PET MILK "Demo" c20 [Peasant Magik]

It may be 2011 today, but Philly band Pet Milk is still living in 1994. This tape hearkens back to a time when a lot more people were putting out tapes. There are big crunchy guitars, a peppy but still midtempo rhythm section, male/female vocals and the tape was written by a dude named Herbie (save for a MBV cover, who coulda predicted that?)

It's pretty good stuff, not totally my area but I'm sure anyone wishing to relive his/her early 90s college days (or someone wishing he/she had college days in the 90s in the first place) would enjoy this. The final track "Always Knew It Couldn't Stay" is by far the best thing on the cassette; it's an uptempo, minor chord jangler with the best hooks Pet Milk have on display. It's the catchiest cut here and I'm a big, big fan of catchiness.

Very nice looking, pro-dubbed tape as usual from Sal Giorgio's Peasant Magik label, this time breaking out of the psych/drone mold. I dig that cover image a lot too, a hearty handshake goes to whoever can fill me in on which film it's taken from.

Pet Milk

Peasant Magik

GARETH HARDWICK "Carnations" c30 (Peasant Magik)

This tape got an immediate second round even though i have wtc size stack of tapes waiting to be listened to next to me. A simple packaging, color copy of what looks like a dried up river bed of rocks that's a three panel fold out. First side is a really soothing, almost disarming cascade of rising and descending synth, sort of like the rocks pictured on the front of the case. It's slow and borders on harmonic without ever relying any distinct melody.

The second side is a bit more dissonant though not without resolution, two synth lines slowing intertwining creating discord and a slight tension with a bit more high end though the tones establish a relationship and work slowly towards become a unified field of sound that is, like the first side, more soothing.

A really good listen.
Still available from the label:
www.peasantmagik.net

note: the label site says one side is guitar and the other is organ, presumably side a is the organ, side b is the guitar which would explain the difference in register and approach but with a consistency between sides in the goals of the sounds.

RALE "Nightside / Shadeup" (Peasant Magik)

The recent minor buzz surrounding Rale in the DIY noise community isn't necessarily surprising when aesthetics are considered. With everything from Emeralds to Emaciator to Infinite Body catching people's ears, Rales arguable relationship to new age noise definitely makes him a candidate for popularity. Those familiar with the ongoing work of William Hutson would most likely see more to it than this (and none of the bands just mentioned really do either, but bear with), and rightfully so. While Hutson has actually proclaimed the virtues of new age music for much longer than it has been cool to, his current act Rale is hardly a part of the whole hippy-noise repeats social history and evolves into yuppie-noise phenomenon. In fact, Rale has nothing to do with new age music. So is the topic irrelevant? Not in terms of what appears to be going on outside the creative exercise. And while most may not even use the term new-age to describe the phenomenon (it does invoke a lot of inaccuracies), it is true that someone, somewhere, complimented Rale recently, calling his work, essentially, a triumph of focus. It is here that things get interesting. Focus, most likely, is being used to describe how things move slowly, are well crafted, expertly arranged, and delicately textured in Rale's work. This may not be exactly what focus is though, since focus could allow an artist to freak out to perfect just as well. Even patience seems like the wrong word. For many, making "slow" music has nothing to do with patience. Although, since Hutson is hardly the stoner, patience is definitely a factor. Yet, when taken in context of what is inspiring the DIY noise community lately, the word 'focus' is perfect. Actions and reactions, it seems the perfect pendulum swing away from the Mosh/Thrash noise of a few years ago. And who better to be a king in this newly formed kingdom than a perfectionist like Rale. The lessons people seek for themselves can definitely be learned in Rale's graceful and sonicly daring work. But, if this review may have a point, it is that Rale's quality and impact will last long after any current fads are over.

ALISTAIR CROSBIE "Sad Faces Of The Moon" (Peasant Magik)

This is the only music I have listened to for more than a week now. Seriously. I see absolutely no reason to ever take this tape out of my cassette deck. Every time it ends, I consider what to listen to next, pause, then flip this bastard over and play it again. Imagine you’ve never heard the term “Dark Ambient” before. Pretend the term is not a genre name, but in fact two adjectives paired to actually describe something. Scotland’s Alistair Crosbie sounds nothing like Alio Die (or any other wretched Goth garbage) but has produced a cold, sorrowful masterpiece of ambient music. “Sad Faces of the Moon” is, of course, culturally closer to the realm of the (pseudo) new age drone that labels like Students of Decay and Twonicorn have been promoting for the last couple of years. But while his peers, for the most part, explore major chords, blissful tones, and fuzz guitar harmonics, Crosbie’s palette is less overtly hopeful. The whole tape is absolutely drenched in reverb, as if the musical material was produced miles away, and the listener can observe only the splashy mournful decay, minutes later. The sounds themselves are earthy, organic, like two smooth stones being rubbed together, above which, the slowly shifting ring of a resonant windstorm howls. While avoiding anything that might be considered melodic, Crosbie’s soundscape evokes the kind of emotions that are usually targeted by melody. As listeners, we know that certain types of melody signify and trigger emotions like heartbreak, longing, grief, regret, and we can recognize them when they are used to manipulate us. “Sad Faces of the Moon” has the power to conjure these feelings without utilizing the usual bag of tricks to do so, and in doing, avoids the triteness and quaintness associated with those tricks. It is a truly astonishing release, with characteristically impressive packaging from the label, Peasant Magik.

WETHER / PILLARS OF HEAVEN / GALLOWS / DEERSTALKER Split (Peasant Magik / No Horse Shit)

This long-playing, four-headed beast of a double cassette from Philly based Peasant Magik and Wilmington, Delaware's No Horse Shit was daunting enough to put off reviewing for a few months (doubtless a few labels could say that at this point). Once the gears get rolling, though, it's damn hard to not play this thing until the bitter end. Wether's "Night Terrors" is a versatile mashup of cacophonous bells, buzzing amplified resonance (not unlike Damion Romero's recent work), manipulation of stereo panning and scorched harsh noise. It's more sparse than cluttered, and Wether's focus on one primary sound at a time works very effectively. Pillars of Heaven follows with "In A Mirror, Darkly," a loping atmospheric piece with multiple layers of wavering tape hiss, distant field recordings and high/ low-pitched oscillations reverberating off of each other. Simultaneously lulling and apprehensive. Gallows is eclectic enough to resist easy labeling, although they resemble Fossils in a soundtrack-ish vein. Miscellaneous clanging, low rumbles and background loops could describe a gaggle of mediocre groups, but this one manages to pull a haunting and melancholy feel from some otherwise apathetic rubble.
The only underwhelming side on here is the closer by Deerstalker. Allegedly a "collaborative effort" between the other artists (there's no mention on the website as to which artists are involved), it bears little resemblence to any of the other groups except Gallows. Rather than calculated drones or walls of distortion, there's some blasé vocal moaning and obscured knob fiddling in the background. Perhaps this was a room recording which translated poorly on tape. This isn't too surprising; as others have previously written, it's not unusual for a one-off noise collab to fail to add up to the sum of its parts.
At any rate, the consistent quality of the other sides should be reason enough to check for this split (both Peasant Magik and NHS have recently had it in stock). The two tapes come in an oversize vinyl case with full-color wraparound art. RECOMMENDED!

www.peasantmagik.net/
http://www.myspace.com/nohorseshit

AJILVSGA “Thorazine to Infinity” (Peasant Magik)

Another spool of fried magnetic tape by the Rose/Young Oklahoma guitar-corral duo, and this one’s got a killer exterior – exquisite black-on-black silkscreened art-paper slipcover plus a graphically designed J-card. Sound-wise, this is probably the lightest I’ve heard Ajilvsga be, buoyed up by loopy FX, soft-stumbling percussion, and gently jittery tinkering. Drifts by in a dazed-out fashion, which is fine, though the label description of “Soundtrack to a Cretaceous Period Apocalypse” and song titles like “I Am Your Charred Remains” and “Asphixiation” (sic) don’t really jive with the chill, sparse, unhurried, non-ominous jams they’re referring to. A more apt CS title might’ve been “Mood-Stabilizer to Infinity.” But medication specificity notwithstanding, it’s a pleasant enough excursion off the Ajilvsga heavy beaten path.

GALLOWS “The White Lodge” (Peasant Magik)

First off: props to Peasant Magik for so quickly achieving a fully recognizable packaging aesthetic. Sometimes it takes labels a lot longer to find their footing in this regard, but just one glance at this new Gallows tape and there’s no doubt it’s a PM product (vellum elements and floral wallpaper J-cards are the giveaways). Anyway. My guess is Gallows is one guy, cause this sounds like one-guy-alone music: slow-drones, minimal arrangements, dead serious. The first track is too sci-fi for my liking (lots of wacky tape-spooling echoes bouncing around), but the second one is stripped as hell, just two similar tones pulsing side by side in a way that makes it seem like there’s more going on than there really is. And the third piece is probably the most focused of all…ebowed drones gently hovering in space for 10-plus minutes. The restraint shown here occasionally borders on the narcoleptic, but I’m not really saying that as a bad thing. Not as essential as the Pillars of Heaven or Blown Doors tapes, but another cool piece of Peasant Magik lore nonetheless.

BLOWN DOORS (Peasant Magik)

Heavy objects crash slowly in an endless underground corridor. A black storm rains and thunders on the earth above. Gradually the lights dim and hateful wraiths float up from the concrete and start battling with axes and morning stars. This is the basic gist of what the A side of this Blown Doors tape sounds like. Mythic/mystic undead violence. No idea on the who/what/where/why of Blown Doors but it’s on the consistent Peasant Magik label and definitely fits in with their dark age drone/noise aesthetic. The B side is shockingly good too, building from some plain resonating tones into an orgy of pulsing, crushing rapture. Focused and to the point. With a typically vellum-heavy wallpaper-inspired PM J-card. Oh wait, just saw it’s from an edition of 25…you’ll probably need to download this one online. You know how to do that, right? (Post-script: SICK dubbing job on this guy…the audio is BLASTING out of my speakers. Nearly zero tape hiss, impressive!).

CJA "Taken Off a Cross & Laid in a Tomb" (Peasant Magik)

CJA is Clayton Noone, "one of the leading figures in the post HCorp scene" according to the Peasant Magik website, and has operated under different monikers (The Futurians, Armpit, Wolfskull) within several years. A collage of out-takes from a previous release entitled "Ironclad" on the Last Visible Dog / Digitalisa labels, "Taken Off a Cross" is disjointed but intimate. I wanted to like the absent-minded strumming and quiet ambiance more than I could, but enjoyed it more on subsequent listens when it became an unfocused background. Peasant Magik once again comes through with a nicely designed color cover and numerous inserts.
www.peasantmagik.net

TEETH COLLECTION "Sloth Movement" (Peasant Magik)

Teeth Collection is the alias of one Matthew Reis who also runs a label from Dayton, OH called Epicene. "Sloth Movement" offers a slew of obscure and dark electronics, low end crunch and assorted synthesizer material. A foreboding, claustrophobic touch seeps through everything. The first listen seemed drawn out, but on repeated plays the variety grows on you. The heavily atmospheric starter on side A is a favorite, featuring eerie and somber drones that unexpectedly jump to higher frequencies only to crash immediately back into the muck. On the flip, loud metallic scrapes (prepared guitar?) make way for an echo heavy oscillation jam and a harsh, psychedelic conclusion. The clouded industrial landscape on the cover sums it up pretty well. Edition of 50.
www.peasantmagik.net
www.epicenesound.com

PILLARS OF HEAVEN “Silver Tusks Vol. 1” (Peasant Magik)

Know nothing about this band/project, and next to nothing about this label, and I don’t have the internet right now so that’s not gonna change. But I do know I could listen to this shit all day long (or at least until I pass out). Spaced and melancholy and hazy, like doing drugs in the early afternoon. Upswelling strings, blissed vocal clouds, slow dives into silver memories. P of H cut the psychedelic crap here, and go straight for the NEW AGE jugular. This is music for people with rainsticks. Lots of them. Maybe even a rainstick keychain. And those people are great, really into tripped out shit and nature imagery, just like most good psych bands. In fact, the only bummers about this tape are: 1) one-sided, and 2) the art is just plain floral wall-paper, like the kind used in bathrooms at snobby French restaurants (theory: maybe that’s where Pillars of Heaven played their first show?!).

SLOWLISTENER "Bad Coffee Day" (Peasant Magik)

"Bad Coffee Day" marks the impressive first release for this UK group of moldy-circuit misfits. Another winner in the Peasant Magik packaging department with quirky b&w drawings by illustrator James Ulmer on thick textured paper, a notice you're entering a foreign village. "Terrible Down" starts off with melodic static filled humming and evolves into a slow jam with harmonious kitchen appliances. There's a mid-to-late 90s ambient-IDM vibe on here, only much grainier and lo-fi. "Ondras" is like HAM radio with a meditative dryer and organ duet in the background. Slowlistener is most likely a synth group, but they must have some affinity for incidental machine noise, which is a good thing. My nomination for best track title this year is the closer "Holidays Are For People Who Hate Their Life." Fans of Family Underground, Frozen Corpse or similar outfits would dig this for sure.

JOSH LAY "Hater of Life" (Peasant Magik)

One half of demonic sludge duo Cadaver in Drag on a solo tour of the abyss. The serpentine beast surrounded by inverted crosses on the cover tells you everything you need to know. Seriously, this is one of the most evil things you could listen to right now. The two long tracks which make up "Hater of Life" (appropriately, "Hater" and "Life") make no attempt to pull your head from oppressive torrents of bass and feedback unless it's to shriek with inhuman cacophony. Someone must have slipped a recorder into the middle of an epic subterranean battle where an ax-wielding Neanderthal was chopping giant snake heads with a vengeance. Attempting to pick out individual sounds in this river of horrid mud is pointless, and even if you succeeded you wouldn't feel good about it. Fans of CID or any Chondritic Sound releases should consider this mandatory.