Category: Psychedelic

Rewind Review: The Black Keys – Magic Potion (2006)

Every now and then (okay, more than that), an album slips through the cracks and years go by before I pick it up and wonder, “What took me so long?” Such an album is Magic Potion by the Black Keys (Dan Auerbach – guitar and vocals, Patrick Carney -drums). I’m a big fan of their work (especially the first half of their discography), and Magic Potion has been on my “must buy” list for a long time.

The opening chords of “Just Got to Be” exemplify what I love about the band – chugging guitar, rock drumming that borders on being sloppy, and sweaty blues-style vocals. “Your Touch” is one of their biggest hits thanks to its slick groove and sexy subject matter. “You’re the One” is a bit psychedelic as Auerbach sings a sweet song about his mother teaching him about love and how he later carried those lessons to his girlfriend.

“Just a Little Heat” reveals the band’s love for Led Zeppelin, who also loved the blues. Just listen to the opening licks and tell me they don’t remind you of Zeppelin’s “Heartbreaker.” “Give Your Heart Away” is a great “So long, baby” type of blues song about Auerbach walking away from a woman who treated him like a doormat. “Strange Desire” again brings in some psychedelic guitar work before it becomes a catchy song about dangerous love. “I don’t wanna go to hell, but if I do it’ll be because of you,” Auerbach sings, pulling no punches in the process. “Modern Times” only amplifies the dirty, floor-stomping feel of the record.

“The Flame” has some of Auerbach’s best guitar work on the record as it moves from blues to psych-rock to some Marc Bolan-like riffs. “The times are changin’, and the people need rearrangin’,” Auerbach sings on “Goodbye Babylon” in a sweaty, loud ode to the world of 2006. “Black Door” could be the follow-up to the Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black,” with Auerbach and Carney painting all of Keith Richards and Charlie Watts’ red doors, as Auerbach unleashes a ton of skronky, reverbed guitar that Richards would enjoy and Carney puts down a wicked beat behind him that Watts would love. The album ends with “Elevator,” a song that has Auerbach getting freaky with several different women in one building. The guitar goes from smooth groove in the verses to wall-flattening in the choruses. It must be deafening live.

Don’t wait a long time to pick up this record. It’s solid from beginning to end. This Magic Potion is probably just what you need right now.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: The Black Angels – Clear Lake Forest (2014)

The Black Angels‘ 2014 EP, Clear Lake Forest, is a fine dose of psychedelia and was a great way to get your summer freak on when it was released that year (and still is).

“Sunday Evening” hits you right away with reverb and the lyric “What if I told you that everything you know isn’t even really true?” Christian Bland’s guitar work on it ranges from skronky to trippy, and the song has probably the hottest tambourine work you’ve heard in a long while.

“Tired Eyes” opens with Stephanie Bailey’s always-dependable thunderous drumming and soon spins into a wild track with lead singer Alex Maas and Christian Bland sharing the vocals about someone who seems tired of living in illusion. I may be wrong. The song is so groovy that it seems to pour incense smoke from your speakers, so I may be hallucinating any meaning I’ve assigned to it.

“Diamond Eyes” is downright lovely. Maas’ reverberated vocals, Bland’s spaghetti western guitar, Jake Garcia’s soothing rhythm guitar, Kyle Hunt’s soaring synths, and Bailey’s military-precision beats all gel to become one of the Black Angels’ best tracks.

“The Flop” was the first single off Clear Lake Forest, and it’s easy to understand why. Hunt’s keyboards sound like he’s streaming them from the Doors’ “Soul Kitchen” outtakes. Bailey’s drums hit so hard they may take your lunch money. The bridge plunges you straight down the rabbit hole and doesn’t let you out. “An Occurrence at 4507 South Third Street” is the Black Angels’ second “address” song (the first being “Haunting at 1300 McKinley” from Phosphene Dream). It has a bit of a honky-tonk feel to it (thanks to the snappy beat) and I can’t help but wonder if it’s about another haunting or a murder or suicide that led to the haunting. “The Executioner” is certainly about death (a common theme on Black Angels records). Maas’ lyrics are the clearest on this track (before the freak-out of a bridge, at least). It’s an interesting twist. Maas wants you to know that sin may feel good, but death waits so you’d better get things straight before you meet it.

The closer, “Linda’s Gone,” follows the life of a woman who wants and seeks something beyond her boring life and even the boredom of the illusion around her (and all of us, really). It has all the stuff you like from the Black Angels: tribal drumming, metaphysical lyrics, trance-inducing synths, spacey vocals, and guitar licks that seem to fold in on themselves and then back out into different shapes.

Clear Lake Forest was a solid EP and a great follow-up to their full-length album, Indigo Meadow. Treat yourself to it.

Keep your mind open.

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Damaged Bug – Bunker Funk

Damaged Bug is another side project of Oh Sees founder John Dwyer. He’s put out a few solo albums (2014’s Hubba Bubba and 2015’s Cold Hot Plumbs) under this moniker by now, and his latest, Bunker Funk, is another solid effort.

The opening din of “Bog Dash” is like an alarm clock waking you up from a great dream in your fourth REM cycle of the night. The guitars sound like someone played them while drunk and stumbling up a stairway, and the drumbeat is crisp as fresh popcorn. The tune, as you can expect from Dwyer, heads straight into psychedelia and “The Cryptologist” follows this path. Dwyer’s lyrics are almost a whispered chant luring us into some dark tomb or hidden city.

“Slay the Priest” is full of throbbing synths mixed with clanging percussion while Dwyer sings about (I think) ritual combat between him and a druid. “Ugly Gamma” reminds me of Flaming Lips tracks with its weird synthesizer sounds and creepy vocals. It’s one of the coolest tracks on the record. I have no idea what a “jummy” is in “Rick’s Jummy.” I don’t even know if “jummy” is a noun or adjective. I do know that the song is a nice, trippy piece of psychedelia. “Our love keeps us alive, everyone else has died,” Dwyer sings. I suppose he’s right, in the grand scheme of things.

“Gimme Tamanthum” is another weird, chant-like track with soaring guitar chords throughout it. “No One Notice the Fly” has a great flute riff throughout it that makes it sound like a 1970’s action TV show theme. The album’s title track is equally funky, especially in the drumbeats and cymbal crashes. “Mood Slime” almost sounds like a warped record as Dwyer sings about a garden spider and a lovely woman who might be leaving him. “Liquid Desert” is appropriately weird for its title and blends rock drums with keyboards that sound like Gary Wilson played them while in a bad mood. “Unmanned Scanner” is the closest Dwyer comes to replicating his work with Thee Oh Sees, as it’s full of loud, jangly, almost chaotic guitars. “The Night Shopper” sends the album out on a mellow note, complete with a long fade out of silence.

This is an intriguing, weird, and trippy record, but you’d expect no less from Mr. Dwyer. I suppose you could funk out to it in a bunker, but I wouldn’t if you were locked in there for a long time. It might freak you out too much.

Keep your mind open.

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Desert Daze 2017 announces a great lineup.

The 2017 Desert Daze music festival in Joshua Tree, California is boasting one of the best festival lineups of 2017.  This four-day festival of psychedelic and stoner rock is well worth the trip if you don’t live close to the west coast.

Just some of the stand-outs in my book are Eagles of Death Metal, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, the Thurston Moore Group, Liars, Boris, Allah-Las, La Femme, the Budos Band, Deap Vally, Holy Wave, Froth, L.A. Witch, Death Valley Girls, Jjuujjuu, and Dahga Bloom.

Get your tickets now.  I’d be there if I could, but I’ll probably have used up most of my vacation time by the time October 12th arrives.

Keep your mind open.

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Oh Sees deliver new single, “Animated Violence,” from upcoming album.

OH SEES SHARE “ANIMATED VIOLENCE” OFF UPCOMING ALBUM ORC

CASTLE FACE AUCTIONS OFF HAND-PAINTED TEST PRESSINGS FOR DOWNTOWN WOMEN’S CENTER

ORC OUT AUGUST 25TH ON CASTLE FACE

Today, Oh Sees share one of their heaviest songs yet, the punishing “Animated Violence.” It comes to us off their forthcoming album (their 19th album is 20 years!), Orc, out 8/25 on Castle Face.

LISTEN TO “ANIMATED VIOLENCE”
http://bit.ly/2sMKAT7

Also, Castle Face has listed 14 Dwyer-hand-painted test pressings for auction on eBay, with all the proceeds going to the Downtown Women’s Center in Los Angeles. Castle Face’s co-captain Matt Jones:

We here at Castle Face are committed to making positive change in our community, and the homelessness epidemic in downtown Los Angeles is a tragic and complex issue. Homeless women in particular are an especially vulnerable population and we are happy to help out in any way that we can to assist in permanent solutions for them and our community. This auction features test pressings of the last smattering of John Dwyer’s projects with the label – Coachwhips, Oh Sees, and Damaged Bug are all represented – and feature one of a kind artwork on the jackets by the man himself, rendered in black and glow in the dark ink. 
BID ON HAND-PAINTED TEST PRESSINGS
http://ebay.to/2uOB6Ik 

Finally, the band has announced a second show at Warsaw in Brooklyn. Don’t miss to see the greatest live band of the decade as it enters its third decade of existence!
LYRICS TO “ANIMATED VIOLENCE”

OLD IS WARRIOR
DRINK THE POISON
I AM WARRIOR
CRUSH YOUR HEAD IN

WHO IS AT THE DOOR
BLASTING LIFE AWAY?
I AM WARRIOR
FEAST ON FAMILY

WHY IS WARRIOR
SWINGING BLUDGEON?
HOW DOES WARRIOR
SWALLOW DYNASTY?

AND WOE IS WARRIOR
CRACKING ARMOR
SWOLLEN BELLY UP
ON DISMAL VISTA

WHO IS THE WARRIOR?

LISTEN TO “THE STATIC GOD”
http://bit.ly/2s27Yix

OH SEES TOUR DATES
Sat. July 22 – Sun. July 23 – Los Angeles, CA @ FYF
Sun. Aug. 6 – Katowice, PL @ OFF Festival
Tue. Aug. 8 – Hamburg, DE @ Molotow
Thu. Aug. 10 – Oslo, NO @ Oya Festival
Fri. Aug. 11 – Gothenburg, DW @ Way Out West Festival
Sat. Aug. 12 – Copenhagen, DK @ Pumpehuset
Fri. Aug. 18 – Saint Malo, FR @ La Route du Rock
Sat. Aug. 19 – Brecon Beacons, UK @ Green Man Festival
Fri. Sept. 1 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom
Sat. Sept. 2 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Bar
Mon. Sept. 4 – Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas Outside
Tue. Sept. 5 – New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jack’s
Wed. Sept. 6 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
Fri. Sept. 8 – Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero Theater
Sa. Sept. 9 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
Sun. Sept. 10 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
Wed. Sept. 13 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
Thu. Sept. 14 – Montreal, QC @ La Tulipe I Le National
Fri. Sept. 15 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Theater
Sat. Sept. 16 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
Sun. Sept. 17 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
Tue. Sept. 19 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall
Fri. Sept. 22 – Missoula, MT @ Monk’s
Sat. Sept. 23 – Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s
Sun. Sept. 24 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
Mon. Sept. 25 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
Wed. Sept. 27 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
Thur. Sept. 28 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall

Pre-order Orc – https://www.midheaven.com/item/orc-by-oh-sees
Hi-res photos/album art: http://pitchperfectpr.com/thee-oh-sees/

Rewind Review: Suuns and Jerusalem in My Heart (2015)

Two Montreal psychedelic powerhouses, four-piece Suuns and producer Radwan Gahzi Mounmeh (otherwise known as Jerusalem in My Heart), teamed up in 2012 (but didn’t release the collaboration until three years later) to create a new project that mixes Suuns’ rock aesthetic with Mounmeh’s tripped-out Middle Eastern sounds. It’s mind and tongue twisting.

What do I mean? Well, the first track is titled “2amoutu I7tirakan.” The numbers are used to reflect Arabic sounds that have no good western written translation. The track sounds like a forgotten relic from Vangelis’ Blade Runner score. “Metal” is a great cut that shows how western rock and Middle Eastern beats can work so well together. “Self” blends Middle Eastern chanting with weird electro-blip percussion. “In Touch,” with its almost subliminal bass and building beats, is perfectly suited for playing in the glass elevator you’re taking to the upper floors of the casino hotel to meet your lover / the contract killer you’ve hired.

“Gazelles in Flight” begins with what sounds like a film reel flapping after it’s made its run through a projector. It builds into weird insect-like sounds and then into something that sounds like a Claudio Simonetti giallo film score track from the 1980’s. It’s wonderfully weird. The album closes with “3attam Babey,” an eight-minute track of desert mirages and a mix of touches from the likes of Bauhaus, Joy Division, and early Pink Floyd.

One of the most incredible things about this mind warp of a record is that it was recorded in one week back in 2012. One week! A longer team-up between them may produce something that can transport us to the astral plane. I hope they do this soon. I’d love to check out that place.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Goat – Commune (2014)

I’m not surprised that Goat’s Commune opens with a track called “Talk to God,” because a Goat album (let alone a live performance) feels like a direct transmission from another plane where beings beyond our understanding dwell and bless us with insight and wisdom.

Goat, the mysterious Swedish voodoo rock band, had another solid record that went straight into my “Best of 2014” list with Commune. “Talk to God” hypnotizes you out of the gate with its Arabic / African guitar licks, humming bass, and those sultry, mysterious female vocals (sexily singing “Call my name when you talk to God.”).

“Words,” with droning guitar that sounds like something Giorgio Moroder composed, furthers Goat’s theme of communing with things beyond our ken. The weird, high-pitched chants on “The Light Within” definitely sound like something from beyond this reality, and the guitar solo may well send you there.

“To Travel the Path Unknown” could be the theme of listening to any Goat album. You never know where it will lead you and it may change each time. The opening lyric claims, “There is only one true meaning of life, and that is to be a positive force in the constant creation of evolution.” Heavy stuff, but a Goat album is not for the weak. Don’t play one unless you are ready to face the consequences of an expanded mind.

“Goatchild” continues the band’s theme of using their name in at least one song title per record. It’s also the first song on their first two albums to feature male vocals, which contrast nicely with the duo female vocals throughout most of the tracks as the lyrics take us beyond the moon and sun.

“The spirit world is everything,” Goat claims on “Goatslaves.” They’re right, of course. This world here, in which I am typing a review that cannot truly encapsulate this record, is illusion. We are slaves to it because we fear what lies beyond the veil we keep over our eyes. The beats on this are so good they’re almost terrifying, which is just how Goat likes it. A bit of fear keeps you honest, and liars never do well in the spirit world.

“Hide from the Sun” is a magnificent song to take with you across the desert during your pilgrimage to a holy temple, an oasis full of sweet water and fruits and beautiful naked people, or the treadmill. Just don’t be surprised if you abandon that run on the treadmill for a good sweat in the sauna while listening to this track, because it may make you seek sweat lodge visions.

“Bondye” is a fantastic instrumental with swirling, mesmerizing beats that build to a frenzy best suited for whirling dervishes. Let it wash over you. It’s hard to write this even as I hear it. It tends to overwhelm everything else in your immediate sphere.

The album ends with a “Gathering of Ancient Tribes” (Notice the initials?). The vocals are powerful (chanting “Into the fire!” at one point), and the band behind them seems to be playing from a mountain temple for all in the valley below to hear.   The guitar solo drops from Mount Olympus, gathering cacophony in its wake, until it hits you like an avalanche.

This is one of the most powerful, mind-altering records I’ve heard since, well, Goat’s first album. You aren’t the same after hearing a Goat album. It will bend your brain. Proceed with caution, but by all means – proceed.

Keep your mind open.

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Mamby on the Beach artist spotlight: Flying Lotus

Steven Ellison, otherwise known as Flying Lotus, is probably the biggest name in psychedelic electronica right now.  His sets combine jazz, trance, house, soul, and trip hop with psychedelic electro jams.  I wanted to see him at Levitation Austin last year, but the festival was cancelled due to bad weather and I couldn’t get tickets to his rescheduled set.  He recently announced that he’s performing a 3-D show, so that should be amazing.  He’s also a close friend of Thundercat, so I think the two of them grooving together is a certainty.

Keep your mind open.

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Mamby on the Beach artist spotlight: Thundercat

Bass guitar whiz, rapper, singer, and producer Thundercat (Stephen Bruner) is one of the funkiest musicians around right now.  His music ranges from funk to soul to psychedelia to prog-rock (and he also plays bass in Suicidal Tendencies).  His collaborations with Erykah Badu, Flying Lotus, and Kendrick Lamar have all earned him wide acclaim (and a Grammy).  His June 25th set at Mamby on the Beach is sure to be a must-see.

Keep your mind open.

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Mamby on the Beach artist spotlight: MGMT

Psychedelic freaks MGMT (Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser) will be closing the Beach Stage at Mamby on the Beach on June 24th. MGMT are known for loud, reverb-laced, synth-driven psychedelia and their show is sure to be a mind trip.  They’ve been nominated for multiple Grammy Awards and sound not unlike a younger Flaming Lips.  Don’t miss out on the freak-out.

Keep your mind open.

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