Psychedelic – Page 61 – 7th Level Music

Ron Gallo – Heavy Meta

I first heard Ron Gallo when I saw him open for Screaming Females last year. I was impressed by his mix of punk, blues, and garage rock and picked up his EP, RG3. That EP was one of my favorite records of 2016, so I was eager to hear his full-length debut, Heavy Meta. I’m sure it will be right up there with my favorite records of 2017.

Beginning with his sure-to-be classic, “Young Lady You’re Scaring Me,” Heavy Meta gets off to a solid start with Gallo’s sizzling surf sound guitar and near-crazed vocals about a crazy lover he fears but just can’t ditch. “Put the Kids to Bed” is a 1960’s psychedelic freak-out / freak-on as Gallo pleads with his lover for a kinky quickie even though he realizes they may have passion but love has long since checked out (“When we were young, we said, ‘One day, honey, you and I we’re going to share a grave.’ I didn’t know it’d come so soon.”).

“Kill the Medicine Man” is blues filtered through a lava lamp in Marc Bolan’s living room. “Poor Traits of the Artist” continues the crunchy fuzz that Gallo and his band mates have not only embraced but mastered stunningly early in their careers. “Why Do You Have Kids?” is a hysterical diatribe against people who can’t take care of themselves trying to take care of children. “The kid’s got nothin’ to look up or forward to, no chance,” Gallo sings. We all know someone like that, and Gallo blares out the words we desperately want to say to him or her.

“Please Yourself” reveals Gallo’s love of sixties garage rock (listen to that near-bop beat for starters). “Black Market Eyes” switches gears and becomes a ballad that would make Wolfmother envious with its desert rock-like sound and rough-edged vocals. “Can’t Stand You” is an angry kiss-off to an ex. “Started a War” is a lazy psych-rock reverb dream about a woman storming out on Gallo for reasons he can’t figure (“Started a war, and all I said was nothin’.”).

“Don’t Mind the Lion” is about another woman Gallo wishes he could comfort after she’s fallen on hard times. The album ends with “All the Punks Are Domesticated,” in which Gallo offers a eulogy for everyone who thought they were going to stick it to the Man and change the world but have instead sold out and opted for smartphone screens and a world in which “Pop-Tarts climb the pop charts” and “No one really has anything to say.” He’s mostly right. Hardly anyone wants to do anything dangerous in the world of art and would rather talk about him or herself than have a conversation about anything that might challenge the fragile ecosystem they’ve built around them. Gallo even thinks that he’ll “be forgotten in two generations.”

He won’t be if he keeps up albums like this, however. He’s not only made a good rock record (which we need more than ever these days), he’s given us a glass of cold water in the face. Wake up and do something. Start with getting this album.

Keep your mind open.

[We’d be pleased if you subscribed to us.]

The Black Angels’ new album, Death Song, due April 21, 2017.

Austin, Texas’ psych-rock wizards The Black Angels are dropping their newest album, Death Song, on April 21st and have announced a spring tour starting in Nashville and ending in Austin. The first single off the new album, “Currency,” is already out and a great listen.

You can find all the tour dates, album pre-sale bundles that include things like T-shirts and posters, and the lyric video for “Currency” here.

Oh yeah, they’re also touring with A Place to Bury Strangers, so don’t miss this tour.

Keep your mind open.

Desert Daze Caravan tour announces dates for spring 2017.

The Desert Daze Caravan tour, featuring Night Beats, Temples, Deap Vally, Froth, and Jjuujjuu has announced its full U.S. schedule. Beginning in San Francisco February 22nd, the tour winds through the west and southwest until March 17th in San Antonio. Don’t miss your chance to see this tour. It’s sure to be outstanding. I’m catching it at the Phoenix stop. See you there!

Keep your mind open.

All Them Witches – Live in Brussels

Live in Brussels by psychedelic blues rockers All Them Witches (Ben McLeod – guitars, Charlie Michael Parks, Jr. – vocals, bass, and guitar, Robby Staebler – drums, Allan Van Cleve – keyboards and violin) is one of those rare live records that pulls off a double feat. It makes you want to see them live and it makes you want to hear their new record as soon as possible.

I mean, the album opens with “The Death of Coyote Woman,” (in which Charlie Parks apologizes for the band “not being the best at being on time”), over ten minutes of stunning, fuzzy psych-rock that would make the MC5 and Pink Floyd proud. “Funeral for a Great Drunken Bird” keeps the guitar distortion on thick, which is all right with me. It flows into the stunning “When God Comes Back” that has both blues and metal fans nodding in time.

“Dirt Preachers” (from their excellent album Dying Surfer Meets His Maker) takes on a cool new tone with the excellent keyboard work by Van Cleve on it. “The Marriage of Coyote Woman” is a slick blues jam. The keyboards on “Elk.Blood.Heart” are like something from an early Peter Frampton record. The guitars on “Open Passageways” are a bit Middle Eastern, which is a nice touch. “Talisman” is a gritty folk ballad and a favorite among the crowd, especially when it transforms into an early Pink Floyd-like jam.

Speaking of epic jams, wait until you hear “Blood and Sand – Milk and Endless Waters,” which clocks in at 14:40. It’s a stunner with a lot of great keyboard work from Van Cleve. “Mountain” is a great blend of Americana and pysch-rock. “Heavy – Like a Witch” is another trippy rocker, and “Charles William” is a solid close to the set…until the encore when they play their version of a blues classic – “My Last Name Is the Blues.” It’s over eleven minutes of psych-blues freak-out and was worth the price of admission for the Brussels crowd.

You can get this whole album for free, by the way. I suggest you leave a tip to be nice. They suggest six bucks on their Noisetrade page, and that’s a steal for something this good.

Keep your mind open.

[We won’t be blue if you subscribe to us.]

The Flaming Lips – Oczy Mlody

Recorded over the course of four years, Oczy Mlody by the Flaming Lips is a great way to kick off 2017. It tells a tale of sadness and regrets that turns into a story of resilience, love, and hope by the end.

The title track is a keyboard and synth-driven instrumental that would be at home in the opening credits of a movie set in the not-too-distant future. “How??” has lead singer Wayne Coyne issuing a call to action. “Legalize it. Every drug right now. Are you with us or are you burnin’ out? Kill your rock n roll motherfuckin’ hip-hop sound.” The lyrics might be angry, but the birdsong and distant, warped vocals make one think the rally cries are actually riddles.

“There Should Be Unicorns,” with its heavy synth bass (and guest vocals by Reggie Watts), asks where the bright, enlightened future promised to us by various leaders is. The Flaming Lips demand we enact this future if possible. One suggestion? “…if the police show up, we’ll bribe them into helping us steal the light of love from the rainbow sluts that live next door.”

“Sunrise (Eyes of the Young)” has Coyne wishing he could go back in time to hear a message he ignored. It’s mostly his vocals and Steven Drozd’s slightly echoed piano until some sad, falling synths ooze into the song. “Nigdy Nie (Never No)” starts to turn the album away from painful memories. The lyrics are mostly the word “No” until the second half when they become “Yeah.” The poppy synths are also a bit happier than the last track, almost like the band has realized things are going to be okay.

“Galaxy I Sink” has Coyne questioning his mortality and wondering if we will return to the stardust of which we are made. The desert guitar in it (backed with the sound of frogs chirping, no less) is perfect for such a cosmic conundrum. “One Night While Hunting for Fairies and Witches and Wizards to Kill” is probably the closest you’ll get to being in one of Wayne Coyne’s dreams. He describes going into a tree, trying to kill a wizard, being mortally wounded, and then healed by magical beings. I don’t know what it all means, but it’s one of the best tracks on the record. It’s dark wave filtered through an opium vision. “Do Glowy” continues this trip with even trippier synths and lyrics about getting “glowy and drippy.”

The frogs return in “Listening to the Frogs with the Demon Eyes.” Strange industrial sounds mix with shaky synths and dream-pop guitars. The song is mostly about death, but it’s also about faith: “I can’t see the moon, but I know it’s there. I can’t see the end, but I know it’s there. I can’t see the sun, but I feel it’s there. I can’t see your love, but I know it’s there.”

It flows well into “The Castle,” a song about a woman who’s lost her mind after, I think, being heartbroken (or from suffering a massive head wound, I’m not sure which). “Almost Home (Blisko Domu)” is a reminder that actions have consequences, so wisely choose your path. Coyne sings (as some cool, almost hip-hop bass and grooves kick in), “The thought soon becomes the word, the word then becomes the deed. If the deed is evil, blame the thought it is the seed.”

“We A Family” (with guest vocals by Miley Cyrus) is a tale of Coyne missing his love as he drives “somewhere south of Wichita” and she’s somewhere else under the moon. They’re apart but still connected. Cyrus’ voice mixes well with Coyne’s. They’ve worked together in the past, so hearing them together again to finish the album is a nice touch.

This is already one of the best records of the year. The Flaming Lips can mix dark wave, psychedelia, and electro in ways few bands can. Oczy Mlody ends with laughter. It reminds us to remember joy and have faith. We need that advice in these times.

Keep your mind open.

[Start your day off right by subscribing to us.]

Dayluta Means Kindness – When You’re Young You’re Invincible

Texas psych / prog-rockers Dayluta Means Kindness have returned with another album of mind-altering instrumental cosmic rock – When You’re Young You’re Invincible.

After a brief, feedback-looped “Intro,” the band bursts forward with “Warzawa.” It’s loud, bright, and shimmering with layers upon layers of guitars before it drifts into a bass solo that reminds me of light rain before the whole thing launches like an eagle launching itself off a mountain peak.

The title track starts off with dreamy guitars that are the sounds your brain thinks it’s hearing when you see the sun reflected off a rippling lake. It blooms at about the 4:00 mark into a song that evokes the bravery of a kid jumping off a tire swing into that rippling lake for the first time.

After a brief “Segue,” DMK treats us to over ten minutes of dreamscape music on “Fort Lebanon.” It grows into something like a rolling thunderstorm across a meadow on a summer day. “Young Savagery and General Debauchery” could be, thematically, a companion piece to the title track. It doesn’t have a savage or debauched opening. It’s almost idyllic. Perhaps DMK is trying to tell the generation coming up behind them that cockiness, base pleasures, and ego are all fleeting things that hold us back from tranquility. The song transforms into a stunning piece of heavy prog-rock that never loses its shoegaze influences.

There’s an “Outro” that leaves us with a bit of a somber note, like we’re waking up from a cryptic dream. The whole record brings dreams to mind – dreams of the future and the past, mainly. It’s a dream worth having and worth exploring.

Keep your mind open.

[It would be kind of you to subscribe to us.

Elephant Stone announce Canada and U.K. tour dates.

Psych-rockers Elephant Stone have released a big batch of tour dates across their home country and in the United Kingdom. Catch them if you can. You won’t regret it.

Feb. 08 – Grad Club – Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Feb. 09 – Starlight – Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Feb. 10 – Adelaide Hall – Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Feb. 14 – Casbah – Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Feb. 15 – E-Bar – Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Feb. 16 – Red Dog – Peterborough, Ontario, Canada

Feb. 17 – Zaphods – Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Feb. 18 – Theatre Fairmount – Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Mar. 24 – Trou de Diables – Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada

Mar. 31 – Petite Boite Noire – Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada

Apr. 01 – La Sainte Paix – Drummondville, Quebec, Canada

May 26 – The Moth Club – London, UK

May 27 – The Moon Club – Cardiff, UK

May 28 – Eiger Studios – Leeds, UK

May 29 – Mono – Glasgow, UK

May 30 – Picture House Social – Sheffield, UK

May 31 – Hope & Ruin – Brighton, UK
BTW check out this live in-studio performance they did of Ship of Fools sitar track “Silence Can Say So Much”. Listen to Ship of Fools HERE.

Keep your mind open.

[Your subscription to us would say so much.]

My top 25 live shows of 2016 – #’s 5 – 1

Here we are at my top five live shows of 2016.

#5 – Earthless at Levitation Chicago March 12th

Earthless are the only band to be in my top 10 concerts of 2016 twice. This was the second time I’d seen them and the first time I’d been close to the stage. It was a stunning performance that nearly left me speechless. They were also cool cats who were happy to sign my concert poster after their performance.

#4 – Night Beats at Levitation Chicago March 12th

Night Beats are the only band to be in the top 30 concerts of 2016 three times. Their Levitation Chicago performance was downright dangerous and established the swagger and tight chops I’d see from them all year. They, too, were also cool cats who signed my copy of their new album Who Sold My Generation for me after their set.

#3 – Deap Vally at the Chicago House of Blues October 13th

They were first on a bill with Death from Above 1979 and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and they set the bar so high that the other two bands couldn’t match it. They came to kick ass and take names…and they were all out of names. They, too, were cool cats who chatted with me after their set. Everyone was still talking about their performance as we were walking out of the venue.

#2 – Gary Wilson at Levitation Chicago March 10th

I didn’t know much about Gary Wilson before seeing him at Levitation Chicago. I walked out a devoted fan. His show was part-lounge act, part-psychedelic freak-out, and part-performance art piece. He creeped out a woman next to me, made others laugh, others cheers, and others stand there with a “What the hell am I seeing and hearing?” look on their face. I couldn’t stop talking about his performance for weeks and haven’t stopped recommending him to everyone since.

#1 – Bebel Gilberto at Ann Arbor Summer Fest June 18th

Only one concert had a moment that made me cry in 2016, and that was when Bebel Gilberto and her guitarist performed a cover of Radiohead‘s “Creep.” Seeing this member of bossa nova royalty in a great venue (The acoustics in Ann Arbor’s Powerhouse Theatre are sublime.) was a dream come true, as I’ve had a serious crush on her and her music for many years. It was also the first show I attended on a press pass thanks to this blog, so it will always hold a special place in my memory.

Thanks for reading. I hope to get to just as many shows in 2017. Wish me luck and let me know about bands I need to see this year.

Keep your mind open.

[I might get misty if you subscribe to my blog.]

My top 25 albums of 2015 – #’s 5-1

Here we are at the top 5!

WALL‘s self-titled debut EP was a brash bit of post-punk that floored me the first time I heard it. It’s one of those debuts that instantly makes you hungry for more, and they can’t release a full-length soon enough for me.

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard are unstoppable. They released the best-engineered record of the year, Nonagon Infinity (which can be played on endless loop, starting from any track, with no discernible bumps or pauses along the way), and have announced five more albums this year.

Night Beats are one of those bands that gets better with each record. Who Sold My Generation was recorded mostly with first and second-takes in just a couple days, and the raw energy and R&B grooves shine through your speakers. They are at the top of their game right now.

The lushest record of 2016 was the Besnard Lakes‘ A Coliseum Complex Museum. It’s full of gorgeous arrangements, psychedelic dreams, and haunting sounds. It’s a record that takes you out of your current state of mind and shifts your thinking.

If you’re gonna go out, go out like David Bowie did with Blackstar. He put everything he had into his final album, and it’s a masterpiece. Wild jazz arrangements, frank lyrics about death, sex, regret, acceptance, love, and hope, and hidden treasures (lyrically and in the album artwork itself) are layered throughout it. The legend left us by setting the bar even higher.

There you have it, folks. Thanks for sticking with me throughout 2016. I hope you’ll keep reading this year.

Keep your mind open.

[Start 2017 off right by subscribing to us.]

My top 25 live shows of 2016 – #’s 10-6

We’re in the top ten of the my favorite live shows of 2016.

#10 – The Flaming Lips at Middle Waves Fest in Ft. Wayne, Indiana September 17th

It was a triumphant return to Fort Wayne after nearly 30 years for them. The show was big, bright, and full of love. It was in the middle of the election season and just what we all needed at the time.

#9 – Earthless at the Empty Bottle in Chicago December 2nd

Earthless is easily one of the best live acts out there right now, and this was my first time seeing them in a small venue. I don’t know how the Empty Bottle was still standing by the time they were done because it was among the loudest and heaviest sets I’ve seen there.

#8 – John Carpenter at the Masonic Temple Theatre in Detroit July 15th

“I got a movie and a concert,” my wife said after seeing a screening of Escape from New York and then John Carpenter, his son, his godson, and the rest of his band play a fantastic retrospective of his film score music. It was also in a huge gothic structure, so that made it all the better.

#7 – Screaming Females at the Brass Rail in Ft. Wayne, Indiana June 26th

I’d wanted to see them for a couple years, and seeing them an hour’s drive away with my best friend in a venue not much bigger than the bottom floor of my house was one of my favorite memories of 2016. They were even kind enough to let me interview in their tour van. They crushed it, leaving most of the crowd dumbstruck.

#6 – L7 at the Metro in Chicago August 6th

Another band I’d waited years, even decades, to see was L7 and their sold-out reunion tour show in Chicago was one of the best performances I’d seen from any band in years. They hadn’t lost a thing and showed pretenders how it’s done.

Good grief! If these shows were so good, who’s in the top five? Come back tomorrow and see!

Keep your mind open.

[We need you to subscribe. You want to, so why wait?]