“Raven” – The Well
Austin, TX power trio The Well reach new heights while plumbing the depths on the first single from their upcoming album Death and Condolences. The tempo is a little faster than their doomy earlier work but the downtuned guitars and fuzzed out bass still pack a heavy punch. The band’s characteristic male-female harmonized vocals cast a potent spell summoning wavering images of chanting druids gathered in black masses and the ominous rumble of a renegade biker gang approaching across the open desert.
But The Well’s sphere of influence expands beyond occult b-movie horror and exploitation. Previous albums have featured compelling interpretations of classics by Pink Floyd and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and this wide ranging and studied understanding of their musical forebearers contributes a contextual richness not often present in the work of their peers as well as broadening their appeal beyond the typical heavy music set. Drink deep, The Well is far from dry.
– Clayton Pacelli
“Cyboogie” – King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard are ridiculously prolific, churning out album after album of completely bizarre mindfucks that consistently defy expectations and achieve high marks from both critics and their extremely die-hard fans. Like their American counterparts Thee Oh Sees, King Gizz is known for angular guitars, motorik percussion, and a penchant for science fiction and Lovecraftian horror, a framework they’re operated pretty consistently within for the better part of their catalog.
Enter “Cyboogie,” a brand new single that goes hard into krautrock territory casting the band as a group of paranoid androids existing halfway between Kraftwerk and Flight Of The Conchords with a healthy dose of soft focus lens work that pays some serious homage to Giorgio Moroder. So far hardcore Gizz fans have been pretty split over the whole thing, but after thirteen albums sometimes the best way to keep from losing your edge is to sell your guitars and buy synthesizers. I, for one, welcome our new(ly) robotic overlords.
– Clayton Pacelli
“Paris” – Samia
I wish I had perfected the calculated balance of poetic depth and relatable, simplistic imagery that Samia has so expertly spun into “Paris”. Her newest music video is as much a diary entry visually as it is audibly — taking us through old family movies to modern day recordings of moments of her life while pulling at our heartstrings.
– Lauren Khalfayan
“Dry Grass” – Body Type
The grass is dry and everything is green. An obsession with a groundskeeper and suburban nostalgia, the video is a look at how the towns we grew up in seems stuck in time while we all continue to get older.
– Lauren Khalfayan
“EVERYDAY” – WEYES BLOOD
Familiar retro melodies meet a seventies slasher film in Weyes Blood’s “Everyday”. Taking campy to the next level with blood splatter shots, red overlayed zoom freeze frames, and audible shrieks throughout, it subverts what could be another catchy love song and capitalizes on the fear aspect of being alone.
– Lauren Khalfayan
