Friko releases Radiohead cover and announces 2024 tour dates.

Photo Credit: Pooneh Ghana

Chicago band Friko  — vocalist/guitarist Niko Kapetan and drummer Bailey Minzenberger — shares a cover of Radiohead’s “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” and announces performances at Lollapalooza, Newport Folk Festival, and Fuji Rock, a North American tour supporting Royel Otis, and the band’s first European headline run. The band just wrapped their first North American tour in support of Where we’ve been, Where we go from here (out now on ATO Records), playing shows with Water From Your Eyes, WILLIS and Mind’s Eye. Their cover of Radiohead’s “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” has become an exciting surprise during recent live dates. They performed it at their sold-out, headlining record release show at the 1000-capacity Metro in Chicago, and will continue to captivate larger and larger audiences throughout the rest of 2024.

 
Listen to “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” (Radiohead Cover)
 

An essential new addition to Chicago’s long lineage of forward-thinking indie rock, Friko transforms every song into a moment of collective catharsis. Known for their high-energy live show, Friko aims to deliver a live experience that’s fantastically disorienting in its emotional arc. Mastered by Heba Kadry (Björk, Big Thief) and engineered by Jack Henry and Scott Tallarida, Where we’ve been, Where we go from here embodies a sonic complexity befitting of a band that names Romantic-era classical music and the more primal edges of art-rock among their inspirations. Friko hopes that their music’s emotional potency might have a galvanizing impact on audiences.

 
Purchase Where we’ve been, Where we go from here
 
Watch Friko’s “Where We’ve Been” Video
Watch “Crashing Through” Video
Watch “For Ella” Video
Watch “Crimson to Chrome” Lyric Video
Listen to Friko’s “Get Numb To It!”
 
Friko Tour Dates:
Fri. June 14 – Chicago, IL @ Q101 PIQNIQ (Taste of Randolph)
Tue. July 9 – Evanston, IL @ SPACE
Thu. July 18 – Indianapolis, IN @ Rock The Ruins ^
Fri. July 26 – Niigata, JP @ Fuji Rock Festival
Sun. July 28 – Newport, RI @ Newport Folk Festival
Sat. Aug. 3 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
Sun. Aug. 4 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall (Lollapalooza Aftershow)
Thu. Aug. 8 – Nashville, TN @ Bobby Nashville (WNXP Event)
Wed. Aug. 28 – Louisville, KY @ WFPK Waterfront Wednesday
Mon. Sept. 9 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall %
Wed. Sept. 11 – Rochester, NY @ Essex Music Hall %
Thu. Sept. 12 – Toronto, ON @ History %
Fri. Sept. 13 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre %
Sat. Sept. 14 – Madison, WI @ The Sylvee %
Sun. Sept. 15 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue %
Thu. Sept. 19 – Champaign, IL @ Canopy Club (Pygmalion Fest)
Tue. Sept. 24 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer %
Wed. Sept. 25 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel %
Thu. Sept. 26 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel %
Fri. Sept. 27 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club %
Sat. Sept. 28 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues %
Mon. Sept. 30 – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern %
Tue. Oct. 1 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl %
Tue. Oct. 8 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre %
Wed. Oct. 9 – Lawrence, KS @ Granada Theater %
Mon. Oct. 14 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether %
Tue. Oct. 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether %
Wed. Oct. 16 – Los Angeles, CA @ Palladium %
Fri. Oct. 18 – Oakland, CA @ The Fox %
Sun. Oct. 20 – Portland, OR @ McMenamins Crystal Ballroom %
Mon. Oct. 21 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre %
Tue. Oct. 22 – Vancouver, BC @ PNE Forum %
Sat. Nov. 2 – Amsterdam, NL @ Bitterzoet
Sun. Nov. 3 – Brussels, BE @ Les Nuits Weekender
Tue. Nov. 5 – Rennes, FR @ L’Antipode
Thu. Nov. 7 – Paris, FR @ Pitchfork Avant Garde
Sat. Nov. 9 – London, UK @ Pitchfork Festival London
Sun. Nov. 10 – Bristol, UK @ Louisiana
Tue. Nov. 12 – Manchester, UK @ YES
Wed. Nov. 13 – Glasgow, UK @ King Tuts
Thu. Nov. 14 – Dublin, IR @ Workman’s Club

^ supporting Hippo Campus 
% supporting Royel Otis

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Operator Music Band – Four Singles EP

It’s not every day you put out a groovy EP of acid house tracks. This is especially true after one of your band members falls over twenty feet through a skylight, breaks both wrists and six ribs, and sustains a head fracture that results in permanent hearing loss.

Yet, Operator Music Band did just that with their new Four Singles EP. How? You got me, but Jared Hiller figured out a way, and, along with Dara Hirsch and Daniel Siles, crafted a slick record.

Blending house with some krautrock and synthwave, “As It Goes” comes out of the start with a drippy, bass-filled bang, wicked hand percussion, and low-end vocal effects to warp your brain even further. “Screwhead” is a sexy, slightly industrial (Those drums!) track with sensuous vocals (“Focus is a function of ecstasy. Let me go slow. I’ll be right back.”).

“Oval” is bouncy and bubbly that, at the halfway point, turns into almost a dance-punk track with its almost frantic drums. “10 Days” continues this dance-punk theme with percussion and synths that sound like they’re coming through pipes and pneumatic tubes in an abandoned factory where a rooftop rave is taking place.

It’s all over too soon and leaves you wanting much more, as any good EP should. Many accolades should be given to Operator Music Band for creating something this good after Hiller’s harrowing accident. That kind of grit is rare.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Cody at Terrorbird Media.]

Brijean takes us down “Euphoric Avenue” with their new single.

Photo by Swanson Studio

Brijean, the project of percussionist/singer-songwriter Brijean Murphy — the percussive heartbeat for live bands like Mitski, Poolside, and Toro y Moi — and multi-instrumentalist/producer Doug Stuart, unveils the new single, “Euphoric Avenue,” from Macro, their new album out July 12th via Ghostly International. Following lead singles “Workin’ On It” and “Roller Coaster,” “Euphoric Avenue” was one of the first tracks recorded at the band’s new home in Altadena on the outskirts of Los Angeles. It took shape on organ and drum machine, later welcoming live contributions from Stephanie Yu (strings), Logan Hone (flute), and Kosta Galanopoulos (drums).
 
“Worlds of beauty and pain / I spy comedies in the most mundane,” Murphy sings on “Euphoric Avenue,” the rainbow road to Macro that expands Murphy and Stuart’s shared sense for storytelling. “Being in this beautiful part of town nestled up against the Angeles National Forest played a big role in how comfortable we felt stretching out and trying to push our musical boundaries,” says Murphy. “Anytime we brought someone into the world to add their musical touch, it felt like a highlight.” Macro’s sequencing elicits an exploratory vibe with high-tempo peaks and breezy valleys in the psyche especially on astral drifts like “Euphoric Avenue.”

 
Watch the Visualizer for “Euphoric Avenue”
 

Since their debut in 2019, Brijean has moved with ingenuity, fusing psych-pop abstraction with dancefloor sensibilities. Through the body and mind, rhythm and lyricism, they make sense of the worlds around and within; 2021’s Feelings celebrated self-reflection; 2022’s Angelo processed loss, coinciding with the duo’s first headlining tour, which doubled down on the material’s desire to move. Now, across the playful expanse of Macro, Brijean engages different sides of themselves, the paradox of being alive. They’ve leveled up to meet the complexities and harmonies of the human experience with their most dynamic songwriting yet. Colorful, collaborative, sophisticated, and deeply fun, the album animates a macrocosm with characters, moods, and points of view rooted in the notion that no feeling is final and the only way out is through.
 
The band’s collaborative streak extends to their recent team-up with Toro y Moi for A24’s Everyone’s Getting Involved: A Tribute to Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense where they cover “Genius Of Love.”

 
Pre-order Macro
 
Watch the Visualizer For “Workin’ On It”
 
Watch the Visualizer for “Roller Coaster”
 
Brijean Tour Dates
Fri. Jul. 12 – Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village
Sat. Jul. 13 –  Detroit, MI @ El Club
Sun. Jul. 14 Toronto, ON Velvet Underground
Wed. Jul. 17 – Washington, DC @ Atlantis
Thu. Jul. 18 – New York, NY @ MHOW
Sat. Jul. 20 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
Mon. Jul. 22 – Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle
Tue. Jul. 23 – Atlanta, GA @ Vinyl
Thu. Jul. 25 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall (Upstairs)
Fri. Jul. 26 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
Sat. Jul. 27 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live at 3TEN
Mon. July 29 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar
Thu. Aug. 1 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
Fri. Aug. 2 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
Sun. Aug. 4 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
Tue. Aug. 6 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret
Wed. Aug. 7 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos
Fri. Aug. 9 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux
Sat. Aug. 10 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
Mon. Aug. 12 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge

Keep your mind open.

[I’ll feel euphoric if you subscribe.]

[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Dez Dare – A Billion Goats. A Billion Sparks. Fin.

Australian musician / producer / happy weirdo Dez Dare‘s new album, A Billion Goats. A Billion Sparks. Fin. sounds as intriguing and quirky as its title.

Opener “Got a Fire in My Socket” is a song about what its like to have a neurodivergent brain in a world that’s constantly clamoring for your attention. Dare mixes solid drum beats with post-punk guitar riffs and weird keyboard bloops. “Matter Vs. Matter” is about hoarding not only physical stuff, but e-clutter and mental trash as well (“10,000 options across 30,000 featured posts.”), and the only way to clear it out is by blasting it with fuzzy guitar power.

“10,000 Monkeys + An Argument with Time” uses sounds from what seem to be 16-bit video games to highlight how time is easily wasted even in a time in history when all this technology is supposed to save us time. “No One Wants to Hear It” is a fun takedown of virtue signaling with crunchy guitars and fight scene drums.

According to Dare’s notes on the album, “Gotta Cold Feeling” is about “That time when someone talked about something so boring, so long, it felt like time had fractured.” Haven’t we all been there at some point? “Entangled Entropy” is Dare apologizing for his sometimes uncontrollable behavior and explaining what it’s like to be autistic (“The wires don’t connect sometimes. Don’t you see? My waves aren’t free.”).

On “Call My City, Don’t Call My Telephone,” Dare pleads with everyone not to waste his time (or anyone else’s). God bless him for calling out time wasters, “shirtless bros,” and “standing in line” with his shredding solo and growling bass. “Josephine Says Explode” has Dare encouraging us to let our emotions out now and then. That stuff will eat you from within if you don’t.

The Osees-like fuzz and funk of “Schrödinger’s Apocalypse” is a fun track about living in a time of uncertainty, and how perhaps ignoring the uncertainty is the best path. “The Elasticity of Knowing” takes down racists and xenophobes by challenging them (and all of us, really) to travel and experience other cultures in order to see and acknowledge that others exist outside our little cocoons.

Finally, on “A Billion Voices Screaming, Hello Void!”, Dare encourages us to embrace the end and not fear death (“When the call comes, fear not for what’s been done, we all return to where we begun…”). The garage rock drums and distorted guitars certainly help give you confidence to step into the void.

This is a fun, wild record that mixes punk lyrics with touches of Zen. Don’t skip it.

Keep your mind open.

[I gotta warm feeling that you’re going to subscribe today.]

[Thanks to Dave at US / THEM Group.]

WSND DJ set list – Three-for-Thursday Nocturne – June 06, 2024

Thanks for listening to the latest Three-for-Thursday Nocturne show on WSND. Here’s the set list:

  1. Lightnin’ Hopkins – Take It Easy (three-word title)
  2. Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band – You’ll Accompany Me (three-word title / three-world album title – Against the Wind) (request)
  3. Shame – All the People (three-word title / three-world album title – Food for Worms)
  4. Buddy Moss – Hey Lawdy Mama (three-word title) (request)
  5. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – All Along the Watchtower (trio)
  6. Bob Dylan – I Want You (three-word title) (request)
  7. Soul Coughing – Blame (from their third album – El Oso)
  8. Santana – Samba Pa Ti (three-word title) (request)
  9. The Vacant Lots – Let Me Out (three-word title)
  10. Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor – Girl of a Thousand Voices (trio)
  11. Goat – Goatband (from their third album – Requiem)
  12. L’Épée – Dreams (third song from their Diabolique album)
  13. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – The Acrid Corpse (three-word title)
  14. A Place to Bury Strangers – It Is Nothing (three-word title / trio)
  15. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Intro A (trio / three-peat of the same artist)
  16. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Latch On (trio / three-peat of the same artist)
  17. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Soul Typecast (trio / three-peat of the same artist)
  18. Shapes Have Fangs – Rattle and Confuse Me (three-word band name)
  19. Danny Dean and The Homewreckers – Mean Mean Man (three-word title)
  20. The Well – This Is How the World Ends (trio / three-world album title – Death and Consolation)
  21. Mudhoney – Editions of You (three-word title)
  22. Agent Orange – Out of Limits (three-word title / trio)
  23. Flat Worms – Market Forces (trio)
  24. Bo Diddley – Hey! Bo Diddley (three-word title)
  25. Reverend Horton Heat – Callin’ in Twisted (three-word title / trio)
  26. Caroline Rose – Money (third song from their Loner album)
  27. D. Behar – Sport Et Detante (three-word title)
  28. Soulwax – Missing Wires (third song from their From Deewee album)
  29. The Future Sound of London – Papa New Guinea (12″ original mix) (three-word title)
  30. De La Soul – Jenifa Taught Me (12″ version) (three-word title / trio / rom their 3 Feet High and Rising album)

Three-for-Thursday returns June 20th!

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

WSND DJ set list – Throwback Thursday – June 06, 2024

It was another fun Throwback Thursday at WSND. Thanks to all who listened. Here’s the set list:

  1. Aretha Franklin – Rock Steady (1972)
  2. Pilot – Magic (1975)
  3. MC5 – Miss X (1971)
  4. Robin Trower – Too Rolling Stoned (1974) (request)
  5. Quicksilver Messenger Service – What About Me? (1970)
  6. Thin Lizzy – Running Back (1976)
  7. Led Zeppelin – Immigrant Song (live) (1972) (request)
  8. Blondie – Heart of Glass (1978)
  9. The Cars – Moving in Stereo (1978) (request)
  10. Queen – Fat Bottomed Girls (1978)
  11. Television – Marquee Moon (1977) (request)
  12. Gerhard Heinz – Lolita und der Teddy Bear (1980)
  13. Neil Young – The Old Homestead (1980) (request)
  14. Naked Eyes – Always Something There to Remind Me (1983)
  15. X – Your Phone’s Off the Hook, but You’re Not (1980) (request)
  16. Pet Shop Boys – Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money) (1986) (request)
  17. Midnight Oil – River Runs Red (1989)
  18. Concrete Blonde – God Is a Bullet (1989) (request)
  19. Devo – Shout (1984)
  20. A Flock of Seagulls – I Ran (So Far Away) (1982)
  21. Hüsker Dü – I Don’t Know What You’re Talking About (1985)
  22. The Cramps – Human Fly (1983)
  23. Romeo Void – Never Say Never (1982) (request)
  24. 45 Grave – Partytime (1983) (request)
  25. Roxy Music – More Than This (1982)
  26. The Fixx – One Thing Leads to Another (1983)
  27. Paula Cole – Mississippi (live) (1998)
  28. Pantera – Walk (1992) (request)
  29. Public Enemy w/ Anthrax – Bring Tha Noize (1991)
  30. Deana Carter – Strawberry Wine (1996) (request)
  31. Sass Jordan – High Road Easy (1993) (request)
  32. Failure – Pro-Catastrophe (1992)
  33. Bad Company – Holy Water (1990) (request)
  34. Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus (1990) (request)
  35. The Crystal Method – Busy Child (1997)
  36. Living Colour – Love Rears Its Ugly Head (1990) (request)
  37. The Damned – Running Man (1996)

Throwback Thursday returns June 20th!

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

Review: Punchlove – Channels

Every now and then, you hear a new band described as arriving “fully formed” on the scene. It’s actually true in Punchlove‘s case, as they sound like they’ve been making shoegaze since at least 2010. You hear their debut album, Channels, and think, “This can’t be their first record.”

Yet, it is, and opening track “Breeze” hits you as heavy as any track Hum would’ve put out in their heyday with roaring guitars and crushing drums. The album was created not only post-pandemic, but also post-move from one continent to another. Jillian Olesen and Ethan Williams landed back in NYC after being forced out of Prague by the COVID-19 lockdowns. They met up with other NYU music technology students and Punchlove was born.

So were songs like “Screwdriver,” which sounds like The Cure meeting Failure in a battle of the bands. The ethereal fuzz of “Pigeon” is wondrous to behold. “Dead Lands” might be about Jillian Olesen’s feelings about returning to the U.S. to find it shut down and essentially empty thanks to the pandemic. It’s a lovely track.

“Apartment” is warped and weird. Every guitar and vocal in it sounds like it was partially melted in a studio fire that almost got out of control. “Birdsong” flies back and forth between bursting guitars and subtle chords. “Guilt” takes those bursting guitars and somehow pushed them further until it feels like you’re racing downhill with the band in a tour van without brakes.

I don’t know which is louder on “Elapse,” the driving guitar riffs or the drums hit and cymbal crashes that sound like Godzilla kicking over a power line tower. The album closes with “Corridor,” which could be thematically interpreted as a song beginnings or endings depending on where the corridor leads. It’s the softest song on the record and probably the most haunting as well.

This is all fine shoegaze stuff from Punchlove, who are already far ahead of other current bands in the genre. A lot of people are scrambling to catch up while Punchlove is making it look easy.

Keep your mind open.

[Punch your e-mail address into the subscription box while you’re here. I’d love that.]

[Thanks to Tom at Terrorbird Media.]

WSND DJ set list – May 30, 2024

It was another fun Three-for-Thursday show on WSND. Here’s the set list, thanks to all who helped with requests:

  1. Hüsker Dü – All Tensed Up (live) (trio / three-word song title)
  2. Golden Animals – Tender Hearts (from their three-word album titled Hear Eye Go)
  3. 311 – Don’t Stay Home (“3” in the band name / three-word song title) (requested)
  4. Mdou Moctar – Wiwasharnine (from his three-word album titled Ilana (The Creator))
  5. ZZ Top – Cheap Sunglasses (trio) (requested)
  6. Miss Red – No Guns (third song from her Murder album)
  7. The Commodores – Three Times a Lady (“Three” in the song title) (requested)
  8. Vapors of Morphine – Special Rider (trio / three-word band name and album title – Fear and Fantasy)
  9. Three Dog Night – Shambala (“Three” in the band name) (requested)
  10. Lightnin’ Hopkins – Lonesome Dog Blues (three-peat of the same artist / three-word song title)
  11. Lightnin’ Hopkins – Down Baby (three-peat of the same artist)
  12. Lightnin’ Hopkins – Morning Blues (three-peat of the same artist)
  13. Three Drives – Greece 2000 (“Three” in the band name)
  14. Deee-Lite – Groove Is in the Heart (trio) (requested)
  15. Public Practice – See You When I Want To (3:33 in length)
  16. The KLF – 3am Eternal (“3” in the song title / from their three-word album titled The White Room) (requested)
  17. Fuzzbox – Rules and Regulations (three-word song title)
  18. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Automation (3:30 in length)
  19. Cut Copy – Take Me Over (Midnight Magic remix) (three-word song title)
  20. Failure – Headstand (trio / from their three-word band album titled Wild Type Droid)
  21. Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade – Thela Hun Ginjeet (three-word song title)
  22. The Legendary Shack Shakers – Where’s the Devil When You Need Him? (third song from their Believe album)
  23. Elephant Stone – A Morning Song (three-word song title)
  24. God Lives Underwater – Weaken (three-word band name)
  25. Death Valley Girls – Under the Spell of Joy (three-word band name)

Three-for-Thursday returns June 06, 2024!

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

WSND set list – Throwback Thursday – May 30, 2024

Thanks to everyone who listened to my latest Throwback Thursday show on WSND. Here’s the set list:

  1. David Bowie – Life on Mars? (1973)
  2. The Jam – That’s Entertainment (1977)
  3. The Stooges – TV Eye (live) (1970)
  4. Radio ad for Equinox (1970)
  5. Bitter Creek – Plastic Thunder (1970)
  6. Pretty Things – Miss Fay Regrets (1970) (requested)
  7. Radio ad for Five Fingers of Death (1972)
  8. X-Ray Spex – I Am a Cliche (live) (1977)
  9. Rory Gallagher – Walk on Hot Coals (live) (1974) (requested)
  10. Bee Gees – Stayin’ Alive (1977)
  11. The Blues Brothers – Shotgun Blues (live) (1978) (requested)
  12. Traffic – The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys (1971)
  13. Alice Cooper – The Man with the Golden Gun (1973) (requested)
  14. The Shining theme (1980)
  15. Motörhead – I Got Mine (1983)
  16. Red Kross – Linda Blair (1984) (requested)
  17. Radio ad for Basket Case (1982)
  18. Devo – Are You Experienced? (1984)
  19. Jim Stafford – Cow Patti (1981) (requested)
  20. Bill Withers – Just the Two of Us (1980)
  21. Laura Branigan – Self Control (1984)
  22. The Dead Milkmen – Bitchin’ Camaro (1984)
  23. The Cure – Close to Me (1985) (requested)
  24. Treat Her Right – I Think She Likes Me (1986)
  25. The The – Infected (1986)
  26. The Ramones – Palisades Park (1989)
  27. The Human League – Don’t You Want Me (1982)
  28. Prince and The Revolution – When Doves Cry (1984)
  29. Duran Duran – Hungry Like the Wolf (1982)
  30. Oingo Boingo – Try to Believe (1990)
  31. The Jesus and Mary Chain – Reverence (1992)
  32. Pixies – Velouria (1990)
  33. The Smithereens – Shakin’ All Over (1991)
  34. De La Soul – Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey) (1991)
  35. Eric B and Rakim – Pass the Hand Grenade (1992)
  36. The Grateful Dead w/ John Fogerty – Bad Moon Rising (live) (1991) (requested)
  37. Rage Against the Machine – Bulls on Parade (1993)
  38. Placido Domingo – Morreno Torroba: Maravilla – Amor, Vida De Mi Vida (live) (1994)
  39. New Order – True Faith (1994 version)
  40. Soundgarden – Half (1994)
  41. The Humpers – Anarchy Juice (1996)
  42. L7 – The Masses Are Asses (1997)
  43. Faithless – Insomnia (1995)

Throwback Thursday returns June 06th!

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe.]

Review: LFZ – Raveled Veiled Known

LFZ, otherwise known as Sean Smith, has dived even further than usual into his exploration of soundscapes and sound technology on his new album Raveled Veiled Known.

The album combines Smith’s hypnotizing guitar work with sound loops, vintage synths, field recordings, and probably song structures based on numerology for all I know. I mean, the album cover of embroidered art by Smith reflects numerological, tarot, and mystical themes.

I like how the album is bookended with long tracks. The opener, “Extinction Burst,” sounds like a Wall of Voodoo instrumental mixed with a John Carpenter film score and is described in the liner notes as “a characterization of the psyche’s potential to utterly resist change.” It’s all weird synths and reverb-laden guitar flourishes, and it’s all neat for over twelve minutes. In case you need a slightly radio friendly version, “Extinction Burst (edit),” at about half the length, follows it.

“View from Here” was improvised and recorded in one night and uses a lot of tape loops and “…represents themes of being trapped inside the boundless prison of one’s solitary perspective and the peace and madness that can coexist.” I mean, holy cow. LFZ is into some deep water here, and he’s floating on it like a cork while encouraging us to do the same when the water gets choppy.

“Waiting for Esme” is about Smith awaiting the birth of his daughter and the nervous anticipation of such an event. It has the most “normal” structure of the album’s tracks, but is no less full of strange synth effects. The long closing track, “Naturally I Found It Within,” reflects the outward journey that always returns inward – using buzzing guitars and dark wave synths to create moments of chaos and clarity.

It’s a weird, neat record. It’s strange at times, and soothing at others.

Keep your mind open.

[You can see the subscription box from here. Why not subscribe today?]

[Thanks to Ryan at Clandestine Label Services.]