I’m not even sure how the logistics on this one work. There are to be 50 copies of Dutch trio Menhir‘s Uberlith II EP released by Tartarus Tapes on Aug. 5, and they’re available now for preorder. That part is pretty straightforward. I guess what I’m getting hung up on is the fact that said cassette will arrive encased in a plaster brick, which the buyer will then have to break open — gently, presumably — in order to free the tape itself and make it available for listening. Practical? No. No it is not. Unique? Yes indeed.

The socially conscious — if their choices of samples are anything to go by, anyway — burl-rocking three-piece which features bassist/vocalist Arjan van Dalen, bassist/vocalist Frank de Boer and drummer Sven Jurgens (the latter two also of Ortega), self-recorded Uberlith II and released it late last year on handmade mini-CDs (which they sold out), so it would seem they have a thing for stylized packaging. If nothing else, a plaster brick certainly qualifies as that.

Menhir also released a video for the opener “Mt. Aloha” from the EP last year that can be seen here. Along with notes for preorders from O and Bitcho, Tartarus sent this info on Uberlith II down the PR wire:

TAR036 Menhir – Uberlith II

Around the corner of Queens Of The Stone Age and next to the village of Asterix live the three-piece that is Menhir. It’s a well-picked name for a band that is often described to be ‘as solid as a rock’. Adjectives like ‘heavy, big-ass and overwhelming’ are also often used, thanks to the use of two bass players and one drummer. Formed in 2012 they play a brutal mix of southern and stoner rock. (Feat. members of Ortega).

Edition of 50 tapes
Encased in a solid plaster brick.

NOTE: You will need to break the packaging to get the tape out! Breaking the case is at your own risk!!

http://tartarusrecords.com/album/uberlith-ii
https://www.facebook.com/Menhirband

Menhir, Uberlith II (2014)

My cynical side wins out more often than not when it comes to social issues, and by “wins out,” I mean both in terms of my overall perspective and in terms of how events actually unfold. Expect the worst, don’t be surprised when even something worse than what you thought of happens. And if the NSA is reading this, then fuck you too. Go listen to Kyuss and chill the fuck out on tapping world leaders’ phones.

So when it comes to a clip like that which Dutch trio Menhir — not to be confused with the long-running German pagan metal act of the same name — have put together for the endearingly riffed “Mt. Aloha,” my consideration is not for the promise the future seems to hold in the Jacque Fresco sample that serves as the only vocals throughout, but in the irony of the fact that when he was talking about this social revolution that was coming in 10 or 15 years, it was 1974. I guess the rollback of personal and civil liberties that Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan brought to the 1980s was an extra bummer for Mr. Fresco.

Forty years on from when he was saying it, the idea of harnessing geothermal energy and creating a one-world system based on mutual meeting of needs is a nice thought, but I doubt we’re any closer than we were four decades ago. The shots of the old white guy — who actually seems to be in pretty good shape as he runs away from the colorfully dressed youth — make their point clearly enough, and while I’m not sure what the footage of smiling, skinny, good-looking young people drinking at a barbecue has to do with futurist utopia, if that’s to be the revolution, at least it seems to be a fun time.

Menhir will release their second EP, Uberlith II, on Dec. 13. Whatever my cynicism on the hopelessness of enacting meaningful social change and the likelihood of overthrowing the dominant cultural forces specifically designed not to be overthrown that are ingrained into us from birth, “Mt. Aloha” is a cool song and the Frederik Noordhuis video does the rocking atmosphere justice.

Know justice, know peace:

Menhir, “Mt. Aloha” official video

Menhir on Bandcamp

Menhir on Thee Facebooks