Review: Big Scenic Nowhere – Dying on the Mountain

When the Postwax project first kicked off and they started to tease us with what was coming in the following months, Big Scenic Nowhere was a real surprise as I truly thought it was a project from the past that had treated us with its potential but the main players, with their other bands, had just not managed to cross paths again at the right time. Maybe it was something in the stars or the planets had aligned in 2019 or some magic shaman had chanted the chant that brought the magic from the sky above, but here it is, 25 minutes of something rather magical. 

Gary Arce and Bob Balch have brought together Nick Oliveri, Bill Stinson, Per Wiberg, Tony Reed, Ian Graham, Lisa Alley, Jim Monroe, Mario Lalli and Thomas Jager, which more than rivals the likes of a Desert Sessions gathering. 

The EP contains two tracks, the first being a 20 minute opus made up of three chapters and the second song being a more conventional five minute workout. A different way of doing things for an EP, but all the players have their time to show the reason they’re part of what I guess you would call a “supergroup”. 

Track one Dying on the Mountain (Pt. 1) / Altered Ages / Dying on the Mountain (Pt. 2) starts with shamanic like chanting that sets the scene in the mountains for the passing of the peace pipe. As Bob’s opening riff slowly rolls in, the distinct sound of Gary’s guitar work glides in to the mix and they both begin to roll together as the song slowly moves at a head nodding pace. The drums, bass and percussion keep the pace for the next five minutes with some deep routed keyboards giving everyone time to have their moment front of stage, with the song returning to its big signature riff that, throughout the journey, is never far away, even when both guitars take different journeys into the unknown. 

At around minute seven you feel like you have passed through the clouds and are coming close to the summit of the mountain. Everything mellows out and begins to float upwards with the psychedelic vocal mix of Tony/Ian/Lisa and the use of keyboards that pulls in some Prog Rock homage before that riff kicks in again and both guitars invite you to sit back, let go and take that special journey they’ve been planning for you. At this point you can feel that sensation of flight that takes you over the sea, over the sprawling deserts and over big endless mountain ranges, with no real control to how you’re going to hit the ground again, or if you ever will. The following 14 minutes don’t seem like they want to end, until the choir-like keyboards and vocals take you to what could be the final light? 

Towards the Sun is a real Sabbath affair from start to finish. A huge downturned riff with mighty drumming power that gives way to Tony Reed’s voice that fits perfectly with the might of the song and the harmonies with Thomas Jager. 

The more I listen to the song, the bigger and better it gets. Even down to the solo it is pure Sabbath worship but done really well and sounds effortlessly natural. At this point I was going to start saying that I’m left wanting more and am unsure if we will have to wait another 7 or 8 years, but today it has been announced that Big Scenic Nowhere have signed to Heavy Psych Sounds and a full length record is due in early 2020 (Details below). 

If you haven’t already checked this out, you need to today. I know that the special edition Postwax version has been delayed and if like me, you’re awaiting the vinyl version, it is coming and I’m told it will be more than worth the wait. The other various editions are available now from the links below. 

Bandcamp - Facebook - Postwax - Blues Funeral Recordings  

Press Release: Heavy Psych Sounds Records&Booking is really stoked

to announce a new band signing:

*** BIG SCENIC NOWHERE ***

feat. members of Fu Manchu, Yawning Man (Official), Queens of the Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures, Opeth, Kyuss, Monolord, Spiritual Beggars, Mondo Generator, Mos Generator. The Well and many more..

We are so proud to welcome a new member to our roster and family: American "super-band" Big Scenic Nowhere !!! A debut album is coming in early 2020..

PRESALE STARTS:
OCTOBER 3rd

SAYS THE BAND:
"We are super excited to be working with Heavy Psych Sounds Records. We practically know everyone on the label already. When it comes to this style of music they have a big presence and we feel fortunate to become part of that."

Anyone familiar with the terms “Stoner Rock” or “Desert Rock” have surely heard the names FU MANCHU or YAWNING MAN. If you’re a die hard fan of the genre, or a causal observer, you know that both bands have been dishing out quality material since the beginning. While stylistically different, both bands occupy legendary status. FU MANCHU’s sun-drenched, stratospheric, fuzz worship sound and YAWNING MAN’s ethereal, ambient delay have never been crossbred until now. It’s certainty a good time to be alive if you’re a fan of either band. We bring you BIG SCENIC NOWHERE...

Like many of the best things in life, the root collaboration behind Big Scenic Nowhere between guitarists Gary Arce of Yawning Man and Bob Balch of Fu Manchu started with tacos.
Bob and Gary have been acquainted since the ‘90s, when Fu Manchu would practice in the garage of the house Gary lived in with other members of the desert scene. Gary remembers coming home from his construction job at the time, working outside in the desert summer, ready to kick back and crack a beer, only to be unable to watch television because Fu Manchu were so loud.

They’d bump into each other over the years periodically and Bob eventually brought Gary in to film a piece for his instructional guitar series, PlayThisRiff.com. After the above-mentioned Del Taco post, it was Gary – whose collaborative efforts have been myriad in outfits like WaterWays, Zun, Ten East, etc. – who finally called Bob to jam.

While the project would grow soon enough to encompass players like Tony Reed (Mos Generator), Mario Lalli (Fatso Jetson, Yawning Man), Per Wiberg (Spiritual Beggars, ex-Opeth), Bill Stinson (Yawning Man), Nick Oliveri (Mondo Generator, ex-Kyuss, etc.), Lisa Alley and Ian Graham (both of The Well), Alain Johannes (Them Crooked Vultures, Chris Cornell, Eleven) and Thomas V. Jäger (Monolord), Big Scenic Nowhere is founded on Balch and Arce tossing guitar riffs and leads back and forth, piecing together song parts one movement at a time. Jamming. Sharing music. Developing a chemistry to build something new based on their individual experiences. In this way, Big Scenic Nowhere is the heart of what collaboration should manifest. Something that grows stronger for the cohesion between those who make it happen.

BIG SCENIC NOWHERE is:
Bob Balch (Guitar, Bass)
Gary Arce (Guitar)
Tony Reed (Vocals, Keys, Drums)
Mario Lalli (Bass)
Per Wiberg (Keys)
Bill Stinson (Drums)
Nick Oliveri (Bass)
Lisa Alley (Vocals)
Ian Graham (Vocals)
Alain Johannes (Vocals, Guitar)

www.heavypsychsounds.com 

Review: Northern Haze Cassettes

I know that that cassette tape’s never went away but I am definitely a “champion” for their resurgence of late as my youth was spent dubbing cassettes and doing mix tapes, and it often seems like a practice that was gone and could have been forgotten.  

Canadian label Northern Haze have started releasing cassette versions of albums and with their two latest two releases they’ve brought to us all something rather special.

If you said to me, “pick two records from the world of desert rock that kick started things and changed the way you listened to music”, then there is no doubt these two would be at the top of most people’s lists. 

Yawning Man’s first album Rock Formations and Fatso Jetson’s classic Mans Ruin Records release Flames for All get the cassette makeover in cool little packages.

I would be very surprised if you haven’t heard these albums at least 100 times each over the years hence I’m not going to review them both track by track, but for some reason you know little about them, then you’re in for a treat.

Both cassettes come in oversized boxes that remind me of 90’s computer games, with the original artwork adapted to fit and you will see that the iconic Fatso Jetson Planet of The Apes image looks as good today as it did back in 1999. The Yawning Man cassette is a deep dark blue with a corresponding button badge that matches the albums sky above the rock formation. The Fatso Jetson cassette is a bright pink that matches the album artwork and there is also a neat little inlay card and a cool square apes badge.

Hopefully Northern Haze have a few more surprises lined up in the future, but for now check the link below before they’re gone forever. 

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Review: Sageness "Akme"

Spanish Psych Rock Instrumentalists Sageness are back with six new songs in the form of Akme. If I set the scene for those who may be unfamiliar with them, they have a laid back spacey psych feel to them that mixes a little Elder, some Yawning Man and a sound that is distinctly European sounding but in their own special way that makes me think of surf films like "The Endless Summer". I can’t quite put my finger on it but, when listening, my mind keeps wondering back to watching 90’s surf videos with the slowed down wave barrel’s crashing down towards the camera. Maybe it’s because I’m sat looking at the sea whilst I’m reviewing this, but probably not as a dark grey North of England sea is a long way from Maui. I’d like to think you get the idea of what I’m thinking though.

Opening the record, Andromeda slowly drifts in as the guitar soar and the instruments work together to create a soundscape that has you floating in and out, back and forth. As the songs moves along, the song keeps dropping back to a riff that grows and evolves through the song (think Dead Roots Stirring) building and building until the full riff kicks in for the last 90 seconds and gives that “hairs stand up on the back of your neck” feeling that Colour Haze specialise in.

The Thought starts a bit prog that turns funky with the bassline and drumbeat but still makes me think of space travel with the repetitiveness of it and the way the guitar layers itself over and over. The song then starts to mellow and shows the signs that it’s building up to something, which it does with a couple of big guitar riffs, then it slides away in to more of a jam then its guitar, bass and drums in loud driving harmony for the final 3 minutes. I’m sure the ghost of Dick Dale (RIP) is playing a few riffs in there as well.

Sizigia feels like a song written from a happy place with its softer opening and guitar riffs that are constantly on the upturn. If you sit back and close your eyes, the hooks and riffs will make you think of an ever transcending kaleidoscope with its light and patterns. 

The albums longest song Ephemeral has Sageness really showing their skills and what the band is good at. The song works between parts that remind of Rotor and how they bring a song to the edge, then cymbal crash and the magic seems to happen with one of those riffs. The drums are big throughout and pull everything together again and again whilst the song transcends between the loud and the space like drifting when the song fades away.

Mindbender crawls along more that it floats reminding me of later Colour Haze and then half way through the drums kick in and they dive into a stomping stoner rock workout to finish off.

Hydro closes the record with the feeling of desert rock being played in space that drives along at quiet a fast pace. Building up with cymbals crashing, the bass kicks in to change the songs feel and the guitars begin to soar in and out to close the 43 minutes of a really good album.



This is a really good record that will easily fall in peoples top 20 lists at the end of the year. I have yet to see them live (apart from YouTube) and hope they make it over to the UK one day. 

After its release on digital formats and CD, the vinyl version has been released and it is a thing of beauty that is the perfect complement to the songs they have written. Check it out on the links below.

Bandcamp - Facebook - YouTube