July 5, 2018 at 9:51 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Alex Crispin: Open Submission tape
Very minimal yet open and resounding ambient pieces which sway back and forth, expressing thoughts and feelings in an unforced manner. It’s pleasant and relaxing, but “Ohko”, with its delicately dripping IDM-like melodies, seems to reflect some sort of concern, and it’s one of the more stirring pieces on the album. “Pharoah” starts out sounding like it’s barely going to squeak out of the gate, but eventually it gets covered in deep, torrential waves of mist. “Cleater” is a Casio dance which turns into a grand guitar duet. Then “St. Stephens” is an ethereal lullaby for pipe organ. Super vast yet at the same time very simple; a standout release without being too far off course.
July 5, 2018 at 9:11 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Carlos Giffoni: Vain LP
The first Carlos Giffoni album in a surprisingly long time is an analog synth soundtrack to a nonexistent movie about a woman with psychokinetic powers. It’s nothing like the harsh, cut-up noise Giffoni was releasing around the mid-’00s, and only occasionally does it resemble the acid techno stuff he was doing at the beginning of the decade, but it still sounds unmistakably like his work. It’s rich and full of mystery, with sorrowful moments like “The Desert” and more playful ones like “We Pay the Price”. “Erase the World” starts out sounding very alien, but then a techno beat slams in and sets things moving, although it still seems a bit out of sync with the other sounds, which drop out before the beat does at the end. Later tracks sort of feel like aural spider webs, with impressive, delicate patterns which seem ready to trap and ensnare. Maybe it’s not quite that ominous, much of the album has a light, curious feel to it, but there’s still something cautious about it. Good stuff in any case.
July 5, 2018 at 8:06 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
The Electric Nature: Shadow Selves Meet In the Light CDr
The Electric Nature are a trio from Athens, Georgia who play a heavy yet spacious form of instrumental rock. The group can sound free and unbound, but they also can hone in on a specific detail and work it until it’s been gnawed to the bone, then they take off and explode into total chaos. This happens during the album’s title track, which is also reprised in a half-hour live version, showing how far they can stretch their ideas when they’re in the moment and feeling truly inspired. In between is “The Walker Between Worlds”, which seems a bit more agitated and anxious, but not quite as focused. Still, worth checking out if you appreciate groups like the Dead C.
July 4, 2018 at 7:31 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Asmus Tietchens: Dämmerattacke
This 1997 album from Asmus Tietchens starts out with a 23-minute glowing orb drone accompanied by rowing boat sounds. The rest of the tracks are shorter, and maybe not quite as panoramic, but they’re still quite stunning in their minimalism and subtlety, exploring higher frequencies (and lower ones, as on bonus track “Schlagschatten”) as well as more fluid tones and textures. Tietchen’s early-’80s synth pop releases on Sky are his most accessible works, but as far as his purely experimental recordings, this is one of his better ones.
July 4, 2018 at 3:57 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Our Solar System: Origins
This Swedish psych group share their name with a Half Japanese album, but it’s hard to think of anything else they have in common. There’s many members of this collective, and they all wear flowing white suits adorned with different symbols, so it’s easy to assume they’re some sort of cult. They share members with groups like Dungen and the Amazing, but they’re a bit more out-there. The album opens with the sidelong epic “Vulkanen”, which stirs and swirls before exploding about 15 minutes in, puncturing into the void with some sporadic distorted vocals. “En Bit Av Det Tredje Klotet” and “Monte Verità” are the most rhythmic songs here, and they’re both Krautrock=indebted cruisers which take off and glide. Besides them, “Babalon Rising” is a slower, ritual-like zoner with saxophone, and “Naturligt Samspel” is a very minimal piece recorded outdoors, filled with birdsong.
July 1, 2018 at 10:34 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Saajtak: Hectic EP
Detroit’s
Saajtak follow up their excellent
debut EP with two jazzy avant-pop songs. “Hectic” starts out with a steadily paced rhythm, but gradually becomes emotionally overwhelming, with layers of soaring vocals, rapidly fluttering waves of synth which sound like fast-forwarding tapes, and clattering metallic percussion. Yet while a lot is going on, and the lyrics describe emotional turbulence, there’s still an even, composed flow to it. “If You Ask” is along similar lines, with yearning rounds of vocals and a rhythm which steadily builds into a sort of choppy prog-rock pattern, with a heavy bass guitar growl offset by lighter, more crystalline keyboards. Both songs are mini-epics, and they’re both accessible entry points into the fascinating, ever-evolving world of Saajtak.
July 1, 2018 at 3:54 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Michael Beharie & Teddy Rankin-Parker: A Heart From Your Shadow
The first collaborative album by Michael Beharie (of Zs) and cellist Teddy Rankin-Parker is a dense yet concise expression of fear, astonishment, abject terror, and a bit of offbeat humor. None of the tracks sound alike. There’s intense sound design and glitching alongside furious cello bowing during standout “Paper Tiger”, which ends up unexpectedly calm. The intro track begins nakedly calm before plunging into sheer panic, with police sirens wailing through pitch-black cello noise. The acoustic, percussive “So Much Trash” ends with a computer voice imitating an old woman, thanking someone for cleaning up the trash in her yard. “Gully” is all clanking percussion, recalling Konono No. 1 as much as the rhythm track from one of M.I.A.’s early singles. The police sirens return during “Smooth Face”, surrounded by swooping strings and percussive splatter. “Roses” is the album’s intense centerpiece, surrounding spiraling prog-rock/Berlin school melodies with swarms of crushing distortion. “Icon” is even harsher and more hellbound, especially considering the two calmer interludes surrounding it. Excellent album.
July 1, 2018 at 3:04 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Pieter Nooten: Stem
Former Xymox member Pieter Nooten’s latest work is a lush, organic orchestral ambient song cycle, filled with solemn pianos, sparkling music box-like melodies, and billowing tone clouds. It sounds bright and clear rather than hazy, however, and the melodies are never obscured. It’s a major step up from the vocal-based works he was releasing earlier in the decade; this material is much more affecting. “Freefall” adds some chilly dub-techno echo, which is a nice touch. He slowly tiptoes toward percussive rhythms on “Vari-Slowed”, and “I Felt” ends the album with some soft yet intricate techno beats, and it sounds utterly joyous and free.
June 23, 2018 at 8:20 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Longmont Potion Castle: 15
The biggest addition to the LPC canon from this new album is definitely the part at the end of “LPC 15 Medley” when he calls up a record store and asks for some country song that goes “Where’d ya gitcha donkey donkey?” with tons of wet echo effects on his voice. It’s like a long lost Western cousin of Dougan Nash’s hit “Check, Double Check, Triple Double Check” and it’s the new hit sweeping the nation. It’s all over the radio now. Besides that, someone keeps calling up all these bookstores and hardware stores and asking for hedge clippings and books about egg nog and wart hogs. And trains keep going by and birds keep chirping. Also, the way LPC keeps pronouncing “card” and “charge” is mindblowing. And when he’s doing his UPS guy shtick, claiming he’s from fleagenie.com, and asks someone for a “long number that begins with a four”…. I lost it. One of the album’s bonus tracks is the most revealing thing to appear on an LPC recording so far. There’s a Q&A with people from a record store where he demonstrates his process on the fly. He gets asked if he’d ever want to appear on
Jeopardy and he calls Alex Trebek up and asks about casting information. Also he says he’s spoken to Alex between 600 and 700 times. Also, he calls Andy Breckman who tells him to go screw himself. Too perfect.
June 23, 2018 at 2:21 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Color Plus: Regular Energy
The EP Color Plus released on
Vanity Press last year was way too slept on. The Brooklyn producer has loads of other releases, though, including these 2 new ones on his own label.
Regular Energy is his first CD, and it’s a set of hyped-up club tracks with heavy but skeletal rhythms embellished with breaking glass, turntable scratches, crowd chants, and some melodic textures on a few tracks, such as the ambient fizzling on “Ut”. Sometimes the beats slow down and approach trap territory, like on the Girl Unit-esque “456 Fatality”, but others are faster club versions of trap’s percussive elements. Some powerful club ammo right here.
Color Plus: TOWMIX01 tape
Of course, while Color Plus constructs some deadly club tools which are exciting enough to listen to on their own, his work shines best in the mix. Just witness one of his live sets. Or take a listen to
TOWMIX01 which you can download for free on
Bandcamp. Way more of a journey than his CD, this one winds album tracks (and Acemo collab “Da Back” from the Vanity Press EP) through tracks by DJ NJ Drone, Izy, Kanyon and others. Each track gets about 2 minutes before rushing into the next, so it’s always moving from one rush to another. And yet it’s not absolute sensory overload, or like a contest to cram as many tracks in as possible. It has a natural, logical flow to it. The first side dips into a couple of trap songs, and around the beginning of the second side, it gets into more of a basement rave vibe. The tracks seem to bleed into each other more, creating a feeling of unity but not monotony, but it’s also a bit choppier and scratchier. Also, just want to say that the “bite marks” sound effect that pops up every so often makes me smile.
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