I've been trying to figure out what to write about first, how great this record is, or what a complete fucking rip off it is. Well let's start with how great this record is and move on to the ripoff stuff later. This disc collects the first three Magical Power eps, adds a fourth track and new cover art (if you've already bought the first three, spent $33 on three cds with less than 20 minutes of music on each, all with the same cover, and have just learned that you now have to spend $15 to get the extra song/new cover art, and you're pissed, skip down to the next paragraph) and is quite possibly the best Acid Mothers Temple record in some time. The first track is a 20 minute slab of space-y shimmer, buzzing synths and plucked sitars, bombarded by bleeps and blips, reverb and delay, and ghostly female vocals. A futuristic raga, undulating and slowly shifting, with a faraway Eastern melody winding subtly through the druggy haze. Blissed out and hypnotic. Track two is a thick slab of gorgeous, psychedelic freak out, with wailing female vocals and space-y swooshes and interstellar bleeps and beeps. A fifteen minute burst of damaged psych brilliance. The third track is a dreamy wash of ambient space-scape of swooshing, bleeping, blooping, analog-synthesisers-set-on-dreamy-spaciness, almost new-age, Hawkwind-intro-stretched-as-far-as-it-will-go effervescence. So now we get to the bonus track, the final installment. Is it good enough that all of us suckers that bought the first three volumes need to get this one as well, making the others obsolete (unless you need both covers, then you're screwed either way). Hard to say. Volume three was our least favorite, sounding a little tossed off, sort of like synths left to bleep and bloop and space out on their own, and the final track follows the same sort of pattern, dark outerspace ambience with lots of swooshing sythnesizers that sound remarkably like sixties sci fi B-movie special effects, Not necessarily essential, but as a piece of the whole, it's a nice way to finish off this spaced out psychedelic travelogue.
Okay, now to the rip off portion of the program. What the hell?! What were they thinking? For a while we weren't even going to list this we were so pissed. It would have been different if they had let everyone know that there was a fourth track that would be available -with all of the other tracks- eventually, on a single fifteen dollar disc, so those folks who aren't collectors, and just wanted the record, wouldn't have to shell out $33 and then be faced with shelling out another $15 for mostly the exact same music. And one of the first three volumes was 15 minutes long for chrissakes!! And it was still $11! We were mad enough when we first realised that all three volumes had the EXACT SAME COVER. Especially after the big deal made out of the 3-D lenticular artwork. And now this collection has -different- 3-D lenticular artwork, so if you do care, you can't just get rid of the other three. Arghhh. So lame. For those of you who didn't buy the first three, and if this rant didn't make you mad enough to not want to support the fleecing of music lovers, then by all means buy this one. It's pretty great. For those of you, like us, who already own all three, you'll have to decide if you really need this one, and you can always sell those other ones on ebay and hopefully make a little bit of that $33 back.
Calvin, Heather and Bret have always walked to the beat of their own unique drum. Often that beat has been an unsteady or a just plain sloooow one. Case in point? Their Crashing Through 8 cd retrospective that was finally released in May of last year after an absurdly lengthy wait. Nonetheless, it was plenty welcome, and brought back many a fond memory. Such is the case with this Beat Happening odds'n'ends'n'rarities compilation too. Be forewarned, this cd was included in the boxset, so you very well might already own it!
For those as yet uninitiated to the true punk rock wonders of Beat Happening, this is actually a pretty good place to start. It's called Music To Climb The Apple Tree By, and that's perfectly appropriate for this one-of-a-kind band. These songs, compiled from a variety of 45s, promo 7"s and b-sides, are from as recent as 2000 ("Angel Gone" recorded by Phil Elvrum of the Microphones) and as far back as 1984 (the fabulous Heather-sung "Foggy Eyes" recorded in the KAOS radio studios). The last four tunes are from their rather obscure 1988 EP collaboration with Screaming Trees (hurrah!!!).
Of course, Beat Happening fans are a particularly devoted breed who undoubtedly have already loved to death their copy of the boxset, not to mention, tracked down each and every one of these tracks individually, but in case you haven't... A wonderful frequently atonal, primal pop treat.
There seems to be a trend over the last few years in Norwegian metal. A serious obsession with techno, that when combined with the distinctly Black metal notion that maturing musically means becoming LESS metal, results in all sort of new permutations, that while definitely pushing the boundaries, tend to disappoint long time fans. Look at Manes, Arcturus, Ulver, etc. So what does this have to do with Beyond Dawn? Well...they started out as a seriously grim black metal band, whose unlikely use of a trombone was the only clue to their future direction. They soon moved in a distinctly dirge-y, melancholy, gloom pop direction, sounding more like Katatonia and even the Swans (due in no small part to the vocalist's uncanny Michael Gira like croon) and less like Darkthrone of Mayhem. At the same time, they began to incorporate all sorts of electronic glitchery: drum machines, weird processing, and studio trickery. On Frysh, their latest and weirdest record to date, things have gone about as far away from metal as humanly (or inhumanly) possible. They've pretty much given up the metal ghost entirely, opting for a melancholy techno-doom-pop. Weird bleeping synth melodies hover over skittish almost-techno rhythms, shimmering washes of synthesizer hum, and even some slide guitar! The sticker on the cd calls them "Norwegian's Loungecore Kings". Not sure how accurate that really is, but this definitely has more in common sonically with Depeche Mode or the Pet Shop Boys that it does with any metal bands I can think of. But don't get the wrong impression. This record RULES! Finally a metal band, that instead of talking about how much they love Depeche Mode or some other gloomy pop bands, and maybe even covering a Depeche Mode song once in a while, actually writes gorgeously catchy and sweetly depressive songs that rival those of any of their influences. To me this sounds like a more electronic Angels Of Light, or a metal flecked Magnetic Fields, or Dntel or the Postal Service covering Katatonia with Michael Gira on vocals. So so good. Took me a while to get over the silly and garish cover and the 'loungecore kings' sticker and the goofy new band member names (Clubshoes, Tore Jazztobakk, Hi-Fi Haavik, and Espen Weltschmertz). I was smelling 'jokeband' for sure. But the more I listen to Frysh, the more it reveals itself as a decidedly rich, multi-layered tapestry of perfectly morose, exquisitely crafted, bewitchingly dreamy techno pop gems. SO recommended!
Currently a faculty member in the Center for Contemporary Music at Mills College, John Bischoff has been composing music with computers and electronics since the mid 70s, and has always focused his compositions towards malleable forms that best suit live performances. Within this context, Bischoff seeks to position the construction of sound far beyond the common perception of synthetic music as a mere simulation of the intrinsic sounds of traditional instruments. Instead, Bischoff qualifies his work as the realization of a "reflective intention," where he determines sonic structure not only through the predetermined elements which go into a piece, but also through the active process of listening to the music as it happens and responding accordingly. During the '70s when programming involved crude systems of binary code, Bischoff's vision of the possibilities for computer-based composition fused to performative agency seemed implausible; yet in hindsight, his artistic imperatives were incredibly prescient of contemporary tools such as the nearly omnipotent audio synthesis language Max/MSP, which has been at the core of Bischoff's recent work. An aptly named set of compositions, Aperture opens the possibility for multiple readings through a series of diverse techniques ranging from additive synthesis to FM synthesis to sampled-based processes. Each of the pieces on the album was recorded in real-time with no overdubs. Aperture introduces itself with clusters of samples that sprawl with the deliberate pacing of Morton Feldman's later period, yet Bischoff renders what might be recognizable citations of a piano or percussion as pointillist condensations of digitized pixels and precise plastic details. Over the course of the following pieces, Bischoff unleashes coarse streams of electrons which flange and pulse within the caustic firestorm of divergent timestretching, giving the impression that Bischoff is quite literally tearing the fabric of sound. Bischoff also offers a collaboration with Kenneth Atchley and complements the oversaturated physical noise of Atchley's water fountain sculptures with short digital articulations that ride on the top of Atchley's dense textures.
This is Bischoff's first recording in quite sometime, and has been well worth the wait!
This amazing and absolutely incomparable recording of Cedric Im Brooks finally gest reissued by Astralwerks via Honest Jons. Those of you who've picked up copies of the Trojan Nyabhinghi Box Set have already gotten a taste for Mr. Brooks. Born in Kingston in 1943 Cedric Brooks had been involved in Jamaica's music scene since the early sixties, playing both clarinet and saxophone for several groups and recording some successful instrumentals for Coxsone Dodd, along with working as a session musician at Studio 1. It was two subsequent events that really sharpened Brooks' musical aesthetic though: the first was a trip to the United States where Brooks almost had the opportunity to join Sun Ra's Arkestra (the birth of his daughter back home in Jamaica thwarted this). The other was his introduction to rasta percussionist Count Ossie. Ossie & Brooks teamed up, forming the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari, to produce the holy grail of reggae/nyabhinghi recordings "Grounation". After parting ways with Ossie, Brooks formed his own orchestra "Light of Saba" in 1974 and recorded several albums worth of material with them. This compilation of 18 tracks here are absolutely amazing, a truly bizarre amalgam blending roots reggae, jazz, afro-funk, soul, calypso and even disco -- all glued together with pounding nyabhinghi drumming (not to mention bass, guitar, organ, horns and flute). Those beginning to feel squeamish about such shameless genre blending fear not: this is not some half-assed world-beat record cum marketing gimmick. This is perhaps one of the best "reggae" (though it doesn't completely fit the genre) reissues we've seen through these doors in a long time! This is heavy, rough hewn, beautiful and potent. This is one of those gems that, when we play it in the store, everyone either wants or wants to know just what the hell it is and when the hell it was recorded. Timeless and crucial. Highly recommended!
Graeme Jefferies and his brother Peter have been stalwarts of the New Zealand indie-pop community since the beginning practically, with their careers beginning with their gritty re-invention of Joy Division and Swell Maps as the little heard Nocturnal Projections way back in the early '80s. The Jefferies brothers' sound matured as they founded This Kind Of Punishment, often contrasting the agitated punk energies of Peter's songwriting tendencies against Graeme's introspective tracks which highlight his emotive baritone and simple acoustic guitar numbers. Eventually, This Kind of Punishment collapsed and the brothers parted ways, with Peter producing some questionable solo projects and Graeme forming The Cakekitchen in which he continues to hone his skills as an indie-rock troubadour. It's a little bit surprising, although sort of appropriate that "How Can You Be So Blind" has been released by Hausmusik, the German label best known for Village Of Savoonga and Notwist. While The Cakekitchen shares none of the indietronica that the beloved Notwist embraced or the post-rock deconstruction of Village Of Savoonga, the melancholic sentimentality of Jefferies' singer / songwriter ideals definitely resonates with both German projects. Serene and bittersweet, Jefferies croons over beautifully rough-hewn arrangements for guitar, drums, bass, and a lilting violin; but on occasion, his voice waltzes into surprisingly carnivalesque harmonies, sounding a bit more like Syd Barrett. Nevertheless, fans of Iron & Wine, Elliott Smith, 16 Horsepower, and M. Ward will definitely find much to love in The Cakekitchen.
This new SF group sure do indeed have their cute dial turned up to 'full', bringing together very childlike singsong female vocals, chiming musicbox and piano melodies, and an occasional indie boyish vocal too. That said, they don't completely induce sugar shock by tempering the tracks with some buzzing and hissing IDM interventions. It's a promising direction to take, although it can be somewhat jarring to the flow of the album at times -- as if they weren't quite sure where to go next or perhaps as if individual members wanted to try their hands at different things. It'll be interesting to see where they go from here... whether they'll further fuse the two distinct styles or focus more on one or the other or something altogether different. Anyways, it's a very homespun affair right down to the packaging: both the jewelcase and cd-r are handscreened with an image titled "Polar bunny in a snowstorm" (sorta reminiscent of Zappa's Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch album illustration) and a sparkly sticker graces the traycard.
Yet another Dead Raven Choir cd-r! And again incredibly limited. We actually got the last 8 copies and after they're gone, they're gone for good. This time around, Smolken, who is Dead Raven Choir, tackles the writings of Rainer Maria Rilke, composing a suitably somber folkscape around his weighty words. Jandek-ian guitar clatter, Appalachian folk, tenuous piano, dramatic almost operatic vocals, and creepy dark ambience all coalesce into nightmarish outsider-folk grimness. Two guest vocalists, one male and one female, handle most of the singing, while Smolken takes care of the rest (the rest being string bass, tenor banjo, guitar, piano and some singing). Dark and pretty, sad and somber, and really nice. Each cover is unique, with the top layer carefully singed to reveal the layer beneath, and each cd comes with a different beer label under the tray, which the liner notes explain quite simply: All beer consumption by Smolken!
It's a little unfair for me to have to review this now. We've only had it for a week or so, and unlike its predecessor, the immediately accessible and instantly classic Castaways And Cutouts that we raved about earlier this year, I feel like this one is a little less pop, a little more abstract, and may require some -serious- listening, as all great records do. That said, in the last week, Her Majesty has benefited greatly from repeated listenings and is rapidly becoming one of my favorite new records. All of the Decemberists hallmarks we loved on the first record are firmly in place, the Victorian imagery, amazing lyrical wordplay, the wheezing accordian and loping fey folk, the dark melancholia and occasional Pogues-ish drunken cavorting. But from the first track you know this record is going to be a little different. A creepy crawly dirge, with raspy chords wrung from an antique squeezebox, tortured, anguished vocals, with the occasional kick ass waltzy cadenza. And while the record veers wildly from these dreamy mope-y doom ballads to rollicking, ale-hoisting, tongue in cheek upbeat numbers, it's those slower, more sinister tracks that really hold the whole thing together. Doomed and dismal, but never at a loss for a quick witted barb, or pithy turn of phrase. Gloriously and melodically despondent, occasionally playfully frolicsome, but always so so so good!
"Holy smokes," you might exclaim (as we did), "a double disc of Dressy Bessy?! We always knew those Elephant 6 Collective folks were prolific, but... geez!" Okay, okay, hold your horses, folks! The second disc is actually a dvd - a bonus treat including live performances at this year's South By Southwest festival and CBGB, in-studio footage, and slideshow style videos! The music disc contains eleven incredibly sunshine-y sugar pop songs that harken back to a time of wide-eyed innocence and trippy mod pop styles. Tammy Ealom sings her earnest heart out while John Hill and Ealom's guitars jangle and crunch, Darren Albert's drums snap and crack, and Rob Greene's bass keeps a steady perky thump. It's so infectious that this week almost without exception after just a few bars of a song, customers have asked what it is and bought it. Poof! Just like that... really! Dressy Bessy just might have you bouncing around like a marshmallow fight!
Hurrah! Edison Woods, the Brooklyn-based aural/visual art assembly led by Ms Julia Frodahl, have crafted and set to flight their second tapestry of song. And they've garnered the assistance of some musical luminaries to realize their vision, namely Alan Weatherhead (engineer, producer and/or mult-instrumentalist for such groups as Sparklehorse, Cracker, and Trailer Bride) and Mark Van Hoen (producer, engineer and/or multi-instrumentalist for the likes of Locust, Mojave 3, and Seefeel). As well, guitarist Simon Raymonde (Cocteau Twins) steps in to guest on the final song. Whereas their debut cast a soothing, ephemeral atmosphere resembling diaphamous veils and glistening silks, this time the fabric, no less gorgeous, may be seen as being more akin to deep, jewel-hued velvets and sumptuous brocades weighted by painstakingly embroidered personal details. Ever so gracefully composed and arranged, all elements are much more present than previously so, bringing a sense of immediacy to the proceedings. This is particularly palpable in Frodahl's vocal performance. Formerly singing in a whispery murmur, here she expresses a greater range of character and raw emotion - often approaching the deeply heartbaring lilt of Chan Marshall. Need proof? Simply give the seventh song "Fiction" a listen, as well as the album's lengthy centerpiece "Was He A Poet". Wow! Indeed, the warmth and allure of Seven Principles Of Leave No Trace brings to mind not that of a comforting blanket, but rather of glowing embers of a dying flame. A haunting, burnished beauty. Once again, very recommended!
Elegy was a one off project comprised of Alan Sparhawk of Low, Jessica Bailiff, Brian John Mitchell, Mark gartman, Jesse Beacom, Ryley Fogg, and Michael Anderson who had all come together for a 25 hour continuous drone composition that was a tribute of a mutual friend who had been murdered. Given that this performance occured in late September 2001, the proximity to 9/11 only heightened the sense of mourning and loss already loaded into the performance. "Radio Broadcasts" however does not feature any of that 25 hour piece, rather this is a condensation of that music recorded for a local radio station in Duluth, Minnesota. Unfortunately quick at 28 minutes, this indie-rock chamber ensemble for electric and acoustic guitars, cello, electronics, percussion, keyboards, hurdy gurdy, and dulcimer unfurls a gorgeous piece of eternal music on par with the organic dronescaping of Stars Of The Lid. A touchingly beautiful tribute.
Maybe all seems grim and dismal and you're in the mood for some truly wretched, nasty, evil-as-fuck black metal to match your mood? Or maybe you're perfectly well-adjusted, but like to explore extremes of mood and melody in a metal context? Look no further than this new disc from Norwegian black metal stalwarts Gorgoroth. Twilight Of The Idols provides eight delightful tracks featuring throat-ripped screams and distorto-riff-carnage to match. Carefully, artfully, Gorgoroth weave a complex tapestry, an ancient shroud, from these elements. Not as experimental and fucked up as Gorgoroth's Destroyer, nor as quirkily 'pop' as their last one Incipit Satan, this new album delivers the goods without any gimmickry at all (until, perhaps, you get to the final, what-the-fuck-? faux classical synth coda ending the album, that is). It's pretty much just straight-to-hell, do not pass go, do not collect 200 kroner. There's dense, downer epics of slow trudge, and trancey, higher BPM blur, both having about the same effect, a lot like a less overtly (overly?) prog Enslaved. With their sense of sick melody and technical execution, Gorgoroth are definitely one of the greats. Indeed, if these guys weren't hulking, face-painted, spike-draped Norwegians, but a bunch of skinny American metalcore guys, maybe we wouldn't take 'em for granted as much as we do, and we'd realize that all the praise heaped on the likes of Converge and Isis is also the level of worship worthy of this band...
Not sure what to say about this other than BUY IT NOW... it's one of those black metal records that we'd recommend even to normally-non-black-metal music purchasers, if you're into checking out something weird, a metal record with layers of droning guitar texture and shifting tempos, speeding up then slowing down, creating an almost avant-garde metal psychedelia. For the metal fans, we'll provide some further elucidation... There's a definite black metal elite that everyone is familiar with: Burzum, Satyricon, Burzum, Emperor, Mayhem, Darkthrone, Ulver and all those folks. But there is also a more underground elite, even more grim and frosty and brutal and buzzing. Think Judas Iscariot, Nargaroth, Veles, Moonblood, Carpathian Forest and of course the mighty Graveland. This is not really all that new, but since we were finally able to get enough to list (and because there is a new Graveland on the horizon) we figured we should get this one listed cause it's so completely amazing. So, now that most of the underground is dead, and Burzum has become a Nazi Peter And The Wolf, and Darkthone is getting thrashier and sillier, and Satyricon is pretty much techno, it's basically left to the dynamic duo of Poland's Graveland and Germany's Nargaroth to keep the real blackened flame burning. While Nargaroth blaze and buzz, and spit blurry buzzsaw black metal in furious spurts, Graveland sort of stumble and careen chaotically, never really moving much faster than a midtempo gallop, with drumming that struggles and flails under sheets of corrosive fuzz. That's exactly where Graveland shines, they're not fast but rather thick and layered, they're not technical, rather droning and simple, very reminiscent of prime Burzum. Soaring majestic melodies drone beneath ambling blackened waltzes, buried beneath layers and layers of blackened grimness, or grim blackness, or whatever it is that gives Memory And Destiny such a suffocatingly dense sound. Anyone who digs the divine darkness of all the above mentioned bands should bow down before Graveland and let the droning dirge of Memory And Destiny envelop your soul and crush your body into dust.
Yay! The debut album from this Olympia trio may be one of the Kranky label's best in a long while. It's almost completely instrumental and melds gorgeous post-rock with ambient electronics and thick, satisfying drones. In the space of an hour, four lengthy tracks develop. Serene arpeggiated guitar notes give way to shimmering cymbals. Silence unfolds into emotive ambient atmospherics, which devolve into simply strummed acoustic guitar. Warbly electronics ebb and flow over the natural buzz and hum of insects on a warm summer night. Notes are held forever until they fade naturally, reminding us of Earth or SunnO))) only without the overt metal/doom element, just the heavy, weighty sombreness... and with Growing this gravity always evolves to an epic hope-imbued sort of flight toward a blissful horizon. The dynamics are carefully controlled yet effortless, and not at all "hard" to listen to. (In fact, one of the pieces uses the chord progression from "Norwegian Wood", odd choice but a welcome bit of familiarity amidst the drone.) A gorgeous, calming record. Highly recommended for fans of Windy & Carl, Earth, The Necks, Jonathan Coleclough, Sunroof, and even Boris. But even if you don't know those artists from Adam, you should give the soundclips a listen because the operative word here is "accessible" -- whether or not the genres Growing touches on are your cup of tea, they do it so well that this record may open your ears to stuff you've previously written off as too difficult. This is soooo pretty. Windy loves this. So does Allan.
Feedback, shortwave, wasps! Perhaps that's all we need to say to get you to click the "add to cart" button, but let's go on...
Our own Jim Haynes may be primarily a visual artist, working within a self-actualized aesthetic of rust and decay (a small sample of which you'll get with the each-one-unique cover to this release). But his love of music, especially of the 'dronological' variety, of sound art and field recording and experimental glitchscapes, has led him to accompany his recent art shows and installations with soundtracks of his own making. He's also been collaborating with AQ-fave Loren Chasse in the duo Coelacanth, who just released the very nice Glass Sponge disc (reviewed last list), so you know he knows what he's doing. This Magnetic North cd is the audio portion of an installation of the same name and is a despairingly lovely drone-scape, constructed from feedback, shortwave radio static, and recordings of wasps, as we said. Like his visual art, it's just a little spooky and discomforting, evoking ghostly transmissions from the void. It's quiet, wind-tunnel drone that could be a wordless EVP recording of a paranormal haunting, and then begins to sound like the haunting is being itself haunted! Jim's solo work seems less microscopic in focus than what he and L. Chasse do in Coelacanth. It can be claustrophobic, but conversely also spacious and even somehow incorporeal, phantasmal. One track features sparsely chopped clips of feedback, but we like best the tracks that drift endlessly without making the listener consider the physical sound-making process. Definitely for fans of Mirror, John Duncan, Francisco Lopez, Sigtryggur Berg Sigmarsson...or for anyone willing to plumb the abyss suggested by this sound-work.
Lotsa folks we know seemed real excited about the prospect of this reissue. Apparently this 1981 album, a collaboration between Hudson and fellow Jamaican turned Yank Lloyd Barnes (Wackies), was reknowned as an especially far-out dub treatment, way gone on the studio fuckery as these things go. Having now heard it, we agree that the production IS a big part of this record's appeal. But it's not THAT experimental, really. We think it's just as great that it's such a sunny n' soulful slice of Jamaican vocal/groove reggae. Sure it's super dubbed out at a times, with sped up/slowed down tapes, massive echo fx, filters, distortion, all that good stuff, but these songs are also really soulful and smooth, funky even. Actually, we're really reminded of the loose, swampy sound of Funkadelic's early efforts. Productionwise, this is druggy, sure -- not as wasted as the LSD-fried production of Funkadelic's "Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow", but close at times. Anyway we're talking about dub reggae here, laid back and head noddin'. Dub fans take note, this is a good 'un. It's over a half-hour long but seems kinda short just 'cause it's so good and groovy that you just want it to keep on keeping on...but that's what the repeat button is for. So, excellent call on the part of Basic Channel's new Jamaican reissue imprint Basic Replay for making this album available again!
Another blast of abstract weirdness from the No Neck Blues Band orbit. Izititiz is a pretty tough listen, a sloppy, slippery collison of free jazz sputter and skronk, thick corrosive crunch, and abstract 20th century tuning-up orchestra splatter. Occasionally things settle into melodic little moments of deconstructed bop, or meandering tribal tranquility, but it's never long before things drift back into abstract chaos.
Not sure what else to say about this crazy motherfucker. Another, fun and funny and funky splattery mashup of classic hip hop, caustic breakbeats, four-on-the-floor techno, booty bass, cut and paste chaos, goofy synths, and manic drum programming. But as we're all still crazy for dancehall around here, those are the tracks where this record really shines, with a brutal mix of toasting, classic pounding jungle beats buzzing rave-y techno and thick, wall-shaking bass synths. Another party-ruling dancefloor-filling masterpiece from Mr. Chop.
The third installment in Raster-Noton's exquisitely designed Raster. Post series features Komet aka Frank Bretschneider, weaving a fuzzy pulsing perfectly pastoral electronic dreamscape. Equal parts Oval's fuzzy glitch, Chain Reaction's subterranean throb, and Boards Of Canada's warm melancholia, this is gorgeous stuff. We've been so burned out on "electronica" lately, tired of hearing the millionth completely sterile chunk of icy minmal techno that could just have well been made without human intervention, but we're also tired of hearing Boards Of Canada ripoffs spewing moody mediocre downtempo pap. But this Komet manages to incorporate both minimal clinical chill and warm fuzzy moodiness into a throbbing, hypnotic wash of late night electronic bliss. The only distraction is the occasional random spoken word sample, similar to the ones that mar some of my favorite BoC songs. But a small complaint, considering how good this sounds. Fans of Oval, Boards Of Canada and of all things Raster-Noton should definitely pick this up.
They should've left well enough alone. They should've left well enough alone. They should've left well enough alone... but alas, they did not. Now that we've gotten that out of our system... The major disappointment with this new Kraftwerk is not that it's a poor album. Let us stress, that is NOT the case at all. Actually it sounds remarkably like the work of many many fine current electronic artists (or rather, *they* sound just like Kraftwerk!), and THAT is the major point of contention here. Tour De France Soundtracks simply doesn't sound like the work of great sonic revolutionaries. Arguably they reached the pinnacle of their innovations with Computer World -- making astounding, ground-breaking music that sounded unlike ANYTHING at the time nor many years to follow. Granted it took a very long time, but over the years Ralf, Florian and co. spent devoted to cycling the globe, it seems the world finally caught up to Kraftwerk.
Uwe Schmidt, a.k.a. Atom Heart, returns with the third outing in his Lisa Carbon persona. Like the previous Carbon release, "Standards" is a tweaked exploration of Brazilian Tropicalia and Bossanova from the unique Schmidt perspective. Not as skittery and irreverent as the Midisport release on Rather Interesting two years back, "Standards" is still plenty of fun -- and possibly a little more likely to subvert its way into your next cocktail party. It definitely has that ability to fuck with people's heads. It takes a little while, but eventually people dancing lightly in the store will suddenly stop, their soma smiles fading from their lips to be replaced by scrunched up their faces before asking: "what the hell is this?" As the CD progresses it seems to get a little further demented, starting with a little ditty in the middle that almost sounds like a lost outtake from Raymond Scott's "Soothing Sounds for Baby" project, a lounge midi-fied send up of David Bowie's "Space Oddity", and an excellent ersatz Perrey & Kingsley track.
The wonderful, willfully naive Japanese indie-pop psychedelic ensemble Maher Shalal Hash Baz takes the first half of this split cd with a live performance recorded in Scotland. Honking sax, wayward vocals, sad-sack percussion, helpless guitar, plinking piano, and even skipping rope make it into the mix. Somehow, it's gorgeous, in a melancholy off-kilter way that few bands could pull off. Following Maher Shalal Hash Baz's seventeen tracks there's ten more by San Francisco outfit The Curtains, who likewise manage to make a virtue out of simplicity and spontaneity, their technical abilities (or lack thereof) never hampering their expressiveness. A good pairing indeed. The Curtains are noisier and more 'plugged-in' than MSHB, with electronic keyboard sounds forming some of their most striking moments. With both bands, what's improvised and what's not is hard to suss out, but experiencing the results can be quite pleasant either way if you don't demand much precision from your 'pop'. To us, these 27 tracks are a pleasant jumble worth experiencing.
If you've enjoyed the recent ultra-dreamy releases from Tujiko Noriko or Lali Puna, Margo might tickle your fancy too! Each track washes over you gently with its lilting, angelic female vocals and delicate musicbox melodies darkened by the presence of IDM gelatinous squidge and crystalline splinters. Quite a mesmerizing combination. Two songs are simply called "Warm" and "Luminous", and those two words fit The Catnap perfectly.
Not new (it actually was released in 2001), but new to AQ thanks to a visit by band member Mark Williams all the way from New Zealand. If you were to only hear the opening two songs on this Marineville album, you might peg these New Zealanders as a slightly eccentric, subdued country quartet... but venture past those first couple and the ride gets considerably darker and rockier. Many of the later songs are definitely dominated by some stoner/space rock leanings -- very loose strung and low slung with Sonic Youth-esque brooding dissonance - but even so, they're still grounded with some twangy, earthy warmth. The eighth song brings it all together and is quite reminiscent of Yo La Tengo particularly around the time of their Painful album... which is a good thing. Released on their own label Oak Park Records.
Speaking in terms of aural metaphor, prepare to be brutally beaten about the head and neck by this new release from the no-holds-barred death/grind outfit known as Misery Index, a band that AQ's metalheads already were fans of -- thanks to their split cd with Commit Suicide -- even before they strengthened their ranks with the addition of ex-Dying Fetus drummer Kevin Talley. Yes, the guy that Andee, a noted drummer himself, considers the BEST death metal skinbeater he's ever witnessed. And "Retaliate" certainly puts him to good use, storming along, fueling their seriously pissed-off, society-slagging, strength through hate music-making. With their shouted vocals, brutal guitars, and grindgod drumming, Misery Index can't be taken lightly.
Lordship And Bondage is filled with images of the most garish of theatrics, tattered velvet drapes and torn gowns stained with red wine and smeared rouge. Like an errant banshee, Mannequin Lamar'sïaffected, operatic vocals hold unstable court over the erratic gothmetal assembly. One dozen mean and dirty cabaret indulgences primarily driven by an industrial rock stomp. Imagine if Klaus Nomi were an overwrought goth fronting Marilyn Manson's band. You may find yourself asking "Are these guys from Florida or SF's Mission District?"ï
It seems that something is keeping me from enjoying the 'Mannequins intended pursuits, however. Hindered by an overt self-awareness? A forced eccentricity? Not unlike spotting an immaculately coiffed and perfumed dandy in a full tailored suit strolling proudly down the street, but as your eyes drink in this vision they fall to his feet and are disappointed to find the most scuffed, unkempt boots - promising, but the image is marred. Cover art features the same Man Ray photograph that John Zorn chose for his 1993 album, Radio.
We just realised that this record, one of AQ unanimous all time favorites, never got listed on the website OR the AQ list. And while most of you may already have this, a few of you are in for a big surprise and a musical awakening. "Loveless" stands at the
That track along with the equally groovy-yet-dreamy "Glider" ep had been the basis for Simon Reynolds curious thesis that My Bloody Valentine had produced some of the earliest jungle tracks. More plausible was that MBV were one of the first rock bands to actively incorporate sampling into their production techniques. My Bloody Valentine had resampled their guitar feedback digitally to created strangely warbling layers of sound and allow for additional tools to build their bittersweet, melancholic melodies. "Loveless" may remain the final testament to the musical prowess of My Bloody Valentine, as Kevin Shields continues to state the claim that another album is in the works... well it's been in the works for over a decade and has no signs of ever being realized. Nevertheless, this album *still* sounds totally fresh and wholly superior to all of the bands that have attempted to revive the My Bloody Valentine sound (Lilys, Swirlies, Flying Saucer Attack, Third Eye Foundation, Fennesz, Chessie, etc, etc, etc).
Perhaps our opinion best stated by former Aquarian Marc Kate: "If you don't own it, I won't be mad, but you will certainly earn my pity." An earthshattering record. Period.
Orodruin's debut album Epicurean Mass might be the best release yet from the up-n-coming doom metal label psycheDOOMelic, run by Hungary's Hegedus Mark, who's also responsible for the underground doom/stoner bible Psychedelic Fanzine. With a name taken from Tolkien -- referring to Sauron's Mount Doom, natch -- Orodruin are an American band, from New York state, and play a doom fan's style of doom metal. That is, it's obvious that the Orodruin guys are doom fans with musical talent making good on their obsessions, doing justice to such influences as Black Sabbath (of course), early Cathedral, Saint Vitus, and... Bo Hansson? Yep, they've got a thing for the Swedish '70s prog-organist, an AQ-fave as well, which may have something to do with the Tolkien connection. But that's why guitarist John Gallo dabbles in some organ solos on here. Aside from those, don't come looking for anything super new and original on the doom front from Orodruin -- which is not to say this isn't great, actually this is. Solid doom metal played right, with melodic but morose vocals. And we can report that they're good live too, as they just played an impressive show here in San Francisco (on the "Doomination of America" tour with an international array of doomsters) on their way to last weekend's Stoner Hands of Doom festival in Portland, OR. Doom on guys!
This is indeed a new Pastels album, but it's almost unrecognizably so! That might be due to the fact that it is a soundtrack for the film The Last Great Wilderness. Truly, most of the music here more closely resemble that of any number of jazzy post-rock, and yes, soundtrack-composing combos from Chicago. muted horns, delicate chimes, vocal sighs, subdued bass, plucked guitar notes. This is the case up until the sixth song. That's because the song in question is these earnest, lo-fi Scots' previously released cover of Sly And The Family Stone's "Everybody Is A Star" with dear Katrina singing ever so sweetly. The only other vocal song is the saucy closing number "I Picked A Flower" by The Nu Forest who are in fact the Pastels fronted by the fabulous Jarvis Cocker of Pulp in his ultra-swank croon mode. Film unseen, this does make for a lovely bliss-out listening experience though not necessarily a distinctly Pastels' one.
On our first couple of listens to this new Quasi (and an additional couple of looks at the rather uncharacteristic cover art), well, we really weren't sure what to make of it! Taking into consideration the most recent oddity from Quasi mainman Sam Coomes -- the swampy psych-blues stomp of Blues Goblins -- we already knew things were taking a different path from the dreamy, yet sometime crunchin' pop of Quasi's past. Has Mr. Coomes lost his marbles? Hopped aboard a boxcar? Freed his mind? All of the above? Whether it be the second song's endless riffin' on a single note, the third song's odd false start and subsequent super rawk guitar solo or the anguished handwringing of "No One", it sounds as though they're determined to let it all hang out. Very somber, tripped-out and tormented by Quasi standards with loose-limbed guitars and seemingly stream of consciousness lyrics. In fact, the only thing that seems on solid ground is Janet Weiss' drumming. Nonetheless, not unlike each of Quasi's past releases, this seems to have the strong potential of a 'grow on you' kind of album, and we don't hesitate to recommend it.
Finally managed to get more copies of this perennial AQ favorite, but unfortunately, the only distributor we've ever been able to get them from recently went out of business so we may not be able to get them again. So don't miss out! Here's our review from way back:
If you liked "Sounds of North American Frogs" or "Insect Noise In Stored Foodstuffs", or Chris Watson's exotic animal recordings, here's another discovery we recently made in the AQ-beloved field-recordings genre.
In a blind test, it would be impossible to tell these Antarctic animal sounds from the most cutting edge experimental electronica that we sell at Aquarius! And according to the liner notes, the recordings found on this disk received no processing aside from being recorded using a "multi-headed array of hydrophones [underwater microphones]" and then mixed down (for great stereo sound). But some of the recordings, most notably the underwater recordings of Weddell seals, really seem like they could be the first installment of some new modern minimal electronic series, as they would fit in nicely next to the likes of Noto and Pan sonic. The underwater seals track features sweeping squeals like a whale song being sped up and slowed down and mixed with Stephen McGreevy's recordings of electro-magnetic atmospheric phenomena. It's as if the seals are secret knob-twiddlers in an electronic music studio. In other words, you could have a field day getting your "clicks & cuts" lovin' friends to guess who this "new avant-electronica artist" is! Also included on this cd are several recordings from the surface of the Antarctic continent as well: seal mothers and pups, Emperor & Adele penguins, a six minute track of a shattering & creaking glacier, and the brief but beautiful "Wind Harps From The Taylor Valley". This disc became a "AQ-fave recommendation" practically the minute we first heard it!! Maybe we're jaded, and have to listen to penguins frolicking to get our musical kicks, but it just seems so amazing. Wait until you hear it! Incredible and so essential.
New York's Radio 4 receive a heap of remixification on Electrify - transforming the funky, already danceable tunes of this clean cut, mod-ish post-punk band into gothy industrial-dance stomps and more straightforward techno rave-ups. Just like the Astralwerks remix album of The Faint's songs drew much puzzlement from these parts, so does this. Granted the remixers here seem much more aware and respectful of band and their original songs... heck, there's even a remix by The Faint! Includes five versions of "Dance To The Underground" (by The Faint, Playgroup, and hotshit producers DFA), one for "Start A Fire" by Justin Robertson, one for "Struggle" by Adrian Sherwood and Mark Stewart, as well as a video for "D.T.T.U." Although the DFA mix in particular sure is a tasty snakecharmer, as a whole, can't say this is essential. We'd definitely recommend checking out Radio 4's Gotham album first, if you haven't already. Now *that's* plenty exuberant and danceworthy!
This isn't that much different than the Tsurubami disc also just released by Strange Attractors, in large part because it's another two long tracks of spacey psych guitar jamming featuring Kawabata Makoto of Acid Mothers Temple! So get 'em both, is what we're saying. Compared to the Tsurubami though, this is more late-night and eerie. Rebel Powers sees Kawabata joined by guitarist David Keenan of Telstar Ponies (whom you may also know from his rock criticism in The Wire). Also in the band is AMT vocalist/synthethist Cotton Casino and original AMT drummer Koizumi Hajime. They went into a London studio back in '98 during an AMT UK tour, and now these black pools of sound they created finally seep into view, with further touring/recording promised. Rebel Powers is all about nightmarish and indistinct psychscapes, Keenan adding some more insistent, nay sinister, bent-metal guitar figure repetition, while Cotton's voice wordlessly haunts the Rebel Powers chapel. Their improvised droning is enhanced by Kawabata's occasional sarangi bowing. As with Tsurubami's new one, we can't help but add Rebel Powers to the ever-growing pile of AMT-related successes.
Yet another installment in Raster-Noton's similarly sleeved (simple black and silver diecut digipaks, quite nice) and sonically consistent Raster.Post series. Voulme four is the work of Senking and is another beauty (like the Komet elsewhere on this list), helping restore our faith in modern electronica, a genre that has been getting less and less fascinating with every compilation and same-sounding record. Unlike the warm dreaminess of the Komet, this is a much colder beast altogether, more ghostly and spare, chilly and skeletal, with skittery rhythms, glitching and shuffling across an epic expanse of blackness, and rhythmic pulses and ribcage-rattling swells of bass throb supporting almost-melodies that are barely there. Think a more clinical, more abstract, less dub-obsessed Pole, and you start to get the idea. Hard to say why this is so pleasing, but it really is. Quite possibly my favorite electronica record of the year!
Newest effort from this Godspeed You Black Emperor offshoot, consisting of mainman Efrim and five other cohorts, plus a "tra-la-la band with choir."
Thankfully, Silver Mt Zion have chosen to actually move beyond aping the Godspeed mothership and crafted a pretty bizarre new sound. Pagan folk ala the Wicker Man, mixed with some of that patented Godspeed cinematic moodiness, and then some Polyphonic Spree-ish harmony. Sounds weird but it actually works pretty well. The first track sounds like it could very well have been from the Wicker Man soundtrack, with the choir chanting fa-so-la, fa-fa-fa, so-la-la-la over a simple tribal rhythms while all sorts of other instruments weave an ominous backdrop of strums and drones. The rest of the record follows a meandering path from those pagan freakouts, to rhythmic tribal jams, to strummy dreamy folk, layered scratchy electronics, to sweet violin/guitar serenity, to clangy clattery soundscapes, to wailing emotive almost-indie twang. Efrim's voice will be a stumbling block for some, his whiny upper register croon reminding us a lot of the Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne' but even more strained and whine-y. Think a mix of Souled American's Chris Grigoroff, Built To Spill's Doug Martsch, and Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst, stripped to the waist, all painted up and standing above a burning pyre, and howling to the heavens! A primal, incantatory hippie cathartic group ritual. Fans of the Wickerman and Comus and other hippie pagan folk, just may have found some modern kindred spirits.
As with all Godspeed and Constellation-label artifacts, the cd artwork is gorgeous, as is the double LP version, both with deluxe gatefold sleeve and booklet insert.
Got a couple of these in, the first album from the '70s Greek hard rock/psych outfit Socrates Drank The Conium. If you dug their On The Wings album that we listed a little while back, you may also want to check out this reissue. Originally released in 1972, their debut isn't quite as ripping as the totally off-the-hook On The Wings, but it's got plenty of wailing kick ass guitar work nonetheless. Unlike On The Wings there's only one guitar in the mix, but when he gets cooking with the bands' driving rhythm section backing him up he really takes off. There's also some more laid-back, rural psych moments on here, but mostly hard boogie-blues-acid-rock numbers harking back to Cream and Hendrix, assuredly big heroes of Socrates Drank The Conium. They've got something to say through their music as well, as titles like "It's A Disgusting World" and "Underground" indicate, although the band's lasting message might not really be one of radical politics but something more basic: rock on!
For months and months we kept on hearing rumblings about a new Zumpano album being "in the works" and "almost done", but what with Carl Newman so deeply ensconced in New Pornographer land... alas, it seems it just never got finished. Not ones to sit on their hands, the rest of AQ's favorite Z-band picked up and pursued other various projects. The band's namesake and drummer Jason Zumpano sat right down and penned a slew of his own songs - some solely piano compositions, some full band grand pop numbers. This is his album of the latter, and not unsurprisingly, what a delight it is! He more than ably handles all songwriting, vocal and keyboard duties, and is joined by his former Zumpano colleague Mike Ledwidge - on guitar as well as Scott Morgan (Loscil) on drums. Just as the case was with Mr. Newman and the NPs, expectations were high. It's pretty impossible not to draw comparisons to their former band. Fortunately so far it's all been in the most positive light, and Sparrow is no exception. Many songs here shine with the same stellar pop sensibilities as well as some other stylish details - standing solidly on their own merits. Take the second song "One Eye Closed" for instance, a spritely, dandy example driven just as much by a catchy chorus as by a piano line very reminiscent of ABBA's "Waterloo" of all things! Other songs draw nods to XTC and Squeeze too. Those are some big classic pop footsteps to follow, and yes, Jason Zumpano and co. more than hold their own, thank you!
Dropping his Tikiman persona after a lawsuit filed by some hack claiming to be "the real Tikiman", Paul St. Hilaire returns with an album's worth of new tracks. Those interested in the Basic Channel sound of his work with Rhythm & Sound may at first be a little disappointed in "Unspecified". Produced by Hilaire himself and released on his own label "Unspecified" is about as close of a return to late seventies roots reggae production one can expect to get these days. It's perhaps an indication that reggae can rise phoenix like from the ashes of dancehall from the very digital realm that buried it. Learning from the production techniques of his previous collaborators, Hilaire has found a way for the electronic recording studio (to be sure, along with some live instrumental accompaniemnt) to produce a soulful and rich and dubbed out backdrop for his beautiful voice.
Live hip hop has always been a dodgy proposition. Bad sound, rapping over boring backing tracks, lots of "Hey! Ho! Put your hands in the air!!" kind of stuff. So a live record seems like a pretty bad idea. Especially when you're talking about a group that thrives on production, weird sounds, and studio fuckery. Thankfully and surprisingly, this is a pretty great set, and a testimony to the skillz of Dose One and Jel. Jel weaves a crazy musical backdrop of rumbling creepy soundtracks, bouncing boppy funky jazz, stuttering breakbeats, Phantom Of The Opera organs, beeping blooping electronica and monor key hip hop shuffles while Dose One spits an amazing, tongue twisting, never-ending flow in that distinctive and impossible whine of his.
With this, the release of their third-or-so widely available album, the Japanese psych-rock-trance-improv trio Tsurubami start to creep up the path of prolificity that characterizes guitarist/guru Kawabata Makoto's Acid Mothers Temple project. Yep, it's Kawabata again. We wonder if he just didn't put his name on these things we'd be able to approach 'em with fresh excitement? Yet he rarely lets us down -- the issue with Kawabata isn't of quality, only quantity. How much do you need? Well if you haven't reached your personal limit yet, we can't help but recommend this disc. Its main ingredient is a shimmering wash of freeform guitar, the sounds of which almost seem like they're trying to *crawl back into* Kawabata's amplifier, not meekly but because they're already part of the aether and some cosmic balance needs to be addressed. Backing him up there's splashes of drumming, and a gentle bass presence. Real nice, eyelid fluttering, dizzymaking trance-out drone stuff. Sure, Kawabata & co. can by now pretty much do this in their sleep, and hey maybe that's what they're doing 'cause sleep is a state of hypnosis not far from what this music conjures. There's two long tracks that get louder and more active as they progress, but maintain that uneasy yet beautiful soothing shimmer throughout, even when the heavy-duty distortion storms kick in and it starts to sound more like Fushitsusha!
The title doesn't lie. This latest transmission from those Norwegian eccentrics Ulver consists of but four songs, a sampling of gothic glitch rock, the sad-synth-symphonic soundtrack to a ghost story left to you to imagine. The melodies and electronic beats give little clue to Ulver's origins as a vulpine black metal band, although the final track is in fact a rearrangement of a piece from their 1996 Kveldssanger opus, and makes an ominous, distortion-filled ending to the ep without altering the mood already set by the chamber strings and doleful male singing of the previous three tracks. With this ep, Ulver continue their ectoplasmic existence as a restless spirit that filters through many musical bodies, fully possessing none but leaving weird nightmares behind...
Normally we don't like to quote too much from an album's press release or its liner notes, but we have to share this statement from Japanese improv saxophonist Masayoshi Urabe himself, which accompanies this release: "My joints ache so much that I walk weird. Improvisation?? Improvisation??!? I've never seen it, heard it, or played it. You say that you're uncomfortable. I felt so good that I stopped laughing. I love silence because I am so brutal, but because I breathe there can be no silence. I call it Rock 'n' Roll. Because I breathe -- because I have a mouth. Duo 1988, Ju/A Brute, Urklang, Soingyokusaiseyo -- Improvisation can eat shit, that's what I've always said. Musicians are the scum of the earth, and hell's a lie, that's what I've always said. Do you know a word that means both look at me and leave me alone? I'm so fuckin' glad that I've got no reasons, no dreams, nothing to believe in. I'm so fuckin' glad that I have no interest in the occult, in salvation, in playing my part, in meanings. I'm so fuckin' glad I met you and left you. I'm so fuckin' glad that I'm not you. What I really mean is that I'm so fuckin' glad that you're not beautiful. What I really mean is that I'm so fuckin' glad that you mean nothing to me."
Whoah, dude. And there he is on the album cover, a knife clenched in his teeth and a maniacal glint in his eyes. We've been fans of his lost-n-lonely sax scrape in the past, and with this album he brings that style of sparse improv into more sinister focus, also gettin' intense with metal joints (?), chains, harmonica, and electric guitar along with the alto sax. Recorded live in Japan and Belgium, Urabe's sax a death-breath, the man clanking those chains like a ghost, this disc is an ominous work, the silence found within seeming like the loudest thing in the world until our man lets loose with some rough-and-tumble, high-end shrieking guitar grind. You'll believe every word he said, above, and like it.
Apparently Urabe was accompanied by a dancer on these recordings, but you'll just have to use your imagination to see what sort of tortured moves he or she was making along to this music.
A few months ago, we presented the debut quartet of releases from AQ-pal Drew(cifer) Webster's new record label Dielectric. Four stylishly packaged 12" vinyl eps from four diverse, mostly-unknown but excellent sonic architects. Now those four are back, together on this cd, each contributing four tracks apiece -- a total of ten new cuts along with one or two tracks per artist that already appeared on the eps. The disc starts of with Akta Ebtekar aka Sote, who prior to his Dielectric release had already gained some attention with a disc on Warp. Actually two of Sote's cuts are credited to Virgox, Ebtekar's collaboration with Safar Bake. Sote/Virgox produce crunching, stuttering beats and computer melodies -- it's like dance music constructed from the sampled sounds of a mad scientist's laboratory. Definitely in the vein of much Warp/Rephlex/Tigerbeat6/Ambush label material.
Next up is wunderkind Carson Day, operating in an electonica realm not far from that of Sote, but more mysterious, mellow, and pretty -- less house, more home (with headphones). His broken beats, distorted melodies, and digital fuckery meet up with some hiphop flavor on the standout track "Get Hurt" which makes good use of a vocal sample repeating the title phrase. On the evidence of Carson's four cuts here (only one comes from his 12"), he's a match for the likes of Chris Clark, Matmos, and Lesser...
The next four tracks are from Die Elektrischen, the man we know better as Drewcifer. Sure it's his record label, but his music dispels all ideas of a vanity production. It's good stuff. Like Sote and Carson, he brings the beats too, but is much more on the percussive-distorto-drone-extreme side of things. Crinkle, crackle, crumple. There's hints of Merzbow beneath the surface, yet this remains quite musical. Early Scorn meets Philip Jeck meets DJ Scud? Well deserving of his nifty black metal styled Die Elektrishen logo designed by Wrest of AQ black metal faves Leviathan.
Last up is Karen Stackpole, perhaps the most left field entry of these four -- she's no laptop or turntable jockey. Her first track is entitled "Gong and Cello #2" which will give you an idea of the sound: percussion and string drone. We could throw around some descriptive catagories like experimental, Mills College, academic, 20th century avant garde, improv... or we can just say that her stuff is really, really nice. Creepy yet lovely.
Basically, this a great comp, programmed perfectly -- Stackpole's tracks make for fine wind-down at the end after all the electronic/elektrik tracks. If you've already got the vinyl eps you need this too for all the new cuts. If you don't have the 12" records, get this, and if you like what you hear and you have a turntable, then you'll know what to do! We're definitely looking forward to hearing more from these artists -- are full lengths in the offing? -- and to future Dielectric discoveries as well. And we're definitely not saying all this just 'cause Drew's our friend, he'd be the first to tell you that'd be unlikely. Recommended!
Pretty amazing collection of old timey rarities from the collection of Joe Bussard, known as the "King Of Record Collectors" with a collection of 25,000 or so rare 78's, lps and reel to reel tapes, covering pretty much everything from jazz to blue grass to jug bands to wild hillbilly hoedowns. Definitely for fans of the Secret Museum Of Mankind series and all those Yazoo and Folkways collections. The sound is amazing, super clear and crisp, which for some of you loyal AQ-ers may be the only disappointment, 'cause we know how you love your record hiss and grit and crackle and pop. But c'mon, this is no post modern skipping glitchscape, this is just some sweet and timeless, classic music. Comes with a MASSIVE booklet of liner notes and song details, as well as lots of goofy pictures of Bussar himself.
"Frequencies [HZ]" is a musical compendium of an exhibition of sound art curated by the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt, Germany, and acts as a Readers Digest / K-Tel anthology of the "who's who" in the current global community of experimental / noise / minimal / glitch music. Here, you get 28 two-minute tracks from a ton of artists including Achim Wollscheid, Marc Behrens, Alva Noto, Christophe Charles, C.M. von Hausswolff, Cyclo, Ekkehard Ehlers, Errorsmith, Farmers Manual, Frank Bretschneider, Hecker, Mainpal Inv., Marcus Schmickler, Merzbow, Monolake, Opiate, Pan Sonic, Pita, Pomassl, Random Industries, Richard Chartier, Ryoji Ikeda, Senking, SND, Steinbráchel, Stephan Mathieu, Thomas Koner, and Ultra-Red. Limited to 1000 copies, and packaged in an artful styrofoam package designed by Carsten Nicolai.
Essentially, "Grain" is the companion disc to the "Variable Resistance" compilation published by local arts group 23five for an exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art about Australian sound art. This album features four artists -- Philip Samartzis, Pimmon, Darrin Verhagen, and David Brown -- who had come to San Francisco to perform in conjunction with a lengthy 'listening room' event of many other artists. Samartzis, who had curated the "Variable Resistance" show, opens this album with a tense collage of post-industrial musique concrete that rummages through terse electrostatic cracklings, mutated calliope melodies, indeterminant creakings, and psychoacoustic drone work that is not unlike the Hafler Trio's best work. Ghostly fluctuations of sound mark Pimmon's contribution as these loops are coupled with miniscule digital vibrations, for one of the most sedate compositions we've heard from Pimmon. Darrin Verhagen (perhaps better known as Shinjuku Filth and Shinjuku Thief) also offers a particularly quiet track of meditative tribal rhythms run through a number of quietly glitchy DSP filters. David Brown (who may in fact be Australia's unsung answer to Keith Rowe) scratches a choral number out of vibrating guitar feedback, dischordant orchestral samples, and nervous electro-acoustic tonal fluctuations. Nice stuff.
Remember that scene-stealing, nunchaku-wielding lunatic in the movie Ghost World? What a fuckin' awesome character! Well, he left such an impression/scar on some folks that there's now a compilation of songs about him. Very slacker irony and hesher silliness packed. Kinda like the soundtrack to the Canadian indie film FUBAR with its indie rockers donning the hair metal / bad rock schtick, but quite not as hot shit... actually some of this is pretty goofy in a bad way and some is just plain gawdawful. If I were Stewart, I'd wanna serve these folks up a platter of greasy headbutts. Approach with caution or don't approach it at all, except Rob Crow completists, you'll have to buy this. Also features Black Heart Procession (in a very uncharacteristic turn), Furious Four, Chris Prescott, Danger Zone, Mike Lenart, and Gar Wood.
It's funny that the one person at AQ who can't stand vegetables is the one who keeps reviewing the records made with them. But I, Andee, love listening to them, just as long as I don't have to eat 'em! We listed Automate, the newest record by the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra on the last AQ list, and folks were so into it we thought we really ought to get the first one as well. For those who aren't familiar with this group, The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra is a small ensemble that customises vegetables, and then composes and notates music to be played on them. Just vegetables. Pretty neat. Unlike the clinical minimalism of Automate, where the Orchestra were attempting to simulate modern electronic music, Gemise is much more playful and exuberant and improvy with circus-y whistles and kazoo like humming, wild thumping, and skittery rattles, and all made with just vegetables! The vegetables are accompanied on some of the tracks by human voices, gurgling and whooping, hooting and squeaking like wild bird calls, mimicking the whistling vegetables. Most of those tracks build and build into frenzied climaxes, whirling chaotic rituals of pagan vegetable wildness. Like a vegetarian Wicker Man or something. The rest of the tracks hint at the minimal rhythmic direction of the second record, with rumbling didgerdoo like reverberations, simple thudding frameworks of hollow thwacks and solid knocks, and keening high end trills that swoop and swell, screech and squeal. But the focus here definitely seems to be on the novelty and fun of the whole experience. The liner notes even mention that all of the instruments are recycled and made into a soup for the audience to enjoy a second time! And the spine of the jewel case comes filled with beans so you can rattle right along with the record. And we also got a bunch more of Automate (see AQ list #169), for those who missed out on that one.
Remember how excited we were a few months back about the reissue of the album Written In Waters by 'post-black-metal' weirdos Ved Buens Ende?? VBE were one of our favorite Norwegian bands EVER, all avantgarde and sorta-metal and proggy and just plain strange. Well, at long last VBE have finally made a new record! Well, not exactly. The name is different, the lineup too -- only Carl-Michael Eide (aka Czral) remains, with we think new guys rounding out the trio, though we can't be sure 'cause they all use pseudonyms anyway. But, despite all that and some further experimentation with electronics and even pop, this really does still sound like ol' Ved Buens Ende! Oh happy day.
Their math-metal songwriting definitely will still draw comparisons to Voivod, and despite reports that there's a Talking Heads influence you'll still hear more echoes of Ulver and Satyricon than you will of David Byrne, though it's certainly art rock, of a sort. Some parts remind us of Swans, or even This Heat's Charles Hayward's solo records! Other possible comparisons: Arcturus, Don Caballero, Dodheimsgard, Guapo, Enslaved, Codeine, Ulver, Solefald... All very 'different', just like Virus, who are capable of being powerfully complex or lullingly pretty, always creating a sense of unease and disquiet. It's dismal, it's distorted, it's as sad and beautiful as a dead white swan floating on a misty lake. Carheart has perhaps added more sampling and electronics to the VBE equation, but it's still got all the stuff we liked about Written In Waters. Hectic drumming, twisting, atonal guitars, psychedelic drone, rubbery bass, swooning, dramatic vocals, monk-chant vocals, atmospheric, uh, atmosphere...including field recordings of wind and water that suggest the mysterious lake we spoke of above. Lyrically, it's equally as cryptic, and the cd graphics only spawn further confusion. Carheart? Cars? Dog-headed men? What's going on? Can't figure it out and really we don't necessarily want to. It's enough that VBE are back in the guise of Virus. It IS different (Carl's playing guitar instead of drums, though it's still his vocals and vision) enough to be considered a new band, but VBE fans will not be disappointed! Recommended.
