ESTROGEN HIGHS “Unfortunate Chronology Volume 1” (Elm Recordings)

 

*Puff, puff, pant, pant, wheeeeze*

[Out of breath:] Hi everybody, sorry I’m late for this funeral – it was an absolute nightmare on the beltway. We were at a dead stop for about a half hour. Who knows what the cause was. Anyway, thanks to Brother Roy for delivering the eulogy. He did a great job, didn’t he? There’s nothing punker than releasing an entire discography after your band has broken up, and Estrogen Highs, those Connecticut scamps, have surely done us all a solid by releasing this 2-tape set. And how punk was it that we’ve discussed Volume 2 first? It was totally planned.

Actually, totally a lie. I just got lazy and Roy beat me to it. But isn’t that punk in some way too?

Well, here’s Volume 1, and now you can complete your set. Or you can’t, because only 50 copies were made, and they’re all gone. But if Roy is right, the upstarts over at Night People might release it again. Wouldn’t that be just super neat?

Now, if you’ll open your hymnals, I’ll lead you in some… Hey, where’s everybody going?

Elm Recordings

--Ryan Masteller

HUSHER “Madonna of Bellevue” C60 (Elm Recordings)

Jesus. Look gang, I’m a fan of all the crazy musics, just like the rest of you lot. I go in for a bit of noise here, a bit of industrial there, and a whole ton of ambient synth wash whenever I can get my hands on it. There’s a little of all of that in Husher’s Madonna of Bellevue, which stretches for 60 minutes in all directions. It’s a little daunting, I’m gonna be honest. Because there’s very little to grab onto.

Hey, what? So I’m not INTO IT, OK? Big FREAKIN deal. But I’m calling it like I sees it, and I sees a big old heap of static out of which tones and other things periodically poke. There’s rhythmic pulses here and there, but little rising above the level of electrical lines being tapped with a metronome. The label, Elm Recordings (which has released some nice things, IMO) has this to say about it: “New industrial-influenced synth project from prolific New Haven-based musician Donovan Fazzino (Arabian Blade, Hate Your Guts). Ever-changing textures and dynamics build tension while dark, rhythmic melodies draw in the listener.”

Can I just say I love the name Arabian Blade? Let’s get that out of the way.

Anyhoo, it’s hard for me to latch on to the “tension” Fazzino’s going for here, mainly because early on we’re treated to tones that sound like the alien craft looking for sperm whales in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. I get stuck on that, and then I start laughing because I love that movie. “Double dumbass on you!” Priceless. Also, some of this sounds like incidental music from Tron, a less funny movie, but another one that takes me right out of the moment. It … derezes my attention. (I had to look up the spelling for that. Did you know there’s a Tron wiki?)

If you think you’d like this, shoot, check it out, because someone out there is going to dig it. I’m just not that guy.

http://elmrecordings.tumblr.com/

--Ryan Masteller

ELM RECORDINGS

new haven, CT noise guru and guitarist kryssi battalene sent me three new fabulous tapes from her label, ELM RECORDINGS. the label has a gorgeous aesthetic, aka the art on the tapes totally rule and they sound fantastic. a little about each one -

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ARABIAN BLADE is a CT based duo whose focus is on slow, creepy, and minimal, synth jams. each piece starts slowly and reaches a modest climax of pure ambient euphoria. the website describes their music as calling "the listener into a disturbed world in slow motion" and that is exactly how i felt while mellowing out to this 30 minute gem. the cassette includes pyschedlic art by the imfamous mike haley of 905 tapes. 

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COLORGUARD is kryssi's prepared turntable project and although somewhat minimal, it is considerably the most chaotic (at times) of the 3 tapes. CHANNELS is short and sweet and quite beautiful at times (side B specifically). she has multiple release and has played a vital roll in new havens thriving noise scene - her attention is well deserved. great tape! 

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THE PALE LIGHT by swedish/norwegian noise artist JON ERIKSON is yet another killer tape - here we have a quick and extremely tasteful 15 minutes of well controlled and composed noise that at times features beautiful and haunting, completely blown out tonal qualities. this i like. alot…

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ELM RECORDINGS is highly reccomended - the new batch is a solid collection of educated and well thought out experimental music that is making new haven a very special place. 

check it out HERE