White Poppy - Drifter's Gold (PURR 0034)

sweet sativa!  peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)

As White Poppy's - Crystal Dorval - saccharine-coated voice hovers ubiquitously, it circumscribes the denizens and assuages their suffering. The near panacea ambient pop music is the gateway to a tranquil state of being.  One of the most impressive facets of this tape is Crystal's voice.  Robust enough to part the clouds, at other times it's as gentle as a friend's embrace.  Just as salient are the hazy strings and songwriting.  White Poppy creates opaque soundscapes that glisten warmly in the front of your head. For all of these reasons and more, Drifter's Gold, released on Constellation Tatsu, will certainly receive end of year nug luv.              

The atmosphere is immediately enhanced upon pressing play.  'Green & Growing' is tantamount to a cool breeze blowing through the flowers on a summer day - a gorgeous instrumental.  The following two tracks, 'Who Are You' and 'Daydreaming', exhibit Crystal's proficiency with the guitar and creating a lovely aural environment.  Tranquil melodies glitter in the nascent sunlight.  Hazy, ethereal vocals float interminably.  In the instances where Crystal's voice ascends acutely, the listener rides the crest of a beautiful sonic wave.  'Drifters Gold', the closer on side A, is different than the previous tracks.  In this track, Crystal adeptly utilizes space and tone.  Elongated tones gently manifest and ascend.  The flipside commences with 'In The Sun'.  Light strums and softly resonant strings billow in the sativa haze, with Crystal's mellifluous voice omnipresent.  The final track, 'When I'm Gone', is one of my favorites.  The vocals and guitar are quite lovely in this track.  Musically, it moves at a deliberate pace; Dreamy in sound, soothing to the ear and edifying to the soul.


Drifter's Gold sits on the top shelf in trichome heaven.  Accompanied by gorgeous artwork, it may be purchased directly from Constellation Tatsu.
 
peace and love, friends :)

Edgar Wappenhalter - On the Beach (Morc Tapes #56)

zoned out, on the beach. peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)

When I reached into the bag, my hand immediately descended upon one of the stickiest nugs of all. Co-founder of psych rockers Sylvester Anfang and the Funeral Folk label, Steve Marreyt as Edgar Wappenhalter, blazes a pathway coated with hash oil, permeating your most psychedelic dream and delivering the goods in style.  On the Beach, released on Morc Tapes, consists a mix of psych folk, shoegaze rockers, tape loops and drone.  It's a great summertime record.  One obvious thing is the myriad of beautiful sounds.  On the Beach is not dominated by any one type of sound or genre.  Rather, it travels in zones of psych folk; hazy rockers with a shoegaze feel; new age vibrations; and mystical soundscapes.  As the needle drops, the listener wades through the sativa smoke and mystical drone.  Vocal incantations exist somewhere on the periphery, as the sound moves more proximate - undulating waves of beautiful sound.  A total zoner!!  The second track switches things up with psych folk. Reverb coated strings billow plumes of sweet sound into the atmosphere. Steve creates a lovely mix of  blown out electric and acoustic sound.  Those who dig Big Blood will find a lot to enjoy here.  Track 4 might be the most intriguing on the lp.  It boasts a propulsive, heavy tribal beat, writhing currents of sound and vocal incantations.  The flipside is just as appealing.  Track 2 presents a lovely ambient soundscape.  Meanwhile, the fourth track literally sounds like a beach party heard from afar, just like the Morc description stated.  

This one comes highly recommended.  Out of Print from the label and scantly available elsewhere, this is your chance and Tomentosa has got the goods.  

peace and love, friends :)       

Re-populating the bag

Hey folks! Over the past few weeks, i've been busy re-populating the bag with a beautiful array of tapes and vinyl - kind of a summer break.  Heady times here at Honest Bag.  Reviews will begin to appear around August 5th.  Until then, remember to change the bong water, and, most importantly, extend kindness to those who you encounter.

peace and love, friends :)

    

Chalaque - Sounds From the Other Ideology (FCR23)

the gift that continues to give.  peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)

Look out!  Sounds From the Other Ideology is coming for your head.  There is nothing which will mitigate its raw, psych fury from permeating your consciousness.  Sometimes the connection with music is instantaneous.  Sounds From the Other Ideology, on crystal-covered Feathered Coyote, did not spend any time in the bag incubator.  Rather, this beast of a tape was fully formed and prepared to captivate hearts and minds from the start.  With Nick Mitchell -founder of Golden Lab Records- related projects, that seems to be the rule, rather than the exception.  Nick's other project, Desmadrados Soldados De Ventura, was absorbed into the head similarly.

Every so often, a release comes around that makes one smile and remember the reason they love music.  Sounds From the Other Ideology is that type of cassette.  Chalaque is Nick's solo and collaborative project.  Sounds From the Other Ideology is a live recording that features Nick on guitar and vocals; Eric Hardiman (Rambutan, Burnt Hills) on bass; and Pascal Nichols (Part Wild Horses Mane on Both Sides) on drums.  These two sides of blistering, frenetic psych jams possess the prodigious energy of Eternal Tapestry's Palace of the Night Skies and the uncompromising, raw beauty of a WCYT? nug. For any lover of psych or wild sounds, this tape will not disappoint.

Holy indica!  Straight from trichome heaven, Sounds From the Other Ideology joins Astral Body Electric as my jams of the year.  Already sold out at Volcanic Tongue, I believe the remaining copies are available from the source.

peace and love, friends :)      
            

Datashock - Status Bloed - Modus Dummheit (MDDM48)

dessert will arrive once dinner is smoked.  peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)

A few months ago, we got Eiderdowned to a bunch of crystal-covered zoners from Datashock.  Well, the Saarlouis gang has returned with an offering of psych burners and experimental zoners. Status Bloed - Modus Dummheit, released on Meudiademorte, is comprised of outtakes from the forthcoming 2LP, Keine Oase in Sicht, on Dekorder.  These tracks are so tasty that it makes me think dessert will be smeared in lovely hash oil!

  Pressing play is analogous to accelerating to the zenith, as the gang shifts into high gear immediately with some super stoney psych rock - admirers of west coast psych rock and Eternal Tapestry will dig these vibes.  Subsequent to baking nicely with that trichome-laden jam, the nascent glow of the sun meets and then rises over the trembling horizon.  As the head acquiesces to the changing conditions, a gorgeous meditation follows saturated with flowing tones, tribal percussion, echoing guitar and an instrument that sounds like a theremin.  Tones flare in the azure sky, as drone surges atop of entrancing rhythms.  Toward the end, a jam ensues.  The flip is such a wild trip! 'Oohaa, da kommt der Schaffner!', has a vibe not dissimilar to the second track on side A.  Heady percussion is fleshed out by sweetly flowing violin, incantations and guitar that glistens in the haze.  However, they save the best for last. 'Das gab's schon alles, und zwar besser...' is music for a cosmic ashram.  When you arrive at the door, one bows in obeisance - ascent is a breath away.  The track commences mysteriously.  And, the listener will certainly be aware of the hazy environs replete with ominous keys; sinuous theremin that writhes through the bloodstream; resonating tones; incantations; and spacey effects.  One thing is for sure:  these folks lay down some potent psych jams and cosmic zoners.  And then, out of nowhere, the energy shifts in the stardust.  The drums come in thick and the track adopts a heavy character - beautiful!

Over here in the Land of Trichomes, it's not a coincidence that when Datashock fills the room with their incomparable sonic energy, the bong water percolates effervescently.  Simply put, if you travel in these zones, then Datashock should be part of your daily listening regiment.  The presentation is gorgeous:  Pro full color printed 3 panel fold cover; Coffee flavored inlay sheet; Black tapes with gold print.  Limited to 100 copies, Status Bloed - Modus Dummheit may be purchased from Datashock, or directly through Meudiademorte.

peace and love, friends :)

The Garment District - Nature-Nurture (Sonic Boom Remix) b/w Miraculous Metal/Vigor (La Station Radar)

summer daze.  peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)

Pittsburgh-based artist and multi instrumentalist, Jennifer Baron as The Garment District, weaves a myriad of aural pathways through the listener's head on this 7" from La Station Radar, which features Nature-Nurture (Sonic Boom Remix) b/w Miraculous Metal/Vigor.  Jennifer's debut tape on Night People, Melody Elder, at the cross-section, blended psych pop brilliance; synth and guitar ambience; and sound collages to great effect.  'Only Air', the first track from Melody Elder, demonstrates Jennifer's acute proficiency for creating the kind of pop music that would make the High Llamas; Brian Wilson; and Walter Becker and Donald Fagan of Steely Dan smile.  That track had my head spinning in reverie.  Naturally, I expected to the rest of the tape to focus on this type of electric pop music.  However, that which followed was nothing like it.  Rather, it was unexpected and better than I could have imagined. Jennifer's diverse sonic universe arrays itself on the top shelf where the finest nugs glisten in the sunlight.  Her penchant for synth and guitar-driven experimental music travels the spectrum from ethereal, hazy and warm to dark and dreamy tones that fray and heave - sounds that would find a cozy spot next to artists on Warp Records.                       

The version of Nature-Nurture on Melody Elder possessed a languorous, dreamy quality.  The vocals of Lucy Blehar, drifting and saccharine-coated, left vapor trails as they slowly expanded throughout the head.  Juxtaposed to her mellifluous voice were keys with opaque and crystalline textures, guitar and occasional percussion.  Toward the end, oscillating, ethereal tones glisten in the light.  With Sonic Boom at the controls, Nature-Nurture attains a height replete with opaque sonic architecture.  It billows in the head of the listener, endowing it with hazy abundant character.  Lucy's vocals acquiesce to the crystal-covered atmosphere, drifting serenely among notes that squirm and keys that surge with mysterious energy. The flipside features two new tracks.   The first one, 'Miraculous Metal', finds Jennifer exploring sonic landscapes featuring a multitude of textures that dance atop entrancing rhythms.  This track pulsates with vitality.  The cloudy/opaque keys at the beginning are contrasted to the soaring keys that shift in the mix, which occurs later in the track.  With the rhythms situated perfectly in the mix, a deluge of electric droplets cascade in the background while sustained beams of concentrated energy ascend.  A section of lustrous notes is followed by a shift in tone near the end.  The other track on side B, 'Vigor', contains introspective tones that resonate within the listener - a much different track than 'Miraculous Metal'.

Released in an edition of 300 copies, this 7" features the artwork of Jesse Treece, who utilized Jennifer's collection of vintage magazines to construct by hand the gorgeous collages that adorn the front, back and labels.  Secure your copy directly from La Station Radar.  It is also available at Rough Trade, Norman and Experimedia.                

peace and love, friends :)

original track from Melody Elder, on Night People 

The Garment District: Nature-Nurture from The Garment District on Vimeo.

German Army - Burushaski (< Beläten )

 dark, dank and mysterious is how we roll at honest bag. peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)

Mysterious analog hallucinations from Germany Army make the flowers go up in smoke. Burushaski, on Beläten pulsates with mystical energy.  One may start this 29 minute odyssey rooted to chair.  However, these jams animate one quickly.  There has been some conjecture about this project and its origin.  Here is what I do know: Burushaski smokes one out with omnipresent, low hanging energy and obscure rituals.  This tape will catapult one many moons away.  It's tape music made for a voyage into the unpredictable night, leaving a trail of trichomes as one catches the dank, dark wave on which this project resides.  Given the dearth of information on the project, the title provides one clue.  In a broad sense, it refers to communication.  When one scrutinizes it more closely, Burushaski refers to a language without a demonstrated relationship to any other language or family of languages.  It breathes through the love, devotion, perseverance and fidelity of its speakers.

  German Army eviscerates the filter and fills the listeners head with lo-fi nugs comprised of analog synths, drum computers and samplers.  The artist(s) are able couple mangled samples and an array of rhythms with layers of somber analog synth.  One of my favorite aspects of this tape is the manner in which the synths are layered.  Vibrant, resonant notes may exist next to heady beats and obscure samples; yet, shortly a layer of light synth is added to great effect. These are well-constructed tracks.  The third track on side A, 'Stone Walls', is more like a song compared to the others.  Meanwhile, the synths are singed and buzzing on the last track of A, 'Mirror Analyst'.  Side B is a treasure.  The alien rhythms and burned out sounds of 'Clan Bride' lead one into two of the best tracks on the album, Bantu and Evening Gold, respectively.  'Evening Gold' possesses these plodding rhythms and muffled synth.  The desolate notes and heavy beats toward the end are beautiful!

German Army tapes disappear quickly.  Burushaski may be purchased directly from Beläten

peace and love, friends :)