Posted in Whathaveyou on December 6th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Don’t leave Finland out of the glut of festival announcements that have come down the wire over the course of the last week or so. Desert Hel — short for Helsinki — has announced its 2023 lineup and put early-bird tickets on sale. Set for April 28 and 29 at On the Rocks, the fest will be headlined by Greenleaf and Skraeckoedlan — respect to Sweden — and will boast the significant support of Finnish acts Kaleidobolt, Jess and the Ancient Ones, Polymoon, Green King, Šamane and Zombie Eater.
The new record from Polymoon will be out by then, and I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if there are others on the bill who’ll have new offerings for the denizens on the other side of the merch table. I’m pretty sure this is the complete lineup for this second Desert Hel, and it’s certainly enough for two right-on evenings, so if you happen to be in the neighborhood next April, or if, you know, you like a bit of travel to go with your rock and roll, it’s something to consider as you put together your own 2023 itinerary.
Which, if you have such a thing, I’d imagine it has gotten significantly more complicated over the aforementioned last week or so. Here’s to complication:
We are proud to announce our 2023 lineup – limited Early Bird tickets are now on sale at Tiketti.fi!
Desert Hel festival returns to On the Rocks Helsinki 28.-29.04.2023! Lineup of the second edition of the festival doesn’t leave friends of stoner rock and doom metal cold: Swedish Greenleaf and SKRAECKOEDLAN will be headlining the festival.
The audience is in for a treat when it comes to the Finnish names as well – during the two-day festival they will get to witness a fine selection of both already established and up-and-coming bands, as Jess and the Ancient Ones, KALEIDOBOLT, POLYMOON, Green King, Šamane and Zombie Eater will take the stage!
[Click play above to stream Captain Caravan and Kaiser’s Turned to Stone – Ch. 6 split in its entirety. Album is out Friday on Ripple Music.]
And yea, ‘Second Coming of Heavy’ did beget ‘Turned to Stone,’ and there was much rejoicing and sharing of riff. This sixth installment of Ripple Music‘s second and seemingly ongoing — they just announced the seventh chapter — brings together Egersund, Norway’s Captain Caravan and Helsinki, Finland’s Kaiser for a 43-minute up-and-comer fuzzfest, both bands united by a shared respect for their elders in heavy rock and roll while each fostering their own presentation of their revels. Curated by John Gist of the promotional concern Vegas Rock Revolution — he helmed Turned to Stone Ch. 5 (review here) as well — the two-sided 43-minute outing finds both bands at a somewhat urgent moment.
For Captain Caravan, their participation in Turned to Stone Ch. 6 follows the 2018 release of their Shun the Sun EP (discussed here). With their lineup solidified behind powerhouse vocalist Johnny Olsen in guitarist BK Saestad, bassist Geir Solli and drummer Morten Skogen, they’re due for an offering at least like this if not a full-length, despite having issued a couple of singles here. Their Finnish counterparts in Kaiser — guitarist/vocalist Olli “Otu” Suurmunne (also ex-Altar of Betelgeuze, currently Headless Monarch and other projects), bassist Pekka “Pex” Sauvolainen (ex-Ajattara, current Amputory) and drummer Riku “RiQ” Syrjä — arrive with a similar context, their debut album, 1st Sound (just tried to buy a copy, CD is sold out), having been released in 2018.
And though four years isn’t an eternity for any band — though you’d be forgiven for mistaking at least some of the last four years for one — it’s long enough to drag on one’s momentum with so much out there. No, I’m not saying art is a competition and groups should push to have releases out all the time for the sake of new ‘content,’ unless what they’re shooting for is mass appeal, but if Captain Caravan and Kaiser are both feeling some pressure to make something happen, they realize that in the infectious shove of their songs.
The release begins with Captain Caravan‘s “Down.” And guess what? It sounds like Down. Specifically, like Down circa “Temptation’s Wings” from their seminal 1995 debut, Nola, but Olsen‘s vocals are a distinguishing factor and in line with a longstanding tradition of Swedish belters from Fredrik Nordin of Dozer to The Quill‘s Magnus Ekwall and any number of others you want to name. In style, he’s more John Garcia than Messiah Marcolin, but that’s suited to the progression of Captain Caravan‘s five inclusions here, as “Sailors” takes hold and slows the pace from the more raucous and immediately familiar opener. Songwriting, tone, performance — all locked in.
“Painted Wolf” specifically recalls Euro heavy rock of the mid-aughts — Dozer again, Astrosoniq from the Netherlands, Lowrider to a lesser extent — with a burner of a solo and a desert-inspired-but-not-desert-rock groove throwing its considerable weight around like it’s nothing in a vital, welcome nod, while “She Can” spaces out a bit in its middle before hitting into its own larger-sounding payoff, constructed of the root chug of its verse but spreading wider with just an edge of Queens of the Stone Age in the guitar. Burl comes forward in “Void” as Captain Caravan make a hooky exit, hitting into a C.O.C.-style chugger turnaround with what’s either organ or guitar-as-organ thrown in at the end like a final knockout punch to the temple.
Kaiser answer back with deep low end and consuming fuzz tones on “Howl,” the first of their four contributions to the split, and maintain both the high production and high energy standards that Captain Caravan set forth. Vocals are further back in the mix and a little blown out, for a feel in listening that’s different enough to be removed from the A side, but not so wildly disparate that the two bands don’t make sense together. “Howl” builds a tower out of low end — really, someone should send Pex a thank-you card for this tone — but its ultimate appeal resides as much in the capstone vocal melody, which feels like a big reveal held back for just the right moment of adrenaline. Effective all the more leading into the 2:28 “Fire,” which is the hardest-thrusting piece on Turned to Stone Ch. 6. All go, all gnash, right on.
The subsequent “Black Sand Witch” — not to be confused with “Black Sandwich,” if it needs to be said — is a roller that evens out the pace and retains its thickness, with a moment of hat-tipping to Dead Meadow before its full force returns for the chorus. Thick thick thick. Dense dense dense. Samples throughout act as another tie to the roots of modern heavy, and that will hold true for nine-minute closer “Phoenix Part 1, 2, 3: Fission, Death, Rebirth” as well, which picks up from the ultra-dense ending of “Black Sand Witch” with a more patient linear intro until its surge at 59 seconds in, the full roll hypnotic with lead guitar layered over top. Instrumental in its first two parts, the song veers into all-out Sleep noddery before whipping into its culmination in the last minute-plus, a post-Oliveri blast of heavier-than-you’re-thinking punk scorching to a finish.
Both acts deliver here, living up to the opportunity showcasing their respective sounds to the wider audience of Ripple‘s split series. They share a riotous vibe at times, but each one has something individual to bring to the fold, and so even as what’s essentially another EP from them, there’s a sense of atmosphere that comes through as well. It’s nobody’s first time at the dance, in other words, and from the cover art through all the swing and the very last propulsion of its very last riff, Turned to Stone Ch. 6 delivers quality of the standard one would expect while sounding exciting and of its place. For the converted, or those who’ve had experience with these acts, it should be a no-brainer. For everyone else, call it brain well spent.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 7th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
No trouble whatsoever believing Kaleidobolt when they say ‘this one’s a real barnburner’ below. How could it not be? The Helsinki-based trio are nothing if not prone to scorch, and the head-spinning complexity of their latest work, earlier 2022’s This One Simple Trick (review here), was indeed a reminder that such tricks don’t exist. The trick, it turns out, is to be really talented and play your ass off. Oh, is that all?
The Sonic Whip Festival was held this past May in the Netherlands — you might recall UK heavy rockers Elephant Tree also released material recorded there this year; I have no idea how much of the event was captured on tape — and boasted luminaries like Elder, Motorpsycho, Earthless, Rotor, Sacri Monti and Stöner alongside newer acts like Slomosa, Polymoon and Kryptograf, among many others. It was an eyebrow-raiser of a bill, and Kaleidobolt seemed to be right at home among various rippers of likewise various stripes. One is not surprised to find they thought enough of it to make Live at Sonic Whip ’22. Seems like maybe that’ll be a name you’ll see on more releases in the years to come.
Here’s hoping, anyhow. From the band:
This one’s a real barnburner. 44 minutes of 3 friends trying to hold on to an adrenaline missile ricocheting off the Doornroosje’s walls. Sonic Whip was the first show of our Euro tour where we felt like we were flying, so it’s a real treat that the whole show was professionally recorded. A proper live album ay? What’s next, greatest hits? I guess we’ll see.
Kaleidobolt Live at Sonic Whip ’22 will be available from all major streaming platforms on November 18th 2022.
All songs written and performed live by Kaleidobolt at Sonic Whip Festival in Nijmegen, NL on May 6th 2022.
Sampo Kääriäinen: vocals, electric guitars. Marco Menestrina: electric bass, vocals, synth. Mårten Gustafsson: drums.
Recorded on location by Gonny Maas (Doornroosje). Audio recording coordination: Jurgen van den Brand. Mixed and mastered by Marco Menestrina.
Cover photo: Cody Jay Melton. Covert art: Marco Menestrina.
Photography by The Buried Herald, Maaike Ronhaar, Niels Vinck and Jusu Lahti. Video editing by Marco Menestrina.
Sonic Whip bookings: Freek Koster (Doornroosje). Big luv to Swamp Booking, Jusu Lahti, Sacri Monti, Robin Rigaux, Orange and Hiwatt amps.
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 12th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
It’s been over five years since Helsinki’s Void Cruiser released their second album, Wayfarer (review here), so you might be forgiven for needing a refresher. Toward that end, the Finnish five-piece offer the first single from their new album, Call of the Void, in the form of the six-plus minute “Happiness,” which we’ll just assume is an ironic title given the brooding of the actual audio.
The PR wire info below clues you in pretty directly on where they’re coming from in terms of filtering ’90s influences through more modern atmospheric styles. It’s a heady brew on “Happiness,” but at the core is a big ol’ lumbering riff and when it hits, it’s awfully nice to nod along. You’re also going to want to keep an ear out later on when the chug turns evil and the growls and scream come. That leads to the next-stage largesse of the apex distortion wash, winding solo cutting through all the while, and by the time you get there, immersion is complete. And like a good teaser, they cut out before overstaying their welcome.
Whether you caught the last one or the one one before it or you didn’t, doesn’t matter. All are welcome. Here’s this:
Finnish Heavy Rockers VOID CRUISER to release their new album “Call of the Void” via Argonauta Records; new single out now!
Void Cruiser is a heavy alternative rock band from Helsinki, Finland. The band has been evolving since 2011 and developed their sound into a distinctive mixture of 90s grunge and heavy rock, with some taste of desert rock, post metal and shoegaze.
Void Cruiser delivers vast soundscapes and unrelenting riffage with mellow and melancholic sonic aesthetics reinforced with smoothly dejected lyrical expression. Some influences throughout the years include for example Alice In Chains, Type O Negative, Deftones, and Kyuss.
Void Cruiser released their first album Overstaying My Welcome in 2015, gained some followers and the album received some decent, even praising reviews. With their second full-length album Wayfarer (2017 – Argonauta Records, Oak Island Records) the band renewed their sound and clearly started to establish their own way of doing things. The album was highly praised by the audience and media, which brought a lot of support and led to recognition on albums of the year lists.
Now Void Cruiser – strengthened by one additional member since the previous albums – have created their third record and are ready to unleash the full power of their sonic excess.
The band says: “We are pretty stoked about continuing the smooth cooperation with Argonauta. Gero’s solid hands-on experience with a wide range of genres and bands and the genuine urge to spread phenomenal music makes Argonauta Records a perfect companion for us. We have been extremely satisfied working with Argonauta in the past and we are confident that our collaboration with the third album will unfold remarkable things.”
To shorten the wait of the actual CALL OF THE VOID full-length release date coming soon in 2022, the band releases today their impressive new single “Happiness”, taking their sound to a definitely new level, give ear.
Watch out for many more details and preorder links to be revealed soon!
Void Cruiser is: Santeri Salo – Vocals Antti Koski-Laulaja – Guitars Vili Salo – Guitars Lassi Tähtinen – Bass Teemu Rantanen – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 8th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
They just keep churnin’ ’em out as hot on the heels of the August release of Turned to Stone Ch. 5 (review here), Ripple Music has announced the next installment of its ongoing split series with Kaiser from Finland and Norwegian rockers Captain Caravan coming together to share a 12″ platter on Nov. 18. Kaiser have the honors of the first single in “Fire” — named perhaps for the emoji the usage of which it is intended to inspire — and I’m sure that Captain Caravan won’t be far behind in unveiling a track, as that seems to be how this kind of thing goes.
You’ll recall that Turned to Stone Ch. 5 united Australian acts Duneeater and Planet of the 8s, and Ch. 6 has a regional aspect as well — as the PR wire notes, both groups are Scandinavian — but I’m not necessarily thinking that’s how the series is going to evolve, though I say that based entirely on my own supposition. Maybe the guy to ask would be returning curator John Gist. But certainly if Ripple wanted to do a country-specific split, there are no shortages of acts in either Finland or Norway who could pair up. Something to keep an eye on, I guess.
Haven’t heard this one yet apart from the single, but each installment has been a pretty reliable source of something cool to check out, so feel free to do that with the song below if you’re do inclined.
From the PR wire:
Ripple Music announce ‘Turned To Stone Chapter 6’ split with Scandinavian stoner rockers CAPTAIN CARAVAN and KAISER; stream debut single “Fire”!
Ripple Music present the brand new new chapter of the revered ‘Turned To Stone’ split series by pairing up the stoner rock power of Scandinavian units CAPTAIN CARAVAN and KAISER. ‘Turned To Stone Chapter 6’ will be issued on November 18th, with preorder and a first track available now!
Curated by John Gist (Vegas Rock Revolution, Doomed & Stoned Show) as part of Ripple Music’s thematic ‘Turned To Stone’ split series, ‘Turned To Stone Chapter 6′ puts the pedal to the metal with nine rubber-burning anthems that skyrocket all fuzz levels and inject a healthy dose of fun in both bands’ unstoppable quest for the Stoner Rock Grail.
Listen to Kaiser’s brand new track “Fire”
About this new collaboration, Helsinki fuzz rockers KAISER comment: “It was early 2020 when we started to hunt a publisher for our ‘1st.Sound’ EP. We started to get desperate as we realized that record labels don’t do EPs anymore. We were about to do it all DIY: publishing, vinyl plant, and distributors were already looked up. But then our loyal Gandalf John Gist hooked us up and asked ‘would you like to do a split with Captain Caravan for Ripple Music?’ We were like ‘Fuck yeah, we’ll do it!” It was a relief, and what better way than doing it with our Norwegian awesome bros?”
Norway’s stoner blues mongers CAPTAIN CARAVAN add: “We are very excited to have this opportunity. This split shows a different side of us with more up-tempo songs than on our 2018 album Shun the Sun. We cannot wait to have it released on Ripple Music together with our long-time friends in Kaiser.”
The album will be available on November 18th in various limited vinyl formats, classic vinyl formats, as well as CD and digital. Preorder is available now through Ripple Music.
‘Turned To Stone Chapter 6: Captain Caravan and Kaiser’ Out November 18th on Ripple Music
TRACKLIST: 1 Captain Caravan – Down 2 Captain Caravan – Sailors 3 Captain Caravan – Painted Wolf 4 Captain Caravan – She Can 5 Captain Caravan – Void 6 Kaiser – Howl 7 Kaiser – Fire 8 Kaiser – Black Sand Witch 9 Kaiser – Phoenix Part 1, 2, 3: Fission, Death, Rebirth
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 1st, 2022 by JJ Koczan
At some point between releasing 2020’s The Deluge and now, Helsinki psychedelic troupe Orbiter parted ways with guitarist Jere Remes — don’t worry, they’ve still got — Alexander Meaney — and it’s as a four-piece that they’ll embark on their first international showcases, playing at the Fuzz Jam Festival in Hamburg and Berlin’s Setalight Festival in successive nights in Germany this October. There are a few other Finnish dates on either side of that fest-centered weekender, but the important takeaway here is Orbiter are getting out and will likely look to do so more after this if all goes well.
I don’t know what their plans are as regards releasing their debut LP, but according to the info here, the record is done and has been since June. That makes me wonder if there isn’t a label involved, and the delay is up to aligning with pressing plants and promotional concerns, thereby pushing it to 2023. I don’t know that, mind you, but otherwise, why not just put it up on Bandcamp and have done with it? Anyway, don’t go quoting speculation, but whenever the album is announced, I’ll have an eye out for it.
From the PR wire in the meantime:
Orbiter announce tour dates for autumn 2022
Finnish psychedelic doom metal band Orbiter are playing six live shows in autumn 2022. These include four club shows in Finland and two festival performances in Germany at Fuzz Jam Festival in Hamburg and Setalight Festival in Berlin. The German dates will be the band’s first live performances outside Finland.
The Helsinki-based quartet made an impact on the heavy music underground scene with their 2020 debut EP The Deluge, which received excellent reviews. Orbiter’s sound is a melting pot of doom-laden riffs, atmospheric psychedelia, and hypnotic vocals, and the band has garnered acclaim for their atmospheric live shows.
In May-June 2022, the band recorded their debut full length album with legendary producer Hiili Hiilesmaa (HIM, Apocalyptica), to be released in 2023. Many of the new songs have been performed at recent live shows and have received a thrilled response from the audience.
Autumn Tour 2022: 03.09. Kenneli D.I.Y., Tampere, Finland 30.09. Ravintola Torvi, Lahti, Finland 01.10. Ravintola Ottopoika, Kuopio, Finland 07.10. Fuzz Jam Festival, Hamburg, Germany 08.10. Setalight Festival, Berlin, Germany 26.11. Uus Hoi Sie, Lappeenranta, Finland
Orbiter: Carolin Koss – Vocals Alexander Meaney – Guitar Tuomas Talka – Bass Sami Heiniö – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 4th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Finnish cultism is another level. Finnish anything kind of is too, but if you want weird and eerie, safe bet there’s some Finns out there waiting to provide. Oh hello, Ciminero. I was just talking about you.
The Helsinki four-piece have signed to Argonauta Records for the release of their second album, and I’m somewhat curious as to what might be in store there given the fact that their first, 2019’s SubterraneanAwakening, was evidently recorded just months after they got together. So you did a record in less than half a year front to back and then took three years to follow it up? Granted it’s not like there was much else happening for at least a year and a half of that time, so what’s the rush, but that’s still a remarkable time differential. Here’s me remarking on it, I guess.
Info on the sophomore Ciminero is forthcoming, by which I mean not here yet, and I don’t even know if it’s recorded or not, but somehow I have the feeling we’ll get there. Some weirdness can’t be stopped.
From the PR wire:
Finland’s Heavy Doom & Occult Stoner Rockers CIMINERO Sign To Argonauta Records!
Following their much acclaimed, 2019-debut Subterranean Awakening, recorded just 5 months after the band’s first rehearsal, Helsinki-based CIMINERO have inked a worldwide deal with Italy’s heavy music label Argonauta Records!
Frontlady Valentina comments: “Ciminero is excited to be part of the Argonauta family. We are based in Finland, yet we have a strong connection with Italy. I am Italian and it reflects also in our music, as some of our songs are written in Italian. We are proud to be supported by and collaborate with Argonauta.”
CIMINERO plays a heavy mixture of doom, occult rock and stoner, add a dose of captivating melodies and psychedelic moments, one could imagine a descendant born from the unholy covenant of Blood Ceremony and Cathedral, whose journey has been long without forgetting the origins. Formed in late 2018, their music began to flow unstoppably which led to their first album Subterranean Awakening. Instead of touring and to support their critically acclaimed debut due to the world’s lockdown, CIMINERO used their time in the most possible creative way, and focused on album number #2 right away. The band’s sophomore studio album will be released through Argonauta Records, with more details to follow in the weeks ahead.
“I got the chance to drown myself into CIMINERO ceremonies thanks to their previous album a few years ago,“ says Argonauta Records owner, Gero Lucisano. “I was immediately impressed by the occult vibes of the songs, with the singer Valentina being an authentic priestess. I feel lucky to have been offered the chance to work with their new opus, even more occult and plenty of obscure emanations. This will be outstanding!”
Oh we’re in the thick of it now, make no mistake. Day one? A novelty. Day two? I don’t know, slightly less of a novelty? But by the time you get to day three in a Quarterly Review, you know how far you’ve come and how far you still have to go. In this particular case, building toward 100 records total covered, today passes the line of the first quarter done, and that’s not nothing, even if there’s a hell of a lot more on the way.
That said, let’s not waste time we don’t have. I hope you find something killer in here, because I already have.
Quarterly Review #21-30:
My Diligence, The Matter, Form and Power
The Matter, Form and Power is the third long-player from Brussels’ My Diligence, whose expansive take on melodic noise rock has never sounded grander. The largesse of songs like the Floor-esque “Multiversal Tree” or the choruses in “On the Wire” and the layered post-hardcore screams in “Sail to the Red Light” — to say nothing of the massive nod with which the title-track opens, or the progressively-minded lumbering with which the 10-minute “Elasmotherium” closes — brims with purpose in laying the atmospheric foundation from which the material soars outward. With “Celestial Kingdom” as its centerpiece, the heavy starting far, far away and shifting into an earliest-Mastodon chug as drift and heft collide, there are hints of Cave In in form if not all through the execution — that is, My Diligence cross similar boundaries but don’t necessarily sound the same — such that the growling that populates that song’s second half isn’t so much a surprise as it is a slamming, consuming, welcome advent. Music as a force. As much volume as you can give it, give it.
Their moniker derived from the initials of the three members — bassist/vocalist/synthesist Pietro Brunetti, guitarist/vocalist Claudio Banelli and drummer Carlo Forgiarini — Italian troupe BBF aren’t through I Will Be Found‘s five minute opener “Freedom” before they’ve transposed grunge vibes onto a go-where-it-wants psychedelia from out of an acoustic, bluesy beginning. Garage rock in “Cosmic Surgery,” meditative jamming in “Rise,” and a vast expanse in “T-Rex” that delivers the album’s title line while furthering with even-the-drums-have-echo breadth the psych vibe such that the synthy take of the penultimate “Wake Up” becomes just another part of the procession, its floating guitar met with percussion real and imagined ahead of the bookending acoustic-based closer “Supernova,” which dedicates its last 90 seconds or so to a hidden track comprised entirely of sweet acoustic notes that might’ve otherwise ended up as an interlude but work just as well tucked away as they are. Here’s a band who know the rules and seem to take a special joy in bending if not outright breaking them, drawing from various styles in order to make their songs their own. To say they acquit themselves well in doing so is an understatement.
Progressive and melodic, the fourth album from Iowan trio Druids is nonetheless at times crushingly heavy, and in a longer piece like “Ide’s Koan,” the band demonstrate how to execute a patient, dynamic build, beginning slow and spaced out and gradually growing in intensity until they reach a multi-layered shouting apex. Drew Rauch (bass), Luke Rauch (guitar) and Keith Rich (drums) all contribute vocals at one point or another, and whether it’s in the plodding rock of “Dance of Skulls” or the not-the-longest-track-but-the-farthest-reaching closer “Cloak/Nior Bloom,” their modern prog metal works off influences like Baroness, Mastodon, Gojira, etc., while retaining character of its own through both rhythmic intricacy and its abiding use of melody, both well on display in “Othenian Blood” and the subsequent, drum-intensive “Traveller” alike. “Path to R” starts Shadow Work mellow after the ceremonial build-up of “Aether,” but the tension is almost immediate and Druids‘ telegraphing that the heavy is coming makes it no less satisfying when it lands.
Though it’s spread across two LPs, don’t think of Kandodo4‘s Burning the (Kandl) as an album. Or even a live album, though technically it’s that. You might not know, you might not care, but it’s a historical preservation. ‘The time that thing happened,’ where the thing is Simon Price of The Heads leading a jam under the banner of his Kandodo side-project featuring Robert Hampson of Loop, and bassist Hugo Morgan and drummer Wayne Maskell — who play in both The Heads and Loop — as part of The Heads‘ residency at Roadburn Festival 2015 (review here). I tell you, I was there, and I’ve seen few psychedelic rituals that could compare in flow or letting the music find its own shape(lessness) as it will. Burning the (Kandl) not only has the live set, but the lone rehearsal that the one-off-four-piece did prior to taking stage at Het Patronaat in Tilburg, the Netherlands, that evening. Thus, history. Certainly for the fest, for the players and those who were there, but I like to think in listening to these side-long stretches of expanse upon expanse that all of our great-grandchildren will worship at the altar of this stuff in a better world. Maybe, maybe not, but better to have Burning the (Kandl) ready to go just in case.
The second EP in about nine months from Los Angeles’ Spencer Robinson — operating under the moniker of Into the Valley of Death — the seven-song Ruthless feels very much like a debut album despite a runtime circa 25 minutes. The songs are cohesive in bringing together doom and grunge as they do, and as with the prior Space Age, the lo-fi aspects of the recording become part of the overarching character of the material. Guitars are up, bass is up, drums are likely programmed, vocals are throaty and obscure at least until they declare you dead on “Ghost,” and the pieces running in the three-to-four-minute range have a kind of languid drawl about them that sound purely stoned even as they seem to reach out into the desert after which the project is seemingly named. Robinson, who also played bass in The Lords of Altamont and has another outfit wherein he fronts a full backing band, is up to some curious shit here, and whether or not it was, it definitely sounds like it was recorded at night. I’m not sure where it’s going, and I’m not sure where it’s been, but I know I’ll look forward to finding out.
Enköping, Sweden’s Stuck in Motion issued their 2018 self-titled debut (review here) to due fanfare, and Still Stuck (changed from the working title ‘Ut på Tur,’ which translates, “on tour”) arrives with a brisk reminder why. Jammy in spirit, early singles “Höjdpunkternas Land,” “Lucy” and “På Väg” brim with vitality and a refreshing take on classic heavy rock, not strictly retro, not strictly not, and all the more able to jam and offer breadth around traditional structures as in “I de Blå” for that, weaving their way into and out of instrumental sections with a jazzy conversation between guitars and keys, bass and drums, percussion, and so on. Combined with the melodies of “Tupida,” the heavier tone underlying “Fisken” and the organ-and-synth-laced shuffle of the penultimate “Tung Sol,” there’s a balance between psych and prog — and, on the closing title-track, horns — which are emblematic of an organic style that couldn’t be faked even if the band wanted to try. I don’t know the exact release date for Still Stuck — I thought it was already out when I slated this review — but its eight songs and 40 minutes are like the kind of afternoon you don’t want to end. Sunshine and impossible blue sky.
A blurb posted by Spanish instrumentalists Sageness — also written SageNESS — with the release of Tr3s reads as follows: “The future seen from the past, where another current reality is possible, follow us and we will transfer to a new dimension. (Tr3s),” and fair enough. One could hardly begrudge the trio a bit of escapism in their work, and listening to the 36 minutes across four songs that comprises Tr3s, they do seem to be finding their way into the ‘way out.’ Though if where they’re ending up is 12-minute finale “Event Horizon,” in which the very jam itself seems to be taffy-pulled on a molecular level until the solid bassline and drums dissipate and what takes hold is a freakout of propulsive, drift-toned guitar, I’m not sure if they do or don’t ultimately make it to another dimension. Maybe that’s on the other side? Either way, after the scope of “Greenhouse” and the more plotted-seeming stops of “Spirit Machine,” that end is somewhat inevitable, and we may be stuck in reality for real life, but Sageness‘ fuzzy and warm-toned heavy psychedelic rock makes a reasoned argument for daydreaming the opposite.
You think you’re up for Kaleidobolt, and that’s adorable, but let’s be honest. The Finnish trio — whose head-spinning, too-odd-not-to-be-prog heavy rock makes This One Simple Trick laughable as a title — are on another level. You and me? They’re running circles around us in “Fantastic Corps” and letting the truth about humans be known amid the fuzz of “Ultraviolent Chimpanzee” after the alternately frenetic and spaced “Borded Control,” momentarily stopping their helicopter twirl to “Walk on Grapes” at the album’s finish, but even then they’re walking on grapes on another planet yet to be catalogued by known science. 2019’s Bitter (review here) boasted likewise self-awareness, but This One Simple Trick is a bolder step into their individuality of purpose, and rest assured, they found it. I don’t know if they’re a “best kept secret” or just underrated. However you say it, more people should be aware. Onto the list of 2022’s best albums it goes, and if there are any simple tricks involved here, I’d love to know what they are.
It probably wouldn’t fit on a 7″, but The Tazers‘ Outer Space EP isn’t much over that limit at four songs and 13 minutes. The Johannesburg trio’s melodicism is striking nearly at the outset of the opening title-track, and the fuzz guitar that coincides is no less right on as they touch on psychedelia without ever ranging so much as to lose sight of the structures at work. “Glass Ceiling” boasts a garage-rocking urgency but is nonetheless not an all-out sprint in its delivery, and “Ready to Die” hits into Queens of the Stone Age-esque rush after an acoustic opening and before its fuzzy rampage of a chorus, while “Up in the Air” is a little more psych-funk until solidifying around the repeated lines, “Give me a reason/Show me a sign,” which culminate as the EP’s final plea, like Witch played at 45RPM or your favorite stoner band’s cooler cousin. Four songs, it probably took more effort to put together than they’d like you to think, but the casual cool they ooze is as infectious as the songs themselves.
Bong-worship sludge from London. It’s hard to know the extent to which Obelos — which for some reason my fingers have trouble typing correctly — are just fucking around, but their dank, lurching riffs, throaty screams and slow-motion crashes certainly paint a picture anyhow. Paint it green, with maybe some little orange or purple flecks in there. Interludes “Paranoise” and “Holy Smokes” bring harsh noise and a kind of improvised-feeling, also-quite-noisy chicanery, but the primary impression in Green Giant‘s six tracks/27 time-bending minutes is of nodding, couchlocked stoner crush, and I wouldn’t dare ask anything more of it than that. Neither should you. I’d argue this is an album rather than the EP it’s categorized as being, since it flows and definitely gets its point across in a full-length manner, but I’m not even gonna fight the band on that because they might break out a 50-minute record or some shit and, well, I’m just not sure I’m ready to get that high this early in the morning. Might have to reserve an entire day for that. Which might be fun, too.
