The Answer Is In The Beat

Long Distance Poison: Lama Nada tape (Hausu Mountain, 2015)

November 29, 2015 at 9:46 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

LDP take their longform lunar modular/analog explorations to Hausu Mountain on one of their most recent tapes (it’s hard to keep track of this prolific group sometimes). The two sidelong space probes take a while to unfold (in typical LDP fashion), but eventually sputtering beats vibrate into vast unending space while everything shimmers and reflects dust. Second side “Eardian Mana” is more varied and twitchy, sometimes verging on malfunctioning or overheating, but it’s all controlled and eventually it edges back to the steady, slowly evolving rhythm. Just wait for that end sequence. Available on Bandcamp.

Prairie: Like a Pack of Hounds (Shitkatapult, 2015)

November 29, 2015 at 8:32 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

It’s officially end of year list season, so (for music geeks like me) it’s time to frantically find music that came out this year that I missed. If you’re in a similar mindset, this is an album you shouldn’t overlook if you’re into strange, dark, unpredictable music. I’m digging through mountains of promo CDs from my job (long story) and this one ended up in my possession, and I put it on without any expectations and was floored. It starts out as dark, broken drone with field recordings, then goes through intense, decaying guitar loops and backwards textures, ending up with some murder folk and shredded guitar noise. This CD also includes the entirety of Prairie’s earlier EP titled I’m So In Love I Almost Forgot I Survived A Disaster. A lot of that EP sounds like Fuck Buttons, but it’s way better, partially because Fuck Buttons is such a terrible band name. Seriously though, Prairie is doing some pretty incredible dark ambient noise folk and shouldn’t be overlooked.

Linear Downfall: Sufferland (self-released, 2015)

November 29, 2015 at 7:57 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

This Nashville-based group has collaborated extensively with the Flaming Lips, but this is the first I’ve heard of their music. Of course, this band’s music is trippy, but it’s also harsh and noisy and violent and schizophrenic. It alternates between sweet and fragile, and thrashy and noisy, echoing some Digital Hardcore bands as well as early Crystal Castles. I missed this group when they played in Detroit this past weekend (I wanted to go, Warren Defever was opening!) and I can only assume they had trouble fitting all their synths on the tiny PJ’s Lager House stage. The synths are always buzzing and on the verge of malfunctioning, and sometimes the beats or rhythms seem off balance. There’s all sorts of rhythmic explosions and glitches, and some of the vocals sound vulnerable and scared. Some of it gets pretty unhinged. There’s some heavy Krautrock-like rhythms, and at one point there’s strange gospel-ish vocals floating around in space. Very unpredictable, bewildering album. Also, like Hit to Death in the Future Head, it ends with at least half an hour of some hard-panned repetitive noise that nobody needs to listen to all the way through. Other than this loop, you can hear/buy the album at Bandcamp.

Exhaustion: Phased Out 12″ EP (12XU, 2015)

November 25, 2015 at 8:32 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Melbourne-based hypnotic repetitive noise-rock. Kind of reminds me of what HEALTH used to sound like. Mark Barrage, an incredible, unique experimental noise artist, is on this recording, so that grabs my attention immediately. “Phased Out” starts out fast and pounding and rhythmic, but then breaks down into formless feedback halfway through. “Colleague” starts out slow and low, with drilling guitars and moaning vocals, but eventually works up a frantic tempo without really changing much otherwise. The second side consists of remixes of the first side’s tracks, but they transform them so much that it’s hard to even hear the resemblance between the remixes and the originals. Mikey Young’s mix of “Phased Out” has a low-bit, thumping electronic beat and lets the lyrics shine, revealing a repeated chant of “crashing down”. A few hints of the original’s piercing guitars appear, as well as some new synth lines. It takes a little longer on this mix for the rhythm to dissolve, and even when that happens, there’s still some looped vocals left over. “Colleague” is remixed by Rites Wild, an incredible Australian darkwave artist who released a great album on Not Not Fun in 2012, and some more tapes as Regional Curse afterwards. Her mix is appropriately slow, minimal, and haunted, and ends with serrated guitar noise echoing in the background underneath the slow, dusty beats.

Les Tourbillons Lacrymaux/Diane Valence: /// split tape (THRHNDRDSVNTNN, 2015)

November 21, 2015 at 8:36 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

The first side of this hissy tape seems to bubble up from out of a dark fuzzy blue fog. Then it floats through a windy, weird-feeling night, the type that makes you feel extra cautious, but everything’s actually fine and there’s nothing to fear. It’s still super windy and it feels like the weather is somehow warping the earth. The last transmission on the A-side is still enshrouded in mist, but there’s a playful pulse suggesting that whatever spirit is lurking inside, it’s smiling somehow. The second side inhabits a similar terrain, but it’s a bit more expansive and certainly more melancholy. It seems like something is calling out from a distance, even if it’s not totally audible. The final piece gets deeper and more overwhelming, but there’s still the familiar cassette warble and hum to contain it and keep it from getting too overpowering. Some of the 30 copies of this tape are still available on Bandcamp.

DØT: Supadorai EP (Car Crash Set, 2015)

November 21, 2015 at 7:44 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Super crazy hard-to-pin-down d’n’b/juke/hardcore madness. This artist has also contributed to the Car Crash Set label as part of similarly nutty projects Pasta Condom and Planet Soap. Hard-edged distorto noisy breaks, shuffling juke/jungle breaks, rapidfire claps, and vaporized rave synths. “Self Licking Cat” is the headspinner, with widdling bass, tough snapping beats, horn blasts, and just piles and piles of pulverizing breaks. The bullit.

Dax J: Shades of Black (Monnom Black, 2015)

November 21, 2015 at 7:29 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Mesmerizing deep-space techno. The straightforward 4/4 tracks pull you into orbit. but then the jungle tracks smack you in the face. “In the Shadows” rivals Special Request for throwback ruffness. “Afterlife” ends the album with more smudged breaks, and it should be longer than 2 minutes. OK, I’m basically skipping over the techno tracks and just talking about the jungle ones. I’m slightly biased. It’s all solid though.