Reviews – Page 79 – 7th Level Music

A Place to Bury Strangers – Pinned

If you’re feeling the effects of the extra six weeks of winter we’re having right now, A Place to Bury Strangers have just the thing to shake you out of your winter doldrums. It’s their new album, Pinned, which is already high on my list for potential album of the year. It’s an album about impermanence, fear of the unknown, the insidious presence of technology (a frequent theme in APTBS’ work), and breaking free of self-imposed constraints and outside influences.

Starting off with a groovy bass riff from Dion Lunadon and a toe-tapping kick drum beat from new drummer and backing vocalist Lia Braswell, “Never Coming Back” builds a tight tension as lead singer and guitarist Oliver Ackermann seems to sing from a shadowy corner while his guitar creeps around the room. The song eventually breaks the near-unbearable tension around the three-minute mark with wails and squalls that only APTBS seem to generate. The song is about how decisions big and small can alter one’s life forever, and how easy it is to become trapped in indecision instead of embracing uncertainty.

“Execution” reveals APTBS’ love of krautrock with Lunadon’s bass line and Ackermann’s slightly robotic vocals. Braswell’s vocals match Ackermann’s on “There’s Only One of Us,” a post-punk song about unity in these weird times. “Situations Changes” has a shoegaze simmer that eventually reaches a noise rock rolling boil as Ackermann sings about loneliness (The first lyric is “You don’t care about me.”) and having to accept the fact that the situation between him and his lover has changed and returning to the past is impossible. The present is all that exists and change is the only constant.

The addition of Lia Braswell on drums has been a great one for APTBS. She’s a powerful drummer that matches well with Ackermann and Lunadon, but the addition of her vocals has taken the band to a new, unexpected level. A great example of both of these points is on “Too Tough to Kill.” Her drumming is like rapid gunfire, and her vocals elevate the track to psychedelic highs. There’s just as good, almost Shirley Manson-like, on “Frustrated Operator.”

“Look Me in the Eye” is a fast song about trust that mixes electronic beats with heaps of guitar fuzz. Countering it is “Was It Electric,” which keeps the vocals slightly distorted, but the rest of the track strolls through a foggy shoegaze park on an early autumn day.

“I know I’ve done bad things, and I can’t take them back,” Ackermann sings on “I Know I’ve Done Bad Things.” It’s another reference to how easy it is to get trapped in the past and mired in loneliness. Even his guitar sounds distant throughout the track (despite the distortion), and Braswell’s drums sound like a thudding pulse in your neck. The speed picks up on “Act Your Age” (which clocks under two minutes), and I can’t help but wonder if the title is a referendum on internet blustering and the current political climate. Pinned is the band’s first album since the 2016 election, after all.

I love the way APTBS loops Braswell’s wail / moan on “Attitude,” which has a sharp, almost snotty punk vibe throughout it. I also love the addition of electronic beats again atop Braswell’s acoustic ones on the closing track, “Keep Moving On.” The title is apt for the band and the album. APTBS always seeks to reinvent itself and not get pigeonholed. Their music always brings you back to the moment. It is too urgent to do otherwise. They keep moving forward, as should all of us. We can’t afford to be pinned down by regret, loss, or attachments. Pinned is a great reminder of this. It’s my album of the year so far.

Keep your mind open.

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Makeness – Loud Patterns

Kyle Molleson, otherwise known as Makeness, has given us a record that sounds like meticulous electronica and yet moves like free-flowing dance tracks at the same time – Loud Patterns.

The title track opens the record, bringing to mind a jungle DJ putting down tracks at a party in the House on Haunted Hill. “Fire Behind the Two Louis” is as slick and hot as a grease fire. “Who Am I to Follow Love” has lovely female vocals behind Molleson’s drums and sounds that make for good lounge slow jams.

“Stepping Out of Sync” has fat bass and more lounge synths combining for one of the best cuts on the record. “Gold Star” is another choice cut, with big synths and floor-shaking dance beats throughout it. I don’t know if the bass in “The Bass Rock” refers to fish or low-end sounds. I’m guessing the former because the bass grooves on it are somewhat subdued.

“Day Old Death” is a bit creepy, as you’d expect from such a title. I like the metronome-like beat in it to remind you of some masked killer stalking you. The building synth-bass of “Rough Moss” has a great payoff. It might be the most danceable song on the record. “Our Embrace” is as jubilant as you hope it would be with such a title. The synths are bright and bouncy and the drums keep you moving. The bass on “14 Drops” is so fat that it needs to go on a diet. The album ends with the appropriately titled “Motorcycle Idling,” because that’s just what it sounds like for a little over three minutes.

Loud Patterns is indeed both loud and full of wicked beat patterns. It bodes well for Makeness’ future, and for your next party.

Keep your mind open.

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Comacozer / Blown Out – In Search of Highs Volume 1

Australian cosmic psych-rockers Comacozer have teamed up with UK cosmic psych-rockers Blown Out to release a massive split LP of, you guessed it, cosmic psych-rock called In Search of Highs Volume 1.

“Massive” might be too light of an adjective to describe this record. Comacozer‘s portion is on side A. It’s one track that last’s just short of eighteen minutes. “Binbeal” begins with a didgeridoo to put us in the mood of someone sitting atop a red rock in the Australian outback during a sunrise meditation. It evolves into a heady groove perfect for opening your third eye chakra. It’s a rapid plunge down a psychedelic rabbit hole by the eleventh minute.

Blown Out gets side B off to an epic start with the nine-minute-plus “Terraform.” The title of the track refers to the process of restructuring entire planets. Trust me, it’s heavy enough to do that. The guitars alone would power terraforming machines from orbit. “Void Sucker” is half the length of the previous track, but about double the speed. “Hook Up the Telepath” ends side B with psychedelic chaos that reminds me of the aerobraking scene in 2010: The Year We Make Contact.

It’s a solid LP of instrumental stoner-psych metal that will get you through the cold of space or the heat of re-entry. Volume 2 can’t come soon enough for my liking.

Keep your mind open.

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Live: Shopping, Tyvek, and Ganser – Chicago, IL – March 28, 2018

It’s a bit difficult for me to believe that it took me nearly three months to see some live music this year, but it’s true. January and February were filled with crazy work schedules that weren’t conducive to making a trip even an hour’s drive away to see any bands or performers.

That all changed with getting to see Shopping, Tyvek,and Ganser at Chicago’s Beat Kitchen two nights ago. I’d been keen on catching Shopping since hearing their newest album, The Official Body. I knew nothing about Tyvek and Ganser going in, apart from a few video clips and digital tracks here and there. Tyvek was loud and brash garage punk. Ganser was darker and local post-punk. This was also my first time at the Beat Kitchen. It’s a nice, small venue, and the food there looked pretty good.

One thing I’ve discovered about Chicago shows is that, for the most part, the set start times are rigid. Ganser kept up this tradition by starting at promptly 8:00pm. They played an impressive set to a hometown crowd that included multiple tracks from their upcoming album Odd Talk. Their stuff was sassy, jagged, and assertive. Odd Talk should be a fine record based on what I heard at the Beat Kitchen.

Up next were Detroit’s / Philadelphia’s Tyvek. They were as loud and hammering as I’d expected, and throwing saxophone riffs into the mix only made it better. Lead singer / guitarist Kevin Boyer‘s axe looked like it had been bounced off a few floors and used as a cutting board, and the blaring chords he drew out of it only seemed to confirm my suspicions.

Shopping had a large crowd by the time they took the stage. I was glad to see so many people for the U.K. band that had spent most of the last couple months zig-zagging across the U.S. They had the crowd jumping almost from the first note, and encouraged dancing throughout their entire set. They sounded great. Rachel Aggs‘ gets notes of her guitar that jump like water across a hot griddle. Every song had a bouncing energy to it that was inescapable. Highlights from the set included “The Hype,” “Wild Child,” and “My Dad’s a Dancer.”

The best way I can sum up their set is by what a woman yelled out from the crowd between songs: “You guys are so fun!” Bassist Billy Easter said, “Thanks. It’s fun being up here, too.”

Shopping set the bar high for live bands to follow this year. Catch them if you can. You need to get in on the fun they’re delivering.

Keep your mind open.

Thanks to Andrew Milk, Rachel Abbs, and Billy Easter for singing this gig flyer for me.

[Thanks to Sam McAllister from Pitch Perfect PR for hooking me up with a press pass for the show.]

MOTSUS – Oumuamua

Belgian stoner metal? Yes, thank you.

I hadn’t heard of MOTSUS until they offered me a download of their new EP Oumuamua. I’m glad they reached out to me, because this thing is heavier than that Chinese space station due to crash on Earth any day now.

The royally epic “Kings and Queens” opens the EP. The whole track rumbles with an angry energy that is hard to describe, but “score for a rocket launch film scene” is fairly close.

The guitars soar on “Warm,” while the bass and drums hammer like dwarves in a deep mine searching for rare gems. “Freddy” is equally heavy, and “Exploder (Part I)” is doom conjured up from the bottom of that dwarven mine. The bass in particular stands out on this track, sounding like a growling lion and a jet engine roar at different times.

“Hoochy Woochy” might have a funny title, but the song is isn’t jovial. It’s as thick as battlefield mud. The build up to the rolling, crashing drums, furious guitars, and war hammer bass is excellent. The EP ends with “Tin Men,” a churning, guttural tune perfect for the march of robotic soldiers across a desolate landscape. It also has the only lyrics of the album – a monologue about a UFO coming to either destroy us, or worse, ignore us all together.

Oumuamua is a Hawaiian word for “scout,” and the album’s title refers to the first interstellar object to pass through the solar system. It was discovered in October 2017 and is tumbling through space. It took about 600,000 years to pass by us. It’s not a comet or an asteroid. It’s some sort of new object, according to NASA. It passed us by. It didn’t stop.

Regarding alien life in the universe, Arthur C. Clarke said, “Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.”

MOTSUS has created a mixtape for this unknown traveler. Let’s hope it comes back to hear more.

Keep your mind open.

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Fat Hot – Self-titled

Garage rockers Jonathan Kahler and Gamble Scrantom make up the duo Fat Hot, and their self-titled album (currently only available on cassette or as a download, no less) is a fun, snarky, fuzzy treat.

Opening with “Boatman Love Song,” the album gets a rough surf rock sound going before unleashing reverbed vocals about found and lost love. “Ghost Drugs” is a fun little tune that seems to be about a spirit hoping to get some spirits from a young woman. The catchy “Bad Drink” continues the theme of substances that alter one’s state of mind as they sing about searching for a bad drink while lamenting the loss of a shoe.

“Krakken Me Up” returns to the earlier nautical theme and continues the Flat Duo Jets-like wall of blues rock Fat Hot seems to have mastered early in their career. “Sweet” is a slow burn about a one-night stand that might end up in danger, disaster, or both. It unloads around the 2:15 mark with a surprising fury before going back to a simmer for a little while. “Sour” is the longest track on the album, coming it at nearly six minutes, and it’s full of scorching guitar and drum fills that mix stoner metal with psychedelia.

“Harpy Woman” is the second reference to a mythological monster, and the seventh time Fat Hot unleashes blistering riffs and beats. “Shudder” brings up a common theme in blues-garage-psych-psychobilly tracks – the Devil. It’s a toe-tapper of a tune about impending death. The album ends with another salute to being a sad drunk – “Rye Smile.” The guitar work on it is deceptively tricky and the drum work switches on a dime at any given moment.

This is a fun record, and a pleasant discovery for me. It will be for you, too.

Keep your mind open.

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All Them Witches – Lost and Found

In case you need some good news, Nashville psych / blues rockers All Them Witches have released a free EP available for download.

It’s four tracks of more haunting songs from the band. The opener, “Hares on the Mountain,” is an old English love song that practically summons the ghosts of dead soldiers from their unmarked graves with Allan Van Cleave‘s slightly menacing organ and Ben McLeod‘s drones and Celtic ghost guitar work. “Before the Beginning” is a slick Fleetwood Mac cover, and “Call Me Star” (from their excellent album Dying Surfer Meets His Maker) is a lovely display of Michael Parks‘ old soul / weary traveler vocals as his acoustic guitar and McLeod’s sparse psychedelic chords back him.

I love that the EP ends with a dub track (Yes, a dub track) – “Dub Passageways.” It gives drummer Robby Staebler a chance to cut loose with some wicked chops. It’s a dub version of “Open Passageways” (also from Dying Surfer Meets His Maker) and a nice look into another musical style that’s influenced All Them Witches.

Keep your mind open.

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Screaming Females – All at Once

It’s been a little while since we’ve had a full album from power trio Screaming Females, and now they’re back with a double album no less – All at Once. I’m intrigued by the title, as it seems to imply the world at large – especially in First World nations. Everything is available to us any time we want it, yet most of us are dissatisfied with what we have. Thanks to the internet, we can be everywhere all at once, yet many of us are lonely or limit human contact as much as possible.

Screaming Females explore this dichotomy right away on the opening track, “Glass House.” Lead singer and guitarist Marissa Paternoster sings about her desire to break out of a controlling relationship that she willingly entered, but knowing that doing so will shatter both parties (“I’m locked in is this glass house, impossible to get out.”).

Bassist Mike Abbate and drummer Jarrett Dougherty put down a hard groove for Paternoster as she unloads Helmet-like guitar fuzz on “Black Moon.” Another possible meaning to the album’s title is the raw energy of Screaming Females that comes at you all at once during their live shows. The album adeptly catches their turn-on-a-dime precision and angry wolverine power.

“I’ll Make You Sorry” is not only scorching, but also catchy as Paternoster tries to warn a new lover. “I was once in love before you,” she sings. She’s been down a path that didn’t end well, and wants to give it another shot, but perhaps cutting loses now is easier for everyone. Paternoster’s solo on it flies around like a frisky blue jay.

“Dirt” has a bit of a post-punk sound to it that I love, and I’m happy to say that they add this flavor to a couple other tracks, like the excellent, sharp-angled “Fantasy Lens” and the funky bass-laden “Drop by Drop.” “Agnes Martin” could easily be a metal song if they doubled the speed, but they smartly keep it between garage rock and stoner metal as Paternoster sings about seeking companionship, but only away from others (“Take me under your wing, the sun destroys me.”). Dougherty’s chops are slick as axel grease on this, and Paternoster unleashes some of her trademark shredding. Her vocals get distorted (and backed by what sounds like a church organ) on “Deeply” as she sings about how hard she tends to fall in love when the opportunity arises.

I think Abbate and Paternoster might’ve rushed Dougherty to a Ready-Med clinic after they recorded “Soft Domination” because his groove on it is wickedly sick. “Tell me you’ll lift me up, tell me you’ll take me out of this place,” Paternoster pleads, desperate to get away from…what? A specific place? Life in general? “End of My Bloodline” has a bit of a dub feel to it with Abbate’s creeping bass, Dougherty’s nice high-hat work, and Paternoster’s slightly distorted vocals.

“Chamber of Sleep I” and “Chamber of Sleep II” walk into psychedelia, and the world is better for it. In both parts, Paternoster unloads her guitar like a flame thrower on a stack of articles that still refer to her as a “female guitarist.” “Bird in Space” is downright lovely, with Paternoster singing once more of taking flight from the moment / reality and putting on a guitar clinic.

“My Body” has Paternoster singing about disconnection from a lover and the world (“I’m sleeping in this chair, while you sleep in the hallway…When they come to find me, then please burn my body.”). All at Once ends with the fuzzed-out, massive (and abrupt) “Step Outside.” Screaming Females encourage us to get away from the internet, our comfort zones, or even prepare for a fight. The whole band cooks with gas and definitely unleashes in the spirit of the album’s title. All you can do it sit back and let it hit you.

All at Once is a great addition to Screaming Females‘ catalogue. Paternoster writes biting lyrics about love, heartbreak, and the weird complexities of relationships like few others in the rock business. She is like one of those plasma nebula balls, glowing and swirling with a hypnotizing calm until you get too close, and then she arcs lightning at you. She’s the lightning, Abbate is the thunder, and Dougherty is the driving wind and rain. All three come at you all at once, and you can’t stop them.

Keep your mind open.

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D-Tension: The Violence of Zen

Boston-based MC and hip hop producer D-Tension is back with another album of killer beats, wicked lyrics, and righteous indignation.

The album starts with “Fresh,” which itself starts with a sample of someone saying, “Beats are the worst. Nobody likes beats.” D-Tension then proceeds to slice and dice through jaw-dropping beats provided by DJ Emoh Betta. D-Tension is “Fresh like Febreeze” when he enters a room, and immediately gets your attention with his skills. “Godly” brings rhymes from indie rappers Diamond D and A.G. Diamond talks of being godly on the mic and D-Tension warns other MC’s of faking it (“This hip hop shit’s much more than a hobby.”). A.G. proclaims he was “resurrected between Third and Cypress,” name checking other hip hop gods out of respect.

“What Happen to That” (featuring Akrobatik on guest vocals) is a groovy track with D-Tension reminiscing about “when bad meant good” and when you could still hook up to free electricity at the basketball court and throw your own party there. He admits it wasn’t all great times, however, and how things are much different now. “Landlord Song” is a great example of D-Tension’s humor as he blasts his landlord for renting him a place with broken air conditioning, plumbing leaks, and gouging him on rent.

“Do You Comprehend” is a sizzler with guest vocalists Pace Won and M Dot. The looped baritone sax is great, as are the rhymes – such as Pace Won thinking his life is so screwed up he should just chuck hip hop and go play for the Lions or Rams. “Deal with the Devil” isn’t another song about D-Tension’s lease with his landlord, but rather about how D-Tension takes down inferior MC’s.

“Young Love” is a song about “the ones who got away” and D-Tension’s crushes as far back as fourth grade and being the only Puerto Rican in the small Indiana town where he attended middle school. It’s all true. Full disclosure: I was there. D-Tension and I were pals in middle school. He was the funniest guy I knew then, and he’s still among the funniest people I know now.

“Scandalize” has D-Tension name checking Bruno Sammartino and Devo in the same verse, so that alone makes the track outstanding. “Roaches,” with its jazz lounge groove, is, believe it or not, a song about the gentrification of his old neighborhood and D-Tension being baffled at how the hipsters, artists, and new landlords eliminated the pests that plagued him and his friends all their lives. “Talk White” slams racism, economic inequality, and educational disparity with D-Tension’s slick mic work.

The Rolling Stones loop on “Piss You Off” alone is worth the purchase price of this record as D-Tension admits being “king of the prank” and how much he enjoys ribbing others. The album ends with “Rosebud,” an ode to D-Tension’s first love – a blue Schwinn bike.

Zen is a path of simplicity. “Every day life is the path,” as Zen master Nan-Sen once said. Yet we shouldn’t forget that some Zen masters carried a big stick to crack us across the back to shatter our illusions and bring us back into the moment. D-Tension acknowledges his past, but doesn’t stay mired there. He’s too busy making rent money and embracing the now. The Violence of Zen is his stick waking us from our open-eyed slumber.

Keep your mind open.

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Caroline Rose – Loner

I first heard Caroline Rose when I got sent a press release about her first single off her album Loner. The song was “Money,” and it ended up being one of my favorite singles of 2017.

Loner, it turns out, is already one of the best releases of the winter. Her deft use of organs, synths, and keyboards turns the record into a blend of psychedelia, power pop, and electro. Plus, she’s one of the wittiest songwriters I’ve heard in a while.

“More of the Same” is a great opener about ennui and people wanting to be individuals just like everyone else. She unleashes impressive vocal chops as she sings about all of her friends having “alternative haircuts,” school being a colossal bore and a haven for crushed dreams, and wanting to get away from the ruts the world at large has created for her. “Cry!” reveals Rose’s love of Devo in the opening synth chords.

“Money” adds spaghetti western guitar and is one of the wildest cuts you’ve heard in a long while. Rose flat-out admits, and calls us out on, how much of her / our day-to-day activity is for the pursuit of cash. The roller rink keyboards of “Jeannie Becomes a Mom” perfectly sum up the fear, joy, and uncertainty of the song’s subject. Plus, the electric beats are wicked.

“Getting to Me” includes what sounds like a plucked violin as Rose sings about the life of a waitress who craves more out of life but yet is a master at her craft. Rose gets a David Lynch-vibe going on “To Die Today” with its echoing guitar, subtle percussion, and her haunting vocals about the feeling and release of death. It’s fitting that the follower is “Soul No. 5,” a song about embracing life (“I ain’t got a job, but I got a lot of time.). The synths during the chorus are exuberant, and they’re laced with surf rock on “Bikini” (a song about the benefits of sex appeal and the objectification of women).

The stabbing synths of “Talk” push the desperate narrative of the lyrics, in which Rose sings of blissful, sexy silence with her lover. The closer, “Animal,” with its synthesized handclaps and trippy keys, is a sexy song about two lovers in the throes of passion.

The whole album is a mix of sex, death, mishaps, and comedy. In other words, it’s about real life. Rose might consider herself a loner, but she’s really all of us.

Keep your mind open.

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