mv+ee - country stash – three lobed – lp - 16$
first press
three lobed recordings is stoked to be involved with blatant obviousness in the release of country stash, the latest studio album from the psych stalwarts matt valentine and erika elder. rather than bore you with our own words on this fantastic album, three lobed turned to label friend pete coward, one of fandom’s leading experts on MV+EE as well as the united kingdom’s foremost underground live music archivist, for his well-informed opinion.
“studio-recorded albums from MV & EE fulfill a singular role in the development of their music. the steady stream of live releases, whether on their own craft imprint, heroine celestial agriculture, or elsewhere provide snapshots from the road, vital for their immediacy and for the insight into how those songs sounded with the feeling of that place on that night. but it's when the bags have been un-packed, zuma has been given his tour bones, and they recuperate with the only means of r&r that these guys know, playing music, that the studio magic happens. there they can really reflect on where they've taken their music each night, and been taken by it, and distill some of that knowledge into classic versions of live jams and the birth of new ones, future classics themselves. that's exactly what's happening here on country stash.
it's fitting that this record should be released in part through three lobed. the album is redolent with a sense of friendship and home, and the label is a home of sorts, having had a particularly long and fruitful relationship with MV & EE. it also features contributions from a number of long-time friends, collaborators and road travelers, from both sides of the atlantic and of the us/canada border. and listening to this record you feel right at home in their musical parlor, safe and warm in the welcoming, instantly familiar, glow of spectrasound. right now i can't think of any other place where i'd like to stay and linger for a while.
you're deep in that zone right from the moment the pulsing bass of mick flower kicks the first track, "foxy (one)," up a gear and it coasts along on the beautiful three-way harmonies of MV, EE and jeremy earl and waves of tambourine from coot moon. the mellow vibes and those harmonies continue through "crash palace of records" (click here for a downloadable preview), here the rhythmic momentum provided by canadians mike smith on bass and doc dunn on drums. up next is the title track (...as every crash palace needs a stash, right?), which provides the centre-piece of the record and its longest track. and this is some potent stash. the return of three members of the mighty wolf pack -- rongoose, rafi bookstaber and paulie g -- is felt most markedly in a pastoral flute motif from the latter which drifts hazily in & out of focus, subsumed by the weight of rongoose's bass. the tempo drifts likewise, from a woozy crawl to a wide-eyed tumble of bass, drum and hi-hat. throughout it all MV and EE bust out incredible guitar moves, from some particularly garcia-esque riffing to the blasted scree that brings the track to an exhausted close. i'm not going out on any limbs when I predict this will soon be a live MV & EE favorite.
the comedown to that comes in the shape of a long-standing live favorite, "tea devil." the tempo here is uniform, a graveyard stomp laid down by the uk team of mick flower and andy ramsay. the tension between that earthbound rhythm and the sinuous guitar lines enact the eternal, inescapable blues cycle of temptation and damnation. EE's vocals, at their most languidly sensual since "freight train", make the latter seem unbearably attractive. the redemptive coda to that and to the album comes with "no there, there", a dense, multi-layered piece where acoustic and electric guitars drift above shifting foundations of bass, lap steel, synth and percussion. its deep kosmische resonance provides an oddly comforting close, a long exhalation drawn out over 11 minutes. the only hint of anxiety comes in the gertrude stein reference of the title; that and the sublime short outro, which mirrors the intro to the opener, provide a reminder that soon it will be time to leave these home comforts, saddle up the palomino and hit the road to allow new places to breathe new vibes into these songs. when that happens i look forward to taking my spot in the tapers' pit to hear the songs on this masterful album take flight."
-threelobed
500mg – apocatastisis – three lobed – lp - 16$
performed and recorded by michael gibbons (bardo pond) over the course of 2006 in the lemur house, "apocatastisis" is a meditation on restoration and awakening. an inner voyage in seven parts consisting of guitars, effects, sitar, tabla and violin. a truly special record. from a one-time pressing of 677 hand-numbered copies. housed within sleeves that were individually silk-screened by alan sherry
-threelobed
hans chew - tennessee & other stories – three lobed – lp - 15$
limited edition of 500 copies
three lobed recordings is extremely excited to be involved with divide by zero records in the release of tennessee & other stories…, hans chew’s debut solo album. while chew is best known as the honky-tonk pianist and auxiliary vocalist behind brooklyn’s psychedelic americana outfit d. charles speer & the helix (including his lead vocal turns on both “life insurance” off distillation, and “bar-abbas blues” off the “in madagascar” 7”), his skill as a piano player has also previously been on prominent display in support to both jack rose (appearing on both the black dirt sessions and luck in the valley, as well as contributing as a member of jack’s live band at arthurdesh in 2009) and oakley hall. chew’s playing and skill have thrived during his time living in new york city, but prior to his move he spent several years of musical gestation honing his skills as a piano player in residence at atlanta's infamous clermont hotel. tennessee & other stories… was born out of that residency where many of these songs were written there in the middle of the night in a dingy third-floor hotel room.
for chew tennessee & other stories… is the culmination of many paths leading out of the wilderness. like how the waning south of old has given way to the new, his tale is a coming-of-age-story starting with narrowly averted self-destruction and concluding in a painful resurrection. this theme is woven musically and thematically throughout tennessee & other stories… as chew pays homage to his southern beginnings, a lineage that includes tobacco farmers and methodists, bluegrass musicians and evangelists, gamblers and alcoholics. chew’s skill as a multi-instrumentalist (he takes the reigns on most of the playing on the entire record) adds tremendous intimacy to his ability to fully relay the album’s stories with a singular voice. chew is supported on selected tracks by a stellar cast of players, including some of his past and/or present band mates in d. charles speer & the helix, such as dave shuford (no neck blues band, enos slaughter), marc orleans (sunburned hand of the man, enos slaughter) and jason meagher (no neck blues band, coach fingers). meagher also doubled time as the album’s engineer at his own black dirt studio. tennessee & other stories… was mixed by clint steele and mastered by glenn schick mastering.
the “tenneessee trilogy” – “old monteagle & muscadine” (click here for a downloadable preview), “carry me bury me,” and “i would there was a train” – start tennessee & other stories… off with a bang and quickly immerse the listener into the album's dark and introspective mood. this trio firmly focuses on death and rebirth and provides a backward glimpse into the narrator’s life left behind in the old south set to a soundtrack of acoustic and electric guitars, pedal steel, banjo, mandolin and organ. piano is the album’s instrument of choice and numbers like “new cypress grove boogie” and “forever again” both demonstrate the deep attraction and magic that drew chew, like so many previous practitioners, to the eighty-eights. both of these tracks demonstrate chew’s talents within two of multiple schools of piano boogie. “forever again” utilizes a tulsa-oriented piano-funk as the central basis of its gospel-blues choral promise of death, while “new cypress grove boogie” serves up more of a new orleans styled jaunt. while tennessee & other stories… as a whole demonstrates chew’s formidable songwriting skills, the album also offers listeners a singular cover: the tim rose penned “long time man,” here presented as a darkly southern gothic re-interpretation of nick cave’s arrangement. tennessee & other stories… is an extremely strong and confident record from start to finish, one that establishes hans chew as both a unique addition to and significant voice within america’s current outsider scene.
tennessee & other stories... is pressed on 160 gram czech vinyl and housed within a handsome gatefold jacket bearing new artwork from melodie provenzano. the album will be accompanied by a download coupon for DRM-free MP3s of the album. this one will be released on september 7 but copies pre-ordered from three lobed will ship as soon as they are on hand prior to that date (likely by the second week of august). this record is a joint release between three lobed recordings and divide by zero records. in celebration of the release of tennessee & other stories…”, three lobed is also offering a mail order package deal for folks wishing to pair a copy of the tennessee & other stories…” LP with the epic chew-related release from d. charles speer & the helix, the distillation LP (featuring chew’s playing throughout and lead vocal spin on the track “life insurance”). for details, read on...
-threelobed
enos slaughter - béisbol– three lobed – 3 sided lp - 20$
miracle blend of spring : dirt stains from psiring
the raised cleats are flying one finger width away from eyes
shadow realm of legends - the winter refuge for vacationers and practitioners who swing the subtle club
the revolutionary's reign is unbowed
Walt Dropo answered the challenge and threw our namesake to the ground
and tore the threads from his brain - rebaste the cranial pan before swallowing
intoned in reverence - 3 sides 9 songs 4 walls 3 members 2 halves 1 inning
at last the wretch has birthed a grass laden vision; day and night for half the yea
béisbol is a three sided LP by enos slaughter. the brainchild of david shuford (no neck blues band, d. charles speer and the helix), marc orleans (sunburned hand of the man, d. charles speer and the helix) and carter thornton (izititiz, zashiki warashi), béisbol is a full-fledged continuation of the musical ideals that the band has previously set forth within on sunday, saloth sar and on the shores of jupiter. click here for a downloadable preview, "the kingdom of oscar charleston."
-threelobed
basalt finger – three lobed – lp - 18$
released around 8 october 2007. performed by elisa ambrogio, ben chasny and brian sullivan at the tar pit in brooklyn in january 2007. three guitars were plugged in - no walls or neighbors were left standing once the trio's performance was complete. recorded by brian sullivan. mastered by patrick klem. pressed on 180g RTI vinyl. housed within hand-numbered multi-color wraparound sleeves silkscreened by alan sherry (SIWA).
-threelobed
d. charles speer & the helix — distillation – three lobed – lp - 18$
it is a tremendous understatement to say that it is with grand excitement that three lobed recordings is proud to announce the release of distillation by d. charles speer & the helix. for the last couple of years we have been continually excited by each of the fruits that have resulted from speer/helix collaboration. for our money, last year's after hours album was one of the best released by anyone. distillation only ups the ante from that prior full length by elaborating upon some of the musical themes from the late 2008 “in madagascar” 7”. the resulting album presents a tightly focused modern honky tonk quintet more than happy to blur the lines between country, psychedelia and the overall american musical tradition.
consisting on this album of d. charles speer (aka dave shuford from the no neck blues band and enos slaughter), hans chew (last seen providing some ripping piano accompaniment on "fishtown flower" from jack rose's the black dirt sessions), marc orleans (enos slaughter, sunburned hand of the man), jason meagher (no neck blues band, coachfingers) and rob gregory (the suntanama), the helix are a seriously experienced and talented crew. distillation was recorded over time between the winter and summer of 2008 at the band’s home away from home, meagher’s black dirt studios in westtown, new york. margot bianca guests on backing vocals on a few of the album’s tracks.
the album starts off in monstrously infectious form with the leadoff track, “mason dixon crime” (a downloadable MP3 of which can be found here). the track’s propulsive, rolling rhythm, dueling guitars and soaring chorus offer the perfect foil to speer’s ever-present baritone vocals. to those new to the band, “mason dixon crime” provides the perfect introduction to speer’s captivating narrative gift. he is a singer who is capable of simultaneously spinning a masterful tale using a delivery that leaves the listener feeling like there is something hidden and secret being held just out of sight. other prime examples of this gift are evident throughout “open season” and its soaring climax, the plaintive “time changes things” and the swaggering album-closing “shorty (a bastard cat).” while speer’s vocal range is one of the band’s calling cards, the helix also features the unique voice of hans chew’s blazing piano. while chew aims for the fences throughout the rollicking “hardwood floors”, he really gets cut loose (and to spend some time on lead vocal duty) on the seriously jamming “life insurance.” one would be remiss to think that the helix is a one (or two) voice affair though – it is a totally solid full ensemble presentation as is evidenced by the jaunty full band workouts presented within both the instrumental “helical” and the rockin’, rollin’ and beer swillin’ “gravedigger.”
distillation is pressed on 180g rti vinyl and housed within an old-style stoughton gatefold sleeve bearing new artwork from both turner williams and the band. as a bit of a first for three lobed, the album will be accompanied by a download coupon for DRM-free MP3s of the album
-tl
steve gunn - boerum palace – three lobed – lp - 18$
steve gunn’s prodigous talent for fusing traditional american song structures with a raga influence is almost criminally unheralded. gunn’s songcraft is so strong and his playing style so effortlessly beautiful that folks should be shouting his name from every tall building and mountaintop. it is with such high esteem for the man’s work that three lobed recordings is humbled by the association and thrilled to announce the release of boerum palace by steve gunn. without any doubt, boerum palace is a staggering accomplishment and is certainly gunn’s most assured and confident work to date.
native philadelphian gunn has been a stalwart of the american experimental scene for closing in on a decade. he is known by many for his contributions as one half of the core duo behind GHQ (with marcia bassett) as well as for his many other affiliations with underground luminaries such as tom carter, the magik markers and marc orleans. gunn has slowly cultivated his own solo work alongside his other obligations and involvements. after a few early CDR and cassette releases under the moniker “moongang,” gunn gravitated towards performing and releasing music in his own name, culminating in the exceptional sundowner (digitalis industries, 2008). sundowner was, to that point, the most potent burst of gunn’s songwriting abilities and remarkable playing abilities. following sundowner, gunn bunkered down to further hone his songwriting and boerum palace represents the overwhelming products of that effort.
boerum palace represents steve gunn’s first full-length release on vinyl and second album. the album starts off with a headlong rush into the hypnotic “mr. franklin” (a downloadable MP3 of which can be found here). gunn’s fluid playing style, especially as portrayed withing this track, provides ample space for the development of infectious musical themes. the track ends in a dextrous duel between gunn’s guitar and guest marc orleans’ (of d. charles speer & the helix, sunburned hand of the man) vicious pedal steel. the album mixes gunn’s long-form blues / raga / psych explorations alongside briefer cuts that equally display his songcraft. these tracks, such as “variation ii” and “jadin’s dream,” demonstrate that gunn is equally confident with shorter or longer compositions. gunn's voice is joined by an ethereal turn from the vanishing voice’s heidi diehl on the album’s central and haunting “house of knowledge.” the track opens with a building central guitar theme. this theme allows gunn to layer on further guitar explorations. the tone set by these musical themes builds into the duo’s vocal delivery that delivers volumes despite being uttered in gentle tones. other highlights include “cryin’ eyes,” an inspired reworking of j.j. cale’s “crying eyes” featuring backing instrumentation from marc orleans, and the richly textured album finale “mustapha’s exit.”
boerum palace is pressed on 180g RTI vinyl and housed within an old-style stoughton sleeve bearing new original artwork from mike pare and some of gunn’s photography. the album will be accompanied by a download coupon for high quality DRM-free MP3s of the album.
-tl
ghq – crystal healing – three lobed – lp - 15$
released 20 april, 2007. recorded by steve gunn, marcia bassett and pete nolan in late 2006, crystal healing is GHQ's most accomplished recording to date. a collection of layered acoustic drones and ragas that mix and whirl throughout both sides. it will not take more than one spin for you to realize that this is one of "those" records. great, great stuff. from a one-time pressing of 855 hand-numbered copies. heavy 180g vinyl. housed within old-style gatefold LP covers featuring new artwork by michael pare.
sunburned hand of the man - a grand tour of tunisia – three lobed – 2xlp - 25$
released 2 february 2009. during a late 2007 trip to the united kingdom the sunburned lineup of paul labrecque, john moloney, sarah o'shea, robert thomas and ron schneiderman trekked into the studio along with john "herb diamante" godbert and michael flower. a grand tour of tunisia is a massive double LP providing a glimpse into those sessions. tunisia touches on all of the best facets of the sunburned oeuvre - dope rhythmic workouts, freeform bombast and experimental exorcisms with a taste of character-driven roleplay thrown in for good measure. yeah - this record is *that* serious and one of the most significant entries in the band's entire discography. if you are so intrigued, click here for a downloadable preview, "a spoonful a day." a grand tour of tunisia will be one *grand* package containing a massive two and half hours of music - it will be from an edition of around 878 copies pressed on two glorious slabs of 180g RTI vinyl. it will be housed in a heavyweight, "old style" gatefold LP sleeve bearing artwork by herb diamonte. all copies of this double-LP will be packaged with the 70+ minute london zero CD (TLR-065) documenting some sunburned moments from the united kingdom this past year.
-threelobed
gown - for the maples – three lobed – lp - 14$
gown (aka andrew macgregor and otherwise known as one-half of the bark haze with thurston moore) moved from western wassachusetts to nova scotia in mid-2007. before he moved, he wanted to have one big audio blow-out to remember the grand old mass times. with that goal in mind, gown went into the studio with the sunburned hand of the man gang (represented this time out by john moloney, sarah o'shea, ron schneiderman and taylor richardson) to melt some audio consoles. for the maples represents a portion of that recorded output and believe us, it's some massive stuff. sunburned's thick funk presents the perfect background for gown's shredding guitar-play. extremely hot stuff, especially the massive side-long "bending close." click here for a downloadable preview, "taylor's jam."
as per the three lobed standard, for the maples is pressed on 180g RTI vinyl. it is housed within silkscreened jackets (screen work by alan sherry / SIWA) bearing new artwork by gown. the record is from an edition of 698 copies and, and as an added convenience for our vinyl friends, will come packaged with a glass-mastered CD (not CD-R) of the material present on the wax.
-threelobed
bardo pond - peri – three lobed – lp- 19$
in early 2008, bardo pond and three lobed recordings teamed up to assemble batholith, a collection of tracks that were close to the band's heart but for various reasons had never been released. the result was an extremely cohesive and vital statement that was positively received by both old and new bardo pond fans. during the compilation of batholith the band had to agonize over the wealth of material that they were sitting on in constructing the ultimate tracklisting - there were too many good songs! the band approached this "problem" by structuring two sister albums, batholith and peri, each possessing their own musical themes and each fully capable of standing independent from the other. For this reason, peri is every bit as potent as its predecessor.
the meticulous sequencing of peri's five tracks provides a classic bardo pond experience. while the initial description of the material might lead one to think that these tracks are "outtakes" or cutting-room floor type material, neither conclusion could be further from the truth. the band is quite excited to finally see all of the material on peri venture into the public. for example, "chicken gun" will be recognizable to the band's longtime fans. a former live staple from 1996 through 1998 (even making an appearance in the band's set at the first terrastock festival), it is a propulsive and fiery rocker every bit as monumental as some of the band's classics such as "lb." and "tommy gun angel." "the path" is a subtle number featuring floating flute work from isobel sollenberger (click here for a downloadable preview). the album-closing "silver pavilion" is the sort of meditative psychedelia that has been bardo pond's calling card over their lengthy career. the track dates to the band's extremely fertile, yet barely documented, period between the release of "dilate" and "on the ellipse." "silver pavilion's" slow, enveloping build properly see the listener to the door and is reminiscent of such flawless bardo closing tracks as "rm," "aldrin" and "night of frogs."
peri is pressed on 180g RTI vinyl and is housed within heavy "old-style" one-pocket stoughton gatefold jackets bearing new collage work from michael gibbons. the record is from a one-time pressing of 1640 copies and, as an added convenience for our vinyl-loving friends,
-threelobed
jack rose - the black dirt sessions – three lobed – lp -19$
released 10 april 2009 from a limited edition of 2021 copies.
let's get the dirty work over with first. the black dirt sessions is, all hyperbole aside, jack rose's most complete and telling work to date. those who have been following this philadelphia wanderer's development and growth as a solo artist (both live and on record) know that such a statement is strong praise, as rose's catalog is certainly not devoid of unqualified classics.
the album takes its title from the studio where it was recorded – jason meagher's black dirt studios located in westtown, new york. old friends rose and meagher developed a good working relationship and full understanding of each other's work habits and styles over the course of a spring 2008 joint tour between rose and one of meagher's bands, d. charles speer & the helix. rose, that eternal road warrior, booked some time at black dirt between tours in august, september and october of 2008 to lay down some new and fully realized material. this album is the complete result of those sessions.
rose's prior albums have tended to both pick and remain true to a musical theme. the black dirt sessions excels by displaying fully honed examples of all of rose's various styles and themes – traditional, raga and ragtime. central to the album's spirit is the absolutely epic "cross the north fork." this thirteen minute revisiting of a track first laid down on the great kensington blues is a winding, thoroughly engrossing journey. this new version is the product of rose's perfectionist streak which constantly pushes him to re-explore and re-visit his prior works. as presented on the black dirt sessions, the "new" track is full of rich nuances from rose's years of additional scrutiny of the original composition. much like rose himself, "cross the north fork" is certainly comfortable in its skin and helps make it a welcome neighbor to the album's other splendid joys ranging from the jaunty and infectious "fishtown flower" (featuring a guest appearance from d. charles speer & the helix's hans chew on ragtime piano ) to the pensive and appropriate melancholy punch of "box of pine."
the album's artwork is somewhat of the yin to the yang of rose's 2008 release on three lobed, i do play rock and roll. bearing the same overall design aesthetic as that prior release albeit presented in a contrasting white with black print, the black dirt sessions features a photo of rose performing in new york in 2006. The LP is pressed on 180g RTI vinyl and housed within an "old style" high gloss Stoughton cover. the record will be from a one-time pressing of 2021 copies.
-threelobed
heavy winged - alive in my mouth – three lobed – lp - 17$
released may 12, 2008. last summer's cd release for heavy winged, blacc lust, flew out of here and really seemed to find a good home with folks. following up on that response comes the massive and dense blowout that is alive in my mouth. comprised of two of the band's dirtiest and, quite simply, heaviest tracks, it is music for tearing down physical walls. in a small departure from some of our recent vinyl titles, there will not be a bonus cd for pre-ordering the record. instead, every copy of the album will come complete with a cd that features both of the album tracks in addition to a "bonus" 17 minute track. everyone wins! alive in my mouth is be from an edition of 647 copies pressed on 180g RTI vinyl. the record is housed within heavy art sleeves bearing new artwork by michael canich
-threelobed
howlin rain - wild life – three lobed – lp - 17$
wild life, howlin rain's contribution to oscillation III, consists of two fifteen minute plus monster jams. the first is an amazingly inspired and completely improvised wailing twin guitar, rock meditation on paul mccartney’s "wild life." "black sangria" rounds out the disc with a completely improvised piece covered in heavy jazz fusion and free, latin jazz rock overtones. the band featured a slightly different lineup for these session, a lineup that in part feels like a comets on fire mini-reunion (above and beyond ethan miller on guitar/vocals is ben chasny on guitar, utrillo kushner on drums, ian gradek on bass and joel robinow on wurlitzer electric piano/nord keyboard). wrapped delicately in two paintings by raeni miller (ethan's wife).
-threelobed
turnstone – backyard I - III – three lobed – cd - 6$
released late june, 2007. multi instrumentalist michael shannon loaded his car full of various instruments, from a dilruba to a harmonium, and drove the long drive from seattle to san francisco for the turnstone sessions. on a warm august afternoon in 2005, tom carter, robert horton, and shannon opened a few ice cold irish stouts and let the music bubble up and turnstones for about 5 hours. the peak moments from this session were culled together for this release. assembled and edited by horton. from a one-time pressing of 650 hand-numbered copies housed within photo-adorned arigato! paks.
michael flower band - oscillation III series – three lobed – cd - 6$
bark haze - one for merz - oscillation III series – three lobed – cd - 6$
howlin rain - wild life- oscillation III series – three lobed – cd - 6$
magik markers - gucci rapidshare download – three lobed – cd - 6$
vanishing voice - the morning after - oscillation III series – three lobed – cd - 6$
heavy winged - fields within fields – three lobed – lp - 15$
they're back. heavy winged has continued to stretch their leathery, scarred, er, wings and grow since their last releas
e for three lobed recordings, 2008's alive in my mouth. from that time to the present the group has ventured to release three complete albums (spreading center, shaking, waking and the thinner the air) and a full-length collaboration with inca ore, each displaying a few additional wrinkles to heavy winged's sonic palette. while these additions to the band's distorto-electro-bombast may be most apparent to those who have closely tracked their total output, fields within fields, their latest and, all hyperbole aside, greatest album to date, displays the band's grand developments in a fashion apparent to even casual outside observer. every great band has that one totally assured statement album. for heavy winged, it is fields within fields.
the band was determined to make fields within fields into a significant part of their discography from the very outset. in october 2009, the band decided to enter the 5d studios in brooklyn to engage in what would be a first-time experiment - recording in a multi-track studio with overdubs planned from the session's start. prior to this experience their entire catalog was centered on displaying the band's ferocious live spirit. having already proven themselves to be adept at creating grand and heavy statements in an improvised, one-take-only setting, they felt that were ready for the challenge of being both improvisational and composition-minded. the band hunkered down for the session and even brought in some friends to help augment the heavy winged vibe. their time in 5d yielded the two dark fruits which combine to form fields within fields.
brutal and hard, "among the maori" leads the album off and encompasses the entire first side of vinyl. the track opens with a slow, deliberate fade into jed bindeman's tribal drumbeat. this beat may start controlled but the track's velocity and volume continue to accelerate, eventually turning "among the maori" into a highly tuned jet engine. ryan hebert's guitar playing is exceptional throughout, beginning with an initial prolonged banshee-like wailing and slowly building and fully giving way to a fantastically cranking and grinding post-metallic din by the track's conclusion. "among the maori" stands out among the band's entire catalog as perhaps their truest moment. the album's second side is fully dedicated to the drone doom opus "the hum of the universe." "the hum..." adds bob jones on viola to the band's three piece lineup. the results of this pairing are epic and haunting. jones' viola couples nicely with brady sansone's low-end work to create a churning sound vortex that will pull you in and release you only when the stylus reaches the run-out groove. fields within fields is a powerful and assured statement, one that strongly rings "death to the new flesh - long live heavy winged's drone!"
fields within fields is pressed on RTI vinyl and housed within a textured old-style stoughton tip-on sleeve bearing new artwork from rebecca carlisle-healy. the album will be accompanied by a download coupon for DRM-free MP3s of the album. this one will be released on june 15 but copies pre-ordered from three lobed will ship as soon as they are on hand in advance of that date. copies of fields within fields that were pre-ordered by may 15, 2010 had the option of being accompanied by a glass-mastered CD (TLR-079) presenting an additional thirty-plus minutes of studio material (including a long studio droner featuring a guest appearance from white hills' dave w.) that is not available for individual purchase.
-three lobed