Frozen Planet…1969 “The Heavy Medicinal Grand Exposition” Review + Stream…

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Frozen Planet 1969

The Heavy Medicinal Grand Exposition – Limited Vinyl // CD // DD

Pepper Shaker Records & Headspin Records – released November 1, 2018

 Review by Terry “The Ancient” One Cuyler

“Psychedelic Snake Oil”

 

The Heavy Medicinal Grand Exposition

I.Oddball Sundae (00:00-05:15)

II.The Juggler (05:16-10:08)

III.Introducing… Oxandra Lanceolata (10:09-16:26)

  1. The Talking Juice (16:27-27:31)
  2. Swords For Hire (27:32-31:47)
  3. Never Should Have Left Town With A Whistling Monkey By My Side(31:48-39:29)

2 Encore: A Herbal Miracle (6:02)

 

Review:

Step right up ladies and gentlemen, so I can tell you about The Heavy Medicinal Grand Exposition by Australia’s Heavy Psych trio Frozen Planet ….1969 made up of Paul Attard & Frank Attard of Mother Mars  and  Lachlan Paine of Looking Glass who planted the seeds to the band in 2012 in a jam session at the Frank Street Studio, the home of Pepper Shaker Records. Then a little more than a year later the guys got back together and decided to release the recordings as a side project they would call Frozen Planet 1969.

To date, the band has only played a handful of shows. Each show has been uniquely different with the band continuously jamming for thirty to forty minutes. No rehearsal necessary. Every time Frozen Planet 1969 gets together it’s either to record or play live. And it’s All improvised!  Although this is a style of creating and playing music that can cause friction it seems to work quite well for Frozen Planet 1969 who has released a total of  6 albums and 2 singles since their 1st “Self Titled” album.

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The bands latest offering is on it’s surface a 2 song album which might be disappointing if they were only 3 to 5 minute songs and leave me hoping they were just appetizers for an upcoming album. However as masters of improvisation who love to jam, Frozen Planet 1969‘s album The Heavy Medicinal Grand Exposition is not just two songs. it is in truth a Psychedelic / Acid Rock opera about a traveling medicine show.

In the album description on Bandcamp ‘I’ through ‘VI’ of the title-track serve as the acts of the show. The band takes twists and turns to help guide you through the story, while Doctor Berner, with the help of some colorful characters, are on a quest to sell bottles of his glowing green elixir (which will apparently cure any pain or deliver anyone from evil!). After listening to this I am hooked and want to see one of those rare shows.

Turtle Skull “Self Titled” Album Review + Stream…

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Turtle Skull

Turtle Skull – Digital Download // Band Shirt Bundles

Self Released – releases May 17, 2018

Terry “The Ancient One” Cuyler

Surfing the Psychedelic Sound Waves

 

 

Tracklist:
No News is Bad News – 6:56
Take it or Leave It – 8:27
Eden – 6:08
Empty Ships – 8:23

 

Ah…Spring has sprung. The trees are leafing and flowers blooming and I feel the urge to leave my cave behind and go bike riding. But to do that I need some good riding music and in my collection I have quite a bit to choose that covers a wide spectrum of styles.

Most recently I added a “Self Titled” EP by the self described Flower Doom  rockers from Sydney Australia called Turtle Skull who will be debuting the download of their EP on Bandcamp this May 17th 2018. Available for Pre – order now for $1 US I’d feel like I was ripping them off if I didn’t pay $5. Offering up what sounds to me like surf music infused with psychedelic feel good fuzz I find it easy to not care about trivial things when I listen to it. While I am not going to claim Turtle Skull is the next Earthless I feel pretty safe saying they have a lot of potential and I’d buy a full length album if they produce one.

Live Band Shot

Opening the EP is No News is Bad News a trippy fuzzadelic song about tuning out the talking heads on TV that encourage us to buy into their vision of a plastic paradise that we all to often buy into. What I like most about this are the droning vocals and guitars that feel like they are coming from the deep.

With a steady mid tempo rhythm that keeps things simple Take It Or Leave It has the rolling feel of a classic surf song. Overall, what I enjoyed was its catchy feel.

Nothing like having drums and guitars create a rhythm which Turtle Skull does masterfully.

Moving into a more visceral sound is Eden the 3rd track is my favorite on the EP. What I like most is that naughty guitar played by vocalist guitarist Dean.

Closing “Turtle Skull” is the psychedelic blues song Empty Ships that feels like a midnight swim under the stars. Deans smooth vocals and guitar along with Dan on synth set the mood for the song and proved to me they can do more than just sound more fuzzed. This debut album is an excellent start for this promising band.  I look forward to what they have in store for us in the near future.  Highly Recommend!!

Pro Band Pic

Mother Mars “On Lunar Highlands” Album Review + Stream + Music Video…

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Mother Mars

On Lunar Highlands – CD // DD

Pepper Shaker Records – Releases December 6, 2017

Reviewed by Eric Layhe

 

 

Lineup:
Frank Attard: Drums, percussion, Clavinet, synth, meandering chaos
Paul Attard: Guitars, bass, synth, banjo-mandolin, piano, organ, complications
Dave Schembri: Vocals, harmonica, mellow vibes
Matthew Slager: Lead guitar on ‘Never Fail’

Tracklist:
Wrecker’s Reunion Ball (5:00)
Lost Planet Airmen (4:34)
Bean Stalkin’ (0:28)
Thought It Best To Cut You Loose (5:33)
Soap Bar Pick-Up Joint (3:41)
The Stalwarts of Saltwort Castle (9:31)
The Working Mind of the Creator (3:44)
Woodhollow Green (12:55)
Bean Stalkin’ Again (0:56)
Never Fail (4:13)
Bigger Than Fear (5:44)
On Lunar Highlands (8:35)
The Heavy Hand Of The Destroyer (4:14)

 

 

Review:
Sludge Metal can go in any one of many directions, and one of the most interesting just may be the original: The variety of Sludge both invented and perfected by Black Sabbath. That particular brand of Sludge Metal is heavily Blues-influenced and totally unafraid to incorporate highly experimental elements like irregular time signatures, tempo changes, and long complicated instrumental sections in a manner that is almost progressive. This style of music has existed since the late 70s and one of its latest disciples is Australia’s Mother Mars, and they exemplify it fantastically in their newest release, On Lunar Highlands.

As a listener will easily pick up on while making their way through the album, Mother Mars makes no attempt to pigeonhole themselves. They open with some sludgey goodness on “Wrecker’s Reunion Ball”, but they weave their way through several different styles like early-era Queens of the Stone Age-style desert rock on “Lost Planet Airmen” Psychedelic Folk on several songs, most prevalent in the interlude “Bean Stalkin’” and its brother-in-arms “Bean Stalkin’ Again”, and expertly execute a song that sounds like a long-lost B-side from Black Sabbath’s Paranoid in album high point “The Stalwarts of Saltwort Castle” (stream below).

While Mother Mars is an extremely skilled band, they really show their true talent when their songs are heavier and longer. When Mother Mars give themselves room to breathe, their songs gain an organic energy that is nearly second to none, especially when they decide to allow themselves what is a particularly decadent instrumental section full of guitar solos, bass riffs, and plenty of interplay between the band’s members.

Additionally, there are only 3 members of Mother Mars, though you’d never guess it from listening to them. These Heavy Space Rockers are incredibly adept at filling a space with as much noise as it needs to sound full and heavy without making it sound unnecessarily chaotic. It is chaotic, to be fair, but as Mother Mars proves, chaos is not always directionless. As the band simulates what can only be described as the sonic equivalent of a Solar Storm, they always make sure to include a clearly understandable sense of direction, as the songs always make sense, as a band full of gentlemen this talented should. If you are interested in Bluesy, Spacey, Sonic-adventurous Sludge Metal, and you have 70 minutes to kill, look no further than Mother Mars’ “On Lunar Highlands”. It is skillful, it is eclectic, and most importantly: it is heavy.

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Frozen Planet…1969 “From The Center Of A Parallel Universe” Album Review + Stream…

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FROZEN PLANET…1969

From The Centre Of A Parallel Universe – Limited Vinyl // CD // DD

Pepper Shaker Records – released August 30, 2017

Reviewed by Ric “Suisyko” Dorr

 

Formed:
Early 2012

Location:
Sydney / Canberra, Australia

Personnel:
Guitars – Paul Attard

Bass – Lachlan Paine

Drums – Frank Attard

Previous Releases:
“Frozen Planet….1969” (2012)

“Lost Traveller Chronicles, Volume 1” (2014)

“Lost Traveller Chronicles, Volume 2” (2015)

“Electric Smokehouse” EP (2017)

 

 

First, a bit of background:

When asked to describe how this band came to be, they collectively answered, quote “We are a band called Frozen Planet…1969. The emphasis is on improvisation. No vocals, just straight-out instrumental jamming.” Enquote.  It was basically a side-project for the three individuals as Paul and Frank had been playing in the stoner-doom band, Mother Mars while Lachlan was playing in the Canberra, Aussie heavy rock trio, Looking Glass. Having played their first show in February of 2014, the band has only played a handful of shows, each consisting of a 30-40 minute jam session. Each individual show is unique, no rehearsals needed. According to Frozen Planet…1969′s Facebook presence, quote “Every time the band gets together in the studio there will be two or three separate jams, with each jam usually clocking in at anywhere between 60 and 90 minutes. The editing and mixing process (done by drummer / producer Frank Attard) is very important for the band in order to capture the most effective and cohesive moments from the jam sessions.” Enquote. Certainly explains how they are seeming so prolific and that is NEVER a bad thing, especially with the caliber of music offered up here.

Band Shot

Five songs clocking in at just over 43 minutes, combined to give you the present needed to further melt your brain, opening with ‘Signals (Channeling….)’ and flowing into hyper-fuzzed, hyper tempoed, bass screaming in the thickest rumble heard as ‘Celestial Gambler’ races in front of you as you sprint to keep close, psychedelic ramblings encasing you in all of the Timothy Leary glory possible without the electric-Kool-Aid, jazz fills in tow and that lumbering bass line that commands you to follow during this 11 minute romp across that astral horizon looming ahead. Complete with an ending that sums up the tale of no words with an exclamation point that is absolute perfection and fades to a slow black.

‘Through Hell’s Kaleidoscope, Parts I & II’ is a quick fade in with a jangly, bouncy bass line and what can only be described as the ultra-spaced out panache of synchronicity divine as these three weave complete visual tapestries with not a word uttered, only mood and atmosphere to give your mind the things necessary to see what they are saying with each note and flick of the wrist. As the warbling chords of ‘The Lady And The Archer’ come forth with a more even handed pace than previous. That presence of emotional purity is still flowing right from the fingertips directly into the sub-conscious as you can’t help but ride the ripples in the air that circles you as you take this all in.

Vinyl Shot

Closer, ‘Ancient Wings Taking Flight’ brings back the frenetic tempos blended with the spaced-out string bending that leads to the perfect summation of not only this record, but of the precision musicality delivered under the guise of a jam-band that delivers EVERY time.

Get this record NOW, grab everything else you can find by these guys and play it to the Heavens and beyond!! Support them live if they come anywhere close and keep it LOUD!!

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