Ms. Moneynine’s gone Dirty Water crazy, this Turkey Day weekend! Yeah, you right! Anyway, for my 50thirdand3rd Album of The Week, I’ve decided to shake things up a little with some highly experimental Hellenistic post punk art rock via The Callas w/ Lee Ranaldo, Trouble And Desire.
The Callas: (from left) Lakis Ionas (bass, vocals), Chrysanthi Tsoukala (drums, vocals), Aris Ionas (guitar, vocals), Marilena Petridou (percussion), Chris Bekiris (guitar).
Brothers Lakis and Aris Ionas aka The Callas are multimedia artists based in Athens, Greece and publishers of underground art/music/culture magazines Lust and Velvet . The Ionas Brothers also host underground bands, DJ sets and art exhibits at their studio, the Velvet Gallery as well filmmakers who first teamed up with Lee Ranaldo on their recent film, The Great Eastern.
Courtesy of The Callas, Dirty Water Records, Inner Ear Records.
Their latest album, Trouble And Desire certainly lives up to its name, it’s moody, it’s intense, and conjures up beauty and ritual magick. Twists and turns abound on this sinister, smoke-filled Shaman’s trek through NYC. Pulsating with menacing rhythms and hypnotic cadences, the opening half transports from a ritual ceremony (invoking an Octopus deity of some kind, presumably. Nereus? Cthulhu?) in the back of a SoHo art gallery and plunges us onto the city streets to chase our drunken passions. We’re promptly whisked away from our artsy hedonism and summoned back to our Cephalopod master (Scylla? Kanaloa?) for a “huge warm hug?” Nope, we’re not getting off that easy, though. The Kraken wants a sacrifice! What do we do? Quick, the Acid Books! Crazy kids! Hey, think the Greek Consulate’s hiring translators?
Get moody, get weird, get Trouble And Desire from The Callas w/ Lee Ranaldo it’s out now on Bandcamp from Dirty Water Records and Inner Ear Records!
[bandcamp width=400 height=472 album=2026846064 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=small]
And for you continental jet-setter types, The Callas are currently touring in support of Trouble And Desire (sans Lee Ranaldo). Catch ’em live and loud!
FRI 30 NOV – ATHENS – Χοροστασιον
THU 13 DEC – PARIS – MinesMagnétique Nord 5 — Festival d’hiver du Collectif MU
And if you’re hungry for more, The Callas’ upcoming LP Half Kiss Half Pain is due out January 29th. Go on, have another!
