The Space Merchants - Kiss The Dirt

Cover designed by Braulio Amado PLUS a 100+ page printed graphic novel featuring the artwork of Joshua Ray Stephens.Somewhere between the astral plane and the sticky floors of a biker bar-that's the sonic zone inhabited by Kiss the Dirt. At once heavy and propulsive, blissed out and Southern fried, the highly anticipated sophomore release from Brooklyn's The Space Merchants sits in constant tension between grit and transcendence.Grammy-winning engineer James Brown (Foo Fighters, Spoon, Kings of Leon) produced and mixed the record, building on the promise of the band's acclaimed 2015 debut. That record's sunny psych vibes earned raves from the likes of Magnet and scored a KEXP song of the day.The Space Merchants, though, took their name from a '50s sci-fi novel. And on Kiss the Dirt they set their controls for the ends of infinity, with a thematic sweep that explores notions of mortality, rebirth and chaos. Brown's production adds muscle and finesse, recalling Black Mountain in joining Sabbath-weight power moves and T. Rexian swagger to the earthy groove of The Band and Bobbie Gentry's crossover twang. But it's Mike Guggino and Ani Monteleone's lazer-guided harmonies that, coupled with a layer of atmospheric psych/space tones, launch these ten songs into the cosmos.On the title track drummer Carter Logan (also one half of Jim Jarmusch's musical vehicle, Sqürl) and bassist Aileen Brophy lay down supple slabs of rhythm for Guggino's slithery riffs and Monteleone's organ pads. Guggino and Monteleone trade vocals, toggling between her pure-as-light clarity and his silky crooner's rock as they interrogate cosmic forces ("I named a lot of stars/but I never named the sun/so do you think it knows like I know?"). A Fleetwood Mac-worthy harmony, supported by Brophy on backing vocals, sets up an ascendant and (as usual) ripping Guggino solo.Another standout, "Not Tonight" punctuates its revved up last-dance-in-a-cosmic-honkytonk groove with explosive tremolo bursts that would make Jason Pierce proud. While "All the Love" struts in low and slow, slinking toward an epic jam that crescendos with crashing drums and taught, twined guitar lines before drifting back to Earth and summoning an even bigger wave of sound in the coda. A Stone Roses-style Brit pop jangler, side 2 opener "The Edge of the World" adds another, brighter hue to the aural palette.Kiss the Dirt features cover art by internationally renowned artist and designer Braulio Amado (who has worked on design projects for Beck). And it's accompanied by a 100-page psychedelic sci-fi graphic novel illustrated by Joshua Ray Stevens (creator of album art for Sub Pop's hip hop supergroup Shabazz Palaces). Inspired in part by a Donovan interview, the novel explores notions of mortality, entropy, chaos and control. In it, the band transcends time and space to drink with Alexander the Great from his victory chalice only moments before his death and the collapse of his empire. "The songs on the record are all about being painfully aware of the limitations of mortality," Guggino says. "We are set adrift in a sea of chaos that is the universe, so the graphic novel envisions the opposite-a universe where we are in control, but only for a moment."Elsewhere Guggino's "limitations of mortality" manifest as world-weary laments ("I've done too much living for this world/I know that it hurts") and country-style narratives. "Not Tonight", for example, is a story of star-crossed dance floor romance while "City Lights" tells the tale of a sordid breakup ("Leave your coat on 'cause you ain't gonna come inside"). But on Kiss the Dirt, everything rooted in the ways of the world is just a means for transcending it. So it's no surprise when you hear the record's last lyric: "In that fire I'll be reborn/And I wanna help it burn".