Though it seemed like a typical night at Rozz-Tox, it was the album release event for The Land of Blood and Sunshine’s latest LP, “Lady and the Trance” sponsored by Cartouche Records.
At a little after 9 pm things began to kick off. The opening act, Idpyramid, was introduced to a packed house on a stage at smaller than a dorm room.
Idpyramid effectively hyped the crowd with an eclectic mix of deep bass and classic drums, creating a hazy, atmospheric melody.
The psychedelic sound mixed with the dazzling visual effects that Rozz-Tox projects onto the famous red curtain hanging behind the stage made it easy to get lost in the synthwave soundscape.
While waiting for the next band, Condor and Jaybird, art was being displayed on the second floor.
The frontman of The Land of Blood and Sunshine, Nicholas Beard, along with performing that night, was also selling his own art pieces.
Displayed on the second floor, the works were carefully clothes-pinned to lines of string tied across the wall.  It was reminiscent of the work of artist Chris Bilheimer and his better known cover art for In an Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel.
Many of the pieces seemed to have Buddhist influences, with images like the hand of Buddha being incorporated. Others had a Southwestern feel, with deserts and skulls being thrown into the mix.
The art was illustrated with mostly copic markers and watercolor on paper; one or two paintings were even done on cardboard similar to the style of Bill Traylor. 
By the end of the night, roughly half of the illustrations had been purchased and taken home by a philanthropic attendee.
Condor & Jaybird filled the room with angsty lyrics and twangy guitars. There was the purposeful fuzz of amp feedback vibrating through a guitar solo that would make Jack White proud, with necessary copious amounts of head-banging and hair-flipping.
This six-member group, The Land of Blood and Sunshine, comprised of founders Joel Downs and Nicholas Beard, accompanied by Bo Becker, Garrett Goodman, Bryan Leger and Danielle Downs was formed in 2008 and seemed earnestly shocked at the turnout.
Beard later said that it’s “different” from where they usually performed, and throughout the set expressed his gratitude to the audience.
The Land of Blood and Sunshine’s new album, aptly titled Lady and the Trance, had a persistent sense of movement with a continuous flowing melody that propels the listener to swing their head as hard as they can without giving themselves whiplash.
The psychedelic garage rockers have cleaned up their sound from their last album, but remain crude storytellers who offer up a wide spectrum of sounds, not limited to their haunting harmonization and strange stomping.
Since melodies are the essence of this music, this album was characterized by the dark and more mysterious. Filled with bass that snakes up your entire body, rumbling the ground.
Overall, The Land of Blood and Sunshine crafts a lovely continuity that both leaves the listener wanting more while inevitably rolling back into itself.
The band has said that they plan on continuing to celebrate the album release by “playing some great shows across the Midwest over the next couple months.”
They said were excited to play another show at Rozz-Tox, where they were so enthusiastically welcomed.
They call Lady and the Trance more realized and matured than their previous records, and remark that they are incredibly pleased with the record, claiming it “encompasses everything [they] have done so far.”
Overall, it was a fantastic show brought to life by a down-to earth band from Marshalltown, Iowa who were just happy to be playing a gig for an excited crowd.
The music and albums of Idpyramid, Condor & Jaybird, and The Land of blood and sunshine can be found for purchase through the band’s websites, on Bandcamp.com, and other mp3 sources such as Itunes and Amazon. For more information on upcoming shows, check out the schedule for Rozz-Tox at their webpage www.rozztox.com