Posted in Questionnaire on February 2nd, 2022 by JJ Koczan
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Shane Brennan of Apollo80
—
How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
Rough. I don’t practice enough.
Describe your first musical memory.
I always wanted to play drums as a kid, but my music teacher in school (that bitch!) didn’t let me.
So I saved up, bought my own kit and started jamming in the shed with my older brother.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Probably those early shed jams with my brother as a kid.
But equally important is the whole journey I’m going through with Apollo80.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
I usually take things as they come. I don’ really have expectations. I just go with the flow.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
A better sound!
How do you define success?
Happiness. Both feeling it and seeing it.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
I saw a guy drill into his own hand. Does that count?
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
A collaboration with different type of musicians – Bring someone new into the band to add and contribute to what we already have.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
Communication – It works with people who are open to try different ideas.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Greek heavy psychedelicists Lokruz make their self-titled debut through Sound Effect Records on Nov. 19. The band, comprised of guitarist/vocalist Alessandro Castagneri, bassist Christos Chorianopoulos and drummer Thanos Tampakopoulos, make a point to note that the instrumental portion of the six-track/44-minute offering was recorded entirely live sans overdub, vocals added later, and that comes through in the material, along with the fact that Lokruz arrives some seven years after they first got together. That is, playing live to tape, they do not sound like a band who are feeling each other out in terms of chemistry. Where other debuts might be tentative in their execution, Lokruz‘s work is assured in its style. As a band, they know what they want to do.
Castagneri‘s guitar tone is worth a special, specific mention for its warm depth, reminiscent not so much of the late-’60s as of an ideal born thereof. Modernity chasing a classic perfection, and doing it markedly well. Be it in the duly cinematic leadoff “Ennio Pt. 1,” which receives a bookend in the finale, or the more technicolor urgency of “Bullets Hail” or the shimmering jam-leading done in the back half of the 12-minute side A capper “My Naked Pride” — which by the time it gets there has unfolded across several movements touching on heavy progressive psych indeed spanning decades of influence from past to modern and still only beginning to tell part of the band’s own Mediterranean story that “Runaway” will soon continue on side B — guitar serves as the forward element pulling the listener along with the band on their trip through sound, time and place.
Like “Bullets Hail,” “Runaway” has a bit more of a direct structure — and how could they not include a chase? — bringing start-stop boogie to a stretch-out drift jam, again with Castagneri in the lead position. I’m not taking away from the contributions of Chorianopoulos and Tampakopoulos, mind you; one can’t have a power trio without the power, and that invariably comes from the rhythm section. The shifts in tempo and volume in “Runaway’ as well as the turns in “My Naked Pride” would fall flat entirely without the rhythm section’s solid foundation, and that goes back as well to the band’s this-is-our-first-album-but-we’ve-been-together-for-a-while chemistry. Together, the three-piece create an atmosphere that’s mellow without being boring or staid, and exploratory without getting more lost than they want to be. The penultimate “Man in Hope” starts out quiet and seems poised for a big payoff as the bass fills in spaces left by the guitar in the early verse. Zeppelin at their most spacious, maybe? Whatever you want to trace it to, the vibe ensues as scorch and soul meet in a righteous solo section, that gives over to a few moments of more driving riffery and a graceful finish.
The organic feeling that’s so rampant across Lokruz doesn’t at all dissipate as “Ennio Pt. 2” answers back the ringing ambience of the opener with a more distorted punch behind it, but it is ultimately noise, open reaches and a final crash out that win the day as side B comes to its conclusion. Fair enough, really. There’s a minute to process what’s happening with the platter flip from one side to the other, but the fluidity in Lokruz‘s tracks aren’t to be understated, and their self-titled is all the more complete for the bookend it receives, underlining the thoughtfulness behind all that natural, plugged-in-and-all-this-class-cool-is-just-what-happened spirit that pervades across the songs. In the video for “Bullets Hail” below, the easy-rolling blues of the early riff and the relative shove of the second half are met with dark-space lighting and an on-stage presence given due psychedelic effect. You see silhouettes as much as you see the band, and that’s fine. It’s about the music, so go with that. I seriously doubt you’ll regret it.
Due for release on Sound Effect Records November 19th
Sound Effect proudly presents Lokruz! Forged under the hot Mediterranean sun and inspired by the dry and rocky landscape of their native land, Lokruz’s sound is an amalgamation of late ‘60s/early ‘70s heavy-psych and Italian soundtracks of the same era. Their self-titled debut album, recorded live in the studio, is due for release on November 19th on limited edition black and deep purple vinyl.
“The Locrians (Greek: Λοκροί, Locri) were an ancient Greek tribe that inhabited the region of Locris in Central Greece, around Parnassus. Among others, Ajax the Lesser and Patroclus were the most famous Locrian heroes, both distinguished in the Trojan War.”
The band was born in Athens in 2014 in a basement used as a rehearsal room between beers and homemade grappa, and is composed of 3 members (Alessandro Castagneri guitar/voice, Christos Chorianopoulos bass, Thanos Tampakopoulos drums) all descendants of Locrians: the Lokruz. The name of the band is inspired by the tomb of King Lokros, the legendary progenitor, which is located in Galaxidi where the three musicians usually stay. It is influenced by psychedelic rock, heavy blues, space rock and prog rock of the bands that operate at the turn of the ‘60s and the soundtracks of the same period, but also the indigenous musical tradition and places of myth, ancient and childhood memories made of salt and rocks, sacred mountains and nymphs, scents of thyme and grilled meat, barren landscapes and all shades of blue from the sea to the sky.
The drafting of the pieces of their first work took place in conjunction with the participation in numerous events and concerts in Greece, also automatically determining the way in which the material and therefore the disc would be recorded. The recording sessions took place in the Shakti Studio in Athens mixed by Simon Nikolaidis and lasted three days during which all the material was recorded live with no overdub except for the voices recorded at the SNFCC. The band tried to keep alive the spirit of the psychedelic rock golden years of the power trio bands by recording the whole album live and using only old instruments and equipments from this specific era.
The meeting with, Sound Effects Records’ head honcho, Yiannis Andriopoulos, who embraced the cause of Lokruz, led to the mastering genius Kostas Ekelon post-production treatment at The Cave and the imminent vinyl release.
Tracklisting: 1. Ennio Pt. 1 (4:28) 2. Bullets Hail (6:09) 3. My Naked Pride (12:46) 4. Runaway (7:17) 5. Man in Hope (7:32) 6. Ennio Pt. 2 (5:58)
Perth, Western Australia’s Apollo80 release their debut full-length, Beautiful Beautiful Desolation, on June 18 through Sound Effect Records and Kozmik Artifactz. The six-track/40-minute outing brings underlying symmetry to its spacious and spaced-out and spacey did I mention space-space-space heavy vibage, its intro and outro and four circa-nine-minute pieces melding and folding into each other in one resounding “holy crap” of a morass, but staying fluid and moving forward as well — thank you very much Shane on drums for that.
From the blanket of drone that rises to consume much of side A’s addled, headphone-ready “Terolgedo King” and “Like Men…/Corpse 65” to the crash and landmark-for-your-melting-brain riffly nod of pre-outro capper “Lung Beers,” the three-piece follow-up their suitably exclamatory 2018 debut EP, Lizard! Lizard! Lizard! (review here), with a rampage through multi-dimensional distortion and chrono-triggered heft. It’s like meeting someone on the street who comes up to you and goes, “Hey, you like Carl Sagan?” Fucking a right.
The roiling and shimmering starts with “Intro,” a line of synth casting a cinematic foreboding over the oops-there-it-goes procession forward, bringing just enough hypnosis to the feedback snap and ensuing lurch riff that begins “Teroldego King” is a shocker. Apollo80 — Shane, Luke on guitar and Brano on bass, with one or more of them taking on intermittent vocal duties — revel in the breadth. “Teroldego King” unfolds in massive form like the garbled transmission from a planet of sentient portiids, but cuts to a quiet movement in its second half, vocals coming in and going like were they real anyhow while the guitar noodles out over echoey rimshots.
They bring it back, of course, but in going so low, they make the high that much higher, and the final rumbles and crashes feel all the more affecting for it. If you can dig that, the megadrone-into-megaspace of “Like Men…/Corpse 65” is the stuff of your more chaotic dreams — the kind of shit that makes me want to leave hte typos in because screw it we’re all gonna burn anyway what’s the difference. But we’re here now, so put on headphones and dig that bass.
“Black of the White” throws out its hi-hat-propelled motion like a life-preserver into a sea of Jupiterian gas storms, and holds to it until it becomes jazz, the drums shifting after four minutes in as things start to go haywire. Vocals are treated, a mean poetry reading set to so much echo they’re barely recognizable, but the clamor fits, and the dropout-into-drop-on-your-head that ensues may be telegraphed but is no less a joy for that. Time outside (everything) is time well spent. Heavy. Psych. Tell your friends.
And while you’ve got their attention, let ’em know “Lung Beers” sent you. Stoner paean it may or may not be, but it’s a righteous preach to the converted either way, cutting as did “Teroldego King” — more of that symmetry noted earlier; a masterplan at work? — before embarking on the record’s last freakout, the guitar stripping away from the rest of the ship and embracing vacuum. In space, apparently you can still hear the shred. So be it. Weirdo Sap-style acoustic guitar reaps the aftermath in “Until the Sails Are on Fire,” maybe looped, maybe not, but as Apollo80 roll credits on their preliminary feature-length excursion, they do so having touched off a bouncing cavalcade of prime-directive-violating contact, rounding off squares where they stand and telling kids about enough new gods to get themselves thrown in jail.
Think you can jive? Well, jive to “Black of the White” on the player below. Go on. Make friends.
PR wire info and whatnot follow:
Apollo80 are doing it again! After the striking debut in 2019 the Western Australian trio is back with a new chapter of heavy-riffing exploration in the low frequencies universe. The main ingredients for the space cake are unchanged, but this new work explores a darker space with an extended use of drone atmospheres, groovy tempos and sporadic synth and vocal inserts. Beautiful, Beautiful Desolation is the title of what is going to be their first full-length and is promising to please the fans of Melvins, Earth, Toner Low and whoever aims to soak their brain in a bath of distorted frequencies.
While the intro seems to continue the space-rock voyage of their previous EP, the opening riff clears immediately the path for a heavier trip that reaches the deepest point with the feedbacks and drones of the Earth-ian Like Men Gone at Sea. Side B is a surprise again and introduces synth layers and distorted vocals that are totally new for the Perth trio, but then they close with what they do best. 90s-inspired slow riffs and a long psychedelic interlude of the banger Lungbeers carry the listener to the end of this 40+ mins work that will be brought on the streets by the joined efforts of Sound Effect Records and Kozmik Artifactz. The two veteran labels will be releasing 500 copies in black, colored and special edition vinyl and CD, including, for the first time ever, their “Lizard Lizard Lizard” vinyl-only EP!
Tracklisting: Side A Intro (1:47) Teroldego King (9:37) Like Men…/Corpse 65 (8:17)
Side B Black of the White (9:34) Lung Beers (9:03) Until the Sails Are on Fire (1:48)
Apollo80 is: Luke – guitar and space effects Shane – drums Brano – bass
Posted in audiObelisk on April 9th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Swedish psychedelic post-rock explorers Den Der Hale release their debut album Harsyra through Sound Effect Records on June 11. Even if the endorsement from the Greek imprint isn’t enough to immediately pique your interest — and it probably should be — the Malmö-based five-piece won’t take long to immerse you in their melodic wash, speaking here and there to post-punk or proto-New Wave (is there a difference?) or sundry other microgenres and eternal niches-within-niches they simply dub “post-psych.” Points for being concise, but much as the LP’s accessible runtime of five tracks/35 minutes unfolds sonic spaces greater than the sum of their time, so too does their chosen designation only begin to explain where they’re coming from on Harsyra, from the airy, harmony-culminating come-with-us downer-dirge of “Carcassonne,” string break included, to the surging wash of bliss that caps the concluding title-track.
Perhaps their path to creating such a striking first full-length makes more sense when one learns of band members’ past in Insaunas, whose dreamy svenskfolk found itself combining bedroom-psych intimacy and experimentalism on 2019’s We Brought Some Days Back, released through the Malmö label Nytt Arkiv. Knowing that isn’t going to account for all of the ritual-style standalone vocals at the end of second cut and side A closer “Ant Mill” — a 13-minute journey of spaces lush and minimal, fuzzed-out, weirded up and moving into your neighborhood, and, in that finish, more or less still; it is a beautiful thing that feels reckless without being so — but it’s a foundation to work from, and as much as Den Der Hale have their own mission throughout Harsyra, finding a place for themselves between that which is essentially human and that which is formless ether and grooving in and on that divide, melody is melody. Fortunately.
Side B is about a minute shorter than A when all put together — which is how I got the album, by the way; two files, one for each side and a time sheet from Magnus Lindberg Mastering that showed where one track ended and another began; pioneer spirit! — but it spends its time digging further into the post-heavy vibe set forth in the first two tracks. To wit, the droning line of guitar/maybe-keys/who-knows-what underscoring “Armoured,” which arrives as the first half-ish of the eight-minute “Armoured/Endurance,” the latter half of the track picking up immediately and letting the guitar come more forward to create Harsyra‘s most fervent wash (it’s no wonder they didn’t want to give it away by premiering the whole thing), vital and weighted and engulfing in its distortion and broad in its aftermath of noise and feedback. This builds on what Den Der Hale were doing previously, takes it someplace new, and there’s still enough context so that when the far-back programmed beat behind the guitar of the two-minute “Tinktur” comes in, it’s not at all out of place.
“Tinktur,” while short, is more than an interlude. Its soothing vocal calls back to “Carcassonne” at the outset and while it provides a convenient basis for contrast when the immediately motorik guitar chug begins at the start of “Harsyra” itself, it’s not without a presence of its own either. Still, once the Hawkwindian launch sequence begins, Den Der Hale make it clear they’ll not be returning to ground anytime soon. The melody remains fluid as the finale finds its grandness, guitars and drums leading an outward procession that’s loyal to the core rhythm while teasing the payoff to come and still giving the vocals room when necessary. It is tense, exciting. And then they’re off again. God knows what the lyrics are about — the title refers to a wood-sorrel, a three-leaf clover, which blooms from Spring to Midsummer, so maybe there’s some alignment with the June release — but the echoing voices provide a reassurance just the same. You’re not on this trip alone, and that becomes comforting as “Harsyra” is brought to its end. It’s not as cacophonous a blaster as “Armoured/Endurance” becomes, but it sure is fascinating that they put both those songs on side B to set up the contrast between them. Almost enough to make you think there’s been a plan underway the whole time.
And maybe there has, but Den Der Hale aren’t telling, and though Harsyra‘s accomplishments across this first 12″ are significant, they’re all the more so for the potential they hold. I’m no arbiter of cool and I never have been, but this one speaks to me and so I wanted to cover it. It’s as simple as that. I hope you find it speaks to you too. If you check out “Armoured” on the player below, it’s not going to tell you everything you need to know about the album. Don’t expect it to. It’s a teaser. Half a track. But it’s what I could get, and no one pays attention to anything that isn’t a premiere anymore and I thought this was worth someone paying attention to it, so here we are. I’ve put this record on my list of 2021’s best debuts, and I look forward to hearing what Den Der Hale do next.
That and preorder links is all I got, friends. PR wire info follows the song below.
After forming in late 2019, Den Der Hale quickly wrote and put out a number of singles, straddling the genres of post-rock and psych. ‘Harsyra’ is their debut album, a 5-track output which crystallizes their particular brand of post-psych. Tracks range from anthem-like and earthy, to fast paced and grimy, all while keeping an ethereal atmosphere throughout. “Harsyra” is out, on limited edition black and bone color vinyl, on June 11th via Sound Effect Records.
Born in Oljehamnen, the industrial harbour of Malmö, Den Der Hale rose from the remnants of former neo-folk project Insaunas. The addition of new members saw the sound evolve in a heavier and more complex direction, drawing on a wide array of influences. After putting out two singles during 2020, and polishing their sound through a number of live shows, guitarist Max Bredberg dubbed their new brand of music ‘post-psych’. The continued lockdown in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, has led to a sharp decrease in opportunities to play live shows. For Den Der Hale, this meant that the creative energy had to find some other form of outlet.
That outlet is what would eventually become the debut album Harsyra. Recorded and produced by the band itself in a studio located in the old railway roundhouses of Malmö, the album features five tracks, ranging in tone from earthy, grimy and ethereal to heavy hitting and fast-paced. Until the day comes when we can again enjoy music performed in the flesh, this post-psych oeuvre can best be experienced on vinyl, put out by Sound-Effect Records.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 19th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
The forthcoming Apostate LP by Italian hard-hitters The Marigold marks at least the second collaboration between the band and producer Toshi Kasai (the Melvins, etc.), and if the considerable range of labels behind the release tells you anything, let it be that the band’s doubly-bassed heft is a cause worth supporting. April 23 will see it out through Forbidden Place, Sound Effect, Trepanation, Coffin & Bolt and Golden Robot Records, and it would seem to be the band’s first offering since late-2014’s Kanaval, which came out through DeAmbula Records, among others.
You’ll hear some Melvins likeness in “My Own Apostate” — the video’s below — but, well, some things are unavoiable. Also note that “K7” in the album info below refers to cassette tape. I had to look that up and it turns out it’s mainly a European thing, referencing the French pronunciation of “cassette” — the letter ‘k’ being ‘kah’ and seven being “sept” with a silent ‘p’ to sound like “set.” Clever. I learned something today.
From the PR wire:
THE MARIGOLD – APOSTATE
PRODUCED BY TOSHI KASAI (permanent collaborator of the MELVINS)
The Marigold band announces the release of the new album. The work was produced by Toshi Kasai (Melvins) and features the collaboration of Adam Harding (Dumb Numbers, Kidbug with Dale Crover and Thor of the Swans).
The opinion of the band’s members is that this is the most ‘heavy’ album released to date: it’s a dark journey that ranges from sludge to stoner with touches of hardcore.
The album was recorded in Marigold’s studio and then produced and mixed at Kasai’s “Sound Of Sirens” in Los Angeles. In the end, it was mastered by the trusty friend and historical collaborator Amaury Cambuzat. The Marigold is among the most long-lived band in the Italian alternative rock music scene; founded by Marco Campitelli, The Marigold is active since 1998. They still confirm their tenacity with a record based on an unconventional style.
The album titled APOSTATE will be available from April 23, 2021, in different formats: on CD for Forbidden Place Records (USA), on Cassette for Trepanation Records (UK), on LP for Sound Effect Records (Europe), on DGT Coffin and Bolt Records – Golden Robot Records (USA-Australia/all territories) all very active labels that include in their roster artists like Brant Bjork and Nick Olivieri, Kings X.
The Marigold: – Marco Campitelli: gtrs, 6 string bass, voice – Stefano Micolucci: basses – Lorenzo Di Lorenzo: drums, percussions + Toshi Kasai: guitar, tambourine, synth, sleigh bell, spring cowbell + Adam Harding: guitars
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 29th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Not really much of a surprise that someone picked up Mindcrawler‘s debut long-player, Lost Orbiter (review here), for release. Melodic, full-toned and ready for all the nodding-along you can handle and then some, the outing hit in February digitally, and that was just early enough to catch ears in and beyond the band’s native Germany before the entire year came crashing down. They were slated to appear at Keep it Low in their hometown of Munich next month, which of course would’ve opened doors at Sound of Liberation for them as they proceeded forward, but like everything else, their momentum in terms of live performances has been pushed back a year.
Still, the record rules, and Sound Effect Records in Greece makes a fitting home for the LP edition which is out Nov. 6. Preorders are up if that’s your thing, and there are two editions available. Not telling you how to spend your money, but I will casually advise you to — if you missed it earlier this year — to at least take a few minutes to dig into the stream of the album at the bottom of this post. Weaving into and out of instrumentalism, it’s one of my favorite debuts of 2020.
Past the Tannhäuser Gate, through the vortex of black holes and back to the dust of the Death Valley. Mindcrawler know the most remote places like the back of their hands. Since 2017 this space vehicle from the outskirts of Munich navigates the orbit of Bavaria’s Live Clubs and leaves only shattered stages behind wherever it goes. The four-piece band offers a mix of Space Rock, Stoner, Doom and Psych.
They pay tribute to the giants of Desert Rock while adding their own vision with transcendental meditation and riffs inspired by Punk and Metal. As of 2020 their transmission into the farthest regions of space and back has become even louder with the release of their highly acclaimed debut record “Lost Orbiter”.
This labor of love consists of six stunning tracks meticulously prepared to melt faces and start the engines for overdrive. As the current pandemic on planet Earth makes repeated listens within the confines of your own house all the more mandatory, Mindcrawler and Sound-Effect Records are proud to capture “Lost Orbiter” on mind boggling splatter-colored vinyl for the very first time. Fasten your seatbelts, dust off your moonboots and engage with one of this year’s biggest surprises within the realms of hard hitting Space infused Stoner Rock.
Lost Orbiter will be available through Soundeffect-Records with a limited run of 250 black vinyl and 150 limited splattered orange vinyl, each one will include a download code.
Mindcrawler are: Joe – guitar|vocals Helge – guitar Tom – bass Johannes – drums
Posted in audiObelisk on August 21st, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Swedish acid folk rockers Melody Fields will issue their new four-song EP, Broken Horse, Sept. 18 on CD and LP through Sound Effect Records and Coop Records, respectively. For the Gothenburg-based five-or-six-piece, it’s the follow-up to the gorgeousness that was their 2018 self-titled debut full-length (review here), and if you haven’t yet caught on to that offering, the fact that the band plays an utterly timeless form of sweetly melodic psychedelia means that you’re in no way too late. I’ve even put it at the bottom of the post to make it easier for you, so really, have at it.
Before you do, though, dig into the new track “Rhymes of Goodbye” on the player that follows here, because that’s something you’re definitely going to want to hear. It’s like someone decided to build a house on a slowed-down version of “Good Day Sunshine.” The Broken Horse EP runs about 19 minutes long and comprises four tracks — “Långsam Död,” “Rhymes of Goodbye,” “Broken Horse” and “Painted Sky,” in that order — that push even deeper into the band’s affinity for lush and unabashed psych-pop, maintaining a distinctive presence vocally through the employ of multiple singers and instrumentally through varied layers and approaches of guitar, be it acoustic or electric, etc. The release breaks more or less evenly into its two component sides with two tracks each, and each half seems to offer a complementary vibe, beginning with the subdued unfolding spaciousness of “Långsam Död,” which introduces the sitar and wash of instrumental melody that will characterize both that song and “Rhymes of Goodbye.” Sitar follows the notes of the verse, or maybe it’s the other way around; either way, it’s gorgeous and exploratory in kind, a solid underlying structure serving as the bed for a subtly memorable chorus. They’re one song in and already I wish Broken Horse was a full album.
“Rhymes of Goodbye,” as noted, follows a similar path to the opener, up to and including the sitar and the quiet intro. There’s more bounce to the rhythm, with wood block percussion alongside the drums — it’s deep in the mix, but it’s there — and a flowing bassline that complements the drums and the harmonized vocals alike. As lush as “Rhymes of Goodbye” and the preceding cut are, Melody Fields don’t depart from their pop underpinning, and frankly, they don’t need to. Both cuts are shortly under five minutes, which is enough time not only for the chorus to be established, but for the band to meander a bit and give their listener a sense of the particular sunshine in which they’re basking on this good day. “Rhymes of Goodbye” is immersive as it moves toward its finish, with a crash as it passes four minutes and residual melodic hum on a fadeout that brings in “Broken Horse” (after a platter flip, if you’re doing the vinyl thing), replacing sitar with acoustic guitar and an immediately earthier, more folkish presentation. Harmony in the vocals ties the two sides together, but really, Melody Fields make it so easy to go along with them on this short journey that to resist would seem pointless. Why would you even want to, with the sweetness and warmth of what they’re doing? The sheer comforting nature of it? Come on, people. Let go.
Finishing out, “Painted Sky” is the longest cut at 6:35 and gives Melody Fields even more landscape (or skyscape, as it were) to play in. Lines of guitar float with due descriptiveness to rest alongside the regular chants in homage to aurora borealis, weaving and intertwining as magnetic resonance might on a special evening in the north. Particularly on side B, Melody Fields remind of the circa-2010 Swedefolk troupe Barr — whither thou? — but both groups are acting to interpret with a modern edge the classic ideals of psychedelic pop, bringing a focus on the organic to rich and textured melodicism. As on their self-titled, on Broken Horse, Melody Fields are nothing if not aptly-named. Perhaps there’s even a breeze blowing through those fields. A pleasant one, that, if you were to step back, you could see patterns in the slightly-overgrown grass like an echo of “Painted Sky” itself.
More info on the EP follows ahead of the Sept. 19 release, and you can and should dig into “Rhymes of Goodbye” right here.
Please enjoy:
MELODY FIELDS – Broken Horse EP
September 19th 2020 Melody Fields release their new EP Broken Horse. The EP is recorded in Studio Parkeringshuset, where bands like Goat, Hills and The Movements previously have been recording and is released by Sound Effect Records and Coop Records Gotland.
Unlike many other contemporary psych and kraut bands Melody Fields put the classic popsong formula in focus. Sunny californian harmonies has been processed, modernised, ragafied and droneified to an honest ”here and now” experience. No retro, no seeking for effects. Melody Fields has a depth and a substance in their song writing, that feels unique in an otherwise effect seeking scene. LA meets mystic Far East meets melancholy North. Here and now, yesterday and tomorrow, east and north and south, all melt together on the Broken Horse EP.
Available from: 18/09/2020 Label: Coop Records (Vinyl 12”EP) Sound Effect Records (CD)
Line-up: Thomas Widholm – drums David Henriksson – vocals, guitar Ramo Spatalovic – vocals, guitar Cornelia Adamsson – vocals, string machine Henrik Bäckström – vocals, guitar Sebastian Jannesson – bass
If you’ve ever been in a band and had a moderately friendly conversation with someone else in a similar band, you’ve probably somewhere along the line heard the phrase “we should jam” used once or twice. Rarely does jamming result and even more rarely does it go any further than that. Melbourne two-piece Light Pillars — whose origins would seem to be based in similar proceedings — have beat the odds and will release their self-titled debut on Sept. 4 through respected Greek purveyor Sound Effect Records (sign up for their newsletter; doesn’t matter where you live). The outfit features Toby Wrecker (né Matthews) of Hotel Wrecking City Traders and Andrew Pana (né Panagopoulos) of Comacozer, and each offers a distinctive presence from within the increasingly populated sphere of Australian heavy psychedelia.
One might also think there’s nothing but self-indulgent chaos to come out of such an affair, but it actually seems like Wrecker and Pana meshed well in the studio, and had a fitting sense of where they were headed in their jams. They made the record in two days. Two days. And one was writing. How can you possibly mess with that? I can’t.
Here’s the announcement. Preorders are up today:
Light Pillars – Light Pillars – Sept. 4 2020
Australian noisy psych project LIGHT PILLARS consisting of Toby – Guitars (Hotel Wrecking City Traders) and Andrew – Drums (Comacozer) came together in June 2019 at Cellar Sessions Studios in Melbourne for an improved jam session. Both bands having played together previously and after some ideas and banter being thrown around the two decided to finally get together and see what the cosmos can produce and this release debut self-titled release resulting in 4 tracks of noisy dark heavy instrumental psych rock. Recorded in one session with Max behind the recording desk and mastered by Kent Stump (Crystal Clear Sound Studios, Dallas, Texas USA) and amazing artwork by Dora Wednesday, this is one journey taking diverse release.
Day 1: Go into a room and throw around some ideas. Day 2: Enter a studio and record. This is Light Pillars.
