Posts Tagged ‘space rock’

Album of the day: White Hills – S/T

Posted on Monday, February 15th, 2010

White Hills - White Hills

Lovingly pinched from The Quietus: Twenty-first Century space rock juggernauts White Hills‘ first blip on the radar, outside of their native New York, probably came in 2005 when Julian Cope, in his guise of tastemaker to the tuned in and turned on, started bigging them up on his rather marvellous Head Heritage website, and then issued their debut mini-album, They’ve Got Blood Like We’ve Got Blood, as a limited edition of one hundred CD-R’s on his own label, the charmingly named Fuck Off and Di (yes, the people’s princess does appear on the logo).

White Hills played their first UK show the following year, opening for the Arch-Drude at London’s Koko, and their glam-tinged fusion of Stooges, Hawkwind and Can has seen them joining the likes of Comets on Fire and Sunburned Hand of the Man in moving, thanks to Cope’s initial patronage, from beyond the pale weird beard obscurity to, if not quite household name status, then certainly the standing of Heavy Cult Figures of some repute. And if Comets and Sunburned now enjoy notoriety far beyond Cope’s circle of heads, black sheep and assorted fellow travellers, then White Hills’ new album sees them ready to make that same advance themselves, possibly even catapulting them directly to the forefront of the contemporary psych-rock scene.

White Hills may well be the band’s fourth album, though it’s hard to say, their discography naturally being a labyrinth of rumoured and rare releases on tiny labels, collaborations and split singles, cryptic re-packagings, CDs that come encased in hand-carved wooden boxes and limited editions that barely stretch into double figures. What is certain is that the band regards it as a new beginning, a step up to the next level and a creative rebirth, with some justification. Their first full recording for Thrill Jockey, it should be their most widely available release yet, and sees founder members Dave W (vocals, guitar) and the divine Ms Ego Sensation (bass) joined by Oneida drummer Kid Millions, who left everyone who caught that band’s awesome UK dates last year open-mouthed at his stamina and precision behind the kit.

Continue reading: The Quietus | Reviews | White Hills.

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Posted in 2010, Album of the Day, Roadburn Recommended | 4 Comments »

Album of the day: First band from Outer Space – The Guitar is mightier than the Gun

Posted on Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

Lovingly pinched from Lowcut: This was originally released on a limited edition vinyl LP on the Kommun2 label earlier this year in 300 copies. I think it is still possible to find a copy around but it is getting scarce now. Anyway, this is the digital version and it also ...read more

Astrosoniq celebrates 10th anniversary on 10-10 with new album!

Posted on Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

Dutch spacerockers Astrosoniq will release their fifth album Quadrant in the Benelux on their own label Spacejam Records on 9 October.  The release is exactly one day before their 10th anniversary on 10.10, which they will celebrate in style in the band’s hometown of Oss.
“The Wizards ...read more

Album of the day: SubArachnoid Space – Eight bells

Posted on Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

Lovingly pinched from OregonLive.com: Call it what you will — a trip, a trance, a journey — but heavy instrumental four-piece SubArachnoid Space soundtracks the superconscious, with all the breadth of wonderment and horror between sleep and wake and between Dali paintings and Cortazar stories.
Guitarist Melynda Jackson moved the 14-year-old ...read more

Album of the day: Litmus – Aurora

Posted on Friday, August 28th, 2009

Lovingly pinched from The Obelisk:  They’re based in the UK, but there’s really no telling where planet-hopping space rockers Litmus might end up in or out of this feebly-armed galaxy by the end of their third album, Aurora, and where they might take you likewise.
Their second album on Rise Above ...read more

White Hills: new album in the works; EP announced.

Posted on Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

White Hills are currently working on the upcoming album for Thrill Jockey Records.“I will not say much about it at this time except for that it is coming along nicely!”, says White Hills singer / guitarist Dave. “Ego and I have worked with three different drummers on this album. They ...read more

Album of the day: Astra – The Weirding

Posted on Sunday, July 5th, 2009

Lovingly pinched from our spiritual brethren at Aural-Innovations:
When I first heard The Weirding, the epic debut album from San Diego’s Astra, I had zero information on the band, other than a release date of 2009. Was this a re-issue of some lost album from 1970, I seriously wondered? It certainly ...read more

Album of the day: Mammatus – S/T

Posted on Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

(From our archives): Mammatus hits you like a truck. Albeit a truck painted in psychedelic swirly colours, piloted by a strung out lunatic who’s using the accelerator like a wah pedal. Formed as far back as 2005, Mammatus are leading the vanguard of the new wave of psychedelic heavy rock ...read more

Album of the Day: The Heads – Tilburg

Posted on Thursday, June 18th, 2009

Coming soon will be a limited 12″ LP run of  The Heads’ Tilburg,  a vinyl pressing of the bands recently released CD on their own label. The LP will also be coming out on the bands own label so keep your eye out for it over the next couple of ...read more

Album of the day: L’Ira Del Baccano – Si Non Sedes Is Live MMVII (Digital Download 2008)

Posted on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

L’Ira Del Baccano are a dual guitar, bass, drums, electronics quartet that play an all instrumental blend of stoner rock, metal, space rock and psychedelia.  They had been informing me whenever new tracks were made available on their Myspace site and each one has been a gem.  And their first ...read more

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