Heavy-psych duo Earth Tongue share the songs to soundtrack their perfect weekend.
If your idea of a relaxing weekend is binge-watching old Italian horror movies and having your face melted off, then look no further than Earth Tongue. The heavy-psych duo Gussie Larkin and Ezra Simons released Great Haunting last week, their second album which enters a more fast paced and energetic era, “possessed by relentless riffs and demonic distortion.”
Larkin and Simons are also in a relationship, which adds another dimension to the creative process. “There is a kind of telepathy that goes on between us,” Larkin says. “When we record we sing together, on opposite sides of the room. It helps us lock in and makes it a way more fun to record – especially when we got to scream ‘DEAAAAAATH!!!’ to each other during the recording of the song ‘Nightmare’.”
While they are currently halfway through a 50-date Europe tour, the pair took time out to cobble together the soundtrack to their perfect weekend, complete with a bit of Black Sabbath, some lashings of disco and an 81-year-old with a burning trident on his head.
Ty Segall – ‘Whisper’
Waking up to some big fuzz tones is the only way to blast out the cobwebs on a Saturday morning. We’re big fans of Ty Segall and we’ll be supporting him on tour throughout Europe and the UK this June/July. It’s hard to choose a favourite from his massive discography, but this song rocks. / Gussie Larkin
Arthur Brown – ‘Fire’
Arthur Brown is 81, and still performs wearing a burning trident on top of his head and extreme facepaint. That’s something to aspire to while you’re doing the after-brunch dishes. / GL
Hans Pucket – ‘Fuck My Life’
Nothing reminds us of home more than a good hoon on some Hans Pucket – an instant homesickness cure. Couldn’t count the number of times we’ve partied to this track live, and we never get sick of it. Hans Pucket rule! / Ezra Simons
Ben Woods – ‘Lozenge’
This song is criminally underrated! It’s a kiwi classic in my mind. Such a catchy melody and it comes in at under two minutes – so you can repeat it over and over again. / GL
Cortex – ‘Huit Octobre 1971’
This record has been on high rotation at Earth Tongue HQ ever since I blind bought this record from a Melbourne record store around 2016. The whole album is a masterpiece of early 70s French jazz/funk fusion. You might recognize ‘Huit Octobre 1971’ as it’s heavily sampled by MF Doom in the track ‘One Beer’. / ES
Goblin – ‘Profondo Rosso’
If you’re spending the weekend with Earth Tongue we’ll probably suggest putting on an Italian horror movie at some point. Profondo Rosso (Deep Red), directed by Dario Argento is Giallo 101, and the soundtrack brings the movie up in so many ways. Can’t recommend Goblin enough! / ES
Róisín Murphy – ‘Overpowered’
We’re living in Berlin now, so it’s time to move into the Saturday night component of the playlist… God I love Róisín Murphy – not only for her big hits but for her outrageous style. She can make a gigantic purple clown costume look like the coolest outfit in the world. I like to sing this song to warm up for a show or heading out. / GL
Neoton Familia – ‘Marathon’
If I ever hear this song in a club I’ll die right there on the dance floor. Eastern European early 80s cheesy disco gold. / ES
Black Sabbath – ‘A National Acrobat’
Can’t have a Sunday life-admin session without a healthy dose of Sabbath. They started it all, we owe them everything. / ES
Music Emporium – ‘Gentle Thursday’
A song about Thursday that would be perfect for a lazy Sunday. I found out about this 1960s band recently, from chatting to a guy at an Earth Tongue gig in Bremen, Germany. He was an avid vinyl record collector, and told me this was his most prized one – they sell for up to €4,000. I’ve since fallen in love with their lo-fi, melancholy songs. / GL
Listen to Earth Tongue’s new album Great Haunting on Bandcamp or Spotify.