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..
This
is a new band for me. These two tracks are both pretty cool high energy stoner
rock anthems. Dust Demon start things off with a grooving track with some cool
wah guitar and nice delays on the vocals at the right places to make it a bit
more psychedelic. You can easily get sucked into this one. Powerful stoner
rock.. Woman is next and just classic, heavy slow stoned grooving rock music…
not much more to say.. They don’t offer you anything new but if you crank this
sucker up you will dig it….. I did…
Split
single with the US instrumental stoner rock band, Karma to Burn and the other
side features Sons of Alpha Centuri, a band I have not heard of. Karma kick things off with a track called 53.
Well, if you like Karma, you will dig this track… nothing really new for these
guys but a solid rocking riffing track with a good groove.. That is basically
what this band delivers… Alpha Centuri are also instrumental and have a more
clean, less low end production but some really cool intense changes in the
track with just full on forceful playing. The keyboard textures are interesting
and different in the context of the music and one might think don’t fit at all
but somehow it works.. There is some spoken words stuff at the end. Remember
side B plays 33rpm while side A is 45rpm!
Kalamata
are a new instrumental three piece band from Germany. This is their debut, just
released in Jan 2015 and the band are out on the road a lot this year according
to the promotion information.. Anyway, the first thing you must know is that
this CD has to be played loud. I heard it a few times in December and never
really got into it much until now when I sit down to review it and play it
LOUD.. The CD features 7 tracks that make up one sentence when read together and
starts off with You. The intro is kind of spacey with just bass and guitar to
start before a massive change in sound as everything kicks in loud. A slow
hypnotic pace is kept as the track slowly takes shape with small changes, just
enough to keep it interesting. The band likes to change dynamics the same way
that bands like Colour Haze, Sungrazer, My Sleeping Karma do. Have starts off a
bit doomy and repeats itself over and over until the guitar riff changes to a
more intense faster riff and then back to the doom. To is the 3rd
track and like the first starts with a clear guitar stream before the drums and
bass kick in to take the free floating groove away in a more relaxed fashion as
the guitar is more adventurous and not so repetitive until the end, which
really rocks hard and then a very cool ending. Cool song. Die starts with a
heavy bass line, as a track titled DIE should. This track actually has a pretty
happy thread at times and the riffing reminds me of the SWORD, if you remember
those guys. Soon has some really good dynamics and lots of changes in this
short under 4 min track. Mother speeds things up with frantic drumming and a
heavy groove and nice guitar riff in another short track. Fucker ends the
record and goes back to the doomy track 2 style and might be a bit like
Sardonis from Belgium. Anyway, a powerful instrumental record with a lot of
cool tracks despite almost no lead guitar but enough guitar changes and riffs
to make it quite cool. Let’s see if they jam any of these tracks out live with
some more solos or anything. Check out my friend Jerry’s review for another
opinion. Peace.
The promo sheet mentions Kyuss,
hawkwind and Motorpsycho and I have to say, those bands never came to my mind
while hearing this CD and I have all the records by those bands. Strange…
This
is the most new release from the Swedish psych band from Stockholm. The two
tracks were recorded back in 2011 though. Sunshine Song is a happy track and
start things off with a cool 60s vibe and an uptempo and nice changes between
the organ and effected guitar. Nice spaced out section in the middle of the
track with some cool guitar and effects and then a return to the happy these of
this song. Devil’s Path is next and has a really far out beginning and then a
string section with violins, viola and cello take over. The rock and roll does kick in after a minute
or so to create another quite cool and original track. What a cool band…
Coogans
Bluff are a very diverse German band starting off in the Stoner rock genre but
now doing whatever they feel is cool music. The opening track is an old
Yardbirds track called A Heart full of Soul and they do a great version in
German and quite close to the original feel. Flip it over for the bands
original track, She gave her life for a Man, sung in English. It starts off
with an organ and also features horns! It
has a nice groove and I like the way they have the organ just come in here and
there and the horns only in the end section. Nice 7” for sure… Check the web shop for all the different
colours this is available in.
This
is a new band for me but they have a catchy groove and remind me of
Spirtualized or early 90s Sundial without the great guitar playing. They are a
quartet originally from New Zealand but moved to Berlin to make their mark on
the music world. The band has previously released one record, called White
Buffalo. I really dig the opening track, 87 years, such a cool groove and sound.
Settle Down has a more dark vibe and is one of the longer tracks at nearly
5mins and has some drone synths and some conga in the mid-end groove section
and some guitar but not that interesting compared to the rest of the sound.
Great track. ! All we Need features a real 60s fuzz guitar and vibe but still
have floating feeling. Ghetto Drum is a slightly slower piece with these
slightly more spacey vocals and guitars. Waves
in front of Me has a some cool layers of fuzz and wah guitar as a heavy
deep bass line pushes the track as the vocals put you in this ethereal world.
Into this Mess starts off like a jam with a lazy bluesy, psychedelic guitar as
the groove gets more catchy and melodic vocal develops to follow the guitar or
the other way around and then they have a bit of a jam and space out but the
guitar player only teases and never really just kicks ass and plays a massive
solo.. only toying with us, sadly… This is probably my favourite track with the
opening one but still under 5mins. The Fisherman starts with a loop and then
the drums and bass kick in and then the vocals and happy vibe. Why are we not
Fading is one of the more hard rocking tracks on the CD. Never Sorry finished
off the CD and is another of the more melodic dreamy tracks. A lot of this CD I
liked a lot and some of it was bit too mainstream dreamy pop rock stuff but
fans of Tame Impala, Spiritualized, and the 90s UK psych-pop scene should check
these guys out. They write a lot of good songs.
Colour
Haze is back with their 10th record and this time a single LP with
five songs. Again, it was recorded all analog at the bands own studio, with a
focus on the best analog sound they can get. There is really no need to
introduce this three piece band, although they are assisted by some special
guests on modular synth, flutes, horns, strings, sounds of wind and water.. Circles
starts things off with some slow building guitar with the tone you all know
before Mani and Philip get pulled into the fold. Stefan’s vocal is soft and
relaxed and occasionally doubletracked. The track just glides along, flowing
like a river until the riff that you hear in 50% of all the bands songs,
appears and the intensity goes up and the drums are beginning to get lost as
the guitar is louder and a violin comes in for a brief 30 seconds or so. Paradise
starts off with a really familiar riff, classic Colour Haze sound and tone, is
it Zen or Roses that they borrow from??
Short 3½ min song, perhaps a single? Ûberall is instrumental and starts
slowly with just guitar for about 2mins before the rest of the band kick in at
a mid-tempo. There is some modular synth somewhere (very low at the beginning?)
but the track ins 8 ½ mins of riffing mostly. Call, features Philip on some
droning Hammond throughout the track but you can hear him best at the
beginning. This track is very stripped down with just Stefan playing a riff
with a really cool guitar tone and a vocal sung over it. At 6½ mins, the rest
of the band kicks in for another 1½ mins of riffs you have heard before. The
only real highlight of the record for me is the title track, which ends the
album which is a brilliant like CH Spanish inspired track, starting with some
acoustic guitar and later drums, violin and horns, etc... Amazing track.
I
have to say besides the last song, I did not really get into this album much.
Probably my least favourite CH album since Chopping Block. It just seems like
they have nothing new to say or express until the end of the record. The artwork is just very stripped down and
simple and just not that interesting and the songs just seem to recycled. Sure,
they throw in a violin here and some strings or some organ or modular synth
there but Stefan plays very little new or interesting guitar and hardly any
solos and Mani is mixed way down in the mix. I liked the sound of the last
record much more. Hum… Sorry guys.. I just did not really get it, I guess…
Bland Bladen were an
all instrumental psychedelic space rock band from Malmö that existed from about
2002 until 2010. The four piece band were an integral part of the Øresund Space
Collective and all of the members except the drummer still perform on and off
with ØSC. This limited LP features fantastic artwork and a nice insert with a
long history about the band and other info related to this LP. Anyway, the side
A is the last two songs the band recorded in the studio not too long before
they officially split up. It was recorded mostly live plus a few overdubs here
and there. The opening track, Daggväta, starts off quite fast with a great
guitar solo by Sebastian as the band kicks into full blast psychedelic space
rock mode with a nice groovy bass line. Ola later comes in with the Fender
Rhodes that was so characteristic of their sound on the first record. Fantastic
solos by both Sebastian and Ola on this track. Haskaren is next and brings the
intensity down a little bit but the groovy is really cool with Luz, a Brazilian
friend joining in on some congas and additional percussion. Lovely guitar and
keyboard melodies on this track. The side B is actually tracks taken from the
Malmö local jam project that was headed by the amazing visual artist called
Insezt, who also did the album artwork. This was a project he organized that
often included some of the guys from BB plus other local guests. These tracks
are shorter and more chilled but also very cool. It starts off with Visa för
Allmännyttan. The drumming is more laid back and Ola really takes the lead with
some nice Fender Rhodes playing and not that much synths on this track until
the end which is really cool and nice layers of stuff are going on as the track
really gains intensity and the synth sound really goes into your head as it is
mixed really loud. Sine-us is a short track and the bass line and piano make me
feel like Jim Morrison will jump out and sing soon until the guitar kicks in…
The last track is called Beyond the Deepest Deep. I really like this slow
spacey track with some cool wah guitar and lots of spacey synths. Great way to
end the record. This is most likely the last stuff ever by this cool band, so
for sure get this one! 500 copies on three different colours of vinyl and no
digital version…
Janne Westerlund is
the guitar player in Circle, Plain Ride and Pharaoh Overlord from Finland. This
is his second solo album and like the first it is pretty much stripped bare
with just Janne, his guitar, dulcimer or banjo and the occasional bits of
percussion. The CD features 10 tracks of
emotional music. It takes a strong Jesus to carry me Home starts things off in
a fairly dark mood. Stranger’s Row is a banjo song that is written for all
those people who are down and out on the streets. Powerful melody and lyrics.
Wow. Treetops is a strummed acoustic track with layered vocals, a simple drum
beat to go with the flowing vocals. Tar is another banjo song for the hobo.. I
have found these songs to be amazingly powerful tracks. Long tall Grass is very passionately sung with
very simple instrumentation. I’m Wrong is a more happy song. See Thru is a
truly incredible song with great lyrics and deep, dark emotion in these few
notes.. This track I have played over and over again. Wow.. Listening Rain returns
us to the banjo. The title track, Marshland has the most complex
instrumentation of any track with a cool effect added on the vocal to
compliment the organ, guitar and simple percussion as well as horn. It is also
the longest track at over 8 mins. Love is the Point ends this CD. Simple,
emotional music that really speaks to me. I loved this record. Brilliant. The video below is a track from his first album but it will give you an idea of the flavor of this record as well.
This
is a new Italian three piece band that stoner, 70’s rock, more than Boogie but
have delivered a really solid 9 track LP on the Heavy Psych Sounds label. Bad
Rebel kicks thing into high gear with a more garage rocker before heading into
Riding the Wind, which is a mid-paced track with some cool spacey sounds like
mixed in on Brain Pyramid and Black Rainbows also on this label. The band has
at least one cool guitar solo in each track. My Queen gets a good groove going.
Little Flower is a more hard rock groover that can really suck you in. Silver
Universe was a great laid back spacey track that leads into the UEMG inspired
Cosmic Eye, which is one of the longest tracks and has a slow spaced out
movement in the middle before building up again with a really cool effected
guitar sound. Summertime, is a happy track to shake your ass to. The vocal is
mixed a bit further back on this one for some reason. A happy track! The Golden
Age reminds me a lot of Nebula and Fu Manchu.. Dynamite ends this pretty uptempo
with a classic stoner rock tradition… This was a really cool and enjoyable
album and if you are fans of Radio Moscow, Brain Pyramid, Black Rainbows, UEMG,
etc.. you probably get into this bands groove and rock and roll, straight up,
no surprises, done with class and style..
Easy
Chair was a four piece band from Seattle Washington. Phil Kirby- Guitar, Vocals, jeff
Simmons- Bass, Lead vocals, piano, Peter Larsen- Guitar (lead vocals on My Own
life), and Albert Malosky- Drums. These
tracks were recorded in 1968 and released on a very rare one sided album. This
is the first official reissue ever. The first is called Slender Woman and is
mostly instrumental with a slow beginning with a lot of different changes some
focus on the guitar, the bass, the piano but eventually a cool stoney blues
feeling develops in the track. It has a bit of a Jefferson Airplane feeling also.
Jeff was for sure a fan of Marty Balin. My own Life is next and a more uptempo
track but still a bit jammed out with a nice wah guitar section. Easy Chair
ends this single album side. It starts with some piano and has some nice
harmony vocals. Quite a stoney sound… I really did enjoy this a lot but it is
not mind blowing stuff. I could image they were a really cool live band though,
if you ever got to see them. If you like West Coast stuff, early MAN, check it
out…
Ff
is a new project featuring Dave from White Hills and Antrony also known as Tony
the Interpretive Dancer). Antronhy has played drums for numerous bands
including Bivouac, Punish the Atom, Julian Cope but you won’t hear many on this
release as it is mostly strange samples, synths and some vocals. There are
several editions of this record and I managed to the mail order on in only 50
copies in a white sleeve and a brown vinyl with streaks. It also comes with a
sheet of blotter with two different coloured hands on it.. Would be cool if had
acid on it but seems unlikely but you don’t know if you don’t try it! Anyway,
the record features 10 tracks, 5 on each side of strange soundscapes lasting
about 30mins, that a bit of LSD would for sure enhance your ability to
appreciate this quite abstract music. Fans of the White Hills Oddity series
will for sure dig this…… Far out stuff..
The
UK based band, Cranium Pie are back with a new double vinyl record on the
amazing Fruits der Mer label. This time around the band cranks out 4 album side
long tracks, none with song titles. The track glides along with a nice spacey
Fender Rhodes piano that you follow along the drum machine and a disturbing
guitar that pops in at specific intervals and then about 3½ mins the whole
things turns violet as the vocals return and you go back to the main theme.
This fades out and a new section returns with a distorted organ like on
Brainticket as a new track beginnings. The organ and keyboard remain the main focus
for some time. The third movement or track on side A has a repeated synth loop
and more programmed like drums and lots of weirdness until the guitar and voice
kicks in. Now we are at 14 mins and there has been very little guitar before
this point but now he wants to play a bit! Track 2 is once again a collage of
3-4 different tracks-ideas that have a different pull. This one is a bit more
jazzy and has more guitar as well but also a lot of far our movements and
pieces. The organ dominates at the end as the spoken word samples returns. Track
3 starts off with a really funky guitar and groove but sadly it fades away into
strangeness all too fast as you feel as if something terrible is going to
happen next……….. disco?..No… just some samples, circus music and then…. Anyway,
this record has surprises around every corner and is a very cool and
interesting listen. I enjoyed it a lot the three times I have heard it now… If
you dig the first Brainticket and Polytoxicmane Philharmonie, and Soft Machine
all mixed together you will dig this.
This
is the first new material from Mos Generator this year but I am sure not the
last. The three songs here are quite different for the band and they were all
recorded back in 2008 for an aborted album. Tony plays some keyboards on the
opening track, which he says was inspired by the movie Altered States. Time and
Other Theives Tony says was inspired by VoiVod and has had a number of versions
layers added at different times but he has stripped a lot of that back for this
final version of a song he is happy is out to the people now. Outlander has
hardly any guitars but is a beautiful spacey track lead mainly by the
keyboards, simple bass and drum groove. Very cool floating vocals.. This
material is unlike anything you have heard released under the name Mos
Generator but cool tracks, so who cares? The Issak track is only long 15min
track with a lot of different moods. It starts off slow and a bit spacey with
some long spoken word speeches by the crazy preacher, Jim Jones. Far out stuff
but it sets a cool vibe for when the stoner rock riffs kick in and it gets
heavy. I quite liked this track and they return to the same theme at the end
where the song started. A pretty cool 30min record… The record has really nice
details about all the songs by both bands.
This
is a new band for me but they have a catchy groove and remind me of
Spirtualized or early 90s Sundial without the great guitar playing. They are a
quartet originally from New Zealand but moved to Berlin to make their mark on
the music world. The band has previously released one record, called White
Buffalo. I really dig the opening track, 87 years, such a cool groove and sound.
Settle Down has a more dark vibe and is one of the longer tracks at nearly
5mins and has some drone synths and some conga in the mid-end groove section
and some guitar but not that interesting compared to the rest of the sound.
Great track. ! All we Need features a real 60s fuzz guitar and vibe but still
have floating feeling. Ghetto Drum is a slightly slower piece with these
slightly more spacey vocals and guitars. Waves
in front of Me has a some cool layers of fuzz and wah guitar as a heavy
deep bass line pushes the track as the vocals put you in this ethereal world.
Into this Mess starts off like a jam with a lazy bluesy, psychedelic guitar as
the groove gets more catchy and melodic vocal develops to follow the guitar or
the other way around and then they have a bit of a jam and space out but the
guitar player only teases and never really just kicks ass and plays a massive
solo.. only toying with us, sadly… This is probably my favourite track with the
opening one but still under 5mins. The Fisherman starts with a loop and then
the drums and bass kick in and then the vocals and happy vibe. Why are we not
Fading is one of the more hard rocking tracks on the CD. Never Sorry finished
off the CD and is another of the more melodic dreamy tracks. A lot of this CD I
liked a lot and some of it was bit too mainstream dreamy pop rock stuff but
fans of Tame Impala, Spiritualized, and the 90s UK psych-pop scene should check
these guys out. They write a lot of good songs.
