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Quarterly Review: Les Discrets, Test Meat, Matus, Farflung, Carpet, Tricky Lobsters, Ten Foot Wizard & Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters, The Acid Guide Service, Skunk, The Raynbow

Posted in Reviews on July 10th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

quarterly-review-summer-2017

My friends, the time has come. Well, actually the time came about two weeks ago at the end of June, but I won’t tell if you don’t. Better late than never as regards all things, but most especially The Obelisk’s Quarterly Review, which this time around features releases recent, upcoming and a bit older, a mix of known and lesser known acts, and as always, hopefully enough of a stylistic swath to allow everyone whose eyes the series of posts catches to find something they dig between now and Friday. As always, it’ll be 50 records from now until then, 10 per day, and I see no reason not to jump right in, so let’s do that.

Quarterly Review #1-10:

Les Discrets, Prédateurs

les discrets Prédateurs

After offering a preview of their marked stylistic turn in last year’s Virée Nocturne EP (review here), Lyon, France’s Les Discrets return with the suitably nighttime-urbane vibing of their Prédateurs full-length via Prophecy Productions. Five years after Ariettes Oubliées (review here), Fursy Teyssier and company reinvent their approach to the sonic lushness of their earlier work, departing the sphere of post-black metal they previously shared with sister band Alcest in favor of an anything-goes heavy experimentalism more akin to Ulver on cuts like “Le Reproche” or the deeply atmospheric “Fleur des Murailles.” Drones pepper “Rue Octavio Mey” and closer “Lyon – Paris 7h34” effectively conveys the sense of journey its train-schedule title would hint toward, and indeed Les Discrets as a whole seem to be in flux throughout Prédateurs despite an overarching cohesion within each track. It’s a fine line between multifaceted and disjointed, but fortunately, Teyssier’s grip on melodicism is unflinching and enough to tie otherwise disparate ideas together here.

Les Discrets on Thee Facebooks

Les Discrets at Prophecy Productions

 

Test Meat, Demo

test meat demo

Considering the pedigree involved in guitarist/vocalist Darryl Shepard (ex-Milligram, Blackwolfgoat, Kind, etc.), bassist Aarne Victorine (UXO, Whitey) and drummer Michael Nashawaty (Planetoid, Bird Language), it’s little surprise that Test Meat’s Demo would have a pretty good idea of where it wants to come from. The five-track first showing from the Boston trio blends raw-edge grunge and noise rock on “He Don’t Know” after opening with its longest inclusion (immediate points) in the 3:50 “Cuffing Season,” and though centerpiece “Done” nods at the starts-and-stops of Helmet, the subsequent 2:35 push of “If You Wanna” is strikingly post-Nirvana, and closer “Permanent Festival” rounds out by bridging that gap via a still-straightforward heavy rock groove. Formative, yeah, but that’s the whole point. Test Meat revel in their barebones style and clearly aren’t looking to get overly lush, but one can’t help but be curious how or if they’ll develop a more melodic sensibility to go with the consuming, full buzzsaw tones they elicit here.

Test Meat on Thee Facebooks

Test Meat on Bandcamp

 

Matus, Intronauta

matus intronauta

Worth noting that while the opening cut here, “Claroscuro,” shares its title with Matus’ 2015 full-length (review here), that song didn’t actually appear on that album. Does that mean that the Lima, Peru, classic progressive rockers are offering leftovers from the same sessions on their new EP and perhaps final release, Intronauta? I don’t know, but the four tracks of the digital outing are a welcome arrival anyway, from the laid back easy vibes of the aforementioned opener through the riffier “Intronauta (Including Hasta Que El Sol Descanse en Paz),” the Theremin-soaked finish of the harder-driving “Catalina” and the acoustic-led four-part closer “Arboleda Bohemia,” which unfolds with lushness that remains consistent with the naturalism that has always been underlying in the band’s work. They’ve said their last few times out that the end is near, and if it’s true, they go out with a fully-cast sonic identity of their own and a take on ‘70s prog that remains an underrated secret of the South American underground.

Matus on Thee Facebooks

Matus on Bandcamp

 

Farflung, Unwound Celluloid Frown

farflung unwound celluloud frown

The jury, at least when it comes to the internet, still seems to be somewhat divided on whether the name of Farflung’s five-track/34-minute EP is Unwound Celluloid Frown or Unwound Cellular Frown. I’d say another argument is whether it’s an EP or an LP, but either way, let the follow-up to the more clearly-titled 2016 album (review here) demonstrate how nebulous the long-running Los Angeles space rockers can be when it suits them. Hugely and continually underrated, the troupe once again aligns to Heavy Psych Sounds for this release, which is rife with their desert-hued Hawkwindian thrust and weirdo vibes, permeating the rocket-fuel chug of the title-track and the noise-of-the-cosmos 13-minute headphone-fest that is “Axis Mundi,” which seems to end with someone coming home and putting down their car keys before a slowly ticking clock fades out and into the backwards swirling intro of lazily drifting closer “Silver Ghost with Crystal Spoons.” Yeah, it’s like that. Whatever you call it, the collection proves once again that Farflung are a secret kept too well.

Farflung on Thee Facebooks

Heavy Psych Sounds website

 

Carpet, Secret Box

carpet secret box

Immersive and progressive psychedelia unfolds from the very opening moments of Carpet’s third album, Secret Box (on Elektrohasch Schallplatten), as the Augsberg, Germany-based five-piece explore lush arrangements of Moog, Rhodes, trumpet, vibraphone, etc. around central compositions of fluid guitar-led melodies and engaging rhythms. Their 2015 Riot Kiss 7” (review here) and 2013 sophomore long-player, Elysian Pleasures (review here), came from a similar place in intent, but from the funk wah and percussion underscoring the pre-fuzz-explosion portion of “Best of Hard Times” and the okay-this-one’s-about-the-riff “Shouting Florence” to the serene ambience of “For Tilda” and ethereal fluidity of “Pale Limbs” later on, the secret of Secret Box seems to be that it’s actually a treasure chest in disguise. Opening with its longest track in “Temper” (immediate points), the album hooks its audience right away along a graceful, rich-sounding melodic flow and does not relinquish its hold until the last piano notes of the closing title-track offer a wistful goodbye. In between, Carpet execute with a poise and nuance all the more enjoyable for how much their own it seems to be.

Carpet on Thee Facebooks

Carpet on Bandcamp

 

Tricky Lobsters, Worlds Collide

tricky lobsters worlds collide

Full, natural production, crisp and diverse songwriting, right-on performances and a name you’re not about to forget – there’s nothing about Tricky Lobsters not to like. Worlds Collide is their sixth album and first on Exile on Mainstream, and the overall quality of their approach reminds of the kind of sonic freedom proffered by Astrosoniq, but the German trio of guitarist/vocalist Sarge, bassist/vocalist Doc and drummer/vocalist Captain Peters have their own statements to make as well in the stomping “Battlefields,” the mega-hook of “Big Book,” the dreamy midsection stretch of “Father and Son” and the progressive melody-making of “Tarred Albino” (video premiere here). The emphasis across the nine-song/42-minute outing is on craft, but whether it’s the patient unfolding of “Dreamdiver Pt. I & II” or the harp-and-fuzz blues spirit of closer “Needs Must,” Tricky Lobsters’ sonic variety comes paired with a level of execution that’s not to be overlooked. Will probably fly under more radars than it should, but if you can catch it, do.

Tricky Lobsters on Thee Facebooks

Tricky Lobsters at Exile on Mainstream Records

 

Ten Foot Wizard & Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters, Special

ten-foot-wizard-chubby-thunderous-bad-kush-masters-special

Dubbed Special for reasons that should be fairly obvious from looking at the cover art, this meeting of minds, riffs and cats between Manchester’s Ten Foot Wizard and London’s Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters brings four tracks – two per band – and goes so far as to find the groups collaborating on the former’s “Get Fucked,” which opens, and the latter’s “Dunkerque,” which begins their side of the 7”, as vocalists The Wailing Goblin (of Chubby Thunderous) and Gary Harkin (of Ten Foot Wizard) each sit in for a guest spot on the other band’s cuts. Both bands also offer a standalone piece, with Ten Foot Wizard digging into heavy rock burl on “Night Witches” and Chubby Thunderous blowing out gritty party sludge in “Nutbar,” which rounds out the offering, and between them they showcase well the sphere of the UK’s crowded but diverse heavy rock underground. Kind of a niche release in the spirit of Gurt and Trippy Wicked’s 2016 Guppy split/collab, but it works no less well in making its impact felt.

Ten Foot Wizard on Thee Facebooks

Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters on Thee Facebooks

 

The Acid Guide Service, Vol. 11

the acid guide service vol 11

It turns out that Vol. 11 is actually Vol. 1 for Garden City, Idaho, three-piece The Acid Guide Service, who dig into extended fuzz-overdose riffing on the 52-minute nine-tracker, proffering blown-out largesse even on shorter cuts like the five-minute “Into the Sky” while longer pieces like opener “Raptured” (7:16), “EOD” (9:38) and closer “Black Leather Jesus” (10:04) skirt lines between structure and jams as much as between heavy rock and psychedelia. Proffered by the trio of guitarist/vocalist Russ Walker, bassist/vocalist Tyler Walker and drummer Nick McGarvey, one can hear shades of Wo Fat in the guitar-led expanse of “Rock ‘n’ Roll (Is the Drug I’m On),” but on the whole, Vol. 11 speaks more to the late-‘90s/early-‘00s post-Kyuss stoner rock heyday, with flourish of Monster Magnet and Fu Manchu for good measure in the hard-swinging “Dude Rockin’” and its chugging companion piece, “Marauder King.” Big tones, big riffs, big groove. The Acid Guide Service are preaching to the converted, but clearly coming from a converted place themselves in so doing. Right on.

The Acid Guide Service on Thee Facebooks

The Acid Guide Service on Bandcamp

 

Skunk, Doubleblind

skunk doubleblind

Professing a self-aware love for the earliest days of heavy metal in idea and sound, Oakland’s Skunk offer their full-length debut with the self-released Doubleblind, following up on their 2015 demo, Heavy Rock from Elder Times (review here). That outing featured four tracks that also appear on Doubleblind – “Forest Nymph,” “Wizard Bong,” “Black Hash” and “Devil Weed.” Working on a theme? The theme is “stoned?” Yeah, maybe, but the cowbell-infused slider groove and standout hook of “Mountain Child” are just as much about portraying that ‘70s vibe as Skunk may or may not be about the reefer whose name they bear. Presumably more recent material like that song, “Doubleblind,” closer “Waitin’ Round on You” and leadoff cut “Forest Nymph” coherently blend impulses drawn from AC/DC, Sabbath and Zeppelin. John McKelvy’s vocals fit that spirit perfectly, and with the grit brought forth from guitarists Dmitri Mavra and Erik Pearson, bassist Matt Knoth and drummer Jordan Ruyle, Skunk dig into catchy, excellently-paced roller riffing and cast their debut in the mold of landmark forebears. Mothers, teach your children to nod.

Skunk on Thee Facebooks

Skunk on Bandcamp

 

The Raynbow, The Cosmic Adventure

the raynbow the cosmic adventure

As they make their way through a temporal drift of three tracks that play between krautrocking jazz fusion, psychecosmic expansion and Floydian lushness, Kiev-based explorers The Raynbow keep immersion central to their liquefied purposes. The Cosmic Adventure (on Garden of Dreams Records) is an aptly-titled debut full-length, and the band who constructed it is comprised of upwards of eight parties who begin with the 16-minute opener and longest track (immediate points) “Changes,” which builds toward and through a metallic chug apex, sandwiching it on either side with ultra-patient molten tone and soundscaping that continues to flourish through the subsequent “Cosmic Fool” (5:17) and “Blue Deep Sea Eyes” (8:18), the whole totaling a still-manageable outward trip into reaches of slow-moving space rock that whether loud or quiet at any individual moment more than earns a volume-up concentrated headphone listen. The kind of outfit one could easily imagine churning out multiple albums in a single year, The Raynbow nonetheless deliver a dream on The Cosmic Adventure that stands among the best first offerings I’ve heard in 2017.

The Raynbow on Thee Facebooks

Garden of Dreams Records on Bandcamp

 

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Tricky Lobsters Premiere “Tarred Albino” Video

Posted in Bootleg Theater on June 12th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

tricky-lobsters-Photo-Christian-Thiele

Preorders have shipped for Tricky Lobsters‘ sixth album, Worlds Collide, and man, this one just has ‘sleeper hit’ written all over it. Last month, when the long-running Northern German trio announced the full-length would be released June 23 via Exile on Mainstream, that was enough to perk up my ears to what they were doing in the video for organ-laced album opener “Bitter Man’s Fame” that accompanied, but as I’ve had the opportunity since to dig further into the full-length, it’s a work of marked quality of songwriting — mature and memorable and experienced befitting a sixth outing — but energetic and not at all staid-sounding.

With variety of texture between cuts like “Battlefields,” the moody centerpiece “Black and Blue” and the come-on-that’s-so-catchy-it’s-not-even-fair hooks like that of “Big Book,” the nine-track/42-minute Worlds Collide is somewhat less rambunctious than its title might lead you to believe, but that’s true if only because it’s so damn cohesive in its purpose in the meantime. To wit, the flow between the verse/chorus trades and the hypnotic bridge of “Father and Son” and the ultra-effective linearity of the seven-minute “Dreamdiver Pt. I & II” that leads into the tense charge of the penultimate “The Fire” and the fuzz-funk-blues of closer “Needs Must.” Through all these changes, the Rostock-based trio of guitarist/vocalist Sarge, bassist/vocalist Doc and drummer/vocalist Captain Peters skillfully guide their audience along the path they’ve set, bolstered universally by songcraft and quality of performance.

Accordingly, though it doesn’t necessarily represent the entire scope of Worlds Collide, you can get sense of some of what Tricky Lobsters — who, once again, win outright when it comes to band monikers — are up to in terms of the general clarity of production and delivery in the clip for “Tarred Albino” below, which captures footage live and in the studio from throughout last year and this year.

They’ll reportedly have another clip out as well before the album hits, so I’ll be keeping an eye out for that as well. In the meantime, please enjoy:

Tricky Lobsters, “Tarred Albino” official video

2nd video release from the forthcoming album “Worlds Collide”, out 06-23-2017.

filmed live 2016/2017
featuring Sebastian “Sebel” Niehoff on Hammond Organ
camera (studio shots): Jörg Peters
cut/edit: Justus Tanz @ http://www.underdok.de

Engineered and produced by drummer Jörg Peters at Blue Hospital in Rostock in 2017, the three northerners follow diverse paths through rock history and bind them together on Worlds Collide, their sixth official release to date. Now in their twenty-first year of existence, with Worlds Collide, TRICKY LOBSTERS present trademark groove and riffs, born from melodies and lyrics deeply rooted in old and recurring stories of love, dreams and deception. The record paints a vivid picture of their current world, and the one behind them.

Exile On Mainstream will issue Worlds Collide on CD, LP, and digital formats on June 23rd. Stream brief clips of all of the album’s tracks and find preorders for all formats HERE.

TRICKY LOBSTERS Tour Dates:
6/23/2017 Helgas Stadtpalast – Rostock, DE *record release show
6/30/2017 Rock an der Ilm Festival – Langenwiesen, DE
7/01/2017 Hangar Metal Meeting – Bad Duerrenberg, DE
7/28/2017 Festevil Nopperhof – Buetzow, DE

Tricky Lobsters on Thee Facebooks

Tricky Lobsters website

Exile on Mainstream Records website

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Tricky Lobsters Release Worlds Collide June 23; New Video & Preorders Posted

Posted in Whathaveyou on May 24th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

German heavy rockers Tricky Lobsters — who, let’s be honest here, pretty much win the day when it comes to band names — will release their new album, Worlds Collide, via respected purveyor Exile on Mainstream on June 23. Preorders are up now for the record, which is the sixth from the Rostock three-piece, and as a teaser, the band have a new video for the track “Bitter Man’s Fame” that you can see below. It features many different faces. Lots of faces. Faces here and faces there. Faces all over the place(s).

The PR wire brought album info and live dates from the band for the digging:

tricky-lobsters-Photo-Christian-Thiele

TRICKY LOBSTERS: Exile On Mainstream Presents Worlds Collide LP By Doom/Blues Rock Trio; Video For “Bitter Man’s Fame” And Preorders Posted

Exile On Mainstream presents the new Worlds Collide LP by groove-heavy German blues/doom rock trio TRICKY LOBSTERS, setting the record for June release, and issuing an official video for the track “Bitter Man’s Fame.”

If the term “insider tip” wasn’t so drawn-out, it could be repeatedly used to describe TRICKY LOBSTERS. From noise to punk rock in the early years, from rock’n’roll to the gnarly sludge blues rock on their prior LP, The Blue Hospital Conspiracy, their body of work includes pretty much everything with a noisy edge. After nearly four years in the wilderness, but their legacy not unsung, the Baltic Sea-based band continues their travels in a kind of western-driven, grand finale and face off in an epic clash of stories, riffs and drama on Worlds Collide.

Engineered and produced by drummer Jörg Peters at Blue Hospital in Rostock in 2017, the three northerners follow diverse paths through rock history and bind them together on Worlds Collide, their sixth official release to date. Now in their twenty-first year of existence, with Worlds Collide, TRICKY LOBSTERS present trademark groove and riffs, born from melodies and lyrics deeply rooted in old and recurring stories of love, dreams and deception. The record paints a vivid picture of their current world, and the one behind them.

TRICKY LOBSTERS present a video for the track “Bitter Man’s Fame.” the first single from Worlds Collide, the video filmed by Christian Thiele and edited by Michael Gröper and Rainer Hochmuth.

Exile On Mainstream will issue Worlds Collide on CD, LP, and digital formats on June 23rd. Stream brief clips of all of the album’s tracks and find preorders for all formats HERE.

Stand by for two more official videos from Worlds Collide to be issued preceding the album’s street date.

German fans can catch TRICKY LOBSTERS on perform throughout the country over the weeks ahead in support of the album, including a record release show and several festival performances, with additional dates to be announced.

TRICKY LOBSTERS Tour Dates:
5/25/2017 Aukrug Open Air Festival – Aukrug, DE
6/04/2017 Pfingstrock Entenfang Festival – Torgau, DE
6/23/2017 Helgas Stadtpalast – Rostock, DE *record release show
6/30/2017 Rock an der Ilm Festival – Langenwiesen, DE
7/01/2017 Hangar Metal Meeting – Bad Duerrenberg, DE
7/28/2017 Festevil Nopperhof – Buetzow, DE

https://www.facebook.com/trickylobsters.rostock
http://www.trickylobsters.de
http://www.mainstreamrecords.de

Tricky Lobsters, “Bitter Man’s Fame” official video

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