Category: Rock

Rewind Review: Follakzoid – III (2015)

I’d heard of Chile’s psychedelic / shoegaze rockers Follakzoid years ago, but hadn’t picked up any of their material for reasons unknown to me.  Lo and behold, they were on the lineup for the 2018 Levitation Music Festival in Austin, Texas, so I made sure to get tickets for their set (which did sell out).  I’m glad I did because their set was one of my top three for the whole weekend, and I left determined to dive deep into their catalogue.

I’m starting with their last record, III, which is only four tracks, but the shortest is just over nine minutes long.  It’s a mesmerizing, mostly instrumental mix of ambient synths, krautrock guitars, precision drumming, shoegaze fuzz, and misty psychedelic vocals.

“Electric” opens the album and lets you know that Follakzoid’s drummer is apparently a cyborg, because I don’t know how else he can keep up such a sharp beat for over eleven minutes.  The song might be the closest I ever get to floating in zero gravity.  The guitars range from hardly being there to surging toward you like a thunderstorm.  “Earth” is a little jostling at first with the crunchy, jagged guitars but it grows into a tribal meditation with heart-pumping drums and drone synths.  The song ends with weird bleeps, bloops, and what sound like synthesized animal and weather noises.  “Piure” (named after a rare seafood in Chile) seems to melt like a candle over a skull over the course of nearly thirteen minutes.    The last track, “Feuerzeug” (German for “lighter” or perhaps anything use to light a fire), has this mantra-like guitar riff that will float through your mind for days.  Follakzoid stretched this nine-minute track into nearly twenty minutes when I saw them in Austin earlier this year, and it was amazing.  I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that it was mind-altering without the need for any kind of hallucinogens or even booze.

III isn’t so much an album as it is a sensory experience.  It can carry you away if you’re not careful, which might not be a bad thing depending on the kind of day you’re having.  This album would’ve been in my top 10 of 2015 if I’d heard it then.

Keep your mind open.

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Exploded View releases “Sleeper” from upcoming album, “Obey,” out September 28th.

EXPLODED VIEW SHARE “SLEEPERS” WITH VISUAL,
NEW SINGLE OFF OBEY, OUT SEPTEMBER 28TH VIA SACRED BONES
https://youtu.be/C6SXE9R67Wg

FIRST-EVER NORTH AMERICAN TOUR KICKS OFF OCTOBER 19TH

(photo credit – Exploded View)
     “Break free and fly above the clouds outside the lines that we were told were good for us.
Free yourself from your own prison. Remove the shackles of fear to find that the unknown is not so scary        and can be full of precious discoveries (sometimes only possible during sleep).  A constant trip comes to          an abrupt and unresolved ending with the collapse and eerie shriek of the Arp Solina.” – Exploded View
Exploded View, the international project of Berlin-based Annika Henderson, and Mexico City-based Hugo Quezada and Martin Thulin, will release Obey, their second full-length album on September 28th on Sacred Bones. The apocalyptic, yet soothing songs comprising Obey encompass all the classic dream motifs: intrigue, danger, ecstasy, hard to place, yet primordial visions, and a constant sense of movement. After presenting lead single, “Raven Raven,” the trio now share “Sleepers” and an accompanying visual made by Annika. It’s “a song that very much feels as if it’s flying above the clouds, but is still looking down on desolation from that vantage point. The song glides along on an eerie synth line — at times inviting and beautiful but then always threatening to take a turn into more discomfiting directions — while Henderson’s voice settles into this place where anxiety and fear and wonder seem to coexist. It’s a strange, beautiful composition” (Stereogum).
Leaving behind their live recording process and now a tight three-piece, Exploded View strike a special balance between precise and wild, unshackled and grounded, grooving and unhinged. The have a knack for making the esoteric feel accessible and crafting pop music out of seemingly raw consciousness. This ability to make beautiful music that feels written beyond the veil is at the heart of what makes Exploded View so captivating, and it’s on full display all over Obey. Recorded in Mexico City, the album feels like a liberation of creative impulses and expression allowing the band to reach more mature sonic territories.
Exploded View will head out on their first-ever North American tour the month following the album’s release (all dates are below).
Watch “Sleepers” Visual –
https://youtu.be/C6SXE9R67Wg

Listen to “Raven Raven” –
https://youtu.be/Zl-1qPg8iuE

“’Raven Raven’ is darkly cinematic; its initial moments of creaking synthesizer and rattling floor tom unspool like a reel of degraded film, clicking and flickering images onto a looming screen. . .
The pictures Exploded View offer may be grainy, but they’re just as grave and lasting.”
– Pitchfork

“‘Raven, Raven’ is a logical continuation of Exploded View, with the same beat-poet delivery from frontwoman Annika Henderson and tense kinetic energy from the instrumentalists, who sound a little like the members of Can jamming in Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s Black Ark Studios” – SPIN

“Mysterious and claustrophobically groovy” – Brooklyn Vegan

Exploded View Tour Dates:
Fri. Oct. 19 – Dallas, TX @ Nasher Sculpture
Sat. Oct. 20 – Austin, TX @ The Parish
Mon. Oct. 22 – Phoenix, AZ @ Club Congress
Wed. Oct. 24 – San Diego, CA @ The Whistle Stop
Thu. Oct. 25 – Pomona, CA @ The Glass House
Fri. Oct. 26 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
Sun. Oct. 28 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
Mon. Oct. 29 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studio
Tue. Oct. 30 – Seattle, WA @ Vera Project
Wed. Oct. 31 – Vancouver, BC @ Fox Cabaret
Thu. Nov. 1 – Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle
Fri. Nov. 2 – Detroit, MI @ Deluxxx Fluxxx
Sat. Nov. 3 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
Mon. Nov. 5 – Montreal, QC @ Sala Rossa
Tue. Nov. 6 – Boston, MA @ Middle East
Thu. Nov. 8 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade
Fri. Nov. 9 – Philadelphia, PA @ PhilMOCA
Sat. Nov. 10 – Norfolk, VA @ Charlies American Cafe
Sun. Nov. 11 – Washington, DC @ DC9
Mon. Nov. 12 – Harrisburg, PA @ The Cathedral Room

Pre-order Obey:
via Sacred Bones – https://www.sacredbonesrecords.com/products/sbr209-exploded-view-obey
via Bandcamp – https://explodedview.bandcamp.com/album/obey

Caroline Rose adds more U.S. tour dates for November.

CAROLINE ROSE EXPANDS NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
WITH HEADLINE DATES IN NOVEMBER

LONER OUT NOW VIA NEW WEST

Photo Credit: Matt Hogan

Caroline Rose has expanded her fall tour to include a set of headline dates in November. Since the release of her new album, LONER, via New West this past February, Rose has spent most of the year on the road playing sold out headline shows and opening for acts, including Mitski, Guster, and Maggie Rogers. Now, she’s gearing up for a set of dates supporting Rainbow Kitten Surprise before setting out on a headline tour with performances in New York, Boston, Toronto, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and more. By the end of 2018, Rose will have played over 100 shows in the U.S. alone.

At the same time, critical praise for LONER has continued to flourish. The album landed on over a dozen mid-year highlight lists, including NPR Music’s “40 Favorite Albums of 2018 (So Far)” and Vinyl Me, Please’s “Best Albums of 2018 So Far.” After crediting Rose with putting on one of the best shows at SXSW, Rolling Stone recently published a profile on her, saying:

“Her music has a spaced-out intelligence, an impish energy, plenty of venom and jokes. Her perspective on the world snaps, because it’s light on its feet and has sensitive skin. Even if the structural circumstances suck… Rose can have a precise sort of play with it, criticizing the whole enterprise with a slicing one-liner.”

Rose’s knack for energetic performances and stage banter will be on full display this fall. All dates are below and new dates are in bold.

Stream Caroline Rose’s LONER

Watch/Listen/Share:
“Bikini” Video
“Soul No. 5” video
“Money” video
“Getting To Me”

Caroline Rose Tour Dates:
Sat. Sep. 15- Sun. Sep. 16 – Burlington, VT @ Grand Point North Festival
Wed. Sep. 19 – Rochester, NY @ Abilene Bar and Lounge
Thu. Sep. 20 – Lancaster, PA @ Tello 360
Fri. Sep. 21 – Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle
Sat. Sep. 22 – Sun. Sep. 23 – Franklin, TN @ Pilgrimage Festival
Mon. Sep. 24 – Charlottesville, VA @ The Jefferson *
Tue. Sep. 25 – Norfolk, VA @ Norva Theater *
Thu. Sep. 27 – Richmond, VA @ The National *
Fri. Sep. 28 – Port Chester, NY @ The Capitol Theatre *
Sat. Sep. 29 – Baltimore, MD @ Rams Head *
Mon. Oct. 1 – Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom *
Tue. Oct. 2 – Montreal, QC @ Corona Theatre *
Sat. Oct. 6 – Providence, RI @ The Strand *
Mon. Oct. 8 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls *
Thu. Oct. 11 – Lexington, KY @ Manchester Music Hall *
Fri. Oct. 12 – Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s *
Sat. Oct. 13 – Indianapolis, IN @ Deluxe at Old National Centre *
Mon. Oct. 15 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Elevation at The Intersection *
Wed. Oct. 17 – Bloomington, IL @ The Castle Theater *
Sat. Oct. 20 – Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge *
Sun. Oct. 21 – Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom *
Tue. Oct. 23 – Oxford, MS @ Lyric Theatre *
Thu. Nov. 1 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
Fri. Nov. 2 – Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom
Sat. Nov. 3 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
Tue. Nov. 6 – Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground
Wed. Nov. 7 – Ferndale, MI @ The Loving Touch
Thu. Nov. 8 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
Fri. Nov. 9 – Iowa City, IA @ The Mill
Sat. Nov. 10 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
Tue. Nov. 13 – Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar
Wed. Nov. 14 – Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe
Thu. Nov. 16 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
Fri. Nov. 17 – Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel

* = with Rainbow Kitten Surprise

Praise for LONER:

“[LONER is] a wonderful, rollicking beast.” – MOJO

“Loner is a thrillingly odd take on pop, braiding her sardonic lyrics with off-kilter songs that groove and groan.” – Boston Globe

“Rose has a newly loosed imagination and a flair for exaggerating the absurdities we’re living with, and the way she’s put them to use is a timely gift.” — NPR Music

“With its mix of sunny melodies and acerbic wit, the material from her newly released LP, Loner, was frenetic and freewheeling.” – Rolling Stone

“In an era of endless, ear-numbing streams, LONER grabs your chin and commands your eyes.”
— Consequence of Sound

“Rose is a fascinating person, and from DIY production trickery to her multi-role star turns in her videos, LONER represents her at her best.” — Stereogum “Artist to Watch”

“an often wickedly funny and winningly sardonic indie-pop act with lots of surprising musical moves on her new album, Loner.” – Philadelphia Inquirer

“With her newly honed interest in producing, Caroline Rose has made an unwaveringly entertaining album filled to the brim with songs that are at once contemplative and coax the listener to get out of their seat and dance.” — Rookie

“Rose is a joy to behold . . . LONER whacks the listener swiftly upside the head with our red-clad protagonist’s winning charisma, leaving ya dizzy and begging for more.” — Under The Radar

“…a punchier, studio-powered pop sound, packed with danceable beats, prominent synths, big choruses and plenty of swagger. She remains unafraid of singing about serious subjects (capitalism, sexism, death, etc.) but on LONER, she delivers them through a bold, candy-colored filter that’s always intriguing and often irresistible.” — Paste

Download hi-res press images and cover art

Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

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Wild Nothing releases “Shallow Water” ahead of full album due August 31st.

Wild Nothing Shares New Single “Shallow Water”
Listen Here

New Album, Indigo, Out August 31 Via Captured Tracks

[Photo by Cara Robbins]
Later this month Wild Nothing will release his new album, Indigo, one of the summer’s most anticipated albums as heralded by Vulture (“another excellent entry in the catalogue of a project that has virtually perfected the art of writing about romance”) and The A.V. Club (“this is pop music at its most luxurious”). “Shallow Water” is the latest single from Indigo being shared today following “Letting Go” and “Partners in Motion.” “‘Shallow Water’ is a song for and about my wife,” says Wild Nothing’s Jack Tatum. “It can be hard to write songs about being in love that don’t come across as trite but it’s equally as hard to care about being trite when you are in love. To put it simply, it’s a song about finally arriving in the place you were meant to.” As both a return to the fresh, transcendent sweep of his debut, 2010’s Gemini, and a culmination of heights reached, paths traveled, and lessons learned while creating the follow-ups, Nocturne and Life of Pause, it’s clear Indigo is at once vintage Wild Nothing and a bold, new leap into a bigger arena.
Stream “Shallow Water” –
https://wildnothing.lnk.to/ShallowWater

Watch “Letting Go” Video – 
https://youtu.be/EuuT7HvrJF0

Stream “Letting Go” – 
https://wildnothing.lnk.to/LettingGo

Stream “Partners In Motion” – 
https://wildnothing.lnk.to/PartnersinMotion

Pre-order Indigo – 
https://wildnothing.lnk.to/Indigo

Wild Nothing Tour Dates:
(all shows with Men I Trust)
Tue. Oct. 16 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
Wed. Oct. 17 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
Thu. Oct. 18 – Birmingham, AL @ Saturn
Fri. Oct. 19 – New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa
Sat. Oct. 20 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
Sun. Oct. 21 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk
Tue. Oct. 23 – Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf
Wed. Oct. 24 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
Thu. Oct. 25 – Santa Ana, CA @ Observatory
Fri. Oct. 26 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent Theater
Sat. Oct. 27 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
Tue. Oct. 30 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
Wed. Oct. 31 – Vancouver, BC @ Imperial Vancouver
Thu. Nov. 1 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos
Fri. Nov. 2 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux
Sat. Nov. 3 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
Sun. Nov. 4 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
Tue. Nov. 6 – Omaha, NE @ The Slowdown
Wed. Nov. 7 – Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center
Thu. Nov. 8 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre
Fri. Nov. 9 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
Sat. Nov. 10 – Detroit, MI @ El Club
Mon. Nov. 12 – Toronto, ON @ Opera House
Tue. Nov. 13 – Montreal, QC @ Corona Theatre
Wed. Nov. 14 – Boston, MA @ Royale Nightclub
Fri. Nov. 16 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
Sat. Nov. 17 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
Sun. Nov. 18 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club

Download hi-res press images and cover art –
www.pitchperfectpr.com/wild-nothing/
Keep your mind open.
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Shopping announce fall tour dates for North America.

Shopping To Return Stateside For Fall North American Tour
In Support Of The Official Body, Out Now On FatCat Records

Playing Hopscotch, OctFest, Basilica Soundscape, And More
(photo credit: Matthew Williams)

 

“Wiry and urgent, ‘The Official Body’ offers vibrant, chaotic catharsis at an ideal moment.” — Rolling Stone

 

“‘The Official Body’ has such an expansive and warm soul that it forces you reconsider all the wiry clichés associated with post-punk.” — Pitchfork

“…Shopping have opted for one of the most revolutionary forces of all: fun.” — NPR Music 

 

“The 10 tracks here are audacious, funky, and have that element of outsider-cool leftover from the heyday of influences like Delta 5, Gang of Four and ESG.” — Paste

Having wrapped up a short North American tour of the west coast this past summer, which included a triumphant performance at San Francisco Pride to a crowd of nearly 50,000, Shopping – the London/Glasgow-based trio of Rachel Aggs (guitar, vocals), Billy Easter (bass, vocals) and Andrew Milk (drums, vocals) – are thrilled to announce they’ll return stateside next month in support of their most recent album, The Official Body, out now on FatCat Records. Including stops at Hopscotch Music Festival, OctFest, and Basilica Soundscape, the tour will kick off in Philadelphia on Thu. Sep. 6th at PhilMOCA. A full list of dates are below, with tickets on-sale now.
Shopping Tour Dates:
Sat. Aug. 11 – London, UK @ Oslo Hackney
Thu. Aug. 30 – Dorset, UK @ End Of The Road
Fri. Aug. 31 – Baignade Interdite @ Rivières, FR
Thu. Sep. 6 – Philadelphia, PA @ PhilMOCA
Fri. Sep. 7 – Raleigh, NC @ Hopscotch Music Festival *
Sat. Sep. 8 – Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel #
Sun. Sep. 9 – New York, NY @ OctFest %
Tue. Sep. 11 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
Wed. Sep. 12 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz
Thu. Sep. 13 – Allston, MA @ Great Scott
Fri. Sep. 14 – Sun. Sep. 16 – Hudson, NY @ Basically Soundscape &

* = w/ Miguel, Belle & Sebastian, MC50 and more
# = w/ No Age
% = w/ The Flaming Lips, Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Girlpool and more
& = w/ Efrim Manuel Menuck, Grouper, Stephen O’Malley’s Un Vide Dans Le Ciel and more

 

Watch/Listen/Share:
Stream The Official Body via Spotify – https://spoti.fi/2KkcdKW
“The Hype” video – https://youtu.be/JnAm6AphanY
“Wild Child” video – https://youtu.be/GWvzFYTPrRw
“Suddenly Gone” video – https://youtu.be/GVcZGVVhfkU

 

Purchase The Official Body:
via Bandcamp – http://bit.ly/2kZQL6Z
via iTunes – http://apple.co/2iBSknm
via FatCat Shop – http://bit.ly/2C3DGO8

Download hi-res album art and press images of Shopping – 
www.pitchperfectpr.com/shopping/

Shopping online:
facebook.com/weareshopping

twitter.com/SH0PP1NG
soundcloud.com/shoppingband

fat-cat.co.uk/artist/shopping

pitchperfectpr.com/shopping

Keep your mind open.

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David Nance Group release first single, “Poison,” off upcoming album.

DAVID NANCE GROUP ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM
AND SHARE FIRST SINGLE “POISON“

PEACED AND SLIGHTLY PULVERIZED
OUT 10/5 ON TROUBLE IN MIND

“POSSIBLY THE BEST SONGWRITER IN THE UNITED STATES THAT NOBODY OUTSIDE DIY TAPE COLLECTORS AND HIS FRIENDS HAS HEARD.” -NOISEY
Omaha, NE musician David Nance is nothing if not prolific. Over the course of the past six years, he has released three full-length albums for labels Grapefruit and Ba Da Bing, a 7-inch, numerous cassettes, CDRs, and unlicensed “cover albums” of artists like Lou Reed, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Doug Sahm. He’s collaborated with Simon Joyner and Bill Direen (The Bilders), His latest full-length, coming out on Chicago’s Trouble in Mind Records on October 5th, is credited to the “David Nance Group” and features Nance alongside his recent hot-shit live band of fellow Omaha musicians; guitarist Jim Schroeder, bassist Tom May, and drummer Kevin Donahue.

Appropriately, the album is called Peaced and Slightly Pulverized, as the sounds therein are alternatingly tender & brusque. Nance has an enviable way of conveying intensity and pathos in his music without necessarily resorting to clicking on a distortion pedal, instead relying on the build-up and tension from the interplay of his bandmates with his cracked, impassioned wail. That said, there’s also plenty of fuzz and distortion too, which should be clear from the first single, the anthemic “Poison,” with its fuzzed-out guitar riff that leans into a Crazy-Horsian guitar maelstrom and white-hot solo. It’s a blisteringly brief journey that is impossible to not be swept up by and wake up dizzy and confused in a nearby dumpster. The track was premiered today on Stereogum.

Peaced and Slightly Pulverized was mastered by Mikey Young of Total Control and Eddy Current Suppression Ring. A limited purple vinyl version is available for direct order here, while digital pre-orders can be make here.

LISTEN TO “POISON”
https://bit.ly/2vLpmHI

PEACED AND SLIGHTLY PULVERIZED TRACKLISTING
1. Poison
2. Ham Sandwich
3. 110 Blues
4. Amethyst
5. In Her Kingdom
6. When I Saw You Last Night
7. Prophet’s Profit
DAVID NANCE GROUP TOUR DATES
Sept 8th – St. Louis, MO – Pü Fest
Sept 15th – Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle – Trouble In Paradise Festival
Sept 29th – Memphis, TN – Gonerfest 15
Oct 12th – Omaha, NE – Reverb Lounge
Oct 24th – St. Louis, MO – RKDE
Oct 26th –  Nashville, TN – Third Man
Oct 27th – Birmingham, AL – The Fire House
Oct 28th – Hattiesburg , MS – house show (ask a punk)
Oct 29th – Atlanta, GA – 529 Club
Oct 30th – Orlando, FL – Will’s Pub
Oct 31st – Asheville, NC – Fleetwood’s
Nov 1st – Chapel Hill, NC – The Cove
Nov 2nd – Harrisonburg, VA – Pale Fire Tap Room
Nov 3rd – Philadelphia, PA – Jerry’s
Nov 4th – Brooklyn, NY – Union Pool
Nov 5th – New Haven, CT – State House
Nov 6th – Cleveland, OH – Happy Dog
Nov 7th – Columbus, OH – Café Bourbon Street
Nov 8th – Detroit, MI – Third Man
Nov 9th – Indianapolis, IN – State Street Pub
Nov 10th – Louisville, KY – Zanzabar
Nov 11th – Iowa City, IA – Trumpet Blossom Cafe
PAST PRAISE FOR DAVID NANCE

“This is spastic dance music for rock ‘n’ roll deviants, a jabbing pointer finger at the soullessness of the pixelated present, blown out and blown up like a basement tape.”
– NPR Music on “Negative Boogie”

“Like some unholy merger of David Thomas and David Yow, Nance caterwauls over art-rock grooves that can’t quite figure out if they love classic rock ’n’ roll or abhor it.”
– Chicago Reader

“Nance’s music comes drenched in sweat from ferocious jamming in basements and melodies ten years in the making.” – Noisey

Download album art & hi-res photos: http://pitchperfectpr.com/david-nance/

David Nance Online:
https://davidnance.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/davidnanceband/
https://www.instagram.com/davidkennethnance/
Keep your mind open.

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All Them Witches’ new album now available for pre-order. You can listen to “Fishbelly 86 Onions” now.

Nashville’s All Them Witches have announced their new, and self-titled, album is available for pre-order.  A digital copy is less than eight bucks, a CD is less than ten, and a double LP on transparent red vinyl is less than twenty-five.  The lead track, “Fishbelly 86 Onions,” comes with a pre-order, and it’s a hard-hitting six-minute barn burner.

The album is out September 28th, and I’m sure it will be in my top 25 of the year. ATW can do no wrong.

Keep your mind open.

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Rare psychedelic / stoner rock compilation “Brown Acid: The Seventh Trip” due out on Halloween.

Brown Acid: The Seventh Trip 
compilation out on Halloween, hear first track via Loudwire
Rare 60s-70s pre-metal, hard rock singles series curated by L.A.’s Permanent Records & RidingEasy Records
Hear/share Blizzard’s “Peace of Mind” (YouTube) (Loudwire)
“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
“We’re huge fans of the Brown Acid series… Think of it as a companion to the essential Nuggets compilation but covering artists and records that never made it out of their hometowns.” — Ultimate Classic Rock
The forthcoming seventh edition of the popular compilation series featuring long-lost vintage 60s-70s proto-metal and stoner rock singles, Brown Acid: The Seventh Trip is set for release on Halloween 2018. Hear and share the first single, “Peace of Mind” by Blizzard from 1973 via Loudwire HERE. (Direct YouTube.)
 
The Brown Acid series is curated by L.A. label RidingEasy Records and retailer/label Permanent Records. The Quietus hosted a full album stream of the previous edition Brown Acid: The Sixth Trip HERE. (Direct YouTube.)
About Brown Acid: The Seventh Trip:
Everybody’s favorite source for the hard stuff is back in business, with ten more lethal doses of rare hard rock, heavy psych and proto-metal! These obscure tracks have all been licensed, the bands have been paid, and the sources are all analog. The quality of tracks seems to increase along with the number of Trips and this cohesive collection comes outta the gate with both guns blazing!
Pegasus recorded one single in Baltimore in 1972 and they made it count. “The Sorcerer” is a throbbing ripper that prior to this was basically unknown. However, it doesn’t seem too far fetched to speculate that Black Flaglifted the riff for “No Values” from this track eight years later. Unlikely, but possible, especially considering how big a Black Sabbath fan Greg Ginn is. Pegasus was lauded back in the day for “how much they delivered that Black Sabbath feel.”
You may not already be familiar with Schizo, but you should know at least one of the French freaks behind this short-lived group.  Richard Pinhas was the co-writer and uncredited, wah-wah abusing guitarist in Schizo after his stint in Blues Convention. Schizo recorded just two singles, the first being the heavier of the two, before Pinhas went on to record with Heldon and then going solo. The band had a unique vibe that didn’t sound unlike Lemmy fronting a gang of stoned Martians.
Youngstown, Ohio is the most commonly referred to city of the entire Brown Acid series. This town of just under 150,000 people may’ve had the highest (literally and figuratively) per capita output of heavy 45s. Blue Amber recorded this in 1971 at Gary Rhamy’s analog Mecca, Peppermint Recording Studios. This two-riff boneheaded banger sounds like a caveman protest song with an extraordinary amount of delay on the vocals. No wonder this 45 fetches three-figures on the rare occasion it comes up for sale.
Batting clean-up, we have Negative Space, the only LP sourced track on this album. This crunchy jam comes off the band’s 1970 record entitled Hard, Heavy, Mean, & Evil. At over six and a half minutes, “The Calm After the Storm” is the longest track included on this volume, but it never gets dull. Fun fact: before changing the name to Negative Space, Rob Russen called his band Snow and released the “Sunflower” 45 in 1969 – you might recall that groover from the First Trip.
We generally stick with American artists for this series, but every now and again something foreign grabs us and shakes us to the core. One example is the Schizo record from France, another is this Swedish 45 by Zane. These crazy Swedes did one incredibly damaged (hence the title) record on the MM label in 1976. These proto-punkers relied heavily on synth for this tune and mixed the drums so obnoxiously loud, you might think the kit is in the room with you. This is a weird one that somehow sounds like Zolar X covering Wicked Lady. Brown Acid material all the way!
B must be short for Bangers, ‘cuz this side is full of ’em! The flip of this Trip begins with a virtually unknown Oklahoma record from 1973. Blizzard was Rod McClure’s high school band, but you couldn’t possibly guess that teenagers recorded this heavy slab on the Token (should’ve been Toking) label. It’s one of the best we’ve comped and it sounds like a hypothetical MC5/Hendrix collaboration. The “Under the Ice” level drum fills will knock your socks off if the heavy shred doesn’t first.
OOOOk-lahoma, where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain and apparently where the fuzz goes seepin’ in your brain! Third World is the second Okie inclusion on this Trip and we couldn’t be more stOOOOOked to be sharing this very obscure single with y’all. If the heavily distorted two-note riff doesn’t grab ya, the apocalyptic Grand Funk vibes will. Once they get their mitts on ya, Third World will take you back to 1971 and leave ya there. Can we hitch a ride too?
Ever heard of Virginia, Minnesota? We hadn’t either until we got in touch with Calvin Haluptzok and got the back story on his band Sweet Wine. This bitchin’ one-off 45 must’ve melted the snow off the roofs of the households brave enough to play it when it came out in 1970 and it’s still red hot nearly 50 years later. This vino may be sugary, but it packs an incendiary punch! Sadly, Calvin passed before we could get his music re-released, but it was nice to have reached him before it was too late. The Sweet Wine legacy lives on thanks to the Brown Acid archivists.
C.T. Pilferhogg wins the award for most puzzling band name in our series. What’s not puzzling is how righteous both sides of their self-released 1973 single are! Featured here is the A-side “You Haul” which is one of the best examples of a poor man’s Deep Heep (Deep Purple meets Uriah Heep) we’ve ever heard and the demonic Echoplex-laden laughs mixed into this track are out of control. The band was touted as “Southwest Virginia’s Finest Boogie Band”, but don’t let that fool ya.vThey could bang heads with the best of ’em.
The closer on the Seventh Trip is one we hold very near and dear. Not only is this record the one that’s taken us the longest to secure the rights to, it’s also one of the very best examples of heavy psych you’ll ever hear. The track rings your bell (literally) straight out of the gate and the dank psychedelic vibes kick in immediately. Summit‘s “The Darkness” was recorded in a basement studio in Kansas City in 1969 when the lead guitarist was only 16. The band was from a rural Missouri town, played only one impromptu gig in Clinton, and pressed only 125 copies of this, their only single. It should come as no surprise that it sells for hundreds of dollars when it’s offered. That’s a small price to pay for such greatness.
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 Seventh Trip will be available everywhere on LP, CD and download on October 31st, 2018 via RidingEasy Records. Pre-orders are available for digital (with immediate download of the first single) at Bandcamp, physical pre-orders at RidingEasy Records.
Artist: Various Artists
Album: Brown Acid: The Seventh Trip 
Label: RidingEasy Records
Release Date: October 31, 2018
01. Pegasus “The Sorcerer”
02. Nobody’s Children “Good Times”
03. Blue Amber “We Got Love”
04. Negative Space “The Calm After The Storm”
05. Zane “Damage”
06. Blizzard “Peace of Mind”
07. Third World “End of Time”
08. Sweet Wine “Things You Told Me”
09. C.T. Pilferhogg “You Haul”
10. Summit “The Darkness”

On The Web:

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Live: My Bloody Valentine and Martha’s Vineyard Ferries – Riviera Theatre – Chicago, IL – July 28, 2018

The second of two sold-out shows for My Bloody Valentine at Chicago’s Riviera Theatre was added when the first sold out in minutes.  I was surprised the second didn’t sell out as fast, but happy that I got a ticket to what I was sure was going to be a face-melting experience.

Opening up for MBV were Martha’s Vineyard Ferries – a sort of shoegaze / garage punk band with bits of doom flavor sprinkled in now and then.  I expected something a bit more psychedelic with a name like that, but they were “honored” to be opening for My Bloody Valentine and their enthusiasm came through in their set.

Martha’s Vineyard Ferries

The stacks of amplifiers for MBV were tall and numerous.  A woman behind me said her friend had come to the first show and told her, “It was louder than Dinosaur, Jr.”  Her friend was right.  It was louder than them and probably five more bands combined.

My Bloody Valentine

Opening with “I Only Said,” the four of them powered through with walls of distortion and reverb.  Vocals were barely audible at times, and usually incomprehensible.  You don’t go to a MBV show to hear crisp vocals, however, not even on the two new songs they played.  You go to experience the raw energy that comes at you like a pounding surf on a rocky beach.

Of course “Only Shallow” was a big crowd favorite (and as heavy-hitting as you imagine), but “What You Want,” “Nothing Much to See,” and, naturally, “Soon” were big wallops to your chest, too.  A friend of mine held my hands in hers after “Who Sees You,” and we noticed our hands were trembling.  She patted her chest and said, “Wow!  Intense!”

“My ears are hurting!” was the cry of a guy to my left after they finished “Wonder 2.”  I saw a lot of people without earplugs.  I pitied them.  Many of us were in near-meditative states by the time they got to “Feed Me with Your Kiss” and the audio avalanche that closed the show – “You Make Me Realize.”  The bridge in that was a couple minutes of cymbals and guitar noise that almost reached the point of punishment before breaking back into the power chords.  It left us all dumfounded.

As we were walking out, a woman behind me told her boyfriend he should’ve put in his earplugs for the finale.  He said, “I could feel my chest vibrating.  I thought, ‘Am I having a heart attack?  Is this how it ends?'”

“Not a bad way to go,” I said.

“That’s true,” he said.

True, indeed.  A My Bloody Valentine show isn’t for everyone, but it is something everyone should experience.

Keep your mind open.

[You can be my valentine by subscribing.]

 

Clutch releases some killer pre-order bundles for their upcoming album, “Book of Bad Decisions.”

NEW ALBUM PRE-ORDER AND MERCH BUNDLES AVAILABLE NOW!
CLUTCH TO RELEASE THIRD SINGLE TRACK
FROM THE NEW ALBUM “BOOK OF BAD DECISIONS” TODAY
Maryland rockers CLUTCH are now offering a variety of exclusive “Book of Bad Decisions” pre-order bundles such as the “Limited Edition Collectors Bundle” which includes rare picture disc vinyl, flask, flag, shirt, long sleeve, HATCHET with autographed box, and more!  Bundles will be delivered on or before the album release date of September 7th.
All “Book of Bad Decisions” pre-order bundles, music and merch options are available now exclusively at www.clutchmerch.com
CLUTCH are releasing the third single from their upcoming album Book of Bad Decisions as an instant gratification track at iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/book-of-bad-decisions/1376829212&app=itunes) and Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CNYD1R7).  Spotify has it here (http://open.spotify.com/album/7fJuTpSrV3TYbSExbo3emk)
Clutch’s song “Hot Bottom Feeder” is, in essence, a recipe for Maryland crab cakes set to Clutch’s inimitable style.  Watch the accompanying lyric video here https://youtu.be/SOTrHrGSeNM.
Each of the single releases from Book of Bad Decisions is accompanied by a Spotify playlist put together by one of the band members.  In this instance Dan Maines who asks you to “Check out our latest release Hot Bottom Feeder and beat the heat with these stone cold classics.”
CLUTCH:
Neil Fallon – Vocals/Guitar
Tim Sult – Guitar
Dan Maines – Bass
Jean-Paul Gaster – Drums/Percussion
For more  information, check out the band’s website:
Official: www.pro-rock.com
Keep your mind open.
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