Reviews – Page 7 – 7th Level Music

Rewind Review: Vacation (self-titled) (2011)

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.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard – Phantom Island

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.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR!]

Review: GoGo Penguin – Necessary Fictions

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.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to George at Terrorbird Media!]

Rewind Review: Menace – Punk Singles Collection (2005)

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 Richard and 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.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Coral Grief – Air Between Us

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.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Andi at Terrorbird Media.]

Review: Karassimeon – Aethernova EP

Apart from having a cool cover that looks like it could’ve been an Asia album, Karassimeon‘s Aethernova EP is loaded with hot beats, killer cyborg synths, and dance floor jams that combine his homeland’s French disco with Italo disco, synthwave, and a touch of industrial edge.

“Panique Synthétique” is a track you’ll want played whenever you walk into either a nightclub, a gym, or a haunted house…or a haunted gym below a nightclub. The horror movie scream and police siren samples, the spooky synths, and the classic rave sounds bring back a lot of memories for this original raver. It’s sibling track, “Analog Anxiety,” is, somehow, a bit creepier and the edge sharper…like a giallo film maniac lurking around the fringes of the dance floor with a straight razor in his or her black gloved hand.

The title track is a sizzling breakbeat cut that will have you stomping the pedal in your real car or the one you’re driving in the latest edition of Mario Cart. “Final Flash” closes the EP with bumping techno tailor-made to launch you out of your seat or off your spot on the wall and shove you onto the dance floor. This is a perfect track to get over that “Why am I doing this?” moment during a cardio workout.

It’s four tracks of floor-fillers. Get on it.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Eclectica!]

Levitation France 2025 recap

Levitation France moved to a new venue in 2025. It was still in Angers, France, but no longer at the La Chabada location. It was now at the Lac De Maine park on the lovely lake in Angers, right by this massive pyramid structure that appears to be a reception center, restaurant, or maybe some kind of New Age retreat. The stage was placed in front of it, and it was off-limits to festival attendees, but that was fine. We were there for the music.

We weren’t sure we were there at first, as we got off at the wrong bus stop and had to walk through a dried-up park to get to the main path leading to the festival. Angers, and the rest of France, was in the middle of a heatwave. The grass throughout the park and the stage area looked and often felt like shredded wheat.

Once there on the first day, we arrived about halfway through New Candys‘ set. I’d seen them in France a couple years earlier, and looked forward to catching them again. Their newest record, The Uncanny Extravaganza, is impressive, and their 2025 Levitation France set matched it with strong hooks and solid rock to power everyone through the heat and relentless sun.

Up next was DITZ, who wasted no time in crushing eardrums. The mosh pit was wild, kicking up a massive cloud of dust sometimes as thick as the stuff coming out of the stage’s fog machine. They had one of the wildest, strongest sets of the festival, and the one-two punch of New Candys and DITZ was great. Their lead singer led the crowd to the lake, dove in, and came back covered in lake weeds to finish the set.

We took a much-needed break, scored some merch, water, and pizza (Pickles on pizza? It kind of works.), and found a small sliver of shade for a little while. My neck got sunburned as many others stood either in the shade of the two trees nearby or in the shadow of the tall sound booth at the back of the venue.

We came back for Kadavar. I hadn’t seen the German rock giants since the second Austin Psych Fest I attended in 2014. The lead singer mentioned it was their first time playing a Levitation festival since then. I yelled, “I was there!”, much to the amusement of a guy next to me. They blasted our faces off, of course, playing everything from doom metal to near-prog riffs.

A great return for Kadavar to Levitation.

We made sure to take more breaks on the second day to avoid further sunburn and dehydration. The first set we caught was by Heartworms, who put on a neat show of goth rock, psychedelic guitar work, dark wave (Theremin!), and a bit of performance art. They were my girlfriend’s favorite set of the festival.

We caught part of bdrmm‘s set, but had to get out of the sun for a little while. We enjoyed some chicken tikka masala, booze, and lemonade, and came back to check out Bryan’s Magic Tears – another band I last saw at Levitation France. They’ve only gotten better, creating snappy shoegaze and dream pop for an appreciative crowd.

Bryan’s Magic Tears mixed with audience sweat.

The big set of the night, and the festival, for me was from The Limiñanas. I’d wanted to see them for quite a while and they rarely, if ever, get across the Atlantic Ocean. The French psych-rock legends didn’t disappoint us. They played a great set complete with classics, tracks from their new album, Faded, and even a cover of The Cramps‘ “TV Set.”

When you get a chance to see The Limiñanas in France, you go see them.

We stuck around for the first half of Boy Harsher‘s set. They dropped heavy dance beats, dark bass, and sultry sounds across the night and the water. We would’ve stayed for the whole thing, but we had an early train to catch the next day and public transportation back from the venue was minimal that late at night.

It was another fun year in Angers, despite the heat. I hope they’ll bring in some man-made shade next year if they keep it on the lake. One of the best parts about Levitation France is the opportunity to see so many bands who don’t get to tour outside of Europe much, if at all. All Levitation festivals are great ways to discover your new favorite band. We already plan to go back next year to discover more if the dates work out for us. See you there?

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Keep – Almost Static

The press release I received about Keep‘s new album, Almost Static, reads, “This is an album built for long hours spent in the car which is frequently reflected in the lyrics. Almost Static explores many of thoughts that might cross one’s mind on such expansive journeys. It’s a driving and anthemic record that navigates the meandering nature of a world that won’t slow down. It’s a soundtrack for hurtling further and further into oblivion.”

That’s accurate. The opening guitars of “Fun Facts” pretty much toss you over the cliff with a small paraglider and hope for the best. The echoing vocals help you float, but also might be luring you toward the cliff on the other side of the valley. The drums and bass on “Smile Down” are crisp and yet crushing. “Decoy” continues the sonic assault, and then “Bermuda” comes in like a lost darkwave track from the early 1980s. Keep’s love of The Cure is evident on the track in the way the instruments seem to creep around the back of the room while a dance party happens on the other side of the wall.

“New Jewelry” and the title track remind me a bit of some mellower Failure tracks with its hooky beats and space orbit vocals. The bass on “No Pulse” is thick and almost palpable. The guitars nearly wander into prog-rock jams at some points.

“Sodawater” chugs along with a bit of gloom, but you can’t help noticing some sunlight (Those guitar chords!) through the dark clouds now and then. “Gasoline” reminds me of late 80s / early 90s goth tracks when shoegaze was emerging from its cocoon. Closing track “Hurt a Fly” feels like the rush you’d get from landing on the ground in the valley over which you’ve been floating this whole time, and running along the soft earth as the wind almost picks you back up again.

It’s a solid record of fuzz, force, and finesse that is indeed perfect for late nights in the car or on an airplane. Check it out.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Alex at Terrorbird Media.]

Review: Dusty Rose Gang – A-One from Day One

I don’t know how Dusty Rose Gang (Josh Budiognan – guitar, Brett Donlan – bass, Blake Hill – drums, Dusty Rose – guitar and vocals) has done it, but apparently they have crafted a time machine and appeared in modern day Detroit straight from a late 1970s tour with MC5 with their album A-One from Day One.

Opening track “Love Bug” shreds on so many levels that it’s difficult to list them all. It kicks out the jams and kicks the walls down around you. It sounds like cosmic rock, Detroit metal, and garage grooves all at the same time. The slight echo effect on Rose’s vocals is great touch. Rose and Budiognan’s guitars on “Sticker” practically lift your speakers (and you) off the floor.

“Person of Light,” the longest track on the album (six minutes-plus) reminds me of some of Frankie and The Witch Fingers‘ wild tunes. The more I think about it, they and Dusty Rose Gang would be a great double-bill. Donlan’s bass runs all over this track, locking in a sweaty, heavy groove that you can’t ignore once you hear it. The weird filter effect on “Party Back Jack” is mind-warping, as is Hill’s drumming. Then the guitars kick in and it’s like you’re taking off on a rural Michigan drag strip.

“Leave It Alone” is full of fun AC/DC-like swagger rock. “Feel Me” somehow cranks that swagger up more and throws in psych-rock grooves for good measure.

This is one of the most fun rock albums I’ve heard all year. Don’t skip it. These guys are A1 from day one.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Daniel at RidingEasy Records!]

Review: Rival Consoles – Landscape from Memory

Ryan Lee West, known to many as the man behind Rival Consoles, has put together his ninth album, Landscape from Memory, “from a scrapbook of discarded audio snippets” (according to a press release sent me) and synths and sounds made in hotel rooms and other spaces after taking a year off from music and, for a little while, losing his creative spark.

Thankfully, Rival Consoles found the energy and drive again and has released a fine record of ambient music, dance grooves, and atmospheric sonics. “In Reverse” starts the album with Radiohead-like synth bumps and bubbles and acoustic guitar that drifts in and out of those synths like happy birds coasting between trees. The beautiful “Catherine” is a song for West’s love, who helped him rediscover his love for composition and creating soundscapes.

“Drum Song” is well-named for its thumping, bumping beats. “Soft Gradient Beckons” is the sound of a happy, robotic bird waking up with the sun. It perfectly floats into “Gaivotas,” and that nicely drifts into the almost-industrial dance track “Coda.” “Known Shape” is an almost weightless dance track that feels like something you’d hear in a spaceport lounge. The fade out of “Nocturne” will make you feel like you’re calmly walking into or out of a fog.

“Jupiter” pulls you in like its namesake’s gravity and gets your toes tapping as you slide into orbit and feel your molecules vibrating. “In a Trance” (made in a New York hotel room) might put you there, and the ethereal “If Not Now” will help you stay in that meditative state for a while longer. The synths on “2 Forms” sound like they’re half-awake but still helping you dance at 3am.

“Tape Loop” has a twinge of suspense to it, and the title track closes the album with an uplifting energy – the kind that West found while making the track and the rest of the album while dealing with…well, everything everyone is dealing with right now.

Memory is often fuzzy, and creating or describing a landscape from it is often wrought with inaccuracies. This landscape created by Rival Consoles, however, feels lush and familiar…even in the darker parts. It feels like the right place at the right moment – which is right now.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to George at Terrorbird Media.]