Pontiak will be at Littlefield with Thrill Jockey labelmates White Hills, previewing songs from their upcoming discs (photo by Lino Brunetti)
Littlefield
622 Degraw St.
Saturday, December 10, $10-$12, 10:00
www.littlefieldnyc.com
www.thrilljockey.com
One of our favorite labels, Chicago’s Thrill Jockey, is offering a little taste of things to come with a great double bill Saturday night at Littlefield in Brooklyn, with local natives White Hills and Virginia’s Pontiak highlighting songs from their upcoming records. In just the last couple of years, space-rock pioneers White Hills — guitarist Dave W. and bassist Ego Sensation — have released such far-out head trips as H-p1, Heads on Fire, the eponymous White Hills, and the twelve-inch Stolen Stars Left for No One (which features the amazing “Drift Away” and is currently back in stock in a very limited quantity). Wearing intergalactic costumes and electric face paint, White Hills take off for dimensions unknown in their live shows, captured on the Christmas release Live at Roadburn 2011. At Littlefield, they’ll be previewing songs from their March 2012 record, Frying on This Rock, which promises to be another energetic and unpredictable sojourn, with such tracks as “Pads of Light,” “Robot Stomp,” and “Song of Everything.” They’ll be joined by labelmates Pontiak, who will be giving concertgoers an advance look at their amazing new disc, Echo Ono, which Thrill Jockey will be releasing on February 21. Recorded by brothers Van, Lain, and Jennings Carney at their farm studio, Echo Ono is a sonic concept album in which the band seeks to capture texture and color, incorporating classic amps and instrumentation. From the explosive psychedelic opening of “Lions of Least” to the ass-kicking finale, the guitar-and-drums freak-out “Panoptica,” Pontiak takes the band to a whole new level. The middle of the record gets more melodic, as soaring harmonies and acoustic guitars lift the back-to-back duo of “The Expanding Sky” and “Silver Shadow,” while “Royal Colors” includes a massive guitar jam. Along the way, the brothers Carney give nods to Pink Floyd, the Grateful Dead, and even Ozzie. Make sure you’re ready for one loud, crazy, psychedelic night. (And if that’s not enough Thrill Jockey for you, Arbouretum will be at Union Pool on Saturday night as well, touring behind their 2011 disc, The Gathering.)