Words by Jonathan Stout
When not doing freelance writing, Jonathan Stout is heavily involved in the NKY and Cincinnati music scenes as the Marketing Manager for Kentucky based venue The Southgate House Revival and founder of DIY Recording label Lo Fi City Recordings. He’s also an active musician, performing and recording with Sleepy Drums, Mutt Fuzz, Burnt Cabins and gewgaw.
HÖG from the Central Valley of California are releasing their sophomore album, Blackhole (Riding Easy Records), this month. This energetic collection mixes the raw and ominous nature of the first couple Sabbath albums with the more fierce aspects of thrash and sludge, topped with a growled vocal delivery that would make Lemmy proud. Driving the aesthetic home further, Blackhole was recorded entirely on 2” reel tape, which helps to warmly add a vintage quality to these compositions. While HÖG aligns with the familiar tones and rhythm of heavy music from the 1970s, their collective influences and backgrounds of punk and metal encourage steady experimentation, as many songs on Blackhole twist and develop in unpredictable ways. This is a super heavy, and fun, release from a band showing strong potential for future growth.
Ambarchi, Berthling and Werliin are delivering Ghosted III (Drag City) at the end of the month. Returning to Stockholm’s Studio Rymden to continue the standard of capture that distinguished the first two records, the group succeeds in pushing boundaries even further than before. Filled with hypnotic harmonics and polyrhythms, the compositions pulse and undulate, unfolding before the listener in real time, exhibited most strongly on opener “Yek.” The group also experiments with airy ambient free jazz explorations (“Do”), abstract kraut jazz rock (“Chahar”) and emotive repetitions (“Shesh”). Ghosted III showcases a grouping of expert musicians, completely locked in with one another, creating at levels of full inspiration. This collection definitely benefits the deep listener, as repeated, focused listens bring out new textures and nuances with every re-visit.
With a big ten year gap since his last release, Detroit garage rock legend John Krautner (The Go, Conspiracy of Owls) has returned with Cinnamon Lake, a collection of 15 trippy psych pop tracks crafted in the vintage style. Whereas Krautner focused heavily on power pop for his previous release, Fun With Gum Vol. 1 (is there ever going to be a Vol. 2?), Cinnamon Lake hones in on the acid damaged psych folk of the late 60s/early 70s and channels such fractured legends of the time as Skip Spence, Lee Hazlewood, and Harry Nilsson. There’s a real intimacy here that feels personal, almost private even, while at the same time projecting an overall sense of positivity, even though Krautner’s weathered vocals suggest that he’s been through the wringer and is back to tell the tale. Perhaps that is where the positivity comes from – reflecting upon a life of rock n roll that he’s gladly able to continue to create within. No matter what, this is the kind of recording that sticks its hooks in deeper upon every listen – from the sense of melody to the natural and organic sounds of the recording. Nothing feels forced or emulated. This is a true artist, redefining their mission for a new stage in life.
L.A.’s preeminent indie psych rock institution, The Warlocks, have returned with The Manic Excessive Sounds of… (Cleopatra Records), a collection of songs that ring true to what the band does best. In this way, Manic Excessive Sounds is as fine a place to start with the band as any, as it captures their essence so acutely. Over the past couple years, the band experienced some lineup shifts and inner-turmoil. This, coupled with the dismal global headline hellscape, has informed the more melancholy moments of the album, such as “It’s A Fucked Up World” and “We Are All Lost.” But even in these moments, they always manage to attain a comforting, meditative drone, which helps steer the ship away from the land of depressive drivel. Though not exactly “manic” per se, the album does split a fine difference between emotionally engrossing, traditionally arranged songs and improv-heavy, loosely structured jams in a way that surely won’t disappoint their hard earned fanbase.
Columbian experimental cumbia psych supergroup Los Pirañas released the lively and wonderfully creative Una Oportunidad más de triunfar en la vida in March (Glitterbeat), a collection of 8 expertly improvised instrumental compositions. Musicians Eblis Alvarez, Mario Galeano and Pedro Ojeda share a magical chemistry that allows them to expertly execute these numbers largely on the spot, ranging from lounge surf (“Despectiva caridad”), jazzy math rock (“El aguazo de Javier Felipe”), hard grooving, mysterious dance numbers (“El nuevo Prometeo”) and much more. This band truly finds new ways of melding music of different cultures together with a unique, refreshing (did I mention trippy?) approach which makes Una Oportunidad más de triunfar en la vida one of the more exciting global psych rock releases of the year so far.