The Death Of Money are a band from the underground, playing every toilet venue, back room, windowless club around the country, these hardened South Wales/Manchester veterans have been slinging noise around the UK for nearly two decades, performing with with underground, left-field luminaries such as Jarboe, Gnod, Pelican and others, never wavering in their own vision of what they are as a band, you either get it or you don’t. TDOM thought that their last album 2017’s Ghost Pains would be their last but there was something stirring in the background, a burning desire to do it again, to create new sounds, heavier sounds than they had before.
Sonically much more what TDOM sound like live, the title track begins with undulating, repeating synths and guitar riffs, feeling primal the addition of Bethan Lloyd’s wails are demonstrative of a band looking to expand their sonic horizon. As I said at the beginning The Death Of Money were forged in the underground and still make music on the fringes, from sludgy doom (Living In Fear) through introspective shoegaze and foot shuffling gothic post rock, Error After Era, plays around with synths and loops, building a queasy synthetic foundation to unleash the rage on songs such as Poems or building the tribal beat of Wasp Screams.
Error After Era is an album the band claim has rejuvenated them. More oppressive than any of their previous releases, they sound hungry again here, daring to experiment but still reliant on their near 20 years of noise. The Death Of Money, reincarnated. 8/10
The Pineapple Thief - Last To Run (Kscope) [Matt Bladen]
Last To Run is a collection of songs that were recorded during the sessions for The Pineapple Thief's previous album It Leads To This, from earlier this year, now that album made a huge impact and went to number one. So this is 20 minutes of music that has been left over, put together to showcase the talents of The Pineapple Thief once again.
Now these aren't just carbon copies, they're songs that were born in this sessions but have been adapted and taken on a new life since then. All Because Of Me is an insistent opener, as Last To Run builds on shifting percussion from Gavin Harrison and electronics from Steve Kitch. You can hear new elements and classic The Pineapple Thief composing on this EP.
Election Day's cry of "It Will Be Over Soon" resonating strongly on the day I sat down to write this album (November 5th). This track is classic Bruce Soord art rock it's got sensitivity and emotion while No Friend Of Mine shows their darker side. The World To Me on the other hand is much more inline with classic prog hooked on a delicate guitar line and Jon Sykes' bass.
Last To Run shows that not everything that's left off an album should stay on the cutting room floor. Especially for a band with the skill of The Pineapple Thief. 8/10
Dug Pinnick - Thingamajigger (Rat Pak Records) [Rich Piva]
King’s X is one of my favourite bands of all time. There is something magical when those three guys get together to create music that not many others have. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy when one of the three (mostly dUg and Ty) decide to put some solo or side band material out in between new King’s X music, I just know I have to temper my expectations that the work is not actual King’s X material. Solo and side stuff from the guys range from good to excellent, and I would put the new dUg Pinnick record somewhere in between those two categories. Thingamajigger is a quick 31 minutes of (mostly) prototypical solo dUg stuff that has some real gems and is a record that never outstays it’s welcome.
It is easy to forget that Pinnick is 74 years old because he still sounds like he did on the early records. His voice is still the same and his love for music still seems to be there as well like it was all those years ago. dUg played and programmed almost everything on the record outside of some cool guitar work from some guests on a few tracks. The one-two punch of Climbing Up The Mountain and Keep On Going may be his best solo opening combination. With the former a super catchy straight ahead trademarked dUg rocker and the latter bringing some slide guitar work and blues swagger ala his Grinder Blues side hustle, with fantastic results.
More Strings Attached has some of dUg’s unique sing/talk vocals and that southern preacher vibe that makes his delivery so powerful. Let the Music Play has a soulful feel and is a little bit funky too, while Love Defines You brings the low-end sound and highlights dUg’s bass playing and ability to bring the soulful heaviness. Shout out to Jimi Hazel for the solo here. Add some Ty and Jerry harmonies and From The Now could fit nicely on a late period King’s X record. The Alarm is dUg getting all pop and jangly on us and it so works, pulling off his best Smithereens impersonation. How about grungy dUg on The One Thing? Love it. The Valley has some great guitar work to go along with some more classic dUg, including some amazing vocals, while Working It Out is an inspirational little ditty with all you want from a Pinnick tune. The closer, Believe It, may be the most un-dUg track out of the eleven and is actually my favourite, with its layered vocals and interesting melody.
Don’t blink, because Thingamajigger flies by quick with eleven songs in 31 minutes with no songs over three and a half minutes and zero filler. This is a much more focused effort than the last one, Joy Bomb, which felt a bit bloated and lacked stand out tracks. dUg has certainly found his solo groove again with Thingamajigger, one of his finest solo works to date. 8/10
Vessel - The Somnifer (Majestic Mountain Records) [Rich Piva]
Four years after their last record, heavy psych duo from Australia Vessel is back with its most mind expanding and gigantic record yet, The Somnifer. This one is big and bold and their most ambitious record, branching out even further into the next astral plane with ten tracks that exist to take you on a heavy desert trip.
A good chuck of The Somnifer is instrumental and these compositions transport you to the desert on some distant planet. You seem to be on earth for the first three minutes of the opening title track until song two, Draining The Labyrinth, takes you to a whole new level with some absolutely killer guitar work. The bass leads the exploration of this mystery planet until the guitar and spoken work vocals begin to help you to understand what you have gotten yourself into. I love the sound and the tones of The Somnifer, as you really are transformed, especially when you play this loud. The track Eat The Day is the most straight ahead heavy stoner track on the record and it absolutely rules. A sweet bass riff with some excellent guitar work and great vocals, this one has it all and will be on my year end playlist for sure.
Don’t blink, because Thingamajigger flies by quick with eleven songs in 31 minutes with no songs over three and a half minutes and zero filler. This is a much more focused effort than the last one, Joy Bomb, which felt a bit bloated and lacked stand out tracks. dUg has certainly found his solo groove again with Thingamajigger, one of his finest solo works to date. 8/10
Vessel - The Somnifer (Majestic Mountain Records) [Rich Piva]
Four years after their last record, heavy psych duo from Australia Vessel is back with its most mind expanding and gigantic record yet, The Somnifer. This one is big and bold and their most ambitious record, branching out even further into the next astral plane with ten tracks that exist to take you on a heavy desert trip.
A good chuck of The Somnifer is instrumental and these compositions transport you to the desert on some distant planet. You seem to be on earth for the first three minutes of the opening title track until song two, Draining The Labyrinth, takes you to a whole new level with some absolutely killer guitar work. The bass leads the exploration of this mystery planet until the guitar and spoken work vocals begin to help you to understand what you have gotten yourself into. I love the sound and the tones of The Somnifer, as you really are transformed, especially when you play this loud. The track Eat The Day is the most straight ahead heavy stoner track on the record and it absolutely rules. A sweet bass riff with some excellent guitar work and great vocals, this one has it all and will be on my year end playlist for sure.
The trippy instrumental interlude Delta Waves leads to heavier stuff in the form of Recurring Nightmare, which sounds like its title, from the heavy bass, to the vocals, to the doomy guitar work. Image Rehearsal Reaction is where we may lose some, as it is a ten-minute psych out that you need to hang in for to really get it, but if you do hang in it is so worth it. Another instrumental interlude brings us to the closer, Body And Soul, that has such a cool heavy vibe and somehow reminds me of a 80s song run through a stoner rock song generator, and what comes out is so damn cool.
The new Vessel record is a challenge that is worth accepting and hanging in for. The Somnifer is out there in the best sort of way and is ready to take your listening in a whole different direction from your straight-ahead stoner and doom listening habits and ready to mess with your mind. 8/10
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