Heavy With Illusion is a collaboration between RST and Lenz, the latter being a previously unknown singer from Shanghai; and the former being one of our favorite New Zealand drone technicians, aka Andrew Moon. The previous RST outings are all-consuming thrums of amplifier smolder and long-form drone topography, coming out of the same tradition that begat Gate, Birchville Cat Motel, Surface Of The Earth, etc; and we had loved everything Moon has ever touched. That still remains true with this collaboration, though this album is very much a departure for RST. Heavy With Illusion allows us a glimpse into Moon's craft for the song, taking up the mantle of lumbering slowcore previously mined by Codeine, Low, or even the latter day incarnation of Earth. There's a melodic miserablism to Moon's chiming if heavy guitar which make full use of loud-soft dynamics with occasional drums punctuating the crashes spread out through these songs. Lenz mostly sings in Cantonese, very occasionally in English, those instances, along with the translated lyrics, speak to the morose poetry of Lenz's lyrics - death, the loss of love, psychic dislocation, and the disconnection from nature. She alternates between a plainspoken narration and world-weary melodies, as if Jenny Toomey of Tsunami were to front a Codeine / Charalambides cover band. Moon does offer two tracks of his drone-centric work with Lenz sitting those out on the sidelines. But the two together create a special sort of minimal musical magic. Pretty amazing, we gotta say!
Following her former Royal Trux partner Neil Hagerty's solo path, Jennifer Herrema has fired up the scuzz-rock engines with her new band RTX. Transmaniacon (named after the Blue Oyster Cult song?) is filled with Herrema's distinct ultra distorted, raunchy bad girl goodness. A bit poppier that the Trux were, and it's all pretty rad until she gets her hands on Cher's autotune vocal processor for the sixth song "PB+J". Ugh! Truly the album's low point. Fortunately the novelty of that piece of recording gear has worn off by the next song, and we're back to the RTX slurred rawk party. That is until the very cool and Interpol-y second to last song "Is Red" with her new bandmate Nadav Eisenmann taking over vocal duties, and the final song, the totally fucked-up "Resurrect" that only gets more and more fucked up as it nears its end.
YES! The follow up to the RTX's totally sick first record, Transmaniacon!!!! This record is the next step in RTX's path to hair metal scuzzy party excellence. The opening track, "Western Exterminator" which is a sort of dusty old Mexican cantina acoustic number, with sweet backwards guitar shreds and flute solos... might be a little unexpected, but by the second track we know what's up. The good time Shreddy Van Halen "Balls To Pass" harkens back to the debut. Filled to the brim with hot lixxxx and killer song writing. Jennifer Herrema's voice is sounding as fucked up as ever, adding a really cool noisy element to all the songs. The lyrics are also perfect. In the third track, "Black Bananas" she sings something about being the Garbage Collector...!!! Fuck yeah. Basically, if you like the first one, and also if you like the Accelerator side of Royal Trux, you're gonna love this record. Its a little bit more metal, especially on the track "Wo-Wo Din"...weird heavy. Uhhh, don't know what else to say...the whole record is killer and we're probably gonna be partying and BBQing to it all summer...poppy, heavy, party, noisy, kinda weird, and PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Following their compilation release with Pink & Brown, The Lowdown and Lozenge (also on Toyo), SF's cardboard and tin foil superheroes Rubber O Cement are back with twenty-three more tracks of comical lo-fi power electronic action. Rumors (which are
We'd been hearing about these guys for a while, the new group featuring legendary Butthole Surfers drummer King Coffey, a band that apparently formed nearly a decade ago, yet Farewell Drugs is the first recorded evidence, and still all we can say is it was totally worth the wait. Just listen to the first two minutes of album opener "Cigarette Rabbit", and you'll be transported to some drug addled psychedelic sonic otherworld, or maybe just back to the eighties, to some grim, filthy dive bar in bumfuck Texas filled with flashing lights and cloud of noxious smoke, where you're immediately ensorcelled by that oh so recognizable drumming, cuz holy shit does Rubble sound a lot like vintage Buttholes, King Coffey's drumming, dirgey and tribal, and woozily propulsive, pounding its way through dense clouds of detuned guitar fug, and a grimy fog of dying-batteries FX boxes, all manner of voices and vocals dipped in effects and reverb and sent careening into the blackened swirl of rhythmic churn and blurred drugrock chaos. But Rubble is not at all a Buttholes revival, although these guys pull off that psychedelic murk like no one has ever since. There's plenty more going on, like the noise rock dirge of "It's So Easy" (we were secretly hoping it was a Guns N' Roses cover, and which is in fact a Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies cover!), driven by thick, viscous riffing, caveman drum pound and some heavily effected lysergic vox, the whole thing a sort of psych sludge dirge on the verge of total collapse. Then there's "Waiting To die" (which we were also hoping was maybe a Townes Van Zandt cover), which shrugs off much of the murk and muddiness of the first few tracks for some seriously kick ass Stooges-y swagger, with cool raspy vox, chugging riffage, some tangled psychedelic leads, and a downright catchy sing along chorus. But then it's right back into it, with "Tom Of Midland", the guitar (or is it bass), fuzzy and buzzy and practically oozing, those Buttholes drums pounding mesmerizingly, the song gradually growing more and more chaotic and noisy and finally disappearing in a wild squall of tangled psychguitar.
But hold onto your hats for "Old Dominion", a bass driven slow burn shuffle, all woozy and washed out and then what the heck is that? Fucking kalimba! A thumb piano plucking out a dreamy melody over the group's druggy slow groove dirge, sorta like some Texas sludge Konono No.1, weird at first, but then suddenly you end up wishing there was kalimba on ALL the tracks. The sound shifts back to murky and crusty, until "On The Road South" that sounds impossibly like classic Hawkwind, and we're not talking freaked out space jam Hawkwind, although there's plenty of that too, we're talking catchy pop song Hawkwind, Rubble totally killing it with another hook filled psych pop heavy rock stomp that any other band would make their whole sound, but part of the joy here is you can sort of tell, it's sort of tossed off and effortless, and just maybe they don't realize (or even care) how good it is.
There's one more stretch of heavy spaced out psych pound before things get weird (or weirder!), with a closing one two punch that just seal the deal. "Southside Ashes" is all dirge-y drum pound, whirling guitardrone ambience and FIDDLE!! (courtesy of Ralph White from the Bad Livers, who also plays kalimba!), a dark brooding almost Godspeed like slow build, that leads right into record closer "Grey At Grace", which is a sprawling buzzing tripped out violin laced raga (!), all muted percussion and long layered tones, layered swirling psychedelic shimmer, hauntingly and meditative, a gorgeous chunk of minimal krautdrone mesmer that is probably the most surprising ending we never could have envisioned for this twisted slab of Texas drug rock psych.
Record Of The Week easy, record of the year contender for sure as well!
Cool, creepy see-through skull / health film-strip visible brain artwork, includes a download coupon as well!
Eccentric Bay Area band Rube Waddell have gone back and remastered their albums so now a whole new bunch of folks can dig these guys' fun and oddball approach to music making! The beloved local trio make great use of the usual rock instruments, but also include more oddball sound making devices such as sousa horn, jaw harp, mahogany and koa wood ukuleles, accordion, glass harmonica, marimba, autoharp, and much more. Rube Waddell's sound is a little bit acousticky punk, a little bit Tom Waitsian drunken carousing, a touch of twangy silliness, and a pinch of gravely blues rowdiness. An SF institution!
The madcap post-modern musical quartet from SF have returned! They bring with them their trademark bulging grab bag of homespun instruments and styles such as zydeco, vaudeville, exotica, swing jazz, Appalachian folk, swamp blues... the list is endless. Musically they're often quite reminiscent of the eccentric'n'eclectic Captain Beefheart, Ween and Frank Zappa. Vocally, they possess the disgruntled yet endearing gruffness commonly associated with the likes of Tom Waits. The big picture is usually quite loosey goosey in mood, razor-sharp irreverently witty lyric-wise, but always expertly and imaginatively performed. Really, who can resist a song about one of the Mission District's icons -- the late night saviour of three-sheets-to-the-wind growling bellies, the Tamale Lady!! Note: Greatest Hits is actually an album of all brand new songs, not a best of per se... 'though we guess time will tell if the album's title rings true. Nonetheless, always a wacky good time!
Local darlings who had the balls to play their idiosyncratic brand of jump blues punk twang outside Leeds shoe store on Mission Street. Reissue of their first album with 6 extra tracks (two are previously unreleased!)
It doesn't get much more breezy and subtly seductive then this one sided 12" by Rubies, with their pal Feist lending her sultry voice to the cause. We've been really anxious to hear Rubies, fronted by Simone Rubi who we always loved in her old band Call & Response. Much like her Call & Response cohort Daniel Judd who is now making some of the smartest and most satisfying electronic music around as Sorcerer, Rubies seems to also have a nice dreamy dance vibe going on. A little more subdued and mellow then the rest of the Italians Do It Better camp, this still fits perfectly on this label that's been doing an amazing job of creating a new legion of disco inspired sounds for this generation. While we wish there was another track on the 'b' side, the almost nine minutes of "I Feel Electric" as remixed by TieDye has been hitting the spot for summertime dancin' with glasses overflowing with bubbly, and fresh strawberries in hand. So sweet and flowing.
Discos Mariposa is quickly becoming one of our new favorite reissue labels alongside Japan's EM Records. Last list we told you about the Alceu Valenca & Geraldo Azevedo record we had fallen in love with and this time out there are two more that we can't seem to keep our ears off of. Paulo E Bagunca A Tropa Maldita (reviewed elsewhere on this list) and this record from Rubinho & Maura Assumpcao. Recorded in 1972 and until now a pretty impossible to find rarity, this Rio De Janeiro duo play totally seductive & dreamy bossa-samba-psychedelic pop. With a nod toward California dreamy west-coast introspection and that irresistible laid back sound that folks in Brazil always got so right. The cover picture of the two of them naked peeking out from within the branches of a tree in some enchanted forest gives you a pretty good indication of the sensual sounds contained within. You might remember their song from the Brazilian edition of the Love Peace & Poetry series, but unlike lots of rediscovered lost 'classics' with one or two good songs, this is an album that perfect from start to finish.
Before summer starts to fade away we wanted to make sure to list this colorful, breezy, and tastefully eclectic pop album from New Zealand's The Ruby Suns. Packed with songs that are perfect for those long drives on a summer night, they tap into that carefree classy spirit that bands like The Aislers Set used to capture so perfectly. There's also plenty of Beach Boys harmonic glory and hints of soft psychedelia that on many songs finds the 'Suns sounding like the super sweet and cuddly version of Panda Bear.
I had this friend in high school named Davey. He was one of my first weird 'punk' friends. He eventually got expelled for distributing a very funny anti-faculty newsletter, and eventually drifted off and disappeared. But one of the first things he did after we met was to was make me a tape, with Red Lorry Yellow Lorry on one side, and Rudimentary Peni on the other. At the time, I remember being a bit underwhelemed since at the time my taste was still definitely safely in the top 40. But eventually Rudimentary Peni would become a favorite (especially after discovering the manaically precise artwork of head Peni Nick Blinko that graced all of their album covers) and open me up to all sorts of metal and punk and crust. So here we are 20 years later, and Rudimentary Peni are still plugging away, as dark and crusty as ever, and maybe even a bit heavier to boot. This 12 track EP is a creepy, claustrophobic missive of fuzzy guitar, hypnotic and repetitive riffing, gloomy atmosphere, pounding rhythms, cryptic and ultra personal lyrics, and of course Blinko's immediately recognizable artwork. Always worth the several years wait between albums. Probably takes Blinko that long to just draw the covers!
We're slowly working our way through the Rudimentary Peni catalog, as all of their confusingly brilliant releases gets reissued, and as much as we love all of em, Cacophony is one of our faves, a super bizarre concept record originally released in 1989, not really sure exactly what the concept is, but it must be something demented, cuz as weird as the other RP records are, this might be the weirdest, sonically, it's got all the warped death rock weirdness and twisted post punk crush we love, sinewy basslines, jagged angular guitars, the super distinctive caterwaul of frontman Nick Blinko, but it seems like even the most straight ahead songs eventually devolve into total WTF weirdness.
"Nightgaunts" is less than a minute, but fuses garbled deep voiced speaking in tongues with frantic almost metal guitars, burbly basslines, and some frantic hyper punk rock pound, while "the Horrors In the Museum" starts off with a weird spoken word bit, before launching into one of the poppiest RP jams ever, bass driven and super melodic, peppered with some creepy crawly vocals and a noisy psychedelic sort-of-bridge, only to break down about half way through, into a free form noisescape, clouds of crumbling guitar distortion, disembodied riffage, noodly bass runs, and a wild tangle of bizarre voices, sung and spoken, high and low, a demonic choir of sorts, the song continuing to devolve to the very end. And so it goes, some tracks are snarly and swaggery and mean as fuck ("The Only Child"), others are wild and psychedelic and oozing all sorts of wild warped guitar noise, as well as still more bizarre vox ("Architectonic And Dominant"), and others are classic UK post punk, all Joy Division bass and rad angular guitar crunch ("The Evil Clergymen"), we could go on but just trust us, this is 30 tracks, 43 minutes of genius outsider creepy downer death rock noise punk that's equal parts drug addled what-the-fuck weirdness, impossibly hook filled poppiness, twisted over the top art-rock, metallic riffing, punk rock pound, and just tons of confusing non-musical sounds, including lots of voices, to the point where it sounds like a play is going on while RP perform, the production pretty twisted as well, it's not hard to imagine Cacophony as some sort of death rock musical, being performed at a creepy abandoned theater, the full moon lighting the stage through the crumbling remains of the roof, the band garishly costumed and performing for a crowd of ghosts and shadows, wraiths and demons. Total art damaged post punk genius! And as always, adorned with Nick Blinko's maniacally intricate hand drawn artwork.
Easily one of our favorite post punk / death rock groups EVER. Tense and angular, angry and ominous, sinister and sinuous, dark and gothic, every song here a stone cold gloom punk classic, the bass thick and almost new wavey, the guitars jagged, fuzzy and distorted, raw riffage and driving drum pound, all in support of the twisted vocals of Nick Blinko, whose distinctive vocals are only rivaled by his even more distinctive artwork, which adorns the cover (and the cover of all their records), a dizzyingly meticulous black and white horrorscape, that perfectly captures the world of nightmarish, anxiety ridden terror that lurks within the grooves of Death Church, and presumably within Blinko's mind as well, which is probably what resulted in several stints in mental institutions.
Even all these years later, Rudimentary Peni sound so good, their music so relevant, and whether consciously or not, aped by far too many modern bands to count, powerful and personal, depressive and kicking-against-the-pricks pissed off, and catchy as fuck, this record has lost none of its twisted black energy in the nearly twenty years since it was first released.
Let's just start by saying WE LOVE RUDIMENTARY PENI. Easily one of our favorite punk rock groups EVER. Murky and muddy and furious and freaked out. If you somehow don't already own Death Church or Cacophony, you must go try to track them down immediately. Those two records are as near flawless as something fucked up and punk rock and gloomy and demented can actually get without ceasing to be all those things.
Much has been written about Peni frontman Nick Blinko, who has spent most of his adult life in and out of asylums, and who is responsible for the band's super striking album covers, super intricate pen and ink drawings, which must take forever, and could only have been drawn by someone either truly inspired, truly demented or both. And somehow, those drawings perfectly and impossibly reflect the music on the inside. Where the drawings are incredibly detailed and complex to the point of mania, the music is stripped down and repetitive, often with just one or two parts, the vocals often just a few lines repeated over and over.
Listening to No More Pain, the first RP record in almost 4 years, we were struck by how much all of the super raw and stripped down primitive black metal sounds like Rudimentary Peni. Akitsa, Bone Awl, Ancestors, Ildjarn, plenty of D-beat stuff, slow it down to a more garagey punk rock pound and it's uncanny. In fact, the mind boggles at a black metal Peni, imagining these tracks sped up and blackened, wow.
Anyway, this is classic Peni, 10 songs, less than 20 minutes, simple, stomping riff heavy crusty punk, the drums pounding away, the riffs repetitive and mesmerizing, the vocals growled and howled and crooned, the lyrics mantra-like, the songs weirdly catchy too, almost poppy, but just 'off' enough to remain dark and mysterious and intense.
The only true weirdness is a very unexpected cover of Pachelbel's Canon, which to be honest, sounds pretty good, the guitars all warped and twisted, but it almost sounds too happy, but everything is slightly off enough, and just a little bit cracked that is manages to sound just a bit demented, which we can only suppose is the point.
As we mentioned in our review of Rudimentary Peni's recent Death Church, RP are maybe one of our favorite death rock outfits ever, and we were psyched to discover that their whole catalog is getting reissued, on vinyl, and apparently again on cd. We raved about Death Church a little while back, the group's 1983 debut, but now we leap all the way to the end, at least the end of the first era to the oddly named Pope Adrian 37th Psychristiatric, the group's final full length from 1995, a concept record conceived of while singer/guitarist Nick Blinko was in a mental hospital, the title, and the concept based on Blinko's delusions of being the titular pope. And while all the RP records are pretty twisted, this one definitely feels like the most warped, not just the music, which is often weirdly carnivalesque (check out opener "Pogo Pope", with its woozy riff, and mush mouthed nonsense vocalizing), but there's also a loop of Blinko muttering something in Latin (we think) which starts off the record, and plays continuously throughout, so you can hear it between songs, during all the quiet parts, and even during lots of the more rocking sections. It adds a pretty weird almost psychedelic vibe to the already twisted proceedings. And while that first that track sets the bar pretty high, it doesn't get any less weird. The core sound remains similar to past records, low slung bass, jagged slashing guitars, wild chaotic drumming, and of course Blinko's distinctive vocals, even more unhinged here than usual, the songs too, some definitely look back to past records, but a lot are bouncier, and more repetitive sounding, and the vocals follow suit, often repeating the same phrase over and over, or holding notes for ages, droning out in some weird ritualistic incantation.
That said, for all its weirdness, maybe BECAUSE of it, Pope Adrian still rules, and remains an all time favorite, as does everything in RP's catalog, all of which will eventually be getting reissued again. Fuck yeah!
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
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This came out about a year ago but chances are you never saw it--we only managed to get some recently. Ruin (not to be confused with Japan's Ruins, plural) were a Philadelphia hardcore band from the eighties, and this is basically their entire output, on one cd (from master tapes miraculously salvaged from a sidewalk sale!). Way ahead of their time, Ruin mixed the hc mosh parts up with psychedelic rock (they do an amazing cover of "White Rabbit") and eastern mysticism (they all were Buddhists). In addition to Jefferson Airplane, the disc also includes covers of the Rolling Stones, and a couple Leonard Cohen tunes, along with classic Ruin originals "Alter", "Proof", and many others. Highly recommended.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
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Kathleen Hanna, former member of now defunct Bikini Kill breaks out with her own solo album, wherein she makes all the music and vocals. New to her sound is an emphasis on loops and manufactured beats.
Relisting this in case you missed it on our mystery themed in-between list last week (we gave it a new, expanded write-up just for that).
"Japanese duo on John Zorn's domestic label." Good grief, is that ALL we wrote about this when we first listed it way back when (1995)?? Might as well say that the Beatles were "a British quartet on London-based label Parlophone". There's a lot more to the story.
First off, bass and drums two piece Ruins are/were probably our favorite crazy underground Japanese band, next to the Boredoms. Drummer/mastermind Tatsuya Yoshida is a musical genius, and if you've been paying attention to our site over the years you're read our raves about many, many of his various albums and projects, from Ruins to Koenjiyyakei to Korekyojinn to Zubi Zuva... etc., etc.
Hyderomastgroningem (that's a mouthful!) was the first Ruins disc to come out on Tzadik. It features bassist Ryuichi Masuda, who also played on their out of print classic Burning Stone (1992), and may in fact be the only Masuda-era Ruins disc still in print, as well as being the last one that he appeared on (Ruins has had several bassists over the years, all of them amazing, but Masuda was our fave).
There's 20 tracks here of the Ruins' complex, heavy, stripped down Magma-inspired prog madness, some continuing the catchiness of Burning Stone and earlier works, others getting more imrov-like and experimental and noisy... super distorted bass, faux-operatic (and nonsensical) vocals, Yoshida's usual octopoidal drumming, repetitive rhythmic bludgeon... it's all here, along with unique touches to this album, like a track where Masuda plays a radio, for instance.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
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Back in print! And a "Special Edition" to boot, meaning Skin Graft have made some slight changes to the artwork and, more importantly, tacked on five previously unheard bonus tracks! That makes for 25 tracks in total of frantic riff-packed precision prog punk on this collection of unreleased studio (4 and 8 track recordings) and live material from one of Japan's most amazing bands, the heavy & hyper drum/bass duo led by Tatsuya Yoshida. Originally released in 1997, this disc featured four songs with former bassist Ryuichi Masuda, while the rest heralded the debut of then-new six-string bass man Sasaki Hisashi (since departed, from Ruins that is). The live tracks also have guests from Boredoms/Omoide Hatoba, Tipographica (a saxophonist, for maximum jazz-Ruins dementia) and other bands, jamming on some of the Ruins' "greatest hits", including such favorites as "Hyderomastgroningem", "Burning Stone", "Dhaskrive", "Del Fanci Kant," and "Infect" (that one particularly enhanced with some intense synth keyboard action). The studio material includes some songs originally written as far back as 1988 but never before recorded, all super killer stuff to say the least! We should mention the track "Still Life", a good portion of which almost sounds like something by Italy's Sinistri, it's so abrupt and sparse. Fittingly, the disc ends with their now notorious prog-rock medley, referencing dozens of obscure riffs -- from King Crimson, Yes, Gong, Goblin, Rush, ELP, Samla Mamas Manna, PFM, Caravan, Area, Magma (of course), and many more -- in a lightning-fast fury. Recommended for all Ruins fanatics of course, probably even if you already have the old version, thanks to the bonus tracks...
Attention Ruins fans! Attention fans of hyperkinetic bass and drums prog-rock insanity! (Them's one and the same, we're pretty sure.) Here's something for ya, which you may not have already and/or may need again. Previously only available as a French import (and Japanese edition in Japan), Chicago's Skin Graft label have now re-issued this 1998 Ruins album domestically, in a freshly remixed form. And there's two bonus tracks to boot!
Previously we called this "demented", and a "showcase" for their style of "utter-insane-complexicore". We'll stand by those hyperbolic statements today as well. Vrresto and its follow-up Pallaschtom saw the Ruins go to the edge and beyond of acrobatic/athletic musical extremity, undeniably impressive (though, it must be said that we found their scaling back of the spasticity on 2002's Tzomborgha album to be a welcome move). Vrresto was the first proper album recorded by the line-up of founding drummer/mastermind Tatsuya Yoshida and (at the time) new six-string bassist Hisashi Sasaki (who despite the onslaught of Yoshida's octopoid drumming can hardly be said to play second fiddle in the band). Cool to have this back in print, just in time for Ruin's 20th (!!!) anniversary.
Fans of the Japanese underground progcore "Zeuhl" two-piece Ruins have been waiting... and waiting... it's been a while since the last Ruins album. Probably 'cause mastermind (and drummer) Tatsuya Yoshida, busy with a million other projects, has apparently never found a suitable replacement for the other half of the duo, bassist number four Sasaki Hisashi having left after 2002's Tzomborgha. But now, he's decided, he doesn't need another bassist. He doesn't need anyone. That's right, he can simply (or rather, complexly) play all the parts his own self!!! Now, we'd not have thought it possible if we hadn't seen him perform solo before, octopoidally attacking drum kit, bass pedals, keyboard, headset microphone, guitar, etc. But he's a maniac, and he can do it. Sure, presumably this studio recording utilized overdubs (it must have) but we wouldn't be at all surprised if he's able to do pretty much the same thing live, Thrones style, somehow.
So, here's the record. 23 tracks, about half of 'em brand new, utterly over the top compositions, the other half being "alone" versions of earlier Ruins tracks (including such old faves as "Grubandgo", "Cambodia", "Dharskrive", "Hyderomastgroningem", "Stonehenge", and "Sanctuary")... plus, as bonus tracks, two of the Ruins' now obligatory medleys - a "Prog Rock Medley" and "Hard Rock Medley", both gleefully ADD insane. Oh, and as another bonus, the surprisingly lovely & placid piano piece "Notturuno".
So, we're not sure if Ruins Alone is the way Ruins will be from now on, or if he's still just waiting for the right bass player to turn up, but for now anyway, if you want Ruins, this is it. And Yoshida (of course) pulls it off! Pretty freaking amazing. Y'know how Ruins already sounded like way more than just 2 people? Same goes here, dude's a one man multitude. While hyper-spastic as always (doing it all by himself sure doesn't slow him down!), Ruins Alone IS a wee bit different sounding than most previous Ruins, in that instead of heavy 5-string bass you get shredding, sizzling keyboards, and that's what makes the many tracks here that are renditions of past Ruins numbers especially interesting to hear for those familiar with the originals. The sound is still quite heavy and fuzzy but also uniquely synth-y, it's like some sort of crazy new wave, Nintendo version of the Ruins here, retro-futuristic in a remarkably "now" sounding way.
IF you're new to Ruins, you certainly could start with this, but we'd recommend checking out the proper duo recordings as well (Burning Stone, if you can find it!!). This as a taster, though, would help determine if you're crazy enough to become obsessed with this "band" or not. And longtime fans, YES you want this. More proof that Yoshida rules, even alone!Which we've known since his solo debut, Magaibutsu, back in 1991...
Ok, the first thing you need to know about this, if you haven't guessed already: it's indeed a brand new album spawned from the combined efforts of Japan's Ruins and Omoide Hatoba. These two equally insane outfits got together for a cd once before, about ten years ago, and now I guess they've determined that the world is ready for more of their merged musical mania. Bring it on we say! This installment of Ruinzhatova sees Tatsuya Yoshida and Hisashi Sasaki (of hyper-prog duo Ruins) teaming up with Seiichi Yamamoto and Atsushi Tsuyama (members of weirdo noise-pop-jazz combo Omoide Hatoba). Yamamoto you probably also know as the guitarist from the Boredoms, while Tsuyama is a member of Acid Mothers Temple, and collaborates with Yoshida in the highly conceptual and crazed Akaten duo. So, as you might well expect, this is some wacked-out, noisy, frenzied, chaotic (but doubtless totally tight and composed) stuff!! One hour of prog-spazz insanity. Don't attempt to listen to this if you already have a headache, that's for sure. Not that there aren't moments of pleasantly quiet quirkiness on here as well.
The second thing you need to know: these guys are definitely into overtly indulging their prog-rock obsessions here -- the cover photo (a cow in a field) seems to reference Pink Floyd's Atom Heart Mother, and the album's very title is derived from the Yes LP Close To The Edge. And that brings us to one of the most amazing things on here, actually: this disc's finale is a completely reverential, kick-ass, 18 minute version of that Yes album's incredible title track. Really, they do it remarkably straight (that's what's really so thrilling, they pull off every little nuance from the vocals on down), especially considering that earlier in the album, they do some other covers, not nearly so respectfully. For instance, they cover both James Brown and King Crimson -- at the same time! That's right, on track five on you get "Sex Machine" in your right speaker and "Larks Tongues In Aspic Part II" in the left channel. Then there's the over-the-top, wild and wooly version of Kraftwerk's "Trans Europe Express" that begins the album... The originals on here also veer wildly and crazily about, making full use of Yoshida's This Heat/Magma inspired drumming, Yamamoto's guitar squiggles, and Tsuyama's vocal histrionics, among the other talents of this always-over-the-top ensemble. Now, like the original Ruins-Hatoba get-together, this album is certainly not the equal of a 'proper' album by either band, but still, there's lots for Ruins/Omoide Hatoba/etc. fans to enjoy on here. And it's worth it for the "Close To The Edge" cover alone, really!
Japanese underground music nerds (you know who you are) should start salivating right about now. Ruinzhatova aka Ruins-Hatoba, the melding of the formidable talents of two of the Tokyo avant-rock scene's most veteran and insane bands, the Ruins and Omoide Hatoba, is back with a (presumably) improvised live album that offers 110 percent of what's already a Japanese underground music nerd mindblowing potentiality. The Ruinzhatova trio -- drummer Tatsuya Yoshida (Ruins), bassist Atsushi Tsuyama (Omoide Hatoba, Akaten, Acid Mothers Temple) and guitarist Yamamoto Seiichi (Omoide Hatoba, Boredoms) are in raging good form here, playing live like their lives depended upon it yet of course sweating it not one wit. From the git-go, with the 11 minute, 12 second track "Everywhere", this album is a jazz-flecked, hard-rock-damaged maelstrom of geetar licks and percussive frenzies and vocal eccentricity. They pull out all the stops. Rather than the jokey hokeyness of some previous RH releases, this one is positively HEROIC, each player here simply going for it to the utmost of their undeniably amazing capabilities. From start to finish, an album of hyperkinetic exhilaration, with breathing room for such things as weird flute blowing and electronic fx... Each of the long (7-13 minute) tracks is varied and eventful and impressive!
Meanwhile, Pam says: Middle Eastern Muppet music. Sorta silly but interesting! You be the judge.
Yup, that's right, Japan's Ruins and Omoide Hatoba (featuring Yamamoto of Boredoms) team up for this crazy cabaret act of demento prog rock insanity. New import version on Yoshida of Ruins' own label.
We thought they broke up but it appears our beloved mathrock quartet have reunited once again, playing shows, and releasing this fine second album of insanely gorgeous instrumentals. Shimmering with detail, on the dime stops and starts, with a hazy wash of wistful melody over it all. Really quite nice. Music to drive to.
Truly rad cover art again provided by Jeremiah Maddock.
Local quartet Rumah Sakit's possibly last release (they broke up) is an EP from Temporary Residence's first Travels in Constants series. Since Rumah is local, they've graced us with a few copies of this disc, of which copies were sent only to the series
Their long awaited debut! Intense instrumental mathrock from this stellar local group featuring ex-Tarentel founding member/bassist Kenseth Thibideau. Rumah Sakit obviously owe a huge debt to Louisville's Rodan. With an arsenal of time changes, complex time signatures, and bizarre arrangements, the band wander briefly through pseudo-jazz/post-rock territory before getting right back on track with a handful of muscular mathrock riffs. And damn, if the first 30 seconds don't sound exactly like Primus' 'Frizzle Fry'. Rumah Sakit has a bit more sensitive boy jangle than say, Shellac or Don Caballero, but has much more of a bite than anything on Thrill Jockey (except A Minor Forest, duh).
A live 2cd set of the suitably partnered Rumah Sakit & Sweep The Leg Johnny recorded right here in SF at the Bottom Of The Hill. Putting these two angular, mathrock bands together was a great idea. Guaranteed to make fans of either or both group absolutely pee in their pants. Disc 1 contains seven songs performed by Sweep The Leg Johnny and the other has six by Rumah Sakit. STLJ offers the more unrelenting angular ass-kickin' with squelches of saxophone and tense, strained vocals, On the other hand, RS delivers the prettier, but no less heavy action with moments of sparse drumming and chiming melodic cycles. Overall, a pretty great live recording that captures the emotion and vitality of these two bands' live shows.
This band features Rick and Sue from Fish and Roses, plus David Newgarden and Alan Licht (Lovechild).
For those who've dug into the groovy instrumental sounds of Run Return's recent debut album Metro-North (or for those just looking for a quick samplin'), you can get your fix right here on the vinyl format! Mind you, the title track does reappear on the cd, but it is a really good one though! Imagine a chops'n'creativity meeting of Fly Pan Am and Tortoise.
Although this trio have been together since 1999, Metro-North is Run Return's full length debut. It features some exceptionally well done dark groovy city scene soundscapes -- a generous serving of eighteen! Each of them sound as though they were composed specifically for a rain-soaked midnight hour. Check out two of the album's best tracks -- the very Chicago post-rock sounding, jazzy glider "Sea Plane" and the perfect-for-late-night-driving thirteenth track which is also the title track of their recent 7" "Animals Are Beautiful People". Captures a chill-out mellowness but is also sonically and rhythmically active enough to keep you on your toes.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Lovely bossa nova versions of his own songs! And it sounds really good. And he's serious.
A good one!
Three short sharp blasts of garage punk noise rock from this Chicago outfit, the first we've heard from them since their Vaguely Ethnic full length on Castle Face, and like that record, the two songs on the A side here are more of the same, swagger stomps equal parts distort riffage, echo drenched vox, wild chaotic drumming, murky and lo-fi, until the second track seems to gain a bit of fidelity, while blossoming into something slightly poppier, albeit still drenched in distortion and reverb, sounding a bit like the Oh Sees' evil twin, which is most definitely not a bad thing at all. The flipside starts off with some seriously corrosive guitar noise over a bed of tribal drumming, and then the thick buzzing bass swoops in, and that guitarnoise transforms into a weird sort of buzzing riffage, the whole thing sounding a little like Texas noise rock weirdos Rusted Shut, the reversed vocals resurface, along with some crazy low end bass noise, but all the while that main riff, buzzes along relentlessly, totally tranced out and super hypnotic. Probably pretty limited as these things generally are, we have a handful...
These Chicago noiseniks are already on full length number three, but the first we heard from them was their killer track on the second Group Flex flexi-book, and it sort of makes sense that they'd find their way to Castle Face (the label run by John Dwyer from Thee Oh Sees), cuz as noisy and punk as they are, they also sort of sounds like a meaner, noisier Oh Sees, the vocalist's snarly reverbed yelp, the group's echo drenched garage rock crunch, it's exactly what you might imagine Thee Oh Sees would sound like on a seriously bad trip, which is of course good for us. Loads of feedback, caveman drum plod, the vocals doused in effects, often dubbed into oblivion, the guitars distorted and crunchy, the songs swaggery and slithery, lurching and lumbering, the guitar melodies woozy and wavery, dripping in weird effects, giving everything a warped psychedelic vibe, like a garage punk Butthole Surfers at times, but elsewhere, they're just seriously high energy garage rock radness that wouldn't be out of place on a bill with the Mayyors, or Rusted Shut, or The Intelligence, bands on the slightly weirder more warped side of the garage rock spectrum maybe, but really fans of the current crop of garage pop combos definitely might dig too, they just might have to push a little beyond their sonic comfort zone, but hell, it's so worth it, some seriously tripped out psychedelic garage punk that has us thinking we best track down those other two full lengths quick smart!
When we reviewed the last record from these Chicago garage punks, we described them as sounding like a meaner, punker version of Thee Oh Sees, and thankfully not a whole lot has changed! Wake Up Applauding is another supercharged blast of furious fuzz and primal pound, everything doused in sheets of feedback, the whole record basically a gloriously haphazard arrangement of buzz and echo and reverb, howl and chug and crunch. The songs hide their pop smarts beneath lurching, noise rock stumbles, and loose limbed, galloping grooves. Guitars get all tangled up into woozy detuned melodies while the bass emits fat fuzzy rumbles. There are some cool creepy moments of psychedelic synthiness peppered throughout the record, which are balanced by some Butthole Surfers style drugrock pound which was all over the last record as well.
Early '70s British progrock reissue, heavily featuring obscure jazz guitar legend Ray Russell. So yeah, it's kind of jazzy, with tons of fantastic Russell soloing.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
This is the first self released cdep by Bay Area multicultural folk artist Rupa! La Pecheuse shines with a warm earthy light. Her voice and guitar are complemented wonderfully by Ed Laskerville on cello. An impressive debut!
Bay Area songstress Rupa Marya follows up her solo self released debut La Pecheuse with the considerably more elaborate and impassioned Extraordinary Rendition. Four of the original seven songs make a reappearance here. This time Rupa's joined by an excellent backing band. The April Fishes are trumpeteer Marcus Cohen, Adrian Jost on accordion, cellist Ed Baskerville (who also played on La Pecheuse), Eliyahu Sills on upright bass and the peculiarly tagged 'contraptionist' Aaron Kierbel. They sing and play together with such wonderful ease and gusto, it's as if they've been playing together for years. Their multilingual music draws from cross-cultural influences and source material -- Indian ragas, tango, French chanson, bossa nova, jazz, not to mention numerous forms of folk music from around the world -- which conjures words like slinky, fevered, hypnotic and intoxicating. Vocally, Ms Rupa has drawn comparisons to the sultry formidable likes of Lhasa and Mia Doi Todd, but she can also take a very Cat Poweresque, down-home folk pop turn as is sweetly evident on the closing number "Wishful Thinking". They'll surely have many fans in common in the near future!
