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CD
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CLOUDS 116CD
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In Juankoski, the nights are either very, very long. Or very, very short. Right here in the middle of Finland's vastness, surrounded by a thousand lakes and impenetrable woods, life has an altogether different rhythm. NEØV pick it up, add their heartbeat and carve pure music out of it. Music that bears the magic of Finnish nature and yet resonates with the pulse in the United States, in France, in Germany, or in Australia. This unique mélange makes NEØV one of the most exciting indie pop discoveries Finland has to offer -- and their new record Volant a true game changer. For Finland, but also for NEØV. "Two worlds got under our skin when growing up in Juankoski at the turn of this century", vocalist and songwriter Anssi Neuvonen recalls. "I remember getting lost in the lake when the early morning fog rose, and I also remember growing up with MTV which brought fast-paced international phenomena into our lives. These extremes collide in our music nowadays." Without a doubt. Their dreamlike indie sound is floating two feet above ground; as fragile as a shiny bubble and as unfading as an intense dream. True magic, woven by two brothers Anssi and Samuli Neuvonen. "We're feeling lucky, and we're proud of each other", Anssi says. Their modus operandi needs no words, flows effortlessly, intuitively -- the key being they were never actually forced to play music. "That wouldn't have worked! But growing up in our parent's house which was full of records from Bowie to progressive rock to Pink Floyd as well as instruments, it all happened rather naturally." Discovering new worlds, that's what this band is all about for the two brothers. And not only for them: Also Ari Autio, third part of the trio, is eternally aiming for new horizons. After quite some years as a quintet, Volant is their first step as a threesome. And a big step it will be. Diverse, layered, fascinating and brim-full with that very special bittersweet aura present in every piece of Eastern Finnish folklore: NEØV are indeed delivering a unique brand of indie pop. Precious arrangements, fragile guitar work, enticing loops and beats, echoing piano -- a game changer, we said it before and we say it again.
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LP
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CLOUDS 116LP
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LP version. In Juankoski, the nights are either very, very long. Or very, very short. Right here in the middle of Finland's vastness, surrounded by a thousand lakes and impenetrable woods, life has an altogether different rhythm. NEØV pick it up, add their heartbeat and carve pure music out of it. Music that bears the magic of Finnish nature and yet resonates with the pulse in the United States, in France, in Germany, or in Australia. This unique mélange makes NEØV one of the most exciting indie pop discoveries Finland has to offer -- and their new record Volant a true game changer. For Finland, but also for NEØV. "Two worlds got under our skin when growing up in Juankoski at the turn of this century", vocalist and songwriter Anssi Neuvonen recalls. "I remember getting lost in the lake when the early morning fog rose, and I also remember growing up with MTV which brought fast-paced international phenomena into our lives. These extremes collide in our music nowadays." Without a doubt. Their dreamlike indie sound is floating two feet above ground; as fragile as a shiny bubble and as unfading as an intense dream. True magic, woven by two brothers Anssi and Samuli Neuvonen. "We're feeling lucky, and we're proud of each other", Anssi says. Their modus operandi needs no words, flows effortlessly, intuitively -- the key being they were never actually forced to play music. "That wouldn't have worked! But growing up in our parent's house which was full of records from Bowie to progressive rock to Pink Floyd as well as instruments, it all happened rather naturally." Discovering new worlds, that's what this band is all about for the two brothers. And not only for them: Also Ari Autio, third part of the trio, is eternally aiming for new horizons. After quite some years as a quintet, Volant is their first step as a threesome. And a big step it will be. Diverse, layered, fascinating and brim-full with that very special bittersweet aura present in every piece of Eastern Finnish folklore: NEØV are indeed delivering a unique brand of indie pop. Precious arrangements, fragile guitar work, enticing loops and beats, echoing piano -- a game changer, we said it before and we say it again.
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2LP
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CLOUDS 136LP
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It is one of those nights in a pub; open mic-session, having a few pints and Tom meets Evan Beltran who is causing a stir as The Strangest. Being on the same wavelength doesn't even closely describe what happens next because both of them are the perfect match. They share the same heroes from the cultural history and they have the same ambitions. The Mexican guitarist and the half British/half German songwriter decide to join forces that same night. Suddenly, it all falls into place: Tom has the songs, Evan the drive to complete them. Together, they push each other to higher levels. Good songwriting, attitude and rough guitar sounds make their live performance stand out. Along with their band they play handmade rock n' roll, following the path of Oasis, The Libertines, and The Clash. Together, they have now recorded their debut album at the Clouds Hill Recordings studio in Hamburg, where also Peter Doherty once recorded, a huge inspiration for Tom from the very first beginning on. The bandwidth of the debut goes over snotty rock n' roll anthems like "2 Fingers Up" or "Emergency Call", to more serious tones as in "Know It All", the last single. On this double-LP, the debut Dear Boy is here together with the live album Live At Clouds Hill. The live album captures wonderfully the thrilling live qualities of the band. The live version of "Sing A Song" will be released digitally upfront. Tom Allan & The Strangest, the future of rock n' roll? Who knows? And most of all who cares? What is sure is that -- Tom Allan and Evan Beltran -- want to bring back honest energy, melodious hook lines wrapped up with rough guitar sounds, melancholy and most of all attitude to the pop world. Two highly talented young musicians and lyricists who can take the best from the recent history of music and modernize it and transport it to the present age. Until now, this is the last chapter of this romantic story and one hopes it is going to continue forever, as with all good stories.
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CD
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CLOUDS 111CD
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The story of Tom Allan, whose song "Sensation" made a BBC moderator describe him as "the modern day Billy Bragg" starts off in Bury St Edmunds, a small town in the east of England. Tom grew up as the son of a German mother and a British soldier. His fifth birthday present is a drum kit. A couple of years later he takes lessons. When Tom comes home from school, he often finds piles of CD's, cassettes and vinyl records from acts like Elvis Costello, The Clash, Sex Pistols, and Stereophonics on the dinner table with a post-it from his father saying "Listen to this!". Later on Tom teaches himself to play guitar, bass, harmonica and piano. Listen closely because this boy has some stories to tell! Tom is now 25 years old and he has shared stages with the Undertones, Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols), TV Smith, and The Ruts. Tom is a skinny, good looking and well-dressed young man. His accent reveals his working-class heritage and not only visually, he would fit in the line-up of British guitar-bands like The Libertines or Arctic Monkeys. This is where the story of Tom Allan as a solo artist ends, but it marks the beginning of Tom Allan & The Strangest! It is one of those nights in a pub: open mic-session, having a few pints and Tom meets Evan Beltran who is causing a stir as The Strangest. Being on the same wavelength doesn't even closely describe what happens next because both of them are the perfect match. They share the same heroes from the cultural history and they have the same ambitions. The Mexican guitarist and the half British / half German songwriter decide to join forces that same night. Along with their band they play handmade rock'n'roll, following the path of Oasis, The Libertines, and The Clash. Together, they have now recorded their debut album, Dear Boy in Hamburg. Are Tom Allan & The Strangest the future of rock'n'roll? Who knows? And most of all, who cares? What is sure is that they, who dream of bringing back honest energy, melodious hook lines wrapped up with rough guitar sounds, melancholy and most of all attitude to the pop world, are highly talented young musicians and lyricists who can take the best from the recent history of music and modernize it and transport it to the present age.
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12"
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CLOUDS 114EP
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12" version. Long Beach, Southern California. Whilst nearby Los Angeles is where dreams are shattered, in Long Beach, people are getting on with their lives. Matt Wignall has been living there for years, runs a studio, seeks out old equipment to repair and prides himself in making it sound better than it ever did before. He produces bands such as Cold War Kids. With them, Wignall has recorded tracks such as "Hang Me Out to Dry" and "Hospital Beds" with a sound that is to die for. So the interesting question is: Why does a musician who has such an understanding of sound and such awesome equipment not have his own band? Now he has got one: Wargirl. "I knew I was capable of recording and writing good music. But the idea of being in some band where there's four guys playing and one of them singing lead just seemed incredibly boring to me," Wignall says. He likes listening to Santana's early records, Afrobeat recordings by Fela Kuti, the psychedelic masterpiece Forever Changes by Love (1967), the '70s psych funk masters War (who happen to also be from Long Beach!), as well as reggae, disco, garage rock, and post-punk. "One day the thought occurred to me that really what I should do was to get to know people and set up a band with them that would combine all of these aspects." So he went out, into town, down to the beach and realized: Actually, I already know all of these people, I just need to ask them. Looking at the band one immediately notices that the make-up of this band also makes a socio-political statement. There are three women and three men, each with colorful biographies, and they are playing music that is from all over the world, yet could only have been invented in California. Wargirl knows that the situation elsewhere in the US is totally different. "That's why we want to take a stand, want to show: There are still people who are different, who are open and not interested in commerce. We're still here!" Wargirl's music doesn't carry clear messages. "First and foremost, the songs should be fun and make you dance," Wignall says. But there is another layer hiding behind this. "It's like The Clash. They could be consumed as a party band-- but also as a source of information for revolutionary thoughts."
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CLOUDS 114CD
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Long Beach, Southern California. Whilst nearby Los Angeles is where dreams are shattered, in Long Beach, people are getting on with their lives. Matt Wignall has been living there for years, runs a studio, seeks out old equipment to repair and prides himself in making it sound better than it ever did before. He produces bands such as Cold War Kids. With them, Wignall has recorded tracks such as "Hang Me Out to Dry" and "Hospital Beds" with a sound that is to die for. So the interesting question is: Why does a musician who has such an understanding of sound and such awesome equipment not have his own band? Now he has got one: Wargirl. "I knew I was capable of recording and writing good music. But the idea of being in some band where there's four guys playing and one of them singing lead just seemed incredibly boring to me," Wignall says. He likes listening to Santana's early records, Afrobeat recordings by Fela Kuti, the psychedelic masterpiece Forever Changes by Love (1967), the '70s psych funk masters War (who happen to also be from Long Beach!), as well as reggae, disco, garage rock, and post-punk. "One day the thought occurred to me that really what I should do was to get to know people and set up a band with them that would combine all of these aspects." So he went out, into town, down to the beach and realized: Actually, I already know all of these people, I just need to ask them. Looking at the band one immediately notices that the make-up of this band also makes a socio-political statement. There are three women and three men, each with colorful biographies, and they are playing music that is from all over the world, yet could only have been invented in California. Wargirl knows that the situation elsewhere in the US is totally different. "That's why we want to take a stand, want to show: There are still people who are different, who are open and not interested in commerce. We're still here!" Wargirl's music doesn't carry clear messages. "First and foremost, the songs should be fun and make you dance," Wignall says. But there is another layer hiding behind this. "It's like The Clash. They could be consumed as a party band-- but also as a source of information for revolutionary thoughts."
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12"
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CLOUDS 103EP
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Born in Oslo of a fortuitous meeting and instant connection, Paradise was formed out of a desire to inject the immediacy of explosive performance back into the social media-saturated, digitally obsessed modern world. Their medium is the luxuriant sound of rock music in all its visceral joys, the message is resistance and anger, but also empathy and consolation. Paradise is Sivert Høyem (Madrugada), Rob Ellis (PJ Harvey) Simone Butler (Primal Scream), and Rob McVey (Marianne Faithfull). Yellow is a four-track vinyl and serves as an introduction for the band.
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CD
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CLOUDS 087CD
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German record label Clouds Hill present James Johnston's debut solo album The Starless Room. The Starless Room is vast in its scope - visceral, intimate and instinctive. The Starless Room represents a remarkable distillation of both Johnston's lyrical obsessions and prodigious, arguably under-acknowledged talent. Suitably, it's the title track that encapsulates the romantic sweep of the record best, with its star at his most intense and Sebastian Hoffman's string arrangements at their most ambitious. For James Johnston, however, the greatest pleasure of all is a simple one: the slow tempo of the songs, "Something I adore, like a lot of the Isaac Hayes or Ray Charles albums that I love. It almost feels like I'm listening to someone else's record." Like he said, it feels just right. As well as playing with Gallon Drunk, James Johnston has spent considerable time working with others: A mid '90s spell as a touring guitarist in The Bad Seeds led to a full role in Nick Cave's band between 2003 and 2008, and he's performed regularly with other iconic acts, including Lydia Lunch, Faust, and PJ Harvey, on whose The Hope Six Demolition Project (2016) Johnston appears. But if it sounds like he's softened on this album, he argues powerfully otherwise: "The band's records have quite an earthy feel, but in a way this is rawer, more focused and direct, musically and emotionally. The last Gallon Drunk record is my favorite, and it was certain elements of that which I really wanted to take further, to strip away the dissonance and anger, to reject the more familiar sounds in order to free it all up again. So the instrumentation is very different, led by piano and voice, and the overall sound is lush, yet intimate. Overall it's far more reflective of me, both as a person and the sort of music I actually listen to."
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LP+CD
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CLOUDS 087LP
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LP version. Includes CD. German record label Clouds Hill present James Johnston's debut solo album The Starless Room. The Starless Room is vast in its scope - visceral, intimate and instinctive. The Starless Room represents a remarkable distillation of both Johnston's lyrical obsessions and prodigious, arguably under-acknowledged talent. Suitably, it's the title track that encapsulates the romantic sweep of the record best, with its star at his most intense and Sebastian Hoffman's string arrangements at their most ambitious. For James Johnston, however, the greatest pleasure of all is a simple one: the slow tempo of the songs, "Something I adore, like a lot of the Isaac Hayes or Ray Charles albums that I love. It almost feels like I'm listening to someone else's record." Like he said, it feels just right. As well as playing with Gallon Drunk, James Johnston has spent considerable time working with others: A mid '90s spell as a touring guitarist in The Bad Seeds led to a full role in Nick Cave's band between 2003 and 2008, and he's performed regularly with other iconic acts, including Lydia Lunch, Faust, and PJ Harvey, on whose The Hope Six Demolition Project (2016) Johnston appears. But if it sounds like he's softened on this album, he argues powerfully otherwise: "The band's records have quite an earthy feel, but in a way this is rawer, more focused and direct, musically and emotionally. The last Gallon Drunk record is my favorite, and it was certain elements of that which I really wanted to take further, to strip away the dissonance and anger, to reject the more familiar sounds in order to free it all up again. So the instrumentation is very different, led by piano and voice, and the overall sound is lush, yet intimate. Overall it's far more reflective of me, both as a person and the sort of music I actually listen to."
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CD
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CLOUDS 060CD
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Tokyo-based all-female instrumental trio Nisennenmondai formed in the late '90s and took their name from the Japanese translation of the then-current phrase "Y2K bug." Nisennenmondai - Live At Clouds Hill features live versions of songs from the band's acclaimed 2014 album N (PTYT 083CD) recorded by Johann Scheerer (producer for Gallon Drunk, Bosnian Rainbows). This recording is part of Scheerer's Live At Clouds Hill series, and follows his practice of inviting the band to perform in front of a small audience in his Hamburg studio, Clouds Hill Recordings, for a maximum of 64 minutes -- exactly the length of two analog tapes. Scheerer recorded and mixed the performance live, and straightaway sent off for mastering and vinyl manufacturing. This process forces Scheerer, the performers, and the audience to focus on the unique present moment, as the final outcome is irreversible. Purchase of the album grants access to exclusive video footage of the recording session through play.clouds-hill.com.
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CLOUDS 060LP
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LP version. Tokyo-based all-female instrumental trio Nisennenmondai formed in the late '90s and took their name from the Japanese translation of the then-current phrase "Y2K bug." Nisennenmondai - Live At Clouds Hill features live versions of songs from the band's acclaimed 2014 album N (PTYT 083CD) recorded by Johann Scheerer (producer for Gallon Drunk, Bosnian Rainbows). This recording is part of Scheerer's Live At Clouds Hill series, and follows his practice of inviting the band to perform in front of a small audience in his Hamburg studio, Clouds Hill Recordings, for a maximum of 64 minutes -- exactly the length of two analog tapes. Scheerer recorded and mixed the performance live, and straightaway sent off for mastering and vinyl manufacturing. This process forces Scheerer, the performers, and the audience to focus on the unique present moment, as the final outcome is irreversible. Purchase of the album grants access to exclusive video footage of the recording session through play.clouds-hill.com.
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LP+CD
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CLOUDS 074LP
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Hairy psychedelia and shoegaze, the streaming motorik repetition of Krautrock and early electronica, highlife, Afrobeat and its pop derivates and classic West End and SalSoul-era disco have all left their deep mark and find their way into Oracles, one way or another. This is a six-track EP/mini-album, pressed on 180 gram vinyl with a CD insert plus an mp3 coupon. Opener "Untitled" sets the mood for what might be envisioned as their first message from a self-sufficient sphere -- a fertile place where Oracles reap the seeds of shoegaze, psychedelia, kosmische musik, highlife and Afrobeat ? chronicling search ("Gazing from Without"), loss ("Parting Ways"), desire ("Melt Tonight"), trips ("Journey Back to Dawn"), head-starts and dreams ("Untitled") in the process.
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7"
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CLOUDS 069EP
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Gallon Drunk unleash a raw, ragged, and uncompromising blast of literate rock and roll. A joyous explosion of a song, "The Dumb Room" celebrates its cast of misfits in a full-throated roar, erupting into a powerhouse band performance full of passion and carefree abandon. "The Dumb Room" is the single release from the album The Soul of the Hour (CLOUDS 062CD/LP) including "The Dumb Room Mono Mix."
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CLOUDS 062CD
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After the critical success of their acclaimed album The Road Gets Darker From Here (CLOUDS 037CD/LP) from 2012, Gallon Drunk have returned to their producer Johann Scheerer's Clouds Hill studio in Hamburg. Together with new bassist Leo Kurunis, Gallon Drunk have created their most exciting, passionate and groundbreaking work to date -- The Soul of the Hour. A howling celebration of survival and creative drive against the crushing weight of day-to-day existence, The Soul of the Hour finds Gallon Drunk pushing ever further into previously uncharted musical territory for the band. With an emphasis firmly upon hypnotic, locked-down grooves, free-flowing instrumental passages and all manner of European inspirational music that courses through the band's collective bloodstream (singer/guitarist, keyboard player James Johnston was a member of Faust), Gallon Drunk have stretched out their music into thrilling and unfamiliar shapes. Though always present in Gallon Drunk's music, the band has thrust the leftfield aspect inherent in their sound to the fore -- with exhilarating results. An emphasis upon a more focused, disciplined attack has fashioned a compelling musical wall of sound of considerable power, melancholy and fury. The Soul of the Hour offers heartfelt songs of dread, sadness, love and anguish, ever reaching for the transcendent moment within the incessant race against the passage of time. Opening with the epic "Before the Fire," which lets the tension and momentum build over a mesmeric nine minutes, the album then explodes with the wild, brutal euphoria of "The Dumb Room," and the relentless hypnotic Krautrock of "The Exit Sign," continuing with the album's immense title-track, the unsettling tension carried by Johnston's haunting vocal before erupting into a wild explosion of Ian White's relentlessly heavy drums and Terry Edwards' glorious brass section. Throughout the album, Leo Kurunis proves key to the new sound of the band, as evidenced in the subtle and sympathetic playing on "Dust in the Light," where rolling toms carry an uncharacteristically fragile upper register vocal from Johnston. Without doubt the most beautiful song the band have put to tape, its ghostly feel is reminiscent of Big Star's Third. Penultimate track "Over and Over" is washed over by waves of synthesizer -- an immense and dream-like song of anguish and yearning. Finally we reach the album closer, "The Speed of Fear" where James Brown meets motorik European psychedelia, insistent vocals and extended, hypnotic freak-outs building to a crushing final chorus. The Soul of the Hour marks Gallon Drunk's return in a style of its own, and with an album of true sonic brilliance.
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CLOUDS 062LP
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LP version. Pressed on 180 gram vinyl. Includes a CD copy of the album. After the critical success of their acclaimed album The Road Gets Darker From Here (CLOUDS 037CD/LP) from 2012, Gallon Drunk have returned to their producer Johann Scheerer's Clouds Hill studio in Hamburg. Together with new bassist Leo Kurunis, Gallon Drunk have created their most exciting, passionate and groundbreaking work to date -- The Soul of the Hour. A howling celebration of survival and creative drive against the crushing weight of day-to-day existence, The Soul of the Hour finds Gallon Drunk pushing ever further into previously uncharted musical territory for the band. With an emphasis firmly upon hypnotic, locked-down grooves, free-flowing instrumental passages and all manner of European inspirational music that courses through the band's collective bloodstream (singer/guitarist, keyboard player James Johnston was a member of Faust), Gallon Drunk have stretched out their music into thrilling and unfamiliar shapes. Though always present in Gallon Drunk's music, the band has thrust the leftfield aspect inherent in their sound to the fore -- with exhilarating results. An emphasis upon a more focused, disciplined attack has fashioned a compelling musical wall of sound of considerable power, melancholy and fury. The Soul of the Hour offers heartfelt songs of dread, sadness, love and anguish, ever reaching for the transcendent moment within the incessant race against the passage of time. Opening with the epic "Before the Fire," which lets the tension and momentum build over a mesmeric nine minutes, the album then explodes with the wild, brutal euphoria of "The Dumb Room," and the relentless hypnotic Krautrock of "The Exit Sign," continuing with the album's immense title-track, the unsettling tension carried by Johnston's haunting vocal before erupting into a wild explosion of Ian White's relentlessly heavy drums and Terry Edwards' glorious brass section. Throughout the album, Leo Kurunis proves key to the new sound of the band, as evidenced in the subtle and sympathetic playing on "Dust in the Light," where rolling toms carry an uncharacteristically fragile upper register vocal from Johnston. Without doubt the most beautiful song the band have put to tape, its ghostly feel is reminiscent of Big Star's Third. Penultimate track "Over and Over" is washed over by waves of synthesizer -- an immense and dream-like song of anguish and yearning. Finally we reach the album closer, "The Speed of Fear" where James Brown meets motorik European psychedelia, insistent vocals and extended, hypnotic freak-outs building to a crushing final chorus. The Soul of the Hour marks Gallon Drunk's return in a style of its own, and with an album of true sonic brilliance.
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10"
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CLOUDS 045EP
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Mini-album on 10" vinyl with five exclusive live recordings. This version will be not released on digital or on CD. First press is on white vinyl. After starting the band in 1989, Gallon Drunk went through a lot of changes, but have refocused their distinctive musical vision in 2012 with a collection of impassioned songs, imbued with pure mania, despair and abandonment onto the record The Road Gets Darker from Here. Featuring founder, frontman, and former Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds member James Johnston (vocals, organ, guitar, harmonica, piano), Leo Kurunis (bass), Terry Edwards (saxophone and percussion) and Ian White (drums, percussion), each of the acclaimed London band members are playing in other bands as well (e.g. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Tindersticks, PJ Harvey, Lydia Lunch, Faust).
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CD
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CLOUDS 055CD
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Fight of the Stupid builds a foundation on classical music, where Berlin musician Tonia Reeh took her first steps. Voice, piano and the occasional sound effect are all Reeh needs to express her exhaustive compositional know-how. The album was recorded in the sound studio of the Hamburg-based Clouds Hill label, where she found support from ex-The Mars Volta member Omar Rodriguez-Lopez of Bosnian Rainbows on guitar and Jakobus Siebels and Mense Reents of Die Vögel performing as brass players. The catchy "The Accused" sticks out from the general feel with its classic pop-song structure and linear up-tempo beat. The captivating, PJ Harvey-esque "Non Believer" has intense tempo changes and beautifully abrasive use of brass instruments. And "Hellhound" is solid gold, reminiscent despite its slowness of old blues tunes and the minimalistic arrangements of Nick Cave's Push the Sky Away. This album is powerful, solemn, distinctive and complex in its beauty. And above all, it's a multifaceted musical statement on behalf of a clever, intrepid songwriter that deserves to be heard.
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CLOUDS 055LP
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LP version with CD and a download code. Fight of the Stupid builds a foundation on classical music, where Berlin musician Tonia Reeh took her first steps. Voice, piano and the occasional sound effect are all Reeh needs to express her exhaustive compositional know-how. The album was recorded in the sound studio of the Hamburg-based Clouds Hill label, where she found support from ex-The Mars Volta member Omar Rodriguez-Lopez of Bosnian Rainbows on guitar and Jakobus Siebels and Mense Reents of Die Vögel performing as brass players. The catchy "The Accused" sticks out from the general feel with its classic pop-song structure and linear up-tempo beat. The captivating, PJ Harvey-esque "Non Believer" has intense tempo changes and beautifully abrasive use of brass instruments. And "Hellhound" is solid gold, reminiscent despite its slowness of old blues tunes and the minimalistic arrangements of Nick Cave's Push the Sky Away. This album is powerful, solemn, distinctive and complex in its beauty. And above all, it's a multifaceted musical statement on behalf of a clever, intrepid songwriter that deserves to be heard.
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7"
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CLOUDS 040EP
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Second single in 2012 by Gallon Drunk, featuring the non-album track "Close the Blinds" in a picture sleeve. "A Thousand Years" represents the angry energy of the album The Road Gets Darker from Here, full of menace, fury and guitar eruptions. James Johnston's voice expresses rage and desperation and the music is propelled forward by slide guitar, sax, and the powerhouse drumming of Ian White. Includes a duet with German musical icon Dirk von Lowtzow, lead singer of Tocotronic.
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CD
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CLOUDS 037CD
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Following the tragic illness and death of their bassist Simon Wring, acclaimed British band Gallon Drunk return as a three-piece with this dynamic new album. Recorded at Clouds Hills Recordings in Hamburg during the summer of 2011, produced by Johann Scheerer (who also produced Robots In Disguise, Faust, amongst others), the band bring the considerable power of their renowned live performances to The Road Gets Darker from Here. Featuring founding frontman and former Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds member James Johnston (vocals, organ, guitar, harmonica, piano, and bass), Terry Edwards (bass, saxophone and percussion) and Ian White (drums, percussion), the trio have refocused their utterly distinctive musical vision with a collection of impassioned songs, imbued with pure mania, despair and abandonment. At the state-of-the-art analog recording studio, Scheerer recorded the band playing the songs live, direct to 2" tape. This gave a warmth, richness and depth of sound to the recording. Coupled with the band members' own recent experiences, playing and recording with the likes of Tom Waits, Lydia Lunch's Big Sexy Noise, Faust, Nick Cave, and Tindersticks, this brought an open-minded freshness to the sessions. From the insistent, slide guitar-driven "A Thousand Years," through the exhilaratingly sleazy, deranged rock n'roll of "You Made Me," the menacing melancholia of "Stuck in My Head" (featuring French singer Marion Andrau of Underground Railroad), to the desperate eruption of guitar fury of "Hanging On," this is classic, unfettered Gallon Drunk. Also including the fever-dream boogie of "The Big Breakdown," before the final haunting, enigmatic psychodrama "The Perfect Dancer" -- a miasma of hallucinatory guitars, Hammond organs and slinky voodoo drums. An utterly captivating experience.
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LP+CD
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CLOUDS 037LP
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LP version with free CD and download code. Following the tragic illness and death of their bassist Simon Wring, acclaimed British band Gallon Drunk return as a three-piece with this dynamic new album. Recorded at Clouds Hills Recordings in Hamburg during the summer of 2011, produced by Johann Scheerer (who also produced Robots In Disguise, Faust, amongst others), the band bring the considerable power of their renowned live performances to The Road Gets Darker from Here. Featuring founding frontman and former Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds member James Johnston (vocals, organ, guitar, harmonica, piano, and bass), Terry Edwards (bass, saxophone and percussion) and Ian White (drums, percussion), the trio have refocused their utterly distinctive musical vision with a collection of impassioned songs, imbued with pure mania, despair and abandonment. At the state-of-the-art analog recording studio, Scheerer recorded the band playing the songs live, direct to 2" tape. This gave a warmth, richness and depth of sound to the recording. Coupled with the band members' own recent experiences, playing and recording with the likes of Tom Waits, Lydia Lunch's Big Sexy Noise, Faust, Nick Cave, and Tindersticks, this brought an open-minded freshness to the sessions. From the insistent, slide guitar-driven "A Thousand Years," through the exhilaratingly sleazy, deranged rock n'roll of "You Made Me," the menacing melancholia of "Stuck in My Head" (featuring French singer Marion Andrau of Underground Railroad), to the desperate eruption of guitar fury of "Hanging On," this is classic, unfettered Gallon Drunk. Also including the fever-dream boogie of "The Big Breakdown," before the final haunting, enigmatic psychodrama "The Perfect Dancer" -- a miasma of hallucinatory guitars, Hammond organs and slinky voodoo drums. An utterly captivating experience.
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