Status: Single
Country: UK
Signup Date: 9/21/2006
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Friday, November 27, 2009
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Current mood:  pirate
This week's reviews
27 Nov 2009
Down to some serious business.... Sadly from mid-December customers
will no longer be able to reserve orders but must choose to have them
shipped when all items are available. We appreciate that many of you
who use the reserve facility will be disappointed and this has been a
difficult decision for us to make. The main reasons are we are
extremely busy and having to recalculate totals for lots of accumulated
small orders is very time consuming. Also storage space has become an
issue as well with a small number of folks abusing the system and
reserving stuff they never finish up requiring. Hopefully we will be
able to provide a more efficient service once the changes have been
made. We suggest you now place orders as you want them shipping,
bearing in mind pre-orders can often be delayed.... So if you have
items on hold please contact us before December 15th to have them
shipped, otherwise they will go back into stock. For items which have
been delayed and are released after this date we'll be in touch with
regards to shipping 'em out when they arrive!
On a lighter note:
There is a huge score of goodies this week… what a year… relentless… the momentum continues with classy products from Akira Kosemura, a fantastic album on SMTG from Anduin, an Atavist/ Nadja split LP, Bass Clef's second full length, a Beans On Toast 2CD set, Bedouin Ascent & Move D's 'Interference LP, Candlesnuffer CD on Hellosquare Recordings, Earth Live 2006 tour CD and smoking' Earth/ Richard Bishop split Tour LP, Last ever copies of Eat Skull/ Ganglians split 7", Everything Everything 7" on Young & Lost Club, some Planet Mu Gear from Gemmy, also Geiom & Shortstuff, Helixir 12" on 7even, Robedoor 'Raiders' LP, John Fahey 'America' reissue LP, Liz Fraser 12", which has literally just been unpacked.... Pains of Being At Heart LP/CD with bonus 4 track CD job... well limited and only available to a handful of shops!! Pervrelist Jorvik Mongstate LP is in, Gristleism's are in in red and black!…. Have a sniff around! ++++++++++++++++++++
For those in Leeds you can catch us DJ'ing at the following gig on Saturday:-
The Declining Winter + Songs of Green Pheasant + Lanterns on the
Lake + Michael Rossiter + Norman Records DJ’s - 28.11.09 | Holy Trinity
Church, Leeds 7.30 Onwards. Please feel free to hurl abuse or
implausible requests our way.
King Midas Sound - Waiting For You (Hyperdub) CD
If I am perfectly honest not that much of the recent material on
Hyperdub has excited me as much as the early to mid-period stuff.
However the release of the debut album from King Midas Sound
is an event I've been waiting on ever since I first heard tracks on
their Myspace player a while back. Well the day has finally come and
I'm pleased to report that ' Waiting For You…'
is everything I wanted it to be, and then some. Kevin Martin (The Bug/
Techno Animal etc.) really can turn his hand to pretty much any style
and still sound fresh and original. The teaming with vocalist Roger
Robinson is a match made in heaven with Robinson's silky smooth
delivery fusing perfectly with Martin's blunted and very soulful post
dub/ haunted lovers rock sound which he employs for this project. Also
the album introduces a third member into the sound with female artist
Hitomi. The album begins with previous single 'Cool Out' with the
lyrics "We kill soundboy's with our shoalin styles, run them out the
dancehall wiping tears from their eyes" setting the tone for the album.
The use of dubwise effects give proceedings an ultra stoned vibe,
superbly deep with many layers of ethereal, haunted, spooked out
sounds. The beats for a large part are very much in a kind of spaced
out hip-hop zone. Robinson's lyrics are both conscious and personal
with stories of wanting and loss. 'Earth A Killya' sounds heavily
inspired by Linton Kwesi Jonson and is nothing short of totally thought
provoking. I'd recently been listening to this
BRILLIANT mix they created and it really paints the picture of the
musical influences that have gone into the King Midas sound; Gregory
Isaacs, AR Kane, My Bloody Valentine, Jacob Miller, Oval, Thomas Koner,
Japan, Burial, Rhythm & Sound, Theo Parish , Scritti Politti, Sade,
Tanya Stevens and so on. This is pure genius from beginning to end.
There is paranoia and darkness lurking around every corner, and the
lyrics of broken love are very touching. 'Goodbye Girl' is like the
ultimate tale of relationship separation mind-games; both brutal and
moving. The Oh there is some superb bottom end action to be found here
too. Very highly recommended and comes in lovely digipak with lyric
booklet. Washed Out - Life Of Leisure (Mexican Summer) 12"/MLP
My ears really pricked up yesterday, as did our Business Lady's. The record responsible is from Washed Out
who I've never heard of but Phil informs me that Pitchfork are creaming
themselves over them. Okay so this isn't strictly a single but a 6
track mini-album but we thought we'd stuff in here anyway. We make the
rules. It kicks off with 'Get Up' which is a warped 80's sun bleached
electro-funk pop tune that's highly infectious. 'New Theory' is an
almighty feelgood number with a kind of italo disco stomp with a melody
to die for. The vocal harmonies and effects recalling the likes of
Panda Bear/ Animal Collective. 'Hold Out' keeps the good vibes rolling
with psychedelic swirls of pure synth pop, again with a gorgeous and
authentic retro feel. I reckon this could move some butts on the
dancefloor too. 'Feel It All Around' is like some forgotten 80's synth
pop 45 being played on 33 and warping under the scorching heat of a
blazing California sun. 'Lately' ups the tempo and makes me imagine
that perhaps this is what a Brian Wilson disco record may have sounded
like. The record ends on a high with 'You'll See It' which again has
some luscious melodies. ' Life Of Leisure'
is the debut release from Ernest Greene who recorded all the tracks at
his parents home. Out on Brooklyn's Mexican Summer label, limited to
2000 copies on high quality virgin vinyl with download code. Very
limited number available! Business Lady
Agent Side Grinder
are one of those groups I feel I should know more about but don't.
Enfant Terrible are in the process of releasing their stuff on waxy
vinyl and on first I'm particularly impressed with new offering ' The Transatlantic Tape Project'.
Previously available in a limited run of 100 tapes 'The Transatlantic
Tape project' takes sounds you'd associate with 80's industrial/goth
and merges them with 60's psychedelic stuff to create a mutant form of
ambient that is warmer than industrial and more aggressive than psych.
It reminds me of classical music but interpreted via electronic
instruments and gadgets that would be suitable soundtrack music to
science and nature programs. There's some totally interesting stuff
going on here so have a listen for yourself.....you won't regret it.
Melt Banana write and release great music all the time and ' Initial T'
is another fine example of their genius. Though the usual assault of
blast beats and squawking vocals are present on A-side 'Loop Nebula' we
are also treated to sprinkles of progressive rock guitar which makes a
pleasant change. B-side's 'Leeching' and 'Jack And A Red Dog' are
traditional Melt Banana arrangements that kick the usual ass and make
all the other punx look stoopid!!! What else is left for them to do? A
Bananarama covers 7"??? Melt Bananrama anyone? Phil thought it was
funny.....very limited vinyl 7” and 3” CD.
' When You Tell Me That You Love Me' is a wordy title for a single, almost as 'wordy' as my review style. Anyway, it's by Sad Day For Puppets
and sounds very much like Belly and those mid-nineties 4AD
bands....well Fort Apache. B-side 'Withering Petals And Dust' does
actually sound a bit like Dinosaur Jr. (it's mentioned in the press
release but I chose not to believe it) with a bit Juliana Hatfield
thrown in for good measure. I prefer the B-side man...the solo wails! Oneohtrix Point Never, the one man analogue synth machine that is Daniel Lopatin certainly knows a thing or two about synth prog minimalism. ' Rifts'
collects Lopatin's recorded output to date which includes 'Betrayed in
the Octagon', 'Zones Without People' and 'Russian Mind' (all released
in limited quantities of wax-o-vinyl) as well as a collection of rare
and out of print bits and bobs from tape and CD-R releases. This guy's
a super genius when it comes to the manipulation of analogue
synthesisers but the new age progressive fashion in which his music is
presented can be a bit much over 27 tracks..... but what am I saying, I
love that new age progressive tangerine Dream style shit so fuck it,
roll me up a chong-o-long and lets get spaced yo! Totally immersive
synth ambience at it's finest.
I reckon analogue synths are probably my favourite musical sound but
a close contender would be the mighty vibraphone. From Lionel Hampton
to Tortoise/Mice Parade there are many fine examples of this instrument
at work. El Fog
a.k.a Berlin-based Japanese artist Masayoshi Fujita seems pretty keen
on the instrument too as he's dedicated an entire project to reworking
and rebuilding his own vibraphone recordings on the record entitled ' Rebuilding Vibes'
(you see...). His vibraphone interpretations are minimal and
electronically infused suggesting the strong influences of Dub and Jazz
as well as an appreciation for subtlety and space. Mixed by AOKI
Takamasa and mastered by Stefan Betke (a.k.a Pole) 'Rebuilding Vibes',
as you can imagine, is thoroughly tasteful stuff. ' What Day Is It Tonight?' is the new offering from Thrill Jockey's semi-reliable, nostalgia inspired, electro rock juggernaut that is Trans Am.
I know that their last offering 'Sex Change' was recorded from three
different parts of the planet with ideas being exchanged via the world
wide interclick so it comes as no surprise that this next release is a
collection of live recordings, I don't think they get to hang out much
anymore (though I'm told they are working on a new studio album).
Collecting recordings that span some fifteen years 'What Day Is It
Tonight?' is an awesome document of a great live band on fine form. All
the favourite's are here...'Futureworld', 'Positive People', 'Idea
Machine' and the highlight of last years 'Sex Change'; 'Tesco Vs.
Sainsbury's' and they all sound mint! The playing is sharp, the
recording is sweet and the selection is very much representative of the
band. A worthy collection for sure....oh, you get a DVD of live clips
too but I've not seen that...yet. Not Not Fun records are knocking out a vinyl compilation in
celebration of the diversity of women artists currently working within
the US underground. It's cleverly entitled ' My Estrogeneration' and features unreleased and/or rare tracks from Zola Jesus, Pocahaunted, Tickley Feather, Inca Ore, Valet, Talk Normal, Topaz Rags, Islaja
and a bunch of others. The track listing is a little tricky to make out
so I'm not entirely sure which track is which but certain things are
obvious to me because I like them... Zola Jesus' 'Heaven Sold You Back
To Earth' sounds particularly sweet and tracks from Topaz Rags and
Pocahaunted are also on the money. The surprise for me was 'Keep It
Turn It Bump It' by L.A Vampires, these ladies mix the usual Not Not
Fun formula with subtle 80's electro synth influences to create the
best of the tracks I'm hearing here. Not Not Fun have a lot of awesome
women bands/artists, maybe you should take the time to check them
out....yeah. More Not Not Fun records are heading your way....this time we got ' Silver Sea Surfer School' from Inca Ore.
Representing with some seriously spacious ambient moves. Inca Ore
(Oakland, California's Eva Saelens) is lo-fi at the most extreme.
Feedback punctuates every corner of 'Sliver Sea...' and makes for a
slightly unnerving yet commonly rewarding journey. I feel agitated and
uptight within minutes of placing the needle on the wax. It's clangy,
it's industrial and it's 'totally far out....man'. Ghoulishly haunting
vocal episodes drift in and out of what sounds like cymbals being bowed
and scratched into delayed infinitely. Echo Chambers play a big part in
the action and industrial sounding tones dominate the mix almost
exclusively throughout....this is no bad thing and makes for a
refreshingly individualist approach to sound craft. Crazy and inventive
stuff. Papercuts
are one of those bands I'd expect to be hearing a lot from in the not
to distant future. They play a pseudo future space pop style that is
both warm, inviting and refreshing in the current pop climate. On new
track ' White Are The Waves'
leader and songwriter Jason Quever laments lovingly over a cosmic indie
jam awash with Casiotones and reverberance Sounds like a 70's AM radio
treat if you ask me. The B-side features a remix of 'A Dictator's
Lament' by Neighbors which suits me much better...it's like a
mid-nineties Beck reworking with nice beats, sturdy hand-o-claps and
some lovely 70's prog synth tones....very nice. 7"+ download on
Gnomonsong.
Bit of an odd one I've picked up here...' A Glorious Dawn'
is a seven inch single composed and arranged by John Boswell that
integrates the scientific musings of Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking
with some retro futurist space-age synth prog. This has found it's way
to release as a result of being viewed over 2 million times on You Tube
and features loads of lovely footage from Sagan's Cosmos TV show. The
tune is essentially an Air tune with vocoder science banter over the
top. I like science and space and Stephen Hawking's and Carl Sagan
so I'm giving this double super props times two. Now, the single makes
a lot more sense if you watch the accompanying video......so, here's a link. Ant
Following releases from Ian Hawgood, Chihei Hatakeyama, Porzellan,
Northerner etc. Hibernate Records are treading a similar path to labels
such as Home Normal, Under The Spire etc. The label name is fitting as
they're putting out just the sort of mega floaty stuff to put you to
sleep this winter. Hence at this moment in time I'm listening to ' Sen Zimnej' Strom Noir
which is the work of Slovakia based artist Emil Matko who has
previously had stuff out on U-Cover, Resting Bell, Format Noise etc.
It's fairly spooked sounding at times with some bleakish drones, but
for the greater part it's very ethereal. Some most pleasant ambient/
guitar/ field recordings stuff that evokes floating over winter
landscapes and melting snow. Once you get into the zone you'll be in
total bliss like the hibernating bear image that comes with the free
sticker of this limited edition of 150 copies CD. Joy Orbison
is getting loads of media attention at the moment, and he's just
remixed Fourtet. Whether the hype is justified or not I'll leave you to
decide... I read that the young producer is Ray Keith's Nephew... How
cool is that like going to see your uncle for some drum and bass dub
plates, I think the best I got from my uncle was either a Twix or a
Kit-Kat.... Anyway this "future garage" thing then... not sure where
that term came from, but this guys definitely doing good things for the
garage movement. I suppose essentially this is just decent quality,
soulful and deep funky house music within the 2-step framework. His big
talent is selecting and cleverly using female vocal samples, the type
you'd find in older dance music and then creating loops that bring an
uplifting feeling. He's got some good percussion sounds in his box of
tricks... The flipside is my favourite with its totally infectious
bassline and 'Just one more' vocal sample. It's a total party tune that
has an anthemic quality. Definitely one to whip up a state of euphoria
on the dancefloor, as it builds it gets groovy as fuck. ' BRKLN CLLN/ J.Doe' is the debut 12" release on his Doldrums label which certainly looks promising...
Autumn Ferment Records have released the second installment in their
Seasonal Sevens split 7" series. This one just catching the tail end of
Autumn with Pamela Wyn Shannon and The Magickal Folk Of The Faraway Tree.
This is contemporary yet traditional folk music. Pamela Wyn Shannon's
side 'Woolgathering' is a lovely intimate track full of pretty sounds
and heartwarming lyrics about Autumn. The strings sound particularly
soothing and her voice is most pleasing on the ear. I think this will
appeal to lovers of the ladies of the modern folk movement like Meg
Baird/ Espers/ Haruko etc. On the flipside the Magickal Folk do there
thing, the vocal sounded very familiar and then I read it was David
Colohan from Agitated Radio Pilot. He's singing about strawberry's and
raspberries and it's making me hungry. This is quite a stripped down
number with fairly simple yet effective strings and flute (I think!).
Ltd hand numbered edition of 300 on brown vinyl (The summer single was
on yellow so we're guessing the winter will come on white vinyl...) For some reason the collaboration between Tom Carter, Starving Weirdo's and Shawn David McMillen
(Warmer Milks) seems, for me, difficult to imagine, especially when
Brian comes over distracting me by laughing with a massive gob full of
chocolate digestives looking like a deranged Bradfordian cookie
monster... Anyway as soon as I start listening it all seems to make
perfect sense. Together they jam out a totally weird and bizarre sound
with lots of scraping, mild feedback, loops, percussion and lord knows
what else. It certainly veers towards a darker zone which I thoroughly
approve of... Who needs drugs when there's records like this out there.
Ltd edition LP on Blackest rainbow in wraparound screened jackets. ' Live At The Accident' is totally out there! Agent Side Grinder
are next on the turntable with their dark blend of 80's industrial
electronics, darkwave vocals and post punk style basslines. These guys
certainly fit in very well with the Enfant Terrible roster and
aesthetic as they really have a vintage/ retro sound. There are some
quality synthesizer sounds on here. I particularly like the 4/4 stomp
of 'The Screams' which reminds me of some early european techno/
industrial stuff. At various points I'm also reminded of some of the
very early stuff coming out of Sheffield, The very dark side of the
Human League and early Cabaret Voltaire. Some of the rhythmic elements
also have clearly been informed by Krautrock The ' Irish Recording Tape' LP out on Enfant Terrible.
I've been gagging to listen to the Vindicatrix ' Die Alten Bosen Lieder'
12" and CD set on Mordant Music all week and now I finally get my
opportunity. 'Something In The Night' is a slow, dark and brooding 4/4
track with lots of eerie sounds that have kind of a gothic horror vibe
to them, the vocals have this bizarre sophisticated european thing
happening that has me a bit puzzled and I'm waiting for the penny to
drop. So I flip the 12" and the beat is coming through much higher in
the mix and I'm getting like a nightmare house kind of vibe (this is of
course a good thing).... Come on give me the bloody
bassline!!!!..............................................Ah there she
is, big and just a tad wobbly, the track starts to build with hi-hats
and then the synths becoming well paranoid sounding. I think
Vindicatrix has actually created the first utterly sinister bassline
house record ever. We've not played the 8 track CD yet as they're all
sealed in fancy little bags stamped with the Mordant Music logo. Inside
this copy is a page torn from an old book, which I suspect is the case
for the full limited edition. High quality from MM as usual. One of the highlights from Headhunter's trilogy on Tempa was the ' Prototype'
tune which gets the remix treatment from Modeselektor who up the tempo
somewhat and go for a fully stomping club roller with mandatory massive
bassline and sharp hi-hats. About mid-way through the b-line gets
gnarly. All the elements of the original can clearly be identified but
Modeselektor have really made it their own. This is a very good example
of how the lines between dubstep and techno are being blurred. The
production feels super chunky and and would say that this is one
heavyweight tune that'll have your chest rattling at the dancehall.
'Sex At The Prom' is a new Headhunter track and it's slow and again
darn heavy on the bottom end, but you probably guessed that, as it's a
pre-requisite of the style I suppose. Ltd 12" on Tempa. Good lord check out this Primal Scream/ RTX
split 12"... The sleeve is well funny with Bobby and Jennifer in pencil
drawing gracing each side of the sleeve... Its a cool sleeve actually,
I think rock chick Jennifer Herrema actually did the artwork. I dig the
rat holding a dreamcatcher... Awesome. Primal Scream lay down a cover
of The Troggs' ' I Want You'.
I couldn't put my finger on who the tune was by and had to cheat by
looking it up. It was so obvious I'm going to punch my face right off
for not knowing. Some classic rock'n' roll vibes and if you dig the
Scream then no doubt you'll dig this version. I used to be really into
Royal Trux, I'm not so much into the RTX stuff I've heard though but
hey, I'm all ears... So a cover of Randy California's ' Nature's Way'
which sounds vaguely familiar to me. Whoaaaa!!!! a saxophone just
entered the mix... police sirens... vocoder!!! It sounds very 80's and
I'm strangely drawn to it... It feels like a guilty pleasure. Limited
edition on White Noise. I've enjoyed the Zelienople stuff I've heard in the past so lets see how ' Give It Up'
goes down... Oh yeah we're into ultra serious territory from the off...
Literally the whole atmosphere in the room has transformed entirely.
How this works in the light of day I'm unsure as I reckon this is a
late night listen. The vibe I get is like a mix of very introspective
shoegaze and heart wrenching modern classical, all smeared in a ambient
haze. It's ultra moody stuff. You can kind of hear possible influences
in this record but I feel they're really carving out their own little
niche as it doesn't sound particularly like anyone else I can think of.
A genuinely lovely LP with bonus CD on Type. Jeff Brian wants to live in Outer Mongolia with the Reindeer riding Shamanic people
Top boss rekkid of the week for me is the fabulous Disrupt 12" Ft. MC Soom T, Glasgow's premier cheeky riddim riding scamp! 'Dirty Money'
has her soulful, sassy flow topping a wicked dirty bassline & those
irresistible bleepy commodore rhythms, a total modern classic in my
book! The excellent ‘Survivor’ is a top notch reggae skanker with some
mad assed dub effects, Soom's vocals once again flowing most soulfully
over the infectious summery tune. My fave though is ‘Doobeedeedoo’
which has a nice speaker busting bass line & a lightly distorted
beat which combined with the crazy lyrics and myriad dubbed out touches
just kills me every time I hear it! Totally brilliant 5 tracker with 2
instrumental versions to boot, This is one of the best Jahtari's so
far, totally addictive! Disrupt is well dope iinit!! The 3 women that collectively make up off-kilter post-punkers Wetdog have truly come into their own on this second album ' Frauhaus',
as if their debut wasn't already full of wonderfully authentic,
ramshackle angular-isms! I could reel out the same list of names over
and over - Delta 5, Au Pairs & Raincoats et al - but they've got
unique, strange songs that are fresh, stripped-back & interesting.
Songs veer between skeletal, funky new wave with nonchalant vocals,
brittle naive folk exploration & jerky, tribal no-wave, all woven
together with this distinctive, rogue-ish charm! Their albums meander,
stumble, daydream & fidget but don't remotely loose focus as far as
a quality tunes & attitude go. Totally enjoyable from start to
finish! CD/LP on Angular. Mia Clarke of Electrelane and Andy Moor
from The Ex. Does that sound exciting? Andy Moor was also in the
utterly spellbinding Dog Faced Hermans, an anarcho agit-punk whirlwind
who were much more exciting than the Ex but probably don't garner as
much respect from musicologists/historians/critics due to their
relatively silly name. Always loved Electrelane too, their silken
lady-kraut grooves forever propulsive & breathtaking in their
purity. This ' Guitargument'
CD is these 2 people doing lots of intertwining, dueling minimal improv
on electric guitars, one piece largely derived from high-end notes
plucked interestingly in a plinky fashion, the other "movement"
constructed out of more abrasive, stripped down math-rock style
ingredients & micro riffs. There's some really fascinating
interplay & tension throughout - this kind of stuff makes me wish
I'd learnt guitar so I could go home and take out my "car failing MOT"
frustration out on the strings of steel. Not the same with a 3/4 size
cheap acoustic is it? Curses......
Pianos. What is it at the moment with bloody pianos? Anybody would
think they were the cornerstone of popular music. Who do pianos think
they are? I'll Rachmaninov you ya little Satie! Grrrr! I'd like to know
what makes Max Richter so cool but not Richard Clayderman or Barry
Manilow. And David Gray. He plays a piano doesn't he? And he can wobble
his head around like a demented thing in time to his ivory terrorizing
too. Can Yann Tiersen do that? Bet not, the big soundtracky twat. Akira Kosemura
is a fine Japanese piano tinkler who does a similar melancholy thing to
those others, like Broderick & Nils Frahm too, very fragile, wispy
& loaded with quiet regret, this is the sound of somber Japan. And
it's called ' Polaroid Piano' so you can have your feelings evoked twice over. In a charming digipak through Someone Good. Got a CDr affair here called ' A Pentacle of Pips' by Venereum Arvum
- a hubbie/wifey collaboration - this 5 tracker birthed in Lancashire
earlier this Summer. These songs have their heart in chamber/choral
folk with this mad selection of instruments responsible for their
realization - "Black Sea Fiddle, Indian Harmonium, Electronic Shruti
Box, Appalachian Dulcimer, Hungarian Citera and Medieval Welsh Crwth" -
check that list out!! With a traditional yet otherworldly flair, these
graceful, spiritual and unnervingly beautiful songs skate softly into
your mind, somehow both calming & rousing, the stirring voices
arcing above and beyond the most minimal of instrumentation which falls
more towards the experimental/drone fraternity than the ancient aura of
this music suggests. Very, very lovely, and very, very limited (to 50)
on Reverb Worship. Bass Cleft. Hahaha. I've always wanted to write that because I'm a total idiot! After all, Ralph ( Bass Clef)
won't mind, he's a right lovely chap. After the Wire magazine got all
excited over his atmospheric debut with the really long title, follow
up ' May The Bridges I Burn Light The Way'
is more blatantly designed for the sweaty recesses of party land
without losing any integrity or peer respect. The opener could well
have parallels with the current Bristol massive - dubby skanking gear
with a tasty techno flavour. The best thing about the opening salvo of
tracks is that they feature real parping brass courtesy of The Hackney
Memorial Free Jazz Band. That is keeping it local, Mr. C, high five!
There's some excellent, sharp rhythms, itchy keyboard motifs and fat
bass manouvers all over the shop on this record, a couple of tracks
flag slightly in places but mostly it's an optimistic, bouncy &
richly detailed club/carnival banger from a man who clearly eats to the
beat. Blank Tapes did this thing........ Sonic Cathedral present I Was A King
as their new post-shogaze style signing. They've a nice hazy, dreamy
Rickenbacker drenched sound that recalls a Scandinavian Byrds on ' Norman Bleik',
perhaps a paen to the singer of Teenage Fanclub - for sound-wise this
is an excellent, more feline, take on prime Fannies. I loved writing
that. The flip is a tumbling, jangly cover of ol' Lou's 'She's My Best
Friend'. I Hate to say it but I think The Wedding Present did a better
job 20 years ago and the drummer is obviously trying to ape Colm MBV's
fill-ins but it's a sweet attempt anyway. Don't fuck with perfection
kids!! Now then, now then. Another exciting collaboration is in our midst.
I'm holding a CD on Fang Bomb that comes in a lovely new designer
digipak and the artists are Peter Broderick & Machinefabriek
so if that doesn't juice your sack of oranges right up, you're nothing
but a grumply ol' husk y' hear? As you can imagine, from the off,
Peter's minimalist piano caressing is suspended & secreted from all
orifices and angles in this sound sphere whilst eerie, fizzing
electronic static & pulsating atmospherics offer no respite from
the listless aura. But then Adam Selzer plinks the ivories on the
utterly magical 'Planes' which sounds like the heartstopping soundtrack
to a snowy fantasy world. Then 'Kites' changes tack again, an abandoned
sombre piano and wispy chamber style strings can be heard discreetly,
buried under a fog of wavering, feedbacky drones & drifting organ,
the tension & majesty continually building until you're totally
immersed in absolute grandeur. With another 3 tracks to go I'm not
gonna burden you further, for rest assured this is one pretty essential
package from some gifted producers! ' Blank Grey Canvas Sky' it's called! My fave indie release of the week is by Sheffield "supergroup" The Millipedes who are proud to present their debut set ' Shake Your Bones'
as three 7"s & a CD counterpart in a sturdy art box! Now, they've
got a real powerful, raucous tub-thumping sound which manages to
seamlessly blend Surf, Ska , Rockabilly, Garage & Punk Rock into
this feral, slinky, sexy force. One minute they're doing voodoo rock
'n' roll which sounds like early Sons & Daughters grooving with The
Cramps, then just as you're settling into this buzzing, dirty party
sound after a few tracks, they throw the irresistible ska-pop of 'Do Do
Do Dare Dare Dare' at you which is utterly stonking in its simplicity
& cross-appeal (quite Poppy & the Jezebels sounding!) Then
there's tracks that could have fallen off a Be Your Own Pet Album if it
wasn't for the fact this lot sound so defiantly old-skool, utterly
unpretentious and hopelessly English! This is timeless stuff, every
song a hook-loaded floor filler, the production by Sheffield
super-engineer Alan Smyth is bursting with energy & the whole
package is just cool as fuck, badges & everything. Show your love,
get interested and check their Myface: http://www.myspace.com/themillipedesDead Boss? That's the title of this totally bizarre 3 track 7" by Pigeon Religion.
Phil says it sounds like Pixies, well it certainly may well be
influenced by them but this is a lot messier, like more DIY slacker
punk. I really like the slurred whoa-whoa-ing, the rattly drums &
the looming bass but not as much as I like the nihilistic sheets of
ragged, scrawly guitar. Phil says the second song is 'Buttholesey',
it's less insistent than 'Dead Boss' but has an equally deranged &
misanthropic attitood rising from its stumbling, barbed aesthetic, it
really reminds me of Terminal Cheesecake actually who were a pretty
nuts bunch of individuals from London about 20 years ago. The last
track is a stupid grumbling gutter squall with cool juvenile vocals
that remind me of some old classic US hardcore band. A quality single,
old-skool rules once more!!
Dave
The Dalot ' Flight Sessions EP'
CD is really good. It's a sprawling electro opus that could make you
dance around like someone with St.Vitus, or make you sit and listen in
awe. Antoni Mallovi does a sterling job. He takes
composition/production credits, and I dare say he cites Goblin as an
influence. This sweet new fucking cut lasts about an hour but believe
me, it feels like 59 minutes. Some of the songs remind me of cruising
round Tokyo on a high powered motorbike, with loads of cheap narcotics
rushing through my veins, then maybe going to a club and hanging round
with loads of Yakuza electro fans. It also made me think of Chow Yun
Fat diving through the air brandishing twin Glocks ,shooting said
Yakuza to pieces. So if you like the idea of killing Yakuza while
wearing really bad 80s suits, I reckon this albums for you, engaging,
catchy and memorable... of course some fashionable urchin rock fucks
are probably releasing a record so you could buy that....
Little Reds' ' Waiting'
7" is a catchy unassuming little number. It sounds very 70s, and very
American. The sleeves great, a kind of comic book affair. The single
sounds great, a kind of pastiche of Spirit In The Sky mixed with
countless other AOR bands.( A bit of a cowbell here, a few handclaps
there) it's tight, memorable and worth checking out....a bit like this
reviewer...
Wild Palms
newie 'Over Time' sounds great, it's a bit arty, a bit cool, a disco
sandwich served up with a portion of originality. I guess it could
share the stage with potential luminaries Franz Ferdinand or a fag or
two with Liars. It's a pretty strong single. The remix on the flip side
is actually really good which was a surprise… most remixes don't really
do it for me, as its just usually aspects of the song with a dead shit
dance beat behind it. This remix seriously made me want to have a dance
about, but then I remembered I have two left feet. It's on Popular
Recordings...so you should get it...
Le Tetsuo,
Le Tetsuo, where for art thou Le Tetsuo...Ill tell you where Le Tetsuo
is… on a really fashionable street corner in London being extremely
fashionable. This song 'Sometimes I'm Walking Around I Fell Like I'm
Going To Open Up And Crack'' isn't too bad though and doesn't outstay
its welcome, it's quite minimal and punchy, but why does every fucker
have to sing like they were raised by Dirty Den..? I'd give this 6 out
of 10 if we had that system but seeing as we don't I'm not gonna.....up
the apples and pears etc.....
Onto the landing of Eugene And The Lizards with ' Glue'.
This 10" on Domino appears to be a bit garage rock but it sounds way
too clean to have been anywhere near a garage. It actually sounds dead
good, a really strong recording. It reminds me of classic
singer/songwriters like Ray Davies or even Elvis Costello. The six
songs on this record cover all aspects of human endeavour, like coping
with boredom, not having money and such and such.I found this good to
listen to and I might prostrate myself at the feet of Eugene McGuiness
If I was the grovelling type, but seeing as I'm not I'd probably
shuffle my feet, cough a bit then tell him I had to review his record
at work... and thought it was slightly better than getting stabbed
up.... The Robedoor ' Raiders'
LP is pretty bleak. It has 4 songs on it and they all seem preoccupied
with death or suffering of some description. The productions pretty
sweet though… A multi textured affair with enough going on to keep you
interested. The covers well death rock too; a kind of black and white
blurred shot of the band who look like badasses. Its on Not Not Fun
Records... I had fun listening to it.... The Clandestine Records compilation
is really good!! It's a scratchy lo-fi offering with a less is more
approach. It comes with a little fanzine which is roughly printed, and
tells you info about the bands. This was a joy to listen to... all the
songs and bands are all over the shop, there are many different
recording techniques, ideas and subject matter. My favourite songs on
this dealt with the love of animals and the love of existence. It would
be a travesty to single out any artists on this comp as I Liked the
whole damn thing so I wont.. What I will say is that if you like your
tunes lo-fi and unpretentious then you could do with this in your
collection... but Im sure you would rather spend your cash on Leslie
Von Edelbergen's newest release which is a collection of recordings
taken from his time in the Amazonian rain forests, which is basically 3
hours of tree frogs ribbiting and leaves moving in the breeze... oH the
comp includes tracks from Wetdog, Vermillion Sands, Ouija, Warm Hands,
Fruit Face, Lost Girls, Tantrums, Mary Cotter and more.
Paul White has got a new album out...Its called Sounds From The Skylight,
and it sounds great...really powerful but kind of playful at the same
time.I t has an 80's electro feel to it, that I was quite enamoured by.
It could be the soundtrack to a New York set gangs n guns n
breakdancing movie…I could see myself wearing a really ill fitting
tracksuit and headband, doing some awful B-Boy moves on a piece of lino
in a ghetto… anyway there are 19 tracks on this beast and all of them
have a certain level of ace-ness(lazy journalism?!) From the second
track, A Clockwork Orange music score sampling cut called "Trying To
Tell You" to the pulsing Miami Vice-esque "Get 'em Up" this album
totally takes ya places. The sleeves pretty good too, a shot of a
subway tunnel in yellow and black which made me want to move to New
Yawk and instantly start a street gang… don't know what I'd call my
gang... probably something like erm I dunno…. anyway it's on One Handed
music and its all White,,,,,
Phil
Geskia
had a CD out on Flau a while back. I can't remember hearing it but I
think it was one of those clicky twinkly style Japanese electronica
affairs. ' Eclipse 323'
is the name of their/ his/ her brand new opus and it's a 13 track beast
including remixes by Caural, Lukid and local superstar Bracken. The
album is kind of funky electronica which veers from yr melodic
electronica to some more awkward hip hop inspired beaty moments like
Flying Lotus, Clark, Funkstorung etc. In fact some of it reminds me a
lot of what labels like Schematic were doing a while back. There's some
obvious Boards of Canada-isms in there as well which I'm quite
enjoying. I've heard it twice today and it's doing it for me. I might
have to dig out his previous album and spin its face off.
There's a new release on the SMTG label this week by Anduin who is the chap who runs the label. It's good that he gets a turn too. Abandoned In Sleep
is its name and it's available on CD or LP with bonus CD for digital
listening. Nice. I love a bit of digital listening me.... I'm obsessed
by the opener 'The Equal of God'... man that's a great piece of music.
Dark ambient waves which remind me of Pete Namlook's more minimalist
pieces with a totally eerie vibe, a deep throbbing bass, a haunting
melody...... it's almost spiritual.... And that's just the first track.
The whole album is chocka full of amazing cinematic soundscapes which
hang around the darker end of music but there's such warmth in there
it's just a beautiful listen from start to end. It's been created with
all different types of interesting sounds.... one track has scissors
snipping over some creaky footsteps all smothered in delicious
celestialness. Bits of it remind me of the doomier side of Ekca Liena
and that kind of thing. Heartily recommended!! I'm gonna take this home
and play it! I quite like compilations these days. I go through phases with 'em.
Sometimes I think they're shit and stupid and wonder why on earth would
you ever listen to one. Other times I think their the work of genius
and they've just been shat out of gods arse into my rubber gloved hand.
we stuck on this Thesis
comp earlier in the week and the inevitable question 'what's this?' was
popped way more than usual... Normally it's asked once by someone
(normally me) during anything that's being played but this had a few
folks asking a number of times (the information goes in and out quickly
here). It's a comp of electronic odds and sods from the likes of Keef Baker, IP Neva (whose track is ace!), Mad EP, Larvae, Abdrey Kiritchenko, Spywierdos
and lots more people you've never heard of. Well exciting. Plenty of
crunch on this one with loads of sturdy precise beats and IDM inspired
techno to do the dishes to or whatever you do at home when you're
listening to music. I suppose you don't have to be at home these days.
God bless the walkman eh? Oh and the Tapage track is well AFX..... Hakobune has one of those cute 3" CDs (called Isohel)
out this week on the excellent Hibernate label though I've just been
slightly distracted by the sales notes for Irish Party Anthems mixed by
Micky Modelle. The cover is an amazing piece of graphic design... who'd
have thought of using a 4 leaf clover,. I just don't know.... I
digress, Hakobune has had a few bits out on labels like Symbolic
Interaction, Install, U Cover etc. so there's some decent heritage
there! This is a dinky 3" job limited to just 100 copies and it comes
in a cute foldy nipple pack all sealed up in a printed white envelope.
There has been some care taken in this release! Musically it's immense
walls of drone created by guitars which will batter you senseless and
leave you feeling slightly woozy afterwards. Very woozy in fact... this
is massive.... It's like being covered by undulating dolphins while
they lick your ears into submission. Very good indeed!!
I've always liked the name We Vs Death.
I don't know what it means or the idea behind it all is but there's
something about it that just appeals. We got a CD in by these guys this
week called A Black House, A Coloured Home.
Firstly the packaging... it comes inside a big foldy poster with about
a million postcards inside and a book thing with pictures in. Oh and
there's a CD too. It's one of the craziest things I've seen in a while.
They're a Dutch post rock/ prog style band in case you didn't know.
They hang around at the lighter end of post rock with nice crisp
sounding clean (yet discordant) guitars, some vocals here and there, a
brass section and a fat meaty sounding drum kit holding it all
together. It's got a very sharp Albini/ esque/ Chicago production to
it. It's quite epic in its scope as well with the songs shifting pace
in the blink of an eye. I like the brass section and guitars a lot.
They work well together. Very interesting indeed! It's one of a bunch
of titles we got in this week on the Beep Beep label! I don't really understand acronyms these days. I presume the new Everything Everything single is/has one as it's called MY KZ UR BF.
After a quick search of acronymfinder I reckon it's Master Yuppie
Killing Zone Underground Resistance Baseball Field. God bless the
internet and it's many informative websites. And let us not forget the
many quick search engines which takes us to these information houses.
Thank them as well.... Master Yuppie Killing Zone Underground
Resistance Baseball Field is a 7" on Young & Lost Club. This has
proper vocals ala Chris Martin albeit more falsetto but with a well
weird song structure. There's a skittery beat behind everything which
sounds like it's about to collapse at any point. I quite like the song
though... it's kind of unusual and that always floats my boat these
days. It's a bit proggy.... prog pop I'd say! My Keys Your Boyfriend
(is what it really means...) is 7" only on the Young & Lost Club
label!
Team Norman XxX
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Friday, November 20, 2009
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Current mood:  loved
Category: Music
Times are changing at Fort Norman. Hours were spent this week in our
plush city boardroom, many hands were shaken, many burgers were eaten
and many tables were thumped (even though there's only one table, made
of melted down Jonathon Whiskey 7"s and encrusted with diamonds) in the
name of 'the common good'. Stay tuned for more but rest assured it's
all in the name of us better serving you, the discerning music
consumer.
Predictably there's loads of cool stuff in this week, with more cracking sounds on Soundway from around the globe, some exciting bits from Japan in the form of releases on Musik Atlach and from Overhang Party and their continuation Majutsu No Niwa. Also there's a pair of Lustmord reissues, an old Boards of Canada 12" of dubious origin, Far East Family Band's classic Nipponjin album (produced by Klaus Schulze) is in on limited vinyl, some Godflesh vinyl reissues, the bumper Miles Davis box set, some cool 180g Island reissues, loads of Boyd Rice reissues, the Raincoats
LP is in, blah blah blah loads of amazing stuff etc. etc. How anyone
can hope to keep up with the pace of releases these days is beyond me..
In sadder news we've just been told that due to some fuck up in the
US no-one in the UK's gonna be getting the new Baroness LP so apologies
to anyone who was after that.. I quite liked that first album as well!
I feel we should also say sorry for stealing a week of your year with
the numbering of last week's update, I do hope that didn't cause anyone
any embarrassment with mixing up birthdays/appointments/weddings etc.
Oh yeah and from now on we unfortunately can't review hand-sprayed
CDs or upload sound clips for them because they keep getting stuck in
our fucking CD player and we can't really risk putting them in our
ultra mega ripping machine either. It's a shame but them's the breaks.
See you in the next one!
Brett x
Real Estate - Real Estate (CD/LP on Woodsist)
It's another big week for Woodsist releases this week with a ton of stuff coming out including Real Estate's debut S/T
album. These New Jersey indie pop upstarts have impressed with single
'Fake Blues' and the album is proving itself to be a winner too. Ten
tracks of blissed out, beer soaked, bong smelly interpretations of
modern country and folk pop. Martin Courtney's songs are perfectly sun
drenched tributes to past psychedelia and, with the assistance of
Matthew Mondanile's (Ducktails/ Predator Vision) sweet guitar textures
Real Estate create a truely unique blend of space pop/psyche folk that
will relax even the most uptight of listener. They are the new Yo La
Tengo!!!! Ace. Businss Lady xx Xiu Xiu/Parenthetical Girls - Hated For Loving/Handsome Devil (7" on Upset The Rhythm)
We've all had our enjoyment from the artwork for this Xiu Xiu/Parenthetical Girls split
single, aping everyone's favourite Morrissey as it does. The tunes do
too, 'I Am Hated For Loving' is Xiu Xiu's track but features the fella
from Parenthetical Girls on vocals and it's a three minute 8-bit
manglefest which treats the original with very little respect.. In the
nicest possible way, mind. It sort of repaints our dear Mozface as a
modern indie geek outcast, crying into his Gameboy. I had a Gameboy
when I was a kid but I headbutted and broked it 'cos I couldn't beat
Sid Justice on a WWF wrestling game.. They made him so unfair, the
fuckers! Parenthetical Girls' source material is a bit more
recognizable - it's 'Handsome Devil' and they've turned it into a
psychologically unhinged indie rock mess which is actually totally
great we reckon. Strange to think that Morrissey's vocals could be out
over-the-topped but here's the proof! Upset the Rhythm have brought 500
slatey grey 7" vinyls into the world. Brett x Brett's been looking at the same Thai Pop Spectacular Vol. 2 CD propped up against the PC for weeks
I last heard Suishou No Fune
on Prayer For Chibi, their epic psych-drone lament for their sadly
departed cat, which largely jettisoned their more song-oriented side in
favour of a more glacially paced sadness. On Phantom of the Eternal Night
they retain that intimate sound which sometimes has you feeling like
you're intruding on the private mass of a pair of melancholy loners,
but returns somewhat to that earlier sound, sort of a Les Rallizes
Denudes gone folk-tinged slowcore kind of thing, with a two-pronged
guitar approach which builds upon trebly strumming with wailing,
seemingly never-ending lead lines from an axe with apparently infinite
sustain. Some aspects might almost bear comparison with the great early
stuff from The Verve, albeit with far more freedom and experimentation
and far less of a concern for the anthemic. A cool start to the week,
obi strip and all. We had the highly satisfying book of Freedom, Rhythm & Sound
in a couple of weeks back, stuffed to the gills with amazing cover art
from jazz with an apparently 'revolutionary' bent. How much of that
actually comes through in the music, packaged by Soul Jazz as either
one double CD set or as two double LP volumes, is probably debatable -
especially since what's going on musically is often revolutionary
enough in itself. As so often with a largely instrumental music (though
a fair few vocal tracks appear here) any political emphasis comes
purely from the titles (see also: 'No Education=No Future, Fuck the
Curfew' and the like) so here we've got The Pharoahs' 'Freedom Time', Sun Ra's 'Nuclear War', Archie Shepp's
superb 'Attica Blues' and many more, dating from the beginnings of a
more widespread avant-garde in jazz to the back end of the fusion era.
Some of these tracks I know and can very happily vouch for, others I'm
hearing now and enjoying very much but listening to the entire thing
would take far more time than we realistically have so I'll have to sum
up by saying that Soul Jazz tend to do a pretty good, if sometimes a
little inconsistent, job on these types of compilations and always at a
very reasonable price so if you're curious it should be a nice spot to
dip your toe in... I said it in the item description when I put this on the site yesterday but I think the guy on the cover of Ghana Soundz Volume 2
must be the happiest man in the world. He's got 'I'm playing funky
afro-fusion jamz in a genius style while foxy laydeez tickle my
ballsack and there's Jesus who's just appeared in front of me
delivering a lifetime's supply of diamond-studded quiche' written all
over him. Compared with the cracking Ghana and Nigeria Special sets
there's a much clearer western influence, particularly in the
electrified Herbie Hancock-esque keyboard vamps which appear
throughout.. I wasn't aware that Africa took this much of a fusion
influence on board prior to hearing this. It's been around a while this
double LP but it's new to us and very welcome indeed! Be sure to check
out the other Soundway stuff as they've got quite the strike rate. Dunno what Warp are on about these days but this is their second 7"
by an act I've not heard of in a couple of weeks. This one's by Nice Nice,
who couldn't fail to improve on the terrifyingly mundane Lonelady
effort, but excel beyond that paltry target by means of an oddball
indie riff-fest that can turn on a dime: at times somehow wrangling a
tune out of the most chaotic and busy of elements (like a baby
Lightning Bolt perhaps) and at others going for the pure 'fists pumping
the air' approach. ' One Hit' is a catchy little jobber and after fully expecting the worst I'm actually quite impressed with it! We listened to the first CD of The Otherside Of.. Overhang Party
the other day and I think it's safe to say no-one else liked it. Well,
Ant seemed like he liked it a bit n'all but everyone else reacted
either with amusement or bemusement.. Actually I remember the Majutsu
No Niwa (essentially Overhang Party's new name) CD from earlier this
year getting exactly the same reaction now that I think about it.
They're an acquired taste I think, but they're not near-legends in the
Japanese underground scene for nothing; their mixture of lumbering,
drawn out and fuzzed-up psych jams in combination with more song-based
material which can occasionally come across like a pub band playing
through broken solid state practice amps can be quite an addictive
thing once you get the taste. Add to that some amazingly
foot-on-the-monitor soloing from Michio Kurihara on this particular
release and you've got yourself a super winner. This album is a later
one, dating from 2000, and comes beautifully packaged with a miniature
gatefold sleeve housing its two CDs and 7". It's a gorgeous little lad
and I wish I could justify taking one home with me but alas, the stash
box overfloweth and times is hard. I was quite keen on hearing Black To Comm's
new LP when it dropped by the office recently but with the relentless
stream of new releases I think it just managed to slip by our radar, so
it's time to rectify that now that the CD version has also reared its
head. My familiarity with this lad Marc Richter begins and ends with
Fractal Hair Geometry and in comparison with that one the far more
organic-sounding Alphabet 1968
is a most sombre affair indeed, particularly the first track which
features a piano plaintive enough to make his namesake Melancholy Max
burst into fits of tears. From there we'll journey onwards into
Gas-eous obscured beatscapes, nurseries soundtracked by lonely
mechanical lullabies and enchanted forests made of harps, cushioned all
the while by the gentle humming and whirring of pink noise drones. A
hugely evocative and involving listen, I think it's safe to say. Time for a serious classic packaged up in fine Light In the Attic
style, I've got a feeling that's always gonna be an exciting thing to
behold after the amazing job they did on Black Monk time a few months
back. This time around it's Serge Gainsbourg's Histoire de Melody Nelson
that's given the remastered 180g vinyl in tip-on gatefold sleeve
treatment, slipping it's chanson lounge lizard tongue into your ear
through the medium of filthy Serge's mostly spoken vocals (often alone,
occasionally in duet with Jane Birkin) so the beautifully arranged
mixture of trebly art rock-ish guitar, thudding, elastic bass runs and
lush orchestral flourishes doesn't instantly overload your brain with
sweet, buttery goodness. I was just saying how someone really needs to
sort out a nice compilation of tracks he wrote for other artists..
That'd quite literally be 'le bomb'. Like this! Business Lady has become a fan of boxes
Nosferatu D2
are a to piece from Croydon fronted by Ben Parker whose lyrical style
and emotive vocal has impressed a bunch of label dudes and media types
around the UK. Entitled ' We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise'
Nosferatu certainly know how to string a catchy album title together
yet the title does reflect the atmosphere of this music, angsty teenage
odes to a tragic world they can't relate too. The music is an adhoc mix
of artrock and emo influences with arrangements that are unmistakably
raw, heartfelt and frantically played. It's all a bit dramatic for my
liking but I reckon they've got a few things going on here. No doubt
they'll grow and develop into a worthy contenders. For those of you
with a taste for the lo-fi indie stuff like Sebadoh, The Wedding
Present, Itch and the like.
I don't Know anything about Presents For Sally
other than the fact that they are on Laser Ghost recordings (that one
sticks in the head as it's the name of an awesome Sega platformer from
way back in '91). It becomes immediately apparent that these kids are
immersed in the sound of the gazzzzeeee......yes this pure Chapterhouse
style shoegazery at it's finest. Lulled vocals play off layers of
guitars and reverb saturated drums. A-side ' Catch Your Fall'
presents us the full Ride package (mid-pace tempo, indistinguishable
guitar tones, harmonious vocal melodies) but B-side 'Smooch' is
slightly at odds with this formula bringing an infectious upbeat drum
machine rhythm into the mix and embracing Mogwai-esque influences to
create a dance infused indie pop mammoth. I've got high hopes for The Beets.
The wrestling obsessed artwork of Matt Volz makes for sexy ass cover
but what of the content within? I hope it doe's not disappoint. A-side ' Don't Fit In My Head'
is a jangly, Velvet Underground style strum-along with stand-up style
drums and attitude soaked vocals. It's a wobbly little New York hipster
style tune that sounds great to me. B-side 'It's Okay To Lose' strikes
a similar chord sounding not to unlike Modern Lovers or Magazine but
with limited playing skills. This is lovely scrappy indie rock of the
like everyone loves so why not give it a try.......the artwork is so
ridiculously amazing I'm gonna buy it anyhows. RIGHTOUS SIGNALS/SOUR DUDES!!! Best album title of the week (if not ever) fo'sure!!! Gay Against You
are the Glasgow based dual headed electro-clash raven of Lachlann
Rattray and Joseph Howe. They are probably the nicest guys on the
planet and their album Righteous Signals/Sour Dudes (from here on
referred to as RS/SD) is making me so happy I want to ditch work and
catch the megabus up to sunny glasgow to give these guys a big hug. I
couldn't say enough nice things about these (not so sour) dudes!!!
RS/SD totally entertains and terrorizes in equal parts. The programming
is ridiculously textured and inventive, the lyrical subject matter is
engaging and comically amusing ('Stranded in Jurassic Park' is an
immersive journey through said films core storyline and will no doubt
make you chuckle) and the tunes are everything modern music should be;
insanely creative and constantly on the edge (not the cutting edge
though... I mean the edge you might fall off). Everything is covered
here ..... electronic/synth pop, progressive rock, disco, afro-beat,
tropicalia and hardcore are all fighting for there fair share of RS/SD.
I could say more....we could discuss the insane gigs, the awesome
artwork courtesy of Arran Ridley, their other amazing projects (ever
heard Yoko Oh No?, Germlin?, Ben Butler and the Mousepad?....where you
been sour dude?) but there's no time for that, gotta get moving. Upset
the Rhythm are doing the vinyl, Adaadat, the CD... that's high praise
indeed, with or without your blessing. Cheers Lads.
Two new tunes from Woods courtesy of Captured tracks. ' Sunlit'
is scuzzed up jam of tune that sees the Woods dude embrace a
honky-tonk-esque country strummer with a damn catchy chorus and all the
traits you expect from these Woodsist regulars (reverb saturated drums,
telephone receiver falsetto vocal, sweet fuzzed up solos). B-side 'The
Dark' is the chilled out counterpart to 'Sunlit' that sees the the
group adopt Yo La Tengo-esque indie pop as their own. It's a gentle and
friendly tune with another killer chorus. They get better and better
with each release, a totally worthy purchase. You may have heard the news of a forecoming 10th studio album from Anton Newcombe's group Brian Jonestown Massacre. ' The One'
is a four track EP that precedes it's release with two tracks featured
on the new LP accompanied by two exclusives. Recorded in Iceland and
Berlin these tracks see Newcombe's lot jamming things out in a more
dance orientated way than I'm used too. 'This is the first OF your last
warning' (Icelandic version) features awesome guest vocals from
Icelandic artist & film maker Unnur Andrea Einarsdottir and
'Buttermania' sees the appearance of Russian vocalist Felix of Amazing
Electronic Cave. Both add a new dimension to the Brian Jonestown-gaze
formula and set this release apart from previous outings. Sounds like
this 'Who Killed Sergeant Pepper?' could be pretty sweet.... I've not encountered the organic, nature inspired works of Spencer Owen's Bird by Snow but I like the fact that he gave the record two names. ' Songbread/Another Ocean'
embraces multi-instrumentation (cellos, pianos, guitars, drums, drones,
field recordings, tape collage and manipulation) to create a singular
vision of dreamy folk and modern 'free-pop-mantras'. Though invoking
imagines of country fete, rolling dales and winter mornings this record
also has an otherworldly feel with it's odd use of instrumentation and
and wild vocals, sounding somewhere between Morrissey, Anthony Kiedis,
Chris Isaak and David T. Broughton!!! Sounds mental but it's true. This
beautifully packaged clear vinyl comes complete with CD, a colour
lithograph poster-sleeve, a hand-made booklet of lyrics & prose and
a 2nd semi-transparant poster of poetry & a painting.... Can't say
fairer than that chap. Just got a few copies of a strictly limited remix 12" of Four Tet's recent 'Love Cry'
single. My tiny business obsessed brain didn't fully absorb the Four
Tet original and my memory of it is still a little fuzzy but I'm
pleased to report good things in regards to the Joy Orbison remix. This
beautifully syncopated, loop twisting beauty of a tune swirls its way
around the cranium creating wooziness of the mind. It's synth
saturations and vocal lullabies are reinforced with some tasty beat
slicing that I'm sure you'll approve of. Ruska's remix takes a slightly
less dreamy approach with super crisp 2-step beats supplemented with a
funky ass, dub skronk of a bass line and some odd synth textures.
Totally digging the beats on this effort, especially in the finale when
the things get seriously digitized yo. Available is relatively small
quantities so get involved. Philip's in his comfort zone with an army of worker bees
Am starting off this with with the oh so cheery funeral dark drone project by Agnus Dei. ' Paternoster'
is released on Sachiko's Music Atlach label. It's a dark, daunting
listen as well.... very religious sounding with samples from christian
and jewish sermon's all hanging around dark drones and church organs.
It's weird but I feel like I'm in church..... Strange samples and
voices peer over the religiousness to make a weirdly engaging listen.
There's something very medieval about this one.... given the subject
matter (dark funeral business) it's surprisingly not too dark.
Surprised I was.... Mind you the 2nd track (there's only 2 on there)
'Holocaust Missa' is a much darker affair with distortion, drone,
church organs and distorted voices.... loads of weird noises going on
in there. Heartily recommended if you like to keep it religious and
weird.... I'd like to see 'em whacking this on in Songs Of Praise. We've had a number of Celer
releases in lately and some of you just can't get enough of their
mellow ambient ways. Though I've just started to listen to this new CD ' In Escaping Lakes'
which has just arrived from Japan and some knobhead has started
drilling next door which is totally ruining the ambient chi..... I'm
not really sure what you can say about a new Celer record that hasn't
been said before? All the ones I've heard prove them to be masters of
drifty ambient drone. The music takes you to special places and despite
this being a popular thing to be doing right now they stand head and
shoulders above the rest. It's really quite good. I listened to Brittle
a couple of days ago at home and it was a thoroughly gorgeous way to
spend an hour or so. In Escaping Lakes will do the same..... it will
take you on an introspective ambient journey and leave you feeling well
special at the end of it. Well special! CD only on Slow Flow Records in
nice foldy cardboard thing. Here's an interesting thing (well maybe interesting to some of you!)... It's a compilation CD called ' Another Another Green World'
and it's basically the entire Another Green World album by Brian Eno
all covered by a load of Dutch electronic artists. Hence the extra
'Another'... it's all well clever. On the album you've got Rude 66, Legowelt, Hydrus,
etc all doing their thing. And their thing is largely electro as that
is the flavour of the album and that's what you'd expect with Legowelt
and Rude 66 being on board. Being reasonably up on the original I can
confirm that despite the obvious shift in instrumentation it's all done
with a massive amount of respect for the source material and you'll
recognize every song. As I said ... it's an interesting concept and
it's done very well! Here's a new thing on Blackest Rainbow. This one is by The Blue Tree and a self titled
affair. Very lazy....Anyhoo... The Blue Tree consist of 2 folks.... one
of which is Andrew Paine who runs the Sonic Oyster label and frequently
does musical things with Richard Youngs and the other chap is Matthew
Shaw who is the head honcho of Apollolaan Records (Plastic Crimewave
Sound etc). Together they create an other worldy experience where weird
drones, distorted vocals and a really echoey piano all fit together
like a regular glove slipping onto a regular hand. It's pretty mellow
and easy on the ear... there's nothing too challenging here at all.
They've created some amazing sounding soundscapes this CD (limited to
100 copies only) . A few of the tracks really remind me of an alien
version of Africa or something. Well interesting as you'd expect from
camp Blackest Rainbow! I love pie. I had a small pie yesterday that cost me 4 pounds.
Pricey but worth it. Sometimes in your life you've got to treat
yourself and spend over the odds on pie. I once spent 5 quid on one in
Brighton... After the feeling of being ripped off, I ate my pie and
enjoyed it. I didn't think it was worth the 5 pounds.....AND YOU WERE
SUPPOSED TO BE AWARD WINNING! I don't think I'd fancy a Cranium Pie though and that is coincidentally the name of the artist on the 7th Fruits De Mer 7" with their cover of ' Baby You're A Rich Man'.
It's a hammond organ tastic cover with it sounding just like Booker T
& The MG's and Procul Harum (the press release is spot on...). The
flip is a cover of Dantalian’s Chariots ’Madman Running Through The
Fields’ which is insane 60's psychedelia and clearly the product of
vast drug consumption. Am well jealous... Evan Caminiti is one of the dudes from Barn Owl and we've just got a new CD in by him on Digitalis called Psychic Mud Shrine.
His last CD on Students of Decay sold out in about 5 minutes but there
was only 100 of those and Barn Owl are getting pretty popular these
days. Anyway you get a handful of long-ish tracks of dark drone and
lots of fuzzy distorted metal infused guitars. In between the louder
noisier moments are floaty segments of sheer beauty. It's a mixed bag
of light and dark which have been carefully pieced together to make an
epic thing of monstrous proportions. It's a seriously good record which
will leave you wanting more and more.... Melting Temple/ Plumes of
Babylon has been on for a good 10 minutes now and I feel like I'm
spinning around in a vortex over a roasting hot desert with goat skulls
in.... Well Evil Dead 3!
The Bicycle Thieves
are from Liverpool. Nah I'm not saying anything.... The wife is from
Liverpool and she'd kill me. Not that she reads the site anyway...
'You've brought home more records?' will be on my gravestone.... 'Stop To Start'
is the Thieves' debut single on major label kickstart Loog Records. It
starts of sounding The Mission with some plodding drums and late 80's
gothy sounding guitars.... Then it goes a bit more indie ish with the
vocals being a million miles away from goth. It's not a bad tune at
all.... It reminds me a bit of Maximo Park at times.... Maybe a bit of
the (latter) Bunnymen too. Exciting!
Dave will stop at nothing to get what he wants
It's a side order of haunting singer songwriter... with a pinch of drama and lashings of melancholy. The new EP from Soap and Skin is called Marche Funebre....
It's no laugh riot, but would you want your laughs to start rioting?
Kicking policemen, smashing windows of banks and not washing?? I didn't
think so... anyway I digress... This record sounds pretty interesting
actually, the vocals are almost Gregorian chant, the music is sparse
and the cover has loads of symbols on it. If a composer or friend of
some wealthy aristocrat from France circa 1745 was beamed into the
future, placed in a recording studio and encouraged to make something I
feel it would sound like this. I strangely enjoyed listening to this, I
wanted to get on horseback and become a highwayman...it has a galloping
feel to it which demands attention ....possibly medical....Its on
(PIAS) recordings and has a remix from Kompakt's DJ Koze.... onward
trusty steed!!!!! The split 7inch from Former Utopia/Michael L. Clamp/The Philanthropists
is a corker and is well worth a listen. MJC offers a rendition of the
classic Cole Porter song Don't Fence Me In. It's an earnest enough
version, just a voice and guitar... both sound great, The
Philanthropists song is called I Love Mickey and lasts about 2 seconds.
It's an ode to someone who is dearly missed... I think his name is
Ozric... it's kind of spoken word, with a bit of instrumentation thrown
in for good measure... Very interesting indeed... The flipside duties
are capably taken care of by Former Utopia, who offer a slice of
bittersweet indie rock, this track is also great and well produced, it
caressed my ears!! It's on Damnably and it comes with a bonus 20 track
CD by the aforementioned bands. I had a dream once. Kim Basinger popped out of a cake and she was
painted green and she had a copy of the Evening Post sicking out of her
bottom... I have no idea what happened afterwards or if the dream had a
deeper meaning but listening to the new Tricky vs. South Rakkas Crew single ' C'mon Baby'
reminded me of this moment in my life. It has a samba feel to it, or
maybe a big band feel to it. It's quite sassy and has a proper bump n'
grind beat, it's Tricky but not as we know it... The B side is an
instrumental version and offers more sass and less vocals it's out on
Domino...Easy now etc.... Another split 7", another dollar.... DM & DM (Dan Melchior)
offer a lo-fi cut which is faster than a Texan lynching. Their 2 songs
are both parts funny and catchy. The 2nd track A Delicate Genius
Backstage is really funny. It's about the artist in us all (apparently)
and somehow it does strike a chord with me. All in all worth
investigating. The Fresh and Only's
offer a Robert Pollard-esque cut about the ills of having no food (what
do you do when ya got no foood?.. Musical Youth) These guys sound great
on record and sound even better on the correct speed... it's on Volar
Records... TODD come
flying out of the speakers like an athlete with a massive steroids
supply... and they dont let up. EVER. There are 13 songs on ' Big Ripper'
and they are the nastiest recordings Ive heard for ages. It sounds like
a live recording commited to tape.... in HELL!! It really pummels the
senses. There are a few moments when the storm settles and an almost
uplifting chord progression will hover into view ,but enjoy this
respite while you can. AS IT MAY BE YOUR LAST! This album really made
me want to go out and kick puppies faces off and lick the heads of
OAPs... in a good way. Ive had these sentiments about music before,
usually they are not as positive and are associated to Pete Doherty or
countless other urchin rock fucks. Anyway this is a great album and you
should buy it...
Oxbow have a new EP out called Songs For The French.
It's a mixture of studio material and some sweet live cuts from there
Euro tour in 2008. As with most Oxbow records there are dynamic shifts
and tales of oppression and class I think ,and these sweet new tracks
are no different. It sounds great though a really full sound, with
Eugene S Robinson dissecting life as he wrestles strangers with no
pants on. Probably. The live tracks sound ace too. You might want to
buy this, or Im gonna send Eugene round to eat your pets, or get you in
a sleeper hold. It's a limited edition 6 track tour 12" on Hydra Head
Records.
Ant will stop at want to get what he nothings
The ' Saturation Point' CD by Nuearz
has been unleashed by Skam and what I'm hearing is suitably warped,
ultra twisted deranged malfunctioning electronics that teeter on the
brink of collapse at times and then are super rich in melody at other
points. I was just getting into 'Humble Diet' and then a guitar came in
that sort of ruined it for me, I'm sure others might dig it though.
This new artist (Kazuhiro Okuda) has clearly found home at Skam as his
style is totally hyper sequenced electronics with some ace noises that
have him in the realms of Mr76ix and Team Doyobi territory. That
previous sentence makes no sense at all. Anyway I really like a lot of
the stuff on here, it's got that futurist vibe but I think the organic
elements hold it back a bit. There are some quality dark and crunchy
moments though and some spine tingling melodies. Oldskool Skam freaks
and younger electronica ears should certainly check this out. I'm not entirely sure what is happening with Ikonika's latest 12" plate on Hyperdub. The track titles are ' Sahara Michael/ Fish'
is this some subliminal code about weathermen? I bet you can see
Michael fish meditating on bass weight down at DMZ with a massive
spliff hanging out of his gob. Hyperdub followers will no doubt know
the score with Miss Ikonika who's productions seem to be getting better
each time. This one has a soulful, polished sound with fairly simple
slowly building rhythms and a bassline is kept to a functional level. A
real winter warmer of a tune. The flip draws from much a similar sound
bank but is a bit groovier and again has the G-funk style synth thing
happening. Two quality tracks that are not easy to pin down in terms of
style as the post garage/ dubstep sound continues to evolve. Comes in a
striking sleeve with kaleidoscope style artwork. Japanese underground artist Sachiko’s second album ‘ Kunado’
came out on Utech in 2007 and I’ll never forget the first time I heard
it. That rare feeling of hearing an artist that is genuinely unique,
exploring the depths of her soul through the medium of sound. Her work
has a rare purity to it and I was reminded in essence of Keiji Haino
and his journeys into the blackest parts of existence. I guess the
black on black print on the disc also echoes both of those sentiments.
Anyway the lady returns with her fifth album ‘Zunya’ on her own Musik
Atlach label and its stirring from the offset. I literally have no idea
of her creative and recording process other than voice and what I
suspect are electronics and analogue effects. The sustained drones
become almost trance inducing, then there’s the distant ghostly vocals,
which can sometimes sound almost angelic (reminding me of Nijiumu) and
at others deeply harrowing. This single epic piece “spikes” at several
points and when it does it’s mighty thunderous. Superb dark material
from this Kousokuya member.
Justin Broadrick is a busy fellow, the amount of material he’s
released over the years under so, so many alias’ is fairly astonishing.
What amazes me though is that the quality control is consistently
high.. Anyway I’m currently listening to the latest album under one of
his earliest and obscure pseudonyms: Final,
a project he’s been doing on and off for over twenty years. My first
exposure to the Final stuff was ‘3’ which was a 2 disc set on Neurot
and I loved it. So when ‘ Reading All The Right Signals Wrong’
landed in front of me I couldn’t wait to hit play on the bugger. Oh
yeah I’m totally feeling this ‘Right Signal’. He’s got the electronics/
computer going here and really sculpting lucid dream like worlds where
paranoia is never away. I just love the sinister vibe, and yet
simultaneously it’s really gorgeous. ‘Wrong Signal’ has some very
gentle noise over which a simple guitar refrain is played, it’s very
melancholy and much in the same spirit as his Jesu stuff. Some very
heart wrenching sounds enter the mix and the piece is elevated to
become almost cinematic in scope. As I close my eyes I’m transported
into the red skies of an a world apocalypse. ‘Stop At The Red’ has a
simple doom-like repetition that feels very bleak and as the track
progresses it becomes very powerful with rumbling low end and mutating
high frequencies. II found this totally engaging from beginning to
end. This stuff disappears fairly quickly and the market value always
increases, so I suggest you grab a copy while you can. CD and LP on No
Quarter. Huge recommendation.
A few seconds after hitting play on Twin kranes’ ‘ Spektrum Theatre Snakes’
and there is some uptempo kraut/ prog type stuff blasting out at me.
This is super Motorik in terms of the rhythm section and the synths on
the safe side of being just that bit too widdly. Repetition, check,
driving bassline, check, cosmic electronics, check. These guys actually
do a really good job and I’m reminded of Wooden Shjips on amphetamines.
As soon as the vocals kick in on ‘The Market Of The Bizarre’ they’re in
pure psychedelic pop mode. Co produced with Rick Tomlinson (Voice of
The Seven woods) and recorded at the studio of the bloke who plays
drums in Stereolab, you can be assured that the overall sound is of
high quality. There’s some very nice synth action, again it does feel
progressive but restrained from over indulgence. These chaps certainly
have energy. CD and LP in embossed sleeve on Twisted Nerve/ Finders
Keepers.
Dutch east-coast producer Danny Wolfers is a man of many hats, his most prolific and successful being Legowelt.
His style draws heavily from primitive and raw Chicago house, Detroit
techno through to classic and obscure early synthesizer music and
soundtracks. When Phil told me we’d be getting stock of his split LP
with Garcon Taupe,
I was excited to say the least. As soon as the needle hits the vinyl
his distinctive style is immediately apparent with bubbling analogue
synths and Roland drums. Sadly the opener ends prematurely and so feels
more like a sketch, nevertheless it still sounds great. I really love
the retro/futuristic sound here. Working primarily in the analogue
domain and armed with a large collection of vintage synths, Wolfers
effortlessly creates his fictional worlds which are neatly suitable for
both club and home listening purposes. The third track is gorgeous with
its disembodied and emotional vocals. The man can do no wrong as far as
I am concerned, like the electronic synthesizer greats, he really makes
those synthesizers sing. There are four highly infectious and melodic
tracks here and so I would say this side is a nice addition for any
Legowelt collector, although this it is nowhere near as essential as
some of the Legowelt records. I get a totally euphoric vibe from these
house/ techno/ disco hybrids. A perfect balance of dark and light
elements. Onto the Garcon Taupe side then... I’m not familiar with this
artist at all but what I’m hearing is some cool melodic electro with
arpeggiated basslines. The feeling is quite uplifting and retains a
rawness in the rhythms with proper 808 drum machines. There’s even an
acid electro track that really gets me going with its hand claps and
8-bit style bleeps. The tracks have a lush box jam spirit to them.
‘Plop Tech’ has a wonderfully innocent playful edge with its pitched up
vocals and simple melodies. A synth melody eventually appears in the
mix which is reminiscent of Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’
which surely can only be a good thing in my book. Cool stuff on both
sides and number four in Narrominded’s split LP series.
The most curios record that landed in my review pile this week comes from Railcars with their ‘ Cathedral With No Eyes’
full length on Stumparumper. Having zero clue about this record I peep
the press release which informs me that it is the work of Aria Jalali
and the “concept is “Edmund the Martyr, a 9th century king of East
Anglia with songs about his life and succession to the throne as a
young boy, his conquests, his suffering at the hands of vikings and
death by their arrows”. You gotta dig the fact that people are making
records about hat kinda stuff. This sounds dead cool actually with is
mix of primal drum machine and overloaded noisy pop sensibilities. The
whole thing gets a marvellous coating of distortian. It’s like a fucked
up electro/techno song based record which veers on the noisy but
retains totally catch structures. I would really struggle to compare
what I’m hearing to any other artist. This really is an odd yet totally
inviting and fun record. Brian, the boy wonder
Drekka
is an American midwestern chap called Michael Anderson, I can't work
out where exactly he hails from but Morc have a cool 2xCD anthology out
by him entitled 'Collected Works: Volume One'.
Starting with grainy, washed-out acoustic musing interspersed with
fuzzy dialogue samples & a gradually encroaching approximation of
DIY space rock, further exploration reveals delvings into musique
concrete, meandering, cracked lo-fi ala early Hood et al, haunting
industrial ambience & blurred atmospheric soundscapery where I can
hear flecks of a more downbeat Disco Inferno or a bedsit Bark
Psychosis. Certain passages possess recognisable strands of influence
derived from the early to mid 90's Bristol scene IE introverted
spacerock spliced with junkyard electronica. A fascinating listen, I'm
really looking forward to having time to indulge disc two given the
rich variance of the first set of, presumably, early works! Nice
package, includes booklets & inserts and other cute bobs.
Been sent some interesting things on Lens records of Chicago, the
first one we have for your delectation is a new CD by the esteemed Rapoon. 'Dark Rivers'
is an audio reflection of the expanse of Northern England where Robin
Storey hails from - check the press release, looks really interesting!!
This is the kind of fractured, abstracted technoid ambience I really
like, atmospheric, eerie, windswept & isolated from any particular
musical scene where these spectral washes of sound & brooding,
detached beats can one minute mingle with looming waves of sub sonic
bass, the next wander into more calming, reflective pastures. I'm
currently chilling where hovering tones & listless drones are
punctuated by meandering echo-chamber beats complete with gorgeous 'n'
hazy dub textures. There's a very earthy, outdoors/druidy vibe to some
of this music, totally hypnotic. As a loose pointer, if you could
imagine the creepiness of Third Eye Foundation merged with the Nordic
otherworldliness of Biosphere, you know you now crave this fine digipak
CD Librarian I know sod all about apart from the fact they're a pan Lahndan/Bristol act. 'Cloven Thumb'
is kind of lo-fi backpacker hip-hop skinny funk with bizarre lyrics.
There's a very home spun vibe about it, recorded off-the-cuff with no
overdubs or post-production, I'm totally undecided as to whether I like
it or not but it possesses an undeniable charm (like most things that
are British & a bit rubbish). I prefer the bloopy DIY garage-pop of
'Ill Prepared' on the flip, still verging on crap but it sounds like
considerably more effort was put into its chugging groove & the
vocals sound produced. Weird.....
Was curious to hear Christmas Island. They've a 7" single out on label du jour Captured Tracks, complete with a great sleeve. The 'A' is 'Nineteen'
which is a lovely slice of early 'K' records style strummy indie that
recalls a less shambolic Beat Happening or some Antipodean maverick
lo-fi classic. It's executed with such casual simplicity & verve
you cannot help but adore it. 'Twenty-Nine'
on the flip is only slightly less addictive and will appeal to fans of
Ganglians with its casual harmonies, whirring organ and 60's garage
grace. A cracking effort! Now another waxing on Captured Tracks, this time a beauty 12" disco frisbee by the rather odd Girls at Dawn.
Initially I was a little reserved about another shambling US girl trio
specialising in smudged Spector-ish indie but this 4 tracker has
totally restored my faith. They've a rather ghostly, rattly sound with
their displaced strumming, tambourine heavy production & blurred
vocals propped up with some incredibly curious psychedelic effects
& loose, spacious production. The songs are forged from pretty
basic 60's inspired harmony-drenched pop but are in turn incredibly
loveable & quite individual sounding - all these little hooks stay
with you ages afterwards. Top marks for the spooky, trippy sleeve! So
where does Scooby Doo fall into this hauntological equation? Strange
lasses, I want more!! El Guincho
is one of these master blenders of warped pop-laden tropicalia
soundscapery who wanders a similar path to High Places but infuses his
music with a more Afro sensibility like Vampire Weekend and all of
them. His new 12" on Young Turks has landed, namely 'Antillas'
and it's a perky, celebratory carnival of a tune, very repetitive &
trance inducing to those mullets off their tits on ketamine in some
Shoreditch niterie. The Architecture in Helsinki mix numptifies it to
new levels of kiddie rave irritation, Prins Thomas gives it a
finger-clicking cosmic disco pulse and our old mate Ralph Cumbers (he
actually was our rep at one time!!) dubsteps it up under his Bass Clef
alias, retaining the carnival spirit whilst shedding the annoyance
factor so "major props" to him as our Brett would say.
Everybody likes a good bootleg don't they? Well some people in the country of France were a bit sick of the classic Mask 500 EP
on Musik Aus Strom/Skam being out of reach of all but the wealthiest
vinyl consumer so they've produced a high quality booty to thoroughly
piss off the IDM elite. This lengthy EP (more an LP) is legendary for
having a plethora of exciting remixes/mash-ups of old 80's electro,
pop, soul/funk and hip-hop faves by Squarepusher, Gescom & Boards of Canada and many others under a variety of aliases. BOC's cool as fuck re-rub of 'Midas Touch' , the D-Breeze track and Chaos AD's
utterly insane Jungle/Reggae/old skool rave "cover" of 'Jump' by Van
Halen are undoubted highlights (for me) but as usual with this sort of
thing, there's summat for everyone. No doubt a major inspiration for
the Criminal EPs on Planet Mu, miss this at yr peril. Elm
is Jon Porras, one half of San Franciscan droners Barn Owl. Now I like
Barn Owl but I personally find this guy's solo stuff a little more
spiritually enriching & transcendental. Evoking a moon-cooled
desert, rusted railway lines, feral animals on the hunt and eerie
windswept expanses, i'm totally loving his new CD on Digitalis Arts
& Crafts - ‘ Nemcatacoa’.
It's a meditative journey encompassing drone textures, haunting chamber
doom, lonesome road-movie guitar maneuvers and deep astral bliss of the
kind that Komische revivalists Emeralds are fond. A thoroughly
enlightening & powerful album, this won't be around for long &
is in some of the most gorgeous packaging with silver on matt art.
Totally absorbing head candy!
Goodrye and thankpoo from Team Norman XxXx
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Friday, November 13, 2009
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News.... Alright then you lot pay attention cos this week is another bulging update full of audio glory and sonic detritus. Before we lunge into that though, we ought to let you know that an evil budgie driving a tank crashed through the walls of the office and kidnapped Brian. His ransom? A whole 3 tonnes of Trill seed. We got a call from Brian and he says the bird is treating him well, he's allowed to sleep on sand paper and they only do a dirty on him when he forgets his manners. We were considering a rescue attempt but these budgies are armed and dangerous. Our inbox was full of jpegs of budgies with flamethrowers, samurai swords, meat cleavers and claw grenades. SO If you'd like to make a donation to the Free Brian campaign you can do so by purchasing any of the following... tUnE-yArDs superb album (very nearly AOTW - that good!) Shackleton and Appleblim & Komonazmuk remixing Eno and Harmonia > krautstep-tastic, Sigur Ros also get the remix treatment on Kompakt, Fool's Gold have a super fun 7" of African style pop, Jack Rose with a freaking tour 7" on GPS, The Notwist have a fancy soundtrack package, those cheeky Arctic Monkeys have done a indies only thing, Kraftwerk have a load of digitally remastered vinyl LP's and deluxe CD boxset, You could watch the All Tomorrows Parties DVD, pick up the fancy Steven Stapleton/ Tony Wakeford Revenge of The Selfish Shellfish CD, Japanese Epic 45 CD/ DVD set, Lonelady seven incher on Warp, plus if you buy any title on Symbolic Interaction you get a FREE Black Operator CD ... Phew FREE BRIAN!!!!! - Ant :) Atone - Cet Après-Midi Là (Autres Directions) CD Atone is a massively talented Frenchman who constructs some really fine quality experimental, electronic & post-rock sounds for release on the Autres Directions label. On his latest collection, 'Cet Après-Midi Là', a stuttering melancholy jazz-flecked piece gives way to a brilliantly eccentric organic "folktronic" segment which includes these lush field recordings with some sort of woodblock/xylophone cascading thing which strikes me as a most pleasing sound. He's got this woozy, hazy free-flowing thing happening with his music that keeps you consistently interested, moved & amused. It's the acoustic properties of this album that I love the most, it sounds so alive & intimate - like, for instance, sad streaks of melodica flow into organic electronics, then you've the crazy feral rhythms built from acoustic & synthetic samples which are totally intriguing. This is a wondrous widescreen collage of sound that has the feel of some kind of bizarre futuristic classical/musique concrete movement but with strong electronic/ambient & ponderous folk elements, a real progressive hybrid. Totally taken by this, a truly special CD! x Brian Poltergroom/ Mucky Sailor - Split (Nuts and Seeds) 7" Yes! Yes! After fucking up the initial pressing Nuts and Seeds (records) are proud to finally release this awesome Poltergroom/Mucky Sailor split 7". Poltergroom are one of those underrated, under appreciated groups from the London based Cleckhuddersfax/Please/Man Aubergine stable and here they prove their skills with their medieval take on surf rock with the excellent 'Land Ahoy' and 'The elastic goes'. Recorded perfectly, these tracks are sweet, sweet music to my ears. Leeds duo Mucky Sailor (who feature the dude who wrote the theme tune to Deal or No Deal - i'm not shitting you!!!) hit us up with 'Requiem for Sports Car', a progressive beast of a number and probably the finest tune in their expanding repertoire. This is extreme mutant prog-pop at it's very finest. Exquisite stuff. I could cry i'm so fucking happy. Oh, it comes with Poltermuck mini pencil! Check out the 'Sailors wheel yo! x BusyLady Beret It seemed Rio En Medio is a lady called Danielle Stech-Homsy who's done stuff with Devandra Banhart, CocoRosie and other famous people in the lead-up to her debut album which she's called Frontier. Immediately I'm getting the feeling of a more instrumentally downbeat Bat For Lashes with more experimentation in the arrangements and production. Sensually whispered lyrics float around enigmatically while guitars are quickly picked and ideas drawn from fields as diverse as techno and folk make themselves known in the most subtle and tasteful of ways. It's pleasing my ears on this first listen and I reckon it's got 'grower' written all over it. CD and LP on Manimal Vinyl. Out of the Blue sent us some CDs out of the blue which is kind of amusing since that's what they're called. The release in question is a CD album and it's by The Enigmatical & Misto Soon who peddle a laid-back, heavily jazz influenced hip-hop. The production I'm really enjoying, the languid beats fusing very nicely with the maximal approach to sample use, creating a rich environment for the vocals to prosper.. Although I'm not mad keen on their delivery I've got to say - it's a bit backpack-y for me. That's obviously quite a personal preference though, so I'd advise having a wee listen to the soundclips of A Miniature of Bigger Things before taking the plunge. Why not sip some chamomile tea and chillax with Melorman and his 'Out In a Field' CD? Especially since it's on Symbolic Interaction and for a limited time we've got some free label sampler CDs (!) and stickers (!!) to give away (!!!) for free (!!!!) when you buy something on the label (!!!!!). This album features some high quality electronica of the twinkly, pastoral, super gentle variety, stuff that's far too relaxing for our relentless office culture. It's swimming against our tide but nevertheless, I can see veins retreating back into foreheads and heart rates slowing to their normal tempo all about me. Most pleasant! And its cardboard packaging is well shiny too. We don't get too much stuff from Belarus really. I'd say it's quite an underrepresented state as far as our catalogue's concerned. So it's nice to have I/DEX's Layers CD to redress the balance a bit while firing mellow bleepy droney glitchy ambienty spears into our brains. There's something undeniably sunny and positive about these purely electronic tones, it's got to be said.. I think it's almost cute actually, like someone doing a laptop gig with a Fisher Price wind-up computer or something. A highly enjoyable listen which has me dreaming of clear blue skies and wind farm laden countryside utopias of the near future. Wind farms look cool, don't they? This tidy effort comes digipak style on Lagunamuch! I'm told that Andrew Pekler has had stuff out on Scape and Kranky before which will probably give you an idea of the sort of realm the guy's operating in on this Schoolmap LP, limited to 300 copies in a very attractive cover which looks like someone's gone apeshit with a spirograph. Shit, I'd forgotten about those and now I kind of want one.. I might look and see if they still make them when I get home. I'll keep you informed of my progress in this matter. So, Entanglements in the Orthopedic Sensorium then; it seems these tracks are made up of fragments Pekler had laying around on various hard drives so it's totally all over the place in pretty much every immediately noticeable way (switching from Black Dice-y electro gloop beats to swooning orchestral waltzes to Moondog-style percussive interjections in the blink of an eye - then back again) but he's actually done an amazing job sticking them all together in a way that creates quite a natural flow. As far as the process goes it's almost like a more extreme, less focused version of Jim O'Rourke's job on his last LP. Good stuff. If you're feeling adventurous this week you could do much worse than projecting purchase vomit all over the debut album from genius genre abusers trioVD, aka three guys called Chris who all possess quite ridiculous chop levels and want to show them to you. Predominantly you've got one cheeky virtuoso playing sax, one on guitar and one on drums (although other more electronic elements do come into play). Their freeform workouts hyperactively blur the lines between rock (of the more experimental, noisy kind) and jazz without ever getting anywhere near the territory of bland fusion, at times coming off like John Zorn's Naked City and at others like Supersilent gone ballistic.. Although there are some sections of more subdued improvisation for breath catching, which may well find yourself needing. Fill It Up With Ghosts is an exhilarating, invigorating listen and I'd urge you to catch these lads live at your earliest possible convenience! As you may already know, Them Crooked Vultures feature Josh Homme, John Paul Jones and Dave Grohl in some power trio supergroup action. Since it'd be rude to unseal the tasty double 180g vinyl, which is all we've got in at the time of writing, I'm reviewing it from Youtube where they've posted the whole thing up for everyone's perusal. So maybe you should just listen to that instead of giving a shit what I say? Initial impressions suggest that Josh Homme is the main creative force at work (perhaps unsurprisingly) and given that I was pretty disappointed with the last two QOTSA albums I'm surprised at how good it's sounding for a 'mere' side project (although it's got to be said that some parts do smell faintly of Q magazine). Proper rock for fun times! Pihl I've had a soft spot for Josephine Foster for ages. Not in that way like but some of her albums have proper enchanted me. I always get excited by new albums by her and here's a brand new one on her new UK home Fire Records. 'Graphic As A Star' is its name and it's based around the poems of 19th century folk poet Emily Dickensen (who I've never heard of but I'm sure she's fantastic). Josephine has a lovely melty voice which glides around your ears like melting bees covered in chocolate. Some of the songs here are acapella and others feature her with guitar. It's all very gentle music with her classical voice driving the whole thing. There's a very old feel about the album which I don't think is specifically to do with the source material.... it's just her sound. She's the queen of oley worldey....She makes things sound old and timeless....It's an excellent folk album which I don't particularly want to turn off but needs must. Bjerga & Iversen have been knocking around for ages and they seem to have conquered the limited edition of 50 or less market as almost all of their collaborative or solo releases are ludicrously limited. I can't imagne how tricky it is collecting their stuff. Here's a new one called Amplified Crystal Rust which is limited to 50 in an oversized CD case with a hand sprayed insert which looks a bit like a wedding invite. Nice. Here you get one 35 minute fuzzy drone track which sounds like a load of dying things inside some massive industrial murdering machine. It's bizarrely hypnotic and not unpleasant at all given what I've just said about it. Feedback drops in and out over a fuzzy dark presence.... crank it up actually and it's really quite enjoyable. There you go. (bizarrely) lovely.... We've got a cute 3" CD in on the excellent Hibernate label this week by Simon James French (I accidentally wrote Frenchy then and though it was funnier it may seem rude to a number of different people). Here we have a cute 3" Cds in a trifold nipple pack which is packaged inside a white sealed mini envelope with the word Anthem emblazoned on it. And the reason that word is flashed upon the cover is because that is indeed the name of this sparkly 5 track EP. The first track is total blissful ambient drone music... the likes of which have been gracing the site for a while now. The rest of the EP delves into a bit more of that along with some celestial sounding drone, some weird experimental sound art noisey things and some field recordings (I think they're field recordings...). It's very textured and very lovely and there's 100 for the world so don't cock about for too long or you'll miss the boat and have to swim. There's a new Great Pop Supplement in this week (now forever known as GPS in my reviews as I'm lazy...) by Jack Rose and The Black Twigs. This is a UK tour 7" limited to 500 copies (400 for sale) and there's 2 brand new exclusive tracks which were recorded in my kitchen. I can barely fit in my kitchen let alone fit a bunch of people with instruments in there. Just where would you put the food? Answer me that Jack. Answer me! The 2 tracks on here (Shooting Creek and Rappahannock River Rag) continue the more hillbilly end of Jack's work which he's been doing with the Black Twigs. This is proper yeehaw throw yourself around the barn music until you get sick from moonshine and then vomit on your sister's brother who you've just got off with. Ouch... Tremendous fun anyway as you'd expect from a true historian of American folk music. Excellent! I always quite enjoy the releases on Room 40 these days. They're always pretty avant garde but as I'm getting older and my ears are needing something new and interesting and the label's output is keeping them reasonably sweet. The new CD 'Plastic Materials' by Marina Rosenfeld is certainly interesting. Plastic Materials 9 tracks all sound very earth and organic. Lots of vocals all layered, coming out at different points at different volumes. a laugh here, an arrrr there, some words somewhere else. I suspect it's the soundtrack of a paranoid schizophrenics brain. Accompanying the interesting and sporadic vocals are weird hums and bits of static which are entirely drawn from hand crafted dub plates. It's an interesting one this...parts of it are completely off its tits and other bits are thoroughly coherent and lovely sounding. It's certainly an album to keep you occupied for a number of hours as the content is so rich it will keep you busy for an eon while while you get your head around what's going on. Excellent! I've not heard of Damien Valles before but I think we're gonna be hearing a lot more of him from my first impressions of his new CD on Under The Spire. You would file his new CD Count(r)ies under the electroacoustic banner with the contents being in the floaty bracket. Drifty guitars with some electronic tinkering are filling my ears very nicely. I'm quite reminded of Yellow 6 on occasion here but it's perhaps more ambient. There's some lush tracks on the album (it's about 52 mins long) and it's proper calming down after a hectic day here! It's certainly one of the best ambient things I've heard in a while (and we hear a lot as well!). The chap is Canadian and I suspect this would be an excellent soundtrack to some sparse Canadian countryside. Alas I'm in Armley and the dogs walk around in pairs here.... 100 copies only in one of their brown cardboard foldy things. Lovely! Samuel & The Dragon are the latest installment of Moshi Moshi's singles club. It starts off very oddly this one.... with just a weird electronic swirlyness.... and then some Chris Martin/ James Blunt vocals pop in and stay until it's finished. The song picks up with some electronic beat which is actually quite nice.... as is the aforementioned swirly thing.... The vocals are a wee bit slushy and ernest for me. It's making me want to cry... I have to say the music is weirdly interesting though.... I'm just not keen on the vocals at all. Nothing new for me though as I pretty much hate the sound of the human voice. The quicker our voice boxes fade out and we grow extra fingers for faster typing the better. Diamonds On A Boat is 7" only you madheads. Bisuness Lady Rainbow Arabia is a duo made up of real life couple and Gang Gang Dance members Danny and Tiffany Preston. 'Kabukimono' is the follow up to 'The Basta' and features five new tracks plus a couple of remixes from said debut. Primarily created using analogue synths and drum machines 'Kabukimono' is a total toe tapper with the key inspiration being exotic and eastern flavours. 'Haunted Hall' is well Bollywood sounding, most of the material reminds of Pit Er Pat with it's methodical use of drum programming and wirery guitar lines. Tiffany Preston's voice acts as a rhythmic aid in the vein of Ponytail's Molly Siegal or Yoshimi (OOIOO and Boredoms) where the significance of the lyric is outweighed by the delivery. Remixes come courtesy of Ghosts on Tape (Omar K) and Brenmar (who has a bash at Let them dance). Ghosts on Tape takes Omar K's banging synth line and works it over into a DAT Politics-esque electro mash-up and Brenmar cuts 'Let them Dance' into itsy bitsy piece with reckless abandon. 'Kabukimono' also features awesome artwork from Hideyuki Katsumata further enhances the colourful, lively nature of the music contained within. The Raincoats are fucking mint!!! Their self-titled debut (recorded in 1979 for Rough Trade) is a must for fans of new wave and post punk. Available on CD and ultra tough, heavyweight vinyl with sweet liner notes, pictures, band tales and an intro from uber-fan Kurt Cobain, this is a must have purchase. In the current climate of girl groups such as the Vivian Girls blasting out mutant indie pop-garage rock it seems like an appropriate time for a re-appraisal of The Raincoats and there super skills. Point B (Merseyside-born / London-based writer and producer Richard Bultitude) has been doing the rounds for a while now with 'Suicide Beauty Spot' being his second full length release for Combat. Bultitude has a playful technique that flits between styles and genres with relative ease, embracing electronica, hip-hop, dancehall, dub-step and 2step to create warm textured dance music that, at times, shares a little in common with Boards of Canada or even Burial. Intelligent enough to amuse the chin stroker types and kick ass enough to demand attention on the dancefloor, this collection ticks all the boxes. Smalltown America have stumbled upon the genius of Alan MX and they are keen for us to do the same. 'Warpsichord' is the debut album from this much touted singer/composer/producer and sees the man on fine form, rocking the beat hard whilst maintaining a melodic sensibility that may see the him dent the pop charts sometime in the future. The beats are mangled and the vocals are unique in a Thom Yorke/Bjork sort of way thus giving me the impression that Alan MX is a traditional indie pop songwriter with bonus computer skills (a much needed skill in these modern times) and a taste for block rocking beats, skitterish synth/ string lines and mutant electronics. Interesting stuff. Brina Eliane Radigue's intriguing drone work I first heard yesterday on the Important CD release of 'Triptych'. Ant is usually the man for this sort of thing but in his absence I opted to say a few words about this double CD set on Schoolmap. The original 'CHRY-PTUS' from 1971 is a merging of two tapes taken from Buchla synthesizer experiments that are played simultaneously and feature what sounds like the comforting hum of a generator, intermittently fluctuating slightly in tone, like a heart murmur, whilst a gurgling plastic ball full of metal beads revolves at thousands of revolutions per minute to create this utterly hypnotic minimal epic piece. About 12 minutes in you get the added bonus of some astral bleeps that sound like morse code techno, completely absorbing stuff that sounds well futuristic, belying its age of 38 years!If you like the contemporary works of Eleh, Deceh & the like, this is where all this tonal drone & modular de-synchronisation really started. I'd advise headphones. CD1 also features a bonus 2001 reworking by Stefano Bassanese, CD2 has 'CHRY-PTUS' Part Two & a 2006 "remix" courtesy of Guiseppe Ielasi, all respectfully executed, retaining the revolutionary themes of the original works. Tasteful highbrow listening! Really nice to hear the welcome return of Patrick Fitzgerald from the hugely underrated 90's 3 piece Kitchens of Distinction, personal faves of mine all those years ago. He now produces - under the name of Stephenhero - this highly charged, atmospheric baroque pop with a deep neo-classical & ethereal coating that reeks of class & beauty. His voice is even more distinctive & impassioned than ever as he sings soaringly over piano-led torch songs that will surely appeal to fans of Marc Almond & Stephen Merritt as well as contemporary enigmas such as Sand Snowman. You'll hear on the sound clips just what a quality work this is, all gorgeously layered, the songs each strike out individually as powerful, resonant pieces and there's constant reminders of his "shoegaze" past in some of the beautiful texturing & effects he employs to embellish these grand designs with. Really actually quite stunning!! Digipak CD only..... Originally a Leicester based angular post-hardcore style outfit, after 15 years Lazarus Clamp have morphed into a most delicious proposition. Coming in somewhere between earthy folk-rock & a loose, fluid British take on Dischord-y post-rock, new album ‘Against Entitlement’ finds them in blistering form. I like this album loads because of the way it ambles, snakes, flows - the free drums tumble & dance, guitars lazily entwine & chatter, a violin sings jauntily at various junctures & then the vocalist tops it all with his voice - simultaneously rich, ordinary and heartfelt! They've got a nice deep, full production on this album which highlights what a down-to-earth but tight set of musicians they are. I hear allsorts of influences from Tortoise to bluegrass, Alt-country & regional folk music to the more freeform realms of American underground rock but with this record I suspect they're asking you to not search for lazy, desperate comparisons & just take them on their own merits for this is one of the richest, most satisfying & honest albums i've heard in many, many weeks. Deluxe vinyl with bonus CD, don't hesitate on this one! You've got to grasp opportunities when they present themselves have you not? Espying a pile of prospective review CDs I took the most interesting looking ones & recalled seeing the name Githead in a Wire article earlier this year. It's Colin Newman from (the band) Wire and Robin Rimbaud AKA Scanner plus 2 compadres. I would be expecting something a great deal more challenging from these arty behemoths but what you get for your wonga on 'Landing' is a clean, driving take on "indie" rock music, brilliantly produced and undeniably powerful sounding but somehow a little bland and pedestrian in structure for my ears? Bass player Malka Spigel adds a little bit of cool European chic to proceedings with her airy, detached vocals on 'Take Off' and others, plus there's a strong Stereolabean essence in the squalling motorik groove that is blatantly prevalent on much of the album. I reckon this CD would make for good background music in a slightly left-field designer drinkerie but as far as for thought-provoking home listening, i'm surprised to hear such revolutionary minds playing so damn safe! Certainly not offensive by any means however. CD in digipak on swim. Archers by the Sea I can't find much info on, I think i'll just have to make up a story about them. Archers are 3 mutant zebra/fish hybrids who reside off the coast of Oban, Western Scotland in a dilapidated shack reinforced with the flattened skins of old rusty oil drums. Between them they communicate telepathically to create beautiful, slightly lo-fi shimmering dronescapes with a faint murky aquatic feel. Fuzzy waves and ethereal echoes of guitar fallout occasionally buzz lightly around the edges of this deeply calming kaleidoscopic lake and when each piece is satisfactorily completed, they celebrate by playing blackjack and drinking gallons of single malt whiskey (cos they can - they're half fish!) whilst braying & flapping around a great deal. One of the most pleasurable releases i've had the fortune to hear on the ever consistent Under the Spire, 'The Surf' is no'd of 100 in the usual hand stamped Arigato pack. Some perky & joyous minimalist chamber pop next from two Japanese sweeties, Nikaido Kazumi & Saya from Tenniscoats. Ingeniously merging their christian names to create the catchy moniker Nikasaya, 'One Summerheim' is a record of their meeting of minds a few months ago and is a CD awash with warm dinky melodies, cute harmonising, brittle free-form structures - all dusted lovingly with a charming breezy aura & an undeniably uplifting attitude. I'm especially loving the hypnotic colliding vocal drone of 'Osiro' which brings to mind a less creeped-out take on Scorces or Inca Ore. A diverse & richly satisfying recording indeed, rather special I reckon!! Digipak CD only on Someone Good. Another Japanese composer is Aus who we always do really well with. This is probably down to him being hugely adept at creating warm, brittle ambient flecked music with absorbing glitch & minimal post-rock shades. 'Light In August, Later' features the shimmer of soft drones, melancholy piano plinking, somnolent passages of drift & hushed static, the gentle crunching & crackling of organic sounding laptop glitch & some charming meandering acoustic guitar topped with mellow vocals which results in a swaying take on classic melodic "indietronica" moods (gah, thought we'd killed that phrase!!). There's many familiar themes on this downtempo album, the merging of gentle organic & synthetic musics to create a very pleasant sound world. Digipak CD innit. Got to write a few words about this smashing box set we've sourced - Ghana Special: Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds, Ghanaian Blues 1968 - 1981.With the burgeoning revival of interest in African music from Benin, Togo, Nigeria & Ghana amongst others, this 5 LP set - spanning a highly fruitful 13 year period in Ghana's rich legacy - is an absolute gem (and a total bargain to boot!). It's the propulsive rhythms, hypnotic vocal harmonising and sheer wealth of soul & passion that makes this music some of the most vital & moving in the world. Be it more stripped down Ghanian blues to itchy & celebratory high-life & wild calypso, this compilation is a hugely passionate trawl through some of the more traditional minded & fiercely genuine sounds to emanate from this fertile region. You should check out some of the dirtier, funkier afro-beat stuff on this Soundway label too & the beautifully compiled sets on Analog Africa, all pretty astonishing. This puts much of the Western canon of cartoonish popular music to shame but if Vampire Weekend get even 100 people into the real deal then they've not done that much harm eh? A heart bursting collection. Deav What is there left to say about the Arctic Monkeys? Super tight...super funny...super good...Ive always thought that they sounded like a more abrasive Norman Wisdom, but what do I know. The Sheffield posse (?) seem to have ditched the cloth caps, pie and peas and in an effort to potentially appeal to the American market have become a RAWK BAND. The title track 'Cornerstone' from this latest offering is quite the ballad. Mid tempo, check. Soft drum sound, check. Yearning lyrics, check. Its almost as if Boston never existed. The Artics will no doubt win over a new legion of fans, what with there "mature" sound and thespian facial hair, but this reviewer was unmoved by the title track....there are 3 other tracks on this EP and I reckon that all of them are more worthy of your time. The last track 'Fright Lined Dining Room' is my favourite, it has a Fall-esque feel to it and a strange haunted house type production. A few of their new songs have been produced by Josh Homme. The old adage "You can put a candle in a turd, but that doesn't make it a cake" spring to mind.... Frightened Rabbit's latest offering is a sweet sounding affair, it starts with a minimal piano motif and then opens up into more rousing territory. It's disarmingly catchy and even though it does touch upon "anthemic" in its chorus, it still retains a folky quality. It reminds me of Fleet Foxes in a way...but also conjures up images of being at a Proclaimers concert. The productions nice enough though. .The flipside is an acoustic number, just a guitar, strings and a plaintive cry of a voice. 'Swim Until You Can't See Land' is from Fat Cat..... The Fleur De Lys started as a beat band in 1964. The world was a more innocent place back then. You could leave your front door unlocked,and if someone was in the process of burning you alive, you could ask them to politely stop and the offending party would say "sorry old bean!" and rush you to hospital after extinguishing the flames. The title track is a snappy number... you can see why these gents were the first to be signed to Atlantic records. I love the sound of 60's records, with their dead drum sounds and caustic guitar sounds and this is no different. All four tracks on this EP are previously unreleased and I found it quite a joy to listen to this record. Kind of like finding a leg after losing a leg. Its on Acid Jazz if yer interested....... Lonelady comes on like an indie rock 80's Madonna. The single is called 'Immaterial'. The sleeve has minimal production values. The flipside has a slightly punkier feel to it. This single has a raw energy to it and she does have a great voice, she could be a thoroughbred. You know, a good mucking out and a few rides around the estate etc.....It's on Warp Records....... The Gentle Friendly 'Ride Slow' LP then... .This two piece have a touch of class about them. Their songs have variation, its not all about pace or volume with these guys. They have some catchy hooks and great stream of consciousness lyrics. They sound harsh but sweet, usually at the same time. Some of this LP has a experimental quality which sits quite nicely with the poppier elements. It's good, a bit of shade and texture. One of the songs is about tidying up, another song is about the police. It goes to some strange places this record. The musicianship's a pleasure to listen to. It makes me want to go into the future and start a band that sounds just like them, maybe even play their tunes and try and pass them off as my own.Well done Upset The Rhythm!! I didn't know what to expect from the latest Thomas Fehlman and Stephen Stephenson & Jack Schidt Sigur Ros remixesof Gobbledigook. It starts with ethereal vocals, then dissipates to nothing. Then the undulating rhythm track seeps in and almighty handclaps badger you senseless. It does a kind of KompaKt minimalist dance thing for a bit then goes clapping off into the distance. It also has drums that wouldn't sound out place on a Kate Bush album. It's well done but I can't see the point of remixes sometimes. Its a bit like talking to someone,then having the person talking to you putting a "phat break" behind what you just said...This will probably sell fuckloads so on to summat else...... Which brings me to Radian with long player 'Chimeric'. The post rock button has genuinely been pushed. This record offers a lot to bearded, stand with your arms folded at gigs nodding types. They have quite a claustrophobic quality.With vibraphone and introverted samples dominating proceedings, but does not seem to move above brooding pace, which gives it a soundtrack effect. The cover is really poncey as well...its a broken vase with dying flower petals strewn about the place.Its probably meant to signify the eternal suffering and tragedy of living in Chiswick. The flipside is more of an attack on the senses,with instruments cutting in with an almost jazzy gusto. It's on Thrill Jockey.... Atn It's bloody freezing, winter is upon us the days are short and the nights are long. Thank goodness for 'Warm Room' the fourth album from The Big Eyes Family Players, kicking jack frost in the nuts and melting your heart with all its bittersweet folk bliss. Apparently this is James Green and Co's attempt at dissecting the genre and after listening some more, that seems logical as it covers various moods and flavours. The tracks are largely string based instrumentals although we are treated to occasional vocals such as the passionate female vocal on 'A Lick And A Promise'. Also worth noting is that there is a distinct Spanish influence running through several of the tracks. Stylistically Brett is reminded of Matt Elliot's last album. I was over the moon to read the track title of the final number 'Song For Newborough Warren' inspired by the dunes back in the land of my fathers. An amazing place of natural beauty, and so I'm pleased to report this gently building piece with intricate strings and an improvised feel does the location justice. On paper tUnE-yArDs sound really cool...So lets see... The proof, afterall is in the pudding...The work of one Merrill Garbus who has recorded herself using a digital voice recorder and produced her tracks using shareware mixing software. A total DIY aesthetic that has clearly charmed 4AD who've snapped her up. Listening to the 'BiRd-BrAiNs' record it's no mystery as to why as the girl is super talented. I suppose in essence this is pop music that's deliciously rough around the edges. She has a sweet voice and draws influences from post-punk to R&B and blues and everything inbetween. She clearly has soul and really creates from deep within. I dig the rugged drums on 'Hatari' a lot. Actually the percussion throughout is consistently great. We're reminded of everything from Timberland to Stereolab, Psapp, Snow Pony etc.. Certainly a unique talent well worth checking out. Initial copies of both the LP and CD come with a bonus DVD. Heheh this Soft Hearted Scientists 'Scarecrow Smile: Home Demos Volume 1' CD has a cool cover. It's a group of Mariachi scarecrows made out of scrap metal. This 16 track collection gathers all previously unreleased material remastered from home recordings. I must admit I've not heard this bunch before but they're pretty good at what they do, which is essentiayl retro sounding pop with a bit of a psychedelic/ folk edge. Some tracks are pretty straight up but then there are moments where things get a bit trippier. The tracks are largely acoustic based but there are some electronics smattered about occasionally. CD only on My Kung Fu. 7" time with one called 'Surprise Hotel' from Fool's Gold which I was half expecting to be a load of gash but fortunately my ears are happy. What we have here is some very well executed and rather authentic sounding African style pop that makes Vampire Weekend sound ultra-lame. I'm actually finding this really quite uplifting and infectious. I love the way the tempo increases halfway through and the track really shifts gear. Our business lady is reminded of Thrill Jockey band Extra Golden. We're just wondering if this could have something to do with them, what with the gold thing and all that.... Erm apparently not... Anyway I think this is a lot of fun. Out on I Am Sound. Who's have thought Harmonia & Eno would be getting the remix treatment from Shackleton as well as Appleblim & Komonazmuk? Well here we go with the '76 Remixes' which is pressed on white vinyl on Amazing Sounds. Sam Shackleton skillfully tackles 'Sometimes In Autumn' with respect for the source material but also injecting it with his own spaced out delay and reverb along with some of his trademark percussion sounds, looping things up into a swirling, hypnotic late night club track. Keeping things fairly minimal, he's a master of restraint, knowing precisely when to leave things alone. The percussion elements I reckon would sound awesome over a big system. I was waiting for a big bassline but that never happened. Appleblim & Komonazmuk get their grubby Bristolion mits on 'By The Riverside' which has a big fat kick drum, again this does really build on the original material which really floats about and wraps itself around the dubstep template very nicely. The deep atmospherics really do the job and I reckon both mixes on here are very well executed. I wonder what Eno, Roedelis, Rother and Moebius would make of it. Limited edition 12". The Notwist have soundtracked 'Storm' a movie by Hans-Christian Schmidt. I know nothing of the film but I do know that the LP comes in a posh screen printed sleeve complete with CD copy of the album and 24 page photo booklet. It's a pleasant sounding record but I'm kind of struggling to visualize any kind of moving images. That's probably a good thing though as this sounds worthy in its own rights... Oh I'm just talking bollocks now, I'll stop before I embarrass myself further. It's out on Alien Transistor. Nurse With Wound Fans are in for a treat with a timely reissue of the long out of print Steven Stapleton/ Tony Wakeford CD 'Revenge Of The Selfish Shellfish'. This edition comes in tasteful fully restored Babs Santini artwork and also contains a bonus disc of previously unreleased mixes and new mixes from Andrew Liles, Irr.app (ext.) & Brian Conniffe. For those familiar with Nurse With Wound then you know to expect the unexpected... Tony Wakeford was a founder member of Death In June and also does/did Sol Invictus (Are they still going?). Anyway this traverses the light and dark wonderfully with some gorgeous piano and ultra dark nightmarish ambient. The apocalyptic dark neo folk is most arresting too. I really love a lot of the bizzare sounds that Stapleton uses and cannot even begin to imagine how they have been created. Often I imagine creatures that don't exist being given imaginary voices. Although this is fairly out there it does have its accessible moments. Out on Robot Records and totally recommended. Thanks and remember dont eat the yellow snow. Team NoRmAn XxXx
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Friday, November 06, 2009
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Current mood:  crunk
Boy oh boy it's been another busy week here at Fort Norman. New and
exciting releases are cluttering up our once spacious office and
there's much debate over who should be nominated the ultimate weekly
accolade of record of the week....it's all very exciting! You'll be
pleased to hear that we have the Leyland Kirby
3CD set in stock. The vinyl flew out the door so if you missed out this
is your best chance of getting your mitts on it!!!. Elsewhere we have
Max Richter's 'Memoryhouse' and Edward Williams fantastic Life on Earth soundtrack on silky vinyl format. Other significant bits and bobs include a vinyl reissue of 'Takk' by Sigur Ros, Shit n' Shine's ' 229 2299' (been waiting for this for ages!!) as well as the Spacemen 3/Wooden Shijps 7" and the new OOIOO
record, which is particularly pleasing listen. So it's busy busy hands
here....i should stop chatting and strata packing! Have a good weekend
folks.x Be seeing you on the flipside. x PS also we're having a massive 80% off
sale on loads of old titles that have been cluttering up the stock room
for ages. So this is your last chance to get these particular titles
before we strip 'em off the site and give 'em all to charity shops. The
sale starts now and ends early next week sometime (vague I know but it
depends how busy it is!). On with the show! PPS. The postal strike is over!!
Twinsistermoon- The Hollow Mountain (CD Reissue
edn of 1000 on Blackest Rainbow includes massive extra bonus track not
on original wax!)
Twinsistermoon
is Mehdi from Natural Snow Buildings, the male counterpart of this
beloved French folk/drone duo who's gentle, otherworldly voice often
has him confused with a little pixie lady that lives in some spectral
forest glade with a battalion of fiercely protective woodland animals.
His hugely limited ' Hollow Mountain'
LP from earlier this year (only 105 made!) gets the full (1000) release
on CD - that it richly deserves - through Sheffield's beard-tastic
Blackest Rainbow. This recording errs more towards tender, cracked
& psychedelic pagan folk entwined with earthy samples/field
recordings than any neo-drone or tonal affair, most probably the stuff
folk who are into this mystical Gallic couple are most enamored with
anyway. I cannot possibly do this album much justice in words, the
sweet, woozy tracks are delicate, quietly meandering & personal
affairs that demand your absolute full attention, the lo-fi recording
technique used here gives the music such a rich & rustic
personality i'm not surprised at the ever growing cult of fanatics
their music, whether solo or under the NSB banner, attracts. Comes with
cracking 8" Sq. art booklet by Solange who casually chucks in some
cello work on a track too! Plus there's a 40 minute unreleased bonus
track!! Brian x
Fergus & Geronimo- Blind Muslim Girl (7" on Tic Tac Totally)
Fergus and Geronimo's sweet new cut is called ' Blind Muslim Girl'...
And its really good!! Its not an avant garde noise piece as I thought
it would be when I checked out the cover (moody sepia toned shot of the
guy's faces) but a kind of bubblegum pop song with a surf type of feel
to it, complete with super high pitched backing vocals and a garage
rock sound that wouldn't be out of place in a 70s sitcom. Its flip side
Powerful Lovin' is another really good song. It has the feel of a prom
night waltz and is just as catchy as the song about a muslim girl who
unfortunately has no sight.... An instant classic in my opinion!!
Single Of The Week!! Dave x
Brett moonlights as an airline pilot on Tuesdays only.
A new record from the amazing ladies of OOIOO couldn't ever be anything other than a totally blazing start to the week and on Armonico Hewa
they continue to outshine head amazing lady Yoshimi P-We's 'main' band,
Boredoms, in terms of studio output in the years since Vision Creation
Newsun. As ever they take shakin' African rhythms, studio-based dub
trickery, western psychedelic influences and that all-important
Japanese underground feel, mix them all up with no respect whatsoever
for traditional geographic or musical boundaries and come out the other
side with what sounds like an ecstatic, sun drenched soundtrack for a
harmoniously multicultural world. What more could you want? Available
either in a gatefold LP with download code or a rather gorgeous
'ultra-deluxe six panel old-style tip-on mini-LP style sleeve'. Look at
all those hyphens, JUST LOOK AT THEM. The complete 3CD 'suite' of Leyland Kirby's Sadly, the Future is No Longer What it Was
has just popped it's mournful head around the office door after the
three double vinyl editions which came and went so fast I can't even
remember seeing them. As loads of lengthy reviews have already been
written (by ourselves and many others) I won't go too far into it other
than to say that it's a totally epic achievement and he could probably
do with listening to The Streets' counseling masterpiece 'Dry Your
Eyes' for a bit now it's over with. You'll rarely hear resignation and
sadness expressed so beautifully. Here's Ant's treatise and Phil's summation if you feel the need to delve further but you'd be as well off just buying the thing and digging in, it's well worth it. New library-type recordings of Fourth World sounds seem to be pretty
in vogue at the moment and Bo'Weavil fingerpicker C. Joynes is in on
the action with his Leith Hill Recordings label and this CDr of Sanneh Kuyate called Kaiye & Sajyo,
also the names of the two whopping tracks involved. He's pretty much
jamming on a simple, repetitive riff on a Kora (a 21 string harp type
thing it seems) while having what sounds like crazy banter with the
partygoers around him but apparently it's the texts of standard tunes
he's reciting. It's a hypnotic listen, quite remarkable for the
consistency of his playing, and with the lively background sounds you
could easily close your eyes and imagine you're engrossed in some fine
Gambian revelry. Transporatative! The new Barn Owl
LP kicks off super Earthy style. Earth as in Hex or The Bees Made Honey
in the Lion's Skull at least, that twangy Godspeed or Labradford-y
guitar sound doing a slow motion country-tinged Morricone soundtrack
sort of thing over heavy, considered drumming to create a thick
atmosphere of bleak foreboding on the dusty plains. And a fine job they
do of it too. Feedbackin' drones kick in eventually, a pattern followed
somewhat on the second side which also features some Blackshaw-esque
guitar washes, an eerie flute and a noisy abyss before turning into
drones which recall the Elm stuff, dissolving finally into a lonely
piano refrain. The Conjurer is undoubtedly an album of excellent quality and the vinyl is a lovely deep red to help seal the deal. Cool, another spray painted CDr from Reverb Worship to get stuck in our stereo. You need to watch these little fuckers. Jenisej's
self-titled album comes inside some green netty material stuff that
someone probably nicked from a primary school and doesn't really do
much to enhance the droney electronics contained therein so it's
fortunate that it's good stuff. There's a real retro sound at work
which recalls the early work of the likes of Cluster, albeit slightly
more ominous and evocative of the hostile blackness of space. With its
suggestions of interstellar transmissions, lost in infinite silence,
and abandoned space colonies where the inhabitants just disappeared
without a trace, it's an atmospheric little beast. Edition of 50 copies! So we've got two double LP's by the ever-intriguing Starving Weirdos this week and I've been allocated Self-Hypnosis
to review, although The Path of Lightning would've been preferable
since the cover's got an amazing picture of a bullet-clad lady wielding
a machine gun and riding a giant tarantula.. Those tend to be the
reviews that write themselves. This one's only got some glasses on it
but it does have a weird concept involving the exploration of the
recording environment of some now-demolished raquetball courts and it
does sound proper nuts.. The echoes that fly around as they free jam
with their atonal electronic noise bursts, concrete-esque scrapes and
mangled samples is a sound to behold, inspiring Phil to invite
comparisons with Coil's 'How to Destroy Angels' 12" and me to wonder
where the air raid sirens are 'cos we're definitely turning from good
Silent Hill to bad Silent Hill. Good shit, but pretty uncompromising. Jasper TX is called Dag Rosenqvist and he's got a friend called Bue Nordstrom and they've made an album called Replica Archipeligo
which is unsurprisingly droney but has some words on which I don't
understand 'cos they're in Welsh or something. I'm going to guess that
Dag's handling the droney bits and Bue's doing the wordy bits. The
droney bits are all warm and fuzzy and sometimes sound a bit
organ-y/accordion-y (organs and accordions being a favourite weapon of
the modern drone warrior) and the words are a bit like he's doing a
spot of spoken word performance on the other end of the telephone (from
a cottage in Wales). It kind of sounds like a relaxation therapy tape
or something now that I think about it. It's good but I've done a
really bad job of reviewing it so sorry about that. Fans will enjoy! Buzz Aldrin's self-titled
tape is a satisfyingly clunky bit of noise rock all wrapped up in a red
paper blanket with cool artwork which looks like it was designed by a
demented Eastern Bloc film poster designer to advertise a Bunuel film
or something. It's got a cover of 'You and I' by Silver Apples and
that's not a bad point of reference at all as far as their highly
inventive structures and melodies go, although the noisier influence of
post-punk and its New York revival in the 00s shears the ends off any
blunt edges - with the last Sightings album particularly coming to my
mind. A wee bit tribal, a wee bit primitive.. Actually I'm getting some
Monks as well, come to think of it. Brian has offered In Camera for the
comparison contest and Phil's gone with Dogbowl, so there you go.
Limited to 100 copies with an MP3 download code.
I don't really know what's going on with this Remix 12" but the names mentioned are Foot Village, HEALTH, Captain Ahab and Jason Forrest
which is probably what you need to know if you're deciding whether to
buy it or not. My best guess is that these two sides mash up all of the
above into two ridiculously fun, gloriously stupid party bangers taking
in a noisy take on some sort of Baltimore club shit, a weird polka-off,
Prince bumming Afrika Bambaataa and lord knows what else, all given a
fluorescent modern noise-dance makeover. I reckon fans of that recent
Fuck Buttons LP might be quite keen. We're certainly all 'busting' some
'dope' moves. The screen is either sleeved or the other way around. Two new Apple Pips 12"s in today and Instra:mental's 'Leave It All Behind/Forbidden'
has drawn the long straw for review fun. A gorgeous electro sound world
is opened up the second the needle hits the A-side's groove, prompting
Ant to draw a comparison with the laid back grooves of the classic
Other People Place LP on Warp - good call son. A skippy little beat and
cyborgy female vocal sample round out the package.. And it's a
beautifully produced bit of machine soul, I've got to say. Flip that
mother and you're in darker territory with slightly more club-oriented
material which drops a cheeky bit of wobble ( by no means anywhere near
enough to offend) in amongst a wonderful percussion sound which kind of
sounds like digital sticks being banged together. Digital sticks man,
that's the future. Two very finely considered productions which have
brought a touch of class to our afternoon. Business Lady juggles her social life and work life without the use of a filofax.
Bibio
(a.k.a producer and multi-instrumentalist aka Stephen Wilkinson) is
carrying the torch of ambient electronic with much enthusiasm.
Exploring avenues created by the likes Boards of Canada and running
with it Bibio has produced one of the most uplifting records of the
year with ‘Ambivalence Avenue’. New album 'The apple and the tooth'
acts more as a companion piece to ‘Ambivalence Avenue' with four new
tracks supplemented with eight remixes from the likes of Wax Stag,
Eskmo, Clark and Bibio himself. Title track ' The apple and the tooth'
is a beautifully complex composition and Wilkinson's vocals sound
great. The remixes are a mixed bag with each artist taking a tasteful
approach to the source material. Clark cuts 'S'vive' to shreds and
pieces it back together with the dancefloor in mind and Wax Stag are
particularly generous in their reappraisal of 'Sugerette', adding heap
teaspoon's of sweet nectar. There's plenty more to get your teeth into
here and i'm sure if you enjoyed ‘Ambivalence Avenue’ then you'll dig
this tasty companion piece. Vinyl limited to 1000 with gold foil
embellished sleeve.
David Grubbs has been keeping himself busy of late with ' Hybrid song box.4'
being one of a number of releases of heard recently. This LP is an
accompaniment to Angela Bulloch’s ‘Pixel Box’, a sculpture installation
first shown at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum as part of the
exhibition Theanyspacewhatever. David's guitar compositions are perfect
for accompanying visual art and film with his warm guitar tones and
careful attention to detail. Outbursts of cinematic guitar melodies are
followed by minimalist one note feedback which is then re digested and
regurgitated until it corrodes in on itself, it's degradation unveiling
hitherto unheard harmony and melody. Tonally warm and inviting this
works great as a stand alone release and is further proof of Grubbs
guitar playing genius. Not quite as sweet as 'An optimist notes the
dusk' but definitely worth a listen.
Warbler
feature Steve, V.C and Kirsty of Kit/XBXRX to name but a few. Their
debut album was insanely good post punk interpreted via cheap drum
machines and tone generators played with old school hardcore
positivity. The songs that featured on this split 7" with Bromp Treb
take there unique songwriting process to the logical conclusion by
crafting a bunch of dance floor friendly electronic punk rock whilst
piling on the filth. Think Kit remixed by Best fwends after o.ding on
Quintron. These kids just get better and better! The B-side features
the drummer of Fat worm of error in his twisted electronics guise of Bromp Treb. ' Cloaca's misplaced phony flav crumbling submix'
is a confused mash-up of tones and sounds that invokes some kind of
fucked up hip-hop feel. Totally fucking warped tune. Amazing split 7".
Don't know much about the Holy State but ' Urges'
sounds refreshingly rocking in a straight up, ear shredding, eyes
bleeding kinda way. Totally tasteless, incredibly sharp post punk
grunginess that is just what i wanna hear right now! Simple, dirty and
to the point. Sounds like it was recorded yesterday for a fiver in my
kitchen. Mint. Pulled apart by horses's ' I've got guestlist to Rory O' Haras suicide (alt)'
is a better title than it is a tune but you'll no doubt enjoy it if you
like the other stuff they've put out. It's got riffs and bits that have
their moments. Gotta big up the picture disc illustration though, it
features some kind of mutant 50's rocker quiff dude who acquires a
cheeky moustache and eyebrows on the B-side......that Tommy Scribble
pants sure knows his scribbles.....and his pants. The Soft Pack
(formally Muslims) are probably gonna be really famous soon....and this
new 7" supports that theory justly. Produced by Eli Janney (Girls
Against Boys) ' Answer to yourself'
sounds like an instant indie pop hit sitting somewhere between The
Modern Lovers, The Stooges, The Undertones and New Order (well, the
bassline atleast). It's rare to hear decent lyrics in a tune nowadays
so that's refreshing in itself but the tune is pretty killer too. The
B-side is a cover of The Cure's ' Grinding Halt'
which is dealt with very tastefully and sounds very much like a
Jonathan Richman-esque New York interpretation of the original. Wish
these guys had stuck with Muslims moniker though.....would have made
things interesting for MTV.
Mr. Cocker's recent L.P ‘ Further Complications’
proved to be a pretty decent little rock n' roll record with the title
track being one of the finest examples of how Jarvo in total rock mode.
Cocker talks it up over a repetitious and infectious Fall-esque riff
with ole Steve Albini rocking the faders. This is a double A side jobby
with the exclusive John Peel inspired 'Girls like it too' filling the
second side. It revisits more familiar terrain than 'Further
Complications' sounding like an unheard Pulp archive track, very poppy
and semi-croonerish, it's a excellent compliment to the rocking A side.
A fresh new signing from XL, Holly Miranda hails from New York and has an awesome falsetto on her. Single ' Forest green oh forest green'
is a strange and spacy little pop song pushing the boundaries of
instrumentation and composition to make the best of Holly's crazy vocal
style. It sounds like this track has been recorded, edited and
re-recorded multiple times which makes for a confused first listen.
B-side 'Nobody sees me like you do' is a re-imagining of a Yoko Ono
track that takes a similar approach to the A-side, monkeying with the
beats and instrumentation with childlike enthusiasm. Just got this super awesome Spectrals
7" courtesy of ultra hip brooklyn label Captured Tracks. It's recorded
by the oh so mysterious L. (who is this masked man?) 'Leave me be' is
an immaculate piece of music ideal for the current climate of
Spectorisms, Beach Boys worship and shoegazery. Reverb saturated
production does it's best to obscure what is essentially a infectious
little do-wop pop song. B-side 'Suit yourself' is wonkier yet equally
as appealing with it's catchy guitar lines and it's distant, almost
indecipherable vocal line. Comparisons to retro fetishes Crystal
stilts, Vivian girls, Ganglians, Real Estate and Sic Alps are totally
fair and justified. This is mint!!! More reissue goodness from Chapter Music in the form of ' Restless Faithful Desperate' and ' Moonlight' from the Kath Bloom/Loren Conners
archives. Originally released back in 1984 in limited quantities
(200/300 copies) via the Saint Joan Record lebel this is the last two
records they produced together before going their separate ways and the
last Kath Bloom recorded for 10 years after making time for marriage
and a family. This poignant folk music that focuses on the genius of
Kath Bloom's voice, full of heartache, she reminds me of Beth Gibbons
at her most desperate sounding. The arrangements are incredibly subtle
and serve mainly as a vehicle for Bloom's voice, saying that, the
playing is relatively adventurous whilst doing it's best not to
interfere. An elegant and stylish take on folk traditions performed
with conviction and heart. So, two excellent avant-folk LP's given the
re-press treatment they thoroughly deserve. A totally worthy listen. Smokers die Younger, Sheffield's very own unsung indie-pop heroes bounce back after overcoming various personnel issues to present a new self-titled,
self released LP. SDY deliver oodles and oodles of pop loveliness here
with cute casio organs and cellos giving these little tunes total
likeability. Things start of all Blue Monday-ish with Youth Maps and
goes on to impress with nine indie pop nuggets covering the full range,
from heartfelt folksy numbers to full on danceable electro-pop. The
songwriting is sharp and dynamic and the production (courtesy of Alan
Smyth - famous for his work with Pulp, Arctic Monkeys, The Long
Blondes) elevates SDY to heights beyond their debut. Definitely worth a
look if you are a fan of the ever-evolving Sheffield indie rock scene
or indie rock in general.
Dave rhymes with Bave
Spacemen 3 have just landed...in a split 7" with Wooden Shjips!
It has one of the best sleeves i've seen for ages and the song's not
bad either, it's a meandering sort of affair with an 80s shoegazer feel
and otherworldly vocals, it really grows on you, much like an unwanted
fungal infection...but waaay more pleasant. It should appeal to stoners
everywhere, I feel drugged up just listening to it! As for the Wooden
Ships song, it shares the same psychedelic tendencies as the Spacemen 3
side.. kinda slow paced, chiming guitars, low vocal mix...in fact I
almost thought this was a cover of a Spacemen 3 song! It left me
feeling as the flip side did.....monged out, with red beady eyes and a
desire to go to the 24 hour garage to buy some brand of popular
crisp....well done The Great Pop Supplement...you've bonged me out.....
Returning back to earth The Spills
have a new single out and its grunge-tastic (or grunge-azing or some
other weak pun). It uses the "quiet-loud-quiet-loud" template to great
effect,and has some rather tasty hooks, a bit like Mike Tyson without
the assault charges. The musicianship's tight, the production's
economical and the covers got a babies face on it...the flip side is
more of the same...but you don't whinge at eating delicious pie do
ya.....It was recorded by James Kenosha and its on the Philo Phobia
label. Landing's
new single creeps out of the trap and doesn't really move any faster
than an asthmatic Ant with some heavy shopping. Its a shoegazing affair
with a dreamy quality due to the mantra type vocals and swirling
instrumentation. It's nice to listen to but so is the Lost Boys
soundtrack album. It seems like every muthacrusha is going 'gaze or
bongcore nowadays. If you like things floaty and atmospheric then this
is for you!! If this is your thing then its on the Geographic North
label......
I don't like David Cronenberg's Wife
as a band name...it cunjures up images of other rubbish band names I
have seen like Sean Beans Legpit or Rumpleforskin (Actually I like that
one!). The new LP retains the Fall-esque sound of their other releases,
rambling stream of conscious vocals, tight musician ship and
"humourous" lyrics. The first track is called Sweden...and it has a
Swedish lyrical breakdown!! Ingenious!! Its a pretty consistent record
though, all the tracks have some sort of quality to them and its quite
an achievement to sound like the Fall and not get slapped by Mark E
Smith, so kudos!!! Its on Blang23 so get yersen some fags and start
ranting at passersby.... The Clientele
CD is dead good. It has a real sophisticated sound to it. The 12 tracks
on this baby (!) cover a lot of emotional ground. It sounds like an
autumn with the love of your life. Track 6 is my favorite, a really
urgent sounding song called Sketches. I don't know what its about
though..I think its about painting..with your momma. The sound of the
instruments is classic Belle and Sebastian, the vocals are breathy and
the front cover is class too, some kind of Renaissance-esque portrait
of a face made from flowers and plants. You can really envision
listening to this on headphones, walking in an autumnal park, weeping
over the loss of a pet or sandwich... Bonfires On Heath is out on Pointy Records and its available now(ish)...... Brahhhp. Brian's chuffing words in (in)effect
Another voice I think I could not exist happily without is old Irish bard Adrian Crowley.
Chemikal Underground must've been waiting years to sign him as he's
trundled along from label to label, usually leaving them the happy
recipient of an album's worth of wonderfully melancholy musings. ' Season of the Sparks'
initially shares something in spirit with Sheffield crooner Richard
Hawley, except Adrian's much less end-of-pier seaside town 50's
throwback & more Leonard Cohen spine-melter. There's some gorgeous
strings & atmospheric near-drone on my favorite track 'The
Beekeeper's Wife' - all topped with his effortless, velvety yearning
voice that will always move me as long as I live. I think he's fleshing
some of his songs out a bit more these days and there's a couple of
tracks when it all sounds a bit more commercial/radio friendly than
you'd care for, but then you realise you've only been half listening so
you adjust your ears to concentrate more, and delve happily right back
in to his tender, majestical world view & reassuring sonic folk
stew. I think he's the nearest thing we've got to Bill Callahan, his
voice surely made to mingle with these shimmering, spectral
guitarscapes like on 'Squeeze Bees' He's got a bee obsession here
hasn't he? When all seems dirt, Crowley is the diamond that forever
shines through. Absolutely essential. Grammatics
are one of those rather perplexing Leeds bands that merge studious math
inflected indie with flailing dramatic anthemic pop in an effort to
create something original. I'm just suffering an unholy combination of
something like Foals & Keane for my troubles. I think they're
obviously a talented bunch, ' Double Negative'
possesses some bendy, funky shapes, sharp rhythmical drums and a
wailing guitar refrain which ensures anthemic status but the whole
thing makes me think of pretentious angular haircuts and those hideous
Vans slip-ons that these kids insist on wearing. I'm afraid this is
duffer of the week, personally - has me recalling such smirking muso
shitsters as Guillemots, sorry. On DTTR, 7" jobber.
Drama drama drama. Smoke Fairies have a new 7" single out called ' Sunshine'
which vocally gives nods to Fairport Convention/Sandy Denny, Christine
McVie & Steeleye Span over some churning, steady folk rock. It's an
earthy, brooding number which I could see appealing to fans of the more
recent Espers material. An extra CD is enclosed for the rabid digital
consumers amongst you. More avant-folk, this time courtesy of Mountainhood.
I really can't categorize this scrawl of eerie, plinking, screeing,
clanking eccentricity, spread over a single side of black wax. I really
like what sounds like a tape machine being switched on & off, some
way-out tinnitus inducing violin (??) torture and then some crackly,
shimmery home made drone that sounds a bit like what a UFO hovering in
your back garden would if it was captained by The Smash Mash robots
from the 70's. Quite honestly one of the strangest records i've heard
this year and i've heard a fuck of a lot. Limited to 320, this guy,
Michael Curtis Hilde, is one crazy dude. Oddbod waxing of the week has to be this 1950s album by Julie Andrews & Martyn Green ft. Moondog.
Of course, back in the day, no-one really gave much of a fig for a
blind pagan wizard percussionist. Julie was all the rage then, much
like Cheryl Cole is now. Except she was a tad posher. So the original
sleeve of ' Tell it Again' featured just his brief resume on the rear of the sleeve but very little else. The new reissue has MOONDOG
splayed in massive fuck off text with lil' old Julie baby relegated to
second billing. Funny how the eccentric "weirdos" end up basking in a
warm pool of lasting credibility eh? This record is actually a complete
diamond, the ol' Viking's shuffling, cyclic percussive rhythms are
topped with Andrews & Green's blithering children's poetry &
nursery rhymes executed in that delirious, demented sing-song style
beloved of the upper classes all those decades ago. Without the
hypnotic pads & distinctive tappings of Mr Moony, we'd still be
left with a real curiosity as two inane, grinning famous people vye for
the undivided attention of your poor, ragged child in a creepy call
& response trill-fest. I think the Moonster gives the "project" a
real human, earthy vibe, his beats beautifully distinctive &
utterly mood altering as always. Ltd LP & CD through Poppydisc. Philthy of the Towers didn't let me review this next piece on the headphones because Sublime Frequencies' ' Siamese Soul'
CD is stacked full of his favourite style of music, IE Esoterica from
far-flung cultural vacuums where far more cool stuff actually took
place than the USA saturated West would ever have you believe. After
the tremendous Psych-Funk LP & that fabbo Persian garage comp, this
is the second volume of Thai Pop from the 60s - 80s. Sourced from
obscure tapes unearthed in the midst of an ongoing crate digging
obsession by these Eastern music junkies, these tunes range from deep
grooving funk with a tabla fixation to rich, woozy swinging soul taking
in some gorgeous rattly psychedelic 60's beat material! My fave tune
out of a very strong & fascinating collection is this fantastically
bizarre tune (track 5) which showcases a really cheap organ refrain
seemingly eternally stuck on repeat whilst a funky hi-hat backs the
cracked, swaying ramblings of a very arresting female vocalist. Proper
sideways adventurism, there's much mutant pop joy & exotica to be
gleaned from this cracking comp! Astral Social Club. A real place, well it was once at least. Neil C
told me the story of where it was but i've since forgotten as the
information has been depleted by these thuggish forgetful glands that
sit in my memory beating up & mugging information, leaving it
bloodied & comatose, fighting for dear life. Iibiish Rouge have
a CDr out on Winged Sun which is ASC meeting minds with High Wolf who
i've not heard as yet. This is tribal incantation style druggy hypnotic
techno sludge with disembodied, muffled screeing horror stuff happening
subtly over the melee so it doesn't detract from the rather soothing
countenance of the actual music. It's well fucking psychedelic &
trippy and gets taken over by a mad whirring space invader noises 7
minutes in which is always a real bonus. There's some real squalling,
motorik space rock scree on track 3 - this would tear your head off on
headphones & is precicely the reason I wanna kick Wooden Ships'
beards right off when you hear it done THIS well. Allsorts of varied
textures & abstract post electronica styles are explored further
on, for instance I proper love the sound of 'White Light is Gone' - a
really aquatic, monged gibbering slice of ambience! These are probably
quite limited & with ASC's profile increasingly on the ascent, i'd
get in quick for your taste of the excellent ' Pink Hybrid'! Had to stick this in, it got slightly overlooked for some reason,
perhaps because you can't tell what it is due to the fact some idiot
has drilled holes in it to look like some piece of highbrow
contemporary art. It's a split series type affair on old Fat Cat records of London town. The first track is by Alog,
two enigmatic Norsk types who specialise here this tranced out/fucked
up kraut-disco/bleeding edge minimal techno-pulse hybrid. It's kind of
how i'd imagine Faust sounding if they recorded for Raster-Noton and is
an incredible head shagging odyssey into the bargain. This is supposed
to be Ant's review but his hands fell off from frostbite. He has
imagined this scenario for you in lieu of his typing skills. "A tribal
space vortex opens up on the dancefloor & these two cyber viking
voices start yelling incomprehensible fragments at you, gets well dark.
I want me Ma!!" Astral Social Club's
Neil Campbell i've learnt (again) this afternoon hails from Mirfield -
that is where the derelict club he's attributed his group's name
originates. His 3 tracks on the flip veer from filthy, squelchy, dubby
tribal techno that sounds like a rave in a cyber zoo to more tranquil,
organic pastures on the chilled but murky 'Vurt Chorale'. The final
track, 'Corby Kiss' has our Ant totally fantasising about raving along
to it playing through the Berghain sound system in Berlin, this
stuttering mechanical technoid beast with some of the most thrilling
acid-y frequencies & wild tweaking going on, a pure riot of looming
sound. Finishes criminally quickly, leaving you begging for more. A
superb double header for sure!! Phil is essentially made of ham(sters)
The Bon Bon Club
had a single out a while back on Thee SPC. Their 2nd single has just
landed on an offshoot of Angular Records called Rare Breed records.
It's a cute 3" CD with a postcard packaged in a pink and white stripey
paper bag which immediately made me want a quarter of Yorkshire
Mixture....been a while. If you're not familiar with the Bon Bon Club
it's folks from The Long Blondes, Navvy & Slow Down Tallahassee and
they do covers of other peoples songs. The first single had covers of
Pulp, The Cure and Death from Above 1979...the new single features
covers of tunes by Kings of Leon, Dubstar and Fleetwood Mac. Their
version of Sex On Fire is unarguably pretty good and if you can bear to
listen to the song again you'll find the female vocals a lot less
grating than the shrieking knob from KOL. In fact the vocals throughout
the EP are well nice. The bass reminds me of Elastica as well... always
a good sound. The Fleetwood Mac cover of Dreams is good but the
standout track is the Dubstar cover which is simply ace. Apparently
very limited so I'm not sure how long it's gonna hang around for...
Machinefabriek
is a very prolific chap. I've lost count of how many releases he's had
out but let's just say it's quite a lot. This week sees the release of
a new collaborative CD with said Rutger and Aussie sound artist Tim Catlin
on Gareth Hardwick's Low Point label. Catlin made a load of sounds
including guitar preparations (not sure what they are but I figure
that's something to do with a guitar) which range from more
conventional picking to some otherworldly crazy noises that you
wouldn't think came from a guitar. These were sent to Machinefeabriek
who did his special micro electronic magic and he's added some whirrs,
whips, bangs and fizzles to the album. 'Glisten'
an intense listen which is obviously best suited to headphones. The
layers of drones and and weird electronic noises collectively make this
sound well alien. It's music created by aliens for aliens so if you're
all green and sticky (like all aliens are) then this is for you. A
thoroughly enjoyable listen and don't forget you'll need those
headphones!
Best name of the week goes to ' St Catherine's Home For Lazy Infants' and they're brand new album ' Old Ghosts'
on the Slow Loris label. What a great name for a band!! The CD is
packaged in a '2-layer stenciled and stamped chipboard sleeve with
insert.' It's a lovely looking thing. Whack it on your beatbox stereo
system and you'll be instantly wowed by the lush sounds on offer. Loads
of psychedelic loopy guitar noises and bedroom electronics with some
lush guitar pluckery and lots of shimmery hazey sound effects all
wanged together into a delicious pot of soup with the word coherent
written on the bowl. It works really well as it dashes from droney
loopy effects to more simple tunes with just acoustic guitar. The mood
ranges from sombre to playful in no time. An excellent debut from
someone to watch out for I reckon!! Somewhat weirdly Domino have released Brother Sport from the Animal Collective's
Merriweather Post Pavillion with a live B side on a limited 10" months
apart from any other release. I can only assume it's cunningly timed to
remind you to whack the album into your top 10 list at the end of year
being that it was released right at the start of the year. It's a top
tune if you've not actually got the album and it's well worth getting
though I'd get the album if you've not got it yet. This is pretty
expensive for one album track and a live B side. Having said that the
live B side is a brand new track called Bleeding (originally called
Bleed but the 'ing' got added later apparently). It's an 11 minute opus
starting off all quiet, then come the vocals in harmony, then comes a
monged beat and loads of weird spacey flanged effects that sound like
you're going totally mad. I like it!! I think Poborsk
is French? I could be wrong? I'm too lazy to check but he's had stuff
out on the Cactus Island label before. I remember that! Here's a new CD
by the fella on Amp Bit If Go which comes in a funky metal tin. I like
to buy music that comes in metal tins. In fact anything in tins is fine
by me.... apart from paint. I think that should come in small squeezy
bags and should be deployed like cake icing. ' World of Sine'
is a 6 track EP of wobbly sounding melodic electronica. It's very busy
sounding with lots of layers and rhythms popping up all over the place.
Track 3 with it's steel drum sounding rhythm and bloopy wobblyness is
appealing greatly. Great fun. It's always nice to hear a bit of crunchy
difficult yet melodic electronica and this chap seems to do it rather
well. Hazaar! What with the Psych Funk double LP coming out recently you may feel
that your psychedelic funk and soul urges have been saciated. But think
again fools! Now Again have gone one step further and released 'Forge Your Own Chains'
which is a double LP of heavy psychedelic ballads and dirges 1968-1974.
Make of that what you will but from what I've heard so far it's lots of
quality psychy heavy funk and soul tunes. What you get is loads of soul
played with loads of soul!! Lots of nice psych guitars and keyboards
creep up in the background of some belting tunes! There's no one on the
LP I've heard of before but after listening to this I might check out
some of the names on here. It's very laid back and like I said it's
oozing with soul... Nice! Ant actually played Han Solo in Star Wars.... It wasn't Harrison Ford as some fools think.
Among my most anticipated releases of the year are the two new Eliane Radigue CD’s on Important. Right now I’m listening to ‘ Triptych’,
a previously unreleased work from 1978. How this has remained
unreleased for 30 years is a mystery to me. What is striking though is
the fact that it does not sound thirty years old. Along with Pauline
Oliveros, Daphne Oram and Delia Derbyshire she is one of the most
celebrated female electronic musicians as well as an innovative
minimalist. These three pieces were created using the ARP 2500
synthesizer. The sound coming through is like a mix of waves and the
wind combined over a low hum/drone. The simplicity is gorgeous, the
sounds repetitive but ever so slowly mutating. Actually I think its
fairly pointless for me to attempt to articulate what is happening on
this disc. You just need to close your eyes, open your mind, feel free
and be taken away.... I returned as an amphibian... Erm this was the
first stuff that she created since getting into Tibetan Buddhism and so
it really does have a powerful meditative quality. This girl really
shows the current wave of ambient droners how it should be done - 30
years earlier! I rarely use the word genius but it really does apply
here. This is as pure as electronic music gets. Now for some stuff that Warp probably deemed unworthy of release at
the time but are trying to convince us its some sort of hidden
treasure... Lets see what ‘ Unheard’ has to offer... It kicks off the Boards of Canada’s 'Seven Forty Seven’ which is actually a sweet track. I cant imagine any BOC fan rejecting this as useless twoddle. Plaid
do their sugary playful melody routine nicely on ‘Dett’ and I must say
I’m rather enjoying it. It actually feels refreshing revisiting this
sound while every man and his dog is churning out droney gear. Autechre
‘Oval Moon (IBC mix)’ sounds really VERY early with it’s clear warmth
and fairly straightforward drum programming. If you hark for the era
before they chopped everything into a million pieces and rearranged it
then take a hit of this as it even has some acid action! Lush
Artificial Intelligence era stuff. The Elecktroids
tune is really unlike any of their other recordings. Its a bit of a
squelcher and more straight up floor techno than electro. I reckon this
one would make more sense in the mix. Its pretty short though and I
think its probably been selected just to have some previously
unreleased James Stinson stuff see the light of day which is no bad
thing. I could go on but you’d get bored and so would I... More tunes
from Clark, Flying Lotus, Broadcast, Seefeel and Nightmares On Wax
who have some PROPER oldskool tracks on here. I have little interest in
what Warp are up to these days, but let's not forget their history...
None of these are classics but it’s cool to hear some unreleased stuff
that the older gang were creating back in the day. David McAlmont and Michael Nyman are having a “spexx off” on the front cover of their ‘The Glare’
CD. Nyman winning hands down with an ultra geek pair of thick framed
round tortoise shell bins. Meanwhile McAlmont is sporting a more
sensible metal framed pair that say both cool AND educated. So maybe he
actually wins. Oh I don't know... You decide. Also worth noting is that
Nyman’s pupils are like saucers. This is either because the spex do
that to his eyes or someone has been at the old Photoshop business OR
he’s dropped about 5 pills and is twatted off his face. Onto the music
then... Nyman is predictably extremely classy with some real drama and
emotion coming through his compositions. McAlmont’s vocal fits like a
glove and he really sings from the very depths of his heart. There are
a few moments on here that are possibly a little too theatrical for my
personal tastes but the parts that really grab me are actually
brilliant. I’d say the two were a winning combo... Just like nutmeg and
egg custard. You get 11 collaboration tracks and one 17:25min piece
from Nyman entitled ‘Songs For Tony’.
FORUM/Shinkei/Luigi Turra are the latest sound artists embracing and paying homage to early minimalism and bringing it into 2009 with the aptly titled ‘Clean Forms’
disc on LA’s Dragon’s Eye Recordings. Working within the reduced 'less
is more' kind of aesthetic they have each contributed a track. FORUM’s
‘Seagram Series for Mark Rothko’ is an excellent exercise in restraint
allowing the mind to create a visual to the discrete detailed metallic
textures and crystal drones. It’s spacious yet full of possibilities.
Shinkei uses near silence and distant hum combined with crackle and
static on ‘Nokori (for Ken Nazakawa)’ and I’m transported into a
microworld of tiny insect flutters and voices. This one really commands
my attention and makes me feel like a particle drifting into different
worlds. Luigi Turra ends with ‘Aluminum Zinc’ which makes me think of
an amoeba doing Tai-Chi and then a big giant comes along and starts
clattering about with sheet metal. I reckon headphones are the way to
go with this album unless you have a room with no other audio
distractions. My mind is working overtime to all three tracks here. To
second the Mark Rothko reference I feel this type of sound art really
is the audio equivalent. Some people will look/ hear and be like
“That's a load of bollocks just a load of paint/strange noises” or on
the flipside be like “Fascinating abstract stuff/This takes me places”
You either feel it or you don't. Limited to 250 copies.
I’d been walking around the office in a trance looking at the sleeve of Carlos Giffoni and Keith Fullerton Whitman’s split Techno
LP on No Fun Productions. The primitive cyberdelic black and white
imagery (by Maya Miller) reminding me of the magic of staring at old
rave flyers, very early techno sleeves or Bridget Riley's mind bending
graphics. I bumped into our Business Lady and she nearly fell out of
her stilettos. I’ve always felt that a lot of “noise” music has an
affinity with techno.. For example the extremely underrated recent KK
Null material. Giffoni is clearly addressing this idea with his
synthesizer based productions, especially here with his track “Techno”
which is a beatless plodding analogue synth workout which sneakily
builds up a hypnotic groove with plenty of decay. It’s a fantastic
exercise in rhythm that excludes percussion. Midway through the track a
high frequency is introduced that morphs into cartoonish squiggles that
really make me grin. Actually I’d love to mix this in with some old
Sahko records, pitched right down. I’m sure that techno purists would
disagree, but I would say this IS techno. It’s on the fly, its pure
synth and the bleeps do it for me. Whitman’s side is a different
approach to the technology entirely. I’m either involuntarily tripping
or it has been recorded live as I’m sure I can here some folks in the
background. He twiddles about on the knobs emitting bizarre, unhinged
clinks and clonks that sound both organic and synthetic. It sounds
somewhere between musique concrete and very early electronic stuff like
the BBC Radiophonic Workshop or even Raymond Scott. The sounds
gradually become more aggressive and otherworldly. You really the vibe
he’s both jamming and learning the parameters of the machine whilst
having a keen sense of knowing exactly what he’s doing. Towards the end
he finally lets rip and goes sonically insane. This is one of the more
subtle releases in the No Fun Productions catalogue but as arresting as
some of the harsher ones. Russia has had an incredibly interesting and mostly uncredited
underground electronic scene for some time. One of its flag bearers has
been Ivan Pavlov who has been a longtime contributor to Raster-Noton as
well as running the obscure Wavetrap label. He has collaborated with
Cosey Fanny Tutti and currently works with other Throbbing Gristle
member Peter Christopherson as Soi Song. The LP I’m currently listening
to is called DZERZHINSK-9 and is pulled from 1996 recordings which were made with DAO which is Andrej Dao Kolesov. DAO + CoH
uses bass, guitars and custom ZX Spectrum and the results are pretty
damn awesome. The beats are really energizing while the bass comes
through like Jack Dangers in fine form. There is a distinct 90‘s
flavour and yet it retains a freshness. ‘Propharadeia’ is a really
driving track that makes me shake my body from finger to toe. ‘Oka’ is
dark and sinister coming through like an Autechre/Muslimgauze hybrid,
seething with eastern paranoia. ‘Sung In Sand' continues the eastern
flavour with its building intricate yet subtle percussion and swooping
synths. Out on Tourette records. Great stuff! Campbell Neale is a man of many hats. The more I have been exposed
to his productions, the more I can see into his world. Each pseudonym
has a different vibe, whether it be Birchville Cat Motel or Black Boned
Angel or as Our Love Will Destroy the World... This blue vinyl 7” on Quasi Pop is hitting the spot for me right now at ten minutes past twelve o’clock at night. 'Beautiful Monolith Two'
has the fellow in hypnotic but restrained mode with its anxious feeling
that begs the question “where will it go” you kind of expect an sonic
explosion which never manifests and I love the tease. Flip for
‘Glittery Skin’ which has an indecipherable vocal beneath dreamy
effects and psychedelic swirls of light and dark. I spun this record on
both 33 and 45RPM and was pleased with the results both times. This
deep and heavy New Zealand underground man is very versatile. Just like
Stretch Armstrong. Limited edition of 500 copies for the universe. Out
on Quasi Pop who are putting out some very fine records at the moment.
The prices are a little high as they are eastern European imports but
it’s all great stuff. SeE You nExT WizZles! LoL xxx
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Friday, October 30, 2009
|
Current mood:Tits
Category: Music
This week's reviews
30 Oct 2009
Hello you. We're back! Not that we went anywhere! I'm sure there's
laods of exciting news to tell you but I can't remember any of it.
Let's see.... there's a Make Mine Music promotion going on exclusively
through Norman Records where if you buy any CD at all on the MMM label
you get a free copy of MMM050. If that isn't exciting then I don't know what is. The first Fuck Buttons LP is repressed and is back on vinyl...! There's a bunch of limited lathe cuts on the Alt Vinyl label here. There's a brand new Northerner CD, new CD by Fieldhead on Home Assembly featuring a super limited bonus remix CD!, new Japanese Ian Hawgood CD, a Bad Lieutenant spanky box thing, Nirvana Bleach deluxe reissue job on vinyl, The Klaxons are back with Alan Vega, Life On Earth soundtrack on Trunk, a new new Horrors 7", Lightning Bolt wax, Peter Wright Japanese CD on Spekk (there's 2 more in this week on the label), a ton of used gear
and barrels more. A veritable booty tastic week!! Oh the 3rd leyland
Kirby LP arrived and shipped but it sold out before it hits the new in
pags. The triple CD will be here next week! Read on.... Oh and a massive big up to Ant who's tying the knot today and
getting all married everywhere. What a great start to the weekend!!
P x
Le Lendemain- Fires CD (Home Normal)
Well as dream collaborations go, Le Lendemain is a pretty fine start, this duo being comprised of Library Tapes' David Wengrenn & man of the moment Danny Norbury. 'Fires'
is actually their second combined effort (the first being LT's
beautiful 'Sketches') and is a CD on ambient/drone/neo classical
behemoth Home Normal. Some of the intertwining cello work on this
magical CD recalls Dirty Three or Godspeed's more tranquil moments
while sombre piano exploration, Dulcitone embellishment and brittle
swathes of field recordings tinker busily below the surface, hardly
audible. As far as contemporary classical albums go, 'Fires' is by far
one of the most evocative & free-flowing. You'd swear there was a
multitude of chamber players at work here by the way the strings have
been edited & layered - the sheer grace & fluidity, the way it
all segues & flows, as a cello stroke starts to fade, another
swoops in leaving you feeling touched by magic. Seeing how much I love
the work of Arvo Pärt & Max Richter, this wonderful, atmospheric
collection will no doubt be filed lovingly alongside them when I retire
to my peaceful lakeside cottage in the isolated far North. A very
precious blending of talents! Ltd to 1000 for the world. El Brian x It's nice to see Angular still keep on going ploughing the spiky
post-punk thing even though it's not as fashionable as it used to me.
That means they're doing it for the love and not for a quick buck and
that's always admirable. Wetdog have a new 7" out on Angular called 'Lower Leg'
this week which is great. I've not heard 'em before but immediately I
get bits of The Slits and The Raincoats. The song itself reminds me of
a Young Knives song and it's annoying me senseless that I can't
remember which one it is. Cocks..... Well this is far from cocks. It's
great spiky pop music which sounds like it's falling to bits but it
somehow manages to stay in one piece relatively unscathed. It's a
fantastic pop tune bursting with energy and I'm already in my fifth
spin... I will not leave this tune alone. Total single of the week if I
ever heard one!!! P x Brian is tired of his name and hankers for his old moniker back. Here's Alfonso the Cretinous!
Lies, all lies. Press releases are often like a word ocean of dishonesty condensed into heinous paragraphs of deceit. Three Trapped Tigers
just about live up to portions of their sly old press burble by
successfully thieving much of Squarepusher's eerie, dystopian signature
synth sound and hyperactive bass squiggles for the opening track to
their new EP2.
However they merge these distinctive electronic staples with brooding,
futurist instrumental post-rock phrasing, real frenetic drums &
breezy ad libbing to create a fresh progressive rock sound. Along with
mid period Trans Am, Liverpool's brilliant Kling Klang & new
players such as Eat Lights Become Lights & Zombie Zombie, they've
learned how to fuse the dynamic elements of classic virtuoso prog with
an innate understanding of today's cutting edge technology and end up
sounding something like Muse remixed by Fuck Buttons & Otto Von
Schirach when they're at their most berserk, like on the insane,
breakneck track three, '8'. They've got talent dripping from every pore
these boys but their possessed cyber rock can get a little intense for
these tired old ears, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief when the
EPs closer, the tender, downtempo prettiness of '9' with its morphing,
emotive bass & oriental chiming that has me thinking of Mochipet's
sweeter outpourings. Fieldhead
is Paul Elam from Leeds collective The Declining Winter. Paul currently
sports a curious style of beard and is quite often spied in &
around the various beer hostels of West Yorkshire with a friendly smile
on his chops seeking, or hosting, quality live entertainment. His debut
CD proper - 'They Shook Hands For Hours'
- is out now, courtesy of the charming Home Assembly crew and it is
quite an impressive listen. Merging his love for drone &
contemporary sound design with melodic electronica & glitch, this
CD pulls you in from the off with the stripped back beats & drowsy
phasing of 'This Train is a Rainbow' to the drifting, spectral
drone/ambience of 'Half Names' & the looped, atmospheric eeriness
of the title track. He's certainly been studying hard has Paul, his
love for melancholy electronics, field recordings & ponderous
neo-classical movement is most apparent, his pieces are lovingly
structured and flow quite beautifully and his feel for both space &
rhythm is well considered making this a treat to listen to. For fans of
everyone from Max Richter & Four Tet to Jasper TX &
Machinefabriek. We have a limited number of copies with an accompanying
CD of remixes from the likes of Machinefabriek, Jasper TX, Seaworthy,
The Declining Winter, Northerner, Library Tapes, Pausal, Glissando,
James Yates, Yuri Lugovskoy and Matthew Collings. These are limited so
be quick!
Tetuzi Akiyama & Toshimaru Nakamura are a pair of improv dwelling familiars from Tokyo, Japan and 'Semi-Impressionism'
is their first collaborative release. I've no idea how to review the
sound of rumbling friction textures picked up by a strategically placed
microphone, sparse, deconstructed meandering folk, minimal steel string
plucking, intermittent bursts of tape hiss, shuffling glitch,
chirruping tones & crazy whirring frequencies only dogs can
properly hear. It sounds quite lovely in places but if I were to attend
one of their live performances you'd no doubt also be able to hear me
discreetly clearing my throat, shuffling my feet awkwardly, picking my
nose & blinking loudly. Suppose it would add to the general aura
innit! CD in posh-pack through Spekk.
Another chappie from those exotic Eastern shores is Teruyuki Nobuchika. We have a lovingly packaged CD called 'Morceau'
through Schole for your delectation. 12 tracks of totally blissed
"folk-tronica" underpinned with warm, woozy field recordings that sound
like they've been taken in a park or a nature reserve on a lazy, sunny
day - birds twittering happily all over the shop - and the swaying,
lullaby guitar is most harmonious, he must be playing his heart out to
all the animals! I can see this highly tuneful album appealing to fans
of Ulrich Schnauss & Lemon Jelly, twinkly, dreamy, melodic &
hazy even on the more beauty & euphoric 'Piano Bit' which reminds
me of prime Orbital & The Field! A stressbuster of an album indeed,
one for those fantasists who eternally wish for languid summers to
bathe in the luxuriant light & heat! Cold Wave electro prodigies Cold Cave aka Wesley Eisold (& friends) has his debut LP proper ‘Love Comes Close’
fully released on Matador this week. I heard a 7" single on Hospital
months back and just adored the dark, blurred lo-fi fog obscuring these
darkly emotive electro pop gems. Once again the "Dutch" sound of 1982
is relevant & fresh again. Cold Cave's songs owe as much to the
bleak beauty of Factory records as they do the sad analogue chords of
Trumpett records of Holland (check out Eurolegends such as The Actor
& Ende Shneafliet), music that is both beautifully evocative and
icily nihilistic. The early New Order influence is inescapable on the
title track, but doesn't seem typical of much of the album. There's
quite a varied palette of electronic sounds used throughout, the
template is really diverse, ranging from the nonchalant, detached synth
fuzz of 'Life Magazine' with its echoed female vocal & looming
bassline to the crisp, classic electro of 'The Laurels of Erotomania' -
all cascading synths, pristine 4/4 beat & sulky, maudlin vocals.
God, this guy knows how to write a tune! He's a bit of a goth too but
I've always thought that this much maligned genre harboured some
cracking, underappreciated songs. 'Heaven Was Full' is Interpol meets
Depeche Mode skating sexily along on Kate Bush's mid 80's drums...... I
can really see what the fuss is about now, nothing hugely new but
there's some quality ideas fused together here to create a fresh
dynamic take on simple old ingredients. Excellent stuff!!! Well as dream collaborations go, Le Lendemain is a pretty fine start, this duo being comprised of Library Tapes' David Wengrenn & man of the moment Danny Norbury. 'Fires'
is actually their second combined effort (the first being LT's
beautiful 'Sketches') and is a CD on ambient/drone/neo classical
behemoth Home Normal. Some of the intertwining cello work on this
magical CD recalls Dirty Three or Godspeed's more tranquil moments
while sombre piano exploration, Dulcitone embellishment and brittle
swathes of field recordings tinker busily below the surface, hardly
audible. As far as contemporary classical albums go, 'Fires' is by far
one of the most evocative & free-flowing. You'd swear there was a
multitude of chamber players at work here by the way the strings have
been edited & layered - the sheer grace & fluidity, the way it
all segues & flows, as a cello stroke starts to fade, another
swoops in leaving you feeling touched by magic. Seeing how much I love
the work of Arvo Pärt & Max Richter, this wonderful, atmospheric
collection will no doubt be filed lovingly alongside them when I retire
to my peaceful lakeside cottage in the isolated far North. A very
precious blending of talents! Ltd to 1000 for the world. Ant's going to the chapel and he's gonna get married
Home Normal are churning them out at the moment. It feel like they
have something out every week! I could be wrong, perhaps my perception
of time has been altered. I blame Greg Davis and his 'Midpoint'
CD. This guy's stuff has a strange effect on me. The disc comprises two
tracks. The first is a mixdown from a live quadraphonic performance
where he played violin, bells, vocals and computer. I'd say it's one
for the drone purists, working its way slowly and gently evolving. On
the very surface it feels a little cold and sterile to begin with as
the piece develops it becomes warm and hypnotic. I think fans of Celer
would appreciate this one. The second track is also from a live
performance with a different array of tools at hand: Korg mono/poly
analogue synthesizer, Wurlitzer MLM organ, effects pedals etc. This one
has a totally different feel with lots of detailed sounds deep in the
mix. Of course there is a drone element but there is lots happening and
the overall atmosphere is really cool and transports me to an other
place entirely. Coppice Halifax is one of Brian Grainger's alter egos and we have three different 3" CD's available by the man. I'm listening to 'AB4'
and thoroghly enjoying it. Here he's on the dubby techno tip. The
tracks have a real nice vibe, uplifting melodies and a deep spaced out
sound with shimmering dub effects. Influenced by the likes of Basic
Channel and Rod Modell but adding his own style to the mix. Heavy sub
bass is present which has prompted Brett to ask what is playing. Yeah
so if you like the idea of Mileu does dub techno, realy well executed
then get in quick as these are limited to 50 copies a peice. Perfect
late night listening.
We've had a bunch of smart looking titles in on Spekk... I played the Peter Wright 'An Angel Fell Where The Kestrels Hover'
album the other day and was most impressed. Wright is a super talented
New Zealand native and everything I've had the pleasure to hear by him
has moved me. His approach to the guitar is fantastic with conventional
string sounds that mutate into glorious drones and hovering tones. This
album conjures up so much beauty and emotion, it's astounding. I love
the way he balances the light and dark moods. The addition of field
recordings works nicely too. If you enjoyed his 'Snowblind' album then
this is a big recommendation. Top drawer stuff. Those looking for an indie pop fix might find Camera Obscura's 'The Sweetest Thing'
CD a bit useful. It's lifted from the 'My Maudlin Career' album which
flew out of the office doors at an astonishing rate. This really is
sugar sweet with the feel good strings, bells etc. Their new home 4AD
appears to be a comfortable place for them... With the tasteful
packaging complementing their sophisticated pop sound. The B-side is a
cover of Bruce Springsteen's 'Tougher Than The Rest'. Four Tet's 'Love Cry'
12" is spinning with its multi coloured disco label and info etched
into the run-out groove. It's a real slow builder with a 4/4 kick and
Hebden's trademark percussion sound, it doesnt seem to be heading
anywhere until the vocal loop kicks in and then things fall into place.
It's somewhere between disco, house and techno and as the track
progresses I'm getting quite into it. It would certainly do the the job
on the dancefloor. The flipside 'Our Bells' is the sound of a load of
bells twinkling everywhere. I suspect if you like bells then you'll
like it. If you don't like bells then you'll want to throw it in the
bin. Bell haters beware as its mega super ultra belly. Limited edition
and all.
I thought The Klaxons had disappeard off the face of the planet but here they are covering Suicide's 'Sweetheart'. How I feel about this I really dont know. The Alan Vega
style vocal trembling comes across as a bit forced. I guess their
trying to be faithfull to the original but it comes across a bit
karaoke to me. I think I'd have prefered them just to do their own
thing with it. Nevermind. The man Vega himself does 'Speedway'
which is a bit disappointing. It's like a sped up bontempi groove with
little guitar lick and clapping and then him singing all over it. No Bra do 'Super Subway Comedian'
with a spoken word female vocal and lots of pulses and bleeps. I'm not
really taken by this record at all and I absolutley adore Suicide! Ltd
numbered 10" on Blast First Petite. Phil reckons jam is best served warm on cold bread
We got a bunch of tasty stuff in on Spekk this week. Three whole
brand new releases! They all come in those lovely oversized cardy
sleeve things and I reckon if you had the lot they'd look lovely
stacked up all side by side smiling all experimentally at you. Dirac is one of these 3 and they're a name new to me! They're a trio from Austria who make some lovely sounding atmospherics on Emphasis.
Field recordings, percussion, guitars and some electronics all combine
to make a delicately sparse yet full sound. There's plenty going on in
between the sparseness so there's lots to latch on to here. I love the
delicateness of it.... It all sounds like it spiders web that could
just break at any minute but it's held together by some sort of clever
musical jam. Mmmm.... Jam. Plenty of drones and tones to keep you
droneheads happy and there's ample things going on elsewhere to keep
the more experimental lot happy. Easy on the ear and easy on the eye
which is the way I like it these days. We got a bunch of stuff in this week by Milieu. Been a while! Tidewater Petrol
is one of 'em and it's a wee 3" job limited to a paltry 50 copies... Of
which we don't have too many. Quite refreshingly this is somewhat of a
departure from previous Milieu releases. It's way more upbeat than most
(if not all) of his previous work. The opener 'Drysummer' builds up
into a fantastic piece of crunchy sounding melodic electronica over a
thunderous 4/4 beat.... Kind of reminds me a bit of Plaid at times.
'Neon 9000' is another upbeat number which reminds me a bit of AFX at
times.. That's the highlight of the EP for me but the whole thing is
some what of a revelation if I'm honest. It's good to hear him do
something else. Excellent stuff!! There's some bits in on the Silber label this week. One of which is a CD by Vlor
who I've not heard before. I did somehow manage to review the first
album without even listening to it. That's well poor..... It was
probably sealed or something, damned that plastic... Anyway Vlor is a
supergroup featuring Brian John Mitchell (who runs Silber), Jessica
Bailiff, Annelies Monsere, Jon Derosa (Aarktica) and another 8
folks.... So they're more of a collective these days as different
people play on different tracks giving the album a varied yet cohesive
feel. The albums veers from genre to genre (shoegazing, dreampop,
drone, slowcore and there's even a garage rock tune on there!) but it
works well together. The general feel of the album is pretty downbeat
(with the odd exception) and there's a bit of a goth thing going on at
moments. Well over half of it would sit really nicely on 4AD's mid
80's.... Roster. It's one of the most interesting albums I've heard in
a long while and one I'd deffo recommend you to check out!. Six-Winged is CD only. The Horrors are back with a new single on XL called 'Whole New Way'.
This tune featured on the Japanese CD of their last smash hit pop album
'Primary Colours' and now you can own it - without having to mortgage
your house - on a small shiny black vinyl 7". As I'm getting older I'm
sort of not minding The Horrors. I think I'd like them more if they
didn't have a massive hype machine plugged into their arse but that's
the way things are these days. Hypey.....The vocals on this new tune
are a bit gothy and the bassline and drums remind me of The Cure.
Actually it's quite an 80's sounding thing but with modern production.
I'm not entirely sure about the song itself as it's not doing too much
for me but the rhythm section on it is totally mint. It makes me want
to squeeze my fat legs into drainpipes and turn purple. Nice.
In on Japan's Slow Flow label is a smart new CD by Ian Hawgood called 'We Are Better For Being Built This Way'.
Which I can only assume is a dig at my middle age spread. Ian... How
dare you! Only joking... I'm well thin me... I'm like a hairy match. I
think this is the fourth album we've had this year from him and this
one is a more meditative affair as it pulses along with various noises
popping up in the background. The first track is lovely as it gently
ebbs and flows while you get the sound of water in the background and
perhaps a bit of rustling or something. Some of the tracks feature some
bowed/picked piano which sounds lovely. In essence though it's a lush
sounding ambient drone album which is designed to accompany lone
autumnal travel. Very specific, but listening to it with my eyes shut I
can see that (or hear it!) This is my favourite of the albums I've
heard by him this year. Excellent! I can't count the amount of times I've watched David Attenborough
documentaries. I bought 'em all donkeys years ago and I've watched 'em
all loads. Falling asleep listening to David Attenborough is literally
one of the nicest things that can happen to you! Trunk very wisely have
re released the soundtrack to Life On Earth for you, the general massive. I hope you're grateful! Composed by Edward Williams
this was originally released by the Beeb in an edition of 100 and it
was distributed to the orchestra who played on it. Thus it's rare
as.... From the opening notes you're treated to an surprisingly eerie
spooky soundtrack laden with strings, oboes, cornets... err an entire
orchestra. Beautifully composed music with weird electronics popping up
(they sound electronic) making the whole thing sound very spooky. You
can see how some of these pieces would perfectly fit over a montage of
fighting dogs or plants shitting or whatnots. Superb stuff! Yeeeeah boyeeee, Brett bum rushed tha show
Man with Japanese name in releasing droney ambient limited CD shocka! This one's on Sentient Recognition Archive, it's by Hiroki Sasajima, it's called Monogenic
and it's an action packed one. Listening to it around the normal volume
we use on our stereo for CDs all you really get is the distant hum of a
never-ending hoover but crank it up to what would generally be
ear-splitting levels and some details become clear - a bit of
shuffling, someone rattling around in a drawer looking for some
Blu-Tack, that sort of thing. Without having a press release to hand
I've no idea if there's a concept I'm missing but to me it kind of
sounds like the ambience of a quiet room amplified far beyond its
natural level. So there you go. Storming in this week is a new compilation of genius Ethiopian composer and vibraphonist Mulatu Astatke's
early work. Ethiopia's highly distinctive approach to jazz incorporates
generous portions of soul, funk, pop and rock over a lolling bedrock of
loose, relaxed African rhythms to make a sound that's highly listenable
and homes straight in on your brain's pleasure centre to leave you
grinning from ear to ear. Fans of his frequent contributions to the
amazing Ethiopiques series will know what to expect of New York-Addis-London: The Story of Ethio Jazz 1965-1975
and will probably own a few of the twenty tracks already but even for
those devotees this is a wholly worthwhile collection and for newcomers
interested in his stuff (perhaps introduced by his collaboration with
The Heliocentrics) it's a gimme. A great comp on both CD and double LP
from the good people at Strut! We sold literally a million of the last Northerner
CD, The Ridings (ah, I remember my days of playing with the wooden
train set in the West Riding Centre's Early Learning Centre - it was
last weekend), so maybe we'll sell a million of 1976.
It's a whole new album and it's chock full of warm, pastoral
electro-acoustic ambience which builds up to lovely shimmery bits and
could certainly comfort you through the winter months better than than
electric blanket you've got in the cupboard which still smells a bit of
cat piss 'cos Fraggly did a whoopsie that time but you didn't want to
throw away because electric blankets cost money and money doesn't grow
on trees you know, Brett. Sorry, I went off somewhere then. I liked
this album and so did everyone else. 1976 is CD only on the Hibernate
label..... Kompakt's Michael Mayer and Jon Berry have a new label, Fright,
which seems like it's going to be home to a new lot of synthy
giallo-inspired horror geeks if Gatekeeper's ' Optimus Maximus'
12" is anything to go by. Packaged up in a hand-numbered (of 300)
sleeve, this fancily marbled vinyl oozes melodramatic 80s futurism from
every pore with ludicrous drum sounds programmed in the cheesiest of
ways and married to crude vocal samples and hyperactive synth lines and
breathy washes which constantly sound like they're threatening to force
the tunes into a dodgy club remix of 'Enjoy the Silence'. It sounds
absurd but it definitely works.. A guilty pleasure but most definitely
a pleasure. Time for some classic shoegaze sounds! Air Formation's Matt Bartram has a new solo venture called Left to Memory
and, barring the odd little telltale production sign, it'd be a really
hard one to date if you were listening to it blind. Some of these
tracks could very easily have belonged to the very first wave of bands
inspired by Spacemen 3 (particularly the ones with an organ droning
away) or The Jesus and Mary Chain (as with the second tune, which is a
total dead ringer) back in the mid-late 80s. He's certainly got
songwriting chops to spare as even when his words are buried underneath
a load of hazy ambient feedback they do still cut through and leave an
impression. Good stuff on Drifting Falling. I'm enjoying the fact that there's a track called 'White Honky Afro' on the new Luke Haines album.
And the picture of him on the inside cover raising a glass to you, the
listener, is something to see as well. I think you know what you're
getting with this fella by now what with his myriad releases under
various guises down the years and it's hard to imagine fans being
disappointed with 21st Century Man
and it's limited bonus album Achtung Mutha, offering as they do a
truckload of witty, wordy cynicism dumped unceremoniously down an
embankment of varied instrumentation, alternately lush and gritty, for
later transportation into a giant polluted sea of black humour. Plus
there's a tune about Klaus Kinski which is one way to get me on side..
I wish I still had his autobiography, it was proper amazing. Anyway,
the old misery guts has easily kept up his reputation for quality here
so feel free to partake without fear if there's been a Luke-shaped hole
in your life recently. I reviewed Monolake's great 'Atlas'
12" a wee while ago so it seems a bit daft that I'm doing this new one
too, especially since the A-side is a remix of said tune by T++ - one
half of the core Monolake duo these days. I'm not one to complain
though, especially when faced with dub techno royalty. His 'Atlas'
version is a tasty example of how to do this shit properly - slicing up
elements of the original and sticking it back together in a new
formation which initially sounds like a whole new composition until you
really try to single out and identify the building blocks. As with the
original, it's quite a speedy number and its fleet-footed two-step will
have dancefloors skipping no bother. Snappily titled new T++ track
'Test#10Seed_Bit' features some highly satisfying snare action,
insistent minimal bass prods and a quality switcheroo in the middle as
the track unravels on itself. Superb as always! Is Eleh
a person or are Eleh people? I genuinely don't know but I kind of like
the idea of various people squabbling over which particular note
they'll be using for their new release. As ever you're in droney
minimalism territory, with interest added by the fluctuation of the
very purest of tones, but I think Observations and Momentum
sees them/him/her stepping away a little from the clear homages to the
likes of La Monte Young and Pauline Oliveros. Not satisfied with adding
a really satisfying rhythmical quality to their tone manipulations
they've even thrown in some static-filled bass injections and
suggestions of choral voices.. To be honest, it's practically dubstep
compared with some of their other stuff and it's really pretty
wonderful I have to say. I'd love to hear them continue in this sort of
direction. It's the stuff of review nightmares but now I've got this
far I've realised this is a split with Nana April June
(me neither) and you know what, their side is pretty great too. It's a
sheer wall of fuzzy noise that's making me imagine I'm sat inside a car
listening to the wind and rain of a particularly brutal storm batter my
safe haven while I'm zoning out into some crazy internal mind space..
Then a beat kicks in, it goes all Gas then all Alva Noto and I'm never
coming back. I'll be taking one of these fo' sho'. Business Lady wears two pairs of pants in winter and is now forever to be known as business gravy.
Winter North Atlantic present pastoral melodies and loosely ambient musings on new album ' A memento for Dr.Mori'.
W.N.A manage to drift effortlessly between folk and electronica
creating an emotive and uplifting sound as they go. They embrace
acoustic guitars, analogue keyboards, violins, accordions to great
effect crafting a sound that sits somewhere between the
Bracken/Hood/Declining winter school of thought and Four Tet as well as
having a little in common with groups like Town and Country and
Pullman. He is obviously a fine craftsman and the compositional work is
confidently executed. Coupled with excellent production and some
tasteful digital editing 'A memento for Dr. Mori' is a total treat that
will no doubt appeal to fans of the aforementioned groups as well as
stuff like Manyfingers and the like.
Part two of the three part ' Heavy rock hits' 7" series from Boris
is equally as bemusing as the first installment. 'Heavy metal addict'
is a strange mash-up of squelchy synth basslines and abstract rifforama
punctuated with occasional vocal outbursts. The track is held together
with an almost digital hardcore-esque industrial rock riff but the rest
of the tune is well warped. New elements wander back and forth from the
mix with no apparent system to hold them together. This makes for a
crazy yet worthy listen. B-side 'Black original' steps things up again
with it's twisted view of funky electro pop complete with proper pop
vocal singing. It's totally amazing!! BORISSSSS!!!! Take it to the next
level. The U.S. pop underground are shitting themselves over new Slumberland signings ' Brilliant colors'
and it's no surprise as they are carving quite a niche for themselves
in the old the '78 punk spirit meets C86/Rough trade indie
sensibilities scene that seems to have emerged over the last few years.
This is a super hip record from a super hip group. Sharp, clashy
guitars wrestle with big reverberant drums and tambourines whilst
singer/guitarist Jess Scott lulls us with her warped interpretation of
girl group/indie pop vocalism. These songs are simple and catchy in a
naggingly subtle way.....like when you hum the words to a song you
don't know the words too. Obvious comparisons are Vivian Girls (and
related groups) as well as The Pains of Being Pure at Heart though the
music also has a little in common with early Sleater Kinney and the
early/mid-nineties 4AD bands. Introducing is on CD and LP Next up a split release from two of the UK's finest 'Heavy' bands Hey Colossus and Dethscalator
available from Black Labs (a new sister label to Riot season with this
being the first release). Veteran d.i.y stomp boxers Hey Colossus start
things of low key style but soon erupt into a foaming mass of riffage
and inaudible psycho-babble vocals. These are long, hypnotic mega tunes
with massive reverb saturated drums and immense amounts of guitar
feedback that practically saturates opener 'Eyes for an eye'. Can i
hear a saxophone in there? Maybesssss......NKOTB (New Kids on the
Block) dethscalator take a slightly more straight forward approach on
these five tracks yet they are no less effective in their mission. I'm
totally loving the riffage presented here and the vocals are a truly
disturbing combination of manic taunts and yelps. Sort of reminds me of
Pissed Jeans and The Jesus Lizard (especially that fearsome vocal).
This is a totally rocking beast and the back cover features a headless
biker riding a Harley Davidson.....what more do you want? Eh? The Two Sides of Tim Cohen is the first solo offering from Tim Cohen
of The Fresh and Onlys and Black Fiction. This guy is some kind of
songwriting machine and it ain't quantity over quality tip either,
Cohen delivers! These tunes are truly likeable slabs of indie rock and
pop littered with references to folk, country, 70's R&B, spaced out
synth rock and psychedelia all committed to tape at home on a Tascam 8
track. These songs have that instantly familiar feeling that all great
pop music should have and there's enough odd little moments to keep the
chin stroking types amused too. 'The two sides of Tim Cohen' shares
similarities with Sic Alps, Ariel Pink, Real Estate and some of the
stuff coming out on Sacred Bones at the moment but the most obvious
reference is Cohen's other projects, only stripped down to the bare
basics. Ace rekkid.....ace cover art too.
Port-Royal
are an Italian duo that specialise in the magical and wondrous sounds
that can be created by mashing up shoegazing influences with modern
ambient synth sounds. Last years ‘Afraid To Dance’ proved to be a
favourite with a ton of peeps ensuring greater exposure and additional
remix work for the keen duo. This new offering ' Dying in time'
carries on from where they left of with 'Afraid to Dance' but
incorporates a heavier electronic influence with an emphasis on synth
pop and techno. The techno influence is subtle and old skool but it's
certainly present and helps elevate these these compositions to new
heights of creativity. Dull, thumping bass drum beats assist you
through the cacophony of ambient tones, droning synth basslines,
arpeggiated grooves and odd, inaudible vocal lines. As you expect this
is journey music, as perfect after a big ol' boffer with the headphones
on late at night as it would be in a field full of pilled up mongo's,
'Dying in time' has a little something for everyone, as long as you
like it ambient and uplifting of course.
' Close proximity and the unhindered care-all' is the latest offering from musical duo Will Long and Danielle Baquet-Long a.k.a Celer.
I don't think Celer are capable of making a bad record with this latest
offering being no exception. As is often the case with the likes of
Growing and such, Celer very rarely drift from their comfort zone but
they do what they do so well that I could enjoy numerous installments
of what is essentially the same thing, beautifully realised and
confidently delivered ambient drone. Using processed strings, pianos,
regional field recordings, and electronics: Celer compose wonderfully
drifting ambience of the sort that can only be truely appreciated
quietly, at home. Using the simple mechanics of ambient drone music
Celer have an uncanny ability to communicate all kinds of thoughts and
emotions whilst quietly send you of into a better head space. 'Close
proximity and the unhindered care-all' is yet another fine example of
these two lovebirds at play. Local superstars Castrovalva are kicking up the shit on new single/E.P ' Thug Poetry'
taking things way beyond the proto Lightning Bolt sound they started
out with. 'Thuglife' and 'Outlawz' are ace examples of a group coming
into their own, enlisting the help of Leemun Smith and his extensive
vocal range to help elevate Castrovalva to new screaming heights. These
tunes are totally ridiculous, bass driven marathons of rock that sound
like they were recorded on a rocket ship somewhere in the future of
outer space. Smith's falsetto sounds immense on both tracks and the
riffage is enough to make even the toughest of cynics grin with new
found glee. Can't say enough nice things about these little intro to
the neu Castrovalva sound, well worth a look yo! Ace artwork too!!!
Cheers lads! Dave has two legs which are both the same.
Jesu
contain a member of Napalm Death and Godflesh ..but don't expect this
to be thrashing your face off. It's a strangely uplifting offering
(dare I even say..poppy) and actually quite tuneful. They have some
neat hooks at their disposal, and a kind of shoe gazer meets stoner
rawk sound. I'd say it sounds like Harvey Milk after a trip to Weight
Watchers. The production is nice and layered and the cover is really
hard to get back in its cellophane wrapper...all instruments were
played by the man Justin Broadrick so kudos.... Opiate Sun is CD only!
The new Aarktica album ( In Sea)
sounds how the front sleeve looks (does that make sense?). It sounds
like traipsing across icey tundra with nothing but a sandwich to keep
you warm..It's another all sounds played by one person affair, and its
protagonist Jon DeRosa has come up trumps with this album,and offers a
piece of work that is emotive and cinematic. The things I like most
about this album are some of the song titles (corpse reviver no.2
anyone??) and the final track Am I Demon? (which is a Glen Danzig
cover!) This album does wrap a ice clad glove around you but keeps you
alive with some tasteful sounds and lavish production......now where's
that sandwich....? Shit I'm getting my fill of solo artists today. Next up is James McDougall (A.K.A. Entia Non) and his album Disinter.
It's ambient noise with some field recordings that were sourced from
the east coast of Australia. It's minimalist stuff with emphasis on
minimal, the minimal sounds made me feel I was in some kind of lo-fi
Horror film with nothing but a crap weapon to protect me and the
chewing mouths of the undead outside. I'm not really au fait with this
genre of music but I cant deny its atmospheric leanings..but all in all
it left me Disinter(ested)...its on the SRA label so save up and spend
those ambient noise credits kids!!!! The latest offering from Ikonika is called Smuck.
But you wont be a smuck if you purchase this. It's the kind of thing
you heard when you inhabited arcade gaming circles back in the day.
It's an upbeat single with tight production and no layers of excess
blubber to weigh it down. It proper zips along!!If you are a fan of
J-Pop or button bashing (in the arcade game sense, not having a pop at
the F1 racing champion) then this is proper up yer street....brahhpppp
etc...... On their new 7" ' Doris Day', Paper Planes
offer up a sort of Yeah Yeah Yeahs type stomp which doesn't outstay its
welcome. It has a raw production sound and a very point A to point B
ethos (I think) leaving nothing to spare ...which is what you want from
a pop single...and it has a sleazy undercurrent which I have to fully
laude. What more do you want from Say Dirty Records???? A clear vinyl. I like that. Would I buy that for a dollar?? Maybe. The new single from Banjo or Freakout floated past me before I even realised I'd listened to it. So I played ' Left It Alone'
again. The words "Powerfully Foppish" sprang to mind. It's got anthemic
leanings, ala Fleet Foxes or dare I say it My Morning Jacket but its
nice enough without actually doing owt to my mind...great when music
does that isn't it..... teamNORM xxx
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Friday, October 23, 2009
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Current mood:Lengthy
Category: Music
This week's reviews
23 Oct 2009
Hello hello. yet another massive week at the towers with tons of
releases out. Far too many for us to listen to and review all in one
week even with the increasing amount of ears here! It's crazy..... BUT
the release schedule will die down in November so you'll have time to
catch up then! Anyway unless you were quick you missed out on the Xela/
Transit lathe cuts on Static Caravan and the Bonnie Billy 7" on Drag
City which came and went like that...... A lot of things come and go
super quick these days so you wanna check the site around 5-6 ish
monday to friday as that's when the goodess gets added before we sod
off home for tea and biscuits. There's a handy tip for you..... I'm
bored of writing this now so I'm off - P x
Broadcast & The Focus Group - Broadcast and The Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age (CD/LP on Warp)
For the last couple of days I've had the phrase 'all circles vanish' reverberating around my mind and it's all the fault of Broadcast and The Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age,
in which our titular heroes form like Voltron to produce a postmodern
take on classically British psychedelic sounds, from Wicker Man-esque
acid folk to the Radiophonic Workshop to those childhood television
programs that whisked your imagination away on all kinds of flights of
fancy just before teatime. As with Broadcast
in general as well as all the Ghost Box crew this is incredibly visual
stuff and there's always that constant push and pull between innocence
and experience, with naive sounds masking what might appear, in a
slightly different light, to be some kind of sinister danger a little
bit beyond your understanding. The neat trick of this collaboration is
that the bands sound so completely intertwined, at times there's a
little more Broadcast (with a handful of tracks you could call actual
songs) and at times a little more Focus Group
(with the editing and sonic wizardry of the quickfire incidental
pieces) but neither ever comes close to completely overshadowing the
other and it's a quite fantastic sound that they've conjured together..
So full of mystery and memories. Extra details wise, you've got
gorgeous artwork from Julian House and a running time of just under
fifty minutes, which is a fair bit more than we were expecting since it
was billed as a mini LP kind of affair. If you've not heard either of
these bands before and you're feeling a little adventurous you could do
much worse than starting here, if you like one of them you're likely to
be delighted and if you like both I probably had you at "Hello". Brett x Celer - Mane Blooms (7" on Low Point)
You know when I first clocked this ‘ Mane Blooms’ 7” by Celer
I must admit that I had my reservations about how suitable their music
is/how it would translate to the format. However after a few listens
I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s actually really cool. The record
serves as a kind of counterpart to the excellent ‘Brittle’ CD recently
released by Low-Point, but also as a perfect kind of sampler for anyone
that is new to Celer’s music. The two tracks have that distinct Celer
flavour that really grabs my soul. The recordings were created with
cello, piano and field recordings, all processed to pretty much
unrecognizable levels. The attention to detail is wonderful, the tracks
are very subtle and once you get in, there is pure warmth and emotion
emanating from what on the surface is quite a minimal construction. The
beauty lies in the simplicity, the gently evolving tones. It’s magical
stuff to say the least. The bonus of the 7” format is that you can play
it at either 33rpm or 45rpm for an alternative version of each track. I
would say for me this is up there with their finest work and for any
Celer fan is pretty much essential. Total class as always from both a
consistent artists and label. Another pristine Celer production and the
only stuff by them ever to be committed to vinyl, but hopefully not the
last... Highly recommended. Ant x Brian is faced with loads of pissing CDs he has never set ears on before....
The Fatales:
I'm unsure of where these fellas hail from (I get the feeling they may
be French Canadian?) but they've a studious, commercial leaning sound
that hoovers up influences from windswept 80's AOR pop such as The Blue
Nile taking in smooth, epic, contemporary Euro post-rock ala
Jeniferever/Diefenbach and mild elements of broody early 80's new
wave/"overcoat rock". They sound incredibly accomplished and are maybe
already at the comfortable juncture where White Lies fantasize of being
in 5 years time. It does start to resemble a tougher version of a-ha on
a couple of tracks but their impressive banks of atmospheric synth and
clean, rumbling bass keep it sounding reasonably strong & fresh. I
actually love the chamber interval 'You're Not the Lunar Type' and they
also enjoy fiddling around with some electronic glitch to get that
Postal Service feel. 'Great Surround' is on Monopsone and is well worth a punt if you like yr indie mature, dramatic & melodic.
'Telepathy Dreams' is a new self released CD by the talented Flica.
After the Japanese release 'Nocturnal' amazed everyone's faces clean
off, this fine CD veers between twinkly, lush & sun kissed
electronic lounge pop with huggings of woozy emotion, waves of what
Phil thy calls "etherealness"; sauntering beats and shimmering guitars
that recall Yellow 6; drowsy synch loops & sweet glitch that sounds
a little BOC inspired; heavenly layers of brooding drone with
ponderous; detached piano musings like a ghostly Satire sketch on top
and the occasional piece that calls to mind a lazy afternoon lying on
an Ibiza beach with nothing but blue skies & swaying bikini clad
honeys to trouble your mind. A nicely varied collection of warm hearted
quality electronica & mood pieces.
Wow. Just put this No And The Maybes
CD into the audio mince that is Media Player and all the information is
displayed as squares. Must be of Japanese origin then. Danish 3 piece
N&TM are the latest in a long line of maverick pop eccentrics to
develop a wide screen, multi-layered take on modern psych-pop. With
quality songs that range from the frustratingly brilliant to sublimely
irritating, all depending what mood I'm in from minute to minute,
there's some excellent harmonies & delicious hooks to be consumed
throughout their self-titled
debut CD on Quince. I can hear everything from Apples in Stereo to The
Anadems to Parsley Sound and Simian through to Tuning's pop pier dreamy
stuff in their sound. The only band that's mentioned in their clueless
MOJO quoting press release that isn't totally misleading is XTC but
even that's bit of a red herring as these guys sound very
post-millennial - really crisp, smooth production with tons of playful
quirky touches. I'd recommend headphones to grasp the full depth of
their boffin-like vision, largely excellent hyper-catchy gear!! OK. Trying to capture the beauty of Max Richter's
work in words is always a toughie. After the majesty of his albums for
130701 - Fat Cat's bob-on classical inspired offshoot - his uber
sought-after collaboration with the BBC Philharmonic - 'Memoryhouse'
- has been lovingly repackaged & set free on a world bursting with
desire for this man's graceful, melancholic & yearning chamber
orchestral works. As is the case with many of his other pieces, they
largely utilise hugely emotive, sweeping strings & somber piano
with occasional field recording embellishment that is so perfectly,
subtly poised that even the soft rain heard at the end of 'Europe,
After The Rain' stirs nearly as much feeling up in me as the grand,
searching strings themselves. I'm no classical academic or even that
knowledgeable about such things as music theory but I know good music
when I hear it. On occasion I think I'm being treated to Arvo Part
collaborating with AFX on an Ambient Works project, this is just
absolutely beautiful and like much of his other works, along with many
by Chauveau & Tiersen too, I just want to cry with both sorrow
& joy half the time at what i'm hearing. 'Sarajevo' will draw out
the goosebumps for all those souls who've ever been epically moved by
Gorecki's 'Symphony No. 3'! CD only (for t' moment??) The Haters. They're a cheery bunch innit? 'In the Shade of Fire'
is a digipak CD on Hanson. Deranged baubles of sound smash randomly in
a huge aluminium chamber whilst the rumble of distant bombs add to the
terrifying melee. A truly alarming and rather original start to this
twisted, bombastic holocaust of a recording. This is proper Black Dice
meets Einsturzende Neubauten madness, a ripped-up collage of crashing,
cascading rubble, twisted druggy arcade explosions & comical
Negativland style confrontationalist mayhem. It all starts to become
like wet audio putty in my ears rather quickly, however, and is
possibly more suited toward house party clearing and granny scaring
like lots of other noise music. Well amusing though I must point out.
Get Back Guinozzi
are the trans-English channel collective who write this disembodied,
spacious quirk-pop and homely spangled indie with the merest of twee
angles & a lot of curious DIY soul. They don't really sound like
anyone else at the moment with their skewed electro-tropicalia outlook
& penchant for strummy, summery psycho disco. I'm refusing to
namecheck influences because the mixed bag thrown up in the press
release definitely captures the shambling, playful spirit that weaves
these hardy little growers together. 'Carpet Madness'
definitely has a rich seam of originality running throughout its wonky,
experimental grooves and Fat Cat are to be commended for taking a risk
on summat much less obvious than most of the big indies lately. CD only.
Felix
was a purveyor of smooth euphoric chart house numbers in the 90's such
as the awesome 'Don't You Want Me', which was almost as memorable &
catchy as the Human League number one smash of the same title. Felix in
the 00's is also a Notts based M/F duo specialising in sparse, fragile,
& wistful chamber pop that flutters, swoops & meanders, soft
female vocals, lots of piano, some cello & the occasional reserved
appearance of guitar/bass style embellishment. The drums when required
are handled by a person called Elvis which just does it for me. Oh,
Gareth Hardwick handled the recording & mixing. You Are The One I Pick
is all very graceful & elegant and is distributed by those Kranky
types. Who the redhead on the rear of the sleeve is what I'd kill to
find out.... Absolute uber fox!
Quarta 330 share the latest wax splattering in the Hyperdub 5.+ series (this is 5.3) with fellow post dub travellers LV & Dandelion
shaking their shit on the other side. Quarta's tunes take a while with
me, sharing a similar filtered 8-bit glitch sound with some of the
admittedly excellent Jahtari floor movers. 'Bleeps from Outer Space' is
a right little creaky, bleepy epic with some lovely, woozy spangled
melodies, a slow skanking pixellated reggae groove with the whole thing
continually threatening to dissolve into static like an resolve hitting
aqua at any given moment. Absolutely brilliant. As is the LV side, more
heady future dub with skittering rimshot delay, a smoky trad dub
bassline and stargazing vocals from Burdock's wise ol' bro. Nice
smattering of 8-bit action in this too, plus the drowsy synths
underpinning the action are well BOC, a cracking double header indeed!!
Lunar Temple have a CD out - 'Living Stones'
- on the fine Dissolving label, home of The Dissolving Orchestra. They
are a duo, recorded this 2 track odyssey in Cornwall which sounds like
a Kosmiche style musical accompaniment to a particularly eerie,
atmospheric episode of Doctor Who from the 70s! You know, old burbling
analogue synths; meandering tones & odd frequencies; blanket
static; morphing synths & cyber-aquatic effects trapped in
multi-dimensional anomalies or something even more preposterous! Some
bits convey this ever-present fog of impending menace..... Yes I'm
really liking their style here, it certainly falls within the currently
popular "hauntological" remit, coming on like this ace future/retro OST
to an intergalactic chiller that never got off the ground! Super!!
Brett does a mean drum stick without no oil slick
In addition to the plaudits he has won for the quality of his punning, Kurt Vile
was named the winner of The Great Woodsist Race 2009 - his prize being
a multi-million dollar Matador recording contract and a date with Cat
Power (try to keep her off the shandies, Kurt). I haven't heard his
debut LP with the big boys but Business Lady reckons it's really good
and if this hyperlimited 7" is anything to go by I imagine she's right!
A-side 'He's Alright'
shambles along in a lo-fi country pop performed in the bath sort of way
while 'Farfisas in Falltime' is a droney, almost James Ferraro-y,
guitar track that grinds in a gently noisy sort of way and 'Take Your
Time' is a more traditionally folky blues number in a 'may well be my
favourite of the three' sort of way. Be quick! Woohoo! New Darkstar 12"! 'Need You' was, along with Peverelist's 'Infinity Is Now', definitely one my favourite tunes of last year and 'Aidy's Girl Is a Computer'
keeps up the stellar standard. Again aided by pleading vocoder refrains
(although this time malfunctioning, cut to bits and barely clinging on
to language) and a fantastically emotive atmosphere of technological
melancholy, it's really reminding me of the part in 2001 where Dave the
Spaceman's pulling out all of HAL's memory banks and the computer is
slowly dying. A cracking tune that's more for the head than the feet,
not least because there are a couple of pretty lengthy beatless
sequences. I'm not hugely keen on the housey Kyle Hall remix but
still.. Big recommendz. I reckon Hudson Mohawke's
easily got the best sleeve of anything in this week.. If you had that
on a t-shirt you could be otherwise bollock naked and nobody'd even
notice. I've got to be honest, I previously thought this guy was
horrendously overhyped and I wondered what on Earth Warp thought they
were doing by signing him but Butter
has won me over quite a bit. It's not big, it's not clever but it's
ridiculously good fun. At some times seeming like some sort of
schizophrenic 80s mashup megamix (complete with horrendous guitar
twiddling and crazily epic drum thunderings) and at others like a
psychedelic Outkast-y hip-hopathon there's never anything remotely
resembling a dull moment. I'd be hard pushed to say there wasn't a bit
of filler on here but there are some reet bangers too.. He's
undoubtedly a talented fella and he's taken us all a bit by surprise
with this one! For some reason I thought Gyratory System
were some sort of bland and dodgy guitar indie band but they're
actually a much more interesting proposition. Laying down repetitive,
rocky but danceable rhythms as a base they then layer up all manner of
instrumentation over the top (main dude Andrew Blick is credited as
contributing trumpet, ocarina, recorder and 'snake charmer' amongst
others) there's something a little of the back end of post-punk about
it, with Pigbag one name being mentioned in the office and some of
James Chance's stuff coming to my mind, but I'm getting an undeniable
70s retro-electronic feel from it too. I can well imagine they'd be top
fun live but The Sound-Board Breathes is a satisfying experience in itself. I'm reliably informed that Johnny Foreigner are quite a popular combo and although it's not remotely my thing, from listening to Grace and the Bigger Picture
I can kind of see why. It's got girl/boy vocals and it's a bit shouty
and spunky and jagged and spiky but not enough to scare your gran or
anything. It's sort of old school emo rock (think Jimmy Eat World)
crossed with indie pop, I think, and it's irrepressable exhuberance
brings to mind the bouncy scamps of Los Campesinos. Because the first track on Trygghet's Two View
LP is called 'Square Circle' I debated reviewing it in the style of The
Ultimate Warrior, going on about the spirits of warrior's past and how
I'm going to destroy 'Hoke Gogan' at Wrestlemania, but I thought better
of it. Drawing on elements of post-rock, jazz, ambient and field
recordings, this two track album is a quiet and relaxing delight,
particularly the more vibraphone-heavy sections which sound like Lionel
Hampton stoned at home, smiling to himself as he spends hours
repetitive, subtly shifting patterns. Both Tortoise and Supersilent in
their more sedate moments both come to mind too. Impressive, Snake. Demdike Stare
is the new project from Miles Whitaker of Pendle Coven and Sean Canty
of the Finders Keepers label, keeping the witchy theme of the former
going with track titles like 'Haxan Dub' and 'All Hallow's Eve' (which
features Danny Norbury guesting) and by naming themselves after one of
the more famous sisters of Pendle. Soundwise things have taken a turn
for the darker as far as comparisons with Miles' previous material is
concerned, with a palette of forlorn decay, exotic mystery and
industrial static wedded to his usual immaculately dubby production.
Overt beats have, for the most part, been dropped in favour of pulsing
rhythms (and when they do crop up they have a peculiarly Turkish feel
which conjures up images of Tarkan painting pentagrams on his floor)
and the whole thing is completely in service to the atmosphere, thick
enough to cut with a knife. Symbiosis represents a really tidy bit of work.
Not heard the name Three Mile Pilot
for a good while.. For those who haven't at all they are Pall Jenkins
(of The Black Heart Procession), the amazingly named ArmisteadBurwell
Smith IV (of Pinback) and Tom Zinser (who I don't think was in them
originally but never mind). As you might expect, ' Planets'
sounds eerily like a cross between the bands the members have done
since, that slight post-rock feel of The Black Heart Procession with
the more anthemic poppiness of Pinback all wrapped up in an Americana
blanket. I must admit I'm not finding it hugely inspiring but you can't
really doubt the quality and it'll definitely be a reliable purchase
for long-time fans.. Dave largely slipped out of the review corset this week
The xx
are an ultra suave minimilist electro pop band who are tearing up the
airwaves here at the moment... Well when I say say tearing I mean sort
of slinking up the airwaves...Its breathy, well produced and sort of
like Hall & Oates... Which is not a bad thing... 'Islands' is on Young Turks so go buy....
Phil rhymes with Bill
Cheju are back with a brand new album, Waiting For Tomorrow,
on the Distant Noise label/imprint whatever you call 'em these days!! I
reckon I call 'em labels but when I'm feeling fancy I'll call 'em
imprints and enjoy a fine scone with one. That's the kind of guy I
am... A scone eating guy. I'd like to think Cheju chows down on scones
and other delicious high tea treats while he's making his brand of
twinky crunchy electronica. Well there's only a very slight crunch...
It's a much more delicate affair than previous albums as the beats are
light, twinkle are ample and there's plenty of melody and ambience to
keep you busy. It's a decent strong album from start to finish and it's
one I'd recommend to those who are into that whole melodic electronica
shannigans. Fans of U Cover, Plone, Plaid, Neo Ouija etc will like this
lots me thinks. Lovely stuff.
There's a couple of CD's in this week on Under The Spire. The one in my sweaty hand is by Ous Mal and it's called Viime Talvi.
I know nothing about this guy/gal at all. It's limited to 100 copies in
one of those cardboardy arigato packs all hand numbered and whatnot,
very nice. The music is lush electronic ambience with a cool throbbing
bassline and a weird ghostly sounds in the background. There's also
some nice piano-y thing which seems to randomly appear at the right
time... It's very busy sounding with lots of different noises and
things going on yet it doesn't sound over cluttered. Some nice electro
acoustic stuff going on in there too. I'd be interested in hearing more
of this guy/gal/whoever.... We got a new CD on the Experimedia label by Offthesky and Billy Gomberg. Flyover Sound
is a joint collaborative thing comprising weird (yet beautiful) drones,
some acoustic guitars, field recordings and some glitchyness thrown in
for good measure. They've created some pretty soundscapes which are
complex yet easy on the ear. There's plenty going on in there and I
reckon if you spent a good hour listening to this with some headphones
chonged off your face your head would explode. I always think making
things complex and beautiful is a tricky thing to do but they've
managed to create something rather special here. There's some complex
electronic sounding things in there which will appeal to fans of
Machinefabriek yet there's some gorgeous ambience which for you
Infraction heads out there. It's well nice!! Bachelorette have a 7" out this week on Drag City. It's called 'Do The Circuit'
and the cover features some sort of circuit diagram thing. The whole
thing matches..... It's important that the song title, artist and
sleeve should match and make sense. Here it does.... I'll sleep
tonight! The A-side is a synthy electro tune with breathy female
vocals, some chugging slow drums and a super repetitive bass line that
reminds me of Can (always a good thing). The chorus is annoyingly
catchy with more la la la's than you can shake a stick at. I might not
sleep well at all tonight. Stupidly limited and we could only get a
handful...
The cover of the new Loverman
single is an interesting one. You'll either love it or hate it... It's
got a lady breast feeding a wee lamb on there which isn't something
I've seen before. I remember once feeding a lamb a bottle a milk and it
ragged it out of my hand and wolfed it down in seconds so I fear for
that poor woman's nipples. Boobies aside this is an unusual package as
it's a 12" picture disc with a regular black vinyl 12" to be played
(the picture disc is for show and not to be played). I've not seen that
before!! 'Human Nature'
is a 5 track EP which is gonna appeal to fans of earlier (and more
noisy) Nick Cave, Crime & The City Solution and possibly Gallon
Drunk. It's pretty gothy sounding rock but it's tremendous fun as it's
sleazy and features reasonably big production. Mind you I've cranked it
up well loud so it is impressing me. Excellent stuff!! Bridget Hayden has been making music for a while as past members of The Telescopes and Vibracathedral Orchestra. Untitled
is her first CD in 2 years and it was recorded at a pub in Manchester
while she was touring with Marcia Bassett (Double Leopards, GHQ,
Hototogisu etc). So there's the facts! The CD is 25 minutes of abrasive
guitar and some light moaning in the background. Just like a nice
Friday night at home then you're thinking? It's harsh sounding stuff
and it's what I thought Dead C used to sound like.... Proper metallic
sounding intense guitar noise.... There's rhythms going on in there but
you've got to get sucked into it to get them. It's not an easy release
at all but once you do get into it I suspect it's an enormously
fulfilling one!
Espers
release their third album proper out this week on Wichita. I have a bit
of a soft spot for Espers... Just cos their first album is an acid folk
classic and if you've slightly into the whole psych thing you need that
album in your life. Subsequent releases haven't impressed me as much
mainly cos I'm not as keen on the production... It all sounds cleaner
and less hazy and the new album is guilty of that as well. The songs
are good though and you can hear some shiny diamonds kicking around in
there. 'That Which Darkly Arrives' is a particularly fine song with
it's swirly guitars and it's dreamy vocals does it for me. Though if
I'm totally honest it's well hippy this album... Well all of them are
and me liking their 1st album so much must mean I'm some sort of hippy.
At this juncture I'd like to say 'way out'. I like about half of this Espers III shiny CD which isn't too bad for me!
This new Ben Frost album is well tasty. It took me a while to get into the last one but when I did it blew me away. 'By the Throat'
is quite similar in the way it doesn't immediately hit you. I've heard
it a few times now and it's really quite fantastic. Dark droney, doomy
fuzzy atmospherics which suck you in to Mr Frosty's dark world of doomy
fuzzyness. The press release says if you've got records by Sunn O))),
Fennesz, Tim Hecker, Thomas Koner and Murcof then you'll like this and
I think that's totally spot on. It practically does all my work for me
it's that spot on. It's very eerie sounding powerful music which has a
haunting disturbed quality that's totally wrapped in beauty. Quite a
hard thing to accomplish I think and Mr Ben has done it splendidly
here. Spend plenty of time with this one as the more you spend on it
the more you'll get out of it. Lovely stuff. Keith Canisius is that fella from Rumskib (Darla) and we've just got his 2nd album in from Japan and it's called Waves.
I feel like I'm back in the late 80's all of a sudden. This sounds like
a total blast from the past!! It's shoegaze-tastic with layers (or
waves perhaps) of guitars wooshing over you, over some big programmed
drum beats (reminds me a bit of State Of Grace) and lots of multi
layered vocals covering the music in a creamy voice laden foam. It's
very very much Cocteaus influenced and there's nods to MVB and other
bands from around that era. It's totally nothing new but if you're a
fan of all things shoegazey then there's good things to be had from
this as it's done remarkably competently. Good tunes played well.
Bonzer... You can't go wrong!
Did you know you're legally obliged to start off every A Place To Bury Strangers review
with them being the loudest band in New York. It's kind of boring that
we have to do that but it sure as hell makes life easier. Alas they're
not the loudest band in this office and that's what matters right now
as I'm here and not in New York. 'In Your Heart'
is their new 7" (looks like a US pressing on Mute) and as ever they've
got that Joy Division/Mary Chain/MBV/Sonic Youth thing going on with a
genuine rawness going on. I think these guys are really well produced
as they have an excellent sound. The song ain't too bad either but I'm
more into the loud fuck you sound they make which for some reason is
weirdly energising me right now! Am off to do millions of sit ups
now.... Laudanum
have a new CD out on the lovely Monopsone label of France (previously
released stuff by Epic 45, AKA, Below The Sea, Piano Magic, Klima,
Schengen, Velma etc..) You can see they're a decent label with strong
heritage of decent releases. You should totally check down the AKA S/T
CD they released back in 2001... Brian and me go crazy for that sucker.
Anyway Decades
is the name of this 9 track CD by Laudanum of synth pop with a very
European feel (they are from france so that would explain that one)...
I'm finding it hard to think of who they sound like and I reckon
they're somewhere in between latter UNKLE and The Montgolier Brothers.
Which is a hard one to picture I'm sure you'll agree but that's what
I'm getting listening to these songs. Interesting stuff!
Ant got his ten metre swimming badge last week. Only on his front though, he's going for his back today
A trio of girls from Brooklyn’s thriving underground have just
melted my heart of stone with their infectious brand of pure pop. The
young ladies responsible are The Girls At Dawn and their single ‘ Never Enough’
effortlessly manages to meld a 60’s girl group soul/doo-wop aesthetic,
jangly indie sound, the ghost of Phil Spector and a
lo-fi/DIY/garage/psych production ethic that’s like the sweetest gloopy
pop syrup that never becomes too sickly. It’s a wonderfully innocent
love song. This is music to fall in love to, it’s totally romantic. The
backing vocals are magical and I particularly like the brassy Motown
percussion sound. If you only buy one 7” this week then I totally
recommend this 45 of pop perfection. I think this is what I wanted The
Pipettes to sound like... Oh you can listen to the song on the band's Myspace. If you fail to be seduced by its charm then you must be a cyborg. Look out Vivian Girls! This Plastic Crimewave Sound ‘Shockwave Rider’
7” is proving somewhat addictive. It’s good old fashioned rock 'n' roll
baby that keeps accelerating throughout like a Harley with a tank full
of amphetamines. It’s psychedelic and it fookin' rocks like Sonic Youth
doing a Hawkwind cover. As it progresses it gets more intense and I
suspect there will be a few sore necks after rocking out to this
number. I'm even reminded a little of a less unhinged Butthole Surfers.
Quality gear! Limited 7" on HoZac. The Brothers Movement have a 7” out on Rocket Girl. I’ve not heard these guys before so I’m all ears. Okay ‘ Standing Still’
is basically powerful and emotive indie rock that in places recalls The
Verve when they were getting trollied. On second listen it’s slowly
getting its claws into me. This isn’t really my cup of tea but in terms
of this stuff it’s decent quality with plenty of hooks that I think
will appeal to many of you folks out there. It has that kind of
depressing then uplifting dynamic. Better than a poke a poke in the eye
I would say and thankfully I’m not starting to dig my own grave yet.
Anyway apparently there is a buzz about them and I suspect this is from
their forthcoming album which is due out next month.
These unique individual Tubelord ‘ Propeller’
7” sleeves are really very cool. We only have a teenie weenie amount of
them to go around. Such is life. This doesn’t really grab me at all,
there’s a bit of an emo edge going on... Although these guys are
clearly a talented bunch with no shortage of ideas, lots of stop/start
action and they play very tight with a dynamic that has a small hint of
math rock precision. I can imagine to the right ears this would be some
kind of anthem. Out on Hassle. Our Brian was smitten with Mary Epworth & The Jubilee Band’s previous 7” and I concur that something fairly unique was happening there. For the follow up single ‘ Black Doe’
Mary’s vocal is a little more sultry to begin with, but nonetheless
powerful. The band are in full on folk rock mode, building layers of
banjo, fiddle and fuzz to create a psychedelic track that feels like
its been a prize score at a car boot sale. Like a lost 60’s gem that’s
just been dusted off after being forgotten about and primed for a new
generation of ears. This sounds a little sleazy to me too, in the best
possible way. Actually fans of Starless & Bible Black may find
something pleasurable here. Out on Hand of Glory and a limited number
are available in unique hand lino printed jackets. Sergeant have a somewhat chirpy indie pop single out on their own label Shy. ‘ Sunshine’
is a competent single that has a bit of a scouse flavour to it although
I’m unsure whether they hail from Liverpool or not. As the vocal goes
I’m reminded a little of Cast. A swift Google search reveals that
they’re actually from Glenrothes in Scotland. That A-level I did in
geography was clearly a waste of time. They are to be commended though
on getting it together to do the band. If that were me I would be over
indulging in the delights of the local single malt whiskey, would have
a big red nose and more than likely be residing in a pool of my own
filth... Suffice to say if you like your indie pop with a bit of retro
feel-good action then you could do worse than spend your hard earned on
this 7”.
Originally released in the year 2000 (wasn't that the future?) I have to confess I missed the first edition of ' Afternoon Tea'
that was released through Ritornell. Now Oren Ambarchi's Black Truffle
label have reissued the disc with a new master, new artwork by Stephen
O'Malley and extra tracks. Now on paper, the quintet of Ambarchi/ Fennesz/ Pimmon/ Rehberg/ Rowe
is like the ultimate guitar improv/ laptop supergroup. But do they
deliver? I would say so, and really beyond my expectations as I find it
to be downright weird sounding and very abstract. Listening on
headphones drinking a massive mug of tea while My son is watching
Spongebob Squarepants, I really feel like I'm in some kind of exclusive
other dimension. The strings are heavily processed beyond recognition
for the greater part and it becomes almost impossible to identify which
player is creating which sound although at various points its possible
to spot trademark Fennesz crackle, pin prick Pimmon sparkling sounds,
Peter Rehberg adding some darkness to the mix and plenty of scraping,
bubbling and crackling sounds. I really can't grasp any kind of concept
or narrative as it's just so strange sounding and I'd say a fairly
unique document of free improvisation meets the computer. There's
plenty of stuff happening but it never becomes to cluttered or noisy.
Not an easy listen for most but if you you like stuff that's way out
there then this musical marmite will do the job nicely.
Kreidler
are a group that I've never fully immersed myself in although the bits
I've heard over the years I've thought were just kind of okay. I must
say though that after listening to their new album ' Mosaik 2014'
I was really getting into some of the groovy rhythms that have a kind
of tribal meets Kraut thing happening. A lot of the tracks are loop
based but never too repetitive. There are some delicious synthesizer
sounds and the overall feel is of an organic techno record which I
guess is probably a contradiction but that is how it feels to me. The
production is solid throughout and some of the tracks are really quite
funky, with big basslines. The emphasis is really on rhythm with the
drums/ percussion sounding superb and on occasion simultaneously
hypnotic and ass shaking. Out on Italic and really a lot of fun.
Dead Pilot recommend Headphone listening for the ' You And Atomic Warfare' album from Chris Anderson's Operations
project. Not one to disobey instructions I follow the advice and what
I'm hearing is actually quite thought provoking. The album was inspired
by Nuclear tests conducted by Western countries during the 50's. For me
the visual I get is of a post apocalyptic black and white world, an
empty shell where once communities and life itself thrived. The sounds
are ghostly and really quite affecting, with a mix of subtle drones,
static sounds, distant textures, guitar and piano. This is a totally
gripping and immersive listen throughout. Out on Dead Pilot who seem to
have an unlimited supply of creative folks tinkering away. The usual
classy packaging and limited to 99 copies wrapped in string which I'm
now going to use for a game of cats cradle. Business Lady is rocking a POWERFUL COLD and hating the stoopid world!
Solar powered people are a Californian four piece rock band that dabble with shoegazey style indie pop. ' Living through the low'
is the groups first long playing contribution to the myriad tapestry of
modern rock in the noughties. These guys do a nice line in
Slowdive/Swervedriver/Ride-esque tunes, well conceived and effectively
delivered. Layers of simple but rousing guitars collide with a brutally
solid rhythm section to create a distinctly american sounding variation
on shoegaze rock sound, typically confident and full of energy.
Elsewhere we get swirling, spaced out balladry that shares a little in
common with Interpol and other Joy Division aping goth type groups.
Definitely a decent listen, nothing genuinely groundbreaking but
certainly pleasing to the ear 'Living through the low' brings back a
little nostalgia for the mid-nineties and reminds me of a few top bands
i've not giving much thought to of late.
Wood-land have released a few bits and bobs on the Install label but i'm totally unfamiliar with there work. ' Stone circle'
is the duo's first full length release, limited to a super small run of
100 copies. On first listen i reckon it's total winner. Twenty tracks
of brooding lo-fi instrumentation that sounds like it was recorded
using the very first microphone and tape machine ever made, 'Stone
circle' is packed with twisted spaced out jams and ambient
post-everything sound collage's. Hauntingly atmospheric whilst
maintaining a autumnal charm this is the aural equivalent of finding a
bustling community of tiny talking animals (the ones that wear glasses
and sit around drinking tea around tiny table, you know the ones) in a
damp abondoned forest in the middle of the night. They've got their own
mini lanterns and fitted clothes and everything.....the cute little
things. Magical, enchanting loops and drones that sounds utterly
perfect this time of year. Deserves a bigger print run i say, good
stuff.
I've got to hand it to The Brute Chorus, recording your debut album live to three hundred of their tightest bro's is a risky yet suave move. ' The Brute Chorus'
is an expertly recorded and mixed live document of a band at the height
of their performing power. It must have taken fucking ages to rehearse
the tracks to the point where they could knock 'em out live in one
take, i mean everyone makes mistakes when they are nervous but
obviously not these funky looking mustachioed characters. For those of
you not familiar with the group, the music is a tight mix of country,
bluegrass and rockabilly all wrapped in London indie rock cool. The
tunes address ancient and mythical themes with an intense rigor and
enthusiasm. The playing is amazing and the record oozes the charm of a
great live rock performance which i assume is what the band we're
attempting to create. 'Grow fins' sounds really good as a live. Not
sure about the decision to leave the audience applause on the record
but each to his own, it sort of makes it sound more exciting, i guess.
Comes in a limited edition, hand crafted, hard-wood sleeve with a
signed photo of the group and a sweet gold badge. Total gold!! Out now
on Vandal. ' Facial expressions' is a strange and unforgiving beast conceived by the Chicago trio Mayor Daley.
Presumably named after Richard M. Daley, a democratic politician and
Chicago's potentially longest serving mayor, Mayor Daley play fucked up
sounding Black Sabbath baiting improv noise rock. The riffs are totally
killer and the droning vocal chants give these tunes an otherworldly,
almost paganist feel. Reminds me of ritualistic witchery of T.I.T.S
mixed with the twisted guitar styling's of Arab on Radar circa 'Soak
the saddle'....but more metal. Truly brutal, unnerving yet surprisingly
tuneful 'facial expressions' has got more than enough going on to both
entertain and shit you up in equal measures. Well scary shizzle out now
on Rotted Teeth Recordings. Awesome screen printed cover and white
vinyl enhance and sweeten the deal. Ace. Little Gold
is a new project from ex-Meneguar and Woods man Christian DeRoeck (who
looks a bit like Dave Gorman on the photo on the back sleeve). The
tracks contained within the waxy grooves of ' On the knife'
came about as a result of Christian leaving said bands and going it
alone, enlisting the help of Dylan Edrich (who i'm familiar with
because of the recent excellent 'Chain and the Gang' LP) and stand-up
drummer Patty Conway to realise a new sound for Little Gold. It will
come as no suprise that these tracks share alot in common with
Christian's previous contributions to Woods (i didn't even know he had
left the group!!) though these tunes are a lot less lo-fi in nature and
share more in common with the likes of The Electric Magnolia Company or
The Mountain Goats. This is nice, well played country tinged folk music
and americana with occasional psychedelic undertones. Christian's voice
has come on leaps and bounds since his recordings with Woods and the
overall sound is musically confident yet lyrically wrought with
heartache and loss. As a fan of Woods previous output it'll come as no
surprise that i find this record to be a wholly agreeable listen. If
you like Woods you'll like this for sure. Nice rekkid.
I don't no much about Michael Yonkers
but by the sounds of it i should. Hailed in the press release as being
'seriously ahead-of-it's-time, pre/post-punk, jittery noise-rock' this
Yonkers fella sounds like a pioneering soundsmith to me. ' Bleed out' sees Yonkers collaborating with Plastic crimewave sound
(the brainchild of Galactic Zoo Dossier Magazine published by Drag
City), a band that indulge heavily in spaced out noise rock and cosmic
psychedelic shizzleness. The results of this collaboration are truely
immense. Space rock sonic's collide with nightmarish distortion and
feed-back to create an unendingly fiendish racket of epic proportions.
The first side is a compilation of studio recordings that began in 2004
and sees the group experimenting with buzz saw guitars, jittery
electronics and static reverb to great effect. Yonkers vocals are
strange and unpredictable in a totally likeable way and the
arrangements are oppressively repetitive and unforgiving. Side B
captures Yonkers first live performance with Plastic crimewave sound.
Titled 'No urge' it's even more intense and terrifying than the studio
recorded material. Captured on tape at the first Million Tongues
festival at the Empty Bottle in Chicago, also in 04, 'No urge' sounds
totally unhinged and wildly confrontational in it's approach. An
amazing record worth further investigation. The new The Dead Weather single sees Jack White and pals rocking some mutant reggae-tinged Blockheads-esque blues number. On ' I cut like a buffalo'
Jackie 'the boy' White feels it necessary to drop some street wise raps
on this unsuspecting reviewer along with some strange chocking sounds
that further mystify me. What's going on here? I'm not sure if anyone
knows...B-side ' A child of a few hours is burning to death'
is a West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band cover that comes of sounding
a hell of a lot better than the A-side. Not an amazing cover but
atleast the sweet riff remains untainted by Jack White-isms. teamNORM say word out sisters xx
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Friday, October 16, 2009
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Current mood:  argumentative
This week's reviews
16 Oct 2009
Afternoon, morning, hello to where ever you are. Yet another crazy
week at the towers with tons of new stuff arriving here and we've tried
our best to listen to and review as much as possible in 2 days whilst
doing all the other muck we need to do to keep the place going (farmers
don't sit on tractors all the time). Brian is currently in Barcelona
with the office beach towel so we've all been feeling lonely as we're
missing the towel! Boom boom.... We've got a new lad start this week
called Dave (say hello everyone!) which brings the running total to 6
of us here plus Clinton (Saturday boy) plus Nathon (web guy). Crazy
times... We're well Tescos these days. We couldn't decide on a single
of the week so we went with 2 albums of the week (neither in Tescos I
suspect). It seems there's less good singles out these days and more
albums... In this week are some nice things like the Moon Duo repress
of the 1st single on white wax (be quick on that one), new things by
Mountains, Atlas Sound, Do Make Say Think, Efterklang, Tim Hecker wax,
Flight of The Conchords, Kings Of Convenience, Klimek, nice old folk/
blues LP's on Folkways and loads more..... It's all too much! There's a
bunch of stuff here (late arrivals) which we'll be getting on the site
next week, 3 new CD's on Quince (inc a Keith Canisius CD), Michael
Yonkers LP, new Mary Epworth single, a Bridget Hayden CD, loads of cool
looking stuff on the Hozac label and a smart LP by Trygghet. There you
go.. A small glimpse into the future of Norman! Happy times P x
PS please bear with us around these testing times with the postal
strikes. There's little we can do about it apart from hope it gets
resolved quickly. We're looking into other UK delivery methods but
we're not sure how viable they are. We'll let you know if we start to
do anything different.
Lightning Bolt - Earthly Delights (CD/LP coming in a bit on Load)
It's 2009 YO!!! About time Lightning Bolt
(from here on out referred to as L.B. or the L.B.'s) delivered another
long player I hear you say, and your DAMN RIGHT! So, here it is .... ' Earthly Delights'
is another kick ass example of why L.B. have caused such a stir over
the years. Along with the likes of Arab on Radar, The Locust, Erase
Errata, Men's Recovery Project, Numbers, XBXRX, Pink and Brown, USA Is
A Monster and many more they have help sculpt one of the finest and
most aggressively creative eras in american punk rock. 'Earthly
Delights' does not disappoint. Although most will be expecting more of
the same I'm convinced that the Brian's have trumped their previous
outing 'Hypermagic Mountain' and produced their best work yet. Though
the recording technique remains the same the overall sound is much
easier to comprehend with a nice balance between the bass and the kit.
It's been a while since I've been able to make out any of Chippendale's
lyrics but it almost happens a couple of times on 'Earthly Delights'.
Opener 'Sound Guardian' is a cheeky start to the album that brings a
little of the country twang you might expect from 'Berkley's Backyard
Critters' with its ridiculous honky tonk style bass line. This is
followed by live favourite 'Nation of Boar' that has been knocking
about for a while online via live video footage on the L.B. website.
It's an amazingly good tune I tell thee!!! 'Colossus' introduces a riff
that can only be described as colossal!!! This tune starts out all bong
rock and ends up accelerating to the point of hypnotic sickness. 'Funny
Farm' is L.B's fucking with a 'Cotton Eye Joe' style riff with muchos
bravado. Again, more amazing riffage on display and one of the most
memorable vocals on the album. 'The Sublime Freak' has a totally
amazing eastern riff supplemented with a mental timbale snare and an
amazing effects saturated vocal line. Again, this tune gets super
hypnotic as it picks up momentum. As with all L.B.'s LP's 'Earthly
Delights' also embraces total freeform improvisation with enthusiasm
and rigour! 'Flooded Chamber' is probably the best of any L.B. improv
style freakouts and 'Rain on Lake I'm Swimming In' is L.B.'s taking a
tropical, blissed out vibe with surprisingly tasteful results. 'S.O.S.'
sees the Brian's at their very best. Gibson is practically shredding on
this tune, the riffs are complex and tight with great interplay between
the two musicians finally collapsing in an exhausted heap after just
three and a half minutes. Short but sweet! Final track
'Transmissionary' is the icing on the cake embracing both metal and
dance influences to create a beast of a party number with possibly my
favourite Chippendale beat so far and some insane use of echo
technology....Sweet. So, another great album from the two Brian's!!!
Getting better with age and experience I reckon.... Cheers lads. -
Business Lady x Majeure - Timespan (double LP on Temporary Residence)
Limited to 1000 copies, Majeure's
debut isn't expected to be available too long given that it's a project
of Zombi's drummer, A.E. Paterra, and their stuff is so in demand these
days. Plus it's totally amazing! More rhythmically focused than the
stuff his main band have been doing for the past few years, the three
side-long odysseys that make up this double LP eschew the more proggy
stop-start stuff in favour of sticking a pin in the sky, focusing on a
star and propelling you right the fuck there. He's dropped the horror
for a little bit of star gazing.. Although John Carpenter still
frequently comes to mind. At various points I'm also reminded of the
mint Vangelis tune that plays over the Blade Runner credits, Detroit
techno, classic electro, the cosmic disco of prime Cerrone Moroder etc.
etc. Klaus Schulze more than deserves a mention too, especially as Timespan
sounds like it could easily pass for one of his album titles. Totally
stompin' analogue synth heaven and the best thing I've heard either he
or Steve Moore do since their brilliant early releases. And it's all
packaged up in a lavish sci-fi themed gatefold sleeve that fits the
sounds a treat, comes with an MP3 download code and sports a tasteful
geometric etching on the fourth side. DAT'S DA STUFF. - Brett x Ant... I'd sell my kids right now for a slush puppy.
Russell Haswell
is a fellow I find to be both consistently uncompromising and
interesting in everything I’ve had the fortune to hear by the man.
Stomping his way through life he seems to have a kind of ESP
appreciation of the sonics of our planet like a Chris Watson wearing
oil stained overalls. The sounds of ‘Jamaican Blowholes’ sounds like
Lord Vader on his deathbed... If you want to hear the sounds of evil
wasps mixed with the sound of an Apache helicopter then look no
further. Both are flying machines, one organic and one man made, I can
hear the connection. I ‘m enjoying the rhythms that the rotating blades
and headphone pilot communication that ‘Helicopter Trip’ are providing
me. Big boys toys! ‘Electroswat’ is like having a big buzzy bee trapped
in your processor, and then we’re into more subdued sound for a while
before reaching ‘High Force From Above’ which sounds like water
crashing from a waterfall into a stream of liquid chaos. ‘Summer Hill
Force Against Gibson’s Cave’ ups the noise factor somewhat again with
cascading and crashing water noise. ‘Trappers Bait Digital Caller’ has
some bird (I think) squeaking that reminds me of being a teenager and
very into techno while my brother and I battled for custody of our midi
hi-fi where I wanted to play Jeff Mills tapes and he wanted to play
back his mock fox calls on loop which he mimed onto tape to play in a
field while he shot some bunnies which didn’t go down that well with me
being a veggie.'Falling Snow' captures the gloopy melting crystals of
snow changing from a solid into a liquid, secret rhythms of the natural
world are revealed. There is little here that has the in your face
aggro noise that I was expecting but I just get the vibe that he enjoys
the sounds he hears around him and thinks they are wroth sharing with
those that ore open to listening. It’s basically just fun and not
anally academic and I bet he’s a good laugh to go out on the lash with.
‘ Wild Tracks’
is housed in a KIDZBOX™ case which is one of those plastic cases with a
handle that my son buzzes off carrying his Bob The Builder and Thomas
The Tank Engine DVD’s around in. Out on Peter Rehberg’s Editions Mego
label which is proving to be very reliable these days.
' Blizzard' is the latest CD from Hanson and it is a collaboration involving Aaron Dilloway on synthesizer and tape delays and Robert Turman
on tapes and effects. It's super icy minimal stuff that reflects what
the scenes and mood must have been like during the recording. A
blizzard/ snowstorm that struck, which also had the Hair Police stuck
in a hotel room recording. The sounds of freezing winds almost
reminding me of some of the glacial isolationist stuff, in terms of the
overall feel although this is no where near as sparse. Then come the
sounds of fog horns looming. I imagine the yeti is lurking somewhere.
This is really cool stuff and Dilloway is a bit of a demon on the
synthesizer. Recommended. San Francisco future dubber Kush Arora has his third (I think) album out and I reckon it could be the best yet. I guess the foundation of the sound on ' Boiling Over'
is dubstep and less dancehall as with previous releases. The producer
really injects his own style into the mix adding layers of deep
atmospherics and lots of intricate percussion. The tracks aren't as
loop based and repetitive as lot of dubstep these days and consequently
the tunes keep evolving and are dynamic with lush strings and a
distinct eastern flavor. There are a whole lot of featured artists like
Sub Swara whose Industrial Espionage mix of 'Alabaster Dub' is
excellent. Along with The Placebo Brothers feat. Lucas Patzek, J.Rogers
& Jo Rozinski, Maneesh The Twister & The Spit Brothers. There's
some great programming on here and I really love the pallete of sounds
he uses, lots of indian sounds etc. I think fans of some DJ Rupture
stuff could dig this chapter in the evolution of dub. Out on Record
Label Records. Oh what have we here? Another recording from the mysterious Pine Smoke Lodge who's recent cassette on Blackest Rainbows really hit the spot for me. This is a split with Archers By The Sea...
After hitting play I'm surprised at what I'm hearing as I was expecting
a much darker sound. It's sounds really lush actually with some super
tranquil, celestial chimes over floating tones. The sweetness continues
into the second track with it's primal percussion groove and distant
melodies. There's kind of a ghostly carnival feel about it. Then we're
into slightly new age ambient territory for the ultimate chill. Onto an
almost decaying tribal percussion track with lots of effects. Out on
Dead Pilot Records who are churning them out at the moment. Limited to
80 copies. After struggling to remove the digipak from its slipcase I'm finally able to play ' In Light' by Small Color.
It's out on 12k which is a pretty reliable imprint (although I must
admit I'm no expert on the catalogue) but this sounds very different to
the material I'm used to hearing from the label. I guess this is
basically very gentle sounding, delightful summery pop music from multi
instrumentalists Yusuke Onishi and Rie Yoshihara. Together they create
sublime tracks from guitars, bass, synth, glockenspiel, vocals,
accordion, piano, toy piano, melodica, wurlitzer and synth. The amazing
thing is how cohesively the elements are all brought together, where it
actually feels more like a band at times, rather than instruments
stitched together electronically. Lovely stuff that I'd recommend to
fans of The Tenniscoats. New Canadian label Unrecognized have assembled an allstar electro/
electro pop cast for an excellent 12" which kicks off with old Suction
dude Solvent
with a slightly acidic and emotional electro cut. Jason Amm always
manages to channel soul into his machines and his productions sparkle
like crystal. Moving on to Minisystem with some euphoric arpeggiated synths and a deliciously hypnotic groove. Then Ersatz artist Goudron offers up a warm electro-pop number that's somewhere between Kraftwerk and Gary Newman. Lowfish drops a futuristic electro stomper reminding me a little of Legowelt. Beta Evers
takes things into deliciously dark synth pop terrain, with eerie sci fi
synths and paranoid vocal. I must admit I can't get into GD Luxxue's
later material as much as his older stuff which I just adore. 'The 21st
Door' is a brilliant record no doubt. His track 'Cities' has defiantly
grown on me after second listen though. For fans of Ersatz, Clone/
dutch West coast, Suction, Skanfrom etc. ' Vulnerabilities + Consequences' is a promising beginning for the label. I absolutely adore Coil, they created one of the most diverse,
beautiful and frightening discography's ever. I was truly saddened when
I heard the news of Jhon Balance's death. There have been a few tribute
albums since but what I'm hearing of ' The Dark Age Of Love'
sounds like it may well be the finest. Ici D'ailleurs have assembled a
cast of brilliant musicians who go under the cleverly cheeky banner of This Immortal Coil. These folks are Yann Tiersen, Bonnie Prince Billy, Yael Naim, Matt Elliot, Oktopus, Sylvain Chauveau, DAAU
and many more. They focus on the more traditionally song based tracks
as opposed to the drug fuelled cutting edge experimental electronics
etc. When Matt Elliott's voice first appeared on 'Red Queen' I could
have sworn for a second it was Balance himself. A spooky moment. Anyway
this is all really beautiful stuff and Peter Christopherson agrees as
apparently he's had it on heavy iPod rotation. The Bonnie Prince Billy
number is really lovely. Apparently Balance was obsessed with Will
Oldham's music so it's quite a sweet tribute to have him singing on one
of his songs. Sebastian Meissner is Klimek
and he makes wonderful ambient music that leans somewhat towards the
darkside and has lush modern classical flourishes. At times I'm
reminded of early Murcof. There's some real drama and feeling coming
through the strings. I even get distant dub and even jazz elements
coming through. I looked at his page on Discogs and there was a picture
of him looking well hard with a sling shot and another of him with a
massive dog that looks like a wolf. So I'm going to say nice things
about his CD in case he shoots me up with his weapon and then covers me
in dog food and sets his dog on me. This is the greatest record of all
time. Seriously though this is really good stuff and if you liked
'Dedications' then ' Movies In Magic' is well worth investigation. Out on Anticipate. Another week another Planet Mu 12". I was expecting the latest
dubstep wonky hybrid or whatever but I'm surprised at this here plate. Subeena is accompanied by Jamie Woon
who provides ultra smooth soulful vocal harmonies over the super dubbed
out R&B thing that is 'Solidify. This will have the female species
throwing their underwear into the DJ booth. You're very own chance to
live in Tom Jones's shoes. The flipside is sweet, uplifting electronica
from this London girl. It has a stomping beat and the synths are
heavenly. Wicked tune! Vinyl on Raster Noton doesn't come around all that often... Here I have the third 12 in the labels UnUn series and it's ' Ununtrium/RN-Rhythm-Variations' from Aoki Takamasa
who used to have stuff out on Progressive form back in the early
2000's. It's a decent EP actually with its repetitive, slightly awkward
hypnotic machine grooves. at first you kind of think all the rhythms
are a bit off kilter but once you get in there you find your self
wiggling about to the sheer funkiness. All the elements are tweaked to
maximum crisp and crunchiness and I dare say this is super good fun.
The press release confuses me though: "however, in a word the respect
and the inquiring mind to the root existence of the art expression of
music keeps flowing incessantly" erm yeah, right, okay hmm.... Where
did I leave my brain??? I could have sworn Benbecula were closing down or something... Maybe I just dreamed it. Anyway Christ has an album out called ' Distance Lends Enchantment To The View'
and its more of the same really, you know soothing, gentle melodic
electronica with that Boards Of Canada vibe. Enjoyable stuff, not
exactly re-inventing the wheel but it does the job nicely. A talented
chap whose melodies will melt you into a pool of your own self. What am
I talking about? I have no idea. Take a trip into the mysterious world of Oakland's Nommo Ogo.
They have had previous releases on Isolate and now have a CD out on
Record Label Records that follows the recent 'Space Cross' 12". 'Across Time And Space'
is an awesome journey from beginning to end. I suggest the use of
headphones for a totally immersive listening experience. I love the way
the album manages to sound kinda abstract but still has a sense of
melody and narrative. It just flows wonderfully from the extra long
intro right until the conclusion. It's quite advanced electronica that
never becomes too complex or confusing. It's warm and emotional yet
very futuristic and cosmic sounding. There's also an organic element
with a light addition of some guitar. In super cool fold out cross
package with awesome artwork by Kelly Porter. I really cannot think of
another artist this really sounds like although there are a few moments
where I'm reminded a little of mid-period Autechre. Although this
sounds real fresh to me and I totally recommend it. It's deliciously
psychedelic and really gets me into the zone. If you dig Fluorescent
Grey then check this out. Business Lady's done reviews and here they are
Nat Johnson & The Figureheads
is made up of members of various Sheffield indie groups with Nat
Johnson of Monkey Swallows The Universe as chief songwriter and band
leader. ' Wonderful emergency'
is a country tinged indie pop number with a classic feel. It's already
and indie-pop hit here at the office and everyone agrees it's a top
tune. The B-side is a cover of the awesome Beach Boys tune 'Don't Worry
Baby' which is handled very tastefully. The vocals are at the fore and
some reverb saturation is used to give it a B.B's vibe but other than
that it sounds like an soft indie pop re-working and not a patch on the
original. Clearly recorded for fun it sounds like a worthy indulgence.
Just Handshakes (We're British) we're kind enough to hand deliver their new split 7" with Yonderboy
straight to our door... that's keen. Just Handshakes specialize in
indie pop and they do it well. Very straight, well arranged indie rock
with female vocals, they sound accomplished and relativley fresh
sounding for a band treading a very familiar terrain. The guitars are
airy and light and the production is clear as a bell. Nice tune. 'Vast
ocean' by Yonderboy
is an ambitious indie pop rock in the vein of Jeff Buckley crossed with
The Beautiful South, especially the vocal. The guitars are nice and
jangley, the rhythm section is tight and the arrangement is dynamic
enough to maintain my interest. Not bad.
I love Aids Wolf!
They are a naturally aggressive band of crazy guys and girls from
Montreal that make possessed Arab on Radar influenced noise rock.
They've also got the art skills galore so their releases look totally
awesome and this new 7" is no exception. The mental multi layered
screen printed art is making my eyes hurt and the music contained
within is doing the same to my poor broken ears but I'm not bothered,
along with Pre, Aids Wolf are keeping the good name of Skin Graft
records alive and making the kind of spazzed out art noise I used to
take for granted back at the end of the 1990's and in to the early
noughties. All four tracks on ' Dustin' Of The Sphynx'
are a glorious assault on the ears that will no doubt please listeners
with a bias toward the Arab on Radar/Men's recovery project/XBXRX
school of thought.....Well Weasal Walter!!! The CD contains an
additional seven tracks taken from an early demo recording that sees
the group improvising their way toward the sound they are now loved
for. The 7" comes with a download code for the additional seven tracks.
Get in!! Cold Pumas
are a new name to me with this being their first release for new label
Hungry for Power. This 12" EP features two tracks from the group which
are then remixed on the B-side. First track ' Jela'
is a jammed out, upbeat Krautrock number with some interesting little
bits of trickery going down. It's too fast to be a Jesus and Mary Chain
number but it sounds to me like gothic shoe-gazing indie rock that
would just about survive the dancefloor. I'm totally down with the
guitars and the Falsetto vocal line. 'A Tempting Haunt' is more of a
slow burner with a monotonous guitar stab leading the melody
throughout. Much more morose than the opener it sounds like early Gang
of Four at its most dynamic though it doe's have a lot in common with
Health. Again, the guitars are really cool on this track. The remix of
'Jela' goes by the name of Murlo's Caribbean Twist Rework. It's pumped
up caribbean rhythms supplemented with small chunklets of the original
tune. It sounds pretty mental but I'm still enjoying it's daftness. A
deliberate attempt to bring some joy and caribbean sunshine to an
otherwise bleak indie rock number. The Brassica remix of 'A Tempting
Haunt' takes the cool Gang of Four drumbeat and runs with it
transforming this downbeat track into a bastardized tribute to
'Supercars II' on the Amiga. Electro synth-lines dominate the mix and
take it as far from the original number with reckless abandon and joy.
Singer/songwriter Emily Loizeau has created a sprawling epic with her second full length LP. There is a massive seventeen songs on ' Pays Sauvage'!
Emily appears to have embraced the ideals of the communal playing and
recording experience enlisting friends from all over the shop to help
sculpt an intriguing collection of country folk. With assistance from
David Herman Düne, Moriarty, Jean-Baptiste Bruhnes, cellist Olivier
Koundouno, drummer/guitarist Cyril Avèque and the bizarre “bearded
women of Paris chorus” Emily has crafted a record that embraces
english, european and american folk influences whilst bringing her own
spin on the equation. It helps that she has an impeccable voice and a
certain way with words, not sure about the French stuff (my French is
awful) but the english lyrics ooze humour and charm which suggests an
impeccable taste in literature and a taste for adventure. For a record
that is primarily based on folk style arrangements 'Pays sauvage' is
also musically adventurous. Arrangements are bold and lush or sparse
and cheeky depending on what is required form the musicians. In parts
this approach reminds me of dEUS with it's exotic arrangements and
strange use of acoustic instruments. Overall, I believe this to be a
beautiful example of how modern folk records should be made. With
repeat listens i reckon this'll be a keeper for sure. As we all know Spiral Stairs (real name Scott Kannberg) was a founding member of Pavement and Preston Scool of Industry. ' The Real Feel'
is his first official solo album and it's sounds suprisingly
professional for S.S. After his work fronting Preston School of
Industry i assumed that S.S was only capable of knocking out lo-fi
reworkings of his best moments with Pavement yet it would seem that his
palette has evolved somewhat since those days and he has become quite a
suave songwriter and arranger. I'm hearing a big R.E.M influence in
this collection of songs and coupled with S.S's obvious love of country
tinged indie rock 'The Real Feel' sounds suprisingly refreshing to my
ears. His voice has grown in confidence and the playing is also pretty
amazing. S.S is joined by Jon Auer (of The Posies, Big Star) as well as
fellow Preston School of Industry bandmates Matt Harris and Darius
Minwalla who add tasteful instrumentation and atmosphere to these
tracks. There's an obvious shift in emphasis going on here, tracks are
mature, slick, well arranged and as far removed from the early Preston
stuff as can be. A bit of shock at first but it's nice to hear Spiral
rise to the challenge and step things up a little. The kittiwakes are three singer/songwriters from the south of England. ' Lofoten Calling'
is almost a concept album based on the ancient viking culture of the
Lofoten islands situated in the north western archipelago in arctic
Norway. The record was conceived and written by Kate Denny (sings and
strings) after a visit to this strange area of the world. As you can
well imagine 'Lofoten Calling' explores the traditions employed in sea
shanties as well as folk music of both Norway and the UK. The three
part vocal harmonies are as enchanting as you'd expect and the
arrangements throw up cheeky variations on traditional folk themes. The
playing is sterling with accordians, violins, acoustic guitars, pianos,
mandolins and octave mandola all making an appearance. This'll be a big
hit with the Static Caravan/Midwich (who are responsible for the
release) crowd and will no doubt surprise and impress on first listen.
' Performing Parades' is the latest release from Efterklang
performing their 2007 album 'Parades' accompanied by the Danish
National Chamber Orchestra. I'm not familiar with the original record
nor am I familiar with the previous works of the band but on first
listen this sounds like an intriging record. I'll assume that the band
play some form of dynamic post rock with big ambitions because this
recording sounds super crazy. Dynamically the orchestra are called upon
to translate some pretty wonky grooves. It sounds a little like Mew in
it's scope and grandness with a big emphasis on unique instrumental
arrangements reinforced with some really odd vocal performances. I
don't know if they are supplemented with additional singers but the
backing vocals are ultra pretty and the shimmering strings and staccato
drum phrasing makes for an interesting listen. Efterklang obviously get
a kick out of performing their music in such a grand and ridiculous
manner and the playfulness and charm is evident on this document· The
album also comes with a DVD of the original performance in Copenhagen
as well as behind the scenes footage and seven music videos made to
promote the original 'Parade' release. Pretty decent value for money I
reckon. Ailsa Craig
is a new project from Matt Robson who you made have heard before either
bobbing over a laptop in his main guise as Random Number or perhaps
playing drums with the likes of Sierpinski or perhaps Hood. Robson also
does a tidy line in producing records helping various outfits in the
Leeds area (recent efforts include the The Manhattan Love Suicides and
Downdime) to realize their ambitions on record. This new projects has
Robson acting as chief songwriter and arranger with an augmented
line-up featuring pals from the Leeds area including Manhattan Love
Suicide's Caroline McChrystal and Sierpinski's Lee Hooper to name but a
few. The music on debut release 'A Silent No' (you like what he's done
there...) sits somewhere between his own work as Random Number and
Hood. The recording breaches the divide between bedroom and big budget
production and is perfectly ambitious. It would appear that a lot of
time and effort has gone into this little beauty. 'Nine Times Table'
plays with themes investigated by New Order yet restyled in the vein of
Epic 45 and comes off sounding like a potential hit. This is followed
by the equally as compelling 'Plans You Made' who's beautiful vocal is
supplemented with some cool Random Number style cut up beats, well
advanced. Elsewhere you can enjoy instrumental post-folk atmospherics
playfully manipulated and twisted into new and exciting forms. This is
a totally interesting release that is more than deserved of further
investigation. It's gonna take a couple more listens for it all to sink
in but it's obvious ' A Silent No'
is littered with pop magic and mutant folktronic gems. Please take the
time to check it out. For fans of Epic 45, New Order, Mice Parade,
Field Mice, Mum as well as all the other stuff Mr. Robson has dabbled
with in the past. Out now on Squirrel Records.
Brett's sick of taking people to the airport
Stray Ghost
(aka Anthony Saggers) takes about a minute to wring any audible sound
from our speakers on his new CD, making a mockery of our thirty second
soundclips in the process, but once a hazy, static-filled Tim
Hecker-esque drone pierces the silence things get a bit radioactive,
reminding me of the mysterious no mans land of Andrei Tarkovsky's
Stalker. Ostensibly an ambient release, it's a fair old cacophony at
times but I always find this kind of ambience very involving and full
of interest.. An active listen rather than a passive one, if you like. An Avalanche of Swollen Tongues
comes in a fancy digipak joint that looks well pro, you can tell Dead
Pilot know they've got something a little bit special on this one so
they've gone the extra mile for it.. Nice job.
Frankie Rose
used to be in the Vivian Girls but then she left and joined Crystal
Stilts and then she went solo and then she released a solo 7" called ' Thee Only One'
on Slumberland. I guess she must get bored easily or something. In any
case, the apple hasn't fallen very far from the tree with fuzzed-up
lo-fi garage the order of the day on the A-side, topped with a fine
dressing in the form of an out of tune vocal which sounds so
disinterested it's untrue.. In a good way, like. The B-side takes a
different approach, sounding like a doo-wop ballad played on a cheapo
organ in the room underneath the one with the broken 4-track. I like it
and stuff and it comes on emerald green clear vinyl so it looks nice
too.
Hey The Flaming Lips
have got a new album out and it's mint. I didn't like the last one very
much and I wasn't hugely arsed about Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
even though everyone else totally bummed it (although it did have it's
moments) so this is quite exciting really. It was technically out last
week though so I'll motor through a quick wee reviewsy. Basically if
you like the idea of the rhythmic propulsion of bands like Can, Silver
Apples and The United States of America given a fresh lick of modern
production paint and installed into crazy pop songwriting (sometimes
touching, sometimes a wee bit dark) you'll be shit in luck with the
vast majority of ' Embryonic'. Karen O's on a few tunes, MGMT are on one and it's all dead good so buy it if you want to! We fully endorse it! These Mountains
LP's are gonna go super fast if Choral was anything to go by.. That one
wasn't even limited but there's only the thousand copies of Etching
- unique, hand-stamped sleeve, MP3 download code and all. Apparently
these two blissful tracks were recorded in real time, without overdubs,
and intended to represent the sort of stuff the pair of them do live.
If it's anything to go by they'll be well worth seeing when they hit
your town if you fancy a civilised evening of pretty ambient drone.
It'll be like having a babbling brook in your ears for a couple of
hours, throw in a head massage and you'll be laughing. Tony Allen
is a legend, famous for pioneering the Afrobeat sound as the engine
room of Fela Kuti's band for over a decade and hailed by Brian Eno as
the greatest drummer who's ever lived. Jimi Tenor
is a guy who released 'Total Devastation', a 12" Warp sent me for free
with an order years ago which I couldn't even sell for 1p on eBay. A
strange match to be sure. Business Lady immediately picked up on a
weird New Power Generation vibe which I can now totally hear, Allen
bringing the funk while Tenor slurps away at his vocals like some sort
of oddball Finnish Sly Stone who's come to lick your ears out.
Musically he contributes a load of jazzy elevator kitsch on a variety
of instruments, as is his wont, but it does all work pretty well I've
got to say ' Inspiration Information'
is probably the most vibrant and purely 'fun' record we've had on so
far this week which has got to be a bit of a recommendation has it not?
Do Make Say Think
kick their new one off with one of their best tunes to date in 'Do'
(the other tracks are called 'Make', 'Say' and 'Think'.. Yeah, I know).
It's quite the little rocker, sporting chugging guitars and a cheeky
little riff that keeps popping up like a persistent wee meerkat who
just won't stay dead. It's quite poppy actually, reminding me more of
Constellation associates Broken Social Scene (whose self-titled album's
artwork is shamelessly copied here) than anyone actually on the label.
Unfortunately, despite having heard Other Truths
three times now, which is much more of a crack of the work stereo whip
than most records get, I literally can't remember anything about the
other three songs. I think the word is 'forgettable'. For the record,
my favourite one of theirs is Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn, my
favourite colour is purple wow and my favourite animal genre is turtle
bass.
On to White Rainbow,
whose Prism of Eternal Now I can remember enjoying a couple of years
ago. From my vague memories of that time I think I can say that since
then the fellah's expanded his sound - as demonstrated on New Clouds
- complementing the noisy psychedelics with hypnotic acoustic
percussion, wordless chanting, guitars twiddling casually in the
background (a la James Ferrari) and simple bass throbs constantly
cutting through the mix. All of which creates a rich, morphing
experience in which your ear is constantly being caught, either by new
elements or something which has been there all along but changed up on
you without you even noticing. There's a whole little world in here and
I can imagine many people whiling away their evenings dreaming to its
heady ambience.. A top drawer release on CD and LP via Cranky. I've kinda missed the boat on Sufjan Stevens I think. I literally just don't know what he's like but I know lots of people like him. Thus my review of The B.Q.E.
shall be born both formless and devoid of context. It seems to be a
some sort of piece written to commemorate New York's Brooklyn-Queens
Expressway, it's performed by an hefty orchestral ensemble of
thirty-six lads and lasses, it comes with a CD, a DVD, a big booklet
and a stereoscopic image reel, it starts off with a regal fanfare, goes
into syrupy 1950s Hollywood melodrama territory and ends up in
bubbling, cuddly indie electronica, has some solo piano bits, it's all
over the fucking place, hula hoops seem to be involved in some way, I
don't think he normally sounds anything like this and hey, there's
soundclips on the site so have a listen for yourself. I passed on the last Atlas Sound LP even though I really like Deerhunter, it just didn't quite do it for me the way some of Brad the lad's other stuff does. Logos
is his new one under this name and I'm sure he's probably accidentally
leaked this album and the next three on his blog by now so I'm sure I
won't be telling you anything you don't already know when I say it's
dead good. The opener, with its just out of reach vocals, background
croaky hubbub and general drift, is making me drift off when I've got a
whole hour of work left ahead of me.. Not ideal but it'd be just the
thing for getting home on an evening, stripping down to your Y-fronts
and indulging in an Ovaltine. Hardcore relaxing with that trademark
sinister edge. Elsewhere he spends the whole thing showing everyone how
dream pop should be done and no doubt completely sickening them in the
process with his tendancy for writing amazing songs (many of which
sound almost like they could belong to a classic girl group in an
alternate timeline) then not even letting you really hear them, burying
them below a load of fuzzy, disorientating fog. 'Walkabout' is an
exception to that rule though, featuring Panda 'I need a poo' Bear in a
work of overt and blissful pop loveliness that sounds more like Animal
Collective than Atlas Sound but fits nicely on the album nonetheless.
The whole lot is pretty great and I'm now thinking I should go back to
the first one and see if I was just being a dick about it all along. Phil's got lots of paperwork
Charlotte Hatherley
has made some great tunes in her small but reasonably well formed
career. After leaving Ash at just about the right time she decided to
go it alone and I reckon she made the right decision. I bet she made
more money in Ash and I bet she doesn't sell that many records but her
integrity is intact. An important thing... I've heard half of her brand
new album 'New Worlds'
so far and I'm really enjoying it. She has her hand in many a pie but
the pie is truly flavoursome with hints of the Cardigans, Nik Kershaw
and Kim Wilde. They may not sound like a winning flavour to most
perhaps but the album works for me. 'Firebird' (track 5, sandwiched in
between 2 fast/ fun moments) threw a spanner in the works as it sounds
like it's fallen off The Beach Boys' Smiley Smile. So there's a fair
amount of quirk on here in between the 80's pop and I'm pleased there's
artists like her just doing a bit of what they fancy. Also the album
features Adem playing with his axe and Rob Ellis (PJ Harvey) on drum
patrol. Tasty.
That Phil Todd Ashtray Navigations chappie has a new CD out this week called ' Sgt Peppers Mystery Four Twenty Hex Aurora Toilet'.
Yeah I know....The music on the album is all analogue with all acoustic
instruments aside from from a vintage synth. So you get harmonicas,
drones and wooshes and some skittery wavey noises which are making me
feel a bit gippish. Skittery noises aside I'm quite enjoying this (the
droney synth bits are very Italian horror...) though I'm not sure where
the whole Beatles thing comes into it. I think it could all be possibly
based around the last 30 seconds of strawberry Fields but I'm sure I've
got that wrong. It's not massively easy to tell and to be honest the
majority of folks reading who want this probably won't even care. I
could just be writing rabbit rabbit rabbit a lot of times until I start
to sprout long fluffy ears and sharp pointy teeth. Bits are
psychedelic, other bits are more industrial sounding,some drone, some
Italian horror as I said earlier.. there's literally something for
everyone here. 100 copies on CDr only. Dead Pilot has a bunch of releases out this week. I've got the double CD set ' Drone Poets'
to batter on about for a while. Yes it's got 2 CD's in one little house
and for some reason I keep calling it Drone Pilots and given the label
name of Dead Plot I reckon that would have been better. Or maybe
'Tones, Drones and Automobiles'. I bet they're kicking themselves
now.... Anyhoo you get 2 CD's of competent drone by the likes of Brian Grainger, Operations, Nicholas Szczepanik, Apalusa, Textured Bird Transmission, Wereju, Stefan Kushima, Ekca Liena
and lots lots more. It's 2 hours long... it's full of various
notes/tones which go on for a long time. Some will evoke you going off
in some sort of mantric chilling out state, some may make you skip
forward to the next track. Such is the joy of a compilation album
though the Brian Grainger (Milieu) track is weirdly quite doomy which I
wasn't expecting. Look both ways kids as you just don't know what's
coming around the corner.... 250 only! Charlotte Hatherley and Ash
in the same week.. It's like Christmas or something. You may be aware
that Ash who said they weren't going to release anymore singles a while
back have now decided to release their new album over 26 one sided
7"'s. Some would say this is ambitious.... others would say this is a
massive waste of the earths resources will send out death threats
attached to the back of oil incrusted seagulls if they reach the letter
M. I'm somewhere in between the 2 (surprisingly...). I like the concept
of doing it but it seems like a bit of a waste and it's a wee bit late
in their career to kick start it all off again. Just listening to the
synth pop intro to True Love 1980
will have you yearning for the likes of Uncle Pat and Kung Fu in no
time and wonder what one earth happened to Ash. Still they've got a
keen ear for pop as on the 2nd listen its hooks are well and truly into
me like a filthy leech draining me of my own ever so precious blood. I
may have been slightly melodramatic there... We sold about a million copies of the last Swanton Bombs
7" mainly cos it came with an entire album on CD which is a complete
genius thing to do if you ask me. Everyone likes a bargain. Now Young
And Lost Club have their hooks into them and here's the bands 2nd
single which this time is 2 tracks of infectious indie rock harking
back to older days when things seemed a bit more innocent. There's
something about this that reminds me of Billy Bragg...or some early to
mid 80's British indie rock. I really like the guitar riff in this
one... it's got an undeniable charm this single and these days we get
few indie singles which are any cop but this one bucks the recent
trend. Speaking of cop(s) the flip is a cover of The Stroke's 'New York
City Cops' which they've punk rocked up.... They've managed to make it
sound very British sounding and take all the yankyness out of
it....There's something very pub band about this but I think that's to
do with the production. ' Doom' is Surprisingly fun. You know I never knew Samara Lubelski
was in the Sonora Pine. Hey you learn something new every day! This
week we got a 7" by Samara on the good ole Time Lag label. As well as
releasing a number of rekkids herself she's played on squillions of
other folks records including loads of MV/EE ones, White Magic, Baby
Dee, Jackie O MF, Religious Knives and she was of course in the
experimental folk supergroup The Tower Recordings. I say of course like
you all should know.. you do right? ' Did You See'
is am amazing little 7" with the lead track sounding like it's just
fell of the last Larkin Grimm album. Her voice is as sweet as the
anything and the acoustic guitar sounds lush. Fans of psych folk should
check this out though it's pretty much just stripped down vocals and
guitar it's so good that you won't regret it. Fantastic stuff!! Pete Fosco
has had a couple of release out before on Digitalis and the Reverb
Worship label. Here's a new one on Dead Pilot which is packaged in a
lush digipak with holes cut out of the artwork. Well nice! Inside the
sleeve is a nice bit of blue paper with a cool pattern on which pokes
through the holes. Suddenly the need for holes is making sense. Pete is
a guitarist and on this 2 track epic (42 mins in total) you get some
long drawn out drone pieces which are more interesting than most.
There's quite a lot going on in these with weird looping guitar riffage
and some mental noises which sound like they've been made on other bits
of a guitar i.e not the strings. Its strangely hypnotic and it makes me
think of some of the stuff Peter Wright has done. Very arresting
indeed. ' Crescent Ave' is CD only on the Dead Pilot label (100 only!)
C Joynes has a new album out on Bo Weavil. This, his 2nd album for Bo Weavil is called ' Revenants',
Prodigies & The Restless Dead (very Fahey esque) and on first
listen it sounds well nice. I often struggle with reviewing a lot of
acoustic guitar folk as it's really hard to do a review without
mentioning John Fahey. In fact I've already used his name twice now!
There are elements of the great man in his work but if you spend a bit
of time with this you'll hear a lot more. The delicate slightly detuned
banjo tones of 'I Love You Hanny Fuji' are delightful. It's a beautiful
piece of work. The African influenced clattering 'Nyambai Sawmill' is
another fine example of someone doing their own thing. The album is
very varied considering it largely consists of acoustic guitar so
there's plenty to keep you going with each repeated listen. Well worth
checking out. Excellent stuff!!
The last time I saw Leyland Kirby
he was wearing a pig mask destroying Chris De Burgh songs at a pub in
Leeds years ago. Now he's got big hair and is being all sensitive
everywhere. It's amazing how time flies and how people change as V/VM
is no more but The Caretaker lives on. As does his new moniker Leyland
Kirby and here's the 2nd part of the ' Sadly The future Is No Longer What It Was'
trilogy. 6 months in the making, this ambitious trilogy has traversed
Europe in a hard drive and has now landed as a 6 LP set! There is a
triple CD to come but more on that as and when. This second part of the
set continues the emotive and emotional warmth of the debut. The thing
I get from this series is a lot of soul searching. You can almost here
his mind ticking over as music plays. Lots of piano, drones, synth
washes, fuzzyness all intertwine over an emotive backdrop. Light and
dark are also prevelant as some elements of the music sound dark whilst
others sound much lighter. Overall though, this has quite a dark
paranoid feel compared to the first volume. It makes me think of a dark
rainy city rife wih sadness and something evil foreboding (like a film
noir version of the city Blade Runner is set in). There is some hope in
there but it's much more buried than the first volume. Limited to 500
copies on double vinyl! Subliminal Sounds have a new comp out called Thai beat A Go Go
which if it wasn't massively obvious features a healthy dose of Thai
beat and cheese from the 60's which is nothing but entertaining. The
vast majority of the album sees a very different Eastern culture trying
to replicate the Western beat scene of the 60's but with a few
differences. For a start most of the vocals are in Thai and the
production is virtually non existent so the sound is reasonably brutal.
Occasionally something traditionally Thai will poke through and your
ears will be awash with percussion. There's some amazing songs on here
and the covers of 'Hit the Road Jack' and especially the Bond theme are
well entertaining.. If you enjoyed the Thai comps on Sublime
Frequencies I can't see why you won't like this as there's some peachy
tunes on here. I caught onto Flight Of The Conchords
quite late but when I eventually got it (the first few viewings made me
think it was a massive pile of shit) I realised it was a total work of
comedy genius. Very understated but very funny... Initially it was the
songs that put me off but now I hink they're some of the funniest
moments of the show. The 2nd series didn't reach the dizzying heights
of the first for me but there's some diamond tunes on 'I Told You I Was Freaky'
and it's nothing but a joy to hear asshole and casserole rhymed
together (two of my favourite things). The songs are novelty but they
weirdly don't wear off as I'm still enjoying the first album when I
hear it so there's more longevity here than you'd expect! It's more
elelectronic/electro than the previous album which was more acoustic so
they've moved on a bit... The 80's pop of 'Fashion Is Danger' is
authentically created. They pastiche well, they do.... Anyway it's not
for everyone but I guess it must be for a reasonable amount of Sub Pop
are doing a 2nd album by 'em. You should check out Business Time from the first album... Man that rules!! Robert Pollard is like a musical cow... Milk his petite man-like
udders and out pops a new album... He really has to be the most
prolific artist of recent years? I can't think of anyone else who has
done as many records and side projects? Whenever I hear one of them I
always really enjoy it but the thought of collecting his works fills me
with fear. The Boston Spaceships is his new thing and we've got an album in called Zero To 95.
It could sound like any of his other albums from the last ten years for
all I know. I've probably heard about 10 of them and they're all much
of a muchness. I like 'em but to me they're like identical twins....
There's some smashing songs on this new album anyway. 'Radical
Amazement' sounds like vintage Pollard. He's a man who doesn't veer his
sound too much. You know where you are with a Robert Pollard record and
when you're in the mood for his lazy strummy shambling style of pop
you'll think it's the best thing ever. Oh and I've just noticed peter
Buck from REM plays on the album and there's 6 very small pictures of
naked women on the sleeve. I did really like the first couple of Themselves
albums... I remember eventually tracking a copy of Them down on vinyl
(top album) which made me well happy for a short time. It's still a
great album and it's definitely my favourite Anticon thing. Lately the
label has struggled to find it's identity releasing a bunch of
uninspiring records which weren't that great. So I didn't have massive
hopes for Crowns Down
but I remained positive just cos I like some of the earlier stuff. It's
a patchy album I think.... It's a lot more classically 'Anticon
sounding ' than anything I've heard on the label for years (I suppose
there's not been too much hip hop on the label for a while). There's a
few good tunes on here... 'Oversleeping' is a goodie... The super fast
rapping sounds smart. 'Daxstrong' sees Dose One on top form and it's
kind of nice to hear that familair voice again. It's been a while.
There's a few good ideas on the album and I think if you persevere with
it you'll end up really liking it. It's already making a bit more sense
on second listen and it's certainly a lot better than the last couple
of Subtle records which really haven't impressed me.
Dave's your wife now
A new offering from Phil Todd, the one man noise machine that is Ashtray Navigations.
This 4 track EP has a minimal front sleeve and a nice colour collage on
the back. Each track has textural differences that sit really well with
each other. ' Sea 2'
was recorded back in the glorious year of 1996 and was released in 1997
under the name of As Inivomous in a edition of 7 copies... but now its
back!! Under the feed back soundscapes lies a rather haunting quality
which is prevalent in most Ashtray Navigations records, and
noisemanship (?) that is second to none. This EP is out on the Revival
label and is limited to 100 copies. I would say that track 4 is the
stand out track, ambient noise with a bossa nova rythym track..ace! All
in all another great offering from Ashtray Navigations...a brooding
little recording. The Kiara Elles
are a girl fronted group who play a hybrid of riot girrrrrl mixed in
with a sort of 90s britpop. Almost all their songs come in at around 2
and a half minutes and have a tight, nicely produced sound. The sleeves
look great and has a total handmade feel. It's on t
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Friday, October 09, 2009
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Current mood: pirate
This week's reviews
9 Oct 2009
Hey folks!! How you doing? I'm fine, thanks for asking. So another
week of Normo-towers madness spawns another fine fine selection of kick
ass rekkids that will no doubt amuse and delight in equal measure. The
big news is the arrival of the new Piano Magic record, it's a beauty i
tell thee and fully worthy of the ultimate Normo-accolade, that being
the illustrious title of record of the week. The new Fuck Buttons album
is also all up in the house! The office staff are still trancing out to
that little baby. We've also had a bunch of exciting bits from Touch
Records and an excellent selection of limited tapes from the always
reliable Blackest Rainbow. Personal favourites this week are the White
Shit EP, the amazing Zun Zun Egui debut and a tasty little split 10"
from Cave and California Raisins.....Oh happy days. We are also rocking
another Normo-super-sale (one weekend only kids!!) with 40% off a
shed-load of titles (10,000 titles yo!!!) ensuring furrowed brows and
early starts all round come Monday morning at Normo-HQ. So good luck
with the virtual rummage through the Normo-bargain baskets and i'll
catch you on the flipside. Peace out yo! Business Lady. x
Piano Magic - Ovations (CD on Make Mine Music/180g LP on Darla coming soon)
Well that incredibly busy chap Glen Johnson returns with a new full length CD under his much beloved Piano Magic
guise and surprise, it's an absolute gem from start to finish! I can
definitely hear influences from Coil to prime dark wave Depeche Mode in
these haunting gothic tinged songs but the sheer depth & richness
of the music on ' Ovations'
suggests something more tribal & majestic. There's a discreet
Eastern influence in parts, for instance the slinky 'March of the
Atheists' suggests an Arabian-esque era Banshees with Ian Curtis on
vocals but with some awesome swooping strings blowing on the
undercurrent. The next track changes tack completely, employing a hard
itchy electronic beat with bursts of guttural guitar shearing &
mesmerising vocals. I'd normally be a little repelled by that kind of
"electro goth" sound but somehow, 'On Edge' really appeals to me, its
juxtaposition of atmospherics & intensity married with a warm,
powerful production makes for arresting listening. I can see why Glen
& his myriad projects are so popular now, he's the definitive
craftsman, the grace & passion he injects into his records, each
one a true, beautifully rounded collection, showcases an unstoppable
talent with a finely tuned ear for neuron tingling detail. Big nods to
Joy Division and the early 80s overcoat brigade, and why the hell not?
A real treat..... Zun Zun Egui - Bal La Puossiere (12" on Blank Tapes)
I've been waiting a while for this Zun Zun Egui
EP to arrive and it's been totally worth the wait. For those of you who
have not encountered the band before I advise you to check them out
next time they tour. Highly skilled and super enthusiastic players ZZE
are a total treat for the ears. They mash up western and eastern
influences so effortless it's hard to believe that the band are still
in their infancy. So ' Bal La Puossiere'
is their first three track EP released on 12" through Black Tapes and
it's a corker! 'Chunk and Swirl' is a kaleidoscope of sounds and
influences (afro beat, tropicalia, no-wave, punk rock, Krautrock to
name a few) jostling for position with afro-grooves and eastern guitar
pickery enticing the listener toward the dancefloor. The best is saved
for track two ('Brown Mao') that tastefully reinterprets the call and
response afro-funk of Fela Kuti at his best before departing for a
quick once around the solar system, it's a blissfully spaced out number
that perfectly captures the band as you might hear them live. Final
track 'Sun God' can only be described as beautiful. Kushal Gaya's
(formally a member of the under appreciated Designer Babies) vocal
enthuses and inspires the band to play with wisened skill and
ingenuity. They pack in more tangents than the Magic Band at their most
insane whilst keeping that rhythm locked down solid. Think Captain
Beefheart, The Boredoms, Warrior, Fela Kuti and The Mars Volta and
you'll get a vague (and I mean vague...) idea of where these kids are
coming from, totally amazing stuff. My pick of the week fo' sure!!! I
wish them all the luck in the world and look forward to the next
opportunity to see them live. Brett thinks he's that guy who thought he was Superman in that episode of Press Gang that was on telly that time
I think the odds were kind of stacked against Bad Lieutenant
from the start.. An awful name (though Brian's uncle liked the film), a
dodgy premise (Barney Sumner and the bloke from Marion on the
acoustics, bringing out the latent beauty of the former's ever-rich,
soulful voice) and a rubbish last New Order album all point to the
Ohdearmometer becoming overloaded before 30 seconds is up. Well
actually I suppose it does some sort of job if jangly MOR dadrock is
what you're after. Not horrific, but painfully average (which may well
be a worse crime).. There were Electronic album tracks that were loads
better than this. How the mighty have fallen. Genius Loci have an intriguingly packaged CD out on Acrobiotic called The Psychogeographical Commission,
the picture we've got kind of makes it look like a three panel foldout
map thing but it's actually a slimline DVD case job with the map
printed on the inside of the sleeve and a little foldy insert. It's all
about London. I know that 'cos the map is of a bit of London and some
of the tracks are called things like 'Fires of London' and 'Camden Book
of the Dead'. High concept! As are the influences, most notably the
neofolk of David Tibet's Current 93 who this fella's singing/speaking
voice is a real dead ringer for. Instrumentally its often based largely
around watery guitar arpeggios and a submerged feel which makes me
think of bad lads running around the capital in pairs with one of them
getting on all fours behind people while the other pushes their victim
from the front, watching them as they trip, screaming and cursing their
delinquent foes, into the yukky old Thames where they'll flail about
wildy with strands of poo stuck in their hair. It's probably more about
murderers and depressing stuff, but still. It's pretty good stuff.
It's probably fair to say that I don't really get No Age.
I think some of their stuff's alright but I've never been able to
understand quite the level of hype and adulation they've had from the
start. But ' Losing Feeling'
I'm liking. The title track is much hazier than anything I've heard of
them before, reminding me of the likes of Deerhunter or (as Brian
suggests) early Mercury Rev - all vague and dreamy but with a hint of
garagey harshness. Elsewhere they come up with a strummy ballad, an
ambient psychedelic instrumental and one that sounds bizarrely like
post-shoegaze chancers My Vitriol (but better, to be fair). I'm
pleasantly surprised I've got to say! And Sub Pop continue to show how
it's done - wrapping it all up in a thick cardboard sleeve with a
picture inner sleeve, chucking in a download code and keeping the price
down to boot. Nice job!
I'm taken by the new Stefan Kushima
tape on Blackest Rainbow before it's even started since it comes on a
purple wow cassette and features lovely squidy artwork. Respect to the
palette selector for we have attained colour nirvana! I think I've
enjoyed Stefan's stuff before but it gets hard to remember things in
here, it seems likely that I have because Magnetic Levitation
release is a crackerjack victoryfest of bonzer noisy psychedelic
droning. Its smacked-up hallucinatory darkness is making me drift off,
deep in thought of black suns, pink skies and red grass. Mint! Sabu Toyozumi and Mototeru Takagi
are new names to me but they've got a new double LP out on the
ever-lovely Qbico. It's very free stuff indeed, with Takagi's sax
either honking manically like the most sonically aggressive work of
Arthur Doyle, John Zorn or Evan Parker or displaying a surprisingly
subdued clarity of tone when he feels the need, while Toyozumi skitters
and bangs and skitters away in a largely puncuatory style. When they
come in together though, that's the fucking stuff! Free jazz that
somehow manages to retain a distinctive Japanese avant-garde flavour
despite the traditional Western instrumentation. As for the office jazz
hater, Phil reckons it's 'the sound of someone going insane'.
The ever-mighty Shackleton returns, post-Skull Disco and now residing in Berlin whose Perlon imprint have packaged up his new triple 12" in fine style. Three EPs
had me really excited from the sample stream that was kicking around a
month or so back and it kicks off excellently with '(No More) Negative
Thoughts' based around a fleet-footed dub bassline, cutting stabs,
littered handclaps and the insistent repetition of a word which could
either be 'cancel' or 'council'.. Sounds like someone's not had his bin
emptied. I'm not gonna go through every track so I'll get more general
with it: although the sub-bass is still present and correct there's
more of an emphasis on a traditional bass sound (dub gone super agile),
warped and cut vocal samples feed in and out (almost in a Burial style
from time to time), the Eastern sound is still there (toned down ever
so slightly and given a more pronounced sci-fi inflection), it sounds
like he's getting a little into that 'future garage' style at times and
as ever, he's teaching everyone a thing or two about a satisfyingly
spacious mix. To cut directly to the chase, I think this is the best
stuff he's ever done - minimal in sound but with maximal atmospherics,
fitting in with the Perlon sound whilst being instantly recognisable
and forging new paths for techno, dubstep, 'bass music' or whatever,
seemingly effortlessly, in the process. A staggering work of epic
genius! BORIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!!
Have gone a bit odd on the first of their series of three 'Heavy Rock
Hits' 7"s on Southern Lord. Odd for them anyway, developing the hair
metal influence apparent on Smile into a more shoegazey indie rock
sound that has me reaching for the My Vitriol comparison for the second
time this week.. You wait ages for a bus to come along etc. etc.
Obviously '8'
is loads better than that though, if only for Wata's epic twiddles -
she's the queen of the mighty solo! 'Hey Everyone' revolves around the
most simplistic of caveman beats and the bizarre of lyrics: they seem
to be discussing some sort of unfortunate situation involving 'heavy
castanets' in voices reminiscent of Kurt Cobain in the verses and Bobby
Gillespie in the chorus. This probably doesn't sound very good in
theory but there's definitely something about it in practice and it's
Boris after all..
I love a bit of Rachel's, me. Funny how Rachel Grimes is in them and they're not named after her though.. Would you bloody credit it. Book of Leaves (For Solo Piano)
is a gorgeous collection of shortish piano pieces which are thoroughly
evoking an autumnal feel in my mind, it could just be the suggestive
artwork and title or the fact that it was a bit nippy on my walk to
work this morning but still, it's very fitting. The playing runs the
gamut from plaintive, balladic chording to nimble key jumping, taking
in styles both classical (neo and regular) and folky, all in the
service of the lovely, peaceful and melancholy atmosphere.. It's making
me delve into past happy autumns, collecting conkers, coming to the
time of year when I realise Huddersfield Town won't be getting promoted
this season, kicking piles of leaves to reveal dead tramps and all
that. It's very, very nice! Business Lady thinks wearing heels to work is her right as a human being
First up this week is ' A.Medic' by Disconcerts,
a heavily tipped post punk group from London town. These guys are
tearing it up '78 style! The drums sound like tin pots played by some
hyperactive teen fueled by cider and cheap speed, the bass player
serves up the the melody that perfectly compliment the aggravated vocal
outbursts and razor sharp guitar riffs. The vocals come of sounding
like a cunning mix of John Lydon and Eddie Argos and the majority of
the tracks stink of Gang of four and early XTC. It's a pretty decent
selection of upbeat tracks but I can't help but think that these guys
are treading a well worn path. Saying that, all the elements are in the
right place and i'm enjoying the general feel of this EP. I like this
sort of thing very much, it'll probably appeal to those of you out
there with a hankering for PiL, Gang Of Four, XTC, James Chance and the
Contortions, Erase Errata and the like. White Shit!!!!
Ace name!!! This is a new outfit featuring the dudes from Big Business
as well as Andy Coronado of Skull Kontrol and it's totally fucking
sweet. Nine tracks of Big Business style rock with hints of Black Flag,
Motorhead and The Dead Kennedys thrown in for good measure and all on
one side of 12" vinyl. Recorded on the cheap with an emphasis on good
raw takes, these tracks sound rough and rugged in the best possible
way. Jared Warren's vocals (kinda Glenn Danzig infused with elements of
Keith Morris) sound totally amazing and the riffage is second to none.
I recommend this to anyone who wants to hear some inventive hardcore
music, a rare and beautiful thing in the year 2009. The artwork is also
worth a mention if only for the insert that depicts Obama observing a
flying pig whilst dressed in futuro US border police get up, rifle
included. The cover is equally as bemusing as it is amusing and no
doubt, with another couple of listens, some form of scathing political
commentary will present itself from behind the powerful riffs and
general enthusiasm for RAWK!! Ace mini LP! If you don't buy this you've
gone all wrong.
A Place to Bury Strangers, NYC loudest rock band (though i'm sure that accolade belongs to Sonic Youth) return with their second LP ' Exploding Head'
with an emphasis on 'Total sonic annihilation!'. A Place to bury
strangers (APTBS) have the uncanny ability to purge from the most
likely of places (shoe gazing rock, Goth, 80's synth rock and pop, 80's
british psychedelia) and transform those influences into a massive
american rock assault. It's the ability to streamline and simplify
these styles is APTBS greatest strength as a band and they do it rather
well. Single 'In your heart' is the best example of this theory in
action, they take the best elements of Joy Division and ramp everything
up to great effect. The guitars are wildly frantic in Kevin Shield's
kinda, the bass playing is pure hooky and the drums sound like all
machine like with the added heaviness of them being played by a real
human. As well as being obscenely loud they also show a keen ear for
melody which is apparent on 'Keep slipping away' and 'Losing feeling'
as well as the aforementioned single. The recording is impressively
loud and screechy, especially on 'Ego Death' where we are treated to
some super wailing guitars and some intense sonic manipulation. A great
record that will appeal to shoe-gazey, gothy types and anyone with a
love for both Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine at the same time. Not
bad for a major label band yo!
I missed Fuck Buttons
recent tour which is was really bummed out about as I saw a Primavera
last year and thought they totally killed! That set was enough for me
to dig deep and invest in their last album ' Street Horrrsing'
who's strange combination of ambient and dance influences I found
totally refreshing, like a more enthusiastic version of Growing. After
the immense amount of praise that 'Street Horrrsing' received I'm not
surprised to hear that Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power have made a
valiant effort to up the ante and produce something truly special for
album number two. The big news is the induction of legendary DJ,
producer and remixer Andrew Weatherall who has taken on the role of
producer and sculptor of 'Tarot Sport'. Weatherall's presence can be
heard clearly on an album that takes the original analogue Fuck Buttons
formula and pushes it into the digital age. 'Tarot Sport' doesn't
necessarily suffer for it but it definitely sounds like a hi-def dance
record as opposed to the mutant lo-fi effort that was 'Street
Horrrsing'. Single Surf Solar mangles up some old house vocal motif
whilst adding layers of synth ambience to create a massive tune that is
good for both dancing and tripping out on the hammock. 'Rough Steez' is
a favorite as it utilizes some really strange loops and has a totally
nutty beat. Elsewhere we hear familiar Fuck Button's themes manipulated
and tidied up for the dance floor without sacrifying what made them so
special in the first place. Certainly a step up for the band.... I
wonder what these tunes will sound like live? Mint I hope. So, i didn't realise Germany had a hidden penchant for funky ass
groove but that seems to be the case as i'm presented with a
compilation of teutonic funk grooves, disco and boogie courtesy of Marina Records in the form of ' D-Funk - Funk, Disco and Boogie Grooves from Germany'.
These tracks date from 1972 to 2002 and span all manner of funky sounds
from cheesy dancefloor fillers to more sophisticated contributions. The
first few tracks kick things of with some super stylized dancefloor
disco funk from the likes of Boney M, Veronika Fisher & Band and
Discotizer & Supermax. Cheeseslider's 'Sweatmajor' brings the true
funk sound of the seventies to the mix with it's fusion of Funkedelic
and Kool and the Gang influences. This is complimented with the Meters
style instrumental workout of Charley Antolini's Power Dozen 'Jumping'.
Smoother numbers are supplied by Fehlfarben and Stolen property who
flex a damn fine rendition of War's 'Low rider'. I'm particularly taken
by Zatopek's Pigbag style 80's no-wave outbursts on 'Dispo funk' and
the P-funk madness of Montana Chromeoboy's 'War on the bullshit'. So,
rare gems and funky rarities a plenty. If you're a fan of Marina's
previous collections then this will no doubt be of interest to you but
this'll suit anyone with a itch for a funky-ass groove. Get foonky yo! The new The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
isn't very hardcore, which is a shame..... The good news is that
they've finally come up with a different piece of cover art to adorn
there growing output of singles. ' Higher Than the Stars'
is another strong indie pop single from these highly tipped Brooklyn
cutie's. It's a classically dreamy pop number with overtly self
depreciating, romantically savvy lyrics and layers of sleek production.
It reminds me of the soft synth pop tunes of Future Islands. B-side
'103' points more in the direction of messy, fuzzed up shoe-gazing pop.
The production sounds cheap and simple which really compliments the
tune and again, these guys and girls are delivering on hooks, big time.
The single finishes with an Others in Conversation remix of 'Higher
Than the Stars'. I find remixes of indie pop tracks to be a little
pointless but this sounds pretty cool to me yet I know nothing of
Others in Conversation so it's difficult to comment upon at length.
Another strong single that will no doubt serve the band and their
emerging fan base well. I Like Trains are Leeds' very own bleak pop pioneers. New single ' Sea of Regrets'
is a song inspired by the environmental musings of natural scientists
James Lovelock and George Monbiot and seems to touch on themes of a
doomed human race. It's the first single from thier new self
produced/released LP expected later this year. It's a thoughtful track
that builds to an epic crescendo thanks to layers of violins, cellos
and soaring guitars. It's like a particularly reflective Editors single
and it's the best track i've heard by the group since their inception.
B-side 'The Spark' touches on previous musical themes and has that
waltz feel of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds 'Murder Ballads' LP. It's a
short but effective track that compliments the A-side perfectly. Very
nice, though still a little bleak chaps.
We've got a couple of 3" cd's from the excellent Rusted Rail label this week. I've been assigned ' The Shadow is That Hidden' EP from Yawning Chasm,
a one man bedroom producer and songwriter (and one half of Mirakil
Whip) Aaron M. Coyne. This is beautifully crafted, hypnotic folk of the
like you don't hear much nowadays. Simple guitar motives are punctuated
by thoughtful and reflective vocals and executed in short sharp doses.
Some of the additional guitar effects and sounds help push these formal
sounding tracks into the space zone. This is particularly apparent on
opener 'To the void' and 'Tumble River' that have a slight Syd Barrett
feel to them. Sort of reminds me of my fave solo artist of the moment,
Ducktails sans all the mashed up sound experiments and such. Blissful
musings and beautiful melodies, what more could you ask for eh? Not
much.... We also got a bunch of tapes from the equally as consistent Blackest Rainbow records this week. I get ' The Thinner the Air' which is the first tape release from the awesome Heavy Winged.
Recorded back in late 2007 this is a document of the band in full
practice space mode. The two tracks 'Against Ocean walls' and 'Mesmer
Crush' are spread over both sides of the tape and once you get beyond
the incredibly lo-fi recording you'll no doubt be pleased with what you
hear, as i am. It kicks of with some thunderous riffage!!! This is
punctuated with more ambient moments throughout but the best bits are
when the band are going hell for leather on the riffs yo. The ambient
parts are kinda spaced out and minimal yet only serve to emphasise the
sweetness of the rocking moments and bring much needed dynamic to this
rough and ready tape jam. I'm liking this alot, time to dust of the old
tape player yo! Ant thinks bus drivers have got it in for him
It's not often we get CDs from Malaysia, but this Goh Lee Kwang CD came right across the planet and landed in our stereo system and what a joy it is. At least to these ears. Hands
begins with some really cool synths that sound like racing cars
accelerating. Then we're into crackling and bubbling electronics with a
primal beat that Brett says "sounds like someone that has had a
lobotomy banging on a cell". You know I've never heard of this sound
artist before but I really dig what I'm hearing. I'd recommend this for
anyone into experimental synthesis type gear. You can really just lose
your self in the abstract sounds and build your own little universe,
and I always reckon with this type of stuff you're only limited by your
imagination as this is such a colorful palate of alien sounds. The
sounds of machines speaking to each other in some coded language on
'Tape 1' would give the likes of Hecker's computer music a run for its
money. Out on his own Herbal International label. Impressive stuff. Yet more gear in on the Experimedia label and this one has a lovely sleeve with ice crystals all over it and it's by Shinobu Nemoto. 'Improvisations #1'
has real nice feel about it with crystalline tones that almost echo the
patterns and icy beauty of the sleeve photography. From the first track
it really builds right up from very little and then really gets going
with swirls of organ type drone and lovely dripping fluid sounding
electronics, there's a faint amount of fuzz giving it an extra dynamic.
I'm really enjoying this. The album continues with a fairly similar
winning formula throughout i.e. building layer upon layer as the tracks
slowly unfold and give off some really cool vibes. Totally chilled and
will have you freezing your knackers off over the coming winter. Agitated Radio Pilot (David Colohan and cohorts) has a limited 3" CD called A Field Day
out on Ireland's Rusted Rail label and it's a 6 track EP of earnest
singer songwriter gear that straddles a folkish vibe. Our Business Lady
is laughing at the lyrics, I heard a mention of watching Withnail and I
which is always good. The musicians play piano, melodica, accordian ,
banjo etc. and it all sounds really quite delicate leaving plenty of
space for the songman to do his thing. If were into the Slow Loris disc
then give this a whirl. It's no happy ride mind but a goodie to weep
into the whisky glass to.
The prospect of Al Cisneros of Om/ Sleep playing in the same band as
Dale Crover from The Melvins almost made soil myself with excitement.
Add Scott "Wino" Weinrich from Saint Vitus etc. and Scott Kelly from
Neurosis both on guitars and you have Shrinebuilder.
A metal supergroup some might say. There are elements of the album that
I really dig and make me wanna punch the air but it's a bit of a mixed
bag really. There's certainly elements of each players style but it
doesn't come across as particularly like any of the players respective
bands except one track which is very Om sounding but to be fair Al
never really veers far from his thing that often. So this really sounds
like a totally new band rather than some novelty collaboration. As
you'd expect there are some monster riffs and the pace is suitably slow
and heavy as they chug and pound away. There's even a psychedelic
element coming through at times and then there's just total meathead
metal growling that made me want to wear leather pants the first time I
heard it. The promo CD we have is one track short so I'm unsure what
we're missing there. This certainly has its moments though. Out on
Neurot. I'm fairly sure Simon Scott
is a name that will be familiar to many of you as a member of The
Charlottes, Slowdive, Televise etc. Well he has a spankingly delicious
solo CD called 'Navigare'
out on Miasmah and what a fine specimen it is. Applying all the haze of
his shoegaze history to moving and vivid experimental ambient music
really works a treat. He creates an ultra dreamy state of consciousness
before 'Flood In' kicks in with it's lush repetitive beat that carries
the layers of decaying crackles. Some of the heavier sounds give me the
feeling of being a drop of water traveling through the weather system.
Some of the dissolving textures really hit the spot. This is the type
of stuff I really enjoy after a hard days work, I put the headphone on
while I'm on the bus making my journey home and for just under an hour
I'm no longer on the bus but in a different world completely. To throw
a spanner in the works the CD and LP both have different final tracks
on them. Makoto Kawabata/Kawabata Makoto???
Why do some releases by Japanese artists have the first and second
names the opposite way around? It confuses me/me confuses. Anyway the
talented man has an LP out on Qibico and here he's in his finest, ultra
subtle medatitive mode. Apparently the recording was done way back in
2003/2004 and it's a superbly crafted piece of shimmering ambient
guitar work. To think that Under Your Moonshine
was created with electric guitar alone with no overdubs is quite
amazing, a real testament to his skills. What I really like is that
lurking deep with in there is a kind of magical Japanese flavour where
I imagine the ghosts of fallen samurai. Lovely stuff as I've come to
expect from this dude when he's not blazing amps and scorching the
psychedelic wail with Acid Mothers.
I got some really cool stuff this week which pleases me. This fellow on the cover of this Ouled Bambara: Portraits Of Gnawa
CD/DVD set on Drag City looks like an all round cool geezer. Gnawa
music is the sounds that accompany tagnawit, a tradition that involve
deeply spiritual ceremonies with clairvoyants that trance out to the
music. Sounds way cool to me. Apparently the Gnawa are considered an
underclass in Moroccan society, much in the same way as chavs, bogans
and guidos who also trance out to music. The difference is that they
don't battle evil spirits and are not remotely involved in healing. The
music is really quite uplifting and cheerful and not as spooky as I
imagined it would be. It's very percussive with some great rhythms.
Anyway you should totally check it out. I bet the DVD rules but I've
not watched it. Blackest Rainbow Records speak the truth when they say the Pine Smoke Lodge's Cranberry Horn
cassette is dark, bleak, mysterious and mystical. This is some proper
lost in the dark forest with foreboding fog type nightmare stuff. It's
like one of those bad dreams that you you don't want to wake from
because you want to know what will happen next. It flows wonderfully as
little spooky sounds are introduced into the mix. It's kinda like
wading through vegetation and swamps listening to your heavy breathing
and pounding heart. Pretty awesome stuff from this mysterious act that
have previously had stuff out on Existential Cloth. Limited edition as
always. Recommended. Some downtown NYC free improv-racket fun from White Out with Jim O'Rourke and Thurston Moore is available on Ecstatic Peace. ' Senso'
is a 2CD Set that was recorded at the Tonic Club New York back in 2004.
It's totally all over the place clattering drums and oddball guitar and
other unidentifiable sounds,effects. They sound like they're having a
blast. It's quite out there with even a free jazz edge to the
percussion. At various points it sounds totally deranged which is
always good. Starless and Bible Black have their ' Shape Of The Shape'
album out on Static Caravan (well the CD, vinyl is through Locust I'm
told). It's quality moody stuff actually. Business lady was reminded of
Crosby Stills and Nash/ Neil Young and Phil reckons it may well appeal
to fans of Marissa Nadler. Female fronted, easy on the ear folkie/
country-ish rock/pop that was recorded in North Wales. Most pleasant.
What on earth is going on... This Gowns
record has some crazy lady singing about being sick in drugs in a car.
Taking drugs in cars is bad. Bikes, helicopters, hovercrafts are fine,
but never in cars. Anyway the music proceeds in unexpected ways with a
cool sounding fucked up fiddle/ bagpipe sort of instrument. Drums are
whacked frantically, swirls of feedback and such like. Sounds like an
electric session down yonder at Southern Studios. Why isn't there a
Northern Studios? If there was we'd hang out their throwing meat pies
at southerners and setting our whippets on them. Oh this Gowns lot are
pretty smart. ' Broken Bones' is on nice heavy vinyl and limited to 500.
Phil thinks a lot of fingerpicking
Finders Keepers are the bringers of many a compilation album to your
door. They collect hard to find tracks together into one obi striped
themed platter for you the consumer to enjoy. The Byg Deal
is (I think) a collection of rare tracks from a label called BYG
Records which existed between '68 and '74. It's a weird mix of people
and styles on there as well... Featuring tracks by Gong (3 by them!), Brigitte Fontaine, Vangelis, The Art Ensemble Of Chicago
and loads more. It's all very 70's American rock but with the added
loveliness of flute or some French vocals here or there to quirk the
tracks up. Thus they're elevated to maximum funstick capacity with
those simple extra ingredients. Nice!! On 2 x LP and 1 x CD!! The track
by Alice is well good.... Really reminds me of Can which is always a
good thing! Speaking of reissues Soul Jazz know their onions and here's another of their fine collections. This one is is called 'Can You Dig It? The Music And and Politics of Black Action Films 1968-1975'.
You get 2 CDs with a small but fat book thing all wrapped up in
cellophane or you can buy it on 2 double LP's. I have to say disc one
is the highlight here... If not just to here Coffy by Roy Ayers again.. And believe me it's so not a chore to listen to 'Across 100th Street' by Bobby Womack. I could listen to that tune all day.... There's some amazing songs by loads of dudes
on here. Disc 2 peeters off a wee bit and you could say a lot of these
songs have been lumped together before. But maybe that's because they's
some of the finest examples of the Blaxploitation genre and they're
gonna be used though we did have a feeling that Soul jazz would have
dug a bit deeper. Still it's a fantastic listen and it's well worth
checking out! I'm not familiar with Mark Bradley so I'm listening to Eternal,
his new CD on Blackest Rainbow, with fresh ears. He's had bits out on
Basses Frequencies and a CD out most recently on Reverb Worship but
we've not heard that one yet. Too much music!! Anyway he makes some
eerie spacey sounding electronics along the lines of Tangerine Dream
and that sort of thing. It reminds Brian of some of the Nordic fellas
who've had stuff out on Biosphere's label and I reckon it's gonna
appeal to folks who have enjoyed the Oneohtrix Point Never stuff and
maybe even some Zombi gear. Nice! I'm gonna check out his Reverb
Worship CD out when I get a mo! 100 copies only!! Here's a smashing neo classical CD by a fella called Richard Anthony Jay. It's called 'This Is What I Live For'
and it's a fine example of beautiful chamber music. Lots of strings and
pianos combine to make some really gorgeously moving arrangements. It's
very emotive indeed and I'm reminded of folks like Yann Tiersen,
Michael Nyman and Max Richter with the way the music builds and flows.
It's all very maudlin and it's making me weep all over the huge pie I'm
eating. Actually that's not strictly true (it's only a small pie....)
but it's a highly emotive collection of pieces. If you're into neo
classical gear then this is a must!! He's been making music for 20
years and here's his debut album so you know when someone spends that
long on a record it's going to be worth it! So I'm listening to Kill It Kid
for the 1st time. I was slgihtly put off listening to 'em cos their
name is shite. Looking at the fresh faced young picture of them on the
back of the sleeve for 'Heaven Never Seemed So Close'
I'm amazed they're making this complex bar room blues/boogie music
which would make our Jools well proud. To be honest I'm reasonably
taken aback as I didn't expect 'em to sound like that! They look too
young to be making hoary old blues rock music like this.... The strings
which smother it are an unusual addition which continues the
astonishment. I genuinely don't know what to say about it.... I quite like this King Cannibal
album on Ninja Tune. It reminds me of the kind of thing I liked a few
years ago, got bored of, not heard of in ages and I now quite like it
again 'cos no one is really doing this sort of thing these days. It's a
mix of dancehall, grime, techno, drum n' bass smothered in darkness.
Man, this is well dark.... It's not getting off with your mum dark...
It's got that dark paranoid feel about it where you think someone is
watching over you all the time. 'Virgo' is well Ghislain Poirier
sounding what with the French rapping over it and the whole dancehall
thing going on. I'm not sure why this is a CD only release?? I think
perhaps most of the tracks have been out on vinyl before so it serves
as a nice digital companion for those who can't be arsed with
downloads. Still, there's no excuse for jewel cases in this day and
age. Let The Night Roar is totally slicing..... Many thanks to the Ninja Tune label. Brian thinks of the bottom of the glass as a beginning rather than an end
Leeds combo Just Handshakes (We're British)
are to be commended for actually approaching the befuddled Auntie
Norman and shaking some CDs at us whilst chanting in unison "sell
these, we're great, your office is nice BTW, really peaceful" whilst
sporting the sweetest of smiles & graceful manners. Not sure what
to expect as the diddy things are tied so tenderly with ribbon &
string that we're utterly terrified of opening the damn things with our
fat, greasy manfingers so Brian "I hate computers" Dangerouses has
opted to peruse their brightly adorned Myspace for glimpses into their
tender indie worldview. 'Shipwrecks'
is one of the 2 track singles they've delivered, a gentle swaying
number with a remarkably gorgeous, fragile & childlike female vocal
carried along by these playful minimal guitars, softly tumbling drums
& a charming bobbing basslines, with the occasional discreet breeze
of an organ popping up it's head - the nearest I can muster, comparison
wise, is somewhere between Young Marble Giants, Vampire Weekend &
fellow W. Yorks scamps Sky Larkin. A truly lovely tune. The other
single is 'Paper Cranes'
which has a rougher indie guitar sound embellished with some twinkly
xylophone & more dreamy sing-song vocals from vocalist Clara. For
some reason this reminds me considerably of a less dark Melys, the
Welsh band John Peel used to adore. Just clean, timeless, sensitive
indie pop with no frills, just pure & natural! Top marks for the
loving presentation too... Basillica
come through with some quality turgid noise to hurt Uncle Brian's ears,
the monging sound of an underground cavern being scraped out with
shovels forged from the remains of concrete ghosts. Or the sound a rat
in a damp alcove would hear if it was caught foraging in the wall
recess of a murky pub backroom where some nihilistic sound sculptor was
merging haunting guitar drone textures with industrial field
recordings. Quite muffled, freeform & strangely inviting, this
particular Basillica don't sound anything like the Roman religious
temple they're (almost) named after. They sound like the dank sewer
running beneath, infested with all forms of mutant bacteria &
deformed denizens of the night. Haunting stuff, the nattily titled 'Rotting Desert Queen And Black Isolator Radar Strip' is on the ever stubborn Blackest Rainbow, ltd to 100.
Listening to the new Falty DL
promo we've got is initially a disorientating exercise. The first track
'Made Me Feel So Right' has a proper fucked-up beat that sounds like a
skipping CD player and loads of warped Burial style atmospherics
lurking beneath. It is not exactly a club banger, if you tried to dance
to this girls would laugh at you and you'd possibly get really
depressed and think you've totally lost any sense of rhythm you ever
had. There's some spot on blurred vocal snippets and eerie twinkles
happening under the pissed garageisms though. 'Mother Beam' continues
in that monged, staggered fashion with a sort of stripped back R 'n' B
vibe, all cut-up and hazy but however, there's a really strong rhythm
punching through. Things start getting even more twatted by the
stunning title track, ' Bravery'
- all bloopy synths, echo-ey vocal snippets, dreamy keys and at almost
2 minutes in it turns into a euphoric druggy disco blurter like FlyLo
falling down some stairs after a bottle of Absinthe. Fucking A! There's
loads more top ranking twisted material & progressive beatery on
here, like the jazzy and eerie 'Tronman' with it's ominous, pulsing
waves and funky percussive onslaught, a proper trippy beauty. If you
like the LP he did you need this - more screwed up and thought
provoking, plus the grooves 'n' myriad sonic trickery are well
evocative & proper rinsin' like - i'd like to take this EP home and
cuddle up with it some more, all those mad-ass spaced synths....ooh
missus. Khate
is a lady from Virginia who likes to produce truly absorbing ambient
music interspersed with mesmerizing sound design. Here she introduces
her soundworld with a lovingly packaged LP on SMTG called ' Pareidolia'.
From the off it's like listening to an old Biosphere album remixed by
Machinefabriek, eerie pulses, ominous phasing and quiet aquatic burbles
with those digital crumpling sounds going on we like so much, Later on
there's a space hoover vacuuming up a lazerquest troop stuck in a
metallic jungle, lovely tribal incantations are overlaid with these
strange juddering blades of sound. 'Autumn' is a deliciously creepy
dark ambient techno number with this ace little moody keyboard refrain
- may be nods to SAW II by th' Twin - before it dissolves into more
laptop scrunch & drifting, ghostly basslines, haunted klaxons and
sleepy ambient melancholia. There's a really organic, rhythmic feel to
this record with some simply wonderful sound applications. It all
sounds like a real labour of love - 8 tracks produced in 4-5 years
means an incredibly perfectionist mind is at work here, you can hear
the feminine touch, some bits remind us of the hugely underrated
Portable on Pole's ~scape records but with a darker outlook. Mastered
by James Plotkin, i'm loving this LP, housed in a wicket screen printed
sleeve.
The lovely Alasdair Roberts,
one time Appendix Outer and now trad/contemporary folk blurrer
extraordinaire, has a sweet new EP out on the hallowed Drag City. 'Wyrd Memes'
is a most worthy companion to 'Spoils', being 4 essential fresh tracks,
featuring mostly his tender, searching auld poetry, earthy K Yairi
guitar, brief bursts of marching percussion & a discreet dusting of
drifting atmospherics/fluttering electronics from his Yamaha synth.
Other players quietly flesh out these heartfelt paeans to days gone by,
but this man possesses such a strong presence, you're hardly gonna
notice when your wrapped up in his magic. Tinged with a strange
mysticism and an otherworldliness that is most sensual, Alasdair
cements his reputation as one of modern folks most precious talents,
here in the most devourable form, the classic 4 tracker. Hurrah! Haha. How to damn your reputation in the space of one press release.
Mention Alan McGee and Peter Hook in the same sentence, not to mention
promote yourself as "electro rockers" & "the hottest undiscovered
band in the UK". I love it when we get this kind of hollow, empty
stadium toss. Isolated Atoms
make Editors sound seriously edgy, they display the very worst elements
of modern "indie", some inane drivetime chorus, a seriously comical Ian
Curtis-lite vocal (truly preposterous, especially on 'Here We Go'),
horrendous limp synths that sound so fucking dated I cannot believe
they're being let into a studio and the glossy production you'd expect
from the worst Europop chart pap. The big black dude in the band
though, he's a rugged looking feller who looks so cool that you're kind
of tempted to give them some kudos regardless. 'Tell Me What I Want' is a ltd 7" on the reliably excreble Weekender recs. AND ON THAT BOMBSHELL xxx
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Friday, October 02, 2009
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Current mood: pirate
Category: Music
This week's reviews
2 Oct 2009
Well the release schedule is relentless again with more big releases
arriving then we've ever seen before (possibly). That could be untruth
but hey there seems like an awful lot! Anyhoo it's been a busy ole week
at the towers what with one thing or another so I won't chat on on too
much. You should really check out the Jesus Lizard reissues if you
don't have 'em already.... there's some amazing songs on those albums
and they're all remastered by Steve Albini and Bob Weston, pressed on
virgin vinyl in gatefold sleeves with extensive linear notes, artwork
downloads of the albums and bonus MP3's etc. Very exciting I'm sure
you'll agree. Also if you want a free 7" by Feline Desmond called Seg
Fridge then just ask and we'll pop one in your orders. We've only got a
handful so it's first come first served. The label asked us to give 'em
away rather than sell them on the site so there you go... I quickly
played it and it does in fact sounds like the ruminations of a fridge.
You have been warned! If you're reading this late on Saturday and are
thinking of asking for one I wouldn't bother as we'll have ran out by
then! Oooh also worth mentioning is the fact that we have limited
quantities of Warp 20th Anniversary T-shirts... Oh and we got a load of cheap Moteer CD's in @ 3.99. Nice!! Right, on we go then. -Phil x Bleeding Heart Narrative - Tongue Tangled Hair (Tartaruga) CD
Well the last Bleeding Heart Narrative CD was a monster hit for us, many, many months ago and now ' Tongue Tangled Hair'
is a fresh offering from Oliver Barrett & friends so 'tis time to
get proper excited!! Beginning tentatively with stately organ drone
switching into a choral barbershop piece with charming minimal
percussion, that then blossoms into an ominous
Animal-Collective-gone-shoegaze epic into neo classical chamber
minimalism - all beautiful sustained droning notes giving way to
emotive post-rock arpeggios and heartfelt vocals that burst open into
widescreen symphonic strings! Then you're treated to some curious
interludes ranging from the bizarre & experimental to the heart
meltingly sublime! I'll leave the rest of the album for your individual
exploration - my words are only intended to give you a brief suggestion
of the bountiful treats on offer here - but I gotta say this is shaping
up to be something absolutely amazing by the sound of it! I hear a
greater use of vocals (he has a very dreamy, soulful voice!) is evident
plus a sonically rich palette of acoustics & beautiful string
arrangements make this a startlingly assured record! What a talent,
this man and his players truly deserve your undivided love &
attention!! AOTW anyone? x Bri Roj - The Transactional Dharma Of Roj (Ghostbox) CD
Roj
Stevens used to be in that rather fine band called Broadcast. He's
going it alone now with his debut album on the excellent Ghost Box
label. Fans of the label will know what to expect as you'll typically
be treated to 24 tracks of a very haunting take on vintage electronics.
There's some amazing sounds and pieces of music on this CD. Bloops and
bleeps will transport to another era where things seemed like they were
much simpler than they are now. It's a right proper nostalgia fest.
When you listen to the album it's like being in some sort of dreamlike
state and your brain is dealing with all the day to day things it's had
to deal with. If you were a fan of Broadcast and remember some of their
wackier electronic moments you can hear a bit of that here. There's
obvious nods to The Radiophonic Workshop as well and bits of it remind
me on Moondog at times what with the interesting percussion and the
short length of some of the tracks (ha ha I said length...). If you're
into early electronic music then ' The Transactional Dharma Of Roj'
will totally appease you in every way. It's marvellous stuff! Ace
artwork too from head honcho Julian House (Focus Group) which
compliments the music perfectly. A thoroughly special album which
you'll cherish for a long long time. CD only folks! . Philth
Vibracathedral Orchestra / Infinite Light - Split (Krayon) 7"
Here's a post Vibracathedral Orchestra release on the up and coming Krayon Records label. It's a split with Infinite Light
who appear to be Mick Flower of Vibracathedral and Pete Nolan of GHQ,
Magik Markers etc... The Vibracathedral side is an amazing 60's
sounding psyche chugging romp which is just one of the best things I've
heard from 'em. All sorts of noises are permeating through the music
along with the amazing wonky widdly wah wah guitars which will have you
trading your mondeo in for a smart old VW camper van. There's loads
going on in this song and it's held together by a monotonous beat which
hooks you into an amazing mantric groove while the guitars, keyboards
effects and whatnots take you to other places. Otherworldy places.
Amazing tune. The flip is a segment of a live jam by Infinite Light
which is a bit free psyche jam which is as messy as it is captivating.
It's not the best recorded thing but listen to what's going on and it
makes you wish you were there being mentalized by 'em. Then a quieter
track comes in which is just guitars and high pitched vocals.. the
total opposite to the other track. The guitars remind me a bit of some
of the MV/EE blues workouts...well nice. The high pitched vocals work
in total contrast to the guitars but there's something strangely
haunting about 'em. One of the best 7"'s I've heard in ages and one of
the most interesting ones too. Double points! x Fill Phil - Alright on top
We got some titles in on the Muzzedia label this week. we've had
some bit before on the label and it's for you more adventurous
experimental types. There's a couple of bits in by Diodaar and the one I'm listening to right now is called ' Black Moon Siege Impression'.
As soon as I see/hear the word siege I'm thinking of Steven Segal. He
owns that word for me.... Goddamnit. Anyway Diodaar seem to specialise
in a sort of weird post industrial drone music which veers away from
the ambient tip and more towards a throbbing industrial factory style
hum and tickle. Mmm sounds nice? Well it is rather pleasant though nowt
new, it's still nice to hear someone do a slightly different take on
the whole drone thing. The song titles are a bunch of numbers which for
some reason I'm finding a wee bit annoying though. It wouldn't be me
though if I didn't get annoyed about something. Look closely at the Pearly Gatecrashers
sleeve and you'll see a small girl holding a box of cereals with crispy
bacon on it. My life is almost complete... now I just need to find
someone who sells it. Though on the tiny pic we have on the site you
won't see it which is a shame cos it's got an amazing collage sleeve
thing. Anyway the PG's are from Australia and they do the whole indie
pop thing. We've been listening to ' But Wait There's More...'
for a wee bit now and we can all sorts in there. Elements of the
singers voice sound a bit like Kirsty MacColl, the music is catchy
commercial indie pop which is gonna appeal to fans of Slow Down
Tallahassee, The Darling Buds, Amelia Fletcher etc. All that kind of
thing. As ever it's exactly what you'd expect from Peru's finest indie
pop label (probably Peru's only indie pop label) Plastilina. Tweetastic. Jonny Trunk unleashes his 2nd album to the world on his nostalgia ridden Trunk label. Scrapbook
is on CD/LP though so far only the CD has arrived (no surprises
there...) Anyway Scrapbook is a curious beast. I think the title says
it all... it's a whole mish mash of ideas thrown into one place which
largely work. There's elements of instrumental hip hop (the more
soundtracky side of things), early electronics, bits of jazz, some
coffee table cheese. After a while the album ends up sounding a bit
like Lemon Jelly album. It's light and frothy and not to be taken too
seriously. That way you'll enjoy it the most I reckon.
Speaking of Library records if you're into all of that jazz then
you'll have most definitely heard of the De wolfe label who've been
ploughing the archives for many a year bringing together fine comps
from pioneers of genres to keep 'crate diggers' of the world sweet for
another week. Until they need something new... you always need
something new... Anyway here's a comp called ' Bite Harder - The Music De Wolfe Studio Sampler Volume 2'
which is full of old soul/ funk and psych rock tunes which range from
slightly musty sounding efforts to cheese laden 70's rocktastic flute
epics. There's some amazing farty basses on here and when you hear one
of those with a flute over it you have no choice but to smile. It's as
close as you can come to real life magic. I did once meet Paul Daniels
many moons ago and he was the greyest man I've ever seen... very small
but ludicrously grey. Anyway fans of Finders Keepers will love this. This Ethernet
CD on Kranky is well nice. Only a few minutes in and I'm some Gas
riddled haze. You see it sounds quite a lot like Gas... It has that
muffled stoned haze about it where you feel like you're outside a club
off your arse on drugbiscuits. Mind you this is much more chilled out
and laid back, but it has a really similar vibe to it. It's well
special I have to say!! Total cosmicity is reached within a few minutes
of listening to it. There's some elements of Cluster and Harmonia in
there 'n all to complete the Kraut kosmische trilogy. If you happen to
be floating around in a bubble wearing space clothes hovering leisurely
over Venus these are the sounds you'll be hearing. They'll be pumping
into your spacesuit as you gently throb and pulse along to the space
beats and space rhythms. 144 Pulsations Of Light is CD only...Cosmic man! Dokaka
isn't probably someone you've heard of before but he's a Japanese dude
who uses his voice to make his music. There's no instruments on here at
all... every single thing on the album is constructed with the crazy
guy's own voice. He did an album years ago which covered Led Zep,
Slayer and Rolling Stones songs which folks went nuts for apparently.
Bjork picked on him (the bug underground hoover she is) and got him to
do his Japanese beatboxery on her Medulla album. Anyway on this 88
track CD you get 17 hours of multi tracked vocal insanity which will
proper impress you. Seriously you'll listen to this and think two
things, christ the guy's a lunatic and Christ the guy's a genius. It's
not really like anything I've heard before and it's probably not
something you'd want to listen to a lot of but in short doses this is
pure genius. The guy babbles, rings, purrs, biffs, boffs, bangs, shouts
like no one else and it's well funny. You should check Smells Like Teen Spirit here for something instantly recognisable. You're either gonna love or hate this one....
Graham Coxon
releases another of his print things which comes with a download code
so you can get his new single. It's a novel fancy way of releasing
music which I approve of. His art is (surprisingly) pleasing to the eye
and as we don't have a copy to listen to (as we don't get any codes)
then I can't review it so there's no chance of it upsetting me. It's a
win win situation! All hand numbered on the Transgressive label and the
Dead bees
single comes on two prints each with the same B side so if you're a
collector of his art then you'll want both prints. If you're just a fan
of his music then you'll just need the one. If you're a not a fan at
all then you've probably not read this and you can obviously save your
wonga and spend it on some other tits.
Porzellan
are a new name to me. But we get new names each week by folks I've
never heard of so you'd think I'd be used to it now but it would seem
not. He (Francis Cazal is a classically trained composer and violinist)
has a new CD out this week on the Hibernate label which is limited to
150 copies in a 6 panel soft pack like the ian Hawgood wolfskin CD a
while back. Here we have some seriously good neo classical drone music
which really reminds me of some moments of the last Stars of The Lid
album. The way the strings and drones drop in and out is really
sounding like it. It's a lovely sounding album veering from the neo
classical end of drone music to the simple yet effective out and out
drone music (i:e the stuff that doesn't seem to do a right lot). The
neo classical bits are doing it for me though.... it's well warm and
lovely and something I totally recommend. There I said it. Also there's
a download code inside to get 2 bonus tracks you bargain hunters!
Business Lady - 'Music is trying to ruin me!'
Thee Oh Sees
seem to be making records quicker than i can buy 'em at the moment.
Just back from my euro-travels and already Team Dwyer have managed to
knock up another killer rekkid in the form of ' Dog Poison'.
I guess it's best to strike while the iron is hot and Thee Oh Sees 'are
so hot right now'. John Dwyer's current squeeze really is his best yet
and i'm reminded of this with every fresh slab of wax that makes it's
way though the doors of the Normo-power-towers. 'Dog Poison' sacrifices
the old garage rock buzz in favour of the more obscure end of
psychedelia that was touched upon on 'Help'. Dwyer is on a total roll
creatively and the band have matured into a skilled and inventive
outfit. I'm digging the strange textures and layers that are presenting
themselves on these tracks, it's practically hynagogic yo! Also
enjoying the continued appearance of flutes as well as the lo-fi nature
of these recordings. 10 tracks of raw psychedelia out now on Captured
tracks. Cheers lads.
More loveliness from Captured Tracks in the shape of a new Ganglians
7" singloa!!! Ace!!! Ganglians are a bunch of Sacramento freak-popsters
who know how to write blissed out psyche better than most. A-side ' Blood on the sand'
is a corker of a tune. Infectiously catchy and beautifully produced
space pop that's just weird enough to keep them away from the pop
charts. B-side ' Make it up'
is further proof that these guys are harboring an intense love/affinity
with The Beach Boys, sounds like they've been practicing their
harmonies too. More great tunes from Ganglians!!! Credit cards at the
ready kids, this is definitely not worth passing up. The Mountain Goats
have made a hella load of records over the years and some of them i
really liked, especially early efforts that i found to be raw and
telling in their approach. It would seem that time has smoothed the
edges of The Mountain goats current output with new LP ' The life of the world to come'
sounding clean, composed and well produced. John Darnielle has an
intense vocal style that has divided opinion in the office, i like it,
though it is very aggressive and strange and not to everyone's taste.
Putting that aside i think this new record sounds pretty good. The
roomy production sound provided by the good folks at Electrical Audio
really suits the more intense compositions but some of the smoother
recordings sound a little flat and lifeless to me. So for those of you
who don't know, The Mountain Goats play country and americana tunes in
the vein of The Silver Jews, Bill Callaghan etc....it's basically an
evolved version of American college rock. It certainly has it's moments
though it pales in comparison to previous efforts.
Kurt Vile
has signed to Matador!!! What a bad ass!!! Ok, Vile put out an awesome
record earlier in the year on Woodsist which i thought was mint-os. Now
he's kicking it with the big boys and it shows. ' Childish Prodigy'
sounds both ambitious and energized whilst maintaining a lo-fi
sensibilities. The tracks presented here cover a spectrum of influences
from country tinged rock, folk and Delta Blues with hints of an
appreciation for new wave post punk bands like the Modern Lovers,
Magazine and Suicide. The production is incredibly sympathetic to his
style and brings out the best in the tracks where required. I single
guitar and vocal is augmented in various ways using synths, percussion,
mountains of tape reverb and the occasional full backing band with
drums and everything. Kurt's voice has enduring qualities and i'm
digging his Dylan-esque chatty, poetic style. It's incredibly rare to
hear any interesting voices in modern rock let alone someone who writes
decent lyrics, i won't start quoting as this ain't the NME and i
haven't got all day to witter on about the in's and out's of each
record i review. All you need to know is that Kurt Vile is emerging and
worthy artist that deserves your attention, even if it's just enough to
check out a couple of sound clips or listen to few tracks on
myspace.....I don't think you'll be disappointed. I'm loving this
record especially the rhythmically strong 'Freak Train'....ace.
I concur are from around these parts (Leeds) and ' Sobotka' is the first single of new record ' Able Archer'
out later in the year. It was recorded with James Kenosha, Leeds super
producer for the likes of This Et El, Dinosaur Pile-up, Pulled Apart by
Horses etc. 'Sobokta' is a big tune in the vein of Editors and such.
It's got a tub thumping drum sound, aggressive guitar interplay and a
dramatic vocal delivery. It's also about a character in the popular HBO
series The Wire but i couldn't tell you much about that because i keep
missing the show. It's on a some weird time like 10:45 p.m on a
thursday so i always miss the first fifteen minutes and end up sacking
it off. I'll have to get the box set and get clued up like these dudes.
B-side 'Iterate This (extended)' is like a badass jam you have at the
end of practice that you desperately try and keep in your head for the
next time only for it to drift aimlessly from your fragile musical
mind.
Toro y moi is the work of South Carolina resident Chaz Bundick and I'm digging his blissed out style. ' Blessa'
is a right smooth little number, all swirly, lovely and totally spaced
out dood. I really like the arrangement and the vocal but i'm having
problems describing what it sounds like. It sort of reminds me of later
The Sea and Cake material with elements of Flaming Lips but it shares
the dream like qualities of these new fangled groups like Atlas Sound
and such. B-side ' 109' is a proper lo-fi, reverb drenched pop number that's sounds bass heavy and rough around the edges.....It's totally great.
Florida
are an unknown entity to me but impress with an excellent 3D sleeve and
limited d.i.y looking 7" single on Shdwplay records. A-side ' Icarus'
is a druggy pop rock number that immediately impresses with it's mongy
vocal and lazy riffarama. It's a strange but likeable tune that
certainly worth investigating. Sort of reminds me of Chicago's The
Bitter Tears, slightly country tinging and unnerving macabre. B-side ' Once Yr in it'
sounds like a loose Pink Floyd jam with a super slurred, impossible to
decipher vocal line. Again, it's fucked up but in a good way. I welcome
the ridiculous guitar solo with open arms and thank the lord that some
one, somewhere in the world is out there making fun records for me to
enjoy. Get yer 3D geggs on and mong out yo!
I've got this difficult to decipher 7" that i believe is a split from Jana Hunter and her brother John Hunter (under the guise of Inoculist). The Jana Hunter track is called ' Two Cocks Waving Wildly at Each Other Across a Vast, Open Space, a Dark, Icy Tundra'
which suggests a little room for humour under the dark canvas of
haunting desolate country i'm exposed to on side one. Minimal in it's
instrumentation an stark on details, this tune is dark but not
completely pitch black. I like the flutes that kick in later providing
a nice dynamic for the finale of the track. Jana's brah John takes an
equally minimal approach to song writing though the dual boy/girl vocal
helps fill the gaps and provides a little warmth to the atmosphere. A
perfect song to compliment seasonal changes and the longer autumn
nights. Tasteful stuff. Anton Newcombe continues his tireless mission to reissue all the early The Brian Jonestown Massacre records with the re-release of the 1997 four track E.P ' You love me'.
It's of the usual high standard you'd expect from these LA garage
rocker/shoe gazer favorites and a excellent reminder of the development
of the psyche rock/garage movement that has taken swing over the past
ten years in the U.S. Inspired by the 60's psychedelic scene in the UK
and bolstered by the blissed out sounds of the San Francisco hippy
movement, BJM have release numerous excellent records that are totally
worth re-investigation if you are not familiar with the band. Title
track 'This is why you love me' is psychedelic perfection taking the
best from the Beatles and The Byrds and monkeying things around just
enough to call it their own. The remaining three tracks don't
disappoint neither, beautifully simple garage rock with the awesome pop
sensibilities of early Floyd, Beatles and the rest. The guitars rule,
the vocals are pure british psyche and even the flute makes an
appearance too (it's flute rock week for me.....maybe i've got
something by The Tull in my review box, heres hoping). 'Courtney
Taylor' freaks me out but that's cool......buy buy buy. New madness on Bill Nace's Open Moth records. This is truely fucked
up sounding L.P, no word of a lie ladies and gents, it's mad bonkers
yo! ' Human Tissue Press' is an L.P release by Diagram A.
It's one of those really intense, squawking, wailing, sound mash-up of
the like you hear more frequently nowadays but at one time we're an
intense and rare commodity. Can't say i'm blown away but it certainly
doe's what it says on the tin. Fucking insane buzzing and howling,
intense confusion and random spazzmodic outburst make up the majority
of the compositional work on this L.P. As mentioned in the press
release, this is similiar in style to the likes of Greg Kelley but with
no decernable use of any musical instrument i've ever heard, this is
more a sound processing L.P of the like Royal Librarian (now formally
known as Gareth Brown) used to conjure up in the basement venues of
Leeds circa 1998. If you wanna hear some crazy ass shit then you'll
more than likely enjoy this festering pile of noise fun. Get in. This new Zola Jesus L.P on Sacred Bones is pretty damn sweet. Entitled ' The Spoils',
this is a neat follow up to an excellent E.P released earlier in the
year on Troubleman records. Zola Jesus has a pretty unique sounding
voice that helps carry these strange and mysterious tunes to a higher
level. The music is pretty industrial sounding with is mix of dark wave
and shoe-gazer tones. Drums are ambient and distant, bass lines are
obscure and pulsing and the overall ambient sounds create an eerie
atmosphere that perfectly compliments her distinctive vocal tone. This
L.P stands alone for better or for worst and that's what makes it so
appealing, it seems to exist on it's own plane and sort of reminds me
of a really fucking crazy fucked up version of Bat for Lashes or Kate
Bush. Totally intriguing sounds worth sitting down with a brew and
studying. Brian is too old to eat these damn sweets
After lambasting those Wooden Shjips and their rotting bows and
decaying hulls since I was first subjected to their largely boring
ouvre, I scoffed at the ridiculous travesty of one of them having some
sort of "solo" career. What's that gonna entail then? A solitary 2 note
bassline looping for nigh on 10 minutes? Erm I was a bit wrong and now
with the new Moon Duo EP ' Killing Time'
on Sacred Bones shaking the office, i've gotta eat humble pie a little.
It's repetitive alright, opening with the stunning self titled lead
track, the relentless primitive 60's Motown-esque beat grounding a
blurred echoed vocal whilst guiding this hollow wail of harrowing,
fuzzy distortion that simply renders the tune sound quite stunning,
eerie, claustrophobic & dystopian, like a Phil Spector production
fed through the heart of a holocaust. 'Speed' possesses a juddery,
nihilistic seedy bent with heavy nods to the hypno-sleaze overload of
Suicide, the beat remaining a metronomic 60s flecked pulse whilst walls
of sneering overloaded organ pulse & grind away like the soundtrack
to some psychedelic orgy. More mellow edged lo-fi motorik psych
beginning the flip slide that sounds quite Neu-ish, concluding with
'Ripples' a hazy mid 70's Komische style slice of desert baked
chill-out that'd sound even better after a Peyote & Mescaline shake
& a large doobie - but after the blistering shellshock of the
opening track you're just nodding along obliviously with a spannered,
lopsided smile on yr face. Most impressive but Business Lady wants to
know where he's thieved all his drum tracks from.....Ltd 12" only I heard the Thank You
LP a while back & was quite taken with its trippy unhinged charms.
Both tribal, kaleidoscopic & freeform it made for a pretty
energising listen. They've a new remix series 12" on Thrill Jockey and ' Pathetic Magic'
is the first tune, a veritable cacophany of rattly, tropical post-rock
& bendy rhythms. 'Strange All' is equally exotic & even more
stunning with the song being driven initially by a spannered organ,
tough, raw, rolling percussion, scratchy ricocheting no-wave guitar
coming in half way through & off-the-wall tribal incantations all
executed in a slightly chaotic improv style but it sounds totally
intoxicating & fresh as heck. There's some remix action on the flip
with B-Boy Dan Deacon offering up a droney monged-out cut-up drum/organ
rework that sounds really celebratory, the Williams/Urick mix reminding
me of the woozy astral tropicalia of High Places and the Asa Osbourne
(Lungfish/Zomes) re-jig which strips the track down to mere sleepy
minimalist organ drones which is just bloody lovely. A cracking 12" on
first listen, complete with some nice photo prints! No'd of 300 thru
Thrill Jockey innit. Blue Sabbath Black Cheer
are responsible for my allocated Noise record of the week. Thanks guys.
They've put a most intriguing horned beast on the cover of their latest
horror-core waxing which initially sounds like rotting tapes of a
seance in a freezing abattoir next to a haunted disused train station.
That's at 33 1/3rd anyway. It's probably supposed to spin at 45, i'll
try the next track at that shall I? Oh, razor sharp feedback, please
desist from hurting my ears so much whilst you hurl around in a vortex
of shrill hatred and you can tell that screamy type bloke that his dear
mum just rang up to ask if he wants the crusts cut off his cucumber
& cress sandwiches. Nobhead. However, as a noise record it's most
effective is this, proper wanabee satanic shit that's up there with
some of the best misanthropic Wolf Eyes speed sludge, but on a
Wednesday afternoon when I feel a bit run down & weary i just want
to punch its noisy hateful face clean off. That's why i'm UNMOVED and I
simply can't face side 2 which may be the finest thing ever committed
to vinyl.
Berkane Sol is Geiom's
label and i've gotta hand it to Kamal Joory, for it is he who records
under this moniker much of the time, you're a genius mate! On this
latest white vinyl platter he introduces a guest, Hizatron, whose ' Von Glooperstein'
blends wobbly, hypnotic tech house shapes with some proper spannered
low end wiggling - this is the funky experimental end of club music
which I find most exhilarating. Geiom's ' Bubbles'
reminds me in spirit of some of the older genre busting Planet Mu gear,
stuttering techy electro/breaks infused with "wonky's" snakier moods
and "IDMs" sharp witted production plus an alarming sense of the random
- truly forward thinking underground club music complete with a
cracking, brooding bassline & tons of crazy shit happening. A wild
platter. Business Lady reckons it sounds well "ketty" whatever that
means ;0) We have the ltd white vinyl baby in.... Dorosoto next on I, Absentee. A remix CD is this, named ' Embryonic Audio Restoration'
which features Tobacco, Anders Ilar, Ontayso, Coppice Halifax and
erm...Acid Elf amongst others reshaping tracks from his three EPs. The
Tobacco offering is a slow, deliciously plodding Komische style effort,
the Cru Jonez one sounds like a less jazzy Prefuse 73/Fly Lo/Dabrye
thing and I really love it. There's some pulsing technoid disco moods
from D'antini including the most adorable cosmic synths, Acid Elf
offers up a dubby minimal techno rerub that goes pretty acidy like a
chilled Ceephax number....it's all of a very high calibre is this 11
track collection containing some satisfyingly eclectic tunage whilst
maintaining a real sense of coherence & flow. Worth a punt if yr
after some decent contemporary electronixxx
Gary War
just got a right glowing write-up in esteemed spod rag The Wire, a
weighty academic tome even I can relate to these days. That "Hypnagogic
Pop" malarky though, I thought it was the NME's job to pigeonhole the
latest sounds? This album, ' Horribles Parade',
is indeed a very odd creature. Coming over like euphoric, drunken 80's
pop played underwater inside a rusty oil drum, there's definitely
similarities to Blank Dogs' warped, mystic lo-fi vision in that these
wonderful melodies blaze through the insane vocal gurgles & muddied
atmospherics. At times, beneath the aquatic distortion and fluid
textural assault, this record sounds to me like early Teardrop Explodes
as played by Northern English cabaret proggers Cleckhuddersfax but at
other junctures I hear a metronomic, perverted krautrock with erratic
basslines, virtually electro-esque drum pulses, diving, swooping alien
synths with this coat of truly bizarre aural glue holding the crazy
mess together. Yes, Gary War is a weirdo & his vision of future pop
is absolutely terrific. I mean 'No Payoff' sounds like early Felt on
acid drowning in a fishtank!! Some of the bass playing on this record
is totally fucked up & freeform! There's nods to 60's psych garage
but also a truly warped love of bands such as Devo & the more
extreme DIY end of UK post punk - Swell Maps & the home
taping/experimental scrawl of the Messthetics endorsed suburban
outsider scene Yet all in all Gary War sound like Gary War -
intergalactic explorerers out to screw with your head. Murky, perverted
Pop with it's head buried in a particularly tasty compost heap teeming
with all kinds of unique bacteria & strange eco-systems, coming out
reeking of individuality plus an healthy whiff of happy madness. CD has
tracks from 'Galactic Citizens, Vinyl is beautifully screen printed! On
Sacred Bones.
The new Mordant Music CD ' SyMptoMs'
is a fine collection of reflective, evocative electronic music - the
feel of these tunes more within the realms of ambient techno &
downtempo electronica such as Orbital (without the clanky dated beats,
natch!) but sometimes infused with some cool near spoken word vocals or
muffled mantras that recall a less sinister Coil, or perhaps the trippy
progressive head music of Severed Heads I'm also reminded of later
period Underworld circa Beacoup Fish on 'In Truth is Wine'. I really
respect the way this duo avoid the trappings of the modern electronic
fraternity by just releasing whatever the fuck they like, just ensuring
quality & innovation is the overiding key! I proper dig the
Kraftwerk/Tangerine Dreamisms of the title track, the beautiful motorik
electro of 'You Are A Door'.....there's some fantastic ideas &
excellent tunes on this album & because they're not ultra
capitalist scum, they're selling this at mid price too. Subtle rhythmic
bliss for afterhours, this is the business! CD only... The man has informed me that after doing a mountain of grimy washing
up (we must run a trucker caff on the sly) that I have to write a
review for this stunning Hyperdub 2xCD comp. '5 Years of...'
is a largely superb round up of past, present & future glories,
classics & exclusives spread thickly over two tasty silver
discettes of brooding, cerebral joy. From it's genesis as a launch pad
for the sparse, eerie & menacing outpourings of Kode9 & his pal
daddy Gee AKA the Spaceape, Hyperdub has become synonymous with
boundary-pushing late night sounds from experimental dub to warped
garage, twatted 'n' rave'd-up dubstep, future dancehall & reggae
exploration & the hugely successful Burial & his 3AM urban
paranoia laced with morphing low-end & disembodied 2 step breaks.
We've not seen such an impressive, consistent label grow like this in a
largely upwards trajectory for years, up there on the ultimate
pioneering plateau with Rephlex & Planet Mu, deserving of a large
medal for unearthing benchmark new sounds & artists. With the
exception of Kode9's bafflingly rubbish 'Bad' and a couple of other
taste baiting sketches, this set contains a wealth of pioneering, &
exciting electronic wonderment and thoroughly deserves your cash.
Here's to another 5+ years! Ant in the area... I was out of action
for a couple of days with the dreaded lurgie. Thankfully to ease the
pain of my return I've been saved a wee stack of goodies to review...
First up is a Ginnungagap LP that we scored from Gerrit's fine Misanthropic Agenda label over in the US. ' Return To Nothing'
was recorded live at The Flux Factory , Queens 2004 and has Stephen
O'Malley joined by Gerrit and T.Wyskida on gong and tympani. O'Malley's
guitar is fairly stripped down and sparse sounding. Slowly building the
tension with a long hypnotic guitar meditation that sees some very
brief percussion introduced towards the end. 'Nothing To Return' remix
is a darker, brooding beast. Quite a sinister and understated track
with little spooky backwards effects and such like. Gerrit is the man
on the computer here and has come up with a fine number that recalls
Nurse With Wound's darker ambient moments. Yellow vinyl edition of 500. Following up the blink and you missed it Peter Broderick 3" disc on
Secret Furry Hole, they've only gone and released a similarly hand
packaged limited edition and this time it's Fat Cat stalwart Hauschka with ' Small Pieces'
which is aptly titled. What we have here are five perfectly formed
pieces of Volker Bertelmann's modern classical piano tinkering. The
general mood is fairly somber although it does have some rather
delightful and uplifting moments. The overall sound is a little more
stripped back to pure piano, although you can hear some other little
bits happening. I'd guess he's possibly going back to his roots and
going for a real timeless sound. An enjoyable and cute little release
in its handmade/ stamped sleeve. Whack this on at a dinner party and
your mates will think you are dead posh and extremely well cultured.
You could even get one of those cigarette holders and a monocle. I think I've enjoyed listening to everything I've heard by Aaron Martin. He's a supremely talented artist and his releases are getting stronger if ' Chautauqua'
is anything to go by. The opener is fantastic with field recordings of
bird calls, a most majestic organ, cello and some fabulous twinkles.
This is his third album and it really does showcase his skills as a
multi-instrumentalist. I think he's probably gained a lot of
recognition for his cello work, which really shines here but he is
equally capable on banjo and organ. I'm not entirely sure how his
recoding process works. One can only assume like the rest of us he only
has two arms, although I could be wrong and he may well be some kind of
octopus type mutant super hero. So I guess he plays and overdubs etc.
but you'd be forgiven for thinking that several musicians were together
playing in a room simultaneously. High quality throughout in an amazing
fold out package on the Prescription label. Hailing from deep within the Japanese underground Karuna Khyal's ' Alomoni 1985'
album is considered to be way ahead of its time and apparently was
highly influential. I'd never actually heard of it until this morning.
I guess I should do my homework... Originally released in 1976, Phoenix
Records have reissued it in re-mastered form on CD in an edition of
1000 copies with replica sleeve and insert. One minute these guys are
doing some warped blues and then mutating into a freaky Captain
Beefheart inspired number. I've made little headway into the album and
already there is tons to absorb. This was ranked highly in Julian
Cope's Japrock Sampler and also influenced Nurse With Wound. If that
doesn't sell it to you then I give up. Totally out there!!! I'm gonna
take this baby home for further investigation :) New releases on the Ukraine's Quasi Pop label are always worth
checking out. Now I'm always up for some experimental tape music so a
split 7" from Edward Sol and Argentinean all round dude Anla Courtis is more than welcome. Edward Sol is a Ukrainian sound artist and his side ' Sunburst Lux'
is constructed from loops, polyvox and pedals. The overall sound is a
cool and strange insectoid micro sound world with a slight paranoid
edge. Now I really loved Anla Courtis' 'Tape Works' album so I'm keen
to check 'Geyzer Music'. The sound sources come from recordings of
geysers with the rich bubbling liquid textures making me feel like I
could reach into the air and grab them. All the heavy tape processing
gradually transforms them into a climax of dense static which ends
before it reaches abrasive noise turf. White vinyl 7" numbered edition
of 300. Now I've pre-empted the office joke of giving me everything welsh to
review by grabbing the new album by Welsh fox and man snatcher Cerys Matthews.
Sorry Cerys but I'm getting married next month love. You had your
chance that time in
Llanfairpwllgwyngyll-gogerychwyrndrobwll-llantysilio-gogogoch. (I
wish!) Phil tells me he quite liked the last album but I never heard
that one. In terms of pop/ singer songwriter stuff then this isn't bad
at all. I don't think there's an enormous amount of commercial appeal
here as she sounds like she's really just doing her thing instead of
trying to create huge hits. The album traverses a few moods, overall
its really quite sultry. There is also a Welsh language counterpart
version of ' Don't Look Down'
which I should be reviewing but we happened to get the english promo.
The Welsh language album is 'Paid Edrych I Lawr' Out on Rainbow City. I've been quite keen to hear ' Prince Of Truth' that latest offering from Evangelista.
I never bought their last record but I do recall several moments on
there were really very buzzing and had me making "phwoar" type sounds.
Mainly the heavy moments that recalled the Melvins or something. Anyway
this album was constructed in a fairly un-conventional way as Carla
Bozulich was struck with pneumonia during the recording sessions so
left the band get on with it and then re-constructed it and added
vocals later on. Constellation are calling it "an entirely original
zone at the intersection of improv, noise, post-industrial and
post-punk music". I'm not sure I agree on the entirely original part
but it's otherwise a fair statement. CD and LP in lush packaging as you
would expect from Constellation. Nancy Elizabeth is back on the Leaf label with a long player entitled ' Wrought Iron'
and fans of this talented singer songwriter will not be disappointed as
this latest album is as nice sounding as I've heard from her. She
sounds as honest and impassioned as ever and her songwriting here is of
the usual high quality. It was recorded in my old stomping ground of
North Wales. It's a very intimate record and I'm stunned that she is
from Wigan as I thought all the girls from round there were into
"Donk". CD and LP job.
Brackles makes a swift return to Planet Mu with another 12" for disc jockeys to mash up the dancefloors with ' Rawkus'.
I must confess to not really feeling the first tune. Don't get me wrong
it aint bad at all.... Ooh hang on it's changed gear, and what a cheeky
little tune it is too. The beats are a well constructed from a solid
garage template, there's some early 90's style bleeps and stabs in
there and then some quirky/ wonk synths. There's even a wee Prince
vocal sample in there. The flipside 'Air Pie' is a kind of garage/grime
techno cross pollination/ hybrid jobber. Again I like the bleeps here
and the beats shuffle along in a dark grimey style. Hey I was listening
to Hot Butter - Popcorn the other day. What a tune that is. Could it be
the first ever bleep tune? Anyway I'm not blown away but this guy's
stuff is good fun for sure.
I thought I'd had a pile of stuff that didn't include anything remotely drone based or related until I come to a CDr from Phantom Heron Seas called ' Spectral Dishwasher'.
It's the work of Mister Allan Upton AKA Textured Bird Transmission
who's stuff I've liked in the past. Actually using the word drone here
is probably a little misleading. The album deals with floating tones
and frequencies. It's all quite minimal in its execution. There are
some strange kinda tiny crispy/ crunchy sounds which are cool.
Difficult to describe but interesting nonetheless.
Clint here. We're so so busy - I'm having to do the
reviews in record time so no wittering (hooray!). First up we have the
new album from The Twilight Sad called 'Forget The Night Ahead'.
Their first album and its accompanying EP's created quite a stir both
here and across the pond we call the atlantic ocean. I for one was very
impressed with their noisy Scottish pop that sounded somewhere between
My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, the Proclaimers and Joy Division. A
wonderful racket but also with folky influences. Anyway the first
concern about the new album is - WHAT ON EARTH HAS HAPPENED TO THE
GUITARISTS HAIR? It was a wonderful mass of curls - the best hair on a
male since that atop the singer from the Milltown Brothers. Now its the
regulation indie post rock shaved head and beard cut. If you have great
hair you should really use it. As for the music its more of the same
but not as good. The single 'I Became a Prostitute' is a stirling piece
of thumping melodic Scottish rock music, its follow up 'Severn Years of
Letters' is Sonic Youth fronted by Kenny Dalglish. Other songs just
tend to drift by on first listen but here's hoping they grow a bit. A
few of the edges have been shaved off and it seems there's a little
lack of inspiration at times. That said, I'm gonna give this a lot more
listens before I come to a definitive conclusion.
I still think 'Elephant Eyelash' is the best Why?
album. That's the one with the real cross breed of avant hop and
slacker indie rock where you can barely see the lines being blurred.
Last years 'Alopecia' was reasonably good but ...hmm.. I just found it
a little - how shall i put this- major label-y despite it not being on
a major label. We're not even at the end of 2009 and we have another
offering called 'Eskimo Snow',
this time its a full on singer songwriter effort. Piano led meandering
songs that kind of sound like Pavement singing the Randy Newman
songbook. The spectre of They Might Be Giants looms large in everything
Why? does and this has similarities to their overlooked album 'John
Henry' which saw them doing a more straight ahead brand of music
without the oddball quirkiness. So an album to take home and live with
for a few months rather than one that is going to give you instant
thrills. The proof in the pudding is whether the songs unfurl
themselves and reveal hidden melodies on repeated listening or whether
they just stay at meandering. On second listen i'd say the former is
more likely. Why? is a superb songwriter whose songs can sometimes jar
on first listen but the more you hear his work the more you realise the
lad knows what he's doing. I'm going to stick my neck out and give this
a recommendation. On Tomlab. I rattled on last week about The Leisure Society so I won't repeat the whole tale but here is the re-issue of their debut album 'The Sleeper' which
is back out on Full Time Hobby with better distribution and mountains
of press to come i'm sure. If you didn't buy the record when it first
came out then I'd heartily recommend it to anyone who likes Sufjan
Stevens, early Badly Drawn Boy, Love, Belle and Sebastien, Nick Drake.
Its folky loveliness that will go down well with a beard and a pint of
real ale on an autumn sunday. Superb songwriting especially on 'The
Last of the Winter Snow' - a depiction of the end of a relationship
that reduced this old softy to tears when I first heard it. 'A Short
Weekend Begins with Longing' is another monumentally good effort,
banjo's pluck and strings weep while the lyrics perfectly capture that
moment where you see time stretching out and not much to fill it. To be
fair the record is all good and I can't recommend it highly enough. The
only slight disappointment the EP that comes with the new version of
the album that doesn't quite live up to its parent record - being a bit
clunky lyrically and musically nowhere near the quality we've become
used to. That said its a bonus thing, separate to the album so no harm
done really. The vinyl has both records as well and the first few come
with signed (presumably by the band) posters. Old slacker rock warhorses never die. They just reform their old
bands and in between tours release solo albums. On the back of touring
with the band who once split up and reformed without him, Lou Barlow has unleashed a new solo album entitled 'Goodnight Unknown'.
Once some kind of lo-fi demi god, Lou's status has been marred a little
in recent years with a series of ropey half baked records. My first
thought on seeing this in my review pile is 'what's the
point?'......... But why not eh? If he wants to release records then
I'm glad. If you like Lou you'll probably find a lot in here to enjoy.
"Too Much Freedom" certainly shows he still has a way with a lovely
acoustic melody. Strangely despite the first two tracks being noisy the
rest of the record seems to be that kind of laid back mellow thing he
does. Good. Glad all that's sorted. I'm happy. I'm going to see Daniel Johnston
in november. Not sure whether I'm looking forward to it or not. A
wonderful, wonderful songwriter for sure but I just hope it doesn't
turn into some kind of freak show. There's no beating some of the stuff
he's produced over the past 20 years or so particularly the '1990'
album which i'd urge everyone to hear at least once (hide all knives in
drawers first). Anyway this is a new record called 'Is and Always Was'-
his output has been scattershot over the past few years, albums contain
a lot of filler but worth wading through for the odd inspired gem. This
seems to be more of the same - a lovely delicate opener followed by the
hideous 'Fake Records of Rock and Roll' followed by a song about a dog.
Producer Jason Falkner has thankfully resisted the urge to put Daniel's
tunes to slick production, so the whole thing has a lo-fi ramshackle
feel that suits it perfectly. 'High Horse' is chirpy and contans a
melody so infectious you want to leap around the room in glee.
Marvelous stuff. But you should hear the song that follows it. Dear oh
dear. So a mixed bag but essential for Johnston followers young and old. New on Sonic Cathedral is a single by Yeti Lane called 'Lonesome George'.
Its chirpy indie pop with some very busy drumming that pushes it along
nicely. Not a care in the world this - breezy. Kind of a cross between
Can and Camera Obscura. Very indie-pop. Sign up the drummer
immediately. B side has that Spiritualized thing going on. Rhythmically
excellent. Songs a little obvious. Guitar licks ill advised. but ok
generally. There's some terrible band names about. Here's one - The Kabeedies
with a song called 'Petits Filous'. This is monumentally terrible. Its
like very very early Adam and the Ants before they had a clue crossed
with pete Docherty (who has never had a clue). The lyrics consist of a
man asking a lady questions. For example:- Q. What are your turn ons?
A. Kung Fu, pie...................... I kid you not. Also they've put a
'chorus' in there. The only purpose it serves is to get us safely to
the end of the song without incident.
Wonder what Mum have been up to over the past few years? Well from the sound of this new 10" entitled 'Prophecies and Reversed Memories"
they are singing extremely happy little ditties overloaded by
xylophones and twinkly noises. Its a nice tune, a bit like a baby
Stereolab. It motors along nicely with some fine vocals and interesting
beats. Much better than I was expecting actually as I was never really
too much of a fan. A lot of chanting vocals on this EP which would
either make you want to punch them or single along. B side sounds a bit
like some of the more strung out Animal Collective stuff. On Morr
Music. cheers!
team NORM xx
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Friday, September 25, 2009
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Current mood: pirate
Category: Music
This week's reviews
25 Sep 2009
Hello. It's been another nuts week here with more records arriving
this week than we'd normally get in a month. I wish folks would space
their releases throughout the year a bit better as it means there's
stuff we just haven't had time to review which we ordinarily would have
reviewed. Not to worry... there's a complete feast of goodness in so
have a good look through this weeks update. The Natural Snow Buildings
is awesome.... The Palms single is great too, check out the Gyratory
System Thom Yorke singles..... Brand new Chihei CD, 2 Under The Spires,
A New Zealand Grouper Split, we got some US Deerhunter vinyls in
(including weird Era Cont on vinyl!), new OIB split single inc Lovvers,
new Type LP.... I could go on! Read on! Phil x
Natural Snow Buildings - Shadow Kingdom (triple LP with double CD/double CD on Blackest Rainbow)
Shadow Kingdom is an excellent Natural Snow Buildings
album. That's pretty much all that those who've heard them will need to
know but for the uninitiated, NSB are a boy/girl duo from France and
they operate in two distinct modes which they then mix together in
varying quantities as the mood takes them. The first tends to dominate,
a kitchen sink drone style (featuring guitar, piano, harmonica, cello,
plenty of pedals and whatever else happens to be around in their room
at the time) which goes against the currently prevailing drone fashion
for ultra-minimal cookie-cutter borescapes with a busy sound in which
there are always plenty of points of interest to latch on to. The
second style, gorgeous folk balladry, crops up less regularly but
always provides highlights and is all the more fascinating for the
revelation that the sweet voice who voices the tracks so enchantingly
actually belongs to Medhi, the male of the band. The recordings are
very lo-fi and full of overloaded mics and feedback, something which is
crucial to their earthy appeal, keeping them grounded in this world (or
some alternate version of it) while others go in search of the cosmic.
It's a similar approach and aesthetic to the early days of Six Organs
of Admittance except instead of dealing in Indo-American mythologising
they conjure up a unique fairy tale dream world of misty forests, ice
palaces, muddy gypsy trails and dank dungeons that's heavily indebted
to European folklore, such as the Romanian vampire tale bizarrely and
gruesomely adapted in the lush comic Solange created for the album.
This band will really take you places if you let them and I think their
capacity for wordless storytelling, painting such rich pictures in the
mind, is probably their most remarkable gift. On to the practicalities
then and Blackest Rainbow have done the band's insistence on beautiful
presentation proud with said comic included in both the double CD
version and the triple vinyl WITH double CD version (the CD features a
couple of tracks not on the vinyl), the latter also packaged up in a
pro-printed sleeve with insert. Each version is limited to 500 which I
think makes this NSB's biggest ever release but that certainly doesn't
mean it'll be around forever as the vinyl's already gone at source..
And I don't think you'd want to miss out on this one. Brett xxx
Palms - Boundary 12" (Rare Book Records)
As usual its been a struggle this week to find something I like but here's one. Its a 12" by Palms called 'Boundary Waters Remixed'
and it contains an all star cast of remixers including the singer from
Deerhunter, one of the Animal Collective lads and a feller in indie
group Bloc Party. The original is a tasty slab of kraut rock style
modern pop recalling both Krafwerk and Stereolab. A deadpan lady voice
is followed by a deadpan mans voice while police siren style things
wail in the background. The Josh Dibbs (Animal Collective) mix is
unsurprisingly superb, bringing in the usual wibbly keyboard motifs
that infiltrate his normal bands work leading to a wonderful sound
collage over which the lady vocals are carefully placed for maximum
effect. He brings in low end beats to emphasise the dynamics of the
track which work wonderfully with the twisting and twirling keyboard.
The problem with remix records is that if everyone uses the same vocal
then it becomes a very repetitive listen. This is the problem initially
with the Bradford Cox (Deerhunter) mix but if you take it on its own
terms its a wonderful piece of music. It utilises excellent dub
effects, a lone distant melodica and atmospheric guitar twangs and soon
becomes a very evocative piece. The Bloc Party drummer (Matthew Tong)
also does a good job which belies his position in one of the worst
bands on the planet (I will admit that he is a very good drummer and
should quit the day job with immediate effect if he can scrape enough
cash together) he enlists his brother on this mix which starts of in a
Tom Tom Club style handclappy funk number before veering oddly off into
thrash metal territory. Gavin Russom from the DFA label comes in with
the final mix which even more Krautifies the original track. Overall
despite the limitation in style and the vocals used its very enjoyable
experiment. There's only 100 for the UK so be very very quick. On Rare
Book Room records. Hello pet, it's Brett
Under the Spire do those releases in recycled card digipaks housing
little 3" CDs suspended on internal nipples and this one is by Coldstream. Alarums
contains twenty minutes of elegant, classically inflected drone which
gives me the impression of drifting along in a dark, empty swimming
pool while a small orchestra plays a sombre piece on a floor above, the
sounds just reaching me through ventilation shafts and rusty grilles.
Quite haunting really. Esther Maria & The Broken Horse are a new one on me. My Black Heart
hangs mainly on the talents of the lady in question, with her voice
doing justice to some strong songwriting which reminds me a little of
Gram Parsons in the more country-tinged moments and Jeff Buckley's
'Sketches..' stuff in the darker, more mysterious tracks (in which the
band come more into their own). I've got to say that it's all a bit too
polished for my liking but as far as 'singer-songwriter with an
acoustic guitar' releases go in this day and age it's pretty good stuff.
It's been a long, hard road to Fluorescent Black for Anti-Pop Consortium
with fall-outs, break-ups and solo careers all now water under the
bridge as they finally follow up Arrhythmia, seven years after that
stone-cold beauty. Time hasn't dulled their talent for abstract rhyme
acrobatics, nor their sonic inventiveness but in the move from Warp to
Big Dada they do seem to have become a purer hip-hop group with the
complex programming toned down in favour more traditional beats and an
emphasis on texture and densely layered samples to serve an atmosphere
in which their sci-fi leanings are pushed more to the fore, with a
slightly more serious lyrical tone to match. It reminds me a little of
the dystopian storytelling of El-P in parts, actually. Also worth
mentioning is that they manage to coax a Brand New Second Hand-style
performance out of Roots Manuva on 'NY To Tokyo' which goes down an
absolute treat. A bit different to before then, but still pretty great. On My Way is an album by Tap Tap,
lead by a fella from Pete And The Pirates. It's slightly folky indie
pop which is making me think of God Help the Girl minus a hell of a lot
of that shiny Motown polish and with an added dollop of quirkiness.. A
couple of tracks sound like they should be theme tunes for 70s sitcoms.
CD on Stolen.
I wasn't aware of Terror Danjah until his glowing full-page review in Wire last month so it's intriguing to listen to this jam-packed Planet Mu compilation, Gremlinz (The Instrumentals 2003-2009).
He seems to be a hugely respected producer in grimey circles and it's
easy to see why, the sound is pleasantly rough around the edges but
there's a real musical sophistication to the tracks (not including
those trademark sniggering gremlin sounds though, obviously). There's a
nice mixture of more hard edged stuff and tracks '4 da laydeez', a few
of which feature some amazingly slinky synth lines that'd probably make
Joker blush. Quality stuff on CD or triple LP from Planet Mu. Trailer Trash Tracys.. The name didn't bode well and I volunteered for reviewing duty fully expecting it to be dreadful but these two tunes, 'Candy Girl'
(a vaguely swaying ballad based around a simplistic reverbed-up drum
beat, a slow and surfy guitar riff and a bassline straight out of the
Twin Peaks soundtrack) and 'You Wish You Were Red'
(essentially the same tune again) are actually surprisingly good and
convey an atmosphere of 50s America gone a little to the dark side. I'm
not sure how much mileage they'll get out of it but for now I can see
this really appealing to the legions of Glasvegas and Raveonettes fans
out there.
Aidan Moffat I'm sure everyone knows about by now. Except on 'Knock On the Wall of Your Womb'
he's almost started actually singing a bit, coming across less like a
mumbling drunk in a seedy bar and more like a crooner in one, backed
with slushy strings. I think it's really lovely! The B-side is billed
as 'a short story for children', a long spoken word poem which he reads
beautifully.. Aww. Also, on the credits for the sleeve it says 'Front
cover image by Leonardo Da Vinci'.. You can't fuck with that now, can
you?
This Spectrum
thing on Mind Expansion came in on CD aaaaaaaaaages ago and now the
lazy old stork has finally delivered the vinyl. I think Pete Kember
(aka Sonic Boom of Spacemen 3 fame) is really rolling back the years
with this one, as it's a far cry from his EAR experimentations and
closer to the stuff he made his name with - that distinctive psychey
drone-rock sound.. Suicide with guitars, essentially (as the old
Spacemen 3 tune helpfully points out). War Sucks
features two full-on rockers on the first side and two slow burners on
the second, all of which I can well imagine delighting long-term fans. Now then, Dan Edelstyn & The Cardboard Orchestra and their 'Germans In Space'
7". You may or may not be surprised to hear that this is a reasonably
dodgy 'comedy indie' record that in sound terms reminds me a bit of
such late 90s post-Beck dross as Bran Van 3000. I bet Jo Whiley's
probably got one of these at home. Hope Sandoval
is back with her Warm Inventions (most notably featuring My Bloody
Valentine's Colm O'Ciosoig) after bloody ages. Despite the wait very
little has changed, that unmistakable voice comes in and Through The Devil Softly
could pretty much be on any record she's been involved with since the
early 90s with its spacious yet hyper-intimate arrangements and
soporific, opiated style (although her solo stuff has always been more
stripped down than Mazzy Star).. Quite probably exactly what you want
to hear if you're a fan. The quality sounds right up there but it's not
quite engaging with me the way I'd like.. Then again, looking at
Discogs it's nine years since 'At The Doorway Again' came out which
feels like a lifetime ago (I was probably at school then, for Christ's
sake) so maybe I just want something a little different these days.
Clinton makes a guest appearance
Ah The Leisure Society.
This years word of mouth sensations. Guy Garvey is a fan but don't let
that put you off. Their debut album 'The Sleeper' slipped out without
fanfare but once the standout track 'Last of the Winter Snow' was
nominated for an Ivor Novello award everyone and his dog was jumping on
the bandwagon. Including me. Though I found out about them through the
unlikely route of my dad, it was only a matter of time before their
beautiful English folky songs found their way into my cranium. Anyway
'The Sleeper' is about to be re-issued by Full Time Hobby with a bonus
8 track CD and ahead of that comes a single 'Save it for Someone Who Cares'
which is a superb lolloping Sufjan Stevens style orchestral pop blast
but with a defining English twist. An absolutely glorious tune. B side
is a non album track 'Bona Fide' which has more of the flutes and
strings but sits somewhere between Belle and Sebastien and Gene Clark
if such a place exists. I hear on good authority that there is a new band called Girls
who aren't girls at all but boys!!!!!! Whatever next? I'm so confused.
Anyway I'm told they are all the rage so I've been passed a copy of
their new 'Album'
to try to describe it to you. The first song is called 'Lust for Life'
but - oh and this is incredible - it isn't the Iggy Pop song of the
same name - didn't they know about it already? The singer has one of
those non singing voices kind of like the guy from Subway Sect or the
guy from Empire from the Sun. Its kind of harsh on the ear but could
probably be ok if it had some decent songs to sing. I'm on track three
and so far the album has used up every rock and roll cliche ever
invented - from the drum intro to 'Be my Baby' - to hammy Elvis style
pastiches. The record is unremittingly awful - I was kind of hoping
that beyond the jokey amateurish styling's would be some decent songs
kind of in the way that Big Star's third album at first seems like some
kind of disjointed drunken mess but later reveals itself as something a
lot better than that - but alas I can find nothing in here to recommend
it. At times it sounds like 70's jokers Mud. Its hard writing these
reviews just based on one or two listens and I don't really want to say
anything along the lines of "this is one of the worst albums i've ever
heard" but I would proceed with extreme caution with this one. As we
approach the midway point of the album there are glimmers of
improvement in a couple of tracks that recall lost 70's nearly man
Dwight Twilley being force fed through a combine harvester but I have
the feeling its too little too late. Currently bankrupting Fantasy
Trashcan records as we speak. Why does every female singer under the age of 30 sound like either
Joanna Newsom or one of the girls from Cocorosie? Ok not all of them
but a lot of them. It's so affected, especially when done by people who
are UK residents. Here comes another albeit not the worst or most
obvious example I've heard. Its a CD by Strike the Colours
who on first glance seem to be one of those pleasant if slightly
earnest Scottish bands whose folky songs are slathered in string
arrangements. My Latest Novel springs immediately to mind. The album
called ' Seven Roads'
is lovingly produced with plenty of space between the instruments, the
vocals also recall the lady from The Sundays (ask an old timer). Its a
nice album with nods towards Adrian Crowley, Nick Cave and Neko Case.
Probably lacking a little in variety or standout songs and a little
polished in places but if you like your music Scottish, earthy and
folky you could do a lot worse than this. On Dead Light Records. "This one is for Jemima who is traveling to India tomorrow" so spake the singer from Mumford and Sons at a recent gig. Yes the upper classes have infiltrated the nu-folk scene (if they hadn't already). Anyway this new single 'Little Lion Man'
is very catchy I have to admit and its all over the radio at the
moment. Its kind of a cross between David Gray and Get Cape,Wear Cape
Fly. But .......................OH MY GOD HE SWORE - TAMSIN COVER YOUR
EARS!!!!! Despite his foul, foul tongue this will sound extremely good
at a dinner party following a days boating on the Thames. Please play
the clean version - its just not cricket is it? Released by the super
chaps at Gentlemen of the Road/Island. Speaking of the upper classes what does La Roux look like on the cover of her new single 'I'm not your Toy'?
Kind of like a particularly precocious 6 year old boy with an ice cream
coming out of his head. Much different from the long haired child
prodigy seen playing piano in mother (The Bill's June Ackland) and
father's drawing room in an unearthed photo you can probably find on
the internet somewhere if you look hard enough. She can't sing either
bless her, she has though had a run of decent catchy singles that have
won even an ageing cynic like me over. The well was always gonna run
dry and she's shot her bolt with this new single which demands a super
strength ear trumpet to pick out the merest hint of a tune. You also
get like a 'cutting edge dub step' remix from ..you know ...down on the
streets (though from the sound of it probably not made by a black
person). Oh well. There's always the 'difficult' second album to look
forward to. I've tried and I've tried and I've tried but I've never really got
into Plush. Every single review I've seen describes it in a way that
would seem that I would like it but all I hear and see is Leo Sayer
covering Randy Newman. Not much has changed with this new album 'Bright Penny' despite the name change to Liam Hayes and Plush.
The arrangements come straight from a 1978 version of Top of the Pops -
the kind of easy listening toss thankfully spewed away when Johnny
Rotten et al came along. To me it sits on the cheesy side of easy
listening recalling cruise ships rather than yacht rock. One of the
main problems is Hayes extremely weedy voice. It needs double tracking
or something - or some harmonies. Oh actually its not that at all its
that the songs are unremittingly bland and forgettable and the
arrangements cheesy and obvious. I love smooth 70's music as much as
the next man but this makes my skin crawl. Comparisons.......Manhatten
Transfer maybe? The house band on 3-2-1 starring Ted Rogers? Glen Ponda? Anything is going to sound good after that but I'm struggling with this Wildbirds and Peacedrums
single. I have never heard them before but have heard a lot about them
and their supposedly amazing live displays. The A side is called 'My Heart'
and it consists of a woman wailing over some drums and steel drums. A
bit plodding - she has a good strong set of pipes though I feel she's
over singing a bit. A little bit on the whiny side. It doesn't strike
me as a particularly strong A side and I can't imagine it rising to the
top of the hit parade. Again I can't really pick out a tune. The B side
is a remix by Deehoof. They've thankfully added some instruments to the
very sparse original but otherwise the song is exactly the same in
terms of structure. Maybe that's the point. The A side now sounds like
the B side with the guitars removed. A funny old business. This one
comes out on Leaf. No-one likes a smart arse and here we have two for the price of one with a split single between The Chap and Omo.
The Chap can write superb songs but this is often outweighed by their
insufferable smugness. Will they ever learn? It seems not from this
single. A nice laid back slice of modern electronic pop marred by some
irritating lyrics and stupid in jokes. Still, musically its quite
lovely. The flip contains more of the same from Omo which
unsurprisingly contains the keyboard player from The Chap. It even
appears to use the same drum machine but this time its set on 'bossa
nova' setting rather than 'four to the floor'. Half way through a
Laurie Anderson style voice chips in with a nagging hook line that
seems to have been met with a chorus of "oh fuck off" around here.
Despite its clever clever artiness I suppose its still preferable to a
lot of the brain dead, mindless indie that's about but its a shame you
want to slap them in the face every few minutes. I was downstairs making a cup of tea when I heard the sound of what
I thought was Mercury Rev coming from the upstairs speakers. It was the
new album by Maps.
His last album was praised to the skies despite it having a few dodgy
moments and not being a patch on his early singles. so what comes next?
Well more of the same it seems from the opening track which is also
doubles as the title track ' Turning the Mind'.
Spiritualized comes to mind, as does the Pet Shop Boys. Its clear that
Maps main man James Chapman knows his way around a tune and second
track 'I Dream of Crystal' is a joyous thing indeed and has a marvelous
melody. The production, however, alarms. Its a very synth heavy
compressed sound with not a 'real' instrument in sight. By the time you
get to track three its into full on 80's casio keyboard mode. 'Valium
in the Sunshine' is another super tune but again Chapman's
unwillingness to stray from the sound or the formula could be what
holds it back and the whole thing has a rather insipid feel that can
become wearing throughout the course of the album. At times 'Turning
the Mind' sounds like the home demos of a superb songwriter, ready to
be passed on and fleshed out by a band or a producer. Not to put too
many people off but you could almost imagine Westlife turning 'Valium
in the Sunshine' into a radio hit (they may have to change the title
though). Otherwise this could appeal to fans of M83, Phoenix, Postal
Service, Depeche Mode or New Order. Phil... Come to me my jungle friends
Maarten van der Vleuten
is a name I'm not familiar with but looking through his resume he seems
like someone I should have heard of by now after numerous releases on R
& S, Apollo, Klang, Signum etc. Here's an uber limited edition of
just 28 copies by him and ECT For Piano
is his 9th album of treated piano and noise/drone like soundscapes. The
packaging is nuts. It comes in a DVD sized package with a colour
booklet and a white thingy stuck to the front. No idea what it is but
it's like a bit of a wiry lead stuck on with a plaster. I like the way
it looks! The press release for this is fascinating as he goes on about
a hospital in Canada where various folks were treated with ECT therapy
and he's tried to reproduce the events in music form. As far as drone
music goes this is quite chilling at times, dark isolationist sounding
stuff which ebbs and flows from being eerie to being really quite
beautiful. It's well worth checking out if you fancy summat special as
it's really quite amazing sounding and looking!
Nadja
must have made about a thousand albums now. Seriously there's been tons
of 'em. I'm too scared to look on Discogs as I'm sure the volume of
information on the page will make my computer freeze. Well here's
another CD to add to the collection and this time it's come from Japan
and it's on the Happy Prince label. It's called Numbness
and it's a compilation of the more shoegazey end of their tracks culled
from various out of print vinyl releases and compiled by the band
themselves. I'm about half way through it and it's well Nadja....
Ambient doomy shoegazeyness with some post rock elements... For fans of
Mono, Jesu and that kind of thing. I guess fans of Nadja as well will
like it. There's an entertaining cover of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
so if you're into both Christmas and doom then this is quite possibly
the best thing you could ever own.
Kid Harpoon
is one of those folks we've been stocking since he started and I can't
really tell you what his music sounds like. His name is enough to make
me think I'm just not gonna like it. If it was Harpooned Kid then I'd
have probably shown a bit more interest. I thought Young Turks was
about cutting edge music? Bands like The XX, Gang Gang Dance, Holy Fuck
etc... I could be horribly wrong but 'Once'
is what I think Jamie Cullum sounds like.... It's uber polished overly
slushy sounding singer songwriter stuff which has been done to death
and has been whitewashed over with a certain blandness that makes it
one of the most unappealing things I've heard in ages. Turds.
Brian kept harping on about that last Grass Widow album which we only got a handful of before it sold out. I finally get to hear them with their new 4 track EP called err... Grass Widow.
Firstly it's an expensive one... Only 4 tracks for 12 quid but you can
blame the shite pound for that. On my second listen I think I'm
starting to se what Brian is on about. They write great pop songs with
slightly weird arrangements... They're following a great tradition of
shambling female fronted new wavey sounding bands like New Bloods, New
Sound of Numbers, Raincoats, Kleenex, Vivian Girls etc. and if you're
into most of those bands then this EP is gonna shit you up big style. I
like the angelic vocals... They're enjoying being transported through
my ears. Nice. Expensive but nice. Highly recommended!! We got a bunch of stuff in this week on Jeremy Bible's Experimedia label and here's one of 'em! It's a CD by Sylvie Walder
which comes in one of their signature custom designed six panel
tall-slim pack and is limited to 150 copies. You won't really
understand that until you see one. You see they're very foldy inside.
Sylvie is a French sound artist who has created a lovely 12 track album
of ambient soundscapes for you to soothe your modern batterred head
with. Moments
is minimal ambient droney stuff suited for late nights and for people
with really nice headphones. You can't go wrong really. The more I hear
this one the more I'm being sucked into it's lovely warmth. It's really
quite good! Also we got a couple of CD's in Koen Park and Ian Hawgood
(one and the same) but as we've reviewed him loads we thought we'd do
someone else this time! Chihei Hatakeyama
is well popular these days. We sold tons of his his last few albums. We
couldn't get enough of 'em! After releases on Kranky, Room 40, Under
The Spire and Spekk the fella has turned into somewhat an ambient drone
superstar of late. His new opus is called The River
and it's released on the up and coming Hibernate label (last release
was Ian Hawgood). This is seriously lush sounding music. Yeah it's more
drone and tone and that's seems to be half of what we get some weeks
but this guy does it so well it will make you sick. Once you get over
your illness you'll be all calm and will succumb to his warm ambient
charms. The melodies waft in and out like little gusts of wind, the
tones and drones are very much like a river gently flowing down the
river and it all combines to make a completely lovely pastoral sounding
thing of beauty. If you're into this whole ambient drone scene and are
digging the likes of the Infraction label, Under The Spire, Home Normal
etc then this is an essential purchase. 500 copies only in digi wigi
pack.
Ant ready to spontaneously combust... BOOM!
Sindre Bjerga has a disc of two live recordings out under the banner of 'Polluted Oceans Of Hiss And Muck'.
The first track is a recording from Prague and was from a show on
February 2009 and it's somewhat of a bad trip, in the best possible way
of course. It begins with strange siren type sounds with ultra slowed
down nightmarish vocals, it's a total weirdo affair. It's kinda funny
too and has me grinning. Then things proceed in a gloomy and strange
way with the drones and stuff but it retains a bit of an oddball feel
which I totally dig. I reckon this is one of the cooler releases I've
heard from this man so snap this up while you can as we only have a few
of this ltd edition tour CDr on Blackest Rainbow.
It would appear Poirier has dropped the Ghislain from his name for his 'Run The Riddim'
4 track EP for Ninja Tune. It kicks off with 'Enemies' feat. Face-T.
It's a pretty stripped down rhythm with snappy snares and the MC riding
it with class. The end grabs a vocal snatch and loops and raves it
up... I prefer the gruff sounds of Burro Banton on 'Trust None Of Dem'
as he sounds like a big gold chain wearing bear that would rip your
head clean off your torso if you were to bogart the spliff. Quite a
heavy tune and somewhat of a rump shaker as they say. MC Zulu sounds
like one of those Inspiral Carpets T-shirts on 'Gyal Secret Pictures'.
'Let Them Hate' has pure energy with its infectious groove and the man
tearing it up with some super bad toasting. All in all a high quality
modern dancehall extended play record. My man Daddy Talbot would dig
this. Under The Spire continue their relentless release schedule with yet another release and this one is a 3" CDr from Pillowdiver
who I know absolutely zilch about. I can however tell you that
his/her/their/its sound feats neatly into the ultra chilled floaty
world of the label. So yeah the first number has some mega dreamy,
earthy acoustic guitar drift that'll do the job with a mug of Horlicks.
Then we're into ambient bliss mode by track two... Hey then by the
third track I wanna slip into my pyjamas as its kind of a ultra-mellow
Bedhead/Codeine type gear. I used to really love Codeine (the band not
the cough mixture). It's clear to see the concept (?) of the name
Pillowdiver as you'll be struggling not to bust some ZZzzzzz's with
this super duper chill-fest. You could buy one of those Chillow's (a
pillow you put in the fridge, they really do exist) for the occasion. Tony On a Bike comes in a ltd hand numbered edition of 150 copies. The mighty Boredoms have their 'Super Roots 10'
out on vinyl, however it's not really an album but a double 12" set
that comes with remixes. The track is called 'ANT' so 10/10 there. On
first listen I was slightly underwhelmed but on second spin I'm digging
it a bit more. It's like a glorious psychedelic Japanese carnival with
all the drums pounding and clattering away. It really doesn't sound
like anyone else out there. Brett and I are both fans and I'm inclined
to agree with him that they've done this thing better in the past. I
guess they set themselves a high standard. The Lindstrom remix as you
would expect has him giving proceedings a disco twist with some cosmic
action. There are also two mixes from Alts and one of them has a
totally riiculous guitar.The poster that comes with it is very cool as
it's splattered with Eye's day-glo psyechedlic drawings and collage
madness. I've been literally dying to hear some more material from Kryptic Minds
since I downloaded a brilliant mix which I found a link to from good
old Blackdown's blog. I listened to it twice in a row and got well into
it as it really captures a lot of the essence that I like about the
darker end of dubstep. This chap Simon Shreeve has been fine tuning his
production skills since the early 2000's coming from a background in
drum and bass. '768'
ticks all the right boxes for me, the overall sound is big and heavy
and will have me shaking for a while to come. He's sound really does
suit this tempo, there is a very slight techy sound to the bass and the
drums cut through with Photek style precision on his remix of Pinch and
Moving Ninja. I cant wait to hear his album on Loefah's Swamp 81 label.
Brett has heard it and drew a comparison with what Headhunter is up to
and I reckon that's a good reference point for these tracks. I dig it. I didn't think 1965 Records was still going. But it seems they are back with a 7" by The Spivs
that to me just sounds like some band from London who desperately want
to be The Clash. To be fair they've got the sound down pretty well. I'm
not mad keen to be honest but if you like good old average punk rock
then you might dig 'It's True'/'Men'. It makes me think of a TV show like the Bill where they go in some pub and there's a punk band on. Kirk Degiorgio has another 12" out on B12. I was feeling a little disappointed at first but when 'Isomer Shift'
gets going it ain't bad at all. It's a straight up four to the floor
techno cut, the likes of which we've heard a zillion times before but
it has a classy feel and will certainly be a functional tool in the
clubs. It treads the dubby pads route with a smattering of
Detroit/Kevin Saunderson style. It reminds me a wee bit of Dave
Clarke's classic 'Red 2'. 'Isidara' is a slower jam again with a heavy
dose of that Detroit flavour. Some cool sounds are introduced into the
mix. The bassline actually reminds me a bit of Beltram's 'Energy Flash'
for some reason. Both tracks on the flip are reminiscent of early
Transmat stuff which is never a bad thing.
Oooh yeah I got me some Siltbreeeeeezeee action! This is the self-titled debut album from four piece The Mantles
who are currently supporting Ty Segall. They have a real nice sound
going, a wee bit jangly, psychedelic pop a bit lo-fi. It could be my
ears but the drummer sounds like he's a few blocks down the street.
This certainly has its charms recalling early 80's New Zealand bands as
well as some Paisley Underground stuff. Comes with download code too. An astonishing amount of gear has arrived from the US, among the joys is a sweet split 7" from Grouper/Pumice.
The Grouper track 'Rising Height' is sublime. It has a very intimate
atmosphere and is ghostly as hell, like proper haunting. Liz Harris'
vocals are eerie to say the least but they just ooze pure emotion. This
is a beautiful track. The Pumice number is quite a stark contrast. The
title of this number is 'Twin Neck Double Kick Bum Chin' which does
make me laugh. It's a wonky and really quite strange song. Difficult to
describe but I'm fairly sure it's out there on its own. The guitar
sounds like it's all over the place but there is a tune there breaking
out. It has a cool quirky feel. Both sides here are well worth checking
out. A winner! Limited to 500 copies on Soft Abuse. One Inch Badge have their third split series 7"
record out and the cover is well smart. One side has a picture of
Jesus' little head popping out of a girlies pee thing. It's totally
inspired. The Lovvers
track I reckon must be an oldie as it's more like The Jonson Family
stuff, a bit more rugged and hardcore then their current sound. Kinda
aggro... It rocks man. Brett thinks the guitars are like Greg Ginn and
I think I agree. The Knyfe Hits
track is pretty filthy too and when it really kicks in sounds well
trashed and am digging the bassline. All cool so far... Flip.... The Death Set do their thing with some drum machines in a kind of Ministry/Early Blast First Sigue Sigue Sputnik sort of mode. Best Fwends rock it like Maiden! It was years ago when I first read about a Melvins
remix album, it had been so long I totally forgot about it and then all
of a sudden it appeared. Now Melvins are a band very close to my heart
and to most people the thought of one of your favorite rock bands of
all time getting remixed would be sac religious to the source material.
I'm not sentimental about it though and when I read the list of
remixers I was very excited about hearing what had been done. It's an
all star cast right here, just clock the list: Eye
Yamatsuka, Christoph Heeman, V/Vm, John Duncan, Matmos, Lee Ranaldo,
Merzbow, David Scott Stone, Panacea, Sunroof!, Kawabata Makoto, Farmers
Manuel, Void Manes, RLW, Speedranch!!!!!! Eye Yamatsuka
begins by mangling things right up with 'Sk8tronics', Heemans mix is
ghostly and really very sweet indeed. Then V/Vm butchers things in his
unique style and makes a bloody good racket and all, sounds kinda evil!
John Duncan does a mighty fine job at reassembling the band but keeping
true to their spirit. Matmos techno things up a bit with some bleepy
action, while keeping Buzzo's guitar in an almost recognizable state.
What Lee Ranaldo does to the Eggnog tracks is super nice in a kinda
megamix sorta fashion. Merzbow brings the noise over a looped Crover
ping pong type rhythm. David Scott Stone brings a totally monged out
drone vibe. Panacea does his take on electroclash using audio from
'Queen' from the ace Stoner Witch LP. I never would have expected to
hear this in a million years. I expected he would have splattered it
with amens. Surprisingly the band selected Matthew Bower's Sunroof!
alias as opposed to Skull flower and it's a refreshing nugget of
reduced psychedelia Acid Mothers man Kawabata adds some extra filth and
echo into what then becomes a distorted chaotic industrial riot!!!
Farmers Manual take the sounds and transform them into their out there
electronic zone. 'Nightgoat' gets well and truly buggered by Void Manes
(???). Obscure electronic dude RLW introduces some heady frequencies
with messed up sample parts. And then Speedranch does a good job with a
dynamic mix that goes into all kinds of messed up places with
breakcore/ noise and bizarrely some Fatboy Slim samples. He clearly got
distracted there and must have forgot he was supposed remixing the
Melvins, He gets back on task though and ends the package on a high. I
reckon a lot of these mixes where done way back and I dare say some
bits do sound a little dated. I'm amazed that Hot Chip never made it
one here :p ' Chicken Switch'
is CD only and out on Ipecac. Die-hard Melvins fans will have a laugh
being all nerdy and spotting the original source material used here. Warp Records were (and for many folks still are) in terms of
cutting edge electronic music an institution, and they're currently
celebrating the 20 years of their existence with a super lavish box
set. But for those who simply want the meat of new material and a few oldies there are standard CD editions of 'Warp20 (Chosen') and also ' Warp20 (recreated)'.
The 'Chosen' comp compiles 24 tracks on two CD's. The first disc
features tracks chosen by "the fans" and judging by the selection, the
labels current fan base must be fairly young. With the exception of the
odd track like LFO and Nightmares On Wax's UK house classic 'I'm For
Real' the formative years of the label are really not represented. I
would have liked to have seen Sweet Exorcist, Forgemasters etc. in
there but I guess the label already did a classics comp (plus I
couldn't be arsed voting). It does make my mind boggle though at some
of the choices i.e Clark, Jimmy Edgar, Grizzly Bear, Battles and so on.
Even the bigger hitters over stuff like Polygon Window (Quoth anybody?
A blueprint for hard/minimal/ industrial-edged techno!, Black Dog etc.
It's more of a flavor of the month type affair than a true
representation of the history. Steve Beckett's selection is also mainly
late period Warp, cool he put Mike Ink 'Paroles in there:). The
artwork/ photography looks like it is some college/ uni prospectus or
an advert in a paper for an architecture company. I'm no designer but a
purple die-cut classic sleeve would have been loads better, at least I
feel in terms of representing the cult status of the label. Hey I'm
probably an old stuck in the mud. You know at this point in time I'm
looking at the 'Recreated' tracklist. As a big supporter of the local
milkman I try out Born Ruffians take on Aphex's "Milkman' and it's as
crud as I imagined. Rustie re-does Elecktroids mint tune 'Midnight
Drive' in a dubby clicks and cuts type style but ultimately seems a
pointless exercise to me. Vibert slows LFO down a bit to make space for
some extra tweakage. LFO's 'What Is House gets the Autechre treatment.
I love the original to death and can confess they did a decent job on
this one. Paying homage to the original but not messing it up too much.
Russell Haswell defy's expectations with his Wild Planet mix which was
a good less known track type choice to work with. The original's raw
machine grooves are kept jackin' until he does a big computer
re-assemble on them. Sounds like he's having a right laugh with this
cut from 1993 but it's nothing to write home about. Brian wants gorilla biscuits.
Lou Barlow
is that bespectacled emo lord beloved of sensitive indie kids & old
plaid cocooned grungers - his first proper solo recordings arrive this
week on Domino in the shape of a 7" single called 'The Right'.
Typically for a man of his maturing years & possibly expanding
girth, he's adapted his songwriting craft to graze in quieter, more
reflective pastures - ie removing any trace of an edge from his songs
and making this single sound like a Snow Patrol tune. It has some
pleasant touches and a nice foot tapping pace but isn't particularly
memorable, just a mellow, head noddy blur that sounds like a really
commercial Folk Implosion.
Gyratory System have a mighty intriguing 7" out on Angular records, the A side, 'Sea Containers House'
harks back to that style of percussive post punk that genuflects in
front of the altars of early 23 Skidoo, A Certain Ratio & Pigbag,
then runs off into the vestry to piss mutant electroid sax & bursts
of demented toytown keyboard all over the floor like a drunken infant.
All this occurs whilst this solid wall of fluid repetitive funk
captures you hypnotically in its snaky groove. I like the trippy dying
seagull effect they pull out of their particular bag of audio spanners
on the, even stranger, disjointed flip - they've seemingly got some
kind of perverted dystopian rave vision going on, these guys, what with
this bleak, haunting synthline intermittently spooking you out and our
Ant even suggests it sounds like a mad Eastern European fairground.
Really interesting, original stuff!
Now I like what I hear from the man/martian/beast known as Pub. I even have an ambient CD by him/them/it somewhere in my vast box which is pretty lovely. 'Cassette Three'
is a 2 track effort in the most abysmal packaging ever. Designed to put
people who work in record shops in a thoroughly foul mood, these cute
3" discs are affixed to pieces of recycled cardboard flappage with a
squidgy nipple accompanied by a crap photo "enclosed" inside, then
glued with a couple of dabs of UHU that keep bursting open, vomiting
their minimal contents all over the shop. Luckily, the music is bloody
excellent otherwise I'd be going up to Scotland and giving him/her/them
a right mouthful hahaha. It's dinky broken beat electronica full of
twinkly bits & dreamy keys that kinda recalls a woozier Four Tet
stuff but also could be a more challenging Bonobo or Max Tundra without
all the cuntish parts. Really gorgeous is 'Lady Legs of Swords'! The
second number, 'I'm Sick of Your Kicks' recalls early Toytronic &
Skam gear, chilled old skool "IDM" gear with playful beats & a
slightly hazy edge. Very limited on Ampoule.... Thomas Yorkshire, Commonly known as Toam Yoik from Hoxfordshear (or Thom Yorke even), continues to milk the legend of his 'The Eraser' LP with a gorgeously packaged 12" containing 'TheHollowEarth'
from said sessions but - maybe to some - more significantly a Godrich
produced collaboration between himself & Jonny Greenwood - 'FeelingPulledApartByHorses'
which is absolutely fantastic. A bendy, high pitched dubby bassline
playfully spars with a clattering breakbeat whilst his trademark
mesmerizing vocal floats upon this wave of hypnotic, morphing
electronics. It sounds like it has feet straddling either side of the
millennium, coming on a few years old in style but sounding well box
fresh in its production values. Apparently it's been kicking around for
8 years and this is a "radical rework" - a real treat for Radiohead
fans as well as Thom's solo appreciatory (surely the same folk, natch).
'ThisHollowEarth' is more typical of material from 'The Eraser', old
skool jittery electronica beats, brilliant dubby effects and a lovely,
moody, fluid bassline shift under these beautiful multitracked vocals
that totally stun you into submission. Some of THE best work i've heard
from him. Excellent! In a black letterpressed heavy duty fine die
sliced designer sleeve (phew!), through Stanley and Tchock. Seasons (Pre-Din) is a mysterious sound artist/architect whose album 'Your Eyes The Stars and Your Hands The Sea'
is in now on Type. Beginning with some nice gluey static and some
mundane dripping noises before exploring a more sandpapery vibe, smooth
to medium grain, I think, then some drifty guitar nadgers is helpfully
employed to help ease the chaffing. The record continues onto another
level... Erm song, with low-end drone & field recording, this album
lulls you into a messy ditch by a nature reserve with a generator
thrumming inside your tortured, hungover skull. After passing out
again, I find myself in a puddle by a motorway flyover, in the rain,
with a dog pissing on some binliners. Following my discharge from
hospital, I accidentally discover a weird flea market in Bradford where
people are displaying old aluminium camping pans strapped together and
selling them as chimes. After visiting the pub for a few halves to
reflect on the strange events of the last 24 hrs, I collapse
predictably onto some rubble in a wasteland and wake up, head
relentlessly throbbing, by yet another generator, ominous, industrial
& strangely comforting. Then I had to help Anthony finish the post
before stumbling back through that weird, urban ghetto market, only
this time it was much windier & there was also a coarse grain
sandpaper application display busily attracting a rapt audience next to
Camping Pan Man's joint. Phil is reminded of the OST to Eraserhead. Ltd
LP only.
Electroclash ain't dead, it's just currently schmoozing in some
backroom in Brighton dressed up in a 2 person catsuit and calling
itself Katsen.
I'm really digging this duo's brand of melody drenched electro pop
actually. Nice to hear catchy, unfussy music with euphoric harmonies
that completely bucks any sense of fashion & just does what the
fuck it wants. That's such an honest attitude. Even covers of beloved
gems by The Passions & Pixies are treated with reverence, whilst
being rendered in bubbling electro style, they don't remotely come
across as crass cheesy duffers like you'd expect, or even kitsch
homages - just ace homespun tributes! Standouts from their own
repertoire include 'Chequered Flag' - a fabulous Human League-esque gem
& 'Island in an Island' which reminds me of Adult. crossed with
Meanwhile Back in Communist Russia.. There's some lovely old cool-Euro
style touches on here combined with an earthy British pop sensibility.
So this could easily appeal to fans of the recent Arthur & Martha
album, stuffed with both fun & reflective moods & whilst
possessing a very high benchmark of quality! On Thee SPC of Sheffield
City!!! It Hertz! is CD only, coated in felines.... Well if I don't get my weekly buzz of clattering ladies bashing out
scuzzy no-wave & DIY indie rock then I may as well just start
listening to the execrable Kid Harpoon & thus, my world would be
such an empty, hideous place! Pens
are here to make my life much more bearable with their fabulous debut
album bursting to the seams with scratchy, primal lo-fi punk anthems
whose brittle melodies make my hairs strand on end and my teeth grind
with ecstasy! They're the real discordant deal too, so not exactly
technically proficient but guaranteed they'd have you moshing like
crazy at absolutely any scruff hole they played. Somewhere between the
distorted cassette overload of the Siltbreeze lot ala Times New Viking,
Babes in Toyland, Riot Grrrl & the classic off-kilter new wavisms
of The Raincoats & Liliput, these minute tribal fuzzballs are
perilously addictive and stick in your head like chewing gum in hair.
This is the true gnashing feral sound of my new genre Nibblerock (tm). Hey Friend is on CD/LP via De Stijl. Bye xxx
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