Ye Olde 2: At the End of Time serves as a sequel to the 2015 album Ye Olde, which imagined a band of heroes traveling through an imaginary medieval Brooklyn. This time the musicians reunite for a sci-fi quest, rocketing through millennia before dueling with alternate versions of themselves at the twilight of the universe. Influenced by sci-fi concept albums by Chick Corea and Lenny White, Spinal Tap, 1970s Hannah Barbara cartoons, and the rising scales of Ligeti’s etudes for piano, it’s a wildly fun album that showcases some serious musicianship.
You can preorder it on bandcamp now, and preview the first single “One Can Only Go Up”.
The Album release party is August 29 at Nublu with opener Todd Caldwell, Chris Parker, and Josh Dion.
YE OLDE (tracks 1-6, 8, 9)
Jacob Garchik – the Barrel Maker – trombone
Brandon Seabrook – the Trickling Stream – guitar
Mary Halvorson – the Guardian of the Rock – guitar
Jonathan Goldberger- the Mountain of Gold – guitar, baritone guitar
Vinnie Sperrazza – the Merchant of Iron – drums
SIMULACRUS (tracks 7, 8)
Jacob Garchik – the Barrel Maker – trombone
Ava Mendoza – the Mountain of Ice – guitar
Sean Moran – the Great Chieftain – guitar
Miles Okazaki – the Rocky Headlands – guitar
Josh Dion – the God of Wine and Revelry – drums
In the beginning there was the low E, the Big Bottom, the fundamental, from which all other notes bloomed. From there one can only go up. And so Ye Olde did proceed forward, transcending time, traveling through the centuries, stopping in 1578 for lunch, in search of exo microbiology and Dyson Spheres and von Neumann probes. And after 100 billion years, it was Big Crunch time, the contract was due, contractions got closer together, and all matter of the universe converged into a single point of infinite density and heat. One can only go down.
The singularity was born, the Omega Point breached, and a super intelligence arose in this postmordial stew, recreating history as a simulation, everything that ever happened rerun as a program inside the machine. Our heroes were reborn as simulacra, mirror selves, resurrected beings.
Battle Royale, Ye Olde vs Simulacrus, Count meets the Duke, except it’s Vinnie vs Josh. Only Jacob’s song remains the same; his neurons need multiple dimensions to fire.
In the end, because there is always an end (no Big Chill here), who will win? The ever expanding explanatory capabilities of the human mind? Or restructured consciousness, from a universe-scale game of atomic pinball?
Is all we see but a figment of a floating brain in the vast empty cold?
No! We exist and we are the band YE OLDE.
Editor’s note: We cannot vouch for the scientific accuracy of the plot of this album. Scientists disproved the contraction of the universe in 1998. Consult with a chatbot for verification.
Ye Olde plus Simulacrus pic by Ernest Stuart