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Morr Music
I'm happy Morr Music reissued Múm's debut full-length and that I've got a lull in theschedule where I can finally catch up with a group that deserves the attention. Listening to Yesterday Was Dramatic in avacuum of Múm knowledge, and perhaps baggage, it's easy to appreciatewhat the group is doing with a simple design. The songs here are earthyand natural despite being obviously digital in many ways, and when Ithink back to the year (2000) that this album was originally released,I can see how it predicted a lot of the folktronica and bedroom laptopmusic that's come out in the time since. There's a nice bridge herebetween the synthetic and odd-but-real world that makes the songs alittle familiar and a little alien at the same time.
Stylisticdescriptions aside, Múm's first record is perhaps best described as'cute,' an adjective that I don't find myself using very often, but onethat seems completely appropriate for Múm's distinctly childlikeapproach to music. So much of the music that works from this same potof sounds seems drowned in its own melancholy or created as a personaltherapy activity, but Múm is something altogether different. There's achildlike wonder at the magic of music on display in tracks like "Thereis a number of small things" and even the more somber tracks like "Theballad of the broken string" seem almost playful. I imagine the membersof Múm sitting around and asking one another "can you play theaccordian?" "No, can you?" and then just picking the thing up to seewhat it can do. The winding of music boxes, the whistle of toy flutes,and the digital cut up and manipulation of everything adds up to awonderfully experimental bit of exploration.
As breathy vocalstake the stage on "The ballad of the broken birdie records" the recordmomentarily stretches past my patience for cuteness and gets a littletoo precious for my tastes. I've heard that other people have had asimilar reaction to later Múm material, but for this record which isfive years old but new to me, and newly remastered, Múm's work isenchanting.
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Paquet Surpriseis a mostly quiet album. Not that I ever had to turn the album up tohear all the sounds, but all the songs bleed a quiet gentleness. Evenwhen a distorted line of garbage interrupts the soft singing on "I AmWaiting (For December)," there's a sense that it belongs in that placejust as naturally as all the other, quieter sounds. Seconds pass bysizzling with Davis' own peculiar warmth, a result of his approach todigital editing and composition I suppose, but also present is Roux'sdelicate touch.
Though Davis' Somnia was melodic in its ownright, there's far more melody present on every song than I wouldexpect from a record Davis might compose on his own. Roux's additionsstrike me as being harmonious with Davis'. I understand theysent their music back and forth and, as such, both their signatures aregoing to be present in the music, but every song is so fully satisfyingand lively that I have to attribute some of its appeal to how wellthese two work together.
The cover of Paquet Surprise depictsall manner of animals and flora being stuffed into a tiny box; theimage is a perfect parallel for the album's distinct flow and generallygentle sound. Fluttering computer talk, instruments, and fieldrecordings all bump into each other, flowering and decomposing as theyintertwine and generate moments of melody, rhythm, and chaos. At timesthe jumble of electronic stuff will get overwhelming, but slowly bereplaced by the shake of a rattle and the ring of a guitar and, beforelong, a "song" in the classical sense of the word will emerge briefly.It's only succumbed by Davis' and Roux's massively low sound, but thosebrief interludes are lovely and only adds to the generally attractivenature of the entire record.
At one point the sounds of the ocean washup over a percolating digital swarm and there's a sense that I might bein paradise somewhere, resting on the beach with a beer in one hand anda book in the other. By the end of the album I've realized that thewhole time Davis and Roux have been building this atmosphere, thiseuphoria of a paradise in my bedroom. The tropical, sunny dispositionof each song is enough to make winter seem unbearable, but at leastthere's this album. Warm waters, sunny beaches, green trails...everything's just been packed up and stuffed inside these songs for theseason. It's enough to want to hear Davis and Roux do somethingtogether again, though I doubt it'll happen.
Davis has been a part ofseveral collaborations this year and with that in mind, it is likelythat he'll just move on and continue to change his sound along with hisconspirators. Sebastien Roux has a record available right now onApestaartje and I imagine, from the merits of his work on thisrecording, that his solo material is worth a listen, too.
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I didn't know quite what to expect from a new Esplendor Geométrico album, aside from a lot of relentlessly repeating percussion loops.  However, I did know that I didn't expect Desarrollos Geométricos to be nearly as distorted and brutal as it is, as their last few studio albums have been comparatively clean and less-hostile.  In many respects, this surprise return to the fury of their youth is pretty striking and invigorating, but this Spanish duo still has yet to shake some of their more fundamental and recurring flaws.
Few artists are as unapologetically single-minded in their focus as Esplendor Geométrico, as Arturo Lanz and his varying bandmates have now spent three decades chasing the perfect beat to the exclusion of nearly everything else.  In fact, a near-obsessive fixation on rhythm is basically the sole recurring theme that defines EG's work.  Well, that and extreme volume–this, like most other EG albums, is meant to be played as loudly as possible.  That is both a blessing and a curse.  These are the sort of crushing, building-shaking beats that could completely entrance and consume me when played at jet-engine volume levels live, but their brutal simplicity often leaves a lot to be desired in a normal listening environment.  The actual "music" often feels quite half-hearted and tossed-off.  Also, Lanz and Saverio Evangelista sometimes display a very primitive and puzzling "shock" aesthetic with their samples that seems better left in the '80s.
That tactic arguably works with "Presión" though, which features a snippet of an anguished woman shrieking "call 911 now," but it only succeeds because she sounds so unhinged that it feels more like a threat than a cry for help.  It sounds like she is about to tear someone's goddamn face off with her bare hands, which unsurprisingly still seems quite powerful despite being wildly over-the-top.  Dramatically less successful, however, is "Criba mecánica," which artlessly incorporates a bunch of porn samples.  Few things are more embarrassing or uncomfortable than a clumsy attempt to be puerile or darkly sexual.  That musical crime is doubly frustrating in this particular instance, as the throbbing mechanized beat and dissonant feedback beneath the moans and whimpers is pretty awesomely menacing and dystopian-sounding.  Fortunately, that dubious piece is omitted entirely from the vinyl version of the album and the remainder of the songs eschew any similarly gauche or ill-advised loops.
Tellingly, the strongest songs on Desarrollos Geométricos don't offer many frills at all, just insistent bludgeoning with machine-like precision.  My favorite is "Cada día más," which stomps and crunches along for four-and-half-minutes with little more than an eerie hum and some panning tricks to augment the unrelenting pulse.  In most cases, however, these songs could benefit greatly from even the slightest nod towards conventional musicality.  I'm not delusional–I don't expect anything crazy like actual songs or dynamic variation from Lanz, but it seems EG invariably errs either on the side of adding practically nothing to their beats or adds something far too brazen, distracting, and attention-stealing.  I'm sure there is a middle ground somewhere that Arturo and Saverio could find that might elevate their work into something less niche.  I wish they'd look for it.
It is undeniably a bit frustrating to see that Lanz and Evangelista are just as inconsistent and incapable of fully realizing the raw potential of their work as ever.  However, it is also quite heartening to see them return to abrasive roots with such enthusiasm and raw power.  Esplendor Geométrico are still definitely at the top of their game as far as constructing huge, hypnotic, and ingeniously textured rhythms: there is no one else I'd rather have playing if I was throwing an orgiastic Industrial dance party in an abandoned aircraft hangar.  I just wish they'd figure out a way to make their music as rewarding in other contexts.
(Note- the CD and vinyl versions of this album have radically different track listings.  Six of the nine songs on the CD are not on the vinyl release and three of the six songs on the vinyl are not on the CD.  This is a review of the CD version.)
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After a full year off from touring and releasing new music, A Place to Bury Strangers are still going strong with their balance of sharp hooks and sonic firepower. Much like the Jesus and Mary Chain's significant leap in fidelity from Psychocandy to Darklands, this five-song EP will likely generate more discussion about its production and mixing choices than its well-constructed tunes.
Onwards to the Wall signals a few significant changes for A Place to Bury Strangers; their move to a different label, Dead Oceans, is an obvious one. More significantly, though, APTBS have taken a step back from the full-frontal guitar maelstrom that has come to define their music, and toward a sort of traditionally hooky, guitar-based rock (still with a bite, of course) readying itself to thrive on the strength of its songwriting. While no more or less catchy than much of their previous work—several cuts from their debut still rank among their most hummable—the de-emphasis on having Oliver Ackermann's guitar at the forefront, cranked into the red at 110% capacity, makes it easier to focus on the songs at hand.
The most memorable moment on this EP is influenced by an addition to the band's core lineup: bassist and vocalist Dion Lunadon provides Ackermann with a foil, and a second voice, to play with in his songs. The title track deploys a call-and-response, boy/girl vocal structure—one of the oldest tricks in the pop songwriting book, right, Nancy and Lee?—fitted within a tense, echo- and feedback-laden framework that builds tension and tempo, with no easy release. Elsewhere, "I Lost You" harkens back to the debut, with its insistent pace and drum machine-esque rhythm section, though Ackermann's guitar is cranked down a few notches from "obliterate" to "incinerate." The most volatile song here is "Nothing Will Surprise Me," which crams an ungodly amount of pitch-shifted, tremolo'd guitar work into three short minutes. "Drill It Up" closes the set with fuzzed-out bass guitar and the industrial clank of the percussion leading the charge.
I'm guessing that Ackermann & Co. will absolutely tear these songs to shreds in a live setting, and at home, the production is solid enough to allow Onwards to the Wall to be cranked up to ear-splitting volumes and sound full of life. Sure, the guitars are set backward in the mix, but things still get fucking loud with a simple turn of the volume dial. The balance has shifted, and it's to the band's credit that they are no longer a walking advertisement for Death by Audio, Ackermann's day job building effect pedals (you gotta admit, the title of Ackermann's first pedal, "Total Sonic Annihilation," was a spot-on characterization of APTBS circa 2007). Instead, Onwards to the Wall sees the band evolving, making smart adjustments to their sound before their next full-length, instead of treading water and repeating their past work.
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*SKURA ~ Complete Works, 2005-2011, Book + DVD-R
2nd Edition : 2nd February, 2012
*SKURA comprises the artist's complete musical works published through Sustain-Release: 20 albums, 93 tracks, over 12 hours of music.
Previously available as a highly limited 20-disc set, *SKURA is now available as a collection of high quality, 320kbps MP3's on a single DVD-R. This edition is accompanied by a 122-page book featuring a full discography, artwork, poem fragments, liner notes and introductory essays by The Wire's Tony Herrington and Mojo's Andrew Male. Each copy is signed by the artist.
More information is available here.
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Young God Records has announced the release of a new live Swans album We Rose From Your Bed With The Sun In Our Head, a 2 CD set.
We Rose From Your Bed With The Sun In Our Head is Handmade and Assembled With 2 Color Woodblock Print Sleeve of Original Drawing by M.Gira. Each One Uniquely Signed and Numbered and Further Personalized by M.Gira.
This Version is a Limited Edition of 1000 and includes Exclusive Solo Recordings of Songs for New Swans. Album in Progress (as well as narrations/explanations re the new songs, exclusive to this version).
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TRACK LISTING:
disc one: 1. intro/no words no thoughts 2. jim 3. beautiful child 4. the apostate 5. yr property 6. sex god sex
disc two: 1. the seer (intro)/ i crawled 2. eden prison 3. 93 ave. b blues / little mouth... demos/special website only recordings: 4. hello there 5. lunacy 6. the mother of the world 7. the daughter brings the water 8. a piece of the sky 9. the seer 10. goodbye.
SWANS: michael gira - guitar, vocal; norman westerg - guitar; phil puleo - drums, duclimer; thor harris - drums/percussion, vibes, clarinet, melodica, violin; christoph hahn - double lap steel guitar; christopher pravdica - bass.
http://www.younggodrecords.com/home/handmade-live-cd-bundle
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This disc is almost like a renaissance for .. er .. "rhythmic noise" (Iloathe that term, but I'm at a lack for better words). It was ratherunexpected on my part, but it pulls no punches and places Ant-Zen backon the roadmap it was beginning to explore with the early rhythmicnoise releases... it reminds me of one album in particular, ImminentStarvation's "Nord," a classic album. But it goes beyond that.
Sprinkled throughout the album are achingly beautiful structure andmelodies (no doubt written by the Sanctum member[s]), which add untoldamounts of character and replay value to a genre like this. The harsh,drilling beats in "Crater" are offset by a warm, calming melody ...which is literally a breath of fresh air. "Bring Nothing Back" isobviously influenced by Jan Carkelev's (Sanctum) sideproject ParcaPace, which was a 18-minute masterpiece of beats, chants, and violins -they're all here, but the beats are made even better by the Durlingbrothers. Brilliant.
Though, the album does get a tad bit repetitious at points... but doesit ever go so far as to be boring? Nah. You also should stay away fromthis release if you're expecting dance music - it has beats, but thisis mood music. The album is beautifully packaged in a jewel case withwarm, cool tones throughout and a picture of - what else? - beautifulazure skies gracing the cover. For anyone who felt betrayed withAnt-Zen's recent releases (PAL's "Release".. *cough*), this album is areturn to form and a must-have.
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This double CD set manages to serve up about two hours worth of why they were and are such a powerfully unique unit, a duo still militantly convinced by their own vision, still working outside even the smugly comfortable world of experimental dance, and coming up with pure gold every time.
All of the albums are well represented here, particularly key releases Heartbeat (the thunderous 'Put Yourself in Los Angeles' and abrasive/ludicrous 'Hairy Beary'); Trance (the stunning and vastly influential 'Cowboys in Cuba') right through the stunning string of mid to late eighties albums Songs of Love and Lust, Techno Primitive and Exotika up to their ultimate statement of intent to date, Skimble Skamble. One minute they sound like Nico covering Barry White (on 'Dr John'), the next minute they're serving up oceanic waves of sound, buried pulsing beats and oscillating electronica...and they just take another swig of Martin Denny and roll out the joy some more.
Do yourself and your friends a favor - let this compilation burn a hole in your Christmas stocking this year, and then wait a few moments for your life to change.
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