The cover of Dion Lunadon‘s new album, Systems Edge, shows him holding a chain above a guitar. My guess is that he was just about to flog that guitar within an inch of its life with it, because that kind of (yes, Stooges-influenced) raw power is all over the record.
Opening track “Secrets” has him already pounding out raggedy, roaring chords with it, and on “Nikki” it sounds like the bellows of a robotic lion. The thick bass notes punch up the rock even more. It’s a song about a fling that ends in tragedy for at least one person involved, and maybe pleasure for another. “Diamond Sea” has a groovy surf-rock line that runs through it.
“I Walk Away” is, somehow, heavier and darker than everything before it, and Lunadon’s vocals are like a werewolf belting out a tune during transformation. “Rocks On” reminds me of “Mongoloid-era” Devo tracks where you have all kinds of fuzz and some sort of something that feels like it can erupt into full-blown chaos at any moment.
The bass and drums on “Shockwave” hit you like the song’s namesake. “Grind Me Down” has a New York Dolls feel to it with its swagger and garage rock guitars. After the brief instrumental of “Straight Down the Middle,” we get the great dis track, “I Don’t Mind,” in which Lunadon writes off an ex-lover / friend because they only bring him bad luck and headaches. The album closes with the near-doom heavy-psych of “Room with No View,” which sounds like Lunadon is playing his guitar with a lit sparkler he got at a dusty roadside fireworks stand.
For me, the coolest thing about Systems Edge is that Lunadon made a pure rock record. It’s heavy garage rock, to be certain, but it’s nice to hear a rock record that embraces and flaunts the power of distorted, fuzzed, dangerous rock. We don’t have enough rock records that feel at least a bit threatening. Thankfully, Lunadon is here to snarl and growl and shake up the room.
Chaos master Dion Lunadon has announced his newest solo album, Systems Edge, due out November 14, 2023. To whet your appetite for it, he’s already released the first single, “I Walk Away.”
On top of that, the album is already available for pre-order on vinyl and “shockwave” vinyland he’s already announced a tour across Europe in the next two months.
Can’t make any of these gigs? Why not go see him in New York for the album’s release party, then?
After releasing his self-titled debut album in 2017, Dion Lunadon (The D4, ex-A Place To Bury Strangers) is set to release his sophomore album – Beyond Everything June 10th via In The Red Records. Available forpre-orderHERE.
Today, Dion shares a second track; It’s The Truth, with a video directed by Alexander Barton. “This is one of my favorite songs on the record” says Dion. “It started with the opening drum beat and the rest came together quickly. It’s about me writing songs in my little hovel of a studio and looking forward to my wife’s return home from work. A “distance makes the heart grow fonder” kind of thing.”
Alexander Barton says; “In Dion’s live performance he has a wall of sound and noise, it’s very textural and real. About 3/4 of the way through his set, he drags a chain out of a bag like a snake wrangler presenting a cobra to the audience. It’s an exciting moment of the set where he breaks the routine of the rock formula and shares his experimental interests and the audience really laps it up. The cameras pop out and feed his exhibitionism. I make films that feel and use not only the beauty of film, but welcome the noise and error that come with the raw and naive nature of my tools. The chain as an object and material is a fully loaded symbol and historical icon which is a powerful character itself. I wanted to honor the chain for all its brilliance, referencing metal, design, rock n’ roll, violence, sculpture, industrialism, eroticism, and Jacob Marley. It’s The Truth is about material and the spectacle.”
Dion continues; “The record was written and recorded sporadically between 2017 and 2019. I probably wrote about 100 songs during this period. The first album was pretty relentless which I liked, but I wanted to make something more dynamic for the 2nd record. Something that could be more conducive to repeated listens. I’d get in my studio, come up with a song title, and start working on any ideas that I had. For example, with Elastic Diagnostic, the idea was to create a hum that evokes the sound of life coursing through your body. Everything else kind of formed around that idea.”
The lead single released last month, Living And Dying With You, was accompanied by an animated video by Mexico City animator, Julián Name.
Beyond Everything will be Dion’s first release on In The Red(an ideal match for his music), as well as his first full-length since departing A Place To Bury Strangers. Written, performed and recorded by Dion, the songs tap into a raw, palpable energy that blur the line between the music and the person. Drums on the record were played by Blaze Bateh (Bambara) and Nick Ferrante (The Black Hollies).
Dion will be touring with a full band in North America and Europe/UK throughout 2022. The US tour begins in Denver (some of the dates are supporting The Black Angels), with European and UK dates in November. All dates are listed below with more TBA. Tickets HERE.
Sat May 14 – Bethlehem, PA – National Sokols + Thur Jun 09 – Denver, CO – Ogden *Fri Jun 10 – Salt Lake City – Metro Music Hall *Sat Jun 11 – Boise, ID – Knitting Factory *Sun Jun 12 – Seattle, WA – The Crocodile *Mon Jun 13 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre Lounge Wed Jun 15 – Arcata, CA – Miniplex Thur Jun 16 – Petaluma, CA – Phoenix Theatre *Sat Jun 18 – Oakland, CA – Elbo Room Mon Jun 20 – Los Angeles, CA – Moroccan Lounge Wed Jun 22 – San Diego, CA – Music Box * Thur Nov 03 – Reignier, France – La Poulpe Fri Nov 04 – Gigors, France – Gigors Electric Sat Nov 05 – Torino, Italy – Blah Blah Sun Nov 06 – Zürich, CH – Safari Bar Mon Nov 07 – Fürth, Germany – Kunstkeller 027Wed Nov 09 – Hamburg, Germany – Hafenklang Thur Nov 10 – Berlin, Germany – 8mmFri Nov 11 – Regensburg, Germany – VOID CONCERT @ Alte Malzerai Mon Nov 14 – Bristol, UK – Crofter’s Rights Wed Nov 16 – Nottingham, UK – Chameleon Thur Nov 17 – London, UK – Shacklewell Arms Wed Nov 23 – Paris, France – Supersonic Thu Nov 24 – Rennes, France – TBA Fri Nov 25 – Nantes, France – Duchesse Sat Nov 26 – Lyon, France – Le Sonic * with The Black Angels+ with Haldol and Death Bag
The Black Angels have announced a cool tour through the western United States starting June 02nd in Denver and wrapping up twenty-three days later in Las Vegas. Bass fuzz maestro Dion Lunadon is opening for them, and eight of those shows (including the finale in Las Vegas) has The Black Angels and Mr. Lunadon opening for Primus, no less. Tickets are already on sale for these dates, so don’t miss out on them.
Coming in hot and heavy and all the way from New Zealand, The D4 are like a Down Under MC5 (who also are probably the inspiration for the band’s name). Their album, 6Twenty, is full of crunchy guitar riffs, thunderous drums, and horny, wailing vocals.
Take opening track, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Motherfucker,” for example. It bursts through the window like John Shaft swinging into the room with a machine gun and proceeds to lay waste to everything around it. Dion Palmer (AKA Dion Lunadon) and Jimmy Christmas unleash killer vocals and guitars throughout it – and every other track for that matter. “Get Loose” has Christmas craving for action while Daniel “Beaver” Pooley hammers out a snappy beat full of Keith Moon-like fills. He also gets the party started on “Party,” and soon Vaughn Williams is joining him with a wild bass line that inspires you to go nuts. The MC5 influence is clear here, especially in Christmas’ vocal styling.
“Come On!” yanks you out of your chair and tosses you into the crowd to either get sweaty or get the hell out of the way. Their cover of Guitar Wolf‘s “Invader Ace” is a lights-out rocker. Williams and Pooley barely give you time to breathe, and then the guitar solo comes in to clothesline you over the top rope. “Exit to the City” is the slowest track on the record, and I lightly use that term. It’s a swaggering bit of cock rock with cool phaser effects and another sizzling guitar solo.
“Heartbreaker” has Christmas yelling about losing a lover while the rest of the band gives him moral support by flattening any walls around him. “Running on Empty” isn’t a Jackson Browne cover (which would’ve been amazing), but rather a fun garage rock track that has a rock-solid rhythm from Williams and Pooley. “Ladies Man” has the confidence of the Tim Meadows‘ Saturday Night Live and film character, and great organ work from guest Cameron Rowe. Their cover of Johnny Thunders‘ “Pirate Love” is a great tribute to him (and The New York Dolls).
“Little Baby” screams right on by you like a runaway armored truck, “Rebekah” has an undeniable rock groove that catches your attention no matter what you’re doing, their cover of Scavengers‘ “Mysterex” is an ode to “nine to fivers” and “soul survivors.” The album closes with “Outta Blues,” in which Christmas sings, “I’m outta blues, but I’m okay,” making us wonder which part of that statement is correct (and all of the instruments are right-on throughout it).
It’s a great debut record of rock sizzlers beginning to end.
Keep your mind open.
[Get over to the subscription box while you’re here.]
As the story goes, Dion Lunadon was restless during a break that his band, A Place to Bury Strangers, was taking in-between tour dates. He focused that restless energy into this powerhouse of a record that mixes everything from noise-rock to psychobilly grooves. Thank heavens for eager artists.
A band that started out as a fictional joke between Sean Lennon and members of Fat White Family ended up putting out one of the wildest records of 2017. It’s a great mix of psychedelia, electro, disco, and otherworldly chaos.
Good heavens, this album is beautiful. It’s somewhere between blues and outlaw country and is most Jake Fussell and his acoustic guitar singing heartbreaking songs about being broke, lost loves, and the bravery of river men in old times. It will leave you wondering why you hadn’t heard of him before now.
Ron Gallo is working damn hard to remind you that rock and roll isn’t dead (We are, however, according to him.), so it would do you good to pay attention to his Stooges-inspired riffs, vocals, and attitude. He’s already planning a release early next year, so get on this now and hear the buzz.
The Flaming Lips continue their journey through other dimensions and exploration of death, life, and love with this weird mix of psychedelia and shimmering power pop. The addition of guest vocals by Miley Cyrus is a nice touch as well.
As the story goes, Dion Lunadon, known to many as the bass player and co-mastermind of A Place to Bury Strangers, was feeling restless during a break in APTBS’ tour schedule. So, he poured that restless energy into his first solo album and gave the world a frantic, wild piece of noise-punk that has some fun surprises in it.
The album’s opener is a raging piece against something we all have to deal with – “Insurance, Rent, and Taxes.” The song flattens you with squelching sound and Robi Gonzalez (who used to play for APTBS). Lundaon sings, “Much too young to get any older.” on the swinging “Reduction Agent.” Lunadon reveals his love of dirty juke joint blues in the track in both the rhythm and lyrics (“I’ve got the mark of death. It won’t leave me alone.”). The organ and bass on “Fire” burns as hot as its namesake, building to a crazy blender-like frenzy. “Com / Broke” is your new favorite song for trying to beat rush hour traffic. Just be careful, as Lunadon’s lyrics do involve car crashes, fires, and self-destruction.
“Hanging By a Thread” is a post-punk (and nearly instrumental) surprise with guitars that sound like industrial saws. The industrial grind continues on “Move,” and Lunadon’s vocals sounds like the Borg has assimilated him. The drums blast the doors off the song around the 1:30 mark and you’re holding on for dear life by that point.
“Eliminator” is fierce noise-punk, and “Howl” is about Lunadon’s joy in expressing himself in the spotlight. It’s like something Lou Reed blasted out of his speakers when getting ideas for Metal Machine Music.
Believe it or not, “Ripper” is a psychobilly cut and Lunadon and crew have a blast on it. I couldn’t help but grin through the whole track. “White Fence,” on the other hand, is more fine post-punk with weirdly angled guitars and desperate vocal stylings. The closer, “No Control,” brings Lunadon’s album back into weird psychedelia before a quick, distorted fade out leaves you gasping for breath.
This debut solo record is quite a statement. It’s powerful, brash, and even fun. More debuts need to be this self-assured.
Keep your mind open.
[Need a reason to go on? Just subscribe and you’ll get updates sent straight to your e-mail inbox. You’ll have something to read nearly every day.]
L-R: Yours truly, Oliver Ackermann, Lia Braswell, Dion Lunadon
Oliver Ackermann, lead singer and guitarist of A Place to Bury Strangers, was kind enough to chat with me before the band’s performance at Chicago’s Thalia Hall on May 11th opening for the Black Angels. We talked about the tour, the New York music scene, bassist Dion Lunadon’s upcoming album, shoegaze bands, and where to get good tamales.
7th Level Music: Thanks for taking the time to talk with me. I’m really looking forward to the show.
Oliver Ackermann: Cool, man. Thanks so much. We’re psyched to be coming there. We’ve been doing some crazy things at some of these shows. Definitely with the energy of Chicago, I’m sure it’ll be crazy.
7LM: Have you ever played Thalia Hall?
OA: No, is that place cool?
7LM: It is very cool. It’s a converted opera house, so the acoustics in there are great.
OA: That sounds so rad.
7LM: It is a very cool venue. I’ve been told the restaurant there is amazing, but I’ve never eaten there.
OA: Oh, cool. Hopefully they give us a discount or something like that.
7LM: If not, I can recommend a place. A short walk east is this really good tamale restaurant (Dia De Los Tamales – 939 West 18th Street).
OA: Really good tamales? That sounds delicious.
7LM: If you get there early enough, I highly recommend that.
OA: Awesome. Maybe we’ll hit that up.
7LM: The other day I was describing your music to somebody, and I said it’s kind of like a Zen master whacking you with a stick on the head.
OA (chuckling, as he’s clearly never heard that before): Okay.
7LM: The reason I came up with that analogy was because the last time I saw you guys was in Detroit when you played with Groomsand Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor. Rick from the Sisters and I were at the back of the venue chatting, and you guys come on and as soon as your set started it literally knocked the sound out of our mouths.
OA (laughing): Awesome.
7LM: I got to thinking about it, and your music has that effect on people where it shakes people out of things.
OA: Sure. That kind of makes some sense. There are those shows that you go to and have your mind blown and we’re always trying to hark back upon those moments.
7LM: I remember the first time my wife and I saw you was at one of the Levitation shows. You played at the Mohawk. You completely floored us, and I had a similar experience. By the end of it, I was standing there thinking, “I’ve never seen anything like this.” It was great.
OA: That’s awesome. Right on.
7LM: How influenced is your sound from living in New York and being from that area, if at all?
OA: I don’t know. I wonder that, too. Sometimes I feel like we have no influence from that. I’m so busy in New York and we don’t always get to do things, and there’s so much crazy stuff going on, but I guess that must be an influence as well. There are a lot of great creative people that can definitely drive you, but I feel so disconnected from the scene.
7LM: I was watching some of your videos, and I noticed this reoccurring theme in the videos, and some of the lyrics, about how technology separates us from each other. Maybe I’m overreaching here, but it seems like you touch on those themes a lot.
OA: Sure. Definitely. That’s pretty funny you bring that up. That’s definitely a theme of some of our music. Sometimes you want to go a little old school, and you kind of miss some of those days of just being able to wander and go meet your friends if they were there, or having to go knock on their window. I think it brings us together as well, so maybe that’s just part of it.
7LM: Is Lia (Braswell) still drumming with you guys?
OA: Lia is drumming with us, yeah. That has been awesome. That’s definitely been a big influence on where our sound is going.
7LM: How did you two meet Lia?
OA: (Bassist) Dion (Lunadon) had seen her play in a friend’s band, Baby Acid, and said she was a wicked drummer. We were looking for different people to play with, so we invited her over to play drums, and she was amazing.
7LM: I saw her play with Lindsey Troy of Deap Vally and she killed it.
L-R: Lia Braswell, yours truly, Lindsey Troy
OA: Yeah, she’s incredible.
7LM: Did you and Dion meet when he came on with Exploding Head?
OA: We actually first met in Los Angeles. I was out there doing some sort of job for a friend and I didn’t have a place to stay. He was staying at this house with some friends of his. I spent the night at the house because he offered a place to stay. We met again back in New York when he moved there in 2007 or so. He was in the D4 and a bunch of killer bands.
7LM: A friend of mine wanted me to ask you what your favorite shoegaze bands were, and I know the Jesus and Mary Chainis one.
OA: I’ve only heard a couple of the songs. It sounded awesome, though. I’m super-psyched to hear the whole thing. What do you think of that record?
7LM: I like it. I’ve heard the first two singles. In some ways it’s like they just stepped right out of a time machine and in other ways it sounds like they’re moving in this cool new direction.
OA: Yeah, for sure. I’m excited to hear the whole record and maybe if they make another record after this what comes out of it.
7LM: I have a few questions I always ask bands I interview. One of them is, do you have any influences that you think would surprise some of your fans?
OA: Oh, for sure. I like a lot of different music. What do you think people would be surprised by?
7LM: Well, the reason I always ask bands this is because I once heard an interview with Rob Halford of Judas Priestand he was asked this question. He said, “You’re never gonna believe this, but I’m a massive Hank Williams, Sr. fan.” Ever since then I’ve been intrigued with hearing about what influences people have that others might not realize they have.
OA: I love Hank Williams, Sr.
7LM: Yeah, me too.
OA: Yeah, totally. That stuff’s awesome. I don’t know, in this day and age is anyone going to be surprised by anything?
7LM: That’s a really good point. Another question I always ask is, do you have any favorite misheard versions of your lyrics?
OA: I wish I could remember, because there sure are some funny ones out there. It’s kind of cool because when you hear them a lot of times they kind of morph into what makes sense for the people. I really like that. It turns personal for them, which is kind of the point of our music.
7LM: That gets back to the thing I believe where your music changes people’s perceptions, especially live.
OA: Totally. That’s the goal for a lot of our music. It’s a state between life and fantasy and to be able to let go of some of your thoughts and troubles.
7LM: When I saw you in Detroit, you came out into the audience with your instruments and I loved how you made this cool moment where you brought this technology into the crowd, but instead of technology pushing people away it was this big communal thing.
OA: Yeah, that’s a great thing. I think that’s pretty awesome. Not everybody will do that to connect with the audience. We always welcome anybody and everybody to jump up on stage or pull us down or whatever to connect and make it a communal event.
7LM: Do you write grooves first or lyrics first? Or does it depend on the song?
OA: It depends on the song. We always try to reinvent writing songs all the time we do it. It depends on what’s inspiring you. Sometimes it starts with an idea and some lyrics, or sometimes the music brings out a whole story or a mood. Even more recently, we’ve kind of been writing all of it at once. It’s kind of a weird, wild thing. I’ve always fantasized about having a band where you didn’t have any songs written before you played the shows, and you would play a whole bunch of songs at that moment. You start to do this thing where you unconsciously tap into a really pure experience and it draws you in a different direction. You’d dig deep and reveal some things maybe you wouldn’t be comfortable revealing in that moment.
7LM: If you ever do that, I hope I can get to one of those shows.
OA: Right on.
7LM: I’m one of those guys where if I go to a show and the band gets up and says, “We’re gonna play a bunch of stuff you’ve never heard before.” I’m the guy in the back saying, “Fantastic!”
OA: Awesome. I always like that, too. At least to hear some sort of challenge. It’s all about the excitement at that type of show. I’m sure there’s band where I’d be disappointed in that, too.
7LM: Well, the opposite of that is that after we see you guys tonight, we’re driving down to St. Louis to see Tom Petty and Joe Walsh.
OA: Oh, wow, that sounds awesome. That should be so cool. I’ve never seen them.
7LM: Speaking of new stuff, Dion’s new album (self-titled) is out next month?
OA: Dion’s new album isout next month. I’ve heard it. It’s fucking awesome.
7LM: I’ve heard the two tracks that he’s released so far, and I thought, “Holy crap! He’s gunning.”
OA: Oh yeah, it’s so powerful.
7LM: I’ve always thought that about him. When I saw you guys in Austin the first time, it was two songs into your set and he body slammed his bass on the stage so damn hard and I thought, “Holy crap, we’re really in for something.”
OA: Yeah, he’s hit himself in the head a couple times, bled all over the place, climbed up on some things that everybody else would be scared to climb on. I’ve seen him do some crazy things.
7LM: Are you your own guitar tech? I’ve seen the way you handle that thing.
OA: Totally. Yeah, we are all our own instrument techs.
7LM: That’s fantastic. It reminds of when I was in a garage band in college, and our guitarist would cut holes in his guitar and take it apart to get different sounds out of it. I see you getting the craziest sounds out of your guitar by mauling it.
OA: Yeah, you gotta play your instrument to the fullest.
7LM: Where are you off to after Chicago?
OA: We’re going to Minneapolis. We’re playing First Avenue. Purple Rain, Prince, it should be awesome.
7LM: Well thanks for all this. Break a leg tonight. Not literally, of course.
OA: For sure. See you tonight.
APTBS at Chicago’s Thalia Hall May 11, 2017.
[Thanks again to Oliver Ackermann, Lia Braswell, Dion Lunadon, Burgers Rana, and Steven Matrick for being so groovy, arranging this interview and my press pass to the Thalia Hall show, and for the lighter.]
