7th Level Music

Live: Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Levitation Room, and Mouth Reader – The 5 Spot – Nashville, TN – September 10, 2021

My wife and I took a long weekend trip to Nashville, Tennessee a couple weeks ago. We got into town on September 10th and were looking for something to do that night. Lo and behold, I discovered a psychedelic rock show at a dive bar called The 5 Spot, and the lineup was irresistible: local act Mouth Reader, California psych-shoegazers Levitation Room, and, fresh from Psycho Music Festival, Frankie and the Witch Fingers.

Mouth Reader were up first, putting on a good and loud show to their hometown crowd that impressed some other local musicians who were seated near us.

Levitation Room sound like Elephant Stone mixed with Beatles and Pink Floyd. They have a song about a polydactyl cat (“Mr. Polydactyl Cat”) that delighted my wife to no end.

Levitation Room lifting us off the floor.

I need to mention that the psychedelic light and projection effects were done by the Flooded Sun Liquid Light Show, who also have their own doom / stoner metal band called Red Feather. They did a great job, although they didn’t do projections for Frankie and the Witch Fingers for reasons unknown to us.

Frankie and the Witch Fingers played much of the same set that they threw down at the Psycho Music Festival, but hearing it in a smaller venue than the Mandalay Bay House of Blues was a treat. They were just as tight as when we saw them a month earlier and were delighted to be hitting the road after such a long hiatus.

You can tell it’s early in the set because the drummer, Shaughnessy Starr, is still wearing a shirt.

It was a good start to a fun weekend, and The 5 Spot is a cool venue far away from the downtown Nashville honky tonk tourist traps full of annoying drunks and bachelor / bachelorette parties.

Keep your mind open.

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Wrecka Stow: Shake It Records – Cincinnati, Ohio

Be prepared to spend two things when you go to Cincinnati’s Shake It Records (4156 Hamilton Avenue) – time and money…A lot of both.

This place is deep with stuff and is two floors – the ground floor and the basement. Both are stocked with everything from LPs to action figures.

Yes, action figures.

So, yeah, this place is amazing. I could spend an entire afternoon here. The back of the front counter looked like this when I was there.

Plus, there’s funky art everywhere.

This thing alone is probably worth five figures, and I don’t mean the “Cat Ballou” DVD.

I debated getting that DC Comics 45-record case, not to mention that “High School Hellcats” poster.

Oh yeah, there are records…Boy, are there records.

Several of these would’ve fit in that DC Comics record case.

Some of the coolest records are special signed editions you can get there.

Those Screaming Females and Lydia Loveless records are well worth the purchase price.

They also have CDs and cassettes, of course.

By the way, this is just some of the stuff upstairs. As I mentioned earlier, there’s an entire basement with more records and books in it.

Most of their jazz, blues, classical, country, and soul records (and soundtracks) are down here.

They also have a big section each of books, graphic novels, and zines.

“Conan Saga” *and* “Love and Rockets” in the same place!

I walked out of here with CDs by My Bloody Valentine (a three-disc EP set), a double Ennio Morricone album, the new TV Priest album, and the soundtrack to the weird cult film Forbidden Zone. I could’ve spent more time and money there, but we had limited time on the parking meter.

Don’t miss this place if you’re in town. You won’t regret it.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: The Smithereens – Live in Concert! Greatest Hits and More (2008)

Recorded over the course of four nights at The Court in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Live in Concert! Greatest Hits and More by The Smithereens was a great return to the band’s home state and a familiar venue to a raucous crowd.

The album captures the band’s raw, rock sound well. Consider yourself lucky if you got to see them live in their heyday. They were one of the best touring bands in the United States (and a new iteration of them still tours with Marshall Crenshaw on lead vocals, no less).

Opening track “Behind the Wall of Sleep” still punches hard, and “Drown in My Tears” somehow hits even harder. Jim Babjak and Pat Dinizio‘s guitars are a tremendous one-two punch throughout it (and the whole album, really). “Miles from Nowhere” builds like a strong, chugging engine in a hot rod warming up before a drag race down a long stretch of highway. Dennis Diken‘s drumming propels the track, and he sneaks some jazz swing into the mix.

“Room without a View” slows things down just enough for you to catch a breath, but not by much. “Only a Memory” keeps your toes tapping, and Severo Jornacion‘s bass work on it is a solid groove that keeps the band locked in tight. “House We Used to Live In” rocks as well as you remember. It’s always better live, and this captured version doesn’t disappoint. It drifts into a bit of psychedelic territory about halfway through the track (which is almost an eleven-minute version) and gives everyone ample opportunity to stretch their muscles and show off their chops (especially Diken).

The slow, lovely “Spellbound” is almost shocking after the previous track, but it soon wraps you in its warm blanket and has you swaying like a reed in the wind. The album contains two new (for the time) tracks, and the first is the haunting, strong “Since You Went Away” – a great example of Smithereens songs about lost love. “She’s Got a Way” is a great example of another type of Smitheerens song – power pop.

“Yesterday Girl” is another power pop gem, with Diken and Jornacion combining their rhythmic powers for all of your benefit. “Well Alright” is nearly a Dinizio solo effort with his acoustic guitar and strong vocals, until the drum fill kicks the song up a couple notches. The version of “Especially for You” on the album has a bit of a bluesy swagger to it that I like. “Any Other Way” is the second new track on the album, and it’s a hip tune about (you guessed it) Dinizio finding and losing love.

“Top of the Pops,” one of their biggest hits, sounds a little extra grungy here, which I don’t mind at all. Their cover of “Time and Time Again” is a blast and always a wonderful salute to one of their biggest influences – Paul McCartney. The album ends with three classics: “Blood and Roses” (with a downright furious solo from Babjak), an eight-minute version of “A Girl Like You,” and – a welcome addition and a salute to their old school fans – the theme to the Batman TV show from the 1960s (which was a staple of their early live sets).

It’s a fun album and a great reminder of why The Smithereens are one of the best American rock bands of their era (or any other, really).

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Lizzie Loveless – You Don’t Know

You Don’t Know, the new album by Lizzie Loveless, is an album that collects memories, stories, possibly a couple tall tales, and love poems and then focuses on them with presence and mindfulness…and lovely vocals and beats. It’s also an album with many homes – New York City, Halifax, Nova Scotia, California forests, or the many stops of a tour she took with her band TEEN.

“You don’t know what it means to be with me,” she sings on the opening title track. Loveless (AKA Lizzie Lieberson) braces herself for heartbreak as a relationship is about to end, but she’s walking out with her chin up and not looking back. It’s a lovely opener, with crushing lyrics like “Maybe we should just forget it. We had out fun playing house. I know it wasn’t always easy.”

“The Joke” is a simple tune consisting of Loveless’ voice, acoustic guitar, electric beats, bright synths, and lyrics about a health crisis (“My body betrays me.”) Loveless overcame. “Memory” has Loveless wondering if she’ll ever forget a lover as 1980s soft ballad synths and beats play behind her. “My thoughts are clean though dirty from dreams,” Loveless sings on the sexy, strong track “Eyes of a Man.” The buzzsaw guitar and Theremin-like synths mix well together to put you a bit on edge.

As if she hasn’t bared her soul enough, Loveless tells us, “I’m stuck in a loveless black hole.” on “Loveless.” You can’t help but think she’s a bit tongue-in-cheek about it, however, as the thumping electro-bass and the funky beats on the track are dance floor-ready. “Hold Me Close,” with its lyrics of being in different places during different seasons, seems to be a song about missing someone while on tour. “Window” is another pretty (listen to those synths and toe-tapping beats) gut punch as Loveless sings about waiting for a lover she knows won’t return.

“New York, Yesterday” is a tale of Loveless wandering the Big Apple hoping to see her lover, even though she knows he’s in Los Angeles. “Underneath” stacks groovy bass atop Loveless’ echoing vocals about burying her emotions, even when she knows that revealing them could take her further in a relationship. The album closes with “Again,” a fun title to end a record, and a track about about Loveless wanting love but a potential lover just wanting to smooch.

You Don’t Know is a lovely record all-around, and will probably be one of the best albums of love songs of the year. It’s soulful, sometimes scorching, and sometimes sweet. It’s all good.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Gabriel at Clandestine Label Services.]

E.VAX releases “Karst” ahead of new album due tomorrow.

E.VAX – the project of Ratatat’s Evan Mast – announces his new, self-titled album, out September 17th via Because Music, and today presents a new single/video, “Karst.” Performing as half of Ratatat for more than the last decade, Mast’s music has reached an enormous audience with its bombastic merge of rock and electronic music, as well as through his parallel work as a hip-hop producer for artists such as Kanye West, Kid Cudi, and Jay-Z . His new solo album, E.VAX, is a collection of instrumental songs, dolloped with moments of exploratory dialogue, disembodied moments that are equally disorienting and moving. The throughline between the songs on his new album is not a certain signature sound, but Mast’s feel as a producer. Though one song may lean heavier on snappy drums and another on the coo of an organ, they all share a similar sensibility. The songs are sincere, playful, inviting, curious, and contemplative—all characteristics of Mast himself.

For this album, Mast loosened his attitude towards production, looking to capture some of the excitement of creation. He recorded at home, and then midway through the pandemic he spent time in Montana, recording in a friend’s art gallery. The blank space and isolation after so much studio time in close quarters allowed for a new looseness. He’d play songs at the wrong speed to see how it changed what he heard, or deliberately leave a melody untouched for months and then improvise over it after playing it anew for the first time. Unable to get lost in real life, he got lost in music. “I used to be way more precious,” Mast says about his songwriting. “A lot of this stuff on the record is about trying to skip the brain processes that can get in the way of making something that really feels sincere.”

Following his first offering, “Rabindra,” “Karst” features harp and a vintage drum machine. The accompanying video is made of footage that Mast took in China. “One of my favorite moments over the past few years was riding on a scooter with my brother through a landscape of karst mountains in southern China,” says Mast. “I wanted this track to sound the way that felt. I started recording it in Brooklyn during the most intense part of lockdown last spring, and finished it a few months later in a barn at a friend’s place in Montana.”

The “Karst” video is the second installment in a series of music videos he made for all 12 tracks on the album, shot all around the globe. Made up largely of videos Mast shot while walking around and sewn together so they pan slowly, there is simultaneously a feeling of stillness and motion, which is amplified when you encounter strangers looking at the camera.
Watch E.VAX’s Video for “Karst”

Watch the “Rabindra” Video

Pre-order E.VAX

E.VAX Tracklist
1. Rabindra
2. Karst
3. Always
4. What About You
5. Manila
6. Anything At All
7. Kolkata
8. Pretty Good
9. New Words
10. Little Lung
11. Koko
12. Actual Air

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR.]

French trio Stone from the Sky release first single from upcoming “Songs from the Deepwater” album due November 5th.

Stone from the Sky is a instrumental stoner trio from France. Formed in 2012, the band is going to release its third album, Songs from the Deepwater, on November 5th, 2021.

They managed to build themselves a strong reputation on the heavy psych & stoner french and European scene thanks to gigs in Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, UK or Czech Republic.

Among their influences, we can mention All Them Witches, The Ocean or the french screamo band Mort Mort Mort. Those different references makes the band’s strength, who is able to offer us an evolution with each new album.

On Friday, September 10th, Stone from the Sky release a first single, “City I Angst,” alongside a music video. With this song, the band gives us a tour of their home town of Le Mans, France.

‘‘Songs From the Deepwater’’, November 5^th

The band is pursuing its transformation and keeps breaking the rules of traditional stoner rock. This new album is still loyal to the band’s artistic identity but drags us into a darkest and more aggressive atmosphere. No more solar songs “Colour Haze” style to make room to new playing fields inspired by post rock, scream or post hardcore, without denying their fuzz essence.

Keep your mind open.

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[Merci à Angie à NRV Promotion.]

Witch Fever deliver “In Birth” ahead of their debut EP.

Creating buzz in the music scene since their inception, Manchester’s Witch Fever are not long away from their debut EP Reincarnate which will be released digitally on 29th October and physical 12” on 3rd December, via Sony’s Music For Nations. Pre-order HERE.

Following title track ‘Reincarnate’ (here), and the lyrical mash up ‘In The Resurrect’ (here), today they share new single ‘In Birth’. It’s lyrics are semi-autobiographical from singer Amy and deal with the consequences of being born into a Charismatic Christian church where patriarchal structures and predatory behaviour were rife.

“‘In Birth’ has been kicking around for a little while now, so it’s nice to finally exorcise it into the world.”, says Amy. “Whilst the theme of a lot of our songs is reclamation, empowerment and catharsis, it’s definitely far more vulnerable. It felt right to juxtapose this with big chuggy riffs and noisy, cymbal heavy drums. The power that Alisha, Alex and Annabelle create on this track accompanies the anger in my lyrics perfectly.”

Watch the video for ‘In Birth’ HERE.

She continues, “We created and directed the video with Sam O’Leary and it’s a tongue in cheek way of presenting the narrative. We wanted something camp and fun, but still powerful and angry. Plus, everything’s better with a bucket of fake blood!”

Witch Fever also announce an in-store performance and signing at the legendary Rough Trade East for 4th December 2021. Free with vinyl purchase at Rough Trade, or tickets on sale.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Amy at Prescription Music PR.]

Bremer/McCoy release new single, “Natten,” ahead of full album due this October.

Bremer/McCoy, the duo of pianist Morten McCoy and bassist Jonathan Bremer, announce their new album, Natten, out October 29th on Luaka Bop, and share its lead single, the album’s title track. For Natten, Bremer/McCoy recorded straight to tape so that they had as little time as possible to think about it. They just laid it down. They couldn’t really explain it. “When it works for me,” says pianist MortenMcCoy, “it’s pure meditation, pure prayer. Pure gratitude for simply being, without all kinds of jibber-jabber filling my thoughts.”

McCoy and Bremer started making music together back in 2012 when they were still in school. At 17 years old, Bremer was awarded with the Young Jazz Award from Jazz Denmark and for three years he was a solid part of the acclaimed Niels Lan Doky trio. McCoy started his musical journey by digging deep into the Jamaican music-culture both as a musician, composer, concert-organizer and DJ. Since then, he’s worked as a co-composer on the award-winning soundtrack for the Danish movie Underverden. Upon the duo’s creation, they at first played dub. It’s hard to imagine that that’s how they started when you listen to the ethereal sounds they make now, but the influence becomes clearer when you see them live.

Bremer/McCoy insist on traveling with their own sound system. That might seem like a lot of effort for a quiet Danish duo, but for Bremer/McCoy, making music is all about what happens in the room. That’s why they go through the trouble of carrying their own equipment, and it’s why they record analog. When they write music, they aim for direct transmission—idea straight to composition. Natten is the follow-up to a string of albums – their debut Enhed (2013), Ordet (2015), Forsvinder (2016), and Utopia (2019). “We felt a greater freedom this time around because we now have a much deeper understanding and grounding in what we’re doing,” says Bremer. “This allows us to venture further out than ever before, because we know that things typically fall into place.”

Natten, which means “The Night” in Danish, draws inspiration from the end of day, that regenerative time under the constellations when our lives look different. Listeners might be quick to call it escapist—the music might be a reprieve from our busy lives. And while that’s one way to experience Natten, there’s also another, which has more to do with immersion. It offers us the chance to see what’s around us as beautiful. McCoy wrote the title track, “Natten,” while watching the sun set in Sweden. And although the track doesn’t have lyrics, it carries a message, directly from McCoy to you: You won’t find the meaning of life by chasing answers. You’ll find it by waiting and staying open to the world. That’s the message of the title track, and it might as well be the message of the whole album because that’s clearly the state of mind McCoy and Bremer were in when they were recording: Open.

Listen to “Natten” by Bremer/McCoy

“The well is far from empty,” says Bremer. “Listening to great works is like having a deep conversation with somebody, a type of communication that can evolve and continue opening doors to new perspectives.”There’s a hint in what Bremer says of how he hopes his own listeners will experience his music. As a key to something. A key to life, or possibly a key to appreciating new sounds. This is the feeling Bremer/McCoy’s music transmits that you won’t be able to shake. They’re trying to tell you something; you’ll hear it if you listen.

Luaka Bop was founded by David Byrne in 1989. The label represents artists such as Floating Points and William Onyeabor, and is known for introducing the music of Tim Maia and Shuggie Otis, as well as the spiritual music of Alice Coltrane, to the world at large. Earlier this year, Luaka Bop released Promises by Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders and The London Symphony Orchestra. The album has received worldwide acclaim.

Pre-order Natten

Natten Tracklist:
01. Natten
02. Mit Hjerte
03. Gratitude
04. Hjertebarn
05. Nu Og Altid
06. April
07. Aurora
08. Nova
09. Måneskin
10. Natten (part 2)
11. Lalibela

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Ela Minus releases remix of “close” by Buscabulla.

Ela Minus’ debut album acts of rebellion, released last October via Domino, boasts “daring calls to would-be dance floor revelers and rioters alike, in both English and Spanish” (Rolling Stone). Since the album’s release, Ela has been keeping busy – she recently performed at Chanel’s Fall-Winter 2021/2022 Haute Couture show and remixed Little Dragon’s “Hold On”. This fall, Ela will tour the US in support of the album. Ahead of these dates, she today presents a remix of “close” (feat. Helado Negro) by Buscabulla, plus a live performance of the otherworldly Liminal Spaces version of the song.

Ela and Buscabulla have previously worked together, namely on Ela’s remix of their song “Vámono.” The “close” remix features vocal contributions from Buscabulla’s Raquel Berrios and expands the playful original into a murky and dreamy dance track. The “close” (Liminal Spaces Version) live performance was filmed in the Centro Historico district in Mexico City earlier this spring and marks the first time Ela performed the song live.

“‘close’ is different from the rest of the songs on my album in many ways, including that it’s the only one with a collaboration, Helado Negro. My approach to sharing this song has been different; when I imagined how to approach new versions of it, I imagined them very distinctly. I came across the concept of liminal spaces, which inspired the improvisation of this version – in one take. I always imagined hearing Raquel’s vocals on this song, so I asked Buscabulla to rework it.” – Ela Minus

Listen to Ela Minus’ “close” (feat. Helado Negro) (Buscabulla Remix)

Watch Live Performance of “close” (Liminal Spaces Version)

Watch/Listen/Share
Purchase / Stream acts of rebellion
Watch “el cielo no es de nadie” Video
Watch “megapunk” Video
Watch “they told us it was hard, but they were wrong” Video
Stream “dominique”
Listen to “they told us…” Remixes

Ela Minus Tour Dates

Wed. Sept. 15 – Washington, DC @ Flash
Fri. Sept. 17 – Atlanta, GA @ Aisle 5
Wed. Oct. 20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere
Fri. Oct. 22 – Sat. Oct. 23 – Miami, FL @ III Points Festival
Sun. Oct. 24 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy Theatre
Thu. Feb. 10, 2022 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall ^
Fri. Feb. 11, 2022 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater ^
Sat. Feb. 12, 2022 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s BBQ ^
Mon. Feb. 14, 2022 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren ^
Wed. Feb. 16, 2022 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater ^
Fri. Feb. 18, 2022 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom ^
Sat. Feb. 19, 2022 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom ^
Sun. Feb. 20, 2022 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox ^
Mon. Feb. 21, 2022 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater ^
Fri. June 10, 2022 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound

^ = supporting Caribou

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Ahmad at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Mandy, Indiana release Daniel Avery remix of their single “Alien 3.”

Mandy, Indiana (FKA Gary, Indiana) is a Manchester, UK-based trio who combine elements of post-punk, noise, and electronics, emphasizing raw energy and emotion over meticulous composition to create a singular cathartic experience. Earlier this year, they released “Alien 3” via Fire Talk Records. “It begins with a marching band-style beat that intensifies as it progresses, providing an ominous backdrop for frontperson Valentine Caulfield‘s dissociated vocals. Delivered in her native French, Caulfield adds an extra layer of texture to the band’s gnarly sound” (FADER). Today, they present Daniel Avery’s club-ready “Alien 3” remix. “We were overwhelmed to learn that Daniel was a fan of ‘Alien 3’,” says the band. “His music is so unique and inspiring so to have him reinterpret this track was such a joy!“

“A friend told me I should check out Mandy, Indiana – said they were one of the most exciting new bands around and that they would tick all my boxes. Turns out he was right,” adds Daniel Avery. “The band asked if I wanted to try reworking something for the club and I immediately had a feeling something big would come out of it. Turns out I was right.”

Listen to Mandy, Indiana’s “Alien 3” (Daniel Avery Remix)

Mandy, Indiana’s founding members Scott Fair (guitar / production) and Valentine Caulfield (vocals) met through Manchester’s thriving DIY music scene before recently enlisting drummer and percussionist Liam Stewart (percussion). The band create pop music with brutality anchored by the punk poetry style of Caulfield’s vocal delivery. Their music ranges from the warping techno of “Alien 3” to the industrial noise of “Nike of Samothrace ,” songs disparate in nature, but connected by an explosiveness.

More will follow from Mandy, Indiana later this year and all upcoming tour dates are below.

Mandy, Indiana Tour Dates

Fri. Sept. 24 – Bristol, UK @ Klub Loco
Wed. Oct. 20 – Manchester, UK @ YES Basement
Sat. Nov. 20 – Manchester, UK @ White Hotel
Fri. Dec. 3 – Manchester, UK @ YES

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Ahmad at Pitch Perfect PR.]