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New Albums of the Week

August 4, 2014 by A.S. Van Dorston

Summer is usually a slow time for new releases, but the first week of August has turned out to be full of great ones. Blues Pills’ debut of course is already strong contender for my year-end top 13.  Read full review here. There’s more than a half dozen other new albums totally deserving of attention too.

Brimstone Coven (Metal Blade, 2013)Brimstone Coven – Brimstone Coven (Metal Blade)
This is actually a reissue of last year’s self-released II, with their 2012 debut as bonus tracks, remastered.  Formed in Wheeling, WV in 2011, Brimstone Coven specialize in heavy psych, doom and proto-metal with occult themes. With high profile releases in recent years by The Devil’s Blood, Ghost and Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, some might question what this band has to offer that’s special. The answer is some freaking brilliant songwriting and harmonies.  Metal Blade certainly recognized this and signed the band. I don’t normally focus on reissues, but clearly not enough people heard this band previously, and they need to.  It can be fun to dig in and identify possible influences, such as perhaps Jack Bruce in the Big John Williams’ vocals, and plenty of obscure proto-metal influences. But it all comes down to their craft, mastery, musicianship and range. Think in terms of the level of Witchcraft (either the band or the magic, you pick). The arrangements, flow and mood of this album perfectly match the songwriting. Fans of the aforementioned bands and Purson and Blood Ceremony won’t be disappointed.

The Sea Kings - Woke In The Devil's Arms (Iffy Folk, 2014)The Sea Kings – Woke In The Devil’s Arms (Iffy Folk)
I just about lost my mind when I first heard the lead single from Glasgow’s The Sea Kings’ debut album. “Bible John” sounds like a long-lost single from 1984, a supergroup collaboration between The Smiths and Postcard groups like Aztec Camera, The Go Betweens and Josef K. Despite its celebratory ebullience, it’s actually a sinister tale about the 1960s Glasgow Barrowland killer. That’s pretty much the band’s m.o., tales about horrible things. Nick Cave would approve. The title track that kicks off the album is especially indebted to Cave, and also underrated Australian band The Triffids. Dark, heavy and brooding, it’s a magnificent start to the album. “Moonlit Range” is a plodding death waltz that made me wonder when they were going to pick up the tempo again. It turns out nothing else on the album remotely resembles “Bible John.” After adjusting expectations, the album’s brilliance spreads through you like the warm burn of a double Scotch. “The Night Of Broken Glass” takes place in 30s Germany where a young man fatally attempts to defect. “Is Paris Burning” has some particularly evocative imagery as a tragic love note from a jail cell. The band citing writer Alasdair Gray as an influence turns out to be no joke. These are truly literary songs. The album ends with another highlight, “Across The Coals,” a ghostly murder ballad with Ennio Morricone undertones and strings, like The Dirty Three with an excellent lyricist. You’d think the arrival of a colossal talent like this would call for some fanfare, but eh, it’s 2014 and everyone has their heads up their arses in their own particular micro scenes. Had I not been on the lookout for something like this for a while I might have missed it too, just as I missed their first Some Dark Matters EP (Iffy Folk, 2010). But if one catchy riff is enough to fuel a decade plus career for Interpol (“Say Hello To The Angels”), hopefully “Bible John” can bring similar attention to this well-deserving band. | Amazon | iTunes | CD

Spoon - They Want My Soul (Loma Vista, 2014)Spoon – They Want My Soul (Loma Vista)
My readers might think I’ve given up on indie rock. Not exactly, though I did have a sort of meltdown at Pitchfork half a decade ago when I savagely heckled all the bands phoning in listless performances, and vowed only to see metal bands live thereafter. I more or less stuck to that promise, but still listen to most genres, which just rank a bit lower than they used to 10-15 years ago. I always have time for Spoon, though. They’re one of a handful of indie rock bands who have a spotless record of no bad albums in their entire discography. Formed back in 1993 in Austin, they’ve been through the whole uncomfortable experience with indie labels, and went back to just focusing on writing excellent songs, always evolving while maintaining a recognizable core sound of minimalist guitar pop that they could practically patent at this point. I’ve listened through several times, and mixed randomly with their other albums, and it holds up extremely well. It’s hard to say if it will become anyone’s favorite, it’s a bit early, but it certainly measures up to the next few that comes after your favorite (which could be any number of their albums – for the record mine is Kill The Moonlight). It starts out with two of their singles, which in Spoon’s case are often their most creative efforts, “Rent I Pay” and “Inside Out.” The first is catchy as hell, and the second is a more dreamy, laidback tune with atmospheric keyboards, a bit of a departure even for them, but works well.  “Outlier” also tackles electronics, but in an elegantly effortless way that makes The Arcade Fire’s last album seem all the more unwieldy and awkward. There’s not a bum track on this album, and they sound remarkably fresh for a 21 year-old band. Taking their time with four years in between albums at this stage in their career was definitely the right choice. Their peers (if there are any left) can only hope to do so well.

John Garcia - John Garcia (Napalm, 2014)John Garcia – John Garcia (Napalm)
With the long wait for last year’s Vista Chino album, some might be surprised to see a new solo album out from lead singer John Garcia so quickly. But those who have followed his career know he’s always had a restless, creative spirit, and a big work ethic. After Kyuss, he released albums with Unida, Slo Burn, Hermano and then Vista Chino. With his work ethic, I’m sure the delays caused by the law suit over the Kyuss Lives! name were extremely frustrating for him, but didn’t keep him from writing new music. His official solo debut sees him at the top of his game, with a sound that’s of a continuum of the stoner/desert psych rock sound he helped pioneer, and continues to subtly tweak. “My Mind” and “5000 Miles” are a couple of the best hard-hitting tunes he’s come up in his whole career, while more experimental tracks like the detuned “Confusion” and acoustic “Her Bullets’ Energy” are pulled off successfully rather than serving as filler. The features a flamenco-flavored guest guitar solo from none other than The Doors’ Robby Krieger.

Saturn - Ascending: Live In Space (Rise Above, 2014)Saturn – Ascending: Live In Space (Rise Above)
Like Brimstone Coven, Swedish band Saturn self-released their album on Bandcamp (Name Your Price) in November 2013, and were later signed by a highly respected label.  A good example why unknown bands are generally better off making their album available that way rather than expecting people to pay $8 or more. As part of Rise Above’s efforts to expand beyond their main psych/prog/doom wheelhouse, Saturn are purely a metal band influenced by NWOBHM, hard rock and proto-metal like Budgie, UFO, Priest and Deep Purple, and a touch of 80s thrash. Their talent is apparent as they pretty much nail everything they tackle, from fast rockers to harmonies, though the slow, bluesy number “Over The Influence” drags a bit at 8:22. “Tower Of Terror” is much more successful, and “Last Man In Space” is a total progtastic blast. A young band with loads of potential, their sound and vision is not quite as fully formed as most bands on their label’s roster, but it’s great to see them invest in helping develop a band early on.

John Gallow - Violet Dreams (I, Voidhanger, 2014)John Gallow – Violet Dreams (I, Voidhanger)
Like John Garcia, this solo release is no minor side project. The guitarist from Orodruin and multi-instrumentalist vocalist in Blizaro, Gallo (adding a “w” for this project) digs deep into his unique vision of doom that’s rich with prog and psychedelia. Most likely titled in tribute to legendary Italian doom pioneer Paul Chain’s Violet Theatre (the name under which he recorded some landmark releases from 1984-87), Violet Dreams is a massively ambitious undertaking. Dense in riffs but not necessarily hooks and catchy melodies, it’s understandably a more culty release for dedicated doom heads. However, admirers of dark and adventurous music might be surprised how consumed one can get in this stuff, and soon be hectoring him on Facebook when the next show or album is coming. Here’s a bone, albums with both Orodruin and Blizaro are in the works!

Spiral Shades - Hypnosis Sessions (RidingEasy, 2014)Spiral Shades – Hypnosis Sessions (RidingEasy)
Christ on a crutch it never ends! A late edition to this roundup, I knew this was coming, but RidingEasy is pretty low key about PR and dates. Like Brimstone Coven and Saturn, this album was self-released last year. There was a fair amount of buzz due to the unique back story. Spiral Shades consists of two musicians who had never met in person. Filip Petersen of Norway handles the bass, drums and guitars, while Khushal R. Bhadra of Mumbai, India took care of lyrics and vocals. The Bandcamp page says Bhadra is a guitarist, but he is not credited with it on the album, and I’m not sure how much of the music he wrote. I assume at least the vocal melodies. On first listen to some stream last year, it sounded like a somewhat shitty demo-quality recording with a fairly generic old school doom and proto-metal sound. Bhadra’s vocals are very Ozzy-esque with only a slight hint of his own accent. However, their melodies and guitar riffs are often exceptional and sticky. It’s certainly worth the attention, at least as good as, say, Uncle Acid & the Deadbeat’s first hard-to-find album Vol 1 (2010). I felt they would be ten times better if they actually got together, rehearsed, toured and recorded an album in a room together. You know, like a real band. But hey, its 2014 and travel ain’t cheap, so who am I to turn my nose up at this creative partnership? So yeah, RidingEasy has now made it available on vinyl and CD (only $7)! I’m surprised they didn’t put it on cassette too. It’s a good opportunity to re-evaluate, and in lossless it definitely sounds better, particularly when the dynamics open up on the acousting closer “Fading Sunlight.” Overall it’s just a grower, and pretty much a necessity for doom/psych fans. My readers know there’s a several things worth getting from the label this year, so go ahead and fill up that cart! | Buy

Pale Horseman – Mourn The Black Lotus
I hadn’t been in a sludgy mood lately, but last Friday I went to the first metal show held at the Cubby Bear in years, organized by Matthew Cohen of Sacred Monster, and was totally impressed with Pale Horseman, who celebrated the release of their second album by hammering us into submission with their heavy sludge laced with doom. One might assume this formidable bunch are hairy Norsemen, but they’re actually from Chicago’s south side. 3/4ths of the band spent most of the 00s as Couldron, until their lead singer Tariq Ali died. They regrouped under their current form in 2012 and released their self-titled debut just a year later. It was enough to impress legendary industrial sludge and grindcore pioneer Justin Broadrick (Godflesh, Jesu, Scorn, Napalm Death), who remixed “Fork In The Road” from the debut. It’s featured at the end of their new one. While they are certainly big fans of Godflesh, their grooves are less mechanized and more fluid. When they stretch out on a longer track such as the massive 16:35 long “The Clairvoyant,” they lock into a hypnotic groove that gets psychedelic. Given that Ufomammut is one of my favorite bands, this is a sign of more great things to come from this band.

Space Witch – Space Witch (Orchestrated Dystopia)
There’s been a lot of anticipation for the debut of this UK band, which has been working on the debut after their initial EP for about seven years. Their longform (two tracks at 30 and 35 minutes each) psychedelic space sludge metal is definitely indebted to Ufomammut, except they do without vocals. I sometimes have trouble with instrumental bands, as I feel they’re incomplete without a voice, even if it’s unintelligible gutteral roars. However, a select handful of bands are great enough to hold my interest, and Space Witch are definitely on the cusp.


Also out:

Spider Bags – Frozen Letters (Merge) – Indie Garage Psych.

Nachtmystium – The World We Left Behind (Century Media) – May or may not be the final album from Chicago Black Metal legends.

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