Hooveriii x Rich Ruth at The Spot on Kirk

Hooveriii

West-coast fever dream denizens Hooveriii have been cracking the cosmic egg for years now, slowly amassing a catalog of releases scrawled with garage, glam, psych-pop and prog. Initially started as the solo guise of Bert Hoover (Jesus Sons, Mind Meld, GROOP), the band has evolved into an enigmatic magnet for L.A. heads and likeminded wanderers as their ranks have swelled and releases grew from bedroom burners to widescreen wonders. Carving their way out of a long tour following the release of their last album, Pointe, the band was instantly ready to return to the task of new material. Self-imposing a tight timeframe, the band wrote the bulk of the new record in in a month and entered John Dwyer’s short-lived, but much loved, psych-punk pressure cooker Discount Mirrors with Eric Bauer at the controls. Making full use of Bauer’s prowess with big, bilious guitars, the resulting Manhunter is one of the band’s most massive records yet.

With Bauer behind the boards, the goal was to grow the album’s sound to massive proportions; a record ripped on guitars and fed on amplifier fumes. Not that the band’s light on riffs in their catalog, but here, each song growls with an instinctual catharsis. The tighter turnaround added to a more prominent sense of urgency and an ozone-fried tension in the air. That tension turns the album darker. Fueled by a time of personal upheaval for Hoover, the record’s themes ruminate on discomfort and unease. The darkness smelts with a surreal paranoia that seeps in from van rides and hotel hole-ups spent ingesting dark alleys and double crosses in the films of Michael Mann and William Freidkin. The album’s title nods to Mann’s Manhunter, a film that informed the record’s live wire air and creeping dread. Like their cinematic counterparts, more than a few tracks skid around corners with a look over their shoulder — wild-eyed, popped vein rockers sipping adrenaline by the ounce.

True to Hooveriii’s history, the assembled crew have already evolved, but left here in the blast shadow of the session the listener can hear them at their most hackled. Hoover and Matthew Zuk’s guitars have been mutated to monstrous heights by Bauer. Paco Casanova’s synths slither through darkened corners, coiled with menace, and Modaff and Mirblouk anchor the record with the constant crush of rhythm. The band even brings in Sheer Mag’s Kyle Seely to kick the heat and sear a solo on “Heaven At The Gates.” At its core Manhunter devours the speakers, breathless and bitten, but as it skids to a close on the penultimate track, “Godawful Planet,” the band takes a moment of reflection after the caffeinated careen of the last thirteen tracks. The record was written long before the societal walls were as close to crushing as they are now, but even then, the writing on them was apparent. “It’s some God awful planet, “sings Hoover, “I can’t stay.” Truer words, as they say. But, for now, Manhunter’s here to give you a stick to bite on during the dire times. We’re gonna need it.

Rich Ruth

Recorded under a loft bed in the guest bedroom of his Nashville home, Michael Ruth aka Rich Ruth’s I Survived, It’s Over starts in a humble space. And while many contemporary music projects are produced in such an environment, I Survived, It’s Over sets itself apart in its transformative properties as well as its transparency.

What we have here is honest sound exploration, session musician-level instrumentation, and a true love for nature run through the fingers of a dude who can channel some acute and undeniable magic.

This music goes deep.

“I conceived much of this record amidst the quiet and tumult of 2020 in my neighborhood that had recently been ravaged by a tornado,” Ruth recalls, “I spent most of my days working on these pieces between bicycle rides – watching the beautiful Tennessee ecosystem flourish in Shelby Park, listening to Keith Jarrett’s The Koln Concert and John Coltrane’s Ascension.”

Underneath the swell of the strings and the shredding of the guitars, this record has hard working, rustbelt, drum-heavy roots all over it (which makes sense as Ruth hails from outside of Toledo, the album was mixed by John McEntire from Chicago band Tortoise). Many of the flutes, saxophones, pedal steel, and other instruments were recorded remotely because we live in the future, but this only adds to the collage of sampled and sample-able material that Rich Ruth has to offer. The organic relationships between the artist and other musicians on the album is evident even in the compilation style sampling that needs to occur in putting such a project together.

“Working on this music is a daily meditation,” says Ruth. “I constantly experiment with sound until it reflects the way I am feeling and attempt to sculpt something meaningful from it. Through years of being a touring musician, it is a constant inspiration and privilege to collaborate with the individuals that graced this record with their voices.”

And those relationships pay off, because I Survived, It’s Over is a sonic meal. It’s rich (no pun intended) with massive instrumentation that’s usually reserved for more symphonic delights. But at the same time it’s simple and leaves space to breathe–space you didn’t know you needed.

In his own words; “I Survived, It’s Over is a meditation on healing, confronting trauma, surrendering, and finding peace. I wanted to encapsulate the tranquility and disarray found within this process.”

Ruth’s heart and the peace that his presence produces is all over this album. And despite his midwestern humility and willingness to brush off any praise, he’s put together something really special that carries its own weight. It’s the kind of record that only comes around every once in a while and it’s worthy of all the head-bobs, acclaim, and celebratory potlucks that Mike and the gang have coming their way. – Mic Fox, 2022

Saturday, June 7th, 2025

Doors 7:30pm | Starts 8:00pm

$15 Advance | $18 Day of Show