Sparta (aka the non-'fro ex-members of At The Drive In) offer up their second full length. Whereas their former bandmates Cedric Bixler and Omar Rodrigues have taken their band The Mars Volta into more prog/art rock territory, Sparta have chosen to stay in emo mode, tempering the ATDI punk angst and aggression into a more radio/MTV-friendly, near-anthemic sound. We noted though that oddly enough the lead vocals are often very similar to ex-ATDI singer Bixler as well as Fugazi's Ian MacKaye. Catchy, intelligent and creative, Porcelain is a solid follow-up to the equally well-received Wiretap Scars.
"Way beyond speed!! / Spazztic Blurr!!!! / There is no cure!! / For The Spazztic Blurr!! ... Let There Be Spazztic! -- Let there Be Blurr!"
Holy hell. We never thought that Earache would reissue this out of print record on cd! This 1988 LP of absurdist metal has been long sought after by Allan, 'cause he just loves the Spazztic Blurr song found on that classic Earache label "Grind Crusher" compilation. That song ("He-Nota-Home-Me-Marco") is found here along with 13 other examples of their brilliantly (?) mindless, stream of consciousness, dadaistic thrash songwriting. Ok, normally Allan doesn't approve of overtly silly joke bands. But these guys totally take their jokes into a shaggy dog realm of utter nonsequiturship. Lyrics about Burger King, boardgames, the Flintstones, the alphabet, hardcore punks and rappers...yes it's childish. But it's also 1988. And then there's the way they include descriptions of what's going on musically at each point in a song on the lyric sheet (some examples: "Distorted Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Distorted Guitar, Acoustic Guitar...", "Total Speed Metal Ending", "Weird Effect", "Surf Part", "Isn't It Neat How This Songs Jumps Right In?"). They were probably a huge influence on John Zorn! Kinda like Dead Milkmen meets the Suicidal Tendencies, for fans of Ludichrist, Lawnmower Deth, S.O.D., 7000 Dying Rats, that sort of thing.
Shoulda known that Shadoks would get to this one eventually. We've had previous import reissues of this cult Latin American psych platter at other times in the past, but they never were easy to keep in stock for very long - now we can count on having it available for a while at least, we hope.
Here's what we said about this before, if you missed it maybe six or seven years ago when we reviewed one of those earlier reissues: Whoa, this is a strange disc, a reissue of some primo Colombian psych acid-rock pop weirdness circa 1968! Totally trippy and weird, starting with the wonderfully freaky cover drawing of the band, with the music being even freakier. Probably inspired by Sgt. Pepper's and buttloads of drugs. The Speakers (also known as "Kris Kringle" on a previous lp reissue of this, for some reason) play nice Spanish-language pop/beat music that's been TOTALLY messed with, coming closer to Nurse With Wound than the Mutantes (although if you can imagine all the ridiculous moments of studio-fuckery on the Mutantes cds crammed into one disc, this would be it). Completely odd and delightful! And who can forget that track sung in the bizarre squeaky baby voice...
Some additional interest might be stirred regarding this due to the fact that the band was profiled in issue 22 of Ugly Things magazine. We learned a few interesting things from that article, among them that The Speakers, at the time, were apparently quite popular in their home country. Who would have thunk? And, "En El Maravilloso Mundo De Ingeson" is explained - Ingeson was the name of the studio where they were able to record for free at night, in return for putting Ingeson's name in the album title (The Speakers In The Marvelous World Of Ingeson)!
We've had this cult Latin American psych reissue on and off (mostly off) for a few years now, and so since we just managed to get this super deluxe oversized book edition, we figured we'd relist it, for those of you who might not have gotten a chance to hear it (or hear about it) yet. It's pricey, but the packaging is pretty over the top. And of course it's an amazing album.
The cd comes housed in a 7" sized sleeve, full color and on thick card stock. Inside is affixed a 20 page full color booklet, filled with photos and drawings, and tons and tons of liner notes (all in Spanish unfortunately), and affixed to the inside front cover is a little crunched up chicklet, a replica of the supposed LSD bubble gum that was included in the original album!! Awesome.
Here's what we said about this before:
Whoa, this is a strange disc, a reissue of some primo Columbian psych acid-rock pop weirdness circa 1968. Totally trippy and weird, starting with the wonderfully freaky cover drawing of the band, with the music being even freakier. Probably inspired by Sgt. Pepper's and buttloads of drugs. The Speakers (also known as Kris Kringle on an LP reissue of this, for some reason) play nice Spanish-language pop/beat music that's been totally messed with, coming closer to Nurse With Wound than the Mutantes (although if you can imagine all the ridiculous moments of studio-fuckery on the Mutantes cds crammed into one disc, this would be it). Completely odd and delightful! And who can forget that track sung in the bizarre squeaky baby voice...
Some additional interest might be stirred regarding this due to the fact that the band was recently profiled in issue 22 of Ugly Things magazine issue! We learned a few interesting things from that article, among them that The Speakers, at the time, were apparently quite popular in their home country. Who would have thunk? And, "En El Maravilloso Mundo De Ingeson" is explained -- Ingeson was the name of the studio where they were able to record for free at night, in return for putting Ingeson's name in the album title (The Speakers In The Marvelous World Of Ingeson)!
Remember that special summer themed in-between list we sent out at the beginning of June? We ordered in copies of this album just to be on it (in lieu of a Van Halen record, since we'd never reviewed VH) and we even mentioned it in the list intro, but then somehow left it off the actual list, whoops!! But since we have it, and it's now officially summer, we figured we'd relist it on this list, definitely a recommended ol' fave from a band that may have flown under a lot of folks' radar. Here's what we wrote about this when we first listed it back in 2003...
Wow, we were surprised and pleased to see the release of a new The(e) Speaking Canaries album! It's been quite a while since 1995's Songs For The Terrestrially Challenged, but they've still got it, in fact, this may be even better than we remembered 'em being. The Speaking Canaries, for those for whom 1995 is a blur, are a band from Pittsburgh featuring the talents of Don Caballero drummer Damon Che. Che plays drums on half the album, but the whole disc showcases his just-as-impressive ability with the electric guitar. His nimble, Eddie Van Halen styled guitar licks are distorted, yet cleanly chiming n' gorgeous. Yep, we said Eddie Van Halen. If you've never heard The Speaking Canaries before you're in for a surprise - Van Halen is an obvious, huge influence. And Damon even lets off some some jubilant David Lee Roth yelps. But, don't get the wrong idea, this is a melodic indie-pop record, not any sort of retro '80s hair metal throwback. The songs are somewhat complex and mathy (as you'd expect from a Don Cabber) but have pop hooks a la Foo Fighters. And these days, after after Trans Am and The Fucking Champs and so forth, the idea of heavy metal guitar heroes in an indie-rock context isn't so novel. It's just good music. Damon and company kick ass on this record, from the three-minute track one (with the excellent title "I Wear Glasses in the Most Brutal Sport Ever Invented") to the disc's hidden bonus track finale. Very recommended!
Oooh, inside this Special Pillow you'll find vocals and violins melting sweetly like paisley ice cream cones. Delightful! For close to a decade, Special Pillow have woven their swooning retro psych pop (and yet this is only their second album!). Let it be known however, they're by no means unwilling to amp it up, adding (just a little) garage crunch to their guitars and (just a little) snarl to their singing, and they'll do so at the drop of a hat. Such is the case with the third and fourth songs ("You Can Do It" and "Nothing Important"). If you dig the pretty, wide-eyed and mildly trippy side of '60s style pop psychedelia, cozy up to Special Pillow.
This is the fine debut album from this Chicago based trio. Some may find the slightly druggy drone'n'twang of Summer Above reminiscent of the velvety languidness of Mazzy Star or Cat Power, but with the distinction that lead singer Marie-Claire Balabanian's drowsily emotive voice flits and floats in a higher register than Hope Sandoval or Chan Marshall. Makes it less of a downer, and more of a sweet, 'drift off on a lazy day' kind of listen.
It goes without saying that Phil Spector really stands (or stood) at the pinnacle of pop music and what it means to be a producer. His 'wall of sound' has influenced generations of amazing bands from the Beach Boys to Jesus & Mary Chain to Spiritualized to the Vivian Girls and beyond. It was actually hard to get so many of his great recordings on cd, unless you snagged the box set that came out years ago, so we're so psyched for this new release of some of his most memorable moments. Working with groups like The Crystals, The Ronettes, Darlene Love, Ike & Tina, and more, this collection shows off Spector's uncanny ability to create pop nuggets that have proven to be timeless and so endlessly addictive. While many of us who like to hang out in the fringes and more obscure realms of the music world, Phil Spector is a reminder of how amazing more mainstream pop music can be when in the hands of a musical genius.
While much of his personal life is depressing and distressing, he seems to be a part of a long tradition of deeply troubled music producers who were able to use music to channel the beauty inside of them that they had such a hard time doing in all other aspects of their life. With so many bands of the moment like Dum Dum Girls, The Raveonettes, Shannon & The Clams, and The Sandwitches taking so much from Spector's sound, it's perfect timing for these songs to be made available again.�
Talk about simultaneously awesome and obscure. Delving deep into '80s metal buried treasure, Stormspell's Days Of Yore division has come up with this double cd, rollercoaster ride of a reissue, that anyone into technical thrashing prog metal ought to utterly enjoy. It's from a Massachusetts band, Spectral Incursion, who never even released an album, just a bunch of demos and one ep. Way underground, mathy metallic music-making mania on display here, jawdropping and headbanging.
Unrestrained, raw and ripping stuff from young guys more concerned with coming up with cool new parts for their twisting, turning songs than in being popular. We're lovin' it. The jagged, splintered riffs and tricky time signatures multiply throughout these heavy, hectic compositions, with leads spiraling up alongside vocals that scream, soar, and roar. Each over the top track seems designed by/for the ADD afflicted, shooting off in a new direction every few seconds, yet not neglecting melody and a rock n' roll vibe. Intricate, eccentric, exhilarating - and we really like how the DIY-ness of this mitigates against any potential pretentiousness a la big time prog metal like Dream Theater. This really is some kids tossing their faves like Rush, Priest, Sabbath, Maiden, Slayer, and Fates Warning into a sharp-bladed blender on high. If you're a fan of such bands as Confessor, Atheist, Watchtower, Coroner, or Hellwitch, you should definitely check this out!
Disc one consists of demo tapes from 1988 and 1991, their four song ep from '88, and four tracks recorded in 2010 by the reunited band, doing old songs by pre-Spectral Incursion incarnation Graven Image, whose demos circa 1986-'87 occupy disc two, which also contains some video clips for your computer.
Super cool, constantly surprising, what this lacks in production polish they make up for in precision - and sheer insanity. As always, great to see a forgotten band this good (and gonzo) get their due. Complete with thick, slick cd booklet full of liner notes, lyrics, etc.
Slumberland looks to the UK once again to snag another awesome indie pop peddler. Spectrals excel in laid back, lazy day bittersweet pop. With a dazed and washed out guitar sound, and Louis Jones' swaying melodic vocals that sound so at ease while but also so assured. That voice is in an awesome place somewhere between Jens Leckman and Julian Casablanca, and the woozy instrumentation underneath serves as the perfect breezy driving force that propels the songs along at such a perfect pace. It makes sense that Spectrals were taken on the road by Girls, as this is pop that's as smart as it is passionate.
Record number two from this UK outfit, and like their debut, Bad Penny, Sob Story is another collection of crazy catchy, psychedelic fuzz pop jangle, mainman Louis Jones' vocals even more Elvis Costello than ever, and while in our review of Bad Penny we mentioned Julian Casablancas as a comparison to Jones vocally, that Strokes comparison applies here too, but more in terms of the music, which has a similarly Strokes style minimalism, check out the opener "Let Me Cave In", which begins with some murky minor key guitar strum, all muddy and washed out, before the band kick in proper, immediately locking into a killer two part jangle jam that's peppered with cool blasts of distorto guitar crunch, but for the most part, cycles through a single progression, Jones crooning over the tranced out the jangle pop mesmer. Not all of Sob Story is that minimal, with tracks like "A Heartbeat Behind", getting all classic rock / new wave, adding some chiming shimmer and a little guitar twang, not to mention some handclap rhythms, or the title track, which adds even more twang, unfurling what is essentially a No Depression style country pop ballad, Jones crooning alongside warm slippery lap steel, which pops up again on the woozy softly psychedelic twang flecked dream pop ballad "Friend Zone", or the woozy warble lullaby-like "In A Bad Way". Our favorite track though might just be "Karaoke" a two plus minute groover, with a weirdly funky bassline, what sounds like bongos, and some amazing guitars, psychedelic and a little bit tangly, with a super catchy chorus, some super effected guitar licks that sound almost like organs, a cool bridge and some weird percussion, all woven into some practically perfect twangy jangle pop.
The crazy thing is, we don't remember Spectrals sound so twangy, but lots of Sob Story is downright country, and with Jones' super distinctive vocals, we're actually reminded of Robbie Fulks, which is not a bad thing AT ALL.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
The sonic solar system surrounding Sunroof!, Double Leopards, Hototogisu and those who sail with them has been expanding like some free rock supernova lately. Not just multiple releases from the core members but new groups, new configurations of old groups and multiple releases by both. Hard to figure out how Bassett (Double Leopards, Hototogisu, GHQ, etc...), Bower (Sunroof!, Hototogisu, etc.) and friends manage. And manage with such a consistent level of quality. Now we have this, what seems to be the first proper full length from Spectre Folk, aka Pete Nolan of the Magik Markers, GHQ, Wooden Wand & The Vanishing Voice and Shackamaxon among others. As Spectre Folk, Nolan divides his energies between a drifty glimmering drone not unlike his sweetly noisy brethren (and sistren) in Hototogisu and Sunroof! with muted guitars that sway and swell, muted melodies that drift and swoon like barely visible ghosts and woodwinds that whir and drone dreamily, and a more 'traditional' folk, fingerpicked steel string guitar, sweet crooning vocals,a lilting otherworldly melancholia, wrapped in layer after layer of tape hiss, and instrument buzz and warm windlike whir. It's almost like listening to some sixties folk 7" on a broken old turntable that barely plays, lovely and so mysterious sounding. Features Spencer Yeh from Burning Star Core on one track and Marcia Bassett, Nolan's bandmate in GHQ, drew the cover. Nice!
Spectrum always makes me realize that if music stopped being made today, we would never fail to keep on finding gems and hidden treasures from the past. There's just so much gorgeous music that has already been made that you could only listen to stuff from the past and still always be listening to greatness. I mean, that's what I'm feeling -- my top ten list from last year has four records in it made in '74 or earlier, and this Spectrum record is from 1971. (This band is also not related to the Sonic Boom / Spacemen 3 project of the same name just so you know.)
Second of all I have to say that for the entirety of 2003 so far I (Windy) have listened to this record more than any other. It rewards repeated listening. Next I have to say that this Spectrum album comes the closest, yes, even among Gal Costa, Caetano Velosos, Gilbert Gil, to conjuring up the sweet 'n gutsy psychedelic pop that Os Mutantes did so well. Yes, the soundtrack to Geracao Bendita is that good. Spectrum's got melodies as bittersweet, compulsively hummable and pure 'n simple as the Beatles (whose catalog the boys in Spectrum reputedly could replicate perfectly), jangly 12-string as flowery and metallic as the Byrds, singing dressed with long drawn out vowels and harmonies worthy of the Mamas and the Papas, acid guitar riffing strongly reminiscent of their faves Steppenwolf. The stellar arrangements just take it over the top, just like with Os Mutantes, where the emphasis is less on verse chorus verse and more on sections. You never know where it's going but with the first notes of the record, which sound so good, you just sorta trust 'em. All this from a band whose average age was 21, from the city of Nova Friburgo in the state of Rio, Brazil. A band who never performed this soundtrack live even! The film, a celebration of peace & love taking place in a hippie wonderland was banned upon its release in 1970 and the soundtrack died a similar death.
MPEG Download: "Concerto do Pantano" [/audio/spectrumconcerto.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Concerto do Pantano" [/audio/spectrumconcerto.m3u]
MPEG Download: "Mother Nature" [/audio/spectrummothernature.mp3]
War Sucks is a four song ep from Sonic Boom's Spectrum, reliving more of the heyday of the hallowed Spacemen 3 project many moons ago, whose occasionally awesome hypno-space-rock psychedelia was equal parts druggy and punky. The title track is a cover of a Red Krayola tune, penned back in the day about Vietnam, although the sentiment rings as true today. The lyrical content of the song is a bit of an anomaly for Sonic Boom, who had previously pretty much sung of drugs if he weren't rehashing some old blues number; but this doesn't detract from the fuzzed-out buzz that harkens to that occasionally awesome period of Spacemen 3 (e.g. Taking Drugs To Make Music To Take Drugs To and Playing With Fire) in which the Stooges and 13th Floor Elevators were the godheads of the Spacemen 3 pantheon. And rightly so. Spectrum marches on with a Neu! inspired motorik tune in "Razzle Dazzle Mind" before offering another cover, Laurie Anderson's "Walking & Falling." The final track "Over and Over" is one of those Spectrum / Spacemen 3 tracks that could go on for 25 minutes, and it probably should given the brevity of this ep. Even so, this is pretty darn good, in fact.
The re-reissue-ance of a lot of crucial '70s Japanese psych rock documents continues apace, with this seminal stoner rock release now on cd (and lp) again via the Phoenix label. Originally released in the musically bountiful year of 1971, Eve was the debut from a psychedelic power trio that made no secret of their predilection for recreational pharmaceuticals, and preferences therefor. "Glue" was bassist Masayoshi Kabe's nickname, "Speed" that of singing drummer Joey Smith. Guitarist Shinki Chen (formerly of Food Brain, as was Kabe) lacks a nickname, so we dunno his drug of choice, but it's obvious he's really into Jimi Hendrix...
Obligatory citation of Julian Cope's Japrocksampler ranking: tied (with Flower Travellin' Band's Satori) for number ONE out of fifty!!! So, yeah, this is considered by some (including us) to be an essential - though we wouldn't personally rate on par with Satori, or for that matter ahead of Speed Glue & Shinki's own self-titled sophomore album, or some others on Cope's list, but it would be up there, nonetheless. 'Specially perfect when you're in the mood for some druggily spaced out, heavy cowbell knockin' acid blooze rawk splurge, laced with loping riffs and lackadaisical vocals, with titles that (of course) couldn't be any more overtly oriented towards the subject of gettin' high, such as "Mr. Walking Drugstore Man" and "Stoned Out Of My Mind"! But you, the listener, needn't be stoned, this music is head noddingly hypnotic all by itself, just turn it up and let yourself veg out to it, all the way through to the relaxing coda of the album's final
track, "Someday We'll All Fall Down", a quietly lovely, folky acoustic number with a doubtlessly prophetic title. Along the way, enjoy garagey rave-ups like "Ode To The Bad People" and lumbering blues blasters like "Big Headed Woman".
The seven tracks here are primal "proto-metal" (VERY proto) for fans of Blue Cheer, Blues Addicts, Moses, Modulo 1000, Human Instinct, Juan De La Cruz (the Filipino band with whom SG&S's drummer Joey Smith later played), Flied Egg (also reissued and reviewed this list), and others of that wasted, rock n' roll ilk from around the world.
Nicely packaged in a mini-LP style gatefold sleeve for the compact disc. Gatefold sleeve for the vinyl version too.
Sniffin & Snortin (parts 1 and 2!), Run & Hide, Bad Woman, Don't Say No, Wanna Take You Home...sound good? Those are some of the song titles on this classic women-and-drugs obsessed dumbo-rock Japanese psych album. It stars guitar whiz and massive stoner Shinki Chen (also of Foodbrain and oodles of other obscure Japanese psych outfits), bassist Masayoshi Kabe (from Foodbrain too), and singing drummer Joey 'Pepe' Smith -- a Vietnam vet whom you might know from the Filipino band Juan De La Cruz, whose album "Shake Your Brains" is one of the few that tops this for sheer truly stoned rock retardation (a good thing). Too bad we can't get those in anymore. But you'll hear at least one of their tunes on this, the second SG&S album, originally released as a double LP in 1972, which we happen to like even better than their 1971 LP "Eve" though Mr. Julian Cope made that one a "record of the month" on his website Head Heritage. Anyway we have this one, not that one.
Speed, Glue & Shinki, as you might imagine from their name, were a goddamn weird, messed up, completely wacked heavy psych/blues/prog band. So messed up that this time out, guest musicans wrote (and performed?) most of it! But it doesn't matter. And even when Joey plugs in a Moog synth to do a whole LP side devoted to the Sun, Planets, Life, Moon, and Angels, this never ever remotely gets pretentious and proggy (not that we don't like proggy). It just can't. Speed Glue & Shinki are primal, so primal, too primal. At least one track hints at the Stooges, some others Zeppelin, while the rest approximates a brain-damaged James Gang. Record collector types might recall the fancy, expensive Shadoks LP reissue that was available a couple years ago for about two seconds. We were enthralled with the lovely tiger cover art and the ridiculous rock and have been hoping ever since to bring in a cd version, and at last we tracked down a few copies that we had to order from Sweden, so act fast for your Speed, Glue & Shinki fix if you think you want it.
MPEG Download: "Red Doll" [/audio/speedgluered.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Red Doll" [/audio/speedgluered.m3u]
MPEG Download: "Song For An Angel" [/audio/speedgluesong.mp3]
Latest in the LAMC series of split 7"s from the Famous Class label, each single featuring a known entity on the A side, and then a more obscure band on the flip, chosen by the A side band. This marks the first appearance on the aQ list of Speedy Ortiz, which is CRAZY, cuz some of us here have been fans for ages, not sure how that happened, but needless to say, their track here is a gem, heavily beholden to nineties indie rock, in particular the Pixies and the Breeders and Veruca Salt, fuzzy bass beneath crooned female vox, kinda swaggery, and dirgey, but hook heavy and poppy, the chorus super Beatles-esque, soaring and majestic, lilting and melodic, and catchy as all get out. One of our favorite modern day outfits mining our favorite era of indie rock for sure.
We had never heard of Chris Weisman before, and while we were maybe expecting something more indie rocking, instead, it's just acoustic guitar and vocals, the vibe sort of Big Star-ish, maybe a little bit like the Posies, dreamy vox, lush steel string strum, super dreamy and classic pop sounding, at points even reminding us of Emmit Rhodes, which is most definitely a good thing. Will for sure be tracking down more from Weisman...
Like all the LAMC singles, as you probably already guessed, this is VERY LIMITED!
Check this out! Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney and Mary Timony of Helium put their clever heads together to whirl up their collaborative effort known as Spells. Sounds just as you'd expect, Carrie's smart pop prettiness and Mary's much more wizardly fantasy pop leanings. Includes a Who cover.
More way fun & catchy garage pop from right here in San Francisco. Spencey Dude & The Doodles share a similar scrappy & carefree demeanor as folks like Nodzz, Hunx & His Punx, Younger Lovers, Nobunny, etc. Fun fun fun...
After listening to this disc, all we can say is Marissa Nadler and Joanna Newsom better watch their backs. If there is any justice in the world, the throngs of bearded and bead encrusted modern free folk freaks and forest maidens that make up the new weird underground will bow down before Jane Herships, the woman who is Spider. A softly strummed dreamy acoustic world of drifting shimmering loveliness. If Devendra Banhart is homecoming king at this year's forestfolk ball, well then Spider would absolutely have to be everyone's choice for queen. The Way To Bitter Lake is a blissful blend of Iron & Wine, Vashti Bunyan, Will Oldham, Cat Power, Edith Frost. Hushed vocals over lilting old timey folk, gorgeous and timeless melodies, spare arrangements, but so deftly arranged as to be more powerful than almost any of her contemporaries. There is definitely a serious Iron & Wine vibe going on, Herships sounds like Sam Beam's long lost twin sister. Even her turns of phrase and choice of melodies. The mind boggles at the possibility of those two making a record together. If either of them are reading this, for god's sake let's make it happen!!
Regardless, this is an absolute gem. Pastoral, and haunting, soft and shimmery, suffused with warm summer sunlight, a rambling record if there ever was one. Cool afternoon, bare feet, tall grass, clouds drifting lazily by, soft breezes, the smell of earth and leaves, wandering through a fuzzy folk dream. Absolutely gorgeous.
We've only got a couple of these; so we won't take too long in expounding upon the virtues of the Seattle heavy free-jazz ensemble The Spider Trio. Two of the members of the trio (Jeffrey Taylor and Dave Abramson) are current members of the ever entertaining / ever perplexing / ever compelling Climax Goldwn Twins, with the final member being saxophonist / painter Wally Shoup. Taylor quips that he may be the sole practitioner of a thing called "avant-garde free hillbilly guitar playing;" and yeah, his pseudo-Appalachian boogie deftly counterpoints Shoup's bleat and skronk while Abramson propels the ensemble with oblique fills and angular explosions of dynamic rhythm. Limited to 50 copies, each graced with a hand painted water color by Mr. Shoup.
Every few years, we get a few offerings from Jeffrey Taylor's vangarde contortionism of freeform guitar wizardry outside of the esoteric contortionism of the Climax Golden Twins. And here, we have his dynamic The Spider Trio, which finds Taylor working alongside notable Seattle free jazz / improv saxophonist Wally Shoup and journeyman percussionist Dave Abramson, who has played with Master Musicians Of Bukkake, Grails, and the aforementioned CGT. These sessions typically highlight Shoup's blurting tumble, bright trills, and moments of volatile, almost-Brotzmann like muscularity on the sax, but the interplay with Taylor's avant-hillbilly / swaggering-boogie riffs make for the best moments on this live recording from the Woodland Theater, a suitably disheveled Seattle venue. It comes together with a Actuel / ESP vibe that would have made Volcanic Tongue quake, if they were still around to quake. Pro-duplicated cd-r in an edition of 100 copies for what that's worth.
Another kick ass single from these Swedish hard rockers, this time on Kemado. Featuring members of both Witchcraft and Graveyard, Spiders kick up a serious sonic shitstorm, a super hooky heavy mix of classic rock, Southern rock and hard rock, the sound falling somewhere between the Hellacopters, Skynrd and Graveyard, but it's the vocals that really make Spiders stand out, even amongst the recent crop of female fronted hard rocking combos like Loon, Royal Thunder, Jex Thoth and all the rest.
The riffs are big, the guitars are heavy, grooves galore, hooks too, the A side is a total Southern rock throwback, but cranked up for modern more hard rocking tastes, there's even a bad ass double time psychedelic wah guitar freakout near the end. The B side is a bit more classic rock, with super dynamic stop/start riffage, and the vocals, already powerful, get super intense, pushed to the limit, all rough and raspy and threatening to crack at times. Just like the other 7" on Valley King (which we still have if you still need one), we can't stop listening to these jams over and over. And now more than ever, we're dying for a full length.
LIMITED TO 300 COPIES, each one hand numbered.
From the same label that brought us the recent Carlton Melton Handling Snakes 7", comes this, one of two new 7"s from Spiders (the other is on Kemado), a new group featuring members of Graveyard and Witchcraft, and whose sound is a witchy hybrid of the two, but taking that sound in a distinctly garagey, more classic rock direction.
Fans of the recent crop of female fronted heavy combos, Loon, Royal Thunder, Jex Thoth, The Devil's Blood, Christian Mistress, Blood Ceremony and the like, should definitely check out Spiders. Definitely less metal than most of those, but no less heavy, Spiders whip up some seriously old school witchy hard rock, lots of extra percussion on the A side, along with crunchy guitars, and some awesome kick ass vocals, the vibe is HUGELY seventies, a little classic rock, a little Southern rock, the song shifts gears about halfway through, trading the slither and swagger for some double time rocking replete with lots of dynamic breakdowns and some seriously kick ass guitar leads.
The flipside is even less metallic, but cranks up the seventies Southern Rock vibe big time, a garagey groove, the riffs dangerously Skynryd (not a bad thing), a distinctly Jefferson Airplane feel too, but the song super rocking, super heavy, and those vocals, and the main hook just sealing the deal.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES!! Each cover beautifully silkscreened, hand numbered, and signed by the cover artist, includes a sticker as well.
Siltbreeze continue to dig deep into the New Zealand underground, and it doesn't get more underground than this, a band who never released ANYthing, as in if you weren't in Wellington, in the late seventies, or knew someone who was, you literally never heard or heard of The Spies. Which is a shame, as The Battle Of Bosworth Terrace is a NZ pop gem, one that is seeing the light of day now for the first time ever! Featuring a few NZ luminaries, members of the Puddle, and the recently reviewed here Shoes This High, The Spies deliver a sort of noisy, jangly, lo-fi pop that wrapped jagged shards of guitar, around loose drumming, buzzing primitive synths, and alternating sweetly crooned high vox, and more swaggery, yowled gruff vocals, the guitars occasionally erupting into psychedelic tangles, but just as often unfurling spidery melodies, or groovy post punk jangle. The brief opener is a gorgeous little lo-fi pop gem, all busy blooping bass, carnivalesque keyboards, and judiciously employed almost Marc Ribot like guitar melodies, all beneath some angelic ethereal vocals. The second track though is more gritty, mush mouthed sung/spoken vocals over a bed of crunchy, brittle guitar, and swirling psychedelic keyboards, the rest of the record balancing a mix of the two, some like laid back Velvets inspired druggy drifts, others like warped reinterpretations of some alien classic rock sound, and still others, seriously tripped out and experimental, reverb drenched stretches of bedroom dub via NZ noise rock, sprawls of bleating horns over gristly buzz and woozy, minor key jangle, or twisted loner, folk pop, all 4-track warble and druggy Jandekian croon. For every bit of brilliant classic pop inspired tunesmithery, there's some seriously drug addled, WTF avant pop deconstruction or druggy home brewed psychedelia. The most minimal tracks here reminds us a bit of the legendary Wreck Small Speakers On Expensive Stereos, while much of the rest of this sonically aligns the Spies with the rest of the Flying Nun / Xpressway regulars. NZ nerds are in for a treat!
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES!! Includes a download card.
Now that Scott has left, Rebecca seeks out assistance from others including John McEntire of Tortoise. So it's not the stripped down sound that won her kudos with Manos here, but her grasp of incorporating a wider range of instruments that makes this album more musically successful than Strand.
Very few bands benefit from a list of their instrumentation, but a group like the Spiral Joy Band, that list has much to say about the sounds to be found within: fiddles, gongs, bowls, harmonium, srutis, spiral cymbal, crash cymbal, crank whistle, flute, bells, banjosticks. Even more telling are these words from the liner notes: "no overdubs, no amplification, no effect".
Spiral Joy Band are drone explorers, purists who spend their time rubbing and bowing and striking various objects to conjure up elements they can weave into their hauntingly mysterious organic drone music. While we're typically partial to the low end of the sonic spectrum, upper register tones have a magic all their own, and create an entirely different world of sound.
Henry Flynt is definitely a good reference point for the Spiral Joy Band, notice that fiddles (plural!) were the first instrument listed, and the root of these sounds is definitely slow bowed fiddles, the sound is keening and moaning. and when all the fiddles get going together, it's like an acoustic version of Sunroof!, total glorious high end ur-drone nirvana. There's an element of twang to the sound, the sawed strings, it's unavoidable, the cymbals add another layer of shimmer, at it's most transcendent, it's like staring at the sun, glimmering, glistening, sparkling effulgence, the various overtones taking on a life of their own, at its most subtle, it's like some late afternoon country hoedown, but all slowed down, and all high end. So nice. This one is definitely not for drone dabblers, this one is for the true drone elite, looking to escape the sonic confines of this terrestrial world, to find musical salvation in the astral plane.
Weird. And wyrd. Way back in 2005 we started writing a review of this, but then something happened. Something spooky, it seems. The review was never finished, all the discs got set aside, it's like the Mary Celeste or something. But, we just found the stash of discs and since it's still a cool album, why not finally list it now? We've also knocked a few bucks off the price in order to further entice, and once they're gone, they're gone.
Here's what we started to say about it eight years ago, completed today:
This four-woman band is probably so sick of being called "witchy," but then again maybe not because they named their band Spires That In The Sunset Rise, didn't they? And they really do get into a cauldron bubble, bubble toil and trouble kind of vibe, in the vocal department especially. Female chant and cries and singing and moaning. Some more gothy post-punk vox too, and deeper warlock tones as well, hushed singing over creepy acoustic doom-folk strum and other haunting, droning, rhythmic textures. Instrumentation includes autoharp, bowed banjo, harmonium, cello, drums, bells, mibira, zither, electric guitar, slide, drums, and more, though the intertwining witchy voices are really what puts this modern day pagan folk gem over the top. It's all very Wicker Man, and really quite Comus-y, just like we said about their 2004 self-titled debut, it's both disturbing and dreamy.
Glad these remateralized from wherever they'd been mysteriously hidden all these years!
This is the debut recording from this Chicago trio of damaged hippie primitivists who unleash a miasmic flow of creepy, primal free-folk ragas woven from guitars, cellos, autoharp, melodica, harmonium, spike fiddle(!), mbira, piano, violin, voice and percussion. Childlike and playful, innocent and haunting, disturbing and dreamy, eliciting acid fried flashbacks to such pagan classics as Comus, Current 93, the Wicker Man and of course NNCK and the Sunburned Hand!
With a name like Spirits Of The Dead and an album title like The Great God Pan, you'd think this would be something super dark and occultic, probably metal, but this new Swedish outfit has more of a gentle, pastoral vibe to 'em than you might expect. Pagan prog rock, really, more than metal, even though they're on metal label The End in the States. Everybody remember wonderfully melodic, McCartney-esque AQ faves Elope, who also hail from Sweden? Well these guys sound kinda like Elope if they took their retro-'70s trip to an extreme and went totally prog! (Well, ok, not too totally prog, since none of the song lengths here get into the double digits...)
It's a dramatic (but at the same time laid back) mix of dreaminess and distortion, with sweet singing that reminds us of Burke Shelley from Budgie's mellower moments. Guitarwise, there's lots of blissed out psychedelic soloing full of light and hope, mixed appropriately with fuzzy riffs on the "retro-proto-metal" side of things, a la fellow Swedes Witchcraft, Graveyard, and especially Dead Man... Title track "The Great God Pan" is appropriately folky, with flute, and achingly beautiful singing as heard all throughout.
Oh, and of course there's the other Swedish retro psych prog sensations we haven't mentioned yet, Dungen. Yep, Dungen fans who think they might like something just a bit more wicked and Wicker Man-ish should check this out. Likewise if you weren't thrilled about Opeth's new all-prog, no-metal one, Heritage, which we haven't reviewed yet and might not... this is what that album should have sounded like!
Jason Pierce is back, taking the gospelized space-pop of his band Spiritualized into the most rawked-out Stooges territory he's traipsed since his days in the legendary Spacemen 3. Seriously, even the vocals on here sound a bit (too much?) like Iggy! It's Brit pop gone bad -- Windy quipped that this sounds like an Unhappy Mondays. So, if you're looking for the blissful sounds found on Spiritualized's classic Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space you'll have to look harder. But if you can dig some punky, psychedelic rock bombast then you'll dig this, and you'll also find some nicely slow, sparse, sad songs on here too. Indeed, while your first impression is gonna be Raw Power, the distorted guitars give way to the kind of raw (heavenly) power you can only evoke with the help of choirs and horns and stuff. Pretty nice overall.
[Btw, Windy has a question: has Pierce ever spoken publicly about his Christian beliefs? There's a lot of flirting w/it on this album (name of band, duh... title, duh) -- but one wonders how much of it is admiration for gospel style vs genuine devoutness. Just wondering.]
2 versions each of two songs ("Come Together" and "Broken Heart") -- the Two Lone Swordsmen remix of "Come Together" is SO GOOD that it alone is worth the price of this disc.
