The video at the bottom of this post for the new Polymoon single “Wave Back to Confusion” — because surely confusion is waving at us — carries with it the first audio from the band’s upcoming second album, Chrysalis. To be released Feb. 17, 2023 — the future! — it is the follow-up to Caterpillars of Creation (review here), the Tampere, Finland, outfit’s wildly impressive debut full-length, and a record they seem intent on blowing out the airlock with the cosmic and progressive heavy rock on display throughout its progeny.

In five minutes, Polymoon assure of progressive intent and craft through the purposefulness with which they approach space rock, setting alight the psychedelia that defined the already-multifaceted Caterpillars of Creation with shimmering tonality and a gonna-just-spread-this-sound-out-all-over-right-here mindset that speaks to both their ongoing search for new ground and their mastery over the terrain they currently occupy. Feels needless to say, but I look forward to more.

February is a whole season away, but especially since Polymoon are touring in October, one somehow doubts this will be the last time they’re heard from before Chrysalis arrives as their first offering through Robotor Records.

Said label was kind enough to shoo this down the PR wire:

Polymoon – Chrysalis

Berlin-based label Robotor Records to release Polymoon’s first single Wave Back To Confusion on the Friday 30th of September.

Preorder: https://www.robotorshop.com/robde/polymoon.html

The first appetizer from Polymoon’s sophomore album Chrysalis will soon be available in visual form. The first single from the forthcoming album called Wave Back To Confusion will be available on all platforms on the 30th of September. Chrysalis will be released by Robotor Records on the 17th of February, 2023.

Polymoon have since their inception strived to encapsulate their psychedelic vision into a concrete form, the first result of which was their critically acclaimed debut album Caterpillars of Creation released via Svart Records in the fall of 2020. Polymoon have since then honed their vision and signed a pact with Robotor Records. Polymoon’s second musical manifestation will be released through Robotor Records on the 17th of February, 2023.

“Wave Back To Confusion is a song about drowning and letting things go. Through purifying drowning, all vanities disappear and the purpose of life is revealed. Listen to the song and you will find yourself swimming among sparkling lakes made of stars and blissful nuclear explosions full of colors.”

Polymoon is a rock band from Tampere, Finland where it was formed in the autumn of 2018. Polymoon’s unique sound draws from various influences, including psychedelic rock, progressive rock and shoegaze. Since its formation, Polymoon has aimed to lift the listener to a higher level of existence through the aural combination of euphoria and melancholia. On their debut album, Polymoon strived to lure their listeners towards them, to join them behind their secretive veil.

But Polymoon is this formless entity no more. On their second album the clandestine curtains have been opened: embrace the second phase of Polymoon’s metamorphosis where everything is exposed and nothing is hidden anymore. The chrysalis is opening and the newly-formed wings are slowly unfolding. Old conventions have been blown to pieces and the shell is cracking. The rays of light are shining through more brightly than ever before. Be prepared to dance.

Upcoming Polymoon gigs:
30.9. Lost In Music Festival / G Livelab, Tampere
7.10. Lepakkomies, Helsinki
8.10. Vastavirta, Tampere
12.10. Schaubude, Kiel
13.10. Café Mukkes, Leeuwarden
14.10. TBA
15.10. De Onderbroek, Nijmegen
16.10. Desertfest Antwerp
18.10. C.Keller & Galerie Markt 21, Weimar
19.10. Zukunft Am Ostkreuz, Berlin
20.10. Warsztat, Kraków
21.10. Lemmy, Kaunas
22.10. Depo, Riika
23.10. Sveta Baar, Tallinna

POLYMOON is:
Tuomas Heikura / Drums
Jesse Jaksola / Guitar
Otto Kontio / Guitar
Kalle-Erik Kosonen / Vocals, Synthesizer
Juuso Valli / Bass

https://www.facebook.com/polymooooon/
https://www.instagram.com/polymooooon/
https://soundcloud.com/polymooooon

https://www.facebook.com/robotorrecords/
https://www.instagram.com/robotorrecords/
https://robotorrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.robotorrecords.com/

Polymoon, “Wave Back to Confusion” official video

Tampere, Finland, heavy psych proggers Polymoon have a slew of live dates set up in Europe for October around a slot at Desertfest Belgium in Antwerp. There are club dates and a couple TBAs, as will happen, but it’s a fitting answer to the tour the five-piece did this past Spring supporting their 2020 debut album, Caterpillars of Creation (review here), which came out on Svart and found the band last year getting picked up by Robotor Records, the label run by Kadavar.

In style and substance, that’s a good fit. And I’ve been kind of hoping that Polymoon would get down to business on a follow-up to Caterpillars of Creation sometime soon, but neither will I begrudge them giving the first record its due. Not their fault that’s happening two years later. Let the album come in 2023 if that’s when it comes. And maybe it’s not, mind you. I have no idea.

I’m just a caveman, and so on.

From the PR wire:

POLYMOON – BATTLING SLAKES TOUR 2022

Polymoon, whose debut album Caterpillars of Creation garnered international recognition and praise, announces an European tour.

Polymoon released their debut album Caterpillars Of Creation in the fall of 2020 through Svart Records and later signed to the German Robotor Records. The European tour is called the Battling Snakes Tour and it is set to happen in October 2022. During the tour the band will perform at Desertfest Antwerp, among others!

Polymoon is a quintet based in Tampere, Finland. Since 2019, they’ve adventured in the blossoming psychedelic music scene of Finland where the band is known for its energetic and spectacular live performances. In the music of the band, both euphoria and melancholy are merged guiding the listener to a new level of being – to embrace the psychedelic monolith.

The band’s debut album Caterpillars Of Creation, released through Svart Records, saw the light of day in September 2020, gathering attention around the world. At the end of the year, Caterpillars Of Creation found its way to a dozen “Best of 2020” lists and received a vast array of excellent reviews. During the spring of 2022, Polymoon did its initial live experimentations outside of Finland. These included performances at Sonic Whip and Desertfest Berlin. During the pandemic, the band performed at the online version of the legendary Roadburn Festival (Redux).

The band, who quickly sold out the first edition of their debut album, signed a recording contract in the summer of 2021 with German Robotor Records, led by the band Kadavar.

Battling Snakes Tour 2022:
Fri 7.10. Lepakkomies, Helsinki
Sat 8.10. Vastavirta, Tampere
Wed 12.10. Schaubude, Kiel
Thu 13.10. TBA
Fri 14.10. TBA
Sat 15.10. De Onderbroek, Nijmegen
Sun 16.10. Desertfest Antwerp
Tue 18.10. C.Keller, Weimar
Wed 19.10. Zukunft Am Ostkreuz, Berlin
Thu 20.10. Klub RE, Kraków
Fri 21.10. Lemmy, Kaunas
Sat 22.10. Depo, Riga
Sun 23.10. Sveta Baar, Tallinn

POLYMOON is:
Tuomas Heikura / Drums
Jesse Jaksola / Guitar
Otto Kontio / Guitar
Kalle-Erik Kosonen / Vocals, Synthesizer
Juuso Valli / Bass

https://www.facebook.com/polymooooon/
https://www.instagram.com/polymooooon/
https://soundcloud.com/polymooooon

https://www.facebook.com/robotorrecords/
https://www.instagram.com/robotorrecords/
https://robotorrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.robotorrecords.com/

Polymoon, Caterpillars of Creation (2020)

Like many over the last 20-plus months, this Kadavar and Elder collaboration was born of plague-era restlessness — two bands who’d generally be quite active on one or another touring circuit forced to sit out and wait for live music to ‘happen’ again, coming together with reportedly little thought given to what the result might be, but just to jam and try something out. When one is sitting at home for a year-plus, there’s plenty of time to think of these things, and as the majority of the once-Massachusetts-based lineup of Elder reside in Berlin, Germany, where Kadavar also make their home, there was less concern for travel restrictions — Elder bassist Jack Donovan still resides in the US and could not travel for the sessions — as they got together at the latter’s studio to begin crafting what ultimately became Eldovar – A Story of Darkness and Light (on Robotor Records), a seven-song, 44-minute long-player. And, for all the professed “we didn’t know what would happen” narrative — indeed the first lyric on the first track is “We don’t know how it began” — it sure feels like someone in the six-player lineup had an idea that a record would come out of it, or at very least decided there was enough in their jamming worth building into one.

Of course, it’s an immediately notable release, and I don’t think I’m exaggerating in saying the project includes two of the current generation of heavy music’s most accomplished songwriters in Kadavar‘s Lupus Lindemann and Elder‘s Nick DiSalvo, each guitarist/vocalist for their respective outfit. From the nine-minute opener “From Deep Within,” both of their presences are felt readily across the album’s span. With Kadavar‘s Tiger Bartelt (drums) and Simon Bouteloup (bass) as well as Elder‘s Michael Risberg (guitar/keys) and Georg Edert (drums) working together as a rhythm section and then some, “From Deep Within” sets a patient and ethereal tone from its own mellow beginning guitar line through the keys-and-residual-effects finish of the closing track “Cherry Trees.” Eldovar is not without its moments of impact, and “From Deep Within” shows that as well as its quiet unfolding leads to a more driving section of riffing, but melody is central and the overarching feel is less about how heavy it can be in any given stretch than what spaces it can use its time to explore. Ultimately, they leave little doubt it was the exploration that led the project to manifest as Eldovar – A Story of Darkness and Light, the album, in the first place.

Experienced listeners will pick out given parts as recognizably Elder or Kadavar — second cut “In the Way” embarks with what feels like a Lindemann-led homage to ’70s-era singer-songwriterism, semi-acoustic, before gradually shifting into a winding progressive rock that comes across very much in the vein of DiSalvo‘s style, whether it actually is or not — but doing so is the wrong approach. As demonstrated by “El Matador”‘s Pink–Floyd-in-the-sunshine ambience and the subsequent instrumentals “Rebirth of the Twins” and “Raspletin,” Eldovar is more about how the two component acts’ styles mesh than how they can be set next to each other.

It is an amalgam, not just a parallel presentation. That middle stretch of three songs — “El Matador” into “Rebirth of the Twins” into “Raspletin” — is fluid enough to become a hypnotic movement unto itself, entrancing in a way the more structured movements of “From Deep Within” and “In the Way” aren’t trying to be, and with the penultimate “Blood Moon Night” taking up a quarter of the total runtime at 11 minutes before “Cherry Trees” rounds out, the arc finds the darker turn alluded to in the title and fulfills a dynamic entirety all the more complete for it.

Even for arriving amid high expectations due to the personnel involved, these songs succeed in being something that is neither definitively Elder or Kadavar while adventuring into a place of sound that draws from both. “Blood Moon Night” alone boasts a full-length’s worth of motion, taking place along delineated stretches, first of lead guitar giving way to a chugging verse, then shifting into a mellow, King Crimson-y chorus and minimalist setup for the big turn toward Eldovar – A Story of Darkness and Light‘s heaviest stint. There’s a break with the dual drums highlighted — something that, should these two bands align again, one hopes they explore further — and the full-toned sweep begins again, consuming as a payoff perhaps for the relative pastoralism of “Rebirth of the Twins” and “Raspletin,” let alone its own early moments. The last two minutes hold over a keyboard line that maintains some tension, but are more about drawing down that surge of energy and giving an organic (if native to another world) transition into the piano line of “Cherry Trees.” Drumless, it puts the album’s last emphasis on a wash of melody, and drifts off not so much as an epilogue as a last fleeting stroke to complete the picture.

I won’t claim to know either act’s plans, whether or not Eldovar – A Story of Darkness and Light is a one-off or will be an ongoing or periodic endeavor. I doubt they know at this point, but it’s fascinating that the collaboration arrives as both bands involved have engaged their own work that might be regarded as departures. Kadavar‘s The Isolation Tapes (review here) was perhaps a more radical shift in approach than Elder‘s Omens (review here), but neither group has ever been content to do the same thing twice, even going back to their respective beginnings. Should there ever be a second Eldovar installment, its making would invariably be informed by what the six-piece have done already, branching off from their individual progressions and starting this new one.

That alone makes Eldovar – A Story of Darkness and Light singular, in that no matter what happens from this point onward — if anything, and maybe nothing — the moment they’ve captured in this initial joint effort can never be duplicated. Expanded on, yes — and if they want to grow this as a project, they have left themselves plenty of room to do so — but never repeated. For as humble as their stated goal might’ve been going into the studio together, their accomplishments here set a high standard for any who’d try to reach it. This is two of the most pivotal acts of their generation working as one unit, and the result of their labor surpasses even the novelty of that fact.

Kadavar and Elder, “From Deep Within” official video

Kadavar on Facebook

Kadavar on Instagram

Kadavar on YouTube

Kadavar website

Elder on Facebook

Elder on Instagram

Elder on Bandcamp

Robotor Records on Facebook

Robotor Records on Instagram

Robotor Records on Bandcamp

Robotor Records website

I mean, it’s gorgeous. This isn’t the first collaborative outing Kadavar have done — that would be with Aqua Nebula Oscillator however many years back — but my goodness, “From Deep Within” is breathtaking. ‘A single act to separate darkness from light.’ At nine and a half minutes, the first ‘single’ and opening track of Eldovar – A Story of Darkness and Light is unveiled to mark the beginning of preorders for the Dec. 3 Robotor Records release, and it explains more than a few things about the nature of the pairing. You can hear the Elder, you can hear the Kadavar and more importantly, you can hear the two of them together as something new. Bloody hell.

Not saying I’ve heard the record or anything, but I’ll note that late-2021 is making list-time much more difficult than it would otherwise be. This is something special. Might as well get my CD order in now.

From the PR wire:

First single „From Deep Within“ with Elder is out now! Pre-order for „ELDOVAR – A Story Of Darkness & Light“ starts today 12:00 CET here: https://kadavarelder.lnk.to/ELDOVAR

Berlin’s most important rock band Kadavar has written its second album during a single pandemic. This time around, however, they weren’t stuck alone in lockdown. They colluded with US prog rock wunderkinder Elder, Berlin immigrants just like Kadavar were a decade ago, and decided to drown in sound together. What surfaced is “A Story of Darkness & Light”, a marvel of musical liberty, a gushing opus between rock, prog and alternative, held together by the two bands’ contrasts. Light and shadow. Alpha and omega.

The album “Eldovar – A Story Of Darkness & Light” will be released on December 3, 2021 on Kadavar’s label Robotor Records. Today the bands launches the first single “From Deep Within” together with a music video for the song.

Eldovar: A bond between Kadavar and Elder. “A Story of Darkness & Light”: An intimate, touching, billowing, roaring piece of music, a sublime manifesto of musical freedom that we paradoxically owe a horrible pandemic.

“After ‘The Isolation Tapes’ I simply wasn’t ready for the next Kadavar record,” drummer Christoph “Tiger” Bartelt recounts the origins of this collaboration. “I couldn’t imagine continuing as if nothing had happened.” He wasn’t alone. As both Kadavar and Elder are horrible at sitting around doing nothing, they holed up in Kadavar’s Robotor Studios in Berlin between March and June 2021 and formulated the shared vision of an essentially human, deeply personal album – a body of work with the gravitas and wonderful weirdness of early prog albums, a monument for musics’ ecstatic urge for freedom.

Tiger Bartelt, Lupus Lindemann, and Simon Bouteloup of Kadavar as well as Michael Risberg, Nick DiSalvo, and Georg Edert of Elder (minus bassist Jack Donovan who wasn’t allowed to travel from the US) extract an arcane and fleeting magic from the primordial broth of rock, the kind of magic that can only work when everything is in fluid. When nothing is disturbing the creative process, when there is no external or internal pressure whatsoever. Never before did the music of these bands breathe in such a way. Never before did they sound as versatile, as surprising and as peculiar as they do here.

“Eldovar – A Story Of Darkness & Light” will be released on December 3, 2021 via Robotor Records. The album will be released on vinyl in 8 different colors and two special silkscreen editions and on CD. Pre-order starts today!
The album will also be available on all digital platforms.

Kadavar are:
Lupus Lindemann – Vocals & Guitar
Simon ‘Dragon’ Bouteloup – Bass
Tiger – Drums

Elder are:
Nick DiSalvo (guitar, vocals, keyboards)
Jack Donovan (bass)
Michael Risberg (guitars, keyboards)
Georg Edert (drums)

https://www.facebook.com/KadavarOfficial/
https://instagram.com/kadavargram/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVmSmatRaSUU2LMhecGKiqg/
https://www.kadavar.com/

http://facebook.com/elderofficial
https://www.instagram.com/elderband/
https://beholdtheelder.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/robotorrecords/
https://www.instagram.com/robotorrecords/
https://robotorrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.robotorrecords.com/

Kadavar and Elder, “From Deep Within” official video

Both largely based in Berlin, Kadavar and Elder have united to present Eldovar – A Story of Darkness and Light. The two bands were in the studio together earlier this year and apparently it went well enough that they managed to put together an entire full-length, which will see release through Kadavar‘s own Robotor Records imprint. First single is out Oct. 22.

As it happens, earlier this year I interviewed members of both bands. I talked to Lupus Lindemann of Kadavar in January to coincide with the trio’s streaming performances and releases, and spoke to Elder‘s Nick DiSalvo in June for his Delving instrumental side-project. The latter mentioned this was in the works off the record, and gave some clue as to the possible direction the material was taking. He talked mostly about the open creative process with which they were working, how open-minded the Kadavar guys were as songwriters, and so on. Sounded like it might be a pretty special thing.

It also seems worth mentioning that, at least as per the picture above, Elder bassist Jack Donovan — the lone-remaining Massachusetts-based contingent in the band — didn’t take part here, most likely due to travel restrictions. If you’ll recall, Spring was a shitshow.

Fresh off the PR wire:

KADAVAR & ELDER WILL BE RELEASING AN ALBUM TOGETHER

“ELDOVAR – A STORY OF DARKNESS AND LIGHT”

As some attentive eyes might have noticed already, KADAVAR teamed up with their friends in Elder, in Spring 2021 to write and record music together.

What started as an idea to just jam and play music in times of social and creative isolation became an trip on its own and after three months of composing, editing and rewriting parts and lyrics, as well as going through countless hours of jam sessions, they accomplished to put together an album that they called „ELDOVAR, A Story Of Darkness & Light“.

We can’t wait to share more details with you very soon.

Stay tuned for pre-order start and first single on October 22

PRE-SAFE the first single “From Deep Within”: https://kadavarelder.lnk.to/FromDeepWithin

Kadavar are:
Lupus Lindemann – Vocals & Guitar
Simon ‘Dragon’ Bouteloup – Bass
Tiger – Drums

Elder are:
Nick DiSalvo (guitar, vocals, keyboards)
Jack Donovan (bass)
Michael Risberg (guitars, keyboards)
Georg Edert (drums)

https://www.facebook.com/KadavarOfficial/
https://instagram.com/kadavargram/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVmSmatRaSUU2LMhecGKiqg/
https://www.kadavar.com/

http://facebook.com/elderofficial
https://www.instagram.com/elderband/
https://beholdtheelder.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/robotorrecords/
https://www.instagram.com/robotorrecords/
https://robotorrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.robotorrecords.com/

Kadavar, Studio Live Session Vol. II (2020)

Elder, Omens (2020)

Amsterdam classic heavy rockers Splinter release their debut album, Filthy Pleasures, Sept. 3 through Robotor Records. The band played their first show in Oct. 2019 and at that point had already offered up a few hints of what was to be their trajectory on early singles like Hurt b/w Brand New Future (discussed here) or the subsequent pairings of Bitter Sounds b/w Robothell and Hold My Leash b/w Take No More, pressed to a series of 7″ vinyls ahead of appearing as more than half of the 10 tracks here. And the pleasures throughout the 33-minute release? Well, just because they’re filthy doesn’t mean they can’t be fun. Whether it’s the penultimate “Hurt” bringing bruiser energy to side B — despite the vocal harmonies; trust me, it makes sense by the time you get there — or “Hold My Leash” with its unambiguous advocacy of strangulation play and sundry other kink earlier on, Filthy Pleasures feels intended in part to pick up where vocalist Douwe Truijens and guitarist Sander Bus left off in Death Alley, but with Birth of Joy organist Gertjan Gutman making major contributions on Hammond throughout and drummer Barry van Esbroek (ex-Vanderbuyst) propelling the entirety or near enough to it, the place Splinter inhabit owes aesthetic debt to the heavy ’70s and the heavy ’10s alike, but creates its own vitality from the moment “Robothell” opens to the very last cacophony of “Brand New Future.”

Because it needs to be said, I’ll say it: Mk. II-era Deep Purple. There. Glad we got that out of the way. I’m sorry, but you put a Hammond in a rock band and set to careening as Splinter do on “Robothell,” and someone’s bound to bring up the classic British rockers, and it’s one more element that Splinter seems content to toy with, with Truijens perhaps nodding at Ian Gillan with the half-screamed wail he pushes out at the beginning of “Hurt” (the end of “Read My Mind” comes close as well). Since the band ticked the cowbell/woodblock box first thing — literally — I had been waiting for such a shout, and they save it for late, but that works well with the two-sided trajectory of Filthy Pleasures as a whole, the tracklisting dividing into even, purposeful five-song halves, each suited to its own purpose while working in conversation with the other, the sub-three-minute burst of “Robothell” clearly intended to set a tone for the uptempo, catchy, electric and melodic heavy rock and roll that is so central to Splinter‘s intention all the while. “Bitter Sounds” builds on this with a strong hook, handclaps, starts and stops and a babe-it’s-a-cold-world-but-you’re-so-hot danceable swagger that is only pushed further in “Hold My Leash,” as the following “Splintermission” finds the keys working alone for a two-minute stretch, working up from soundtracky minimalism to nearer-to-church-but-for-the-scratch fare as a lead-in for the softer guitar at the outset of “Plastic Rose.”

A title-track by any other name, “Plastic Rose” nestles into a mellower groove than did the full-boar launch salvo, but its more crafted feel and focus on melody is foreshadow ahead of what side B unfurls, with “Read My Mind” complementing the pace of “Robothell” but even through that working with a shifted vocal arrangement, a gruff verse offset by one of Filthy Pleasures‘ most resonant hooks, cleanly, clearly delivered. “Something Else” adjusts the balance from guitar to organ and backs the straightforward structure of the song before — Splinter aren’t in a hurry on these shorter cuts in a compositional sense, but they do execute with a fitting urgency, proto-punk in its root like 1975 deciding that ’69-’74 just weren’t quite fast enough — but the shift in “Take No More,” an early whistle and more immediately-arriving vocal harmonies, clever verse structure and sans-drum emergent swirl is a marked departure from everything that precedes, which is all the more highlighted by the face-punch of “Hurt” that follows. But if “Plastic Rose” and “Take No More” demonstrate how quiet Splinter can or are willing to get at this point and “Hurt” is an apex in the cardiovascular sense, the methods are united through the quality of the underlying writing and the melodies that pervade. For as rough and tumble as “Hurt,” or “Hold My Leash” for that matter, get, Splinter remain conscious of bringing the listener into the song via melodic. “Something sweet,” they might put it.

Fair enough. “Brand New Future” rounds out after “Hurt” not so much to bring Filthy Pleasures back to ground as to push it over the edge. By its halfway point, it’s touched on psychedelia, but the foundation they’re working from is more raw and I’ll allow the context of members’ past outfits in drawing that line; hearing it because you expect to hear it, etc. However, coming through plainly throughout these tracks is that whatever aspects or mission parameters Splinter might have inherited, this is a new band beginning its own exploration of sound. A mix, then, of past, present and future that draws from all of them, and does so with a clarity of vision that comes across as so very, very ready for the stage. A stage. Any stage. The cliché designation for that vibe is “hungry.” Fine. I wouldn’t be surprised though if Splinter have other kinds of gluttony in mind.

“Plastic Rose,” with its love-story lyrics and zombie-themed video, premieres below. Some comment from Truijens follows, as well as the Filthy Pleasures preorder link.

Please enjoy:

Splinter, “Plastic Rose” video premiere

Douwe Truijens on “Plastic Rose”:

The video shows the shattering of dreams and the illusion of perfection, a utopian pretend that will sooner or later be dismantled. It’s about the unavoidable and irreversible killing of innocence – which, as we can see, can bear great entertainment value in and of itself. In fact, it’s a strong driving force in life, as both the illusion and its shattering are the filthy pleasures that force us through the night.

Play with honey and your fingers will get sticky, no matter how hard you try to avoid that. “Plastic Rose” is about the swirl of lust, pretention, masks on and off, and eventual satisfaction and fulfillment. All that wrapped in a song that is as catchy and sweet as the game of love itself.

Album preorder: https://www.robotorshop.com/robde/splinter.html

Splinter’s new single “Plastic Rose” is out today. Splinter’s debut album “Filthy Pleasures” will be released on 03.09.2021.

Recorded & mixed by Igor Wouters at Amsterdam Recording Company
Mastered by Attie Bauw at Bauwhaus
Featuring Janneke Nijhuijs

Directed by Jeroen de Vriese, JAYDEE Video
Video Camera & light: Kris Vandegoor

Starring Silke Becu

Make-up and styling: Stefanie Vervaet, Audrey Anouk Deswert, Nina Shikako

Costumes courtesy of ViaVia

Automobiles courtesy of Ernst Noldus, Job van de Zande, Aalst-Waalre APK

Special thanks to Robrecht van Steen

Splinter is:
Douwe Truijens – vocals
Sander Bus – guitar
Gertjan Gutman – organ
Barry van Esbroek – drums

Splinter website

Splinter on YouTube

Splinter on Instagram

Splinter on Facebook

Robotor Records on Facebook

Robotor Records on Instagram

Robotor Records on Bandcamp

Robotor Records website

First, good for Polymoon. The Tampere heavy psych outfit brought a bit of sunshine to the outright shit year that was 2020 with their Svart-delivered debut, Caterpillars of Creation (review here), and though they’ve hardly been able to get out to do shows to support it, they’ve already gotten some momentum on their side thanks to word of mouth, taking part in Roadburn Redux, and so on. Their aligning with Kadavar‘s Robotor Records label is a cool next step.

Second, on the label’s side, it shows the imprint is forward thinking, by which I mean clearly envisioning growing a roster over time of adventurous bands looking to make an impact on the international underground. The first signing, Splinter, gave a similar message, but Kadavar and Death Alley (from whence Splinter in part come) also toured together, so there was a prior relationship to build from. This feels more like a label snagging a band on a business level. And it’s good business, because that Polymoon record was killer.

All things Robotor will be celebrated early September in Berlin as Kadavar, Splinter and Polymoon get together for a two-night showcase/fest that, well, sounds like a good old time. Details and ticket preorders came through the PR wire along with the Polymoon announcement:

POLYMOON sign on Robotor // Robotor Label Fest

We are absolutely thrilled to welcome POLYMOON to Robotor Records. Their debut album surprised us with it’s unique formula of zeitgeisty psychedelia and didn’t only land on many top lists in 2020, but also has been among our personal favorites. We’re excited for what’s next in Polymoon’s musical journey and you should be as well!

We are excited to announce our first label festival this summer in Berlin! On September 3-4 we will celebrate live music and DJ sets outside at Zukunft am Ostkreuz with our bands Kadavar, Splinter and Polymoon and DJs Robin Banks and Psycho Jones! Polymoon will head over all the way from Tampere for their first ever central European show to present their highly acclaimed debut „Caterpillars Of Creation” and Splinter (former members of Death Alley, Birth Of Joy) will celebrate the release of their debut album „Filthy Pleasures”. Your local heroes of Kadavar will accompany their label mates both nights. Due to common corona restrictions, tickets will be very limited. Don’t miss this early opportunity to get your well deserved and long awaited dose of live music!!!

Pre-sale: this Friday, 12:00 on: www.robotorrecords.com

POLYMOON is:
Tuomas Heikura / Drums
Jesse Jaksola / Guitar
Otto Kontio / Guitar
Kalle-Erik Kosonen / Vocals, Synthesizer
Juuso Valli / Bass

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Polymoon, Caterpillars of Creation (2020)

Berlin heavy rock three-piece Kadavar will play a series of weekender shows later this summer in their native Germany. One can hardly say the trio didn’t make the most of their time in lockdown, between their two livestreams — both released as live albums afterward — and later-2020’s The Isolation Tapes (review here), which found them ahead of the game in conveying a sense of pandemic-loneliness now broadly heard in a variety of acts while pushing their own sound to new places in terms of atmosphere and influence, as well as working with their own label, Robotor Records, for the first time.

This year, they also released a split 7″ with Lucifer, again through Robotor, and have set about adding to the label’s roster by bringing in Dutch outfit Splinter. As parts of the planet — and isn’t it astounding how many of these parts are rich and white? what a coincidence — take initial steps toward life post-pandemic, removing lockdown regulations, and so on, Kadavar have now announced a couple of weekender live shows in Germany, presumably tentative steps toward broader touring. Under general circumstances, the band spends a goodly portion of any given year on the road. That they’re getting out at all felt noteworthy to me at this point, regardless of the amount of territory they’re covering.

It’s been long enough that I’m not even going to try to remember what plans they had that were canceled — Australia? — but in the alternate reality that happened and is still happening, they’ve persevered admirably. I hope this shows and many more go off without a hitch.

As seen on socials:

Kadavar – German Live Dates

This feels a little weird but here we go.

We are back:
14.08. Augsburg – Sommer am Kiez
15.08. Lindau – @clubvaudeville
28.08. Vilshofen – Zauberberg Passau
30.08. Hannover – KOMMRAUS Hannover
09.09. München – Backstage München
10.09. Dortmund – JunkYard
11.09. Bremen – Hellseatic

Kadavar are:
Lupus Lindemann – Vocals & Guitar
Simon ‘Dragon’ Bouteloup – Bass
Tiger – Drums

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Kadavar, Studio Live Session Vol. II (2020)