#crover decadent

[sniffin-the-infusion]

[worldsthree]

This week, on Three Worlds News:

Reports have come in from numerous sources claiming a misuse of authority by Maygarian law enforcement to bully small businesses into cutting prices for their officers. Maygarian security minister Tal-Kep-So promises to investigate these allegations personally.

Kessarn Wing Commando unit ‘Phoenix Fire’ has joined the history books as the second ever commando unit to complete the gruelling Esher Peak endurance course. The course is considered impossible by most, as the path passes right through a hyperactive superstorm region that has claimed 38 lives over the 40 decades the course has existed. An award ceremony is planned for the Phoenix Fire unit where each of them will be given a medal of accomplishment by the Citizens Council.

The Crovers Institute of Experimental Science on Hadesh claims to have made a breakthrough in hyperslip technology that could revolutionise engine design across the entire Federation fleet. Details so far have been kept quiet, but a press conference is apparently being planned by the Institute to showcase the new development.

That’s all the headlines from Three Worlds News this week, as always, stay tuned for more stories as they come in.

[riylcast]

Episode 507: Buzz Osborne (of Melvins)

Two years of pandemic couldn’t keep Melvins down. In 2021 alone, the group released a pair of LPS: Working with God and Five Legged Dog, their 24th and 25th, respectively. 

The latter found the band revisiting their back catalog with acoustic reimaginings of 36 tracks.

Last month, the group released the four-song EP, Lord of the Flies, a preview for yet another full length due out later this year. Frontman Buzz Osborne and drummer/bassist Dale Crover have remained the driving force for the band’s nearly 40-year history. 

Through the decades and a rotating cast of musicians, Melvins have remained a defiantly pioneering – and weird – force.

[noloveforned]

no love for ned on wlur – february 5th, 2021 from 4-6pm

artist // track // album // label jonathan richman // reno // ¡jonathan, te vas a emocionar! // rounder the telephone numbers // i took a walk (bzc version) // leviathan 7" // fruits and flowers mark's paranormal dysneyland // committee girl // mark's paranormal dysneyland cassette // eternal soundcheck folklore // the curse // the curse // (self-released) kiwi jr. // highlights of one hundred // cooler returns // sub pop * zipper // high war // dreamer's gate cassette // tenth court pom poko // like a lady // cheater // bella union * wake up // forever home // forever home 7" // decades nervous twitch // tongue tied // nervous twitch // reckless yes dale crover // shark like overbite // rat-a-tat-tat! // joyful noise * morgen // begging your pardon (miss joan) // morgen (remastered) // now-again sunn trio // love letter from jakarta // live in phoenix and other hungry ghosts cassette // unrock anna b savage // bedstuy // a common turn // city slang * yo la tengo // bayonne entering nyc // allen ginsberg's the fall of america- a fiftieth anniversary musical tribute // allen ginsberg project four units // ブラック・バス (black bass) // four units // le très jazz club harish raghavan // newe // calls for action // whirlwind visitors // origami // nature documentary // early future yazmin lacey // follow me // two takes 10" // (self-released) triathalon // you // sleep cycle // dead oceans makoto matsushita // love was really gone // first light // air r.a.p. ferreira featuring sb the moor // redguard snipers // bob's son // ruby yacht fana hues // lay up // hues // bright antenna * amor and lemur // unravel // amor/lemur ep // night school nina ryser // breathe again // paths of color // cowgirl sleaford mods featuring billy nomates // mork n mindy // spare ribs // rough trade * ground loops // i don't think he remembers // ground loops ep // rue defense nathan burgess // grand victory // jack in the green cassette // collected dust

* denotes music on wlur’s playlist

[strangersihavedrawn]

170ish albums/EPs you should have bought in 2017.

This year has been a strange one. After a pretty desperate 2016, our bubbles remain burst, our political systems are still in shambles, the planet is slowly dying. It’s business as usual pretty much, except this time all of our heroes are sex pests (Cue a bit of guesswork as to which album has been redacted from this list). Fortunately, business as usual means there’s too much good music to even keep track of, but I’ve done my best. So, without further faff, here’s my annual list in chronological order, with my featured album from each month in a doodle, as I am want to do.

January

04/01 Pink Guy - Pink Season (Self-Released) 13/01 Code Orange - Forever (Roadrunner) 13/01 Omar Rodriguez-Lopez - Roman Lips (ORL Projects / Ipecac) 13/01 The xx - I See You (Young Turks) 20/01 As It Is - okay. (Fearless) 20/01 When We Team Up - Shut Up and Fly (Self-Released) 20/01 WSTR - Red, Green Or Inbetween (No Sleep) 21/01 Palladino - Supersymmetry (Hembleciya) 27/01 Japandroids - Near To The Wild Heart Of Life (Anti-) 27/01 Omar Rodriguez-Lopez - Zen Thrills (ORL Projects / Ipecac) 29/01 On a Hiding to Nothing - Formaldehyde (Umlaut) 31/01 Push Over - Demo EP (Esque)

February

03/02 Less Than Jake - Sound The Alarm (Pure Noise) 03/02 The Menzingers - After the Party (Epitaph) 03/02 Smile and Burn - Get Better Get Worse (Uncle M / Grand Hotel Van Cleef) 10/02 Homebound - The Mould You Build Yourself Around (Rude) 10/02 Omar Rodriguez-Lopez - Chocolate Tumor Hormone Parade (ORL Projects / Ipecac) 13/02 Glowbug - Fantasma Del Tropico (Self-Released) 24/02 Broadbay - Five Year Plan (Hanger / Copper Top) 24/02 Crystal Fairy - Crystal Fairy (Ipecac) 24/02 Decade - Pleasantries (Rude) 24/02 Guillotine - Sapphire (Failure By Design) 24/02 Nightlife - Salt & Acid (Speaking Tongues) 24/02 Thundercat - Drunk (Brainfeeder)

March

03/03 Converge - Jane Live (Deathwish, Inc.) 03/03 Minus The Bear - Voids (Suicide Squeeze) 10/03 Can’t Swim - Fail You Again (Pure Noise) 10/03 Self Defense Family - Bastard Form b/w Maybe You Could Explain It To Me (Alternatives Label) 11/03 Atta Girl - Betty’s Begonia (Trrrash) 13/03 Traits - Limits (Self-Released) 17/03 Pulled Apart By Horses - The Haze (Caroline International) 17/03 Sorority Noise - You’re Not As ____ As You Think (Triple Crown / Big Scary Monsters) 17/03 Stolas - Stolas (Equal Vision) 17/03 Western Addiction - Tremulous (Fat Wreck) 24/03 Catch Fire - A Love That I Still Miss (Rude) 24/03 Coast To Coast - The Length of a Smile (Fox) 24/03 Creeper - Eternity, In Your Arms (Roadrunner) 24/03 Fucked Up - Year Of The Snake (Tankcrimes) 24/03 Great Cynics - POSI (Specialist Subject / GUERRILLA ASSO / Lame-O) 24/03 Lotus Eater - Lotus Eater EP (Self-Released) 31/01 Mastodon - Emperor of Sand (Reprise)

April

07/04 Blood Youth - Beyond Repair (Rude) 07/04 Father John Misty - Pure Comedy (Bella Union) 07/04 The Flatliners - Inviting Light (Dine Alone / Rise) 07/04 The Smith Street Band - More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me (Specialist Subject / Pool House / Side One Dummy) 14/04 Loathe - The Cold Sun (Sharptone) 15/04 Lost Avenue - Best Friends (Rustys Rekords) 16/04 Kendrick Lamar - DAMN. (Aftermath / Interscope) 20/04 Eternity Forever - Eternity Forever (Esque) 21/04 Bear Trade - Silent Unspeakable (Everything Sucks / Dead Broke / Waterslide) 21/04 Have Mercy - Make The Best Of It (Hopeless) 21/04 Self Defense Family - BBC Session (Deathwish, Inc.) 21/04 what gives - feels good (Skeletal Lightning) 21/04 The Winter Passing - Double Exposure (Big Scary Monsters / 6131) 28/04 Gorillaz - Humanz (Parlophone / Warner Bros.) 28/04 He Is Legend - few (Spinefarm) 28/04 New Found Glory - Makes Me Sick (Hopeless) 28/04 Thurston Moore - Rock N Roll Consciousness (Ecstatic Peace!)

May

01/05 X-TV - EXIT (Self-Released) 05/05 At The Drive-In - in.ter a.li.a (Rise) 05/05 Gnarwolves - Outsiders (Big Scary Monsters / Tangled Talk) 05/05 Mac Demarco - This Old Dog (Captured Tracks) 09/05 Self Defense Family - Wounded Masculinity (Triple B) 12/05 Gun Shy - The Long Dance (Wrong Way Round) 15/05 Jordan Mackampa - Tales For The Broken (Self-Released) 19/05 Employed To Serve - The Warmth of a Dying Sun (Holy Roar) 19/05 Higher Power - Soul Structure (Venn / Flatspot) 19/05 Miss Vincent - Somewhere Else (Uncle M) 19/05 Tigers Jaw - Spin (Black Cement) 26/05 Create To Inspire - Sickness (Basick) 26/05 Frenzal Rhomb - Hi-Vis High Tea (Fat Wreck) 26/05 Pet Symmetry - Vision (Polyvinyl)

June

02/06 ‘68 - Two Parts Viper (Cooking Vinyl) 02/06 Dystopian Future Movies - Time (Oak Tree) 02/06 Grove Street Families - VOL 1.0 (Venn) 02/06 Mutoid Man - War Moans (Sargent House) 02/06 Rainfalls - Creep (Self-Released) 05/06 EAT DIRT. - I (Self-Released) 08/06 Bares - Salty Kiss / In Lieu (Self-Released) 09/06 BROCKHAMPTON - SATURATION (BROCKHAMPTON / EMPIRE Distribution) 09/06 Donnie Willow - Exhibition (Sunbird) 09/06 Kamikaze Girls - Seafoam (Big Scary Monsters) 16/06 Broadside - Paradise (Victory) 16/06 Chon - Homey (Sumerian) 16/06 Color Film - Living Arrangements (Epitaph) 16/06 Faux - Faux (Speaking Tongues) 16/06 Fleet Foxes - Crack-Up (Nonesuch) 16/06 Harbinger - Human Dust (Basick) 16/06 Portugal. The Man - Woodstock (Atlantic) 16/06 Single Mothers - Our Pleasure (Dine Alone / Big Scary Monsters) 23/06 Aviator - Loneliness Leaves The Light On For Me (No Sleep)  23/06 Rozwell Kid - Precious Art (SideOneDummy) 23/06 Slowlights - I Try So Hard (Killing Moon)

July

07/07 Melvins - A Walk With Love and Death (Ipecac) 07/07 Puppy - Vol. II (Spinefarm) 12/07 Baggage - The Good That Never Comes (Self-Released) 14/07 Bad Sign - Live & Learn (Basick) 14/07 Fights and Fires - Live Life Like a Tourist (Lockjaw) 14/07 The Gospel Youth - Always Lose (Rise) 19/07 Listener - Being Empty: Being Filled I (Truth Seeker / Black Bassett / Smiths Food Group DIY) 21/07 Energy - The Witching Hour (Self-Released) 21/07 Tyler, The Creator - Flower Boy (Columbia) 21/07 Wot Gorilla? - Angel Numbers (Self-REleased) 21/07 Young Hunger - Wear Me Down (Self-Released) 25/07 Converge - I Can Tell You About Pain (Epitaph / Deathwish, Inc.) 27/07 MC Lars - The Jeff Sessions (Horris Records) 28/07 Manchester Orchestra - A Black Mile to the Surface (Caroline International) 28/07 Milk Teeth - Be Nice (Roadrunner) 28/07 Oceans Ate Alaska - Hikari (Fearless)

August

04/08 Dale Crover - Fickle Finger Of Fate (Joyful Noise) 04/08 Dead Cross - Dead Cross (Ipecac) 11/08 The Cribs - 24-7 Rock Star Shit (Sonic Brew) 11/08 Mush - Protect Your Brand (Skeletal Lightning) 18/08 Everything Everything - A Fever Dream (Sony RCA) 18/08 Wallflower - Where It Fell Apart (Self-Released) 24/08 Fizzy Blood - Summer of Luv (Killing Moon / Ayla) 25/08 BROCKHAMPTON - SATURATION II (Question Everything, Inc. / EMPIRE Distribution) 25/08 Queens Of The Stone Age - Villains (Matador) 25/08 Turnover - Good Nature (Run For Cover)

September

08/09 Comeback Kid - Outsider (New Damage / Nuclear Blast) 08/09 Death From Above - Outrage! Is Now (Last Gang) 08/09 Stray From The Path - Only Death Is Real (Sumerian) 08/09 Such Gold - Deep in a Hole (Bird Attack) 08/09 Angelo Badlamenti - Twin Peaks: Limited Event Series Original Soundtrack (Rhino) 08/09 Various Artists - Twin Peaks: Music from the Limited Event Series (Rhino) 15/09 The Apology Tour - This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things (Save Your Generation) 15/09 Arcane Roots - Melancholia Hymns (Easy Life / Red Essential) 15/09 Beaumont - Honestly (Reclaim Music) 15/09 Hot Water Music - Light It Up (Rise) 15/09 Seaway - Vacation (Dine Alone / Pure Noise) 22/09 The Bronx - V (Cooking Vinyl) 22/09 Caracara - Summer Megalith (Flower Girl) 22/09 Circa Survive - The Amulet (Hopeless) 22/09 Mastodon - Cold Dark Place (Reprise) 22/09 Metz - Strange Peace (Sub Pop) 22/09 Prawn - Run (Topshelf) 29/09 Primus - The Desaturating Seven (ATO) 29/09 Propagandhi - Victory Lap (Epitaph) 29/09 The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die - Always Foreign (Epitaph)

October

06/10 Citizen - As You Please (Run For Cover) 13/10 Beck - Colors (Capitol) 13/10 Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile - Lotta Sea Lice (Matador / Marathon / Milk!) 13/10 The Front Bottoms - Going Grey (Fueled By Ramen) 13/10 Iron Chic - You Can’t Stay Here (SideOneDummy) 13/10 Knuckle Puck - Shapeshifter (Rise) 13/10 Roam - Great Heights & Nosedives (Hopeless) 17/10 FUCK *(It’s Pronounced SHIT!)* - It’s Still Pronounced SHIT! (Self-Released) 20/10 Movements - Feel Something (Fearless) 20/10 Muskets - Chew (No Sleep) 21/10 Listener - Being Empty : Being Filled Vol. II (Black Basset) 27/10 Gold Key - Hello, Phantom (Venn) 27/10 Heavy Hearts - On a Chain (Failure By Design) 27/10 Jamie Lenman - Devolver (Big Scary Monsters) 27/10 Slaughter Beach, Dog - Birdie (Lame-O / Big Scary Monsters)

November

03/11 Converge - The Dusk In Us (Epitaph / Deathwish, Inc.) 03/11 Lifetight - Self-Tightled (Crooked Noise) 10/11 Listener - Being Empty : Being Filled Vol. III (Sounds of Subterrania) 10/11 Quicksand - Interiors (Epitaph) 10/11 Versus You - Birthday Boys (Noiseworks / G Chord) 17/11 Milk Teeth - Go Away (Roadrunner) 17/11 Onsind - We Wilt, We Bloom (Specialist Subject) 17/11 Valliers - Lost In Familiarity (Dream Atlantic) 24/11 At The Drive-In - Diamanté (Rise) 24/11 Björk - Utopia (One Little Indian) 24/11 Lightcliffe - For a While (Failure By Design) 24/11 Rain - Abstract Vision (Venn)

December

01/12 The Dear Hunter - All Is As All Should Be (Self-Released) 01/12 Glassjaw - Material Control (Century Media) 15/12 BROCKHAMPTON - SATURATION III (Question Everything, Inc. / EMPIRE Distribution) 15/12 Gun Shy / THE EAST / summerbruise / Superdose Gangway - BSR / OPR 4-Way Split (Beth Shalom / Old Press) 15/12 Lemuria - Recreational Hate (Turbo Worldwide / Asian Man / Big Scary Monsters) 15/12 N.E.R.D - No One Ever Really Dies (i am OTHER / Columbia) 21/12 Original Sharks - Hundred Grand to the Man (Self-Released) 26/12 Scum Couch - Ignorant Bore (Self-Released) Okay, that’s your lot. Now go away.

[daggerzine]

Redd Kross- BEYOND THE DOOR (MERGE)

There had been a 15 year gap between the previous Redd Kross LP (2012’s terrific Researching the Blues) and the one before it (1997’s Show World). This time it was only a 7 year wait and well worth it. Ok, let me be a little more clear, this record didn’t hit me over the head immediately like a lot of Redd Kross records have. In fact, I was a little unimpressed at first, but kept going back to it and then slowly…..song began sticking and now I love it (and just saw them last night where they blew the doors off the Gothic Theatre!). This lineup of the band include the founding McDonald brothers, Jeffrey and Steven,  and now they’ve got Jason Shapiro on lead guitar (a perfect fit!) and The Melvins’ Dale Crover on drums (and odd fit, as he’s a total hard hitter, but hey, it totally works and he’s pulling double duty on this tour as RK are opening for The Melvins so major props for that). Beyond the Door is really more of the same thing the band has been delivering for decades, crunchy hooky riffs and more pop culture references in the lyrics than old issue of Dynamite magazine. Also, could Jeffrey McDonald’s vocals have gotten better over the years?! Yes, I do believe that is true as he sounds fabulous (Steven’s no slouch in the vocal dept, either)! The record opens with a Henry Mancini cover of “Party” and they then blast right off into the killer, riff heavy “Fighting” and that is followed by the ebullient title track (“Yeah yeah yeah!”).  Elsewhere, ‘Ice Cream (strange and pleasing)”  is jangly psych pop of the highest order and Steven’s “The Party Underground” is pure first-pumping goodness and they end it all with a rousing cover of Sparks “When Do I Get To Sing ‘My Way’” which is a perfect way to end a record. 11 song in just over 33 minutes and I could take one of these records yearly by this band but that’s not gonna happen. Instead I’ll just appreciate it when they do appear and offer us some of their golden nuggets of music (also seeing the band last night it’s beyond great to see the band still have the same power, passion and love of rock and roll that they did when I first saw them in 1987). Huzzah! www.mergerecords.com

[jdrespling]

Pinkus Abortion Technician - MELVINS

Pinkus Abortion Technician – MELVINS

Pinkus Abortion Technician – MELVINS The eccentric entity known as the MELVINS has been around for decades, releasing dozens of albums and pressing through a variety of musical and cultural trends with its bizarre, one-of-a-kind music. At the core, two people drive the band: singer/guitarist Buzz Osborne and drummer/singer Dale Crover. Other folks have entered and exited a revolving door…

[ricardosousalemos]

Dale Crover/Melvins: The Fickle Finger of Fate/A Walk With Love & Death

After over three decades of drumming in the Melvins, Dale Crover has released a muffled, scattershot solo album. It comes on the heels of a new record from the Melvins themselves.

[rocknutsvibe]

Crover Gets His Inspiration From Paul McCartney

Dale Crover, inspired by Paul McCartney’s 1980 video for “Coming Up,” show his take on it entitled “Bad Move”

“We had a lot of fun making the video,” says Crover. “It’s a parody of a Paul McCartney video where he plays all the characters. It was shot on VHS, which makes it look very dirty and from a different era.”

The clip, which was directed by Adam Harding (videos for Warpaint, Best Coast), finds Crover popping up in multiple roles, as McCartney did decades earlier. Qui’s Matt Cronk, Altamont’s Dan Southwick (as the Birthday Party’s Tracy Pew) and longtime Melvins’ recording partner Toshi Kasai make guest appearances.

Crover has a busy remainder of the year, with North American Melvins’ tour dates stretching through early October followed by a recently announced double-header of the Melvins and Redd Kross (Crover plays drums in both bands) trekking overseas to both Europe and Australia. Dates are below.

Crover described The Fickle Finger of Fate to Rolling Stone saying, “it’s a no traps-bashing chops-feast, instead showcasing a melodic sensibility weaned on Sixties pop and Seventies arena rock, with no shortage of wild effects.”

Melvins/Redd Kross tour dates:

October 9 Bristol, UK Exchange October 10 Leeds, UK Brudenell Social Club October 11 Glasgow, UK SWG3 October 12 Manchester, UK Gorilla October 13 Birmingham, UK 02 Institute2 October 15 Antwerp, Belgium Desertfest October 16 Hamburg, Germany LOGO October 17 Copenhagen, Denmark Jazzhouse October 18 Goteborg, Sweden Pustervik October 19 Oslo, Norway Bla October 20 Malmo, Sweden Babel October 22 Berlin, Germany Festsaal October 23 Leipzig, Germany UT Connewitz October 24 Vienna, Austria Arena Wein October 26 Trezzo Sull’adda, Italy Live Club October 27 Zurich, Switzerland Rote Fabrik October 28 Schorndorf, Germany Club Manufaktur October 29 Cologne, Germany Gebaude 9 October 30 Amsterdam, Netherlands Paradiso Noord October 31 London, UK Electric Brixton November 3 Perth, Australia Amplifier Capitol November 4 Adelaide, Australia The Gov November 8 Melbourne, Australia Max Watts November 9 Sydney, Australia The Factory Theatre November 10 Fortitude Valley, Australia Crowbar

from Rocknuts http://ift.tt/2vm2kWT via IFTTT

[themusicenthusiast]

Album Review: ‘Crystal Fairy’ by Crystal Fairy

Somehow, Crystal Fairy winds up being one of the most surprising collaborations between musicians and also one of the most expected. To an extent, Teri Gender Bender, Omar Rodriguez Lopez, Buzz “King Buzzo” Osborne, and Dale Crover are some of the last people you’d expect to be in a project together, each having carved out their own distinct style during their respective careers. On the other hand, Bender (best known for fronting Le Butcherettes) and Lopez (of At the Drive-In and The Mars Volta fame) already have one collaboration together (Bosnian Rainbows); and Bender’s main project has done plenty of touring with The Melvins in the past, establishing that connection with Osborne and Crover. So in some ways, it was really just a matter of time before those four artists decided to join forces and let their creative juices flow in order to see what they could come up with. That joint touring served as the initial catalyst for what would come to be known as Crystal Fairy, the band’s name being derived from the song of the same name on their soon to be released debut, self-titled (and self-produced) record (due out February 24th via Ipecac Recordings). The variance in the near dozen songs that comprise Crystal Fairy is as broad and as extensive as the backgrounds of each of the musicians; Bender being the newest one of the bunch, and with a decade of experience, she still stands as a seasoned artist. The lead track, “Chiseler”, acts as a perfect, even brilliant introduction to this supergroup, setting the album off on a rip-roaring pace. Combining numerous elements of rock and metal (including multiple subgenres of the two categories), it settles on something heavy and somewhat sludgy sounding, particularly in regards to the percussion, which creates a mile a minute pace that brings out the best of the gritty guitars. Osborne gets a few moments to expand upon that prior to the final chorus, the droning shredding being apt for the utterly chaotic though exceptionally refined song that also caters to Bender’s ferocity as a frontwoman, her sheer intensity bleeding through the speakers as she puts everything she has into her singing. From the lyrical standpoint, it’s a slightly abstract song but one that paints a vivid picture through the enchanting descriptions that populate each and every line, it’s overall message that touches on life and the ultimate end everyone faces being easy to interpret.

“Necklace of Divorce” stands as one of the most interesting and intriguing songs on the record. For starters, it features a sharp change in the music just a couple of minutes in, some blues inspired rock riffs bridging things from an adrenaline pumping start to more of a lull as Bender showcases the more restrained side of her voice. It’s a gamble for any act to try such a feat, upending the traditional formula by completely changing the tempo mid song, though it works out here. Honestly, it fits perfectly with the distinctive and unique blend of music that is showcased on Crystal Fairy. The drums, bass, and guitar never fade from the experience during what comes across more as an extended bridge, more just lay in wait for their next chance to strike. That’s behooving of the story, which feels as if it’s about an overly needy relationship; Bender sounding exhausted and fed up with it all as she belts out lines like, “IT’S ALWAYS ME WHO DOES ALL THE RUNNING, BABY! …I’TS ALWAYS ME WHO DOES ALL THE HUNTING, BABY!”. As the album progresses each song brings something different to the table, “Under Trouble” taking more of a minimalistic approach. Its structure is something wondrous, taking the listener on a journey in itself. It sounds alien at times. From the repetitive though extremely mesmerizing chord progression that opens the song, lasting more than a minute and cultivating a trippy soundscape, to the barren verses that are carried almost solely by Bender as she taps into a rich tone and gingerly croons the words. Those portions make it sound otherworldly; the guitar, bass and drums suddenly roaring to life each time the chorus comes around. “Under Trouble” balances both the delicate and intense sides Crystal Fairy is capable of displaying, that blend of yin and yang so to speak being spellbinding on the intoxicating track. The subsequent track takes the band back into their unabashed rock glory, a light psychedelic flare even permeating “Bent Teeth”, which stands as nothing less than a tour de force. It only runs about four minutes though feels as if Bender, Osborne, Lopez and Crover have ran a marathon, the intensity level starting out elevated and only mounting as the seconds pass. To say it’s the best song on Crystal Fairy wouldn’t be an exaggeration, it’s appeal being vast as it allows the group to push their limits. The barrage of sturdy drum beats and pulsating bass riffs eventually give way to an all out assault from the guitar, a flurry of soaring and unhindered notes allowing the solo to secure a spot as one of the best in recent memory, while it also captures a fleeting sense of nostalgia. The record eventually draws to a close with a Christmas song (sort of), “Vampire X-Mas” being unlike anything anyone has probably heard before. It feels as if it’s shrouded in darkness, the music helping convey that perfectly during the slightly horror-esque song that finds Bender turning the typically jolly sounding “Ho, ho, ho!” into a spine tingling battle cry of “HO, HO! HO, HO!” The short bursts in which she shouts that catchphrase have a bit of fiery anger behind them, that venomous quality only aiding the potency of this quick song (it spans barely more than two minutes) that gets right to the point and doesn’t waste a single second of its precious time. Melodic through also gritty, it provides a solid end to the listening experience that winds up being just that: an experience. To say Crystal Fairy brings something to the table that isn’t currently out there wouldn’t be an overstatement. That’s one of the most marvelous things about the album, it carries influences of rock and metal as well as punk, psych and a few other genres. None of those may be new and granted, they have even been mixed with one another over the years, though they’ve never been combined in the ways that Crystal Fairy does with this debut. That’s what’s most impressive about the record, that this talented collective didn’t decide to simply stick with what has worked well for them in their past endeavors and instead have utilized this opportunity to flex their creative muscles, even step out of their comfort zones to an extent, and make something new. Not just new for them, but fresh in the vast spectrum of music itself, somehow finding new territory to explore as they add touches of familiarity to these eleven songs. It’s a superb album by any standard, but especially for a debut, the band already sounding assured of themselves and what they’re doing; the production value being exquisite, truly allowing everything to shine. There’s not even anything close to a weak spot to be found on it. There’s almost always one or two songs someone can find on any album that they don’t mind skipping over or just don’t care for to begin with, but not on Crystal Fairy. All eleven tracks are strong, almost flawlessly so, and are as engrossing as they come. Lopez, Osborne, Crover, and Bender take every step possible to ensure nothing ever sounds stagnant or redundant, no two songs being done in even a similar vein as they constantly demonstrate their creative prowess and further cement themselves as iconic figures that have each revolutionized music in their own way. While bringing their signature styles to the mix, they strove to make something unlike what any of them had been a part of in the past, succeeding at that, the result being one of the most enthralling albums in recent years. Pre-order Crystal Fairy on: iTunes | Google Play | Amazon MP3 | Bandcamp Visit Crystal Fairy’s websites: Facebook

Photo credit: David Goldman

[sniffin-the-infusion]

[sniffin-the-infusion]

picture of my cat

[sniffin-the-infusion]

been having a lot of fun with my mesmer :3