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The death metal horror band named after Lucio Fulci, the Italian director, screenwriter and actor, reissues their acclaimed second album “Tropical Sun,” inspired by the feature film Zombie 2 for the fourth time. Max Cavalera cites them as one of the most influential death metal bands of the last decade; Kerrang cites “Tropical Sun” as one of the definitive 50 albums ever. Upcoming Tour with Morbid Angel and Suffocation.

The death metal horror band named after Lucio Fulci, the Italian director, screenwriter and actor, reissues their acclaimed second album “Tropical Sun,” inspired by the feature film Zombie 2 for the fourth time. Max Cavalera cites them as one of the most influential death metal bands of the last decade; Kerrang cites “Tropical Sun” as one of the definitive 50 albums ever. Upcoming Tour with Morbid Angel and Suffocation.

After a hiatus of over eight years Fuzzy Lights are making a welcome return. Burials is the follow-up to the critically acclaimed album Rule of Twelfths, and the fourth album from the Cambridge-based post-folk collective.

Their sound has been stripped back to its component parts, deconstructed and rebuilt under less obvious influences. There’s a bedrock of folk-rock - predecessors like Trees and Fairport Convention - but this is then built upon through multiple layers, from the stillness of Talk Talk to the orchestral chaos of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. With Burials Fuzzy Lights have cultivated these sounds and influences into something new and fresh that distances the album from the rest of the folk-rock crowd.

The most striking element of these songs is how intimate they are. Lyricist Rachel Watkins has revealed a lot about herself in these seven songs, which have been written from a very personal perspective. Raw experiences have been distilled into each piece, her translucent vocals often betraying the content of the songs themselves. The album is bookended with the most personal of these. Opener ‘The Maidens Call’ reveals her loss from suffering a miscarriage, whilst album closer, ‘The Gathering Storm’ frames the rallying cry of women’s rights around how individuals must work together now, and in future generations, to destroy prejudice. There is also engagement with humanity’s immediate surroundings and the environment. ‘Under The Waves’ deals with devastation of coral reefs, ocean resources and our natural world, and ‘The Graveyard Song’ imagines the perception of time from the juxtaposed views of a yew tree and a young woman.

As scenarios, paths, and outcomes shift around us, Burials’ amalgam of glowering, intense instrumentation, timeless, weightless melody, and exactingly revealing lyricism carves a very particular path through the world. This is music that tears us away from the everyday not just as a form of escapism, but as a means of self-reflection on hardship and the strategies we develop to overcome it. It is the band’s rawest yet most accomplished statement to date.

There it is, the TCM heaviness-hat-trick! Right after Phantom Winter and Park+Riot, Leipzig's G i f t are entering the room, levelling everything in their way. With RUPTURES, the band adds their debut to the TCM line-up and believe me, this is one wild beast. Chaotic and groovy, dashing and dark, rolling and sludgy, Old Man Gloom meets Ken Mode, or the heavier parts of Botch meet Deadguy. Whatever labels you want to put on it, one thing is for sure: this stuff gets you moving. Some of you might find old acquaintances from the German DIY scene in the band's line-up: G i f t's members were and are active in The Tidal Sleep, Throwers, Trainwreck, Glasses, Dezefra Ridge, Antes and Quallus. This wide spectrum also hints at the musical variety and the super heavy, all-consuming sound on RUPTURES. Stay tuned, this beast is coming your way soon.

Record Store Day 2021 Release.

Jessee and Philip started playing in bands together in Chicago in the late 00’s. Over the years, their musical practices have had many iterations and lineups, but a deep creative drive has always remained at their core. The two have been dubbed "Artist's Artists" by their friends, and their collective discography is vast, with many records, zines, and tapes released under their record label Manic Static. Notably, the scuzzy aesthetic and breezy melodic sensibility of their band The Funs has left an imprint on Chicago’s music scene that can be heard in contemporary bands like Dehd, Lala Lala, and Melkbelly.

First-ever vinyl release of the long rumored 1969 studio album (plus related acetate and 45 only tracks) from pre- Hotlegs/10cc duo Godley & Creme, during their days as Frabjoy And Runcible Spoon. Classic UK late 60s psychedelic/folk/pop sound recorded at Advision Studios with support from future 10cc colleagues Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart. In mid-1969, legendary British R&B/psychedelic entrepreneur Giorgio Gomelsky signed two Manchester-based art students, renaming them Frabjoy And Runcible Spoon. Envisaging the pair as a British Simon And Garfunkel, Gomelsky recorded an LP with them for release on his Marmalade label. A pre-LP single appeared, but sadly the album’s release was aborted. 53 years later, Grapefruit Records released on CD this missing piece of the pre-10cc jigsaw puzzle. Now we’re lucky to present a vinyl version. *Insert with liner notes by David Wells and rare photos / memorabilia Recommended if you like Pete Dello, Graham Gouldman, Bee Gees, Simon & Garfunkel, Beatles, Rubble and Fading Yellow comps…

For Greg Mendez, reflection doesnüft mean a static imagein a mirror, or even a face he recognizes. Itüfs more akaleidoscopic mirage, where paths taken shapeshift withthe prospect of paths untread, and the subconsciousmerges with the intentional. On his self-titled new album,the Philadelphia-based songwriter andmulti-instrumentalist investigates the shaky camera ofmemory, striving to carve out a collage that points to atruth. But there isnüft a regimented actuality here; instead,Mendez highlights the merit in many truths, and manylives, and how even the hardest truths can still containsome humor.While this is technically Mendezüfs third full-length album,his back catalog boasts an extensive range of EPs and liverecordings. Heüfs a prolific and thoughtful songwriter,understanding the joy in impulse, and shying away fromthe clinical sheen of overproduction. 2017üfs ügüP/ _(c)_ /üPüh and2020üfs Cherry Hell garnered acclaim for their quiet, lo-fiurgency, exploring themes of addiction and heartbreakwith an intentional, authentic haze, and itüfs this approachthat has solidified Mendez as a staple in the DIYcommunity for years.Greg Mendez was written in fragments, some stretchingacross more than a decade, with Mendez reworking oldideas and arrangements, and others blossoming muchmore recently. The weight of time..and perhaps theanxiety in running out of it..clouds the album, as Mendezprods at some painful experiences from his childhood andearly adulthood. The common thread connecting thecharacters is their evident imperfections, and the variousdegrees of damage they cause, both knowingly andunknowingly. But where do we draw the line between agood person and a bad person? For Mendez, itüfs neverbeen that easy.Greg Mendez is an intimate dialogue between thechapters weüfve experienced, and how they can inform thereality we perceive. Itüfs a reminder that we are constantlyshifting, ever-changing selves and that if we ruminate toolong, we may find...

»Hallway Waverider« is Mikko Singh’s second album for Morr Music under his Haleiwa moniker. Blending the washed-out aesthetics of dream pop with a lo-fi take on modern psychedelia, it is a fuzzy record in more than one sense. The ten songs see the multi-instrumentalist explore the sonic idiosyncrasies of analogue recording equipment while also expressing a self-assured statement by a musician who has carved out a niche for himself and feels perfectly at home in it. “This record is like me telling my teenage self that I am OK,” says Singh. “Back then, I was recording my song ideas on cassette players but held the belief that music should be recorded in an expensive studio with expensive gear in order to be real.” As it turns out however, Singh had been right from the start, having come full circle as an established artist some twenty years later.

After exploring the affordances of vintage equipment for 2019’s »Cloud Formations« LP, Singh worked with a Tascam 244 4-track cassette recorder and Tascam 388 8-track reel-to-reel recorder to transform the sounds of his vintage synthesizers, bass, the occasional guitar part, and drums supplied by Svante Karlsson for »Hallway Waverider«. By experimenting extensively with the machines’ unique sonic qualities and constantly reworking the pieces in regards to their sound signature over the course of two years, Singh has found the perfect equilibrium of electronic music and lo-fi aesthetics while navigating with ease through styles like driving surf rock, gritty garage punk and ethereal dream pop. On his new record, he seamlessly integrates these influences into anthemic yet soothing songs.

The title of the album refers to Singh’s halcyon days as a teenager spent listening to punk music and—in wintertime—skateboarding in his own bedroom. The lyrics refer to surfing as a nod to both his own experiences with riding the waves and the music genre that has provided him with inspiration throughout his career as a prolific recording artist with three solo albums under his belt. However, surfing primarily serves as a metaphor for something bigger. “It’s about things in life that are important to me; things that make me feel good and soothe the mind,” he explains. It comes as no surprise then that »Hallway Waverider« is also dedicated to a key figure in his life. “The album is an ode to my mother who passed away in 2015,” says the artist. “She made it possible for me to have a good childhood and to be able to do what I love.”

This sense of closure and being at peace with himself is also expressed in lyrics like "A sea stroll. Going slower. Feeling featherlight,” expressing a calm that perfectly mirrors the music’s steady grooves and welcoming overall feeling. Starting with the upbeat »River Park/ Sleeping Pill«; to the almost ambient, synthesizer-heavy »A Bottomless Pit«; or short, punk-inspired and bassline-driven outbursts like »Watered Down« or »Halulu Lake«; to the blissful title track that closes the album, Singh opens up a whole panorama of different moods across a broad variety of musical styles. They are connected by that rare thing: a unique musical vision expressed by an instantly recognisable sonic signature.

Giving the World Away, the sophomore album from Hatchie, is the truest introduction to the songwriter/bassist at the helm of the project, Harriette Pilbeam. Produced by Jorge Elbrecht, Giving the World Away is Hatchie's most thunderous, sprawling work yet. Featuring input from longtime Hatchie collaborator Joe Agius, it takes the celestial, shimmering shoegaze and pop sensibilities of her earlier releases, but with the volume knob cranked up tenfold. Built out with percussion from Beach House drummer James Barone, it's synthed-out, sonic opulence, a more structured and ornate musicality with traces of `90s trip-hop and acid house influences. Pilbeam initially intended for these songs to go in a higher-energy direction. She had the distinct vision of a Hatchie show turned dance party, inviting more movement and vibrancy into her live shows. But then, between Covid and the lockdowns in Australia, Pilbeam retreated more into herself, and that introspection and self-discovery served as the true inspiration for the record. Again and again across Giving the World Away, she returns to that same theme of dismantling internalized shame and finding gratitude and steadiness, and finally being able to trust herself. Giving the World Away is an album about self-confidence, about the strange time in young adulthood where you begin to finally be able to see yourself clearly. Incisive and probing, Giving the World Away is the clearest look at Pilbeam yet, and a relic of the power and bravery that spring forth from embracing vulnerability and putting your heart on the line.

Giving the World Away, the sophomore album from Hatchie, is the truest introduction to the songwriter/bassist at the helm of the project, Harriette Pilbeam. Produced by Jorge Elbrecht, Giving the World Away is Hatchie's most thunderous, sprawling work yet. Featuring input from longtime Hatchie collaborator Joe Agius, it takes the celestial, shimmering shoegaze and pop sensibilities of her earlier releases, but with the volume knob cranked up tenfold. Built out with percussion from Beach House drummer James Barone, it's synthed-out, sonic opulence, a more structured and ornate musicality with traces of `90s trip-hop and acid house influences. Pilbeam initially intended for these songs to go in a higher-energy direction. She had the distinct vision of a Hatchie show turned dance party, inviting more movement and vibrancy into her live shows. But then, between Covid and the lockdowns in Australia, Pilbeam retreated more into herself, and that introspection and self-discovery served as the true inspiration for the record. Again and again across Giving the World Away, she returns to that same theme of dismantling internalized shame and finding gratitude and steadiness, and finally being able to trust herself. Giving the World Away is an album about self-confidence, about the strange time in young adulthood where you begin to finally be able to see yourself clearly. Incisive and probing, Giving the World Away is the clearest look at Pilbeam yet, and a relic of the power and bravery that spring forth from embracing vulnerability and putting your heart on the line.

Giving the World Away, the sophomore album from Hatchie, is the truest introduction to the songwriter/bassist at the helm of the project, Harriette Pilbeam. Produced by Jorge Elbrecht, Giving the World Away is Hatchie's most thunderous, sprawling work yet. Featuring input from longtime Hatchie collaborator Joe Agius, it takes the celestial, shimmering shoegaze and pop sensibilities of her earlier releases, but with the volume knob cranked up tenfold. Built out with percussion from Beach House drummer James Barone, it's synthed-out, sonic opulence, a more structured and ornate musicality with traces of `90s trip-hop and acid house influences. Pilbeam initially intended for these songs to go in a higher-energy direction. She had the distinct vision of a Hatchie show turned dance party, inviting more movement and vibrancy into her live shows. But then, between Covid and the lockdowns in Australia, Pilbeam retreated more into herself, and that introspection and self-discovery served as the true inspiration for the record. Again and again across Giving the World Away, she returns to that same theme of dismantling internalized shame and finding gratitude and steadiness, and finally being able to trust herself. Giving the World Away is an album about self-confidence, about the strange time in young adulthood where you begin to finally be able to see yourself clearly. Incisive and probing, Giving the World Away is the clearest look at Pilbeam yet, and a relic of the power and bravery that spring forth from embracing vulnerability and putting your heart on the line.

Helfró emerged from desolation. When his previous band Ophidian I went into hiatus in 2015, drummer Ragnar Sverrisson started chiseling away at his own cruel vision of black metal, late into the brutal Icelandic night. From that intense period of loneliness, Helfró carved their own way into the extreme metal landscape. Their self-titled debut was released right into the fires of the pandemic, but its chilling melodies and raw aggression slithered onto several year-end lists. Now, the hooded duo are returning with their follow-up. ‘Tálgröf’ rips off plenty of Helfró’s signature, furious tremolo riffs - “Fláráð Fræði” shakes with the fury of a hailstorm. But while their new album delves deeper into addiction and intrusive thought patterns, it also expands beyond the rigid world of black metal. Helfró are still as cold and unforgiving as the winters in their home country, but ‘Tálgröf’ is prime to light a fire beneath Icelandic metal.

Helfró emerged from desolation. When his previous band Ophidian I went into hiatus in 2015, drummer Ragnar Sverrisson started chiseling away at his own cruel vision of black metal, late into the brutal Icelandic night. From that intense period of loneliness, Helfró carved their own way into the extreme metal landscape. Their self-titled debut was released right into the fires of the pandemic, but its chilling melodies and raw aggression slithered onto several year-end lists. Now, the hooded duo are returning with their follow-up. ‘Tálgröf’ rips off plenty of Helfró’s signature, furious tremolo riffs - “Fláráð Fræði” shakes with the fury of a hailstorm. But while their new album delves deeper into addiction and intrusive thought patterns, it also expands beyond the rigid world of black metal. Helfró are still as cold and unforgiving as the winters in their home country, but ‘Tálgröf’ is prime to light a fire beneath Icelandic metal.

The band was formed in 2019 from an idea of musicians who at the time were part of acts such as Black Rage, In-sight, Atlas Pain and Sojourner. After a debut show supporting Asphyx and some line-up changes, the band entered the studio to record their debut album "Front: Toward Enemy" in 2020. After its release in 2021, HUSQWARNAH kept themselves busy on the live front, sharing the stage with acts such as Mortuary Drape, Baest, Discharge, High On Fire and Voivod. The latter show was recorded and then independently released under the title "Live At Bloom" in 2023.HUSQWARNAH's death metal is as genuine and convincing as it can possibly get, paying homage to certain traditional formulas dating back to the early nineties, with songs that are particularly compact in structure and dynamics, ideal for being performed live and thus reminiscent of bands such as Asphyx, Bolt Thrower and Benediction."Purification Through Sacrifice" is a title that reflects the intent of the band to evolve musically, the themes range, as in the previous chapter, from films to crime news stories through visionary and bloody episodes. This time the sound is further enriched with technique and violence while remaining faithful to old school death metal.

The debut 12" from I Am The Night. Limited to 500 copies on black vinyl.

Blue splatter vinyl version!

Rising from the deep valleys of Kymi in southernmost Finland, I Am The Night is Black Metal rooted in the classic early 90’s tradition, where walls of guitars and synthesizers raise the forces of darkness in a battle against the heavens and burning angels light up the night sky.

The band’s debut full length album, with cover art by scene legend Necrolord, bears the title “While The Gods Are Sleeping” and shall be released on May 6th, 2022. The record was birthed during the heaviest blizzard Finland had seen in years in the winter of 2021, with the band holed up at the Soundspiral Audio studio during the height of the pandemic. “This album, in a way, is both the thing that should not be and something we should have made flesh many moons ago already”, comments Markus Vanhala, and continues: “It is a passage back in time that dark forest of our minds through which we spent our youth traversing.”

Together with the album announcement the band are set to release a second single from the album, titled “Ode To The Nightsky”. The music video for the song was created by Coldstore Productions, and it is online now at https://youtu.be/YhNpG4u8Xgw

Brought forth by underground titans of Finnish Metal, Markus Vanhala (Insomnium, Omnium Gatherum), Janne Markkanen (ex-Omnium Gatherum), Okko Solanterä (Horizon Ignited) and Waltteri Väyrynen (Paradise Lost, Bodom After Midnight), the band’s origins date back to the dimly lit subterranean rehearsal rooms of the mid-nineties where the fires of Vanhala and Markkanen’s Black Metal zeal were ignited.

“Black metal art has been a continuous and serious pursuit in my personal life since my early teenage years”, explains guitarist Vanhala, and he continues; “In The Nightside Eclipse, Storm Of The Light’s Bane and De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas opened the gate to the dark side for me years ago, as can be heard from the music we make with I Am The Night.”

In recent years I Am The Night rapidly began to gather flesh on its old bones, and in 2020 the spark burst into a full blaze when elder statesmen Vanhala and Markkanen hired younger cohorts Väyrynen and Solanterä to help bring their morbid visions into reality. Vanhala states that: “Our debut record, the result of a yearning for ancient darkness, turned out to be just the time capsule we wanted it to be, far removed from modern metal. I’ve seldom found anything interesting in post nineties Black Metal. We wanted to realise this in the underground way that felt fitting to the music, and chose to work with Svart Records.”

“Our songs are stories about the worship of night and the triumph of the powers of darkness. At night, sun to his slumber and shadows all over, the forces of the night rise to the heavens, cast angels out and usher in a new era of individual freedom”, vocalist Solaterä explains

“I Am The Night is a real band not a project. It is unrestrained creation. A ray of darkness for us in the vacuum created by the pandemic. The future remains unseen, and all the better for it.”

Rising from the deep valleys of Kymi in southernmost Finland, I Am The Night is Black Metal rooted in the classic early 90’s tradition, where walls of guitars and synthesizers raise the forces of darkness in a battle against the heavens and burning angels light up the night sky.

The band’s debut full length album, with cover art by scene legend Necrolord, bears the title “While The Gods Are Sleeping” and shall be released on May 6th, 2022. The record was birthed during the heaviest blizzard Finland had seen in years in the winter of 2021, with the band holed up at the Soundspiral Audio studio during the height of the pandemic. “This album, in a way, is both the thing that should not be and something we should have made flesh many moons ago already”, comments Markus Vanhala, and continues: “It is a passage back in time that dark forest of our minds through which we spent our youth traversing.”

Together with the album announcement the band are set to release a second single from the album, titled “Ode To The Nightsky”. The music video for the song was created by Coldstore Productions, and it is online now at https://youtu.be/YhNpG4u8Xgw

Brought forth by underground titans of Finnish Metal, Markus Vanhala (Insomnium, Omnium Gatherum), Janne Markkanen (ex-Omnium Gatherum), Okko Solanterä (Horizon Ignited) and Waltteri Väyrynen (Paradise Lost, Bodom After Midnight), the band’s origins date back to the dimly lit subterranean rehearsal rooms of the mid-nineties where the fires of Vanhala and Markkanen’s Black Metal zeal were ignited.

“Black metal art has been a continuous and serious pursuit in my personal life since my early teenage years”, explains guitarist Vanhala, and he continues; “In The Nightside Eclipse, Storm Of The Light’s Bane and De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas opened the gate to the dark side for me years ago, as can be heard from the music we make with I Am The Night.”

In recent years I Am The Night rapidly began to gather flesh on its old bones, and in 2020 the spark burst into a full blaze when elder statesmen Vanhala and Markkanen hired younger cohorts Väyrynen and Solanterä to help bring their morbid visions into reality. Vanhala states that: “Our debut record, the result of a yearning for ancient darkness, turned out to be just the time capsule we wanted it to be, far removed from modern metal. I’ve seldom found anything interesting in post nineties Black Metal. We wanted to realise this in the underground way that felt fitting to the music, and chose to work with Svart Records.”

“Our songs are stories about the worship of night and the triumph of the powers of darkness. At night, sun to his slumber and shadows all over, the forces of the night rise to the heavens, cast angels out and usher in a new era of individual freedom”, vocalist Solaterä explains

“I Am The Night is a real band not a project. It is unrestrained creation. A ray of darkness for us in the vacuum created by the pandemic. The future remains unseen, and all the better for it.”

Baby Blue / Clear Half And Half vinyl.

Intolerant, as a project, arose from the need of putting the hate and social distress built up during the years of Antihuman War Machine and Soul Devourer into music. "Primal Future" is the first chapter and will be released by Time To Kill Records. The album has 10 tracks inspired by the mid 90s Black/Death Metal scene, with an experimental touch (cyber-drumming) and noise/industrial elements. Lyrics go about apocalyptic scenarios where man, victim and perpetrator, gets back to a pure trivial survival existence. Deprived of any modern comfort, man must face social violence, cannibalism and human sacrifices with magical purposes. This album is a written version of the human race's future.

Urban realism by a social outsider. Bittersweet melodies pumped through amplifiers as distorted as the mind of the person playing them. Or, simply put, ”loser punk”. Jakob Mind is Rotten Mind guitars and vocalist Jakob Arvidsson’s newly established solo project. His debut album ”The One Who Got Away” is released on vinyl. Jakob Arvidsson has been a prominent part of the Swedish punk scene for years, starting his career with hardcore punk band Agent Attitude in 2010. The band toured frequently in Europe and did a US tour in 2013. Agent Attitude managed to release three full length albums as well as an EP before breaking up in 2015. Jakob quickly moved on to form Rotten Mind, which to date is his most wide-known project. Their debut album ”I’m Alone Even With You” was released in 2015 and was followed by tours across mainland Europe, UK, USA and Australia. Jakob has released a total of four albums with Rotten Mind.

Urban Realism By A Social Outsider. Bittersweet Melodies Pumped Through Amplifiers As Distorted As The Mind Of The Person Playing Them. Or, Simply Put, "Loser Punk". Jakob Mind Is Rotten Mind Guitars And Vocalist Jakob Arvidsson's Newly Established Solo Project. His Debut Album "The One Who Got Away" Is Released On Vinyl.Jakob Arvidsson Has Been A Prominent Part Of The Swedish Punk Scene For Years, Starting His Career With Hardcore Punk Band Agent Attitude In 2010. The Band Toured Frequently In Europe And Did A Us Tour In 2013. Agent Attitude Managed To Release Three Full Length Albums As Well As An Ep Before Breaking Up In 2015. Jakob Quickly Moved On To Form Rotten Mind, Which To Date Is His Most Wide-Known Project. Their Debut Album "I'm Alone Even With You" Was Released In 2015 And Was Followed By Tours Across Mainland Europe, Uk, Usa And Australia. Jakob Has Released A Total Of Four Albums With Rotten Mind.Shortly After Rotten Mind Recorded Their Latest Studio Album "Rat City Dog Boy" (2020, Lövely Records), Jakob Returned To The Studio To Record Some New Material. Back Then, There Was No Real End Goal With The Project, Other Than Making Music For The Sake Of Creating It. When Jakob Posted A Demo Presenting One Of The Tracks "7 Days", This Came To Change. Fans Of Rotten Mind As Well As The Label Wanted To Hear More, And It Was Soon Decided That The New Material Deserved A Proper Release. So Jakob Returned To The Studio, And Together With Jakob Blom (Real Tears, Sista Bussen), He Recorded The Songs That Would End Up On "The One Who Got Away".A Fan Of Rotten Mind Will Easily Be Able To Recognize The Sound And Energy Of The New Tracks, But There's Much More To It. Being Able To Follow His Own, Individual Creative Path, Jakob Mind Naturally Draws More Inspiration From The Bands And Artists That He Holds Close. This Includes John Cale And The Velvet Underground, Roky Erickson, As Well As More Obvious Influences Such As Buzzcocks, Wipers, Dead Boys And Ramones. Since All Of The Instruments Ar...

Sometime in 2006 or 2007, Jason Molina moved from the midwest to London. Separated from his bandmates and friends and never one for idleness, Molina explored his new home with fervor. Sometimes he'd head out on foot, often with no destination in mind. Other times, he'd pick a random tube stop and find his way back home. He'd pick up on arcane trivia about London's rich history, and if the historical factoids weren't available - or weren't quite to his liking - Molina was quite comfortable conjuring his own history. His adoration of The Great American Tall Tales like John Henry and Paul Bunyan's blue ox Babe stretched across the Atlantic, where he created his own personal Tall Tales. And when he learned of the London Wall's seven gates (itself a misconception), Molina went ahead and called it eight, carving out a gate just for himself. The eighth gate was Molina's way into London, a gate only passable in the mind. Fast forward to 2008, Molina set off on an experimental solo tour through Europe. While in Northern Italy, Molina claimed to have been bitten by a rare, poisonous spider. A debilitating bout of illness ensued. "I was in the hospital here in London," Molina wrote in a letter. "Saw six doctors and a Dr. House-type guy. They are all mystified by it, but I am allowed to be at home, where I am taking a dozen scary Hantavirus type pills a day that are all to supposedly help - but they make me feel like shit." There is no record of a single doctor visit, not any prescription record for these medications. It is entirely plausible there was no spider and that whatever was keeping him indoors during this time was entirely self-induced. While at home, he of course wrote songs. Molina also claimed that during this time, he fed several bright green parrots that would gather in his yard. While often associated with a greyscale sensibility, Molina was oft-clad in a Hawaiian shirt and had, at least in part, selected the name Songs: Ohia for his first project as a nod to Hawaii's 'Ohi'a lehua flower. Which is all to say, the tropical element the parakeets brought to those sick days delighted Molina. He made short, crude field recordings of them with his trusty four-track. Only once Molina was officially on the mend and re-exploring the streets of London would he learn that those parrots had their own fabled tale. Back in the 60s, Jimi Hendrix - in a moment of psychedelic clarity - released his pair of lime green ring-necked parakeets from their cage, setting them free into the London sky. Now, their decendents are spotted regularly around certain parts of the city. Or so we're told. Eight Gates is the last collection of solo studio recordings Molina made before he passed from complications related to alcoholism in 2013. Recorded in London around the time of the supposed spider bite and Jimi's supposed parakeets, some of the songs ("Whispered Away," "Thistle Blue") are fully-realized - dark, moody textures that call to mind his earlier work on The Lioness. Knowing what we know about those parakeets and their peppered presence on the recordings, one can't help but think of that colorful tree of birds on Talk Talk's classic Laughing Stock, certainly a spiritual guide for much of the set. Other songs ("She Says," "The Crossroads and The Emptiness") lay in a more unfinished states, acoustic takes that call to mind Molina's Let Me Go Let Me Go Let Me Go, and still tethered to Molina's humorous studio banter. You remember how young Molina was, and how weighty this art was for such a young man. On the closer, "The Crossroads and The Emptiness," Molina snaps at the engineer before tearing into a song in which he sings of his birthday (December 30), a palm reading and the great emptiness with which he always wrestled. It is a perfect closer and, in many ways, the eighth gate incarnate: mythical, passable only in the mind, built for himself and partway imaginary but shared, thankfully, with us.

Sometime in 2006 or 2007, Jason Molina moved from the midwest to London. Separated from his bandmates and friends and never one for idleness, Molina explored his new home with fervor. Sometimes he'd head out on foot, often with no destination in mind. Other times, he'd pick a random tube stop and find his way back home. He'd pick up on arcane trivia about London's rich history, and if the historical factoids weren't available - or weren't quite to his liking - Molina was quite comfortable conjuring his own history. His adoration of The Great American Tall Tales like John Henry and Paul Bunyan's blue ox Babe stretched across the Atlantic, where he created his own personal Tall Tales. And when he learned of the London Wall's seven gates (itself a misconception), Molina went ahead and called it eight, carving out a gate just for himself. The eighth gate was Molina's way into London, a gate only passable in the mind. Fast forward to 2008, Molina set off on an experimental solo tour through Europe. While in Northern Italy, Molina claimed to have been bitten by a rare, poisonous spider. A debilitating bout of illness ensued. "I was in the hospital here in London," Molina wrote in a letter. "Saw six doctors and a Dr. House-type guy. They are all mystified by it, but I am allowed to be at home, where I am taking a dozen scary Hantavirus type pills a day that are all to supposedly help - but they make me feel like shit." There is no record of a single doctor visit, not any prescription record for these medications. It is entirely plausible there was no spider and that whatever was keeping him indoors during this time was entirely self-induced. While at home, he of course wrote songs. Molina also claimed that during this time, he fed several bright green parrots that would gather in his yard. While often associated with a greyscale sensibility, Molina was oft-clad in a Hawaiian shirt and had, at least in part, selected the name Songs: Ohia for his first project as a nod to Hawaii's 'Ohi'a lehua flower. Which is all to say, the tropical element the parakeets brought to those sick days delighted Molina. He made short, crude field recordings of them with his trusty four-track. Only once Molina was officially on the mend and re-exploring the streets of London would he learn that those parrots had their own fabled tale. Back in the 60s, Jimi Hendrix - in a moment of psychedelic clarity - released his pair of lime green ring-necked parakeets from their cage, setting them free into the London sky. Now, their decendents are spotted regularly around certain parts of the city. Or so we're told. Eight Gates is the last collection of solo studio recordings Molina made before he passed from complications related to alcoholism in 2013. Recorded in London around the time of the supposed spider bite and Jimi's supposed parakeets, some of the songs ("Whispered Away," "Thistle Blue") are fully-realized - dark, moody textures that call to mind his earlier work on The Lioness. Knowing what we know about those parakeets and their peppered presence on the recordings, one can't help but think of that colorful tree of birds on Talk Talk's classic Laughing Stock, certainly a spiritual guide for much of the set. Other songs ("She Says," "The Crossroads and The Emptiness") lay in a more unfinished states, acoustic takes that call to mind Molina's Let Me Go Let Me Go Let Me Go, and still tethered to Molina's humorous studio banter. You remember how young Molina was, and how weighty this art was for such a young man. On the closer, "The Crossroads and The Emptiness," Molina snaps at the engineer before tearing into a song in which he sings of his birthday (December 30), a palm reading and the great emptiness with which he always wrestled. It is a perfect closer and, in many ways, the eighth gate incarnate: mythical, passable only in the mind, built for himself and partway imaginary but shared, thankfully, with us.