Toronto’s Goodbye Honolulu might be one of the most well connected bands… They’ve toured the USA twice with Hinds; they are Selena Gomez‘s favourite band, they have releases on Burger Records, they’ve also toured with Kate Nash, SWMRS, Miya Follick, The Beaches and their live show is a rambunctious ball of energy with each member switching instruments and sharing vocal duties, making the crowd dance and sweat to Goodbye Honolulu’s catchy slacker vibes rock n roll.
Today, Goodbye Honolulu are starting a new decade with new single “Cut Off“, recorded in Toronto and produced by Ben Cook (Fucked Up) and Anthony Price (US Girls).
“Cut Off represents the turbulence between people. Whether it be a friendship, a relationship or a family member. It’s about the loss of control that you feel when stressed out or anxious, the frantic feeling of running around not feeling like yourself.”
Goodbye Honolulu kick off a USA tour next month including SXSW in Austin TX.
USA Tour Dates
April 03 – The Roxy Theatre, Los Angeles^ April 04 – Soda Bar, San Diego^ April 06 – The Rebel Lounge, Phoenix, AZ^ April 08 – Paper Tiger, San Antonio TX^ April 09 – Club Dada, Dallas TX^ April 10 – Barracuda, Austin TX^ April 11 – White Oak Music Hall, Houston TX^ April 14 – Masquerade, Atlanta GA^ April 16 – First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia PA^ April 17 – BlackCat, Washington DC^ April 18 – Market Hotel, Brooklyn NY^ April 19 – Brighton Music Hall, Boston MA^ ^w/ Hockey Dad
UK May 2020 May 08 – FOCUS Wales, Wrexham UK *more TBA
“Goodbye Honolulu is one of those bands that you’re like ‘dang, I wanna party with these gents.'” – Alt Citzen
“Just about containing their feral energy, the lo-fi production is allied to some serious pop hooks, and only the most righteous of riffs.” – Clash
“Featuring a slight stoner vibe — a perfect companion to the laid-back guitar jangling of the tune.” – The 405
“Toronto’s Goodbye Honolulu may fall into the “slacker rock” category, but they’re hard workers when it comes to churning out new tunes.” – Exclaim!
Austin-based band Why Bonnie announces their new EP, Voice Box, out April 10th on Fat Possum. Via The FADER, they have premiered its title track and an accompanying video. “Voice Box” fumes with quiet wisdom, and is “about the societal pressure to silence yourself, and the frustration and self doubt that comes with battling sexism,” says the band. Its video, directed by Shelby Bohannon, features the band and highlights the rift between reality and what is expected of a person.
The Voice Box EP celebrates unhindered expression through beguiling, propulsive guitar pop. Fuzzed-out guitars and crystalline vocals drive a tough-edged struggle in the space between suppression and artistic liberty. Front woman Blair Howerton explains: “It encapsulates a disconnect between my inner and outer world, and not being able to express myself authentically because of that. But, ultimately knowing I will crash and burn if I don’t.”
Why Bonnie is the dazzling, full-band emotional release of Howerton. In a decisive step to start performing her backlogged material, Howerton moved back home to Texas after graduating college in 2015. In Austin, Howerton joined lifelong best friend Kendall Powell, who she met in preschool. Powell’s classical piano chops swapped to synth for the new project. Both active in the Austin scene, guitarist Sam Houdek and bassist Chance Williams later joined to complete the lineup.
In 2018, the band emerged on petite indie outlet Sports Day Records with In Water. The EP eulogized Howerton’s older brother, who passed away years prior. Follow-up Nightgown expanded the effort, pulling lush Mazzy Star and Cranberries influences.
This spring, Why Bonnie will tour in support of Voice Box, including SXSW and dates with Squirrel Flower and Kevin Krauter. A full list of dates can be found below and tickets are on sale now.
Voice Box EP Tracklist 1. Bury Me 2. Voice Box 3. Athlete 4. Jetplane 5. No Caves
Why Bonnie Tour Dates Wed. March 18 – Austin, TX @ Beerland (High Road Touring Showcase) Sat. March 21 – Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas (Burgermania) Mon. March 23 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge * Wed. March 25 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo * Thu. March 26 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill * Sat. March 28 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza * Sun. March 29 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge * Tue. March 31 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court * Thu. April 2 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge * Fri. April 3 – Omaha, NE @ (drips) Sat. April 4 – Iowa City, IA @ Mission Creek Festival Mon. April 6 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry * Tue. April 7 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas * Wed. April 8 – Cleveland, OH @ Mahall’s * Fri. April 10 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere Mon. April 13 – Asheville, NC @ The Mothlight Tue. April 14 – Oxford, MS @ Proud Larry’s Thu. April 16 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall (Upstairs) Fri. April 17 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk Indoors Sat. April 18 – Dallas, TX @ Ruins Tue. April 21 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop Bar Wed. April 22 – Cincinnati, OH @ MOTR Pub Thu. April 23 – Detroit, MI @ Sanctuary # Fri. April 24 – Toronto, CA @ Baby G # Sat. April 25 – Montreal, QC @ Brasserie # Mon. April 27 – Allston, ,MA @ O’Brien’s Pub Tue. April 28 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle # Wed. April 29 – Washington, DC @ Pie Shop # Thu. April 30 – Richmond, VA @ Richmond Music Hall # Fri. May 1 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle (Back Room) # Sat. May 2 – Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn # Sun. May 3 – Nashville, TN @ DKRMTTR #
* = w/ Squirrel Flower # -w/ Kevin Krauter
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Back in 2006, Detroit psych-rockers Sisters of Your Sunshine Vaporwere known as the garage rock band SikSik Nation. They record a four-song EP that never saw the light of day…until now.
The EP opens with power drumming and chords on “Power Couples,” with vocalist Sean Morrow sounding a bit like The Cult‘s Ian Astbury. Drummer Rick Sawoscinski beats his kit like he expects the rented studio time to end at any second. Morrow’s guitar and Eric Oppitz‘s bass on “New Face” has some of the psychedelic touches (space rock guitar solo in Morrow’s case) and heady fuzz (Oppitz’s bass line) the band would later refine when they became SOYSV. The honky tonk piano in it is another great touch.
“You’re rising up now, but she’s always got you down,” they sing on “Murder on My Lips,” which ups the fuzz and power even further from the last track. This must flatten walls when its played live, as must “Sold Gold Souls.” The final track screeches like a Detroit auto plant’s assembly line at full production during an earthquake. The whole track rumbles with menace and chants of “Sell my soul, it’s solid gold.” before it melts into a weird warp that wouldn’t be out of place on a doom album.
It’s great to hear SOYSV so raw, angry, and hungry. SikSik Nation is the map to the psychedelic trips they would later take. It’s must-hear stuff for fans of the band, or anyone else.
Chicago-based band Melkbelly will release their new album, PITH, on April 3rd via Wax Nine / Carpark Records. Today, they release their second single/video, “Humid Heart.” It follows the album’s lead single, “LCR,” “an intricately put-together tower of noise, filled with bleary moments of relief” (Stereogum). “Humid Heart” is “about how the grief of losing someone suddenly disorients everyday life,” says frontwoman Miranda Winters. The video was directed by Weird Life Films.
“For ‘Humid Heart,’ we wanted to let the mood and tone of the song guide our direction, rather than forcing anything too specific into the video,” says Weird Life. “Loosely based upon the notion of going through everyday life with any sort of heightened emotions can weigh someone down, we followed our hearts and that of the song and fell down a rabbit hole. That being said, we have no regrets.” WATCH MELKBELLY’S VIDEO FOR “HUMID HEART” https://youtu.be/4hMYGDBE7sg
After two years touring internationally, Melkbelly felt comfortable enough to rearrange songs they knew well, their renewed closeness guiding them. Their literally familial relationship was crucial for support, as PITH was summoned from a place of mourning following the loss of a close friend. Miranda Winters drew from diverse scenes—Grimm-like children’s stories too dark for kids; thorny, mossy forests—to create stories that feel distinctly Melkbellian: philosophically strange, strikingly textural, funny and sad and open-hearted.
Recording in two short sessions six months apart, the band worked with longtime collaborator Dave Vettraino, this time at Bloomington, Indiana’s Russian Recording. Alongside an arsenal of rock gear and airy synth layers coaxed from a Moog Prodigy, PITH’s multidimensionality was refined by the studio’s collection of rare Russian tube mics, which were placed in every corner to capture Melkbelly’s unabashed loudness.
Since their 2017 debut Nothing Valley, the members of Melkbelly have an even better understanding of their sonic motivations. On PITH, Melkbelly sought space, and succeeded in crafting it. In support of PITH, the band will tour across North America this spring. A full list of dates can be found below and tickets are on sale now. WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “LCR” https://youtu.be/sw5IEA8ju88
I first heard most of Elephant Stone‘s new album, Hollow, at the 2019 Levitation Music Festivalin Austin, Texas when they played a good chunk of it on the inside stage at Barracuda. I’d heard a couple of tracks ahead of the gig and was intrigued by the heavier-than-normal sound. That sound was even heavier live, and the theme of the album – a story set in an apocalyptic future in which people are trying to flee a dying Earth to another planet – takes on even more weight when you hear it live and / or in its entirety.
The album opens with “Hollow World” – a track brimming with Elephant Stone‘s trademark psychedelia and lyrics about having to finally say goodbye to Mother Earth because the human race has succeeded in destroying it. “Darker Time, Darker Space” is a quick interlude as doomed Earthlings fly into unknown space in hopes of finding something better.
“The Court and Jury” decide who leaves, however. Lead singer / bassist / sitarist Rishi Dhir‘s vocals sound like they’re coming through a faulty intercom system on an old spacecraft and his sitar sounds like circuits working overtime as the ship lands on the “Land of Dead.” This was the first track I heard off Hollow. The bass and drums are heavy and the guitar shreds for just under two minutes of raw power.
“Keep the Light Alive” brings in a children’s choir to represent the new generation of Earthlings alone on what could be a hostile new world. “This place is far too cold,” Dhir sings on “We Cry for Harmonia.” The Earthlings are quickly realizing the new planet might end up as wasted as the old one (“How can you fill this space with air you cannot breathe?”). Gabirel Lambert‘s guitar solo on this track is top-notch, by the way, and the backing synths and hand percussion only elevate the song higher.
“Harmonia” is dreamy psych accented by Dhir’s sitar and more of that groovy hand percussion. Dhir’s bass takes center stage on “I See You” (and how about that wicked high-hat work by Mile Dupire, too?) – a groovy track with some light pop touches that could be a radio friendly smash if enough DJs give it a chance.
“The Clampdown” isn’t a cover of The Clashsong (although that would be great), but rather a song about the Powers That Be coming after those of Earth living in underground communities. The dark synths underline the menace of the lyrics. The synths are bright on “Fox on the Run” – the title of which seems to reflect the hunted Earthlings making another run for it. “House on Fire” has the Earth, or is it the new world, burning while people try to ignore it. The guitar on it is like a distant warning klaxon, but the synths are still bright – giving us some hope while things crumble around us. The album closes with more hope on “A Way Home.” The Earth has been all but abandoned, but the ones who remain realize they can repair it and build something new while old karma continues to build new paybacks on the new world inhabited by the privileged few.
It’s a wild record, and I don’t think anyone expected a concept album with doom overtones from Elephant Stone, but it’s great that they’re pushing the envelope and exploring new avenues.
Following the release of their new concept album, Hollow, Elephant Stone have announced a spring North American tour starting with a free show in Winooski, Vermont and ending in Chicago, Illinois. All tour dates are with DJ Al Lover, with whom Elephant Stone‘s lead singer / bassist / sitarist Rishi Dhir has worked in the past with their Acid House Ragas project. Tickets are available for all dates.
4/29 Winooski VT @ Foam Brewers FREE SHOW 4/30 New Haven CT @ State House TICKETS 5/1 Brooklyn NY @ The Sultan Room TICKETS 5/2 Allentown PA @ Muhlenberg College TICKETS 5/3 Washington DC @ Comet Ping Pong TICKETS 5/5 Cleveland OH @ Beachland Tavern TICKETS 5/6 Indianapolis IN @ Square Cat Vinyl TICKETS 5/7 Windsor ON @ Meteor TICKETS 5/8 Milwaukee WI @ Milwaukee Psych Fest TICKETS 5/9 Chicago IL @ Sleeping Village TICKETS
The forthcoming tenth edition — #10! — of the popular compilation series featuring long-lost vintage 60s-70s proto-metal and stoner rock singles, Brown Acid: The Tenth Trip will be available, fittingly, on April 20th, 2020. As the celebrated series reaches landmark double-digits, there are no indications it will slow down in the near future. Hear and share the first single, “Tensions” released in 1969 by Detroit rockers Sounds Synonymous via YouTube and Bandcamp. The Brown Acid series is curated by L.A. label RidingEasy Records and retailer/label Permanent Records. Read interviews with the series curators via Paste MagazineHERE and LA Weekly HERE.
About The Tenth Trip: Here we are, arriving at the tenth edition of Brown Acid in just half as many years! As always, we packed in the highest highs of the dankest hard rock, heavy psych, and proto-metal tracks previously lost to the sands of time. Like we’ve done throughout this series, all of these tracks were painstakingly licensed legitimately and the artists were paid. It’s hard to believe we’re already up to 10 volumes of this lysergic Neanderthal wail, but the long-lost jams just keep-a-coming like Texas crude to fuel your rock ‘n’ roll engine and melt your metal mind. This Trip kicks off with the Hammer of the Gods howl of “Plastic Thunder” by Bitter Creek. The Atlanta, GA quintet’s lone single from 1970 on Mark IV Records is rated #6 of the Top 50 Heaviest Songs Before Black Sabbath by GuitarWorld Magazine. You can hear why in the ominous riff and larynx-ravaging chorus that merges the deepest of Deep Purple sludge with The Who’s rollicking psychedelia.
Not much is known about The Brood‘s 1969 bluesy paean to dirtbag weed consumption “The Roach” on the It’s A Lemon imprint, except that it’s a big, growling rocker with a crazed in-the-round blowout of wailing guitar solos, screeching organ blasts, wildly overlapping vocals and drum rolls for days.
Nova Scotia, Canada sextet Brothers and One‘s double-entendre laden single “Hard On Me” certainly pushes the boundaries of what would be acceptable at the time (especially amongst their ever-polite Canadian brethren.) Their lone full length was released in 1970 on short-lived Audat label, the group featuring two sets of brothers (hence the name) recorded the album while all members were between age 13-18-years-old. This glam-influenced single was privately released on the band’s own label nearly 4 years later.
Louisville, KY quartet Conception‘s excellent revision of Blue Cheer’s “Babylon” (1969, Perfection Records) adds heavy phaser effect on the guitar and a more driving rhythm to make the song entirely their own. Lead guitar and high harmony vocals by Charlie Day (not to be confused with the Sunny Philadelphian actor) are assertive and commanding as he implores listeners onward to hallucinagenic nirvana.
Not exactly a typically psychedelic band name for the era, but First State Bank‘s “Mr. Sun” (1970, Music Mill) pays hearty dividends of boogie bustle. The Central Texas band led by guitarist/vocalist Randy Nunnally released only 3 singles in its career from 1970-1976. For those keeping score at home, their song “Before You Leave” was featured on The Third Trip back in 2016. “Mr. Sun” is the heavy B-Side to “Coming Home To You.”
Clearly inspired by Jimi Hendrix, Tucson quartet Frozen Sun topped the local charts in 1969 with this barnstorming rocker “Electric Soul” (Capt. Zoomer Records.) The song is replete with guitarist/vocalist (with big Hendrix hair) Ron Ryan’s spoken interlude, “Well have you been electrically stoned? You know, living in the danger zone?” We say yes.
Ralph Williams and the Wright Brothers took flight with “Never Again” on Hour Glass Records in 1972, and apparently never landed after this 45 with “Dark Street” on the A-side. The serpentine riff and sexually-charged backing vocal grunts drive this archetypical tale of a young man’s chemical odyssey… or, should we say, trip?
Sounds Synonymous pretty much epitomized heavy fuzz from Michigan with their 1969 single “Tensions” on the Wall Productions label. The Hendrix “Fire” meets Arthur Brown’s “Fire” track lunges and lurches with glee throughout its 3-minutes and change of unbridled crunch.
Tabernash‘s “Head Collect” (1972) is the suburban Denver quartet’s only release following the name change from The Contents Are and a move from Davenport, IA. This more stately psych-rock chune features Byrds-like harmonies, twangy reverse-looped guitar soloing and Keith Moon-esque drumming that should’ve made it a chart-topper, but we all know there’s no justice in rock’n’roll.
The Tenth Trip closes, appropriately, with the “War Pigs” reminiscent fuzz of New Orleans quartet The Rubber Memory‘s 1970 tune “All Together.” The band self-released only 110 copies of their lone album, making it an incredibly sought-after rarity for decades. Alongside a limited edition reissue in 2000, the group reformed for a one-off show before quickly bouncing back into our collective cosmic consciousness.
About the Brown Acid series: Some of the best thrills of the Internet music revolution is the ability to find extremely rare music with great ease. But even with such vast archives to draw from, quite a lot of great songs have gone undiscovered for nearly half a century — particularly in genres that lacked hifalutin arty pretense. Previously, only the most extremely dedicated and passionate record collectors had the stamina and prowess to hunt down long forgotten wonders in dusty record bins — often hoarding them in private collections, or selling at ridiculous collector’s prices. Legendary compilations like Nuggets, Pebbles, ad nauseum, have exhausted the mines of early garage rock and proto-punk, keeping alive a large cross-section of underground ephemera. However, few have delved into and expertly archived the wealth of proto-metal, pre-stoner rock tracks collected on Brown Acid.
Lance Barresi, co-owner of L.A./Chicago retailer Permanent Records has shown incredible persistence in tracking down a stellar collection of rare singles from the 60s and 70s for the growing compilation series. Partnered with Daniel Hall of RidingEasy Records, the two have assembled a selection of songs that’s hard to believe have remained unheard for so long.
“I essentially go through hell and high water just to find these records,” Barresi says. “Once I find a record worthy of tracking, I begin the (sometimes) extremely arduous process of contacting the band members and encouraging them to take part. Daniel and I agree that licensing all the tracks we’re using forBrown Acid is best for everyone involved,” rather than simply bootlegging the tracks. When all of the bands and labels haven’t existed for 30-40 years or more, tracking down the creators gives all of these tunes a real second chance at success. “There’s a long list of songs that we’d love to include,” Barresi says. “But we just can’t track the bands down. I like the idea that Brown Acid is getting so much attention, so people might reach out to us.”
Brown Acid: The Tenth Trip will be available everywhere on LP, CD and download on April 20, 2020 via RidingEasy Records. Pre-orders are available for digital (with immediate download of the first single) at Bandcamp, physical pre-orders at RidingEasy Records.
Keep your mind open.
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Southern California trio Warish recently released a new single, “Woven,” and also wrapped up a tour with The Black Lips. “Woven” is available on all platforms.
Rolling Stone previously hailed Warish as a Song You Need To Know feature HERE.
Warish hit the road this week supporting The Black Lips on the East Coast. Please see all upcoming dates below. Imagine if early, weird Aberdeen Nirvana were crossed with low budget horror-obsessed garage-punks. You’d have sinister vibes with a visceral, twisted weirdness and bludgeoning riffs. Some might call it nightmarish, we call it Warish.
Warish formed in early 2018 when guitarist/vocalist and pro-skater Riley Hawk (son of skating legend Tony Hawk) and drummer Nick (Broose) McDonnell decided they wanted to try their hand at something more distinct than they’d done previously. “We wanted to do simpler riffs and a fun live show,” Riley explains. “A little more punk, a little bit of grunge… a little evil-ish.”
Their sound takes cues from a variety of cool underground sounds and twists it all into an energetic and exciting fist to the face of dark fury. Hawk’s effect-laden vocals hearken to 90s industrial monsters Ministry and David Yow‘s tortured caterwaul in Scratch Acid. The guitars are heavy and powerful, though decidedly not straightforward cookie cutter punk; more like Cobain‘s and Buzz Osbourne‘s wiry contortions. The rhythms bash and pummel right through it all with aggressive force ensuring that nothing gets overly complicated and the horrors keep coming throughout the band’s uh, warlike assault.
The band’s debut album,Down In Flames, is available on LP, CD and download, was released on September 13th, 2019 via RidingEasy Records. Available to order in all formats HERE.
Keep your mind open.
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Randy Holden, former guitarist and vocalist of metal pioneers Blue Cheer, debuted his first solo album, Population II (because it was just Holden and his drummer / keyboardist Chris Lockheed – and it’s also a term for a star cluster with heavy metals in it), in 1969 to stunned audiences. He recorded the proto-doom metal record with sixteen 200-watt Sunn amps in an opera house and troubles with releasing it bankrupted Holden. The album was bootlegged and copied many times, but RidingEasy Records has unleashed it in a new, high quality remaster that sounds like, as Holden once put it, “Godzilla walked into the room.”
The album opens with the cosmic sludge of “Guitar Song.” Holden moves back and forth between heavy stoner psych and gold old-fashioned metal shredding. Lockheed keeps the drums minimal, letting Holden’s guitar take center stage. Don’t ask me to figure out the meaning of “Fruit Icebergs,” just enjoy the epic riffs and iceberg-heavy drums as they come at you like an unstoppable force. The song (with lyrics about enjoying colors and heaven, among other things) is so massive that there’s a groovy break in it entitled “Between Time” in which Holden sings about loving his guitar before “Fruit Icebergs (Conclusion)” comes back for nearly another two minutes.
“Blue My Mind” could refer to Holden’s time in Blue Cheer or a woman who once gave him a wild ride. Either way, Lockheed thumps out the heartbeats of a titan while Holden’s guitar seems to be the marching music of an orc army. The album ends with the stunning ten-minute long “Keeper of the Flame.” Holden compares women to beautiful blue skies and rainbows, but don’t let the lyrics make you think the track is some sort of acoustic hippie love jam. It’s a chugging blues-influenced rocker that sounds like an out of control big rig truck at some points.
This could easily be one of the top reissues of 2020, and it’s a treasure if you’re a fan of cosmic / stoner / doom rock. Many thanks to RidingEasy Records for giving it a proper release.
Psychedelic jazz rockers Khruangbinand soul crooner Leon Bridges have come together to create a lovely four-song EP called Texas Sun. It’s a tribute to their home state and the reduction of the self that can happen if you spend a lot of time in the American southwest.
The title track opens the EP and begins with country acoustic guitar before Mark Speer‘s distinctive guitar sound comes in as a perfect match with Bridges’ vocals about driving along warm Texas highways at dusk. Speer puts down some romantic charm on “Midnight,” so much so that I wouldn’t be surprised if the track has scored him a hundred dates by now. Plus, Laura Lee‘s bass groove on it is as seductive as the devil.
Speaking of grooves, the one cooked up by Ms. Lee and drummer Donald Johnson on “C-Side” is so slick that you should probably put a “Caution: Slippery Floor” sign in your living room when you play it. The EP ends with “Conversion,” which brings in some gospel touches to Bridges’ vocals about finding freedom in love.
This EP is a steal at a mere four bucks and a nice way to relax for a little while as you deal with the last days of winter.
