GIVAN LÖTZ "YaW” C58 (Other Electricities)

This is the third release I’ve been given to review via the Other Electricities imprint (Miami, FL) and I’m just as enamored as I’ve ever been. OE knows how to both relax AND subtly challenge their listeners, and I really dig that.

Via the press notes for this release, OE states that “Yaw” is “RIYL: Six Organs of Admittance, James Blackshaw, Jack Rose…”, and this is objectively verifiable. Through 24 vignettes, these mantra’d repetitions of gorgeous, melancholic, nylon-strung-along melodies & minor key meanderings have certainly been done before, both just as smoothly and moodily as said aforementioned luminaries…in fact, it’s almost as if this album didn’t need to exist, having been nearly executed to perfection, plenty of times before…

But this is specifically a companion piece. It is a “what ghosts might have been wrought” collection, to be considered alongside the devastatingly commanding monumental album “MAW”, of which these same tones are wrangled, mangled, and alternately, expertly crafted into a psych-freak-folk masterpiece that is not quite earworm, yet unforgettable, nonetheless.

Perhaps “Yaw” ought be considered a palette cleanser, or, mayhaps a soul-whetter. It sates. It engages. Yet it slips in & out of memory and definition. It accepts respect, suggests addiction, but retreats noncommittally into itself, to be de-and-re-constructed again, and again, in passing thought. Strap on decent headphones to catch the otherwise all-too-subtle droning spectres deeply planted throughout.

https://other-electricities.bandcamp.com/album/yaw
and/or
https://givanlotz.bandcamp.com/

-- Jacob An Kittenplan

DINO FELIPE "Projekt” C40 (Other Electricities)

Disembodied ghosts of electro-pop tropes haunt this 0.666 hour long tape, never quite letting Dino Felipe get away with an otherwise half-mellow/half-tense collection of noisy, ambient, modular synth-based collages. The only two tracks that’d qualify as having your standard “song” structure are pretty damn great (think Caribou meets Fursaxa with a li’l twist of Bjork), and the vast stretches of dream-like sequences between prove both engaging and disorienting and well worth their salt. If you do nothing else, I highly suggest listening to the opening track, loudly and/or with headphones. The mixing is meticulous and fanfuckingtastic! This ain’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I can’t think of anything better to let the mind loosely meander to whilst working with your hands.

http://dino-felipe.bandcamp.com/album/pr-jekt
and/or
http://www.other-electricities.com

-- Jacob An Kittenplan

BACANAL INTRUDER "Dial Forever" C37 (Other Electricities)

Fantastic recipe for Bacanal Intruder:

-Strip THE BOOKS of all vocal samples (choose from the Lemon of Pink album) to bring out rich string-work and effects pedal-tweeked guitar ambiance.

-Drain DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE of all whininess and falsetto (Choose from We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes) to focus on simple guitar picking patterns and minimal song scaffolding.

-Blend them together with the jangly, most spacey, patiently meditative guitar tones and keyboards of JIMMY EAT WORLD (Clarity)

-Roll out onto a baking sheet and beat until all rock drumming is replaced with subtle, gently noisy drum programming, leaning toward latin-pop vibes or outright ambient texture.

-Sprinkle on SHARKS KEEP MOVING angular, snaking bass lines here & there for flavor.

Bake for 37 minutes. Serve lukewarm & snack on throughout the day. Best after the third day, once fermentation sets in.

Definitely one of the best “indie” albums I’ve heard in a while. More please!

http://www.bacanalintruder.com/
and/or
http://otherelectricities.com/

-- Jacob An Kittenplan

YANKEE ROSES “Dreamless Winter” (Other Electricities)

John Darnielle said it best once: “If you cop my style, I’ll hunt you down and murder you.” Actually, he really didn’t say that, I put those words in his mouth. But if he really felt that way, then George Geanuracos would have to watch his back. Based in Richmond, Virginia, Geanuracos records under the name Yankee Roses (anybody else want to read that as Yankee Candle, continuously?), and he sounds an awful lot like early Mountain Goats. Now, I like early Mountain Goats, so this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but there’s no other comparison I’m able or willing to make. (OK, I’ll say Woody Guthrie, too. But that’s it!) Therefore, in the alternate universe where John Darnielle is a bloodthirsty maniac, he’s already on a bus to Richmond, because I gave Geanuracos’s location away. Whoops! That one’s on me.

Like Darnielle, Geanuracos sings about the little details of life, taking on the mantle of storyteller and spinning modern yarns from the perspective of Appalachia. He is impervious to criticism, as he makes quite clear on “The Best Revenge” where he says, “The best revenge is living well.” Any haters are invited to observe that ol’ George is doing just fine and dandy. Apparently he has at least a few enemies, because on another song about revenge, “Mental Revenge,” he says, “I will have sweet, sweet mental revenge.” I’ve now said “revenge” quite a few times in this paragraph, so I’ll stop there. Let’s hope he’s feeling extra good up there on his judgmental pedestal, looking down on everybody else. Just kidding, you guys! Lighten up, geez.

Unlike Darnielle, Yankee Roses covers a Guided By Voices tune, and it’s a beaut: “Motor Away.” That just makes me want to listen to GBV, though, so congratulations, Mr. Geanuracos, I know what I’m listening to next. Thanks for that inspiration. May you and your Washburn (if that’s what you’re playing) traverse the East Coast with impunity. I also hope that you stay safe – we don’t want any Mountain Goats–related incidents to occur.

Other Electricities

Yankee Roses

--Ryan Masteller