Release Date: June 23, 2015
Label: Casino Trash Records / CT#OO8
Format: 3 Song Tape EP
First 150 tapes come w/ handmade TVC stickers.
SOLD OUT
About:
Marion Walker’s “Serious Picnic” tape EP came out on Casino Trash Records (Seattle, WA) on June 23, 2015. Though technically a 3-part suite, the 11-minute and 11-second EP is meant to be consumed in its entirety, as one whole beast.
The EP opens up with, “Seriously,” a bouncy fuzzed out eulogy, and blasts straight into the churning, heady vibes of “Silver Drone.” Then “Volunteers” leads you into an electric abyss and finally spits you out in a bittersweet epilogue.
The initial melodies for “Serious Picnic” were developed while trapped in the van on a rainy trip in The Smoky Mountains, and later, while hiding out in the attic above a friend’s bar in Asheville, NC. The songs were polished in the corner of a wood shop in the steamy backwoods of Florida and recorded upon Marion Walker’s return to their home-base on the West Coast in early 2015.
Reviews:
“It’s possible that this is more than one song, but who really knows? Marion Walker plays an eleven-minute mass of music that all flows beautifully in a psych-rock haze. I’m reminded of shoegaze and hints of early My Bloody Valentine without the troublesome ego that permeated those worlds. Female and male vocals intertwine throughout to create otherworldly harmonies that captivate and enchant. Got it? Good.”
– Greg, Maximum Rock ‘n’ Roll
“Marion Walker’s EP Serious Picnic came across my desk recently, and it is a treat. It’s fuzzy, it’s buzzy, it’s muscular, mysterious, and maybe even a little dangerous. There is a shiv hidden in this band’s glovebox.”
– Chad Werner, News Whistle
“Gritty garage rock with serious psychedelic undertones. In other words, it’s riff rawk that never hesitates to wander away from aggression to meditative passages, be they early-‘70s doom jams, screaming guitar solos, or both. At a scant 11 minutes, the new ‘Serious Picnic EP’ might seem short, but it’s actually a finely orchestrated stoner suite.”
– Adrien Begrand, PopMatters
“‘Silver Drone’ takes you on a guitar drone drive out of the belly of the beast toward the far off beams from an unknown daylight.”
– Sjimon Gompers, Impose Magazine
“Have you got your dancing shoes at the ready? ‘Seriously’ is a punk rock infused floor shaker with a pop underbelly reminiscent of Vivian Girls, complete with a call and response, sing-along refrain. ‘Silver Drone’ is, as you’d expect, a swirling psych-tinged whirlwind with a hypnotic, riff heavy dirge sitting resplendently at the eye of the storm. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.”
– Killer Ponytail
“‘Serious Picnic,’ Reno-based psych trio Marion Walker’s new single, wastes no time hitting you with the hook: the first 30 seconds are just the right ratio of pop harmony, humidity-fried guitars, and cymbal-riding backbeat. The rest of their oeuvre follows suit, a pleasing though familiar trip through classic-rock moves and glam flirtations. That these sun-kissed stoners hail from Reno begins to make perfect sense the longer you listen: It’s grungy, cheapo garage that will put the world’s biggest little smile on your face.”
– Kyle Fleck, The Stranger
“…it would be easy to become wrapped up in the electrically charged blanket they [Marion Walker] are wearing: it’s exactly what the listeners would want. …a unique dichotomy of high energy and sullen angst.”
– Jeremy Wood, Innocent Words
Credits:
Guitar, Keys, Vocals – Jessie Marion Smith
Guitar, Vocals – Kyle Walker Akins
Drums – Donovan Jordan Williams
Bass – Clark Carvil Demeritt
Written, Produced – Jessie Marion Smith & Kyle Walker Akins
Engineered, Mixed – Kyle Walker Akins
Mastered – Morgan Travis at MGAM
Album Cover Art – Thomas Vincent Chapel
Album Cover Layout Design – Jessie Marion Smith