Godcaster, cult-like psych-rockers and firm devotees of Judson Kolk, spill out their nightmarish vision onto the unsuspecting masses. Unsurprisingly pressed to red vinyl (what else) Godcaster’s debut LP has landed. Or should that be surfaced? It’s likely been spawned in the fires of an underworld populated with dog-girls, doppelgängers and pious iguanas. Spewed forth in a heinous incongruence of terrestrial vomit. If this all sounds a little far fetched then join in on Judson Kolk’s cult trip and you’ll soon be seeing religious effigies everywhere. Along with Long Haired Locusts.
It’s a nightmarish journey, spikey, narcotic music from a dimension of fear. Don’t let that description put you off. This is essential listening from Philadelphia’s most original band. Don’t believe us? Then just check out this roll call of song titles:
- Serpentine Carcass Crux Birth
- Apparition of the Virgin Mary in my Neighbourhood
- Christ in Capsule Form
- Even Your Blood is Electric
Godcaster have a knack of putting you at ease with their surreal world. In fact, they make you feel like you want to be part of it. If you’re as lucky as Richard then you may have scooped up a copy of the booklet. It’s artwork by Godcaster’s front man and limited to 50 copies. This has all the makings of an enviable object of desirability in years to come. Get on board.
Tobin loses his position as presenter
Shirley Ellis may well have several accolades to her name. Well, she has one more now. Richard calls for Tobin’s resignation live on the show after playing arguably her best known song. And it just gets worse for the poor lad. Later in the show Tobin is rubbished for his New Orleans track, and then his soft jazz track. It’s definitely not his day.
Our Jamie steps in to save the day with his epic Spacemen 3 track, which of course Tobin slates, just out of spite.
- Dirtbike Bike (Vaccine Girl) Godcaster
- Otis Houndmouth
- The Clapping Song (Clap Pat Clap Slap) Shirley Ellis
- Green Nature (feat. Michael Chapman) Torn Sail
- Skokiaan Kermit Ruffins
- Just To See You Smile Spacemen 3
- Quand C’est Mou Hugh Klein
- Escape From The Challenger Deep Godcaster
Godcaster – Stevie Wonder makes music by sense of smell
Spit and jitter in a revelatory stance. Profundicate your masticators and whisper “so longs” into the deepest dearths. Out of the spout, out of the flash, out of the gnash and fleeting cry comes Godcaster with Long Haired Locusts.
The venerated and shining troupe of David McFaul (keys, vox), Von Lee (flute, vox), Lindsay Dobbs (trombone, vox), Bruce Ebersole (bass guitar), Sam Pickard (drums), and Judson Kolk (vox, guitar) transmit a brand of devout, intense rock and pop that thrashes through stages of blissful, comforting highs and devastating lows, preaching the convergence of the holy and the heretical. This is best displayed on songs like “Apparation of The Virgin Mary in My Neighborhood,” where the anxious exertion of sharp, frenetic guitars and throbbing, cutting drums follow the increasingly quickening pace of Kolk’s narrative of trepidation before the tension grows too tight and snaps into violent, cathartic outbursts.
Similar nerves are addressed and released throughout Long Haired Locusts – the navigation of celestial beauty and corporeal rot is omnipresent and important. “Serpentine Carcus Crux Birth” and “Christ in Capsule Form” are both bouncing and vibrant, while “Blister Intercom” is lush with rejoicing choruses that accompany the marching guitars and drums, and songs like “All the Feral Girls in the Universe” naturally builds upon an undeniably danceable composition until it reaches, like the album as a whole reaches, a phenomenally euphoric peak.
Lo-fi recording techniques result in a powerful production
Long Haired Locusts, recorded live to tape by pop-mysticist Ryan Power in a Philadelphia basement, is a no-frills showcase of Godcaster’s essence and best consumed at high volume with as few breakable objects as possible within a flailing extremities reach. And as well as Long Haired Locusts captures the exultant frenzy of Godcaster, it is best to see for yourself the type of magic that bubbles even further beneath the surface that no physical recording could possibly capture.
The visceral intensity of any of Godcaster’s public ceremonies of performance, small or large, further highlights the immediacy and impact of their guttural, primal expression and unveils more of their enigmatic presence. The thunderous crash of symbols, the slicing guitars, the driving bass, and the angelic cacophony of keys, flute, and voice – especially that of Von Lee, whose crystalline falsetto has a particularly paralyzing magnificence live – leave very few non-believers in their wake.
Godcaster creates their own kind of protean piety based on the exaltation of movement and sound and Long Haired Locusts is the first of their sacred texts. It is a statement of purpose and acknowledgment of future growth beyond the limits of these sounds or any others. Whether you praise be or shutter in fear, we must all bear witness to the mythic rise of the music and the movement that is Godcaster.
Buy this album here.
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