One of my favorite parts of Levitation Austin is discovering new bands, especially ones in genres I wasn’t exposed to much before I started attending the festival. One of those genres is stoner metal, and Virginia’s Windhand is my new favorite bands of that ilk playing at this year’s festival. They’re playing a sold-out show on April 26th at Barracuda with Ruby the Hatchet and Dead Meadow. The place will be shaking.
Keep your mind open.
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Perennial rock workhorse Ty Segall is playing two shows at Levitation Austin this year. The first is at the Stubb’s BBQ kick-off party on April 26th at 9:45pm and the second is the next night at Barracuda at 7pm. Both shows are sure to be loud and fun, as Mr. Segall is an energetic performer who can bounce around rock genres as easily as a kangaroo across the Australian outback. His new album, Freedom’s Goblin, is a great example of this as he blends fuzzed disco with songs about his dog.
Keep your mind open.
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Art punk Ron Gallo will be playing one of the first time slot at Levitation Austin this year – 6pm at Stubb’s on April 26th. He’s also playing the next day at 5:30pm on Barracuda, both times in support of Ty Segall. I caught Mr. Gallo and his crew in Fort Wayne a couple years ago and was immediately impressed with his chops on guitar and witty lyrics wrapped in punk attitude. His debut album, Heavy Meta, was one of my top picks of 2017. Check him out while tickets for him are still reasonably priced.
Keep your mind open.
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Like all DJ Koze records, knock knock exists outside of trend and influence. In fact, Knock Knock is a step further beyond: absolutely every single thing here, from grooves to voices to handclaps, is otherworldly and unique. Which is not to say it is utter alien abstraction. There is still disco, there is still soul, there is still techno, there is still hip hop, there is still psychedelia – there are even wafts of easy listening and lost crackly thrift store record memories – but though it may sound familiar, it never does what your brain thinks it’s going to do.And that’s what is crucial here. Koze is a world-maker, knock knock is far and away his greatest statement of that. You don’t get to choose how you hear his music – you enter his world or you don’t, that’s it. knock knock is an album that came together slowly and steadily, his working processes arcane and mysterious in their steady accumulation of sound and inspiration. It’s so complete and bursting with detail and consistency in every way that you’d swear it was meticulously planned (but there was no master plan) to create a definitive artifact: the record itself decided when it was ready. And now it is ready, the most perfectly constructed portal into that other world, you had better be ready too!
If you’re feeling the effects of the extra six weeks of winter we’re having right now, A Place to Bury Strangers have just the thing to shake you out of your winter doldrums. It’s their new album, Pinned, which is already high on my list for potential album of the year. It’s an album about impermanence, fear of the unknown, the insidious presence of technology (a frequent theme in APTBS’ work), and breaking free of self-imposed constraints and outside influences.
Starting off with a groovy bass riff from Dion Lunadon and a toe-tapping kick drum beat from new drummer and backing vocalist Lia Braswell, “Never Coming Back” builds a tight tension as lead singer and guitarist Oliver Ackermann seems to sing from a shadowy corner while his guitar creeps around the room. The song eventually breaks the near-unbearable tension around the three-minute mark with wails and squalls that only APTBS seem to generate. The song is about how decisions big and small can alter one’s life forever, and how easy it is to become trapped in indecision instead of embracing uncertainty.
“Execution” reveals APTBS’ love of krautrock with Lunadon’s bass line and Ackermann’s slightly robotic vocals. Braswell’s vocals match Ackermann’s on “There’s Only One of Us,” a post-punk song about unity in these weird times. “Situations Changes” has a shoegaze simmer that eventually reaches a noise rock rolling boil as Ackermann sings about loneliness (The first lyric is “You don’t care about me.”) and having to accept the fact that the situation between him and his lover has changed and returning to the past is impossible. The present is all that exists and change is the only constant.
The addition of Lia Braswell on drums has been a great one for APTBS. She’s a powerful drummer that matches well with Ackermann and Lunadon, but the addition of her vocals has taken the band to a new, unexpected level. A great example of both of these points is on “Too Tough to Kill.” Her drumming is like rapid gunfire, and her vocals elevate the track to psychedelic highs. There’s just as good, almost Shirley Manson-like, on “Frustrated Operator.”
“Look Me in the Eye” is a fast song about trust that mixes electronic beats with heaps of guitar fuzz. Countering it is “Was It Electric,” which keeps the vocals slightly distorted, but the rest of the track strolls through a foggy shoegaze park on an early autumn day.
“I know I’ve done bad things, and I can’t take them back,” Ackermann sings on “I Know I’ve Done Bad Things.” It’s another reference to how easy it is to get trapped in the past and mired in loneliness. Even his guitar sounds distant throughout the track (despite the distortion), and Braswell’s drums sound like a thudding pulse in your neck. The speed picks up on “Act Your Age” (which clocks under two minutes), and I can’t help but wonder if the title is a referendum on internet blustering and the current political climate. Pinned is the band’s first album since the 2016 election, after all.
I love the way APTBS loops Braswell’s wail / moan on “Attitude,” which has a sharp, almost snotty punk vibe throughout it. I also love the addition of electronic beats again atop Braswell’s acoustic ones on the closing track, “Keep Moving On.” The title is apt for the band and the album. APTBS always seeks to reinvent itself and not get pigeonholed. Their music always brings you back to the moment. It is too urgent to do otherwise. They keep moving forward, as should all of us. We can’t afford to be pinned down by regret, loss, or attachments. Pinned is a great reminder of this. It’s my album of the year so far.
Keep your mind open.
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Here Lies Man announce new album
You Will Know Nothing
Antibalas members “if Black Sabbath played Afrobeat”
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Los Angeles quintet Here Lies Man announce their forthcoming sophomore album today, sharing the first single “Fighting” via Bandcamp and YouTube. The album, You Will Know Nothing will be released June 15th via RidingEasy Records.
Here Lies Man play the prestigious Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona, Spain in May before hitting the road with Earthless in June. Later in Fall, the band hits the massive Desert Daze festival in Southern California. Please see current dates below.
Here Lies Man took the music world by storm in 2017 with their self-titled debut positing the intriguing hypothesis: What if Black Sabbath played Afrobeat?
Rough Trade named Here Lies Man in their prestigious Top 10 Albums of 2017. BBC 6 & Classic Rock Magazine deemed it among the year’s best, as well as countless other press outlets singing its praises.
This June, the L.A. band comprised of Antibalas members quickly follow their auspicious debut with the even more thoroughly realized album You Will Know Nothing. Its 11 tracks expand upon the band’s exploration of heavy riff-based rock and psych within the ancient rhythmic formula of the clave.
“We’re very conscious of how the rhythms service the riffs,” explains founder and vocalist/guitarist/multi-
Sonically, on You Will Know Nothing the dynamic range is thicker, crisper and more powerful. It glistens as much as it blasts. The songs are even catchier, more anthemic, and the production reflects that of a band truly come into its own. Lyrically, it’s an equally more conceptualized effort that reflects upon states of being and consciousness – a driving force that carries throughout the words and moods of all of the band’s releases, interconnected to their trancelike music. Here Lies Man have honed their sound and their focus, and soon, you will truly know Nothing.
“We wanted to go deeper with the sonic experience,” says Garcia. “Even though it sounds more hi-fi than the first record, it was important that it didn’t sound too polished.”
While You Will Know Nothing certainly maintains its gritty grooves, there’s an interesting conceptual mathematics to the entire proceedings. “There are interludes between each song that are 2/3 to 3/4 of the tempo of the previous song,” Garcia says. “The reason it breaks down to 2 over 3 or 3 over 4 is that everything in the music rhythmically corresponds to a set of mathematical algorithms known as the clave. The clave is an ancient organizing rhythmic principle developed in Africa.”
“We dove deep into the texture of the music, beyond the groove and the riff,” says HLM cofounder and drummer Geoff Mann (former Antibalas drummer and son of jazz musician Herbie Mann.) “Although something might sound like one instrument, there are subtle layers shifting through. It’s definitely a headphone album.”
Garcia and Mann recorded the album much like they did the debut, at their own L.A. studio on a Tascam 388 8-track tape machine. Congas were later recorded by percussionists Richard Panta and Reinaldo DeJesus. Then, Garcia went to NY to record interludes with former Antibalas keyboardist Victor Axelrod. Mixing took the most time in order to find the proper sonic space for each layer of musical detail, with first album engineer Jeremy Page mixing the drums and the band tackling the remainder while also juggling a hectic touring schedule.
Here Lies Man has already spent much of early 2018 on tour, with dates supporting Antibalas and Fu Manchu as well as a headlining trek through the EU & UK. Many summer festival dates and headline tours await later in the year as Here Lies Man continues its infectious charge onward.
You Will Know Nothing will be available on LP, CD and download on June 15th, 2018 via RidingEasy Records.
HERE LIES MAN LIVE 2018:
05/31 Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound Festival
06/05 Asheville, NC @ Mothlight *
06/06 Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade *
06/07 Spartansburg, SC @ Ground Zero *
06/08 Orlando, FL @ Wills Pub *
06/09 Tallahassee, FL @ The Wilbury *
06/10 Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon *
06/12 Houston, TX @ White Oak Upstairs *
06/13 Austin, TX @ Barracuda *
06/14 Ft Worth, TX @ Ridgela Room *
06/15 Memphis, TN @ Growlers *
10/12-14 Lake Perris, CA @ Desert Daze 2018
* w/ Earthless
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 Artist: Here Lies Man
Album: You Will Know Nothing
Label: RidingEasy Records Release Date: June 15th, 2018
01. Animal Noises
02. Summon Fire 03. Blindness 04. That Much Closer 05. Hell (Wooly Tail) 06. Voices At The Window 07. Taking the Blame
08. Fighting
09. Floating On Water 10. Memory Games
11. You Ought To Know
Keep your mind open.
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Watch The Video For New Single “Can’t Knock The Hustle”
https://youtu.be/sm5fWJDJicI
European Tour Announced
Along with today’s announcement, BODEGA are sharing a video for new single “Can’t Knock The Hustle.” On the track, Ben Hozie comments, “A few years ago I found myself working at an obnoxious soft serve shoppe in Union Square with this great Jamaican guy named Steven, who was an aspiring rapper. We used to engage in strange late-night Socratic discussions and the day Jay-Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail came out he led me into a whirlpool of a syllogism that lead to the disastrous results heard on the track. Lesson learned: logic means nothing without context (in this case, Jay-Z’s). Unfortunately, the premise that ’capital=beyond critique’ is mostly considered sound in our artificially sweetened augmented-reality world.” He continues, “Care for a sample? For the advertisement of the song we wanted to make a proper pop clip, one I hope Steven appreciates. Nikki (Belfiglio) directed it and Taylor Christoffelphotographed it.”
Over next month, BODEGA will play hometown shows at Alphaville this Saturday, April 7th and Brooklyn Bazaar with No Age on Wednesday, May 2nd. Following that, they’ll head to Europe in support of Endless Scroll including a stop at The Great Escape. A full list of dates is below.
Watch “How Did This Happen ?!” Video:
https://youtu.be/TKAzK41-YHM
BODEGA online:
http://www.bodegabk.com/
https://www.instagram.com/
https://www.facebook.com/
https://bodegabk.bandcamp.com
http://bodeganyc.tumblr.com/
Kyle Molleson, otherwise known as Makeness, has given us a record that sounds like meticulous electronica and yet moves like free-flowing dance tracks at the same time – Loud Patterns.
The title track opens the record, bringing to mind a jungle DJ putting down tracks at a party in the House on Haunted Hill. “Fire Behind the Two Louis” is as slick and hot as a grease fire. “Who Am I to Follow Love” has lovely female vocals behind Molleson’s drums and sounds that make for good lounge slow jams.
“Stepping Out of Sync” has fat bass and more lounge synths combining for one of the best cuts on the record. “Gold Star” is another choice cut, with big synths and floor-shaking dance beats throughout it. I don’t know if the bass in “The Bass Rock” refers to fish or low-end sounds. I’m guessing the former because the bass grooves on it are somewhat subdued.
“Day Old Death” is a bit creepy, as you’d expect from such a title. I like the metronome-like beat in it to remind you of some masked killer stalking you. The building synth-bass of “Rough Moss” has a great payoff. It might be the most danceable song on the record. “Our Embrace” is as jubilant as you hope it would be with such a title. The synths are bright and bouncy and the drums keep you moving. The bass on “14 Drops” is so fat that it needs to go on a diet. The album ends with the appropriately titled “Motorcycle Idling,” because that’s just what it sounds like for a little over three minutes.
Loud Patterns is indeed both loud and full of wicked beat patterns. It bodes well for Makeness’ future, and for your next party.
Keep your mind open.
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