We've long been fans of Seattle's Iron Lung, but this is the first time they've made it on the aQ list, it's about time too, after about a million splits and a couple proper full lengths. A drums and guitar duo, not that you'd ever know it from their sound, Iron Lung are dense and thrashing, lurching and pounding, thrashing and grinding modern power violence.
And yeah, we know that all the real power violence bands are dead and gone (Man Is The Bastard, Infest, No Comment, Spazz, Crossed Out) and that most bands these days who call themselves power violence, are typically NOT, and are just trying to garner cool cred by aligning themselves with the above mentioned bands. As far as we know, Iron Lung don't consider themselves power violence, probably more like thrashcore, or just hardcore, but their sound is way too varied and fucked up and metal to be so simple to describe. Sure there's plenty of thrashing and blasting, but the band spend just as much time plodding along doomily, with some serious metallic riffing, and plenty of lurching stop/start arrangements, huge slabs of churning downtuned groove and caveman like pummel, but even at their doomiest, the tracks still occasionally splinter into atonal angular melodies, mathy off kilter rhythms and freaked out squalls of tangled grind. Brief bursts of complex fury, stretched into churning, sprawling mini power violence epics.
Awesome cover art by Rudimentary Peni's Nick Blinko!!
Well here we go, Iron Maiden album number 15, potential post-reunion disappointment #???... or maybe not. Crikey, we can't tell any more. In fact, before we comment on this album, the first thing we need to do is take back what we said about the Iron Maiden album before the Iron Maiden album before this one, Dance Of Death. Listened to it again (and again) the other day, and actually it's pretty decent, with a few great songs in fact ("Paschendale" mos def). Not at all the disappointment we claimed it was when it came out. Sorry about that guys. And while the cover still sucks, you can flip it over, the booklet's back cover photo looks better.
So, we're not even sure we trust ourselves to review this new one. Who knows what we'll think about it in a couple years? Maybe just let folks buy it (and they have been!) and decide for themselves. Though of course if you don't already have Killers, Number Of The Beast, Piece Of Mind, et. al. we actually won't LET you buy this, you need to get the original '80s classics first. But if you're a Maiden fan, then the question we'll ask is, have you heard all their Bruce-back-in-the-band reunion albums? We loved 2000's Brave New World, made it a Record Of The Week (really), then were mistakenly meh (until recently that is!) about 2003's Dance Of Death, and thought 2006's A Matter Of Life And Death was all right, but flawed, definitely over-long... The Final Frontier is flawed too, and longer even than AMOLAD, but not as glum and gloomy, much more bright and varied. And it's NOT the sci-fi concept album that it might appear at first glance, in fact the title track (which is joined to a surprisingly experimental, almost Hawkwindish space-metal intro entitled "Satellite 15") isn't about the outer space final frontier of Star Trek fame at all, instead it seems to be about dying, facing the final frontier of DEATH, and whatever may lie beyond. All right, a few further notes...
PROS: It's IRON MAIDEN, dude!! And even 21st century Iron Maiden, despite their unfettered tendency towards long-winded progginess (and sometimes cheesy poppiness) have that special X-factor (ahem, well...) that makes 'em sound like nobody else. Gosh, we can't be objective, really, since we're pre-programmed to respond to the soaring sound of Bruce's voice and the gallop of Steve's bass and the harmonized guitars of Dave and Adrian (um, and Janick?) and the battery of ol' Nicko... not to to mention the visage of Eddie on the cover (a much better cover this time than than the last couple, by the way, with Eddie starring as both Alien and Predator it would appear).
CONS: Well there's that aforementioned long-winded progginess etc. This album is 76 minutes for crying out loud, their longest yet! Featuring ten (long) songs, many of which once again display the "repeat the song title as the chorus waaaaaaay too many times" syndrome they've been suffering from for a while. And needless to say, they're never ever gonna write another "Hallowed Be Thy Name" or "Aces High", can't be done. Though they could probably come closer with a little more aggression, and editing...
Yet, at the same time, it's the (relatively) shorter rockers, like the single "El Dorado" early on in the album tend to be the weakest tracks here, but the uber melodic prog epics later on, in the second half of the record, like "Isle Of Avalon", "Starblind", and "When The Wild Wind Blows", are quite stirring and satisfying to our adjusted-for-expections 21st Century Iron Maiden desires... or again maybe it's that Pavlovian response of ours kicking in. Basically, we're enjoying this for what it is, cringing a bit at some parts, totally digging others, sometimes 'cause they sound like old Maiden, sometimes 'cause they don't (ferinstance the spacey, fusiony, jammy guitar parts in "Isle Of Avalon" and elsewhere). If you DO like reunion Maiden, like us, then all we can say is, this is a your-milage-may-vary situation. Right now, repeated spins of this are still eliciting guilty grins from the Maiden fans at AQ.
NB. we're stocking the regular compact disc edition, and the double picture disc vinyl... but not the special "mission edition" cd, which despite some bonus web-only content it allows you to access, doesn't seem worth the extra bucks.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
10" records by both bands, now in the handy cd format. Japan's Church of Misery churn out the psychedelic serial-killer-fixated '70 styled Sabbath-dirge, while England's Iron Monkey play an Eyehategod-ish sort of ugly sludge metal (including a Corrosion of Conformity cover, from back when CoC were good). Thus, this disc is absurdly heavy indeed.
We weren't sure what to expect from this, a new band on Neurosis' Neurot label featuring the singer from, Southern sludge heavies Rwake, but we can tell you it sure wasn't this. A sort of brooding soulful classic rock? Twang flecked Southern hard rock? Brooding metallic singer songwriter moodiness. A little of all of those? The label namedrops Down, and Crowbar, which in theory sort of apply, but Iron Tongue are not nearly s heavy as either. At least much of the time. We're actually reminded quite a bit of the recent Neurot compilation of Townes Van Zandt covers, especially on the opener, Iron Tongue has the same sort of apocalyptic folk, wasted country rock vibe, the music laid back and lush, a big band, with whirring organs, even soulful female backup vocals, which was a surprise, and does actually sound kinda weird at first, or at least out of place, but once you're in the mindset of where these guys and gals are coming from, it totally fits. We also hear lots of Raging Slab, and aQ faves Antler, as well as one of our all time favorite singers, Mark Lanegan, Iron Tongue vocalist Chris Terry's whiskey soaked rasp the perfect foil for the group's slow burn heavy Southern rock. And it is heavy at times, in fact much of the record is spent rocking pretty hard, the band locking into extended jams, lead guitars shredding over smoldering grooves. And on tracks like "Witchery", the band get all bellowy and bellicose, the sound muscular and indeed a little bit sludgey, but then they'll slip right back into something more moody, like "7 Days", with its slippery slide guitar, and boy/girl vocal harmonies, again getting downright soulful, which might be a bit much for some metalheads, but hell, we're digging it, some seriously hooky hard and heavy southern rock, what's not to love?!
Folks expecting Rwake style sludge will definitely be bummed, but fans of Raging Slab, Antler, Skynrd, and other Southern/stoner rockers, should definitely check this out!
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
2nd album from our favorite Capt. Beefheart-meets-Jon-Spencer band, featuring Wooly Bugger editor Jeff Fuccillo.
A new batch of Awesome Vistas is always a cuse for celebration around here, so we're pretty thrilled to get not one, but TWO new AV jams, Flower Of Flesh And Blood, reviewed elsewhere on this list, and this, the simple titled Is, which is the soundtrack music for an art exhibit by Chris Johanson, who also happens to be the Awesome Vistas head honcho.
For this project, Johanson gathered up a whole mess of kick ass guests, including Sam Coomes (Quasi), Tom Greenwood (Jackie O Motherfucker), Sara Lund (Unwound), Emil Amos (Grails), Tara Jane O'Neil, Nick Bindeman (Acre) and more, to create a gorgeous abstract drift of folky percussion, soft wheezing drones, and looped mesmer.
Two twenty minute side long tracks, the first begins with an awesome looped start stop figure, before expanding into something more free and folky and free jazzy, drums and flutes and acoustic guitars and cellos, eventually growing to a muted frenzy, like a free jazz / free folk / drum circle psych jam, think Avarus, No Neck Blues Band, Sunburned Hand Of The Man, Jackie O, but with a bit more of a chamber music vibe. Quite nice.
The second track is much more folky and hippy, definitely reminding us of the Finnish forest folk, with tribal rhythms, hand drums, shakers and random percussion, fluttery flutes, detuned guitars and chanted vocals, total psychedelic spaced out Wicker Man folk that slowly sprawls and then dissipates.
Gorgeous hand silkscreened sleeves with a photocopied insert, and yeah, probably limited too...
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
From the same label that brought us the most recent record of dark apocalyptic folk from Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat, comes this gorgeous bit of dreamy folkiness, recorded in an old stable in Belgium, Isbells create a lush softly strummed folky pop that reminds us of both Bon Iver and Iron And Wine. Mainman Gaetan Vandewoude has an impossibly gorgeous crystal clear voice, and has crafted the perfect musical backdrop for that voice, adding just the occasional bit of slide guitar, gentle horns here and there, scattered percussion, and spidery bits of extra melody, but for the most part, needing nothing but an acoustic guitar and his voice, the songs surprisingly lush, most warm and sun dappled, but occasionally, slightly dark and dreamily dramatic.
This is fast becoming a new favorite. Just listen to the sound samples, if you're anything like us, you'll be immediately smitten. So good!!
A new self-released solo album by this lovely SF singer/songwriter, Kate Isenberg! If you like your pop music dulcet. pretty and downright easy on the ears, Isenberg's spartan voice and guitar numbers are so for you! Charming!
Back in 2007, this female Japanese singer-songwriter (and improvisor, too) made a cd with Ruins drummer Tatsuya Yoshida, called Slip Beneath The Distant Tree, that we really loved. Experimental pop/prog, which included covers of Genesis, This Heat, Soft Machine, and several classical composers. Eiko's multi-instrumental skills were impressive, and her sweet voice appealing - we said then we were curious to hear more from her.
Apparently the ubiquitous Jim O'Rourke is a fan too, and probably had something to do with Drag City releasing this new Eiko Ishibashi solo outing, her vinyl-only domestic US debut, which he produced and also plays on. It's a dreamy set of songs, what Drag City calls "a progressive sci-fi pop album", and we can see why Eiko is apparently already kinda "big in Japan". Her gentle, whisper-ish vocals grace songs that swell with elegant yet jaunty piano melodies; there's tight chamber pop orchestration in back of it all, with rhythms that can get prog-propulsive, though this is definitely more light and airy of an affair than the more mathematically-minded music she made with Yoshida. Quite nice indeed.
We sold so many of these when we made it Record Of The Week a while back, and everyone we know who bought a copy freaked out and declared it one of their new all time favorites, and for good reason it's an amazing, mind blowing, tripped out chunk of pure sonic inspiration. It's strange and beautiful and weirdly heavy, and proggy and tribal and it's funky as all get out. Well, we managed to get a final batch from the label, it's now sold out NEVER to be repressed, so if you missed out on this the first time around, you got yourself one more chance, don't blow it.
It's no longer out of the ordinary for a rock band to look beyond rock for inspiration. Or a jazz band, looking to expand their sound. It definitely makes sense as musicians are generally constantly striving to explore, to open their minds, their music, searching for unique instruments, new ideas, new sounds, even looking for something much more ineffable, something more spiritual. Psychedelic rock bands have typically looked East, The Beatles are probably the prime example of a rock band looking to India for musical AND spiritual inspiration. But on a much smaller scale, modern music develops and expands by incorporating new influences, the more 'exotic' the better. So for years, we could watch bands do just that, incorporate new instruments, sitars, tablas, whatever, alternate tunings, Eastern scales. Jazz musicians on the other hand, tended to look to Africa for inspiration, the tribal drumming, the vocal chants, all found their way onto tons of amazing records, amazing in part because of what they borrowed from the African music that was their genesis, as with many many discs by the Art Ensemble, Coltrane, Don Cherry, etc., etc.�
So if all this borrowing and influence is so commonplace, what's the big deal with this disc, a deluxe reissue of a rare 1972 LP entitled Uganda, by Japan's strangely named Akira Ishikawa & Count Buffalo? Well to begin with, imagine a Japanese jazz drummer in the early seventies, so obsessed with African music, that not only are his records already rife with African influences, but he eventually travels there, and proceeds to play with local musicians, collects indigenous instruments, and returns, driven to realize the record he knows he must make, Uganda, a record that manages to sound like African music, jazz and psychedelic rock, while sounding like nothing else. Ishikawa teamed up with fellow percussionist Larry Sunaga, a bassist and guitarist, and a saxophonist, who instead of playing sax, composed all four lengthy pieces here, the results are amazing. Dense, dizzying, abstract and tribal, fuzzy and tripped out, long stretches of solo hand drum percussion, furious acid fuzz freakouts (courtesy of guitarist Kimio Mizutani, from Love Live Life+1, People, and other freaky Japanese '70s psych units), chanting and handclaps, all woven into an expansive, sprawling divine chunk of out there Afro-fuzz-psych-jazz-rock divinity.
Take the first track "Animals and Dawn", nearly 12 minutes long, and over those 12 minutes, the song veers and drifts through about ten distinctly different sounds and styles, all held together by the relentless African drum jam that runs through all four tracks. Beginning with what sounds like some strange low end synth buzz, those drums kick in, intense and hyper rhythmic, amazingly recorded, so on headphones it sounds like drums are all around you. That buzz, pulses and undulates beneath the frenzied drumming, and this goes on for almost 3 minutes, which is when some wild super distorted acid psych guitar swoops in, jagged and freaked out, spitting out soaring wah wah drenched buzz, before the bass joins in and the drums coalesce into a more recognizable groove, and the band nails it, heavy, slithery proto-metal, churning and pounding, eventually locking into a super technical prog workout, and then dropping out completely, again leaving just the drums, which are soon joined by hand clapping, and chanted African style vocals. Finally, for the last four minutes or so, the band unwinds a groovy jazzy prog workout, still underpinned by those same rhythms, but now the bass carries the groove, letting the guitar go wild, wild psychedelic leads all tangled up in great strange shapes over the groovy rhythm below. Eventually, the song is swallowed up by effects, reverb, delay, echo, as if the band were playing on some huge elevator, as we sit on the surface, listening as the band slips further and further into darkness. Holy shit. If this were a $30 single, that track alone would make this essential for folks into psychrock, proto-metal, free jazz, avant African music or really anyone into strange and fantastical sounds.
The second track, "Asking For Love", once again begins with African drums, the two percussionists, offering up wild tangled beats for nearly two minutes, until in swoops a weird synthy buzz, which quickly transforms into a seriously Led Zep worthy riff, the drums a strange counterpoint to the distinctly rock and roll riffage, and the vocals soaring and shouting, but this kick ass riff fades out only after a minute, and we're back to more dense drumming, Mesmerizing and hypnotic, locking into incredible grooves, veering off into off kilter time signatures here and there, but always returning to that groove. This continues until about one minute from the end, when the bass and guitars explode in a buzzing psychedelic freakout, the drums mirroring the intensity of the axes, locked into an ever expanding supernova of blown out sound, until the furious explosive finish. Whew.
Track three (on the original, the start of side 2) "Battle", begins with some straight up jazz prog, angular and complex, the drums and guitars locked tight, the whole thing convoluted and intricate, stopping suddenly after 30 seconds, at which point an African thumb piano plucks out a delicate music box melody, while in the background, other strange instruments scrape and thump and honk, eventually blossoming into a full on Afro-jam, the drums pounding away, male and female vocals, call and response over the mesmeric beats below, but again, this only lasts a few minutes before switching gears and launching right back into the angular prog that opened the track. This happens a couple more times. Long stretches of abstract percussion, plenty of buzz, and rattle, melodies played out on mysterious African instruments, separated by brief blasts of that �buzzing tangled prog, which is exactly how the track finishes off.
The closer, "Pygmy" begins with a groovy walking bass line, a cowbell heavy almost-funk rhythm, eventually some acidic wah wah guitar, and suddenly we're in some serious seventies, Blaxploitation soundtrack style jazz funk, the bass a constant presence, that groove irresistible, the vocals soulful, the percussion still busy and intense, beneath the more static rhythm driving the songs. The guitar and vocals get all tangled up, the vocals more sort of scatting, the guitar offering up jagged shards of high end, or unfurling soaring psychrock leads, the bass and guitar locking into step right at the end, for one final super tight psychprog finish.
It almost seems ridiculous to describe each song in detail, as that's only part of the story. All four tracks work together, leading into one another, offering up bits from pervious songs, giving up little sonic hints as to what might come later, and it's not just the arrangements, it's the feel, the mood, the vibe, and while mere description might make some of the songs sound schizophrenic, flipping back and forth from part to part, some parts lasting only a few seconds, nothing could be further from the truth. The composition here is as deft as the performance, the arrangement is simultaneously free and abstract, yet, tight and composed. The songs breathe and open up, drift and wander, but never seem to lose their direction, and the grooves ever present, even if on the surface the band seem to be drifting though inner space.
Uganda is truly unique, freaky and far out for sure, but most definitely an essential chunk of jazzy, proggy African Japanese psych rock bliss, organic, expansive, epic, rhythmic, space-y, proggy, heavy and funky!! If you've got Julian Cope's Japrocksampler book, you'll find it in his Top 50 list of Japanese psych essentials, right above the debut from Flower Travellin' Band.
As with all Tiliqua releases, gorgeously packaged. This one is housed in a full color miniature box, printed front and back, with a Japanese style obi of course, and inside extensive liner notes in both Japanese and English, with tons of photos. And it is limited of course, not sure how limited, but judging from how quick past Tiliqua releases fly out of here, better to be safe than sorry. And this is actually the first in a new Tiliqua series called Distorted Oriental Sensory Perceptions 1969-1978 focusing on "Obscure Japanese Psychedelic rock artifacts." We can hardly wait to see what they dig up next... there's a lot of others on that Japrocksampler list we'd love to hear...
Not strictly a Secret Chiefs record, Ishraqiyun is the Chiefs' "neo-Pythagorean electro-folk" side project, which essentially consists of the non-rock based music the band routinely perform live, in non-Western tunings, and on non-Western instruments. But they're not played entirely straight, with most of the tracks sounding a bit like Master Musicians Of Jajouka by way of Don Caballero, with lots of bowed buzzing strings, tabla-like percussion, Eastern rhythms, a serious world music / international folk vibe, but then wedded to wild mathed out drumming, and swoon some cinematic strings, the arrangements intricate and the sound exotic, some mutant strain of math-prog-world music maybe?
Ishraqiyun for this debut recording is made up of various Secret Chiefs past and present, including Eyvind Kang and Ches Smith, and of course led by former Mr. Bungle weirdo and SC head honcho Trey Spruance. All the songs are exclusive to this record, although many have been performed live over the years, and anyone who's seen SC live, will definitely recognize some of the tracks here, and recorded they're just as mesmerizing and hypnotic, sprawling world-folk grooves, lush and layered and psychedelic, the sound like some alien Sublime Frequencies release. The title track is apparently the first recorded composition to feature Spruance's "evolving system of musical ideas patterned upon the specific geometrical relationships found in certain polyhedra and the tessellating patterns from which they are derived" Phew! And while maybe understanding what the heck that means might give you an insight into the mad musical genius at work here, it's not a requirement to dig these sounds. Not at all. And while most of the record is as described above, buzzing strings and will percussion, often wound around fierce propulsive proggy drumming, some tracks, like "Base Phive Futur Cossacks" mixes in some of the band's avant garde tendencies, some moments harkening back to the WTF? days of Mr. Bungle, others the band's obsession with John Carpenter style soundtrackiness, with sounds cutting in and out, swirls of mutated samples, thick buzzing synths, weird blurts of baroque pop, all draped over a woozy world music framework, and what at first sounds chaotic and on the verge of collapse, quickly becomes one of the record's highlights. And while the next two tracks (including the epic 16+ minute title track) dial back the weirdness, and deliver more whirling dervish folk prog and brooding hypnotic world music psychedelia, the final track gives us one final taste of that weird international synth-prog space-psych exotica, this time with even more synthy swirl, wild splatters of piano, blown out, distorto psychedelic guitar buzz, plenty of studio fuckery, wild edits (and if not edits, some impossibly dexterous playing), all in a swirling sonic tangle that has to be some of the most seriously dizzyingly next level, psychedelic, avant prog, faux world music we've ever heard!
Super limited new lp from the duo, Isidore Ducasse, which is Jefre Cantu-Ledesma (Root Strata, Tarentel, etc.) and his ex-Tarentel partner Trevor Montgomery. Named for the 19th century French poet better known by his pen name Comte de Lautreamont, this unit was originally formed to create the soundtrack for a Western, and while the film never materialized, the eventual soundtrack, this record right here, works just fine on its own, being darkly evocative and well able to conjure up visions of some lost West in the minds of the listeners.
Definitely mining territory similar to groups like Earth and Barn Owl, the vibe is dusty and windswept, desolate and dreamlike, opening with chiming melodies, delicate and hushed, over soft swells of tape hiss and amp buzz, the record slowly unfolding as a series of hazy, shimmery drones, all moonlit and washed out, peppered with languorous twang, streaks of warm fuzz and deep low end thrum. Stretched out atmospheres that drift from lush layered buzz, to soaring string like majesty, swoonsome melodies surfacing amidst slow swirling clouds of soft focus distortion. There are moments where the record veers into way more abstract territory, with the duo capable of conjuring up some sweet cosmic dronemusic or more minimal abstract drift, and those moments definitely have their place, and do evoke some fantastic and mysterious tableaus that no doubt play out in whatever imaginary western these sounds now accompany, and there is enough of those sounds that this will no doubt hit the spot for those into drone/drift minimalism, but the core of the record remains a dark twang flecked drift, a dreamy, otherworldly ambience, a slo-mo avant country drift, that will no doubt appeal to fans of Barn Owl, Earth, Scenic, Morricone and the like. So nice.
Pressed on 140 gram vinyl, LIMITED TO 500 COPIES!
What can we say about Isis that we haven't already said at this point. They are the masters. The Lords of epic, brooding, slow burn, metallic post rock majesty. And rightfully so. Every record has managed to push forward, exploring new territory, without losing what it is that makes us like them so much. Which is tough to do. But Isis make it seem effortless.
Sure, you can blame them for the recent glut of mediocre moody epic math rock. But it's really not their fault. Everytime a band happens upon a 'new' sound, a sound that is dramatic, and exciting, a sound that captures the ears of jaded music fans, well, undoubtedly in the wake of that band will follow an army of wannabees.
But Isis remain unfazed. They sit within their castle, atop a mountain of mighty riffs, and sharp craggy melodies, gazing down from the heavens. Free to do whatever they want with their sound, even if it pisses off the masses, especially if it pisses off the masses.
So with In The Absence Of Truth, Isis have again redefined and reassessed, resulting in a new record that is distinctly less metal, and much more moody and expansive. Lots of tribal drumming, crooning vocals, the metallic chugs aren't huge back-breaking riffs, instead they are part of the sonic landscape, contributing to the texture almost more than the overall heaviness. Where Isis were once worshippers at the altar of Neurosis, they have now pretty much entirely shed their Neurotic trappings and emerged butterfly like to display their new shape and blindingly resplendent colors. Rare is the heavy band that is as adept at crafting epic soundscapes, creating tension and weaving elaborate sonic tapestries as they are at crushing and pounding and pummeling, but Isis are definitely that rare band.
However, don't be misled by all this talk of mood and ambience, a lot of In The Absence Of Truth is very heavy, and is quite metal, vocals howl and downtuned riffs crush, drums pound and the bass throbs, the band transforming into a swaying lurching metallic behemoth. BUT, these huge bursts of metallic might are placed with care, used sparingly, the way a writer judiciously doles out his exclamation points, each blast nestled between lengthy sonic explorations and slow meandering moody mathiness, resulting in a super dynamic and entirely captivating slab of subtle heaviness.
OK, now Isis are getting in on the confusing multiple version thing, but, c'mon, you know you love it!! This is the fancy imported Japanese version, on Daymare Recordings, of the most recent Isis record In The Absence Of Truth. Not to be confused with the domestic version on Robotic Empire. This is of course incredibly limited, the ones we have are on either clear, or red vinyl, and which color you get will be COMPLETELY RANDOM, so please DO NOT request a particular color. Nice thick gatefold jackets, printed inner sleeves. These are super expensive, they're imports, they have almost the exact same artwork as the domestic version, except for a Japanese style obi, and obviously the colored vinyl. But knowing you Isis fans, you'll probably want both this one AND the Robotic Empire one, and why the heck not, it's a fucking kick ass record:
What can we say about Isis that we haven't already said at this point. They are the masters. The Lords of epic, brooding, slow burn, metallic post rock majesty. And rightfully so. Every record has managed to push forward, exploring new territory, without losing what it is that makes us like them so much. Which is tough to do. But Isis make it seem effortless.
Sure, you can blame them for the recent glut of mediocre moody epic math rock. But it's really not their fault. Everytime a band happens upon a 'new' sound, a sound that is dramatic, and exciting, a sound that captures the ears of jaded music fans, well, undoubtedly in the wake of that band will follow an army of wannabees.
But Isis remain unfazed. They sit within their castle, atop a mountain of mighty riffs, and sharp craggy melodies, gazing down from the heavens. Free to do whatever they want with their sound, even if it pisses off the masses, especially if it pisses off the masses.
So with In The Absence Of Truth, Isis have again redefined and reassessed, resulting in a new record that is distinctly less metal, and much more moody and expansive. Lots of tribal drumming, crooning vocals, the metallic chugs aren't huge back-breaking riffs, instead they are part of the sonic landscape, contributing to the texture almost more than the overall heaviness. Where Isis were once worshippers at the altar of Neurosis, they have now pretty much entirely shed their Neurotic trappings and emerged butterfly like to display their new shape and blindingly resplendent colors. Rare is the heavy band that is as adept at crafting epic soundscapes, creating tension and weaving elaborate sonic tapestries as they are at crushing and pounding and pummeling, but Isis are definitely that rare band.
However, don't be misled by all this talk of mood and ambience, a lot of In The Absence Of Truth is very heavy, and is quite metal, vocals howl and downtuned riffs crush, drums pound and the bass throbs, the band transforming into a swaying lurching metallic behemoth. BUT, these huge bursts of metallic might are placed with care, used sparingly, the way a writer judiciously doles out his exclamation points, each blast nestled between lengthy sonic explorations and slow meandering moody mathiness, resulting in a super dynamic and entirely captivating slab of subtle heaviness.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
We only got a handful of these, so odds are they will be gone quick, as the last volume disappeared in the blink of an eye. This long in the works vinyl version of the now out of print cd is finally available, but not for long
There was a time not so long ago, where the idea of mixing metal with post rock was a unique one. The thought of taking massive slabs of downtuned heaviness and mixing 'em up a bit with some moody rhythmic bits or some angstful angular bits was just a flight of fancy. A whole slew of metal bands influenced as much by Slint as Neurosis? Hardly. Well, here we are, 2008, and you pretty much can't turn around without bumping into a post rock metal band, or a metallic post rock band. Which is okay, cuz it's a sound we can definitely get behind, in fact we've been championing that sort of stuff for ages, maybe even before it had a name or was an actual musical movement. Isis were definitely one of the first of this new breed of metallic post rockers, and as such continue to hone their sound, push the boundaries and give all those young whippersnappers something to shoot for. The last proper full length was epic and majestic. A deft Neurosis / Godspeed hybrid. Expansive and majestic, but controlled and precise. Some folks have labeled it intellectual metal or something similar, but for us, it's just heavy, and complex, cinematic and gorgeous kick ass rock. In addition to proper releases, Isis have released a series of live recordings, capturing the band live, where, not only do they sound slightly heavier, and a little bit more loose (a good thing), they also stretch out, and let the songs breathe, let riffs repeat, add parts, even improvise, from dark moody drones to blown out space jams. It's awesome to hear a band at the top of their game, a band who seem to be all about control, let loose and just rock (or drone or shuffle or whatever). Live Selections 2001-2005 is the 4th live release so far, and collects material from 2001 through 2005, including on air radio performances, as well as live shows from the Troubadour, CBGB, the Middle East and more. Of all the live records, this is probably the loosest and weirdest. The songs sound great (of course) but the band takes way more chances, parts are twisted and stretched out, long parts turn into epic jams, there's even a lengthy improv / jam loosely inspired by Nirvana's "Endless Nameless". The songs sound fantastic, epic, soaring, heavy, brooding, beautiful, great recordings, amazing sound, essential for Isis fans for sure.
But the packaging, wow! Custom letterpressed gatefold jackets, really minimal and quite striking, we have the HONEY colored vinyl, a sort of translucent brown, limited to 524 copies, we only got about 10 of those, so act fast...
Admittedly, when we first heard Isis, it was like we had discovered another Neurosis. The similarities were striking, the downtuned sludge, the massive riffs, the earth crushing epics. But there can be only one Neurosis, and Isis were quick to figure that out, gradually embracing melody and mathrock as much as metallic bombast. The result was a divine melding of Neurosis and Godspeed You Black Emperor. On Panopticon, Isis move even further from their crusty metallic forbears, becoming much more contemplative and measured, subtle and melodic. Roiling waves of minor key metal-crush do still bookend most of the tracks, but the emphasis is on dreamily seasick waltzing post rock intricacy. Minimal and massive, melancholy and and cinematic, you could definitely imagine that this is what it would sound like if a band like Tarentel decided to make a 'metal' record.
The tracks here are all epic and mesmerising, slow burning post rock workouts that build and build and build. Lots of clean vocals too, a definite Alice In Chains vibe here and there, which is not at all a bad thing. Many of the songs slowly devolve into Loop-like psychedelic jams, guitars to oblivion. And it's sonically divine. Isis still get lumped under the metal umbrella, but this sounds much more like a rock band, an experimental heavy rock band who just happen to like their guitars loud and who at the drop of a hat, can whip out a riff that destroys all comers!
So what do you get when you take a band who specializes in grand and epic, super sweeping metallic post rock epics, and put them in a studio with another band who specializes in grand and epic, super sweeping metallic post rock epics? Yeah, it's sort of a trick question. The answer in case you weren't able to figure it out on your own, is: grand and epic, super sweeping metallic post rock epics! Not really a surprise then. But who cares really. If that's your cup of tea, then drink up, this will for sure hit the spot.
These two monsters of metallic post rock got together for the In The Fishtank series and whipped up these three songs, and if you're a fan of either band, you'll pretty much need this. The first track sounds a lot more like Aereogramme, brooding and slow building, loping minor key math rock, that shimmers and shuffles, eventually joined by soft vocals, while the drums get more and more affected and dubbed out. Track two is a lot heavier on the Isis, and we do mean heavier. A chugging juggernaut, slithery slow crawl, with reverbed vocals and chiming melodies, and huge howled choruses. The final track is back to the mellower side, slowly drifting guitar shimmer and droning ambience, soft swells of melody and drums way up in the mix, super dubbed out, the whole thing sounding like some sort of post rock dub version of a Sigur Ros B-side. Nice!
Islaja is pretty much our dreamdate... 'cause after all, doesn't the collective AQ personals ad state that we're really into Finnish forest freak folk? And gentle late night moodiness? And heartbreakingly beautiful, breathy vocals, sung in a language we don't understand? Droning yet melodic psychedelic soundscapes? Yep, we're swooning over here. We even think it's kinda cute that young miss Islaja (aka Merja Kokkonen) is flipping the bird on the album cover! But, we're a little jealous of the shirtless dude standing next to her, that must be her partner Jukka Raisanen, who along with Kokkonen herself plays the music heard here. We also have to contend with Thurston Moore (hey, he's a married man), who has stepped in to arrange Islaja's first domestic release on his Ecstatic Peace label, after three wonderful previous releases on the Finnish label Fonal that had us (and presumably Thurston) swooning when we all first heard 'em.
This new Islaja is just as good as any of those. Actually, Blaze Mountain Recordings is a live album, featuring versions of some songs originally found on Islaja's Fonal releases (like "Pete P" from Ulual Yyy), performed with perhaps even more intimate magic. This collection of songs is as dreamy and drowsy sounding as you'd expect, full of twilight melodies and chiming abstraction.... and sorta sounds like the Jewelled Antler folks on a dreamdate of their own with the lovely Islaja. Delicate and mopily relaxed, or sometimes dark and sinisterly nervous, always with the restraint of small sounds (some played on toy instruments?) that allow Islaja's singing (a bit Cat Power, a bit Bjork) to carry the day. Swoon swoon swoon, our hearts are yours Islaja.
It's no secret we have a deep love of so many of the sounds that come from the Finnish underground, and Islaja is one of the most golden treasures to come from that magical region. It's been over three years since we've heard new material from her, but with artists of this quality, whose songs are so meticulously constructed, we totally understand and appreciate that it takes a good deal of time to create a new album. And man oh man was the wait worth it, as Keraaminen is her most bold, up front, crisp and riveting work to date. Her earlier songs were very much buried in layers of rustic dirt, muddied and mysterious, but with her mystical sounding voice cutting through the fog. But now she has reached a place where she is confident and assured enough to strip away the excess layers while maintaining such gorgeous and evocative atmospheres, and her voice sounds as powerful, and alluring as ever. While previous outings have found her being compared to Bjork, that comparison maybe seems more apt here, as on this record she is able to use her voice as such a strong instrument conveying such striking and mesmerizing emotions. And for people who haven't heard Islaja before but love folks as haunting and varied as Zola Jesus, Fever Ray, Beth Gibbons, Jane Birkin, Brigitte Fontaine, Laurie Anderson, Kate Bush, PJ Harvey, and Jarboe, we imagine you'll probably fall very much in love with the sounds on this record. We definitely have!
Recorded in locations all across the globe, in Helsinki, Berlin, Grand Popo, and Hong Kong, this is an album that transcends both geographical and musical borders. We've loved all her albums and this one has grabbed us from our initial listen and we've been listening to it multiple times a day since it arrived, and this will probably be a record that pops up on several of our year end favorite lists too!
I'd be reluctant to identify this as quote unquote Finnish Folk Music if there weren't a family of bands making a similarly spirited music in Finland these days. Such folks include Kemialliset Ystavat, Pekko Kappi, Avarus, Kiila, Keijo, Anaksimandros, Uton, Markus -- all living in different cities yet, like a family, sometimes meeting up for a holiday in a rustic cabin to join forces. Islaja is perhaps the most pastoral and lovely member of this family, her voice confidently evoking an underground wilderness of pine and birch, shadowy lakesides, twisting footpaths and mandalas in wool and moss. The instrumentation is sparse, delicate and full of shadows, melodic clouds shaped from accordion, plucked strings, mouth harp, horn, piano and purring electronic atmospheres. The playful mood and sensitivity of these songs brings only one other artist to mind...Brigitte Fontaine (especially the album Incendie� and her other collaborations with Areski). It is worth mentioning too that the beauty of the Islaja's music, like many of her Finnish contemporaries, is fleshed out by the artist's own drawings of fantastical trees, beasts and runic patterns, completing Islaja's first release as a document of flourishing imagination. [That was a guest review by Jewelled Antler's Loren Chasse, who just returned from a trip to Finland, among other fantastical places.]
Oooh, as if that recent Lau Nau cd on Locust wasn't enough (it wasn't -- fantastic female-fronted Finnish free-folk albums are few and far between and we'll take all we can get!!), then here's the brand new second album on Fonal from Islaja. Chances are if you're a dutiful AQ customer you're already hip to her, as we've been selling her debut album Meritie pretty steadily since it came out last summer. Sweetly haunting and gentle, Islaja's music represents the loveliest extreme of the aforementioned Finnish free-folk underground, her music not quite so freaky and fractured as that of countrymen/colleagues like Avarus and Kemialliset Ystavat. More dreamy than difficult, Islaja's music reminds us a bit of Greg Weeks' psychedelic folk outfit Espers...with her singing, also Brigitte Fontaine and maybe Tara Jane O'Neil. Her delicate vocals, whispering like a mother to a child, lilting and layered, backed with bells, accordion, acoustic guitar, melodica, samples, percussion, piano... So very nice.
On her first two records, Finland's Islaja completely swept us off our feet and delivered us to an enchanted world of mystery, warmly wrapped in delicate layers of a unique beauty that just doesn't come around that often. Definitely reminiscent of Brigitte Fontaine's experimental leanings or maybe what we imagine Bjork might sound like stuck deep in a Finnish forest.
With her latest outing Islaja has done it again! She's conjured up a handful of songs that immediately begin to melt into your consciousness the roots going deeper and deeper with every listen. With the subtle addition of horns and electronics to her already dense and seductive sound, Islaja shows once again what a unique vision she possesses. Imagine Patty Waters joining White Magic at a late-night seance... Ulual YYY is like sinking into some warm dreamy state, eyes clouded with wisps of smoke until everything becomes a hazy blur. You're not sure where you are or what to do, but you are absolutely sure there is no where else you would rather be than deep inside Ulual Yyy's alluring and mystifying world. Highly recommended!
It's been a while since we've heard from either Woburn House or Klabautamann, two German post rock / metal combos we dig big time, who both share various members, and count themselves as part of a loose musical collective. Some of those shared members also do time in another group called Island, who while hewing much closer to the sound of Klabautamann, mix in enough meandery post rock and minimal shimmer and skitter, that it's easy to make the Woburn House connection as well.
We've been meaning to list this for a while, as it came out last year, and is a collection of the band's first two demos, originally released in 2004 and 2005.
Island's sound is a bit tough to describe. Folks familiar with the two above mentioned bands might be able to suss it out generally, but Island are indeed a strange beast. Slipping from Opethy folk flecked epic metal, to dense convoluted math rock, to soft shimmery ambience, to lurching classic metal, to almost doom, each song here tends to stray into two or more of those sounds, but each definitely has a distinct mood.
Album opener "Journey Through The Jewel" sounds like classic melodic black metal, Opeth, Dissection, that sort of thing, with descending arpeggiated melodies, dense chugging riffs, and some fluttery folky breakdowns, where as the follow up "River Source", could almost be Polvo or Pitchblende if it weren't for the blackened vokills, the arrangement very nineties mathrock, with indie sounding melodies melded to cool arrangements and crunchy metallic riffing.
The record shifts fluidly from mathy to metal throughout, from hooky and almost poppy to convoluted and progressive, the vocals too, shift from clean croon to harsh howl, often pairing the harsh vocals with the more indie sounds and vice versa, the result is something that should definitely please fans of Woburn House and Klabautamann, as well as folks into the current crop of less grim, more poppy blackness, a la Amesoeurs, Alcest and the like.
Montreal's The Unicorns return from the dead as Islands, a little sadder, and perhaps a little wiser. Their sound is more grown up and less lo-fi than the quirky rambunctious pop of The Unicorns, but just as eccentric and humorous as witnessed on such songs as "Don't call me Whitney, Bobby", and the bizarre indie hip-hop of "Where There's a Will, There's a Whalebone" featuring rhymes by Subtitle and Busdriver. More obsessed now with rebirth than death, the songs are longer, tighter and complex, full of hooks, melodies, and weird and innocent charm.
It happens so infrequently, it needs to be mentioned. A customer of ours rather enthusiastically purchased this Isotope 217 record, the day it arrived at Aquarius. Within an hour, he had heard the horrid sounds of these post-rock 'greats' mimicking Chuck Mangione and sold the album back to us. It's that good. Really.
Tim Smolens of Mr. Bunglesque rockers Estradasphere fronts this 60's "boy band" inspired outfit. Most obviously taking their style from the vocal harmonisations of the Beach Boys -- oh who am I fooling, this sucks major ass and I cannot say one good thing about it. Save yourself the embarrasment of owning this piece of crap.
Finland's Itavayla (sorry, we left out what are most certainly crucial umlauts over each "a" in their name because otherwise our database software will convert 'em into gibberish on our website) are a Circle-related project, featuring Circle's lead guitarist Janne Westerlund, and definitely have that Circle vibe to 'em... but imagine the repetitive, hypno-rock jams of Circle as played by ZZ Top in their '80s and '90s synthed-out, techno-blues rock style! Not to make this sound more high concept than it is, but Itavayla could be said to be an "Electro-Boogie-rock" version of Circle. Yessir. Their first, self-titled, album (which we'll have in stock soon too, and review when we do) -really- fits that description. This one, though, is a bit more varied. Going track by track: you've got a spacey, synthy soundscape called "Kristalliyo" to start things off, kinda in the mold of Zombi. Then, getting much more raucous, the second track, "Hyperborea", is a droney driving Hawkwind w/ talk box boogie + horn section Funhouse freakout. Track three "..." is a chaotic, electronic interlude that sets you up for track four's distorted sci-fi blues and ambient noise/drone mix ("Future Representation") which features some of the album's only vocals (highly treated ones at that), followed by the irresistable laid back groove of "Children Of Tomorrow", track five, replete with synthetic buzz-fuzz, harp blowing, and robotic handclaps. That one Kerry and Andee thought sounded like something from the soundtrack to a hypothetical combination porno/heist movie! And finally, "Good Men Going Down", the sixth track, is a lumbering stomper that brings the album to a dark and sudden end.
Imagine, if you will, something that blends together such things as the Magnum P.I. and Miami Vice themes, Neil Young's Trans, Trans Am, Circle (of course), Kitaro, Salvatore, Ram Jam, ZZ Top, Jonathan Kane, Groundhogs, Neu!, '80s synth soundtracks, and more. Weird and cool and recommended.
By the way...amazing band illustration on the cd itself!
Last list we highlighted a newer album, entitled Itavalta, by this Finnish band, and now we've got their equally recommended debut, available on either cd or LP (with the vinyl lacking the bonus remix track found on the cd, though). This four-song (+ remix) debut of theirs is the real reason that Circle guitarist Janne Westerlund told us that Itavayla is the "boogie rock band" he plays in. On their second disc, they took off on some other tangents beyond the barroom boogie blues. But here, that's what it's all about, sort of. Not what you'd think, though, or maybe it is. Remember, these guys are from Finland (land of weirdness) and feature a member of Circle. And sound a lot like Circle as a result, although Janne joined Itavayla -after- this recording, so they didn't get the idea from him. Circle channeling ZZ Top, that is. And we're talking ZZ Top from the '80s on, after they embraced technology and got all computerized and robotic. Thus the progged up arsenal of Roland and Yamaha synthesizers listed here, the synth-drum sounds, and even the robot voices (on "Future Boogie"). And, the minimalist, cyclic structure of these loooong hypnotic tracks (in the Circle style that we love) of repetitive slide guitar riffs, shuffling drums and honking keys.
The first track, "Black Diamond Express" appears to be built around a sampled voice (that guy can't be Finnish!) from an old time blues recording or something. Itavayla provide the backing, blending past and future both, which leads to the organ-riffed, electro-boogie overload of the next track, "Tesco". And on it goes, mesmerizing sci-fi, space age boogie blues from Finland, reaching a tranced-out peak with the 13+ minute "Jesus Kristus". So, crack open a cold Miller beer (or the Finnish equivalent, whatever that is) and kick back to these Circular, futuristic gutbucket grooves!! Seriously, Allan can't stop listening to it. Recommended.
Canadian garage-psych from 1970, now in a legit cd reissue. Apparently a much sought-after collector fave.
Ivy return with their fourth album -- perhaps their darkest and most composed work to date. It definitely stands in stark contrast to their jingle-jangle beginnings. Over the years, they've both refined and expanded their scope, but their pop heart still maintains a solid beat. With its sleek melding of the softer side of disco and the washy guitars and wispy female vocals of shoegazer, the gently rolling third track "Keep Moving" is very reminiscent of Pet Shop Boys' "West End Girls" (not a bad thing!), while other songs bring to mind Velocity Girl and Lush. Stick around for the final song "Feel So Free", a super pretty lulling duet with an uncharacteristically mellow-voiced Scott McCloud (ex-Girls Against Boys).
The third of the first three entries in the series of 3"cd-r's from San Francisco's acclaimed Jewelled Antler collective of psychedelic/drone/avant/folks comes from The Ivytree, a solo project of one of the Jewelled Antler's chief protagonists, Glenn Donaldson (who can also be found in Thuja, The Blithe Sons, Knit Separates, The Birdtree, etc). Donaldson has publicly announced an affinity for creating different monikers to accompany the innumerable variations of his musical productions, so The Ivytree may be just one in a number of upcoming 'tree' projects from Donaldson. Certainly this little 18 minute cd-r has a lot in common with his previous 'tree disc, The Birdtree album, which has recently been reissued on the Last Visible Dog label and garnered high praise from us. Centered around a plaintive, elliptical finger-picking guitar technique which renders every note full of melancholia, "The Sun Is The Lamp" weaves in and out of harmonium drones, field recordings of birds, and Donaldson's evocative vocals. As strong as the best Richard Youngs projects that might be the closest comparison we can make, this is another fantastic recording from Jewelled Antler!
MPEG Download: "The Withering Year" [/audio/ivytreewitheringyear.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "The Withering Year" [/audio/ivytreewitheringyear.m3u]
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Welcome again to the idyllic, enigmatic folk realm of Jewelled Antler's Glenn Donaldson. The Ivytree is but one of his sonic guises (see also Blithe Sons, Skygreen Leopards, The Birdtree, Thuja). Often collaborating with his Jewelled Antler colleagues, this Ivytree release on Catsup Plate finds Glenn all by his lonesome, but of course there's no lack of all the (wonderful) ingredients you usually find on a Jewelled Antler / GD recording... field recordings, drones, lazy acoustic reveries, and his vocals, high and drifting, not to wake the sleepers but to find harmony in the clouds. Nature, as always, is a big element here, and it seems there's also a Biblical inspiration at the roots of the Ivytree (song titles include "Flood", "Book Of Job", "Churches" and "Clay Tablets"). Anyone already mood-pleased by Glenn's previous offerings, especially by the now-out-of-print Birdtree album or his duo with Donovan Quinn in Skygreen Leopards, will find the dozen songs and soundscapes here much to their liking. Lovely. And if you're new to JA/GD, as good a place to start as any!
Comes in a nice lil' brown cardboard digipack, with Glenn's magnificent, colorful, birdy collages on the cover, the disc itself, and also on a two-siced mini poster inside... I think he's making his music for these feathered, beaked, half-birds, half-men of his imagination and they're probably devoted fans likewise. Fortunately we get to hear it too.
Rarities, B-sides, and other anomalies from SF's punk ensemble whose lovable Lance Hahn is slightly upset with "the fuckers who released this domestically."
We've dearly missed our daily visits from J Church mainman Lance Hahn since he moved away from SF to Texas, but we're pleased as punch to see he's been keeping healthy and busy. Released on his label, Meaty, Beaty, Shitty is subtitled "Singles and shit from
Long awaited fifth full-length from these SF pop-punk stalwarts J Church. Prior to its release, there were rumours that this cd was possibly going to be a double album, but nope, they fit all 26 songs on one cd. This time around taking their time recording at Lucky Cat Studios, Lance, Adam and Jeff are taking it a bit more laidback -- leaving more room for the melodies to shine through. Whether this shift in pace is due to a very alarming health scare or new love, who knows? J Church are back and sounding fresh and in high spirits. Adding to the light springy air of this record are the sweet vocals of the lovely Kelly, formerly of SF's PEE. Particularly key tunes: "Anybody" and "The Track". Great stuff.
The resilience, strength and determination of Lance Hahn of pop-punk vets J Church are unquestionable. He's soldiered forth in the face of much adversity - health problems and a fire that consumed his home and Honey Bear Records headquarters. This new collection follows their Meaty, Beaty, Shitty Sounding (2001) and their great One Mississippi (2000), but actually was intended as a follow-up to 1996's Drama Of Alienation which preceded One Mississippi. Still with me? Needless to say, JC's Lance Hahn is super prolific, a tireless songwriter and road warrior. This cd displays his honest, no-frills, capture-the-moment recording processes. It was recorded whenever and wherever worked for them - both budget and timewise. In fact, many of these recordings were done years ago, and due to a number of obstacles, are only now seeing their release. That said, there are some rough spots, unfixable flaws, and downright murky moments in these recordings, but fans of J Church know full well what the band's all about, and that's doing the best with what's at hand and maintaining a sense of immediacy. Lance's lyrics address both the personal and political. Thus, to further encourage the grassroots exchange of ideas, he also includes a suggested reading list along with the lyric sheet in the liner notes. That list includes works by Nagisa Oshima, Hans Richter, Paul Avrich among others.
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Maybe it's just 'cause we miss our ol' pal Lance Hahn, ever since he moved off to Austin, TX a little while back, that reviewing this release by his melodic, energetic pop-punk band J Church just makes us all nostalgic, thinking about when we could count on seeing Lance almost everyday hanging out here at Aquarius. But of course we're happy he's happy over there in Texas, and we're also happy to report that J Church is as vital as ever. This split teams five tracks performed by Lance Hahn's new Texan J Church lineup with four cuts by another Austin-based band, Storm The Tower, who play a Black Flagish, vaguely metallic style of hardcore. Their side is no let down, while J Church's half adds five fine new songs to the vast J Church discography, ranging from galloping pop punk anthems to explorations in guitar noise texture. Opening track "Terror Or Love" we almost thought was '80s metal before Lance's distinctive, earnest, diy vocals kicked in on the chorus!
Self-described by J.K. himself, Suddenly One Summer "was actually a spiritual realization through LSD." Certainly a dark psych album with hazy morose, Moby-Grape-style vocals that sound as if they're being uttered by a cosmic being somewhere beyond the next
We flipped over this French/Italian fuzz/garage/noise pop combo after an aQ pal insisted we'd dig em. And dig em we did. So much so that we proclaimed "Odyssey Of Love" the opening track of their first record our jam of the year, and here it is months and months later an we find ourselves still blasting that jam regularly, along with the rest of the record.
And then out of nowhere came a brand new full length of J.C. Satan's peculiar brand of psychedelic noise pop, and if anything, this latest record cranks up the noise considerably, at least over the first few tracks, so the pop, while still most certainly present, is often buried beneath crumbling walls of guitar crunch, or strange sing song vox, or wild squalls of psychedelic freakout. Thick crunchy riffs, wild chaotic drumming, lots of jangle and soaring melody, the first half of the record fierce and frantic, the sort of thing that would have the crowd sweaty bouncing wildly, the sort of band that would be a perfect match for our own Oh Sees.
But as the record progresses, the noise seems to abate bit, revealing the jangle pop underneath, with the sound slipping from old school Modest Mouse to quirky Blonde Redhead, but their own twisted and slightly noisy take on both. Check out "Crystal Snake" with its weird slow build almost Sun City Girls sounding melodies all woven into some seriously heavy fuzzy garage rock crunch, or "Close To Me", all slithery jangle rock ballad, replete with crashing noisy chorus, or "Abandon" which takes the Beach Boys' dreamy surf pop and makes it even more dreamy, all hazy and druggy, or "In The Light", that sounds downright Beatles-esque, albeit a bit more warbly and lysergic.
The heavy buzzy noisy garage rock perfectly balanced by the more washed out and woozy dream pop, and yet another record from these guys (and gals) we can't seem to get enough of.
Recommended to us by an aQ pal (thanks Hank!) as most likely being 'right up our alley', we were pretty excited to check out this French / Italian outfit, heck, they're called JC Satan, and the record cover is a pretty intense and bizarre painting of a masked man covered in blood and sores, surrounded by two topless demon women, one wearing a pentagram, the other with 666 carved on her belly, the trio standing between two big pillars of smoke, but the drawing is not 'metal scary', more cartoonish, which should have been our first hint that this 'Satan band was not at all metal, and instead, trafficked in something else entirely. That something else in this case is some fantastic fuzz poppy garage rock, a sound much more in like with Thee Oh Sees and the Fresh And Onlys and the like than anything remotely heavy or evil.
In fact the opening track "Odyssey Of Love" might be out new favorite garage pop jam, all big chiming reverby guitars, pounding echoey drums, Beach Boys-ish vox, sweet female background vocals, dreamy and hooky and washed out and hazy and a little bit druggy. But wait, the second track "Prehistoric Love" is just as good, more laid back and low slung, with some impossibly distorted guitars, that blown out, peaking production making everything that much more murky and muddy, but with a soaring chorus, kick ass drumming, and some rad howled female screams, this is some dark buzzy fuzzy garage rock bliss for sure.
"Your Place" gets all spaced out an minimal, like some lost lo-fi NZ drone pop gem, a smoldering garage rock ballad, all spidery melodies, and woozy, weary boy/girl harmonies, "Itaca" is also laid back and dreamily druggy, sounding like Mazzy Star via Dum Dum Girls, "The Day" gets things going again, with some Lyres like riffage, some knuckle dragging drum pound, and more of that meter pegging production, while "You Are Good" is another warped dirgey blast of sixties style reverb heavy garage-y groove, and so it goes, a dark and mysterious collection of deliriously druggy fuzzed out garage rock from this Euro crew, the sort of thing that should have the current crop of fuzz pop garage rockers anxiously checking their rearview mirrors...
Most definitely recommended for fans of Thee Oh Sees, Blasted Canyons, Ty Segall, Bare Wires, Davila 666, etc...
NOW ALSO ON COMPACT DISC, the new album of evilized, primitive, garage rock crunch from these Satanic (?) weirdos, and while this new one still has much in common with the other records, it's at once simultaneously more raw and primitive, but also kinda more proggy. In fact, opener, "Satan II" almost sounds like a metallic, heavy garage version of prog-pop masters The Cardiacs. Albeit with plenty of spooky drones, spacey synths, and creepy atmospherics. But honestly, this is about as heavy and intense and brutal as 'garage rock' gets. A little bit surprised they haven't done a record for Castle Face, cuz it's the sort of sound that would definitely appeal to the Ty Segall / Thee Oh Sees / Mikal Cronin set. But it's not all pummeling crunch and howling bash and pound, although most of the songs feature some of that. They're also pretty goddamn good at whipping up hook heavy distorted pop, and wrapping it in almost Hawkwind-y psychedelic swirl. It's a strange concoction, and as you can tell from the review so far, pretty tough to accurately describe, but if some super poppy, ultra heavy, FX drenched, proggy and metallic, occultic, new wavey, distorto-garage sounds right up your alley, not only will this hit the spot, but J.C. Satan might be the only outfit even remotely capable of whipping up this sort of damaged, genius racket. Their best record so far by a long shot (which is saying a lot, considering how much we log pretty much everything they put out) and the sort of shit anyone into ANY of the other garage rock happening now should be flipping the fuck out over!
We had never heard of Nicolas Jaar before, a well renowned techno producer apparently, but we were immediately blown away by Space Is Only Noise, which seems to be only tangentially 'techno', to our ears it's more a collection of brooding electronic ballads, exploring the world of slo-mo soul already being mined by folks like Burial and How To Dress Well, but In Jaar's hands, that sound becomes something else entirely, just have a listen to the opener "Etre", after a minute or two of lapping waves, and some strange samples, Jaar creates a gorgeous landscape of mournful melody, and strangely clipped and stuttered vocals, the remove most of the sound and render those voices more as rhythm, the combination of the two is so mysterious, and so otherwordly, and when he then introduces the sound of children playing, it ends up being gorgeous and creepy, as the piano grows more dissonant and chaotic. Heck, we would have been happy with a whole record of just that. But there's so much more going on. "Colomb" takes some Pop Ambient swirl and adds a strangely stuttery handclap beat, and some strange autotuned vocals, the resulting croon, both warm and sensual, and strangely alien. Elsewhere, like on "Too Many Kids Finding Rain In The Dust", Jaar channels Gainsbourg, and creates a dark rainy day ballad, that is techno only by merit of the programmed rhythms, "Keep Me There" is another sultry soundscape of skittery beats, liquid samples, dramatic melodies, handclap rhythms, and strange processed vox.
We could go on, track by track, but you should have a measure of what's going on here, and how much we're digging it. A mix of French pop, minimal techno, slo-mo soul, downtempo electronica, with a heaping helping of strange samples, moody warped vocals, lush textures, subtly twisted percussion, and smoldering moodiness to burn, is making this a new favorite for sure. Fans of Blue Daisy, Burial, How To Dress Well, Holy Other, Kode 9, Swarms, Balam Acab, Shlohmo, as well as dark brooding electronic pop music, would do well to check this out!
Norwegian label Miasmah has long been home to a stable of artists creating the sorts of sounds we can't ever seem to get enough of: dark, brooding, electronic flecked hauntological cinematic soundscapes, and late night mysterious classical infused dronemusic, artists like Elegi, Macus Fjellstrom, Gultskra Artikler, FNS, Kreng, Jasper TX, and of course Jacaszek, aka Polish electro-acoustic composer and soundscaper Michal Jacaszek, and while Jacaszek only made one record for Miasmah, it was such a perfect fit, that it was easy to imagine Jacaszek as emblematic of the label's sound. But here we are a few years later, and Jacaszek has already moved on to a new label, but thankfully taken that 'Miasmah' sound with him. And if anything, this new one is even more fully realized than Treny, which was already a unanimous aQ fave. And really how could it not be? Like Treny before it, Glimmer unfurls a ghostly world of blur and shadow, of hum and thrum and glitch and crackle. Operating in a darkened world not that far removed from the Caretaker or Philip Jeck or Demdike Stare, albeit with a bit more of a classical bent, Jacaszek conjures up haunting brooding soundworlds of lush shimmering strings, of echo drenched harpsichord, of woozy loops and hazy staticky record crackle, soft slow swells, that grow so distorted and intense, they slip easily into the red, transforming into something much more harrowing than the music of many of his sonic brethren. The sound threatening to collapse or explode, an urgent pulsing, nearly grinding buzz, that as quickly as it blossomed, seems to slip right back into languid expanses of soft focus drift. Horns and strings, acoustic guitars, all layered delicately into creaking faded stretched of hushed mesmer, an old timey chamber music, transmitted from the other side, much of the sound damaged and decayed as it crossed over, resulting in some darkly alien dronescaping, that slips easily from warped, looped murky moody ooze, to lush, almost pop flecked cinematic post classical drift, the sound at either end of that sonic spectrum flecked with bits of glitch, and audio detritus, the sound seeming to gradually fade and flake as the record spins, almost as if on the next play, it would sound even more washed out and hazy.
There are moments where the sound coalesce into something much more polished, and more traditionally musical, but even then, the music is underpinned by an ominous foreboding, wreathed in strange muted loops, and mysterious sonic fragments, as if being listened to through some sort of dusty old sonic veil, loveliness gradually darkening, shadows lengthening, melodies unwinding and growing subtly more menacing, the recording revealing more and more crackle, swirls of hiss like little dustdevils, all woven into some sort of otherworldly funereal threnody, dreamlike and lovely, but always on the verge of drawing the listener into the mysterious dark place from which these haunting sounds emanate...
