Bloodwall - "The Smell of Burning Anti-Freeze" (Lighten Up Sounds)

Simple review: AWESOME!

This tape by Bloodwall is frankly one of my favorites this year so far. Lighten Up Sounds is a fantastic label too...Focused guitar lines skillfully performed over wonderfully abstract sound drifts...what more do ya want? Really, just go ahead and buy this jam. Sample a bit of the A-side while ya wait:




Buy HERE.

follow me on twitter: @teflonbeast

MOONRISES "Frozen Altars" LP
(Captcha Records)


2013 is only halfway over and this LP came out back in March (I'm mad slowed down bro), but we definitely have a contender for most psychedelic album of the year.  Moonrises 2nd full length vinyl Frozen Altars is a refreshingly heady dose of Denudes guitar crud, Magmaesque prog-gasm keyboards and powerhouse freeform drumming that holds it all together.  No surprises hear when you learn that the band includes Mr. Plastic Crimewave (Steve Krakow) on guitar and drummer Ben Baker Billington of Tiger Hatchery (and the fantastic solo synth jam project Quicksails).  Libby Ramer provides the keyboard pyrotechnics and also the underlying harmonic structure over which the two boys beat on their respective instruments.  This racket would all be fine and dandy as is, but both Ramer and Krakow provide some really interesting vocals on top of it all. Seal the deal and order one here:

http://captcharecords.bandcamp.com/album/frozen-altars-3

RUSSIAN TSARLAG
"Gagged In Boonesville" LP
(Not Not Fun)


DON'T SLEEP /// /// /// http://www.notnotfun.com/shop-3/


Ltd. to less than 500 copies, comes with a 8 page zine.
This one's a no brainer at $12 from the label


// /// DON'T SLEEP EVER /// //

German Army - "Burushaski" (Belaten)


Another night-terror, another German Army cassette. The uber-productive LA unit are back with Burushaski, and this one is for the dark hours of the soul. I'm creeped out! Help me outta this nightmare! Well-done tape for the kinda midnight some of you out there might just love.

The Belaten label (accurately) writes, "Burushaski is a mysterious cassette. It echoes of dead languages and archaic tribal rituals, but all filtered through and array of analog synthesisers, drum computers and lo-fi samplers, further compressed by a 25 year old VHS tape. "

Buy and Listen HERE.

follow me on twitter: @teflonbeast

3 X Headway Recordings




Hailing from Asheville, NC, Headway Recordings is an eclectic tape & vinyl label that seems to have something for everybody. Three titles found there way to me and they all work at achieving their goals. First up is Gnomeadze which is a collaboration between Will Isenogle (Merryl) and David Grubba (Enea). The drone/ambient soundscapes alternate between ethereal drift and pulsing motion. Good stuff for those of you so inclined. Opposite the amorphous ambience, is the concrete (vaguely 90s) guitar skraanngg of That's a Thing. The S/T debut is a solid affair of noise and structure. The playing and writing are surprisingly assured. Check out the 7+ minute jam "Siamese Twin" for proof..No wave is back y'all! Finally, I popped in Electrophonic Ghost's Exorcism to end my tape-a-thon listening session with a bit of the haunting. This album is a blend of the previous two tapes in a strange way. I say that because (even though there isn't any "rock") elements of noise/pop and drone/ambience are at work. EG's sound is enticing, difficult, and spooky. This is an exciting label and worth spending some time with.

Buy and Listen HERE.

follow me on twitter: @teflonbeast

CURVED DOG "In Defense of Plagiarism"
(self-released)


Much in the same way that Asheville, NC's underrated and criminally unknown Common Visions re-contextualizes Beefheart skronk, New Orleans own Curved Dog manages to make chaotic shambling rock and roll feel both fun and fresh.  Their recent tape In Defense of Plagiarism is well recorded and totally rad and you should try to find it if you can. Maybe their website will help you http://curveddog.tumblr.com/

Matthew Dotson - "Revolution/Cirumvention" (Already Dead Tapes)




LA's Matthew Dotson has a trance inducer on his hands. Released by Already Dead Tapes, Revolution/Circumvention is two nearly twenty-minute rolling/rollicking collages of sound. These two compositions are cleanly rendered and evocative. As a fan of John Lennon's piece "Revolution #9," I thought it was a smart sample and a good starting point for a piece that essentially starts where that track ends. Like a lot of music released on cassette Lennon's decidedly "experimental" late 60s records with Yoko Ono wouldn't be out of place in today's tape scene. The difference here is the amount of FUN music interjected. Beats, video game soundtrack (esque) snippets burst through in between the amorphous blobs of slow moving sound. "Circumvention" begins with mangled loops of sitar and acoustic guitars (kinda like a Beck tune from way back when)...and did I mention "mangled?" The slices of sound playfully sound like your machine munching on your favorite jam. The second composition is the dirtier of the two here and maybe a bit more focused on "rock" music as its source. In the end: Both sides offer a lot for the listener who wants to be reminded of everything all at once.
 
Buy and Listen HERE.

follow me on twitter: @teflonbeast

2 X Brave Mysteries



European ghosts wandering rough terrain in search of bodies to overtake. The basic impulses of song birthed from simple rituals. Two new releases from the Wisconsin label evoke such thoughts and feelings. The music produced by both Art Abscons and Xenis Emputae Travelling Band has the spooky aura of the next world. AA is a German man whose music is more familiar in approach, at least for me, because of the guitars, percussion, vocals, etc., but it still leaves me unsettled...like the Wicker Man...XETB is Phil Legard and his album is much more "ancient" sounding with recorders and the murmuring of life as his background groove. Enter the circle if ye dare.

Buy and Listen HERE.

follow me on twitter: @teflonbeast

PRURIENT - "Through The Window" cs (Blackest Ever Black)

 
  The always fantastic Blackest Ever Black label has been killing it in 2013, and now they've given us their second cassette release, the latest full length from Dominick Fernow's long running Prurient project. Fans of earlier Hospital Productions (which Fernow owns and operates) releases may be hesitant with this one, as it only dives further into SM techno and panoramic synthesizer pieces. Straying from the harshness of feedback, noise, and other machine manipulations, Through The Window is a truly full bodied piece of industrial music, instrumental, and worthy of both the clubs and chemical wastelands, quite possibly inspired by his move to Los Angeles.
 
  The three tracks that make up this monstrous album are unlike anything you've heard from him, outside of the Vatican Shadow moniker anyway. These songs are wide open, lengthy landscapes, filled with rich analog strides and sinister vibes from front to back. Layers of carefully crafted arpeggios and sequencers weave throughout the songs, and rarely, if ever make it in the red. He seems to be focusing on a more droning, melodic drift backed by a steady thump, than the scathing environments you may love him for. That's not to say this record doesn't have it's share of menacing moments, it's got a deeply masochistic tone that reigns supreme, one that's hard to place, more of a vibe that comes a bit later. A bit of a turn for Prurient, and once you've looked past that, and you will, it's terribly good album from this major player.
 
Get it on LP/CD from Blackest Ever Black.
 

LOUDVILLE


Loudville is a new band from the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts with a first release rumored on Feeding Tube Records. I was completely blow away by their set at the release show for the Happy Jawbone Family Band Complete Hotel Double Tragedy 2LP which went down at the Feeding Tube HQ a few weekends back. You can hear all five songs Loudville performed below.  This is some pretty raw Zevon/Petty worshiping territory, but the lyrics are so strong and the band hangs together in a beautifully ragged way.  My faves are "Interzone" and "Heart of Coal."

CUBE "Medium" TAPE (Self Released)


Ooey gooey hot patootie! Great new tape from Adam Keith who now performs as Cube (formerly Cubicle) and is also a member of the marvelous quartet Body Glove.  Trust me on this one and order a cassette from cuube42@gmail.com.
 

Robin Mitchell - "Feather Weight Soul Tape" (self-released)


Summery folk-pop from Bristol's Robin Mitchell comes as a shimmering surprise to mine ears. The sun is cooking us down in Texas, but the music I'm currently listening to is cooling me out. Well-produced/performed keys, beats, vocals, and guitars have me floating. I might file Feather Weight Soul Tape under "Easy Listening Morrisey," if that is even possible. There are hints of sadness in the melodies, but I feel ok. Play some Robin Mitchell as a chaser for those tequila shots before the BBQ.

Buy and Listen HERE.

follow me on twitter: @teflonbeast

Hal McGee


A unique package of tapes found their way to me from one Hal McGee earlier this month and I received a crash course in a vast catalog of recordings. His music is new to me, but he's been a dedicated home-taper since the early 80s. His impressive passion for documentation is something I think the majority of those who read CG can embrace. The music is often improvised keyboard riffs, found sounds, voices on phones, percussion, micro cassettes, and FX driven doodling. McGee is not a one-man sound fiend though because he works with collaborators (different people for virtually every release!), which adds a nice twist to his restless and non-stop output of albums. With the sheer quantity of music (even on the four tapes I have) there are dips in quality, but overall the manic experimentalism of it all is quite a trip.

Buy and Listen HERE.

follow me on twitter: @teflonbeast

Baked Tapes: NEW RELEASES

The new batch of Baked Tapes releases came out this past winter, and I'm sorry I neglected them for this long.  It's been nearly two years since they released the last batch and all of these are strong releases.  You can check them all out on bandcamp http://bakedtapes.bandcamp.com/. I'm short on time here, so I'm just going to copy/paste from the label's website, but all of these come recommended, and for goodness sakes, pick up the Grasshopper and Telecult Powers LPs while your at it.


OPPONENTS "Thought Control" c52
OPPONENTS didn't come here to make friends. They're not looking to talk gear. They came to kick the piss out of some synthesizers, and are doing it whether or not you're ready for it. Synthesis in it's rawest form. This is about survival, not crystal pendents. The next brood in line culled from the long standing hatefuck between punk rock and control voltage that has its seeds strewn deep throughout the gutters of New York past.

LONG DISTANCE POISON "Rare Human" c42
Greenpoint Brooklyn trio Long Distance Poison bring two monumental slabs of primordial synthesis to a fresh brew here with "Rare Human". Pulling itself from the bubbling murk of ancient ponds onto the banks of the dawn of civilization, a soundtrack to life's first glimpses up to the limitless heavens.

ANDREW SCOTT YOUNG "Warm White Light" c32
Self-described as his "God-Bless-America-Mr. Holland's-Opus-Style tribute" to his high school orchestra teacher, the collision of strings, piano, voice, reeds, percussion and fireworks erupting over the A-Side feels like the chance meeting of Crumb, Partch, Penderecki and Ives; sipping highballs and puffing pipes, hillside, on a breezy July 4th evening. Side B sees Young go electric of sorts with sideways boogies and left-footed shuffles in a new vision of absolutely fucked "dance hits".

HEAD BOGGLE "Backed Tape" c29
To say Derek Gedalecia marches to the beat of his own LFO would be an understatement. In an era where the sudden renewed infatuation with the synthesizer has led to an endless supply of formulaic sound-alike projects, Head Boggle stands alone, miles from where anyone else dare venture. The beautifully disorienting sounds Gedalecia conjures recalls the ever elusive x-factor guiding the forefathers of electronic music and concrete before him, and seemingly lost in that of any of his contemporaries - a sense of wonder, the wanderlust for experimentation and the sheer brilliance of the spark of possibility.

DADS AGAINST VIETNAM "Courage" c27
Far from the dreamy "world of tomorrow" utopian optimism the futurists hoped for, or bleak uniformity of the robotic age and conveyor-belt societies it feared, Josh Millrod (Grasshopper, Hexbreaker Quartet) sends us a completely different report back from the future, and shit's damaged! The sky and oceans run prismatic with the pollutants and discharge of centuries of neglect and shareholder-driven compromise. The nuclear winds have left this rock nearly uninhabitable, aside from those prosperous enough to vacate, leaving the rest to otherwise adapt or perish. These are their folk-songs.

Moon Machination


Moon Machination is a newish label from the Northeast with an irreverent and diverse roster of artists. The real standout for me so far is the first 12" from a weirdo group of out-there punkers called St. Dad (co-released with Vinyl Rites and 16OH Records). Cutsey cover aside, these boys create a nasty and snarling racket.  Other fine releases include a cassette of the absurd contact mic noise of the legendary Crank Sturgeon and a 7" of the so-annoying-it's-good 90's pop of Lawrence Welks & Our Bear To Cross.  Keep an eye out...

Stream the St. Dad record:   

Samples of other releases here: https://soundcloud.com/moon-machination

ANDREW COLTRANE
"Subliminal Commune Relaxation Techniques"
(UFO Factory)


Fans of Midwestern scuzz take note, Andrew Coltrane, harshest of the harsh, murkiest of the murks, has a new tape out on UFO Factory.  Direct all commerce here: http://www.ufofactory.com/.

2 X Swan City Sounds



Two damn decent, but very different tapes have come my way from Lakeland, FL's Swan City Sounds. This label is serious about presenting good tapes. First is the ramshackle electric garage fury of rockers Leap Frog. Lo-fi amped choogaloo at its most sweaty. Turn this beast up! The flip of this volume is the other tape I received which features the country-folk-blues of Brain Clark Miller.  Old Souls & Empty Hollers is one of the crispest acoustic picking albums I've heard in a long while. Miller's lazy, rough, whiskey drawl is killer...like a hangover that hums the blues. Dig this music!!

Buy and Listen HERE.

follow me on twitter: @teflonbeast

Two New Tapes From I Just Live Here




I Just Live Here, the very well curated cassette label run by Ren Schofield (Container, nee God Willing) has just put out two fantastic missives from the underground.  The new tape by Philadelphia's Unguent is a beautiful, yet creepily claustrophobic synth set by this dude Lance Simmons who has wowed me with his pummeling solo drum set as Dick Neff.  I just posted about Moth Cock last week, but their name bears repeating as they're one of the most creative groups touring and recording right now.  They create super detailed aleatoric music with processed clarinet and trumpet.  While this may bring to mind the music of New York City's underrated Grasshopper, they're sound is less "skull wash acid bath" and more "festering brain parasite party."

Happy hunting: http://www.ijustlivehere.org/