December 11, 2016 at 4:24 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Sister Lake: s/t tape
Regular album-length tape of wayward experiments from Fred Thomas, Dash Lewis, and cellist Kaylan Mitchell, edited from longer improvisations into short pieces. Not as poppy and driving as the recent (and magnificent) Hydropark LP, these are moments which drift, squall, buzz, and linger, and then fade into the next dream sequence. They picked out the choice bits — not necessarily the most high-impact ones, not always the peaks or the most colorful ones, but ones that captured specific moments nonetheless. Sometimes it’s cloudy, and there’s never any indication where it’s going, but it always heads down an intriguing path. The cello seems hidden and non-obvious sometimes, it doesn’t sound as heavy and dramatic as the instrument often does, although there’s moments where it does that too. When drums appear, they’re usually blasted, frazzled and torn apart. Still available from the
Life Like.
December 11, 2016 at 3:29 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Soaker: s/t 7″ EP
Hard sludgy punk-ish rock with echo-heavy rough vocals, sort of resembling a deathrock version of Killdozer. Produced by Carson Cox of Merchandise/Death Index, so it has a similar dark punk-but-not-quite sound to it. The band barely pauses for breath on side A so both songs just barrel through, ending in a patch of swelling noise. The second side is more of the same, piledriving riffs and drums with sparks of feedback. Music for viewing the fucked-up state of the world and having no other reaction but to just laugh and piss all over it.
December 11, 2016 at 2:59 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Votaries: Psychometry
Flannel-clad psych-gaze from Jackson Scott. Androgynous vocals, lush waves of warm, sometimes shimmering guitars, hints of melancholy. Sunbathing music. Seems easygoing and languid, but these are actually pretty concise pop songs, mostly around two or three minutes each. Songs like “Delusion” are nice trippy whirlwinds, while others like “Succumb” are closer to old Flaming Lips but more bubblegum poppy. “Your Bed Is Melting” is more nightmarish, though. “Rainbow Death Revisited” is the laser infinity jam here. I’m hearing people say this band sounds a lot like Deerhunter but I don’t listen to them so I wouldn’t know.
December 5, 2016 at 11:20 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Bendingbus: And With Each Step A Wider And Deeper Dream 7″
Pleasant downtempo instrumental pop made with old-school analog synths. Surprisingly, this doesn’t try too hard to sound retro. It’s not some sort of intentionally kitschy thing like Moog Cookbook (probably a really outdated reference but whatever, I still love their albums). It’s gently playful, but not novelty music. It’s more like an electronic lullaby than anything else, like Solvent putting his kids to bed (or somebody’s kids, I don’t know if he has kids). Or think Raymond Scott’s
Soothing Sounds For Babies, but actually soothing rather than manic, and short and structured to fit on a 45. Or maybe this is an artifact from an alternate universe where Plone became the biggest band in the world, and this is a tour-only 7″ from their 5th world tour following their 8th consecutive #1 album. The dream only gets wider and deeper. The B-side is an even more mellow version of the A-side, for sweeter dreams. Bliss out on
Bandcamp.
December 4, 2016 at 11:08 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Eva Weishaupt: Patriot
With
H.V.R.F. (Hard Vapour Resistance Front) Central Command, we have yet another netlabel that releases way too much material for anyone to keep track of, unless you only devote your time to listening to one label’s output. I definitely love the idea of Hard Vapour though. Too much vaporwave just seems so jokey and memey and gimmicky and effort-free. HV has much more bite to it, it’s closer to gabber and breakcore and IDM. Dream Catalogue and H.V.R.F. know what the fuck they’re doing.
Patriot is my introduction to this label and it’s a total smash. Some of this might’ve been called “braindance” 20 years ago (especially standout “Rex”) but it’s more blown out and aggressive, yet there’s still some more crystalline moments like “Dirigens”. “Minerval” shocks the hell out of some sugary rave chords, but it seems more earnest than some sort of ironic PC Music thing. “Areopagite” is closer to footwork, and it straight up smacks your face. Best debut release of the year? If not the best, maybe the hardest. Free download on
Bandcamp.
December 4, 2016 at 10:54 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Florian Von Ameln: Rvvr (eilean 19)
The jazzy drums and very-nearly-worn-through loops of the opening track hooked me immediately. Then it sounds like hundreds of birds are attacking a string quartet. Then there’s thick, melodic tones and scraggly guitars. Very abstract, but at the same time very directly emotional. Von Ameln has such a unique way of putting together sounds which are wayward and wavy and loose, but yet still make absolute sense. Also, every single track on this album sounds totally different. Such a huge range covered here. Kind of astonished that this guy isn’t more well known. Unbelievably good. Listen at
Bandcamp.
December 4, 2016 at 10:31 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Fish Narc: Fish Snake Narc tape
So as you might have noticed, I’m playing catch-up today, uploading reviews I wrote but never posted and finally getting around to writing about stuff I’ve had for weeks/months and just never got around to. Now that it’s winter I’ll hopefully get around to most of the tapes and downloads (not as many vinyl records or CDs) that people have sent me that I said I’d get to and never did. Pastel Voids has released an enormous amount of music and I’ve only mentioned a few things they’ve put out, but they are deserving of far more press. This is an album of remembrances of TV or movies or concerts. It’s something like lo-fi big-room, cartoon pop, scattered electro, plastic toy rave, bleep-house transmitted from cat whiskers. “(Not As) Nasty As I Wanna Be” might just be Mark Bell’s ghost speaking to us through Fish Narc’s equipment. Other songs trap trap in a hamster wheel, and others beg to be let out of the doghouse. No reason to doubt it when Fish Narc says they really mean it. Available at
Bandcamp (limited tapes/pay what you want DL).
December 4, 2016 at 10:08 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Benoit Pioulard: Seize/Marre 7″
Former WCBN-er Thomas Meluch returns to the 7″ format with this lovely little snapshot. Each copy comes with a postcard, and the music has a similar captured-in-time feeling, especially since the songs were based on writings and recordings from the beginning of the century. “Seize” is a light, pleasant ambient folk tune, but the real treat is “Marre”, a thick cloud of scratchy loops and heavy longing. Also, it’s worth mentioning that this is on an Italian label called Backwards, not the Backwards Records from Denver whose artist Morlox I just reviewed today (or the related Backwards NW from Seattle).
December 4, 2016 at 9:57 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Carson Cox w/ Sam York & Austin Brown: Fire Dance 7″
This 7″ brings together members of Merchandise, WALL, and Parquet Courts, but it sounds nothing like you’d expect. It’s better than you’d expect, actually. It’s some sort of lo-fi new wave goth disco, with synths and drums both live and programmed. The A-side title track is a more uptempo dance jam, with shuffling drums, sizzling synths, and several shades of space-age noises. There’s a lot of layers to this one, but it doesn’t sound over-stuffed, it’s all tuned into the same groove. “Rene”, on the other side, is slower and more industrial. The guitars are sharp and searing, and they swarm around you like hawks, but they’re still no match for the sequencers and battering drum machines, and the vocal chant “memories”. It’s punishing and intense. Pre-order at
Wharf Cat.
December 4, 2016 at 9:37 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Russian Tsarlag: Unexplained American Goat LP
Newest album of ultra-depressive lo-fi creepcore from Carlos Gonzales. His songs seem like they barely hold together, but they actually do, and a lot of them are actually proper songs with verses and choruses. They’re just slow and bleak and use cheap keyboards and minimal guitar. Sometimes there’s radio static transmissions mixed in, or voices captured from the dead and looped. “Screaming in a Car” is a capella and really haunting. “Bellevue” is a tape-loop/keyboard instrumental that seems like it’s stuck in a soap opera and can’t escape. “Along the Way” is just guitar and vocals, and a slight bit more uptempo than the rest. He does a lot with a little, and he has an incredible way of expressing emptiness. It seems a lot more vague than it really is. Very much recommended for the Jandek fan in your life.
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