Reviews – Page 65 – 7th Level Music

Review: Moon Duo – Stars Are the Light

I might have given you an odd look in the last year or so if you’d told me that the psychedelic rock pairing of Moon Duo were making a new record that was going to include a lot of stuff that you could easily slip into a house music set.

Sure enough though, and in keeping with their nature to explore any kind of music they like, Moon Duo (Ripley Johnson and Sanae Yamada) made Stars Are the Light, a fine record of grooves influenced by 1970’s disco, krautrock, synth wave, and, naturally, psychedelia.

The opening track, “Flying,” immediately makes you feel like you’re floating not only off the ground, but through the roof of your house. The vocals never outweigh the trippy instrumentals, they only enhance them. The title track continues our drift around the Earth with bubbly synths and Moon Duo’s lyrics reflecting how all of us are unique stars in this universe.

“Fall (in Your Love)” brings in spaghetti western guitars to the slippery electronic beats. “The World and Sun” is one of the funkiest cuts on the record, mixing spaced-out synths with South American hand percussion and reverb-laced vocals to produce a sweet sound. “Lost Heads” is psychedelic bliss taking you out of orbit and floating toward the star cluster of your choice.

“Eternal Shore” boosts the krautrock influences a bit with the beats, but keeps the vocals firmly in psychedelic territory. The touch of steel drum-like synth stabs is a nice one and reflects the image of a never-ending beach on an idyllic planet. “Eye 2 Eye” brings in fuzzy guitar to race alongside EDM beats for a fast track that belongs on your next favorite anime action film. “Fever Night” slows down the album for the close, but it’s nothing maudlin. It’s a perfect end to a groovy time, almost like slipping into a hot tub after you’ve had great sex.

Stars are indeed the light, and so are we. Each of us are divine beings connected on this small orb in the middle of space. We are connected with each other and what lies beyond our senses. Moon Duo seek to remind us of this cosmic connection and acceptance that is there for us to embrace. Stars Are the Light is like a singing bowl, providing us the tones to remember who we are and who we are to each other.

Keep your mind open.

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Live: The Black Keys and Modest Mouse – United Center – Chicago, IL – September 27, 2019

I had loaded three CD’s by the Black Keys into my car’s CD player (Remember those?) for the rainy trip to Chicago on September 27, 2019 to catch them live at the United Center. I had many other albums and EP’s of theirs in mp3 format that I didn’t bother to upload to my phone before the trip because I knew I couldn’t listen to all of them in the two and a half-hour drive to the Windy City. As I listened to Magic Potion, Thickfreakness, and Turn Blue, I couldn’t help but think, “Why has it taken me so long to see these guys live?”

They’d been on my “must-see” list since at least 2011, but I could never make it to any of their tour dates. Lead singer / guitarist Dan Auerbach‘s psychedelic side projects, the Arcs, was scheduled to play at the cancelled 2016 Levitation Austin festival, so I wasn’t even able to catch that band just three years ago.

The stars finally aligned and I was able to get a decent price ticket for a seat at this level of the United Center.

That seat cost just a little more than this bad ass show poster, which most people didn’t seem to be noticing at the merch table I visited.

Signed and numbered by the artist to boot!

I didn’t catch the opening band, or even find out who they were, because I was famished by the time I got into the United Center. I munched on a small stuffed pizza (only $8.75, compared to ten bucks for a bag of gourmet popcorn smaller than an average beer stein) while they played. They didn’t sound half-bad.

The second opener was indie rock fan-favorites Modest Mouse. I had no idea what to expect from them, and was surprised to learn they were an eight-person band that included two drummers and a violinist.

They had a lot of fans at the show. I only knew one song they played in their mix of Americana and quirky rock with interesting time signatures. It wasn’t my thing, but their fans loved their set and I saw many people dancing throughout it.

The Black Keys, Mr. Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney, came out with two backing guitarists and a bass player. The bass player and one of the backing guitarists (who also sang backing vocals) were brothers Andrew and Zachary Gabbard, and the other backing guitarist was, much to my surprise and delight, Delicate Steve – whose album Till I Burn Up is one of my favorite discoveries of the year.

Opening with an oldie but goodie, “I Got Mine,” they put on a great show mixing stuff from their new record with plenty of cuts from their large back catalogue, like “Gold on the Ceiling” (a crowd favorite) and “Fever.”

“Next Girl” followed, which sounds much heavier live than it does on an album. I have to give a lot of respect to the Black Keys’ touring sound engineers. Dan Auerbach’s guitar tones were crisp and yet had all the right fuzz (and volume!). It sounded great in a large arena, almost like they were playing in a small club. I also love how Auerbach’s guitar is plugged directly into onstage amps instead of using a wireless rig.

“Howlin’ for You” was another crowd favorite, and I was happy to hear “Ten Cent Pistol.” They closed the set with another crowd-pleaser, “Lonely Boy” before heading off stage so their stage crew could set up a giant inflatable electric chair.

This was the set for most of their encore, which included “Lo / Hi,” new single “Go,” and ended with the loud, dirty “She’s Gone.

It was a fun show, and worth the wait. It’s also good to see these two goofy guys filling an arena with people who love rock and blues. They’re calling this the “Let’s Rock” tour. I’m glad. All of us need to rock more.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Miss Red – The Four Bodies

The dynamic duo of vocalist / songwriter Sharon “Miss Red” Stern and producer / DJ Kevin “the Bug” Martin have returned with The Four Bodies – a four-song EP of their brand of “toxic dancehall.” The two of them work so well together that it’s difficult to tell where the influence of one on the other begins or ends.

Each song represents a different universal element. “Shut In Your Head” is Earth, and its deep bass and lyrics of Red’s inner power being like a simmering volcano are evidence of this idea. “Loco” is the Fire element, and the Bug’s drums crackle like a campfire until Red’s sharp vocals turn it into a raging blaze that cannot be stopped by any conventional means.

“Don’t Text Back” (water) bubbles and rolls along like a lotus flower on a lazy river while the Bug’s dub beats cause concentric ripples across the surface and Miss Red calls to us from dark depths. The universal element of air is represented by “Prayers” – an ethereal instrumental well-suited for meditation and / or spell casting. Stern has made it known that some of the inspirations behind The Four Bodies were shamanism and witchcraft (and the EP’s cover alone tells us this), so the mystical feel of the record is prevalent throughout it.

It’s not surprising because Miss Red’s other collaborations with the Bug often sound otherworldly and are tinged with a bit (or more, depending on the song) of menace. The Four Bodies is no exception and an intriguing addition to Miss Red’s already fascinating discography.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Fishing for Fishies

For their first album of 2019, Fishing for Fishies, prolific and unpredictable psych-rockers King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard wrote a blues record and an album promoting environmentalism.

The title track instantly puts down a happy grove while the lyrics suggest that our oceans need rescued and maybe we should lay off fishing for a while. The album’s cover features a robot (Han-Tyumi from Murder of the Universe?) casting a burning fishing line into a fiery lake that might be covered in a blazing oil spill. Stu Mackenzie and Ambrose Kenny-Smith sing about the cruelty of commercial fishing and how it would be better to just let the fishies swim.

“Boogieman Sam” has a heavier groove that gets your head bobbing and toes tapping. It also lets Kenny-Smith cut loose with his harmonica, as do many of the tracks on this record. It’s fun to hear his playing in the forefront. The jazz swing of the back-to-nature ode “The Bird Song” (which gets into existential philosophy – “To a bird what’s a plane?…To a tree what’s a house?”) is great. It’s like a Steely Dan or Doobie Brothers track.

“Plastic Boogie” is another solid groove cut with Mackenzie and Kenny-Smith sharing lead vocals throughout it as KGATLW discuss how space age polymers are ruining our oceans and polluting everything in sight. “The Cruel Millenial” has Kenny-Smith singing lead while the rest of the Wizards sound like they’re having a blast playing behind him with pub-rock beats and riffs. “Real’s Not Real” bring back that cool 1970’s jazz-rock swing thing that is hard to describe, but recognizable once you hear it. They add some psych-fuzz and blues harmonica to it, which makes it even better.

Speaking of blues harmonica, it’s front and center on the sweet rocker “This Thing” (which also has a fine bass line from Lucas Skinner). “Acarine” brings in a touch of the Middle Eastern rhythms found on their album Flying Microtonal Banana as it floats along in a bit of a psychedelic haze and discusses how even the smallest of creatures are worth saving. The song slides into synthwave sounds and beats that flow well into the closing track – “Cyboogie” – which blends synthwave pulses, robotic (Han-Tyumi again?) vocals, and boogie jams.

It’s a fun record, one of KGATLW‘s most accessible in a while for listeners who haven’t heard their stuff before, and a great set up for their second album of the year – Infest the Rats’ Nest (review coming soon) – which continues the environmental themes of this one.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Partner – Saturday the 14th

Always one to follow their creative whims, Partner (multi-instrumentalists Josee Caron and Lucy Niles) released Saturday the 14th earlier this year. It’s a five-song EP that lets them stretch their creative muscles and embrace multiple influences.

“Fun for Everyone (Minions)” is an electro-laced dance tune that has Caron and Niles telling everyone to “dance like a Minion and not give a care about anyone’s opinion.” It’s a shame if this hasn’t been remixed by multiple DJs by now, and it will be an even bigger shame if the next Despicable Me film doesn’t feature it on the soundtrack.

Partner having a song called “Stoned Thought” shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who’s a fan of the band, since they have openly sang of their love of the herb (i.e., “Hot Knives,” “Everybody Knows You’re High”). It’s a witty song about cool things they thought of (song ideas, high philosophy, etc.) while high and now can’t remember.

“Tell You Off” is a tongue-in-cheek country tune complete with dobro and Niles rocking a harmonica solo in-between lyrics about chewing out a neighbor over their bad behavior. “Long & McQuade” is a salute to the band’s favorite music equipment store in Canada. Caron’s solo on it is outstanding.

The album ends with the downright beautiful “Les Ailes d’un Ange” (“The Wings of an Angel”) – a French vocal ballad that Partner have admitted is their attempt to write a song that fellow Canadian Celine Dion might sing.

It’s a fun EP that is a welcome appetizer for their next full-length album (which they have claimed will be a rocker. I have no doubt of this.).If you’re feeling down and need your luck to change, try Saturday the 14th.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Warish – Down in Flames

Warish‘s first full-length album, Down in Flames, is as fiery as its namesake. Their self-titled debut EP hit so hard that it was like going four rounds with a professional boxer. The image of a supersonic jet pilot on the cover of Down in Flames is not happenstance. It’s a reflection of how this album makes you feel – strap in and hold on.

The opening track, “Healter Skelter,” with its wild guitar licks and break-down-the-walls drumming is not unlike the angry Beatles track of the almost same name. “You’ll Abide” brings in thrash punk elements as Riley Hawk sings, “I don’t wanna be like them. I’ve got an evil mind. It was made for sin.” The drums somehow get bigger on “Big Time Spender” with Hawk dropping his vocal register and the bass dropping even more to turn the song into a Black Sabbath-like dirge.

“Bleed Me Free” pushes the speed back up to F-14 levels and has Hawk wailing like Kurt Cobain on rare Bleach-era cuts. “In a Hole” blasts by so quick that it seems like it clocks in at under a minute instead of just over twice that length.

The next four tracks, “Bones,” “Voices,” “Fight,” and “Shivers” are the four tracks from their self-titled debut EP and are each full of burning jet fuel power. They follow it with “Runnin’ Scared,” a fierce, wild track that layers distortion over Hawk’s vocals as well as the guitar and bass (which remind me of Motorhead arrangements). The album ends with the almost-peppy “Their Disguise,” in which I can’t determine which instrument is leading and who is trying to keep up with whom. I mean this in the best possible sense. Each of the band members burns up the last of their fuel reserves on it.

Down in Flames is heavy, fuzzy, angry, fast, and one of the hottest metal records so far this year. Their self-titled EP was just a warm-up. This is a full-on brawl.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Acid King – Busse Woods (2019 reissue)

I grew up in a small town. We lived across the street from the more expensive lake houses and next to a woods that was part of a pine tree farm. I spent many hours in that woods, crafting stories, searching for treasure, fighting imaginary battles, and listening for monsters. Every kid has a place like this, and for the members of stoner metal legends Acid King (Brian Hill – bass, Joey Osbourne – drums, Lori S. – vocals and guitar) it was Busse Woods.

Their 1999 album has received a full reissue from RidingEasy Records to celebrate Busse Woods‘ twentieth anniversary. The album has become almost a mystical tome in the last two decades with its tales of nature’s power over man, creepy things in the shadows of old trees, and good ole fashioned heavy riffs.

The opener, “Electric Machine,” has such heavy bass thumps that you’d think a giant was tap dancing next to you. “Silent Circle” starts with a guitar riff that’s like a burning trail of gasoline heading straight for an ammunition warehouse. It only gets louder and heavier from there. “Tell all the people I’m on my way. There is no tomorrow for me…Silent circle breaks the chain,” Lori S. sings. It’s a song about death, at least on its surface, but it might also be a song about resurrection – whether that resurrection is beneficial or harmful to her (or mankind, perhaps) is up to the interpretation of the listener.

The title of “Drive Fast, Take Chances” is certainly a reflection on the band’s wild times in Busse Woods not far from their Illinois hometown, smoking weed, listening to metal, and ditching school and the cops. The riffs and drums on it are as heavy as the fallen trees in their favorite stomping grounds. An unexpected treat is Acid King’s cover of “39 Lashes” from Jesus Christ Superstar. The onslaught of the drums is only outweighed by the battle axe-heavy guitar chords and thunderous bass.

“Carve the Five” starts off with a languid bass line from Brian Hill that lures you into what almost feels like a safe place, but Joey Osbourne’s drum fill at the start of the track is akin to a rattlesnake’s rattle (if that rattlesnake were a giant 8HD variety) warning you to tread carefully. The title track finishes the album with a long instrumental that boils and bubbles like the contents of cauldron.

It’s great that Busse Woods (pronounced “buss-ee,” by the way) is getting a nice reissue for its twentieth anniversary because this album should be even more known than it already is. It’s a bit of a secret classic. Those who know about it revere it. Those who have only heard of it are intrigued by it. Those who don’t know of it are changed after discovering it.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Ezra Furman – Twelve Nudes

Upon hearing Ezra Furman’s new album, Twelve Nudes, for the first time in its entirety, my first thought was, “That’s a scorcher.”

Furman himself has claimed this is his band’s “punk record” made in a time of furious anger at the current political landscape. It’s also an embrace / exploration of his sexuality. The album cover features someone peeling back their face / façade to reveal a mental image of a bevy of somewhat androgynous, nude figures having a languid moment on a rocky landscape. Furman’s mind, it seems, can be a rough place, but he’s learning to be at peace with it and to find his inner beauty.

The opening track, “Calm Down AKA I Should Not Be Alone,” has Furman barely able to contain his rage at what’s happening in the world around him (“I should not be alone, the way things are going.”). The bass line carries the whole tune while Furman shouts not just to the back of the recording studio, but also to the parking lot behind the building. “Evening Prayer AKA Justice” is a rallying call for his fellow oddballs and outcasts (“I wasted my twenties in submission. I thought I was outside the system. I was rollin’ over for wealthy power, as if they really cared about me. The kids are just getting started. They’ve only just learned how to howl, and most of them have thrown in the towel before they have turned twenty-three.”). Furman’s vocals throughout it are somehow fiercer than the previous track. Furman has mentioned how he sometimes had a sore throat after recording the tracks on this record, and I believe him.

“Nobody cares if you’re dying until you’re dead,” he sings on “Transition from Nowhere,” which reminds me of Dan Bejar songs in its sound and Furman’s vocal style. “Rated R Crusaders” is practically an early Devo cut with its rapid post-punk lyrics and wild, weird guitar riffs. “Trauma” is a hard-hitting, Lou Reed-like rocker (Furman has spoken of Reed’s songwriting influencing his.) about rich white dudes literally getting away with rape and murder.

“Thermometer” has Furman proclaiming his love for rock and roll and how it changed him forever. The 1950’s-flavored “I Want to Be Your Girlfriend” has Furman singing a love song to someone who isn’t interested in him (“Honey, I know I don’t have the body you want in a girlfriend. What I’m working with is not ideal, but maybe, baby, it’s not about what you thought that you wanted, it’s about what I can make you feel.”). It’s a pretty oasis in a middle of a sea of rage, which we’re right back at sea on with the loud, fuzzy, shredding “Blown” (which sounds like a lost Nirvana demo) and “My Teeth Hurt.”

“I’m alone in America,” Furman sings in “In America,” a song that both lambasts the country’s hatred and racism, but also praises what it can be if we’d put our differences aside and focus on our commonality. The album ends with sage advice on what to do when The Man is bringing you down – “What Can You Do but Rock ‘n’ Roll.” It’s a banger to send the album, and us, out on a high note.

Which is what Furman has been encouraging us to do all along – take the high road, even when that road leads to a rocky desert in your mind. You will find the high notes there. You will find beauty and love there.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Beehive – Depressed + Distressed

Hailing from northern California, Beehive is one of the most appropriately named bands I’ve heard so far this year. Bassist Bud Amentia and vocalist / guitarist Jake Sprecher (and a drum machine, which they apparently don’t turn off between songs during their live sets) make music that buzzes with energy and danger. Listening to their debut EP Depressed + Distressed is like standing near a beehive. You’re on the edge of danger all the time.

The instrumental into of “Tick Tock” delivers this message right away. It’s just over a minute of menace with poppy drum machine beats that belie something heavy about to land in your lap. That heavy thing is the song “Get Off My Back,” which has Sprecher’s guitars howling like a chainsaw in a thunderstorm and Amentia’s bass coming at you like an unrelenting rain.

“You’re So Fascinating” is a funny track about the fake images we create in hopes that people will like us. Sprecher’s vocal delivery brings Glenn Danzig to mind, but with more post-punk attitude instead of goth rage. The funniest track on the EP is “90’s Trash,” in which Sprecher talks about buying a CD of the songs that form the “graveyard of his youth” that make him both nostalgic and depressed. He and Amentia play a riff that sounds exactly like every 1990’s rock song you’ve heard as Sprecher name checks the Smoking Popes, Spacehog, Soundgarden, third wave ska, Save Ferris, Flaming Lips, and (the one that most makes Sprecher ill) Ugly Kid Joe.

“When Can I See You Again?” is a punk rager expressing the panic, rush, and angst all of us have felt in a new relationship. “Don’t Try” is almost a rallying cry to do just the opposite. Beehive are pissed about everyone telling them (and all of us, if you watch enough news) not to bother, so they’re responding with a sonic boot stomp to the chest. The EP closes with “Wasting Our Time.” Beehive have no time for people who drain their energy with drama (“You’re wasting my time, I’m wasting my time with you.”). Amentia’s bass on this track is particularly heavy and is a great mix with Sprecher’s Jon Spencer-like riffs.

The EP’s title sums up not only Beehive’s feelings about Millennial life, but also the lives of practically everyone else. Everyone’s depressed or distressed about something – usually things that don’t matter (as evidenced in the last track of the EP). If Beehive have to sting us to wake us up from our doldrums, they will. You can’t escape a swarm, and you won’t be able to escape this record once you hear it.

Keep your mind open.

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Live: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, ORB, and Stonefield – Aragon Ballroom – Chicago, IL – August 24, 2019

I’d read that the King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard / ORB / Stonefield show at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom was on the verge of selling out. I’m pretty sure it did, judging by the line to get into the venue.

The line was so long that the Aragon had to put an employee (guy in white shirt behind car) in a parking lot two blocks away to manage it.

People were laughing in disbelief when they reached this corner and saw the line went on for another block and a half.

The top photo there is from the back of the line, which was over two blocks from the Aragon’s front door. The second photo shows the line along the Red Line El track wall on the west side of the Aragon. I’ve never seen a line this long to get into the Aragon. As one guy put it as he walked past me to get to the end of the line, “Take that all of you who say ‘Who?’ whenever I mention this band!”

The line was so long that, unfortunately, I missed Stonefield’s set. They were so loud, however, that you could hear them outside the venue when a Red Line train wasn’t passing by. I might get to see Stonefield at this year’s Levitation Austin festival, so it could still work out okay for me.

ORB, who have added a guitarist since I last saw them, put on a solid set of stoner-psych that included a lot of fuzz, metal riffs, and avalanche drumming.

I knew King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard’s set was going to be nuts when people were already chanting, clapping, and cheering during the soundcheck. Plus, KGATLW’s new album, Infest the Rat’s Nest, is a thrash metal record, and I was sure songs from it were going to cause a frenzied mosh pit.

Sure enough, they opened with “Self Immolate” and “Mars for the Rich” off the new record and the crowd immediately compressed by about thirty percent as two pits broke out – one on each side of the stage. I figured they wouldn’t play too much off the new record, as thrash metal is hard to play and they had an entire show to do that would probably cover everything from psychedelic hippie music to blues.

They proved me right by following the metal with the swing of “Plastic Boogie” off the first album they released this year, Fishing for Fishies, which is a blues record. Three cuts off Polygondwanaland followed – “Inner Cell,” “Loyalty,” and “Horology.”

“We’re gonna play an old one,” lead singer Stu Mackenzie said. “How old?” said the guy behind me. “Old for them is like an album from last year.” True, considering KGATLW put out five albums in 2018. The “oldies” turned out to be “I’m in Your Mind” and “I’m Not in Your Mind” from 2014’s I’m in Your Mind Fuzz. “The Balrog” from Murder of the Universe got everyone jumping again, and I was in the pit by the time they got to “Evil Death Roll” from Nonagon Infinity. The whole crowd was jumping during “Rattlesnake,” which lead to other cuts from Flying Microtonal Banana including “Sleep Drifter” and “Billabong Valley.”

Nonagon Infinity opens the door for infinite lizards.

They swung back into a boogie set with more cuts off Fishing for Fishies and even threw in their synth-single “Cyboogie” before ending the night with a wall of death-inducing “Planet B” and “Hell” from Infest the Rat’s Nest. They began the night with metal and ended the night with metal, leaving everyone sweaty and giddy.

“Thanks for coming. Thanks for getting crazy. You guys are fucking crazy. It’s great,” Mackenzie said at one point. It was a crazy crowd, probably the craziest I’ve been in since I saw Thee Oh Sees in Austin last year. The mosh pit was friendly, too. Twice the pit I was in stopped so people could turn on cell phone lights to look for, find, and hold up dropped stuff like someone’s glasses and a wallet. A woman walked by me wearing a shirt that read, “They only walls be build are walls of death.” on the back.

That’s metal, all right, as was this show.

Keep your mind open.

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