The first time I saw Slift was at the Levitation Music Festivalin 2022. It was the last show of their U.S. tour, in a small venue, and they held back nothing. It was as if they blasted every drop of rocket fuel they had.
Now I was seeing them in an even smaller venue and with Meatbodies, no less, opening for them.
I’d been keen on seeing Meatbodies since I heard their newest album, Flora Ocean Tiger Bloom. Their live sets are as good as the record – trippy, heavy, and loud. It was a solid set, and the sold-out crowd loved it. The sound quality of their set was top-notch, too.
Slift was in full cosmic-psych mode to the point where they were selling posters at their merch table featuring schematics of the spaceship seen in the videos for their newest album, Ilion.
One thing you need to know about seeing Slift live is that every song sounds like a finale. They pack so much power and energy into their songs that you keep thinking, “It’s going to be tough to match that one,” and then they do it – every time.
They played a wall-shaking set of new and older material that had the whole place buzzing. The galactic nature of their lyrics and sound, and the near relentlessness of it almost becomes an out-of-body experience.
Don’t miss either of these bands. They’re touring all over the place, and will both be at Levitation Music Festival soon.
Keep your mind open.
[Don’t forget to subscribe before you go!]
[Thanks to Kate at Stereo Sanctity, Frank and Bekah at SubPop, and Slift for the press pass!]
The brief bio on Haute-de-France’s Goodbye Meteor‘s Bandcamp page lists their sound as “immersive and solar post-rock” that’s created for “opening the way for harmony between humans and nature.”
I’m glad they included this, because I was unsure of how to describe their newest album, We Could Have Been Radiant. I knew it wasn’t quite shoegaze, ambient, or psychedelic. It was somehow all three, and yet none of those.
The theme of the album is humanity’s search for something more, and often being disappointed when we find “it” because we realize we had “it” all along here in the present moment.
Opening with “This Is Not Here,” the quartet unleashes soaring guitar sounds that would be appropriate for hang gliding through a mountain range. It awakens you and reminds you that what you think is important right now is probably not that at all. “No Signal” implies the worst nightmare of many in this age of internet addiction and dependence, but the snappy drums and expansive guitar sounds makes you think having no cellphone or computer for a while would be the greatest thing you’ve experienced in a long time.
“Destructuration” builds from a drift through space to flying through a heavy meteor shower by the end. “What Are We Here For?” is the longest track on the album, clocking in just over twelve minutes, and it uses the time to make you sit back and think on things as it creates a sound around you that brings to mind images of spotting a far shore after days lost at sea or the sun finally breaking over the horizon after a seemingly endless night in the dark.
The title track is full of power and also subtlety. It shifts your perspective rather than blow your mind. The album ends with “Phosphenes,” a short track to uplift you on a high note as you consider what’s happening right here and right now.
Did I mention this album (apart from the final track) is instrumental? It’s good stuff, and best heard as one continuous experience. Check it out if you want to change how things appear.
Not to get all “Gen X is cool” on you, but do you remember when cereal boxes used to include phonograph records in or on the box? Seriously, this was a thing. You could get a flexi-disc record in a box of Count Chocula that featured cereal mascots at the disco or even score a Jackson 5 record from a box of Alpha-Bits.
I don’t know if Oliver Ackermann (vocals, guitar, synths), John Fedowitz (bass, vocals, synths), and Sandra Fedowitz (drums, vocals, synths) were listening to a flexi-disc copy of Bobby Sherman songs found in a box of Honey-Comb when they got the idea for their latest album, Synthesizer, but it reminded me of these flexi-discs because the packaging is a musical instrument.
Yes, you can buy a vinyl copy of the record with a cover that includes dials, wires, and other bits of gear that can be used (with soldering tools and other simple devices) to turn the album cover in to a synthesizer. No joke.
When I heard they’d done this, I first thought, “That is the coolest idea I’ve heard all year,” and then thought, “Yeah, this is perfect for them.”
It’s perfect because APTBS are always pushing the envelope and finding new ways to immerse you in sound. Beyond the wild feat of having an album cover that doubles as a musical instrument, Synthesizer is also a really good record that blasts you into an altered state.
Opening track “Disgust,” for example, blares at you right out of the gate, and Ackermann has said that it’s a half-joke “to turn people off from listening to the record.” Only the daring will venture on after the opening salvo. Only the daring will be rewarded with this track about the pleasure and pitfalls of lust, let alone the rest of the album. The guitars on “Don’t Be Sorry” are like stabs in a giallo film.
The synth bass of “Fear of Transformation” will get the industrial fans to pay attention as Ackermann sings about overcoming fear as it sometimes overwhelms us through the simplest things. Mrs. Fedowitz’s live drums mix well with electronic thumps, creating a near-panic – which is what the trio wanted us to feel all along. The haunting “Join the Crowd” is like a slow slide into a shadowy world that always seems to be on the edge of your vision as Ackermann wonders when people stopped caring about each other (“And is it me? Am I the only one here who even cares? Now I know why. You never had a choice or care.”).
“Bad Idea” has Mr. Fedowitz (whose “bad idea” for something to work on that day in the studio became the sone) considering a reconnection, even though it might cause him to end up flat on his face in the street. Ackermann’s guitar sounds like an angry beetle skittering around in a tin can at one point and like a miter saw in others, while Mr. Fedowitz’s bass line grumbles like a paranoid android.
Romance is a not-so-hidden theme on Synthesizer, and it’s great to hear Ackermann and the Fedowitzs embracing it. “You Got Me” is upbeat and reminds me of some early Cure tracks in that it mixes gothic tones so well with lyrics like “In a world where the universe is crashing down and there’s no hope, I feel ok. You question life, but there’s one thing you’ll never have to ask me. You got me.”
“It’s Too Much” is a fascinating mixed of warped sounds and more lyrics about being overcome with good emotions you haven’t felt in a long while (“I go out, but didn’t know you’d be there, and all this time I thought I was fine, but now I’m high.”). Mr. Fedowitz gives Peter Hook a run for his money on “Plastic Furniture.” I mean, come on, his bass riff on this is insane.
“Have You Ever Been in Love?” is a wild one, with Mrs. Fedowitz crushing her drum kit and adding spooky yet lovely backing vocals and cries throughout it – helping Ackermann express his anguish over a breakup (“Knife in heart. I want to die, seeing you pass me by.”). The closing track, “Comfort Never Comes,” might end up being a new synth-psych classic as it builds with gorgeous notes, Wall of Voodoo-like guitar chords, A Flock of Seagulls-like synth flourishes, and hypnotic rhythms. Ackermann acknowledges his faults in a relationship that’s beyond repair and that he wishes he could amend things (“You and I are in pieces. You could lift me like a stone…You and I are in pieces. I could lift you like a rose.”).
I can’t recommend this album enough to you. I’m sure it’s an absolute sonic wall coming at you on vinyl, but I encourage you to give it a deep headphone / earbud listen. Like any synthesizer played well, it changes the feel of everything around you and within you.
Bonnie Trash (Dana Bellamy – drums, Emmalia Bortolon-Vettor – guitar, Sarafina Bortolon-Vettor – vocals, and Emma Howarth-Withers – bass) are no strangers to heavy subjects. Their debut EP from 2017, Ezzelini’s Dead, told the story of a real-life cannibalistic tyrant. 2022’s Malocchio and 2023’s Hail, Hale! told horror tales often spoken to sisters Emmalia and Sarafina by their grandmother. Now, on their newest EP, My Love Remains the Same, they tackle themes of love and the loss of it.
Howarth-Withers solid bass groove locks in the opener, “Kisses Goodbye,” which has Sarafina Bortolon-Vettor walking away from a relationship she knows isn’t going to last but also is gut-wrenching to end. Her sister’s guitar fuzz reminds me of some Jesus and Mary Chain cuts with its deft flow between almost garage-pop and melt-your-face assault.
“What Have You Become” gets darker, thanks in large part to Bellamy’s heavier beats and lyrics like “Love is not enough to take the pain away.” and others that confront the agony and relentless questions your mind creates during deep grief.
The EP ends with a slick and menacing cover of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds‘ “Red Right Hand.” They up the metal growl in it and you can feel Sarafina Bortolon-Vettor practically casting a hex upon you as she sings it.
Bonnie Trash is working on a new full-length album due in 2025. Keep your eyes open for it. It might sneak up on you in the shadows.
What is it to be alive in this day and age? Heck, in any day and age? How many different masks do we wear? How do we juggle all of it without going nuts? Brijean (Brijean Murphy – vocals and percussion, Doug Stuart – all sorts of things and production) wonder about this stuff on their new album, Macro, and their answer seems to be “Embrace the ride.”
I mean, the only lyrics on the brief opener “Get Lost” are “Let’s go.” After that, they encourage us to go to “Euphoric Avenue” as Murphy sings about seeing familiar, yet unknown faces on the train and how she spies “comedies in the most mundane.” Logan Hone‘s guest flute on it turns the track into a delightful trip. “Bang Bang Boom” is a call to playful action. “So, this is it. It’s all or nothing. So, pony up and ride it out…It’s in the micro moments. It’s in a macro way.” I’m not sure which I like best on this track: Murphy’s conga beats or Stuart’s bass groove.
“After Life” is a lovely romantic song about how a lover can take your breath away and make you “feel magnetic.” Stuart’s soaring synths and guest star Ryan Richter‘s lap steel guitar blend to create a powerful warmth. “Breathe” encourages all of us to get off the internet (Please wait until after you’ve read this review.) and do simple free things that recharge us, such as “taking walks and dancing where I please” and sitting in the park. Its bubbly beat will inspire you to do all of that.
“Counting Sheep” has Murphy missing her lover, but still seeing them in her dreams (“It’s only in my dreams when I’m with you.”) and sometimes that’s good enough (“They’re visions, I know. Synthetic, I’m told, but feels good to me.”). The bumping synth bass and beats on it are great for sexy dancing in your kitchen.
We can all relate to “Workin’ on It” – a song about trying to get fit, get better sleep, get paid, get laid, and everything else (“Modern times have a hold on me. Let’s be honest, I’m workin’ on it. Watch me juggle my priorities.”). It has this fun, almost aerobic workout beat to it that will encourages you to get out of your chair and either workout or get to work…because on “Scenic Route,” Murphy is “Late for work again.” and looking for anyway to get out of it and enjoy the day instead of being stuck in traffic yet again (“Turning signals, traffic jams. Is this really who I am?”). Sometimes turning off the usual route to the scenic one is the best course of action. The panning effect that Stuart drops on this is outstanding, by the way.
After all, as Murphy sings on “Roller Coaster,” “Life’s just a rental.” Why take it so seriously? “Ride the waves, the highs, the lows,” she sings / encourages. “Laura” ends the album with fun tropical disco beats to keep your energy moving as you step out the door.
“It’s upbeat and sensual,” said my girlfriend after hearing Macro (and Brijean) for the first time. That’s a perfect way to sum it up, and how Brijean suggest we experience life.
Blake Fleming, former drummer for The Mars Volta, Dazzling Killmen, and others describes himself as “too punk for jazz and too jazz for punk.” As a result, he started making whatever music he wanted, and putting out The Beat Fantastic. The notes I got on the press release for Fleming’s album said it was “a mesmerizing journey of percussion-driven psych noir.” That’s spot-on because there were many times while listening to this album that I thought it could score a film or the next time I run a Blade Runner role-playing game session.
“First Transmission” comes in with static and feedback, leaving you to wonder what kind of record this is at first. Is it just ambient noise? Industrial anger? Something you’d hear in a haunted factory attraction this time of year? Then “Desert Frame One” appears almost like magic and starts hypnotizing you with weird synths and cauldron beats that might be stirred by “The Girl with the Electric Pants” – who brings punk funk with her.
“Devolution Revolution Evolution” sounds like dwarves beating on anvils with magic hammers to craft a drum kit fit for a wizard. “Desert Frame Two” is a nice set-up for “Get Up” – a wild action sequence of a track that has Fleming crushing his kit. “Time Slip” slips into “Drum Killah,” which layers so many types of percussion that I kept losing count of them.
“Dense Jaki” slows things down a bit and adds a slight Middle Eastern rhythm to the mix. “PaleoCyberKineticism (for the MC5)” might melt your mind with its Throbbing Gristle-level throbbing synth bass, so be careful with it. The hand percussion on “Delancey Stomp” is sharp as a hundred knives, and the closer, “The Shadow Cast” sounds like a lost track from your favorite 1980s horror film.
I love good instrumental rock records, and this one is a great find.
Jay Watson, otherwise known as GUM, had a lot of ideas bouncing around his head while playing with Pond and Tame Impala. He had songs that didn’t fit with either band, or even other bands in which he wasn’t jamming or touring or producing. He wanted to do something with them, but wasn’t sure how to bring them to the world.
Enter his pal Ambrose Kenny-Smith of King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard and The Murlocs, whom Watson had known since both men were teenagers. Kenny-Smith’s bluesy vocal style was just what Watson wanted, and Kenny-Smith was looking for something to work on during winter downtime between festivals and gigs.
The album, Ill Times, turned out to be a cathartic experience for both of them. Watson was finally able to get these songs out of his head, and Kenny-Smith was able to sing about the deaths of his father and a close friend. Watson brought his funky production, Kenny-Smith brought his harmonica, and they ended up making one of the best albums of the year.
The lush, brilliant psych-synths of “Dud” uplift Kenny-Smith’s lyrics about experiencing, living with, and accepting grief over the loss of his father (“Father, I bid you adieu. The man out of time. I’ll see you soon.”). The song was even written with his father and fellow musician, Broderick Smith, but the senior Smith never got to hear it since he died before the track was finished. Still, the song (and the others dealing with loss) is uplifting.
The booming, downright funky-sick title track is about getting out of dark places in your head after suffering a big loss (“What’s it gonna take to shake ya and leave it behind?”). The shiny synths of “Minor Setback” inspire you to shake off the dust and move forward after you realize you don’t have to spend energy on negativity. “Fool for You” is a song about embracing love.
The groovy bass line of “Resilience” is almost slippery, and lyrics like “You know you’re one in a million. It’d be a shame to diminish your brilliance.” continue the positive energy permeating the album. “Powertrippin'” is a fun takedown of toxic masculinity.
“Old Transistor Radio” was the first track the pair created (through back and forth direct messages, no less), and it’s a fun one full of bumping bass and bluesy harmonica riffs. The simple “Keep it simple.” lyrics of “Emu Rock” almost become a mantra. “Marionette” is a clever look at people who choose to live in negativity instead of embracing happiness that is often right in front of them (“If he had it his way, he’d be alone in a cottage, rather than swimming in the Caribbean.” / “Marionette, analyzing in a rocking chair. Marionette, reconciling with his frail conscience.”). The closing song, “The Gloater,” is another takedown of people whose overinflated egos will eventually bring them misery.
Watson and Kenny-Smith haven’t confirmed if Ill Times will be a one-off project or not, but it’s a bright gem in a pile of the literal and metaphorical coal dust all over the world if it is.
Keep your mind open.
[I might experience ill times if you don’t subscribe.]
Free Energy is a good name for Dummy‘s new album, because it provides plenty of it – usually in the form of reverb and fuzz. The band also seems to have had plenty of it while making their sophomore album, as each of the band members is all over the place and playing multiple instruments throughout it.
“Intro-UB” alone features plenty of bubbling, poppy synth beats and bass, and all four members of the band (Alex Ewell, Emma Maatman, Nathan O’Dell, and Joe Trainor) are all listed on the album’s liner notes as playing synths. O’Dell and Trainor’s guitars crash into the room on “Soonish” that almost overwhelm Maatman and O’Dell’s vocals. The Jesus and Mary Chain-like roar they produce is great. “Unshaped Road” weaves and curves, carrying you along on a psych-shoegaze journey to the cosmic “Opaline Bubbletear” with dreamy saxophone by Cole Pulice.
It drifts into the 1990s synthpop-tinged “Blue Dada” and Maatman singing happy, echoing vocals over soft synths and sped-up hip hop beats. “Nullspace” takes early 2000s Garbage and mixes itwith industrial guitar riffs and dub synths. Speaking of industrial guitar riffs, the ones in “Minus World” sound like they could’ve been recorded in a metal fabrication plant…and yet the vocals are so upbeat that you figure the workers there must have a great union.
The way Dummy effortlessly goes from the grinding rock of “Minus World” to the trippy psychedelia of “Dip in the Lake” is stunning. The jump back to the heavier, faster “Sudden Flutes” isn’t jarring. It feels right. “Psychic Battery” might just levitate you out of your seat. Nine Clean Nails reminds me a bit of Public Practice with its background ghost-like vocals that somehow brighten up a room. The closer, “Godspin,” feels like waking up in your car at a sea side highway rest stop after a long night of driving and seeing the ocean in the emerging daylight.
Dummy said they wanted to go in a more psychedelic direction with Free Energy, and they succeeded. The shoegaze elements are still there, so don’t worry if that’s what you’re seeking, but this new sound is lovely.
Does the cover of Meatbodies‘ new album, Flora Ocean Tiger Bloom, feature a ghost tiger? A tiger made of flora? A tiger that lives in the ocean? Or in outer space? I don’t know. I do know, however, that the album is great shoegaze / psych record that made me want to see them live (coming up at Levitation 2024!) as soon as possible.
This album gives the songs time to stretch, but not to the point where you grow weary of them. The opener, “The Assignment,” is a great example. It’s a little over six minutes and is a perfect simmering pot of psychedelic tea that brews, drinks, and infuses into you for the perfect time. Groovy, solid bass builds to a burst of fuzzy tiger fur guitars. “Hole” is another six minutes-plus, and it also doesn’t waste a second of it as Meatbodies advises us to fill the holes in our hearts by letting go of what we wrongly think will fill them. The power of the guitars in it sounds like you could blast holes in concrete with it. And the synths that hit you around the 4:30 mark? Come on! It’s almost not fair.
You can imagine the meaning of “Silly Cybin,” which starts with simple acoustic guitar strumming before it hits you with crushing drums and crashing guitars. The rhythms of “Billow” will help you set sail on whatever, ahem, trip you’re taking (and the guitar solo in it is wild). “They Came Down” hits as heavy as any Ty Segall or Fuzz track.
“Move” is a great rocker that seems to have front man Chad Ubovich thinking about how his lover is moving away from him, but he’s unsure as to how to fix it (“I can count the reasons we don’t talk.”). “Criminal Minds” showcases the band’s love of early tracks from The Cure in its bassline. The growling fuzz of “ICNNVR2” is great, and instantly makes you feel like a bad ass, and the saxophone on it is a great touch that Iggy and The Stooges would love. The squall of guitars on “Psychic Garden” is a neat contract to “(Return of) Ecstasy,” which is almost a Middle Eastern-tinged trippy instrumental. The album ends with “Gate,” opening your mind to something beyond what you’re stuck in at the moment, encouraging you to escape the grind and embrace the ethereal (“Do it now. Take that spin.”).
Again, I don’t know if that’s just a green tiger or a tiger made of seaweed on the cover, but that’s kind of the point. Just flow with it. Get weird with it. Stop worrying and start experiencing.
Keep your mind open.
[Drift over to the subscription box while you’re here.]
I hadn’t seen King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard in concert for a few years, and I’d never seen one of their three-hour marathon shows, so I jumped on a ticket for this one as soon as they went on sale late last year. That was a wise decision, because it was a sell-out of tens of thousands of Gizz fans. The line to get into the venue went all the way back to the lawn beyond the amphitheater and then doubled back upon itself.
Yes, that guy in the bottom right corner is wearing a Chicago Bears-style “Cocaine Bear” hat.
The line was mostly policed by the fans. There was no one of this far end telling people to turn around and head back for the main gate. Gizz-heads are always a happy bunch, so this camaraderie is par for the course.
As a result of the long line for entry, and the long line for merch, I missed most of the opening set by Geese, who sounded loud and somewhat prog-rock-ish from what I could hear.
The crowd was enjoying the late summer sun mixed with (finally) cooler weather, and KGATLW made sure to keep everyone on good terms by putting up this message.
They came out and fired up that pit right away with a set of tracks from Nonagon Infinity, beginning with “Robot Stomp” and then moving onto “People Vultures” and “Big Fig Wasp.”
Of course, they played some tracks from their new album, Flight b741. In fact, they played the last three tracks, “Sad Pilot,” “Rats in the Sky,” and “Daily Blues” in a row.
Cookie!
“You Can Be Your Silhouette” was a nice touch, and “Iron Lung” was a big crowd favorite. “Crumbling Castle” was around the halfway point of the show. The sun had set, and the wind coming off Lake Michigan was cooling off anyone not in the mosh pit by then.
So, to warm everyone, they unleashed “Hell,” “Predator X,” “Dragon,” and “Flamethrower,” igniting the mosh pit once again.
After that was an extended set of tracks from Murder of the Universe that included “Welcome to an Altered Future,” which they hadn’t played in about six years, and a wild version of “Vomit Coffin.”
Then, to mix it up further, they did a synth-jam (with four members surrounding a table covered in synthesizers, arpeggiators, sequencers, and digital audio workstations) that was supposed to close out the show.
However, they were told they had more time, so they ended with a great version of “Head On / Pill,” which delighted me since it’s from my favorite album of theirs (Float Along, Fill Your Lungs).
This show was like seeing old friends again. I’ve been a fan of theirs since 2014 when I saw them first play in the United States, and I love seeing their success and the massive fan base they’ve built. Long live King Gizz.
