Strange, beautiful, psychedelic, and mesmerizing – King Buffalo‘s newest album (and fifth in just the last two years), Regenerator, is another stunning work from them.
Starting with sunrise synths on the opening title track, the album lifts you off the ground much like the cover image astronaut being pulled up from an alien world. The song’s lyrics tell of embracing the sun and Sean McVay‘s guitars seem to reach escape velocity in order to do it. The drums on “Mercury” at first sound like they can’t decide which time signature they want, but you soon realize that Scott Donaldson is playing at such a high level that he’s weaving intricate patterns like a bee creating a hive.
Dan Reynolds cranks the bass fuzz on “Hours,” a song quite suitable for blasting while you’re dodging asteroids in your star fighter. “Interlude” keeps the cosmic vibes rolling as we emerge from the asteroid belt and cruise past a swirling nebula. “Mammoth” is about leaving the past behind so we, like a mammoth, don’t get frozen in it and stuck there forever. It’s a heavy-psych Zen lesson.
McVay’s guitars on “Avalon” have a lovely psych-shimmer to them throughout it as he sings about his hopes of finding paradise after death. “Firmament” brings us back to the ground for just a moment before another, final liftoff. “I have become one with the great eternal blue sky,” McKay sings, and you believe him – especially when the massive bass riffs and Donaldson’s hammering drums join him in orbit.
You’ll likely join them as well when you hear this record.
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.
The debut EP from Austin, Texas’ Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol, Burger Time Classics, is a protein-packed wallop in just six songs.
I mean, the opening chords and vocals of “Born to Lose” alone will smack you upside the head – and that’s before the heavy snare pounding and cymbal sizzling enters the fray. “Dickhead” starts sounds like an old Weezer track they never released and then drops chugging guitars that Weezer still dreams of playing.
“Maggot” is almost sludge metal. “Kill for the Thrill” is so hot and that it’s practically charbroiled. It’s hard to tell which instrument is putting out the most volume in it. The title of “All Beef, Patty” is not only funny, but it also lets you know what’s in store for you over the next three minutes and thirty-seven seconds: pure beefy rock with a little extra grease. “Maniac” has touches of thrash metal sprinkled in for good measure.
MC/Lyricist RawPoetic (aka JasonMoore) shares a new single, “Digits,” from his forthcoming album, Space Beyond The Solar System, out December9th on 22ndCenturySound. It follows lead single “A Mile In My Head,” which features legendary saxophonist ArchieShepp “soaring above a simple piano melody…with [IrreversibleEntanglements‘ Luke] Stewart’s bass driving it forward alongside a boom-bap beat and several smooth productional flourishes from Damu” (The FADER). “Digits” is immediate, with Raw Poetic’s vocals spitting over an atmospheric beat and keys. “‘Digits’ is basically about moving through the digital ages, yet being unfazed by it,” says Raw Poetic. “I like being an average joe. I like doing things in an organic way. So while the sound rides and moves into this unique digital format, we still give you what’s true to us.”
Although Space Beyond The Solar System could be considered a concept album by its outcome, its inception started from a string of experiments between Moore and frequent collaborator/producer Damu the Fudgemunk. These initial sessions had no specific direction but became the catalyst for what would become a prolific wave of Raw Poetic projects; five of which have been released since 2020. At two hours, absorbing Space Beyond in its entirety may be overwhelming for most, especially in the present day, but Raw and Damu are very aware of this. With a total of over 40-plus years experience between the vocalist and producer, the two of them went down memory lane taking every influence and experience in their personal histories to extract ingredients for a groundbreaking statement. Space Beyond The Solar System is their most comprehensive environment to date.
The creation of Space Beyond sparked a conversation between Raw and Damu about their creative chemistry, with Raw likening their direction to a “space beyond the solar system.” His comment was a eureka moment for the two artists, giving their wandering efforts a sense of definition that was needed. “I think we’ve been exploring music beyond our limits for a few years,” says Raw Poetic. “It’s hard to tell where we’ll land, but we are constantly pushing our way out of the norm. Hence the title, ‘Space Beyond the Solar System.’ It’s just to say, this is new territory for us. Where the sky was once the limit, now it’s just the start.”
Raw Poetic will head overseas to headline the Jazz Cafe in London April 1, 2023. More European dates to be announced in the coming weeks.
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.
Today, Bass Drum Of Death share ‘Head Change’, the Zeppelin-esque third song taken from their forthcoming album, Say I Won’t, released January 27th via Fat PossumRecords. Bandleader John Barrett says of the track,”We kind of wanted a mid-tempo psych stomper, and really didn’t change a whole lot from the demo. We added the dueling guitar bridge in the studio spur of the moment, and it ended up being one of my favorite parts on the whole record.” Watch the videoHERE.
The band shared two tracks previously, the midtempo bruiser ‘Say Your Prayers‘ (a collaboration with Mike Kerr of Royal Blood) and the hi-octane ‘Find It‘ (the video features live footage from the band’s sold out New York show in June of this year). Say I Won’t, comes at a time of massive change for Barrett, having relocated from New York to his hometown of Oxford, Mississippi during the pandemic. The record is also a homecoming of a different sort, with the band rejoining the ranks of Fat Possum, also in Oxford, the label that released their first record GB City in 2011.
The point of an odyssey is to return home changed—still the same person, but deepened somehow, wiser and better, wearing your traveling scars proudly. Bass Drum of Death’s new album is the end result of a journey that took singer and bandleader John Barrett from a small town in Mississippi and sent him across the world and back home again. The music still rips, with blown-out guitars and drums, and the melodies are catchier than ever, hollered in Barrett’s trademark yelp. But the music hits differently now, more at peace with itself, propelled by a new swagger. Say I Won’t is the record of a veteran band finding its stride and leaning into it, stripping back the excess and finding the raw core of their sound.
“Moving back to Oxford was a much-needed reset,” says Barrett. “When I started, I just wanted to play in a punk band and drink beers and travel around. I didn’t really think much past that. And I got really burned out. When I moved back home, I started writing songs again, just for fun. I realized I wanted this record to have more of a hometown feel. The switch back to Fat Possum was easy. It’s much better working with people I know and love and love everything they do.”
Say I Won’t is the first Bass Drum of Death album written, demoed, and recorded with the touring band instead of Barrett doing everything on his own. He found a freedom in working with collaborators that wasn’t available to him before, opening different aspects of the songwriting. It was a process of live recording, layering on different parts and overdubs, and then stripping it all back to the bones of the song, keeping the raw wild heart of the music intact.
“My first two records were made entirely by me alone with my gear, my laptop, and a Snowball USB mic,” says Barrett. “They were just made quickly, cheaply, as an excuse to tour. I wanted to take my time with this record. Make something good that I was proud of in itself.”
The band recorded the new record with Patrick Carney of theBlack Keys at Audio Eagle Studios in Nashville and the result is a groove-oriented, 1970’s-indebted collection of rock songs, with tempos set for cruising and scuzzy guitars galore. There’s an energy and vitality to the music that feels in line with the best of the Bass Drum songs, but with an added boost that comes from new bandmates and a new perspective.
The album finds a reinvigorated Barrett firing at all cylinders, backed by his best band yet. It’s Bass Drum of Death at their loosest and scuzziest and most tuneful, a true rock record in all the right ways. It’s a throwback by way of moving forward, sporting a maturity and swagger that comes from a decade of playing music on the road and surviving to tell about it. More than anything, Say I Won’t is a blast to listen to, music built for driving with your stereo cranked.
“I had to relearn that making music is fucking fun,” says Barrett, “and you should have fun doing it. If it’s miserable, what’s the point?” He laughs. “But man, when a song hits, it’s the best feeling in the world. That’s what this record is about. Getting back to that good place and staying there.”
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard are one of the greatest and most ambitious working rock bands today. This year alone, they’ve released six incredible albums and played sold-out shows all across the world (including three nights at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre and a packed show at New York’s Forest Hills Stadium), earning themselves an insatiable following. Today, they announce a 2023 North American residency tour, which will be their only shows stateside next year, plus cinema screenings of CHUNKY SHRAPNEL, their full-length concert film directed by John Angus Stewart and distributed to cinemas by Abramorama. The band will play three consecutive shows in select cities, and then will cap off with a 3-hour marathon show at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl. As pointed out in their encompassing SPIN feature, it doesn’t matter if the band is playing “in the California desert, an amphitheatre carved into the Rocky Mountains, or a tennis stadium in Queens, the Australian sextet is blowing more minds than ever, one fan at a time.” Tickets are on sale this Friday at 1pm ET.
CHUNKY SHRAPNEL is a feature length live music documentary from King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, directed by John Angus Stewart. Literally bringing the audience onto the stages of their 2019 tour across Europe and the UK, CHUNKY SHRAPNEL offers a uniquely immersive experience never before captured on film, a musical road movie dipped in turpentine. Screenings will largely take place one night only on December 7th. A full list of cities and dates can be found here.
TOUR DATES (new dates in bold) Sat. Dec. 10 – St. Kilda, AUS @ The Palace Foreshore Thu. Dec. 29 – Tauranga, NZ @ Wharepai Domain Sat. Dec. 31 – Wanaka, NZ @ Rhythm & Alps Wed. Jan. 4 – Auckland, NZ @ The Matakana Country Park Fri. Jan. 6 – New Plymouth, NZ @ Bowl of Brooklands Thu. Mar. 2 – Paris, FR @ Zenith Fri. Mar. 3 – Amsterdam, NL @ Gashoulder – SOLD OUT Sat. Mar. 4 – Tilburg, NE @ 013 – SOLD OUT Mon. Mar. 6 – Malmo, SE @ Plan B – SOLD OUT Tue. Mar. 7 – Stockholm, SE @ Munchenbryggeriet – SOLD OUT Wed. Mar. 8 – Oslo, NE @ Sentrum Scene Thu. Mar. 9 – Copenhagen, DK @ Den Gra Hal Sat. Mar. 11 – Warsaw, PL @ Progesja – SOLD OUT Sun. Mar. 12 – Prague, CZ @ Lucerna Velky Sal Mon. Mar. 13 – Vienna, AT @ Gasometer Wed. Mar. 15 – Milan, IT @ Alcatraz Thu. Mar. 16 – Zurich, CH @ X-Tra Fri. Mar. 17 – Lausanne, CH @ Les Docks Sat. Mar. 18 – Wiesbaden, DE @ Schlachthof Mon. Mar. 20 – Brussels, DE @ Cirque Royale – SOLD OUT Wed. Mar. 22 – London,UK @ Brixton Academy Thu. Mar. 23 – London, UK @ Brixton Academy Thu. Mar. 30 – Sydney, AUS @ Big Top Luna Park Thu. Apr. 6 – Byron Bay, AUS @ Tivoli Fri. Apr. 7 – Byron Bay, AUS @ Byron Bay Bluesfest Thu. June 1 – Grundy County, TN @ The Caverns Underground Fri. June 2 – Grundy County, TN @ The Caverns Underground Sat. June 3 – Grundy County, TN @ The Caverns Amphitheater Wed. June 7 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre Thu. June 8 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre – EARLY SHOW Thu. June 8 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre – LATE SHOW Sun. June 11 – Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed Mon. June 12 – Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed Tue. June 13 – Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed Fri. June 16 – Carnation, WA @ Carnation Farms Sat. June 17 – Carnation, WA @ Carnation Farms Sun. June 18 – Carnation, WA @ Carnation Farms Wed. June 21 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Hollywood Bowl – 3 HOUR MARATHON SET
London-born-and-raised musician and producer Eaves Wilder presents her second single, “Morning Rain,” via her new label, Secretly Canadian. Wilder fuses “indie rock tropes with pop to create a raucous yet melodic sound” (Clash). While her first single, “I Stole Your Jumper,” was described as “cool and vengeful” (Brooklyn Vegan), “Morning Rain” airs more on the melancholic side. It finds the 19 year old toying with the struggle of returning to school. Growing up, Eaves spent more time doodling pianos in her workbooks than paying attention to her teachers. Frustrated with having to allow another person to take control of her day, she’d long to be at home, writing music in her bedroom. “For me, school was something that postponed life from starting. I spent the entire time trying to get out of it. You spend 18 years memorizing so much information and then they turn around and expect you to know who you are and what you want, but you’re not given a chance to really figure that out.”
Eaves Wilder began songwriting around the age of eight, harnessing an early obsession with ‘60s Motown records and the left-field pop of Lily Allen. She plastered pictures of her idols on her bedroom wall, but realized in her mid-teens that it was lacking any women. From then on, she made an active effort to get into more female musicians, coming across the riot grrl movement, a discovery that completely changed her life.
She began filing her own teenage obsessions into her collection and while doing so, uncovered the ugly sides of the music world, but also empowerment in the punk feminist fanbase; how artists took ownership in male dominated spaces, and what a powerful tool community could be. Online, and in real life at shows, Eaves saw these elements in the contemporary fan bases of the bands she loved. She became captivated by the idea of reclaiming the worth of the fan girl (which she considers herself to be) and how one can be hyper-feminine without the baggage that comes with it.
Since that self-realization, Wilder has been recording, producing and releasing her own music since the age of 16. Her honest and deceptively cutting lyrics have earned widespread praise from UK tastemakers, including The Sunday Times, NME, Clash, DIY, Dork and The Line of Best Fit, which hailed Eaves as “a star on the rise” (The Line of Best Fit). Signing to Secretly Canadian in 2021, something she waited until she was 18 to do because she thought it would be “uncool” to have her mom sign her record deal for her, Eaves has now swapped her bedroom for the studio, spending 2022 co-producing a run of new music with Andy Savours (Arctic Monkeys / Black Country, New Road / Rina Sawayama).
The Salt Shed, the newest venue from 16” on Center, the team behind the Empty Bottle, Thalia Hall, Evanston SPACE, Beauty Bar, and The Promontory, today announces The Shed, the indoor performance space at the historic Morton Salt Building, and unveils its first wave of shows, the first of which is Friday,February 17. The Shed’s initial announcement features The Flaming Lips celebrating the 20th anniversary of Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Bikini Kill’s first Chicago show since reuniting in 2019, a three night King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard residency, Guatemalan-American house producer/DJ Gordo, and the “Godfather of Punk,” Iggy Pop. A full schedule, also including The Roots, The Hold Steady, The Mountain Goats, Tove Lo,Third Eye Blind, Fever Ray, Viagra Boys, Boy Pablo, and more, is below.
Tickets will go on sale on Friday, November 18 at 10am CST on The Salt Shed website.More shows are to be announced.
“One of the things that really excites me about this project is continuing to work with the artists we’ve grown up with,” says Bruce Finkelman, Managing Partner of 16” on Center.“These are musicians that started at the Empty Bottle, grew to Thalia Hall, and we now look forward to hosting at the Salt Shed. I remember the Flaming Lips at the Empty Bottle way back in 1994, stopping their show mid-set to walk across a sea of fans and play a solo set on a rinky dink piano that I think came with the bar. I have never experienced a crowd so captivated, and it’s a moment that reminds me why I have the best job in the world. It’s just one of the many stories of live music magic that make our places so special.”
Following this past summer’s launch of the outdoor Fairgrounds space, the newly renovated indoor Shed will feature multi-level grandstand seating, premium experiences with access to balcony opera boxes, custom bars, and expedited entry. Quality of sound at the Salt Shed, for both audience and artist, is prioritized. The venue will feature an L-Acoustics sound system designed specifically for the space to give fans throughout the venue the same great sound experience as the world’s leading tours and festivals. Alongside concerts, the Shed will eventually host a comprehensive food, beverage, and retail experience, with plans to incorporate indoor markets and other creative events that celebrate Chicago’s artistic community into the programming.
“I have spent most of my professional life doing two things,” says Craig Golden, President of Blue Star Properties and partner at 16” on Center. “One, renovating and repurposing some of Chicago’s obsolete and historic buildings; and two, collaborating and creating a number of music venues and restaurants throughout the city. Having the opportunity to combine both passions in the presentation of this iconic Salt Shed, turned music and events venue, is truly a dream.”
As both indoor-Shed and outdoor-Fairgrounds performances continue in 2023, the Salt Shed is excited to welcome key partners into the fold: Grassroots, the official cannabis partner of the Salt Shed, will help bring an educational and forward-thinking cannabis experience to both artists and guests in 2023. Wintrust, the Salt Shed’s exclusive Banking Partner, is bringing a spotlight to local charities and nonprofits by way of customized, uniquely illustrated murals. Living on the exterior wall of the Salt Shed, this fixture aims to positively impact and bring awareness to many in the Chicago community.
Motörhead, the iconic Godfathers of heavy metal, released their 23rd (and final) studio album Bad Magic in 2015. Instantly hailed as one of the best the beloved trio had recorded in many years, Bad Magic: SERIOUSLY BAD MAGIC enjoys a bonus-packed refresh, adding two previously unreleased tracks from those furious sessions:
“Bullet in Your Brain”and “Greedy Bastards” as well as a snarling, fangs-out live performance from that subsequent tour at the giant MtFuji Festival in Japan in 2015. Fans will also get “War, Love, Death and Injustice”, an audio interview with Lemmy conducted by Motörhead expert Robert Kiewik during the tour, and should the desire to have a chat with Lem or anyone beyond this mortal coil arise, the box-set will exclusively contain a MURDER ONE ouija board (complete with the Ace of Spades planchette to spell out the conversation).
A new video for “Bullet In Your Brain”, featuring exclusive, never before seen footage of Motörhead in the studio for the Bad Magic sessions, is available right now. A foot-down, fist-pumping, Lemmy-bass-driven stomper with a deliciously dirty Campbell riff, and Dee-driven dynamics, both the song and footage are a tremendous treat for fans who have craved new Motörmaterial.
At the time of its release back in 2015, Bad Magic arrived as a massive kick in the teeth for anyone who believed Motörhead were going to amble along into a peaceful little pasture containing fluffy little lambs, folk music and perhaps the odd medieval lute here and there. Big-rig head crushers such as “Thunder & Lightning” and “Teach Them How To Bleed” brought such people to their knees begging for forgiveness, as the album unfurled into their toughest, leanest, meanest and most uncompromising album in aeons. Much of this came down to long-time producer Cameron Webb getting the band to record live at NRG North Hollywood, Maple Studios and Grandmaster in California together for the first time in the Kilmister/Campbell/Dee era, and from the crackling punk energy of “Electricity” to Brian May of Queen’s scintillating guest-appearance on “The Devil”, a vast wealth of aggression, attitude, and excellent songwriting was cultivated in that furious working environment. Phil Campbell didn’t just record possibly his finest guitars, he threw down most certainly his best solos for decades, while Mikkey Dee’s drumming found new tribal resonance with the Motörhead sound he had helped nurture. There was also one of Lemmy‘s rawest lyrical life reflections on “Till The End”, and a cover of TheRolling Stones’ “Sympathy For The Devil” which made the song feel like one of their own. One of the hidden gold-dust additions to Bad Magic: SERIOUSLY BAD MAGIC, is Motörhead’s famous, and internationally acclaimed, version of David Bowie’s classic “Heroes”. Originally slated for inclusion on the last release only to be withdrawn at the last minute, it was a cover version which Lemmy had a great affection for, and as such its inclusion here is both fitting and just.
Bad Magic: SERIOUSLY BAD MAGIC will be released on Double 12” Vinyl, CD Digipak with Bonus Disc, Limited Edition Boxset, Digital Download and Streaming. The Limited Edition Boxset will contain the CD Digipak with Bonus Disc, Double 12” Vinyl, exclusive Lemmy War, Love, Death and Injustice audio interview on 12” vinyl and exclusive edition Motörhead – MURDER ONE Ouija Board and Planchette. Pre-order all formats at this location
Bad Magic: SERIOUSLY BAD MAGIC Track List:
1. Victory Or Die
2. Thunder & Lightning
3. Fire Storm Hotel
4. Shoot Out All of Your Lights
5. The Devil
6. Electricity
7. Evil Eye
8. Teach Them How To Bleed
9. Till The End
10. Tell Me Who To Kill
11. Choking On Your Screams
12. When The Sky Comes Looking For You
13. Sympathy For The Devil
14. Heroes
15. Bullet In Your Brain
16. Greedy Bastards
Live at Mt Fuji Rock Festival 2015 – Sayonara Folks! Track List:
1. We Are Motörhead
2. Damage Case
3. Stay Clean
4. Metropolis
5. Over the Top
6. String Theory
7. The Chase is Better Than the Catch
8. Rock It
9. Lost Woman Blues
10. Doctor Rock
11. Just ‘Cos You Got the Power
12. Going to Brazil
13. Ace of Spades
14. Overkill
Keep your mind open.
[It might be seriously bad magic if you don’t subscribe.]
