twothirtytwo - The Hope We Had

An unsigned band from Aldershot, with a live show that is already the stuff of legend, they've popped out this vid of one of the tracks from the forthcoming EP...

...an EP, 'The Hope We Had', which is effectively 4-5 singles (yes I've heard it all)! It'll be appearing 8th September on Rose Coloured Records (a label/promoter who do a lot of good work around here and are worthy of support by the way)

The Great Sabatini - Akela

Yet more weird-assery

and the album 'Dog Years' is definitely out at last on Solar Flare Records -

http://solarflarerds.bigcartel.com/product/the-great-sabatini-dog-years-12-vinyl

Or from the band -

http://thegreatsabatini.bigcartel.com/product/dog-years

Brain-frying Videos Selection - Pumpingtons choices

My Indole Ring

Toshio Matsumoto

Zivot

7 Hells

Some more great suggestions from Sir Pumpington I believe...

The Toby Mearing Radio Show 23rd June 2014

Human Eye - Gettin' Mean/ Into Unknown + Euro live dates

Now this is how you get in this blog...

WooHoo their sorta garage-native-American-desert-space-rock trips are out on the '4:Into Unknown' album on Goner Records

and they're touring Sweden & Finland in July but I don't know the damned details yet! So here's another incredible vid...full screen and vol up - you know the drill...

UPDATE...ok here are the live dates
25th july sweden STOCKHOLM Virkesvägen 9c
26th july finland Hori Smoku Summer Boogaloo festival

Dustaphonics - The Message + album deets

A curio from these London Garage/ Beat/ Lounge/ R'n'B/ Surf/ Party-generators

Yes, it's a streak!

The album is out now on the excellent Dirty Water Records Label...

Would you like to see them? Of course you would...

Every Time I Die - Thirst/ Decaying With The Boys

This seems to be some Homerian tale of derring do's & dont's...part 1 -

and part 2 -

the album 'From Parts Unknown' is out 1st July on Epitaph Records

and, more importantly the tour dates are piling up here -

http://everytimeidie.net/tour-dates/

Earth - Primitive and Deadly + album + tour updates

It's the new album artwork, and I love it. Well done Samantha Muljat. I should confess to being a huge fan, but even so the new track 'From The Zodiacal Light' with Rabia Shaheen Qazi (from Rose Windows - who I played on the Show recently) on vocs is also excellent. Looks like Dylan has finally got the knack of finding the right guest vocalists. The new album will be appearing on Southern Lord Records 1st September but there are also reissues of 'Hex; Or Printing In The Infernal Method' and 'The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull' - essential if you haven't already got them.

UPDATE - there's a preview vid -

Ltd editions sold fast on pre-order. Hardly surprising -

More US tour dates

New dates appear here

http://earth.southernlord.com/

Daniel Woodward - Rio Blue/ Masika

Just superb!

How amazing was that!? Daniel is from Capri who were/are this incredible big band centred on Leeds. Rock, Jazz, Freakbeat, Funk, Psych, Soul, Prog, Soundtrack, Blaxploitation and just about anything else you can think of went into the mix on their album which is a classic as far as I am concerned.

Anyway Capri's Groove Lab Productions seem to be behind this new work. Album doesn't seem to be out yet but is called 'The Long Walk Home'

I don't know why but I always connect emotionally with their music - check the first single out...

More info to follow...

Mississippi Records on tour: 'A Cosmic and Earthly History of Recorded Music according to Mississippi Records' (A film & talk presentation)

This is a trailer for a show that I suspect will be rather wonderful. The comments explain it in detail but this phrase stands out for me -

"The ultimate intention of this travelling exhibition is to give the audience a sense of wonder; that anything is possible and art is worth doing."

That is true.

Also features

MARISA ANDERSON

LORI GOLDSTON (Nirvana Cellist)
DRAGGING AN OX THROUGH WATER
Monday 15 September
Café OTO, 22 Ashwin Street, Dalston, E8 3DL

7pm | £10 | http://www.wegottickets.com/event/279340 

Sunday 14 September
Sage Gateshead
Northern Rock Foundation Hall 7.45pm £10
https://tickets.sagegateshead.com/booking/production/bestavailable/32398

EYEHATEGOD - Medicine Noose

A mighty return to form in which they have found their inner-SSTness again!

from one of my favourite bands

I've blogged at length about them so quickly...

Tour left -
6/18/2014 Fubar - St. Louis, MO [tickets]
6/19/2014 Hi Tone - Memphis, TN [tickets]

6/20/2014 Southport - New Orleans, LA [tickets]
6/21/2014 Dollhouse - Savannah, GA [tickets]
6/22/2014 Orpheum - Tampa, FL [tickets]
6/23/2014 Looseys - Gainesville, FL [tickets]
6/24/2014 Zydeco - Birmingham, AL [tickets]
6/25/2014 The Handlebar - Pensacola, FL [tickets]
End Tour7/15/2014 Acheron - Brooklyn, NY [info]
Album -

http://www.thehousecorestore.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=THCS&Category_Code=EHG

Blockheads - All These Dreams + live dates

edit-mungous mosh-fest from these French grinders

4 gigs spliced together brilliantly by Quentin Klein

and if that has enticed you into seeing them live -

Friday 20th June - HELLFEST, Clisson, France
Saturday 13th September - MOMIGNIES EXTREME FEST,  Momignies, Belgium
Saturday 18th October - ROCK YOUR BRAIN FEST, Selestat, France.

Abre Ojos - Light On Our Foreheads + album/DVD deets

Well this is rather wonderful (you want full screen and volume loud)

Abre Ojos is a project by Scott Baker - multi-media which is why the visuals are so good I guess. This is from the newish album 'Gates' (Secrets of Giza) which is very Kosmische. You can buy the audio but they've released it as a full-length DVD and that, surely, is the definitive version.

but get the DVD here -

http://www.secretsofgiza.com/

GHOUL 2014 U.S. tour announcement

Ha ha ha ha ha ha

Ok, and just in case you missed those dates -

T.O.M.B. - Abysmal Channeling + album deets

T.O.M.B. are a difficult act to explain. I haven't found a way to play them in the Show either. I think they are slightly mis-sold as a horror/occult act...well their name is Total Occultic Mechanical Blasphemy! However, their sounds evoke institutional power - endless cells; hospitals; prisons; offices; rooms in which terrible events occur; the vicious whispering of those in authority; the lamenting of the patients/victims; the secret rites of sociopaths; the despair or anguish of the good faced with clear evidence that evil has taken control? That sort of thing...

That is the first single from the as-yet-unreleased album 'Fury Nocturnous'! What demographic that single is aimed at is beyond me!

Anyway I think they are really good at this, their use of field recordings in particular. If you're hooked to, they recently re-released some cracking excursions which you can hear/buy here -

HUW - Iris

A gentle tune with a rather lovely vid to accompany it

Two brothers in the Peak District (England) with homegrown music fashioned from real instruments and electronics, but joyous, gentle, and with a lot of spaces between the sounds. The album 'Audiography' is out on RopeADope Records 8th July.

Beige Eagle Boys - I Saw Your Face On The Pavement

A shit-kicking tune and a 'we're all fucked' video from Austin Jenkins!

Marvelous bitta Detroit havoc.

Ok, the album is out on Reptilian Records 24th June. 400 blue vinyl 100 orange vinyl...

Here is the link -

http://www.reptilianrecords.com/products/528442-beige-eagle-boys-youre-gonna-get-yours-lp-cd

The Great Sabatini - Periwinkle War Hammer

Another great vid from these guys which kind of explains why we listen to loud music...

the 'Dog Days' album release date was put back to avoid a clash with, yet another, record store day! But the vinyl is now out -

The Toby Mearing Radio Show 16th June 2014

The Toby Mearing Radio Show 9th June 2014

Chrome - Prophecy + album & euro tour deets

With Damon Edge dead I didn't dare hope..but...but this is fantastic!

the dbl album 'Feel It Like A Scientist' is coming out in August 2014 on, I believe, King of Spades Records.

Euro Tour this very week!

08.06.14 Germany Berlin C-Club

09.06.14 Czech Rep. Prag Lucerna Music Hall
11.06.14 Denmark Copenhagen Loppen
12.06.14 Norway Oslo Bla
14.06.14 FIN Helsinki Äänivalli Fight the night festival
16.06.14 SE Stockholm Liffey`s Basement
18.06.14 Germany Hamburg Markhalle
19.06.14 Holland Rotterdam Vibes
20.06.14 Holland Amsterdam OCCII
21.06.14 UK London Electrowerz

Psychic Rites - Singularity

gorefest

great work Pleasure Kill!

American Football - Never Meant

Ok ok it's a slushy one but it works, and there's a great moment when the bass plays THAT note -

I have been trying to resist the attractions of this release but it is gradually gettin' under my skin! As it is a Polyvinyl release it's stunningly packaged as well -

There's a ltd ltd edition of 2000 in green/yellow vinyl from Polyvinyl only. You can buy here -

https://www.polyvinylrecords.com/#store/afdeluxe

Basak Yavuz - Bu Aralar

I posted, last month, about a singing architect in Iran. Well now here is another from Istanbul! I like when her vocals take flight in the last part of the song.

Her debut album is out 24th June (notice the big-name collaborators) on Kalan Records

and if you are in Istanbul she seems to play regularly there. Details are here -

http://www.basakyavuz.com/tr/konserler.aspx

Ghoul - Burning Questions

These are usually done really badly - but not this one. Absolutely hilarious -

Ghoul have released a load of stuff on the excellent Tankcrimes label. If you haven't come across their brand of humour before -

"I'll rape your dog with a plough" Ha ha

I'll dedicate this to Oderus who died in March.

Primitive Man - Antietam + US and European tour dates

This one is really horrible. Intentionally so. The no-jaw image is particularly powerful. Def NSFW though!

I told you. This is from last years album re-released by Relapse Records (note ltd edition beer-coloured vinyl)

Anyway they are taking this blackened filth on the road (the UK dates include the excellent Opium Lord as well)

PRIMITIVE MAN:

6/06/2014 Maloka Festival @ Autogere Espace Des Tanneries - Dijon FR

6/07/2014 Kulturfabrik - Wetzikon CH

6/09/2014 Arena Wien - Wien, AU

6/11/2014 Gerberstrasse - Weimar, DE

6/12/2014 Koma F - Berlin, DE

6/13/2014 KB18 - Copenhagen, DK

6/14/2014 Trojborg Beboerhus - Aarhus, DK  

6/15/2014 Jaz (Matinee) - Rostock, DE w/ Weekend Nachos

6/16/2014 Secret Show - Kassel, DE

6/17/2014 Dynamo - Eindhoven, NL w/ Weekend Nachos

6/18/2014 Kavka - Antwerp, BE w. Weekend Nachos, Ekzeem A, Nervous mothers

6/19/2014 Stumpf - Hannover, DE w/ ◯

6/20/2014 Grind The Nazi Scum Fest @ Brückenkopf - Torgau DE

6/21/2014 Kiel Explode Festival @ Alte Meierei - Kiel, DE w/ ◯, Svffer, In The Hearts Of Emperors, Afterlife Kids

6/22/2014 AZ - Köln, DE

w/ Opium Lord:

6/24/2014 Green Door Store - Brighton, UK

6/25/2014 The Unicorn - London, UK

6/26/2014 John The Baptist Crypt - Bristol, UK

6/27/2014 Stuck On A Name Studios - Nottingham, UK

6/28/2014 Bannermans - Edinburgh, UK

6/29/2014 The Redhouse - Sheffield, UK   

w/ Hexis:  7/19/2014 Hi-Dive - Denver, CO7/20/2014 West Wing - Omaha, NE
7/21/2014 Davey's Uptown - Kansas City, MO
7/22/2014 Rail 2 - Peoria, IL
7/23/2014 The Melody Inn - Indianapolis, IN
7/24/2014 Corktown Tavern - Detroit, MI
7/25/2014 Cobra Lounge - Chicago, IL
7/26/2014 SurfinBird Skateshop - Appleton, WI (early show)
7/26/2014 Cactus Club - Milwaukee, WI
7/27/2014 The Triple Rock - Saint Paul, MN
7/28/2014 Zoo Cabaret - Winnipeg, MB
7/29/2014 Local 510 - Calgary, AB
7/30/2014 Biltmore - Vancouver, BC
7/31/2014 Highline - Seattle, WA
8/02/2014 Tonic Lounge - Portland, OR
8/03/2014 Starlite Lounge - Sacramento, CA
8/04/2014 Sub Mission - San Francisco, CA
8/05/2014 First Church Of The Buzzard - Oakland, CA
8/06/2014 Witch House - Santa Cruz, CA
8/07/2014 5 Star Bar - Los Angeles, CA
8/08/2014 Holland Project - Reno, NV
8/09/2014 The Sugar Space - Salt Lake City, UT
8/10/2014 Triple Nickel - Colorado Springs, CO

Deville -The Knife + American Tour Deets

I absolutely love this video!

It's a new vid for the track from last years album 'Hydra' on Small Stone Records, presumably because of this American tour -

The Toby Mearing Radio Show 2nd June 2014

Alvvays - Archie, Marry Me + debut album deets

Alvvays hit on the amazing idea of writing a good song and then bashing it out! It's an idea that seems to be lost on an awful lot of idiots. They've signed to Polyvinyl Records. Here's an earlier video so you can see who we are dealing with

They are Canadian but there is definitely something of the Scottish tune-smiths about what they do.

Anyway that was a good song but check out the first single from the forthcoming album -

Monster or what?
The pre-orders can be done here - https://www.polyvinylrecords.com/store/alvvays_alvvays

and here's some rather spiffing live footage - just listen to those two dudes at the back powering this on.

The Crazy World of Arthur Brown - The Unknown + new album and tour deets

Great new vid from 72 year old maniac Arthur Brown!

"Statistics are a weapon of war" brilliant, and a scene-stealing appearance from a stuffed (but happy!) fox...

The album 'Zim Zam Zim' is out 28th July. Here's the title track -

He's been on fire (ha ha haaaaa) for years now on the underground festival scene and tours relentlessly. Here are the latest batch of dates -

The Magic Band - The West End Centre Aldershot 31st May 2014

Captain Beefheart was a painter who loved the Blues. He imagined a new music through his painterly mind, and drilled The Magic Band to be able to play it. That involved not playing how musicians normally play, and not thinking like it either. He appears, like all driven originals, to have been a difficult taskmaster and The Magic Band went through a lot of lineup changes over the years. Commercial success evaded them (I believe the band members never saw a cent from any of this) despite the fact that they were clearly light years ahead of contemporaries (I always recommend that you listen to a track from the Stones and Zeppelin from any given year and then listen to a Magic Band track. Much as I love the former - they're just beginners compared with what the Cap was imagining and what his band were doing with those visions). A string of bad luck, bad timing, bad deals...well, bad everything for years through the 70's beat them up real bad. And then there was an incredible late flowering of 3 stunning albums before Beefheart called it a day and returned to California to paint. By this time everyone in bands had realised that everyone else in bands had been massively influenced by this band - EVERYONE!

Sorry about the pre-amble but I became aware last night that quite a few of the audience didn't know the music, and had come out of curiosity and respect. That is wonderful, because what I'm trying to put across is that there was no one Magic Band. There were many different line-ups. Each had different biases and skills and brought something new to the Captains music. So what do we have this time? The genuinely legendary rhythm section of John 'Drumbo' French and Mark 'Rockette Morton' Boston. Except John, who has spent years putting this together (more bad luck) can nail Beefhearts vocs so he is doing that + harp + soprano sax + hat! On acid/slide guitar they have Denny 'Feelers Rebo' Walley the genius who co-helmed the late flowering albums (whilst also playing with Frank Zappa and Tom Waits!!!). And then we have the new boys Eric Klerks on guitar and Andrew Niven percussion (drums really does not do him justice) and they are extremely important here because this ain't no tribute band. This is the NEW Magic Band and they are magnificent.

Ok I have to mention one other person that's important here. The Captain. There is a chance that his absence now is significant because, while his incredible music remains, his oppressive off-stage character has gone. and that has resulted in these lovely fellows having fun. I saw them before, during, and after the gig. Their manner (even their clothes) didn't change for the whole day. How they are on stage, is exactly how they are off stage...they are having fun and it pours through the music. At the soundcheck they were trying to ascertain how long they could play for. Not how short, but how long!!! Remember they are in the middle of a gruelling UK tour and some of these men are not young. It was like they were negotiating for how long they could keep the onstage party going.

I'm going to struggle with describing the gig so I'll just throw shapes like the good cap'n did. The first set was really funky - I've never noticed that before. Eric Klerks, I subsequently found, is from New Orleans and it's that southern fish fry funk that was bubblin' through. Also a friend pointed out that Mark Boston plays bass (the current axe was only acquired three days ago, I hasten to add) with the fluidity and bounce of dub reggae! It's a really good point - if you slowed his playing right down. So we're talking grooves. I am currently sporting 2 injured ankles and a dodgy knee but even I was boogieing. Their snake-sliding desert blues is a given. John French is incredible out front. He has his own separate little sound system because he's singing, doing the odd dances, wailing on the harp and blasting free jazz on the sax. He also has a neat trick going with Andrew Niven where they swap over on percussion without missing a beat so that the drummer keeps changing mid-song! Technically incredible. At the end of the first set they did Kandy Korn which is one of my favourite pieces of music. It starts with native American mysticism; goes into a boogie and then there is a second passage where the guitars become dreams and smoke in a style that New York minimalists used. So no pressure on Mr Klerks then! He absolutely ruled it, putting in his own little jazz-inflected runs and making it his own. It brought the place down. In fact every time they went into improvised passages the crowd went mad.

The band then have about 20mins chatting to the people. They were knocked out to find that a 14 year old girl was attending her first gig! Talk about setting the bar high. Anyway photos were taken with the band and a poster was signed (not just signed, but with messages and thanks) I saw her afterwards still clinging to that poster.

Ok second set, and this is where I lost it. John French seemed to be checking the drum kit as people were drifting back in, but this morphed into a jaw-dropping solo - at times it sounded like two drummers playing in different rhythms! Then the band launched into free jazz for 2 or 3 numbers including the best 'Hair Pie bake 1' I have ever heard. It was like these 5 guys suddenly became Sun Ra's Arkestra! Every Denny Walley solo from then on was an acid rock take on slide - absolutely blistering. He also did something with the slide which sounded like a chain of effects - but I was stood right in front of him and it was just the string and the slide - no tricks! Rock, Boogie, Jazz, Poetry, Avant-Garde, Funk, Modern Classical, Dub, Free Improvisation, Humour, Blues, Art, Mysticism, an imagined American spirit. This was about 15 different concerts all taking place at the same time but with different time signatures. Quantum Mechanics made sound :-)

My abiding memory will be the JOY though. The band are loving this incarnation. The audience loved every twist and turn - and these guys have more of those than a snake on a boiling dune.

The rest of the tour is here - don't miss them!
http://magicband.org/tour/

P.S. I absolutely have to mention the sound. The sound engineer at the West End Centre likes her anonymity so I can't mention names, but the Band DID mention at the soundcheck how superb the sound was. Then in the second set they insisted on repeating this and having the whole audience applaud her. And THEN after the encores John French marched straight off the stage to thank her again personally! A testimony to how lovely this band is and the world class quality of this venue in Aldershot.
P.P.S. There is now a link to some superb film of the gig in the comments section. My thanks to Clint Walker (who I now realise I was stood next to for the entire second set!)