Best of Sargent House // 2017
We’re proud of all our artists’ releases from the last year. A completion of some notable ‘Best of 2017′ mentions listed below.
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Best of Sargent House // 2017
We’re proud of all our artists’ releases from the last year. A completion of some notable ‘Best of 2017′ mentions listed below.
Every Record I Own - Day 95: Big Walnuts Yonder s/t
I’m generally not all that intrigued by supergroups. but when stories began circulating back in 2014 that Mike Watt, Nels Cline, Nick Reinhart (Tera Melos), and Greg Saunier (Deerhoof) were working on a project together, I was intrigued. Part of that excitement stemmed from enjoying Watt and Cline’s earlier collaboration on Watt’s Contemplating the Engine Room, but I was also curious to hear them team up with such unorthodox players as Reinhart and Saunier. While a lot of supergroups feel like big names phoning in unexceptional songs, this ensemble already seemed stocked with ambitious players with a reputation for playing well with others.
And sure enough, Big Walnuts Yonder is a fine album. While every member has their moment to shine, part of what makes this debut work so well is that it doesn’t feel like a battle of egos. There are still moments of fretboard brilliance from Cline, glitchy pedalboard weirdness by Reinhart, big bass hooks by Watt, and quirky syncopated grooves by Saunier, but the group does a good job of balancing the technical dazzle with actual songwriting.
Nick Reinhart Interview // Marcel’s Music Journal
Big Walnuts Yonder–an incredible supergroup featuring Minutemen’s Mike Watt, Wilco’s Nels Cline, Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier, and Tera Melos’ Nick Reinhart–just put out one of the most powerful and marvelously eclectic rock records of the year. Even though the band formed way back in 2008 and didn’t record the album until 2014, it still sounds raw and fresh as hell. The dirty funk of opener “All Against All” accurately portrays the LP’s unique blend of lo-fi math rock and noisy, throwback ‘90s skate punk, while the energetic “Raise the Drawbridges?” gloriously flaunts ear-piercing guitar licks and groove-heavy percussion.
Aside from recording seriously great music with Watt, Cline, and Saunier, Nick Reinhart has proved himself to be one of the most strikingly innovative guitarists in recent memory with his countless other bands and side projects. He is best known as the frontman of Sacramento-based experimental rock trio Tera Melos, who explored complex, mind-bending indie-math zones on their most recent release, 2013′s X’ed Out.
Reinhart has also worked with drummer Zach Hill in Bygones and Death Grips; played live in Rob Crow’s band Goblin Cock; and performed a series of engrossing, entirely improvised live sets with Dot Hacker’s Eric Gardner as Swollen Brain, all of which are discussed in our interview below (the power of collaboration is definitely key here).
Raise The Drawbridges? -- Big Walnuts Yonder
Mike Watt + Nels Cline (Wilco) + Greg Saunier (Deerhoof) + Nick Reinhart (Tera Melos)
#1073
Big Walnuts Yonder - Raise the Drawbridges?
2017
Big Walnuts Yonder is a collection of veteran musicians — Mike Watt (Minutemen, The Stooges), Nels Cline (Wilco, Nels Cline Singers), Greg Saunier (Deerhoof) and Nick Reinhart (Tera Melos) to be exact — but the chemistry and creative process behind the new outfit are decidedly of a different breed.
http://consequenceofsound.net/2017/02/members-of-minutemen-wilco-deerhoof-and-tera-melos-form-new-band-called-big-walnuts-yonder/
Big Walnuts Yonder with Nick Reinhart announce self-titled album, release “Raise The Drawbridges?” via Consequence of Sound
This year has already seen its fair share of mighty supergroups, featuring various members of At The Drive-In, Melvins, Grandaddy, and Franz Ferdinand. Big Walnuts Yonder is a collection of similarly talented veteran musicians — Mike Watt (Minutemen, The Stooges), Nels Cline (Wilco, Nels Cline Singers), Greg Saunier (Deerhoof) and Nick Reinhart (Tera Melos) to be exact — but the chemistry and creative process behind the new outfit are decidedly of a different breed.
“It’s worlds colliding,” Watt explains of the four-piece, which draws in elements of “proto-punk, free jazz, power pop, experimental music, psych-rock and your first teenage acid trip all in one.” Big Walnuts Yonder’s beginnings date back to a 2008 conversation between Watt and Reinhart, but because of hectic, overlapping schedules, it hasn’t been easy to sit down and polish off an official album.
“We had planned it for so long,” recalls Saunier. “Then several years passed in which nothing occurred due to everyone’s schedules. It was 2-3 years of warm, leisurely prep time, then suddenly made in a panic with time and money on the line.” The resulting effort is the band’s self-titled debut, due out May 5th via Sargent House.
The LP was recorded in just three days over the summer of 2014 with the help of producer and former Pere Ubu bassist Tony Maimone engineering at his Studio G in Brooklyn. Its collects 10 songs, eight of which started as “song forms” on Watt’s bass, then later fleshed out and added to by other band members; Saunier and Cline each contributed one track of their own to the final product. “I’m pretty sure the other guys didn’t have parts set before going into the studio,” says Reinhart. “But it’s interesting how a lot of the songs began as Mike Watt basslines, and everyone was able to pull songs and melodies out of them.”
The whole thing seemed to materialize in a way that was spontaneous, but also quite focused — a “concentrated sort of freakout,” according to Saunier. “We basically had to invent a new band on the spot. And, people might have a stereotype of what each person does, but we all showed up to do what we’re prevented from doing in other groups.”
As a first look at Big Walnuts Yonder, the group has shared “Raise the Drawbridges”, a track that captures an instance of police brutality. “He [Watt] takes the voice of an officer acting too tough and provoking conflict,” Saunier explains, “and then comments on the transparency of the officer’s fear and the futility of this dynamic.” Stream it down below.
To accompany the song premiere, Consequence of Sound is happy to present an expansive interview with Saunier, Reinhart, and Cline, in which each talks at length about Big Walnut Yonder’s formation, the importance of each member’s contributions to the album, and the newly released lead single. (Note: All questions were submitted by our one and only News Editor Ben Kaye.)
Big Walnuts Yonder, "All Against All"
Big Walnuts Yonder, "All Against All" #NowPlaying