Posted in Whathaveyou on September 13th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
One new song and a Melvins cover is about all the excuse Caustic Casanova need to hit the road on a tour that will take the Washington D.C. natives through the Midwest and out along the West Coast starting at the end of this month. The new 7″ is titled Pantheon Vol. 2, and like its predecessor and the band’s 2015 debut long-player, Breaks (review here), it arrives via Retro Futurist Records. Caustic Casanova, whose injury-plagued story you can read below, have spent significant time on tour to back that J. Robbins-produced outing, and as we look ahead toward 2018 one can’t help but wonder if they won’t sooner or later settle into a recording process for a follow-up. Haven’t heard anything in that regard, but it’s worth keeping an eye out.
The PR wire has all the info you need, plus links, plus audio, because it’s good to be comprehensive with this stuff:
Caustic Casanova on tour this fall.
Caustic Casanova’s forthcoming 7 inch, second in a series with an original on side A and a cover on side B, with artwork honoring the band being covered. Vol. 1 featured Pentagram, Vol. 2 features (the) Melvins!
After forming as teenagers at the College of William and Mary in 2005 and recording several albums and EPs there and in DC, Caustic Casanova found itself at a critical juncture in 2012 following the departure of the band’s original guitarist. The rhythm section of drummer/vocalist Stefanie Zaenker and bassist/vocalist Francis Beringer wanted to play even heavier, more experimental music in the vein of Rush and the Melvins, and wanted to tour relentlessly, but weren’t sure if they could find a guitar player who would match their ambition. After a few sets as a bass/drum duo, rounds of guitar player auditions finally yielded the missing element to the new Caustic Casanova, longtime fan, friend and all-around six string wizard Andrew Yonki.
In Andrew’s four years with the band, the rejuvenated Caustic Casanova has played hundreds of shows, doing all their own booking in DC and throughout North America, with plans for more touring throughout the world. Even a life-threatening wrist and back injury to drummer Stefanie Zaenker barely curtailed the band’s forward momentum. The CC was back rehearsing less than three months after her second round of surgeries, recorded a 7″ (Pantheon: Vol 1) and a full-length (Breaks), and was back on another full US tour within the year.
What kind of music has Caustic Casanova made since opening for sludge rock titans Kylesa in 2014 and signing to their eclectic label Retro Futurist? Their relentlessly intense live show has earned plenty of notoriety, and their 2015 LP Breaks has garnered much praise for its uniquely diverse take on heavy.
Caustic Casanova is releasing their second 7 inch, Pantheon: Vol 2, on September 8th. It features original song “Lord Pinto” and a theremin/guitar/noise freakout cover of the Melvins’ classic “Cow.” Catch them on a coast-to-coast US tour in October!
Tracklisting: 1. Lord Pinto 2. Cow (the Melvins cover)
Fall Tour Dates: 9/30 – Dayton, OH @ Blind Bob’s ** 10/1 – Canton, OH @ Buzzbin ** 10/2 – Peoria, IL @ Redbarn ** 10/3 – Chicago, IL @ The Burlington ** 10/4 – Minneapolis, MN @ TBA ** 10/5 – Lawrence, KS @ Replay Lounge ** 10/6 – Denver, CO @ Streets of London ** 10/7 – Colorado Springs, CO @ Triple Nickel Tavern ** 10/8 – Albuquerque, NM @ Burt’s Tiki Lounge ** 10/9 – Tucson, AZ @ TBA ** 10/10 – Tempe, AZ @ Yucca Tap Room 10/11 – San Diego, CA @ The Tower Bar 10/12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Silverlake Lounge 10/14 – Reno, NV @ Shea’s Tavern 10/15 – San Francisco, CA @ Hemlock Tavern 10/17 – Portland, OR @ TBA 10/19 – Seattle, WA @ Victory Lounge 10/20 – Kalispell, MT @ TBA 10/21 – Great Falls, MT @ The Back Alley Pub ** = w/ Irata
Stefanie Zaenker – Drums, Vocals Francis Beringer – Bass, Vocals Andrew Yonki – Guitar
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 22nd, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Following a performance this weekend at Maryland Doom Fest 2017, Canadian heavy rockers Sierra will hit the road alongside Witches of God on their first headlining North American tour. The run makes a quick redirect after the fest date, taking the two bands across the US to the West Coast and setting them to the task of working their way back east before finishing out in Canada at the start of August. It’s a significant stretch of road-time, but hey, if you’re going to go, make the trip worthwhile. The gigs are presented by Retro Futurist, which released Sierra‘s 2016 single-song EP, 72, and booked by Hi-Wattage and Tone Deaf Touring.
Poster art by David Paul Seymour and dates follow, as posted by the band:
We are thrilled to announce our first ever HEADLINING North American tour this summer! Can’t wait to get back on the road. Our blood brothers from Los Angeles, Witches Of God, will be joining us on their first tour.
Thank to David Paul Seymour for the rad poster
See you all on the road!
Fri 6/23 – Frederick, MD The †maryland DOOM† Fest (Sierra only) Sat 6/24 – Frederick, MD The †maryland DOOM† Fest (Witches of God only) Mon 6/26 – St. Louis, MO – Fubar Tue 6/27 – Wichita, KS – The Elbow Room Wed 6/28 – Amarillo TX – Leftwoods Thu 6/29 – Flagstaff, AZ – Green Room Tue 7/4 – San Diego, CA – Brick by Brick Wed 7/5 – Sacramento, CA – Starlite Lounge Thu 7/6 – Los Angeles, CA – Airliner – Satanic Temple of LA (Witches of God only) Fri 7/7 – Fresno, CA – Tioga Sequoia Brewing Sat 7/8 – Yreka, CA – The Music Hall Sun 7/9 – Seattle, WA – Funhouse Tue 7/11 – Portland, OR – Kelly’s Olympian Wed 7/12 – Boise, ID – Shredder Thu 7/13 – CO Springs, CO – Black Sheep Fri 7/14 – Denver, CO – Moon Room Sat 7/15 – Kearney, NE – Gillies Live Sun 7/16 – Des Moines, IA – Vaudeville Mews Mon 7/17 – Kansas City, MO – Riot Room Wed 7/19 – Detroit- Small’s Thu 7/20 – Chicago, IL – Reggie’s Music Joint Fri 7/21 – Huntington WV – V Club Sat 7/22 – Philadelphia, PA – Fire Sun 7/23 – Pittsburgh, PA – Howlers Tue 7/25 – Brooklyn, NYC – Bar Matchless Wed 7/26 – Somerville MA – PA’s Lounge Sat 7/29 – Montreal QC Piranha Fri 8/4 – Brantford, ON – Bramsterdam Sat 8/5 – Waterloo, ON – Starlight
Help us spread the word and tag a friend who lives close to one of these cities.
There are a few more dates in the works. Stay tuned.
Sierra is: Jason Taylor – Vocals, Guitars Robbie Carvalho – Bass, Guitars, Piano
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 2nd, 2017 by JJ Koczan
I mean, uh, sold. Right? Virginian heavy rockers Freedom Hawk head west next month alongside North Carolinian chuggers Irata, and I’m not even sure this one needs comment from me other than to reinforce the notion that you should make every effort to go to whichever one of these shows is closest to where you live. They’ve also got the last date of the tour open on Feb. 19 somewhere around Austin — or, presumably, a reasonable day’s drive between Austin and the Eastern Seaboard — and how much fun would it be to book those two bands somewhere and put on a kickass show to round out their tour? I like that idea. If I lived in Eastern Texas or somewhere else down south, I’d probably like it even more right about now.
Freedom Hawk are heralding an impending Ripple Music reissue for their 2008 debut album, Sunlight, and still supporting their 2015 fourth long-player, Into Your Mind (review here), while Irata — who upon returning from this tour will roll out again alongside All Them Witches — go on the back of their 2015 Retro Futurist offering, Loris.
Dates, links, audio and whatnots follow, as seen on the social medias:
Freedom Hawk / Irata US Tour
February 3 – February 17
Freedom Hawk and Irata Live will embark on a tour to the US West Side to continue the search for the perfect riff!!
Freedom Hawk will also have in tow their Small Stone 2015 release – Into Your Mind AND a hot off the press Ripple Music special remastered limited edition Vinyl/CD (Jan 27) release of their 2008 self released album – Sunlight.
IRATA will have their 2015 Retro Futurist release “Sweet Loris.” in tow and will be jamming these righteous tunes on tour with Freedom Hawk before returning to the road in March, 2017 with Nashville band All Them Witches.
HIWATTAGE Booking presents… FREEDOM HAWK & IRATA:
THE ENDLESS SEARCH FOR THE PERFECT RIFF – WEST SIDE TOUR – FEB 2017!! 3-Feb Nashville, TN Springwater 4-Feb Fort Worth, TX The Rail Club club 5-Feb El paso, TX Rockhouse Bar & Grill 6-Feb Open (drive day) 7-Feb San Diego, CA Soda Bar 8-Feb Anaheim, CA Out Of The Park Pizza 9-Feb San Francisco, CA Thee Parkside 10-Feb Eugene. OR Old Nick’s Pub 11-Feb Portland, OR High Water Mark Lounge 12-Feb Seattle, WA Funhouse Seattle 13-Feb Yreka, CA, Chromaphonic Music Hall 14-Feb Sacramento, CA Starlite Lounge 15-Feb Las Vegas, NV, Beauty Bar 16-Feb Tucson, AZ The Flycatcher 17-Feb Fort Stockton, TX The Garage 18-Feb Austin, TX Swan Dive 19th-Feb Open (hit us up)
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 18th, 2016 by JJ Koczan
Don’t get me wrong, I believe it because it’s Caustic Casanova and they did something similar toward the end of last year, but nonetheless, this is ridiculous. Look at this tour! It’s like the Washington D.C. trio — who released their second album, the J. Robbins-produced Breaks (review here), last year via Retro Futurist — sat around and were like, “Yeah, it’s July. Let’s just tour until October.” Absolutely insane.
This band must really love each other:
Here we go folks, Caustic Casanova’s big summer and fall tour announcement! We will be playing many shows and hopefully selling many vinyl editions of Breaks. More dates and details to be added as we solidify some loose ends and fill a few gaps.
We’ll see you here, there and everywhere in North America starting later this month.
July 21st – Washington, DC at The Pinch (vinyl release show!) July 28th – Chicago, IL at The Beat Kitchen July 29th – Fort Wayne, IN at Skeletunes July 30th – Wyandotte, MI at The Rockery July 31st – Peoria, IL at Red Barn August 1st – St. Louis, MO at Foam August 2nd – Indianapolis, IN at Melody Inn August 3rd – Kent, OH at The Outpost August 4th – Newport, KY at Southgate House Revival August 5th – Dayton, OH at Blind Bob’s August 6th – Pittsburgh, PA at The Smiling Moose August 7th – Vienna, WV at Radioactive Bar and Grill August 8th – Louisville, KY at Highlands Taproom August 9th – Milwaukee, WI at Cactus Club August 10th – Minneapolis, MN at The Reverie August 12th – Spokane, WA at Checkerboard August 13th – Seattle, WA at Blue Moon Tavern August 14th – Vancouver, BC at TBA August 16th – Olympia, WA at Le Voyeur Cafe August 17th – Portland, OR at Twilight August 19th – San Diego, CA at The Merrow August 20th – Glendale, CA at Complex August 21st – Los Osos, CA at Sweet Springs Saloon August 22nd – Anaheim, CA at The Doll Hut August 23rd – Pacifica, CA at Winter’s Tavern August 24th – Hayward, CA at The Bistro August 25th – San Francisco, CA at Hemlock Tavern August 26th – Sacramento, CA at Starlite Lounge August 27th – Reno, NV at Shea’s Tavern August 31st – Tempe, AZ at Yucca Tap Room September 1st – Tucson, AZ at The Loudhouse September 2nd – Bisbee, AZ at The Quarry September 4th – Provo, UT at TBA September 6th – Grand Junction, CO at TBA September 7th – Colorado Springs, CO at The Triple Nickel September 8th – Denver, CO at The Lion’s Lair September 9th – Wichita, KS at Elbow Room September 10th – Denton, TX at TBA September 11th – Austin, TX at The Sidewinder September 12th – Houston, TX at The Clinic September 14th – Tallahassee, FL at TBA September 15th – Orlando, FL at Will’s Pub September 16th – Ft. Lauderdale, FL at Kreepy Tiki September 17th – Tampa, FL at New World Brewery September 18th – Gainesville, FL at The Nest September 19th – Charleston, SC at TBA September 20th – Chapel Hill, NC at The Cave September 21st – Asheville, NC at The Odditorium September 22nd – Greensboro, NC at New York Pizza September 27th – Baltimore, MD at TBA September 28th – Brooklyn, NY at Sunnyvale September 29th – Philadelphia, PA at The Fire September 30th – Boston, MA at O’Brien’s October 1st – Providence, RI at Dusk October 2nd – Burlington, VT at Finnigan’s Pub October 5th – Rochester, NY at The Bug Jar
Stefanie Zaenker – Drums, Vocals Francis Beringer – Bass, Vocals Andrew Yonki – Guitar
Posted in audiObelisk on November 6th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
The prevailing vibe is vibe, and the vibe is its own excuse for vibing. In the first 20 seconds of their third album, Heading East, Savannah, Georgia’s Niche offer a glimpse at Thin Lizzy meeting up with Queen for summertime harmonies. Plus heavy. Plus Mellotron. Really, it’s the kind of launch that so immediately soothes, there’s little to do but throw up your hands and admit to yourself you’re hooked for the duration. Fortunately, Niche do not disappoint from there. Instead, they build on the pastoral feel with liberal doses of organ and a persistence of melody that comes not in contrast to tonal or rhythmic weight, but in collusion with it.
Dual-guitar leads from Justin Dick (also vocals) and Kristopher Maedke-Russell (also also vocals) ring through a crisp classic heavy rock dogwhistle to those clued in to the aforementioned Irish pioneers, but with the organ/key work of Corey Barhorst and the fluid rhythms of bassist Michael Redmond and drummer Lee Vallier, a song like “When I’m Gone” digs into its own creative space, sounding rich but not overcooked as it meanders through an extended instrumental jam in which all five parties involved take advantage of an opportunity to shine. “When I’m Gone” is one of two longer (over eight-minute) inclusions on Heading East — they’re arranged one per side; the other is closer “Days to Come” at 9:21 — and as far out as it goes, it leaves room to come back to the chorus at the end, Niche keeping songwriting at the fore even as they deliver highlight performances.
“On Down the Line” is a reminder of how Steely Dan‘s hits happened, an inviting vocal arrangement at the forefront, but like with the guitars of “Exiled to Islands,” Barhorst‘s keys do much to enrich the proceedings. Barhorst is a former Kylesa bassist (currently also in Black Tusk), and Heading East was recorded by that band’s Philip Cope at The Jam Room in Colombia, South Carolina, and released on Kylesa‘s Retro Futurist Records imprint, but there’s little sonic comparison between the two to be made. Niche‘s sound is progressive in its way, but the earthy psychedelia they exude as “On Down the Line” Mellotrons its way toward the conclusion of side A is geared toward establishing an organic, classic-styled flow.
And while vinyl is the clear intent in the album’s structure, “Sweet Dear Anne” picks up with a logical continuation of the spirit of “On Down the Line,” moving into even more peaceful stylizations, reminiscent of some of what Night Horse did on their second record in terms of patience with a core of memorable craftsmanship behind it, but the pace gets a boot in the second half and that sets up “Tough and Mean” still to come. They never go so far as to start issuing threats, but Niche get a big thicker on the six-track offering’s penultimate cut, shifting from the quiet final measures of “Sweet Dear Anne” into a swell of lead guitar and cymbal wash that builds over the course of its first minute into the bed for a proto-metallic chug. They’re still having a good time, but the mood is a discernible turn from the song preceding, and in true side B fashion, it expands the context of the album overall, even as it underscores a lot of what has tied the whole release together in a toss-off reference to “the boys” as it winds to its ending.
Somewhat grander in its purposes, “Days to Come” closes out more in a classic prog vein, the early vocal melody in league with late-period Hypnos 69 likely by coincidence, but still, and seems less of a mind to provide a summary of what’s come before it than to expand on it with something even more lush. The one works just as well as the other might, honestly, given how in control of their sound Niche have been all along. The essential difference between “When I’m Gone” and “Days to Come” is that the closer doesn’t make that return to the verse, instead thrusting into more open spaces on propulsive soloing in an entirely instrumental second two-thirds that builds in pace and energy until an inevitable big rock finish brings “the set” to a close. Even in that moment, Niche remain wholesome, and if the last 15 seconds or so of their record is a bit of an indulgence, it’s one well-earned by Heading East‘s 38 minutes prior.
Today I have the pleasure of hosting “When I’m Gone” from Heading East as a track premiere. Please find it on the player below, followed by more about the record from the PR wire, and enjoy:
With two previous self-released albums under their belt — So Be It and The Other Side Of The End, which were both recorded by their good friend Chris Adams — in December 2014, NICHE went to The Jam Room in Colombia, South Carolina to record their third album with longtime friend Phillip Cope of Kylesa at the helm of producing the album, the first release with their current lineup. Titled Heading East, the album catapults six new tracks with nearly forty minutes of mega rich, perfectly hazy, psychedelically-induced classic rock fueled and jacked-up for modern times, completed with beautiful, kaleidoscopic artwork by Samantha Muljat.
Offers NICHE’s Michael Redmond about the new release, “The music scene in Savannah has always been a family to me; we work, play, live, love, cry and party together. We help and support each other. I could not be happier that something I’m so proud of will be released by friends and musicians here in Savannah.”
Heading East will see release through Retro Futurist on digital and CD November 13th with a vinyl pressing to follow in early 2016.
NICHE Live: 12/11/2015 The Jinx – Savannah, GA w/ Caustic Casanova
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 6th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
Yeah, I had another post all set to go up today instead of this one, but the truth is that when a band decides they’re gonna go coast-to-coast in this mediocre, troubling-discourse-filled land of ours, that’s no minor decision, so it’s Caustic Casanova, who head out starting this weekend on a full-US run in support of their newly-released Breaks (review here) full-length on Retro Futurist Records. It’s an admirable string of dates that will take them through the rest of this month and into November, and the three-piece also have a couple shows booked on the Eastern Seaboard later this fall that you can find in the list below.
Because it’s nice to keep things organized. Details of their tumultuous history — it wasn’t all drinking wine and cooking meat in a kitchen with nice countertops for Caustic Casanova — and the tour dates follow, hoisted off that ol’ PR wire:
Caustic Casanova tour announcement
Caustic Casanova is a loud, heavy rock trio from Washington, DC. The CC, as they are affectionately known by their fans, has been tearing up stages and studios alike since their inception on the campus of The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia in 2005. In 2008 CC released their first ever full-length studio album, a fourteen song, seventy-two minute tour-de-force entitled Imminent Eminence. Four years later, Caustic Casanova unleashed 2012’s critically acclaimed Someday You Will Be Proven Correct, produced by J. Robbins.
After the release of Someday You Will Be Proven Correct and a 2012 SXSW tour came the departure the group’s original guitarist, and a most critical juncture for the rhythm section of the band – whether to continue as Caustic Casanova, start another project, or part ways altogether. After much deliberation, drummer/vocalist Stefanie Zaenker and bassist/lead vocalist Francis Beringer decided to honor the work they’d done over the years together by continuing Caustic Casanova. Months of experimenting as a bass and drums two piece were followed by rounds of guitar player auditions, finally yielding the missing element to the new Caustic Casanova, longtime fan, friend and all-around six string wizard Andrew Yonki. In Andrew’s two and a half years with the band, the rejuvenated Caustic Casanova has gigged wherever and whenever possible, embarked on two lengthy national tours and several shorter ones, and has earned a much bigger following in DC. In 2014 Caustic Casanova signed to Retro Futurist Records after opening for psych metal veterans and label owners Kylesa, and later teamed up with J. Robbins to record lots of new music and release the first in a series of 7″ singles called Pantheon: Volume 1. Despite losing Stefanie for nearly half the year to severe wrist injuries from a life threatening accident (once again putting the very existence of the band in jeopardy) Caustic Casanova returned stronger, tighter and more motivated than ever to build sonic temples in which to worship feedback, massive riffs, delay pedals, bass fuzz, thunderous drum fills and soaring vocal melody.
The end product of these years of writing and recording through trial and tribulation is Caustic Casanova’s new album and Retro Futurist debut Breaks, once again produced by J. Robbins. Breaks features seven unconventional and melodic heavy rock songs, none quite like the other, and covers a vast sonic territory from dark, driving post-punk to psychedelic post-metal, from heavy doom blues to epic space rock and everything in between. Breaks will be released on September 25, 2015. Look for Caustic Casanova on tour in the US during August, October and November.
Oct. 10 – Pawtucket, RI at News Cafe Oct. 11 – Burlington, VT at Finnigan’s Pub Oct. 12 – Portland, ME at Flask Lounge Oct. 14 – Akron, OH at Annabell’s Oct. 15 – Cleveland, OH at Pat’s In The Flats Oct. 16 – Waterloo, ON at Chainsaw Oct. 17 – Columbus, OH at The Tree Bar Oct. 18 – Indianapolis, IN at 5th Quarter Lounge Oct. 19 – Milwaukee, WI at Frank’s Power Plant Oct. 20 – Chicago, IL at Reggie’s Oct. 21 – Lawrence, KS at Replay Lounge Oct. 22 – Littleton, CO at Toad’s Tavern Oct. 24 – Eugene, OR at Black Forest Oct. 25 – Seattle, WA at Victory Lounge Oct. 26 – Portland, OR at Twilight Oct. 27 – Vancouver, BC at TBA Oct. 28 – Spokane, WA at The Pin Oct. 31 – Los Osos, CA at Sweet Springs Saloon Nov. 1 – Santa Cruz, CA at Streetlight Records Nov. 2 – San Francisco, CA at Elbo Room Nov. 3 – Glendale, CA at Complex Nov. 4 – Tempe, AZ at 51 West Nov. 5 – Tucson, AZ at Club Congress Nov. 6 – Albuquerque, NM at Duke City Sound Nov. 7 – El Paso, TX at Bourbon N Brews Nov. 9 – Denton, TX at J and J’s Pizza Nov. 10 – Austin, TX at Beerland Nov. 11 – Houston, TX at Super Happy Fun Land Nov. 13 – Miami, FL at The Cave Nov. 14 – Tallahassee, FL at TBA Nov. 15 – Tampa, FL at New World Brewery Nov. 16 – Gainesville, FL at 8 Bit Bar Nov. 17 – Jacksonville, FL at Jack Rabbit’s Nov. 18 – Athens, GA at Caledonia Lounge Nov. 21 – Charleston, SC at House Show Nov. 29 – Boston, MA at O’Brien’s Dec. 5 – Brooklyn, NY at The Acheron Dec. 11 – Savannah, GA at The Jinx Dec. 12 – Greenville, SC at Radio Room
Posted in Reviews on October 2nd, 2015 by JJ Koczan
One thing I’ve noticed over the now-several times I’ve done this is that people have a tendency to apply some value to the ordering. It’s true that I try to lead off with a bigger release sometimes (as with today), but beyond that, there’s really no statement being made in how the albums appear. It usually has way more to do with time, when something came in and when it was added to the list, than with the quality or profile of a given outing. Just that final note that probably should’ve been said on Monday. Whoops.
Before we wrap up, I just wanted to say thank you again for checking any of it out if you did this week. It’s not a minor undertaking to do these, but it’s been completely worth it and I very much appreciate your being a part of it. Thank you. As always.
Fall 2015 Quarterly Review #41-50:
My Dying Bride, Feel the Misery
Led by founding guitarist Andrew Craighan and vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe, UK doom magnates My Dying Bride mark their 25th year with Feel the Misery, their 13th full-length and one that finds them right in their element practicing the melancholic death-doom style they helped forge on pivotal early works like As the Flower Withers (1992) and Turn Loose the Swans (1993). “And My Father Left Forever” starts Feel the Misery on a particularly deathly note, but it’s not too long before the 10-minute “To Shiver in Empty Halls” and the subsequent “A Cold New Curse” are mired in the grueling, poetic, beauty-in-darkness emotionality that is My Dying Bride’s hallmark. The album’s title-track is a chugging bit of extremity, but the record’s strongest impact winds up being made by the penultimate “I Almost Loved You,” a piano, string and e-bow (sounding) ballad that pushes further than “A Thorn of Wisdom” by daring not to get heavy and rests well between the lumbering “I Celebrate Your Skin” and the 11-minute closer, “Within a Sleeping Forest,” which fits well, but more reinforces the point than offers something new on its own. A quarter-century later, they remain an institution. One wonders how they’ve managed to stay so depressed for so long.
If French mostly-instrumentalists Glowsun are feeling pressed for time these days – and with the theme of Beyond the Wall of Time (out via Napalm Records) that shows itself in the ticking clocks that launch opener “Arrow of Time” and the like-minded titles “Last Watchmaker’s Grave,” “Against the Clock” and “Endless Caravan” – the material itself doesn’t show it. Opening with two nine-minute cuts, Glowsun’s third outing and the follow-up to 2012’s Eternal Season (discussed here) unrolls itself patiently across its seven-track span, leading one to wonder if maybe Beyond the Wall of Time isn’t intended as another means of expressing something outside of it, the expanse of tones and grooves created by guitarist/vocalist Johan Jaccob (also graphic art), bassist Ronan Chiron and drummer Fabrice Cornille on “Shadow of Dreams” and the centerpiece “Flower of Mist” intended to last after some eternal now has passed. I wouldn’t want to guess, but it’s noteworthy that the trio’s output is evocative enough to lead toward such speculations.
As with their 2012 debut, Someday You Will be Proven Correct, Washington D.C.-based trio Caustic Casanova recorded their sophomore long-player, Breaks, with J. Robbins at The Magpie Cage in Baltimore. They’re also releasing the album through Kylesa’s Retro Futurist Records imprint, so they come nothing if not well-endorsed. With bassist Francis Beringer and drummer Stefanie Zaenker sharing vocal duties throughout – the trio is completed by Andrew Yonki on guitar – they run and bounce through a gamut of upbeat post-hardcore noise rock, thick in tone but not so much as to get up and move around, tempo-wise. Yonki brings some post-rock airiness to the early going of the nine-minute “Elect My Best Friend for a Better World,” but the album on the whole feels more about impact than atmosphere, and Caustic Casanova work up considerable momentum by the time they get around to paying off the 12-minute finale, “The Painted Desert.” Its melodies open up more on repeat listens, but not at the expense of the push so well enacted throughout.
An outwardly familiar conceptual framework – instrumental space/psychedelic rock – does little to convey how much of themselves Manchester, UK, trio Dead Sea Apes put into their new full-length, Spectral Domain. Released by Cardinal Fuzz in conjunction with Sunrise Ocean Bender, it’s the band’s sixth or seventh LP, depending on what counts as such, and bookends two north-of-10-minute explorations around three shorter pieces (though not much shorter in the case of the 9:50 “True Believers”) varied in color but uniformly galaxial in intent. “Brought to Light” rings out with a wash of drumless echo and swirl, seemingly in response to the tension of centerpiece “The Unclosing Eye,” and the whole album seems to take a theme from things seen and unseen, between “Universal Interrogator” and closer “Sixth Side of the Pentagon,” a vibe persisting in some conspiracy theory exposed as blissful and immersive truth with something darker lurking just underneath. Thick but not pretentious, Spectral Domain seems to run as deep as the listener wants to go.
A ritualistic spirit arrives early on Italian heavy psych rockers Bantoriak’s debut LP, Weedooism, and does not depart for the duration of the Argonauta Records release’s six tracks, which prove spacious, psychedelic and heavy in kind, playing out with alternating flourishes of melody and noise. “Try to Sleep” seems to be talking more about the band than the act, but from “Entering the Temple” through the rumbling closer “Chant of the Stone,” Bantoriak leave an individualized stamp on their heavy vibes, and that song is no exception. If Weedooism is the dogma they’re championing on the smooth-rolling “Smoke the Magma,” they’re doing so convincingly and immersively, and while they seem to have undergone a lineup shift (?) at some point since the record was done, hopefully that means Weedooism will have a follow-up to its liquefied grooves and weedian heft before too long. In an increasingly crowded Italian heavy psych/stoner scene, Bantoriak stand out already with their first album.
Though somewhat counterintuitive for a band playing their style of doom to start with, Ahab have only been met with a rising profile over their decade-plus together, and their fourth album for Napalm Records, The Boats of the Glen Carrig, answers three years of anticipation with an expanded sonic palette over its five tracks that is afraid neither of melodic sweetness nor the seafaring tonal heft and creature-from-the-deep growling that has become their hallmark. Their extremity is intact, in other words, but they’re also clearly growing as a band. I don’t know if The Boats of the Glen Carrig is quite as colorful musically as its Sebastian Jerke cover art – inevitably one of the best covers I’ve seen this year – but whether it’s the 15-minute sprawl of “The Weedmen,” which at its crescendo sounds like peak-era Mastodon at quarter-speed or the (relatively) speedy centerpiece “Red Foam (The Great Storm),” Ahab are as expansive in atmosphere as they are relentlessly heavy, and they’re certainly plenty of that.
One would hardly know it from the discouraging title, but all-caps UK progressive metallers ZARK do manage to catch one off-guard on their debut full-length, Tales of the Expected. Duly melodic and duly complex, the eight tracks rely on straightforward components to set deceptively lush vibes, the guitar work of Sean “Bindy” Phillips and Josh Tedd leading the way through tight rhythmic turns alongside bassist Andy “Bready” Kelley and drummer Simon Spiers’ crisp grooves. Vocalist Stuart Lister carries across the aggression of “LV-426” and hopefulness of “The Robber” with equal class, and while ZARK’s first outing carries a pretty ambitious spirit, the Evesham five-piece reach the high marks they set for themselves, and in so doing set new goals for their next outing, reportedly already in progress. A strong debut from a band who sound like they’re only going to get more assured as they move forward. More “pleasant surprise” than “expected.”
Paired up by style almost as much as by geography, Alicante, Spain, acts Pyramidal and Domo picked the right title for their Jams from the Sun split – a bright, go-ahead-and-get-hypnotized psychedelic space vibe taking hold early on the Lay Bare Recordings release and not letting go as one side gives way to the other or as the noisy post-Hawkwindery of “Uróboros” closes out. Pyramidal, who made their debut in 2012 (review here), offer “Motormind” and “Hypnotic Psychotic,” two 10-minute mostly-instrumental jams that progress with liquid flow toward and through apexes in constant search for the farther-out that presumably they find at the end and that’s why they bother stopping at all, and Domo, who made their debut in 2011 (review here), counter with three cuts of their own, “Viajero del Cosmos,” “Mantra Astral” and the aforementioned “Uróboros,” switching up the mood a little between them but not so much as to interrupt the trance overarching the release as whole. I remain a sucker for a quality space jam, and Jams from the Sun has 45 minutes’ worth.
After releasing a couple internet EPs (review here) and 2013’s Call of the Mammoth EP as the duo of guitarist/vocalist/bassist Paul Dudziak and drummer Mitch Meidinger, Portland, Oregon’s Mammoth Salmon enlist bassist Alex Bateman and drummer Steve Lyons for their first full-length, the Adam Pike-produced Last Vestige of Humanity, which rolls out plus-sized Melvinsery across six amp-blowing tracks of sludgy riffing and nodding, lumbering weight. The title-track, which ends what would and probably will at some point be side A of the vinyl version, picks up the tempo in its second half, and “Memoriam” teases the same in Lyons’ drums at the start, but of course goes on to unfold the slowest progression here ahead of “Shattered Existence”’s toying with playing barely-there minimalism off full-on crush and the 10-minute “Believe Nothing” rounding out with appropriately elephantine march. Sustainable in their approach and viciously heavy, Mammoth Salmon seem to have hit reset and given themselves a new start with this lineup, and it works to their advantage on this promising debut.
“Karma is a bitch that will definitely hunt you down for what you have done,” would seem to be the standout message of “The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife,” the third and longest (at 6:34) of the four inclusions on Molior Superum’s new EP, Electric Escapism. The non-retro Swedish heavy rockers fire up righteous heft to put them in league with countrymen Skånska Mord, but ultimately have more in common with Stubb out of the UK in the loose-sounding swing of “Försummad,” despite the different language. I had the same opinion about their full-length debut, Into the Sun (review here), and last year’s The Inconclusive Portrait 7” (review here) as well. Can’t seem to shake it, but Molior Superum’s ability to switch it up linguistics – they open and close in Swedish, with the two middle cuts in English – is an immediately distinguishing factor, and whichever they choose for a given song, they kill it here.
