Live In The Mojave Desert Vol. 1 Earthless and Vol. 2 Nebula

Recently a set of five live albums reached me, all recorded live in the Mojave desert. Now desert music I associate with Queens of the Stone Age and Chris Goss, in short, a good dose of rock is to be expected. Melodic as well but certainly rock and at times extreme too.

On the three albums that were released this and last week, volumes 1, 2 and 5, these preconceptions were not disappointed. Rock out the three bands do alright. Recorded as livestream events from the desert, the Italian label Heavy Psych Sounds releases the shows as albums.

This week I focus on the first two issues by the bands Earthless and Nebula.

Vol. 1 Earthless

The album contains just three songs and boy does the band rip it up. Earthless is every guitarist's wet dream. Soloing around a few themes just about forever with a bass player and a drummer who love it to keep that powerhouse going for ever and ever. All three must have an internal metronome as tight as the atomic clock and as solid as an Medieval castle because they all fly off in all sorts of directions and always keep time no matter what. Earthless is around for 20 years and has released five studio albums, while this is the band's fifth live album as well. I can imagine that live the band's essence is captured best. Probably because each member on stage has just this little bit more freedom to explore the innermost workings of a composition. Drummer Mario Cubalcaba is able to show off more becoming just a little bit more inspired. Bass player Mike Eginton has to be even tighter as around him all fly off to their own planet. And the wet dream is consummated alright by guitarist Isaiah Mitchell. From the creation of soundscapes to fiery solos, it all comes by. Mitchell can probably play forever if asked. Thousands of hours spent training his fingers and brain have led to knowing his instrument and gear inside out and provided him the confidence to take on any challenge. Undoubtedly he is improvising whole sections of these songs, with main sections to start and end with. One look between the three is enough to make the transition to another theme within a composition. The result is music that one has to like to appreciate and much more so than the general comments made about taste. This music is instrumental and challenging. With 16, 21 and 39 minutes the three compositions seem near endless as well. Pass that post and a world will open, as this is high class instrumental rock. There may be many bands playing this kind of music, I am not familiar with them. My reference here is Jimi Hendrix going off in psychedelic outings like 'Voodoo Chile' or '1983 (A Mermaid I Should Be)' on 'Electric Ladyland'. (Jimi sings as well, I know.) Earthless goes beyond this reference and then some. Like Hendrix is rumoured to have been playing endlessly in studios not finding an exit in his own songs anymore in 1969 and 1970. Earthless has and kicked up a sandstorm in the Mojave.

Vol.2. Nebula

Nebula is a band that barring a seven year hiatus is around since 1997. Isaiah Mitchell of Earthless played bass in the band for a short while. Called a stoner rock band, I find that a lot sounds familiar on Vol. 2. Classic rock elements come by as well as familiar sounds from psychedelic rock. One word is 100% appropriate though: rock. Nebula rocks out on the deep end of its music all of the time. Bass player Tom Davies, a member since 2003, replacing Mitchell, is guarding the deep end almost ferociously. That allows drummer Mike Amster (2017) to play with his rhythms the whole of the time. There's always a moment to side step the basics here with a fill or two or three. Over this rock solid foundation guitarist/singer Eddie Glass, the only founding member left, sings his rather floating melodies and solos away as soon as the song allows him to do so. This results in heavy solos but also in experiments in sound as effect pedals are kicked in and sounds just go off in mysterious directions bouncing off against the different effects, looped or not, to change course once again. Vol. 2 may be a more traditional rock album than Earthless' Vol. 1, the dedication of Nebula to its music is just as great. Rock and roll this is.

Warning

The noise in the desert must have been gigantic. I can imagine the lives of the denizens of that desert must have been disturbed in significant ways. Where are the environmentalists to protect them from the serious sonic harm to their local environment? It is time somebody stands up. In the meantime, rock on brothers and sisters.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and buy Vol. 1 here:

https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/earthless-live-in-the-mojave-desert-volume-1

and Vol. 2 here:

https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/nebula-live-in-the-mojave-desert-volume-2

or listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g