Posts Tagged ‘All Them Witches’

All Them Witches are known for their loud and lengthy live shows. 2020 found the band releasing their critically acclaimed album, “Nothing As The Ideal”. An album release from this band would traditionally be followed by a lengthy 18-month tour across the globe. Due to an international pandemic, the band’s touring plans were brought to a halt. This did not stop All Them Witches from assembling in a studio to broadcast a live set for their fans. The set was roundly received as an amazing performance and fans immediately inquired as to whether or not this show would be available on vinyl. New West Records is proud to present All Them Witches – “Live on the Internet.”

New West Records is proud to present All Them Witches – “Live on the Internet”. This 16-song set will be pressed on 5 variations of colour vinyl and packaged in a widespine jacket. Each package will be foil stamped and numbered. This pressing is limited to 6,000 copies worldwide.

Tracklisting:

Blood and sand / milk and
Endless waters
Dirt preachers
Saturnine & iron jaw
41
When god comes back
Alabaster
Diamond
1×1
3-5-7
The marriage of coyote
Woman
Charles william
Rats in ruin
Open passageways
Enemy of my enemy
Everest
Bulls

Released through New West Records . AVAILABLE IN-STORE 03/04/2022

Dark and beguiling; Nashville three-piece All Them Witches blend blues rock with garage, psyche and stoner rock to create hypnotic songs with a truly intense feel. Their immense creativity has resulted in a truly prolific output, with each new record eagerly awaited by their devoted international fanbase.

The trio includes drummer Robby Staebler, guitarist Ben McLeod and bassist Charles Michael Parks Jr. who is also the band’s singer. Now, with the release of their sixth album ‘Nothing as the Ideal’ which critics and fans agree is their best yet; All Them Witches announce headline dates to showcase their new material. 

Formed in 2012, All Them Witches immediately showed immense creative strength with their prolific output resulting in the self- release of their first full length record ‘Our Mother Electricity’ in the same year. Inspired by the heavy sound of Black Sabbath but also their willingness to experiment, they achieved cult status throughout the US and reached listeners in Europe and around the globe. Their innovation continued with the ‘Extra Pleasant’ EP which saw them record using only two microphones plugged directly into a cassette recorder, creating an almost mythic quality to their song writing which appealed to fans. The ensuing years would see an inexhaustible flurry of creative energy with a constant release of albums, including ‘Lightening At The Door’ (2014), ‘Dying Surfer Meets His Maker’ (2015), ‘Sleeping Through The War’ (2017) and ‘ATW’ (2018).

Sensing that their next album would be something truly special, the Tennessee troupe relocated to London to record in Studio 2 of the iconic Abbey Road. Enlisting the aid of their long-term friend Mikey Allread as mixing engineer once again, they set about creating new album ‘Nothing as the Ideal’.

“As soon as we walked in, all of that touristy stuff is just gone. It is a funky, vintage, dirty studio, just bad-ass and super-awesome. The staff there was such a joy to work with, and the room we were in was Studio Two, which was The Beatles’ room.” – Ben McLeod

Some of the magic of the studio which helped craft some of the greatest rock and roll records of all time must have seeped into the band as album ‘Nothing as the Ideal’ is their best yet. The mystical element of their music is taken even further with complicated song structures explored to their fullest extent and delicately balanced melodies are fused with hard rocking riffs to produce one of the most compelling records of the year. Make sure you see All Them Witches when they return to the UK to play the new material from ‘Nothing as the Ideal’ plus tracks from right across their mighty career at headline dates during September 2021 

The album ‘Nothing as the Ideal,’ available now

All Them Witches have released another track from their upcoming album, Nothing As The Ideal. “Lights Out” along with the other seven songs on the album — was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in the legendary Studio Two (home to landmark recordings by The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and more). All Them Witches have built a career out of playing music that cannot be pigeonholed into one specific genre. Nothing As The Ideal  with the help of longtime mixing engineer Mikey Allred. The history and vibe of that setting laid the groundwork for what was to come. The band’s signature psychedelic blues riffs, relentless drums, melodic bass lines and non-linear lyrics are all present. The resulting album is a thought provoking head banger that is the band’s most cohesive album to date

“…the new album is their most experimental work to date. Tape loops coincide with unplugged minimalism. It’s their heaviest album marked by their broadest atmospheres, intimate and pummeling.” – Glide Magazine

All Them Witches premiered a new video for their track, “Rats In Ruin” this week. The video was co-directed by drummer Robby Staebler and actress Drea de Matteo (The Sopranos, Sons of Anarchy) and they both star in it as well.

“Before we recorded Nothing As The Ideal I knew I wanted to do a visual for “Rats,” said Robby . “The tape demo that was stuck on repeat in my head was fully realized at Abbey Road… Tucked away overlooking Los Angeles, Drea and I decided to put our heads together for this project.

Stream “Lights Out” from the new album “Nothing As The Ideal” (out September 4th.

 

All Them Witches will return with a new album, their first as a trio, called “Nothing as the Ideal” on September 4th. All Them Witches boarded a flight to London on February 27th and spent nine days recording at Abbey Road. “It was incredible. We have a studio south of Nashville, and it’s an amazing sounding space, but it just wasn’t the right time to record this record there,” McLeod says. “I decided that I wanted to do another album with Mikey Allred, who produced and engineered and mixed Dying Surfer Meets His Maker. We started writing more in January and February, and Mikey and I were talking one day and we both just came up with the Abbey Road idea. Robby and bassist Michael Parks were totally on board, and something like later that afternoon, we booked our dates.”

According to McLeod, the studio is as magical as fans would expect. “I walked in and it was like one of those out of body experiences,” he remarks. “Robby got there like an hour before I did and he looked at me and was like, ‘Dude, I almost cried three times.’ It’s a huge room, and the vibe isn’t in the vintage microphones that the Beatles used, it’s not in any of the gear, the old compressors and all that stuff … you go there because the room sounds good. For me, that was the icing on the cake. This studio actually just sounds amazing.”

The record is their most experimental work to date. It’s also their heaviest album and we’re very much liking the sound of lead track Saturnine & Iron Jaw, a near seven minute slow, bluesy burn that takes off from a looping, chiming intro and gentle guitar into a hypnotic, full-on psychedelic wig out crescendo. Time for some heavy, heavy psych – channeling their inner Sabbath, Zeppelin and Pink Floyd – All Them Witches deliver a masterpiece of throwback 70s riffola on The Children of Coyote Woman.

We’ve been fans of Nashville psych-rock outfit All Them Witches for a while now, their lysergic, riff-worshipping sound striking the perfect balance between reverent throwback and forward-thinking experimentation. Shades of Sabbath, Zeppelin, Blue Cheer, Pink Floyd, Moody Blues and others abound, but All Them Witches are on their own unique trip. Nothing as the Ideal, the follow-up to 2018 LP ATW and last year’s standalone single “1X1,” and the group first full-length since they slimmed down from quartet to trio. Recorded at the iconic Abbey Road Studios, the eight-track album features some of the band’s heaviest moments and some of their quietest.

All Them Witches deliver a masterpiece of throwback 70s riffola on The Children of Coyote Woman.

“‘The Children of Coyote Woman’ is a retelling of the founding of Rome through a southern perspective,” ATW frontman Charles Michael Parks Jr. tells us. “Two brothers fight to see who will control the region after the passing of their mother, a woman so fierce and legendary that people would rather leave their homes than get in her way. Though powerful, though fierce, their lives exist in a minuscule blip in the universe and are still tied to the struggles and hardships of trying to survive in the poor rural south.

“In my mind, there are a lot of similarities between the Roman empire and the USA. The same essence of power and ingenuity, as well as it’s brutal conquests for resources. The founding fathers undoubtedly studied the reign of the Caesars and chose it as a model for their new republic.”

All Them Witches are offering up a nice respite from all the chaos going on in the world. The Nashville rockers have announced the forthcoming release of a new album, Nothing as the Ideal. Moreover, the band share a taste of what’s to come with opening track “Saturnine & Iron Jaw”. Regarding the song “Saturnine & Iron Jaw”, guitarist and songwriter Ben McLeod tells us, “We very specifically wanted to lead with this track. I think it’s the most well-rounded track on the record; it’s constantly changing, it has a lot of different vibes to it.”

He gives a hint at what to expect with the rest of Nothing as the Ideal, as he adds, “Obviously there are way heavier songs on the record,” but “Saturnine & Iron Jaw” should let fans know All Them Witches are still very much rooted in psychedelic and bluesy rock. “This is our first record without keys,” he continues, “but in this song, there is something for everyone.”

With a slow-burn of an opening, the track builds into a crescendo of psychedelic rock. “That whole intro is a compilation of about five or six loops that Robby Staebler, drums had made on tour,” he explains. “He gave them all to me and we knew that we wanted the album to start that way. The only thing I added, production wise, is a little after the one minute mark, the pitch drops and then there’s a bell that rings five times. It’s totally cheesy, but I thought it would be cool to have it ring five times before the guitar comes in, kind of representing our previous five studio albums. And then on the fifth bell, the sixth album begins.”

This album for me is a return to center, and not in a way that is repeated by countless social media influencers or retail giants trying to improve their score. It is a return in the fact that even in the lowest moments and even when I’m shoveling past rock bottom, I have a choice, and it shows up when it shows up. My job is to catch the moment of action when when it arrives and to see it as neither a burden or a blessing, but as “the way.”

We love you, please enjoy the music that we have made, and please love yourself, your neighbours, and your planet. Parks, ATW

The new album available September 4th, Nothing as the Ideal will arrive on September 4th via New West Records The album was recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios, where the Beatles famously laid down most of their iconic catalogue.

All Them Witches, a Nashville born and raised quartet, is neither a country band or a gang of witches (I know, I was kind of bummed too). They’re a grungy, psychedelic rock band born from the blood, sweat, and beers of Charles Michael Parks Jr., Robby Staebler, Ben McLeaod, and Alan Can Cleave. The guys banded together (no pun intended—OK a little bit intended but I’m not apologizing) in 2012 and released their debut record Our Mother Electricity that same year. “Sleeping Through the War”, their release on February 24th, will be their third (and was produced by Dave Cobb so you know it’s going to be pretty good).

When asked about the video for “357” features a glitchy VHS filter that brings to mind the video of the floating plastic bag the weird kid made in American Beauty—drummer Robby Staebler, had this to say:

“For me this video is about perspective and the process of self realization. Once you begin to see yourself around you and in others, realizing you are apart of everything (even things that you despise) is something you have to swallow and move toward understanding so you can properly adjust. Remember that one song about that one dude who reached for the stars too soon? One of the most important and inspiring things I’ve heard is: “in concentration I will place my mind. For those whose thoughts are slack and wandering are caught between the fangs of their own afflictions” or something like that. Those afflictions become everyones afflictions. The cycle continues. The suffering continues. Learn to focus, you can do it!”

From the new album ‘Sleeping Through The War’ available February 24th, 2017.

Image of Brian Jonestown Massacre - Don't Get Lost

“Don’t Get Lost” was recorded & produced at Anton’s new Cobra Studio in Berlin between March 2016 & October 2016. It is the 16th full length release. With band members Ricky Maymi , Dan Allaire , Collin Hegna & Ryan Van Kriedt .Also Emil Nikolaisen from the Norwegian band Serena-Maneesh & Pete Fraser (The Pogues .New Young Pony Club) on saxophone joins the band on this album , plus vocal performances from Tim Burgess (Charlatans) , Tess Parks and Shaun Rivers .

A new dynamic is heard on this album mixing the shoegaze/psychedelic sound with more experimental twists, on some tracks you might hear PIL (Metalbox) , Primal Scream , or even Ornette Coleman . 14 tracks that will twist and turn through the known and unknown Brian Jonestown Massacre . In 2016 The band released 2 singles and the critically acclaimed Third World Pyramid .

Image of All Them Witches - Sleeping Through The War

Produced by Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson, Rival Sons) and mixed / engineered by UK-bred young-gun Eddie Spear, All Them Witches’ ‘Sleeping Through The War’ is the quartet’s most bold and well-crafted record to date.
The album’s creation marks the first time in the band’s history that a record was written before entering the studio. This process allowed for an alignment of the band’s art, desire and time. Convening in Nashville for only six days after a year of relentlessly touring their New West Records debut ‘Dying Surfer Meets Their Maker’, the band’s spirit coalesced in a rhythm of statement and melody that simply needs to be heard… repeatedly.

With the guidance of Cobb and Spear, ‘Sleeping Through The War’ captures the truest energy of the group, full blast, fun and contemplative. The record was made with volume in mind. ‘Sleeping Through The War’ is meant to be played loud, cranked up and without reservation. Feel it live through your stereo system or listen to it speak in tongues through your headphones.
The sounds are nothing without the songs and the songs are nothing without the lyrics. This record is a result of constant touring, world travel, overstimulated / divided humanity and a learning of awareness and compassion.
“They are the real deal – psychedelic blues-rock warriors who pray at the altar of Black Sabbath, space out like Pink Floyd and shred away their bummers like Blue Cheer.”

Image of Eyelids - 854

Principal songwriters John Moen & Chris Slusarenko (BOSTON SPACESHIPS, DECEMBERISTS, ELLIOTT SMITH, STEPHEN MALKMUS, DAMIEN JURADO) have turned inwards to their loves of New Zealand/Flying Nun guitar buzz, their teenage LA Paisley Underground obsessions, haunts of early Athens and all things beautiful, lopsided and rock. Along with members Jonathan Drews (guitar), Jim Talstra (bass) and Paulie Pulvirenti (drums) they push & pull against each other’s songwriting, in a beautiful tension that just works.

Image of Sun Kil Moon - Common As Light And Love Are Red Valleys Of Blood

“‘Common As Light And Love Are Red Valleys Of Blood’, for the most part, captures events from January to August of this year and how I processed it all while traveling.
“[…] I’m blessed to have met the very talented Justin Broadrick and to have made these beautiful albums with him.
“These two new albums capture more than my reactions to mass murders or the passing of beloved heroes like David Bowie or Muhammad Ali. The Sun Kil Moon and Jesu/Sun Kil Moon albums are also full of love, humor, and my gratitude

Image of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Flying Microtonal Banana

Geelong’s insuppressible King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard release their new album ‘Flying Microtonal Banana’ on Heavenly Recordings – the first of five albums they are set to release in 2017.

Talking about the making of Flying Microtonal Banana, Eric Moore of the band said: “Earlier this year we started experimenting with a custom microtonal guitar our friend Zak made for Stu. The guitar was modified to play in 24- TET tuning and could only be played with other microtonal instruments. We ended up giving everyone a budget of $200 to buy instruments and turn them microtonal. The record features the modified electric guitars, basses, keyboards and harmonica as well as a Turkish horn called a Zurna.”
Shimmering, hypnotic and propulsive and powered along, as ever, by the metronomic beat of two drummers, ‘Flying Microtonal Banana’ takes a subtle musical shift away from the frazzled freak-beat of its predecessor, ‘Nonagon Infinity’. Trance like, in parts clipped and concise yet deeply psychedelic, it reveals yet another musical side to a band seemingly in perpetual motion.

Perhaps one of the most exciting live bands out there right now, they appeared at both Green Man and End Of The Road festivals over the summer as well as playing sold-out London shows at the Electric Ballroom, Moth Club and The Electric during 2016. The band will bring their unrestrained and free-wheeling live show back to the UK in 2017.

Image of Peter Silberman - Impermanence - Bonus Disc Edition

While Impermanence is Peter Silberman’s first solo album, it could easily be thought of as a continuation of the emotional-spiritual odyssey begun through his work in The Antlers over the past decade. It travels some of the thornier terrain of the trio’s previous albums Hospice, Burst Apart, and Familiars, while carrying the conversation further down the path.
But much of what distinguishes Impermanence from its forebears can be attributed to an unexpected injury, which imposed upon the musician considerable time and space to ponder the finite.
A few years back, Peter Silberman developed a hearing impairment in his left ear that resulted in a temporarily total hearing loss, extraordinarily loud tinnitus, and an excruciating sensitivity to everyday noises. The condition required extensive rest and quiet, and in order to get that, he left his Brooklyn apartment for a more secluded setting in upstate New York.
The six songs have an economy of expression, the spaces between the words as important as the words themselves. Like the infamous Miles Davis quote: “It’s not the notes you play, it’s the notes you don’t play.”

As the writing neared completion, Silberman linked up with his long-time friend and collaborator, Nicholas Principe of Port St. Willow. Over the course of a few winter months, Principe engineered the album in his upstate People Teeth studio, contributing production throughout. Together, they carved out a sacred sonic space, elongating the distance between notes, between chords, utilizing minimal arrangements to allow breathing room.
But the album goes beyond experiments in ambience. It actually traces the stages of healing, as Silberman experienced them.

“The sequence charts a circular course between distress and peace,” he explains. “The final track returns you to the mood of the first by a wormhole through a single breath, split in half across the last and first seconds of the album. It mimics the cyclical nature of facing unexpected obstacles.”
“I hope Impermanence can provide comfort to people grappling with transition, while remaining honest about it. There’s no remedy for the unpredictable, and I want this record to reflect that, to offer an alternative way to think about changing circumstances.”

Image of The Feelies - In Between

New Jersey indie-rock pioneers The Feelies are celebrating their 40th anniversary with the release of “In Between”, their first album of all new material in over 6 years.
Whilst working the post Velvet Underground moves they’re so famous for, In Between brings interesting new ideas into the mix. The twin-guitar attack of songwriters and founders Glenn Mercer and Bill Million is still at the core of the group’s infectious sound, paired with the driving rhythmic team of drummer Stan Demeski and percussionist Dave Weckerman, with Brenda Sauter’s bass guitar proving a rock solid foundation.

“On the new record we did a lot of it at my house in my home studio with extra equipment, explains Mercer. “It’s the same room where we rehearsed. We’ve been here since we reformed and a little bit prior to taking the hiatus in the 90’s. So it’s a room we’re really familiar with and feel comfortable in. We also did some recording at an engineer’s studio, so it was all done very low key. We refer to it as “off the clock” when you’re not paying an hourly rate, so in that sense it was a lot more relaxed. I don’t think anyone would notice a drastic change in the sound or the vibe of the record. I think it sounds a lot more relaxed and laid back.”

“I think all of our albums reflect a certain degree of reaction to the work that we previously did and In Between is no exception,” continues Bill Million. “We liked the sounds and the feel of the demos for this album and we thought it would be difficult to capture that in a recording studio. So that was our starting point and it evolved in a much more relaxed way that loaned itself to more creative interplay. Time wasn’t a component. If you let it, music can take on a life of its own and we wanted to allow the songs to develop with that idea in mind.”

Formed in Haledon NJ in 1976, The Feelies have now released six albums – including their critically acclaimed and influential debut Crazy Rhythms, as well as playing concerts with The Patti Smith Group, REM, and Bob Dylan as well as touring with Lou Reed.
In 2008, The Feelies re-united after a 17 year hiatus to open for long time admirers Sonic Youth at Battery Park and then resurrected their tradition of playing low key gigs at strategic intervals throughout the year rather than doing lengthy tours. They signed with Bar/None the same year, who re-issued The Good Earth and Crazy Rhythms. Here Before was released in 2011 and marked The Feelies first studio album in nearly two decades.

All Them Witches have released “Alabaster”, a taster from the band’s upcoming album “Sleeping Through The War”. It’s a woozy, hypnotic piece of brooding, voodoo psychedelia, nestling somewhere between Dr John, The Doors at their most wired, and Sigur Ros.

“Alabaster is about leaving behind a culture that grooms people for failure and finding a place in this world where it is ok to live as peacefully as the ‘animals’,” says the band’s Charles Michael Parks, “neither creating nor destroying, no good or evil, just existing.”

New album Sleeping Through The War has a lot to say about current culture. “Sleeping through the war is what we’re doing,” says Parks, “There are so many terrible things going on in the world and we’re just staring at our phones, and we don’t see it so we don’t care.”

“If everybody would look out for everybody we wouldn’t have any problems. If everybody had enough space to breath we wouldn’t have any problems. The hardest part is that everybody wants to be happy but nobody knows how to get there.”

Sleeping Through The War is released on February 24th . The band are playing the Secret Garden Party this July 20th-23rd.

An epic live recording from the March 3rd, 2016 show in Brussels, Belgium at AB – Ancienne Belgique. Remastered from the original recording, and presented in separate tracks.

From thepunksite.com: “The first observation is that for an album release that All Them Witches are giving away the quality is stunning, every note and instrument is crystal clear. The opening number, ‘The Death Of Coyote Woman,’ has elements of The Doors at their peak along with some fine blues stylings. ‘Funeral For a Great Dying Bird‘ eases into ‘When God Comes Back’ and the tempo increases and this incorporates some excellent fuzz drenched guitar work. All Them Witches build up and bring down the pace throughout Live In Brussels building up to the triumphant final track ‘My Last Name Is The Blues.’ This is an accomplished fourteen track live album of laid back psychedelia, blues and stoner rock, and if you have any love for the bands of the mid to late 1960’s that pioneered this style then you should really be adding this to your collection.”

If you’re here now, months before the release, you are likely a fan already and for good reason. If you are just finding out about these guys keep in mind that they represent one of the most original and compelling sounds in the new wave of the heavy psychedelic blues rock realm. I watched them a storming set live recently at the Bodega after seeing them earlier in August at Green Man Festival . A real gem in the scene.

The Nashville rockers All Them Witches gear up for the release of their fourth studio album, ‘Sleeping Through The War’, due February 24th 2017 – the follow-up to last year’s ‘Dying Surfer Meets His Maker’ – with a psych rock taster in lead single ‘Bruce Lee’.

Watch the Jason Staebler-directed clip for the track, above.

“‘Bruce Lee’ is about anxiety taking hold of and following you indiscriminately,” explains Staebler. “The video is meant to represent that idea, the consuming nature of your worries, and the magnification of them in your mind. The creature in pursuit is the personification of your anxiety, who can overcome and control your fate if you let it.”

Releases February 24th, 2017.

All Them Witches is:
Charles Michael Parks, Jr. – Vocals, Bass, Guitar, Mellotron, Percussion
Ben McLeod – Guitar, Bass, Mellotron, Percussion
Robby Staebler – Drums, Percussion
Allan Van Cleave – Rhodes, Organ, Piano, Mellotron

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All Them Witches are giving away their new live album, Live In Brussels, for free. The album has been issued as a thank you to loyal fans, many of whom helped raise $4800 inside 24 hours when the band’s money was stolen on their recent US tour supporting latest album “Dying Surfer Meets His Maker” . It was recorded at a sold-out show at Ancienne Belgique in Brussels.

“This was right in the middle of our first European tour,” recalls drummer Robby Staebler. “The AB club is seriously badass, great crew members and incredible hospitality. I remember we were late to the load in and soundcheck because we were driving ourselves around and tour managing everything on our own – which was stupidly stressful. We missed soundcheck totally and were unable to set up our gear.

“Also, I had a runner go and get me drumsticks, but they ended up being totally different than what I use. It was a stressful beginning to the show! Once the opening band were done we had to go set up everything and soundcheck for the crowd as fast as we could. That is never awesome. But the show felt great.

“Aside from the general exhaustion of being one of our drivers and not getting any regular sleep, the show felt great. You really feel it at the end of a performance, and I remember we were all pretty happy with the show – great stage sound and a great first time crowd. We stayed in a hostel that night and danced to the Spice Girls. I slept well that night.”

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The instruments and voices that you hear in All Them Witches:

Ben McLeod
Robby Staebler
Michael Parks, Jr.
Allan Van Cleave

Recorded live at AB – Ancienne Belgique, in Brussels, Belgium on 03.03.2016. Remastered from the original recordings, and presented here in separate tracks.