Firebreather announce new album, share first single "Kiss of Your Blade" via Revolver Magazine

"Firebreather veer towards roaring, High On Fire-esque sludge, and they've got the chops and the grit to pull this kind of thing off." -- Brooklyn Vegan

"A thrilling style of Progressive Sludge/Stoner Metal that will rank as one of the best albums of the year." -- Outlaws Of The Sun

"Firebreather do a bang-up job capturing what it feels like for one’s inner being to be lit afire through the use of scorching hot riffs, stomach-churning bellows, lightning-fried drums and intestine-rattling bass." -- Metal Sucks

Swedish trio Firebreather announce their return with an incendiary new album due out in February 2022, and today share the first track via Revolver Magazine. Hear and share "Kiss of Your Blade" HERE. (Direct YouTube.) 

Gothenburg, Sweden trio Firebreather’s 2019 RidingEasy Records debut album Under a Blood Moon was a powerhouse that most certainly established the band’s incendiary potential. But none of us would be prepared for the suffocating onslaught that is Dwell in the Fog. While that album was in-your-face and raw, Dwell in the Fog rumbles and rages with a fury the band had only hinted at previously. 

Firebreather has a streamlined focus on driving, symphonic riffs in the vein of High on Fire, Inter Arma and their tour- and label-mates Monolord. The guitar and bass tones are, quite simply, entrancing. Paired with vocalist/guitarist Mattias Nööjd’s guttural yet melodic howls and drummer Axel Wittbeck’s groove based rhythms, their entire sound flows like thick, viscous lava. 

“The album is a cathartic journey inwards and a musical continuation from Under A Blood Moon, but with more emphasis on groove and feel,” Nööjd says. From the first notes of album opener “Kiss Of Your Blade” you’ll know exactly what he means. 

Like their preceding two albums, Dwell in the Fog was also recorded and mixed by engineer Oskar Karlsson at Elementstudion in Gothenburg. The band is joined by new bassist Nicklas Hellqvist on this album, who seems to have increased the thunder rumble tenfold. 

From the aforementioned album opener “Kiss Of Your Blade”, with its droning opening chords over a rollicking tom pattern, the band quickly shifts gears into a head bobbing, serpentine riff with a transcendent melodic hook. Elsewhere, as on the title track and “Weather The Storm” rapid-fire hummable riffs come and go in an ever-shifting mass of devastating swirling churn. It’s like the band has such an endless supply of great hooks that to, ahem, dwell for too long on any one would undo their constantly building momentum. That they somehow give each song, and the album as a whole, a streamlined and cohesive, monolithic groove is testament to their skill. And, proof that the album must be absorbed in its entirety to experience the overwhelming swaying and lunging low end growl that drives the band’s most captivating work to date. 

Dwell in the Fog will be available on LP, CD and download on February 25th, 2022 via RidingEasy Records. 

Artist: Firebreather

Album: Dwell in The Fog

Record Label: RidingEasy Records

Release date: February 25, 2022

01. Kiss of Your Blade

02. Dwell in the Fog

03. Weather The Storm

04. Sorrow

05. The Creed

06. Spirit’s Flown

On The Web:

firebreatherdoom.bandcamp.com

ridingeasyrecords.com

 

Zum Audio announces Noise Pop Festival showcase in Feb 2022, 32-track compilation featuring Zach Hill (Death Grips), Xiu Xiu, others out now

Longstanding California record label Zum Audio marks its 24th year by joining the lineup of the 29th Noise Pop Festival in February 2022. Talent Moat and Zum present a night at Bottom of the Hill with BODY DOUBLE, MY HEART, AN INVERTED FLAME, and THE ACHARIS. Tickets available HERE. 

All three acts have released albums with Zum since the onset of COVID19. Body Double’s debut album Milk Fed received rave reviews and radio play on Henry Rollins’ KCRW program. They recently played The Mosswood Meltdown Festival with John Waters.  bodydoubleusa.bandcamp.com 

This will be My Heart, an Inverted Flame’s debut live performance. Their double LP Plague Notes, Unnamed, Unknown, A Finger Dragged Through Dust (co-released with Deathbomb Arc and tUMULt) was well-received by The Wire and SF Weekly. Composed entirely of synthesizers and percussion, MHAIF features members of A Minor Forest, Common Eider, King Eider, I Am Spoonbender, Never Knows. They have been releasing an EP every month of 2021 on Bandcamp. myheartaninvertedflame.bandcamp.com

The Acharis (from Oakland/Detroit) co-released their latest album Blue Sky/Grey Heaven with Zum and French label Cranes. They just got off a fall tour of France and the UK.

theacharis.bandcamp.com/album/blue-sky-grey-heaven 

 

All three acts feature prominently on the Zum Audio Vol 4 digital compilation, a survey of art rock, noise punk, damaged electronics, and improvised music. Curated by Zum label founder George Chen (KIT, Common Eider, King Eider, Chen Santa Maria), a writer and musician-turned-comedian, the compilation features musicians from the US, UK, Canada, Japan, Italy, and Australia. Zum Audio Vol 4 was featured on Bandcamp New & Notable, BrooklynVegan, Treble, and Idioteq.

Established by siblings George and Yvonne Chen as a magazine in the San Francisco Bay Area, Zum released its first stand-alone compilation CD in 1998 (with contributions from Songs:Ohia, David Pajo, Duster, and Grandaddy). In the two decades since launching, the label has worked with a diverse roster including Abe Vigoda, Mincemeat Or Tenspeed (Davey Harms), Weird Weeds, !!!, Zs, Growing, AIDS Wolf, and many more.

George Chen is available for interviews. Bio link here: 

zumonline.com/collections/george-chen

Interview with George and Marc Masters in Pitchfork : pitchfork.com/features/the-out-door/7825-the-out-door-5

Acts: 

Body Double

My Heart, an Inverted Flame

The Acharis 

Date: Tuesday, February 22nd 2022

Venue: Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St, San Francisco, CA 94107

Ticket Price: $13 advance / $15 at the door

Age Restriction: 21+

Noise Pop sells festival badges at noisepopfest.com/badges- this is part of their Phase 2 Announcement.

Artist: Various Artists

Album: Zum Audio Vol 4

Record Label:  Zum Audio

Release Date: November 5th, 2021

01. Alien Owl Cafe - Magick Matcha Moment
02. My Heart, an Inverted Flame - Five Felt Sevenly, Pallid and Sallow
03. Looose - It Was All Nearly Mine!
04. Kris & Tavi - Carrington Event
05. Earth Jerks - July 17th, 1959
06. The Urxed - Re-Regional
07. Prissy Whip - Not Impressed
08. The Acharis - Nothing’s Sacred
09. Body Double - Prisonous Mind
10. Watkins/Peacock - Stone Cold Stole Dub One
11. It Sound - Inbetween the Seas (Lectric Sand Dub Mix)
12. Michael Beach, Bonnie Mercer, Carla Oliver, Peter Warden - Kyneton #1
13. Barbican Estate - Abandon
14. Maskara - Dear Inertia… (#3)
15. Xiu Xiu - A Bottle of Rum (Live Radio)
16. Core of the Coalman - Incarnate Words
17. Somnambulists - Discordances
18. Spaceburn - New Growth
19. Pod Blotz - Remote Viewing Case #80787
20. Cube - Carpet ESP
21. Zach Hill - Startled Ea
22. Necking - Abyssal Joy
23. Chris Brian Taylor - Super Reverse Commuter
24. Jasmine Dreame Wagner - Three Themes from Drifts (Red Zone, Blue Ice, White Snow)
25. Father Murphy - His Face Showed No Distortions (Live at WFMU)
26. Neil Campbell - Rickety Bridge in the Rain
27. Bavaria - Nouveau Couteaux
28. Carrom - Number 4 (A.T.S.T.S.)
29. Kern Haug - to Mass
30. The Skin Horse - High Desert
31. Gabriel Saloman - Spatial Poetics
32. John Benson - Blood and Milk

Touched By Ghoul streaming 'Cancel The World' album ahead of tomorrow's release; ex-Sybris, Pink Frost

“Mullenhour's vocals rise to heated roars worthy of stardom, which lend themselves perfectly to Touched by Ghoul's brand of rock that is loud and heavy..." -- Gaper's Block

"Sounds like some long-lost ferocious ’90s punk cult hit, like the unholy love child of Bratmobile and The Lunachicks...A record that starts strong, and only gets better from there." -- The Onion AV Club

Chicago quartet Touched By Ghoul are streaming their forthcoming sophomore album Cancel The World today via Echoes & Dust ahead of tomorrow's release date. Hear and share Cancel The World HERE (or select tracks now at Bandcamp, Spotify and Apple Music.) 

Funny story: Chicago’s quartet of weirdos Touched By Ghoul recorded their sophomore album Cancel The World at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio in July 2019 with the title already in place. They mixed it in January 2020, and then the world was actually cancelled. After idling for months, the album was sent for pressing the vinyl to support tour dates. Tours were again cancelled. And, the pressing plant’s press was broken. Cancelled once again.

Of course, everyone’s been through the wringer over the past couple of years, and some much more severe than this. But, Cancel The World may just be the forbidden music so many artists have sought to make. Ironically, the album finds the band taming its aggressive Birthday Party / Babes In Toyland noiserock attack ever so slightly in order to embrace melodies and allow their tousled cynicism to truly shine on songs like “Better Than Me”, “Lost At The Costco” and the title track. but that doesn't mean their acerbic wit isn't on full display. 

Touched By Ghoul is fronted by former Sybris singer/guitarist Angela Mullenhour, along with guitarist Andrea Bauer and the rollicking rhythm section of bassist Alex Shumard and drummer Paige Sandlin. The intrepid group made its debut with 2016’s Murder Circus album (also on Chicago imprint Under Road Records) and for a while things were going pretty great pre-pandemic: TBG played some awesome shows (supporting Foo Fighters at Wrigley Field, Wayne Kramer's MC50, Local H), received great press and built up a small army of zombified followers. 

At last, with nothing more than this album on the horizon for the time being, Touched By Ghoul are here to undo whatever star-crossed curse they’ve brought unto the world, one gloriously weird, catchy song at a time.

Cancel The World will be available on LP, download and streaming on December 3rd, 2021 via Under Road Records. Pre-orders are available HERE. 

Artist: Touched By Ghoul

Album: Cancel The World

Record label: Under Road Records

Release Date: December 3rd, 2021

01. Better Than Me

02. God Hospital

03. Quick Question

04. Lost at the Costco

05. Sitcom

06. Cancel The World

07. Suicide Space Camp

08. Yacht Problems

09. Cancel The World Redux

On The Web:

touchedbyghoul.com

underroad.com

twitter.com/touchedbyghoul

instagram.com/touchedbyghoul

facebook.com/touchedbyghoul

Bandcamp Daily's "Best Hip-Hop 2019", Paste Mag rave, etc: Spoony Bard streaming forthcoming 'Animal Husband' EP early

“One of the most fluid, inspired and downright beautiful albums of 2019. Where artists like Thundercat fully embrace the chaos of splattering genres against one another, Nord has created fusion in the most complete sense: a music whose appeal is based on finding the cohesion between various influences.” 8.8/10 — Paste Magazine

“The Best Hip-Hop on Bandcamp, April 2019: A nerd-friendly dose of refreshingly oddball hip-hop.” — Bandcamp Daily

“Ceaseless in its sonic exploration, restless in its vision and tireless in its sense of invention.” — PopMatters

NYC based producer and musician spoony bard today is streaming the forthcoming EP Animal Husband due out December 3rd over at Rock'n'Load Magazine. Hear and share Animal Husband HERE. (And via Bandcamp and Linktree.)

Bandcamp Daily hailed Nord's previous album Old Friends in its "Best Hip-Hop of April 2019" column HERE. Paste Magazine similarly praised the album HERE, featuring it as one of the best overlooked albums of that year. 

Taking its name from the meme-famous Final Fantasy II garbled insult, spoony bard is the result of a cultural collision as well as an honest and self-deprecating exploration of one’s life. The NYC-based hybrid of L.A. beat scene, electronic, jazz and avant-garde takes a fresh approach to musical soul-bearing with compelling sonic textures and introspective lyrics. spoony bard combines hints of Flying Lotus, Dalek, DJ Premier, Herbie Hancock, Aphex Twin and more.

spoony bard is the alter-ego of musician David Nord. Originally a jazz composer/guitarist, Nord’s equal interest in hip-hop and electronic sounds brought about an evolution in his work, leading him to merge these styles and explore the possibilities of an alternate musical vocabulary. His first two albums, Dweeb (2017) and Old Friends (2019) received a wellspring of press praise, including being twice featured PopMatters, Talkhouse and more. 

Animal Husband picks up from there like a movie sequel, where the previous happy ending has led to a host of new problems and considerations. 

“The title Animal Husband appealed to me because of its duality: I am both the wild and passionate animal AND the dutiful and domesticated husband,” Nord says. “But, in real life it's not that simple and everything overlaps. And, this isn't necessarily just about marriage, nor is it a specifically gendered thing; I think most everyone faces some internal struggle between their base self and the polished self they may feel the need to be, for whatever reason.”

The 7-song EP begins with the rollicking “Blue Version” that Nord describes as “a distillation of my adolescence…searching for 'truth' long before realizing the futility of that search.” The song begins with a 60s fuzz-drenched guitar riff, sort of a mutated version of “Come Together” that quickly morphs into a funky fuzz synth hip-hop jam as Nord paints a vivid picture of teenage life, replete with shout outs to Pavement and Pixies. The jazz-fusion influence comes on strong on the next few tracks, particularly “Lethargy/Blue Cheese,” of which Nord explains, “My whole life i've been told i'm lazy, so I chose to write a tune using a 12-tone row, the least lazy way I knew how to compose music.” Throughout, his style of rapping is so conversational and intimate, it almost sounds like it’s a man’s unguarded thoughts being telegraphed to the listener. Closer “Unsung 1s” is a call to arms for others who must endure mental illness. “It’s for those who glow in the dark,” Nord says. “People who have been through darkness and have come out the other side can serve as a beacon for others to follow. And, when it's darkest out, we're the ones who know how to navigate.” 

Animal Husband will be available everywhere for download & streaming on December 3rd, 2021. Pre-orders are available via spoony-bard.bandcamp.com

Artist: spoony bard

Album: Animal Husband

Record Label:  Self-released

Release Date: December 3, 2021

01. Blue Version

02. Felis Margarita

03. Lethargy/Blue Cheese

04. Those Who Own Oceans

05. Madgod's Blessing

06. Save Point

07. Unsung 1s