It's been a few less posts lately, I know. This year is one of those years where I simply just absorb the entire goings-on in the world. A lot can be said about things right now, and it's all been said already.
Bands have obviously been taking this moment in time to compose a soundtrack for it all. At least the year has brought us something other than what we see on the fucking news.
I dunno... I feel less like talking lately. I feel like being silent. It's a weird feeling. Kind of like withdrawing, a little. I see what the world has going on, and it makes me dislike it even more. I find solace in plants, the woods (when there is nobody else there), animals, soil, trees, birds, etc. I lean on the predictability of the seasons, and the simple norms of birdsong. I spend my days contemplating the internal machinations of a flower. I while away the hours ruminating over the wily ways of carnivorous plants & watch the clouds for rain. I steal away in the wee hours to internalize the growth of a cactus and attempt a living, syncopated symbiosis within the confines of the circadian rhythms...
But the band plays on....
Dungeon Weed - Mind Palace Of The Mushroom God
(Groovy, nasty stoner rock, cooked up from CA. Worth a listen if you're into stoner rock, because this is exactly that. Pretty cool, and has all the right moves and grooves and enough stanky goop to scrape off and do a dab with.)
Early Mammal - Burnt Ones
(Yeah! We waited a while for this one. Some nice psych tunes presented here on Bandcamp as two tracks, LP-style. UK's Early Mammal comes back strong with some fantastic psych rock! This album is really a gem at this point, considering how much I liked their (his) previous efforts. Bounces around from 'eavy psych, to clickety clackety whackety and back again. Give 'er an ear. You'll dig it.)
Bart Graft - For The Record
(The fact is, I've always dug this kind of electro-prog, having written much of my own over the years, and performing with Utuk Xul, Coriolis Effect and various other projects of the same type. Bart Graft is a champion at the craft, and this album just kills me. It loops and twists around like a video game at high speed. It leans and lurches like a car chase scene. You're cruising down the highway, yet encased in a futuristic force field bubble-thing. The closest you're going to get to breaching the thermosphere.)
Kampusch Klub - Flying Fish
(Man, I've been waiting a long time for
this band to release something new, and this song does not disappoint! A
slow burn alt-psych track, all creepy and crawly, slippery and sloshy.
Some new awesome vox adding to the mystique. Kampusch Klub comes back
with full force, and equal measures of grime and sheen. YES!!)
Cloudkicker - Solitude
(Everything Cloudkicker
is an insta-buy. Ben's back in full force. This is easily some of the
best Cloudkicker stuff yet. Busy and heavy, just the way we've come to
expect it. This album will plow you into the soil and offer no
apologies.)
(This one... yes. I dig
this one. I dig ALL of his albums, but this one stands out. Gonna have
to keep this one on replay. I can't believe the musical output of this
one person. So much work going into writing songs, it's got to be some
kind of syndrome we have yet to name. Eliot Wilder, yes sir... make no
mistake. He deserves more love on Bandcamp.)
Botanist - Photosynthesis
(Insta-buy. Anything
Botanist releases goes right into my record collection. I doubt I have
as much of a connection with a band's concept as I do with Botanist.
Avant garde black metal-ish with a totally unique sound, and lyrical
content I can get behind. Dark elemental metal, showing signs of growth.
This sprout is becoming a massive tree.)
Rafael Denardi - Adios Rick
(Jams broken down into 5 parts. Slathering on the huge stoner rock, with a mild touch of proggy tendencies, Rafael comes back at full steam ahead with this little snakey EP. A touch of the old school meets a bludgeoning of grungy stoner-riff-ic noises. This slick little charger will mulch you into perfect, wee chunks.)
Until next time!
- Andy
