The Icelandic composer Johann Johannsson has now signed to 4AD, after a couple of mighty fine albums released through Touch; and 4AD is certainly the right outlet for this album, as Johannson's grandiose scores for orchestral arrangements, vocal chorales, and electronics enjoys the same weighty sentimentality heard in many a Dead Can Dance or This Mortal Coil album. Lush, cinematic, and utterly dramatic, this album curiously is not a soundtrack (although it has all of the repeating leitmotifs and syrupy pathos of a big budget Hollywood film of the tragic / romantic genre); rather Johannsson contextualizes all of these majestic, post-classical elements as a tribute to the IBM 1401, a state of the art computer from 1960. The computer came with a audio training manual from which he culled samples about the machine's maintenance. While some of the exchanges of Michael Nyman-esque orchestral phrases with the authoritarian vocals from the manual are quite interesting, the album is wholly saccharine in scope, rendering whatever nostalgia for technologies past as something of a quaint detour from the orchestral bombast.
A reissue of the 2004 album Virdulegu Forsetar from Iceland's post-classical composer Johann Johannsson. Since the release of this album, Johannsson has jumped from Touch to 4AD, with international acclaim following right along. Virdulegu Forsetar is an hour long piece written for 11 brass players (trumpets, horns, tuba), percussion (Glockenspiel and bells), electronics, organs and piano. Virdulegu is all brooding, slow building, minor key, cinematic epic. Warm and lush, rich with harmonic overtones, and melodically very grandiose. The sounds here are very visual and definitely bring to mind vast expanses of land or space, whether it's the sun slowly rising over the desert, the moon peeking from behind a planet, a slowly spiralling galaxy, and even the Olympics. Huh? Yep, the Olympics. The melodies and instrumentation are quite similar to the fanfares used during the opening ceremonies, or over montages of past Olympiads, lovely nonetheless. And of course much darker and dronier than any of the music actually used for the Olympics. Each epic fanfare / flourish dissipates into a rumbling subterranean drone, where it hovers and slowly shifts until another fanfare surfaces in it's place, shines briefly, only to quickly sink back into the inky darkness.
What fits within a 4.25" x 7" x .25" space perfectly? SF artist Chris Johanson's glossy pink covered paperback book. It's positively bursting at the seams with his creations - many from his gallery installations. Pages of drawings and text printed on pink blue and yellow paper are interspersed with oddly sized foldouts and full color photos. His rough often blurrily inked depictions and commentary on local street life reveal a sea of often disembodied faces - homeless, business men, clowns - and a clutter of speech bubbles. Recent exhibits all over the place. Here's your chance to see what the hubub is all about.
Sitar raga music from Sweden? Sure! On the Swedish label Kning Disk, who last brought us cds by Wolf Eyes and James Blackshaw -- so we'd expect just about anything (interesting) from them. Composer/arranger Jerry Johansson is a sitar player (who studied with sitar master Roop Verma, who was taught by Ravi Shankar). Here he presents his piece "Next Door Conversation", in two parts, 53 minutes total. His sitar is the lead instrument, and in traditional style he's accompanied by santour and tambura -- but also by a violin/violin/viola/cello string quartet from the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra! Shades of Kronos, eh?
It's a dreamy, slowly unfolding, sitar n' strings soundscape, the Eastern twang of Johansson's sitar calmly contrasting with the more cinematic sweep of the string quartet, each recontextualizing the other. With sounds from the subcontinent and Swedish folk motifs both incorporated, this is a gorgeous East-West hybrid indeed, and crosses over other borders to somehow remind us of everything from Spaghetti Western soundtracks to Chinese orchestral music. Gosh, there's not much more to say other than, enjoy!
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
One half of the Folk Implosion (the other half being Lou Barlow) doing very quiet, stark, Daniel-Johnston-like solo stuff.
We've long had a soft spot for the darkest of country folk twang -- Mark Kozelek, Tindersticks, Jesse Sykes, and Hotel Alexis to name just a handful. The last couple months have brought us a few more residing a little closer to home. Case in point, The John Francis' smoky blues filled On The Moment We Share. Deep deep male vocals and slow creeping tempo keep the mood bleak and somber. This album fits well right alongside the latest from fellow SF band The Black Swans. Music that never leaves the shadows? We're right there with 'em. Thanks for sharing!
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
The Sea and Cake track appears on the straight-to-video John Hughes film called Reach the Rock, and although the McEntire track does appear in the film, it's not gonna be on the full length cd soundtrack, so we guess that's your reason for getting this single (although its similarity to Windham Hill-style Shadowfax new age lite might turn you off just a bit). Yikes.
For those of you who missed out on the super limited handmade Five Pillars Of Soul cd-r's JWB released one at a time over the last couple years, you can once again thank your lucky stars, you've been saved. And those of you who did manage to get em, well, why not get this handy disc that collects all 5 cd-r's onto a real cd with even more extensive liner notes added.
While this is purportedly a tribute to soul music, the soul music seems to be mostly implied here, like 'soul' in spirit, in concept, in intention, but not in execution. Which is not a bad thing. This -is- soul music, but the way it can only be played by middle class, white, mid-western boys. All shrieking, skronking, sweaty, pounding, rocking and GROOVING. You can catch glimpses of the Make Up, the Blues Explosion, the White Stripes, New York Dolls, as well as Alice Donut (especially in the vocals). Weird and pretty wonderful. Spazzy, soulful, glammy ROCK AND ROLL. There are 5 volumes. Short and sweet (each clocking in at 10-15 minutes) and all in honor of JWB's peculiar ideas of the pillars of soul: Melvin Van Peebles, Tania Hearst (Patty Hearst with her SLA name), Albert Ayler, Marc Bolan and Yoko Ono. They also throw in some covers of the Zombies, the Fugs, and Mission Of Burma but turn them into punky soul-fuck explosions... Good stuff. Although I'm still clinging to the belief that the sixth pillar must be BRUCE WILLIS!!!
While this is purportedly a tribute to soul music, the soul music seems to be mostly implied here, like 'soul' in spirit, in concept, in intention, but not in execution. Which is not a bad thing. This -is- soul music, but the way it can only be played by middle class, white, mid-western boys. All shrieking, skronking, sweaty, pounding, rocking and GROOVING. You can catch glimpses of the Make Up, the Blues Explosion, the White Stripes, New York Dolls, as well as Alice Donut (especially in the vocals). Weird and pretty wonderful. Spazzy, soulful, glammy ROCK AND ROLL. There are 5 volumes (we have the first four). Short and sweet (almost too short, clocking in at 10-15 minutes) and all in honor of JWB's peculiar ideas of the pillars of soul: Mario Van Peebles, Tania Hearst (Patty Hearst with her SLA name), Albert Ayler, Marc Bolan and the as yet to be announced 5th pillar.
Nice handmade sleeves with cool/funny liner notes. They do covers of the Zombies, the Fugs, and Mission Of Burma and turn them into punky soul explosions... Good stuff, here's hoping the fifth pillar is BRUCE WILLIS!!!
While this is purportedly a tribute to soul music, the soul music seems to be mostly implied here, like 'soul' in spirit, in concept, in intention, but not in execution. Which is not a bad thing. This -is- soul music, but the way it can only be played by middle class, white, mid-western boys. All shrieking, skronking, sweaty, pounding, rocking and GROOVING. You can catch glimpses of the Make Up, the Blues Explosion, the White Stripes, New York Dolls, as well as Alice Donut (especially in the vocals). Weird and pretty wonderful. Spazzy, soulful, glammy ROCK AND ROLL. There are 5 volumes (we have the first four). Short and sweet (almost too short, clocking in at 10-15 minutes) and all in honor of JWB's peculiar ideas of the pillars of soul: Mario Van Peebles, Tania Hearst (Patty Hearst with her SLA name), Albert Ayler, Marc Bolan and the as yet to be announced 5th pillar.
Nice handmade sleeves with cool/funny liner notes. They do covers of the Zombies, the Fugs, and Mission Of Burma and turn them into punky soul explosions... Good stuff, here's hoping the fifth pillar is BRUCE WILLIS!!!
While this is purportedly a tribute to soul music, the soul music seems to be mostly implied here, like 'soul' in spirit, in concept, in intention, but not in execution. Which is not a bad thing. This -is- soul music, but the way it can only be played by middle class, white, mid-western boys. All shrieking, skronking, sweaty, pounding, rocking and GROOVING. You can catch glimpses of the Make Up, the Blues Explosion, the White Stripes, New York Dolls, as well as Alice Donut (especially in the vocals). Weird and pretty wonderful. Spazzy, soulful, glammy ROCK AND ROLL. There are 5 volumes (we have the first four). Short and sweet (almost too short, clocking in at 10-15 minutes) and all in honor of JWB's peculiar ideas of the pillars of soul: Mario Van Peebles, Tania Hearst (Patty Hearst with her SLA name), Albert Ayler, Marc Bolan and the as yet to be announced 5th pillar.
Nice handmade sleeves with cool/funny liner notes. They do covers of the Zombies, the Fugs, and Mission Of Burma and turn them into punky soul explosions... Good stuff, here's hoping the fifth pillar is BRUCE WILLIS!!!
While this is purportedly a tribute to soul music, the soul music seems to be mostly implied here, like 'soul' in spirit, in concept, in intention, but not in execution. Which is not a bad thing. This -is- soul music, but the way it can only be played by middle class, white, mid-western boys. All shrieking, skronking, sweaty, pounding, rocking and GROOVING. You can catch glimpses of the Make Up, the Blues Explosion, the White Stripes, New York Dolls, as well as Alice Donut (especially in the vocals). Weird and pretty wonderful. Spazzy, soulful, glammy ROCK AND ROLL. There are 5 volumes (we have the first four). Short and sweet (almost too short, clocking in at 10-15 minutes) and all in honor of JWB's peculiar ideas of the pillars of soul: Mario Van Peebles, Tania Hearst (Patty Hearst with her SLA name), Albert Ayler, Marc Bolan and the as yet to be announced 5th pillar.
Nice handmade sleeves with cool/funny liner notes. They do covers of the Zombies, the Fugs, and Mission Of Burma and turn them into punky soul explosions... Good stuff, here's hoping the fifth pillar is BRUCE WILLIS!!!
We weren't sure what to make of this one at first, a mix of modern electronica, and traditional African music, the story of how these two guys got together is a good one, John Wizards, aka John Withers, was living in Africa, when he met Rwandan singer Emmanuel Nzaramba, the two talked music, while Nzaramba was at work, and Withers was walking around with a guitar, they then parted company, Nzaramba losing his job and his cellphone, only to meet a year later, in a different city, at which point the two decided to work together. The results are pretty strange, but wonderful too, minus the vocals, this might be some idiosyncratic Planet Mu oddity, but the vocals root the music in the traditions of classic African folk music. The sound is a dizzying hodgepodge that aQ-ers might imagine would result from a mix of Shangaan Electro, Music From Saharan Cellphones, and some of the weirder Sublime Frequencies releases. The first two tracks deliver what sounds like a plunderphonic collage of sounds and influences, swirling calliope like melodies, twangy guitars, reverbed piano, disco-y drumming, groovy psychedelic synths, handclaps, what sounds like a looped field recording, transformed into a woozy melody, whistles, thick bass buzz, steel string guitars, wild psych jams, drum machine stutter, all of which gives way to some stripped down drums, and what must be Nzaramba talking to Withers over a strangely electrified version of African high life, then some autotuned vox, and the song unfurls as some warped modern day variation of classic African music, laced with all sorts of warbly electronics, dubbed out drum beats, mutated synths, the song stripped of all the weirdness might be too saccharine and straight, but as imagined by Withers, it becomes something super freaky, and super fun. And so the whole record goes, the songs leaping from sound to sound, style to style, groovy disco-funk, stuttery R&B, woozy slow jams, mellowed out dubstep, cheesy eighties MTV style pop, dreamy collages glitchery, and pretty much every twisted variation in between, the recording super loose and abstract, with some of the songs just stopping, allowing us to hear Withers and Nzaramba talking in the studio, before the song bursts back into action. So good, so strange, and so fun. Easily the coolest, weirdest 'world' music record we've heard in a while. Anyone into the above mentioned comparisons (Sublime Frequencies, Music From Saharan Cellphones, Shagaan Electro), should definitely check this out...
Here is a 2cd release collecting all of the best (and the rare, and the radio sessions etc.) of John's Childen, the rebellious, punk ass, late '60s, psych pop band who at one point included Marc Bolan, later of the legendary T-Rex. JC are maybe best known for being thrown off a Who tour for upstaging them theatrically and for being louder!! On this album are very early versions of songs Marc Bolan would later re-record under his own name and as Tyrannosaurus Rex, such as "Mustang Ford", "Desdemona", and "Perfumed Garden Of Gulliver Smith". Contains a fancy book with extensive liner notes by band members, filling you in on all the dirt on this short lived British band.
We're not sure if the Numero Group's small subsidiary label, *(asterisk) is still continuing or not. Dedicated to obscure full album releases of private press records (namely in the soul, folk, and R&B vein), it's been over a year since their last release. Quite frankly, with the exception of the great Boscoe album, we just weren't as excited by this sub-label's releases as we have been with most all of the Numero Group output. But we recently discovered we still had a few copies of this Johnny Lunchbreak release that we never reviewed before, and after the Boscoe, it was our second favorite release on the label, mainly because it was so different from the others.
While Johnny Lunchbreak, an early-seventies post-Velvet's rock band from Connecticut, never recorded a full album, an acetate of nine demo recordings made between 1974-75 had turned up mysteriously and been released as a limited lp on Zero Street Records a few years ago, and *(asterisk) made it into a full cd release. Like the Modern Lovers and other East Coast rock bands of the era, Johnny Lunchbreak have a softer New York sound, clean but Velvety riffs with sort of a surfy twist and vocal melodies that are less insistent then either Jonathan Richman's or Lou Reed's. Apparently the band was trying for an early Bee Gees sound, but didn't quite reach that potential. Still the songs are pretty catchy, and for a band that spent its two years of existence focusing more on merchandising than playing live, the songs are surprisingly well-written and recorded. Worth checking out!
If the cover art (some sort of scantily clad Wendy O. Williams character riding a giant wolf through a post-apocalyptic urban landscape) and album title (Inner City Wolves!!!) haven't convinced you already about how awesome this might be, then there's the matter of this Australian heavy metal band's name. JOHNNY TOUCH. Gotta give 'em props for picking a name that's cheesy, goofy, and great. You call your band something like that and you'd better be good - and they ARE, at playing very classic '80s sounding metal, super melodic and hot rockin', that's got some ballsy, speed-riffing heaviness to it, as well as a pop sensibility (circa LA, 1985). The sticker on the front of this, their debut album, mentions Judas Priest (we'll concur, specifically citing Screaming For Vengeance era or thereabouts) and Yngwie Malmsteen. At first we didn't really hear the Yngwie so much, but then we hit track 4, the instrumental "Radiation Axeposure", and yeah, the guitarist sure busts out some crazy fast shredding soloing acrobatics there, and elsewhere too!
Other reference points could include Dio, Savatage, Queensryche, early Metallica, Lizzy Borden, Riot, and, outside the '80s, fellow modern day retro metal bands like Enforcer, White Wizzard and local boys Hot Fog.
What we really like is that while Johnny Touch have a sense of humor (the name, and certain song titles, indicate as much), at the same time, they definitely aren't just foolin' around. Emotion-laden tracks like "Lady Stutter" are delivered straight, serious as can be. Solid '80s style metal with pizzazz and plenty of chops. The metalheads here have definitely felt the Touch.
(See elsewhere this list, though, for another Australian band with an even better/worse name, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard!!)
There's a point at which music can get no more frantic, no more noisy, no more heavy. The point at which the sound of music just becomes a blur of sound, a mess of noise. The trick is, especially with extreme music, is to get as close as possible without slipping over that line. Plenty have come close, and the closer they come, the more they hit that indescribable spot. Punk rock got close way back when, then metal got even closer, then the variants of metal pushed closer and closer thrash metal, metalcore, death metal, black metal, each generation of band, each new genre trying its best to get as close to the edge as possible. At moments on In The Library Of Horrific Events, Johnny Truant manage to get pretty fucking close. Their sound is a dizzying blend of ultra technical grind metal and classic heavy metalisms, each song an ultra complex downtuned chugfest, blast beats careen through dense fields of squiggly riffing, crushing crunchy sludge and howled vocals, half time breakdowns butt up to impossible buzzing grind workouts, but occasionally, out of a dense wild swirl of grinding chaos will emerge some incredible hooky dual guitar harmony, or some strangely melodic breakdown, as if Iron Maiden was somewhere under Johnny Truant's barbed blackened spiked exterior trying desperately to hack their way out.
We got another amazing batch of vintage blues reissues from the wonderful Monk label. Look elsewhere on the list for reviews of two more volumes of Charley Patton recordings and a double lp set by Blind Willie McTell!
If I Had My Way, I'd Tear The Building Down is a compilation of recordings Blind Willie Johnson made for Columbia records between 1927 to 1930. Having recorded 30 songs in total, this compilation gathers nearly half of his entire recorded output. Hailing from Texas, and blinded at a young age by his stepmother (who accidentally threw lye water in his face that was meant for his father while they were fighting) Johnson became known as one of the most talented bottleneck guitar players around (though his slide was actually a pocketknife!), having honed his style on various homemade guitars he built as a kid. His blues style was heavily gospel-influenced, singing with a gruff bass voice so he could be heard above the noise of the street, as he used his music as a preaching tool. He was later joined by his wife, who added 19th century hymns to their repertoire and joined him on some of the later recordings as the high end response to his low-end calls. While she is featured on four of the tracks here, most of them are just Johnson and his beautiful slide guitar!
In his entire musical career Blind Willie Johnson recorded almost exclusively spiritual songs, and did so in one the most unforgettable, hair-raisingly beautiful, gravel filled voice -- a voice that could make Tom Waits and Howlin' Wolf blush. If that's not enough, Blind Willie Johnson also played a truly inspired slide guitar.
That Calvin Johnson is one very peculiar fella... always has been. Whether he's contorting himself like a pretzel with the funky Dub Narcotic, or crooning a bittersweet Beat Happening lo-fi luv song in his impossibly deeeeep voice, he is a distinct, unmistakable presence. His new solo album is distinct also, but in a very strange way. For some reason, the K Records kingpin has fancied himself as a blues singer from the deep south. Bizarre to say the least. It drew a chuckle or two when it was played in the store. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing, but certainly an acquired taste. If you like him, then here he is in all his glory (often without instrument accompaniment), and you'll probably enjoy this. On the other hand, if you're not a Calvin fan, this solo record will probably not win you over. And if you're completely unfamiliar with Mr. Johnson, you just might wanna check out a couple of his other records first like Beat Happening's Dreamy or Dub Narcotic's Out Of Your Mind or his collaboration with Built to Spill's Doug Martsch as the Halo Benders on God Don't Make No Junk.
As K Records website tells it, a few years ago The Blow's Khaela Maririch and Wolf Colonel's Jason Anderson were musing about the question "What if Calvin Johnson played all his best songs from over the years, with a band of real music-making people?"
We take particular issue with the last part of that query. Don't you think it's a total insult to everyone Mr. Johnson has played with over the years? If Heather, Heather, Bret, Chris, Doug et al weren't "real music-making people", then what were they?! Isn't that exactly what Beat Happening were all about? Breaking down limitations and expectations? And we're not even taking into consideration a little thing called 'musical chemistry'!
Anyways disgruntlement aside, apparently the well-meaning duo along with K label mates Kyle Field of Little Wings and Adam Forkner of Yume Bitsu fancied themselves to be the abovementioned "band of real music-making people" and formed the Sons Of The Soil.
So, what's it sound like? Well, to be utterly frank, Calvin Johnson minus Bret and Heather (aka his Beat Happening buddies), minus Doug Martsch (his fellow Halo Bender), and minus Chris Sutton and Heather Dunn (aka his Dub Narcotic co-horts) sounds like a drunken sailor cast adrift in a karaoke bar... woozily sea sick, rambling stage banter, and as atonal as ever. Try as they might, all the young'uns can't support Uncle Calvin. We're sure they had a great time, but listening to it is nothing but a flat flat flat experience. Bummer.
American Primitive guitarist Chuck Johnson now calls Oakland, California his home, but he originally hails from North Carolina where we first heard him back in the nineties playing with bands Spatula and Idyll Swords. That North Carolina lineage rings through on Johnson's Three Lobed debut of modern Appalachia, Crows In The Basilica. Resurrecting the ghosts of Roscoe Holcomb, Mike Seeger, Elizabeth Cotten and Robbie Basho, Johnson brilliantly conjures a mystical resonance of haunting loveliness, both texturally rich and achingly majestic. Layers of past traditions weave throughout, British folk balladry, 19th century parlor music melodies, Eastern modalities and Delta blues, marked by a lonely cascading melancholia that transforms these pieces to moving modern day ruminations on the slow passage of time and the fluidity of memory. One of the best modern guitar soli records we've heard in awhile, one that sets the eyes gazing into the vast ether of the mind.
Download card included with the lp. Limited to 768 hand-numbered copies.
Also available as a tour-only cd-r with an extra track.
If you've enjoyed the deeply moving music of Michael Gira, Mark Lanegan and Golden Hotel, you just might want to add this new offering from Mike Johnson (ex-Dinosaur Jr) to that list. Very much in a similarly slow, somber vein. A dark downer album of mid to slow paced, psych-tinged country blues with Johnson's low, slightly hoarse voice pulling you down into the despair. One point of contention though sez Byram, the intro to "Dirty Hands" is a straight-up shoplift from Yabby You's "Conquering Lion" (Vivian Jackson and The Ralph Brothers) - very odd.
This would have certainly been a great fit on our last in-between list of amazing Christian-themed oddities. Otis G. Johnson might be known to some who dug the Personal Space compilation of electronic soul from 1974-1984 we listed a while back. Johnson's track "Time To Go Home" suitably ended that release with a quietly funky, but intensely devotional hymn urging us to prepare for Heaven. Performed on Hammond organ with repetitive riffs and a rudimentary rhythm machine, Johnson's vocals emitting a hushed and mumbled gospel cry turned inward, repeating in a soulful mantra that "It's time". That song was of course from this lone 1978 private press record nicely reissued on the Numero Group label and it has to be one of the most minimal gospel records we've ever heard. In fact, it's almost the opposite of gospel, as its restrained devoutness is so personal and intimate that it seems antithetical to gospel music's more well-associated louder, boisterous display. Reminding us of a rare combination of Zomes' plaintive melodic loops and the soulful economy of Timmy Thomas, the Memphis organist and singer whose biggest hit was "Why Can't We Live Together". Johnson's skeletal organ funk has a distinct charm for being a late night religious listen, filled to the brim with the Holy Spirit, and whispering soft and sweet amens in your ear.
With the recent release of The Devil And Daniel Johnston, a documentary about Johnston's genius and continual struggle with mental illness, more of the world is getting a peak into the magical world of one of the greatest musical minds of the last several decades. While the film and most of the press surrounding Johnston tends to focus on his mental health and long bouts of illness, the recent release many of his classic albums seemed like the perfect opportunity to seriously gush about his oh so prolific musical output. We can't think of many songwriters over the last couple decades, or maybe ever, who have written as many memorable, deeply honest, and totally profound songs as Daniel Johnston. His ability to get to the core of human emotions, insecurities, hopes, fears, and desires is pretty much incomparable. This cd collects two of his earliest tapes on one cd.
Hi How Are You was recorded in 1983 and Continued Story in 1985 and both contain some of the most raw and powerful songs in Johnston's catalog. "It's Over", "Casper", one of his best Beatles covers "I Saw Her Standing There" and so many other classic damaged pop masterpieces. So amazing!
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
In collaboration with Jason Falkner, Johnston's usually loosey goosey lo-fi freewheelin' compositions are thoroughly fleshed out and fancied up. On Is And Always Was he's backed up by a full band's instrumentation (mostly played by Falkner) and gussied up with deluxe studio production (also with Falkner at the helm). At times it can be a bit overwhelming (to both the listener and the songs) and disorienting to hear Johnston in this setting. But Johnston's precarious imagination and charm still shines through on many of these songs.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
A new collection of the sincerest of storybook songs about love, despair, hope and true silliness sung in that sweet, wavering, warbling voice. Offering his unique view of the world, well, actually more like his world, as Daniel Johnston exists in a place all his own. Be forewarned, out of nowhere you may find yourself humming along to a song of his and realize it's also the melody to "Jingle Bells" or some other equally familiar yet out of place tune. Such is the mad music of Daniel Johnston. He also continues to illustrate each of his releases with his own felt pen drawings. In the land of Daniel Johnston, green martians, five-headed duck creatures, and superheroes roam freely.
Finally released on cd, this double disc o' the one and only Daniel Johnston includes "Songs Of Pain 1980-83" and "More Songs Of Pain". They were his very first two cassettes that he recorded in his parents' basement over two decades ago. The inner child sings out freely from this oft-troubled grown man whose freewheeling musical spirit and imagination have captured the hearts of many fellow artists over the years (Sonic Youth, Half Japanese and Nirvana to name just a few). His songs - perky primal melodies crudely hammered out on piano or guitar and sung in his distinct singsong delivery - are filled with genuine naivete, broken hearts, playful silly musings and downright strange meanderings. And these early recordings while still retaining their tape hiss and muffledness, not to mention Johnston's coughs, commentary and pauses are perhaps his most immediate and impactful. Pretty darn wonderful!
MPEG Download: "A Little Story" [/audio/johnstonalittle.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "A Little Story" [/audio/johnstonalittle.m3u]
With the recent release of The Devil And Daniel Johnston, a documentary about Johnston's genius and continual struggle with mental illness, more of the world is getting a peak into the magical world of one of the greatest musical minds of the last several decades. While the film and most of the press surrounding Johnston tends to focus on his mental health and long bouts of illness, the recent release many of his classic albums seemed like the perfect opportunity to seriously gush about his oh so prolific musical output. We can't think of many songwriters over the last couple decades, or maybe ever, who have written as many memorable, deeply honest, and totally profound songs as Daniel Johnston. His ability to get to the core of human emotions, insecurities, hopes, fears, and desires is pretty much incomparable.
Yip! Jump Music was recorded in the summer of 1983 and is an amazing look into the early and raw world of Johnston's song writing. Mostly just him, a keyboard, his obsessions and lots of unrequited love, it's a record that's both full of humor and rife with despair. With songs like "Casper", "I Remember Painfully", "Sorry Entertainer" and "Speeding Motorcycle". Little did the world know, that in the summer of 1983, a homemade cassette would contain some of the greatest pop songs of the last quarter century.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Daniel Johnston has been a staple of underground DIY indie rock for as long as we can remember. From his early homemade cassettes, to his rock records, some time spent on Shimmy Disc, always totally unique and bizarre and beautiful. Johnston is the ultimate outsider artist. Innocent and childlike, troubled by demons, some we all have to deal with, and of course some of his own invention. A talented artist as well as musician, he has influenced everyone from Yo La Tengo (who has covered his songs) to the Butthole Surfers (who used to play shows and tour with Johnston). This double disc is such a fantastic testament to Johnston's talent and legacy. The first disc is all covers, various well known 'fans' offering up their own versions of Johnston classics. Flaming Lips with Sparklehorse, Death Cab For Cutie, Vic Chesnutt, TV On The Radio, Teenage Fanclub with Jad Fair, Bright Eyes, Tom Waits, M. Ward, Mercury Rev, Beck and more. The second disc consists of 19 tracks, all the hits everyone knows and loves as well as some less well known jems, spanning his 15 year career. Johnston's immediately recognizable keening childlike voice, over plinking guitars, warbly toy pianos, wezzing squeezeboxes and all sorts of weird home taped sound bites. So good. Essential listening for sure, hopefully the star studded selection of indie rock luminaries will get people less inclined to indie weirdness to check out the genius of Daniel Johnston. Who sure does look remarkably like Captain Kangaroo these days....
One of two new releases this week from the always awesome Debacle Records (Expo 70, The Slaves, Megabats and about a million more), the other is some gorgeously druggy and dreamy downercore bedroom pop from Cough Cool, this one is a cool collaboration from Demian Johnston, whose team up with Mink Stole we raved about a few lists back, and who was once a member of late great kick ass postpunk metalcore heavies Kiss It goodbye. But on the solo stuff we've heard so far, Johnston tends toward dark and blackened drones, which makes this collaboration all the more apt, with Johnston joined by Kevin Gan Yuen, one half of local black metal noise merchants Sutekh Hexen.
And thus you can imagine the sort of sinister sounds these two conjure up. Deep devilish rumblings, strange bits of percussion and creepy sonic detritus, a roiling black sea of blurred tarpit riffage, laced with chiming harmonics, haunting barely there melodies, the sound dense and heavily layered, slipping from meditative thrum to churning gnarled crush and back again, shifting from Wolf Eyes-ish black industrial creep, to thick pulsating SUNNO))) like black hold doom, to swirling, almost pretty blackbliss ambience. The two occasionally dip their deep rumblings in something more caustic and corrosive, adding a patina of crumbling hiss, and gristly static, but just as often, smearing those sounds into another layer of undulating buzz and blur, the twisted chugging slo-mo near-static riffage at one point wreathed in the sound or falling rain, creating a weirdly atmospheric stretch of ambience that evokes some sort of unholy black storm, before splintering into one final blast of grinding low end crunch.
Sweet stuff, WAY recommended for fans of grim black slow low heaviness, and creepy, sinister, blackhole buzz, which we're guessing probably includes a whole lot of you...
LIMITED TO 120 COPIES!!
We're beginning to think that Debacle might just have to be our new favorite label. Certainly one of the coolest weirdest cd-r labels around. With a massive catalog we've only begun to work our way through, the spaced out krautdrone bliss of Expo 70, the hazy mantra like synth/vocal ritualism of the Slaves, and the tripped out synthscapery of Megabats, all killed, and now we have these, one of two releases on this week's list from Demian Johnston, who we knew nothing about, until we read that maybe he was in legendary technical metalcore outfit Kiss It Goodbye, which makes more sense here (than on the split tape with Mamiffer, reviewed elsewhere on this list), as this is some seriously corrosive, and caustic heaviness, not in the sense of metal, or rock, or even riffing, this is some dense, heaving, roiling blacknoise ambience that rivals Blue Sabbath Black Cheer for sheer power and intensity, but unlike the nearly impenetrable black hole sound of BSBC, the sounds here are infused with melody, and for every blast of brutality, there's a stretch of hushed shimmer, or creeping minimal drift.
Oh did we mention we have no idea who or what Mink Stole is either? The Debacle site offers no insights, a quick web search reveals that it's a guy called Chris Negrete, and that this whole record was born of a single guitar effects improv jam, recorded live, by Johnston, and then sent off to Negrete to fuck with, and fuck with he did, adding all manner of texture, extra noise, percussion, transforming a cloud of swirling guitar growl into a sprawling soundscape of black ambience, and foggy low end creep. The opening track is a harsh blast, but the follow up is a hazy, distorted slowcore free-drone drift, the record unwinds and unfurls gradually, slipping from sound to sound, hazy almost new agey krautdrone one minute, complete with haunting crooned vox, to deep minimal ambient thrum the next, an oozing black cloud of sound, laced with thick percussive low end flutters, and blasts of tweaked effects, otherworldly and a bit harrowing. Elsewhere thick swells of metallic buzz pulse over creaking, groaning industrial landscapes, SUNN-like sheets of blackdrone guitar buzz billow over buried barely there melodies, washed out shimmers float weightlessly alongside operatic vocals, in a gauzy expanse of warm layered warble and crystalline guitar shimmer, and roiling seas of whir and hiss churn over a submerged series of mechanical drones and machine like pulsations. Awesome, and dark. For fans of Kevin Drumm, Prurient, Wolf Eyes, and the grim bleak side of the black drone spectrum.
Much like downtempo & drum n'bass working its way into various forms of pop music in the '90s, the same has been happening with dubstep in the last couple years, popping up on all sorts of mainstream records, most recently by Rihanna and even Britney Spears (keep it like a secret but Andee and Irwin love some of those tracks on the last Britney Spears record!), which have featured awesome moments of full on dubstep fused to their more radio pop dance music sound.
So it makes sense that someone would finally figure out a way to make a record that somehow bridges the gap between a more mainstream RnB/pop aesthetic and dubstep's street roots. Joker seems to understand the exciting possibility of this combination, and he's made a record that merges a more upfront production alongside galactic and bombastic post dubstep grooves. There are songs that sound like Pinch producing tracks by Justin Timberlake and Beyonce, while the instrumentals take on a really cinematic and spaced out vibe. Elsewhere there are more intergalactic moments that sound like Mouse On Mars remixing Boards Of Canada, and some jams that have grime-like outbursts that would be right at home on a Wiley or Dizzee Rascal record, and of course there's some really slick and assured soulful pop.
We're even reminded a bit of The Cinematic Orchestra, not so much sonically, but in how they tap into so many different sounds with a range of vocalists, and then take it those elements in a more exploratory and epic direction.
The Vision is a record that takes a few listens to really sink in, as you allow yourself to open up to a glossier sound then you're probably used to, but from start to finish there are so many interesting and pleasing things going on and actual SONGS that stick!
Tehran, Iran isn't the first place you'd think to find a heavy '70s power trio playing loud distorted blooze rawk, but if you were there in 1972 and looked in the right garage, you'd have found these guys rocking out, the Jokers. They recorded this album on a reel-to-reel tape machine, with two mics, in that garage, but it was never released - until now. Lotsa fuzz and wah where the guitars are concerned, and raucous vocals. Influenced by English and American blues rockers like Cream and Mountain and Hendrix and Grand Funk, we'd hazard a guess. And, especially on "Southern Blues", seemingly also inspired by '50s rock n' roll cats like Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent.
Only 4 songs here, but it's still over a half hour long, 'cause the fourth song is really a wailin' three-part suite that would have taken up a whole side of vinyl. All in all, awesomely unrestrained and uncouth, though maybe a bit too bluesy for some. You probably would never guess that these Jokers were from Iran, it's not like they incorporate any Persian music in their sound, but this definitely sounds real raw and underground in its blues-blasting abandon. Packaged in mini-LP style sleeves, numbered limited edition of 1000. (There's also a limited vinyl reissue we can get, from the same label, but it's waaaay more expensive, we can order it for you though if you like...)
One of our favorite reissues and new/old discoveries of last year was the passionate and powerful work of Gerard Manset. We immediately fell hard for his rich and textured songs which showed the more intense side of '60s and early '70s French Pop. So we were immediately intrigued by this collection of songs by Rene Joly when we saw that the orchestration was credited in part to Gerard Manset. But once we listened, it turned out to be Joly's voice that grabbed our attention right away. Full of drama, fire and beauty we couldn't believe that this was the first time his amazing voice had made it into our ears. It made us think of what Antony & The Johnsons might have sounded like if they were from France in 1970, or maybe Bryan Ferry doing Edith Piaf covers.
Even some of our friends who grew up in France had not heard of Joly so we don't feel quite as bad for not hearing him until now. How glad we are that this gem of French orchestral psychedelic pop has finally risen to the surface, brought to us by the same label that brought us the great Pop Made In France compilation highlighted last time. Prog fans will even want to check this out for the great King Crimson cover "La Cour Du Roi Musicien" (The Court Of The Crimson King). Majestic sounds filled with cinematic flair, and bubbling with grandeur and rich color. Joly's commanding voice sweeps us off our feet every time we listen. Highly recommended!
SKWEEE!! DJ Jon AD (who runs the LoDubs and losonofono labels as well as the kick ass Anthem Records store in Portland) claims responsibility for the "first skweee mixed cassette in the known universe". Yep, that's probably correct. Kudos to him, and as skweee connoisseurs ourselves, we can tell you it's a damn fine mix, dense with percolating glitch and electronic future-funk freakiness from some of the best in the biz.
And you're reading this and wondering what the heck this "skweee" is of which we speak, well first off this tape will school you, and secondly, just do a quick search on our site and you'll find reviews of previous skweee comps like Skweee Cruise and Skweee Tooth that should explain it.
Jon wanted to demonstrate that skweee can rock a (dance) party, and definitely succeeds. We like how he mixes in a few ringers - non-skweee, or perhaps we should say pre-skweee (?) tracks by the likes of Boogie Down Productions and the Beastie Boys, to give the listener a sense of skweee's hiphop, b-boy roots. The tape is also crammed, of course, with the work of such Scandinavian skweee luminaries as Limonious, Daniel Savio, Spartan Lover, Mangrove, Uday, Rigas Den Andre, V.C., Randy Barracuda, Slow Hand Motem, Beem, and Joxaren. The new wave of American skweee is represented too, with Portland's Lazercrotch leading off side A...
Over the whole tape, there's nearly 30 individual skweee cuts seamlessly mixed together, in quite a dense and frenzied fashion. Each side of this C-60 cassette was recorded in a single take, with two turntables, mixer, and effects ('cause skweee can always use MORE video game zipps and zapps).
LIMITED TO 100 COPIES!! Comes with download code, so you don't actually need a tape deck...
Dunno what to say about this one except that Windy who hates Jon Spencer thinks this is almost palatable with it's leaning toward soul and blues (backup singers etc, the whole shebang) and the production talents of the Automator and Alec Empire etc. But then again the longtime Spencer fans who work here all uniformly dislike it. Make of this what you will.
Ok, we'll admit that while Jon Spencer's old band Pussy Galore has their fans at Aquarius, nobody here has ever been able to really get into his subsequent Blues Explosion. (Perhaps almost entirely 'cause of the way the man calls out his band's name in almost every song -- annoying!) But this new record, a collection of long-ago, out-of-print, rare and/or unreleased JSBX singles ("rockin' mid-90s punkers!"), might just be the thing to make us admit that Jon Spencer's post-Pussy band had some good stuff going on, early on. Starting back in '92 with the frantic "Shirt Jac" recorded for In The Red's jukebox singles series, the 18 cuts here definitely include quite a few wigged-out gems. Their cover of Chaingang's "Son Of Sam" is almost as cool as the awesome original, with guest sax-appeal. We're amused to hear "Caroline", a song that their record label at the time, of the same name, wouldn't release. The intense "Naked" (about David Yow) could be something by Lubricated Goat. The Moog blurt on the chaotic "Push Some Air" is satisfying. And even though it starts off with a "BLOOOOOOOZE EXPLOSION" we still like "Train #1". Maybe something about the in-the-moment mindset a band has when writing and recording a track for a single just adds to their authenticity, 'cuz the low-down, scabrous blues-ravaged swaggering scuzz here sounds like the real deal, despite Jon Spencer's self-sabotage when he switches from screams to his Elvis-impersonator yowl (and James Brown grunts).
The thick cd booklet annotates each track with suitably arrogant liner notes, and includes plenty of graphics and photos. Also dig the cool "Back From The Grave" parody cover art/design! So, maybe the the only JSBX disc you need to own. Or, maybe the disc to make us go back and reevaluate some of the JSBX's albums...
Still crankin' out the ball-bustin' bad boy blues rock is the gent known as Mr. Jon Spencer. And along with his trusty Blues Explosion, he presents this his eighth album proper. Plenty of howlin' and an ample supply of "mama!"s and "ahkintaykitnomoah!"s, but with thankfully less self referential "The Blues Explosion" banter. There is less spit, bite and sneer than he's been able to muster up on past releases. For those hardcore JSBX fans there are a limited number of lps and cds specially, kitschily packaged in cello-bag with hang-card... oh, and there are cheesy promotional plastic fangs for the taking. Yep, JSBX has sunk that low.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
