Canadian psych-rockers Elephant Stone have released “Land of the Dead,” the first single from their upcoming 2020 album. The song was premiered at Brooklyn Vegan, where you can hear it now.
The track is surprisingly heavy for an Elephant Stone tune, and frontman Rishi Dhir has admitted it’s “much heavier than anything we’ve ever done. It wasn’t intentional. I just had this sitar riff and then it evolved / devolved from there.”
Stoner metal fans rejoice!
Elephant Stone are also soon to embark on their fall tour. Dates are below.
11/5 San Diego, CA @ The Casbah 11/6 Phoenix, AZ @ Yucca Tap Room 11/8 Austin, TX @ Barracuda/Levitation 11/9 Dallas, TX @ The Foundry (FREE SHOW) 11/11 Santa Fe, NM @ Rufina Tap Room (FREE SHOW) 11/12 Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive 11/13 Fort Collins, CO @ Surfside 7 11/15 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir 11/16 Seattle, WA @ Freakout Festival 11/17 Vancouver, BC @ Wise Hall 11/19 San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel 11/20 Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
We started the fourth day at the Levitation Music Festivalwith another tradition – the Sunday gospel brunch at Threadgill’s restaurant. It’s a pretty good deal, and the music always sound good. The band there this year was the Levites, and they were having a great time.
The first band we saw at the festival was Acid House Ragas, which consists of DJ Al Lover on synths and beats and can-we-call-him-a-friend-by-now? Rishi Dhir on sitar. They got the festival off to a nice start with meditative drone music.
Acid House Ragas at Stubb’s BBQ.
We left Stubb’s to grab a bite at the Moonshine Cafe, which serves “southern comfort food.” Holy cow. That was some of the best blackened catfish I’ve had in a long time. After stuffing our bellies, we returned to Stubb’s in time to almost bump into Christian Bland of the Black Angelsand Christian Bland and the Revelators. This was the fifth time I’ve met him, and I thanked him again for the festival. He and his bandmates help curate it, and I told him it was our fourth year there and we already had tickets for Levitation Francein the fall. He thanked me and was excited to hear we were going to the fall festival. He’s always in a good mood whenever I bump into him.
We caught most of the set from the Brian Jonestown Massacre. My wife flipped out when she realized band member Joel Gion was “the tambourine guy from Gilmore Girls.” They put on a set to an always appreciative crowd, and frontman Anton Newcombe encouraged all of us to quit using pesticides in order to save bees. We also met up with James from Ancient Riverand his wife, Nakia, while there. We hadn’t seen them since 2014, and I hadn’t seen James since 2015 when he and his bandmate, Alex, played a gig in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. It was great to catch up with them and meet friends of theirs from England who were also at the show.
Brian Jonestown Massacre
Mr. Newcombe later walked through the crowd during the Black Angels‘ set, shaking hands with yours truly and many other fans. The woman behind me gave him a big hug and her boyfriend also shook hands with him. It made that woman’s night. They talked about it for another ten minutes at least.
The Black Angels, as always, put on a great set. They started with “Young Men Dead,” their usual closer, and kept tearing it up from there. Lead guitarist Christian Blandshredded more than usual, and drummer Stephanie Bailey was once again an unstoppable beast.
The Black Angels
We headed to Barracuda to catch synth-punks POW!. Unfortunately, we missed most of their set, but what we did hear was a fun and raucous. Their weird cover of the Addams Family theme was a nice treat.
POW! in your face
Following them were Oh Sees, who I’ve been wanting to catch for years. James told me he’d seen them perform the previous night and said it was an impressive, high energy set. Sure enough, all the hype you’ve heard is true. A mosh pit broke out within the first four bars and I was soon in it. Various drinks were flying, people were crowd surfing, and my shoes were a stained, dirty mess by the end of it. It was a great way to end the festival on a high note and leave us with enough energy and hunger to grab a late night pizza slice on the way back to our car.
Oh Sees
It was a nice return for Levitation Austin. The town, and the festival, needed a good comeback. Multiple people at the festival agreed with me that the vibe there is always good. You don’t see or meet a lot of jackasses at this festival, which is always a plus (but, good grief, why are people still smoking cigarettes in 2018, and especially in the middle of a crowd?).
Consisting of members of the Black Angels (Alex Maas on guitar, bass, and vocals), the Earlies (John Lapham on synths), Elephant Stone(Rishi Dhir on sitar, bass, and vocals), and the Horrors (Tom Furse on synths), MIEN are a psychedelic supergroup who have been at least discussing their self-titled debut album since 2004. Now that it’s here, they (and we) can rejoice in a job well done.
Staring with the cosmic “Earth Moon,” Maas’ vocals are drenched in smoky reverb as he sings about how our beliefs can alter our reality. Where that track is a lovely stroll through a psychedelic meadow, the second cut, “Black Habit,” is downright creepy with Lapham and Furse’s synths providing a dark drone under Maas’ lyrics about addictions. “(I’m Tired of) Western Shouting” might be my favorite cut on the record. The drum beats are wicked, as are Maas’ lyrics about 24-hours news cycles, angry Internet rants, and people being proud to be rude or even bigoted. The whole band clicks on it, and it slays live.
“You Dreamt” layers on the synths and is pretty much a dark wave track (and a good one). The instrumental “Other” floats on Furse and Lapham’s synths and could’ve easily fit into the score for Blade Runner: 2049. “I feel so high,” Maas sings on “Hocus Pocus.” You might feel the same as it warps into distorted madness and heady freak-outs. Thee deep bass synths on “Ropes” fuel the urgency of Maas’ vocals about fear.
“Echolalia” is defined as mindless repetition of words or sentences as a symptom of a psychiatric disorder or as a repetition of words by a child learning to speak. Both definitions seem appropriate for the track of the same name, as it churns with an almost frantic energy and then comes to an abrupt start that surprises you. “Odessey” has brighter synths, and even female backing vocals, but they hide menace within them. The album ends with a reprise of “Earth Moon.” It’s a mellower version than the first and it creates a nice, dreamy ending to a mostly spooky record.
It’s a solid debut. MIEN are currently on their first live tour, so don’t miss them or this record.
Keep your mind open.
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Primarily known for being the front man in Elephant Stone, Rishi Dhir is also now with the psych-rock outfit MIEN and has played bass and sitar for the Black Angels in the past. Dhir will be performing a solo set (probably all sitar) at Stubb’s BBQ on April 29th at 6:00pm at Levitation Austin. Don’t miss it. He’s a good joe and a heck of a sitar player.
Keep your mind open.
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Is it too early to say I’ve already heard one of the best singles of the year? MIEN, consisting of the Black Angels‘ Alex Maas, Elephant Stone‘s Rishi Dhir, the Earlies‘ John Lapham, and the Horrors‘ Tom Furse, have released “Black Habit,” the first single from their debut self-titled album due out April 6th.
The single is a heady, almost nightmarish trip blending psychedelia with a bit of dark wave. The album is available for pre-order and the band will play live at Levitation Austinthis April. I already have my tickets for their performance. Don’t wait to get yours, or to order this record.
Keep your mind open.
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