Feel This, the groovy new album by Crobot

Posted on July 5, 2022 by thesonicsofa

*Feel This was released on June 3, 2022*

There are many keywords that could describe Crobot: stoner rock, glam, dirty grooves, heavy riffs, grungy action, attitude. The truth is Crobot embodies all of these and more. The four piece group from Pottsville, PA has been violently administering heavy grooves since 2011 and are back with their fifth full length, Feel This. The album delivers in classic Crobot style, with riffs and high-flying vocals on 12 heavy, headbanging tracks.

1. Electrified 4:00
2. Dizzy 3:32
3. Set You Free 3:31
4. Better Times 3:33
5. Golden 3:57
6. Without Wings 4:35
7. Livin’ on the Streets 3:02
8. Into the Fire 3:04
9. Dance with the Dead 2:59
10. Holy Ghost 3:17
11. Never Break Me 3:24
12. Staring Straight Into the Sun 4:56

Vocalist, Brandon Yeagley, and guitarist, Chris Bishop, are the founding members of the group, carrying forth the vision of the band with renewed passion on Feel This, which was released in June. Yeagley’s impressive vocal range is well displayed on opener, Electrified, a fight song with a shock of adrenaline and fast paced riffs. If any of the tracks could be called a stadium anthem, it might be Set You Free, with it’s nice key board accents and catchy vocal hooks. Yeagley’s lyrics are laced with wit and wordplay, like on the Motley Crue-esque Livin’ on the Streets and the catchy, classic rock sounding track, Dance With the Dead. On riffs, Bishop’s guitars sound crunchy and groovy. Listen for his unique signature guitar effects, notable on the opener, the grungy track Golden, and Holy Ghost, which features lots of cool, heavy changeups. Dizzy features slower, dirtier riffs and a quick Tom Morello style solo. Don’t miss Bishop’s extended solo on closer, Staring Straight Into the Sun, which also features a fast changeup and extended jam at the end.

Dan Ryan joined in 2018 and recorded drums on Motherbrain and bassist, Tim Peugh, joined the band in 2021. Ryan’s drumming is rock solid, perfectly synced with Peugh’s growly bass tone. Listen for some tight transitions on Better Times, and don’t miss that super heavy, progressive ending on Without Wings. Hang on for the ride on headbangers like Into the Fire, Holy Ghost, which features some impressive drum fills, and Never Break Me, another attitude filled track which highlights Peugh’s awesome bass tone.

Feel this is available for streaming and digital download on Bandcamp for under $9. It’s also available on transparent red and multi-color splatter vinyl, as well as CD, on their merch page. Interact with the band on social media and check out their live dates for an incredibly energetic, action-packed live show. I got to see Crobot in January, 2014, at Club Fever in South Bend, IN, opening for The Sword and Clutch. I was completely blown away by their insane level of charisma and energy. I got to meet Yeagley at the merch table after the show for a quick chat. I was impressed with how much of an animal he was on stage and how chill, down to Earth, and generally kind he was as a human. If you get a chance to witness Crobot live, don’t pass the opportunity.

Tour Dates

Aug 19 Psycho Las Vegas – Las Vegas, NV

Dec 16 Royal Circus (Cirque Royal/Koninklijk Circus) – Brussels, Belgium

Dec 21 O2 Victoria Warehouse – Manchester, UK

Dec 22 O2 Academy Brixton – London, UK

Paradox Paradigm: The spacy new album by Space Druids

Posted on June 27, 2022 by thesonicsofa

*Paradox Paradigm was released on June 21, 2022*

Space Druids is a space rock band based in York, UK. The seven-piece group produces a progressive style of vintage-sounding psychedelic rock, dripping with layers of spacy FX, along with catchy and thought provoking sci-fi lyrics. The band released their first full-length, Paradox Paradigm, in June. Naming themselves the next Hawkwind, their retro-style will certainly appeal to their fans, as well as those of Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and even Sabbath, whose track Paranoid they covered in a very spacy way in 2019.

The 38 minute, nine track album is a follow-up to the group’s 2020 EP, Weird Tide, which featured female vocals by Nadezhda Rinkus. This time around, vocal duties are taken up by Danny Faulkner. Stylistically, Faulkner provides beautiful melodies, catchy harmonies, and lyrics that you’ll find yourself singing along to or humming later, like Hawkwind with a dash of Jim Morrison. Faulkner channels and gives voice to spacy lyrics written by Oz Hardwick, perhaps the most qualified lyricist to appear on this site. Hardwick is a published poet, author, and professor of English at Leeds Trinity University. His space-worship wordsmithing adds layers to the album, delving deep into interstellar-travel fantasies and philosophy, notably on the songs Astronomy and Afraid of Space. He also provides doses of satire and humor, as on the musical version of his published poem, Our Brand New Bodies, which effectively combines the languages of the golden age of sci-fi and advertising. Listen for Hardwick on the spoken voice portions of the album.

“We are the wanderers, who travel through time”
– Paradox PAradigm

The album features energetic and driving songs which have a tendency to explore extended spacy interludes, marinated in juicy layers of FX, keyboards, and instruments. The seamless quality of the song breaks also makes the album interesting, with many of the songs crossfading into the next. The bass has a great classic rock tone, often taking the lead throughout the album like on tracks Light Speed and Mutation Machine. The crisp-sounding, typically driving drum beats provide a solid pulse, occasionally providing some tricky cymbal work like on Mutation Machine, or some jazzy progressions like on closer, Paradox Paradigm.

1. Light Speed 04:53
2. Zygote 05:16
3. Astronomy 01:07
4. Afraid of Space 03:47
5. Mutation Machine 05:11
6. Stainless Steel Butterfly 05:49
7. Our Brand New Bodies 01:54
8. Trans-dimensional Highway 05:01
9. Paradox Paradigm 04:31

On the top end, listen for some funky, progressive guitar riffs and spacy solos, like on Trans-Dimensional Highway. The guitar is always at hand, delivering infectious hooks and interesting accents, soaked in ethereal reverb and FX. A standout on the album is the saxophone, constantly providing trippy solos and spacy layers to the tracks, notably on opener, Light Speed, and Zygote, which also features some chill Pink Floyd vibes. Listen for some spectacularly spacy and psychedelic sax and violin work on Trans-dimensional Highway. Also keep an ear our for some appealing flute parts and acoustic guitar work on Paradox Paradigm, as well some tasty synths on Stainless Steel Butterfly.

The album is available for NAME YOUR PRICE on Bandcamp. Currently the album is only available for streaming and digital download, though a physical CD release seems like a real possibility. Check out the album and follow the group on social media.

Sasquatch release heavy new album, Fever Fantasy

Posted on June 15, 2022 by thesonicsofa

*Fever Fantasy came out on June 3, 2022*

Sasquatch is back with their sixth full length headbanger. The LA power trio released Fever Fantasy in June, and it is a heavy ride for all nine tracks. From epic opener, It Lies Beyond the Bay, Sasquatch are where they belong: in the driver’s seat with throttles wide open.

Craig Riggs, who joined the band for their previous album, Maneuvers, continues to provide a huge drum sound to back Keith Gibbs’s walls of fuzzy guitar riffs and Jason “Cas” Casanova’s growly bass tone. Gibbs also delivers plenty of catchy, attitude infused vocals, like on fifth track, Live Snakes.

1. It Lies Beyond The Bay 4:55
2. Lilac 4:14
3. Witch 4:43
4. Ivy 8:12
5. Live Snakes 4:03
6. Voyager 2:52
7. Part of Not Knowing 5:05
8. Save The Day, Ruin The Night 3:19
9. Cyclops 4:35

Sasquatch’s focus on emphasizing killer hooks is evident on high energy tracks like Lilac, and Save the Day, Ruin the Night. Listen for tight grooves and heavy buildups on Ivy. Some killer heavy blues riffs are released on Witch, Voyager, and Part of Not Knowing. On a few of the tracks, notably Witch and Ivy, tasty organ tones fill out the mix nicely.

On the back end, the album was recorded and mixed by Andrew Schneider who has been involved with the band’s production since II was released in 2006. Schneider has helped hone the band’s sound to it’s heaviest yet, with a raw, massive sound that easily translates to the stage. The cover artwork was created by Indonesia-based artist, Ian Permana, whose art, like a fever fantasy, beautifully blends fantasy and realism into something in between.

Clip of Voyager with full album-art visualization

If you’re into bands like Astroqueen, Nebula, Crobot, and Clutch, you’re going to dig Sasquatch. They’re hitting the road next month for an extensive tour which will cover North America, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. The tour includes many of big rock festivals like Ripple Fest and Psycho Las Vegas. Find links to concerts and tickets on their website. Check them out on Bandcamp where you can order Fever Fantasy on vinyl or CD, browse tons of merch, and order back releases.

JUL 8 Mammothfest 2022 – Nea Karvali, Greece

JUL 15 Stoned From The Underground 2022 – Nöda, Germany

JUL 23 Ripplefest Texas – Austin, TX

JUL 25 Black Magic Social Club – Houston, TX

JUL 26 The Freetown Boom Boom Room – Lafayette, LA

JUL 27 Santos Bar – New Orleans, LA

JUL 28 Loosey’s – Gainesville, FL

JUL 29 Will’s Pub – Orlando, FL

JUL 30 The Wormhole Neighborhood Pub & Music Venue – Savannah, GA

JUL 31 Boggs Social & Supply – Atlanta, GA

AUG 2 TROLLEY PUB – Summerville, SC

AUG 3 Cafe 611 – Frederick, MD

AUG 4 Prost Bier and music hall – Griswold, CT

AUG 5 Saint Vitus Bar – New York, NY

AUG 6 The Middle East Restaurant and Nightclub – Cambridge, MA

AUG 7 The Piranha Bar – Montréal, QC

AUG 9 Brass Monkey – Nepean, ON

AUG 10 Hard Luck Bar – Toronto, ON

AUG 11 Westside Bowl – Youngstown, OH

AUG 12 Ace of Cups – Columbus, OH

AUG 13 Reggies Rock Club – Chicago, IL

AUG 14 Lyric Room – Green Bay, WI

AUG 15 7th Street Entry – Minneapolis, MN

AUG 16 Cosmic Eye Brewing – Lincoln, NE

AUG 17 Vultures – Colorado Springs, CO

AUG 18 Aces High Saloon – Salt Lake City, UT

AUG 19 Psycho Las Vegas Festival 2022 – Las Vegas, NV

AUG 20 Transplants Brewing Company – Palmdale, CA

AUG 21 Brick By Brick – San Diego, CA

SEP 1 VINNIES DIVE BAR – Southport, Australia

SEP 2 King Lear’s Throne – Fortitude Valley, Australia

SEP 3 The Vanguard – Newtown Nsw, Australia

SEP 4 The Baroque Room – Katoomba, Australia

SEP 7 La La La’s – Wollongong, Australia

SEP 8 The Basement Canberra – Belconnen, Australia

SEP 9 Singing Bird Studio – Frankston, Australia

SEP 10 Bendigo Hotel – Collingwood, Australia

SEP 11 ENIGMA BAR – Adelaide, Australia

SEP 15 Whammy Bar – Auckland, New Zealand

SEP 16 Valhalla – Wellington, New Zealand

SEP 17 12 Bar – Christchurch, New Zealand