https://www.high-endrolex.com/18

Carousel, 2113: Strange Revelations

Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on August 26th, 2015 by JJ Koczan

carousel-2113

[NOTE: Press play above to hear the full stream of Carousel’s 2113. Thanks to the band, label and PR for letting me host the premiere.]

Don’t let its minimalist cover fool you, Carousel‘s 2113 is brimming with life. The Pittsburgh four-piece’s second offering through Tee Pee Records after a raucous debut two years ago with Jeweler’s Daughter (reviewed and streamed here), the nine-song/46-minute collection also marks the arrival of guitarist Matt Goldsborough, who doubles in labelmates The Skull. His addition to the lineup with returning guitarist/vocalist Dave Wheeler, bassist Jim Wilson and drummer Jake Leger, is even more noteworthy because, while Goldsborough is is perhaps best known for his stint replacing Victor Griffin a couple years back in PentagramLeger also doubles as the drummer for reunited heavy rockers Bang, so more than most who work in the style, Carousel can claim direct lineage to the classic form from which they take inspiration.

Accordingly, 2113 makes for some of the most seamless ’70s modernization I’ve heard since Stone Axe, songs like “Man Like Me” and the talkbox-infused “Photograph” digging deep into a ’70s-sytle aesthetic and rhythm without necessarily needing the vintage production trappings that others sometimes take on. As was the case with Jeweler’s DaughterCarousel work smoothly as a two-guitar foursome, this time around Wheeler and Goldsborough finding harmonies right from the start with opener “Trouble” that reinforce the timelessness that Thin Lizzy once so readily tapped. It’s a party vibe early, but the bulk of 2113 isn’t so easily caged into one mindset or another, much to the benefit of the album as a whole.

Wheeler‘s frontman presence is a major force throughout, but ultimately it’s his and Goldsborough‘s guitars both that lead the charge, while Wilson and Leger lock in alternately swinging and driving grooves to push songs like “Photograph” forward at an efficient but not at all rushed-sounding clip through its several included solos. The shift in approach between that cut and the subsequent “Buried Alive in Your Arms” — which almost beats the listener over the head with its hook and thus proves among the more immediately memorable inclusions — signals a sense of structural variety that continues throughout the record, but wherever they wind up, Carousel keep 2113 sounding consistent and largely effortless, swagger perhaps the album’s most unifying theme.

carousel

Fitting enough, Wilson gives a highlight bass performance on “Jim’s Song,” and the shortest track (at 2:54) winds up smartly placed to hold onto the momentum the band have thus-far built leading into the centerpiece of the tracklisting, “Highway Strut,” which is about as close as Carousel come to a mission statement on the record. Elsewhere, on “Buried Alive in Your Arms” or the later “Man Like Me,” or on the bonus track Joe Walsh cover “Turn to Stone,” one finds tales of loves lost and found, but “Highway Strut” feels like it’s in the middle for a reason. Also likely the opener of the vinyl side B, it’s a classic road song in the Grand Funk tradition of the sort that Dixie Witch once did so well, and while by the time it comes around, Leger has already broken out the cowbell once on “Photograph,” it couldn’t be more appropriate than it is highlighting the titular strut of the centerpiece.

“Strange Revelation” is about as close as Carousel get to psychedelia, with some added spaciousness in the guitar, but the prevailing vibe remains more boozy than druggy. Starting quiet, it trades back and forth for the first couple minutes until locking itself in around the halfway point through its seven-minute run, building to a satisfying apex that prefaces the title-track soon enough to follow “Man Like Me,” which like “Jim’s Song” on side A, is smartly located where it is. In this case, its straightforward thrust, dual leads and catchy chorus not only stand on their own, but act as a buffer between “Strange Revelation” and “2113.” If you want to go one farther, one can hear a touch of Joe Walsh in the guitar progression as well, tying the original song to the finale cover, but most importantly, “Man Like Me” is strong enough to sound like more than just an interlude between 2113‘s two longest tracks, the latter of which checks in at 7:42 well spent between AC/DC chug and some more of that highway strut they noted earlier.

As ever, Wheeler and Goldsborough affirm the forward position of the guitars, a layer of acoustics adding a sentimental touch to the second half of the track, which is entirely instrumental and topped with interwoven solos prior to a long fadeout. I don’t know whether “Turn to Stone” is included on the vinyl edition of the album — I’d assume not, but one wouldn’t want to feign certainty — but they fit the cut by the former Eagles/James Gang frontman smoothly into the overarching flow either way, even if after the fade of “2113,” there’s not much left that really needs to be said. It’s a quick listen, with or without “Turn to Stone” at the end of it, and Carousel‘s second makes a more than suitable answer to their debut, finding them as players working in more nuanced ideas without losing the natural spirit so essential to what they do.

Carousel on Thee Facebooks

2113 at Tee Pee Records

Tags: , , , ,

Lineup Announced for Cosmic Sonic Rendezvous; Saviours, Witch, The Skull and More to Play

Posted in Whathaveyou on August 17th, 2015 by JJ Koczan

Respected purveyor Tee Pee Records will host what they’ve dubbed the Cosmic Sonic Rendezvous on Sept. 5 and 6 at The Wick in Brooklyn. The two-day fest is headlined by Witch and Saviours, and will feature a pair of sets from The Bevis Frond as well as Tee Pee label-denizens CarouselMirror Queen and The Skull, as well as Brooklyn natives The Golden Grass and Boston’s Worshipper. Pretty badass to get The Bevis Frond over at all, so yeah, two sets makes sense, and it’s not like Witch play out every day, so mark it down as a win for brand extension and rock and roll in general.

This one doesn’t really need me to sell it. The PR wire brings details:

tee pee cosmic sonic rendezvous

TEE PEE RECORDS & THE WICK PRESENT: COSMIC SONIC RENDEZVOUS!

September 5th & 6th at The Wick in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Day 1: doors 6pm, show at 7pm. featuring SAVIOURS, THE SKULL, MIRROR QUEEN, THE BEVIS FROND
tickets: http://bit.ly/1KjuqRK

Day 2: doors 6pm, show at 7pm. featuring WITCH, CAROUSEL, THE BEVIS FROND, THE GOLDEN GRASS, WORSHIPPER
tickets: http://bit.ly/1Kjuv82

Welcome to the inaugural edition of Cosmic Sonic Rendezvous! Tee Pee Records has always been proud to offer a lovingly loud collection of the finest rock bands to the world, and it seemed only natural to create a unique event and annually bring together many of our favorites to New York City.

While most of the bands on the Tee Pee roster have a definite guitar-based sensibility, there is quite a range therein that we and the bands are constantly exploring. Fans of underground rock know that they are witnessing a contemporary explosion of creative bands purveying in everything from joyous riff-rock to full-on psych; from the heaviest doom to neo-thrash; from bands who nod to the occult to a new wave of space-rock to bands who hearken to the blues; etc, etc.

We hope you enjoy these two fantastic nights of music, comprised of bands both rising and those that are stalwarts. Some have albums out on Tee Pee, while others we gleefully listen across what is not a great divide. We feel they all represent what is at least one part of the underground rock ethos: you do it because you simply have to, and you love it loud.

See you there!

THE WICK
260 Meserole Street
Brooklyn, NY 11206

http://teepeerecords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/teepeerecords

Saviours, “Final Live” at the DNA Lounge, San Francisco, CA

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Vultures of Volume II Adds King Giant, Ruby the Hatchet and Carousel

Posted in Whathaveyou on July 6th, 2015 by JJ Koczan

The Maryland-based festival Vultures of Volume II has continued to add to its already-righteous lineup. Actually, it started out on more than solid footing with the likes of Solace and Righteous Bloom, and it’s only really gotten better, mixing local Marylanders like Weed is Weed and Thousand Vision Mist and branching out up along the East Coast in bringing aboard Elder and Wasted Theory, while also exploring the Midwest with Wretch and Buzzard Canyon. A quickly expanding reach.

Latest adds? Well, they’re in the headline: Virginia’s King Giant, Philly’s Ruby the Hatchet and Pittsburghers Carousel. The latter two have records out on Tee Pee — or at least Carousel‘s will be out by the time the fest kicks off — and King Giant‘s third was recently issued on The Path Less Traveled.

Reportedly a few more acts still to come for the two-dayer, which is set for the Delmar Bar and Grill in Hagerstown, MD, Sept. 4-5. Here’s this announcement in the meantime:

vultures of volume ii

VULTURES OF VOLUME FEST Sept. 4th & 5th

Delmar Bar & Grill
16715 National Pike, Hagerstown, Maryland 21740

As if the mountain of heaviness representing at Vultures of Volume Fest II wasn’t already high enough… we’ve climbed higher!!!

Supporting their newly released third album “Black Ocean Waves”, we are proud to bring you Virginia’s southern tinged, doom-drenched anthems of KING GIANT!

Next, like a psychedelic, Hammond organ driven trip through the valley of the snake, you’ll want to hold on with both hands as the atmosphere changes right before your eyes… We give you Philadelphia’s own RUBY THE HATCHET!

Lastly, do you want hard rocking stoner jams full of soul and a touch of the blues? Good, ’cause we do, too! And nobody does it better than Pittsburgh’s CAROUSEL!

Stay tuned for the final acts to be announced very soon! Pre-sale tickets can be purchased right now at www.daysofthedoomed.com! We highly recommend getting your tickets early! It will save you money at the door and guarantee your place at the biggest and heaviest end of the summer party this year! Vultures of Volume II – September 4th and 5th at the Delmar Bar & Grill, Hagerstown, MD!

Elder – Ruby The Hatchet – Wretch – King Giant – Solace – Pale Divine – Weed is Weed – Carousel – Righteous Bloom – Foghound – Wizard Eye – Wasted Theory – Thousand Vision Mist – Faith in Jane – Witch Hazel – Buzzard Canyon – Bailjack

http://www.daysofthedoomed.com/#2840
https://www.facebook.com/events/1467154363582033/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vultures-of-Volume-FEST/578873918893964

Carousel, Live at Artisan Tattoo, Pittsburgh, PA


Tags: , , , , ,

Carousel Announce New LP 2113 Due Aug. 28

Posted in Whathaveyou on June 26th, 2015 by JJ Koczan

carousel

A wiser person than myself once opined that there are two kinds of people in this world, Rush fans and everyone else. Pittsburgh heavy rockers Carousel obviously know their target demographic lies within the former contingent. Their second album for Tee Pee Records2113 — as in, one more than 2112 — will be released on Aug. 28. The Scion Rock Fest veterans will have released their debut on the label almost exactly two years prior in the form of Jeweler’s Daughter (reviewed/streamed here), a record no less leggy than its cover art and which has stood up to any good times its been asked to complement since.

2113 is nothing if not an ambitious title, but with the arrival of Pentagram/The Skull guitarist Matt Goldsborough to the lineup — he’s not the only one with connections to a classic band; drummer Jake Leger doubles in Bang — Carousel look to step out beyond their debut, or at very least troll some Rush fans by covering Joe Walsh, which is no less entertaining.

The PR wire speaks:

carousel 2113

CAROUSEL to Release New Album, 2113, August 28

Hard-Rocking PA Group Set to Unleash Follow-Up to Celebrated Debut, Jeweler’s Daughter

Pittsburgh hard rock heroes CAROUSEL will release their sophomore LP 2113 on August 28 via Tee Pee Records. The eagerly-anticipated follow up to CAROUSEL’s revered debut, Jeweler’s Daughter, 2113 is a midnight binge-blur of muscular, dynamic R’N’R, filled with timeless hooks and killer, scorching solos. On the new album, CAROUSEL welcomes new guitarist Matt Goldsborough — also of Pentagram and The Skull — into the band, joining the formidable lineup of Dave Wheeler (guitar, vocals), Jake Leger (drums) and Jim Wilson (bass).

CAROUSEL is a band that knows how to capture your attention; the group has the unique ability to filter the music of their childhood heroes through a contemporary lens. On 2113, the four-piece unleashes charged-up rhythms and wicked dual-guitar harmonies that lay a strong foundation for the shining voice and catchy choruses of front man Dave Wheeler. 2113 is the ultimate nighttime driving music; a head-turning blend of Casablanca-era KISS and prime time Thin Lizzy with one foot in the past and the other firmly secured in the future. 2113 also contains a “hidden” bonus cover of the Joe Walsh classic, “Turn to Stone”.

2113 Track listing:
1.) Trouble
2.) Photograph
3.) Buried Alive in Your Arms
4.) Jim’s Song
5.) Highway Strut
6.) Strange Revelation
7.) Man Like Me
8.) 2113
9.) Turn to Stone (Joe Walsh cover)

https://instagram.com/carouselpgh/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carousel/220084014687656
http://teepeerecords.com/

Carousel, Live at 31st St. Pub, Pittsburgh, PA, 02.12.15

Tags: , , , , ,

Red Fang, Crowbar, High on Fire, All Them Witches and More Confirmed for Scion Rock Fest

Posted in Whathaveyou on March 26th, 2014 by JJ Koczan

If you’re wondering why every other post this week is about a fest I’d like to go to, please rest assured it’s not a coincidence. The latest addition to that growing list is the Scion Rock Fest, set for May 17 in Pomona, California, with High on Fire, Red Fang, All Them Witches, Aqua Nebula Oscillator, recent EasyRider Records signees The Well and many, many others in the lineup. I’ve never been a huge Machine Head guy, but I think there’d be plenty besides with which to keep occupied.

RSVP for the free fest is open as of today, so if you’re thinking you’re gonna hit it up, you’ll probably want to do so on the quick:

SCION ROCK FEST RETURNS TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ON MAY 17 FOR SIXTH ANNUAL HARD ROCK/METAL BLOW OUT

MACHINE HEAD AND HIGH ON FIRE HEADLINE

Scion Audio Visual’s annual hard rock/metal festival, Scion Rock Fest, returns to Pomona, Calif. on May 17 with an all-star line-up of the biggest names in hard rock as well as metal’s most buzz-worthy newcomers.

Headlining Scion Rock Fest, which has quickly become established as one of heavy music’s biggest live outings, are Machine Head and High On Fire. Other prominent artists appearing on the sixth installment of Scion Rock Fest are Red Fang, King Buzzo, Hot Lunch, Pins of Light and Windhand (full list below).

Concertgoers should visit www.scionav.com to RSVP beginning March 26 at 10 a.m. pacific.

Since the 2009 debut of Scion Rock Fest, the annual outing has featured Mastodon, Down, Neurosis, Baroness, Morbid Angel and the Melvins. A rotating location has found the Fest in
Atlanta, Columbus, Tampa, Memphis as well as the 2011 event, which was also in Pomona.

Scion Rock Fest is one of the many music and cultural events curated by Scion Audio Visual, the entertainment division founded by Scion in 2003. Over the past decade, Scion AV has hosted numerous concerts and tours including the monthly Scion Rock Show in Los Angeles and High on Fire’s recent North American trek, sponsored Phil Anselmo’s Housecore Horror Festival and Revelation Records’ 25th Anniversary celebrations, brought together the brightest minds in the music industry for the annual Scion Music(less) Music Conference and offered numerous free singles and EPs from a wide variety of musicians including Meshuggah, Corrosion of Conformity and Municipal Waste.

The full Scion Rock Fest 2014 line-up:
Machine Head
High On Fire
Red Fang
Orchid
Crowbar
BL’AST!
Speedwolf
Power Trip
Jex Thoth
Coffins
King Buzzo
Big Business
Hot Lunch
Aqua Nebula Oscillator
All Them Witches
Pins of Light
Carousel
The Well
Midnight
Exhumed
In Cold Blood
Nekrogoblikon
Windhand
Lord Dying
Moab
Black Sheep Wall

http://www.scionav.com/2014/03/25/scion-rock-fest-2014-rsvp/
http://scionav.com

Hot Lunch, “She Wants More” Live at Scion Rock Fest 2013

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

audiObelisk Transmission 029

Posted in Podcasts on August 27th, 2013 by JJ Koczan

Click Here to Download

 

Here is the Music Player. You need to installl flash player to show this cool thing!

Been a while, right? Tell me about it. Although I love, love having The Obelisk Radio streaming 24 hours a day, seven days a week, I’ve been wanting to bring back podcasting for a while now. I always thought it was fun, it just got to be time consuming and to be perfectly honest, the response over time took something of a shit.

Well, the idea here is to start with a clean slate. Anyone who’s listened to audiObelisk podcasts before will notice this one doesn’t have a title. There’s no theme running throughout — though I wanted to keep it focused on new stuff as much as possible — and though others ranged upwards of four hours long, this one clocks in at just under two. I gave myself some pretty specific limits and wanted to start off as basic and foundational as possible. I haven’t done this in a long time, and it seemed only appropriate to treat it like a new beginning.

Something else I’m keeping simple is the intro, so with that said, I hope like hell you download at the link above or stream it on the player and enjoy the selections. Here’s the rundown of what’s included:

First Hour:

Mystery Ship, “Paleodaze” from EP II (2013)
Carousel, “On My Way” from Jeweler’s Daughter (2013)
Ice Dragon, “The Deeper You Go” from Born a Heavy Morning (2013)
Black Mare, “Tearer” from Field of the Host (2013)
Beast in the Field, “Hollow Horn” from The Sacred Above, The Sacred Below (2013)
11 Paranoias, “Reaper’s Ruin” from Superunnatural (2013)
Vàli, “Gjemt Under Grener” from Skoglandskap (2013)
Beelzefuzz, “Lonely Creatures” from Beelzefuzz (2013)
Dozer, “The Blood is Cold” fromVultures (2013)
Toby Wrecker, “Belle” from Sounds of Jura (2013)
Shroud Eater, “Sudden Plague” from Dead Ends (2013)
Luder, “Ask the Sky” from Adelphophagia (2013)
Eggnogg, “The Once-ler” from Louis (2012)

Second Hour:

Colour Haze, “Grace” from She Said (2012)
Borracho, “Know the Score” from Oculus (2013)
The Flying Eyes, “Raise Hell” from Split with Golden Animals (2013)
Demon Lung, “Heathen Child” from The Hundredth Name (2013)
Vista Chino, “As You Wish” from Peace (2013)
Across Tundras, “Pining for the Gravel Roads” from Electric Relics (2013)
Black Pyramid, “Aphelion” from Adversarial (2013)
Church of Misery, “Cranley Gardens (Dennis Andrew Nilsen)” from Thy Kingdom Scum (2013)

Total running time: 1:57:54

Thanks for listening.

Download audiObelisk Transmission 029

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

audiObelisk: Stream Carousel’s Jeweler’s Daughter in its Entirety

Posted in audiObelisk on August 19th, 2013 by JJ Koczan

Tomorrow, Aug. 20, marks the release of Pittsburgh classic heavy rockers Carousel‘s Tee Pee Records full-length debut, Jeweler’s Daughter. It’s an album that arrives with no shortage of fanfare leading its charge, but the highwire double-guitar feats of Dave Wheeler (also vocals) and Chris Tritschler and the upbeat grooves of bassist Jim Wilson and drummer Jake Leger justify the excitement. From the heavy rock motor-chug of the opening title-track to the watch-out-for-that-spilled-beer slide of closer “Penance,” Carousel work in a blend of elder metal that sits well alongside the overarching natural feel of the album.

Most of all, though, it’s a rager. Similar in spirit — though taking out some of that SoCal skatepunk vibe — to the success Tee Pee found last year with The Shrine‘s Primitive Blast, Carousel wind up someplace between Bible of the Devil‘s worship of Motörhead, Thin Lizzy and Judas Priest and a modern take on early ’70s swagger. Wheeler and Tritschler are very much in the position of driving the material throughout, but songs like “Long Time” and “On My Way” are memorable for more than their riffs and leads, the latter tapping most into the Motörhead vibe, starting at full-speed and staying there, but adding an individual sensibility through the dueling solos to make the song sound not-at-all incomplete at 2:19.

Side B shows more breadth, as it should. “Light of Day” picks up with a strong hook where album-highlight “Waste of Time” left off, but finds Wheeler more vocally brazen in his layering, and the subsequent “Nightfall” taps Dixie Witch moodiness as it cuts the pace somewhat to deepen the vibe. Between the play of opposites of “Light of Day” and “Nightfall,” as well as that of “Contrition” and “Penance,” one could easily read a sense of narrative into the second half of Jeweler’s Daughter, and while I don’t know if that’s the band’s intent, as the latter kicks out its extended shake-and-stomp intro, the possibility that such a thing would arrive with a thematic underscore makes the record’s finish all the more intriguing and enjoyable.

Not to mention the groove they jam on at the end, which, you know, riffs and booze and denim jackets and whathaveyou. Right on.

Today I have the pleasure of hosting a stream of Jeweler’s Daughter in its entirety ahead of tomorrow’s release date. Please find it on the player below and enjoy:

Here is the Music Player. You need to installl flash player to show this cool thing!

Carousel‘s Jeweler’s Daughter is out tomorrow on CD and LP through Tee Pee Records. It can be pre-ordered through iTunes now: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/jewelers-daughter/id677035381

Carousel on Thee Facebooks

Tee Pee Records

Tags: , , , , ,