German label H42 Records thought up the idea of releasing a
2-band split single for the Desertfest a few years back and already they are up
to volume 6. Like previous years, it’s a limited run on vinyl and they’re not
around for long. What makes this one even more unique is the fact that the
festival fell victim to the Covid-19 pandemic and never actually happened.
Like previous years singles, I have no real idea how they
pick the bands and neither of them were actually playing the festival this
year, but when you mention the bands Avon and Waxy, you cannot but think of the
Californian desert.
Avon’s track Men of Medan starts with a catchy hook of a
riff that keeps returning throughout the next 3 minutes. They have that stoner
rock vibe to the songs but their twist on it has a stripped back feeling as
though it’s been jammed out there and then. The now 5-piece have the ability to
write a song in the classic rock style, backed up with some cool vocal
harmonies and when they throw in some guitar solo work, its top draw stuff. Let’s
hope the follow up to Dave’s Dungeon isn’t too far away
Flip the record and you have a new song from Waxy, “It’s No
Mistake”. Waxy manage to give off a laid back vibe whilst still having that
more dangerous punk edge to them. The vocals have a certain harmony to them that
is distinctly Californian desert and they flow nicely with what I can best
describe as garage rock mixed with very early Queen of the Stone Age. Waxy have
worked and played alongside many of the legends of the desert, and you can feel
all these influences mixed with their own unique twist. They released their 5th
album, Better on Forgetting, last year and it didn’t get the push or recognition
it deserved, so make sure you also get looking for that too.
Again, H42 Records have produced a cool looking package that follows
on again with Alexander von Weiding’s killer artwork. The press included 150
red Waxy edition, 150 gold Avon edition and 25 test presses on black. Get to it
as I doubt they will be available for long.
After taking over ten years to write and release 2018’s
Continuum, finding out that they had twinned the release with another 6 tracks
the following year, in the form of Buried Memories, was more than a welcome surprise. If you had asked me how
they would do this, getting Justin K. Broadrick (Godflesh, Jesu, etc.) to remix
the same song 3 times and have James Plotkin (Khanate, Jodis etc.) mix 3 other
tracks, is a million miles away to what I would have expected. With this I had
no idea what to expect and dived straight into the abrasive darkness…..
The Justin K. Broadrick mix of Hitman starts with a pulsing
heart beat like vibe as the track strums its way forward and evolves with the
guitars filling out, giving you that sense of driving through the night. Not the
driving into the desert feel but more like driving the length of the UK in the
dark in the rain kind of feel. Instrumentally it has a buzzing electric vibe to
it that plays so well against the keyboard that winds along behind everything,
giving it a real feel of it being played live right before you. At this point
Hitman kicks into gear and pulls you in to its beat for a couple of minutes
before the keyboards take over with a load of reverb, taking you into a darker
more psychedelic place that you feel yourself slipping in and out of before a
big dark old school Sabbath riff kicks in and I defy anyone not to move their
head from here onwards.
The Jesu remix is a slower darker affair. The basslines are
really brought into the forefront as every strum has a thundering grinding
sound that shakes the speakers. The keyboards and organs combine to give you
the floating sensation that falls somewhere between the dark and the light. The
industrial sound that appears then disappears has the feeling of big robotic
machines crossing the land before something that feels like a ball of dark
energy that is fighting to implode or explode. It’s near impossible to explain
what this feeling of sound is doing but there is a real dark magical feel to
it. At times you forget that it is the same song but this mix really pulls
something from beyond the track itself and lets the basic structure take on a
complete new life of its own as it rises up into the clouds.
The third mix of Hitmen by JK Flesh stars off with a warmer softer
feel as though the track has lifted itself above the clouds and is floating
away above the light. The beat feels a lot cleaner and electronic as it folds
into itself with a feeling of ambience. The mix then pulls the guitars and
drums back in to give you a feeling of orbiting the earth and the cosmic like
mix of the tone begins to pick up pace as though you are speeding towards
Earth. Finishing off with the repetition of a riff that sounds like an alarm or
a warning, the track leaves you wondering if you ever made it through the
atmosphere.
James Plotkin starts his trio of mixes with the track
Warhero which builds and creeps along with a definite SOAC feel to it before it
spreads itself into something wider, making you appreciate the noise between
the sounds. With some eerie keyboards floating around the noisier breaks held
together with some huge reverberating bass lines, Warhero flits between a huge
stomping gloomy monster and something that feels like an alien lifeform trying
to reach you.
Remembrance is a short low end dark couple of minutes that
hangs around like a metallic beast that has hold of you. Possibly a soundtrack
to a nightmare of some sorts.
The remix of SS Montgomery has James Plotkin really casting
his wizardry over a track by making it come alive in an almost magnetic way,
with each instrument thrusting its way into your eardrums. The song stomps
along in electronic form with a dark space like feel that pulls the buzz of the
guitars towards the thumping bass and the harsh crashing of cymbals. It’s something
that has to be played loud through your headphones whilst sat in the darkness.
The 6 tracks are quite an experience and sometimes a long
way from what Continuum was, but I really enjoyed what I heard, and it really
works well as the antidote. The band seem to be constantly evolving and having
seen their last couple of live performances, they have a real magic spark that
hooks you in and keeps you in their mesmerizing dream. Hopefully the live video
below, from the Black Heart in London, shows you something of this.
