Chaos master Dion Lunadon has announced his newest solo album, Systems Edge, due out November 14, 2023. To whet your appetite for it, he’s already released the first single, “I Walk Away.”
On top of that, the album is already available for pre-order on vinyl and “shockwave” vinyland he’s already announced a tour across Europe in the next two months.
Can’t make any of these gigs? Why not go see him in New York for the album’s release party, then?
I don’t know what’s in the water in Sweden nowadays, but it might be bringing people’s minds to higher states of consciousness and thus causing many of them to form cool bands – like Gothenburg’s psychedelic rockers Melody Fields and their new album 1901.
The album is full of stunning touches and haunting moments – not spooky, creepy haunting moments, mind you. The moments are almost like having groovy ghosts of a deceased psych-band who crashed their van on their European tour in 1969 and now hitch rides with travelers and get them into weird adventures. “Going Back” throws you back into the psychedelic era right away, making you wonder if Melody Fields has someone dropped you through a time portal.
“Jesus” is described by the band as “a profound experience that delves into the complexities of spirituality and personal connections, leaving an indelible mark on the listener’s consciousness. “Jesus” is not just a song; it’s a musical experience that transcends boundaries…” I can’t describe it better than that. The only thing I can add is that it reveals the band’s love of shoegaze and shows how that genre and psych-rock are pretty much brothers from another mother / sisters from another mister.
“It’s the end, and soon you will die,” they sing on “Rave On,” in which they join most of their fellow psych-rockers by melting your brain while performing a song about the inevitability of death…so why worry about it? Keep raving, dancing, and exploring.
In case you were wondering, why yes, Melody Fields likes synthwave as well, as evidenced on the instrumental “Mellanväsen” (“Middle Vase”). They take those synths and then pair them up with guitars that buzz like some kind of giant robotic hornet on the mostly instrumental “Transatlantic.” You probably could hear the guitars across the Atlantic if you cranked your speaker volume to the max. The band worked with Swedish psych-voodoo giants GOATon parts of the album (and Austin, Texas’ psych-groovers Holy Wave), and GOAT’s touches are immediately apparent on “Home at Last” – which hits you with all kinds of wild world sounds.
The heavy bass on “Indian MC” mixes well with the sitar-like guitar (or is that an actual sitar? It’s played so well that you can’t tell either way.) chords to evoke riding across Europe with a lover and no particular agenda apart from escaping workplace drudgery. “It takes two, and I want you. Now it’s time for you to choose,” they sing on “In Love” – which rocks hard and will probably make Black Rebel Motorcycle Club a bit envious when they hear it. It’s the kind of track that would make a good show opener because it’s an instant rocker that gets your attention and shakes the walls. The closing track, “Mayday,” sends the album out on a floating note with soft percussion and music box-like guitars (even if one of the music boxes is winding down and perhaps cursed).
1901 is one of the best psych-rock records I’ve heard so far this year, and Melody Fields is already planning to release another one, 1991, on November 10, 2023. Don’t miss either of them.
Don’t miss your chance to see psych / desert rock giants King Buffalo this winter as they make one last tour through the east and midwest before they finally take a break to record another album. They never disappoint, and tickets are already on sale – not only for this tour, but also for the European tour they’re already running!
Sessanta, an untraditional tour that sees Puscifer, A Perfect Circle, and Primus joining forces, and sharing band members, is slated for April of 2024.
The Western U.S. outing is a resurrection, and expansion, of the 2014 Los Angeles event, Cinquanta, which was originally a one-time only celebration. Much like that fabled evening, which commemorated Maynard James Keenan’s landmark 50th birthday, Sessanta celebrates the Puscifer and A Perfect Circle frontman as he turns 60.
Sessanta’s unique format sees the musicians from the trio of bands joining each other’s performances throughout the concert. While each group will have their own distinctive set, the players will continually transform as the night unfolds.
“It took some massaging, and some long days in rehearsal, but we managed to seamlessly pull off this three-song rotation at Cinquanta, my 50th birthday shows, at The Greek Theatre in 2014,” says Keenan of the seven-date run that also sees A Perfect Circle’s first live performances since 2018. “Bands aren’t used to simultaneously sharing the stage with other bands, but if anyone can do it, it’s Primus, A Perfect Circle, and Puscifer.”
Tickets are on-sale now, with VIP options available via Tour.puscifer.com.
The story behind King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard‘s October 2022 album, Changes, is a bit of an odd one, but which King Gizz album doesn’t have an odd story behind it?
Changes was recorded over five years in various studios, houses, and other places, and it was supposed to be the last album of their 2017 project to release five albums in one year. However, the songs they’d crafted so far didn’t fit in with the project they had in mind, and the last album they put out in 2017 ended up being Gumboot Soup.
They never abandoned Changes, however, and kept coming back to it as something they felt they had to finish. The album is built around the concept that every song on the album is changing key practically all the time. The band kept tinkering with the record until they felt they had it right and finally released it just in time for Halloween last year.
The thirteen-minute, three-second opener, “Change,” is the record’s diving board, plunging you into this weird, constantly shifting world. Change is the only constant, after all. The song is a lovely, floating bit of psychedelia that carries you along a winding river which might not end until you’re in the ocean, but that’s okay with you as you’re okay with whatever life rolls at you by this point.
The bouncy keyboards of “Hate Dancin'” are a funny contrast to Stu Mackenzie‘s lyrics about how much he hates dancing, because the song is highly danceable. Cookie Craig‘s funky bass on “Astroturf” will perk up your ears. The guitar on “No Body” sounds like wax melting down the side of a candle.
“Gondii” dives into the band’s love of electronica with its synth-beats and 16-bit video game rhythms. “Can’t get a message to my brain. I can’t control myself,” Mackenzie sings as electro-hi-hats sizzle around him. I think that lack of control is meant for the dance floor. You’d think a song titled “Exploding Suns” would be some thrash metal track on one of their albums like Infest the Rats’ Nest, but instead it’s a mellow track best suited for meditation and zoning out with a pair of headphones and warm tea (which means it’s lovely). The album ends with “Short Change,” a nearly instrumental that runs through the constant key changes throughout the album, reminding us that change is ever-flowing and something to float along with rather than fear.
Don’t fear this album either. It’s not a bad place to start if you’re new to the Gizzverse.
Keep your mind open.
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I was delighted to get an e-mail from Guillame (guitar) and Romauld (drums) of Birds of Nazca from Nantes, France wondering if I might like to hear their new stoner / doom / heavy psych EP Héliote. Um…Yeah!
After a brief intro, we’re smacked in the face with the rolling, rumbling, rocking “Inti Raymi” – which has you wondering how just two people can put out so much heavy sound. “Spheniscus” calms the guitars a bit, but it’s a bit of a feint as the track builds to a pulse-quickening space rock jam about two minutes into it. Soon, it’s like flying a spacecraft through the rings of Saturn like you’ve been doing it for years. The EP ends with “Gucumatz,” spanning over nine minutes and taking you beyond Saturn with its expansive guitar chords and low gravity drums.
This is all in just three songs. It makes you wonder what kind of cosmic power they could unleash in a full album. Let’s hope they do soon.
Keep your mind open.
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The inimitable King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard announce their first 2024 North American tour dates, all 3-hour marathon sets. Following the release of PetroDragonic Apocalypse — their latest album and “end times thrash metal concept album” (The Needle Drop) — as well as this year’s recently-wrapped sold-out residency tour, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s newly announced dates will bring their acclaimed marathon sets back to North America, including stops in New York, Chicago, Austin, TX and Quincy, WA at the legendary Gorge Amphitheatre (which, at a capacity of 21,600 tickets, will be the band’s largest headline show to date). General on sale begins today Friday, September 15th at 12pm ET. A full list of dates is below. Tickets will be available at kinggizzardandthelizardwizard.com
KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD TOUR DATES Sat. Aug. 17, 2024 – Forest Hills, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium Sun. Sept. 1, 2024 – Chicago, IL @ Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island Sat. Sept. 14, 2024 – Quincy, WA @ The Gorge Amphitheatre Fri. Nov. 15, 2024 – Austin, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater
Today, Southern California-bred musician Zooey Celeste signs to ATO Records, announces his debut album, Restless Thoughts, out November 3rd, and presents the lead single/title track. Produced and recorded by acclaimed artist Nick Hakim at his Brooklyn studio, Restless Thoughts centers on Zooey’s hypnotic baritone vocals, often set against a strangely potent backdrop of sparse drum-machine beats and droney guitar tones. The result is a fully-realized soundscape, a darkly ethereal palette which Zooey classifies as astral-pop.
Restless Thoughts takes its title from a song inspired by a particularly dramatic scene in Zooey’s novel, a metaphysical thriller narrated by the character of Zooey Celeste. “It’s a scene where the father of the protagonist has destroyed his marriage and left his daughter behind, and he’s going to meet his mistress and driving in a very suicidal headspace,” he explains. “He gets into a car accident, and two-thirds of the way into the song he’s floating above his body and watching as they’re trying to resuscitate him.”
Like many of the album’s songs, the gorgeously chilling track took shape in the throes of the novel-writing process. “I’d write a chapter and pick up my guitar and start writing songs based off the scenes I’d just finished,” says Zooey. “It’s funny because it’s the first time I’ve ever allowed myself to write from the perspective of a character, but it’s also the most authentic thing I’ve ever made in my life.”
Restless Thoughts is the real-life manifestation of its creator’s alter ego — an astral shaman responsible for leading the newly departed into the great beyond. After dreaming up the character of Zooey Celeste in a feverishly written novel he refers to as “somewhere between Quentin Tarantino and the Bhagavad Gita,” Zooey began working with longtime friend Nick Hakim (whose production credits also include Lil Yachty and Lianne La Havas) to create this ideal soundtrack for nocturnal driving, an immediate conduit for lasting transcendence. Alongside Hakim, Zooey enlisted a wide array of guest musicians to flesh out the sound of Restless Thoughts, including Unknown Mortal OrchestrabassistJake Portrait, drummer Abe Rounds (Andrew Bird, Blake Mills, Devandra Banhart), and Columbian-Canadian singer/songwriter Tei Shi. Mastered by Heba Kadry (Ryuichi Sakamoto, Björk, Julianna Barwick), Restless Thoughts endlessly drifts between avant-punk and chamber-pop and lo-fi psychedelia, quickly drawing the listener into a sustained dream state.
Naming J.D. Salinger, Iggy Pop, and Tyler, the Creator among his inspirations, Zooey started writing songs at the age of eight after hearing The Beatles for the first time. Along with studying poetry and creative writing, he later took up guitar, piano, and harmonium and played in a series of indie-rock-leaning musical projects that ultimately proved unfulfilling. “We’d finish a show and it would be the best show we’d ever played, and I’d feel physically sick afterward,” he says. “People liking it made me feel bad, which is probably because I knew I wasn’t being my most authentic self.” After a seven-year stint in New York (where he first connected with Hakim), Zooey spent several years in Hawaii and devoted much of his time to surfing—an essential part of his life since early childhood. “I got addicted to surfing bigger waves at Sunset Beach on the North Shore and had a near-death experience where I went through a coral reef, and it changed my life in a lot of ways,” he says. “It took the air out of the wanderlust I’d felt for a long time, and brought me closer to the things I’d been running away from. Because of that, music went from being an escape to a base of reflection where I’m able to really sit with my emotions and process them and be totally honest with myself about what I want from life.”
With the release of Restless Thoughts, Zooey hopes to instill the audience with a similarly expanded sense of possibility. “Making this record showed me that if I’m not going beyond what the world has handed me as options, then I’m not being creative,” he says. “I went as far as I could with the process of self-exploration, and I felt fully supported in that—almost like everything was a little bit fated, or we were tapping into something in the ether. I’d love it if that inspired other people to go off and do whatever they feel compelled to do, and let themselves be completely entranced by it.”
Swedish psychedelic band Melody Fields returned with their latest single ‘Hallelujah,’ on 18th August 2023. Additionally, they have announced two albums 1901 and 1991 that are both set to arrive later this year via Coop Records and Nudie Records.
Merging velvety synths, bouncy house piano, pounding bass lines, and funky bongo drum beats, ‘Hallelujah’ stands out as an infectious neo-psychedelic dance anthem. The band’s hazy, hypnotic vocals adds a shoegaze touch, creating a refreshing twist to the psychedelic genre.
Melody Fields said of the single, “Drawing inspiration from iconic bands like Primal Scream and Happy Mondays, the track transports you to the glory days of early 90s dance-oriented rock. ‘Hallelujah’ is a tantalizing preview from the upcoming album 1991, set for release on Coop Records (EU) and Nudie Records (US). Get ready to surrender to the irresistible allure of Melody Fields’ sonic ecstasy and let ‘Hallelujah’ ignite your dancing spirit.”
Melody Fields’ forthcoming albums 1901 and 1991 are a testament to their exploration of the neo-psychedelic realm. 1901 will arrive on 13th October 2023, with 1991 dropping on 10th November 2023. Building upon their signature sound, they will delve deeper into the realms of sonic experimentation, incorporating elements of electronic psychedelia and atmospheric soundscapes. The result is a mesmerizing fusion of vintage and contemporary influences, where retro-inspired melodies collide with innovative production techniques.
Hailing from the vibrant musical enclave of Gothenburg, Sweden, Melody Fields is a band that seamlessly weaves elements of modern psychedelia, indie rock, and shoegaze into their captivating sonic tapestry. With a sound that pays homage to the pioneers of the psychedelic rock movement while forging a distinct path of their own, they have become a force to be reckoned with within the psychedelic music scene. Drawing inspiration from influential bands such as Spiritualized, Moon Duo, and La Düsseldorf, Melody Fields create a sonic landscape that balances vintage psychedelic nostalgia with a fresh and modern approach. Their enchanting harmonies, swirling guitars, and ethereal textures immerse listeners in a kaleidoscopic world of sound, where the boundaries between reality and dreams blur.
As Melody Fields carve their path within the global psychedelic scene, Melody Fields has garnered attention and acclaim for their innovative sound and captivating live performances. Melody Fields’ newest single will be released on 18th August 2023, and their two upcoming albums 1901 and 1991 will be delivered later this year.
Depending on whom you ask, the Five of Cups tarot card can symbolize disappointment, regret, or being stuck in a past you won’t leave. If the card is presented upside-down, it can mean you’ve moved on from such things, or are about to do so.
Austin, Texas psych-rockers Holy Wave seemed to have a mixture of both feelings when they made their newest album, Five of Cups. They’ve openly discussed how, with tours being canceled and venues closing all over the world, that a career in music was pretty much a bust. The world was full of pessimism and anger. Thankfully, instead of succumbing to all of it, they channeled the energy into this record.
The weird synths that boldly open title track set us off on an introspective journey as Ryan Fuson sings about fat cats getting fatter while the rest of us spend most of our time in a metaphorical hamster wheel to keep those cats fat. For such despairing lyrics, the song is rather lovely. “Bog Song” is just as lovely, with bright guitars from Fuson and Kyle Hager throughout it. I’m not sure if Fuson’s guitar or Julian Ruiz‘s drums are trippier on “Chaparral,” but Hager’s electric piano and synths add a nice slice of 1970s psych to the already smoky track. In it, the band make references to their original home town of El Paso, Texas and both the good and not-so-good things they left there when they moved to Austin to pursue that music career that would be derailed (along with everyone else’s) in 2019.
The find the best way to ride out the bad energy of the last couple years on “Path of Least Resistance.” Be like water, my friend. I mean, the guitars on this track certainly flow and (holy) wave like those at a Texas beachfront. They keep walking their groovy Zen path (with Joseph Cook‘s bass leading the way) on “Nothing Is Real.” The past to which you’re clinging? It’s not real. It never was. The future about which you’re stressing? That’s not real either. It never will be. The dreamy instrumentation and vocals encourage you to be here now. The present is the only real thing.
We all felt some sense of “Hypervigilance” at some point in the last four years, and many still feel it. “I’m not like you, ’cause they can’t find me,” Fuson sings, wanting to get away from everyone and everything, but knowing in his heart that such a path can lead to madness. He decides to find solace in truth (“I have a secret power. I can see through your shit.”) and, again, just be here now with that truth. The sound of “The Darkest Timeline” seems to indicate it was recorded in an empty pool, an abandoned theatre, a ghost town, or a shopping mall with only five stores left in it. In other words, it sounds amazing (and gets added flair from Mexican psych-duo Lorelle Meets the Obsolete helping out on the track).
By the time we get to “Nothing in the Dark,” Holy Wave are cranking the fuzz and vocal distortions as if to obliterate their fears and ours of what’s lurking outside our homes. The album ends with “Happier,” and the band, and us, coming out of that scary darkness into bright light, turning that Five of Cups card upside-down and deciding to move on from all of it.
If you’re going through hell, keep going. Don’t stop and hang out there. That’s the message of Five of Cups. You can get through it. You can emerge happier. I’m glad they did.
