By Keith Walsh
Santa Claus has sonic treats galore this Christmas season, with this set of guitar tunes ranging from psychedelia to indie rock, from prog rock to goth. Whether you’re naughty or nice, you’re sure to find something here to love.
Calm Collapse “Welfare Tour”
Outstanding musicianship abounds on this single from the new album by Calm Collapse, Mirrored Nature. Calm Collapse navigates the border between grunge and prog very well, with a multilayered sound, heavy drums and distortion, and coolly odd riffs and meters. Doug Lorig’s vocals are perfectly suited for this dramatic, intricately arranged rock presentation. They’re from Seattle, on the West Coast of the U.S.
Calm Collapse On Bandcamp
Calm Collapse On Facebook
Spartan Records Dot Com
Rob Munk “Youth”
This song is a nostalgic trip, with a familiar laid back guitar style. The video for “Youth” is hilarious, with New Jersey-based Munk wearing an emo wig and engaging in teenage antics, not the least important of them rocking out. The first image is of a needle dropping on a 12- inch vinyl disc, while the chorus of the song brilliantly replicates a needle skipping. It’s from the wonderful new album Phased Out.
Rob Munk On Bandcamp.com
Rob Munk On Instagram
Black Market Karma “The Sunshine Maker”
The lovely retro sound of Black Market Karma is set to “mellow” on this dreamy piece of garage pop. From their recent album Aped Flair And Highjacked Ideas, you can almost smell the ocean, in this psychedelic homage to outdoor experiences. Despite the somewhat cryptic and sinister name of this band, they’ve got seriously wistful, nostalgic vibes.
Black Market Karma On Bandcamp
Flower Power Records dot com
Black Market Karma “The Sky Was All Diseased”
After the sweetness of “The Sunshine Maker” comes the first glimpse of the upcoming album Friends In Noise by this UK-based band. The lovely vocals of collaborator Tess Parks are wistful, with some definite Velvet Underground influences all around, including on Stanley Belton’s fluid guitar work.
Candy Coffins “Tangled Up In Teacups”
The passion is strong on this darkly catchy tune, with tons of warmly distorted guitars driving the beat, and layers of synths, while James Lathren melodically narrates a tale of psychedelic lament. The video is gorgeously shot, with beautiful overhead shots and dramatic footage of ballet dancers. “Tangled Up In Teacups” is from the new album Once Do It With Feeling. Candy Coffins are located in South Carolina.
Candy Coffins On Bandcamp
Raven Said “A Flowering And A Flattering”
There’s a dark spell being cast here, as the synth beat intro of “A Flowering And A Flattering” gives way to sharp guitars, soaring guitars, and a lamenting tale wove by the husky baritone of Andre Agapitov. The keyboards of Maria Agapitova add textures that set the sound of Raven Said apart from guitar rock. Strip away all the theater of Goth and there’s still some cool new wave influenced sounds here. It’s from their album Chants To Dissolve.
Raven Said On Bandcamp
Raven Said On Facebook
finis