US / THEM: August 2023

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

SLEEP MAPS share "Vapor" video via Metal Injection from forthcoming album Reclaim Chaos

“For Reclaim Chaos, Kaplan has relocated to Northern California, added vocalist David Kegg and guitarist Brian Horn and injected a heavier, more malevolent—perhaps, death metal-inspired—element to his music. ‘Shattered Generation’ embodies that transformation with its spacious, architectural guitar work juxtaposed next to deathly growled vocals.” — Decibel Magazine

"A great lesson on how to do droning, atmospheric metal with a big ol' ending riff correctly." -- Metal Injection

Northern California band Sleep Maps share the official video for "Vapor" from their forthcoming 5th album, Reclaim Chaos today via Metal Injection. The visually stunning video was directed by Brendan Gill. Watch/share "Vapor" HERE. (Direct YouTube.)

Decibel Magazine recently hosted the video for "Shattered Generation" HERE (Direct YouTube.) Metal Insider launched the title track "Reclaim Chaos" HERE. (Direct Bandcamp.)

After a three year break, Northern California based post-metal band Sleep Maps is set to release their 5th LP, Reclaim Chaos, on September 8th, 2023. For the first time the band has a dedicated vocalist to bring a new intensity and rawness to the cinematic post-metal sound that has defined the band for a decade. Founder Ben Kaplan enlisted vocalist David Kegg to write and record lyrics and the result is a brand new direction that incorporates black and sludge metal with synth soundscapes to create something totally new in the genre, taking as much inspiration from Russian Circles as it does from Depeche Mode.

Reclaim Chaos has its themes rooted in the systems that have propped up a failing society for too long. Religion, politics and money rule everything around us and the systems put in place to make things ‘equal for all’ have broken down in disrepair. This set of songs is the soundtrack to a world trapped in a chaos of its own making. A reflection of these broken times and a way to cope with them.

Sleep Maps was conceived in Los Angeles by multi-instrumentalist and producer Ben Kaplan (founder of Lost Future Records). Over the course of 4 albums they have helped define post-metal and their own particular type of instrumental rock. Now based in Northern California the band includes singer David Kegg and guitarist Brian Horn.

Reclaim Chaos was recorded in Los Angeles and mixed by Matt Bayles at The Red Room in Seattle, WA. Reclaim Chaos will be available on LP, CD and download on on September 8th, 2023 via Lost Future Records.

Artist: Sleep Maps

Album: Reclaim Chaos

Record Label: Lost Future Records

Release Date: September 8th, 2023

01. Reclaim Chaos

02. Shattered Generation

03. Isolationists

04. Follow The Signal

05. Vapor

06. They Are Gods

07. You Want What I Cannot Give

08. In The Sun, In The Moon

09. Kill the World

On The Web:

lostfuturerecords.com

instagram.com/lostfuturerecords

lostfuture.bandcamp.com

lostfuturerecords.com/bands/sleep-maps

Tuesday, August 29, 2023

Products Band share first single from upcoming debut album on Solid Brass Records (FFO: Television, Talking Heads, Pavement)

Minneapolis quartet Products Band share the first single from their forthcoming Solid Brass Records debut album today on all DSPs. Hear/share "Shell Text" HERE. And, Punk News is hosting the official lyric video for the song HERE. (Direct YouTube.)

Some Sudden Weather finds Products Band sharpening their focus on presence of mind in a culture of noise. Sure, what else is new, another rock record detailing this late-capitalist hellhole, blah blah blah — but then it hits you. This record refuses to default to post-punk tropes of obliqueness, intellectual box-checking, or emotional alienation. Instead, they strike a balance between critique and sincerity with stunning grace on their sophomore effort.

For each pummeling wave of distorted guitars, a tender, melodic vocal floats over its crest. With every winking, deadpan lyric comes a genuine admission of desire, shame, or hope. Products Band embraces the literary traditions of their influences while telling their stories on their terms. We may spend our days scrolling through conjecture about impending doom, but they angle their songwriting toward capturing conscious experiences: maintaining intimacy under the chokehold of professional life, trying to heal with humility, and confronting Carl Jung know-it-alls who misread their big-britching as sullen sex appeal.

These songs in sequence create a striking mosaic, and faithfully represent the diversity of Products Band’s musical influences. From high-energy, airtight punk’n’roll to intricate, groove-driven pop, Some Sudden Weather refreshes rock vocabularies by sculpting them within the band’s unique perspective. Whether you crave dancefloor-ready bass hooks, spiderwebbed guitar skronk, interwoven vocal duets, hell, even melodies sung by a busted toy Casio, Products Band delivers. An essential listen for all fans of contemporary post-punk, guitar pop, and thoughtful Midwestern charm.

Some Sudden Weather will be available on limited edition Coke-Bottle-clear vinyl and download on October 20th via Solid Brass Records. Pre-orders are available HERE.

Artist: Products Band

Album: Some Sudden Weather

Label: Solid Brass Records

Release Date: October 20, 2023

01. Shell Text

02. Dead (But Not Like Me)

03. The Matter

04. I Can’t Praise Your Head Trip

05. Proverbial Con

06. Canary Dream

07. Reclined Derealized 2022

08. Warped Page

09. Count To Ten

10. Lab Rack

11. On A Curve

12. Sun Turned Over

On The Web:

linktr.ee/products.band

solidbrassrecords.com/artists/products-band

instagram.com/solidbrassrecs

instagram.com/products.band

Thursday, August 24, 2023

Pleasure Forever (Sub Pop, Red Sparowes, ex-The VSS) streaming first NEW album in 20 years early via Treble

"They don't sound like much you've heard before... This is not rote, predictable stuff." 8.4 -- Pitchfork

“Soliloquy meets psychedelia as the SF semi-goths ‘timely rip’ us a new album, Distal, genre-blended and aged like a fine Zinfandel. Solid gold via Solid Brass.” — Echoes & Dust

“[Taps] into the haunted atmosphere of their early recordings while imbuing them with a hypnotic, psychedelic glow… A thrilling return that marks a new era of creativity for the group.” — Treble

20 years after the band’s last proper album Alter was released on Sub Pop — with the catalog number Sub Pop #666, no less — Pleasure Forever returns tomorrow, August 25th with a new mini-album titled Distal. Today, Distal is streaming early ahead of release for an exclusive listen via Treble HERE.

The singles "Neolith Nonce" and "To The Last Recorded Syllable of Time" are available on all DSPs via Linktr.ee. And, lyric video via YouTube.

Moments of heavy hitting rock tendencies tie together their continuing exploration of spooky 60s psychedelia and their peculiarly warped feel of classic rock from an alternate universe, dashed with hypnotic and minimal rhythms reminiscent of heady Krautrock. Distal will appeal to fans of Roxy Music, The Doors, The VSS, CAN, Amon Düül II, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds…

Following the surprising and untimely deaths of old friends, tour mates and family in recent years, the members of Pleasure Forever, vocalist/keyboardist Andrew Rothbard, drummer Dave Clifford and guitarist Joshua Hughes reconnected to catch up. They soon began discussing trading home recorded ideas, which led to a frenzy of file trading. A batch of new songs was rather quickly built and the members self-recorded and mixed 7 tracks of material that became Distal.

In the two decades between proper albums, Rothbard has released multiple solo albums under his full name Andrew Douglas Rothbard, Clifford played drums in instrumental post-metal band Red Sparowes, Marriages, Jail Weddings and more, Hughes sang and played guitar in Relapse Records sludge metal trio Rabbits. The three members formerly played together in synth-punk pioneers The VSS in the mid-90s. Pleasure Forever released a collection of B-sides and cover songs Bodies Need Rest in 2007.

Distal will be available on digital and on limited edition clear and black 12" vinyl variants on August 25, 2023 via Solid Brass Records. Pre-orders are available HERE.