Listen Here – Soundcloud/Spotify/Amazon/iTunes
Produced By: Tay Keith
Featuring: Peewee Longway + Doe Boy
Supergroups can often be the excess drip from one songwriter’s unpurchased land for their main project, but when a group like GØGGS decides to emerge from the punk shadows, there is something to be said for the sloppy craftsmanship. Made up of Ty Segall, Chris Shaw, Michael Anderson, and Charles Moothart, each artist has a significant amount of recording time under their belt and when the idea of bursting into a new shattered space popped up, Pre Strike Sweep was born.
As soon as the soft acoustic guitar opens “Killing Time,” the listener is expecting something more foreboding and evil than what appears. As each member is slowly introduced through a building cycle, GØGGS has a layout built for pixelated punches and rapid-fire, machine fed fun. The shouts that come in the form of blitzes are repeatable and when paired with the almost surf rock foundation, Pre Strike Sweep balances abrasive behavior without any of the real danger.
One of the first tracks on the record that grabs the listener by their head is “CTA” which is a catchy and flashy string tornado that both cascades and accelerates toward this unknown end. While nearly the shortest track on the record, every single second is spent with sound crammed inside as if it was an overstuffed meal to devour. Especially on the way that the track just abruptly cuts as if the recording was smashed in the studio. The unsatisfying and incomplete ending somehow manages to not inflict a feeling of annoyance but relief as the cluster seems to reach a final destination.
The percussion is often a standout and as “Disappear” begins to showcase itself, GØGGS uses the time to crunch rather than to cry. As their first self-titled project felt as if it was a real side project, Pre Strike Sweep is more of a complete and shaved idea. While it would never reach the same audience that a Ty Segall or Ex-Cult might, side ventures like these can really orchestrate a newfound love for ripping the house down.
The recording of Pre Strike Sweep leaves it in some sort a weird limbo phase where the timing of the album feels lost. It could exist somewhere in the 60s with its desert and psychedelic styled sections but also exist in the 80s with early Californian punk was thriving. Through deep cuts and an extended back catalogue, GØGGS does more to break on through to the other side of sound than it does sitting in complacency.
Listen/Watch Here – Youtube
Listen/Watch Here – Youtube
Directed By: Anthony Gaddis + Eric Tilford
Produced By: Language.LA
Video By: Justin Boyd
Listen Here – BandCamp
Recorded + Mixed By: Public Pool
Mastered By: Will Killingsworth
Art By: Oli + Sam
Vocals: Oli
Guitar: James
Bass: Louis
Drums: Sam
Sometime down where the 1960s and 70s psychedelic revolutions of sound never died, lives MR. ELEVATOR. This cosmic entity made up of Castle Face Records who also house other desert adventures like Oh Sees, Ty Segall, and The I.L.Y’s to name a few. But Goodbye, Blue Sky is a well-developed and spaced out appetizer into something that is truly a reverberated pleasure.
If the clouded cover art is any indication of the setting that is so bold and apparent, Goodbye, Blue Sky is synth-heavy and draws inspiration from the Californian coast. The leading and most prominent member of MR. ELEVATOR is actually Oh Sees member Tomas Dolas and is accompanied by Johnny Kosmo for bass and Jesse Conlee for the percussion. Together, this Doors-esque three-piece wonder can instill some reinvigoration for kaleidoscopic vision.
Running a fairly short gauntlet of 10 tracks over 35 minutes, each progression is a direct correlation to simplicity within design. While every track is memorable and has this certain charm behind it, the opening cut of “Waiting” is a worthy introduction. The fuzz-ridden bass lines are a blast of nostalgia even if the phasing of progressive drum patterns showcase a modern spin on an old love. While the vocals are present, they are often remixed through different effects to obtain this ethereal grasp and sound more apparitional than human. Goodbye, Blue Sky seems to act primarily as an instrumental record that pushes the play style to the forefront and as a vehicle that carries the vocals as a minimal presence.
Most of the beats from MR. ELEVATOR are glimmering examples of synth-pop done correctly and when the track “Bamboo Forest” enters the frame. It creates an overbearing resemblance to symphonic bliss with a bouncing key line and percussive push to form a spine to the track. When woodwind instruments are layered in, “Bamboo Forest” orchestrates one of the stronger jam pieces on the record.
That can also be said for “Sylvia” which is a faster run through the spirited woods, but for an entirely opposite reason, is a perfect balance to Goodbye, Blue Sky. Moments spent with MR. ELEVATOR are for the most part a learning experience through auditory tools. While it does not introduce anything that is uniquely new, they take a sound that is uncommon and run circles with it.
As the inevitable end comes closer and closer, there is a brush with beauty that becomes more clear as time goes on. For a 2020 psychedelic record, Goodbye, Blue Sky takes everything gorgeous and mixes it into a dreamy blender for something approachable and notable.
Listen/Watch Here – Youtube
Story By: Lolo Zouaï
Directed By: Emilie Badenhorst
Director of Photography: Todd Martin
Production Company: Couscous
Executives Producers: Salim El Arja, Jordan I. Cardoso
Producers: Benjamin Narich, Anouar Moatassim
Production Manager: Youssef Ezzhar
Production Coordinator: Asmaa Radwane
Servicing Production Company: Casablanca Pictures
Video Commissioner: Camille Yorrick
Video Coordinator: Win Smith
Management: Doug Gleicher
1st Assistant Camera: Christian Cruz
2nd Assistant Camera: Said Lagbouri
Key Grip: Imad Chabli
Gaffer: Mustapha Chahnaoui
Best Boy Electric: Walid Chahnaoui
Production Designer: Hafid Amly
Key Make-up + Hair: Fadoua Mazrara
Key Make-up & Hair Assistant: Rkia Ezzhar
Wardrobe Stylist: Meriam Belarbi
Costumer: Hanan Boumaaza
Special thanks: Bleu Chose & Meryl Flambert
Editor: Matt Schaff
Colorist: Ricky Gausis – MPC LA
Sound Mixer + SFX: Jeremy Emery
Graphic Designer: Samm McAlear
Listen/Watch Here – Youtube
Listen/Watch Here – Youtube
Produced By: Emile Martinez + Bridget Perez
Featuring: Thandi Ntuli
Percussions: Nonchalant Savant
Shot + Directed By: DAMCAM