September 2009
57 posts
Astro Black – Is Love the Blood Of The Universe?...
Starting off with a wall of sound bang, heavy and momentous drumming builds up a thick layer of sonic noise drone, possibly as a big band orchestra might execute. Sliced up dense electronic deconstructions compliment these far-reaching percussive bass sessions with sparingly added free-jazz influence. A very dynamic release for such a small format and run; it’s almost as if a 7” single was too...
Bee Mask – Hypogorean Trenchtown lp (Weird Forest)
Is it possible to tell a good drone record from a bad drone record? It’s hard to put a finger on, but these records either have “it” or don’t. A good drone record will seem to fill up the room you are in with sound and hypnotize you if you concentrate on it. This one just kind of sits on the turntable. It’s not necessarily a bad record, but it’s also not as compelling as...
Dimmer – Remissions 2xLP (Isounderscore)
Experimental noise legends Thomas Dimuzio and Joseph Hammer collaborate once again on this daunting release, compiling four separate live sets (showcased individually on each side) to display their joint effort of atmospheric sound interference. The first set, entitled “Sky Wire,” is well situated in the realm of electro-noise, cleaned up and fed back into itself. “Sun Dog” starts off as an...
Factorymen – Shitman LP (Richie)
When approaching anything Homostupids related, you typically know what you are getting into. Factorymen seems to be the exception to that rule. Completely schizophrenic in the best possible way, in the same way the Sun City Girls jumped across the genre map. Tracks float some primitive synth-pop gems over to art rock hysteria, andon the flip, songs like “Black Dream” make you wonder what drugs...
Forbes / Young / Walter – American Free LP...
The story goes that J. Edgar Hoover forbade that his limo ever make a left turn. Weasel Walter seems to have done something similar with his career as an improvising musician since moving to San Francisco. In contrast with the slow, maddening slide into frustration that marked his last years in Chicago, when he started running out of people to play with, things now move only uphill – Peter...
The German Measles – Don’t Hassle Us We’re Loco CS...
Another decent release to flush out the Mr. Blank Dogs curatorial canon. Fun-loving garage punk which brings back the goofball times of The Dead Milkmen. Silly and fun rock n’roll, complimenting any random late night loft party fun. (http://capturedtracks.com) (Ryan Martin)
Glöggerne & Martin Klapper – With Dr. Chadbourne...
When did Hasil Adkins join the musique concrete ranks? A truly bizarre & playful gem brings together visual artist Martin Klapper and sound tinkering duo Glöggerne, both known for their stunning exhibitions and unique use of found object sounded blended with improvised electronics, with the legendary Eugene Chadbourne. What starts off as electroacoustic scratching and pawing only serves as...
Hematic Sunsets – Aroma Club Paradox LP (Dekorder)
Minimal pop alias project of Asmus Tietchens in which himself (and all other members involved) present their names as anagrams of his own name. Aroma Club Paradox makes for a pleasantly sublime addition to Dekorder’s diverse roster of releases, filling the space with simple electronics shuffles, composed side by side with easily-digested synth organs. Unlike his more formal works (done under his...
Kid Romance – Thriller CS (Captured Tracks)
Lo-fi as it gets. Innocent pop rock jams that flow together pretty nicely. Primitive garage banging to predictable riffs over and over. Simple off-key vocals going on/off from various members reminiscent of all those old throw away no-name K Records singles from years ago that we still hold onto for some strange reason. (http://capturedtracks.com) (Ryan Martin)
Hoor-paar-Kraat – A Wild Country & A Waning Moon...
Experimental visual artist Hoor-paar-Kraat keeps up his prolific streak by assembling another audio anomaly. Side A consists of a single composition of bassy drone, filled with percussive chatter. Silenced gongs struck at random and left to reverberate into the ether. The flipside piece consists of a well-done improvisational sound collage giving proper nods to Fluxus sound pioneers before him....
Hoor-paar-Kraat / Drowning the Virgin Silence – A...
Experimental musician / painter Anthony Mangicapra a.k.a Hoor-paar-Kraat offers up another selection of the surreal sound with this split release with obscure experimental outfit Drowning The Virgin Silence. Hoor-paar-Kraat side is a sound collage piece structured from what seems to be the distorted sound of children’s tin toys, falling apart and mangled to the point of an absolute nightmare....
Milk Music – s/t CS (self-released)
From what starts off as a worst case scenario of a terrible Turbonegro knock-off only gets worse as this tape hammers along. Milk Music seem to hail from Seattle and nod Sex Vid in their liners, but none of these promising indicators seem to rub off on this band. Unrehearsed “hard rock” being an understatement, these songs start off as boring jock rock and completely disintegrate to the sounds of...
DJ Ilya Monosov and the 21st Century Punks – New...
From the ethno-psych collage artwork on the simple 12” DJ sleeve, I was very puzzled as to what exactly was in store on this latest Holy Mountain slab. Starts off instantly into some bizarre space tribal not far off from later-era United Daires style output if put through the Japanese psych grinder. This record however seems to only get more interesting, catching you off guard with random blips...
The New Flesh – s/t CS (Fan Death)
Fan Death brings this monster out of the closet six years after its initial release on the Human Conduct label in 2003. Powerful and abrasive hardcore rock, shifting vocal style in the vein of bands like Coalesce or Undertow but with the singer’s voice adapting to the pace of each track perfectly. The New Flesh brings forward a brutal musical rock sound a lot like Harry Pussy. No predictable...
On Various Days – s/t CS (self-released)
Jangly shoegaze heroin rock with proper nods to Spaceman 3, My Bloody Valentine and Brian Jonestown Massacre (Methadrone-era) from this bedroom project of Brain Handle’s Andy Perlman. Slow and repetitive style but keeps up with selective drumming, everything seeming to be in synch with each other. Hopefully as this band develops more attention will be paid to diversity in songwriting and style,...
Sejayno – Quantus LP (Ehse)
From the label that earlier brought us must-own records by mail art legend “Blaster” Al Ackerman and avant composer Ian Nagoski comes outsider sound collagists Sejayno. Typically at home on Shinkoyo, the more well-known factory for NYC based art collective turned musical anomaly Skeletons, the members of Sejayno have branched out from their nest and wrangled the ears of free-jazz improvisor Leif...
Voks – Astra & Knyst LP (Dekorder)
Avant-garde label Dekorder brings forth the first full-length by Danish sound artist Voks, who previously only released small run CD singles in the past six years. He delivers noodly electro pop with an almost “day at the circus” vibe attached to it. Going back and forth into a endless waltz of synthesizer mumbling, the songs tend to not really go anywhere, recycling the same pipe organ/whistle...
White Boss – s/t CS (self-released)
Loose punk/hardcore fused with heavy brood rock is what seems to be the style in which White Boss calls home. Picks and up slows down, struggled vocals reminding me of the early 90’s wave of upstate hardcore bands at which time started blending in a more art rock style into their music (a style I kind of miss). Recording quality goes all over the place, each song having a far different approach...
Dustin Wong – Seasons LP (Wildfire Wildfire)
Dustin Wong is a member of Ponytail (you’re forgiven if now tempted to skip ahead) and this is an entire LP’s worth of his instrumental home-recordings. According to various promo/bio works written in Wong’s best interest (or by Wong himself), actual hand-held instruments were played and recorded using the internal microphone on Wong’s computer. “These songs are really not...
Peter Wright – The Terrifying Realisation that We...
Peter Wright is a New Zealand expatriate based in London. Since the mid ’90s, Wright has been releasing a steady stream of blissful washed out guitar drone recordings via labels such as Pseudoarcana, Last Visible Dog, Digitalis, Students of Decay, and his own Apoplexy imprint. Unlike other artists working similar territory, he never falls into mere prettiness. Although Wright’s...
Various Artists – Utmarken 10” EP (Release the...
Surprisingly amazing 4-way split ten inch named after a subsidy of parent label Release The Bats documenting the first year of its experimental output. Each group contributed one song and from the back layout design seems to suggest that the members are interchangeable within each group. Street Drinkers start off the record with a drone pop medley that would be at home in the ranks of Ding Dong...
Just so you know...
Still Single will be taking a break this week so I can move to a new apartment. Sorry to everyone who’s had to wait for a review … you’re going to have to wait a little bit longer.
Dracula Lewis – Death Comes Ripping 7” EP (A Dear...
Solo noise and treatments from a young Italian kid who’d like you to believe that the blood in the sink on the front cover was somehow ingested by him. It’s a small amount, and the dude’s teeth have a little on it. I don’t know what to believe, but I do appreciate the inscriptions on the inner sleeve: “Love Your Friends, Die Laughing,” and a shout out to “the one who give me the light.” With...
hamaYôko – SHASO -train window- 12” EP (Entr'acte)
Yôko Higashi’s hamaYôko project is calculated musique concrete and electroacoustic clutter that defies any easy categorization. There’s a kitchen sink approach to sound sources and recording techniques, often juxtaposing very clear sounds of mangled voices or sharp, percussive tones against more distant background mystery. Higashi avoids easy imagery but occasionally at the expense of...
Joey Casio – “Debtors Prism” b/w “Artists in Times...
Hey, want to hear a whiny, squeaky dude rap over some house music presets on a cheap Radio Shack keyboard? No? Me either. K Records thinks somebody must, as this record exists. I’m guessing the audience is his friends. The beats are rock-bottom generic house music and Joey’s voice is annoying. If such music is tediously familiar to me, it has to be exhausting to somebody who actually cares about...
R. Stevie Moore – “UR True + 3” 7” EP (Felony...
This is my first exposure to R. Stevie Moore and it’s a very positive experience! I’ve been curious about his music for years, but there is a lot of music to wade though and I never got to him. Since 1966, Moore has been obsessively writing and recording songs at home. The result of all this home recording is a long running and massive discography and a small cult following. For...
Snake Flower 2 – Renegade Daydream LP (Tic Tac...
Snake Flower (1) was the project of Mathew Melton, a bedroom psych noodler who cut his teeth in some second string bands from Memphis’s first tier players. In the wake of a botched tour featuring his bandmate/lover running off with another man, he found solace in the desert, burned down those wimpy childish dreams, and burst forth with one of the best records I’ve heard this year. Nothing...
Zashiki-Warashi – Mail Wars LP (Conduit Creations)
This is the result of Carter Thornton (aka Zashiki-Warashi, name taken from a certain type of mythological Japanese demon) collaborating, via mail, with a variety of artists from the experimental/noise/whatever underground. The presentation is simple (and it’s nicely adorned with some actual one- and two-cent stamps) and the resulting LP feels very cohesive and complete, as opposed to...
On this day eight years ago...
Woke up from a night out at Plant Bar, intending to vote in the mayoral election. Went to an empty polling station. On the way to the subway, heard a loud bang, like some roadworkers had dropped one of those metal plates on a street to cover up some work they were doing. Once I got to Smith St., I noticed a bunch of people standing on the sidewalk, looking west. Then I saw the World Trade Center...
Blank Dogs – “Slow Room!” b/w “Anywhere” 7”...
Blank Skins, Scam Dogs, Mikey “You Bet I’ve Got Something Personal Against You!” (Wesley) Snipes, Mr. Personality, The Most Overextended Man in Brooklyn … call this rough rider what you will. Personally I’d be into having one of those Still Single vs. Blank Dogs radio call-in shows like Born Against held with Sick of It All back in the early ‘90s, if only to see if this dude would look me in the...
Davila 666 – “Pingorocha y la Diva Rockera” b/w...
The rockin’ side of Davila 666, which I was fortunate enough to catch live earlier this year – six Puerto Rican firebrands whose brash, bold mix of the Ramones and the Equals held its own with headliners the Reigning Sound – is toned down ever so slightly on this new single, but I’ll take what I can get. Poppy, put-together examples of early-to-mid-70s AM radio power, gritty and unvarnished,...
Deerhunter – “Vox Celeste 5” b/w “Microcastle...
Not sure how some of these newer releases in the Singles Club (looking Thee Oh Sees, and Tyvek, specifically) managed to get away with providing barrel-scraping outtakes for their release. One would expect the same of Deerhunter, who here offer alternate mixes from the Microcastle/Weird Era Continued sessions, but I gotta say, even though this isn’t a band I listen to a lot, they have a knack...
Frank & the Can I Speaklys / Soul of Condemned Ape...
New projects debut in this cross-continental split. SF’s Frank & the Can I Speaklys is a hometaper duo, employing all the aspects of the modern hometaper/release everything we record set, down to the watery vocals, preponderance of synths, and drum machine. So how come their take sounds better to me than most of this junk that floats my way? A certain restlessness in their songwriting and...
Religious to Damn – “Falls Down Again” b/w...
Pretty much all there mix of ethereal gauze and early ‘60s girl pop gone bad balladry, cut through with the requisite Gothic underpinnings of the M’Lady’s dark lady 2fer (matching up well with the Tamaryn record, listed below, though singer Zohra Atash poses more modestly than her buddy does). The storm doesn’t kick into “Falls Down Again” until it’s time to say goodbye, but the metered build-up...
Tamaryn – “Return to Surrender” b/w “Ashore” 7”...
I remember Tamaryn Brown as this friendly, funny, slightly aloof young lady, traipsing about New York City in the early ‘00s. I know she always wanted to start a band, but it seemed like personnel, timing and just plain bad luck had put a stop to those plans. I’m glad she’s pulled it together, as this two-song single evidences a burgeoning talent in an otherwise stagnant and forgotten genre. Not...
Thee Oh Sees – “In the Shadow of the Giant” b/w...
I will be one happy man when the moment for this clowny, amateurish bullshit dies off. Lazy even by their standards (they can’t even bother to stay in rhythm on the A-side), tossed-off acoustico for the low expectations set. Bad, even by their standards. Red vinyl, 1500 copies. (http://www.subpop.com) (Doug Mosurock)
Bone Rattle – Which Toy LP (Trd W/d)
Another serious crime has been committed against my intelligence, but unlike that harmless man-wafer in Ponytail, it’s time for some restorative justice by way of levying stiff fines against whichever regional art college is found to be root stimulus behind both this “band” and “album.” Funny this should come from Turned Word, who, by extension of also releasing Impractical Cockpit...
Chris Connelly – Pentland Firth Howl LP (Addenda)
A journeyman musician, Chris Connelly’s post-punk collaborations reads like a cultural theory index of the history of late 20th century industrial-disco post-punk (Ministry, Pigface, Revolting Cocks, Fini Tribe, Murder Inc., Damage Manual). On Pentland Firth Howl it is fascinating to hear a solo voice ring true of singer songwriter emerge from a past history in much the opposite direction....
Cross Stitched Eyes – Coranach LP (Alternative...
Members of Amebix and Zygote make up this new band, which from that lineage had me expecting something more raw and unnerving. Instead we have here is something that commonly happens when old hardcore bands start to do their “mature” work and get it wrong altogether. Coranach starts off on the wrong foot, doing all the things a hardcore band shouldn’t: overwrought production, “sung yet yelled”...
Ducktails / Mudboy – Summer of Saucers CS (DNT)
Very odd pairing here, but it’s the unexpected that you come to expect from DNT. Mudboy does his typical best to confuse his listeners, starting off what sounds to be field recordings of perhaps himself lost in some sort of swamp (though it’s understood that this environment is indeed his “collaborator”), setting up the backdrop for what later develops on this tape, of which I can only call “swamp...
Free Choice/Mental Powers – split 7” (Fifth...
Two Australian artists (one from Perth, one from Melbourne) that appear to harbor an equal disregard for how any cool points Neu!, Kraftwerk, and late-70’s/early-80’s OST (not disco) Giorgio Moroder finished out today with. Good stuff is good stuff no matter how many years ago an inaugural resurgence stole its name-drop-ability in some circles; something Mental Powers and Free Choice lovingly...
Kam Hassah – This Forest one-sided 12” (Dokuro)
Stark and delirious are what come to mind when playing the lonely single side of this relatively obscure 12”. Slowly building into variant drones as this piece evolves, the listener wonders what exactly is being performed on such a unique record. I wouldn’t just toss this aside into the drone-noise monotony bin as this piece has real architecture, nothing being too much and no sound overwhelming...
Impractical Cockpit – Freedom Types LP (Trd W/d)
It’s tough to say if the anagrammed moniker is symptomatic of Impractical Cockpit’s chosen sub-genre (not uncommon in noise/free-improv) or some nudge-nudge one-off prop to a Faygo-swilling entity so far gone it’s come full circle as an ironic target. No beef is had with either direction, so long as the answer is the least confusing of the two, as no more confusion needs to be piled on top of...
Kites / Earth Crown – split LP (Arbor / Night...
Two of the most thoughtful projects of the modern noise scene split this full-length. Kites, now virtually extinct, pulls no punches on his side, delivering an onslaught of freeform noise electronics that borders on the absurd, loose and schizophrenic sounds stacked on top of each other like a pile of dirty, bedbug-ridden mattresses – bordering on improvisation and more often than not crossing...
Locrian – Exhuming The Carnival / Burying The...
Doom & gloom seem to be a familiar sound with Locrian. Hailing from Chicago, a city seething with an underbelly of power electronics and noise, Locrian seem to take things a step further by taking nods from the likes of Morton Feldman or even John Cage, and using said licks to well-orchestrated drone guitar over various hushed effects. I look forward to hearing more by these guys, who seem to...
Maleficia – Making / Remaking LP (Isounderscore)
Two equally beautiful parts make up this album by San Francisco’s experimental unit Maleficia. Minimal in the purest sense, their sound consists of nothing more than basic drone electronics overlaid with operatic and haunting vocals which remind me more of a primitive Diamanda Galas than that of a modern, run-of-the-mill noise outfit. Strongly arranged and strangely atmospheric, these pieces...
Mouthus – Divisionals LP (Ecstatic Peace!)
While my own personal experience with Mouthus has strictly been their live performances with little to no exposure to their recorded output, this record really threw me for a loop. The Mouthus I would see performing angular lo-fi art rock seem to be a whole different beast when recorded, producing quality noise industrial albums that most experimental groups would dream of offloading onto...
Mrtyu – Ornate Shroud LP (Tipped Bowler)
Apologies in advance for what will be one of at least two recent Dead C. references, but it was only a matter of time before one of these selfish, silly, and nihilistic wanna-be sociopaths operating under the banner of one-man BM released something that owed a little more than a drone or two to the NZ kings of abstract heart/mood. Ornate Shroud is the work of a Finnish BM gentleman who prefers...
Mudboy – Music for Any Speed 7” (Disques Lexi)
There’s something about download cards inside of 7”s that makes me want to gripe about various aches and pains while fearing that the vet just put a tracking chip inside of my cat. Not that either “Thaw” or “Freeze” will have iTunes hitting up the nearest temp agency to help with an explosion of single-track orders; it’s just that no one can be blamed for a hint of sour stomach after dutifully...
Repairs – s/t CS (Captured Tracks)
A very unexpected and nice surprise from the back seat of the Captured Tracks catalog. An Australian post-industrial oddity, Repairs sound as if they jumped fast-forward from the archives of Ladd-Frith, Sound Of Pig or even Staalplaat and shuffled themselves into a world in which our only understanding is that of MP3 blogs and Vinyl-on-Demand box sets. Minimal, sparse and cold is exactly what this...
