7th Level Music

Live: Death Valley Girls, Shadow Show, Waltzer – Empty Bottle – Chicago, IL – August 04, 2022

It had been two months to the day that I’d seen Death Valley Girls live, and that was at the Levitation France festival in Angers. They had recently returned from a tour of Europe and the United Kingdom and were now approaching the halfway point of a U.S. tour that would wrap up with appearances at this year’s Psycho Music Festival and Levitation Austin. They played The Empty Bottle with local garage-psych rockers Waltzer and Detroit 60s psych-pop trio Shadow Show.

Waltzer played a fun, solid rock set with a band who, if I heard the lead singer, Sophie, correctly had only been playing together for a short time and was made of members of many other cool Chicago bands. You wouldn’t have guessed they haven’t been together long, because everyone was in synch and had the audience moving. “They sound like Caroline Rose fronting L7, but with more psychedelia,” I thought at one point during their set.

I was happy to hear from Shadow Show that they’re working on a new album, and equally delighted to hear their lovely psych-pop covered in lots of groovy fuzz in a live setting. They hadn’t played in Chicago since before the pandemic, so they were glad to be back on the road and playing a fun set. Afterward, I was stunned to learn that the father of bassist Kate Derringer was one of the driving forces behind the 7th Level music club I attended in Ft. Wayne, Indiana back in my high school days – and the inspiration for the name of this blog. Her father had seen my review of Shadow Show’s Silhouettes and asked her, “Who’s this guy who knows about the Level?” She’d read the review and was now just as floored to meet me in a weird “small world” moment.

Shadow Show (L-R: Ava East, Kerrigan Pearce, Kate Derringer)

Death Valley Girls came out and immediately got started with guitarist Larry Schemel and drummer Rikki Styxx creating a witch’s brew of beats and fuzz while lead singer / guitarist / keyboardist Bonnie Bloomgarden and bassist Sammy Westervelt shared a pre-set hug / meditation…and Ms. Westervelt rocked shoes that would make KISS envious.

Bonnie Bloomgarden (left) in Chuck Taylors, Sammy Westervelt (right) in shoes she might’ve stolen from Boots Collins or the David Bowie estate.

The creepy sounds soon transformed in “Abre Camino,” which only seems to get heavier every time I hear it live. They flowed right into “Street Justice” and stomped the gas pedal to the floor after that. Bonnie Bloomgarden was going into near-trances when she’d play keyboards by the time they got to “Disco.” New song “Magic Powers,” with Sammy Wetervelt on lead vocals, sounds better every time I hear it. Bloomgarden was prowling through and hugging many in the crowd as she sang “Disaster (Is What We’re After),” and they came back from the bottom of the stage stairs to play “Seis Seis Seis” as a sort-of encore.

They also hung out and chatted with anyone who wanted to chat after the show. Larry Schemel told me that this is the first tour in a long while for them for which they’ve been able to hand-pick their opening bands, so seeing them live right now gives you an insight into bands they also love.

Keep your mind open.

Death Valley Girls putting together spell components.

Keep your mind open.

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Live: “Weird Al” Yankovic and Emo Philips – Lerner Theatre – Elkhart, IN – July 26, 2022

“One of the reasons we wanted to do this tour was to highlight this incredible band,” “Weird Al” Yankovic said at one point during the packed show at Elkhart, Indiana’s Lerner Theatre. The show consisted of all original material and style parodies from Yankovic’s huge catalogue. None of his parody hits were played until the encore, and even then in a medley.

Instead, he and his band (of over forty years) played a lot of lesser-known songs that had everyone rocking and / or laughing. Speaking of laughing, veteran stand-up comic Emo Philips opened the show with his odd and often dark humor in which he skewered everything from religion to dating. He had a joke about a banana that he set up within the first ten minutes of his set and then didn’t pay off until near the end – much to the delight of everyone.

Yankovic and his band soon showed everyone how well they can rock by playing hard tracks like “Young, Dumb & Ugly,” “My Own Eyes,” and the dark, twisted “Larry.” The theme to his film, UHF, was a bit hit with the crowd, and the lounge version of “Dare to Be Stupid” (their famous Devo style parody) was stunning. “He’s even parodying himself,” said a guy next to me about it after the show.

It was a great example of how he and his band can play multiple genres with high skill (and switch back and forth between them) with apparent ease. The Doors style parody, “Craigslist,” showed how well they can play psychedelic rock. The closer of the main set was “Albuquerque,” a wild track that has to be seen and heard to be believed. How Yankovic remembers all those multi-layered lyrics is beyond me.

After a fake encore, in which they went barely offstage and pretended to check their phones and tune a guitar while in full sight of everyone, they came “back on” to do a sharp cover of The Isley Brothers‘ “Nobody but Me” and then the parody medley that went from “Amish Paradise” to “Yoda” and included everything from calypso to acapella Afrobeat chanting. I missed a lot of the humorous lyrics because I was too stunned try their musicianship to notice them.

It was a fun show, and one you should catch if it’s anywhere close to you. Don’t go for the hits, go for the experience.

Keep your mind open.

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Frayle unleash new heavy single, “Bright Eyes,” ahead of new album due September 23rd.

Frayle’s newest single and video may be their most gripping yet. The ritual doom metal act, featuring frontwoman Gwyn Strang and guitarist Sean Bilovecky, is partnering with Knotfest.com to premiere the video today. Filmed in New York City and Salem, Massachusetts, the infamous site of the Salem Witch Trials, the provocative art piece is a powerful meditation on empowerment and shedding the mask to reveal the true self.

Says Strang, “’Bright Eyes’ is about the facade we wear when we’re going through something heavy. Sometimes we’ll mask what we’re going through so that everyone around us feels comfortable or doesn’t ask us to show and share our vulnerabilities.

The imagery of a female ‘goth’ roller skating past the house that was once lived in by a judge that was personally responsible for the executions during the Salem Witch Trials is powerful to us.”

See the video for “Bright Eyes” here: https://youtu.be/HY-1ig1iRUY

As Knotfest.com declares, “Embracing a unique balance of doom that encapsulates an element of the harmonious and the hulking, the band’s pedigree spans a sophisticated stylistic spectrum … Anchored by Strang’s often heartbreaking, harrowing vocal harmony is countered by Bilovecky’s metallic blare – the kind of lumbering guitar riffage that layers with suffocating heft.”

“Bright Eyes” is from Frayle’s forthcoming LP, Skin & Sorrow, which will now be released September 23 via Aqualamb Records.

Skin & Sorrow was fully written and recorded by Bilovecky and Strang from the third floor of their own studio, on the edge of Cleveland, surrounded by ancient lakes and woods that echo the howls of coyotes. The band is rounded out live by Jason Knotek on bass and Jon Vinson on drums.

The record follows Frayle’s groundbreaking debut 1692 in 2020 that further introduced the world to their penchant for creating “lullabies over chaos.” Tracks feature Strang’s ambient vocals laid over the voluminous instrumentals of Bilovecky (formerly of Disengage), morphing into disturbing harmonies best described as music for the night sky and are poised to dominate the doom circuit.

In addition to haunting original tracks that push heavy music into new dimensions (an inspirational mix of Sleep and Portishead, or Black Sabbath and Bjork), the duo is known for their cryptic covers including takes on Johnny Cash’s “Ring Of Fire” and Bauhaus’ “Bela Lugosi’s Dead.”

Their passioned creations have caught the attention of Revolver who named the band “one of the five artists you need to know in April” as seen HERE, who called their previously-released title track “eerie and ethereal for its first half, but slowly lets more crunchy fuzz into the fold that builds up to a detonating finish with gobs of spiritual atmosphere.” As well Metal Hammer has heralded Frayle as “the new face of doom” in their latest issue.

Recently, Frayle signed to The Oracle Management, now part of the roster that also includes Cradle of Filth, DevilDriver, Jinjer, Wednesday 13 and more hard rock and metal acts all represented by co-owners of The Oracle Management Dez and Anahstasia Fafara. In one of the first orders of business, Frayle joined on for Cradle of Filth’s “Existence Is Futile” Headlining Tour.

The track listing for Skin & Sorrow includes:

1. Treacle & Revenge

2. Bright Eyes

3. Skin & Sorrow

4. Ipecac

5. Stars

6. Roses

7. Sacrifant

8. All The Things I Was

9. Song For The Dead

10. Perfect Wound

Presales for Skin & Sorrow are available now at Aqualamb Records’ website with iridescent, metallic blue, metallic turquoise and metallic violet vinyl variants, CD and digital options. dditional Europe only vinyl variants will be coming via Lay Bare Recordings. Each purchase comes with an accompanying 100-page book filled with lush artwork, drawings, lyrics and additional content to get inside the mind of Frayle and the creative process.

About Frayle

Heavy, Low, & Witchy. Frayle is a doom, sludge band from Cleveland, formed in 2017 by guitarist Sean Bilovecky (ex-DISENGAGE) and singer Gwyn Strang. They draw their inspiration from bands like Sleep, Portishead, Bjork, Kyuss, & Black Sabbath. Frayle makes music for the night sky.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frayleband

Twitter: https://twitter.com/frayle_band

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frayle_band/

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Maria at Adrenaline PR.]

NEU! to release 50th anniversary box set of their first album.

Photo by Thomas Dinger: from left – Klaus Dinger, Michael Rother

NEU!, the legendary Krautrock duo of Michael Rother and the late Klaus Dinger, celebrate the 50th anniversary of their self-titled debut album with the NEU! 50! box set, out September 23rd via Grönland. NEU! 50! includes albums NEU! NEU! 2! and NEU! 75 plus the brand new NEU! Tribute Album, a NEU! stencil and booklet. The Tribute Album features reworkings by The National, Idles, Man Man, Mogwai, Alexis Taylor, and more. Today, Grönland presents two new tracks off the tribute album – “Weissensee (Fink Version)” and “Zum Herz,” a new, NEU!-inspired song by Guerilla Toss.

NEU!’s version of “Weissensee” evokes a majestic river, cascading, waves crashing. Fink honors the beautiful, lapping waterscape of the track. “I have walked around Weissensee many times – a little urban lake in a pretty rundown part of Berlin - particularly beautiful when it’s frozen over. I had to try this one. Stepping up to NEU! and the anniversary of their debut was an honor, a challenge and a joy.”
Listen to “Weissensee (Fink Version)”
Guerilla Toss’s “Zum Herz” is a salute from a band whose members were not yet born in NEU!’s heyday. “Zum Herz” draws heavily from the NEU! aesthetic, with an emphasis on the repetitive beat and multi-layer guitar production. The band explains: “NEU! is one of the most important bands of the 20th century, and a personal favorite of GT’s. Their influence on psych, rock, punk, and electronic music is enormous. The lineage of so many great bands can be traced back to NEU!. We are thrilled to be part of this compilation. I like to think that the U.S. / U.K created Rock music, but the Germans made it forever weird. Thanks, NEU!“
Listen to “Zum Herz” by Guerilla Toss
NEU! are a product of Düsseldorf, Germany, home to Kraftwerk’s Klingklang studios, as well as galleries, graphic designers and advertising agencies. Rother and Dinger drew on all of this and their impeccable musical training to create the overall concept of NEU!. They intended to create a previously unheard new music, aping the processes of commodification while remaining resolutely hostile to the commerciality of the music industry. Like other experimental bands of the late 60s and early 70s gathered under the Krautrock banner, NEU! were driven by a mixture of political and artistic imperatives to reject the clichés and conventions of orthodox, blues-based Anglo-American rock and create a music that was, formally, West German in origin.

NEU! are one of the great, belated success stories of rock music. Their influence continues to be internationally widespread. Since paving their own road ahead, they’ve created a model of forward propulsion away from conventional rock clichés. The NEU! Tribute album shows how much there is for subsequent generations to unpack in NEU!, how much is buried, implied in their sound.
Watch “Hallogallo (Stephen Morris and Gabe Gurnsey Remix)” Visualizer

Pre-order NEU! 50!

NEU! Tribute Album Tracklist:
1. Im Glück (The National Remix)
2. Weissensee (Fink Version)
3. Super (Mogwai Remix)
4. 4+1=5 – Alexis Taylor
5. Hallogallo (Stephen Morris and Gabe Gurnsey Remix)
6. Lieber Honig (Yann Tiersen Remix)
7. Super (Man Man Remix)
8. Negativland (Idles Negative Space Rework)
9. Zum Herz – Guerilla Toss
10. After Eight (They Hate Change Cover)

NEU! 50 Vinyl Boxset:
1.     LPGRONI / NEU! / NEU!
2.     LPGRONII / NEU! / NEU! 2
3.     LPGRONIII / NEU! / NEU! 75
4.     LPGRONTI / NEU! / Tribute album
5.      LPGRONTII / NEU! / Tribute album
6.     Stencil
7.     Booklet

NEU! 50 CD Boxset:
1.     CDGRONI / NEU! / NEU!
2.      CDGRONII / NEU! / NEU! 2
3.     CDGRONIII / NEU! / NEU! 75
4.     CDGRONIV / NEU! / NEU! `86
5.     CDGRONT / NEU! / Tribute album
6.     Stencil
7.     Booklet

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jessica at Pitch Perfect PR.]

John Cale salutes 1970s New York City on his new single, “Night Crawling.”

Today, John Cale presents “Night Crawling,” his first new music since 2020 when he released the single, “Lazy Day,” and collaborated with Kelly Lee Owens on “Corner of My Sky.” “Night Crawling” is a taste of much more to come from Cale, and precedes his fall UK tour, which includes his first performances since pre-pandemic (more to come on the touring front in 2023, as well). Cale wrote “Night Crawling” with a nod to ’70s NYC pre-disco, recalling times when he and David Bowie would traverse the city at night. Throughout the track, Cale layers his inimitable vocals with a skipping beat and hovering bass. As it expands, it becomes nearly danceable with jockeying percussion and whirs of synth. Cale played nearly every instrument on the track, aside from additional drums by Deantoni Parks and backing vocals by Dustin Boyer, and it was mixed by Seven Davis, Jr.. The accompanying video, animated by Mickey Miles, visualizes the song’s vibrant sounds with colorful, retro animation.

Cale further explains: “It’s been a helluva past 2 years and I’m glad to finally share a glimpse of what’s coming ahead. There was this period around mid-late ’70s when David and I would run into each other in NY. There was plenty of talk about getting some work done but of course we’d end up running the streets, sometimes until we couldn’t keep a thought in our heads, let alone actually get a song together! One night we managed to meet up for a benefit concert where I taught him a viola part so we could perform together. When I wrote ‘Night Crawling,’ it was a reflective moment of particular times. That kind of NYC that held art in its grip, strong enough to keep it safe and dangerous enough to keep it interesting. I always figured we’d have another go at the two of us recording together, this time without the interference of being perpetually off our heads! The thing about creating music is the ability to divine a thought or feeling even when reality says it’s a logical impossibility.”

Watch John Cale’s Video for “Night Crawling”

John Cale Tour Dates
Sun. Oct. 23 – Edinburgh, UK @ The Queen’s Hall
Mon. Oct. 24 – York, UK @ Barbican
Fri. Oct. 28 – Cardiff, WLS @ Llais Festival *
Mon. Oct. 31 – Whitley Bay, UK @ Playhouse Whitley Bay
Thu. Nov. 3 – Birmingham, UK @ Birmingham Town Hall
Mon. Nov. 7 – Bexhill on Sea, UK @ De La Warr Pavilion
Wed. Nov. 9 – London, UK @ The London Palladium
Thu. Nov. 10 – Cambridge, UK @ Cambridge Corn Exchange
Fri. Nov. 11 – Liverpool, UK @ Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

* = John Cale + special guests, 80th Birthday Celebration

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jessica at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Rewind Review: GOAT – Fuzzed in Europe (2017)

Fuzzed in Europe is a six-song live EP from Swedish psych-voodoo rockers, GOAT, that compiles some of their favorite tracks from a European tour in the autumn of 2016. The tracks were picked due to them being alternate versions of album releases or even “normal” live cuts. As a result, we get to hear GOAT further expanding their cosmic sound into new dimensions.

The opener, “Talk to God,” is over seven minutes of hypnotizing psychedelia that takes on a bit more drone than the album version. The same goes for “Time for Fun,” which practically turns into a mantra by the end of it. “I Sing in Silence” transforms from a blissful dance into a trance-inducing vision of something much like the album cover.

The guitars on “Gather of Ancient Tribes” (possibly also known as, you guessed it, “GOAT”) are almost like magic wands casting spells as the female duo lead singers keep singing / chanting, “Into the fire!” “The Sun the Moon” speeds up in this live version, becoming a frantic voodoo-disco track.

A ten-minute-plus version of “Run to Your Mama” ends the EP, being heavier than other versions and no less head-spinning. You might end up dancing around shirtless and seeing visions of Egyptian gods riding boats across the sky while listening to it. I didn’t, but the fact that the image came to mind while writing this suggests otherwise.

The whole EP is full of moments like this. Don’t let it slip by you.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Brijean – Angelo

Named after a 1981 Toyota Celica they bought on Craigslist, Brijean‘s lovely new EP, Angelo, is another lush, breezy, dreamy record from the duo that captivates you right away.

The EP starts by asking us “Which Way to the Club?” Just follow the sounds of Brijean’s great bass notes and playful drums, and they’ll take you straight into “Take a Trip” – which is delightfully trippy and bubbly, almost tickling you with its beats. The record was written during the pandemic, with the duo (Brijean Murphy on vocals and percussion, Doug Stuart on production and multiple instruments), like the rest of us, experiencing upheaval and loss. Writing and record Angelo became a way for them to escape the gloom by dreaming about what was and what could come after the pandemic.

“Shy Guy” encourages everyone to dance again, or even for the first time (“Show me how you like to move. I feel something, too.”). Their fun beats certainly help nudge you onto the dance floor. The title track tones down the dream-synths a bit to make room for more house beats. “Ooo La La” has some of the heftiest bass on the record.

The brief, dreamy “Colors” drifts into “Where Do We Go from Here?” – a song that has Murphy contemplating space-time and our place in it. “Caldwell’s Way” has Murphy and Stuart pining for a place they left behind when they moved away from Southern California. You can hear the yearning in Murphy’s voice, but also the conviction that she knows they might the right decision. The EP even closes with a short instrumental called “Nostalgia.”

It’s another winner from Brijean, and a record that will brighten a room.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

40th anniversary edition of Motörhead’s “Iron Fist” album due this September.

WATCH A NEW VIDEO FOR A PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, DEMO VERSION OF ‘IRON FIST’ PLUS PREORDERS & EXCLUSIVE MERCH BUNDLES HERE –

https://motorhead.lnk.to/IronFist40thPR

The time-honoured phrase “Follow that!” rang with deafening resonance when Motörhead were faced with having to follow a rock milestone (Ace Of Spades), a number one album (No Sleep Till Hammersmith) and their bomber – the most spectacular stage prop rock had ever seen. As last shout from the three amigos line-up of Lemmy, Fast Eddie Clarke and Phil ‘Philthy Animal’ Taylor, Iron Fist was rudely dismissed by some ignorant loud mouth hap’orths as being ‘less’, and has always suffered slightly from that initial idiotic disdain. We’re here to finally correct that nonsense, as Iron Fist reveals itself as a vital snapshot of the band at a crucial period when they found themselves caught in the tornado ignited by success and, in true Motörhead style, careered into their next phase at such velocity it transcended logic or reason to become this trio’s final kamikaze joyride. Forty years later, Iron Fist sounds like prime Motörhead with the gloves and seat-belts off. For sheer velocity, it could be fastest, most out-of-control of them all. If you know, you know, and if you don’t enjoy the gloriously wreckless education that is Iron Fist!

To celebrate the 40^th anniversary of this seminal cannon in the Motörhead armoury, it is being presented in new deluxe editions. There will be hardback book-packs in two CD and triple LP formats, featuring a hammer fist blow, remaster of the original album, previously unreleased demo bonus tracks and a full concert, originally broadcast on Radio Clyde from 18th March 1982. Plus the story of the album and many previously unseen photos. There’s also a limited edition, blue and black swirl of the original standalone album.

See below for full details of the Iron Fist releases and be sure to visit www.iMotorhead.com for news and updates!

LP AND CD TRACKLISTING

Original Iron Fist album

Iron Fist

Heart of Stone

I’m the Doctor

Go to Hell

Loser

Sex and Outrage

America

Shut It Down

Speedfreak

(Don’t Need) Religion

Bang to Rights

Jackson’s Studio Demos October 1981

Remember Me, I’m Gone

The Doctor

Young & Crazy

Loser

Iron Fist

Go To Hell

CD & Digital Bonus Tracks

Lemmy Goes to the Pub

Some Old Song, I’m Gone

(Don’t Let ‘Em) Grind Ya Down (Alternate Version)

Shut It Down

Sponge Cake (Instrumental)

Ripsaw Teardown (Instrumental)

Peter Gunn (Instrumental)

Live at Glasgow Apollo 18/3/82

(Previously unreleased)

Iron First

Heart of Stone

Shoot You In The Back

The Hammer

Loser

Jailbait

America

White Line

(Don’t Need) Religion

Go to Hell

Capricorn

(Don’t Let ‘Em) Grind Ya Down

(We Are The) Road Crew

Ace of Spades

Bite The Bullet

The Chase Is Better Than the Catch

Overkill

Bomber

Motörhead

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[Thanks to Maria at Adrenaline PR.]

The Beths release the title track to their upcoming album, “Expert in a Dying Field.”

The Beths share the new single/video, “Expert In A Dying Field,” from their new album, Expert In A Dying Field, out September 16th on Carpark Records. “Expert In A Dying Field” introduces the thesis for the record: “How does it feel to be an expert in a dying field? How do you know it’s over when you can’t let go?” Elizabeth Stokes sings. The question hangs in the air: what do you do with how intimately versed you’ve become in a person, once they’re gone from your life? “Love is learned over time ‘till you’re an expert in a dying field.”

“I really do believe that love is learned over time,” explains Stokes. “In the course of knowing a person you accumulate so much information: their favorite movies, how they take their tea, how to make them laugh, how that makes you feel. And when relationships between people change, or end, all that knowledge doesn’t just disappear. The phrase ‘Expert in a Dying Field’ had been floating around my head for a few years, I was glad to finally capture it when writing this tune.”

Watch “Expert In A Dying Field”

Densely littered with melodic hooks and the incisive phrasing that Stokes has become known for, the driving verses of “Expert In A Dying Field” intentionally contrast with a restrained, delicate chorus. Here, the stripped-back instrumentation acutely hones in on Stokes’ emotive vocals. The accompanying video, directed by Frances Carter, honors this intimacy and vulnerability. Carefully placed relics and symbolic totems strewn about a charming, white-washed home evoke a sense of nostalgia and sentimentality. While Stokes sings directly to the camera, her bandmates play their instruments and sing backing vocals in various parts of the home, surrounded by treasures laden with meaning and memory. It’s an evocative series of vignettes that perfectly match the song’s bittersweet themes and culminates in a joyful, heart-stirring full band performance that shows off The Beths’ unparallelled four-part vocal harmonies.

On Expert In A Dying Field, Stokes’ songwriting positions her somewhere between novelist and documentarian. Across 12 tight, guitar-heavy jewels, Stokes traverses the autobiographical, but also presents character sketches of relationships – platonic, familial, romantic – and more importantly, their aftermaths.

Expert In A Dying Field is an incandescent collision of power-pop and skuzz, filled with songs that worm their way into your head. With Expert, The Beths wanted to make an album meant to be experienced live, for both the listeners and themselves. They wanted it to be fun — to hear, to play — in spite of the prickling anxiety throughout the lyrics, the fear of change and struggle to cope. Expert is an extension of the same sonic palette the band has built across their catalog, pop hooks embedded in incisive indie rock.

Watch:
“Expert In A Dying Field”
“Silence Is Golden”

Pre-order Expert In A Dying Field

The Beths Tour Dates

Tickets available from thebeths.com
Sun. Jul. 24 – Seattle, WA @ Capitol Hill Block Party
Mon. Jul. 25 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret
Fri. Jul. 29 – Brooklyn, NY @ BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival
Sun. Jul. 31 – Denver, CO @ UMS – The Underground Music Showcase
Tue. Aug. 2 – San Diego, CA @ Belly Up Tavern
Wed. Aug. 3 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
Thu. Aug. 4 – Santa Barbara, CA @ SoHo Restaurant & Music Club
Fri. Aug. 5 – San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands Music Festival
Sun. Aug. 7 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
Wed. Aug. 10 – Davenport, IA @ Raccoon Motel
Thu. Aug. 11 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
Sat. Aug. 13 – North Adams, MA @ Here and There Festival, Mass MoCA
Sun. Aug. 14 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace

Mon. Aug. 15 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Bag
Tue. Aug. 16 – Chicago, IL @ Here and There Festival, Salt Shed
Thu. Aug. 18 – St. Louis, MO @ Blueberry Hill
Fri. Aug. 19 – Indianapolis, IN @ Hi-Fi
Sat. Aug. 20 – Covington, KY (Cincinnati) @ Madison Live
Mon. Aug. 22 – Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall
Tue. Aug. 23 – Richmond, VA @ The Broadberry
Thu. Aug. 25 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
Fri. Aug. 26 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Asbury Lanes
Sat. Aug. 27 – Portland, ME @ Portland House of Music & Events
Sun. Aug. 28 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz PDB
Wed. Aug. 31 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit Hall
Thu. Sep. 1 – Columbus, OH @ A&R Music Bar
Thu. Sep. 15 – Melbourne, AU @ 170 Russell
Fri. Sep. 16 – Sydney, AU @ Metro Theatre
Sat. Sep. 17 – Brisbane, AU @ The Triffid
Tue. Sep. 20 – Adelaide, AU @ The Gov
Wed. Sep. 21 – Perth, AU @ Magnet House

Fri. Sep. 23 – Wellington, NZ @ Opera House
Sat. Sep. 24 – Nelson, NZ @ Theatre Royal
Fri. Sep. 30 – Christchurch, NZ @ James Hay Theatre
Sat. Oct. 1 – Dunedin, NZ @ The Glenroy
Fri. Oct. 7 – Auckland, NZ @ Auckland Town Hall

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Pink Frost return with title track from new album, “Until the Summer Comes.”

Chicago band Pink Frost announce their first new album in 5 years today, sharing the video for the title track from their forthcoming album Until The Summer Comes via Brooklyn Vegan. Watch and share the high production value video directed by Chris Hershman (Alabama Shakes, Wynonna Judd) for “Until The Summer Comes” HERE. (Direct YouTube.) Pre-order/pre-save Linktree.

“It was a new torture, the waiting,” says Pink Frost vocalist/guitarist Adam Lukas.

When life suddenly froze for all of us, it wasn’t the downtime that was unbearable, it was the growing uncertainty as time dragged on that all of our loose threads would ever be connected.

The Chicago band had just completed recording their fourth album — splitting the studio time with sister band Touched By Ghoul (whose 2020 Cancel The World album title proved prophetic) — when plans to reconvene in France with longtime engineer Gregoire Yeche to mix in April 2020 became impossible.

When Gregoire eventually returned to Chicago in 2021, life in limbo seemed the new normal. Yet, the band felt somehow liberated. “We were like ‘F**k it, let’s make our dream record,’” Lukas says. “We went in depth in a way we never have before. There are no compromises on this album. No cringeworthy oversights. We almost lost our minds doing it, but I’m happy we did.”

Indeed, the 9-song album is a feast of hooks and subtle transformations that shows both a slight return to the band’s previous indie-punk take on Smashing Pumpkins style oversized alt-rock, and their ever-growing palette of shoegaze, drone and anthemic rock. There’s even an almost peak NIN, Wax Trax industrial vibe to some tracks that underscores how the band continues to wield new ideas.

“We lost (guitarist) Paige Sandlin during the pandemic,” Lukas says. “But gained Angela from Touched By Ghoul, who now plays guitar and contributed some vocals on the LP, and brings a whole new excitement to the live show.”

Until The Summer Comes was recorded in Chicago at Steve Albini’s legendary Electrical Audio with longtime engineer Gregoire Yeche, just as the band has done on New Minds (2017), Sundowning (2013) and the Traitors EP (2014). “Electrical Audio is almost like another member of the band at this point,” Lukas says. “There is a purity to their method that captures the essence of the performance and preserves it in this magical 3-D way.”

The album opens with the title track’s thumping toms in a marching rhythm, soon joined by buzzing fuzz guitars before the whole song erupts in a huge chorus with chunky guitars reminiscent of peak Downward Spiral era NIN. “Two Faces” is an explosive diatribe driven home by bassist Alex Shumard’s lunging 4-string. “On A Clear Day (You Can See The End of The World)” sets a Beatles-esque acoustic guitar led melody atop psychedelic haze and rollicking drums. “Halo” serves up a lush shoegaze ballad in which drummer Nate Furstenau nods to My Bloody Valentine’s hybrid of drum machines and live drums for powerful effect. “Feed The Hungry Bee” closes the album with a repetitively building tension that leads into a dramatic finish that’s certain to be a live favorite.

Pink Frost’s previous albums received an onslaught of praise from such revered outlets as Pitchfork, SPIN, Noisey, Brooklyn Vegan, Magnet Magazine and Chicago Reader, as well as song placements in a feature film (“The Lookalike”), TV’s Shameless, The Rookie, The Vampire Diaries, CSI: Miami and more. In December 2015, Pink Frost released a completely remixed, rethought and remastered version of their debut album Gargoyle Days, originally issued under the band’s former name Apteka.

Until The Summer Comes will be available on LP, CD and download on September 16th, 2022 via Under Road Records. Pre-orders are available HERE.

Keep your mind open.

[Come on over to the subscription box.]

[Thanks to US / THEM Group.]