November 2020 – 7th Level Music

Rewind Review: Oh Sees – Mutilator Defeated at Last (2015)

I have no idea if that weird, prickly pear-headed humanoid holding what appears to be either a cruller or a tower of onion rings is the “Mutilator” mentioned in the title of Thee Oh Sees‘ 2015 album Mutilator Defeated at Last or the created that is about to defeated Mutilator on some sort of rope bridge or walkway with a slime-covered railing. I do know, however, that it rocks beginning to end and has some of their biggest hits.

The loopy bass of Tim Hellman (his first album with the band) gets things off to a great start on “Web” – the sticky, funky opener that includes wild drumming from Nick Murray (also his first foray with the band) and John Dwyer‘s usual guitar work that shifts from frenetic to psychedelic as fast as Barry Allen turning a corner. “Withered Hand” starts out with the sounds of wind rattling through a haunted house and Murray’s snare drum sounding like a hissing adder before Dwyer unloads his guitar riffs like a cauldron of hot oil shot from a trebuchet.

“Poor Queen” is one of Oh Sees‘ / O Sees‘ / OCS‘ tunes that’s almost a shoegaze track. Dwyer’s vocals have just enough reverb and the guitar and synths blend together like incense and tea. “Turned Out Light” has a great garage rock swing to it that is pure fun to hear and probably to play for Dwyer and his crew.

“Lupine Ossuary” is a wild ride that comes at you from so many angles that it’s like being in the middle of a mosh pit that has a live hornet’s nest being kicked around on the floor, but the hornets are as drunk, high, or geared up as everyone else. “Sticky Hulks” is almost seven minutes of psychedelia with Dwyer’s guitar sometimes sounding like sonar pings and his electric organ work sounding like church music. “Holy Smoke” is (Dare I say it?) a pretty song. Dwyer’s acoustic guitar picking and strumming mixes well with Murray’s simple beats, Hellman’s bass line walk, and Dwyer’s complimentary synths.

“Rogue Planet” rolls and tumbles like its namesake charging through space toward its destructive meeting with another celestial body. The closer, “Palace Doctor,” sends us out on a psychedelic note with Murray’s drums slinking in the background with Dwyer’s vocals as the guitar and bass come forward like inquisitive ghosts.

Perhaps Mutilator was defeated by this album and we all need to thank Thee Oh Sees for saving us from an extra-dimensional threat by the power of their rock. I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case. Their stuff can shake walls and reality, and this album certainly proves this true.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Float Along – Fill Your Lungs (2013)

It’s a bit difficult to believe that King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard‘s Float Along – Fill Your Lungs is seven years old as I write this because it sounds like they could’ve released it yesterday. It mixes psychedelia with bluesy grooves and does so without effort.

They’re also one of the few bands out there who would dare to make the opening track on an album almost sixteen minutes long, and one of the few who can pull off such a feat. That song is “Head On / Pill.” Lead singer Stuart Mackenzie‘s vocals are trippier than a lava lamp and the addition of panning sitar is outstanding. The song builds into a wild jam with vocal chants and guitar chords that swirl like a dust devil working its way up to becoming a full-blown dust storm.

“I Am Not a Man Unless I Have a Woman” is layered with a lot of cool reverb and echoed vocal effects to keep the mind melt going. “God Is Calling Me Back Home” puts acoustic guitars in the front and makes the vocals sound like they’re coming out of an old radio before it turns into a wild freakout.

“30 Past 7” brings back the sitar and it blends well with guitar riffs that sound like eagle calls echoing over an Australian desert. “Let Me Mend the Past” is a favorite at their live shows as Ambrose Kenny Smith takes over lead vocals with a passioned plea for an angry lover to forgive him. The sweaty, gritty guitars and beats and somewhat goth lyrics (i.e., “I hope I don’t wake up.”) of “Mystery Jack” are the kinds of things Anton Newcombe dreams about while strolling to a German coffee house and taking a drag on a clove cigarette. Smith sings lead on “Pop in My Step,” which is a poppy and snappy as you hope it will be. The title track ends the record on a meditative, trippy note.

It’s one of their best records, really. It blends psychedelic rock, blues, microtonal bits, and Eastern Indian music into a heady brew that leaves you feeling pretty cool after you’ve consumed it.

Keep your mind open.

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Dry Cleaning present new single – “Scratchcard Lanyard.”

London-based band Dry Cleaning make their 4AD debut with a new single, “Scratchcard Lanyard,” and an accompanying video. The band first played the track on their KEXP session earlier this year, where they were the last act to record in the actual studios pre-COVID shutdown. “Scratchcard Lanyard” is a treatise on the joy of life’s little pleasures, where air fresheners become mighty oaks and Instagram filters are glamorous holiday destinations. In its companion video, the directorial debut of artist duo Rottingdean Bazaar (James Theseus Buck and Luke Brooks), the concept and set design riffs on the song’s celebration of the humdrum, inserting vocalist Florence Shaw into her own miniature night club.

Dry Cleaning further explain: “In the search for your true calling in life, it’s easy to try so many things that you end up confused. It can lead to an enormous build-up of frustration. You may fantasise about exacting revenge upon your real or imagined enemies. Ephemeral things and small-scale escapist experiences can provide some relief!”
Watch Dry Cleaning’s Video for “Scratchcard Lanyard”

Watch Dry Cleaning’s KEXP Session
Dry Cleaning is Nick Buxton (drums), Tom Dowse (guitar), Lewis Maynard (bass) and Florence Shaw (vocals). Firm friends for years, they only started making music after a karaoke party in 2017 inspired a collaboration. They wrote instrumentally to begin with and six months later Shaw, a university lecturer and picture researcher by day, joined on vocals with no prior musical experience.

Dry Cleaning’s music is simple – direct and uncomplicated. The Feelies, the Necessaries, the B52s and Pylon all served as inspirations when the band first came together. The small and intimate garage / rehearsal space had a huge influence on the sound; both of last year’s EPs “Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks” and “Sweet Princess,” were written here. The quartet have finished work on their debut album, with details to follow soon.

Dry Cleaning Online:
https://drycleaning.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/drycleaningband/
https://www.facebook.com/drycleaningband/
https://pitchperfectpr.com/dry-cleaning/

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR.]

shame tap “Water in the Well” for new single.

Today, shame announce their long-anticipated new album, Drunk Tank Pink, out January 15th on Dead Oceans. In conjunction, they present a new single, “Water in the Well,” with an accompanying video directed by Pedro Takahashi. There are moments on Drunk Tank Pink where you almost have to reach for the sleeve to check this is the same band who made 2018’s Songs Of Praise. Such is the jump shame have made from the riotous post-punk of their debut to the sprawling adventurism laid out in the bigger, bolder James Ford produced follow-up.

This creative leap, in part, was sparked by the band’s recent crash back down to earth, having spent their entire adult life on the road. It stems from their beginnings as wide-eyed teenagers, cutting their teeth in the pubs and small venues of South London, to becoming the most celebrated new band in Britain, catapulted by the success of their breakthrough debut album. Readjusting to a new normal back home with – for the first time since the band’s formation – no live shows on the horizon, frontman Charlie Steen attempted to party his way out of psychosis. An intense bout of waking fever-dreams convinced Steen that self medicating his demons wasn’t a very healthy plan of action and it was probably time to stop and take a look inward. “You become very aware of yourself and when all of the music stops, you’re left with the silence,” reflects Steen. “And that silence is a lot of what this record is about.”

In a small room painted in a shade of pink used to calm down drunk tank inmates, Steen cocooned himself away to reflect and write. In the room dubbed “the womb,” he addressed the psychological toll life in the band had taken on him. The disintegration of his relationship, the loss of a sense of self and the growing identity crisis both the band and an entire generation were feeling.“The common theme when I was catching up with my mates was this identity crisis everyone was having,” reflects Steen. “No one knows what the fuck is going on.” “It didn’t matter that we’d just come back off tour thinking, ‘How do we deal with reality!?’” agrees guitarist Sean Coyle-Smith. “I had mates that were working in a pub and they were also like, ‘How do I deal with reality!?’ Everyone was going through it.”

Coyle-Smith took a different tac to Steen and barricaded himself in his bedroom. Barely leaving the house and instead obsessively deconstructing his very approach to playing and making music, he picked apart the threads of the music he was devouring (Talking Heads, Nigerian High Life, the dry funk of ESG, Talk Talk…) and created work infused with panic and crackling intensity. “For this album I was so bored of playing guitar,” he recalls, “the thought of even playing it was mind-numbing. So I started to write and experiment in all these alternative tunings and not write or play in a conventional ‘rock’ way.”

The genius of Drunk Tank Pink is how Steen’s lyrical themes dovetail with the music. Previously released opener “Alphabet” dissects the premise of performance over a siren call of nervous, jerking guitars, its chorus thrown out like a beer bottle across a mosh pit. Nigel Hitter, meanwhile, turns the mundanity of routine into something spectacular via a disjointed jigsaw of syncopated rhythms and broken wristed punk funk. The result is an enormous expansion of shame’s sonic arsenal.
WATCH SHAME’S VIDEO FOR “WATER IN THE WELL”

WATCH VIDEO FOR “BiL”

WATCH VIDEO FOR “ALPHABET”

PRE-ORDER DRUNK PINK TANK

DRUNK PINK TANK TRACKLIST
1. Alphabet
2. Nigel Hitter
3. Born in Luton
4. March Day
5. Water in the Well
6. Snow Day
7. Human, for a Minute
8. Great Dog
9. 6/1
10. Harsh Degrees
11. Station Wagon

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Liam Kazar is “On a Spanish Dune” with his new single.

Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Liam Kazar presents a new single, “On a Spanish Dune,” with an accompanying video. It’s the follow-up to his charming debut, “Shoes Too Tight,” which gave a first look into Kazar’s joyful and vulnerable world. “On a Spanish Dune” is mellow and tinged with melancholia, undulating with wurlitzer and subtle synths. Mixed by Sam Griffin Owens, it features childhood friend Spencer Tweedy (drums), Chicago musician James Elkington (pedal steel, percussion), David Curtin (synths), plus vocals from Ohmme. The track illustrates Kazar’s aptness for colorful narration: “On a spanish dune // We’ll turn to the moon // So if you wanna go // I won’t leave tonight // While the cicadas sigh // And the river’s mouth is wide.”

The accompanying video, directed by Jesse Morgan Young, features Kazar and friends and is filled with oddities. Young explains the video: “After Kazar hurriedly leaves before dawn he’s thwarted by car trouble. Rescued by an unnervingly cheerful loner, the two make their way to an abandoned farm only to find out it’s not so abandoned. An eccentric survivalist has made the isolated locale his home and they spend the evening enjoying each other’s company and a bit of the stranger’s funky elixir.”
Watch Liam Kazar’s Video for “On a Spanish Dune”

“On a Spanish Dune” continues to champion Kazar’s wide musical range. Throughout the last decade, he has been recognized for his adaptability and deftness in the studio and on stage, leading to tours and collaborations with Jeff Tweedy, Chance the Rapper, Steve Gunn, Daniel Johnston, Kids These Days, amongst others.

Watch the “Shoes Too Tight” Video

Watch “Holding Plans” (Demo) Lyric Video

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jessica and Jaycee at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Aaron Frazer releases “If I Got It (Your Love Brought It)” from album due January 08, 2021.

Aaron Frazer (of Durand Jones & The Indications) releases new single, “If I Got It (Your Love Brought It),” from his Dan Auerbach-produced debut album, Introducing…, out January 8th on Dead Oceans/Easy Eye Sound. Following previous singles “Over You” and “Bad News,” “If I Got It (Your Love Brought It)” cheerfully skips with piano, wurlitzer, plucking bass, and a blend of brass instruments – trumpet, saxophone, and trombone.

Frazer elaborates on the song’s origins:

“I was at the DMV in Sacramento and above the commercial vehicles desk I noticed a wall full of toy trucks, and at the top a teamsters slogan from the 1950s: ‘IF YOU GOT IT, A TRUCK BROUGHT IT.’ I thought, damn that’s a hot line. Jotted it down, and when I brought it up with Dan, the song felt like it was writing itself. It’s a song of gratitude for who/whatever it is in your life that brings you happiness, grounding and self improvement.”

Listen To “If I Got It (Your Love Brought It)” by Aaron Frazer

A testament to his wide-ranging influence and deep gratitude for his musical community, Introducing… is both loving and gracious, critical without losing hope, and a showcase of a young artist on a seriously soulful ascent. Working with producer Dan Auerbach (of The Black Keys), Frazer works to combine ‘70s soul with Auerbach’s particular sensibilities. Across Introducing…‘s 12 tracks are songs with a message in the key of Gil Scott-Heron, as well as uplifting tales of love told through a blend of disco, gospel, and doo-wop.

Introducing… was recorded in a week at Auerbach’s antique and ephemera-laden studio in Nashville following a rapid and prolific songwriting session. Auerbach called on a crew of heavy session players — including members of the Memphis Boys (who played on Dusty Springfield’s “Son of A Preacher Man” and Aretha Franklin’s “You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman”), symphony percussionist Sam Bacco, and members of the Daptone–Big Crown Records universe. With a collaborative vision, Introducing… manages to hit the sweet spot between intuition, intentionality, and craft – a love song that’s both personal and universal.

Watch Video for Aaron Frazer’s “Over You”

Watch Video for Aaron Frazer’s “Bad News”

Pre-order Introducing…

Keep your mind open.

[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Brijean encourage us to start “Day Dreaming” with lush single from new album due this February.

Brijean – the Oakland-based duo of Brijean Murphy and Doug Stuart – announces their new album, Feelings, out February 26th on Ghostly International, and shares the lead single/video, “Day Dreaming.” The forthcoming album and lead track draw on Murphy’s experience growing up in a family immersed in jazz, Latin, and soul music, and arrive after working extensively within Oakland’s diverse music scene and as one of indie’s most in-demand percussionists (Poolside, Toro Y Moi, U.S. Girls). In 2018, she began recording songs with multi-instrumentalist and producer Doug Stuart, who shares a background in jazz and pop in bands such as Dougie Stu, Bells Atlas, Meernaa, and Luke Temple.

Album opener “Day Dreaming” is a dynamic celebration of newness: the excitement in finding deeper understandings of yourself as you get to know someone, something, or somewhere new. The track is guided by a lush mix of charismatic keyboard chords, grooving bass lines, and radiant conga-driven rhythms. Produced by Stuart with vocals and percussion by Murphy, the track also includes Chaz Bear who engineered and played keyboard. The accompanying video was shot on an iPhone in Los Angeles by Murphy and Stuart and then transformed by flatspot ___• into an immersive and psychedelic world.

Brijean states, “We had been wanting to work with flatspot ___• for a long time – both circling around each other at shows, collectives, and studios for years and finally got to collaborate on this project. His work with Smart Bomb has been a visual anchor and inspiration for Oakland creatives.”

flatspot ___• adds, “I try to leave space in the editing process for the unexpected. It is essential for me, when using analog gear and video feedback, to allow the eccentricities of the electronics to bring out new character. I send the footage through the wires and circuits and experiment with different settings until the desired outcome reveals itself. What is revealed to me by the old gear is just as important, if not more than any plan I may have made.”

Following the duo’s first sessions, which resulted in the mini-album Walkie Talkie (released in 2019 on Native Cat Recordings), Brijean continued collaborating in Oakland, inviting friends Chaz Bear, Tony Peppers, and Hamir Atwal, who all would end up contributing to the album. “We improvised on different feels for hours,” says Murphy. “Nothing quite developed at first but we had seeds. We re-opened the sessions a couple months later, after returning from tours, and spent a month developing the songs in a little 400 square foot cottage.”

The leap from 2019’s Walkie Talkie to Feelings is marked by a notable expanse in range and energy. Brijean’s signature sound — a golden-hued dream pop tropicalia of dazzling beats and honeyed vocals — elevates with the addition of live drummers, strings, and synths. The album also finds Murphy fully trusting in her strengths, not just as a percussionist, but as a songwriter and collaborator. “Valuing myself as elemental instead of an ‘aux’ percussionist, and the undoubted support and talents of Doug, encouraged me to both make this project and collaborate with many different people.”

Brijean wants you to move, physically, mentally, dimensionally; this is dance music for the mind, body, and soul. With Feelings, they’ve manifested a gentle collective space for respite, for self-reflection, for self-care, for uninhibited imagination and new possibilities. The album cultivates a specific vibe, a softness Murphy has come to call “romancing the psyche.” In nebulous and verdant worlds of hazy melodies, feathery hooks, and percussive details, Feelings simply want us to feel alive. The songs radiate in wonderful abandon and with a sense of devotion to the self.

Watch “Day Dreaming” Video:
https://youtu.be/sYBOFnwD_a8

Pre-order Feelings:
https://ghostly.ffm.to/brijean-feelings

Keep your mind open.

[I daydream of you subscribing.]

[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Rewind Review: Com Truise – Silicon Tare (2016)

Com Truise‘s 2016 EP Silicon Tare packs more synthwave goodness into its five tracks than most full-length synthwave albums from other artists.

“Sunspot” starts with a horror movie synth-stab and then the wicked beat drops in and you’re strolling down the 16-bit video game road much like the person depicted on the EP’s cover. “Forgive,” with its snappy beats, dance floor synths, and fuzzed bass, is Harold Faltermeyer‘s “Axel F” if “Axel F” was a champion kickboxer / ninja / international spy instead of a street-smart Detroit cop transplanted to Beverly Hills.

“Diffraction” bounces and blips and bumps like something in a futuristic disco. It’s a delight. Truise layers beats upon beats and also knows when to pull out some of those layers at the right times to keep your mind and hips moving without getting overloaded. The title track is music to bump from your Blade Runner Spinner as it cruises down a Chinatown street or over high-rise buildings full of people who might be more human than human. “du Zirconia” closes the album with electronic chops that could double as video game rifle fire sounds, synths that chirp like robotic birds, and bass that softly hums like a well-tuned speeder bike engine.

Silicon Tare is one of those EP’s that is over far too soon. You will want this to be a full album, even a double album, but Com Truise has plenty of material out there from before and after this (including a new record, In Decay, Too, coming out in December). Don’t hesitate to check out his catalogue.

Keep your mind open.

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Clutch release new version of “Passive Restraints” with guest co-vocals from Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe.

Clutch has released its new single “Passive Restraints” today. “Passive Restraints” originally appeared as the title track to the bands 2nd EP released in 1992. This newly recorded version is part of the Weathermaker Vault Series and features guest vocals by Randy Blythe from Lamb of God. Clutch and Blythe have collaborated on this track live for several years now, the last time at European festival appearances in the summer of 2019. The song can be streamed on Spotify at this location: https://orcd.co/passiverestraints and on the band’s official YouTube Channel: https://tinyurl.com/yy2575t7

The official video for the song was directed by David Brodsky (The Black Dahlia Murder, Papa Roach).

“Passive Restraints’ was one of the first Clutch songs I wrote lyrics to,” states frontman Neil Fallon. “It was a staple of Clutch sets for years but fell by the wayside as we wrote more and more songs over the years. When we toured with Lamb of God a few years back, Randy would often ask us to bring it back into rotation. We dragged our feet, and finally, we caved. And we were glad we did. The last time Clutch played Copenhell, Randy joined us on stage to perform the song. We decided to re-record it for the WM Vault Series and thought it was only fitting to have Randy join us.”

“When Clutch asked if I wanted to sing an older song with them during our 2016 tour together, I knew immediately which one I wanted to do- ‘Passive Restraints‘ adds Blythe. “We performed it in Milwaukee, then again a few years later at Copenhell Fest in Denmark, and I had a blast both times. I think they were a bit surprised I chose a song released in 1992, but I’ve been a fan for a long time. I’ve followed their development as a band since the early days and have enjoyed every album, but as a musician, I know sometimes it’s fun to dust off something you haven’t played in many years and see how it sounds. The song holds up to this day, and I was honored to sing on its re-release.”

The single “Passive Restraints” comes from the upcoming album “WeatherMaker Vault Series Vol. I” out on Friday November 27th.

CLUTCH:Neil Fallon – Vocals/Guitar / Tim Sult – Guitar / Dan Maines – Bass/ Jean-Paul Gaster – Drums/Percussion

For more information, check out the band’s website:www.pro-rock.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/clutchband

Instagram: www.instagram.com/clutchofficial

Twitter: www.twitter.com/clutchofficial

Official: www.pro-rock.com

YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/officialclutch

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Doug at New Ocean Media.]

Review: Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas – III

The third album from Norwegian electro-music duo Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas, appropriately titled III, is a beautiful album of lush sonic landscapes and uplifting grooves just in time (here in the northern hemisphere, at least) for dark and cold weather to come…and to give you a break from any self-isolation doldrums you might be having.

There’s a sense of fun right out of the gate by naming the album’s opening track “Grand Finale.” It leaps out of your speakers with bright, 1980s synths like UFO lights through dark clouds. “Martin 5000” was the lead track from III and I like the way it builds, seemingly in the background of everything around you, until it strolls alongside you like a super cool panther along a jungle path.

The bass line in “Small Stream” seems to have a bit of an Afrobeat sound to it, and the jazz piano mixes quite well throughout it. “Oranges” is spacey acid-lounge suitable for chillin’ or making out. “Harmonia” might be the lushest track on the album. It’s like something you’d hear in the coffee house on the mothership from close Encounters of the Third Kind, and the DJ there was Mowgli from The Jungle Book. “Birdstrik” closes the record with a thudding, sexy heartbeat rhythm and even sexier synth-bass to send us off with a relaxed afterglow.

III is one of those cool mood-altering electronic albums that is suitable for so many places, times, and situations that you’ll find yourself floating back to it again and again.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]