[Created by record store employees with a love for laid-back '60s sounds that verged on somnambulant
psychedelia, the L.A. band Allah-Las documented the sounds and moods of sunny West Coast days with nothing to do but strum guitars and gently harmonize.
Their first two albums also had a heavy surf influence, but by the time of 2016's Calico Review some of
the reverb was replaced by a Stones-y swagger. The group's fourth album, Lahs, took another step out of their SoCal garage to add sounds from around the world, while still sounding ready for a long afternoon nap.
The Allah-Las formed around the talents of 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. The band's sound combines the harmonies and pop hooks of the British Invasion, the trippy atmosphere of West Coast psychedelic groups, 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 band and old-school soul revivalist Nick Waterhouse, and released on his Pres label. The Allah-Las' alliance with Waterhouse continued as they issued two singles during 2012 on his new label, Innovative Leisure: a split single with the boss featuring their song "(Tell Me) What's on Your Mind," and another single featuring that song with "Sacred Sands" on the flip.
The Allah-Las were dedicated travelers during this time, playing shows all around the globe and soaking up experiences and influences. Their next appearance on record was on the soundtrack to Self-Discovery for Social Survival, a surf documentary released in 2019. Later that year, the band's fourth
album, Lahs, was released. After three albums that captured their hazy West Coast lifestyle, this time the group (and producer Jarvis Taveniere) gathered up sounds and feelings collected while on tour to make a much more outward-looking album that added elements of soul music, Brazilian psych, and Dead-style jamming to their psychedelic mix.
By Tim Sendra]
25 August 2017
Dutch police said on Wednesday they had foiled an attack on a concert planned by the Allah-Las in
Rotterdam after a tip-off from Spain, where 15 people died last week in twin vehicle attacks by Islamist extremists. The Allah-Las, whose show was called off, thanked Dutch police in a statement to AFP and declined further comment. Ever since achieving greater prominence, the nearly 10-year-old band - a critical favourite in indie rock publications - has been on the defensive over its name. Some hardline Muslims find it blasphemous to say Allah, the Arabic word for God, in the context of music or entertainment.
ALLAH-LAS: ALLAH-LAS
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.
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.
The debut album from LA four-piece Allah-Las has been hailed in some quarters as the year's best piece of guitar-pop classicism, a long overdue return to the values of 1965 in an age where tone and texture are valued above melody and songwriting.
Allah-Las – Allah-Las
Label: Innovative Leisure Records – IL 2007
Format: CD, Album, Digipak
Country: US
Released: 2012
Genre: Rock
Style: Garage Rock, Indie Rock
TRACKS
01. Catamaran (Organ [Hammond] – Nick Waterhouse) 3:33
02. Don't You Forget It 3:05
03. Busman's Holiday 3:28
04. Sacred Sands 3:31
05. No Voodoo 3:01
06. Sandy 2:44
07. Ela Navega (Mixed By – Nick Waterhouse) 3:55
08. Tell Me (What's On Your Mind) 3:32
09. Catalina 3:43
10. Vis-A-Vis (Lead Vocals – Spencer Dunham) 3:29
11. Seven Point Five (Mixed By – Nick Waterhouse) 2:48
12. Long Journey (Lead Vocals – Matthew Correia/Songwriter [Additional] – Rudy Wyatt) 3:12
Bass, Vocals – Spencer Dunham
Drums, Percussion, Vocals – Matthew Correia
Lead Guitar, Vocals – Pedrum Siadatian
Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar – Miles Michaud
Producer – Nick Waterhouse
Songwriter – Allah-Las
No comments:
Post a Comment