Oh, thank god. The music of Ash Ra Tempel was compelling a worm-like slither along the ground, and I was in dire of need of something similarly psychedelic, but that didn’t lead to a dirty frontside and an unhealthy ingestion of dust bunnies.
Thus, thank god that the music of Bay Area-band Golden Void is energetic enough to get me standing on my own two feet again, while I sway awkwardly in one place, with my eyes closed and my head dangling from its spinal connection. The band’s self-titled debut from three years ago wasn’t quite the musical equivalent of a literal upper (and neither would we want it that way), but fortunately it was so unusually laden with reverberant and catchy hooks that it felt like a subtle breath of fresh air within the modern psych-rock genre. Guitarist and vocalist Isaiah Mitchell (also of Earthless) sent the words our way, and now it’s time to acknowledge a noteworthy case where Thrill Jockey is doing something similar.
Golden Void’s new Berkana full-length is out September 18! Tim Green of The Fucking Champs helped with the recording, and Mitchell, Aaron Morgan (bass), Camilla Saufley-Mitchell (keyboards and vocals), and Justin Pinkerton (drums) departed from the “live” nature of their prior album by taking turns in studio isolation. The result isn’t too obvious at first listen, but it might be hard to notice mixing nuance underneath all that distinctly Cali rock weight.
Expect tour announcements in the near future! Pre-order Berkana here.
Berkana tracklisting:
01. Burbank’s Dream
02. Silent Season
03. Dervishing
04. Astral Plane
05. I’ve Been Down
06. The Beacon
07. Storm and Feather
• Golden Void: https://goldenvoidtj.bandcamp.com
• Thrill Jockey: http://www.thrilljockey.com
More about: Golden Void
