30 Apr 2018
Rocket Probes – April playlist
Lay Llamas – Holy Worms (Radio Edit)
(Second single to be released from their forthcoming album Thuban...great slice of psyched out tribal pop – the digital B side features an amazing remix of Lay Llamas 'Silver Sun' by Gnod's Negra Branca)
Bonnacons of Doom – Argenta (Edit)
(Edit of the second track revealed from Bonnacons of Doom's forthcoming amazing debut album)
Bonnacons of Doom
MIEN – Odessey
(Great new single with an equally great video)
MIEN
Goat – Let it Burn
(Fuzz, Wah, tribal groove, flutes, strings....best track they have ever made?)
Goat
Flowers Must Die – Där Blommor Dör
(Amazing self released double LP of new/old jams from Flowers...a must listen and buy!)
Flowers Must Die
International Harvester – Remains
(5 LP box set by Swedish greats)
International Harvester
Danielle Dax – Bed Caves
(This track has it all!!!...taken from her stunning debut album from '83)
Danielle Dax
Paisiel – Paisiel
(Strong release of repetitive jazz grooves from the ever reliable Lovers and Lollipops)
Paisiel
AJA - Tuck It, Tape It
(Love this track from AJA's forthcoming release on Opal Tapes)
AJA
Stereocilia – Hive Mind
(Nice album of guitar n' synth atmospheres from our good friend John Scott)
Stereocilia
Okay Temiz & Johnny Dyani - Witchdoctor's Son - Play For Me
(Stomping grooved jazz)
Okay Temiz & Johnny Dyani
Moths and Locusts – Acid Cloud Part 2
(Bit of an early Gnod vibe to this track...on Cardinal Fuzz)
Moths and Locusts
808 State – Flow Coma
(Classic UK acid)
808 State
Death Pedals – USD
(GNOD'ish vibe to this track from their great scuzzy, repeato rock album on Hominid Sounds)
Death Pedals
Super Djata Band – Vol. 2
(Great afro grooves)
Super Djata Band De Bamako
Vanishing Twin - Magic & Machines
(Great ethereal improv sounds from Vanishing Twin...tape release on Blank Editions)
Vanishing Twin
Notorische Reflexe - The Wisp
(Repetitive electronic post punk grooves from '85)
Notorische Reflexe
Lonker See - One Eye Sees Red
(New album of experimental 'jazz-rock' on Instant Classic...)
Lonker See
Vårt Solsystem – Världsliga Bekymmer
(Monster Swedish psych collective on Kommun 2)
Vårt Solsystem
Shock Treatment - The Mugger/Nuclear Warfare
(Killer slice of NWOBHM)
Shock Treatment
Taken from this rather special youtube playlist
OGOD – The Dark Arts
(Great blown out scuzz from LA)
OGOD
Beatrice Dillon - Can I Change My Mind?
(Gum takes Tooth turned us on to this great piece of electronica)
Beatrice Dillon
Alice Cooper – Reflected
(The Cooper band in 'freakbeat' mode)
Alice Cooper
Bruxa Maria / Casual Nun – Split
(The two great London bands show what they are made of!)
Bruxa Maria / Casual Nun
Trembling Bells – Dungeness
(A few great tracks of real nice fuzzy, proggy folk on this album)
Trembling Bells
Narcosatanicos – Vile
(Heavy psych rock jazz from Denmark anyone?
Narcosatanicos
Acidliner - Llandyfaelog Young Farmers Annual Show
(35 minutes of lush, warm electronics and the transportive heavy riddims from the Hey Colossus sticks man)
Acidliner
Ben Vince – Tower of cells
(Real nice 10 minute track of experimental jazz repetitions from Housewives members latest album)
Ben Vince
The Heads – RKT
(3 x LP comp that collects and expands the 'Sessions' releases that Rocket put out)
The Heads
As always, listen to our 'updated monthly' Rocket Probes Spotify Playlist
---
Guitar Part say some words on MIEN
They say:
Mien, or the new psyche supergroup with Alex Maas of the Black Angels, Tom Furse of The Horrors, the bassist / sitarist Rishi Dhir of Elephant Stone and John-Mark Lapham of The Earlies. If the present disc is a remote long-distance assembly, the result naturally finds its balance between timelessness and modernity, a hybrid music with surprising, rich and inventive production, impregnated as well with layers of drones as electronic keys ... A mix ambient-psyche intense and spacious, very successful.
See the article here: Guitar Part
---
Loud and Quiet put MIEN in their best albums of April
They say:
What is it?
Psychedelic rock supergroup neatly sidestep near-fatal supergroup trappings.
L&Q says:
“MIEN’s best efforts – from the menacing ambience of ‘Other’ to the spectral patchwork of groove and disembodied vocals that is ‘Hocus Pocus’ – are those that hold back, ruminate and refrain.”
Read the full piece here: L&Q
---
Watch IMPATV footage of Anthroprophh live at Rocket Twenty via The Quietus
The Quietus are continuing publishing the series of shows that IMPATV captured from a Rocket Twenty Weekender.
This time it is Anthroprophh's blistering live set playing tracks from their recently released masterpiece OMEGAVILLE
See what The Quietus say about it here: The Quietus
---
Austin Chronicle reviews MIEN at Levitation Festival
They say:
The evening opened with the debut performance from Mien, formed by Black Angels singer Alex Maas, Elephant Stone leader Rishi Dhir, Horrors keyboardist Tom Furse, and Earlies/Old Fire electronics guru John Mark Lapham. Joined by local multi-instrumentalist Thor Harris and drummer Robb Kidd, the band declared its worth. From motorik beats and repetitive melodies to Maas’ distinctive moan and Dhir’s jangling sitar, everything droned, finding hooks in the oddest places.
Kidd testified as MVP, driving each song to its heights with irrepressible energy and clockwork precision. One show into its new career, Mien proved itself more than the sum of its parts.
Read the full write-up here: Austin Chronicle
---
Backseat Mafia reviews Hey Colossus and GNOD at Wrong Festival
They say:
GNOD
Salfordians Gnod are one of the most vicious, yet musically deep bands the world currently has to offer, unashamed to let their political views show whilst putting out fantastic music. Their latest LP Just Say No To The Psycho Right-Wing Capitalist Fascist Industrial Death Machine earnt them an entire new entourage as they explored new territory in a familiar way. We are treated to ‘Bodies For Money’ and ‘People’ from the aforementioned album and a new track which is so visceral it makes you wonder how they do it. The entire set is performed with such conviction that its exhausting just watching them. From start to finish it is mesmerising and there isn’t a still body in the room. The only criticism, which certainly is not of them, is that the sound does not penetrate past the first few rows of onlookers, so the wall of sound hitting your face that comes as standard with a Gnod performance is sadly missing.
Hey Colossus
Literally running from IWF to NST for the very good reason that Hey Colossus have already started their set. Having only missed a couple of tracks, taking a place on the balcony to witness them pile through tracks from In Black and Gold, the 2015 LP which has become infamous. Having some 11 albums to choose tracks from, they utilise their six bodies to create captivating motorik beats, inviting bass riffs and the three guitars create a heady mixture that takes hold from the off. The set is received well by the packed venue and they leave the stage smiling, surely in the knowledge that they know they’ve nailed it tonight.
Read the full review here: Backseat Mafia
---
29 Apr 2018
Listen to GOAT Freak Zone playlist
Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone invited GOAT to put together an hour playlist of music they like and you can hear it in full here: BBC 6 Music
---
28 Apr 2018
Listen to MIEN KUTX session in full
On Thursday MIEN played live for the first time at KUTX for a special radio session.
You can listen in full plus with an interview here: KUTX
The band play their first public show today at Austin's Levitation Festival!
---
Dome Media say some words on Goat's Let it Burn
They say:
Goat - Let It Burn
Goat is a mysterious experimental psychedelic rock band from a small village in northern Sweden, who often appear masked and brandishing knives and sticks. Which, I suppose, gives you a fairly oblique idea of what their music sounds like.
Their latest release, Let it Burn, channels the occultism that they harness in their imagery, with a motorik fuzz merging with chanted lyrics to create a hypnotic energy. The track builds to a frenzied crescendo, an apex of visceral power, much like the tribal music it apes, before collapsing into a gently strummed ending that allows us to catch our breath.
A pulsating record, Goat take us on our microcosmic tour of psychedelia, encompassing multiple guitar solos and a helpful dashing of flute in a song that clocks in at just over six minutes. I doubt you’ll be hearing it on daytime radio any time soon, that’s for sure, which is quite possibly the ultimate compliment I can give.
They play Citadel Festival in London on July 15th.
See the piece here: Dome Media
---
27 Apr 2018
Watch IMPATV footage of Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation live at Rocket Twenty via The Quietus
Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation headlined the Friday night of our Rocket Twenty event with this great performance.
See what The Quietus say about it here: The Quietus
---
MIEN reveal video for new single Odessey and Euro tour dates
JM Lapham from MIEN has created a video for the bands amazing new single 'Odessey (Radio Edit)', which is out today and it is taken from their critically acclaimed, self titled debut album that was released on 6 April.
Watch video for 'Odessey (Radio Edit)' above
And see what Clash say about it here: Clash
Listen on Spotify here: Spotify
Buy the single digitally here: Bandcamp
JM said this about the track and video:
“The track started out as an instrumental by Tom. I had heard a song by an 80s band called Vox Populi and I tried sampling the chorus, which is in Dutch, but it didn’t work, so Vox Populi ended up re-recording the vocals for us. The chi-chi boy could be whatever you wanted it to be.” Lapham goes on to explain the video concept, “A friend of mine was called to sneak out a sprawling collection of vintage porn magazines from a local radio DJ’s house who had just passed away. Apparently a church group were on their way to collect his belongings and these magazines had to disappear fast. He mentioned this story to me right around the time we started talking about needing a new music video. I got this juvenile idea for how to recycle these “adult materials” and so with the help of some friends, began cutting up a small portion of the collection (200 plus magazines). I then scanned them and started 'fleshing out' this surreal, seedy little world. I set out to build something that resembles a lost, psychedelic art collage that would look like the love child between Peter Max and Roy Lichtenstein. I almost went a little nutty building this thing frame by frame, but had a blast doing it."
The band have also just announced their first European dates:
Fri 21 Sept / London, UK - Moth Club Tickets
Sat 22 Sept / Angers, France - Levitation Festival Tickets
Mon 24 Sept / Paris, France - Le Cafe de la Danse
Tue 25 Sept / Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg Tickets
MIEN play their first ever live show at tomorrow's Levitation Festival in Austin, sharing the stage with Slowdive and Survive.
---
MIEN reveal Euro tour dates
As previously announced, MIEN have been revealed to play this years Levitation in France and while they are over the band are playing several other shows:
Fri 21 Sept / London, UK - Moth Club Tickets
Sat 22 Sept / Angers, France - Levitation Festival Tickets
Mon 24 Sept / Paris, France - Le Cafe de la Danse
Tue 25 Sept / Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg Tickets
And don't forget, tomorrow the band play their first ever live show at:
Sat 28 April / Austin, USA – Levitation Festival
---
Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation to play Palp Festival
Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation have been announced to play Palp Festival in Switzerland on 11 August, with the great Holy Wave in support
Find out more Palp Festival
---
The Most Radicalist say some words about Lay Llamas single Holy Worms
They say:
LAY LLAMAS – HOLY WORMS
After being reeled in by Lay Llamas’ first new track in 4 years ‘Silver Sun’, we were pleased to discover the follow up is just as good if not better. ‘Holy Worms’ is an intoxicating fusion of psychedelia and world music, driven by a simple but funky sliding guitar lick, roomy drums and a jumping bass line. Channelling Goat’s more relaxed moments, singer Nicola Sanguin's shamanic vocals call out repetitively from the exotic background. With those all important bongos and unexpected Broadcast-esque synthesizer interludes, keeping you on your toes, ‘Holy Worms’ is an exciting new take on a genre attempted by many but only done justice by a few. Lay Llamas new album Thuban comes out via Rocket Recordings on the 15th of June. -Holly Mullineaux
See the piece here: The Most Radicalist
---
26 Apr 2018
Listen to MIEN live session today
Ahead of Saturday's show at Levitation Festival – MIEN are going to be on KUTX today for a live session and interview at 3pm (CST) which is 9pm UK time...
Tune in here: KUTX
---
Raven Sings the Blues say some words on Lay Llamas new single and their Negra Branca remix
They say:
On the first single from his global psychedelic stewpot of an album, “Silver Sun,” Nicola Giunta draped the German Progressive paradigm in shades of late ‘90s electronic psych, dredging up allusions to The Beta Band and Clinic. On the album’s second point of entry, “Holy Worms,” he embraces a multicultural funk that puts him in leagues with his labelmates in Goat, pinning a tangle of polyrhythms to a ‘70s afrofunk guitar line and a vocal workout that stretches through Talking Heads territory, but gets caught short in a haze of narcotic bliss.
This second single, in its most digital of forms, also happens to come with a standout flip side that digests the original version of “Silver Sun” and mangles it into a completely different animal. Remixed by Gnod’s Marlene Ribiero masquerading as Negra Branca, the “Red Sun Remix” shaves off Giunta’s psych-pop romp appeal and delves darker, amping up the rhythms until they pound at the eardrum. Ribiero also brings in a chorus of female vocals to replace Giunta’s originals. They breathe the mantra “Red Sun, Green Sun” in calming contrast to the panic attack psych bubbling throughout her version and it becomes an oracle of calm inside a virtual storm of a track.
She shaves down the acidic sax solo that adorned Lay Llamas original, saving only a few panicked bleats to whinny away over the chaotic atmosphere brewing below. The reconfiguration slides Giunta into a much more lysergic territory gnashing Krautrock’s teeth on a mash of dub and gospel with a free jazz storm threatening in the distance. Great remixes can often lay the original to waste, but here Negra Blanca simply prove that while the pop sheen adorning Lay Llamas new album is welcome, sometimes you gotta go deep into the cave to find the psychedelic heart.
See the piece here: RSTB
---
GNOD Euro tour poster
GNOD are heading out on tour:
28 APRIL Liverpool / Wrong Festival / UK
29 APRIL Newcastle / The Cluny / UK
30 APRIL Glasgow / Broadcast / UK
01 MAY Hull / Adelphi / UK
02 MAY Manchester / Band on the Wall / UK
03 MAY Sheffield / Picture House Social / UK
04 MAY Brighton / Hope and Ruin / UK
05 MAY Nijmegen / Doornroosje / Netherlands
06 MAY Bruxelles / Magasin 4 / Belgium
08 MAY Lille / La Malterie / France
09 MAY Tilburg / 013 / Hall Of Fame / Netherlands
10 MAY Utrecht / dB’s / Netherlands
11 MAY Diksmuide / 4AD / Belgium
12 MAY Paris / Espace B France
13 MAY London / Moth Club / UK (ALBUM LAUNCH)
---
Backseat Mafia say some words about Lay Llamas track Holy Worms
They say:
Italians Lay Llamas last month announced that they were back with a new LP, Thuban, to be released on 15th June on Rocket Recordings. This week they have revealed the video for the second single to be taken from the album, ‘Holy Worms’.
The catchy track features all the elements you would want from a Lay Llamas track, catchy atonal percussion, edgy effected lyrics and intoxicating riffs that will entrance. For those unfamiliar with the band, in a nutshell, this is who they are.
See the piece here: Backseat Mafia
---
White Lodge reviews Rocket Twenty Weekender
It reads (roughly translated):
Great psychedelic mass: The 20 years of the Rocket Recordings label at the Garage!
To celebrate its 20th birthday, the English label Rocket Recordings organized on March 9th, 10th and 11th three nights of concerts bringing together the bands of the label for a great psychedelic mass.
Friday, March 9
The Flowers Must Die formation returned the honor of opening hostilities, with a space rock with oriental influences. The pieces unfold like mantras and take us directly into another dimension.
We then climb to the bar area at the top of the room to witness Ahrkh's sound experiments . Leaning on his machines, the member of the GNOD collective gives us a more experimental set. His mastery of overtone singing on ambient music completes us into other spheres.
Julie's Haircut takes over on stage. Although the music is quality we are slightly less carried away. The fault with technical problems that seem to frustrate the group, and we also at the same time...
See the full piece here: White Lodge
---
25 Apr 2018
Gigwise say some words on Negra Branca's remix of Lay Llamas
They say:
Remember the other week when we took our sanity in our hands and recommended you listen to Lay Llamas’ new single ‘Silver Sun’? A “grainy garage rock” epic, we said, including bits that sounded like Super Furry Animals playing a gig in a rainforest and a saxophonist having paroxysms?
Well, apparently, Lay Llamas mainman Nicola Giunta mustn’t have thought this was wild-ass enough. So the Italian psych-pop maestro got Negra Branca – aka Gnod soundscapist Marlene Ribiero – to hammer away at it for her ‘Red Sun Remix’, and the results are, fittingly, scorch-hot. It opens with some rainforest-at-dawn electronic mating calls, through which ventures an adventurous saxophonist, hunting for rare breeds of insecticide jazz. Then those drone basslines kick in and the whole thing dives deep underwater like a krautrock The Life Aquatic. Is that a school of mephedrone sharks sweeping by? Is that a nagging madsaxjazz fish spraying its poison? And is that a choir of mermaids intoning “red sun, green sun” from a coral reef perch? Or have we had way too much of whatever Ribiero’s on?
Let Giunta explain. “I was so surprised by [Negra Branca’s] different sonic and performing mood compared to her GNOD one. Her layering of female voice melodies on dubby rhythmic patterns mixed with foggy synth sounds, samples and other weird stuff. It reminds me so much of some stuff from the first Lay Llamas debut tape - that same 'space jungle mantra' atmosphere but led by female magic singing. She accelerated that 'space jungle' to land it on a 'space highway'... at lightspeed.”
Well quite. But don’t just take us nutters’ word for it – listen to the track yourself
See the whole piece here: Gigwise
---
Turn-up the Volume say some words about Lay llamas new single 'Holy Worms'
They say:
LAY LLAMAS is the mind-expanding sonic project of experienced Italian sound explorer Nicola Giunta. Assisted by an extensive squad of like-minded musicians his new album, titled THUBAN will be out next June. Ahead of that release here’s new track/clip HOLY WORMS. An atmospheric and cinematic groove, obviously inspired by Eastern vibes and African beats à la 80s Talking Heads. Dancey, trippy and sunlit. Watch here how divine worms move to tropical beats…
See the piece here: Turn up the Volume
---
Listen to Negra Branca's remix of Lay Llamas track 'Silver Sun'
Negra Branca, which is Marlene Ribeiro from GNOD's solo project has created her first ever remix and it is for the track Silver Sun by Lay Llamas', listen above.
The track is available as the bside for the digital single 'Holy Worm'.
You can also stream both tracks on Spotify & Apple Music
or buy it digitally from here: Bandcamp
Nicola from Lay Llamas said this about the remix:
"As Lay Llamas in 2014 I was lucky enough to shared the stage with the magnific GNOD a couple of time. And if you know GNOD a bit you can understand of what powerful and intense show I'm talking about. Well, that was the first time I saw Marlene on stage playing her blue/white coloured Fender Jazz Bass. So a couple of years later I recognize this mesmerizing sound stuff called NEGRA BRANCA. It's Marlene's solo project. I was so surprised by the different sonic and perfoming mood compared to the GNOD one. Here layering of female voice melodies on dubby rhythmic pattern mixed with foggy synth sounds, samples and other wierd stuff. It reminds me so much some stuff from first Lay Llamas debut tape. That same 'space jungle mantra' atmosphere but leaded by a female magic singing. Also for this reason I asked to Marlene to sort out a remix work for 'Silver Sun' track. She said me that is her first remix work ever! The result she sent me a couple of weeks later my request it was really amazing. She accelerated that 'space jungle' to land it on a 'space highways'...at lightspeed. And that hypnotic female vocal melodies are still there: GREEN SUN, RED SUN. Again and again. To the end of the time.”
Nicola Giunta/Lay Llamas
---
Echoes and Dust reviews Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Birmingham show
It says:
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs
+ Grey Hairs &Youth Man
-
April 11, 2018 at Hare and Hounds
To begin the run in to this year’s already amazing looking festival the good people of Supersonic have brought back two great bands from last year to kick things off with a bang. Both Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs and Grey Hairs played on the central “Wild” stage in a glass roofed old warehouse that, I think to the surprise of all in attendance, turned into an absolute oven on an unusually warm Birmingham weekend. Apparently even if your festival is held indoors in the centre of a major city you still can’t escape the vengeful caprice of the British summertime. Tonight’s rematch takes place in unpromising conditions on a wet Wednesday night...
Photo: Matt Watkins
---
Goat playlist on Saturday's Freak Zone
BBC 6 Music's Freak Zone show, hosted by Stuart Maconie approached Goat to create an exclusive hour long playlist of some of their fave music for them and that is being aired this Saturday night/Sunday morning at midnight.
It is gonna be a bit special so make sure you catch it.
You can listen here: Freakzone
---
24 Apr 2018
Watch video for amazing new Lay Llamas single – plus listen to exclusive Negra Branca (GNOD) remix
As announced last month we are excited to bring you a new album by Lay Llamas called 'Thuban' which is released on 15 June.
The band have just revealed the video for the second single to be taken from the album, the track is called 'Holy Worms' and you can watch it above.
See what Rolling Stone says about it here: Rolling Stone Italia
The digital single also comes with an amazing b-side, a remix of the Lay Llamas track 'Silver Sun' by Negra Branca, which is Marlene Ribeiro from GNOD's solo project. This is the first remix she has ever done – listen to it here: 'Negra Branca remix of Silver Sun'
You can also stream both tracks on Spotify & Apple Music
Or buy a digital download from here: Bandcamp
'Thuban' is released on 15 June and the album features contributions from Goat, The Pop Group's Mark Stewart and Clinic. The 8 track album album is the brainchild of Nicola Giunta, and involved as many of twelve different musicians yet with Nicola writing lyrics, singing, producing, mixing and recording at his home, whilst utilising new instruments from marimba to sax to kalimba to pilot this craft to dimensions unknown. The result has been a step beyond the kraut-damaged psychedelic mantras of 'Østro' into a realm seemingly without boundaries, one in which a pan-global fascination with rhythmic hypnosis and an unquenchable experimental zeal manifests hermetically-aligned revelations aplenty.
The album is released on LP and CD and you can preorder the ltd orange/black swirl from us here: Bandcamp
---
23 Apr 2018
Listen to Lay Llamas 'Looking for Thuban' playlist
Lay Llamas have put together a 'Looking for Thuban' Spotify playlist.
Nicola from the band has said this about it:
"This is a selection of the favourite things I’ve listened too during the last couple of years or something, during the time I worked on the ‘Thuban’ album."
Sleeve image designed by Nicola Giunta
---
Echoes and Dust review MIEN
It reads:
One of the latest arrivals to Rocket’s new breed is the psych ‘supergroup’ MIEN comprising members from bands such as The Black Angels and The Horrors, from its lineage alone, I knew this would be a record with a lot of promise.
‘Earth Moon’ opens the album with a nostalgic revival of classic sixties psychedelia; spangled, starry-eyed sounds and almost Syd Barrett-esque lyricisms ooze lysergic bliss and a kickback calm akin to a sunny afternoon. ‘Black Habit’ and ‘(I’m Tired of) Western Shouting’ join the album effortlessly. I feel like this is almost by the numbers psych but, it’s done so well, that realistically, it’d be a lot more accurate to describe it as exemplary psych music. I find it interesting that after so long of releasing bands that sound like they’re from some narcotically tolerable dystopia exploring the future of psych, Rocket now have band that feels like they’ve been gestating in a bunker for decades until the world was ready for their spooky take on a vintage psychedelic atmosphere. Their music feels like a warped reworking of Roger Corman’s The Trip or Easy Rider...
Read the rest here: E&D
---
Watch IMPATV footage of BONNACONS OF DOOM live at Rocket Twenty via The Quietus
BONNACONS OF DOOM opened up Sunday of our Rocket Twenty event with this amazing performance.
See what The Quietus say about it here: The Quietus
You can preorder their amazing debut album of LTD Acid Splatter vinyl with diecut/mirrorboard sleeve here: Bandcamp
---
Soundblab gives GNOD's Chapel Perilous a 9/10 review
It says:
I've never experienced real psychological internment, real torment that cannot be controlled simply by shaking yourself free of a nightmare. Gnod's latest Chapel Perilous is music that prosecutes mind, body and soul, and banishes all thoughts of a utopian existence. There is no reversion of the soul from darkness to light. At times throughout the body of this opus, I felt physically sick, and I'm not referring to ugliness of sound, but a horrible disquiet which found its gestation in the mid three tracks. Music that imprisoned me, like some abomination I conjured in my darkest moments, when even my sharpest instincts for survival were found wanting.
The book-ended tracks on Chapel Perilous share some of the same malevolence, but by unique perversion, the unmistakably hedonistic metal riffs released as their zenith are very much of this physical world, and not the world occupied by 'A Body' for instance. That is, insular, diabolical, the sound of being permanently alone.
I was going to struggle for words to describe Chapel Perilous, so I decided to allow myself a stream of consciousness. I'm speaking from the position of incapacity to describe the music. All I can describe is how it made me feel. What I can say, what I'm able to say, is that there is music here to contemplate for quite some time. What parts of Chapel Perilous I found particularly awesome, the extraordinary riffs on “Donovan's Daughters” and the humorously titled “Uncle Frank Says Turn It Down”, are telegraphed really generously, like 'relief is coming lads, just hold in there' ...
Read the full review here: Soundblab
---
Backseat Mafia say some words on Bonnacons of Doom new track Argenta
They say:
Liverpool based Bonnacons of Doom have this week presented the second track to come from their hotly anticipated debut LP to be released on Rocket Recordings on 18th May. The track called ‘Argenta’ is some ten minutes long on the album, and so the have released an edited five minute version as a teaser.
Recorded at Suburban Home studios by Hookworms frontman MJ, this recorded incarnation of Bonnacons of Doom arcane conjury operates stubbornly free of genre, sashaying alongside psychrock, repetitive drone and electronic experimentation whilst consumed by a devotional intensity that’s multiplied by the transcendental echolalia of vocalist Kate.
‘Argenta’ is mesmerizingly beautiful, with haunting vocal melodies, a repetitive drone undercurrent and lashings of fuzzy guitars which tickle all the right senses.
Read the piece here: Backseat Mafia
---
Soundblab and Psych Insight give rave reviews for Flowers Must Die's new self released 2xLP 'Där Blommor Dör'
They say:
All right, set the controls for the heart of the Swedish psychedelic sun. This one is psych-prog-folk sonic bliss from start to finish.
Oh, the first tune, “Gör Det Inte” is a bit of a brunt force, nine minutes plus of fairly free-form psych-jazz. They say the takeoff is the toughest part of any space shot. And this one’s a tough launch. But after several plays, the tune reveals its deep-fired melodies. This one rambles and rumbles with wah-wah guitars, Lars Hofften’s pounding percussion, some sort of lovely insanity, deviant rock ‘n’ roll, a violin, weird keyboards, and a melodic foot on the gas pedal.
Then things slow a bit with “Gömma.” This is violin led (almost) folk psych that lays its heavy load with some sort of Swedish ancestral wisdom. Lisa Ekelund’s vocals haunt the dark back history of the tune...
Read the rest of the 10/10 review here: Soundblab
-
As is my usual way of doing things I listened to this wide and sprawling double album through before reading anything about it. My first reaction was simply: ‘wow’. This felt to me like the sort of record that was going to get played a lot (I immediately pre-ordered a copy) over a long period of time. What’s more I very much felt like it was going to be one of those albums that was going to grow and mature in my head as time progressed. It was with some surprise, then, that on reading the press release on this album I found that these were tracks that had been recorded over a ten year period covering a number of different band line-ups. Unbelievably some tracks here never really made it onto the band’s previous albums.
What this album is actually doing, it seems to me, is drawing a line under what has gone before by bringing together a series of tracks that both complement each other and reflect Flowers Must Die’s development to date. It is also the last release on band member Rikard Daun’s label ‘rev/vega records’… so there is a real sense of moving on here. As such I would not recommend that anyone judge this album against the group’s previous release ‘Kompost‘, which was one of my favourites of last year, not because it is inferior… rather that it is coming from a different place and time...
Read the rest here: Psych Insight
---
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)