With the release of their 2012 debut effort, Our Mother Electricity and 2014’s sophomore effort Lightning At The Door, the Nashville, TN-based quartet All Them Witches, comprised of Charles Michael Parks, Jr. (vocals, bass), Ben McLeod (guitar), Allan Van Cleave (keys) and Robby Staebler (drums) have won attention both regionally and nationally for a sound that meshes old school blues, Southern fried rock, hard rock and psych rock, and for a jam-based live show in which every single show is different. As a result, the Nashville-based quartet have recently toured with Kadavar and The Sword.
The band’s recently released third full-length album, Dying Surfer Meets His Maker was released earlier this year to critical praise from media outlets like Revolver Magazine, Brooklyn Vegan, Nashville Scene and American Songwriter for an effort that revealed a subtle refinement of their overall sound and songwriting approach; in fact, Revolver Magazine wrote that their sound inhabited ” a corner of the cosmic crust where the spacey introspection of Pink Floyd meets the down-home groove of The Allman Brothers and the bong-addled whomp of Sleep” while Brooklyn Vegan wrote that the album as a “move into more chilled-out territory . . . It’s a quiet, richly-textured record that takes its time worming into your brain.”
The album’s latest single “Dirt Preachers” begins with layers of scuzzy, dirge-like power chords paired with propulsive drumming followed by a lengthy and contemplative stoner rock section with a bluesy guitar solo before a quiet fade out. Sonically, the song is reminiscent of Black Sabbath, Alice in Chains and The Sword as the song structurally combines two completely different tonal sections held together by a propulsive rhythm section. And although the song clearly possesses a trippy, psychedelic leaning, it manages to be deeply indebted to doom metal as it has a murky, ominous feel.
Canadian animator and musician Chad VanGaalen animated a fucked up, trippy as hell, surreal, technicolor video that features mysterious and clocked travelers journeying between villages seeking colorful orbs and objects with transformative powers, eventually finding an object that possesses extraordinary powers. The video manages to emphasize the trippy and murky nature of the song in a way that’s fitting.
The band will be on an extensive throughout the end of the year and the beginning of next year to support the new album. And it’ll include a stop at Rough Trade. Check out the tour dates below.
