December 2019 – Page 4 – 7th Level Music

Khruangbin and Leon Bridges team up to bring us “Texas Sun” in the winter when we need it most.

Khruangbin & Leon Bridges are pleased to announce Texas Sun, their forthcoming collaborative EP out February 7th on Dead Oceans, in partnership with Columbia Records and Night Time Stories Ltd. In conjunction with today’s announcement, they present its title track. Over a slowly rolling backbeat and strums of flamenco-style guitar, Bridges sings of the pull the unique Texan landscape can have on you, even from miles away. It’s a stunner of an opener, kicking off the EP’s own journey through homesick reminiscences, backseat romances, and late-night contemplations.

Listen to “Texas Sun” —
https://youtu.be/zSWNWWREtsI

Texas Sun is the kind of record made for listening with the windows down and the road humming softly beneath you. Their first time writing with a vocalist, Texas Sun finds Khruangbin—formed of Laura Lee on bass, Mark Speer on guitar, and Donald “DJ” Johnson on drums—tailoring their exotic funk to Bridges’ soulful melodies. On the EP, these Texas natives meet up somewhere in the mythical nexus of the state’s past, present, and future—a dreamy badlands where genres blur as seamlessly as the terrain. The state’s music is as varied and wild as its geography, producing Southern rap pioneers Geto Boys and UGK, lysergic trailblazers The 13th Floor Elevators, and genres-unto-themselves like St. Vincent, Gary Clark Jr., and Beyoncé. Texas Sun lives here too, a record that calls equally to the chopped-and-screwed hip-hop fans rattling slabs on the southside of Houston, to those who grew up on listening to both mariachi and post-hardcore out on the Mexican borders of El Paso, to the Austin acid-dropping art school kids. All of these things overlap on Texas Sun in a multicolored melange, purple hues as vivid and unpredictable as one of the state’s rightfully celebrated sunsets.

“We try not to have too much of an intention, because it gets in the way of what the music wants to do,” Lee says. “If you just let the music do what it’s supposed to do, it will reveal itself. We tried to take that same approach with Leon. For us, it was opening up our world to have another person in it. But all of it feels like Texas to me.”

Texas Sun started on the road and wrapped up in the studio. Both Bridges and Khruangbin had been touring nonstop behind their acclaimed sophomore LPs when their paths converged for a joint North American tour in 2018, a run of shows stretching from Los Angeles to New York. Although both of their musical lanes were slightly different, they shared a dusty, laid back vibe. When a Khruangbin session yielded a song that seemed like it might pair well with Bridges’ voice, the band sent it over. Bridges returned the track with his vocals the very next day. They all soon decamped to the studio with engineer Steve Christensen, hoping to make it into a B-side. But everything flowed so naturally, it was obvious this would be something bigger, leading to Texas Sun.

“Big sky country, that’s what they call Texas,” Lee says. Texas Sun effortlessly evokes the feeling of being behind the wheel, nothing but that big sky before you, your mind set free to wander. It’s a sound that should keep you good company on your own winding roads, wherever they may lead, and always back home.

Texas Sun Tracklist:
1. Texas Sun
2. Midnight
3. C-Side
4. Conversion

Pre-order Texas Sun —
https://ffm.to/texassun

Khruangbin online:
khruangbin.com
instagram.com/khruangbin
twitter.com/khruangbin
facebook.com/khruangbin
khruangbin.bandcamp.com
deadoceans.com

Leon Bridges online:
leonbridges.com
instagram.com/leonbridgesofficial
twitter.com/leonbridges
facebook.com/LeonBridgesOfficial
columbiarecords.com

Keep your mind open.

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Squirrel Flower takes us on a melancholy ride with “Headlights.”

Squirrel Flower – the moniker of Ella O’Connor Williams – recently announced I Was Born Swimming, her debut album, out January 31st on Polyvinyl. Following its lead single/video, “Red Shoulder,” she now releases its follow-up single/video, “Headlights.”

Speaking of the track Squirrel Flower says:

“’Headlights’ takes place in a moment of solitary reflection; a glance back and a glance forward. I wrote it on tour driving through the pioneer valley in Massachusetts in some heavy fog. Suddenly I was aware of the space the car was plummeting through, both physical and temporal.”

Director Bao Ngo explains the inspiration behind the video:

“The video for ‘Headlights’ was inspired by cheesy, classic imagery of actors riding in cars through LA— evoking glamour and sunshine. Here, we ran with the concept and placed it in a Massachusetts suburb on a cold winter day, driving around in circles in a convertible, shooting from morning til night, playing with a slightly warped sense of time so that the video would feel a little cold and a little lonely, and perhaps at times a little jarring, while still aiming to subtly reference the beauty of older Hollywood films.”

Throughout the 12 songs that make up I Was Born Swimming, landscapes change and relationships shift. The lyrics feel like effortless expressions of exactly the way it feels to change — abstract, determined and hopeful.

Squirrel Flower’s music is ethereal and warm, brimming over with emotional depth but with a steely eyed bite and confidence in its destination. The band on I Was Born Swimming plays with delicate intention, keeping the arrangements natural and light while Williams’ lead guitar is often fiercely untethered. The album was tracked live, with few overdubs, at The Rare Book Room Studio in New York City with producer Gabe Wax (Adrienne Lenker, Palehound, Cass McCombs). The musicians were selected by Wax and folded themselves into the songs effortlessly. At the heart of the album lives Williams’ haunting voice and melancholic, soulful guitar.
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “HEADLIGHTS”
https://youtu.be/JuMgMoF_vf8

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “RED SHOULDER”
https://youtu.be/pge3R8wbvII

DOWNLOAD / STREAM “RED SHOULDER”
https://smarturl.it/born-swimming

PRE-ORDER I WAS BORN SWIMMING
https://plyvnyl.co/born-swimming

Squirrel Flower Tour Dates:
Tue. Jan. 28 – London, UK @ The Islington
Fri. Jan. 31 – Brighton, UK @ Resident Records
Sat. Feb. 1 – Bristol, UK @ Friendly Records
Sun. Feb. 2 – Leeds, UK @ Jumbo Records
Tue. Feb. 4 – Diksmuide, BE @ 4AD * [Sold Out]
Wed. Feb. 5 – Nijmegen, BL @ Doornroosje *
Thu. Feb. 6 – Brussels, BE @ AB *
Sat. Feb. 8 – Amsterdam, NL @ Bitterzoet * [Sold Out]
Thu. March 5 – Freeport, ME @ Cadenza
Fri. March 6 – Middletown, CT @ Mac 650 Art Gallery &
Sat. March 7 – Boston, MA @ Great Scott &
Wed. March 11 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade &
Thu. March 12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Everybody Hits &
Sat. March 13 – Washington, DC @ Songbyrd &
Mon. March 23 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge %
Wed. March 25 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo %
Thu. March 26 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill %
Sat. March 28 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza %
Sun. March 29 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge %
Tue. March 31 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court %
Thu. April 2 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge %
Mon. April 6 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry %
Tue. April 7 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas %
Wed. April 8 – Cleveland, OH @ Mahall’s %
Fri. April 10 – Toronto, ON @ Drake Hotel &
Sat. April 11 – Montreal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo &

% = w/ Why Bonnie
& = w/ Cedric Noel
* =w/ Strand of Oaks

SQUIRREL FLOWER ONLINE:
http://www.squirrelflower.net/
https://www.facebook.com/sqrrlflwr/
https://twitter.com/sqrrlflwr
https://squirrelflower.bandcamp.com/
https://pitchperfectpr.com/squirrel-flower
https://www.instagram.com/sqrrlflwr/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7bI1v9NGBBhq8iGfytctni

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Pink Floyd – The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)

Pink Floyd‘s debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, is one of those classic records that deserves its legendary status. Its influence can be found not only among all the other United Kingdom (and many elsewhere, of course) psychedelic bands of the 1960’s and 1970’s, but also among modern psych-rock bands around the globe. No one could have predicted this, of course, because the album is so damn weird.

The opener, “Astronomy Domine,” moves like a funeral dirge across the cosmos – somehow combining space rock with doom-psych. “Lucifer Sam” has a killer, fuzzy bass groove by Roger Waters while Syd Barrett sings a tribute to his cat (“That cat’s something I can’t explain.”). “Matilda Mother” pours on the echo effects as Barrett and Waters sings about a long-forgotten king and Richard Wright lays down a sweet organ solo. “Flaming” is a trippy, hippy track about “lazing in the foggy dew” and “sitting on a unicorn.”

“Pow R. Toc H.” is an instrumental track that brings in jazz piano and softens Nick Mason‘s beats to sound like they kept him behind a velvet curtain in a dark nightclub. It mixes in maniacal laughter and chaotic guitar riffs now and then to keep you on your toes. “Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk” is the first track on the album written by Waters, so it’s no surprise that bass and drums move to the forefront while Barrett’s guitar and Wright’s keys seem to be having their own, frantic conversation.

The second instrumental, “Interstellar Overdrive,” would help pave the way for doom-psych with its deep bass grooves, haunted house organ, Tell Tale Heart drums, and Psycho guitar. Just to mess with us, the next track on the album is “The Gnome” – which is literally about a gnome (named Grimble Gromble) going on a “big adventure amidst the grass.”

Need a song featuring Barrett’s view of the cosmos? How about “Chapter 24,” in which he sings, “All movement is accomplished in six stages and the seventh brings return. The seven is the number of the young light. It forms when darkness is increased by one.” Sure. Why not? It’s nice to hear Wright’s organ taking the lead among the instruments on it. “The Scarecrow” tick-tocks along like the subject’s arms “when the wind cut up rough.” The closer, “Bike,” is, believe it or not, a love song. Barrett offers to give his girl “anything, everything, if you want things” including his bike, his cloak, his mouse (named Gerald, although Barrett doesn’t know why), his gingerbread men, and, the most precious gift of all – his music. It’s a lot of fun at first, and then descends into some sort of Lovecraftian dream.

The album is fun, fascinating, and baffling. My dog had no idea what to make of it when I played it in the house one day. I’m still not sure what to make of it either, but that’s okay. You’ll find something different about it each time you hear it.

Keep your mind open.

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Clutch releases sharp cover of CCR’s “Fortunate Son.”

Clutch‘s release of Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s “Fortunate Son” is the fourth in a series of new studio recordings that comprise the newly launched Weathermaker Vault Series. Available on all digital outlets here: https://orcd.co/dlrxa4p.

“Growing up it was hard not to hear CCR’s ”Fortunate Son’ on the radio, on TV or even at the county fair. The groovy backbeat and sloshy hi hats that introduces John Fogerty’s timeless lyrics written so many years ago could be found everywhere. While it may be true to say that ‘Fortunate Son’ could be seen as a political song we think it’s bigger than that. For us ‘Fortunate Son’ is an inspirational song. For that reason we’d like to dedicate the song to the most inspirational person we’ve ever had in our lives, our late manager Jack Flanagan. Jack Flanagan was no fortunate son. He worked tirelessly and passionately all the while keeping a razor sharp sense of humor until his last days. Thank you Jack for making us better than we ever thought we could be.” Jean-Paul Gaster

“Fortunate Son” was mixed by 6X Grammy Award winner and Clutch collaborator, Vance Powell (Wolfmother, The Raconteurs, Arctic Monkeys). In the video that accompanies this release Tim Sult pays homage to Jack Flanagan by playing Jack’s beloved 90’s Les Paul. The video was shot at J Robbins’ Magpie Cage Recording Studio in Baltimore, MD. J Robbins produced the Clutch albums Robot Hive/Exodus and Strange Cousins from the West and he recorded all of the WM Vault Series singles. The video can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/F1DJFNSideQ.

Clutch has curated their own Spotify playlist “Clutch’s Heavy Rotation” at this location: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3NlZsjNNOoCvwjCv58mcNR

On Monday, December 2nd, Clutch will embark on a European headline tour with Graveyard and Kamchatka as support. Tickets available here.

2 Dec (Mon) – Wiesbaden, GER @ Kulturzentrum Schlachthof 3 Dec (Tue) – Oberhausen, GER @ Turbinenhalle 5 Dec (Thu) – Bremen, GER @ Aladin Music Hall 6 Dec (Fri) – Nuremberg, GER @ Löwensaal* 7 Dec (Sat) – Strasbourg, FRA @ La Laiterie 8 Dec (Sun) – Villeurbanne, FRA @ Transbordeur 10 Dec (Tue) – Barcelona, ESP @ Sala Apolo* 11 Dec (Wed) – Madrid, ESP @ Sala But 13 Dec (Fri) – Madrid, ESP @ Sala But 14 Dec (Sat) – Bilbao, ESP @ Santana 27 15 Dec (Sun) – Bordeaux, FRA @ Le Rocher de Palmer 17 Dec (Tue) – Southampton, GBR @ O2 Guildhall 18 Dec (Wed) – London, GBR @ Roundhouse 19 Dec (Thu) – Leeds, GBR @ O2 Academy* 20 Dec (Fri) – Nottingham, GBR @ Rock City *Sold out

Then, right after the Christmas holidays Clutch will head out one last time in 2019 for the annual run of dates between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. They are supported at each show by The Steel Woods and Damon Johnson. The only exception will be at the Ashville, NC show where Tyler Bryant will have the opening slot instead of Damon Johnson. Tickets available here.

27 Dec (Fri) – Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s* 28 Dec (Sat) – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel 29 Dec (Sun) – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club 30 Dec (Mon) – Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom 31 Dec (Tue) – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer *Sold out

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: R.L. Burnside – Too Bad Jim (1994)

It doesn’t even take ten seconds for blues legend R.L. Burnside to hook you on his 1994 album Too Bad Jim. The opening guitar riff of the first track, “Shake ‘Em on Down,” is a floor-stomper that transports you back in time to a peanut shell-littered honkytonk bar serving cold beer out of a dented aluminum horse trough someone brought from their farm.

Too Bad Jim has plenty of rockers, but it is a blues record, after all. This is evidenced by the second track, “When My First Wife Left Me.” “When my first wife left me, God knows it put me out on the road,” Burnside sings at the beginning of this tale of hard times of his clothes getting very thin. “Short-Haired Woman” continues this trek down a lonely, dusty Mississippi road and features nothing but Burnside and his guitar that sounds both intimate and yet distant at the same time.

“Old Black Mattie” brings the drums back into play and gets everyone dancing (including the Black Keys, who are clearly influenced by Burnside’s playing, vocal stylings, and grooves). “Fireman Ring the Bell” keeps the floor shaking and “Peaches” switches up the groove to a sexy slink around the room as Burnside sings about his woman’s peaches being sweet. I think you get the idea.

“Miss Glory B.” is another solo lament about how Burnside is burdened by gossip even though he tries to keep to himself. He’s out to silence those rumors on “.44 Pistol,” which brings in the heaviest drums on the record and practically makes you strut around the room. You’re going to experience “Death Bell Blues” if you carry that pistol around long enough, and Burnside sings about the impending nature of death and wondering when and how the hooded guy with the scythe will escort him to the next life. The album ends with the longest track, “Goin’ Down South” – a dark cut about walking a long road of temptation, vices, and certain doom. Burnside saves some of his best guitar shredding for the closer, and the creepy crawl of the song would make even doom metal bands nod their heads in time and with appreciation.

It’s a solid album and a clinic on raw blues from a bluesman who, thankfully, got the recognition he deserved before he died in 2005.

Keep your mind open.

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Live: Reverend Horton Heat, Dave Alvin, New Bomb Turks, and Voodoo Glow Skulls – House of Blues – Chicago, IL – November 28, 2019

It had been well over a decade since I’d seen Reverend Horton Heat, New Bomb Turks, or Voodoo Glow Skulls live, so buying a ticket to their show at Chicago’s House of Blues was a no-brainer. New Bomb Turks are one of my favorite punk bands of all time, and Reverend Horton Heat is an unstoppable touring machine. VGS are bonkers ska punks whose blood is probably the formula for Red Bull. The icing on the cake was learning that punk / psychobilly legend Dave Alvin was going to be playing a half-hour set with Reverend Horton Heat during the show (which was called the “Holiday Hayride”).

Voodoo Glow Skulls opened the show, getting the crowd jumping and moshing and bouncing. They played new and older tracks, including a fun cover of “Charlie Brown” and their blistering new song, “Generation Genocide.”

New Bomb Turks were up next and threw down a fiery, raucous set that left a lot of people dumbfounded. Lead singer Eric Davidson did his best to keep the crowd fired up, including trying to pull people onstage. Only four people, me included, took him up on the offer (Me during their classic “Dress Up the Naked Truth,” which resulted in Mr. Davidson violating my mouth with his microphone while I knelt before him). The set was so quick and furious that the crowd seemed stunned into silence by the time they were done.

Reverend Horton Heat opened with an instrumental version of “We Three Kings” and then switched back and forth between fan-favorites like “400 Bucks” and “Bales of Cocaine” and Christmas tunes like “Silver and Gold” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” The whole band are top-notch musicians. A nice addition for the home crowd was the pianist, a Texan by birth, but a Chicago theatre veteran who played Jerry Lee Lewis in the local production of Million Dollar Quartet.

The whipped cream on the holiday pumpkin pie was a half-hour set by Dave Alvin (singer-songwriter, founding member of The Blasters and The Flesh Eaters) with the Reverend Horton Heat band backing him. Alvin commanded the stage as soon as he set foot on it and put on a guitar clinic, often leaving Jim Heath (AKA Rev. Heat) grinning and saying, “Well, I guess we have to follow that.” after Alvin exited stage left.

It’s a fun tour and was a jolly way to start the holiday season. It might be the last show I see in 2019, and it’s a good way to end my year of live music if that’s the case.

Keep your mind open.

Wrecka Stow: Feels So Good Records – Austin, TX

Located at 609 East 7th Street in Austin, Texas (right next door to the Barracuda live music venue), Feels So Good Records is a cool little shop that sells vinyl, vintage clothing, and other neat stuff. They also have their own print shop and support local bands and artists with art sales and music events they sponsor around town.

They have plenty of fine vinyl, as you can see. The woman working there, Tate, was spinning an old Spooky Tooth record while I was in the store. Those are vintage Easy Rider magazines near that crate of records, and dig that retro nude painting!

Need more cool stuff? How about cassettes, rare singles, Roky Erickson shirts, vintage jeans, and Richie Rich comics? They have a lot of fun stuff in a little space. Be sure to stop by there the next time you’re in Austin.

Keep your mind open.

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