Dead Mellotron

When I last wrote about Dead Mellotron Josh Frazier was going it alone, making a hazy lo-fi racket from his home in Louisiana. He’s now based in Baltimore and has teamed up with three more musicians, known only to us as CC, Aimee and Russell – together producing Dead Mellotron’s third album, Glitter. The album’s first single ‘Stranger’ dropped recently and it’s equally as epic and hazy as his previous two records, but has more depth and polish. At 2 minutes 55 seconds it’s just a short slice, but it’s got all the intensity and integrity of a much grander project that will be revealed on May 7 by the fantastic team at Sonic Cathedral. It’s twisted harmonies and layered guitars make it a bustling number, like a tapestry of shoegaze’s greatest hits.


The video that accompanies the song gives off a blissful ’90s nostalgia. Check it out below and be sure to grab your copy of Glitter when it drops on May 7. - Einstein Music Journal

The third album by Baltimore-based shoegazers Dead Mellotron sees the three-piece delivering a decisive knock-out of an LP.

Originally the solo project of Louisiana native Josh Frazier, a move to the East Coast saw the ‘Tron expand to a three piece and raise their profile considerably. In the producer’s chair Frazier keeps a tight reign over proceedings, the seven slivers of sun-dappled sonic bliss clocking in at less than 30 minutes.

Whether there are strictly only seven tracks is open to conjecture however, as like Loveless, the LP blurs the boundaries of each cut, opting for a song-between-songs structure.

Opener ‘Stranger’ is possibly the most orthodox piece here, honing in on a wiry post-punk riff and uplifting keyboard ballast that segues into a floating ambient soundscape.

While principally instrumental, the submerged vocals are mixed just loud enough to prettily embellish the tunes, with ‘Can’t See’, coming across like an escapee from Verve’s No Come Down set with its bare-bones arrangement and (relatively) clear lyrics. ‘Waiting to feel something/ They don’t know/Like we know’ making perfect sense for a band who once listed their primary influence as ‘complete apathy’.

The vocal-less ‘Bye’, cruises into view on a MBV-style flute loop and submerged guitar crunch, morphing into a two-note keyboard riff and looped drums, then onto a near-classical piano piece, the spacious arrangement able to wring the maximum out of the sparse elements.

The reasonably straight-ahead ‘Making Up’ meanwhile is a highpoint, displaying traces of fellow East Coasters The War on Drugs in its motorik rhythm track, sensuous guitar overload and drifting vocal melody, which in a less cruel world would be a deserved hit single.

The low-lying bassline and star-gazing guitars of the glacial ‘Oohahh’ achieves lift-off with a blazing four-note riff, before drifting skywards, segueing into the epic finale ‘Dying’.

Calling last orders, the track is possibly the highlight of the set, a mini-epic built on symphonic strings that steadily builds until a coruscating guitar din sends it through the roof before fading out in swooping, whammy bar bending MBV fashion.

If chief Valentine Kevin Shields deigns to release whatever it is he has been working on for the past two decades this year, he is strongly advised to investigate this album first, as the bar for any shoegazing LP has just been raised considerably higher. - Bearded Magazine

There is an unintentional air of mystery around the Baltimore based group Dead Mellotron. Formed around vocalist/ guitarist Josh Frazier and additional musicians Courtney Corcoran and Aimee Bowen their output to date has consisted of two self-released albums, Ghost Light Constellation (2009) and Dead Mellotron (2010).

Both albums are essentially rooted in fuzzy psychedelic rock and classic shoegaze, with some interesting ambient soundscapes adding an extra bit of colour to the mix. These fairly obscure albums came to the attention of UK label Sonic Cathedral, who went in search of Josh and eventually persuaded him to release another record. The resulting album, Glitter, will be released on May 7th and it is impressive enough to raise their profile considerably in this part of the world. With just 7 tracks and a 30 minute duration, the tracks are woven together to create the feeling of a continuous piece of music.

There is precious little information on the internet about Dead Mellotron, so we attempted to find out a bit more by asking Josh Frazier some questions. We get the impression that they're not big fans of interviews, but when their music is as good as 'Stranger', which you can hear below, it really doesn't matter.



I understand that Dead Mellotron was started by you as a solo project, did it grow out of another band or did you start from scratch on your own?

Yeah I wrote a bunch of really stupid songs and people liked them. It was never going to be a band thing.

The band is now a three-piece – how did you find the other musicians and how have they changed things?

Well, if it weren't for them we wouldn't be playing live. It's really loud now.

Did you move to Baltimore to make music or for other reasons? How is it different to Louisiana in terms of making music?

Other reasons, but it worked out. I don't like Louisiana.

You've made two self-released albums over the last few years, and this one Glitter is released on Sonic Cathedral - how does it differ from the previous two?

It doesn't really. It took a little longer to make I guess.

Also, how did you get together with Sonic Cathedral?

They contacted me a long time ago. I didn't really have anything I felt was worth releasing, and I probably would not have made this album. The artwork is really great; courtney made it.

Is it true that you started to record the new album and then scrapped the initial recordings to start over. What made you do that?

Yeah most of the songs were stupid. I think there's like 80 or so songs that will never be released.

Does it annoy you when your music is described as ‘shoegaze’, do you wish people could find a better term?

Yeah, we're trying to get people to call our music "new oasis". Or I guess 'newoasis' as one word would be okay too. It's going to be the cool new thing for 2012.

People will inevitably compare you to My Bloody Valentine or Deerhunter, what other bands do you consider influences? Are you named after the Neon Blonde song? Are they an influence?

I don't really have any influences, I just play what sounds good to me. We aren't named after anything.

When I searched for more of your music on the internet, I found two different cover versions; one of Beach House’s Saltwater and one of Justin Bieber’s Baby. What made you choose those songs to cover?

I liked the beach house song, and I really liked that Justin bieber song, so it made sense I guess. - The 405

Directed by Courtney Corcoran and taken from the Baltimore-based band's new album 'Glitter', which is released via Sonic Cathedral Records on May 21st. - NME

Today's tip Dead Mellotron is the project of Baltimore-via-Louisiana singer Josh Frazier, who's MBV-infected album 'Glitter' comes out on Sonic Cathedral on May 7.


We've got the first song from it below - 'Stranger' - which sounds a little bit like Beach House doing the dirty with Bradford Cox…


Not at all surprising seeing as Frazier's done this previously... - NME

No mellotrons here as far as we can tell, dead or otherwise. Instead, "Dead Lover" is all grainy, shimmering feedback haze washing over Josh Frazier's vocals, a dark shoegaze nod that comes at you with some force. The track comes from an upcoming EP from Frazier's Dead Mellotron project, who just released a self-titled full-length you can download off their MySpace. - Pitchfork

Dead Mellotron this week. I discovered Frazier Morgan’s luscious lo-fi shoegaze music last year on someone’s mixtape and been a fan ever since. He popped back up in my radar this summer and I’ve have been meaning to tell y’all about it.

You can download his newest self-titled release for free here. While you’re at it, pick up 2009’s stellar Ghost Light Constellation too. These are slow-burning jams ready for headphoning your way into fall. - YVYNYL

Dead Mellotron started life as a solo vehicle for singer and guitarist Josh Frazier, but after relocating from Louisiana to Baltimore and adding Courtney Corcoran and Aimee Bowen to the line up the project became a fully fledged band. “Glitter” is their third album and is the first to be released by the wonderful Sonic Cathedral records, a label which is surely the bands spiritual home.

“Glitter” does exactly what it says on the tin, it glitters, it shimmers and it explodes with euphoric melody and manages to pack a huge emotional punch, despite the lack of a clear lyrical dialogue. However this is not an instrumental album per se, for there are vocals within the songs, but they are buried so deep in the mix and layered beneath tumultuous walls of echo and reverb that even Norse god Heimdall (whose hearing powers were so keen he could hear the grass grow) would have trouble deciphering them. This is not a criticism or indeed a distraction, as the vocals are employed as a melodic device rather than a direct lyrical narrative which merely adds an almost celestial tone to the overall feel of the album.

The driving beauty of album opener “Stranger” sets the scene for an album that despite being short on length, is high on quality. “Can’t See” has the guitar jangle of early Creation records, whilst “Bye” “Making Up” and “OOhah” are almost symphonic shoegaze , producing an epic all enveloping sound that’s as good as anything My Bloody Valentine at their finest have produced. By the time the final strains of album closer “Dying” have faded one feels they have been bathed in the incandescent glow of stars colliding and exploding with each track emitting streaming bursts of white flame illuminating a vast dark void.* Truly wonderful

Album Rating = 8.5/10 - The VPME

Baltimore’s Dead Mellotron play shoegaze rock….scratch that, they play spectacular shoegaze rock. 2010's S/T is worth every single penny (really more it’s just $3 on Bandcamp). They now have a new LP coming out, Glitter, on Sonic Cathedral May 7th (on clear friggin vinyl – hells yes!). They’ve just dropped the first single off it, and I’m blown away. Dead Mellotron‘s sound has grown larger, fuller…radiant even. Can’t wait to let the needle drop on this. - Portals

The good folks over at Sonic Cathedral have released a new cut from Dead Mellotron‘s upcoming full length ‘Glitter’. Due to manufacturing delays, the album will now be released on May 21 (not May 7). But trust me, it will be worth the wait! I’ve had the privilege to give ‘Glitter’ a serious listen and this is an exceptional record from the Baltimore trio. But more on that next month! For now, don’t miss the fantastic guitar tones of ‘Making Up’. The plodding pace and withdrawn vocals will work wonders for your eardrums!
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