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Darsombra Announce Spring European Tour

Posted in Whathaveyou on January 22nd, 2024 by JJ Koczan

Maryland-based-but-essentially-nomadic art-drone experimentalists and joybringers Darsombra will launch their next European tour at the ever-prestigious Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, the Netherlands, and their tour will thread from there through the 25th anniversary party of their longtime label home Exile on Mainstream in Germany before swinging through the UK to hit Desertfest London 2024 and do club shows with Stinking Lizaveta from Philly, which with those two bands together is quite a show if you’re into off-kilter instrumentalism. As of course you are.

There are dates to be filled in, which as I understand it is mostly how booking Euro tours in the 2020s goes, so if you can help out in Poland, Germany, the UK, Belgium, Luxembourg, etc., in some of the spaces between dates below, do. You won’t regret facilitating Darsombra‘s weirdoism, and everybody knows Apollo shines on those who help out experimental bands. Science has taught us this over and over. Or somesuch.

Dates from the PR wire:

Darsombra (Photo by Dave Iden)

DARSOMBRA: Baltimore Transapocalyptic Galaxy Rock Duo Announces New Tour Dates Including Roadburn, Exile On Mainstream 25, Desertfest, And More

After touring across the North American continent heavily last year surrounding the release of their entrancing psychedelic masterpiece Dumesday Book, Baltimore-based galaxy rock duo DARSOMBRA will spend a solid portion of 2024 on the road as well, this week announcing a plethora of new tour dates.

The Winter and early Spring months will see DARSOMBRA performing sporadic one-off and regional dates along the East Coast, including a set at film and music gathering Sleeping Giant Fest in Jacksonville on March 30th.

In April, DARSOMBRA will make their way across the Atlantic, returning to Roadburn Festival to share the stage with The Jesus And Mary Chain, Chelsea Wolfe, Khanate, Blood Incantation, and dozens more.

Following Roadburn, the band will tour through Europe with shows in Poland, Belgium, and Germany, to play the Exile On Mainstream 25 Festival dates in both Berlin and Leipzig – the 25th anniversary of the diverse label for which DARSOMBRA is an alumni act – with Ostinato, A Whisper In The Noise, Caspar Brötzmann Massaker, Conny Ochs, and many others also on the four-day/two-city bill.

And in the wake of EOM25, DARSOMBRA will join up with their allies Stinking Lizaveta for six shows across the UK, including Desertfest London with Godflesh, Suicidal Tendencies, Ufomammut, Bongripper, Acid King, Monolord, and many more.

DARSOMBRA is still seeking help booking shows throughout Europe between the Roadburn and EOM25 festivals and more UK dates with Stinking Lizaveta around the existing gigs, so anybody who wants to host this hallucinogenic duo, please contact the band directly through their social points linked HERE.

DARSOMBRA Tour Dates:
2/2/2024 2640 Space – Baltimore, MD
3/28/2024 Cobra – Richmond, VA
3/29/2024 King’s – Raleigh, NC
3/30/2024 Sleeping Giant Fest – Jacksonville, FL
4/19/2024 Roadburn Festival – Tilburg, NL
4/24/2024 Kunstverein Hintere Cramergasse e.V – Nuremberg, DE
4/25/2024 Kalambur – Wroclaw, PL
4/26/2024 Lot Chmiela – Poznan, PL
4/27/2024 Awaria – Krakow, PL
4/28/2024 Mlodsza Siostra – Warsaw, PL
5/05/2024 De Loft – Herent, BE
5/08-09/2024 Exile On Mainstream 25 Fest – Berlin, DE
5/10-11/2024 Exile On Mainstream 25 Fest – Leipzig, DE
5/17/2024 The Cellar – Cardigan, UK w/ Stinking Lizaveta
5/19/2024 Desertfest – London, UK w/ Stinking Lizaveta
5/22/2024 The Lubber Fiend – Newcastle, UK w/ Stinking Lizaveta
5/23/2024 BLOC – Glasgow, UK w/ Stinking Lizaveta
5/24/2024 St. Vincent’s Chapel – Edinburgh, UK w/ Stinking Lizaveta
5/25/2024 Tooth & Claw – Inverness, UK w/ Stinking Lizaveta

photo by Dave Iden

Darsombra is Brian Daniloski and Ann Everton.

http://facebook.com/darsombra
https://www.instagram.com/darsombra/
https://darsombra.bandcamp.com
http://www.darsombra.com/

Darsombra, “Gibbet Lore” official video

Darsombra, Dumesday Book (2023)

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Roadburn 2024 Adds Over 30 Acts in New Lineup Announcement

Posted in Whathaveyou on December 7th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

Insert your preferred cliché about Xmas coming early, as Roadburn Festival has just loosed a massive lineup announcement that will bring more than 30 bands and solo artists to the 2024 edition set for next April in the fest’s customary home of Tilburg, the Netherlands. They’ve brought on The Bevis Frond for the first time since 2006, and Health, Torpor, Full Earth, Darsombra, Alber Jupiter, Royal Thunder, Birds in Row, Deaf Club, Blood Incantation, on and on and on for a totally overwhelming multi-day experience that’s still just a fraction of what Roadburn will have on offer by the time the next few months have passed.

While I’m here and perhaps have the relevant attention, I owe Roadburn an apology for what was a misunderstanding on my part as regards Khanate. I said when Khanate announced additional shows that I could’ve sworn they were Roadburn-exclusive. In fact, that was never the case and my “could’ve sworn” was incorrect. I’m sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. Not making excuses or anything, but I was definitely stoned when I put that post together. While I’m being honest, sometimes I forget that anyone might read this or that the words I say might have any consequence whatsoever. I’m doing my best, kids. The mind wanders.

Often to thoughts of Tilburg, but I guess having a dog named Tilly will do that too. In any case, permanent, unflinching, deep-in-the-muscle-tissue love to all at Roadburn out front and behind the scenes. It goes without saying there’s some stunning stuff here, and should you be attending, I hope whatever Roadburn choose-your-own-adventure you undertake is a personal landmark.

From the PR wire this morning:

Roadburn-2024 new add

Roadburn adds over thirty new names to the 2024 lineup including Health, Kavus Torabi, UBOA and a second clipping. set.

Roadburn has today added over thirty new names to the 2024 lineup. Amongst the artists announced is Health who will make a triumphant return to the festival, Kavus Torabi who will perform a specially commissioned project, and a second set for experimental hip hop group, Clipping.

These artists – and more – join Blood Incantation who were announced for the festival last week. The Denver-based four piece will perform their ambient album, Timewave Zero, in full, as well as a second set that will encompass tracks from their metal catalogue.

Roadburn’s artistic director, Walter Hoeijmakers comments: “It’s a huge pleasure to finally bring you this extensive announcement. We have been working intensely for such a long time. As we add these artists to the lineup, we can see it beginning to reflect the broad scope and feel of Roadburn 2024, truly showcasing the underground as it is today – varied, innovative and incredibly exciting.

“We are flying in a lot of these bands from all over for the festival, and we know how daunting it can be for an artist to travel halfway across the world for just one gig. With that in mind, we have asked several of them to play multiple sets. This will help make the most of their time at Roadburn, amplifying their voices as much as possible and giving them a rare chance to fully express themselves through all of their different artistic and musical facets.”

Roadburn 2024 will take place between April 18-21 in Tilburg, The Netherlands. Tickets are on sale now.

Following a mind-blowing performance at Roadburn 2022, HEALTH will return to Tilburg to bring their distinctive sound and unparalleled energy back to the festival – this time on the main stage. With the release of their brand new album Rat Wars propelling them forward, the sky’s the limit for Health.

clipping. have added a second set – the experimental hip hop trio will now play both Thursday, 18 April and Friday, 19 April, promising that “one will be more of a “party” (more upbeat, dance-floor-ready tracks) and the other will be something darker (more of our harsher, less beat-driven tracks).”

Kavus Torabi – renowned for his work with the likes of Gong, The Utopia Strong, Knifeworld and The Holy Family – will present a commissioned project titled Lion of The Lord’s Elect. This performance will comprise original material, performed for the very first time, commissioned by Roadburn.

Uboa will be an artist in residence at Roadburn – performing three distinctive sets over the course of the festival, including the live debut of The Origin of My Depression in its entirety. The Australian noise artist will showcase different facets of her creativity across the trio of performances.

Labelmates Ragana and Drowse will perform a brand new collaborative piece of music titled The Ash from Mount Saint Helens. These two artists both release music under The Flenser label, and are uniting to create a new composition that will premiere at Roadburn.

Also announced:

  • Alber Jupiter will release a new album in 2024 and promise interstellar kosmische missives galore.
  • The experimental folk and drone of Annelies Monseré is set to leave an impression on Roadburn audiences.
  • After biding their time, Benefits will make their presence felt this coming April..
  • Birds In Row will perform their 2022 album, Gris Klein, in its entirety.
  • Body Void will return to Roadburn to perform their new release, Atrocity Machine, in full.
  • After much unavoidable delay, Cult Leader will finally performA Patient Man at Roadburn this Spring.
  • Krautrock and misty soundscapes collide as Darsombra prepare to take to the stage.
  • The effervescent Deaf Club will make their Roadburn debut.
  • Melancholic, ambient solo artist Kyle Bates aka Drowse will perform his own show as well as the collaboration with Ragana.
  • Eye Flys bring their distinctively caustic sound to Roadburn.
  • Drawing influence from the bleak tones of a post-industrial Northern England, Forest Swords will bring his spectral soundscapes to life.
  • Making their first foray into Europe, Frail Body will stop by Tilburg to perform tracks from their hotly anticipated new album.
  • Fuck Money are an incomparable band from Austin, TX – bringing their chaotic maelstrom of transgressive audio aggression to our doorstep.
  • The brand new psychedelic, organ-driven sound of Full Earth is heading to Roadburn.
  • Having dominated Europe already this year, Home Front will return with Roadburn in their sights; expect synth-driven post-punk.
  • The acerbic sound of macabre grindcore will make an appearance thanks to Knoll.
  • Industrial beats, apocalyptic noise, and gothic flourishes will all make an appearance during Lana Del Rabies’ Roadburn set
  • Laster will perform their incredible new album, Andermans Mijne, in full.
  • Titillation and transformation are high on the agenda for Patriarchy.
  • Having made a huge impact with their latest album, Desolation’s Flower, Ragana will at last make their Roadburn debut.
  • Richard Dawson’s distinctive take on British folk is long overdue an appearance at Roadburn.
  • Royal Thunder will perform two sets at Roadburn; one career-spanning set titled TIME + SPACE + REVIVAL and the other being a run through of their latest magnificent opus, Rebuilding The Mountain.
  • Sunrise Patriot Motion offer up an alluring take on gothic post-punk
  • New Jersey’s Sunrot will be making their first trip to Europe, starting at Roadburn.
  • Shadowy three piece, Thantifaxath, will bring their angular take on black metal to the festival.
  • After many years, The Bevis Frond will return to Roadburn – having last appeared with their take on psychedelic sonic explorations at the festival back in 2006.
  • Oppressive doom trio Torpor will perform their latest album Abscission in full.
  • Belgian-based trio Use Knife will present their radiant energy to Roadburn.

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http://www.instagram.com/roadburnfest
http://www.roadburn.com

The Bevis Frond, “Lead” live at Roadburn 2006

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Exile on Mainstream Announces 25th Anniversary Parties in Berlin & Leipzig

Posted in Whathaveyou on December 5th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

Two nights each in Berlin and Leipzig, on successive nights no less. This is a recipe for ‘everybody’s friends’ when it’s over, and as that’s pretty on-brand for Exile on Mainstream — founder/honcho Andreas Kohl, who knows more than everyone but, like, isn’t a dick about it, keeps the circle pretty tight — but with reunions from End of Level Boss and Ostinato, the ever-mobile Darsombra making an overseas voyage to appear, The Moth who released one of this year’s best records, Conny Ochs and Bulbul, A Whisper in the Noise and Fireflies and Gaffa Ghandi, you get a whole bunch of different styles that somehow fit under a vague descriptor like ‘prog’ just because everyone involved is super-intentional about what they’re doing.

That applies to the label as well. Congrats and much respect to Andreas on 25 years of his label and the badass celebration he’s lined up for it. Still more names TBA, as it happens.

Info follows as posted on socials. Well, not exactly as posted. It was an Instagram textblock thing and I broke it up into paragraphs to make it easy to read. Me back in 2014 would probably laugh at me in 2023 doing that. “Short paragraphs. Who ever heard of that shit?”

And so on:

exile on mainstream 25th anniversary parties

25 Years Exile On Mainstream

8/9 May 2024 – Berlin, Neue Zukunft

10/11 May 2024 – Leipzig, UT Connewitz

25 years! A quarter century of Exile On Mainstream. So, let’s celebrate. In a big way. On the 8th and 9th of May, we’ll meet in Berlin at the Neue Zukunft, and on the 10th and 11th of May in Leipzig, the city where it all began for us.

Both the Neue Zukunft and the UT Connewitz are inseparably connected to the history of Exile On Mainstream, supporting us far beyond the ordinary.

As it has become a tradition by now, and because we are hopeless romantics, we have three special reunions for the festival: Ostinato, A Whisper In The Noise, and End Of Level Boss will reunite for one-time only performances bringing back memories of the early days of EOM and connecting to current sounds and tunes on the label.

But that’s not all: get ready for some collaborations between the invited bands, which are as much a label tradition.

Tickets presale is open: https://shop.mainstreamrecords.de/product/eom25tic

http://www.mainstreamrecords.de
https://www.youtube.com/@exileonmainstream3639

The Moth, Frost (2023)

Conny Ochs, “Hickhack” official video

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Desertfest London 2024 Makes First Lineup Announcement

Posted in Whathaveyou on November 8th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

desertfest LONDON 2024 banner

Getting Masters of Reality over has been a project in the works for Desertfest London since before the pandemic, and it looks like 2024 will be the year. The band burned a few bridges over the last couple years when frontman Chris Goss took a hardline right-wing stance on issues surrounding covid and whatever else (that kind of thing will win fans as well in some cases), but their work remains the stuff of legend and any time there’s a connection to OG-era Californian desert rock — as there is with Goss, who was there in his own band and as producer for Kyuss, etc. — that’s a boon and a good get for Desertfest generally, though even if you’re not a Masters of Reality fan owing to politics or just never having gotten on board, the entire line right under them on the poster is unfuckwithable: GodfleshMonolordAcid King and Ufomammut. Goodness gracious. And the next name is Brant Bjork. Gonna be Desertfest, to be sure.

Warms my cold dead ‘eart to see Stinking Lizaveta and Darsombra confirmed — I’ll put Domkraft in that sentimental-favorite category as well, and check out fellow Swedes Astroqueen doing some more traveling — and I look forward to the grandiose plaudits soon to be bestowed on Warpstormer and Goblinsmoker after their respective appearances, which is something Sergeant Thunderhoof should be able to help them through. With Clouds Taste Satanic traversing the Atlantic again, and others like Pijn and DuskwoodMantarMaserati and Monkey3, there’s a three-day fest’s worth of acts already revealed in this first announcement and probably two or three more three-day fests’ worth of names to come. I’ll tell you outright I’d shit a brick to see this. If you’re gonna be there, know how lucky you are.

From the PR wire:

Desertfest London announces 25 bands for 2024 edition including headliners Masters of Reality plus, Godflesh, Monolord, Acid King, Ufomammut & more

Friday 17th May – Sunday 19th May 2024 | Weekend Tickets now on sale

Desertfest London have unveiled 25 bands for their 12th edition, taking place across multiple venues in Camden next May 17th – 19th.

Following their pandemic induced cancellation in 2020, Desertfest is thrilled to announce desert rock pioneers Masters of Reality for the event. It will be the band’s first UK appearance in almost a decade. Masters of Reality is the brainchild of legendary producer Chris Goss (Welcome to Sky Valley, Rated R, Blues for The Red Sun, Dust, Songs for The Deaf). Their combination of hard-rock blues with a progressive tinge makes no apologies for not sticking within the stylised box listeners would expect, yet simultaneously provides the perfect lesson in the musical ethos and story-telling of the Palm Desert scene – all led by the man who laid its foundations.

Following an unforgettable performance at the New York edition of the Desertfest franchise a few months ago, industrial trailblazers Godflesh will return to London for a masterclass in sonic brutality. UK exclusive performances come in the form of Swedish doom masters Monolord, California stoner metal legends Acid King and the long-awaited return of Italian experimentalists Ufomammut.

Further Desert Rock royalty rolls into Camden Town, as Brant Bjork Trio will treat attendees to a back-catalogue few artists can compete with. Instrumental sound shifters Maserati, hard-hitting duo Mantar, introspective visionaries Cloakroom and heavy-psych rockers Monkey3 will take the concept of genres and set them ablaze.

Elsewhere the likes of Blanket, Domkraft, Pijn, Sugar Horse, Stinking Lizaveta and Darsombra will bring a captivating change of pace to the event. Whilst the stoner rock vibes remain alive and well with Astroqueen, Wet Cactus, Sergeant Thunderhoof and Duskwood.

If that wasn’t enough to get your teeth into, Desertfest rounds of its first announcement with Goblinsmoker, Clouds Taste Satanic, Warpstormer, Sonic Taboo & Wizdoom.

Weekend Tickets for the event are on sale now via www.desertfest.co.uk with much more to still be announced!

Full line-up:
MASTERS OF REALITY | GODFLESH | MONOLORD | ACID KING | UFOMAMMUT | BRANT BJORK TRIO | MASERATI | MANTAR | CLOAKROOM | MONKEY3 | BLANKET | ASTROQUEEN | DOMKRAFT | PIJN | SUGAR HORSE | STINKING LIZAVETA | WET CACTUS | DARSOMBRA | SERGEANT THUNDERHOOF | GOBLINSMOKER | DUSKWOOD | CLOUDS TASTE SATANIC | WARPSTORMER | SONIC TABOO | WIZDOOM

TICKETS ON SALE – www.desertfest.co.uk

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https://www.instagram.com/desertfest_london/
https://www.desertfest.co.uk/

Godflesh, Live in Boston, Massachusetts, Sept. 15, 2023

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Quarterly Review: Darsombra, Bottomless, The Death Wheelers, Caivano, Entropía, Ghorot, Moozoonsii, Death Wvrm, Mudness, The Space Huns

Posted in Reviews on October 5th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

the obelisk winter quarterly review

Welcome to Thursday of the Fall 202 Quarterly Review. It’s been a good run so far. three days and 30 records, about to be four and 40. I’ve got enough on my desktop and there’s enough stuff coming out this month that I could probably do a second Fall QR in November, and maybe stave off needing to do a double-one in December as I had been planning in the back of my head. Whatever, I’ll figure it out.

I hope you’ve been able to find something you dig. I definitely have, but that’s how it generally goes. These things are always a lot of work, and somehow I seem to plan them on the busiest weeks — today we’re volunteering at the grade school book fair; I think I’ll dig out my old Slayer God Hates Us All shirt from 20 years ago and see if it still fits. Sadly, I think we all know how that experiment will work out.

Anyway, busy times, good music, blah blah, let’s roll.

Quarterly Review #31-40:

Darsombra, Dumesday Book

darsombra dumesday book

Forever touring and avant garde to their very marrow, ostensibly-Baltimorean duo DarsombraAnn Everton on keys, vocals, live visuals, and who the hell knows what else, Brian Daniloski on guitar, a living-room pedal board, and engineering at the band’s home studio — unveil Dumesday Book as a 75-minute collection not only of works like “Call the Doctor” (posted here) or “Call the Doctor” (posted here), which appear as remixes, but their first proper album of this troubled decade after 2019’s Transmission (review here) saw them reach so far out into the cosmic thread to harness their bizarre stretches of bleeps and boops, manipulated vocals, drones, noise and suitably distraught collage in “Everything is Canceled” — which they answer later with “Still Canceled,” because charm — but the reassurance here is in the continuation of Daniloski and Everton‘s audio adventures, and their commitment to what should probably at this point in space-time be classified as free jazz remains unflinching. Squares need not apply, and if you’re into stuff like structure, there’s some of that, but all Darsombra ever need to get gone is a direction in which to head — literally or figuratively — so why not pick them all?

Darsombra on Instagram

Darsombra on Bandcamp

Bottomless, The Banishing

bottomless the banishing

Cavernous in its echo and with a grit of tone that is the aural equivalent of the feeling of pull in your hand when you make a doom claw, The Banishing is the second full-length from Italian doom rockers Bottomless. Working as the trio of vocalist/guitarist Giorgio Trombino (ex-Elevators to the Grateful Sky, etc.), drummer David Lucido (Assumption, among a slew of others) and bassist Sara Bianchin — the latter also of Messa and recently replaced in Bottomless by Laura Nardelli (Ponte del Diavolo, etc.) — the band follow their 2021 self-titled debut (review here) with an eight-track collection that comes across as its own vision of garage doom. It’s not about progressive flourish or elaborate production, but about digging into the raw creeper groove of “Guardians of Silence” or the righteous post-Pentagram chug-and-nod of “Let Them Burn.” It is not solely intended as worship for what’s come before. Doom-of-eld, the NWOBHM, ’70s proto splurges all abound, but in the vocal and guitar melody of “By the Sword of the Archangel” and the dramatic rolling finish of “Dark Waters” after the acoustic-led interlude “Drawn Into Yesterday,” in the gruel of “Illusion Sun,” they channel these elements through themselves and come out with an album that, for as dark and grim as it would likely sound to more than 99 percent of the general human population, is pure heart.

Bottomless on Facebook

Dying Victims Productions website

The Death Wheelers, Chaos and the Art of Motorcycle Madness

The Death Wheelers Chaos and the Art of Motorcycle Madness

Look. I don’t know The Death Wheelers personally at all. We don’t hang out on weekends. But the sample-laced (“We wanna be free to ride our machines without being hassled by the Man — and we wanna get loaded!” etc.), motorcycle-themed Québecois instrumental outfit sound on their second LP, the 12-track/40-minute riff-pusher Chaos and the Art of Motorcycle Madness, like they’re onto something. And again, I don’t know these cats at all. I don’t know what they do for work, what their lives are like, any of it. But if The Death Wheelers want to get out and give this record the support it deserves, the place they need to be is Europe. Yeah, I know there was The Picturebooks, but they were clean-chrome and The Death Wheelers just cracked a smile and showed you the fly that got splattered on their front tooth while they were riding — sonically speaking. The dust boogie of “Lucifer’s Bend,” the duly stoned “Interquaalude” ahead of the capper duo of “Sissy Bar Strut (Nymphony 69)” and “Cycling for Satan Part II” and the blowout roll in “Ride into the Röt (Everything Lewder Than Everything Else)” — this is a band who should bypass America completely for touring and focus entirely on Europe. Because the US will come around, to be sure, but not for another three or four month-long Euro stints get the point across. I don’t know that that’ll happen or it won’t, but they sound ready.

The Death Wheelers on Facebook

RidingEasy Records store

Caivano, Caivano

Caivano Caivano

The career arc of guitarist Phil Caivano — and of course he does other stuff as well, including vocals on his self-titled solo-project’s debut, Caivano, but some people seem to have been born to hold a guitar in their hands and he’s one of those; see also Bob Balch — is both longer and broader than his quarter-century as guitarist and songwriting contributor to Monster Magnet, but the NJ heavy rock stalwarts will nonetheless be the closest comparison point to these 10 tracks and 33 minutes, a kind of signature sleazy roll in “Talk to the Dead,” the time-to-get-off-your-ass push of “Come and Get Me” at the start or the punkier “Verge of Yesterday” — touch of Motörhead there seeming well earned — a cosmic ripper on a space backbeat in “Fun & Games,” but all of this is within a tonal and production context that’s consistent across the span, malleable in style, unshakable in structure. Closer “Face the Music” is the longest cut at 5:04 and is a drumless spacey experiment with vocals and a guitar figure wrapped around a central drone, and that adds yet more character to the proceedings. I’d wonder how long some of these songs or parts have been around or if Caivano is going to put a group together — could be interesting — and make a go of it apart from his ‘main band,’ but he’s long since established himself as an exceptional player, and listening to some of this material highlights contributions of style and substance to shaping Monster Magnet as well. Phil Caivano: songwriter.

Caivano on Instagram

Entropía, Eclipses

Entropía Eclipses

Together for nearly a decade, richly informed by the progressive and space rock(s) of the 1970s, prone to headspinning feats of lead guitar like that in the back end of second cut “Dysania,” Entropía offer their second full-length in Eclipses, a five-track/40-minute excursion of organ-inclusive cosmic prog that reminds of Hypnos 69 in the warm serenity at the start of “Tarbes,” threatens the epic on seven-minute opener “Thesan” and delivers readily throughout; a work of scope that runs deep in the pairing of “Tarbes” and “Caleidoscopia” — both of which top nine minutes long — but it’s there that Entropía reveal the full spectrum of light they’re working with, whether it’s that tonal largesse that rears up in the latter or the jazzy kosmiche shove in the payoff of the former. And the drums come forward to start closer “Polaris,” which follows, as Entropía nestle into one more groovy submersion, finding heavy shuffle in the drums — hell yeah — and holding that tension until it’s time for the multi-tiered finish and only-necessary peaceful comedown. It’s inevitable that some records in a Quarterly Review get written about and I never listen to them again. I’ll be back to this one.

Entropía on Facebook

Clostridium Records store

Ghorot, Wound

Ghorot Wound

God damn, Ghorot, leave some nasty for the rest of the class. The Boise, Idaho, three-piece — vocalist/bassist Carson Russell (also Ealdor Bealu), guitarist/vocalist Chad Remains (ex-Uzala) and drummer/vocalist Brandon Walker — launch their second LP, Wound, with the gloriously screamed, righteously-coated-in-filth, choking-on-mud extreme sludge they appropriately titled “Dredge.” And fuck if it doesn’t get meaner from there as Ghorot — working with esteemed producer Andy Patterson (The Otolith, etc.) and releasing through Lay Bare Recordings and King of the Monsters Records — take the measure of your days and issue summary judgment in the negative through the mellow-harshing bite of “In Asentia,” the least brutal part of which kind of sounds like High on Fire and the death/black metal in centerpiece “Corsican Leather.” All of which is only on side A. On side B, “Canyon Lands” imagines a heavy Western meditation — shades of Ealdor Bealu in the guitar — that retains its old-wizard vocal gurgle, and capper “Neanderskull” finally pushes the entire affair off of whatever high desert cliffside from which it’s been proclaiming all this uberdeath and into a waiting abyss of willfully knuckledragging blower deconstruction. The really scary shit is these guys’ll probably do another record after this one. Yikes.

Ghorot on Facebook

Lay Bare Recordings website

King of the Monsters Records website

Moozoonsii, Outward

Moozoonsii Outward

With the self-release of Outward, heavy progressive psych instrumentalists Moozoonsii complete a duology of pandemic-constructed outings that began with last year’s (of course) Inward, and to do so, the trio based in Nantes, France, continue to foster a methodology somewhere between metal and rock, finding ground in precision riffing in the 10-minute “Nova” or in the bumps and crashes after eight minutes into the 13-minute “Far Waste,” but they’re just as prone to jazzy skronk-outs like in the midsection solo of “Lugubris,” and the entire release is informed by the unfolding psychedelic meditationscape of “Stryge” at the start, so by no, no, no means at all are they doing one thing for the duration. “Toxic Lunar Vibration,” which splits the two noted extended tracks, brings the sides together as if to emphasize this point, not so much fitting those pointed angles together as delighting in the ways in which they do and don’t fit at certain times as part of their creative expression. Pairing that impulse with the kind of heavy-as-your-face-if-your-face-had-a-big-boulder-on-it fuzz in “Tauredunum” is a hell of a place to wind up. The unpredictable character of the material that surrounds only makes that ending sweeter and more satisfying.

Moozoonsii on Facebook

Moozoonsii on Bandcamp

Death Wvrm, Enter / The Endless

Death Wvrm enter

An initial two tracks from UK trio Death Wvrm, both instrumental, surfaced earlier this year, one in Spring around the time of their appearance at Desertfest London — quiet a coup for a seemingly nascent band; but listening to them I get it — and after. “Enter” was first, “The Endless” second, and the two of them tell a story unto themselves; narrative seeming to be part of the group’s mission from this point of outset, as each single comes with a few sentences of accompanying scene-setting. Certainly not going to complain about the story, and the band have some other surprises in store in these initial cuts, be it the bright, mid-period Beatles-y tone in the guitar for “The Endless” (it’s actually only about four and a half minutes) or the driving fuzz that takes hold after the snap of snare at 2:59, or the complementary layer of guitar in “Enter” that speaks to broader ambitions sound-wise almost immediately on the part of the band. “Enter” and “The Endless” both start quiet and get louder — the scorch in “Enter” isn’t to be discounted — but they do so in differing ways, and so while one listens to the first two cuts a band is putting out and expects growth in complexity and method, that’s actually just fine, because it’s exactly also what one is left wanting after the two songs are done: more. I’m not saying show up at their house or anything, but maybe give a follow on Bandcamp and keep an eye.

Death Wvrm on Instagram

Death Wvrm on Bandcamp

Mudness, Mudness

Mudness Mudness

Safe to assume some level of self-awareness on the part of Brazilian trio Mudness who, after unveiling their first single “R.I.P.” in 2020 make their self-titled full-length debut with seven songs of hard-burned wizard riffing, the plod of “Gone” (also an advance single, if not by three years) and guitarist Renan Casarin‘s Obornian moans underscoring the disaffected stoner idolatry. Joined by Fernando Dal Bó, whose bass work is crucial to the success of the entire release — can’t roll it if it ain’t heavy — and drummer Pedro Silvano, who adds malevolent swing to the slow march forward of “This End Body,” the centerpiece of the seven-song/35-minute long player. There’s an interlude, “Lamuria,” that could probably have shown up earlier, but one should keep in mind that the sense of onslaught between the likes of “Evil Roots” and “Yellow Imp” is part of the point, and likewise that they’re saving an extra layer of aural grime for “Final Breeze,” where they answer the more individual take of “This End Body” with a reach into melodicism and mark their appeal both in what they might bring to their sound moving forward and the planet-sucked-anyhow despondent crush of this collection. Putting it on the list for the best debuts of 2023. It’s not innovative, or trying to be, but that doesn’t stop it from accomplishing its aims in slow, mostly miserable stride.

Mudness on Facebook

Mudness on Bandcamp

The Space Huns, Legends of the Ancient Tribes

The Space Huns Legends of the Ancient Tribes

I’m not generally one to tell you how to spend your money, but if you take a look over at The Space Huns‘ Bandcamp page (linked below), you’ll see that the Hungarian psych jammers’ entire digital discography is €3.50. Again, not trying to tell you how to live your life, but Legends of the Ancient Tribes, the Szeged-based trio’s new hour-long album, has a song on it called “Goats on a Discount Private Space Shuttle Voyage,” and from where I sit that entitles the three-piece of guitarist Csaba Szőke, bassist Tamás Tikvicki and drummer Mátyás Mozsár to that cash and perhaps more. I could just as easily note “Sgt. Taurus on Coke” at the start of the outing or “The Melancholic Stag Beetle Who Got Inspired by Corporate Motivational Coaches” — or the essential fact that in addition to the best song titles I’ve seen all year (again, and perhaps more), the jams are ace. Chemistry to spare, patience when it’s called for but malleable enough to boogie or nod and sound no less natural doing either, while keeping an exploratory if not improvisational — and it might be that too — character to the material. It’s not a minor undertaking at 59 minutes, but between the added charm of the track names and the grin-inducing nod of “Cosmic Cities of the Giant Snail Kingdom,” they make it easy.

The Space Huns on Facebook

The Space Huns on Bandcamp

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Darsombra Announce US & Canada Touring; Dumesday Book Out Aug. 25

Posted in Whathaveyou on July 6th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

DARSOMBRA live by Julia Vering

You know how Darsombra do. Even when the Baltimorean experimentalist drone/video duo don’t have a new record either coming out or just released to support, they’re still prone to taking a month or two and hitting the road to play, well, everywhere in the US and Canada in stints usually carved out by region. As they make ready for the Aug. 25 arrival of their new album, Dumesday Book, this tour — which starts Aug. 31 though they also have shows before that — hits up Canada and covers parts of the Pacific and East Coasts, with spots hit in between as well. It is more touring on its own than some bands — most — ever accomplsh. For Darsombra, it is a way of life.

And there will most likely be more to come as we head toward 2024, so keep an eye out. From the PR wire:

DARSOMBRA Dumesday Book Tour

DARSOMBRA: Baltimore-Based Psychedelic Audiovisual Duo Announces Extensive Run Of North American Tour Dates As Dumesday Book 2xLP Nears August Release

Having just returned from several weeks of touring around the Great Lakes, Baltimore, Maryland-based audiovisual/psychedelic post-rock duo DARSOMBRA today announces their next venture – a massive run of North American tour dates for the Summer and Fall months – supporting the August release of their long-awaited new album, Dumesday Book.

With shows confirmed from August through October, DARSOMBRA’s Dumesday Book Tour leads off with their performance at the off-the-grid Voice Of The Valley Festival in Fairview, West Virginia on August 5th. Then on August 25th, the day Dumesday Book sees release, the band will set out across the country once again, leading with a hometown record release show. Nearly three-dozen performances later, the tour will come to a finale at the Shadow Woods Reunion in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania with Panopticon and more. See the current itinerary below and stand by as the band continues to book new excursions into the Fall and Winter months.

Dumesday Book delivers seventy-five minutes of sonic revelry, to delight and confound both seasoned DARSOMBRA listeners and unwitting new ears alike. The album was recorded and mixed by Brian Daniloski at the band’s home studio, Whale Manor, and mastered by Jon Smulyan, while Ann Everton handled the cover art, photography, and videography. The record includes a twelve-page booklet illustrating each track, and all physical formats also include a sticker exclusive to the work and a Bandcamp download code with access to additional bonus material. Besides the standard 2xLP and CD versions, the album will also be available in a number of limited bundle packages, which include a handmade bismuth crystal and/or limited edition t-shirt.

DARSOMBRA will release Dumesday Book on CD, LP, and all digital platforms through their own Pnictogen Records on August 25th. Find preorders for all formats/bundles at the band’s webshop HERE: https://www.darsombra.com/, and Bandcamp HERE: https://darsombra.bandcamp.com/album/dumesday-book

Watch for new videos and additional updates on the album to post over the weeks ahead.

DARSOMBRA Tour Dates:
8/05/2023 Voice Of The Valley – Fairview, WV
8/25/2023 Current Space – Baltimore, MD * Record Release Show w/ Moth Broth, Quattracenta
8/31/2023 Melody Inn – Indianapolis, IN w/ Stuporwaffles, Mycota
9/01/2023 Village Theatre – Davenport, IA
9/02/2023 Gabe’s – Iowa City, IA w/ Aseethe, Louisiana Drifter, OSO
9/03/2023 White Squirrel – St. Paul, MN
9/04/2023 The Aquarium – Fargo, ND
9/06/2023 Handsome Daughter – Winnipeg, MB w/ Mahogany Frog, Cantor Dust
9/07/2023 The Exchange – Regina, SK w/ Psst Shh, DIG.IT.ALL
9/08/2023 Amigo’s – Saskatoon, SK
9/09/2023 Palomino – Calgary, AB
9/10/2023 Kaffa – Edmonton, AB
9/14/2023 Red Gate – Vancouver, BC w/ Organoizes
9/15/2023 Crace Mountain – Nanaimo, BC
9/16/2023 Beacon House – Protection Island, BC
9/19/2023 Cryptatropa – Olympia, WA w/ Humming Amps, Hearse Mechanic, Avola
9/21/2023 Clock–Out – Seattle, WA w/ Fungal Abyss, Authentic Luxury
9/22/2023 High Water Mark – Portland, OR w/ Thrones, Mnemonic Pulse
9/23/2023 BAD Room – Salem, OR
9/26/2023 The Shredder – Boise, ID w/ Rodeo Screams, Shadow and Claw, Scram Signal
9/28/2023 ZACC – Missoula, MT w/ Swamp Ritual, Nightwitch
9/29/2023 Filling Station – Bozeman, MT
9/30/2023 Black Hills Psych Fest @ Aby’s – Rapid City, SD w/ The Savage Blush, Diaphane, Thought Patrol
10/02/2023 Vinyl–ly Alive – Soldier Creek, SD
10/03/2023 2SMOO – Lincoln, NE w/ Our Last Atlas
10/04/2023 TBA – Peoria, IL w/ Sanddance
10/05/2023 Blind Bob’s – Dayton, OH
10/06/2023 Art Party – Morgantown, WV w/ Grey Harbinger, The Long Hunt
10/07/2023 Mushroom City Art Fest – Baltimore, MD w/ Miles Gannett, Dave Heumann, Marian McLaughlin
10/11/2023 Mama Tried – Brooklyn, NY w/ Ala Muerte, Sally Gates/Zoh Amba/Brian Chase Trio
10/12/2023 Cold Spring Hollow – Belchertown, MA
10/13/2023 Geno’s – Portland, ME
10/14/2023 Loading Dock – Littleton, NH w/ Ari Bopp
10/19/2023 O’Brien’s – Allston, MA w/ Dyr Faser, The O–Zones, FEEP
10/20/2023 The Century – Philadelphia, PA w/ Stinking Lizaveta
10/21/2023 Shadow Woods Reunion @ Lovedraft’s Brewing – Mechanicsburg, PA w/ Panopticon, A Sound Of Thunder, IATT

Originally conceived as a surreal take on a pop album to contrast with their ominously prescient monolithic 2019 release, Transmission, Dumesday Book is a ten-song survey of sentiment and human experience in the pandemic, from initial lockdown to vaccinated re-emergence and beyond – which, in the DARSOMBRA microcosm, means from cancelled tours to returning to the road.

http://facebook.com/darsombra
https://www.instagram.com/darsombra/
https://darsombra.bandcamp.com
http://www.darsombra.com/

Darsombra, Dumesday Book (2023)

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Darsombra Announce June Tour Dates; New Album Dumesday Book Later This Year; New ‘Darsombra TV’ Episode This Week

Posted in Whathaveyou on April 17th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

darsombra

In a couple days — on April 20, as it happens — Baltimore psychic energy transfer specialists Darsombra will air a new installment of what they call ‘Darsombra TV,’ which in this case is a video of a 2017 performance in Wyoming in the path of totality of a solar eclipse plus resultant shenanigans, because frickin’ of course it is. This news came out last week — Quarterly Review takes its toll in the timeliness of everything else — but it’s not too late to set a reminder for that clip, and not too late to check out the June tour the band has announced that features a stop at Mutants of the Monster in Arkansas and a support slot for YOB and Cave In at The Ottobar that makes that night that much more of a winner, as well as shows with Lark’s Tongue and a merry cast of others throughout the Midwest, where they’ll spend most of the month.

The duo have also announced their next album will be called Dumesday Book and issued sometime later in 2023 either on their own or through some label TBA. The more the merrier, and it’s been a bit, as their last full-length was 2019’s Transmission (review here), though the years since have found them touring as much and as often as possible, and they’ve had various live and studio offerings in that time, all consistent in their on-own-wavelength weirdo art-drone purposes, all different and vibrant and exploratory as Darsombra always manage to be. I don’t know if you’re looking forward to their next record, but I am.

From the PR wire:

darsombra tour june 2023 poster

DARSOMBRA: Baltimore Psychedelic Galaxy Rock Duo Announces North American Great Lakes Tour Dates; New Album To See Release This Year

Maryland’s psychedelic tour machine DARSOMBRA has just announced their next excursion, confirming a month-long late-Spring/early-Summer tour, as they complete their new album for release later this year.

Initially planned for 2020, the DARSOMBRA duo has rescheduled their tour through the Central, Midwest, and Eastern US and Canada encircling the Great Lakes from May 31st to June 25th. The tour includes a performance at Mutants Of The Monster Fest in Little Rock, Arkansas running from June 1st through 4th with with Yob, Cave In, Deadird, Pallbearer, Thou, -16-, and more, and a set supporting Yob and Cave In on June 8th in DARSOMBRA’s hometown of Baltimore. See all confirmed dates below and watch for new tour dates for later Summer and Fall to post over shortly as well.

Preceding the tour, DARSOMBRA will be releasing the third episode of Darsombra TV on 4/20, a thirty-minute show documenting the band’s outdoor generator show livestream in Lost Springs, Wyoming, in the path of totality during a total solar eclipse in 2017, and all the coolness/weirdness involved in it and the aftermath. Join the band in the digital realm to watch Darsombra TV’s “The Eclipse Show,” premiering live on Thursday, April 20th (or 21st if you’re in the Eastern Hemisphere), at 8:40 pm EDT, at THIS LOCATION: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb9iFMVqnso

The band writes, “Greetings From DARSOMBRA! We’ve been hermiting in the DARSOMBRA Mothership (a.k.a. Whale Manor) here in Baltimore since November of last year, so we’ve got some really great things on the horizon for you — a North American tour and another episode of Darsombra TV. Also, keep an eye out for our new album Dumesday Book, to be released later this year!”

Watch for details on the new album to post over the months ahead.

DARSOMBRA Tour Dates:
5/31/2023 Hideaway – Johnson City, TN w/ Cosmicosis
6/01/2023 Corner Lounge – Knoxville, TN w/ Leslie Walker & Dark Mountain Orchid
6/02/2023 Mutants of the Monster Fest – Little Rock, AR
6/04/2023 Black Lodge – Memphis, TN w/ General Labor
6/06/2023 Northside Tavern – Cincinnati, OH w/ Hemlock Branch, Sharp Toys, Cold Stereo
6/07/2023 Westside Bowl – Youngstown, OH
6/08/2023 Ottobar – Baltimore, MD w/ Yob, Cave In
6/09/2023 Music on Main – Bridgeport, WV w/ The Long Hunt, Grey Harbinger
6/10/2023 RHAD – Detroit, MI w/ Botanical Fortress, Oscillating Fan Club
6/11/2023 The Burlington – Chicago, IL w/ Lark’s Tongue, Sanford Parker, Plague Of Carcosa
6/13/2023 Cactus Club – Milwaukee, WI w/ Powerwagon, Spidora
6/15/2023 The Crib – Marquette, MI
6/16/2023 Witches Tower – Minneapolis, MN w/ Comets Ov Cupid, PLVS VLTRA
6/17/2023 RT Quinlan’s – Duluth, MN w/ Aural Paradox, The Nevins
6/18/2023 Cumberland Cinema 5 Indoor Skatepark – Thunder Bay, ON w/ Jake & The Town, Ukkon3n
6/21/2023 Bellevue Park – Sault Ste Marie, ON w/ Chase James Wigmore
6/22/2023 Zig’s – Sudbury, ON w/ Mark Howitt
6/23/2023 Tranzac – Southern Cross Room – Toronto, ON w/ Alia Synesthesia
6/24/2023 Rosen Krown – Rochester, NY
6/25/2023 Mohawk – Buffalo, NY w/ Cult Mother

http://facebook.com/darsombra
https://www.instagram.com/darsombra/
https://darsombra.bandcamp.com
http://www.darsombra.com/

Darsombra, ‘Darsombra TV Episode 3’

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Darsombra Announce Fall Tour Dates

Posted in Whathaveyou on July 29th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Four dates in Tennessee? That’s a Darsombra tour. In accordance with the duo’s perpetual wont, Darsombra have announced a slew of East Coast tour dates that will account for the bulk of September and October as they run north and south and in between, swinging as far as Texas — note the trio of gigs with Austin’s Cortège — as they continue to spread their particular brand of art-rocking drone-out psychedelic bliss. You’ll recall they were on the West Coast this past Spring, so Fall on the Eastern Seaboard makes sense. Colorful leaves to see and all that.

Brian Daniloski and Ann Everton have a remix project in the works, and they’re looking for participants, so if you find you need a bit more weird in your life and you’ve got the software, reach out. I can think of way worse ways to spend your time than tooling around with the open spaces Darsombra inhabit. Like capitalism. And war. And having a day job. You should really quit that.

From the PR wire:

DARSOMBRA with tapes

DARSOMBRA: Baltimore Psychedelic Duo Announces Dozens Of Summer And Fall US Tour Dates; New Album Under Construction

Baltimore, Maryland psych/prog duo DARSOMBRA has just rolled out nearly three dozen new tour dates for the late Summer and early Fall months while they slowly continue to construct their next album.

DARSOMBRA released their Call The Doctor/Nightgarden single in April 2021 as a bridge between their 2019-issued Transmission LP and its successor, a massive double-album, which is currently under construction. For their Spring 2022 tour, the band released a cassette maxi-single of Call The Doctor/Nightgarden, featuring two exclusive bonus tracks – “Thunder Thighs” (live 2020) and “Fill Up The Glass” – on the B-side, totaling more than fifty-three minutes of sonic bliss.

Brian Daniloski writes, “DARSOMBRA is excited to report that after a very quiet June and July following our return from our spring tour in late May, we have a fantastically loud rest of the year planned for you all, with local and domestic shows aplenty!”

DARSOMBRA is also working on a remix project, collecting re-imagined versions of their song “Call The Doctor.” Artists interested in taking part in the remix project are invited to contact the band through their website or social media channels.

DARSOMBRA Tour Dates:
8/12/2022 Sacred Root – Ithaca, NY w/ Human Resources, Staticer, and Microbes, Mostly
8/13/2022 Neitzche’s – Buffalo, NY w/ Chloroform, Wickerman, shapesrepeat
8/14/2022 Rosen Krown (early brunch show) – Rochester, NY
9/03/2022 Space 4321 – Baltimore, MD
9/07/2022 Mama Tried – Brooklyn, NY w/ GRIDFAILURE, Breeeze
9/08/2022 Sun Tiki Studios – Portland, ME w/ Cadaverette, Snap! Thee Asparagus
9/13/2022 The Loading Dock – Littleton, NH
9/14/2022 Radio Bean – Burlington, VT
9/15/2022 O’Brien’s – Allston, MA w/ Jarvaland, Blackwolfgoat, This Bliss
9/16/2022 AS220 – Providence, RI w/ Minibeast, Burr, LVMMVX
9/17/2022 Century – Philadelphia, PA w/ Stinking Lizaveta, Kohoutek
9/23/2022 Shadow Woods Reunion @ The Kennel at West York Inn – West York, PA w/ Barishi, Cultic, Seasick Gladiator, Ralph
10/05/2022 Spot on Kirk – Roanoke, VA w/ Dover
10/06/2022 The Hideaway – Johnson City, TN
10/07/2022 Static Age – Asheville, NC
10/08/2022 Corner Lounge – Knoxville, TN
10/09/2022 Springwater – Nashville, TN w/ Weird Sisters
10/11/2022 Hi Tone – Memphis, TN
10/12/2022 White Water Tavern – Little Rock, AR w/ The Lights Inside The Woods
10/13/2022 Division Brewing/Growl Records – Arlington, TX w/ Pastel Dynasty
10/14/2022 The 101 – Bryan, TX w/ Cortège
10/15/2022 Faust Tavern – San Antonio, TX w/ Cortège
10/16/2022 Chess Club – Austin, TX w/ Cortège
10/18/2022 Freetown Boom Boom Room – Lafayette, LA
10/19/2022 The Goat – New Orleans, LA w/ Three Brained Robot, Cloud Powers, Soul Glimpse
10/20/2022 The Kelly – Wetumpka, AL
10/22/2022 Sabbath Brewing – Atlanta, GA w/ Posadist
10/23/2022 The World Famous – Athens, GA w/ Sacred Bull, Rat Babies
10/25/2022 El-Rocko – Savannah, GA
10/26/2022 Tua Lingua – N. Charleston, SC w/ data_corrupter
10/27/2022 New Brookland Tavern – Columbia, SC
10/28/2022 Monstercade – Winston-Salem, NC w/ Elevated Weirdo Gameshow
10/29/2022 TBA – Greenville, NC

http://facebook.com/darsombra
https://www.instagram.com/darsombra/
http://www.darsombra.com/

Darsombra, Call the Doctor / Nightgarden (2021)

Darsombra, “Transmission” official video

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