Tombstones In Their Eyes – Fear EP (Send Me Your Head Records – 4 August 2017)

Tombstones In Their Eyes Preview ‘Always There’ Single from ‘Fear’ EP

Los Angeles’ rock outfit Tombstones in Their Eyes have announced their forthcoming ‘Fear’ EP, to be released via Send Me Your Head Records. To wet your appetite, the band presents the first single, with accompanying video, for ‘Always There’.

With this five-track release, the four-piece manage to embrace a wide range of influences, from the stoner rock of Kyuss to the warped neo- psychedelia of the likes of Spacemen 3 to the cavernous and doom-laden sounds of Electric Wizard and beyond.

Tombstones In Their Eyes’ currently line-up is John Treanor (guitar, vocals, keyboards, songwriter), Josh Drew (guitar, backing vocals), Mike Mason (bass, guitar) and Stephen Striegel (drums). Their musical influences include The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Elliott Smith and The Melvins.

Recorded at L.A.’s Kitten Robot Studio with Paul Roessler (Nina Hagen, The Deadbeats, The Screamers, 45 Grave), this EP follows up their huge sounding ‘Bad Clouds’ EP (2016) and debut album ‘Sleep Forever’ (2014). “Paul knows exactly where I’m coming from and intuitively knows how to make what I’m feeling come through the speakers,” says John Treanor.

The band began life as a demo swapping exercise between John Treanor in L.A. and his childhood friend James Cooper, now in New York, but soon coalesced into a full fledged band. But collectives are always more than what you see on the surface. In John’s case, writing and performing songs is also a way of dealing with severe anxiety and depression, a way of talking about the subject without being the centre of the conversation, and a way of being subliminal rather than direct.

While such a starting point could easily see the music devolve into melancholy and self-absorption, here Tombstones in Their Eyes instead manage to move beyond that place and create music laced with celestial grandeur and a fuzzed out psychedelic majesty that looks out into the universe just as much as it looks inward toward the soul.

This music is also designed to connect rather than be insular. As Treanor says, “Everybody goes through hard periods in their life, and I hope that these songs make them feel less alone.”

Tombstones create walls of sound, which are simultaneously sonorous and hazy. These are cavernous, stoner lullabies that descend into post-rock soundscapes and are wrapped in dark shoegazing dreamscapes.

The cover design, created by well known psychedelic artist Darren Grealish, brings just the right image to such a mercurial collection.

TRACK LIST

1. I Want To Fly
2. Separate
3 Always There
4. Another Day
5. Fear

 

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The Stevenson Ranch Davidians – Amerikana (Picture In My Ear Records – 9 June 2017)

Psychedelic rock/folk/Americana stalwarts The Stevenson Ranch Davidians Present ‘Holy Life’ from Coming ‘Amerikana’ Album

The Stevenson Ranch Davidians have announced they will release their new album ‘Amerikana’ in June, but are teasing what’s to come with the lead single ‘Holy Life’ and accompanying video. This is The Davidians’ first album since 2009, scheduled for release in June 2017 on Minneapolis-based Picture In My Ear Records.

Steeped in the aura of the perennially mythologized psychedelic culture of Southern California and making music influenced by the enduring essence of ‘60s psych, folk and soul, woven with strands of early American roots music, The Stevenson Ranch Davidians has, since 2006, revealed itself in shifting configurations.

While the lineup has continually coalesced around lead singer and songwriter Dwayne Seagraves, the collective has always had a guiding vision and goal: to create music that seeks to simultaneously demystify and deify the human experience.

‘Amerikana’ represents a new direction for the band, where the dreamy, flowing sound of albums past is infused with a fresh sense of inspiration, energy and purpose. This is an eclectic, yet cohesive, set of songs that glorify the human spirit while condemning those who seek to destroy it.

Seagraves states that Amerikana also celebrates what he views as true magic: human will put to action. Through his songs, he hopes to convey the sense that human beings have been the sole source of all great insights and achievements throughout history, and that power originates from within individuals rather than from gods, governments or other external sources.

“Holy Life is basically a deification of the Human Spirit,” says Dwayne Seagraves. “I view the record and every song on it as a celebration of the human spirit as well as a condemnation of those who seek to destroy it. What inspired it was a period of time in which I was exposed to those who seek to destroy it and the record was written as a direct counter balance to that.”

The band’s new lineup brings a range of talent, experience and inspiration to The Stevenson Ranch Davidians’ sound. In addition to longtime Davidians’ bassist Jessica Latiolait, guitarist Rob Campanella is a member of The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Quarter After, while his brother – drummer and backing vocalist Andy Campanella – is a veteran of Occult Wisdom, Imogene and Chief Nowhere. Guitarist Misha Bullock, the sole Englishman in the fold, formerly played with Tennis System.

The Stevenson Ranch Davidians “Amerikana” LP will be available on Classic Black 150G Vinyl with Lyric Inner Sleeve, but is already available for pre-order on Picture in My Ear Records ‘ Bandcamp at https://pictureinmyearrecords.bandcamp.com/album/amerikana

On May 4, The Stevenson Ranch Davidians will be headlining Lolipop Records‘ event at Harvard & Stone in Hollywood (5221 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, California).

CREDITS
Written, performed and produced by Dwayne Seagraves
Mixed by Bryan Showalter
Mastered by Isaac Betesh
Video created by Jacob Kedzierski

Keep up with The Stevenson Ranch Davidians 

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Holy Monitor – s/t (February 2017)

Greek five piece psychedelic band Holy Monitor return with their debut album “Holy Monitor”

After releasing last year the “Golden Light/Aeolus” EP through American label Ongakubaka Records the band returns with a full length album of 10 psych/kraut diamonds.

Available in two limited editions of 200 copies (clear-copper & blue-white marbled vinyl) or digital download on their Bandcamp page.

 

SpaceFest! 2016 – 2-3 December 2016

SpaceFest! 2016 Preview. Anton Newcombe (The Brian Jonestown Massacre) & Emil Nikolaisen (Serena Maneesh) to lead Pure Phase Ensemble 6

SpaceFest! is gearing up for a new season. The sixth edition of this festival will take place on December 2-3. Gdansk will again become the intergalactic capital of Poland, presenting psychedelic music at its best with shoegaze, Krautrock and space-rock plus cosmic energy, intergalactic cats, forest goblins, psyched visuals, pagan disco and more.

Organized by Nasiono Records, this event is traditionally preceded by a week-long workshop for Pure Phase Ensemble, an ephemeral group created especially for the festival. While most festival events will take place at Zak Club, these musicians will rehearse at the Laznia 2 Centre for Contemporary Art in the city’s Nowy Port district, seeking inspiration amidst its post-industrial atmosphere.

This year, Pure Phase Ensemble will be fronted by a true legend: Anton Newcombe of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, espousing one rule – that there are no rules when making music. We can basically expect anything. Anton is teaming up with Emil Nikolaisen (producer, multi-instrumentalist and frontman of Serena Maneesh) for this project.

Anton Newcombe says, “It is my hope I can have a quick chat with everyone involved and get on the same page about how important silence can be. From there we can make everyone deaf… but I’m not interested in throwing everything at something then trying to remove everything in its own way. I would rather build wonderful beds of ideas, rythm, melody and work on Polish and English vocals when we can… I plan to switch between my keys and my guitars using one in open tunings if I can, and one standard… and get weirder… be heavy. and dreamy. but not pointless.”

Other PPE members are from the following Polish alternative bands: Polpo Motel (Olga Myslowska), Jesien (Maciej Karminski), Oslo Kill City (Jakub Zwirello), Judy’s Funeral (Marcin Lewandowski) and Aiodine (Kacper Graczyk). The collective will also involve Nasiono Records’ very own Karol Schwarz (7faz, KSAS), who has been responsible for its musical cohesion from the very outset. Their output will be presented live on December 3, and will be recorded and released on CD in 2017.

The makeup of Pure Phase Ensemble is constantly changing, guided by the artistic vision of a new leader each year. Through workshop improvisation, the musicians produce a set of unique songs, Past participants include Mark Gardener (Ride), Laetitia Sadier (Stereolab), Ray Dickaty (ex Spiritualized), Steve Hewitt (ex Placebo), Jaime Harding (Marion), Chris Olley (Six By Seven), and Hugo Race (The Bad Seeds, The True Spirit).

This year’s concert delights include performances by Camera (Germany), Be Forest (Italy), The Third Sound (Iceland-Germany), DIV i DED (Czech Republic), MDME SPKR (Britain), and Polish artists Rosa Vertov, Wild Books, Lonker See, and The Fruitcakes.

Be Forest, a trio from the Italian city of Pesaro and leading fixture in the modern shoegaze world, bring their hallmark sound to the festival. More shoegaze is on the menu from Czech shoegaze and dreampop outfit DIV I DED, building on the achievements of such groups as Ecstasy of Saint Theresa, Slowdive, Jesus & Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine.

German trio Camera, who experiment with sound, composition, form and expression, are justifiably compared with 70s Krautrock icons like Neu! and La

Camera – pic by Oscar Valentine

Düsseldorf, their music like a motor running at full throttle, where an explosion could occur any second.

The new psych scene is represented by The Third Sound, a band that has been dubbed “linchpins of the psychedelic underground”. Fronted by Icelandic singer Hakon Aðalsteinsson, formerly of Singapore Sling, this project was founded in Rome and has since relocated to Berlin.

London duo MDME SPKR transmit pure, raw energy on stage, while Lau Betti’s low, in-your-face voice emanates sincerity and freshness. Their sweaty, loud sound evokes L7’s grunge or the darkness of Black Sabbath. Polish band Wild Books also combine the raw sound of psychedelic punk with dreamy, fuzzy 1990s-style guitars, presenting material from their upcoming second album titled “2”.

The sound from Poland’s Lonker See oscillates around jazz, space rock and psych. It’s full of space, based on long forms, with ample room for improvisation. Through its annual competition for young bands, two other collectives will perform at SpaceFest! 2016 – Warsaw-based Rosa Vertov, an all-female band playing dirty, disturbing shoegaze, and The Fruitcakes, whose music is inspired by the late 60s San Francisco psych scene, the Canterbury scene, and the psychedelic aspects of the contemporary Australian scene.

SpaceFest! also presents DJ sets from UK-based DJ Ola’s Kool Kitchen and DJ Pomponette, who will deliver spaced out and psychedelic dance music sets, and Snowid – a mystical forest creature and the festival’s informal patron, presenting a wild mix of disco, psytrance, electro and dubstep.

SpaceFest! is organised by the Nasiono Association in cooperation with the Laznia Centre for Contemporary Art and Zak Club. The festival is co-financed by the City of Gdansk. Tickets are available from Soundrive Tickets and Zak Club(Grunwaldzka 195/197, Gdansk)

Day tickets are PLN 35 (preorder) and PLN 45 (on the door) / Weekend tickets are PLN 65 (preorder only). For more information on this unique space expedition, visit www.spacefest.pl. 

FESTIVAL PROGRAM

2 December 2016 | doors 7 p.m.

Rosa Vertov (PL)

Be Forest (IT)

Wild Books (PL)

Camera (DE)

The Third Sound (IS/DE)

+

Snowid DJ set (PL)

Ola’s Kool Kitchen DJ set (UK)

 

3 December 2016 | doors 7 p.m.

The Fruitcakes (PL)

Lonker See (PL)

DIV I DED (CZ)

MDME SPKR (UK/FR)

Pure Phase Ensemble ft. Anton Newcombe (The Brian Jonestown Massacre) & Emil Nikolaisen (Serena Maneesh) (US/PL/NOR)

+

Snowid DJ Set (PL)

DJ Pomponette (UK/FR)

Ola’s Cool Kitchen DJ set (UK)

 

Keep up with Pure Phase Ensemble / Nasiono Records

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Keep up with SpaceFest

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Politburo – Barrington Way (Leonard Skully Records 19 August 2016)

Manchester psych rock stalwards Politburo drop first single from ‘Barrington Way’ LP.

Long-running, Manchester psychedelic rock/folk band Politburo are releasing “Barrington Way”, the lead single from sophomore album of the same name, which releases in mid-August via Leonard Skully Records.

Politburo started out as a four-piece, but the line-up has changed over the years. Today the band consists of founding members Nick Alexander (vocals, guitar, tambourine) and Dominic ‘Dom’ James (drums, percussion, keyboards), as well as John Loveguns (guitar), Phil Meredith (guitar, keyboards), Steven Joseph (bass), and invited guest Chloé Sancho (vocals).

The band began in 1999 when they were teenage dreamers. Inspired by Mancunian legends of yore and a contempt for the dying grandees of Brit Pop. “I was out to try and create great music, but sometimes I guess it was art terrorism,” says Nick Alexander.

“We knew we’d have to create our own different world to inhabit. The idea was that the right people would come to us… we wouldn’t have to go to them and force something down their collective throat,” explains Dom James.

In 2007, the band set up their own recording studio 11STSQ in Manchester’s bohemian Northern Quarter. Politburo hosted numerous parties there, quickly earning them an infamous reputation, with bands clamouring to be part of some hazy and spectacular nights.

It was around this time that Politburo members established Kraak Gallery. Seeking a regular musical fix, locals began to regularly turn up unsolicited at the door. Kraak Gallery quickly became a phenomenon in the Manchester underground arts scene and soon attracted national press, also receiving deserved mention in Manchester nightlife notes by Dave Haslam in ‘Life After Dark’.

Today’s Aatma space inherited Kraak Gallery’s original purpose of holding gigs and parties, with the upstairs 11STSQ more focused as a dedicated recording studio. Upon meeting the band amidst all of this activity, label boss and guru Professor Leonard Skully immediately knew these were the kind of people he wished to associate himself with.

In 2012, Politburo released their first album ‘Sally and Prinss Revisited’ through Leonard Skully Records. Around this time, the band found themselves at the epicentre of the Northern Quarter’s burgeoning music scene.

“It was as if we’d populated an entire district. Bars were springing up. Cafes. People had returned to the area, in large part because we invented our own music industry—a venue, a record label, a recording studio,” says Dom James.

The ‘Barrington Way’ album was recorded, mixed and mastered at their beloved studio 11STSQ. For this release, the band was joined by French singer-songwriter Chloe Sancho, who contributed vocals on at least half of the songs, becoming an important part of the album’s sound. “She has a timeless quality, a pained quality,” says Nick Alexander. “Her voice is beautiful, like a ghost.”

“We tried to capture how we sound live. But often there’d be something we’d want in there, that would take weeks to create or realise. Crazy schemes, such as getting artist Florian Fusco to come over from Berlin and play the first ever Random Appropriation Synth committed to record. We followed our noses. We never let ourselves be put off by the seeming impossibility of an idea,” says Dom James.

As of August 19, the ‘Barrington Way’ LP will be released on 12” vinyl and digital download via Leonard Skully Records. It is already available for pre-order (vinyl) and will be also a free download on Politburo’s Bandcamp site. The band has also announced a U.K. tour, including the following dates:

LIVE DATES
August 4 – Bristol, Stag and Hounds
August 7 – Blackpool, Stanley Park
August 12 – Nottingham, Jam Cafe
August 17 – Manchester, Night & Day
August 19 – York, The Basement (with George Boomsma)
August 20 – London, The Betsey Trotwood
August 25 – Glasgow, Nice ‘N’ Sleazy

TRACK LIST
1. Umm, Rhombus?
2. Deep. Down, Deep
3. Breeze
4. Her Long Shadow
5. Zoo’s Of The World
6. C’est Moi
7. A Crack In Saturn
8. Under The Ground
9. Carolene
10. Barrington Way

Keep up with Politburo

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Portland Psych Festival July 29-30

In good tradition with psych fests everywhere, the Portland Psych Movement is presenting the Second Annual Portland Psych Fest, for those who remember last year’s Fest, those who were there and can’t remember anything, and also those who will be embarking on this special trip for the first time.

Sponsored by Sizzle Pie and and XRAY.FM, this year’s lineup features bands from Chicago, Mexico, and Idaho to San Francisco and L.A., fearlessing riding the path blazed in the sixties and representing the most nascent and newly-borne sounds conjured Stateside. AudioGlobe will be there filming the whole festival. The poster art is by Noritsugu Lockhart, who will be on hand selling screen prints.

The fun kicks off on Friday, July 29th and runs till late on Saturday, July 30th. All performances will take place at the Star Theater in Portland. Tickets for the July 29-30 events can be found at http://www.pdxpsychfest.com. The Psych Fest AfterParty will happen on August 1 at Valentine’s, featuring Hollow Sidewalks and a Super Secret Psych Fest artist (to be annouced the final day).

DAY ONE
7:30pm Howler (Los Angeles)
8:30pm Zozma (Portland)
9:30pm Plastic crimewave Syndicate (Chicago)
10:30pm Hi Hazel (Idaho)
11:30pm The Young Elders (San Francisco)
12:30am Jackson Boone (Portland)

DAY TWO
1:30pm San dbabes (Los Angeles)
2:15pm Down Dirty Shake (San Francisco)
3pm mosquito (Los Angeles)
4pm Lemat (Mexico)
5pm Zodiac Death Valley (San Francisco)
6pm Hawkeye (Portland)
7pm The Spiral Electric (San Francisco)
8pm Cambrian Explosion (Portland)
10pm LSD &The Search for God (San Francisco)
11pm The Asteroid #4 (San Francisco)
12:30 Spindrift (Los Angeles)

ALSO FEATURING
DJ Day 1: Paul Dillon
DJs Day 2: Malty Stag & Stonebunny

* Portland’s own Bacchus’ Boogiers dance troupe, dancing non-stop to each of the bands performing…

* Lightshows by Trey Schultz

* A vintage clothes pop-up shop

* On the patio, the divinatory avenues of local Tarot artist Holly Cole of Crystal Seed Tarot, who will be issuing readings throughout the weekend on a donation basis.

TICKET SALES
http://www.pdxpsychfest.com
$20 each day/$35 weekend pass. No weekend pass available on days of event

Day 1: www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?eventId=6772705&pl=dantes&dispatch=loadSelectionData
Day 2: www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?eventId=6772765&pl=dantes&dispatch=loadSelectionData

 

 

The Eden House – Half Life

Stephen Carey’s open collective The Eden House are back with their third album “Half Life”. Once again, a massive bunch of musicians offers tunes to the dark ethereal universe of Eden House including Lee Douglas, the lead singer of Anathema, celtic music experimentalist Jordan Reyne and Phil Manzanera among others. “Half Life” is wisely balanced between old school dark wave as contained in the 4AD book of tales and contemporary electronic music, two elements that seal this work as “classic”.

“Bad Men” is such an example lifted off by vocalist Monica Richards. Or maybe the tearful “City of Goodbyes” which should be kept off the drawer for the lonely nights. And “Hunger”, a trippy dark ode leaded by Queenie Moy.

Unlike other ultra super mega projects, The Eden House is worth listening especially if you are on the road to heaven…