This is a site where I post reviews of CDs, DVDs, LPs, and concerts. I have been writing music reviews on and off since 1984. I ran a heavy metal fanzine from 1984-1988 called Metal Madness and have been a staff writer for Aural Innovations for many years. I have also contributed to Chrohinga Well (RIP), Bad Acid (RIP), Lowcut (RIP), Roadburn and a number of other zines as well. I recently moved to Portugal so please request the new address and do not send any music to Denmark anymore. Tak..
Carl Heinz was a German silent
film producer and he made a really far out avante garde film called From
Morning to Midnight in the early 20s. The theater was nearly sold out and I
only knew one person in the entire place (Martin from Devolution magazine) and
we did not meet until after it was over. The place was more than half women, which
surprised me but then when I saw that the band is also has three women (two on
keyboards and one singing), I understood.
The bass, guitar and drums were all
men! There was a little introduction by
the man from the Film Institute of both the film and the band (in Danish) and
then the movie started and it was in 5 acts and the band played along. The
first two acts the music was pretty mellow with mainly just the keyboards, voice
and percussion but then during some of the intense parts in the last 3 acts,
the music was more uptempo and rocking. The last act had some surf like guitar
mixed in as well. I think they did a great job but was a little surprised they
did not try to follow a few of the movie cues like when he is knocking on a
door, to make a knock sound and when the guy was playing a trombone, to make
those kinds of sounds. Anyway, they were great and very professional. I could
see they had recorded a few records as well that they had for sale. A really
cool event.
Spids Nøgenhat
produced their first studio record nearly 15 years ago. I got to see them play
a few times in the late 90’s and travel with the band to Hannover to play their
only show outside of Denmark. A few years ago, Ralph Rjeily, enticed the band
to come back and start playing again and they did including a very successful
concert at Roskilde Festival that was released on a limited edition vinyl
record. The guys who make up this band are very busy with their regular bands
which includes Baby Woodrose, Aron, and many other projects. Anyway, here is
the new record and I think it is really cool. A bit more laid back and less
psychedelic than the first record but totally
in the vibe of the early 70s bands like Alrune Rød. The LP opens up with a spaced intro just like
on the band’s debut before Mere Lys (More Light) starts with a really catchy
guitar line and Guf singing and playing the acoustic guitar but features a
quite cool psych section but short. Lolland Falster (the band has a cool video
for this one) is about this beautiful part of Denmark sound of Copenhagen. Lever
vi Nu (Do we live now?) is a more dreamy track and the acoustic guitar is
complimented with some organ and psychedelic guitar, of course! Den
Gennemsigtige Mand is a cover song (written by Hans Vinding and Furekåben) that this band
and also Dragontears have played live for many years. It is the longest and
probably the most passionate and best song on the record. The solo by Aron just
cuts through the sound and goes straight into your brain, while the background
just remains totally spaced out but a beautiful melody is retained. I just love
this song. Spids Nøgenhat I Græsset (mushroom in the grass) is a mellow track
about taking a mushroom trip. Spids Nøgenhat is the Danish name for the liberty cap, psychoactive variety. Again, Aron comes through with a solo that
pierces the cranium right through your left ear (if you have headphones on).
Jørden Kalder (The world calls) is slow track with no drums on the song, just
drones, layers of spaced out guitars and some space sounds and floating organ.
Vand, Brød og Te (Water, Bread and Tea) is another one the band has been
playing for many years including at Lorenzo’s solo shows. He wrote it! Henrik
plays a super cool wah solo on this track. Fred (Peace) ends the record and
this is a really cool hippie tribal psychedelic trip track. Lovely stuff.. A super
cool record and just what you would expect from this group of Danish psych
supertars! Our good friend Ralph would love this record if he were here with us
today…. Peace, love and good music..
This
Swedish psychedelic rock band is back with a great new record. The record is a
mix of more laid back shorter tracks and some long killer grooving and spacing
tracks. As the titles suggests, this is only part 1 of a 2 part series, in
which the 2nd part will be out in early 2014 (they say). The single
that I recently reviewed starts the record off (The Ballad of John Hall D.Y.).
Next is my favourite track on the whole record, an amazing song called Boogin’.
After this a short track called Shady Wind is a really nice change of mood. Two
Tongues is a melodic but really uptempo rocker with some slide guitar. Great
Deceiver features a really dreamy keyboard line, a cool guitar solo and reminds
me of Vibravoid a bit. Great song. Just note that if you have the CD there is a
mistake and track 6 is like 8 seconds of nothing and called Paus. This leads
into All the Lost, a short 3 min psych pop song including farfisa organ and a
different vocal approach. Like Elephants 1 is a really cool short track with an
Eastern feeling and sitar like guitar and very nice lyrics. Beautiful track, so
Run like Elephants! Ingenting kommer ur
Ingenting, despite the title being in Swedish is actually sung in English! This track is 6½ minutes and has a mid-pace
and lots of cool things going on if you really listen closely and I really like
the far out distorted edge that the sound has as it just gets buried further
and further in this heavy layer of distortion as Krita plays a cool guitar solo
in the background. Far out.. It takes a Spark ends this most excellent 60s
inspired psychedelic rock record and brings you back to where the album
started. I really look forward to the 2nd part. A very cool band and
if you like some of the Danish psych bands like the Setting Son, Baby Woodrose,
the Hedgehogs, or a large number of the acts of Fruits der Mer label. Check
these guys out.
Here
is a new split 7” with Marc McDowell, whom I have never heard of and my friend
Jaire’s band, Octopus Syng with their first new material in some years. The
single starts off with Marc a track entitled Girls of Belvoir (clocking in at
5½ mins). It is mainly acoustic guitar, violin and vocals to start. The mix is
quite psychedelic and eventually some flute and drums enter. A beautiful track
and it reminds me a bit of Circulus but more spaced. The Finnish band Octopus
Syng is back with a track that goes back to the roots of the band mixed with
the magic of Syd Barrett. Few people can pull this off like Jaire and his group
of Finnish freaks. Acid-folk psychedelia at its best! Enjoy…
I
probably don’t need to review this record damn, when a band you like makes
their best record ever 10 years into their career, you need to stand up and
yell about it! I was quite uncertain
when Tom left COM for Sweden what would happen and they had a new guitar player
but he only lasted for a short tour and then they got Ikuma ((ex-DHIDALAH, a
band I have never heard of) and now have made a totally killer record. Tatsu
the bass player still writes all the songs but having Ikuma around must have
done something as the music is just more groovy, more spaced out at times but
still those killer Sabbath inspired heavy riffs (yes they use a lot of them
over and over and over) but I am just pretty hooked on this new record and the
opening track BTK is an instrumental and
but does feature some spoken word samples, presumably from or about the serial
killer Dennis Rader. Lambs to the Slaughter (about Ian Brady and Myra Hindley-
a nasty duo) slows things down a bit and Hideki actually sings more clearly
than ever on these track and this one features a really cool psychedelic guitar
solo but too short. Brother Bishop (about
Gary Heidnik) closes side A and starts with a really killer guitar riff and
will have you headbanging for sure. Later on a really bluesy and killer solo
kicks in with a bit of panning on the sound as well. Now to side 2 where three
more serial killers get a chance to be sung about. Dennis Andrew Nilsen who did
some nasty stuff at Canley Gardens apparently, is next and starts with a slow
spacey bluesy intro after the spoken word intro. Then it really takes off with
some cool solos and mean nasty vocals. A
big surprise is a Quartermass song called One Blind Mice is squeezed in before
All Hallow’s Eve (John Linley Frazier). Something tells me Quartemass never
imagined their song being played quite like this! This one starts off like a
jam with some killer bass playing and distorted solo and sound before the main
theme of the song takes shape. Düsseldorf Monster (Peter Kurten) is the last
track and takes the entire side C and is one of the best on the record as it
gives the band space to really jam a bit. I still don’t understand not putting
something on the 4th side. Such a waste, like buying a beer with
only half the bottle filled. I look forward to seeing the band in Copenhagen on
Jan 14th with Monster Magnet!
Wow..
how I was surprised to hear about this one! I did not know that this far out
Australian band from Brisbane even existed anymore. I have their
Psychedelometer CD from 2007 that I reviewed way back then. Now they have a new full length record so get
ready for a trip. Since the names of the musicians were coded on the earlier
release (Captain Monotone, Stucifer (Stuart?)and Max Volume) I don’t know if it
is the same people or not. I think it is the same three guys plus a 4th
member now. Anyway, side A starts off with the title track, which is going all
over the place and changing speeds and is quite chaotic and difficult to get a
grasp of but Paul brings in some vocals inbetween some lead guitar passages and
lots of spaced out sounds. Folow Me starts off dreamy before the nearly heavy
metal but very 1980s Hawkwind style guitar riff kicks in but with a more raw
sounds. Reminds me of some Huw Llloyd Langton stuff as well. Excession is next
and features a spoken word vocal and is a really space slow track with some cool
space synth sounds but the main focus on the psychedelic guitar lines. Polydream
is heavily synth lead (like stuff Harvey Bainbridge might play) and more
uptempo but seems like it ends just as it was going to take off somewhere
interesting?? Ok, flip the record over now. Subsequent Retraction has a deep
bass line and starts with a wild lead guitar line and slow drums before the
drummer (Stuart) takes the lead to drive the pace of the track and Paul
(Singer, guitarist, synth programmer and bass) heads off on a wild solo. This
was certainly just a cool instrumental jam the band had. Atmosphere of Decay
has what sounds like mostly programmed but many some real drums and layers of
synths in another instrumental track. Tanquil has a totally different sound production
and the volume output has dropped quite a bit in another instrumental track
with a melodic guitar thread and nice solo but there is also something menacing
that never quite clears the fog to bite you! Verzweiflung has a vocal and
feeling of some of the recent Nik Turner and Space Ritual material and even the
latest Darxtar record, Aged to Perfection. I believe in UFO’s ends this record
with a track that has a very cool heavy guitar riff, some spoken word vocals
and lots of spaced sounds but still a melodic thread to it. A pretty cool
record and quite different than Psychedelometer. Enjoy the trip.. The vinyl is
limted edition in a cool yellow-green color (100), green (200) black (200) and the
yellow-green one comes with a poster, sticker and three postcards. A very nice
release.
This was a really fun
night and a bit emotional for the Rich and Andy from Carlton Melton. It was the
first time they had played back in Denmark since they were here with Zen
Guerilla more than 10 years ago. they were good friends with Ralph Rjeily and
had stayed in contact with Ralph via music and bands for all these years and
Ralph as also the tour manager on the first Freeks tour, on which Andy played
drums. Anyway, I arrived at the venue about 19:30 and the bands had just
arrived from a long drive from Berlin. I hung out equally with Rich and Andy as
well as the White Manna guys who were all super cool folks from Humboldt
California (US Weed capital!).
The
opening band are a new young 7 piece Danish psychedelic rock band (yes.. yet
another one!) called Fribyttedrømme, which means something like Pirate Dreams
in Danish. I have to say I was really blown away by these guys. This is a band
that really channelled a cool 70’s vibe with a mixture of like Pink Floyd
(Obscured by Clouds era) and Alrune Rød (great Danish band from the 70s, who
sadly don’t exist anymore). All the vocals are in Danish and well sung. They
have three guitars but they were all playing different stuff and two of the
guitar players did all the lead guitar work, with the singer having a really
fuzzed out guitar sound at times. They played for about 45mins and were really
excellent. I did not find a set list. I don’t think they have released anything
yet. The guys in both bands checked out the whole show and really liked this
band as well. Set List: Fribyttedrømmen, Kosmonatuen, Ørken, De Konstruerede, Fem er det Magiske Nummer
It
took 45mins before Carlton Melton hit the stage as they had all arrived too
late to sound check and had to set up new drums and all the stuff now. I went
outside for a while and chatted with my friends Sven, Tom, Anders and martin.
It was a really disappointing turn out tonight with only about 40 people. Where
was everyone? All these new Danish bands like Troldmand, Road to Suicide,
Spörkratet, Spids Nøgenhat, etc.. who play psychedelic rock, none of these guys
come out to see bands that they probably listen to and dig. A bit strange.
Anyway, that is the way it is.
Carlton
Melton opened with a slow dual guitar space out as they always seem to do. I
was supposed to jam with them this night but in the end, Rich (plays guitar,
synths, samples) made the decision they were not prepared, so I was just a
spectator. Next time we will do it for sure we agreed. Anyway, the opening
piece was like 15mins and ended with Rich just letting loose with some killer
guitar solos. Andy then switched from guitar to drums and things became much
heavier. I think they play more or less the same songs every night from what
the White Manna guys said but the way they play them is really different.
Tonight you could tell that it was emotional for them at the end Andy yelled
out “Ralph Rjeily” and a lot of people knew Ralph so they got a nice response
back. Rich said he was thinking a lot about Ralph when he was playing. Cool
concert of about 50mins. I am guessing they never play that long.
White
Manna used a lot of the CM gear so it was 30mins or so and they were ready to
fly but it was nearly 1 in the morning now. Anyway, this band really blew me
away with their high energy space rock with the hypnotic flavour or Wooden
Shjips (it is mostly the cool hypnotic way the bass player plays and not the
guitar and keyboard at all). They played mostly new material and only one song
from the 1st record. The opening track felt a lot like a long jam
and I filled this track and Dunes. There is a great interaction within the band
and after 2½ weeks on the road with a gig nearly every day they are flying
high. They change the set every night to keep things fresh, which is the way it
should be. The version of the Mick Farren song, I’m Coming Home (it is also on
the new record) was really cool. A fantastic concert but too short at like
55mins. A very late night. Enjoy the videos.
Set List: Esu ra, Dunes, X-ray,
Illusion of Illusion, Sweet Jesus, I’m Comin’ Home, Evil
Psicomagia is a new group featuring
Brian Ellis (not on guitar or synths by on saxophone) with a group of
like-minded mates from San Diego. I think some of these folks also play in the
improvsed Brian Ellis group. The spoken words are all in Spanish as are all the
song titles. The music is mostly instrumental very intense. Fans of the Mars
Volta will probably dig this even though there is no guitar! El Memorioso start
things off with a really cool intro before the amazing bass playing and intense
drumming kicks in and then saxophone takes the lead. The song has a very cool
vibe and the duelling battle with the keyboards (sometimes sounds like a flute)
and sax is very cool. El Congreso Pt1 is next and split over the end of side A
and beginning of side B and this features the spoken word poetry in Spanish of
Bernardo Nuñez. It starts slowly but then gets super intense as you go on the
same trip as the first track with the synths really taking the lead with some
repeated patterns return with the sax lines. Phew.. Flip the record over and
the poetry returns but the intensity of the keyboard is really cool as it sound
nearly like a guitar at times and really is balanced to the right while the
poetry is to the left. Brian is taking a break for a bit but rest are not! I
have to say this is some of the absolutely most intense effected organ and
synth playing I have ever heard, this Tyler Daughn is fucking unreal. He gives
the music a total head fuck! The last track Simplón is a bit more composed and
less of a full on freakout but no less intense. This one hell of a record to
sit through and you need to hear some pretty mellow stuff afterwards but I am
fully ready for the next trip! Awesome.
This
is a really cool live archive recording with all tracks except one recorded at
Dingwalls, London in 2007 and featuring the line up with Joie (ex- Ozrics,
Dream Machine, Eat Static) and two original members Keith (Bass) and Steffe
(guitars). They are joined by Steve Cassidy on drums (he replaced Merv from Eat
Static, who was also in and out of the band around this era) and Gwyo on
Synths. A very good line up. The CD opens with very cool synths and slowly
builds up into a cool jam. It is great to hear some of the songs from the
spacey UFOasis album as well as some new tracks but mostly focused on the 90s and recent material. Great
sound production and playing by all. Steffe is giving plenty of room to play
cool solos in each song and there are plenty of synth solos as well by Joie and
maybe Gwyo. Crazy Lives is a really funky track with a heavier guitar riff. Telly
Song has a slow spacey intro and goes into a reggae like piece but not like you
are used to but the way space rock bands do it. Some cool solos and keys. Moonrise
is an instrumental like jam with really nice bass playing to complement
Steffe’s lead work, while the synths provide a spaced out background. Steve is
very solid on the drums as well. Underground Dub is like the title suggests a
sort of dub track with some wild synth sounds shooting into the soundscape from
time to time and a more straightforward dub rhythm and keyboard as well at
times. Rattle the Cage keeps the pace slow and spacey and would have been a good
time for a more upbeat track but Steffe lays down one of his coolest guitar
solos here. Dig the positive lyrics in this track. Only way is a short melodic
track. The CD ends with a song called Near and How and this is more GONG like
in nature with some wild synths returning and a more uptempo and hard guitar riff
and they get totally psyched out like on no other track. Very cool way to end
the CD..
Monkey3
are back with a new album, the 5th sun and this is one of the tracks
from that record. The keyboards have played a larger and larger part in the
sound of this band over the last couple of records and this continues here. The
track starts heavy and dramatic but then goes into a more floating direction
again with the keyboard dominating and almost no guitar for quite a long period
before kicking back in as the keyboard which is made to sound like female voice
is what grabs your attention as the track builds up again. The B-side is a
cover of the Black Sabbath song called Zero the Hero from the Born Again
record. It features Niklas Sjöberg on vocals from the Swedish band Graviators!
Musically the band stick with the main guitar riff but db adds in a lot of cool
synth effects that make this quite psychedelic. Niklas’s voice is not really in
the same league as Gillan though but he really gives it his all. Fucking
awesome stuff and worth the cost of the 7” alone…
The
Humboldt County, California space rock band, White Manna is back with a new
trip to the deep side of the universe. I really liked the last record but man,
this one is a much heavier sonic trip. I spoke to the band about the record at
their recent amazing gig and they were much happier with this record and it was
recorded in a special way. It started off as a series of jams with some sonic
noise guys after tripping and recording. The end results was that they did not
really like what these guys had done but that a lot of really psyched out
grooves and things were played and they used these to build the record with a
series of overdubs. The record has a very special sound and the hypnotic nature
will remind people of Wooden Shjips but these guys offer more to my ears. The
band is fully expanded into a 5 piece as well from three on the first record. The
CD/LP begins with a 6min track called Transformation. It is a melodic mid paced
grooving track with some spacey synths floating through the soundscape as the laid
back spaced out vocal glides along and the lead guitar slowly finds its place
in this really space sound production. X Ray slows things down with a more
hypnotic feeling and dreamy tranced out vocal. Wooden shjips fans will like
this one. Sadly, they fade this one out as it really starts to pick up pace. I
would love to have heard where that one ended??
Illusion of Illusion starts slow and spacey and this trip lasts for 10
minutes with some super cool guitar work and it ends with a slow drone synth outro
to give you a soft landing. Wow.. Ascension comes back with some monster space
riffs and sounds in this slow instrumental piece that lasts about 4mins. Next
up is I’m Comin Home (a Deviants song by Mick Farren from their first record).
Something tells me that Mick would have approved of this space version of his
classic. Solar Returns is the last 10min trip on the record and really spaced
out. I have to say this will end up being one of my favourite records this
year. Amazing stuff.
Monster
Magnet is back with their first new material in 3 years and Dave has gone back
to his roots! No more producers and recording in LA but down to the home studio
of Phil (who plays bass and guitar) and two tracks of psychedelic rock like
they made in the mid 90s. Dave is no longer scared or told no from some fucking
producer to not put so much delay on the vocals,etc.. and back to doing just
what he wants to do. Anyway, Mindless One is an uptemp rocker that could easily
have been on Dopes to Infinity! Not
quite psychedelic enough for Superjudge though! Gavin does a great job of
filling in the Ed Mundell like guitar licks as well as throwing in some of his
own unique style. From the video I can see that Phil is doing quite a bit of the lead guitar as well. Quite a psychedelic track but still that mainstream MM feel
with the repeated chorus,etc.. The Duke of Supernatural is more laid back with
a keyboard that floats with groove. The drums are really killer on this track.
IT is all familiar, yet cool and new and fresh. That is Dave’s magic, who I
have to say, sounds as good as ever on vocals. A very cool 12”, I just wish
that at least one of these tracks had been exclusive to make it worth shelling
out the cash for this one. Only 300 made in purple and 300 in gold. The band will be in Copenhagen on Jan 14th, 2014 with Church of Misery as support. I will be there!
The
Swedish 70s rockers Horizont soon have a new LP out and this is a taster as
well as including an unreleased track on the B-side. The 7” is made in many
different colors and in about 1000 copies, if I recall correctly. Writing on
the Wall is an uptempo track that reminds me a bit of UFO. Axel, his voice is
so intense and really draws your full attention when he is singing. The dual
guitars of Kristofer and Magnus provide very nice melodic lines for the main
track. Real Slide Chain is a short unreleased track and it starts off with some
nice dual guitar lines before the main theme of the song and vocals kicks in.
Axel sings in a more laid back way on most of this track. The track goes by
quite fast and is over before you know it.
An ok 7” but it did not really blow me away. I look forward to the new
full length record where the band has more time to expressed themselves. These guys are coming to Copenhagen in Oct 19th at Stengade 30. I am not sure if Tom from Church of Misery, is still playing guitar with them or not..
This
came out a few months after Four Eyes and it was recorded in the same place
with the same band line up (Andy, Rich, Clint plus Brian and John). Side 3
features three tracks that are in the same vein. After a slow space in with
Slow Wakte, Keeping On has a more dominant synthesizer than a lot of Carlton
Melton tracks and this one really takes off at the end with intertwined guitar
solos. Spiderwebs is a very a dreamy drone piece to end the side. Flip the
record over and you have the very intense Sarsen, which is quite hawkwind
inspired and a killer track. The Splurge brings things back down to earth but
the guitar riff is a bit sinister in nature and not at all like the beautiful
themes from the previous side. Yet another tripped out LP by this great San
Francisco guys.
Carlton
Melton are back with two new records within a couple of months and once again
with John McBain (Ex- Monster Magnet, Wellwater Conspiracy) playing and mixing.
The opening track called Personal Space is a long space out with three guitars
(Ricj, Andy and John) with Clint on the bass and Brian on drums. This might be
the track they opened the recent concert with here in Copenhagen. Slow and
spacey with some synths bubbling up now and then but mostly layers of guitar
dominate the sound. After a while one of the three lets loose with a guitar
solo and then another as well and the dynamic gets much heavier in this mostly
drone style track. Road Swagger and the first song on side B have just Andy,
Rich and John, no bass. This one is a heavier guitar riff that the song builds
and spaces out on. Quite intense and noisy. Glass Home starts spacey like Pink
Floyd with some cool synths as well as beautiful floating guitar lines. Mist
ends this record. A heavier more fuzzed out, revereb drenched guitar dominates
and gives this one a sound that really freaks out your ears with the
frequencies. Trippy stuff. What these guys do is pretty cool. Music for real
stoners and trippers.
The bass, guitar and drums were all
men! There was a little introduction by
the man from the Film Institute of both the film and the band (in Danish) and
then the movie started and it was in 5 acts and the band played along. The
first two acts the music was pretty mellow with mainly just the keyboards, voice
and percussion but then during some of the intense parts in the last 3 acts,
the music was more uptempo and rocking. The last act had some surf like guitar
mixed in as well. I think they did a great job but was a little surprised they
did not try to follow a few of the movie cues like when he is knocking on a
door, to make a knock sound and when the guy was playing a trombone, to make
those kinds of sounds. Anyway, they were great and very professional. I could
see they had recorded a few records as well that they had for sale. A really
cool event.
