October 2018 – 7th Level Music

Review: Preacherman – Universal Philosophy: Preacherman Plays T.J. Hustler’s Greatest Hits

Tim Jones, otherwise known as Preacherman, released one album of weird, funky electronic jazz the combined analog synths with New Age philosophy on creation, love, death, life, the energy of the universe, and probably a hundred other topics I’m forgetting. In the 1980’s, Jones added a guest to his one-man band – T.J. Hustler. Mr. Hustler was a ventriloquist’s dummy who would accompany Jones on stage and preach Jones’ universal philosophy or sometimes have deep metaphysical discussions with Jones while he was playing a modified Hammond B-3.

Jones moved out to Oakland many years ago to take care of his mother, a centenarian, and continued to play in small clubs, DJ karaoke nights, and record material for his own pleasure. Thankfully, Luaka Bop Records have put out a collection of some of Jones’ rarest work – Universal Philosophy: Preacherman Plays T.J. Hustler’s Greatest Hits.

The album opens with “That’s Good,” and synths that sound like the opening to a 1980’s sci-fi romance. Preacherman asks why we keep trying to visit every planet in the solar system except Venus since it’s the planet of love. “We’re going the wrong way, y’all,” he warns as the synths build and take on a bit of a Native American flute sound and it almost turns into an Art of Noise track.

“Feel It” is nine minutes of synth grooves blended with cosmic funk. It’s an instant toe-tapper and is probably being remixed by DJ Shadow even as I write this review. It’s also our first introduction to T.J. Hustler, who talks with a gravelly voice that contains hundreds of years of wisdom. “The age of individualism is upon us, y’all….Constructive knowledge is the only thing that will keep us safe…” Hustler says. He was right in the 1980’s and he’s right again in 2018.

“Tell me why in a world so full, why love’s so hard to find?” Preacherman asks on “Tell Me Why,” a bumping electro-disco track with synth bass as sweet as maple syrup. Jones asks why we’re so empty in a world not only full of people, but full of ways to communicate faster than ever before. He also predicts it won’t be long before everything’s wiped away, so we’d better get right with the Creator and each other now.

“Out of This World” is truly that, with Preacherman slapping down bump-and-grind grooves as he pines for a lover from another planet who needs to be “a love sensation…a lot of fun…the right vibration…the only one.” “Age of Individualism” has synth beats that MGMT dream of creating.

On the epic “Up and Down,” T.J. Hustler explains how time is crucial to movement. “We move up and down and around,” Preacherman preaches over his electric beats and keyboards that sound like he pulled them out of a video game. T.J. Hustler explains everything from aging and nutrition to relaxation and letting go of attachments in order to expand one’s consciousness. There’s so much to process in this track that I can’t cover all of it, but you’ll be fascinated with every second of it.

As if that weren’t enough, the closer is the fifteen-minute track “The Wrong Way,” in which Jones preaches about the order of the universe and how the planets’ movement is linked to sex, love, and tantric energy. He also warns against us “fuckin’ up this planet” and how we’re doomed to die by fire if we don’t take care of Mother Earth. He even rants against the system (AKA The Man) that has convinced us that different skin colors mean anything, that progress is usually not what it seems, and how the system is set up to bring us down and we let it happen every day. Preacherman returns to his themes of searching for love, even bringing back some of the lyrics from “That’s Good.”

This album is a mind trip, and one you need to take. It somehow combines synth-funk with Don Juan mysticism and it works.

Keep your mind open.

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Levitation France 2018 recap

This year was not only the first time my wife and I traveled to France, it was also the first time we traveled to Levitation France in Angers – a mid-size town about one and a half hours by train southwest of Paris. It was the sixth year of the two-day festival and we’d wanted to go ever since we started attending Levitation Austin in 2013. The dates finally worked out this year, so we made the trip.

First, the festival is held in Le Quai – a great performance space venue in Angers along the Maine River. It has at least five performance areas in it, and the festival uses two of them for shows, two for food trucks, one for merchandise, and one for a bar.

That’s the outside of the venue in the main food truck area. Immediately inside that big open door is the main stage (called the “Forum”). We didn’t start there, however. We started in the smaller performance space (“T400”) at the back with French garage rockers Wild Fox.

They were the first band on the first day, and they came to make a statement. They threw down wild energy that whipped up the early crowd, ending by kicking apart their drum set, playing with broken strings, and churning out plenty of good feedback.

I’ve heard a lot of good things about the new album from La Luz, so we checked out their set on the Forum stage. They had a good crowd, and their California sun-drenched psychedelia was a nice match for the sun coming in through the window behind them.

We grabbed a bite from the food trucks (where I scored some tasty Senegalese food), and then headed toward the T400 stage to check out Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs. On the way there, we passed Holy Wave doing their soundcheck on the Forum stage. They were playing Interpol‘s “Untitled,” much to the delight of myself and a woman who came running from the back bar to cheer them.

Pigs x 7 were so loud and heavy that we had to fade back a bit and leave their set early. I think my wife’s head was about to split open from the intensity. We caught Holy Wave‘s set. They’re another band I’ve wanted to see for a while, and they put on a nice set of Texas psych-rock and seemed to be having a great time.

We then zipped back to the T400 stage to catch most of Prettiest Eyes‘ set. It was our favorite of the night. The electro-punk oddballs from Puerto Rico and Mexico put on a great show with crazy beats, boundless energy, and plenty of swagger. My wife picked up a button from their merchandise table afterwards. I need to get their latest album. John Dwyer of Thee Oh Sees said at Levitation Austin this year that they’re one of his favorite bands. It’s easy to see why when you see them live.

We headed back to the Forum stage to see the Soft Moon. If you haven’t figured it out by now, the two stages are so close together, and the set times staggered so well, that you can see every band that plays over the course of the two days without trouble (and usually see their full sets). We saw the Soft Moon at our first Levitation Austin festival, back when it was still known as the Austin Psych Fest. It was good to see them again and get a hefty dose of industrial dark wave.

We ended the first night with the Blank Tapes, who my wife was keen on seeing after she checked out one of their videos. They have a nice, mellow sound that blends some folk with their psychedelia. My favorite song during the set was one the lead singer wrote to sing to his house plants (“Not marijuana…Regular plants.”).

On day two, we got to Le Quai in time to see Bryan’s Magic Tears start the show. They played a nice set of psych-pop, but hunger won over on us and we headed to the food trucks for some crepes and a great Senegalese chicken sandwich.

Go! Zilla were on the Forum stage immediately after them, and they provided some nice psychedelic dinner music for us.

The biggest surprise of the day, and possibly the whole festival, was the set by Flamingods. They put on a wild set of Middle Eastern, Afrobeat, and psychedelic music that had the members changing instruments so many times that I couldn’t keep track of whom mainly played what.

We then caught Juniore on the Forum stage. They’re an electro / post-punk three piece from France who put on a quirky, neat set with one of them wearing a silver mask the entire time. My wife said it reminded her of a Sleestak from Land of the Lost.

We were keen on seeing MIEN at the festival since we’d been at their premiere live gig at Levitation Austin earlier this year. They didn’t disappoint and are well in the groove after a lot of touring to support their debut album of dark psychedelia.

Another fun surprise was the set by French electro duo Oktober Lieber. They were heavier than I’d expected and threw down some impressive industrial dance grooves.

The rest of the night was full of electronic music for us. First was French musician Flavien Berger – a one-man show of techno beats, vocal effects, and synth work.

We ended the night, and our first Levitation France festival, with Radar Men from the Moon, who played nothing but synths, keyboards, and sequencers instead of their usual guitars and drums. It was a great, powerful set that made us run for the merchandise room and buy their first record.

We’ll definitely go back, but I’m not sure it will be in the cards for next year. We loved the festival and Angers. Cross it off your bucket list, too.

Keep your mind open.

At Le Quai, the fire extinguishers apparently spray siracha.

Keep your mind open.

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Caroline Rose releases “Jeannie Becomes a Mom” from her sharp album, “Loner”

CAROLINE ROSE PRESENTS “JEANNIE BECOMES A MOM” VIDEO

WATCH HERE

ON TOUR NOW IN SUPPORT OF LONER,
RELEASED THIS YEAR ON NEW WEST

“Caroline Rose took her songwriting to a new level of wit and heart with LONER . . . It’s full of deftly drawn characters, like the numbingly normal partygoers in ‘More of the Same’ or the comically exaggerated versions of Rose herself in ‘Money’ and ‘Soul No. 5.’ One of her best creations is the lost suburbanite in ‘Jeannie Becomes a Mom,’ drifting through the cul-de-sacs outside Topeka, Kansas in search of her dream life.” — Rolling Stone

“LONER finds [Caroline Rose] abandoning preconceived notions, resulting in a great deal of sonic expansion . . . By embracing her humorous nature and getting more aggressive and adventurous with her music, she was able to create something that felt more natural. While the album title suggests that Rose may feel like she’s on an island of sorts, she’s far from alone.”
— NPR Music’s Favorite Albums of 2018 (So Far)

Caroline Rose has spent a majority of the past year touring in support of LONER, released this past February via New West. Today via Rolling Stone, Rose premieres the “Jeannie Becomes A Mom” video which comically illustrates the daunting notion of being unable to outrun time. Directed by Amanda Speva and produced by Sarah Slevin, and shot outside of Chicago, Rose’s satirical and witty nature shines through with her creative direction, showcasing her ability to process serious subjects with dark humor.

“Jeannie was my first foray into making really fun, sort of weird pop music. I wrote the whole song, including the programmed drums, on a little digital synthesizer called the OP-1. It felt like a relief making something that still told a serious story but tasted like candy to my ears. It’s a direction I’m definitely going to keep exploring. The story, like life, is meant to be a kind of grotesque, whimsical tragi-comedy. This was especially fun for me because I get to play more of a voyeuristic role, which is how I feel in the narrative of the song itself.”

Rose continues on her headlining tour in support of LONER and as support for Rainbow Kitten Surprise with several dates sold out. All dates are listed below.

Watch Caroline Rose’s “Jeannie Becomes A Mom” Video –

https://youtu.be/1bx8QdYj0Pg

Stream Caroline Rose’s LONER –
http://geni.us/crloner?track=pr

Watch/Listen/Share:
“Bikini” video – https://youtu.be/MZYtOBkICDg
“Soul No. 5” video – https://youtu.be/zzIfmtKSLTE
“Money” video – https://youtu.be/NcOPz7Kby1A
“Getting To Me” – https://youtu.be/9JV4wU9Axsk

Caroline Rose Tour Dates:

Thu. Nov. 1 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
Fri. Nov. 2 – Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom
Sat. Nov. 3 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
Tue. Nov. 6 – Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground
Wed. Nov. 7 – Ferndale, MI @ The Loving Touch
Thu. Nov. 8 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
Fri. Nov. 9 – Iowa City, IA @ The Mill
Sat. Nov. 10 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
Tue. Nov. 13 – Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar
Wed. Nov. 14 – Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe
Thu. Nov. 16 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
Fri. Nov. 17 – Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel

Smalltown Supersound to release massive mix of their catalogue to celebrate their 25th anniversary.

Smalltown Supersound Celebrates 25 Years With
The Movement Of The Free Spirit Mix by Prins Thomas, Out November 30th

3 Hours & 40 Minute Mix of 80 Tracks Exclusively from the
Smalltown Supersound Catalogue

Smalltown Supersound, the Norwegian label run by Oslo-based Joakim Haugland, celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, the label is releasing The Movement Of The Free Spirit, an epic new mix album of the Smalltown Supersound catalogue by Prins Thomas, out November 30th. As Thomas’s follow up to Paradise Goulash, The Movement Of The Free Spirit is a 3-disc mix comprised of 80 tracks and 3 hours and 40 minutes of music featuring artists including Sonic Youth, DJ Harvey, Studio, Yoshimi (Boredoms), Kim Gordon, Oneohtrix Point Never, Todd Rundgren, Stereolab, High Llamas, Neneh Cherry, Ricardo Villalobos, Four Tet, Bjørn Torske, Dungen, The Orb, Kelly Lee Owens, Lindstrøm, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Biosphere, Peter Brötzmann, and many more (full track list is below). The mix will be released as a CD box set, digitally (mixed and unmixed) and disc 1 will be available as a double LP.

The title, The Movement Of The Free Spirit, was borrowed from a Bruce Russell (of The Dead C) 10” Smalltown Supersound released in 2000. Russell had borrowed it from the book by legendary Situationist activist and author Raoul Vaneigem.
Pre-order The Movement Of The Free Spirit – http://smarturl.it/sts300-preorder
Download artwork and press images – http://pitchperfectpr.com/prins-thomas/

The Movement Of The Free Spirit liner notes

Trying To Be Like SST. Since 1993.

I started Smalltown Supersound in 1993 while in high school in Flekkefjord, a small town of 4,000 inhabitants in the south of Norway. There was obviously no supersound in our small town. It was just an ironic name I came up with to release some tapes with lo-fi/noise/bedroom recordings by my brother and his friends. The name was inspired by my hometown and the catalogue number STS was a homage to SST, a label I deeply admired at the time (and still do). Little did I know that I would have to live with that name for the rest of my life.

I started the label before I knew what a record label was. So I gradually learned it by doing. And it was part of me growing up. It might sound like a cliché, but in many ways the label is the soundtrack of my life. Thomas has now made it into a mixtape.

We all hate to see photos of ourselves when we were younger, the bad haircuts and the strange clothes. It is the same thing when you run a label. You constantly look back on things you regret. This mix makes me see the label from the outside in a way I don’t think I have before. And to my surprise the haircuts and the clothes weren’t as bad and strange as I remembered.

I have to admit that I when I listened to it the first time, I was moved. First of all, because of the deep and true love Thomas has put into this mix. Second, because some of these tracks I haven’t heard in 20-25 years. It really felt like revisiting the past. And in a very good way.

Thomas has followed the label since the early beginnings. Back in the days I was always thinking: “He’s a house/disco DJ – why does he want my noise records?”. I realize now I wasn’t smart enough to understand his scope. I didn’t understand it until his mix album Cosmic Galactic Prism, which is one of my favorite mix albums of all time. So for me it was very obvious that Thomas should make the Smalltown Supersound mix. I just couldn’t imagine that he would go this beautifully far with it.

Since day one I have tried to have a red thread run through the releases and the label’s DNA. Most of the time I am probably the only one who sees it. And many times I don’t even see it myself. Now Thomas has found the spiritual unity.

While I have always struggled to describe what the label is, only now – with this mix – I can finally say: this is what it is.

Joakim Haugland Oslo, August 2018

The Movement Of The Free Spirit Tracklist:

Part 1
1. Echo Troopers – Fred Astaire Session (intro)
Deathprod – Orgone Donor
Yoshimi & Mats Gustafsson – Soundless Cries With Their Arms in the Air Yuichiro Fujimoto – Little Sun
2. Bendik Giske – Hole
Supersilent – 13.1
Biosphere – Aura in the Kitchen
Supersilent – 13.1
Elektro Nova/Electro Nova – T03
Bruce Russell – The Movement of the Free Spirit (The 1st Movement)
3. Carmen Villain – Safe
Alexander Rishaug – Time and Place
4. Monopot – Scena Napoletana
5. Continental Fruit – Dear Heart
6. Biosphere – Wyll and Purpose
Lindstrøm – Call Me Anytime (Oneohtrix Point Never Remix)
Deathprod – Orgone Donor
Arp – V2 Slight Return
Monopot – Dronningen
7. Monopot – Dronningen
Jaga Jazzist – Plym
Todd Rundgren – Anything (vocal outtake)
8. Todd Rundgren – Anything (vocal outtake)
9. Todd Rundgren, Emil Nikolaisen & Hans-Peter Lindstrøm – Wrap Your Arms Around Me (Stereolab vs High Llamas Remix)
10. 120 Days – Sleepless Nights
11. Carmen Villain – The Moon Will Always Be There
Continental Fruit – The Moon Was My Only Witness
Mats Gustafsson & Sonic Youth – Part 3 (Contrabass Sax)
12. Erik Wøllo – Ody At Sea
Alexander Rishaug – Satellites
Prins Thomas – B (Sun Araw Saddle Soap Remix)
13. Prins Thomas – B (Sun Araw Saddle Soap Remix)
Bjørn Torske & Prins Thomas – Arthur’s Return (long unreleased)
Serena Maneesh – Introspection
Serena Maneesh – Leipziger Love Life (ancient mix)
Mats Gustafsson & Sonic Youth – Part 4 (Voice)
14. Wildest Dreams – Off The Lip

Part 2
1. Lindstrøm & Christabelle – Lovesick (Four Tet Remix) 2. Dungen – Franks Kaktus
3. Idjut Boys – One for Kenny (Bjørn Torske remix)
Idjut Boys – One for Kenny (Idjut Version)
4. Dungen – Alberto Balsam
5. Prins Thomas – H (The Orb Remix)
Bjørn Torske & Prins Thomas – Arthur
Kjetil D. Brandsdal – Komboloi
Lindstrøm – No Release (Owen Pallett Remix)
6. Lindstrøm – No release (Owen Pallett Remix) Diskjokke – Cold Out
Yoshinori Hayashi – Bit of Garden
7. Yoshinori Hayashi – Bit of Garden
Diskjokke – Cold Out
Meanderthals – Andromeda (Basic Idjut Version)
Arp – The Past (Version by Studio)
Meanderthals – Andromeda
8. Prins Thomas – C (I:Cube Remix)
9. Lindstrøm – Another Station
10. Bjørn Torske – Se Torsken (Mungolian Jetset Remix) Dan Lissvik – Airwalk
Dan Lissvik – G
11. Neneh Cherry – Slow Release
Bjørn Torske & Prins Thomas – K16
12. Bjørn Torske – Totem Expose
13. Kim Hiorthøy – Door Opens Both Ways
14. Toy – Don’t Be
15. Lindstrøm – Raakost (Unknown Mortal Orchestra Version)

Part 3
1. Lindstrøm – The Contemporary Fix (Bjørn Torske Remix)
2. Matt Karmil – Morals
Biosphere – With Their Paddles in a Puddle
Andre Bratten – Minor Misconception
Carmen Villain – Planetarium (Gigi Masin Remix)
3. Andre Bratten – Minor Misconception
Carmen Villain – Planetarium (Gigi Masin Remix) Brian Reitzell – Ozu Choral
4. Carmen Villain – Planetarium (Gigi Masin Remix) Mungolian Jetset – Mush in the Bush
Bjørn Torske – Langt fra Afrika
5. Kelly Lee Owens – CBM
Carmen Villain – Obedience (Bjørn Torske Remix) Elektro Nova/Electro Nova – Phase One
Elektro Nova/Electro Nova – Phase Two Part 3 Brian Reitzell – Honeycomb
6. Prins Thomas – C (Ricardo Villalobos King Crab Remix) Bendik Giske – Adjust
Elektro Nova/Electro Nova – T03
Prins Thomas – C (Ricardo Villalobos Knödel Prince Dub) Mungolian Jetset – Shelton’s on a Bender
7. Neneh Cherry – Everything Is Everything (Villalobos & Loderbauer: Vilod High Blood Pressure Mix)
8. Bjørn Torske – Furu
9. Andre Bratten – Pax Americana
10. Lars Horntveth – Kaleidoscopic
11. Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet – II (Performed by Joe McPhee & Ken Vandermark)

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Bev Rage and the Drinks – Cockeyed

I didn’t know how much I and the rest of the world needed queercore punk in this day and age until I heard Chicago’s Bev Rage and the Drinks‘ debut full-length album Cockeyed.

Launching out of the gate with wild punk riffs on “Why Won’t You Hate Me?” Ms. Rage and her bandmates thrown down the gauntlet to any other punk band thinking of releasing a record in 2018. “Mouth” is a fast, funny takedown of a lying lover whose lame excuses and dumb alibis become enjoyable farce. It’s appropriate that the follow-up is the thirty-second “Don’t Know Shit.”

“Short Shorts” and “Limp Wrist” are each under two minutes and still pack more punk squalor into them than an entire Ataris album. “Limp Wrist” is one of the best punk tracks of 2018.

A gay friend of mine heard “Bitter Old Queen” and declared it his “new theme song.” I think he meant it for past lovers, as Ms. Rage does because both of them are too busy having fun to be bitter. Ms. Rage’s former beau does nothing but complain and no longer wants to hit the town (“I want to go out for a walk, but that is too fucking hard…”), tempting her to push her man off a bridge and end the relentless bitching.

Mission accomplished on “Someone New,” in which Ms. Rage proudly declares she’s moved onto to someone better. Unfortunately, her new man is already looking for the “Next Best Thing” (hint: He won’t find it, judging by the angry guitar chords and wild rhythm section chaos this tune has in it.).

“I’m Having a Tryst with a Narcissist” is so damn clever that you can’t stop grinning throughout it. Ms. Rage is a witty lyricist, so be sure to pay attention to the words behind the distortion, bass thumps, and mosh pit beats. “Waffle House” is another great example of her storytelling, as Ms. Rage tells of falling asleep at a Waffle House and having a naughty dream about the waiter. The album ends with “Looking,” another verbal / musical smackdown / high heel boot stomp of a lover who can’t or won’t take the Nestea Plunge with Bev Rage.

This is one of the best punk albums I’ve heard all year. It’s full of squalling guitars, rough-edge drums, fuzzed-out bass, and more anger and sass than the green room at a Parisian fashion show. Don’t miss out on it.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Public Practice – Distance Is a Mirror

Rising from the ashes of post-punk bands WALL and Beverly, Public Practice (Drew Citron – synths, bass, vocals, Vince McClelland – guitars, Scott Rosenthal – drums and programming, Sam York – vocals) have brought us a sharp EP – Distance Is a Mirror – in these weird times where truth and perception are openly warped by media, politicians, news pundits, the guy on the street corner, your drunk uncle, and everyone else it seems.

“Fate / Glory” starts out with jagged guitar and cocksure bass before York’s sultry, assured (and playfully weary, it seems) vocals saunter into the room. “Lies make lovers of us all,” she states. She’s right. Once we accept a lie, we’re all in bed together with it. I love the way the song ramps up in speed in the last third.

“Bad Girl(s)” is the band’s anthem / middle finger to misogynists. “I won’t play your game, I don’t need your shame,” she yells as McClelland pounds his guitar and Rosenthal taps out a near Morse code message on his hi-hat. McClelland’s guitar opening of “Foundation” reminds me of an anime theme song I can’t place. Citron’s bass on it reminds me of a Talking Heads riff I can’t place either. You can practically see York owning a stage as she struts across it to Rosenthal’s snappy beats on it. The crumbling house referred to in the track could be a metaphor for the country as a whole to a relationship from York’s past.

“Into the Ring” has another great groove that goes from stand-offish to a full sexy embrace when it kicks into gear. York sings about a sexy dalliance that resembles a battle she’s not sure she’s ready for. “We entered this fight, thinking we knew who was going to win,” she says, possibly also referring to the last presidential election. “No, you can’t it back now,” she repeats at one point, again obscuring the secret meaning of her lyrics.

I was crushed when WALL broke up before their first full album was released, but this EP is a great follow-up to that record.

Keep your mind open.

Review: Brother O’ Brother – Monster Truck

Indianapolis’ power blues-rock duo Brother O’ Brother‘s new EP, Monster Truck (which you can download for free, by the way), rumbles by as loud and hard as its namesake.

Opening with “Unleavened,” the band chugs through a swampy mix of blues wails, garage rock riffs, and metal drums. The title track refers to the power of a crazy relationship. There’s no sex like crazy sex, after all. “GOLD” is a blazing psychedelic jam that has the band in fifth gear by this point.

“Howlelujah” is, apart from being one of the best-named tracks of 2018, a loud, sweaty, dangerous blues cut that plows through muddy distortion and rams through your speakers with a wild jam. “Must Be Blind” is a screaming, shredding diatribe against a bad relationship the singer should’ve seen coming, but it was too hot to resist at the time. The EP ends with “Omni,” another powerful drum and guitar slugfest.

Monster Truck is over far too soon, but any rock like this you can get is good – especially when it’s this good.

Keep your mind open.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eenzVGrvb0w

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Sharon Van Etten announces tour dates for 2019.

Sharon Van Etten Announces 2019 Remind Me Tomorrow World Tour

New Album, Remind Me Tomorrow, Out January 18 On Jagjaguwar

(photo credit – Ryan Pfluger)

“A blustery, marchlike (but shifty) beat and pealing organ chords orchestrate an encounter between a ‘runaway’ and a ‘comeback kid’ — or maybe it’s an internal debate
for someone re-entering the pop fray.“
— New York Times

“[Sharon Van Etten’s] voice sounds almost like Siouxsie Sioux here—deep, bellowing, and fuzzed out at the edge of the distorted signal—and her tone is muscular and triumphant, with a controlled vibrato that suggests someone shouldering into a brisk wind.” — Pitchfork

“‘Comeback Kid,’ an energetic, scrappy-kid rock song, is a horns-blaring entrance.” — FADER

“[Sharon Van Etten’s] stunning show anticipated a welcome return to music with next year’s Remind Me Tomorrow.” — Austin Chronicle

“Based on her set alone, Remind Me Tomorrow is now easily one of the most anticipated records of 2019.”
— Consequence of Sound (ACL recap)

Sharon Van Etten returned earlier this month with the announcement of her fifth full-length album and first in over 4 years, Remind Me Tomorrow, out January 18th on Jagjaguwar, and new single, “Comeback Kid.” Following the album announcement, Van Etten also made her return to the stage, giving “one of the weekend’s most stunning sets . . . a first live taste of her expansive new sound on Remind Me Tomorrow” (Rolling Stone) at the Austin City Limits Music Festival, followed by Red Rocks, and Treasure Island Music Festival. Today, she announces her 2019 world tour featuring performances at the Beacon Theater in New York, Theatre at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles, The Fillmore in San Francisco, Thalia Hall in Chicago, 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., London Roundhouse and beyond. Nilüfer Yanya will support on all North American dates and Fred Armisen will be a special guest for the New York show. All dates are below and tickets are on sale this Friday at sharonvanetten.com.

In addition to garnering a great deal of media and fan attention from around the world for “Comeback Kid,” the “rousing, serrated anthem” (NPR Music) was the #1 most added at AAA radio in its first week, the lead in the New York Times’ “Playlist” and a top 10 New Music Friday pick (it was featured in 23 New Music Fridays, globally).

Written while pregnant, going to school for psychology, and after taking The OA audition, Remind Me Tomorrow was written in stolen time: in scraps of hours wedged between myriad endeavors — Van Etten guest-starred in The OA, and brought her music onstage in David Lynch’s revival of Twin Peaks. Off-screen, she wrote her first score for Katherine Dieckmann’s movie Strange Weather and the closing title song for Tig Notaro’s show, Tig. The breadth of her passions (musical, emotional, otherwise), of new careers and projects and lifelong roles, have inflected this album with a wise sense of a warped-time perspective. It reckons with the life that gets lived when you put off the small and inevitable maintenance in favor of something more present.

Remind Me Tomorrow follows Are We There, a top 10 critically praised album of 2014. Working alongside producer John Congleton, the resulting songs are as resonating as ever, the themes are still an honest and subtle approach to love and longing, but Congleton has plucked out new idiosyncrasies from Van Etten’s sound. He helped flip the signature Van Etten ratio, making the album more energetic-upbeat than minimal-meditative.

Listen To Sharon Van Etten’s “Comeback Kid” –
https://youtu.be/US4xCFUuHuQ

Pre-order Remind Me Tomorrow –
https://sharonvanetten.ffm.to/remindmetomorrow

Sharon Van Etten Tour Dates:
Wed. Feb. 6 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club #
Thu. Feb. 7 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer #
Fri. Feb. 8 – Boston, MA @ Royale #
Sat. Feb. 9 – New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre $ #
Mon. Feb. 11 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall #
Wed. Feb. 13 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre #
Thu. Feb. 14 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall #
Sat. Feb. 16 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue #
Mon. Feb. 18 – Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre #
Tue. Feb 19 – Salt Lake City, UT – Metro Music Hall #
Thu. Feb 21 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom #
Fri. Feb 22 – Vancouver, BC – Imperial #
Sat. Feb 23 – Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre #
Tue. Feb. 26 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore #
Thu. Feb 28 – San Diego, CA – The Observatory North Park #
Fri. March 1 – Los Angeles, CA – The Theatre at Ace Hotel #
Thu. March 21 – Birmingham, UK @ The Mill
Fri. March 22 – Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall
Sat. March 23 – Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street
Sun. March 24 – Glasgow, UK @ St. Luke’s
Tue. March 26 – London, UK @ Roundhouse
Wed. March 27 – Bristol, UK @ SWX
Fri. March 29 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Noord
Sat. March 30 – Brussels, BE @ Orangerie (at Botanique)
Mon. April 1 – Paris, FR @ La Maroquinerie
Tue. April 2 – Koln, DE @ Luxor
Wed. April 3 – Munich, DE @ Strom
Fri. April 5 – Berlin, DE @ Lido
Sat. April 6 – Hamburg, DE @ Grünspan
Sun. April 7 – Copenhagen, DK @ Studio 2 (DR Concert House)
Tue. April 9 – Gothenburg, SE @ Pustervik
Wed. April 10 – Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret
Thu. April 11 – Stockholm, SE @ Kagelbanen

# = with Nilüfer Yanya
$ = with Fred Armisen

Download hi-res jpegs of Sharon Van Etten and cover art –
http://pitchperfectpr.com/sharonvanetten/

(Remind Me Tomorrow cover art, photo by Katherine Dieckmann)

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Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you split.]

Review: Windhand – Eternal Return

Just in time for Halloween, doom metal rockers Windhand (Parker Chandler – bass, Dorthia Cottrell – vocals, Garrett Morris – guitar, Ryan Wolfe – drums) have released their newest album, Eternal Return. Fueled in part by one of the band’s co-founders, Asechiah Bogdan, leaving the band in 2015, the death of a friend of the band, and the birth of Garrett Morris’ son. Eternal Return speaks of the cycle of life and death, doors closing and opening, and acknowledging some things will forever remain mysteries. The album’s cover shows a woman who looks not unlike Cottrell standing in a forest and looking a hole in the ice over a frozen lake. Did she just push someone in there? Is she thinking of jumping into the lake? Is she remembering someone who died there, or is she just admiring the cold beauty of it all? I don’t know, but all of those are possibilities when you hear the themes of life and death throughout the record.

The album opens with “Halcyon” and the freight train-like in utero heartbeat of Morris’ son just before Morris’ cosmic chariot guitar kicks in and then Chandler and Wolfe nearly flatten you like the aforementioned train as Cottrell’s haunting voice entices you to stand on the tracks. “Would it kill you to be here?” She asks at one point. It might, but it’s worth the risk.

“Grey Garden” has Windhand sliding effortlessly back and forth between doom metal heaviness and sultry psychedelia. Cottrell’s vocals about, I think, a forgotten cemetery and the lover she’s buried there, display grief, love, and (as always) a hint of danger. The breakdown makes no bones about the band’s love of psychedelic metal, and the track is all the better for it (and good heavens, Morris’ solo…). “Pilgrim’s Rest” is a metal ode to long-forgotten settlements, explorers, and a time when the land was still pure.

If that’s not metal enough for you, I’m sure “First to Die” is from the title alone. Cottrell sings of suffering and sacrifice while Wolfe pounds his kit through the floor and Morris and Chandler unleash the sound of a swarm of killer robotic bees attacking during an earthquake. “First to die, to be born,” Cottrell sings, again reflecting the themes of reincarnation. The title of the instrumental “Light into Dark” keeps up the theme as well, and soars by like a comet nearly hitting the Earth.

“Red Cloud” features some of Wolfe’s heaviest beats and Morris’ heaviest shredding. It’s a stunning piece firmly rooted by Chandler’s bass and Cottrell’s vocals enhance the riffs and beats instead of the other way around on the track. It’s a neat choice by the band. “Eyeshine” is an eleven-minute feast of doom sludge that crawls along like an alligator in a deep, dark lake.

Depending on how you define “Diablerie,” it either means “reckless mischief,” “charismatic wildness,” or “sorcery assisted by the Devil.” Eternal Return is a doom metal album, so you can probably guess which definition Windhand was leaning toward here. Cottrell repeats, “Hope it don’t come back again.” multiple times, leading one to believe the song is about how dabbling in magic sometimes goes horribly wrong and one is lucky to escape with their life.

The album ends with the thirteen-minute “Feather,” which begins with simple strummed guitar chords and a near-military march beat. Cottrell sings, “What is laughing in the wind? What is waiting at the water’s edge?” These could be the thoughts of the woman on the album cover as she’s haunted by something in that frozen lake or in the woods around her. It ends the album on a mysterious note, which is perfect for a record about the unknowable.

Windhand are crafting fine doom metal that deserves to be heard by a wider audience. Cottrell’s spell-casting voice and Wolfe, Morris, and Chandler’s heavy and skilled instrumentation are a powerful combination. They aren’t afraid to explore themes we consider when we close our eyes. While many of us would avoid the frozen lake altogether, Windhand is willing to walk up to it and face whatever is there.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: All Them Witches – self-titled

Nashville’s psych / blues rockers All Them Witches (Jonathan Draper – keyboards, Ben McLeod – guitar, Charles Michael Parks, Jr. – bass and vocals, Robby Staebler – drums) have come back from a long road tour to do what any other band would do after a long tour – release a new album.

Opening with the wild, almost manic “Fishbelly 86 Onions,” the whole band goes bonkers, especially McLeod – who shreds more than usual while Parks yells out twenty counts. “Workhorse” could be considered “classic” ATW (if there is such a thing). It hits all the notes you love from the band – psychedelia, obscure lyrics, a bit of outlaw country flavor, and plenty of mystery. Plus, Staebler’s tick-tock beats are excellent on it.

“1st vs. 2nd” could almost be a Thin Lizzy track, and Parks’ bass melds so well with Draper’s keys that it’s almost impossible to tell them apart. It evolves into almost a heavy metal chug by the end. “Half-Tongue” gets us back into a psychedelic jam groove as Parks sings about, I think, a relationship that didn’t end well. I could be wrong.

“Diamond” is one of those ATW songs that you should play when people ask you to describe them. Draper’s keys move like wisps of incense smoke, McLeod’s guitar prowls like a tiger, Parks’ bass moves like a robed wizard through a library built inside a dark cave, and Staebler’s drums drive forward like a Viking boat along a bubbling river.

The band’s blues influences come out with swagger on “Harvest Feast.” “By the time I got back to my mountain, I was uninvited from the harvest feast,” Parks sings. He can only walk away dejected as he’s spurned by his family, friends, and culture. The song flows into a delightful instrumental jam highlighting Draper’s keyboard work and McLeod’s trippy riffs. “HJTC” nearly has them playing stadium rock riffs, but they hold back just enough to keep it linked to their smoky Nashville club roots.

The album ends with “Rob’s Dream,” which one can’t help but think is about something drummer Robby Staebler dreamed one night. He apparently dreamed of powerful guitars, even stronger drumming, and flying out of orbit (judging by how the track ends).

It’s another solid record from one of the best bands out there right now. While All Them Witches aren’t ruling the airwaves is beyond me, but I think they enjoy being a bit of a mystery and a treasure hunt.

Keep your mind open.

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