Indianapolis’ power blues-rock duo Brother O’ Brother‘s new EP, Monster Truck (which you can download for free, by the way), rumbles by as loud and hard as its namesake.
Opening with “Unleavened,” the band chugs through a swampy mix of blues wails, garage rock riffs, and metal drums. The title track refers to the power of a crazy relationship. There’s no sex like crazy sex, after all. “GOLD” is a blazing psychedelic jam that has the band in fifth gear by this point.
“Howlelujah” is, apart from being one of the best-named tracks of 2018, a loud, sweaty, dangerous blues cut that plows through muddy distortion and rams through your speakers with a wild jam. “Must Be Blind” is a screaming, shredding diatribe against a bad relationship the singer should’ve seen coming, but it was too hot to resist at the time. The EP ends with “Omni,” another powerful drum and guitar slugfest.
Monster Truck is over far too soon, but any rock like this you can get is good – especially when it’s this good.
Keep your mind open.
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Just in time for Halloween, doom metal rockers Windhand(Parker Chandler – bass, Dorthia Cottrell – vocals, Garrett Morris – guitar, Ryan Wolfe – drums) have released their newest album, Eternal Return. Fueled in part by one of the band’s co-founders, Asechiah Bogdan, leaving the band in 2015, the death of a friend of the band, and the birth of Garrett Morris’ son. Eternal Return speaks of the cycle of life and death, doors closing and opening, and acknowledging some things will forever remain mysteries. The album’s cover shows a woman who looks not unlike Cottrell standing in a forest and looking a hole in the ice over a frozen lake. Did she just push someone in there? Is she thinking of jumping into the lake? Is she remembering someone who died there, or is she just admiring the cold beauty of it all? I don’t know, but all of those are possibilities when you hear the themes of life and death throughout the record.
The album opens with “Halcyon” and the freight train-like in utero heartbeat of Morris’ son just before Morris’ cosmic chariot guitar kicks in and then Chandler and Wolfe nearly flatten you like the aforementioned train as Cottrell’s haunting voice entices you to stand on the tracks. “Would it kill you to be here?” She asks at one point. It might, but it’s worth the risk.
“Grey Garden” has Windhand sliding effortlessly back and forth between doom metal heaviness and sultry psychedelia. Cottrell’s vocals about, I think, a forgotten cemetery and the lover she’s buried there, display grief, love, and (as always) a hint of danger. The breakdown makes no bones about the band’s love of psychedelic metal, and the track is all the better for it (and good heavens, Morris’ solo…). “Pilgrim’s Rest” is a metal ode to long-forgotten settlements, explorers, and a time when the land was still pure.
If that’s not metal enough for you, I’m sure “First to Die” is from the title alone. Cottrell sings of suffering and sacrifice while Wolfe pounds his kit through the floor and Morris and Chandler unleash the sound of a swarm of killer robotic bees attacking during an earthquake. “First to die, to be born,” Cottrell sings, again reflecting the themes of reincarnation. The title of the instrumental “Light into Dark” keeps up the theme as well, and soars by like a comet nearly hitting the Earth.
“Red Cloud” features some of Wolfe’s heaviest beats and Morris’ heaviest shredding. It’s a stunning piece firmly rooted by Chandler’s bass and Cottrell’s vocals enhance the riffs and beats instead of the other way around on the track. It’s a neat choice by the band. “Eyeshine” is an eleven-minute feast of doom sludge that crawls along like an alligator in a deep, dark lake.
Depending on how you define “Diablerie,” it either means “reckless mischief,” “charismatic wildness,” or “sorcery assisted by the Devil.” Eternal Return is a doom metal album, so you can probably guess which definition Windhand was leaning toward here. Cottrell repeats, “Hope it don’t come back again.” multiple times, leading one to believe the song is about how dabbling in magic sometimes goes horribly wrong and one is lucky to escape with their life.
The album ends with the thirteen-minute “Feather,” which begins with simple strummed guitar chords and a near-military march beat. Cottrell sings, “What is laughing in the wind? What is waiting at the water’s edge?” These could be the thoughts of the woman on the album cover as she’s haunted by something in that frozen lake or in the woods around her. It ends the album on a mysterious note, which is perfect for a record about the unknowable.
Windhand are crafting fine doom metal that deserves to be heard by a wider audience. Cottrell’s spell-casting voice and Wolfe, Morris, and Chandler’s heavy and skilled instrumentation are a powerful combination. They aren’t afraid to explore themes we consider when we close our eyes. While many of us would avoid the frozen lake altogether, Windhand is willing to walk up to it and face whatever is there.
Keep your mind open.
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Nashville’s psych / blues rockers All Them Witches (Jonathan Draper – keyboards, Ben McLeod – guitar, Charles Michael Parks, Jr. – bass and vocals, Robby Staebler – drums) have come back from a long road tour to do what any other band would do after a long tour – release a new album.
Opening with the wild, almost manic “Fishbelly 86 Onions,” the whole band goes bonkers, especially McLeod – who shreds more than usual while Parks yells out twenty counts. “Workhorse” could be considered “classic” ATW (if there is such a thing). It hits all the notes you love from the band – psychedelia, obscure lyrics, a bit of outlaw country flavor, and plenty of mystery. Plus, Staebler’s tick-tock beats are excellent on it.
“1st vs. 2nd” could almost be a Thin Lizzy track, and Parks’ bass melds so well with Draper’s keys that it’s almost impossible to tell them apart. It evolves into almost a heavy metal chug by the end. “Half-Tongue” gets us back into a psychedelic jam groove as Parks sings about, I think, a relationship that didn’t end well. I could be wrong.
“Diamond” is one of those ATW songs that you should play when people ask you to describe them. Draper’s keys move like wisps of incense smoke, McLeod’s guitar prowls like a tiger, Parks’ bass moves like a robed wizard through a library built inside a dark cave, and Staebler’s drums drive forward like a Viking boat along a bubbling river.
The band’s blues influences come out with swagger on “Harvest Feast.” “By the time I got back to my mountain, I was uninvited from the harvest feast,” Parks sings. He can only walk away dejected as he’s spurned by his family, friends, and culture. The song flows into a delightful instrumental jam highlighting Draper’s keyboard work and McLeod’s trippy riffs. “HJTC” nearly has them playing stadium rock riffs, but they hold back just enough to keep it linked to their smoky Nashville club roots.
The album ends with “Rob’s Dream,” which one can’t help but think is about something drummer Robby Staebler dreamed one night. He apparently dreamed of powerful guitars, even stronger drumming, and flying out of orbit (judging by how the track ends).
It’s another solid record from one of the best bands out there right now. While All Them Witches aren’t ruling the airwaves is beyond me, but I think they enjoy being a bit of a mystery and a treasure hunt.
Keep your mind open.
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“‘Pre Strike Sweep’ is a pummeling blast of drum fills and distorted bass, the best part of which is the middle, when it opens up into half-time and psychedelic swirls of wah-wah take the lead.” — SPIN
“’Pre Strike Sweep’ is a feverish punk-leaning thrasher. Guitars chug and screech
behind Shaw’s hoarse barking and Moothart’s restless drumbeat. It kind of sounds like
GØGGS covering Show Me The Body covering Dead Kennedys.” — Stereogum
“‘Pre Strike Sweep’ unfolds across four chaotic minutes, with a steady river of distortion coursing through a peripatetic storm of squeals, effects, and one killer solo.” — Consequence of Sound
“Augmented with some spaced synths, ‘Pre Strike Sweep’ comes on like Hawkwind
gone hardcore and its a brutal slap to the collective jaw.” — Raven Sings The Blues
GØGGS, the Los Angeles-based group comprised of co-founders Chris Shaw (vocals) and Ty Segall (guitars), and Michael Anderson (bass) and Charles Moothart (drums, guitar), unleash their new album, Pre Strike Sweep, today via streaming services. The physical release on In The Red remains set at September 28th. GØGGS will celebrate the release with shows between now and then in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Tustin, California (dates are listed below).
GØGGS add a new level of primordial anxiety to their already catastrophic symphony with Pre Strike Sweep. Written collaboratively as a band with lyrics by Shaw, and recorded and mixed over the last year by Segall, Pre Strike Sweep explores the damaging affects of modern life before blowing them up one by one.
Mexico’s Le Bucherettes manage to combine psychedelia, garage rock, snotty punk, and disco fever all into one band. Their third album, A Raw Youth, covers everything from pre-2016 election anxiety to serial killers.
“Shave the Pride” gets it off to a loud, wild start with lead singer Terri Gender Bender belting out lyrics about anger and arrogance (“The size of your rage drowns my urge for lovin’.”). “Mallely” has the disco synths of Jamie Aaron Aux and the powerful drumming of Chris Common throwing you into dance fits. “Reason to Die Young” has Gender Bender claiming there’s “no sign of life in this hell hole,” but her assured vocals feel reassuring. Her Iggy Pop influence can’t be denied in her vocals and stage presence, and it’s in full view on “La Uva” (“The Grape”) in which Pop sings guest vocals with her. It’s a wild, Pixies-like track with its ebb and flow of volume and controlled, distorted chaos. “Sold Less Than Gold” is a lyrically brutal song about child slavery that’s almost disguised as a pop song with its bright synths.
“Stab My Back” is a giant middle finger to a man who once tried to keep Bender down. It’s like a Yeah Yeah Yeahs song combined with a kick in the nuts. “They Fuck You Over” has Bender drawing a line in the sand against the 1% (“‘Winners’ never touch skins. They know how to eat like bulldogs. They fuck you over…I try to manage this game by doing the worst that I can.”).
“Witchles C Spot” is a bold, almost Metric-like tune about toxic love, fetish sex, and obsession. It’s sexy, scary, and sinister all at once. “The Hitch Hiker” is about a serial killer, and might be an ode to the 1986 film The Hitcher. “Lonely & Drunk” is a powerful build up of synths, drums, and weird bass as Bender’s vocals slither out of your speakers as she sings about bad decisions made during bad times. The bizarre title of “Oil the Shoe if the Critter Knew Any Better” is perfect for the weird lyrics about ghosts, eating your vegetables, and how screwed up a relationship can be if one doesn’t face fears. The closer, “My Half,” is a warped song about love and possibly Bender’s Electra complex with guest guitar and synth-bass work by John Frusciante.
It’s a wild, weird record. Le Bucherettes were on my list of bands to investigate for a while, and I’m glad I finally got around to it. You should, too.
It was a grey night. Rain had been falling. My wife was on the phone with her boss and trying to sort out work drama that had been bothering both of them for a week. She and the whole Ft. Wayne area, it seemed, needed a boost of love and fun. They got it from the Flaming Lipsand Le Bucherettesat Ft. Wayne’s Clyde Theatre on August 16th.
My wife had never been to a Flaming Lips show. All I told her was that it would be wild and there would be balloons and confetti. I didn’t want to spoil anything for her.
We walked in just at the start of Le Bucherettes’ set. I’d heard of them somewhere before and made a note to check out their stuff, and this was my first full exposure to their work. It was a wild mix of psychedelia and art punk fronted by a wild Latina (Le Bucherettes hail from Mexico) who seemed to be the child of Iggy Pop and Poly Styrene after they’d had sex in an Aztec temple. They threw down a wild set that even had Wayne Coyne from the Flaming Lips crouching at stage right to take photos of them. My wife and I thought they needed to play next year’s Levitation Music Festival in Austin. They’d fit in perfectly there, and we picked up their last album at the merch table not long after their set.
Le Bucherettes
The beginning of the Flaming Lips’ set began with their cover of “Also Sprach Zarathustra” and then “Race for the Prize” off The Soft Bulletin, which included the following (of course):
My wife was already grinning by this point, and the grin never left her face the entire night. She laughed in disbelief at the giant inflatable robot that stood at center stage over Wayne Coyne during “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” – which Coyne described as a song not just about a young, female Japanese karate master fighting evil robots, but more about “Your friend who tells you they’re going to do something impossible, but they don’t know it’s impossible, and instead of you telling them it’s impossible, you tell them…Yoshimi you won’t let those robots defeat me.”
“Fight Test” is always a welcome addition to their sets, and the “Golden Throat” microphone version of the national anthem was a weird treat. This show was the first time I heard “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song” as well as “The Castle,” which Wayne Coyne described as a sad song, but it doesn’t feel overwhelmingly sad when he sings it. It still sounds hopeful to me.
“The Castle”
Coyne then put on rainbow wings and jumped on a light-up unicorn that was pulled through the audience while he sang “There Should Be Unicorns,” which took on a near deep-house beat and feel live. It’s cool on Oczy Mlody, but it’s better live.
They busted out “She Don’t Use Jelly,” which was well-received by the crowd (and was one I’d hoped they’d play), and “The Captain” after that. There was a small temporary stage in the middle of the crowd, and I figured it was for when Coyne stepped into a giant plastic sphere and crowd surfed to it during their cover of “Space Oddity.” I’d seen him do it at the inaugural Middle Waves Music Festival two years earlier. I was right, and my wife, a big Bowie fan, nearly cried when she realized what song was coming.
They wrapped up the set with “How??”, “Are You a Hypnotist?”, “The W.A.N.D.”, and “A Spoonful Weighs a Ton” before coming back for “Do You Realize?”
“That made me happy,” my wife said afterwards. “I needed that.”
I’d heard of Chile’s psychedelic / shoegaze rockers Follakzoid years ago, but hadn’t picked up any of their material for reasons unknown to me. Lo and behold, they were on the lineup for the 2018 Levitation Music Festival in Austin, Texas, so I made sure to get tickets for their set (which did sell out). I’m glad I did because their set was one of my top three for the whole weekend, and I left determined to dive deep into their catalogue.
I’m starting with their last record, III, which is only four tracks, but the shortest is just over nine minutes long. It’s a mesmerizing, mostly instrumental mix of ambient synths, krautrock guitars, precision drumming, shoegaze fuzz, and misty psychedelic vocals.
“Electric” opens the album and lets you know that Follakzoid’s drummer is apparently a cyborg, because I don’t know how else he can keep up such a sharp beat for over eleven minutes. The song might be the closest I ever get to floating in zero gravity. The guitars range from hardly being there to surging toward you like a thunderstorm. “Earth” is a little jostling at first with the crunchy, jagged guitars but it grows into a tribal meditation with heart-pumping drums and drone synths. The song ends with weird bleeps, bloops, and what sound like synthesized animal and weather noises. “Piure” (named after a rare seafood in Chile) seems to melt like a candle over a skull over the course of nearly thirteen minutes. The last track, “Feuerzeug” (German for “lighter” or perhaps anything use to light a fire), has this mantra-like guitar riff that will float through your mind for days. Follakzoid stretched this nine-minute track into nearly twenty minutes when I saw them in Austin earlier this year, and it was amazing. I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that it was mind-altering without the need for any kind of hallucinogens or even booze.
III isn’t so much an album as it is a sensory experience. It can carry you away if you’re not careful, which might not be a bad thing depending on the kind of day you’re having. This album would’ve been in my top 10 of 2015 if I’d heard it then.
Keep your mind open.
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EXPLODED VIEW SHARE “SLEEPERS” WITH VISUAL, NEW SINGLE OFF OBEY, OUT SEPTEMBER 28TH VIA SACRED BONES https://youtu.be/C6SXE9R67Wg
FIRST-EVER NORTH AMERICAN TOUR KICKS OFF OCTOBER 19TH
(photo credit – Exploded View)
“Break free and fly above the clouds outside the lines that we were told were good for us.
Free yourself from your own prison. Remove the shackles of fear to find that the unknown is not so scary and can be full of precious discoveries (sometimes only possible during sleep). A constant trip comes to an abrupt and unresolved ending with the collapse and eerie shriek of the Arp Solina.” – Exploded View
Exploded View, the international project of Berlin-based Annika Henderson, and Mexico City-based Hugo Quezada and Martin Thulin, will release Obey, their second full-length album on September 28thon Sacred Bones. The apocalyptic, yet soothing songs comprising Obey encompass all the classic dream motifs: intrigue, danger, ecstasy, hard to place, yet primordial visions, and a constant sense of movement. After presenting lead single, “Raven Raven,” the trio now share “Sleepers” and an accompanying visual made by Annika. It’s “a song that very much feels as if it’s flying above the clouds, but is still looking down on desolation from that vantage point. The song glides along on an eerie synth line — at times inviting and beautiful but then always threatening to take a turn into more discomfiting directions — while Henderson’s voice settles into this place where anxiety and fear and wonder seem to coexist. It’s a strange, beautiful composition” (Stereogum).
Leaving behind their live recording process and now a tight three-piece, Exploded View strike a special balance between precise and wild, unshackled and grounded, grooving and unhinged. The have a knack for making the esoteric feel accessible and crafting pop music out of seemingly raw consciousness. This ability to make beautiful music that feels written beyond the veil is at the heart of what makes Exploded View so captivating, and it’s on full display all over Obey. Recorded in Mexico City, the album feels like a liberation of creative impulses and expression allowing the band to reach more mature sonic territories.
Exploded View will head out on their first-ever North American tour the month following the album’s release (all dates are below).
“’Raven Raven’ is darkly cinematic; its initial moments of creaking synthesizer and rattling floor tom unspool like a reel of degraded film, clicking and flickering images onto a looming screen. . .
The pictures Exploded View offer may be grainy, but they’re just as grave and lasting.” – Pitchfork
“‘Raven, Raven’ is a logical continuation of Exploded View, with the same beat-poet delivery from frontwoman Annika Henderson and tense kinetic energy from the instrumentalists, who sound a little like the members of Can jamming in Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s Black Ark Studios” –SPIN
“Mysterious and claustrophobically groovy” –Brooklyn Vegan
Exploded View Tour Dates: Fri. Oct. 19 – Dallas, TX @ Nasher Sculpture Sat. Oct. 20 – Austin, TX @ The Parish Mon. Oct. 22 – Phoenix, AZ @ Club Congress Wed. Oct. 24 – San Diego, CA @ The Whistle Stop Thu. Oct. 25 – Pomona, CA @ The Glass House Fri. Oct. 26 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo Sun. Oct. 28 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop Mon. Oct. 29 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studio Tue. Oct. 30 – Seattle, WA @ Vera Project Wed. Oct. 31 – Vancouver, BC @ Fox Cabaret Thu. Nov. 1 – Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle Fri. Nov. 2 – Detroit, MI @ Deluxxx Fluxxx Sat. Nov. 3 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison Mon. Nov. 5 – Montreal, QC @ Sala Rossa Tue. Nov. 6 – Boston, MA @ Middle East Thu. Nov. 8 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade Fri. Nov. 9 – Philadelphia, PA @ PhilMOCA Sat. Nov. 10 – Norfolk, VA @ Charlies American Cafe Sun. Nov. 11 – Washington, DC @ DC9 Mon. Nov. 12 – Harrisburg, PA @ The Cathedral Room
Nashville’s All Them Witcheshave announced their new, and self-titled, album is available for pre-order. A digital copy is less than eight bucks, a CD is less than ten, and a double LP on transparent red vinyl is less than twenty-five. The lead track, “Fishbelly 86 Onions,” comes with a pre-order, and it’s a hard-hitting six-minute barn burner.
The album is out September 28th, and I’m sure it will be in my top 25 of the year. ATW can do no wrong.
Keep your mind open.
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“So rare that diehard fuzz junkies say you’d have a better chance of winning the lottery than finding a physical 45 rpm single by one of the bands featured on their latest installment.” — Dangerous Minds
“Will do for hard rock, proto-metal and heavy psych what Nuggets did for garage rock, and bring it to a wider audience of collectors and music fans.” — The Guardian
“We’re huge fans of the Brown Acid series… Think of it as a companion to the essential Nuggets compilation but covering artists and records that never made it out of their hometowns.” — Ultimate Classic Rock
The forthcoming seventh edition of the popular compilation series featuring long-lost vintage 60s-70s proto-metal and stoner rock singles, Brown Acid: The Seventh Trip is set for release on Halloween 2018. Hear and share the first single, “Peace of Mind” by Blizzard from 1973 via Loudwire HERE. (Direct YouTube.)
The Brown Acid series is curated by L.A. label RidingEasy Records and retailer/label Permanent Records. The Quietus hosted a full album stream of the previous edition Brown Acid: The Sixth TripHERE. (Direct YouTube.)
About Brown Acid: The Seventh Trip:
Everybody’s favorite source for the hard stuff is back in business, with ten more lethal doses of rare hard rock, heavy psych and proto-metal! These obscure tracks have all been licensed, the bands have been paid, and the sources are all analog. The quality of tracks seems to increase along with the number of Trips and this cohesive collection comes outta the gate with both guns blazing!
Pegasus recorded one single in Baltimore in 1972 and they made it count. “The Sorcerer” is a throbbing ripper that prior to this was basically unknown. However, it doesn’t seem too far fetched to speculate that Black Flaglifted the riff for “No Values” from this track eight years later. Unlikely, but possible, especially considering how big a Black Sabbath fan Greg Ginn is. Pegasus was lauded back in the day for “how much they delivered that Black Sabbath feel.”
You may not already be familiar with Schizo, but you should know at least one of the French freaks behind this short-lived group. Richard Pinhas was the co-writer and uncredited, wah-wah abusing guitarist in Schizo after his stint in Blues Convention. Schizo recorded just two singles, the first being the heavier of the two, before Pinhas went on to record with Heldon and then going solo. The band had a unique vibe that didn’t sound unlike Lemmy fronting a gang of stoned Martians.
Youngstown, Ohio is the most commonly referred to city of the entire Brown Acid series. This town of just under 150,000 people may’ve had the highest (literally and figuratively) per capita output of heavy 45s. Blue Amber recorded this in 1971 at Gary Rhamy’s analog Mecca, Peppermint Recording Studios. This two-riff boneheaded banger sounds like a caveman protest song with an extraordinary amount of delay on the vocals. No wonder this 45 fetches three-figures on the rare occasion it comes up for sale.
Batting clean-up, we have Negative Space, the only LP sourced track on this album. This crunchy jam comes off the band’s 1970 record entitled Hard, Heavy, Mean, & Evil. At over six and a half minutes, “The Calm After the Storm” is the longest track included on this volume, but it never gets dull. Fun fact: before changing the name to Negative Space, Rob Russen called his band Snow and released the “Sunflower” 45 in 1969 – you might recall that groover from the First Trip.
We generally stick with American artists for this series, but every now and again something foreign grabs us and shakes us to the core. One example is the Schizo record from France, another is this Swedish 45 by Zane. These crazy Swedes did one incredibly damaged (hence the title) record on the MM label in 1976. These proto-punkers relied heavily on synth for this tune and mixed the drums so obnoxiously loud, you might think the kit is in the room with you. This is a weird one that somehow sounds like Zolar X covering Wicked Lady. Brown Acid material all the way!
B must be short for Bangers, ‘cuz this side is full of ’em! The flip of this Trip begins with a virtually unknown Oklahoma record from 1973. Blizzard was Rod McClure’s high school band, but you couldn’t possibly guess that teenagers recorded this heavy slab on the Token (should’ve been Toking) label. It’s one of the best we’ve comped and it sounds like a hypothetical MC5/Hendrix collaboration. The “Under the Ice” level drum fills will knock your socks off if the heavy shred doesn’t first.
OOOOk-lahoma, where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain and apparently where the fuzz goes seepin’ in your brain! Third World is the second Okie inclusion on this Trip and we couldn’t be more stOOOOOked to be sharing this very obscure single with y’all. If the heavily distorted two-note riff doesn’t grab ya, the apocalyptic Grand Funk vibes will. Once they get their mitts on ya, Third World will take you back to 1971 and leave ya there. Can we hitch a ride too?
Ever heard of Virginia, Minnesota? We hadn’t either until we got in touch with Calvin Haluptzok and got the back story on his band Sweet Wine. This bitchin’ one-off 45 must’ve melted the snow off the roofs of the households brave enough to play it when it came out in 1970 and it’s still red hot nearly 50 years later. This vino may be sugary, but it packs an incendiary punch! Sadly, Calvin passed before we could get his music re-released, but it was nice to have reached him before it was too late. The Sweet Wine legacy lives on thanks to the Brown Acid archivists.
C.T. Pilferhogg wins the award for most puzzling band name in our series. What’s not puzzling is how righteous both sides of their self-released 1973 single are! Featured here is the A-side “You Haul” which is one of the best examples of a poor man’s Deep Heep (Deep Purple meets Uriah Heep) we’ve ever heard and the demonic Echoplex-laden laughs mixed into this track are out of control. The band was touted as “Southwest Virginia’s Finest Boogie Band”, but don’t let that fool ya.vThey could bang heads with the best of ’em.
The closer on the Seventh Trip is one we hold very near and dear. Not only is this record the one that’s taken us the longest to secure the rights to, it’s also one of the very best examples of heavy psych you’ll ever hear. The track rings your bell (literally) straight out of the gate and the dank psychedelic vibes kick in immediately. Summit‘s “The Darkness” was recorded in a basement studio in Kansas City in 1969 when the lead guitarist was only 16. The band was from a rural Missouri town, played only one impromptu gig in Clinton, and pressed only 125 copies of this, their only single. It should come as no surprise that it sells for hundreds of dollars when it’s offered. That’s a small price to pay for such greatness.
About the Brown Acid series:
Some of the best thrills of the Internet music revolution is the ability to find extremely rare music with great ease. But even with such vast archives to draw from, quite a lot of great songs have gone undiscovered for nearly half a century — particularly in genres that lacked hifalutin arty pretense. Previously, only the most extremely dedicated and passionate record collectors had the stamina and prowess to hunt down long forgotten wonders in dusty record bins — often hoarding them in private collections, or selling at ridiculous collector’s prices. Legendary compilations like Nuggets, Pebbles, ad nauseum, have exhausted the mines of early garage rock and proto-punk, keeping alive a large cross-section of underground ephemera. However, few have delved into and expertly archived the wealth of proto-metal, pre-stoner rock tracks collected on
Brown Acid.
Lance Barresi, co-owner of L.A./Chicago retailer Permanent Records has shown incredible persistence in tracking down a stellar collection of rare singles from the 60s and 70s for the growing compilation series. Partnered with Daniel Hall of RidingEasy Records, the two have assembled a selection of songs that’s hard to believe have remained unheard for so long.
“I essentially go through hell and high water just to find these records,” Barresi says. “Once I find a record worthy of tracking, I begin the (sometimes) extremely arduous process of contacting the band members and encouraging them to take part. Daniel and I agree that licensing all the tracks we’re using for
Brown Acid is best for everyone involved,” rather than simply bootlegging the tracks. When all of the bands and labels haven’t existed for 30-40 years or more, tracking down the creators gives all of these tunes a real second chance at success.
“There’s a long list of songs that we’d love to include,” Barresi says. “But we just can’t track the bands down. I like the idea that Brown Acid is getting so much attention, so people might reach out to us.”
Brown Acid: The Seventh Trip will be available everywhere on LP, CD and download on October 31st, 2018 via RidingEasy Records. Pre-orders are available for digital (with immediate download of the first single) at Bandcamp, physical pre-orders at RidingEasy Records.
