Finally a domestic, single disc reissue of the first two albums Tony Allen released under his own name in 1975 and '77. Legendary drummer for Nigerian visionary Fela Kuti's band Afrika '70, Allen has often been called a co-founder of Afrobeat (along with Fela). In fact Allen's drum parts were often the only element that Fela did not pre-score. These records swing and stutter and groove and majorly kick ass, stretching themselves out often to 15 minutes or more (and you never want it to end anyway). In addition to the saxophones, trumpets, congas, bass, maracas, the extraordinary standout guitar work is very hooky to these western ears, which is mostly why I like it so much, especially on the song "Jealousy", and there are lots of drum solos, more than on the Fela records. Really great -- listen to the soundclip and know there's more where that came from. Essential to any Afrobeat collection, and also a great place to start!
On local / Santa Cruz-based label Galaxia comes this supergroup of sorts. Amalgamated Sons of Rest is Will Oldham of PALACE, Jason Molina of SONGS:OHIA, and Alasdair Roberts of APPENDIX OUT. These guys have basically written the book on broken-voiced, broken-hearted, hollow-eyed, lovely back porch indie twang. A one of a kind 5-song session. Nice. Vinyl is one sided with a marine-life themed etching. CD available Sept 10, 2002.
Long-haired guitar rawk from the obscure Midwestern band known as Amulet, circa 1980. Reissued for your hessian pleasure by Monster Records, alongside the likes of Ultra, Full Moon, and Truth And Janey (all of whom we've previously listed). Amulet started off in '78 as a cover band doing stuff by ZZ Top, Van Halen, Hendrix, UFO and suchlike. Though a popular local concert draw, they still barely managed to save enough dough to record and self-release this album in 1980. No money for overdubs, so it's got that live feel, appropriate for their party hardy high power hard rock format. How much you're gonna like this kinda depends how you feel about lines like: "She was seventeen / young love machine" (from "Just Like A Woman"). Good times badass boogie rock wank fer shure. Actually, they had a heavier, more serious side too, with religious/philosophical themes ("Do You Live Again", "Life Is Living"). But don't look for a lot of sophistication and deep thoughts -- this mostly about groovy stuff like the unintentionally funny "Funk 'n' Punk" or "Radar Love" re-write "Person To Person". Fun and authentic.
Icol Diston is a collection of the the first three 12"s from Berlin's Arovane, who in his brief career, has succeeded in recreating the melancholic IDM / electronica of Boards of Canada, Autechre, and Markant. Arovane is at his best when maintaining a repetitive flow of counterpointing minor-key melodies alongside sputtering breakbeats, but tends to lose focus when dropping the structures of his music in favor of floating ambience and fluttering basslines. Mastered entirely from the vinyl editions of these tracks "to preserve the original sound quality."
It's a shame "Cremaster 3" isn't slated to come to San Francisco anytime soon, although the final installment of Matthew Barney's massive film project of onanistic cryptography, baroque sexual fetishes, psycho-analytic allegories, and divergent narratives will return to New York in spring of 2003. So, there's not much to report about the film itself (since I've not seen it), although it has something to do with the history of Freemasons, the Guggenheim Museum, macho-minimalist Richard Serra hurling vaseline, a punk battle of the bands between Murphy's Law and Agnostic Front, video games, and multiple references to Chrysler (both the car and the building). Yet, we -can- announce the arrival of the "Cremaster 3" soundtrack composed by Jonathan Bepler (who scored the two preceding films "Cremaster 5" and "Cremaster 2.") Yes, the numerical sequencing of this series is supposed to be out of order, merely one of many convolutions of logic. As in "Cremaster 2," Bepler masterfully constructs his soundtrack out of pre-existing musical genres and recognizable codifications of sound. Gaelic bagpipes blurt a dissonant stream of polyphonic notes, theremins sadly pull a solitary croon from the ether, violins glide through sustained tones, lurid artnoir grooves further corrode Barry Adamson's dark application of be-bop, and the drones, oh the drones. Much like the Alan Splet score for David Lynch's "Eraserhead" and even some of the later Ligeti chorale pieces, Bepler dissolves all of these references into pools of droning sound which allow him to fluidly work in and out of the huge pastiche. As before, Bepler's work is totally amazing.
Totally silly yet utterly killer grind metal from Sweden, featuring somebody from Nasum. The trio of Achmed Abdulex, Moshbastard, and Smattro Ansjovis (guitar, bass, drums respectively) thrash out ditties with titles like "Night Of The Ultimate Mosh", "Coffinfucker" and "Bowelthrasher", with typical grind-gore themes of blood and violence. Yet when you read the lyrics you'll see they're not entirely serious. And they also do songs that are a bit more unusual, like "Catmouth", which goes: "I pick up my cat, hold it in my arms/I take a smell, of its mouth/it doesn't smell good - CATMOUTH!/it doesn't smell bad - CATMOUTH!" What? There's also a song about having crows in your nose. Huh?
Birdflesh also throw in a smattering of violin and clarinet for spice, again not typical of their genre. But on pure grindcore terms they're no slouches either, raging with the best of 'em. Get this and you've got twenty-two mosh-friendly tracks of 100 mph absurdo-grind to enjoy whilst you peruse the lyric sheet for more gems like "Catmouth". Kinda like Agoraphobic Nosebleed or Nasum with the humorous spirit of a Spazztic Blurr.
Having recently left the obscurant electronica ensemble Stillupsteypa, Icelandic transplant Heimir Bjorgulfsson has wasted no time in starting up some new projects. This collaboration with Swedish installation artist Jonas Ohlsson was commissioned by Extrapool - an arts residency program which, in conjunction with Staalplaat, gives two likeminded artists unlimited access to a really nice recording studio for a week and publishes the results as a limited edition CD. While Bjorgulfsson's work is certainly a known quantity through his numerous solo projects and the AQ-endorsed Stilluppsteypa albums, Ohlsson has primarily been active in the Northern European gallery scene, executing willfully sloppy installations of consumerist excess, punk-as-fuck attitudes, and that post-ironic sentiment that's so fashionable in San Francisco galleries these days. That said, Ohlsson's resume cites some training in electro-acoustic compositions and he also seems to have a taste for Acid House. In their condensed studio session, Bjorgulffsson and Ohlsson have produced a surprisingly diverse album, splattering through fractured techno beats, at times strangulated into Matmos-esque noise-funk and others into the classic Sahko sound with frigid shards of electricity cascading down upon taut rhythms.
Most everything in the Brombron series has been quite good, and "Unspoken Word Tour" is no exception.
Forget about the Ozzfest reunion tours, this is live Black Sabbath (the BEST BAND EVER, sez Allan) from their '70s heyday, with the original, Ozzy-fronted line-up. Two discs worth of the heaviest of metal from the originators of the form. Super-exciting but for one thing: many Sabbath fans probably already have disc one, formerly known as the "Live At Last" album (recorded in 1973, released in 1980 against the band's wishes at the time -- 'cause they'd fired Ozzy and Ronnie James Dio was now their singer. Now, of course, they've got no problem with it). Still, one whole disc of previously (officially) unreleased live Sabbath is worth more than the 24 bucks this is going to cost you. And it comes with (while supplies of this handsome limited edition digipack version last) a poster and guitar pick, plus three bonus tracks too that aren't on the regular jewelcase edition.
Here's the track listing:
(Disc One) Tomorrow's Dream, Sweet Leaf, Killing Yourself To Live, Cornucopia, Snowblind, Children of the Grave, War Pigs, Wicked World, Paranoid, (Disc Two) Hand of Doom, Hole in the Sky*, Symptom of the Universe, Megalomania*, Iron Man*, Black Sabbath, N.I.B., Behind the Wall, Fairies Wear Boots. (Asterisks indicate bonus tracks only on this digipak verison.)
As a live band, Black Sabbath kill -- absolutely charismatic, energetic, and creative. And of course, HEAVY. Plus, you get to enjoy Ozzy's stage banter ("Are you high? Are you high? So am I!"), and variant, improvised lyrics/solos. In the middle of "Wicked World" on disc one, Tony Iommi gets a melodic, medieval solo, then they go into a jazz break, then jam on a whole 'nother riff, with Ozzy making up lyrics, that could have been a great song but never made it into the studio in this form, and then charge into "Supernaut", followed by a Bill Ward drum showcase, then back to "Wicked World"...
So, "Past Lives" is pretty incredible, from a musical standpoint. Of course, they could have included a lot more -- there's lots of pics from Sabbath's appearance at 1974's California Jam but as far as I can tell, no tracks from it. And where's "Blue Suede Shoes"??
Further complaints: although there's plenty of cool old pics of the Ozzy and the boys, and it's a nicely designed package, they should have gotten a Sabbath fan to proofread the liner notes (their third album is Master of Reality, not Masters of Reality, for instance -- and I think it's the Birmingham Town Hall they played at in 1972, not Burmingham Town Hall) but that's a quibble. What really does suck is that the tracks on disc two are given no specific dates and venues of recording -- it just says "recorded live at various locations & dates during the seventies". Lame! It seems from the track selection and Ozzy's between-songs comments that the majority of the second disc dates from around 1975, right before the release of their Sabotage album (they do "Megalomania"!!). Is this from the Philadelphia show recently bootlegged as a triple LP box set? Other songs are from their December 20th, 1970 show at the Olympia in Paris. I've got a bootleg of that and the tracks here certainly sound better than they do on the boot. Now, why the people who put this together didn't think we'd want to know where and when the tracks were from I can't imagine... But anyway, especially if you don't already have Live At Last and probably even if you do, this is an essential purchase for Sabbath fans.
Seattle-based duo The Bran Flakes have put together another cherry of an album. Sonic plunderers who must have ridiculous amounts of thrift-store $1 records, The Bran Flakes painstakingly yet assuredly cut everything up -- macabre children's songs, sleigh bells, latin percussive rattles, afro cuban drumming, tooting horns, minor key strings, occasional drum 'n bass, bad disco, some goofy approximations of dub, wurlitzer organ, noir film samples, oompah oompah in the left channel, funky drummer-style breakbeat on the right -- and arrange everything into precise sonic juxtapositions, resulting in a very confident and enjoyable trip from beginning to end (in fact the end is a three minute long recitation of people's names, jesus how long did it take them to cut *that* stuff together?)
The album's highest point comes when they cut up (Terry Riley "You're Nogood"-style!) everyone's favorite muppets Kermit and Fozzie Bear singing "Movin' right along...". It's so frickin' wonderful and happy go lucky -- can't you just see 'em in the Studebaker? While most comparisons to fellow cut 'n pasters involve names like Wobbly and Negativland, I think the group will fit nicely right next to your Kid Koala tape, your People Like Us cd, and maybe even your 12" collection of solemn DJ Shadow, who uses the same tools -- vinyl -- but never cracks a smile, whereas The Bran Flakes are all about hilarity. Look at what moog pioneer Jean Jacques Perrey says about 'em:
"I enjoyed your record very much, it is so fresh, so cool, made for people who have a 'child soul' and at the same time perfectly elaborated harmonically and technically with some funny winks to other composers."
Recommended for the lighthearted!
If you're partial to music that stirs from beyond the point of one's deepest melancholia - clawing at the walls in despair, drowning in a sea of tear-soaked handkerchiefs, clinging to the last sliver of hope... get the picture? - Nebraska's Bright Eyes may be for you. Primarily the work of Mr. Conor Oberst, B.E. already has an ever-growing flock of admirers for his previous two full lengths on which his frail warble of a voice threatened to collapse under the weight of his words. Much more fleshed out than on past recordings, B.E.'s lush musical backdrop on many songs seems to bolster Oberst (check out "False Advertising" or the absolutely beautiful "Nothing Gets Crossed Out" with its the sweet female vocal backups - heartbreaking!), and it's this support that seems to propel him forth as he weaves his earnest, raw, folky tales. It also serves to make the impact that much greater when the grand strings and horns are stripped away for the more minimal, acoustic moments ("Don't Know When But A Day Is Gonna Come"), not to mention how it expands the music's overall appeal. Tormented and introspective, the emotions flow from him in torrents almost beyond his control. Similar to, but still much more bare bones than the Microphones and less lyrically surreal than Neutral Milk Hotel, it also brings to mind Tom Waits or the Pogues in the carnivalesque or minstrel tones. I'd have to say my favorite songs here are the aforementioned "Nothing Gets...." and "From A Balance Beam". They're perhaps the most fully realized of the bunch, the latter was also the first song on the cdep that preceded the album. There's a hefty list of participants on this album filling out B.E.'s choirs, horn and string sections, and drum corps including folks from The Faint. Recommended.
This is a long lost classic (originally released in 1975) from ex-Sun Ra band member Brother Ah, and features a 25 piece ensemble and a vast array of exotic instruments such as shakuhachi flute, gong, space beam (?!), koto, pan flute, french horn, sitar, kiti kup (?!), tabla, oboe, shawn (?!), as well as various vocalists chanting, singing, shouting, and pre-recorded nature sounds. Sound far out? Well, it is, even by Sun Ra standards. Starting out with an Eastern-tinged spaced out raga, with buzzing sitars and subtle percussion underneath spoken word, then to a dreamy flute-flecked jazz number with Ethal Merman-ish operatic vocals over the top, on to funky African percussion workouts to chanted almost liturgical sounding afro-jazz-pop....Weird but definitely cool. For VERY adventurous fans of afro-rock as well as fans of Sun Ra and that sort of out-there-jazz.
Ex-Sun Ra band member and musical visionary Brother Ah created a world even farther out than Sun Ra's if you can believe that. This early seventies classic features two extended numbers, the first a dreamy, spacy, psychedelic soundscape with heavily reverbed, chanted vocals, and heavily affected nature sounds. Dark and drone-y and completely overpowering. As tripped out as anything Acid Mothers Temple or any other modern psych band has attempted. The second, a spare, rhythmic, super free, clattery No Neck Blues Band-ish hippy jam, with thundering percussion, howling horns, and bells and chimes and hand drums that slowly develops into a throbbing, jazz rock revival complete with celebrated drummer Max Roach testifying to the glory of LOVE while an enthusiastic crowd cheers him on as gongs and shouts and thrumming bass lines get more and more feverish, climaxing in a furious eruption of wild percussion. Way, way out there. Not for the faint of heart, but definitely for fans of Sun Ra, No Neck Blues Band, and all sorts of out rock/free jazz.
Bugskull records are always so pleasant. And since it's been three years since Sean Byrne's Portland-based project has released anything, this is a welcome record. Utilizing prettily chiming, repetitive organ lines, occasional metronomic drums, fuzzy wistful guitar, and woozy in 'n out synth phasings, they're like a Stereolab without the tension (or the constant pressure to innovate.) Thus the music is relaxed and seems to issue forth effortlessly. This is a very, very pretty album of easy, layered, warm blanketed layers. Sorta vintage-y sounding (old vocal snippets, record crackle, space-age whooshes) and very lulling. It won't blow you away and it ain't tryin' to; think, oh, Mouse on Mars or a simplified Harmonia if they were indie rock West Coasters and you're somewhere in the vicinity of Bugskull.
Though we've seen a fair amount of Beefheart rarities being released on CD in the last several years, not much of the Magic Band's live material has turned up yet. Much of this is due to licensing restraints, I'm sure, as none of the sets were ever legitimately recorded in the first place. That anyone even had the foresight to record the Captain and crew all the way back in 1972 is pretty impressive. This collection contains 18 tracks culled from 7 different shows, all in the U.K., dating as far back as '72 on up to 1980. Those concerned about fidelity should take note however that these tracks, even the more recent, were recorded with the most primitive of equipment and no amount of mastering could fix it. For those who could give a flying fuck about fidelity and are more interested in some live and raw renditions of their favorite Beefheart tunes, this would be a handsome addition to their collection as the various lineups (there are five different throughout) are all in top form on every track. Also included is a ten page booklet containing one man's well written personal account of Captain Beefheart's impact on him and the U.K., plus information on the individual tracks and the band's different line ups.
Watch her legion of admirers increase tenfold with every passing moment! Will you join them/us? On this, her third full length, Neko Case's voice pours forth in such an untethered and unaffected manner, yet with such power and control. It's truly something to behold. Through seemingly endless touring since Furnace Room Lullaby (on her own, as well as with the New Pornographers) she's honed her voice into an incredibly dynamic instrument. She delivers old classics like "Runnin' Out of Fools" or "Look For Me (I'll Be Around)" with such ease and conviction so seamlessly amid her own splendid songs like "Deep Red Bells" and "I Wish I Was The Moon" as well as "Pretty Girls" from The Gift soundtrack. On much of Blacklisted, her delivery is not unlike that of a lone, world-weary torch singer. Quite simply, her performance is arresting - deeply dramatic and haunting. Perhaps this may be attributed, in part or in whole, to the fact that these days she's holding all the reins. She co-released this album on her own label Lady Pilot with Bloodshot Records, and produced and mixed it with Darryl Neudorf and Craig Schumacher. Also noteworthy is the absence of "and the Boyfriends" from her name, but she's by no means flying solo - although she did play a greater number of the instruments this time around (various guitars, saw, piano). Speaking of which, the accompanying music is a perfect, richly hued match that warmly envelops and lingers around her every word. She's surrounded by an impressive group of musical friends including Joey Burns and John Convertino of Calexico, Giant Sand's Howe Gelb, Kelly Hogan, Brian Connelly of Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet, Dallas Good of the Sadies, John Rauhouse, Tom Ray, and Mary Margaret O'Hara. A stunning album that glistens and glows from start to finish. Highly recommended.
Our friend Adam who runs the super cool Crucial Blast label, has, for over 6 years now, been quietly (and not so quietly) putting out some of the coolest shit around. From crusty Finnish metal to droning electronica to sparse folk to brutal power electronics. This new series of cd-r's, limited to 100 copies and nicely packaged in oversized DVD cases will only be available via Aquarius records (unless you get them directly from Crucial Blast). So don't blow it...
AQ faves Charalambides contribute what has to be their quietest and most minimal collection of tunes yet. The sound takes their minimalist psych-folk a step further, exploring spaces as much as the notes that seperate them, with Christina Carter's fragile croon even more ghostlike and ethereal. She seems to be making sounds, more than singing, gentle and haunting, rich but delicate. Tom Carter's guitar is equally spare, with the notes spread out, and pucked tentatively, sounding like a Fahey record played at 5 r.p.m. Distant melodies drift lazily as stray notes wander off and get lost in the foggy ambience. Quiet, and quite gorgeous.
- RealAudio clip: One
- RealAudio clip: Three
This is a second pressing of "On The Beach," compiling tracks from the late '60s output of Philip Cohran, one of the founders of Chicago's AACM and early member of Sun Ra's Arkestra. While Sun Ra looked toward outer space for inspiration, Phil Cohran (himself an astronomer and mathematician) and his ensemble found manifestations of cosmic spirituality here on earth. Mining different musical traditions such as jazz, rhythm & blues, european classical, "eastern" music, but most specifically reaching into elements of african experience and heritage, the ensemble builds complex rhythms around melodic elements usually provided by Cohran's "frankiphone", a georgeously buzzing bell-like electrified thumb piano of his own design.
On "Unity," which appeared on the excellent Oulele comp a couple years ago, the percussion-heavy groove is anchored by the steady droning of Cohran's violin uke (I presume another of Cohran's designs?). The results go beyond "jazz," even when adding modifiers like avant- or afro-. This is soul music on a higher plane. So beautiful and powerful, this work fits into a larger picture that includes the afro-centric work of John Coltrane, Art Ensemble of Chicago's free-funk explorations with Fontella Bass, and Fela Kuti's consciousness raising jams. Members of the Artistic Heritage Ensemble went on to play with the likes of Miles Davis and Earth, Wind & Fire.
The cd is lovingly packaged in a hand letterpressed sleeve and contains two more tracks than the vinyl version.
Really excellent Czech prog rock from 1973. Collegium Musicum were an instrumental organ-bass-drums trio in the best classically-influenced tradition. In other words, E.L.P.!!! This live album (their best release) is full of extended, virtuoso soloing from all three members. Energetic, kinda heavy, sometimes happy, sometimes dark, great music. Full-on '70s prog with a nice Eastern-European vibe. And we love the cover shot! (Not new, but we got a couple and wanted to list it, along with the equally awesome Fermata disc, for the Iron Curtain prog freaks we know populate our mailing list!)
Having put their post-rock orchestrations on hold for the time being, the members of San Francisco's Tarentel have been exploring a number of divergent musical ideas. Guitarist Jefre Cantu has spent his sabbatical from the group exploring the arenas of digital abstraction in tinkering around with Max / MSP. Sometimes Cantu has been found working under the moniker Joshua Torres for more rhythmic pursuits and under Colophon for the atmospheric work. "Spring" - a 10" released on the promising Dreams By Degrees label - is the first recording that Cantu has done for either project, blurring spartan piano clusters and acoustic guitar samples from the other Tarentel guitarist Danny Grody. Following the lead of fellow dreamy code-slingers Ekkehard Ehlers and Stephan Mathieu, Cantu transforms his source material into a beautiful pixelated ambience haunted with residual melodies and distant rhythms. While this artful 10" is a very nice addition to anybody's collection of Ehlers and Mathieu, its scary to think about how good Tarentel will be if they manage to synthesize Cantu's newfound laptop abilities with Tarentel's rock expansiveness.
The first thing (the only thing?) you need to know about this Bay Area band is that "electric destruction fuzz guitar" is one of their instruments of choice. Wielded by Ethan Miller, and sometimes also by important Comets associate Ben Chasny of AQ fave acid-folk act Six Organs of Admittance, their "electric destruction fuzz guitar", with help from the band's fuzz bassist and sweaty drum maniac, puts Comets On Fire squarely into the psychedelic garage punk realm, shoulder to shoulder with the likes of 60's heavies Blue Cheer, and modern-day Japanese distortion fiends High Rise. Your friends from college will understand better if you compare Comets to Monster Magnet -- they channel the same sort of MC5-ish ass-kickin' and Hawkwind-like space-outin'. And if Ethan (and Ben's) acid wah guitar leads weren't enough, the Comets take things to a whole 'nother plane of noise with the Echoplex electronic tweakery of Noel Harmonson. His overdriven oscillations multiply the freak-out quotient beyond numerical calculation. And live, his spastic jerking and clapping will occupy your attention visually, at least until the guitarist wrangles his axe into a feedback frenzy jammed up against his amp.
But, there's another side to Comets On Fire, besides the distortion and the garagey riffs. Their loud freak-out elements are only part of an ecstatic musical continuum that also allows for the free jazz / ethnic massed bells and chant of track one, "Beneath The Ice Age". Two songs later, Six Organs guy Ben takes center stage, starting "The Unicorn" off with some improvised acoustic folk. Beautiful. Don't worry, though, 'cause soon enough the electric destruction fuzz guitar is back in action.
"Field Recordings From The Sun" totally rocks, is totally awesome, and is the excellent follow-up (that we'd been eagerly anticipating) to their self-titled, self-released vinyl-only debut reviewed here last year. We sell a lot of Acid Mothers Temple, we should sell as many of these guys! And if you're local, go see 'em, we're lucky they're here.
Finally reissued at the price of a single disc but with 2 previously unreleased songs and an extra disc containing a full live performance, this is Oakland hip hop duo The Coup's *brilliant*, totally essential Steal This Album. God, this 1998 record is so great. Not only is the music wonderful, like a stripped down, hip hop Parliament Funkadelic -- sometimes emotional and downtrodden, sometimes party jumpin', sometimes manic when Pam the Funkstress is scratchin', but always incredibly funky due to each track's repeating hook -- but Boots Riley's rapping just puts this album over the top. Boots is totally righteous, politically-aware/-active, advocates revolution as the way to fix our fucked up capitalist sociopolitical system (and when all else fails, a little pissing on G. Washington's grave), and conveys all this with stories (not sermons) whose lyrics are brimming with apt metaphors, sly puns, and pop culture references. For example, these lines from "The Shipment":
See you can't trust a big grip and a smile
And I slang rocks - but Palestinian style
Now there's a rumble in the jungle never mumble though I humble
Couple rappers took a tumble but my folks still want to rumble
Who's pimpin' your bundle? I'm _Fly_ like Seth Brundle
Even if the whole album wasn't great (which it is), it'd be worth picking up just for one song alone: arguably their masterpiece, "Me and Jesus the Pimp in a '79 Granada Last Night", which tells the tragedy of a boy whose mother prostitutes herself to support her pimp Jesus' drug habit; Jesus beats her to death and therefore when the boy grows up he shoots Jesus to death, but it's too late because Jesus' values have shaped the son into another misogynist monster. Boots' sketch of Jesus:
Philosophy that he spit stuck in my memory chips
And now he puttin' in a disk of Gladys Knight and the Pips
Then that shit starts to skip, he said, "Somebody musta scratch it"
Put the 40 to his lips and poured the contents down the hatchet
Well since my adolescense, cause of his pimp lessons
smack my woman in the dental just for askin' silly questions
Relationship reduction to either rock the box or suction
Ain't got no close potnahs, socially I cain't function
From the pen he would scribe, on how to survive:
"Don't be Microsoft, be Macintosh with a Hard Drive"
Get this album now, sez Windy! And see more Coup lyrics at http://www.OHHLA.com/YFA_coup.html
This album from Cursor Miner (aka Robert Tubb) is a darn sonic rollercoaster ride. A super fun and eclectic album, it starts out with an ominous 40 second digital roar, then proceeds into a Beck-ish slouchy, loping fashion which mutates into more stuttery electronics and bumpity-bump programmed beats like Hrvatski or Kid 606. All chopped up, chunky and playful with a definite pop heart, it blends together acoustic guitars, rubbery blumps and bleeps, samples and processed vocals. Cool.
Treasured local composer Beth Custer has self-released another collection of her clarinet-led music. Along with the clarinets Ms Custer also wields the piano and the keyboard sampler, and she sings. The Tin Hat Trio and the Club Foot Quintet (both groups also local gems) make appearances, as do several other folks. This is wide-open music with no attitude and plenty of originality. Silences and single-instrument passages that are evocative as much for what they don't say as for what they do. Gritty noir tangos that wouldn't be out of place in a Jim Jarmusch film. The (very occasional) vocal parts don't do much for me but I'm sure they were entirely appropriate in the context of the dance pieces these tracks were originally composed for: What the Body Knows, Take/Place, Undertaking Harry, and The Maverick Strain, all performed by the Joe Goode Performance Group. Nice.
Gosh. What can I say? This is absolutely the finest moment of Deerhoof's recorded output. At 34 minutes, there is absolutely no filler on Reveille: it is an astonishingly precise and accomplished half hour of some of the most challenging, interesting avant-rock we've heard in a long long time. Jeff loves this album so much he almost started a record label just to put it out! The local trio of Satomi Matsuzaki, John Dieterich and Greg Saunier are old school; you can hear in their music the lessons they learned from vintage Bay Area weirdos like Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 and Caroliner, and from the famously avant garde Mills College music program -- all of which have resulted in a great, eccentric band whose aesthetic is fully formed, mature and confident. Satomi's light, singsong vocal delivery (similar to Boredoms' Yoshimi, Blonde Redhead, Yoko Ono) careens from stereo left to stereo right, a dose of melody and almost j-pop sweetness that plays perfectly against the macabre repeating guitar lines and the great, unpredictable, muscular drumming. Sudden stops and starts punctuate eight minute songs against one minute collages of noisy audio squiggles. Much like the Thinking Fellers did, Deerhoof juxtaposes melodic passages against weighty, distorted guitar a la Sonic Youth; they rarely descend to all-too-easy verse/chorus/verse trad songwriting, yet amazingly enough the album is quite accessible. Experimental music that everyone can enjoy. Wonderful. This record is perfection.
A new four-song ep from New Jersey's out-of-control mathcore metallers Dillinger Escape Plan, with Mike Patton (Bungle, Fantomas, Faith No More) as guest vocalist! With the unmistakable throat abuse and tuneful croon of Patton, this new Dillinger ep is a bit different from their previous recordings, which were some of the most extreme, complex metalcore efforts ever.
Irony sounds more like a blend of Slipknot (especially with the yappy, almost rap-like vocal cadences of Patton), Melt Banana (again, the 'yiyiyiyiyi yi yi' vocals and sharp dynamic bursts), and Faith No More (when Patton's vocals and the music take turn into more melodic, lush realms). It's still extreme and complex, just less so, which Dillinger fan Andee found a little disappointing, but others might disagree. (Allan's always been *impressed* with Dillinger, but finds 'em hard to listen to, believe it or not -- so this is in some ways an improvement, to him.) Whether you like "Irony" will have a lot to do with your taste for Patton's vox. There will probably be a lot more to like here for fans of Mr. Bungle, Faith No More, Melt Banana, Fantomas or Slipknot than those just looking for a new metallic grind fix. But it could be Dillinger's ticket to a wider audience, which is definitely a good thing!
Oddly enough, not released on Relapse (as with prior DEP discs) or through Patton's Ipecac imprint, but on big punk label Epitaph. Imagine, Tom Waits and Dillinger on the same label, that's getting weird!
This is the raging politi-punk / hardcore debut from Indianapolis' The Dream Is Dead. With their hoarse, full-tilt vocals and thick aggressive guitars, TDID are very much akin to bands like Born Against or Poison Idea. In fact, the ep's finale is a rad cover of P.I.'s "Just To Get Away". Features cover art by Shepard Fairey.
Two songs each from Erase Errata and Numbers on the mildly annoying 3" cd format (maybe I have an unhealthy attatchment to my record player, but these brief tunes would've fit beeyootifully on a 7"...) Numbers are great, and "Goin' Insane" and "Palo Alto" give you all the crunchy moog basslines and shouty, distorted boy/girl vocals you could ask for in a space so tight it's claustrophobic, but Erase Errata... damn, they are SUPER hot!
Strong, continuously inventive basslines & super tight drumming form the backbone, enhanced by guitar that provides jagged texture rather than structure. Then the vocals: commanding, Mark E. Smith style commentary that might, for a brief moment, turn into full, vibratoed song before turning back into a sharp, observatory talk/rant. Kick ass. The brevity, skimpy packaging, and questionable format may work against my ability to recommend that you shell out $6.98 for this release, but let me say that the songs from two of the Bay Area's finest definitely deliver.
This five song EP from former Uncle Tupelo founder Jay Farrar is, well, okay. As in *just okay*, i.e. there's nothing that stands out as extraordinarily beautiful here -- none of the heartbreaking chord changes, the instantly hummable melodies, the abject naked emotion -- that made his previous quality work so memorable. Not even one great song to make the price of the disc worth it. It's a bummer; I mean he still plays a worthy, if slightly generic, brand of twangy Americana, but it isn't as vital or intense as before. So I say, if you're a fan, you'll probably want this, but if you're new to Farrar, Uncle Tupelo, or his post-Tupelo band Son Volt, then you should really start with any of the Uncle Tupelo records (Anodyne being my fave, but all are grrreat).
The first two albums (from 1975 & '76) by this hot-rockin' instrumental Slovak prog/fusion band. Rippin' stuff, with heavy guitar/keys interplay. Complex, flashy, very '70s. If we saw a band like this play today we'd be all "we're not worthy"! (Not new, but we got a couple and wanted to list it, along with the equally awesome Collegium Musicium disc, for the Iron Curtain prog freaks we know populate our mailing list!)
Our friend Adam who runs the super cool Crucial Blast label, has, for over 6 years now, been quietly (and not so quietly) putting out some of the coolest shit around. From crusty Finnish metal to droning electronica to sparse folk to brutal power electronics. This new series of cd-r's, limited to 100 copies and nicely packaged in oversized DVD cases will only be available via Aquarius records (unless you get them directly from Crucial Blast). So don't blow it...
Feverdreams is dark and mysterious. A rumbling and shimmering miasma of soothing low end, staticky buzz, and occasional clatter and skree. Gorgeous slow building sound scapes with subtle non-repeating rhythms and with layers and layers of drone, whir, throb, and clang. This would be nightmare music if it wasn't so damn pretty.
- RealAudio clip: One
- RealAudio clip: Two
- RealAudio clip: Four
If Adult. scored "Hedwig And The Angry Inch" or... if I Am Spoonbender went Broadway. If the cast from Fame played electro. Glammy and slick with many cool parts and sounds but unfortunately weak arrangements undermine Fischerspooner's drive for #1. And well, I really could do without the diva singer too. The second track on the album is a cover of Wire's "The 15th", and quite a great
While I (Jim) have normally attempted to write reviews for Aquarius that are noticeably different from the reviews I've written for other outlets, I now state my failing in crafting some new syntax for this Fursaxa record, which I think is fantastic. So without further ado, here's what I wrote in The Wire #222.
"Tara Burke has earned major endorsement from Makoto Kawabata and Thurston Moore, who have been so impressed by the Philadelphian psych-out maven as to release a couple of recordings of her Fursaxa project on their respective labels. Following the 'Mandrake' CD-R on Kawabata's tiny imprint, this self-titled album published by Moore's Ecstatic Peace is an exceptional set of narcoleptic post-VU semi-rock haze. Working with a couple of her former comrades form the underappreciated Siltbreeze group Un, Burke has scored 19 sketches for monochord acoustic guitars, pedal treated Lowry organ and Farfisa loaded with a grainy texture of raw tape hiss and a general disregard for production cleanliness. She channels these stories like a Wiccan earth mother, with sounds emanating like disaffected recollections of various memories and previously hidden histories. She's not so much interested in telling us specific stories as evoking a psychic connectivity towards those past visions, which are beautifully nostalgic yet vaguely haunting. This album is as good as anything from the Jewelled Antler collective, No Neck Blues Band, and Jackie-O Motherfucker."
Another record we've been trying to list for a while but we were never able to get enough... until now. This is the newest record from the Dead C's Michael Morley, and while it was only released recently on his own Precious Metal label, it was actually recorded back in 1997. Morley's Gate obviously shares many similarities to his full time 'rock' combo, but Gate is less about deconstructing rock and fee improvisation and more about skewed pop songs, dismantled and buried in murk and scree. Clattery percussion, buzzing guitars, squealing feeback, all form a tangly prickly web of noise for Morley to sing over, in his ultra-distorted mumble. Quite reminiscent of local boys Iran actually, with gorgeous melodies, hidden and tangled up in sheets of barbed wire guitar and throbbing, lo-fi percussive splatter. Think Ira from Yo La Tengo or Lou from Sebadoh fronting Harry Pussy or (duh) the Dead C. Easily the best Gate record since their 'pop' masterpiece 'The Dew Line' or their gorgeous noise record 'Golden' from a few years back.
A poem:
Great chops like the ones that these guys possess
Are plenty impressive, on this we'll attest...
But when used to make music like this, we proclaim:
"Funk groovin' on you ain't becoming. Abstain!"
Unless you're baked outta your mind and/or like Phish... avoid! This is a mish mash of styles that sure sound as though they were having a great time playing and following their muse, but whether or not that translates into something that's as pleasurable to listen to, is highly debatable. Me thinks your ears deserve better. There're many other skilled players out there making music that won't give you aural indigestion.
Gorilla, as befits their name, are a heavy power trio from the UK. The band photo in the cd booklet recalls the Melvins (the photo from their "Ozma" album, complete with female bass player and drummer in horizontally striped shirt, but minus the cat), but a better clue to this band's brand of heaviness is the back cover, which appears to be a homage to the back cover of Budge's "Squawk" (a high-contrast photo of the band sitting on a piece of heavy machinery). Yes, they really delve into the Seventies thing, to the point of having extensive liner notes detailing all their authentic, vintage equipment ("a '68 Gibson SG special with P-90 pickups run through an early '60s Vox AC-30" -- that sort of thing) which wouldn't mean much if they hadn't truly managed to capture that early '70s hard rock sound and vibe, which they did. And they can play. Their fuzz-laden heavy riff rock might not be original but of course it's not supposed to be. It's about kicking out the jams, brothers and sisters! The ten tracks here all pretty much live up to the title of track one, the self-descriptive "Good Time Rockin'" -- we also especially dig "She's Got A Car" with its sped up Blue Cheer riff and MC5/The Who '60s beat energy, along with the plodding, Sabbath-riffed "Acorn Brain", and the crushing, spaced-out "Iron Ball", among others. Fans of the likes of Monster Magnet, Nebula, and even maybe the White Stripes should consider adding these throwbacks' disc to your daily listening dosage.
Not too legit lookin' cd reissue of the 1969 second album by Group 1850, a Dutch heavy psychedelic group featuring (in addition to the usual bass, drums, and guitars) some freaky flute and droning organ, plus effects-laden vocals in accented English. Spaced-out-there in the Floyd realms for sure. Their first album, 1968's "Agemo's Trip To Mother Earth" is considered a sixties psych concept album classic, and this ain't too shabby either. Songs like "Purple Sky" and "Hunger" are quite stoned-sounding, and probably sound even better if you are.
In conjunction with the release of "Total Lee! The Songs of Lee Hazelwood," "For Every Solution There's a Problem" presents a collection of previously unreleased songs, some in their rawer demo form and some fully fleshed out productions. There's some low key Hazelwood classics here, especially the oh-so-dark opener "Dirtnap Sories," the aaalmost country of "Buying Back," and a late but worthy entry into the Lee + Lady duet canon recorded in the 'nineties and featuring "Melissa," a singer whose last name is unremembered by the musicians and producers involved. There's some goofy moments ("Dolly Parton's Guitar"? Hmm..), but if you're a Lee lover, this is a nice collection. As with the tribute album, Lee comments on every track in the liner notes.
Headlands Band are a local quintet who play honest rock'n'roll without pretentions or airs, which makes 'em even more likable even if I didn't already appreciate their music. Well-written songs with that instantly classic traditional sound somewhere between Uncle Tupelo, Neil Young and Dieselhed. The poignant touches of lap steel remind me of Lambchop, and there's also cheerfully strummed mandolin & warbly organ on top of the guitars. The vocals are a slight weak point, sometimes sounding rather strained, and there's one kinda 'emo'-ish song that I try to program out, but other than that this is a solid debut very well-recorded and exectued. Surprisingly, I like this a lot more than the new Jay Farrar (ex-Uncle Tupelo) record, and that's sayin' something. For fans of all the abovementioned bands as well as Granfaloon Bus.
If there's a single Jandek record to own, I would strongly recommend this one. "The Blue Corpse" has long been my favorite album from this Texan recluse, and stands as a rare moment of clarity within his typically willful obliteration of blues and folk standards. While there has been no support to such claims from the tightly lipped Corwood Industries, I have to agree with the theory postulated by Seth Tisue (who runs a fantastic Jandek website at http://tisue.net/jandek/) that this album is the aftermath of the breakup between Jandek and the woman known as Nancy who was featured prominently on previous records. While the obvious fact that she never appears on later album lends itself to this theory, the lyrical content -- which is the least obtuse of all of the Jandek records -- is the strongest evidence to Tisue's claim. From 'Your Other Man,' Jandek morosely resigns himself to his fate as a jilted lover: "Well, I guess your mind's made up / Well, I guess there's not much left to do / Go on, see your other man / Walk up the stairs / That's where the stars are / Go on, see your other man." The recurring themes of religion, travelogues, and numbers found on other records have been put on hold for "The Blue Corpse" which constantly returns to citations of killing time, falling into the river, and pining for lost love. Jandek's naturally melacholic wisp of a voice mopes through each of these songs, presenting itself as an embodiment of his internal gloom. Of course, these could be allegorical fictions and metaphoric dramas. Musically, there is also a considerable change in the Jandek approach on "The Blue Corpse" as his solo guitar work is principally acoustic and actually follows recognizably folkish chord progressions. All in all, "The Blue Corpse" makes for a fantastic album.
While there have been a number of theories floating around about Jandek, his identity, the unwavering continuity from album to album, the input from his collaborators, and the personal histories that seep through his recordings, the reclusive nature of the Texan known as Jandek (and possibly Sterling Smith) will always keep the truth relatively hidden. Nevertheless, a few facts about "Follow Your Footsteps" are certain: this is the 13th Jandek album, it was recorded in 1986, and the woman who has been referred to as "Nancy" makes another very brief vocal appearance and may have been Jandek's girlfriend.
While the last couple of recordings demonstrated a celebratory silliness (especially the odd vocal duet 'Governor Rhodes' on "Telegraph Melts"), Jandek's "Follow Your Footsteps" exhibits greater tendencies towards introspection and musical isolation. In the aforementioned "Telegraph Melts," Jandek punctuated his avant-folk strum and cracked vocal strain with the heavy plod of arrhythmic percussive stabs. Here on "Follow Your Footsteps," Jandek utilizes such drum signatures on only a few tracks; yet what is most striking about this album is the genuine blues stucturalism of the guitar chords. Melody, even if it's just two chords rhythmically strummed on an acoustic guitar, has become an important element in Jandek's oeuvre. Of course, the songs utter the mythologically oblique imagery of preachers, time, reality, and nature - all typical of Jandek's epistomological inquiries. It's a cold world where Jandek lives.
In previously writing about "Follow Your Footstep," I had hinted at a progression of Jandek's music towards an isolationism and an introspection that would lead towards the theatrical bleakness found on "The Blue Corpse" (the album album that follows "Modern Dances"). Yet Jandek has never presented himself for easy interpretations, and "Modern Dances" is certainly not an easy record to listen to. Instead this albums showcase two sides to Jandek -- the comedically emphatic avant-blues from the "Jandek band" (with vocal appearances from the woman known as Nancy and the intrusion of percussive splutter which may be indicative of a third party) and the solitary arrangements for Jandek and his guitar. The former is a deliberate slop of off-kilter blues progressions, the aforementioned arrhythmic drums, and oblique duets between Jandek and Nancy (including an alternate version of 'You Painted Your Teeth' from "Telegraph Melts" called 'Painted My Teeth' -- reflecting the continous reworking of older material found in the numerous versions of 'European Jewel'). If Pussy Galore took themselves seriously instead of jokingly posturing through ill-tempered blues, it might have sounded something like this side of Jandek. The latter is what most people think of Jandek -- open chords aimlessly plucked and strummed while his fragile voice cracks in the construction of a painfully sad mood.
Veering sharply from his recent full length The Action Packed Mentallist Brings You the Fucking Jams, the Kid shows his sensitive side again, invoking the word "love" as he did on his similarly mellow, pretty PS I Love You record. Seven pieces in 20 minutes on a li'l 3" cd, this is LOVE-ly. The bulk of the music here is slow- to midtempo lulling electronica, stark and simple, reminding me a lot of early German experiments in electronica -- Cluster, Harmonia, all that post-Neu stuff that concerned itself with purity and beauty. There are delicate arpeggiations of clean, rounded notes, sad chord progressions, and warmly skipping records. Only one track makes use of the spinning-the-radio-on-the-dial-as-fast-as-you-can method of appropriation... and here it is used for its texture, not its abruptness. One electro-tinged piece, all stuttery and jerky, sounding more like Mouse on Mars than anything else. But the rest of the tracks here are pleasantly gentle and wistfully sweet. A very charming record. Recommended.
Our friend Adam who runs the super cool Crucial Blast label, has, for over 6 years now, been quietly (and not so quietly) putting out some of the coolest shit around. From crusty Finnish metal to droning electronica to sparse folk to brutal power electronics. This new series of cd-r's, limited to 100 copies and nicely packaged in oversized DVD cases will only be available via Aquarius records (unless you get them directly from Crucial Blast). So don't blow it...
Lockweld should be a familiar name to industrial fans. This noisy sampling duo has been at it for years. For their Crucial Blast recording, Karen and Makita employ a mighty arsenal of synthesizers, samplers, vocals, electronics, machinery, tools, weapons(!) and fire(!). The sound is brutal and harsh. A thick wall of sound, white noise and pink noise with looped samples creating barely audible rhythms and the occasional melody being beaten bloody amid all the ROOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRR. And since it's called "Metal Pieces", each cd comes with a little baggie of custom cut little metal pieces. Cool.
Starting with an introductory minute of electronic drone distortion, the half of this split cd by Belgian black metallers Lugubrum, entitled "Al Ghemist" is, simply, awesome. Unlike most black metallers, Lugubrum aren't concerned with playing fast. But they do care about atmosphere. Slow, doomy, heavy, dirgey, dark, bleak atmosphere. The production is kinda lo-fi, but densely textured.
The opening noise piece leads into "Hunted Ordure", one of the best doom songs we've EVER heard. Buy it for this track alone and you'll be happy. Happily doomed. But the other Lugubrum tracks are good too. They do some faster stuff, but is still sounds like music from the bowels of the earth. The croaking vocals, fuzzed-out guitars, the weird non-standard rhythms, it's so nice. As they say, "Your discomfort and damaged speakers nourish Lugubrum eternally!!!"
Finsternis (also from Belgium?) aren't quite as odd an outfit. They play good old-fashioned necro black metal, excuse me, "alcoholic bonesaw metal" exclusively. You've heard the likes of them before. But their half of this split does provide some hateful blasting rock n' roll for those that dig this sort of primitive, grimy black metal.
Oh, thanks to AQ customer Roberto for pointing out to us that the old man on Lugubrum's "Al Ghemist" cover art appears to be holding a carrot. For some reason that didn't convince Roberto that this was amazing, but it only added to our love for Lugubrum.
After the lengthy collection (Geographic's From A Summer To Another Summer) that introduced this Japanese band to Western audiences, here's a fifteen-minute quick listen from Tori Kudo's project Maher Shalal Hash Baz. Kudo wields recorder, sweetly-picked guitar and directs various "water"-y sounds made on percussive toys etc. Sing-song vocals, gentle clarinet, warm cello, purposeful organ all are used for maximum sweetly shambolic naive pop. This is released on Stephen Pastels' label, and the Pastels are an apt comparison in terms of sharing melodic styles and a stripped down, lo-fi indiepop aesthetic. Eccentric, playful, sweetly childlike. If you liked their From A Summer collection, this will please you too, and if you've never heard them before, this is a lower-priced way to do so.
Our friend Adam who runs the super cool Crucial Blast label, has, for over 6 years now, been quietly (and not so quietly) putting out some of the coolest shit around. From crusty Finnish metal to droning electronica to sparse folk to brutal power electronics. This new series of cd-r's, limited to 100 copies and nicely packaged in oversized DVD cases will only be available via Aquarius records (unless you get them directly from Crucial Blast). So don't blow it...
Marax, named for an asthma medication, is the long running experimental electronic project of one Eric Crowe. For Crucial Blast, Crowe decided to do an expansive project focused on death and dying. 12 cd-rs released monthly for a year. LIMITED TO ONLY 25 COPIES each and hand numbered. This is volume one in the series and is very dark and grim. A gritty, noisy and completely intense drone record. One of the best we've heard in a while actually. Very reminscent of Organum, Lustmord and that sort of thing. Funereal washes of chest-rattling low end and ear-scraping grit and dreamy (as in bad dreams) walls of monstrous thrum. Really great. And I'm sure if you want, we can get Adam at Crucial Blast to hook you up with all 12. But let us know quick.
Our friend Adam who runs the super cool Crucial Blast label, has, for over 6 years now, been quietly (and not so quietly) putting out some of the coolest shit around. From crusty Finnish metal to droning electronica to sparse folk to brutal power electronics. This new series of cd-r's, limited to 100 copies and nicely packaged in oversized DVD cases will only be available via Aquarius records (unless you get them directly from Crucial Blast). So don't blow it...
This is volume two in Marax's 'For The Love Of Death' series of super limited cd-r's (LIMITED TO 25) thematically focused on death and dying. Where the first volume was slow brning drones ala Lustmord or Organum, volume two takes that drone and adds even more grit and static, with the resulting sound, much more akin to turnatablist Philip Jeck. But where Jeck's gritty soundscapes are dreamy and pastoral, Marax uses the antiquated sound to invoke memories of the long dead and times best forgotten. A dark and doomy trip down memory lane. Kind of like an Organum wax cylinder played on a decrepit old gramaphone with occasional anguished howls in the distance. Melodies surface but soon deteriorate into a wash of grit and grime. When the vocals come in it sort of sounds like Burzum played at 15 r.p.m. transmitted through tin can and twines. So fucked up and creepy and great. And as I said before, I'm sure if you want, we can get Adam at Crucial Blast to hook you up with all 12. But let us know quick.
Hat's off to the Mudhoney team for their fucking ass-kickin' cover art. It features super cool, retro, swirling multilayered transparencies. The album title is a bit perplexing though. It sounds more new wave or electronic than grungy rock'n'roll. Nevertheless music-wise, the men are definitely aging gracefully with the knowledge that sometimes it's just best to keep doing what you do best. No need to "keep up with the trends" or "update your sound". Nope, they're keeping it raw and true to the Mudhoney name - in business since 1988. That means high quality, raunchy, blues rock complete with that unmistakable Mark Arm howl. The only notable difference is an even more pronounced emphasis on the drone-y side of things, making that classic Mudhoney sound even more hypnotic and almost Krautrock-like. Almost. Cool.
Another essential grind metal classic available on vinyl for the first time in years. Exact reproduction of the original sleeve and on colored wax! Just like the Carcass vinyl reissue last list, if you don't already know who they are, you probably don't need this, but 'Scum' is definitely Napalm Death's finest moment. Short sharp bursts of ripping, pounding super political sort-of-lo-fi crusty metallic grind. A classic! And for those of you turntable-less fools out there, it is of course still available on cd!
Nile, the death metal band obsessed with the grandeur, mystery and mythology of Ancient Egypt, are one of the biggest things in the underground metal world right now (underground meaning NOT Ozzfest or MTV friendly, but with Nile you could also use "underground" in an archeological sense!). This, their third Relapse album, has been hotly anticipated by thousands and thousands of fans worldwide. And not 'cause of the popularity of Hollywood's The Mummy or The Scorpion King. No, Nile owe their following quite deservedly to their own amazing and intense musicianship and atmospheric songwriting. If you were going to buy just one 'extreme' metal album this year, you could do much worse than getting "In Their Darkened Shrines". It's an album of brutal, unrelenting heaviness, utterly insane drumming, shredding solos, and headspinning dynamics -- you'll feel like you've been through a desert sandstorm when they're done -- that's impressively technical, AND majestic, with 'exotic' middle-eastern influenced melodies and textures galore (utilizing their usual guitars, and ethnic instruments, and samples). They're one of those bands -- and this is one of those albums -- that not only belong in every self-respecting metalhead's collection, but would be a good thing for ANY adventurous music lover with an interest in the loud and difficult and imaginative to investigate. While they're not as intentionally avant-garde and 'out there' as Sigh or Enslaved or Weakling or Arcturus, they are as incredible as musicians, and certainly 'out there' when compared to most other death or black metal acts, coming up with violent ten-minute neck-breaking epics worthy of Hollywood, but not the other way around.
Nile are now totally the kings -- er, pharoahs -- of speed/death metal, occupying the throne previously occupied by giants like Morbid Angel and Slayer (both of whom have dabbled in Egyptian imagery before). Very recommended.
