Located at the back of a shopping center at 572 South Decatur Boulevard in Las Vegas, Moondog Records is a neat find. The sign on the outside of the building simply reads “RECORDS.” They have a lot of them, and more cool stuff to boot.
I mean, good grief, look at all that vinyl. It’s everywhere in this place. The copies of Whoreby Mephistofeles and the Alice In Chains Unplugged album alone are worth a trip. As is this…
And funk classics and collector’s stuff like the following…
I almost snagged that Police vinyl box set behind the Al Green box set.Not to mention this classic Devo picture disc.
If, like me, you’re more into CDs than vinyl, no fear, Moondog Records has you covered.
Those are just some of the CDs available. I scored stuff from Oingo Boingo, Zero Boys, Black Sabbath, and Failure, as well as a collection of rare spaghetti western music and a collector’s edition DVD of the movie Duel.
The staff is helpful and loves good, obscure music. The manager and I bonded over my All Them Witchesshirt.
Make the side trip to this place if you’re in Sin City.
The eagerly-awaited vinyl version of TOOL’s critically-acclaimed fifth album, Fear Inoculum, is available now (https://Tool.lnk.to/FIVinyl) via RCA Records, with the GRAMMY®-Award winning release spread over 5 LPs and paired with new, extensive artwork.
Adam Jones reconceptualized the already impressive album packaging with each of the 180g vinyl discs emblazoned with a unique etching and accompanied by an elaborate pictorial booklet including never-before-seen artwork. The limited-edition set, which also features a new cover, is housed in a hard shell box.
Quite possibly the era’s most highly-anticipated album, Fear Inoculum arrived in August of 2019. Debuting at #1 on Billboard’s Top 200, the album earned heaps of critical praise with NPR saying, “Fear Inoculum was worth the 13 year wait,” Revolver proclaiming the album “a masterpiece to be dissected for years to come” and Consequence saying the release finds “Tool in peak performance.”
TOOL recently released “Opiate2” (https://TOOL.lnk.to/Opiate2), a re-imagined and extended version of the 1992 EP’s title track and an accompanying short film available exclusively via Blu-ray only. A three-minute preview of the “Opiate2” film can be viewed here.
Producer/musician Kelly Lee Owens announces a new album, LP.8, out April 29th (digital) and June 10th (physical) on Smalltown Supersound, and today presents two of its tracks, “Sonic 8” and “Olga.” Born out of a series of studio sessions, LP.8 was created with no preconceptions or expectations: an unbridled exploration into the creative subconscious.
After releasing her acclaimed sophomore album Inner Song in the early days of the pandemic, Owens was faced with the sudden realization that her world tour could no longer go ahead. Keen to make use of this untapped creative energy, she made the spontaneous decision to go to Oslo for a change of scenery and some undisturbed studio time. Arriving to snowglobe conditions and sub-zero temperatures with the borders closed once again, she began spending time in the studio with esteemed avant-noise Lasse Marhaug (known for his work with Merzbow, Sunn O))) and Jenny Hval).
Together, Owens and Marhaug envisioned making music somewhere in between Throbbing Gristle and Enya, artists who have had an enduring impact on Owens’ creative being. In doing so, they paired tough, industrial sounds with ethereal Celtic mysticism, creating music that ebbs and flows between tension and release. One month later, Owens called her label to tell them she had created something of an outlier, her “eighth album.” In Owens’ words, “For me, 8 meant completion – an album that will ripple infinitely with me personally.”
LP.8 Tracklist 1. Release 2. Voice 3. Anadlu 4. S.O (2) 5. Olga 6. Nana Piano 7. Quickening 8. One 9. Sonic 8
Kelly Lee Owens Tour Dates Fri. June 3 – Melbourne, AU @ Rising Festival Hub Sat. June 4 – Sydney, AU @ Motorik [DJ Set] Wed. June 15 – Milan, IT @ Magnolia Fest Sun. June 19 – Dublin, IE @ Body & Soul Festival Sat. June 25 – Bristol, UK @ Bristol Sounds Sat. July 2 – Roskilde, DK @ Roskilde Festival Fri. July 8 – Bilbao, ES @ Bilbao BBK Live Fest Sun. July 10 – Modena, IT @ Artivive Festival Fri. July 22 – Macclesfield, UK @ Bluedot Sat. July 23 – Hertfordshire, UK @ Standon Calling Festival Sat. July 30 – London, UK @ South Facing Sun. July 31 – Sicily, IT @ Ortigia Sound System Festival [DJ Set] Sat. Aug. 20 – Hasselt, BE @ Pukkelpop Sun. Aug. 21 – Biddinghuizen, NE @ Lowlands Festival
Keep your mind open.
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Dumb Numbers and the Melvins join forces for one of the season’s most unusual releases, a three-song single, dubbed the Broken Pipe EP (April 29, Joyful Noise Recordings), which arrives via a sawblade-shaped, limited-edition vinyl 12-inch.
The collection, which is not the first time the musicians have partnered together (see their 2015 JNR split series), also finds The Jesus Lizard’s David Yow lending his vocals to the track, “So-Called Solid Objects,” and longtime Melvins’ production partner, Toshi Kasai, remixing the song “Harvel.”
“I’m severely honoured to work with Buzz and Dale on this release,” says Dumb Numbers’ Adam Harding. “I actually wrote one of the songs in 1997 after seeing the Melvins play in my hometown of Geelong, Australia. I never dreamed that 20 years later I would get to record it with them.”
MAC SABBATH will return to the road late this Fall to bring America another heaping helping of unhealthy – but irresistible – Drive-Thru Metal on the 2022 Pop-Up-Drive-Thru Tour, featuring special guests Speedealer, southern rock heavier and faster then anything this side of Motorhead and shoulders,and Lung, the electric cello and drums female duo, kicking off one heck of a party feast for the senses! A food fight to the death!
“MAC SABBATH will be popping up all over the States – just like in our debut release,” says the band’s perplexing clown faced frontman Ronald Osbourne. “Confusing the USA one more time!”MAC SABBATH has revealed details on their first book, Drive-Thru Metal, but don’t expect a stereotypical biography from the fast food-themed parody kings. There’s plenty of “juice” inside, albeit in the form of burgers cooking in the kitchen as the four members of MAC SABBATH take fans on a journey through a dystopian fast-food world polluted by its own waste in an innovative hybrid pop-up book. Mysterious MAC SABBATH frontman Ronald Osbourne comments on the book, “What’s that? A pop-up book is not what you were expecting? Well SUFFER! ….and you’re welcome.”
Available via Poposition Press, Drive-Thru Metal features illustrations by Gris Grimly, well-known for his darkly whimsical children’s books and the upcoming Netflix film adaptation of his Pinocchio book,and will be available in Regular and Special Editions. Both editions are available in limited quantities, so be sure to get your copy of this piece of “Drive Thru Metal” history! Both editions of Drive-Thru Metal include pop-up scenes highlighting “The Factory,” “The Ascension” and “Utopia” and include a special vinyl surprise with seven MAC SABBATH stories, including “Organic Funeral,” Sweet Beef” and “N.I.B.B.L.E.” The Special Edition is a super limited version complete with a foil stamped cover, a Gris Grimly art print and ketchup and mustard splattered vinyl surprise.
Mixing raucous comedy with borderline-horrific theatrics, the only thing more petrifying than impending health problems resulting from years of overeating is a MAC SABBATH show. MAC SABBATH puts on a theatrical, multimedia stage show – complete with a smoking grill, laser-eyed clowns, bouncing burgers and many more magical surprises… basically anything and everything an unwary show-goer could ever want in their wildest dreams. The band has been named by Buzzfeed as one of the “13 Metal Bands You Didn’t Know How to React To”, and as LA’s “Best Tribute Band” by LA Weekly.
MAC SABBATH on tour: Tue 09/27/22 Great American Music Hall – San Francisco, CA – with Speedealer and Lung – All Ages Wed 09/28/22 Goldfield Trading – Sacramento, CA – with Speedealer and Lung – 21+ Fri 09/30/22 Dante’s – Portland, OR – with Speedealer and Lung – 21+ Sat 10/01/22 El Corazón – Seattle, WA – with Speedealer and Lung – 21+ Tue 10/04/22 Urban Lounge – Salt Lake City, UT – with Speedealer and Lung – 21+ Thu 10/06/22 WAVE – Wichita, KS – with Speedealer and Lung – All Ages Fri 10/07/22 Knuckleheads – Kansas City, MO – with Speedealer and Lung – 21+ Sat 10/08/22 Wooly’s – Des Moines, IA – with Speedealer and Lung – 21+ Sun 10/09/22 Fine Line – Minneapolis, MN – with Speedealer and Lung – 21+ Tue 10/11/22 Shank Hall – Milwaukee, WI – with Speedealer and Lung – 21+ Wed 10/12/22 Afterlife Music Hall – Lombard, IL – with Speedealer and Lung – 21+ Thu 10/13/22 Red Flag St. – Louis, MO – with Speedealer and Lung – 21+ Fri 10/14/22 Elevation – Grand Rapids, MI – with Speedealer and Lung – All Ages Sat 10/15/22 Magic Bag – Ferndale, MI – with Speedealer and Lung – 18+ Tue 10/18/22 HI-FI Indy & HI-FI Annex – Indianapolis, IN – with Speedealer and Lung – 21+ Wed 10/19/22 Beachland Ballroom – Cleveland, OH – with Speedealer and Lung – All Ages Thu 10/20/22 The Crafthouse Stage & Grill – Pittsburgh, PA – with Speedealer and Lung – 21+ Fri 10/21/22 Brooklyn Bowl – Brooklyn, NY – with Speedealer and Lung – 21+ Sat 10/22/22 The Vault Music Hall & Pub – New Bedford, MA – with Speedealer and Lung – 21+ Sun 10/23/22 Wall Street Theater – Norwalk, CT – with Speedealer and Lung – 21+ Wed 10/26/22 The Foundry – Philadelphia, PA – with Speedealer and Lung – All Ages Thu 10/27/22 Black Cat – Washington, DC – with Speedealer and Lung – All Ages Fri 10/28/22 Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center – Harrisburg, PA – with Speedealer and Lung – All Ages Sat 10/29/22 The Underground – Charlotte, NC – with Speedealer and Lung -All Ages Mon 10/31/22 The Grey Eagle Asheville, NC – with Speedealer and Lung – All Ages Tue 11/01/22 EXIT/IN – Nashville, TN – with Speedealer and Lung – 18+ Thu 11/03/22 The Charleston Pour House – Charleston, SC – with Speedealer and Lung – 21+ Fri 11/04/22 42nd Street Tavern/Reggies – Wilmington, NC – with Speedealer and Lung – 21+ Sat 11/05/22 Jack Rabbits Live – Jacksonville, FL – with Speedealer and Lung – All Ages Sun 1/06/22 Tuffy’s Bottle Shop/Lounge/Music Box – Sanford, FL with Speedealer and Lung – 21+ Wed 11/09/22 Chelsea’s Cafe – Baton Rouge, LA – with Speedealer and Lung – 18+ Thu 11/10/22 Lafayette’s Music Room – Memphis, TN – with Speedealer and Lung – 21+ Fri 11/11/22 Come and Take It Live Austin, TX – with Speedealer and Lung – All Ages Sat 11/12/22 Trees – Dallas, TX – with Speedealer and Lung – 21+ Mon 11/14/22 Paper Tiger – San Antonio, TX – with Speedealer and Lung – 21+ Tue 11/15/22 RockHouse Bar & Grill – El Paso, TX – with Speedealer and Lung – All Ages Wed 11/16/22 Meow Wolf – Santa Fe, NM – with Lung – 21+ Fri 11/18/22 Marquis Theater – Denver, CO – with Speedealer and Lung – All Ages Sat 11/19/22 Mesa Theater – Grand Junction, CO – with Speedealer and Lung – All Ages
Chelsea Jade unveils the new single/video, “Good Taste,” from her new album, Soft Spot, out April 29th on Carpark Records. Premiering via FLOOD, “Good Taste” follows lead single “Optimist,” a calibration of Jade’s skills in passing pop through an R’n’B tinged lens, and is presented alongside a video illustrated by Frances Haszard. “It’s like a miracle // Feeling your charisma getting physical,” Jade begins atop svelte production courtesy of herself and Bradley Hale (Now, Now). “And yeah, I’m miserable // But oh it’s such a mood getting sad, getting sexual.” “Good Taste” features additional vocal engineering and production by Luna Shadows, and sees MUNA’s Naomi McPherson and Josette Maskin lending their guitar prowess.
Of the track, Jade says: “I met someone at a party while I was living in a hotel for a briefly opulent moment in time. The next night they met me in the lobby and eventually we made our way up to my room. It’s an implicitly sexy situation but we parted without touch. As soon as they left I asked if they wanted to come back and when the elevator opened on the ground floor, they got in and ignited the most cinematic make out plus I’ve ever had. This song is about that encounter. I imagine the first half to be an internal fantasy until the real first touch when the production explodes into maximalism.”
On the video, Haszard remarks, “The world already existed- black and white, linear and basey with augmented senses and ripples of distortion. These things translated easily into my frame by frame animation with my awkward impressions of 3D and motion. I’m self taught and a bad teacher so my style suits working with artists who enjoy imperfections and have a sense of humour about what unfolds.”
Jade brings her “good taste” to Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheater where she’ll perform with Jai Wolfon June 8th. Tickets are available here. A New York City headline show to celebrate the release of Soft Spot will also be announced soon!
Quietly, Chelsea Jade spent 2020 and 2021 skulking around other people’s projects. In tandem with these collaborations, Jade has been funneling her skills into Soft Spot–adding animator, video editor, producer and engineer to her prolific creative résumé.
You can catch her as a dancer in Lorde’s “Mood Ring” music video, or in the credits as Deafheaven’s graphic designer for their 2020 vinyl release 10 Years Gone. She’s choreographed Aotearoa Music Awardwinning videos for Georgia Lines (“No One Knows,” “I Got You”) as well as Los Angeles based Trace Le. Over the years, she’s written songs for artists like The Chainsmokers, Cxloe and more. While it’s not unusual to collaborate in music, it might be considered rare to work with a diverse roster of artists in so many different ways.
Moreover, Soft Spot ventures beyond the exploration of delusions of grandeur that formed the focus of the critically acclaimed Personal Best (2018), a record that enjoyed two years on the shortlist for the APRA Silver Scroll Award in the company of Lorde, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Aldous Harding, and Marlon Williams, for excellence in songwriting for “Laugh it Off” and “Life of the Party”, respectively. A dynamic pre-Personal Best single, “Afterglow,” has made several TV appearances, most recently on the hit Netflix series “Emily in Paris.”
On the strength of this work and more, Jade was presented with an APRA Professional Development Award; signed a publishing deal, and co-founded a fxmale songwriting/producer camp in New Zealand with tutors like Susan Rogers (Prince) and Wendy Wang (Greg Kurstin). Now, Soft Spot aims from rougher terrain. A sonic sketchbook, Chelsea’s production falls on the textural side, a panorama littered with field recordings and conversations with friends as you travel through the record.
Chicago band Horsegirl have had an electric start to 2022 beginning with the announcement of their debut album, Versions of Modern Performance, out June 3rd via Matador. The trio were dubbed the “champions of SXSW 2022” by NME, and won the Grulke Prize for Developing U.S. Act before touring the Northeast, including a sold out New York City debut at Market Hotel. Today, they continue on that trajectory with the release of new single and lyric video, “World of Pots and Pans.” Following the propulsive “Anti-glory,” “World of Pots and Pans” has a rough, blown-out pop charm. The band elaborates: “‘World of Pots and Pans’ is the first love song Horsegirl has ever written—or the closest thing to it. We wrote it in Penelope’s basement while preparing to leave for our first ever tour. The lyrics, inspired by the misinterpretation of a Television Personalities lyric, imagine a (possibly unrequited) romance unfolding through references to Tall Dwarfs, Belle & Sebastian, and The Pastels.“We made the lyric video in a couple hours. The three of us had a fully formed vision of what it should look like and were able to quickly execute the real-time ‘animation’ in only two takes. It feels special to showcase our creative chemistry, and Nora was able to finally carry out her childhood dreams of making an OK Go (ish) type video.”
Penelope Lowenstein (guitar, vocals), Nora Cheng (guitar, vocals), and Gigi Reece (drums) – the best friends comprising Horsegirl – do everything collectively, from songwriting to trading vocal duties and swapping instruments to sound and visual art design. Reece and Cheng, college freshmen, and Lowenstein, a high school senior, learned to play—and met—through the significant network of Chicago youth arts programs. The warmth and strength of their bond crackles through every second of their debut. Horsegirl recorded Versions of Modern Performance at Chicago’s Electrical Audio with John Agnello (Kurt Vile, The Breeders, Dinosaur Jr.). One can hear elements of the ‘80s and ‘90s independent music the band love so deeply and sincerely—the scuzzy melodicism of what used to be called “college rock,” the cool, bubbly space-age sheen of the ‘90s vamps on lounge and noir; the warm, noisy roar of shoegaze; the economical hooks and rhythms of post-punk. There’s even a bit of no wave mixed in for good measure. But as Horsegirl fuse all of this together, it feels not like a pastiche or a hacky retread but something as playful and unique as its predecessors. With lyrics intentionally impressionistic and open-ended, and a sound that ranges with joy and enthusiasm across a range of styles, Versions of Modern Performance offers many pathways. Horsegirl will tour Europe and North America this summer following a special record release show in Chicago with other young, local bands on Sunday, June 5th. They will return to New York on August 10th to play the Bowery Ballroom.
Horsegirl Tour Dates (new dates in bold) Sun. May 29 – Allston, MA @ Boston Calling Festival Sun. Jun. 5 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall (RECORD RELEASE SHOW) ^ Fri. Jun. 10 – Giessen, DE @ Stadt ohne Meer Sun. Jun. 12 – Mannheim, DE @ Maifield Derby Thu. Jun. 16 – Antwerp, BE @ Trix Bar Fri. Jun. 17 – Paris, FR @ Pop Up Du Label Sun. Jun. 19 – London, UK @ Paper Dress Vintage (EARLY SHOW) – SOLD OUT Sun. Jun. 19 – London, UK @ Paper Dress Vintage (LATE SHOW) – SOLD OUT Tue. Jun. 21 – Manchester, UK @ YES (Basement) Wed. Jun. 22 – London, UK @ Bermondsey Social Club – SOLD OUT Sun. Jun. 26 – Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade Bristol Tue. Jun. 28 – Cologne, DE @ Bumann & Sohn Wed. Jun. 29 – Berlin, DE @ Monarch Fri. Jul. 1 – Denmark, DE @ Roskilde Festival 2022 Sat. Jul. 2 – Hamburg, DE @ Molotow Upstairs Fri. Jul. 15 – Vancouver, BC @ Wise Hall * Sat. Jul. 16 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos * Sun. Jul. 17 – Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall * Tue. Jul. 19 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop Thu. Jul. 21 – Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon * Fri. Jul. 22 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo * Sat. Jul. 23 – Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room * Tue. Jul. 26 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line * Wed. Jul. 27 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon * Fri. Jul. 30 – Sat. Jul. 31 – Detroit, MI @ Mo Pop Festival Sat. July 31 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza Music Festival Tue. Aug. 2 – Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe * Wed. Aug. 3 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop * Fri. Aug. 5 – Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground * Sat. Aug. 6 – Montreal, QC @ Petit Campus * Wed. Aug. 10 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom *
^ w/ Lifeguard, Friko, Post Office Winter * w/ Dummy
Keep your mind open.
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[Thanks to Jaycee and Jessica at Pitch Perfect PR.]
Coming hot on the heels of their 2021 album, Charismatic Megafauna, Psymon Spine‘s Charismatic Mutationsis a remix of the aforementioned album that features guest remixes from collaborators such as Joe Goddard from Hot Chip, Each Other, and Bucky Boudreau.
Goddard’s remix of “Milk” is first, and it’s lovely and peppy – a fine way to kick off a record of highly danceable and spring break road trip tracks. The “Love Injection Euphoric remix” of “Jumprope” is perfectly named because it’s made to boost your vibrational patterns, give you energy, and probably connect you to various luminous beings.
Brother Michael‘s “Downstairs at Eric’s remix” of “Jacket” gets extra points for referencing Yaz and for being so damn funky. “Modmed” turns into space station lounge grooves with Dar Disku‘s “Balearic Touch” mix of it. Each Other’s remix of “Solution” is almost an industrial dance track. Their synth and drum machine work on it is stunning. The “Safer” remix of “Jumprope” has bass so thick you can almost slice it, and Bucky Boudreaux’s remix of “Different Patterns” almost makes it into a torch song for androids.
There isn’t a weak remix on here, which is not always the case for remix albums. Psymon Spine chose their collaborators and ideas well.
Keep your mind open.
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Today, Panamá-born, Chicago-based drummer Daniel Villarreal announces his debut album, Panamá 77, out May 20th on International Anthem (IA), and presents its lead single “Uncanny.” Villarreal has long been a widely known and beloved character on the Chicago music scene. If he’s not DJing somewhere on bustling 18th Street in Pilsen, he’s playing drums with Dos Santos, Valebol, The Los Sundowns or Ida y Vuelta (all bands he co-leads), or sitting in with Wild Belle or Rudy De Anda. Named for his home country and birth year, Panamá 77 is a vibrant and verdant suite of multi-textural, jazz-laced psychedelic instrumental folk-funk that fuses his past and present. He describes the album as, “an affirmation of both my origin story and who I’m today. I see my life and my music as a collaboration of improvisation and intention all in the spirit of community and joy.”
Villarreal wields a wide range of knowledge and skill in various stripes of folkloric Latin music; but, ironically, he didn’t play traditional Latin music until he moved to the States from his hometown Panamá City 20 years ago. His deepest roots in drumming are from the progressive punk and hardcore scenes of Central America, where his bands NOHAYDIA and 2 Huevos 1 Camino toured in the late 90s. His music career rests on those formative experiences.
The first decade of Villarreal’s life in the States was spent living on a farm near Woodstock, IL, where he was a social worker helping migrant laborers reach community health clinics, and raised two daughters. His spare time went to nurturing his passion for drums, which eventually led him to Chicago. After another decade of non-stop sideman work, including the growing national awareness and success of Dos Santos, he began to envision a solo record. A handful of studio experiments got Villarreal close, but it wasn’t until he traveled to Los Angeles for a gig in 2019 that he caught a lasting spark. A simple stereo recording of Villarreal improvising with a first-time ensemble of friends – including Elliot Bergman (Wild Belle), Jeff Parker, Kellen Harrison, and Bardo Martinez (Chicano Batman) – launched the album process, with help from engineer Dave Vettraino.
As Villarreal and Vettraino dove into post-production, the need for more material to fill out the album became clear, so sessions were scheduled with players from Villareal’s and IA’s shared circles. Guitarist Nathan Karagianis, who also plays with Dos Santos, joined them at Jamdek Studios in Chicago along with organist Cole DeGenova and bassist Gordon Walters. In Los Angeles at Chicali Outpost (aka the garden behind IA co-founder Scottie McNiece’s home), Villarreal recorded again with Martinez on bass and synths, Kyle Davis on keyboards, Anna Butterss on bass, and Parker on guitar. Villarreal spent much of 2021 adding layers of percussion, editing and piecing the music together with Vettraino at IA studios in Chicago.
The Chicali Outpost session was recorded by engineer Ben Lumsdaine outdoors in open air. One of the most electric tunes from that session is today’s “Uncanny,” a psychedelic funk dub with spacey William Onyeabor-style synths. Villarreal recalls that “we were jamming in Bardo’s little garage studio the night before we did the recording at Scottie’s house. I remember starting the main groove and Bardo jumping in with a wacky bass line. We celebrated how weird it was even though we weren’t playing the same groove together, it came out in a strange, wonderful way that surprised us.”
The album also features Aquiles Navarro (of Irreversible Entanglements) on horns for “Uncanny,” and Marta Sofia Honer, who wrote string arrangements and recorded a Curtis Mayfield-style symphony of violins and violas for “Cali Colors” and “18th & Morgan.”
This summer, hallucinatory keyboard wizard Marco Benevento pulls back the curtain on his latest studio effort, simply titled, Benevento. Due June 10 on Royal Potato Family, the 11-track collection presents 40-minutes of small-batch psychedelia, bubbled up from his home studio (Fred Short Studios) at the base of the Catskill Mountains in Woodstock, NY. Its title nods to Paul McCartney‘s first solo album and like Macca’s eponymous release, Benevento is a similarly loose, low-key affair where song sketches and sunrise jams share space with more constructed tracks. Benevento plays all of the instruments with exception of percussion from Mamadouba ‘Mimo’ Camara and backing vocals by his wife and kids on a handful of songs. He also produced and engineered the recording. The album’s latest single “Marco & Mimo,” which sets Afro-Caribbean melodic lines and sing-song, earworm vocals against the bump ‘n’ grind of Camara’s percussion, is out today (listen/share), while pre-order is available here.
“This record really acts as a psychedelic window into my studio and my brain,” Benevento explains. “The studio was a good place to be trapped for the last few years. I was surrounded by tape machines and gear. The album started to become this document of a crazy dude losing his mind in the woods—and maybe regaining it.”
Recording was conducted amidst stacks of gear in varying states of repair, all fodder for inspiration during long quarantine-dictated solo jam sessions. In this environment, Benevento unlocked his archives, mining for unfinished song ideas, and surrendered to the machines, coaxing beats and melodies from both go-to favorites and gear that had long been collecting dust. Benevento has since decamped to a new, significantly larger, home studio. As such, the album also acts as a swan song for his former workspace.
“Wall-to-wall keyboards, mics, amps, drums, the place was about to explode,” Benevento laughs.
In contrast to Let It Slide, his minimalistic 2019 full-length collaboration with producer Leon Michels, Benevento is heavily saturated and experimental, built from countless layers of keyboards, bounced to 4-track tape. Deeply indebted to the West African psychedelia of artists such as Francis Bebey, Kiki Gyan and William Onyeabor, the songs are rhythmic and repetitive, built into thick mosaics of sound. Each track features at least one keyboard solo, allowing Benevento ample time to explore sounds from the deepest recesses of his gear collection.
For the five songs with vocals, Benevento collaborated on lyrics with Al Howard, a San Diego-based poet. Howard handed over a 10 pages of lyrical sketches which Benevento worked into his tracks, occasionally chopping and mixing the lines or adding in words of his own.
“It was a new thing for me to dive in to—using someone’s lyrics,” Benevento says. “Or, I should say, finding a way to fit someone else’s lyrics into my tunes. I was a bit fed up with my own lyrical ideas, and was immediately drawn to Al’s writing.”
Despite stresses of the global pandemic, the vibe at Fred Short Studios was deeply peaceful and creative as Benevento patiently worked through years of accumulated ideas, lost, as he says, in the wonder of Woodstock. The experience ended up being so inspiring that—in another nod to McCartney—Benevento II is already in the works.
“I guess all my records are kind of experimental and weird, but this one is really unique,” Benevento says. “Records are snapshots of time, and this is from a time when it was just me, dialing knobs and making mixes and inventing how things could sound.”
As such, Benevento is sonic time capsule, a wormhole beckoning listeners to enter and explore. Throw away your preconceptions of time and space and dive in.
Benevento is out June 10 on Limited Edition Bubblegum Pink 180-Gram Vinyl, Classic Black 180-Gram Vinyl and Digital formats from Royal Potato Family. Pre-order available HERE
Marco Benevento Tour Dates:
4/7 – Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair 4/8 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground 4/9 – Fairfield, CT – Stage One 6/22 – Rochester, NY – Abilene 6/23 – Pittsburgh, PA – Thunderbird 6/24 – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom 6/25 – Rothbury, MI – Electric Forest Festival 7/1 – Scranton, PA – Peach Music Festival 7/3 – Quincy, CA – High Sierra Music Festival 9/3 – Portland, ME – Ghostland Festival
