Moroni's Top 15 Albums of 2021

 2021 may not have been so great in some respects (we lost Betty White on the last day), but in terms of music, it was a stellar year.  Here are my top picks:

15. Actors "Acts of Worship" - I discovered this band from their very active social media campaign, and I am glad I did.  Neatly packaged with a chic look and sound with awesome videos to boot.  Hailing out of Vancouver, BC, this band blends a danceable mix of darkwave, gothic rock, and post-punk. And it works. Very catchy music, plenty of hooks, and some very '80s sounding new wave grooves. Worth the listen.  My favorite picks are "Love U More" and "Like Suicide".

14. Various Artists "Bills & Aches & Blues (40 Years of 4AD) - My feelings about the prestigious 4AD label are mixed. They signed and produced some of the greatest artists of the last 40 years. It used to be a watermark for quality. Now, they seem to sign just about anybody - not all of them good.

On this album, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the label, they have current artists covering past songs of other 4AD artists. Some of it is excellent - US Girls covering The Birthday Party, Dry Cleaning covering Grimes, Sohn doing a version of "Song to the Siren", Breeders doing His Name Is Alive, and my favorite, Future Islands covering Colourbox. Some of it is annoying like a version of The Breeders' "Cannonball" by Tune-Yards. And some of it is just plain weird like an ambient piano version of Pixies' "Gigantic" by Bing and Ruth.

Whatever the case, it's a fitting tribute to what is arguably the greatest record label of all time.

13. Emma Ruth Rundle "Engine of Hell" - With her blend of folk, gothic rock, and sludge metal, Emma Ruth Rundle is one of my favorite artists of the last decade. She was on my end-of-the-year list for 2020 for her sizzling compliation with metal artists, Thou. For her fifth album, she unplugs and goes acoustic for a haunting and deeply confessional album. This will never be my favorite of her records, but it is still very good and a testament of what a good songwriter she is. The album's strong point is "Citadel" with its acoustic guitar and fiddle - very haunting. Can't wait to see what she does next.

12. Lost Horizons "In Quiet Moments" - In 1997, Cocteau Twins created their own record label, to release their own material - Bella Union. A year later, the band imploded, and creative control of the label fell solely to Simon Raymonde, Cocteau Twins' bassist and keyboardist. Over the course of more than two decades, he signed such prolific acts as Fleet Foxes, Explosions in the Sky, and Beach House.

For this project, Raymonde teams with Richie Thomas from legendary '80s proto-dreampop band Dif Juz to create an understated yet scintillating dreampop masterpiece. As I listened to this album this morning, my wife remarked that it sounded very Cocteau Twins-ish ("Every Beat That Passed"). And yet every song is different - from dark cabaret, '60s-influenced R&B, to subdued pop, because, like This Mortal Coil, every song is a different collaboration from Bella Union's roster of artists. Midlake's Tim Smith, Marissa Nadler, and Karen Peris of Innocence Mission (!!).

The result is a diversified yet dreamy album.

11. A Place To Bury Strangers "Hologram" - A Place To Bury Strangers - The Loudest Band in NYC - is back with a new EP with their trademark brand of psychotic and psychedelic melee of noise, fuzz, distortion, reverb, and feedback. They are the most original shoegaze band out there. This would have scored way higher on my list, except that it is only an EP and not a full album.

The selection down below - "Playing the Part" is one of their mellowest - sounds a bit like The Feelies.

10. Turnstile "GLOW ON" - I've been listening to the new Turnstile album. I'm not new to this band. I have their 2018 sophomore release, but the new album is being mentioned on several AOTY lists, so I decided to give it a listen.

Turnstile is to hardcore punk as Sturgill Simpson is to country music - hardcore punk, yes, but so much more. They blend in so many other different genres that it's hard to classify them - funk, R&B, post-punk, shoegaze, etc. Sometimes they sound like Jane's Addiction, sometimes like The Police. Every song is eclectic and wildly different.

You're either going to love them or hate them. I can't get past a statement my friend said: "Imagine Dragons for hardcore kids". LOL It's funny. because it's true! Someone once referred to them as "dreamcore". I really like it, though.

Not for hardcore purists...

9. Mogwai "As Love Continues" - In the first week of its release, the 10th album from Scottish post-rock pioneers, Mogwai, went #1 on the UK Album Charts. It surprised everyone that a post-rock album, mostly instrumental, would chart that high - surprising even the band. Swirling and expansive, this album is truly cinematic.

"Richie Sacramento" is the main single and standout track, one of the few songs that actually has vocals.

8. Kælan Milka "Undir Köldum Nordurljósum" - Iceland produces the best music, and darkwave trio, Kælan Mikla are no exception. They spent 2019 touring with French blackgaze group, Alcest, even though the bands are wildly different. On the new album, they collaborate on a song, and the result is haunting, although it is the only shoegaze song on here. There are talks of both bands touring in the new year.

Perfect for the Halloween season - dark and spooky. It's blend of synthwave and goth makes it a good choice for those who like Skinny Puppy, Nine Inch Nails, Clan of Xymox, or Drab Majesty.

7. King Woman "Celestial Blues" - Kristina Esfandiari is a diversified artist, involved in many musical projects and genres. From rap (Dalmatian), industrial drone (NIGHTCRWLR), shoegaze (Whirr, Miserable), and doom metal (King Woman). For her second album as King Woman, she goes dark and grinding - like Black Sabbath's little sister. Esfandiari is one of the new generation of female performers of dark and heavy music, along with Emma Ruth Rundle and Chelsea Wolfe. Heavy, sludgy, and doomy, but not quite metal. Dark and sinister, but not quite goth. Ambient and ethereal, but not quite shoegaze. But having qualities of all of these genres. She is so great! She is definitely in my top 10 artists. I can't believe she's not more well known!

6. Lingua Ignota "Sinner Get Ready" - There is certainly no way to describe this album, except to say that it is the most ambitious and artistic musical project in the last 10 years. It's like watching a Broadway musical, except by Bertolt Brecht or David Lynch. Languid, dreamy, nightmarish, disturbing. moving, unsettling. The album documents her love/hate with religion. Operatic and almost classical, this dark album is a masterpiece. She moves seamlessly from classical to goth to industrial. There is no way to classify this album.

It reminds me of the time when a friend tried to introduce me to the music of Diamanda Galas and I wasn't ready for it. This album is purely transcendent.

You may never hear of this artist again, but the level of artistry in this effort is frightening and almost perfect.

5. Slow Crush "Hush" - A journalist recently described shoegaze music as listening to a mermaid fall into a black hole. This description fits the music of Belgian band, Slow Crush, as does their name. They are at once feathery and diaphanous, like lace blowing in the wind, but also soul crushing and heavy. They are one of my favorite new bands of the new wave of shoegaze artists, like in the last 2 years.

I also had a friend describe shoegaze music as "ambient grunge", and there could be no better description for Slow Crush. You are on the verge of being buried under an avalanche of ethereal reverb and fuzz, and you are either dying happy or incredibly sad.

4. Beachy Head "Beachy Head" - During the lockdown, Christian Savill, the guitarist of Slowdive, recorded some rough demos at home of music he wrote. At the soonest opportunity, he got his friends to go into the studio and record with him. Rachel Goswell of Slowdive, Ryan Graveface of Casket Girls, Steve Clarke of The Soft Cavalry, and Matt Duckworth of Flaming Lips. The result was a shoegaze supergroup and an incredible album. Not many good things came out of the Covid lockdown, but this album was one of those.

3. Dinosaur Jr. "Sweep It Into Space" - After 37 years and 12 albums, J. Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph - the kings of noise rock - are still cranking out catchy, hard-hitting songs. This entire album rocks, guitar driven and full of hooks. May they be around another 37 years!

There is not a bad song on this album!

2. Deafheaven "Infinite Granite" - Deafheaven helped create the "blackgaze" genre - an unholy mix of black metal, shoegaze, and post-rock. For their newest album, they pulled the plug on the black metal part and went straight shoegaze, their first album with clean vocals. The result is completely heart-crushing, in a good way. Even diehard metal fans, even if they didn't completely agree with the change, thought this record was good.

I'm no stranger to death metal and its shrieked vocals. However, I have always thought that the lead singer's voice is a little much. Imagine the most haunting, diaphanous shoegaze music set to a guy screaming like two bobcats trapped in a trash can. So, the newer clean vocals are a pleasant change to me.

1. Low " Hey What" - I don't get exposed to a lot of hype, because I live off grid in the middle of nowhere. Even at that, I am kind of an indie music connoisseur. It's rare that bands pass under my radar, especially if they have released 13 albums over the course of almost four decades. And yet I had never heard of Low before this album.

Low are a married Mormon couple from Minnesota who make what is termed "slowcore", and yet it is impossible to describe their music. Ambient, abstract, hypnotic, it is amazing to find a group who has been around this long and still making such artistic music. Warning: some of their stroboscopic rhythms made my daughter feel carsick while listening to this in the car.

The fact that they are Mormon is significant to me, especially when several Mormon tropes are recognizable in their lyrics.

I need to explore their back catalog to see if their other albums are as intense. But for now, I can't get past this one.

Happy New Year 2022!

Better Late Than Never: Moroni's Favorite Albums of 2020

Yes, I know this is late... 2020 will go down in history as a pretty shitty year, considering pandemics, lockdowns, fires, riots, and farcical elections. But for music, it was a pretty stellar year. Yes, I know that concerts were shut down. But in terms of artists having to go into the studio and make fantastic albums - well, there couldn't be a better year. There were so many to choose from, but here are some of my favorites: 

1. Nothing "The Great Dismal" - Nothing is a shoegaze band from Philadelphia, and I have covered this band from their debut album.  This album was the quintessential record for the 2020 pandemic.  The title itself refers to the dark times of global lockdown. Domenic Palermo spent his months at home writing the grittiest shoegaze record of the year. There are crestfallen melancholic pieces like "A Fabricated Life", "In Blueberry Memories", and "Blue Mecca".  And then there are songs that show their Nirvana-style penchant for '90s grunge like "April Ha Ha" and "Bernie Sanders".  But then there are bangers like "Say Less" and "Just a Story" that blend all of these qualities to make this Nothing's best album so far.  From darkness and despair, comes beauty.

 

2. Primal Giants "Untethered" - A stellar debut album from jam band, Primal Giants.  They are an eclectic mix of blues, psychedelia, outlaw country, and Grateful Dead-style jam rock.  Last year, I did an exclusive interview with wild frontman (or front wildman) JR Hendry, just ahead of the release of the album on March 7, 2020.  This was before either of us was aware of the upcoming pandemic and lockdown.  Within a week of the release of the album, airports shut down and concerts were cancelled.  Along with countless other artists, Primal Giants had to cancel their upcoming tour to support their new album.  And it was our loss.  We missed seeing what was undoubtedly a phenomenal live experience.  (I have watched live online performances.) But at least we have this album and can groove to such smashing tunes like "Stand Up", "Junkie", and "Queen Bee".  There are also some deep and confessional songs like "Wasted Years" and "Needles" that will stir your soul.  This album is excellent from start to finish.  There are rumors of a forthcoming new album and new tour in the near future.  Luck us.  I plan on being in the audience.  Do ya hear me, JR Hendry?

3. The Strokes "The New Abnormal" - How New York is it to adorn your sixth album with a painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat?  And to give your album a name that accurately describes this crazy time period that we live in?  The Strokes are back!  Back in form with their first album in seven years, and without a doubt, their best since their first two.  Darlings of the New York post-punk revival, they are known for their strong bass and percussion section, Albert Hammond Jr.'s hooky guitar riffs, and Julian Casablancas's distinctive voice.  So, Julian!  Julian is known to have quite the vocal range, and he is known to hold it in check.  But not here!  He unleashes it for this album.  The result is one of their strongest and most catchy albums.  When this album came out, I listened to it on repeat for weeks; every song is that good!  I can hardly pick my favorites, but I particularly like "The Adults Are Talking" and "Selfless" for Julian's voice, the '80s-inspired new wave hit "Brooklyn Bridge To Chorus", Hammond's Stones-tinged riffs on "Eternal Summer" as well as Casablancas's saucy emulation of Bowie or Jagger, the melancholy "At the Door"... This album is perfect.  I am deeply satisfied.  Oh, and all of my kids universally like this one as well.

4.  Sufjan Stevens "The Ascension" - This one came as a surprise to me.  Sufjan Stevens is an Emmy and Academy Award-winning avant garde composer known for making contemplative and morose forays into indie folk music.  For this, his eighth album, he made an electropop album, which I think surprised a lot of people.  His breathy voice also sounds freakishly similar to Justin Bieber.  However, unlike the Biebs, this album delves deeply into subconscious themes of life, death, happiness, depression, belief, religion, unbelief, society, and grief.  Beneath the glittering pop facade, this is a surprisingly complicated album.  And not just thematically, but sonically.  Beneath the danceable beats and electronic blips and beeps, their are subtle layers and counter-beats, making the arrangements much more complex and more like classical music.  This is much more than pop music usually is, although it can be occasionally this profound as Stevens proves.  The highlights of this album are the songs "Video Game" and "Sugar".  However, he gets to wax trippy and poetic with pieces like "Die Happy", "Ativan", and "Giglamesh".  The album ends with the sprawling, cinematic opus, "America". 

5. Johnny Goth "The Great Awakening" - My son who lives in New York recommended this artist to me last year in time to catch this, Johnny Goth's fourth album.  In spite of the name and the white makeup and black lipstick, Johnny Goth is not really goth - until now.  He usually performs indie folk with usually just his sweet angelic voice and guitar.  It almost has an acrid sense of irony.  (Check out his haunting and startlingly beautiful take on Britney Spears.)  Johnny Goth is part of the ubiquitous bedroom pop ethic - young artists who have bypassed A&R men and record labels and have recorded their music in their own bedrooms with their own equipment and have released and promoted their work through social media.  And Mr. Goth is prolific.  He releases new singles almost on a weekly basis on YouTube. With the new album, he lived up to his name and went totally goth- spooky, vampiric, scary, like a Tim Burton nightmare. But it works. He is best when his voice is muted and feminine like a dark angel.  My top picks are "Come Closer To Me", "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" and the angelic "Hit Me Right".

6. brdmm "Bedroom" - This is a brilliant debut album from a UK shoegaze band that I know next to nothing about, and yet I this album has been my personal soundtrack for the past year.  This is their first album, and yet they have released a new single on this day as I write.  On the new single, they are going for a new electronica, slowcore sound, but this album - called "Bedroom" because they recorded the whole album in their house - is definitely shoegaze, taking a page from artists like Beach Fossils or DIIV.  The whole album is dipped and coated in dreamy reverb and muted vocals.  Some songs have jangly, krautrock-inspired guitar licks and bouncy rhythms like "Gush" and "Happy".  Some songs are watery and shimmering like "Push/ Pull" and "Is That What You Wanted To Hear?".  And some songs are swelling and explosive like "A Reason To Celebrate" and "If....". This album is great, happy and sad at the same time in ways only a shoegaze record can be.  I look forward to whatever they do next.

7. Health "Disco 4: Part 1" - Okay, I can't even begin to describe this album!  First, let me prelude this by saying that I have yet to listen to any other album by this group yet, and they have five albums as well as five remix albums.  But this one is amazing!  They originally gained fame fourteen years ago when Crystal Castles remixed one of their songs.  They are considered noise rock, but they are an unholy conglomeration of industrial, darkwave, grindcore, hyperpop, and hip hop, the genre changing maddeningly with each song.  That is because this album is a series of collaborations with a variety of artists they love - like hip hop artists Ghostemane or JPEGMAFIA, or post-punk artist The Soft Moon, or synthwave artist Perturbator, or experimental indie artists Xiu Xiu, Soccer Mommy, or 100 gecs.  The result is an electrifying melange of odd combinations, all of it dark and terrifying.  My hot picks are "Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0.", "Colors", "Mass Grave", "Delicious Ape", and "Hard To Be a God".  There are talks of a "Disco 4: Part 2" in collaboration with Nine Inch Nails very soon.

8. Grimes "Miss Anthropocene" - Of course, I have reviewed Grimes before.  Say what you will about her high profile marriage - as well as separation - with Elon Musk, Grimes is still a true artist.  She writes, engineers, mixes her own music, as well as oversees her videos, designs her own costumes and album covers.  She is an artist in every sense of the word.  On her fifth album - and her last under the 4AD record label - she creates her darkest and most dystopian record so far. Her music is a mix of synthpop, dream pop, and darkwave, all of it saturated in reverb.  My favorite selections are "Darkseid", a collaboration with Taiwanese rapper, Pan Wei-Ju, "4AEM" an ethereal song worthy of 4AD with a drum and bass chorus, and "My Name Is Dark" with its piercing shrieks.  The name of the song was originally titled "That's What the Drugs Are For", but her label made her change it.  Speaking of which, creative differences caused Grimes to say in some now-deleted tweets that she was done with her "shit label".  She was going to make one more fantastic album for them, and then move on her own without them.  Well, this album is fantastic.  I can't wait to see what she does next.

9. Deserta "Black Aura My Sun" - Generally, shoegaze music falls into two categories - either loud, bombastic, explosive, and grinding like My Bloody Valentine or Nothing. Or soft, ethereal, dreamy and wispy like Slowdive or Beach House.  Deserta falls into the second category.  Deserta, from Los Angeles, is the solo project of Matthew Doty (although he has since added two other musicians).  This album started out our year in 2020, being released in January of that year, and it was very well received by the shoegaze community, and with good reason.  This album is billowing like a huge thunderhead catching the last light of evening.  The keyboards, guitars and almost-whispered vocals all blend together into a tsunami of sound.  This album is mellow and soft, but it has a huge sound.  Okay, I'm going to say it - it sounds like Cocteau Twins.  My only possible complaint is that all of the songs sound kind of like the same song.  But what a beautiful song it is.  My favorites are "Paradiso", "Hide", "Monica", and "Be So Blue".  Hell, the whole album.  They just released a new single, so let's hope a new album is around the corner.

10. Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou "May Our Chambers Be Full" -  A few years ago, I fell in love with the music of Emma Ruth Rundle. Emerging from experimental band, Marriages (whom I love also), Rundle began making a dark blend of goth rock, doom metal, and folk - much like her female companions Chelsea Wolfe and King Woman.  (What a movement!) Rundle's music is all of these genres, and none of them.  However, Rundle has always leaned heavier on the metal side in terms of her influences.  So, it came as no surprise when she collaborated with critically-acclaimed sludge metal group, Thou, for one album.  The result is two devils horns up!  This record is heavy, grinding, and carries forward as hot and inevitable as a pyroclastic flow.  The contrast between Bryan Funk's shredded vocals and Rundle's spooky voice is amazing.  My top picks are "Out of Existence", "Magickal Cost", and the lengthy "The Valley".  By the way, Rundle has a new album coming out next month, and I'm super excited about it.

Honorable Mentions

11. Holy Fawn "The Black Moon" - This would have scored a lot higher on my list, but it's not an album, but an EP.  A blackgaze group - a mix between shoegaze and black metal - from my home state of Arizona, this group is phenomenal.  Their music alternates between ambient electronic verses and volatile, incendiary choruses with screamed vocals.  Only three songs on here - "Candy", the instrumental "Tethered", and "Blood Pact", which made every playlist I made for others last year.  Their other albums (they have two) are excellent as well.  I think the best way to describe their music would be the Sigur Ros of black metal.  Please check them out if you have a chance.

12. Meg Myers "Thank U 4 Taking Me 2 the Disco" & "I'd Like 2 Go Home Now" - 2020 provided us with not just one, but 2 EPs from my favorite pop star, Meg Myers.  Enough for one album, but we have two EPs instead, and here she is on the Honorable Mention list.  The EPs are fantastic, though.  Those who have followed my blog know that I - and my music guru, Nikki - have followed Meg since her early EPs, her first album, and her second album.  She's great.  She is part Kate Bush and part Sinead O'Connor.  The strong points here are "Any Way You Wanna Love", "Grizzly", the heart-breaking " i hope u cry", a duet with morgxn, "True Liars", and a piano waltz called "Last Laugh".  What can I say?  I love Meg!

13.  Shimmerance "Shimmerance" - Russia has all of the good music coming out of it - bands like Human Tetris, Molchat Doma, and Parks, Squares, and Alleys.  There is a vibrant post-punk scene there, including goth, shoegaze, and dream pop.  Shimmerance is a shoegaze quintet from Moscow, and their debut album shimmers!  Having two vocalists - Maria Kondakova and Nik Babukhin - they take a different approach to shoegaze vocals by having clear and distinct vocal arrangements (in English) rather than burying the voices behind the instruments.  My top songs are "Look At Me Now", "Falling Down", "Altered Realm", and my favorite, "Nightcall". That one is a cover by Kavinsky from the soundtrack of "Drive", a song I always liked and one of my favorite movies.

14. Ringo Deathstarr "Ringo Deathstarr" - That's the sad thing about doing end-of-the-year lists - it's hard to exclude a band, especially when there was so much good music that came out.  The list would not be complete without including Ringo Deathstarr, a shoegaze band from Austin, Texas.  Ringo Deathstarr (awesome name) have been among the forerunners of the shoegaze revival (please don't use the term 'nugaze') for over a decade, taking a page from older acts like My Bloody Valentine and Lush.  And it works.  Very well.  Especially here, on their fifth album.  My preferred tracks are "Just Like You" with its Dinosaur Jr. vibe, "Once Upon a Freak", and the subdued (for them) "Cotton Candy Clouds"

15. L.A. Witch "Play With Fire" - And finally, we have L.A. Witch, an all-female rock band from, you guess it, Los Angeles.  They have such a great sound.  Originally just known as Witch, they had to change their name when another band already had that moniker. They have the savage impulse of '90s riot grrrls like L7 and the groovy '60s noise rock vibe of bands like Dum Dum Girls.  Whatever the case, these girls rock!  Thanks to my friend Ryan for recommending them.  My favorite songs are "Motorcycle Boy", "Dark Horse", "Gen-Z", and "I Wanna Lose".  I had this album on repeat for a while.

BEST OF 2021 COMING SOON!!!!

LONE DRIFTERS: Peter Koppes Speaks On Departing The Church and His New Band, Syncretism

Peter Koppes, photo credit Mark Bundy

Peter Koppes, one of the founding members of seminal rock band The Church, has been in the news this month as the band recently announced on its Facebook page that Peter had departed the band “to explore his own musical path”.  Koppes, who is responsible for The Church’s signature intangible, brooding, and yet silky sound from the beginning, also personally revealed that he had started an exciting new project with longtime friend and collaborator, Dave Scotland, called Syncretism.

First of all, I can’t speak of anything regarding The Church without explaining how much the they meant to me.  A young kid in a small, Arizona town finds a stack of vinyl in his brother’s apartment that includes “Séance” and “Heyday”.  These change him.  There is an iridescent, bohemian quality to the songs that redefine what rock can mean.  A couple of years later, a Dodge Charger races through the red rock canyons of Sedona, the young man searches for himself in the ghostly arroyos, stark terrain, and in the haunting chords of “Starfish” blasting through the speakers.  The young man is not a musician, but he discusses with his friends how the guitars create textures and landscapes that somehow don’t even sound like guitars.  Then, as he goes off to college alone, carrying a backpack, with “Transient” blaring through his earphones – a song by Peter Koppes – seeming to define him.  Needless to say, I have been a fan of the Church for a long time.

And in my mind’s eye, Peter Koppes is always on stage, standing statuesque, a shock of dark hair in his face, his guitar slung over his shoulder, coaxing sounds out of it that seem impossible.  He is undoubtedly a vital part of that legacy of The Church, putting out well over a dozen albums with them.  But never doubt his well-earned rank as a solo artist.  An inexhaustible songwriter, he has an enormous catalog of solo work and collaborations with many other bands and artists.  His work with Dave Scotland is especially exciting, because Koppes and Scotland actually used to be in a glam band called Baby Grande that predated The Church.

They are preparing to release a new album called “Lone Drifters”, and Koppes released a sneak peak on Syncretism’s Facebook page – a shining gem of a song called “Sirens”.  Initially, Koppes’ trademark guitar style is recognizable, but upon further listening, there are so many added layers unfolding that this song is instantly unforgettable – a veritable collage of the talents of both of these artists.  I also got a glimpse at another song called “Flood or Fire”, a song marked by glittery yet watery guitars and Scotland’s smooth vocals.  Both of these songs are very moving to me in a way that Koppes’ music always has been for me.  If these songs are anything like the rest of “Lone Drifters” will be, then I see this becoming one of my favorite albums of the year.  This timeless music, excellent by any standard.

I recently had an opportunity to talk to Koppes about his new project.  Check it out:

Moroni Lopez Jessop:  It was recently announced that you have departed The Church to pursue other creative interests.  Wow, such a long and prolific songwriting career that has spanned nearly five decades and many, many albums, as well as creating The Church’s signature guitar sound!  How does it feel to have such a long, distinguished career?  Is your work with your new band, Syncretism, the next logical step in your musical evolution?

Peter Koppes:  My ambition was always to create mature music that I could look back upon with respect for the art. My long career was probably afforded by the attitude to not sell out, but I don't believe making commercial music is necessarily bad like most of it. Syncretism is the result of my re-acquaintance with the amazing guitarist from my first original band the included the lead singer from The Church. He generously shared his extensive knowledge of guitar technique/ tones and now I have returned the favour by complimenting his music. Maybe ironic or not, it sounds like my former band but still it is an evolution.

MLJ:  Your new band is called Syncretism, which is defined as an amalgamation of different religions, cultures or schools of thought.  What was the impetus of this project coming together?  What ideas or concepts created a “syncretism” with you for this project?

Dave Scotland

PK:  Dave and I have always been in contact and recently reunited with the Canberra band drummer while I was visiting their area. Dave wrote some music afterwards that inspired me to add my guitar and effects as well as write lyrics for the song called Their Song about leaving people behind. Syncretism, in a music reference book, describes it when a music idiom is modernized, and the development of Beatles inspired music seems to be our manifesto. I would venture that we can bring together audiences from different genres especially guitar aficionados. We originally had Lone Drifters?  Which was the working title of a song but it sounded like a gang name, and nobody liked it, so it became the album title instead and everyone seems to wonder if they belong.

MLJ:  You’ve visited many diverse and far flung locations, including a recent trip to Japan.  Do these visits give you any inspiration for the music you write?

PK:  The next preview release called Flood Or Fire lyrics were written half way up the main Japanese skiing mountain in Hakuba while watching my teenage son learn to snow board. Bush fires were raging in Australia, and climate disasters had been worldwide that year. My family relationship was threatened also, so I conflated the metaphors.

MLJ:  Syncretism is a collaboration with your old friend, Dave Scotland.  How did the both of you meet, and did you hit it off right away?  What sort of interests do you have in common, musical or otherwise?  What originally drew you to Dave to want to work with him creatively?

PK:  I first me Dave at an inter-school band jam. I was the drummer but was learning guitar from our guitarist who was very competent. In a break, Dave launched into a perfect rendition of Hendrix version of Star-Spangled Banner, which startled everyone of course. He then was in a professional band called Frosted Glass, and he was also the lead singer but regarded as the best guitarist in Canberra, if not Australia. He joined my new band Baby Grande, we had a very good relationship bonding over music, but I left after a few years to travel and study. Now we are together again, I wonder why we didn't sooner, but I was very busy with band or my solo activities.

MLJ:  What feels different between Baby Grande and Syncretism?  What experience are you both bringing to the table?

PK:  Baby Grande was a juvenile punk glam rock band. Syncretism is more mature and intellectual music. I have been reminded of the parallels with Pink Floyd actually. This is Dave's recordings of his music and voice with my lyrics and contributions, though we co-produce the recordings. Our guitar difference is his lead guitar playing is exquisitely passionate and during one of his live solos, I have seen a fellow guitarist smoke a cigarette quickly down forgetting to remove it from his lips! My guitar style is more effects driven. I play some piano too. We both especially love 60's and 70's music and is evident in our orchestrations.

Peter Koppes, circa 1990

MLJ:  You’ve made your new song, “Sirens”, available to hear on social media.  Amazing song, by the way.  The combination of the guitar work and keyboards is just shimmering.  What can you tell be about the title of the song?  What is this song about exactly, and what meaning does it have for you?

PK:  Thanks for the compliment. 'Sirens' is mostly guitars and effects that sound like keyboards. This project has inspired my lyrics to be playful like Dr Seuss and with serious undertones for people with life experience. The working title was Hope And Courage and is about our trials and now the celebration our musical journey together. "We're supposed to necessarily have fun!"

MLJ:   Can we expect similar songs on the new album, “Lone Drifters”?  What is the concept behind the new record?  Is there any special process behind the way you brought this project together?

PK:  The album is almost complete, but the full story has not revealed itself yet. Ultimately, we would like a rich and varied album of songs that will thrill us and our audiences. So far so good, actually. There does seem to be a pervading theme for me lyrically to heal as usual and the music is providing a perfect vehicle! The process is just Dave and I having a musical conversation.

MLJ:  Your music has always had an esoteric quality.  As a listener, your music has always been a veritable spiritual, or even metaphysical, experience for me.  Do you see yourself as a spiritual person?  And is your music a spiritual outlet for you, and is this a factor in your creative process?

"I believe great music is a relationship with the metaphysical... It is based in love and has given me strength in the face of incredible adversities..."

PK:  Great question, because I believe great music is a relationship with the metaphysical. I have always been aware of the spiritual with much evidence of guidance and maybe protection from the other side. It is based in love and has given me strength in the face of incredible adversities. Transcendental Meditation sharpened its focus for me, and these days I almost let my destiny lead all the time. A large component of creativity is experimentation with the spiritual influence.

MLJ:  I have to ask, because I always wonder – what music influenced you the most while you were growing up and had impact on your guitar-playing?  Which modern bands or guitarists have made a particular impact on you today?

PK:  First song that I remember liking on radio was a version Blowing In The Wind. I loved great drummers and was thus inspired at first by the music of Hendrix, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Santana and The Who. My favourite musician is John Lennon who was a great and inspired guitarist which contributed to his great song writing too. Not well known is a great lead guitarist called Bill Nelson who inspired me, and Dave greatly with his unbluesy rock style. The most impressive modern guitar technique is My Bloody Valentine with the flying guitar sound using slow whammy chords.

MLJ:  Thanks for your time.  I’ve been a fan for a long time.  The first album I listened to was “Heyday” when I was sixteen years old.  It may sound cheesy, but I asked my teenage sons to learn and play “Under the Milky Way” for my fiftieth birthday next month, even though I know you’re not the composer of that piece.  It’s still one of the great songs you played.  I wish you were there!

PK:  By the way, Under The Milky Way was written on piano as were many great songs and many of my own. The melody is very spiritual and soulful so I can understand people enjoying the song at ceremonies.

Ps Happy Birthday!

You can keep up with news, release dates, and new songs from Peter Koppes and Dave Scotland on the Facebook page for Syncretism at:

https://www.facebook.com/syncretismmusic/

Instragram:  https://www.instagram.com/syncretismmusic/

Out Of The Box: Interview With Primal Giants' JR Hendry

JR Hendry, frontman of Primal Giants

The minute you see JR Hendry, the frontman and songwriter of Southern rock jam band, Primal Giants, he draws all of the attention in the room.  It’s not just his imposing height; after all, he is a big bear of a man.  And it’s not just his uproarious laughter, although it is very contagious.  There is a special magnetism and charisma to him that draws people around him.  He immediately puts you at ease, makes you comfortable in a way that makes you feel good about yourself.  His eyes look at you intently when you speak, and he makes you feel as if you are the most interesting person in the world, when, in truth, he is definitely more interesting than you ever will be.  His lifetime of experiences is a bottomless well from which he draws inspiration for his songs.

I have had the good fortune of knowing JR for a while, and I can tell you that he’s a go-getter.  My wife says about him, “Whatever JR sets his mind to, he accomplishes.”  And that’s exactly what he’s done.  Not long ago, JR left a career in business to focus on making music – a move that would make many hesitate.  But JR viewed the crafting of music as a higher calling and something that he felt driven to.  He went to the music mecca of Austin, Texas where he assembled a kickass band that they named Primal Giants, poured out his vision at Orb Studios, a studio known for its association with fellow Texans, Blue October, and made a dazzling behemoth of an album with producer Matt Meli, known for his work with such incredible acts as Meat Puppets.

JR and the band dropped a single called “Junkie” last Friday, and they are anticipating the release of their first album, “Untethered”, on March 6^th – just a handful of days away.

The other day, my luck was such that I got to listen to a sneak peak of the entire album.  Blown away.  That’s the simplest elucidation I can give this record.  I don’t know how to describe it.  There is an indelible country twang to it, but it also rocks.  Hard.  These songs thresh out the harvest from the American tradition that vibrates in our DNA from coast to coast.  But it weaves in a colored tapestry of psychedelia and funk.  Earthy and driving drumbeats and basslines.  Fluttering and aerial guitar solos.  Tremulous and groovy keyboards.  And JR’s gravely and potent voice reaching high above everything yet cementing it all together.  The effect is awe-inspiring.  “Primal” is the operative word.  This is what rock and roll was meant to be from the beginning – something going back to the days when our ancestors imbibed mind-altering concoctions and danced wildly and naked around fires to pulsating rhythms echoing into the night sky.  It’s the first time you stood in a dark crowd and saw rockstars illuminated onstage like smoking gods, coaxing ululating ecstasy from the serpentine and phallic necks of their guitars.  This is what music was meant to be, like it has not been in a longtime – an archetypal experience.  And Primal Giants succeeds in bringing that magic back.

Primal Giants

“Junkie” is a pulse-elevating jam, but its equal partners are found in other rousing anthems like “Gone” and “Stand Up”.  Based on these two songs, the album would already be sufficient.  But there are other gems like “Queen Bee”, the mournful and contemplative “Needles”, and “More Lies”.  Every song will cuff you.  Equal parts hospitable Southern comfort, kaleidoscopic California cool, and outlaw Texas rascal, every part of every song is memorable.  I can’t wait to see them live.

I recently spoke to JR Hendry from his home in Austin:

Moroni Lopez Jessop:  You and I have known each other for a while.  I know that you weren’t in music for a while, and then you got back into music.  Tell me about your journey of getting back into it.

JR Hendry:  I started playing music really young.  I was really blessed that way.  Where I grew up in the Ozarks, there was a lot of bluegrass music still being played the traditional way on people’s back porches on Friday and Saturday nights and at revivals on Sunday.  My first instrument was the fiddle, and then this old guy started taking me around to other people’s jam sessions.  I started picking up other instruments, and eventually that turned into songwriting when I was about fourteen.  At first like any songwriter, it’s super-cheesy, horrible shit when you first start writing, but it feels really good because you’re learning to find a couple of different things – you’re learning to find the voice inside of you and also learning to hear the music that’s around us already in stillness.  So, I’ve always kind of been a songwriter, and I had a time in my life when I sold songs, and did things that way, and I’ve had different bands over the years.  But it’s been a long time.  Shit, like fifteen years, or something.  For me, getting back into it wasn’t necessarily a logical choice.  I was at a place in my life in 2018 where a lot of things were shifting for me, and I could feel that I wasn’t on the path that I needed to be on, so I went On a journey, seeking out and discovering what that path was, or hearing my own drum.  I ended up having a very powerful spiritual experience where it was very clear “go to Austin and make a record”.

MLJ:  Tell me a little bit about how the album and the band came together.

Primal Giants' debut album "Untethered" out in March 6th

JR:  Basically, that guidance was to go to Austin and make a record, and i started poking around where to make a record, and eventually landed with Matt Meli, head engineer at Orb Studios, and he ended producing our album as well.  He kind of picked his favorite folks to work with to make the record, and one of those guys was Chris Doege, who plays drums.  We quickly bonded, and there was this powerful, brotherly and higher connection that we both recognized, and we started having serious conversations, him explaining his history in music, challenges, hopes, dreams, all of those different things.  Next thing you know, we were like, let’s do this, let’s get a band together.  His first call was to Steve Littleton.  They had played in a few different bands together.  Steve is just an absolute monster keyboard player.  Steve was the next one to come in.  Then we were playing around with a handful of different bass players, steel players, guitar players, looking for the right fit, and Doege was on a session with Josh Motlong.  I remember the phone call distinctly.

He said, “I think we found our guy.”

I said, “Well, tell me about it.”

He said, “All I need to tell you, bro, is that as soon as I walked in, I felt the love pouring out of him.”  

And sure enough, I had the same experience when I met Josh.  There’s just this huge heart beaming out of this dude, and his music is the same way.  The last piece of the puzzle was finding Takahiro Shimada.  From our very first jam with Taka – at that point we had been rehearsing with four or five guitar players – from that first moment, the first note, I remember my jaw just hit the floor, and, after that first twenty-minute jam, I just hit the couch like, “What the fuck just happened?”  It was this complete, magical match of all of us destined to be a guy in this project, this band.  All of that came together, and since then, we immediately went in after one rehearsal with Taka and started tracking over at Yellow Dog Studios with Dave Percefull producing and engineering. That really helped us come together as a band.  We got in a couple of sessions out there, rehearsed a bunch, and now it’s time to take the show on the road.  The music is starting to be released - It’s time to step out and introduce the world to Primal Giants.

MLJ:  So, what does the name Primal Giants signify?

JR Hendry with Primal Giants

JR:  (laughs) Well, that’s an interesting story actually.  We struggled for months and months with a band name.  One of the best things of that process was that it taught us how to communicate with one another as a band.  There were a whole lot of different ideas and directions flying around.  We ended up with a top-ten list, and we took some votes.  We narrowed it down to a top-five list and took some votes.  Then Steve and I got really fucking stoned as some votes were getting tallied, we came back in and kind of forgot what the names were. He said, “I really liked that one ‘Primal Giants’.”

We all started laughing, because it wasn’t on the list.  I think there was like “Primal Roses” and “Something Giants”, and he just mixed them up and mashed them together. As soon as we heard it, we were laughing and then “Oh shit, that’s it!”

That’s the gist of where it came from it on one level.  On another level, there’s a whole lot of symbolic meaning.  I’ll leave it to the experiencer to digest for themselves, but there’s definitely, I feel, a very large symbolic meaning in that name.

MLJ:  Your music has kind of a spiritual aspect in a way.  I was wondering if you could share a little bit about that.

JR:  Absolutely, man.  I hold a firm belief that the world doesn’t need any more noise.  We have plenty of noise, and noise isn’t necessarily beneficial to the human process of our evolution.  When the first music was made by some human being long, long ago, it wasn’t for distraction.  There was spiritual intention behind it.  When that first skin was stretched over a piece of wood, it was to focus energy in directions so that we could quiet our minds and experience something bigger that we normally do in our everyday perceptions.  Our music has very much the same intention.  Depending on where you walk in and hear it, you may not necessarily see that, because the guidance and idea behind the ride is to first bring us to a place of experiencing all of the normal human emotions – sadness, joy, grief, carnal pleasures – all of these things that make up these the normal 3-D human experience.  But the music mirroring life, eventually, if we’re only focusing on those 3-D things, it will lead ourselves to a whole lot of suffering, and we need to get to this wall of life.  And we realize that we need to sit down against that wall of suffering, we can go through it and really understand what freedom is, and who we really are, and what we’re really doing here, just how magic this entire place really is.  So, the music is really inspired by that very thing, making us arrive to our human emotions, and then inviting us to something bigger.  That’s the whole intention behind it; that’s our goal and prayer behind it.  That’s what the music is to us.

MLJ:  The music is also very raw and personal.  How do your own personal experiences tie in with this spiritual component?

JR:  Well, it’s huge, right?  Each of only know life experientially.  So, anything that I’m aware of, any grip that I think I have on reality can only be based on my own experiences and by processing things that I experience.  All of our spirituality is seen, experienced, and known through the lens of self until we learn to transcend that.  I’m no Ascended Master, so I’m still learning from that lens.  I’ve learned myself that challenges, grievances, suffering - things that once upon a time I would have turn my head from or not looked at, I’ve learned are out our most powerful teachers here.  So, I guess that comes out in the music because of that.  I don’t like songwriting that’s impersonal.  I want to hear something real.  In order to move someone or touch them in their heart, we have to share.  I can’t possibly tell you a story that I heard someone else tell me and have that affect you in a deep way.  If I’m going to sit down with you as a brother and we’re going to feel one another on a deep level, then I have to be able to put myself out there in a real and raw way.  And so to me, songwriting inspires that.

MLJ:  How would you describe your music?  It’s kind of hard to classify.  Psychedelic Southern rock?  Tripped-out country music?  How to you define or describe it?

 "What kind of music do we play? I don’t know, boxes are really good for shipping something.  That’s about it.... we're a rock and fucking roll band."

JR:  You know, that’s definitely the hardest question we get asked.  What kind of music do we play? I don’t know, boxes are really good for shipping something.  That’s about it.  I think you have to look at the history of music and ask some basic questions.  What is blues?  The blues are a kind of folk music that transpired.  And in that, we ask, what is country music?  Country music was birthed from a blend of blues and folk.  And then we ask, what is rock and roll?  It’s when country music and blues and folk music met, right?  So, like, all of these things are kind of weird for me to classify.  There are definitely bands out there you can strictly say they fit in a box plainly.  I think generally speaking that’s hard to do.  It’s definitely a hard thing for us, and I’m happy about it.  All of my favorite bands have the same thing.  I listen to The Grateful Dead.  Is that rock and roll?  Is it country?  Is it folk?  You tell me.  There’s a funny saying: “The Grateful Dead is country music for people that like psychedelics.”  What does that mean?  So, I don’t know what our music is.  I really enjoy hearing how other people hear it, because I find it fascinating that the same song can be heard so entirely different by different people.  A lot of people who talk about our music talk about the blues and funk and rock and roll.  The other night, I even heard someone say, “Man, ‘Junkie’ is pretty heavy.  That’s almost metal!”

I’m like, “Really?  I don’t hear that.  But that’s cool.  Sure, right on!”

For me, I would say there’s an Americana influence if you pay attention to what that whole term “Americana” really sought to mean.  Americana was used as a definition of things of this very nature.  But at the same time, how do you box it in?  Because on one hand, John Prine is an Americana artist.  On the other hand, so is Drive-by Truckers.  And there’s a giant difference in those sounds.  I don’t know.  I’m sure that it will always be hard for me personally to hear melodies outside of the shape which my musical ear was cultivated.  Where I grew up, and the music I grew up playing was bluegrass and folk music and the blues, and so I think in some sort of fashion those things will always be a heavy influence.  Because that’s how my musical ear was developed in hearing those sounds, those structures, and those cadences, and that sort of stuff.  That’s part of what I love about it, especially this first record, “Untethered”.  There’s something in there for everybody.  That’s what I love about it – no matter where you like to say that you sit in your enjoyment of music, there are going to be a couple of tracks at least on “Untethered” that grab you and make you say, wow, this is awesome.  The thing about that is it’s going to open up your ears to the others, because there is a relation.

In regard to what box or genre we fit in, we can all discuss that until we are blue in the face… but there’s no denying it once anyone sees us live.  We are a rock and fucking roll band.

MLJ:  You guys have a single – “Junkie” – dropping today.  What can you tell us about that song?

JR:  (laughs)  The cool thing about any artist making the first record is that you get to draw on all of these songs from all of these years.  “Junkie” is a song that I wrote back in 2006.  I’d been seeing Widespread Panic play in Memphis for a couple of nights.  In fact, I think they were closing a venue there. I remember ceiling tiles falling off during some hard rocking jam the second night of the show.  Anyway, we were all partying it up and having a good time, and we went back to the hotel and partied afterwards like you do. Sometime the next morning, I woke up and heard that riff in my head, and I didn’t have a guitar with me on that whole stretch of tour, following Panic around.  So, I drove down to Guitar Center in Memphis and bought a guitar just so that I could get this riff out of my head.  Because it was really good, and I didn’t want to forget it.  That was the birth of “Junkie” back then.  It definitely has taken on new life both on record and what we did with it in the studio, and then now, as a band when we do it live.  It’s its own living, breathing entity.  That was the genesis of it.

There’s a lot of reflection in there about the ties that can bind us when it comes to both the emotional experience with someone else and the carnal experience.  And it’s an interesting exploration, a metaphor in that realm.

MLJ:  You guys are going to be starting a tour soon?  What can we expect from that?

JR:  Yeah, we’re heading up to Nashville here in early March to hammer out the details on that with some of our people.  I don’t have anything there that I can speak about publicly at the moment, but I can say, generally speaking, there’s not going to be many corners of North America that we don’t get to in 2020.  That’s our intent.  We’ve been working really hard to make sure that all of the right tools are in the toolbox to make that happen. Records are great; records are fun.  I love the permanence of records.  It’s there, it’s out, it’s permanent, and it’s there forever, especially these days with digital music.  That soundbyte is going to exist forever.  I love that.  But there’s something really magical to be said about the other end of the spectrum – live music.  It’s there, it’s played once, and then it floats off on the breeze.  It’s gone.  I’m very much looking forward to getting out there.  I’m a longtime road dog, man.  It’s hard for me to sit in one place.  I’m a mover, and I love traveling, meeting different people, experiencing all of the different energies that exist across the different landscapes.  There’s a whole, big, beautiful, living world that has its own thing and energy that speaks to us, and that’s definitely something that I crave.

We’ll have some dates posted soon, I’d say check on our website this spring for dates.  So, keep an eye out for us.

You can keep up with news, songs, and tour information at their website at:

https://primalgiants.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/primalgiants/

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/primalgiants/