Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
Los Angeles’ Interstelar has been an underground staple within the City Of Angels’ music scene since at least 2005. The band has been an ever-present entity on the town’s live circuit during that period.
Despite some lineup changes and the routine issues that plague acts, founding member Jason Kothmann remains ever-ready to bring their music to the masses. Interstelar began doing exactly that when the band recorded and released their début EP ‘React In Silence’ in 2006. Following some shifts in their lineup, the band entered Total Annihilation Studios in East L.A. in 2011. With engineer Eddie Rivas, they recorded the follow-up, ‘On Black Waves’. Creating its successor would prove to be even more issue-laden than before.
After countless recording and re-recording sessions, endless mixing, and the usual doses of intermittent drama, ‘Resin’ was self-released digitally in August 2016. It features the current line-up of Kothmann on vocals and rhythm guitar, Gary Gladson on lead guitar, PJ McMullan on drums, and Joe “Pooch” Puccio on bass.
Now, over a year later and for the very first time on vinyl, ‘Resin‘ will arrive via Kozmik Artifactz for worldwide release on December 8th.
As a longtime fan of Interstelar and an avid enjoyer of ‘Resin’ (and other releases), I have come to give you my take on this phenomenal offering. Not just that, as Riff Relevant and Interstelar have partnered in running a contest where YOU can win a vinyl copy of ‘Resin‘ for Record Store Day (Nov. 24) 2017! More on that shortly…
‘Resin’ the record, much like its title implies, is a sticky mire of heavy cosmic rock that ripples with waves of sludge and post-metal touches. The music of head-turning numbers like “SiLO“, “Hold It“, and “Behold” is structured with gravity-generating riffs. They’re so dense, so heavy and thick, they exude an inescapable pull. Drawing you in, they simultaneously bombard you with rivets of rhythmic rumbles and hold you firmly locked in place.
Kothmann’s bluesy, oft-times soulful vocals are enthralling, prevalent to a point they cannot be ignored… and who would want to? Just one spin of his emotional crooning in the title cut “Resin” will seal this deal. The song’s doom overtones and underlying bottom-dwelling grooves are an added bonus.
What kind of band would name themselves Interstelar without some obvious psychedelia to bolster that moniker? Not this one, I tell you, as the spectacular “High Horse” audibly attests to with each hazy moment. It reaches pitches of shoegaze-like etherealness, such that is haunting and almost unsettling at times. The same holds true for the powerful closing cut, “Sequoia“. “Armada (II)” is another heady, lysergic-laced choice, one powered with circulating tempos and energy throughout. One minute it is sedate and laid back, but in an instant, things ratchet up and reverberate with superbly monstrous stoner rock.
Interstelar‘s ‘Resin‘ is one of those amazing records that really must be heard, and experienced firsthand, to truly absorb and appreciate. Sure, I might have a certain way with words, but they do not compare to this band’s way with music. I can (and have) done my best to relay the finer high points of this record to you here, but we are going to do you one better, my friends.
We are going to give you a chance to win a copy of this record, as mentioned earlier.
November 24th, also known as Black Friday, is Record Store Day 2017 this year and this is an event all about albums, especially vinyl ones and other specialties. Head on over to Riff Relevant‘s Facebook page (here), where you will find details for our contest. It concerns “likes” and comments and all that, and then if the rock gods cast their fortune upon you, you could win this Interstelar ‘Resin‘ LP on vinyl!!!
