Music
[Concert Review] Russian Circles and Helms Alee in Detroit
This past weekend, I went to Detroit to see Sargent House label mates Russian Circles and Helms Alee in concert. Both bands were on tour celebrating new albums with the former acting as the headliner. I’ve written about my love of both bands several times on the site, so when I saw that they were touring together, it was a no-brainer that I had to attend.
So, onward I ventured into Mexicantown on a Sunday night to El Club, a venue I’d heard about but had never been to. First off, let me say that I really dug that spot. Good prices on drinks (beer that was under $5 at a concert? Be still, my heart!), a large enough room for a few hundred people, a good lighting setup, and a patio with a fire pit, a beer garden, and comfortable seating. It’s probably become my favorite venue in the Southeast Michigan area, and I’ve been to a lot!
Feeling rather comfortable and at ease in my surroundings, I was able to relax and appreciate what was to come, which was a night of damn good music.
To be 100% honest, I was far more excited to see Helms Alee than Russian Circles. It’s not because of some strange popularity contest, it’s simply because I’ve already seen Russian Circles in concert before and this was my first time seeing the Seattle rockers. Having been a big fan of both Sleepwalking Sailors and their new album Stillicide (review), I knew what music to expect but not what kind of performance the band deliver. To see for myself, I parked myself at the back of the venue, leaned against a railing, made sure my ear plugs were firmly ensconced, and got ready.
Right from the beginning, the band exploded with energy. They maintained that electric ferocity throughout their dynamic set, some songs moving at a slower tempo than others but never seeing the trio any less energetic or “in the moment”. Drummer Hozoji Matheson-Margullis played with astonishing accuracy, each hit sounding thunderous. If you listen to the music, you can hear just how complex her playing is, so performing it flawlessly WHILE singing during a few of the tracks just blew my mind. Bassist Dana James laid down a thick and crunchy foundation while also taking on vocal duties. Frontman Ben Verellen’s huge frame matched his roaring vocals, his guitar, which he played with pinpoint precision, seemingly almost toy-like in his hands.
The setlist was varied, allowing for peaks and valleys, giving people the chance to rock out as well as just stand there, soaking in the performance. However, the band knew that they had to close their set with a bang, which is why they ended with “Galloping Mind Fuk”, which saw nearly the entire crowd nodding their heads along to the syncopated outro.
My major complaint is that the band either doesn’t have a lighting person or that crew member had the night off because the band took the stage to blue and red pillars of light shining down and that was it. There were no changes at all throughout the set, which is a real shame as part of a good concert experience is the visual aspect.
Still, the band kicked ass and I enjoyed every second of their performance.
Helms Alee track list:
Ripper No Lube
Worth Your Wild
Grandfather Claws
Pleasure Center
Tumesence
Stillicide
Pretty As Pie
Dodge the Lightning
Untoxicated
Galloping Mind Fuk
Laying it out right now, Russian Circles was a mixed bag. Their set had some really amazing tunes and they knew just how to open it. Using the first two tracks from their new album Guidance, the show opened calmly, almost sensually. It allowed the audience to soak in the moment, the beauty of “Asa” slowly making way for the aggression and intensity of “Vorel”.
But there were a few issues with the overall concert that I simply can’t overlook. First, the pauses between the songs were overly long, lasting what felt like anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute. Those gaps weren’t filled with any banter or discussion with the audience either, it was just the band standing on the stage in the dark ensuring their instruments were in tune.
Furthermore, their lighting guy was 50% on the money while 50% failing. Those incredible bursts in the middle of “Deficit”? Bright white lights illuminated the audience but not on beat. As each burst came, the lights came on a little later and later until they were so off-tempo that it was disorienting and frustrating. This is one example of something that happened throughout their set, the lights never fully syncing with the performance.
Lastly, it’s obvious that Russian Circles wanted to have a dynamic set, which they certainly did. There were highs and lows that were fascinating. However, the energy that kicked off the first several tracks never returned towards the end. It’s as though they started on a ’10’ and ended on a ‘7’. They were still great but I wish everything had come together a little more neatly for a stronger, more memorable experience.
Russian Circles track list:
Asa
Vorel
Deficit
309
Afrika
Harper Lewis
1777
Calla
Mladek
Music
‘Lost Themes IV: Noir’ – John Carpenter Announces New Album & Releases New Music Video!
John Carpenter has been teasing big news for a couple weeks now and all has been revealed this morning. Carpenter is back with Lost Themes IV: Noir from Sacred Bones Records!
Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.
John Carpenter called the first Lost Themes album “a soundtrack for the movies in your mind.”
From John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies, Lost Themes IV: Noir is set for release on May 3 via Sacred Bones Records. The album pays tribute to Noir cinema!
In conjunction with the announcement, they’ve shared a music video for the album’s first single, “My Name Is Death”, a miniature noir film directed by Ambar Navarro, starring Natalie Mering (Weyes Blood), Staz Lindes (The Paranoyds) and Misha Lindes (SadGirl). “Noir is a uniquely American genre born in post-war cinema,” states Carpenter. “ We grew up loving Noir and were influenced by it for this new album. The video celebrates this style and our new song, My Name is Death.”
Sacred Bones previews, “The scene-setting new single marks new territory for Carpenter and his cohorts, propelled by a driving post-punk bassline that is embellished by washes of atmospheric synth, pulsing drum machine, and, at the song’s climax, a smoldering guitar solo.”
“Sandy [King, John’s wife and producer] had given John a book for Christmas, of pictures from noir films, all stills from that era,” Davies says of the lightbulb moment for Lost Themes IV. “I was looking through it, and I thought, ‘I like that imagery, and what those titles make me think of. What if we loosely based it around that? What if the titles were of some of John’s favorite noir films?’ Some of the music is heavy guitar riffs, which is not in old noir films. But somehow, it’s connected in an emotional way.”
Sacred Bones notes, “Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes the songs on Lost Themes IV ‘noirish’ is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone. The noir quality, then, is something you understand instinctively when you hear it.”
“It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that became the initial Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts,” the label explains. “Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. In the years since, Carpenter, Carpenter, and Davies have released close to a dozen musical projects, including a growing library of studio albums and the scores for David Gordon Green’s trilogy of Halloween reboots. It helped that they grew up in a musical environment. Daniel’s dad is The Kinks’ Dave Davies, and he would pop by the L.A. studio – the same one the Lost Themes records are made in today – to jam, or to perform at wrap parties for John’s films. That innate free-flowing chemistry helps Lost Themes IV: Noir run like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.”
Here’s the full Lost Themes IV: Noir track list:
1. My Name is Death
2. Machine Fear
3. Last Rites
4. The Burning Door
5. He Walks By Night
6. Beyond The Gallows
7. Kiss The Blood Off My Fingers
8. Guillotine
9. The Demon’s Shadow
10. Shadows Have A Thousand Eyes
The following physical variants will be available:
- Sacred Bones Exclusive Red on Clear Splatter vinyl w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Silver Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
- Sacred Bones Society Exclusive on Black and White Splatter on Clear w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Silver Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
- All retail Transparent Red, with a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
- Indie Exclusive Tan and Black Marble, w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
- Rough Trade Exclusive Oxblood Red and Black Splatter, w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
- Shout Exclusive Black and Clear cloudy, w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
- Black LP, with a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
- CD
- Tape
You can pre-save Lost Themes IV: Noir right now!
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