San Francisco’s Desslok are starting off dirty with their debut single What’s the Use b/w Ejection 7″, pairing gritty, organ-laced dirt-fuzz with a sound that’s back-to-the-start garage at the same time it’s raw, modern and the manifestation of a grown-up punk rock ethic informed by ’90s heavy. Guitars swirl and howl in “What’s the Use?,” as Rich Millman, known for his work in Carlton Melton and Zen Guerilla, pulls twisty, gooey lines under the vocals of Bob Hannam (Cabbage ‘n’ Mash, Frehley’s Vomet; he also directed the Melvins documentary), while former Acid King drummer Joey Osborne and bassist Carl Horne (also Zen Guerilla) make the forward movement (1:) swing and (2:) heavy.
At just under four minutes and one of a selection of tracks set to appear on the four-piece’s debut album either this or next year — that they’re looking for a label tells me it might be 2024 before it’s out; any among Tee Pee, Bad Omen, Who Can You Trust? Records, Nasoni, etc., would fit, if you’re asking me — it’s the band’s way of introducing themselves to listeners, launching with a solid minute of feedback, cymbal wash and noise as though to let you know they’re keeping it loose, where ‘it’ is everything. But when they break into the song proper, there’s structure and a plan at work, as one would expect. With the organ — Hannam and Millman are both credited with keys, so it’s one of them — adding warmth to the guitar and bass while the drums quick double-tap on the snare and push forward with immediacy despite the song’s not-slow-but-not-thrash-either tempo.
The album to come has some tripper and more outwardly heavy psychedelic fare, and including the Hawkwind cover “Ejection” as the B-side to the 7″ is a clever way to account for that without giving too much away. Atop the classic motorik backbeat that it turns out can hold just about anything, they bring kazoo where once was saxophone, and while that alone would be enough to make it great, Millman‘s accompanying shred isn’t to terrible either. Consistent in tone, they give earthy vibe to epitomized space rock after showing a penchant for writing hooks and carving a niche for themselves somewhere between proto-heavy and ah-shit-call-it-whatever-this-is-just-who-we-are that is only encouraging as a first release’s realization. But of course, everybody here has been to this party before, so that they’d roll in with aesthetic already in progress maybe shouldn’t be a surprise. Still makes it fun though.
From shots of the London Tube to the throwing of a phone into a toilet first and a pond second, smashing it with a hammer, and so on, one wouldn’t accuse “What’s the Use?” of subtlety, but it’s catchy as hell and a cool sound, so by all means, please dig in and enjoy:
Desslok, “What’s the Use?” video premiere
Debut single from San Francisco based Desslok. Available in digital and 7 inch vinyl formats at https://desslok.bandcamp.com/
Desslok – Dark Wave Space Mongers risen out of the ashes of enforced lockdown from an alien virus. Rich Millman (Carlton Melton/Zen Guerrilla) on Guitars and Keys. Bob Hannam (Cabbage n Mash/Frehleys Vomet) on Vocals, Keys and Kazoo. Carl Horne (Zen Guerrilla) on Bass Guitar. Joey Osborne (Acid King/Altamont) on Drums.
What’s The Use ? is the first song to be released from their upcoming album recorded at El Studio by Phil Becker, and mastered by John McBain. It will hopefully be released before the end of the year and they are currently seeking a label to put it out.
Of the song’s theme Hannam says ” What’s The Use? is a deep dark look at where we, the human race, are at right now, and how we have lost our way big time. Mainly due to the stranglehold that cell phones have on our day to day lives. Do we really want to be remembered as being part of Generation Text???”
The B-side of the single is a cover of the Hawkwind classic Ejection.
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 3rd, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Hard relate to founding Mondo Drag keyboardist and vocalist John Gamiño‘s experience with the soap opera Days of Our Lives. You may or may not be old enough to remember, but for those who maybe came up in the ’80s or the early ’90s, there were no TV age ratings and you pretty much watched what your parents put on. I remember being home from school or on summer break and watching Marlena be possessed by the devil on Days of Our Lives. It aired on NBC, might still, and for that summer and into the next school year, it was on in my house regularly. Like, a lot.
So I feel like maybe I get where he’s coming from with Through the Hourglass, the title of the upcoming Mondo Drag LP that’s their first outing since 2016’s The Occultation of Light (review here), which was half a lifetime and three universes ago. The band toured domestically and internationally for that release, and one hopes they’ll get back out again as they mark this awaited return.
They’re streaming the title-track now in its resonant classic psych-prog glory, and the record is available to order as per the PR wire below, which had the following to say:
It’s been nearly eight years since the last Mondo Drag album came out. In that time, the Bay Area psych-prog band toured the US and Europe, performed at major festivals and—once again—reformed their rhythm section. But in the context of the band’s nearly two-decade existence, this period may have been the most fraught. Vocalist and keyboardist John Gamiño lost friends and family members. Meanwhile, humanity suffered the throes of a global pandemic.
“It was a dark chapter,” he recalls. “I was going through a lot of stuff personally—there’s been a lot of death, loss of family members, and grief. Plus, the band was inactive. It felt like time was slipping away from me. I felt like I was wasting my opportunities. I felt like I wasn’t participating in my story as much as I could have.”
This feeling of time slipping away is the prevailing theme on Mondo Drag’s new album, Through the Hourglass. “For me, Through the Hourglass really encompasses the quarantine/pandemic years,” Gamiño says. “But in a way that includes a couple of years before that for us, because the band was stagnant during that time. Living with that was really impactful on our daily lives. So, the album is reflective. It’s looking at time—past, present, future.”
Luckily, Mondo Drag emerged from this dour period reborn. Freshly energized by bassist Conor Riley (formerly of San Diego psych squad Astra, currently of Birth), who joined in 2018, and drummer Jimmy Perez, who joined in 2022, Gamiño and guitarists Jake Sheley and Nolan Girard have triumphed over the seemingly inexorable pull of time’s passage.
“Astra was the one contemporary band that we felt was on the same tip as us,” Gamiño says. “We saw the similarities and felt the same vibe. Conor moved to San Francisco in 2018 and heard we were looking for a bassist, so we got in touch. For us, it was like, ‘The synth player from Astra wants to play bass for us?’ We couldn’t think of anybody more perfect.”
Perez, meanwhile, brings deep psych-prog knowledge and impeccable skill. “He’s an amazing drummer, and he allowed us to do what we’ve been trying to do,” Gamiño says. “Before he came along, it was like, ‘Where are the drummers who like psych and prog and can play dynamically?’ We ended up trying out metal drummers, but they couldn’t swing. Jimmy was the final piece of the puzzle.”
The result is a dazzling and often plaintive rumination on the hours, days, and years—not to mention experiences—that comprise a lifetime. Two-part opener “Burning Daylight” smolders with melancholy, offering a whirl of multi-colored and hallucinatory imagery. “It’s about the California wildfires and a feeling of helplessness,” Gamiño explains. “There’s a juxtaposition between the dark lyricism and upbeat music which is meant to imply a sort of delusional state—and choosing our own delusion to overcome the crushing despair of reality.”
Eleven-minute centerpiece “Passages” is a sprawling prog-rock adventure, festooned with lofty guitar melodies, sweeping organ flourishes and a delicately finger-picked outro. But the heaviest song, thematically speaking, might be the mournful and hypnotic “Death in Spring,” which borrows its title from the like-named Catalan novel.
“In the novel, people are placed inside opened trees and their mouths filled with cement before they die to prevent their souls from escaping,” Gamiño explains. “The song is about three people I knew who lost their lives to gun violence, addiction, and mental health. It’s my way of cementing their souls in song form.”
Mondo Drag fans might be surprised by this blend of hard reality with literary surrealism, but it’s a perfect example of how the last several years have impacted Mondo Drag—and Gamiño in particular. “On all of our previous albums, the lyrical content is more psychedelic and out there,” he acknowledges. “This is the most personal stuff I’ve ever done, so I’m definitely feeling vulnerable on this one.”
The title Through the Hourglass comes from the opening of the long-running soap opera Days of Our Lives. It’s less inspired by a predilection for daytime TV than Gamiño’s connection with his late mother, who passed during the time since the last album. “I used to watch Days of Our Lives with her everyday growing up,” he explains. “The song is kind of a reinterpretation of the theme song, although it’s different enough that probably no one will catch it. Now that I’m getting older, I like to put these little Easter eggs in the songs for myself and for archival purposes—for memories.”
Through the Hourglass was tracked at El Studio in San Francisco, with an additional ten days of recording at the band’s rehearsal space, which doubles as a hybrid analog-digital recording studio. The album was engineered and mixed by Phil Becker, drummer of space-punk mainstays Pins Of Light. “We’re still here,” Gamiño says. “We’ve been in the studio working on our craft and honing our skills. Now we’re re-emerging for the next stage of our life cycle.”
San Francisco heavy psych rockers The Spiral Electric release their new single “Shadow in the Dark” this Friday. You can stream it now below. For the four-piece, it is the first outing to follow their 2019 self-titled debut 2LP (review here), as well as two preceding EPs, and it marks the first appearance of new bassist Ryan McKnight, who can be heard rumbling beneath the mellow fuzz of guitarists Clay Andrews (also vocals/synth) and Nicolas Percey (leads); the smooth undulations of low end and spacious psychedelic drift set to the steady flow of Matias Drago‘s drumming. Like the self-titled debut that it follows, the new song was engineered and mixed by Dead Meadow‘s Steve Kille (Andrews is also credited with production), and it is the first herald of the band’s second record, which will hopefully be out before the end of the year.
“Shadow in the Dark” is not coy in its appeal. The melody is warm and comes through in Andrews‘ vocals as well as the guitars, which during the verse bring more open-feeling notes, like a West Coast King Buffalo almost, but working toward the end of building into the chorus, which fills the space created by the verse with post-grunge nod, unpretentious, engaging, and serene but still heavy in both tone and presence. Also theme. The song, as Andrews discusses below, is based lyrically based around a discussion of cultural thanatos, the urge toward and fascination with — maybe fixation on — death, as embodied through interest in serial killers and murder documentaries, cults and so on, both drawing and repelling those who delve into that world. The death this week of the Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, is certainly a relevant example, but from Law & Order through Star Wars through the ‘Serial’ podcast, you don’t have to look far to find instances of violence and violent death piquing public interest.
But grim (and in a loose sense, not performatively so) as it might be, “Shadow in the Dark” wants nothing aurally for color. Particularly in Percey‘s guitar, but also in the synth and wash of effects, a brightness comes through that rests well in the dynamic structure of the verses and the hook. And that hook holds the mellow spirit that the song establishes at the outset while expanding both the palette and energy of the piece itself. Considering it as a precursor to a full-length release, one can only look forward to what else might be in store. If you like your psych rock to offer plenty of both — that is, psych and rock — and to offer structure without sounding hindered by it, you might think about giving it a shot. The absolute most that doing so can cost you is five and a half minutes of your day, and as I’ve listened to the track, I don’t know, seven or 15 times this morning while putting this post together, I’ll speak from experience and say it’s easily worth that.
I’ll hope to have more on The Spiral Electric‘s next record, including what it’s called, closer to the release.
Until then, please, enjoy:
The Spiral Electric, “Shadow in the Dark” track premiere
Clay Andrews on “Shadow in the Dark”:
We’ve been describing this track as “heavy psych noir” because of the quiet, creepy sections and roaring choruses. It’s a collaboration between longtime members Clay Andrews (that’s me, haha — vocals, rhythm guitar, synths) and Nicolas Percey (lead guitar), with new bassist Ryan McKnight, making his songwriting debut with us as well as his recording debut as rhythm section with Matias Drago (drums). The lyrics were inspired by the glut of new documentaries about serial killers & cult murders during the Covid lockdown, and the sense of conflict I felt about the enduring public fixation with murder– being both interested in the investigations but also repelled by the endless stream of books & documentaries on these crimes and also put-off by the certainty that most people seem to have, that these horrors could never happen to themselves — despite the deciding factor in some killings being a window left open or a gate left unlocked. The production purposely reflects that conflict with an edge of paranoia, with the howling feedback at the end recreating the sound of sirens and police helicopters swarming a distant location in the suburban sprawl. As with our 2019 self-titled double-LP, Steve Kille (of Dead Meadow) engineered and mixed this and the LP it’s taken from, and he also mastered this single version.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 27th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
This past Friday was the release date for Acid King‘s stunner of a new record, Beyond Vision (review here), and to mark that happy-for-the-universe occasion, they and their Euro booking agency Sound of Liberation — US is Nanotear — announced that in accordance with a couple already-unveiled fest appearances at SonicBlast, Hoflärm, and so on, they’ll be connecting those map dots with a string of headlining tour dates.
Two reasons why this matters. Okay, three. First is the album they’re touring for, which is a career accomplishment with a more expansive and psychedelic sound than they’ve fostered in their 30 years. Second, that 30-year anniversary, which is this year, should be more than enough to motivate asses from couches, especially in light of the fact that (third), unless Beyond Vision — and yes I’m going to plug the review again, because I worked really hard on it — suddenly sells through 100,000 copies (not to say it shouldn’t or couldn’t), or outdoes Stoned Jesus in YouTube plays, or meets whatever measure of “is a massive popular success” defines that right now, they’re probably not going to be on the road for months at a stretch. See them while you can, is what I’m saying to you.
And considering they’re fucking Acid King, that’s probably all I need to say about that, as much as I needed to say anything The album was made as a four-piece but Acid King will travel as a trio, and word of the tour follows as per the PR wire:
ACID KING “BEYOND VISION’ TOUR + NEW ALBUM
USA‘s iconic doom institution ACID KING celebrate the release of their new album. „Beyond Vision“ is out now!
And what’s the best way to celebrate a new album?
Exactly. By going on TOUR!
Sound of Liberation proudly presents: ACID KING – BEYOND VISION TOUR 2023
You know what to do. Grab your copy of „Beyond Vision“, grab your ticket for the concert near you. And with the ticket in your hand you can headbang in front of your record player until you can finally headbang in the front row.
Posted in Reviews on March 23rd, 2023 by JJ Koczan
It is both a seeing-beyond and a beyond-seeing, this Beyond Vision. It at very least is a vision beyond anything Acid King have ever done on their four prior albums, as founding guitarist/vocalist Lori S. revamped the group in collaboration with Jason Landrian (also Black Cobra) on guitar and songwriting, bringing on the rhythm section of bassist/synthesist Bryce Shelton (also Nik Turner’s Hawkwind) and drummer Jason Willer (Jello Biafra’s Guantanamo School of Medicine). In the now-30-year history of the band, nothing under their name has attempted this magnitude of sound. They’ve never been so psychedelic or atmospheric, and they’ve been both for a long time, most recently on 2015’s under-lauded Middle of Nowhere, Center of Everywhere (discussed here, review here), but Beyond Vision takes the terrestrial grooves of their past output and launches them into the ethereal. And from the moment they set forth through space into the roll of “One Light Second Away” and on through the first guitar solo, there is a fluidity to Beyond Vision that’s refreshed while still definitively Acid King. It’s like they got a reboot and that means something more than just it’s too dark to see what’s happening in the episodes.
That’s before you step into the “Mind’s Eye” and get to the fact that “90 Seconds” is just under five minutes long while the later interlude “Destination Psych” is just over 90 seconds and the bending of time required there or the Author & Punisher-plus-organic-drums thud and earth-shake at the launch of “Electro Magnetic”; the stunning realization there, before it goes so deep and far into standalone guitar that even the arrival of the also-standalone-guitar at the beginning of the title-track seems like a respite, never mind the nod or airy float of the vocals or the utter gorgeousness of the bassline. On and on they ooze through ground familiar and new, through not ground at all, the latter emphasized on the kraut-via-Clockwork–Orange intro to closer “Color Trails,” which is followed by plodding toms and a riff presented in tone worthy of Tony Iommi himself (I mean that), a full instrumental breadth and a dramatic finish around that same thud, the long-established partnership with producer/engineer Billy Anderson once again resulting in a malleable and thoughtful mix, spacious enough to be the band’s own world while still able to account for the largesse of riff that remains a core aspect of their style, even as the context surrounding has evolved toward atmospheric intangibility.
Collecting seven tracks with a runtime of just over 42 minutes, Beyond Vision builds on the less-terrestrial aspects of Middle of Nowhere, Center of Everywhere, but its reach and the purposeful use of synth give it a character that still feels like a departure. Crucial to the telling is “One Light Second Away,” which even as the bass rumbles early in the fading-up ambience does a lot of the work in placing the listener where the band wants them. Some lightly foreboding swells of melodic keys coincide with organic bass and undulating waveforms of amplifier hum, and when the first strum hits at two minutes in, it’s a moment of clarity clearing away the surrounding murk. But while the entire six-minute stretch is important in terms of how it introduces the mood and dimensionality of the material that follows while also conveying the instrumentalist focus, those barely-there-at-first beginning two minutes are even more essential to Beyond Vision; a call to abandon consciousness and be absorbed. To get lost and trust the radiating currents of matter, energy, fractured molecular detritus, etc., to carry you from the start to see what resides at the end.
By 2:30, guitar, bass, drums and synth are all nodding, but Acid King claim their place in a mellow-psych movement they helped create even as they seem exploratory in their build, an echoing lead emerging over a welcoming sans-vocal chorus before the march resolidifies, reminding of Om‘s meditations but setting up a more straight-ahead guitar solo that carries them into the song’s final minute and a repeat of that rise-and-fall guitar hook. Synth is given room in the mix (there’s plenty) to become no less of a contributing factor than any other instrument in moving toward the last residual noise that transitions from “One Light Second Away” into “Mind’s Eye,” a strum and lead-note answer from the guitars willfully slow in the first minute as Acid King for the first time prioritize resonance over impact while offering both. Amid full fuzz buzz and a progression that feels constructed in part to answer that last stretch of “One Light Second Away,” “Mind’s Eye” assures there’s a guiding hand here, and still benefits from the soothing motif of what’s come before as it touches ground and rolls decisively forward. The first words on the album, delivered of course by Lori, are the invitation to “Step into the mind’s eye,” and though nearly a quarter of the runtime has passed before that verse starts — almost 10 minutes of a 42-minute LP, so not quite 25 percent but pardon the fuzz-tone math and take it as a signal of Beyond Vision‘s instrumental emphasis — that it exists at all is something of a snap to reality, even as the verse-ending line “You are on your way…” has rarely seemed so true.
Atop consistent ping-ride and crash and kick from Willer, the riff changes to more of a twisting bridge before smoothing out again on the interplay of big-hug-chug and fuzzy pepper-notes, shifting easily into and through a solo before going back to the verse, layered in the word “eye,” only one line changing from the first time through. The lyrics are hardly an afterthought — they’re the guide — but are intended to be taken as a piece of the entirety rather than a separate element, and as much as they provide a (literal and figurative) human communication from within so much nebular f0g, they serve the double-function of setting and enhancing the otherworldly motif of Beyond Vision as a full LP and become part of the flow that leads from one movement to another, less predictable as the record plays out because they might not always be there. “Mind’s Eye” rings out on a held guitar note that shifts into subtly churning synth and melodic hum in the intro to “90 Seconds,” the shape of which is revealed gradually with a verse over the low-end rumble, a kind of Lori-as-chant effect taking hold whether through layering or effects before the drums crash in just past the two-minute mark, a cavernous psychedelic doom soon resolved in lush melody ahead of a section of final crashes and a sweep into the noted synthesizer-plus-drums thud “Electro Magnetic.”
At 8:17, “Electro Magnetic” is the longest single inclusion on Beyond Vision and a key manifestation of Acid King‘s goals in moodcraft and instrumentalist contemplation. At the same time, the procession across the first half of the song in sparse guitar, timekeeping tom work, and synth-led nod reminds of “Carve the Five” from the band’s 1999 landmark second album, Busse Woods (featured here, discussed here, etc.), and so both reaffirms that Lori has dwelled in these kinds of spaces before even as the manner in which she and the rest of the band do so has changed (let alone the personnel), and grown more patient. The triumph of “Electro Magnetic” is declared at 4:02 as the drums mark the turn into the central riff of the song — which would remind tonally of Shrinebuilder if Shrinebuilder hadn’t been reminding of Acid King — and the march through a crescendo wash of fuzz and airy soloing, more severe than most of what’s landed thus far but not at all out of place for its obscured familiarity. After six minutes in, they shift back to the synth and drum repetitions, guitar complementing more than leading, and slowly begin to deconstruct, leaving the guitar as the last thread to depart, having said not an actual word but conveyed much, both answering and expanding on “One Light Second Away” as they course into side B’s subsequent molten ceremony.
Likewise instrumental, but more guitar-based at its core, the title of the 1:36 safe-to-call-it-an-interlude “Destination Psych” is referenced repeatedly in the lyrics of the penultimate “Beyond Vision,” though whether psychedelia is the destination of your journey or it’s “Destination Psych” like a destination-wedding, where the psych is happening in this place and you need to get there, I’m not certain. One way or the other, “Destination Psych” is the lead-in for the final movement of Beyond Vision, which encompasses it, the title-track that follows, and “Color Trails” at the end. It is the last track with vocals — three of seven, the final tally — and no less dug-in than anything prior, with a standout bassline from Shelton that feels like a call to prayer for those who’d worship Black Sabbath, starting after the languid solo turns into the final verse and makes its presence felt as “Beyond Vision” moves into its final minute, more active but not overblown in its payoff, the crash and rumble held for a long fade into the transitional buzz before the stark guitar and bass notes start “Color Trails” with a sense of comedown that’s undercut righteously by the mounting intensity of the piece as it moves into the section of riffing mentioned above, Lori answering the bass with her own Sabbath moment soon met by Willer‘s drums, which start on cymbals and kick but shift into increasingly furious tom fills, circular in their pattern as they’d almost inevitably be, but stretched for one last forward push.
Some of “Color Trails” bring to mind a song like “Laser Headlights” from Middle of Nowhere, Center of Everywhere, or the buzzing leads of “Silent Pictures,” but the proportion has changed, and as Acid King return to that headspinner of a drum stretch, this time punctuated with cymbals and double-kick and, eventually, snare, the sense is that they’ve pushed as far as they can push and the only thing to do is end it, which they do as the guitars cut out and threaten a return, sweeping back in not to begin anew but to pull the drums down with them this time, leaving heavy silence and an echo in the mind of the listener of the scope of their accomplishment. Though it might sound like it on first blush because it’s so utterly entrancing, Beyond Vision does not meander. It is not sloppy, or haphazard, or unaware of itself. Instead, it is exactly what the band, particularly Lori and Landrian as songwriters — though it seems fair to imagine Lori has final say on everything they do — want it to be, and it manifests a new degree of immersion matched in wholeness of craft and boldness of sound that makes it a career album perhaps even more special because it’s not Acid King‘s first. They may not release records every year or two or five — though to be fair, they did offer Live at Roadburn 2011 (review here) in 2022 — but they’ve yet to put one out and have it not feel like a landmark.
What happens after Beyond Vision is anyone’s best guess. I won’t speculate, and neither will I feign impartiality about the band’s efforts here or in general. I’m a fan. There. And in the interest of full disclosure, I’ll mention the liner notes I wrote for the PostWax release of the album, for which I was compensated, but if you think I was working the long con covering the band for the last 14 years to start raking in cash one time or that I’m somehow hyping up their work for my own financial interest, well, I’m not, and I’m pretty sure that money doesn’t exist even if I wanted it. The horrifying truth is that Acid King have thrown open creative doors with Beyond Vision and stepped into a new era for them as a band. Not just because there’s some synth or industrial beats, but because they’ve dug deep enough into their sound that they’ve uncovered new facets of it, dreamlike and sublime, memorable and sprawling. It was already long past time to start thinking of Acid King among the greatest acts heavy rock and roll has ever produced. Beyond Vision brooks no argument in sealing their place among these giants. Recommended.
Acid King, Beyond Vision (2023)
Acid King, “Destination Psych/Beyond Vision” official video
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 23rd, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Park myself in Joshua Tree for a weekend just as the winter is turning to spring, catch a ton of awesome bands from and beyond the desert? Yeah, that sounds pretty magical, to be honest. Nothing against San Francisco. I’ve seen videos from outside at Thee Parkside and it looks like an incredible place to see a gig, but if I’m making the trip from the other side of the country — and unless there’s a sudden fiscal windfall in my favor, I’m not, sadly — it’s the desert calling, all the more with All Souls and BigPig and Third Ear Experience on that bill. That’s a memorable weekend in the making.
The 2023 lineups for Heavy Psych Sounds Fest in California are finished, and with the two posters next to each other you can see some of the differences from one to the other, but they’re mostly the same as artists will play in one city one night, the other the other, and as someone who remembers seeing Yawning Man and Fatso Jetson together a decade ago at Desertfest London 2013 (review here), I’d offer up a kidney to do so again if I thought I could be healed in time to actually enjoy the show in March.
Anybody want to buy some… shit I have nothing of value. Alright then.
Here’s the bill:
Heavy Psych Sounds Records & Booking is proud to announce *** HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST CALIFORNIA 2023 JOSHUA TREE & SAN FRANCISCO ***
full lineup announcement
Heavy Psych Sounds together with Plastic Cactus Productions and Subliminal SF presents the full lineup of the Heavy Psych Sounds Fest California 2023 !!!
HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST ***CALIFORNIA 2023*** MARCH 25 & 26
SAN FRANCISCO @ OPEN AIR AT THEE PARKSIDE
JOSHUA TREE @ HI DESERT CULTURAL CENTER
JOSHUA TREE HI DESERT CULTURAL CENTER MARCH 25th and 26th
WINDHAND WEEDEATER BRANT BJORK NEBULA THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX YAWNING MAN FATSO JETSON DUEL HIPPIE DEATH CULT GEEZER KADABRA WARLUNG LOVE GANG WITCHPIT COSMIC REAPER ALL SOULS BIG PIG THIRD EAR EXPERIENCE DEATHCHANT WHISKEY AND KNIVES HIGH TONE SON OF A BITCH
SAN FRANCISCO OPEN AIR AT THEE PARKSIDE MARCH 25th and 26th
WINDHAND WEEDEATER MONDO GENERATOR NEBULA THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX DUEL HIPPIE DEATH CULT GEEZER KADABRA WARLUNG LOVE GANG COSMIC REAPER WITCHPIT DEATHCHANT HIGH TONE SON OF A BITCH DISASTROID
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 17th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
This shit’s so good. So good. As a result of doing the liner notes for the PostWax release of Acid King‘s Beyond Vision, I’ve been fortunate enough to live with the record for a while, and it remains a pleasure. A completely revamped lineup — a four-piece that has founding guitarist/vocalist Lori S. joined by Black Cobra‘s Jason Landrian on guitar/synth, as well as Bryce Shelton on bass and Jason Willer on drums. They’ve got a video up, and it’s just a beautiful thing to behold, the way so much of Acid King‘s sound is still there, but it’s been expanded on in this batch of songs, the contributions Landrian brings in, the unflinching groove on which it’s all based. It’s a gorgeous record.
I think Postwaxers got their download codes already, if not their vinyl — and I’m not gonna tell you to subscribe to a thing or not; especially not something that’s paid me to write (the liner notes, that is; I’d be writing this shit anyway) — and to the general public, Beyond Vision will see the light of day on March 24. It’s one of 2023’s best, just so you know in advance. Also, I’m gonna get me one of those t-shirts come payday.
From the PR wire:
Stoner metal icons ACID KING announce new album “Beyond Vision” on Blues Funeral Recordings; first video and preorder available now!
ACID KING, the pioneering heavy rock band fronted by the inimitable Lori S., return with “Beyond Vision” this March 24th on Blues Funeral Recordings, an album that sees the iconic San Francisco-based band lean into psychedelia and the avant-garde. Watch the video for “Destination Psych/Beyond Vision!”
The 7-song, 43-plus-minute collection was recorded to two-inch tape courtesy of Dead & Company at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California. Acid King founder and guitarist/vocalist Lori S. worked hand in hand with Black Cobra guitarist/vocalist Jason Landrian, with the pair sharing writing and production credits. The band is rounded out by Bryce Shelton (Nik Turner’s Hawkwind) on bass and synthesizer, and Jason Willer (Charger, Jello Biafra) on drums.
On the new direction, Lori explains: “The band was never really that psychedelic, but this is definitely more trippy because we’ve got keyboards and synthesizers. That’s something we’ve never had before on Acid King records. The songs really have no beginning or end — they all just flow into each other. It’s meant to be listened to as one piece. The whole point was to have the listener feel like they’re on a journey. If you put headphones on, it’ll take you to whatever places you’d like to go to.”
About the concept of “Beyond Vision”, she adds: “The record is based on the journey of life. Jason [Landrian] and I were having these heavy pandemic conversations at the practice space for two years, talking about all the stuff you go through being in bands, touring, your relationships in life, all that stuff. You think this trip is supposed to go one way, but it goes in very different ways that you can never imagine.”
It’s not just life on Earth she’s talking about. “Beyond Vision” contemplates life on Mars, life on the moon, and death in the furthest reaches of space. Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey was a key influence. Then there was the mesmerizing 2019 documentary Apollo 11: “I was hugely inspired by that documentary. I absolutely love the soundtrack Matt Morton did for that. I’ve probably listened to it a million times. I really loved the journey it took me on, even without the movie. It just made me ponder life.”
Pre-orders for ACID KING’s new album “Beyond Vision” are available now from Blues Funeral Recordings on a variety of limited edition vinyl and cassette formats, as well as CD and digital.
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 26th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
A couple days’ escape to Joshua Tree just as winter starts to wane sounds pretty god damn good right now. And that’s nothing against San Francisco, mind you — there’s an Amoeba Music there, so however otherwise expensive lodging may be, it’s worth it — but a bit of desert rock in its native habitat feels like a win, and with more bands to be announced, Heavy Psych Sounds Fest 2023 in California makes an enticing prospect. Daydream-worthy.
Traveling from the East Coast will be Weedeater, the particularly sludgy Witchpit, Cosmic Reaper and The Atomic Bitchwax, Duel make the trip from Texas, Hippie Death Cult come down from Portland, Oregon, and Brant Bjork and Nebula represent California itself, so already the two-dayers (which will swap lineups from one night to the next) are varied in geography and style, and one would expect no less at this point. It ain’t Heavy Psych Sounds‘ first rodeo. The label/booking empire also recently announced two fests in Italy and if past is prologue, one expects plenty more to come as well spread throughout 2023.
We live in a golden age. Peak riffs.
From the PR wire:
*** HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST CALIFORNIA *** first confirmed bands
Heavy Psych Sounds together with Plastic Cactus Productions and Subliminal SF presents the 2023 edition of the HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST CALIFORNIA !!!
The HPS Fest California will be taking place 25th and 26th of March, 2023 at the Thee Parkside (open air) in San Francisco and Hi Desert Cultural Center in Joshua Tree !!!
HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST – CALIFORNIA @ Thee Parkside, San Francisco @ Hi Desert Cultural Center, Joshua Tree
March 25th and 26th 2023
FIRST CONFIRMED BANDS
WEEDEATER BRANT BJORK NEBULA THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX DUEL HIPPIE DEATH CULT COSMIC REAPER WITCHPIT
+ more TBA
In January we will unveil the full line up and single day line up.
Same line up will play both cities in different days !!!
