''Build Your Beast a Fire'' is the second studio album by the American
psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
band
Weird Owl
Weird Owl are an American psychedelic rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2004. Their first recording, ''Nuclear Psychology'', was released in 2007. Their debut studio album, ''Ever the Silver Cord Be Loosed'', was released in 2009 by ...
, released on July 26, 2011 by
Tee Pee Records. The album was released following their 2009 album ''
Ever the Silver Cord Be Loosed
''Ever the Silver Cord Be Loosed'' is the first studio album by the American psychedelic rock band Weird Owl, released by the label Tee Pee Records on February 17, 2009. The album was released following their 2007 Extended play, EP entitled ''Nu ...
''.
Recording
The initial recording of the album was completed at Verdant Studio in
Vermont with Justin Pizzoferrato, followed by further recording and
mixing at the Drawing Room in
Kingston, New York with
Justin Rice. Trevor Tyrrell, guitarist and lead vocalist for Weird Owl, when asked about lyrical inspirations for the album, stated that "While the lyrics do bear some allusion to certain
occult
The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...
practices, I also feel a kinship on a visceral and primordial level: the act of watching fire and rejoicing in both its creative and destructive power. The manner of singing resembles a chant that might be heard at some sort of
shamanistic rite held on the moon long ago."
Tyrrell said this of the album overall:
The album is part magical, part scientific; part futuristic, part ancient; part muscular, part psychological; part heavenly and part terrestrial. It dwells perfectly in a universe of its own creation.
Critical reception
Steven Hyden
Steven Hyden (born September 7, 1977) is an American music critic, author, and podcast host. He is the author of the books ''Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me'' (2016, on rivalries in pop music history), ''Twilight of the Gods'' (2018, on the his ...
of ''
The A.V. Club'' gave the album a positive review, writing that the album's songs were "tighter and more melodic" than those of Weird Owl's previous endeavors, noting that ''Build Your Beast a Fire'' "
akescues from
Hawkwind, early
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
, and
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...
's '
Space Truckin''", and stating that it gives Weird Owl's "psychedelic explorations a newfound sense of purpose".
Julian Woolsey of the website ''Rock Edition'' wrote that the album "flows like a classic Floyd or
Spirit album, with
alchemical themes, pastoral interludes, synthesizer experiments, and explosions of rock".
Christopher Weingarten of ''
The Village Voice'' wrote that the album "has a cosmic lilt and smoky churn, somewhere between ritual and
choogle".
Track listing
Personnel
* Trevor Tyrrell – guitar, lead vocals
* Jon Rudd – guitar
* Kenneth Cook – bass guitar, keyboards,
synths, back-up vocals
* Sean Reynolds – drums
* John Cassidy – keyboards, synths
References
2011 albums
Weird Owl albums
Tee Pee Records albums
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