Allah-Las | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Los Angeles-based garage rock revivalist quartet Allah-Las comprise lead vocalist/guitarist Miles Michaud, lead guitarist/vocalist Pedrum Siadatian, bassist/vocalist Spencer Dunham, and drummer/vocalist Matthew Correia. Three of the four bandmembers were working in the L.A. branch of the legendary record store Amoeba when the group formed in 2008, and they must have spent a great deal of time researching the garage and psychedelic sounds of the 60s while propping up the counter. Their sound combines the harmonies and pop hooks of the British Invasion, the trippy atmosphere of West Coast psychedelic bands, and the raw swagger of countless American garage rockers. They made their debut on vinyl in 2011 with a single ("Catamaran"/"Long Journey") produced by friend of the group and old-school soul revivalist Nick Waterhouse, and released on his Pres label. Their alliance with Waterhouse continued as they released two singles during 2012 on his new label, Innovative Leisure: a split single with the boss featuring their song "(Tell Me) Whats on Your Mind," and another single featuring that song with "Sacred Sands" on the flip. Their Waterhouse-produced self-titled album was issued in September of that year and featured all their previously released tracks, plus nine more. After spending time touring, the band hit the studio again with Waterhouse to produce their second album of laid-back garage psych moodiness. Worship the Sun was released in September of 2014, again by Innovative Leisure. For their next album, the band worked at the recently reopened Valentine Recording Studios, a legendary spot where bands like the Beach Boys and artists like Stan Kenton recorded. It had closed in the late 70s and the band was one of the first to use its refurbished equipment. The resulting Calico Review was released in September 2016 on their new label home of Mexican Summer. The following year saw Allah-Las release Covers, Vol. 1, the first in a series of EPs exploring the bands myriad influences. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 4 Title: Tell Me (Whats on Your Mind) Released: 2012-04-17 Tracks: 4 Duration: 13:58 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Tell Me (Whats on Your Mind) (03:31) 2 Sacred Sands (03:41) 3 Catamaran (03:33) 4 Long Journey (03:13) |
 | Album: 2 of 4 Title: Allah-Las Released: 2012-09-18 Tracks: 12 Duration: 39:59 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Catamaran (03:32) 2 Dont You Forget It (03:04) 3 Busmans Holiday (03:28) 4 Sacred Sands (03:31) 5 No Voodoo (03:01) 6 Sandy (02:44) 7 Ela Navega (03:54) 8 Tell Me (Whats on Your Mind) (03:32) 9 Catalina (03:43) 10 Vis-à-vis (03:28) 11 Seven Point Five (02:47) 12 Long Journey (03:12) |
| Allah-Las : Allmusic album Review : L.A. garage psych revivalists Allah-Las met and formed when three of the four bandmembers were working at Amoeba Records. No doubt they bonded over repeated airings of Pebbles collections and arguments over who was moodier, Love or the Chocolate Watchband, because the sound they conjure up on their self-titled debut album sounds like it came straight out of a Midwestern garage or from the stage of a West Coast teen club. With the help of friend and producer Nick Waterhouse (who expertly re-creates old-school soul music on his own records), the group nails the sometimes overlooked melancholy side of garage rock. Every band worth its Voxx guitars had at least one misty minor-chord ballad in its repertoire to show off the tenderness that lurked below the shouting rockers and pissed-off rants. Allah-Las delve deeply into the murky moods, delivering nothing but low-key, restrained songs that never raise a sweat but creep right into your brain just the same. Part of this can be credited to the sound Waterhouse gets -- perfectly layered guitars (with plenty of chiming 12-string), a chunky but fluid bass pulse, a tinny but tough drum sound, just the right amount of reverb on the vocals -- but the rest has to go to the guys writing the songs. Though they stick to minor chords and middle tempos throughout the album, the songs dont blend together into a hazy mess as the album slowly sulks along, and occasional songs, like "Busmans Holiday," veer away from the typical girl-done-me-wrong tropes of garage rock and help keep things separated. So do the memorable guitar lines Pedrum Siadatian drapes across every song; the musical hooks, like the surging organ of "Catamaran" or the bongos on "Seven Point Five," that pop up repeatedly; and the tender snarl of Miles Michauds vocals. Hes clearly taken his Jagger lessons, but never lapses into pure imitation. In the end, what really makes the record a success is the mood the band sure-footedly creates from beginning to end. The record starts under a cloud of grey sadness and it never lets up; even the two instrumentals have a wistful heart. Plenty of bands have done just as good a job at re-creating the sound and feel of 60s psych and garage bands; few have done it with the unceasingly downcast and yet somehow peaceful approach of Allah-Las. It might be nice to hear them amp it up a bit on their next record for a change of pace, but this works just fine as a bummed-out garage trip. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 4 Title: Worship the Sun Released: 2014-09-15 Tracks: 14 Duration: 40:10 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 De Vida Voz (02:31) 2 Had It All (02:40) 3 Artifact (03:33) 4 Ferus Gallery (03:35) 5 Recurring (02:16) 6 Nothing to Hide (03:40) 7 Buffalo Nickel (02:46) 8 Follow You Down (03:10) 9 501-415 (01:43) 10 Yemeni Jade (02:38) 11 Worship the Sun (02:49) 12 Better Than Mine (02:49) 13 No Werewolf (02:28) 14 Every Girl (03:25) |
| Worship the Sun : Allmusic album Review : L.A. garage psych revivalists the Allah-Las didnt mess around with their winning formula much on their second album, 2014s Worship the Sun. Working with retro-leaning producer Nick Waterhouse again, the quartet can still effortlessly crank out chiming ballads that sound worthy of a strong volume of Pebbles, dish out moody midtempo tracks that have the feel of classic West Coast bands like the Chocolate Watchband, and take the occasional instrumental detour that come off like surf music thats been dragged through some desert dust. It definitely feels like an extension of their debut album, only instead of being a retread, its an improvement. Stronger songs, vocals that lean a little less on the snotty side of the garage in favor of some nuance, and slightly softer focus production mean that the album is a slight bit of an improvement. The bands songcraft feels sharper and more focused, whether its the near-rollicking "Artifact" (half borrowed from the Chocolate Watchbands "Are You Gonna Be There [At the Love-In]"), the slowly swaying ballad "Nothing to Hide," which anchors the middle of the record like a big fat teardrop, or the albums title track, which manages to make melancholy sound sun-kissed and peaceful. Along with this overall strengthening of their core, the group mixes in a couple off-speed pitches, like the countrified jangle pop gem "Better Than Mine" that beats the Beachwood Sparks at their own game, or the psychedelic bubblegum rocker "501-415," that give the album the little bit of growth and expansion it needed to sound fresh. No one will ever accuse the Allah-Las of being particularly original or exciting, but thats not really what theyre aiming for. If you were to call them revivalists who found a tiny niche of the garage rock scene that nobody else was exploiting, and revived it with a charmingly relaxed and assured style, then youd be dead right. On Worship the Sun, their subtle excavation is even more impressive, richly rendered, and worth checking out than before. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 4 Title: Calico Review Released: 2016-09-09 Tracks: 12 Duration: 35:32 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Strange Heat (02:25) 2 Satisfied (03:38) 3 Could Be You (03:13) 4 High & Dry (02:50) 5 Mausoleum (02:31) 6 Roadside Memorial (02:38) 7 Autumn Dawn (03:35) 8 Famous Phone Figure (02:25) 9 200 South La Brea (02:49) 10 Warmed Kippers (02:51) 11 Terra Ignota (03:25) 12 Place in the Sun (03:07) |
| Calico Review : Allmusic album Review : After two albums of desert-parched, reverb-caked garage rock revivalism, it might seem like the Allah-Las were due for some kind of drastic change. Apart from jumping from one cool record label (Innovative Leisure) to another (Mexican Summer), the four guys in the band have maintained a steady course of minor-key jangle, relaxed Zombies-like balladry, and the occasional tambo-shaking rocker on their third record, Calico Review. A lesser band with fewer sneaky hooks up its sleeve or a sound that wasnt as locked down as this one might have suffered for putting out three albums that have such a similar feel and sonic footprint. The Allah-Las dont, and Calico Review is easily the match of their first two albums, with lots of songs that stand out like lost 60s singles by a foppish British group ("Famous Phone Figure") or a rock-solid Texas punk band ("Could Be You") or the house band at a groovy Sunset Strip nightclub ("200 South La Brea"). Along with these, the quartet lays down a few nocturnal gems (the Velvet Underground-esque "Strange Heat," "Mausoleum"), some plaintive folk-rock ("Terra Ignota"), a bit of organ-heavy melancholia ("Place in the Sun"), and lots of tremolo and fuzz to help build the wonderfully heady atmosphere. Theres nothing on Calico Review the Allah-Las havent done before, but with each outing they seem to be more in control of their sound (making it fuller and more textured), their voices (which continue to get stronger and less snotty), and their gradually evolving songwriting. Worship the Sun was pretty great garage rock revivalism filtered through a gently psychedelic filter; Calico Review might be even better. | ||