I am not usually premiering any albums or singles on this blog, but when I do, it is a special occasion. Jon & Sanders from Anything Bagel reached out to me if I was not interested in premiering a new single. The single is taken from the newest album by the artist Panther Car they are releasing on cassette on October 20. After hearing it I was convinced, that I really wanted to do it.
But let’s introduce the band a little and here is a nice paragraph written by Jon Doyle from Various Small Flames.
“Based in Bozeman, Montana, Panther Car is a four-piece band consisting of Connor Smith, Chrys Kirkwood, Scott Merenz and Andrew Cornell. Together, they craft a distinctive amalgamation of psych, dream pop and grunge—producing a sound that manages to be both meditative and immediate. Therefore, whereas most acts working in these genres lean towards either a warm and enveloping ethereality or a brooding cascade of noise, Panther Car manage to straddle the entire spectrum, often within a single song, all invention and playfulness balanced by a mean, serious streak that anchors you in the moment.”
Here is a little bit of additional info about the band and the future album called Lagrange:
“The material that would come to make up Lagrange evolved from embracing the idea of simplicity. Built from a skeleton of repetition, these songs were inspired by the slow builds and cascading growth of krautrock, electronic music, and Fela Kuti all being filtered through Panther Car’s established sensibility. It is an exercise in inverting the conventions of prog rock, replacing dramatic structural change with dynamic internal movement.
Perhaps the biggest outlier in this collection is ‘Ideations’, the only song that didn’t come from the Lagrange writing sessions, actually predates the release of Pomegranate, but embodies this ideal. Not only is it one of Panther Car’s most tender and beautiful songs, but the intricate rhythmic play between drums and guitars, each in different time signatures, is hidden inside an atypical phrase that metronomically pulses until the drums release the staggered tension halfway through the verse.
Lagrange is a summation of the Panther Car democratic credo. Four people channel sound into one point where individual palettes congeal into a singular vibration.“
Panther Car has been a vital part of the Bozeman (Montana) DIY scene for almost 10 years and I am happy they are returning with a new album. The new single promises a really nice dreamy psychedelic prog rock with beautiful vocals that will get you captivated. When compared to the previous album Pomegranate, the new single sounds more refreshing. There is definitely more work put into this first single.
I know you have read about the full album above and it is not yet out, but I hope it will get you excited. I am not a huge fan of psychedelia, but the approach that Panther Car is taking with this single is working miracles on me. I want to listen to the song over and over. The word Alchemy is floating in a hazy dream, with sprinkles of bright sun and fresh breeze.
Here is a little blurb from the band:
“Alchemy carries on the grand tradition of the Love Song. Above its immediate jingling bounce, Scott sings about finding internal growth through the love of another. Like a precious jewel refracting light, love exposes and illuminates actions and ideas. The impossible magic of alchemy has always been achieved, not physically, in the way that philosopher’s once dreamed of, but through the prism of the human spirit. Bathe in it.”
I am really excited about this new single and I am looking forward to listening to the full album once it is out.
Be sure to follow the band’s Bandcamp and Anything Bagel’s Bandcamp. There will be some yummy screen-printed tapes incoming (I love those very much).
You can follow the band on: