We're waving goodbye to spring and welcoming the summer period with a selection of some of the finest new tracks we've had the pleasure of listening to in the last few months. As we're reaching the mid-point of 2017, this playlist is also indicative of where we currently stand on the issue of the best releases of the year so far. Let's leave it to the music to do the talking:
The release last year of their eighth album, the powerful "Star Treatment", paved the way for Wovenhand's return to Athens for a sixth time. Once again David Eugene Edwards and his band led us on a musical journey to a strange place where the Old Testament meets the Old West and rock 'n' roll is the path to a higher spiritual level.
The four-piece band walked on stage to the sounds of tribal rhythms (while seconds before we were listening to The Fall's "Hit The North" coming from the venue's PA!) and started their incantations with "Hiss" from previous album "Refractory Obdurate".
This imposing start opened the way for a storming set which was largely based on the new album including tracks like "Crystal Palace", "The Hired Hand", "The Quiver" and the superb "Crook and Flail" with its infectious, eastern-influenced melody, along with a few more selections from "Refractory Obdurate".
As always Edwards presence and commanding voice was the epicenter of Wovenhand's fervent performance, while the three musicians that accompanied him did an excellent job building up the rock storm that engulfed us for an hour and a half.
The show came to an end with a scorching three-song encore that included "Five by Five", "LowTwelve" and "King O King" which marked the triumphant finale of another epic performance from a band that has rightfully earned a place among the favorites of the local gig-goers.
As an added bonus, before Wovenhand's show we had the chance to enjoy a brief acoustic set by another Sargent House recording artist, Emma Ruth Rundle. A recent injury kept her on a chair for the duration of her half hour set but her voice was in fine form, as she presented her folk-based, atmospheric songs (listen to her solo catalogue here).
Emma Ruth Rundle, live @ Fuzz Club (Athens, May 13th, 2017)
Check out below Wovenhand performing "Crook and Flail" and "Crystal Palace", and Emma Ruth Rundle in "Living with the Black Dog" from their joint gig at Fuzz Club:
Wovenhand - Crook and Flail (live @ Fuzz Club, Athens)
Another great month for new releases with albums by Thurston Moore, Mark Lanegan Band, The Black Angels and The New Pornographers to name but a few. Here's our shortlist of those that stood out from the pack, including some of the Record Store Day 2017 releases:
Albums
THURSTON MOORE - Rock n Roll Consciousness MARK LANEGAN BAND - Gargoyle THE BLACK ANGELS - Death Song THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS - Whiteout Conditions WOODS - Love is Love THE BIG MOON - Love In The 4th Dimension ROBYN HITCHCOCK - Robyn Hitchcock GUIDED BY VOICES - August by Cake JULIANA HATFIELD - Pussycat FUJIYA & MIYAGI - Fujiya & Miyagi KENDRICK LAMAR - DAMN. RAEKWON - The Wild ARCA - Arca ACTRESS - AZD GORILLAZ - Humanz THE RAVEONETTES - 2016 Atomized HAPPYNESS - Write In SHEER MAG - Compilation FATHER JOHN MISTY - Pure Comedy FEIST - Pleasure KAREN ELSON - Double Roses TARA JANE O’NEIL - Tara Jane O’Neil MARK MULCAHY - The Possum In The Driveway BNQT - Volume 1 COLD WAR KIDS - La Divine FUTURE ISLANDS - The Far Field MAXÏMO PARK - Risk To Exist SPLASHH - Waiting A Lifetime PART CHIMP - IV H GRIMACE - Self Architect DIET CIG - Swear I’m Good At This LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT - Los Angeles Police Department A VICTIM OF SOCIETY - Freaktown WALL - Untitled HERE LIES MAN - Here Lies Man WHITE REAPER - The World’s Best American Band ALEXANDRA SAVIOR - Belladonna Of Sadness LITTLE DRAGON - Season High JOE GODDARD - Electric Lines CLARK - Death Peak JOEY BADA$$ - All-Amerikkkan Bada$$
Chelsea Wolfe's first ever live performance in Athens took place at Piraeus 117 Academy and it was the highlight of the two-day Smoke the FuzzFest, an indoor mini festival which also featured :Skull & Dawn:, Oathbreaker and Amenra.
Wolfe and her three band mates presented an impressive 70-minute set largely based on her last album, 2015's "Abyss", her heaviest and probably best work to date which combines expertly gothic folk melodies and dark, distorted metal power. A few songs from previous album "Pain Is Beauty" completed the set, along with a couple of new ones ("The Culling" and "Static Hum") and "Pale on Pale" from 2011's "Apokalypsis".
The best moments of the main set included a climactic, powerful rendition of "After the Fall" as well as "Carrion Flowers" and "We Hit a Wall" (which you can watch below). The night came to a close with an encore featuring "House of Metal" and "Survive", the haunting melody of the first leading the way for the noisy finale of the second, a fitting recap of Wolfe's dark, commanding sound.
Chelsea Wolfe's complete set: Feral Love, Carrion Flowers, Dragged Out, The Culling, We Hit a Wall, After the Fall, Simple Death, Iron Moon, Static Hum, Pale on Pale. Encore: House of Metal, Survive.
Chelsea Wolfe - We Hit a Wall (live in Athens, Smoke the Fuzz Fest, April 29, 2017)
