Telekinetic Yeti is a two-piece stoner rock band from Dubuque, Iowa. Formed in 2015, the band was started by singer and guitarist, Alex Baumann. Abominable, the band’s first album, was released in March 2017. The heavy album is brilliantly arranged and packs a major punch that rewards repeat listens. After that release, the band began touring heavily, sharing stages with giants such as Weedeater, Truckfighters, 1000 Mods, Red Fang, and Clutch.
After a change of drummers and with five years since their first release, the duo will finally release their second album, Primordial, an album they’ve been sitting on since 2020. It’s their first album signed with Tee Pee Records. The new single, Ancient Nug, picks up where Abominable left off. It has chunky guitar riffs, complex drumbeats, melodic, guttural vocals, plenty of changeups, and don’t miss that heavy down-tempo outro.
It was released as a music video, featuring the duo rocking out onstage in an old church. Guitarist Baumann explained, “This song is about searching for meaning and purpose amidst the ubiquitous suffering we endure. It’s also about something long lost being rediscovered, and the resonating ripples of butterfly effects from the ancient past that affect all life today. We really liked filming in this location because it had such a meditative and surreal quality to it. We felt that it fit the themes of the song well.”
The album can be pre-ordered on black or purple vinyl for $25 or on CD for $13. Check out the music video and get hyped for the new album! Also, look for Telekinetic Yeti at a handful of shows in May, including Desertfest NYC.
Yung Druid is a London-based heavy doom, psych quartet with low-tuned, riffy guitars and high-pitched melodic vocals. The group’s music is straightforward and solid, without being too complex. The group creates riffy, sludgy, classic metal, in the vein of Black Sabbath, but with some of the psychedelic sensibilities of softer bands like Dead Meadow and Sleepy Sun.
Ever since the single, Take Me to Your Dealer, dropped back in September of 2018, the groovy lead drew me in and I started keeping an eye out for the full album. Released on Bandcamp in April, Yung Druid’s self titled album is no disappointment: It’s full of high flying vocals, killer guitar leads, and walls of reverb and distortion. The drums sound great in the mix, with heavy cymbals that are really allowed to ring out and sing. The guitars and bass are down-tuned and heavy, and the vocals never struggle to hit the high notes.
The album officially releases on June 1, 2019 through Totem Cat Records. A limited run of 300 vinyl records is available for purchase on Bandcamp. Hopefully the band reissues more units for the June release as supplies are already limited (32 remain at the time of writing this).
Take Me to Your Dealer (5:56) is the album’s riffy opener. It’s a groovy, psych-doom song with X-Files inspired lyrics and a trippy last half that feels like you’re being taken away on an alien abduction trip.
Sleepy Eyes (6:47) is filled with commanding riffs and has some cool change-ups. Two vocal tracks create nice harmonies throughout the song. Heavy distortion on the guitars and lots of reverb on the vocals give this song some great psychedelic qualities.
Underneath the Aching Sky (4:35) is a shorter headbanger with some seriously catchy guitar and vocal hooks. The vocals carry some echoes of Ozzy and Geddy Lee, and the guitar riffs are dark and Sabbath-esque. Pay attention for the awesome sounding china cymbal.
Lung (4:47) takes a break from the heaviness is much softer. The vocals are a little more laid back and the song has some great guitar solo work.
After a hard hitting intro, Went into a Wooden Room (6:24) features a standout bass line guides the way into a psychedelic audioscape. The track grooves along and takes its time unfurling itself.
Morning Come (4:26) finishes the album strong. The closing song featuring strong guitar riffs, a solid rhythm section, and beautiful vocal melodies.
If you’re into 70’s influenced retro rock with tons of riffs, high flying vocals, and plenty of stoner lyrics, look no further than Yung Druid. Check out the music video which is just as trippy and spaced out as the music. The video also has tin-foil hat wearing aliens, so go for it!
Australian band, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, are anything but an ordinary psychedelic rock group. Operating their own label has allowed them to creatively control everything about their music, and their model, which included releasing five albums last year, is anything but mainstream. Their work has developed over the years and though they started as a lo-fi surf rock band, their catalog has grown to include jazz, folk, progressive rock, soundtrack-like concept albums, and healthy doses of stoner rock and metal. With 13 full-length albums since 2010, not to mention EPs and singles, KGATLW have proven to be prolific and hard-working. In addition, their performances are high energy and very tight. Their music can be found on bandcamp.
Fishing for Fishies is the band’s forthcoming album, due on April 26th. Judging by the diverse string of singles that have been released to promote the album, it seems to be more in the vein of a sampler album like Gumboot Soup, rather than a consistent concept album such as Microtonal Flying Banana, or most of their other work. One mystery however, is the new single and music video, Planet B. Planet B doesn’t appear on the tracklist for Fishies, so some speculate that it might be an unrelated release or part of another album. What we do know however, is that the song is awesome.
Released along with a music video on April 9, Planet B is very different from the other material being promoted. With a noticeably heavier and thrashier spin, Planet B seems to be more of a throwback to bands like Metallica and Megadeth. It echoes the style that the band generated for the song The Great Chain of Being and bandleader Stu Mackenzie channels singers like Al Cisneros and James Hetfield with his commanding vocals.
KGATLW have long put out material that seeks to draw attention to climate change. The lyrics of Planet B very much follow in that tradition, with lyrics such as, “There is no Planet B.” The vocals also explore concepts of space travel and colonization.
The band’s videos are typically psychedelic and creative. Planet B keeps that creativity but takes things in a darker, more violent direction, involving the band as orange cloaked psych inmates, as well as a violent, conspiratorial plot to silence the band members. Check out the song and music video below, along with the band’s tour dates.
June 27 Forum Melbourne – Melbourne, VIC
June 27 Forum Melbourne – Melbourne, VIC
June 28 Forum Melbourne – Melbourne, VIC
July 03 The Tivoli – Brisbane, QLD
July 04 The Tivoli – Brisbane, QLD
July 05 Roundhouse, UNSW – Sydney, NSW
July 06 Roundhouse, UNSW – Sydney, NSW
July 12 Thebarton Theatre – Adelaide, SA
July 13 Astor Theatre – Perth, WA
July 14 Astor Theatre – Perth, WA
July 26 Naeba Ski Resort – Niigata, Japan
Aug 13 Greek Theatre – Los Angeles, CA
Aug 14 Svn West – San Francisco, CA
Aug 15 Svn West – San Francisco, CA
Aug 16 Roseland Theater – Portland, OR
Aug 17 Harbour Event Centre – Vancouver, BC
Aug 18 Paramount Theatre – Seattle, WA
Aug 20 The Depot – Salt Lake City, UT
Aug 21 Mission Ballroom – Denver, CO
Aug 23 Riverside Theatre – Milwaukee, WI
Aug 24 Aragon Ballroom – Chicago, IL
Aug 25 Rebel Toronto – Toronto, ON
Aug 26 L’Olympia de Montréal – Montreal, QC
Aug 27 College Street Music Hall – New Haven, CT
Aug 28 SummerStage, Central Park – New York, NY
Aug 30 Franklin Music Hall – Philadelphia, PA
Aug 31 9:30 Club – Washington, DC
Sep 01 New Belgium Brewing Company – Asheville, NC
Sep 02 Tabernacle presented by Cricket Wireless – Atlanta, GA
Sep 03 Joy Theater – New Orleans, LA
Sep 04 Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater – Austin, TX
Sep 06 The Bomb Factory – Dallas, TX
Sep 30 Rock City – Nottingham, UK
Oct 01 Barrowland Ballroom – Glasgow, UK
Oct 02 O2 Academy Leeds – Leeds, UK
Oct 03 O2 Victoria Warehouse Manchester – Manchester, UK
Oct 05 Alexandra Palace – London, UK
Oct 06 TivoliVredenburg – Utrecht, Netherlands
Oct 07 TivoliVredenburg – Utrecht, Netherlands
Oct 08 Ancienne Belgique (AB) – Brussels, Belgium
Oct 11 Carlswerk Victoria – Cologne, Germany
Oct 12 Columbiahalle – Berlin, Germany
Oct 13 Rockhal Club – Esch Sur Alzette, Luxembourg
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