Posted in Whathaveyou on February 26th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Sólstafir are recording their seventh full-length for release later this year on Season of Mist, and I have to admit I’m curious to hear how it comes out. It seems like some of the fervor that surrounded 2014’s Ótta (review here) dimmed for 2017’s Berdreyminn (review here), even as the Icelandic outfit’s profile increased as a result of the release. Maybe that was my own impression of the record over the longer term, at least, but for as much as the band’s ongoing progression was evident, the tracks didn’t have the same memorable-regardless-of-language feel that Ótta captured with such majestic wintry melancholy. They’re saying the new one’s heavier and they’ve tweaked the writing process a bit, which, you know, is pretty much what bands say when they’re in the midst of making an album. How it’ll all sound when they’re done is what I’m more interested in.
As for live appearances, they’ll be at Fire in the Mountains in Wyoming as part of Ivar from Enslaved‘s curated event. The thought of seeing them in such a gorgeous natural setting is a fair enticement, but knowing they’ll have new material in tow only makes that truer. Guess I’m stuck waiting for the album, as I don’t think Ivar‘s gonna curate my ass to the Rocky Mountains to see the fest. So it goes.
From the PR wire:
Sólstafir Start Recording Seventh Full Length Album
Icelandic rock giants SÓLSTAFIR have now entered the studio to start the recording of their seventh full length, which will be released later this year via Season of Mist! The recordings take place at the mighty Sundlaugin Studio (Iceland), where ‘Svartir Sandar,’ ‘Ótta,’ and ‘Berdreyminn’ were also recorded by producer Birgir Jón Birgisson (Sigur Rós, Alcest, Damien Rice).
Vocalist Aðalbjörn Tryggvason comments on the recording: “This time around we wrote most of the songs on guitars instead of pianos and organs as we have done a lot in the past. Therefore some songs are pretty heavy, even some are fast, faster than we have been for years.”
Moreover, SÓLSTAFIR will be co-headlining Fire in the Mountains MMXX Festival 2020! The fest, which is presented by 2020’s featured curator Ivar Bjornson (ENSLAVED), will take place from July 10-12 at Heart Six Ranch in Teton Wilderness, WY. The full lineup, tickets, lodging, camping packages, and more can be foundHERE.
Fire In The Mountains MMXX guest curator Ivar Bjornson’s (ENSLAVED) comments on having SÓLSTAFIR as this year’s “On Wings Over Utgard” showcase featured artist:
“Getting Solstafir to be part of this already magnificent and somewhat unreal line-up is a dream come true. I have followed them throughout the years and they are mind-bogglingly fantastic on record, but live… they surpass that intangible limit of what should be possible for four guys and their instruments. It becomes a ceremony, a gathering of energy and a collective trip into a wonderful unknown of light, darkness and the shadowed realms in between. All while grooving like a flock of wild bison thundering across the plains…”
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 5th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
As far as release shows go, you can’t do much better than Roadburn. The room’s gonna be packed, and even if people aren’t familiar with you’re stuff, they’re probably going to open-minded enough to go buy the thing you’re celebrating when you’re done playing. Kudos to Lucy in Blue for doing it right. The Reykjavik four-piece will release the delightfully progged-out In Flight on April 12 through Karisma Records, but yeah, their release show will be the week before at Roadburn 2019 in Tilburg, the Netherlands. They were snuck into the final lineup announcement there and after listening first to the single “Matricide” — about, of course, the slaughter of one’s own mattress — and then to the offering as a whole, it seemed easily worth highlighting with the paltry few words you’re currently reading. So, you know, words words words.
In no small part, this is a note to myself to remember to do my best to mark them on my schedule once the day-plan is out for Roadburn, so if you take it as a similar reminder or hear something you hadn’t heard before, bonus. That’s kind of what we’re here for, and what we’re there for.
From the PR wire:
Album Details and New Single Matricide from Psychedelic Prog Rockers LUCY IN BLUE Revealed
Karisma Records have revealed the details of the upcoming full-length album from Iceland’s Psychedelic Prog Rockers Lucy In Blue. The eight-track album, titled In Flight, will be the second full-length release from the young band who are making considerable waves on the Icelandic Prog Scene with their elaborate grooves and delicate chord movements, performed with a skill that belies their age.
To give listeners a taste of what they can expect from Lucy In Blue, Karisma Records have today released a single from In Flight. The single, titled Matricide can be downloaded and streamed at:
In Flight is an album that amply showcases Lucy In Blue’s ethereal harmonies and philosophical lyrics, which deal not only with the whole spectrum of human emotion, but also touch on more political themes as well.
Formed in 2013, Lucy In Blue released their self-titled debut album via Bandcamp in 2016, and, since then, the band’s young lineup of Arnaldur Ingi Jonsson on keyboards and vocals, Kolbeinn Þorsson on drums, Matthias Hlifar Mogensen on bass and vocals, and Steinþor Bjarni Gislason on guitar and vocals have been stunning crowds in their native Iceland with their soaring guitar solos and intense build-ups that take the listener for a ride through the psychedelic soundscapes and the progressive song writing styles of the 1970’s.
Lucy In Blue has a unique take on early psychedelic prog rock, and it’s a pleasure to invite you to go In Flight with them.
Lucy In Blue will play a release show at the Roadburn Festival 2019.
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 5th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Next weekend in Neskaupstaður, Iceland’s prime purveyors of melancholic heavy, Sólstafir, will take the stage at the Eistnaflug Festival alongside The Vintage Caravan and a host of other native acts as well as the likes of Anathema, Kreator and many more. It’s not by any means their first appearance at the fest, but still notable for their placement near the top of the bill, reinforcing their position among the foremost Icelandic bands going. To that end, they’ll also be joining with Norwegian progressive extremists Enslaved on an Australian run next month. It’s four shows in Perth, Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, but still a formidable run both for the journey involved in getting there and the pairing, as together, the two bands represent some of the most forward thinking metal Europe has to offer. I wouldn’t mind catching those two together, is all I’m saying.
Sólstafir, of course, go supporting last year’s Berdreyminn (review here), which was released by Season of Mist. The label sent the following down the PR wire:
Sólstafir announce Australian tour with Enslaved
Acclaimed Icelandic rock band SÓLSTAFIR have announced their first-ever Australian tour. The trek commences on August 29 in Perth, and sees the band performing in Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne. A full list of confirmed tour dates can be found below.
SÓLSTAFIR are touring in support of their new album, ‘Berdreyminn’. The album, produced by Birgir Birgirsson (SIGUR RÓS, ALCEST) and Jaime Gomez-Arellano (GHOST, PARADISE LOST, ULVER), is available across multiple formats at the Season of Mist E-Shop.
SÓLSTAFIR have released a new video for the track “Hula”. The surreal new video, filmed in the haunting Hill of Crosses of Lithuania, is streaming now.
SÓLSTAFIR live: July 11 Neskaupstaður, IS @ Eistnaflug Aug. 4 Wacken, DE @ Wacken Open Air Aug. 18 Dinkelsbühl, DE @ Summer Breeze Open Air
SÓLSTAFIR Australian tour: All dates with ENSLAVED Aug. 29 Perth, AUS @ Rosemount Hotel Aug. 30 Sydney, AUS @ Factory Theatre Aug. 31 Brisbane, AUS @ The Zoo Sept. 1 Melbourne, AUS @ Max Watt’s
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 5th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
I haven’t heard the new album from The Vintage Caravan yet, which is kind of a bummer, but they’ve got a new track for all to check out. Preorders are up for the third album from the Icelandic heavy rockers, which is called Gateways and due out at the end of next month on Nuclear Blast, and accordingly, the three-piece have released the track “Reflections” to give a sample of what the record is all about. From here, it sounds like it’s about hooks, uptempo classic heavy rock swing, and a timeless approach to riff-led fare that the band has been making their own since the start. I know Nuclear Blast has some pretty heavy hitters in their lineup, what with the Graveyard and the Kadavar and the whatnot, but The Vintage Caravan are by no means to be lost in the shuffle when it comes to quality of output or effort put in supporting their stuff. As you’ll see in the list of tour dates below.
Also, check out the fucking song at the bottom of this post. It’s a good ‘un.
Blah blah blah PR wire:
THE VINTAGE CARAVAN – new single + track listing + album pre-order
Icelandic classic rock trio THE VINTAGE CARAVAN are back! Featuring 10 new stirring tracks, their highly-anticipated 4th studio album Gateways, will be released on August 31st, 2018 through Nuclear Blast. Today, the band can finally present a first taster of their upcoming record in the form of the first single, ‘Reflections’.
Guitarist/vocalist Óskar Logi comments, “We are so pleased to finally give you guys the first taste of Gateways. The track is a powerful one, heavy and melodic. The song came quickly together in the songwriting process but we spent a lot of time during the mixing and mastering to get the song (and the entire album) sounding as good as possible. We are super proud and we hope you’ll enjoy ‘Reflections’!”
Gateways will be available in the following formats: – DIGI – 2LP (black, white) – DIGITAL
Gateways track listing: 01. Set Your Sights 02. The Way 03. Reflections 04. On The Run 05. All This Time 06. Hidden Streams 07. Reset 08. Nebula 09. Farewell 10. Tune Out Bonus Track (DIGI and 2LP only!) 11. The Chain (FLEETWOOD MAC Cover)
The band commented on their upcoming record, “We are very proud to present our new album, Gateways! Recorded in the legendary Sundlaugin Studios in Iceland (owned by Sigur Rós). Produced by Ian Davenport (BAND OF SKULLS, GAZ COOMBES). Overall we think this album feels more mature than the previous ones. We really pushed ourselves to make this album sound as great as possible. I won’t name any names but some people have been heard saying this is the greatest thing since sliced bread. We can’t wait for you all to hear it/taste it.”
The band will be touring extensively in support of their new album. Recently, Spanish dates have been added to the itinerary. All dates are below.
THE VINTAGE CARAVAN live: 11.07. IS Neskaupstaður – Eistnaflug (Performing »Voyage« in its entirety) 12.07. IS Neskaupstaður – Eistnaflug 28.07. D Neuensee – Rock im Wald 04.08. E Gijón – Tsunami Xixón
»2018 Gateways Tour« w/ supports 13.10. NL Hengelo – Beerland 15.10. D Hamburg – Molotow 16.10. D Berlin – Lido 17.10. PL Warsaw – Hydrozagadka 18.10. PL Pozna? – Pod Minog? 19.10. A Vienna – Arena 20.10. D Kempten – Rock The Box 22.10. D Leipzig – Moritzbastei 23.10. D Munich – Strom 24.10. D Karlsruhe – Substage 25.10. D Cologne – Luxor 26.10. F Paris – Backstage 27.10. F Rennes – Garmonbozia 30.10. E Bilbao – Santana 27 *NEW* 31.10. E Madrid – Nazca Club *NEW* 01.11. E Barcelona – Sala Bóveda *NEW* 08.11. UK Nottingham – Rescue Rooms 09.11. UK Camp HRH – Hard Rock Hell 10.11. UK London – The Borderline 12.11. UK Glasgow – King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut 13.11. UK Manchester – Rebellion 14.11. UK Bristol – Exchange 16.11. B Brussels – Ancienne Belgique
w/ FLYNOTES 01.12. RUS St. Petersburg – Mod 02.12. RUS Moscow – Zil Arena
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 5th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Three years in the making, the third full-length from Icelandic classic heavy rockers The Vintage Caravan arrives following a busy time of touring, pushing their sound forward with each new stop, city, country, etc. And like its two predecessors, 2015’s Arrival (review here) and their 2012 debut, Voyage — which unless I’m remembering wrong was comprised of two earlier EPs — its title gives a sense of motion and travel from one place to another. That running theme hardly seems like an accident for a young band who both groove so voraciously and are on the road so steadily, and as you can see below, in addition to a few summer fests, The Vintage Caravan also have dates in Germany, the UK and Russia to support the new album after it’s out. One expects more touring announcements to follow.
As well as videos, promo audio and so on. Very interested to hear what they come up with this time around. I wouldn’t at all be surprised if, with all the experience of the last three years behind them, they really put together something special. The potential’s been there all along. Keep an eye out and I’ll do the same.
From the PR wire:
THE VINTAGE CARAVAN To Release New Studio Album Gateways On August 31, 2018!
Their very first, 2-month European headline tour, a Latin American headline tour, 2 UK headline tours, supporting the legendary EUROPE in the European mainland & Scandinavia, performing at 60+ festivals… The time after the release of THE VINTAGE CARAVAN’s latest studio album Arrival in May 2015 was full of highlights. But during the last year, the Icelandic classic rock trio had retired and focussed on writing and recording their 4th studio album entitled Gateways. Now it’s a wrap and will see the light of day on August 31st, 2018 through Nuclear Blast.
The band comments, “We are very proud to present our new album, Gateways! Recorded in the legendary Sundlaugin Studios in Iceland (owned by Sigur Rós). Produced by Ian Davenport (BAND OF SKULLS, GAZ COOMBES). Overall, we think this album feels more mature than the previous ones. We really pushed ourselves to make this album sound as great as possible. I won’t name any names but some people have been heard saying this is the greatest thing since sliced bread. We can’t wait for you all to hear it/taste it.”
Stay tuned for further information!
THE VINTAGE CARAVAN live: 23.06. B Dessel – Graspop Metal Meeting 11. – 14.07. IS Neskaupstaður – Eistnaflug 28.07. D Neuensee – Rock im Wald 04.08. E Gijón – Tsunami Xixón
Gateways Tour 2018 w/ special guests 15.10. D Hamburg – Molotow 16.10. D Berlin – Lido 20.10. D Kempten – Rock The Box 22.10. D Leipzig – Moritzbastei 23.10. D Munich – Strom 24.10. D Karlsruhe – Substage 25.10. D Cologne – Luxor
08.11. UK Camp HRH – Hard Rock Hell
w/ FLYNOTES 01.12. RUS St. Petersburg – Mod 02.12. RUS Moscow – Zil Arena
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 21st, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Not to be confused with the Swedish space rockers who made their debut last year on Svart and share the moniker, Iceland’s Katla is a duo comprised of former Sólstafir drummer Guðmundur Óli Pálmason and multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Einar Thorberg Guðmundsson who will issue their own first outing, titled Móðurástin, Oct. 27 via Prophecy Productions, and who exist in a much different sonic sphere. Rife with melancholy and progressive intent, one can nonetheless hear an air of classic doom in their leadoff single “Hyldýpi,” streaming below, and from their Katatonia-esque logo to the My Dying Bride-vibe of Móðurástin‘s cover art, they seem to embrace that notion on several levels.
Seems like a cool release, one way or the other, and listening to “Hyldýpi” only makes me more curious to discover what Katla have in store for the rest of Móðurástin. If you’d like to have your interest piqued as well, the PR wire offers the following:
Katla (ex-Sólstafir) to Release Debut Album, ‘Móðurástin’, October 27
Influential Icelandic Metal Duo Named In Tribute to Legendary Active Volcano!
Katla is an Icelandic band featuring ex-Sólstafir drummer and visual artist Guðmundur Óli Pálmason and singer/multi-instrumentalist Einar Thorberg Guðmundsson (Fortíð, Potentiam). Named in tribute to one of Iceland’s greatest active volcanos, Katla creates powerful, panoramic music where shimmering guitars, crushing melodies and atmospheric density meet dark, entrancing power. Katla’s debut album, Móðurástin, will be released on October 27 via Prophecy Productions (Alcest, Dool).
Móðurástin, shines a spotlight on Katla’s hook-heavy, horizon-stretching sound. The lyrics tell tales of living in a country of contrasts; a land where fire and ice co-exist and dark winters are offset by the summer’s midnight sun. Iceland: a country where insular existence has spurred a rich and vibrant culture. Móðurástin, Icelandic for (a) Mother’s Love, might seem like a strange title for a metal album, but Katla dares to be different. What on Earth is stronger than a mother’s love? Nothing. Not hate, not lust, not greed.
Katla has shaped a towering sound sharpened by experience and forged for fans of heavy, atmospheric music. It is time for Katla to erupt again!
Móðurástin will be available as digipak CD (with 24-page booklet), gatefold LP (on black and limited dark green vinyl) and as a collector’s 2xCD art book edition (28×28 cm, 72 pages, with art photography of Guðmundur Óli Pálmason and a full-length bonus CD featuring remixes of all album tracks). Pre-order Móðurástin at this location.
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 17th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Icelandic chamber folk ensemble Árstíðir have signed a deal to release their fourth album through Season of Mist next year. The Reykjavík-based crafters of melody haven’t set an exact date yet so far as I’ve seen, but if that means it’s going to be a winter release, one could hardly think of more appropriate fare for those darker, still and reflective moments of that time of year than the rich folk harmonies they offer.
Even if it winds up being a Spring 2018 outing — leaving you even more barren, eternal hopelessness of February — Season of Mist has done well in the past setting fellow Icelanders Sólstafir up for colder-month releases, and as a kind of companion outfit, Árstíðir are even more of a fit with the label’s ongoing expansion in roster and style. Not that they need me to say so, but this is a cool pickup.
The PR wire has details and heralds good things to come:
ÁRSTÍÐIR sign to Season of Mist
Season of Mist are proud to announce the signing of Iceland’s ÁRSTÍÐIR. The contemporary indie/chamber folk band will release their much anticipated new album through Season of Mist later next year. The band’s complete catalog is now available digitally in North America, on all platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp, and more.
Regarding the recent signing, the band comments: “We have admired bands associated with Season of Mist for years. In our minds, this label represents quality and artistic integrity. It has that aura which tells you that it is all about the music, that the bands are the real deal, and not just grist to the grinding mill of commercial music. And that is the kind of label, you want your music on. We feel a kinship with the good people and artists at Season of Mist, and we are proud be a part of this family.”
ÁRSTÍÐIR first emerged from the burgeoning Icelandic music scene in 2008, when the three founding members (Daniel Auðunsson: guitar, vocals; Gunnar Már Jakobsson: baritone guitar, vocals; and Ragnar Ólafsson: piano, vocals) discovered their mutual love for vocal harmonies. Daniel, Gunnar and Ragnar quickly went from playing acoustic covers to their own music, amalgamating influences from classical compositions, folk rock, and minimalist soundscapes into something they could call their own.
With early lyrical references pointing towards the spectacular nature and scenery of the Icelandic volcanic landscape, and the wildly different seasons there, the band took the name ÁRSTÍÐIR, which translates to “Seasons” in their native tongue.
Only four months after their formation, ÁRSTÍÐIR scored a number one hit on Icelandic national radio with the track “Sunday Morning”. The band then released their eponymous debut ‘Árstíðir’ in 2009, and began touring internationally.
ÁRSTÍÐIR’s second album, ‘Svefns Og Vöku Skil’ followed in 2011, and only a year later, the band won Geramny’s prestigious Eiserner Eversteiner European Folk Music Award. Shortly thereafter, an impromptu acapella performance of an old Icelandic hymn in a train station, went viral on YouTube, attracting millions of views.
ÁRSTÍÐIR launched a highly successful crowdfunding campaign in 2014 to finance the recording of their third full-length ‘Hvel’, which translates to “Spheres”. The campaign exceeded all expectations, raising almost four times their original goal, and uncovering a legion of North American fans that the band was unaware they had.
A 2016 collaboration with Anneke Van Giersbergen (formerly of THE GATHERING) followed. The album, ‘Verloren Verleden’ contains a collection of re-imagined traditional and classical songs.
Some bigger releases going up to the playlist for The Obelisk Radio this time around, and that’s just fine by me. It’s five albums listed here, but there are a few others included as well that you can see listed on the updates page and it’s good stuff all the way around. It was all actually supposed to go up last week, but you know, life is chaos and all that. I hope as always that you manage to find something you enjoy, and if you haven’t heard some of this stuff as yet — I suspect you have, because you know what’s up and I’m perpetually behind on these things; more than just a week, on average — then all the better. Let’s dig in together.
The Obelisk Radio adds for July 31, 2017:
Boris, Dear
If you were Boris and you were looking to celebrate a quarter-century of innovating heavy rock, noise, drone, J-pop, and genreless forays into bizarre sonic delights, how would you do it? If you said, “I’d release 69 heavy-as-hell minutes of rumbling tectonics and progressive scope making for one of the best albums of the year,” you’d seem to be on the money. The Japanese trio’s umpteenth full-length, Dear (on Sargent House in the US/EU and Daymare in Japan), begins with the appropriately-titled “D.O.W.N. – Domination of Waiting Noise,” setting forth a consuming six-minute onslaught of feedback and lumbering pummel before the SunnO)))-rivaling drone of “Deadsong” takes hold, shifting at its midpoint to a spaciousness all Boris‘ own. Then they chug out galloping riff triplets on “Absolutego” like it ain’t no thing. That’s Boris: the band who named themselves after a Melvins song and then utterly outdid their namesake on every creative level and have continued to do so throughout one of underground music’s most landmark tenures. Dear offers simultaneous melodic breadth and droning depth on its centerpiece duo of “Kagero” and “Biotope” after counteracting minimalist march with explosive crash on “Beyond,” but they’re still just getting started. The seven-minute “The Power” leads off the second of the two LPs and seems to stem upward from the same roots as YOB at their harshest, brutally feedbacking into the dronegaze of the shorter “Memento Mori” before the 12-minute “Dystopia – Vanishing Point” and the nine-minute title-track comprise a side D that’s nothing less than a triumphant lesson in how to meet your audience head-on right before you swallow them whole, setting its stage with keys and tribalist drums quickly before hypnotizing through five minutes of quiet stretch and bursting gloriously to life ahead of one last contrast of empty spaces and crushing tonality on “Dear” that gives way at last to the noise and feedback that’s always been so essential to their process. If Dear is a letter to Boris‘ fans, as they have said, it is also a willful embrace of the wide-open sensibilities that have made the last 25 years of their craft so uniquely their own. They can go anywhere stylistically and remain Boris precisely because they refuse to settle on a single idea that defines them.
Having now passed the 20-year mark since their founding in 1995, Iceland’s Sólstafir continue to reshape melancholy in their own image on their sixth album and third for Season of Mist, Berdreyminn. The Reykjavik-based four-piece keep the significant achievements of 2014’s Ótta (review here) close to the chest throughout the eight-track/57-minute offering, but songs like “Ísafold” have an upbeat push behind their emotional resonance, and even on a brooding piano piece like “Hvít Sæng,” the overarching sense of motion and the dynamic is maintained. The penultimate “Ambátt” — first of two eight-minute cuts in a finale duo — might be Berdreyminn‘s richest progressive achievement, with its lush opening vocal harmonies giving way to a patiently-delivered clinic on texture, build and payoff that borders on the orchestral. Of course, strings and horns to appear on the album, adding to already complex arrangements, but Sólstafir never lose their corresponding human center, and as “Bláfjall” closes with an intensity of thrust hinted at by the cymbal-crash wash of opener “Silfur-Refur” and the post-blackened push of “Nárós” but ultimately on its own level, they underline the realization and poise that is simply all their own. Berdreyminn is the sound of a band doing important work, and with it, Sólstafir only prove themselves more crucial on an aesthetic level, yet it might be their ability to somehow still feel in-progress that most defines what makes them so special. More than two decades on, they still come across like a group exploring their sound and finding new ways to develop their songwriting — which they are and which they do here. That in itself is an accomplishment worthy of every accolade they reap, and Berdreyminn lives up to that standard front to back across its engaging, encompassing span.
Desert Suns & Chiefs, The Second Coming of Heavy – Chapter 5
Ripple Music has made its The Second Coming of Heavy series of split LPs an essential showcase of the variety in underground rock. The Second Coming of Heavy – Chapter 5 brings together San Diego heavy psych/blues rockers Desert Suns, who also reissued their debut long-player through Ripple in 2016 and followed it with the single “The Haunting” (review here) in conjunction with Ripple and HeviSike Records, and Phoenix, Arizona’s Chiefs, whose 2015 debut, Tomorrow’s Over (review here), arrived on vinyl via Battleground Records and whose five tracks included on side B here cast them among the best Ripple Music bands in the Southwest not currently signed to Ripple Music for their next album. More than some prior installments, The Second Coming of Heavy – Chapter 5 finds its two featured purveyors complementing each other’s work excellently, as Desert Suns offer three seven-plus minute tracks running from the harmonica-inclusive “Night Train” and the rolling, long-fading “Solitude” with the push of “Heavy” in between and Chiefs — though their individual runtimes are shorter — holding straightforward heavy/desert rock methods at their core in unpretentious fashion across “The Rhino,” the standout “Baron to Chancellor,” “Low Tide,” “Caroline” and “My Last Stand,” nodding initially at ’90s noise rock à la Helmet in “The Rhino” but in the end keeping to their sandy, well-structured mission. As ever, The Second Coming of Heavy asks nothing more of its audience than a basic exploration of the groups included, and certainly both Desert Suns and Chiefs earn that. Whether one takes it on in the context of the prior chapters or as a standalone split release, it delivers a collection of cuts from two outfits with a shared core of quality songcraft and the underlying message that sometimes the straight-line route is the way to go. Right on, once again.
Both sides of Elara‘s PsyKa Records-released debut full-length, Deli Bal, are comprised of one shorter track on either side of eight minutes and one longer one, 12 and 17 minutes, respectively. Between that and the cover art, it should come as no surprise that heavy psychedelic drift is central to what the Stuttgart, Germany, trio of bassist/vocalist Daniel Wieland, guitarist/noisemaker Felix Schmidt and drummer Martin Wieland — who also stylize their name as the bracketed [Elara Sunstreak Band] — get up to in their first offering, but there’s an underlying progressive melodic sensibility as well, and Schmidt‘s guitar seems to have picked up a few lessons from My Sleeping Karma‘s minor-key solo mysticism, so one can hear a sound beginning to take shape early as the leadoff title-track gives way to “Amida,” which swaps back and forth between organ-laden krautrock meandering and fuller-fuzz thrust, and as “Quarantania” reinforces that classic vibe with a warm bass tone from Daniel. Whether you’re listening to the platter itself and switching sides or digitally or on CD, Deli Bal is clearly intended to be consumed as a whole work, and one can hear the vocal melody of “Harmonia” tying back to that in the opener as another example of the underlying structure with which it plays out, despite the broad feel of the songs themselves and the expanses they both intend and actually do cover. The LP has just the four tracks, but the digital version comes with the 9:42 bonus cut “Trimenon,” which builds around a core post-rocking guitar line to come to a fervent apex before receding again to let the listener go gently from Deli Bal‘s total 56-minute runtime; no minor undertaking, but effectively executed and a pleasure in its wandering mind and spirit.
This early-2017 psychedelic curio from Umeå, Sweden’s Fungus Hill begins by asking “Are You Dead?” The just-under-nine-minute opener and longest track (immediate points) of the groovy outfit’s four-song, self-released, 28-minute debut Creatures EP doesn’t sound overly concerned with whether the answer is yes or no so much as enacting a serene flow by posing the question over a laid back bluesy vibe. Arrangement? Fluid. With dual vocals from guitarist Gustav Orvefors and percussionist Jenny Isaksson — the five-piece is completed by guitarist Erik Sköld, drummer Nils Mörtzell and bassist Tom Westerlund — Fungus Hill are able to bring variety as they turn to post-Ghost straightforward ’70s chorus-leaning in the first half of “Beware of Evil in the Sky,” prior to a midsection trip outward on subdued shimmy and deceptively complex melodicism. The flute (or keyboard flute sounds) of the jazzy “Evolution” brings Isaksson to the floor with a smoky, even-bluesier feel, and the guitar answers back with fuzzy lead flourish that only enhances the soul on display, while a seven-and-a-half-minute closing title-track delves deepest of all into thicker riffing, a “Na na na na” hook taking hold quickly just in case you weren’t sure it was going to be a highlight. It is. More tonally dense than most retro boogie — and less retro, for that matter — Fungus Hill‘s Creatures nonetheless has its traditionalist elements, but across its individual pieces each one points to a different side of the band’s personality, and from the Alan Watts sample at the beginning of “Are You Dead?” to when we meet the troll later in “Creatures,” each side of that personality utterly shines.
