Archive ( 3/5/14 - 16/9/14 )
The Morsel Freak Valley Preview
26th May
Not so much in the way of new music this week but instead a look ahead to my chosen European Festival this year. Freak Valley Festival, Netphen, Germany.
As rain descends on ol’ London town and most of Western Europe, it must mean I am off once again to an outdoor festival. Freak Valley is in its third year and this year’s lineup was too much to pass up. Having missed Wo Fat last year at Desertfest with the Dozer clash, and the opportunity to do a European Festival following the disastrous UK festival line ups this year, Freak Valley got the nod! So this weeks Morsel will showcase my top 5 bands for the weekend. Many unknowns and new bands for me this weekend await but today. I will go with the bankers!
5th Place: Truckfighters: Where else to start but the mighty Truckfighters. This will be 5th time I have seen these guys and although I prefer to see them in a small club scene, you simply can’t deny the appeal of this band as a live act! The only question that remains un answered is “Will Mastadont make its live debut?” I can only hope.
4th Place: Kadavar: Headlining the third and final night of the festival, at the tasty hour of 11.55pm, Germany’s own retro fuzz lords Kadavar grace the stage. Off the back of a huge US tour, the bearded, flare wearing, SG wielding, monsters of rock will close the festival. If the Freak Valley throng are still standing at this point, get ready for one hell of a show.
3rd Place: Samsara Blues Experiment: Another of Germany’s illustrious exports in the stoner scene, SBE are one of the big draw cards of the weekend. Elongated, tripped out space jams are the order of the day and rolling on at 5.30pm on the final afternoon of the festival, this will certainly be a kick back, eyes closed, cruise out moment of the weekend. Following their monstrous set at DF this year it will be great to see these guys outside and up close at the intimate FV setting. Could we be lucky enough to score Double Freedom again. Anticipation awaits!
2nd Place: The Midnight Ghost Train: After nearly bringing the Black Heart to it’s foundation during their Sunday Arvo set at London’s DF this year, TMGT are certainly a band that know how to set the party mood. The prime (if not early) slot of Friday afternoon will set the bar very high and certainly get the groove going early on the strongest day of the festival. Will Steve Moss at the helm and the driving bass lines and percussion slotted right in the pocket, anyone who sees this band will love this band. Enough said.
1st Place: Wo Fat: No surprise here for regular Morsel readers. I have been waiting with baited breathe for the chance to see these guys live for a few years now. Dropping in on FV while on their European tour with Mothership, Wo Fat are going to bring their southern rawk/fuzz to the Freakiest of Valleys. Hopefully showcasing some new material off the new LP, The Conjuring, as long as I hear Mr Kent Stump utter the iconic “Ohhhhhh Black Code,” I know at least one Morsel reader, MC, will lose his proverbial shit.
I appreciate this is a short list and theere are plenty of others to get excited about.
Other bands on the “Do not miss” list include:
Stubb, Mothership, Blue Pills, Elder and of course Admiral Sir Cloudsey Shovell.
So with rain forecast and boots packed I head into the Freak Valley for the first time and hope to make my way out the other side in some resemblance of my former self. Check back here for a review in a few weeks.
Fuzz f’n tastic!
The Morsel 24th August
Bonjour all to this instalment of the Morsel from the sunny setting of South West France. Sitting in a pine forest, post surf with a Pelforth Blonde at arms reach puts me in good spirits to bring this weeks Morsel to life. There is nothing for it, straight onto it this week with some HUGE releases.
STEAK are back! Having retuned from the desert and the clutches of producer Harper Hug (Vista Chino, Brant Bork) and co producer Arthur Seay (HOBP & Unida), they have released the first teaser from the upcoming LP, Slab City, due to be released by Napalm Records on September 6th.
Rising is the first “morsel”, if you will, from the record and if this is any indication of what is to come then be prepared. Rising, along with its 8 plus minute incredible mini movie of a film clip, is one hell of a “Slab.” It opens with feedback laid on feedback over the top of rolling toms and when Reece Tee releases the opening riff at the 2 minute mark we hear loud and clear what this band are all about. Tight, powerful, driving, fuzz fuelled, dirty rock 'n roll. I remember saying that the production step up between Disastonaught to Corned Beef Colossus was huge but this pales into insignificance when you hear the clarity and all round polish on this track. The sound is exceptional with Sammy’s drums a real stand out laid against another huge vocal performance by front man Kippa. When the change up at the 6 min mark arrives we see the real evolution of this band, where once a 'charge to end' would have done, the breakprovides a contrast and then the dropping back of the main riff really adds another dimension to this track. Powerful, well crafted and full throttle stoner rock from the UK. I am thoroghly looking forward to hearing the full release upon my return to the UK at the album launch. Sat 6th Sept, The Borderline London. Get there. I shall raise a chilled Red Stripe at the Crowbar post show, for those who can't be there.
(Click album cover for ordering)
Karma to Burn are another favourite of the Morsel and they have released another huge chuck of instrumental riffage in the form of Arch Stanton. As only this band knows how, they bring another 8 huge granite sized landslides of fuzz straight though the speakers and pounding straight into any poor unsuspecting ear drums for miles around. The sound this 3 piece generates is extraordinary and the ability to make and 8 track instrumental album interesting and catchy the whole way through is their art and they have once again brought this art to the fore. Opening track, Fifty Seven, is a super charged, bass fuelled, straight down the line rock and roll track and one that will hook you in and keep you right in the pocket for its duration (a modest 4.15) Stand up, grab a beer and charge out with Karma to Burn!
Rodeo Drive is Hans from Samsara Blues Experiment's band prior to SBE and he returns to the helm to release the bands first full length, Morbid Beauty. Taking over his role on bass, as he now currently does with SBE, he provides the driving back end and Viking-esque vocals to this jam based LP laced with lashings of punk, psych, blues and stoner doom. Tracks range from the longer jam outs such as Snuff Eater and Earth Dark Disease to the shorted catchier vocal based tracks such as Poultry Bro and this week’s track All in Vain. Definitely worth checking out this band for those into the heavier vocals and jam based riffs. Unfortunately their short tour will not include the UK but maybe we might see them on the festival circuit next year.
Plenty more going on in the UK, US and Oz fuzz scene with news The Midnight Ghost Train have signed a major deal with Napalm Records, cheers boys, thoroughly deserved! London will be graced with, to name but a few, Naam, Earthless, Pentagram, Fu Manchu, Brant Bjork, John Garcia and plenty more in the lead up to Christmas. Australia will get the first look at the Garcia tour and will also play host to the mighty Sleep in the coming year!
Fuzz f'n tastic
The Morsel 16th September
STEAK : SLAB CITY REVIEW
Produced by Harper Hug &Arthur Seay
Napalm Records
After a journey to the Californian desert and numerous gig/tours and festivals Steak have resurfaced with their first full length, Slab City. A promised 10 track collosal magnitude of swirling fuzz and driving rythmn, I was keen to see what effect the desert had on these lads from London.
We are instantly greeted with a surging feedback and overdub of radio chatter from a dog fight. This sets the tone for what instantly hits you front on with the opening riff of Coma. This track has evolved from an opening gig jam to what has become in its own right a huge "slab" of stoner granite which locks you in and batters you repeatedly until the sweeping and familiar distorted opening of Liquid Gold awakens you from your reverie.
Liquid Gold (stand out track from Corned Beef Colossus EP) is rerecorded for this release and appears with more substance, a bigger more desperate sound and although I prefer the vocal mix of the original, this still stands up as some of their finest works to date.
Slab city offers a change with a more Fu Manchu meets Vista Chino groove going on. A shorter track that leads us unwittingly head first into one of the stand out tracks on the record, Pisser.
The riff of the record, and instant genre classic, drips with class. With huge bass runs rumbling and driving an incredible tight back end, the track rises towards tipping point, finds its groove then enter none other than Mr John Garcia. As if giving a somewhat huge nod off approval to the 4 horsemen from ol'London town, Garcia lays it down as only he knows how. Duet on the London leg of tour please.
Qualudes and Interludes arrives and gives you time to digest and reflect on Pisser before you are snapped from your hypnotic state (Unless listening on vinyl) by the most straight up dirty rock n roll, charge out track on the record. Road head.
Now many years back I once discussed The Machine with guitarist Reece Tee and had expressed my appreciation of this as a live track but my frustration that the essence and sound of the track had not been captured on the EP Disastranaut. Enter The Machine mark II. HUGE. This is what this track was meant to sound like. Oppressive, haunting, driving and full of bottom end grunt. The band really locks into the groove on this one and remains a highlight at any of their live shows.
Hanoid opens with a rolling bass line which is justified, as the one of the landmark changes to the production of this album is every layer can be heard clearly and the back end of this band, driven by Sammy and Cam, is a tight as any. Dripping with a Deep Purple, Sabbathy vibe and some outstanding frenzied noodling at the close, Hanoid is a track that could easily sit comfortably anywhere on the album such is the quality of the tune.
This leads us to Rising. Now I reviewed this track last time (see below) so I will keep this brief. This is the track of the album for me. This is where the whole trip to the desert comes together in a perfect storm. Opening in a similar fashion to Coma this colossus of fuzz rock, and the strongest vocal track on the record, pounds out its lasting mark and leaves us in no doubt that this power quartet from London have followed a path into the desert with a dream and have returned with the most complete stoner record of the year to date hands down. This is a band that many will draw comparisons with, as I have throughout, however do not for a second think this is a classic stoner cover band. Steak are the new wave of stoner bands who draw from the past but most definitely bring their own fresh intereptation, sound and energy to the scene.
All killers, no fillers.
Fuzz f'n Tastic
*Lookout for blues infused slide guitar bonus track, Old Timer D.W on some releases.
Click the image above to be taken to Relapse Records Page.
The Morsel 21st July
So the Morsel returns after some what of a hiatus with three slabs of smelted fuzz rock to relaunch. I apologise for the delay in getting the site back up and running and thank everyone for there supportive (and some not so supportive) encouragement. So we are back! So what have we missed....Unida, Spirit Caravan and HOBP at the Garage, Sabbath at Hyde Park, (VIP thanks Peppermint Bars), plenty of fuzz rolling accross the needle and plenty of immenent releases from Sleep, Steak, Stubb, MGT to name but a few. So, onto the music.
Readers of the morsel need no introduction to this band and it seems fitting to lead off with the mighty ones. Wo Fat, the Texan rift lords, come to the table with their next offering of crushingly heavy slab rock. The Conjuring is a five track opus which takes you on a dark and twisted world of Wo Fat that it is a more jam oriented offering this time with songs that are elongated and beautifully crafted into this stoner southern rock masterpiece. This wizards of fuzz have really pushed themselves with this release as the jams are woven together with a craftmanship which perhaps suggests that a Dopesmoker-esqe one track album may not be to far a stretch in the future. You can stream the whole record HERE or enjoy this morsel: Read the Omens.
When Vista Chino announced a premature hiatus so that John Garcia could finish and tour with his long awaited solo project, we knew the godfather of stoner rock with the voice of the desert would be opening himself up for a whole new level of examination. Could he pull it off. Answer: Of course he bloody could, he is John Garcia! Tight, riff heavy with a desert groove and of course JG's trademark howls over the top. (slightly more forward in the mix that other projects, not surprising) The first single off the new record, My Mind, is classic Garcia but look out also for the guest appearance from The Doors Robbie Krieger on the acoustic closer Her Bullet Energy. Release dates on this one vary from country to country but keep an eye on Napalm Records for more details. People in OZ, JG is kicking off the world tour in your back yard!!
Now the reason this site was set up. New music. Hailing from the backstreets of the Melbourne band scene, the poetically named "Fuck the Fitzroy Doom Scene" are making one well of a racket in my old home town. After being given the heads up from fellow Morsling EC, (cheers) I have been searching out as much as I can find on this downunder stoner quartet. Being based in London, coverage is a little thin but from what I have heard and from the reviews I am reading, this is a band we are going to hear a hell of a lot more of in the coming months. Desertscene, get in early and sign them up for Desertfest 15!
Enjoy this one: Dream.
So that is it for this edition. Some great new stuff and some old faves who just keep on punching. I hope you like the new layout and I look forward to the comments rolling in. Keep the fuzz community thriving and share great tunes! See you at the next gig!
Fuzz f'n Tastic
The Morsel 7th June
This week's Morsel revolves around the Freak Valley Festival Review which is posted HERE. Tune back soon for the regular Morsel to resume with loads of new music (and some old) coming your way.
The Morsel 20th May
So with the Desertfest hangover well and truly subsided and the radar now firmly set on Netphen, Germany for Freak Valley Festival, it is time to step back up to the plate and offer another few morels of the mighty riffage to see us through.. Having had very few bands on high rotation, other than Desertfest bands, in the last few weeks it has been good to get back to hearing some new fuzz and exploring the wide expanses of our planet for new and interesting sonic rumblings.
It was on one of these very ramblings just a year ago, on the back of Desertfest 13, that I came across the first band up this week. Hailing from Alberta , Canada, Chron Goblin have recently released their second full length following their debut 1 Million From the Top back in 2011.
The new LP titled A Life for the Living places this band firmly on the map of the Stoner/Rock/Punk/Sleaze landscape. On first listen it strikes me that this album has a much greater and immense depth of sound and range effects right from the get go. After the swirling,cosmic guitar opening on Deserter, you are crunched back into reality with the driving riff and bass lead opener. From here they hit you with Dry Summer and a desperate vocal performance that keeps the flow driving you straight into one of the stand out tracks on the album. Lonely Prey. This track has a certain familiarity to it and the pulsating bass line that comes to the forefront prior to the first chorus truly shows how this band has diversified since their debut. This track has a certain Valley of the Sun feel to it. There are times on this record where I hear a vocal style similar to Liam Cormier (Cancer Bats) . Maybe it is the accent, whatever, it works!This is no more evident than on absolute stand out track for me on this record Give No More.
Following the chopper, bass harmonica beast (great combo) that is Big Baby, Chron Goglin really hit their straps with the riff of the album. Give No More is one of those track you simply want to hear live, complete with the (4mins in) cruise out! Great track.
Anesthetize hits you next and just drips with (possible influence) Suicidal Tendencies urgency and desperation. A really great vocal performance on this one. Finishing off the record we get title track Life for the Living (complete with rolling tom at the 3.5min groove out) The album rounds out with Blood Flow that is the fastest shortest fist shaker on the record, followed by Control, with its clean drum sound, punk/rock sleaze and finally we reach the wonderfully crafted close out track, Any Day. This is a wonderful bookend to the release that leads the listener on a 6 min trip with the harrowing and again (desperate) war cry of Find Away to leave the listener in no doubt that this is a band, and record, you are going to enjoy getting to know. A great second up full length that is being currently supported with a large US tour and a hugely comical film clip to match recent efforts from Red Fang and Cancer Bats. I look forward to seeing these guys back in the UK soon. Fuzz f’n Tastic
Buy the Album HERE
European Record Label H42, has followed up its 2010 success and bought together again two instrumental superpowers from either side of the Atlantic. Karma to Burn (US) and Sons of Alpha Centauri (UK). On their second split 7inch we are presented by "71" by Alpha Centauri which opens with a harrowing, aching riff,backed with a great military style drum beat. Their clean and tight "brit" distorted guitar sound is broken with their customary synth sounds and haunting vocal, making this a very polished release. SOAC continue to be one of the most innovative bands in the prog instrumental fuzz scene and this is another good release which should help them to continue to grow an ever expanding fan base. On the flip side we get a Karma to Burn classic with their thick bass driven, bottom end fuzzy guitar sound. 53 is a balls the the wall Karma to Burn full throttle assault. Fan of lyrics switch off now. This release is for fans of heavy driving riffs and driving bass lines only. Overall a very enjoyable release and I look forward to a tour in the near future.
Finally this week it was a toss up. Go with the new or go with the old. The old got it. Fu Manchu fans will have to wait but I return to the discovery of Desertfest and my 2 week epiphany as I journey through the back catalogue of ASG. Heading into DF I had only heard Blood Drive. A-ha... Win Us Over! The 2007 release by Volcom is an absolute stonker! I am not going to go into great detail other than I have reached similar levels of excitement as when I discovered the Truckfighters back catalogue. Great band, great sound. Boom. Soundtrack of the last 14 days. ASG: Low End Insight
So that is it for this round. Hope you enjoyed the tunes and look out for my Freak Valley Preview coming out soon. 9 Days til launch!
Fu Manchu fans...OK Song of the week.
Save the Date: 6th March: Steak Album Release with GreenLeaf and Sedulus.
The Morsel 3rd May
A short one this week other than to say Desertfest was epic and the Monday Morsel will return next week on the 12th May. Until then enjoy the song of the week and check out the Deserfest Review HERE.
Fuzz f'n Tastic
