Grimson – Fault Lines
Genre: Indie Rock, Alternative Rock
People just need a bit of time with themselves. Most of them will travel to extraordinary lengths to get it. But it’s not with their normal selves that they want to interact. If they did that, then they’d just be left asking themselves questions about having paid the bills or emptied the dust bins.
Nah, most folks just need some time away from the voice of their own conscience. Some take drugs, more clever ones meditate or travel, and the truly blessed ones can rely on creativity to get them there. Once they arrive, what they see is hard to express.
Grimson is finding new manners of showing us just what it is that he sees in his dreams, as can be heard in “Fault Lines.” Stuck in Berlin and thinking about Elliott Smith, Grimson lays into soft melodies in the way that a yoga class drifts into one long, common breath. There’s beauty and mystery here and a bit of a reveal of an artist’s secret.
Bong Voyage – Space Cocaine
Similar artists: Slomosa, Psychlona, Greenleaf, Lowrider
Genre: Stoner Rock, Psychedelic Rock
Stone age men used to chew on flowers until one of them gave him a rush, then stood in front of the fire and gazed at it until morning. It was the first form of entertainment and self-intoxication. And the Stone Age man would be surprised to learn that we haven’t progressed all that much since then. Not that this is entirely a bad thing.
What do rock music, music, fantasy books, or movies really do but help us project images in the theatre of our minds? While viewed as mere escapism, wouldn’t we all be worse off without these things? All of us need an excuse to take time for ourselves, to drift away, and to speculate how things might be under different circumstances.
Bong Voyage’s “Space Cocaine” is a brilliantly titled song that, as opposed to its moniker, delivers a soothing, mellow vision of space. This slacker stoner music is for people with a comic book collection and an interest in how the universe works. Bong Voyage won’t kill brain cells by themselves. They’ll just encourage you to find a comfortable place, get some snacks and dream of yourself floating through eternal space.