ARTISTS
The harlequins
Time is out 9/2/22 - PREORDER HERE
After 15 years in the rock & roll trenches, The Harlequins have emerged as bonafide scene veterans—enduring anti-heroes of the American garage-psych underground. Founded in 2007, the intrepid Cincinnati power trio—Michael Oliva on guitar & vocals, Alex Stenard on bass and Robert Stamler on drums—made its bones alongside contemporaries such as the Black Lips, Gringo Star, La Luz and Thee Oh Sees. They’ve since been celebrated by publications including Vice, The AV Club, Exclaim! and Performer, and have also shared bills with Ty Segall, Cherry Glazzer, Kurt Vile, Deerhoof, Ride and Kikagaku Moyo.
The Harlequins’ aptly named new record, TIME—their seventh full-length (and first since 2016’s acclaimed One with you)—is a diligently honed yet effortlessly flowing sonic journey recorded across the span of five years. “There are so many time puns I’m trying to hold back,” wisecracks Oliva, reflecting on the meandering odyssey of a recording process. “Normally you hit the studio, track it, mix it and wrap it up as fast as possible. But spending so long on this record, and having it be an ongoing project—things were wide open, so our approach evolved over time. How we mixed it initially isn’t how we ended up mixing it, which is different than how I’d mix it now. Things are always in flux—really, you’re trying to capture lightning in a bottle.”
And that’s exactly what The Harlequins have done with TIME. Listening, you can envision the record sprouting from a single seed, green shoots bolting skyward in time lapse, a vibrant bouquet of flowers blossoming brilliantly, then wilting and drying up, their crumbling petals scattered on the breeze. The process repeats in reverse, and then forward again in an infinite loop, time slipping back and forth against the blackness of space to a soundtrack of shimmering tremolo guitars, spring-loaded bass and frenetic drums, all shot through with quivering acid-drenched harmonies. Though for once, The Harlequins’ psychedelia has ventured outside the echo chamber, the typically sopping-wet reverb wrung out enough that the sound reflects the clarity of the comedown more than the chaos of the trip’s peak. “It’s one of the more eclectic albums we’ve done in a while,” Oliva says. “And it’s a little drier, cleaner and more experimental on the audiofile side. While it still has a live feel the way our older stuff does, there are a few songs that are a bit more ambitious, production-wise. We had fun pulling some studio tricks, and definitely went a little extra in that realm.”
When the band started recording TIME in earnest back in 2017—alternating between tracking at their high-ceilinged warehouse rehearsal space and overdubs at Oliva’s Cincinnati apartment—there was no real agenda. But in the end, more by default than intention, it became The Harlequins’ most political work to date, their introspective psychedelia peppered with scathing musical diatribes like “The Cheater,” “The Tower” and “Sound of the Creeps.” “It’s been a crazy, intense five years,” Oliva says. “It was bound to inspire us to write some songs. How could it not? And a lot of those songs are very tangibly of the times.”
“The Cheater” was written during the 2016 U.S. election that ultimately led to Donald Trump’s presidency. This also came in the wake of the first round of the Russo-Ukrainian war (back in 2014-2015); Oliva’s wife being from Ukraine, the state of global affairs was front-and-center on his mind. “‘The Cheater’ isn’t about one particular person,” he explains, “but the rise of all these bad dudes getting away with terrible shit—all these dictators coming to power. ‘Sound of the Creeps’ is like that, too. You can feel the rise of autocracy and fascism thick in the air.”
Lead single “The Tower” offers up an equally bleak vignette, a tale of unchecked yet chillingly banal evil punctuated by some brutally sludgy fuzz guitar. The song’s opening line—“Wash the blood of the children / From your filthy hand”—is unsettlingly of the moment. In the wake of yet another senseless school shooting, it’s enough to stop listeners cold in their tracks. “I actually wrote that one after Parkland,” Oliva says. “Unfortunately, it’s relevant again.”
While TIME is unafraid to hold a mirror up to the darkness, it radiates plenty of light as well. “Without You” is a blistering, 180-bpm meditation on valiantly sticking it out through a long-distance relationship, and “Hold Your Tongue” a carpe-diem garage anthem extolling the virtues of honesty, authenticity and speakingyour mind instead of holding back. With its churning locomotive rhythm, “Return Home” is a head-bobbing traveling song written on the heels of a European tour, while TIME’s breezy, introspective title track has the feel of Syd Barrett on holiday at some tropical beach.
As The Harlequins celebrate their 15th anniversary—the last five of those years spent working through countless obstacles and uncertainties to finally, satisfyingly arrive at the release of this new record—they seem refreshingly clear-headed and devoid of nostalgia. “If there’s anything we take from this experience,” Oliva says, “it’s perseverance. You know—just doing the damn thing. Sticking with something if you love it. And it’s the same with the band—we plan to never stop, to keep going, keep moving forward and finding new ways to reinvent ourselves.”
Photographer credit: Ryan Back
BERMUDA TEENAGER & OPULENT ARDOR
The self-titled split release from Bermuda Teenager and opulent ardor is perhaps best understood as a direct reflection of the times in which it was created. The two musicians made plans in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic to quickly record and release a collaborative EP, but what was supposed to take only a matter of weeks ended up taking over a year. Just like how initial estimates for the length of the pandemic were given in weeks, but yet, here we are. Still.
As the pandemic unfolded, the very fabric of society seemed to unravel as the deeply racist and oppressive nature of the American system became completely impossible to ignore. All four tracks function simultaneously as commentary on, and escape from, the dystopian air of the pandemic: “Quarantine Dream” is just that, an expansive, dreamlike respite from the confines of quarantine. “Distance Learning” is a classic pop tale of heartbreak set against an apocalyptic backdrop. “I’ve Been Having These Thoughts,” with its evocative vocal samples, soaring synths and aching piano melody, so perfectly captures the feeling of staring out the window in the early days of quarantine, longing for any type of reassurance that everything was soon going to be okay. “Radical Acceptance,” named after the DBT concept created by Dr. Marsha Linehan, is a 7 ½ minute instrumental epic that moves from Gas-inspired lilting forest ambience to Lynchian gothic chamber pop, as if the song itself was forced to radically accept some deep, dark truth of the universe.
Clocking in at over 20 minutes, Bermuda Teenager / opulent ardor is a generous labor of love between two close friends, the final physical form of the fear, isolation, heartache and bewilderment felt by the pair of musicians since the start of the pandemic.
LAZY GENIUS
Lazy Genius has been a staple of the West Michigan music scene for years. They offer songs that are catchy but unique with epic structure and a broad range of dynamics. With 3 full length albums and an EP under their belt, they show no signs of slowing down. Their next full length effort, “Procession” is available now.
HOLLYWOOD MAKEOUT
In 2013, Erin Lenau (lead vox, guitar) and Cedric Canero (bass, backup vox) began writing songs together in their apartment. Tim Broderick (drums, backup vox) lived in the apartment beneath them (which made getting together for practice convenient) and Hollywood Makeout was born. After performing as a three piece for awhile, Tim Warren (guitar) came on as the 4th member to complete the band. Familiar yet refreshing, the sound is surf-garage-pop-rock and full of unique changes. “We love to change a song right in the middle to surprise listeners.” All members have been musicians from young ages and their combined experience shows itself in their songwriting and performances. Their latest album “Skinny Dippin’ Scorpion” was released on New Years Day 2021 and is now streaming everywhere.
COFFIN PROBLEM
Coffin Problem had its first gasp of breath as the bedroom recording project of Sean Stearns (Shores, Haunted Leather [RIP]), an outlet for Sean to explore the dimensions of songwriting and composition outside of the regimens of the aforementioned projects. After releasing a stripped down collection of songs on 1980 Records in 2014, Sean began seeking other musicians to help flesh out his vision.
Sean tapped Billy Bartholomew (Shores) to step in on bass, Trevor Goldner (Heavier Than Air Flying Machines, Ex-Punk) to fulfill additional guitar duties and Ben Weissenborn (Jade TV, Shane Tripp, Stepdad) to play drums. Initial rehearsal sessions began in September of 2015 in a warehouse on the south side of Grand Rapids. After a month and a half of rehearsal, the band stumbled out with a set of songs that are as bruising as they are bright, cavernous as they are cathartic. The sound of Coffin Problem is both abrasive and familiar, like a sick joke told amongst close friends.
Their most recent release “So Good Nothing” is streaming everywhere.
Heaven's gateway drugs
Heaven’s Gateway Drugs is a counterculture cult rock band hailing from Fort Wayne, Indiana, a rust belt city best known for its abundance of churches and strip clubs. Heaven’s Gateway Drugs creates a unique combination of freak-beat, west coast psych, mod, and eastern drone to create a sound that is just at home today as it was in 1968.This description only addresses part of the total experience that is Heaven’s Gateway Drugs. The group is led by Ben Carr, an enigmatic, psychedelic Pied Piper of sorts who entrances audiences with his movements and urges those in attendance to become one with the band. Remember always, “You are Heaven’s Gateway Drugs.”
WHITE SHAPE
"Riding the wave of a surge of breakout music emanating from the Midwest over the past few years, White Shape has emerged almost fully formed as a synthesis of sight and sound, an act that at once entertains and liberates the senses in a unifying experience that must be felt, as well as seen and heard. The participants in this ethereal and heady phenomenon are Noah Rotello, Jon Phelan, Josh Weidman, Kayla Hall, and Alyssa Hall who collaborate to produce a body of work that is both cerebral and primal. They act as a lodestone, drawing in and channeling a variety of regional talent including artists and sound production professionals that culminates in an auditory catalog that speaks to a renaissance made up of the love child of psychedelic, metal, and who knows what else in their varied and questionable musical ancestry." -Nathaniel Branch
COOL GHOULS
“The quintessential 21st century Cali band, Cool Ghouls gathers and transcends the musical styles that have come out of the region in the last 50 years, touching on trends from Haight-Ashbury acid to surfer cool to the folk-rock of the ‘60s. Critics wear out their keyboards pointing out references to the Byrds, the Beach Boys, the Beatles, even Jim Morrison, in the band’s songs. Whatever.
Leading the Bay area’s psych-rock revival, Cool Ghouls is one of San Francisco’s most popular bands. Formed by four guys from the ‘burbs in 2011, the band is noted for its tight three-part vocal harmonies, its original songs that range from in tone from psychedelic to country twang, its amps turned all the way up, and most of all its wild stage show… The Cool Ghouls tour extensively up and down the California coast with big fan bases in every city, and last year scored with one of the best sets at the First City Music Festival in Monterey.” – Renee Wright, AXS
LAS ROSAS
The autumns of teenage years often pass unhurried, like a languid river, unaware of its eventual violent end down a crushing waterfall. In this metaphor, las Rosas are three shed leaves, floating and bobbing on the water’s surface, edging closer to the muddy banks, then climbing out of the water, walking along the road on their little brown stems, piling into their sea-foam-green van, driving away, and releasing “Flower in the Sun + Ms. America” (dizzybird records 2015). They’re the little leafs you see driving around the USA, playing rock shows far and wide, with their little guitars and drums. No autumn leaf, to anyone who bothers to check, ever actually stops moving.
Christopher (the birch leaf) plays the drums, even with a broken hand, when he needs to. Jose B is the red leaf of a Japanese maple and not a picky eater, except when it comes to sweets: no chocolate. He plays bass and shares a first name with singer Jose B, who incorporates lead guitar-playing with mixed results– he is the needle of a long-leaf pine.
SUZIES
Suzies is a psychedelic band from Grand
Rapids, Michigan with members of Haunted
Leather, Heaters, The Omecs, and Black
Fruit. Their album “Forget Me Not”
combines 60s psychedelia with a modern,
heavy spin. Known for stage performances
filled with primal screams, driving rhythms,
and swelling melodies, Suzies offers
something special for every animal…
Heaters
HEATERS is Nolan Krebs, Joshua Korf, Ryan Hagan and Ben Taber.
The Grand Rapids, Michigan-based band got their start in 2014 - a year which saw the band make some tremendous leaps, spewing out a handful of homespun EPs, split records, and an appearance on Stolen Body’s Vegetarian Meat psych compilation. Their first EP, Solstice, was released on Dizzybird Records. Brooklyn-based psych label Beyond Beyond is Beyond Records released a 7" at the beginning of 2015, "Mean Green", as well as the band’s debut full-length long-player, "Holy Water Pool" in September of 2016.
The group has drawn acclaim across the globe for their spacey, driving take on West Coast psych rock. Tapping into both the twang of their ‘60s garage compatriots and building their own brand of expansive, cosmic swells, Pitchfork calls the band “catchy and kinetic,” noting their “energy and hook writing are clearly on point.” Combining a seemingly constant output of “reverb-coated, fuzz-studded, hard-driven garage psych” with a kaleidoscopic, hip-shaking live set, HEATERS are a force.
gringo star
A long-running collaboration between brothers Pete and Nick Furgiuele, Gringo Star has worked previously with producer Ben Allen (Animal Collective, Gnarls Barkley, Deerhunter), but for this new single—just as with acclaimed 2013 LP, Floating Out to See—the band took the DIY route, recording in Pete’s basement home studio. Only this time, they went one further, handling every single instrument and vocal themselves. In typical, egalitarian Gringo Star fashion, Nick sings lead on A-side “Long Time Gone,” while Pete handles vox on B-side “World of Spin.”