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Strauss Stream New EP Falena in its Entirety

Posted in audiObelisk on February 23rd, 2018 by JJ Koczan

strauss (Photo by Magda Wrzeszcz Photography)

London four-piece Strauss will release their third EP, Falena, on March 2. They play a launch gig that very same night (it’s next Friday) at the famed The Black Heart venue in Camden Town, and in so doing will mark the official start of a new era for the band. They were a fivesome at the time they issued their last short outing, 2015’s five-tracker, Luia (review here), and have continued to undergo significant personnel and aesthetic changes moving them away from where they started out on 2013’s self-titled EP (review here), playing to a more aggressive style as heard in the harsh shouts throughout Falena‘s six songs/28 minutes from vocalist Stef Sacchetto, joined in the band at this point by founding guitarist Charles Fusari, and the newcomer rhythm section of bassist Mark Lotz and drummer Seb Tull.

The drop from five players to four means the loss of a second guitar alongside Fusari‘s, but whether it’s the dug-in prog-metal riffing of churning closer “Distant” or the start-stop dude-mosh bounce at the start of “JB Taylor,” which later moves into more spacious terrain, or complementing the Faith No More-style funk in Lotz‘s bass and Sacchetto‘s strauss falenamanic snare groove on the subsequent “Pantomine,” the six-stringer proves more than versatile enough to hold down the position on his own, even jamming out a bit in the second half of “Lit Corners” as Sacchetto works in a quick couple lines of cleaner vocals before the fuller-brunt assault is reignited. That’s not to downplay the loss of a member or discount the impact of the shifts that Strauss has undergone in the last couple years, but with a strong current of noise rock throughout Falena, they don’t seem to have taken any step backwards in terms of their overall progression. It may have taken them an extra year to get the songs together — three between releases, as opposed to two — but they still got there, as “2016”‘s blend of sludgy lumbering and sample-laden post-hardcore thrust demonstrates plainly.

I said last time out that Strauss were ready to take on the task of a debut full-length. It’s clear why they might not have wanted to go that route. Losing a guitarist is one thing. Changing out a bassist or a drummer is another. To have all of that happen between one batch of tracks and another, and yeah, a band might want to make sure things are working as well as they might seem to before making a statement as strong as a first long-player invariably becomes about who they are and the ultimate direction they’ll look to take. Nonetheless, in the blend of toughguy groove and progressive melody-making brought to bear on “Ashwagndha” and “Distant” and the four cuts between them, Strauss still show a significant sonic persona of their own, and I remain convinced that, should they feel like they’re there in terms of making a complete record as their next step, they indeed are. I guess we’ll see how that goes.

Below, you can stream the Falena EP in its entirety and read some commentary from the band about everything they’ve been through in the last couple years.

Please enjoy:

Strauss on Falena EP:

“Strauss have undergone a few lineup changes since their last release, ‘Luia’, in 2015. Seb Tull took on drums in 2016 and began co-writing with guitarist Charles Fusari.This talent-merger brought radical differences into the band’s sound and the project rapidly evolved into a brand-new melt of personal tastes, influences and musical endeavours.

In June 2017, they entered the recording studio for the third time and gave birth to the new EP ‘Falena’ within a few days, under the guidance of recording engineer Wayne Adams. Shortly after, bassist and original band member, Bill Tandy, left the project and was replaced by Mark Lotz.

Somehow hybrid and intense, the musical variation that so much characterises Strauss’s new sound was pushed even further by vocalist Stef Sacchetto. Finally cured from long-term depression in 2017, he was able to prepare and lay lyrical sets that, in this particular record, aim at questioning, provoking and guiding the audience into reflection and self-analysis, as well as being influenced by recent global events.”

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Strauss on Bandcamp

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Strauss Post New Video for “2015”

Posted in Bootleg Theater on August 24th, 2015 by JJ Koczan

strauss

Despite its funky initial bassline, Strauss‘ “2015” paints a rather grim portrait of the bleak future in which we live. Lines like “No gravity or sense to life” pretty much say it all. Still, that doesn’t mean that the video can’t tell the tale of a fish-obsessed scientist — Blood Waters of Dr. Z, anyone? — losing his mind while the London five-piece pound out riff-led noise rock in a moist-looking concrete-walled space presumably somewhere in the vicinity. It doesn’t need to make sense. It’s science.

Strauss released their second EP, Luia (review here), in May. The follow-up to their more decisively desertized 2013 self-titled (review here), the five-songer impressed with its jump in aggressive style and individual presence on the part of the band. It’s good to know they’ve been keeping busy since putting it out, and if Luia might be their last short offering before they take on the task of their full-length debut, I don’t think anyone who bothers to make their way through “2015” could argue they’re not ready.

Video, including a somewhat quizzical leadoff sample of George W. Bush (who, if you were paying attention at the time, you know said plenty of quizzical shit), follows. Enjoy:

Strauss, “2015” official video

Strauss – 2015, taken from their recently released 2nd EP, Luia.

The video tells the classic heart-warming tale of an aquatically obsessed scientist driven to madness. Possibly by the filthy stoner metal grooves playing out in his deranged mind. No fish were harmed during the making of this video but some harsh words were exchanged.

Lyrics:
News go by on TV
Nothing’s left on my wall
I’ll carry on as they say
Whilst degrade is taking over
How could I ever see a light past the wicked eye?
A dream of truthfulness detached from reality
I came across it once but can’t recall the look
Just a feeling of calm and beauty
No gravity or sense to life
If only I could trust
That better days will come
I’d never lose my hope
To find the hidden sunlit world
Beyond our mind

Luia can be bought here: http://straussband.bandcamp.com/

Directed by – Peter Jones
Produced by – Luke O’Dwyer
DOP – Robin Kay
Edited by – Peter Jones
Additonal Footage – Matt Haworth
Gaffer – Jack Downes
Focus Puller – Martin Dobinson

Camera Assistants – Emma Langley, Michael Tselepis, Greg Childs

Special Thanks to Shift 4

Strauss on Thee Facebooks

Strauss on Bandcamp

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Quarterly Review: Royal Thunder, Strauss, Kult of the Wizard, Coogans Bluff, Papir Meets Electric Moon, We are Warwick Davis, Rongeur, Crowlegion, Chris Forsyth and the Solar Motel Band, Eldorado

Posted in Reviews on April 1st, 2015 by JJ Koczan

the obelisk quarterly review

Morale is good as I stare down day three of this Quarterly Review. I’m encouraged by the good response the two-so-far posts have gotten and hope if you’ve had the chance to check out any of this stuff you’ve been able to find something you’re into. Or if not, I hope the next three days can rectify that situation. There are 30 records still to go. Bound to be something in there for everyone, myself included.

Quarterly Review #21-30:

Royal Thunder, Crooked Doors

royal thunder crooked doors

Royal Thunder’s second full-length for Relapse, Crooked Doors, is bound to surprise some listeners. A three-piece when they issued CVI through the label in 2012, the Savannah, Georgia, outfit arrives at Crooked Doors as a foursome with the addition of guitarist Will Fiore of Zoroaster, and embarks on a considerable shift in approach. Slickly, almost commercially produced, the album brisks past some riffy elements in songs like opener “Time Machine,” also the longest cut at 7:20 (immediate points), and “The Line” toward an aesthetic reinterpreting ‘80s pop-metal melodramas through a vaguely heavy rock filter. Between Fiore and might-spit-beer-on-you guitarist Josh Weaver, one might expect more tonal heft than Crooked Doors offers overall, but the album instead leans heavily on bassist/vocalist Mlny Parsonz to carry the emotional crux of the material (though Evan Diprima’s drums still hit with some impact as well). Parsonz’s voice proves up to the task — in pop-singer form, she carries the record —  and is bolstered through layering, but by the time Crooked Doors’ hour runtime ends up at the lounge-blues and piano stylizations of “The Bear I” and “The Bear II,” it feels cumbersome and like the point has already been made.

Royal Thunder on Thee Facebooks

Relapse Records

Strauss, Luia

strauss luia

A sophomore EP from this London five-piece following their impressive 2013 self-titled (review here), Luia doesn’t top half an hour, but its five included tracks show marked progression in pushing Strauss away from the Kyuss-isms that in large part defined their prior work. Opener “Mud at You” is immediately more aggressive, and though “Humanphobic (to Mary Shelley)” (note: anthropophobia), slows the pace and opens wide in its middle third, vocalist Stef shouts to remind of the core intensity in the songwriting. That takes a back seat as centerpiece “For all the Wrong Reasons” moves toward an apex of a cleaner-sung chorus, but the riffs of guitarists Charles and Bano, and the groove from bassist Bill and drummer Doc, remain heavy enough that the point isn’t lost. The eight-minute “Eclipse” has it all – doomed chug, screams, singing, crash, tempo changes, nod and so on – but the funky jam that starts closer “2015” shows Strauss are willing to have some fun with their heaviness as well. All the better. Time for a full-length.

Strauss on Thee Facebooks

Strauss on Bandcamp

Kult of the Wizard, The White Wizard

kult of the wizard the white wizard

Comparisons to Witch Mountain are inevitable for Minneapolis four-piece Kult of the Wizard, whose vocalist, Mahle Roth, carries a bluesy inflection not dissimilar from Uta Plotkin on the five-song EP, The White Wizard. Self-released, it’s the band’s first work with Roth as frontwoman, guitarist Aaron Hodgson, bassist Ryan Janssen and drummer Travis Nordahl having released two prior outings – The Red Wizard (2013) and The Blue Wizard (2014) – instrumentally, and the difference is palpable. Roth adds a commanding presence to the rolling leadoff track “Tusk of the Mammoth,” showcases a noteworthy range on “Black Moon” and steps back only for an eerie wash of noise and samples on centerpiece “Plasma Pool,” but the finest performance on all fronts is closer “Devil Delight,” which meters out stomp and echo at its peak to concoct an otherworldly churn of psychedelic cult doom, Roth once again steering the progression with a sure hand. One does not expect The White Wizard to be the last we hear from Kult of the Wizard. Hell, they haven’t even done all the primary colors yet.

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Kult of the Wizard on Bandcamp

Coogans Bluff, Ein Herz Voller Soul

coogans bluff ein herz voller soul

With 350 copies pressed by H42 Records in no fewer than five different color variations and at least that many versions of the cover art, Ein Herz Voller Soul, the latest 7” single from horn-laden German rockers Coogans Bluff hits with a fair amount of circumstance. It is, nonetheless, two songs and a quick listen. Its A-side is “Ein Herz Voller Soul,” a German-language retelling of “Heart Full of Soul” from the band’s 2014 full-length, Gettin’ Dizzy, and the B-side is “She Gave Her Life for a Man,” a classic rocker given middle-era Beatlesian flair by Stefan Meinking’s trombone, which feels fitting after the garage style of “Ein Herz Voller Soul,” though both cuts retain an element of the progressive in their approach, the band – Meinking, guitarist Willi Paschen, bassist/vocalist Clemens Marasus, drummer Charlie Paschen and saxophonist Max Thum – not afraid to branch wherever the song might take them, to a call and response hook or harder drum stomp. A stopgap, maybe, but Coogans Bluff have a tendency to engage and here they do so in hardly any time at all.

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H42 Records’ webstore

Papir Meets Electric Moon, The Papermoon Sessions Live at Roadburn 2014

papir meets electric moon the papermoon sessions live at roadburn 2014

Members of German psych-jam godsends Electric Moon and Copenhagen progressive explorers Papir took the stage at Roadburn 2014 in the Netherlands as a follow-up to their 2013 outing, The Papermoon Sessions (review here). I don’t think they’d played live together before and I’m pretty sure they haven’t since (though don’t quote me on that), but in any case, the billing Papir Meets Electric Moon isn’t something that happens every day, and the two north-of-20-minutes pieces conjured up for inclusion on The Papermoon Sessions Live at Roadburn 2014 only emphasize how special the collaboration actually is, washes of synth and effects layered over gloriously krautrocking rhythms, swiftly turning one minute and peaceful the next, but never disjointed, never losing the sense of flow. Each track — the second one is shorter at 22:15 — has its own movement, but the thing to do is put on The Papermoon Sessions Live at Roadburn 2014 and just let it go and go along with it. For a group that came together in the wake of a tragedy — the untimely passing of Danish promoter Ralph Rjeily — Papermoon proves yet again that beauty can spring even in dark times. I hope they do another record.

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Electric Moon on Thee Facebooks

Sulatron Records

We are Warwick Davis, Storming the Castle

we are warwick davis storming the castle

Seems unlikely a band is going to dive into songs like “Hippies are Dead,” “Whore Island (Jim Loves His Wife” or “King Mullet Destroyer” and not have a sense of humor, let alone call themselves We are Warwick Davis – please note: the actor is nowhere to be seen – so yeah, the Illinois double-guitar five-piece get up to some chicanery on their Storming the Castle full-length. Lots of chicanery, as it happens. Vocalist Joe Duffy is blown out over the punkish progressions of “Audio Visual” but reminds more of Jello Biafra on “Mind Enemy Mine,” which launches the album following a voicemail intro about blowing people off the stage. Former Monster Magnet guitarist John McBain mastered the album, and it was apparently a couple years in the self-recording process. It’s accordingly raw, and at 57 minutes, I doubt the band could be accused of understating their argument. Out of balance here and there to the point of abrasion, but ultimately harmless.

We are Warwick Davis on Thee Facebooks

We are Warwick Davis on Reverbnation

Rongeur, The Catastrophist and As the Blind Strive Demos

Rongeur-The-Catastrophist-As-The-Blind-Strive-Demos

With members of folk metallers Trollfest, off-kilter hardcore punkers Ampmandens Døtre and atmospheric post-metallers Sju in tow, it may or may not be fair to call Rongeur a side-project, but they sure as hell are varied in their influences. The Oslo trio of drummer/vocalist Jostein, guitarist/vocalist Ken-Robert and bassist/vocalist Dag Ole (who belong respectively to the bands above) arrange their two-to-date demos with the newer tracks first on The Catastrophist and As the Blind Strive Demos, on Disiplin Media, so that the listener encountering them for the first time hears where the trio are as of 2014, then goes back to their first explorations, from 2013. Raw noise ensues, a post-hardcore vibe delivered with shouts and sludgy heft, but the older tracks offer a fuller distortion that they seem to have stripped down before getting around to songs like “Traitors” or the barebones-aggro “Jon Hogg.” One wonders where they might go from here, which is probably the whole point of the release.

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Disiplin Media

Crowlegion, The First Offering

crowlegion the first offering

Heavy rock and death metal rarely tread the same ground without being immediately cast to one side or another. Gothenburg’s Crowlegion seem determined to stake a claim to both sides, and the 24-minute The First Offering EP, issued on CD by Grave Goods Productions, makes good on that attempt. The seven tracks are short – only two top four minutes – but stylistically ambitious, guitarist/vocalist Linus Pilebrand seeming to be the driving force behind the project’s blend of rolling riffs and guttural growls. He’s since replaced the rhythm section, having played bass on this recording in addition to guitar, with Jonas Jörgensen also on guitar and Sarah Tefke drumming, and four of the seven cuts also feature guest vocals, most of them working in extreme styles as well. I’m not sure if The First Offering is the release that finally crosses that long bridge between aesthetics, but Crowlegion position themselves well with these tracks to continue to make the journey. Nod or headbang. Your choice.

Crowlegion on Thee Facebooks

Crowlegion on Bandcamp

Chris Forsyth and the Solar Motel Band, Intensity Ghost

chris forsyth and the solar motel band intensity ghost

Less about the sonic heft of any given moment than the overarching freedom of exploration throughout its five instrumental tracks, Intensity Ghost is the first studio offering from Chris Forsyth and the Solar Motel Band (released on No Quarter), and it’s fucking brilliant. The Philly-based five-piece got together in 2013 but play like they’ve been sharing stages for a decade, whether it’s the smoothness with which they ride the bassline and current of synth in “Yellow Square” or closer “Paris Song”’s subtle move from minimalism into contemplative psychedelia. Dreamy centerpiece “I Ain’t Waiting” is the shortest of the bunch at 5:16, and opener “The Ballad of Freer Hollow” the longest and jammiest at 11:25 (immediate points), but wherever these guys – Forsyth on guitar, plus guitarist Paul Sukeena, bassist Peter Kerlin, drummer Steven Urgo and synth/organist Shawn Edward Hansen – seem to go, they get there with an engrossing fluidity that’s nothing short of masterful. A joy, front to back.

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No Quarter Records

Eldorado, Babylonia Haze

eldorado babylonia haze

Eldorado’s Babylonia Haze, at 10 tracks and 55 minutes, is not an insignificant undertaking. The Spanish four-piece brazenly take on classic rock hooks topped with organ-and-guitar fluidity and the soar-ready singing of Jesus Trujillo, joined in the band by guitarist Andres Duende, bassist Cesar Sanchez and drummer Christian Giardino (since replaced by Javier Planelles). A progressive clarity marks out acoustic-led cuts like “Breathe the Night” and the later “Resurrection Song,” the arrangements natural and purposeful in kind, and longer inclusions like “Flowers of Envy” (8:02) and “Karma Generator” (11:35) have breadth enough to sustain their runtimes while keeping a structured feel, the latter providing plotted movements toward the apex of the album before “Moon Girl” offers a lesser build of its own as afterthought, reimagining prog-fueled heavy rock as the fodder of a pop wistfulness. Accomplished and precise, it’ll be too clean for some ears, while others will no doubt wonder how its brilliance can be ignored.

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Eldorado on Bandcamp

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The Obelisk Radio Add of the Week: Strauss, Strauss EP

Posted in Radio on November 13th, 2013 by JJ Koczan

I’ve taken to giving London stoner rockers Strauss a two-syllable pronunciation for their name. As Stra-uss, the five-piece seem to revel all the more in the Kyuss influence that shows itself within the tones of their self-titled and self-released debut EP. A collection of six tracks that mostly hover around either side of five-minutes long — the exception, “Trigger,” is 6:30 — StraussStrauss is in deep with the aforementioned desert rock godfathers, the guitars of Charles and Nano owing both tone and riff construction to Blues for the Red Sun‘s blend of garage fuckall and distorted weight. Bassist Bill gets in on the action as well, particularly with his fills winding around the leads of “Trapped Outside,” but there’s also a metallic edge to what Strauss do on their first outing, and “March of One” showcases a more aggressive sway.

The vocals of Stef Sacchetto will be a point of contention for many listeners. While Charles, Nano, Bill and drummer Doc seem set in their sand-hued approach, Sacchetto comes across less sure sonically, whether it’s on “March of One” or opener “Burning Sky.” Mostly rhythmic, there are touches of melody following the riffs, but it’s a punkish take that seems to be waiting for the rest of the band to take on an anger that never comes. I’m not going to rip into somebody figuring out their stylistic niche on what’s been alternately billed as a debut EP and as a demo, but the disjointed vibe never quite evens out by the end of closer “Stop, Pause and Play,” which musically offers some of Strauss‘ most engaging material, working in a laid back exploration atop a solid drum line that moves outside some of the expected desert rock convention and winds up the stretch of the EP that shows the most promise overall, including from Sacchetto, who sounds more confident both in the earlier, quieter going and as he lets out a few screams on either side of the three-minute mark, prior to a jazzy interlude and a finale of forceful riffing.

If he’s a screamer, then I would say scream. Trend has moved away from abrasive vocals for the last five-plus years, but one, who cares?, and two, even if it’s a basis to start from in developing his own cleaner approach, it might at least help the comfort factor in the band’s early going. Either way, Strauss shows the group have a steady grasp on desert tones, and as London’s got a bit of a stoner boom going these days, there exists in their method a potential to stand themselves out from the crowd. You can check out Strauss as part of the 24/7 stream on The Obelisk Radio now, or grab yourself a fancypants free download from the player below, carefully lifted from their Bandcamp page. In any case, enjoy:

Strauss, Strauss EP (2013)

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Strauss on Bandcamp

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