VITO B + MAZES “Gridlock” C28 & NIK NIK “Era One” C25 & T STEPHEN "Catahua Blanca" (Sanzimat International)

With Vito B + Mazes, Nik Nik, and T Stephen, Sanzimat International releases their “Lithuanian Diaspora Series”, an audio triptych that is every bit as psychedelic as it is catchy.

Vito B + Mazes’ “Gridlock" bewilders the mind with anachronistic left-hooks all day long, mixing heavy 60s psychedelia with Talking Heads-esque world-beat flavor and funk. Throwing in the sentiment of half a century’s quirk and some proggy rhythmic change-ups pushes this release into MUST-LISTEN territory. At once slightly challenging and chock full of wild hooks, the brain’s definitely gonna process this one differently with multiple passes.

If you’re looking for a slightly (and only slightly) less rocking in your Good Time, check out Nik Nik’s “Era One”, a bright and shiny psych/folk/80s electro/noisy slew of infectious cuts delivered beneath a relaxed, lush hush of a vocal delivery. Only in one song does NN really "belt" it out, and her restrained power is shockingly beautiful. Listen to these first two albums back to back and you’ll really appreciate Edward Anderson’s hand in helping flesh these two artists’ ideas out into their mesmerizing realities.

Of the three, T Stephen’s “Catahua Blanca” is more of a solo, audio diary of his journey into Peruvian rainforests to partake of the Ayahuasca and its effects on his charango and flute playing. Make no mistake, TS is fairly virtuosic in his skillset; the ambience is, to say the least, transcendental. Included also are a few field recordings of actual ayahuasca ceremonies, so prepare for something you have (likely) not heard before.

This set of three is a real fucking treat and we should all hope Sanzimat International continues to do the serious legwork of documenting the glory of international artists for us! Thanks SI!

https://sanzimat.bandcamp.com/album/gridlock

https://sanzimat.bandcamp.com/album/era-one

https://sanzimat.bandcamp.com/album/catahua-blanca

and/or

https://sanzimat.brushd.com/

—Jacob An Kittenplan

DEATH TRICHECO “Produczioni Tecnofobiche 1988-1989” (Sanzimat International)

I don’t know why some bands push past the experimental home recording stage and some don’t. No, that’s not true, I do – it’s virtually impossible to keep a band together for any length of time, unless of course you’re Pearl Jam or Depeche Mode, and only then it works because people pay you actual cash money – not bitcoin! – to perform. Death Tricheco could only keep it together for so long, -ploding – whether im- or ex- is hard to determine without asking someone – just like the rest of their post-punk ilk. Except for Interpol. Is Interpol post-punk? They probably like to think they are.

Fortunately, the upstart Venice-based trio (ah, Venice!) decamped at some point in 1988 and 1989 to Canaletto Studios and let their imaginations run wild. And yes, “Death Tricheco” translates to “Death Walrus,” because if you’ve ever encountered a walrus in the wild, you’ll know what I mean when I say the experience is no less than terrifying. And by “imaginations running wild” and “post-punk,” I barely mean the latter and almost certainly am hanging on by dear life to the former. I don’t know if Death Tricheco was trying to lay a cohesive set of tunes to tape when they hit record (they almost certainly weren’t), but the resulting compilation of recordings from these sessions is nothing short of mesmerizing.

So this “studio” was actually a “house filled with wine, cigarettes, and a spattering of cheap keyboards, bongos and 4-track recorders.” This was a place where the Walruses could feel comfortable, able to sit back and test the ideas (or pieces of them) that were percolating in their fertile minds. These investigations led down some twisty paths where ideas bloomed quickly and sputtered to their natural endpoints. The collection of these disparate results forms a weird whole, one that captures a snapshot of three curious artists with an ear for texture and tape hiss, unafraid of the results of simply letting their minds wander. They’d almost certainly be heralded within a multitude of homegrown tape communities these days, and sure enough, they’ve reforming – just like Smashing Pumpkins! – playing together for the first time in thirty years.

Sanzimat International

--Ryan

MAZES “The Violent Tapes” (Sanzimat International)

Mazes—not to be confused with “the British wankers who stole the name”—is a Chicago-based band with ties to far-flung cities like Buenos Aires, New York, Italy, Moscow, and San Fran. The Violent Tapes, the band’s third album, was written, performed, and produced by members Edward Anderson, Federico Bramanti, and Charles d’Autremont, with the help of numerous guest contributors.

The Violent Tapes is full of sunny, breezy, 60s-indebted psych pop. It’s territory that’s been well explored, and while Mazes don’t necessarily add anything groundbreaking, here they’ve produced a solid album that is certainly never bad. In fact, its best moments are really, really good. Songs like “West Coast Revolution” and “Subversive Glove” grab your attention but feel effortless. “Missing Numbers,” “Twinning,” and “White Faces” feature interesting change-ups that are surprising but never disjointed or unnatural.

To me, the main flaw of The Violent Tapes lies in its running time. “Det Är Lugnt” could be cut without much detriment to the album as a whole, and “Theme for Violent Tapes” seems like an appropriate closer. “Reuñion,” “International Waters,” and “No Hay Cambio” are all short, solo acoustic numbers that provide some variety when contrasted with the more straight-forward pop songs, but aren’t really noteworthy on their own.

All in all, The Violent Tapes is an interesting, accessible album that shows that Mazes are capable of outshining their psych contemporaries with tight arrangements and catchy hooks. When it works, it really works; when it doesn’t, it’s never worse than average. Buy it for “West Coast Revolution,” “Subversive Glove,” and “Pilar.”

Sanzimat Int'l
Sanzimat Int'l Bandcamp
Mazes FB
Mazes Bandcamp

-- Brandon Spaulding