https://www.high-endrolex.com/18

Super Pink Moon to Release Iron Rain Feb. 16; New Single “Nothing is Real” Posted

Posted in Whathaveyou on November 28th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

super pink moon

It’s not a long reach to grasp the intended metaphor when it comes to Iron Rain, the impending debut album from Ukrainian heavy post-rock solo-project Super Pink Moon, helmed by Somali Yacht Club guitarist/vocalist Ihor Pryshliak in Lviv. Given the ongoing war between Russia and Pryshliak‘s home country — with my home country, the US, just living its absolute best-life proxy-war thanatos boner dream against an old Cold War foe, complete with all the reactionary propaganda — it seems pretty clear Iron Rain is talking about bombs. If it needs to be said, it is unfortunate that the circumstance exists in which to title an album thusly in the first place. War, like so many other enduring human innovations, is bullshit. If anyone had allowed women to learn to read before, like, 1980, I have no doubt many similar conflicts would have been avoided, but it is what it is. Sad and dragging on.

“Nothing is Real” is the second single to be posted from Iron Rain, which is out in Feb. 2023, and a suitably atmospheric follow-up to the prior-posted “Doomscrolling,” which you can also stream below and which resolves itself in a roller of a heavy riff that offers an alternate definition for the name Pryshliak has given it. Both songs are united in their exploratory feel.

The PR wire has the story to tell:

super pink moon iron rain

Somali Yacht Club frontman to release new solo album as SUPER PINK MOON in February 2023; stream dreamy new single “Nothing Is Real” now.

Lviv-based post-rock and shoegaze multi-instrumentalist Ihor Pryshliak aka SUPER PINK MOON announces the release of his new solo full-length “IRON RAIN” in February 2023, and premieres his new single “NOTHING IS REAL”!

Written amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, this new offering from Ukrainian multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Ihor Pryshliak as Super Pink Moon is a sonic testimony that depicts the angst and emotional turmoil of making to make it through the day when surrounded by chaos. Gracefully interweaving post-rock, shoegaze and indie rock, “IRON RAIN” washes over the listener with ten dreamy spells filled with shape-shifting dynamics, heady riffs and delicate melancholic vocals from the beloved Somali Yacht Club frontman.

About the new album, Super Pink Moon comments: “Half of the album was recorded before the 24th of February (the day of Russian invasion) and the second half afterward. For Ukrainians, this date has left a deep wound that is still massively bleeding. To escape from reality, I had to switch my focus to something else, otherwise, I’d just go mad. Musically, my idea was to confuse listeners as much as possible. There are many hidden tricks. I tried to craft complex melodies and rhythms with multiple layers while keeping them as ‘listenable’ as possible. The LP is completely recorded at home.”

“All the lyrics are revolving around self-reflection on the war. It’s still hard to describe the weird mix of feelings. Sometimes you’re extremely proud and even happy, but usually, all you feel is sadness, pain, and despair. One might say, ‘dude, you’re living in the western part of Ukraine’, which is relatively a safe place. But the feeling of survival guilt is constantly hunting you and there’s no place to hide. Also, you can’t hide from the missiles, which is disturbing at least. So, I had to evolve. Now I’m feeling much better, and this record is a kind of snapshot of the ‘self-curing’ process. After our victory, I don’t think I’d ever listen to this record again, too many emotions.”

Super Pink Moon – New album “IRON RAIN”
Out on February 16th, 2023 on all streaming platforms

TRACKLIST:
1. NOTHING IS REAL
2. EVERYTHING
3. DOOMSCROLLING
4. COLLISION
5. MIRAGE
6. FORWARDBREAKFORWARD
7. CALMNESS
8. PER ASPERA AD ASTRA
9. HOLLOWNESS
10. ウクライナにславаあれ

Super Pink Moon was created in 2019 as a side project of Somali Yacht Club guitarist and vocalist Ihor in Lviv, Ukraine. After a few months of home experiments, the “Nude” mini album was released in November 2020 under the moniker Slow Noise. Within the next few months, he worked on his debut album “SUPER LP”. All his music is recorded at his home studio, and mixed by Jaro Sound.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064109648958
https://superpinkmoon.bandcamp.com/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0y7uR8sScWoz7t8sYfSuC8

Super Pink Moon, “Nothing is Real”

Super Pink Moon, “Doomscrolling”

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VOVK Release Tiger/Tyhr Single

Posted in Whathaveyou on November 8th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

vovk

Made under wartime conditions with a stated narrative of self-actualization, VOVK‘s new bilingual two-songer Tiger/Tyhr is out today ahead of the trio starting an Eastern European tour alongside Ukrainian countrymen Stoned Jesus. The band’s atmospheric take is wrought through start-stop riffing and a relevant perspective on creativity that of course extends beyond just the idea of someone leaving their comfort zone, though it’s fitting that the music should find the revamped three-piece pushing themselves outside their own as well. Someone smarter than me once said that, whatever else it does, all art tells the story of its own creation. So here we are.

Best wishes to VOVK on the upcoming tour, and as American attentions turn toward domestic unrest rather than, let’s face it, aiding Ukraine in what’s for us a proxy war against Russia — not our first of this still-young-ish century — it’s crucial to remember that this conflict of aggression drags on regardless of what the news cycle here is covering. Hey did anyone hear about some schmuck buying Twitter? Again, so here we are.

Tiger/Tyhr is out today on various digital outlets. Support:

Vovk Tiger Tyhr

The Ukrainian band VOVK presents double single Tiger | Tyhr

Available here: https://vovk.bandcamp.com/album/tiger-tyhr

On November 8th 2022, Ukrainian prog/post-hardcore band VOVK presents their latest double single Tiger | Tyhr and a lyric video accompanying it. It’s a first for the band that releases in both languages: English and Ukrainian, and will be a part of a future album. The song was written 2 years ago and had only an English version, but after a successful DakhaBrakha cover, the band decided to switch to Ukrainian.

The song is about a person that is too afraid to get out of their comfort zone. They are not committing to important deeds due to a constant fear of failure, which leads to undervaluing their own successes. In times of war, people frequently feel that their help or donations are too little or even meaningless, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Every single bit of help brings us closer to victory.

The song was being worked on by the new VOVK line-up, which consists of Oleksandr Kuts, joined by Yevhenii Khrulov (Pustosh, Ooze), and Yehor Druzenko (Ooze). Due to constant power infrastructure bombings from russia, recording process stalled and the band was forced to push the release over and over again, and frequent power outages prevented smooth mastering of the track.

Recording, mixing and mastering was made at Lizard Audio studio under Roman Bondar’s watchful eye.

Lyric video was shot by Nataliia Ivasiuk, and edited by Dmytro Koshyk.

Right after this release, VOVK is going on tour with Stoned Jesus visiting Eastern Europe and collecting donations for Ukrainian volunteers. First concert is on November 10 followed by 11 concerts in 7 countries of Europe.

VOVK w/ Stoned Jesus:
10.11 Kablys – Vilnius, LT
11.11 Sveta Baar – Tallinn, EE
12.11 Vagonu Haal – Riga, LV
13.11 Lemmy – Kaunas, LT
14.11 Drizzly Grizzly – Gdansk, PL
15.11 Pod Minoga – Poznan, PL
16.11 Hybrydy – Warsaw, PL
17.11 Fuga – Bratislava, SK
18.11 Form Space – Cluj-Napoca, RO
19.11 Mixtape 5 – Sofia, BG
20.11 Expirat – Bucharest, RO

https://facebook.com/vovkband
https://instagram.com/vovkband
https://twitter.com/vovkband
https://vovk.bandcamp.com/

VOVK, “Tiger” lyric video

 

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Quarterly Review: James Romig & Mike Scheidt, Mythic Sunship, Deville, Superdeluxe, Esel, Blue Tree Monitor, Astrometer, Oldest Sea, Weddings, The Heavy Crawls

Posted in Reviews on September 28th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

THE-OBELISK-FALL-2020-QUARTERLY-REVIEW

I’m in it. The only reason I even know what day it is is because I keep notes and I set up the back end of these posts ahead of time. They tell me what number I’m on. As for the rest, it’s blinders and music, all all all. Go. Go. Go. I honestly don’t even know why I still write these intro paragraphs. I just do. You know the deal, right? 10 records yesterday, 10 today, 10 more tomorrow. At some point it ends. At some point it begins again. Presumably before then I’ll figure out what day it is.

Quarterly Review #71-80:

James Romig & Mike Scheidt, The Complexity of Distance

James Romig Mike Scheidt The Complexity of Distance

James Romig is a Pulitzer-finalist composer, and Mike Scheidt is the founding guitarist/vocalist of YOB. I refuse to cut-and-paste-pretend at understanding all the theory put into the purported ’13:14:15′ ratio of beat cycles throughout The Complexity of Distance — or, say, just about any of it — but the resulting piece is about 57 minutes of Scheidt‘s guitar work, as recorded by Billy Barnett (YOB‘s regular producer). It is presented as a single track, and with the (obviously intentional) chord progressions in Romig‘s piece, “The Complexity of Distance” is a huge drone. If you ever wanted to hear Scheidt do earlier-style Earth guitar work — yes, duh — then this might satisfy that curiosity. There’s high-culture intersecting with low here in a way that takes Scheidt out of it creatively — that is to say, Romig did the composing — but I won’t take away from the work in concept or performance, or even the result. Hell, I’ll listen to Mike Scheidt riff around for 57 minutes. It’ll be the best 57 minutes of my god damned day. Perhaps that’s not universal, but I don’t think Romig‘s looking for radio hits. Whether you approach it on that theory level or as a sonic meditation, the depths welcome you. I’d take another Scheidt solo record someday too, though. Just saying.

James Romig website

Mike Scheidt on Facebook

New World Records store

 

Mythic Sunship, Light/Flux

mythic sunship light flux

Copenhagen’s Mythic Sunship turned Light/Flux around so quick after 2021’s Wildfire (review here) they didn’t even have time to take a new promo photo. There is no question the Danish five-piece have been on a tear for a few years now, and their ascent into the psych-jazz fusion ether continues with Light/Flux, marrying its gotta-happen-right-this-second urgency to a patience in the actual unfolding of songs like the sax’ed out “Aurora” and the more guitar-led “Blood Moon” at the outset — light — with the cosmic triumphalist horn and crashes of “Decomposition” leading off side B and moving into the hey-where’d-you-come-from boogie of “Tempest,” presumably flux. Each half of the record ends with a standout, as “Equinox” follows “Blood Moon” with a more space rock-feeling takeoff pulse, right up to the synth sweep that starts at about 2:50, and “First Frost” gives high and low float gracefully over steady toms like different dreams happening at the same time and then merging in purpose as the not-overblown crescendo locks in. May their momentum carry them ever forward if they’re going to produce at this level.

Mythic Sunship on Facebook

Tee Pee Records store

 

Deville, Heavy Lies the Crown

Deville Heavy Lies the Crown

What a fascinating direction the progression of Sweden’s Deville has taken these 15 years after Come Heavy Sleep. Heavy Lies the Crown finds the Swedish journeymen aligned to Sixteentimes Music for the follow-up to 2018’s Pigs With Gods (review here), and is through its eight tracks in a dense-toned, impact-minded 33 minutes with nary a second to spare in cuts like “Killing Time” and “Unlike You” and “A Devil Around Your Neck.” Their push and aggressive edge reminds of turn-of-the-century Swedish heavy rockers like Mustasch or Mother Misery, and even in “Hands Tied” and “Serpent Days” — the two longest cuts on Heavy Lies the Crown, appearing in succession on side A — they maintain an energy level fostered by propulsive drums and a rampant drive toward immediacy rather than flourish, but neither does the material feel rushed or unconsidered right up to the final surprising bit of spaciousness in “Pray for More,” which loosens up the throttle a bit while still holding onto an underlying chug, some last progressive angularity perhaps to hint at another stage to come. One way or the other, in craft and delivery, Deville remain reliable without necessarily being predictable, which is a rare balance to strike, particularly for a band who’ve never made the same record twice.

Deville on Facebook

Sixteentimes Music store

 

Superdeluxe, Superdeluxe

Superdeluxe Superdeluxe

Guitarist/vocalist Bill Jenkins and bassist Matthew Kahn hail from Kingsnake (begat by Sugar Daddie in days of yore), drummer Michael Scarpone played in Wizard Eye, and guitarist Christopher Wojcik made a splash a few years back in King Bison, so yes, dudes have been around. Accordingly, Superdeluxe know off the bat where their grooves are headed on this five-song self-titled EP, with centerpiece “Earth” nodding toward a somewhat inevitable Clutch influence — thinking “Red Horse Rainbow” specifically — and seeming to acknowledge lyrically this as the project’s beginning point in “Popular Mechanix,” driving somewhat in the vein of Freedom Hawk but comfortably paced as “Destructo Facto” and “Severed Hand” are at the outset of the 19-minute run. “Ride” finishes out with a lead line coursing over its central figure before a stop brings the chorus, swing and swagger and a classic take on that riff — Sabbath‘s “Hole in the Sky,” Goatsnake‘s “Trower”; everybody deserves a crack at it at least once — familiar and weighted, but raw enough in the production to still essentially be a demo. Nonetheless, veteran players, new venture, fun to be had and hopefully more to come.

Superdeluxe on Instagram

Superdeluxe website

 

Esel, Asinus

Esel Asinus

Based in Berlin and featuring bassist Cozza, formerly of Melbourne, Australia’s Riff Fist, alongside guitarist Moseph and drummer 666tin, Esel are an instrumentalist three-piece making their full-length debut with the live-recorded and self-produced Asinus. An eight-tracker spanning 38 minutes, it’s rough around the edges in terms of sound, but that only seems to suit the fuzz in both the guitar and bass, adding a current of noise alongside the low end being pushed through both as well as the thud of 666tin‘s toms and kick. They play fast, they play slow, they roll the wheel rather than reinvent it, but there’s charm here amid the doomier “Donkey Business” — they’ve got a lot of ‘ass’ stuff going on, including the opener “Ass” and the fact that their moniker translates from German as “donkey” — and the sprawling into maddening crashes “A Biss” later on, which precedes the minute-long finale “The Esel Way Out.” Want to guess what it is? Did you guess noise and feedback? If you did, your prize is to go back to the start and hear the crow-call letters of the band’s name and the initial slow nod of “Ass” all over again. I’m going to do my best not to make a pun about getting into it, but, well, I’ve already failed.

Esel on Facebook

Esel on Bandcamp

 

Blue Tree Monitor, Cryptids

Blue Tree Monitor Cryptids

With riffs to spare and spacious vibes besides, London instrumentalists Blue Tree Monitor offer Cryptids, working in a vein that feels specifically born out of their hometown’s current sphere of heavy. Across the sprawl of “Siberian Sand” at the beginning of the five-song/38-minute debut album, one can hear shades of some of the Desertscene-style riffing for which Steak has been an ambassador, and certainly there’s no shortage of psych and noise around to draw from either, as the cacophonous finish manifests. But big is the idea as much as broad, and sample-topped centerpiece “Sasquatch” (also the longest cut at 8:41) is a fine example of how to do both, complete with fuzzy largesse and a succession of duly plodding-through-the-woods riffs. “Antlion” feels laid back in the guitar but contrasts with the drums, and the closer “Seven” is more straight-ahead heavy rock riffing until its second half gets a little more into noise rock before its final hits, so maybe the book isn’t entirely closed on where they’ll go sound-wise, but so much the better for listening to something with multifaceted potential in the present. To put it another way, they sound like a new band feeling their way forward through their songs, and that’s precisely what one would hope for as they move forward from here.

Blue Tree Monitor on Facebook

Blue Tree Monitor on Bandcamp

 

Astrometer, Incubation

Astrometer Incubation

Vigilant in conveying the Brooklynite unit’s progressive intentions, from the synthy-sounding freakout at the end of “Wavelength Synchronizer” to the angular beginning of “Conglobulations,” Incubation is the first two-songer offering from Astrometer, who boast in their ranks members of Hull, Meek is Murder and Bangladeafy. The marriage of sometimes manically tense riffing and a more open keyboard line overhead works well on the latter track, but one would at no point accuse Astrometer of not getting their point across, and with ready-for-a-7″ efficiency, since the whole thing takes just about seven and a half minutes out of your busy day. I’m fairly sure they’ve had some lineup jumbling since this was recorded — there may be up to three former members of Hull there now, and that’s a hoot also audible in the guitars — but notice is served in any case, and the way the ascending frenetic chug of the guitar gives way to the keyboard solo in “Wavelength Synchronizer” is almost enough on its own to let you know that there’s a plan at work. See also the melodic, almost post-rock-ish floating notes above the fray at the start of “Conglobulations.” I bought the download. I’d buy a tape. You guys got tapes? Shirts?

Astrometer on Facebook

Astrometer on Bandcamp

 

Oldest Sea, Strange and Eternal

Oldest Sea Strange and Eternal

Somewhere between a solo-project and an actual band is Oldest Sea. Led by songwriter, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and recording engineer Sam Marandola — joined throughout the four tracks of debut EP Strange and Eternal by lead guitarist/drummer Andrew Marandola and on 10-minute closer “The Whales” by bassist Jay Mazzillo — the endeavor is atmospherically weighted and given a death-doom-ish severity through the echoing snare on “Consecration,” only after opener “Final Girl” swells in distortion and melody alike until receding for string-style ambience, which might be keyboard, might be guitar, might be cello, I don’t know. Marandola also performs as a solo folk artist and one can hear that in her approach to the penultimate “I’ll Take What’s Mine,” but in the focus on atmosphere here, as well as the patience of craft across differing methodologies in what’s still essentially an initial release — if nothing before it proves the argument, certainly “The Whales” does — one hears shades of the power SubRosa once wielded in bringing together mournful melody and doomed tradition to suit purposes drawing from American folk and post-metallic weight. At 25 minutes, I’m tempted to call it an album for its sheer substance. Instead I’ll hang back and just wait and get my hopes up for when that moment actually comes.

Oldest Sea on Facebook

Oldest Sea on Bandcamp

 

Weddings, Book of Spells

Weddings Book of Spells

Based in Austria with roots in Canada, Spain and Sweden, Weddings are vocalist/guitarist Jay Brown, vocalist/drummer Elena Rodriguez and bassist Phil Nordling, and whether it’s the grunge turnaround on second cut “Hunter” or the later threatening-to-be-goth-rock of “Running Away” — paired well with “Talk is Cheap” — the trio are defined in no small part by the duet-style singing of Brown and Rodriguez. The truly fortunate part of listening to their sophomore LP, Book of Spells, is that they can also write a song. Opener “Hexenhaus” signals a willful depth of atmosphere that comes through on “Sleep” and the acoustic-led gorgeousness of “Tundra,” and so on, but they’re not shy about a hook either, as in “Greek Fire,” “Hunter,” “Running Away” and closer “Into the Night” demonstrate. Mood and texture are huge throughout Book of Spells, but the effect of the whole is duly entrancing, and the prevailing sense from their individual parts is that either Brown or Rodriguez could probably front the band on their own, but Weddings are a more powerful and entrancing listen for the work they do together throughout. Take a deep breath before you jump in here.

Weddings on Facebook

StoneFree Records store

 

The Heavy Crawls, Searching for the Sun

The Heavy Crawls Searching for the Sun

A classic rock spirit persists across the nine songs of The Heavy Crawls‘ sophomore full-length, Searching for the Sun, as the Kyiv-based trio of guitarist/vocalist/keyboardist Max Tovstyi, bassist/backing vocalist Serj Manernyi and drummer/backing vocalist Tobi Samuel offer nods to the likes of the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix, among others, with a healthy dose of their own fuzz to coincide. The organ-laced title-track sounds like it was recorded on a stage, if it wasn’t, and no matter where the trio end up — looking at you, Sabbath-riffed “Stoner Song” — the material is tied together through the unflinchingly organic nature of their presentation. They’re not hiding anything here. No tricks. No BS. They’re writing their own songs, to be sure, but whether it’s the funky “I Don’t Know” or the languid psych rollout of “Take Me Higher” (it picks up in the second half) that immediately follows, they put everything they’ve got right up front for the listener to take in, make of it what they will, and rock out accordingly, be it to the mellow “Out of My Head” or the stomping “Evil Side (Of Rock ‘n’ Roll) or the sweet, sweet guitar-solo-plus-organ culmination of “1,000 Problems.” Take your pick, really. You’re in good hands no matter what.

The Heavy Crawls on Facebook

Clostridium Records store

 

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Stoned Jesus Announce November Touring

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 15th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

A little curious that even though Ukrainian heavy rock forerunners Stoned Jesus have issued two singles/videos from their upcoming Season of Mist label debut, Father Light, in “Porcelain” and “CON” — both streaming below — no actual release date for the album has been announced. Of course, I say this even as the Kyiv trio announce a new stretch of November touring, and I’m writing before the daily glut of 10AM East Coast US press releases come in, so it could well be that word of such a thing will come through after this is posted — that kind of thing happens from time to time; I see something on a band’s socials and jump the gun with what later turns out to be half the news and need to adjust — probably about five minutes after, if past is prologue. I hear going on tour around an album launch is a thing that happens, so it would make sense.

And you’ll no doubt note that they’ll do cuts from the largely inescapable Seven Thunders Roar even as they play new songs — I very much enjoy how stubbornly not-stoner everything they’ve done since has been — and one assumes they’ll find welcome either way. They’re Ukraine’s biggest export in heavy rock, and even the fact that they’re calling the run with countrymen VOVK the ‘Heavy Resistance’ tour speaks to the fact that they know it. Guitarist/vocalist Igor Sydorenko has been outspoken on social media in providing historical and cultural context to the Russian war of aggression in his home nation that’s been going on for the last seven months, up to and including launching the Jams for Victory series, a third installment of which has been released.

Tour announcement follows, and again, if and when word shows up about the record, I’ll let you know.

Here you go:

Stoned Jesus tour

Your favourite psych/grunge/doom/prog trio is back on the road! STONED JESUS are going on Heavy Resistance tour in November, playing live shows in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania. Apart from playing the now-legendary Seven Thunders Roar (2012) material, we will premiere new tracks from our upcoming fifth LP (including recently released “Porcelain” and “CON”).

Joining us are fellow Ukrainians VOVK (post-metal/progstoner), who are currently working on the follow-up to their debut album Lair (2019). By visiting the show you can not only enjoy the music but also support Ukraine and help us win on the cultural front as well!

10.11 Kablys – Vilnius, LT
11.11 Sveta Baar – Tallinn, EE
12.11 Vagonu Haal – Riga, LV
13.11 Lemmy – Kaunas, LT
14.11 Drizzly Grizzly – Gdansk, PL
15.11 Pod Minoga – Poznan, PL
16.11 Hybrydy – Warsaw, PL
17.11 Fuga – Bratislava, SK
18.11 Form Space – Cluj-Napoca, RO
19.11 Mixtape 5 – Sofia, BG
20.11 Expirat – Bucharest, RO

Poster by Soares Artwork

Line-up:
Lead-Vocals and Guitar: Igor Sydorenko
Bass and backing vocals: Sergii Sliusar
Drums and backing vocals: Dmytro Zinchenko

https://www.facebook.com/stonedjesusband
https://www.instagram.com/stonedjesusband/
http://stonedjesus.bandcamp.com/
https://stonedjesus.bigcartel.com/

https://www.facebook.com/seasonofmistofficial
http://www.season-of-mist.com/

Stoned Jesus, “CON”

Stoned Jesus, “Porcelain”

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Greenleaf, Stoned Jesus & Somali Yacht Club Touring This Fall

Posted in Whathaveyou on August 15th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Even by the terrifying scale of my own self-imposed pity parties, it feels like a real wank to be bummed out about this, but there’s a part of me that is anyway. What started this past March as an ultra-Swedish run with Greenleaf, Truckfighters and Asteroid, then just became Greenleaf and Truckfighters has instead morphed with the also-canceled prior Stoned Jesus and Somali Yacht Club tour to become a powerhouse Sverige/Ukraine triple-whammy, and though I was slated to attend originally in March and then again this Fall, well, my flight’s been canceled and no, I’m not going on this tour, I’m not writing a book about it and I’m not going to see any let alone all of these shows, including that Erfurt date Sept. 23 with Colour Haze, which I don’t give a fuck who you are or how many gigs you’ve seen is some remember-it-for-the-rest-of-your-life shit right there. So yes, pity party.

The reasons for tour jumblage could hardly be more valid. Plague, war in Ukraine, one of the dudes in Truckfighters expecting a baby — pretty sure it’s Niklas, so congrats to his expanding family — and no, it wasn’t really feasible given my own life situation at this point, but on the scale of escapist daydreams, this is probably the shttiest gonna-do-a-thing-then-not I’ve hit into since that time I didn’t go to Australia with Kings Destroy and Radio Moscow. Glad it’s happening though either way, so I guess call it bittersweet.

You’ll recall Somali Yacht Club earlier this year released The Space (review here) as their label-debut for Season of Mist. Stoned Jesus are ramping up to issue their own new album — the announcement for which I expect pretty much as soon as I publish this post — on the same label and have prefaced it with the single “Porcelain” that you can stream below, along with tracks from Somali Yacht Club and Greenleaf, who released Echoes From a Mass (review here) last year on Napalm and announced back in March they’d signed to Magnetic Eye Records for their next LP.

Anyway, with the caveat that that Stoned Jesus news is probably going to hit my inbox in like 40 minutes at 10AM when everyone sends their good-morning press releases out, here are the tour dates. More to come on all three of these bands because they’re rad and I enjoy writing about them. This comes from Sound of Liberation via socials.

Peace:

Stoned jesus Somali yacht club Greenleaf tour Square

GREENLEAF, STONED JESUS & SOMALI YACHT CLUB – ROOTS OF HEAVINESS TOUR 2022

Hey friends,

we’re happy to announce that Stoned Jesus, Somali Yacht Club and Greenleaf will hit the road again this September as a triple pack. The two Ukrainian bands Somali Yacht Club and Stoned Jesus are allowed to leave their country again despite covid and war. We are super grateful to have the bands with us and can’t wait to finally see them live again! Teaming up with the mighty Greenleaf from Sweden it will be a tour packed with powerful riffs against war!

Check out the tourdates below, grab your tickets and join the party!

20.09.2022 (DE) Wiesbaden, Schlachthof
21.09.2022 (DE) Leipzig, WERK2-Kulturfabrik
23.09.2022 (DE) Erfurt, Zughafen (w/ Colour Haze)
24.09.2022 (DE) Siegen, Vortex
25.09.2022 (DE) Hamburg, Gruenspan
26.09.2022 (DE) Berlin, Zukunft am Ostkreuz
27.09.2022 (DE) München, Backstage
28.09.2022 (AT) Salzburg, Rockhouse
29.09.2022 (IT) Milano, LEGEND CLUB
01.10.2022 (AT) Vienna, Viper Room Vienna
02.10.2022 (CH) Pratteln, UP IN SMOKE FESTIVAL 2022

Cheers,
Your SOL-Crew

www.facebook.com/greenleafrocks
https://www.instagram.com/greenleafband/

https://www.facebook.com/stonedjesusband
https://www.instagram.com/stonedjesusband/
http://stonedjesus.bandcamp.com/
https://stonedjesus.bigcartel.com/

http://facebook.com/Somaliyachtclub
http://somaliyachtclub.bandcamp.com
http://instagram.com/somaliyachtclub

https://www.facebook.com/seasonofmistofficial
http://www.season-of-mist.com/

http://store.merhq.com
http://magneticeyerecords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/MagneticEyeRecords

Greenleaf, “Tides” official video

Stoned Jesus, “Porcelain”

Somali Yacht Club, “Silver” official video

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Jam for Victory Release Vol. II

Posted in Whathaveyou on June 30th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Earlier this month, a trio of Ukrainian musicians came together as Jam for Victory and released a collection of improvised tracks (discussed here) in order to raise funds for wartime charities responding to the Russian invasion that’s been going on since February (and actually much longer). Igor Sydorenko, best known as guitarist/vocalist of Stoned Jesus, has taken the lead on the project — from behind, on drums, in this case — and has a new group involved of Ukrainian musicians assembled, with members of Ghost Cities and Ignea on board for the new jam session, aptly titled Vol. II as a follow-up release.

Different players mean different personalities musically, of course, and the inclusion of sax and synth is a marked distinguishing factor between the first session and this one, but you and I both know what’s up here. It’s a jam recorded on a phone. If you’re going to bitch about the audio fidelity, you missed the point
The point is buy the fucking thing at (at least) the asking price and know that in addition to supporting cool players with a righteous idea, you’re helping cash get to where it needs to be on the ground in Ukraine.

Until the next one:

jam for victory vol ii

JAM FOR VICTORY is an opportunity for everyone in the Ukrainian music underground scene to try and remember what it is to be a musician in these terrifying times. They never played with each other before, so it’s all pretty spontaneous! All proceeds go to local Ukrainian charities, so feel free to support us in any way possible. Enjoy and share!

Tracklisting:
1. II-5 08:10
2. II-6 09:30
3. II-4 05:04
4. II-2 09:47
5. II-1 12:17

Eugene Zhytniuk – guitar (originally keyboards in Ignea)
Igor Sydorenko – drums (originally guitar + vocals in Stoned Jesus)
Mykola Lebed – saxophone, synth (Ghost Cities)

https://jamforvictory.bandcamp.com/

Jam for Victory, Vol. II (2022)

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Stoned Jesus, Shiva the Destructor & Vovk Members Unite in ‘Jam for Victory’

Posted in Whathaveyou on June 3rd, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Not sure a case really needs to be made for this one. This is Igor Sydorenko from Stoned JesusOlexander Kuts from VOVK and Kostyantyn Kalachikov of Shiva the Destructor — three killer Ukrainian bands, the first of whom also just released new music — in a room jamming. They don’t mention it in the info below, but the Jam for Victory session that results in Vol. 1 below — you’ll note immediately that they allow for future collaboration to take place — was an off-the-cuff jam that took place on May 13. The Russian invasion of the nascent trio’s home country has been going on for nearly 100 days, and I guess after a while you find comfort wherever you can. For artists, that should absolutely be in art. So here we are.

The recording is what it is. They say it’s on an iPhone and it sounds like it. But if you’re going to begrudge these dudes five Euro that’s going to local charities on the ground in a frickin’ war zone — really, even if they were keeping the money and buying liquor and drugs with it, which, again, they’re not — then I’m not sure I have anything for you. If you can’t see the point of this, you may be willfully blind, and you might want to look into that.

War on any side, for any purpose, is not a thing to be celebrated. Peace as soon as possible:

Jam for Victory vol 1

JAM FOR VICTORY was an idea by Kostyantyn Kalachikov (SHIVA THE DESTRUCTOR, ASTRONAUT DUCK KILLS) – just to get in the room with some fellow Ukrainian musicians to try and remember what it is to be a musician in these terrifying times. Olexandr Kuts (VOVK) and Igor Sydorenko (STONED JESUS, ARLEKIN, KROBAK, etc) were the first people he decided to jam with, they said “let’s do this!” and coupla days later their first and so far only jam session happened.

But before they played a note, Igor proposed to record their spontaneous performance just in case – and lo and behold, now you can listen to it as it was! All proceeds go to local Ukrainian charities, so feel free to support us in any way possible. Enjoy and share!

Tracklisting:
1. I-5 05:47
2. I-4 06:34
3. I-8 05:55
4. I-3 03:29
5. I-6 05:21
6. I-9 03:25
7. I-1 07:19

Jam for Victory:
Kostyantyn Kalachikov – drums, idea
Olexandr Kuts – bass, artwork
Igor Sydorenko – guitar, recording, editing

https://jamforvictory.bandcamp.com/

Jam for Victory, Vol. 1 (2022)

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Stoned Jesus Post New Song “Porcelain”

Posted in Whathaveyou on May 25th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

As Kyiv’s Stoned Jesus unveil the first audio from their new album to see release hopefully soon as their debut on Season of Mist, one can’t help especially thinking of the fragility of porcelain itself but be reminded of the fact that the trio should’ve been on an extensive European tour this Spring if not for the ongoing brutalization of their home nation at the hands of Russian forces. Here in the US, the propaganda is pervasive and on the Ukrainian side — doesn’t take much for America to go anti-Russia, even though America pretty much pulls all the same bullshit, just on Black and Brown people — but even considering that it’s hard not to consider the lost homes and lost lives as a crime against humanity. Warcrimes. Think there will be any tangible consequences? Were there from the US’ war in Afghanistan or Iraq? For the Americans, I mean.

If you’d say “keep politics out of music”: All things are political. Grow up.

This song rules, and Igor is right when he calls out Porcupine Tree — can hear some In Absentia in the atmosphere — for “Porcelain,” and the percussive bent that underscores the driving riff could be Swans drawn. To me it sounds more like Stoned Jesus acknowledging their prog leanings of recent years while reengaging with the riffier methods of their early work. Finding a balance, maybe. Mountain climbing in their own way.

Can’t wait to hear more.

You can donate to help Ukraine here: comebackalive.in.ua

From the PR wire:

stoned jesus

STONED JESUS Premieres New Single, “Porcelain”

Ukrainian sludge rock trio STONED JESUS is now releasing a brand new song, “Porcelain!” The song and visualizer, which was created by the band, can be found at THIS LOCATION.

Lead vocalist and guitarist Igor Sydorenko comments: “‘Porcelain’ was one of the last songs I brought to my bandmates for the upcoming album, and they loved it instantly! In fact, we all loved this track so much we decided we’d play it live even before the album’s out, so now it makes all the sense releasing it as a single. People told me it sounds like 2000s PORCUPINE TREE covering 2010s SWANS but to me it’s just another amazing chapter in the STONED JESUS songbook. Hope you’ll enjoy it too!”

The song is taken from the band’s new upcoming album, for which the details will be revealed at a later date. Stay tuned!

“Porcelain” can be pre-saved across streaming platforms HERE: https://orcd.co/stonedjesus-porcelain

Line-up:
Lead-Vocals and Guitar: Igor Sydorenko
Bass and backing vocals: Sergii Sliusar
Drums and backing vocals: Dmytro Zinchenko

https://www.facebook.com/stonedjesusband
https://www.instagram.com/stonedjesusband/
http://stonedjesus.bandcamp.com/
https://stonedjesus.bigcartel.com/

https://www.facebook.com/seasonofmistofficial
http://www.season-of-mist.com/

Stoned Jesus, “Porcelain”

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