Aquarius Records closed in 2016. This site is an archive — a place to rediscover their extraordinary music recommendations. Nothing here is for sale.
[ aquarius records new arrivals — issue 150 ]
Showing results 101 through 104 of 104.
XENO VOLCANOTo In Out And Open(Hardpresse)cd$ 11.98
Here's a solo work by one half of the Swiss duo responsible for the Die Organik disc that we listed recently - brought to us by the man himself on his way back home to Switzerland. It reveals a subtly different, broader side of Xeno Volcano. As opposed to his rather stern and clipped collaborative work with Elektra Sturmschnell, in which he provides the backdrop to her spoken word, here he allows things to stretch out, shift and linger a bit more. Track length varies from a scant few seconds to over fourteen minutes. The sounds are also less coldly foreboding and more organic with a bit more warmth and light. Drones drift in like looming clouds, skittery clicks and sputtery hiss collects and dissolves, aloof voices (including that of Sturmschnell) and assorted field recordings surface briefly. In all, it is quite a darkly atmospheric 80 minutes, but it's not without a hint of levity (namely in track titles such as "Whoopee Ball Traffic Mall" and "The Bilge Elvis"). Definitely for fans of dark post-industrial experimental soundscapes (Current 93, Christoph Heemann and select Nurse With Wound).
Into the dark and experimental? Take note! Here's an early work by the Swiss duo responsible for the Die Organik disc that we listed recently - brought to us by Xeno Volcano himself on his way back to Switzerland. Thirty two (!) solemn sonic glimpses of German spoken word amid a spartan landscape of electronic hiss, and soft melodies that drift and whir. Most are under three minutes long. Sturmschnell recites her short prose that shifts between sharp, icy orders to sedated ramblings. Tense, ominous and unsettling latenight listening.
No, Yakuza aren't Japanese (but the way they blur genre lines is typical of quite a few Japanese underground acts). They're a Chicago-based metalcore band on giant metal label Century Media, but one that's weird enough to get reviewed in The Wire! Imagine Coalesce or Dillinger Escape Plan colliding with the Vandermark Five. Avant-jazz, post-rock, death metal, hardcore, etc. get blenderized here, thankfully without any of the tongue-in-cheek affectations of a Mike Patton or John Zorn project. Weighty grooves worthy of Neurosis find common cause with jazz saxophone soloing, the emotional vocals bleed into droning soundscapes and furious mosh pit frenzies both... Bands like Isis, Engine Kid, Hint and Guapo that also operate(d) at the fringes of metal and avant-rock come to mind. Along with Japan's Sigh, Yakuza are definitely one of the most extreme, inventive, unusual bands on Century Media. If you have any doubts about that, check out the eighth and final track on this disc, "01000011110011"! It's an ambient, electric, instrumental, psychedelic Miles Davis-ish jam that goes on for 43 minutes!! Pretty cool indeed.
Three songs, seven minutes. Yeah Yeah Yeah's aren't messin' around. The hot-shit New Yorkers pack every minute full of gritty, high energy, lo-fi, post-glam rockn'fuckn'roll. Singer Karen O seemed to bely a little vulnerability in between shrieks on their debut e.p., but here she exudes confidence. YYY's would be an ideal band to see in someone's packed living room; too bad their lightning fast rise to fame deprives us of that experience! This single is another teaser before the release of their debut full length, expected soon-ish.
