Rick Derris Wrote:
Rebirth Brass Band - The Rebirth of New Orleans
I'm sure some are familiar with some of their work but this is an all brass band out of NOLA. They've been around forever and had many different players but their sound is still out of that "New Orleans Jazz" heritage. It's that "Second Line" sound of just a non-stop party at the corner bar in the French Quarter somewhere. Nary an electric instrument to be found.
Funky, sweaty, soulful, and fun as hell. One of my faves of the year. Impossible to listen to and not smile.
Cheers, I'll check this out over the weekend, sounds really cool.
I'm kinda lost on what to recommend for here nowadays, but I'll go for Corrupted & Sungrazer.
Corrupted - Garten Der UnbewusstheitDrone/sludge/Doom - Earth/Isis
Sputnik Wrote:
The mysterious sludge outfit from Osaka, Japan has returned from the shadows once more to offer a follow-up to 2005’s El Mundo Frio. Garten der Unbewusstheit, or “Garden of Unawareness”, could not be a more apt title for the band’s fifth album. The contextual meaning of the German “unbewusstheit” is acting without deliberateness, self-awareness, or self-consciousness. This record appears as the very embodiment of that idea. It’s almost as if the moment the record button was pressed, each member entered a trance to relay through instrument all that was seeded within his own being. What surfaced is a perfect balance in Corrupted’s hybrid sound, combining the hypnosis of drone, the crushing heaviness of sludge, and the unfiltered emotion of doom.
Clocking in at just over an hour, the album opens with the gentle plucking of electric guitar soon finding itself to be accompanied by delicate cymbal tapping. The bass drum is struck decisively. Soon, a cold, low growl enters. The light of the sun begins to fade as storm clouds begin to creep in overhead. Drop by drop, bead by bead, the cold rain sparsely descends from the heavens to chill the flesh. The icy precipitation goes on, varying in intensity but never quite reaching downpour before slowly fading out.
The perfect pace is sustained into the melancholic acoustic interlude as it feeds into the new “Gekkou no Daichi”. Lament churns on until the flame of hope is asphyxiated - extinguished until all that remains is the sincere vulnerability of utter despair. Just as soon as the rain is forgotten, the sky opens up in wondrous release, hurling down all that it can muster without relent nor reprieve. Dark and awful as the welkin presents itself, sprawling endlessly to the horizon, not a bolt of lightning flashes; not a thunder clap is heard. The sky is calm save for the rain, still pouring out in voluminous fury. Once the storm has taken its toll, the rain dissipates and draws to a close. The clouds dissolve and slink away revealing the blinding brightness that was always underneath. But not before every inch of earth is left soaked, consumed by the emotion left to resonate and linger on as drops of moisture gorgeously reflecting the reappearing sunlight.
Garten der Unbewusstheit manages to be something rarely achieved in modern music: human. This music has been wrought with the earnestness of the human soul, baring its torment for the world. Though, amidst the anguish and despondency that rings out with each note, there is an underlying beauty, just able to be made out through the tatter and tarnish. And nothing could be more compelling, for only after the storm of hopelessness has been weathered is it possible to gaze upon the beauty that is hope.
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Sungrazer - Mirador Stoner - QOTSA/Kyuss
Cosmiclava Wrote:
Up to the present I've not had SUNGRAZER on my list. I did not pay much attention to their debut and I must say quite honestly that I had less interest in listening to their music. Now don't ask me why, because I don't know. But now, as I received their new record 'Mirador', I changed my mind. Still, I don't know the debut full-length, but 'Mirador' is a beautiful album with lots of great moments and very few weak points. Hailing from the Netherlands, SUNGRAZER creates high quality, juicy, earthy, fat and crunchy heavy neo-psych rock without sounding like they're trying very hard at all. There is clarity through the heaviness and the mix is nicely balanced between Rutger Smeets' fuzzy guitar chops, warm low end pulsations and the thudding drums and splashy cymbal work of Hans Mulders. All this is held together by the liquid basslines of Sander Haagmans who builds the foundation for each of the included seven tracks.
Their ability to stick to a groove and play it out is flawless. Then there is also the fact that SUNGRAZER is good at playing with a wide range of dynamics. The result offers an interesting contrast between almost fragile passages and massive riff-driven parts which integrate seamlessly together. There's lots of muscially pleasing stuff here, as the songs breezily sail forward, without one plain or unworthy musical moment occuring. No, sorry, just a moment - unfortunately I was wrong. To me, 'Goldstrike' is the weakest song here due to its strong similarities to Queens Of The Stone Age. It goes without saying that I have a distinct aversion to this band.
But for the rest I am enthusiastic about 'Mirador', even if I can notice more QotSA influences but they also don't particularly bother me, simply because the album is so energetic, hypnotic, atmospheric and powerful all at the same time. SUNGRAZER always allow themselves some time for the development of their epic cuts. So, if you're looking for straight-lined three-minute long rock 'n' roll songs, you will find nothing. However, this does not mean that SUNGRAZER do not rock. Yes, they do, but in their own ways. In the process the music is enriched with psychoactive ingredients, which gives you the feeling of being an explorer, discovering the far ends of the world. In addition, 'Mirador' has a warm and cozy atmosphere that invites the listener to wind-down. Accordingly the clear vocals are restrained and fit in well with the laid back grooves of this album. Incidentally, SUNGRAZER manages the balancing act between the nineteen-seventies and the present times. With each play this one builds new synapses and maintains an edge and a freshness that some others don't have.
