https://www.high-endrolex.com/18

Långfinger Announce Spanish Tour Dates; Playing Red Sun Fest & Deadfest

Posted in Whathaveyou on December 22nd, 2017 by JJ Koczan

Swedish heavy rockers Långfinger continue to press the flesh in support of their 2016 third long-player and Small Stone Records debut, Crossyears (review here). This past Fall, in addition to premiering a charm-laden video for the track “Say Jupiter” (posted here), the three-piece hit the road in Germany, Belgium and the Czech Republic, and their parsing of Europe will seem to carry forward into the New Year as well with a week-long stretch of dates in Spain and Catalonia.

The run kicks off March 10 in Barcelona at Red Sun Fest, put on by Red Sun Records. I haven’t seen a full lineup for that yet, but will do my best to keep an eye out. As they finish at Dead Fest in Mallorca, they’ll join Fuzz ForwardGolgothaEl Altar del Holocausto and others across a pretty wide stylistic range. No substitute for variety.

Långfinger are also currently at work on their next record and will reportedly be tightening up new material on the road. The PR wire brings word of that and more:

langfinger tour poster

LÅNGFINGER: Gothenburg Power Trio To Tour Spain This March

Gothenburg power trio LÅNGFINGER will perform a week’s worth of live dates in Spain this March. The journey will run from March 10th through March 17th. Comments the band, “We’re happy to announce that we’re heading back to Spain this spring. As we’re working on our new album, it’s hard to think of something better than to take a break and head down south. We’re looking forward to premiering a ton of new material as we’ll be frolicking our way over the peninsula!” See all confirmed shows below.

LÅNGFINGER:
3/10/2018 Red Sun Fest – Barcelona, ES
3/11/2018 Dabadaba – San Sebastian, ES
3/13/2018 La Nube Café Teatro – Bilbao, ES
3/14/2018 Sala Memphis – Gijón, ES
3/15/2018 Sala Son – Cangas De Morrazo, ES
3/16/2018 Barracudas – Madrid, ES
3/17/2018 Deadfest – Palma De Mallorca, ES

LÅNGFINGER’s latest studio offering, the ten-track Crossyears, was released last year via Small Stone.

Långfinger:
Kalle Lilja – Guitars & backing vocals
Victor Crusner – Bass, keys & lead vocals
Jesper Pihl – Drums & backing vocals

Långfinger, “Say Jupiter” official video

Långfinger, Crossyears (2016)

Tags: , , , , ,

Långfinger Premiere Video for “Say Jupiter”

Posted in Bootleg Theater on November 13th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

langfinger

We’re more than a year out now from the release of Långfinger‘s third album and Small Stone Records debut, Crossyears (review here), and the Swedish trio continue to provide the offering worthy support. Last month, they wrapped yet another round of touring that took them through Germany, Belgium and the Czech Republic, and they’ve got a brand new video premiering today for “Say Jupiter,” the second cut from the record.

I don’t know who in Långfinger‘s world owns a restaurant and decided to give the three-piece access to the kitchen for the purposes of the Anders Bryngel-directed clip, but the results are pretty hilarious. As anyone who’s ever made one can tell you, a good meal is as much about preparation as it is about the taste of the outcome, and whether they’re in the kitchen rocking out or in the front of the house getting the royal treatment from the waitstaff — also played by them — bassist/vocalist Victor Crusner, guitarist/backing vocalist Kalle Lilja and drummer/backing vocalist Jesper Pihl seem to be having a great time putting it altogether. Whatever dinner turns out to be, it’s apparently a pretty transcendent experience. Must’ve had a lot of garlic.

God damn, I love garlic.

What were we talking about? Oh right, Långfinger. Well, the way I see it, the only question is whether or not the “Say Jupiter” video — which is the band’s second time working with Bryngel after their clip for “Fox Confessor” (premiered here) — is the band’s way of bidding farewell to Crossyears as they move ahead toward their fourth album. They’ve reportedly been at work on their next outing and even played some new material live on the aforementioned Fall tour, so it seems to me there’s a chance 2018 could bring that record to life at one point or another. Will be worth keeping an eye on for sure.

And in the meantime, the partnership between the band and Bryngel yields charm-laden dividends once again here with “Say Jupiter,” so check out the video below, followed by more info from the PR wire, and please enjoy:

Långfinger, “Say Jupiter” official video premiere

From Långfinger’s third full length album “Crossyears”, released September 30th, 2016 on Small Stone Records.

Directed, produced and edited by Anders Bryngel.

Långfinger:
Kalle Lilja – Guitars & backing vocals
Victor Crusner – Bass, keys & lead vocals
Jesper Pihl – Drums & backing vocals

Långfinger, from the fertile rock ‘n’ roll city of Gothenburg, have been playing together since they were in their early teens, and their third album, called ‘Crossyears’, is both the thrilling culmination of their collective endeavour, and a rumination on it – on how Time has shaped them and brought them to this point. Within its hard-hitting grooves, the interlocking of Långfinger’s three disparate characters – Kalle, the unflappable, precision axeman; Jesper, the athletic sticksman battering out physical revenge on his kit; and Victor, the intense, exploratory spirit, bridging thundering bass and howling exorcism – is a magical proposition.

Långfinger, Crossyears (2016)

Långfinger on Thee Facebooks

Långfinger website

Långfinger on Instagram

Långfinger on Twitter

Crossyears at Small Stone Bandcamp

Small Stone on Thee Facebooks

Tags: , , , , ,

The Obelisk Radio Adds: Lord Mountain, The Giraffes, Saint Vitus, Långfinger, Soggy

Posted in Radio on January 9th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

the obelisk radio cavum

It’s been a long time. Long enough that I’m not even going to link back to the last time I did a round of Radio Adds. Life happens, and with the Quarterly Review, I guess my focus went elsewhere. Well, I just did a Quarterly Review, and that actually kind of inspired this, since I found there was yet more records that wanted covering even after that over-full round of 60 that closed out 2016 and opened 2017. So here we are.

There are, in fact, more than 50 albums being added to The Obelisk Radio playlist today. I can’t promise I’ll do Radio Adds weekly like I once did, or monthly, or again in 2017, or ever, but the opportunity presented itself and it seemed only right to take advantage. This stuff all came out last year, so it’s all readily available, and audio samples are included, because, you know, music and such.

Let’s dig in:

Lord Mountain, Lord Mountain

lord-mountain-lord-mountain

Of all the styles under the vast umbrella of “heavy,” traditional doom is among the hardest to execute – especially, I’d think, for new bands. You need a balance of atmosphere and lack of pretense, a classic vibe, riffs, and groove. On the surface, you’re playing to the past, but if you put out something that just sounds like Sabbath and bring nothing of yourself to it, you’re sunk. Santa Rosa, California’s Lord Mountain – vocalist/guitarist Jesse Swanson, guitarist Sean Serrano, bassist Dave Reed and drummer Pat Moore – would seem to have it figured out on their self-titled debut EP. Released by King Volume Records on limited tape, it brings forth four tracks in 21 minutes that are no less comfortable playing to the downer riffing of Candlemass – opener “Fenrir” – than to the epic chanting of Viking-era Bathory – “Under the Mountain” – and that find distinction for themselves in nodding to one side or the other as they make their way across the bass-y Sabbathism of “Dying World” and into the concluding solo-topped gallop of “Tomb of the Eagle” (more Dio-era there, but effectively translated tonally). As an initial offering, its presence is more stately than raw, and part of that is aesthetic, so I still think Lord Mountain will have growth to undertake, but their EP shows marked potential and brings a fresh personality to doom’s rigid traditionalism, and there’s nothing more one could reasonably ask of it. A CD would probably be too much to ask, but it’s hard to believe no one’s snagged it for a 10” release yet.

Lord Mountain on Thee Facebooks

Lord Mountain on Bandcamp

King Volume Records on Bandcamp

 

The Giraffes, Usury

the giraffes usury

Behold the winding, self-directed narrative of underrated, underutilized and underappreciated New York heavy rockers The Giraffes, who issued Usury via Silver Sleeve Records in Jan. 2016, on the cusp of their 20th anniversary and with it welcomed back frontman Aaron Lazar (also a one-time contributor to The Book of Knots, speaking of underrated) to the fold alongside guitarist Damien Paris, drummer Andrew Totolos and bassist Josh Taggart. Comprised of just six songs with a 28-minute runtime, it nonetheless holds to a full-album sentiment, with songs like the tense “Washing Machine” working in a vein not dissimilar to their righteous 2008 offering, Prime Motivator (review here), while the preceding “Facebook Rant” and “Product Placement Song” bask in a social commentary that one can only hope the ensuing decades make dated and the subsequent “White Jacket” has a melancholy danceability that one might’ve related around the time of The Giraffes’ 2005 self-titled debut related to System of a Down, but now just sounds like an enrichment of their approach overall. Usury gets off to a slow start (not a complaint, given the groove) with “Blood Will Run,” which seems to shake off its dust initially before commencing its real push and chug circa the halfway point, but by the time they get down to eight-minute finale “How it Happened to Me,” the sudden conclusion of the jam leaves one to wonder where they went and when they’ll be back, which presumably is the whole idea. Behold a band who did it before it was cool, should’ve been huge, and still kept going. The story is more complicated than that, but there are few tales more admirable.

The Giraffes on Thee Facebooks

The Giraffes website

 

Saint Vitus, Live Vol. 2

saint-vitus-live-vol-2

The first Saint Vitus live album – Live – surfaced in 1990 via Hellhound Records and captured the band in Germany in 1989. Its 2005 reissue on Southern Lord played a large role in introducing the pivotal doomers to a new generation of fans. Live Vol. 2 follows some 26 years later via Season of Mist and likewise documents a crucial era in the four-piece’s existence, having been recorded in 2013 in Luxembourg following the release of their 2012 album, Lillie: F-65 (review here), with the lineup of vocalist Scott “Wino” Weinrich, guitarist Dave Chandler, bassist Mark Adams and drummer Henry Vasquez. It’s a 59-minute set, all told – one suspects some of Chandler’s stage rants between songs were shortened or removed – and among the most striking impressions it makes is how seamlessly Lillie: F-65 cuts “Let Them Fall,” “The Bleeding Ground” and “The Waste of Time” fit in alongside classics like the speedy “War is Our Destiny” and “Look Behind You” or the more grueling “Patra (Petra)” and galloping “White Stallions.” Of course, the anthemic “Born too Late” closes out, with Chandler’s wash of feedback and all-low-end tone at the start the ultimate hallmark of what Saint Vitus have always been – a middle finger to square culture unlike any other. This era of the band may be over, with original vocalist Scott Reagers stepping back into the frontman role, but as one continues to hope for another studio album, Live Vol. 2 proves more than a stopgap and takes an active role in adding to the band’s legendary catalog.

Saint Vitus on Thee Facebooks

Season of Mist website

 

Långfinger, Crossyears

langfinger-crossyears

After two successful full-lengths in 2010’s Skygrounds and 2012’s Slow Rivers, next-gen Swedish heavy rockers Långfinger join forces with Small Stone Records for their 10-song/46-minute third album, the crisply-executed Crossyears. Like their countrymen labelmates in Jeremy Irons and the Ratgang Malibus, the Gothenburg three-piece bring modern edge and production to what a few years ago might’ve been purely retro ‘70s boogie rock, as tracks like “Fox Confessor,” “Say Jupiter,” the more languid “Atlas” and “Caesar’s Blues” bask in a showcase of tight, natural performance with a clean production style that still highlights same, bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Victor Crusner, guitarist/backing vocalist Kalle Lilja and drummer/backing vocalist Jesper Pihl proving the maturity of their songwriting while still delivering the push of “Silver Blaze” and closer “Window in the Sky” with a sense of energy behind them. Their approach so solidified, Långfinger don’t seem to leave much to chance in their sound, but Crossyears engages heavy rock tradition effectively while bridging a gap of decades across its run, and that, frankly, seems like enough for any one record to take on.

Långfinger on Thee Facebooks

Small Stone Records on Bandcamp

 

Soggy, Soggy

soggy soggy

Soggy’s self-titled LP, released in this edition by Outer Battery Records (see also Arctic, Earthless Meets Heavy Blanket), is a reissue of a 2008 collection of tracks from a span of years that find the blown-out French punkers paying direct homage to The Stooges with a cover of the seminal “I Wanna be Your Dog,” immediately drawing a line to what seems to have been the band’s most prominent influence. Some 35-plus years after they were initially put to tape, Soggy’s tracks continue to feel dangerous and raw in their frenetic proto-punkery, and that would seem to be exactly what the Soggy LP is looking to convey, digging into the vast trove of lost artifacts in heavy and punk rock and finding a treasure ripe for hindsight appreciation. As much as it just makes me want to put on the self-titled Stooges record or Fun House, I can’t argue with the success of Soggy’s Soggy or not admire its mission, even if some of its blows land harder than others.

Soggy on Bandcamp

Outer Battery Records on Thee Facebooks

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Långfinger Premiere “Fox Confessor” Video; Crossyears LP out Now

Posted in Bootleg Theater on October 13th, 2016 by JJ Koczan

Langfinger (Photo by Bengt Persson)

Swedish power trio Långfinger released their third album, Crossyears, on Sept. 30. Their first for Small Stone Records, the record — which was first announced here — comes jammed with premium boogie and classic songcraft delivered with a new generation’s energy. One need look no further than the track “Fox Confessor” for clear demonstration of all of the above. The side A cut finds itself a comfortable pace and builds tension in its verse only to let loose in a righteous hooked backed up by spacious lead guitar. Then they turn around and do it all again. Another round for everybody.

That, incidentally, could also be said to be the theme of the video, though Långfinger push deeper into narrative than just playing a show and selling their amps (and dog) for alcohol after being stiffed by the club owner, actually going so far as to take revenge on the club owner themselves. Street justice! They wind up living the high life on a rooftop, praising high art and chipping golf balls into the urban setting below. You know, as one does. It’s about a four-minute clip to tell this story, and about a three-minute song underneath, so efficiency is a major factor here to be sure, but Långfinger don’t need any more time than they take in order to make an impression. Crossyears benefits across its span from their clarity of purpose as much as it does from their choice riffing and rhythmic fluidity.

Plus it’s a bass tone you just gotta hear.

The band was kind enough to offer some comment on the making of the video and the song, which you’ll find below. Crossyears is also streaming in full at Small Stone‘s Bandcamp, linked at the bottom of this post.

Please enjoy:

Långfinger, “Fox Confessor” official video

Långfinger on “Fox Confessor”:

“Fox Confessor” is the first collaboration between Långfinger and cinematographer Anders Bryngel. We were exploring the idea of working together for some years and with the new album looming, it was more appropriate than ever.

One day we devised a syndicate. We then determined that the effort should be focused on a narrative and as the storyline progressed we let it evolve naturally with the group’s dynamic. A spontaneous process driven by our collective efforts.

As for the actual song, which like many of our songs, established itself as an instrumental; was inspired by our favorite Krautrock bands from the late sixties. That was up until I spent some time in rural Argentina. The lyrics began as rough scribbles, and in the attempt to characterize the broad landscape, which seemed to encompass most of my days spent there, a sort of comic relief broke out into lyric.

Långfinger:
Kalle Lilja – Guitars & backing vocals
Victor Crusner – Bass, keys & lead vocals
Jesper Pihl – Drums & backing vocals

Långfinger on Thee Facebooks

Långfinger website

Crossyears at Small Stone Bandcamp

Small Stone on Thee Facebooks

Tags: , , , , ,

Långfinger Release Crossyears Sept. 30; Stream New Track

Posted in Whathaveyou on July 11th, 2016 by JJ Koczan

langfinger (Photo by Bengt Persson)

If you’re feeling like you might be ready to boogie, then Långfinger are ready for you. Today, the Gothenburg trio announce that their third LP, Crossyears, will be released by none less than Small Stone Records on Sept. 30. From the swing and stomp of its title-track to the organ-laced grandeur of “Atlas,” the record brims with classic spirit, but casts off the stylistic restrictiveness of vintage production in favor of a full, vibrant sound, resulting in a mix that brings out the strengths of both without sacrificing the obvious chemistry the band has built over their time together. Also it rocks. Confidently.

The PR wire brings background and a first streaming track. Check it out:

langfinger crossyears

Långfinger – Crossyears

A kick-ass power trio is quite probably the perfect rock formation. If there aren’t that many trios around, that’s because it’s a hard thing to pull off: with just three people having to nail the rhythmic fusion of bass and drums, the wild colours of guitar and the soul-grabbing focus of the human voice, there can be no passengers aboard. Extraordinary chemistry is essential. Everyone has to be right on it, and locked in. Which is why lots of trios fail, or cop out and recruit extras.

Långfinger, from the fertile rock ‘n’ roll city of Gothenburg, are masters of the art. They’ve been playing together since they were in their early teens, and their imminent third album, called ‘Crossyears’, is both the thrilling culmination of their collective endeavour, and a rumination on it – on how Time has shaped them and brought them to this point.

Within its hard-hitting grooves, the interlocking of Långfinger’s three disparate characters – Kalle, the unflappable, precision axeman; Jesper, the athletic sticksman battering out physical revenge on his kit; and Victor, the intense, exploratory spirit, bridging thundering bass and howling exorcism – is a magical proposition.

Tracklisting:
1) Feather Beader
2) Say Jupiter
3) Fox Confessor
4) Crossyears
5) Atlas
6) Silver Blaze
7) Buffalo
8) Caesar’s Blues
9) Last Morning Light
10) Window in the Sky

Långfinger:
Kalle Lilja – Guitars & backing vocals
Victor Crusner – Bass, keys & lead vocals
Jesper Pihl – Drums & backing vocals

https://smallstone.bandcamp.com/album/crossyears
https://www.facebook.com/Langfingerofficial/
http://langfinger.net/

Tags: , , , , ,