Graphic artist Wina Obake specializes in art with trippy sci-fi influences
When I started The Sonic Sofa, I threw together a hasty photo of my sofa and added some words to create my logo. About a year later, I finally decided to com-mission some professional art to make the blog even more awesome. Finally, I’m proud to present to you, the reupholstered new look of The Sonic Sofa.
I had an idea of the look I wanted to achieve: a sci-fi feel, plenty of desert/stoner rock influence, and obviously a comfy sofa. I was introduced to an artist named Wina Obake who specializes in the kind of look I was going and after checking out her work, I knew that I had found the perfect artist for the project. She was able to turn my vague ideas into vivid reality, and I’m so proud of the results. Please check her work on Instagram and Kichink and consider supporting her by buying art. She can also be contacted by email at pzicho.mustard@gmail.com.
The spacey new blog header by graphic artist, Wina Obake
In the months to come, please look for more big changes to The Sonic Sofa. I’m not going to give too much away, but the second season of the podcast is going to get an update, the blog is going to start having more content each week, and we are currently coming up with ad free ways of monetizing the blog. Stay tuned to the big changes in the second year of the blog and as always, go in peace and rock on, Sofanauts.
Based in Southern California, Billy Tsounis is a psychedelic rock guitarist who records and performs with his band, the Amazing Androids. The band produces instrumental, heavy psych music that will take you out of your mind and on a musical journey through the sonic cosmos. If you’re a fan of bands like Dhidalah, you’re going to dig the hypnotic psych sound of Billy Tsounis and the Amazing Androids.
Warp Delights is the band’s eighth album. Released on October 2, 2019, it’s a followup to 2017’s Pimped by the Gods. The album features Billy Tsounis on guitars, Aris Weathersby on bass, Lucas Marquardt on electric cello, and Will Rury on drums. The album was recorded with a mix of analog and digital equipment, and each track was taped live in order to achieve the freshest sound and energy possible. The band went with the first or second take of each song. The experimental tracks take you on a sonic voyage through layers of psychedelic guitar tones, underscored by crisp drums and a beefy bass tone. The album can be found on Bandcamp for digital download. Here’s the tracklist:
Cow Lands Eats Pilot (2:44)
Serene (3:13)
Gone Swamp Shopping (7:51)
Too Nervous to Reincarnate (6:16)
Last Dance Space Boots (3:54)
Babalas Lilo (9:58)
Becoming Butterfly (6:08)
Messy Nostalgia Machines (7:05)
The album is perfect for sinking into the sofa and spacing out with the trance-inducing rhythms. There are long, spacey tracks like Babalas Lilo with it’s driving bass and phasing guitars, and the droney Gone Swamp Shopping; each conveys the album’s live, experimental feel. The waltzy track, Last Dance Space Boots will hook listeners with its catchy guitar lead, and Becoming Butterfly is a dreamy track that will lull you away on iridescent wings.
Motherbrain was released by Mascot Records on August 23rd
Crobot is a hard-rock band from Pottsville, Pennsylvania. The band formed in 2011 and have released three full length albums: Something Supernatural in 2014, Welcome to Fat City in 2016, and their latest release, Motherbrain in 2019. The band has extensively toured in support of their albums and the “Beardos” put on a live show that is both highly entertaining and energetic, with their style of dirty, groovy-rock. If Clutch, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden had a genetically engineered, designer baby, the unholy result would probably look and sound a little bit like Crobot. The band wear their influences on their sleeves, but also transcend them with their own unique sound.
“consistent with Crobot’s best work”
After signing with Mascot Records last November, the band put out their most recent album, Motherbrain, on August 23, 2019. The album is a headbanger from start to finish, characterized by crunchy guitar riffs, tough, high-flying melodic vocals with a sense of humor, and a solid rhythm section. The album has that distinctive Crobot sound created by vocalist, Brandon Yeagely, and guitarist, Chris Bishop, the two original core members. They are joined on the album by Dan Ryan on drums, and James Lascu and Eddie Collins share the role of touring bassist. Here’s the tracklist:
Burn
Keep Me Down
Drown
Low Life
Alpha Dawg
Stoning The Devil
Gasoline
Destroyer
Blackout
After Life
The Hive
Chris Bishop’s guitar sound is unique, making use of several effects pedals which make his sound so recognizable. His style is latent throughout the whole album, providing all kinds of groovy riffs. The album is laden with slow, heavy grooves like on opening song Burn, the darker sounding Drown, and the super heavy track, Stoning the Devil. Some of the album’s crunchiest riffs can be heard on Destroyer and Keep Me Down, which also has a hilarious music video. Some of the best headbangers on the album are the aforementioned Destroyer, and Gasoline, which has a softer touch on the verses.
Brandon Yeagely’s vocals are stylish and very versatile, with a highflying range that can also reach super low, and it’s always good to hear intelligently written lyrics with plenty of puns and wordplay. There are classic-sounding Crobot fight songs like Keep Me Down and Destroyer, as well as some full-blooded tracks like Burn, Blackout, and Hive. Consistent with the themes of their earlier releases, darker lyrics are explored on tracks like Drown, and Stoning the Devil, which both feature some awesome vocal harmonies. Yeagely’s vocal range can really be heard well on tracks like Alpha Dawg and Hive. Unfortunately, most traces of their earlier sci-fi and stoner rock lyrics are absent on this album, leaving something to be desired for most stoner-rock fans.
The rhythm section is tight throughout. Even on more mainstream sounding tracks like Lowlife (which also features a music video) and Blackout, the band spices it up with complex sounding rhythmic changeups. The driving, chunky bass can really be heard well on Blackout and Destroyer. The drums are punchy sounding and the cymbals have a crispy, rock sound. There’s plenty of tight double kick work, as well as some awesome fills at the end of Gasoline, and even a rim-tap tip of the hat to ZZ Top on After Life.
“highly entertaining and energetic”
Motherbrain is a solid album, with plenty of opportunities to sing-along, headbang, and rock out. Consistent with Crobot’s best work, it’s a good followup to Welcome to Fat City, though it never quite reaches the level of the otherworldy lyrical matter or heaviness of Something Supernatural. The sound of the album is also a little more produced than earlier releases, noticeably in the slightly over-compressed drum sound. Overall though, the album still has that dirty, almost raw sound that Crobot is renowned for and it’s also safe to say that Crobot’s sound is definitely as heavy and dark as ever. Check out Motherbrain, today.
Tour Dates
OCT 15 The National – Richmond, VA
OCT 16 Theatre of Living Arts – Philadelphia, PA
OCT 18 The Fillmore Silver Spring – Silver Spring, MD
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