Review: Big Scenic Nowhere - Lavender Blues

Big Scenic Nowhere released their full length Vision Beyond Horizon only months after their debut EP Dying on The Mountain, and less than a year after that they return with a new EP Lavender Blues. With the band being more of a project between members of other bands, you would think that getting everyone together and writing would only happen a couple of times a year, but even if it is, Big Scenic Nowhere have a magic sixth sense between them and just turn on the tape over a long weekend, and a wealth of creativity and musicianship just spills out every time.

Towards the end of 2019 the four continuing members: Bob Balch (Fu Manchu), Gary Arce (Yawning Man), Tony Reed (Mos Generator) and Bill Stinson (Yawning Man) were joined this time with: Per Wiberg (Kamchatka, Opeth), Daniel Mongrain (Voivod) and the legend that is Chris Goss (Masters of Reality), and have managed to put down on tape 3 songs that have the distinctive Big Scenic Nowhere sound, but this time

The whole of side A contains the 13+ minute title track Lavender Blues, which starts like a slow meander into some place warm and distant. There is a real feeling that Lavender Blues has been jammed out and evolved into something so unique right in front of the players with the warm psychedelic feel it gives out, their inner-prog just blossoms.

As the first real synthesizer solo kicks and lifts you up to the next level, I am getting that feeling like I’m being pulled away into one of those vast Roger Dean paintings, with all its organic world within another world complexities. It’s like taking desert musicians out of the warm dusty sun soaked open sprawl of the low desert and putting them into a world of blue and green with long winding rivers and upside down trees.

As a song, Lavender Blues has that much through the 13+ minutes, every time I listen to it, I hear something different.

Like a complete contrast to side A, Blink of an Eye is your favorite soundtrack from a 70’s movie that you used to dig in your teenage years. The opening chords have the feeling of closing a door for the final time and heading off to pastures new. With a mid-paced hook that is extremely catchy, there a positive vibe to it, as though you’re nodding at that person you recognise as your walking off into the evening sunshine.

I wouldn’t say it has the radio rock feel, but it’s a close as Big Scenic Nowhere have come to giving you an upbeat catchy track that will be stuck in your head all day. It is though, the kind of song that Tony’s voice is made for, be it the rich vocal strength he has or the ability to fit perfectly in harmonies.

As Blink of an Eye concludes, the guitars start to pick up and drift towards a place that they can soar into those huge open spaces, before the synthesizers take over and spill out a range of 70’s prog power which will make each and every one of us remember how to rock the air keyboard.

Labyrinths Fade starts with a fade-in, something I haven’t head in a while, but it works well as the riff rolls in a repeats with more of a classic rock feel to it. There is some truly epic solos that intertwine some technical mastery over the big soaring layers of guitar, that sound like they have input from the fingers of Daniel Mongrain. When the vocals do appear that have a deep hypnotic chant to them, which play well off solo after solo. The big synthesizers appear again so that you know they’re still about, before the rest of Labyrinths Fade shows off a bunch of killer musicians coming together and producing something quite magic.

At the time of writing this, I wouldn’t be surprised if they have already turned the tape on again in the studio and pressed record. It’s just a shame that the ongoing pandemic halted their planned live shows, but you know that something good will be just around the corner. Roll on 2021.

Big Scenic Nowhere – Bandcamp – Heavy Psych Sounds

Review: Big Scenic Nowhere – Vision Beyond Horizon

The fruition of Bob Balch and Gary Arce’s Big Scenic Nowhere project was 2019’s Dying on the Mountain EP, three songs showcasing their mix of prog rock and desert psychedelia. With their other bands still in full rotation I had no expectation for the band to regroup at any time soon, so the news of their return to the studio and the penning of an album deal with Heavy Psych Sounds showed that they meant business and the collaboration of the various players had already come together to work on something rather special.

With this recording the line-up consists of Gary Arce (Yawning Man), Bob Balch (Fu Manchu), Tony Reed (Mos Generator), Mario Lalli (Fatso Jetson, Yawning Man), Per Wilberg (Spiritual Beggars, ex-Opeth), Nick Oliveri (Mondo Generator, ex-Kyuss, QOTSA), Bill Stinson (Yawning Man) Lisa Alley and Ian Graham (The Well), and Alain Johannes (Them Crooked Vultures, Chris Cornell, Eleven).

I had read a couple of reviews of the record before its release and they talked about this super group had produced a desert rock or stoner rock classic, but after a few listens I have to question if they have really listened to it properly because the core of the band take the listener in several different directions and Vision Beyond Horizon offer so much more than expected. To say it’s just stoner rock or Fu Manchu or Yawning Man can be heard in all the writing does this collaboration a dis-service. As much as I like both the bands, this is a collaboration and release that cannot be pigeon holed or compared to anything else. The first time you listen to the record, you will understand.

The Glim starts with a big stomping riff that hooks you straight in before one of several quick guitar solos. The song as a whole has a mid-pace loud David Bowie channelling a psychedelic space rock Soundgarden kind of vibe, if that makes sense? It sounds big and bold with layer after layer of guitars that roll over you like the oceans tide and the waves of dark psychedelia already have you hooked. 

If your still somewhere between the layers of The Glim then The Paranoid grabs you by the throat for the next ninety seconds with something that took me by surprise. I remember a few years ago talking to Gary about his love of 80’s punk rock and this is definitely a homage to the likes of The Exploited, UK Subs and GBH. Fast, manic and in your face.

Then I Was Gone has a really fuzzy guitar tone to it with the bigger riffs sounding like they’ve been turned up to eleven. Between the surges of guitar, the over-layered dual male/female vocals add a more complex melody to the haunting wizardry that Master of Reality continuously perfected, mixed with the darker vibe that played heavy on many of the tracks from QOTSA’s Lullabies to Paralyse. I really like how the appearance of a few keyboard lines hang nicely off the vocals and fill a gap that you don’t even realise is there.

Mirror Image starts ever so slightly up in the clouds before the big mantra chanting vocal lines implant themselves deep in your mind. Half way through a huge slow monolithic like riff starts with one guitar, then the second guitar adds to it and that’s it, this is the band that I keep subliminally hearing but can’t quite put my finger on, its Cathedral. The riff is pure Cathedral at their finest. The vocals kick straight in after that before the epic sounding guitar solo and it all makes sense now. In no way is this replicating something Cathedral have written, it just has that vibe and gives me that feeling of doomy rock n roll with that haunting like Lee Dorrian voice. 

Hidden Wall floats you to a laid back place that I picture as those moments before the dawn sun appears from the night sky. It’s trippy, it’s psychedelic and it takes you on an adventure across the sprawling landscapes that are seeing the first glimmers of the light. If you wanted a reference point away from any of the members’ bands then the band the King Buffalo have blossomed into is definitely it. The song grows and evolves and has sown the seeds in to what could be an epic 15-20 minute opus, unfortunately it ends on seven minutes.   

Shadows from the Altar slides back into the doom n roll with the deep layered drifting vocals that sit between two riffs which the song is built around. The first being something of a rolling wave and the other being big rock riff that deserves a fist pump and “oi” chant after it. 

En Las Sombras is again going into the territory of King Buffalo but this is the song that takes all the drifting magical waves of the desert mystery courtesy of the Yawning Man connection. The trippy verses roll in and out against the deep meandering baseline which creates a magical journey, taking you “in the shadows”. To top this off, there’s a combination of two kick ass guitar solos.

Tragic Motion Lines is a mix of psychedelic stoner rock and some riffs and melodies that come from the darker side of an Alice in Chains record.

As the album draws to a close with The War Years, the channeling of their inner Pink Floyd concludes what is a quite magical collaboration. The strumming of acoustic guitars, the tapping of keys, the light yet powerful drums and a variety of keyboards and synthesizer work that builds a small passage into the inner mind. You can almost picture the setting on a small boat on a small stream, drifting slowly towards the horizon.

Vision Beyond Horizon is full of musical surprises and will hold its own for many years to come. With the incoming success of the record and a debut live performance planned for Stoned & Dusted, I really hope 2020 see’s Big Scenic Nowhere bring their live performance over the pond in some way or another. I can also honestly say that each of the nine songs has something for the listener, meaning that there is no filler on this record, it’s that good. Shout out for the quality album artwork as well.

Bandcamp – Facebook – Heavy Psych Sounds 

Desertfest London 2019 - Day 3

Sunday morning starts with the news that Naxatras have had to cancel due to travel issues. It does sort my problem of having to sprint between The Roundhouse and The Underworld, but that’s the 2nd band on my must see list that’s cancelled over the weekend. 
This is the 3rd year that Desertfest has taken over The Roundhouse on a Sunday. The famous old venue is big and has an impressive overpowering feel to it and must look good if you are standing on stage looking outwards towards the crowd, but the grumble has always been the sound. I remember last year’s sound being hit and miss for no real reason, so fingers crossed this year will be sorted. 
With 99% of festivals that you mention the name Colour Haze at, they’re headlining, so it’s a strange site to see them being the opening band on what is a very strong line up. They had an hour to play which will be more like a warm up compared to the usual 3 hour sets, but you know it’s going to be one hell of an hour. 
Expanding to a 4 piece a few years back has made something extremely special even more special as the keyboards from Jan compliment that unique original sound that Stefan, Philipp and Manfred have fine-tuned over the years. Every Colour Haze song is like a magic trip into the beyond and as the rhythm section of the band keeps you moving through what is the backbone of every trip, Stefan’s guitar lifts you that little higher and you feel like you are floating away and the sound of the Hammond and keyboards tie everything together perfectly. 
Whichever way you look in the crowd, people are experiencing the same joy and it’s hard to see someone who doesn’t have a smile on their face. “Uberall” takes you driving along the desert pass, “Labyrinthe” shows how the band have evolved and (my personal favourite, thank you, thank you, thank you for playing it) “Temple”, the song that must have inspired so many to pick up an instrument, is flawless. 
But just as they are slipping in to that groove, it comes to an end. The outpouring of love and appreciation that went with the rapturous applause at the end is something else. 25 years after the band started, you can see how much they love doing what they do and the mutual respect. 
It’s a shame that you didn’t have their full lightshow with them as it would have lit The Roundhouse up a treat, maybe next time. 


So how do you match that? Well if anyone can then Earthless can. It’s like a dream come true, two masters of heavy psych from eather side of the Atlantic playing back to back. 
Having seen Earthless grow and grow over the years and always backing it up with their extra special live shows, I seem to have been cursed since the release of “Black Heaven” as every time they’ve played the UK I haven’t been here. I’m really excited to see the latest songs performed that included singing for a change. 
Every Earthless show I have attended has turned into a sonic trip with songs of epic proportion and the following 60 minutes certainly doesn’t disappoint. “Electric Flame” and “Gifted by the Wind” are absolutely flawless. The sound and the mix are perfect and the sound feels so much fuller in The Roundhouse this time. Then the openings of “Godspeed” kicks in and this is when Earthless take you to that place where out of body experiences happen. For the next 30 minutes they take you on a cosmic journey through time and space. Mike and Mario don’t even have to look at each other to know what the other one is playing, leaving Isaiah to do what he does best with his guitar.


They have a special way, live, of taking a riff or a song to the point of thinking it’s coming to an end, then it just roll’s back over itself and keeps on going. I don’t know if the attached videos do the show justice but that really was a special 60 minutes that should go down in Desertfest history. 


Witch are a band that I was always aware of but we never really crossed paths. I guess since it’s been 11 years since their last record, maybe it wasn’t supposed to be. Anyway, I revisited “Paralyzed” and “Witch” for a few plays prior to today and I have questioned why it took me so long. 
They do the doomier side of stoner rock and they do it well. Songs that have stood the test of time, full of head nodding hooks and Sabbath like time changes. 
Time definitely makes the heart grow fonder with Witch as a lot of people have been building up to seeing this. I’m not sure if there’s any new music on the horizon or a chance of any more love shows, but the crowd are making sure they enjoy every moment. 


All Them Witches seem to be getting more and more of a buzz around them lately and tonight shows a lot of people why. Playing in clubs they have the ability to create a vibe in the room and hold the crowd in the palm of their hands as they immerse you in their unique style of heavy psychedelic blues. 
Earlier records have had the band take you through the heavy fuzz end of psych as well as the more experimental side of their writing which all translates really well live, so I’m excited to see how their more stripped back new tracks from “ATW” sound live. 
With The Roundhouse now being extremely full, it didn’t take long before everyone in the room had fallen under their spell into some sort of trance. “Harvest Feast” delivers 11 minutes of emotive blues and “Workhorse” slowly builds and builds before some sublime guitar work and “Diamond” is such an awesome song live. The crowd may be getting lost in a song one minute but, just like the band, aren’t afraid to rock out with songs such as “the dance song” “Alabaster”. 
Be it a small club or somewhere as big as The Roundhouse, All Them Witches have crafted their work through relentless touring to make every show truly magical. 


When we all start talking about who still needs to headline Desertfest, there was probably only one name left in the hat, Fu Manchu. It’s surprising that it’s been this long but it was more than worth the wait. They play the UK every time they’re touring so it’s not like any of us haven’t seen the band before, but there’s always an extra special feeling at festivals (probably all the day drinking). 
They take the stage to a hero’s welcome and from the moment the opening riff of “Pigeon Toe” kicks in, BOOM, we’re off, 75 minutes of pure Southern California stoner rock fuzz and they don’t let up. They have so many classics that they could play from a huge back catalogue and tonight’s choice cuts include “Hell on Wheels”, “Evil Eye”, “King of the Road” and “Weird Beard”. The crowd are loving it and the place goes off. 
I could wax lyrical all day about how much I love Fu Manchu and how good this song is or that riff is and even after 30+ years, I can honestly say that the band sound better than ever. They blast through “Saturn III” and even though I know the fan favourite “Godzilla” is coming, I have to make the dash down to The Underworld for one last band. 


On a final note about The Roundhouse, the sound was so much better this year. 
It was more than a quick dash to get to The Underworld to see Mondo Generator and to be honest I had my doubts that we would get in, even if it was close to midnight, but after a few minutes of queueing, the dash was worth it. It doesn’t take long for the place to fill up and knowing that this was the last band of the entire festival and the Kyuss connection, once I had my place I wasn’t moving. 
The band hit the stage, Nick Oliveri is as raw, unapologetic and full of energy as ever. They kick off with Kyuss’ “Molten Universe”, then “13th Floor” and back to Kyuss with “Love has passed me by”. The Underworld which is probably fuller than it should have been literally explodes. The lucky few who managed to get in seem to be consuming all remaining alcohol on site, supposedly to cool themselves down as it must be 100 degrees in here now. They pile drive through Mondo songs such as “Up Against the Void”, “Dead Silence” and “I Never Sleep” as well as dropping QOTSA’s “Gonna Leave You”. For the encore we’re treated to “Green Machine” and “Allen’s Wrench” before the closer “You think I ain’t worth a Dollar”. Nick returns to the stage to rapturous applause before one final stage dive. 


And that was it, another successful Desertfest. Drunken festival goers stagger off into the night, with some of us forgetting that the tube was already closed which then turned into an Uber nightmare. See you next year.