November 10, 2017 at 8:27 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Ghost Train Orchestra: Book of Rhapsodies Vol. II
Ghost Train Orchestra are an incredibly tight, vibrant ensemble who perform obscure compositions from the first half of the 20th century. This album leads off with a Raymond Scott tune, but it sheds more light on lesser-known composer Hal Herzon, in addition to others such as Alec Wilder and Reginald Forsythe. Basically, if you’re a fan of early Raymond Scott, you will thoroughly enjoy this. It’s fun and kind of cartoonish, with lots of unexpected twists and turns and mood changes. “Hare and the Hounds” is incredibly joyous and nutty, with rollicking drums and double bass as well as stunning violin work from Mazz Swift (also of Hear In Now), and also jaw harp! Several of the selections feature a narrator introducing them, giving this a feel of a concert or radio broadcast rather than just an album. Songs like “Deep Forest” and “Walking Home in Spring” are less perky, but still sophisticated and splendid. “Deserted Ballroom” is a spooky little hall of mirrors, with ghostly vocals and perhaps a musical saw, as well as a sort of sleazy guitar-driven section near the end. Most of the songs feature vocals by an adult choir, including a few Orchestra members, but there’s also a Langley Schools-inspired children’s choir on the tune “Kindergarten Flower Pageant”, as well as a solo vocal by Gita Drummond on the self-explanatory “A Little Girl Grows Up”. All of this is an absolute blast to listen to, and should not be missed by fans of strange, obscure delights from the distant past.
November 8, 2017 at 11:18 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Caracoa: End of Kings CDr
The third CDr from C
aracoa this year consists of three pieces and two longer techno tracks. “Electric Air” opens the album with two minutes of suspended distortion, and then “Time in Reverse” is over 9 minutes of flickering, thumping drone-techno reminiscent of The Field but hazier and more monotonous. It eventually leads to a shimmering end, and then “A Warning Ignored” is a short burst of rhythmic static with a somewhat fearsome ending. This sets the stage for “Last Year on Earth”, the release’s other techno epic, and a piece of chilly ambient techno on par with any of the best work by Gas or The Sight Below. I’m serious, it’s that fucking good. I want it to go on forever. It seems so simple, it’s just a bright drone and a steady 4/4 thump, but there’s still some subtlety to it, like how there’s an off-sync pulse near the end. I can’t get enough of it. If this was released as a limited vinyl 12″ and someone at Resident Advisor found out about it, people would be selling it for hundreds of dollars on Discogs. “End of Kings” concludes the album with another short, regal drone. The release is ominous without being overwhelmingly full of dread. It’s also serene, but not entirely soft and light. It’s not overtly emotional, but it still manages to convey a lot. I think it’s absolutely incredible.
October 28, 2017 at 3:33 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Don Gero: Wizarding tape
Throw your sorcerer’s cap on for this one. This artist constructs heavy, locked-in rhythms encased in some oscillations, which never obscure the power of the drums. It sort of reminds me of a more straightened out Black Pus, and there’s definitely some Boredoms in there too, especially the parts with screaming. The pieces are all named after elements, or implements of destruction or force relating to elements, and they’re all in 3 parts. The “Rock” ones are some of the heaviest ones, of course. Definitely a good companion to the Do Pas O tape on Hausu Mountain from this year.
October 27, 2017 at 9:55 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Darshan Ambient: Lingering Day: Anatomy Of A Daydream
Michael Allison has been releasing music as Darshan Ambient since the era of MP3.com (which is absolutely ancient history now, but important to anyone who was following and especially making independent music during the late ’90s). His music, obviously, fits into the ambient (and sometimes new age) category, usually with calm, comforting pianos and string pads. He does branch out a bit, however, and the first few tracks on this album stretch towards the grandeur of post-rock, but without the exhilarating crescendos. The only song with lyrics is “Arc of Angels”, a Peter Gabriel-esque splendor-ballad. Some of the tracks hint towards IDM-ish beats, especially “Mover”, which is easily my favorite. But the more purely ambient tracks are good too, such as the floating, rippling “The Seven Sleepers”. “Bee’s Fade” has some tricky overlapping rhythmic patterns, and “Hand in the Clouds” has some steady flickering among its foggy drifting. “Kissing Crust” has light, slightly rainy dance beats. The album’s title gives you an indication as to how relaxing, meditative and free of pressure this album is, but in terms of its construction, it’s not lazy or basic in any way.
October 27, 2017 at 8:51 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Luurel Varas: Leisure Time tape
Estonia’s Luurel Varas crafts beats which playfully smack. His sound is relaxed but not too laid back; it’s not as loungey as someone like Monster Rally. It’s lush but not too pillowy. It’s also quite busy, but it’s never hard to follow. Basically, he sounds like he could easily be from L.A. or Detroit, but he holds his own against producers half a world away from him. Opener “Fantasia” has a nice quasi-chiptune skank to it, and he folds in some smudged voices which shout out to Detroit. “Leisure Time” samples some old educational film or record, and has a funny sample accusing some kid of being mopey, but he says he isn’t. After that, other songs on the album feature sparkling tones and shimmering easy listening strings, but the producer knows when to rough things up a bit. The strings will glitch out unexpectedly, or there will be an extra few cymbal crashes before you expect them. Sometimes the tracks start out sounding cerebral, but then they end up more googly-eyed. The second side throws in some sillier samples as well as some dreamier ones (such as those R&B vocals that pop up halfway through), and at times it suggests a faster, more banging version of the Clams Casino sound. This one just becomes more comforting and joy-inducing the more you listen, but there’s enough of a creative edge to it that it doesn’t just seem like a standard (yet nonetheless dope) beat tape. And also, it’s satisfying as an actual album rather than just a collection of beats.
September 28, 2017 at 7:32 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Everyone Is Dirty: My Neon’s Dead
This one caught my attention because the first song I heard (“My Neon’s Dead”) sounded a lot like the Throwing Muses, which made me jump for joy. This Oakland-based group does utilize a lot of classic ’90s alternative elements (crunchy guitars, loud/soft dynamics, bitter lyrics/vocals), but the inclusion of violin and pedal steel takes their sound somewhere else. In addition to the Hersh-tastic title track, there’s the moody prog-pop mini-symphony “3D Light”, which has harmony vocals, elegant violin, and a rising tempo near the end. A few strange interludes such as “Alien Birth Scene” serve as breathing points between songs such as the angsty power-pop of “Mermaid”. Then there’s the even more ambitious and lengthy “Window Eye” which brings the album to a dramatic close. This album was recorded after singer/violinist Sivan Lioncub spent months in a hospital after her liver failed, and she describes it as the “soundtrack to my toxic morphine haze.” It’s uneasy and acerbic, but not quite all-out scathing, and it gets a bit trippy at times. Worth checking out, and it just appeared on
Bandcamp today.
September 24, 2017 at 6:01 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Do Pas O: Join the Fucking Drum Circle tape
Peter Negroponte of Guerilla Toss debuts his solo project with this tape of richly textured rhythmic workouts on Hausu Mountain. Drums are the center of this, and everything is locked into a steady rhythm (there’s no erratic left turns or impossible time signatures), but there’s so much more built on top of it. Stacks and stacks of lush keyboards, snaky guitars, jumping basslines, and much more. My favorite is the shoegaze trip “The Perfect Sandwich”, which seems like it’s fading away at one point before whizzing back. Some of the more exotic drum rhythms and synth layers sound like Muslimgauze, but a lot more cheerful and optimistic sounding. Also, for an album that includes a 10 minute track called “Drums Space”, this feels remarkably concise and focused. Final track “Hype Train to Hell” seems to aurally convey the all-inclusive message of the album’s title best. It has a really friendly aura and clapping rhythm, but it’s not all about drums. There’s harmony with guitars and bass and everything.
September 24, 2017 at 2:57 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Talibam!: Endgame Of The Anthropocene
Talibam! return to ESP-Disk’ with two entirely different albums which sound totally different from anything else they’ve done.
Endgame Of The Anthropocene is an ambitious concept album about the battle for control of Antarctica in 2048 after the rest of the planet has become uninhabitable for reasons relating to global warming, overpopulation, exhausted resources, etc. Sounds like the type of dystopian story concept which isn’t too far from what could actually happen. Musically, the album was created from an arsenal of synths, with Kevin Shea’s master-blaster drumming being the only non-electronic instrument (and even then, the drums sound pretty robotic or processed). The synths do sometimes emulate horns or new wave guitars, and it still has a live band feel, but it’s also a dense studio creation. It gets a bit messy, but it always sounds captivating and exciting. Opener “Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes only” (Article 1) is a 12-minute careening, triumphant odyssey, equal parts electro-funk and prog. “Obsequious Resources Duly Exploited De Novo” is another highlight, starting out with sporadic drums, then getting into some sort of prog-footwork cityscape. “Cost-Effective Drilling Enabled by Pioneering Technologies and Warmer Climates in the Southern Ocean” is a little more industrial and clanky, ending with some righteous delay and ring mods. “RISE OF THE DEFENDERS OF ANTARCTICA” is a surging jumble of triumphant horns, slipshod drums, and rapidly blinking computer bleeps. The album is a fun, somewhat chaotic sci-fi epic with an alarming message behind it.
Talibam! + Matt Nelson + Ron Stabinsky: Hard Vibe
On a much different plane,
Hard Vibe (with Matt Nelson and Ron Stabinsky) is an extended jam combining gospel organ, hard bop sax soloing, and hypnotic, hard-driving rhythm. Everyone’s playing at a high energy level, and it sounds fluid and intense. Near the end of the first side, there’s some bizarre, transforming effects on the saxophone, and then it ends abruptly, but it picks right back up on the second side, continuing with the same groove. Halfway through, though, it switches up and gets into a more electrified, possessed trance, and then it rockets into a more abstract synth-funk mode. And once again, the band ends right on time. Of course, it’s entirely likely that they could’ve been playing for 7 hours straight and this was just edited with proper beginnings and endings to fit on vinyl. Regardless, this is some serious cosmic energy.
September 24, 2017 at 1:31 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Sax & Violence: Ambient Doom Jazz
Hard-to-define Detroit duo doing hypnotic synth-based music with, yes, sax and violin. The release is titled
Ambient Doom Jazz, but this doesn’t quite sound like other acts calling themselves doomjazz (which, to be honest, I’m not really sure what that is exactly). “Slushwave” is a midtempo electronic trawl, but “Empty Balloon” is more upbeat and tricky, with lots of strange violin manipulations and bubbly synths. Also, while the tracks are all exactly 5 minutes long, this song is really only 2 minutes and the last 3 are silent. Maybe it’s on purpose since the title is “Empty Balloon”, like it’s supposed to signify that it’s deflated after that point. “Time Bas” is just a really good convergence of rising, wailing tones and explorative beats. The CD-R we got at WCBN also contains 4 additional tracks from older releases, and they’re all under 5 minutes. Some of the drum machines sound a bit more rudimentary (but pushed to the limit) and the sax sounds a bit more romantic, and somehow maybe sort of klezmer-ish, especially on “How Strong Is Thy Magic Tone?”. “Industrial Science Fiction Lounge” is maybe the closest this get to sounding doomy, but even then it’s more ominous, with rumbling tones and fluttering sax. Some really excellent sound world creation here, and I’m sure they’re just as magical live.
September 22, 2017 at 10:37 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Chris Pottinger: Stagnant Secretion LP
No longer using the name Cotton Museum, Chris Pottinger is still making nauseous, swaying synth creations, along with illustrations of ghoulish, vein-covered monsters to match. Stagnant Secretion is his latest, featuring 6 compositions for Buchla modular synthesizer along with echo and delay units. This one has a little bit more of a tense horror soundtrack vibe to it, and it’s definitely not as noisy has some of his other albums. His sound has always been too different and original to really categorize as “noise” anyway, but the same can be said about lots of artists associated with the noise scene. On the second side, “Parasite Lure” is particularly brain-warping, going into some
Forbidden Planet-type modulations and abstractions. Another perfect-for-Halloween record from Mr. Pottinger, and not to be missed.
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The Answer Is In The Beat 