New Music From The Mysterines!

 

Another fantastic new track from The Mysterines' upcoming Afraid of Tomorrows album, out this Friday, June 21st. You can pre-order the album HERE.

 

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Watch:

On Tuesday night, K and I went to see the one-night-only re-release of Ti West's X at our local Regal. This screening was followed by a "sneak peek" of West's upcoming third film in the trilogy, Maxxxine. 

The "sneak peek" was basically the opening scene of the film. The real talking point here is seeing X again on the big screen. This is my third or fourth time doing so, but first since watching Pearl. Talk about a prequel shedding some serious light on the original film!

K said it best when she wished for an article that might point to whether these were all written together. My understanding (based on what I remember from an interview West did on the Colours of the Dark Podcast HERE) is that upon arriving in New Zealand to film X, the cast and crew had to quarantine for three or four weeks, and during that time, West and Goth conceived and wrote Pearl. My guess is from there, they had ideas to continue Maxine's story and A24 greenlit it the moment they realized what a good thing they had going. 

As I intimated above, watching X again for the first time since seeing the prequel, I have to say that Pearl's character resonates in a completely different and affecting way than when just experienced in the first film. There was already an element of that, thanks to the moments West steals in X to show the character's fragile longing (the "Landslide" scene). Now, however, Pearl becomes at once more frightening and more sympathetic—not an easy task for a filmmaker to achieve.

I've been a fan of Ti West since I first saw 2005's The Roost, thanks to my good friend Dennis' knowledge and knack for curation at the time. From the first mention of House of the Devil until the film's release, I waited for what felt like years, and I've watched the man grow as a filmmaker, always hoping for success on the level he has now experienced. There's a bit of a cultural fever pitch surrounding Maxxxine's release - one that seems to transcend Horror circles - and I can't wait to sit down and watch the end of the character's story play out surrounded by what I now assume will be a bit more people than I'm used to seeing at Horror screenings in Clarksville.

Hell yeah.

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Read:

I finished FantasticLand several days ago and was pretty much left breathless. This one affected me deeply; I'm seeing shades of the worst humanity has to offer echo in my perception of the world around me, and it's a bit disorienting. Based on that, I decided to switch it up and finally dig into my good friend and Horror Vision cohost John Trafton's latest book, Movie Made Los Angeles.

This is exactly what I need at the moment: a scholarly discourse about the nuances and intangible nature of the Cultural Economy of Los Angeles and how it became the mythic location it is in the world's mind. I'm forced to slow down and really "chew" what I'm reading, which is a good thing. I can feel my brain working in ways fiction just does not utilize.

You can order this one anywhere books are sold. You can also check out John's writing on his website, Johntrafton.com. I recommend starting with one of these two articles right HERE or HERE. 

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Playlist:

Riz Ortolani Feat. Katyna Ranieri - Oh My Love (single)

Molly Nilsson - Excalibur (single)

Mr. Twin Sister - In Heaven

Julie Christmas - Ridiculous and Full of Blood (single)

Jim Williams - Possessor OST

Tim Hecker - Infinity Pool OST

Alice in Chains - Jar of Flies EP

Alice in Chains - What the Hell Have I? (single)

Alice in Chains - A Little Bitter (single)

Megadeth - Angry Again (single)

Megadeth - Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?

Alice in Chains - Dirt

Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction

Black Sabbath - Sabotage

Ozzy Osbourne - Patient Number 9

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Pulling out the Thoth Deck for this morning's Pull:

• Prince of Cups

• Ten of Wands: Oppression

• VII: The Chariot

Emotional Intelligence creates the opportunity to emerge from a trying situation Victorious!

The Mysterines - Sink

 Out June 7th, you can pre-order the new album Afraid of Tomorrow HERE.

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NCBD:

Another fantastic Wednesday means comics! Comics! COMICS! Let's get into this week's pull:

The return of James Tynion IV's The Deviant. I feel like this one is going to be a sleeper this year; I just don't know anyone else reading it, which may just be my limited world-slice. Let it just be said if you're not reading and you count yourself a Tynion fan, you're missing out. 

Apparently, this is simply a re-packaging of last Saturday's FCBD Energon Universe special, so I may have both sitting in my box at Rick's (I don't go anywhere near actual comic shops on FCBD anymore; haven't in years). I'm fine with having both, and I hear there are some juicy spoilers inside this one. The cover art alone gets us something we have not yet had in the line - Optimus vs. Megatron! Hell, the only time we've even seen ol' Megs is as Cobra Commander's prisoner/science experiment down in the murky depths of Cobra-La, so I'm betting this will explain how that happened and how Megatron lost both arms.

The penultimate issue of Laurence Campbell and Ram V's The One Hand. This and The Six Fingers have been the year's most delightful surprises so far; can't wait to see where these books end up.

LOVE this cover. 

Just end already. Jeez.

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Watch:

Over on Francis Ford Coppola's YouTube channel, the filmmaker released a "First Look" and official synopsis of his upcoming Megalopolis. 

The clip reveals nothing story-wise. That said, the elements of composition at play on the screen are gorgeous. Also of note is the score, as credited to Osvaldo Golijov, who appears to be fairly new to a project of this size. What we hear sounds awesome!

We've been hearing about this for years; if you double-click the video above and read the summary in the description field on YouTube, this sounds like an 84-year-old master bestowing his most ambitious project on the world. 

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Playlist:

Alice in Chains - Facelift

Windhand - Eponymous

Turquoise Moon - The Sunset City

Calexico - Even Sure Things Fall Through

Trombone Shorty - For True

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• Three of Cups

• Six of Wands

• V: The Hierophant

In a nutshell, Threes points to Growth and Sixes to Support. The Hierophant often implies "something more;" read that as the Divine if you like; I see it more as Occult, or hidden, influences, similar to XVIII: The Moon. I'm looking at everything right now as pertaining to a stressful situation with work, and in that regard, there's more of a balm here than I would have anticipated. 

New Music From The Mysterines!!!

 

Man, somehow I KNEW this was coming. I hadn't read anything about The Mysterines in a while, but I got the idea of a new album on the horizon in my head a week or two ago and have been checking that told me we were due. Out June 7th, you can pre-order Afraid of Tomorrow HERE.

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NCBD:

Pretty hefty NCBD this week. Let's get right into it:

I can't tell you how much I've been looking forward to Cobra Commander issue #2! Joshua Williamson and Robert Kirkman are taking a very different approach with the Joes in this whole Energon Universe take, and they've got me interested in a considerably more SciFi version of this franchise. I welcome it!

Still hanging in on the latest iteration of Larry Hama's GIJOE: A Real American Hero. 

LOVED the first episode of this new Hellblazer series, let's hope that continues. I'm equally intrigued by and a bit concerned about seeing Swamp Thing show up already in the second issue. I feel like John and Alec have become a bit too codependent in recent years; just because we have one, doesn't mean we need the other. Still, I'm here for it, and look at that awesome cover!!!

No lie - going to have to reread the first issue of this "Ten years in the future" Rise of the Powers of X series before I dive into this. Whereas Fall of the House of X stuck, this did not. 

The penultimate issue of Tenement. The previous issue blew my mind and I'm thinking Lemire and Sorrentino aren't done with the surprises yet. 

Unnatural Order has proved to be a fantastic time-travel story thus far. There's an epic element to this one that promises big things. 

What bizarre hijinx will Ash, Evil Ash and Sheila get up to in this issue? I'm really digging writer Tony Fleec's use of futuristic, robotic "Deadites"

Finally, tying directly into The One Hand series that launched this Neo-Noir universe, we have the first issue of Dan Watters and Sumit Kumar's The Six Fingers hitting shelves today. You can read how much I loved The One Hand and this concept in general HERE. 

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Watch:

Chock this up to the "Better late than never" category, but I just bought tickets to see Christoper Nolan's TENET on the big screen. IMax, no less.

I never saw TENET due to, well, COVID and not being able to see the film the way Christopher Nolan proclaimed it was made to be seen - on the biggest screen possible. But I waited patiently, avoiding the urge to watch this on HOBOMAX or Prime or where I saw the thumbnail, maintaining my aversion to the idea that my first viewing would be on a little screen. My patience has paid off! We have to drive to Nashville on Saturday for this one, but I have no doubt it will be worth it.

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Playlist:

Justin Hamline - The House With Dead Leaves

IDLES - Joy As An Act Of Rebellion

IDLES - Tangk

Tar - Clincher

Matt Cameron - Gory Scorch Cretins

The Damned - Evil Spirits

Drug Church - Hygiene

Ganser - Odd Talk

Metallica - 72 Seasons

Chelsea Wolfe - She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She

Frank Sinatra - In the Wee Small Hours

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New Music From The Mysterines!

 

 

The Mysterines dropped a new single yesterday, and I'm hoping it's the herald for a new album! 2022's Reeling easily made it into my ten favorite albums of that year, and as that was my jumping on point with the band, I'm anxious for more. In the meantime, hit their Bandcamp HERE.

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Watch:

Last night K and I had the extreme pleasure of watching Jon Wright's latest film, Unwelcome. Here's the trailer:

I'd only seen the director's 2012 film Grabbers, which is a riot, so I had no idea what to expect with Unwelcome. Well, this one shot to the top tier of my favorite flicks released so far in 2023. The characters are instantly likable and relatable - very important. Also, the effects are fantastic and the storyline really draws you in. Reminded me a bit of The Hallow, what with the rural Irish setting and use of Celtic Folklore. Unwelcome is a $3.99 rental on Amazon at the moment, and absolutely worth spending the dough on - highly recommended.

 

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Playlist:

Queens of the Stone Age - In Times New Roman (pre-release singles) 

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - Infest the Rats' Nest 

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - Gila Monster (single) 

Ganser - Odd Talk 

High on Fire - Snakes for the Divine 

High on Fire - Death Is This Communion 

Spotlights - Seance EP 

Spotlights - Love & Decay

Joan Jett - Album

Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict A Riot

 

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Bound Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

 

•Ten of Swords - Completion of challenge

• Ace of Pentacles - Breakthrough in Earthly matters

• Ace of Wands - Breakthrough of Will or through Will, which is the case here, I think.

More cosmic writing advice, which is paying off. I went to my coffee shop to ice out the world and focus. I've begun writing at home quite a bit, but being I was stagnant for several days (almost a week), I needed to jump-start the old attention span. It worked, but only too well. 4.25 hours of sleep last night; I'd gotten used to close to 8 for the last few weeks. Thus, Breakthrough of Will.

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My Ten Favorite Albums of 2022

Whereas last year, I had moments that suggested I may not be able to cull ten new records for a list, this year I had no similar problems. LOTS of new music in 2022. What follows is the list of my ten favorite albums released in 2022.

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Top Ten Albums 2022:

10) Beach House -  Once Twice Melody

I've been a bit slow on the uptake with Beach House. While I've been partaking in their music for probably close to ten years, I always kept them at arm's length. In fact, it wasn't until two or so years ago that my cousin Charles recommended I give the track "Elegy to the Void" my undivided attention. That song, from the band's 2015 album Thank Your Lucky Stars, proved to be the track that opened an entirely new dimension to the band's music for me. Since then, every album that drops plays a slightly more important role in my year, culminating with this year's double album, Once Twice Melody, which, like Mastodon's Hushed and Grim last year and another 2022 album higher on this list, is a double album with NO fat. Every track is perfect, the order is essential, and it all builds into a fitting snapshot of the quieter moments of my 2022.

9) H6LLB6ND6R - Side A

Here's a first - H6LLB6ND6R is made up of the Addams family, who also have a film in my top ten films this year! The movie is likewise titled Hellbender, and just like this record, it's a really fresh take on what a stripped-down, independent project can accomplish. If this is bedroom-producing, I want more. Every track has a hook, and yet, the sludgy, pummeling goodness still hits hard. Add in an early Jucifer-vibe to the doubled vocals, and I just couldn't put this one down. 

8) Greg Puciato - Mirrorcell

Everything Greg Puciato does moves the needle well into the red with me. Mirrorcell is no different. That first single, "Lowered" with Reba Meyers from Code Orange is a massive track, and really helped to define my year. The rest of the album takes the slightly fractured feeling of Puciato's first solo record, Child Soldier, and smooths it into a more coherent whole. I miss the f*ck out of DEP, but I can't really complain when their singer is giving us albums of this calibre.

7) Carpenter Brut - Leather Terror

Until Leather Terror, Carpenter Brut's records always felt like they were half-there to me. I dig several of them to varying degrees, and the OST to Blood Machines is fantastic (but that's a score, and thus, something a bit different than an album), but there's always been a... I don't know, call it a whimsy that sneaks into the vibe and leaves me a bit cold. But that's just me. I also think my regard for CB may have suffered by my being such a fan of Perturbator-  anyone else working in that realm of "Synthwave" or whatever you want to call it felt a few notches behind. 

But as I said, ALL of that is my own baggage, and should not be misconstrued as judgment against the extremely accomplished musician known as Carpenter Brut, who proves me 100% full of shit on this new album. This one SLAMS, the guest vocalists all do fantastic work, and the one-two of tracks "Day Stalker" and "Night Prowler" is something to behold. 

Baggage ejected; can't wait for the next record!!!

6) The Mysterines - Reeling

My elevator pitch for this band is meant to evoke honor, and yet I realize it essentially sells the Mysterines short. "PJ Harvey singing for BRMC" is enough to convince folks to give this band a chance, but having listened to the record countless times and seen them live (my first post-vaccination show), a comparison like that does nothing to convey the raw gifts on display in Reeling's perfectly tight 13 songs. This is Rock n' Roll that lives and breathes with a confidence and cool that places it right up there in the lexicon of bands that will live forever - Iggy, Bowie, the aforementioned PJ and Motorcycle Club. A lot of that is owed to singer/guitarist Lia Metcalfe, who emotes a conjuration somewhere between Nick Cave's mystic knowledge and PJ's "Fuck U" attitude.

5) Final Light - Final Light

Brutal, majestic, mysterious: take the neon pentagram glow of Perturbator's music and wash it in the medieval blood of the north often associated with Black Metal and you still can't quite get close to capturing the sonic environment of this record. One thing's for sure though: It's a storm! 

I've spent A LOT of time this year using Lustmord's various instrumental music as a soundtrack to my writing because of the doorways his musical manipulations open. Maybe more than anything else on this list, Final Light provides a very similar experience. There are dark places herein, but they're inspiring and beautiful and, if you catch them just right, they'll take you places you won't be expecting.

4) Sylvaine - Nova

I'd never heard of Sylvaine until I saw them open for another band on this list, and live they absolutely blew me away. When I fired up this year's Nova album I found that, just like that live show, this band's studio mastery creates an all-encompassing experience that is visceral and beautiful and at times, sad and scary. That's pretty much exactly what I want from my Post-Black-Metal-Folk-bands, and Nova shot to the top of that list the moment I hit play on this one.

3) Zeal and Ardor - Eponymous

To quote my good friend Keller as we stood in L.A.'s Echoplex this past October watching Z&A tear through 80% of the new, eponymous record, "These guys are truly post-genre." Yep. Every album just gets bigger and better. Can't wait for the next. 

2) Ghost - Impera

I was not a super fan of Ghost's previous record, Prequelle, and while I've never stopped recognizing Tobias Forge's genius, his work doesn't always align with my taste or what I perceive as the promise whispered by those first two-and-a-half Ghost albums. So in the run-up to the release of this year's Impera, I had assumed this would be another quasi-disappointment. 

Wrong. This is easily my favorite Ghost album behind Infestissumam. Something about the arranging and songwriting on this one - I'm not sure if it's because I'm at a place where I have reassessed and embraced so much 80s Hard Rock I once detested, but I feel elements of a lot of that here, only transmogrified into something sleek and modern. Side A closing tracking "Watcher in the Sky" is my favorite song by the band behind "Year Zero," as well as my second favorite song of the year, and it carries a lot of weight here. That said, every single track moves me and gets stuck in my heart, even the mellowest ones, because they all fit together into this beautiful puzzle called Impera and make for a thrilling snapshot of an artist who has still yet to tap into his reserves.

1) Orville Peck - Bronco

It is a rare breed, the musician who can follow up a widely praised - and deservedly so - debut album with an even better sophomore record, let alone one that is a double album. Orville Peck, however, knocked this one so far out of the park, Pony seems like it came out a decade ago. Bronco is thrilling, with every track outshining the previous in lyrics, melody, and above all instrumentation. Like Impera, Bronco takes what has come before and influenced it - in this case the pomp and circumstance of 70s country instrumentation - and weaves it into a beautiful portrait of the years that preceded the album and those yet to come. Also, like Impera, one of the songs on the A Side - in this case, "Out of Time" - is my favorite of the year. What a perfect fit to my exodus from California and my move to Tennessee. 

Bexley - Sick

 

Last night marked my first live show since hitting 2 of the 3 Mr. Bungle shows in LaLaLand back in February 2020, mere days before COVID struck. I've reacquired my comfort level with seeing movies in the theatre, largely because you can very much curate how many people you'll be exposed to. Not in every case, but with Matinees and seating charts online, it's pretty easy to limit exposure. A live show is a more, "All bets are off" situation, though, so it's taken me a while to prepare. That changed recently, though.

When my good friend Jacob introduced me to The Mysterines' music, without even thinking I googled them to see if they were on tour - a practice I've maintained for years when I find a new band I love. When I saw they were playing on May 4th at the Peppermint Club, I didn't think twice about buying tickets. 

I'm glad I did.

Not only were The Mysterines awesome, but in preparation for the show, I looked up opener Bexley and was pretty blown away by her 2021 self-titled album. Above, I've posted my favorite song from said album, and since Bexley is local, I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for more shows, as she and her band were also great.

You can check out Bexley's Bandcamp HERE or her official site HERE.

 

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Watch:

Oh my. I probably wasn't supposed to laugh out loud, but I did. And then I winced enough to almost fall out of my seat.

 

The Sadness is written and directed by Rob Jabbaz, and as far as I can tell, this is his first full-length film. IT LOOKS F&*KING AWESOME, so I'll be watching this the day it drops on Shudder, next Thursday, 5/12/22.

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Playlist:

Sepultura - Chaos A.D.

David Byrne & Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

David Lynch - Crazy Clown Time

Soundgarden - Superunknown

Bexley - Eponymous

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Card:

Water of Water, pure emotions. This can trip me up, so I'll be attempting to keep a cool on any over-the-top moments I might have; there's a lot of ridiculousness at work of late, and I've grown a bit cantankerous when certain people are involved. Play it cool.

The Mysterines - The Bad Thing

 

Holy F$*k! My good friend Jacob sent me a link to the new album by The Mysterines yesterday and when I dug into it, I very quickly realized it's freaking fantastic! I hear a bit of Savages, some Polly Jean Harvey, and overall a band I immediately fell in love with. So much so, I just bought tickets to see the band on May 4th at the Peppermint Club, a LaLaLand venue I've yet to attend. This will be my first concert since, well, you know, and I guess it stands as a testament to how much I dig this group that I effortlessly decided to go. 

I remind myself constantly that I won't have access to this kind of show soon, so I need to enjoy the things about L.A. that I love now, while I'm still here.

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Read:

After burning through all those Lovecraft stories a few weeks back, I became seriously shanghaied by his The Unknown City. This is one I'd definitely read before - and enjoyed quite a bit, might I add. For whatever reason though, this time, it's just not doing it for me.

So, prompted by a conversation with a friend who had just read it for the first time, I decided to re-read The Colour Out of Space.  For this, I'm switching back and forth between the Kindle version and the one I have in this old anthology I acquired somewhere long ago at what I'm assuming was a second-hand bookshop somewhere:

This nifty little volume was published by nyrb classics (that's New York Review of Books, not the name of a new Lovecraftian species) and contains stories by Bram Stoker, Ambrose Bierce and Arthur Machen, as well as several other iconic cosmic/folk/weird fictions writers. I've read most of what's in here - this is a shelf volume I pull here and there and read from, and it's a great example of the kind of anthology a publisher can pull together with a coherent theme and a little bit of backing when the contents are mostly - if not completely - in the realm of public domain. 

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Playlist:

Ghost - Impera

Hyperia - Silhouettes of Horror

Electric Youth & Pilotpriest - Come True OST

Steve Moore - VFW OST

Blut Aus Nord - Hallucinogen

King Woman - Celestial Blues

Metallica - Kill 'Em All

The Mysterines - Reeling

Les Discrets - Prédateurs

Deftones - Gore

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Card:

Standstill that requires a dose of either cash or luck or both to achieve a truly remarkable result. I'll keep this in mind throughout the week, as it seems to me there are several possible applications at the moment for this spread.