Ohio stoner/doom/post-grunge metal band Abdullah return with their 2nd proper album, continuing (sort of, read on) their tradition of heavy Black Sabbathy guitars/riffs overlaid with melodic vocals, that kinda sound like those of Dax Riggs of Acid Bath/Agents of Oblivion/Deadboy and the Elephant Men. Songwise, Abdullah are a bit like a slightly doomier version of the late lamented Spirit Caravan (if you didn't hear, Spirit Caravan recently broke up -- but don't worry, Wino joined up with Victor Griffin in his band, Place of Skulls...dunno if that means Wino's a Christian now, but whatever...ok, back to the Abdullah review) but with some big twists this time out. Before we heard "Graveyard Poetry", we were a bit surprised to see that that Abdullah's European record label was comparing this release not only to doomsters like Trouble as we'd expect, but also to a bunch of obscure, traditional 80s metal acts, among them, local SF semi-legends Brocas Helm! Well, it's kinda true, at least on a few tracks anyway (like "Deprogrammed" and "They, The Tyrants"), wherein they leap from the moody, grungy doom style they established on their previous releases (and much of this one) into full-on rockin', quasi thrash metal territory. In this context, the vocals remind us a lot less of Dax Riggs and a lot more of the guy from Diamond Head!! I guess they've been listening to, if perhaps not Brocas Helm, at least some early Metallica and NWOBHM stuff!! Cool. A nice surprise. Although, while WE like the mixture, it might be a problem for some folks who will either dig the 60 percent doom content, or the 40 percent thrashin', but maybe not both.
Those expecting a Fela Kuti / Tony Allen spin off will be disappointed by this recording as, unlike Nigerian high life, there's not a trace of James Brown or "funk" to be found here. It also is completely different than the Latin infused sounds of the Kinshasa style high life the Congo. Utilizing both traditional Ghanese instruments and European flutes, saxophones, trumpets, vibes, kit drums, double bass and guitar, the music of Saka Acquaye and his African Ensemble takes as its kernel big band jazz. The result is something that sounds alternately like a really progressive, hot marching band and Martin Denny with teeth. Apparently quite the renaissance man, Acquaye was an educator, sculptor, and a champion hurdler as well as an accomplished musician. He spent at least ten years in the United States, receiving not only an advanced degree from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, but a Fullbright Scholarship for the study of opera from UCLA. Originally released in 1969 as "Voices of Africa: High Life and Other Popular Music", this album was recorded after Acquaye's return to Ghana. And though this album might not appeal to those who take Afro-Strut as the final word on the gems offered by African popular music, I highly recommend that they give this one a shot until someone re-issues fabulous recordings on John Storm Robert's Original Music label.
They got their start as a hippie commune band, with ties to Guru Guru, Tangerine Dream, and Amon Duul. Their debut, "Malesch" (Arabic for "it doesn't matter, take it easy"), is a true cosmic Krautrock classic, blending the spacey psych of Pink Floyd and fellow krautrockers Ash Ra Tempel and Popul Vuh with a flair for Eastern "exoticism". Plus, in the intertwining guitars, you'll find some hints of the American West Coast psych sound (yes, even a little Grateful Dead -- but don't let that scare you off). The album was recorded in 1972 not long after the band was sent on a tour of the Middle East by the Goethe Institute, and incorporates field recordings (decades before the likes of Godspeed You Black Emperor!) from their trip: the bustle of Cairo streets, desert winds, calls to prayer, friendly airline pilots... These tapes are a key element of this record's appeal (along with their sheer talent for jamming and their synth and electronic experimentation). Oh, and some great Hammond organ sounds too. Basically, this is a fantastic album of mostly instrumental psych / drone / ethnic rock, that's generally mellow but powerful too. Whether to the Great Pyramids of Egypt (where the album cover was shot) or to inner space, "Malesch" portrays a true trip indeed. So recommended.
The ethnic influence that so defined Agitation Free's debut is not as much a factor on 1973's "Second" -- but both the West Coast style guitar jamming AND the way-out-there electronics experimentation really come to the fore. Again, mostly instrumental (one exception being the ominous, electronically treated reading of an Edgar Allen Poe poem that forms the last track, backed by gloomy Mellotron-led prog rock), psychedelic, trippy stuff, utterly gorgeous. Electronically created environmental sounds, wild and spacey synths, and relaxed, melodic guitar are all to be found here in abundance. "Second" was the second great album from this brilliant, often overlooked, Krautrock band. After "Second" they departed the scene with their excellent swansong live album, "Last" (not yet reissued by Garden of Delights, but still available on Spalax), though some other posthumous live/archival documents have subsequently been released.
Soft, sleek pop that harkens back to '70s AM radio as well as '60s space age lounge-y flair. Aluminum Group is primarily brothers Frank and John Navin, however on this release the band roster is a veritable orchestra of 19 members including Chicago starlets John McEntire, John Herndon, Doug McCombs, Rebecca Gates, Rob Mazurek, and Jeff Parker. Bubbly synths fizz and flutter amid Mangione-esque horns and crisp percussion while the suave gent croons in dulcet tones that bring to mind ELO, the Moody Blues, the Alan Parsons Project or more recently Kings Of Convenience. Occasional female vocals add an extra prettiness to the already glistening proceedings. That said, they may be from the Midwest but their music sounds as though it's coming to you from some euro jetset club - maybe having a nightcap with Air, the Style Council and Burt Bacharach. Laidback and smooooth! And there's more to come, apparently this is the first installment of an Aluminum Group trilogy.
A new super perky 'n' a bit punkier album from those popster Apples. They've always drawn scads of comparisons to the Beach Boys, but this time around for some reason it sounds a lot more like Brian Wilson and co. extra amped up and on helium. Robert Schneider's trademark high nasality seems to reach even higher than on their last album (hard to believe!), but fortunately it's countered by Hilarie's honey-sweet voice. This just might be their most rambunctious album to date but it still has all of their trademark harmonies and hooks. Quite a funtime racket that will surely delight sugar pop fans whereas those with a considerably smaller sweettooth might wanna skip this pep rally.
Koji Asano, the AQ-beloved Barcelona-based Japanese sound artist, is back at last with a new cd (the twenty-seventh release on his own label Solstice). This new one, "January Rainbow", consists of a 64 minute long track that successfully combines two of our favorite Koji Asano compositional styles: his abstract but lovely piano improv, and electro-acoustic noise-drone! Asano's flowing piano explorations of almost romantic, fractured melodies are heard through a more-than-ambient fluctuating field of thick static, hum, and crackle. If you play this at a low volume, it's like listening to a mellow and pretty avantgarde piano recital over a messed-up shortwave radio signal. But turn it up, and the physical presence of the rumbling electronic noise really takes over! Your choice, both are nice. Those familar with Koji's back catalog need only imagine a DJ mix of his solo piano discs "You Can't Open The Door Because It's Already Open" or "Monsoon" (which already had their a background-ambient-noise element to 'em) with one of his noise-drone oriented discs like "Momentum" or "The Last Shade of Evening Falls". A truly mesmerizing, beautiful balance of melody and drone is the result. So, not only are we glad to hear from Koji again, but we think this is one of our favorite entries in his vast catalog so far!
Released in 2000 but only now coming to AQ's attention, this debut album by Avey Tare and Panda Bear is, well, it's really good! It's an intriguing combination of elements -- a plaintive, weak voice chirping sadly over rapidly strummed yet fractured guitar, which is normal enough but then there's these weirdly muffled, like, jungle beats in the background, so faint you barely even notice that they're there. The tension between the styles happening simultaneiously is carefully handled and forms a satisfying whole. Vocals are tremulous and tinny but somehow appealing, too, like the Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne making incredibly emotional dissonant, fuzzed-out bathroom electronica. There are also gentler numbers with moody piano and delicate vocal effects. And some raucous squealing feedback guitar (like a womans wail) over Reichian arpeggiated synths. The overall effect is slightly creepy but mostly just wintry, melancholy and sad. Windy's favorite not-new record.
More Ivy League joke hip hop pining for grade-school. I guess you gotta spend that trust fund money on something.
Aestuarium, who put out the amazing Philip Cohran disc, now bring us some ultra-serious Fela-style jams. Dan Boadi had some huge hits in his native Ghana in the seventies, and came to New York in 1978 to record these two epic cuts of heavy, heavy afro-funk fused with disco danceability. Apparently, his music didn't resonate with Americans in the same way it did with Ghanaians, and though Boadi has continued to record in Ghana and Chicago, these mighty tracks faded into obscurity. Luckily, Aestuarium has ressurected them for us. Recommended for those with a tooth for raw, dirty disco and/or seventies afrobeat.
Bongzilla: the name says it all, doesn't it? Crushing, HEAVY sludge-metal with a massive pot fixation is what you'll find here. Now, sometimes releases in this genre (yes, it's a genre) are sooooo great, unexplicably transcendent, and weirdly compelling, that we'll recommend 'em to all and sundry (like Electric Wizard, Corrupted, Sleep, Boris). Bongzilla is perhaps too single-minded about the pot thing (and what passes for the musical thing too) to warrant such a general recommendation. But they do this sort of sludge metal quite well, and if you're already quite partial to the heavy stuff -- i.e. you've got some Grief, Sleep, Eyehategod, Bongzilla (duh) etc. in your record collection -- you'll probably want to check this out. Especially if you also smoke pot. The song titles alone provide ample stoner entertainment! I mean, "Keefmaster"? Musically, it's all about massive fat riff (rhymes with spliff) repetition, in a simple, slow, sub-Sabbath mode, littered with the usual sort of drug-related samples we've come to expect. Not a lot here for the attention-span impaired though, or maybe there is, depends on how you use it.
... is the solo project from The Faint's bassist Joel Peterson, and on many of the tracks here B.S. does indeed closely resemble those Nebraskan new wavers, but minus the vocals (although actually the first track immediately brought to mind the chiming intro to OMD's Dazzle Ships too). Overall though, it's a much more diverse affair: ultra thumpin' rump-shakage, prettily chiming glassy bell / harpsichord-y tones, glitchy digital abrasions, and thick blurts of analog synths. Band lineage aside, this is an adeptly executed collection of cool tracks which veers closely to industrial dance at times, and at others becomes quite moodily atmospheric.
In the time since the late great Jeff Buckley's debut album Grace, many of us have come to know and love his music. This posthumously-released collection of tracks is not throwaway material; rather it is a lovely compilation of soundboard tapes, studio demos of now-beloved songs like "Grace", and live material. All of it features downtown New York avant musician Gary Lucas, who Buckley met in his early twenties at a tribute concert to Buckley's father Tim. Lucas' shimmering, moaning, yowling guitar lines are a *stunning* counterpoint to Buckley's similarly haunting voice and guitar. Less of the thick, full sound from Buckley's solo work -- more twanging, resonating guitar picking, lighter renditions of songs that made it onto Grace... the effect is very pleasant and may even serve to garner a few new fans in addition to showing established Buckley fans another side to the man's aesthetic. Atmospheric, whooshing guitar, meditative whisperings, a joyful Sam Cooke-style soul cover, many tracks sans drums. A couple songs have a pronounced blues tone and there's even a fiery punk(-ish) number! This record is absolutely gorgeous and a worthy addition to your Buckley collection.
Gritty and unkempt garage/sludge from Philadelphia. Noisey and sloppy and super great. Sounding quite a bit like the Stooges or the MC5 (and not the way the Hellacopters turn Stooges/MC5 worship into catchy cock rock) all drunken swagger and snotty attitude.
Upon discovering this album on our new arrivals rack, Loren Chasse remarked "When hasn't a Bernhard Gunter album been a tribute to Morton Feldman?" It is true that over the past couple of years, the ultra-minimalist electronic composer Gunter has been paralleling Feldman's late period pieces, which centered around the slow evolution of slighly asymetrical tonal patterns for small wind-instrument ensembles. As Gunter has acquired the habit (perhaps from Feldman) of citing his influences as dedications and titles of his pieces, it was only a matter of time before "For Morton Feldman" came to fruition (after previous albums gave credit to Xenakis, Luigi Nono, Mark Rothko, etc.) Yet this album doesn't entirely speak with Gunter's voice as he has commissioned two of his closest associates, Richard Chartier and Steve Roden, to compose tributes to Feldman as well. Gunter begins the album with a processed field recording of rushing water, and adding wavering notes from a Sho - a Japanese flute which Gunter performs much like the dissonant notation that Feldman ascribed to pieces like "For Philip Guston." Richard Chartier's piece suffers from the same problem as the majority of his recordings... most of it simply can't be heard beyond muffled bass rumbles. Upon viewing the visual waveform of the material, it's clear that something is present, but operating at frequencies that our stereo can't generate / can't playback. The Steve Roden track, however, is the reason to get this tribute as his tidal fluctuation of metallic resonance with tiny, ghostly slivers of something sounding like a sitar struggling to be heard. It has to be said that none of these pieces are as challenging or as uncompromising as Morton Feldman's iconoclastic compositions; yet, strains of Feldman's austerity and muted colors run strong on this album.
The instrumental version of El-P's solo debut sounds exactly like you think it would -- good! Layered, experimental, unrpedictable and super interesting in its own right without the vocals, eminently spinnable for DJs, aspiring rappers, or instrumental hip hop lovers. If you're buying the cd version, the second disc contains 3 remixes, including excellent one by Def Jux rising star RJD2, and for your computer there the "Deep Space 9mm" video, a live set, and lyrics.
The instrumental version of El-P's solo debut sounds exactly like you think it would -- good! Layered, experimental, unrpedictable and super interesting in its own right without the vocals, eminently spinnable for DJs, aspiring rappers, or instrumental hip hop lovers. If you're buying the cd version, the second disc contains 3 remixes, including excellent one by Def Jux rising star RJD2, and for your computer there the "Deep Space 9mm" video, a live set, and lyrics.
Here is a 2 cd retrospective collection of the often underrated, and totally amazing rockabilly, country great Charlie Feathers. We have carried this before, now it is reissued in fancy packaging. Charlie grew up tending his parents farm. He sang in church and listened to the Grand Ole Opry. A local sharecropper named Junior Kimbrough taught him how to play guitar. He reminds me at times of Hank Williams, Eddie Arnold, and even Hasil Adkins. Feathers wrote "Can't Hardly Stand It" which was later covered by the Cramps. He has the talent of mixing the best elements of blues, country, bluegrass and rockabilly in an original and inventive way. Some songs are slow lazy sad country, and then some are rockin' and tough. As this collection proves he was hard working and eclectic in the mid '50s, but it was during the '70s resurgence of rockabilly in Europe that he was revered and appreciated. Many country and rock n rollers credit Feathers for inspiration (Johnny Cash for one). Dispite horrible health problems he persevered till the end recording and touring, mostly in Europe. Charlie Feathers died August 29, 1998 of complications following a stroke; he was 66. Here are all his Sun, Flip, King, Meteor, Kay, WalMay and Holiday Inn sides, plus rare, unissued tracks including Sun demos, alternate takes and early home recordings with the likes of Junior Kimbrough. You also get a fancy detailed 48 page book.
Over the past couple of years, it has become apparent that there are two modes of production for the esteemed Austrian electro-glitch artist Christian Fennesz. On one hand, there are the studio driven productions where he focuses on the digital decomposition of various guitar signatures (exemplified within the "Plays" single whose beautiful cover of The Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" was originally commissioned for the ill-fated "Painted Black" compilation -- due soon on tUMULt), and on the other, there's the live improvisation techniques he brings to any number of European free-jazz / new music ensembles (i.e. MIMEO, FennO'Berg, Polweschel, Golden Tone, Orchestra 33 1/3, etc.). While his technical prowess and expressive immediacy can be quite graceful on those electro-improv recordings, Fennesz excels in the studio.
"Field Recordings 1995:2002" -- which is NOT a collection of Chris Watson-esque field recordings -- picks up some of the studio driven scraps that had been released on compilations, special projects, and film soundtracks during the past 7 years. Of particular note, "Field Recordings 1995:2002" features all of the cuts from his amazing "Instrument" debut EP released on Mego in 1995. Even before such incredibly powerful programs as SuperCollider and Max/MSP had been as widely available as they are now, Fennesz has always been interested the atomization and disintegration of digital recordings at their most basic level. While all of these tracks from "Instrument" still sound great by today's standards, there is a strong connection with the sampledelica guitar trickery of '90s UK post-rock of Seefeel, Main, and Disco Inferno as hyperactive, time-stretched kaleidoscopes of post-MBV distortion and skittering electronica rhythms. The other tracks include reworkings of the soundtrack composed for "Blue Moon," remixes Fennesz did for Ekkehard Ehlers and Stephan Mathieu, and compilation tracks from "Decay" (Ash International), "RKKCD13" (Reckankreuzungklankewerkzeuge), "Clicks and Cuts 2" (Mille Plateaux) and "Krev X" (Ash International) -- that last contribution being a digitally fuzzed-out cover of America's "A Horse With No Name."
While many 'loose-end' collections run the risk of being full of cast-away tracks from the proper albums, Fennesz' "Field Recording" is as good as any of his previous albums, and shouldn't be missed!
Norway's Rune Grammofon label has become one of those imprints whose releases we ALWAYS have to pay attention to -- and not just 'cause of the lovely packaging courtesy artist/designer Kim Hiorthoy in which they are invariably resplendent, but because they are often quite excellent. As is this one, Food's "Veggie" (housed in, of course, a handsome Hiorthoy digipack). Apparently it's the third album from this experimental jazz group. The other two, unheard by us, were live recordings, but with "Veggie" Food move into the studio, and not just any: the "Audio Virus Lab" of Norwegian sound artist Deathprod. In the context of Helge "Deathprod" Sten's electronics-infused production, this becomes something rather other than normal "jazz". It's experimental indeed. Led by British saxophonist Iain Ballamy, the Food quartet also features Supersilent's Arve Henriksen on trumpet, Mats Eilertsen on acoustic and electric basses, and Thomas Stronen on drums (and most of 'em are also credited with "sampler", so it's not just Deathprod doing the electronicky stuff).
If you count Mr. Deathprod, who is also a Supersilent member (and who actually gets a whole track here, "Nofood", all to himself), this band is 2/5ths Supersilent, and boy, do we love Supersilent -- they're our favorite Norwegian "death-jazz" improv n' electronics group. So already we were anticipating good things from "Veggie", and you don't have to listen for very long to encounter echoes of Arve Henriksen's breathy solo album "Sakuteiki", the glacial drones of Supersilent's "5", and the electronic chaos of Supersilent's "1-3" as well. Bubbling underneath with electro-acoustic beats and drones, this is spacey, lyrical, melodic, 21st century jazz, establishing a range of moods from a mellow Miles Davis trumpet at sunset looking over a North Sea fjord kind of thing to more abrasive, paranoid glitching and shrieking experience... Really nice. Good, and good for you.
These young Canadians have certainly come a long way in a very short period of time. Their first Sub Pop cdep 'Knock Knock Knock' only came out earlier this year, and I believe they had just one other release prior to that. They started out in 1999 with a different vocalist and churned out boyish angst filled post-punk made notable by its catchy rockin' synth lines (which were very much like the amazing, but sadly long defunct The VSS). Nowadays however, they're quite a different band. No longer spurring fewer comparisons to Circus Lupus or bands from San Diego's ThreeOneG and Gold Standard Laboratories roster, they're drawing more from the British, buoyant mod pop sounds of the '60s and yes, the new waveness of '80s. Polished, styled out and very danceable, yet still retaining their youthful exuberance. Very fleshed out vocals with great gang of boys backups deliver the clever lyrics. Oh and yes the rad riffin' keyboard lines are also still present. Ultra-infectious and energetic! If you've liked Outhud, !!!, the most recent Rapture 12" or the last Radio 4 album 'Gotham' (a sidenote: oddly enough HHH's singer often sounds a lot like R4's vocalist who actually sounds a lot like early Joe Jackson and Elvis Costello), then you'll definitely want to check this out! Mind you they're a much more pop than funky! Recorded by Seattle studio vet Jack Endino. Get ready folks, you're probably going to be hearing a lot from these boys in the months to come! Recommended!
Thanks to Cheb I Sabbah, Talvin Singh, Tabla Beat Science, and other electronica fusions with traditional Indian music, several dozen customers have excitedly picked this album in hopes of a sitar 'n' tabla laced album of electronica. To glum expressions and sad resignations, we explain that these "Indian Soundscapes" are just field recordings made throughout the subcontinent. It's a damn shame that more people haven't gotten excited about this album, as the recordings of rushing trains, calming ebbings of the ocean, bustling marketplaces, and the album's highlight - the haunted cackling of peacocks. This follows Soleilmoon's previous collection of field recordings, "Indonesian Soundscapes," although I'm not sure if Loren Nerell was the recordist on this one, as he had collected that collection of field recordings.
Catherine Irwin is half of the beloved alt.country duo Freakwater... she's the dark haired modest beauty whose face crinkles up woefully when she harmonizes so prettily with Janet Bean (observed during one of our most memorable instores!) Anyway, this is her solo record and it's pretty good -- her low-key slightly grainy alto with its ever so slight kentucky accent is pretty irresistible but I will admit to really missing the incandescent harmonies she and Bean conjured up together -- this is what put Freakwater over the top. But this is still lovely, with covers of songs popularized by Elvis, Roger Miller, the Carter Family, etc., these being among the best tracks on the album.
So, if you're new to the wonderful Freakwater, then I highly recommend you first start with their sublime Feels Like the Third Time record, but if you've got all those Freakwater records, well, then here's more to tickle yer ears.
Peacefrog Records has typically published the more soulful strains of Detroit techno with a steady stream of releases from Moodymann, Herbert, Robert Hood, Ian O'Brien, Glenn Underground, and Planetary Assault Systems. So, Peacefrog seems to be an unusual home for Darrel Fitton, whose back catalogue as Bola and Gescom (in collaboration with Autechre) ranks very highly within IDM circles. Nevertheless, Fitton's debut recording as Jello bridges the increasing stylistic chasm between IDM and soulful Detroit techno. At the heart of "Voile" Fitton uses the midtempo / downtempo IDM rhythmic skitter that can be found on those Bola / Gescom recordings, but has smoothed out much of the dis-ease found in most post-Aphex electro-paranoia. As the album begins, Jello seems like a slightly friendlier version of Bola and still firmly entrenched within the IDM aesthetic, yet as the album progresses, Fitton gradually turns his focus towards a jazz-tinged electronica with Lamb / Portishead female vocals, digital approximations of bass-slapping, Rhodes organs melting into the alien jazz sentiments of Herbie Hancock, and stream of consciousness beat poetry.
Jets To Brazil return refreshed and energized with an album overflowing with infectious emo and power pop tunes. If you like the sounds of the Posies, Weezer, Flop, Silver Sun, Weakerthans, well, you know what I'm talkin' about... Great pop bands with a superior grasp of the elusive hook! Jets To Brazil are all fired up right from the get go with the opening track "The Frequency". Guitars ring out fuzzy and full. Occasionally when things slow down a bit, a piano will takes over the main melody in the verses. Really effective! On the more upbeat numbers, it joins forces with the guitars on choruses that verge on the anthemic. Throughout, the sensitive boyish vocals sing of hope and heartbreak. Oh, and they close this 67 minute long (!) album off with a cover of "Rockey Boy". A final note: I just now realized the bad pun I unintentionally made earlier, "fired up", "jets" - groan! My apologies!
"Homemade Drugs" finds Jim Yoshii Pile-Up leaving behind overt quiet/loud dynamics to focus mostly on the quiet. Less Slint-y angularity, more slowly building post-rock beauty, developed through delicate three-guitar interplay and liquidly gorgeous vocals. These days, you can have your emo-tional pop in an MTV-ready pretty boy package, but (pretty though they may be) Jim Yoshii come across as much more honest than all that. So honest, in fact, that it's almost wrong to listen in on these tales of intimacy and heartbreak. Their tendency to turn their backs to the audience when playing live seems appropriate; wearing your heart on your sleeve just isn't conducive to being in-your-face. But don't be fooled by all my talk of sensitivity. These boys can rock hard when they want to, as moments of "Homemade Drugs" prove before being subsumed by more subdued melodies- which I guess would reflect the presence of quiet/loud dymanics, wouldn't it? Still, the overall feeling of this album is firmly in the realm of the contemplative, personal and melancholy. Really, really nice.
Highly anticipated new album from SoCal's powerful hip hop crew -- Akil, Chali 2na, Zaakir(Soup), Marc 7, DJ Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist, with guests Nelly Furtado, Kool Keith, and more -- who've grooved SF's Future Primitive Soundsessions many times, and man, are they good live. Righteousness is the name of J5's game, with uplifting verses and a general good time, standing-on-the-corner-rhyming-in-turn vibe. Same smooth groove, nothing hard about 'em. Super clearly enunciated vocals (almost disconcertingly so), FLUTE!, some rather predictable space-the-final-frontier style movie samples, head-knodding hooks. Not challenging in terms of instrumental complexity, nor adventurously creepy -- but they're not trying for that anyway. When Cut Chemist and Nu-Mark cut loose without the vocalists, they come up with a track like "Acetate Prophets", which incorporates motor sounds, scratching, Asian-sounding percussion, jazz guitar -- so good but it's a pity the track is left til last!
The second disc is for your computer or DVD player, and contains live performance footage, but the best material is of Chali 2na visiting his grandma for breakfast, or Cut Chemist showing off his word-for-word reenactment of a segment of Star Wars Episode 1, showing off his Star Wars action figures, and some incredible footage of Nu-Mark tapping out all sorts of percussive goodness on drumpads and the backstage food containers. Must be seen to be believed.
Taking a step away from the fragile, quiet, slow/sadcore sounds of her last album as well as those of her band Ida, Karla Schickele's performance on this her second solo full length is much less restrained, subdued and delicate. Honest, intimate and bittersweet, she seems to pour her heart into each of these songs. The acoustic instrumentation is once again lovely and barebones - perhaps even more spartan so than on her debut - providing a subtle backing to her voice. Very reminiscent of the early '90s Olympia / DC folky pop scene (Lois, Mecca Normal, Spinanes, etc). Nice!
Contributing to the ongoing "Cinema pour l'oreille" series of 3" CDs from Metamkine, the uncompromising electronic composer Zbigniew Karkowski offers another noxious slab of low frequency sound that ripples as massive standing waves and chugging fluctuations. As the short 19 minute program continues, Karkowski intermittently inverts the low frequencies to painfully high ones modulated with all sorts of ray-gun effects and the psycho-acoustic play between slightly detuned stereo channels (i.e. Ryoji Ikeda, Alvin Lucier, etc). Karkowski has claimed that "he is not interested in traditional definitions of what is music; in his opinion, all theory and systems of music as cultural concepts have to be destroyed." Yet, contarian that he is, Karkowski continues by stating his work is an allegory (a very common linguistic / narrative device) concerned with "realizing drama with sound [as] electronic and acoustic walls with scores based on architectures of ruins." Of course, Karkowski would claim little allegiance to the realm of language preferring to build his own monuments dedicated to himself and his self-deterministic free-will through the sheer power of sound. A Fitzcarraldo-like testament to the glory of hubris.
Gregg Turkington (voice of Neil Hamburger / Faxed Head participant) and local S.F. luminary Brandan Kearney have put together an entire book of -- as the title implies -- record reviews contrived as anagrams of the artist name and album title... Almost. See, at times the authors chose to bend the rules a bit by adding a word or two so as to have more letter material to work with. For instance, with the album "Face Value" by Phil Collins, they use "Genesis drummer Phil Collins' solo hit: Face Value" to come up with "So, this foul gremlin evildoer cheapens all music". Cheating? dunno. But I suppose it's funnier than anything you could come up with by being restricted to the album title and artist name (the best I could come up with sitting here is "full lice alive on chaps"), but that's the fun of anagrams isn't it? You have your predetermined restrictions and then do your best to come up with something using them, and most of the time you end up with something non-sensical. Before I poo poo this any further, to their credit, the pair have come up with a shit load of excellent anagrams -- sometimes sick, often hilarious -- within the expected restrictions. For instance, The Cranberries' "Bury The Hatchet: The Complete Sessions" becomes "Boy's reluctant speech: 'betcha Irish semen rots her teeth!" and Sleater Kinney "All Hands On The Bad One" becomes "Halt! Not heroines! Sneaky. Leaden. Bland." Seventy pages of such anagrams will be sure to keep you laughing for weeks as you sit on the toilet. And no one is spared the hatchet, not even Neil Hamburger or Faxed Head.
When Allan said that we were getting a CD of recordings of the "Hawaiian guitar of India", I had visions of Gabby Pahinui being backed up by fast and furious tablas. In reality, the music of Gopal Krishan and the vichitra (or strange) veena is nothing like Hawaiian music, so clean that out of your head. No, the reason why Hawaiian guitar is mentioned in connnection with this strange veena instrument is due to the fact that, unlike the sitar, this zither has no frets and instead the performer utilizes a pieces of stone (glass, or wood), much like a Hawaiian guitar, over the strings to reach the proper pitch. This slide guitar like way of performing allows not only for much longer sustained notes -- the decay resulting from bending a pitch via applying pressure to the string on a sitar or sarod is much quicker -- but greater precision and variability of pitch: hence, greater possibility for expression. Another item that apparently makes this veena particularly strange is that, unlike other instruments in the veena family which don't generally have sympathetic strings, it does. And not only that, because the plucked strings are quieter than normal, the sympathetic strings sound much louder relative to the melody. As far as performers of the vichitra veena, Mr. Krishan is pretty much it. The guy has an unintentional monopoly on the instrument and as such, gets to travel far and wee to play it for fascinated crowds. Each disc contains one track, that divided into three parts: a solo prelude by the veena and then two sections accompanied by tabla, the second faster than the first. Beautiful and sublime. Comes with a heaping portion of liner notes in French, English and German.
Landing have issued forth what just might be their most lovely and fully realised work to date. No vast departures from their usual path of spacy, slowly drifting mellowness, but each track seems to more fully envelop the listener. Whisking him/her gracefully away into their wispy, languid dreamscapes. Sooooo calming with their veils of shimmering drones and barely there strummed guitars, it almost ventures into new age territory. Their unobtrusive, ethereal male / female vocals add but another layer of lightness to the soothing atmosphere. Actually the song "Against The Rain" really reminded me of Yo La Tengo's wonderful The Sounds Of The Sounds Of Science soundtrack. Beautiful! The only shortcoming is the length. Unfortunately at only 31 minutes long, this disc might require the repeat setting on your cd player if you need longer than a half hour's escape!
Sands is mellow driving music or faux soundtrack, instrumental, spacious, with reverby guitar. Starts off a bit like what one could expect if the Edge (of U2) were to release a solo album of "infinite guitar" and then heads straight downhill from there. I swear more and more indie-post rockers out there are cutting tracks with the hopes of having some advertising agency pick it up for commercial use. Just put on "Fields" and listen. You can almost hear the announcer touting that with the freedom of America's lowest APR financing, there's no reason for anyone to pass up on the new 2003 Dodge Durango.
Legend were an awesome, if obscure NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, pronounced n'wobim) band that never got a major label deal (in the liner notes, mention is made of the band watching helplessly as mediocre London bands got signed while bands like themselves from other parts of Britain are ignored -- well, maybe they should have moved to London!! ever think of that, guys?). But, their lack of success really was a bit unfair, as a listen to this double cd, containing their entire output -- two LPs, a 4 song ep, and a demo, spanning the years '81 through '83 -- shows them to be a damn fine heavy metal act indeed! Heavy, catchy stuff with much frantic axe action and folky, somewhat Ozzy-ish vox. That, plus doomy, politically themed lyrics, various songwriting eccentricities (occasional acoustic guitars, folk melodies, lengthy instrumental riff-outs, some prog-pop moves on their second LP), and a charmingly lo-fi production make 'em come across kinda like Angel Witch meets Manilla Road. In other words, pretty cool and very cult. Twenty years on, they've lived up to their name! And interestingly, in this day and age of black metal 'evilness', it's interesting to remember that metal is not necessarily PRO-war and violence (even if it's *about* war and violence). Indeed, along with bands like Megadeth, Nuclear Assault and Anthrax, Legend spoke out against the dangerous arms race and superpower militarism of the Cold War era. Now with today's worries about WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction), Legend demonstrate continued relevance. Heck, they even do a catchy little number entitled "Anthrax Attack".
A new collection of early works by Sonic Arts Union co-founder Alvin Lucier. Perhaps more than any other composer Lucier has been obsessed with the physical space in which a performance is occupied. his later works "I Am Sitting In A Room" (in which the composer's speech is repeatedly recorded and played back within the same space until the resonant frequencies of the room wipe out any semblance of the original source) or "Music On A Long Thin Wire" (in which a 50' wire, driven by an oscillator, is amplified, but which is constantly changing, determined by the micro-climate of the room which is in itself affected by the presence of people.) Lucier's fascination with space is evident on some of the works presented on this disc. With "Vespers" (1969) Lucier uses sonar-dolphin echolocation devices to propel focused clicks at varying rates throughout a performance space. Along with the walls of the room, every object within becomes an interacting element with the sound. Of course, translating the effects of this onto a recording -- a mere two channels at that -- is a futile task. In an attempt to overcome this limitation the piece was recorded using the "Environ-Ears Recording System" which was apparently some sort of binaural recording system. "Chambers" (1968) presents an equally, if not more, difficult problem for recording in that the sounds presented in this piece are all "packaged" in their own unique space. The result on disc is a sound collage in which each element carries with it the effect of the box it's packaged in. With "North American Time Capsule" (1967) Lucier used a Sylvania Electronic Systems Vocoder (an early voice encryption device used by intelligence agents) to render them completely unrecognizable. "(Middletown) Memory Space" (1970) is a little different than the others on this disc, in that it is not an electronic composition but written for performers (any instrument, any number of performers.) In it the performers are instructed to bring into the performance space a snippet of sound from the city outside which they have recorded by means of tape, notation (graphic or otherwise), or memory and then to play this back on their instrument. They are further directed not to interact with the other performers, but only to follow the instructions of the conductor for when to begin and end. Though there is no indication of the performers for this rendition, it seems as though the instruments used were piano, flute, harp, double bass, percussion and accordian. The results are not entirely unlike some of Morton Feldman's works. The final piece "Elegy For Albert Anastasia" (1963) -- notorious Murder Incorporated hitman who was gunned down in a barber shop -- was created on magnetic tape and consists almost entirely of subharmonic sounds, most inaudible to the human ear. Includes liner notes by fellow Sonic Arts Union co-founder Robert Ashley.
Luna's new seven song collection contains a few odd moments. I along with a couple of customers were sort of startled to hear the first few strains of the Stones' "Waiting On A Friend" with Dean Wareham doin' the ooooh-ooohs. It was a bit... strange. Their version of "Neon Lights" begins with a plink-plonk sound that really made it seems like it was going to be a cover of Abba's "Honey Honey" rather than a Kraftwerk song. The song "Teenage Lightning" however is NOT a cover of Coil's splendid track from Love's Secret Domain, as far as we can tell it's a Wareham original. The rest of the songs are pure Luna bliss, and should please all of their faithful followers. Oh and also included on this cd is a video for "Lovedust"! One gripe though, what's with the half-assed matchbook style packaging? So poorly executed, it's shameful! Not only has that design been done so many times before, but it's been done quite close to perfection by bands like Fuck and Tsunami to name just two. Harumph!
If it weren't for the lack of smug attitude and thankfully missing Chicks on Speed artwork, "Flourescent" could easily be mistaken for anything on Mego. This collaboration between Danish composer Rasmus Lunding and the increasingly active Australian sound artist Philip Samartzis is a fanciful, dynamic abstraction of digitized fragments culled from field recordings and purely digital granular synthesis. The two artists have built reputations on nearly opposing ends of the electro-acoustic spectrum, with Samartzis operating as an austere musique-concrete composer steeped in a post-Industrial tradition. On the other hand, Lunding has tinked with programmable Lego constructions in some of his compositions, lending to far more childlike readings than Samartzis' work. "Flourescent" - their first collaboration - brings Samartzis' technical prowess to those playful spaces which Lunding inhabits. Many of the sounds have the expressivity of the electronic improv that has been running amok in the European art / jazz circuits; however, Lunding and Samartzis tighten their grip on those electronic 'solos' by crafting the digital errata into terse melodic passages and occasionally structured patterns. The two composers top it all off with digitally treated interjections of indeterminant conversations, the screams of children at play, and Vietnamese temple songs.
Watts Writers Workshop poet Curtis K. Lyle reads his compelling and at some points risque Collected Poem for Blind Lemon Jefferson, while Julius Hemphill provides flute back-up and some furious sax improv. This is pretty cool and interesting black consciousness spoken word which sets a precedent for hip-hop; unfortunately, at this point in history all that flute conjures images of watered-down media versions of beatnik espresso jams. Not as bad-ass as Gil Scott-heron, but worth a look for anyone interested in spoken word or African-American poetry. 1 2 [/archives/148p2.html] » [/archives/148p2.html]
Here it is, the second cd from this Kid In The Hall! If you were fortunate to see him on his one-man tour or check out his first cd Shame Based Man, then you know you're in for some of the blackest, most absurd humor. Frequently it's much more so than any of the stuff he did on the series. Some of the tales - addressing all the usual subjects, y'know, sex, religion, aliens and Bob Seger - he conveys in his unmistakable half-sung, over the top rock/blues delivery, on others it's in his supreme deadpan, while on another, well... let's just say you'll be hearing from a voice that sounds a lot like KITH fave Gavin. The music backing him comes courtesy of Craig Northey who also did the soundtrack for their movie Brain Candy and Brian Connelly of Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet (who wrote and performed the tv series' theme song) and more recently of Neko Case And Her Boyfriends. An in-store listen triggered many a groan specifically directed at the backing music, but taken together with the words it all makes perfect sense. There's a definite unsettling quality about it, but not in the way you might think. Composing a very eclectic array of tunes, these two follow McCulloch's twisted path quite closely and effectively, but it often falls in the super slick and radio-friendly department. On its own, you too might find it a bit painful to listen to, but maybe the discomfort's intentional... to make the listener squirm and cringe even little bit more. Listening to Bruce McCulloch is not always a belly laugh funny experience, it can be an amazingly dark, heartbreaking bummer. Such is the role of the comedian.
"Window" is another tiny CD-R edition (just 50 copies, of which we got a whopping 10) from the drone ensemble Monos comprised of Colin Potter and Darren Tate. Released right after the "Nightfall Sunshine" album of antique '60s electronics smeared into a paranoid soundtrack, "Windows" returns to more contemplative drones of processed field recordings typical of their previous CD-R editions and the "360 Degrees" album. Behind the thick curtains of reverb which Potter applies to Tate's field recordings, the playful chorus of chirping birds cascades out of the dense fog created by the excess of reverb and is sporadically joined by languid notes from what could be an accordion or a melodica (or maybe even a well disguised cello!) quietly playing alongside the birds. A really nice recording, but one that will certainly not be around for long!
As the title indicates, here's the first in a series of "official bootlegs" of live performances by SF's own punk/metal/experimental/tribal juggernaut, those cheerful dudes known as Neurosis. "This series is designed to provide specially priced quality recordings" of Neurosis shows, in an attempt to "put an end to low quality, overpriced recordings which do not represent our vision of our music" it says here. Not sure what's so specially priced about $14.98, but the recording IS of better-than-usual-bootleg quality for sure, doing justice to the band's sound. Massive, pounding, screaming, Neurosis heaviness, brutal and psychedelic. Recorded in France in 1999, the show documented here features three songs from their "Times Of Grace" album, plus one each from "Through Silver In Blood", "Enemy of the Sun" and "Sovereign". Even though one essential component of the Neurosis live experience -- the trippy video/film visual projections -- is of course missing from this disc, it's still a nice release for fans of the band, demonstrating their sheer metallic power to those who've been lulled by the melodic, post-rocky, even folky & acoustic direction of their last album "A Sun That Never Sets" and the various solo efforts of Mssrs. Kelly and Von Till (though the "Times of Grace" stuff was heading that way too).
Shh! It's the debut P:ano album, and it's a quiet one! This Vancouver, BC-based group led by Nick Krgovich are hushed and somber, but not depressing at all, with muffled piano, sad drums foregrounded, non-cloying cello, and earnestly tooted horns. The dusty, reminiscing tone is quite similar to the Nashville collective Lambchop, and it also recalls the first, stellar Archer Prewitt (Coctails) album. The delicate, mostly male vocals totally remind me of Alan Sparhawk -- and that's not the only Low comparison that's appropriate with this very Low-inspired outfit, although P:ano is a little more sing song-y than Low is, a little lighter -- bittersweet instead of spooky, if you know what I mean. A trifle shambolic and about to fall apart, in a good way. A pleasant debut.
OK, I admit it. No one here is a fan of Kruder and Dorfmeister, let's just leave it at that. If you can't say anything nice... then praise the side project instead. Really, though, one snowy evening in Lake Tahoe, stoned and well-fed, I did experience several moments of communion with the debut Peace Orchestra album, Peter Kruder's solo project, which is a well-executed piece of trip hop. This here Reset record is a remix album that IMO doesn't improve on the original, in fact the differing styles of the remixers make an already sufficiently cohesive statement into a mish mash. Can't we just leave well enough alone? Remixers include: DJ DSL, Gotan Project (whose leadoff remix is actually quite lovely, especially with the added bandoneon that makes for a very Morricone-style wistfulness), Zero dB, Guillaume boulard, Truby Trio, and more.
Until the boys get around to serving us another new full length, Absolutely Kosher has thankfully reissued this beautiful ep of theirs which was originally issued two years ago. Pinback, for those unfamiliar, is a duo featuring Rob Crow of Heavy Vegetable / Thingy / Optiganally Yours and Zack from Three Mile Pilot. The two are consummate performers and songwriters, the type of people who just ooze music all the time. I can remember when Rob Crow did a solo in-store here several years back. He was playing a guitar through a small battery powered amp (designed to look like a miniature Marshall amp.) He was rocking out -- had everyone in the entire store completely absorbed -- and as he was reaching the very end of the crescendo of the song he was playing, his battery powered amp fell off the used LP bin it was resting on, struck the floor and scattered batteries everywhere. Rob Crow apologetically got down on his hands and knees to retrieve the batteries. After fumbling around for a minute to get them back in and the case snapped tight, Rob immediately went back into his song to finish the last 2 seconds of the feedback cadence he had left to play. The playfullness, sincerity, and deadpan humour are evident in the music Rob and Zack write as a team. They sound like a pair that has been playing together all their lives. The type of guys who had a blast coming up with tricky rounds to sing just for the fuck of it. As Pinback, they have an innate ability to write absolutely infectious pop songs, with lilting melodies, often counterpointed with one another in effortless ways -- never sounding contrived. On top of it all, the two record all their music themselves in Zack's bedroom, which you'd never believe listening to their records. Whenever we play this in the store someone invariably purchases a copy (this goes for either of their full lengths as well.)
Ambient music can be a tricky proposition. At times, it can be beautiful and sublime through its ability to control an aural context (i.e. Jonathan Coleclough, Thomas Koner, Troum, etc.), yet at others, it can appear as the watered down version of some other form of music, where the strengths of that particular genre have been neutered as an homage to Brian Eno or Erik Satie. Such bland new-ageist tendencies have consistently appeared in electronica since the KLF officially fused ambient and techno with their pseudo-joke record "Chill Out" nearly a decade ago. Montreal knob twiddler Ghislain Poirier is the latest to fall into this aesthetic death trap. He has claimed allegiance to the masters of dub in King Tubby, Augustus Pablo, and the Basic Channel heroin house sound; but nothing of any substance from those influences has been translated into music. Instead, non-placed ethnic instrumentation aimlessly piddles through thin drones and an absence of anything remotely engaging. A truly boring album.
Island records reissues the soundtrack to this classic Jamaican comedy / musical. Features tracks by Inner Circle, Junior Murvin (Police & Thieves of course), The Heptones, Peter Tosh, Junior Byles, Bunny Wailer, Gregory Isaacs, The Upsetters, Burning Spear, Justin Hinds & The Dominoes, and more. Originally released in 1979.
No, this isn't a new release, it's the fine album which preceded this Toronto quartet's most recent Tremendous Effort which we reviewed recently. Rooted in rollicking twang that gives a hearty, respectful nod to surf guitar king Link Wray, their music can swell to Morricone spaghetti western proportions then swagger along the glinting edge of a murder balladry. Along the way they also tackle some traditional country and gospel songs ("Higher Power" and "Walking Ground"). The four fellows - brothers Dallas and Travis Good, Sean Dean and Mike Belitsky (who's also played with Jale and Pernice Brothers) - kick out their tunes mainly on guitars, upright bass, keyboards, fiddle and drums. Their live show, fueled by Marlboros and whisky, is absolutely electric, leaving band and audience fully spent. On record however, their sounds expands to include dobro, banjo and harmonica and an array of additional vocalists. Keep an ear out for guest turns by Kelly Hogan, Catherine Irwin (of Freakwater on "Eastwinds"), and Don Pyle (Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet). Capturing their fiery energy, this album was engineered and mixed by Steve Albini.
For those who have paid attention to the Microsound and Phonography online lists, much has been made about the certainty some pundits place upon the categorization and divisions between the computer based Microsound genre and the field recordist based Phonography. An argument of similar rhetoric raged in the '60s between the German school of electronic music and the French school of Musique Concrete, but there were a couple of Swedish composers (Rune Lindblad in particular) who saw the advantage of both compositional models working harmoniously. Melbourne based composer Philip Samartzis holds a comparable postion as a relative outsider to these primarily European / American discourses; and thus has been able to synthesize elements from both field recording manipulation and the generative models of computerized sound construction. "Windmills Border By Nothingness" is his second solo CD, after recording a couple of hard to find noise-junk albums as Gum (which may get reissued sometime in the future through 23five). Samartzis' title of this 39 minute composition is indicative of the numerous punctuations of silence that bracket all of the events housed within. Unlike the practitioners of low-volume compositions (Gunter, Roden, Chartier, etc), Samartzis punctures sound with silence rather than playing the notions of audibility. Rushing waters, scraping improv guitar work (possibly from fellow Aussie David Brown), repeated metallic clangs, the hushed clickery of run-out grooves, indeterminant creakings, tense rattles from electronic vibrations, and strident granular synthesis are splattered across the stereo field with silences as breathing room. A very nice recording.
Pretty bad free jazz(-y) material that never quite gets going (and when it does get going, it's still bad). Improv is great when it's done well (Nels Cline, Matthew Shipp, Evan Parker, the Brotzmanns) but this is heavy handed noodling that seems, um, pointless, especially when you consider that all parties involved (including Dutch percussionist Han Bennink, American avant percussionist and AQ-regular William Winant, etc) have made much, much better recordings in the past. Recorded in one day as part of Konkurrent Studio's In the Fishtank series. It must also be mentioned that we were all a bit disappointed that "I.C.P." did not refer to Insane Clown Posse. Eh. Buyer beware. Listen to the clip.
'70s lovin', long-haired n' heavy (musically speaking, that is -- they look kinda skinny, actually) Swedes the Spiritual Beggars, whom you know as the "stoner rock" band of ex-Carcass, current Arch Enemy six-string wizard Mike Amott, introduce a new singer (the guy from Grand Magus, another one of what must be millions of Swedish stoner rock bands) with "On Fire". It's going to take a few more listens than we've had the chance to experience to determine if this new album is any kind of step up for a band we already like quite a bit, or just more of the same -- but so far, anyway, it seems pretty cool! The Hammond organ still throbs mightily, as they run through rockin' riff-fests and mellow, spacey psychedelic excursions. And the new guy's vocals are just fine, if a little cliched (their old singer Spice wasn't Spiritual Beggar's drawing card anyway). In the mood for a loud n' proud, modern-day take on Deep Purple and the like? This ought to fit the bill.
