ANGEL EYES - "Dire Dish" c36 (Not Not Fun)
\Another mysterious and wonderful fruit drops from the colourful and winding tree that is Not Not Fun.Angel Eyes is a one man show, although going by what this tape has to offer audibly, you'd think there were at least 10 musicians playing these songs.This is ultra-layered and carefully pieced together drone magic.The synthesizers seem to go on for an eternity, swirling and swelling up like giant bubbles along the way.Dire Dish starts of slow, with a grainy, slow-as-molasses percussive swagger that could pass for a tattered Sun Araw 45 on 33rpm.Soft synthesizer tones begin to pile high, as he demonstrates some rather clever stereo panning, giving it a rich full sound.Dreamy dub-guitar wails come into play, and slowly get lost in the textured synth arrangements.A bit of calm, slightly delayed chanting rises up from the haze, like a dense smoke floats up from a campfire.The lyrics are pretty incoherent, but it seems that he is utilizing the tone of his subtle voice, and adding it to the vast, slow-burning swells around him.
As Dire Dish echoes on, things actually begin to slow up a bit more with each track, providing a perfect canvas for his distant voice to spill it's lengthy, mumbled words over.It's almost as if you are listening to a single 36 minute movement, with just a few breaks every so often.Usually this means there's a lack of progression and intrigue in a recording, and generally bores me to death, but Angel Eyes knows how to hold your attention, and provides more than enough catchy analog drones and climbing string arrangements.Even his silent lulls are pleasant breaks, somewhat necessary to what he is trying to achieve.Imagine Growing or Belong's ethereal swirling, with Sun Araw's guitar and vocal echoes laid over top, and you're getting the idea.I hear a bit of dub influence at times, with a low, crawling bass lines and dense, percussive clicks and thuds that rest below them.A perfect concoction to back his vocal style, in my opinion.If you have the attention span for things of this nature, you will want to pick this up immediately over @ Not Not Fun.
YORK FACTORY COMPLAINT "Will & Testament" c60 (Robert & Leopold)
Two sides of dense, shrill, mind entombing noise orchestration. This tape, which comes in a nicely designed (simple) j card, presents two sides "will" and "testament" from which they cleverly draw the title.
The first side, "will" is the more 'active' of the sides, with intense mechanical burrowing and swirling metallics forcing their way to the front. Parts were reminiscent of some of my favorite MACRONYMPHA recordings, where it sounds like a street fight with only sheet metal as weapons. Aggressive, dangerous and somewhat restless.
The second side, "testament" had a much slower feel, at least for the first half, suggesting an emptiness or abandon that worked well after the frenetic first side. The space doesn't last for too long, being filled slowly with looping sounds becoming more and more dense and unmovable while not succumbing to the too frequent impulse of creating a blown out wall of noise. They do a good job of letting all the pieces make something larger and grosser than what we've all heard too many times in a blown out over distorted mess.
check their tumblr page for more sound clips and info:
http://yorkfactorycomplaint.tumblr.com/
EARTHEN SEA "WAVES" c40 (Imminent Frequencies)
Two sides of drone.
First side is primarily organ work and develops
and layers and folds and unfolds without creating
too much disruption to the surface of the drone
but enough to keep you rolling with the piece and
not feeling like you're listening to one tone for
20 minutes.
The second side is way more euphoric and the side
I'm partial to, being much warmer and analog feeling
with a distinct refrain/break in the middle.
Boooooooooooooooooth
siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiides
arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre
veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery
gooooooooooooooooood
Released by the Imminent Frequencies label and available,
with sound clips!, at the source:
http://imminentfrequencies.blogspot.com/
JUNG BULLS "S/T" c20 (New Visions)
This self titled tape, which feels more like an EP because of the songs and variation, is a compelling piece of magnetic tape and plastic. JUNG BULLS is Jeff Somers who, with small exception, is responsible for everything on the tape.
When the tape opened, I almost immediately shut it off and put back my Chantels LP. More 'hypnagogic' influenced pink-mud pop stuff. Thinking "hasn't this passed already?" Are people still apeing this? But I let it ride, trying to look passed the now cliche phasered/over-revered semi-nasal vague pop sensibility to see what happened. Unfortunately, not a whole lot of the first song. Instead of all of the elements combining into a taped over, sonic dreamscapade, it felt like all of the parts were running into each other, getting in the way of the larger picture, all parts overly effected/affected and consequently ineffective.
The second track was a step back or to the side. A bit more straight pop like 'indie rock' for lack of a better phrase and Jeff is clearly more comfortable and able to float some strong melody to the front while everything else sort of chugs along, playing their supporting role. Nothing outstanding or stuff that is going to get stuck in your head but it's clear there's some agency in this writing, whereas the first track (Growin Split) felt like auto-pilot, this song (Natural Sounds) gives the impression there is a musician in the room.
I see the strengths of slowgaze/hypnagargle, etc in a strong sense of self and the fusing of that identity with decayed, washed out, fused/melted tones creating something singular and expressive. It seems too often people think "phaser" and "plodding drums" with a "VHS aesthetic" will convince people there's some strength to the actual music when there is not much but smoked out mirrors.
JUNG BULLS, especially on the second side shows a lot of promise in bringing an ability to toy around with a lot of styles, the clean guitar and whispy vocals on the first track, the fuzzed out bass and revealing arrangements on the second song and then back to a much lighter version of the phaser/keyboard/muddiness on the last.
Again, though none of them are running through my head, making me replay the tape, I think with some time all of the pieces that make up these songs can begin to interact and stand on their own, separate from the overbearing influence of right now, turning into something very singular and very much a byproduct of the obviously talented mr somers. When that happens, homeboy is gonna drop a real memorable slab of wax.
JUNG BULLS Links:
http://www.myspace.com/jungbulls
http://jungbulls.bandcamp.com/
The Deeep - "Life Light" c40 (Not Not Fun)
NNF is pretty consistent with their artistic output, especially in the last two years or so.Everything they release is sure to be quite inventive, unique, and visually stimulating.When I received this little gold tape a few weeks ago, I wasn't really sure what to expect.The album begins with a song called 'Meadow Dusk', a slow moving, synthesizer-powered escalator up into the black void.Isla Craig's deeply soothing, lush vocal passages soar above the twirling electro pulses, with a range that seems to be kind of never ending.She holds her notes out for a lengthy stretch at times, and uses a bit of a nice, controlled flutter when she want to.Some of these melodies are absolutely stunning.Things tend to drift into more various new and old waves from the last two decades or so, and subtly thump and beep away, just below her beautiful voice patterns.The duo also like to dip into more soft synths and acoustic bouts, if only for a few seconds.Wolfgang Nessel's seemingly unlimited source of electronic warble and keyboard interplay runs rampant throughout these songs, not necessarily keeping time, nor a steady pace, leaving the vocals to glue everything together.
I'd be lying if is said there aren't parts of this that are reminiscent of Lover's Rock era Sade swooning, a bit of Mum's trickling miniature melodies, or Broadcast's more ethereal moments on the recent Focus Group collaboration.But, The Deeep are indeed on their own wave, pulling from plenty of unique influences, but none of them are painfully clear, and it makes for an interesting and mysterious listen, to say the least.Compelling stuff.A fantastic debut.Watch for them in 2011.
DAN GREENWOOD "GUTS:RENDER" (Greenwood Electronics)
guts:render is a triple cassette audio collage. composed by
Dan Greenwood of diagram a. using material that he collected from Chris Cooper of fat worm of error, Patrick O'neil of skin crime, and Dominick Fernow of prurient, Dan concocts a seamless soup of raw sounds. for good measure he adds material from eight years of home audio experiments of his own. you can't tell what is what with this recording. even if you are a seasoned veteran of the sounds that some of these people have produced. Dan does an adequate job, muffling and chopping the sources at his disposal. that being said, the cherry on top of this release is the addition of some old raw sounds provided by his former accomplice, John Brown. together as proof of the shooting, John and Dan carved a little corner of their own out of the late 1990's harsh noise scene. this release seems to put in motion an epilogue of sorts to the legacy of their body of work together. as vastly underrated and unknown as they were.
i don't see any reason to explain to you here the impact that the work of Chris Cooper, Patrick O'neil, or Dominick Fernow has had on the sub culture of noise and sound art. Dan chooses to include his friends (and influences) here to broaden the spectrum of your listening pleasure. Alicia Renadette does a great job on the art work for this too. a smoky spray paint color collage to trip on while you listen to all three tapes at once.
if you savor the sweet sound of harsh cut up home brew lo-fi audio sweat. then i suggest you get in touch with Dan at : http://greenwoodelectronic.blogspot.com
Dan Greenwood of diagram a. using material that he collected from Chris Cooper of fat worm of error, Patrick O'neil of skin crime, and Dominick Fernow of prurient, Dan concocts a seamless soup of raw sounds. for good measure he adds material from eight years of home audio experiments of his own. you can't tell what is what with this recording. even if you are a seasoned veteran of the sounds that some of these people have produced. Dan does an adequate job, muffling and chopping the sources at his disposal. that being said, the cherry on top of this release is the addition of some old raw sounds provided by his former accomplice, John Brown. together as proof of the shooting, John and Dan carved a little corner of their own out of the late 1990's harsh noise scene. this release seems to put in motion an epilogue of sorts to the legacy of their body of work together. as vastly underrated and unknown as they were.
i don't see any reason to explain to you here the impact that the work of Chris Cooper, Patrick O'neil, or Dominick Fernow has had on the sub culture of noise and sound art. Dan chooses to include his friends (and influences) here to broaden the spectrum of your listening pleasure. Alicia Renadette does a great job on the art work for this too. a smoky spray paint color collage to trip on while you listen to all three tapes at once.
if you savor the sweet sound of harsh cut up home brew lo-fi audio sweat. then i suggest you get in touch with Dan at : http://greenwoodelectronic.blogspot.com
Coppertone - "Best of the first six months" c23 (Night People)
Sasha Weisman is the brains behind Coppertone.She's spent some time in the downer death-pop act Russian Tsarlag, and has recently left her hometown of Providence, RI., to relocate to sunny Los Angeles, CA.Her work under the Coppertone moniker is tuff to tag with any particular genre, and this tape is more of an audible collage of sorts, rather than a proper album.The songs are well written dirges and swells, relying on heavy synths that seem to gyrate in place, then build and break around her subtle-yet-scathing vocal hymns.Hints of dreamy folk harmonies and cold wave synth-arpeggios crash into each other at times, to create something wholly psychedelic and familiar, yet it's still a fresh and inventive listen, that reminds me of Emeralds or PC Worship somewhat.
"Best.." also has it's fair share of wandering drones and colorful washes of distant guitar tones.At times they are barely audible, and leave plenty of room for her dazzling voice to flourish.Most everything is right where it should be, but can fall completely out of place at the same time.This album is also extremely layered, and some things will go unnoticed until your third listen or so.A charm not found in most other things similar to this.Uniquely familiar, and that is definitely a compliment.Give us more.
YVES/SON/ACE - "Unsung" Casette c52 (Night People)
Finally, a new batch of blankness from these guys.YSA have been pretty bust over the last year or so, with more than a few full lengths and ep's under their belt.If you missed the Cold Showers album, it's worth the hunt, indeed.Sparse electronic washes, coupled with tattered minimalist beats and woozy vocals that lie beneath it all.They aren't an easy act to describe, and they are constantly evolving and changing shape.2009's Parade of Thoughts/Can't Sleep LP was a bit of a leap into more accessible, and almost pop-driven terrain for them, with the addition of more subtle melodies and more structured minimal beats, with some catchy runs that carried along a clear and more tuneful vocal delivery.
They continue their hazy voyage into the myst with Unsung, their first release for the Shawn Reed's Night People label.The songs on this cassette are more "listenable" than ever.They are leaning heavy on the pop vibe, with some ridiculously catchy synth and organ lines rubbing up against one another.The still dish out some super minimal percussion that is similar to that "samba" setting on your old Casio keyboard, but with a bit of delays to keep things interesting and more fleshed out.The vocals are a bit more crisp and clear, with more obvious lyrics than before, and there's even a bit of treated acoustic guitar strumming scattered throughout the songs.A nice touch.
Some of this is similar to more recent Factums, especially their new one for Night People.It's those dub-tinged, delay soaked beats that pull this thing along, and keep it moving.Barely any low end rumbling at all, everything is right in the middle, and they do it almost too well.If you like your waves cold, and outsider bedroom pop, this is made for you.Excellent stuff, as always.
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.
FACTUMS - "Guilding The Lilies" C45 (Night People)
Finally!Seattle's Factums bless us with another dose of tortured dub worship and blank, no wave deconstruction, this time in the form of a cassette.If you are still being mesmerized by last year's ultra-inventive "Flowers" LP, as I know I sure am, you will surely fancy this batch of songs just as much, if not more.
Right off the bat, Lilies fills the open spaces with damaged percussive loops, reminiscent of early Suicide and Young Marble Giants' clever minimalist bumps.Every click and rattle are soaked in heavy delays and more than a touch of reverb.Once they have totally hypnotized you with a lengthy clicking drone, they chime in with a creeping synthesizer and those downer vocal slurs that we love them for.These elements all seem to melt together so well for this band, and they continue to belt out something completely different and fresh every time.
The songs on Guilding aren't so similar to what we've been hearing from them recently.There's still a strong presence of Residents-esque no wave weirdness to their music, but things have definitely been toned down in terms of tempo and overall mood.These tunes are fairly laid back and heavy on the dub tip.They tend to drift off into space here and there, but this tape is pretty cohesive in hindsight.Works in fragments just fine, which is how most of their stuff is put together, but I think this album is best listened to in it's entirety.This is a bit of new territory for Factums, if you can imagine that.Fantastic.
COYOTE SLINGSHOT // CAUTION (COMMA) LEMMY
“Jumping Fences With The Road Kill” split
(Sweat Power #004)
a guest review by Josh Landes, culled from the Feeding Tube Records "review a cassette" box
Coyote Slingshot is a frantic burst of plaintive whines, carnivalesque synth lines, and hyperbolically distressed lyrics. It sounds like a diary recitation at a raucous party: there is something very pained and personal to these fractured pop hymnals, but the sheer enthusiasm with which they are delivered pushes them into a frenzied sing-a-long of complete abandon and rapturous release. A touchstone on the path to this interesting and exhilarating sound would be Sunset Rubdown, but this cassette establishes an independent voice for members Dominic Rabalais, Camille Morehead, and Julia Ross. I would like to see this in a dank basement with maximum deranged gyrations. The first track, “I Should Have Killed You When I Had The Chance, If I Had Ever Gotten The Chance To Kill You”, is a stomper. The wordy title speaks to the wry sense of self the passionately rendered tracks impart onto the listener. This is their party. We are the ones in the stupid hats. The second track, “Grace From Terror”, begins with a facile, glee hook, and settles into a heads-down skank-fest with some delightfully rough guitar crunch and group vocals. The band nods to Neutral Milk Hotel and Black Flag on their internet presence, and I can see what they’re drawing from: the sort of lo-fi explosions of NMH cuts like “King Of Carrot Flowers Pts. 2-3” and BF’s grim determination and ‘into the red’ presentation. I like this band; they don’t seem to half-ass a goddamn thing and they have something to yell about.
The Caution (Comma) Lemmy side of the split consists of trembling electronic burbles and pitched squalls eating their way into your head in the background. Warm, gargled waves segue into more fuzzy eruptions. Textures are contrasted on the second track (“Senti-Mentali-Tease”) with interventions of heavily distorted and cracked noise landing atop a bed of hums. The third track brings in some vocal samples to languish beneath a heavy serving of whatever has been going on for the last few minutes. Its inability to engage the listener is perhaps due to the brevity of what are best described as aborted suggestions to sound. These propositions seem unfinished and don’t provide a great amount of accentuation to their meandering ideas. The perplexingly titled Caution (Comma) Lemmy remain a cipher to me.
Coyote Slingshot is a frantic burst of plaintive whines, carnivalesque synth lines, and hyperbolically distressed lyrics. It sounds like a diary recitation at a raucous party: there is something very pained and personal to these fractured pop hymnals, but the sheer enthusiasm with which they are delivered pushes them into a frenzied sing-a-long of complete abandon and rapturous release. A touchstone on the path to this interesting and exhilarating sound would be Sunset Rubdown, but this cassette establishes an independent voice for members Dominic Rabalais, Camille Morehead, and Julia Ross. I would like to see this in a dank basement with maximum deranged gyrations. The first track, “I Should Have Killed You When I Had The Chance, If I Had Ever Gotten The Chance To Kill You”, is a stomper. The wordy title speaks to the wry sense of self the passionately rendered tracks impart onto the listener. This is their party. We are the ones in the stupid hats. The second track, “Grace From Terror”, begins with a facile, glee hook, and settles into a heads-down skank-fest with some delightfully rough guitar crunch and group vocals. The band nods to Neutral Milk Hotel and Black Flag on their internet presence, and I can see what they’re drawing from: the sort of lo-fi explosions of NMH cuts like “King Of Carrot Flowers Pts. 2-3” and BF’s grim determination and ‘into the red’ presentation. I like this band; they don’t seem to half-ass a goddamn thing and they have something to yell about.
The Caution (Comma) Lemmy side of the split consists of trembling electronic burbles and pitched squalls eating their way into your head in the background. Warm, gargled waves segue into more fuzzy eruptions. Textures are contrasted on the second track (“Senti-Mentali-Tease”) with interventions of heavily distorted and cracked noise landing atop a bed of hums. The third track brings in some vocal samples to languish beneath a heavy serving of whatever has been going on for the last few minutes. Its inability to engage the listener is perhaps due to the brevity of what are best described as aborted suggestions to sound. These propositions seem unfinished and don’t provide a great amount of accentuation to their meandering ideas. The perplexingly titled Caution (Comma) Lemmy remain a cipher to me.
Favorite Cassettes of 2010
Provided below is a list of my favorite cassettes that were released this year. These aren't in order of enjoyment or interest, and are rather in alphabetical order because there's no competition between these cassettes.
Colored Mushroom & The Medicine Rocks "At Red Frosting" c26 (Wagon): John Elliott's latest foray into synthesizers has expanded by adding two other members to the group. Not only does Elliott and co. put forth the as-expected shimmering tones heard from projects like Imaginary Softwoods and Emeralds, but also incorporate driving rhythms into the mix. At Red Frosting has led me to believe that this is the most accessible Emeralds side project, but I could be exaggerating.
Cyque-Sage "Woven Hare" c40 (Different Lands): Mike Pouw (who also records as Knit Prism) has created some great rainy-day/nighttime music with his moniker Cyque-Sage. Very subtle yet eerie tones begin to oscillate as shuffling, crackles, and clattering interjections weave in and out of the drones; it's hauntingly beautiful. - http://capri.firstpress.net/Differentlands/
Sean McCann "Fable Shop" c49 (Cylindrical Habitat Modules): This seems to be an anomaly within what I've heard from McCann: no sprawling, ambitious orchestrations; here we have murky hums emanating from (what I assume is) a synth engulfed in foggy room ambiance. In a similar league to Cyque-Sage's Woven Hare, Fable Shop has that hermit/claustrophobic quality to it that leaves me both alienated yet subdued.
Colored Mushroom & The Medicine Rocks "At Red Frosting" c26 (Wagon): John Elliott's latest foray into synthesizers has expanded by adding two other members to the group. Not only does Elliott and co. put forth the as-expected shimmering tones heard from projects like Imaginary Softwoods and Emeralds, but also incorporate driving rhythms into the mix. At Red Frosting has led me to believe that this is the most accessible Emeralds side project, but I could be exaggerating.
Cyque-Sage "Woven Hare" c40 (Different Lands): Mike Pouw (who also records as Knit Prism) has created some great rainy-day/nighttime music with his moniker Cyque-Sage. Very subtle yet eerie tones begin to oscillate as shuffling, crackles, and clattering interjections weave in and out of the drones; it's hauntingly beautiful. - http://capri.firstpress.net/Differentlands/
Sean McCann "Fable Shop" c49 (Cylindrical Habitat Modules): This seems to be an anomaly within what I've heard from McCann: no sprawling, ambitious orchestrations; here we have murky hums emanating from (what I assume is) a synth engulfed in foggy room ambiance. In a similar league to Cyque-Sage's Woven Hare, Fable Shop has that hermit/claustrophobic quality to it that leaves me both alienated yet subdued.
Tapes I Like
Here are some newish tapes that I like:
Zaimph "Coast to Coast" C40 (Gift Tapes) - Marcia Bassett of Double Leopards newest...great stuff
Angels in America "Allergic To Latex" (self released) though i think it's now on Digitalis, but probably sold out...try epichotness@hellokitty.com , though that doesn't seem real, does it? Super great out of left field, twentyearolds from Western Mass and Baltimore play it like it ain't been played before, and maybe it's true...
Anthro Rex - all of the recent self-releases have been great, and there are a few, including a split with Id M Theft Able...this from the "front man" of Neanderthal "rockers" Grey Skull. Really deconstructed shit. brings a winsome smile....drop Dan Cashman a line: porkatron88@hotmail.com
Preggy Peggy & the Lazy Babymakers/Hjuler und Frau ++ Colorguard/Ashley Paul splits - both from a Serbian (?) label that I believe is called Male Bonding (actually it's called No Basement Is Deep Enough - ed.), but don't quote me on that. One of them is i n a hand sown "pussy pouch" with public hair, blood and girl-come... contact xtabaywatch@hotmail.com or http://www.myspace.com/xtabaywatch
Mirror Tapes - located in Malaysia (again, ?) is putting our some cool looking reissues of noise and electronic music: Conrad Schnitzler, M.B., etc...http://www.mirrortapes.blogspot.com/
also gotta give it up again for Night People and Goaty Tapes whose releases are always little gems in the packaging and audio continuity department. Nice when one artist defines the look of a label. Most of their releases sound great, and they for damn sure look good on your shelf.
last, but not least, Sounds Of The Indian Snake Charmer, Vol. 2 a follow-up to the out of print first LP. Recorded by Aaron Dilloway in India...it is, as advertised, that wonderful music that snakes like to jam to so dearly - - http://www.hansonrecords.net
Zaimph "Coast to Coast" C40 (Gift Tapes) - Marcia Bassett of Double Leopards newest...great stuff
Angels in America "Allergic To Latex" (self released) though i think it's now on Digitalis, but probably sold out...try epichotness@hellokitty.com , though that doesn't seem real, does it? Super great out of left field, twentyearolds from Western Mass and Baltimore play it like it ain't been played before, and maybe it's true...
Anthro Rex - all of the recent self-releases have been great, and there are a few, including a split with Id M Theft Able...this from the "front man" of Neanderthal "rockers" Grey Skull. Really deconstructed shit. brings a winsome smile....drop Dan Cashman a line: porkatron88@hotmail.com
Preggy Peggy & the Lazy Babymakers
Mirror Tapes - located in Malaysia (again, ?) is putting our some cool looking reissues of noise and electronic music: Conrad Schnitzler, M.B., etc...http://www.mirrortapes.blogspot.com/
also gotta give it up again for Night People and Goaty Tapes whose releases are always little gems in the packaging and audio continuity department. Nice when one artist defines the look of a label. Most of their releases sound great, and they for damn sure look good on your shelf.
last, but not least, Sounds Of The Indian Snake Charmer, Vol. 2 a follow-up to the out of print first LP. Recorded by Aaron Dilloway in India...it is, as advertised, that wonderful music that snakes like to jam to so dearly - - http://www.hansonrecords.net
LAUHKEAT LAMPAAT "Mystery of Hyyry" c40 [pok]
Handmade cover travels many places most often giggling Finnish brothers Antti and Jaakko Tolvi ring bells, jangle change, gently tap percussion instruments, crazed strings, busy triangles, tablas b-side has your water drums pan flute mystery back for little bells playful and joy.
"This is hot oat! Lauhkeat Lampaat have found new views for their sounds. What used to be a mountain is a huge pile of bubble gum now and what used to be a straw is now an old tree dropping its seeds on your head. Call it free, call it impro, anyway the brothers and their guest have done something special for you. Hand made sleeves." pok
http://www.haamu.com/pok/catalogue.htm
AARON ZARZUTZKI & NICK HOFFMAN "Opening Band" c10 [Pilgrim Talk]
Opening Band is the accompanying cassingle to Aaron Zarzutzki's and Nick Hoffman's full-length clatter platter, the Psychophagi LP also on Pilgrim Talk.
The two side-long pieces were culled from the same recordings as the LP but didn't fit on the vinyl. Bite-size morsels are actually really nice for this sort of thing. I'm not exactly sure what sorts of materials were used to create this, apparently Zarzutzki's weapon of choice is some sort of customized/disassembled turntable. I don't hear any records being played so I imagine Zarzutzki's got other plans. Hoffman (Veyou, Katchmare, the Pilgrim Talk and Ghost & Son labels) on the other hand is on the even vaguer outfit of objects and electronics. The first side titled "Chicago Make Some Noise!" wastes no time delving into a nightmarish free-improv zone whipping up enormous noises that sound like dragging a metal shelf across a concrete floor. After a bit of silence and pitter patter, the boys start in again with a constant, vibrating sine tone and another heavy freak out sounding like that shelf being torn apart.The second side "No One Knows How to Party like Chicago" starts up with what sounds like a sputtering upright bass before one of them asks "Are we recording?" "Yeah" "Oh shit, I didn't know you started." The previous side moved between moments of silence and extreme volume, high peaks and deep valleys, while this side features a larger quantity of sounds being made throughout, some sounding like cymbals or metal pots and others of a more jagged electronic nature.
I dig that these guys are so rooted in the acoustic side of electro-acoustic improv, as it comes out more detailed than the more typical overloaded mixer noise stuff. The duo is incredibly dynamic, able to navigate nimbly between silence and frightening loud clatter. I haven't been able to decide whether I prefer the tape or the record, it usually ends up depending on how much time I have to listen. Whether you treat the tape as a taster, a companion piece or its own release, it is a cool piece of work and the first of what I hope to be many more releases from this new Chicago duo.
PALE BLUE SKY "Souvenir" c23 (Jugular Forest)
The minimal synthesizer compositions of the Arbor label founder Mike Pollard have always fascinated me. From his work as Treetops to his latest moniker Pale Blue Sky, Pollard has proposed top-notch soundscapes. What makes his work so unique is its sonic capabilities; it doesn't present itself as a mind-blowing spectacle as much as it does provide a moderate amount of sound that seems too skeletal to ignore.
With Souvenir, we have five simply beautiful pieces. Unlike other synth-utilizing contemporaries, the tone is very warm and emphasizes lower frequencies. These particular frequencies aren't the kind that would shake the speakers, but instead fill the room with a calm rumble. Every pulsating tone that Pollard generates overlaps into an enveloping blanket of keys that remains subtle and understated, even at its most lush moments ("Lay, Wait" for example). Field recordings are also creatively utilized on the closer "Fell" which translate into a subdued crackle rather than revealing any discernible outdoor sounds. To summarize, Pale Blue Sky stuns me once again (this being the second release I've heard aside Shades of Grey) with this gorgeously-suited-for-analog, 23-minute opus. Highly recommended.
Limited to 75 cassettes, with a nicely simplistic fold-out j-card.
http://arborinfinity.com/palebluesky.html
http://jugularforest.com/
BERBER OX "Minor Tranquilisor" c56 [Stunned]
The title of this brand new tape on Stunned is no joke. Berber Ox is a project of Aussie David Rutledge and his tape delivers some serious "tranquilisation" divied out at a glacial pace.
The first of the four pieces "The Sister Phase" is by far the chilliest of the tape. And I mean fuckin' freezing! The damn thing could put you into some kind of hypothermic coma. Don't take that the wrong way as this piece is very engaging, but it gives you that pins and needle feeling you get when exposed to extreme cold. Overall, Rutledge devises an extremely minimal composition, employing only a couple oh-so-important drones. From there though, Rutledge will occasionally drop in manipulated tones that don't disrupt the heavy zone going on, but in fact intensify it. Some seriously expert drone work here! The second track, "Circadian," totally changes things up with a field recording of what sounds like walking through a quiet market or something. There are some foreign-language pop songs, motorcycles revving, people chattering. What I really love about the piece is it sounds like there is actual movement here; for instance, one song will come through loud and clear and gradually disappear as other sounds clutter the headphones and without noticing it another song will become barely audible and slowly come into focus. I don't know if the recordist physically moved through the sounds while recording or if it's just a great editing job but it's effective either way.
The flipside features the drones, muffled speech and distant thumping drums of "Carry Only the Money." There's a loud creaking chair of all things that pops up early in the piece leading to a small explosion of field recordings of whats like people moving stuff around. If you ever longed for a soundtrack to your move, here it is! After lots more chattering, Rutledge shifts things into an impenetrable looming wall of drones. Rutledge bookends the tape with another straight drone track, the final piece, "Kali Star."
Very cool tape. Recommended for fans of patient, minimal drones or extensive field recordings. And if you dig both then check this out pronto.
This also has some of Phil French's best artwork yet, all colored pencil too!
CHRISTWRONG "EP" C9 [Control Force]
Awesome semi-joke black metal/punkcore from Moscow, ID. This is nothing new, just done awesomely! You know these people mean business with titles like "Stalinchrist," "Blood for Blood Sake," "My 100 Snaken Angers," "The World is Now Crusher" and lyrics like "Wild life has left here/No deer!/Only tank with snout of swine/No pine!" "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater is for fucking chumps," and "Feed my fucking hate you when you lie!/My trash will more survive you DIIIIIIIE!"
All songs are a minute long and not particularly distinguishable from each other but on the other hand, they all rule equally hard! There's total raging from all involved and even a few fun guitar leads. A most excellent way to spend 9 minutes, multiple times!
Tapes are all gone as far as I know, but you can download the mp3s along with cassette artwork and lyric sheet at the label's website. Czech it out!
CHARLIE MCALISTER - "COLD WAVES" - C30 - (SPACE CULT)
if you plunder your resources both electronically & in print, from the last couple decades you may find some words here and there throughout the sub-underground about the crazed madman antics of one c. mcalister. its the stuff that legends are born from, or so it seems. since the mid 1980s up until present day charlie has been constantly churning out his own brand of what-have-you glory on many a micro-label and beyond. his discography could fill a gin tub, with upwards of 80 or so tapes, records, cds, books, videos, jars of sauce, experiments...not to mention drawings, paintings, performances, etc. etc.
he smears and blows spontaneous creative juices like a rabid dog, and throughout the years he never seems to falter, constantly re-arranging his art. many seem to dub his music "folk" - which is accurate if you take it in the sense of storysongs by and for the people. if there was still a real sense of oral tradition these days, the bog man could rival john henry. its true his mainstay of instrument choices usually consist of the banjo, acoustic guitar, violin, etc...but they seem either handcrafted or inflicted with dry rot. what mcalister does exceptionally well is deconstruct pop melody and craft his own self described psych dixie music. and it dosent end there...the influences are vast, and often times change from release to release.
mcalister also compiles from time to time works of sound collage, and cold waves is one such release.
the thing about this release is, although new, if you have been following his output - this thing has seen the light of day at least three times over the years. cold waves keeps cropping up. it leads me to belive this album has been in a constant state of flux. additions and subtractions. new cover images replace the old, which still seem to bleed through on the xerox. previous track listings scrawled over. new catalog numbers...
well it seems that it has reached some sort of apex with charlie dubbing it under his new label moniker space cult (previously tar owl / previously flannel banjo) - and what you get is a wild ride shifting spasticly all over many terrains. re-worked audio detritus. hypnotic rhythms from which no samplers were used. everything is as organic as dirt. skipping records made from various household ingredients being applied, and actually occasionally being constructed of said ingredients. meat, asbestos, wood, metal. interlaced are the sounds of horns, organs, steel drum, boxes and cans. you name it. both brooding and soothing.
and quite different from other mcalister releases. it may have taken four or five years for this cassette to become fully realized, but it has been well worth the wait.
my suggestion : reach on into that satchel, pull out a few clams, put them in an envelope, and mail it off into
the abyss. in a fortnight you are sure to receive a mangled manila envelope full of sweat and goodness.
C. MCALISTER : PO BOX 20095 / CHARLESTON, SC / 29413
and if you are feeling like frying plenty of past releases are still available if you know where to look.
i would recommend starting with : DOORMAT TX, UNREAD, LITTLE MAFIA & TICK-TOCK.
HARTLEY C WHITE "Run the Gauntlet" c60? (Whopazootic Music, 1991/99)
Hartley C White's body of recordings is like a hug in the face -- it's pretty alarming to jump into this music, with its ultradeveloped internal language of martial-arts-inspired snare rhythms, extreme-front multitracked vocals, keyboard bass & dissonant-consonant treble attractions. "Who-pa-zoo-tics": it's a cold pool at first but you can really, really swim in it.
Hartley's freaked out about various salient factors of modern existence but this album isn't a political treatise or anything. It's more like a series of extremely funky martial arts exercises inflected with an existential politics. The music is challenging but not in the ways I think listeners are used to being challenged. The production & arrangements are slick and clear and definitely not hard on the ears. These are nakedly, blatantly good songs, unencumbered by their complex rhythms & strange forms. What's challenging is being with this guy as he puts himself in the danger zone -- White is on the edge of himself.
"The mode of operation isn't hard to see, it can be put to work on you or me." Recorded in 1991, Run the Gauntlet is only the first of 4 albums White's released. His latest Under the Radar was released this year and it expands his already huge world even more. Check out his myspace here to hear samples, get in touch and find out how to order his music. As far as I know all of his albums have been self-released w/ gorgeous art and extensive liner notes / photographs etc. from White's Corona NY "Whopazootic Music" label, and it looks like they are also available as downloads -- support this guy and his amazing music!
PC WORSHIP - "Millenial Kreephaus" c26 (Night People)
PC Worship is back with a boggling new cassette, that is sure to turn our brains into a glowing pink syrupy substance.Millenial Kreephaus is the name of this tiny box of magic.The always exploratory Justin Frye has somehow found time in between his work with the awesome Gary War, and his own mysterious Teeth Mountain ventures, to conjure up twenty six minutes of new fear and wonder.His music is always of a different breed, never really falling into any particular genre, but for "psychedelic" territories.Those of you who were lucky enough to catch the ultra-mesmerizing Dune of Heroin release, and soaked in it, are in for quite a treat.
There's still a fair amount of cave-folk strumming, weird chords stretch out into breezy oblivion without any warning, and return as something completely different.Acoustic guitar fragments chip away and float out to space, and just when you had forgotten about them, they slowly resurface as woozy saxophone squeal.This music relies on blind chance, but doesn't seem to linger in the "jammy" hot zones long enough to get burnt.
Frye's influences are tough to pin, based on his songwriting anyway.His tunes are loose, sprawling jaunts, and rarely end up in the same place that they started.His tortured-yet-tuneful howl soars high above the cluttered instrumentation, with a slight echo treatment that bounces it in every direction.Now, this isn't all noisy freak outs and Jandekian improvisation abuse.Frye tends to discover a pleasant lull in a song, and attach himself to it for a somewhat lengthy run.Gentle guitar drones fill the air with a sweet,light green haze, and it's quite refreshing indeed.Thing shards of melodic beauty float around and pop like tiny bubbles, and there is a low bass tone swelling off in the distance.It's quite a breathe of fresh air.
Underneath all of the fuzz and rhythmic clutter, there lies a collection of songs, and if you listen close enough you will hear them flourish.It's time to battle your short attention span, and commit to the long haul, because the payoff is BIG, both musically and aesthetically.
Get this, and other plastic gems from NIGHT PEOPLE.
EMA - "Little Sketches on Tape" c32 (Night People)
This was kind of a nice surprise.It's hard to tell what you might be getting into with a new Night People release, but it's always sure to be fresh and inventive music nonetheless.EMA's newest offering, a 32 minute cassette entitled "Little Sketches on Tape" is just that.Erika Anderson, formerly of the dreamy avant-folk act- Gowns, gives us a beautiful and mysterious cut and paste tape collage.The entire album is made up of completely spontaneous clips of hazy vocal play, fragments of lullabies and soft-spoken poetic charm.The guitars are chopped into a million pieces and given out a bit at a time, notes always bending upward and outward, and disappearing into thin air before an actual chord is constructed.Lush piano strides are thrown in at random and play only a tiny role in this, but add to her woozy melodies quite nicely.Hints of folk and early jazz make their rounds,but no more than to nudge your brain a bit either way,if only for a split second.
These songs possess a heap of charm, a cleverness that lies in the fact that you never really hear a complete "song", in the traditional sense anyway.The polite rush of anticipation and wonder you get from this as a whole, is more than enough to carry it's weight.This is a heartfelt, and deeply personal project,and I really hope we get to hear more from her.Stunning.
Get it from Night People.
PETE SWANSON "Ghost O Clock" c20 [No Label]
Excellent self-released tape from Pete Swanson, formerly known as 1/2 of the Yellow Swans, with a spoo-oo-ooky title perfect for this Halloweekend. I've seen Pete play a couple times solo and he always rules but the first time I saw him was my favorite. He had his trunkload of gear set up per usual but through the performance the dude was just rockin' out, singing his song like the punkest noise dude in history. Anyway, the two side long pieces here are close to that territory. A smidge more mellow than said live set, the darkened cloud of noise on "Side A" features Pete's guitar strums and occasional vocals at its heart with a dusky outer coating. Really great track.The flip side is an even better storm. The song bleeds through more and Pete layers a number of great guitar leads into the swarm. I love that the tape sounds smeary but not without definition. The chords cascade into each other seemingly in haphazard fashion but they all fit into the grand sleepy scheme. The tape sounds great at any hour but it's best at Ghost O Clock.
There's not much that really needs to be said about this; Swanson has been making fantastic music for nearly a decade now and his train keeps on rolling. If you haven't heard any of his solo work yet I highly recommend tracking this cassette down.
Also check out his LP Where I Was for a sampler of Pete's series of tapes over the past year or two.
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