Austin bands – 7th Level Music

Blushing present another luscious single, “Seafoam,” ahead of new album due May 03rd.

Blushing — the Austin, TX-based dream pop band consisting of the double husband and wife pairs of Christina and Noe Carmona and Michelle and Jacob Soto — present a new single/video, “Seafoam,” from their forthcoming album, Sugarcoat, out May 3rd via Kanine. Following lead single “Tamagotchi,” “Seafoam” is an intoxicating blend of post-punk, dark dream pop and nineties riot grrrl. It features former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist Jeff Schroeder, who was able to record lead guitar during some down time while on tour with Smashing Pumpkins. His guitar is laser focused over a brooding bass line and sweet then scalding vocals, as Christina sings of the anger that comes with a dwindling romance. “While chatting after a Smashing Pumpkins concert one night, we made a joke about Jeff playing lead guitar on the next album,” says the band. “A few years later when Sugarcoat was being recorded we decided to see if Jeff would be interested in making the suggestion a reality. He enthusiastically accepted and later sent over a guitar track that flowed perfectly with ‘Seafoam.’”

Watch Blushing’s Video for “Seafoam”

Sugarcoat is the follow-up to two EPs, 2017’s Tether and 2018’s Weak, their self-titled debut, and 2022’s Possessions. They didn’t want to create an album where each song was made to fit into the same mold. Instead, they decided to run with each idea no matter which direction it was facing, resulting in an album that is somewhat of a sampler of the group’s collective influences. While there are certainly tracks immediately recognizable as “Blushing” songs, this album is where the band get to explore their love for expanding genres, from post-punk, psych-gaze, grunge-pop, indie-pop, slowcore, and beyond. Lyrically the album asks many questions, reaching out for someone to provide answers or for the answers to come from within. There is a lot of uncertainty in the world as well as personally. Getting older, questioning past decisions, and the constant unknown of the future.

On Sugarcoat, Blushing’s dynamism is on full display, flitting effortlessly from spacey psychedelia to twee pop jangle with finesse and panache. Having enlisted Elliot Frazier (Ringo Deathstarr) and Mark Gardener (Ride) for engineering, mixing, and mastering duties, Sugarcoat is a dense, reverb-laden exploration of alt-rock’s 40 year history that conjures up concord from chaos.

This summer, they’ll support Slater and Airiel across North America, along with headline dates in Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and more. Following, they’ll head over to the UK to play shows with Ringo Deathstarr. All dates can be found below.

Watch Blushing’s Video for “Tamagotchi”

Pre-order Sugarcoat

Blushing Tour Dates (new dates in bold)
Thu. May 2 – Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas (album release show)
Wed. May 15 – San Antonio, TX @ Vibes Underground *
Thu. May 16 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada *
Sat. May 18 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall *
Sun. May 19 – McAllen, TX @ The Gremlin *
Fri. June 14 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Resonant Head
Sat. June 15 – Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge
Sun. June 16 – Nashville, TN @ 5 spot
Tue. June 18 – Washington, DC @ Pie Shop %
Wed. June 19 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s %
Thu. June 20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right %
Fri. June 21 – Boston, MA @ Deep Cuts %
Sat. June 22 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground %
Sun. June 23 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz %
Mon. June 24 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison %
Wed. June 26 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr Smalls Funhouse %
Thu. June 27 – Detroit, MI @ Small’s %
Fri. June 28 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland
Sat. June 29 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas
Mon. July 1 – Denver, CO @ Skylark Lounge
Wed. July 3 – Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey
Thu. July 4 – Portland, OR @ The Six
Fri. July 5 – San Francisco, CA @ Kilowatt
Sat. July 6 – Los Angeles, CA @ Moroccan Lounge
Sun. July 7 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge
Mon. July 8 – El Paso, TX @ Rosewood
Sun. Sept. 1 – Cambridge, UK @ Portland Arms ^
Mon. Sept. 2 – Birmingham, UK @ Academy 3 ^
Tue. Sept. 3 – Leeds, UK @ Old Woollen ^
Wed. Sept. 4 – Glasgow, UK @ Stereo ^
Thu. Sept. 5 – Manchester, UK @ The Deaf Institute ^
Fri. Sept. 6 – London, UK @ O2 Academy Islington ^
Sat. Sept. 7 – Brighton, UK @ Dust ^

* = w/ Slater
%= w/ Airiel
^= w/ Ringo Deathstarr

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

[Thanks to Jaycee at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Blushing announce new album, “Sugarcoat,” and single, “Tamagotchi.”

Blushing — the Austin, TX-based dream pop band consisting of the double husband and wife pairs of Christina and Noe Carmona and Michelle and Jacob Soto — announce their new album Sugarcoat, out May 3rd via Kanine, and a North American tour. In conjunction, they present an infectious lead single/video, “Tamagotchi.” On Sugarcoat, Blushing’s dynamism is on full display, flitting effortlessly from spacey psychedelia to twee pop jangle with finesse and panache. Having enlisted Elliot Frazier (Ringo Deathstarr) and Mark Gardener (Ride) for engineering, mixing, and mastering duties, Sugarcoat is a dense, reverb-laden exploration of alt-rock’s 40 year history that conjures up concord from chaos.

Blushing as a band would not exist if not for a dive bar in Austin. Coincidentally, both couples met each other there on different nights. Eventually, the band began in 2015. Michelle had been casually writing songs and had a few rough melodies forged over her rudimentary guitar skills. Soon after reaching out to and jamming with Christina, a classically trained vocalist, they had a batch of ideas and regular practice. While trying to fill out the rest of the band, they were unable to ignore the fact that their husbands happened to be a guitar player (Noe) and a drummer (Jacob). By 2018, Blushing had released two EPs, 2017’s self-released “Tether” and 2018’s “Weak” (Austin Town Hall Records), and were playing shows in Austin fairly regularly. Following a chance encounter with Elliott Frazier (Ringo Deathstarr), who was a fan of Blushing’s prior work, he invited the group to his recording studio, which led to rough demos of what would ultimately be tracks for Blushing’s first full length, self-titled record. Blushing would work with Frazier again on 2022’s Possessions, which channels the dreamlike qualities of 4AD’s most ethereal bands paired with the guitar-forward approach of early 90s American indie rock.

Immediately after the band wrapped the recording sessions for Possessions, they began writing songs that would become Sugarcoat. Noe or Christina would upload a new song idea to a Google Drive almost daily, and within the hour Michelle would have melody and lyrics fully formed. They didn’t want to create an album where each song was made to fit into the same mold. Instead, they decided to run with each idea no matter which direction it was facing, resulting in an album that is somewhat of a sampler of the group’s collective influences. While there are certainly tracks immediately recognizable as “Blushing” songs, this album is where the band get to explore their love for expanding genres, from post-punk, psych-gaze, grunge-pop, indie-pop, slowcore, and beyond. Lyrically the album asks many questions, reaching out for someone to provide answers or for the answers to come from within. There is a lot of uncertainty in the world as well as personally. Getting older, questioning past decisions, and the constant unknown of the future.

Bursting with playfulness, today’s first taste “Tamagotchi” crunches and wails through an energetic, anthemic chorus harkening back to the most feverish nineties alt-rock style. It tells a tale of indecision of the heart and the desire to be a playable character in the game of love and have the big decisions made for you. Would you still feel heartache if someone else was pushing the buttons? The accompanying video, directed by and featuring the band, is vibrant and charming.

Watch Blushing’s Video for “Tamagotchi”

Between their recent Japan tour with Softcult, extensive stateside touring, multiple appearances on live-session staples like LEVITATION, SXSW showcases, and sharing stages with Snail Mail, Blonde Redhead, Beabadoobee and countless others, it’s clear that Blushing’s mastery of their craft is hardly mysterious. On their newly-announced North American tour, they’ll support Slater and Airiel, along with headline dates in Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and more. Tickets are on sale now and a full list can be found below.

Pre-order Sugarcoat

Blushing Tour Dates
Fri. March 15 – Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas (SXSW official showcase)
Thu. May 2 – Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas (album release show)
Wed. May 15 – San Antonio, TX @ Vibes Underground *
Thu. May 16 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada *
Sat. May 18 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall *
Sun. May 19 – McAllen, TX @ The Gremlin *
Fri. June 14 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Resonant Head
Sat. June 15 – Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge
Sun. June 16 – Nashville, TN @ 5 spot
Tue. June 18 – Washington, DC @ Pie Shop %
Wed. June 19 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s %
Thu. June 20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right %
Fri. June 21 – Boston, MA @ Deep Cuts %
Sat. June 22 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground %
Sun. June 23 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz %
Mon. June 24 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison %
Wed. June 26 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr Smalls Funhouse %
Thu. June 27 – Detroit, MI @ Small’s %
Fri. June 28 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland
Sat. June 29 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas
Mon. July 1 – Denver, CO @ Skylark Lounge
Wed. July 3 – Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey
Thu. July 4 – Portland, OR @ The Six
Fri. July 5 – San Francisco, CA @ Kilowatt
Sat. July 6 – Los Angeles, CA @ Moroccan Lounge
Sun. July 7 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge
Mon. July 8 – El Paso, TX @ Rosewood

* = w/ Slater
%= w/ Airiel

Keep your mind open.

[Why not subscribe while you’re here?]

[Thanks to Jaycee at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Club Coma (self-titled)

Hailing from Austin, Texas and playing sold-out shows before they even released any music, Club Coma (Geoff Earle – synth, bass, and vocals, Scott Martin – guitar and vocals, and Aaron Perez – drums) play a neat mix of experimental rock, dance rock, and shoegaze on their debut, self-titled album.

Opener “Give Me a Chance” sounds like something Thundercat might cook up, and I’m sure he’ll be jealous that he didn’t create something so funky when he hears it. “The Mirror” has a bit of a dance-punk sound to it, and “New Cruelty” even adds goth-synth touches. “I’m frightened of my TV screen. I’m scared of the things it’ll do to me. I’m scared of the phone in my pocket. I keep checking, and I don’t know how to stop it,” Martin sings on “TV Screen.” Seriously, dude, we’re all with you on this (and the addictive beats of the song only help the imagery).

“I went through that bad shit, and now I’m immune,” they sing on “Immune,” an empowering track that has Perez knocking out a steady beat perfect for your bicycling playlist, Earle getting his groovy synth groove groovin’, and Martin reminding us that we’ve come through a lot in the past few years, and we can, and should, think of ourselves as bad asses from this day forward.

Their cover of The James Gang‘s “Collage” is sharp. They turn it into a synthwave stunner. “It hit me hard like a lightning bolt,” they sing at the start of “Anesthesia,” a song that might be about addiction, or it might be about, finally, getting a rest after all the stuff mentioned in “Immune.” The looping string section in it takes the track up a few notches. It’s a wild touch. “Keep It Together” gets dreamy for the final song, making you feel like the gentleman on the cover, an image of a modern Icarus, falling into the arms of people who seem happy to see him. You’re falling, or perhaps floating, into a calmer state in that club where being in a coma for a little while might do you good.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Dave at US / THEM Group.]

Review: Holy Wave – Five of Cups

Depending on whom you ask, the Five of Cups tarot card can symbolize disappointment, regret, or being stuck in a past you won’t leave. If the card is presented upside-down, it can mean you’ve moved on from such things, or are about to do so.

Austin, Texas psych-rockers Holy Wave seemed to have a mixture of both feelings when they made their newest album, Five of Cups. They’ve openly discussed how, with tours being canceled and venues closing all over the world, that a career in music was pretty much a bust. The world was full of pessimism and anger. Thankfully, instead of succumbing to all of it, they channeled the energy into this record.

The weird synths that boldly open title track set us off on an introspective journey as Ryan Fuson sings about fat cats getting fatter while the rest of us spend most of our time in a metaphorical hamster wheel to keep those cats fat. For such despairing lyrics, the song is rather lovely. “Bog Song” is just as lovely, with bright guitars from Fuson and Kyle Hager throughout it. I’m not sure if Fuson’s guitar or Julian Ruiz‘s drums are trippier on “Chaparral,” but Hager’s electric piano and synths add a nice slice of 1970s psych to the already smoky track. In it, the band make references to their original home town of El Paso, Texas and both the good and not-so-good things they left there when they moved to Austin to pursue that music career that would be derailed (along with everyone else’s) in 2019.

The find the best way to ride out the bad energy of the last couple years on “Path of Least Resistance.” Be like water, my friend. I mean, the guitars on this track certainly flow and (holy) wave like those at a Texas beachfront. They keep walking their groovy Zen path (with Joseph Cook‘s bass leading the way) on “Nothing Is Real.” The past to which you’re clinging? It’s not real. It never was. The future about which you’re stressing? That’s not real either. It never will be. The dreamy instrumentation and vocals encourage you to be here now. The present is the only real thing.

We all felt some sense of “Hypervigilance” at some point in the last four years, and many still feel it. “I’m not like you, ’cause they can’t find me,” Fuson sings, wanting to get away from everyone and everything, but knowing in his heart that such a path can lead to madness. He decides to find solace in truth (“I have a secret power. I can see through your shit.”) and, again, just be here now with that truth. The sound of “The Darkest Timeline” seems to indicate it was recorded in an empty pool, an abandoned theatre, a ghost town, or a shopping mall with only five stores left in it. In other words, it sounds amazing (and gets added flair from Mexican psych-duo Lorelle Meets the Obsolete helping out on the track).

By the time we get to “Nothing in the Dark,” Holy Wave are cranking the fuzz and vocal distortions as if to obliterate their fears and ours of what’s lurking outside our homes. The album ends with “Happier,” and the band, and us, coming out of that scary darkness into bright light, turning that Five of Cups card upside-down and deciding to move on from all of it.

If you’re going through hell, keep going. Don’t stop and hang out there. That’s the message of Five of Cups. You can get through it. You can emerge happier. I’m glad they did.

Keep your mind open.

[I’ll be happier if you subscribe.]

[Thanks to Andi at Terrorbird Media.]

Holy Wave release “Nothing in the Dark” from upcoming “Five of Cups” album due August 04, 2023.

Today, Austin, Texas outfit Holy Wave continue to push their historically psychedelic sound with intricate, heady single “Nothing in the Dark”, premiering on post-trash. It’s accompanied by a beautifully-shot, atmospheric visual, directed by Vanessa Pla. The track follows airy “Bog Song,” and psych-tinged single “Happier” featuring Mint Field’s Estrella del Sol.

Both songs taken from their upcoming new album Five of Cups, out August 4, 2023 on Suicide Squeeze Records.

The band have also announced further US + UK/EU fall tour dates.

On the track, band member, Cook offers: “Nothing in the Dark is about how easy it is to let fear take over and control what you do and don’t do, how distractions can keep you from the things you want or disguise themselves as what you want. But when the light disappears from your life, like shadows, the distractions fade away, and you’re left with just yourself and the darkness. So I guess the song is about moving past the fear of the shadows; you can see in the light so that you don’t end up sitting alone in the dark.”

On the video, band member, Fuson offers: “We all acted in the video, but we also did the set design and all the props. Since it was a super small budget, we had to wear a bunch of hats to afford to pay the people who were good at their jobs, haha. The director Vanessa Pla also made some mean carnitas for the crew. They were fire.”

Tour dates
Live Dates
Aug 8 – Andy’s – Denton, TX
Aug 9 – Opolis – Norman, OK
Aug 11 – Back Alley Ballyhoo – Indianapolis, IN
Aug 12 – JJs Bohemia – Chattanooga, TN
Aug 13 – Upstairs at Avondale – Birmingham, AL
Aug 15 – Alabama Music Box – Mobile, AL
Aug 16 – Continental Club – Houston, TX
Aug 17 – Paper Tiger – San Antonio, TX
Oct 12 – Constellation Room – Santa Ana, CA
Oct 14 – Sister – Albuquerque, NM
Oct 15 – Hi-Dive – Denver, CO
Oct 17 – Sleeping Village – Chicago, IL
Oct 18 – Lager House – Detroit, MI
Oct 20 – No Fun – Troy, NY
Oct 21 – Mercury Lounge – NYC, NY
Oct 22 – Baby’s All Right – Brooklyn, NY
Oct 23 – Metro Baltimore – Baltimore, MD
Oct 25 – Gasa Gasa – New Orleans, LA
Oct 26 – Levitation – Austin, TX
Oct 29 – Love Buzz – El Paso, TX
Oct 30 – The Rebel Lounge – Phoenix, AZ
Oct 31 – Casbah – San Diego, CA
Nov 1 – Lodge Room – Highland Park, CA
11/7 – Lille, FR – L’Aéronef
11/8 – Groningen, NL – Vera
11/9 – Copenhagen, DK – Stengade
11/10 – Berlin, DE – Kesselhaus
11/11 – Halle, DE – Huhnermanhattan
11/12 – Prague, CZ – Cafe V Lese
11/13 – Munich, DE – Milla
11/16- Bucharest, RO – Control Club
11/17 – Belgrade, SE – Dom Onladine
11/19 – Zagreb, HR – Vintage Industrial
11/21 – Lyon, FR – Le Sonic
11/22 – Barcelona, ES – Sala Upload
11/23 – San Sebastian, ES – Dabadaba
11/24 – Madrid, ES – Wurlitzer Ballroom
11/28 – Vigo, ES – Kominski
11/30 – Bordeaux, FR – Allez Les Filles
12/1 – Paris, FR – Point Ephemere
12/2 – Brussels, BE – Botanique
12/3 – The Hague, NL – Hink Festival
12/4 – Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso
12/6 – Brighton, UK – The Hope & Ruin
12/7 – Bristol, UK – Crofters Rights
12/8 – Manchester, UK – YES
12/9 – Glasgow, UK – Stereo
12/10 Newcastle, UK – Cluny 2
12/11 – Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club
12/12 – London, UK – Moth Club

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t leave your e-mail inbox with nothing. Subscribe today.]

[Thanks to Andi at Terrorbird Media.]

Holy Wave release “Bog Song” ahead of their new album due August 04, 2023.

Today, Austin, Texas band Holy Wave continue to push their historically psychedelic sound in an airy, ‘90s-indebted direction on the single “Bog Song”. The dream-poppy track is accompanied by a retro futuristic visual, put together by band member Ryan Fuson and animator Joshua Kirk Ryan. It follows psych-tinged single “Happier” which features Mint Field’s Estrella del Sol. Both songs taken from their upcoming new album Five of Cups, out August 4, 2023 on Suicide Squeeze Records. The band also have select upcoming US tour dates this summer.

On the track, Fuson offers: “Bog Song is a recounting of a trip I took with my dad in Idaho while he was guiding some elk hunters. I was both in awe of the landscape and wildlife while also feeling conflicted about our reasons for being in the mountains. I would sit in the dark, before the sun would come up, and look into the mountains and hills for elk. Sometimes seeing headlights cruising along some mountain road and I would wonder what their drivers intentions were and if the animals in those mountains ever watched headlights like those and wondered the same.”

In Tarot readings, the Five of Cups card signifies loss and grief. Depicting a cloaked figure with a bowed head looming over three spilled chalices while ignoring two remaining vessels, the Five of Cups is generally interpreted as representing a forlorn dwelling on the past and an inability to appreciate the positive things in the present. It was this card that struck a chord with vocalist/guitarist Ryan Fuson, member of the Austin TX subversive subterranean pop outfit Holy Wave, during a Tarot reading at the height of the pandemic. “I was really sure that the music world was finished and it seemed like internet aggression and, well, aggression in general was at an all-time high, so I was ready to stop playing music,” Fuson says. “It could be so easy to become jaded and pessimistic and I had to really decide what perspective I was going to take.”Rather than abandon music, Fuson and his compatriots chose to immerse themselves in their work. Fittingly, the Tarot card became the muse for Holy Wave’s sixth full-length album—Five of Cups.

Back at the beginning of their fifteen-year career, Holy Wave leaned into a tranquil realm of psychedelia, eschewing long-form jams and guitar heroics for a dreamy pop-oriented approach. As the band evolved, the early Sgt. Peppers-meets-the-Velvets sound yielded to more sophisticated melodies and tripped-out instrumentation, effectively steering their music away from sun-bleached nostalgia to a color-saturated dimension where sounds of the past, present, and future intermingled.

The childhood friends of Fuson, Joey Cook, Kyle Hager, and Julian Ruiz grew up in El Paso, where they cut their teeth in the local DIY scene. Hungry for more music and broader perspectives, the members made frequent road trips across the Southwest to catch touring bands who opted to skip West Texas markets. That wanderlust eventually prompted their relocation to Austin, but it also permeated in their adventurous songwriting and love for touring. No small surprise then that these aural explorers felt that a whole way of life was taken from them with the onset of the pandemic. But on Five of Cups, it sounds as if the physical limitations of quarantine life prompted Holy Wave to wander even deeper into new sonic territories.

Five of Cups opens with the title track, establishing the album’s auditory and thematic modus operandi from the get-go. Holy Wave’s lysergic textural palette is immediately apparent in the song’s woozy synth lead and anti-gravity guitar jangle, but the atypical chord progressions and vocal melody steers the music away from anodyne escapism into a pensive grappling between self-determination and defeatism. Holy Wave continue to ride the wistful and phantasmic train on “Bog Song,” where the members vacillate between swells of austere minor chords and layered electric orchestration. From there, the previously released digital single “Chaparral” plays with the band’s own sense of nostalgia, weaving references of their El Paso past into a tapestry of transcendental triumph.

Like so much classic album-oriented rock music, the real magic begins to unfold in the latter half of Five of Cups. On “The Darkest Timeline,” Holy Wave recruits their friends Lorena Quintanilla and Alberto Gonzalez from the Baja California, Mexico psych duo Lorelle Meets the Obsolete to add additional ethereal layers to their intoxicating after-midnight grooves. “Nothing in the Dark” functions on a similar principle, using a steady propulsive drum pattern as the bedrock to tape-warbled synths, arpeggiated guitar chords, jet streams of fuzz, and serene vocals. Five of Cups’ ruminations on combating defeat and disappointment are directly confronted on album closer “Happier.” Once again straddling the melodic line between melancholy and breezy sophistication, Holy Wave examines the synthetic construct of happiness in our modern age and how so often the attainment of comfort lacks any true sense of joy. Yet this isn’t some nihilistic dirge. Rather, it translates as a buoyant reminder that the bandwidth of human experience inherently requires peaks and valleys, and that euphoria is often found in the search outside of the familiar.

As with the Tarot card from which it got its name, Five of Cups is an acknowledgement of hardship and a reminder to embrace the joys available to us. And like early ‘70s Pink Floyd, Holy Wave have figured out how to conjure a sense of profound exhilaration out of pathos, filtering dark elements through a lens and bending them into a kaleidoscope of light.

Suicide Squeeze is proud to present Holy Wave’s Five of Cups on CD/LP/DSP on August 4, 2023.

Live Dates
Aug 8 – Andy’s – Denton, TX
Aug 9 – Opolis – Norman, OK
Aug 11 – Back Alley Ballyhoo – Indianapolis, IN
Aug 12 – JJs Bohemia – Chattanooga, TN
Aug 13 – Upstairs at Avondale – Birmingham, AL
Aug 15 – Alabama Music Box – Mobile, AL
Aug 16 – Continental Club – Houston, TX
Aug 17 – Paper Tiger – San Antonio, TX

Keep your mind open.

[Why not subscribe while you’re here?]

[Thanks to Andi at Terrorbird Media.]

Holy Wave’s new single will leave you “Happier” than you were before you heard it.

Today, Austin, Texas band Holy Wave announce their new album Five Of Cups, out August 4, 2023 on Suicide Squeeze Records. In addition to the announcement, listen to the psych-tinged single “Happier,” premiering on FLOOD Magazine, and features vocals from Mexico-City songwriter and instrumentalist Estrella del Sol, of the band Mint Field. The track sounds like it was unearthed from a time capsule buried on a commune in 1970s California. It’s accompanied by an appropriately dark, trippy video directed by Arturo Baston that only heightens the acid-washed listening experience.
The band have also announced a string of August US tour dates.

On the track, Fuson offers: “We had been working on this song on and off again for a while and it all kind of came together right before we started recording this album. The song is loosely a song to Kurt Vonnegut, and a song taking some of his ideas and quotes and exploring them a little further. Mainly just a song about happiness today and maybe where it was during his time. While recording this song we knew that we wanted something unique for the outro, but we didn’t really know what it was that we were looking for, so we sent the song to Estrella and basically asked her to do whatever she thought was right and she completely exceeded our vision. It really took the song to a whole new level, some place we have never been before.”

In Tarot readings, the Five of Cups card signifies loss and grief. Depicting a cloaked figure with a bowed head looming over three spilled chalices while ignoring two remaining vessels, the Five of Cups is generally interpreted as representing a forlorn dwelling on the past and an inability to appreciate the positive things in the present. It was this card that struck a chord with vocalist/guitarist Ryan Fuson, member of the Austin TX subversive subterranean pop outfit Holy Wave, during a Tarot reading at the height of the pandemic. “I was really sure that the music world was finished and it seemed like internet aggression and, well, aggression in general was at an all-time high, so I was ready to stop playing music,” Fuson says. “It could be so easy to become jaded and pessimistic and I had to really decide what perspective I was going to take.”Rather than abandon music, Fuson and his compatriots chose to immerse themselves in their work. Fittingly, the Tarot card became the muse for Holy Wave’s sixth full-length album—Five of Cups.

Back at the beginning of their fifteen-year career, Holy Wave leaned into a tranquil realm of psychedelia, eschewing long-form jams and guitar heroics for a dreamy pop-oriented approach. As the band evolved, the early Sgt. Peppers-meets-the-Velvets sound yielded to more sophisticated melodies and tripped-out instrumentation, effectively steering their music away from sun-bleached nostalgia to a color-saturated dimension where sounds of the past, present, and future intermingled.

The childhood friends of Fuson, Joey Cook, Kyle Hager, and Julian Ruiz grew up in El Paso, where they cut their teeth in the local DIY scene. Hungry for more music and broader perspectives, the members made frequent road trips across the Southwest to catch touring bands who opted to skip West Texas markets. That wanderlust eventually prompted their relocation to Austin, but it also permeated in their adventurous songwriting and love for touring. No small surprise then that these aural explorers felt that a whole way of life was taken from them with the onset of the pandemic. But on Five of Cups, it sounds as if the physical limitations of quarantine life prompted Holy Wave to wander even deeper into new sonic territories.

Five of Cups opens with the title track, establishing the album’s auditory and thematic modus operandi from the get-go. Holy Wave’s lysergic textural palette is immediately apparent in the song’s woozy synth lead and anti-gravity guitar jangle, but the atypical chord progressions and vocal melody steers the music away from anodyne escapism into a pensive grappling between self-determination and defeatism. Holy Wave continue to ride the wistful and phantasmic train on “Bog Song,” where the members vacillate between swells of austere minor chords and layered electric orchestration. From there, the previously released digital single “Chaparral” plays with the band’s own sense of nostalgia, weaving references of their El Paso past into a tapestry of transcendental triumph.

Like so much classic album-oriented rock music, the real magic begins to unfold in the latter half of Five of Cups. On “The Darkest Timeline,” Holy Wave recruits their friends Lorena Quintanilla and Alberto Gonzalez from the Baja California, Mexico psych duo Lorelle Meets the Obsolete to add additional ethereal layers to their intoxicating after-midnight grooves. “Nothing in the Dark” functions on a similar principle, using a steady propulsive drum pattern as the bedrock to tape-warbled synths, arpeggiated guitar chords, jet streams of fuzz, and serene vocals. Five of Cups’ ruminations on combating defeat and disappointment are directly confronted on album closer “Happier.” Once again straddling the melodic line between melancholy and breezy sophistication, Holy Wave examines the synthetic construct of happiness in our modern age and how so often the attainment of comfort lacks any true sense of joy. Yet this isn’t some nihilistic dirge. Rather, it translates as a buoyant reminder that the bandwidth of human experience inherently requires peaks and valleys, and that euphoria is often found in the search outside of the familiar.

As with the Tarot card from which it got its name, Five of Cups is an acknowledgement of hardship and a reminder to embrace the joys available to us. And like early ‘70s Pink Floyd, Holy Wave have figured out how to conjure a sense of profound exhilaration out of pathos, filtering dark elements through a lens and bending them into a kaleidoscope of light.

Suicide Squeeze is proud to present Holy Wave’s Five of Cups on CD/LP/DSP on August 4, 2023.

Keep your mind open.

[I’d be happier if you subscribed.]

[Thanks to Andi at Terrorbird Media.]

Holy Water shares their first single from upcoming debut album.

Austin band Holy Water share the first single single today from their forthcoming self-titled debut album via Metal Injection. Hear and share “Waterest Him With Tears” HERE. (Direct Bandcamp)

Heavy music is experiencing a renaissance of innovation and creativity, while most of contemporary music genres have stagnated in recent years.

Case in point: Holy Water, a powerful new step merging heavy doom guitars, stoic experimentalists like Caspar Brötzmann Massaker and Khanate mixed with early 80s proto-industrial sounds like Psychic TV and The Leather Nun, metalgaze melodies and hints of Wovenhand’s gothic folk. Yes, that’s a wide range of styles, but it shows just how deftly Holy Water, the nom-de-tune of vocalist/guitarist Jasper den Hartigh cuts its own sonic space.

Jasper den Hartigh was previously a member of critically praised New Orleans post-punk band Heat Dust, which released a handful of recordings on The Flenser label and toured with Thou and The Body.

Holy Water’s 11-song eponymous album was self-recorded in 2021, at home and at den Hartigh’s Austin rehearsal space. Help on drums came from Andrew Stevens, guitar from Neckbolt’s Ben Krause, and vocals from den Hartigh’s wife, Sarah Contey.

“The album came after an extensive creativity exercise I did called Compost-Turn,” den Hartigh explains. “In which I put out 7 releases from friends and myself as physical bookmarks. When it came time to work on a self-titled solo project, this helped the songs appear rapidly. This album was my attempt at making a pop-record, while trusting my gut, using lessons learned over the course of my entire musical life. From being in punk bands, to playing slowcore, to ambient noise, and heavy metal. The songs all have references to Dutch fairy tales but also contain more personal writing.”

Holy Water will be available on cassette and digital on February 3rd, 2023, LP to follow in summer. Cassette preorders via Primal Architecture, digital via Bandcamp and LP via Time Release.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Dave at US / THEM Group.]

Rewind Review: Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol – Burger Time Classics (2017)

The debut EP from Austin, Texas’ Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol, Burger Time Classics, is a protein-packed wallop in just six songs.

I mean, the opening chords and vocals of “Born to Lose” alone will smack you upside the head – and that’s before the heavy snare pounding and cymbal sizzling enters the fray. “Dickhead” starts sounds like an old Weezer track they never released and then drops chugging guitars that Weezer still dreams of playing.

“Maggot” is almost sludge metal. “Kill for the Thrill” is so hot and that it’s practically charbroiled. It’s hard to tell which instrument is putting out the most volume in it. The title of “All Beef, Patty” is not only funny, but it also lets you know what’s in store for you over the next three minutes and thirty-seven seconds: pure beefy rock with a little extra grease. “Maniac” has touches of thrash metal sprinkled in for good measure.

It’s short, but satisfying – not unlike a slider.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: The Black Angels – Wilderness of Mirrors

The Black Angels don’t get enough credit for the design of their album covers. The artwork is always mind-bending on them. Take, for instance, the cover of their newest record, Wilderness of Mirrors. It looks like a bunch of repeating right angles in various patterns, like a gigantic maze you can neither enter or exit. You feel like something is there, however. Then, you look at it just right, or look at it while you move it one way or another, and the message in the art reveals itself.

It’s the same with their music. Their songs are often multi-layered or have things you seem to hear only when in certain states of mind, in certain environments, or during certain types of weather.

“With a Trace” starts sounding muted and then bursts forth with hypnotizing fuzz. “History of the Future” has both a wonderful title (a meditation on how something will be perceived before it even exists) and some of the heaviest guitar riffs and drums on the record. It’s difficult at times to determine if Stephanie Bailey‘s beats or Christian Bland‘s guitars are dominating the song because they swing back and forth like Godzilla fighting King Kong.

“We can watch it all go to hell,” Alex Maas sings on “Empires Falling” – a song about the rage and cries for justice (“Our country’s bleeding from street to bloody street.”). It swirls and roars, serving as both a call to action and a warning. “El Jardín” is a psych-rock love song, the kind that The Black Angels do so well – a tale of love, mystery, probably death, and acceptance of whatever outcome the universe has planned.

On “La Pared (Govt. Wall Blues),” they sing about the impermanence of things that seem indestructible at first, and the rage they felt at a border wall being built in their home state of Texas (“You can build this wall of hate, but we’ll never separate.”). “Firefly” includes sexy French vocals in another song about lost love. “Make It Known” and “The River” are cool psych-drifts, the latter of which names Syd Barrett, Roky Erickson, and other psychedelic legends.

The title track has a dangerous swagger to it and sounds like it belongs in an A24 Studios horror film. “I’ve been trying to warn you, here and now, and always,” Maas sings on “Here & Now” – a dire warning about what we’re doing to Mother Earth. “100 Flowers of Paracusia” has an ethereal feel to it that floats back down to Earth with Morricone-like guitar chords.

“A Walk on the Outside” is a lyrical riff on Lou Reed‘s “Walk on the Wild Side,” and the heavy bass and wild synths spin around you like a kitten chasing a shoestring held by a little kid. “Vermillion Eyes” lifts you off the ground and lets you float there without worry. The soaring guitars on “Icon” then send you into outer space as Maas mentions Nico and The Velvet Underground (from whom the band get their name, in case you weren’t aware) and you’re soon lost in a neat state of being that’s difficult to describe. The album ends with “Suffocation,” an interesting name for a final track on an album about facing what’s within us (whether we want to or not) and breaking free of illusion. The track isn’t suffocating at all. It’s uplifting by the end. The Black Angels leave us with hope that we can remove our metaphorical masks and walk out of the wilderness we’ve created into something real and meaningful.

It’s their best album in a while – and that’s saying something since they’ve yet to release a bad record.

Keep your mind open.

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