Hey, folks! In this installment of Listening Lately, I don’t even know what to do… There is SO MUCH GOOD MUSIC that comes across the blog’s path that it’s impossible to do justice to it all. But I’ll try to at least point you in the direction of some acts to check out…
Local favorites Phat A$tronaut will be celebrating the release of their first studio album, The Fifth Dimension, with a grand soiree at The Acoustic in Bridgeport on April 28th. (Facebook event here.) Remember, this is a band that recorded a live album at their first show. Let that sink in for a minute…. Live album. First show. So you know whatever they come up with in the studio will be dope — pre-orders are available now and come with the funky opening track “Greene Eyes.” You know you have six bucks, just order it.
Next up on the docket is Piss River, which is perhaps the opposite of Phat A$tronaut but still freakin’ cool. These Swedish rock n rollers are deep underground, like Owl Maker underground, but I have a feeling that if their music gets into the right hands, they could be the next obscure band that everyone is talking about. What I like about them is that they look like they are having a good time and don’t take themselves too seriously — but with a band name like “Piss River,” how could ya? Their debut full length (s/t) comes out on April 27th via The Sign Records. We featured Piss River’s fun video for “Bad Reputation” in our latest AltCtrlToob edition, but here it is again in case you missed it:
Meanwhile, Norwegian thrashers Aura Noir, who do take themselves seriously, are due to release an album on April 27th, titled Aura Noire. These guys are definitely old school; songs like “Grave Dweller” and “The Obscuration” will wake you the hell up when you’re having your Saturday morning coffee, that’s for sure. If you like locals hell bent or Savage World, you’ll enjoy Aura Noir. Shake off the slumber with the track “Shades Ablaze”:
And finally, bringing it back to the States, we have Nashville’s Howling Giant is coming our way soon. Their August 2017 EP Black Hole Space Wizard Part 2 is the second part (duh) of a three-part apocalyptic space rock saga; it has a Mastodon-meets-Devin-Townsend-meets-Khemmis vibe to it, fuzzy and driving. The closer “Earth Druid” is really beautiful. These guys will be rolling through the Northeast, with a venue-TBA date on 5/17 between Massachusetts and Philly…. Does that mean a show in Connecticut? Like them on Facebook for tour updates and check out their tunes below.
That’s a wrap for this week… What have you been listening to lately?
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