By ELI JACE >
Fuzzed out, erratic and sloppily sweet, Godcaster are a wily collective out of Philadelphia/NYC. They've released their first video for the song "All The Feral Girls In The Universe" off their upcoming debut LP.
Long Haired Locusts is all combustible joy.
The sextet sound like the Polyphonic Spree trying to casually blend into the background of a Deerhoof set. Singer and guitarist Judson Kolk brings to the set hyperanguished vocals that whip and whirl around the frenzied instrumentation.
Godcaster have massive frolicking sound. Behind Kolk are David McFaul on the keys, Von Lee on flute, Lindsay Dobbs on trombone, Bruce Ebersole on bass and Sam Pickard on drums. While the drums, bass and guitar clash wildly, the flute and trombone peer in to add a naturalistic euphoria. They'd fit right in on a bill with other big-band indie groups like Dirty Projectors, Wand, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Elf Power, etc.
Godcaster's main lyricist, Kolk, also drew the album's illustrations.
The alien cover art for Long Haired Locusts depicts the group in as insects similar to the creatures from the unsettling 1970s animated film Fantastic Planet. It's all a wonderful world of his creation.
The video for "All The Feral Girls In Universe," edited by McFaul, shows band members lollygagging in some off-ramp woods, wrestling plantlife, chasing each other and playing guitar. A shirtless Kolk leads the way for the jaunty summertime track with the anticipation of an unplanned afternoon adventure.
The songs are on Long Haired Locusts are thrown-together and loose with uplifted energy.
The album was recorded in a Philadelphia basement, live-to-tape by Ryan Power. Songs like "The Skull!!!," "Christ In Capsule Form," and "Serpentine Carcass Crux Bitch," are hot blasting shots of cartoon punk. "Bingo Bodies / Long Haired Locusts" is the album's greatest accumulation of their sound, crashing from note to note until its conclusion. "Don't Make Stevie Wonder" is an instant earworm, a funky proclamation with shifty making sure the legend gets his due.
Their debut will be released September 4th by Philadelphia-based label, Ramp Local.
Posted in Tagged Best New Music, Deerhoof, Godcaster, Judson Kolk, Long Haired Locusts, music video, Polyphonic Spree, Ramp Local Featured Music, Independent Music, Music, Music Reviews
