Recorded in 2019, Live at Freak Valleyby King Buffalo is a well-mastered and engineered document of a powerful set at that year’s Freak Valley Festival. It’s a great introduction to King Buffalo’s live sound if you’ve never heard it before and will make you want to seek them out at the nearest venue as soon as possible.
“Sun Shivers” sets off the show by launching us away from Earth’s gravity and into the endless sea of stars leading to the sun and beyond. They waste no time and get right to the cosmic riffs. “Longing to Be the Mountain” is a reference to a Chinese story about a stonecutter working on a mountain who desires to become the grand mountain that seems to be above all people, things, and concerns. He’s granted his wish but soon feels a tapping at his base. He looks down to see another stonecutter there chipping away at him. The stonecutter was caught by his own ego and delusions The song is a powerful as the lesson.
“Every day is the same,” they sing on “Repeater,” a fourteen-minute mind-melting experience that covers both existential ennui and Zen presence. By the time you get to “Orion” (“Can you hear me through the smoke and the haze?”), it feels like you’re drifting past his belt of stars. It’s a stunning track that must’ve been quite an experience for the lucky Freak Valley attendees.
“Kerosene” twists and turns around itself like some kind of heavy metal Escher drawing. They mention that A Place to Bury Strangers is up after them (which you can see here) before they get to the closer, “Eye of the Storm.” It’s a great closer that bridges the gap between stoner rock and desert rock for over ten glorious minutes. They encourage us to embrace the void without fear, for the eye of the storm is often the safest place.
If you’re looking for a good way to start off your trippy, heavy space rock record, why not do it with a song called “Blast Off?” That’s what Psychlona does on their cool Venus Skytripalbum.
The opening track builds with guitar notes sounding like a countdown clock that blend into actual rocket launch countdown recordings and rocket fuel-hot riffs and drum hits. The band’s love of Black Sabbathis evident from the opening riffs of “10,000 Volts,” which hits as hard as its namesake one moment and lulls you into a dreamy headspace the next as they sing about voices in their heads confusing their souls. “Blow” adds stadium rock riffs to the mix.
“Star” punches the accelerator the band’s starship to the floor and plunges us straight toward a red dwarf about to go nova. “Edge of the Universe” practically takes you there. You can probably guess the inspiration behind “Resin,” and it’s as trippy as you hope it will be. The reverb-laden vocals, the echoing guitars, and the cool yet heavy drums all combine to make a satisfying blend.
“Tijuana” seems to be a story about the band encountering dangerous women, dangerous drinks, and other dangerous substances and people while on a trip south of the U.S. border. The whole thing sizzles like an annoyed rattlesnake on a hot rock. The album closes with “The Owl,” a grand, thundering piece that casts a bird of prey’s shadow over you and almost makes you quiver like a mouse in an open field.
This is a cool record, and I hope Psychlona gets us more new music soon. I’d happily go on another sky trip with them. How about Saturn next time, lads?
Keep your mind open.
[Blast over to the subscription box while you’re here.]
King Gizard and the Lizard Wizard are one of the few bands out there who could start off an album with a song that’s over eighteen minutes long and everyone would think that’s a perfectly normal thing to do. Their new record, Omnium Gatherum, does just that with “The Dripping Tap.”
The album almost sounds like a greatest hits record, as KGATLW move back and forth between genres, time signatures, tuning preferences, and distortion levels. “The Dripping Tap” is a wild psychedelic freak-out, the kind that first got the band noticed just a decade or so ago (although it seems longer due to the massive output the band has generated in such a short time). “Magenta Mountain” starts off with soothing keyboard tones and then drops in slick beats that are perfect for a stroll or cruising on a Jet-Ski.
The funky bass on “Kepler-22b” takes you into outer space and encourages you to have a good time there (as do the lyrics). “Gaia” takes us back to Earth with re-entry burn riffs. Then, just to confuse ads, they drops “Ambergris,” a bedroom slow-jam that would fit on a Thundercat record. “Sadie Sorceress,” believe it or not, is a rap track – and it works.
“Evilest Man” is electro krautrock mixed with roaring riffs and smashing cymbals that sounds like something they accidentally left off Nonagon Infinity. “The Garden Goblin” is a fun, bouncy track that could’ve been listed on Fishing for Fishies, as could “Persistence.” “The Grim Reaper” is another hip hop track, complete with trippy flute loops.
“Presumptuous” bounces with Outkast-like pep. “Predator X” is a return to hard-hitting thrash metal, countered nicely by the trippy “Red Smoke” and “Candles,” which literally has the band singing, “Wheee!” at one point. The album closes with an instrumental – “The Funeral,” an interesting name choice for the final track, and an interesting choice to close the record with a track that only has vocal sounds and no lyrics.
Omnium Gatherum is a great place to jump on the Gizzard Train if you’re new to the band. It showcases so many styles they can play, and play well, that you’re sure to like at least a few things here.
Brooklyn native Johnny Kelly and NJ guitarist Dan Lorenzo have both played in more than a handful of bands.
Lorenzo was the founding member of both Hades and Non-Fiction and most recently Vessel Of Light and Cassius King. He even wrote the music with Bobby Blitz‘ first foray outside of Overkill in 2007 with The Cursed.
Kelly first came into prominence with Type O Negative and has also sat behind the kit for Danzig for nearly two decades. Kelly has also performed with BlackLabel Society, and currently Quiet Riot and Silvertomb.
Before now the two have never recorded anything together. “I honestly don’t remember how I first got in contact with Johnny“, Lorenzo stated. “I know we’ve had some email contact together for a while, and I remember originally being flattered that Johnny even knew who I was.”
Kelly stated, “I liked the riffs that Dan sent me and it’s a great opportunity to get to play with different people.” When Kelly was asked what he brings to the table for PATRIARCHS IN BLACK he came back with, ” I’m not really sure. I consider myself to be an average drummer at best. It must be my charming personality!”
The duo have named this project PATRIARCHS IN BLACK. Lorenzo wrote the music and plays guitar, Kelly is behind the kit.
PATRIARCHS IN BLACK will have multiple vocalists. Karl Agell ( Corrosion of Conformity Blind), Dewey Bragg ( Kill Devil Hill ) Jimmy Gnecco ( OURS) and John Kosco (Dropbox) have each sang a song. When pressed for a description of how the music sounds Kelly said, “All roads lead to Black Sabbath!”.
Germany’s MDD Records will release PATRIARCHS IN BLACK debut release Reach For The Scars on July 1st.
The new single “Demon of Regret” from PATRIARCHS IN BLACK is available NOW!
Fort Wayne was the place to be on May 10, 2022 if you were a fan of Primus, Battles, or Rush. No, Rush wasn’t playing, but Primus, apart from playing a full set of their music, played Rush’s A Farewell to Kings in its entirety as a second set.
There was a big crowd, as it was the first time Primus or Battles playing in Ft. Wayne, and it was great to see young and older fans alike there to see the show. Battles were first up and the two gentlemen put on a math rock clinic for their set. Ian Williams doubled on synths and guitars and John Stanier, one of my favorite drummers of all time from his work in Helmet, wowed the crowd, and I lost count of how many time signatures they played in during their set.
Battles dazzling everyone with more rhythms than we could almost handle.
Primus, who’d held a Q&A with VIP fans earlier, came out next and got everyone fired up right away with “Those Damned Blue Collar Tweekers.” They then ripped through a set of classics that included “The Toys Go Winding Down” and a live version of “Mr. Krinkle” that sounded so good it was like being in the studio with them. They also played their newest single, “Conspiranoia,” which is delightfully weird and psychedelic.
Primus and blue collar tweekers ruling the town.Conspiranoia!
After a brief break, they came back with the Rush set. Apart from them having to do one song as an instrumental due to frontman Les Claypool having a bit of a scratchy voice (and wanting to save it for his vocals during the encore), they pulled off A Farewell to Kings without a hitch.
A king’s crown for them and us.
As if two sets weren’t enough, Primus then came back for a four-song encore that included “My Name Is Mud” (which hits even harder than an aluminum baseball bat live) and “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver.”
It was a good show. It’s sometimes easy to get lost in Primus’ weirdness and lose sense of how good they can play. A live set by them is an instant reminder of that.
Congratulations to the young man who scored this set list. Thanks for letting me take a photo of it!VIP swag! A tumbler / thermos and a signed VIP-exclusive poster!
After releasing his self-titled debut album in 2017, Dion Lunadon (The D4, ex-A Place To Bury Strangers) is set to release his sophomore album – Beyond Everything June 10th via In The Red Records. Available forpre-orderHERE.
Today, Dion shares a second track; It’s The Truth, with a video directed by Alexander Barton. “This is one of my favorite songs on the record” says Dion. “It started with the opening drum beat and the rest came together quickly. It’s about me writing songs in my little hovel of a studio and looking forward to my wife’s return home from work. A “distance makes the heart grow fonder” kind of thing.”
Alexander Barton says; “In Dion’s live performance he has a wall of sound and noise, it’s very textural and real. About 3/4 of the way through his set, he drags a chain out of a bag like a snake wrangler presenting a cobra to the audience. It’s an exciting moment of the set where he breaks the routine of the rock formula and shares his experimental interests and the audience really laps it up. The cameras pop out and feed his exhibitionism. I make films that feel and use not only the beauty of film, but welcome the noise and error that come with the raw and naive nature of my tools. The chain as an object and material is a fully loaded symbol and historical icon which is a powerful character itself. I wanted to honor the chain for all its brilliance, referencing metal, design, rock n’ roll, violence, sculpture, industrialism, eroticism, and Jacob Marley. It’s The Truth is about material and the spectacle.”
Dion continues; “The record was written and recorded sporadically between 2017 and 2019. I probably wrote about 100 songs during this period. The first album was pretty relentless which I liked, but I wanted to make something more dynamic for the 2nd record. Something that could be more conducive to repeated listens. I’d get in my studio, come up with a song title, and start working on any ideas that I had. For example, with Elastic Diagnostic, the idea was to create a hum that evokes the sound of life coursing through your body. Everything else kind of formed around that idea.”
The lead single released last month, Living And Dying With You, was accompanied by an animated video by Mexico City animator, Julián Name.
Beyond Everything will be Dion’s first release on In The Red(an ideal match for his music), as well as his first full-length since departing A Place To Bury Strangers. Written, performed and recorded by Dion, the songs tap into a raw, palpable energy that blur the line between the music and the person. Drums on the record were played by Blaze Bateh (Bambara) and Nick Ferrante (The Black Hollies).
Dion will be touring with a full band in North America and Europe/UK throughout 2022. The US tour begins in Denver (some of the dates are supporting The Black Angels), with European and UK dates in November. All dates are listed below with more TBA. Tickets HERE.
Sat May 14 – Bethlehem, PA – National Sokols + Thur Jun 09 – Denver, CO – Ogden *Fri Jun 10 – Salt Lake City – Metro Music Hall *Sat Jun 11 – Boise, ID – Knitting Factory *Sun Jun 12 – Seattle, WA – The Crocodile *Mon Jun 13 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre Lounge Wed Jun 15 – Arcata, CA – Miniplex Thur Jun 16 – Petaluma, CA – Phoenix Theatre *Sat Jun 18 – Oakland, CA – Elbo Room Mon Jun 20 – Los Angeles, CA – Moroccan Lounge Wed Jun 22 – San Diego, CA – Music Box * Thur Nov 03 – Reignier, France – La Poulpe Fri Nov 04 – Gigors, France – Gigors Electric Sat Nov 05 – Torino, Italy – Blah Blah Sun Nov 06 – Zürich, CH – Safari Bar Mon Nov 07 – Fürth, Germany – Kunstkeller 027Wed Nov 09 – Hamburg, Germany – Hafenklang Thur Nov 10 – Berlin, Germany – 8mmFri Nov 11 – Regensburg, Germany – VOID CONCERT @ Alte Malzerai Mon Nov 14 – Bristol, UK – Crofter’s Rights Wed Nov 16 – Nottingham, UK – Chameleon Thur Nov 17 – London, UK – Shacklewell Arms Wed Nov 23 – Paris, France – Supersonic Thu Nov 24 – Rennes, France – TBA Fri Nov 25 – Nantes, France – Duchesse Sat Nov 26 – Lyon, France – Le Sonic * with The Black Angels+ with Haldol and Death Bag
The much-tipped Regressive Left return today with news of their signing to new tastemaker label Bad Vibrations, born from the revered live promoters of the same name, and that their debut EP, On the Wrong Side of History, is set for release on July 15th.
The Luton trio also share their first new material of the year with the DFA-flavoured “Bad Faith”, featuring a vocal contribution from Manchester’s experimental-pop act Mandy, Indiana – quoting French psychoanalyst Octave Mannoni’s paradoxical mechanism: “Je sais bien, mais quand même.” In other words: “I know very well, but even so…” – and picking up the ascent exactly where earlier singles left off, placing wry social commentary and dancefloor ambition right at their front and center.
Front-man Simon Tyrie says the following about the themes behind the track:
“This song essentially focuses on the idea of deliberately assuming the worst of someone or something they’ve said or done. Social media has really amplified this trend: everyone has to have a take. So we read between the lines and make wild accusations on the faintest of evidence. It’s something of an art, but one that I think is ultimately detrimental to society.”
Already chalking up a strong live reputation, the band have toured in support of BODEGA and Folly Group in 2022 already, and today announce their first ever headlining dates.
Catch Regressive Left live at:
MAY
14 Brighton – The Great Escape – Revenge 14 Brighton – The Alt Escape – The Hope & Ruin 15 Leeds – Brudenell Social Club 21 York – The Crescent 27 London – Wide Awake
Los Angeles based unsung guitar hero Randy Holden announces the sequel to his legendary 1970 album Population II, set to arrive 52 years later, titled Population III via RidingEasy Records. The ex-Blue Cheer guitarist’s new album was recorded as a trio with members of Cactus and Black Sabbath. Hear and share the first single “Swamp Stomp” via Brooklyn Vegan HERE. (And direct via Bandcamp and YouTube.) How do you follow up one of the most legendary, yet rarest albums said to signal the birth of doom metal?
If you’re Randy Holden, you give everyone about 50 years to catch up, then casually drop a tastefully modernized reinterpretation of that sound. Population III picks up where Holden’s 1969 solo debut left off, updated with several decades worth of technological advances and personal hindsight.
Following his tenure in proto-metal pioneers Blue Cheer in 1969, the guitarist aimed for more control over his next project. Thus, Randy Holden – Population II was born, the duo naming itself after the astronomical term for a particular star cluster with heavy metals present. Along with drummer/keyboardist Chris Lockheed, Holden created what many say is one of the earliest forms of doom metal.
“Godzilla just walked into the room. People just stood there with their eyes and mouths wide open,” Holden says of the audience’s reaction to their live debut performing with a teeth-rattling phalanx of 16 (sixteen!) 200 watt Sunn amps. Likewise, their 6-song debut album Population II delves into leaden sludge, lumbering doom and epic soaring riffs that sound free from all constraints of the era. It’s incredibly heavy, but infused with a melodic, albeit mechanistic sensibility. However, troubles with the album’s original 1970 release bankrupted Holden, who subsequently left music for over two decades. For good reason, it’s widely hailed as a masterpiece, and until finally getting a proper formal release in 2020 on RidingEasy Records, was a longtime Holy Grail for record collectors.
Flash forward 40 years to 2010, we find the guitarist/vocalist quietly coaxed into recording a followup album by Holden superfan and Cactus member Randy Pratt. Joined by drummer Bobby Rondinelli (who has played with Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult, Rainbow), the trio cut the 6-song collection of leaden future blues, Population III. “Randy Pratt had written the basic song structures, he understood my music and where I come from quite well,” Holden says. “He nailed it.”
But the recording was ultimately shelved for over a decade. “A year ago, in 2021 I listened to the songs and was delightfully surprised,” Holden says. “I think it’s the best album I’ve ever done.”
Throughout Population III, Holden effortlessly dishes out squealing, soaring leads and skull-thwacking riffs with his signature low end grit and penchant for Middle Eastern scales. Coupled with Pratt’s pocket-locked bass, the slight flanging effect on Rondinelli’s drums and his pugilistic beats, the album occasionally brings to mind Presence-era Led Zeppelin, particularly on the 22-minute epic “Land of The Sun.” Elsewhere, “Swamp Stomp” echoes more the troglodyte blues of Holden’s older work, with his evermore searing solos showing hints of early Clapton/Hendrix era guitar prowess to drive home the stomp of the song’s namesake. At times, Holden sounds reminiscent of Neil Young leading Crazy Horse’s ruptured grunge as his lilting falsetto vocals push and pull his guitar’s siren’s call. Taken as a whole, there’s a very distinct difference between the way these veterans of hard rock’s formative years carry the songs compared to the more lugubrious riffing of today’s young doom purveyors. Population III is the real deal — a powerful continuation of a sound forged 50 years ago, that almost didn’t happen. Somehow, Randy Holden’s music always finds a way to stand the tests of time.
Population III will be available on LP, CD and download on July 1st, 2022 via RidingEasy Records. Pre-orders are available at ridingeasyrecs.com
Combining the talents of members of Pill and Eaters, NYC’s P.E. easily weave in and out of psychedelia, post-punk, no wave, bedroom rock, and dream pop on their second album, The Leather Lemon.
Benjamin Jaffe‘s opening saxophone on “Blue Nude (Reclined)” automatically takes you into a cool headspace while Veronica Torres sings sexy lyrics. “Contradiction of Wants” is a perfect song for 2022. It’s about not knowing what you want, even though you already have everything you need. The bass line on it is wicked. I can’t tell you who plays it, because all the band members (Jonny Campolo, Jaffe, Bob Jones, Jonathan Schenke, Torres) are multi-instrumentalists and often switch axes from track to track. “Lying with the Wolf” goes into low rock and mixes it with synthwave and old school techno beats.
The title track is a short, proto-industrial puzzler. “Tears in the Rain” does invoke some Blade Runner imagery and has guest vocals from Parquet Courts‘ Adam Savage as he teams with Torres to give us a song of romantic hope in times that can be gray and bleak. “The Reason for My Love” is a hot dance track with yet another great bass line (The album is full of them.).
“Magic Hands” has plucked string instruments dancing around slightly loopy synths and drunken android vocals. The darkwave sound of “New Kind of Zen” is powerful and haunting. You’re never sure where the track is going to lead, especially when it floats into spoken word psychedelia. The instrumental “86ed” drifts into “Majesty,” which returns some of the musical themes from other tracks as Torres sings, “I don’t want that life. I don’t want that majesty.” and her bandmates reply, “I want everything.” It’s a neat loop to be in for a couple minutes.
The whole album is worth a visit. It sizzles, saunters, and seduces.
Brooklyn-based musician Grace Ives presents “Loose,” her debut release on her new label True Panther/Harvest. This is her first new piece of music and video since 2019’s 2nd, an immediate pop record that found critical acclaim (and won over the likes of Grimes and Khalid). Ives wrote and did initial production of “Loose” at her home in Brooklyn and then teamed up with co-producer Justin Raisen (Yves Tumor, Charli XCX). Despite the song’s somewhat self-effacing lyrics – “Oh what a loser sound // I let out when I hit the ground // I never squeal like that // I need some respite, please” – “Loose” oozes confidence. The song is grounded in familiar sonics, but “Loose” is an elevated Ives. “Living in a bed bug infested apartment, withdrawing from SSRIs, not sleeping,” says Ives about where she was mentally and physically when she wrote the song. “There’s nowhere to go but up.” WATCH “LOOSE” VIDEO
Music has always followed Grace Ives – she was raised in New York City by creative parents (her dad is a cinematographer and her mother worked in music), and when she was younger, she was inspired by the sounds of Brittany Spears and Rihanna. A brief stint at MICA in Baltimore and a three year study at SUNY Purchase led to Grace starting to perform, slowly winning over a crowd that has only grown more insatiable. Most recently, Ives opened for Remi Wolf, bringing her infectious songs to a new audience. “Loose” is the first taste of much more to come.
