Dream The Electric Sleep - Heretics

An individual’s musical taste is almost as fluidic as music itself, it’s a constantly growing and changing thing. It adapts to the life of the individual, the soundtrack changing as the movie evolves. But we don’t lose what we had, though we may not listen to it for months or years at a time, and anything that comes to us anew with elements of music of yesteryear will usually appeal to us rather quickly. My own musical taste started with my older brothers cranking Yes when I was exceptionally young, and that set some pretty high standards for anyone who followed. Of course not every band I listen to has to have the exceptional musical talents of the prog giants, but when a band comes along that does have those elements, or that of Rush, IQ, Dream Theater, Marillion, Pink Floyd, or any of my other favorites, they usually will stand a good chance of getting some of my hard earned money. Now when a band list a good four or five of my favorites as influences, they surely will get some cash out of me.
Which brings us to Kentucky based Dream the Electric Sleep. Not only is their name a nod to the great novel that inspired Blade Runner, but they list the likes of Pink Floyd, Rush, Genesis, and Peter Gabriel as influences, all of whom hold very valuable shelf space in my collection. Formed in late 2009 in Lexington, Kentucky, Dream the Electric Sleep consists of Matt Page (guitars, vocals, and keyboards), Joey Walters (drums, vocals), Andrew Hibpshman (guitars) and Chris Tackett (bass). The next few years were committed to recording and producing their debut album, Lost and Gone Forever, which went on to get enough acclaim to get them an invite to the Rites of Spring Festival (RoSfest), one of the premiere prog festivals in the USA. Upon returning, they diligently worked to release their second album, Heretics, in the beginning of 2014. I went into this album looking for the influences of bands of my past, and came out with an intimate knowledge of a solid new force in the progressive rock field, Dream the Electric Sleep.
Heretics is a conceptual album, and as is proper form in the prog arena, the band opens with a primarily instrumental number, managing to sneak in some lyrical elements towards the end. Also the title track, Heretics, the opener displays one of the things the band is best at, busting out crunching melodic chords. The sense of epic that is a prerequisite for me in any concept album is immediately noticeable, as the drums crash around the rest of the band dropping the resounding notes, serving notice that we are in for some juicy good music. The song then goes into a soft strumming and the first vocals are distorted, an announcer introducing the theme so to speak. A subtle element of hand claps and dragged out bass notes is built upon by the guitars, keys, and choral vocals, making altogether for a superb opening number, and also setting up the second track, Elizabeth, which is nothing short of stunning. With eleven tracks amassing to over seventy minutes, the band gives themselves a ton of room to play around, and with their skills on their respective instruments and collectively as songwriters, they make the most of every one of them. Elizabeth opens with a structured form, we finally hear the non distorted vocals, and they are solid. No uber ranges are hit here, and when he does stretch it, it’s noticeable, but he is very clean otherwise. The band does a quick slowing down before breaking into a four minute instrumental that lets us know once and for all that we are in for a show. Using all the best tricks in prog, clever time changes and mix-ups, alternating leads, and escalating intensities, they bring the house down, just in time for nine more songs.  From: https://ladyobscure.com/http-www-ladyobscure-com-post_typealbumsp7376/

Lula Wiles - Bad Guy

What will we do? For Lula Wiles, the trio made up of Isa Burke, Eleanor Buckland, and Mali Obomsawin, the question is central to the creation of their music—and it’s the title of their new album. “We wanted to make an album that reflected, in a current way, what we are all staying up late thinking about and talking about over drinks at the dinner table,” says Obomsawin. “What is everyone worried about, confiding in their friends about, losing sleep about?” Anchoring the band’s sharp, provocative songcraft is a mastery of folk music, and a willingness to subvert its hallowed conventions.
They infuse their songs with distinctly modern sounds: pop hooks, distorted electric guitars, and dissonant multi-layered vocals, all employed in the service of songs that reclaim folk music in their own voice. The musicians take turns in different roles––Burke and Buckland on guitar and fiddle, Obomsawin on bass, all three singing and writing—but no matter who’s playing what, they operate in close tandem. All three members grew up in small-town Maine, and the band came of age in Boston’s lively roots scene. Since then, they have toured internationally, winning fans at the Newport Folk Festival and the Philadelphia Folk Festival, garnering acclaim from NPR Music and a Boston Music Awards nomination, and sharing stages with the likes of Aoife O’Donovan, the Wood Brothers, and Tim O’Brien. Lula Wiles exists in the tense space where tradition and revolution meet, from which their harmonies rise into the air to create new American music.  From: https://purplefiddle.com/bands/lula-wiles/

 

Cheeto's Magazine - Nova America

Oh my prog! Wassup with band names these days? When I see the moniker of the Spanish band Cheeto's Magazine from the greater Barcelona area (El Prat de Llobregat to be exact), I can't help but think of the artificially flavored junk food snack that used to have that cheesy cheetah hocking the "cheese that goes crunch!" There were the soft fluffy Cheetos as well but personally I never cared for those. Anyway, this crazy title along with a cute cartoon image of a chicken in a pot of water on the album cover really stood out amongst the heavily crowded halls of modern prog. I mean if a band can name itself Cheeto's Magazine, can we soon expect a Dorito's Diary? A Frito's Fannypack? A Ruffle's Razorblade or even a Pringle's Pantyhose? I dunno and I digress before I even begin this review. I'm such an American having eaten all this crap in my youth and I have no idea if they even sell this garbage in Spain! But despite the funky band name, this is some seriously splendiferous prog behind the super silly packaging!
The origins of Cheeto's Magazine (and I have no idea where the name came from) dates back to the summer of 2005 when founders Esteban Navarro (lead vocals, keyboards) and Manel Orella (guitars) set out to do some comedy shows with some music added for good measure but the whole project got expanded with the inclusion of Dídac García (bass) and Joan Montané (drums) which turned into a band that steered the quartet into the realms of prog rock. Having a little performance history under their belt the band spent some time conjuring up some proggy music mojo and performed the first gig in 2007 and was a smashing hit as the band had already hit upon it’s own quirky delivery system mostly thanks to Esteban's eccentric silly demeanor that found the band adding all the humor and childish antics to their unique style of symphonic prog. Zappa and Canterbury stalwarts would approve!
By 2009 the band had recorded some of the best songs and released their first EP titled "All The Chickens In The Bowl" which would be performed for a few more years and ultimately led to this debut full-length release Boiling Fowls in 2014. Somewhere along the line drummer Montané was replaced by Rafa Weber and Matias Lizana joined the cast as primary keyboardist. While the band debuted as a quintet, Boiling Fowls also features a few guest vocalists as well as a couple sax performances by Sergi Felipe (on "Nova America" and "Naughty Boy.") The final product presents a shiny exuberant production job based in a modern version of symphonic prog that takes a few cues from bands like Spock's Beard and other Neil Morse led band's like Transatlantic as well as the dreamy lengthy prog workouts found in other bands like Echolyn or the Flower Kings. Boiling Fowls delivers a lengthy series of prog workouts and clocks in at over 64 minutes which is usually a red flag for, yeah you guessed it - filler! But not the case with these Spaniards. This is an amazing display of twists and turns that keep me enthralled for the entirety.
The opening track "Nova America" alone takes up almost 26 minutes of sonic real estate but showcases the band's ability to weave tight knit melodies with schizoid freak outs, choppy time signature rich instrumental gymnastics and best of all delivered with a quirky sense of humor. Belying their geographical origins, Cheeto's Magazine gives no indication that they emerge from one of the Latinate language speaking regions of Europe and rather sound like they originate from some Anglo-dominant sector of the world. Within the album's nine tracks you can hear not only the modern sounds of symphonic prog but also find some Beatles inspired melodies and harmonies, Gentle Giant prog quirkiness, Kansas symphonic prowess as well as the Zappa fueled silliness not to mention interesting segments of Eno inspired electronica as well as heavy guitar riffing that borders on the neo-prog sounds of bands like IQ or Arena. The album comes off as quite ambitious and obviously a labor of love and not one forced upon the team at hand because all is displayed in a graceful manner with the passion shining through every cadence.
Cheeto's Magazine scores on their debut Boiling Fowls which finds inspiration in the entire history of the melodic side of prog and pulls it off with a stylistic flair all their own. Perhaps the only weak track is the closing "Driver French" which sounds eschews the prog scene altogether and opts for a danceable electro-pop style which is found in small doses throughout the album but integrated quite fashionably whereas the ending track goes nowhere else. While not quite the perfect masterpiece of prog, Cheeto's Magazine found a unique way to forge their visionary style into the prog world without the all too often derivative confinements that don't allow the experimental touches to shine. Many newer symphonic prog bands suffer from this phenomena but Boiling Fowls just comes off as taking an unexpected journey down a road of prog that I didn't know existed and once on it, I can't help but get lost as the non-linear stroll pleasantly twists and turns into unexpected and unforeseen scenery that wasn't in the tourist's brochures.  From: https://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=8923 

Joan Osborne - Hard Rock Live, Las Vegas 1995 / House Of Blues 1995

 Joan Osborne - Hard Rock Live, Las Vegas 1995

 

 Joan Osborne - House Of Blues 1995

 

As the unpredictable winds of mainstream popularity shift more frequently than ever, Joan Osborne has been able to sustain her career through steadfast touring and well-received live performances. Osborne exploded onto the popular music scene in 1995 with the Mercury release “Relish,” propelled by the monster hit “One of Us.” Relish has sold 1.9 million copies in the U.S., according to SoundScan.
Since that time, Osborne hasn’t scaled those commercial heights again; even so, she maintains a heavy touring schedule that keeps her in the public eye. The artist resumes her touring cycle in support of her Interscope release “Righteous Love” — which has sold 105,000 copies sold in the U.S., according to SoundScan — June 22 in Hampton Beach, N.H.
For an artist who came to music indirectly (she originally pursued filmmaking at New York University), Osborne has taken to touring like a born troubadour. “Live performing is a very natural part of what I do,” Osborne explains. “It’s not like, ‘I put out an album, therefore I tour.’ Touring makes me less dependent upon the vagaries of the label or radio. It’s kind of a touchstone for me.”
Perhaps fittingly, the Kentucky native’s musical journey began onstage, when a friend persuaded her to grab an open mike at a corner blues bar on New York’s Lower East Side. “He dared me to go up and sing with the piano player,” Osborne recalls. “They invited me to come back down, and I kind of made a habit of it.”
A vital early-’90s blues/roots music scene in the East Village made a convert out of Osborne. “A number of bands came out of that scene, like Blues Traveler, Spin Doctors, and Chris Whitley,” Osborne notes. “I was very drawn to that scene, going out every night to see these groups and spending all my college money on Etta James and John Lee Hooker records.”
As Osborne became more comfortable with live performance, she put her own band together. “I always knew I had a good voice, and I sang in school, but this was completely different,” she says. “There is something so captivating about how real and passionate this music is.”
Prior to signing to Mercury in 1995, Osborne gained notoriety as a regional performer, hitting a Northeastern U.S. circuit that included such markets as Philadelphia; New Jersey; Burlington, Vt.; Syracuse, N.Y.; Rochester, N.Y.; and her home base of New York City. A live CD sold at shows helped foot the gas bill. “Step by step, I built a following,” she recalls. “That’s the great thing about live performing, and I love to do it.”
It’s a sentiment those involved with her touring career appreciate. “Joan Osborne rocks my world,” says Jonathan Levine, Osborne’s agent at Monterey Peninsula Artists. “She’s one of the most magical and gifted artists I’ve ever worked with. The reason I do what I do is because of people like her.”
Osborne has dates on the books through the end of August, playing a mixture of summer-type venues that includes wineries and smaller sheds, as well as such music festivals as Ben & Jerry’s One World, One Heart Festival in Warren, Vt. (June 23); Milwaukee Summerfest (June 30); and Humphries Concerts by the Bay in San Diego (July 5). She’s also booked in such theaters as Newport Music Hall in Columbus, Ohio (June 26); the Keswick Theatre in Glenside, Pa. (June 24); and the John Anson Ford Theater in Los Angeles (July 9).
Promoter/venue owner Mark Adler of True West promoted Osborne at his Aladdin Theatre in Portland, Ore., around the time of the “Righteous Love” release, as well as July 25 at the Woodland Park Zoo Amphitheatre in Seattle. Both dates sold out. Osborne’s fans don’t particularly seem to care whether she’s on the radio, Adler says. “I work with a lot of artists whose popularity is a bit transient, but Joan is one of those people where record sales and radio play may go up and down, but she maintains a solid fan base. And that’s good for a promoter, because we don’t get much out of record sales.”
Earlier this year, Osborne toured as the featured vocalist with the Chieftains, a role she relished. “I had done some recording with them,” she says. “I have learned so much from them, and I love their sound. There’s something so ethereal and beautiful about it.”
This summer, Osborne plays some dates with artists she admires, including Hooker and Al Greene, as well as such newer acts as the Holmes Brothers — whose debut Alligator release, “Speaking in Tongues,” Osborne sang backup on and produced. Osborne’s touring band this year includes multi-instrumentalist Jack Petruzelli (Rufus Wainwright), drummer Billy Ward (Chris Whitley), guitarist Andrew Carillo, and bassist Gail Ann Dorsey (David Bowie).
Osborne’s set includes cuts from “Relish” and “Righteous Love,” as well as choice covers often geared to fit the venue. “We just did a casino in Reno, Nev., and we worked up a version of Gram Parson’s ‘Ooh, Las Vegas,’ ” she says, adding that the set changes nightly. “I can’t do the same exact show night after night. If I’m not excited, I don’t feel like the people that come to see me will be, either.”
In addition to her touring efforts, Osborne continues to work on her Womanly Hips project, a multi-artist festival celebrating women in the arts and music tentatively set for mid-September at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, Calif., with Bill Graham Presents/SFX promoting. If the event is successful, Osborne is considering a tour and an album for later in 2001. As a side project, Osborne oversees the Web zine heroinemag.com, where she interviews “women who are doing interesting things.”
But music remains her true love, regardless of current mainstream trends. “I’m sure there are moments when other artists get discouraged if they’re not on the radio, but I’m grateful I can go out and play music for people,” she says. “This is not rocket science. I love to play music, and I get to play music — so I’m happy.”  From: https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/joan-osborne-takes-on-troubadour-style-79371/

 

 

X - Country At War

This is probably the least surprising album of note released this year, chronicling predictable growth from what was once the most important punk band from Los Angeles. Hey Zeus! isn't bland — how could any X album be bland in today's musical climate? But it isn't a hallmark of the Next Big Thing either. It's simply more X. It makes sense that X's rockabilly-punk-country mix would mellow a bit, spotlighting the songwriting and letting everything breathe freer. It's sensible to downplay the musical components that were X trademarks: minor-key vocals, unbridled energy, razor guitar riffs on top of sophisticated lyrics. Why cover the same ground again? Yet it isn't disappointing (or unexpected) when X drifts into familiar punky ground toward the end of the disc, climaxing with the hot duo of "Baby You Lied" and "Lettuce and Vodka."
Actually, it would have been fun if this gently subversive and political album (with songs such as "Someone's Watching," "Country at War," "Arms for Hostages") had come out last year. The possible confusion with the Spike Lee film would have raised hackles (and X-consciousness) nationwide. As it is, Hey Zeus! runs the risk of being quietly forgotten. If there is a hit in here, it's hiding well.
Perhaps that is because the aforementioned trademarks that made X's name a notable band are downplayed so rigorously. Up front in the sound mix are the bass and the electric guitar, which allows the grooves and melodies to be spotlighted, but partially obscures the unique vocal interaction of John Doe and Exene Cervenka. And I hate to be a spoil-sport, but the world's need for guitarcentric albums is limited. On Hey Zeus!, guitarist Tony Gilkyson's Hendrix homages make for pretty music, but are just plain tired. Yes, yes, we've all heard "Third Stone from the Sun," and yes, it is flippin' awesome. Paraphrasing it in "Drawn in the Dark" only invites comparisons, not illumination.
Still, this is an X album. Songs like "New Life" and "Big Blue House" disarm you with modest lyrics about domestic life, while "Country at War" and "Arms for Hostages" debates where money should be spent in a country with rampant poverty. Punk energy burns in an even flame on "Clean Like Tomorrow," with its chugging chorus and Gilkyson-moody verses. Folks would pack Tewligans to hear this music, but they would listen closely rather than thrash around. Can there be such a thing as mature punk? Hey Zeus!  From: http://www.louisvillemusicnews.net/webmanager/index.php?WEB_CAT_ID=50&storyid=12759&headline=X_%96_Hey,_Zeus&issueid=54

The Sundays - Summertime

When The Sundays hit the British indie scene in the summer of 1989, they were heralded by the press as the next Smiths. While they didn't share The Smiths' ambitions of world domination, they certainly proved to be one of the most original and innovative bands of the 90's and they quickly became indie heroes. Their sound is airy, ethereal, driven by shimmering melodies and jangling guitar atmospheres. Harriet Wheeler's high-flying sorprano is loose, boundless and beautiful, and her husband David Gavurin's gleaming guitar work boasts a similar soaring feel, free to glide across the songs' laid-back energy. Their presence has been completely personal and unconcerned with passing trends and fads in the highly flakey U.K. music market. This reflects in their rather sparse album output, as they've released a total of three full-length records since their 1988 formation. Yet their international fanbase remains unfettered, as they've managed to win a place in the heart of nearly every thinking music fan and their influence is well aparent in ethereal-tinted acts such as The Innocence Mission and Sarah McClachlan.
David Gavurin was attending university in London, England in 1988 when he met fellow student Harriet Wheeler. Both sharing a passion for music and a mutual ambition, they became lovers and began rehearsing in David's bedroom with his 4-track. By that summer they'd teamed with the wonderfully tight rhythm section of Paul Brindley (bass guitar) and Patrick Hannah (drums), making their debut in London as The Sundays. They were spotted by a number of writers, who swooned at Wheeler's angelic vocals and Gavurin's Johnny Marr-esque guitar jangle. Word quickly spread and as the year closed a label bidding war commenced, ending with The Sundays' settling on renowkned U.K. indie label Rough Trade. The debut single "Can't Be Sure", with its shuffling, almost stuttering beat, mournful guitar echo and free soaring vocal delivery by Wheeler thrilled the press and listeners alike winning The Sundays an instant following. They were praised as The Cocteau Twins meets The Smiths, and certainly this wasn't a faulty comparison, as the songwriting team of Gavurin/Wheeler resembled a more ethereal take on the Marr/Morrisey unit.
The debut album, Reading, Writing and Arithmetic was everything to be hoped for and more, a youthful, energetic collection of downtown London lullabies driven by tights rhythms, loose melodies and a distraught, but never despairing, self-reflective lyrical outlook. It was released in 1990 along with the single "Here's Where the Story Ends", a cynical tale of love-lost elegantly draped in strumming acoustic guitar. Amidst the endless sea of "trying to be trendy" British market the album and single stood out, and the innovation materialized in major sales, chart success and a lucrative (if sparse) tour. Already The Sundays had won an international following. More recordings couldn't have emerged soon enough.
Yet, with Rough Trade's financial troubles and the band's decision to manage themselves, The Sundays' next single, "Goodbye" wouldn't emerge until 1992. It revealed a slightly more intense guitar sound, and an even gloomier atmosphere made whole by Wheeler's still stunning vocals and the band's trademark gleaming overtones. Again, The Sundays were both critical darlings and the delight of indie fans everywhere. The next album, Blind, revealed a more grown-up Sundays, with Wheeler's vocals and Gavurin's guitar more free and soaring than ever. The moods were darker and just as ethereal, certainly Blind is just as essential as its predecessor. A second single emerged in 1993, a cover of The Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses". Again, the band's touring schedule was sparse, although they were met with nearly salivating fans, starved for new material. Despite the obvious thirst the band dropped out again, and this time they wouldn't be heard from for five years.
Finally, in 1997, The Sundays broke in with their third full length album, Static and Silence and the single "Summertime". Although the record retained the band's trademark jangling guitar and utterly beautiful vocals, it revealed a more traditional folk rock feel (apparently Gavurin and Wheeler had taken a liking to Van Morrison). The melodies were more concise, less free-spirited than in the past which reflected in both Wheeler's vocals and Gavurin's guitar playing, both of which now operated within a more planned, orderly fashion. Mournful crooning gives way to straightforward pop melody, tight guitar/bass/drums approach gives way to string and horn arrangements, ethereal gives way to folk. The Sundays had changed quite a bit, and although the album was fantastic, it wasn't the stunning innovation they'd showcased in the past. Again the band would quickly drop out of the public eye yet The Sundays remain beloved internationally and have found comfortable status as one of the most popular cult bands in the world.  From: https://www.angelfire.com/indie/impryan/sundays.html  

The Karovas Milkshake - Factory

Q. When did The Karovas Milkshake start, tell us about the history.

A: It began in Ekaterinburg, a city where Europe meets Asia, the future meets the past. It appears very symbolic to us. First thought of the Karovas Milkshake came about when Albert and I walked out of a music bar where a band played fake rock’n’roll. We just couldn’t bear it! That evening we decided to create a band with wild live sound that would sweep all that humbug away. Besides nobody played 60’s garage in the surroundings. We listened to heaps of records thinking that all these great 60’s unknowns have been long buried and their great songs forgotten. There was a strong desire to bring it all back and share with our local music lovers. Around the same time we went to a cinema club where ‘A Clockwork Orange’ by Stanley Kubrick was shown. That’s where we picked our name from. We looked for something simple and recognizable that would reflect our tastes both in literature and gastronomy. In a while we were joined by Nick the Kick and Shasha which added more complexity and psyche to our music, but the basic 60’s garage energy remains as a stem.

Q: Who are your influences?

A: Our main heroes are bands and signers who emerged in the 50’s and the 60’s on both sides of the Atlantic, when emotions were fresh, true and genuine, one had no second chance and music just sounded cool.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…

1. Pink Floyd – The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
2. Grateful Dead – Workingman’s Dead
3. Captain Beefheart – Safe as Milk
4. Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers
5. Doors – L.A.Woman

Q. How do you feel playing live?

You feel excited before playing live. And once you’re on stage it can be different, sometimes it feels at home and at times it feels as if you were thrown into an abyss, and that feeling can vary within one concert or even one song. Playing live is much like living – you are searching for the right way.

Q. How do you describe The Karovas Milkshake sounds?

It comes out thick and dense, no matter how we try to play quiet. It can be gentle at times, but mainly it is wild!

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?

Recording is part of our music-making process. We came to a conclusion that our music sounds best on tape and since then we record ourselves on a tape recorder. We experiment with natural sound and different microphones quite a lot. Recording process can be full of fun and curiosity.

Q. Which new bands do you recommended?

A: We like the music by the Jaguar (tribal Bo-Diddley beats), the Madcaps (barretesque psyche) both from France and we recommend you our friends ‘The Thunderbeats’ (Moscow’s rhythm’n’blues and freakbeat), ‘The Traulers’ (eco-country from Ekaterinburg) and ‘Anton Ripatti & Sabaka Babaka Band’ (chanson, blues).

Q: Which band would you love to make a cover version of?

The Sonics (and we already have!)

Q: What´s the plans for future?

We plan to release our first LP ‘In the shade of the Purple Sun’ in sunny Portugal this September and would love to go on a tour, after which it would be fine to record our new songs.

Q: Any parting words?

Pick good music that gives inspiration. Play it with all your heart. Thanks!

From: http://theblogthatcelebratesitself.blogspot.com/2015/08/freak-out-factory-with-karovas.html