Coloured Psalms At Sea

I heard this track 'Psalms' from A Constant Sea, the debut record from Brooklyn-based Heliotropes (out in June through Manimal Vinyl) and it floored me. True Widow parallels immediately swam to the surface, with the grungy undertones interspersed with , but this all-girl four-piece step out from the malaise with swathes of swampy psych sprawl. As if their electric cover of Roky Erickson's 'I Walked With A Zombie' last year wasn't enough indication, 'Psalms', the ozone-burning guitar solo makes your hair stand on end, all the better to tear it out as the band hit the accelerator and head for the brick wall as the song closes out. Jessica Numsuwankijkul's vocals are acid-sweet - providing disarming melody whilst emanating the slightest aura of menace. There is a vitality, a recklessness to this song that intimates that Heliotropes are overflowing with energy and a lack of sonic inhibitions - such freshness and enthusiasm burns away any hackneyed predispositions and instead presents pure, unadulterated rock (albeit of the distorted kind).

You can preorder A Constant Sea here. Heliotropes are playing the excellent 4Knots Festival in June, which pretty much namechecks all of Sonic Masala's favourite of-the-moment acts (Parquet Courts, The Men, The Babies, Marnie Stern, Reigning Sound, Kurt Vile) - and from the bubbling ecstasy generated from their fiery live performances, June cannot come fast enough.

Heliotropes - Psalms

Last Year's Men Had No Claws

Remember when all the best bands came from North Carolina? Chapel Hill in the early/mid Nineties? No? Hmm. Well, they did - Archers of Loaf, Superchunk, Polvo, Sex Police, Pipe, Squirrel Nut Zippers (*cough*). And Last Year's Men are doing their best to bring the mojo back to the region. They have an LP coming out soon (produced by Greg Cartwright of Reigning Sound/Oblivians, even more reason to get excited), and have this Clawless Paw 7" (out through the excellent Sophomore Lounge)to whet the whistle. Two tracks of garage rock that also deal in subterfuge - the titular track's intro is raucous yet contained, yet threatens to derail every second thereafter; whilst 'What I Can Get' shows us a shinier, happier side of the coin, before the facade crumbles and the rot sets in, full fledged coarse steel-wool glory. Its clear that these guys have something percolating here; that the garish cover only hints at the hypercolour madness within; that this incoming record could be napalm to the soul; and that a good spiritual hazing is something 2013 is begging for. Bring that shit ON.

Clawless Paw can be in your eager mitts now - get it here. The band have a May tour of the US lined up, but need YOUR help! Look below, and if you can help hit up their Facebook here.

may 20th - asheville, nc HELP

may 21st - nashville, tn w/ cheap time (need help with a place to play!)

may 22nd - louisville, ky at tba w/ mount carmel

may 23rd - chicago, il at tba

may 24th - detroit, mi at tba

may 25th - toronto, on at silver dollar w/ mystics

may 26th - hamilton, on at casbah w/ mystics

may 27th - montreal at tba w/ mystics

may 28th - new york, ny at shea stadium

may 29th - new jersey/dc/philly HELP PLEASE?

may 30th - richmond, va at tba w/ nervous ticks

Last Year's Men - Clawless Paw