Category: Psychedelic

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.

[Subscribe and I’ll haunt your e-mail inbox.]

 

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

Keep your mind open.
[There’s only one of me and one of you.  Subscribe so we can stay in touch.]

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.

[No need to be paranoid when you subscribe.  You’ll get e-mail updates.  No surveillance guaranteed!]

 

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?”

On The Web:

Keep your mind open.
[Don’t trip out on me just yet.  Subscribe first.]

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.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you split.]

The Flaming Lips announce March U.S. tour dates.

Psychedelic living legends the Flaming Lips have announced a March U.S. tour.  The dates are:

March 3rd: Okeechobee Festival – Okeechobee, FL

March 5th: Georgia Theatre – Athens, GA

March 6th: The Mill & Mine – Knoxville, TN

March 7th: Iron City – Birmingham, AL

March 9th: The Orange Peel – Asheville, NC

March 10th: The National – Richmond, VA

March 11th: XCite Center at Parkx Casino – Bensalem, PA

Tickets will go fast, and they’re offering some neat VIP experiences that include access to the sound check, meeting the band, and exclusive merchandise.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t freak out on me.  Subscribe.]

Clutch announce spring tour with Red Fang, the Bronx, and Fireball Ministry.

CLUTCH ANNOUNCE SPRING HEADLINE TOUR DATES 
January 30th, 2018 – Clutch has just announced a string of Spring headline tour dates starting on April 27th in Chattanooga, TN.  Supporting the tour will be The Bronx, Red Fang and Fireball Ministry.  Fan club pre-sale tickets will go on sale today, Tuesday, January 30th at 2:00 pm and will be available through Thursday, February 1st at 10:00 pm.  Fan club tickets will be available at https://www.mt.cm/clutchPassword: fans1. Tickets will go on sale to the general public Friday, February 2nd at 10:00 am at local outlets as well as at pro-rock.com and  www.facebook.com/clutchband.
The band is currently in the studio working on their new record with producer Vance Powell (Jack White, Chris Stapleton, Old 97s, Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown, Red Fang) at Sputnik Sound in Nashville.
Clutch, The Bronx, Red Fang and Fireball Ministry Spring Tour Dates:
*Festival date 
04-27-18  Chattanooga, TN  The Signal
04-29-18  Jacksonville, FL  Welcome To Rockville*
04-30-18  Athens, GA  Georgia Theater
05-02-18  New Orleans, LA  House of Blues
05-03-18  Birmingham, AL  Iron City
05-04-18  Memphis, TN  Beale Street Music Fest*
05-05-18  Lexington, KY  Manchester Music Hall
05-06-18  Charlotte, NC  Carolina Rebellion*
CLUTCH:
Neil Fallon – Vocals/Guitar
Tim Sult – Guitar
Dan Maines – Bass
Jean-Paul Gaster – Drums/Percussion
For more  information, check out the band’s website:
Official: www.pro-rock.com
Keep your mind open.
[Don’t forget to subscribe before you go.]

Ty Segall – Freedom’s Goblin

It’s hard not to like an album that opens with a song about the lead singer’s dog.

That’s exactly what Ty Segall does on his newest record, Freedom’s Goblin, a sprawling double-album with rock riffs galore, wild horn sections, funk jams, new wave trips, ballads, and psychedelic freak-outs.  The opening track, “Fanny Dog,” launches like a Polaris missile with a full brass accompaniment and Segall shredding his guitar like his dog probably shreds a stuffed animal.

Segall makes a hard right turn on “Rain,” which seems to reveal his admiration for Radiohead with its simple piano chords, unadorned vocals, slightly warped horns (which are all over this record, really) and lyrics about pining for a lover.  His cover of Hot Chocolate’s “Every 1’s a Winner” is outstanding, and one of the best covers anyone has put out in a couple years.  Segall and his crew keep the funk but up the fuzz on it, and we’re all winners for it.  Speaking of funk, the bass on “Despoiler of Cadaver” is downright slick, and the rest of the tune is a weird, disco / new wave fun zone.

“When Mommy Kills You” is appropriately hard-hitting.  “My Lady’s on Fire” is a ballad that displays Segall’s love for 1960’s folk rock, and the saxophone solo on it  immediately gets your attention.  “Alta” is stadium rock brilliance.  Want more cowbell?  There’s plenty of it on the groovy “Meaning,” which blends hot beats with guitar freak-outs.  “Cry Cry Cry” isn’t a cover of the Johnny Cash song, but it does sound like a nice salute to ELO‘s ballads.  “Shoot You Up” is a slugging, chugging song that I think is about the dark side of the record industry, or fame, or both.

“You Say All the Nice Things” and “The Last Waltz” are two love songs, one about love in the now and one about a love lost to death.  One of the longest tracks on the record, “She,” is a wild jam that would be appropriate for any lady wrestler’s entrance music or the theme song for any metal-loving dominatrix.  “Talkin’ 3” is almost a free-form acid jazz session, but with a noise rock band playing at the same time.  “The Main Pretender,” with its skronking, squealing saxophone by Mac DeMarco, was one of my top 10 singles of 2017.  “I’m Free” gets back to Segall’s love of 1960’s folk, and “5 Ft. Tall” has some 1960’s power pop touches to it and then evolves into a garage rock fuzz-fest.  The closer, “And, Goodnight,” is a twelve-minute psychedelic jam and a great finale.

As you can guess, Segall is all over the map on Freedom’s Goblin, but it all works.  He’s created a record that embraces his many influences and is having a great time exploring all of them.  It’s a treat for us as well.

Keep your mind open.

[You’ll be a winner in my eyes when you subscribe.]

 

MIEN release first single, “Black Habit,” and it’s a doozy.

Is it too early to say I’ve already heard one of the best singles of the year?  MIEN, consisting of the Black Angels‘ Alex Maas, Elephant Stone‘s Rishi Dhir, the Earlies‘ John Lapham, and the Horrors‘ Tom Furse, have released “Black Habit,” the first single from their debut self-titled album due out April 6th.

The single is a heady, almost nightmarish trip blending psychedelia with a bit of dark wave.  The album is available for pre-order and the band will play live at Levitation Austin this April.  I already have my tickets for their performance.  Don’t wait to get yours, or to order this record.

Keep your mind open.

[Make 7th Level Music your new habit by subscribing.]

Red River Dialect shares first Pink Floyd-like single, “Gull Rock,” from upcoming album.

RED RIVER DIALECT SHARES “GULL ROCK,” NEW SINGLE TAKEN OFF UPCOMING ALBUM BROKEN STAY OPEN SKY OUT FEBRUARY 2ND VIA PARADISE OF BACHELORS
https://youtu.be/9xeRP526kq0
“Fuses folk-rock’s past with its future. Red River Dialect is a language open to all.” – The Quietus“Strangely life-affirming sorrow … a tribute to the power of healing and reconciliation.” – All Music

Red River Dialect will release their sophomore album, Broken Stay Open Sky, on February 2nd via Paradise of Bachelors. After presenting the “rhapsodic” (NPR Music) lead single “Kukkuripa,” the band now shares “Gull Rock” described by Uproxx as “frenzied [and] fantastic.”“The cover photograph portrays Gull Rock, as seen from Trebarwith Strand in North Cornwall. Once I had seen this image, the work of Dayna Cowper, it would not leave my imagination, and I hoped it could become a part of this album. Initially I wanted to conceal it inside the album’s sleeve; a double-lurking cave on an inside horizon of childhood memories. But it would not stay hidden, and strangely it shone through every other proposal for the cover.”
-David Morris

The London-based Red River Dialect (with Cornish roots) brings a windswept energy and daylight to a contemplative, gorgeously rendered suite of songs about inhabiting the landscape, and our bodies, in joy and pain alike. Informed by songwriter David Morris’s spiritual practice, and recorded largely live in the studio, this is the band’s most ambitious and emotionally affecting work to date: atmospheric but deeply rooted, equally concerned with investigating the concrete and the cosmic, both quiet details of the everyday and looming matters of faith.

Listen to Red River Dialect’s “Gull Rock” –
https://youtu.be/9xeRP526kq0
Listen to Red River Dialects’ “Kukkuripa” –
Pre-order Broken Stay Open Sky:
Via PoB – http://www.paradiseofbachelors.com/pob-039
Other options – http://smarturl.it/PoB39