CM "Erotocomatose Lucidity" c30 (Closet Sorcery)

Usually don't like to google people / bands before I review them, it can give people and unfair (dis)advantage depending on what the ol' net serves up and then sometimes it is actually helpful (thereafter i'd go back and adjust my review) this is a great example of both of those cases. I was into this tape and had a fair amount to write about it: it would have been something about mechanical pets- what pets / domesticated animals represent to people and how mechanical reproductions of those externalized needs have an extra eerie air to them because they represent a totally perverted projection of those desires; also something about machine animals purring and maybe hunting instincts...

All that feels a little funny now knowing this is the work of Todd Brooks from the Pendu organization, a group dedicated to all sorts of buccaneering projects including one of my faves, Artists with Cats: http://www.pendugallery.com/artistsandcats/. Reading his page I was also informed his source material are homemade/modified oscillators, synths etc. You see where this is all going? The man has a wholeness of purpose. His manifest interest in occultism, cats, automatons, etc has come to pass on this tape. The first note (yes, i take notes!) I took while listening to this tape was "Animal electronics, calm" and I mention it not to point out my perceptiveness but instead Todd's evocative abilities with his electronics, atmosphere and arrangements. The tape is a great merging of canopied high end swirling and low earthy grumblings changing speed and desity slightly.

One other point worth mentioning, I suppose, is the cover. True to his interest in eroticism CM explores a motif in noise tapes I'm not entirely convinced of- a naked woman emblazoned on the front of the tape. Though she has her face collaged with some form of esoterica to remove it from the 'extreme' nude images that usually grace the cover of harsh noise / power electronics tapes, it feels like a forced version of 'erotic' whereas the suggestive elements of the music had more of an effect of me than anything that brazen. A minor point, but it speaks to the power of the music over the somewhat crass imagery.

Not sure of the label or the edition as my internet fishing turned up an empty hook. Definitely recommend spending some time at the pendu organization website:
http://www.pendu.org
and check CM's (Chaos Majik) blog for more info on the music and to possibly get yr hands on this tape:
http://www.chaosmajik.blogspot.com/
Pick it up if you can.

CAVE BEARS: “Horribble and Useless” c31 (Yod Tapes)

The entity that is the Cave Bears has been around for quite a while now, with a constantly rotating cast and a discography just as equal in variety, ranging from slowed down drone to acoustic boogaloo. This is, by far, my favorite release of theirs to date, and probably the closest representation of their “typical” live show. I put that word in quotes because when you go to see them, you never really know what you’re going to get. I hesitate to use the word “destructive”, but I think I’m okay with the word “messy”. I’ve seen them do everything from smash lightbulbs, pour mud across the floor, wear costumes made out of (operating) electric fans and (full) watering cans, and even bang on buckets while suspended upside-down from a tree while another member threw fireworks. So yeah, they’re a little all over the place, but they also have a general set-up of guitars and drums that they use more regularly, so even when it does lean towards being improvisational, you can usually tell it’s them.

There’s actually a surprising amount of differentiating composition on this tape, but it’s entirely cohesive. Cut-ups and samples flow freely and intermingle with original work very suitingly, foreign musicals laced through shrieking howls, guitar warbles, and a variety of squawking brass and harmonica. All of this is even edited at times, chopped & screwed on analog reels, still not upsetting the rhythm. There’s a large section of instrumentation that gets a little too calamitous for a little too long on side two, but that’s barely a beef, like a nuttier No-Neck Blues Band (bear in mind, I’m also notorious for preferring everything ultra-short). A solid starter for anyone looking to get into this band, or to prep them for their upcoming split LP with ID M Theft Able (who we all obviously can’t get enough of around here).

http://cavebears.suchfun.net/

ID M THEFTABLE "id m + jay z" (mangdisc)

I was told when given this that a friend of id m's was sicklyillin and wanted there to be an id m theft able & jay-z concert. It unfortunately could not be arranged so mr. id m provided the next best thing - set up some studio time with jay and made a tape.

best rapper alive, what's up, I told you. turn the music up. woo.
I'm in my zone.

a good 45 minutes (plus) straight of
tiny cuts of jay-z acapella spliced together into quick sputtering rhythms, layered with shout-outs chopped short. everything stuttering and skipping in avalanche form, a few pebbles start it off and then it quickly gathers more, collecting all of jay's syllables and turning them into a crushing rumbling. unrelenting. like Steve Reich's Come Out, after a bit, the words that are recognizable lose their meaning and become pure sound - parts of the rhythm. and/but also, like David Mahler's Hearing Voices , the tiny chopped speech lets us hear every part of a single sound, minuscule moments, isolated, and dissected to their basic parts.
It is also impossible for me to not mention Wobbly's Wild Why , which this tape is most akin to. (This is not a bad thing! I listened to that album with reckless abandon for a good month... mind blowing, if you haven't heard it - please, find a copy right away!) though while Wobbly is throwing fire crackers at your feet from his BMX, id m is in the woods, melting mirrors with a flamethrower.
entrancing and completely consuming.

http://kraag.org/
http://kraag.org/mangdisc/

(and now that I am done writing this very first review of mine, upon putting in the links above, it seems like maybe this isn't an available release! well, keep an eye out all the same...)

TRAVELS "Dripping Down The Walls" c20 (905 Tapes)

For a period of time in my life I was uncharacteristically drawn towards the mythology of warfare and the military. I know for some people the 'dark' side of humanity 'rules' and the order and discipline of enlisted life meshes perfectly with their choices but for me it always had an air of the unreal, something not of this world that didn't mesh with any of my logical choices and as a result I couldn't get enough.
Many of the most famous war movies are also my favorites, Deer Hunter shares the upward realms along with Apocalypse Now, Thin Red Line and Full Metal Jacket among a host of others not necessary to list in order to understand this tape. Of those movies Apocalypse & Thin Red Line each share a certain quiet element to them that is in complete contrast to that which is actually being experienced; how in the world can chaos be so placid? How do you distinguish between detachment and focus?

The scene comes to mind wherein Martin Sheen arrives at the bridge under bombardment, with fireworks and gunfire meshing perfectly the question he keeps asking is "who is your C.O?...Who is in charge? Who is the commanding officer?" To which he gets an "I thought you were" for an answer. This loss of / gaining of control lends itself perfectly to the aforementioned disassociation. At what point are we listening for a lead and do we expect, from the chaos, there to be a distinct (in the case of this tape sonorous) intent. 'Dripping down the walls' imposes one side of aftershock inducing chaos and a second side that relents just enough to expose a skeleton of what's attacking you but never enough to suggest yr going to be able to tell the fireworks from the gunfire.

Full color cover of melting dude (though in a domestic setting) works perfectly with the analogy. Edition of 33, still in print:
http://www.905tapes.com

BIG KIDS/PHASED OUT: “Friends Don’t Die” split c20

To continue with the news from Vermont, although Brattleboro’s Tinderbox, an amazing, central studio and performance space, has sadly closed for good, leaving the city nearly barren of interesting live music, it turns out things are still bubbling behind closed doors. What I’m trying to say is, this tape totally rules, I love it. If there were a best of 2009 list for me to contribute to, this would definitely be on it. Two quartets, fucked as punks, indecipherable lyrics, blowing out doors, and just generally being loud, fast, and full of audio clips from movies about skateboarding.

Big Kids have a pretty crisp sound, evenly recorded with killer screeching vocals, while Phased Out went more with the dogshit style of recording that I have a very tender place in my heart for, the way super loud instruments sound to a portable tape recorder placed in the middle of the room. Kind of surprising considering they’ve got some pretty complicated instrumentation executed by simultaneous members of bands like Witch and King Tuff. Nevertheless, it’s duly appreciated.

Xeroxed inserts, edition of 200. Only available by mailorder, and almost out of stock!

http://www.myspace.com/phasedoutloccosonly
http://www.myspace.com/bigkidzz

NERVE CITY: “HELL” c17 (Amateur Depression)

I gotta admit, I was kind of disappointed when I actually looked this up online and realized that the BAND is called Nerve City and the TAPE is called “Hell”, because at first I was like “Damn, this dude has serious balls! How audacious is that to call your band ‘Hell’?” With that misconception in mind, I didn’t know what to expect, but this is a really great, albeit brief, listen. Somewhere between the lonesome drifting of Mammal and the jangly semi-surf pop that’s currently taking New York by storm (i.e. Crystal Stilts, Blank Dogs, etc.) lies Nerve City, where a distant voice from a swinging telephone sings to you from the end of a tunnel over steady gusts of guitar and the occasional drum or organ. With three songs per side, this Richmond, Virginia loner vibe merchant Jason Boyer (who also indentifies himself with the omega symbol, sort of like Prince and his funky ankh) drifts by quickly enough to knock your hat off, but slowly enough to get a good whiff of what’s in the air.

Spraypainted, orange-foil tapes with xeroxed inserts.

http://www.myspace.com/nervecity
http://www.myspace.com/amateurdepression

TATERBUG: “Boys of the Feather” c20 (Night People)

The directions that come with this tape instruct the listener to “play loud on weed”. I didn’t actually do either of those things, I just sort of laid on my bed and stared at branches out the window, reels spinning at normal volume, which worked out fine all the same. What first attracted me to this was Shawn Reed’s killer jack-o-skeleton cover art, but on “Boys of the Feather”, Iowa City’s most prominent resident dead head, the Taterbug, creepy crawls his way over a handful of songs of light chimes, Jefferson Airplane tape vacations, and Daniel Johnston-esque balladry. I make the comparison due to it sounding as if it was recorded directly to an old boombox just like Johnston’s early recordings, and when the Taterbug decides to sing, he wails just the same way, especially on the title track as he plucks away at what sounds like a one-string guitar. I’m pretty sure he even sits down at a chord organ at one point. Now, I’m not trying to make a DIRECT comparison between the two here, I know it sounds like I am, but I’m not, I swear (tugs collar). Although the execution is relatable, this really is in a world of it’s own, a world of sunny fields and floppy felt hats, unshaven armpits and really nice dogs. You guessed it, it’s a hippy dream, the kind of psychedelic that just trips out naturally without a million effects pedals and an 18-ft. high TV screen. I want to hug this guy, I want to hang out with this guy. Simplistic songs, bedroom brilliance at it’s best, and a great way to get ready for summer. Also, look out for his upcoming work with Ryan Garbes in the garage-pop band, Dunebuggy.

Comes with silkscreen J-card and xeroxed inserts in an edition of 100.

http://www.raccoo-oo-oon.org/np/
http://www.myspace.com/stayfarout

DANIEL HIGGS: “Devotional Songs of Daniel Higgs” c90 (Open Mouth)

Listening to this made me realize that every time a current folk singer’s songs are described as hymns, that it’s incredibly unfounded. On “Devotional Songs”, Daniel Higgs actually has a song that repeats the word “amen” with the same structure as any you might hear in church. There are really a lot of lyrical concepts covered here, including things like outer space, the universe, and religion, all of which are incredibly deep, none of which I understand, so I won’t attempt to write about them. This isn’t an unappreciated confusion though, it piques the curiosity and creates the desire to interpret, at least for one’s self.

Higgs primarily uses banjo and guitar (and organ on one occasion) and, this is going to sound cliche, I know, but his ululating voice really does act as it’s own instrument, running a gamut of ranges that would never make sense on paper over his lightning fast finger-picking. Incredibly long (well over an hour), and modestly recorded, at one point even talking to the listener as he pauses to open a window, this is basically a wet dream for the Harry Smith of the future. I was never really interested in his previous band, Lungfish, but after hearing this, I think it’s time to visit the back catalog of this modern-day mystic.

Comes with color labels and insert.

http://www.openmouthtapes.com/

GULLWING: s/t c20 (Basement Tapes)

I want to start this by writing about the packaging for this tape. It’s kind of a bummer. It doesn’t stack, it doesn’t shelve, and no one I know has the kind of table space to set aside for items like this. I like handmade stuff as much as the next person, and I appreciate the effort put into this, but not only does it not close, but the tape doesn’t even fit into it properly, hence the copious amounts of string and glue. There’s creative, and then there’s unreasonable.

That being said, the actual music within is a whole different matter. Baltimore’s Bryan Rhodes, half of the Cutest Puppy in the World, creates a very strange listen that I’m not positive about on execution, whether it’s all original work or edited from other sources or both, which I guess is the point as it’s described as “musique concréte”, layering thick clouds of electroacoustic sound. Side A is heavy on the strings and, unable to separate the band name and the music, I couldn’t shake the image of a seagull fighting to maintain stable flight in a coastal wind storm, the same kind of din made by the crashing waves in “Fantasia”. The sound stays pretty consistent throughout, whereas side B is a smooth, gradual change of jazz forms starting with more eclectic, improvisational works and then slowly sliding into an “adult contemporary”, NPR-safe style, while a foundation of upright bass laces it all together. Worth checking out if you already have a series of gallery pedestals or a curio cabinet to keep your folk art in.

http://www.myspace.com/gullwingdoors
http://www.myspace.com/boilerroomemissions

GRASSHOPPER "Kindertotenlieder" c22 (Baked Tapes)

I don't know if you call it serendipity or 'the noise scene being tiny' but just saw these guys played live out here in western mass and really enjoyed it, got a few tapes from Jesse who runs Baked Tapes outta new york and when I got home I said "should listen to some cassette gods jams" and sure enough, top of the damn pile, there's a tape by these guys. Jammed the tape and, though different from their live set, still really enjoyed it.

Grasshopper is a duo both using trumpet and electronics and though brass / wind instruments have been establishing some pretty solid footing in the 'noise' scene the last few years, these guys approach it less from the lineage of free jazz. Well, that's probably not fair at all but they apply a lot less skronk to their palate amd in some parts there are even suggestions of melody or at least the phrasing is consistent enough that you know there's a rhyme to their crime and for me it was a great combination. The timbre of a couple of fucked up inharmonious horns mixed with the 'warmth' of their electronics (which it seemed was often sourced from their horns) was a solid match.

I'm sort of writing interchangeably about their live show and tape because the cumulative effect was similar though it's worth mentioning that the tape is a bit more subdued and the listening is a little more long form. Good stuff both on magnetic tape and in yr face, check em out if possible.

Real nice 'metal' artwork and lettering printed black on vellum.
Not up on the Baked Tapes site yet, but check back or just write to him!
http://www.thebakeryfloor.com/bt/

and their myspace for some sound clips, etc.
www.myspace.com/karlmalonelarrybird

REVERSE MOUTH "Wizard of porks / Garbage Empress" c24 (Deep Fried Tapes)

Remember in thriller when Vincent Price says "Darkness rolls across the land" and the music has been mixed down a bit and tightened up with the bass line carrying the song? He goes on and on about the bugs and dying and everything and it's awesome because it's Vincent Price and Thriller is like the most popular record ever and Michael Jackson is spooning a fuggin TIGER on the cover. Well, what would have ruled more is if Vincent Price said all that stuff and then the music faded away and this tape came on, full focus, right up the noise nose into the listener's mind space and maybe Reverse Mouth could have just illustrated what vincent was saying, people decaying, worms crawling in my eyeballs and all the while this totally tense and not-necessarily jarring, but really really uneasy music just carried the listener back to the zombie dance. That shit woulda been extra scary, and it woulda been dope to be in Reverse Mouth because you could be like "i made the music to the breakdown in thriller, yeah, you know, the really intense and scary part." Also, it'd be dope to be in Reverse Mouth because you'd be in a good band.

Printed in an edition of 50, still available from the label,
which it's worth noting, has a TON of great stuff out.
http://www.deepfriedtapes.org/

THE JAGUAR "Primal Dimension" c30? (Sky Fi Industries)

First off, I have to say that a name like "The Jaguar" for a band is bordering on daring. You remember the trend among avant-indie groups a while back to drop "the" from their animal band name specifically because it got ANNOYING and a million people were doing it, not necessarily because the bands were awesome. That's one reason you notice the conspicuous "The" at the beginning. The article is also significant because it suggest that this dude is THE singular, all powerful, not to be reckoned with Jaguar, unlike any other non-descript jungle animal. This dude is a definite article!

Anyway, this tape is a good listen, though it doesn't stand out like Clint Eastwood does if here were named something like "The Jag." Allusions to Eastwood are probably misleading anyways considering this tape has a definite 'sci-fi' vibe to it. You can totally picture the b-movie 'control panel' flashing and some dude in a spray painted jump suit forcing a frightened "i can't control her!" out. Though not to relegate this tape to the bloopy, semi-synth space station- there's a lot more going on.

The first side has some nice gargled voice moments and a real nice horn section / electronics on opium vibe wraps it up; also notable is what sounds like electronics if you could play them with a bottleneck slide. The second side is a lot thicker and artery clogged, sounds not so much like burning yr bridges as it does letting off a smoke bomb at the baby shower.

Black and white covers on yellow paper, yellow transparent tapes.
Edition of 125, still available from the label:
http://www.skyfi-industries.com/

THE DEAD BARON: “The Great Tape Escape” c20 (Wheaton Records)

The familial bass & drum duo of Stevo and Marcus Lazcano riff out on this single song per side display of headbangerage. And when I say riff, I mean RIFF. These guys entrench themselves into a groove and they stick to it. I’m not exactly saying that it’s a good thing, to be honest, the songs don’t really seem to go anywhere. The assumed vocals are nearly inaudible and the the drums tend to overpower the entire recording. Also, it’s actually only about 16 minutes long, with about four minutes of silence after the first track, and with titles like “Art is Dead” and “Noise on the March”, it tends to give off a sneaking dispostion of being sort of uninspired. I’m not saying that all of these are shortcomings either, I can see this being a really great live show, harkening to the bump’n’thud of something like Olneyville Sound System. I’m uncertain, but I also think this is their first formal release, so although it leaves a little to be desired, they still have plenty of time to develop their sound. We’re already tapping our feet, that’s gotta be half the battle.

Comes with B&W xerox insert, limited edition of 50 copies.

http://wheatonrecords.com/

SHEP & ME/CAETHUA: s/t split

I don’t actually know who put this out, how long it is, or anything like that. Dan Beckman handed it to me and there’s no indentifying marks except for who is on it and on which side, that’s it. Nonetheless, I’m going to try and write about it as cohesively as possible. Both of these artists currently hail from Belfast, Maine and although they both can be described as “experimental folk” (for the sake of putting names on things), there’s definitely enough of a contrast between the two, with Shep’s caterwaul opposite Caethua’s ambience, to make for an interesting listen.

Shep and Me is the identity of Matthew Himes and friends, howling balladry over low-volume, fuzzed-out guitars, dogs barking, and electronics rattling. Himes’ voice is gruff yet high-pitched, warm and inviting, like a campfire, you want to be near it, but certainly not in it. This is full-on campfire music, sitting on picnic tables underneath the canopy on a scout trip.

Caethua is Clare Hubbard, who can also be seen in the improv noise band D.B.H. and her own totally fucked rap act, Sports. Although she shows her incredible singer/songwriter chops on both piano and acoustic guitar in this format, she doesn’t leave the noise behind, connecting all of her songs into one long track with garbled organics of birds singing and water boiling (at least that’s what it sounds like).

Comes with a one-color silkscreen insert. I don’t know where you can find it, but I think this might actually be a preview of songs to be put on an LP or something in the future. That’s totally unfounded, but keep your ear to the ground because it’s worth hunting for.

This has in fact been released on LP here in the future world of 2011. check out Himes' label, Lighten Up Sounds - Ed.

http://www.saxwand.com/
http://www.myspace.com/shepandme

HITTY TITTY: “Wee Tee Kah Way Loh” c21 (self-released)

Incredibly cermonial in its execution, Hitty Titty sounds like a Victorian era tea party dance ritual performed by powder poofs affected by years of inbreeding, frolicking in rich, feathered costume, deformed but dedicated.

Molly Colleen O’Connell is a musician/illustrator living in Baltimore and, this being her first formal outing, I think there’s a lot to look forward to from her. Using gentle electronics and baroque yodeling, she weaves a delicate and brief birdsong reminiscent of acts like Lucky Dragons and Lexie Mt. Boys which, for a first recording, is mind-blowing. Superior production and killer packaging (you get all that you see above) make for an incredibly enjoyable listen with tons of replay value. You’ll be flippin’ this one all day long.

http://www.myspace.com/hittytitty
http://www.lostghostsrecords.com/ (in the distro section)

AMBERGRIS: “Anti-Matter Alma Mater” (Potlatch, I Gather Tapes)

To continue with George’s theme of label debuts, along comes Matthew Thurber’s Potlatch, I Gather, a tape label dedicated to releasing “books on tape”, radio-play type stories with musical backgrounds of Thurber’s own creation. This first release was used as the soundtrack to an art exhibit of the same name done in collaboration with Rebecca Bird and appearing in both Switzerland and Brooklyn last year. It follows the story of a character named Charles who returns to his old school, the Carrot University of Time Travel, for a class reunion. He begins talking to an old classmate and former girlfriend, a twin made of crystal, who tries to jog his amnesia-affected memory of his past, but he continues to only draw a blank as his frontal lobe has been stolen, presumably by a third, malcontented classmate. With bells and chimes reminiscent of Dungeons & Dragons audio adventures, and Thurber’s distinct brand of Beefheart calypso, he spins this tale of desperation on side one. But on side two, entitled “Wormhole”, he stays strictly musical and details through his lyrics how, as he writes, “the same characters find themselves trapped in a Wormhole for all eternity, due to poor study skills”. Although the overlaps of voices can become confusing at times, the story is still relatively straightforward and, being adept at keyboard, ukulele, and saxophone, the composition of the music proves itself as remarkably proficient.

If you still can’t follow the story, you can pick up one of his comics, which oftentimes contain stories involving the same characters and concepts from Picturebox books. If you still can’t figure out what’s going on after that, I don’t know what to tell you.

Comes with xerox insert and paint pen, hand-decorated tapes.

http://www.ambiguousmass.org/
http://www.myspace.com/ambergrisjr

SWORD OF THE ANCIENT: “head of the tide” (Trd W/d)

Just as a cold wind whispers secrets in your ear, standing in an abandoned, but not yet dilapidated house that you wandered into through the woods in your backyard, such is Sword of the Ancient. Kristen Myers and Amy Moon O.S., both members of Uke of Spaces Corners County, head out on their own with these ghost moans and dulcet tones, like a femalular Russian Tsarlag, seemingly there to scare, but actually apparitioning just to comfort and maybe tell a story or two. Like white witches singing siren spells, every instrument on this tape has a voice. I’ve never heard a violin speak with such tragic loss. Drum drones and chants lull you into a dream and have you singing their incantations like “pencil, pencil, paper” and “I’m going to talk and talk until my face falls off” long afterward.

I’m unsure of the actual length, but it’s LONG, eight songs per side, a really full listen, bang for your buck (if you want to put it that way). Comes with xeroxed insert in clear poly box.

P.O. Box 286
Belfast, ME
04915

BLUE SABBATH BLACK FIJI: “The Night Hawk” c30 (Dokuro)

French guitar duo, now living in Ireland, BSBF are a psychedelic onslaught of tropical space bananas, both shredding and surfing their six-strings over an erlenmeyer flask full of rainbow waves. Side A alternates between Star Trek red alerts and galactic steel drums, bouncing dissonance and disco Cylons, while side B is a more direct endeavor of Sonic Youth-riffs over grunged-up drum machine, closing your eyes and doing head circles to take your chi outside and stretch it’s muscles. A vivid and varied listen without traveling too far out of it’s own solar system.

Comes with full-color wraparound covers and labels, sold out from Dokuro, but should still be available from various distros. With a number of tapes and CD-Rs under their belt, and more on the way, you can definitely find something by them somewhere on the World Wide Web.

http://www.myspace.com/bluesabbathblackfiji

NO SOUND: “Gay KK” dbl-cs (Feeding Tube Records)

No Sound’s Ted Lee self-releases the soundtrack to his new movie, “Gay KK”, a menacing onslaught of cut-ups and reflections with the ongoing symbol of a pink triangle-shaped mask. Lee is an incredible documentarian, taping nearly every live show in Western Massachusetts, but here we find him picking up on the subtleties of the everyday objects that surround him and showing how an idea as simple as talking on the phone next to a lake can be made into compelling filmmaking. This double cassette covers most, if not all of the ground covered in the movie, starting out with hypnotic accordion pumps and rapid-fire sound clips that are impressively epic in their arrangement, like a lo-fi “2001”. This is followed by a somewhat exhausting live set, only because of the calamitous recording not fully capturing all of the subtleties of his set-up of demon-fast drumming and ring modulated vocals. The guy really does have an incredible amount of energy.
Tape two takes more of a “straightforward” approach with Lee playing quizzical pop songs while jumping from instrument to instrument, including organ, guitar, drums, and even layered vocals. A satisfying portrayal of a confusing mind.
Comes in a white cassette album with color cover and sticker in an edition of 35. This might already be sold out, but he has a new GOLD vinyl LP, and you can see most of the film here, as well as an endless amount of other interesting footage. You can probably throw out your TV now.

http://www.myspace.com/nosounddelights

ISRAELI INTELLIGENCE "Buffalo Hump, Moon Face, Thin Skin" c20 (Grimology Records)

Just had a conversation with my friend Sam from Brattleboro about the "scene" in vermont, trading notes on the few things we knew about and him giving me the low-down on a few things i didn't know anything about. Sure enough a package arrives today from self described "frozen northern vermont" from the Matt @ the Grimology label, something neither Sam nor I knew about, probably because it's like 2 hours of frozen wilderness away. Well, either way, its on the unfrozen internet now, so you all have no excuse.

This tape by Israeli Intelligence hailing from California, titled "Buffalo Hump, Moon Face, Thin Skin" is a real scorcher; two ten minute sides of unrelenting mischief and burn. Not so much like a wildfire out of control turning rich people's estates in embers, but more like a high pressure blast furnace on the intense end of the sound spectrum and on the other end with occasional breaks and voiced outbursts the burn would be better described as a semi-toxic melting plastic toys on yr dad's grill type of sound. Does music actually sound like that? Did I just describe a tape as sounding somewhere between a blast furnace and a pyromaniac 11 year old? Jeez...

Anyway, some good stuff on here in particular the ascending bass tones and vocal stuff that peers through the wall of noises make for a more dynamic listen. It makes sense a totally snowed in igloo-crew would be psyched on playing / releasing this stuff in their house driven near mad by months of trying to fight off hail, ice and hypothermia all the while dreaming of a white hot california sun burn.

Black and white cover features a totally googley-eyed dude that reminds
me of that scene in Un Chien Andalou where they cut that guys eye in half
that almost makes me puke every time.

Edition of 50, still available from the label:
http://www.grimeology.com/home.html

ORDINARY MACHINERY: “Stand While Fields Pass” c20 (Three Songs of Lenin)

I’m not particularly well-versed when it comes to field recordings. In fact, this is probably the first one I’ve listened to where any part isn’t prefaced by “do you know what animal makes this sound?”. Nonetheless, Scott “Work/Death” Reber makes this one a memorable listen. The only notes included within are “recorded while others slept, at work under highways, near electricity, and refrigeration”. Apparently, Scott has been working third shift for the last few years and, combining said sounds of car tires bumping, water dripping, and white noise buzzes, he totally expemplifies that feeling of dancing around the border into late night mania when left to one’s own devices. Sometimes harsh, but always ambient, you’re left almost nervous when the tape clicks off and the hum disappears, like the silence of a power outage. This isn’t his frist endeavor into “found sound” editing but, without downplaying his other releases, I found this to be surprisingly dynamic and probably my favorite thing I’ve heard from him thus far.
Comes in Scott’s signature packaging style of Crass fonts and neutral 2-color screenprint insert.

PO Box 29680
Prov., RI 02909

CARCINOGENIC STATIC CARNIVAL: "Live at Zebulon" (Massdist)

I'm always in admiration of musicians who challenge themselves to work outside of their assumed confines, those that have the ability to branch out to other genres while still carrying the charisma of their regular work with them. Colin Langenus is the embodiment of this lifestyle, playing every single type of music from rap to blues to folk, and now, with this arrangement, funk. "Live at Zebulon" find Langenus gathering his friends once again for another epic project chronicled here in four long but killer tracks.
What I enjoy about Langenus is that he never does anything half-assed. Any other person trying their hand at this would just play the music, same ol' line-up, bass, drums, and guitar. What Langenus possesses is an inherit knowledge of what makes music great, how to make a full sound, in this case, adding various horns and, this is what totally does it for me, JAZZ FLUTE. The result is easily comparable to any of Stevie Wonder's earlier works, keenly dead-on instrumentation. Although a little more King Crimson than Parliament at times, the more intensely rocking parts take nothing away, they just make you want to bob your head even more. I suppose most ears might define this as "noise-funk", but the noise feels pretty minimal on this, just slight background gurgle on the last track. This is really more a display of the talent of the musicians within than anything else. If there's anything I'm disappointed about in Langenus' side projects from Usaisamonster, it's that they aren't given a larger light. Given, I might be slightly biased as his solo album, "Living with the Rock", is one of my favorite albums of all time, but considering the strength of most of his discography, I'm gonna keep buying what he's selling.

http://massivedistribution.com/

HORSE BOYS: s/t c40 (OSR Tapes)

Zach Phillips, Northeastern man about town and relentless musician breaks out his piano chops on this c-40 of lo-fi songsmithing. Zach can also be seen in bands like Cave Bears, Sord, Heat Wilson, Snake Guts, and his electronic project, Nals Goring, but this tape finds him cutting out all the extras and making simple but ideally produced songs, and a lot of them, 38 to be precise. Mostly titled with a structure of “What is ‘X’ Like”, the songs are sometimes fast and panicky, but mostly more relaxed, leisurely strolls across classic novels you’ve been meaning to read, think Erik Satie after a couple cups of coffee recording on a boom box at home. Gently peppered with some field recordings and tape collage, these songs could easily be the soundtrack to a Michel Gondry movie, best listened to with headphones on rainy afternoons, doing crossword puzzles or writing to friends.
Edition of 100, comes in a handmade sleeve with color copy insert.

http://osr-tapes.info
http://www.myspace.com/horseboys