Posted in Whathaveyou on June 4th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Columbus, Ohio, mostly-instrumental heavy progressive rockers Brujas del Sol have announced their final shows in welp-time-to-hit-the-ol’-dusty-trail fashion. Last I heard, guitarist Adrian Zambrano had moved away from Ohio, and that’s probably part of it. He’s been playing with Nashville’s Howling Giant on their most recent tours and if I’m not mistaken did album recording with them as well.
I’m not sure where the line of in-a-band vs. not is, and I guess it depends on the situation and the players involved, but for a band who’ve wanted a second guitarist live bad enough to have a couple of them at this point, Zambrano stepping in makes for a killer answer to that question. And I haven’t heard it yet, but I’m pretty sure Howling Giant are going big on that next album, so yes, very much a thing to look forward to.
Brujas delSol last year released the Full Sequence two-tracker as a follow-up to their 2022 LP, Deculter (review here), which came out through Kozmik Artifactz. The two-song EP was recorded at the same time as the album, so fair enough to get it all out. The band will do three shows to finish out their run either forever or until they decide to pick it back up, and sure enough Howling Giant are on the bill, along with West Virginian heavyproggers Horseburner. The dates are for August, as posted on socials:
Hi friends,
The time has come for us to say goodbye, at least for now. We’re playing what will be our last shows in August alongside our brothers in arms, Horseburner and Howling Giant.
Hometown folks, we’d love to party with you one more time at Spacebar for the third annual Blockout Bash.
08.14 Al’s Bar Lexington KY w/ Shi 08.15 Squirrel Hill Sports Bar Pittsburgh PA Birth of the Riff 2025 08.16 Spacebar Columbus OH Blockout Bash
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 19th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
The kind of midweek update that just might make the whole thing better, Howling Giant have posted word that they’ve finished recording their next album. Of course that doesn’t mean work on the yet-untitled LP — actually, it probably has a name and they just haven’t said what it is yet; fair enough — is done, as there’s likely still mixing and mastering to go, but the news is still good. Recording is done. On to the next thing.
That’s apparently a couple Twitch live streams before they take off on the East Coast run that will bring them to my hometown, Morris Plains, NJ (actually it’s the west side of Parsippany, but you know how it is with these post offices) as they make their way further north to Hopsmoker Fest in Braintree, MA. New material on the road? Crazier things have happened.
But when I see more on the next record — which has the monumental task of following 2023’s Glass Future (review here), but damn it, I believe in you, Howling Giant — I’ll say more. For now, they posted the following photo and update on socials:
Through flame and shadow, through fatigue and illness, through mountains of zebra cakes and pop tarts, we rise above the crucible of Neil.
Album 3 is tracked! We are beyond excited to show you what we have crafted and captured in just under 200 hours of recording time with the ever patient and wise Neil Tuuri at Amish Electric Chair Studios. Hoping that the stars align and we can share this record with you all later this year.
In the meantime, we’re back to road prep! How does a weekly stream until the April tour sound? See y’all every Thursday at 6PM Central on Twitch 👾
4/15 Louisville, KY – MagBar 4/16 New Kensington, PA – Preserving Underground 4/17 Morris Plains, NJ – Autodidact Beer (with Sun Voyager) 4/18 Braintree, MA – Hopsmoker Fest 4/19 Richmond, VA – Richmond Music Hall 4/20 Philadelphia, PA – Kung Fu Necktie 4/21 Durham, NC – The Pinhook 4/22 Charlotte, NC – The Milestone 4/23 Asheville, NC – Eulogy (with REZN)
Howling Giant are: Tom Polzine – Guitar and Vocals Zach Wheeler – Drums and Vocals Sebastian Baltes – Bass and Vocals
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 4th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
If you keep up with the Nashville trio via whichever social algorithm offends you least, you may have seen the picture above. Left to right, that’s bassist Sebastian Baltes, guitarist/vocalist Tom Polzine, and — oh, hello — Adrian Zambrano on guitar. The band have been in the studio lately, I think recording an album that I have no idea when they wrote because they haven’t stopped touring behind 2023’s so-rad-I’m-nervous-about-the-follow-up Glass Future (review here), and part of that process has apparently been bringing in a couple guests.
For those unfamiliar, Zambrano is known for his work in Ohio’s Brujas del Sol and a brief but memorable stint in Lo-Pan, and since moving to North Carolina last year released the Discomfort/Disorder EP (review here) with Shadowcloak. To all his work that I’ve heard, Zambrano brings a progressive mindset, technically proficient but not to the sacrifice of soul. He’s the kind of player who makes bands better, and the fact that he’s going to do this tour with Howling Giant on second guitar — not the first time the trio has become a four-piece; they spent much of 2024 on the road with James Sanderson on guitar and backing vocals — is only good news.
Except for the fact that I won’t see it. Check out the poster below — the tour starts April 15 in Louisville and is centered around the occasion of Hopsmoker Fest at Widowmaker Brewing in Braintree, MA (I happened to be there two weeks ago) — and you’ll note that on April 17, they’ll hit Autodidact Beer in Morris Plains, NJ. With New York’s Sun Voyager, no less. No shit, that’s like two minutes from my house. Inarguably the closest heavy rock show that’s ever taken place near where I live. Two traffic lights between here and there. It’s “around the corner,” as it were. I’ll be traveling April 17, and that’s not a hardship, considering, but still. New Kensington, PA, is five and a half hours from here, and I won’t be back by the time they’re in Philly. So I miss out on the closest show that’s ever happened to me. Go fucking figure.
I might send The Patient Mrs. to review the show, though. Fun fact: in 2012, she wrote up a show review for Mars Red Sky (with whom Howling Giant toured this past Fall) that was a hoot, and I already asked her to go to the venue and take the band baked goods — because in addition to all the other sundry ways she’s amazing, she bakes, and who doesn’t want a loaf of homemade sourdough on the road? — so we’ll see. Childcare is the question there, but it’s not like she has to go far to get to the venue. The Obelisk is presenting that Autodidact show, and god damn, I hope they do more in that spot.
From Howling Giant‘s socials:
Hitting the road around Hopsmoker Fest in April! Stoked to get back out and see all of ya as we emerge from our winter studio slumber. Who knows, we might even play a new song or two.
We’re also super excited to be bringing our buddy Adrian Lee Zambrano out for this run to shred dual guitars with us. You may have seen bits of him here already as he was laying down tracks with us at Amish Electric Chair Studios. Everyone wish Adrian a warm welcome to the HG Thunderdome!
4/15 Louisville, KY – MagBar 4/16 New Kensington, PA – Preserving Underground 4/17 Morris Plains, NJ – Autodidact Beer (with Sun Voyager) 4/18 Braintree, MA – Hopsmoker Fest 4/19 Richmond, VA – Richmond Music Hall 4/20 Philadelphia, PA – Kung Fu Necktie 4/21 Durham, NC – The Pinhook 4/22 Charlotte, NC – The Milestone 4/23 Asheville, NC – Eulogy (with REZN)
Howling Giant are: Tom Polzine – Guitar and Vocals Zach Wheeler – Drums and Vocals Sebastian Baltes – Bass and Vocals
Posted in Reviews on December 9th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Before Show
Hey, who wants to talk about the weather? I do. It’s fuggin’ cold. End of conversation.
Live on the scene! Sitting in the car. 43 years old.
Unless my plans change, this will be the last show I attend in 2024, and it’s one I arrive at (existentially at least) with some urgency. Mars Red Sky and Howling Giant were on tour together this past summer — this site co-presented the run — but the East Coast portion of the run got delayed and pushed to December. They started last night in Baltimore, I think, and thereby picked up Black Lung, also playing tonight.
But the reason behind the urgency is two albums: Mars Red Sky’s Dawn of the Dusk (review here) and Howling Giant’s Glass Future (review here). Both were among my favorite releases of 2023, and I mention that not just to drop the link like whoops could you click that thanks, but also to emphasize that now’s the time. Now’s the time to see these bands for these records that, seriously, I had on last week apropos of nothing. Just for enjoyment. I want to see these bands playing this material now. So I’m here.
And not to leave them out, only didn’t factor in from the start because they were added later. Their last album, Dark Waves (review here), came out on Heavy Psych Sounds in 2022 and was a big step in their progression and a first with a new lineup. They’re the only band on this bill I’ve never seen. They factor.
This will be my first time at TV Eye — which I’ve already learned today is about as far from my house as Philadelphia, if we’re counting by time in the car; circa two and a half hours — but I’ve been curious to see it and the occasion is right. I’ll go inside in a bit, and break it down by band from there, looking like an asshole all the while as I type on my phone.
—
Black Lung
Haven’t they always had a progressive streak, and a bluesy streak, a thrashy riff here and there? Maybe, but this was the first time Black Lung took all that, rolled it into a ball of heavy darkpsych groove and threw it in the general direction of my head. Turns out I’d been looking forward to seeing them even more than I thought, not the least for the soul. On my head they’re a newish band, but the reality of them on stage — and actual time — says otherwise, even if this was a partially-remade lineup. Like their records, they were both emotionally demonstrative and Elias Schutzman is a master heavy drummer. They plugged an album to come next year and played a fair amount of new material, including the finale “Traveler,” of due breadth and movement. Maybe they’re shifting toward a darker, heavier kind of prog? Then “Traveler” brings out sun. So this is Black Lung. They are more their own thing now in my mind than they’ve ever been. It makes more sense in color, somehow. Note to future self to sit with that record when the time comes.
Howling Giant
What glee. I might’ve been the last one in the room to see Howling Giant this album cycle — they were in Brooklyn earlier this year with The Obsessed and Gozu; I had some valid excuse beyond stoned laziness — as they for sure were a known quantity in the room. And my goodness, they were electrifying. They launched with “Siren Song” and “Hawk in a Hurricane” one into the next, and that was super-fun and my neck will be sore tomorrow. They had some of what guitarist/vocalist Tom Polzine — who nails both guitar face and power stance because he does it from the heart, dammit — called ‘adventure’ in Sebastian Baltes’ bass cutting out and breaking a guitar string, but Baltes and drummer/backing vocalist Zach Wheeler hold down a duo low end stoner jam for just a gosh darn minute while Polzine went to grab a different guitar and the bass came back on quick both times, so there was no sense of tragedy about it. I really, really wanted to see Howling Giant, and they delivered more than I’d hoped for. “Glass Future” and “Sunken City” closed, and between, they played their newly-reissued-for-its-10th-anniversary debut EP in full — “Camel Crusher” still lands — and “Comet Rider” besides. They were a blast and there was still another band I really like playing after them. Why don’t I do this every day?
Mars Red Sky
Speaking of adventure. It was a definite shift in vibe to go from Howling Giant tearing into “Sunken City” to Mars Red Sky’s “Slow Attack,” which lives up to the billing of its title, but 30 seconds later, the Bordeaux trio had both leveled and melted the room, and atmosphere was not in short supply. With the night indeed was three-for-three on killer drummers, with MatGaz making the massive to tone of guitarist/vocalist Julien Pras and bassist/vocalist Jimmy Kinast — the two shared vocal duties much more than last time I saw them, and it worked well, most notably on “The Final Round” from Dawn of the Dusk, and even MatGaz had a mic for parts of “Apex III” — move, whether it was a roll or a turn to something more angular. “The Light Beyond” from 2014’s Stranded in Arcadia (discussed here, review here) was a highlight, as was “Maps of Inferno” with Pras doing his own vocal interpretation of the verses Helen Ferguson aka Queen of the Meadow sings on the record, and when they capped the set with “Strong Reflection” from their 2011 self-titled debut (review here, discussed here) there was just about nothing else I’d have asked of the night except perhaps the proverbial “one more song.” No encore. I think another show was rolling in after, so fair enough. I had two people come up to me and tell me I introduced them to the band. That was really nice to hear. I was just happy to see them since it had been so long, and as they hit into “Strong Reflection” I couldn’t help but remember that The Patient Mrs. saw them before I did (review here) in 2012. That made me smile. So did the entire set.
—
The satnav took me back across Manhattan from the Midtown Tunnel. It seemed like a trap, and it was. I sat for an hour trying to get out of town via the Lincoln. No clue what was going on at the Holland or up at the Bridge. I just sat there, drank some water that I brought with me, and waited. It was not as relaxing as it sounds, but I don’t regret having carted myself to Brooklyn for this one. Now I’ve been to TV Eye — aesthetic is new American old-timey; it’ll wear in; the sound is great and the lighting isn’t exclusively terrible — and I knew this show was something I needed to see. I’ll continue to be glad I did.
Posted in Bootleg Theater on October 23rd, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Videomaking has been a part of the Mars Red Sky story since the Bordeaux-based band first started rolling out self-made clips for “Strong Reflection” and “Marble Sky” some 14 years ago. The trio’s ongoing collaboration with director Seb Antoine (also drums in Starmonger) is a narrative thread unto itself in the growth of the band over the last 15 years, and the clip out today for “Slow Attack” from the band’s late-2023 album, Dawn of the Dusk (review here), is among the most cinematic clips the two entities have worked together to produce.
In the spirit of 2016’s ambitious clip “Alien Grounds” (posted here) that included “Apex III” and “Sapphire Vessel” from the band’s third album, Apex III (Praise for the Burning Soul) (review here), “Slow Attack” uses more than one piece from Dawn of the Dusk to soundtrack the tale being told. “Heavenly Bodies” from the same record also features in the bookending quiet moments of guitarist/vocalist Julien Pras soft-strumming while bassist/vocalist Jimmy Kinast and drummer Mathieu “Matgaz” Gazeau clean up the place, at the start making way for the eyepatch-clad leader of a biker gang who’s about to forced-marry the protagonist of the video.
I won’t spoil how it ends, or the twist of plot that becomes so crucial to understanding it, but there’s a chase and a big bad that feel reminiscent in concept of a sans-pyro Mad Max: Fury Road, and with intermittent shots of the band playing the nearby saloon in this apparent Western ghost town, the song “Slow Attack,” which precedes “Heavenly Bodies” at the end of Dawn of the Dusk, makes a resounding backdrop for a tale of bitter triumph over the trauma that’s held one back. The metaphor is there, but also the visceral visual — you’ll see what I mean when you watch the clip.
Which is what I recommend you do next. In the blue text, there are the credits — I bet this was a good day of filming — and also the December tour dates that Mars Red Sky will pick up with to follow on the Fall US touring they’ve already done in the company of Nashville’s Howling Giant. That Dec. 5 show in Brooklyn is among the things I’m most looking forward to for the rest of 2024, and that list also includes Thanksgiving with family, just to give you some idea of the scale of anticipation. If you’ve never seen either band, you’re in luck as it’s a crucial moment to see both, and if you’re in Baltimore, Brooklyn, Boston or Philly, you get Black Lung for a bonus.
Clip and all info follow, courtesy of the PR wire:
Mars Red Sky, “Slow Attack” official video
Bordeaux-based doom-psych/heavy-progressives MARS RED SKY launch a video featuring three tracks off their new album ‘Dawn Of The Dusk’ – released back in December on Mrs Red Sound and Vicious Circle Records. MARS RED SKY’s new video “Slow Attack” focuses on a biker gang roaming through a retro-futuristic setting. It’s reminiscent of Mad Max or Easy Rider, but the video is more modern, with a female character at the centre of the action. The short film includes the songs “Trap Door”, “Slow Attack” and “Heavenly Bodies” from the band’s latest album, ‘Dawn Of The Dusk’.
It was directed by Seb Antoine at Fort Rainbow, Cestas (France), with the help of Ronan Boudier and Hugo Vandekerckhove.
Video credits: Directed by Seb Antoine Starring: Anne-Sophie Picard, Gregory Dreyfus Cinematography by Ronan Boudier Motorcycle and stunt double: Dominique Kinast, Floriane Fontaine Camera assistant: Hugo Vandekerckhove Accessoiries and costumes: Frozen Joke Creation, Ouicube Design Photo creation: Pierre-Gérard David Catering: Germain Kpakou Set photographer: Jessica Calvo
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 3rd, 2024 by JJ Koczan
A remastered version of Howling Giant‘s 2015 debut EP, being released in January for its 10th anniversary with a bonus track and demos? Yes, fucking of course. Duh. What, you’re gonna say no to that? I repeat: Duh.
In the band’s recounting of their beginnings, they note that “Whale Lord,” which opens the Howling Giant EP, began as a mixing project in college in Boston. I’m pretty sure that’s the Berklee School of Music they’re not namedropping — though admittedly it would be more hilarious if they were a Harvard-educated stoner rock band — and that accounts for some of the method behind their particular brand of madness and the fact that they’ve sounded all along like they know what they’re doing. Because they do.
The four tracks that comprise the original Howling Giant release can be streamed at the bottom of the post. In comparison to 2023’s Glass Future (review here), which the band will continue to support on the road with France’s Mars Red Sky this December; I’ll be at that Brooklyn show so help me Robot Jeebus — it sounds raw, but the energy and the songwriting are there along with hints of the harmonies to come. “Camel Crusher” still nods like a beast. Have fun with it.
Preorders for the thing are up as of tomorrow, as the PR wire details:
HOWLING GIANT announces special 10th-anniversary reissue for “Howling Giant” debut EP this January!
Nashville heavy psychedelic and prog metal goldsmiths HOWLING GIANT are set to reissue a 10th-anniversary remastered edition of their self-titled debut EP this winter, with vinyl and CD preorders starting on Friday 4th October! Recorded live in guitarist and vocalist Tom Polzine’s bedroom, Howling Giant’s 2015 self-titled debut EP still holds true to the band’s core tenets of soaring melody, spacey jams, and fuzzy riffs. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of what propelled these Nashville pillars of sci-fi and fantasy-driven psych-metal into the heavy rock world stratosphere, this fully remastered edition of the “Howling Giant” EP will also comprise three unreleased demos, a spoken word history on the beginnings of the band, a newly recorded cover as well as the digital-only bonus track “WZRDLF Origins”.
About this special EP reissue, the band says: “For the 10th anniversary of our self-titled EP, we wanted to reflect on our origin story. With this release, we included the original 2012 demos recorded during our time in Boston so that the listeners could hear the evolution of our sound. We’re very excited to repress the HG EP on vinyl, newly remastered by Tony Reed with a bunch of goodies on the B-Side. We recorded the original demo for Whale Lord as part of a mixing project in college. We booked the only available studio time (a 4-hour block from 2am to 6am) to record 2 tracks live and on the spot. From the witching hour, we brought Whale Lord and Tusk of the Thunder Mammoth into existence. We hope you enjoy comparing the original 2012 demo to the final product, recorded live in Tom’s bedroom. These are the tracks that started it all. The wizard lives.”
The “Howling Giant” anniversary reissue will be released in Standard Purple Variant vinyl, Light Blue/Yellow Splatter Special Edition (with silver laminate cover), CD and digital on January 13th, 2025, with preorders starting on October 4th at midnight Pacific Time via Bandcamp. All vinyl and CD preorders will receive a digital download of all the remastered tracks, demos and special “SKLDZR Origins” bonus track.
HOWLING GIANT “Howling Giant” EP Anniversary reissue Available on January 13th, 2025 (vinyl/CD/digital) Preorders start Friday 4th October from midnight PST
Howling Giant upcoming shows w/ Mars Red Sky Dec 5 – Baltimore, MD – Metro Baltimore Dec 6 – Brooklyn, NY – TV Eye NYC Dec 7 – Cambridge/Boston, MA – Middle East Upstairs Dec 8 – Philadelphia, PA – MilkBoy Dec 10 – Asheville, NC – Eulogy Dec 11 – Louisville, KY – Portal Louisville Dec 12 – Detroit, MI – Sanctuary Detroit Dec 13 – Youngstown, OH – Westside Bowl Dec 14 – Toronto, ON – Monarch Tavern Dec 15 – Montréal, QC – Foufounes Electriques
Howling Giant are: Tom Polzine – Guitar and Vocals Zach Wheeler – Drums and Vocals Sebastian Baltes – Bass and Vocals
Hey, here’s a tour I haven’t posted about in… days? But, you know, sometimes shows get added to a thing, then sometimes more shows get added to that same thing, and here we are. When last we left US jaunt from Bordeaux’s Mars Red Sky in the company of Nashville’s Howling Giant, the groups had added a stretch of Dec. 5-15 to the in-progress September stint. The span of dates is the same as of now, but the shows taking place over that time have begun to fill in. Asheville, Toronto and Youngstown are new here at least, so hey, if you live in one of those places, good for you. I see an open date where a New Jersey show could be handily slotted, but more likely they’ll split that drive from Philadelphia to North Carolina, because that’s a hike.
Also notable, Baltimore’s Black Lung will jump on board for the first four nights, in their hometown as well as Brooklyn, Boston and Philly. Mars Red Sky, Howling Giant, Black Lung is a pretty sick show. I can’t and won’t tell you how to live your life, but that doesn’t seem to me to be a terrible way to do it, again, if that’s where in the world you happen to be at the time.
Crucialfest tomorrow, though, and a bunch more to go — also Ripplefest, because it’s also been like three minutes since I talked about that, on the 21st — before they get there, as the post from Mars Red Sky‘s socials reminds:
USA TOUR / NEW DATES
A quick update on the US tour with all the confirmed dates in December! Still with our dear Howling Giant and also with BLACK LUNG for a few gigs. Cheers!
FALL (remaining) 09.13 SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Crucialfest 09.14 LAS VEGAS, NV – Sinwave Vegas 09.15 SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Bottom of the Hill 09.16 SACRAMENTO, CA – Cafe Colonial 09.17 LOS ANGELES, CA – El Cid on Sunset 09.19 ALBUQUERQUE, NM – Launchpad 09.20 EL PASO, TX – Rosewood 09.21 AUSTIN, TX – RippleFest Texas
WINTER 12.05 BALTIMORE, MD – Metro Baltimore * 12.06 BROOKLYN, NY – TV Eye NYC * 12.07 CAMBRIDGE/BOSTON, MA – Middle East * 12.08 PHILADELPHIA, PA – MilkBoy * 12.10 ASHEVILLE, NC – Eulogy 12.11 LOUISVILLE, KY – Portal Louisville 12.12 DETROIT, MI – Sanctuary Detroit 12.13 YOUNGSTOWN, OH – Westside Bowl 12.14 TORONTO, ON 🇨🇦 Monarch Tavern 12.15 MONTREAL, QC 🇨🇦 Foufounes Electriques * with BLACK LUNG
MARS RED SKY are: Julien Pras : guitar, vocals Jimmy Kinast : bass, vocals Mathieu “Matgaz” Gazeau : drums, vocals
Posted in Reviews on September 4th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Named in honor of one of the standout hooks from Howling Giant’s 2023 LP, Glass Future (review here), the ‘Sunken City Espresso Roast’ was a surprise from the moment I opened the bag. It is the second collaboration between the Nashville-based band and Frothy Monkey Roasting Co. behind 2021’s ‘Doomsday Express’ medium roast (review here), and had a lot to live up to in terms of the standard that first joint effort set. Sipping it from my Spock mug over the course of the last few mornings as I ground my way through the 12 oz. bag (that’s .34 kg for you metric types) one pot at a time, I was not disappointed.
As noted though, I was surprised. In my apparent ignorance of roaster norms, I tend to think of ‘espresso roast’ as darker, often greasier beans, but when I dumped the bag into the hopper of my grinder — I use an electric burr grinder that gives pretty even output, and grind coarse for an electric Chemex pourover machine; I use bottled water because my tap water has too much limestone and could measure temperature if I was so inclined, but frankly, there are only so many hours in the day — the ‘Sunken City’ beans were markedly light. A quick googling of potentialities informed me that it’s definitely a thing actual coffee reviewers/experts on the internet have opinions about, but that a lighter espresso roast is basically fair game, particularly in a ‘craft’ context.
And as I’m shoehorning disclaimers to cover for the fact that I don’t really know what I’m talking about — that should be familiar enough by now — I’ll say that while it surely would’ve been nice to put the espresso roast in an espresso maker, I have no such apparatus at my disposal. One presses on regardless.
Having come down from my initial surprise and thereby broadened by horizons ever so slightly, I put the grounds in the filter and let the Chemex perform its drippy magic. My principle concern at that point was the acid content, which is just about always on my mind with lighter, drier beans. Where ‘Doomsday Express’ offered +1 dexterity, ‘Sunken City’ is billed as a +1 strength potion, so I expected a hit of flavor that I was glad to find realized on my first cup. Without being overbearingly fruity or nutty and offering a richer mouthfeel than I might have anticipated, I caught hints of what might’ve been in the compact setting of an actual espresso drink while still enjoying it as regular coffee, and like ‘Doomsday Express’ before it, ‘Sunken City’ found a balanced flavor that wasn’t too fancy or in-your-face, but classy and with a character of its own.
You could easily relate that to Howling Giant’s music — “Sunken City,” the song, and the record from whence it comes also find a balance between class and impact — and I’ll say that even as my own taste has veered toward low-acid darkness in roasts, I didn’t hesitate when it came to downing this one, and the creamier mouthfeel (I drink coffee black, exclusively) added dimensionality to the experience that I don’t always get from unburnt grounds. As the band get underway this week touring with Mars Red Sky, they seem to have pulled merch off their Bandcamp page that I assume they’ll be selling at shows, and that includes the coffee. The dates follow:
Howling Giant live: w/ Mars Red Sky: 9/03 Chicago, IL – Reggie’s 9/04 Milwaukee, WI – X-Ray Arcade 9/05 Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry 9/06 Sioux Falls, SD – Club David 9/07 Rapid City, SD – Fairground 9/08 Denver, CO – Hi-Dive 9/10 Portland, OR – The High Water Mark 9/11 Seattle, WA – Substation 9/12 Boise, ID – The Shredder 9/13 Salt Lake City, UT – Crucial Fest 9/14 Las Vegas, NV – Sinwave 9/15 San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill 9/16 Sacramento, CA – Cafe Colonial 9/17 Los Angeles, CA – El Cid Sunset 9/18 Tempe, AZ – Yucca Tap Room 9/19 Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad 9/20 El Paso, TX – The Rosewood 9/21 Austin, TX – Ripplefest Texas w/ GOZU: 9/24 Houston, TX – Black Magick Social Club 9/25 New Orleans, LA – Siberia 9/26 Atlanta, GA – Bogg’s Social & Supply 9/28 Nashville, TN – The East Room
I don’t imagine anyone’s going to get to a gig just to pick up a bag o’ beans — though if you do, that’s rad; I hope you stay for the music — but it’ll be worth keeping an eye on the merch page in case any is left when the tour is done. I’ll note as well that the ‘titan jellyfish’ design on the front of the bag is also on a t-shirt (I bought one since I didn’t feel like waiting until they come through in December for it), and if you prefer your logos on top of the design as I do — nobody needs to be reading words off my middle-aged belly — it’s got that going for it.
Whether or not ‘Sunken City’ will be the last time Frothy Monkey Roasting Co. and Howling Giant collaborate, I don’t know, but each of the two coffees these parties have done together offers something distinct from the other. For overcoming a not-what-I-expected first glance, ‘Sunken City Espresso Roast’ impressed all the more, and when/if the opportunity presented itself to do so — like, at a merch table — I would gladly indulge again.
