Category: Psychedelic

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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BlackWater HolyLight releases “Willow” from upcoming self-titled debut.

BlackWater HolyLight premiere new track via Paste Magazine from forthcoming RidingEasy debut
 Rewiring “heavy music” w/ hints of Sonic Youth, Chelsea Wolfe, Raincoats, Stooges, Beefheart, et al.
Hear & share “Willow” (YouTube) (Paste Magazine)
“Flat out it’s one of the best heavy psych debut albums you’ll hear in 2018.” — The Obelisk
“This quartet has been burning up stages all around their hometown, fueled by their abrasive blend of doom metal, psych rock, goth and a tangy soupçon of pop music… They landed a spot on the 2018 Best New Bandpoll in alt-weekly Willamette Week, but could quickly take over the world.” — Paste Magazine
“They mesh elements of doom, Krautrock and atmospheric indie into one bewitching rock whole.” –Classic Rock Magazine
Portland, OR quartet BlackWater HolyLight share a new track from their forthcoming self-titled debut album today via Paste Magazine. Hear and share “Willow” HERE. (Direct YouTube.)
 
The Obelisk recently launched “Wave of Conscience” HERE. (Direct YouTube.) The album’s first single, “Sunrise” launched this winter, is available to hear and share via YouTube HERE.
The notion of “heavy music” is continuing to expand of late, with many intrepid artists finding new ways to incorporate the power of traditional metal into new music, but without all of its trappings. Enter Portland, OR quartet BlackWater HolyLight to further swirl musical elements into a captivating hybrid of emotional intensity. Heavy psych riffs, gothic drama, folk-rock vibes, garage-sludge and soaring melodies all collide into a satisfying whole with as much contrast as the band’s name itself.
“I wanted to experiment with my own version of what felt ‘heavy’ both sonically and emotionally,” says founder and vocalist/bassist Allison (Sunny) Faris. “I also wanted a band in which vulnerability of any form could be celebrated.” BlackWater HolyLight — Faris, guitarist/vocalist Laura Hopkins, drummer Cat Hoch and synth player Sarah Mckenna — formed upon the breakup of Faris’ longtime band and she sought a fresh start. “In my last band I was the only female in a group of 6, so I wanted to see how my song writing and vulnerability could glow taking the drivers seat and working with women.”
The band’s self-titled debut begins with a simple, almost grunge-like riff as a chorus of voices introduce a melodic line in call-and-response until the band kicks in, slowly building into crescendo like a lost outtake from Led Zeppelin‘s Houses of the Holy. Elsewhere, “Sunrise” begins with a chorus-drenched post-punk groove until a sonic boom of heavily distorted guitar skree erupts out of nowhere. Nearly as suddenly, the song returns to its lulling core, subtly building the tension until it ruptures completely in a blast of noise. Likewise, “Carry Her” establishes a dark, sparse melody and distinctly thin sounding drums not far removed from early work of The Cure. However, BlackWater HolyLight’s penchant for surprise attack finds a sudden shift into a doom-like dirge, colored with eerie synth notes and pounding shards of fuzz. Throughout the album, their songs shirk traditional verse-chorus-verse structure in favor of fluid, serpentine compositions that move with commanding grace. The band expertly, yet subconsciously, incorporates hints of Chelsea Wolfe, Celebration, Captain Beefheart, The Raincoats, The Stooges, Pink Floyd, Jane’s Addiction and more to form their unique brand of dark’n’heavy transcendence..
BlackWater HolyLight was recorded by Cameron Spies at Gold Brick Studios and The Greenhouse, and with Eric Crespo at Touch Tourcher Recording in Portland. The album will be available on LP, CD and download April 6th, 2018 via RidingEasy Records. Preorders are available for LP & CD at www.ridingeasyrecs.com and digital at blackwaterholylight.bandcamp.com.
BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT LIVE:
03/24 Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Festival
04/12 Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
Artist: BlackWater HolyLight
Album: BlackWater HolyLight
Label: RidingEasy Records
Release Date: April 6th, 2018
01. Willow
02. Wave of Conscience
03. Babies
04. Paranoia
05. Sunrise
06. Slow Hole
07. Carry Her
08. Jizz Witch

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Levitation France 2018 dates announced.

Mark your calendars.  Levitation France is scheduled for September 21-22nd this year.  Lineup announcements and tickets will be available soon.  I’m already making plans to attend this year.  Don’t miss out on what is sure to be a great time.

Keep your mind open.

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The Flaming Lips release four years’ worth of early studio recordings and rarities.

The Flaming Lips have released an early Easter gift with Seeing the Unseeable: The Complete Studio Recordings of the Flaming Lips 1986 – 1990.  It’s available for pre-order through their PledgeMusic page.  It contains four albums and a lot of unreleased demos and B-sides.  This is the first time these tracks are available on CD.

They’re also offering Scratching the Door for pre-order on CD, which collects early tracks from the band’s original lineup.  This stuff is a gold mine for Flaming Lips fans.  I’m probably going to grab some of this, as it will be material they played when I saw them in the mid-1980’s in a tiny club outside Fort Wayne, Indiana.

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.

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A Place to Bury Strangers unleash second single, “There’s Only One of Us,” from upcoming album – “Pinned.”

A Place To Bury Strangers Share New Single “There’s Only One Of Us”
Watch The Video Here

Pinned Out April 13th On Dead Oceans

SXSW Scheduled Announced
[still from “There’s Only One Of Us” video]
A Place To Bury Strangers have revealed the next single from their forthcoming album, Pinned. “There’s Only One Of Us” is a haunting, harmonized response to the tensions of our current political climate. Guitarist/singer Oliver Ackermann says about the song, “I am a person. We are all animals. We are all on this planet. This planet is one of billions speeding through space. It is incredible to be alive.”

Accompanying today’s single release is a video directed by Elizabeth Skadden. “The inspiration comes from the foghorn bass line, military drum beat, and kamikaze guitars that intimate a war taking place,” says Skadden. “Talking to the band, I learned the ‘war’ was people under the siege of making a creative project. The work the band does to create the song is expressed in the ‘totem’ built over the course of the music video. Visually, I broke the song into its sonic elements and assigned each its own visual, such as the shifting red and blue lights. The lighting setups were inspired by a Fad Gadget performance from the 1980s, and films by Pedro Almodovar and Kathryn Bigelow.”

Watch A Place To Bury Strangers’ “There’s Only One Of Us” Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkRebfgTLNc
For well over a decade now, A Place to Bury Strangers— Ackermann, Dion Lunadon, and, officially, drummer Lia Simone Braswell—have become well known for their unwavering commitment to unpredictable, often bewildering live shows, and total, some might say dangerous volume. They don’t write setlists. They frequently write new songs mid-set. They deliberately provoke and sabotage sound people in a variety of cruel yet innovative ways. They can and will always surprise you.

April 13th marks the release of Pinned, the band’s fifth full-length, via Dead Oceans. It finds A Place To Bury Strangers converting difficult moments into some of their most urgent work to date. It’s their first since the 2016 election, and their first since the 2014 closing of Death By Audio, the beloved Brooklyn DIY space where Ackerman lived, worked, and created with complete freedom. It’s a clear and honest statement of intent, not just for everything that follows, but for this band as a whole.

A Place To Bury Strangers will tour extensively in support of Pinned starting this spring. They’ll kick things off at SXSW this month before heading to Europe and eventually traversing the U.S. through June. A full list of dates is below.

Watch:
“There’s Only One Of Us” video – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkRebfgTLNc
“Never Coming Back” video – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rij8qYpT1S0
A Place To Bury Strangers Tour Dates:
3/15/18 Austin, TX – Side Bar (Outdoors) @ Fredricksburg All Ages Day Party (12:35PM)
3/15/18 Austin, TX – Waterloo Records (3:00PM)
3/15/18 Austin, TX – The Blackheart @ PledgeMusic/NoiseTrade/Current Day Party (5:00PM)
3/15/18 Austin, TX – Barracuda (Outdoor Stage) @ Secretly Group Official SXSW Showcase (9:00PM)
3/15/18 Austin, TX – Hotel Vegas Patio @ Levitation SXSW Official Showcase (12:30AM)
3/16/18 Austin, TX – Hotel Vegas Annex @ Northern Spy/Wharf Cat/11A Records Day Party (3:00PM)
3/16/18 Austin, TX – Lazarus Brewery @ Music For Listeners Day Party (5:00PM)
3/16/18 Austin, TX – Cheer Up Charlie’s @ Ad Hoc Official SXSW Showcase (1:00AM)
3/17/18 Austin, TX – Cheer Up Charlie’s @ Brooklyn Vegan Day Party (TBD)
3/17/18 Austin, TX – Whole Foods Market Rooftop @ Quantum Collective Southwest Invasion (1:25PM)
3/17/18 Austin, TX – Sidewinder (Outdoors) @ Pianos  Day Party (5PM)
3/18/18 Austin, TX – Empire Garage (Garage Stage) @ Chili Dog Fest (5:00PM)
3/18/18 Austin, TX – Hotel Vegas (Main Stage) @ Burgermania (7:15PM)
4/12/18 Brooklyn, NY – Elsewhere [Pinned Record Release] w/ Surfbort & Conduit (tickets)
4/18/18 Wiesbaden, Germany – Alter Schlachthof (tickets)
4/19/18 Bern, Switzerland – ISC (tickets)
4/20/18 Giavera Del Montello, Italy – Bemicio Live Gigs (tickets)
4/21/18 Bologna, Italy – Freakout Club (tickets)
4/22/18 Turin, Italy – Spazio 211 (tickets)
4/24/18 Winterthur, Switzerland 0 Salzhaus (tickets)
4/25/18 Lyon, France – Marche Gare (tickets)
4/26/18 Paris, France – Le Trabendo (tickets)
4/27/18 Amiens, France – La Lune Des Pirates (tickets)
4/28/18 Dortmund, Germany 0 FZW (tickets)
4/29/18 Antwerp, Belgium – Trix Bar (tickets)
5/01/18 Nijmegen, Netherlands – Doonroosje (tickets)
5/02/18 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso Noord (tickets)
5/04/18 Copenhagen, Denmark – Vega Small (tickets)
5/05/18 Oslo, Norway – BLAA (tickets)
5/07/18 Berlin, Germany – Bi Nuu (tickets)
5/08/18 Hamburg, Germany – Logo (tickets)
5/10/18 London, UK – The Garage (tickets)
5/24/18 Washington, DC – DC9 w/ Prettiest Eyes & Buck Gooter (tickets)
5/25/18 Baltimore, MD – Metro Gallery w/ Prettiest Eyes & Thrushes (tickets)
5/26/18 Raleigh, NC – Kings Barcade w/ Prettiest Eyes & Lacy Jags (tickets)
5/27/18 Asheville, NC – The Mothlight w/ Prettiest Eyes & Lacy Jags (tickets)
5/28/18 Atlanta, GA – The Earl w/ Prettiest Eyes & Nest Egg (tickets)
5/30/18 New Orleans, LA – Gasa Gasa w/ Prettiest Eyes & Trashlight (tickets)
5/31/18 Houston, TX – The Secret Group w/ Prettiest Eyes  & Narcons (tickets)
6/01/18 Austin, TX – Barracuda w/ Prettiest Eyes & Xetas (tickets)
6/02/18 Dallas, TX – Club Dada w/ Prettiest Eyes (tickets)
6/03/18 San Antonio, TX – Paper Tiger w/ Prettiest Eyes & My Education (tickets)
6/05/18 Santa Fe, NM – Meow Wolf w/ Prettiest Eyes (tickets)
6/06/18 Phoenix, AZ – Valley Bar w/ Sextile & Strange Lot (tickets)
6/07/18 San Diego, CA – The Casbah w/ Sextile & Keepers (tickets)
6/09/18 Los Angeles, CA – The Regent w/ Sextile & Prettiest Eyes (tickets)
6/10/18 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall w/ Sextile & Prettiest Eyes (tickets)
6/12/18 Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios w/ Sextile & Tender Age (tickets)
6/13/18 Vancouver, BC – Fox Cabaret w/ Sextile Dopey’s Robe (tickets)
6/14/18 Seattle, WA – The Crocodile w/ Sextile & Haunted Horses (tickets)
Pinned artwork

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The Dunes release a new single about the cult of fear in the U.S.

Australian psych-rockers the Dunes are back with the first single from an upcoming album.  The song “(Just Because You’re Not Being Followed Doesn’t Mean You’re Not) Paranoid” is a stinging rebuke about the culture of fear that has swarmed over the United States since the 1950’s and only become worse in the last decade.

Watch for the full album later this year.

Keep your mind open.

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Riding Easy Records’ sixth “Brown Acid” rare stoner rock / psych rock compilation out April 20th (of course).

Brown Acid: The Sixth Trip compilation to be released 4/20, hear first track via Paste
Rare 60s-70s pre-metal, hard rock singles curated by L.A.’s Permanent Records & RidingEasy Records
Read The Guardian UK‘s excellent feature on Brown Acid series.
Hear/share Gold’s “No Parking” (YouTube) (Paste Magazine)
“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
The forthcoming latest edition of the popular compilation series of long-lost vintage 60s-70s proto-metal and stoner rock singles, Brown Acid: The Sixth Trip, is set for release on April 20, 2018. Hear & share the first track, “No Parking” by Gold via Paste Magazine HERE. (Direct YouTube HERE) The series is curated by L.A. label RidingEasy Records and retailer/label Permanent Records. 
About Brown Acid: The Sixth Trip:
This time around we have 10 deep cuts from across the continental US of A and one from our neighbors up North. This Trip kicks off with an outrageous number from Gold out of San Francisco circa 1970. The band used to open their sets with this over-the-top frantic jammer which is absolutely mind-blowing and also leads one to believe that the only band that could’ve held a candle to Gold back in the day would’ve been the mighty Blue Cheer.
As we delve deeper into the depths, Canadians continue to prove that they could bang heads with the best of ’em!  Heat Exchange from Toronto released the rollicking ripper “Inferno” on the Yorkville label way back in 1968 and it’s still thumping almost 50 years later! Missouri isn’t a state that brought us a lot of heavy 45s, but there are a handful of outstanding tracks from the Show Me State, one of which is the funk-laced anthem “Give Me Time” by Backwood Memory from Kansas City.
The longer we do this, the more we begin to believe that Youngstown, Ohio was the Hard Rock Mecca back in the day.  Travis is yet another Youngstown group that aimed to get asses out of seats and out in the streets.  “Lovin’ You” is a groovy banger with a sultry riff originally released on the prolific Starshine Productions imprint. Six years prior to his Arcadian synth-funk novelty hit “Space Invaders” from 1980, Victor “Uncle Vic” Blecman took Flight into the studio with a list of relationship requirements.  Amongst which are his need for “Luvin’, Huggin’, & More”, with emphasis on the “More” part if we’re to believe the urgency with which he delivers this fist-pumper.
If you don’t immediately recognize the Truth & Janey moniker, you need to get with it and familiarize yourself with their incredible 1976 LP No Rest For The Wicked. It’s a proto-metal masterpiece that’s been reissued on Rockadrome.  Released four years earlier than their debut LP, “Midnight Horseman” is a 45-only track backed with a cover of “Under My Thumb”. Another Iowan group, West Minist’r, self-released three 45s between 1969 and 1975. They’re all great in their own way, but “My Life” hit the crunchy sweet spot in ’71 with vocals sounding like a fresh from primal scream therapy John Lennon over a zonked-out Hendrix groove. You can count on hearing more from West Minist’r on future Trips.
It’s nearly impossible that Dayton, Ohio’s Purgatory didn’t seize the “Strange Days” and join “The Soft Parade” while “Waiting for the Sun”.  And although “Polar Expedition” wears its influences on its sleeve, 1969 would have been at least a little worse off if the band hadn’t self released this single. Johnny Barnes was definitely “smokin’ that reefer” and “drinkin’ that wine” when he released “Steel Rail Blues” in 1976. The label states that you could order a copy of this 45 for by sending $1 to a PO Box in Boston and it’s the only record on the Brown Acid series that seems to be obtainable currently for about the same amount it was sold for over three decades ago. That said, it’s doubtful that it will remain so cheap for much longer.
With a track as heavy as “Is There No Peace” it’s easy to let the name of the label on this 45 slide.  In Chicago in 1970 PSLHRTZ seemed like as good a label name as any for the guys in Zendik to release this insane recording on. Halfway through the track you might be wondering to yourself, “How was this not a hit?”, and then you hear the lyrics to the last bit of the song and understand.
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: The Sixth Trip.
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 Sixth Trip will be available everywhere on LP, CD and download on April 20th, 2018via RidingEasy Records. Pre-orders are available for digital (with immediate download of the first single) at Bandcamp, physical pre-orders at RidingEasy Records.
Artist: Various Artists
Album: Brown Acid: The Sixth Trip 
Label: RidingEasy Records
Release Date: April 20, 2018
01. Gold “No Parking”
02. Heat Exchange “Inferno”
03. Travis “Lovin’ You”
04. Enoch Smoky “It’s Cruel”
05. Backwood Memory “Give Me Time”
06. Flight “Luvin, Huggin & More”
07. Truth & Janey “Midnight Horsemen”
08. West Minst’r “My Life”
09. Purgatory “Polar Expedition”
10. Johnny Barnes “Steele Rail Blues”
11. Zendik “Is There No Peace?”

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Primus, Mastodon, All Them Witches, and Jjuujjuu announce big U.S. tour.

Weird rock maestros Primus, metal giants Mastodon, psych-rockers Jjuujjuu, and blues-psych heavyweights All Them Witches are going on tour starting in May.  Primus and Mastodon will share the stage with Jjuujjuu and All Them Witches on various spots of the tour, but any of these dates are worth seeing.  This will probably be one of the heaviest / trippiest tours of the year, so don’t miss it.

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