Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends Release New Album

Just in time for the spring equinox comes The Way of the Neutron, the latest album from Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends out of Oakland, California.

The new LP, released today on Seismic Wave Entertainment, is an earnest, enjoyable day trip through the California desert, reconfiguring the dusty tracks left by such groups as Kyuss, Fu Manchu and Masters of Reality. It’s big smart rock for freaks and geeks, the kinds of kids who were raised on an older sibling’s collection of Sabbath, KISS and Cheap Trick vinyl but channeled its influence through a steady diet of Fugazi.

“A case study in pugnacious perseverance, a combination of uncompromising heavy riffs and unorthodox melody,” Neutron himself tells us of the album. “The Way of the Neutron is a mission statement and life ethos as much as a record. (But it is a very good record.) Not easily slotted in one genre, but a substantial rock record full of depth, nuance and steely eyed attitude. Relentless!”

Produced by the mighty Toshi Kasai, Neutron is joined by a massive rhythm section on The Way of the Neutron featuring Dale Crover of The Melvins on drums and Coliseum bassist Tony Ash, who provide a formidable bottom end for Neutron’s masterful riffery. 

Talking about the first single off the album, Neutron states:

“’Who Dares?’ Is a mission statement song. Most attributable to something a super villain would scream as a hero enters the room, this is a song about not just surviving but thriving often against insurmountable odds. One challenge at a time, one step at a time, one punch at time, one round at a time. Featuring a simple guitar hook and a relentless menacing main riff, it is a motivational soundtrack to dogged persistence. Who Dares? I’m the one who dares.”

Shellac’s Bob Weston might’ve put it best when he declared, “It’s heavy maaaaaan.”

Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends are playing select dates in the Midwest next week — including a Chicago stop at Liar’s Club — before spending April on tour in Japan. See dates below. 

 

Tracklist:

1.Who Dares

2.Sharks Keep Moving

3.A Villain of Circumstance

4.Exit Interview

5.Official Business

6.Relentless

7.A Dream of Flight

8.Chekhov’s Grift 

9.Integrity Wins Again

10.Bulletproof Tiger

11.The Burden of Dreams

12.The Way

UPCOMING TOUR-DATES:

March 27 – Chicago, IL – Liar’s Club – w/Mr Phylzzz, Ghost Forest

March 28th – Madison, WI – Mickey’s – w/Mr Phylzzz

March 29th – WILD ANTCS – X-Ray Arcade, Milwaukee, WI 

Japanese leg:

April 1 – Nakano City, Tokyo – Moon Step 

April 2 – Shibuya, Tokyo – Cyclone

April 3 – Shibuya, Tokyo – Ruby Room 

April 4 – Hachioji-shi, Tokyo – Hachioji RIPS 

April 5 – Fukuyama City, Hiroshima – 5 Cent 

April 6 – Nanamacho, Aoi Ward, Shizuoka City – Shizuoka live house Sogen 

April 8 – Amagasaki, Hyogo – Tora  

April 9 – Osaka – Hokage 

April 10 – Tokushima City, Ginza – Crowbar 

April 11 – Shibuya, Tokyo, Nishihara – Club Heavy Sick 

April 12 – Kawasaki – Live House Ys 

More U.S. tour-dates are coming out soon…