A recent Smog show here in SF was, somewhat surprisingly, totally amazing. Instead of stark indifference and an uninspired performance, it was everything you could possibly want a Smog show to be-- intimate and immediate, with Bill Callahan in an approachable mood, bantering with the audience and even taking requests. Accompanied by just an electric guitar and a tamborine, he played some of his very best songs (oh man, "To Be Of Use" from "Red Apple Falls" breaks my heart every time I hear it!) in a fashion that managed to be both wrenchingly honest yet cheeky and good-humored (see: "Dress Sexy at my Funeral," definitely the highlight of "Dongs of Sevotion" and also of this particular Smog set). He also played "Bathysphere," and weirdly, he seemed to be playing a cover of Cat Power's cover of his song, turning the cello parts from his recorded version into intense vocalisations. It was great! Oh yeah, he's got a new record, too. A couple of the songs Callahan played live turn up on it. I liked them better in their stripped-down live versions. "Supper," at the very least, doesn't suck nearly as much as "Rain on Lens." In fact, it's actually very pleasant. He's still got the rock-band thing going, but there are more mellow-melancholy moments and the songwriting is a bit stronger. There's this one crazy free-folk song that's definitely my favorite thing about "Supper": softly frenzied textural drumming layered with multiple levels of almost droning guitar picking, banjo, and hypnotic group vocals repeating the same line again and again... really beautiful, like a little bit of Tower Recordings or something transported into a Smog song. The rest of the album gets very alt-country what with the lap steel slide guitar and Palace-y mock-religious folk country-- actually, "Supper" has a pretty Mountain-ep era Palace vibe, only with unfortunate detours into gross blues-rock. Honestly, though, I can always listen to Callahan's conversational baritone confessionals. Here, counterpoint to his wounded lone-wolf male perspective (see: review of "Accumulation: None") is provided by a female vocalist who's trying to do a powerfully sultry country chanteuse thing and not being overly succesfull at it (glad she's there anyway, keepin' the man-with-no-name cowboy heartbreaker tendencies in check, to a degree). Overall, not a bad Smog album, assuming you already have "Red Apple Falls," "Julius Caeser," "Wild Love," "Dongs of Sevotion," "Accumulation: None" and even "Knock Knock."
The '80s and a good portion of the '90s were, for a lot of people, all about indie rock. And 28th Day were right there laying down some of the most bright and lively tracks of the mid '80s, alongside other pioneers like REM and the Replacements, Beat Happening and the Rain Parade. Comprised of the effervescent Barbara Manning on bass, Cole Marquis (Snowmen) on guitar, and present day DIW label / magazine impressario Mike Cloward, 28th Day hailed from Chico, CA and this album contains all of their recordings plus 4 previously unreleased live tracks and 3 previously unreleased demos. Fans of Barbara Manning will find this amped-up, electrified indie rock a welcome addition to the sweeter, purer material found on her later recordings. Furious guitar strumming, a hint of paisley underground psychedelia... some have compared their sound to the British folk rockers Trees.
MPEG Download: "Pages Turn" [/audio/28thpages.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Pages Turn" [/audio/28thpages.m3u]
Hurrah! The much anticipated third album from our favorite world-weary pop angels has arrived! Very '60s Brill Building girl group style production but with less naive, sugarcoated lyrical sentiments. Sooooo sssplendid! Beautifully recorded, with layer upon layer of beautiful melodies and instrumentation. This band really does just get better and better. Their recordings have the hugeness and details reminiscent of Phil Spector or Joe Meek. And the use of reverb is flawless. The soft echoey lovely vocals just melt my heart and the songs are so individually rad that they stand on their own and apart from each other. This record is softer and sadder in some ways, perhaps their darkest work to date. Less poppy or optimistic than previous songs I've heard. I really can't take it off my stereo at home. Absolutely, totally and completely recommended!!!
OK, so Arab On Radar broke up, due to "irreconcilable differences" that have "compromised the creative process." This is their final "gift to the world" (their term) in the form of a collection of 7"s and a cassette from their 7 year career (includes their part of the Locust split, singles and comp tracks from Load and GSL, etc.). Them breaking up is really sad, because now we won't have anymore choice AOR quotes such as:
"Wire has that Pink Flag record which for a week or two in the 90's was OK."
(when asked about their influences) "Life... the totality of all stimuli since birth be it auditory or otherwise... But to humor your question, I guess... it was Six Finger Satellite, Birthday Party, Capt. Beefheart, Albert Ayler, Coltrane, Chuck Berry, Van Halen, but this is all when I learned guitar waaaay back when I was 12."
And my personal favorite: "If you read a Noam Chomsky book or two you will probably be educated enough to understand the irony of our band name... "
Weh-heh-hell! I bet YOU weren't listening to Beefheart waaay back when you were twelve, huh chump? Them's some awfully self-important pretensions for a band who sound suspiciously like Fugazi, when they don't sound like every other group of noisy post-hardcore-post-punk-no-wave referencing scensters currently crowding Providence and San Francisco. To give credit where it's most certainly due, Arab On Radar had been together since '94, so they were there first (OK, first in the sense of the newwer wave of bands that call to mind no-wave of the late seventies/early eighties- first wave of the second wave of no-wave? Oh yeah, Skin Graft called it now wave-- remember that?), and they're definitely one of the best of the bunch, so the fact that disco-beats meets fucked-up noise-punk is kinda starting to get boring really isn't their fault. For all that's been said about how annoying and harsh Arab On Radar are, "The Stolen Singles" is really listenable, and despite the time span, these obnoxious and spazzy and simultaneously juvenile (title examples: "Swimming With A Hard on," "Miss American Hair Pie") and pretentious (see above) songs work cohesively as an album. Recomended for those who dig Lightning Bolt, Black Dice, Total Shutdown, no wave, Pere Ubu, and, uh, Fugazi. Not recommended for TRUE Arab On Radar fans who bought all these singles three years before they even came out. Suckers.
Don't know much about this record. But boy we sure do like it. And part of the reason is it is so indescribable. Seriously. Rarely is a record free enough from referents that we are forced to describe the sound alone instead of comparing it to this person and that band. Which while daunting, is also incredibly exciting. It even inspired a spirited discussion with my lady friend (who also loved this record) on how to explain/describe just what the hell is going on here musically. Asa-Chang is a self-taught tabla/bongo guru and in-demand session percussionist and this is his first proper solo record. And it's not at all the record you might expect from a famous tabla player. The tabla, and percussion in general is used quite sparingly, usually strangely entagled with processed vocals, creating fucked up rhythms and otherworldly harmonies. The first track features lots of mournful strings, soaring and swelling with staccato tabla perfectly in sync with spoken male and female vocals. Strangely hypnotic and totally alien sounding. The next track is sort of calypso, with horns and steel drums pecking out a lo-fi, murky melody, sounding a bit like Indian street musicians jamming with some Elephant 6 band. And it continues, careening wildly (stylistically) all over the place, but somehow remains totally cohesive and utterly compelling. They even do a cover of Brigitte Fontaine & Art Ensemble's "Comme A La Radio"! With harmonica and sitars and electronics and crazy tablas triggering whispery Japanese vocals over lovely strings. Unlikely sounds and deliberately angular melodies, super affected vocals ranging from robotic sped up female voices to distorted, pitched down male voices, often harmonising (sort of), occasional almost-indie rock riffs plucked out on an acoustic guitar, bells and chimes, shimmering drones, electronic bleeps and blips, and amazing percussion all gel perfectly into one of the weirdest coolest records we've heard in a long time.
Yet another release from one of our favorite Finnish psych-drone-free-rock ensembles (and yes, there are enough for us to have favorites). Thankfully this lp-only release, while still limited, is not nearly as limited as many of their previous cd-r/7"/tape releases. III starts off with a lo-fi, rambling, ramshackle blues jam that mutates into wildly propulsive psych-folk with intensely strummed guitars and far-away flute melodies. And from there on out, Avarus dip their toes into whatever variant of their unique 'sound' that strikes their fancy. From atonal Jandek-ian campfire hippy hoedowns, to wild jams with spastic hand drums and sing-songy melodies plucked out on beat up, out of tune guitars, to wild clattery bursts of percussion splattered haphazardly over a Skullflower-ish skree, to stripped down, jangly hyperactive psychedelic rock to loose ambient soundscapes of whir and buzz and twang, with slithery, sitar-like guitars. Gorgeous as always.
Over the past decade, Susanne Brokesch has produced a handful of throroughly abstract techno for some of the more respected labels in electronica, including Sahko, Cheap, Tension, and Disko B. Yet it has been 6 years since her underrated debut album "Sharing The Sunhat" came out. While that album was built from cold slivers of Pan Sonic techno-minimalism, her second full album "So Easy, Hard To Practice" seeks the recombination of sultry jazz and electronic production techniques. The results find loose rhythmic structures punctuated by electronic drum fills, occasionally pulled together into swells of German disco grooves or washes of ambient synth patches. Disko B's press release quoted one critic in praising her debut as "a cross between Oval and a good ECM record." I would offer that "So Easy" is a cross between Microstoria and an average ECM record.
MPEG Download: "More" [/audio/brokeschmore.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "More" [/audio/brokeschmore.m3u]
Slippin' through wide mood swings, this new Califone album keeps the listener on unsteady ground. As the title suggests, there's elements that catch hold and before you know it you're pulled you under. However you just might find it to be rather invitingly unsettling. Mainman Tim Rutili (Red Red Meat) and co. go from creeping, murky gruff melancholia ("One") into much more fast paced yet still smoky brooding ("Your Golden Ass") and onwards into more churning swamp bluesiness ("When Leon Sphinx Moved Into Town"). Actually this sits quite nicely next to the newest Calexico album (and it will if you file your cds alphabetically!). Strategically placed distorted sounds, laidback banjo pickin' and some light percussion keeps things from completely sinking into the shadowy depths. Very very nice!
MPEG Download: "Your Golden Ass" [/audio/califoneyourgolden.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Your Golden Ass" [/audio/califoneyourgolden.m3u]
Curiouser and curiouser. A radio-friendly Cave In? Yep, as hinted at by recent ep releases, these formerly crunchy, chaotic metalcore boys have gone totally...soft. Well, a lot of this still rocks but it's all melodic and pretty and taking no big chances. We thought it was cool when they came out with the career -making or -breaking "OK Computer" -ish album "Jupiter" on Hydrahead a few years ago, that was a radical move (imagine touring with Neurosis and singing in a Thom Yorke falsetto!) and really epic and excellent. But now that they're on a bonafide major label, they're REALLY emphasizing the pop, not the prog. The singer has dropped the falsetto, and things are going in a definite commercial direction. They're soon to be huge, we're sure, but now they sound like every band on MTV, when they used to be so weird and unique and metal-gone-arty. Now, at best, they're a guilty pleasure. Immediately poppy, anthemic, good at what they're doing, more power to 'em -- but do we need another Goo Goo Dolls? Really, these days the Foo Fighters are a heavier, more metal band than Cave In! And Cave In used to sound like Slayer. Still, we'll give this a chance to grow on us, maybe it'll be the next Queens of the Stone Age 'round here (note the Nirvana-y bit in track two).
Oh yeah, initial quanities include a bonus dvd with videos and bonus track.
MPEG Download: "Stained Silver" [/audio/caveinstained.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Stained Silver" [/audio/caveinstained.m3u]
Right on schedule, the prolific band that The Wire insists on referring to as "Finnish Metal Minimalists" and who of course are all-time AQ faves, have come out with another disc (they're in the double digits now!) of their trademark mantric, repetitive space-rock music that's our addiction. Granted, their previous album, the amazing "Sunrise", did dabble in the devil's music. But while on this one Teemu and Jyrki's guitars do get heavy at times, and vocalist Mika does an Udo Dirkschnieder impression at least once here, "Alotus" is primarily about plenty of late-night rhythmic slow-burn stuff that references prior Circle discs like "Hissi" and "Pori" -- recalling as well their krautrock forebears Neu! and Can, as always. Circle's grooves simmer here, brooding yet pretty, only exploding with heavy prog/psych power towards the conclusion of a track, if at all. With Mika whispering and crooning weirdly more than screaming, "Altous" is driven by ticking clock tension provided by drummer Janne's metronoymic pulse. Some songs are dark and spooky (though Mika's vocals to some might verge on silly, which is ok with us), instrumentally relentless and ominous, while others have a more gleeful exuberance, as captured (for instance) by the repeating Magmoid bass riff from Jussi as the title track percolates along... The tension is resolved when "Potto" ends things with the disc's most potent eruption of "metal" (actually just loud rock) mayhem. Both of the tracks just mentioned might actually sound a little familiar to Circle fans, for they've been aired before in live form on their recent "Raunio" disc!
Released on Faust's label Klangbad (and produced by Faust's Hans Joachim Irmler, who had a hand in the arrangements as well), this boasts liner notes in German and English by Rolf Jaeger that highlight the connection 'twixt classic Krautrock and Circle's modern day take off on the form. Comes in a digipak with purple-tinted photo of a wall and a hedge or tree to puzzle over.
MPEG Download: "Tyolaisten Laulu" [/audio/circletyolaisten.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Tyolaisten Laulu" [/audio/circletyolaisten.m3u]
A splendid live album! Actually this is the first in a series of four volumes of Coil live recordings. And if this cd is any indication of the other three, I can't wait! The series begins with the last two concerts (in Prague and Vienna) of their 2002 tour. As opposed to most of their recent studio recordings, each of which has had a considerably singular - primarily drone-based - focus, this presents a much wider scope of Coil's sound. Incredibly vivid soundscapes, meticulous collages, grand dramatic melodic orchestrations, seething minimal spoken word. Coil expertly traverse through all of these. If you're at all acquainted with their work, you'll hear a number of familiar segments, but they're all wonderfully incorporated into the album as a whole. I'd even venture to say that this live album makes for quite a nice introduction to Coil. That said, the one track that absolutely floored me was "Amethyst Deceivers". Although the audio sample only offers a mere glimpse, please do check it out! Of course it's all beautifully recorded, and the roar of the crowd is kept contained to in between songs - allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the performance that's in turns visceral, whimsical, and totally captivating. Recommended.
MPEG Download: "Amethyst Deceivers" [/audio/coilamethyst.mp3]
The title is a definite sign of what to expect from Cursive's new album. There's organs a-plenty, but whether they're specifically "ugly" is up for debate. There's also angstful emo a-plenty too as only Cursive can do. Particularly with their most recent releases, they've been adding more and more dimensions to the straight-up emo punk rock guitar sound. Andee and Cup both loved the Art Is Hard ep that preceded The Ugly Organ, and this full length sure doesn't disappoint either. Once again, the big Cursive picture has been fleshed out with some cello, layers of vocals and the aforementioned organs. It's quite wonderful and dramatic, really - at once, emotionally charged, well composed, quirkily detailed and yes, very rocking too.
Recorded "live" in the studio, this recording expands on the "rock" side of Deerhoof-- those moments from "Reveille" that reminded us of the Who, with drummer Greg pounding mercilessly on his stripped down kit behind power chord outbursts. Those bits were sandwiched between more experimental fuckery, the whole thing rendered somewhat surreal by singer Satomi's high-pitched little-girl-on-acid vocals. On "Apple O," the damaged noise has been toned down somewhat to make way for the aforementioned rock, but there are also some very sweet, gentle and even romantic numbers, with acoustic guitar strum and a bit of lovely fragile falsetto from Greg. They even get jazzy for a minute (damaged Beefheart lounge jazzy, that is). Even amidst romantic sweetness, Deerhoof still retain a sense of the bizzarre, albeit an awfully cute kind of bizzarre. It's their balancing act between fucked-up noise and twisted yet adorable pop, crazy huge rock n' roll and vulnerable beauty that make Deerhoof the best band in San Francisco (at least in Marcy's opinion!). "Apple O" isn't as mind-bendingly amazing as "Reveille," but then it's difficult to repeat perfection. It's still super-awesome, and growing on me with every listen.
New Ani Difranco.
Introducing Ian Dury's son! Now, if you're expecting him to follow down a similar path of fiery, wry Cockney punk as that of his father, think again! Right from the get go, his debut full length instead reveals some strong psych and pretty pop leanings bringing to mind a gentle gathering of Mercury Rev and Belle & Sebastian. Very soft, poetic and wistful, but also very detailed and lushly produced. There's some truly gorgeous misty moments and great pop songs on Len Parrot's Memorial Lift. Positively dreamy.
Collection of early recordings from one of the pioneers of Musique Concrete. Includes "Etudes aux Accidents" & "Etudes aux sons Tendus" (from 1958), "Visages V" (1959), "Tete et Queue du Dragon" (1960), "Tautologos 1 & 2" (1961) and "Und so Weiter" (1966).
MPEG Download: "Etudes Aux Accidents" [/audio/ferrarietudesaux.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Etudes Aux Accidents" [/audio/ferrarietudesaux.m3u]
With this new Folk Implosion album, Lou Barlow has further blurred the sonic lines between his various projects. Really, there's very little distinguishing this from any of his solo or Sebadoh releases. Since 1999's One Part Lullaby, it's all become a big Barlow indie rock stew. The man cannot be stopped. In the case of Folk Implosion, the shift can surely be pinpointed to the date John Davis (the other half of F.I.) departed. Whereas their early songs were quite groovy and electronic driven, this is all guitars, murky and somewhat lo-fi. Indeed, as the title states this is "The New Folk Implosion", but unfortunately "new" doesn't necessarily mean fresh. Sadly, this just doesn't measure up to past F.I. nor does it really stand up to other Barlow work. As a result, this may only find its way into the collections of Barlow completists, and leave the rest of us feeling more inclined to revisit his/their earlier releases.
Sweet tooth alert! Here's the most recent album from the more than appropriately named From Bubblegum To Sky (aka Texan one man band Mario Hernandez formerly of Ciao Bella). Yes, bubblegum pop for everyone! Incredibly sunshiny, Saturday morning cartoon-y tunes with lots of du-wop-du-wops sung in high kiddie vocals a la Apples In Stereo. Okay, maybe this isn't for everyone but it sure is for fans of all things cute and perky.
You never know what to expect from Giant Sand's Howe Gelb, but if you are going to board his musical caravan, you gotta know you're in for quite a ride. Roaming the musical landscape freely, sometimes the unexpected turns he takes may leave you scratching your head. Definitely one to always follow his muse, and the results - although frequently quite puzzling - are seldom a disappointment. On the surface, many of the songs appear to be very "normal", skillfully executed smoky lounge or dinner jazz or desert twang, but allow the music to sink in a bit further and gradually those distinct Gelb nuances and eccentricities reveal themselves. They manifest as subtle details, a slightly tweaked vocal effect or texture creeping just under the surface. Like an image in a slightly distorted mirror, the music is ever-shifting (in style, tempo, instrumentation, mood), casting light into the shadows, twisting perceptions. Gelb's deeeep, sedated vocals only furthers the emotional and cerebral slip. Often very stream of consciousness, he veers off on tangents about Lou Reed (on "Felonious" and does a remarkably convincing Reed impression, we might add!), scoops lyrics from the song "Lean On Me" (on "B 4 U") and slips into an odd Hazlewood/Sinatra-esque mode (on "Torque"). Intriguing, inspiring and a listening pleasure.
Local foul mouthed crazy party girls (and one boy) are here to kick out the jams at last. This is all about the 6th grade toilet talk but dirty only the way we grownups can be. Lo-fi and high pitched squealed vocals that will drive you nuts or delight you only the way good 'ol peurile fun can (depending on where you stand). Sonically a little like Bratmobile, but with this whole eighties party-rap angle that's pretty charming. Tough to call, fun and freaky or a total waste of fucking time. But if you like dirty, silly embarrassing songs about sex and hamburgers, this may just hit the spot.
MPEG Download: "Titties Bounce" [/audio/gravytraintitties.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Titties Bounce" [/audio/gravytraintitties.m3u]
Frogs!!! Can AQ-customers resist frog recordings? We think not. Certainly we can't. This cute lil' 3" cd is the first in a series dubbed the "Jewelled Antler Library" from our fave SF cd-r label of the same name. The idea being to release stuff that stands alone in twenty-minute doses and doesn't need to be padded out to full-cd length. There'll be entries from Jewelled Antler regulars like Thuja, likeminded folks such as Dead Raven Choir and Antony Milton, and also odd, one-off quirky projects like this one, for instance. Green Laughter is primarily frog field recordings made and edited by Loren Chasse (Thuja, Id Battery, Of, Blithe Sons, etc.). It's twenty minutes of the call of the wild (featuring frogs, cicadas, and perhaps birds), starting off as a fairly straight documentary and then blending into a computer-processed drone-wash constructed by Chasse from his original recordings. It's like wandering in a dense creature-inhabited forest back East somewhere in the summertime, your ears overwhelmed by the natural sounds, you getting dizzy and almost passing out, the ribitting and chirping and buzzing and tweeting taking over your mind. But it eventually dissolves back into a blissful background ambience. Real nice. And many of the sounds on here that sound insect-like or electronic Loren assures us are in fact frogs. It's nature's electronic music, the sound of a laptop computer overwhelmed by heat and long grasses and the green laughter. Just the thing for when I (Allan) get homesick for Pennsylvania.
MPEG Download: "Green Laughter" [/audio/greenlaughter.mp3]
Having roots in EBM and industrial dance klang, Gridlock's "Trace" settles down into the fertile soil of IDM plowed by Autechre. While not much in the way of originality, this album is a very well done piece of IDM, mirroring the distorto-crunch plodding breakbeats and minor-key half melodies pleading for melancholia found on Autechre's "Amber" and Bola's "Fyuti."
MPEG Download: "Front" [/audio/gridlockfront.mp3]
David Grubbs' previous collaboration with the Swedish improvisational reedist Mats Gustafsson, who's played with Ken Vandermark and Peter Brotzman, resulted in "Apertura," with Grubbs on harmonium and Gustafsson on tenor sax. On "Off-Road,", instrumentation includes electric guitar and electronics as well as harmonium from Grubbs and fluteophone (basically a cross between a flute and a saxophone, as the name implies), tenor sax, flageolet (a brass whistle), synthesizer and contact mics from Gustafsson. Henry Moore Selder (last seen directing a Hives video) helps out on maracas and turntables. Gustafsson's playing involves a lot of breathing heavily through his reeds, creating subtle vocal textures rather than notes. It sounds kind of creepy, really. These songs feature clattering, helicopter-esque percussiveness moving through the stereo field, accompanied by contact-mic buzz; juxtapositions of operatic vocal recordings, kitty meowing, long buzzing reed tones and synth clacking in a kind of sloppy improv plunderphonia; and some more digestible tracks with Grubbs lending guitar work reminiscent of his work in Gastr Del Sol. Recorded in Stockholm.
MPEG Download: "Dystopian Turboprop" [/audio/grubbs_gustafssondystopian.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Dystopian Turboprop" [/audio/grubbs_gustafssondystopian.m3u]
Released as the first in a trilogy, "Cleave: 9 Great Openings" is a magnificent piece of minimalism from the enigmatic Hafler Trio. While the source material has been speculated to be a cello, the electrical nature of the persistent drones with "Cleave: 9 Great Openings" has much more in common with the Hafler Trio's continued use of feedback as the principle sound source in composition than the sustained cello work of Jonathan Coleclough or Robert Rutmann. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter where these ethereal hauntings come from, as a continuous tonal flutter steadfastly buzzes for over an hour with swells of magnetic sounds sporadically rising above the uniform drone.
As an aside, the Hafler Trio had been incredibly prolific in the late '80s and early '90s striving to get funding for a release a week in order to present their work as something of an aural magazine of post-rational thought. The last six or seven years had found the Trio in a lull; however, the project's activities has drastically increased and will continue for some time now, as the sole member Andrew McKenzie has come down with a complex set of illnesses which left untreated will result in his death. Without any health insurance, McKenzie has been turning to his art in order to pay for his medicines and support his family. We wish him the best of luck...
MPEG Download: "excerpt 1" [/audio/h30cleave.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "excerpt 1" [/audio/h30cleave.m3u]
The transformation of Human League from electronic experimentalists with punk affinity to the advocates of new wave fashion of style over substance was completed through the third album "Dare." Yup, this was the defining album which broke them as legitimate pop stars through the mega-single "Don't You Want Me;" however, there's no sense of adventure or daring on this album beyond their angular haircuts and androgynous appearance. This CD reissue also features 8 instrumental tracks from "Dare" that were released as the "Love And Dancing" EP.
MPEG Download: "Don't You Want Me" [/audio/humanleaguedontyou.mp3]
"Reproduction" was the first proper album for the first incarnation of Human League, which was comprised of vocalist Philip Oakey, and electronic wizards Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh. Much like Kraftwerk, Human League took great care to play with the notions that all electronic music was cold and soulless but filtered through the lens of punk. At times, these tracks offer clinical rhythms and primitive electronic monotony; but at others, the trio would develop cascading melodies from shards of crystalline tones. "Reproduction" does feature Oakley's unmistakable baritone crooning throughout, which hits a low-point on the dodgy cover of "You've Lost That Loving Feeling," but for the most part is well matched for the grim electronic marches found throughout the rest of the album.
However, "The Dignity of Labour 1-4" is the true gem on this CD reissue. An instrumental EP which was produced after their first single "Being Boiled" and preceding the "Reproductions" album, "The Dignity Of Labour 1-4" is an amazing piece of proto-electronica paralleling much of the syncopated electronics produced by Chris Carter for Throbbing Gristle and later as Chris & Cosey. These 4 lengthy cuts are easily some of the best work that Human League ever did, if very very far removed from the chart-topping synth pop of "Keep Feeling Fascination" or "Don't You Want Me." Also featured on this CD reissue are the studio banter housed on a flexi disc for "The Dignity of Labour 1-4" and both cuts from their Fast Product single "Being Boiled" which was prominently featured on the "In The Beginning There Was Rhythm" and on the Girls on Top mashup with TLC.
MPEG Download: "Circus Of Death" [/audio/humanleaguecircus.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Circus Of Death" [/audio/humanleaguecircus.m3u]
MPEG Download: "Dignity Of Labour 1" [/audio/humanleaguedignity1.mp3]
"Travelogue" which was the second album from Human League released back in 1980 found the group moving much closer to a friendlier pop sensibility, although occasionally showing sparks of brilliance through darkened science fiction references. Philip Oakley's vocals had clearly taken center stage to Human League's production, offering cabaret mannerisms and theatrical panache to the electronic production. A redux of "Being Boiled" is also featured on "Travelogue," but the synth horns and polished production don't add anything to the original. After these sessions, the band split due to artistic differences with Oakley maintaining the Human League moniker and Martyn Ware and Ian Marsh formed Heaven 17, a band which ironically developed into another synth-pop chart topper like Oakley's Human League.
MPEG Download: "The Black Hit Of Space" [/audio/humanleagueblackhit.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "The Black Hit Of Space" [/audio/humanleagueblackhit.m3u]
The third of the first three entries in the series of 3"cd-r's from San Francisco's acclaimed Jewelled Antler collective of psychedelic/drone/avant/folks comes from The Ivytree, a solo project of one of the Jewelled Antler's chief protagonists, Glenn Donaldson (who can also be found in Thuja, The Blithe Sons, Knit Separates, The Birdtree, etc). Donaldson has publicly announced an affinity for creating different monikers to accompany the innumerable variations of his musical productions, so The Ivytree may be just one in a number of upcoming 'tree' projects from Donaldson. Certainly this little 18 minute cd-r has a lot in common with his previous 'tree disc, The Birdtree album, which has recently been reissued on the Last Visible Dog label and garnered high praise from us. Centered around a plaintive, elliptical finger-picking guitar technique which renders every note full of melancholia, "The Sun Is The Lamp" weaves in and out of harmonium drones, field recordings of birds, and Donaldson's evocative vocals. As strong as the best Richard Youngs projects that might be the closest comparison we can make, this is another fantastic recording from Jewelled Antler!
MPEG Download: "The Withering Year" [/audio/ivytreewitheringyear.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "The Withering Year" [/audio/ivytreewitheringyear.m3u]
I've always compared the amazing Damien Jurado with Red House Painters because he shares the same sadcore, downtrodden, introspective style and quiet certitude. But upon listening to his new album it strikes me that comparisons to Cat Power might also be in order here, as his voice reminds me of Chan Marshall's in its huskiness, a sort of restrained moan. And his unhurried, lots-going-on-but-you-cant-hear-it songwriting and delivery style are also similar to Ms Marshall. This album is so pretty and clear and sad that every time we play it instore, someone or two, or three, buys it. Give it a listen!
MPEG Download: "Bad Dreams" [/audio/juradobaddreams.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Bad Dreams" [/audio/juradobaddreams.m3u]
A plaintive minor key melody runs throughout the 16 minute soundtrack to Nufonia Must Fall, a comic book written by Kid Koala. Emphasis on the "book", cos this is over 300 pages long! The story, written and drawn by the Kid, tells a love story between a lonely office girl and a robot. It's poignant and sorta sweetly heartbreaking, in the same way that the music is simple and unhurried. Don't expect a full on hip hop crazy quilt of sounds like Koala's past projects, though. This is much simpler sonically. A collector's item.
MPEG Download: "excerpt" [/audio/kidknufonia6.mp3]
Not sure what to say about Knifehandchop that we haven't said before. Big dumb noisy fun. Splattery break core, with throbbing gabber four on the floor thumps, breakbeats chopped beyond recognition, jungle and drum 'n' bass and hardcore thrown in a blender with heaps of funny/catchy top 40 song fragments. From his own twisted take on the mash up (Destiny's Child mixed with Eminem over impossibly damaged and hyper distorted beats) to DJ Scud-ish hardcore dancehall to hyper silly chaotic noise. Good fun stuff.
MPEG Download: "Sunjammer Is My Favorite Pokemon Trainer" [/audio/knifehandpokemon.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Sunjammer Is My Favorite Pokemon Trainer" [/audio/knifehandpokemon.m3u]
MPEG Download: "Tutti Fruity Booty" [/audio/knifehandtutti.mp3]
Another great reissue from the Hit Thing label! Joining the Georges Montalba pipe organ cd on their catalog is this mysterious European minimal industrial album from the very early '80s.
Liaisons Dangereuses were primarily two individuals, Beate Bartel (who in later years went on to form Malaria!) and Chris Haas (a founding member of DAF). They were accompanied on vocals by Krishna Goineau who sang in French, German and Spanish (a few customers have mistaken his flamboyant delivery for that of Falco). Very much akin to Einsturzende Neubauten, The Normal, Suicide and DAF. Edgy, dark and throbbing, the programmed nailgun-like beats are punctuated by Goineau's impassioned singing/speaking, some high pitched female backing vocals, squidgy electronic belches, an occasional saxophone run, and much metallic clanks and thuds. It was all mixed at Conny Plank's studio. The one track here that may be familiar is their dance 'hit' "Los Ninos Del Parque", however L.D.'s impact goes beyond this one song. Indeed they were/are highly regarded and very influential in techno, house and yes, electroclash circles. Fans of present-day electro, EBM, post punk and no wave should definitely check this out as it's the real deal - solidly kicking ass on many of the current crop. This album sits quite perfectly next to the Teutonik Disaster compilation that we recently reviewed as fine historical documents of the early '80s European sounds. May leave you reeling.
Argentina's Los Natas were once a Kyuss clone (and a good one) but now they're really come into their own. First they impressed us with last year's mighty rockin' "Corsario Negro" opus (second in our personal Stoner Rock Of The Year estimation only to "Heavy Rocks" from Japan's Boris, maybe even tied with 'em), now they branch out further with this psychedelic "trance" album released on Jussi of Circle's Ektro label. And they fit right in with the likes of Ektro labelmates Circle and Acid Mothers Temple. The Los Natas trio has emerged from the pot haze of their Buenos Aires "Death Studios" to unfurl the banner of "Toba-Trance", a mostly instrumental (though we like the brief vocal "hoo hoo" bit in the middle of track 2) laid-back spacey exploratory opus that's not really "heavy" in the way we were expecting. The metal part of the stoner rock equation is mostly missing. Rather, the acoustic guitars and Latin flavored jazz improv elements of the druggier, more atmospheric tracks found on "Corsario Negro" set the standard here. Droney, melodic, extended (three tracks, fifty-two minutes total)...this is a very nice lil' trip. Guitarist Sergio Chotsourian channels his '70s heroes with some lengthy psych solos. Flutes and South American Indian instruments also show up in the mix. Immediate references might be Circle's stoner-rock side-project Pharoah Overlord, or the lighter side of Boris's semi-acoustic "Flood". Byram's thinking of Grateful Dead jams (and we know Jussi loves the Greatful Dead) but this is as much Agitation Free or some other Krautrock hippy stuff. What it definitely is, is spacerock, mostly mellow and quite pretty, mesmerizing and intricate, great going-to-bed-at-night music. As we said, it never gets really heavy, though there's some riffier moments throughout and distorted noisiness that kicks in towards the end of track three, not loud but satisfying nonetheless. The more we listen, the more we like. Recommended.
MPEG Download: "Que Rico..." [/audio/losnatasque.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Que Rico..." [/audio/losnatasque.m3u]
We've really been enjoying this find from Finland: Magyar Posse have put together a really great set of sweeping, emotive post-rock instrumentals highly reminiscent of the excellent "La Planete Sauvage" (aka Fantastic Planet) soundtrack, believe it or not. Orchestral embellishments introduce the icy sounds of reverb-laden guitar and trembling electric organ. Suave drums and spooky glockenspiel melodies mix with manifestations of krautrock in the funky basslines and oscillating, moog-y synth sounds. Occasionally, plaintive vocals are subtly placed low in the mix, buried in layers of echo. And is that the haunting voice of a musical saw I hear? Why yes, it is! The whole thing builds into climactic crescendos a la Godspeed You Black Emperor. Truly splendid! Andee actually saw this band play when he was visiting over in Finland not long ago -- they hail from Pori, also the hometown of AQ-faves Circle, and we think any Circle fans ought to like the Posse. It's really majestic, beautiful stuff, and more original and a lot less wimpy than the general run of post-rock that they might get lumped in with. Recommended.
NOW BACK IN PRINT! Similar to their relationship with Dutch radio station VPRO which resulted in the Mort Aux Vaches series, Staalplaat has begun a cooperation with the Dutch arts initiative Extrapool to release work from Extrapool's artist in residency program. The goal being to encourage strange and interesting combinations. In light of this program, Extrapool's choice of laptop glitch technicians Stephan Mathieu and Ekkehard Ehlers is almost too obvious, as both artists have developed similar styles, digitally recombining disfigured yet emotionally dynamic sounds. One of Mathieu's recent projects has been the Full Swing "Edits" 10"s of confounding remixes for Kit Clayton's Orthlorng Musork, and Ehlers too has been on the remix tip with his reconfigurations of Albert Aylers and Cassavettes.
What separates both Mathieu and Ehlers from the rest of the glitch electronica field is their wonderful fascination with antiquity and their maintaining of surface noise and grit within a technological setting that typically has an intrinsic aesthetic for cleanliness and sterility. The rich cracklings of surface noise and fuzzy static of an old tube-amp radio emerge throughout their "Heroin" collaboration. Mellotron organs form whimsical melodies before dissolving into warm pools of warbling timbres; a melodica offers playful tunes over a looped and glitched backing track of the same instrument. Occasionally, Mathieu and Ehlers produce something more in step with the purity of the Raster-Noton sound, but for the most part have constructed a beautiful (if mutant) remnant of pop sentimentality, sounding more like a slightly digital version of Philip Jeck.
Along with the "Heroin" album, Orthlorng Musork has commissioned a number of remixes from contemporary electronic artists Josef Suchy, Nobukazu Takemura, Kit Clayton, Frieband, Fennesz, Oren Ambarchi, Carmen Baier, and Akira Rabelais. Unfortunately, the track listing is slightly screwed up as the Frieband and Kit Clayton tracks are switched on the disc. Oops.
- RealAudio clip: Herz
- RealAudio clip: Rose
Twenty-six songs! This used to be a mere ten. Yes, "26 Songs" is an expanded reissue of the out of print "10 Songs". Recorded live to 2-track in 1986 by the line-up of Buzz, Dale, and then-bassist Matt Lukin (who later defected to Mudhoney), this was indeed 10 songs from the mighty Melvins' earliest daze, when their Black Flag / Black Sabbath meld was at its most obvious, potent, raw (and fast, some of the time!). Utterly essential heaviness in other words. Did we say "mere" ten? Not really, since every one of those ten songs is forever embedded in the mind of this Melvins fan. "#2 Pencil" -- so doomy and vile a song. "Snake Appeal" -- the guys rip through what could be an old Corrosion of Conformity thrasher. "At A Crawl" -- well, that's the Melvins right there. Etc., etc. And, like Ipecac's reissue of another early Melvins classic, "Gluey Porch Treatments", there's a bunch of garage demos and alternate takes added on to make Melvins fans salivate, as you can compare multiple, grungier, faster takes on "10 Songs" songs (and some other tunes you'll recognize). The disc winds up with the drug-addled ramblings of their old pal "Hugh" as an added bonus (which means that this disc, despite the title, really features "only" 25 actual songs). It's just too bad the new cover design for this new version is so computer-done and busy and typical of recent Melvins packaging (forget the flowers, guys!). We much prefer the stylish simplicity of its earlier incarnation(s). But, the extra tracks certainly make up for our aesthetic quibbles about the graphic design!
MPEG Download: "Easy As It Was" [/audio/melvinseasy.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Easy As It Was" [/audio/melvinseasy.m3u]
MPEG Download: "Grinding Process" [/audio/melvinsgrinding.mp3]
Yep, that's right, Masami Akita exploits the powerful and hypnotic depth of everyone's favorite musical amphibians. The record begins, simply enough, with the soothing rumbling croak of the webbed feet wonders, gradually evolving into an explosive demon that only Merzbow can conjure up. Handsomely packaged in a gatefold sleeve adorned with colorful baby frogs and layered with a
Uh oh. A Bulb release. That usually equals aggravating, though sometimes inspired, silly arty noise stuff. And that's what this is. Rhode Island's Mindflayer is named after a particularily fearsome D&D monster -- which of course earns 'em points with Allan, as long as they live up to the name, which they do! Band members Time (drums, vocals) and Space (synth, backup vocals) are pseudonyms for folks better known, respectively, as Brian Chippendale (drummer extraordinaire for the amazing Lightning Bolt), and Mr. Brinkmann (of Forcefield and, uh, Mr. Brinkmann fame).
In Mindflayer these two don squid heads (at least on the cover) and get down to some feedback-filled, uber noisy dancefloor terrorism, asking the musical question, "Are You Fucked Up?" (track six). Pounding rhythmic battery, distorted electronics and vocals...it's like a malevolent, metallic Christine 23 Onna, or early Quintron maybe. Imagine listening in on a desperate, low fi 911 phone call from a defective synthesizer held hostage by drugged out industrial rock hippies...
Yep, yet another indulgent Bulb release, but a good one -- so watch out, earholes.
MPEG Download: "Head Of State On A Plate" [/audio/mindflayerhead.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Head Of State On A Plate" [/audio/mindflayerhead.m3u]
Scott McCaughey is one of pop music's tireless commanders and criminally unsung heroes. Following over a decade with Seattle's legendary Young Fresh Fellows, he formed his music collective called Minus 5. Its ever-changing, but always stellar line-up includes Peter Buck of R.E.M. (with whom he's also toured extensively) as well as AQ faves The Posies' Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow. This time around, as the title of their fifth album states, there's a bunch of Wilco fellows along for the ride too. Not at all surprisingly, the songwriting's pretty darn superb and the chemistry is near-magical. The enthusiasm and sincerity they all convey is uplifting and infectious. Stylistically it's definitely out of step with virtually everything going on these days - truly much closer to the honest to goodness sixties and early seventies. The influences of the three B's (Beach Boys, Beatles, and Big Star) are readily apparent, but when have they ever not been for any of these individual artists? However, this by no means defines nor limits them. No sir! Much of the time it may seem like there's nothing fancy or elaborate goin' on, but that's the key to the Minus 5's pop mastery. Each of the thirteen songs is so finely composed, arranged and performed, it all seems absolutely effortless. Alright, enough gushing. Check it out for yourself.
Deluxe cd reissue of Morbid Angel's classic second helping of death metal mastery, their "B" album (coming between "Altars Of Madness" and "Covenant"). With Pete "Commando" Sandoval's blasting drum artillery, Dave Vincent's aggro growl, and Trey Azagthoth's unhinged squiggly guitar leads, these Floridians made death metal for Satan that was bloodier and blacker than anything outta Norway before or since. Their whole catalog is crucial death metal but "Blessed Are The Sick" holds a special place in our hearts. Here their sick, Slayer to the power of Slayer speed collided with classically-inspired keyboard ambience and doomy dirges, taking death metal to a significant high point of both ridiculous excess and truly affecting evil atmosphere.
The original thanks lists in the cd booklet really says it all. Trey Azagthoth says, in part: "I hail to you Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It is to you I dedicate all my works of past present and future. May they outshine the shadowing voices of this other factor of psychic we share existance with. You are the greatest composer of us all. Hail to you O Ancient Ones, Absu Mummu Tiamat, Kutulu, Pazuzu, Humwawa, Xaztur, Hubbur, Kingu, Baxaxaxa Baxaxaxa, The Arylia of Mummu Tiamat, The churning seas of Nar Mattaru, Yog Sothoth, and the ever bubbly bubblies of Shub Niggurath..."
Basically, if you're even a dabbler in "extreme metal" you need to have this disc in your collection, and better late that never, especially as it now comes packaged in a cardboard slipcase, with a Quicktime video for the title track (done all MTV-style) included on the disc, liner notes from Trey, and lotsa photos.
MPEG Download: "Fall From Grace" [/audio/morbidangelfall.mp3]
First time release of these 1976-77 recordings by Moog minimalism pioneer Dave Borden and his Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpice Company, oddly enough released on the World Arbiter label, from whence we got the great "Lost Sounds of the Tao" and "Roots of Gamelan" cds we've recently praised. I guess their notion of world music can encompass white Americans with synths as well!
Composer Borden's all-Moog ensemble drew upon his experiences as Bob Moog's "test pilot" in the late '60s, and acknowledged inspirations Philip Glass and Terry Riley. As demonstrated here, Mother Mallard was all about looooong tracks of repetitive, bubbling synths, pleasantly trancey and mesmerizing, with complex interlocking cyclic rhythmic layers like a futuristic (circa the '70s) take on Medieval cantos. The cover photo shows a whole choir onstage behind the long-haired Moog-operators, and indeed after many minutes of build-up, human voices join the electronics. Famed avant-garde singer Joan LaBarbra solos, backed by the Thomas Sokol Chorale. It sounds a bit Magma-like, actually, certainly religious -- the text comes from the Revelation of St. John the Divine. If you liked the Cuneiform reissue of this band's "Like A Duck To Water" or dig on the idea of Moogs n' minimalism, check this out.
MPEG Download: "The Continuing Story of Counterpoint Part 3" [/audio/mothermallardcontinuing.mp3]
Toiling in relative obscurity since 1987, The Necks are an Australian trio who play a hard-to-categorize blend of jazz and rock that's "experimental" yet totally accessible. Hanging Garden (from 1999, but new to me!) is more active than their stunning four-disc set, titled Athenaeum, Homebush, Quay & Raab, which we recently reviewed. The Athenaeum portion of that set, in particular, I found to be quite reminiscent of Keith Jarrett's wintry bare compositions. On Hanging Garden, however, while still making use of their customary piano, drums and bass in a hypnotically repetitive, circular, subtly shifting manner, The Necks colors its palette with a heavy dose of Miles Davis circa his electric fusion mid 1970s phase. The electric organ has an undeniable groove to it, backed up by the throbbing bass, and the drums are positively manic -- shimmering, tinkling and adding texture in a marvelously understated manner. They make you wait over 20 minutes for the stately, elegant piano to kick in with its *gorgeous* melodic theme, but until it comes on you didn't even know you were waiting for it because the sonic foundation they laid is already so satisfying. You've *got* to hear this record. It goes on for one hour and, I (Windy) guarantee, you just don't get tired of it. Yep, that's how good this is.
MPEG Download: "Hanging Garden excerpt 1" [/audio/neckshanging1.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Hanging Garden excerpt 1" [/audio/neckshanging1.m3u]
It's been a surprisingly prolific and action packed few months for the otherwise NOT-prolific and as-underground-as-can-be No Neck Blues Band. Good for us. And them too I guess. First was the super elaborate and expensive Ever Borneo lp/7" we listed a few weeks back as well as a super limited live lp and the reissue of one of their old double cds. This week brings a reissue of their out of print Revenant cd and this here brand new full length. Phew. Must have run out of weed or something. What else could explain such productivity?! No Neck Blues Band, for those just tuning in, are a loose collective of East Coast noisemakers (whose members also do time in AQ faves Sunburned Hand Of The Man as well as AQ not-faves Suntanama) who are the ultimate in hippy-psych-trance-free-drone-folk. Taking liberally from classic Krautrock, seventies folk, free jazz, and noise rock, NNBB have a knack for turning all of these disparate elements into smooth and cohesive, rhythmic and hypnotic, and totally fucking gorgeous free-jams. This new record may just be their best yet. Dreamy and drone-y and completely mesmerising. Washed out tones stretch out over rickety frameworks of hand drums and simple percussion, bells and chimes, while guitars tentatively weave their way through the murk, leaving trails of wispy melody and shimmery thrum. Propulsive rhythms struggle under a dense fog of thick chords and moaning synthesizers while delicately strummed guitars flit from note to note, weaving a lush and soul soothing soundscape. Hippy tendencies are downplayed throughout, resulting in a way more cohesive, way more 'musical' offering than No Neck's usual hippy-trance-caveman-freakouts (which I love, don't get me wrong). Fans of classic and modern krautrock, Finnish psych-folk (Avarus, Kemialliset, etc.), Jewelled Antler, and all things drone and clatter should buy this NOW.
MPEG Download: "Witch" [/audio/noneckwitch.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Witch" [/audio/noneckwitch.m3u]
MPEG Download: "Open That Grass Can" [/audio/noneckopen.mp3]
It came as a bit of a surprise to realise that we've never listed the No Neck Blues Band before, especially considering how often we reference them in reviews, whenever we're trying to describe some sort of stumbling and stoned, improvised hippie tribal
Before I get into any critique of this, I have to say that Salt Marie Celeste is easily the best Nurse With Wound record in years!
Throughout the 25 years of Nurse With Wound recordings, Steven Stapleton has actively pursued audio manifestations of Surrealism, often hypothesizing on what Surrealists like Andre Breton or Tristan Tzara might do if they had access to contemporary recording technology but still maintaining their bastardizations of Victorian aesthetics. Recently on recordings like Man with the Woman Face or Alice the Goon, NWW embraced obtuse free associations to build dense sound puzzles of dead-end jokes, absurd parataxis, and general confusion. However, Salt Marie Celeste is far simpler an application of Surrealism, as Stapleton renders NWW a vehicle for psychological horror. For this album, Stapleton and studio wizard Colin Potter (who has been the only other collaborator with NWW for the past couple of releases) have drawn from Gavin Bryars' "Sinking of the Titanic" for inspiration; however, NWW never dwells in the lulling pathos which characterizes Bryars' composition. Instead, Salt Marie Celeste is a relentless album which imagines the tidal currents around the Titanic's demise as an inhumanly cold force steadily bringing the doomed ship to the bottom of the ocean. Through a series of looping mechanisms, Stapleton and Potter build a massive orchestration of fluctuations which swell and dissipate with an unnerving regularity. The central element to the compostition is an ominous wave of electronic sound which constantly tumbles forward. Fans of NWW will recognize this from the super limited edition Music from the Horse Hospital 2cd, yet done much more effectively here. Wooden creaks and moans emerge from this gravity well of sound, before breaking up and disappearing amidst the tidal wave of intensity. For the references to the Titanic (or at least in Bryars' composition), Salt Marie Celeste conjures suffocating and bleak images of ghost ships mysteriously appearing on the horizon.
Regardless, this is clearly one of Nurse With Wound's best and should not be missed!
About a couple of years ago, a cd-r was dropped off here at Aquarius for consignment consideration. We liked what we heard and swiftly emailed the mysterious Pascal to bring us a bunch. Alas, there was no response. But just the other day, who should walk though our door? Pascal... with a completed cd in hand! Seems he wanted to make sure everything was just right. So at long last, we now have the elusive album in stock with a full digipak. The music is just as we recall - raw acoustic folk songs with reverb-y highly emotive vocals, ramshackle percussion, and strummy guitars. At times his top-of-his-lungs delivery is strikingly similar to that of AQ fave Jeff Mangum. To be frank, some customers and staffers even found the resemblance a bit unsettling. Nevertheless, Pascal has his own stories to tell/sing. Check out the lovely "You'll Pick My Name". Lend him your ear!
Latest missive from these mysterious dronesters. This being probably their most spare, minimal work to date. Shimmering tones and barely-there ambience. Think an even more STRIPPED DOWN Stars Of The Lid. It's that subtle and ethereal. Notes hover almost motionless like wisps of smoke frozen in midair. Super minimal, totally mesmerising, lowercase drone. You can almost feel the air suck out of your ears when the record stops. Totally obscure reference: Remember in the movie Phantasm, there was a gateway to another world, and the gateway was two vibrating metal posts (like a tuning fork) that disrupted the time space continuum creating a portal to that other world. This record kind of sounds like that gateway! Good stuff.
Double disc set of 41 Raymond Scott Quintette tracks -- and while many of them are alternate takes of pieces you may already own, over a dozen of the tunes were never recorded by the Quintette and are only available to us now because they were captured as live radio rehearsals and broadcasts. Includes the only known recording of Raymond Scott singing! Liner notes include an old Time magazine article about Scott, plus an interview with his first wife. Possibly for Scott completists only.
MPEG Download: "Square Dance with Eight Egyptian Mummies" [/audio/scottmummies.mp3]
When people talk about the 'happening' San Francisco music scene, they're not usually talking about The Lord Weird Slough Feg -- unless it's a denim-clad German metalhead who's doing the talking! Then, perhaps you'll hear them rave about these guys. Utterly trend-free true heavy metal rock n' roll, equal parts Thin Lizzy, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Queen, Judas Priest, Manowar, Manilla Road...and some Black Flag too, but you'd have to really pay attention to hear that. Slough Feg's music is epic, rockin', riff-laden stuff with heroic vocals and tons of lead guitar. Their lyrics deal with fantasy, insanity, and Celtic myth. They released their first cd, a self-titled half-hour-long mini-album, on their own Beef Rock label back in 1996, and it has long since gone out of print. Since then, they've managed to develop a bit of a cult following in Europe (with two albums so far out on Italian metal label Dragonheart) as well as among a select group of enlightened American metal fans, including quite a few Aquarius customers. They also spawned the popular metal opera project Hammers of Misfortune (on Andee's tUMULt label). Now Miskatonic, the label run by Rich Walker of the godly British doom metal band Solstice, has done us the favor of reissuing Slough Feg's debut effort, with new packaging and, better yet, seven bonus tracks taken from Slough Feg's pitifully-circulated early '90s demo tapes. All remastered of course -- the demo tracks definitely sound better than before. It's nice to have this be available again, as the original cd featured several of Slough Feg's best songs: the Sabbathy "Shadows of the Unborn", the Irish jig "The Red Branch" (always a live favorite), parts III and IV of their prog-rock epic "High Season", the ripping yet melodic "20th Century Wretch", and others. The bonus tracks are equally great, including such otherwise unavailable Slough Feg classics as "The Mask" and the fuzzy, doomy "Headhunter", along with demo versions of "The Red Branch", parts I and II of "High Season", and "The Room" (a different version of which appeared on an obscure comp called "Metal Injection" a couple years ago).
They're definitely one of those love 'em or hate 'em bands, and lots of folks just aren't gonna "get" 'em. They're often seen to be too weird for a lot of metal fans, but also way too metal for everyone else. And the "extreme" metal crowd might find them too melodic as well. But for some -- not just me -- they're one of the best bands around. People who like The Fucking Champs for not-entirely-ironic reasons (or, actually, for those too, why not?) should check Slough Feg out. Slough Feg are *not* ironic, and *are* somewhat ridiculous, but they know it and have the nerve to do what they do anyway 'cause they love it. Besides, all that serious, dark, black, death metal can be pretty darn ridiculous too when you think about it or read the lyrics.
Amazingly (note: sarcasm), Miskatonic has managed to totally capture the amateur, self-released design aesthetic of the original in repackaging this. From the black and white cover drawing of the Drune Lord Slough Feg in his cave (by Martin Hanford, who is better known for his Bal-Sagoth album covers) to the crappy caligraphic font used throughout to the poorly reproduced band photos, bad layout, and typos in the lyrics, this might actually look *worse* than the 1996 version the band put out themselves...oh well...at least the "underground" vibe is intact! And it's in print, with bonus tracks, so we really can't complain. Note, though, that Miskatonic also managed to run the songs "Why Not" and "Highway Corsair" together as a single track (#5), instead of being tracks 5 and 6 the way they are listed on the back of the cd. Whoops. Perhaps the vinyl version, slated to appear at the end of the year on German label Metal Supremacy, will correct these superficial problems. But if you're not a vinyl diehard, this cd is certainly recommended now.
"The Robotic Girl Next Door" is certainly an apt title for this playful IDM album from the Canadian knob twiddler Spark. Saturating chipper 8-bit melodies with reverb and tone-bending tricks, Spark offers an upbeat revision of the standard IDM melancholia as a means of generating romantic odes. In a lot of ways, the end result sounds like Boards of Canada at 45rpm.
MPEG Download: "Devine Nursery Rhyme" [/audio/sparkdevinenursery.mp3]
