Desertsession Radio

Tuesday, 18 April 2017

Project Grimm - The Crass Menagerie (2017)

"In 2015, ultra-respected Italian print ‘zine Vincebus Eruptum did a story in its 19th issue highlighting the prodigious and sometimes bizarre Houston noise rock scene. Around the same time, the label wing of the same publication hooked up with the Linus Pauling Quartet to release the early-2016 full-length, Ampalanche, basically putting their money where their mouth is. Or at very least continuing to in a manner beyond the already considerable factor of running a print outlet in the 2010s. Seems fair to look at Vincebus Eruptum Recordings picking up Houston’s Project Grimm (ex-The Mike Gunn) to issue their first album in well over a decade, The Crass Menagerie, as an extension of the same impulse. The record is set to arrive on Feb. 15, and feature eight tracks split up over

Horisont - About Time (2017)

Ready for 2017’s first hard rock highlight? Sweden’s HORISONT present a sheer fantastic blend of classic rock on their fifth opus “About Time”! From the Montrose-tinged rumble of the opening “The Hive” and the sharp, new wave shades and psych rock pulse of “Electrical” through the insistent, lysergic, Lizzy-esque boogie of “Night Line” and the sumptuous, tripped-out splendour of the closing, epic title track, “About Time” is an album of beautifully crafted songs executed with maximum imagination and a whole lot of denim-clad love, even touching upon the radio-friendly sheen of Moog-laced AOR on the irresistibly funky “Boston Gold”. HORISONT are ready to conquer the world with these magical new anthems and delivered one hell of a first release on new label home

Colour Haze - In Her Garden (2017)

"In part, it’s a question of scale. The 12th studio album from Munich-based trio Colour Haze, titled In Her Garden and featuring an array of tracks named for plant-life including “Black Lilly,” “Magnolia,” “Arbores,” “Lotus,” “Lavatera,” and so on, lands less than three full years after its predecessor, 2014’s To the Highest Gods We Know — they also had the live album, Live Vol. 1 – Europa Tournee 2015, out in 2016 — but in its sound and scope, it might have more in common in terms of presentation with the record before that, 2012’s She Said. Like that offering, In Her Garden is a sprawling, 2LP affair — its 72 minutes fit on one CD, however, which She Said didn’t — rife with progressive forward steps on the part of the self-recording three-piece guitarist/vocalist Stefan Koglek,

The Devil And The Almighty Blues - II (2017)

"As it should, the second full-length from Oslo five-piece The Devil and the Almighty Blues shows marked growth from its predecessor. The Norwegian outfit released their self-titled debut early in 2015 via Blues for the Red Sun Records (with distribution through Stickman), and the six-song II works quickly to build on the potential shown previously in a thick, smokey vibe of classic heavy rock, laid back jam-prone psychedelia and pervasive melancholy. The blues, in other words, indeed proves mighty, even if one might still hear the sorrowful roll of “North Road” and liken its vinyl-ready compression to Scandinavia’s still-pervasive retro movement. In that second cut and pieces like 10-minute opener and longest inclusion (immediate points) “These are Old Hands,”

Lecherous Gaze - One Fifteen (2017)

Oakland, California's LECHEROUS GAZE play, in their own words, "Psycho-delic shred-tastic ultra-hyphened rock-punk heavy jams." ZZ TOP's Billy Gibbons more concisely calls the band's sound "heavy." One Fifteen is The Gaze's third full-length LP and showcases the hyper-talented musicians at the peak of their power. Searing guitarist Graham Clise (Annihilation Time, Witch) sets fires with absolutely ferocious licks while vocalist Zaryan Zaidi and the band spit old-school, no-bullshit, in-your-face, maximum-impact ROCK straight into your kisser. Mean and greasy riff-forward proto-punk is the name of the game! Produced by Greg Wilkinson (Eerie, High On Fire) at Earhammer Studios and mastered by Carl Saff (Earthless, The Shrine), One Fifteen is a nod to

Buried Feather - Mind Of The Swarm (2017)

Buried Feather release their second full-length, Mind of the Swarm. Recorded by Paul Maybury (King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard) and mixed by Nick Franklin (The Grates, Deep Sea Arcade), the new record is a more dynamic realisation of the band’s hypnotic sound. First single “Dust” finds them solidly in kosmische territory, with a head-rush of phased guitars swirling around a locked groove. The record throws up some interesting surprises, with druggy rave-ups and dark, synth-driven slow jams sitting alongside the fuzzy rock tunes.

"The album explodes into earshot swirling deftly on a wave of growling guitars, powerful percussion and those hypnotically charged organ lines

Kingnomad - Mapping The Inner Void (2017)

"If you’re the type of person whose day isn’t complete without some Swedish Psychedelic Doom, then Kingnomad are just what you’re looking for. Formed in 2014 on an endless diet of Sabbath riffs and beer, the first song they wrote was ‘Lucifer’s Dream’, which set the template for the Band’s direction and fittingly opens this album. It’s a great song which will instantly appeal to Uncle Acid fans and also, with its melody and vocals, may well appeal to some of Ghost’s more hard-core followers. ‘Nameless Cult’ follows which riffs away like its predecessor but is more uptempo. ‘Whispers From R’yleh’ is a strange track with it’s gentle strumming and breathless female vocal, before the mother of all riffs kicks in shortly before the song ends. ‘The Witches Garden’ is easy on

White Light Cemetery - Careful What You Wish For (2017)

With production work by the legendary Kent Stump of Wo Fat, Careful What You Wish For, is the Lafayette, Louisiana-based quartet’s third official release overall after their 2011 EP debut “Crow Sessions” and its follow-up, their self-titled full length. White Light Cemetery‘s guitarist/vocalist Shea Bearden, bassist Tara Miller, guitarist Ryan ‘Cletus‘ Robin, and drummer Thomas Colley are the very embodiment of metallic Southern Rock circa 2017 and this fact is verified all throughout “Careful What You Wish For“. If you’ve never heard WLC, it is what would result if one mixed the best elements of Black Oak Arkansas with Pepper Keenan era Corrosion Of Conformity and added a splash of Black Stone Cherry for flavor. Now, who the hell wouldn’t want to check that out I ask you?

Orango - The Mules Of Nana (2017)

"For those of you familiar with Norwegian rock (a fair few, we estimate), the name Orango should ring a bell. The often-cited “hardest working band in Norway” has now found a new home at Stickman Records and we are proud to announce that their new album “The Mules of Nana” will be welcomed to the world on January 13th, 2017!

Orango and Stickman have a history together as old friends and label partners, and we’re glad to see this partnership growing further. As their first proper Stickman release (we distributed their last record Battles in Europe), “The Mules of Nana” is special in a few ways – it’s also the band’s first album with new bassist Hallvard Gaardløs and we feel it