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Borracho Announce 10th Anniversary Oculus Reissue Out Oct. 13

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 6th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

Washington D.C. heavy rock trio Borracho are not unaware of the passage of time. Even as they celebrate the release of their new album, Blurring the Lines of Reality (review here) just a couple weeks ago, the rollers o’ riff have let it be known that together with Savage Magic Records they’ll reissue their 2013 outing, 2013’s Oculus (review here), to mark its 10th anniversary.

Oculus was a special moment for Borracho. Following their well-received 2011 debut, Splitting Sky (review here), it was their first full-length to boast the lineup of guitarist/vocalist Steve Fisher, bassist Tim Martin and Mario Trubiano on drums, which, if you caught the latest LP, you already know is the lineup they still have this decade later. They took a risk. It worked. A decade later, looking back on that and celebrating a success seems a worthy endeavor, even if the timing is weird since they just put out a record. Someone once told me you can’t stop progress. I wouldn’t dream of trying.

LPs ship in October, or so their Bandcamp tells me. You might recall Borracho also put out the Riffography (review here) collection in 2017 to note 10 years since the start of the band. This is why you keep track of birthdays.

From the PR wire:

borracho oculus 10 years

BORRACHO Announce Tenth Anniversary Reissue of OCULUS

Creating a sonic tapestry that transcends boundaries, Washington DC’s Borracho combine elements of classic, doom, and progressive rock to form a signature sound that has resonated with fans since their formation over fifteen years ago.

Drawing on influences that span decades, they combine soaring musicality with subterranean propulsion, encompassing the hard-driven strut of acts like Black Sabbath and Mountain, stoner jams of Clutch and Fu Manchu, and the unmistakable energy of Mastodon and High on Fire.

Following the critically acclaimed release of their fifth studio album Blurring the Lines of Reality this summer, the trio will also revisit a big part of their history with the official tenth anniversary reissue of Oculus. Viewed upon by the band as “something of a second debut,” given personnel and directional changes, Oculus heralded the arrival of Borracho’s classic and current line-up. Showcasing the fast, purposeful growth that Steve Fisher, Tim Martin and Mario Trubiano undertook in playing as a power trio. Having gone on to release several albums since to commemorate the occasion the band has teamed up once again with Savage Magic Records, one of the original labels who released the record in 2013.

“I’ve known these guys a long time and have been working with them on vinyl releases for over a decade,” explains SMR’s Carey Neill. “To have a chance to reissue Oculus and work with them again has been so fun. I’m sure hearing it again on fresh wax will rekindle the excitement about it from back then for a new generation of listeners.”

Pre-order Oculus on Savage Magic Records HERE: https://borracho.bandcamp.com/album/oculus

BORRACHO:
Steve Fisher – Guitar, Vocals
Mario Trubiano – Drums, Percussion
Tim Martin – Bass, Backing Vocals

https://www.facebook.com/pg/BorrachoDC/
http://twitter.com/borracho_DC
https://borracho.bandcamp.com/
http://www.borrachomusic.com/

https://facebook.com/SavageMagicRecords
https://instagram.com/savagemagicrecords
https://savagemagicrecords.com

Borracho, Oculus (2013)

Borracho, Blurring the Lines of Reality (2023)

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Full Album Premiere & Review: Borracho, Blurring the Lines of Reality

Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on August 17th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

borracho blurring the lines of reality

[Click play above to stream Borracho’s Blurring the Lines of Reality in full. Album is out tomorrow through Kozmik Artifactz.]

Borracho have never been a band with grandiose stylistic ambitions. They didn’t come out of the gate trying to blend math rock and Kyuss-influenced Polka. The mission has always been to play riff rock. They’re a riff rock band. They have riffs, those riffs rock, ergo riff rock. It is an admirable mission, and to-date has produced some righteous riff rock. And if I can add to that? Riff rock.

Blurring the Lines of Reality is the fifth full-length from the Washington D.C.-based trio — who’ve operated for the last decade-plus with the lineup of guitarist/vocalist Steve Fisher, bassist/backing vocalist Tim Martin, and drummer Mario Trubiano; one might argue producer Frank Marchand as a fourth member given how many of their recordings he’s helmed and/or mixed — and it complicates the above narrative from the outset of “Architects of Chaos I,” the first of a three-part side-consuming statement that starts with percussion, chimes, drums, and Eastern-tinged psychedelic fuzz guitar like some of the more recent Monster Magnet forays into grounded lysergics. It it not what somebody who knows the band might expect going in. The band, however, offer reassurance in the first lyrics: “Sit back, relax/We got you covered.”

What unfolds from there solidifies around a verse and chorus with a thoughtful political perspective — it might be summed up as ‘what the fuck?’ — that has been developing over time as an occasional thematic, as with “Holy Roller” from 2021’s Pound of Flesh (review here), “Overload” from 2016’s Atacama (review here), and so on, a punchy bridge and a return to the psych intro to lead fluidly into the gradually unfolding jam of layered guitar and mellow groove that starts the 11-minute “Architects of Chaos II.” The first of two inclusions over 10 minutes — the other is closer “Burning the Goddess” at 13:16 — continues the thread of Borracho finding new territory, as I don’t think they’ve ever sounded so patient on record before.

The build happens as they head toward four and a half minutes and they move into a fervent nod, crashes and a scorching, channel-swapping solo from Fisher that subsequently opens into a groove that would make Sasquatch proud and a first verse which begins past the halfway point of the song — I didn’t even know I gave bonus points for that, but I apparently do — and a continuation of the discourse from the track prior. There’s a riff thrown in around eight and a half minutes deep that’s a standout flash of Sabbathian swing, and from there, they roll it out with signature Borracho roll — the kind of groove you feel like could just go and go and go; it is a specialty of the house in their case — and an answer to that riff at the outset of “Architects II” with the opening of “Architects of Chaos III” and a cleaner, less throaty style of vocal than the band has ever had, echoing and riding that open-crashing progression, striking in the depth of atmosphere built up through the layers of guitar and bass, the steady push of the drums, a bit of throat-singing for good measure.

borracho

“Architects of Chaos III” cycles through again, with its twisting verse punctuated by the kick as it turns and seems to rear back and launch forward toward its sharp finish, concluding the first half of the six-song/45-minute album and letting the relatively brief instrumental jam “Loaded” take hold from scratch. An easy swing topped at first with languid lead lines turning to a solo in earnest, “Loaded” serves as a transition from one side of the LP to the next, with “This Great War” rolling from its first measure on a thickened, compressed-sounding riff that snaps on a snare hit to its nodder verse, bringing to mind Wo Fat with some cowbell from Trubiano as Fisher returns to the standard vocal style for the verse and chorus, an instrumental stretch under the solo rich in its fuzz and a welcoming rhythm that smooths back to a reprise of the first verse and a chorus to finish.

Both “This Great War” and “Burning the Goddess,” which follows with its own undulating movement and a deeper, harder shout from Fisher in the chorus, are less directly sociopolitical, but the latter uses its titular metaphor as an examination of human involvement in climate change — “Ashes to ashes and dust to dust/In the blink of an eye it all turns to rust” — and jams out a suitably bluesy solo to match — finishing with a return to the root structure of the song before breaking just before 11 minutes in to paired acoustic and electric guitar strum, the bass and drums kicking in shortly as a bed for a wistful, plotted lead that rides the fadeout into silence, Borracho having taken their methodology and applied it across the longest single track they’ve recorded to-date. Reaching new heights on several levels, then.

Of course, while Borracho are reaching out beyond where their past efforts have taken them, Blurring the Lines of Reality holds fast to much of what has always appealed about the band: the tones, the groove that emerges from their style of riffs, the songs and the sense that, of all the bands one might go see on a given evening, Borracho would be the one whose members most genuinely enjoy each other’s company. More than most acts, the members of Borracho come across as friends, and as locked in as they are here, the chemistry between MartinTrubiano and Fisher is classic power trio and the band’s own, emergent from their years together and status as a veteran outfit.

But while one will recognize them through these songs and performances, the according truth is that Borracho have pushed the limits of their creative reach with these songs, in a variety of ways, while maintaining the crucial lack of pretense that has always typified their output. I’m not sure I agree with it all the way politically — I’m not sure I don’t — but there is an earnestness of purpose that underlies everything Borracho have done over the last 15 or so years, and fortunately that also shows up in Blurring the Lines of Reality. Not every band is interested in new ideas on their fifth record. That is a thing to be commended, even before you get to the actual accomplishments of the songwriting on display.

Borracho, “Architects of Reality I” official video

Borracho on Facebook

Borracho on Twitter

Borracho on Bandcamp

Borracho website

Kozmik Artifactz website

Kozmik Artifactz on Facebook

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Teen Mortgage Playing Northeast Shows with Red Fang; New Single Out Friday

Posted in Whathaveyou on July 10th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

This Friday, Washington D.C.-based heavy punkers Teen Mortgage will offer their second single of 2023 in the form of the right-about-a-bunch-of-stuff “Oligarchy.” The occasion — apart from, you know, the oligarchy — is the fact that the band are set to support Red Fang for three shows in the Northeast, playing Millersville, Pennsylvania, a bit west of Philly, as well as Boston and New York City. That’s just three shows, but Teen Mortgage will also tour with OFF! — who aren’t Black Flag and that’s just fine — in the UK and Ireland this Fall, so there’s more to look forward to.

As for the track itself, “Oligarchy” isn’t streaming yet — I probably should’ve asked to premiere it; why do I never think of these things in time? — but you can hear the prior “Sick Day” at the bottom of this post and that’s a pretty fair representation of the raw but purposeful aggression the band offers and the tones through which they convey it. I guess if you’re going to the Red Fang gigs, you might take this as a heads up to get there early if you’re feeling what you hear below or what’s coming later this week.

From the PR wire:

Teen Mortgage Oligarchy

DC’s Teen Mortgage have a huge new tune coming out on 7/14! They have had some great momentum recently with their single ‘Tuning In’ really attracting a lot of great attention and buzz.

The new single is called ‘Oligarchy’ and it’s a scathing, drum & bass inspired, punk rock stomper with a universal message. It has a bit of an early Ministry vibe though doesn’t lose their typical sneer, unabashed fuzz, and driving rhythms.

From the band:
Once again, the duo lay out the truth – the truth that the oligarchy’s unjust ownership of labor value (or ”billionaires” as the western media refers to them as (the oligarchy owns most major news outlets)) is a global problem that needs to be stopped for the progression of the human race.

The single comes on the heels of three dates opening for Red Fang:

July 18 – Millersville PA @ Phantom Power
July 19 – Cambridge MA @ The Sinclair
July 20 – New York NY @ Gramercy

And they are also doing a UK/Ireland tour supporting OFF! in November.

http://instagram.com/teen_mortgage
http://facebook.com/teenmortgage
https://teenmortgage.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/kingpizzarecs
https://www.facebook.com/kingpizzarecs
https://kingpizzarecords.bandcamp.com/
https://kingpizzarecords.storenvy.com/
http://www.kingpizzarecords.com/

Teen Mortgage, “Sick Day” (2023)

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Borracho Announce New Album Blurring the Lines of Reality Out Aug. 18; Playing Maryland Doom Fest

Posted in Whathaveyou on June 21st, 2023 by JJ Koczan

borracho

This weekend, Washington D.C. heavy rockers Borracho — now more than 15 years deep into their tenure — will appear at Maryland Doom Fest in Frederick, MD. Not their first time there, and I’d have to imagine that even before they take the stage, the crowd there will know and be glad to see them. That’s kind of just how it goes. When you’re there, you’re doomed family.

That honestly would be enough for me to post about Borracho, having just seen them in April, I’m more than comfortable encouraging others to follow suit in catching a set, but here’s news as well of their next album, Blurring the Lines of Reality. News like that it exists! And that it’s coming out! On Aug. 18! If all these exclamation points don’t have your blood pumping, then be certain the heavy riffage will. Such is Borracho.

The other thing, of course, is a first single. It’s called “Architects of Chaos I” and check out Borracho with a bit of psychedelic digging in. Obviously, you already know that once they get going it’s dense-riff groove all the way and Borracho most certainly do not mess around in that regard, but if you caught the trio’s surprise-release instrumental two-songer, Kozmic Safari + The Deep Unknown (review here), you might be pleased to know the sonic expansion continues. Wait till you hear the rest of the record — not that I have, or anything.

From the PR wire, the following:

borracho blurring the lines of reality

DC Heavyweights BORRACHO Return with Highly Anticipated Album BLURRING THE LINES OF REALITY | Listen to Their New Single Now!

This Summer, Washington DC’s steadfast heavyweight stalwarts Borracho return to shake up the underground and blur your reality.

Creating a sonic tapestry that transcend boundaries, the band combines elements of classic, doom, and progressive rock to form a signature sound that has resonated with fans since their formation over fifteen years ago.

Drawing on influences spanning decades, they combine soaring musicality with subterranean propulsion, encompassing the hard-driven strut of bands like Black Sabbath and Mountain, stoner jams of Clutch and Fu Manchu, and the unmistakable energetic sensibilities of Mastodon and High on Fire.

Adding to an already impressive discography, their highly anticipated fifth studio album – Blurring the Lines of Reality – will get an official release this August on German label, Kozmik Artifactz, and cement their rightful place at the centre of the US underground stoner rock scene.

“We couldn’t be more excited about the release of Blurring the Lines of Reality. It really pulls together so many elements of our sound and reflects the emotions and challenges of the period it was written during a global pandemic. We think we’ve crafted a truly immersive and powerful listening experience that fans, and newcomers will really enjoy,” explains drummer Mario Trubiano.

Their lead single, ‘Architects of Chaos I’, is the first of three connected tracks that make up an entire side of the album. Full of Eastern influence the song unfolds into a dissection of the socio-political issues that have shaped the world we live in. A theme that carries through much of the album. One of the ways the band indulged in this exploration was by using AI in the creation of both the album art and the video for the single. As you’ll see, technology is both powerful and scary in equal measure, highlighting the potential for its use and its misuse.

Borracho’s Blurring the Lines of Reality will be officially released on 18th August 2023 on Kozmik Artifactz. Watch the video for their new single ‘Architects of Chaos I’ here.

They perform at The Maryland Doom Fest on June 22 at Cafe 611 in Frederick Maryland.

BORRACHO:
Steve Fisher – Guitar, Vocals
Mario Trubiano – Drums, Percussion
Tim Martin – Bass, Backing Vocals

https://www.facebook.com/pg/BorrachoDC/
http://twitter.com/borracho_DC
https://borracho.bandcamp.com/
http://www.borrachomusic.com/

http://kozmik-artifactz.com/
https://www.facebook.com/kozmikartifactz/
http://shop.bilocationrecords.com/

Borracho, “Architects of Chaos I” official video

Borracho, Kozmic Safari + The Deep Unknown (2023)

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Borracho Release Surprise Two-Songer Kozmic Safari + The Deep Unknown; Playing Grim Reefer Fest This Weekend

Posted in Whathaveyou on April 28th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

Cheers to whoever brought the synth and/or Echoplex to the studio that day. Later this year, Washington D.C. heavy rockers Borracho will release their next album. I’ve heard it and it’s some of their best work to-date, but believe it or not, that actually doesn’t matter right now, because today the three-piece who in 2023 mark 15 years of the band release a new instrumental two-songer called Kozmic Safari + The Deep Unknown ahead of appearing at this weekend’s Grim Reefer Fest in Baltimore with Bongzilla and Ilsa and other assorted excellent company.

The pair of cuts were recorded, of course, with Frank “The Punisher” Marchand, and given the extent of his prior work with the band, it’s no surprise the foundation of swing is as solid as one could possibly ask while the guitar and effects, keyboard and synth space the songs out. Listen to the layering in the mix of “The Deep Unknown” and the way the guitar seems to cut through the surrounding expanse. These aren’t throw away pieces, and as they wouldn’t necessarily fit with the general approach of the album to come, which is more in line with their standard approach vis a vis hooks, riffs, nod, all that fun stuff, having them as a standalone offering makes sense all the more when you listen. You might consider doing so presently.

If you’re headed to that all-dayer this weekend — hope to see you there — you probably shouldn’t expect Borracho to play either of these songs live. “Kozmic Safari,” which is not to be confused with their label, Kozmik Artifactz, and “The Deep Unknown” are departures for sure from Borracho‘s standard methodology — I’ll say as well it’s been a long time since I saw them last — but they’re not the first time the band have rooted around territory outside wheelhouse walls. This suits them. I’d be interested to hear it with vocals at some point — Steve Fisher has a good voice for asking what the hell is going on lyrically, and I think this would suit that — but they may or may not ever get there, honestly.

Still, a little something special to herald the LP to come and maybe inject a bit of urgency into your Saturday plans if you’re within driving distance to Baltimore. More on Grim Reefer Fest is here, by the way. Also worth noting they’ll be at Maryland Doom Fest in June:

Hoisted from Bandcamp:

Borracho Kozmic Safari The Deep Unknown

This pair of instrumentals showcases the band’s psychedelic side, taking listeners on a trip through spacey soundscapes.

The tracks were recorded during the sessions for the band’s upcoming new album with longtime engineer/producer Frank Marchand, and feature heavy use of theremin, synthesizers, and old school analog effects.

Tracklisting:
1. Kozmic Safari 03:45
2. The Deep Unknown 03:58

Kozmic Safari and The Deep Unknown were produced by Borracho, and recorded and mixed by Frank “The Punisher” Marchand at Waterford Digital in Pasadena, Maryland in December 2021, and February – May, 2022. Mastered by Kent Stump at Crystal Clear Sound. All music by Borracho. © 2023 Repetitive Heavy Grooves Music. Cover art created by Tim with DeepAI. Cover concept, layout and design by TMD, Washington, D.C.

Borracho is:
Steve Fisher: guitar/vocals
Tim Martin: bass/sometimes vocals
Mario Trubiano: drums

https://www.facebook.com/pg/BorrachoDC/
http://twitter.com/borracho_DC
https://borracho.bandcamp.com/
http://www.borrachomusic.com/

http://kozmik-artifactz.com/
https://www.facebook.com/kozmikartifactz/
http://shop.bilocationrecords.com/

Borracho, Kozmic Safari + The Deep Unknown (2023)

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Quarterly Review: Dommengang, Ryan Kent, 1782, Seum, Old Mine Universe, Saint Karloff, Astral Sleep, Devoidov, Wolfnaut, Fuzz Voyage

Posted in Reviews on April 18th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

the-obelisk-qr-summer-2020

So here we are. A fascinating and varied trip this has been, and while I’m tempted to find some greater meaning in it as regards the ongoing evolution of genre(s) in heavy underground music, the truth is that the overarching message is really that it’s impossible to keep up with that complexity as it unfolds. Hitting 70 releases on this last day with another 50 to come in a couple weeks, I feel like there’s just so much out there right now, and that that is the primary signifier of the current era.

Whether it’s pandemic-born projects or redirects, or long-established artists making welcome returns, or who knows what from who knows where, the world is brimming with creativity and is pushing the bounds of heavy with like-proportioned force and intent. This hasn’t always been easy to write, but as I look at the lineup below of the final-for-now installment of the QR, I’m just happy to be alive. Thanks for reading. I hope you have also found something that resonates.

Quarterly Review #61-70:

Dommengang, Wished Eye

Dommengang Wished Eye

A fourth full-length from Dommengang — are they in L.A. now? Portland, Oregon? does it matter? — neatly encapsulates the heavy psychedelic scope and the organic-vibing reach that stands them out from the pack, as somehow throughout the nine songs of Wished Eye, the Thrill Jockey denizen trio are able to inhabit a style that’s the Americana pastoral wakeup of “Runaway,” the hill-howling “Society Blues,” the drift-fuzz of over solid drums of “Last Card,” the dense tube-burning Hendrixism of “Myth Time,” and the minimalist guitar of “Little Beirut.” And oh, it keeps going; each track contributing something to the lush-but-natural spirit of the whole work. “Blue & Peaceful” brings acoustics to its midsection jam, while “Petrichor” is the West Coast freedom rock you’ve been waiting for, the title-track goes inland for nighttime desertscaping that finishes in hypnotic loops on a likewise hypnotic fade, and “Flower” proves to be more vine, winding its way around the lead guitar line as the vocals leave off with a highlight performance prior a fire-blues solo that finishes the record as the amps continue to scream. Undervalued? Why yes, Dommengang are, and Wished Eye makes the argument in plain language. With a sonic persona able to draw from country, blues, psych, indie, doom, fuzz, on and on, they’ve never sounded so untethered to genre, and it wasn’t exactly holding them back in the first place.

Dommengang on Facebook

Thrill Jockey website

 

Ryan Kent, Dying Comes With Age

ryan kent dying comes with age

Formerly the frontman of Richmond, Virginia, sludgers Gritter, Ryan Kent — who already has several books of poetry on his CV — casts himself through Dying Comes With Age as a kind of spoken word ringmaster, and he’s brought plenty of friends along to help the cause. The readings in the title-track, “Son of a Bitch” and the title-track and “Couch Time” are semi-spoken, semi-sung, and the likes of Laura Pleasants (The Discussion, ex-Kylesa) lends backing vocals to the former while Jimmy Bower (Down, EyeHateGod) complements with a low-key fuzzy bounce. I’ll admit to hoping the version of “My Blue Heaven” featuring Windhand‘s Dorthia Cottrell was a take on the standard, but it’s plenty sad regardless and her voice stands alone as though Kent realized it was best to just give her the space and let it be its own thing on the record. Mike IX Williams of EyeHateGod is also on his own (without music behind) to close out with the brief “Cigarettes Roll Away the Time,” and Eugene S. Robinson of Oxbow/Buñuel recounting an homage apparently to Kent‘s grandfather highlights the numb feeling of so many during the pandemic era. Some light misogyny there and in “Message From Someone Going Somewhere With Someone Else Who is Going Somewhere” feels almost performative, pursuing some literary concept of edge, but the aural collage and per-song atmosphere assure Dying Comes With Age never lingers anywhere too long, and you can smell the cigarettes just by listening, so be ready with the Febreze.

Ryan Kent on Bandcamp

Rare Bird Books website

 

1782, Clamor Luciferi

1782 Clamor Luciferi

The first hook on Clamor Luciferi, in post-intro leadoff “Succubus,” informs that “Your god is poison” amid a gravitationally significant wall of low-end buzzfuzz, so one would call it business as usual for Sardinian lurch-doomers 1782, who answer 2021’s From the Graveyard (review here) with another potent collection of horror-infused live resin audibles. Running eight songs and 39-minutes, one would still say the trio are in the post-Monolord camp in terms of riffs and grooves, but they’ve grown more obscure in sound over time, and the murk in so much of Clamor Luciferi is all the more palpable for the way in which the guitar solo late in “Devil’s Blood” cuts through it with such clarity. Immediacy suits them on “River of Sins” just before, but one would hardly fault “Black Rites” or the buried-the-vocals-even-deeper closer “Death Ceremony” for taking their time considering that’s kind of the point. Well, that and the tones and grit of “Demons,” anyhow. Three records in, 1782 continue and odd-year release pattern and showcase the individual take on familiar cultism and lumber that’s made their work to-date a joy to follow despite its sundry outward miseries. Clamor Luciferi keeps the thread going, which is a compliment in their case.

1782 on Facebook

Heavy Psych Sounds website

 

Seum, Double Double

SEUM Double Double

What Seum might be seen to lack in guitar, they more than make up in disgust. The Montreal trio — vocalist Gaspard, bassist Piotr, drummer Fred — offer a mostly-hateful 32-minute low-end mudslide on their second album, Double Double, the disaffection leaking like an oily discharge from the speakers in “Torpedo” and “Snow Bird” even before “Dog Days” lyrically takes on the heavy underground and “Dollarama” sees the emptiness in being surrounded by bullshit. For as caustic as it largely is, “Torpedo” dares a bit of dirt-caked melody in the vocals — also a backing layer in the somehow-catchy “Razorblade Rainbow” and the closing title-track has a cleaner shout — and the bass veers into funkier grooves at will, as on “Dog Days,” the winding second half of “Snow Bird,” where the bassline bookending the six-minute “Seum Noir” reminds a bit of Suplecs‘ “White Devil” in its fuzz and feels appropriate in that. Shades of Bongzilla persist, as they will with a scream like that, but like their impressive 2021 debut, Winterized (review here), Seum are able to make the big tones move when they need to, to the point that “Dollarama” brings to memory the glory days of Dopefight‘s over-the-top assault. Righteous and filthy.

Seum on Facebook

Electric Spark Records website

 

Old Mine Universe, This Vast Array

Old Mine Universe This Vast Array

Clearheaded desert-style heavy rock is the thread running through Old Mine Universe‘s debut album, This Vast Array, but with a bit of blues in “No Man’s Mesa” after the proggy flourish of guitar in “Gates of the Red Planet” and the grander, keyboardy unfolding of “My Shadow Devours” and the eight-minute, multi-movement, ends-with-cello finale “Cold Stream Guards,” it becomes clear the Canadian/Brazilian/Chilean five-piece aren’t necessarily looking to limit themselves on their first release. Marked by a strong performance from vocalist Chris Pew — whom others have likened to Ian Astbury and Glenn Danzig; I might add a likeness to some of Jim Healey‘s belting-it-out there as well, if not necessarily an influence — the songs are traditionally structured but move into a jammier feel on the loose “The Duster” and add studio details like the piano line in the second half of “Sixes and Sirens” that showcase depth as well as a solid foundation. At 10 songs/47 minutes, it’s not a minor undertaking for a band’s first record, but if you’re willing to be led the tracks are willing to lead, and with Pew‘s voice to the guitar and bass of David E. and Todd McDaniel in Toronto, the solos from Erickson Silva in Brazil and Sol Batera‘s drums in Chile, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the tracks take you different places.

Old Mine Universe on Facebook

Witch City Music on Facebook

 

Saint Karloff, Paleolithic War Crimes

Saint Karloff Paleolithic War Crimes

Although Olso-based riffers Saint Karloff have tasked Nico Munkvold (also Jointhugger) for gigs, the band’s third album, Paleolithic War Crimes, was recorded with just the duo of guitarist/vocalist Mads Melvold (also keys and bass here) and drummer Adam Suleiman, and made in homage to original bassist Ole Sletner, who passed away in 2021. It is duly dug-in, from the lumbering Sabbath-worship repetitions of “Psychedelic Man” through the deeper purple organ boogieprog of “Blood Meridian” and quiet guitar/percussion interlude “Among Stone Columns” into “Bone Cave Escape” tilting the balance from doom to rock with a steady snare giving way to an Iommi-circa-’75 acoustic-and-keys finish to side A, leaving side B to split the longer “Nothing to Come” (7:01), which ties together elements of “Bone Cave Escape” and “Blood Meridian,” and closer “Supralux Voyager” (8:26) with the brash, uptempo “Death Don’t Have No Mercy,” which — I almost hate to say it — is a highlight, though the finale in “Supralux Voyager” isn’t to be ignored for what it adds to the band’s aesthetic in its patience and more progressive style, the steadiness of the build and a payoff that could’ve been a blowout but doesn’t need to be and so isn’t all the more resonant for that restraint. If Munkvold actually joins the band or they find someone else to complete the trio, whatever comes after this will inherently be different, but Saint Karloff go beyond 2019’s Interstellar Voodoo (review here) in ambition and realization with these seven tracks — yes, the interlude too; that’s important — and one hopes they continue to bring these lessons forward.

Saint Karloff on Facebook

Majestic Mountain Records store

 

Astral Sleep, We Are Already Living in the End of Times

Astral Sleep We Are Already Living in the End of Times

Feels like a gimme to say that a record called We Are Already Living in the End of Times is bleak, but if I note the despair laced into the extremity of songs like “The Legacies” or “Torment in Existence,” it’s in no small part to convey the fluidity with which Finland’s Astral Sleep offset their guttural death-doom, be it with melancholic folk-doom melody as on the opening title-track, or the sweetly weaving guitar lines leading into the bright-hued finish of “Invisible Flesh.” Across its 46 minutes, Astral Sleep‘s fourth LP picks up from 2020’s Astral Doom Musick (review here) and makes otherwise disparate sounds transition organically, soaring and crashing down with emotive and tonal impact on the penultimate “Time Is” before “Status of the Soul” answers back to the leadoff with nine-plus minutes of breadth and churn. These aren’t contradictions coming from Astral Sleep, and while yes, the abiding spirit of the release is doomed, that isn’t a constraint on Astral Sleep in needing to be overly performative or ‘dark’ for its own sake. There’s a dynamic at work here as the band seem to make each song an altar and the delivery itself an act of reverence.

Astral Sleep on Facebook

Astral Sleep on Bandcamp

 

Devoidov, Amputation

devoidov amputation

The second single in two months from New Jersey sludge slayers Devoidov, “Amputation” backs the also-knife-themed “Stab” and brings four minutes of heavy cacophonous intensity that’s as much death metal as post-hardcore early on, and refuses to give up its doomed procession despite all the harshness surrounding. It’s not chaotic. It’s not without purpose. That mute right around 2:40, the way the bass picks up from there and the guitar comes back in, the hi-hat, that build-up into the tremolo sprint and kick-drum jabs that back the crescendo stretch stand as analogue for the structure underlying, and then like out of nowhere they toss in a ripper thrash solo at the end, in the last 15 seconds, as if to emphasize the ‘fuck everything’ they’ve layered over top. There’s punk at its root, but “Amputation” derives atmosphere from its rage as well as the spaciousness of its sound, and the violence of losing a part of oneself is not ignored. They’re making no secret of turning burn-it-all-down into a stylistic statement, and that’s part of the statement too, leaving one to wonder whether the sludge or grind will win in their songwriting over the longer term and if it needs to be a choice between one or the other at all.

Devoidov on Instagram

Devoidov on Bandcamp

 

Wolfnaut, Return of the Asteroid

Wolfnaut Return of the Asteroid

Norwegian fuzz rollers Wolfnaut claim a lineage that goes back to 1997 (their debut was released in 2013 under their old moniker Wolfgang; it happens), so seems reasonable that their fourth full-length, Return of the Asteroid, should be so imbued with the characteristics of turn-of-the-century Scandinavian heavy. They might be at their most Dozerian on “Crash Yer Asteroid” or “Something More Than Night” as they meet careening riffs with vital, energetic groove, but the mellower opening with “Brother of the Badlands” gives a modern edge and as they unfurl the longer closing pair “Crates of Doom” (7:14) and “Wolfnaut’s Lament” (10:13) — the latter a full linear build that completes the record with reach and crunch alike, they are strident in their execution so as to bring individual presence amid all that thick tone crashing around early and the takeoff-and-run that happens around six minutes in. Hooky in “My Orbit is Mine” and willfully subdued in “Arrows” with the raucous “G.T.R.” following directly, Wolfnaut know what they’re doing and Return of the Asteroid benefits from that expertise in its craft, confidence, and the variety they work into the material. Not life-changing, but quality songwriting is always welcome.

Wolfnaut on Facebook

Ripple Music website

 

Fuzz Voyage, Heavy Compass Demo

fuzz voyage heavy compass demo

If you’re gonna go, take a compass. And if your compass can be made of primo fuzz riffing, isn’t it that much more useful? If not as an actual compass? Each of the four cuts on Washington D.C. instrumentalists Fuzz Voyage‘s Heavy Compass Demo coincides with a cardinal direction, so you get “South Side Moss,” “North Star,” “East Wind” and “West Ice Mountain.” These same four tracks featured across two separate ‘sessions’-type demos in 2020, so they’ve been fairly worked on, but one can’t discount the presentation here that lets “East Wind” breathe a bit in its early going after the crunching stop of “North Star,” just an edge of heavy psychedelia having featured in the northerly piece getting fleshed out as it heads east. I might extend the perception of self-awareness on the part of the band to speculating “South Side Moss” was named for its hairy guitar and bass tone — if not, it could’ve been — and after “East Wind” stretches near seven minutes, “West Ice Mountain” closes out with a rush and instrumental hook that’s a more uptempo look than they’ve given to that point in the proceedings. Nothing to argue with unless you’re morally opposed to bands who don’t have singers — in which case, your loss — but one doesn’t get a lot of outright fuzz from the Doom Capitol, and Fuzz Voyage offer some of the densest distortion I’ve heard out of the Potomac since Borracho got their start. Even before you get to the concept or the art or whatever else, that makes them worth keeping an eye out for what they do next.

Fuzz Voyage on Instagram

Fuzz Voyage on Bandcamp

 

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The Obelisk Questionnaire: Dan Moriarty of D. Majestic & The Spectral Band, A Troop of Echoes and Public Policy

Posted in Questionnaire on January 17th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

Dan Moriarty A Troop of Echoes

The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Dan Moriarty of D. Majestic & The Spectral Band, A Troop of Echoes and Public Policy

How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

If there’s a single phrase that captures what I strive for, it’s: “Take something kinda weird or fucked up and turn it into something that feels good.” It’s a consistent theme among several very musically-diverse projects I’m involved with: exploratory sax-fronted post-rock with A Troop of Echoes, sinewy stream-of-consciousness post-punk with Public Policy, and, more recently, noisy/jazzy/electropunk with D. Majestic and the Spectral Band.

When I was younger and felt like I had more to prove, I had a tougher time navigating the continuum between “weird” and “good”. My drum parts at the time were colored by playing as much bullshit as possible in an attempt to create something unique. It might have been unique, sure, but was it good? Not reliably.

As a fairly new dad with a completely non-musical job, I have a lot less time these days to write and record music. But, in the time I can eke out, I’ve been able to make some really exciting progress in my songwriting and production techniques. I’m really proud of the Spectral Band EP I made this year, and it got a surprisingly warm response considering how weird it is.

Describe your first musical memory.

Norma, my elderly piano teacher. A shitty Yamaha consumer keyboard. Sheet music for Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On”, from the 1997 film Titanic. Needless to say, it all got a lot weirder from there.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

Oh, other than playing “My Heart Will Go On” from the 1997 film Titanic on a shitty Yamaha consumer keyboard with an elderly piano teacher named Norma?

Touring with A Troop of Echoes will always be special to me. We started off as a few high school friends screaming through saxophones in my parents’ basement in 2004. It was bad. But that band has been on a fucking journey. We went through some rough patches early on, when we were making aggressively weird and abrasive music and couldn’t figure out why nobody wanted to listen to it. We were 17 years old and were doing our best to become friends with Lightning Bolt and The White Mice on MySpace and Providence noise music forums.

Eventually we started making music that we actually wanted to listen to. It was still kinda weird, but in a much more satisfying way. We moved to a big warehouse with a ton of natural reverb, our songwriting got better, and we got better at playing our songs. It all clicked on our 2014 album The Longest Year on Record, and when we brought those songs out on the road, damn.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

I used to believe that metronomes were a crutch, and a hindrance to recording songs that felt natural. After a few studio sessions with and without using metronomes, I’ve changed my mind completely. When a band is comfortable playing to a metronome, everything locks together in service to the groove. Very satisfying.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

For me, personally, artistic progression is taking weirder and weirder stuff and being able to turn it into something that is fun to listen to. Children’s toys through fuzz pedals? NICE. Electric drums with a bunch of digital clipping and delay pedals? NICE. Atonal dance music? Hell yeah.

How do you define success?

Success is creating something you’re proud of.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

You see A LOT of things when you’re sleeping on people’s floors after shows on tour. Let’s leave it at that.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

I love collaborating with other weird musicians. Someday I’d like to write a song with like 30 people playing drumset and 8 bass guitars or something like that. Take some chaos and make it catchy.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

Art is a pressure release valve for the brain.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

My day job is doing lunar geology at NASA, so I’m really looking forward to the return of humans to the surface of the Moon through the Artemis program.

https://linktr.ee/thespectralband

https://linktr.ee/atroopofechoes

https://publicpolicy.bandcamp.com/

D. Majestic & The Spectral Band, The Sermon (2022)

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The Obelisk Questionnaire: Edward Barakauskas of Teen Mortgage & Tired All the Time

Posted in Questionnaire on November 7th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

[PHOTO REMOVED BECAUSE THE PHOTOGRAPHER WAS AN ASSHOLE.]

The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Edward Barakauskas of Teen Mortgage & Tired All the Time

How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

I currently play drums for the groups, Teen Mortgage and Tired all the Time. Teen Mortgage is a heavy stoner punk duo I joined in 2016 after responding to a craigslist ad. Tired all the Time is a dystopian post-punk project consisting of musicians I’ve collaborated with for the past decade in different musical projects.

I am also a registered nurse, specializing in emergency medicine and ambulatory care. I have a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from University of Maryland Baltimore, where I also minored in music for percussion. After graduation, I joined the Americorps National Preparedness and Response program working at the Central Maryland Chapter of the American Red Cross Emergency Services. I went on to work as a medical assistant before going back to school for my second bachelor’s degree in Nursing at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Describe your first musical memory.

In kindergarten, I remember my mom talking me out of bringing the Blue Öyster Cult cassette to show and tell. She was afraid the school would think I brought in satanic music.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

It’s tempting to name some shows, where we shared the stage with one of our influences in front of some massive crowd. However, I find it more significant when I realize my music has truly made a connection with someone. Someone told me that one of their best friends passed away shortly after the last show they saw us play. After apologizing for dropping something so heavy on me, he said he was happy the last memory with his friend was rocking out to a Teen Mortgage set.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

Working as a nurse, I’ve dealt with families during end-of-life decisions. It’s my responsibility to guide and support their choices regardless of my own personal beliefs. I’ve often taken care of patients with little chance of survival or quality of life afterwards. I’ve also taken care of patients that refused care in highly survivable situations.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

I feel that artistic progression coincides with personal progression across a lifetime.

How do you define success?

I don’t believe life has an inherent purpose. The idea that existence is meaningless, is understandably discomforting to many people. However, I’m relieved to believe that we’re not all playing some big game where we’re trying to win by racking up points. I define success as being able to live your life on terms you find agreeable despite whatever compromises or sacrifices you make.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

Philosophically, I have a hard time saying I wish I hadn’t seen something. I’ve learned that negative experiences, though unpleasant, help you better appreciate the positive ones.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

I want to play drums in a much heavier doom or sludge band. I have something in the works right now that might fill the need.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

Being in a band is more than just writing songs and playing music. You’re cultivating a sound, an image, a performance, a story, etc. I view them all as heightened extensions of my personality. When I’m performing, I’m sharing who I am with the audience. If it connects, then I feel like who I am is being understood.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

I renewed my passport and I finally have time to travel more. Though I’ll be using a lot of that time for band touring, I’m looking forward to breaking away with my significant other on some purely recreational vacations.

http://instagram.com/teen_mortgage
http://facebook.com/teenmortgage
https://teenmortgage.bandcamp.com/

https://www.instagram.com/tiredallthetimeband/
https://www.facebook.com/tiredallthetimemusic
https://tiredallthetime.bandcamp.com/

Teen Mortgage, “Valley” official video

Tired All the Time, “Regrets”

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