Hypnotized By The Dream Police

Sacred Bones have announced the final two releases of 2014, and one of them is new - yet familiar. Mark Perro and Nick Chiericozzi, two of the founders of The Men, have a new project in the form of Dream Police. Which is a great name when you consider the cover art for the Cheap Trick album of the same name... Where The Men have left behind their hardcore boots to head into a more familiar rock bent, Dream Police brings synth and a bit of hair rock to the mix, if the title track of their upcoming album is anything to go by. It's like distilling Moon Duo, LCD Soundsystem and ZZ Top into a crusty blender. I need to hear the rest of this album for sure - but for now I'm perplexed, amused, and more than a little interested. Pre-order Hypnotized here.

Triple Trip To The Moon

 

I need to whip this up quick, because I have to get to a cassette listening party, so here are the past three releases from San Fran cosmic sorcerers Moon Duo.

 

Two are through Sacred Bones, and we’ll start with the duo’s new LP Circles, which centres around philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson’s studies of circles within society and their function – really. Which kinda makes sense, seeing as Ripley Johnson and Sanae Yamada essentially deal in repetitive rhythmic patterns, stretched to a certain point before they furl back in on themselves. In the main, I found myself a little disappointed with Circles, which is a shame seeing as Johnson can just about do no wrong in my eyes. Yamada’s synth is more at the forefront, and strangely this is the best and worst element – what she does is incredible, but the songs seem to suffer because of it. It may be a direction that they need to work on, thus their next releases are pregnant with anticipation. That said, there are some killer tunes on there, especially the title track, ‘Sleepwalker’ and the thudding, seven-plus minute finale, ‘Rolling Out’.

Moon Duo – Circles
Moon Duo – Rolling Out

 

Preceding this was a 7” split with another great psych band, Psychic Ills. Their contribution is the six minute ‘Zoned’, which is more befitting of the warbling mind-bending kosmiche experiments that Moon Duo have delved in since its inception. This was left on the Circles sessions’ cutting room floor – thank God it found its place in the world though, because in my opinion, this almost betters every track on that album. ‘Take Me With You’, the Psychic Ills contribution, is also excellent, a folky trance that is more straight up than you might expect from them – the perfect counterpoint. In fact, this is one of my favourite splits of the year.

Moon Duo - Zoned

 

Finally there is the mammoth ‘High Over Blue’ that Sleeperhold Publications saw fit to put out (that should tell you enough about this release...). Twenty two minutes of fragmented, stretched mind-altering magic. Nuff said.

Moon Duo – High Over Blue

You can get ‘Zoned’ and ‘High Over Blue’ as a bonus CD if you purchase the CD version of Circles, which is nice. Get these releases here (for Sacred Bones’ releases) and here (for High Over Blue).

Sleepwalking On The Moon

I have a post on Monday about the 12" tour release that Moon Duo brought out recently. It was going to be today, but I have to punt it for this nice little coup! The San Franciscan sonic conquistadors have a new record on the way through Sacred Bones called Circles. The label has been inundated with pre-order purchases, hence the mail-out getting a little delayed, so to placate the masses they let this track out of the bag. It's classic Moon Duo, and should do more than appease the hordes.


Circles will be out in October. Why not add to the mayhem and get yourself in line for one too? It's in sexy red vinyl if you're quick off the mark...

Moon Duo - Sleepwalker

Double Moon Rising Over The Wood(land)

Its a grand thing for Brisbane to be getting itself a slice of Ripley Johnson tonight. The wildly bearded frontman for San Francisco's premier psych band Wooden Shjips has been incredibly busy in 2011, seeing as the band put out their new album West on Thrill Jockey just a while back - and it is amazing! But before the big touring schedule kicks off again for those guys, Johnson is gracing Australia with his presence, along with his wife Sanae Yamada - who also happen to form San Francisco's other premiere psych band, Moon Duo! They also brought out a stellar album this year, Mazes (on Sacred Bones). Tonight they threaten to blow all patrons at Woodland into the ethereal stratosphere, helped out by Tasmania's Tiger Choir and Brisbane's merchants of loud and abrasive noise, Secret Birds. Not sure if tix are still available - check here, I have my fingers crossed for ya! This will be a true show to drop out to...

Go Wjest

One of the greatest things about San Francisco's Wooden Shjips is that you are guaranteed one hell of a psychedelic trip. Not much changes from one WS release to the next, but when it is as intrinsically fused to the cerebral vortex as it apparently is for these four dudes, this is no misgiving. And so we have West, Wooden Shjip's latest opus, and it is instantly recognisable. Many people will notice this with a pang of chagrin, but it is the exception of the rule here - Wooden Shjips can stay the same for eternity, it will always be their trip. With the Suicide-heavy heady komische Velvet Underground Spacemen 3 melange present and accounted for, there is nothing much else to do other than put it on and drop out. It's great stuff - and we wouldn't expect anything less, would we?


West is out through Thrill Jockey September 13 (although it can be hunted down in Europe right now!). I just bought the vinyl package for less than $40, and that's with a 7" and tote bag thrown in for good measure! You should get on that, stat! And whilst they aren't making a Australian jaunt any time soon, they are visiting the UK, touching down in a hazy splendour at London's Scala on September 4. Ripley Johnson's other project, Moon Duo, will be in Brisbane in October though, so that is the next best thing! More details on that in future posts...

Wooden Shjips - Black Smoke Rise
Wooden Shjips - Lazy Bones

Shjipping Through The Wooden West

What with the great Moon Duo release Mazes coming out on Sacred Bones earlier this year, it’s easy to forget that Ripley Johnson’s day band, Wooden Shjips, are also hitting us with their new longplayer. West (on Thrill Jockey Records) promises to be a hotly debated album amongst psych rock fanatics as the emphasis for the San Francisco band’s 4th album (and 1st studio-recorded one) has been touted as being about the American West. Basing such an assertion on track ‘Lazy Bones’, I'm guessing that whilst not much will have changed on the Shjips front, the included input of Phil Manley (Trans Am) and Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3, Spectrum) will be like playing this record in the baking sun - this is one insistent little bugger, its locomotive hi hat driven percussive beats and repetitive distorted guitar underpins the psychedelic double standards that Johnson’s warbling vocals insinuate. It’s a warped trip, all right – just not as we know it…


West comes out in September. Wooden Shjips play London's Scala on September 2.

Wooden Shjips – Lazy Bones

Forever Beyond The Fourth Door

2011 has been a decidedly delectable year thus far in terms of psychedelic rock. And if Thrill Jockey has anything to do with it (and they most certainly do), the hits will keep on a-comin. March sees the arrival of Beyond The 4th Door, Eternal Tapestry's debut album on the label (we loved guitarist Dewey's album under the moniker Plankton Wat, In Magical Light - check what the fuss is about here). THe first thing you'll notice is the truncated track lengths - still long ('Time Winds Through A Glass, Clearly' is over 12 minutes long), but a departure from previous opuses. Yet dont be fooled - these songs havent been cut so much as condensed, distilling the swirling essence of what makes the Portland band great - long stretches of melodic guitar improvisations, dark brooding songs that slowly build and expand to allow in layers of light - into a tighter focus. Hence the five tracks meld into an orgiastic phalanx of surreal fluidity, culminating in an album that, at 43 minutes long, feels too short and yet eternal all the same.

Beyond The 4th Door is out on March 15 - you can pre-order it here. Eternal Tapestry are playing a few shows this week in the US along the East Coast with label-mates Arbouretum and the brilliant Endless Boogie, whilst also scoring the hometown support slot for Moon Duo on April 9. No news as to any global touring as yet - but we can surely hope...

Eternal Tapestry - Galactic Derelict

Traveling With Moon Duo Is A-Maze-ing

(Photo by Hane Lee)

A release that I am looking forward to is Wooden Shjips' Ripley Johnson's side project Moon Duo. Their last LP Escape was pretty stellar, so this newie, Mazes (out on Souterrain Transmissions or Sacred Bones on March 28th) promises to be something equally as special. And to work us up into a suitably slimy lather is the title track from the upcoming album below. This may be blasphemous, but Ive liked Moon Duo's take on psychedelia more than Wooden Shjips - although I love both acts - just because there seems to be a good deal more cohesion between Johnson and his partner Sanae Yamada.

If you are situated in the US, Moon due are doing a rather large string of shows through March and April - the rest of us will have to wait.

Moon Duo - Mazes

These Bells Look Silver In The Christmas Moonlight

Another day, another eclectic Christmas carol, this time from psych warriors Moon Duo (a 7" made available through Holy Mountain). 'Silver Bells' is still recognizable here, the band following the blueprint faithfully, yet the track is awash with the trademark MD murkiness. Also included is great track 'Winter'. Grab the 7" here.

Moon Duo - Silver Bells

Catching Gratuitous Monday Moon

Ok, now I'm just being plan daft. In a complete blog fluke Brendan an I both posted about 'Moon' related bands today, so because I'm a bit sad, lets make three, just for the sake of it...

So our third 'Moon' for Monday is Moon Duo. The San Francisco duo recently announced a new 7" out soon on Holy Mountain entitled Holiday. Now normally we'd include a taste of said 7" below but it hasn't dropped yet so instead I've included a previous Moon Duo 7" Catch As Catch Can, out on Agitated Records, it dropped back way back in April and is probably sold out on wax now, but damn fine all the same. There are also four Moon Duo live dates coming up too, including a London date at the Garage, December 7th, and to top it off the band are doing a Guest mix on BBC 6 Music tonight. All that just for three 'Moons', yeah bit sad.

Moon Duo - Catch As Catch Can

Droning Hootenanny

Another band from the Thrill Jockey stable (via Not Not Fun) is Barn Owl. I have only just come across this clip of their track 'Light From The Mesa', and its pretty damn greasch. Languid droning music that fits right alongside stablemates White Hills (also mentioned on Sonic Masala today - yep, Im in that kinda mood) more elegaic tones, the San Fran outfit have been infiltrating the underground scene since 2007, putting out myriad releases under all kinds of guises (most of them handmade and limited editions). They are also on their way to the UK next month, where they will be playing Supersonic in Birmingham (which is a unique and most definitely awesome festival, showcase the harder, darker edge of the rock abyss - headlining are Godflesh and Swans...), whilst also managing to squeeze in a London gig at Corsica Studios with Master Musicians of Bukkake on October 25th. If the Moon Duo gig at Corsica is a precursor of the quality of performance this venue elicits, then this will be something special.

Barn Owl - Light from the Mesa from Thrill Jockey Records on Vimeo.

Wooden moon, duo shjips

Just got hold of the new Moon Duo record 'Escape'. Moon Duo are just that, a duo in the form of Wooden Shjips front man Erik Johnson and Sanae Yamada. Moon Duo is Johnson's side project and it bears all the hallmarks of his full time job, sonic, blissed out groovy krautrock with vocals hushed and distant. Not so much songs more a journey on a psychedelic highway all the way to the moon, enjoy and buy.

Moon Duo - Stumbling 22nd St.