Protons and Electrons: Atom 8 – Jilted Dragon / Turbo Lightning – Give a Man A BrainProtons and Electrons: Atom 8 – Jilted Dragon / Turbo Lightning – Give a Man A Brain

Protons and Electrons Atom 8 is up to listen to and pre-order*
Our song is Jilted Dragon, a song that may or not be about Smaug the dragon from the Hobbit, and may or may not be about one of Conan’s cats. Either way, it’s basically a heavy-ish surf song about the internal mindset and motivations of a frequently cranky creature.

On the other side we have Turbo Lightning! One of the bands of the unsinkable Jeff Byron of old pals The Mae Shi. Conan and Jeff go way back, and both have had their ups and downs, both are still here and doing their thing as hard as they can and with aplomb and vigor. Aplomb! Vigor!
In any case: side note, TL singer Dana is also the badass behind the harmony vocals in Quid Pro Quo.

ok? Ok!

(*not shipping until May though, so be aware!)

Protons and Electrons: Atom 7 – Armies of the Mind / The God Eaters – Cluster Fuck Shit ShowProtons and Electrons: Atom 7 – Armies of the Mind / The God Eaters – Cluster Fuck Shit Show

https://neutronfriends.bandcamp.com/album/protons-and-electrons-atom-7-armies-of-the-mind-the-god-eaters-cluster-fuck-shit-show

Protons and Electrons: Atom 7 – Armies of the Mind / The God Eaters – Cluster Fuck Shit Show
Atom 7 is now available to stream online and for advance purchase.

The God Eaters! The pride of Marquette, Michigan, hidden away in the upper peninsula. A powerful nervy band that aggressively follows their own compass and puts forth a righteous and uncompromising noise. Drummer Nick has filled in for neutronfriends many, many times, and guitar player Dylan has filled in on guitar as well.

Fiendishly creative and productive, they are band that I hope has a long and storied career.

Armies of the Mind is a song that’s basically two choruses. It gets in, does it’s thing, gets out. That’s the idea. Here’s what Jimmy of The Vega Bodegas and formerly of Future of the Left had to say about it. :

” I think this just became the greatest song of 2018 for me. Like Roky Erickson on a motorbike on fire & I’m hitching a ride with nothing but leather trousers on. Such a monster of a riff! “

Protons and Electrons: Atom 6 – Petulant Messiah / Rally – HVACProtons and Electrons: Atom 6 – Petulant Messiah / Rally – HVAC

Rally, a simple one word name, but a hell of a band. They are both catchy but have some skronk and grind. Michael from Rally has been a NeutronFriends sideman on the guitar numerous times, drummer Dan not only ran Conan and Tony’s old label… but he has sat in with NeutronFriends on drums as well. I’m pretty sure this is their first release, looking forward to many more!

Oh yeah, NeutronFriends side is about messianic figures that turn out to be total jerks. It happens. The badass leads at the end are all NeutronFriends live guitar player Erica Strout of Motherfucker.

Protons and Electrons: Atom 5 – This is the Line / Reptoid – No HumanProtons and Electrons: Atom 5 – This is the Line / Reptoid – No Human

Protons and Electrons: Atom 5 – This is the Line / Reptoid – No Human

What is there to say about the magificent Reptoid? A sight to behold and the only live act I can think of that sounds like an actual alien invasion. There’s a human that has a passing similarity that has held down the drum position in some live Neutron Friends outings. Said human is a tireless runner of sound and pizza aficionado, but that has nothing to do with the absolutely terrifying alien presence that is the mighty REPTOID. Prepare yourself humans! Prepare yourself.

Oh yeah, our song features the Earthquaker Devices Bit Commander heavily. However, it does not sound like Lardo. Adjust your expectations accordingly.

Protons and Electrons: Atom 4 – Paved Age / Nonagon – Saffir​-​SimpsonProtons and Electrons: Atom 4 – Paved Age / Nonagon – Saffir​-​Simpson

Atom 4 of the Protons and Electrons series is now available. The Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends side is a song called “Paved Age”, which is a song that is ostensibly about the founding of the Interstate Highway System.

The other side features the mighty Nonagon, with their song Saffir-Simpson.

Atom 4 of Protons and Electrons features the inimitable of Chicago, a scrappy and joyous noiserock/post-punk trio whose heart and tenacity have been as inspiring as their songs. A particularly blisteringly and badass set in 2014 that reminded me of everything I loved about making music was the clinching factor for putting together what would become Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends. I’m not saying you can blame them DIRECTLY, but… partial blame, sure. -Conan

Like all of the Protons and Electrons series, this is a digital single, paired with a physical 7″ release that is available to mail order. There will be 12 of these in total. As per normal, free to listen to… $2 for a download and you can preorder the limited edition 7″ (only 300 ever!) all at the link. Spread the word around…