For the last several years, German imprint H42 Records has partnered with Desertfest to create a special limited split release for in honor of the Spring festivals in London and Berlin. Past editions have included Karma to Burn and Sons of Alpha Centauri, Raging Speedhorn together with Monster Magnet, and Greenleaf locking heads with Steak — the tracks generally with some measure of exclusivity, be they previously unreleased, a remastered oldie (which I seem to recall was the case with Greenleaf), etc. In 2018, a year where the entire universe has unveiled its conspiracy against humanity to be completely overwhelming, H42 has also decided to up its game, though it does so in particularly serene fashion.

This year’s Desertfest split is titled Legends of the Desert, and in addition to jumping from 7″ vinyl to a full 12″, it also doubles the amount of acts included from two to four, bringing together the interrelated projects Fatso Jetson, Yawning Sons, WaterWays and Mario Lalli und Matthias Schneeberger to each present one cut seemingly representing one aspect or another of the Californian desert that the principle figures involved call home. Speaking of, while there are four groups included on Legends of the Desert, the platter is really telling the story of two key figures of California’s initial low desert rock scene in Mario Lalli and Gary Arce. Arce‘s trademark shimmering surf-derived guitar tone features on two of the four inclusions — Yawning Sons’ “Down in the Street,” and WaterWays‘ “Three Rivers” — while Lalli is aboard for three as a member of Fatso Jetson, WaterWays and of course his solo-project with Schneeberger, whose production work not only for Fatso Jetson but also the likes of earthlings?, Nick Oliveriand Gutter Twins, among many, many others, has made him a crucial presence behind the board in that scene.

As they should, Fatso Jetson lead off the proceedings with “Semi Lost,” which even if it weren’t the only track to include vocals would probably still be the catchiest song here. Aside from their “desert legends” status, which is basically irrefutable more than 20 years into their career, Fatso Jetson — Mario Lalli on guitar/vocals, Dino von Lalli on guitar, Larry Lalli on bass and Tony Tornay (now also of All Souls) on drums — have retained the experimentalist sensibility of their songwriting. As their last album, 2016’s Idle Hands (review here) reminded, their songwriting process is deeply varied, and as they open side A with “Semi Lost,” it’s a more laid back feel than some of their more forward punk-blasting groovers. Just so happens — total coincidence, I’m sure — that in addition to providing that landmark hook, it suits the vibe of the split really well.

Last I heard, Mario Lalli and Tony Tornay were both in WaterWays as well, featuring as the rhythm section alongside Gary Arce‘s inimitable guitar tone, derived from surf and goth rock but unmistakably of the desert itself. Though the two groups are very different, Arce serves as the uniting force between WaterWays closing out side A with the four-minute just-too-active-to-really-be-drift-but-kind-of-drifting-anyway “Three Rivers,” his guitar tone echoing out spacious as ever and evocative of the desert in a manner that groups from around the world have done their best to emulate and generally fallen flat in the effort. “Three Rivers” is resoundingly hypnotic, despite being just four minutes long, and though it’s twice the length and has a much fuller arrangement owing to the complete lineup of UK progressive instrumentalists Sons of Alpha Centauri, Yawning Sons‘ “Down in the Street” might dip lower in low end tone, but ultimately winds up in a similarly broad sphere, the ambience stretching out comfortably and patiently for the song’s duration, no less trance-inducing leading off side B than “Three Rivers” was in capping side A, though I will readily admit to being a sucker for Yawning Sons as I still consider their lone full-length, 2009’s Ceremony to the Sunset (review here, vinyl review here), among the finest releases Californian desert rock has ever produced. Anything new from them is welcome as far as I’m concerned.

Legends of the Desert ends with a particular note of intrigue in Mario Lalli und Matthias Schneeberger‘s “Spector,” which at 4:17 brings together the clear collaborative elements of the former’s guitar and the latter’s keys, but there are also drums and bass involved and I’m not sure who handled them. If it’s a studio project, it could’ve certainly been either party or someone like Tornay stopping through for the afternoon, but the real question is why “Spector” isn’t a Fatso Jetson song. Sure it’s instrumental, but Fatso Jetson have done plenty of instrumentals over the years, and Schneeberger, aside from producing, has been a regular guest contributor to their work. One can easily imagine, then, it was a conscious decision to adopt the Lalli/Schneeberger banner, and extrapolate from that the curiosity as to whether the two will collaborate directly on some future release apart from Lalli‘s work in Fatso Jetson, and what that might sound like. “Spector,” for what it’s worth, continues in the open-feeling spirit of Yawning Sons and WaterWays before it — a bit darker in tone — and whether or not it’s a harbinger of things to come, it makes a satisfying closing argument to Legends of the Desert, each side of which tells the tale of arid-climate-born fluidity and resonates with a creative force unlike anything from anywhere else. These Legends are still being told, still being shaped, but there’s no question that the impact they’ve had on the worldwide underground is massive, and if that’s what’s being celebrated here, you’ll get no argument from me.

I have the pleasure today of streaming the complete Legends of the Desert 12″, which officially releases May 4. You’ll find it below courtesy of H42 Records and Desertfest, and it is presented with my gratitude to both of them as well as to you for reading and listening.

Please enjoy:

DESERTFEST is just around the corner in May. 2018. For the past three years we contributed in collaboration with the DesertFest team the vinyl for the FEST. We decided to change the format into the 12″ vinyl format this year.

And what fits better to the DesertFest, as an album with bands with a very big relation to the ‘desert’? So we called the album LEGENDS OF THE DESERT (RELEASE MAY 4th 2018). For this fantastic vinyl we could won great bands and musicians, each of them with a previously unreleased song:

FATSO JETSON, YAWNING SONS, WATERWAYS and a solo project under the direction of MARIO LALLI & MATHIAS SCHNEEBERGER. As always ALEXANDER VON WIEDING was responsible for artwork and layout: a slightly variation of the original 7″ art.

Desertfest London website

H42 Records on Thee Facebooks

H42 Records on Bandcamp

H42 Records website

Please note: This post is not culled in any way from the Year-End Poll, which is ongoing. If you haven’t yet contributed your favorites of 2017 to that, please do.

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This is the hardest list to put together, no question. Don’t get me wrong, I put way too much thought into all of them, but this one is damn near impossible to keep up with. Every digital single, every demo, every EP, every 7″, 10″ one-sided 12″, whatever it is. There’s just too much. I’m not going to claim to have heard everything. Hell, that’s what the comments are for. Let me know what I missed. Invariably, something.

So while the headers might look similar, assuming I can ever remember which fonts I use from one to the next, this list has a much different personality than, say, the one that went up earlier this week with the top 20 debuts of 2017. Not that I heard everyone’s first record either, but we’re talking relative ratios here. The bottom line is please just understand I’ve done my best to hear as much as possible. I’m only one person, and there are only so many hours in the day. Eventually your brain turns into riffy mush.

With that caveat out of the way, I’m happy to present the following roundup of some of what I thought were 2017’s best short releases. That’s EPs, singles, demos, splits — pretty much anything that wasn’t a full-length album, and maybe one or two things that were right on the border of being one. As between genres, the lines are blurry these days. That’s part of what makes it fun.

Okay, enough dawdling. Here we go:

The Obelisk Presents: The Top 20 Short Releases of 2017

1. Lo-Pan, In Tensions
2. Godhunter, Codex Narco
3. Year of the Cobra, Burn Your Dead
4. Shroud Eater, Three Curses
5. Stubb, Burning Moon
6. Canyon, Canyon
7. Solace, Bird of Ill Omen
8. Kings Destroy, None More
9. Tarpit Boogie, Couldn’t Handle… The Heavy Jam
10. Supersonic Blues, Supersonic Blues Theme
11. Come to Grief, The Worst of Times EP
12. Rope Trick, Red Tape
13. Eternal Black, Live at WFMU
14. IAH, IAH
15. Bong Wish, Bong Wish EP
16. Rattlesnake, Outlaw Boogie Demo
17. Hollow Leg, Murder
18. Mars Red Sky, Myramyd
19. Avon, Six Wheeled Action Man Tank 7″
20. Wretch, Bastards Born

Honorable Mention

Across Tundras, Blood for the Sun / Hearts for the Rain
The Discussion, Tour EP
Fungus Hill, Creatures
Switchblade Jesus & Fuzz Evil, The Second Coming of Heavy – Chapter Seven
The Grand Astoria, The Fuzz of Destiny
Test Meat, Demo
Blood Mist, Blood Mist
Sweat Lodge, Tokens for Hell
Dautha, Den Foerste
Scuzzy Yeti, Scuzzy Yeti
Howling Giant, Black Hole Space Wizard Part 2
Decasia, The Lord is Gone
Bible of the Devil/Leeches of Lore, Split 7″

I can’t imagine I won’t add a name or two or five to this section over the next few days as I think of other things and people remind me of stuff and so on, so keep an eye out, but the point is there’s way more than just what made the top 20. That Across Tundras single would probably be on the list proper just on principle, but I heard it like a week ago and it doesn’t seem fair. Speaking of unfair, The Discussion, Howling Giant, The Grand Astoria and the Bible of the Devil/Leeches of Lore split all deserve numbered placement easily. I might have to make this a top 30 in 2018, just to assuage my own guilt at not being able to include everything I want to include. For now though, yeah, this is just the tip of the doomberg.

Notes

To be totally honest with you, that Lo-Pan EP came out Jan. 13 and pretty much had the year wrapped up in my head from that point on. It was going to be hard for anything to top In Tensions, and the Godhunter swansong EP came close for the sense of stylistic adventurousness it wrought alone, and ditto that for Year of the Cobra’s bold aesthetic expansions on Burn Your Dead and Shroud Eater’s droning Three Cvrses, but every time I heard Jeff Martin singing “Pathfinder,” I knew it was Lo-Pan’s year and all doubt left my mind. Of course, for the Ohio four-piece, In Tensions is something of a one-off with the departure already of guitarist Adrian Zambrano, but I still have high hopes for their next record. It would be hard not to.

The top five is rounded out by Stubb’s extended jam/single “Burning Moon,” which was a spacey delight and new ground for them to cover. The self-titled debut EP from Philly psych rockers Canyon, which they’ve already followed up, is next. I haven’t had the chance to hear the new one yet, but Canyon hit a sweet spot of psychedelia and heavy garage that made me look forward to how they might develop, so I’ll get there sooner or later. Solace’s return was nothing to balk at with their cassingle “Bird of Ill Omen” and the Sabbath cover with which they paired it, and though Kings Destroy weirded out suitably on the 14-minute single-song EP None More, I hear even greater departures are in store with their impending fourth LP, currently in progress.

A couple former bandmates of mine feature in Tarpit Boogie in guitarist George Pierro and bassist John Eager, and both are top dudes to be sure, but even if we didn’t have that history, it would be hard to ignore the tonal statement they made on their Couldn’t Handle… The Heavy Jam EP. If you didn’t hear it, go chase it down on Bandcamp. Speaking of statements, Supersonic Blues’ Supersonic Blues Theme 7″ was a hell of an opening salvo of classic boogie that I considered to be one of the most potential-laden offerings of the year. Really. Such warmth to their sound, but still brimming with energy in the most encouraging of ways. Another one that has to be heard to be believed.

The dudes are hardly newcomers, but Grief offshoot Come to Grief sounded pretty fresh — and raw — on their The Worst of Times EP, and the Massachusetts extremists check in right ahead of fellow New Englangers Rope Trick, who are an offshoot themselves of drone experimentalists Queen Elephantine. Red Tape was a demo in the demo tradition, and pretty formative sounding, but seemed to give them plenty of ground on which to develop their aesthetic going forward, and I wouldn’t ask more of it than that.

Eternal Black gave a much-appreciated preview of their Bleed the Days debut long-player with Live at WFMU and earned bonus points for recording it at my favorite radio station, while Argentine trio IAH probably went under a lot of people’s radar with their self-titled EP but sent a fervent reminder that that country’s heavy scene is as vibrant as ever. Boston-based psych/indie folk outfit Bong Wish were just the right combination of strange, melodic and acid-washed to keep me coming back to their self-titled EP on Beyond Beyond is Beyond, and as Adam Kriney of The Golden Grass debuted his new project Rattlesnake with the Outlaw Boogie demo, the consistency of his songcraft continued to deliver a classic feel. Another one to watch out for going into the New Year.

I wasn’t sure if it was fair to include Hollow Leg’s Murder or not since it wound up getting paired with a special release of their latest album, but figured screw it, dudes do good work and no one’s likely to yell about their inclusion here. If you want to quibble, shoot me a comment and quibble away. Mars Red Sky only released Myramyd on vinyl — no CD, no digital — and I never got one, but heard a private stream at one point and dug that enough to include them here anyway. They remain perennial favorites.

Avon, who have a new record out early in 2018 on Heavy Psych Sounds, delivered one of the year’s catchiest tracks with the “Six Wheeled Action Man Tank” single. I feel like I’ve had that song stuck in my head for the last two months, mostly because I have. And Wretch may or may not be defunct at this point — I saw word that drummer Chris Gordon was leaving the band but post that seems to have disappeared now, so the situation may be in flux — but their three-songer Bastards Born EP was a welcome arrival either way. They round out the top 20 because, well, doom. Would be awesome to get another LP out of them, but we’ll see I guess.

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One hopes that nothing too egregious was left off, but one again, if there’s something you feel like should be here that isn’t, please consider the invitation to leave a comment open and let me know about it. Hell, you know what? Give me your favorites either way, whether you agree with this list or not. It’s list season, do it up. I know there’s the Year-End Poll going, and you should definitely contribute to that if you haven’t, but what was your favorite EP of the year? The top five? Top 10? I’m genuinely curious. Let’s talk about it.

Whether you have a pick or not (and I hope you do), thanks as always for reading. May the assault of short releases continue unabated in 2018 and beyond.

Look carefully into the PR wire info below and you’ll see that on Nov. 20, I’ll be hosting a premiere of the title cut from Borracho‘s new seven-incher, Border Crossing. Pretty nifty if you ask me. The D.C.-based trio have a well-established track record of delivering choice riffs and heavy grooves at no point, and you’d be silly to expect anything less from this new track, which comes accompanied by the Scorpions cover “Animal Magnetism” and will be out Dec. 8 through the esteemed imprints H42 Records and Ripple Music.

Yeah, it’s good news. I don’t know about you, but I’m taking it as an excuse to put on last year’s third full-length, Atacama (review here), and give that another visit just for the hell of it. Man, I dig this record. A lot. I thought Oculus (review here) did some really important work in establishing the group as a three-piece, but there’s so much character in Atacama‘s songs — it seems to really be the point when Borracho became the band they’ve wanted to be all along. I hope their next one pushes even further toward those ends, though I happen to know there’s some other stuff in the works before they get there.

For example, this:

BORRACHO’S BORDER CROSSING NEW 7″-Vinyl COMING THIS DECEMBER

A SPECIAL LOW, HEAVY ANNOUNCEMENT

In Summer 2015 Mario came over to us with the idea releasing their both songs ‚Border Crossing‘ and ‚Animal Magnetism‘, a really astonishing Scorpions cover version, on a 7“-vinyl! Now 2 years later we teamed up with the magic Ripple Music and the project comes to an end, and we are happy to announce the baby is born early december 2017. Look Out the presale will start later this month!

Release Date: December 8th
Presale Start on: November 21th. 9 p.m German time
Exclusive Stream of ‘Crossing Border’ on The Obelisk: November 20th
The neon-yellow and the clear-blue and a special limited testpress edition (lim. 20) you can preorder from Nov. 21th (9 p.m German time) in our Shop. The clear-orange edition you can only get from Ripple Music.

Borracho is a three piece heavy rock band from Washington, DC. In the five years since releasing their 2011 debut Splitting Sky, they have become a staple of the Mid-Atlantic — and US — stoner rock scene. 2013’s follow up Oculus highlighted a band in metamorphosis, moving the band forward sonically with a leaner lineup, but continuing their emphasis on song construction and memorable melodies. With a substantial offering in Ripple Music’s 2015 inaugural Second Coming of Heavy, Chapter One, the band showed their continued commitment to the almighty riff, and plenty of variety in their approach, even within only 22 minutes of scathing rock. In 2016 they released their third LP Atacama with our friends in Kozmik Artifactz.

https://www.facebook.com/BorrachoDC/
https://twitter.com/borracho_DC
https://www.instagram.com/borrachomusic/
http://www.borrachomusic.com/
http://borracho.bandcamp.com/
http://www.h42records.com/
https://www.facebook.com/H42Records
https://twitter.com/H42Records

Grooves and platters galore. My motivation behind doing Vinyl Day 2017 was simple: I felt like listening to records and sharing that process. It was kind of an off-the-cuff thing. Just an idea I had and ran with it. I figure it doesn’t need to be anything more than that, right? Isn’t putting on an album its own excuse for putting on an album? I tend to think so.

And yeah, I made it a hashtag. Because it’s the future, and hashtags. Instagrammaphone and whatnot. I’m a novice at best when it comes to the social medias, but it seems to me that if you’re going to share a full day’s worth of what you’re listening to, that’s the way to do it. So that’s what I did. If I clogged up your feed or whatever and it pissed you off, sorry.

For anyone who might’ve missed it, it turned out to be nine records of various sorts. Here they are, complete with accompanying audio when I could get it, because it’s the age of instant gratification:

Time to start #VinylDay2017 off right. @Stickfrau released ‘The Mules of Nana’ by Norway’s Orango earlier this year, and the LP breathes Southern rock-infused life into classic heavy boogie. Vinyl comes in a gatefold with a CD version as well and liner notes on the sleeve explaining who Nana was, what a mule is, and the band’s origins. Awesome record, awesome kickoff to the day’s listening. #boogie #orango #vinyl

A post shared by JJ Koczan (@hptaskmaster) on Jul 25, 2017 at 4:21am PDT

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Next up for #VinylDay2017 is the 2015 self-titled debut from Sweden’s @snowydunesofficial. I missed this at the time it came out but it’s a vintage psych boogie rocking gem and the limited-to-200 gatefold double-LP from Rock Freaks Records is an awfully fun way to play catchup. Their next record seems to still be in the works. One to watch for, for sure. #vinyl #sweden #heavy @freakvalleyfestival

A post shared by JJ Koczan (@hptaskmaster) on Jul 25, 2017 at 5:18am PDT

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Smaller platter but still plenty of rock packed into @the_flying_eyes’ “Poison the Well”/”1969” single. They’ve got a new LP due in September and I’m not sure if either of these tracks are on it, but the Baltimore psych blues four-piece take on #thestooges with a boldness of their own and “Poison the Well” is well worth highlighting on its own. Underrated band. Hope to hear the new record soon. @j.b.h42records #vinyl #VinylDay2017 #45rpm

A post shared by JJ Koczan (@hptaskmaster) on Jul 25, 2017 at 6:56am PDT

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Front to back one of my favorite albums of the year. I wasn’t sure if @sunbloodstories could top ‘Twilight Midnight Morning,’ but ‘It Runs Around the Room with Us’ is gorgeous in mood, gracefully textured and completely willing to set its own head on fire at the end. Check it out if you haven’t. LP comes with a note hand-signed by the band. #vinyl #VinylDay2017 #boise #psychedelic

A post shared by JJ Koczan (@hptaskmaster) on Jul 25, 2017 at 7:51am PDT

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Rolling on with #VinylDay2017 with Eclisse’s ‘The Origin of Error’ on @laybarerecordings. Definitely surprises in store for anyone who hasn’t heard it. Moody, far-ranging and heavy in a post-rock kind of way but given a psych edge through dreamy vocals and organ, lush guitar, etc. But it moves! And it rocks! Glad I grabbed it off the shelf, as it’s the least genre-minded LP I’ve heard today so far. The kind of stuff one calls progressive because no other words fit. #vinyl

A post shared by JJ Koczan (@hptaskmaster) on Jul 25, 2017 at 9:28am PDT

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Sweet, summery groove of @slowseasonmusic on a clear 12″ from @easyriderrecord. Organic, classic-style heavy rock that gets to the root of what it’s all about: killer songs and good times. ‘Westing’ was a highlight of 2016, but ripe for a revisit all the same. Daniel from the band just started a booking company too called @fuzzfamily, so they’re branching out. As long as they don’t forget to do another record in the meantime, that’s cool by me. #VinylDay2017 #vinyl #slowseason #seethroughrecords

A post shared by JJ Koczan (@hptaskmaster) on Jul 25, 2017 at 10:10am PDT

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Another 7″ for #VinylDay2017 from Carlton Melton and Black Elk Medicine Band. Split released by @valley_king_records with two deeply different vibes, Carlton Melton space tripping and droned out on “Observatory” and Black Elk Medicine Band (feat. Isaiah Mitchell of @earthlessrips) dug into a bluesier vibe on “Mortal Fire.” Either side, you don’t lose. Art by Alan Forbes and a mastering job by John McBain make it even more special. #treasure #quicklisten #vinyl

A post shared by JJ Koczan (@hptaskmaster) on Jul 25, 2017 at 11:04am PDT

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Heavy punkers @SinnerSinners go all rouge for the @LastHurrahRecords version of their ‘Optimism Disorder’ LP. The red and black splatter sets the perfect mood and the side split really brings out the variety in their songwriting, stylized and crisply produced but still driving in an aggressive sense and universally catchy. Sleeper hit? Better hope so since there were only 800 pressed. #VinylDay2017 #vinyl #red #grownuppunk

A post shared by JJ Koczan (@hptaskmaster) on Jul 25, 2017 at 12:05pm PDT

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I’ve been listening to records for #VinylDay2017 pretty much straight through since about eight this morning, and my brain has turned to complete mush. Accordingly, I can think of no better way to bring these proceedings to a close than with #TheClarity by #Sleep. This is the clear red @SouthernLordRecords version with the David D’Andrea art on the second side. Looks and sounds incredible at 45RPM. Can’t wait for their new album, produced by Noah Landis from Neurosis. Thanks for following along today if you did. #vinyl #praiseiommi #riffs #mushbrain

A post shared by JJ Koczan (@hptaskmaster) on Jul 25, 2017 at 12:48pm PDT

There you have it. Had to be Sleep to end it. Pretty awesome day of music on the whole, and whatever was on your playlist yesterday, if it was this stuff or anything else, I hope you enjoyed. I’m gonna call Vinyl Day 2017 a definite win. Thanks for reading.

Desert rock trio Avon begin their next round of tour dates in the UK and Europe on April 26. Anytime you can write words about a group like, “features former members of Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age/Yawning Man,” that’s a noteworthy opportunity not to be missed, but Avon — which in addition to drummer Alfredo Hernandez, who played in the three landmark acts above at one point or another (as well as Brant Bjork‘s underrated and shortlived Che), also includes English transplant James Childs (Vic du Monte’s Persona Non Grata) and Waxy’s Charles Pasarell — prove to be more than the sum of their pedigree. Having made their debut in 2016 with the full-length Mad Marco on their own Spira Records, the band mark their return trip abroad this spring with a new single on H42 Records, given the righteous title Six Wheeled Action Man Tank.

Should you ever doubt that the roots of desert rock are in a grown-up version of punk: don’t. The hook of Avon‘s “Six Wheeled Action Man Tank,” catchy and as straightforward as it could possibly be, is a fervent reminder otherwise. Unpretentious in tone and straightforward in its structure, the song and its B-side counterpart, “The Kurgan” (like in The Highlander!), both stand at right around three and a half minutes long, both are catchy as hell and neither neglects melody in their delivery of that catchiness. Taken one into the next, they demonstrate how unnecessary tonal trickery is when you have quality songcraft, and whether it’s the garage-style push of “Six Wheeled Action Man Tank” or the warmer vision of grunge in “The Kurgan,” Childs, Pasarell and Hernandez give a quick showing of groove and push in these tracks that, while they probably don’t need to do much convincing anyway, should have no trouble lodging themselves in the frontal lobes of their audiences for the coming run in the UK, Germany and Belgium.

That tour, by the way, includes stops at Desertfest London and Desertfest Berlin 2017, and plenty of clubs besides, so while “Six Wheeled Action Man Tank” may or may not actually be about a plastic toy, the three-piece seem to be using it as a standard to live up to as well. Fair enough. May they roll over anything and everything in their path. You know, with rock and roll. Not actually with a tank. That would be weird and probably illegal.

Go ahead and get Avon‘s “Six Wheeled Action Man Tank” stuck in your head by streaming the premiere of the track on the player below. I hear tell they’ll have copies on hand from H42 Records by the time they get to Desertfest.

Comment from Childs on the track and the tour dates follow beneath.

Please enjoy:

James Childs on “Six Wheeled Action Man Tank”:

After getting back from our recent Mad Marco tour, right away we knew that we needed to record “Six Wheeled Action Man Tank” as the song killed it on every show! We are very excited about H42 Records releasing the track on 7″ limited vinyl and super stoked about being invited to Desertfest both in London and Berlin along with 18 more tour dates for us to smash out!

AVON UK & EU Tour Dates:
April 26 The Old Ham Tree Holt UK
April 27 The Greyhound Midsomer Norton UK
April 28 The Old Road Tavern Chippenham UK
April 29 Desertfest London UK
April 30 Desertfest Berlin DE
May 1 Jagerklause Berlin DE
May 3 Schaubude Kiel DE
May 04 Bambi Galore Hamburg DE
May 5 Chemiefabrik Dreden DE
May 6 Ragga Oelsnitz DE
May 7 Black Label Leipzig DE
May 8 Cosmic Dawn Jena DE
May 9 Alltra Chemnitz DE
May 10 Limes Cologne DE
May 11 Gerber 3 Weimar DE
May 12 Rare Guitar Munster DE
May 13 Freak Show Essen DE
May 14 JH Tijl Diest BE
May 16 Radio Benelux Paal BE

Avon are:
Alfredo Hernández (Ex-Kyuss, Queens Of The Stone Age, Che)
James Childs (Vic Du Monte’s Persona Non Grata, Airbus, Little Villains)
Charles Pasarell (WAXY)

Avon website

Avon on Thee Facebooks

H42 Records on Thee Facebooks

H42 Records on Twitter

H42 Records on Bandcamp

You on board for a split between The Flying Eyes and Lazlo Lee and the Motherless Children? I am. The two Baltimorean outfits have teamed up for a single to be released in August via H42 Records. I guess the news I’m waiting for on this one is that the release coincides with a tour of one sort or another — as that’s generally how it goes with The Flying Eyes. They’ve spent the last however many years kicking around between Europe and South America — I think they might’ve even been to Australia at one point? — as they’ve moved further away from their last proper studio album, 2013’s Lowlands (review here).

The implication there of course is that they’re due for a follow-up album, and so they are, but if it’s a single in the meantime with some buddies, that’s hardly something to hold against them.

No art or audio or preorders yet, but the PR wire brings an initial announcement:

The Flying Eyes and Lazlo Lee announce new Split 7″ this August!

We are happy to announce new cooperation of The Flying Eyes and LAZLO LEE & THE MOTHERLESS CHILDREN.

Baltimore’s best rock’n roller will fight against each other on a new 7″ in form of covering a song of their opponent! Who will win? Without giving too much, two intense tracks from two extraordinary bands will await you. The 7″ will be released in Europe from H42 Records and there will also be a US Edition from our friends Ripple Music.

The Baltimore Competition will be released this august!

From Baltimore, USA, the psychedelic blues quartet, THE FLYING EYES, is placed in Machart & instrumental cast between The 13th Floor Elevators, the Doors & Retro Rock.
In addition to the expressive & distinctive vocals, which often recalls Glen Danzig, the music of the FLYING EYES possesses intensity and melody, ranging from spherical, gloomy balladesque passages to wild, hypnotic improvisations.

Lazlo Lee and the Motherless Children are a blues/garage rock-n-roll band out of Baltimore City. Lazlo, with his howling vox and guitar, front this two-piece band that was named after the old blues traditional ‘Motherless Children’. With the fast, heavy hitting Cocaine Jim on the drums, this act thrives on their energetic live preformance with catchy riffs and the ability to turn on any crowd.

https://www.facebook.com/theflyingeyes/
https://www.facebook.com/lazloleeandthemotherlesschildren/
https://www.facebook.com/H42Records
https://www.instagram.com/j.b.h42records/
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The Flying Eyes, Live in Germany 2016

This year will be the third that H42 Records has offered up an exclusive single to mark the arrival of Desertfest. The first featured Sons of Alpha Centauri and Karma to Burn, and the second was Monster Magnet and Ramming Speed. This year, it’s quintessential Swedes Greenleaf with a classic track and London heavy underground ambassadors Steak with brand new material. Seeming to represent both Desertfest London and Berlin 2017, this year’s single is limited to 400 copies, and the green vinyl is already gone on preorders, so if you want one at all, you probably don’t want to sleep on it.

I also don’t know how many of these will actually make it to Desertfest, versus how many have been preordered and just sold through that way, so yeah, much to consider here. Not trying to sell you on anything, I’m just saying these are factors to consider when acquiring heavy rock and roll. You know how it is.

Release details from the PR wire:

GREENLEAF & STEAK will take part on this years DESERTFEST Split-7″

GREENLEAF is a righteous kick in the ass and a testament to the almighty riff! On Side A they presents you their alltime classic “Sold My Old Lady (Out of the back of an Oldsmobile)”. The song was originally released on their long sold out debut EP from 2000. If you don’t own this EP this is your chance the get this song on vinyl. That’s the first time in 17 years.

Side B is reserved for a brand new song from STEAK: “Overthrow” is the first living sign of the four Londoners since ‘Slab City’ from 2014. And what is closer to the fact that Steak is represented with a new song on the new DesertFest Split cause they will also rock the stage of the DesertFest London this year.

Limited Edition up to 400 copies out on H42 Records (H42-040)
200 on DARK GREEN vinyl
200 on BROWN vinyl

Tracklist:
A1 // Greenleaf Side: Sold My Old Lady (Out of the back of an Oldsmobile)
B1 // Steak Side: Overthrow

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Greenleaf, “Sold My Lady (Out the back of an Oldsmobile)”

Steak, “Pisser” Live in London, 2016

As announced earlier this week, tomorrow is the digital release date of Atlas, the new single from German four-piece Wight. With vinyl forthcoming through H42 Records (presale starts tomorrow for that as well) sometime over the summer, the band begins quickly to move forward from their 2016 third album, Love is Not Only What You Know (review here), while keeping some of the same principals intact. You might recall that Love is Not Only What You Know was the latest in a series of three departures for Wight; each of their full-lengths to-date has marked a significant shift in sound from the one before it.

In the case of Love is Not Only What You Know, it was funk and soul elements incorporated with a classic rock feel building on the heavy psych of 2012’s Through the Woods into Deep Water (review here), which likewise was a marked shift from the straightforward nod-riffing of 2011’s Wight Weedy Wight (review here) debut. Out and out they go. Where they’ll stop, nobody knows.

With Atlas, though, Wight maintain some of the flavor of their third outing while also moving it forward. The single features two versions of the song “Atlas,” one performed by the band and the other an extra-funkified redux called “Atlas (Flashbaxx Remix),” which you know is trouble from the sheer number of ‘x’s the title contains. It lives up to that standard. Even the core “Atlas” is plenty dangerous, though, with the organ and Rhodes lines of Steffen Kirchpfening intertwining with René Hofmann‘s guitar early only to step back and allow his increasingly soulful vocal delivery — coated in far-off echo here that seems to answer him back when heard through headphones — to feature even more than on the last record en route to a quick but telling bridge jam held together atop the rhythm from bassist Peter-Philipp Schierhorn and drummer Thomas Kurek and a last run through the somewhat restrained hook.

It’s a quick listen, under five minutes, but it sees Wight bring further cohesion to the impulses that drove the material their last time out, and when the “Atlas (Flashbaxx Remix)” starts in with its Curtis Mayfield-style groove, yeah, the band lets you know they have a few more tricks up their collective sleeve yet. I’d love to hear these dudes with a full-on funky string section. It could happen. Don’t think it couldn’t.

Wight have a history of performing live in videos. They did it to lead the way into the last album with a clip for “The Love of Life Leads to Reincarnation” (posted here), and they represented Through the Woods into Deep Water by actually going to the woods and playing the title-track (posted here), so to find them digging into “Atlas” leading into the single fits their character well enough, and it’s to their credit that as they keep pushing their sound to these new places, they refuse to not draw that line of vitality in their approach. There’s some surprisingly melancholy imagery included here — for a track so colorful, the clip is awfully black and white — but Wight have very clearly come to dwell on their own wavelength, so I’m not inclined to ask questions.

Please find the video premiere for “Atlas” below, followed by the credits and the band’s upcoming live dates. My thanks to Wight and H42 Records for letting me host it.

Enjoy:

Wight, “Atlas” official video

Recorded live at Orange Box Studio, Darmstadt, January 2017

Produced by René Hofmann, Fat&Holy Records 2017

– Video Credits –
Camera & post-production: Gabriel Sahm, Johanna Amberg
Additonal Camera: Martin Kadel, Jonas Eichhorn, Fabian Weber

– Audio Credits –
Recording: Hüseyin Köroglu, Josko Koketovic
Mixing: Maurice Young
Mastering: René Hofmann

– Wight is –
Rene Hofmann: Vocals, Guitar
Peter-Philipp Schierhorn: Bass
Thomas Kurek: Drums
Steffen Kirchpfening: Organ, Rhodes

Wight live:
Mar 24 Centralstation Darmstadt, Germany w/ Colour Haze & My Sleeping Karma
Apr 01 Sputnikhalle Münster, Germany
May 05 DasBach Vienna, Austria
May 06 Zukunft Chemnitz, Germany
May 24 Schraub-BAR Bückeburg, Germany
May 26 Limes Cologne, Germany
May 26 O:M:A Karlstadt am Main, Germany

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