new music aural fix
AURAL FIX
Photo by Shazzula
UP AND COMING MUSIC FROM THE NATIONAL SCENE
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FÖLLAKZOID
One of the best neo-psych bands in the world right now is Chile’s Föllakzoid, a krautrock outfit which began as a collaboration between childhood friends Diego Lorca, Juan Pablo Rodriguez, and Domingo Garcia-Huidobro. Föllakzoid are perhaps the ultimate minimalist psych band, utilizing the motorik beat of Neu! and La Düsseldorf for endlessly extending locked-in grooves–a mesmerizing excursion into the unknown. What sets Föllakzoid apart from so many other worthy krautrock revival groups is that they have the sacred musical traditions of the Andes as their guide for this journey. In this sense, there is something of a bond between them and their South American contemporaries Montibus Comunitas and The Holydrug Couple, a bond stronger than that which connects them to Loop and Spacemen 3. Before they were brought aboard Sacred Bones Records, they created Blow Your Mind Records in Santiago to release their first records as well as those of other local artists. In 2013 they toured with their Sacred Bones labelmates Psychic Ills, and released their excellent album II, which brought them acclaim and increased recognition. Over the past few years they’ve played All Tomorrow’s Parties, Primavera, and SXSW, and they don’t seem to be losing momentum.
Photo by Ben Pobjoy
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SINGLE MOTHERS MARCH 7 | MISSISSIPPI STUDIOS
What the fuck is going on in Canada? Having never met a person who knows, or a person who doesn’t want to know, the province of Ontario is turning out legitimate bands like Ben and Jerry’s is churning out celebrity endorsed stoner food. And they’re just as bad (in a good way) to get in ya. Single Mothers is made from the same maple as Fucked Up–they are punk rock that is more rock than punk and smarter than any New York best seller. Heavy on the drums and riffs, light on the bullshit and as literary as Hemingway’s shotgun.
Their upcoming album III is even more pared-down and minimal than II, with more emphasis on repetition and simple, insistent percussion lines. The songs on III were mostly written incidentally, developing out of soundchecks and live improvisations. The synth lines on this album were overdubbed by German musician Atom TM—his masterful contribution is most evident on the haunting closer “Feuerzeug.” On III, Föllakzoid draw an interesting connection between the ancient and the modern, creating a rhythm that sounds just as much like dub techno as it sounds like it could be the soundtrack to a sacred rite. A fine album and a fine band. You can check Föllakzoid, along with Mugstar, Eternal Tapestry, and Sungod at the Austin Psych fest in May–hope to see you there! » - Matthew Sweeney Like most good things, they come from a small town. Their band biography paints a taut picture (if I could write it better then I would), they come from a place where “inheritance has less to do with the passing of property or title, and more to do with inherited ways of being; listlessness, discord and dissonance. Its bars and barbiturates that draught beer bought with overdraft, the bravado of last call brawls.” The music embodies the musician’s history. It is honest without any entitlement to popularity; it is obvious the band is aimed at pure self-expression with no endgame in mind. The instrumentals motivate listening like a next drink; you can feel the black eye and fat lip forming. Nothing good comes easy. The band has had its bout with survival, no doubt. Early on, the band lacked direction and homogeny was virtually non-existent. Two separate versions of the band existed simultaneously and they struggled to retain band members. In 2011, the band separated entirely in the midst of the first to-be studio release. What followed next is only known to the artists and the members’ inner circles, but when the EP was salvaged by a former member, the band reunited in 2012. Seemed these crazy bastards were on to something. The EP sold. Fans and critics grabbed ahold. In October 2014, they released Negative Qualities–their first full length album. The rest is undiscovered history. » - Billy Dye
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