-valis Pick of the Week

Hail Voyagers! From the lands of the ice and snow, and a thousand lakes, (which may be a ruse to get your mind off the fact they've one month of Summer,) comes our newest Pick of the Week: Chatham Rise! From the Twin Cities in Minnesota. Brrr.
Their just-released, eponymous debut, is a bit of an oddity, to me. I've heard every track on it -in various permutations, as many as three ways; but, the final mixes have surpassed their lineage and are worthy of being held in the highest esteem. They aimed, they shot, they hit the mark. Dead on, too.
Tim, Collin, Sam, Ben, and Brian, have taken full advantage of the Finlandesque atmosphere of their region, holed up, and have created an extremely satisfying record which warms the listener. If you're looking for the box to put it in, perhaps closest would be psychedelic-shoegaze, imho. I'm reminded of Ride, Loop, and Floorian. You might, too.

Try this one, "Gone," with the aid of Jeff Levitz on sitar:

And, brother blood meridian created a mesmerising video to another favorite, "Autopilot":

The album is available via their label, Picture In My Ear. Also, An Art/Music Project they are involved in with Artist Simon Welford, Mark Gardener (RIDE), Adam Franklin (Swervedriver), Dean Garcia (Curve, SPC EKO/ECO, Morpheme), Perry Pelonero (A*Star, Skylight, Bliss.City.East), Aziz Ibrahim (Stone Roses, Ian Brown), Her Vanished Grace, Jaq Gallier and Cult of Dom Keller will be featured in Issue #72 of The Big Takeover. Additionally, make plans for Minneapolis for a long 4th of July weekend...Dean and Britta will be joining them there for a special performance of Galaxie 500 songs...this festival will run July 5-6 and more lineup announcements are coming!! Picture In My Ear's First Communion Afterparty, The Volta Sound and Chatham Rise will all be part of the festivities...this will be BIG!


***
You can listen to the archived stream here; or, hear it this Friday, on The Dead Man's Turn Me On, Dead Man show on Live365, where it's heard every Friday at noon eastern time, as well as Mr. Atavist's Sunrise Ocean Bender show, heard every Monday from 1 to 3 am eastern, on WRIR in Richmond, VA.

-valis Pick of the Week

Hail Voyagers! New week, new Pick! Once again from the underside of the planet comes our choice as Pick: from Melbourne, Australia, Buried Feather! Celebrating the release of their self-titled, self-released debut last Friday, May 10th, at an album unleashing hosted by The Tote in Collingwood, (GO Magpies!,) this one goes down a treat!

Our heroes, Stephen McLennan, Simon Little, Jim Grimwade and Josh Moult, have engineered an album of the pure pineal. Songs for the Sahasrar. From the egg into the flower, they're clearly sending Alpha Information! Try this:


...and then another from the album, "Magnetized," performed live last Fall:

Get Buried Feather, the debut album, at Bandcamp! Sooner the better.
***
You can listen to the archived stream here; or, hear it this Friday, on The Dead Man's Turn Me On, Dead Man show on Live365, where it's heard every Friday at noon eastern time, as well as Mr. Atavist's Sunrise Ocean Bender show, heard every Monday from 1 to 3 am eastern, on WRIR in Richmond, VA.

-valis Pick of the Week

Hail Voyagers! What a Pick this week! From the Sydney, Australia, area -or thereabouts, comes the sonic assault of Lomez, Moustache, March and Cockswell, collectively known as Black Springs!

They've just unleashed their debut, Sunrise, on offer via their Bandcamp page. I highly recommend your obtaining a copy. Quick! So as to enjoy this seven song wonder. I read one review giving it a "6 out of 10." While I honor her right to an opinion, I have to also honor my own and state she may be the reason the website's called "Tone Deaf." My opinion. Ms. Francis seems to have missed the boat or the point. Perhaps both. There's not a duff track in the bunch, even when it seems they're overly aping heroes and inspirations. Proof? Try this:

I NEED MORE VOLUME!!!

also, a track not on this debut:


Celebrate the Australian Psychedelic Scene! I am!

***
You can listen to the archived stream here; or, hear it this Friday, on The Dead Man's Turn Me On, Dead Man show on Live365, where it's heard every Friday at noon eastern time, as well as Mr. Atavist's Sunrise Ocean Bender show, heard every Monday from 1 to 3 am eastern, on WRIR in Richmond, VA.

-valis Pick of the Week

Hail Voyagers! New week, new Pick! We've chosen, for your delectation, the mindbending sounds of Southampton, U.K.'s Dead Rabbits! Their new album, The Ticket That Exploded, is out on Fuzz Club Records. A nine-track buzzsaw of flames, fury, and finesse. Does exactly what it says on the tin!



Sufficient, eh? Thomas Hayes, Neil Atkinson Jr., Suzanne Sims, and Paul Seymour have reached distant locations and brought back the sounds. We're better for it. If you're in the U.K., you've chances to see them live:
* May 1st - The Waiting Room, London
* June 7th - The Bent Brief, Southampton
* June 22nd - Glasgow Psych Fest, Glasgow!
***
You can listen to the archived stream here; or, hear it this Friday, on The Dead Man's Turn Me On, Dead Man show on Live365, where it's heard every Friday at noon eastern time, as well as Mr. Atavist's Sunrise Ocean Bender show, heard every Monday from 1 to 3 am eastern, on WRIR in Richmond, VA.

-valis Pick of the Week

Hail Voyagers! Our Pick this week comes from Switzerland: Navel! Their new album, Loverboy, is out on Noisolution.

With virtually an entirely new band (vs. the one which created 2011's NeoNoir),Jari Antti and co. have managed to create a distinctively Navel sound while simultaneously sounding unlike prior efforts. With Jari as anchor Marco Näf (bass, vocals), Massimo Tondini (keyboard, guitar), and Martin Huber (drums)are just as adept in the making of some very powerful musical statements within. "Hollow Sky" may be the pinnacle of psychedelia on here but several others show quite enough of the moves and flourishes signaling this isn't just a "BritPop/indie rock" effort. They had 'em. They smoked 'em. It shows through the Sennheisers.


***
You can listen to the archived stream here; or, hear it this Friday, on The Dead Man's Turn Me On, Dead Man show on Live365, where it's heard every Friday at noon eastern time, as well as Mr. Atavist's Sunrise Ocean Bender show, heard every Monday from 1 to 3 am eastern, on WRIR in Richmond, VA.

-valis Pick of the Week

Hail Voyagers! The Spring showers are certainly here today and hope anew for a wild explosion of colors in the greens of leaves and the various flowers readied and waiting. Speaking of explosions of colors: that's exactly what I saw when donning the Sennheisers, closing my eyes, and floating along to the sounds of our Pick of the Week, from Paris, France, it's The Jabberwocky Band!
Although their album, Siamese Dream, came out a year ago it seemed only right to choose this album as it's the one that struck me hardest in my listening sessions. OK? Good. The album is self-released and available via their Bandcamp page as a "Name Your Price" option.

To these ears they sound like a siamese twin to Anton N. & Co., they deliver a strong dose of the stuff we crave. I highly recommend if you've not heard (of) them!

( and, according to their Facebook page, posted yesterday, this good news: "This week, we will record some new stuff. Heavy drums, fuzzy guitars and weird Tibetan vocals for you and only for you. Ready for the trip?" )
YES! I AM!
***
You can listen to the archived stream here; or, hear it this Friday, on The Dead Man's Turn Me On, Dead Man show on Live365, where it's heard every Friday at noon eastern time, as well as Mr. Atavist's Sunrise Ocean Bender show, heard every Monday from 1 to 3 am eastern, on WRIR in Richmond, VA.

-valis Pick of the Week

Hail Voyagers! Our Pick this week comes from Bergen, Norway: Electric Eye! They've just released their album, Pick-Up, Lift-Off, Space, Time on Fuzz Club Records. A seven-song smashing success of psychedelic sonics. To quote our good friend, Mr. Atavist, at Sunrise Ocean Bender:
"Fuzz Club handles the international distribution for the full-length debut of Norway’s Electric Eye, released on their own Klangkollektivet Records. Pickup, Lift Off, Space, Time eschews the obvious (and often narrow) tangents taken by many psych bands and goes instead for a heady blend of krautrock, space rock, some blues tinges, drone and more, without giving song craft the shaft. Electric Eye give Pickup, Lift Off, Space, Time a span and depth that approaches progressive not only in the music, but in the approach. Their first single, Tangerine, is a krautrocked engine that hits the road with a heavy heartbeat, covering some serious terrain that highlights not only how much they take in and return, but an expanse they take full advantage of. Cuts like 6 am, Lake Geneva and Morning Light put them firmly in the here and now, along with one foot and some extra toes well into the future by taking in so much from more than just one well. It’s a creeper of a record in some ways; engaging out of the gate, Pickup, Lift Off, Space, Time reveals more of exactly what’s in that title with each spin."

They've also got the Al Lover treatment on lead single, Tangerine:
Another favorite, Morning Light, live:

Brilliant! Get it. Sooner.
*** You can listen to the archived stream here; or, hear it this Friday, on The Dead Man's Turn Me On, Dead Man show on Live365, where it's heard every Friday at noon eastern time, as well as Mr. Atavist's Sunrise Ocean Bender show, heard every Monday from 1 to 3 am eastern, on WRIR in Richmond, VA.