Posted in Whathaveyou on January 13th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Hey, remember when All Them Witchessaid they were recording in January? Well they did. And apparently they’re done. Seems like it was a pretty quick process, honestly.
The band’s socials this past weekend charted the progress in a series of photos and video clips — the Nashville-based heavy-psych blues innovators have never wanted for documentation, which is to their credit — and that series resolved at about 3:30AM on Sunday morning with the words “done tracking,” an emoji, and some stylized black and white shots.
Of course, “done tracking” isn’t the same as “album’s finished.” I don’t have info on who’s going to mix or master the release, but even if it’s done in-house by the band themselves it takes some time, and from there, a lot depends on how the record is being released. 2019’s Nothing as the Ideal (review here) was tracked as the trio of bassist/vocalist Charles Michael Parks, Jr — who finished this session just in time to go on tour with King Buffalo this week (dates here; they added a second Brooklyn show) — guitarist Ben McLeod and drummer Robby Staebler.
Since their impending LP will be their first since 2017’s Sleeping Through the War (review here) to feature organist/violinist Allan Van Cleave, and their first with new drummer Christian Powers, the anticipation is high to hear how the dynamic and direction of the reliably amorphous band have shifted in the past six tumultuous-for-everybody years. If you hit their Instagram or stories or reels or whatever the fuck we’re being told to call short videos on the internet this week, some of it sounds pretty heavy. Whenever and however the new album shows up — surprise release this Wednesday would totally work for me, just saying — a personal challenge thereafter is to go see the band live, which I’ve not done in too long. The good news is there will likely be ample opportunity once the record is out.
When I see more, I’ll say more. For now, here’s “done tracking” preserved for posterity:
DONE TRACKING 🙂
All Them Witches are: Charles Michael Parks, Jr. – bass/vocals Allan Van Cleave – Rhodes/violin Ben McLeod – guitar Christian Powers – drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 11th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
The news here is proportionately good and undetailed. After spending much of the last two years on the road celebrating their catalog, sometimes with whole-album residencies, sometimes just with regular-old constant touring, Nashville heavy psych-blues innovators All Them Witches are currently holed up in the writing process for what will become their seventh full-length. They quickly confirm they’ll record in January, which assuming that results in a 2025 release — hey, you never know — would put their next album at five years’ remove from 2020’s Nothing as the Ideal (review here), which might be fair to call the longest break between LPs in their career if it weren’t for the fact that they spent all of 2022 issuing a monthly singles project called Baker’s Dozen (discussed here) and had the Live on the Internet CD/LP besides. They didn’t disappear, is what I’m saying.
No word on who’s recording — could this be a moment for McLeod to step into producing the band? — or where, but the span of time since Nothing as the Ideal means that All Them Witches‘ next LP will be their first since two pivotal lineup changes took place in the band; first, Rhodes pianist and violinist Allan Van Cleavereturned in 2021, and second, drummer Robby Staebler made a hard right turn politically and split with the group to pursue other projects, resulting in All Them Witches bringing Christian Powers on board for the first time. Powers has spent the bulk of 2024 playing live with the band, so I’ve little doubt that while the dynamic will likely have shifted, the chemistry will be on lock between the new guy and the three founding members he joins, Van Cleave, McLeod and bassist/vocalist Charles Michael Parks, Jr.. To that I would just point out that no two All Them Witches records have ever been the same but they’ve all made their way to ‘rad’ by one path or another and I’ve little doubt the band will get there again.
So, maybe next summer? A Sept. 2025 release? Depends on who’s putting it out, which we also don’t know yet, if it’s still New West Records or what. I look forward to hopefully finding out in the New Year.
From socials:
Hi. We are writing a new record! Recording in January. Amping. Thank you!!
All Them Witches are: Charles Michael Parks, Jr. – bass/vocals Allan Van Cleave – Rhodes/violin Ben McLeod – guitar Christian Powers – drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 7th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
In addition to an on-off relationship with Pentagram that had him touring with that band a decade ago before leaving not yet to return, much of Victor Griffin’s time since the turn of the century, musically speaking, has been dedicated to Place of Skulls. And reasonably so. Griffin, known for his time in Death Row in addition to Pentagram, for working with Joe Hasselvander, Wino, and others, established Place of Skulls in 2000, and whether viewed as a vehicle for Griffin’s riffcraft or a classic doom band bold enough to put its faith front and center in the tradition of Trouble, the band left an impression.
The most recent Place of Skulls album is 2010’s As a Dog Returns (review here), which like the rest of the band’s catalog was issued through Stone Groove Records in 2016. As Griffin‘s then-post-Place of Skulls unit, In~Graved, had their 2013 self-titled (review here) included in that batch — interestingly, it seems to have been rebranded as a Place of Skulls release in 2016; fair enough — it seems likely it will be included in the Ripple bunch as well.
It’s all part of the label’s ‘Beneath the Desert Floor’ series, which is ongoing. And if they’re gonna start doing catalogs, look out. There’s a lot of underrated shit in this little niche of heavy music that no one gave a crap about until like 2013. Not likely to run out of source material anytime soon, is what I’m saying.
Label head and soon-to-be published author Todd Severin had this to say:
Been dying to let this one out of the bag!
“Ripple is thrilled to announce that we’ll be working with the legendary Victor Griffin for reissues of the classic Place of Skulls and In-Graved albums. Victor, the inventor of Drop B tuning, was an early member of Pentagram before forming Place of Skulls with bassist Lee Abney and drummer Tim Tomaselli. Expect to see the Place of Skulls catalog as part of the Beneath the Desert Floor series!!
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 3rd, 2024 by JJ Koczan
A remastered version of Howling Giant‘s 2015 debut EP, being released in January for its 10th anniversary with a bonus track and demos? Yes, fucking of course. Duh. What, you’re gonna say no to that? I repeat: Duh.
In the band’s recounting of their beginnings, they note that “Whale Lord,” which opens the Howling Giant EP, began as a mixing project in college in Boston. I’m pretty sure that’s the Berklee School of Music they’re not namedropping — though admittedly it would be more hilarious if they were a Harvard-educated stoner rock band — and that accounts for some of the method behind their particular brand of madness and the fact that they’ve sounded all along like they know what they’re doing. Because they do.
The four tracks that comprise the original Howling Giant release can be streamed at the bottom of the post. In comparison to 2023’s Glass Future (review here), which the band will continue to support on the road with France’s Mars Red Sky this December; I’ll be at that Brooklyn show so help me Robot Jeebus — it sounds raw, but the energy and the songwriting are there along with hints of the harmonies to come. “Camel Crusher” still nods like a beast. Have fun with it.
Preorders for the thing are up as of tomorrow, as the PR wire details:
HOWLING GIANT announces special 10th-anniversary reissue for “Howling Giant” debut EP this January!
Nashville heavy psychedelic and prog metal goldsmiths HOWLING GIANT are set to reissue a 10th-anniversary remastered edition of their self-titled debut EP this winter, with vinyl and CD preorders starting on Friday 4th October! Recorded live in guitarist and vocalist Tom Polzine’s bedroom, Howling Giant’s 2015 self-titled debut EP still holds true to the band’s core tenets of soaring melody, spacey jams, and fuzzy riffs. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of what propelled these Nashville pillars of sci-fi and fantasy-driven psych-metal into the heavy rock world stratosphere, this fully remastered edition of the “Howling Giant” EP will also comprise three unreleased demos, a spoken word history on the beginnings of the band, a newly recorded cover as well as the digital-only bonus track “WZRDLF Origins”.
About this special EP reissue, the band says: “For the 10th anniversary of our self-titled EP, we wanted to reflect on our origin story. With this release, we included the original 2012 demos recorded during our time in Boston so that the listeners could hear the evolution of our sound. We’re very excited to repress the HG EP on vinyl, newly remastered by Tony Reed with a bunch of goodies on the B-Side. We recorded the original demo for Whale Lord as part of a mixing project in college. We booked the only available studio time (a 4-hour block from 2am to 6am) to record 2 tracks live and on the spot. From the witching hour, we brought Whale Lord and Tusk of the Thunder Mammoth into existence. We hope you enjoy comparing the original 2012 demo to the final product, recorded live in Tom’s bedroom. These are the tracks that started it all. The wizard lives.”
The “Howling Giant” anniversary reissue will be released in Standard Purple Variant vinyl, Light Blue/Yellow Splatter Special Edition (with silver laminate cover), CD and digital on January 13th, 2025, with preorders starting on October 4th at midnight Pacific Time via Bandcamp. All vinyl and CD preorders will receive a digital download of all the remastered tracks, demos and special “SKLDZR Origins” bonus track.
HOWLING GIANT “Howling Giant” EP Anniversary reissue Available on January 13th, 2025 (vinyl/CD/digital) Preorders start Friday 4th October from midnight PST
Posted in Reviews on September 4th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Named in honor of one of the standout hooks from Howling Giant’s 2023 LP, Glass Future (review here), the ‘Sunken City Espresso Roast’ was a surprise from the moment I opened the bag. It is the second collaboration between the Nashville-based band and Frothy Monkey Roasting Co. behind 2021’s ‘Doomsday Express’ medium roast (review here), and had a lot to live up to in terms of the standard that first joint effort set. Sipping it from my Spock mug over the course of the last few mornings as I ground my way through the 12 oz. bag (that’s .34 kg for you metric types) one pot at a time, I was not disappointed.
As noted though, I was surprised. In my apparent ignorance of roaster norms, I tend to think of ‘espresso roast’ as darker, often greasier beans, but when I dumped the bag into the hopper of my grinder — I use an electric burr grinder that gives pretty even output, and grind coarse for an electric Chemex pourover machine; I use bottled water because my tap water has too much limestone and could measure temperature if I was so inclined, but frankly, there are only so many hours in the day — the ‘Sunken City’ beans were markedly light. A quick googling of potentialities informed me that it’s definitely a thing actual coffee reviewers/experts on the internet have opinions about, but that a lighter espresso roast is basically fair game, particularly in a ‘craft’ context.
And as I’m shoehorning disclaimers to cover for the fact that I don’t really know what I’m talking about — that should be familiar enough by now — I’ll say that while it surely would’ve been nice to put the espresso roast in an espresso maker, I have no such apparatus at my disposal. One presses on regardless.
Having come down from my initial surprise and thereby broadened by horizons ever so slightly, I put the grounds in the filter and let the Chemex perform its drippy magic. My principle concern at that point was the acid content, which is just about always on my mind with lighter, drier beans. Where ‘Doomsday Express’ offered +1 dexterity, ‘Sunken City’ is billed as a +1 strength potion, so I expected a hit of flavor that I was glad to find realized on my first cup. Without being overbearingly fruity or nutty and offering a richer mouthfeel than I might have anticipated, I caught hints of what might’ve been in the compact setting of an actual espresso drink while still enjoying it as regular coffee, and like ‘Doomsday Express’ before it, ‘Sunken City’ found a balanced flavor that wasn’t too fancy or in-your-face, but classy and with a character of its own.
You could easily relate that to Howling Giant’s music — “Sunken City,” the song, and the record from whence it comes also find a balance between class and impact — and I’ll say that even as my own taste has veered toward low-acid darkness in roasts, I didn’t hesitate when it came to downing this one, and the creamier mouthfeel (I drink coffee black, exclusively) added dimensionality to the experience that I don’t always get from unburnt grounds. As the band get underway this week touring with Mars Red Sky, they seem to have pulled merch off their Bandcamp page that I assume they’ll be selling at shows, and that includes the coffee. The dates follow:
Howling Giant live: w/ Mars Red Sky: 9/03 Chicago, IL – Reggie’s 9/04 Milwaukee, WI – X-Ray Arcade 9/05 Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry 9/06 Sioux Falls, SD – Club David 9/07 Rapid City, SD – Fairground 9/08 Denver, CO – Hi-Dive 9/10 Portland, OR – The High Water Mark 9/11 Seattle, WA – Substation 9/12 Boise, ID – The Shredder 9/13 Salt Lake City, UT – Crucial Fest 9/14 Las Vegas, NV – Sinwave 9/15 San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill 9/16 Sacramento, CA – Cafe Colonial 9/17 Los Angeles, CA – El Cid Sunset 9/18 Tempe, AZ – Yucca Tap Room 9/19 Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad 9/20 El Paso, TX – The Rosewood 9/21 Austin, TX – Ripplefest Texas w/ GOZU: 9/24 Houston, TX – Black Magick Social Club 9/25 New Orleans, LA – Siberia 9/26 Atlanta, GA – Bogg’s Social & Supply 9/28 Nashville, TN – The East Room
I don’t imagine anyone’s going to get to a gig just to pick up a bag o’ beans — though if you do, that’s rad; I hope you stay for the music — but it’ll be worth keeping an eye on the merch page in case any is left when the tour is done. I’ll note as well that the ‘titan jellyfish’ design on the front of the bag is also on a t-shirt (I bought one since I didn’t feel like waiting until they come through in December for it), and if you prefer your logos on top of the design as I do — nobody needs to be reading words off my middle-aged belly — it’s got that going for it.
Whether or not ‘Sunken City’ will be the last time Frothy Monkey Roasting Co. and Howling Giant collaborate, I don’t know, but each of the two coffees these parties have done together offers something distinct from the other. For overcoming a not-what-I-expected first glance, ‘Sunken City Espresso Roast’ impressed all the more, and when/if the opportunity presented itself to do so — like, at a merch table — I would gladly indulge again.
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 23rd, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Having spent this year touring as a four-piece since welcoming James Sanderson as a full-time member alongside guitarist/vocalist Tom Polzine, bassist/vocalist Sebastian Baltes and drummer/vocalist Zach Wheeler, Nashville heavy rockers Howling Giant the other day put up a post from Sanderson saying he was stepping back at least from touring on second-guitar/vocals with the band. They’ve said he’ll remain involved in writing and recording, as maybe he kind of was, anyway? You know how it is. Sometimes bands have friends. More when they’re good.
In addition to that change — and yeah, I’m kind of bummed I didn’t see four-piece HG; I had a reason for missing it when they came through with The Obsessed and Gozu back in March, but I can’t remember it now and so in my head I just suck — and a new signature espresso roast you can expect to see reviewed here a couple mornings after it arrives, Howling Giant have new dates out with the aforementioned Gozu in addition to the Obelisk-presented run they’ll do with Mars Red Sky around appearances at Crucial Fest and Ripplefest Texas. With Gozu, it’s a few clubs after that fest in Austin, but then there are more shows with Mars Red Sky coming in December, since the first few shows of that tour had to be rescheduled.
The makeups haven’t been announced yet but god damn I’m hoping for a late add to Desertfest New York next month, or for December — gasp! — maybe a Jersey night? Clifton, Jersey City? Shit, Maplewood has to have an underground venue by now. I can rent out the firehouse up the road, if need be. Otherwise, I’ll have missed out seeing Howling Giant in support of 2023’s Glass Future (review here), and that’s indeed a thing to miss. I would sincerely prefer to not.
The dates are from the band’s newsletter. True, I could’ve taken them from any number of social media platforms — Howling Giant aren’t shy when they have a tour to push, nor should they be — but not many in 2024 have a newsletter, and I appreciate the fact that the now-again trio cover their bases.
So, to the PR Wire:
We’re hitting the road soon with Mars Red Sky and then Gozu!
In case you missed it or aren’t on the social medias, here are our upcoming dates with Mars Red Sky and then Gozu. We’re working on filling the last two gaps of the week with Gozu so if you have any suggestions, feel free to shoot us an email back!
w/ Mars Red Sky: 9/03 Chicago, IL – Reggie’s 9/04 Milwaukee, WI – X-Ray Arcade 9/05 Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry 9/06 Sioux Falls, SD – Remedy Brewing 9/07 Rapid City, SD – Fairground 9/08 Denver, CO – Hi-Dive 9/10 Portland, OR – The High Water Mark 9/11 Seattle, WA – Substation 9/12 Boise, ID – The Shredder 9/13 Salt Lake City, UT – Crucial Fest 9/14 Las Vegas, NV – Sinwave 9/15 San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill 9/16 Sacramento, CA – Cafe Colonial 9/17 Los Angeles, CA – El Cid Sunset 9/18 Tempe, AZ – Yucca Tap Room 9/19 Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad 9/20 El Paso, TX – The Rosewood 9/21 Austin, TX – Ripplefest Texas
w/ Gozu: 9/24 Houston, TX – Black Magick Social Club 9/25 New Orleans, LA – Siberia 9/26 Atlanta, GA – Bogg’s Social & Supply 9/28 Nashville, TN – The East Room
Already have tickets for the postponed shows? Fear not, they will be honored for the re-book in December. We’ll send those makeup dates as we get them (we’re looking between December 5th and 14th). If for any reason you want a refund, contact the venue/promoter.
Howling Giant are: Tom Polzine – Guitar and Vocals Zach Wheeler – Drums and Vocals Sebastian Baltes – Bass and Vocals
Posted in Reviews on August 14th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Stoned East Coast heavy blues and doom pervade the second full-length, Revival, from Tennesseean four-piece WyndRider, who know of what they riff. Fronted by the foreboding but soulful melodies of Chloe Gould, with Robbie Willis on guitar, Joshuwah Herald on bass and Josh Brock on drums — the latter making his first appearance with the band in an all-Josh rhythm section — the band make a turnaround from their 2023 self-titled debut (review here) that feels almost deceptively quick considering the crawling tempo of “Remember the Sabbath” at the start of side B or the finale “The Wheel” just one song later, but there is growth and self-awareness underlying their sound as they present it on this seven-song/43-minute collection, which was recorded, mixed and mastered by Danielle Fehr of The Wizard Productions, even as it continues the first album’s thread of stoner-doom-speaking-to-stoner-doom and revels in various genre tropes around horror cinema, “Motorcycle Witches,” and religious dogma, and so on.
With four tracks on its first half and three on its second, one might be tempted to think of Revival as a mullet structure — business up front and party in the back — but really it’s just all the party, and the party is doom. The blend of jangly strum and wholly-fuzzed riffing with Gould‘s voice showcased overtop in opener “Forked Tongue Revival” sets a Southern Baptist-style procession forward, but even among “Judas” and “Devil’s Den,” the lead cut is actually something of an outlier in terms of structure, and so smartly placed such that its psych-leaning midpoint solo and lurching gospelism, instead of being mismatched to the subsequent “Motorcycle Witches,” marks out a broader stylistic swath for everything that follows while remaining consistent in tone and the band’s general dynamic.
There and throughout Revival, the sense of a band knowing what works in their sound is palpable, whether it’s the ritualized atmospherics giving over to the riff laid out at the beginning of “Motorcycle Witches” or the steady nod that follows in that first-of-three trilogy of five-minute cuts; “Motorcycle Witches,” “Judas” and “Devil’s Den” each bring something of their own to the record’s front-to-back, but feel grouped together following the six-minute “Forked Tongue Revival” on side A, even if the time differentials aren’t drastic between longer (seven-plus minutes) and shorter (five-plus minutes) songs and the nod is a constant presence regardless.
That grouping, the way Revival is actually set up as “Judas” picks up from “Motorcycle Witches” with a Maryland doom traditionalism in its verse — putting riffs and disaffected vibes where less capable hands might otherwise place bullshit — and leaning into a rawer sound for Willis‘ soloing ahead of the cowbell’s somehow-inevitable arrival, is further evidence of the focus on delivery and the album’s structure. “Judas” meanders a bit into dark-trippiness without losing its way in its second half, coming mostly to a stop before the resurgent solo-topped roll brings them to the last verse and comedown, but it and the centerpiece “Devil’s Den” make fitting companions. The latter brings new testimonial from Gould with elephantine backing from the riff, a sleek groove that’s consistent in its lead flourish and bluesy but perfectly-paced verse stops, hinting toward Clutch-y funk, but ultimately working toward more sinister aesthetic ends. Brock‘s drums join the bass and guitar in a punctuated chug offsetting the central riff later, but it’s Willis who caps side A with a pull of lead guitar that, in a linear format — i.e. CD or digital — moves with grace into Herald‘s bass at the outset of “Remember the Sabbath.”
And they’re not kidding when they say ‘Sabbath’ either. As in, “Black Sabbath” by Black Sabbath on the album Black Sabbath. Hard to get more ‘Sabbath’ than that without actual religious observation. Much to WyndRider‘s credit, they neither play coy with the influence nor neglect to bring something of their own to it, the spaces left open in the verse and tumble-down-the-stairs transitions giving them a chance to push into moodier cavernousness before Willis highlights the point with a late classic-style solo following the crescendo of riff, the bass that gently caps shifting to kick drum as “Under the Influence” takes hold — it’s almost enough to make you wonder if they’re doing “War Pigs” next, and that also feels intentional — soon rejoined by decidedly nastier low end fuzz. That thudding intro opens to what feels like a triumphant breakout but is still decisively doomed, some twist alongside the abiding nod of the verse, almost an Uncle Acid-y strut but grounded in doom rather than the swing itself, and heavy, heavy, heavy in plod even as “Under the Influence” comes across as placed in part to give “Remember the Sabbath” and aforementioned closer “The Wheel” breathing room on either side of it.
This isn’t a detriment to the song or the LP more broadly — if anything, it underscores the focus on fluidity throughout, which is successful and a strength that bolsters the impression of Revival as a whole work — as “The Wheel” lumbers forth through early verses en route to a Iommi-style bi-channel guitar solo that drops in the midsection to spoken word (and maybe organ or manipulated feedback; maybe both?) as part of the build into the next stage of the finale, suitably doomed. The willful slog gives over to more intense drumming at around five minutes in, and the swing of “Under the Influence” is echoed in the last movement of “The Wheel” as the pace gets a kick for the last two minutes or so before the cold stop ends it with no less clarity of purpose than anything that’s come before.
Indeed, that clarity is the most resounding point WyndRider make on their second full-length, the album firmly declaring that, after a debut well received in the US underground — the “scene,” as it exists in social media word of mouth, etc. — the band have taken the lessons of their first album and used them as a means of progressing their craft. Revival is quick in affirming the potential of its predecessor, but more encouraging for the development it portrays in WyndRider stylistically while landing in close enough succession to keep momentum on the band’s side. They now have two strong LP offerings under their collective belt. If the pattern holds, their next one may tell the ultimate tale of their fruition.
Tomorrow, July 19, marks the release of the third and reportedly final long-player from Nashville atmospheric heavy rockers The Swell Fellas, Residuum Unknown, and if you don’t think that otherwise very good news is delivered with a shot of bummerness as a result of their breakup, you probably will after listening.
A farewell release isn’t something every band gets to make. Most of the time, a band’s ‘final album’ isn’t billed that way when it’s coming out; it’s something that happens after the fact. The sense of culmination pervading Residuum Unknown is palpable through the seven-songer’s 45-minute stretch, which is marked by largesse beyond even what was harnessed on 2022’s Novaturia (review here); an expansive, heavy breadth that’s atmospheric in its churn the way gases on Jupiter seem to swirl and spin around each other, creating and unfurling massive, intense storms.
So too it goes with cuts like “Chore to Breathe” and “The Drain,” which follow album-intro “Unknown” and introduce the elements at play: airy, melodic vocals in a post-rock vein, almost Radioheaded at times, a density of low end from departing bassist Mark Rohrer that becomes a signature across the span, and intermittent bursts of intensity that offer no less crush for their refinement. As the last The Swell Fellas LP, Residuum Unknown is likewise urgent and methodical, and its songs create a sense of mood that draws the work together as a single, front-to-back experience.
Explorations of guitar in effects and riffs from Conner Poole and complementary tom runs from drummer Chris Poole fill out the spaces and sharpen in tone alongside Rohrer‘s bass as “The Drain” gets underway, a fuzz riff cutting through the aural mist and reverb-drenched voice, crashing, volatile, but not without purpose and not haphazard. As the record plays out, the human presence waxes and wanes but never departs, and though “The Drain” starts furious, its midsection break offers a comedown against which to set all the bombast. They build it back up, of course, with a buzzsaw guitar solo topping and smoothing the transition, but the impact and teased come-apart are a preface for what side B will bring in the closing duo of “Give Roses” and “Next Dawn,” both of which top eight minutes and, in succession, give Residuum Unknown its most brazenly chaotic moments.
The longest song on the record, however, is sorta-centerpiece “Pawns Parade” (8:59), which emphasizes the immersion that’s been happening all the while and moves with deceptive smoothness through multi-layer early verses en route to a takeoff after three and a half minutes; a duly resonant surge, still deep in mix and vibrant in heft. Angular guitar lines run in cycles with the drums — one suspects the Poole brothers could do that kind of thing all day — but the forward motion isn’t lost as the next verse begins and carries toward the utter consumption that marks the second half of the song, in the aftermath of which they offer a quiet epilogue of far-off, fading vocals.
If that’s where a vinyl side would split, fair enough. It feels all the more like a clear division with the acoustic guitar at the outset of “Gateway Grand” ahead of the aforementioned concluding pair “Give Roses” and “Next Dawn,” and the folkish strum comes with progressive-style drone and percussive thud, the melody layered and working toward its full realization over the course of its four and a half minutes, never quite departing the guitar-and-voice foundation that was likely how it was originally written, but expounded upon in ways that give a sense of how crucial ambience is to what The Swell Fellas are doing here.
Ringing bells — either manipulated or synthesized, I don’t know — give over to the bassy start of “Give Roses,” and a float of guitar tops the procession with surprisingly gentle twists, intricate in their tone and detail as they wrap around the verse lines, obscure but evocative. They’re shortly past the midpoint when at 4:30 the song stops short and unleashes another stage of willful cacophony, becoming a genuine onslaught for the remainder that’s not barbaric or lacking in thought behind it, but is a level of furiousness not shown before. By the time they push, roll and flatten their way through the rest of “Give Roses,” it’s difficult to imagine both the acoustic “Gateway Grand” that took place only a few minutes earlier and their being able to effectively follow “Give Roses” with anything else, but the fact is that “Next Dawn” picks up from the deconstruction at the end of the song prior and maintains that stupefying force for most of its own stretch.
The Swell Fellas are too dynamic in their craft to do one thing for eight and a half minutes, but “Next Dawn” is underscored with a doom that ripples no matter how loud a given part might be early on, and so is able to bring together the atmospheric ideals and noisy pulse that have pervaded throughout Residuum Unknown; a whole-song crescendo serving both its own needs and that of the record in its entirety. And when they find themselves shortly before the seven-minute mark, the three-piece shift over to an angular riff that reminds of nothing so much as early Mastodon echoing off canyon walls, cutting and bleeding in nod and drawl as they make their way to the end, inevitable. The vocals are last to go in a relatively quick dissipation, and even the silence after the song is finished feels heavier for what The Swell Fellas undertook in that apex charge.
I will not claim to know the future or to say that the Pooles and Rohrer might not change their minds and decide to keep being a band or move forward in some other way. But if Residuum Unknown is in fact their last outing in whatever form, it portrays a band with still more to offer, more to say than has been said. It deserves more than to be a footnote in the career arc of a band who didn’t stick around long enough to even potentially get their due, to be sure. It is otherworldly in character and yet able to slam into your eardrum with terrestrial magnitude.
Residuum Unknown streams in its entirety below. I don’t take lightly the opportunity to stream what’s ostensibly the last thing The Swell Fellas will do, and I thank the band for the chance to host the record. As always, I hope you enjoy.
PR wire info follows:
The Swell Fellas, Residuum Unknown (2024)
Hailing from their hometown of Ocean City, Maryland, and now residing in Nashville, TN, The Swell Fellas took lessons from their early days of improvising extensive riff heavy jams, and formed a dark, refreshing sound that will have you riding a wave of intense meditation into soaring musical crescendos. In 2020, the band released The Big Grand Entrance in January, three song EP The Great Play of Extension in April, and single Death Race in August. After an intensive early 2022 tour schedule supporting All Them Witches, The Swell Fellas released their latest studio effort, Novaturia, on June 17th, 2022.
This power trio is made up of a pair of brothers, Conner and Chris Poole (guitar and drums respectively) with their longtime friend, Mark Rohrer, a guitarist who they begged to buy bass gear. Growing out of their backyard home studio in MD, the band is pushed forward by Rohrer’s brand of heavy ethereal sound baths on bass, wailing lead guitar with dynamic instrumental effects, and an underscore of wonderfully technical drumming. And with so, the trio have distilled their personal chemistry into something greater than the sum of its parts. With larger than life lyrics inspired by the ebbs and flows of their personal lives, the band remains surprisingly grounded for a group who are so prone to exploration.
Nashville heavy psych trio The Swell Fellas release their third and final album Residuum Unknown late July 2024. Encompassing everything the band has to offer on one incredibly written album will leave fans in awe.
The trio have toured with giants in the industry such as All Them Witches and King Buffalo and built up quite a following in the last 4-5 years. Long time friend and Bassist Mark Rohrer unfortunately had to part ways leaving brothers Chris and Connor Poole a tough decision to end the band. However, not without a proper send off by releasing their best album to date.
The Swell Fellas were: Conner Poole // Guitar and Vocals Chris Poole // Drums and Vocals Mark Rohrer // Bass and Vocals
