Rock – Page 119 – 7th Level Music

Khruangbin’s new single, “Time (You and I),” is a stunner.

“Time changes everything.” — Khruangbin

Khruangbin, the Houston-based group comprised of bassist Laura Lee Ochoa, guitarist Mark Speer, and drummer Donald “DJ” Johnson, are pleased to announce their new album, Mordechai, out June 26th on Dead Oceans, in association with Night Time Stories. Mordechai comes two years after the release of their beloved and acclaimed breakthrough, 2018’s Con Todo El Mundo, and was preceded earlier this year by Texas Sun, the group’s collaborative EP with Leon Bridges. Today, they present the vibrant, Felix Heyes & Josh R.R. King-directed video for Mordechai’s lead single, “Time (You and I)”.

Khruangbin has always been multilingual, weaving far-flung musical languages like East Asian surf-rock, Persian funk, and Jamaican dub into mellifluous harmony. As a first for the mostly instrumental band, Mordechai features vocals prominently on nearly every song. It’s a shift that rewards the risk, reorienting Khruangbin’s transportive sound toward a new sense of emotional directness, without losing the spirit of nomadic wandering that’s always defined it. And it all started with them coming home.

By the summer of 2019, Khruangbin had been on tour for nearly three-and-a-half years, playing to ever-expanding audiences across North and South America, Europe, and southeast Asia in support of both Con Todo El Mundo and their 2015 debut, The Universe Smiles Upon You. They returned to their farmhouse studio in Burton, Texas, ready to begin work on Mordechai. But they were also determined to slow down, to take their time and luxuriate in building something together.

It’s a lesson Lee had recently learned with the help of a new friend, a near-stranger who had reached out when she was feeling particularly unmoored, inviting her to come hiking with his family. That day, as they’d all made their way toward the distant promise of a waterfall, Lee had felt a dawning clarity about the importance of appreciating the journey, rather than rushing headlong toward the next destination. When they reached the waterfall at last, Lee’s friend urged her to jump, a leap she likens to a baptism. As she did, he screamed her name—her full name, the one she’d recently taken from her grandfather. In that instant, Laura Lee Ochoa was reborn. She emerged feeling liberated, grateful for what her friend had shown her. His name was Mordechai.

Ochoa’s rejuvenation found its expression in words—hundreds of pages’ worth, which she’d filled over a self-imposed day of silence. As Khruangbin began putting together the songs that would make up Mordechai, discovering in them spaces it seemed like only vocals could fill, they turned to those notebooks. Khruangbin had experimented with lyrics before, but this time Ochoa had found she had something to say. Letting those words ring out gave Khruangbin’s cavernous music a new thematic depth.

Chief among those themes is memory—holding onto it, letting it go, naming it before it disappears. The sun-dappled disco of lead single “Time (You And I)” evinces the feeling of a festival winding down to its final blowout hours. Its accompanying video features comedian Stephen K. Amos and Lunda Anele-Skosana. The duo wander around London, placing singular sandcastles throughout the city’s various scenery.

Musically, the band’s ever-restless ear saw them pulling reference points from Pakistan, Korea, and West Africa, incorporating strains of Indian chanting boxes and Congolese syncopated guitar. But more than anything, Mordechai became a celebration of Houston, the eclectic city that had nurtured them, and a cultural nexus where you can check out country and zydeco, trap rap, or avant-garde opera on any given night. It is a snapshot taken along a larger journey—a moment all the more beautiful for its impermanence. And it’s a memory to revisit again and again, speaking to us now more clearly than ever.

Watch the Video for “Time (You and I)” –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc50wHexbwg

Mordechai Tracklist:
1. First Class
2. Time (You and I)
3. Connaissais de Face
4. Father Bird, Mother Bird
5. If There is No Question
6. Pelota
7. One to Remember
8. Dearest Alfred
9. So We Won’t Forget
10. Shida

Pre-order Mordechai –
https://khruangbin.ffm.to/mordechai

Keep your mind open.

[You and I could keep in touch if you subscribe.]

[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR!]

Rewind Review: The UFO Club – self-titled (2012)

Released just a year after their split EP with Night Beats, The UFO Club (Christian Bland, Danny Lee Blackwell, and Skyler McGlothlin) took the four tracks they had on the EP and added seven more to create a spooky, trippy, solid album.

It starts with “July” – a song I once presented to a woman who described herself as “an original hippie.” She loved it. It’s hard not to love with its opening acoustic guitar chords, Blackwell’s heavily reverbed vocals, McGlothlin’s stumbling drunk beats, and Bland’s warped electric guitar. Their cover of The Ronettes‘ “Be My Baby” follows with its guitars that sound like a swarm of stoned bees. Blackwell is a known Bo Diddley fan (Night Beats often covers Diddley’s “Keep Your Big Mouth Shut” live), so their song “Bo Diddley Was the 7th Son” is a roaring, sweaty tribute to him. It almost sounds like they told McGloghlin to just go nuts on the drums, and he did.

“Wolfman” is another track from the EP that’s wild, crazy fun with Blackwell taking on the role of a werewolf and Bland and McGloghlin howling behind him. “Doubts” slows things down before we totally lose our minds. The sad organ and sorrowful drumming highlight Blackwell’s pleading vocals for love. “John the Cat” has such a swagger to it that it might topple your speakers and puts Bland’s love of early Pink Floyd on full display.

“Fuck shit up!” the band yells at the beginning of “Surf Shitty,” a dangerous track best suited for 1960’s juvenile delinquency film soundtracks. “Chapel” follows it. It’s a stand-out track on the EP as well as here. It’s fuzzed-out psychedelic bliss about inward meditation. “Up in Her Room” is over seven minutes of psychedelic garage rock with Blackwell singing about gettin’ his freak on in his girlfriend’s apartment. “Natalie” might be that girl up in the room. She’s a weird one if that’s the case because the song is a wild, organ-heavy freak-out that sounds like someone slipped something funky into the band’s tea at the recording studio. The closer, “Last Time,” is a short, warped version of the Rolling Stones‘ classic track.

It’s a cool, weird record, and a must-have gem for fans of The Black Angels and Night Beats.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you go.]

Liam Kazar’s debut single, “Shoes Too Tight,” is a home run in his first at-bat.

Liam Kazar, a Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, releases his debut single/video, “Shoes Too Tight.” Throughout the last decade, Kazar has been recognized for his adaptability and deftness in the studio and on stage, leading to tours and collaborations with Jeff Tweedy, Chance the Rapper, Steve Gunn, Daniel Johnston, Kids These Days, amongst others. His first offering, “Shoes Too Tight,” presents Kazar’s joyful and vulnerable world.

“Shoes Too Tight” is born from the strange and quick combination of the well-worn sound of a clavinet, blended with whatever noise you get when you turn on that weird synth sitting in the corner of the studio. The track features childhood friends Lane Beckstom (bass) and Spencer Tweedy (drums), who have shared stages with Kazar since they were young, plus vocals from Ohmme. It follows a single theme through all its nooks and crannies to a warm, tender end; a collage of lyrics that deal with lost time, lost chance, and the reconciliation of the two. In the accompanying video, directed by Austin Vesely and shot at Chicago’s Constellation, he and his background dancers channel 60s crooners, Lindsay Kemp, and Kazar’s own contemporary groove, daring you not to join them.

Since filming “Shoes Too Tight,” Kazar has spent the last many weeks staying at home in Kansas City, where he sometimes lives. He’s recorded a new song, “Holding Plans,” and created an accompanying lyric video. Additionally, Kazar is raising money via his Bandcamp for Constellation and the Hungry Brain, a treasure and hub for Chicago’s music community.

Watch Liam Kazar’s “Shoes Too Tight” Video –
https://youtu.be/sqAWtd-nBpA

Watch “Holding Plans” (Demo) Lyric Video –
https://youtu.be/x4jOR9pmqwg

Download hi-res images & jpegs of Liam Kazar
pitchperfectpr.com/liam-kazar/

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you go.]

[Thanks to Jaycee at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Rewind Review: Cosmonauts – Lazerbeam (2012)

The EP Lazerbeam from Los Angeles, California shoegaze rockers Cosmonauts is a great introduction to their forceful and hypnotizing sound if you haven’t heard it before now.

The title track opens the EP, sounding a bit like a Hanni El Khatib track at first with its echoing vocals and early 1960’s garage rock beats, but then that fuzz comes in and takes you to another dimension. The song’s about realizing a relationship is coming to an end and not being able to do much about it (“Please don’t leave me, man. You’re the only one I can stand. Begging you not to leave me, babe. You’re the only thing that is sane…”).

“Cut Your Hair” gets off to a heavy start with guitars set to maximum growl and the dual vocals about embracing “the dark side of pain” set to heavy reverb. “Crocodile Teeth” keeps the fuzzed-out shoegaze sound going as the dual vocals of Alexander Ahmadi and Derek Cowart bounce off each other so much (and so well) that you’re not sure where one ends and the other begins. Oh yeah, their dual guitar work does the same thing, producing a mind-altering effect that’s hard to describe.

You might think a song called “Slower” would be a mellow way to end an EP, but Cosmonauts flip the script a bit and end the album with a rocker instead. The drums are like a chugging freight train while Ahmadi and Cowart’s vocals boom off the back walls of your house and the guitar riffs hit you in brisk waves.

Lazerbeam is short, but loud and bold. It takes you by surprise and immediately makes you wonder what else these cats can do. Check out any of their full albums for more great shoegaze.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe while you’re here.]

The Beths release “Dying to Believe” ahead of new album coming in July.

“[The Beths are] brilliant at bright guitar frenzy, instantly memorable melodies and tune-mad group sing-alongs with the joy of Sixties bubblegum rock; there’s a love of pop formula here… but they never lose the sense of discovery at heart of rock and roll.” — Rolling Stone

The Beths announce their new album, Jump Rope Gazers, out July 10th via Carpark Records, and share its lead single/video, “Dying to Believe.” Jump Rope Gazers is the follow-up to Future Me Hates Me, “one of the most impressive indie-rock debuts of the year” (Pitchfork). The album received glowing praise and appeared on many year-end lists including Rolling Stone, NPR, Stereogum, and more. Jump Rope Gazers tackles themes of anxiety and self-doubt with effervescent power pop choruses and rousing backup vocals, zeroing in on the communality and catharsis that can come from sharing stressful situations with some of your best friends.

After touring non-stop for a year and a half, playing to crowds of devoted fans and opening for acts like Pixies and Death Cab for Cutie, The Beths regrouped to write and record Jump Rope Gazers. The band – composed of Elizabeth Stokes (vocals/guitar), Jonathan Pearce (guitar), Benjamin Sinclair (bass), and Tristan Deck (drums) – settled down at Pearce’s Auckland studio, where he recorded and produced the album.

Stokes’s writing on Jump Rope Gazers grapples with the uneasy proposition of leaving everything and everyone you know behind on another continent, chasing your dreams while struggling to stay close with loved ones back home. Rambunctious lead single “Dying to Believe” reckons with the distance that life necessarily drives between people over time: “I’m sorry for the way that I can’t hold conversations // They’re such a fragile thing to try to support the weight of,” Stokes sings. The accompanying visual is an eccentric four-step “How to be the Beths” instructional video featuring the band.

Touring far from home, The Beths committed to taking care of each other while simultaneously trying to take care of friends living thousands of miles away. That care and attention shines through on Jump Rope Gazers, where the quartet sounds more locked in than ever. Jump Rope Gazers stares down all the hard parts of living in communion with other people, even at a distance, while celebrating the ferocious joy that makes it all worth it.

Acoustic versions of “Dying to Believe” and Future Me Hates Me favorites “Great No One” and “Little Death” as well as a Q&A with The Beths can be viewed from their recent livestream here.

Watch “Dying to Believe” Video:
https://youtu.be/CkzI93Aqztk

Pre-Order Jump Rope Gazers:
https://smarturl.it/thebeths_jrg

Jump Rope Gazers Tracklist:
1. I’m Not Getting Excited
2. Dying to Believe
3. Jump Rope Gazers
4. Acrid
5. Do You Want Me Now
6. Out of Sight
7. Don’t Go Away
8. Mars, the God of War
9. You Are a Beam of Light
10. Just Shy of Sure

The Beths Tour Dates:
Sun. Nov 8 – Perth, WA @ HBF Park*
Wed. Nov. 11 – Melbourne, VIC @ Marvel Stadium*
Sat. Nov. 14 – Sydney, NSW @ Bankwest Stadium*
Tue. Nov. 17 – Brisbane, QLD @ QSAC Stadium*
Fri. Nov. 20 – Dunedin, NZ @ Forsyth Barr Stadium*
Sun. Nov. 22 – Auckland, NZ @ Mt Smart Stadium*

*w/ Green Day, Weezer and Fall Out Boy

Keep your mind open.

[I’m dying to believe you’ll subscribe.]

[Thanks to Pitch Perfect PR!]

Review: Blue Canopy – Mild Anxiety

Mild Anxiety, the new EP from Blue Canopy starts off sounding like a warped record of a 16-bit video game and then beautifully transforms into a psych-synth treat that seemed tailor-made to ease the anxiety mentioned in the title.

That first track is “Keys to the Garden,” which floats along with funky guitars, smooth drumming, and synths that sound like sunlight bouncing off a garden pond. It’s a song about opening yourself to new possibilities, maybe even enlightenment (“I can’t believe you’ve never been to the garden. You’ve got the keys so come on through.”)

“656” was the first single off the EP, and it reminds me of New Pornographers tracks in its instrumentation and back-and-forth male-female vocals about coming to the realization that a relationship is at an end (“There’s nothing left for you in this. Your wings are barely fluttering. Now that you are over it, what’s the point of bickering? I know it’s not enough.”).

“St. Albans” has lead singer / keyboardist Alex Schiff lamenting a relationship, possibly the one that just ended or one that he knew was a lost cause from the start, along a jaunty Randy Newman-like beat while he sings, “I was overwhelmed by you. Had we gone for a walk, you’d bum a cigarette. We would never survive, in my self-defense.” “Always” is drenched in psychedelic guitars that embolden Schiff to face the end (“I know what this is, and I know what to do. I will not run.”). The end of a relationship? Life? The EP? I don’t know. It’s probably all of that and more.

This is a lovely EP that tackles some heavy stuff without bludgeoning you over the head with symbolism and angst. Take a few moments to lounge with it.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe while you’re here.]

Blue Canopy release second single from new EP due April 17th.

“Filled with childlike wonder and bright-eyed instrumentation that could just as easily be a symphony as a rock band, ‘656’ sets the stage, suggesting that Schiff’s future as Blue Canopy is as bright as he could hope for.” — PopMatters

“A psychedelic pop sound that blends contemporary indie psychedelia in the vein of Tame Impala with ’60s-era aesthetics similar to those of Zombies or early Pink Floyd. It takes you somewhere distant yet familiar, lush yet accessible.” — Treble

Portland band Blue Canopy share a new single from their forthcoming debut today via Treble. The band is led by former Modern Rivals keyboardist/singer and co-songwriter Alex Schiff (Pitchfork‘s accolades HERE.) Hear & share “Keys To The Garden” HERE. (Direct Bandcamp.)

PopMatters previously launched the animated video for lead single “656” HERE. (Direct YouTube.)

Blue Canopy‘s Mild Anxiety is the debut EP from Portland-based multi-instrumentalist, Alex Schiff. Under the Blue Canopy moniker, Alex combines versatile songwriting chops and timeless, exuberant melodies to comprise four distinct pieces that utilize nostalgia as a force to move forward.

Formerly the keyboardist and co-writer for indie band, Modern Rivals, Alex has shared the stage with bands such as Ra Ra Riot, Stars, and The Black Keys. The EP’s lead single, “656” enlists the four other members of Modern Rivals (performing drums, guitar, bass, synth and backup vocals) as an official send-off to a relationship that was a formative part of Alex’s youth and time living in New York City.
Mild Anxiety was co-produced by Patrick J Smith (A Beacon School/Modern Rivals). The EP will be released April 17th on Fat Possum label offshoot Grind Select. Pre-orders are available HERE.

On The Web: bluecanopy.bandcamp.com
instagram.com/blue.canopy
facebook.com/bluecanopymusic
www.grindselect.com

Keep your mind open.

[I’ll be blue if you don’t subscribe.]

[Thanks to the US / THEM Group!]

Rewind Review: The UFO Club & Night Beats – Split (2011)

This eight-song EP is split between bands hailing from Austin, Texas and Seattle, Washington. Side A is four tracks by Austin’s The UFO Club (who would go on to release a full album a year later – review coming soon). Side B is one of the first official recordings of Seattle’s Night Beats – even before their first full album was released by Austin’s Reverberation Appreciation Society label.

The UFO Club melds Austin and Seattle together by combining the powers of The Black Angels‘ Christian Bland and Danny Lee Blackwell of Night Beats (both sharing duties on guitar, vocals, farfisa, drums, bass) and producer / bassist / organist Skyler McGlothlin to create a heady brew of Pink Floyd, 13th Floor Elevators, Phil Spector, and Howlin‘ Wolf.

“(My Love Is) Waiting” is a pleading love song with Blackwell’s distinctive voice calling out in soulful wails while crystalline guitars surround him. “Chapel (in My Mind)” is an instant stand-out with creeping fuzz bass, spooky drums, and haunted house guitars as Bland sings about engaging in self-introspection and not caring what others think of the idea. You’ll want “Wolfman” on every Halloween-themed playlist you create from now on, as it’s a fun, rocking track with Blackwell trying to keep his lover calm as he transforms into a monster and Bland and McGlothlin howl and bay in the background. Side A ends with their power drill-fuzzy cover of The Ronettes‘ “Be My Baby.”

Side B is all Night Beats, consisting of the original lineup (Blackwell on vocals and guitar, Tarek Wegner on bass, James Traeger on drums). It opens with one of my favorite Night Beats tracks, “Hex,” a trippy psychedelic cut that has Blackwell’s opening guitar riffs hitting you like black helicopters coming over the horizon. “A Night with Nefertiti” brings Wegner’s bass to the forefront and makes the vocals a bit sleepy (in a good way). The Egyptian theme continues on the funky “Drowning in the Nile” (which includes some wild harmonica work by Blackwell). The closer is “18 Glowing Phantoms.” Blackwell’s acoustic guitar takes on a tribal sound as he sings about being taken to an otherworldly dark forest to learn he has no soul. Creepy? Yes. Good? Absolutely (especially at the break-down).

This split 10″ EP was a good warm-up for both The UFO Club’s self-titled album a year later and Night Beats’ first full record. It’s a fine addition to any collection of net-psychedelic music.

Keep your mind open.

[Why not float over to the subscription box while you’re here?]

Anthology Editions to release “13th Floor Elevators: A Visual History.”

“Their journey still occasions wonder and awe. For so many years, it was hardly told. Here it is, in pictures and words. This is the way, step inside.” – Jon Savage

13th Floor Elevators: A Visual History, written and curated by Paul Drummond and published by Anthology Editions, will be released April 21st, and is available for preorder now. Direct orders of the book through the Anthology website will be shipped immediately. 13th Floor Elevators: A Visual History tells the complete and unvarnished story of a band, which, until now, has been thought of as tragically underdocumented. Drummond has spent years amassing an unprecedented archive of primary materials, including scores of previously-unseen band photographs, rare and iconic psychedelic artworks, and more. A full list of visual assets can be found below.

Preview 13th Floor Elevators: A Visual History

Born out of a union of club bands on the burgeoning Austin bohemian scene and a pronounced taste for hallucinogens, the 13th Floor Elevators formed in late 1965 when lyricist Tommy Hall asked a local singer named Roky Erickson to join up with his new rock outfit. Four years, three official albums, and countless acid trips later, it was over: the Elevators’ pioneering first run ended in a dizzying jumble of professional mismanagement, internal arguments, drug busts, and forced psychiatric imprisonments.

In their short existence, however, the group succeeded in blowing the lid off the budding musical underground, logging early salvos in the countercultural struggle against state authorities, and turning their deeply hallucinatory take on jug-band garage rock into a new American institution called psychedelic music. Before the hippies, before the punks, there were the 13th Floor Elevators: an unlikely crew of outcast weirdo geniuses who changed culture. 13th Floor Elevators: A Visual History places the band finally and undeniably in the pantheon of innovators of American rock music to which they have always belonged.

13th Floor Elevators: A Visual History Visual Assets:
●      Rare photos, including many newly-discovered color shots
●      Family scrapbook photos and clippings
●      Photography and ephemera from the band’s friends, a who’s-who of the 1960s Austin arts scene
●      Stills from the band’s television appearances
●      Contemporary newspaper and underground press clippings covering the band’s rise (and fall)
●      Materials from the books that inspired the band’s unique iconography
●      Internal documents from the band’s label International Artists documenting the disastrous business side of the Elevators’ career in detail
●      Materials relating to the band’s legal troubles, from handwritten drug deal letters to Austin Police Department surveillance photos to mugshots and draft cards
●      The most complete collection of show flyers and handbills ever assembled, including many rare alternate printings of iconic psychedelic posters

About the Author:
Paul Drummond is a renowned antiquarian bookseller based in London. He has spent years documenting every aspect of the history of the 13th Floor Elevators, and is the author of Eye Mind (2007), the exhaustive and definitive biography of the band.

Order 13th Floor Elevators: A Visual History
https://bit.ly/2QY4jgv

Keep your mind open.

[Why not subscribe while you’re here?]

[Thanks to Pitch Perfect PR!]

CHAI urge us to look past the exterior with a great new single – “No More Cake.”

Today, the Japanese quartet and champions of NEO-Kawaii CHAI are proud to present their newest single and video, “NO MORE CAKE.” As with many of their other songs, the fun veneer is always a bit of a red herring for a deeper, more self-reflective message. The song is “a sarcastic poke about wearing make-up,” says singer MANA. “We feel like that you should wear make-up that you feel suits you. Wearing make-up shouldn’t be based on the orders of someone else.”

The video representation is explained, in part, by bassist & lyricist YUUKI. “Doing your make-up to look like another person is the same as applying cake to your face.” “We wanted the theme for this music video to be ‘make-up meets art,’” adds guitarist KANA. “That’s why at times we had our faces looking like cake and then expressed as art.”
WATCH “NO MORE CAKE” VIDEO
https://youtu.be/ZeiOihSnYCw

CHAI’s most recent album, PUNK was met with resounding praise, being named Best New Music by Pitchfork and receiving glowing reviews from NPR Music, Stereogum, Exclaim, and more. Following its release, the band brought their “undeniable pop energy” (NPR Music) stateside to SXSW. There, the band played several showcases to much fanfare, their vivacious sets deemed one to see by Paste, Stereogum, NPR Music, Austin Monthly, Austin American-Statesman, plus others.

PRAISE FOR CHAI AND PUNK

“PUNK leans hard into CHAI’s gift for spiky, wiry aggression, but the group never abandons its sense of playfulness and light” – NPR Music

“terrifically over the top.” – Pitchfork, Best New Music

“Their songs shapeshift, ping-ponging from one idea to the next with dizzying speed, leaving you no choice but to hang on for dear life and go along for the ride.”
– Stereogum, Album Of The Week

“they’re determined to redefine your idea of ‘kawaii,’ and, in the process, there’s no way you won’t become addicted.” – Nylon

“Punk is a huge step forward for CHAI, and easily one of the best albums of the year.”
– Exclaim!

“Packed with gum-snapping cheerleader attitude and space disco grooves, it’s a potent distillation of serotonin that offers countless surprises across its thirty-minute runtime.” – The FADER

“Bursting with fun, expanded musicianship, and boundless energy, this is one sophomore record that couldn’t exist more in the now.” – The 405

CHAI Online:
http://chai-band.com/
https://twitter.com/CHAIofficialJPN
https://www.instagram.com/chaiofficialjpn/

[Keep your mind open.]

[A subscription from you would be sweet.]

[Thanks to Pitch Perfect PR!]