Denim Dan & The Blue Jean Band

It never gets old for me to hear a lighter spark and a long bong hit get sucked into the lungs of someone about to enjoy some killer music. There's only three tracks on the new Wicked Witches Brew EP by Denim Dan & The Blue Jean Band but these are true stoner's delight. Long, slow heavy riffs, really great bluesy vocals to let you know you are in good company, plenty of killer guitar work, and just flat out stoner music for stoners. And the bong hits. I love this!


Denim Dan & The Blue Jean Band are a desert sludge group, recently relocated to Nashville, TN.

Let's hope for more music soon from Denim Dan & The Blue Jean Band!

Date Animals by Lesbian Wallet

LESBIAN WALLET's new album DATE ANIMALS combines the energy and raw guitar work of punk with the heavy fuzz of stoner. This is likely to be one of the most original albums you will hear all year. Besides the fuzz, another thing that sets Lesbian Wallet apart from a pure punk sound is the length of some of the tracks. "Margherita Hack" gets itself right into stoner territory with its length and heavy sound. And the 3-track set at end? Like I said, this is stoner punk. Right on!


Lesbian Wallet is a stoner punk trio from the midlands of Italy. (Down the road from Kavod, in fact.) The band is Francesco Bordoni (Guitar / Vocals), Francesco Mastellone (Bass), and Simone Romagnoli (Drums).


In their own words:

We play a vicious and occasionally experimental brand of rock with stoner, punk and hardcore elements. Our music draws from a variety of influences (Melvins, The Jesus Lizard, Kyuss, Mclusky to name a few), and since our debut 2016 EP “Elk” it has managed to morph into its own raw, nasty thing.

Don't miss Lesbian Wallet's music video for "Date Animals" on YouTube. It was one of the most popular videos in the 1st Annual Fuzzy Film Festival we held a few weeks ago on IGTV so check it out:

"0" is the new album from SUPER POWER

It's rare these days, but back in the beginning of the psychedelic music movement, it was a much more common for the music to have a focus on environmental or political issues. Which makes sense because so much of the great psychedelic music came out of folk music, and that was all about awareness, change, and consciousness. So it is very refreshing to hear some great psychedelic music on a new album with themes that remind about the environmental and political issues we face today. "0" is the new album from Finland's SUPER POWER and it is classic psychedelic stoner:


In the band's own words:

Thematically, the album centers around the vices of humanity and negligence of our planet (and each other). This is expressed through a contrast between fast and hard hitting songs and slow paced compositions that take their time with the ears, mind and heart of the listener

And dig that album cover by Steven Yoyada! Right on!


SUPER POWER is from Helsinki, Finland with members: Kalle - Vocals, Kristian - Bass, Olli - Drums, Onni - Guitar, Rasmus Guitar. They have vinyl for "0" so check out their page on Bandcamp:

CIA Hippie Mind Control new EP "This is What We Do"

It's only 4 songs and 15 minutes, but this EP contains some of the very best black thrash metal there is. I would call it "doom thrash" or "thrash doom" although I don't think either of those is a thing. But here's the deal -- this is extreme doom with all its pain and anger, but at no point does it ever get anywhere near drone or atmospheric or synth or any of that. In fact, that is what I enjoy the most about this band's music -- it is the energy. This is full force thrash doom, or extreme metal as I think I am supposed to call it.


You probably already knew I was going to love this. CIA Hippie Mind Control had a track from their debut EP on my doom sludge comp Opium Warlock's Dungeon of Darkness, and more recently they recorded a brand new song for Crow and Poe my album with all new music inspired by the poetry and prose of Edgar Allan Poe. So yea -- I was gonna dig this. And I do.


CIA Hippie Mind Control is Chad Rauschenberger (WERE-JAGUARS) and Greg Kohler (CRUCIATION). They are based in Portland, Oregon.

VIVID DREAMS PARADE by THE INSEKTLIFE CYCLE

It's rare that I review an album that was released a few years ago but sometimes the music is so good you just have to give it the attention it deserves. And VIVID DREAMS PARADE by THE INSEKTLIFE CYCLE deserves it. This band has few peers (any?) when it comes to instrumental psychedelic improvisation because the songs are full of musical inspiration and variety while keeping the structure and flow of a written song. Improvisation on a theme rather than a free flow jam. And when the music is performed by such skillful musicians .... well, just have a listen for yourself:

NOPERSONA stoner rock from ARGENTINA

Argentina has some of the very best stoner bands out there today, and NOPERSONA is amongst the very best of them. Nopersona is a trio that delivers riffs from hard rock to stoner rock to stoner metal and even a dash of alternative and punk in their catalog of songs. The latest album from Nopersona is a collection of their songs recorded live. Take a listen and scroll down for my interview with the band:


ESCENAS DE VIDAS PASADAS is the most recent studio album from Nopersona:


Nopersona is Nico on vocals and guitar, Pichi on bass, and Chene on drums.

I caught up with Nico a few weeks ago to find out more about NOPERSONA:

Hi man! Thanks for taking the time to talk to me! Tell me how Nopersona got started?

Nopersona formed in 2015 near Buenos Aires, Argentina. We are all from previous bands. 

Nico on vocals and guitar

The albums have a variety of sounds. They are all centered around stoner, but some are more heavy rock, and some are more towards alternative.

Our goal has been to play songs with a variety of sounds, so that is why sometimes you hear us play stoner and sometimes alternative. Also some of our songs are in Spanish and sometimes we sing in English. It all depends on making the song with the right sound.

You will hear stoner riffs in our songs, and sometimes also black metal, and perhaps sometimes even tango. And of course Black Sabbath! 

We like to describe the sound of Nopersona as, "Rock and Roll from the downtown of the Third World." 

Nico on vocals and guitar

What does the band's name "NOPERSONA" come from? What does it represent?

One of our inspirations is the book "1984" by George Orwell. In that book, the government removed dissidents from history and this was the name given to those people. It is like they were never a person, or "no person." 

Chene on drums

Thanks for your time, guys!

Here is a list of ways I can help bands with their online promotion. If you are not sure what kind of underground music I promote, just take a look at the posts in this blog to get an idea. Everything is free. I do not charge bands for anything. Get at me at fuzzycracklins@gmail.com

BLOG REVIEWS

I only write reviews for music I really dig. Send me your music and if I like it, I will write a blog review that is short and to the point of why I like your band's music. I am glad to include news about the band, all your social links, embed videos, and even a band interview.

For example: https://www.fuzzycracklins.com/2019/05/king-of-none.html

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

YOUTUBE CHANNEL

BANDCAMP MAILING LIST

I send out a weekly newsletter to my Bandcamp mailing list. This is best if we've done a review on my blog and I can send them a link to that. For some bands, this is a good way to send out some download codes, too.

For example, here is what we have done for one of the bands in The Swamp and check out the nice reviews received for the album: https://crowballard.bandcamp.com/album/electric-paradox

THE SWAMP KREWE

This is a big boost when your band has a new album and needs it to get out to my super fans on Bandcamp.  These fans have a lot of followers of their own, so your album will get into a lot of collections very quickly. Especially if your Bandcamp page has merch on it, this is the way to get fans to see it.

For example, here is another band from The Swamp where we have done this: https://kavod.bandcamp.com/album/wheel-of-time

MERCH

CONTESTS

Every fan loves a contest and Fuzzy can help you make it even more fun. A band or a label can send me a tape or CD or album or shirt or whatever, and I will handle the shipping to the winner, or you can direct ship to the winner. Contact me in advance to work out the details.

For example here is a virtual contest and the label shipped the vinyl:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw4IjOJJQbw/

And here is a video posted on Instagram for the winner of a CD that I mailed out:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BxzQDekhz0A/

LIVE VIDEO 

Carcaño are an example of what can happen if you exaggerate with alcohol. They are born as Venus was born from the foam of the sea, from the foam of the backwash of various drinks in 2018 in Reggio Calabria. The initial project is to start a dairy business, but find themselves with the tools in hand to do brothel.

In fact, a first attempt called OCTOPUSSY, which involved the 4, is datable to 2006. Following the kidnapping of the drummer by the aliens (which the theoreticians of the ancient alien  affirm plausible) the band, after a memorable one (even if nobody remembers, nobody knows, as from the Calabrian tradition) concert, he retires to a convent where he knows a friar investigator who puts himself in search of the drummer.

Experienced untold mishaps and following a trip to Jerusalem, Max the Mind (former drummer with Memories of a Lost Soul and TooMera B is reunited with the companions of a lifetime: Ugo the Doc on bass (previously with Veneregrida and Straw) , El Pez on guitar (formerly All the shit's holes and [AllMyFriendzAre] DEAD) and Elmore Penoise vocals and guitar (already involved with Stradedaria, Fjelds, [AllMyFriendzAre] DEAD, Elmore, Quello Sporco Duo).

The quartet now has the whole intention of diversifying its investments: it aims straight to cheese production by carelessly mixing the alcohol to all those typical products from which the stoner blend is born to be served hot and with very high volumes. 

Influenced by Sleep, Electric Wizard, Orange Goblin, 35007, Acid King but especially Beatles, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer and Hawkwind, it is rumored that the Carcaño can serve warm ricotta during their lives.

Right on! Check these guys out -- the links are below.

The Gathering Winds by Balthazar And The Boys

I have always enjoyed ambient music for the right occasion, and usually it is mostly or entirely electronic. And of course I also love fuzzy heavy stoner riffs. The Gathering Winds by Balthazar And The Boys is the perfect blend of both sounds. It is ambient stoner metal. You get the heavy guitar and bass tones of stoner music, but at a more leisurely and relaxing pace along the lines of more traditional ambient music.

"Balthazar And The Boys" is a one man band from Connecticut, consisting only of Gavin Miller. Primarily a bassist and guitarist.

Temple of The Soul by The Insektlife Cycle

I first heard the new album TEMPLE OF THE SOUL by THE INSEKTLIFE CYCLE in the middle of the night, so when I awoke in the morning after a few more hours of sleep, I had to wonder if it was a dream or if I had really listened to some of the very best instrumental psychedelic improvisation that I have ever heard? The answer is a flat-out YES and do not take only my word for how wonderful this collection of four tracks lasting nearly an hour are. The band was kind enough to share the album the The Swamp Krewe, and their response was immediate and unanimous: This is simply a fantastic album. Each song is unique, the improv stays true to each song without ever getting repetitive, and each instrument gets a chance to break out for its own little trip into outer space. I simply cannot recommend this album highly enough. Take a listen for yourself:


I asked The Insektlife Cycle if they would share a little about the album with us:

Temple of The Soul was recorded live on a 4 track cassette recorder. It’s a 2 and half hour jam resulting into a 4 track album

Since the album was recorded on tape, can you imagine how good the cassette edition is? And luckily there is a tape for sale:

Cassette tape edition of Temple of The Soul by The Insektlife Cycle

Also there is a vinyl and CD so check out the band's page on Bandcamp for all their merch.


The Insektlife Cycle is based in the Philippines, and its members are Joy Legason (bass), Ronnel Vivo (guitars & synth), Jay Jumawan (guitars), and Ronaldo S. Vivo, Jr. on drums (and he also did the excellent albumm art). More band photos below!


The video for SONIC SERMONS is a psychedelic trip through a small town, and the band has some live videos on their YouTube channel as well:

Ronnel Vivo

Jay Jumawan

Ronaldo S. Vivo, Jr.

Joy Legason