Rock – Page 111 – 7th Level Music

FUZZ are “Returning” with new single.

FUZZ, the raw power trio comprised of Los Angeles-based Ty Segall (drums, vocals), Charles Moothart (guitar, vocals), and Chad Ubovich (bass, vocals), announce their first album in five years, III, out October 23rd on In The Red Recordings. It’s the follow-up to 2015’s II, “an impressive double album made for headbanging and the cultivation of bad vibes” (NPR Music). In conjunction with today’s announcement, the band present III’s lead single, “Returning.”

III was recorded and mixed at United Recording under the sonic lordship of Steve Albini. Keeping the focus on the live sounds of the band, the use of overdubs and studio tricks were kept to a minimum. 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. The goal was never to reinvent the wheel. Sometimes it’s just about seeing how long you can hold on before you’re thrown off.

Album opener “Returning” serves as a sort of mission statement for the album. It’s an auditory meditation on the power of one and the different perspectives of one, whether it is the singular person looking inward, or a group of people coming together as a single unit. Not only is it an echo of the return of FUZZ, but also a broader return to form – raw and empowered through vulnerability.

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 FUZZ’s “Returning”

Pre-order III

III Tracklist
1. Returning
2. Nothing People
3. Spit
4. Time Collapse
5. Mirror
6. Close Your Eyes
7. Blind to Vines
8. End Returning

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.

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[Thanks to Jessica at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Jess Cornelius – Distance

The first thing that strikes you about Jess Cornelius, of course, is her haunting voice. It’s right up there with the vocal chops of Erika Wennerstrom and the honesty of Patsy Cline.

Her new album, Distance, starts out with the powerful “Kitchen Floor” – a song about getting up and moving on after a one night stand (which, I suspect, is both a literal tale and a metaphor for moving forward when things are tough, even if that walk from the bedroom and out the front door feels like a marathon) and then finding a lover who isn’t so easy to leave. The groove on it is empowering. “No Difference” is a song summed up by the Zen proverb “Let go or be dragged.” Cornelius sings, “If it’s gone, it’s gone. You gotta keep on doing without it, and one day it’ll feel like none of this was real.” Tony Buchen‘s keyboard work on the track is excellent.

Cornelius gets real and raw on the electro-poppy “Body Memory” – a song about the loss of a child and how the loss left her unsure of everything. The country-tinged “Easy for No One” has Cornelius realizing that living in the past is a treacherous game (“I keep wasting my time on other things, like thinking of the past and all the other lives I could’ve lived instead.”). She gets real about lust and hot sex on “Here Goes Nothing” (and Buchen lays down a cool bass groove) with lyrics like “…nothing kills lust like real life.” and “…you know that we won’t want each other if we could actually be lovers.”

The subtle “Born Again” pulls the veil back on Cornelius’ feelings of isolation as a younger woman (“Have you ever wanted to be loved so bad, and not by a person who could love you back, and not by a person at all, but by the world?”). The addition of Mary Lattimore‘s harp is a beautiful touch. “Palm Tress” drifts from an alt-country sound to shimmering Southern California shoegaze thanks to Michael Rosen‘s keys and Cornelius’ guitar work.

“Banging My Head” would’ve been a massive hit were it released in the mid-90’s era of Liz Phair, as it’s full of self-anger (about returning back to old behaviors and bad relationships) and big, bold chords and softer verses, not unlike a Pixies track. “Street Haunting” has a neat, rolling groove that weaves throughout it without beating you over the head. The closer “Love and Low Self-Esteem” has Cornelius finding the strength to talk about being jilted, but also knowing that she still has some longing for her ex (“I just don’t care at all, that’s what I’m gonna say to you when it is true, when I no longer need a single thing from you.”).

The title of Distance covers a lot of ground. It’s easy in this time of COVID-19 to apply it to all of us distancing from each other, and even members of our own families. It can refer to the distance Cornelius feels in her heart toward ex-lovers, her current beau, and herself at different stages of her life. It can refer to the physical distance between her English homeland and California, to the passage of time, the healing of wounds, and probably a dozen other things. The album is a look into Cornelius’ heart, but at arm’s length. She’s not going to let just anybody in there, but she is willing to share her stories and encourage us to look into our own hearts. Bridging that gap in ourselves will eventually let us bridge the gaps we’ve built between others.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jaycee at Pitch Perfect PR.]

New Bomb Turks to release diamond edition of classic album “Nightmare Scenario.”

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Nightmare Scenario, New Bomb Turks’ fifth full-length album, third for the Los Angeles-based Epitaph Records, and first with drummer Sam Brown (Operators, Divine Fits, RJD2, Gaunt). Originally recorded by Jim Diamond at Ghetto Recorders, Detroit, MI, November 3-7, 1999 and newly re-mastered by Diamond in July 2020, the album will be available August 7, 2020 at https://newbombturks.bandcamp.com. 100% of proceeds will be donated to: Black Queer & Intersectional Collective (https://bqic.net/) and Columbus Freedom Fund (IG @columbusfreedomfund).

It was spring, 1999. New Bomb Turks had just returned from their first tour of Australia in a suspended animation. They soon procured ace drumsman, dessert aficionado [not a typo], and all-around great guy, Sam Brown. It suddenly felt like a brand new beast, but they had an album to deliver forthwith, and nary a new song in sight! Nails were chomped to the cuticle, empty beer cans sat in the corner mocking us…Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes (or at least like a bartender finding another unopened bottle of mezcal at last call), New Bomb Turks soared again. Within four months (May-August 1999), Sam slipped right into the NBT stool, 12 new songs were cooked up easy as fryin’ an egg, and they were back on the road with the Hellacopters to hash those new ones into place.

By the time the band got to Jim Diamond’s Ghetto Recorders studio in Detroit – his rep revving up from production jobs with the curdled cream of that Detroit trash-rock scene (Clone Defects, Detroit Cobras, Dirtbombs, White Stripes, Andre Williams) – New Bomb Turks were piqued like a baby screamin’ for a higher push on a swing set. Over four days and nights, the band enjoyed their easiest and most fun recording session – the only break being a jaunt over to a bar to see a reunited Real Kids, their first show in years, which floored the band and only added more mezcal to the fire.

Final mixes were left to Jim Diamond, and by the time he forwarded them to the band, overdub ideas had hatched, and about half the record was remixed with local studio wiz, Jeff Graham, in Columbus. A middle ground was eventually found, and what resulted was Nightmare Scenario (Epitaph Records, 2000) – the fifth album in their six album/three compilation catalog, and the one the band believe is their best.

Like every band ever, the years have supplied moments of mixing rumination. So last year, when the band saw the 20th anniversary of Nightmare Scenario right up on their ass, they asked Jim Diamond if he had his original mixes lying around his palatial estate. He found them on a DAT (look it up, kids) tucked underneath a pile of professional recording deck manuals (i.e.,old MAD mags). Lo and behold, they were even more ripping and burning and stinging than remembered. There was the 20th birthday idea, screamin’ like a brat! So here you have the original mixes of Nightmare Scenario that Jim Diamond finished in November 1999, ensconced deep in his legendary, now torn-down Detroit digs. Ain’t saying it’s better than the original, just leaner and meaner. But don’t take our word for it – take yours when you’re screamin’ along too! – Lance Forth, July 2020 (Astoria)

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jo Murray.]

Holy Motors take us to “Country Church” with new single from upcoming sophomore album.

Today, Tallinn, Estonia’s Holy Motors are announcing Horse, the follow up to the group’s critically acclaimed 2018 debut album, Slow Sundown, which is due out October 16th on the iconoclastic Brooklyn indie, Wharf Cat Records (Bambara, Public Practice, Dougie Poole). To mark the occasion the band are sharing lead single “Country Church” alongside its accompanying video.

WATCH: Holy Motors’ “Country Church” video on YouTube

Though their music has often been tied to the traditions of Americana and America roots music, Holy Motors were formed in Tallinn, Estonia in 2013, when founding member Lauri Ruas (songwriter and one of the band’s three guitarists) recruited Eliann Tulve, who was just 16 at the time, to join the band as songwriter and lead vocalist. With Tulve’s gorgeously foreboding vocals serving as a ballast for the guitar section’s “infinity-pool-style shimmer” (Pitchfork) the band quickly became as un-ignorable as they were inscrutable, rising from the ranks of eager supporting act (for Low, at SXSW) to sought after headliner (at NYC underground-meets-above-ground mainstay Berlin) in just a matter of days during their first unofficial tour of the US in 2018.

That same year marked the release of their critically acclaimed debut LP, Slow Sundown, on New York City’s equally enigmatic Wharf Cat Records, an album that garnered praise and airplay not just in the band’s native Estonia (where it won Tallinn’s Music Week award and a nomination for Debut Album of the Year by the Estoniain Music Awards), but also via a battery of publications west of the Baltic, including Stereogum (Album of the Week), Bandcamp (Album of the Day), and the UK’s DIY Mag (Neu Pick). All this momentum went so far as to capture the attention of one of the band’s very own idols, Anton Newcombe of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, who approached them after seeing a live performance in Berlin and would go on to produce a handful of tracks for the band in 2019 as well as join them for their set at Switzerland’s Festival Nox Orae (you can watch the full set here) during a summer itinerary dotted with European music festivals.

But rather than being blunted and worn down by the tumultuous forces of success, Holy Motors’ incongruence has instead grown all the more prevalent and endearing. They remain musicians from an ex-Soviet country producing music that has been described as “cowboy dream-pop with a dark side” (Interview Magazine), “shoegaze that sounds like the old West” (The Fader), and like “a twang-filled soundtrack to… cowboy melancholy” (Beat). The resulting mystique is an inalienable part of the band’s DNA, stemming from the shared infatuation with the American West that the members developed waiting out Estonia’s long, grim winters with the warm company of American western films (Badlands and Paris, Texas amongst their favorites) and their instruments. What began as an innocent fascination evolved into a sincere embodiment of that dreamy, melancholy cowboy aura, both in their music and persona as a band.

Now, at 22 years old, Eliann Tulve resembles Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval, reincarnated as an Estonian cowgirl. She is enigmatic as ever but stands more firmly alongside co-songwriter Lauri Ruas, the solidification of their roles perhaps accounting for the more hopeful turn their songwriting has taken of late. Their new LP Horse, which is due out on Wharf Cat on October 16th, finds the band acknowledging the Americana and rockabilly strands of their musical DNA without sacrificing any of the otherworldly mystique that keeps them from neatly conforming to the shoegaze and dreampop labels often applied to their music.

From the album’s opening moments, songs like “Country Church,” with its major key and classic rhythm and blues guitarline, and “Midnight Cowboy,” which sounds like a lost Buddy Holly 45 played at 33 rpm, make it clear that Horse — even if it may not accomplish the impossible task of demystifying this band of ex-Soviet cowboys — will at least show you that there’s more to them than the near-impenetrable darkness of their work to date may suggest. While tracks like “Trouble” and “Endless Night” gravitate towards the ethereal production and existential subject matter of prior releases, repeat listens will reveal the same complex compositions and an empathy that are much more a hallmark of Horse’s eight songs.

As a whole, Horse stands as a warmer, more human counterpoint to 2018’s celestial Slow Sundown, and showcases Holy Motors as a hypnotic force that draws listeners in and leaves them wanting more. This effect, paired with their ability to write lyrics and music that resonate with a deeply relatable feeling of isolation, has resulted in an album built to connect with people from devoted shoegaze and western psychedelia fanatics to dreamer cowboys, driving through wide open country roads under the stars.
Horse will be released October 16th on Wharf Cat Records. It is available for preorder here.

Tracklist
1. Country Church
2. Endless Night
3. Midnight Cowboy
4. Road Stars
5. Matador
6. Come On, Slowly
7. Trouble
8. Life Valley (So Many Miles Away)

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Tom at Hive Mind PR.]

Spun Out arise from the ashes of NE-HI and take us to “Another House” with new single.

Spun Out, the new Chicago-based band led by Mikey Wells, James Weir, and Alex Otake, announce their debut album, Touch The Sound, out August 21st via Shuga Records and the band’s Spun Out Productions label. Today, they also present their lead single/video, “Another House.” Spun Out is built from the embers of NE-HI, whose influential half-decade run ended in 2019 as one of Chicago’s foremost indie rock acts. Touch The Sound is an expansive and exciting first offering. Full of mesmerizing grooves, melancholic pop bliss, and thrilling studio experiments, Touch The Sound is a document of a band truly pushing themselves. With songs simultaneously perfect for a packed rock club or a sweaty dance floor, this is an album that instantly grabs you and takes hold with each successive listen.

While NE-HI had spent years making four-piece indie rock, their new material reflects their evolving tastes with more danceable, spacey, and heady textures. Spun Out’’s first few writing sessions were a whirlwind of creativity and soul-searching. They enlisted Josh Wells (Destroyer) as producer and his approach to generating new sounds fit seamlessly with the band’s newfound ethos; to collaborate openly, emotionally and artistically. “Instead of recording everything live and just trying to capture the energy, we were more intentional: tracking as many layers as we wanted to and then peeling it back. There were no limitations in the studio and were able to shape these songs more,” says Otake. That’s not to say their studio experimentation results in a lack of energy. These songs burst with life and color.

Spun Out is an open door for collaborators and over the course of making Touch The Sound, they enlisted a diverse cast of musicians to flesh out these songs including Destroyer’s JP Carter, Caroline Campbell, saxophonist Kevin Jacobi, Patrick Donohoe, now full-time members keyboardist Sean Page and guitarist Jake Gold, Deeper’s Shiraz Bhatti and Nic Gohl and others. “This isn’t just a three person band. We want to keep it a revolving door for our friends to come in and work with us,” says Weir.

Opener “Another House” captures the band’s spark and their daring songwriting. The track builds slowly but surely to a hair-raising peak complete with pulsing synths and a cacophony of drums and guitars. The accompanying video, directed by the bus-dwelling creative duo Noble Savage (Austin LeMoine and Troy Chebuhar), is representative of Spun Out’s vivid and rich sound. It features the band, washed in a hazy, psychedelic filter. Weir elaborates: “‘Another House’ is a musical boiling pot of a band break up, a search for a new artistic voice, mixed with imaginative studio exploration. We all know there are much bigger and more important things to discuss right now, but if this video and this song can transport you into a positive headspace, then the music has achieved its goal.”

While this album investigates the confusing emotional territory of feeling disillusioned and growing up, Spun Out are certain in one thing: each other. Says Weir, “We’ve only gotten closer as friends and bandmates. We’re basically brothers.” It’s not just a love letter to their expanding adventurousness as artists but also to Chicago’s vibrant music community and their evolving bond. Like its title suggests, Touch The Sound is an invitation to do just that.
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “ANOTHER HOUSE”

PRE-ORDER TOUCH THE SOUND

TOUCH THE SOUND TRACKLIST
1. Another House
2. Such Are The Lonely
3. Dark Room
4. Running It Backwards
5. Antioch – Easy Detroit
6. Off The Vine
7. Don’t Act Down
8. Pretender
9. Cruel And Unusual
10. Plastic Comet

Spun Out Online:
https://twitter.com/spunoutband?lang=en
https://www.instagram.com/spunoutband/
https://spunoutband.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.facebook.com/SPUN-OUT-105109181173378/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/53glqqgSYim0HNqJmVCffs

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[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Protomartyr – Ultimate Success Today

I love the title of Protomartyr‘s new album – Ultimate Success Today. It’s a great encapsulation of modern living. Everyone wants to be the ultimate success, which can be a worthy goal if one’s motives are good, but the key is in the last word of the album’s title. Everyone wants ultimate success today. We want everything now and, thanks to advertising and the internet, we fully expect to be able to have it now or before anyone else.

The album is about not only this consumerist desire and addiction, but also fear (of the path the world seems to be taking), how the world’s energy affects us, and how our actions, big or small, affect the world.

Opening track “Day Without End” builds over the course of three minutes and sixteen seconds with surging guitars from Greg Ahee, frantic cymbals by Alex Leonard, and sermon-like vocals from Joe Casey. Scott Davidson‘s bass leads the outstanding “Being Processed By the Boys” along a dark, menacing road while Casey sings about “a dagger punched from out of the shadows,” “a cosmic grief beyond all comprehension,” and “a giant beast turning mountains into black holes.” So, yeah, light fare.

“Though I have no face, country, or creed, I am better than you are,” Casey sings on “I Am You Now” – a song that claps back at the anger expressed by so many over so little. It also has some of Leonard’s best drumming on the album. He seems to play nothing but drum fills and cymbal rolls. He’s not. It’s far more complex, a sort of controlled chaos. “Narcissism is a killer,” Casey sings on “The Aphorist” – which might be the most “upbeat” track on Ultimate Success Today. He’s right. It is, and so is that wicked bridge around the two-and-a-half-minute mark.

Nandi Rose joins Casey on the vocals for “June 21,” which brings in post-punk guitar work from Ahee for a neat change in direction. “Michigan Hammers” moves along at a quick groove thanks to Leonard’s passionate drumming and Davidson’s bear trap-locked in bass line. His bass is pure fuzzed-out bliss on “Tranquilizer,” which also has a great saxophone line running through it by jazz legend Jameel Moondoc. The song explodes into a wild, head-spinning cacophony and then settles down before it makes you lose (or loose) your mind.

The fast, post-punk riffs of “Modern Business Hymns” are fantastic. “Bridge Crown” slows down to almost a goth-country sound before Casey starts crooning about, you guessed it, ultimate success (which is also referenced in the song before it by name). Casey opens the closing track, “Worm in Heaven,” with the lyrics, “So it’s time to say goodbye. I was never too keen on last words.” The song is the closest thing to a ballad on the album, and one can’t help but wonder if it’s a sign-off for not only the album but also the band. I hope not, because Protomartyr are firing on all cylinders right now.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Exhalants’ first single from upcoming album is a “Bang.”

Austin, TX trio Exhalants announce their forthcoming sophomore album Atonement today and share the lead single via Metal Injection. Hear and share “Bang” HERE. (Direct Bandcamp.)

Exhalants began in 2017, sprouting from their local DIY and club scenes with one goal in mind: be loud as f*ck. The three-piece quickly cut a demo, played some shows around town, and then set out to record their first full length not long after that. That first LP yielded a strong collection of songs that balanced the moody experimentation of indie heroes like Unwound and the harsh distortion and feedback-drenched noise rock of Unsane, coupled with raw emotion on display. The record received a great amount of acclaim, which helped Exhalants tour throughout the U.S. During this time they also recorded a split 7″ with fellow Texas trio Pinko (Hex Records) to have while both bands were out on tour together.

Immediately following the release of their self-titled debut album, Exhalants started working on new material. They spent most of 2019 writing and touring, fleshing out newer material on the road while still promoting their 2018 debut. While on their West Coast Tour, Hex Records spent a couple days getting to know the people in the band and offered to release their next record for them. After wrapping up both West and East Coast tours, Exhalants focused on finishing the rest of the record and decided to take Hex up on the offer. Plans began to emerge for what would become their second LP, Atonement.

The band began recording the album in the spring of 2020 in their practice space, with a pandemic looming on the horizon. While the pandemic caused some hiccups with getting things finished in the studio in a timeframe they had planned on, it eventually came together with a great deal of DIY know-how and taking some of the mixing duties into their own hands.

Exhalants hail from Austin, Texas. The members all have roots with playing in multiple bands around the area and have been employed by various venues in town, so they are no strangers to the community aspect and DIY nature of playing the sort of decidedly non-mainstream music they do. With a mountain of amps, precision pounding drums, eardrum-rattling feedback, and a healthy dose of experimentation Exhalants are easily one of the more exciting newer bands to gain attention within the punk/noise rock arena in recent memory. Atonement aims to push that sound further for anyone willing to listen.

Atonement will be available on LP, CD and download on September 11th, 2020 via Hex Records.(Pre-order HERE.)

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Dave at Us / Them Group.]

Dream Nails get fit and free with new single – “Jillian.”

London punks Dream Nails have been the subject of considerable excitement in the UK since they first emerged on the DIY scene. Releasing a stream of singles and an EP, they have earned high praise from places like VICE, DAZED, The Guardian, Clash, Nylon and i-D who called the band “the best all-girl punk queertet since Bikini Kill.” Noted for their strong emphasis on empowerment from a queer feminist perspective and their involvement in a host of political causes, the band’s budding reputation has seen them tour in the UK and Europe with Cherry Glazerr and Anti-Flag, and make three consecutive appearances at Glastonbury all before releasing their first LP. Today the band are announcing their debut self-titled full length, which will be released August 28th by Dine Alone (City & Colour, Alexisonfire, The Chats) in North America and UK indie Alcopop! (Art Brut, Kississippi, Tigercub) for Rest of World.

WATCH: Dream Nails – “Jillian” video on YouTube

The band have been compared to The Slits (VICE) and Elastica (The Guardian) in the past, and shades of both are present on their latest single “Jillian,” a song about queerness, body positivity and problematic TV fitness celebrity Jillian Michaels.

“This is a song about realizing you’re queer while you’re doing a workout DVD,” explains singer Janey Starling. “It’s a personal-power anthem about finding the strength to come out; that’s what the line ‘I feel the fear leaving my body’ is all about.

“Both [bassist] Mimi and I discovered strength training through Jillian Michaels’ ‘30 Day Shred’ home DVD, and the catch-phrases were too good to not make a song from! Since then, she’s said some uncool and unkind stuff to Lizzo, which we were really gutted to hear. This song is very much about finding your own strength, regardless of your body shape.”

Dream Nails self-titled LP is due out August 28th via Dine Alone and Alcopop! Pre-orders for ‘Dream Nails’ are live today and can be found HERE. Physical vinyl bundle includes a 40-page signed zine. In true punk DIY fashion, the zine is handmade by the band, featuring lyrics, articles and background to the songs on the album.

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[Thanks to Tom at Hive Mind PR.]

EMBR releases heavy new single – “Where I’ve Been” from upcoming album.

Birmingham, AL quartet EMBR share a video for a new track from their forthcoming debut album 1823 via The Obelisk. The album is the band’s first release signed to UK label New Heavy Sounds (Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, Vodun, Blacklab).

Watch and share “Where I’ve Been” HERE. (Direct YouTube and Bandcamp.)

Revolver Magazine previously launched the video for “Your Burden” HERE. (Direct YouTube.) CvltNation shared the single “Eyes Like Knives” HERE.

Four musical kindred spirits have delivered a crushing, yet beautiful debut album in 1823. At this point, it is worth stating that the title 1823 has special significance. It’s not just a numerical title, it has substance. Eric Bigelow (drummer) has been on the list for a kidney for around 4 years. Eric received a kidney transplant in May of 2019. This happened right in the middle of writing the album. The kidney was from a deceased donor and all Eric and Crystal Bigelow (singer and Eric’s wife) know about the donor is that it was a young woman between the ages of 18-23. The album is dedicated to the donor and the surgeons at Vanderbilt hospital in Nashville TN. And what a fine tribute it is. Musically, 1823 could be categorized as ‘Doom’. However, on this debut it’s obvious that EMBR have range, drive and a desire to add to the genre, to broaden it whilst staying true to its core fundamentals. Rest assured, the band have all the nuts and bolts in place. Mark Buchanan (guitar), Alan Light (bass) and Eric Bigelow (drums) keep everything tight and weighty. Massive drop-tuned guitars, chest rattling low end, pounding drums, fuzzy distortion, it’s all there. But they also add in synths, a bit of grunge and alt rock flavors.

The vocal talents of Crystal absolutely soar and strengthen the music. Her range, patterns and harmonies transport the band’s music skyward. Crystal adds soul and an air of melancholia to the musical creations. If a pointer were needed, think Mastodon meets Witch Mountain with epic sweeps and a shade of gothic drama. Tracks like ‘Prurient’ and ‘Where I’ve Been’ combine thick heavy riffs with Crystal weaving through, powerful and epic, yet soulful and intimate. Musically, the bands core vibe is keep it slow and low’ but EMBR aren’t afraid to mix it up a bit. ‘Stranger’ takes it down, allowing Crystal’s voice to float over the softer elements and riffs in an almost folk-like manner. ‘Powder’ channels throat ripping growls and soaring clean vocals in one loping relentless journey. ‘Eyes Like Knives’ , ‘Your Burden’ and ‘Vines’ are epic doom fests, drenched in gothic veils and dripping with thick distortion. The lyrics are deep and are usually written collectively by Crystal and Eric with one of them sometimes taking the reins on certain songs that they identify with. For instance, “Powder” is a song Eric wrote about past struggles and trying to power through them with relentless determination and positivity. “Prurient” was written by Crystal and initially was based on the 2016 movie The Boy but also was inspired by her past experiences with a haunting figure in her life. The songs on 1823 are loud, brutally beautiful, aggressive, abrasive and at times atmospheric, uplifting and emotional. Welcome to the next chapter of EMBR.
1823 will be available on LP, CD and digital on July 17th, 2020 via New Heavy Sounds. Pre-orders are available HERE.

On The Web:

embrrockband.com

newheavysounds.com

instagram.com/embr_band

facebook.com/embrband

twitter.com/embr_rock_band

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Dave as Us / Them Group.]

Review: Kestrels – Dream or Don’t Dream

The first thing you notice about Kestrels‘ new album, Dream or Don’t Dream, is the wall of guitar that smacks you in the face and then the soft vocals of guitarist / singer Chad Peck. It’s a powerful one-two combination, but in reverse – like a boxer whacking you with the cross and then fading out with the jab.

This is apparent in the opening track, “Vanishing Point,” which flows back and forth between roars and whispers. The equally heavy “Grey and Blue” includes some frantic drumming from Michael Catano and a guitar solo by none other than J. Mascis (who, of course, shreds it).

“I wanna be where you are. Could I find you there?” Peck asks on “It’s a Secret” – a rocking song about unrequited love that wouldn’t be out of place on a Matthew Sweet album. “Don’t Dream” crashes like surf waves and then bursts back into heavy guitar chords that remind me of Hum tracks. “A Way Out” has some of Catano’s snappiest drumming and I love how it’s on equal footing with Peck’s impressive guitar work throughout the track.

The raw fuzz of “Everything Is New” mimics the energy Peck probably felt while constructing the album after his original backing band split up in 2016. “Dalloway” has a cool, deep bass groove throughout it that mixes well with straight-up shoegaze guitars. “Keep it close from the start. Watch it all come apart,” Peck sings on “Keep It Close” – a song about how fast things can dissolve, and how to recover from such a thing. “Feels Like the End” has some neat chops from Catano that zig and zag around Peck’s shredding. “Lost in the thought again, feeling like it’s all going to end,” Peck sings on the closing track, “Say Less.” It builds to a crescendo and then pulls the rug out from under you to drop you into a psychedelic rabbit hole that leads to another tunnel of fuzzy distortion that takes you to Peck’s biggest and best solo on the record. It’s a hell of an ending.

Dream or Don’t Dream is a nice bit of shoegaze and dream pop that gets in your head with solid grooves and blistering guitar solos.

Keep your mind open.

[I dream of you subscribing.]

[Thanks to Conor at Hive Mind PR.]