Fresh heavy-psych music from Nova Koloso

Posted on November 8, 2022 by thesonicsofa

*Hallucinate Your Faith was released Nov 1*

Nova Koloso is a heavy psych, alternative rock band from Baltimore, Maryland. The group formed during the pandemic by brothers Mark and Tom Colegrove. With Tom on drums and Mark covering everything else, the duo produces a fast paced blend of progressive psych rock, with plenty of jamming and layering of all kinds of groovy guitar sounds and catchy keyboard tones, topped off with grungy vocals. Their Self-titled first release was released in 2021. Now, the group is back with their second psychedelic offering, Hallucinate Your Faith. In it, the group draws from the best elements of their debut (a brilliant, cross-instrumental harmonic sound, catchy leads, hooky vocals, tight musicianship) and beefs it up with a killer mix. Nova Koloso will call out to fans of psych rockers like King Gizzard as well as alt rockers like Smashing Pumpkins.

For Hallucinate Your Faith, the brothers enlisted the aid of former band mate, Ken Moore, on bass. The album was mixed and mastered by Steve Wright at Wright Way Studios. Clocking in at 38 minutes, its eight songs are on the shorter side, though the band includes lots of great leads and progressive interludes, as well as a nearly eight minute closing track.

1. Hallucinate Your Faith 3:54
2. Whatever You Want To 5:42
3. New Recruit 4:04
4. Dead Tongue 4:25
5. Night Surf 4:20
6. Washout 3:57
7. Salamander 4:03
8. The Mastermind 7:40

On vocals, guitars, and keys, Mark’s propensity for orchestrating harmonized layers really shines throughout the album. Catchy keyboard tones are layered in, like on the grungy Hallucinate Your Faith and the hooky Whatever You Want To. There are flowing, psychedelic guitar patterns and lots of cool effects, notably on tracks like Night Surf and Salamander. Listen for cool, Middle-Eastern sounding guitar leads on Whatever You Want To and New Recruit. The vocals are melodic and catchy, with an edgy 90’s grunge sound.

Tom holds thinks down solidly on drums, with metronomic exactness and a tendency for driving beats. Listen for some cool, odd-time drumming on Dead Tongue, as well as tricky, creative patterns on The Mastermind. Moore’s bass is a great addition to the album, with a thick, beefy tone. His bass sound really stands out on the opening and closing tracks. Additional musicians include Fiona Crowley, who provides some nice backing vocals on Whatever You Want To and Washout, and Jenny Rae Mettee, who takes over bass on Night Surf.

You can find Hallucinate Your Faith on Bandcamp. Digital download is $9 with CD’s available for $15, but copies are going fast. The band is active on social media.

TOUR DATES

NOV 20 Hank Dietles – Rockville, MD

Psych-rockers, Goat, release fourth album, Oh Death

Posted on October 25, 2022 by thesonicsofa

*Oh Death was released on October 21, 2022*

Goat is less of a band and more of a collective, shrouded in mystery and ritual. According to Stranded Records, “The group has laid claim to hailing from an isolated Swedish village with a convoluted history of numerous, constantly evolving incarnations of a band called Goat, all loosely aligned with voodoo rituals that were imported aeons ago from Africa.” Releasing albums since 2012, Goat is known for their intense and mystical live shows, featuring two female vocalists singing in duet, backed by robed instrumentalists, bringing audiences into trance with layer upon layer of trippy, psychedelic patterns, forming a retro, tribal sound. Their trance-inducing repetition and thick, 70’s style groove is unmatched but very influential. Check out Goat if you dig the psychedelic musings of bands like King Gizzard, Dead Meadow, and Orions Belte.

*Goat’s members are anonymous and perform in costume*

1. Soon You Die 4:34
2. Chukua Pesa 2:24
3. Under No Nation 4:17
4. Do The Dance 3:14
5. Apegoat 1:29
6. Goatmilk 4:10
7. Blow The Horns 4:01
8. Remind Yourself 3:20
9. Blessings 1:06
10. Passes Like Clouds 5:11

Released in October, Oh Death is Goat’s fourth album. It follows their last studio release, 2016’s Requiem, as well as 2021’s Headsoup, an album of rare and unreleased tracks. Like their first three albums, Oh Death has Goat’s distinctly recognizable sound. The guitars stand out with plenty of 70’s style funk riffs, making use of lots of wah pedal, tremolo, and delay action. Listen to opener, Soon You Die, as well as Under No Nation for some truly funky guitar work. There are also some nice guitar solos, like on Do the Dance and Remind Yourself, as well as an awesome dual guitar lead on Blow the Horns. On the bottom end, the drums deliver plenty of tight, awesome patterns. Occasionally, cool, tricky fills are thrown, notable on Goatmilk, but most of the time the drums play it cool, instead relying on the trance like effect of repetitious rhythms. The beats are complex and intensely pattern oriented, drawing from various world music influences, even having a Polynesian feel like on instrumental closer, Passes Like Clouds. The bass tones sound great, with some fat, funky tones, at times reminding me of Al Cisneros of Sleep and OM fame. Listen to Under No Nation and Remind Yourself for a some good examples. Above it all, the twin vocal melodies weave in and out, continually delivering plenty of catchy melodies. Don’t miss insanely catchy vocal melodies on tracks like Do the Dance, Goatmilk, and Blow the Horns.

Music video for Do the Dance directed by & edited by Tom Brewins

Like their previous work, Oh Death also is heavily layered with diverse instrumentation sourced from around the world. Listen for awesome hand percussion additions throught the album, especially the tabla type which shine through on Chukua Pesa (Incidentally, Chukua Pesa is Swahili for “Take your money”). If you’re listening with headphones, check out the awesome psychedelic tribal rhythms on Remind Yourself, which bounce back and forth between the left and right ears in stereo. A beautiful piano tone, as well as some cool wind instrument leads comes in key on the album, especially on the jazzy Goatmilk, a personal favorite track. Also, listen for a very tasteful piano solo on the short experimental track, Blessings, which I feel balances out the bizarrely experimental Apegoat track, which was the only song on the album that had me searching for the ‘next track’ button. Luckily it’s very short.

Overall, Oh Death is a super listenable and catchy album, standing among Goat’s best work since World Music. You can find the album on Bandcamp. The CD is available for under $13 and the digital album is $8. Vinyl is currently sold out. The band distributes their music through Subpop, Rocket, and Stranded Records. The band is active on social media and Youtube. Check them out on their upcoming European concert dates.

TOUR DATES

NOV 8 Knust – Hamburg, Germany

NOV 09 Kulturkirche – Köln Köln, Germany

NOV 14 Festsaal Kreuzberg – Berlin, Germany

JAN 25 Rockefeller – Oslo, Norway

JAN 26 Plan B – Malmö, Sweden

JAN 27 Slaktkyrkan – Stockholm, Sweden

Sacred: The new album by Colour Haze

Posted on September 21, 2022 by thesonicsofa

*Sacred was released on September 14, 2022*

Colour Haze is a four-piece band from Munich, Germany. They formed in 1994 and are one of the most influential German stoner rock groups active today. The group produces a detailed audioscape of psychedelic music. The songs are filled with progressive drumming and riffs, soothing and spacy keyboard tones, incredibly catchy guitar hooks, and positive vocals. Since the mid-90’s, the group has released 13 full length albums as well as a handful of live albums and numerous EP’s. Now, the group is back with their 14th full length, Sacred.

Sacred clocks in at 42 minutes with seven tracks. Cover art for the album was created by graphic and tattoo artist, Sara Koncilja. The album was released through Elektrohasch and was recorded live by Willi Dammeier at Clouds Hill in Hamburg. Mixing and mastering was done at the band’s own Colour Haze Studio by founding singer and guitarist, Stefan KoglekIf.

If you’ve followed the Sonic Sofa for any length of time, you’ll know that I often refer to Koglek’s recognizable and influential guitar style. Koglek is joined again by Manfred Merwald on drums, Mario Oberpucher on bass, and Jan Faszbender on keys. Together, they have created an album that radiates good vibes and wicked musicality. Positive, poetic lyrics, delivered in Koglek’s unique, raspy melodies, encourage listeners and prompt them to look to nature, and not the material world, for fulfillment and guidance. Musically, listeners are treated to progressive riffs with insanely catchy guitar hooks, intriguing keyboard layers, and a technically progressive rhythm section.

1. Turquoise 6:09
2. Goldmine 4:35
3. Ideologigi 8:58
4. Avatar 4:41
5. 1.5 Degrees 3:37
6. See The Fools 6:54
7. In All You Are 6:58

Turquoise opens the album and sets the standard with a rich tapestry of low-key psych sounds and distinctive guitar tones. Listen for same tasty drum work, a thick bass tone, and some spacy synths. Goldmine features a growly riff, a super catchy guitar hook, and low key melodic vocals which discuss materialism and human nature. On Idiologigi, listen for progressive music with complex time signatures, and an awesome closing jam. Koglek’s lyrics reject religious dogma and encourage free thought. Avatar opens with some nice harmonies on strings. The lyrics discuss the shallowness of social media culture. Listen for a cool middle-eastern sounding keyboard lead.

1.5 Degrees, a possible allusion to the Paris Climate Agreement, opens with acoustic guitars and an ethnic feel, giving way to an overdriven, distorted guitar riff. See the Fools features some nice, progressive stoner rock riffs, some great organ and string keyboard layers, and reflective vocals about peace, equality, and anti-violence. The closer, In All Your Are is incredibly encouraging lyrically, especially during the closing melodies. Listen for a crisp bass tone paired with some tasty, faster paced drums and a vibrant synth tone that fills out the track nicely.

Where can we find it: You can find Colour Haze’s new album, Sacred, on Bandcamp where you can download the digital album for under $9. According to their website, vinyl will be available in October and CD’s should be available later this month. The full album, with lyrics, has also been released on the band’s YouTube channel. The band is active on social media as well as their website.

TOUR DATES

Sep 24 Rockhouse – Salzburg, Austria

Sep 26 Connexion – Toulouse, France

Sep 27 Kafe Antzokia – Bilbao, Spain

Sep 28 Hard Club – Porto, Portugal

Sep 29 Nazca – Madrid, Spain

Sep 30 Tabernas Rock Festival – Almeria, Spain

Oct 1 Upload – Barcelona, Spain

Oct 2 Le Molotov – Marseille, France

Oct 7 Asta Kneipe – Rosenheim, Germany

Oct 8 Hansa 39 Keep It Low – Munchen, Germany