Are you looking for another full album of house and techno bangers? Well, DJ Zinc has you covered with Crackhouse Vol. 3.
The opening moments of “Conditioning” (with Chris Lorenzo) are designed to get you jumping. “That Sound” is a stand-out, building to a thumping floor-filler. “Close My Eyes” is classic house music, mixing fun beats with lovely vocals. “Amergency” dives back into straight-up jungle madness.
“Everywhere” blends the two into jungle-house with looped gospel-like vocals and popping boba bass to keep you caffeinated and on a sugar rush. Kamakaze joins Zinc for “What I’m On” – a head-swirling jungle track that makes the room feel like it’s spinning. “When I” brings us back to soulful house music. “Dollars” practically turns on the strobe lights for you with its bright synth riffs.
“Goldin” adds vocals from President T to the party, bringing in a rough edge to Zinc’s booming beats. Ever helps Zinc close out the mix with the sweaty breakbeat cut, “For My People” that leaves you out of breath by the end. It feels over too soon, as most good raves do.
As soon as Quinn Flanigan‘s bass opens “Brain Feeder” on Dog Lips‘ second album, Danger Forward, you know you’re in for a good time. The song, and all the others on the record, is a no-nonsense rocker that has you pumping your fist in the air, banging your head, or shoving people out of the way (at least in your fantasies).
“Who Knows” is a warped post-punk (the guitars from Griffin Ritzo and Owen Shepcaro!) gem. “I Am” staggers around the room like it’s had a few pints and is getting treacherously close to starting a brawl. The whole band sounds like they’re playing in a fuzzed-out blizzard on “Gush.”
“Voicemail Bomb Threat” is a great call-and-response punk track with Tim Graff having a great time behind his drum kit. As wild as that is, “Human Hybrid” is even wilder. The title track reminds me of some of IDLES‘ cuts with its smashing guitars and drums and half-growled, half-sang vocals.
Then, “The Reason” slides into the room looking and sounding like the coolest thing in the place. It has a bit of a gothic touch to it and Ritzo’s vocals are almost buried in reverb. It shows that Dog Lips could make an entire psych-rock record if they wanted. “Last Ride” turns the volume and anger back up for one last assault that leaves you out of breath.
There is danger on Danger Forward. The danger is that it might cause you to start a mosh pit in your cubicle farm, the pub, the elevator, or anywhere else. Get in and hold on when you play it.
I have no idea where Mordbear got their name. Is it a riff on “Mordor,” the dark land of Sauron from The Lord of the Rings books? Is it a combination of “Mordred,” the incestuous son of King Arthur and sorceress Morgan Le Fey and “bear?” Was “Murderbear” too clunky, or the name of an upcoming Aslyum Studios film?
I don’t know, but all three possibilities work for the massive doom sound of the band’s self-titled EP.
Starting off with “Like the Dead,” the EP pulls you in (down?) right away with Nico Martinez‘s sludgy bass and Tyler Balthaser‘s trippy and somewhat menacing guitar riffs. The song was inspired by a conversation Balthaser had with a veterinarian who ended up talking about a coming zombie apocalypse that he believed will begin in southern California.
“A Mirror with a Sea of Flames” was inspired by Tom Wolfe‘s famous book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and goes full stoner metal as Erik Larson hammers out thudding heartbeat drums that seem determined to flatten everything around them. “The Alchemist” is a song / warning about the dangers of capitalism.
Much like the cover image of a faceless family enjoying a picnic while a giant ghost bear hovers over them, the EP has a sense of impending doom to it – as any good doom record should. It will be interesting to see and hear where Mordbear goes from here.
P.A. Dahan and Mat Camison break out the handclaps and the Hammond B-3 on “Pepper Drums” (1976). Estardy (who is all over this compilation either with his solo material or working with other artists) returns on the Doobie / Allman Brothers-like funk rocker “Vertigo Leitmotiv” from 1970. Trumpeter and band leader Pierre Dutour shows off his skill on 1974’s “Jungle Trumpet.”
Manu Dibango‘s “Africadelic” (1973) is a thrilling rush, and Pierre-Alain Dahan returns with Slim Pezin on the jaw-dropping, booty-shaking “Electronic Mutation” from 1976. Alain Goraguer‘s “Course de Ten” from 1973 wocka-wocka guitar riffs and “Le Baron” Estardy’s “Bongo Ring” from 1975 is, go figure, full of great hand percussion sounds. Sauveur Mallia, who played bass on Sid Vicious‘ cover of “My Way” no less, brings “All the Bass” and all the funk on this cut from 1979.
Speaking of bass, check out 1970’s “Indian Pop Bass” by Guy Pedersen with all it’s fat bass slaps, weird psych-flute notes, and prog-rock beats. The horn section on Big Jullien & His All Star‘s “Wake the Monster” from 1969 will knock you off your feet. Dahan and Camison’s “Long Playing Time” from 1976 has guitar in it that would make Steely Dan envious. Bernard Lubat‘s organ riffs on 1976’s “Aubergine Time” are outstanding. Ludovic Decosne and Pierre Daubresse‘s “Gloaming” from 1970 is delightfully fun and belongs in a Euro sex-comedy (if it’s not already in one).
Tonio Rubio‘s “Red Medium” (1973) has slick guitar work, and even slicker organ grooves, throughout it. The prolific (over 10,000 tracks to his credit) Estardy comes back one more time for “Riviera Express” from 1973. The organ riffs on it are sometimes funky, sometimes freaky, and sometimes frightening. The compilation ends with 1973’s “Pepper Box” by The Peppers – who consist of Camison on keys, Dahan on drums, and Rubio on guitar. It’s a blast, full of great synth blasts, handclaps, and disco funk. Play it at every party.
This whole compilation is a great time and will cheer you up. You can’t help but groove to it. Blast it through your earbuds as you walk through Paris or down to the nearest boulangerie.
It’s always a good time when you get to see King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard live, and seeing them with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Ravinia was high on my list this year. I bought lawn tickets as soon as they were available.
As usual, the line for KGATLW merch was long, but it moved well thanks to helpful Ravinia staff keeping things organized there.
This line only took about 15 minutes.
The area where we sat didn’t have a direct line view of the stage, but there were plenty of monitors to see the action, and the sound quality was outstanding. It was the best I’d heard King Gizz sound in a long while. All praise to the sound engineers there.
The show was split into two sets, the first being the band and the orchestra playing the new album, Phantom Island, in its entirety. I have no idea how much time each orchestra on this tour in their respective cities gets to rehearse these wild psych-rock songs, but the Chicago Symphony nailed it and were having a great time. “Spacesick” was a particular highlight, and “Grow Wings and Fly” metamorphosed into a stunning jam-rock version of “Theia” that gave the orchestra enough time to take a break, eat a sandwich, answer some text messages, and practically drive to the post office and back before the second set.
The second set was a mix of tunes from older albums that were redone with orchestral arrangements, including an epic version of “Crumbling Castle,” a fun, swinging version of “This Thing,” and even two of their thrash metal cuts – “Mars for the Rich” and “Dragon.” The show ended with a great version of “Iron Lung,” which appears to have become a live show favorite. The weirdest part of the show? Seeing lead singer Stu Mackenzie with short hair.
Seeing this felt as weird as seeing the Osees’ John Dwyer wearing pants.
KGATLW don’t have too many of these orchestral shows left on this U.S. tour, and their “Field of Visions” festival in Colorado is about to begin with the whole thing being streamed live on YouTube. Don’t miss either.
Vacation‘s self-titled album is a wild one and chock-full of wild guitar, crazy drumming, roaring bass, punk attitude, and gritty garage-rock chaos.
“Fake It” is a ripper about imposter syndrome (“Well, you’d better be straight if you’re calling the shots, or you better fake it when you get to the top.”). Evan Wolff‘s bass on “Better Days” is so heavy that it feels like it’s going to knock down the walls. “Pile Up” seems to be about getting satisfaction when long-overdue karma catches up with someone. It’s as wild as a car crash, whereas “Try Harder” is almost an acoustic blues track with its subject matter and pace.
Don’t worry if that track puzzles you, because “Bleach Buzz” picks up the mania again and we’re bouncing around the dingy club and crashing into people and things in the process. If that track doesn’t induce a mosh pit, then “Co-Workers” certainly will. Peyton Copes goes bonkers with his guitar on it, practically causing an electrical overload. “People Watching” is almost an area rock anthem about regret and one of the biggest tracks on the record.
“Cop Knock” is about bullies and the disguises they barely keep up (if at all) to hide their inadequacies. “Golden Handcuffs” is a salute to blue collar workers breaking their backs and ankles to provide for their families. “Christopher Columbus Was Not a Hero” takes a hard look at the miseries of suburbia. “Sun and Moon (Wasted)” is, believe it or not, a love song, as is “Talk with Yer Hands” – which seems to be about craving a human connection instead of a cyber one (“You know we’ve got the infection when we’re dying to stay connected. You know we show no affection when we dwell in other dimensions.”).
“Cellophane” is a short one about adapting to change in a relationship (or about prescription meds…or both), and the closer, “Misbehavin'” is a call to a lover to engage in some fun trouble so as to create lifelong memories together. It’s a sweet way to end a loud, raucous record.
Vacation were recommended to me by Screaming Females, and I can see why. Both bands write and play loud, wild songs about the strange maze of relationships across the board. The band has been through a couple lineup changes since 2011, but this is a good ground-level entry point for them.
By now, if you were to hear “King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard is releasing a new album they recorded with a full orchestra,” you’d think, “Yeah, of course they are.”
KGATLW don’t shy away from pursuing new ways to bring their ideas to life, and Phantom Island is another example of this. The cover has weird Lovecraftian elements (the weird fish-men) and scenes of an anthropomorphic band playing as their ancient temple / city / house burns and crumbles above them. Is “Beauty can be found in chaos” the album’s theme?
It certainly sounds like that in the title track opening song, with fun beats, lush strings, and Stu Mackenzie singing about losing and finding sanity. The second half of the song takes off into fast rock with Ambrose Kenny-Smith taking on the urgency of the charging horses on the album’s cover. “Deadstick” is a wild jazz-rock blend.
“Lonely Cosmos” is a tale of a wandering astronaut, ending in string arrangements that sound like the astronaut’s craft is either falling back to Earth or drifting around the edge of a black hole. “Eternal Return” has the band confronting the idea of reincarnation and wondering about their place in the universe in a funky jam-rocker. The groove of “Panpsych” is a lot of fun, reminding me of some Allman Brothers songs at first and then turning up the psychedelic touches.
“Spacesick” has our astronaut feeling sick and tired of being sick and tired in the vast emptiness of space. The guitars crunch and the strings highlight the astronaut’s tension, but you can’t help thinking the explorer will get home and taste real food and soon smell sea air. “Aerodynamic” follows this theme as the astronaut follows a siren-like being and wonders, “I have always wondered if I could step out of my body. Would I be like a fish out of water?”
“Sea of Doubt” might reflect the band’s process of recording and performing their songs with an orchestra behind them, as it was yet another challenge (i.e., “Let’s make a thrash metal album!”, “Let’s make an album only using microtonal instruments!”, “”Let’s make an album that can be played on a continuous loop!”, Let’s make an album that’s entirely in seven-four time signature!”, “Let’s put out five albums in one year!”) they’d accepted and weren’t sure how it was going to sound in the end. It’s a catchy tune, with a subtle guitar solo hidden in it.
The closing track, “Grow Wings and Fly,” calls for us to “Get real high…Transcend this life.” “I want to drift from the beehive.” is a great lyric, encouraging us to stop being drones and go play in the fields. It follows up on a theme brought up in “Aerodynamic,” in which the band explore the idea of shedding the ego and engaging in the moment.
A lot of KGATLW records are like this. They’re not so much albums as they are experiences. They’re currently touring a lot of cities and playing with full orchestras, which is a must-see event if you ask me, and this is yet another must-hear album from them.
Part-classical, part-jazz, part-krautrock, part-techno, and part-funk, GoGo Penguin‘s newest album, Necessary Fictions, is a neat blend of styles that’s difficult to pin down, but an enjoyable listen. The band (Nick Blacka – bass, Chris Illingworth – piano, and Jon Scott – drums) explore some new territory on their seventh record, mainly synthesizers.
“Umbra” is a bumping track with rich bass and subtle synths to evoke a slight sense of darkness, but not skimping on creativity. Illingworth’s piano on “Fallowfield Loops” is a delight to hear, as it sounds like he was having a fun time playing it. “Luminous Giants” features a rarity on a GoGo Penguin album – vocals. They’re provided by singer-songwriter Daudi Matsiko.
“What We Are and What We Are Meant to Be” is a standout, with the band embracing synths and creating neat textures suitable for a new Blade Runner movie. Blacka’s bass almost becomes vocals on “The Turn Within.” Apart from having a cool name, “Living Bricks in Dead Mortar” has some of Scott’s hardest drumming on the record, swelling up with the synths to create a brief industrial riff. “Naga Ghost” refers to a pepper that builds in heat when you eat it, and the track builds in speed and intensity as it goes along.
Rakhi Singh‘s guest violin on “Luminous Giants” is beautiful. “Float (Loi Krathong, 2003)” is a bass-led track about Blacka attending a floating lantern festival in Bangkok. The eight-piece string ensemble Manchester Collective joins the band on “State of Flux” – a cool, sharp track in which GGP rocks out a bit while the strings dance around them. The closing track, “Silence Speaks,” takes the band, and the album, from electronica to acoustic and brings everything to a nice close.
It’s a lovely record, and I hope GGP continues this trend of blending jazz with electronics. It’s a good mix.
I discovered Menace while attending an Osees show at the 2024 Levitation Music Festival. The venue, Hotel Vegas, was playing Menace tracks during a break after Grocery Bag opened the show. I heard Menace’s classic “Carry No Banners” and thought, “How have I never heard this?”
Lo and behold, I went to End of an Ear Records in Austin that same weekend and found this Menace collection within moments after walking in the door. It’s a great collection of twenty-five tracks of classic British punk that barely takes a breath between songs. The mainstays of the band have always been the rhythm section of Charlie Casey on bass and Noel Martin on drums. The first eleven songs feature the “classic” lineup of Casey and Martin with Morgan Webster on vocals and Steve Tannett on guitars.
The first two songs, “Screwed Up” and “Insane Society,” pretty much sum up Britain and the world in general in 1977 with sharp lyrics like “If we’re the working class, why ain’t we got jobs?” “G.L.C.” (Greater London Council) is a vicious takedown of said body (“You’re full of shit!”), while “I’m Civilised” is a takedown of working stiffs who look down upon poor people (“Don’t you want to be civilised, too?”).
“I Need Nothing” and Casey’s bass-led “Electrocutioner” were produced by John Cale, no less. “I Need Nothing” is another direct rebuke to upper crusts telling oi punks and other youth they need to join the rat race and achieve certain status to be considered a success. It’s the same today as it was in 1977. “Last Year’s Youth” flips the idea that younger generations are lost onto its head and makes it to fingers up to those who believe it. “Carry No Banners” is a classic call to not make allegiances to causes that would just as soon kick you to the curb after you’ve served their purpose (and Tannett’s solo on it is a bit of fun).
Their cover of Cliff Richardand The Shadows‘ “The Young Ones” is perfect for them, turning the classic early 60s pop-rock tune into a snarling garage rocker. “Tomorrow’s World” “…is just around the corner,” so you’d better “Live for Today” – both songs being sage advice for any generation.
The rest of the compilation features the second lineup of Menace with John Lacey on lead vocals and Andrew Tweedie on guitar. Lacey’s vocal style is immediately different, and not in a bad way. It’s a bit more frantic, it seems. After all, they came back in 1999, nineteen years after Menace’s last album, and rightly proclaimed “Society Still Insane.” Next up are new versions of “G.L.C.,” “Insane Society,” and “The Young Ones.”
“Punk Rocker” has the band encouraging all of us to embrace our inner rebel. “I don’t give a toss if inflation is up or down,” Lacey sings on “C&A” – slapping people who pursue comfort while ignoring others’ suffering. The 1999 version of “Last Year’s Youth” stomps the gas and was important then and now (and in 1979). Their cover of “It’s Not Unusual” is a blast, with Casey’s bass going bonkers the whole time.
Another good cover is their version of “Oi! That’s Yer Lot,” originally done by German punk band Loikaemie. It’s a perfect one for them, as it’s about so many people being told (often by those better off than them) they’re stuck in their bad situation and nothing can be done about it since that’s just the way it is. “Bad Cards” is an embracing of that bad situation and rising above it.
2002’s “In Gods We Trust” is almost a grunge track as Tweedie’s guitar takes on a different kind of distortion. A different version of “C&A” follows, and Martin’s drums on “35 Bus” will start a mosh pit anytime you play the track, and Tweedie’s solo is like police sirens flying by you in a high-speed pursuit that’s probably going to end in a crash. The compilation ends with a good cover of The Ruts‘ “Babylon’s Burning.”
This stuff is essential if you’re a fan of punk, oi, or any music that makes you want to tell your boss to stick it or to stand up for the weak.
Coral Grief‘s debut album, Air Between Us, isn’t quite shoegaze, and it isn’t quite dream pop, but it’s somehow both at the same time…and it’s lovely.
Opening track “Starboard” is a rush of fuzzy guitars from Sam Fason and dreamy vocals from Lena Farr-Morrissey. “Rockhounds” is a much-needed song in this day and age, as it’s about finding beauty in the simplest things (like rocks along a beach). The title track floats around, over, and below you much like the cover image. “Latitude” has the band taking its time over the next four minutes to consider how we all need to change perspective now and then (“I go behind the door to change my mind.” – a quote from Fason’s grandmother).
“Avenue You” is a song about missing childhood places that no longer exist. Cam Hancock‘s drumming almost breaks into full-on rock mode at times on it, but he keeps it subtle as Fason’s guitar echoes around his bandmates. “The Landfall” is lovely and light. “Paint By Number” is led by Hancock’s snappy drums, with Fason’s jangly guitar having a fun time keeping up with him as Farr-Morrissey brings light to gray skies with her happy bass and optimistic vocals.
“Mutual Wish” reminds me of some of The Beths‘ dreamier cuts, and “Outback” almost has a goth tinge to it, but it never becomes maudlin. “Late Bloomer” is an acoustic track that would fit into a Twin Peaks episode, and the closer, “Almost Everyday” is an ode to Seattle’s Everyday Music record store, where Farr-Morrissey worked until it closed four years ago.
It, like much of the album, is a reflection on things that were and what they (and we) have become now. The reflection is often beautiful and shimmering, like light reflected on water. Those memories, those places and moments, are often just like the air between us…ephemeral yet present, dream-like yet solid…like this record.
