Allah-Las photo Nolan Hall
‘Buffalo Nickel’ is the new single from LA-based group Allah-Las. A lithe, summery guitar pop tune that packs a lot of punch into its two and a half minute runtime, it serves as the perfect taster for their new album ‘Worship The Sun’. And if that’s not exciting enough- they’ve also announced a Rough Trade in-store for the 15th September.
‘Worship The Sun’ is an apt title for the follow-up to Allah-Las’ self-titled 2012 debut. When The Distillery, the all-analogue studio in which their eponymous debut album was recorded closed its doors for the final time, Los Angeles’ Allah-Las could easily have forgone their sound and turned to a nondescript location to record. Yet ‘Worship The Sun’ is a continuation in the band’s authentic West Coast vibe – staying true to their homegrown dwellings it was laid down in numerous locations across LA.
Whether you know Allah-Las as the stockroom boys of LA crate-diggers’ mecca Amoeba Music, the people behind the excellent Reverberation Radio mixes or simply as Matthew Correia (drums), Spencer Dunham (bass), Miles Michaud (lead vocal/guitar), and Pedrum Siadatian (lead guitar) – four record fiends raised on a strict diet of sunshine, The Gories, Flamin’ Groovies, Further, and Teenage Shutdown compilations – LA beach bums, they’re not.
The band wrote ‘Buffalo Nickel’ and ‘Worship The Sun’ away from distractions in Baja and Topanga Canyon amongst other locations before once again hooking up with long-time friend and debut album producer, Nick Waterhouse, and Dan Horne of Beachwood Sparks and Jonathan Wilson’s band, who played a large role in the album’s recording, production and engineering.
While Allah-Las was shaped by the band’s time spent in the LA live circuit’s clubs and dive bars Worship The Sun is a real studio record that sees the band continue with their collective vocal harmonies (all four members sing lead on the new album) whilst expanding their sound through piano, steel pedal guitar and vibraphone. As the band put it: “Our first record was worked out as we played live. Worship The Sun was arranged within the studio so we experimented with different instrumentation as the songs developed.”
‘Buffalo Nickel’ taken from ‘Worship The Sun’, the new album due 6th October 2014
Live dates
21 Sept – Brighton, The Haunt
22 Sept – Nottingham, Bodega
24 Sept – London, Oval Space
26 Sept – Liverpool, Liverpool Psych Fest
28 Sept – Dublin, Workman’s Club
29 Sept – Glasgow, Broadcast
30 Sept – Edinburgh, Electric Circus
02 Oct – Sheffield, Harley
03 Oct – Birmingham, Hare & Hounds
04 Oct – Bristol, Start The Bus
