Posted in Bootleg Theater on February 28th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
From what I’m told, the new Dandy Brown video for the track ‘This World’ relates to the last one from guitarist/vocalist Dandy Brown and his band, which was for “The Bees” (posted here). Fair enough. If you go back and watch it, “The Bees” has the same young lady hanging out while the band plays and with the progression from downing booze in the earlier video to sleeping on the couch in the new one, well, I guess the narrative at play is easy enough to put together. Fortunately Dandy Brown and company aren’t making too much of a ruckus with “This World.”
Indeed, like much of Scattered Days, which is the Dandy Brown album on Taxi Driver Records on which the track serves the pivotal role of centerpiece, “This World” is an unpretentious and laid back slice of desert rock chill. There’s nothing overblown about it. It’s not overly laid back in terms of “oh the song got high and wandered off” — that is, it has a structure and sticks to it — but Brown commands the song with a lighter hand and lets the tones do the work of reinforcing a sense of heft while his own vocals recall some of the melodic styling of Hermano bandmate John Garcia while also still retaining their own identity.
Scattered Days finds itself nestled into classic rocking moments on tracks like “The Sleeper” and closer “The Swimmer,” acoustics and electric guitars commingling amid a residual sense of ’60s psychedelic influence, but “This World” represents the album well nonetheless. You’ll note the samples in the beginning and end of the video that don’t seem to be on the album, and that in addition to the return of the woman on the couch, we also see Brown don makeup and take on the role of some kind of figure who seems to be outside the sphere looking in on “This World” itself. In appearance I was reminded of Chris Goss circa the last Masters of Reality album. In concept, it was more The Watcher from the Marvel Comics What If…? series. Sometimes the mind goes strange places, my friends.
Anyway the song rocks, and you’ll find the Tyler Geeson-directed video below. Scattered Days is a gem and it’s out later this year on Taxi Driver Records.
Enjoy:
Dandy Brown, “This World” official video
Dandy Brown (Hermano, Orquesta del Desierto) has just published the second single, “This World”, from his upcoming new album “Scattered Days” (Taxi Driver Records, 2018).
It’s the sister-piece to the first single “The Bees”, following the same story thread and shot by same director, Tyler Geeson.
Both new songs are included in “Scattered Days”: born in the high desert of southern California, the album is Dandy Brown’s final collection of songs written and recorded in the Morongo Basin. What began with the release of the Hermano and Orquesta Del Desierto collections, “Scattered Days” is the final phase of Brown’s desert writing sessions.
Written and produced by Dandy Brown Engineered by Paul Francis Mixed and Mastered by Paul Francis Get Right Recording, Yucca Valley, California
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 28th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
It does not take long to understand why Italian trio Cambrian hit such a mark with their debut full-length Mobular, upon releasing it digitally last year. Their weighted tones arrive offset by a sense of psychedelic drift. They claim it as a Hawaiian influence, and you can hear that in the tracks — though I think if they had said desert instead of island, they’d have a pretty good claim there too. I guess the underlying point is: sandy psych. Maybe the heavy parts are the crashing waves.
Mobular, which you can stream of course in its entirety at the bottom of this post, has been newly issued as a limited CD digipak by Taxi Driver Records. The numbers are few, the editions are special, and the details are below, as swiped from the PR wire.
Like so:
“MOBULAR” by CAMBRIAN, CD release
Taxi Driver Records announced the digital release (Spotify, Itunes and all other main digital platforms) of Mobular, debut album by Cambrian in Summer 2017.
We’ve just released the CD version, in February 2018, limited to 300 digipak copies. First 50 are hand-numbered and come with screenprinted o-card and patch.
Cambrian is an Italian “supergroup” formed by Boggio Nattero (Carcharodon) at Lap-steel guitar, Electric guitar and Vox, Fabio Cuomo (solo project, Eremite, Mope) at Drums and Piano, Stefano Parodi (Vanessa Van Basten, Mope, Dead Esther) at Bass guitar. They play “Relaxing Hawaiian Sludge Doom in the key of C”.
A surreal and alienating combination of very slow Hawaiian lap-steel scores and elephantine sludge/doom riffs with compelling blues shades. It’s as if Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath were jamming with Earth and Sleep on a Hawaiian beach at sunset.
In 2015 Boggio Nattero started experimenting his riffs, which sounded between a relaxing Caribbean movie soundtrack and evil doom sonorities. As Fabio Cuomo listened to these home recordings, he immediately decided to go jamming in the rehearsal room with Boggio. He also involved doomster Stefano Parodi, who already shared with him many music projects.Tracks were finally recorded in total relax, mixed & mastered by Emi Cioncoloni at El Fish Recording Studio (Genova, Italy) in July 2016, Summer of Doom. Artwork and Graphic Layout by Jessica Rassi/The Giant’s Lab.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 17th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Beer-guzzling Italian heavy rockers Humulus might be a little late for Oktoberfest, but one imagines they’ll find plenty to keep their livers busy with anyway as they trek through Germany next week on a Noisolution-booked six-day jaunt supporting earlier-2017’s Reverently Heading into Nowhere (review here). The band offers a quick check-in ahead of the run, and it turns out they’ve almost completely sold through the first pressing of their second long-player, and though more are reportedly 200 more on the way, if you happen to be in the path of the tour and want a copy, now would seem to be the time to pick it up. Fair enough.
Reverently Heading into Nowhere was released through Taxi Driver Records and Oak Island Records. Here’s that update from the band, some cool art and the dates for next week’s stint:
Humulus – Humulus Germanicus Tour
We really can’t wait to hit the road and have a blast in this 6 days tour in Germany. In the past we had 2 shows in Germany (one at Keep it Low in 2015) and were always very nice situations. When our last LP came out it was well reviewed by German magazines and blogs and our German label (Oak Island Records) and promoting agency (Noisolution) are doing a great work with us. We really expect to having good time, nice shows and meet old and new friends.
We have only few copies left of our last LP in limited edition vinyl for this tour… then new 200 copies will be repressed by the label in black version and they will be available from spring 2018. So don’t be shy German people: come to our shows, enjoy our music, and grab the last copies of our R.H.I.N.O.
20.11.2017 – Munich, Rumours 21.11.2017 – Wiesbaden, Kesselhaus w/ The Flying Eyes 22.11.2017 – Düsseldorf, District 6 23.11.2017 – Berlin, Jägerklause Berlin w/ Dead Kittens 24.11.2017 – Jena, Kulturbahnhof Jena w/ Nap 25.11.2017 – Ulm, Kradhalle
Tour is booked and promote by Noisolution
Humulus is: Andrea Van Cleef: guitar, voice Giorgio Bonacorsi: bass Massimiliano Boventi: drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 30th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
First issued last year as the inevitable follow-up to their He Said single (review here), the eight-track full-length debut from Italy’s Sonic Wolves, Before the End Comes, has now been pressed to vinyl for the first time. It’s available via Taxi Driver Records in a couple different editions that include the aforementioned single, and in addition to marking the debut for the band, it’s also something of the end of an era, as bassist/vocalist Kayt Vigil (ex-Hounds of Hasselvander), drummer Vita (Ufomammut) and guitarist Diniz have since parted ways with guitarist/vocalist Paolo Melotto and opted to continue forward as a trio. No doubt that, whatever they do next, that will play into some shift in sound and approach.
The PR wire brings info and links for those who’d chase the platter in the meantime:
Sonic Wolves – “Before The End Comes” vinyl release
Taxi Driver Records announces the release of Sonic Wolves’ first album, titled “Before The End Comes”, on vinyl version.
After the release of the album on cd in 2016, the limited edition 180gr 2-color split – black/white vinyl can now be pre-ordered from the label’s bandcamp page.
First 70 copies are hand numbered and include the 7″ single “He Said” radio edit, released first for Record Store Day 2016 (limited edition now sold out) and then for Sonic Wolves’ European tour supporting Belzebong in Feb/Mar 2017.
There’s also a very limited die hard edition: 25 handmade and numbered heavy paper boxes including 180gr vinyl record, jewel box cd, 7″ single “He Said”, pin button and screenprinted back patch.
“Before The End Comes” was recorded at the end of 2015 at Ampire Studio in Pistoia, with Stefano Tocci serving as studio sound engineer. Artwork by Michele Carnielli (Seals Of Blackening).
The album includes 8 tracks: 1. Winds Of War 2. Geronimo 3. Obscured 4. He Said 5. Wolfwitch 6. Lamia 7. Freedom Is The Devil 8. Before The End Comes
Sonic Wolves, heavy rock band founded by bassist Kayt Vigil (previously in The Hounds Of Hasselvander and Pentagram, currently also in Rogue State) and drummer Vita (also in Ufomammut and Rogue State), is now performing as a power trio together with their guitarist Diniz, as they have recently parted ways with the other guitarist.
Sonic Wolves is: Kayt Vigil – Bass, Vocals Diniz – Rhythm Guitar Vita – Drums
You may or may not be overly concerned to find out, but we’re still running on the backup server for The Obelisk Radio while the data is transferred to the new hard drive. Judging by the number of listeners at any given point, you’re not. The numbers are still pretty good. Nonetheless, I cannot express the depth of my appreciation to Slevin for sorting out this mess. I had no idea when I hit him up on a Sunday to be like, “Uh, the stream is down” that it would be a project requiring more than a month of his valuable time. Dude is a godsend. I should send him a cheese basket.
Instead, he gets a zip file with the following releases to add to that temporary stream (they’ll go on the new server as well when that’s operational). Because I am a shitty friend, and because cheese baskets are expensive as hell. Let’s do this.
The Obelisk Radio Adds for April 10, 2017:
Tia Carrera, Laid Back (Frontside Rock ‘n’ Roll)
It’s been a hot minute since last we heard from Austin, Texas, three-piece instrumentalists Tia Carrera. The last offering the heavy psych jammers had out with a 2013 vinyl edition (review here) of their 2011 full-length, Cosmic Priestess (review here). So upwards of six years, if you want to go by the original release date of what was their second album for Small Stone Records. They reportedly have a new one coming this Fall, so one might think of the nine-and-half-minute single “Laid Back (Frontside Rock ‘n’ Roll),” which was recorded live this past January with the lineup of guitarist Jason Morales, bassist Curt Christiansen and drummer Erik Conn, as a lead-in for that. True, Tia Carrera haven’t been completely absent — they played Psycho Las Vegas in 2016 and one sees their name on various SXSW bills each year — but either way, it’s a welcome studio return from a band who were ahead of the post-Earthless curve that has swelled further out West, and who, despite a kind of raw, garage-style recording here, nonetheless showcase the chemistry and fluidity that separated them from the pack to start with. As the title promises, the jam is laid back, rife with swirling guitar, winding basslines and drumming that, while propulsive doesn’t take away from the languid overarching vibe. They’ve made the song a name-your-price download, so all the better should you be inclined to dig in. And you should be.
With nodding groove, fuzzed tonality and, for good measure, flourish of psychedelia, Brescia, Italy, trio Humulus may be working amid familiar elements on their second long-player, Reverently Heading into Nowhere (on Taxi Driver and Oak Island Records), but the results are impeccably constructed. The album, which follows their 2015 Electric Warlrus EP (review here) and 2012 self-titled debut, offers six tracks that carefully balance atmosphere and heft, cuts like “Catskull” digging into classic desert rock sensibilities via the modern European approach of a band like 1000mods while longer pieces like opener “Distant Deeps or Skies,” “Anachronaut” and the 11-minute finale “Rama Kushna” save room for increasingly expansive jamming, the latter the most spacious of all with floating guitar over a satisfyingly warm bass in its midsection leading to an instrumental apex that, while predictable, is no less engaging for that upon its arrival. Even shorter pieces like “The Gold Rush” and “The Great Hunt” find a balance between rolling rhythm and broader psychedelic consciousness, and when guitarist/vocalist Andrea Van Cleef, bassist Giorgio Bonacorsi and drummer Massimiliano Boventi lock into a slowdown, as at the end of “The Great Hunt” or in the Snail-esque“Anachronaut” earlier, the effect is duly massive to fit with the rhinoceros on the album’s cover. Their reverence is palpable, and throughout the 43-minute outing, Humulus make it plain that wherever they’re actually heading, they welcome their audience to come along for the trip.
King Buffalo, Live at Wicked Squid Studios (6.16.16)
It’s nothing more or less than a live set, but as King Buffalo have already wrapped a round of US touring and were recently announced as support for Stickman Records labelmates Elder on their next European run, it seems only fair to grab the name-your-price Live at Wicked Squid Studios (6.16.16) while the grabbing’s good and consider the four-track/29-minute release a document of their chemistry as a live band as they marked the release of their debut album, Orion (review here), last summer. Not everything they play comes from that record — “New Time” was featured on their 2015 STB Records split with Lé Betre (review here) — but in their tone, breadth and expanse, they represent the full-length all the same. The psychedelic wash of “New Time” leads the way out of opener “Orion” and into a one-two medley of “Kerosene / Goliath Pt. 2,” and they finish by setting the controls for the heart of a nine-minute rendition of “Drinking from the River Rising,” which also closed Orion and proves no less immersive in this setting than it did on the studio offering. I’ve made no secret of the potential that I think resides in the Rochester, NY, three-piece, and as they move further into becoming a touring band, they’re only doing the work of bringing that potential to life. It may be that at some point we’ll look back on Live at Wicked Squid Studios as a kind of primitive beginning — I don’t want to predict where they’ll go or how their sound will continue to develop — but even so, it’s fortunate that we’ll have it to look back on at all.
This shit is like catnip for riff-hounds. Iowan two-piece Telekinetic Yeti stoner-march their way into the hearts and minds of the converted and onto the list of 2017’s best debuts with Abominable (on Sump Pump Records), a clean eight-track/41-minute long-player marked out by its tonal thickness and shifts between using it for Sleep-style roll and fuzzier fare, perhaps most directly and efficiently summarized on the single “Stoned and Feathered,” but in fluid proportion throughout cuts like the lumbering “Lightbearer” and the neo-stoner-delic chug of “Beneath the Black Sun” as well. Comprised just of guitarist/vocalist Alex Baumann and drummer Anthony Dreyer — though I’ll be damned if somebody isn’t playing bass on “Electronaut” — Telekinetic Yeti seem to burst out of the gate with a solid idea of who their audience is and what their audience wants, and to their credit, they deliver just that and have been met with a flurry of hyperbole for their efforts. I can’t really argue with the heft or cohesion of the material on Abominable, and the willingness on the part of Baumann and Dreyer to inject some atmospheric depth into the aptly-named nine-minute tour de force “Colossus” and closer “Himalayan Hymn” bodes well for their chances of leaving a mark over the longer term, even if there’s growing to be done before they get there. Still, as their first time out, Telekinetic Yeti‘s Abominable signals a righteousness of intent and wholly succeeds in capturing the attention it plainly seeks. The next few years will write their story, but if these guys take this show on the road, they could indeed turn into a monster.
The story goes that Cinderland was recorded in Wyoming in a refurbished schoolhouse by the duo of ambient multi-instrumentalist Scott Morgan and classical cellist Mark Bridges — working together under the moniker High Plains — and composed very much with that high-altitude, utterly empty landscape in mind. Represented in a pervasive minimalism that makes every swell of volume on “The Dusk Pines” stand out and shifts between piano, cello, guitar, drone and electronics cinematic in their drama like the soundtrack to one of those foreboding Westerns where nobody talks because they’re afraid that if the earth hears them speak it will open up and swallow them whole — which it might — it is an immersive, resolutely melancholy execution across nine tracks and 36 minutes that is likewise stark and beautiful. “A White Truck” and “Hypoxia” carry some nuance of the paranoid, but there’s resolution in “Blood that Ran the Rapids” and “Song for a Last Night” that, like the high desert itself, teems with life while giving the impression of being a void for the lack of human presence. Mood-affecting in its atmospherics, Cinderland draws the listener into this world that is both gorgeous and threatening, and fits itself to the narrative that birthed it with resonance and depth. One hopes it is not a one-off collaboration between the Canadian Morgan and Wisconsin-based Bridges and that wherever their next trip together takes them — go to New Mexico! — they’re able to likewise capture the setting in such evocative fashion.
Dandy Brown‘s first single for Taxi Driver Records doesn’t exactly play it light on the desert ambience. And neither should it. The guitarist known for his work in the John Garcia-fronted Hermano and Orquesta del Desierto comes to the fore on “The Bees,” which arrives with a new video ahead of tour dates for Brown‘s band alongside Arizona’s Fuzz Evil next month. The two acts shared the bill last year in Fuzz Evil‘s native Arizona at Borderland Fuzz Fiesta (review here), and there as in “The Bees,” Dandy Brown‘s unpretentious groove seemed purely driven by desert-minded impulses. No reason the clip for the song shouldn’t work on that level as well.
One can easily hear the songwriting style at root in Hermano in “The Bees” too. That band’s last outing was 2007’s viciously underappreciated …Into the Exam Room, and there has been persistent word of a new Hermano release in the works — they played new stuff at Hellfest in France last year (posted here) — though nothing solid as far as “it’s been recorded” or “it’s coming out on such-and-such date and such-and-such label.” Brown, in the interim, notes below that a full-length from his solo band will be out this Winter through Taxi Driver, though at this point Spring/Summer seems much more likely — unless he’s talking about December and giving himself time to finish. I guess we’ll see when we get there.
But his hitting the road with Fuzz Evil is good news, and the song has laid back, catchy charm, so you won’t hear me complain. I don’t know exactly when the single will be out on Taxi Driver, but if you want to catch onto the vibe of “The Bees” ahead of its arrival — and why not? — you’ll find the video below, followed by more info from Brown‘s website.
Chill out, tune in, and enjoy:
Dandy Brown, “The Bees” official video
During a few days of the most recent high desert winter, we grabbed a camera, a couple of suits, a handful of flowers, booze bottles, some lingerie, guitars, amps and microphones, and set out to make this video for The Bees. Our mission was aided by some fantastic folks: a terrific crew, Nicole Serrano and Dawn Rich . . . a fantastic female lead, the beautiful Tee Marie . . . one of the finest new talents in southern California, our director, Tyler Geeson. We can’t say thanks enough to those folks.
Shot at various locations in Joshua Tree and Morongo Valley, California, The Bees is the first single for DB on Taxi Driver Records (Italy). A follow-up full length LP is expected in the winter of 2017.
Come and see us this spring with Sierra Vista, AZ’s own Fuzz Evil.
Dandy Brown & Fuzz Evil
I-10 Extravaganza 2017 Saturday, April 15, San Diego, CA, Tower Bar Tuesday, April 18, Joshua Tree, CA, The Beatnik Cafe Wednesday, April 19, Palm Desert, CA, The Red Barn Thursday, April 20, Phoenix, AZ, Yucca Tap Room Friday, April 21, Sierra Vista, AZ, the horned TOAD
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 7th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
After locking in releases through Oak Island Records and Taxi Driver Records for the LP and CD pressings, respectively, Italian heavy rockers Humulus have newly unveiled the cover art and tracklisting for their forthcoming second full-length, Reverently Heading into Nowhere. Those who’ve followed the band will note it’s of an animalized theme with their prior EP, 2015’s Electric Warlrus (review here), and their 2012 self-titled debut album before that, but to take it one step further, we can see the quote below from drummer Massimiliano Boventi potentially coming to fruition in the tracklisting itself.
My basis for comparison there is the fact that Humulus‘ Humulus — now five years old — had nine songs and Reverently Heading into Nowhere, which is out March 24, tops out at six. Entirely possible the record’s just shorter overall, but in light of what Boventi says about following-up the EP, I’d expect it means the cuts themselves are somewhat longer, allowing for that more psychedelic feel to take hold. Boris from Monkey3 showing up for a guest spot is also a pretty good sign of that direction.
Either way, we’ve got a while to go before we find out, but you can check out the art and so forth below:
Humulus – Reverently Heading into Nowhere
Release date is fixed for 24th march (vinyl and digital for Oak Island Records and CD for Taxi Driver Records). The vinyl will be in transparent green and white w/ pink/purple splatter, strictly limited.
Tracklisting: 1- Distant Deeps Or Skies 2- Catskull 3- Anachronaut (feat Boris from Monkey3) 4- The Gold Rush 5- The Great Hunt 6- Rama Kushna
First gigs: 14th april @ Lio Bar (Brescia, Italy) 17th april @ Clock Tower Pub (Treviglio – BG, Italy)
“So… the new record is recorded at Indiebox Music Hall in Brescia,” says Massimiliano Boventi, “and all the tracks are passed into an analog tape before been mixed and mastered. These new six tracks are the spontaneous sequel of the sound of our last EP (went out last year). Humulus sound becomes more and more a mix between psychedelic dispositions and heavier doom stuffs.”
Andrea Van Cleef: guitar, voice Giorgio Bonacorsi: bass Massimiliano Boventi: drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 27th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Italian trio Humulus have locked in a CD release for their upcoming second album, Reverently Heading into Nowhere, through Taxi Driver Records. Set for this Spring, the CD will coincide with a vinyl through Kozmik Artifactz-distributed imprint Oak Island Records, and it follows Humulus‘ 2015 EP, Electric Walrus (review here), on which they blended organ-laced ’90s-style alternative sensibilities with harder push on songs like “Glider” and incorporated psychedelic vibing on the extended opener “Red Star, Winter Orbit.”
What that means they might do on the record, well, I suppose it could go any number of ways. We’ll just have to see when we get there. This one’s been in discussion for a while at this point, so it’s good to see some forward progress.
From the PR wire:
TDREC new release: Humulus in CD
Taxi Driver Records announces the release of the CD version for the new album titled “Reverently Heading Into Nowhere” by Italian psych-stoner power trio Humulus in Spring 2017.
Humulus formed in Brescia/Bergamo (Italy) in 2009. After the release of their first album in 2012, cool collaborations as the production of their eponymous black stoner IPA brewed from 2014 together with ELAV Independent Brewery, the release of an EP in 2015 and many live shows, the band is very proud of this new work which sounds greatly psychedelic and heavy. LP version of “Reverently Heading Into Nowhere” will be curated by German label Oak Island Records.
Cover artwork and tracklist will be revealed in the next weeks.
“So… the new record is recorded at Indiebox Music Hall in Brescia,” says Massimiliano Boventi, “and all the tracks are passed into an analog tape before been mixed and mastered. These new six tracks are the spontaneous sequel of the sound of our last EP (went out last year). Humulus sound becomes more and more a mix between psychedelic dispositions and heavier doom stuffs.”
Andrea Van Cleef: guitar, voice Giorgio Bonacorsi: bass Massimiliano Boventi: drums
