Even though I’ve got a large stack of releases that I’m hoping to get through before the end of the year, Italian post-rock/atmospheric metal band Nero Di Marte’s sophomore release, Derivae (released Oct. 28th – Prosthetic), has already earned a spot on my ‘best of’ list for this year.
Nero Di Marte’s sound falls somewhere between The Ocean, Isis and early Pink Floyd. Derivae was recorded 100% in analog which allows the band sonic space to build their epic soundscapes – most of which clock in around the eight minute mark. The band chose to record in analog so “we could develop and commit to atmospheres and sounds while recording instead of thinking about how this guitar effect or that part should sound while mixing. It makes it a little bit more true to how we are when we actually play as a band, without the challenges of doing a live recording”. (from interview with Invisible Oranges).
The disc starts with “L’Eclisse”, which starts with crashing dark and ominous guitar chords which build up to a claustrophobic wave of sound over which drummer Marco Bolognini adds powerful drum fills. Guitarist/vocalist Sean Worrell utilizes a range of vocals across this disc and, on this song, his Italian baritone sounds a bit like Moonspell vocalist Fernando Ribeiro. The band shifts gears with the third track, “Pulsar”, where Worrell’s whaling vocals are featured up-front in the mix and Bolognini’s drumming takes on a tribal beat. There are a number of rises and falls in the music, including one where Worrell’s vocals are whispered over this tribal beat and the song closes with a moody, “Pink Floydish” outro.
Some of the other highlights on the disc are “Il Diluvio” and the 10+ minute final track “Those Who Leave”. “Il Diluvio” is a dark, almost doom number with a big post-rock sound. This song features big, crashing guitar chords and vocals beneath the wall of sound. This sonic swirl slows down toward the end to get more atmospheric. “Il Diluvio” is very “Pink Floydish” with its electronic burble of sounds. The guitar is slowly added in and vocals are a chant below the instrumentation. A major portion of this song is instrumental and this number ends where it started, with an instrumental outro.
Sky Picnic released their first full length, Farther In This Fairy Tale early last year and the band just signed to Nasoni-Records who released a limited edition vinyl version of the disc (100 copies on colored vinyl and 400 copies on black). I can’t think of any disc in recent years that is more deserving of a vinyl pressing than this one as this is classic space rock that perfect to “turn on, tune in, drop out” to.
{Note: Sky Picnic is directly selling the color vinyl for $13 but has only 7 left. The color vinyl edition is completely sold-out on Nasoni-Records' site.}
Farther In This Fairy Tale is a throw-back to the days of Hawkwind, Pink Floyd and epic concept albums where you would take forty-five minutes to immerse yourself in the experience. Chris Sherman sings with a waif-like earnestness while bending taut guitar notes and swirling riffs around his vocals while bassist/vocalist Leah Cinnamon provides a steady bass-line which serves as the pulse of the songs. Drummer Pete Meriwether plays in a style similar to Earth’s Adrienne Davies and adds subtle brushes and fills that color the songs rather than dominate the beat. The band adds additional texture to some of the songs by bringing in middle-eastern sounds and rhythms, subtly mournful keys and flute and various electronic space squiggles and bleeps. This is an album that is perfect for headphone listening as you can hear different musical elements in each of the channels as you immerse yourself in the experience.
In an interview with Dirty Sexy Karma, Chris Sherman described the new album as follows: “We're not just making music...anyone can make music. We're trying to give you an experience and to take you deeper into an alternate world and give you something to think about. The concept of the LP is the end of innocence and a journey to find yourself, although I hope people can draw their own meanings from there…Themes of astronomy, mythology, dystopian societies and life and death are the basis of our catalog. Clearly, we're not trying to become rock stars, and have no ambition to do so. We're making music we love about subjects we love, in the matter in which we want to. Hopefully that spirit alone draws people to our band.”
Sky Picnic has upcoming shows at Union Hall on Thursday, July 28th and Saturday, August 6th at Bruar Falls. At the Union Hall show, Sky Picnic is playing with The Stoned Ambassadors, (The Sounds of) Kaleidoscope and Lead Stones. Tickets are $7 and doors are at 7:30PM. For the show at Bruar Falls, cover is $5 but no info. has been posted yet about other bands on the bill.
Boris’ sixth collaboration with Merzbow (aka Masami Akita), entitled Klatter, was released last month as a limited edition vinyl pressing (ltd to 1,000 copies) on the Japanese label Daymare Recordings. This recording dates back to 2004 and this disc was apparently planned for release in 2007 through Troubleman Unlimited (with the rumored title of “Mellow Peak”). The five track disc contains re-recordings of two tracks from Boris’ 2003 CD Akuma no Uta - “Akuma no Uta" and "Naki Kyoku” – a Jane cover (German prog/kraut-rock band) along with two previously unheard tracks. The total running time is just over 40 minutes.
This disc is almost entirely instrumental (with some hazy vocals buried in the mix on “Jane” and “Naki Kyoku”) and the overall sound of the disc is kraut/space rock with some hints of industrial “klatter” and garage rock thrown into the mix. This is the sort of music where you can sink into the (almost stoner) ambience and gentle waves of feedback. There is a loose, almost improvisational, feel to the tracks and, to give a frame of reference, bands like Can and early Pink Floyd are both valid points of comparison. The only track to break from this blissful ambience is “Klatter 1” which is an up-tempo, almost industrial track, but, even here, the sharp edges have been sanded down.
Boris is keeping exceedingly busy these days having just released New Album (2LP) through Daymare Recordings and new discs Heavy Rocks and Attention Please are both scheduled for release on April 26th through the Los Angeles-based label Sargent House.
Growing up in Baltimore in the late 70s/early 80s, Crack The Sky was one of the biggest bands in town and always seemed on the verge of breaking out. The band toured with numerous established acts (like Yes, ELO, Frank Zappa, Styx, etc.) and routinely sold-out 1,000+ capacity venues in Baltimore so everyone believed that the band's brand of thinking man's prog rock would reach a universal audience. Crack the Sky's debut LP was released in 1975 and Rolling Stone magazine called it the "debut album of the year" and now, in the 35th year of their career, Crack the Sky have released their fourteenth studio album Machine.
Machine follows 2008's The Sale and, like recent Crack the Sky albums, continues with the band's Pink Floyd meets Steely Dan sound. The arrangements are lush and epic and band leader/songwriter John Palumbo's lyrics have all the cynicism and bite of a Steely Dan song. Lyrically, Machine is a concept album about machines taking over at the end of the Mayan Calendar (12/21/12) and mankind's slow slide to their inevitable doom. In an interview with RAYSREALM, John Palumbo compares The Sale to Machine by saying "The Sale is a task to listen to. I realized that after trying to listen to it. I got carried away. I consider it more of a novel than a record. The new Cd, MACHINE, now in the hands of Ricky and Bobby, is even darker. The Sale ended with some hope, MACHINE does not. Cheery, huh?"
Crack the Sky's music has aged well over the years and Machine is a worthy addition to collection of any prog-rock fan. Throughout my college years, mentions of Crack the Sky always drew blank looks so I was looking on YouTube for a video to embed that will showcase the band's sound. These days, Crack the Sky doesn't play live too often so it isn't surprising that there aren't any live videos from Machine posted. For anyone whose curiosity is piqued, a good starting point would be to download the demos from Machine (free download - link is at the top of this post) and check out the live video of the song "Ice" (which is from CTS' debut disc).
Hull’s debut disc Sole Lord (The End) was released last year but somehow I missed this disc first time around. Getting straight to the point, this disc will be on my ‘End of Year’ best-of list.
Not to start with a diatribe about the music industry but my belief is that weak product and iTunes have done more damage than illegal downloading ever will. If you take a band like the Rolling Stones, iTunes allows you to selectively purchase the one, two or three decent songs from each of their recent releases rather than forcing you to muddle through the other nine tracks of dross on each release. I’m old enough to remember the days when music (like Pink Floyd’s Meddle and Genesis’ Lamb Lies Down on Broadway) required an active commitment. Thanks to iTunes, music is now a lot more disposable and consumed in “bite-sized” three minute chunks. Pink Floyd felt their songs weren’t meant to be consumed on a song-by-song basis on iTunes and Hull’s Sole Lord falls into similar territory.
Sole Lord takes me back to the early Pink Floyd days as the band combines the ambient psychedelic (or perhaps a better descriptor is “psychosis”) of Meddle-era Pink Floyd with the sludgy doom of bands like The Melvins. While some bands release discs that are consistent from start-to-finish, Sole Lord comes across as one body of work that just happens to be divided across ten tracks. Songs seamlessly flow into the next and some riffs are reused across songs which add to the overall impression that this is one 47 minute body of work.
I wouldn’t use the word “prog” to describe Hull but Sole Lord is a rolling opus of gentle instrumentals which segue into groove-oriented walls of distorted guitars before returning back to another instrumental. The ‘light’ and ‘dark’ elements of this disc are pretty evenly balanced as there are an equal number of instrumentals balanced with songs that make use of roared/chanted multi-part vocals. Hull’s use of contrasting tempos across this disc makes for engaging listening so this is the sort of disc that you are going to want to block some time to actively listen to.
Below is a video from Hull’s “secret show” at Public Assembly in Brooklyn. Hull is playing with Pentagram at Europa on Jan. 06, 2011. Tickets are $15.
Sky Picnic do an excellent job of bringing the sounds of 60's psychedelia to the present on their debut CD Synesthesia. Sky Picnic plays highly textured psychedelic space-rock and a major point of comparison is the Syd Barrett-era of Pink Floyd.
Taking a look at some of the stand-out tracks on Synesthesia, "Moons of Jupiter" is a (soon to be) classic space-rock instrumental track that is held together with an echo-drenched ("Interstellar Overdrive" style) guitar lead and "Sequence IV" is a 13+ minute multi-part opus that will make a Pink Floyd fan weep with joy.
Even though Synesthesia has only been out a few months, Sky Picnic have a new release, The Psychedelic Picnic in the Sky, Volume I which was recorded this past February. The band describes this release as being "recorded live on the first take and meant to show the more experimental side of the band." This is a digital-only release that is available through the band's website for $2.00.
Sky Picnic are playing a series of Tuesday night residency shows at Otto's Shrunken Head in Alphabet City starting on May 5th. The shows are free and Sky Picnic will be taking the stage at 10PM.
I'm glad that I shook off my record collecting obsession a few years back as there are 5+ versions of the new David Gilmour release.
To clarify the comment above, David Gilmour planned on releasing 5 version and the only version intended to have the song "Wot's...Uh The Deal" was the 5-LP vinyl set. Due to fan pressure, a CD of "Wot's...Uh The Deal" is now available as a bonus disc from indie music stores. The indie stores that I know of around the area are Vintage Vinyl (Fords, NJ) and Loony Tunes (Long Island). For anyone not familiar with the track, it is from Obscured By Clouds and Gilmour started included the song in his 2006 tour.
Here is a live performance of the song from 2006 with David and Rick Wright:
Anyway, here is the breakdown of the five versions. Best Buy is the exclusive distributor for the 5-disc version (which is marked as sold-out for online orders).
- Two-disc version: Two CDs. Packaged in a gatefold card sleeve with 12-page booklet.
Disc One: 'Speak To Me', 'Breathe', 'Time', 'Breathe (Reprise)', 'Castellorizon', 'On an Island', 'The Blue', 'Red Sky at Night', 'This Heaven', 'Then I Close My Eyes', 'Smile', 'Take a Breath', 'A Pocketful of Stones', 'Where We Start'. Disc Two: 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond', 'Astronomy Domine', 'Fat Old Sun', 'High Hopes', 'Echoes', 'Wish You Were Here', 'A Great Day For Freedom', 'Comfortably Numb'. Recorded live in Gdańsk, 26 August 2006.
- Three-disc version: Two CDs, one DVD. Packaged in a gatefold card sleeve with 12-page booklet.
Disc One: 'Speak To Me', 'Breathe', 'Time', 'Breathe (Reprise)', 'Castellorizon', 'On an Island', 'The Blue', 'Red Sky at Night', 'This Heaven', 'Then I Close My Eyes', 'Smile', 'Take a Breath', 'A Pocketful of Stones', 'Where We Start'. Disc Two: 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond', 'Astronomy Domine', 'Fat Old Sun', 'High Hopes', 'Echoes', 'Wish You Were Here', 'A Great Day For Freedom', 'Comfortably Numb'. Recorded live in Gdańsk, 26 August 2006.
DVD includes 114 minutes of concert footage, plus a 36-minute documentary. Tracks on the DVD are: the complete 'On an Island' album, 'A Great Day For Freedom', 'Astronomy Domine', 'Comfortably Numb', 'Echoes' and 'High Hopes'. Recorded live in Gdańsk, 26 August 2006.
This DVD also includes a web pass to download 12 bonus live tracks from other concerts from the 'On an Island' tour - free: 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' (Venice, 12 August 2006), 'Dominoes' (Paris, 15 March 2006), 'The Blue' (Vienne, 31 July 2006), 'Take a Breath' (Munich, 29 July 2006), 'Wish You Were Here' (Glasgow, 27 May 2006), 'Coming Back To Life' (Florence, 2 August 2006), 'Find The Cost of Freedom' (Manchester, 26 May 2006), 'This Heaven' (Vienne, 31 July 2006), 'On The Turning Away' (Venice, 12 August 2006), 'Wearing The Inside Out' (Milan, 25 March 2006), 'A Pocketful of Stones' (Vienne, 31 July 2006), 'Where We Start' (Vienne, 31 July 2006).
- Four-disc version: Two CDs, two DVDs. Packaged in a gatefold card sleeve with 12-page booklet.
Disc One: 'Speak To Me', 'Breathe', 'Time', 'Breathe (Reprise)', 'Castellorizon', 'On an Island', 'The Blue', 'Red Sky at Night', 'This Heaven', 'Then I Close My Eyes', 'Smile', 'Take a Breath', 'A Pocketful of Stones', 'Where We Start'. Disc Two: 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond', 'Astronomy Domine', 'Fat Old Sun', 'High Hopes', 'Echoes', 'Wish You Were Here', 'A Great Day For Freedom', 'Comfortably Numb'. Recorded live in Gdańsk, 26 August 2006.
DVD includes 114 minutes of concert footage, plus a 36-minute documentary. Tracks on the DVD are: the complete 'On an Island' album, 'A Great Day For Freedom', 'Astronomy Domine', 'Comfortably Numb', 'Echoes' and 'High Hopes'. Recorded live in Gdańsk, 26 August 2006.
This DVD also includes a web pass to download 12 bonus live tracks from other concerts from the 'On an Island' tour - free: 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' (Venice, 12 August 2006), 'Dominoes' (Paris, 15 March 2006), 'The Blue' (Vienne, 31 July 2006), 'Take a Breath' (Munich, 29 July 2006), 'Wish You Were Here' (Glasgow, 27 May 2006), 'Coming Back To Life' (Florence, 2 August 2006), 'Find The Cost of Freedom' (Manchester, 26 May 2006), 'This Heaven' (Vienne, 31 July 2006), 'On The Turning Away' (Venice, 12 August 2006), 'Wearing The Inside Out' (Milan, 25 March 2006), 'A Pocketful of Stones' (Vienne, 31 July 2006), 'Where We Start' (Vienne, 31 July 2006).
The second DVD includes a 5.1 surround-sound mix of the 'On an Island' album, three new Barn jams (recorded January 2007) and the following audio-visual tracks: 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond', 'Wearing The Inside Out' and 'Comfortably Numb' (from the Mermaid Theatre, 7 March 2006), 'On an Island' and 'High Hopes' (from the AOL Sessions, April 2006) and 'The Blue', 'Take a Breath' and 'Echoes' (from 'Live from Abbey Road', August 2006).
- Five-disc version/Deluxe: Three CDs, two DVDs. With 20-page booklet and tour memorabilia.
Disc One: 'Speak To Me', 'Breathe', 'Time', 'Breathe (Reprise)', 'Castellorizon', 'On an Island', 'The Blue', 'Red Sky at Night', 'This Heaven', 'Then I Close My Eyes', 'Smile', 'Take a Breath', 'A Pocketful of Stones', 'Where We Start'. Disc Two: 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond', 'Astronomy Domine', 'Fat Old Sun', 'High Hopes', 'Echoes', 'Wish You Were Here', 'A Great Day For Freedom', 'Comfortably Numb'. Recorded live in Gdańsk, 26 August 2006.
Bonus CD has 12 live tracks from other concerts from the 'On an Island' tour: 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' (Venice, 12 August 2006), 'Dominoes' (Paris, 15 March 2006), 'The Blue' (Vienne, 31 July 2006), 'Take a Breath' (Munich, 29 July 2006), 'Wish You Were Here' (Glasgow, 27 May 2006), 'Coming Back To Life' (Florence, 2 August 2006), 'Find The Cost of Freedom' (Manchester, 26 May 2006), 'This Heaven' (Vienne, 31 July 2006), 'On The Turning Away' (Venice, 12 August 2006), 'Wearing The Inside Out' (Milan, 25 March 2006), 'A Pocketful of Stones' (Vienne, 31 July 2006), 'Where We Start' (Vienne, 31 July 2006).
DVD includes 114 minutes of concert footage, plus a 36-minute documentary. Tracks on the DVD are: the complete 'On an Island' album, 'A Great Day For Freedom', 'Astronomy Domine', 'Comfortably Numb', 'Echoes' and 'High Hopes'. Recorded live in Gdańsk, 26 August 2006.
The second DVD includes a 5.1 surround-sound mix of the 'On an Island' album, three new Barn jams and the following audio-visual tracks: 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond', 'Wearing The Inside Out' and 'Comfortably Numb' (from the Mermaid Theatre, 7 March 2006), 'On an Island' and 'High Hopes' (from the AOL Sessions, April 2006) and 'The Blue', 'Take a Breath' and 'Echoes' (from 'Live from Abbey Road', August 2006).
Memorabilia consists of: a reproduction postcard, ticket, backstage pass and artist's pass; a large double-sided poster, a guitar pick/plectrum and seven photographs.
Packaging details to follow.
- Five-disc vinyl version: Five LPs. With a 20-page booklet and web pass to download concert.
LP #1: 'Speak To Me', 'Breathe', 'Time', 'Breathe (Reprise)', 'Castellorizon', 'On an Island', 'The Blue', 'Red Sky at Night', 'This Heaven'. LP #2: 'Then I Close My Eyes', 'Smile', 'Take a Breath', 'A Pocketful of Stones', 'Where We Start'. LP #3: 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond', 'Wot's... Uh The Deal', 'Astronomy Domine', 'Fat Old Sun', 'High Hopes'. LP #4: 'Echoes', 'Wish You Were Here', 'A Great Day For Freedom', 'Comfortably Numb'.
Fifth LP includes 'On The Turning Away' (Venice, 12 August 2006), 'The Blue' and 'Echoes' (from 'Live from Abbey Road', August 2006), plus two Barn jams (recorded January 2007).
There are a couple of interesting releases this week:
Angels of Light - We Are Him The latest release from Michael Gira's post-Swans band. I've loved all of the past Angels releases and the early press on the release has given it great reviews.
"We Are Him is the most assured and relaxed Angels of Light album since the debut, and deserves to be considered alongside Gira's highest peaks. The frightening rage of old Swans surfaces several times, albeit in more bucolic clothing; the contrast is bracing. Lyrically Gira's constantly in-pocket, addressing his subjects with renewed agility, but also in a very relaxed voice; if De Sade had lived long enough to tell folk tales around a campfire, some of them might have sounded like this. The genuinely playful orchestration - banjos? horns? chimes? slide? check – is by turns charming and perverse, and has a band-of-brethren feel to it that's both ominous and exiting. The title track is like a pure shot of adrenaline. An intimate, unexpected masterpiece." - John Darnielle/The Mountain Goats
Blue Cheer - What Doesn't Kill You (CD) Who would have thought that Blue Cheer would still be touring and recording after 40 years? I believe this to be the band's first studio recording since 1991's Dining With Sharks. The band put on a great live show at NorthSix about a year or so ago so I would expect this to be a great disc.
Cro-Mags: The Final Quarrel - Live at CBGB (DVD) MVD has put out some pretty interesting stuff documenting the NYHC scene and this is no exception. This DVD captures the final Cro-Mags show (with both John Joseph and Harley Flanagan) at CBGB in 2001. As a bonus features, Amazon says that the disc includes a full set from Harley's War, Harley Flannigan's post Cro-Mags band.
Heaven & Hell - Live from Radio City Music Hall Dio-era Sabbath captured live on March 30, 2007 at Radio City Music Hall. This has been released as a 2-CD set and a (separately sold) DVD. Both this tour and this particular show got stellar reviews -- 'nuff said.
Killswitch Engage - "As Daylight Dies" (CD/DVD) The CD came out a month ago and is now being reissued with a bonus DVD and four bonus audio tracks. (I'd be p*ssed if I bought this a month ago). The DVD contains: "My Curse" video Making of "My Curse" video "The Arms of Sorrow" video Making of the "The Arms of Sorrow" video "Holy Diver" video (Dio Cover)
and the bonus tracks on the CD are: Be One Let the Bridges Burn This Fire Holy Diver
Pink Floyd - Piper at the Gates of Dawn (CD) There is both a 2-disc and a 3-disc version of the 40th anniversary edition of the first Pink Floyd release (w/ Syd Barrett).
The two disc version contains both the stereo and mono versions of Piper. The three disc version contains the same stereo/mono Piper discs plus a third disc of bonus tracks. The bonus track include all the Pink Floyd singles from 1967, ('Arnold Layne', 'See Emily Play', and 'Apples And Oranges'), plus the B sides 'Candy And A Current Bun' and 'Paintbox'. Other tracks are a version of 'Interstellar Overdrive' - previously only available on an EP in France - and the 1967 stereo version of 'Apples And Oranges'.
The Games for May concert, which took place at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on May 12th 1967, was one of the most significant concerts held by Pink Floyd. Described as a "Space age relaxation for the climax of spring - electronic composition, colour and image projection, girls and the Pink Floyd", the show has become one of the legendary events that many fans would love to have seen.
To mark the fortieth anniversary of the concert, a selection of musicians are recreating the concert in a pair of shows being held at the end of this month, at the venue which saw the original show.
The concert featured material from the band's debut album, "Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" (which came out later that year) and was a ground-breaking multi-media event. With a primitive yet revolutionary sound mixer, quadraphonic sound was used to wow an audience whose senses were already being assaulted by a light show, taped effects, on-stage carpentry, the distribution of hundreds of daffodils (which were trodden into the carpets) and bubbles filling the air (and stained the upholstery!).
Nick Mason once said of the concert: "I think Games for May was one of the most significant shows we ever performed".
Acknowledging this significance, a selection of "special guest artists" will be recreating the show on May 26th and May 27th, at 7:30pm each evening. The first night features Robyn Hitchcock and Graham Coxon, and the second, The Melvins.
Here is the set list for the show on the 26th and a list of the musicians who performed:
Mathilda Mother Flaming The Scarecrow Jugband Blues See Emily Play Bike Arnold Layne Candy And A Currant Bun Pow R Toc H Interstellar Overdrive Terrapin Love You Late Night Long Gone If It's In You (Wouldn't You Miss Me) Dark Globe Dominoes Wined and Dined Reaction in G Astronomy Domine Lucifer Sam See Emily Play
Robyn Hitchcock - Guitar, Vocals Kimberley Rew - Guitar Paul Noble - Bass Terry Edwards - Keyboards, Saxophone, Trumpet Morris Windsor - Drums Dan Woodgate - Drums Graham Coxon - Guitar Matthew Cullen - Guitar Isobel Campbell - Cello
Two nights ago, Barbican's Only Connect series hosted the show "Syd Barrett -- Madcap's Last Laugh" at the London Barbican venue. David Gilmour, Rick Wright and Nick Mason performed Arnold Layne together. While Roger Waters was at this gig, he performed separately and played a solo version of Flickering Flame. Waters also didn't join in the all-star finale performance of Bike.
You have to hope Gilmour can get over his anger. As Mason toured with Roger Water last year and I have seen bootlegs CDs in the Village advertised as Rick Wright joining Roger Waters onstage, the problem has to lie with Gilmour. It would be great to see the four reunite for one final recording and tour -- The Final Cut should not be the last word from this lineup of the band.
Kittie performed the title track from their new CD Funeral for Yesterday acoustic on WAMX, Huntington, WVA radio. I haven't heard the studio version but this track grew on me after a couple plays. (link)
Clutch are always a fun band. They just posted a cover of Pink Floyd's Money on their MySpace page which is available for download. The track is tagged as being a demo from 2003.
It was an interesting night at Northsix last night as all the bands were (predominately) all instrumental. Maserati drew the biggest crowd of the night with its brand of space/ psychedelic rock. Maserati's website describes the band's music as "Pink Floyd for hipsters...[t]his is stoner rock for the working man." I can't think of a better description. Just to be clear -- this isn't the Roger Waters era of Pink Floyd that the band is referring to. Maserati's sound goes straight back to the Syd Barrett/Piper at the Gates of Dawn era. Many of the tracks played last night would fit well along side of Pink Floyd tracks like Interstellar Overdrive.
Maserati hasn't done a show in the area for almost two years but they are returning next Sunday night (Dec. 10) for a Todd P show @ Uncle Paulie's.
Here is the scoop on Uncle Paulie's:
[ UNCLE PAULIE'S ] $2 beer! Uncle Paulie's is totally a temporary structure built out of blue canvas and two by fours and plywood on a slab of concrete next to the huge under-construction death star minaret upside-down hot-air-balloon lookin' sewage treatment plant in Greenpoint. During the daylight, men in hard hats eat fried food here. Totally patio, but totally inside! Easy to get to but so far out nobody cares! Noise & djs till the wee hours! $2 beer! Bring yr ID for the beverages. -- MYSPACE --> http://www.myspace.com/unclepauliesnyc
Maserati has a new CD/LP Inventions for the New Season due out in the Spring on Temporary Residence, Ltd. A couple tracks from this release have already been posted to the band's MySpace page. The pre-release tracks sound great and band's set last night was phenominal so this upcoming release will be something to look forward to.
I have a couple additional pictures from the show posted below:
I realize this has little to do with the NYC music scene but Syd Barrett's music was very important to a lot of musicians.
Daivd Gilmour is releasing a three song tribute to Syd as a digital download on Christmas Day. These songs will also be available as a limited 10" EP (in the USA) and a limited 7" (in Europe) as of Dec. 26th. (Don't sleep on this as the vinyl will likely sell out quickly). Songs on the EP are two versions of Arnold Layne -- one version sung by David Bowie and the other sung by Richard Wright -- and an acoustic version of Dark Globe.
David Gilmour announced on his website that the EP has been released today to BBC radio.
You can hear the very first play of the Arnold Layne single this morning on the Ken Bruce show (BBC Radio 2) between 9.30AM and 12 noon (UK time).You can listen live online or later via the BBC's 'Listen Again' feature. Look out for the great big purple buttons on the Radio 2 site.Do let us know what you think of it and, if you liked it, let your radio stations know that you want them to play it.The single has been added to Radio 2's B list. This means that you can expect to hear it about ten times during the course of the week. The more requests it receives, however, the more chance the single has of making it on to the A list, which means it will be played more often. Tracks on the A list receive the most plays (about 20 a week) compared to the B list's ten and the C list's five.
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