FRESH MEAT FRIDAY...erm, SATURDAY: July 4th, 2020

Every Friday--in today's case, Saturday--a wagon arrives at the Sleeping Village’s gates, stuffed to the brim with our sustenance for the following week. Today is the day we must offload all this new music, and so, in the process, we thought it would be worthwhile to share some of our choice picks from this veritable mass of fresh meat. This is what we’ll be listening to today here at the Village HQ. We hope you join us in doing so! 

​​On the docket for today, July 4th, 2020: 
​Ancient Hand, Northern Crown, Gramma Vedetta, and Pale Witch

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Ancient Hand - Best regards,
​(Independent Release)

If you follow our shenanigans on Instagram, you may be aware of (unsubstantiated) rumors that I have accepted a sizeable bribe in exchange for this review. Let me dispel said rumor thusly: I love Ancient Hand's body of work, and Best regards, is his best work yet by a significant margin. Moving away from dungeon synth roots and into increasingly experimentally turbulent waters, this album is a wholly heartfelt exploration of pain, anger, and inevitable catharsis. Sonically, Ancient Hand embraces a palette of heft and aggression, moving into the arenas of dark(er), ambient, boom-bappy hip-hop beats, industrial noise, and EDM. It's a dynamic approach, and one that oozes emotive results--from the hard-hitting "metacognition" and "ORAL," to the reflective Interludes I & II, the intent is clear--but yet remains a joy to experience. 

Find it at bandcamp here (for NYOP!)

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Northern Crown – In A Pallid Shadow
(Independent Release)

This album, I am pleased to report, has been quite the grower. Occupying a strange space between, the respective mid-eras of Candlemass and Kansas, In A Pallid Shadow takes the traditional epic doom template and amps it up with a significant prog-rock extravagance. One wouldn’t think that the flair of the former former would benefit from, well, the flair of the latter, but here, Northern Crown have found a delicate balance that works remarkably well. Besides the tasteful application of the standard Hammond fare, the vocals are powerful and emotive, and the songwriting, while certainly not trim or restrained, feels meaningful and well-considered throughout the (pleasingly short) breadth. All told, this is an excellent album—almost certainly a candidate for many a doom-laden year end list.

Find it at bandcamp here!
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​Gramma Vedetta – A.C.I.D Compliant (Independent Release)
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No matter how much has been (or will be) released, spacey stoner rock will always have an audience—riffs and psychedelia, after all, tend to go down reeeeal smooth. Gramma Vedetta’s latest offering is a short lil’ platter of (frankly) trademark Sabbathian fare—albeit with a decidedly more sci-fi edge than we have previously seen and heard. Take the overtly “Planet Caravan”-esque astral meandering of “Porthole” as a prime example, complete with filtered Ozzy croons and gentle psych riffing.

​The four tracks contained within A.C.I.D Compliant wear their influences on their sleeves, never striving to break the mold…but that’s kind of the point. If you’re into fun-lovin’ stoner rock, you’ll undoubtedly enjoy this EP.

Find it at bandcamp here!

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Pale Witch – Softer Unto The Breach
​(Sparrow Heart Records)

If yer on the hunt for crunchy riffs, look no further. This 3-track EP eschews complexity, opting instead to be carried on the muscular back of Atlasian tone. Indeed, according to the band’s bio, they “simply want to be as heavy as humanly possible.” As such, Pale Witch deliver in the “massive” department, with the guiter’s thick tone being reflected in kind by the monstrous vocal and the sheer heft of the drums. As such, I’m tempted to classify this as an extremely stripped-down version of death-doom—lumbering, downtrodden, and relentlessly heavy. In short: Pale Witch do not, as the title might imply, head unto the breach with any kind of delicacy. This is crushing, both sonically and emotionally—and this, of course, in the best sense.

​Find it at bandcamp here!

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