Rock – Page 134 – 7th Level Music

A Halloween treat is coming – RidingEasy Records’ “Brown Acid: The Ninth Trip” is due on October 31st.

“So rare that diehard fuzz junkies say you’d have a better chance of winning the lottery than finding a physical 45 rpm single by one of the bands featured on their latest installment.” — Dangerous Minds

“Will do for hard rock, proto-metal and heavy psych what Nuggets did for garage rock, and bring it to a wider audience of collectors and music fans.” — The Guardian

“Mining the surprising rich reserves of heavy rock and proto-metal from the ’60s and ’70s, these collections have been crucial to understanding the history of a subgenre of rock that had far deeper roots than most fans realize.” — Paste Magazine

The forthcoming ninth edition of the popular compilation series featuring long-lost vintage 60s-70s proto-metal and stoner rock singles, Brown Acid: The Ninth Trip is set for release on Halloween 2019. The first track from the latest installment, the heavy psych groove “Pain” by Fiberglass Vegetables is available to hear and share via YouTube HERE and Bandcamp HERE.

Read an interview with the series curators via Paste Magazine HERE.

The Brown Acid series is curated by L.A. label RidingEasy Records and retailer/label Permanent Records. 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 for Brown 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 Ninth Trip will be available everywhere on LP, CD and download on October 31st, 2019 via RidingEasy Records. Pre-orders are available for digital (with immediate download of the first single) at Bandcamp, physical pre-orders at RidingEasy Records.

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Twin Peaks’ new single, “Ferry Song,” is a great theme song to a great 70’s TV show that never existed.

LISTEN TO “FERRY SONG” – https://youtu.be/BNxYFZTg2EA

Chicago-based band Twin Peaks release “Ferry Song,” a new single from their forthcoming album, Lookout Low, due September 13th via Grand Jury. Following its “swaggering lead single” (Stereogum) “Dance Through It,” “Ferry Song” is a huge leap forward for band member Colin Croom. Croom wrote the track in Spring of 2018 in New Orleans. He stayed at Algiers Point, taking the ferry to the city each day. Throughout, the track waltzes with guitar and ramshackle brass. As it hits its boiling point, Croom accesses a part of his vocal range he’s only hinted at before.

Lookout Low feels like a total revolution. Their most deliberate and seamless record yet, the album is a collaborative triumph, propelled forward by Twin Peak’s near-decade-long bond. The five of them – guitarists Cadien Lake James and Clay Frankel, bassist Jack Dolan, multi-instrumentalist Colin Croom, and drummer Connor Brodner – committed to work countless hours in their studio and practice space. Already a well-oiled live unit, the band’s mission was to capture the exhilarating vibe of their shows. Lookout Low was recorded with legendary producer Ethan Johns at Monnow Valley, where they often thrived on the thrill of live recording, going with the magic of the original first take. The album features auxiliary percussion from drummer Kyle Davis and spectral harmonies from OHMME’s Macie Stewart and Sima Cunningham.

Each individual member of the band upped their songwriting for the LP. These tracks are their most impressive offering yet – confident, experimentative, and bursting with energy.

In support of Lookout Low, the band will tour across North America. They will play Chicago’s Riviera Theatre (their biggest hometown headline show to date), Los Angeles’ Teragram Ballroom, and New York’s Webster Hall, in addition to dual shows at Nashville’s Basement East, Boston’s The Sinclair, and more. Tickets are on sale now. All dates are below.

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “DANCE THROUGH IT” – https://youtu.be/U12MYd1DtOs

PRE-ORDER LOOKOUT LOW – https://twinpeaks.lnk.to/lookout

TWIN PEAKS TOUR DATES: Thu. Sept. 12 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre * Fri. Sept. 13 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom * Sat. Sept. 14 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall * Thu. Sept. 19 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom * Fri. Sept. 20 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Cafe * Sat. Sept. 21 – East Moline, IL @ The Rust Belt * Tue. Oct. 8 – Berlin, DE @ Musik und Frieden & Wed. Oct. 9 – Hamburg, DE @ Molotow Musikclub & Fri. Oct. 11 – Rotterdam, NL @ Rotown & Sat. Oct. 12 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Mon. Oct. 14 – Cologne, DE @ MTC & Tue. Oct. 15 – Paris, FR @ La Boule Noire & Wed. Oct. 16 – London, UK @ Dome Tufnell Park & (SOLD OUT) Fri. Oct. 18 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club & Sat. Oct. 19 – Oxford, UK @ Ritual Union Sun. Oct. 20 – Cardiff, UK @ SWN Festival Wed. Oct. 30 – Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall # Thu. Oct. 31 – St. Louis, MO @ The Ready Room # Fri. Nov. 1 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room # Sat. Nov. 2 – Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre # Tue. Nov. 5 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall # Thu. Nov. 7 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos # Fri. Nov. 8 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom # Sat. Nov. 9 – Vancouver, BC @ VENUE # Wed. Nov. 13 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall # Fri. Nov. 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom @ Sat. Nov. 16 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern # Mon. Nov. 18 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom # Thu. Nov. 21 – Dallas, TX @ Deep Ellum Art Co. # Fri. Nov. 22 – Houston, TX @ Satellite Bar # Sat. Nov. 23 – Austin, TX @ The Mohawk # Fri. Nov. 29 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre $ Wed. Dec. 4 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground Ballroom ^ Thu. Dec. 5 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair (early) @ Thu. Dec. 5 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair (late) ! Fri. Dec. 6 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall ^ Tue. Dec. 10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer ^ Wed. Dec. 11 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat ^ Thu. Dec. 12 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle ^ Fri. Dec. 13 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse ^ Sat. Dec. 14 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East ^ Sun. Dec. 15 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East ^ Wed. Feb. 26 – London, UK @ Electric Brixton * = w/ Slow Pulp and Dehd & = w/ Dehd # = w/ Post Animal & OHMME ^ = w/ Lala Lala & OHMME $ = The Nude Party & OHMME ! = w/ Lala Lala @ = w/ OHMME

Twin Peaks Online: http://pitchperfectpr.com/twin-peaks/ http://twinpeaksdudes.com/ https://www.facebook.com/twinpeaksdudes https://www.instagram.com/twinpeaksdudes/ https://twitter.com/TwinPeaksDudes https://open.spotify.com/artist/1xD85sp0kecIVuMwUHShxs

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BODEGA bring us a “Shiny New Model” with their latest single.

Brooklyn-based BODEGA announces their new EP, Shiny New Model, out October 11th on What’s Your Rupture. Today, they share the title track, a buzzy, art-punk song that is set in an actual bodega, and an accompanying video. The video was directed by Brian Ngai and stars the band themselves. Following Endless Scroll, their “debut full of danceable, pop-smooth punk” (The AV Club), the Shiny New Model EP marks a lush new sonic direction for the group – widescreen multi-tracked guitars and a giant sounding rhythm section complement sharp songwriting and yearning vocal melodies. With wild minimalism and laughing wit, they revitalize the rock and roll vocabulary under the influence of post punk, hip-hop, kraut rock, and folk-derived narrative songwriting.

Last winter, Ben Hozie (conductor, vocals, guitar), Nikki Belfiglio (art director, vocals, samples, hi hat), Heather Elle (bass), Madison Velding Vandam (lead guitar, producer), and the new addition of Tai Lee (stand-up percussionist) headed up to Power Station in Connecticut to record. The EP is the band’s first recording done with Tai Lee, its first session at a proper studio, and the first BODEGA release produced within the group (production was handled by Vandam).

The EP covers various thematic ground: history alive in the present, the sadness of modern consumption, and adultery via sexting. In addition to the EP’s breezy hook-filled songs, the LP’s B-side features an extended improvised version of the group’s staple track “Truth is not Punishment” (an abbreviated “radio edit” of this track will be available on streaming services). The band has been using this song as a vehicle for extended live improvisation for a year and decided to use a day of the EP’s session to experiment with it in the studio.

BODEGA will tour across Europe before returning to the states later this year. They’ll appear at the O+ Festival in New York, Toronto’s Adelaide Hall, Brooklyn’s Elsewhere, and Philadelphia’s Kung Fu Necktie. All dates can be found below.

Watch the “Shiny New Model” Video – https://youtu.be/h7_A8fqHNBQ

Pre-order Shiny New Model EP – http://hyperurl.co/t1eo8p

Shiny New Model EP Tracklist: 1. Shiny New Model 2. Treasures 3. No Vanguard Revival 4. Knife On The Platter 5. Domesticated Animal 6. Realism 7. Truth Is Not Punishment (Long) 8. Truth Is Not Punishment (Short)

BODEGA Tour Dates: Fri. Aug. 23 – Charleville Mezières, FR @ Cabaret Vert Festival Sat. Aug. 24 – Gueret, FR @ Festival Check In Party Tue. Aug. 27 – Brighton, UK @ Concorde 2 Wed. Aug. 28 – Birmingham, UK @ Hare and Hounds Thu. Aug. 29 – Bedford, UK @ Esquires Fri. Aug. 30 – Salisbury, UK @ End of the Road Festival Sun. Sept. 1 – Stradbally, IE @ Electric Picnic Fri. Oct. 11 – Kingston, NY @ O+ Festival Wed. Oct. 23 – Boston, MA @ Once (w/ Starcrawler) Sat. Oct. 26 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle (w/ Starcrawler) Sun. Oct. 27 – Washington, DC @ Pie Shop (w/ Starcrawler) Mon. Oct. 28 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Cafe (w/ Starcrawler) Fri. Nov. 1 – Atlanta, GA @ Aisle 5 (w/ Starcrawler) Sat. Nov. 2 @ New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa (w/ Starcrawler) Tue. Nov. 5 – Austin, TX @ Barracuda (Inside) (w/ Starcrawler) Fri. Nov. 8 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar (w/ Starcrawler) Sat. Nov. 9 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre (w/ Starcrawler) Mon. Dec. 2 – Toronto, ON @ Adelaide Hall Tue. Dec. 3 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere Thu. Dec. 5 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie

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Moon Duo find some “Lost Heads” on the newest single from their upcoming album – “Stars Are the Light.”

Moon Duo shares the second single, “Lost Heads,” from their new album, Stars Are The Light, out September 27th on Sacred Bones. Following up previous single “Stars Are The Light” which featured “an alien disco groove filled with gossamer synth tones and left-field strings” [Paste], “Lost Heads” shimmers with an aura that hints at The Haçienda and makes for a laid-back, airy and distinctly Moon Duo take on 90s rave.

Stars Are The Light has a sonic physicality that is at once propulsive and undulating; it puts dance at the heart of an expansive nexus that connects the body to the stars. These are songs about embodied human experience rendered as a kind of dance of the self, both in relation to other selves and to the eternal dance of the cosmos. Johnson’s signature guitar sound is at its most languid and refined, while Yamada’s synths and oneiric vocals are foregrounded to create a spacious percussiveness that invites the body to move with its mesmeric rhythms.

“We have changed, the nature of our collaboration has changed, the world has changed, and we wanted the new music to reflect that,” says the band’s Sanae Yamada.

Stream “Lost Heads” – https://youtu.be/HlBMsnPi93M

Stream “Stars Are The Light” – https://youtu.be/bYXVk4cEbkY

Pre-order Stars Are The Light – https://www.sacredbonesrecords.com/products/sbr228-moon-duo-stars-are-the-light

Moon Duo Tour Dates: Thu. Oct. 17 – Ghent, BE @ Videodroom Fri. Oct. 18 – Krakow, PL @ Malopolski Garden Of The Arts Sun. Oct. 20 – Amsterdam, DK @ Paradiso Noord Mon. Oct. 21 – Berlin, DE @ Volksbuhne Wed. Oct. 23 – Zurich, CH @ Bogen F Thu. Oct. 24 – Vevey, CH @ Rocking Chair Sat. Oct. 26 – Angers, FR @ Le Chabada Mon. Oct. 28 – London, UK @ Earth Tue. Oct. 29 – Manchester, UK @ Dancehouse Wed. Oct. 30 – Liverpool, UK @ Invisible Wind Factory Thu. Oct. 31 – Glasgow, UK @ BAAD Fri. Nov. 1 – Birmingham, UK @ The Crossing Sat. Nov. 2 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Sun. Nov. 3 – Gateshead, UK @ The Sage Mon. Nov. 4 – Brighton, UK @ St. Bartholomew’s Church Tue. Nov. 5 – Paris, FR @ Petit Bain Wed. Nov. 6 – Charleroi, BE @ Rockerill Sat. Nov. 9 – Utrecht, NL @ Le Guess Who Tue. Nov. 12 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg Wed. Nov. 13 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts Thu. Nov. 14 – Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel Fri. Nov. 15 – Kingston, NY @ BSP Sat. Nov. 16 – Montreal, QC @ SAT Mon. Nov. 18 – Toronto, ON @ Longboat Hall Tue. Nov. 19 – Detroit, MI @ MOCAD Wed. Nov. 20 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall Fri. Nov. 22 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room Sat. Nov. 23 – Oakland, CA @ The New Parish Mon. Nov. 25 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom Tue. Nov 26 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos Wed. Nov. 27 – Vancouver, BC @ Venue

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Review: The Flaming Lips – King’s Mouth: Music and Songs

If you’ve ever considered writing a concept album about a mythological kingdom ruled by a giant whose rule was foretold by a sparrow, I’m sorry to inform you the Flaming Lips have already done it and I’m sure have done it better than any of us could’ve done.

Featuring narration by none other than Mick Jones, King’s Mouth: Music and Songs tells the tale of a queen who dies in childbirth and whose son, the aforementioned giant, will inherit the kingdom – as told in “The Sparrow.” “Giant Baby” is told from both the perspective of the future king’s subjects and the motherless child, who learns that “sometimes life is sad.” while the Flaming Lips play choppy electro beats and warping synths.

The instrumental (and lovely) “Mother Universe” drifts into “How Many Times” (the first single from the record), which is probably the best song about counting since something from Schoolhouse Rock. “Don’t you stop. You gotta keep on believin’,” Wayne Coyne sings as he encourages us to keep trying no matter how many times we fail.

Then, all of the stars in the universe converge on the giant baby and become “part of his giant head” on “Electric Fire.” Something like this is par for the course on a Flaming Lips record, as are the wild, sometimes dark synths. “All for the Life of the City” has the giant baby, now a giant king, preventing an avalanche from burying his subjects, even if it means his life. The bass heavy synths (and tuba?) simulate him lumbering toward the mountain. He’s eventually found in the spring with flowers growing from his toes.

They sneak a funky track in there with “Feedaloodum Beedle Dot,” in which we learn the king’s subjects have cut off his head and then carry it through the streets on the space-trippy “Funeral Parade.” The head is then “Dipped in Steel” so his former subjects will have a memorial to him and his final cry / laugh / shout before he died saving them.

“Even in death, the king seemed to be still alive,” Mick Jones says at the beginning of “Mouth of the King.” Some of the villagers aren’t sure how to move on without him, while others are taking his sacrifice and cosmic mindset as inspiration to live. “How Can a Head” do all this? Ask the Flaming Lips, or better yet, look within. “How can a head hold so many things?” Coyne asks. I once heard the Dalai Lama say the head, for being such a little space, holds many things (most of which are unnecessary for enlightenment and happiness).

The end of King’s Mouth: Music and Songs reveals we’ve been the king / queen they’ve been singing about all along. We have the entire universe within us. We’re made of stardust. It’s a miracle. Our treasure house is within.

Mind-blowing? Sure, but that’s the kind of stuff the Flaming Lips explore all the time, and so should we.

Keep your mind open.

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Elephant Stone announces November North American tour.

Canadian psych-rockers Elephant Stone have announced their first tour in a few years, hitting many west coast cities in the U.S. and their home country beginning November 5th. The tour includes two festival stops – Levitation Austin (November 8th) and Seattle’s Freakout Festival (November 16th). All tour dates are below.

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Review: Dry Cleaning – Sweet Princess

British four-piece post-punkers Dry Cleaning (Nick Buxton – drums, Tom Dowse – guitar, Lewis Maynard – bass, Florence Shaw – vocals) have crafted one of the most intriguing EP’s of the year – Sweet Princess. What makes it intriguing is not only the cool guitar hooks, snappy drums, weird groove bass, and spoken word vocals, but the fact that Dry Cleaning have only been together since 2017 and played their first live gig just last year – yet they sound like they’ve been rocking clubs for at least a decade. They arrive so self-assured that you can’t help but tip your hat to them.

Let’s start with “Goodnight,” a tale of weird events that took place during “the [sarcastically] loveliest two months” of Shaw’s life. Shaw tells someone to shut up because she’s “going through a tough time” and reminisces about her childhood backyard swing set, happier times, and her grandmother while Buxton, Dowse, and Maynard put down serious grooves.

The instrumentation on “New Job” reminds me of early X tracks as Shaw talk-sings about a date she thought was going well but it turns out the guy across the table was just killing time. “Magic of Meghan” is about Duchess Meghan Markle, her charm, and the power of media. Dowse and Maynard play non-stop post-punk riffs while Buxton’s beats are salutes to Stephen Morris.

“Traditional Fish” is a down-tuned mind trip. “Phone Scam” has the great, crunchy angles I love in post-punk music, and Shaw’s spoken vocals about a phone scammer yelling at her yet reciting from a script are great. She sounds more intrigued with the experience than unnerved by it. The closer is “Conversation,” an apt title as most of Shaw’s vocals and lyrics sound like conversations between her and the listener or, in this case, someone on the other end of a telephone – as if we’re only hearing half of her conversation with someone we’ll never see or meet. Dowse’s early B-52’s guitar licks are nice throughout it.

If Sweet Princess is this good, a full-length from Dry Cleaning should be even more fascinating. Let’s hope for that soon. In the meantime, this record is a great start for them.

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Blackwater Holylight take us on a “Motorcycle” ride ahead of their new album – “Veils of Winter.”

“An ambient blend of psychedelic vintage poppy hooks and crushingly heavy sludge.” — Metal Hammer

“This quartet has been burning up stages all around their hometown, fueled by their abrasive blend of doom metal, psych rock, goth and a tangy soupçon of pop music… They landed a spot on the 2018 Best New Band poll in alt-weekly Willamette Week, but could quickly take over the world.” — Paste Magazine

“They mesh elements of doom, Krautrock and atmospheric indie into one bewitching rock whole.” —Classic Rock Magazine

Portland, OR quintet Blackwater Holylight announce their forthcoming sophomore album Veils of Winter (RidingEasy Records) today, sharing the lead single. Hear and share the immediately classic hooks of “Motorcycle” via Bandcamp and YouTube.

Blackwater Holylight hit the road hard this Fall, supporting former RidingEasy label mates Monolord throughout the US in November, as well as Thou in September, plus a handful of hometown shows. Please see complete dates below.

Blackwater Holylight, as the name suggests, is all about contrasts. It’s a fluid convergence of sound that’s heavy, psychedelic, melodic, terrifying and beautiful all at once.

As a heavy band, their songs aren’t anchored to riffs, but rather riffs come and go in waves that surface throughout the band’s meditative, entrancing songs. It’s a hypnotic sound, with orchestral structures that often build tension and intrigue before turning the song on its head — not by simply getting louder or heavier, nor by just layering elements. They expertly subvert the implied heaviness of a part, dissecting it and splaying the song’s guts out to seep across the sonic spectrum.

Now, having toured extensively following the band’s wildly-successful breakout self-titled debut in 2018, Blackwater Holylight has honed their sound and identity to a powerfully captivating beast. Their live set is all about the slow build, seeming to combine the melodic tension of early Sonic Youth crossed with the laconic fever-dream blues of the first Black Sabbath album and wiry experimentation of post-punk and krautrock.

The lineup on this album is Allison (Sunny) Faris (bass/vocals), Laura Hopkins (guitar/vocals) and Sarah McKenna (synths), with new guitarist Mikayla Mayhew and drummer Eliese Dorsay fleshing out their sound in exciting ways.

“The process of this album was vastly different from our first record,” says Faris. “One, because we recorded it over the course of a few weeks, whereas the first record was over the course of about a year. And two, this album was a true collaboration between the five of us. Each of us had extremely equal parts in writing and producing, we all bounced ideas off each together, and we all had a say in what was going on during every part of the process.”

“One of our favorite things about this album is that because it was so collaborative, we didn’t compartmentalize ourselves into one vibe.” She continues. “It’s heavy, psychedelic, pop, shoegaze, doom, grunge, melodic and more. The whole process was extremely organic and natural for us, we were just being ourselves.”

Veils of Winter opens with fuzzed-drenched, drop-tuned bass and baritone guitar leading a dirge riff on “Seeping Secrets.” Faris’ lilting and funereal vocals drop in, adding to the mournful atmosphere until a short turnaround progression hints at changes to come, as Faris and Hopkins harmonize eerily and the tune suddenly turns into a krautrock charge. “Motorcycle” kicks off deceptively with a heavy grunge riff building up for about 40-seconds before the song abruptly shifts gears into a synth-led post-punk harmony, sounding something like Lush meets Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd. “Death Realms” is perhaps the poppiest track, based around soaring shoegaze guitars and interwoven light vocal harmonies. Soft piano notes, occasional woozy whammy bar dives and a driving tom-tom beat solidify its hooks. “Spiders” is a creepy-crawly guitar riff and counterpoint keys, while “Moonlit” explores prog-structures with a shredding guitar solo crescendo. The penultimate track, “Lullaby” is exactly that, a lulling, expansive tune exemplifying Blackwater Holylight’s genre smashing sound as it subtly moves across a vast sonic landscape atop a hypnotic 6/8 beat and repetitive 3-note motif. Throughout the album, their songs shirk traditional verse-chorus-verse structure in favor of fluid, serpentine compositions that move with commanding grace.

Veils of Winter will be available on LP, CD and download on October 11th, 2019 via RidingEasy Records. Pre-orders are available at www.ridingeasyrecs.com.

BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT LIVE 2019: 08/24 Portland, OR @ Star Theater w/ Kadavar, Danava 09/23 Tallahassee, FL @ The Bark # 09/24 Tampa, FL @ The Blue Note # 09/26 Miami, FL @ Las Rosa’s # 09/27 Orlando, FL @ Will’s Pub # 09/28 Gainesville, FL @ The Atlantic # 09/29 Pensacola, FL @ Chizuco # 10/24 Portland, OR @ Star Theater – Album release show 11/05 San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick * 11/06 Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress * 11/07 Albuquerque, NM @ Sister * 11/09 Austin, TX @ Barracuda – Levitation Fest – RidingEasy Stage 11/10 Lafayette, LA @ Freetown Boom Boom Room * 11/11 New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks * 11/12 Atlanta, GA @ 529 * 11/13 Asheville, NC @ Mothlight * 11/14 Richmond, VA @ Camel * 11/15 Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery * 11/16 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church * 11/17 New York, NY @ Saint Vitus * 11/20 Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s * 11/21 Indianapolis, IN @ Black Circle Brewing * 11/22 St. Louis, MO @ Fubar * 11/23 Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck * 11/25 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater * 11/27 Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom * # w/ Thou * w/ Monolord

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Rewind Review: Clutch – Slow Hole to China: Rare and Re-released (2009)

Originally released in 2003, Clutch‘s Slow Hole to China was a collection of obscure singles, unreleased material, and cover tunes. They re-released it in 2009 as Slow Hole to China: Rare and Re-released and included three more previously unreleased tracks.

One of those tracks is the first one on this album – “King of Arizona.” It’s a solid blues rocker with harmonica by guest Eric Oblander and vocalist Neil Fallon making allusions to either an Arizona gold mine, a cemetery in Arizona, James Reavis (a con man who was nearly given ownership of most of Arizona and a good chunk of New Mexico), or, quite likely, all three.

The title track has some of Dan Maines’ heaviest bass lines. “Nickel Dime” almost has a fiery gospel feel to it. “Sea of Destruction” hits as hard, if not harder, than a lot of current metal tracks thanks to Jean-Paul Gaster‘s furious drumming and Tim Sult’s fuzzed-to-the-max guitar. Blues swagger comes in heavy on “Oregon,” “Easy Breeze,” “Hale Bopp Blues” (which is sung from the perspective of dinosaurs fearing the arrival of the Hale Bopp comet and the end of their lives on Earth), and “Four Lords.”

“Rising Son” scorches and has one of my favorite lyrics on the album – “Gravity is such a drag, and we will not obey.” I can’t help but wonder if “Guild of Muted Assassins” was inspired by one of Fallon’s old Dungeons and Dragons campaigns, because that title needs to be the name of a D&D game module. “Willie Nelson” is about Fallon’s home being raided by jackbooted figures searching for drugs, secrets, or both. It might be the former when you consider the chorus is, “I don’t know if I’m coming or going, if it’s them or me. But the one thing’s for certain, Willie Nelson only smokes killer weed.”

“Equinox” is an instrumental that has wild Santana-like percussion. “Hoodoo Operator” is a floor-stomper with Maines’ bass taking on angry bee-like quality. “Day of the Jackalope” has Fallon’s vocals distorted as if through a fault megaphone, making him sound like a madman yelling on a street corner. “Ship of Gold (West Virginia)” is an alternate version of the song of the same name that would end up on Clutch’s Elephant Riders album. It’s a bit darker and heavier than that one, and has more extended jams as well.

This is a solid collection and can stand alone as its own album instead of a collection of singles and miscellaneous tracks. It’s worth seeking out if you’re a fan of Clutch, or even if you’re not.

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Review: Comacozer – Mydriasis

If you’re starting a band and wondering how many songs you would need on your album to take the listener on a mind-altering journey of fuzzed guitars, reverb-drenched bass, and asteroid belt heavy drums, Australia’s Comacozer have answered the question for you: Three. You would need three songs.

Granted, they are going to last anywhere from eleven to twenty minutes each, and you will have to rock them as heavily as Comacozer do, so good luck.

The opening title track to Comacozer‘s solid new album, Mydriasis (the medical term for dilation of the pupil), opens your third eye as it drops you down a rabbit hole of face melting psych rock with little bits of doom metal sprinkled on top for good measure. The guitar work on the track by Rick Burke is particularly jaw-dropping, sliding effortlessly back and forth between psychedelic jams and battle axe-heavy riffs.

“Tryptamine” starts with what sounds like a monologue by Rod Serling, which is appropriate considering the mind-warping nature of the track’s synths by James Heyligers. These synths sneak around the entire track while Andrew Panagopoulos keeps the band (and us) from drifting out of this reality by maintaining a solid, gravity-induced beat.

I love how Richard Elliott’s opening bass line on “Kykenon Journey” is almost a sinister funk-disco lick. It promises groovy things to come, and the track certainly delivers. Kykenon, for those of you unaware, is a water and barley beverage that was popular among the lower class in ancient Greece. It was often mixed with other spices and compounds that gave it a psychoactive kick, much like Panagopolous’ beats and Burke’s riffs. The song (which takes up the entire second side of the EP, by the way) is a fine rocker for the first five minutes and then switches to an even finer psychedelic trip. It’s the kind of stuff that will make you convinced the goop in your lava lamp is dancing to it. Seriously, don’t stare at your lava lamp for too long while listening to this. It might check you out of reality without you realizing it.

It’s a solid EP of mind-warping psychedelia from Down Under. I hope these guys can do a tour of the U.S. soon. It would be great to hear these epic instrumentals live.

Keep your mind open.

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