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“...while the group make much of this being a 'new era' there are still plenty of moments that conjure nostalgic, dreamy biss.” - MOJO
"The album brings us back to their sun-kissed California psych sounds once again, but this time with equal twists of clipped electronica and field recordings" - LOUDER THAN WAR
"embraces the pugnacious monotony of late ‘80s Lou Reed ... and reassures that they have not altogether lost interest in sun-splashed psychedelia" - UNCUT
“Surreal” - MXDWN
Los Angeles-based Allah-Las have dropped “Dust,” the latest single off their much-anticipated album, Zuma 85, being released on October 13. With an ear-worm fusion of psychedelic rock, jangly guitars, and progressive rock, “Dust” exemplifies the new direction the band have taking on the LP as they depart the familiar beachy territory for off the map expanses, embracing the influence of late-era Lou Reed and John Cale, ‘70s mutant pop, and textures borrowed from Japanese pop and loner-folk obscurities. Allah-las tapped frequent collaborator Bailey Elder to craft her visual interpretation of the song. With her signature animation style, she captures the cosmic and transitory nature of the track with a mesmerizing procession of patterns, shapes and designs that morph and melt into one another in a choreographed dance through space and time. Of “Dust’ the band say, ‘the song turns the lens onto the past and the path that must be taken to achieve a desired outcome. A crisp high hat clicks along in perfect time, driving a soft but certain vocal atop a bed of undulating synthesizers, leading us comfortably along before the chorus hits, punctuated by harpsichord hits and tambourines that crash against the otherwise soothing soundscape. A fuzzed and bowed guitar solo leads us out into the place we had hoped to be.”
“a nice dose of '70s-style folk-pop” - Brooklyn Vegan
“lush folk-rock...a distinctly engaging sound” - Flood
"If you've ever wanted to breeze up the coast highway from Los Angeles to Malibu in a convertible as the sun sets out across the glittering Pacific Ocean, Swinging Stars will take you there" - MOJO
"Mapache couldn’t escape who they are at heart: acolytes of the ’60s Haight-Ashbury scene as filtered through the more recent desert psych sound” - Paste
”worn-in and relaxed with a classic air” - Raven Sings the Blues
Mapache release a new video for album single "Encinal Canyon,"a song about singing to yourself on long windy drives through the canyons. It’s about finding a quiet place where you can gain some insight even when you feel like you’re always on the run.
Mapache's dynamic and ambitious fifth album Swinging Stars arrives August 18 on Innovative Leisure / Calico Discos - an LP of calm, second-nature swagger, cosmic folk filled with distinct styles and their most cohesive album yet.
"Easy like Sunday Morning… Roscoe's Dream drips with escapist charm." — Mojo Magazine ★★★★
Today, Mapache — Clay Finch and Sam Blasucci's cosmic-folk band best known for their “quintessentially laid-back” tunes (UNCUT) and “grooves so strong you can basically hear the sunshine” (NPR Music) — releases Roscoe's Dream on Innovative Leisure / Calico Discos. Brimming with the best of golden state folk, the band’s third LP of originals captures the sheer joy of sloppy face-kisses and sunny mid-afternoon walks between sweet harmonies and blissed-out guitar licks.
Listen to Roscoe’s Dream here.
Roscoe's Dream included in NPR's Notable Releases for June 10, 2022 here.
On Mapache’s third LP of originals, the band’s 14-year-old Boston Terrier Roscoe takes center stage, scampering through a collection of deconstructed golden-age sketches, gentle rippers that pay homage to the DJ Art Laboe, and loving covers of Bo Diddley's "Diana" and Gabby Pahinui's "Kauai Beauty."
Having honed their distinct folk-western musicality on 2020’s From Liberty Street, Mapache’s Roscoe’s Dream proves that Blasucci and Finch’s chemistry, cultivated since they were young schoolmates, is alchemic. Calling in a handful of friends to play additional parts — including Farmer Dave Scher of Beachwood Sparks on melodica and lap steel plus Spencer Dunham of the Allah-las on bass — has allowed Mapache to expand their distinct style through the full-bodied musicality of a bigger band.
“Roscoe's Dream drips with escapist charm,” says Mojo in an all new four star review, while Shindig praises the duo as "wayfaring strangers with a penchant for evoking beloved sounds and moods of the past, Mapache have matured into an entity with its own accomplished sound."
Roscoe’s Dream follow’s last year’s 3, a lovingly crafted collection of covers that Aquarium Drunkard praised for being “curated in the best possible way: tracks that still sound quintessentially Mapache." Mapache will be hitting the road for a string of West Coast shows this May and June — full dates below.
Upcoming Mapache Shows
6/15 - Costa Mesa - Wayfarer
6/18 - Bolinas - Smiley’s Tavern
6/19 - Sacramento - Harlows
6/21 - Albany - Ivy Room
6/22 - Sonoma - Sebastiani Theater
6/23 - Nevada City - Crazy Horse Saloon
6/25 - Chico - Duffys
7/12 - Phoenix, AZ - Rebel
7/13 - Tuscon, AZ - Hotel Congress Plaza
7/15 - Fort Collins, CO - The Aggie
7/16 - Denver, CO - Globe Hall
7/17 - Salt Lake City, UT - Commonwealth Room
7/19 - Boise, ID - Neurolux
7/21 - Seattle, WA - Sunset
7/22 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
7/23 - Vancouver, BC - Wise
7/24 - Eugene, OR - Sessions Music Hall
7/26 - San Francisco, CA - The Chapel
7/28 - Pioneertown, CA - Pappy & Harriets
7/29 - Los Angeles, CA - Zebulon
7/30 - Los Angeles, CA - Zebulon
"Easy like Sunday Morning… Roscoe's Dream drips with escapist charm." — Mojo Magazine ★★★★
California-based folk-rock duo Mapache — comprised of longtime best friends Sam Blasucci and Clay Finch — share their latest preview of forthcoming record Roscoe’s Dream (out June 10th on Innovative Leisure/Calico Discos), “Light My Fire,” a cosmic cluster of unsuspecting, delicate sounds that feel like a smoldering daydream, a slow morning, or the sweet beginnings of a forever love.
Atop the warm bounce of a perfectly saturated guitar, “Light My Fire” shines with bright strums of a campfire steel string, the rapid picking of an old world balalaika, and effortless harmonies. As the track gently transports its listeners to sun-soaked days flushed with summer love, “Light My Fire” reminds us that all we have for certain is the present moment.
Video is by Laura-Lynn Petrick.
Upcoming tour dates below:
6/15 - Costa Mesa - Wayfarer
6/18 - Bolinas - Smiley’s Tavern
6/19 - Sacramento - Harlows
6/21 - Albany - Ivy Room
6/22 - Sonoma - Sebastiani Theater
6/23 - Nevada City - Crazy Horse Saloon
6/25 - Chico - Duffys
7/12 - Phoenix, AZ - Rebel
7/13 - Tuscon, AZ - Hotel Congress Plaza
7/15 - Fort Collins, CO - The Aggie
7/16 - Denver, CO - Globe Hall
7/17 - Salt Lake City, UT - Commonwealth Room
7/19 - Boise, ID - Neurolux
7/21 - Seattle, WA - Sunset
7/22 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
7/23 - Vancouver, BC - Wise
7/24 - Eugene, OR - Sessions Music Hall
7/26 - San Francisco, CA - The Chapel
7/28 - Pioneertown, CA - Pappy & Harriets
7/29 - Los Angeles, CA - Zebulon
7/30 - Los Angeles, CA - Zebulon
"Maas originally set out to create an acoustic record, then planned to mix the folk feel of Leonard Cohen with the textures of the Wu-Tang Clan; there are echoes of those previous directions in the samples, drones, stiff drums and occasional picked guitar, but the vibe is more Joe Meek producing The Madcap Laughs." - Uncut
"Having upheld the Texas tradition of the 13th Floor Elevators-style lysergic emanations with The Black Angels, Alex Maas has gone deep into himself for a beautiful solo debut..."[Luca] combines considered, personal songwriting with a late-'60s edge of hazy paranoia, most of it informed by the joys and responsibilities of fatherhood." - Mojo
"Throughout [Luca], ghosts of pre-rock crooners, dustbowl troubadours, torch singers and bobby-sox balladers converge in a backwoods cabin thick with the fug of good grass..." - Shindig
"Alex Maas possesses one of the most timeless voices in Austin music and now you can really hear it....his voice pierces vintage pop landscape."- Austin Chronicle
"Leaving behind the fuzzy guitars of his band Black Angels, Alex Maas picks up his acoustic for his first solo album, Luca...'The City' is especially intimate. "The enemy is always just outside the gates," says Alex of the track. 'Be ready for anything.'" - Brooklyn Vegan