Shine A Lantern Into The Evil Eye

I spoke about Dream Mine, the sixth EP from Philadelphia's Lantern that came out on Bathetic Records, about this time last year. It was one of those sleazy, seductive albums that comes along, seemingly out of nowhere, singes your nostril hairs, relaxes your rectum and separates your retinas, before burning away into the dark, dark night, with nary a glance, glare or leer back at the carnage.

Well the Philly trio are done with the short talk, the foreplay, the torture porn, whatever you want to call the past three years since their inception, and are prepping their debut LP Rock 'N' Roll Rorschach to come out through Sophomore Lounge next month, and 'Evil Eye' clearly outlays that all that came before was nothing. The fact alone that they got in Jeff Zeigler (he of Clockcleaner fame/infamy) tells you that the noise will be brought - but in a cleaner fashion, one where you can hear every decibel, every strand of your fibre just before it pops. A relentless, nihilistic power display, 'Evil Eye' is the kind of gate-crashing awe that can bring down kingdoms - or at the very least, see a spike in eardrum perforations. Expect to hear more about this release next month.

Pre-order the Rock 'N' Roll Rorschach 12" here.

Dreaming Of A Dirty Lantern

I have to say that the dirtiness that permeates Philly band Lantern's Bathetic release Dream Mine feels like the real deal. This isn't performance art - you believe in it. This isn't a band that wants to delve into Funhouse territory - they were born there, and will most likely die there too. Check out the lurching seven-minute version of 'I Wanna Be Your Dog' - it's already a great track, but here the trio fully inhabit it like a sweat-drenched second skin. The constant collaborators with Dirty Beaches revel in the grimy nether regions, and whilst it can be disturbing, it is so enthralling. This is how hedonistic rock music should be.


Dream Mine is sold out, but you really need this, so grab the digital copy here.

Denver Trappings

I'm gearing up for this evening's Sonic Masala Presents End Of Financial Year Party - and for whatever reason I'm sitting on my balcony drinking Western Australian beer and listening to country. Not the gee-up most people want and need - and I will be putting on Tiny Spiders and the excellent Lantern record (through Bathetic) in a mo - but there is something about the single 'The Way It Is' by "ramshackle all-star country band" Denver that has me in a warmy, gauzy glow. Based in Portland, Denver features members of Blitzen Trapper and Alela Diane’s Wild Divine, has three chief songwriters (Birger Olsen, Mike Elias, Tom Bevitori) exchanging lead vocals, all adding up to an air of drunken wistfulness leading itself to drunken camaraderie and back-slapping at the bar. It is incredibly hard to bottle something as universal and communal as that - yet this track does that for me. I could even see myself donning a Stetson and heading to the local saloon - well, I do have the checked shirts for it...



Denver - The Way It Is