June 2011
84 posts
Tsembla – Fauna LP (Ikuisuus)
Mostly instrumental Finnish folk-psych outfit drifts in and out of the bogs with warped, occasionally transcendent meditations/mutations on nature. Birds sing and their songs get bent by synths. Wordless vocals chant beneath the fray as dawn creeps up in the horizon, and all living creatures stop and reflect on the energy of the Earth beneath them, still pushing them to exist despite our...
Boomgates – “Layman’s Terms” b/w “Nothing” 7”...
Kind of what I expected, but I feel like I’ve heard enough of Eddy Current Suppression Ring at this point and that they can’t help but make the same record over and over anymore, which is why I’m not just happy but grateful for the existence of Brendan Suppression’s side project, Boomgates. This is their second single and it’s just as good as their first – again, no ground really being broken...
Hunters/Dead Wife – split 7” EP (Swill Children)
Hunters = NYC band, prone to SY-esque fits of feedback/chaos, but are mostly some unmemorable, slightly tougher indie rock than what many are used to. Produced by James Iha and mixed by Nick Zinner, neither of whom could work any real magic on these. Two songs, both pretty trendy/boring, as is this label’s wont. Dead Wife = Montreal band, already issued one really dismal 7” and these three...
Juju + Jordash – Release the Golem Part 1 12”...
First of four singles in a series (which will eventually include a DVD) from this Amsterdam duo, who somehow politicize dance music in a very deep and soulful way. Their press release, explaining the duo’s Israeli heritage and willingness to confront social issues, notes that these tracks come out of a rescoring of “Der Golem,” though the end result – small, hypnotic, chilled out phrases repeated...
Krang – “Speed of Tent” b/w “Spirit Animal” 7”...
Four guys from Edmonton put their best foot forward with this rockin’ single. “Speed of Tent” powers on between thundering drums and a relentless beat, and its bluesy counterpart, some really nice, aggressive stoned rock ‘n’ roll. “Spirit Animal” jangles in the cave, building up a head of steam that proves to be incredibly heavy and dingy. I think I like Krang because it doesn’t sound like they...
Andrew Liles – Monster Munch 7” EP (Tourette)
Composer Liles messes around with intense hand-drum rhythms (likely chopped up to produce the punishing effects they’ve got going on here) and circus organ to dangle you over the Dark Carnival by your nipples. Not too much fun, is it? The B-side ends up in some sort of adult-themed cabaret, with drum machine, sex breath, more of the broken rhythms, and enough innuendo to give a guy in a coma a...
Mixtapes – A Short Collection of Short Songs 7” EP...
Overly earnest boy/girl new-school mall emo-infused pop-punk that I’m sure would go over swell at “The Fest” or Hot Topic or wherever chubby beardos who are into this shit hang out these days. Make no mistake, this is watered down, radio-ready, most likely Xtian goofball stuff. Ironic song titles? Check (“The Real Hotel California”). Songs with cringe-worthy lyrics about being in a band/the...
Bill Orcutt – “All Tongues” b/w “Tender Bottoms”...
Four more sides of a carpenter sawing through your psyche. Bill Orcutt’s visceral threnodies alternate between barbed wire and lonesome lunar baying, maybe with a bit more separation between the styles than what was found on A New Way to Pay Old Debts. Here we sense skill turning into mastery, a language being refined after its creation. Orcutt still leaves the dried blood on the strings of that...
Outdoorsmen – Tell Your Folks I’m a Goner 7” EP...
Dirty like Vinnie’s boxers, Outdoorsmen know enough about “middle management” to address it, but do little else to convince you that they are ready to work. Dumb, rude, boorish songs with lots of filthy, caked-on noise and titles like “Stink Up the Bathroom.” It’s Termbo in 7” single form. Enjoy, losers! (http://www.myspace.com/psychichandshake) (Doug Mosurock)
Overnight Lows – “Slit Wrist Rock ‘n’ Roll” b/w...
Good time/nighttime rockin’ from a long-running Mississippi garage band who’ve been held back from the world until recently. These are great songs, kinda out of control with the Ohio rock references – aside from the vocals, “Slit Wrist R&R” could be a Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments song. They make quick, fanatical work of Ed Nasty and the Dopeds’ KBD classic on the flip. Way 2 Go....
The Rebel/The Bomber Jackets – split 7” EP (Kill...
The Rebel keeps you guessing – “SLC BTR” makes as if Ben Wallers has gone the chiptune route, while “BTR PHOTO” runs a farty synth loop against arcane, confusing repetition, a la the Fall, perhaps. The Bomber Jackets (identity unknown) fares about the same, with one muffled, barely there jazz-blues ballad called “Strange Sensation” (sounds like Ween, really) and one sorta aching heart electronic...
Sopors – Golden Era #267 LP (Mongo Bongo/Top Ten...
A song about Internet porn, followed by a tale of time travel where the narrator goes back to his birth to kill himself – Sopors at least put some of the remaining brain cells to good use on this new full-length, packed from one end to the other with magnetic power pop riffs, sloppy but endearing presentation, and sincerity ‘til it hurts. Many will see this as a continuum of the Bay Area pop...
Sports – The Smell of Rot LP (Feeding Tube)
Among the microgenres of music that roll through here on vinyl, the “solo female/passing bedroom synth/darkwave/early industrial project” is a perennial favorite. Sports is this woman Clare Hubbard, who performs folk-psych under the name Caethua, but here places herself in the hands of the machine, like that part in “Superman III,” and foretells our grisly, time-extended demise from the burden...
Various Artists – Play That Beat Mr. Raja #1 LP...
Maybe the most freewheeling Asia/Pacific film music comp to come out yet, for better or worse. French DJs and curators assembled this collection of songs from Tamil cinema of the ’80s and ‘90s. Like almost all of these comps, we get to hear Western culture thrown back at us with regional zeal and anti-technology chintz, but in the case of these tracks, the composers are more than content to zip...
Gemini Wolf – Invisible Sand Dunes LP (EarSnake)
Philly duo of indeterminate genre (their bio praises the group’s ability to perform in whatever seems to be the hottest mode at the moment, be it psychedelic rock or techno) rocks the triangles pretty hard on this eight-song LP, pushing the issue of all-night cabaret chill on side A, and a full-on frigid, minimalistic whisper of backwards notes and rudimentary dub riddims on side B. I’d have a...
Invisible Polytechnic – Perform In C by Terry...
Large British ensemble scales the infinite peaks of Riley’s famed composition, carrying on the original’s sense of whimsical urgency and a polite yet curious air throughout both sides. Those expecting “new music ensemble”-type instrumentation and presence can breathe easily here, as Mark Pilkington and co. are not out to do more but present the exacting majesty of the piece in respectable terms,...
Kommissar Hjuler und Mama Baer/Ninni Morgia &...
You’ve gotta wonder what would be cooler: talking with the two couples that comprise both sides of the record, or listening to their music. In the case of guitarist Morgia, playing lightly off Silvia Kastel’s intense vocalizing and other treatments, it could go either way. And there’s never really a reason to listen to the broken, difficult sounds of Hjuler & Mama, even though they may have...
Bern Porter & Mark Melnicove – Music for Children...
The more you look for information on poet/scientist/corpse Bern Porter, the more you’ll find. Here’s a man who lived every corner of the 20th century, developing the practice of found poetry and enhancing the art through his own words (he was called Duchamp’s equal in the written word). He worked on the Manhattan Project, apparently knew Albert Einstein, published Henry Miller’s first US...
Wonderfuls – s/t 7” EP (Negative Guest List)
Drug rock, right down to the syringe scars on the arm depicted on the front sleeve. Attempts a Royal Trux/Pink Reason sort of addict realness/coolness but misses by a lot, probably due to competent leans on the guitar underneath all those effects pedals. There’s a sad story behind this record (and it came all the way from Australia), but to use it to sell music is kind of creepy. I’m awaiting...
Circle Pit – “Sewercide” b/w “Roll With the...
This is the first Circle Pit record I’m really feelin’ at all. “Sewercide” captures some of my favorite sounds in rock music (Steel Pole Bath Tub’s noirish monstrosities, and the blown-speaker authority of Royal Trux) and rolls them together into a filthy, relentless rocker that is immensely satisfying. “Roll With the Punches” runs that same noise-hog sound through the Gary Glitter rollerskate...
