Elephant Stone - Setting Sun

 #Elephant Stone #psychedelic rock #neo-psychedelia #Indian music #world music #ex-High Dials #Canadian #music video

Combining the influence of Indian classical music with the influence of British Invasion bands like the Kinks and the Beatles, Canadian neo-psychedelic outfit Elephant Stone is the brainchild of Rishi Dhir, formerly of the High Dials. The project's first album, 2009's The Seven Seas, demonstrated Dhir's knack for breezy melodies as well as his use of instruments like sitar, dilruba, and tabla in a Western rock context. Elephant Stone was operating as a trio by 2014's Three Poisons, and they made use of a children's choir on 2020's Hollow, the project's fifth album. The French-language EP Le Voyage de M. Lonely dans la Lune appeared in 2022.
Inspired by his own ongoing Indian classical music discovery, Dhir formed Elephant Stone in Montreal in 2008. With Dhir singing lead and handling nearly a dozen instruments, he recorded the project's debut album with help from several guests, including producer Jace Lasek. It arrived in May 2009 on Dhir's own Elephants on Parade label (with Fontana Distribution). The Glass Box EP followed in 2010 on Elephants on Parade and 360 Degree. The group then signed with Canada's Hidden Pony for 2013's Elephant Stone. Settling into a regular lineup of Dhir, Gabriel Lambert on guitar, and Miles Dupire-Gagnon on drums, Three Poisons arrived in 2014, also on Hidden Pony. They covered "L.A. Woman" for that year's “A Psych Tribute to the Doors.”  From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/elephant-stone-mn0001606201/biography

Tautumeitas - Bērzinš

 #Tautumeitas #folk #Latvian folk #world music #traditional folk #Eastern European folk #music video

One of the most notable events in recent years in Latvian folk music has been the debut of the ensemble Tautumeitas. As their name implies, the group gathers together six ‘folk girls’ who perform songs inspired by Latvian folk songs and folklore. Their first recording, Lai māsiņa rotājās!, was performed together with the drum and bagpipe ensemble Auļi, and the group’s proper first debut album, simply entitled Tautumeitas, was released in 2018. In just a few years, the ensemble has become one of the best known and most popular folk ensembles, and have even appeared in a commercial for the Latvian national airline airBaltic. The members of the group are Asnate Rancāne (violin, voice), Aurēlija Rancāne (drums, voice), Ilona Dzērve (accordion, voice), Lauma Bērza (violin, voice), Laura Liepiņa (percussion, voice) and Laura Marta Arāja (percussion, voice). The album also features additional musicians and instruments, such as brass instruments and cello. Integral to the album’s sound is also producer, percussionist and arranger Reinis Sējāns. Though they use many elements from Latvian folklore in their songs, it is still a thoroughly modern album, and one might consider the songs to be a kind of ethno-pop style of world music. As all six members of the group are singers, it is then no surprise that the vocals are the main focus for the musical offerings. The importance of singing is echoed in the first song, the appropriately titled ‘Sadziedami’, where the powerful vocals are supported by a thunderous musical accompaniment while the ensemble sings ‘sadziedam mēs, māsiņas’ (let’s sing together, sisters!) Inspired by the Krustabas ritual (or Latvian folk Christening), the song ‘Pāde’ is a song about self-growth. The ritual of the ‘pādes dīdīšana’, where the one being christened is passed around in the arms of the invited guests, is meant to pass along positive thoughts from the guests. In this song, as with many of their songs, Tautumeitas use the mystical aspects of Latvian folk rituals to create a richly layered song, with help from Reinis Sējāns, who provided the arrangement.  From: https://latviansonline.com/popular-tautumeitas-ensemble-release-debut-ethno-pop-folklore-album/

Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins - Rise Up (With Fists!)

 #Jenny Lewis #The Watson Twins #ex-Rilo Kiley #indie rock #alt-country #indie folk #singer-songwriter #Americana #music video

Very rarely do record company press releases bear repeating, but in the case of Jenny Lewis we thought there was cause for its inclusion. Describing her as "having hair the color of a Pacific sunset, a voice as sweet as an ice cream cone and a wit sharper than a razor blade", the folk over at Rough Trade have almost managed to articulate what makes 'Rabbit Fur Coats' so arresting. Bearing comparison with the likes of Diane Cluck, Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins (yup, they're bona fide twins) mine classic Americana for a sound which is as clear as cut-glass and emotionally primed to match, resulting in the friable heartache of songs like 'The Big Guns' and 'Born Secular'. Like the sirens from 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?', Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins have voices that could floor you from 50 feet, bringing a pathos and profound beauty that seem entirely natural partners.  From: https://boomkat.com/products/rabbit-fur-coat-a918b5d7-5899-47fa-a236-8f0604d63ada

What are you changing?
Who do you think you're changing?
You can't change things, we're all stuck in our ways
It's like trying to clean the ocean
What, do you think you can drain it?
Well, it was poison and dry long before you came

But you can wake up younger under the knife
And you can wake up sounder if you get analyzed
And I better wake up
There but for the grace of God go I

It's hard to believe your prophets
When they're asking you to change things
But with their suspect lives, we look the other way
Are you really that pure, sir?
Thought I saw you in Vegas
It was not pretty, but she was (not your wife)

But she will wake up wealthy
And you will wake up forty-five
And she will wake up with baby
There but for the grace of God go I

What am I fighting for?
The cops are at my front door
I can't escape that way, the windows are in flames
And what's that on your ankle?
You say they're not coming for you
But house arrest is really just the same

Like when you wake up behind the bar
Trying to remember where you are
Having crushed all the pretty things
There but for the grace of God go I

But I still believe
And I will rise up with fists
And I will take what's mine (mine, mine)
There but for the grace of God go I

Fanny - Ain't That Peculiar

 #Fanny #hard rock #blues rock #classic rock #Marvin Gaye cover #1970s #Beat-Club

Fanny - four young women who were accomplished rock instrumentalists and singers; who never depended only on their sexuality to sell the music; who were self-described as being musicians first and women second. But the fact that they WERE women, and that they reached a level of success previously unheard of for a rock band composed solely of women, was a remarkable achievement. Fanny was the first all-female rock act to record an entire album for a major record label, and in fact recorded and released five albums for major labels. Fanny was the first all-female rock act to rise to real prominence in the US and Europe. Acknowledged by both the press and their many fans as an awesome live act - in the words of Steve Peacock, a top UK music journalist of the era, “if you close your eyes, it’s like listening to the Stones” - Fanny toured tirelessly for up to nine months of every year. In a career that stretched from 1970 to 1975, they had a string of hit singles and also played on the studio recordings of some legendary artists. In addition to their many live gigs, they performed on top music and variety television shows of the time, including The Old Grey Whistle Test, the Sonny and Cher Show, American Bandstand and Beat-Club, Germany’s most famous rock music program. The four original members of Fanny were June Millington (guitar, vocals), Jean Millington (bass, vocals), Alice de Buhr (drums, vocals), and Nickey Barclay (keyboards, vocals). June and Nickey were the primary songwriters for the band, but Jean and Alice made significant contributions to Fanny’s repertoire and all four participated in arranging the songs and crafting their stage performances. Some of the biggest music stars of the time, from David Bowie to Deep Purple to George Harrison to the Kinks, were so blown away by these four teenaged rockers that they went out of their way to promote the band and to book them as an opening act. Despite their success, Fanny were never quite superstars, but they prepared the way for women in rock. When they started out, the idea of young women as rock players was as unthinkable as the idea of women having the vote had been to earlier generations.  From: https://fannyrocks.com/about-2/

They were extraordinary: they wrote everything, they played like motherfuckers, they were just colossal and wonderful, and nobody's ever mentioned them. They're as important as anybody else who's ever been, ever; it just wasn't their time.
— David Bowie

Crooked Still - Ain't No Grave

 #Crooked Still #bluegrass #neo-bluegrass #folk #folk rock #progressive bluegrass #country folk #Americana

For any fans of Blue Grass or Folk, Crooked Still are highly recommended. They are a self-styled alternative bluegrass band consisting of vocalist Aoife O’Donovan, cellist Tristan Clarridge, fiddler Brittany Haas, banjo player Dr. Gregory Liszt, and bassist Corey DiMario. Meeting at New England Conservatory of Music in Boston in 2001, the evidently talented musicians started to collaborate and play gigs together which were brilliantly received by crowds and they soon gained a cult reputation. Making waves on the US folk scene, the band now have four LPs and a much larger fan base to attend their shows. The energetic performance onstage is captivating as the multi-instrumentalists cross genres and sounds with quick succession as they rattle through a selection of songs from their career thus far. Their technical skill alone could engage a crowd, as it's enjoyable to watch five truly skilled musicians collaborating and making really interesting sounds onstage. Songs such as 'Ain't No Grave' are extended and re-imagined to make the live experience really exciting for an audience as it's not simply like listening to the album regurgitated onstage. A great live act who engage audiences with their talent for their instruments and enjoyable personality.  From: https://www.songkick.com/artists/12695-crooked-still

Timechild - And Yet It Moves

 #Timechild #hard rock #heavy metal #heavy prog #progressive metal #retro #Danish

Timechild is massive and organic heavy rock from Copenhagen, Denmark. The band’s soundscape is made up of a powerful and present lead vocal, characteristic twin guitars and atmospheric vocal harmonies, which together create their unique Scandinavian expression. Timechild was formed in 2020 by four seasoned musicians from different corners of Denmark. With extensive past experience in a number of former and existing Danish rock and metal bands, the members had already crossed paths on both Danish and international stages. When the opportunity arose, they decided to unite their musical experiences and visions and created Timechild. The debut album was written and recorded during the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, which paralysed the Danish and international music industry. However, this silence gave the band time to jointly develop their common sound and expression. The vision from the start was to show how heavy rock can continue to challenge and surprise audiences even in 2021. Although the foundation of the band’s sound universe is clearly laid by the rock giants of the past, Timechild’s inspiration is drawn from across both time and genres. The opportunity to dive into the music history of past decades, and through this define one’s own sound, is one of the greatest privileges that today’s musicians have at their disposal. We can learn from the past without being backward-looking or unoriginal and we can be relevant and innovative without having to define a new genre.  From: https://mightymusic.dk/artists/timechild/

Turtle Skull - Rabbit

 #Turtle Skull #psychedelic rock #doom metal #psychedelic metal #stoner rock #stoner metal #Australian

Art As Catharsis Records are proud to announce the release of Turtle Skull’s second album, Monoliths - a texture-rich record that dances between bone-crushing lows and ethereal highs. Taking inspiration from Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd and Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Turtle Skull’s blend of warped psychedelia, shattering doom and indie-rock sensibility merges into their own brand of music dubbed ‘flower doom’. While the final product contains a faint similarity to the sounds of King Gizzard & The Lizzard Wizard, Khruangbin, or Kikagku Moyo, Monoliths is distinctively its own beast. It’s a record that heaves and soars, taking joyous compositions and steering them headfirst into a realm of fuzz and fury. ”This record is about the intimate connection we share with the Earth on which we stand. It’s about the world and your place in it. It’s about looking deep inside yourself and seeing what you find. It’s about life and death and everything in between, and most of all it’s about the pure joy of creation. We are very happy to share it with you." At the end of its runtime, Monoliths undeniably displays a much more fleshed-out realization of the doom, psych rock and indie fusion that launched the five-piece into the public eye following their self-titled release. Tipping between heavy and catchy is the strength of Monoliths - the roar of the fuzzed-out amps is counterbalanced by feather-light vocals, creating a contrast as clear and harmonious as sun and sky.  From: https://turtleskullmusic.bandcamp.com/album/monoliths