That’s it. You’ve convinced me, Brooklyn. You are now thee number one spot in the world for heavy, weird, fuzzy, psychedelic music. Okay? Hull, Elks, Bad Dream, Weird Owl, Children…and now Bezoar. I’m sure there’s plenty more rats crawling around in the sewers there that I’m not even aware of, but as far as I’m concerned right now, none of ‘em are bigger — or carry more diseases — than Bezoar. I mean, even their name invokes images of a mythical beast from children’s fables, and this three-headed varmint more than lives up to the hairy, red eye scares it promises. Expounding doom-infused wyt noize, Bezoar’s debut full-length, Wyt Deth, is a lumbering mess of feedback and mildewy riffs, a witchy, warbling deth-psych album that’s definitely hard to listen to, but surely impossible to turn off. Whether it’s the short and sweet allure of songs like “Burn Everything” and “Nikola” or the long and devastating hold of songs like “We Are Not Alone” and “Knight,” the whole damn thing is nauseously enchanting, and you might think it sounds like a dungeon full of hungry, dying prisoners moaning for sunlight, water, and mercy, but that’s just Sara Palmquist (bass/vocals), Tyler Villard (guitar), and Justin Sherrell (drums) laying down the most mystical stoner metal you’re likely to hear all year. Awesome stuff.
In case you’ve been living under a very large and heavy rock, Mastodon are back with their fifth full-length, The Hunter, a non-concept, non-epic album that’s as straightforward and concise as anything they’ve ever done. Of course, this is Mastodon we’re talking about, so as straightforward and concise as The Hunter might be, it’s still a strong arm of flailing beats, mind-bending time signatures, schizophrenic riffing, and eerie vocal harmonies, all delivered in either a full-on mortal crush or an unwavering cosmic vapor lock. However, under the fur-lined cloak of freedom afforded a band of their stature, Mastodon appear to have made the conscious decision to forgo the brainy, extreme aspects of their abilities for a puffed chest, ‘rock-the-fuck-out’ approach. Songs like “Black Tongue,” “Curl of the Burl,” “All the Heavy Lifting,” and “Dry Bone Valley” find the Atlanta quartet choosing brute force over precision, trading in their clockmaker’s hands for those of a caveman, while songs like “Blasteroid,” “Stargasm,” and “Spectrelight” (featuring Scott Kelly of Neurosis) are the most vintage Mastodon songs of the bunch, an abundance of devastating wonder tailor-made to amaze. The album’s not without its departures, however, including mellower, dramatic cuts “The Hunter” and “The Sparrow,” as well as the weird, anthemic “Creature Lives,” which features drummer Brann Dailor’s vocal prowess. It would be hard to argue that Mastodon hasn’t been one of the most influential bands on heavy music the last 10 years or so, and if The Hunter demonstrates anything at all, it’s that in a sea swelling with admirable contemporaries, they can do something like buckle down and play laymen without giving up the charge.
Check out the video for “Curl of the Burl” from The Hunter!
Braveyoung used to be known as Giant, and as such they carried a rawer, sludgier tune. Giant was a post-rock band, mind you, but of the heavy, dense variety. Braveyoung is still a post-rock band, but have traded in the atmospheric loudness for an emotional wash of somber movements. We Are Lonely Animals, the North Carolina band’s full-length debut, is even similarly removed from 2009′s two-song EP, Bloom, which still contained traces of Giant’s fuzzy muscle, and is laid out as a yearning whisper of dulcet emptiness. Like a study in solitary existence, We Are Lonely Animals employs every critical nuance — slow strings, delicate piano, chilling chord progressions — to create a cascade of elegant, beautiful, and haunting moments that will numb your soul, all of it accompanied by the desolate parlance of such titles as “And No Two Walked Together,” “Our Teeth Are Falling Out,” and “The Weight of Loss is Whole.” I’m reminded of Ulver or No-Man, or even Agalloch’s White EP in some instances, but those are my bearded roots showing. For the more discerning post-rock lover, Braveyoung will probably call to mind Mogwai or Explosions in the Sky, especially on the album’s longest and most devastating track, “The Light Narrows.” Either way, it’s some magnificent mood music.
Bezoar
Mastodon
Braveyoung