There is a lot that Tuscon, Arizona, heavy psych rockers Young Hunter do right on their self-released 2012 debut full-length, Stone Tools. Foremost, tone. The seven-piece band nail glowing-tube tonal warmth in their guitars and bass — and rightfully so to go along with open, laid back grooves, perfect for the post-Cisneros folk-harmony vocals that only add to the classic vibing and airy atmospherics. For a comparison point, Across Tundras revel in a similar big-sky ritualism, but Young Hunter let you hear more of the vibrating cones in their cabs and the material feels more specifically of its desert home for it. Arbouretum also covered some of this hard ground on their underrated 2011 outing, The Gathering.

Stone Tools opens strong with “The Harbinger.” Aside from earning immediate points for being the longest track on the album, Young Hunter‘s leadoff introduces the multi-singer vocals and I don’t even know how many layers of guitar. Info on personnel is vague at best (they’re on Thee Facebooks here), but the sound is full enough to make seven players believable, and even as the subsequent “Young Leaves on Ancient Branches” and “Cities of Black Mesa” get more aggressive — the latter’s opening riff could easily pass for black metal as much as anything Wolves in the Throne Room did on their first album, though they soon bring in a smoked-out psych blues coo — Young Hunter hold to a sense of pastoral bliss. It’s the desert at night, echoing canyons, an infinity of stars, lonely, but the dirt on the ground is still hot on the bottoms of your bare feet.

So what’s the holdup on my overly image-based slathering of appreciation? Mostly the mix. The vocals initially come through too high and while obviously the organic recording adds to the effectiveness of Stone Tools overall and by the time “Black Candles” comes on I’ve forgotten these and several other woes in favor of Young Hunter‘s sweet ritualizing, there are still some pieces of the songs that pull you out of the overarching hypnotic effect in ways that don’t seem purposeful.

That said, Stone Tools follows a 2011 tape release called Children of a Hungry World and is Young Hunter‘s first record, so that they’d give the impression of still getting their bearings isn’t really all that surprising. More to the point, I dig Stone Tools as it is and thought I’d post it here in case you might do the same. The band have a couple shows coming up in Tuscon and I don’t know what their plans are after that, if they’ll get to work on a follow-up to Stone Tools or what, but the kind of desert reverie they put into “Drought,” I can’t imagine it’ll be too long before they answer back with another release. In the meantime, Stone Tools is available on the dirt cheap from their Bandcamp page in a screenprinted sleeve that comes with an awesome-looking poster, as seen above.

Here’s the full stream of the album:

Today, heavy desert rockers Blaak Heat Shujaa continue the up-to-the-minute coverage of the recording of their new album. In the second episode of their docu-series, the three-piece continue their recording process with Scott Reeder at the helm and prepare for a California tour with Ron Whitehead.

If you missed the first episode, check it out here. Here’s part two, and more to come:

I said a few weeks back that Berlin heavy psych masters Colour Haze would get their turn as the Album of the Summer of the Week… so uh… I guess I was right. So there. I’ll take that cookie whenever you’ve got it ready to go.

To be fair, they’re a pretty obvious pick. If there’s any reason I held off for so long in choosing them, it’s because I kept arguing back and forth about which album to choose. Just about everything they’ve done since 2001 has something working in its  favor, whether it’s the two-disc extendedness of 2003’s Los Sounds de Krauts making it perfect for languishing on a long afternoon sitting in the backyard, or the peaceful warmth of 2006’s Tempel, or the wide-open jammy flow of 2008’s All. In the end though, I went with Colour Haze‘s 2004 self-titled, because it seems to encapsulate all these things about the others.

It’s probably not the trio’s best album — that’s a designation that seems to change with whatever I’ve got on at the time — but Colour Haze‘s Colour Haze has classic prog interplay in “Did êl It,” plenty of subtle Hendrixian build in “Love” and a tonal warmth that no matter how many bands in the European scene try to match, no one seems quite able to do it. You could teach a semester on Stefan Koglek‘s guitar tone, but Colour Haze is just as much about drummer Manfred Merwald and bassist Philipp Rasthofer, and the self-titled was the moment when the three of them really nailed down the chemistry that they’ve been working so diligently to perfect ever since.

And as to the atmosphere of the album itself, even if it’s winter when you put on the beginning of “Peace, Brothers & Sisters!” it’ll be summer by the time you’re through the track’s 22 minutes. The real magic comes from the fact that you could say the same thing about the track before it, the 3:45 acoustic cut “Solitude.” Right on.

We’ll have just one more Album of the Summer of the Week to get it in before Labor Day, but in the meantime, here’s the aforementioned “Peace, Brothers & Sisters!” to get you dancing and get your yayas out before Colour Haze‘s three-hour gig next month in London, should you be fortunate enough to go. Please enjoy:

German heavy psych jammers Samsara Blues Experiment have a slew of activities in the works before the end of 2012. Below, the band updates on the latest goings on in support of last year’s Revelation and Mystery (review here), including tour dates, a Rockpalast appearance and a new 12″ to be released through World in Sound. Check it:

We will be touring through Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium in October 2012. All dates can now be seen in our calendar.

There will be an appearance at Rockpalast Crossroads Festival and as some of you might already know this will be shown on German TV. Yes we´re nationwide…

We´ll also have a new release with us which will feature “Center Of The Sun” and a mixture of the UFO song “Boogie” combined with a new jam (summing up to 12 minutes), that will surely please your ears and minds.

This 12 inch maxi single will be limited to only 1000 copies on black and colored vinyl. Released through World In Sound Records with the beginning of the tour.

Et voila, this is the cover…

It begins!

Can’t say you weren’t warned. In this beginning of Blaak Heat Shujaa‘s documentary series covering the recording of their Tee Pee Records debut and their California mini-tour, the band arrive and make preparations at Scott Reeder‘s Sanctuary Studio. For more info about the project, check out the announcement here.

Filmmakers Cole Jenkins and Andrew Baxter sent over the below to get us started. Dig it:

In the six years since their self-titled debut appeared on Elektrohasch, German heavy psych foursome My Sleeping Karma have ascended to one of the most singular approaches in the European scene. Their sound is synth-laden but often quiet and minimal, jam-based but structured, crisply toned but warm, technically intricate but never showy, and the richness in their instrumental approach has only grown as their material has gotten more complex.

Their last album, 2010’s Tri (review here), reached a level of development that the self-titled and its 2008 follow-up, Satya (review here), had only hinted toward, and having found a new home on the rising tide of Napalm Records‘ affiliation with the heavy underground, My Sleeping Karma answer the next-levelisms of Tri with Soma, a full-length the otherworldliness of which is writ large across its concept. The title refers to the Hindu drink of the gods, and each song is an ingredient, the mystical parts uniting toward one greater whole. In the best case scenario, this happens anyway with an album, but the flow My Sleeping Karma — Seppi on guitar, Steffen on drums, Matte on bass, Norman on keys — craft across these tracks is all the more appropriately presented in liquid form. There is a grace in their psychedelia that few bands can boast.

Today I have the pleasure of hosting “Ephedra,” the second ingredient, for your streaming pleasure. The song stands among the most effective of Soma‘s linear builds, which are offset by companion interludes no less gorgeous or lush than anything surrounding. My Sleeping Karma, fresh off performances at both the Yellowstock and Aquamaria festivals, have included more info on the album’s themes below — along with release info and well-sourced arguments in its favor — but whether or not you indulge in Soma‘s conceptual aspects, the lushness of “Ephedra” speaks for itself. I hope you enjoy:

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MY SLEEPING KARMA have already achieved an considerable status in the music scene by releasing superb albums and playing incredible live shows. The fourth album “Soma” follows the band’s own individualistic and atmospheric path towards enlightenment. Following the meaning of the album title (“Soma” is the intoxicating drink of the gods), the instrumental Psychedelic Groove Rock of the German quartet enhances the consciousness in a truly hypnotic and bewitching manner. The multilayered compositions move skilfully between heavy rock riffs and enchanting melodic parts with a high level of calmness and beauty. “Soma” is visually complimented by Sebastian Jerke’s artwork that is filled with astonishing details and beauty.  “Soma” offers the perfect movie soundtrack to everybody’s own inner journey. Just be warned, you may never want to leave again!

In the three and a half years I’ve been working on this site, I’ve never quite been a part of a project like this. The idea is that French heavy psych rockers Blaak Heat Shujaa — hot on the hells of their signing to Tee Pee — are making a documentary series of videos that will cover their mini-tour of California and the recording of their new album with Scott Reeder. They’ve brought in filmmakers Cole Jenkins and Andrew Baxter to put it together one day at a time, and as each day passes, they’re going to send me the segments to post.

The episodes will be relatively short, but get ready, because as you can see in the explanation from guitarist/vocalist Thomas Bellier below, the band has a lot going on. Really looking forward to seeing how this comes out. I think it’s going to be an absolute blast over the next couple of weeks. Here’s the info, and for Blaak Heat Shujaa‘s tour dates, just click the poster image (courtesy of Skillit Art) below to enlarge it.

In early August, the Blaak Heat Shujaa trio reunited in Los Angeles straight from London, New York and Boulder. Since then, we’ve been hard at work crafting the new tunes for our second album in our Echo Park studio. It’s 100°F outside, about 95°F inside, Mike drums in his underwear, and the new jams rule.

On Friday, we’re hitting Scott Reeder’s studio, at the edge of the Mojave desert. We’ll be joined by our friends Mario Lalli and Ron Whitehead, who’ll record vocals on some tracks. On the 22nd, we kick off a California tour in Palm Springs, with Ron doing spoken word on stage with us. After that, we go back to Reeder’s on the 28^th, where I’ll be polishing off my vocals and solos while my Blaak Heat acolytes will be shooting a free-form psychotomimetic proto-post-avant-garde music video.

Our buddies Cole Jenkins and Andrew Baxter, two LA-based musician/filmmakers, will follow us for two weeks, documenting the making of the new album, life on the road, and our encounters with friends, guest musicians, desert characters, other bands, dangerous animals and hazardous substances. Starting on August 19^th and until the 31^st, their footage will be featured on The Obelisk on a daily basis in the form of short video clips. Make sure you catch that rare footage of a newly signed band, where the musical sublime and human decadence will coexist in the most inextricable chaos (French subtitles not included).

http://colejenkins.com/
http://soundcloud.com/andrewbaxta

Giveaway rules are the same as ever. If you want to enter, just leave a comment to this post and make sure your email address is included so I can get in touch with you if you win. Five winners will be chosen at random a week from today and sent a signed copy of the “Cocaine Super Demon” 7″ (pictured below), so good luck.

Alternating between bizarre psychedelic quirk and crushing Orange-hued stoner distortion, Order of the Owl‘s debut, In the Noon of the After Day, tops 34 minutes and finds the trio well entrenched in the heavy underground sound of their native Atlanta, Georgia. Doomers will probably recognize bassist/vocalist Brent Anderson (right above) from his tenure in Zoroaster, and indeed Order of the Owl share some of that band’s wash-of-tone ethic, veering into expansive chanting when need be, but In the Noon of the After Day is dirtier, nastier and altogether meaner sounding. Its seven tracks bleed bombast and abrasive tonality.

The swaggering riffs of “Cocaine Super Demon” and “Wraith” as played by guitarist Casey Yarborough are both ballsy and expansive, Anderson adding a kind of droning punk feel to the vocals of the latter while drummer Corey Pallon drives the build on his kick bass, eventually leading freakout fills and a groove that to call anything less than lethal would be to do it a disservice. Musically, Order of the Owl are dangerous and unpredictable, with the all-out doom of “Class War” and the eight-minute “Mighty Demon Lover/Dead Trees” giving way to the ambient “Cope” before the title-track finishes out the release (it was billed as an EP, but I’d argue for calling it a full-length) with a spacier feel.

Artwork hasn’t been finalized yet, but In the Noon of the After Day is due for release before the end of the year on The Great Big, and it’s my pleasure to host it for your streaming pleasure on the player below:

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Thanks to Order of the Owl and 313 Management for allowing me to host this stream and supplying the 7″s for the giveaway. For more on the band and the upcoming release of In the Noon of the After Day, find them on Thee Facebooks here.