Heavy psych rockers Madmess release their new LP, The Third Coming, on May 9, through an international consortium of independent labels including gig.Rocks! in their native Portugal, Kozmik Artifactz throughout Germany and the rest of Europe, and Glory or Death Records, based in the US. Their bases thusly covered, the Porto three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Ricardo Sampaio, bassist Vasco Vasconcelos and drummer Pedro Cruz are free to explore and refine their partially-instrumental crux, taking and adapting what came together on 2021’s Rebirth (review here) and their prior 2019 self-titled debut to retain its spaciousness and partially-improvised spirit while at the same time taking on a more direct delivery.

What on earth does that mean? For one thing, the longest song on The Third Coming, “Widowmaker” (7:17), is roughly equal in runtime to the two shortest cuts on Rebirth, which was filled out otherwise by three nine-minute jaunts. But fear not. The Third Coming retains its jammy sensibility, and if it’s expanse you seek, “Widowmaker” picks up from the wah-fuzz burner opening given through “Death by Astonishment,” and begins a stretch through “Velvet Nebula” — second best song title I’ve seen in the last 12 months — and the album’s most hypnotic, immersive unfolding, “Endless Cycles,” that should tick any quota you’ve got for ‘getweird.’ And if not, the motorik pulse behind closer “Sauerkraut” still manages to speak to classic space rock trance-induction while not actually taking up any more than three and a half minutes of Earth time. This kind of efficiency is usually a showcase in itself. For Madmess, the focus is so much more on the impression the music makes than the intent behind it. That is, they’re not showing off or simply indulging in craft. They made the record for you, the listener.

Actually, “Death by Astonishment” reinforces that idea well, while “Endless Cycles” contrasts those grounded aspects at the start of the vinyl’s side B. This comes ahead of the exclamatory “Burnt!,” the second half which precedes the proto-metallic shove of “Hazy Morning” with a particularly resonant shimmer in Sampaio‘s guitar and the roll and pull and tonal wobble that hits a serene moment in the heavy psych tradition. Earthless are a factor in that, and in some of the grit of “Hazy Morning,” one can hear aspects of the ’70s-minded riffage that took hold in San Diego circa 2015-2020, in no small part inspired by the aforementioned. In such a way, The Third Coming is fluid in its movement without being static in terms of style, and it doesn’t ultimately end up anywhere one would come close to calling lost. Indeed, “Hazy Morning” and “Sauerkraut,” paired at the end as they are, only seem to herald further stylistic adventures to follow. Or at least that’s the hope in hearing it.

Whatever instigated this readjustment of balances in Madmess‘ sound to bring about songs that can be shorter and more direct, it feels like a realization on the part of the band as The Third Coming plays less to genre while remaining organically aligned to it. To say the very minimum, it is a record that understands, appreciates and makes solid use of its creative freedom, and if you heard either of their first two and thought the band had potential, these songs both answer that and leave the same impression afterward. Madmess continue to sound like they’re just getting started, and that vibrancy is becoming a key part of what they have to offer.

Album streams in full below, followed by more from the PR wire, including live dates announced the other day.

Please enjoy.

Always dynamic, always electrifying, and as powerful as ever, Portuguese powerhouse trio Madmess is gearing up to release their latest LP, “The Third Coming,” on May 9th via Glory or Death (USA), Kozmik Artifactz (EU), and gig.ROCKS! (PT).

Once a well-kept secret in Europe’s psychedelic music scene, their anonymity may soon fade. The single “Velvet Nebula,” the first preview of Madmess’ forthcoming third album, offered a taste of what’s ahead, following a year filled with touring highlights, including performances at Krach am Bach (Germany), ArcTanGent (UK), Freak Valley Xmas (DE), and Sonic Blast (PT).

Previously under the radar but with a devoted fanbase eagerly awaiting new songs, the album leans into a more classic sound, merging Bonham-inspired drumming with contemporary psychedelic melodies across seven mesmerizing tracks. These riffs are destined for live stages across Europe and beyond, where they truly come alive.

A strictly limited vinyl edition of only 300 copies on heavy clear/black dust coloured vinyl is available for (pre)ordering here: https://kozmik-shop.com/MADMESS-The-Third-Coming-crystal-clear-black-dust-LP

Tracklist:
1. Death by Astonishment 5:55
2. Windowmaker 7:15
3. Velvet Nebula 5:22
4. Endless Cycles 4:54
5. Burnt! 6:11
6. Hazy Morning 3:00
7. Sauerkraut 3:37

Announcing our next run of shows presenting “The Third Coming” in Europe, with dates in Portugal, Spain & France 💫

10.05 – Socorro, Porto 🇵🇹
20.05 – Wurlitzer, Madrid 🇪🇸
21.05 – El Bunker, Alicante 🇪🇸
23.05 – Sideral Fest, Capbreton 🇫🇷
24.05 – La grange Baffignac, Castres 🇫🇷
27.05 – La Ley Seca, Zaragoza 🇪🇸
28.05 – Dio Bar, Barcelona 🇪🇸
29.05 – La Rayuela, Miranda de Ebro 🇪🇸
30.05 – Rock dos Romanos, Coimbra 🇵🇹

Recorded at Hertzcontrol Studio by Marco Lima in Caminha, Portugal
Produced/Mixed by Marco Lima
Mastered by Alvaro Galego
Artwork by Lory Cervi

MADMESS are:
Guitar/Vocals: Ricardo Sampaio
Bass Guitar: Vasco Vasconcelos
Drums: Pedro Cruz

Madmess on Bandcamp

Madmess on Facebook

Madmess on Instagram

Gig.rocks! on Facebook

Gig.rocks! on Instagram

Gig.rocks! on Bandcamp

Gig.rocks! website

Kozmik Artifactz on Facebook

Kozmik Artifactz website

Glory or Death Records on Facebook

Glory or Death Records on Instagram

Glory or Death Records on Bandcamp

Glory or Death Records webstore

And then sometimes, apparently, you might make a record with your cousin. I like to imagine a cartoon version of Dr. Space‘s mom — the venerable Ma Space — somehow in a New Jersey accent scolding her synth-wizard offspring: “You know, all your collaborations and you’ve never once jammed with your cousin!” Obviously, I don’t know that that happened and I’m pretty sure Scott “Dr. Space” Heller‘s mother wasn’t from my beloved Garden State — though you never know and the Jersey diaspora is remarkable — so I’m not trying to portray a realistic scenario so much as goof on the idea of family behind Quasars of Destiny. Uniting the aforementioned Dr. Space with guitarist, drummer (and other percussion), bassist, and Rhodes pianist Craig Wall and percussionist James Malley (credited with cowbell and shakers), Quasars in Space recorded the three-song/43-minute Music to Listen to While Eating Planets in July 2023 at Heller‘s Estúdio Paraíso Nas Nuvens in Portugal, and by the time they’re a few minutes into “Colossus Approacheth” (6:18), they’ve just about got it all figured out.

Of course, layering is a factor, and I’ve already added extraneous narrative to Music to Listen to While Eating Planets once and I don’t need to do so again, but that first of three inclusions, which is backed by meat-of-the-album “Colossus Consumes” (30:45) and “Colossus Seeks a New Planet” (6:14) to close out, has enough movement to show a breadth of influence — that is, that Wall as a guitarist isn’t necessarily coming from the same place genre-wise as Heller, even if he’s not far off. Wall has played with tribute-type cover outfits like Sweet Magic and Eclipse: A Pink Floyd Experience and done a fair amount of his own recording, but while adjacent under a ‘rock’ umbrella, Dr. Space‘s oeuvre is specialized to say the least. To wit, he’s Dr. Space. He’s been to grad school for cosmic jamming. But as “Colossus Approacheth” — think of it as a somewhat tentative approach as Wall, Heller and Malley get their feet under them — demonstrates and the dug-in half-hour of “Colossus Consumes” proves, there’s plenty trippery for everyone.

The extended middle-cut — an inevitable focal point as it takes up more than two thirds of the total runtime — is unsurprisingly an album unto itself. It takes place over three main movements, each of which has its own flow and patient execution, the procession starting quietly as the guitar and cymbals wake up. After a few minutes, they’re in a solid, bluesy roll with the synth flowing out around the meandering guitar and the underlying drums that would seem to have been the root for the entire first movement, which recedes into a synth-led midsection with the drums further back in the mix setting up the room a guitar solo is soon to occupy. And from about minute 20 onward, there’s a pickup in the drums that marks the transition to the psych-bluesy final section of “Colossus Consumes,” which nails the balance between its two sides.

Because it’s not like classic, blues, and psych and space rock are without their commonalities — again, it’s all rock music — but for one of these players, making a half-hour-long song is its own kind of norm, where for Wall, as with most other humans, his playing style at least as I hear it in Music to Listen to While Eating Planets drives more toward structure. By the end of “Colossus Consumes,” though, the flow has gotten more open, more linear, and fair enough. If, as a listener or player, you’re not feeling it 29 minutes into the 30-minute take, it’s probably safe for you to turn off the record player, put down your instruments, go catch a nap to get yourself right, etc.

When you can get to it — and I do very much mean that in the Funkadelic sense — Music to Listen to While Eating Planets sets itself up as a tale of discovery, with the ‘band’ or maybe even the music itself in the Colossus role, making the journey almost as much as the listener. The underlying message is everybody’s finding their way. “Colossus Approacheth” brings the first forward steps, seeing where the music wants to end up. Of course, “Colossus Consumes” is the bulk of that question’s answer; an expansive and engrossing undertaking that’s purposefully been put together as-is to entrance the audience and convey a sense of depth in the layering, harnessing the appeal of live performance in a recording context that, personnel-wise, calls for overdubbing for the songs to be complete. That is to say, Wall‘s a pretty talented player, but he’s not ripping into the shimmery Hendrixing in the later reaches of “Colossus Consumes” at the same time he’s banging away on drums, playing bass, shaking shakers and mixing the track (with Gordon Davies; Heller mixed the opening and closing cuts). You can only be in so many places at once and “Colossus Consumes” already resides in a few.

And what does that journey lead to? More exploration, naturally. “Colossus Seeks a New Planet” comes dangerously close to being a song, at least in a linear sense. It feels grounded in a way that certainly the preceding track inherently can’t, and it completes a circle that begins with “Colossus Approacheth” while setting Quasars of Destiny on a forward path. Mind you, I have no idea if they’ll pick up from the ethereally boogieing improvisational stretch that caps “Colossus Seeks a New Planet,” but there is narrative audible in the music and it sounds like if Heller and Wall and Malley wanted to get together every few years and see where they end up, they’ll indeed end up somewhere.

It sounds like more than a one-off, to put it plainly, whether or not it is. For those who arrived at the doorstep of Music to Listen to While Eating Planets via Dr. Space‘s work, either on his own, or with Øresund Space Collective, Black Moon Circle, Aural Hallucinations, and so on, Quasars of Destiny has a (nascent) persona of its own, distinct from the rest. That alone makes it worth pursuing in my mind; an unknown destination and a hypnotic trip. I guess sometimes imaginary cartoon mom is right.

Quasars of Destiny, Music to Listen to While Eating Planets (2025)

Dr. Space on Bandcamp

Space Rock Productions website

Space Rock Productions on Facebook

Not to discount the three inclusions from Travo‘s 2023 full-length, Astromorph God (review here), that follow it, but new song “Sleeper” is for sure a draw to the Portuguese outfit’s newly unveiled session, recorded late last year at Trans Musicales in France, which has been released now through the influential Seattle-based radio station/outlet as a KEXP session. This is no minor feather in the cap for the band, and as you can read below, it’s a lesson in how putting yourself in the right place and time — having a killer album behind you helps too, of course — can make a difference and one thing can lead to the next.

In this case, the album release led to a spot at FOCUS Wales, which led to the Trans Musicales spot, which led to the four-song KEXP session posted below. Every time out, the same thing happened: somebody heard Travo‘s music and said, “Holy crap” (I’m paraphrasing), “more people need to hear this!” The energy they pour into “Sleeper” is a quick reminder why. From a solid foundation in heavy psych, the new cut takes off on a hypnotic and repetitive jam, linear in form but exciting in its cycles. From this vantage, and with the fleeting-if-you’re-me attention of the viewer duly hooked and five or six cameras moving around while they play, Travo launch the rest of their set, with “Faceless Ghoul, “Arrow of Motion” and “Turn to the Sun” backing “Sleeper” with the band’s neo-psych, deep-space vibing.

It’s a thing to see as they get down, and certainly if you’re planning on catching Travo at one of their upcoming fest appearances — I’ll consider myself lucky to be at Freak Valley, thanks — it argues in favor of putting yourself in front of a stage they’ll be playing on, which, go figure, is once again how we got here in the first place.

Enjoy the show:

Travo, Full Performance (Live on KEXP)”

TRAVO live on KEXP

Until today, Travo was Portugal’s best-kept secret. But then, what has changed? Well, a series of coincidences, more or less intentional, have led to the prestigious US radio station KEXP dropping today the spectacular live session the band recorded a few months ago. Travo is no longer just a rumor among the in-the-know; it’s a reality that, with just one click of play, will blow your mind. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

“We’re incredibly excited to share with you that our live session for KEXP is finally here. We had an amazing time and felt right at home. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.” – Travo

Hailing from the Portuguese city of Braga nearly a decade ago, the band, formed by Gonçalo Ferreira (guitar, vocals), Gonçalo Carneiro (guitar, synth), David Ferreira (bass) y Nuno Gonçalves (drum), began gaining recognition in the local indie scene with the release of their studio albums ‘Ano Luz’ in 2019 and ‘Sinking Creation’ in 2022. However, it wasn’t until the release of ‘Astromorph God’ in 2023 through gig.ROCKS! and Spinda Records that their name began to be mentioned in the editorial offices of international media publications and booking agencies of some of the most respected European festivals when it comes to psychedelia, stoner and progressive rock.

The band was selected to participate in the FOCUS Wales music fair and the Dutch festival Sonic Whip in May 2024. To make this happen, both gig.ROCKS! and La Novena Escena organized an entire European tour around these dates. This would lead them to present their music in countries such as Spain, France, Belgium, Portugal and, of course, the already mentioned Wales and the Netherlands. What was initially going to be a small concert for industry professionals at FOCUS Wales ended up giving them opportunity to perform for, among others, the organizer of the legendary French festival Trans Musicales, who quickly after the show invited them to participate in its next edition in December 2024.

And it was there, within the framework of the French festival, that Travo had the chance to record a live session for the influencial KEXP, which is now available on the Seattle station’s YouTube channel.

For this special occasion, Travo chose to perform the songs “Faceless Ghoul”, “Arrow of Motion” and “Turn to the Sun” from their recent album ‘Astromorph God’, as well as a new track titled “Sleeper”, which will presumably be part of their upcoming studio album. Just four songs are enough for the Portuguese band to make clear the intensity and fire of their live performances, which come packed with heavy psych, progressive rock and garage attitude, blurring the lines between reality and collective ecstasy.

Don’t miss it and make sure you play it extremely loud!

UPCOMING LIVE DATES
03 April | Porto (PT) @ Maus Habitos
19 April | Fafe (PT) @ Aniversário Malfeito
03 May | São João da Madeira (PT) @ Party Sleep Repeat
21 June | Netphen (DE) @ Freak Valley Festival
13 July Pleszew | (PO) @ Red Smoke Festival
23 August | Brussels (BE) @ Down The Hill Festival
+ to be announced

Travo:
Gonçalo Ferreira – Guitar, Vocals
Gonçalo Carneiro – Guitar, Synths
Nuno Gonçalves – Drums
David Ferreira – Bass

Travo, Astromorph God (2023)

Travo on Facebook

Travo on Instagram

Travo on Bandcamp

Spinda Records on Facebook

Spinda Records on Instagram

Spinda Records on Bandcamp

Spinda Records website

Last heard from with 2021’s DeLores Session (review here), Portuguese heavy rockers Miss Lava today announce the advent of their fifth full-length, Under a Black Sun, also their third for Small Stone Records. To go along with the album announcement, the Lisboa, Portugal, four-piece are streaming the title track which also doubles as the record’s closer, which gives a first impression as much about texture as heft, working up from an initial strum and melodic vocal to a fully immersive, hooky push, to cap the record.

What precedes the title-track across the 52-minute expanse varies, and for a band who are no strangers to dynamics, it should be no surprise that different songs go different places. Some are more direct, some more sprawling like “Dark Tomb Nebula” at the outset or attitude-laced like “I Drown,” but the point is the first single is more of a lead-in than total representation for the work it heralds. More to come ahead of the April 25 release, which the band will celebrate by supporting Graveyard in Portugal the next night.

The PR wire has initial details:

MISS LAVA – Under a Black Sun out April 25 on Small Stone

Like distant moons spitting fire, Miss Lava forged their new album “Under a Black Sun”. Carrying a darker and heavier emotional weight than their previous outings, the band’s fifth album is set to be released through Small Stone Records in the beginning of 2025.

“It’s a pretty intense record. I guess our life experiences over the past years have made us delve into a darker matter. We explored new territories and had a blast creating this album.” says singer Johnny Lee.

The release of “Under a Black Sun” will celebrate the band’s longevity, marking their 20th anniversary. A sonic fire with many cosmic swirls that urges to be unleashed live.

“It has been a hell of a ride since we started rehearsing in a small studio in Lisbon back in 2005. Having this record come out 20 years later with a partner like Small Stone is the best thing we could wish for. Now we just need to get out there and play these songs live everywhere we can!” confirms guitarist K. Raffah.

This mystical rite of creation was the first record with drummer Pedro Gonçalves, bringing a heavier vibe to the band. It was taped once again with Miguel “Veg” Marques, who handled the band’s previous record “Doom Machine”.

“Under a Black Sun” is the successor to the praised “Doom Machine” (2021), “Dominant Rush EP” (2017), “Sonic Debris” (2016), “Red Supergiant” (2013), and “Blues for the Dangerous Miles” (2009) and a limited edition self-titled blood red vinyl EP (2008).

Over the years, the band has played live in clubs and festivals in the UK, Spain, Germany and of course Portugal. Miss Lava Lava even made a one-off appearance at the legendary Whisky a Go-Go in Los Angeles. The band has shared the stage with the likes of Queens of the Stone Age, Slash, Graveyard, Ufommammut, Greenleaf, Kyuss Lives!, Fu Manchu, Valient Thorr, Entombed, Truckfighters and many more.

Tracklisting:
1. Dark Tomb Nebula
2. Neon Gods
3. Evil Eye of a Witch
4. Chaos Strain
5. Woe Warrior
6. The Bends
7. Fear in Overdrive
8. I Drown
9. Blue Sky on Mars
10. Elara
11. Under a Black Sun

Keys on “Blue Sky on Mars”, “Dark Tomb Nebula”, “Elara”,
“Evil Eye of the Witch” and “Woe Warrior” by Miguel “Veg” Marques.
Vocals on “Elara” by Alexandra Quintas “Bebé”.

Produced by Miss Lava and Miguel “Veg” Marques.
Recorded and engineered by Miguel “Veg” Marques at Generator Music Studios, Magoito, Sintra, between April and May 2024.

Alexandra’s vocals on “Elara” recorded by Ricardo Quintas at QMusic Studio in May 2024.

Mixed by Steve Lehane at Rustbelt Studios, Detroit, MI.
Mastered by Chris Goosman at Baseline Audio Labs – Ann Arbor, MI.
Design and Artwork by João Filipe.
Photography by Manuel Portugal.

Miss Lava is:
Johnny Lee: vocals
K. Raffah: guitars
P. Gonçalves: drums
Ricardo Ferreira: bass

https://www.facebook.com/MissLavaOfficial/
http://www.instagram.com/miss.lava/
https://misslava.bandcamp.com/
http://misslava.com/

Miss Lava, Under a Black Sun (2025)

Lisbon-based instrumentalist heavy psychedelic explorers Desert’Smoke will release their self-titled four-songer LP on March 28 through Raging Planet. It is the second full-length from the doubly-guitarred four-piece behind late-2019’s Karakum (review here), continuing a penchant for oil-painted cover art while broadening the material’s reach as the returning lineup of guitarists André Rocha and João Romão, bassist João Nogueira and drummer Cláudio Aurélio priotitize listener immersion from the outset with opener “Fuzzy Txitxu” (7:54) seeming to set itself adrift initially around standalone effects guitar, a patient beginning that soothes as the second guitar enters with drums and bass, subtly building up to a meditative jam over the first two minutes. Then cut. Feedback. A muted crash. Gnarlier guitar twists out a faster, immediately more solidified riff, and mere seconds later they’re chugging along like a two-axe Karma to Burn like nothing ever happened.

The old switcheroo? Pulling the rug out? Shenanigans???

Nothing quite so trickery-laced when you hear it, but that moment is telling. The intro lures you into the blindside, and a more straightforward procession takes hold for the duration. The subsequent “Gravity Absence” (8:59) adds another level of heavy to the end, answering the noisy grunge of the song’s solo-laced midsection with a decisive low-end flattening as they push to the finish. Side B, with “Blind Watcher” (11:42) and the premiering-below “49th Steam Box” (6:46), continues to flesh out from where “Fuzzy Txitxu” began, with the album’s longest track as an obvious standout, both for the runtime and how it expands on the mellower fluidity of earlier intros and, rather than a stark change, how it builds gradually into its crescendo, thoughtful in the construction and organic in the actual sound. The jam ebbs and flows and there’s time enough to accommodate that as well as some post-rock-minded float in the guitar, shades of Red Sparowes or Russian Circles maybe making their way in among influences, but it’s a hypnotic course one way or the other, and its apex solo is executed with particular clarity and class.

At last to the matter at hand, “49th Steam Box” (on the player below) serves to tie all of this together on the record. It’s the place where the weight of “Gravity Absence” and the breadth of “Blind Watcher” coexist, and it calls back to the sharp divide of “Fuzzy Txitxu” with a willful contrast, not lacking dynamic in itself as the guitar peppers light lead notes over a crunching intro and the band find themselves in a kind of instru-prog shove headed toward the midpoint, almost metallic in tone but still locked in a heavy groove rhythmically. They carry through the closer’s middle movement with due force, then reset to make their last go, guitar soaring and scorching all the while as the drums and bass cycle through and build into a dense last-minute chug and an efficient crashing finish before they give over to the heavy silence that follows.

Taken as a whole, Desert’Smoke feels remarkably complete by the time “49th Steam Box” is done; the band have told their story through sound in a way that legitimately feels narrative as various elements tie together throughout, the songs speaking to each other as they refine Desert’Smoke‘s meld, highlighting individuality of purpose by pulling from multiple styles as they go and being willing to take chances in their songwriting.

You can hear “49th Steam Box” on the player here, followed by more from the PR wire.

I invite you to please enjoy:

Desert’Smoke, “49th Steam Box” track premiere

Desert’Smoke on “49th Steam Box”:

Our upcoming self-titled album is a four-track journey spanning 35 minutes, blending heavy stoner rock with immersive psychedelia. The cover artwork is a segment of an oil painting by Catarina Felix Machado, titled ‘Gravity Absence,’ which also inspired the name of the second track. Our first single, “49th Steam Box”, is the shortest and most explosive track on the record, named after our Studio Box, where everything came to life.

Preorder: https://ragingplanet.bandcamp.com/

Born in the underground scene of Lisbon, Desert’Smoke emerged with a mission: to craft an instrumental blend of heavy stoner rock, hypnotic psychedelia, and raw energy fit for the biggest Stoner/Rock/Metal festivals. Inspired by the likes of Elder, The Obsessed, and 40 Watt Sun, the band quickly carved out a space in Portugal’s heavy music landscape.

Their debut EP, Hidden Mirage, introduced their expansive sound and opened doors to major festivals, including SonicBlast. Riding the momentum, they released their first full-length album, Karakum, through Raging Planet Records, receiving praise from fans and critics worldwide.

Despite pandemic setbacks delaying their European ambitions, Desert’Smoke kept the fire burning, playing key festivals in Portugal and sharing the stage with major acts. When the time was right, they joined forces with Bulletseed, a European booking agency, to hit the road across Spain, France, Switzerland, and Italy, marking their first international tour with resounding success.

Reinvigorated by their journey, the band returned to the studio to craft their most ambitious work yet—Desert’Smoke, their upcoming self-titled album, set for release on March 28. With another European tour already in the works for May-August 2025, the band is poised to take their cosmic desert voyage to even greater heights.

From the depths of rehearsal studios to international stages, Desert’Smoke continues to push the boundaries of stoner and psychedelic rock, forging an experience as immersive as it is powerful.

Desert’Smoke:
André ROCHA on guitar
João ROMÃO on guitar
João NOGUEIRA on bass
CLÁUDIO Aurélio on drums

Desert’Smoke on Facebook

Desert’Smoke on Instagram

Desert’Smoke on Bandcamp

Raging Planet Records on Facebook

Raging Planet on Bandcamp

Dayum. SonicBlast Fest came out hard with its first lineup announcement and things have only gotten more heartstirring since then. In a new round of 13 lineup adds, they bring King Woman, Messa, Monolord, King Buffalo, The Atomic Bitchwax, Daily Thompson, Vinnum Sabbathi, Castle Rat, Tō Yō, Witchthroat Serpent and more to the bill, and when you look at the rest of the poster and see Fu Manchu, My Sleeping Karma, Earthless, Slomosa, Gnoma, Daevar, Amenra, Emma Ruth Rundle and so on, yeah, fair to call it compelling, not that “weekend on the beach in Portugal” should be a hard sell on its own either.

And while you’re looking at the poster below, surely you’ll also note the part where it says there’s more to come. I don’t know that that’ll be another full round of 13 bands, but honestly, SonicBlast is always packed, so anything’s possible. I was there in 2023 and it was awesome. Great place, nice people, and I learned how to order espresso in Portuguese, which was a bonus. If you can get there, you should take a look, is all I’m saying. I even left the emojis intact.

The following comes from socials:

13 is the magic number 🔥🔥

We’re so thrilled to confirm 13 new bands for the great reunion of weight and psychedia that will once again – for the 13th time! – take place in August, on the already mythical Duna dos Caldeirões beach ⚡️🔥

King Woman, Monolord, Chalk, Ditz, King Buffalo, Messa, Castle Rat, Dead Ghosts, The Atomic Bitchwax, Witchthroat Serpent, Vinnum Sabbathi, Tō Yō, Daily Thompson will join us at our wild party ⚡️

King Woman
Monolord
Chalk
Ditz
King Buffalo
Messa
Castle Rat
Dead Ghosts
The Atomic Bitchwax
Witchthroat Serpent
Vinnum Sabbathi
Tō Yō
Daily Thompson

Tickets are already available at BOL and Masqueticket (links in bio)

If you’re in Portugal you can also buy your ticket at Fnac, Worten and Ctt stores

Artwork by @branca_studio

https://www.facebook.com/sonicblastmoledo/
https://www.instagram.com/sonicblast_fest
https://sonicblastfestival.com/

Daily Thompson, Chuparosa (2024)

Øresund Space Collective bandleader and honcho-when-it-comes-to-releases Scott “Dr. Space” Heller details below a number of upcoming projects for 2025, but I can’t help but be particularly excited that included among the swath of live-on-stage and live-in-studio jams that are always the heart of what ØSC do there’s a new session listed from which at least two LPs (or maybe one 2LP? more likely two 2LPs) will be born. Sometimes it’s years before an Øresund Space Collective record, captured in the moment as it happened, makes it to public ears. The material retains the impov spirit with which it was made, of course, but it’s also nice to get a glimpse of where these players (and the cast does rotate somewhat over different sessions) are at now.

Hopefully something from that shows up sooner than later, but there’s also a 20th anniversary celebration to consider and other outings besides, and I’ll note that while the below is already more than many bands would do in two years, let alone one, Øresund Space Collective and adjacent projects from Dr. Space and other members, will likely have much, much more than this to come throughout the year. This is the start.

From the band’s newsletter:

Welcome to the new year and hope you are all doing well in the world of insanity. While we try to all disappear into the world of music, where we are safe, the weather, the rulers of the world, are going mad and trying to take us all down with them… We will not put up with it so what can you expect from us in 2025???

The Collective met in Stockholm for a studio session that was pretty fun despite the cold, grim, dark weather. I flew in from Portugal, Jiri and Mogens came from Denmark, Christian (Yuri Gagarin) came from Goteborg and we met with Jonathan and Mattias at Roth Handle studios. We spent the first two days making the soundtrack for a short animated film. That was fun and cool.
Then we started to jam. About 6hrs of material was recorded over the next two days. Some great stuff as always and some new areas explored.

Sadly, the Relaxing in the Himalayas LPs were warped and had to be repressed, so they will not come until the end of January. The West Space and Love III LPs also had problems and had to be repressed. Links are below… Both are released on Space Rock Productions.

https://oresundspacecollective.bandcamp.com/album/relaxing-in-the-himalayas

https://drspace1.bandcamp.com/album/west-space-and-love-iii

In April, we hope to have the new double LP/2CD, Alotta Hella down in Estrela released on Space Rock Productions. The LP features 4 tracks (one is 50mins) and the CD contains 2 bonus tracks (38 mins) not on the LP. It was recorded in the 2022 session in Portugal and features Dr Martin Weaver (Wicked Lady), Luis Simoes (Saturnia), Tim Wallander (Ex-agusa, Ozric Tentacles), Hasse Horrigmoe (Tangle Edge), Jonathan Segel (Camper van Beethoven), Dr Space, Jiri, Mogens and Pär….

We will also release a film of us live in the studio recording Ode to a Black Hole on DVD with a new 5.1 surround sound mix by Dr Space.. When I find time, I hope to mix some of our older records in 5.1 like The Black Tomato and Sleeping with the Sunworm.

April 11-12th, will be our 20th Anniversary shows and like our 10th anniversary show, we plan to have many different people playing the 4 different set that will be played and we will have the amazing light show of P&P from Germany (they do the lights at Fuzz Fest and other festivals). there will be an afterparty each night with the band til 2 and special merch, poster gallery, etc.. Please buy an advanced ticket…

https://billetto.dk/e/oresund-space-collective-20th-anniversary-shows-billetter-1067518

In May we will play the Spaceboat in Hamburg for the 10th time. Wow.. Amazing. Thanks to Sabine from Sapphire and Space Rock Productions for putting in all the work that is required to make this happen. There are still tickets available. The shows are May 23-24th-..

https://www.sapphirerecords.de/epages/61252611.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/61252611/Products/SpacebX-230525e

Also coming in 2025 is the Kozfest 2023 DVD. I have to apologise up front though as I fucked this one up and send Ruben, who did the amazing video editing job of the show, the wrong mix of the audio so the audio is decent but our amazing drummer Tim is really buried in the mix. The upside is if you are bandcamp subscriber or buy the DVD, you will get the proper audio mix which sounds great.. Sorry, I fucked it up….

If you liked the more laid back CD from last year, Espaço, you will also dig, Espaço 2!!! This will be a Bandcamp subscriber CD and limited numbers will be available for the fans… I also expect the fans will get the multitrack recording of the Lygtens Kro gig as well (this was also filmed). It is also possible, I get finished the DVD from the Winter Jazz festival 2022 in Copenhagen.

https://oresundspacecollective.bandcamp.com/subscribe

We will likely also have another studio album out later in the year, either from the new session or one called Progably you´re Wrong, from the 2022-23 sessions. We will see..

We were trying to set up a tour in Sept down to Italy and back but this has failed. It is still possible we will do a weekend of gigs Sept 4-6th. We will see.. It is nearly impossible to set up a tour anymore. Sadly…

Who knows what else might pop up. Jonathan will have gigs with Camper van Beethoven in the USA this year, probably 10 more albums with Astral Magic and other cool collaborations. Dr Space, will have another Alien Planet Trip volume, perhaps another solo CD, Doctors of Space will have two CDs……

Thanks for all the support, you folks are what keeps me alive….. getting the guys together and making music for us and the fans..

peace, love and space rock..
scott and the ØSC…

https://jsegel.bandcamp.com/
https://drspace1.bandcamp.com/music
https://doctorsofspace.bandcamp.com/music
http://oresundspacecollective.com
http://spacerockproductions.com

resund Space Collective, Crescendo Festival 2022 (2024)

A new album from the collaborative trio of drummer Billy “Love” Forsberg, modular and keyboard synthesist Scott “Dr. Space” Heller and sitarist, bassist, guitarist, Mellotronist, synthesist (he’s also got some Fender Rhodes in there somewhere, reportedly) KG Westman doesn’t come along every year. The three-piece who, suitably enough, dub themselves West, Space & Love made their self-titled debut (review here, discussed here) in 2012 and followed up with a second installment, 2016’s Vol. II (review here), reaffirming their instrumentalist modus and exploratory mindset. An unexpected project in the first place, III (also stylized as Vol. 3; I think they’re pretty open about it) represents their second unexpected return and clearest manifestation to-date. With Heller‘s Øresund Space Collective bandmate Hasse Horrigmoe as the fourth in the trio contributing to the five-track/38-minute outing on bass and percussion, Westman (ex-Siena Root and a classical solo sitarist) and Forsberg (Siena Root; he also did the artwork) traveled to Heller‘s studio in Central Portugal to record, and the three have never come across as so solidified in terms of their collective approach. I suppose that’ll happen the more you get together to do a thing. At least ideally.

Either way, a mix by Westman that plays up a Western strut in the nonetheless-sitar-driven “One Step Ahead” (6:08) at III‘s outset, with a flow that turns out not to be nearly the most languid on the record but that still feels metered and purposeful in the room it leaves for lead lines of sitar and, ultimately, electric guitar, over the steady flowing groove and wash of synth. West, Space & Love have never been entirely adherent to longform structures, and they’ve never shied away from them either. III feels intentional in its single-LP presentation, with “One Step Ahead” leading the way into the sitar dreamscape “Mouth of Sand” (6:17), the there’s-that-Rhodes centerpiece “Time Expansion” (7:12) comprising side A and side B dedicated to the penultimate “Lost Hippie in Africa” (3:21) and the extended finale “Explaining Relativity” (15:40), and as one might expect with various Hammonds and Mellotrons coming and going, percussive shakers, congas, a cuica, and so on, there’s plenty of variety in terms of mood and arrangement throughout, but the central vibe is welcoming and encompassing.

That atmosphere is prioritized over structure should probably go without saying. This is the third West, Space & Love LP and all the three of them are known quantities due to their various ongoing projects, apparently including this one, so if you’re coming into III with expectations, fair enough. The album will meet them head-on with the casual swagger of “One Step Ahead” and the sitar-in-synth-wind spaciousness of “Mouth of Sand,” and by the time those two are over, if those expectations haven’t already evaporated in a hot summer’s sun, they’re surely on their way there. The sweetness and fluidity of the melodies, the absolute command of Westman on the sitar and the depth of Forsberg‘s percussion work tying it to Heller‘s synth assure the impression is complete, and it’s less of a world — that is, where another outfit might dive into some kind of conceptual theme to unite disparate musical ideas, either before, during or after the writing process — than a point of view.

It’s a specific kind of chill, a specific kind of flow, taking the (admittedly) appropriated influence from Indian classical music has had on psychedelic rock since the 1960s and melding it with flowing, not-unheavy-but-never-overblown jams. The material is executed with class and grit alike. It’s not afraid to dig into a groove and get dirty kicking up dust in “Lost Hippie in Africa,” but that only comes after the more subdued and contemplative “Time Expansion,” which feels emotional with a slower tempo and Mellotron and Rhodes wistfully backing Westman‘s lead sitar, playing a transposed-blues as it heads toward and into its fadeout. They dig into sci-fi-ier sounds on “Explaining Relativity,” and if they were the kind of band who put out a record every year, one might be curious to hear them bring krautrock to the junction where it became New Wave, all while remaining based on sitar, though I admit that isn’t necessarily the likeliest trajectory.

Listening to III, though, there is purpose behind these songs. The production smooths out some of the sharper waveforms of Vol. II and highlights the kick drum anchoring “One Step Ahead” than the standalone cosmic synthesizer in the first few minutes of “Explaining Relativity,” which comes to underscore the flow that’s been there the whole time while finding its own path in terms of textures and the careful weaving of its elements. By ending in such a way, West, Space & Love finish their third and most vivid declaration of their project with a reminder of what’s still out there — the unknown — waiting to be explored, conveyed, manifested in the hypnotic reach of their craft. I can’t sit here and say III will hit for everyone who takes it on, but that’s not the nature of the work.

This isn’t music for immediacy. The record might be short, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t going to take its time. It doesn’t try to land a chorus — though I’d argue the sitar has hooks to offer, mostly in “One Step Ahead,” which is probably why it’s opening, but elsewhere too — and it’s not trying to beat you over the head with heaviness or anything else. It is molten and patient and, three albums deep, and West, Space & Love understand that the pattern of a flow doesn’t necessarily have to be interrupted by changes brought to it in terms of pace, instrumentation or mood. It’s by no means the only idea being conveyed, but III presents a vision of West, Space & Love as an outfit who realize they’ve become a band — even a sometimes-band studio project — almost without meaning to, but are able to revel in the chemistry and the approach they’ve built up to this point.

They may not have the element of surprise on their side anymore — though III might certainly be a given listener’s first exposure to them, and if so, that’s well-timed — but what’s come in trade from West, Space and Love is a richer awareness of themselves and their place in their own music. I won’t speculate on their future, because everyone here is plenty busy otherwise and it’s even harder when it’s upwards of eight years between records, but III sounds like a progression underway. They’ve never left off a release without instilling a sense of hope. That streak continues here.

West, Space & Love, III (2024)

West, Space & Love on Bandcamp

West, Space & Love on Soundcloud

Space Rock Productions website

Space Rock Productions on Facebook