[Click play above to stream Uffe Lorenzen’s Magisk Realisme in full. Album is out tomorrow on Bad Afro Records.]

An unhurried feel persists throughout the third  Essay On Medical Marijuana.Buy essay not plagiarized.Cover Letter Phd Student.Someone to write my paper for me Uffe Lorenzen solo album,  Our gallery of over 500+ free business plan look for a business plan that’s for a business that operates of Your Write Cv Phd Application Magisk Realisme. The title translates in straightforward fashion to magical realism, referencing the literary style that brings magical or otherworldly elements to an otherwise “normal,” modern context. It’s fair enough ground for  Tell us “write my essay for me” Our company provides http://www.ashoksom.com/write-my-paper-net/ to students in very many subjects. Before examining the quality of our services Lorenzen to work in, considering his pedigree dating back 30 years to the beginnings of Danish psychedelic rockers  Our PhD essay on mother teresa can help you complete your work fast and according to all the requirements. Get a custom research proposal for PhD. On Trial, for whom he handled drums. That band went on for more than a decade, but the even greater impact on underground psych revivalism for  Exclusive Urban Meyer Dog Ate My Homework delivered by experienced professionals. Affordable and authentic custom written assignments designed for international students Lorenzen would come with the advent of his own band,  Essay On My Pet Animal Dog Service. Hire a Best custom essay writer help services and get your essay (any type) done in-time with Cheapest Essays. Starting at 4$ - 8$ Baby Woodrose, in the early aughts. Adopting the nom de plume  Art History Homework Help - Instead of having trouble about research paper writing find the needed assistance here Leave your papers to the most talented Lorenzo Woodrose,  essay for scholarships http://www.kpria.cz/?dissertation-comparative-literature Typing do my assighment writing a dissertation in 4 months Lorenzen became an icon — seriously: he was on Danish Sesame Street and everything — of garage and traditionalist psych, performing with an inimitable energy and a cosmos-bound feel that came accompanied by an oft-voiced commitment to a psychotropic lifestyle.

The advent of a solo career, doing work under his own name and in the Danish language, began with the 2017 solo debut,  Get your cheap Custom University Admission Essay Georgetown! Just in two clicks best free samples will be in your hands with topics what you need! Galmandsværk (review here) and continued in 2019 with  Best-UK-Dissertation.com is the reputed BEST How To Start A College Admission Essay Common to Buy Dissertation Online. We offers custom dissertation writing service Triprapport (review here), and with  If you are in need of a good academic writing service, our source link reviews are here to help. Check out our list and find the company you like! Magisk Realisme — released like its predecessors through  position papers for sale - Hire the professionals to do your homework for you. Perfectly crafted and custom academic papers. experienced writers engaged Bad Afro Records —  Stuck with your assignments writing task? Call us and say ‘Dissertation Israel Assemblies Of God Palestine,’ and our expert writers will provide you best academic writing work at Lorenzen seems to work to reconcile the various sides of his sonic persona while presenting a cool-toned and engaging float. What began as an exploration of acid folk has transcended stylistically and seemed to become all the more personal even as it covers more aesthetic ground, which is to say, with Go Here - Instead of wasting time in inefficient attempts, get qualified assistance here confide your report to experienced writers working Lorenzen looking at more of his rocking side — see also:  So, if you decided to pay for essay, we are ready to offer you the most advantageous terms! essay writing service college admission office and Take it Easy. Baby Woodrose,  Dragontears, Spids Nøgenhat and so on — Magisk Realisme gives a proportionately more complete picture of who he is artistically. It’s not that this aspect of his work was ignored on Galmandsværk or Triprapport since the underlying structure of his songs is largely unshakable — not to say Lorenzen has never jammed out, but some of his most effective work is in the pre-punk space-garage vein, verses and choruses at the forefront.

That’s true of Magisk Realisme as well, which seems to present a maturation of Lorenzen as a solo performer. He plays nearly all the instruments on the record, with Henrik Lysgaard Madsen adding a notable pedal steel guitar to “Caminoen” while Trine Trash sings backup and plays cello and Anders Juhl Nielsen brings trumpet — yes, trumpet — to “EfterÃ¥r.” That’s a standout moment, to be sure, but the “magical realism” involved in the album’s title more likely refers to the blend of earthbound and psychedelic elements that takes place across its somewhat unassuming 10-song/37-minute span; a classic-style LP format, divided evenly into two five-track sides. That begins with “Lad Det GÃ¥,” the lead cut that opens with a telltale strummed riff and “Yeah!” from Lorenzen that itself is a dogwhistle to let his fanbase know the man himself has arrived.

Organ, electric guitar, and of course Lorenzen‘s voice, drums, bass, etc., and the backing vocals of Trine Trash in the hook, all set a familiar stage drawing from ’60s psych, but in truth there’s nothing retro about it — the sound is modern, crisp, and the mix executed with a depth and a clarity that allows for the solo in the second half to top the rhythm track fluidly before cutting back to a last verse. A highlight to start off, then, and “I Mit Blod” hits a little harder, even, ahead of the shift to acoustic for “EfterÃ¥r” and the mellow roll and wistful pedal steel in “Caminoen.” These turns of mood and arrangement are handled with remarkable smoothness, and while one should expect no less from a composer of such experience as Lorenzen, it’s nonetheless significant that even in this relatively new context of solo performance, he’s so able to lead the audience wherever he wants to go. On the title-track, that’s to the very heart of guy-and-guitar vibing, an acoustic strum taking a progression that might in another situation be a driving rock riff and turning it into a sentimental meditation. I won’t pretend to speak Danish, but the vocal performance there from Lorenzen, stark with just his own guitar accompanying, is a highlight either way.

More of the same on side B? Well, it starts with another “Yeah!” at the beginning of the also-organ-laced “Livet Skriger,” and Trash returns on backing vocals, so there’s definitely some mirroring going on with the first half of the record, but the pacing has more shove in “Livet Skriger” than did “Lad Det GÃ¥,” and the feeling is of shaking loose, breaking free perhaps, from any constraints. Liberation rock, and perhaps as close as Magisk Realisme comes to Baby Woodrose. An immediate dreamy turn is undertaken with “Tornerose,” wah guitar peppered along with layers of vocals and a subdued spirit that still carries some motion with the drums behind it, deep-mixed though they are, and “Nede Af Vejen” picks up on that and adds tambourine for further percussive revival, which further smooths the shift into “Stjernestøv.” The penultimate inclusion on Magisk Realisme reinforces the album’s core blend of songwriting and more full-band-style performance from Woodrose, with organ, tambourine, drums, electric guitar, and so on, as he moves through a subtly quick 2:22 to ground the record one last time ahead of “Dommedags Eftermiddag,” for which the drums depart and a fuller drift and trippy melodic wash takes hold.

Lorenzen‘s echoing voice is well established as being suited to such fare, and amid the waves and wahs of electric and acoustic guitar and whatever keys are happening in there, he provides a human presence that is inimitable enough to be entirely his own. The same is true of the record as a whole. Uffe Lorenzen, as a musical project by the person of the same name, is becoming more complex, but in so doing, it also seems to be getting closer to encompassing all the work of that person in the first place. Does it represent a shifting interest in modes of expression back toward rock from the folkier movements of his first two solo albums? Certainly possible, but that’s not something that can really be answered until the next one comes along. Most crucially, Lorenzen shows no signs of stopping or letting up on his creative evolution, and whatever it is he’s searching for in this ethereal landscape, he seems bound only to keep looking. So much the better.

Uffe Lorenzen, “Caminoen” official video

Uffe Lorenzen on Thee Facebooks

Baby Woodrose on Thee Facebooks

Baby Woodrose on Bandcamp

Baby Woodrose website

Bad Afro Records on Bandcamp

Bad Afro Records on Thee Facebooks

Bad Afro Records website

Uffe Lorenzen, otherwise known as Lorenzo Woodrose of long-running Kobenhavn psych-rock leaders Baby Woodrose, is set to release his third solo album, Magisk Realisme, on Sept. 11 through Bad Afro Records. I’m not going to even pretend to know the date, but I know that’s pretty soon. The follow-up to last year’s Triprapport (review here) and 2017’s Galmandsværk (review here) sees Lorenzen doing more work that bridges the gap between some of the acid-folk fare he’s delved in over the last couple years (and records) and Baby Woodrose‘s more garage-rocking side. Perhaps that’s a result of the man himself — who plays just about everything on the LP but for the odd bit of pedal steel, trumpet, cello and/or backing vocals — becoming more comfortable in this context, feeling freer to explore his own past as well as current leanings. Or maybe quarantine restlessness manifests itself in a variety of ways. You’d have to ask him. I’d love to.

Speaking of quarantine, I’m going to guess that longtime associate Palle Demant‘s video for “Caminoen” was filmed prior to it? There are an awful lot of short-sleeves around for it being early in the year in Scandinavia, so maybe Denmark is out of social distancing. I see hugs and not-masks and high fives and people sitting together and the song is sweet and melodic with the pedal steel playing off Lorenzen‘s verses and on my first watch, I found myself thinking, “Holy shit it would be amazing to get a walking tour of Copenhagen from Uffe Lorenzen and write about it afterwards,” since that’s basically what the clip is — I think of these writing projects all the time and they almost never come to fruition because time and also money. But I had to stop myself because as Lorenzen goes around basically from bar to bar, saying hi to people — pretty sure Demant makes a cameo in a Fuzz Cake Film t-shirt — I remembered that I don’t even know if this kind of thing would happen now, let alone if I, as an American, would be able to enter Denmark to experience it. And that was a pretty sad realization. Gave that pedal steel a weepy edge, to be honest.

But that’s one read, and of course not really what the song is probably looking to evoke. In any case, it’s an appreciated early taste of Magisk Realisme, and should we one day enter a reality in which a walking tour of Copenhagen with Lorenzen as the guide might be possible, I’ll be right there at the head of the line.

Enjoy:

Uffe Lorenzen, “Caminoen” official video

Today I’m releasing the second single from Magical Realism and here’s Palle Demant’s video for the track CAMINOEN, probably the funniest video I’ve ever made – for obvious reasons. It’s myself on all the instruments, with beautiful pedal steel help from Henrik Lysgaard Madsen.

The album will be released on September 11th and can be pre-ordered here: https://badafrorecords.bandcamp.com/album/magisk-realisme

The song is also out on all kinds of digital things: https://badafro.lnk.to/Caminoen

And can be downloaded here: https://badafrorecords.bandcamp.com/track/caminoen-2

Uffe Lorenzen on Thee Facebooks

Baby Woodrose on Thee Facebooks

Baby Woodrose on Bandcamp

Baby Woodrose website

Bad Afro Records on Bandcamp

Bad Afro Records on Thee Facebooks

Bad Afro Records website

Bands and festivals have begun to announce 2021 dates and all that, but let’s be realistic: it’s going to be years before live music is what it once was. Especially in the United States, which is the country in the world hardest hit by the ol’ firelung in no small part because of the ineptitude of its federal leadership, an entire economic system of live music — not to mention the venues, promotions and other cultural institutions that support it on all levels — needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. It isn’t going to be just as simple as “social distancing is over and we can all crowd into the bar again.” Maybe not ever.

You’ve likely seen a band do a live stream at this point, even if after the fact, and I have too. Not the same as a real-life gig, duh, but if it helps raise some funds and keeps creative people working on something and gives an act a way to connect with its audience, you can’t call it bad. I’ve found, though, that with the dearth of live music happening and the nil potential that “going to a show” will happen anytime soon, I’ve been listening to more and more live albums.

This, in no small part, is because there are plenty to listen to. Some groups attempting to bring in cash either for themselves or relevant causes have put out live records in the last few months and made use of the downtime that would’ve otherwise been given to actually being on a stage or writing together in a room or whatever it might be. It’s been a way for a band to not just sit on its collective hands and wonder what the future will bring. When so much is out of your own control, you make the most of what you’ve got.

In that spirit, here’s a quick rundown of 10 recent live outings that I’ve been digging. If you’ve found you’re in the need of finding comfort in live music and whatever act you want to see isn’t doing a stream just this second, maybe you can put one of these on, close your eyes, and be affected a bit by the on-stage energy that comes through.

Thanks as always for reading, and thanks to Tim Burke, Vania Yosifova, and Chris Pojama Pearson for adding their suggestions when I asked on social media. Here we go, ordered by date of release:

Arcadian Child, From Far, for the Wild (Live in Linz)

Released Jan. 24.

Granted, this one came out before the real impact of COVID-19 was being felt worldwide, but with the recent announcement of Arcadian Child‘s next studio album coming out this Fall, including From Far, for the Wild (Live in Linz) (discussed here) on this list seems only fair. The Cyprus-based four-piece even went so far as to include a couple new songs in the set that’ll show up on Protopsycho as well this October, so it’s a chance to get a preview of that material as well. Bonus for a bonus. Take the win.

—

Kadavar, Studio Live Session Vol. 1

Released March 25.

Germany began imposing curfews in six of its states on March 22. At that point, tours were already being canceled, including Kadavar‘s European run after two shows, and the band hit Blue Wall Studio in Berlin for a set that was streamed through Facebook and in no small part helped set the pattern of streams in motion. With shows canceled in Australia/New Zealand and North America as well, Kadavar were hoping to recover some of the momentum they’d lost, and their turning it into a live record is also a part of that, as is their upcoming studio release, The Isolation Tapes.

—

Øresund Space Collective, Sonic Rock Solstice 2019

Released April 3.

Of course, I’m perfectly willing to grant that Sonic Rock Solstice 2019 (review here) wasn’t something Øresund Space Collective specifically put out because of the pandemic, but hell, it still exists and that enough, as far as I’m concerned. As ever, they proliferate top notch psychedelic improv, and though I’ve never seen them and it seems increasingly likely I won’t at the fest I was supposed to this year, their vitality is always infectious.

—

Pelican, Live at the Grog Shop

Released April 15.

Let’s be frank — if you don’t love Pelican‘s music to a familial degree, it’s not that I think less of you as a person, but I definitely feel bad for you in a way that, if I told you face-to-face, you won’t find almost entirely condescending. The Chicago instrumentalists are high on my list of golly-I-wish-they’d-do-a-livestream, and if you need an argument to support that, this set from Ohio should do the trick nicely. It’s from September 2019, which was just nearly a year ago. If your mind isn’t blown by their chugging progressive riffs, certainly that thought should do the trick.

—

SEA, Live at ONCE

Released June 19.

Also captured on video, this set from Boston’s SEA finds them supporting 2020’s debut album, Impermanence (review here) and pushing beyond at ONCE Ballroom in their hometown. The band’s blend of post-metallic atmosphere and spacious melody-making comes through as they alternate between lumbering riffs and more subdued ambience, and it makes a fitting complement to the record in underscoring their progressive potential. The sound is raw but I’d want nothing less.

—

Sumac, St Vitus 09/07/2018

Released July 3.

Issued as a benefit to Black Lives Matter Seattle and a host of other causes, among them the Philadelphia Womanist Working Collective, this Sumac set is precisely what it promises in the title — a live show from 2018 at Brooklyn’s famed Saint Vitus Bar. I wasn’t at this show, but it does make me a little wistful to think of that particular venue in the current concert-less climate. Sumac aren’t big on healing when it comes to the raw sonics, but there’s certainly enough spaciousness here to get lost in should you wish to do so.

—

YOB, Pickathon 2019 – Live From the Galaxy Barn

Released July 3.

They’ve since taken down the Bandcamp stream, but YOB’s Pickathon 2019 – Live From the Galaxy Barn (review here) was released as a benefit for Navajo Nation COVID-19 relief, and is an hour-long set that paired the restlessness of “The Lie that is Sin” next to the ever-resonant “Marrow.” Of all the live records on this list, this is probably the one that’s brought me the most joy, and it also inspired the most recent episode of The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal, which jumped headfirst into YOB‘s catalog. More YOB please. Also, if you haven’t seen the videos of Mike Scheidt playing his guitar around the house, you should probably hook into that too.

—

Dirty Streets, Rough and Tumble

Released July 31.

If you’re not all the way down with the realization that Justin Toland is the man when it comes to heavy soul and blues guitar, Dirty Streets‘ new live record, Rough and Tumble, will set you straight, and it won’t even take that long. With the all-killer bass and drums of Thomas Storz and Andrew Denham behind, Toland reminds of what a true virtuoso player can accomplish when put in a room with a crowd to watch. That’s an important message for any time, let alone right now. These cats always deliver.

—

Amenra, Mass VI Live

Released Aug. 7

Look, I’m not gonna sit here and pretend I’m the biggest Amenra fan in the world. I’m not. Sometimes I feel like they follow too many of their own rules for their own good, but there’s no question that live they’re well served by the spectacle they create, and their atmospherics are genuinely affecting. And I know that I’m in the minority in my position, so for anyone who digs them hard, they put up this stream-turned-record wherein they play a goodly portion of 2017’s Mass VI, and even as the self-professed not-biggest-fan-in-the-world, I can appreciate their effort and the screamy-scream-crushy-crush/open-spaced ambience that ensues.

—

Electric Moon, Live at Freak Valley Festival 2019

Releasing Sept. 4.

Yeah, okay, this one’s not out yet, but sometimes I’m lucky enough to get things early for review and sometimes (on good days) those things happen to be new live records from Germany psychonauts Electric Moon. The Always-Out-There-Sula-Komets are in top form on Live at Freak Valley Festival 2019 as one would have to expect, and they’re streaming a 22-minute version of “777” now that rips so hard it sounds like it’s about to tear a hole into an alternate dimension where shows are still going on so yes please everyone go and listen to it and maybe we’ll get lucky and it’ll really happen. The magic was in you all along.

—

---

Take a seat in Dr. Lorenzo‘s office for a bit of psychedelic self-care. Danish garage-psych mavens Baby Woodrose released their self-titled long-player in 2009 through Bad Afro Records. Still fronted by founding vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Uffe “Lorenzo Woodrose” Lorenzen after shifts in their lineup, the band operated in the studio as Lorenzen and guitarist/bassist/backing vocalist Adam Olsson, and after returning to Bad Afro for 2007’s Chasing Rainbows following the release of 2006’s Love Comes Down on Playground Music Scandinavia in a flirtation with broader commercial reach, the inward-looking declaration of Baby Woodrose as a self-titled long-player seemed to suit the band just fine. I really don’t have a bad word to say about the band’s catalog on the whole, no matter who’s involved, but as Lorenzen‘s (multicolor, swirling) vision became the basis for their sound and his songwriting matured to the sharp, no nonsense point one finds it here, it was obvious what were the essential elements at play in construction.

And songwriting is where it’s at for Baby Woodrose. Produced by Lorenzen and Johan Lei Gellett, the album comprises 12 tracks across 37 minutes. The longest individual cut is the finale, “Secret of the Twisted Flower” at 5:32, but nothing else touches four minutes, and the sharp, Stooges-style proto-punk of “Take It” and “No Mas” meshes brilliantly with the more kaleidoscopic mindsets of “Laughing Stock,” buzzing opener “Fortune Teller” — a telltale “yeah alright!” to get things rolling early — and the sweeter strums of the duly ’60s-tinged “Open up Your Heart.” The subtle variations in arrangement — a tambourine here, backing vocals there, a change in effects — and Baby Woodrose is/are able to affect turns from psychedelia through raw heavy rock, keeping a classic air about them all the while even as the sound fleshes out in a fashion decidedly modern. Neither are they retro, at least in terms of the ‘vintage heavy’ movement that was beginning to take hold elsewhere in Scandinavia or in Germany at the time. Formed in 2001 and with four studio LPs and a covers collection under their belt by the time they got to 2009, Baby Woodrose always operated separate from the rest of all that, and they still do. The self-titled is precisely what it says it is — the band staking their claim on who they are in terms of aesthetic and approach, and refusing to be anything but what Lorenzen wants them to be.

Tone has never been an issue for Baby Woodrose, from ’01’s landmark Blows Your Mind! onward, and in songs like “Hollow Grove” and the presumed side A capper “Countdown to Breakdown,” each guitar strum and each line of bass seem to hold purpose in serving the song as a whole, as much thoughtful as they are obvious, like some never-seen tree discovered in middle of a public park of pop songcraft. The hooks of “Emily” and “Laughing Stock” arrive back to back ahead of “Countdown to Breakdown” and though they’re united by the basic underlying structure, the two songs are completely different in mood, the former somewhat wistful in a poised regret and the latter defiant in lyric and fuzz alike, the position of Lorenzen‘s vocals and the effects thereupon enhancing the notion of a transition from one atmosphere to another. The pinging melodies of “Countdown to Breakdown” likewise represent another place-to-place movement, but the theme of the song being mental collapse, the psychedelia is almost a disguise the lyrics wear to get away from themselves. Not gonna say I don’t get it.

Perhaps, then, “Changes Everywhere” is all the more appropriately placed at the start of side B, but in any case, it emphasizes another aspect of Lorenzen‘s work that has held true throughout his career, in Baby Woodrose as well as the prior On Trial, and subsequent side-projects like Dragontears and Spids Nøgenhat as well as his recent solo work, and that is his ability to make a short song a journey. As barebones as some of these tracks can seem, they’re meticulous, purposeful and presented with a care that is rare in or out of psychedelic heavy rock. To wit, the build of the last three tracks on Baby Woodrose, with the acoustic-led pair of “Mikita” and “Scorpio” following the brash “No Mas” and leading into the spacious, drifting and experimental-feeling “Secret of the Twisted Flower” to close, hypnotic but still aware of the drumming taking place in the recesses of the mix. Whether it’s there or earlier in “Hollow Grove,” “Fortune Teller” or “Emily” there’s a sense of storytelling that comes through without a direct narrative across the album as a whole, and each piece becomes habitable even as the procession from one to the next is quick and sometimes (again, purposefully) blindsiding.

The post-Playground Music era of Baby Woodrose had begun two years earlier, true, but I tend to think of the self-titled as a standout moment — not the least for being self-titled — that began a more mature stage for Lorenzen‘s take. 2011’s Mindblowing Seeds and Disconnected Flowers (review here) looked back on demos and lost tracks from the period of the debut, but 2012’s Third Eye Surgery (review here) pushed engagingly forward on the ideas presented across Baby Woodrose, and though it would be four years before the band would turn around with 2016’s Freedom (review here), that record and the pair of solo offerings Lorenzen has since issued under his own name and in his own language, 2017’s Galmandsværk (review here) and 2019’s Triprapport (review here), continued to progress in terms of scope and confidence, the solo albums taken on an ethereal singer-songwriter feel that owes as much to rock as acid folk and is entirely Lorenzen‘s own.

Freedom was the last Baby Woodrose album, and four years matches the longest stretch the band has had between LPs. My understanding is Lorenzen has a third solo offering in the works for later this year — though of course it may meet with some delay as so much has — but whether and whenever another record shows up, there’s little doubt it will further the band’s progression of being simultaneously far out and dug in as only Baby Woodrose can be.

As always, I hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading.

—

I wrote the above yesterday, and yesterday, I needed that bit of psychedelic self-care. The early part of the day sucked. It was awful. I was pissed off, the morning was a pain in the ass, everything, terrible. I took half a xanax and watched that Enslaved stream and that helped. The kid/puppy combo though has been pretty brutal this week.

Just got off the phone with a hospital coordinator in Allentown, PA, trying to put my father in a rehab center after his July 3 fall. He apparently still needs help from two people to stand up and is confused and uncooperative which, having grown up as his son, sounds about right to me.

They want a legal guardian for him. That’s gonna end up being me, I know it. Not a job I want, but there it is.

He has no assets to speak of or that I know of — a car. Doesn’t own a home, signed away his half of any of my mother’s assets 25 years ago, and then did so again 15 years ago, so that’s pretty much settled despite the fact that they’ve never divorced. That I would be 38 years old dealing with this shit? Not something I saw coming. Probably should have.

So it’s been a week.

I await a call from a financial coordinator at a rehab facility. Phone tag. I look forward to having a conversation, feeling totally overwhelmed and sad, and then going back to the rest of my life.

That Enslaved stream though, right?

No Gimme show again this week. I think next week? They’ve been doing a bunch of artist sit-ins, and I was the one who pulled the plug on the last episode — just didn’t have it in me to do one more thing — so yeah. I’ll make a playlist over the weekend and try to get some voice tracks down. You don’t care. It’s fine. I’m not out here trying to pretend I’m entitled to anyone’s time. I just need to say these things.

Moving on.

In especially cruel moments, life shows you the aspirations and accomplishments of those braver than you. The things people do. I’m trying to teach the puppy to fetch a tennis ball. Things are pretty mundane these days. I try to write as much as I can. Nothing new there.

Great and safe weekend. Think I’ll go for a run.

FRM.

The Obelisk Forum

The Obelisk Radio

The Obelisk merch

 

 

First thought? Fucking a, good for Demon Head. The Danish purveyors of classic-doom-plus issued their third album, Hellfire Ocean Void (review here), last year on Svart, and had never seemed so sure of their purposes or more able to conjure an atmosphere to coincide with the songwriting that’s fueled them since their beginnings. I don’t know where they might go on their follow-up, which they’ll reportedly issue next year as their Metal Blade label debut, but working with such a label ties the band to the history of heavy metal in a way that perfectly suits their aesthetic, and they bring something to Metal Blade‘s roster that it hasn’t really had in such a way since In Solitude went bust in 2015. May Demon Head be so hyped.

The PR wire brings good tidings, no lies, and — for what I believe is the first time — the band’s full names:

Demon Head signs worldwide deal with Metal Blade Records

Metal Blade Records is proud to welcome Denmark’s Demon Head to its worldwide roster!

Though hesitant to compromise the description of the music they perform through generalizing terms of genre, Demon Head has coined the term “diabolic rock” as an appropriate presentation. The quintet’s full-length debut, Ride The Wilderness (2015), is a youthful and hungry adventure exploring the boundless courage of classic rock music; Thunder on the Fields (2017) turned their inspirations further towards the strange and sinister purposes of life, a tendency followed and completed on Hellfire Ocean Void (2019), with its gothic, and nothing but otherworldly, song-writing and production. Fans can expect Demon Head’s fourth album – due out early 2021 via Metal Blade Records – to continue down this sonic path.

The band comments: “The rudiments are unfolding. Unforgotten promises of friendship and dedication are bearing sweet, sweet fruit. We’re nothing but excited and full of hope to have shaken hands with an as influential and willing partner as Metal Blade Records. No one knows what this will bring.
x o x o x o x o
Demon Head”

Stay tuned for more news about Demon Head coming soon!

Demon Head line up:
Mikkel Sander Fuglsang – bass
Birk Gjerlufsen Nielsen – guitars
Marcus Ferreira Larsen – vocals
Thor Gjerlufsen Nielsen – guitars
Jeppe Wittus – drums

https://www.facebook.com/Demoncoven/
http://www.instagram.com/demonhead_official/
http://demonhead.bandcamp.com/
https://demonhead.bigcartel.com/
http://www.demonhead.org
https://www.facebook.com/metalbladerecords
https://www.instagram.com/metalbladerecords/
https://www.metalblade.com/

Demon Head, Hellfire Ocean Void (2019)

The voice of Scott ‘Dr. Space’ Heller is one of the first things one hears on Øresund Space Collective‘s Sonic Rock Solstice 2019 live CD as the first of the collections liquefied jams fades in behind him. He thanks the crowd, says, “Have a nice trip,” and then, a second or two later, adds, “And kill the white lights!” That pretty much tells the tale right there. Of course, Heller — the synthesizer wizard joined on this recording by a multinational cast of players including Vince Cory and Vemund Engan on guitar, Jiri Jon Hjort on bass, Mogens Pedersen also on synth and Tim Wallander on drums — is talking about the lights hitting the stage, and by killing the white ones, he’s leaving nothing but presumably vibrant colors behind, reds, blues, oranges, yellows, whatever, in order to complement the 90 minutes of swirl that’s about to unfold. And fair enough, as Øresund Space Collective — the long-running improv psychedelic/space jam unit ostensibly based in Denmark but whose members hail from Norway, Sweden, and now Portugal, where Heller himself has resided for some number of years now — have never been anything but colorful.

Sonic Rock Solstice 2019 captures of course a performance at the festival of the same name, based in Worcestershire, UK, and as Heller notes just before the group dives headfirst into the 31-minute “Jam for Gavin,” it’s their first time playing in the country. To say the least, they do it up, and from the funky bass of “SRS Solstice Jam” and the space-proggin’ that ensues through the early stretch of “Jam for Gavin” and the mellower drift that takes hold circa 16 minutes in as they make their way back toward solo guitar scorch and finally a kind of quirky bounce outward over the last few minutes held together by the drums as much as anything, and on through the first of two band introductions and into “Jazz it up Boyzz” — nothing if not self-aware in its title — and the extended closing pair “Solstice Jammers Pt. 1” (14:44) and “Solstice Jammers Pt. 2” (21:12) at the end of which Heller again says everyone’s name the band (a follow-up introduction well-earned on the band’s part), Sonic Rock Solstice 2019 as much typifies Øresund Space Collective‘s mission as any live release could and most of them do.

Whether they’re in the studio or on a stage, Øresund Space Collective jam. There is a reason five out of the six tracks on Sonic Rock Solstice 2019 have some variation of “jam” in the title, and it’s because they fucking jam. And that other track? It’s 35 seconds of talking in between “Jam for Gavin” and “Jazz it up Boyzz,” so yeah. The focus here is clearly on jamming, and as Heller says early on, they don’t have a lot of time for chit-chat. And accordingly they don’t mess around, instead hitting it head-on with “SRS Solstice Jam” and keeping the flow central throughout the entire set. And it should comes as little surprise to anyone familiar with what Øresund Space Collective is or what they do that they’re locked in and their musical conversation is second to none. For a group who regularly record and release their own live shows via the internet archive or Bandcamp, it’s telling when they go to the lengths of doing an actual physical pressing of a live release, and as Sonic Rock Solstice 2019 was initially put out to Bandcamp subscribers — there are a host of exclusive offerings to go along with the steady stream of “regular” ones; this follows February’s Experiments in the Subconscious (review here) studio LP as the second full-public outing of 2020 — and then put on limited CDs for those who’d chase it down, it’s clear they consider it an occasion worth marking.

Fair enough for the performance they got, taking advantage of the multi-track recording by Peter Wibrew (which Heller mixed afterward) to present their freeform psychedelic improvisation as best they could hope to do. With the white lights presumably shut off after the request, the band shine bright just the same, and as they marked 15 years of existence in 2019, and as they were headliners of the fourth and final night of the festival — other headliners included Hawklords and Tir Na Nog — and, as noted, since it was their first time ever in the UK, the party spirit seems certainly justified. The jams are for the most part upbeat, of course with some spaceouts, and though I’ve no doubt that those in the building would say they felt it even more — such is the nature of live albums — but the good-time vibe practically leaks out of the speakers when listening here.

It’s reasonable to assume that if that wasn’t the case, Sonic Rock Solstice 2019 wouldn’t exist as it does. No band ever willingly put out a crappy live record. But especially for an act like Øresund Space Collective, whose purpose all along has been to enact an instrumental conversation among players, whether it’s regulars like Jiri, Mogens, or Tim — often just presented as their first names, like old friends — or others who’ve made their way into and out of the group over the years, including members of Papir, Black Moon Circle (of which Engan and Heller are both tenured) or Sgt. Sunshine, the ability to bring about so much consistency in that regard while staying so willfully amorphous in makeup and in the basic sonic pursuit, is nothing to be taken lightly. I’ll admit gladly to being a fan of Øresund Space Collective‘s on-paper mission and in-reality output, and as with the most resonant of their various offerings and offshoots, Sonic Rock Solstice 2019 puts together immersive and hypnotic jams that neither fade into the background nor force themselves upon the listener. They unfold naturally, in their own time, and though the band may not have had much time to talk as Heller says, they make their statement without any trouble by the time they’re through with “SRS Solstice Jam” and into the kosmiche launch that is “Jam for Gavin.” This is as organic as the roots of heavy psychedelic rock can get, and Øresund Space Collective make the trip their own as only they can. In times that do nothing if not warrant it, this is my comfort music.

Øresund Space Collective, Sonic Rock Solstice 2019 (2020)

Øresund Space Collective on The Facebooks

Øresund Space Collective on Bandcamp

Øresund Space Collective website

Space Rock Productions website

The statistics of COVID-19 change with every news cycle, and with growing numbers, stay-at-home isolation and a near-universal disruption to society on a global scale, it is ever more important to consider the human aspect of this coronavirus. Amid the sad surrealism of living through social distancing, quarantines and bans on gatherings of groups of any size, creative professionals — artists, musicians, promoters, club owners, techs, producers, and more — are seeing an effect like nothing witnessed in the last century, and as humanity as a whole deals with this calamity, some perspective on who, what, where, when and how we’re all getting through is a needed reminder of why we’re doing so in the first place.

Thus, Days of Rona, in some attempt to help document the state of things as they are now, both so help can be asked for and given where needed, and so that when this is over it can be remembered.

Thanks to all who participate. To read all the Days of Rona coverage, click here. — JJ Koczan

Days of Rona: Jonas Waaben of The Sonic Dawn (Copenhagen, Denmark)

—

How are you dealing with this crisis as a band? Have you had to rework plans at all? How is everyone’s health so far?

We’ve had to reschedule big time. Our new album, Enter the Mirage, was scheduled for release 27th of March, on Heavy Psych Sounds. That had to be postponed until 1st of May. Our European album tour in the spring will surely be affected, perhaps entirely cancelled, which is a big setback for the band. Our existence relies on tours in so many ways, not least financially. Our whole year will be different than planned. Fortunately our amazing fans have stepped up by pre-ordering the new LP or buying a t-shirt or such from our Bandcamp page, which really helps out.

We’re currently in good health and not worried about our personal situations, but try to act responsible in our everyday lives, so as not to put others at risk, of course. We were completely isolated for 30 days when we made Into the Long Night, our second album. This ain’t our first rodeo in that sense. We try to make the best of it. For example we’ve recorded some super hi-fi vinyl rips of our albums, which will be available on The Sonic Dawn’s YouTube and as lossless audio for subscribers on Bandcamp, so you can get a digitalized taste of vinyl. Hopefully it can light up somebody’s day.

What are the quarantine/isolation rules where you are?

Here in Copenhagen, Denmark, people are self-quarantining. It’s up to the population to remain responsible, but public events are also banned, most shops are closed and many workplaces are closed as well, just like schools and universities. People generally act disciplined and stay home and it seems to be effective.

How have you seen the virus affecting the community around you and in music?

Everything is deeply affected around us, especially in the music business. Cancelled tours and postponed albums hit not only bands but also venues, record labels, booking agents, concert promoters etc. The Sonic Dawn will make it through, so will our label, but for others, losing the entire spring season (or maybe more) will mean going out of business. On the other side of all this, many things will be more difficult in the music underground, but the crisis can also create closer bonds between artists and fans, and strengthen DIY structures with people aiding each other mutually.

What is the one thing you want people to know about your situation, either as a band, or personally, or anything?

Don’t forget the workers and healthcare personnel supporting everyone through these times, at their own personal risk. Listen to their insights about how to improve the system and support their demands for better working conditions when this is over. And don’t forget the politicians responsible for the cutbacks and privatization of national healthcare either, if you have limited or no access to treatment these days, should you need it. Healthcare is a universal right. Vote for someone who works for your best interest, not a puppet working for big money.

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

I’m not saying I backloaded the Quarterly Review or anything — because I didn’t — but maybe subconsciously I wanted to throw in a few releases here I had a pretty good idea I was gonna dig beforehand. Pretty much all of them, as it turned out. Not a thing I regret happening, though, again, neither was it something I did purposefully. Anyone see A Serious Man? In this instance, I’m happy to “accept the mystery” and move on.

Before we dive into the last day, of course I want to say thank you for reading if you have been. If you’ve followed along all week or this is the only post you’ve seen or you’re just here because I tagged your band in the post on Thee Facebooks, whatever it is, it is appreciated. Thank you. Especially given the global pandemic, your time and attention is highly valued.

Quarterly Review #41-50:

Ocean Chief, Den Tredje Dagen

The first Ocean Chief record in six years is nothing if not weighted enough to make up for anything like lost time. Also the long-running Swedish outfit’s debut on Argonauta Records, Den Tredje Dagen on CD/DL runs five songs and 59 minutes, and though it’s not without a sense of melody either instrumentally or vocally — certainly its guitars have plenty enough to evoke a sense of mournfulness at least — its primary impact still stems from the sheer heft of its tonality, and its tracks are of the sort that a given reviewer might be tempted to call “slabs.” They land accordingly, the longest of them positioned as the centerpiece “Dömd” seething with slower-Celtic Frost anxiety and the utter nastiness of its intent spread across 15-plus minutes of let-me-just-go-ahead-and-crush-that-for-you where “that” is everything and “no” isn’t taken for an answer. There’s respite in closer “Den Sista Resan” and the CD-bonus “Dimension 5,” but even these maintain an atmospheric severity consistent with what precedes them. One way or another, it is all fucking destroyed.

Ocean Chief on Thee Facebooks

Argonauta Records store

—

 

Barnabus, Beginning to Unwind

Come ye historians and classic heavy rockers. Come, reap what Rise Above Relics has sown. Though it’s hard sometimes not to think of the Rise Above Records imprint as label-honcho Lee Dorrian (ex-Cathedral, current With the Dead) picking out highlights from his own record collection — which is the stuff of legend — neither is that in any way a problem. Barnabus, who hailed and apparently on occasion still hail from the West Midlands in the UK, issued the Beginning to Unwind in 1972 as part of an original run that ended the next year. So it goes. Past its 10-minute jammy opener/longest track (immediate points) “America,” the new issue of Beginning to Unwind includes the LP, demos, live tracks, and no doubt assorted other odds and ends as well from Barnabus‘ brief time together. Songs like “The War Drags On” and “Resolute” are the stuff of ’70s-riff daydreams, while “Don’t Cry for Me My Lady” digs into proto-prog without losing its psych-folk inflection. I’m told the CD comes with a 44-page booklet, which only furthers the true archival standard of the release.

Barnabus on Thee Facebooks

Rise Above Relics store

—

 

Helen Money, Atomic

To those for whom Helen Money is a familiar entity, the arrival of a new full-length release will no doubt only be greeted with joy. The ongoing project of experimental cellist Alison Chesley, though the work itself — issued through Thrill Jockey as a welcome follow-up to 2016’s Become Zero (review here) — is hardly joyful. Coping with the universality of grief and notions of grieving-together with family, Chesley brings forth minimalism and electronics-inclusive stylstic reach in kind across the pulsating “Nemesis,” the periodic distortion of her core instrument jarring when it hits. She takes on a harp for “Coppe” and the effect is cinematic in a way that seems to find answer on the later “One Year One Ring,” after which follows the has-drums “Marrow,” but wherever Chesley goes on Atomic‘s 47 minutes, the overlay of mourning is never far off.

Helen Money on Thee Facebooks

Thrill Jockey Records store

—

 

Elder Druid, Golgotha

Belfast dual-guitar sludge five-piece Elder Druid return with seven tracks/39 minutes of ready punishment on their second album, Golgotha, answering the anger of 2017’s Carmina Satanae with densely-packed tones and grooves topped with near-universal harsh vocals (closer “Archmage” is the exception). What they’re playing doesn’t require an overdose of invention, with their focus is so much on hammering their riffs home, and certainly the interwoven leads of the title-track present some vision of intricacy for those who might demand it while also being punched in the face, and the transitional “Sentinel,” which follows,” brings some more doomly vibes ahead of “Vincere Vel Mori,” which revives the nod, “Dreadnought” has keys as well as a drum solo, and the penultimate “Paegan Dawn of Anubis” brings in an arrangement of backing vocals, so neither are they void of variety. At the feedback-soaked end of “Archmage,” Golgotha comes across genuine in its aggression and more sure of their approach than they were even just a couple years ago.

Elder Druid on Thee Facebooks

Elder Druid on Bandcamp

—

 

Mindcrawler, Lost Orbiter

I know the whole world seems like it’s in chaos right now — mostly because it is — but go ahead and quote me on this: a band does not come along in 2020 and put out a record like Lost Orbiter and not get picked up by some label if they choose to be. Among 2020’s most promising debuts, it is progressive without pretense, tonally rich and melodically engaging, marked out by a poise of songcraft that speaks to forward potential whether it’s in the coursing leads of “Drake’s Equation” or the final slowdown/speedup of “Trappist-1” that smoothly shifts into the sample at the start of closer “Dead Space.” Mindcrawler‘s first album — self-recorded, no less — is modern cosmic-heavy brought to bear in a way that strikes such a balance between the grounded and the psychedelic that it should not be ignored, even in the massively crowded international underground from which they’re emerging. And the key point there is they are emerging, and that as thoughtfully composed as the six tracks/29 minutes of Lost Orbiter are, they only represent the beginning stages of what Mindcrawler might accomplish. If there is justice left, someone will release it on vinyl.

Mindcrawler on Thee Facebook

Mindcrawler on Bandcamp

—

 

Temple of Void, The World That Was

Michigan doom-death five-piece Temple of Void have pushed steadily toward the latter end of that equation over their now-three full-lengths, and though The World That Was (their second offering through Shadow Kingdom) is still prone to its slower tempos and is includes the classical-guitar interlude “A Single Obulus,” that stands right before “Leave the Light Behind,” which is most certainly death metal. Not arguing with it, as to do so would surely only invite punishment. The extremity only adds to the character of Temple of Void‘s work overall, and as “Casket of Shame” seems to be at war with itself, so too is it seemingly at war with whatever manner of flesh its working so diligently to separate from the bone. Across a still-brief 37 minutes, The World That Was — which caps with its most-excellently-decayed nine-minute title-track — harnesses and realizes this grim vision, and Temple of Void declare in no uncertain terms that no matter how they might choose to tip the scale on the balance of their sound, they are its master.

Temple of Void on Thee Facebooks

Shadow Kingdom Records store

—

 

Lunar Swamp, Shamanic Owl

Lunar Swamp have spawned as a blusier-directed offshoot of Italian doomers Bretus of which vocalist Mark Wolf, guitarist/bassist Machen and drummer S.M. Ghoul are members, and sure enough, their debut single “Shamanic Owl,” fosters this approach. As the band aren’t strangers to each other, it isn’t such a surprise that they’d be able to decide on a sound and make it happen their first time out but the seven-minute roller — also the leadoff their first EP, UnderMudBlues, which is due on CD in June — also finds time to work in a nod to the central riff of Sleep‘s “Dragonaut” along with its pointed worship of Black Sabbath, so neither do they seems strictly adherent to a blues foundation, despite the slide guitar that works its way in at the finish. How the rest of the EP might play out need not be a mystery — it’s out digitally now — but as far as an introduction goes, “Shamanic Owl” will find welcome among those seeking comfort in the genre-familiar.

Lunar Swamp on Thee Facebooks

Lunar Swamp on Bandcamp

—

 

Huge Molasses Tank Explodes, II

The nine-track/42-minute second LP, II, from Milano post-this-or-that five-piece Huge Molasses Tank Explodes certainly finds the band earning bonus points based on their moniker alone, but more than that, it is a work of reach and intricacy alike, finding the moment where New Wave emerged from out of krautrock’s fascination with synthesizer music and bring to that a psychedelic shimmer that is too vintage-feeling to be anything other than modern. It is laid back enough in its overarching affect that “The Run” feels dreamy, most especially in its guitar lines, but never is it entirely at rest, and both the centerpiece “No One” and the later “So Much to Lose” help continue the momentum that “The Run” manages so fluidly to build in a manner one might liken to space rock were the implication of strict adherence to stylistic guidelines so implicit in that categorization. They present this nuance with a natural-seeming sense of craft and in “High or Low,” a fuzzy tone that feels like only a welcome windfall. Those who can get their head around it should seek to do so, and kudos to Huge Molasses Tank Explodes for being more than just a clever name.

Huge Molasses Tank Explodes on Thee Facebooks

Retro Vox Records on Bandcamp

—

 

Emile, The Black Spider/Det Kollektive Selvmord

Set to release through Heavy Psych Sounds on the same day as the new album from his main outfit The Sonic Dawn, The Black Spider/Det Kollective Selvmord is the debut solo album from Copenhagen-based singer-songwriter and guitarist Emile Bureau, who has adopted his first name as his moniker of choice. Fair enough for the naturalism and intended intimacy of the 11-track/39-minute outing, which indeed splits itself between portions in English and in Danish, sounding likewise able to bring together sweet melodies in both. Edges of distortion in “Bundlos” and some percussion in the second half’s title-track give a semblance of arrangement to the LP, but at the core is Emile himself, his vocals and guitar, and that’s clearly the purpose behind it. Where The Sonic Dawn often boast a celebratory feel, The Black Spider/Det Kollective Selvmord is almost entirely subdued, and its expressive sensibility comes through regardless of language.

Emile on Thee Facebooks

Heavy Psych Sounds store

—

 

Saturno Grooves, Cosmic Echoes

Sonic restlessness! “Fire Dome” begins with a riffy rush, “Forever Zero” vibes out on low end and classic swing, the title-track feels like an Endless Boogie jam got lost in the solar system, “Celestial Tunnel” is all-thrust until it isn’t at all, “Blind Faith” is an acoustic interlude, and “Dark Matter” is a punk song. Because god damn, of course it is. It is little short of a miracle Saturno Grooves make their second album, Cosmic Echoes as remarkably cohesive as it is, yet through it all they hold fast to class and purpose alike, and from its spacious outset to its bursting finish, there isn’t a minute of Cosmic Echoes that feels like happenstance, even though they’re obviously following one impulse after the next in terms of style. Heavy (mostly) instrumentalism that works actively not to be contained. Out among the echoes, Saturno Grooves might just be finding their own wavelength.

Saturno Groove on Thee Facebooks

LSDR Records store

—