Rock – Page 109 – 7th Level Music

Gustaf claim what is “Mine” and sign with Royal Mountain Records.

Gustaf have announced their signing to Royal Mountain Records, alongside their debut single and video “Mine“. The first recorded material from a band who have played sold out shows around the United States based solely on word of mouth, “Mine” offers an engagingly weird and frantically off-kilter look into the all-encompassing world of the Brooklyn-based art-punk quintet.

LISTEN: to Gustaf “Mine” on YouTube

Vocalist Lydia Gammill explains: “This song is about having a false sense of entitlement. Someone who feels attacked or like they’re being pushed out of their own world and not getting the credit they deserve. Someone with a delusional sense of self whose anger and frustration is humorous like the superintendent in a college frat movie. The opening lines make it seem like the narrator is being criticized by someone else and their retaliation is like “you’ve got to be kidding me, you can’t say that about me! I invented water you punk!” …. sort of.“

———-

Formed in 2018, Brooklyn’s Gustaf have built a kind of buzz that feels like it comes from a different era. The art punk 5 piece are yet to release any recorded music, but rapidly established a reputation as one of New York’s “hardest working…and most reliably fun bands” (BrooklynVegan), and excitement about their danceable, ESG-inspired post punk has expanded outside of their city with remarkable effect despite their scant online presence. The band have found early champions in all quarters, catching the attention of luminaries like Beck – who had the band open for him at a secret loft party he played around the release of his latest album – the New York no wave legend James Chance, and have shared stages with buzzing indie acts like Omni, Tropical Fuck Storm, Dehd and Bodega, while word of mouth led to sell out shows when they played their first LA headline dates in late 2019.

While recent events have curtailed Gustaf’s live schedule, the band have remained relentless as ever in 2020, and entered the studio with producer Chris Coady (Beach House, Future Islands, TV On The Radio) to work on their first official release.

Mine 7″ is out on Royal Mountain Records on December 4th. It is available for pre-order here.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Tom at Hive Mind PR.]

October and the Eyes profess “All My Love” on first single from upcoming EP.

New Zealand-born, London-based singer, songwriter and producer October and the Eyes announces her debut EP, Dogs and Gods, out November 20th on KRO Records. October recently signed to the label following an introduction by fellow musician and friend Yves Tumor. Today, she shares the lead single and video “All My Love,” a track that lures you into a warm embrace of October’s coy and breathy sweet-nothings.

“’All My Love’ is unfortunately a love song – something I told myself I would never write, yet here I am,” says October. “But it’s not all sweet. In fact, I would call it more of a lust song. It’s about being in love but lusting for something more. It’s about desire, greed, and infatuation with a stranger. The song became strangely prophetic in recent months as I watched the one I once loved self destruct from afar ‘in tin cans and other crumbs of temporary self satisfaction’ – a line I wrote before I could even comprehend that it would become remotely true. Because of this, the song is now tainted with a strange sadness that I’ll carry with me every time I perform it.”

Watch “All My Love” Video

October is no newcomer to music – despite only being 23, the New Zealand born musician has been involved in musical pursuits since she was a child. Heralding from a musical family, the prospect of pursuing music in one form or another was almost inescapable: A classical pianist mother, fanatic music fan father, and two older multi-instrumentalist brothers who were always holding their band practices in the family playroom. Having grown up in a small rural town in New Zealand’s wine country, she turned to songwriting as a means to stave off boredom, teaching herself how to record and produce her own music.

After moving to East London, October wrote and produced the Dogs and Gods EP, a dizzying, darkly kaleidoscopic, and dauntless collection of music. Thematically, the EP explores the complex dynamics of love, lust and infidelity in the 21st century.

Self-describing her music as “collage-rock,” October pulls musical inspiration from the likes of Bauhaus, Bowie, Siouxsie Sioux and Suicide, then squeezing her influences through the gauze of modernity and electronics. With nods to acid rock, psychobilly and post-punk, October and The Eyes’ music is equal parts nostalgia-drenched as it is future forward, employing layers of ambient synth drones, crunched guitar, jagged organ parts, and October’s theatrical voice, creating something entirely her own.

Watch “All My Love” Video:
https://orcd.co/octoberallmylove

Pre-order/pre-save Dogs and Gods:
https://orcd.co/octoberandtheeyes

Dogs and Godstracklist:
1. Playing God
2. All My Love
3. Wander Girl
4. You Deserve It
5. The Unraveling
6. Dark Dog

Keep your mind open.

[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

CHAI sign to Sub Pop and release a song praising donuts. What’s not to like?

Watch CHAI’s Video for “Donuts Mind If I Do”
Japanese quartet CHAI are thrilled to announce their signing to Sub Pop. In celebration, they announce a new digital single and official video for “Donuts Mind If I Do” which is available digitally today.

“Donuts Mind If I Do” is lush with layered vocals and dreamy, laidback instrumentation. The track is mellow until the twins’ voices join together and its synth swells as they proclaim “Keep going on!” CHAI says: “When you’re feeling vigorous, when you’re feeling sick, You like what you like! No changing that! Even if what I like is as simple as a donut <3. It’s this type of song!”

The accompanying video, directed by Hideto Hotta, shows CHAI sitting on a grassy hill, enjoying colorful donuts. Later, they appear as older versions of themselves. “In order for various concepts of society, societal structures to have been built up and exist today, there had to be changes to those concepts, to those structures in every era to continue to lead to the next society…with that said, in this music video we explore the CHAI you know today, and then CHAI as elderly women,” explains Hotta. “On an all-white table cloth, eating donuts, sits CHAI. They can even sip on the tea in the teapot if they’d like! Ultimately time passes, and the elderly CHAI is still there, enjoying their last supper in the middle of the meadow, white-table cloth and all eating their donuts. CHAI changes physically, but one thing that does stand still is them living in their truth. If finding true happiness is one of the goals the human race is constantly in search of, then conveying this in this visual, spreading what happiness means to CHAI, to me, is something I feel is important in us living in our truths.”

The song is from CHAI’s forthcoming “Donuts Mind If I Do” b/w “Plastic Love” double A-side single. The second track, “Plastic Love,” will be available on all DSPs from Sub Pop on November 6th. Both songs will also be released together as a limited edition 7”, which is available to pre-order now from Bandcamp (on either orange or turquoise colored vinyl), and Sub Pop Mega Mart (on lime green vinyl). All three options will be available while supplies last. The “Donuts Mind If I Do” b/w “Plastic Love” 7” single will be available worldwide (excl. Japan and Asia) with an estimated ship date in late November.

CHAI is a revolutionary four-piece, made up of miracle twins Mana and Kana, and the impeccable rhythm section of Yuuki and Yuna. Combining their powerhouse musical prowess with “pinkish punk” sensibilities, CHAI has managed to create a huge splash in the music scene in their homeland, Japan, and abroad. Now ready to build on their infectious sound and musical accolades, CHAI is gearing up with their new label to release even more new music into the world.

Pre-order “Donuts Mind If I Do” b/w “Plastic Love”

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Alpha Hopper deliver “The Goods” with new single.

Buffalo, NY quartet Alpha Hopper announce their forthcoming third album Alpha Hex Index will be released via Portland, OR label Hex Records on November 6th, 2020. Today the band shares the first single, “The Goods” via Echoes & Dust HERE. (Direct Bandcamp.)

“A bartender, a personal trainer, a graphic designer, and an immigration attorney walk into a practice space…”

Formed in Buffalo, New York in 2014, Alpha Hopper creates a frenetic stew of guitar-driven rock’n’roll with ingredients from punk, hardcore, noise rock, and no-wave. Their 3rd LP Alpha Hex Index shows them deeper than ever down their rabbit hole. Sassy, snotty vocals punctuating the ever growing wall of catchy, bizarre riffs and prison break drum beats. Dummy math, noise-rock for art-punk drop outs.
For this album the band decided to record the effort themselves in their homes. Pandemic-related shelter in place recommendations caused some hiccups in being able to track the entire effort in a single block, and instead recording sessions were conducted in intervals when the members could safely get together and hash out their respective parts. Once they were satisfied with the mix they handed things over to engineer John Angelo (Gwar, Every Time I Die, Gas Chamber) to handle mastering duties.

Alpha Hex Index will be available on LP, CD and digital on November 20th, 2020.

Keep your mind open.

[Thanks to Dave as US / THEM Group.]

Bleached call out “Stupid Boys” on new single.

Bleached – the Los Angeles-based duo of sisters Jessica and Jennifer Clavin – release an anthemic new single, “Stupid Boys.” It’s their first new material since Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough?, “one of the year’s best rock albums, and far more than a survival tale” (Billboard), released last year on Dead Oceans. “Stupid Boys” is pertinent to today’s female empowerment movement, as the Clavin sisters directly call out harmful behavior. Jennifer’s voice buzzes over Jessica’s bright guitar, as they both chant all too familiar tropes: “Try to rebound with my best friend // I saw you slide into her DM’s // Get a tattoo of my first name // cross it out and tell me I’m lame.”

“Making light of a dark situation has been a tool I’ve used to get through challenging times,” says Jennifer Clavin “Specifically, a way I’ve often honored my recovery is to tell my story through my lyrics – this time the subject is crazy ex-boyfriends. This started out as a jokey song, something light-hearted, meant to be danced to…or so I thought. After the most recent flood of ‘me too’ call outs around men in the music scene, I returned to this song and felt somewhat surprised, because the lyrics actually aren’t so light-hearted, and they directly refer back to experiences related to the reckoning we just saw go down. I don’t wanna keep dwelling on the past and all its fucked up-ness, but I also don’t wanna ignore it and brush it under the rug like it never happened. What I do believe is that life is about finding a balance between the dark and light, and if I want inner peace I have to allow the light in to absorb the dark. So maybe this song has changed shape, just like our understanding of things change over time, with perspective, and now it is both a vessel for some painful memories and a testament to growth and healing, and to me, that’s what music is for. I’m proud of this song for so many reasons, but most especially because it strikes that balance for me, and I hope for you too.”

Listen to Bleached’s “Stupid Boys”

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jessica at Pitch Perfect PR.]

FUZZ unleash new single, “Spit,” from upcoming album.

FUZZ, the raw power trio comprised of Los Angeles-based Ty Segall (drums, vocals), Charles Moothart (guitar, vocals), and Chad Ubovich (bass, vocals), will release their new album and first in five years, III, on October 23rd via In The Red. Today, FUZZ release a new single, “Spit,” and its mind-bending stop motion video. Following lead single “Returning,” an auditory meditation on the power of one and the different perspectives of one, “Spit” is fierce with buzzing guitar licks and pummeling percussion. Its video, made by Moothart, reflects this intensity, with nightmarish characters spun from wire and trippy collages.

“‘Spit’ was written early in the process of working on III. When Ty and I first started working on this song, we didn’t know if it was even going to be a FUZZ song or not,” says Moothart. “We wanted to make a song that felt straight forward, but had a subtle tweak that over time gets more obvious. The verse riff almost feels like you’re falling asleep at the wheel then the chorus opens up with a melodic, but sharp riff that adds to the punch-drunk feeling of the verse.”

Moothart elaborates on the video: “I started doing stop motion as a quarantine experiment. I wanted to make experimental animation that I could try to make sound design for, and I ended up just making a FUZZ video. It was an extremely fun project to take on in this time. It was especially fun to open up for feedback and ask for direction so that I had to challenge myself to complete something that felt cohesive. I was honored when it became more clear that I had actually created something that the band wanted to stand behind from an aesthetic standpoint.”

Watch FUZZ’s Video for “Spit”

The follow-up to 2015’s II, “an impressive double album made for headbanging and the cultivation of bad vibes” (NPR Music), III keeps the focus on the live sounds of the band. It was recorded and mixed at United Recording under the sonic lordship of Steve Albini, with minimal use of overdubs and studio tricks. Albini’s mastery in capturing sound gave FUZZ the ability to focus entirely on the playing while knowing the natural sounds would land. It takes the essential ingredients of “guitar based music” and “rock and roll power trio” and puts them right out on the chopping block. It was a much more honest approach for FUZZ — three humans getting primitive, staying primitive.

A pyramid of sonic destruction and psychic creation, all shades of color, truth and lies. III is the pillar of unity and singularity. Log out, drop thought, turn up.
Listen to “Returning”

Pre-order III

FUZZ Tour Dates:
Thu. Dec. 3 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Fri. Dec. 4 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Sat. Dec. 5 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Fri. Jan. 22 – Sat. Jan. 23 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
Mon. Jan. 25 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
Tue. Jan. 26 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
Wed. Jan. 27 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre
Fri. Jan. 29 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s
Sat. Jan. 30 – Felton, CA @ Felton Music Hall
Thu. Feb. 4 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
Fri. Feb. 5 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
Sat. Feb. 6 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
Sun. Feb. 7 – Montreal, QC @ La Tulipe
Mon. Feb. 8 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
Wed. Feb. 10 – New York, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Thu. Feb. 11 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
Fri. Feb. 12 – Baltimore, MD @ OttoBar
Sat. Feb. 13 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
Sun. Feb. 14 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre
Sat. March 13 – Istanbul, TR @ Zorlu Art Center
Tue. March 16 – Nimes, FR @ Paloma
Wed. March 17 – Barcelona, ES @ Upload
Thu. March 18 – Madrid, ES @ BUT
Sat. March 20 – Bilbao, ES @ Santana 27
Mon. March 22 – Biarritz, FR @ Atabal
Wed. March 24 – Paris, FR @ Trabendo
Thu. March 25 – Lille, FR @ Aeronef
Fri. March 26 – Köln, DE @ Gebaude 9
Sat. March 27 – Berlin, DE @ Columbian Theater
Tue. March 30 – Manchester, UK @ Gorilla
Wed. March 31 – London, UK @ Electric Ballroom

Keep your mind open.

[Head on over to the subscription box while you’re here.]

[Thanks to Jim at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Jessie Kivel takes a trip to the “Northside” on his new single.

Jesse Kivel shares a new single, “Northside,” from the forthcoming album, Infinite Jess, out November 13th on his own New Feelings label. Following “woozy and widescreen” (Brooklyn Vegan) lead single “William,” “Northside” pulses with a beat that echoes My Bloody Valentine’s “Soon,” minus the gauze. It builds worlds of melody, injected with love, depth and spirit, so much so that you need to sing that chorus back as loud as you can. ‘The Northside’ Jesse refers to is the neighborhood in Santa Monica locals know as ‘North of Montana.’ It’s an enclave for rich screenwriters, directors, actors and business folks, where they can build mini Xanadus for their families and live out an impossible West Coast fantasy that probably died in 1969, but carries on in the capitalistic glory of their Teslas, manicured lawns and renovated three story minimalist box homes.

“This song is a love letter to a time when music was brand new and limitless in my mind,” says Kivel. “As a kid, my brother and I would walk from our high school to Barnes and Noble and spend hours reading Q, NME, MOJO and all the other British music magazines. Our favorite group was Oasis, and we just wanted to be the Gallaghers. This song also nods to The Smashing Pumpkins, Primal Scream and Polaris who I also deeply connected with at the time.“

Stream “Northside”

Infinite Jess puts more of him — the real Jesse, as man, father, son, brother — into the open world than ever seen, or heard, before. The whole album reads like an autobiography. So evocative. So instantly transportive. The music and pitch perfect arrangements — moody, playful, atmospheric, and unpredictable — are the vehicle for time travel and producer Joey Genetti, along with an immensely talented cast of some of the most dynamic technicians and stylists in LA’s contemporary music scene — Sam Wilkes, Jeff Brodsky, and Michael David — help infuse a rich, deeply felt sense of purpose and shape to every moment.

Stream “Northside,” “William” & Pre-Order ‘Infinite Jess’

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[Take a trip to the subscription box while you’re here.]

[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Wolfmanhattan Project declare it will be “Summer Forever.”

An anti-supergroup like no other! Wolfmanhattan Project, featuring Mick Collins (The Gories, The Dirtbombs), Kid Congo Powers (Gun Club, The Cramps, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds) and Bob Bert (Sonic Youth, Pussy Galore, Lydia Lunch) bring you a healthy dose of dark swampy voodoo with a uniqueness and immediacy that only a combination of this magnitude could deliver.

The new video for ‘Summer Forever’, taken from their forthcoming second album Summer Forever And Ever (coming in 2021) on In The Red Records was filmed in isolation and edited and directed by filmmaker Dylan Mars Greenberg, who, among her many films and music videos, won Best Animated Film at this year’s LA Punk Film Festival for the short film, ‘The Bathtub‘, (starring Bob Bert).

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jo Murray!]

Review: Oh Sees – Levitation Sessions

Recorded live in the parking lot of the famous Pappy and Harriet’s music venue in Pioneertown, California, Levitation Sessions by OSees is another great live set put together by the Reverb Appreciation Society and the folks behind the Levitation Music Festival. It’s also another great live album from Osees / Oh Sees / Thee Oh Sees / OCS (By the way, John Dwyer, if you’re reading this – I recommend “Eau Seas” for the next spelling, possibly calling the album under that moniker Water Weird.) that brings out some old tracks the band hadn’t played in years.

The album / show starts with the crowd favorite “Carrion Crawler,” getting things off to a deceptively quiet opening before unleashing rock fury. Mr. Dwyer (lead singer / guitarist) and his crew (Tim Hellman – bass, David Rincon – drums, Paul Quattrone – drums, Tomas Dolas – keyboards) give you a four-count to catch your breath before launching “I Come from the Mountain” at you like a rocket. “Static God” is the re-entry burn of that same rocket, and by now you’re holding on for dear life. Hellman’s bass is the harness keeping you in the rocket’s seat while Rincon and Quattrone are the sounds of the heat shield nearing critical failure. Dolas’ keys rise as Dwyer screams, “It doesn’t matter at all – your fucking institutions!” Impermanence is the only real thing.

The post / garage punk of “Sewer Fire” is outstanding and might cause you to pogo in your living room or office. Just try not to do it in your car while driving. “Chem Farmer / Nite Expo” blends keyboard-heavy prog-jazz with mammoth-heavy riffs and cymbal crashes. It ends with Dwyer yelling, “We have fun!” “Dreary Nonsense” is both fiery and goofy, which means it’s great. “The Fizz” is one of those older tracks they haven’t played in a while, and it has a great call-and-response chorus and fun keyboard dexterity from Dolas.

“Corrupt Coffin” and “Together Tomorrow,” both each under two minutes, blend together like a punk cocktail made out of Red Bull, sweat, vodka, and highly caffeinated Earl Grey tea. “Night Crawler” is pure psychedelic fuzz to lull you into a smoky headspace. You take a breath, and then “Terminal Jape” comes around the corner to mug you and then shove you into oncoming traffic. “The system has been broken down!” Dwyer grunts as the whole band turns into a tsunami. “Rainbow” slows things down a bit, but it’s almost a feint because “Heart Worm” is a straight-up punk boot to the head. “The world’s so fucked up!” Dwyer sings. It’s hard to argue with him if you watch the news.

The band pauses a moment before “Transparent World Jam” melts your mind and perhaps your body into lava lamp ooze. As Oh Sees like to do, they end with a mostly instrumental jam. This one is the nearly twelve-minute-long “Block of Ice” – a track that reminds you of Zappa, Allman Brothers, 13th Floor Elevators, and My Bloody Valentine all at once.

Few things can top the energy of a live Oh Sees show, and capturing that energy in a recording is a colossal feat. Levitation Sessions sounds great and the record’s mastering by J.J. Golden cannot be understated. This is a nice appetizer for, hopefully, many more live shows to come.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Holy Motors – Horse

At first blush, you’d never guess that Holy Motors is from Estonia. Their music sounds like shoegaze made by a band that grew up in the American southwest and spent their teen years making out with their respective lovers atop red rock mesas during sunsets and then spent the night drinking spiked yerba mate and counting stars.

Yet, they are from another continent. Their love of Americana and psychedelia is evident from the first track of their new album, Horse. On “Country Church,” lead singer Eliann Tulve tells a tale of a cowboy facing a moral crisis and looking for guidance, but the “country church is only open on Sundays, but the night comes down on me every day.” The guitars shimmer but have a dusty edge to their riffs throughout the track.

“Endless Night” would fit right into a David Lynch film with Tulve’s reverbed vocals, the hazy guitar chords, and the distant drum beats in the tale of lust and theft in a seedy roadside motel. The sad country blues guitar of “Midnight Cowboy” adds a classic touch to Tulve’s tale of unrequited love (“You’re the stream I never swam in…”). “Road Stars” has two tired people realizing they could be tired together if they could get past their vices and egos.

“Matador” is another spooky road story as Tulve sings of being on the run from creepy men in her hotel room and spending every cent she can get on gas so she can keep moving. The guitars on the track go deep into psychedelic visions during the chorus and the simple drum beat is almost a tribal chant. The guitars turn into mesquite smoke on “Come On, Slowly.”

The guitars on “Trouble” bring spaghetti western scores to mind with their mix of bold chords and echoed soft touches. The stunning instrumental closer, “Life Valley (So Many Miles Away),” is like a long lost Velvet Underground or Traffic cut that sinks deep into your veins and carries you away from whatever you’re dealing with at the moment.

Horse is one of those records that lures in the back of your head once you hear it and emerges in serene moments. It’s a record that, if you hear part of it in passing, will stick with you and make you seek it.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Tom at Hive Mind PR.]