-=- SHGZ -=-
* Shoegaze * Indie * Post-Rock * Grunge * Dream Pop * Psych-Rock * Ethereal *
ARTIST..: Weird Owl
ALBUM...: Interstellar Skeletal
GENRE...: Psychedelic Rock
YEAR....: 2015
LABEL...: A Records
COUNTRY.: USA
PLACE...: Brooklyn, New York
ENCODER.: FLAC 1.3.1 -8 -V
BITRATE.: 921 kbps avg
QUALITY.: 44.1kHz / 2 channels
SOURCE..: CD
TRACKS..: 9
SIZE....: 295.06 MB
URL..: http://www.weirdowl.net/
- TRACKLIST
1 Interstellar Skeletal 2:19
2 Silver Ziggurats 3:32
3 God 6:35
4 Split From The Sun 4:26
5 Fine Vibrations 8:16
6 White Werewolf 6:43
7 Flying Fortress 6:19
8 You Are A Spacecraft 5:01
9 Interstellar Skeletal II 0:42
Total Playtime: 43:53
NOTICE: Track 9 'Interstellar Skeletal II' is not listed on back cover.
http://www.allmusic.com/album/interstellar-skeletal-mw0002844089
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WIF8NOU/ref=dm_ws_sp_ps_dp
http://musicbrainz.org/release/00407a8a-2884-4a5d-9ff2-782d10ac79c2
*
Following their 2013 mini-album Healing (AUK 108CD/LP), Weird Owl are back in
2015 with a full-length titled Interstellar Skeletal. For the first time
since their formation in 2004, Weird Owl have kept the same lineup for
consecutive releases, and Interstellar Skeletal reveals further explorations
into the psychic canyons mined on Healing. Their psychedelic postcards are
written in the cosmic breathiness of the synthesizer and the alien ululations
of a guitar tuned to secret frequencies, rumbling through the ages on
illuminated rhythmic grids. Each track on Interstellar Skeletal serves as an
interdimensional portal to free zones beyond the usual terrestrial veil,
whether it is via odd jungle shamanism ("Silver Ziggurats"), the WWII bomber
as spiritual metaphor ("Flying Fortress"), death personified as an albino
lycanthrope ("White Werewolf"), or the unsettling might of an
extraterrestrial deity crashing a beach picnic ("God"). Interstellar Skeletal
was recorded and mixed by Jeffrey Berner (Psychic TV, NAAM, Dead Stars) at
Galuminum Foil Studio in Brooklyn in the fall of 2014, following Weird Owl's
first-ever European tour. Although neither meticulously aped nor mindlessly
conjured, the familiar influences of Spacemen 3, The 13th Floor Elevators,
and The Brian Jonestown Massacre continue to find a home in Weird Owl's
music, perhaps mostly in spirit form. Weird Owl was formed in Brooklyn, NY,
in 2004 and has released two full-length LPs on Tee Pee Records, a mini-album
on 'a' Recordings, Ltd. and several self-released EPs, including 2007's
Nuclear Psychology. Their presence and longevity in the New York psych scene
has garnered international attention and they have shared stages with bands
such as The Brian Jonestown Massacre, White Hills, NAAM, Graveyard, King
Tuff, Hopewell, Earthless, The Lovetones, Sleepy Sun, Assemble Head in
Sunburst Sound, Quest for Fire, Spindrift, The Black Angels, Spectrum, Wooden
Shjips, and others, including at the 2011 Austin Psych Fest and the 2014
Eindhoven Psych Lab in the Netherlands. As of this release, Weird Owl is John
Cassidy (bass synth/bass guitar, synth), J. David Nugent (synth, vocals),
Sean Reynolds (drums), and Trevor Tyrrell (vocals, guitar, synth). Anton
Newcombe states: "The message is one of cosmic harmony and simplicity. The
perfection of geometry and above all, beauty. Sometimes the messenger is a
man and sometimes the messenger is an owl."
*
Now a decade into their career, Brooklyn's Weird Owl return with Interstellar
Skeletal, their fourth LP of cosmic, psych-inspired rock. As on their 2013
mini-LP Healing, Weird Owl continue to explore the more improvisatory, stoner
rock spectrum of what has, at least in the 2010s, become a bit of a psych
rock revolution. But while many younger bands are busy marrying the first
wave of mid-'60s psychedelia with textural post-Flaming Lips electronic pop,
Weird Owl continue to forge their own path of serious prog and Kraut-indebted
experimental rock that manages to live just outside of trendiness. A mix of
spacy, meandering guitar jams strewn with Pink Floyd-ian synth backdrops like
"Flying Fortress" and the strong title cut, the album also introduces some
nice acoustic textures on the the dreamy "Split from the Sun" and the brief
coda "Interstellar Skeletal II." In keeping with their earlier work, the
vocals remain somewhat buried under the waves of effects-laden guitars, not
unlike early Spiritualized. It's a solid release with the quality
musicianship and experimental nature fans have come to expect of Weird Owl,
and while it may not break a lot of new ground, it remains true to the band's
spirit.
-=- SHGZ -=-
P.S.
** Thanks ***
*** BCC FNT IPC SSR ***
*** For Knowing Where The Music Is At ***
*** Props to CaHeSo, awesome Asian Indie/Shoegaze ***
*** And to FANG/HOUND for supporting all the Indie lovers out there ***
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* NuHS we miss you! *
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