His Name Is Alive: Underground River Of Black Electricity 7″ EP (self-released, 2024)

October 8, 2024 at 9:14 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

His Name Is Alive: Underground River Of Black Electricity 7″ EP

His Name Is Alive rarely play live these days, as Warren Defever is busy working as a mastering engineer at Third Man Records in Detroit, and he’s also been playing as part of the group Infinite River, making new age and meditative music, and making art. But 4AD released a tremendous box set of the first 3 HNIA albums with bonus material, so the band played some live gigs. I caught the Detroit show at El Club, and it was mindblowing to see the current version of the band play early songs like “How Ghosts Affect Relationships” and “There’s Something Between Us And He’s Changing My Words”. And then they played songs from the more recent albums (the ones the current band members played on) and of course ended with “This World Is Not My Home”, into “Can’t Go Wrong Without You” and then back into a for-real singalong of “This World Is Not My Home”. This record was for sale at the merch table, along with Cloud Clocks, which were basically repurposed clocks bought at Target which they painted, signed, and charged $100 for. But this record is a mix of Warren’s new age stuff, thanks to the harmonium and tanpura droning, as well as some of HNIA’s newer psych stuff, with the Mellotron, though it’s not proggy or heavy. There’s gentle guitar waves and a current of dreaminess. The second side has drumming by Steve Nistor, who regularly plays with Infinite River, and it’s closer to the more drifting side of Krautrock, eventually gaining some percolating synths and a choppier, increasingly more complex rhythm. Not quite Warren solo, not quite Infinite River, not any previous version of HNIA, but it’s still HNIA all the same, and like any HNIA record, it takes me somewhere I can’t identify and never expected to go.

Show #726 – 10/6/24

October 6, 2024 at 4:51 pm | Posted in The Answer Is In The Beat | Leave a comment

12:00 AM His Name Is Alive ~ Heart Transplant ~ Underground River of Black Electricity 7″ ~ self-released ~ 2024
12:10 AM Fred Thomas ~ Wasn’t ~ Window in the Rhythm ~ Polyvinyl ~ 2024
12:24 AM Godspeed You! Black Emperor ~ BABYS IN A THUNDERCLOUD ~ “NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD” ~ Constellation ~2024
12:38 AM Whitney Johnson ~ Kition ~ Hav ~ Drag City ~ 2024
12:46 AM Matchess ~ In Sleep ~ Stena ~ Drag City ~ 2024
12:54 AM Mourning [A] BLKstar ~ Her Song (feat. Caitlin Edwards) ~ Ancient//Future ~ Don Giovanni Records ~ 2024
12:58 AM Aphex Twin ~ #19 ~ Selected Ambient Works Volume II (remastered reissue) ~ Warp Records ~ 1994
1:08 AM Dryft ~ Slalom ~ Cell ~ Unit ~ 2000
1:14 AM Dieselboy ~ Invid ~ The 6ixth Session ~ Palm Pictures ~ 2000
1:22 AM Tim Reaper & Kloke ~ Roots & Reality ~ In Full Effect ~ Hyperdub ~ 2024
1:28 AM DJ Don’t Sleep ~ Dot1q ~ Digital Subscriber ~ Stolen Groove ~ 2024
1:33 AM RXM Reality ~ See All ~ No. 1 in the World ~ Hausu Mountain ~ 2024
1:36 AM UNKNOWN ME ~ Retreat Beats ~ Bitokagaku ~ Not Not Fun ~ 2024
1:40 AM Somatic Responses ~ A01TR4 ~ Sound on the Fringe ~ Megastructure_ ~ 2024
1:45 AM Braille ~ Summer Sizzle ~ Triple Transit ~ Hotflush ~ 2024
1:48 AM Caribou ~ Got To Change ~ Honey ~ Merge ~ 2024
1:51 AM Jessbeatz ~ Techno Phobia ~ Decoding Numbers ~ Electrostatic ~ 2022
1:55 AM GAS ~ side C ~ Der Lange Marsch ~ Kompakt ~ 2021

Meadow Argus: Arboreal Frippery CDr (Chocolate Monk, 2024)

October 5, 2024 at 11:48 am | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Meadow Argus: Arboreal Frippery CDr

Switching to the CDr format for a moment rather than cassette, Meadow Argus continues plundering past memories with Arboreal Frippery. The album’s pieces are based on microcassette recordings from a 2009 hitchhiking trip around the West Coast, and they fold a multitude of strange voices and sounds into endlessly rolling drones, approximating train rides across the country, with memories of some of the more unique characters and situations replaying in one’s head while traveling through pastures. Two tracks collectively take up more than half of the album’s run time, and they both seem to best encapsulate the album’s aura. “Every person contains a universe” loops what sounds like an irritated cow mooing, while “Trainwreck Tunnel” distorts voices to an almost wacky level of graininess. Elsewhere, there’s calmer, harmonium-like wheezing (“Different during the day”, “409”), a jocular backwoods conversation between lovers (“Balloon”), and almost dubby levels of noise and reverb (“Monkey Wrench”).

Bumbo’s Tinto Brass Band: V2 7″ EP (Bumbo Records, 2024)

October 1, 2024 at 8:19 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Bumbo’s Tinto Brass Band: V2 7″ EP

I confused Bumbo with Jimbo Easter. They are not the same person, but Jimbo was on this band’s previous release, and it’s a similar sort of local avant-garage rock. This isn’t quite as unhinged as Jimbo, but it does have a Theremin and an offbeat sort of rawness to it. “The Post Modern Dance” and “Sinkholes and Peepholes” do end up being pretty weird, and “Honey Don’t” changes things up by featuring a spoken word appearance by Asha Vida (though I’m not sure if that’s the same Asha Vida as the Michigan space rock band from the ’90s).

Cassie Ramone: Sweetheart (CD-R Records, 2024)

September 24, 2024 at 8:21 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Cassie Ramone: Sweetheart

Vivian Girls’ Cassie Ramone returns with an album of hazy late-night garage pop that’s just as good as the more hyped albums she was making a decade ago. There’s lo-fi synth pop like Beach House but better (“Joy to the World”), noisy bummed-out rock (“He’s Still On My Mind”, “They Hide Their Eyes”), hopeful songs with a heavy ’50s pop influence (“Together”, “Sweetheart”), and slight silliness (“Dilly Dally”) following heartbreak (“The Only Way I Know How”, which features Mac DeMarco). A super low-key release, but it’s not lacking in quality.

Dren McDonald: Oceanic (Appearing Records, 2024)

September 23, 2024 at 8:43 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Dren McDonald: Oceanic

San Francisco-based video game composer Dren McDonald (polyheDren) wrote this suite about underwater life, utilizing several different techniques, from processed field recordings to triggered modular synths. “The Kids”, which drifts out to 12 minutes, is easily the most aquatic-sounding track, resembling an underwater equivalent of Daniel Lanois’ spacious Americana. “Physeter Coda” has light kosmische arpeggios, while “Oceanlight Meditation Vis” is the darker, submerged flipside of “Beachlight Meditation Vis”, with both utilizing gong-like ringing tones. “Delphinus Bursa” has expansive melodies and burbling sequences. “Dusklight Meditation Vis” is an eerie comedown which either features manipulated bird calls, or synths imitating them.

Show #725 – 9/22/24

September 22, 2024 at 12:12 pm | Posted in The Answer Is In The Beat | Leave a comment

12:00 AM Tim Reaper & Kloke ~ Continuities ~ In Full Effect ~ Hyperdub ~ 2024
12:06 AM Witchman ~ Chemical Noir ~ Heavy Traffic ~ Deviant ~ 1997
12:19 AM His Name Is Alive ~ My Moon’s in Your Yard (Demo) ~ Mouth By Mouth (2024 Remastered Edition) ~ 4AD ~ 1993
12:23 AM Cassie Ramone ~ He’s Still On My Mind ~ Sweetheart ~ CD-R Records ~ 2024
12:26 AM His Name Is Alive ~ The Homesick Waltz ~ Mouth By Mouth (2024 Remastered Edition) ~ 4AD ~ 1993
12:30 AM Meadow Argus ~ Balloon ~ Arboreal Frippery ~ Chocolate Monk ~ 2024
12:35 AM Dren McDonald ~ The Kids ~ Oceanic ~ Appearing Records ~ 2024
12:48 AM Astor Piazzolla ~ Concierto Para Quinteto ~ Tango: Zero Hour ~ Nonesuch ~ 1986
12:57 AM The Closer ~ Type 3-Igarashi ~ Sound Is The Device 12″ ~ KMS ~ 2000
1:02 AM Chez Damier ~ Can You Feel It (MK Dub) ~ 12″ ~ KMS ~ 1992
1:07 AM Inner City ~ Big Fun (D. Wynn Remix) ~ 12″ ~ KMS ~ 2002
1:14 AM The Bottom Feeders ~ Fun Control ~ 12″ ~ KMS ~ 2000
1:22 AM E-Dancer ~ Loop Me Again ~ The Dream 12″ ~ KMS ~ 2001
1:29 AM D. Wynn & The R-Tyme Production ~ Love in Music ~ 12″ ~ KMS ~ 2002
1:37 AM Chez Damier ~ Help Myself (Reconstructed by Carl Craig) ~ I Never Knew Love 12″ ~ KMS ~ 1992
1:46 AM E-Dancer ~ Velocity Funk (Stacey Pullen Remix) ~ 12″ ~ KMS ~ 1999
1:52 AM Jamie Bissmire ~ untitled ~ The Rhythms Of Nature ~ Ground ~ 1997
1:56 AM Vintage Future ~ Dangerous (Detroit Tap Edit) ~ 12″ ~ Underground Resistance ~ 2016

Show #724 – 9/15/24

September 15, 2024 at 9:35 am | Posted in The Answer Is In The Beat | Leave a comment

12:00 AM Nala Sinephro ~ Continuum 10 ~ Endlessness ~ Warp ~ 2024
12:07 AM Floating Points ~ Afflecks Palace ~ Cascade ~ Ninja Tune ~ 2024
12:13 AM Masayoshi Fujita ~ In a Sunny Meadow ~ Migratory ~ Erased Tapes ~ 2024
12:17 AM Bernard Fèvre ~ Foxy Spleen ~ Space Oddities (1976-1985) ~ Born Bad ~ 1977
12:20 AM Channeler ~ Cliff Aster ~ Cliff Aster EP ~ Loam Dynamics ~ 2024
12:27 AM Molchat Doma ~ Я Так Устал / Ya Tak Ustal ~ Belaya Polosa ~ Sacred Bones Records ~ 2024
12:32 AM Tears Run Rings ~ Helios Helada ~ Everything in the End ~ Shelflife ~ 2024
12:37 AM Ride ~ Grasshopper ~ Leave Them All Behind 12″ ~ Creation ~ 1992
12:48 AM His Name Is Alive ~ Endless Things ~ How Ghosts Affect Relationships 1990-1993 ~ 4AD ~ 1993
12:51 AM His Name Is Alive ~ Her Eyes Were Huge Things (Live) ~ How Ghosts Affect Relationships 1990-1993 ~ 4AD ~ 1991
12:54 AM Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds ~ Cinnamon Horses ~ Wild God ~ Play It Again Sam ~ 2024
1:01 AM Klara Lewis ~ Live in Montreal 2018 (excerpt) ~ Live in Montreal 2018 ~ Editions Mego ~ 2018
1:06 AM Hugo Largo ~ Turtle Song ~ Mettle ~ Opal Records ~ 1989
1:09 AM Hugo Largo ~ Scream Tall ~ Drum ~ Opal Records ~ 1988
1:13 AM Hugo Largo ~ Blue Blanket ~ Huge, Large, and Electric: Hugo Largo 1984-1991 ~ Missing Piece Records ~ late ’90s
1:18 AM Cassie Kinoshi’s seed ~ iii Sun Through My Window (feat. NikNak & London Contemporary Orchestra) ~ gratitude ~ rings / International Anthem ~ 2024
1:21 AM Daniel Villarreal ~ In/On ~ Panamá 77 ~ International Anthem ~ 2022
1:25 AM Lady Isa ~ Djambo ~ Kampire Presents: A Dancefloor in Ndola ~ Strut ~ 1986
1:31 AM Eternal Basement & Juno Reactor ~ Memory Vortex ~ Before Time Was Now ~ Edsel ~ 2022
1:35 AM RXM Reality ~ Listening to Burial ~ No. 1 in the World ~ Hausu Mountain ~ 2024
1:39 AM Sigh ~ Carnage ~ Eastern Darkness ~ Peaceville Records ~ 1995-6
1:42 AM Merzbow ~ Nimbus Alter Magneto Electricity ~ Material Action 2 (N-A-M) ~ Important Records ~ 1983

Crush Collision 9/12/24

September 13, 2024 at 9:18 am | Posted in Crush Collision | Leave a comment

10:00 PM Skeppet ~ Sargasso ~ Deluxe ~ Not Not Fun ~ 2010
10:09 PM Hedge Maze ~ Dysania ~ Dysania ~ Lobster Theremin ~ 2015
10:14 PM Hidden Spheres ~ Beachy ~ By & Bye EP ~ Distant Hawaii ~ 2017
10:18 PM The African House Party Project ~ P-Coq ~ African House Party (feat. Splash, Patricia Majelisa & Dalom Kids) ~ Gallo Record Company ~ 1991
10:23 PM ASOK ~ Virtual Light ~ Virtual Light EP ~ Lobster Theremin ~ 2017
10:28 PM Nondi_ ~ Bangs_2.0 ~ July Mixtape ~ HRR ~ 2024
10:34 PM Ruf Dug ~ Wet Play Banger ~ eCZtasy EP ~ Ruf Kutz ~ 2020
10:37 PM Reflec ~ Extraordinary Lives ~ Momentary Archive ~ Lobster Theremin ~ 2015
10:42 PM Grammar Of Movement ~ Faint ~ Azadi EP ~ Lobster Theremin ~ 2016
10:47 PM Jeals ~ Gentle Chain ~ Flux EP ~ Lobster Theremin ~ 2017
10:52 PM Panthera Krause ~ Zombies ~ Solar System EP ~ Lobster Theremin ~ 2016
10:57 PM Tsodor ~ Flugzeug Melancholie ~ Diffused Nocturne ~ Woodland Creatures ~ 2024
11:01 PM Michael Mayer ~ Take a Stand For Love ~ Higher EP ~ Kompakt ~ 2020
11:07 PM Marc Romboy ~ Beyond ~ Speicher 114 ~ Kompakt Extra ~ 2020
11:15 PM Bärtaub ~ Marble ~ single ~ R&S Records ~ 2019
11:22 PM Black Devil Disco Club ~ Follow Me (Instrumental) ~ Black Devil Disco Club ~ RCA ~ 1978
11:25 PM Paperclip People ~ Steam ~ The Secret Tapes of Dr. Eich ~ Planet E Communications ~ 1996
11:30 PM BAKGROUND ~ Clubjammerz ~ Clubjammerz EP ~ Lobster Theremin ~ 2018
11:34 PM Black Cadmium ~ Stairway ~ Muted Chaos EP ~ Vault Wax ~ 2020
11:40 PM JB3 ~ Loose Kick ~ Close Grind ~ Mute ~ 1996
11:45 PM Floating Points ~ Fast Forward ~ Cascade ~ Ninja Tune ~ 2024
11:50 PM Rupcy ~ Utow ~ Utow EP ~ Ilian Tape ~ 2014
11:54 PM Ayarcana ~ Cheap Rents and Haunted Houses ~ Cheap Rents and Haunted Houses ~ Cluster Node ~ 2020
11:57 PM Glaskin ~ Sleeplessness ~ Ratunek EP ~ Yael Trip ~ 2020

Dr. Pete Larson & his Cytotoxic Nyatiti Band: Michigan Traditional Music LP (Dagoretti Records, 2024)

September 9, 2024 at 10:30 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Dr. Pete Larson & his Cytotoxic Nyatiti Band: Michigan Traditional Music LP

The newest Cytotoxic Nyatiti Band album encompasses more influences and sounds than previous records, and it’s entirely fitting that it simply dubs itself its own form of music. Larson’s nyatiti playing feels less like the focal point here, and his recent interest in synths makes an impact on the group’s sound. Fred Thomas also provides synth as well as guitar, and Tom Hohmann plays drums. The Bandcamp version separates the album into different tracks, but the vinyl doesn’t, and each side flows continuously. This is some of the furthest-out Cytotoxic Nyatiti Band music yet, filled with unpredictable mixing and strange dynamics. It could be compared to any number of Krautrock bands, and I’m also somehow getting mystical Alice Coltrane vibes too. There’s also some drone sections, like at the end of the first side, some heavy guitar blare that shoegaze/space rock fans might appreciate, and even some straight-up techno beats at the end of the second side. It’s just marvelous, words don’t do it justice.

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