb to addiction. That Fred Meyer location is now closed because it couldn’t sustain the wave of crime. Watching the fruits of unbridled capitalism and the greed of the ruling elite bloom into full technicolor. Try to run away before the wave gets you too.”

Alongside the release of “New Imposition,” the band is sharing a music video.

“New Imposition” is out today on all DSPs. Shapes Unravel is due for release on February 20th, 2026.

Abronia Live
2/26 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios w/ Jackie-O Motherfucker
2/27 – Seattle, WA @ Add-a-Ball w/ Jackie-O Motherfucker, Von Wildenhaus
2/28 – Bellingham, WA @ Makeshift w/ Jackie-O Motherfucker, The Sheen

Shapes Unravel – Tracklisting:
1. New Imposition
2. Mirrored Ends of Light
3. Weapons Against Progress
4. Walker’s Dead Birds
5. Gemini
6. Petals and Sand
7. Asleep in the Porcelain House

On Shapes Unravel, their fourth studio album, Abronia pushes deeper into both composition and feeling. The band’s lineup has shifted slightly since the last one, but the chemistry remains intact. Shaver has put down the sticks and moved to guitar, Danny Metcalfe has stepped in on bass, and Robert Grubaugh (who previously filled in on a European tour with the band) has taken over on the big drum. Eric Crespo’s guitar and backing vocals remain a driving force, while Rick Pedrosa continues to carve strange and searing shapes with pedal steel. Keelin Mayer’s vocals—whether leaning into viciousness or hypnotic intimacy—are a stronger force than ever, while her tenor sax and, on one song, flute (as showcased on “Gemini”) threaten to send the whole thing into the stratosphere. The addition of strings and brass brings an orchestral depth that expands their sonic language without diluting its punch.

Like their previous three records, this one was tracked at Portland’s legendary Echo Echo studio (formerly Type Foundry). And like their previous studio album, Map of Dawn, it was mixed by Tape Op founder Larry Crane, a longtime ally of the band’s sonic excavations. The band’s commitment to capturing the unfiltered, spontaneous magic of being in the room together remains a cornerstone of their sound, creating a record that is at once chaotic, controlled, and unapologetically alive.

Abronia is –
Keelin Mayer: Vocals, Tenor Saxophone, Flute
Rick Pedrosa: Pedal Steel, Percussion
Robert Grubaugh: Big Drum, Percussion, Melodica
Danny Metcalfe: Bass
James Shaver: Guitar
Eric Crespo: Guitar, Backing Vocals

https://abronia.bandcamp.com/
http://instagram.com/abroniaband
http://facebook.com/abroniapdx

cardinalfuzz.bigcartel.com/
https://cful.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/cardinalfuzz/
https://www.facebook.com/CardinalFuzz/

http://feedingtuberecords.com/
https://feedingtuberecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/feedingtuberecords_rozztoxart/
https://www.facebook.com/FeedingtubeRecords/

Abronia, “New Imposition” official video

Abronia, Shapes Unravel (2026)

Uh, so Mario Lalli and Sean Wheeler are taking Mario Lalli and the Rubber Snake Charmers to Japan for a round of six shows from Jan. 28 through Feb. 2. They start in Okayama and finish in Tokyo.

Badass, right? Of course. Lalli doing a bit of desert ambassadorship is always good news, and Wheeler‘s beat-poet frontmanning makes a welcome complement in the Rubber Snake Charmers context. But check out the part in the blue text where it says they’re improvising, and that they’ll be collaborating with local musicians to round out the lineup of the band. I don’t know the whos and wheres on that, if it’s going to be the same lineup all the time or if they’ll just roll into Kanazawa the third night of the tour and hope a drummer shows up, but for a project that’s so much about exploration and improvising their way forward, a tour like this seems ideal. You’re basically guaranteed something different every night.

In addition to this, Mario Lalli and the Rubber Snake Charmers — in some incarnation — have also been confirmed for the first-ever Mojave Experience Festival in Joshua Tree, CA, in March, and Desertfest London 2026 in May, so safe to say the project will keep busy at least through the early going of the New Year. Their live-recorded 2024 album, Folklore From the Other Desert Cities (review here), will hopefully get a follow-up from all this traveling and activity, and if that happens on a night in Japan when Lalli and Wheeler are clicking with the cats from Blasting Rod with whom they’ve never shared a stage before and maybe it all just becomes a special, once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing, so much the better.

Saw the dates on socials and here they are:

Desert rock veterans Sean Wheeler & Mario Lalli are heading to Japan for a series of improvised performances, collaborating with musicians from Japan, including the psychedelic rock trio @blastingrod !

RUBBER SNAKE CHARMERS JAPAN 2026
Jan 28 Pepperland, Okayama
Jan 29 Sengoku Daitouryo, Osaka
Jan 30 Music Base Extreme, Kanazawa
Jan 31 Brazil Coffee, Nagoya
Feb 1 El Puente, Yokohama
Feb 2 Fever, Tokyo

https://www.instagram.com/rubbersnakecharmers/
https://www.facebook.com/RUBBERSNAKECHARMERS/

http://www.heavypsychsounds.com/
https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://instagram.com/heavypsychsounds_records/
https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/

Mario Lalli and the Rubber Snake Charmers, Folklore From the Other Desert Cities (2024)

I believe lineup dropoffs should be handled like removing band-aids, so in that spirit, I’ll not slow-peel the disappointment that Fuzz Sagrado (from Germany/Brazil) and Saint Karloff (from Norway) won’t be making the trip to Las Vegas in January for Planet Desert Rock Weekend VI. But when it comes to festivals of any size or shape, cancellations are part of the thing, and neither band is done, so you say ‘maybe next year’ and move forward with the fest to come. I was looking forward to seeing those bands, not the least since Fuzz Sagrado‘s Christian Peters is just coming back to the stage after the end of Samsara Blues Experiment, but it’s a big unknowable future and hopefully those paths will cross sooner or later. The conclusion every time, every context, is “so it goes.”

There are few bands who I could name in this paragraph who wouldn’t feel like a consolation prize, but Spaceslug is one of them. Fest curator John Gist — who thanked me in the below press release and I took it out because I’m all ego but also hyper-introverted; anyway, thanks for the thanks — and they and Black Water Rising, plus a couple teased confirmations to come, will add to the shape of the four-nighter from Jan. 29-Feb. 1, which also boasts The Atomic Bitchwax, The Devil and the Almighty Blues, The Quill, Westing, High Desert Queen and more.

Gist sent the following down the PR wire:

Vegas Rock Revolution is excited to announce the next two bands for Planet Desert Rock Weekend VI in Las Vegas! Two very different styles of bands to continues the legacy of PDRW. Both of these bands are already legacy PDRW bands and we are honored to have them back!

Spaceslug from Poland will be returning to play only their 3rd USA show ever for this exclusive set. Their spacey blend of atmospheric heavy psych with doom is a magnificent thing to see live. They will be playing their epic album Lemanis in its entirety plus a few more killer tracks to honor the 10th anniversary of the album. They will be headlining Night 4 on Sunday for the Last Call show at Swan Dive. We will have some sort of visuals set up for the evening as well! Should make for an amazing final night.

Spaceslug, “Proton Lander”

Black Water Rising is joining the party as well. This NYC heavy rock band played PDRW II back in 2019 and are no strangers to Las Vegas as they have played a number of times Vegas Rock Revolution shows. Their 2025 release “The Edge” landed #9 on the August Doom Charts and has really lit a spark in the rock scene. This is a very rare west coast show for these boys from Brooklyn and they are flying in just for the show so…..there are no other shows in surrounding area. The band brings great riff action while also providing strong vocals with smart lyrics that you can understand. If you are a fan of bands like COC, Crobot, Sasquatch, Monster Magnet and others then this band is right In your wheelhouse. Their breakthrough song “Brother Go On” catapulted itself to many ears via Sirius XM’s Octane Radio vis Jose Mangin.

Black Water Rising, “Brother Go On”

Now we have some disappointing news as Fuzz Sagrado and Saint Karloff will not be making it to PDRW VI. Possibly in the future we may have them if the timing is better. We wish it wasn’t so but this the reality.

We have two more bands to still announce and we don’t want to wait much longer to get those names to you. Our curation is done very carefully and we want to make sure the right bands that are a fantastic fit for our loyal and incredible fans is chosen. Nightly lineups will start coming out very soon as well as single night ticket options!

Also a massive thanks to our several sponsors we have so far. Ripple Music will again be part of PDRW and will have a full night of music from the label on Friday at The Usual Place. You might be able to figure out which bands are locked in for that evening already! Mettle Media run by long time contributor to the scene Leanne Ridgeway will again be part of Planet Desert Rock Weekend. She has been vital on helping with the Webpage and PR.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2EBcJHjbMeDokzdhXNSZS6?si=3d7d1437262c4023

https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/planet-desert-rock-weekend-vi-128-21-2026-4110273

The Atomic Bitchwax, “Hope You Die”

If you haven’t heard it yet, I encourage you to listen to Coltaine‘s 2025 album, Brandung (review here), at the bottom of this post. I want to say up front that I’m not trying to slight Faetooth here; their own 2025 LP, Labyrinthine (review here) was a banger as well, they just have more hype generally than Coltaine, so in my mind you’re more likely to have heard them before. Does that make sense? I don’t know, but you spend your still-stoned Sunday morning how you want and I’ll do the same, thanks.

And how I prefer to spend mine is with another revisit to the world the Karlsruhe outfit create across the album, intangibly atmospheric and willing to break the rules of genre to its will. The folk of another universe. It is my hope to see Coltaine later in 2026, and it’s among my most-looked-forward-to sets going into the New Year. If you’re gonna be where they are, in Germany, UK, France, Switzerland, Poland, Italy, you might consider showing up. This is a band pushing ideas of ‘heavy’ in a direction of their own, and they’re doing that crucial work right now. Listen to the album if you don’t believe me.

From social media:

COLTAINE – EU/UK Tour with Faetooth

Tickets: https://www.bandsintown.com/a/15513861-coltaine

22/01 – 🇩🇪 Berlin, Lido
23/01 – 🇩🇪 Hamburg, Hafenklang
24/01 – 🇩🇪 Bochum, Die Trompete
25/01 – 🇩🇪 Mainz, Schon-Schoen
27/01 – 🇳🇱 Utrecht, De Helling
28/01 – 🇧🇪 Brussels, AB Club
30/01 – 🇮🇪 Dublin, Workman’s Club
31/01 – 🇮🇪 Galway, Roisin Dubh
01/02 – 🇮🇪 Cork, The Pav
03/02 – 🇬🇧 Birkenhead, Future Yard
04/02 – 🇬🇧 Shipley, Kirkgate Community Centre
05/02 – 🇬🇧 Newcastle, Anarchy Brewery
06/02 – 🇬🇧 Glasgow, Classic Grand
07/02 – 🇬🇧 Manchester, Rebellion
08/02 – 🇬🇧 Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
10/02 – 🇬🇧 Bristol, The Fleece
11/02 – 🇬🇧 Wolverhampton, KK’s Steel Mill
12/02 – 🇬🇧 Southampton, Papillon
13/02 – 🇬🇧 Swansea, Sin City
14/02 – 🇬🇧 London, The Garage
15/02 – 🇬🇧 Brighton, Patterns
16/02 – 🇫🇷 Lille, Bulle Cafe
17/02 – 🇫🇷 Paris, L’Empreinte Savigny Le Temple
18/02 – 🇫🇷 Lyon, Rock N Eat
20/02 – 🇮🇹 Milan, Slaughter Club
21/02 – 🇮🇹 Bologna, Freakout Club
22/02 – 🇨🇭 Lucerne, Sedel
23/02 – 🇨🇭 Düdingen, Bad Bonn
24/02 – 🇩🇪 Munich, Feierwerk
25/02 – 🇩🇪 Leipzig, UT Connewitz
27/02 – 🇵🇱 Warsaw, Hydrozagadka
28/02 – 🇵🇱 Wroclaw, Lacznik

https://coltaine-band.com/
https://linktr.ee/coltaine
https://coltaine.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/coltaine/
https://www.facebook.com/coltaineband

https://laybarerecordings.com/
https://laybarerecordings.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/laybarerecordings/
https://www.facebook.com/laybarerecordings/

Coltaine, “Brandung” live in Oslo, Norway, Sept. 5 2025

Coltaine, Brandung (2025)

Salem’s The Freqs have been pushing toward a debut full-length for a couple years now, so as they unveil the new single “Tag Maggot” with word that their first album is on the way for 2026, this indeed strikes as good news. No release date yet or any such formalities, but if they told you it was March would you be like, “No way that’s too crazy long.” It’s their first record, and by all accounts that I’ve seen, they’re putting it out themselves. These things take time to coordinate.

I feel you on the impatience though, and it seems appropriate for a restless elbow-thrower like “Tag Maggot” as well, with its sub-three-minute run and the heaping dose of crunch dealt out thereby. Here. Go dance with your friends. Awesome:

THE FREQS: Salem, Massachusetts Psych/Noise Rock Trio Drops “Tag Maggot” Single; Debut LP To See Release In 2026

Salem, Massachusetts’ raging noise/psych rock crew THE FREQS present the gnarled new single “Tag Maggot.”

In August, THE FREQS dropped their first new music since the 2023-released Poachers EP with the new single, “Jellyfish Cadaver,” featuring Nicholas Pentabona of Bedtimemagic on guest vocals. The band now delivers their second new single of the year with “Tag Maggot.” The track was produced, recorded, and mixed by Alex Allinson at The Bridge Sound & Stage in Cambridge (Lesotho, Miracle Blood, Bedtimemagic), mastered by Keith Gentile at Labyrinth Audio in Peabody (Fórn, Hellhorse, American Midnight), and completed with artwork by Ellis Roundy of The P.A.’s.

THE FREQS’ guitarist/vocalist Seth Crowell states, “‘Tag Maggot’ is generally about how it feels to work a shit job that barely pays for rent. How uneven the exchange of your time for a meager living can be. The title and artwork are meant to represent life’s impermanence.”

Stream THE FREQS’ “Tag Maggot” at Bandcamp RIGHT HERE, and watch for the song to hit all digital streaming services at midnight, linked HERE: https://thefreqs.hearnow.com/tag-maggot-2

THE FREQS will deliver their long-awaited debut LP in the first half of 2026, with further details to drop early in the year.

In the meantime, the band continues to shiv eardrums across the Northeast, joining their allies in Miracle Blood on stage in Worcester tomorrow as the new single drops.

THE FREQS Live:
1/31/2026 Auspicious Brew – Dover, NH w Knock Over City, Cold Signal Fires

Formed in 2019, THE FREQS trio sees guitarist/vocalist Seth Crowell, bassist/vocalist Ian Mandly, and drummer Zack Fierman crafting a distinctive sound at the intersection of genres, taking influence from bands like Melvins, Queens Of The Stone Age, and The Jesus Lizard to deliver loud, riff-heavy, fuzzed-out, noise/psych/stoner-infused rock. Nominated for Best Rock Artist Of The Year at the Boston Music Awards in 2021, the power trio continues to lash eardrums with their bombastic live set across New England and beyond.

The Freqs:
Seth Crowell – Guitar/vox
Ian Mandly – Bass/backing vox
Zack Fierman – Drums/backing vox

https://thefreqs.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/thefreqs
https://www.facebook.com/thefreqsband

The Freqs, “Tag Maggot” (2025)

So, with confirmed sets from Yawning Man, Mario Lalli, John Garcia, Acid King and Dead Meadow, it’s safe to say Mojave Experience has ‘the desert’ as part of its mission statement. Certainly this week’s pair of confirmations for Nick Oliveri and The Freeks further beat that out as well. My only question at this point is, with Garcia and Oliveri already on the bill, if Brant Bjork might be added for a set too. Not thinking Vista Chino reunion or anything so grand, but it would be cool to have those guys all in one space over a weekend.

Not that I know anything, understand. Because I don’t. Oliveri‘s always-active solo tenure has seen him back and forth to Europe for the last few years, while The Freeks have situated themselves as the desert’s favorite weirdo blues band. There are far worse roles to play.

I’d go to this in a hot second. Just saying. From socials:

Nick Oliveri

Nick Oliveri’s Death Acoustic strips desert rock down to its bare, blistered core — forged in dust, driven by sound. Known for his wild lineage through Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, The Dwarves, and Mondo Generator, Oliveri brings that same feral voltage to the acoustic realm. It’s not a mellow detour — it’s a sandblasted sermon, raw and unfiltered, carrying the spirit of the desert in every note.

On stage, Oliveri turns vulnerability into voltage. His Death Acoustic sets swing between cracked-open confession and explosive release — one moment haunted and intimate, the next howling and untamed. His voice cuts with grit and conviction, shifting from haunted melodies to throat-shredding fury in a heartbeat. There’s no filter, no barrier — just an unguarded current of energy that electrifies the space around him. It’s the Mojave spirit distilled: raw honesty meeting sonic chaos beneath the desert sky.

Death Acoustic isn’t about volume — it’s about truth. It’s Oliveri at his rawest and most alive, channeling the same reckless soul that built the desert rock legacy he helped create.

The Freeks

The Freeks are a raw, psychedelically fuzzed surge of electric rock’n’roll — the sound of California heat meeting cosmic chaos. Emerging from the union of two SoCal counties, this crew of rock veterans channels decades of underground energy into a single, pulsing current of fuzz, groove, and liberation. Their music feels alive — not rehearsed or restrained — a living jam that breathes dust and distortion.

On stage, The Freeks are pure combustion. Their frontman leads with a chaotic, exuberant energy — part shaman, part showman — driving the band and crowd alike into a state of wild release. Guitars roar like engines in the Mojave night, basslines rumble through your chest, and the rhythm section locks into a trance-inducing groove that pulls the whole room into motion. It’s heavy and hypnotic but always human — a performance that blurs the line between control and surrender.

In the desert or in the city, The Freeks deliver the kind of rock that refuses to sit still — electric, expansive, and unapologetically alive.

Come ready. Come raw. The Mojave Experience isn’t here to entertain you — it’s here to change you.

See you March 20 & 21.

Next Ticket Bundle, Sun Chaser, goes on sale November 14. mojaveexperience.net

https://www.mojaveexperience.net
https://instagram.com/mojave_experience_festival
https://www.facebook.com/mojave.experience.festival/

The Freeks, Studio/Live II (2025)

Nick Oliveri, N.O. Hits at All Vol. 9 (2024)