Electro – Page 26 – 7th Level Music

Top 20 albums of 2022: #’s 10 – 6

We’ve reached the top ten albums that came my way last year. Who made the cut? Read on…

#10: The Bobby Lees – Bellevue

This album is full of raw punk vocals, squealing guitars, and enough raw power to supercharge the engine of a Trans Am. It’s a great debut from them.

#9: Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol – Doom-Wop

As soon as I heard “Shoo-In,” I knew this was going to be one of my favorite records of the year. These Austin, Texans play fuzzy garage rock that covers such subjects as drinking, sex, partying, break-ups, jerks, and weirdos. In other words, everything.

#8: King Buffalo – Regenerator

Cosmic rock keeps expanding, which is great news for people like me who love psychedelic sounds that are fit for exploring the desert or other planets. King Buffalo’s newest album fits the bill and sends you into orbit into the surprisingly warm void of space.

#7: Regressive Left – On the Wrong Side of History

This is the best dance-rock record I heard all year. It’s a groove-filled EP with scathing lyrics about politicians, consumerism, the internet, celebrity, toxic masculinity, and sex.

#6: The Chats – Get Fucked

And here’s the best punk record I heard all year. The Chats came back with a new guitarist and a renewed anger (and sense of humor) after the pandemic and gave us this wickedly sharp and funny album of barn-burners about the price of cigarettes, hot rods, and, of course, getting drunk.

Come back tomorrow for the top five!

Keep your mind open.

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Top 25 live shows of 2022: #’s 15 – 11

We’re almost to the top ten! Let’s get to it!

#15: Primus – Clyde Theatre / Ft. Wayne – May 10th

It’s a bit baffling that it had taken me this long to see Primus. I’ve been listening to them since 1991. I caught them on their “A Tribute to Kings” tour, in which they played Rush‘s entire “A Farewell to Kings” album as the second set. It was a mind-altering show that mixed Rush’s material with Primus’ own stuff.

#14: Gary Numan – Park West / Chicago – March 21st

This was a loud, powerful set in a smaller venue than the last place I saw Gary Numan (Chicago’s Thalia Hall), so it felt more visceral. It was a jam-packed crowd, too, with everyone anxious to finally be out of the house and seeing live music again. Numan played a great mix of new and old material that had everyone buzzing.

#13: The Black Angels – Levitation Austin / Stubb’s – October 30^th

The Black Angels never disappoint, and this hometown / home festival set was another solid one. Coming on stage in matching “Black Angels” jackets, they got down to business and killed it with a lot of excellent material from their new album, Wilderness of Mirrors, and classic material.

#12: Frankie and the Witch Fingers – Levitation Austin / Stubb’s – October 30^th

One of the bands opening for The Black Angels that night was Frankie and The Witch Fingers, who were dressed for the Halloween weekend in zombie makeup and ready to tear into us like a pack of ghouls. They had the crowd moshing, throwing stuff, and crowd-surfing before the set was halfway done.

#11: Earthless – Pierre’s / Ft. Wayne – September 13^th

Shame on you if you missed this show because it was practically a private concert. A small crowd had gathered to see Earthless unload their cosmic rock in a small space. It was the last show of this leg of their tour, and they held nothing back for the enthusiastic fans who were there.

Who’s in the top ten? Come back tomorrow to learn!

Keep your mind open.

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Top 20 albums of 2022: #’s 15 – 11

We’re getting close to the top half of the list. Who’s in the top 15?

#15: Psymon Spine – Charismatic Mutations

This album is a full remix record of Psymon Spine‘s Charismatic Megafauna. There isn’t a bad remix on the whole record, which isn’t easy to pull off.

#14: Lu.Re – Ruminate

Another excellent EP that came out this year (and there were several). Lu.Re’s EP of house music mixed with a bit of dark wave was an EP that made me sit up and think, “Oh, I need more of this.”

#13: Abdul Raeva – Atlas Corporation

Seriously, there was a ton of great electro and house music released last year. I’m sure I barely heard the tip of the iceberg, and yet there were great finds like this EP from Abdul Raeva that hits heavy and with undeniable grooves.

#12: Frayle – Skin & Sorrow

It wouldn’t be a “best of the year” list for me without some doom metal, and Frayle‘s newest album fits the bill. Described to me as “Black Sabbath meets Portishead,” I knew I was going to like it. Imagine the ghost of a witch fronting a doom band, and you’ll get the idea.

#11: Goat – Oh Death

As weird and wild as the cover depicts, Goat‘s new album covers death, transcendence, and sex – three of their favorite topics – and was a great return for them. Their psychedelic voodoo sound was sorely missed.

Who makes it in to the top half of my best records of the year? Tune in tomorrow!

Keep your mind open.

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Top 20 albums of 2022: #’s 20 – 16

I reviewed 42 albums last year. So, here’s who came in the top half of those records.

#20: Adam BFD – Innervisions

2022 was a great year for electronic music, and this EP from Adam BFD was among the best pieces of EDM I heard. It thumps from beginning to end and should be in every DJ’s toolbox.

#19: System Efe – Carpetania

Speaking of great electronic music, here’s another one for you. This EP is dance music for androids.

18: P.E. – The Leather Lemon

What do you get when you mix members of Pill and Eaters? You get P.E., and their excellent debut album of post-punk, electro, and art rock.

17: Primer – Incubator

Another album that blends electro well (with dream-pop in this case), is Primer’s Incubator. It’s a fun listen, even though a lot of it is about a break-up.

16: BODEGA – Broken Equipment

I think it’s a guarantee that anything released by Brooklyn post-bunkers BODEGA is going to end up in my top 20 of any year. Broken Equipment was another solid album from them, with great beats and sharp, biting lyrics about everything from consumerism to British disaster movies.

Who’s in the top 15? Come back tomorrow to find out!

Keep your mind open.

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Top 25 live shows of 2022: #25 – 21

It’s time for a look back at my top live shows of last year. I saw 51 bands last year, some of them multiple times, and a good amount of them at the Levitation Austin and Levitation France music festivals. Here’s the start of the list…

25. The Well – Levitation Austin / Antone’s – October 29^th

The Well are one of the best doom bands out there right now, and their live shows never disappoint. They were damn loud in Antone’s and walloped the place with thundering sound. They also played some new material, which bodes well for a new album from them in the future.

24. The Psychedelic Furs – Andrew J. Bird Music Center / Cincinnati – July 20^th

My friend described the venue as “the Borg Cube of music venues,” but the Furs filled the place with gorgeous sound, playing a good mix of old and new material. Richard Butler sounded as good as ever and everyone on the band was clicking.

#23. The Brian Jonestown Massacre – Levitation France – June 05th

“You don’t need more drugs, sir, you need better drugs. If you had better drugs, you’d be mellowed out and not yelling.” Those words from band leader Anton Newcombe pretty much summed up the trippy feel of their set to close the 2022 Levitation France music festival.

#22. La Femme – Levitation Austin / Stubb’s – October 30^th

Sexy, sweaty, sizzling, and super, this set from the French quintet had the Stubb’s crowd go from, “What is happening?” to “Wow! This is amazing!” by the end. The whole place was bouncing and even yelling back French lyrics they didn’t understand.

#21: Pelada – Levitation France – June 04^th

Booked somewhat at the last minute for the 2022 Levitation France music festival, Pelada closed the Scène Elevation (Elevation Stage) one night to a gobsmacked crowd who was bowled over by their fierce industrial-tinged electro. Everyone was in their hands for the entire set, and everyone left with a crush on singer Chris Vargas.

Who makes the top 20? Come back tomorrow to find out!

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Jorge Ciccioli – ORBITAL XPRNC

Thank your lucky stars that Jorge Ciccioli has sent this three-track EP from Argentina to us, because ORBITAL XPRNC is a great trip into orbit, out past the moon, and then back again.

The title track opens the EP with space shop bleeps and bloops, sweaty dance floor drum beats, upper atmosphere synths, and rocket rumble synth-bass. “Dappled” ups the bass, making it like an electro-syrup oozing over the waffles you’re eating at someone’s house party at 3:14am. The final track, “Noor,” is the sound of a panicked android running from bounty hunters armed with laser rifles.

Short? Yes. Quiet? No. It’s like pushing the “launch” button on a cartoon rocket and holding on until you’re free of gravity.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Gary Holldman – URA87

Clocking in at just four tracks (with one of them being a remix), Gary Holldman‘s URA87 EP is a solid trance-dance record that will make you want to dance, kickbox, shag, or perhaps all three.

The opening title track is a slick, futuristic one with slippery synth-cymbals, heartbeat drums, and pulsing bass. The ORBE remix of it follows, turning the track more robotic and industrial.

“SAM22” floats back and forth between sweaty dance club beats and subdued make-out bass, getting you in the mood or keeping you, ahem, in the game, if you get my drift. I don’t know if “NAT20” refers to a “natural 20” roll in Dungeons & Dragons (which usually indicates at least double damage done to an opponent), but the track is naturally groovy with muted teletype-like cymbals building up to throbbing KMFDM-like bass.

Yes, it’s a short EP, but it packs a wallop about equal to the cover image.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Abdul Raeva – Atlas Corporation

Atlas Corporation is a killer techno-house EP from Abdul Raeva. The Duality Tax label seems to have a stellar batting average when it comes to finding talented DJs and producers and releasing material from them.

Made up of Steffan Todorović and Jonas Arro, Abdul Raeva blends house music with both psychedelic and even prog-rock elements to make a scintillating sound. The title track immediately gives you the sense that your normal, everyday life is about to break into an action film sequence at any moment. “Death Race” is an instant body-mover with its thick bass thumps and psychedelic synth chords.

The Andy Garvey remix of “Death Race” starts off the second half of the EP with a spooky intro that builds into something that sounds like a beatboxing robot working in an underground nightclub. I love how the EP ends with a mellower cut – “Guardian of the Vault.” It’s a sultry, almost tropical jam.

It’s one of the better house / techno records I’ve heard this year.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Harbour Music Society.]

Levitation Austin 2022 recap: Day Four

The last night of Levitation 2022 took us back to Stubb’s for more psychedelic freak-outs. It was the night before Halloween, so plenty of people were still in costume – including some rather elaborate ones such as an astronaut and multiple witches decked out in exotic costumes and makeup.

Those witches probably appreciated the wild set by Frankie and the Witch Fingers, who only get better every time I see them live. They had painted their faces like ghouls for the occasion and ripped through a lot of roaring fuzz.

Up next, and all the way from France, were La Femme. They played a fiery set of electro-psych mixed with a lot of sex appeal and vocals in French. The crowd wasn’t sure what to make of them at first, but they gained many fans by the end of their set.

Closing out the Stubb’s show were The Black Angels – hometown heroes and curators of the festival. They never disappoint, and they played some extended versions of classic tracks and heavy stuff from their newest album, Wilderness of Mirrors.

The end of their set wasn’t the end of the festival, however. We made the ten-minute drive to Feels So Good Records to catch Moon Duo perform a set in their “lightship” – a cube of screens that had projections coming through the back of it toward the crowd instead of the other way around with the images going onto the stage and band. Moon Duo would sometimes melt into the images. It was a hypnotizing effect and a beautiful blend of light and sound.

After their set ended, a guy near us said, “Levitation’s over.” with a bit of sadness in his voice. It was for him and for us. It had been a fun weekend, as always, with good vibes all around and a lot of excellent music. It remains one of the best festivals for music lovers.

See you next year.

Keep your mind open.

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Levitation Austin 2022 recap: Day Two

The second night of Levitation Austin 2022 started at Hotel Vegas. I hadn’t been to a show there since 2013 and was delighted to see the place hadn’t changed much. If anything, the outdoor stage area seemed a bit bigger.

Warm Drag were the first act we saw that night, putting on the sexiest show of the weekend with their blend of electro, fuzz, and spooky rock. Lead singer Vashti Windish owned the stage in her biker leather while percussionist / beat master Paul Quattrone got to work in his tank top. The crowd was hypnotized by them both by their set’s end.

Quattrone took a water break and then was back on stage with the rest of his Osees bandmates for the second night of their four-night residency at Hotel Vegas. They came out swinging, blasting through a lot of tracks in just an hour. Their raging punk set of material from their new album, A Foul Form, left the audience breathless multiple times.

We left Hotel Vegas for Elysium to catch the rare performance by The UFO Club – a sort of supergroup consisting of members of Night Beats and The Black Angels, who performed their (so far) only album from beginning to end. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to hear those songs live, so this set was one of the highlights of the festival for me.

The night ended with Mexican psych-rock legends Los Dug Dug’s. They played a fun blend of psych, surf, and border rock.

Up next would be a trio of Australian bands and doom metal in a blues bar.

Keep your mind open.

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