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Was Ist Das is being crushed under the weight of Bardo Pond/Carlton Melton split.
Soundblab reviews Carlton Melton/Bardo Pond split
"...Bardo Pond and Carlton Melton have made something with genuine scope; a dark, intoxicating slice of mind-altering psychedelia."The Digital Fix reviews Carlton Melton/Bardo Pond split
"If psychedelic rock is your thing, then this may well be your favourite release this year."
SF Bay Guardian live shots: White Hills-Carlton Melton-Dirty Ghosts @ Rickshaw Stop
The young kids swooning over the Melton:
"At the Rickshaw Stop last night, Duvall and Carlton Melton (a band, not a dude) — excuse the expression — melted minds. The appreciative crowd of mostly polite late-20-somethings kept spinning around towards each other with wide-eyed, “are you seeing this shit?” glances at their companions. The instrumental four-piece played entire set without a word. Duvall’s drum solos were heavenly. "
Vice.com reviews "Country Ways"
"Maybe it’s just like the changing of the seasons, but recently it seems like all the stoner-psych records I hear are the brain-damaged, don’t-eat-the-bad-acid kind. I guess that shows the people who made it are bad-ass and have lived some pretty dangerous lives, but personally I think it’s nice to hear some genuine old-timers (this lot were in Zen Guerrilla) zoning out to some wordless, blissful hazy-days feedback. This album was recorded in a geodesic dome, and the press release features the word “vibe” in bold capital letters."
Carlton Melton in Terrorizer
Behind the Wall of Sleep interview
Kerrang and Mojo review clippings
Revolt of the Apes on Carlton Melton
"Certainly there are a million other things that can be said about Carlton Melton and about their latest album, Country Ways. But what else do you really need? Again: sensory-awareness space rock recorded in a geodesic dome. It’s fait accompli."
The Quietus reviews "Country Ways"
"... the finest thing Carlton Melton have yet put their name to. " Read the review »
Julian Cope digs the Melton @ Head Heritage.co.uk:
"Carlton Melton’s whole approach is guaranteed to smoke your psychic pole down to the very root and microwave your melted plastic mind to boot."
Mudkiss reviews "Country Ways"
"In complete contrast to Hollywood Sinners, Carlton Melton unveil their second collection “Country Ways” with an extended piece nearly as long as the whole “Disastro Garantito” album, clocking in just over 20 minutes in length. Comprising nothing more than feedback and noise, bravery or stupidity is the question? Tortuous to the majority indisputably, to the right ears however the title track contains elements of true beauty. Echoing and chiming guitars are intertwined with atmospheric reverberations as a picture of true serenity permeates the inner reaches of the mind. As with a great deal passing through Mudkiss, “Country Ways” isn’t for the faint of heart, an open mind is absolutely pre-requisite to enjoyment. Allow yourself to experience this full body of work on more than one occasion, additional melodious aspects begin to pervade the ether. “Harrington Fair ” incorporates superb guitar work and “March of the Cicades” almost follows a traditional instrumental structure inclusive of basic incessant drum rhythm and outstanding distorted slide. In general, the description within the press release, “dronescapes,” more than adequately outlines the visions ex Zen Guerilla members, Andy Duvall and Rich Millman, accompanied by Brian McDougall and John Steuernagel illustrate within the recording. “Country Ways” is a complete transcendental release from the world around. Don a pair of headphones, close your eyes.......... don’t fight it........ go with the flow and glide into absolute psychedelic paradise. The images conjured within the cranial cavities are purely yours, and yours alone. "
Was ist Das Reviews "Country Ways"
Permanent Records (Chicago) recommends
"Country Ways" LP
We haven't hidden our love for Carlton Melton, in fact we've wholeheartedly been behind each and every cut these guys have put to wax. "Country Ways" (also the title of the record) righteously fills the entire first side of this new slab. This sidelong encounter presents a blissful psychedelic journey that meanders peacefully through a wormhole of unknown origin under the guidance of playful smoke-like tendrils as if commanded by some unnamed ancient mystic. You'll find this delight paired with a trio jams heading further into pulsating rhythm and pyschedelic ambience joined in celestial white heat guitar solos over synthesized space-scapes. This LP floats down the Spacemen 3 (a la"Dreamweapon") and "March Of The Cicadas" path (from the split 12" with Qumran Orphics) as opposed to the equally welcome heavier White Hills-esq riffage Carlton Melton is also known for. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
aQuarius Records reviews "Country Ways" CD
Originally released on vinyl, this most recent batch of blissed out psychedelic space rock heaviness from aQ faves Carlton Melton now gets the cd treatment, with a whopping BONUS HALF HOUR of extra material not on the original lp. More on the bonus tracks in a bit, first, here's what we had to say about the record proper: There's no shortage of psychedelic space rock in SF these days: recent Record Of The Weekers Lumerians, the Spyrals, Wooden Shjips, Sleepy Sun, and these guys, Carlton Melton, not a person, but a quartet, who conjure up epic stretches of spaced out psychedelia, and who, unlike many of their contemporaries, seem to be less concerned with the pulse, and the rhythm, and the groove, as they are with the SOUND, and the VIBE, weaving lush, expansive sprawls of effects drenched psychedelic ambience, drifting more often than driving, huge clouds of swirling wah guitars, and minimal spare drumming, which seems to exist more as a pulse, than a beat proper, everything murky and muddy and washed out, at once lo-fi, but impossibly dense and heavy, the band seeming to drift weightless though swirling starlit sonic skies, their sound loose and free and abstract and ephemeral, the first track here, is a fantastically entrancing space drone epic, a sound the drifts and buzzes and flutters and swirls, the sound emerging in swells, building into squalls of warm whirling chaos only to slip back into something more druggy and dreamy and meditative, it's not until the final couple minutes that the song finally explodes, and even then it doesn't really get heavier, the rhythm doesn't get any more intense, instead, it just sounds like the whole band crank it up a notch, the swirling clouds of effects and guitars suddenly become more volatile, and more chaotic, the melodies gradually swallowed up by slashes of distorted guitar crunch and crumbling walls of distortion, the sound gets more dense, and more thick, and the whole time the main groove, now buried beneath the roiling surface, continues on unwavering, the only thing keeping the track from drifting into the heavens and toward the heart of the sun. The remaining tracks, while shorter, are simply more of the glorious same, barring a brief bit of solo guitar, an interlude that is bookended by two more heaving walls of krautpsych swirl, the band unfurling droned out minimal hypnorock mini epics, that howl and thrum, buzz and shimmer, songs that obviously could have been stretched way out and turned this into a record two or three times as long. The extra tracks here are like a whole extra album, beginning with the nearly 6 minute shimmer of "Night Flight", all smoldering, softly burnished swells of washed out guitars and buried melodies, dreamy and drifty, a slow set up for the more typically explosive space psych of the 14+ minute "The One That Got Away (Extended Version)", which unfurls a heady hypnotic bit of motorik krautrock, sounding like German Oak or Can, and then wrapping it all in layer after layer of buzz and swirl, the effects growing more and more warped and wild, the sound getting more and more spacey and druggy, while all the while the rhythm section stays locked in tight, and keeps the song from lifting off entirely and disappearing into the night sky. The Hawkwind / Spacemen 3 vibe is big here, so drugged out and hypnotic, building to a serious crescendo of tangled leads and dense drum pound, before fading out into a stretch of slowly receding whir and thrum. The final bonus track, recorded live on KZSU is another epic, nearly 13 minutes, and again, a psychedelic mix of kraut and space rock. A simple skeletal rhythm, wreathed in swirls of buzz, the group adding layers of melody and texture, clouds of ephemeral effects, buzzing synths, the sound growing more dense, yet at the same time, more free, and almost weightless, hypnotic and mesmerizing and totally tranced out, it's almost 4 minutes before things get properly riffy, and from there on out it's total heart of the sun Hawkwindy heaviness, the sound heady and hazy and so totally ruling. Like we said about the lp version, this is fantastic stuff. Fans of the SF psych/space/drone/kraut rock contingent that aren't already into CM, get with it! And obviously, anyone into White Hills, Hawkwind, Pink Floyd, Cave, The Heads, Heavy Winged, Bardo Pond, White Noise Sound, Mugstar, Spacemen 3, and the like, these guys will definitely hit the spot.
Aquarius Records Reviews "I'm So Agitated" compilation featuring THE HEADS / CARLTON MELTON / MUGSTAR / KOOLAID
Another super limited Record Store Day release, this one seemed so 'made-for-aQ' we got as many as we could, which is a bunch, but we're guessing with a lineup like this, these will be gone in a flash. What's the lineup you ask? Well, we figured a list of the bands would be all it would take to get most of you flipping out. It definitely worked for us. UK space rockers and past aQ Record Of The Week honorees The Heads, UK psychedelic space rockers and also past aQ Record Of The Weekers Mugstar, local space rock faves Carlton Melton, and another band we have never heard called Koolaid, or maybe Koolaid (Alien Ballroom). Sold yet? The Heads here appear as Rituals Performed The Heads And Big Naturals, not sure if they're taking the piss or if they joined up with some other outfit, but holy shit is their nearly side long track a mindblower. A dense blast of psychedelic noise gives way to a more dreamy drifty spacekraut, before transforming into a chugging churning pound, that quickly flips backwards, and suddenly the whole track is a fantastically hypnotic arrangement of backwards swoops and fffwwwt's, before exploding back into another blast of stomping heaviness, laced with all manner of warped turntable noise, only making everything that much more tripped out. Mugstar finish off the side with a brief blast of almost poppy heaviness. Still Hawkwindy but more garage-y and Stooges-y, with some seriously unhinged vox and a cool start/stop effects heavy chorus. The first half of the B side finds SF sonic explorers Carlton Melton unfurling another smoldering cloud of soft psychedelia, blissed out, free form and abstract, loose and meandery, thick clouds of soaring guitars al over a shuffling hynotic and motorik beat. And finally, Koolaid finish things off, with the weirdest of the bunch, groovy, and almost funky, thick steel string strum, all wreathed in psychedelic guitar noise, laced with some weird samples, drug related of course, and a riff that is a dead ringer for the Knight Rider theme, in fact, the band seem to borrow themes from other songs and transform them into something spacier, there were a few other bits that sounded familiar, all wound into a sound noisy and weirdly tripped out. So cool. And SO LIMITED. 350 COPIES WORLDWIDE. We have a bunch, but these are the last copies we'll ever have. No art, just green labeled lps housed in lime green 12" style sleeves.
Permanent Records Reviews "Country Ways" LP
"We haven't hidden our love for Carlton Melton, in fact we've wholeheartedly been behind each and every cut these guys have put to wax. "Country Ways" (also the title of the record) righteously fills the entire first side of this new slab. This sidelong encounter presents a blissful psychedelic journey that meanders peacefully through a wormhole of unknown origin under the guidance of playful smoke-like tendrils as if commanded by some unnamed ancient mystic. You'll find this delight paired with a trio jams heading further into pulsating rhythm and pyschedelic ambience joined in celestial white heat guitar solos over synthesized space-scapes. This LP floats down the Spacemen 3 (a la"Dreamweapon") and "March Of The Cicadas" path (from the split 12" with Qumran Orphics) as opposed to the equally welcome heavier White Hills-esq riffage Carlton Melton is also known for. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! "
Listen to "Full Moon Revisited" on thequietus.com
aQuarius Records capsule reviews of CM/Qumran Orphics split and Handling Snakes 7"
CARLTON MELTON / QUMRAN ORPHICS Split (Mid-To-Late Records) lp 14.98 Brand new split of heavy freakiness from one of our favorite local bands Carlton Melton teamed up here with new-to-us bizarre shamanistic cult collective Qumran Orphics. The Melton side is two 10 minutes slabs, the first, "March Of The Cicadas", sounds exactly like the title implies, a slowmotion dirge over martial rhythms with buzzing electronic hisses and stratospheric guitar leads. The closer, "Murder Ridge" is a noirish Bardo Pond-like spiral of burning sonic embers and sustained decay. The Qumran Orphics side is a stranger beast altogether. Recorded from a live set at the Blank Club in San Jose, Qumran Orphics is led by KFJC DJ Cy Thoth (host of the show Firebunker, that plays lots of our favorite metal and experimental sounds), backed by an array of simmering guitars and shifting droning electronics. Like a strange and unfurling Crowleian ritual, Cy Thoth croakingly intones bizarre utterances one might hear in an H.P. Lovecraft story. It's a wild and charged performance. Not sure where this project will go next, all info on the group is rather scant or cryptic, but we're definitely curious! Super limited to 259 copies, pressed on smoked wood and blood colored swirl vinyl. These probably won't last long....
CARLTON MELTON Handling Snakes (Valley King) 7" 8.98 One of two brand new Carlton Melton releases this list, the other being their strange and culty split with Qumran Orphics. This one an amazing 7" on a cool brand new deluxe 7" label, Valley King (we also have a new Sweet Apple 7" on the same label to be reviewed later). Housed in a mini-gatefold sleeve with insert and sticker, with gorgeous artwork by Alan Fobres who also did Carlton Melton's Pass It On LP as well as their split with Empty Shapes. "Handling Snakes" is a jolt of heavy hypno-blues a la Wooden Shjips but even heavier with wailing riffs and pummeling drums. The B side, "The One That Got Away", is more majestic and broodingly heavy with searing and weaving guitar lines and molten textures. It's over before you know it, but it's just long enough to hit the spot. Limited to 500 copies. Grab this taste of radness while you can!
Norman Records Blog Reviews Carlton Melton/Qumran Orphics Split
"Carlton’s 2nd track is the fuzziest dirgiest, dirtiest thing I’ve heard in ages… I need a shower now."Album Review Your Imaginary Friend Reviewed 2010-10-31
Noise/psyche rock split from stalwarts. All the glee of a Hawkwind, F/i, Acid Mothers Temple noturnal emission. Epic end of the world stuff. Play any cut or just the whole damn thing. Carlton Melton 1) starts with lovely drone but then a stoner psyche mid paced rock jam ensues, drone continues and bridges into a second section, more upbeat, swinging head nodding stoner jam, ends on the lovely narco-drone 2) pretty and droney, almost chimey Empty Shapes 1) mindful chill rock is buried beneath layers of lovely droning feedbackiness and builds and builds to a wall of epic 2) big assed swinging crazed evil feel with fucked up buried vocals 3) doomy deathy and desperate
Aural Innovations reviews Carlton Melton/Empty Shapes Split LP
The Quietus interview with Carlton Melton
Uncut Magazine (UK)
Four stars! for "Pass It On"
Montreal Mirror – ‘Pass It On’ Album Review
Finally, a psychedelic band that successfully crosses generations, appealing equally to old school bong-bubblers, kinky krautrockers and the new school of psychedelic stooges. Can-style jams, trance-inducing drones and Ummagumma-era Pink Floyd ambiance may be the foundation here but these improv jams easily break from the tether of their influences and soar righteously through the stratosphere. Freak out!
THE DREADED PRESS – ‘Pass It On’ Album Review
"Look, if you like psychedelic wig-out jams and wide-screen instrumental weirdness that layers on the effects with the proverbial builder’s trowel, then you’re gonna dig Carlton Melton‘s vibe in a big way." Read the full review »Sonic Abuse – ‘Pass It On’ Album Review
"There are bands, and on this website we are lucky enough to deal with a fair few of them, who defy convention and easy categorisation. Reference points may be offered, but essentially such bands exist in their own little world, utterly unaffected by trends or popularist concerns. Carlton Melton are one such band – a wilfully psychedelic beast tinged with blues, doom, drone and feral rock energy that recall the majesty of Earthless and the spontaneity of early Pink Floyd (whom they cover on the first track ‘when you’re in’)." Read the full review »
"WAS IST DAS?" reviews 'Pass It On'
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Aquarius Records reviews the new Carlton Melton/Empty Shapes Split LP:
"We sold tons of the last Carlton Melton full length, Pass It On. In fact we even sold a copy to J. Mascis who made it his top favorite record of 2009. No small feat, there! So the dudes are on a roll, and just before their first big tour, they release this awesome split with the equally heavy Empty Shapes from Delaware. The Carlton Melton side is two tracks. The first, "Call and Response" is nearly side-loooong and begins with a heavy rumble of monolithic sludge eventually progressing into a slow wave of burnt-out blues riffage a la early Comets on Fire, that churns and steeps into a gnarly brew of molten fuzz. The closer, "Purer", is more cosmic and dreamy, built on a layer of percolating synth drones that give way to a more uplifting space rock jam trajectory. This is the first we've heard from Empty Shapes, a 5 piece from Delaware, who contribute 3 tracks to their side. The first, "MLK" is a sprawling cloud of noise a la Bardo Pond, levitating around a repeating head-nodding riff with all kinds of instrumentation stretching the form and shape of the murky haze. "Hell of a Night" and "Lord" bring vocal elements into the works, but heavily effected and damaged, sometimes emotive yet incomprehensible channeling a primitive psych-blues through some New Zealandish free-rock space clutter! "
» Andy and Rich guest deejay archive on KUSF with host Stereo Steve : 4/23/10
» Carlton Melton perform "When You're In" live at the New Parish in Oakland
on Friday, March 5, 2010
» Dave W (White Hills) Rocket Records reviews Carlton Melton
» Bad Acid Magazine reviews Carlton Melton
» CARLTON MELTON lands on J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.) Top 10 list for 2009.
» The UK is listening to Carlton Melton. Reviewed here.
Carlton Melton reviewed by Aquarius Records, SF:
"The field of psychedelic hypnno-drone rock in San Francisco keeps getting wider, and more amazing. Along with Wooden Shjips, Sleepy Sun and The Lumerians comes the slow growth space rock of Carlton Melton. We raved about their first self-released cd-r, Live at Point Arena, CA recorded in a genuine geodesic dome, and we're psyched that they have returned with a vinyl only follow-up! While the first cd-r had a more rough around the edges shambling momentum to it (after all, the band had pretty much formed just to record in the dome!), Pass It On has a more penetrating and focused feel. Recording in the dome once again, the songs have the slow motion but still very heavy vibrations of White Hills, Moon Duo, Hawkwind and Pink Floyd. In fact, the album begins with a heavy cover version of Pink Floyd's "When You're In" from Obscured By Clouds, which builds with intensity setting up the stoned pillowy cushion freefall of follow-up track "Found Children". "Off The Grid" takes a more divergent path through the woods with freaked out tribal rhythms and strange loping pulsations and alien guitar swells. Side two begins with a reworking of a track from the Point Arena cd-r called "Fucking Funky Shit" now renamed "Digging In" that utilizes its bass and drum rhythmic foundation as a means for the guitars and organ to arc off into the stratosphere before descending into the final track "Sequoia", which burrows deep into the earth with a smouldering drone that leaves us, for the lack of a better analogy, cosmically wasted. On redwood colored vinyl. Recommended!"
Stonerrock.com reviews Carlton Melton
"Live In Point Arena" reviewed by Ian Abrahams at www.spacerockreviews.blogspot.com