Collapse is the third full-length from Pittsburgh’s Horehound, and from the dug-in deathliness of “Sword on Fire” right into the lurching, chug-happy sweetness with which the repeated lines about how we’re all going to die are delivered in the subsequent “The Agent,” it is a moment of mastery for the band in terms of bringing together their impulses between heavy rock groove and more extreme atmospheric sludge intensities. The four-piece offer six songs in a concise-feeling-but-still-lush-sounding 33 minutes, beginning with their longest track (immediate points) “Hiraeth,” which sets forth a journey that seems to find resolution in the depth of bass in “The Rebirth” and the subtly metallic guitar sweep of “Dying Gaia.” I think the final growl on the album might be the word “reap,” and if so, fair enough for the story being told here about various human-created ecological brutalizations. To put it shortly and bluntly, Collapse is some grim shit. One thinks of bees dying in hives.

“The seas rise to the edge/There’s really nothing left/Everything’s been said/Everything’s been done/Everything is gone.” — “Hiraeth.” And that last “gone” is screamed with a throaty force that much of Collapse echoes, in sentiment as well as methodology.

While we’re talking about it, it’s also hard not to appreciate the band’s no-bullshit manner in dropping the record. Tell you it’s coming earlier in the week, then deliver. They aren’t even waiting for Bandcamp Friday. They’ve got a video up now for “Godful” that gets a little manic with the shaky-cam, but is still a fitting representation of the song, which itself sums up a fair amount of Collapse‘s breadth and impact.

Don’t tell them, but I’m gonna buy a CD just to have one.

From the PR wire and social media both:

HOREHOUND – COLLAPSE

We promised a release to you this Friday but we have a sneak peek track for you! You can hear this on our Bandcamp site where the album is now up for prerelease: https://horehound.bandcamp.com/album/collapse

But also here is a content video for the track GODFUL we hope you enjoy!

Tracklisting
1. Hiraeth
2. Godful
3. Sword on Fire
4. The Agent
5. The Rebirth
6. Dying Gaia

In a world where you can choose heavy, tension-releasing music fueled by anger and filled with hope, why choose anything else to put on your playlist, throw in your CD player, or on your turntable as part of your audio meditation and ritual? Horehound agrees and have created an album that sates the need to exhale. On May 27th, 2022 the East Coast (USA) based doom/sludge outfit Horehound unleash their third LP and fourth release, Collapse.

Horehound began writing this album in 2020, bringing it to Sid Riggs (Iommi, Saliva, Seether, Alice Cooper) to record and produce and having Tony Reed (Gojira, Electric Wizard, Cough) master it in late 2021. Collapse is heavy, inspired by the times, and the most articulate material the band has presented. Collapse will be available on all popular streaming services, released digitally, on CD, and on vinyl (preorder), so save the date: 5/27/22

Horehound is:
Brendan Parrish (Guitar)
Russ Johnson (Bass)
Dan Moore (Drums)
Shy Kennedy (Vocals/Synth)

https://www.facebook.com/horehoundband/
https://www.instagram.com/horehound420/
http://horehound.bandcamp.com/

Horehound, “Godful” official video

Horehound, Collapse (2022)

Pittsburgh four-piece Horehound worked quickly after forming to turn around their impressive 2016 self-titled debut (review here), which was first released through Blackseed Records and picked up shortly thereafter by Hellmistress Records. In the intervening two years, they’ve worked toward becoming forerunners of Pittsburgh heavy, and their second long-player, Holocene, would seem to do nothing to slow their momentum in that regard. Fronted by the multifaceted vocals of Shy Kennedy — also of Blackseed Records and Pittsburgh’s Descendants of Crom fest — with Brendan Parrish on guitar, Nick Kopco on bass and JD Dauer on drums, Horehound undertake significant development in the six-track (well, six and a quick hidden bonus cut, anyway) and 45-minute long-player, and aligned with Doom Stew Records, they seem to signal their embarking on a different level of their approach even with the Brian Mercer album art.

Their songcraft is in the process of becoming no less textured, and while influences blend from the likes of Paradise Lost, Year of the Cobra, Candlemass (looking at you, “Sloth”) and traditionalist American doom, there is a grit to the production that keep the album earthbound no matter how far it might reach in terms of melody or atmosphere. It’s worth noting that at this point, Horehound have been a band for about three years, and Holocene is their second full-length in less time than than it takes some bands to get together a debut EP, so the fact of their motivation is writ large in their growing body of output, but it’s in their songwriting as well. One can hear a more dynamic presence taking shape in “Dier’s Dirge,” with its hook, “What we’ve become, can’t be undone/What we’ve destroyed, can’t be undone,” delivered patiently by Kennedy atop Parrish‘s severe riffing. That grim outlook is manifest in leadoff and longest track (immediate points) “The Kind,” which begins with a wistful minute-plus stretch of acoustic guitar and seems to work in movements to introduce various elements from the album, be it the somber mood, the melo-sludge push, Kennedy‘s play between growls and clean-sung lines, or the song’s what-if-Electric–Wizard-got-clean capstone solo.

“The Kind” is very much a closer made opener, with the acoustic intro serving largely as the difference in runtime between it and subsequent pieces, and as its feedback ending fades out into the starting crashes of “Dier’s Dirge” — which, as it happens is the second-longest cut at 7:50 — Holocene clearly enters another phase. If we’re picking highlights, I’ll take “Dier’s Dirge” for the already-noted chorus, which is a standout in the departure of the vocals from the melodic patterning of the guitar, but neither is the accomplishment of “The Kind” to be undersold as a standout work. But there’s clearly a shift in momentum with “Dier’s Dirge” picks up and leads into the rest of the album, and as the faster, shorter-at-6:17 “L’Appel du Vide” completes side A, that momentum only gets more fervent as pushed by the ultra-solid rhythm section of Dauer and Kopco, the latter of whom brings a tonal weight to the rolling crash of the drums that proves crucial in conveying the sludgier aspects of what Horehound do.

Those too are prefaced in “The Kind,” of course, but as Holocene pans out, it builds on the parameters set forth in the opener, such that the spacious moments in the beginning of “L’Appel du Vide” set up what follows as a surge of energy, and the compression effects on the vocals add a monstrous feel to the track that the also-sub-seven-minutes “Sloth” picks up as it starts side B. That kind of multi-level structure to the album is further emblematic of the progression they’ve made overall, but also of the changing in their thinking of how an LP should function. Whether you’re listening on a linear format — CD/DL — or one requiring a side switch — LP/CS — there are considerations made such that a flow is maintained front-to-back as well as in individual parts. As the melancholy apex of “Sloth” carries over to the long-held notes of the guitar at the end, giving way to feedback, there’s not interruption of what the band has thus far worked hard to build. And yet the personality of the album is changing.

A bluesy edge makes its way into the beginning verses of “Anastatica,” and trades of volume are effectively made as the track rolls into its chorus of “ooh”s and fluid, languid chorus. But the song, which takes its name from the Rose of Jericho, or the “resurrection plant,” follows suit in a subtle shift from “Sloth” before it in eschewing harsher vocals and so, while it benefits from the tension that at any moment it might become more aggressive, it ultimately shows a willingness on the part of Horehound to do what best serves the whims of their craft — an impulse that will only help them as they continue to move forward, no matter what those whims might dictate as regards screams or anything else. “Sloth” hints at harmonies in its midsection, and closer “Highball” follows suit in terms of casting off the more abrasive growling as it finds Parrish leading the way into the song’s second half with a guitar meander topped with layers of vocal melody for an effect somewhere between Sabbath and Type O Negative that nonetheless carries an air as well of heavy post-rock while building smoothly to a bigger finish.

Dauer tosses in choice cymbal work like it’s nothing as Kopco holds steady on low end and Kennedy brings an ethereality to the final moments on vocals, having said just about all there is to say in the last lines: “You can’t see me/You don’t know me/Yet I know you/You are weak, untrue.” “Highball” caps at just under seven minutes, which is right about standard for Horehound, and a hidden bonus track reverses the screamed portion of the chorus to “Dier’s Dirge” to close out. So technically, there are screams on side B one way or the other. Fair enough. There are those who decry the use of harsh vocal styles outright. I’m not one of them. But it’s interesting that Holocene would divide its sides along such lines, and given the obvious thought put into songwriting and the album’s presentation overall, that doesn’t seem like an accident. As to what it might say about the direction and creative development under way, I wouldn’t guess. The fact of the matter is that as fast as Horehound have worked, they’re still a relatively new band. Holocene is a crucial moment for them in establishing who they want to be in terms of sound and form.

Horehound, “L’Appel du Vide” official video

Horehound, Holocene (2018)

Horehound on Thee Facebooks

Horehound on Bandcamp

Horehound on Twitter

Blackseed Records on Thee Facebooks

Blackseed Records website

Doom Stew Records on Thee Facebooks

Doom Stew Records website

There’s a special kind of magic that happens when everything clicks in the rehearsal space. Some songs a band agonizes over, endlessly revising part after part, transition after transition. The smallest tempo change can take a month to iron out. Then some other songs take about as long to write as they take to play for a first time through. I don’t know what goes into releasing your two first albums in the same year, but as Jakethehawk approach the Nov. 10 release date for their second outing, To Build a Fire, through Blackseed Records, it doesn’t seem like the kind of effort a band would put in if they weren’t actually working from a spark of inspiration. It’s not like this is 1965 and they’re signed to a label that has them touring 200 shows a year and releasing a new single every two months. If they didn’t have the utmost conviction behind them, there wouldn’t be a point to it.

And if you didn’t hear earlier-2018’s apparently-aptly-titled debut, Year of the Hawk, don’t be put off by their name-the-noun moniker. They’re a heavy rock band, and as the first audio to come from To Build a Fire, the new video for “The Silk Road” finds guitarists Jake Ferranti (so is he the hawk? and why do I feel old asking that question?) and John Huxley sharing vocals effectively as bassist Justin Lober and drummer Jordan Lober (relation assumed) hold together a classically fluid rhythm that remains modern thanks to its party vibe and a sleek groove that seems tense in the oh-man-we’re-about-to-play-really-fast-you-better-watch-out kind of way, but manages to restrain that impulse, instead jamming through the midsection and ending back on the hook for an energetic finish. Again, it’s just an initial glimpse of what might come on To Build a Fire, and you’ll note it’s separate from the four-part, side-A-consuming title-track, but even so, its swing and its nod bode well for the rest of the release to come. It’ll be November before you know it.

Like next week, apparently. Jeez.

Release show for To Build a Fire is in Pittsburgh on Nov. 10 with Sun Voyager, Zom and Vulcanite. Jakethehawk have a couple other dates booked that you can see below, along with some more PR wire background on the record.

That’s all, of course, after the video for “The Silk Road” itself, which is premiering here hopefully to your enjoyment:

Jakethehawk, “The Silk Road” official video premiere

Blackseed Records artists, JAKETHEHAWK have created their first music video premiering, ‘The Silk Road’, of their upcoming record, ‘To Build a Fire’. Video was filmed, edited and directed by Joe Stammerjohn / Eyes to the Sky Films (Pittsburgh, PA). https://www.facebook.com/eyestotheskyfilms/

Coming out this November 2018!

The band shared some insight into creating the new album:

“The bones of this album were mostly written on acoustic guitar with the idea that it would give the music a more ‘song focused’ feel. The title track songs were rewarding, because they contain cohesive musical and thematic journey. To Build a Fire’ is a representation both of where we are as a band and where we want to go musically and texturally.”

To Build A Fire’ – Track List:
1. To Build A Fire pt. 1: First, We Kill All the Lawyers
2. To Build A Fire pt. 2: Parting Glass
3. To Build A Fire pt. 3: Recluse
4. To Build A Fire pt. 4: Geotaxis
5. Carcosa
6. Holy Water
7. The Silk Road
8. Strand

Jakethehawk live:
Nov. 3 – Erie, PA (w/ These Idol Hands, Black Moon Mistress) https://www.facebook.com/events/1947862042172795/
Nov. 10 – Pittsburgh, PA – JaketheHawk CD Release Show (w/ Sun Voyager, Zom, Vulcanite) https://www.facebook.com/events/233332964205414/
Nov. 11 – Richmond, VA – (w/Vulcanite, Night Business)

Jakethehawk is:
Vocals/Guitars – Jake Ferranti
Bass – Justin Lober
Drums – Jordan Lober
Guitars/Vocals – John Huxley

Jakethehawk on Thee Facebooks

Jakethehawk on Instagram

Jakethehawk on Bandcamp

Blackseed Records website

Two albums in a year is pretty rare for a band who aren’t jamming out space rock or psychedelic improv. Pittsburgh’s Jakethehawk up the ante on a quick turnaround with their second album of 2018 — also their second album, period — To Build a Fire, which will see release Nov. 10 through Blackseed Records. The band are fresh off an appearance at this year’s Descendants of Crom fest in their hometown, and they’ve unveiled the details for the new record, including the righteous cover art that recalls Forming the Void and some of David Paul Seymour‘s work. In any case, one wonders how much this will be the course of things for Jakethehawk or if, with a four-part titular opener, the new record isn’t a result of a glut of material from the writing of their first album.

Either way, it’s a remarkable feat that they’re getting it out before the end of November, let alone the actual end of the year. Here’s to working quickly and recording yourself.

From the PR wire:

JAKETHEHAWK to release their sophomore album, ‘TO BUILD A FIRE’ via BLACKSEED RECORDS on November 10, 2018

Pittsburgh’s own ‘Appalachian Desert Rock’ brotherly quartet of JAKETHEHAWK continues to pursue the sky with the announcement of a new full-length album coming in November on Blackseed Records. Their sophomore record, ‘TO BUILD A FIRE’, comes less than a year after their debut release, ‘Year Of The Hawk’ last January.

The band shared some insight into creating the new album:

“The bones of this album were mostly written on acoustic guitar with the idea that it would give the music a more ‘song focused’ feel. The title track songs were rewarding, because they contain cohesive musical and thematic journey. To Build a Fire’ is a representation both of where we are as a band and where we want to go musically and texturally.”

‘To Build A Fire’ – Track List:

To Build A Fire pt. 1: First, We Kill All the Lawyers
To Build A Fire pt. 2: Parting Glass
To Build A Fire pt. 3: Recluse
To Build A Fire pt. 4: Geotaxis
Carcosa
Holy Water
The Silk Road
Strand

With all music written and performed by Jakethehawk, the album was recorded and engineered by Justin Lober in Pittsburgh, with mastering by James Plotkin at Plotkinworks. The beautiful cover illustration and design is by Joe Mruk of Red Buffalo Illustration.

Set to arrive on November 10, 2018, ‘To Build A Fire’ will be available via Blackseed Records in physical format on CD, with Digital Download and Streaming through all major outlets (Bandcamp, Spotify, etc.).

Jakethehawk is:
Vocals/Guitars – Jake Ferranti
Bass – Justin Lober
Drums – Jordan Lober
Guitars/Vocals – John Huxley

facebook.com/jakethehawkpgh
instagram.com/jakethehawkpgh
jakethehawk.bandcamp.com
www.blackseedrecords.com

Jakethehawk, Year of the Hawk (2018)

This past weekend was the second Descendants of Crom fest in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Overseen and curated by Horehound vocalist Shy Kennedy, its schedule read like a list of arguments to leave the house, and Horehound‘s set as part of it would seem to have been a fitting herald for their impending second album, Holocene. Initially supposed for release on Kennedy‘s Blackseed Records — as seen on the magnets on my fridge — it’s been newly revealed that Horehound have signed to Doom Stew Records, helmed by Brume drummer Jordan Perkins-Lewis. The cross-coastal collaboration between artist and label can only help spread the word on Holocene ahead of the Nov. 30 issue date, and while I’m not saying I’ve heard it or anything, I’ll just say that the more people who hear it, the merrier on all fronts.

While I try to chase down a track premiere or something like that from the powers that be, you can check out the Brian Mercer cover art and the signing announcement below, courtesy of the PR wire:

Pittsburgh, PA’s Post-Doom foursome HOREHOUND to release their second full-length, ‘HOLOCENE’ on November 30, 2018 via DOOM STEW RECORDS.

Pittsburgh’s paramount Doom/Sludge underground act HOREHOUND continues their ascension above ground with news of a new partnership with San Francisco’s Doom Stew Records for the release of their second full-length album, ‘HOLOCENE’. Set for a street date of November 30, 2018, ‘Holocene’ will be available on CD, Vinyl, and Digital (Bandcamp, Spotify, and all major streaming outlets) with global distribution.

When asked about signing with a new label, the band had this to say: “It’s really great to have been offered the opportunity to work with Doom Stew Records. They have been involved with strong and unique sounding artists and we just really like what they are doing. It’s going to be a great partnership.”

With all music written and performed by Horehound, the album was recorded and mixed by Matt Schor at War Room in Pittsburgh, and mastering done by James Plotkin at Plotkinworks. The incredible cover artwork illustration is by Brian Mercer.

Vocalist Shy Kennedy shares a few words about the album: “‘Holocene’ is the single most rewarding contribution I have made as an individual artist and even of any group effort I’ve been a part of. It has been a realization for Horehound and through this recording we really cultivated our sound. The overwhelmingly gratifying experience we’ve had in creating this album will further transcend once we are able to share it with others.”

Guitarist Brendan Parrish adds: “‘Holocene’ is a convergence of our respective influences and a natural evolution in the sound we’ve developed. It represents our growth as songwriters and we are very eager for the rest of the world to hear what we’re so proud to have created.”

Holocene – Track List:
1. The Kind
2. Dier’s Dirge
3. L’appel du Vide
4. The Sloth
5. Anastatica
6. Highball

HOREHOUND is:
JD Dauer – drums
Brendan Parrish – guitar
Shy Kennedy – vocals
Nick Kopco – bass

https://www.facebook.com/horehoundband/
http://horehound.bandcamp.com/
https://twitter.com/horehoundband
https://www.facebook.com/blackseedrecords/
http://www.blackseedrecords.com/

Horehound, “L’Appel du Vide” official video

Not saying I’ve heard it or anything, but Horehound aren’t kidding around when they talk about their second album, Holocene, being a step forward from their 2016 self-titled debut (review here). That album was an impressive showing of potential for their style, somewhere between heavy rock, doom and sludge but not necessarily beholden to any single one of them, and Holocene, from its gorgeous Brian Mercer cover art onward, proceeds to push their vision forward. It’s a bigger but still natural sound with an eye toward atmosphere and they’re giving a first taste in the semi-angular “L’Appel du Vide” now, having premiered a video for the third of the album’s total seven tracks, the last of which is hidden. Don’t tell anybody.

Horehound will appear at Descendants of Crom in their native Pittsburgh at the end of September and have select dates set before that, including opening for Monolord and Brimstone Coven. Good gig.

Here are details from the PR wire:

Pittsburgh, PA’s Post-Doom Foursome HOREHOUND Reveals Their Second Full-length, ‘HOLOCENE’ & Premieres New Video For Debut Track “L’appel du Vide”

Pittsburgh’s paramount Doom/Sludge underground act HOREHOUND continues their ascension above ground with the announcement of their second full-length album, ‘HOLOCENE’.

Horehound surpassed their own expectations for the self-titled debut in 2016, and this past Spring re-released a remastered version on Digital, CD, and first-time Vinyl format. Now Horehound presents their sophomore album ‘Holocene’. With all music written and performed by Horehound, the album was recorded and mixed by Matt Schor at War Room in Pittsburgh, and mastering done by James Plotkin at Plotkinworks. The incredible cover artwork illustration is by Brian Mercer.

To introduce the new album, the band is premiering a video for the debut of “L’appel du Vide”, the third track from ‘Holocene’. The visualizer was created by Sam McDonald.

Vocalist Shy Kennedy shares a few words about the album: “‘Holocene’ is the single most rewarding contribution I have made as an individual artist and even of any group effort I’ve been a part of. It has been a realization for Horehound and through this recording we really cultivated our sound. The overwhelmingly gratifying experience we’ve had in creating this album will further transcend once we are able to share it with others. “

Guitarist Brendan Parrish adds: “‘Holocene’ is a convergence of our respective influences and a natural evolution in the sound we’ve developed. It represents our growth as songwriters and we are very eager for the rest of the world to hear what we’re so proud to have created.”

Horehound is preparing for a release of Holocene sometime later in 2018. The band has been reviewing incoming offers and invites all who may be interested in partnering for the release to reach out to them soon.

Holocene – Track List:
1. The Kind
2. Dier’s Dirge
3. L’appel du Vide
4. Sloth
5. Anastatica
6. Highball
7. Hidden Track

Upcoming Live Events:
08/11 – Youngstown, OH – Pabstolutely 11 Festival
09/01 – Pittsburgh, PA w/ MONOLORD, Brimstone Coven
09/28 – Pittsburgh, PA – DESCENDANTS OF CROM

HOREHOUND is:
JD Dauer – drums
Brendan Parrish – guitar
Shy Kennedy – vocals
Nick Kopco – bass

https://www.facebook.com/horehoundband/
http://horehound.bandcamp.com/
https://twitter.com/horehoundband
https://www.facebook.com/blackseedrecords/
http://www.blackseedrecords.com/

Horehound, Holocene

[Click play above to stream the title-track of River Cult’s Halcyon Daze. The album is out Feb. 9 with a release show March 15 via Blackseed Records and Nasoni Records.]

Getting and having one’s house inorder are two very different things, but River Cult seem to manage both on their Blackseed Records and Nasoni Records debut album, Halcyon Daze. The five-track long-player, on which not one song is under seven minutes long, follow a promising 2016 demo that was among the year’s best short releases, and takes a tack of exploring a variety of different styles and moods, all of them heay in one way or another and drawn together by an overarching sense of tonal heft that permeates whether it’s the tense build-up-leading-to-rolling-fuzz-wall of centerpiece “Seething” or the dreamy, drifting end of 11-minute second cut and highlight “The Sophist” just prior.

Either way, River Cult — the Brooklyn-based trio of Sean Forlenza, Anthony Mendolia, and Tav Palumbo — sound like they’ve definitely been to school when it comes to their influences, and whether it’s the Acrimony-style grit, roll, drift and nod of “The Sophist” or the West Coast boogie into spacious slowdown in opener “Likelihood of Confusion,” which only minutes prior to hitting the cosmos proffered softshoe-worthy wah swirl and swing and the first of the album’s many jammed-out-feeling leads. At various points throughout they ask aesthetic questions about what might’ve happened if Thrasher magazine had taken over the world circa 1997 and, particularly on the title-track, what might’ve happened had Chris Hakius taken on a role drumming for Acid King. These issues, along with shades of Dead Meadow-style shoegazing on closer “Point of Failure,” are met with workaday lyrics and a loose-swinging vibe that, at less than a moment’s notice, is prone to kick into explorations of full-on Man’s Ruin-style fuzz overdrive.

The key word there might be “explorations,” and that’s because although Halcyon Daze sets itself purposefully to the work of proffering earthy tonality and a classic stoner fuckall in its looseness of structure and willingness to depart from verses and choruses into more open jamming, River Cult by no means sound set in their ways, and the 41-minute album carries the spirit of a band in the process of discovering who they are together as players and where they want to go in terms of their sound. Having first gotten together in 2015, it’s not entirely surprising they’d be at this stage on their first full-length, and it’s much to their credit that they capture the moment with the obvious commitment to sonic organics they show here.

To wit, after unfurling a groove of such deeply-weighted fuzz, the title-track moves easily into a soundscape of vast, drifting post-rock guitar drones that work on a long fade into the garage-via-Stooges riff that starts closer “Point of Failure.” That they’d cover such a swath of ground on their first long-player is impressive enough, but to do so with the kind of fluidity they bring out of the patient opening minutes of “Seething,” for example, or the confidence on display as “Likelihood of Confusion” begins its pivot almost exactly at its midpoint before, at 4:30, crashing through the door of its next sonic dimension. They’re an East Coast band, to be sure, and “The Sophist,” “Halcyon Daze” and the crunchier, grunge-minded sections of “Point of Failure” show that edge, but there’s little here one might consider confrontational, and rather, River Cult invite their listeners along with them on their journey of discovery as they feel their way ahead into what one hopes is the just the beginning stages of a longer-term sonic development.

And to its credit and to the band’s credit, where that development might ultimately bring River Cult feels like a secondary consideration in comparison to the groove here, which at points recalls earliest Fu Manchu and other such before-stoner-rock-had-a-name rawness. Taking advantage of the room in each track to flesh out their parts and ride the riffs to hypnotic and repetitive effect, as on the title-track’s outward trajectory or what seems to be a switch from otherworldliness to personal criticism on “The Sophist,” the first chorus of which brings the standout lines, “Sophistry/Yeah, you talk too much.” This perspective, somewhat disaffected but not necessarily raging, is writ large throughout Halcyon Daze, and it helps River Cult find their balance between more weighted, riffier fare and more atmospheric psychedelia.

It’s also worth noting that, while I have little doubt that Halcyon Daze was put together with a vinyl release in mind — “Likelihood of Confusion” and “The Sophist” on one side, “Seething,” “Halcyon Daze” and “Point of Failure” on the other — the album works perhaps even better in linear form, taken as one whole work unfolding in different stages in ups and downs of energy, pace, volume and emotion, weaving its way into and out of jams whole always keeping its ultimate trajectory forward, as shown when the feedback and noise wash of “Seething” gives way into “Halcyon Daze” or the effects loops of “Likelihood of Confusion” seem to dive into the airy tones that spread themselves over the initial going in “The Sophist.”

The bottom line is there’s a lot happening on Halcyon Daze when it’s taken front-to-back — which is how it feels like it was meant to be taken — and while one might imagine or expect River Cult to continue solidifying their approach in style and structure, what they’ve crafted in the meantime stands among the most promising Brooklynite heavy psychedelic debuts since Naam‘s Kingdom EP and should be commended for its level of craft, naturalism of execution, and unbridled flow. It’s a good one to get lost in, so go ahead and get lost in it.

River Cult on Thee Facebooks

River Cult on Instagram

River Cult on Twitter

River Cult on Bandcamp

Blackseed Records website

Blackseed Records on Thee Facebooks

Blackseed Records on Bandcamp

Nasoni Records on Thee Facebooks

Nasoni Records website

Riff-driven Pittsburgh four-piece JaketheHawk have released their debut album, Year of the Hawk, on Blackseed Records. Comprised of an utterly manageable and thoroughly unpretentious five tracks, the offering readily toes the line between heavy rock and more aggressive, metallic fare, finding a niche not heard from the Steel City since the likes of SuperVoid a few years back, but presented with a bluesier take and a less directly metal base of influence. Okay I guess maybe less like SuperVoid and more like a band that also has funny capitalization in their name with words smashed together and every now and then might break out a scream or two. You got me.

The album, including the dreamy left turn of “Witchy Weather,” is streaming in full at the bottom of this post, and the CD and download versions are available now. I’m not so sure about the Uncle Acid comparison below — maybe the riff of “Horizon?” — but I’ve heard way more tenuous lines drawn between bands. Dig in and see what you think.

From the PR wire:

Jakethehawk – Blackseed Records

Inundating the Pittsburgh scene with their blend of grunge-inspired desert/stoner rock, JakeTheHawk has been moving audiences and peers alike with their unique sound and exceptionally original songwriting. Comprised of two sets of brothers, Jordan Lober (drums), Justin Lober (bass), Cam Ferrante (guitar), and Jake Ferrante (guitar/vocals), their sound is an amalgam of the influences each set of brothers was raised on. Reminiscent of the evil, bluesy riffs of Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats and the charging, fuzzed out rhythms of Kyuss, JakeTheHawk pull in the familiar to create their own voice in the desert/stoner rock genre.

JakeTheHawk will be releasing their debut album Year of the Hawk on CD and online via experimental/heavy underground label, Blackseed Records. The album will be available via Blackseed Records and Bandcamp on January 26th, 2018.

https://www.facebook.com/jakethehawkpgh/
https://jakethehawk.bandcamp.com/
https://soundcloud.com/jakethehawk
http://www.blackseedrecords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/blackseedrecords
https://blackseedrecords.bandcamp.com/

Jakethehawk, Year of the Hawk (2018)