Drone Magazine

Indefinite hiatus

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Keating) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 09:27:00 +0000

Although it's been obvious for a while, I thought I'd put the official word up here that I won't be maintaining Drone for the foreseeable future. Call it an indefinite hiatus. I'm immensely busy with other projects and other parts of my life; truth be told, my attention has been pulled elsewhere for some time now, and I just don't feel the passion I used to for whatever it was I used to do around here.

For anyone who has stumbled upon this blog and is thinking of sending through anything - submissions, music, whatever... please don't. You're resources and energy will be better served somewhere more active.

Good night, good luck... for now, anyway.

Review: The Laurels - Mesozoic

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Keating) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 09:22:00 +0000

By Beth Keating.

The Laurels are one of those bands you wait for, patiently, devotedly, passionately. It feels excellent to hold their recently released e.p., Mesozoic, in my hands. For the last three and a half years, I’ve lived on long-ago recorded demos downloaded from the band’s myspace page; early tracks featured on the eponymous Sydney hey-day neo-psych compilation, Burn Your Fingers on the Sun; and sporadic mastered mp3s picked up here and there.

Mesozoic showcases the Laurels in their most current incarnation, and in so doing, demonstrates with full force how much they’ve has grown over the last four years. If you already know the band, you’ll likely be familiar with most of the material on the e.p. – of the six tracks featured on Mesozoic, the majority have existed in various forms of development for some time.

‘Black Cathedral’ is a brilliant introduction to the e.p. The track itself has changed substantially from it’s previous incarnation as part of the Shoegaze Demo a few years ago: it’s more confident, gutsier, harder – more self-assured. ‘Black Cathedral’ has always been hypnotic, but here it goes beyond bended, translucent shoegaze and blasts forward like a manifesto – an aural articulation of strength and focus.

Shoegaze seeps through all six tracks of Mesozoic, but the release offers glimpses of how the Laurels are not falling victim to a remarkably limited genre. Instead, they’re redefining it – participating in a kind of musical revisionism, blurring the lines between different facets of psychedelia and inserting their own idiosyncratic perspective. ‘Merry Go Round’ mixes Ride’s propelling, pent-up and exuberant energy with Storm in Heaven like vocals. Kate Wilson’s drumming stands out most on this track, guiding it, powering it, overriding it with a wonderfully primal energy. It represents one of my favourite things about the Laurels: total cohesion. The music isn’t just about the guitars, or the effects, the vocals or the band’s influences – the Laurels are the sum of their parts, completely democratic in creating a rich, dissonant product.

Mesozoic is a strong offering – anyone who has been following the band would expect nothing less. As a long-term fan of the Laurels, it’s fascinating and rewarding to actively watch and hear the band develop – something that this e.p. captures really well. What I’d ultimately like to see is an album – a recording with a distinct purpose and direction. It would be hard to fault any of the tracks featured on Mesozoic, but their strength exists independently rather than as a whole. The Laurels continue to get better and better; I’d like to see them produce the great Australian album I know they are capable of. It’d be worth the wait.

Release: The Warlocks - Enter at Your Own Skull Vol. 1

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Keating) — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 01:12:00 +0000

By Beth Keating.

Totally slipped my mind to post the link up to an expanding collection of demos, b-sides, unreleased material and alternate versions that Bobby of the Warlocks has put up for download on the band's Bandcamp page.

Get Enter at Your Own Skull here for five US bucks.

Film: The Ballad of Genesis and Lady-Jaye

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Keating) — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 01:07:00 +0000

By Beth Keating.
For the last few years, certain documentaries have screened in Melbourne focusing on a related set of figures absolutely essential to my cultural development: in 2009, it was the Brion Gysin documentary, Flicker; 2010 - William. S. Burroughs: A Man Within. This year's Melbourne International Film Festival hosts the Australian premiere of The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye - a documentary exploring one of the most central influences and inspirations in my life to date, Genesis P-Orridge, and his amazing relationship with his late wife, Lady Jaye.

Genesis is an epicentre, tying together the seemingly disparate countercultural obsessions that have played major roles in my development as an individual. Gysin and Burroughs; psychedelia; industrial and experimental noise; Brian Jones - even the Brian Jonestown Massacre; mysticism and the occult. Before I discovered Genesis, I never realised the link between them all. Genesis opened me up to correlation, interconnectedness. Much like Burroughs, he embodies a subterranean danger - completely unwilling to compromise, defiant of categorisation, unique, brave. Completely individual.

In my mind, Genesis is one of the most important countercultural figures of the last forty years. He's my hero, and I'll promote anything that assists in increasing his recognition and his influence.

For more information about the film, visit the official site here. For information specific to the documentary's screening at MIFF, visit the festival's site here.

Interview: The Black Angels

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Keating) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 05:03:00 +0000

By Michael Hartt.

After much anticipation, The Black Angels are finally touring Australia. It’s the first time the Austin-based quintet has played in this part of the world. As lead singer Alex Maas explains, the tour was long-overdue.

“Our first record, Passover, got released first in Australia -- before it was released in America. Seeing as though it’s been several years since that came out, it’ll be nice to finally get there.”

The group come to Australia in support of their third album, Phosphene Dream. The album marks somewhat of a departure from the band’s two previous albums. It’s their first album to come out through Blue Attic and it’s also the first time the band has worked with producer Dave Sardy (Oasis, Black Mountain, The Dandy Warhols). It also sees the band reign in length of the duration of both the tracks and the album as a whole. Maas says this was a means to explore new sides to the band.

“One of the things we wanted to do was, if you listen to a lot of psychedelic music from the sixties, a lot of the songs were short little numbers. It was like 2 minutes 30 seconds and you kind of get everything you needed to say out in that short little short amount of time. When we first started playing music we were more into extending the songs and being more patient with the songs and having a more droney aspect to the music. Our taste in music and our influences are all over the place so we’re just exploring a different side of our influences. It was kind of a conscious decision to make shorter tunes, you know, find the song within the song.”

Exploring different parts of their influences and their sound is something The Black Angels plan to continue doing.

“It was a new direction. In my opinion, it opened us up to do something different on the next record as well. If we could do something like Silver Apples, it would be just amazing. So the next record, which we’ve started writing songs for, it’s not going to be like the Silver Apples but if you could have elements of that or something else. If you listen to a band like them or Suicide, they’re still songs, but they’re just kind of like a groove.”

He adds: “Think about listening to Contact in the 60s or early 70s and you think ‘Man, these guys were way ahead of their time.’”

In between second album Directions To See A Ghost and Phosphene Dream, the band worked on a couple of other projects including a collaboration with UK electronic act UNKLE, on the track 'Natural Selection' from their most recent album Where Did The Night Fall. The venture came about after UNKLE contacted the band.

“It was the first time I’d ever done any kind of collaboration like that through the internet. It was an interesting experience and experiment. They would send files over to us and we’d say ‘These three songs are our favourite’ so we’d work on those. We kind of had a lot of creativity in terms of the ones we wanted to work on”, Maas says.

“We’d lay down guitar parts or organ parts or vocals and send it back to them and they’d make suggestions to us. It kind of went back and forth like that for a while. It was cool because it was an experiment and an interesting way to make music.”

Maas adds that there’s a chance more work between the two acts will be released in the future. “We’re still communicating. We have talked about working on some other stuff. When James was in town about six months or so, I went into the studio and recorded some vocals on top of another track that’ll be released probably this year at some point.”

As well as the work with UNKLE, The Black Angels have also toured as the backing band to former 13th Floor Elevators frontman Roky Erickson. There were plans to release an album with Erickson which remains unfinished.

“We recorded about ten tracks of his. His manager sent us about 60 unreleased Roky Erickson tracks. We got the opportunity to listen to them and choose our favourite tunes. We went to the studio and recorded them. We’d love to finish those and release them one day. It seems to be just an idea that fizzled out for some reason. It was a nice project and I think, for whatever reason, people kind of lost interest in the idea. Our idea was to make the lost 13th Floor Elevators record so we were using the same instruments and same gear they were using on Easter Everywhere. The record he released with Okkervil River -- surprisingly, some of those songs that we recorded ended up on that record but different versions.”

On top of all of this, Mass and the other Black Angels are heavily involved in the organisation of the annual Austin Psych Fest. In its fourth year, the three-day festival brought together about 54 acts from a broad range of musical backgrounds. This includes Australia’s Beaches and The Black Ryder. The initial idea for the festival came, Maas says, simply because no-one else was doing anything like it.

“We’ve met so many amazing artists touring around the world and we wanted to have a place for all of them to come play. Austin being one of the earlier homes for psychedelic rock music thanks to bands like 13th Floor Elevators. We initially wanted to re-instil the initial Vulcan Gas Company idea where tonnes of psychedelic bands would come through – but we wanted to do it in one weekend and show Austin what’s going on in the psychedelic community. We had Austin Psych Fest this year at this old power plant that was hallowed out. We had to bring in water and power to the site. It was a fun festival.”

“It’s been growing each year; this year was that largest year. I think other people have similar festivals and I think it’s great for the genre and great for the whole psychedelic community. You start associating yourself with other bands and playing with other bands [as a result]. It’s a rather small community but it’s growing rapidly. Psychedelic music is growing in terms of what it means. There’s so many different kinds of psychedelic music. You have surf psychedelic, garage bands; I would consider aboriginal music psychedelic, native american music. It’s all about what we think is psychedelic.”

As for this tour, Maas says people coming to see The Black Angels for the first time are in for something.

“The music has therapeutic elements to it. When we play the music it also has therapeutic elements to it and spiritual elements to it. What can people expect? Hopefully to be taken on some kind of journey. That’s kind of all I want them to do and to kind of be inspired to do something. That’s always a goal of ours.”

The Black Angels play the Metro in Sydney tonight (with support from The Laurels)and the Hifi Bar in Melbourne tomorrow night (with Beaches). Joining the band on this tour is Joel Gion, who will be DJ-ing at all shows.

Live: Dark Bells final shows

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Keating) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 01:36:00 +0000

The Dark Bells are a fantastic Sydney-based psychedelic band who are relocating to the UK. Before the big move, they're playing a few final shows - including two gigs in Melbourne over the next few days.

Forming in late-2009, the band features Teneil Throssel on vocals and guitars (formerly in Diamondback Rattler and The Black Astronaut Appreciation Society), Ash Moss on bass, keys and vocals (ex-Mercy Arms), and drummer Simon Parker (ex-Damn Arms). The band have plans to release a 7" on Low Records in the near future, and upon relocation to the UK will begin work on their first album.

For those who can't get to one of The Dark Bells final Aussie gigs, take a listen to 'The Mire', an unreleased demo the band kindly offered to share with us.

I'm going to try to make it to the show at the Night Cat tomorrow night, but am currently in the process of fighting off a fairly nasty cold. If I make it, I hope to see some familiar faces there!

The Dark Bells - The Mire

New: Dead Skeletons - Dead Magick

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Keating) — Sat, 21 May 2011 06:40:00 +0000

It's here - finally - the debut album from Dead Skeletons. I can't even tell you how long I've been hanging out for more than my Dead Mantra record and the clips I ripped from YouTube.

Dead Skeletons are the future of this genre - they're representative of an entirely new chapter of psychedelia. Most of the tracks you've probably already heard on YouTube, but isn't it grand to finally have them in one tangible place?

Purchase Dead Magick here.

A crisis of [self] consciousness

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Keating) — Wed, 18 May 2011 09:00:00 +0000

By Beth Keating.

I am hindered by a bipolar energy when it comes to writing: moments of passion-infused motivation followed by episodes of a confused, apathetic lethargy. There’s a question that keeps returning whenever I begin to contemplate focusing on Drone again – it’s simple and it’s insidious: What is the point?

When I started this site, I threw myself into a new world – with the hope that I’d be able to write about something I loved and meet new people who shared the same passion as me. I was ambitious, ultimately a tad bit arrogant, but I had a great time – encountering people spanning across hemispheres who became kindred spirits, exposing my ears to a whole bunch of amazing music.

Around about a year ago I began experiencing an identity crisis. Setting up Drone had given me a lot, but I felt myself changing, desirous of being able say something more solid, more developed. I have struggled with that ambition ever since.

I used to have passion for ‘music writing’ – but looking back over old material, I’d hardly call my content worthy of such a title. Now I’m not sure what role my voice has to play in the wider cultural landscape. Music is important, but my opinions are just an unnoticeable blip on a very crowded radar.

What is the point?

Despite battling the cynical view that music writing is an indulgent and irrelevant pursuit, a large part of me still believes in the power the form has in terms of historical documentation and cultural representation. But I’m tired and apathetic towards the standard review/interview/news-style beat of the music blog. This is the point at which I consistently keep finding myself, and I keep finding myself at a loss as to how I can move past it… and evolve.

The music we listen to – and that I try to represent on Drone – is amazing. And as such, it’s worthy of a type of analysis that extends beyond trite pop pieces that relay the same old, well-trodden information. There are so many avenues today from which to get your music information – I guess what I’m struggling with is what sets Drone apart. Going back into academia this year has strengthened my analytical skills and opened up an entirely new belief in my perspective. Ultimately this site began as an outlet for one person; over time it has welcomed a lot of different, wonderful voices into its fold. That’s where I’d like the point of difference to lie – a place where genuine expression is valued over timeliness or trendiness; a living documentation of passion and pursuit that grows, changes, evolves as its creators do. It’s not perfect, but it seems more real than presenting a replication of an already heavily replicated formula.

The new mantra for Drone Magazine will be: ‘No pressure, just passion’. What is the point? I think I’ve just defined it.

Thoughts on... The Better Beatles

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Keating) — Wed, 11 May 2011 11:50:00 +0000

By Brad Krohe.

Don't set out to raze all shrines, you'll frighten men. Enshrine mediocrity-and the shrines are razed.
-Ayn Rand

Central to all myths is a challenge - a person or persons overcome seemingly insurmountable odds to accomplish the previously impossible. They then become heroes, and because they are heroes they are worshipped by those who are not. A following soon starts. Their exploits are recounted. The tales grow larger. The renown spreads. Converts are won, and the Myth begins to influence and shape world-views. The Myth motivates-it is used to justify, to exclude, to identify. Thus is the gene pool for empires, nations, religions, sects, ideologies, etc. In the Free West, arguably one of the most dominant, pervasive and enduring Myth-driven forces to still impact day to day to lives is that of The Beatles. Placed upon a cultural mantel unequaled by any other musical figure(save maybe Elvis), a kind of Pax Beatlemania is firmly established among the first world nations. John Lennon once said: “Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me.” The same can be said for the idolatry of Beatledom. Don’t misread this. The importance and influence of The Beatles to their time remains unparalleled. Their ingenuity and pioneering paved a way. But how long should such celebration last, and to what extent? It is no stretch to say they owe some due, but is deification necessary? When is it appropriate for The Beatles to be placed on the shelf instead of on the pedestal? When will their relevance finally mutate into a footnote instead of The Book? 50 years of music and innovation have occurred since. And still, the Beatles paradigm dominates musician and listener alike, limiting imagination and possibility. It’s an unfortunate symptom that the in the realm of music, those who seek to sustain this glorification have actually diluted it, rendering what was once groundbreaking into something generic and common. In some circles, it’s fashionable to have a rewrite of Revolver as the core of your art. How often have you read reviews that include Beatles-based adjectives? Is this a limitation on the part of the reviewer/critic/listener or the artist? Have such general comparisons ever roped you into a senseless Beatles argument with a wide eyed acolyte who begins their sentences with “Yeah ,but The Beatles..?” Again, no one should discount the contribution of The Beatles. But at some point, the acknowledgement has to be enough so that art can continue on and not be bogged down in the stagnation of yester year. The mystification however obscures such distinction, and the two separate but related issues(that of what was and what is) are fused into one taboo. It’s a notion that has been adopted by scores of people who were not even born when The Beatles were still making albums. Cross someone who was, and the argument always ends with “you weren’t there.” Which always misses the point; the point being we’re here now. Out of this fervor a cultural Temple has been erected, a spot where worship is unceasing, where A Hard Day’s Night is a continuous rite, and the money changers await in the outer courts to sell the faithful yet another photobook, t-shirt, or compilation - successfully erasing any boundary between relic and memorabilia.

It was exactly under this cloud of fanaticism, that four kids from Omaha entered the Temple in
1982. They began to erode away the foundations---not just for the sake of sacrilege, not just to shock or provoke. Their blasphemy was deeper, more subtle. They simply did not believe.

For 12 weeks, the group that called themselves “The Better Beatles” took a Lennon-McCartney songbook and methodically deconstructed some of the most venerated tunes in popular music. What started off as just screwing around with some music while singing Beatles lyrics, turned into a direction for the short lived quartet. Recording 10 songs worth of material, and releasing a single (Penny Lane/I’m Down), they would only play a handful of shows before breaking up. Those 10 songs don’t qualify as 'covers' - they are nothing in the spirit of the original songs. They are the body without the soul. These interpretations carry only a synth, bass, standard percussion, and most notably a dry vocal delivery. No harmonies are heard here, no overdubs or serious production work. Lyrics are retained from the songbook and little else. The resulting work is something more 'accessible' than the No Wave label/comparisons attached to it, but it does bare some relation to those descriptors.

While it would be easy to dismiss The Better Beatles as novelty, their actions run deeper than a bad joke. It’s more along the lines of high satire; ridiculing, to expose truth. What The Better Beatles have done is demystify the cloud of mythos surrounding The Beatles. By taking The Formula and turning it on its head, we realise how often it is used, how much we hear it, and should wonder why that is. In the end, the four kids from Omaha playing 'oldies' parallel four kids from Liverpool who started their career giving treatment to 'oldies.' A kind of philosophical equation is drawn, stating that while the former was certainly not anything more than latter, they were definitely not anything less. In today’s world of 'instant' and 'buzz', perhaps that equation can provide us with a satisfactory answer to the question: When is praise founded on merit or simply driven on by its own impetus?

The Better Beatles - Paperback Writer

Thoughts on... The Neon Violets - The Search

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Keating) — Mon, 09 May 2011 05:39:00 +0000

The Search by The Neon Violets

By Beth Keating.

They've only released one song so far - and that was only recorded in February - but the Neon Violets have got me completely hooked. 'The Search' is imbued with a Spacemen 3-ish simplicity - hypnotic, repetitive, close to the edge. The band itself is only made up of two people - Joe on guitar, bass, synth etc, and Nell - the drummer. I reckon it's her playing that really sets this sound apart. It's immediate, at the forefront, almost garage in style... offering an interesting contrast with the deeply cerebral melody.

Recap: Austin Psych Fest 4

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Keating) — Mon, 09 May 2011 05:38:00 +0000

Words by Official APF Correspondent for Drone, Bret Zausmer (check out his thoughts on last year's festival here); images by Austin Shipman.

Well the brainchild of The Black Angels and the Reverberation Appreciation Society ended it's fourth round last week, and today I have finally regained my hearing and integrated my consciousness back into normal society. What started out at as a one-day fest in a small barn on Burnet Road in 2008, has officially exploded into a legit three-day festival with two stages, thousands of people and expensive drinks. I met people from all over the world this year, which was definitely a first. The venue was awesome. APF4 was held at our abandoned powerplant-turned-venue, Seaholm, which has been referred to as a "cathedral" of sorts.

The Austinist has an excellent recap of all the weekend's performances, as they clearly had someone sober watching everything. I would encourage y'all to check the reviews out at austinist.com. Dozens of bands traveled from near and far to put on amazing sets. I would like to talk about all of them, but below is my take on three performances that encompassed the weekend and this genre of music we all love.

The Past

Most agree that Roky Erickson is a legend of psychedelic rock. To us Austinites, he is the father of it all. It is truly amazing he is still playing, and even more amazing how good he still sounds. Sunday night Roky treated us to several Bleib Alien and 13th floor Elevators songs that captured the attention and respect of everyone at the venue. With a little help and guidance from his band, Roky's set went smoothly, and high schoolers in the crowd were just as entertained as the attendees lucky enough to have seen the Elevators in the 60s. As a fan, it was amazing to see Roky not only witness how his genre of music has grown, but actually take part in the fest. To top it off, during the concert I got a text message that Bin Laden was dead. Roky is such a good guitar player, it killed Osama bin Laden. Ridiculous.

The Present

Indian Jewelry kicked ass. The Houston band played Saturday before BMSR. I don't really know what else to say, as their show must be experienced instead of written about. The experience is my personal gauge for talent in psych rock. This year, Indian Jewelry wins the award for best experience. Tribal drums, schizophrenic guitar, and wild lyrics filled the room and left us wanting more. Proof of this can be found in my lack of a picture of the band. I would have snapped one, but I wasn't really thinking about pictures at the time...

The Future

The Night Beats have taken such a big leap forward this year, they pulled a hamstring (<---lame joke). The Seattle band opened the event on Friday. Lee, James, and Tarek are, in my humble opinion, a perfect example of the evolution psych rock. Hey it's an opinion, so it can't be bullshit, right? The Night Beats transported the crowd to another place and kicked off the weekend with such a talented set, it's safe to say they are here to stay. Seattle-based photographer Austin Shipman was there to capture the show, as seen in her photos throughout this piece. The Black Angels have said that they want their music to sound like it comes from "1965 and 2065." It is no surprise to me why members of the Angels are collaborating with the Night Beats for an album, as I feel both bands can walk that line perfectly. The UFO Club's first album should be out this summer alongside the Night Beats' first full length album.

These are just a few thoughts about the awesome weekend. BMSR, Spectrum, Beaches, Sleepy Sun, Bass Drum of Death, etc, etc, etc, all did an amazing job and deserve their own articles, but I'm starting to get flashbacks and must stop writing. I would like to thank The Black Angels and The Reverberation Appreciation Society for another great year, and I want it on the record that Beth, our glorious DRONE Mag creator, has committed to attending APF5. I strongly encourage you to join us. Until next year...

Black Angels Australian Tour!

noreply@blogger.com (Drone Magazine) — Fri, 06 May 2011 06:24:00 +0000

Finally! The Black Angels are coming to Australia! I've been waiting for this for about... four years now.

Dates:

Thursday 31st June - Hifi Bar, Brisbane
Friday 1st July - Metro, Sydney
Saturday 2nd July - Hifi Bar, Melbourne

Joel Gion will be joining the tour as a special guest, providing his services as a DJ at the three shows.

FUCKING YES!

Did you see this?

noreply@blogger.com (Drone Magazine) — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 10:16:00 +0000

As in, this... As in, news that the Warlocks are taking a break. Bobby insists that it's not permanent - 'the band isn't broken up... it's just broken'. Such a way with words.

A few years ago, I listened to these guys relentlessly and I know there are a lot of bands out there who wouldn't exist if the Warlocks never happened. I revisit their music regularly - their catalogue is surprisingly diverse. I loved the last recorded release, 2009's The Mirror Explodes - incredibly melancholy, desperate, teetering...

Best of luck to Bobby and the members of the Warlocks in whatever it is they pursue next. Rest, revive and relish in the knowledge that you did some great work.

Thoughts: The Triumphs - Surfside Date

noreply@blogger.com (Drone Magazine) — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 10:51:00 +0000

By Brad Krohe.

If you want to hear one of the most ferocious, raving, soothsayings uttered from the instruments of garage and man, then feast your ears on The Triumph's classic 'Surfside Date'. Containing an assault rifle clatter of drum line and quite possibly the wildest guitar work of 1964 (barely predating Los Saicos, etc.), 'Surfside Date' is pure prophecy; it was to foretell Punk. The keen tempo, the near cretin pronunciation of the lyrics, the teenage brush-off stance... these are the kind of Chauvet drawings that would someday make the Mona Lisa happen. To add to the dizzying tunnel vision of the SPEED, a psychotic saxophone bawls away on this tune. Like all things so far ahead of the curve that they drop off into obscurity, The Triumphs found no success with 'Surfside Date'. Pressed as a single, legend has it that there were so many copies laying around that the band's manager started giving them away -- for free with the purchase of a pizza at the restaurant he owned. The Triumphs soon disbanded and disappeared. The seers went silent. But their deranged divination remains etched in vinyl.

You can find 'Surfside Date' on Back From The Grave Part One. But if you're the kind of cool kitty who always goes the extra hip mile, the good souls at Norton Records have reissued the entire four song catalogue of The Triumphs (in a compilation they call The Surfside Date EP) for an astonishingly low price of $5.

This Friday, I'm attending...

noreply@blogger.com (Drone Magazine) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 07:57:00 +0000

The EP launch of awesome local space-psych rock act, The Ovals...

Cherry Bar, Friday 25th March with support from Mary of the Moon and Tehachapi...

I've heard the EP, Into the Eyes of Those Who Sleep. It's great - and further, these guys are fantastic live. See you there?

Thoughts: The Third Bardo - Five Years Ahead of My Time

noreply@blogger.com (Drone Magazine) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 11:33:00 +0000

By Beth Keating.

As critics and adulators have likely already pointed out, ‘Five Years Ahead of My Time’ couldn’t be a more apt title for The Third Bardo’s only released single. The song itself is an exquisitely crafted melange of garage, psychedelic and rock sounds -- even more impressive when considered in context of the band’s short life span, resulting in only one recording session ever. 1967 was the year that psychedelic broke big across America -- contained in the uber-60s legend of kids dropping out, moving west, and taking up the mind-twisting sounds of the new generation with overt dedication. New York’s The Third Bardo aren’t your typical 60s psych outfit though -- much more understated, sophisticated and subtle than most of the sounds the West Coast was producing. ‘Five Years Ahead of My Time’ is psychedelic in every way -- the incessantly head-fucky guitar that circles throughout the track represents that desire to go further that all good psychedelic music should reach for. It moves seamlessly into a gutsy and subversive garage riff that issues more of a visceral challenge to the listener than any kind of idealism. On top of it all is something almost proto-punk -- a primal energy conveyed largely through the throaty desperation of lead singer, Jeff Monn. Recent writers have compared his voice to Jagger -- I think it bears more resemblance to Eric Burdon. It’s gutsy, unafraid, and unapologetic. There are no obvious (or obviously shrouded) lyrical references to the most typical elements of psychedelia -- still, it didn’t stop the track from being banned from radio airplay not long after it was released. Listening to the song over forty years after its release, you can still feel the danger that must have led to the song’s blacklisting. With ‘Five Years Ahead of My Time’, The Third Bardo didn’t even have to court controversy to create it -- the creepiness is embedded tightly, entirely within.

'Five Years Ahead of My Time' can be found on the reissue of Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965-1968; Pebbles Volume 3; and the 10" release of Five Years Ahead of My Time 6-song EP through Sundazed.

Thoughts: JAMC - '33 1/3'

noreply@blogger.com (Drone Magazine) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 11:24:00 +0000

By Brad Krohe.

There is a myth, albeit a fantastic one, that a goes along the lines of a French police inspector once hearing his daughter play Psychocandy. Six months later, The French were using sonic “aids” in their interrogation techniques and peddling prototype sound cannons on the international weapons market.

Direction, resurrection, religion, space to live in, evolution, solution—these are the things Jim Reid lists off as not having in the J & M Chain gem '33 1/3.' And yet, the song is exactly all those things; a direction, a resurrection of sorts, a statement of religion, a creation of space to live in, a personal evolution culminating in a solution. Building with sole tone, then adding an organ and percussion, the song kicks it on the line “Baby I get high.” Dropping off again to tell of his lack of belief, reaction, and satisfaction, the guitar/fuzz/noise hits it again to emphasise the lack of satisfaction. This is excellent shoegaze. “Don’t need love, don’t need Jesus, don’t need anybody…but myself.” What is striking about this song is the thread of self-realisation, the slow incline of awareness that ends with epiphany. While others may view this as a nihilistic self absorbing loop of a pity party, it can also be read as hopeful. Self-centeredness may be the scourge of our era, but in this case there is room to think something good will come of it. Don’t need anybody but myself; here self is problem and solution. The disillusionment, the drugs, the overall numbness and flatness--these ultimately are issues with a lack of impetus, a resignation to let problems bother you. As the frequencies fade out at the end of the song, what I take out of that is the loop has completed, that suddenly possibility has arrived.

You can find '33 1/3'on the 1995 B-side compilation, Hate Rock’n’Roll.

Live: Lowtide

noreply@blogger.com (Drone Magazine) — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 06:46:00 +0000

Two gigs this weekend in Melbourne, both featuring the justifiably hyped Lowtide, officially kicking off for me a good month or so of great live music.

Friday 14th January - The Workers Club with The Dark Bells
Sunday 16th January - Yah Yahs, joining Iowa for their two week mini-residency and 7" launch

I'll definitely be attending the Worker's Club gig, as I'm super keen to check out the Dark Bells whom I've heard amazing things about. Sunday's show should also be a good'un - unfortunately my chances of attendance are slim as I'm welcoming in a new housemate that night.

I'd like to take this very vague opportunity to re-proclaim my dedication to blogging! I know it's a statement I've made a few times over the last six months, but I'm hoping that the constant purge of my personal life will be left firmly behind in 2010. I have some very exciting projects lined up for the next twelve months, which I hope to share with you very soon.

EDIT: Oops! The Dark Bells show is next Friday night!

New Year's Eve at The Tote

noreply@blogger.com (Drone Magazine) — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 04:45:00 +0000

I held off making any plans for New Year's Eve until late last week, in the hope that something super amazing would come my way.

Thanks to Heathen Skulls, my wish has been granted. My rock hero, Kim Salmon, will be welcoming in 2011 with The Surrealists at The Tote. Afterwards, San Diego psych stoners, Earthless, will be headlining.

It's going to be an absolutely ideal way to celebrate the occasion.

$20 at The Tote; doors at 7pm.

2010 in review

noreply@blogger.com (Drone Magazine) — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 00:25:00 +0000

I wasn't planning on making a list that summed up the musical highlights of the last 12 months... In a lot of ways, music became supplementary in my life, rather than a prominent focus. Nonetheless, I did get a fair bit of listening in (nowhere near as much as 2009, but I'll have to let that fact fade peacefully into the ether), and I did manage to enjoy a fair chunk of amazing music.

Here are my aural highlights of 2010:

1. Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky
2. Brian Jonestown Massacre - Who Killed Sgt. Pepper?
3. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Beat the Devil's Tattoo
4. The Lovetones - Lost
5. The Black Angels - Phosphene Dream
6. Autolux - Transit Transit
7. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
8. Christian Bland and the Revelators - The Lost Album
9. Unkle - Where Did the Night Fall
10. Slight of Build - In Your Gun (EP)
11. White Noise Sound - Self-titled

What made your year?

New Release and Launch: Slight of Build - In Your Gun

noreply@blogger.com (Drone Magazine) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 08:48:00 +0000

Slight of Build's second EP, In Your Gun was recorded live over three days at Head Gap Studios in 2009, before the departure of drummer, Andrew Polydorou. The percussionist's exit delayed the band's original plans to release the EP, as well as taking them off the live scene for a few months.

In Your Gun marks heavier territory for Slight of Build. As guitarist and vocalist, Paul Hornsby, explains, "Sound-wise, these songs dip into psych territory a bit, which is different from [SoB's first EP] Collide. We were really interested in giving some prominence to tambourine and percussion and some delays on the vocals, on top of reverb. We were hoping to create mood in the songs a bit more, just with little ideas that have an impact that might be almost imperceptible or accidental when listening casually. But ultimately, the songs still pretty much revolve around our basic love of distortion, reverb, delay and melody."

Produced by Toby Baldwin, and with a new drummer added to the line-up, Slight of Build are eager to share In Your Gun."I think this EP is much better than Collide," says Paul. "We were able to record it in a really good studio with the right producer - recording it live made a big difference to the feel of the songs. The band was in better form, and the songs are a lot stronger. I think those who liked the first EP will still be with us on this one, and hopefully those who didn't get into the first one will get on board now."

Slight of Build will be launching the In Your Gun EP at the Curtin band room this Friday night (19th November). Supporting the band are Buried Feather and Lowtide (formerly Three Month Sunset). To hear a sample of material on the EP, head over to the band's myspace page. In Your Gun is a great EP, and tomorrow night is going to be a great show!

INTERVIEW: The Black Angels

noreply@blogger.com (Drone Magazine) — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 03:27:00 +0000

Image by Bret Zausmer.

New contributor, Alex Hancock, recently caught up with Christian, Alex and Kyle from The Black Angels in London...

Tell me about the title for the new album, Phosphene Dream. There seems to be a link to visual stimulus, related to the effects of LSD or ecstasy?
Christian: And DMT. We’re done reading this book DMT: The Spirit Molecule. The title Phosphene Dream comes from one of Alex’s friends but to me it took on a life of it’s own. Do you know much about DMT?

No. I’ve not taken it.
Christian: It’s naturally occurring in our bodies. In the book, Rick Strassman proposes that it’s released from the pineal gland, which is in the centre of the brain. When the sexual organs develop the pineal gland develops at the same time and DMT is secreted. It’s also secreted when you die.

It’s one of the most psychedelic things. We smoked it and it pretty much puts you on a different dimension, an alternate reality. Strassman’s theory is that the universe is made up of about 95 per cent dark matter and five per cent what we have here, that 95 per cent we don’t have a clue about and when you take DMT you’re transported into the dark matter realm. Pretty much what happens is initially you see kaleidoscopic imagery and bright colours, this is whether your eyes are open or closed, and if you go through the colours all of a sudden you see beings, some people describe them as looking like reptiles, insects, clowns, elves. But they help to guide you through and if you follow them then you can reach a mystic state where you can start figuring things out in your life that you’re having problems with.

So it’s a different level to other psychedelic drugs?
Christian: I think it’s a different dimension; like TV - right now we’re on one channel but when you take DMT you go to another channel completely. I don’t think it’s a recreational type thing at all.

It’s spiritual.
Christian: Yeah, it’s called 'the spirit molecule’. It’s very spiritual. That for me is part of the meaning of Phosphene Dream.

So it’s related to your experiences with DMT?
Alex: For me that would be an after applied thing. I think one of the best descriptions of Phosphene Dream is seeing light when light isn’t there and I like that idea the most. To me it’s not as much about the drug side of it.

Christian: I wouldn’t even call DMT a drug! I think the word ‘drug’ has bad connotations in society - ‘he’s a druggy.’ I would call it a sacrament. It’s a naturally occurring chemical within the body.

A lot of bands such as The 13th Floor Elevators and Spacemen 3 openly endorsed drugs and there’s a strong connection between their music and drugs. How do you experiment with sounds and texture to recreate the sensations of certain types of drugs?
Christian: Music naturally induces states that these drugs create. I think music is a spiritual connection. Growing up in the Church, my dad was a preacher, I find the same connection through God as I do through music.

Kyle: I always try to scare myself with sounds; plugging shit in, effects, fuzzes, reverbs, delays and using them together to make new sounds. It’s not really a drug induced thing for me but finding those places where you trip yourself out when you’re not actually tripping. I don’t like to talk about drug use but one of the best times I’ve ever had was taking mushrooms and plugging in everything I had through studio monitors and making a 70 minute drone, freak out thing; it was so much fun and it felt so connected. There can be a connectedness between being on a specific drug or chemical, whatever it may be, but just experimentation alone can be enough.

Alex: There’s an artist named Alex Grey and he talked about what you do in expression of the drugs you take; it's about the art that comes from you after you take the drugs and how the art describes what you’ve learned during that experience - not about the experience itself or having fun. If people understood that, I think the word ‘drug’ would go away and it would be more of a sacrament kind of ideology. So many people use drugs recreationally -- that’s fair enough they can do whatever they want -- but I think the most beneficial thing is to do something with those experiences that you have, it doesn’t have to be art, something positive.

How does the material develop, through improvised rehearsals or is there a fixed idea for a song before you play it with the rest of the band?
Christian: I would say half of the songs on the new album were created out of jams, where we were just improvising and then we refined it and created parts for the song. I would say maybe the other half were ideas brought in beforehand, individual songs.

Like ‘Telephone’? It’s very reminiscent of early Yardbirds, Zombies 45s.
Christian: Yeah, exactly. Eight out of the ten of the songs were written in Texas before we recorded the album. That song was actually written in Los Angeles at the time when we recording. I’d just bought a new Rickenbacker 12-string, I picked it up and all of a sudden that song rolled out of it, it’s like it was waiting in the guitar to be exorcised out. If I hadn’t bought that guitar that song wouldn’t exist.

You curate your own festival, Austin Psych Fest. How did that opportunity arise?
Christian: It came about through touring, really. We’ve been touring since the end of 2005 and we met so many bands along the way that the idea had been brewing to gather all of them together in Austin, the place where psychedelic music began. It’s amazing that there wasn’t a psychedelic festival in Austin beforehand. The first Psych Fest was in March 2008, that was a one-day event on Saturday; we did it the week before SXSW so we could get bands that were coming to play SXSW. The second year we ended up flying in bands just for the festival such as A Place To Bury Strangers and Dead Meadow and then they flew straight back out. Every year it’s grown, we’re already starting to book for it now. We’ve been trying to get three bands to play since the beginning - Clinic, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, so we’re hoping to get some of them this year. We’d love to get Spiritualized to play and Sonic Boom.

How important is touring to bands now?
Christian: Very important. I see bands in Austin who never tour outside of the city; they get caught in a rut and the message doesn’t spread. Seeing the band live makes them more real for me; when I listen to a band’s album and then I go and see them play those songs live it just makes me enjoy the music that much more. It’s crazy to to think that in the 60s the quickest way to connect to people or book a show was via the telephone. Our first tours were completely booked through Myspace. We would find bands in Arizona who we’d want to play with and set up a show with them then find a band in Los Angeles. Touring is one of the things that keeps us going and even that’s getting tough now. Now the merchandise and the LPs that we bring out are what helps to sustain us.

You worked with Roky Erickson, lead singer of the 13th Floor Elevators. How was that experience?
Christian: Amazing. We’d seen him play live in Austin several times but it was more his solo stuff instead of the the 13th Floor Elevators material. So when we were asked to play with him we wanted to play more of the old stuff. That turned out to be a challenge because he hadn’t played those songs for a long time.

He didn’t remember them?
Christian: During the first two practices we tried to do ‘Rollercoaster’, we’d start it up and he’d be like ‘I don’t remember this one,’ so we invited him to our house to sit down and play the songs acoustically. We had a music stand with the lyrics and the chords so that he could remember them. We did this for about two weeks, twice a week and it started to come back to him. We were eventually able to play the first five songs from The Psychedelic Sounds Of... album. It was almost like a resurrection of the 13th Floor Elevators, we had the electric jug rolling. We’ll be putting a DVD out later this year of our gig together at the El Ray in Los Angeles on Halloween Night 2008.

What about the other members of the 13th Floor Elevators?
Christian: Tommy Hall came out to our show in San Francisco.

Kyle: That was really interesting.

Alex: Yeah he was interesting to talk to. He kept talking about this theory that he had about how he was going to explain the universe. He was mumbling a lot, apparently he doesn’t leave his house much and he’s kind of a hermit. A lot of those ‘psychedelic casualties’ are hanging around San Francisco still. He had his own theories about a lot of stuff. He kept telling me about this one band that was going to change the world called Mammoth. I went and looked it up and it was heavy, dark, heavy metal. He was explaining about how they were experimenting with sounds that no-one’s even touched yet.

Christian: If you read the liner notes on the first 13th Floor Elevators record it says things like ‘Rollercoaster explains the ride that one will achieve through englightenment,’ and ‘Since Aristotle, man has organized his knowledge vertically and now through new chemical means man can finally put his thoughts horizontally’. It’s this whole psychedelic philosophy that he started to develop.

And that philosophy was a big part of the 60s drug culture.
Christian: Yeah, he literally thought LSD was the answer to finding a new form of knowledge. In the 13th Floor Elevators Tommy didn’t have any instrument apart from the electric jug but he wrote most of the lyrics and his idea was that LSD could fix humanity. They would take it at every show and they would schedule several shows in one day so that they could be on LSD for the whole time. What I’m getting at is this philosophy, when he walked in that day in San Francisco he was talking about how he had expanded that and had found the meaning of life. He was trying to explain but he didn’t really get to the root of it.

Who would you choose to work with next If you could work with anyone?
Kyle: I would love for us to do an album with Phil Spector, but I don’t see that happening while he’s in jail. I’m excited about working with Richard Gottehrer who runs our label, he wrote ‘My Boyfriend’s Back’ (The Angels) and ‘I Want Candy’ (The Strangeloves). It’d be cool to work with someone like Thom Yorke, I like the space that he has in his music.

Thom Yorke is influenced by a lot of electronic music. What are your thoughts on the influx of computer based technology in music?
Kyle: I think it makes things easier but you have to be aware of the pitfalls. With the UNKLE collaboration ['Natural Selection' ft. The Black Angels] we learned how easily we could work across continents. We had Alex’s computer for Skype and we had my computer for the recording. With the six hour time difference they would just be getting going and we’d be getting tired or vice-versa. They’d play it, then we’d work on it and then send it back to them; then they’d listen to it and talk to us on Skype and be like, ‘Yeah, yeah that’s getting there.’ In the old days they’d have to take the tape reel, pack it up nice and mail it to do that kind of stuff.

Alex: I believe that a lot of people don’t care about that when they listen to a record. I bet about 80 per cent of people wont care what kind of guitar you’re playing, who you’re ripping off, who you’re inspired by. People are so mindless about the music that they listen to.

Do you use the Internet to it’s full potential or do you prefer to stick with the LP format as a product and for the artwork?
Alex: You need to get your music to as many people as you can. We recorded on tape the other day, we might record something on a digital format tomorrow. I think it’s important to have respect for the older kind of stuff. The first time I started buying any kind of music, I’d buy something because it’d look cool, I’d never even heard of it and around 60-70 per cent of the time I’d like a couple of the tracks on it.

Christian: It’s great that the LP is making its way back. The CD is just too small, I think the representation of what you find in an album, the visual and the audio should be integrated.

Thoughts on... Phosphene Dream -- The Black Angels

noreply@blogger.com (Drone Magazine) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 11:37:00 +0000

Phosphene Dream is a compelling record for two standout reasons. Firstly, the Black Angels have altered their compositional format considerably. Phosphene Dream feels like a blink of an eye compared with the band's previous two full lengths, at only 35 minutes in duration. Gone are the drawn out drones of Passover and Directions to See a Ghost. Phosphene Dream is a consistently tight collection of three to four minute tracks. This change in format isn't something for long-time fans to despair over: the Black Angels haven't discarded their past. They've pushed themselves into new territory.

Critics, fans and curious listeners seem eager to place the Black Angels at the top of a box labelled 'psychedelia'. For years, we've been hearing about a scene on the verge of exploding -- and since the release of the band's debut album, the Black Angels have been bestowed with the honour of leading the charge of acts set to bombard the mainstream any minute now.

It's hard to take such grandiose claims like these seriously when a solid psychedelic scene has never ceased to exist (at least somewhere in the world) since the genres inception in the 1960s. More so, claims like these trivialise what bands like the Black Angels are actually achieving. A major misconception surrounding current psychedelic music is that it's for lazy dropouts with their heads stuck in the past. The Black Angels easily defy this stereotype. Throughout their relatively short career, the band's passion for the genre has extended beyond live shows, tours and recorded releases into the community-building celebration of Austin Psych Fest and Christian Bland's incredible psychedelic screen printing.

Phosphene Dream cements the Black Angels ambitions and further disintegrates that psychedelic stereotype. Each component of this album feels intentional. In a recent interview, Alex Maas noted the band's desire to break through beyond exclusive airplay on college radio, to find a wider audience. The new label, the condensed material, the producer -- the entire composition of Phosphene Dream seems designed to meet this aim. It's easy to take a superficial listen to the album and write it off as simply another exercise in psychedelic pastiche. A deeper probe proves it is actually much more solid. Phosphene Dream is a cohesive achievement that manages to both cover new ground and embody the aesthetic the Black Angels have carefully cultivated over the years. Frequent shifts in direction throughout tracks prevents the listener from ever getting too comfortable. It requires adjustment at first; after a few listens, the whole album sounds so natural.

Ambition is nothing to be frightened of. It's a concept that pushes us to go further than we otherwise would. It's a drive which enables us to charter new ground. It's inspiring and it's satisfying. By utilising the trait, the Black Angels have shown that psychedelic songwriting is more than a stoner's attempt at art. It can be serious business. As a result, they've begun peeking through doors many of us may have never thought of attempting to open.

Interview: The Lovetones

noreply@blogger.com (Drone Magazine) — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 10:24:00 +0000

By Michael Hartt.

The word ‘lost’ conjures up many ideas. A feeling of distance, isolation, confusion. The sense that you are directionless. It also could refer to getting lost in one’s own world. It’s this last concept that permeates through the fifth album for The Lovetones.

It’s a melancholy, often introspective work that has an autumnal feel to it. Even the cover, by noted artist James Marsh, has a look reminiscent of changing seasons.

Lost was recorded over studios on both sides of the Pacific with the help of some long-time allies including Rob Campanella (BJM/The Quarter After), Liam Judson (Belles Will Ring) and Miranda Lee Richards. The additional personnel brought a new perspective to the sessions.

"It was great collaborating with them, especially recording parts that I hadn't even thought of. I called up Miranda Lee Richards to do the duet and she was happy to come down and be part of it. Ryan from Asteroid No.4 was staying with Rob Campanella at the time we recorded the LA tracks and I needed an extra drummer apart from Chris Cobb in LA, so we used Andy Campanella from Chief Nowhere."

He adds, "I usually have a good idea at the time of what I specifically want for each song, but if someone comes up with something that I like, I will generally go with it."

The transitional feel may not be coincidental; leader Matt Tow left Sydney behind for the Blue Mountains during the album’s recording.

"I think we all went through some big changes in our lives; seems to happen to most people, the older they get," says Tow, "It definitely has put a new perspective on things. Life is a little slower; you don't get caught up in the hustle of city living. There seems to be more time and space to do things and to reflect. I'm yet to start writing up here, but I’m sure that when I do, this new lifestyle and reflection about my life up to this point will come out in the music."

Following launches in Melbourne and Sydney for Lost, the band will be heading to the US for a tour. Unlike a lot of bands, who struggle to get out of their local area, The Lovetones have made themselves a regular fixture outside of Australia on their own terms. Tow says that it can be done, you just have to take a considered approach.

"What I tend to tell everyone who's thinking about touring overseas, is to find like-minded bands and just start talking with them. The only way to do it is to become friends with bands that are willing to let you open shows for them. It's no use trying to get the big record deal over there and do massive crazy tours to start with. It's too expensive and soul-destroying. It’s just a matter of going back all the time and doing the smaller shows and building things up; like here I suppose. You need to find a community of like-minded people and keep touring and putting records out, even if you just sell them at shows. There’s no easy way to do it. Hopefully, after some time, you can build a reputation for yourself and start to gain greater interest."

With that greater interest in mind, I ask Tow if there were any effects from the band’s cameo on the truly appalling ABC "comedy" I Rock.

"Just after it happened, a few guys yelled out my name at a couple of bars in Surry Hills. That's why I prefer the anonymity of living in the mountains. I try and let the music speak for itself."

In spite of being called a "Beatles wannabe troubadour a-hole" in the script, Tow’s acting was a lot better than most of the real thespians through the series. Is it a new direction?

"I would love to, even though I was terrified! I think I was drunk the whole time but, hey, if anyone wants me, then my availability light is on. But there are always projects, always new songs and always tours. It never ends. Life goes on."

Gossip and garbage

noreply@blogger.com (Drone Magazine) — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 04:45:00 +0000

Ladies and gents, I'm in a bit of a pickle. I need your help. I need your guidance. I need your way-more-advanced knowledge to show me the way. I'm in some kind of trouble.

So, last week I got my mitts on the new Black Angels album, Phosphene Dream... and I'm confused. What have I missed? What AM I missing? Has my prolonged absence from regular consumption of modern psychedelic music removed a particular part of my temporal lobe? Am I dying?!

Probably nothing so dramatic, as I had a gun of a time at the Lovetones album launch at Ding Dong on Friday night. A generous ingestion of cheap beer certainly added to the festivities, but I'll lay most of the responsibility of 'fun times inc' on the music itself. Opening act Priory Dolls piqued my interest with some of that hypnotic darkness I love so much seeping through various tracks. Sand Pebbles were fucking awesome -- especially their last track (it could have extended another 45 minutes and I'd still be raving). The Lovetones were generously wonderful -- as usual. It only twigged afterwards how much we should be cherishing this band. I've never been disappointed by a Lovetones gig -- their energy on stage reaches way beyond aural entertainment into subliminal territory. And that is psychedelic. These guys are easily -- and I can't believe it's taken me so long to realise this -- my total favourite, number one, top of the ladder live act. Here's hoping their new album is a massive success and just rewards are on the way.

This online space has started reading a little like a personal blog, which I'm psyching myself up to change. The next stage of Drone -- and my writing by default -- is something a little more challenging, which is basically scaring the shit out of me. The more you write, the easier it gets, but it's still an immensely personal endeavour that eludes perfection. My personal hindrances have started to settle down, and dude, I'm ready to start contributing again. In the next few weeks, I'll start letting some order grace these pages once again.