December 25, 2017 at 5:38 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
SCLT: On Contradiction tape
New tape from a mysterious entity which seems to document some sort of falling out or tense feelings during an aftermath. Dark, rolling Lawrence English-like drone with some distant pianos and shreds of light. A little bit menacing, maybe even a bit scary, and some of the pieces have sudden endings which can be jarring. Most of this is a bath of heavy static and hard feelings but not hard actions. The somewhat intrusive bumps during the beginning of “Armature” add some bustling movement, but then they drift away into the horizon before the end of the tape. Available directly from
Life Like.
December 25, 2017 at 5:00 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Koltay: untitled tape
Capturing brief excerpts of a Detroit-recorded drone piece called “Spring Patch”, this 20-minute cassette contains bright but somewhat alarmed glacial synths and ethereal vocals, with some stray conversation present in the mix. It’s hard to tell whether it happened during the actual performance or if it was overdubbed later; there’s something detached and vibrational about them. There’s no beginning or end to the music on each side, you just press play and you’re in the center of the performance, and then it cuts off at the end of the side. In fact, it ends just as it feels like it’s about to transition to a new phase. A brief but shimmering glimpse into what must have been a mesmerizing experience.
December 25, 2017 at 4:16 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Shells: 2 LP
Four years after releasing her solo guitar opus
In A Cloud, Shelley Salant returns with her second solo LP, this time on her own Ginkgo Records. These songs have more layers to them, with more shades of guitars and even drums and synths on a few songs. “Nacimiento Road” and “Out There” come close to a sort of ragged SY-style alternative rock, making it obvious why Thurston asked her to open for his current group a few times this year. Some tracks combine electric and acoustic guitars, such as the fizzy closing track “Field”. Dubby echo effects and distortion dust things off occasionally, and things get a little bubbly around the end of the first side, but this isn’t an exercise in studio trickery. Instead, it’s a showcase for autumnal melodies which are neither too complicated nor too simple. Fantastic work as always! Purchase/listen on
Bandcamp!
December 17, 2017 at 9:46 pm | Posted in Photos, Reviews | Leave a comment
v/a: Punk House LP
The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit is currently showcasing an exhibit called
Sonic Rebellion: Music As Resistance, which is inspired by the 1967 Detroit Rebellion and traces the city’s history of revolutionary music and activism since then, ranging from the MC5 and John Sinclair and the White Panthers to P-Funk and free jazz and blues to new wave and garage rock to Detroit techno to hip-hop and beyond. It’s easily one of my favorite MOCAD exhibits, but the cherry on top is the Punk House exhibit at the Mobile Homestead (a full replica of Mike Kelley’s childhood home which is located right next to the MOCAD). Celebrating all thinks punk, noise, free jazz, garage rock, and above all DIY related to the Detroit scene, the exhibit includes lots of show posters, album art, comic books, memorabilia, artwork by everyone from Jad and David Fair to Mike Dykehouse to Suzy Poling to Timmy Vulgar, plus a special installation room by Jimbo Easter. On top of all of this, the museum released a special compilation LP containing music by many of the artists who contributed to the exhibit. It starts out with a bracing live track from synth-punk heroes ADULT., then there’s a Timmy Vulgar track about a badass rocker girl who prefers the Stones to the Beatles. Jad and David appear twice (and several more times on the download-only bonus tracks) and also write a song about the Stones (“Mick Called Charlie”), and there’s Beefheartian weirdness from Jimbo, solo and as part of Druid Perfume. Of course Destroy All Monsters and other related projects provide prophecies of musical freedom. The Whales (with shrieks by Godzuki’s Erika Hoffmann) and Princess Dragonmom provide noise, while Dykehouse and Cotton Museum provide creepy, queasy synths. There’s also some straight up psych-pop from Outrageous Cherry, and the one and only Wolfman Band with their update of the Sonics’ “The Witch” (retitled “She’s My Wolf”). Pod Blotz’ pulsating death electronics certainly deserve a shout-out as well. The LP, as well as the entire exhibit, is an excellent artifact of the Detroit underground scene, past present and future. The exhibit runs until January 7, and there’s no telling if copies of the LP will still be for sale afterwards, so by all means get to the museum as soon as possible. Here’s some photos from Sonic Rebellion and Punk House:
vintage concert poster art
Abdul Haqq and Alan Oldham album art for UR and other Detroit techno artists
The keyboard Derrick May used to record “Strings of Life” and “Nude Photo”. I was seriously in shock when I approached this historical instrument
boombox collage
records @ Punk House
Howl!!!!!!
David Fair
Chris Pottinger
Forest Juziuk @ Tumbleweed Tavern
Jimbo Easter’s Tumbleweed Tavern
Jimbo Easter’s Tumbleweed Tavern
Jimbo Easter’s Tumbleweed Tavern
Jimbo Easter @ Tumbleweed Tavern
Suzy Poling + Nicola Kuperus @ Tumbleweed Tavern
December 2, 2017 at 2:20 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Gundella: The Hour Of The Witch
Gundella was an actual witch who lived in Michigan, studied at several state universities, and has lectured at both EMU and right here at U of M, along with other institutions across the country. This is an album she recorded in 1971, in which she informs the listener about the beliefs of witches, and how to cast spells. There’s some faint, spooky organ music, but Gundella’s voice is loud and clear. Her daughter provides the extensive liner notes, describing what it was like growing up the child of a witch. As for the spells, Gundella stresses the importance of emotion and imagination when casting spells. The spells are used to make someone fall in love with you, keep your significant other from entering another one’s house, and discouraging unwanted suitors. This album was reissued by the same label that’s been releasing a lot of Sun Ra recordings (including a new collection of his exotica works), and this definitely seems to inhabit a similar interplanetary realm. An absolutely fascinating, completely one-of-a-kind recording.
November 24, 2017 at 9:27 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Distant Creatures: Snares In Safe Harbors
Former WCBN DJ Chris Matthews sings and plays several instruments in this dream pop quintet based in Virginia. Their music is a lush mixture of electric and acoustic guitars, strings, synths, and vocals which aren’t rendered unintelligible by effects. The songs are generally uptempo and akin to classic indie pop (Sarah Records, et al) rather than zoned-out psych-rock, so that while they certainly explore the possibilities of highly textural arrangements, there’s no shortage of songcraft. The strings add a stroke of elegance to songs like “Unsure” and “In Real Life”. “Low Spirits”, an urgent, driving tune which seems to be about dealing with stress, depression, and the heaviness of life, reappears here after being included on their debut cassingle last year, and it still sounds magnificent. “Faith” is a bit closer to dark post-punk, with a heavier bass guitar sound and pounding drums. “Pause For Epiphany” is a bit more of a perky, playfully offbeat alternative rock song with some haunting synth sounds sprouting out on occasion. “Song For No Name” is a bit darker, more crushing, and more Chelsea Wolfe-like. CD and digital album available on
Bandcamp.
November 24, 2017 at 7:53 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Leila Gobi: 2017
Second domestically released album from Malian singer Leila Gobi, with lyrics sung in Songhoy, Tamasheq, and French (on “Les Enfants”). Generally pretty easygoing but still energetic and sophisticated, with basic instrumentation enhanced by electronic beats and synths, sounding polished but still earthy. The songs generally have positive, sometimes celebratory messages — “An Nia” advises to be alert and not waste time, “Tibo Gadeina” and “Eh Khanzam” are both related to the seasons, and “Wai Hidjou” is a wedding song. That as well as “Mi Manda” have nice, trippy half time rhythms, and “Mi Manda” is maybe the most upbeat, dancey song here. An incredibly lovely release which should be enjoyed by all.
November 24, 2017 at 7:45 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Niko Karlsson: Valosta Valoon LP
The blurry, kaleidoscopic forest cover art couldn’t be more fitting for this LP of mysterious, primarily acoustic drone created by Finnish psych scene mainstay Niko Karlsson. Very lush and enveloping, but also dark and dusky. The tracks don’t seem too densely constructed, but it’s still hard to tell exactly what’s going on; the droning strings sound like moaning voices, or maybe vice versa. There’s some more straightforward ritualistic folk dirges like “Unen Oma”, and shorter pieces like “Kaste Laske” are imbued with dark magic. Most of the tracks on the second side are more vocal-driven, but the vocals seem more like dazed chanting than lyrics. “Linnoitus” is a bit more of an overwhelming collision of tones and textures; totally bewildering.
November 24, 2017 at 6:57 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Alexander: s/t LP
New Haven native David Shapiro (also of psych band Headroom) records solo guitar music as Alexander, and this unassuming white label record with a plain sleeve was presumably designed to look like a mysterious private press release from several decades ago. Put it on and you’ll hear a wide range of expressive fingerpicked acoustic guitar compositions, drawing from American folk and blues traditions, but also with some indie and avant-garde influences evident. Other than the leisurely “Catfish Blues”, the songs are given roman numerals for titles. “II” is the most epic, starting out faster and more hypnotic (but also quite warm and inviting) before ending up with a slower, more fragile section. “III” is short but dreamy, while “V” is sparse and kind of cold and solemn. “VI” takes a while to unfold, but its melody sticks with you, without being forced down your throat. The rest of the record seems to continue in a similar sort of slow, sparse, introspective vein. A nice record which appears to be simple, and doesn’t blast into the outer limits like some of the artist’s other work, but still goes a bit deeper than the average “dude with a guitar” record.
November 19, 2017 at 4:17 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Hy Maya: The Mysticism of Sound & Cosmic Language
Hy Maya was a collective founded by Robert Bensick which included musicians who would later form Pere Ubu. This is a collection of previously unreleased recordings from 1972-3, and it doesn’t seem like an exaggeration to refer to them as Cleveland’s equivalent of Destroy All Monsters. Some of it, particularly “Dance of the Electromagnetic ZZZ (A Space Event In Time)”, is even alien enough to draw comparisons to early Throbbing Gristle (but not quite as abrasive), and there’s even some jazzier excursions in the orbit of Sun Ra, such as “The Fabric of Time & Space”. There’s some heavy, driving rock moments which could be likened to Krautrock, like “General Relativity is Relative”, and there’s also a brief lullaby with rushing water sounds (“Albert’s Lullaby”). A few pieces near the end of the first disc, as well as “A Quantum Mechanic Mambo (Bigfoot)” on the second, are lonely, flute-heavy excursions. “Just One Day (The Illision of Time)” is more of a gentle free-folk song. The sound quality is understandably rough and muddy, but these recordings are a rare glimpse into a previously untouched chapter of avant-rock history.
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