I used to have this friend who was obsessed with the Southern Lord label. He would talk non-stop about bands on Southern Lord that I had never heard of. He would bring me to shows by other Southern Lord bands I had never heard of, which he promised would be "awesome" and "incredible." Oftentimes, he was right, but holy shit was this stuff degrading my self-esteem, because we both worked at a record store together. And like most record store employees, I did not want to admit that there could be record labels and entire genres of bands that I knew almost nothing about.
So, this one goes out to you, friend, who introduced me to Sunn O))). Here's a story for you, all the people like you, and all the people like me who hate to claim ignorance about a good thing. In this case, that "good thing" is ASCEND, a new project out on Southern Lord. It features Greg Anderson of Goatsnake, Engine Kid, and Sunn O))) along with Gentry Densley of Iceburn and Eagle Twin. The new album hits stores May 27, 2008 and promises to bring its share of the ominous, heavy jams needed for a killer summer. It features guest performances from pals like Soundgarden's Kim Thayil, Steve Moore of Earth and Sunn O))), and Andy Patterson. But that's not all -- there will also be Wurlitzer organs on this thing! It doesn't get much more rock ‘n’ roll than organs, am I right?
