astral-sounds

[astral-sounds]

Albuquerque Psychedelic Garage Pop from the 90s covering the Madonna hit from a decade prior. Dreamy, catchy, and all around Powerpuff Girls vibes from this deep cut. Highly recommended!

[astral-sounds]

Ty Segall and White Fence - Joy [Full Album]

Psychedelic/punk/heavy garage rock you didn’t know you were missing in your life until now. This album feels like a long song that flows seamlessly. Ty and White Fence’s precious effort ;Hair<\i> is also essential listening.

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Waveless - Dreaming of Joan of Arc (as your animus)

Minneapolis’ Waveless are equally top-tier dazed out shoegaze and post-punk industrial mechanisms in one cohesive and sentimental unit. The dual, ghostly male and female vocals build onto the buzz saw guitar tone and layered rhythmic efficiency. The overall mood of this EP evokes a sound that takes me back decades to my youth and secretly discovering my older brother’s Smashing Pumpkins CDs. Though this is a very deep and complex memory, sonically and lyrically, The Bells of Baton Rouge is able to better explain what my own words cannot: gleaning bits and pieces of lyrical phrases among complex, washed out melodies evokes the feeling of floating in limbo in ones own memory; lost in a nostalgic daydream, only to be rudely awakened by the end of these three phenomenal songs.

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Tony Molina - Nothing I Can Say

Power(pop)violence monger and notorious Bay Area death metal fanatic Tony Molina is poised to deliver another stellar album of incredibly catchy and melodramatic tunes that will make you feel nostalgic, introspective and will heighten any pre-existing depression. His entire discography is flawless and seamlessly interweaves 80′s crunchy Powerpop, soothing 70′s AM Pop, and 60′s acoustic Psychedelia, with possibly a solid heavy metal solo thrown in for good measure; all in the span of 90 seconds. If you don’t already jam Tony Molina and his previous “all killer, no filler” albums than step right to it!

How could I ever let you know?

It seems that there’s no place for us to go,

There’s nothing I can say to make it go away,

And it’s so hard to tell you now.

There no such thing as time when you’re world seems so unkind,

And it’s so hard to tell you now.

[astral-sounds]

Spike - Magic Table

Everything I know about Spike I learned from Emil Amos and his podcast Drifter’s Sympathy. He is described as a loner legend and is apparently very illusive. Legend has it he has been high every day since 1973 and won sovereignty for himself after years of legal battles against the Belgian government. This album is a compilation of his prolific home records throughout the 80s, most of which are very heard to find. This is album has been accurately described as “stoner pop” and proves that Spike was well ahead of his time with his sound and musical trajectory. From personal experience, this album is the perfect soundtrack for navigating through a crowded airport and catching your flight stoned out of your mind. Every song on Orange Cloud Nine spacey and will teleport you to another dimension!

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ORB - O.R.B.

Aussie heavy psych mongers ORB masterfully sandwich mind altering psychedelic sounds with stoner slabs of doom. I won’t normally say this, even if it practically applies to all reviews on this blog, but burn one down before pressing play on Naturality. There is almost a narrative structure to these songs that really allow for progression and flow. This album sounds best and will take you on a bizarre and exciting journey if you adequately prepare your mind beforehand. Other than that, be prepared to have ORB’s psychedelic brutality lay you to waste!

[astral-sounds]

MaidaVale - Gold Mind

Spain’s MaidaVale deliver some of the most mind bending heavy rock that seems completely unrivaled! Frontwoman Matlida Roth’s vocals are on another level which take you back to those early Sabbath albums. Madness is Too Pure is flawless from start to finish and its jams are aided by the phenomenal psychedelic album art (a la Belladonna of Sadness). This band of hard rocking ladies are here to pillage and take no prisoners! Witchy women is an understatement! MiadaVale has put a hex on you!

My head is a gold mine,

But nothing here is for free,

If you’re looking for diamonds they are mine to keep.

My head is a gold mine,

And I don’t sell cheap,

You’re only wasting your time,

Won’t get no share of me!

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Mooner - Fana

Primo, topshelf, proto-doom heavy psych that rings out from the jungles of Indonesia. Mooner definitely have an eerie but vibrant sound that echoes straight out of a hazy crypt. This is solidified by their frontwoman’s hauntingly crisp vocals overlayed onto fuzzed out riffage. Don’t sleep on this LP! Dig it.

FFO: Joy, Cauchemar, Jex Thoth, (early) Witchcraft

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Anywhere - Astro Physical Graffiti

The long awaited, highly anticipated sophomore album from Christian Eric Beaulieu’s psychedelic/folk collective, Anywhere. The former Triclops! shredder has brought back his revolving door of heavy hitters for the new album including Mike Watt, Dale Crover, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Isaiah Mitchell, Krist Novoselic, and Toshi Kasai, to name a few. This “band” isn’t so much of a band in the traditional sense, but rather studio alchemy which keeps getting more and more expansive and collaborative as time goes by. Rejoice, as Anywhere II has prophetically spoken!

[astral-sounds]

Sons of Geezora - King of the Sky

I am sucker for anything Godzilla themed, so I absolutely could not turn down the chance to check out Quebec’s Sons of Geezora. Don’t let the name fool you, this isn’t a corny, generic, cut and dry Sabbath worship band (*cough*cough* Mac Sabbath). On the contrary, they aren’t restrained by the confines of Sabbath or Godzilla. Overall, I was absolutely stunned by the quality of riffs and songwriting on this self-titled debut. They draw heavily from the influences of the aforementioned Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, and Wishbone Ash to create their own blend of psychedelic heavy rock. Did I mention the lyrics are also very thought provoking and relevant to the dystopian and atomic reality of this day and age? This band truly took the cautionary tale of Gojira and further amplified it! Dig it! 

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Ty Segall - She

Ty Segall is a man who needs no introduction. He is a master of garage rock and his latest offering is by far the best albums he has ever put out (in my humble opinion). Freedom’s Goblin is abundant in ample psychedelically tinged “freak out” moments, which really solidified it for me. Albeit there are several cuts which are stripped down and not as wild and out there, but in no way do those moments detract from the overall journey which he takes on Freedom’s Goblin. The biggest complaint I’ve read about the album is “critics” say it is too long. However, I don’t think that they take into account the overall trajectory and instrumentation of the album, which stays the course for heavy psych and they are merely viewing it through the lens of his earlier output; characterized by quick, hard-hitting bursts of garage rock melodies. It’s hard to pick only one track from this rich album to highlight, but “She” really sums up the bombastic psychedelic elements and how they tie back into Ty’s time tested formula for garage rock gold. This is already an early contender for album of the year, personally. Ty Segall has set the bar very, very high and this album is a tough act to follow.

She, She, She said, I was a bad boy!

I was a bad boy! I was a bad boy! I was a bad boy! I was a bad boy! 

[astral-sounds]

Crumb - Plants

Dreamy, jazzy, and introspective psychedelic pop perfectly encapsulate Crumb. This band has a lot of post-hardcore remnants I pick up as well. They remind me a lot of the beloved early 00s jazz/emo band, Karate. Female vocals compliment the soothing melodies throughout Locket. Equal parts Steely Dan and Slowdive, Crumb offer a fresh sound for moments of introversion and contemplation. The only shame is that they have yet to put out a full length, which leaves me craving much more sweet tunes from this young band out of NYC. 

FFO: Mild High Club, Once and Future Band, Weyes Blood

Tell me, tell me something sweet, And I won’t stay away. Baby, make me up a dream,  And I can’t stay away. 

[astral-sounds]

Thee Commons - Selena’s Butt

A rowdy trio of Los Angelinos playing raging chicano punk. This band embodies the light-hearted humor embedded within Mexican-American culture. Upon first hearing this album, I just got it. It made sense given my upbringing. But to cultural outsiders, Paleta $onora gives a glimpse to what Chicano culture is about, without any of the racist, xenophobic fear mongering that is associated with the Mexicans in America in this day and age. 

No me digas que tengo que obedecer, No me digas que tengo que agradecer. 

Ni de aqui, ni de alla, Pero aqui nos vamos a quedar. 

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Dipygus - Poison Oracle & Umdhlebe 

It should come as no surprise that this crushing death doom band hails from Oakland. That should tell you all you need to know. I absolutely can’t wait for this band to release a full length LP. Consider yourselves warned! 

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Hashashin - Moksha

Hashashin are a self described “psychedelic drone-prog” instrumental trio hailing from Sydney, Australia. As you can probably guess by their name, most of their songs are rooted in Middle Eastern melodies and instrumentation. However, don’t expect straight forward world music, because there is a healthy dose of black metal and sludge metal influences throughout this album. Because it is instrumental, nihsahshsaH plays out like an epic film score; featuring the band’s signature droning elements which act as meditative interludes building up to their sonic magnum opuses. Overall, the caliber of musicianship and songwriting genuinely surprised me. Most of this album is very technical and heavily reminiscent of math rock, complete with noodling guitar licks and bombastic drum beats. So Hashashin could change their brand of music to “psychedelic-drone-black-math-prog metal”. Labels aside, this album is choice regardless of which one of the aforementioned genres you might prefer. 

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Brown Sabbath - Snowblind

My dad used to tell me the story about how he was first introduced to Black Sabbath as a kid by his friend’s older brothers who had come back from Vietnam junkies and completely fucked up. He said that they would play Paranoid so loud that the first time he heard it he and his friend were genuinely terrified by what they were hearing. In a mostly Catholic-Chicano neighborhood, Black Sabbath was considered the most unholy music ever heard provoking fear and paranoia to those who heard their demonic sound. Fast forward almost fifty years, and the Chicano/Sabbath connection has mutated into that of Brown Sabbath; an offshoot of Austin based salsa group Brownout, that combine the heavy riffing of Black Sabbath with the soulful melodies of Latin-funk into a single cohesive band that entirely chingon! This isn’t at the expense of Black Sabbath’s timeless songs, if anything it adds more flavor to their already rich repertoire. As a Chicano, this combination makes perfect sense and is, culturally, a much better combo than the Morrissey-Mariachi mix. Don’t sleep on either volume of Brown Sabbath! 

FFO: Sabbath (no shit), The Budos Band, Here Lies Man, The Mars Volta

[astral-sounds]

The Black Angels - Currency 

Austin psych staple The Black Angels are back with Death Songs, one of the hardest hitting albums they’ve ever released (which given their prolific discography is quite the tall order). While the band has always been incredible conscious, “Currency” might be their most critical protest song since their debut Passover. This cut directly calls out the capitalist elites that enslave humanity through a system of indentured servitude under the guise of profit maximizing and economic growth. This lyrical meditation reflects on the human cost of our increasingly materialistic society and the true price of labor; sacrificing human lives solely to make your boss richer. It’s hard not to listen to this track and get upset about the unrestricted greed we allow to thrive in our modern world. However, the chorus provides a glimpse of hope, optimistically stating “one day it’ll all be over, one day it’ll all be gone”. Though this may not be in our lifetime, the message is one that is as old as mankind itself. 

You've paid with your life, A slave from nine to five, You're spent through us, You take from us when we die, So claim the diamonds in your eyes.