Ecstatic Vision - Raw Rock Fury

One of my big gripes wih the modern stoner scene is that a lot of people don't seem to understand the fundamental power of 60's style freakouts. Not a lot of people are willing to just embrace the raw volume and keyboard driven madness that defined so many of our favorite bands from that era. At the end of the day it's the fact that a lot of these new guys don't even listen to Hawkwind that gets me. That's where Ecstatic Vision come in, as Raw Rock Fury proves, these guys are not only super into Hawkwind, but also the MC5 and Aphrodite's Child. In other words - this is the sort of rock and roll that makes an old gaffer fall in love. 

I think the thing that really gets me about this band is their willingness to bring in just about every instrument under the sun. It's the fact that the bands charismatic frontman, Doug Sabolik is rattling maraccas on the album cover. It's the fact that they have a liberal use of the saxophone. Hell it's the fact that they are utterly dedicated to using weird effects on just about every track and that they use them well. Ecstatic Vision are a band who have exactly that - an ecstatic vision that implies a certain joie de vivre and a complete willingness to chill out and experiment with no end of bizarre orchestrations and unique arrangements. 

It's rare these days that you find people who are totally willing to kick out the jams and let the rock and roll magic of the age wash over them. Ecstatic Vision put together the sort of sounds that let freaks like me chill out and find a new path forward. They have never been limited by the inherent shitiness of their age or the incredible human suffering represented by this music. Raw Rock Fury is a masterpiece, a record that reminds us all why we can't help but to fall in love with the joyful noise we call rock and roll. 

Find them on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/ecstaticvision/

Noyades - Go Fast (Fr)

“Le rock en France, de toute façon, c’est mort”. Que l’on soit dans la campagne la plus reculée de l’hexagone ou encore au coeur de sa capitale, il nous est simplement impossible d’échapper aux variantes de cette phrase énoncée par les amateurs de musique plus ou moins cultivés sur le sujet de la musique Française. C’est une phrase bien grave qui vient à passer sous le domaine de l’usage courant, comme si le deuil eut été fait et la page tournée pour de bon. Mais de quoi parlent donc ces personnes? Certes, il est bien vrai qu’outre une poignée d’artistes ayant tamponné leur passeport à la conquête du public américain, la France semble rarement jouir d’une renommée mondiale, (du moins si on le compare à son voisin britannique). Serions-nous donc moins créatifs ou moins aptes à sortir de la musique digne d’une reconnaissance internationale?

Sans avoir la prétention d’avoir une réponse définitive sur le sujet de la discrétion des artistes rock français, je dirais qu’il suffit simplement de s’affranchir quelque peu des préjugés et de jeter un coup d’oeil sur notre chère scène rock indé pour remarquer que tout n’est pas si gris pour la condition des musiciens Français. Comme premier exemple d’autorité pour ce constat, j’appelle à votre attention cette deuxième sortie du trio Lyonnais connu sous le nom de Noyades, un groupe dont la musique échappe autant au préjugé cité qu’à la catégorisation. Mêlant adroitement des influences issus du math-rock, du noise-rock, du stoner et du rock psychédélique, la musique de Noyades se définit au mieux par leur nom pour le coup parfaitement à l’image de leur son.  Les 7 titres de Go Fast engloutissent l’auditeur dans une marée de sons massifs, des vagues déferlantes qui se joignent avant de se briser contre nos tympans.  Le timbre électrifiant de la guitare se définit sur des riffs groovy et se décompose en bruit pur avec une malléabilité organique et terriblement efficace, accompagné d’une basse survoltée et de rythmes de batterie alternant entre grooves saccadés et rythmes tribales répétitifs.  Des premières notes de Réplique à la cérémonie de cloture qu’est Reflects, l’auditeur est happé par l’atmosphère extatique et transcendante dépeinte par le mur d’effets sonores bruyants modulants sous les rythmes endiablés de la batterie. Aussi indomptable que l’immensité de l’océan, Noyades puise dans l’essence primale de notre oreille musicale et nous contraint à lâcher prise pour nous y soumettre tout entier. Aussi bruyant et strident qu’il puisse être par moments, Go Fast est de ce fait raison un album relativement accessible d’écoute. 

Les 7 compositions de l’album s’articulent entre des structures lunatiques et transcendantes échappant à toute forme de convention tout en gardant un fil conducteur cohérent dans son ensemble, les sauts d’humeur ne se résumant jamais à de simples brisures sans utilité.De par son jeu unique et entraînant mis en relief par une production crue mais précisément définie , Noyades tait toutes les voix sceptiques avec cet album exceptionnel qu’est Go Fast et montre que l’heure n’est pas tant du deuil pour la scène Française mais plutôt de la célébration.

Ecoutez Go Fast de Noyades ici :
https://noyades.bandcamp.com/music

Slow Season - Westing

Slow Season have always impressed me with their super chilled out sound and dedication to hard psychedelia of the sort that few of the bands peers dare deal with. It's easy to dive into the stoned revery and secular haze that the band conjures up on Westing. A band who could be thought of as a more subdued version of Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats - or at least a trippier take on the rock and roll revival bands dominating stoner rock blogs these days Slow Season never fail to impress. This latest offering, full of forward motion and swirling riffs is no exception.

The problem with a lot of stoner rock these days is that it gets lost up its own ass because every young guitarist thinks he's Matt Pike for some fucking reason. Slow Season's songs rarely become too long, and their more extended moments serve a solid purpose within the song. They give you a moment to step back, to enjoy the sheer space of the music and to bite in even deeper to riffs that capture the angular and raw magic of this kind of music. With the washed out vocals soaring high above the bands garage rock reveries Westing makes for an addictive listen for any fan of 70s rock and roll.

So yes, they might be called a little derivative - but I feel otherwise. Slow Season are certainly wearing their influences on their collective sleeve, but they are still a shit ton of fun to listen to and they still represent something greater in the world of rock and roll. You can sink your teeth into what they have offered here and it's easy to lose yourself in fun choruses, tasty solos and riffs that could spin for days. Slow Season understand the spirit of the 70s and transport it into the 10's with burning aplomb.

Find them on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/slowseasonmusic/?fref=ts

Suns Of Thyme - Cascade

So one of the most exciting trends in modern heavy music has to be the genres newfound penchant for weirdness. The truly bizarre tones captured on wax for Napalm Records artists alone is monumental. The latest in this new and proud wave of bands is Suns of Thyme, a tripped out psych prog band who are reminiscent of acts like Hawkwind, but who manage to maintain a certain degree of separation such that their music tends to go more for pure beauty than alienating acid eating madness.

Of course - no psych prog record would be complete without its weirder moments, and Suns Of Thyme certainly understand the significance of that aspect of their musical heritage. The quality of the compositions is stunning, the gentle guitars and washed out synths perfectly compliment each other and make Cascade an album that you can come back to again and again. Sure, it's not super dense, but it uses its open soundscapes and unique song structures to entice the listener and remind them why this type of music owns the hearts of thousands. Simply put - Cascade is chicken soup for the soul.

So come join me - Cascade certainly leaves room enough for two. The band has embraced all the dorkiness that makes them great but simultaneously infuses their sound with a sense of forward momentum that keeps you coming back for more. Few can imitate what these guys have done stylistically and as they evolve I get the impression that they will only dive further down their very unique rabbit hole. Suns Of Thyme have cultivated something truly special here - and where they go now could change the future of rock.

Find them on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/SunsofThyme

Interview avec Sunder

Cette semaine, j’ai l’immense plaisir de vous offrir, chers lecteurs francophones, une interview avec un groupe français au talent hors-pair. Armé d’un nouveau son vintage mélangeant sonorités pop et rock psychédélique des années 70, le quatuor Lyonnais Sunder, anciennement connu sous le nom de The Socks, revient sur le devant de la scène avec un album éponyme posant brillamment et adroitement les bases de leur nouvelle identité sonore. Quelques semaines avant leur départ en tournée à la conquête du territoire français et britannique, j’ai eu la chance de pouvoir entretenir avec Julien et Vincent pour discuter de leur renouveau musical aussi audacieux que prometteur.

Sunder est votre 1er album sous votre nouvelle dénomination. D’où vous est venu le besoin/l’envie de changer de nom et qu’est-ce qu’il signifie?

Julien: On n'aimait plus le nom de « The Socks », ça c'est une évidence. Mais je pense surtout qu'on avait besoin d'un reset. On voulait évoluer musicalement. On avait besoin de faire quelque chose de différent, de créer un autre univers musical. L'idée de repartir sur quelque chose de tout neuf avait un coté très excitant et hyper motivant. Le mot « Sunder » signifie fragmenter, déchirer ou séparer violemment, ce qui correspondait très bien à notre renouveau. Ce nom vient aussi du mélange des deux mots qui sont « Sun » et « Thunder ». On a orienté la composition de l'album autour de ça en insistant sur l'idée de créer deux atmosphères et deux couleurs différentes. On a donc eu des contraintes dans la composition mais aussi une ligne directive à suivre, ce qui nous a aidé. 

A quoi peuvent s’attendre les auditeurs potentiels ainsi que les fans de votre incarnation précédente en écoutant Sunder?

Julien : Ils n'auront pas d'électrochocs. Ils pourront préférer l'un ou l'autre mais dans tous les cas ils s'y retrouveront. La musique de « Sunder » a des couleurs plus pop que celle de « The Socks ». Le son général est aussi très différent. Le son et le jeu de guitare a changé, le farfisa et le mellotron prennent une place très importante, la batterie sonne beaucoup plus 60's, la basse a un rôle plus mélodique. les voix quand à elles sont traitées différemment et prennent plus de place que dans The Socks.

Pourriez vous parler parler un peu de l’enregistrement de cet album?

Julien : On a choisit l'endroit où l'album de The Socks a été enregistré, c'est à dire chez Raphaël Cartellier. On aime bien bosser avec ce mec ! On a aussi voulu travailler avec un « directeur artistique » pour avoir un avis extérieur sur ce qu'on pouvait faire. On est donc allé chercher Julien Masson pour nous botter le cul, nous mettre des claques quand on était nul et nous réveiller le matin.. 

Au niveau du procédé d'enregistrement, on a enregistré « live » (sauf les voix et mellotrons). Les amplis étaient dans des pièces séparées et isolées de la batterie de façon à pouvoir travailler plus facilement au mix. Chose qu'on a volontairement laissé faire par Julien et Raphaëlle sans notre présence. On avait entièrement confiance en eux et on a  plutôt eu raison.

Quels sont les thèmes que vous abordez sur cet album?

Julien : Les thèmes de cet album sont essentiellement inspirés de relations humaines, d' expériences de vie, de ressentis ou de faits marquants de la vie. Toutes ces choses sont abordées à travers des images et des métaphores ce qui permet de parler de choses concrètes et réelles en créant des histoires fictives voir même fantastiques. Si l'on devait retenir des thèmes marquants ce serait l'homme, le bien, le mal, la méfiance et la peur.

Comment se passe l’étape de composition pour le groupe?

Julien: Certains titres viennent d'une suite d'accords ou de riffs de guitare avec une ligne mélodique chanté et posé par dessus (on peut dire qu'on part d'une ébauche de chanson qu'on arrange ensemble par la suite). D'autres sont nés de « jams » qu'on a ensuite transformé et arrangé en morceaux.

L’album prend ses racines stylistiques dans le rock psychédélique des années 60 et 70. Quel est votre ressenti sur l’évolution du rock en ce moment ? Et quelles sont les aspects de l’esthétique rock psyché old-school qui vous ont attiré vers ces types de son?

Vincent: C’est vrai que les couleurs et façons de faire vintages reviennent de plus en plus, que ce soit dans la composition, les sonorités et même les techniques d'enregistrement, ce qui est pour nous une bonne chose car cela permet de revenir à quelque chose de plus brut. L'honnêteté et la pureté de cette musique pop psyché de la fin des années 60 nous ont toujours attiré, et cela nous a fait prendre conscience de l'importance de la mélodie et des arrangements. Notre travail de composition se concentre sur ces deux derniers points. 

A la fin du mois d'avril vous allez jouer au DesertFest à Londres. Quels sont les groupes du line-up que vous espérez voir si le temps vous le permet?

Vincent : On aura un timing serré, mais on espère avoir le temps de chopper les sets de Conan et Russian Circles !

Qu’avez vous au programme pour le reste de l’année 2016?

Vincent: Après le Desertfest et une poignée de dates françaises sur la route (Tours, Paris, Lille et Lyon), on va travailler dur pour repartir rapidement sur la route après l'été. On veut défendre notre album au maximum, le meilleur moyen étant d'aller directement à la rencontre des gens et de leur proposer des lives de qualités. 

Pour finir avec une question que je pose à le fin de chaque interview: pourriez vous nommer un de vos albums, films et bouquins préférés?

Vincent: En bons fans des Beatles que nous sommes, Revolver fait partie de nos disques de chevet. Pour parler de choses plus actuelles, on adore Currents de Tame Impala, pour lequel Kevin Parker a pris beaucoup de risques notamment en terme de sonorités, un super album !

Pour ce qui est du cinéma, ça sera aussi en rapport avec la musique, car on va citer Dead Man de Jarmusch, avec cette superbe BO composée et jouée par Neil Young. 

Pour les bouquins, on retrouve dans nos dernières lectures Vol au-dessus d'un nid de coucou de Kesey, Le vieil homme et la mer d'Hemingway ou encore les Histoires Extraordinaires de Poe. 

Merci à Vincent et au groupe pour avoir rendu cette interview possible!

Sunder

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/officialsunder

Bandcamp

https://sunder-france.bandcamp.com/

Birth Of Joy - Get Well

Birth Of Joy is one of those fascinating, brainy progressive(ish) stoner(ish) rock bands who have an incredible understanding of what rock and roll should be. There is something wonderfully weird and just a tad 'out there' about their latest offering, Get Well. Part of the beauty of Get Well is that the album far more accurately reflects a psychedelic experience than many of their so called 'stoner' peers, even if they do bring in some of those elements. Birth Of Joy have captured my imagination because, above all else, their sound is organic.

It's rare these days that you get music you can truly vibe out too. Birth Of Joy seem to want to make that a key point of their work though. Th album transcends common limitations and embraces a sense of sonic upheaval that leaves you traversing oceans of sound of a sort that perfectly fuse the magic of the 60s and 70s with more modern ideas. Get Well is an album that speaks to the heart, resonating across the sands of time to create a piece of music that is fuzzed out and bizarre, otherworldly and strangely magical, a tribute to the beautiful soundworlds and transcendent power that great rock and roll should easily embrace.

So no - there aren't any especially standout tracks or riffs on this record, but that's not really the point. The point is that this band has created an overarching piece of art. They have put together an album that works as a slow burn, a gentle caress into the world of aural satisfaction. There are a lot of weird things that might alienate you about Get Well, yet upon repeated listens it becomes clear that these elements are really only there to help evolve the whole and to prove that above all things rock and roll is a living, breathing entity. 

Find them on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/birthofjoy

Farflung - 5

Longtime readers know that I am a huge dork for Hawkwind - so when I got the promo material for a stoner metal band who apparently worship those guys as much as I do I couldn't help but to press play. I was not disappointed. The crushing heaviness, weird ethereal soundscapes, and the eternal sense of loud that defines this record is encapsulating. Farflung have managed to distill the attitudes of the old gods into something powerful and new in order to take an oftentimes derivative genre somewhere I think it has never been before.

Heavy Psych Sounds are one of the most exciting labels in the world because they are some of the only ones discovering stuff like this. The weird magic that comes from repetitive, ethereal vocal patterns and open soundscapes that are heavy on flanger pedals and other unorthodox effects makes for a listening experience that borders on transcendent. Yet, despite all odds, Farflung are able to keep a sense of forward momentum. Rather than getting lost up their own asses they continue to cultivate something grandiose and real engaging the listener and showing a path to absolution through the beautiful madness that defines them.

As you listen to 5 it feels like this is a band who should have grown up parallel to Hawkwind. After all, they even get the legendary Nik Turner to do a guest spot. Also featured on the record are David Catching and Gene Trautmann, both known for their work with Queens Of The Stone Age and Eagles Of Death Metal. Even the gods realize how incredibly good Farflung are and they have come down to work with them. This is a band who are going to expand the world of stoner rock far beyond anything anyone could have anticipated. Are you ready to take a ride?

Find them on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/Farflung-official-Site-210883438782/?fref=ts

Purson - Desire's Magic Theatre

Purson has always fascinated me, not only because they are doing something pretty unique and wonderfully creepy but they truly reflect the rock star lifestyle. After a massive US tour with Ghost and another exciting one with The Sword coming up, Purson are something of a hot property and for a metal nerd like me it's hard not to fall in love with what they have managed to create. Their new record, Desire's Magic Theatre is unique and powerful, using powerful synth lines to create a distinctly weird music that can't help but to resonate with the listener.

Guided by the majestic and oftentimes eerie vocals of Rosalie Cunningham. She embraces her rock goddess image, having crafted a rock opera that reflect all the power of the 60's and 70's but with a very distinct modern twist. This is a band who are composers o the highest level, with their offering reaching out, and not only touching the listeners heart, but proving that Purson have the potential to be truly legendary. Ultimately - Purson are completely unlike so many of their peers who are so happy to ape bands like Blue Cheer. Instead they are expanding on the sound, creating their own void and forcing you to fall in love with rock and roll all over again.

Balancing haunting melodies with pop hooks is no mean feat and speaks to the sheer excellence of Purson as a band. By the end of the opening track Purson have authoritatively established who they are and what they will do to your soul. But nothing about this album is swaggering, it exudes the gentle, understate confidence of a band who know they are a cut above their peers but are too polite to point it out. Get read, Desire's Magic Theatre will capture you heart and if you can't take the madness it may be time for you to leave the hall.

Find them on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/pursontheband/?fref=ts

Mondo Drag - The Occultation Of Light

After a stressful day down at the freelance writing ranch it's always satisfying to be able to sit back and chill out with some heavy psychedelic vibes. Mondo Drag bring exactly that on The Occultation Of Light a wonderfully weird and fuzzed out release that really gets the spirit of psychedelic music in all of its twisted glory. There is an inherent weirdness here to the jazzy keyboard fills and hypnotizing bass lines that helps to make The Occultation Of Light one of my favorite releases of 2016 thus far.

The Occultation Of Light is one of those records that you can't help but getting lost in. The and members are all incredibly talented and the jam oriented feel of these tracks helps to make it a mesmerizing experience. The way things sort of ease forward and give you a chance to really sink into the music is strangely refreshing. Above all though - you can not understate the power of the organs and synths on this record. They provide a nice fuzzed out feel and couch everything in a sort of Jon Lord-esque haze. It provides a sense of artistry to the work and nicely pads out the sound for the Blue Cheer inspired guitar parts.

There's a lot to dig in to and vibe out on on The Occultation Of Light. This is a band who aren't afraid to break the rules and who feel the pure sexual magic of rock and roll. Mondo Drag use their crunchy guitars and punchy piano parts to give you a chance to just ride out on a cloud, feel the surrealistic pillow of your soul escape you and slowly step into a psychedelic dreamland. This isn't a band to be taken lightly, but rather a group who have a sort of spiritual connection to rock and roll and all that it entails.

Find them on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/mondodrag/

Beesus - The Rise Of Beesus

There's been a lot of stoner rock to come out this year - to the point that it's kind of gross. That make it all the more exciting though when you come across a release like The Rise Of Beesus where you hear the Italian sludge lords putting out Melvins-derived music that has a noisy crush to it. There is a sense of distortion here that goes far beyond just the guitars - it grows to envelop the album and helps to define a release that is droning, moaning, and strangely powerful - resonating with something very weird in all of us. 

I think a part of what makes The Rise Of Beesus so special is not just the weirdness, but the way that the band channels the weirdness into something greater. As you hear the fuzz-tastic riffs kick in you gradually realize that that's only the backbone for a band who have never been afraid to get weirder, louder, or more over the top than anyone else out there. The guitar solos are demented, careening this way and that and then finally resolving themselves back into the sacred riffs. It gives the album something very physical and makes it hard to distance yourself from the triumph that The Rise Of Beesus represents. 

There are few truly psychedelic records in this day and age, albums that fit into the grand tradition laid down by all those psych bands in the 60s - The Rise Of Beesus does though. Thus couched it becomes hard to find separation from what the band has come to represent and it allows you, the listener, to lose yourself in a piece of art that fits into a half century long tradition. Beesus understand that weird is good and so push the boundary - I can only hope that they get even stranger as time goes on.

Find them on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/beesusindope/?fref=ts

Purson and Ghost at Terminal 5 In New York City

One of the things that initially attracted me to the music industry was the serendipity this whole thing can have. Such was the case Sunday night when just as I was about to take the train to go see Abigail Williams and I got a phone call. Suddenly, against all the odds I was on the list to see perhaps the single most talked about rock band of the last decade. Ghost's immortal power had reached out and dragged me back, right into the heart of darkness that defined this bands wonderfully fucked up magic.

Of course I would be totally remiss if I didn't initially talk about Purson, Ghost's incredible opening band - rapidly rising and gloriously psychedelic these freaked out rock and rollers invoke  the power of the 70s but give it a modern touch. Their set was powerful and moody, carrying the listener on a roller coaster of emotion and showing the inherent magic of the music. There is something truly special about Purson - a sort of primal rock and roll energy that comes through in their distinct aesthetic and potent sound. You get the sense that this band is reaching the boiling point and with an exciting new release on the way... the time may have finally come for this band to explode.

Then the hour came for Ghost. I looked around me, onto the chanting masses and saw a crowd that in many ways reflect middle America. Ghost don't just cater to black metal dudes anymore. You see nu-metal fans gathered around, talking about Papa Roach shows - as well as hipsters who think Deafheaven is pretty revolutionary. Hell - Ghost have become so omnipresent that even the almighty Papa's mother decided to come to the show! The point is - Ghost reflect how much America has changed, and though they may be the perfect band to piss off your parents, they also have come to be embraced by crowds of more than just metalheads across the globe and this is wonderfully exciting.

When Ghost finally did take the stage I was utterly stunned by their stellar presentation and the crowds interaction. It felt like everyone knew every word, even to the new songs. It spoke to the eternal power of rock and roll that we could all be united across generations crying out praises to the almighty Lord Satan. In their relatively few years of doing this Ghost have rapidly become some of the most potent performers out there and the more you dig into their live performance the harder it becomes to separate yourself from the bands over the top ghoulishness and strange charisma. When Papa Emeritus turns his gaze upon you you feel it penetrating your soul - and it is glorious. This is what heavy metal was always meant to be.

And so the night came to an end and the dark masses spread out onto the city - now fully cloaked in the ethereal and satanic might of one of the most interesting bands in the world. Ghost are impossible to fully define, these Swedish masters are reshaping rock and roll though - that much is impossible to deny. The fact remains - the Black To The Future tour may very well be one of those tours that goes down in history as a turning point in rock music - the revolution is coming and I get the impression that Ghost are at the fore.

Find the bands on Facebook!

Purson: https://www.facebook.com/pursontheband?fref=ts

Ghost: https://www.facebook.com/thebandghost?fref=ts

Vhol - Deeper Than Sky

Vhol - one of the most enigmatic and potent bands in the world - one that sees them pushing their unique brand of heavy, psychedelic and thrashy music that drives the genre forward. Utterly out there, potent and filled with all sorts of astonishing vocal acrobatics the band have truly come into their own on Deeper Than Sky proving their debuts potential and going far beyond what anyone thought possible - creating one of the greatest heavy records of the year. A veritable supergroup at this point it's impossible to not be all about Vhol.

From the first song, the hard hitting The Desolate Damned, you can tell that this will be a motherfucker of a record. Toss in epics like the twelve minute title track and the positively danceable Paino and you realize you're looking at a record that speaks to the human condition through blast beats and raw energy. Beyond that though there is a sense of artsiness that retroactively raises the status all of the bands that have inspired them, it's simply that good. Mike Scheidt and his merry men have managed to unlock the potent future of thrash metal and now that I have seen behind the veil I can tell you it is glorious.

Highly melodic, flashy, and yet always surprisingly tasteful Deeper Than Sky is the kind of thrash record that proves the genre has a lot more to be said and will keep you wondering other sonic possibilities what this beautiful band holds. Vhol are going to open your mind whether you like it or not so prepare yourself for a record that is quite literally a religious experience. Stunning and punishingly heavy Deeper Than Sky is a peak in the career of every musician involved and should never be forgotten.

Find them on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/vholisvhol

Ecstatic Vision, Ruby The Hatchet and Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats at Webster Hall

Webster Hall is one of the most interesting venues in New York City for me. The fact that it turns into a dance club around 11 o'clock seems especially ironic after seeing a show like this one, leaving the crowd soaking in washed out occult 70's vibes. The point being - last night at Webster Hall was far too much fun, and invoked the power of old school psychedelic music on one of the grandest stages that the city has to offer. It was an evening of hard rock absolution for the common man.

Ecstatic Vision were up first playing Hawkwind inspired rock and roll that went straight to the soul. With violent saxophone playing and poignant stripped down guitar lines these guys understand what it means to have a rave-up. Despite the Hawkwind worship the band also has a distinctly modern twist to their music that helps to keep things fresh. The fact of the matter is that Ecstatic Vision are the kind of band who speak to the eternal power of rock and roll with their wholly unique sound. The organic vibes and washed out majesty of their sonic assault is not to be underestimated and will resonate with nerds like me for years to come.

Up next were my perennial favorites Ruby The Hatchet who I saw almost exactly a year ago in a different neighborhood of New York City. They remained as exciting as ever, their skills only increasing - a direct result of their total dedication to the band. Jillian Taylor the bands bombastic frontwoman is one of the great performers of her generation. Ruby The Hatchet are wholly aware of the power of this kind of music and when they evoke 70's magic you know they're not fucking around. These guys and gal understand the fundamental elements that make rock music such a valid art form and use heavy organs and doubled vocal lines to unleash occult vibes that make things wonderfully eerie. The point being - Ruby The Hatchet are going places, and fast, they represent all that this new wave of rock and roll has to offer and it is very exciting!

And so the hour was upon us for Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats - a band who my father had seen three years prior and never let me forget about. Now I had my chance to bask in their live majesty and I have to say I was over the moon at their stunning performance. With a nearly hour and a half long set Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats are truly talented performers, harmonizing vaguely disturbing melodies and sneaking their way into the souls of fans across the globe. They kept the entire crowd in awe with their trademark throb getting punters to involuntarily start dancing, thralls to the roaring riffs and rolling thunder that defines this band. Make no mistake - Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats may very well be the band that saves rock and roll.

As I rolled out I was stunned by the diversity of the crowd. With an almost even mix of genders and a breadth of races and ages represented you got the sense that something truly exciting was starting to happen. Uncle Acid prove that this kind of music isn't just for young white males anymore but that instead their may very well be a way forward and a new path for rock and roll in this fucked up world of ours. Just what that represents I'm still not wholly sure - but I do know one thing, all three of these bands are here to stay.

Find them on Facebook!

Ecstatic Vision: https://www.facebook.com/ecstaticvision?fref=ts

Ruby The Hatchet: https://www.facebook.com/rubythehatchet?fref=ts

Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats: https://www.facebook.com/uncleacid?fref=ts

Acid Buffalo

Freaked out psych rock from a band who seem destined to fuck up minds across the globe Acid Buffalo are turned on to a much hazier sense of reality than the one that most of us abide by. Instead of traditional rhythms and clear riffs its easy to get lost in the waves of wah pedal madness and flashy improvised pentatonic solos. Acid Buffalo are a trip to listen too and as you fall into their sound you find yourself journeying down a sort of surreal dead end path a way forward can be found through the murk, but it requires a dedicated listener, one who loves the psychedelic madness of this band. With whiny vocals and a wonderfully improvised feel, Acid Buffalo feel very organic. It's easy to trace their lineage from bands like Black Sabbath or even Electric Wizard. Acid Buffalo are wholly fascinating and the two tracks they have online are both fun to listen too, they leave me begging for more. With a full length I think that Acid Buffalo will be able to put together the kid of sonic journey that their music deserves.

Find them on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/acid.buffalo

Interview with Gary Arce from Yawning Man

Promoting the second installment of their “Legends of the desert” tour with Fatso Jetson, Yawning Man is currently on their 6^th European tour. On the occasion of the bands  Parisian show last Sunday at Le Glazart (brought to us by Stoned Gatherings), I’ve had the honor to sit down with none other than frontman Gary Arce for an interview.

So you’re halfway through your European tour with Fatso Jetson. How has it been going so far?
It’s been going really good so far, it’s been really fun, good times!

How would you describe the sound of Yawning Man? What does it evoke to you?

The way I would describe it would be along the lines of “heavy ambient” I guess.  It’s a very visual kind of sound, it’s cinematic.

I definitely feel the visual, picturesque quality; it feels like witnessing a painting coming to life and being drawn into it.
Yeah, it’s very artistic I guess, with landscapes and all.

So Yawning Man is known as being one of the most important and influential acts in what is now known as the Desert Rock genre. From what I’ve read, you grew up listening and playing punk rock. How did you eventually get around shaping the sound of Yawning Man?
For us punk rock is all about expression, bored kids starting their own thing. When the punk scene kind of ended in the desert we were kind of bored and so we wanted to start doing our own thing. Punk rock started going into metal and that really fucking ruined it for me. We just started searching and listening to other forms of music, we started experimenting around with the energy of punk rock, but we were listening to stuff like the Grateful dead.
We liked the Grateful Dead a lot but we liked punk rock too, so we tried mixing it in with heavy music with heavy visuals to create something unique.
So we were listening to all kinds of music like the Allman Brothers, a lot of jamming music…
There were no rules with us, we thought “What’s the problem with mixing the energy of Black Flag with the sound of the Grateful dead?”
So we started jamming in the garage. There no song structures, we would just come up with a riff and jam it for 2 hours.
So did the transition from punk rock to a slower paced compositions come gradually or did you make an abrupt change, starting again from scratch?
It was more like a natural evolution. It was just the way I wrote, the way it came about, using a lot of weird effects and jamming a lot. The jams would get slow and moody and we’d start going into these weird space jams, some of the songs would last 40 minutes up to an hour *laughs*.
We just kept on jamming, drinking beer… friends would start coming into the house, really digging it, saying “woah, that’s a really unique sound, it’s really trippy!”
It was about playing for our friends and jamming. We’d play a couple of notes that sounded cool and Alfredo would start looping it on drums and things would evolve from there. It was very natural, very “volcanic”, you know? There was nothing that was forced or preconceived, it was very natural.
So you kept same line-up as you transitioned into this new sound?
Yeah we were basically all heading in the same direction.
I mean we still love the old punk bands to this day but when punk rock started getting metal, I just walked away from the whole scene. Punk rock is dead, it’s over.
To me, punk rock died in ’84, it was ruined.
Was there any event that marked the death of punk rock for you?
Yeah. Me and Mario went to go see a bunch of punk bands in Santa Monica. There were like 15 bands, and it just seemed so corporate. It was put on by a big agency and it just lost the unity, the friendship… it was gone. It was in this big coliseum, with 15 big punk bands, and they were selling beer for 8 dollars. It’s over; it just got corporate to me. But that’s just my personal opinion.

Do you see the music of Yawning Man more as result of you still living in the desert or is it now fueled by your upbringing there?
It think it’s just in us now. We’ve been doing it for so long now, it’s just part of our fiber. It’s more of an ethical thing that we do. It’s more like an attitude that we have about approaching the music. There can be ten thousand bands that go one way, but Yawning Man will always go this way.

What are some of the strangest experiences you’ve had on the road in Europe?
There’s been quite a few. On this tour there hasn’t been anything crazy so far. One time we played a German biker party on an off-day that a friend of ours wanted to play at. It was just some German beer biker party, none of them spoke English. So there we were, jamming for a bunch of German bikers that we just looking at us with blank faces, thinking “what the fuck are you doing here?” and we were looking at them thinking “what the fuck are we doing here?” *laugh*

They probably weren’t too familiar with this kind of music *laugh*
No I think they were looking for more of some biker rock n’ roll stuff… and Yawning Man is definitely not biker rock n’ roll so I don’t think we were the band that they were expecting.
Did you still manage to convert a few bikers in the audience?
I don’t know about that... I don’t think so *laughs*.
The guy that opened up the biker party was a German guy who did Neil Young songs but who didn’t speak English. He learned the words from the records without knowing what they mean. And so he wanted Yawning Man to jam with him on Lynyrd Skynrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama”. I don’t do cover songs so I told the guy I don’t do covers and he didn’t understand so he started playing it and I started doing some Yawning Man leads over the top. So it was a really fucked up version of “Sweet Home Alabama”, if you can imagine me doing leads over the top with my reverb and delay pedals, it was all dark and moody *laughs*.
I actually didn’t know the song at all. I wish someone would’ve taped it, it would’ve been really funny to see.

So what’s next for Yawning Man?
After this tour we’re going to go back and do a new record. We have a couple of new songs that we’ve been working on. The new record might be a little heavier, a little darker, more experimental. We’re always looking to try new stuff. We have a girl in the band now, she couldn’t come with us on this tour but Jennifer plays cello in the band it’s going to be really cool. She’s an excellent musician; it’s going to be beautiful.

To close this off, what is your favorite album, movie and book?
My favorite album would be Blind Idiot God’s debut album on SST.
My favorite Movie would be… Brüno? *Laughs*
As for books, I don’t really read, I just get bored.  I wish I had more patience to do it though.

Interview by Robin Ono

Very special thanks go to Stoned Gatherings and Gary Arce for making this interview possible.

Stoned Gatherings
Official Website
http://stoned-gatherings.com/
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/stonedgatherings.shows?fref=ts 

Yawning Man
Official Website
http://www.yawningman.com/
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/yawningmanofficial