Ringo Deathstarr God's Dream LP 33 rpm RSD Record Store Day 2014 NEW SEALED

$

30

Ringo Deathstarr

God's Dream

Record Store Day 2014
Limited Edition yellow vinyl

Invada Records INV133LP 12" 33rpm (UK)

Having attained the contemporary American noise-pop throne via cracking songwriting, fully-realized recordings and years of DIY hustle that has seen the band touring far from its native Austin, Ringo Deathstarr's latest long-player finds the trio both firmly in control and delightfully at ease. The act's resplendent new EP God's Dream stretches out the tempos and melodies into the luxurious high of an after party, making the short collection an envelope-pushing victory lap that both sets and confounds expectations for the band's next long-player.

Opener and highlight "Bong Load" sets the stage from the shoegazing act's Olympus Mons. Druggy, woozy, even bratty (given guitarist Elliot Frazier's punky opening vocal turn), the song neatly restates the strengths Ringo Deathstarr has perfected on its prior full lengths and EPs. There's the vocal trade-offs of the lead melody between Mr. Frazier and bassist Alex Gehring, the live-yet-synthetic feel of the shuffling drums, and a potent instrumental bliss-out closer. In a bit of tasteful indulgence, Frazier introduces a relatively new tool in his arsenal, the conventional guitar solo, just past the one-minute mark. There a harmonized, slow-burning lead guitar temporarily subsumes the track, like the legendary J Mascis at his unbridled best. The lyrics and sleaze of "Bong Load" also remind the listener of Ringo Deathstarr's sense of humor, a quality unfortunately absent from a lot of the music made by the threesome's sonic contemporaries.

"Chainsaw Morning" (which includes guitar contributions from current Smashing Pumpkins guitarist Jeff Schroeder) and "Flower Power" also shine brightly in the new set. Each song evidences a shift away from (our much loved) 2012 album Mauve and its post-punk whiplash and distorted bass, and toward the territory of early '90s Britpop and grunge. The former tune leaps from a metal guitar section (that could have been played by Soundgarden) to a verse and chorus that carry the big-studio brightness and neo-psych qualities of late-period The Jesus and Mary Chain or even earlier Spiritualized. As evidence of Ringo Deathstarr's near-euphoric freedom to collaborate and experiment, the band even applies a Genesis-styled flanged drum break ahead of the final chorus. "Flower Power," which features guest guitar work from Swervedriver's Adam Franklin, continues in the vein of Seattle-styled riffage and thrash that comes as a surprise when considered in the context the classical shoegaze purism of the Deathstarr's 2009 full length Colour Trip.

Over the course of God's Dream, the songs investigate slightly different sonic directions, from sillier, slap-dash punk to the odd, quiet R&B confessional of "Shut Your Eyes." The takeaway is that the state of the Ringo Deathstarr union is presently so strong that it can playfully explore, while retaining its characteristic, effects-laden approach, impressive command of the studio, and pop songcraft. It also means that fans can expect everything and anything from a hopefully inevitable LP 3. God's Dream is available now from Neon Sigh, Noyes and Japan's Vinyl Junkie Records. The first pressing of the vinyl was in an edition of 500 flat, grooved circles; the first 100 mail orders of same were fulfilled with blended mint green/hot pink vinyl, according to Noyes, and those are apparently already sold out. The remaining 400 LPs were to be sold by the band on its recent 29-date US tour; additional pressings are already contemplated, and based on information at the Neon Sigh Bandcamp, those are apparently on transparent red vinyl and transparent coke-bottle green vinyl. Collect them all! Confuse your family.

Tracklist
A1  Bong Load  
A2  God's Dream  
A3  Flower Power    Guitar [Extra] – Adam FranklinPiano – Sean Rolie 
A4  Shut Your Eyes  
B1  Chainsaw Morning    Guitar [Extra] – Jeff Schroeder 
B2  Over There  
B3  Nowhere    Guitar [Extra] – Adam FranklinSynth, Guitar [Extra] – Frenchie  

    Recorded At – The Bubble
    Recorded At – White Door
    Published By – Real Cool Trash

    Bass, Vocals, Guitar – Alex Gehring
    Engineer, Mixed By – Elliott Frazier, Frenchie, Sean Rolie
    Guitar, Vocals, Drums, Synth – Elliott Frazier
    Layout, Design – Chieko Morwaki, Chris Bendix, Elliott Frazier
    Mastered By – Michael Jackson 
    Photography By – Robert Madler
    Producer – Frenchie Smith, Elliott Frazier
    Songwriter – Ringo Deathstarr

European Record Store Day release. 500 copies.

Recorded at The Bubble, Austin Texas & at White Door, Dripping Springs Texas.

Condition:  LP in a  hard card picture sleeve is NEW and SEALED

A Note About Shipping To The U.S.
We are located in Canada, but have registered ourselves on eBay.com instead of eBay.ca because it gives us significantly better global exposure.  The problem with this is that eBay wants us to charge shipping appropriate to US, where media mail and other options make for fairly reasonable delivery costs. We tried it for a while but ended up losing money on shipping or having to cancel the orders because we couldn't afford to ship for those rates. To manage this we have set the US shipping to run a calculator based on an American location (we chose Plattsburgh as fairly close) and charging according to UPS pricing.  This avoids the cancellation issue, but appears to the buyer to be a prohibitive shipping cost and misrepresents the shipping as being only expedited. If you give us your postal code we will see if we can offer a more reasonable option, but generally we can get a single LP by air to most places in the continental US for $11, a few bucks less for ground.
Thanks for shopping Sir Helmitt,
Jeff Green, e-sales