Crustcake Picks - New Music 5/13

We've been talking a lot about The Black Angels' new album, Directions to See a Ghost, which you can finally get your grubby little hands on tomorrow, and we suggest that you do. Besides that, we recommend checking out Abysmal Dawn's punishing Relapse debut or Deicide's new Earache offering or, if you're looking for something a little less brutal, definitely pick up Acid Mothers Temple's latest, Recurring Dream and Apocalypse.

Also worth checking out tomorrow, Transistor Transistor's Kurt Ballou-produced Ruined Lives (Level Plane) and Fucked Up's Epics In Minutes (Jade Tree). Andrew of Aversionline has a great write-up of Epics In Minutes:

This is a collection CD of most every song from the band's vinyl releases to date, often appearing as alternate mixes from the versions on the actual EP's. Apparently the band prefers the 7" format and is just doing this to satiate non-vinyl-loving fans who want to hear their music.

Our picks:


Listen: Abysmal Dawn [MySpace]
Buy: Abysmal Dawn - Programmed to Consume (Relapse) [Amazon]


Listen: Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. [MySpace]
Buy: Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - Recurring Dream and Apocalypse (Important) [Amazon]


Listen: The Black Angels - Directions to See a Ghost [full album stream]
Buy: The Black Angels - Directions to See a Ghost (Light in the Attic) [Amazon]


Listen: Deicide - Till Death Do Us Part [full album stream]
Buy: Deicide - Till Death Do Us Part (Earache) [Amazon]


Buy: Fucked Up - Epics In Minutes (Jade Tree) [Amazon]


Listen: Transistor Transistor - Till Death Do Us Part [MySpace]
Buy: Transistor Transistor - Ruined Lives (Level Plane) [Amazon]

Check out more new releases at Prefix.

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Black Angels / Warlocks Tour

We seriously can't stop listening to The Black Angels' latest serving of 70s fuzz-drone psychedelia over here.

Listen: The Black Angels - Directions to See a Ghost [full album stream]
Download: The Black Angels - "You On The Run" [MP3]

We're getting a contact high from the damn thing, and we're itching for a real contact high at one of the band's shows. Well lucky us (and you)-- the band is heading out on the road soon and they're brining The Warlocks with 'em for the summer dates.

The Black Angels - "Black Grease" (from Passover):



All dates for both bands after the jump.

The Warlocks - 2008 Tour Dates
Sat 05/03 Los Angeles, CA @ The Smell, With The Meek, Dave Stone
Sun 05/11 Long Beach, CA @ Alex¹s With The Meek, Stevenson Ranch Davidians,
Tue 05/13 Los Angeles, CA @ (Private Party) Fashion Show
Fri 05/16 Los Angeles, CA @ (Private Party) The Meek, TBA
Thu 05/29 Los Angeles, CA @ Charlie O¹s TBA

The Black Angels - 2008 Tour Dates
May 9 - La Maroquinerie Paris, France
May 10 - All Tomorrow's Parties Camber, England
May 12 - Bar Academy w/ Sian Alice Group Birmingham UK
May 13 - Nice N Sleazy's w/ Sian Alice Group Glasgow, Scotland
May 14 - Bodega Social w/ Sian Alice Group Nottingham UK
May 15 - ICA w/ Sian Alice Group London UK
May 16 - Great Escape Festival Brighton, UK
May 18 - Fleece Bristol UK
May 19 - Brudenell Leeds UK
May 20 - Leadmill Sheffield UK
May 21 - Roadhouse w/ Sian Alice Group Manchester UK
May 29 - Granada Theater Dallas, Texas
May 30 - Emo's Austin, Texas
Aug 9 - All Points West Music & Arts Festival Liberty State Park, New Jersey

The Warlocks & The Black Angels - 2008 Tour Dates
Tue 06/03 - San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
Thu 06/05 - Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour
Fri 06/06 - San Francisco, CA @ 12 Galaxies (The Warlocks Headline)
Sat 06/07 - San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
Mon 06/09 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
Tue 06/10 - Vancouver, BC @ Richards on Richards
Wed 06/11 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos
Fri 06/13 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
Sat 06/14 - Denver, CO @ The Bluebird Theater
Sun 06/15 - Rapid City, SD @ The Imperial Inn
Tue 06/17 - Fargo, ND @ The Aquarium
Wed 06/18 - Minneapolis, MN @ The Turf Club
Thu 06/19 - Madison, WI @ The Annex
Fri 06/20 - Chicago, IL @ Logan Square Auditorium
Sat 06/21 - Milwaukee, WI @ Mad Planet
Mon 06/23 - Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
Tue 06/24 - Cincinnati, OH @ Southgate House
Wed 06/25 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
Thu 06/26 - Toronto, Ontario @ Lee's Palace
Fir 06/27 - New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge (The Warlocks Headline)
Sat 06/28 - Brooklyn, NY @ Southpaw
Sun 06/29 - Boston, Massachusetts @ Middle East Downstairs
Mon 06/30 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's
Wed 07/02 - Washington, DC @ The Rock and Roll Hotel
Thu 07/03 - Chapel Hill, NC @ The Local 506
Fri 07/04 - Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle
Sat 07/05 - Nashville, TN @ The Exit/In
Sun 07/06 - Memphis, TN @ Hi-Tone
Mon 07/07 - Birmingham, AL @ The BottleTree
Tue 07/08 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
Thu 07/10 - Gainesville, FL @ Common Grounds
Fri 07/11 - Orlando, FL @ The Social

The Warlocks - 2008 Tour Dates
Sat 10/11 - Brisbane @ The Troubadour
Tue 10/14 - Sydney @ Spectrum
Wed 10/15 - Sydney @ Spectrum
Fri 10/17 - Melbourne @ Billboard
Sun 10/19 - Melbourne @ The Ding Dong Lounge
Thu 10/23 - Adelaide @ The Gov
Sun 10/26 - Perth @ Metropolis Fremantle

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Ghost Hunters

The Black Angels: "druggy drone-rock" according to one writer; "a darker version of the Velvet Underground playing strong riffed odes to temptresses, heroin, and Vietnam" according to another. Both descriptions are equally accurate, and both ought to make you want to listen to this band.

Their sophomore album, Directions to See a Ghost, isn't out until May 13, but you can hear the whole thing at imeem right now, and we recommend you do.

Brooklyn Vegan decided to go all hippie on us and post up some YouTube clips of fractals for your viewing pleasure as you listen to the album. Stoned or not, you'll find that the videos fit the music like a glove. iTunes' Visualizer works equally well, or you can watch this clip with the volume down:



And you might want to throw some of those fuzzy glow-in-the-dark posters up on the wall and dust off your old lava lamp too.

Listen: The Black Angels - Directions to See a Ghost [full album stream]
Download: The Black Angels - "You On The Run" [MP3]

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The A/V Connection - No Music for 'No Country'

by Joey Angerone

Last time we left off, you were getting baked and watching Casino. Lovely. Great film, amazing music. Well, while you were coming down and raiding your mom's pantry, I went out and caught the new Coen brothers film No Country For Old Men. WOW. What a unique, raw and powerful film. It has nearly everything you would expect from the Coens: gorgeous cinematography, hysterical and irreverent story lines, gripping acting, but the music, well, there wasn't any!

Now, for a column entitled 'The A/V Connection' it may seem rather unusual for me to review a movie that has absolutely no music. But I'm a raging lunatic.



No Country For Old Men starts off nice and classy-- no gimmicks or CG intros. Being an A/V director, I kept waiting for the moment when the visuals and the audio met in an all-out assault on my two favorite senses, but it never came. The opening scenes were beautiful panoramic shots that really grab your attention, immediately sucking you into 'No Country' world. BUT! No music, no score, not one sound to set the mood besides dialogue and the desert wind.

We are so used to music jazzing up scenes in movies, television shows, commercials-- just about any medium that involves some sort of moving picture-- that No Country's lack of score made for a coarse, visceral, and truly unique viewing experience. It was the first full-length movie I had ever seen that lacked of any kind of soundtrack or music, which made me realize just how much directors rely on music to make their work more impactful. For me, it made the movie more real, the characters more believable, and the overall look and feel of the film completely new and fresh-- something I had never seen before.

Some of our favorite scenes in our favorite films are those that rely on that powerful audio-visual connection to evoke just the right emotion, and historically the Coen brothers were no exception. Take, for example, their use of Kenny Rogers' "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Is In)" in The Dude's dream sequence in The Big Lebowski. Genius, an instant classic. It introduced an old song about dropping acid to a whole new generation and created one of the most memorable scenes in comedy history. On their future projects, will the Coens go back to their old methods or will they continue to trailblaze a new, music-less path for films?

Though Old Country is virtually music-less, the Coen brothers did opt to use a song on the film's website. Interesting story: I'm always looking for new songs that might work for a script I've been writing called "Whiskey Delta". I got a recommendation from my buddy Seth for an album called Passover by The Black Angels. Amazing album. They're a darker version of the Velvet Underground playing strong riffed odes to temptresses, heroin, and Vietnam. The first track, "Young Men Dead," is a director's dream. It can take any scene and add an element of badass-ness that could not be achieved by visuals alone. Guess what track the Coen brothers used on their website?

About and hour and a half into the No Country, one of the main characters wakes up in Mexico to a Mariachi band playing an upbeat ditty on horns and guitars. It doesn't last long, however, when the musicians realize our dude was a bloody mess from a beating the night before and cease playing. After that scene, I leaned over to my girlfriend and said, "Do you realize that was the first song in this movie?" She looked confused... she hadn't even realized. I don't think anyone did.

- Joey Angerone

[video] No Country For Old Men - Trailer
[MP3] Kenny Rogers - "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Is In)"
[MP3] The Black Angels - "Young Men Dead"
[MP3] John Cage - "4'33"" [?]

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