February 2024 – Page 2 – 7th Level Music

Rewind Review: Patsy Cline – The Complete Releases 1955 – 62 (2017)

Good heavens, this collection of Patsy Cline‘s releases from 1955 – 1962 is not only gorgeous, but it’s also massive. In case you missed it on the cover image, it encompasses 75 tracks on three discs. The only things it doesn’t include are live cuts and material released after her far-too-early death.

You can drop the needle (to use an old radio DJ saying) on any track of any disc in this collection and find something great. Don Helms‘ lap steel guitar on “Honky Tonk Merry-Go-Round” seems to be having as much fun as Cline as she lays down the vocals. “Turn the Cards Slowly” is a personal favorite, with Cline and her band happily bridging county and rockabilly. “Stop, Look and Listen” is much the same, with Farris Coursey knocking out a great, swinging beat. “I’ve Loved and Lost Again” is a classic combination of Cline’s voice and Don Helms‘ always soulful pedal steel guitar.

That guitar is instantly recognizable on Cline’s “Walkin’ After Midnight.” It’s baffling now to consider that Cline originally hated the song (“That ain’t country,” she said about it.) and only recorded it at the insistence of producer Bill McCall. “I Don’t Wanta” is a fun jaunt as Cline sings about being so happy in love that she can’t picture life any other way. “Never No More” is a sassy, slow song that has Cline writing off her ex because she’s found someone “who makes me happy when I’m blue.”

Other classics include “Cry Not for Me” (with Cline’s voice belting out by the end and yet sounding effortless), the rockabilly swinger “Let the Teardrops Fall” (with great guitar work from Hank Garland), and heartbreakers like “I Fall to Pieces,” the immortal “Crazy,” “She’s Got You,” “Why Can’t He Be You,” and “Leavin’ on Your Mind”…and those are all on just the second disc of this collection.

Ferris Coursey‘s beats on “Hungry for Love,” which opens the third disc in the collection, are so tight that you could barely fit a dime between them. “Too Many Secrets” is a fun romp in which Cline learns more and more about a new lover that makes her question her decision to be with him. The addition of a horn section on it is a great touch. “Ain’t No Wheels on This Ship” is as much fun as “Fingerprints” is heartbreaking. Just for kicks, “Foolin’ Around” is a bit of a calypso number.

Disc three also includes “new versions” of “Walkin’ After Midnight” and “A Poor Man’s Roses (or a Rich Man’s Gold)” and a soulful cover of Hank Williams‘ “Your Cheatin’ Heart” and “I Can’t Help It (if I’m Still in Love with You). By the end, on “Lonely Street,” Cline is practically singing gospel.

The whole collection is solid, and a reminder of someone gone too soon but who left a stunning impact on music.

Keep your mind open.

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Liam Kazar delivers a new single (and some live show dates) – “Next Time Around.”

Chicago singer-songwriter Liam Kazar “shows no difficulty finding grooves, building self-contained sonic worlds, and using his voice confidently as an instrument” (Aquarium Drunkard). This is immediately clear throughout his excellent debut album, 2021’s Due North, and is even more apparent in his new single, “Next Time Around,” out today. As Kazar’s first release since Due North, “Next Time Around” unravels with velvet-smooth guitar and his warm croon. The track was recorded by his trusted collaborator Sam Evian and features Evian on bass guitar, Sean Mullins on drums, and Michael Prince Coleman on keys. “‘Next Time Around’ came as songs rarely do, in a single vision. All I had to do was write it down.” Kazar says. “If I knew how to tap into those all the time, I would. We recorded ‘Next Time Around’ right after being on the road for a month in the fall of 2021. There’s a tour tightness to this recording that only comes from spending weeks in a van and onstage with another musician. I think you can hear that in the recording, the tiny bit of air between us while we’re playing packed close together — I feel like I’m right in the room every time I listen. Nod to Sam for capturing this moment so beautifully.”
Listen to “Next Time Around”
For over a decade, Kazar has consistently been a dream bandmate. He’s an adaptable and skilled musician, leading to tours and collaborations with Jeff Tweedy, Kevin Morby, and Sam Evian, amongst others. His debut, Due North, is a personal revelation, where the more Kazar wrote, the more his songs showed what kind of artist he’s always wanted to be – one whose own joyous rock songs are so irresistible, full of charm, wit and heart, they feel timeless. This summer, Kazar will play in Sam Evian and Kevin Morby’s respective bands across the states. Prior, he’ll play his own shows in New York and Chicago. Tickets for all dates are on sale now.
Stream/Purchase Due North

Liam Kazar Tour Dates
Thu. Mar. 28 – New York, NY @ Union Pool *
Sun. Apr. 7 – Chicago, IL @ The Hideout

* w/ Katie Von Schleicher

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jaycee at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Madi Diaz – Weird Faith

There’s an early contender for Most Honest Album of 2024, and it’s Madi Diaz‘s Weird Faith.

The album is about the weird, often intimidating process of falling in love. Diaz puts it all out there as she explores this new relationship. Behind solid rock beats, Diaz opens the album with “Everything Almost” – a song about trying to figure out how many secrets to keep and how many to share with a new lover. “Girlfriend” is the story of Diaz apologizing to a friend that she’s now the new girlfriend (“So sorry I’m your ex’s girlfriend.”), and how awkward it is for everyone involved.

“Underneath the pain, there’s still blood in my veins,” Diaz sings on “Hurting You,” encouraging her new boyfriend to be honest with her about what’s hurting him so they can work it out together. “I’m afraid you’ll run and hide,” she says on “Get to Know Me,” in which she worries that her lover will leave if she fully reveals herself to him. On “Kiss the Wall,” she explores an unknown future full of love, mystery, and what of that love will remain after she and her lover are gone. She’s tempted to fall into despair over being forgotten, but remembers that “Nothing is a waste of time.”

“I’m not a God person, but I’m never not searchin’,” she sings on “God Person,” a song about questioning one’s faith, or lack of it. The melancholy piano chords on “Don’t Do Me Good” echo Diaz’s loneliness and intimidation at the idea of leaving love that, she admits, “don’t do me good,” but might be the wrong decision to do so.

“I don’t love you like I used to. I just don’t know how to tell you…I’ve been leaving you for months now,” Diaz sings on the heartbreaking “For Months Now.” She knows her soon-to-be ex is going to devastated when she leaves, but she also knows she needs to make the call and walk out, because she’s miserable and tired of living a lie.

“KFM” is a fun track about how Diaz becomes so enamored with her new boyfriend that she wants to “kill, fuck, marry you forever.” The title track sums up the entire album. Falling in love, giving in love, requires a weird faith. You go into it knowing there’s the possibility of heartbreak, and that there eventually will be loss (from death, if nothing else), but you make the leap regardless. The closer, “Obsessive Thoughts,” is a big, bold track with guitars and drums blooming from her at-first quiet vocals and Diaz embracing what’s to come.

It’s a powerful record, and one to which we can all relate. We’ve all been there, at different degrees and at different times, and Diaz welcomes us as kindred spirits.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jaycee at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Failure – We Are Hallucinations

Recorded during the 2022 “Wild Type Droid” tour, Failure‘s We Are Hallucinations is the live album version of the concert film of the same name. The production is sharp as a razor, which is no surprise from Ken Andrews, Greg Edwards, and Kellii “Motherfucking” Scott.

The set covers new and classic tracks, starting with the hammering, powerful “Submarines” to knock you back in your seat. “Mercury Mouth” is just as stunning, with Andrews’ vocals filling the room during the verses and then breaking down walls on the choruses. “Macaque” is a Failure classic that always has a bit of a menacing undertone to it. “Wonderful Life” is a good example of their deceptive lyrics that often reflect themes of struggle and loneliness. It’s also a good example of how Kellii Scott locks in on a groove and will not release it for any price.

“Sent away to have my head checked, no more playing in the sands. Frogs are leaping off my brain stem. They don’t seem to understand,” Andrews sings on the walloping “Frogs” – a song about madness that is so good it’s almost frightening. All three members deliver more power than bands with twice as many members on it. Edwards and Andrews share lead verse vocals on “Atom City Queen,” and Scott’s beats on it are like a Chinese puzzle box in their complexity.

“Counterfeit Sky” is one of many Failure tracks that sounds like an alien transmission, or perhaps what you’d have playing as you entered a strange planet from orbit. The guitar work on it blends psychedelia and shoegaze with masterful skill. The opening guitar on “Force Fed Rainbow” reminds me of early 2000’s David Gilmour riffs. The guitar on “Bring Back the Sound” swirls around you like a slow-moving disco ball casting languid lights in a dark club.

The bass on “Bad Translation” is like some creature rising out of a dark pool of water at the back of a temple on a cold moon. Andrews singing “We are hallucinations.” is almost a sermon to us to remember we are more non-physical than physical. Edwards sings lead on “Half Moon,” a haunting track that seems to reveal his (and, I’m sure, the band’s) love for George Harrison. The live version of “Headstand” on this is nothing short of stunning, with the trio clicking on every level. You can’t really pick out one particular element because everything is perfect.

The last six tracks are selections from their classic album Fantastic Planet. Starting with “Segue 3” to warm up the already-frenzied crowd and then roaring into favorites like “The Nurse Who Loved Me,” “Another Space Song,” “Stuck on You,” “Heliotropic” (in which it sounds like Edwards’ guitar is going to die from exhaustion at any moment), and a crushing rendition of “Daylight.”

This is a must not only for Failure fans, but also fans of shoegaze, 1990s rock, and high-quality music in general. Do not miss it, and never miss Failure when they tour.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Nick Schofield – Ambient Ensemble

If you’re Nick Schofield, how do you follow up your beautiful ambient album Glass Gallery? Do you create something similar and explore more themes of mediation and presence?

The answer is “Yes,” but you decide not to do it alone this time. On Ambient Emsemble, you get other musicians to join you. You bring in clarinets, violins, vocals, piano, and other folks who click with you right away to create another lovely record that can transport you out of whatever malaise you might be feeling (in my case, at the time of writing this, dealing with COVID).

“Meadow” is a bit of an introduction to the record, almost like a warm breeze coming over a hill. “On Air” makes you feel like you’re floating on it. The clarinet work makes you feel like a bird coasting on air currents. “Hazen” is chilled synthwave with a bit of a dramatic flair.

“Fine Tune” and “Joy Cry” are a bit hypnotizing. You tend to lose a sense of time and space when giving them a deep listen. “Bouquet” puts the orchestral elements at the front and lets them shine. “Mourning Doves” and “Resonant World” are a nice duo, as they almost float together instead of being two separate pieces. The strings on “Heartfelt” are like fog rolling over a mountain lake.

“Picture Perfect” was the lead single from Ambient Emsemble, and it was a good choice. It’s a bit upbeat and a great way to start a morning yoga routine or even just a cup of tea. The plucky strings and flirty flute on “Undertone” are delightful. “Key Bed” closes the album with soft keys and synths, almost like a lullaby.

Scholfield’s knack for transporting you to lovely places within and without is impressive, and this album is another good example of his talents.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Gabriel at Clandestine Label Services.]

Review: GOAT – Levitation Sessions

Praise be to the good folks at the Reverberation Appreciation Society for conjuring up another excellent Levitation Sessions live performance recording. Their track record on these sessions is exemplary, and this latest one, featuring Swedish psych-mystics GOAT, is no exception.

The opening track, “Tarot Will Teach You,” pretty much lets you know what you’re in for if you’ve never heard a GOAT record. Jangling, shaking, slithering hand percussion, Mellotron chords, tribal drums, guitars that sound like they’re coming from inside a temple carved into a cliff…It lets you float into a nice space before “Golden Dawn” drops fast funk and one of the singers is asking, “Are you ready to go?” She doesn’t care what your answer is, really, because she and the rest of the band are taking off and will leave you behind if necessary. “Under No Nation” is a great cut with a top-notch guitar solo about how easy it is to forget we are all citizens of the world, not just these little enclaves in which we find ourselves, and that global and local conflicts are worthless endeavors.

“Behind the Plank” is over seven minutes of psych-jazz jamming with killer saxophone work and percussion throughout it. “Do the Dance” makes you want to do exactly that with its pulse-raising beats and power guitar chords played at just the right time. “Fill My Mouth” is the naughtiest song GOAT has released so far, and this live version is raw and funky, and of course there’s a lot of flute in it.

“Lorcan” is nearly seven minutes of krautrock synths and hand percussion. “Queen of the Underground” is vintage GOAT, with heavy riffs, sultry double female vocals, slinky bass, and trance-inducing percussion. “Let It Burn” moves like a fire in a hidden forest clearing, or perhaps atop of cold mountain, with people dancing around it well into the night. The album ends with a tidbit of “Midnight Madness,” which, in the original streamed version of the session, is over seven minutes long. The two-and-a-half minute slice here is a great tease of psych-synth music, leaving all of us wanting more.

It’s always great to hear new stuff from GOAT, who can and have disappeared at will for long stretches of time, only to come back like they never left. Time isn’t linear for them, and their perception of space is probably beyond the senses of many. This live session might help you get there, too.

Keep your mind open.

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Enter the “Lair” of Indonesian soul-funk.

Today, Guruguru Brain are pleased to announce the release of the new record from Indonesian band LAIR. ‘Ngélar’ will be released on February 23rd and the first track from the record, “Tatalu” is online today.

LAIR (pronounced “lah-eer,” a local dialect for the Indonesian word of ‘lahir’, meaning ‘birth’ or, roughly ‘being born’) is a Panturan-soul/funk outfit hailing from Jatiwangi, West Java, Indonesia, a city once celebrated as the country’s largest manufacturer of clay roof tiles. As an artist troupe each with their own practices, the name is interpreted further into continuously giving birth to something, be it music, thoughts, experiments, narratives, and the like. It serves as a platform or an ongoing research institution for each of its members.

Formed in 2018, LAIR’s music, lyrics, and its presentation are vivid, inherently gaudy (in a good way), and honest. The band takes a sizable chunk of inspiration from classical/traditional Panturan Tarling, a form of grassroot musical/performance art popular amongst the people of the northern coast of West and Central Java.

In classic Tarling performance semantics, the musicians are usually bound to give an opening performance (an ‘offering’ for the audience, if you will) which are lovingly referred to as “Tatalu” (or “Tetalu” in Cirebonan). LAIR’s aptly titled new single, “Tatalu,” serves as an opening for a new chapter as they announce a new album with Rotterdam/Tokyo record label Guruguru Brain in collaboration with Bandung’s Orange Cliff Records, and working together with Go Kurosawa (Kikagaku Moyo) as the record’s producer, and singer/songwriter Monica Hapsari as collaborator.

“Tatalu” is an opening anthem for the album, in which the band tries to emulate the frenetic scenery of the Pantura route, the band’s native region. In “Tatalu,” they try to trace—and also draw influences from—the lineage of the contemporary local Panturan culture that is heavily assimilated with Chinese culture. Percussioist Tamyiz Noor’s rebana (local equivalent of the tambourine) rhythm draws influence from Indo-Chinese roadside performance of the Barongsai / Lion Dance or Sar Ping commonly held in Pantura regions, while lead guitarist Tedi Nurmanto explores riffs that he imagined could fit into Chinese action movies.

Listen to “Tatalu”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKQfmy-KHM8
Pre-order/pre-save ‘Ngélar’: https://snipfeed.co/gurugurubrain

On ‘Ngélar’—the sextet’s second LP—deeper social narratives and more intimate subject matters are more apparent. In which they speak a lot about ‘tanah’ or ‘land/soil,’ owing a lot to their hometown Jatiwangi’s history of being the country’s largest producer of clay/terracotta-based products. Their intertwining relationship with ‘tanah’ is simply unparalleled—even their instruments are mostly made of terracotta.

From the reimagining of their hometown’s past glories, LAIR, along with singer/songwriter Monica Hapsari (who co-wrote and co-composed three songs in the album) and Go Kurosawa (Kikagaku Moyo) helming the project as the producer, sings about the rituals and traditions of harvest, to sending off prayers towards their once-prospering land and the ruins of what was once a dense forest in Jatiwangi, which they are currently trying to reclaim while racing with the massive wave of industrialisation. It is a contextually-sorrowful album as much as it is a candid, cheery commemoration of the band members’ everyday life in today’s northern shores of Java, Indonesia.

‘Ngélar’ is one of the words that might be able to describe the essence of LAIR as a group. The word itself can be traced back to the locals’ culture of ‘going around in celebration of something.’ In their village, ngélar simply means a traveling performance, in which the performers would play music and go around the village, greeting the people around them as they move from place to place, or simply within their immediate surroundings, indicating that there is something nearby that is being celebrated.

Taken outside of the group’s narratives, the music and lyrics speak for themselves, relaying in detail, through aural means, how it is to live on the northern shores of the island of Java. The feeling of salt in the humid air; The tiniest drop of sweat as it runs down the neck of truckers zooming down the hectic roads of Pantura; Posters of the coming election candidates plastered throughout the villages; The lingering smell of burnt chaff in the air; The garish set of stickers decorating the windshield of rundown public transports, braving every pothole with their dangerously-rickety wheels; And, most of all, the scorching heat. All lovingly communicated through the charming perspective of the locals.

LAIR is simply in love with ‘journey,’ ‘time,’ and all of their interactions. ‘Ngélar’, for them, is a representation of their journey. How they go around, interacting and communicating, to celebrating and making sense of everything that is going on within and around them. For LAIR, ‘Ngélar’ is a method, a creative process, and—as an album—a culmination of each of their journeys since the group’s founding.

‘Ngélar’ will be released on February 23rd via Guruguru Brain. Pre-order here.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Kate at Stereo Sanctity.]

Maquina release powerful industrial psych single – “denial.”

Lisbon trio MAQUINA. (‘Machine’) are today announcing album ‘PRATA’ (‘Silver’), due out April 5th on Fuzz Club, and sharing the first single ‘denial’. In support of the release, MAQUINA. will head out on a European tour with A Place To Bury Strangers, followed by festival appearances at Primavera Porto, Sonic Blast and Fuzz Club 2024.

Drawing from minimal krautrock repetition, pounding industrial techno and EBM, MAQUINA. explore the boundaries of these genres with force, carving out an adrenaline-fuelled sound that’s equally suited to dark, sweaty back rooms and the dance floor. On the new single, MAQUINA. write: “denial is about an inner turmoil and restless contemplation. The raw, haunting lyrics explore the struggle to find solace within oneself, amidst a sea of conflicting emotions. The plea to ‘shut me down’ echoes the yearning for respite in the face of overwhelming darkness.”

Listen to single “denial”:https://youtu.be/8QyfC_O3mDc
Pre-order/pre-save album ‘PRATA’:http://maquina.lnk.to/prata

Though their sound might have the club in its sights – ‘PRATA’ follows their aptly-titled 2023 debut EP ‘DIRTY TRACKS FOR CLUBBING’ – this is an organic dance music that’s equally punk and psychedelic, played by a guitar-drums-bass power trio formation firing on all cylinders, without a synthesiser in sight. Having already amassed a notorious reputation in Portugal for the all-out energy of their live shows (as evidenced in this live video broadcast by Canal180), it’s no mean feat to replicate that in the studio but on ‘PRATA’ they have managed exactly that – owing to a creative approach largely rooted in improvisation, both on stage and in the studio.

Describing ‘PRATA’, recorded and co-produced by Carlos de Jesus (Sunflowers) at Arda Recorders, they write: “This album was composed spontaneously in the studio throughout the year 2023. It’s music of colour, delving into depths and dimensions that resonate with scale and contrast. Pushing sounds together to make noise and pushing noise together to make sounds. Emphasising textures that evoke feelings and soundscapes rather than relying solely on textual narratives. The music breathes life into auditory canvases, painting sonic panoramas pushing into a world of tactile sensation and immersive experiences.”

MAQUINA. tour dates:
06/04 – Köln, DE @ Club Volta*
07/04 – Karlsruhe, DE @ P8*
09/04 – Milan, IT @ Arci Bellezza*
10/04 – Bologna, IT @ Covo Club*
11/04 – Rome, IT @ Monk*
15/04 – Zurich, CH @ Bogen F*
17/04 – Marseille, FR @ La Makeda*
18/04 – Toulouse, FR @ Le Rex*
20/04 – Madrid, ES @ El Sol*
21/04 – San Sebastián, ES @ Dabadaba*
04/05 – Eindhoven, NL @ Fuzz Club 2024
07/06 – Porto, PT @ Primavera Sound
8-10/08 – Âncora, PT @ Sonic Blast 24
* with A Place To Bury Strangers

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Kate at Stereo Sanctity.]