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.
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.
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
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
Noisy, subversively catchy and rhythmically sophisticated, Chicago quartet Melkbelly emerge from Chicago’s DIY spaces with their debut album, Nothing Valley, out Oct. 13th on Wax Nine Records, a sister label to Carpark Records headed by Sadie Dupuis of Speedy Ortiz.
Melkbelly’s members live and breathe Chicago’s art and music underground where their paths crossed and alliances were forged. Vocalist/guitarist Miranda Winters played solo in folk rock project reddelicious. Brothers Bart and Liam Winters (the tall fellas playing guitar and bass in Melkbelly) ran an influential show space in Chicago. Drawn together by their passion for East Coast noise, particularly the flavor originating from Miranda’s previous homebase of Providence, RI, Miranda and Bart of Coffin Ships recruited James Wetzel, who studied jazz drums in college, from improvisational free-drum/noise duo Ree-Yees. This new group of friends orbiting the loft and art scene, began collaborating on each other’s projects, formalizing in a more guitar-driven quartet Melkbelly in 2014.
Melkbelly’s debut EP Pennsylvania came out that same year. Engineered by Cooper Crain of Cave/Bitchin’ Bajas, the record came easily. The Chicago Reader enthused for single “Doomspringa” with its “noisy guitar freak-outs” and “beautifully melodic verses” and compared Melkbelly, accurately, to a hybrid of the Breeders and Lightning Bolt.
In 2016, the band tested the waters with new material. Inspired by the geography of a West Coast tour, shared band experiences, the van “as a magical place” and failed touristic detours at a meteor crater (it was closed) and Spiral Jetty (not van-friendly), the band gathered material written by Miranda and spawned from recorded jams for its next album. In early 2017, Melkbelly recorded with Dave Vettraino at Chicago’s Public House, writing about half the album in the studio and tracking it to 8-track analog tape. The result is Nothing Valley, organized noise and thoughtful freneticism, a fusion of dreamy vocal lines and cantankerous guitar racket. Today they share the video for “Kid Kreative.” “Kid Kreative is about creating a unique aesthetic in art or music only to have it hijacked and manhandled by someone else who reaps the rewards,” explains Miranda Winters. “It was inspired by existing as a woman in the predominantly male space of loud-music where it’s easy to be both looked over and ‘borrowed’ from.”
Thanks to everyone who tuned in for my latest WSNDshow last night. I had some good requests and good response to my Pitchfork Music Festival recap segment. Here’s my set list:
I’m back on air July 27th and will have the return of all my usual segments – Hit the Road, First & Foremost, the Mondo Moment, and Holiday Music. See you then.
Kllo are pleased to announce details of their debut LP Backwater, due for release on October 20th via Ghostly International. Today, Kllo reveal “Virtue,” the album’s slow-building and euphoric first single. “‘Virtue’ is about not knowing what you’ve got till it’s gone, whether that be a part of yourself or somebody else,” the pair say. “It’s the present moment of finally coming to that realization.”
Kllo – an electronic pop collaboration between Melbourne cousins Chloe Kaul and Simon Lam – waded in figurative backwater for much of 2016 amid an extensive world tour. These were exciting times; the duo’s Well Worn EP furthered the promise of 2014 EP Cusp, receiving millions of streams and landing Kllo on festival stages as well as Artists-to-Watch lists. Nonetheless, the stretch kept them far from home, isolated and vulnerable, treading through perpetual uncharted territory while yearning for the comforts of the familiar.
As a result, Kllo’s full-length debut depicts inner adjustment to outer change. Songs were written partially on the road and developed back at Lam’s bungalow, a haven that harbors creative spontaneity and catharsis.
“It’s the first time we hadn’t felt like kids anymore,” says Kaul. “We were really able to dive in deeper and bring out a lot more of us into the music.”
Kllo first emerged with a sound beyond their years; fully formed, fusing elements of R&B, UK garage, and 2-step. Well-versed students of artists like James Blake, Lauryn Hill, and The xx, the duo extend an amalgamation of established pop elements with modern sensibilities and wide-eyed sincerity. Backwater arrives as a refined, coming-of-age account. The LP format finds Kllo with more room to breathe and sync their rhythms with emotions. Kaul’s smoky voice emanates with assurance and leisure. Lam’s production invents brooding, steely undercurrents hemmed with charming crescendos.
Slow to arc, lead single “Virtue” hushes, stutters, and syncopates before locking into a club-ready groove in its second minute. The hook poses a question: “Can I count on you?” Drama is introduced, and heightened without resolution. Instead we’re lead to a stirring and euphoric epiphany.
Kllo have officially come out the other end of the stilted estuary with twelve compositions cultivated to feel timeless and crafted, and equally current. The duo’s second release on Ghostly International — and their most realized work to date — Backwater celebrates the ephemeral and the enduring changes in emotion, the downfalls and the dissolves. It’s an album that parts course with its flow, and flourishes in a lowland.
Backwater Tracklist:
1. Downfall
2. Still Motion
3. Virtue
4. Predicament
5. Last Yearn
6. Backwater
7. Dissolve
8. By Your Side
9. Making Distractions
10. Too Fast
11. Nylon
12. Not Like Them
Kllo Tour Dates: Nov. 12 – Madrid, ES @ Costello Nov. 13 – San Sebastian, ES @ Dabadaba Nov. 14 – Barcelona, ES @ Sidecar Nov. 16 – Paris, FR @ Supersonic Nov. 17 – Rotterdam, NL @ V11
Nov. 18 – Brussels, BE @ Les TransArdentes at Palais 12
Nov. 20 – Amsterdam, NL @ The Sugar Factory Nov. 23 – London, UK @ XOYO Nov. 24 – Bristol, UK @ The Louisiana Nov. 25 – Manchester, UK @ The Soup Kitchen Nov. 27 – Glasgow, UK @ Broadcast Nov. 28 – Edinburgh, UK @ Sneaky Pete’s Nov. 29 – Leeds, UK @ Headrow House Nov. 30 – Nottingham, UK @ The Bodega Dec. 3 – Berlin, DE @ Badehaus Dec. 4 – Cologne, DE @ Yuca Dec. 5 – Hamburg, DE @ Haekken Dec. 8 – Sydney, AUS @ Oxford Arts Factory Dec. 9 – Perth, AUS @ Jack Rabbit Slim’s Dec. 14 – Brisbane, AUS @ Woolly Mammoth Dec. 15 – Melbourne, AUS @ Corner Hotel Dec. 16 – Adelaide, AUS @ Fat Controller
Big Audio Dynamite (Dan Donovan – keyboards and vocals, Mick Jones – guitar and vocals, Don Letts – effects and vocals, Greg Roberts – drums and vocals, Leo “E-Zee Kill” Williams – bass and vocals) were a big part of my high school years, and their final album, Megatop Phoenix, was a great way to go out on top. I had it on a mix tape for years, so it was high time I bought a proper copy of it. Recorded not long after Mick Jones nearly died of pneumonia (special thanks are given to his doctors and nurses in the album’s liner notes), the album is a reflection on the band’s history and a look to the future.
“Rewind” is a battle cry to all of us to stay strong in the face of adversity and to never count out the underdog. The kick-in of Williams’ bass after the first verse still gives me chills. It’s a great blend of their raga / post-punk / new wave / electro mix that made them so innovative. “Union, Jack” is Jones, Letts, and Williams’ call to British people to get back up on their feet in the Reagan / Thatcher years that were grinding them down into complacency. It opens with a sample of the British national anthem and then kicks in some of the slickest beats by Roberts. Lyrics like “Now in the classroom I was told about the Empire, how you were bold. A pint of beer, life passes by, your spirit’s squashed just like a fly.” continue to resonate today.
“Contact” is a song about Jones’ inner struggle to express himself to perhaps a lovely lady or even his own band mates. This was B.A.D.’s last album, after all. His guitar has nice heaviness to it when it comes in during the chorus. “Dragon Town” has Jones expressing the band’s wonder at being lost in a Chinatown while looking for an exotic woman.
“Baby, Don’t Apologize” is, on its surface, about Jones telling a lover not to be sorry things didn’t work out because he can’t or won’t change. It’s probably a veiled reference to the end of the band, however. Jones had a life-changing experience with his pneumonia, Don Letts was becoming a producer and DJ, and the other band members were also involved in other projects. Jones was worried about how he might be perceived (“My head is in the stock. It rains refuse, some shout abuse, and others throwing rocks.”), but as he puts it, “What I am is loud and clear for all to see, for all to hear.”
“Around the Girl in 80 Ways” is a straight-up love song from Jones and Letts as they teach how to woo the lady of your choice. They suggest everything from “a bunch of flowers” to playing it cool. “James Brown” was written after the Godfather of Soul was involved in a domestic violence case and a police pursuit that landed him in jail. Jones and Letts tell the story from Brown’s perspective, paying tribute to him and calling him out on his bad behavior at the same time. The beats are wicked, as is the verbal takedown of American celebrity culture (which is just as bad in Britain nowadays).
“Everybody Needs a Holiday” sounds better than ever in this world that has only gotten smaller, busier, and less personal since 1989. “House Arrest” is a tale of partying on Saturday night until six in the morning when the cops show up. It’s a floor-bumper with heavy bass and kick ass drum licks. Letts gets to take lead vocals on it as he sings about “bouncers, bimbos, lager louts” and “cops and dogs in transit vans.”
“The Green Lady” is a clever and slightly bittersweet song (with great guitar work by Jones) about a man who falls in love with a Chinese woman in a mass-produced photograph hanging in his flat. “London Bridge” is about the Americanization of London, but Jones professes his love for his town with catchy hooks. “Stalag 123” is about Jones and crew being stuck in the studio working on a record while the building’s basement is flooded and they have to deal with “no windows, no air, and secondhand gear.”
B.A.D. didn’t sound like anything that came before them, and no one has really matched their mix of genres since. They had a successful reunion tour a few years ago, and we can always hope for another. If not, there’s always their excellent catalog and this fine end to it.
Computer Magic’s (otherwise known as Danielle Johnson) Obscure but Visible EP is a nice treat. Ms. Johnson puts the whole thing together via synths, computers, drum machines, and lovely vocals for a refreshing record in a world of so much damn noise.
The opening vibraphone-like beats of “Dimensions” instantly calm you, but the snappy beats get your toes tapping. “Lonely Like We Are” soars along free of gravity as the beats get you dancing even though they seem to be miles away from you. “New Generation” has a fun Caribbean beat to it. “Gone for the Weekend” has Johnson requesting, “Don’t bring me down. I’m gone for the weekend, so build me up.” She wants and needs someone to give her a boost because not even the weekend is enough to completely lift her out of her funk. “Been Waiting” sounds like a lost 1980’s synth-pop classic at times.
This is a good introduction to Computer Magic. I need to seek out more of Ms. Johnson’s work. You should, too.
Atlanta, GA trio Omni charged out of the gate in 2016, stunning everyone within earshot with their debut long-player, Deluxe, a dizzyingly refreshing amalgam of wiry post-punk jitters & a dash of zen cool. Multi-task, being released September 22nd via Trouble in Mind, is their latest offering & all signs point to the coveted goal of “next level.” As with Deluxe, Multi-task was recorded with friend & engineer Nathaniel Higgins at his studio as well as a remote cabin in the woods near Vienna, Georgia. “It gave a true peace/piece of mind away from the city” Frobos says, “We could work with no distractions or limitations at our own pace.”
Multi-task is a more musically adventurous step forward for the band, keeping the frantic, fleet-fingered fingerpicking of Broyles’ guitar work & Frobos’ dead-cool delivery while expanding their musical palette & to include whispers of post-Roxy glam & Postcard Records pop. Multi-task balances the band’s trademark off-kilter & unconventional jams with an elegance not found with many of their contemporaries. Their underlying seductive sophistication creates an aura of romance that many post-punk bands dare not tread, and Omni pulls it off with grace & style. Their minimalist funk-fused agit-pop whirrs while simultaneously creating an album that is awash in the excitement of new love, or fleeting attraction. Listen to the first single, “Equestrian,” which the band say is “a song for and about the privileged and self-loathing. It can be unknowingly fun and disgusting at the same time to live in the now. Despicable/Applicable.”
MULTI-TASK TRACKLISTING
1. Southbound Station
2. Equestrian
3. Choke
5. Tuxedo Blues
5. After Dinner
6. Supermoon
8. Date Night
9. Calling Direct
10. Heard My Name
11. Type
OMNI TOUR DATES: Thu. July 20 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl: Irrelevant Music Fest Wed. July 26 – Nashville, TN @ 5 Spot Thu. July 27 – Indianapolis, IN @ State Street Pub Fri. July 28 – Madison, WI @ The Terrace: Univ. of Madison Sun. July 29 – Chicago, IL @ The Hideout Thu. Aug. 3 – Athens, GA @ Caledonia Lounge Fri. Aug. 4 -Birmingham, AL @ Secret Stages Mon. Aug. 7 – Asheville, NC @ The Mothlight
Tie. Aug. 8 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop Bar w/ Kevin Krauter / Peter Oren Wed. Aug. 9 – Memphis, TN @ Growler’s Thu. Aug. 31 – Amsterdam, NL @ OT301
Fri. Sep. 1 – Larmar Tree Gardens, UK @ End of the Road Festival Sat. Sep. 2 – Manchester, UK @ Strange Waves Festival Sun. Sep. 3 – Bristol, UK @ Louisiana Mon. Sep. 4 – Paris, FR @ Point Ephemere Tue. Sep. 5 – Toulouse, FR @ Pavilion Sauvage Wed. Sep. 6 – Madrid, ES @ Sirocco Thu. Sep. 7 – Santiago De Compostela, ES @ WOS Fri. Sep. 8 – Barcelona, ES @ Altaveu Sat. Sep. 9 – Marseille, FR @ L’Emeobineuse Mon. Sep. 11 – Basle, CH @ Renee Wed. Sep. 13 – Zurich, CH @ Katakombe @ Sender Thu. Sep. 14 – Bologne, IT @ Freakout Fri. Sep. 15 – Lyon, FR @ Le Sonic Sat. Sep. 16 – Orleans, FR @ Hop Hop Sun. Sep. 17 – Lille, FR @ DIY Mon. Sep. 18 – London, UK @ Moth Club Tue. Sep. 19 – Birmingham, UK @ Hare & Hounds Wed. Sep. 20 – Dublin, IRE @ Whealan’s Thu. Sep. 21– Glasgow, UK @ Hug & Pint Fri. Sep. 22 – Liverpool, UK @ Liverpool Psychfest Sat. Sep. 23 – Brighton, UK @ Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar
PRAISE FOR DELUXE
“Atlanta trio Omni is only on their first album, but they’ve already caught that essential combination of steely rigor and fiery energy, ripping out quick gems that exude control without sacrificing guts.” – Pitchfork
“On Atlanta trio Omni’s debut album, Deluxe, nothing was surplus. Every snare, every inquisitive, jagged little guitar line, every melody from Philip Frobos’s throat—it was all essential.” – Noisey
“A modern-day paragon of the infinite possibilities, and rewards, of the post-punk form.” – Aquarium Drunkard
“Channeling the likes of Devo and Pylon, their music is a blissful trip back in time to the arty, danceable rhythms of the new wave movement, but with a rough lo-fi flair.” – Stereogum
Day three of the Pitchfork Music Festivalstarted out a bit chilly as the Windy City was living up to its nickname, but we soon got our sweaty groove on thanks to a great set by Chicago house music legend and pioneer Derrick Carter.
Derrick Carter dropping beats like an Olympic power lifter dropping a barbell.
For those of you who weren’t dancing during his set, please see a doctor because something is wrong with you. He put on a house music clinic. It was a great way to start the day.
We also heard a bit of Colin Stetson‘s set. He plays this wild, droning, hypnotizing saxophone music that is difficult to describe but quite mesmerizing. We had plenty of time before Ride‘s set, so we met up with my college pal and his husband again before heading off to do a little shopping and eating.
Ride put on a good set of shoegaze that was a great switch from all the hip hop, electro, and funk we heard during the festival. Unfortunately, they had a shortened set due to some early technical difficulties, but they played new and old material and blasted all of us with the final song of their set. It was a loud, distorted, fuzzed-out assault. “I needed that,” said one man next to me by the time they were done.
Ride melting faces in a killer finale.
Ride did a signing at the record fair afterwards, and I scored a signed copy of their newest album, Weather Diaries (review coming soon). They were happy to meet everybody, and I’m happy to report they had a long line of fans there.
Mandy caught Jamilla Woods‘ set, which she enjoyed very much, after she’d been moved from the Blue Stage to the Green Stage due to the Avalanchescancelling their performance. According to their Twitter feed, a family member one of the band members had some sort of dire medical emergency. My college pal came to the festival mainly to see them, so he was more than annoyed they weren’t playing. He and his husband learned via a Google search that the Avalanches are about as finicky as Morrissey when it comes to performing.
Thankfully, Nicolas Jaarput on an excellent set of his experimental electro / trance music that was both psychedelic and dance-inspiring at the same time. At about the halfway point of his set, a guy in front of me turned to his friends and said, “This is the best set I’ve seen all weekend.” and then left.
Chilean DJ Nicolas Jaar creating intricate beats on the fly.
We split after that, beating the crowds and stopping to meet artist Jay Ryan so we could get one of his posters. He does really neat and cute art for a lot of bands and other projects. We already had a Bob Mould tour poster of his hanging in our living room, and now Mandy has a “It’s Time to Read” poster that will go in her office featuring bears, cats, and a wooly mammoth reading books.
I walked out with a new pair of sunglasses and CD’s by Screaming Females, Vacation, Waxahatchee, Tycho, Priests, Slowdive, She-Devils, Ride, and Wavves, and even a cassette by a band called Diagonal. I’ll have reviews of all this stuff in the coming months.
All in all, the Pitchfork Music Festival was a good time. We’d go back if the lineup was good and we could stay close to the festival. As it’s been for the last few festivals I’ve attended, VIP tickets don’t look worth the money. It’s not as laid back as a Levitation festival, but still fun. It also could’ve used a little more rock, in my opinion, but it was worth the trip.
Keep your mind open.
That’s my pal, Chris, on the far right and his husband, Darin, on the far left. Chris and I hadn’t seen each other since 1993.
[You know what else is worth it? Subscribing to my blog.]
The name of the new Blanck Mass (Benjamin John Power) album, World Eater, could refer to several things: the Fenris Wolf from Norse mythology that eats the sun at the end of the world (the cover art – a photograph of a snarling dog’s teeth – certainly suggests this), the rising population numbers of the human race and the effects of that on the planet, the Internet, Galactus from Marvel Comics, cancer, world politics, religion, or a hundred other things. World Eater attempts to unveil this looming threat (whatever it is) to us, and he does so with fury.
Take, for instance, World Eater’s opener, “John Doe’s Carnival of Error.” It’s a little over two minutes of what sounds like an antique music box in need of repair. This belongs in a horror film score, if it’s not already in one. It’s not a carnival of terror, however. It’s a carnival of error. Our errors, both in real life and especially online, often define us. No one is given the benefit of the doubt anymore, and plenty of us like to sit back and watch the circus as celebrities are taken down, politicians stumble, and even “normal people” suffer pratfalls both physical and emotional.
“Rhesus Negative” brings in frenetic electric beats, fuzzed bass, and short, choppy samples perfect for the short, choppy way we’ve come to want our entertainment, news, and human interactions. “Please” could be Blanck Mass’ asking us to pay attention to our world be swallowed up by seemingly everything. It’s one of the brightest tracks on the record, so I can’t help but figure he thinks we can heal the world and ourselves if we have some compassion for it and each other.
“The Rat” is probably an allusion to scavengers plaguing the world with feeding off of / exploiting the poor. The beat and sound of the track, one of the best, is like something out of a future post-apocalyptic movie (but one with an uplifting ending). I wouldn’t be surprised if “Silent Treatment” refers to the way human beings tend to interact with each other nowadays. We’d rather stare at little screens and type silent words than actually look at each other and tell stories. The song is anything but quiet as it mixes in trance touches with rainfall-like synths.
I have no idea how to explain the title of “Minnesota / Eas Fors / Naked,” but maybe that’s the point. It’s chaotic and seems to come at you from several directions, and I definitely think that’s part of the message. The things that tend to gobble us up in this world come at us all the time from every direction imaginable. Perhaps Blanck Mass wants us to be naked of such distractions, and this song is a reflection of those distractions. I’m going with that.
World Eater ends with the song “Hive Mind.” We’re all nearly there, aren’t we? Everyone wants to be famous, liked, upvoted, tagged, retweeted, and shared. As a friend of mine once put it, “They all want to be individuals like everyone else.” We want to belong, but we don’t want to put in the effort of belonging to something. The song’s slick beats and popping synths keep you nodding and awake. It keeps you from falling into the hive mind.
Blanck Mass wants us to wake up and readjust. He wants us to remember that nature is truly highest on the food chain, but he also wants us to remember that we can avoid being consumed by the beasts we’ve created. This record is a warning, an alarm, and a solid piece of work – one of the best I’ve heard all year, in fact.
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.
