geeetars

From the album Daughter of Everything, out February 25, 2014 on Merge Records.


Daughter of Everything

Buy from Merge

Vertical Scratchers "These Plains"

When the needle hits the grooves of We Are the Star People, listeners instantly drift away to a celestial arena where endless stacks of amplifiers drench and bathe them in sonic overdrive bliss. The doors of the cosmos stretch open upon a spiritual haven where Tony Iommi and Ace Frehley freely trade guitar licks with Marc Bolan and George Harrison. Majestic, timeless and epic—Turn Me On Dead Man conjures the fantastic-ness of the nebulas with power-chords so heavy and melodies so sweet.  While the band frolics in a lysergic glam rock playground, their songs touch on things much deeper and more surreal. Does the title track refer to native Americans invaded by outsiders or is it a play on the Hollywood star mentality? The mighty “Dreamchild” is a pure pop song of redemption; “Deep Space Pollen” is space rock at its finest with druggy vocals yearning to understand the UFO / alien abduction phenomenon. “Let Them Eat Flowers” is psychedelic perfection, and “Heart of the Deaf,” the most traditional tune on the album, provides a free tarot reading with every play. We Are the Star People encompasses what analog is all about—an album born for the LP format, a document for the ages that needs to be held in one’s hand. Recorded on two-inch tape like a record should be, turn it up loud, burn out and head into space at warp speed. Is it the ’70s? Is this the ’90s? No man, it’s now!

Turn Me On Dead Man - Dreamchild

Part 2 of my Magic Waves, Berlin set. I had a sense that by this point in the night the crowd were, uh, feelin' kinda high, so it maybe reflects that a bit. It's a tad more all over the place and a little less doomy than the first part.

JD Twitch Live at Magic Waves Summer Festival, Berlin 2015 (Part 2 - So High set)

Wiccans - Automaton

Dj Speedway's set for Scorpio Alliance Official SXSW showcase at Plush

Scorpio Alliance X Dj Speedway SXSW Showcase

Eaters - Embrace The Strange

Eaters - No Secret

DT019 - PILL - Aggressive Advertising
Street date: Fri, June 30, 2017

http://www.stereogum.com/1945472/pill-pina-queen/premiere/

PILL - Piña Queen

DT019 - PILL - Aggressive Advertising
Street date: Fri, June 30, 2017

PILL - Side Eye

PILL - Afraid Of The Mirror

Daybreak tends to creep up on you. Emerging from starry darkness, the sun wobbles at first but proceeds on its scheduled arc. You can’t help but wonder if it ever looks back in disbelief, or regret.  This feeling of self-reflection—of looking back to see how far you’ve come—is precisely the sentiment of Thawing Dawn, the first solo record from A. Savage, released on Dull Tools.

The songs on Thawing Dawn form a guided tour through the romantic environs of A. Savage’s mirrored mind. While some were written recently, other tunes were penned over the past decade. For one reason or another, these compositions didn’t land with any of Savage’s other groups, and instead are presented now as a distinct collection. Reflecting back, Savage says, “Once I realized I had a small body of work that didn’t fit anywhere else, I started to examine the commonalities: What’s the common denominator of all this and how I can expand on it?”

Savage is best known as the frontman for Parquet Court, a duty split with fellow Texan Austin Brown. Their last record, Human Performance, delved into the emotional wreckage of a broken heart, to critical acclaim.  But with Thawing Dawn, it’s clear that Savage has matured. While assembling the record, he fell in love. Now, for the first time, we hear songs about being on the inside of love. Rather than lamenting the end of a relationship, we hear a voice trying, in the moment, to make sense of love’s mysteries. “Part of this maturity,” he says, “is reflecting on something when it’s happening, not just when it’s gone.” 

Thawing Dawn gives us honesty: We see the artist at home in bed, more singer-songwriter portrait than esoteric statement. Throughout his discography Savage has long abbreviated his first name as a kind of writerly gesture. He says, of the move, “I am an uncivilized member of modern civilization--I’m just a savage.” Like Duchamp’s R. Mutt signature on a urinal, the shortening embodies a mischievous directness, enabling this savage to introduce his slanted honesty into the universe.

“I always like it when records are good representations of communities,” Savage says, and this one succeeds in this regard. These ten songs were recorded between December 2016 and June 2017 by a cast of friends in Jarvis Taveniere’s Thump Studios in Brooklyn. Members of Woods, Ultimate Painting, PC Worship, EZTV, and Psychic TV all lend their talents.  Savage’s voice, once shouted into mosh pits, now glides confidently above its backing band. Thawing Dawn marks the arrival point for Savage as a sensitive and skilled vocalist.  A strain of rural inquiry tinges the soundscape, an ongoing trope in Savage’s writing most powerfully felt on Parkay Quart’s ballad “Uncast Shadow of a Southern Myth.” On this record it is stronger, with a healthy helping of pedal steel guitar, a chorus of female back-up vocals, four familiar chords, and maybe the truth, all layered throughout these songs. Their titles also steer us this way, but don’t fully convey the hidden intricacies. “Buffalo Calf Road Woman” opens the record in a burst of C&W energy.  The staccato pop piano of “Eyeballs” lays crisply beneath a refrain of heartbreak. “Wild Wild Horses” finds him confessing inside a Talk Talk bubble of guitar static and organ. The build-up of “What Do I Do” yields a guitar freak out that Parquet Courts fans will recognize. You could two-step to the swing of “Phantom Limbo.” “Ladies from Houston” is a Leonard Cohen-like ramble through a party scene. Finally, the title track is a suite of three interwoven songs that closes the record in a beautifully cinematic style. 

Throughout, A. Savage delivers one-off lines of razor-sharp observation that will stick in your brain, only to surface when you’re least prepared to handle their insights. When you put your copy of Thawing Dawn on your turntable and drop the needle, you’ll learn what A. Savage has to say about romance in our modern world. Keep your ears open--it’s worth hearing.

- Jack Murphy

Wild, Wild, Wild Horses

DJ Speedway - 420 Player Mix (A Scorpio's Dream)

From the album MCII, out May 7 (US) and May 13 (Europe) on Merge Records.
http://www.mergerecords.com/store/store_detail.php?catalog_id=929

MCII

Mikal Cronin "Shout It Out"

"Carolina" is from TEEN's EP of the same name.

http://teentheband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/teentheband

TEEN - Carolina

Pokey LaFarge and his band bring a focus and energy to the American Roots genre with infectious original material that sits at the crossroads of early jazz, country blues and western swing. With his effortless charisma and distinctive charm, Pokey has crafted a genre all his own--and one that extends well beyond the music alone. Summertime is the right time for Pokey's sun-blessed riverboat style, and we are proud to release this self-titled full length LP / CD produced by Old Crow Medicine Show frontman Ketch Secor. 

Purchase the CD/LP here: http://thirdmanstore.com/pokey-lafarge-12-vinyl-or-cd

PILL - Afraid Of The Mirror

DULL TOOLS

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