If I was to make a list of my top ten bands to emerge over the past decade REZN would certainly be on this list. Back in February, they released Solace which proved to be an excellent slab of doom-gaze. I wasn’t expecting something else from them this year, but they are dropping this collaboration, Silent Futures (Blues Funeral Recordings) with Mexico City’s Vinnum Sabbathi.
Consisting of desert rock pioneers from the legendary acts Yawning Man and Fu Manchu, supergroup Yawning Balch releases an ever-prolific debut entitled Volume One via Heavy Psych Sounds. Just like the album title, Yawning Balch embarks the first volume of their musical career’s trajectory through this debut.
Black Duck can best be described as a supergroup featuring as it does key members of the Chicago music scene such as guitarist/bassist Douglas McCombs (Tortoise, Eleventh Dream Day), guitarist Bill MacKay (Broken Things, Sounds of Now), and drummer Charles Rumback (Colorlist, Leaf Bird). I confess to only really being familiar with McCombs due to his involvement in those bands who I’ve listened to for a number of years and hence why my interest was peaked when selecting this album for review purposes.
Nearly thirty years of diving headfirst into the void, and Church of Misery are back with Tatsu Mikami once more giving worship to the Blackest of Sabbath’s, acolyte to ‘The Riff’ and servant to the retro groove once more on Born Under A Mad Sign (Rise Above). Joined once again after a twenty-five-year absence by original vocalist Kazuhiro Asaeda, there is a fine sense of anticipation about the Japanese doom merchants seventh full-length.
With a band name so obscure it’s like they don’t want to be found, a mocking album title and featuring a musical parody of Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Mr. Phylzzz (pronounced “Mr Flies”) demonstrate on their latest album Cancel Culture Club (Amphetamine Reptile Records), that they aren’t taking anything too seriously.
Valley Of The Sun transport us to a desert vista with their hard-hitting, classic blues rock fourth album, The Chariot (Ripple Music) The topographical downside is a straight-ahead tendency to skim the surface of the sand without revealing psychological depth or any hints at complicated thinking below.Continue reading
Ripple Music has announced that Stoner Rock/Desert Scene innovators Fatso Jetson are joining the their roster! Their new album is a split release with fellow Californians All Souls (also ex-Totimoshi), with both bands recording their contributions live in the studio during the pandemic lockdown. The release is due this August. More details are soon to follow.
Desertfest, GloomyLightsPhotography
2022 is a special year for desert rock / stoner rock / doom metal extravaganza Desertfest London. The event, which takes place across multiple venues in and around Camden and has become a mainstay of the UK heavy music scene, was cancelled in 2020 for obvious reasons and then rescheduled as a special 10-year anniversary event for 2021. Inevitably, the 2021 festival was again cancelled, so the 2022 edition is not only the first Desertfest London for three years, but also a chance to celebrate in earnest a “Decade in the Desert”.
Work on Greenbeard’s third album started four years ago, but numerous line up changes and the dreaded C word delayed things slightly. The wait is over as the Texan Stoner Rock groups third album, aptly titled Variant (Sailor Records/Kozmik Artifactz), is finally with us – it sees them mix fuzzy stoner rock with psychedelic, blues, soul and heavy metal influences.Continue reading
Alex Vinci, Brasko, and Conal Murphy of The Last Vinci have released a lovely album in The Revolution is Made Together (Narrow Door). The album is like happiness flying through the clouds. The songs on The Revolution is Made Together have a pleasant, even keeled feel.