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Tigerbeat6
With only two releases on Tigerbeat6 and one on Community Library; the duo of Jorritsma and Zifcak don't have an expansive discography and that's good news. After hearing Sticky Tapes it's likely that a buying frenzy will well up in almost anyone's blood simply because their music is so much fun. Released in the middle of 2005, I didn't see this album get much press, either because I'm blind or because at the time Sticky Tapes sounded dangerously like kitsch. Contained inside is all the wiggling, beeping, flat out acidic techno music I could ever ask for. From the get go Eats Tapes lays down the four-on-the-floor "boom boom" beat and begin layering bits of melody and scattered percussion all over it. There's nothing progressive or earth-shattering about it, but it is a ton of fun. By eschewing all the unnecessary vocal samples and drug-related bullshit that gets tied so intimately to techno, Jorritsma and Zifcak get rid of all the annoying facets that (rightfully) gave techno such a bad name near the end of its popular life. All that's left are instrumental tracks that sound like the out of control and hallucinating child of Devo and Michael Winslow from Police Academy and Spaceballs (you know, the guy that made all the sound effects with his mouth?).
With shifting melodies and crazy percussive samples galore, the only thing I can complain about is that after nine tracks of the same bass drum part (boom boom boom boom), I wish that the band would have focused on their drum parts as much as their synth parts. There's enough happening at one time for me to forget about the incessant thump of that bass drum, but the album doesn't stand up to repeat listens because of it. Some variety in the groove department wouldn't have hurt at all, but with that thought aside, it's hard not to have fun when Sticky Buttons is spinning.
The overall mood of the album is bouncy, fun, and outright goofy. The band's best quality may well be their lack of pretentiousness. There's nothing here but rapid-fire synthetics and mechanoid strobe lights; more than enough to have a good time to. Kid 606's knob-twiddling hand makes an appearance on three tracks, though his love for skipping percussion sadly doesn't enter the picture. Eats Tapes are sure to release more music, their style is too infectious not to catch on. In the mean time, try tracking down everything else in their discography. I get the feeling that a lot of it will be hard to find, soon.
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5RC
From that hour together, Excepter chose to include just 29 minutes of music on this EP. Over five tracks John Fell Ryan, Dan Hougland, Nathan Corbin, and Jon Nicholson simply play off one another, weaving together what might be tin whistles, synthesizers, tape machines, drums, and all manner of strange squeaks. The vocals, however, I could do without. Whenever someone is "singing" I get the feeling that there was less than sufficient thought put into how it would sound coupled with the music. Considering Excepter has a knack for improvisatory performance, it isn't surprising that they chose to keep the vocals the way they are. For the most part it's all droning, chanting moans, mostly unintelligible and inconsequential over the pulse of the music. What matters is how Excepter blend all of their sounds together on the spot, choosing to weave what instruments they have together instead of highlighting one performer's ability or one instrument's appeal.
The pulse that surges irregularly throughout the course of Sunbomber is what keeps it alive. Excepter masterfully merge their ideas together, creating a blend of ideas and sounds that magically coalesce into one gyrating chorus of noise and melody. It's no wonder that the band's music has been called mystical or ritualistic, they have a tendency to focus in on a theme or a mood and then circle around it, bring to life, as if by some alchemical formula too complex to be written down or understood by modernity. Every track starts in the womb of some strange mutant and ends up a galactic swarm of cosmic dust and alien paranoia. The band refuses to give into the computer temptation and keeps everything live, manipulating tapes and beats on the spot instead of orchestrating their work ahead of time. One result of this choice is the band's unpredictability, but the other, more interesting result is the band's utter strangeness. I'm equally tempted to dance and run naked beneath a full moon because of this disc. I imagine if someone made a film about Satanic ritual, the music would make the perfect soundtrack, but I also imagine that if someone made a film about alien abductions, this album would only heighten the sense of otherness already associated with that topic.
Excepter's music sounds miraculous in short format. The EP was practically made for a band like this. Its brevity showcases the band's talent well without allowing them to fly off into territory too abstract and gravity-less to be enjoyable. With the final song being the longest, at just under 10 minutes, there's more than enough room to get cozy with Excepter. Their long-form jams are fun, but sound best when coupled with shorter material like the stuff found on Sunbomber. This may be Excepter at their finest, the gateway drug into their rather labyrinthine sound.
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Nova Express
Opening the proceedings are The Holy Curse who (like most of the bands here) sound like they came straight from Detroit. Of the four tracks by them “Let’s Go Surfin’” is the best, where the drums sound like there are four drummers playing in perfect time and the chirpy chorus jars with the aggressive verses wonderfully. They are followed by Jerry Spider Gang who occupy a bizarre middle ground between Black Flag and Iron Maiden. I’m not sure if I think it’s great or cheesy but I’m veering more towards cheesy. Ashtones are one of the weaker acts on the compilation; mostly due to their singer’s absolutely desperate voice. Their cover of The Stooges’ “Search and Destroy” is criminal.
The only band on the disc that I am in anyway familiar with is Dimi Dero Inc. from Paris. Their sound seems to be getting progressively darker with discordant overdriven guitars and an urgency that keeps the songs moving. They are the most French sounding band thanks to lead singer Dimi’s thick accent. It is unique comparing to most of the other bands who all sound about as French as someone born in Paris, Texas. Most importantly his voice suits the music. On “Damn” his voice croaks and rolls before unleashing a powerful outburst backed by paint stripping guitar. The three tracks here are the peak of the compilation.
Cowboys From Outerspace are both as absurd as their names suggests but also are well capable of some serious rocking. I’d rate them as being second best after Dimi Dero Inc. “Kaiser Surfer” is all melodramatic spoken word vocals and carnival organ but the following track “Waiting for your Love” is a short but blistering song. The absurdity quickly returns with their ridiculous cover of “Suspicious Minds.” Basly’s French accent just sounds wrong (yet oh so right) singing Elvis.
The remaining acts on the album aren’t as interesting. The three Flying Over tracks all merge into one. The Waterguns are musically bubblegum punk that would be right at home on the latest teen spoof movie although their singer Jet Boy comes from the same school as the singer from the aforementioned Ashtones. Electric Karma are given only one track and it’s a shame because the trippy “Death in Paradise” was a pleasant ending to the album.
The Kaiser Fucks the new French Rock doesn’t make me book flights for France to join in any musical revolutions but at least makes me feel confident that there’s more to French music than airy electronic artists. There are some duds on the CD but that’s part of the fun with compilations. The better tracks have got me interested in getting more from more than one of these bands.
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Anticon
Still riding the wave from last year's successful ocean- andgenre-crossing project 13+God, Soft Money finds Jel returning to whatheknows best: crafting music with his tried and true SP-1200. Andhe makes it easy to hear why the antiquiated sampler is such anindustryfavorite, techonological constraints aside it's a most flexibletool,allowing Jel to transition smoothly from sparse and scratchy to busyand organic with utmost ease. It is forced (SP users are limited to10-second snippets) but unless you knew you might not notice. Jelworks through the limitations, hammering together a busy layer ofmusic: chopped drums, guitars, electric piano, and vocal samples. Theresult is like a wll of aural dim sum: there's plenty to feast on, even if theservings are small.
Even when it gets dense and dark, Soft Money iseasy to dive get into; all the more easy aid the half dozen guests—oneeach from every stage in Jel's career, it seems—shine when calledupon, whether it's anticon labelmate Dosh's signature Fender Rhodessighing above a dirty breakbeat on "No Solution," or Ms. John Soda'sSteffi Böhm's duet with the bleeps and bloops of the SP, "All Around."But there's something missing: for all its beatcraft, Soft Money isshort on purpose. Rare are the moments crackling with tangible energyor vitality like Wise Intelligent's tirade on "WMD" or the blunt but fundig at consumerism in the opener "To Buy a Car." Even those are shots at the easy targets. Otherwise, Soft Money ebbs and flows along, propelled by thepulsing of the bass lines and the breakbeat snares and little else.
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Rephlex
If he had released these tracks ten years ago, it would have mademore sense. Although even then it would be overshadowed by the Analogue Bubblebath or Hangable Auto Bulb releases which still sound more progressive than the Analord tracks. When these EPs were released first I only bought one of them (Analord 02 which is not represented at all on this compilation) and decided that it wasn’t worth keeping up with the series. Listening to Chosen Lords I hear that I wasn’t mistaken in my decision. As far as AFX releases go, this is uninteresting.
The music isn’t bad, it’s still listenable but it’s disappointing asJames has had a golden touch. A couple of tracks stand out as being good;“Crying in your Face” starts off with a simple but effective synth bassline with an equally simple beat following it as wobbly noises andgorgeous melodies spin around them. “Cilonen” is also worth payingattention to, there’s some nice sequencing with the drums and rhythms.Even at their best, the tracks on Chosen Lords pale incomparison to the rest of the Aphex output. It sounds like he'simitating himself. At their worst, such as “Klopjob” or “Fenix Funk 5,”it is like someone less talented trying to imitate AFX. I don’t knowwhich is more depressing.
I hope this is an aberration in the AFX/Aphex Twin story. I have always loved James’ music but I find this Analord period to be frustrating. With any luck, Chosen Lordswill close off this chapter and in a couple of years there will be anew album worthy of the AFX name. Unfortunately I am going to be waryin future and will most likely avoid the inevitable reissue of all the Analord tracks in a CD box set.
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Troubleman/Megablade
Despite the name, Growing's fourth album Color Wheel doesn't feature a nifty wheel with color acetates revolving around some psychedelic background in the vein of Sonic Boom's Spectrum LP, butI wish it did. Instead, it has a white cover with a spare colored-pencilrendering of an explosion of polychromatic small circles (green, blue, aquamarine, baby blue) bursting forth over what could be either a taupe mountain range or dirty clouds. The image is pure, crystalline, and reinforced by the first few bars of "Fancy Period." A tremulous column ofsound reflects back and forth, like light refracting through prismic crystals. The song soon comes back down to earth, though. The firmament's presence is both announced and enunciated by fuzzy, staccato drones. They explode in a call and response between two sounds which arenot really speaking the same language. One is slightly ethereal and effervescent, the other chthonic and clumsy. This is the central conceitof any Growing song.
"Blue Angels" announces itself about four minutes in with a resounding bass-level buzz which almost sounds like a squadron of Boeing F/A-18 Hornets passing overhead. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't have the music video for Van Halen's "Dreams" in my mind right now, and consequently the mind-blowing Mr. Universe cover art of their 51/18album. "Blue Angels" (and really this band) is made for people everywhere who enjoy listening to bagpipe music. The problem is that the band belabors the song for too long, deliberating overthe same few oscillations and clinging to them too tenaciously. Growing are enamored of the 15-minute song because it is suitable as a live improvisation technique, not because it always sounds good on your stereoat home. While performing, the band can create hypnosis through drone, though recorded they can more often induce intolerance.
I prefer the frugality of "Friendly Confines" (7.5 minutes) or the economy of "Peace Offering" (6 minutes). Both songs efficiently tackle the Eno-esque drifts, the punchy punctuation, and the severe crescendos. "Friendly Confines" gives each realm its equal share of elegance and could possiblybe the acme of Growing's existence. By album's end, beware of "Green Pastures." Its pastoral charm is loudly lacerated by swaths of huge, metallic noise. It ends placidly enough, but your guts are still shakingfrom the scarier moments.
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Small Voices
The incredibly creepy cover (featuring a naked boy crawling in a bizarre fashion) and song titles like “Hitler Fucks Jesus” and “Strychnine” had me prepared for noisy beats and lots of screaming and confrontational lyrics. Instead the mood was more subdued with most songs consisting of only a slightly fuzzy synth bass, organ, and softly uttered but still menacing vocals. Imagine Michael Gira on lots of diazepam. There’s not much aggression, even on the colorfully titled tracks mentioned above.
Judah touch on a lot of landmark electronic artists There’s a track called “Ode to Suicide” that is more an ode to the band than the act itself. They are also heavily indebted to the softer sounds of Throbbing Gristle, Swans and Cabaret Voltaire. There is not much that is unique about them; they are a product of their own record collections. That being said, Cool Crap is an entertaining piece of work. There are a couple of lackluster songs like “Naked Candy” and “The King in Las Vegas,” but equally there are some top drawer songs like “Strychnine” and “Holy.” I think “The King in Las Vegas” was meant to be the climax of the album but it stumbles along for far too long, taking ten minutes when three would have been sufficient.
Judah haven’t proved themselves to be a remarkable band. I do think they have the potential to make a name for themselves, especially if they were more mercenary when it comes to assembling an album.
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Hanson
SpineScavenger moves in a region of far more interesting and controlledsound structures, albeit blood-rusty ones. Starting with some healthyabuse of the hulls of underwater wrecks “Side A” moves judderingly intoa rhythm of plodding engines plops. Building in volume this selectionof sheer steel pitches soon rises to a boiling insecticide cry. Cheapdigital overlaps smooth this out into low thudding encircling brickwall of rhythm sounds. Much like most of his better solo work Dillowayappears to be exercising considerable restraint, refusing to open theoily throttle into the red.
The flipside is a more obviouslyhands-on exercise, pulling on the pigtails of slender electronic tones.A noisy thudding chocolaty splurge manages to balance insistence andabandon in the same rushes. It shoves and pulls within its loosecomposition like a prolapsed heart being slammed into meaty lungs andfat covered ribs. There’s an almost proggy sense of stellar skies ashigh spacey drones shoot off into the atmosphere like rusty comets.Where these might normally fall to earth as large crumbly noise chunks,here they ratchet at the ears like knives on radiator grills. Aboutthree quarters of the way in there’s a more human element introduced.Drops of distant reverberated child’s vocals wobble through the song,sounding like they were pulled from some playground field recording.Usually you’d expect a member of the Wolf Eyes posse to milk this forfull creep-out factor, but this is used more in a weird dub elementstyle. Dilloway’s extra curricular music is taking leaps and boundsbeyond his both his European and American peer’s fulltime bands.
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That Ellen Alliencommissioned this 12” based on her esteem for this track (“Twenty Nine”) is telling,as alone it is great example of Broom working with very simple additiveelements to rend an effective, driving track. “Twenty Nine” has great beat transparency with shuffling, groaningtextures giving the straight house beat a lot of room, seamlessly intensifiedin scope and force as the melodic synth part that binds the track isadded. This melodic lead, just a fewheld, tense minor chords gives the track a gothic, IDM-ish feel with an strongintrinsic rhythm that does not harm, allowing a very substantial fade.
The first track on the flip might be myfavorite if the least original; “Together” is more straight electro, juxtaposingpunchier, rough-edged rhythms with less homogeneous synth passages of chimingtones and a frozen, obscured female mumble ”Together.” The last, “Rock N Roller,” is unlike anythingI’ve heard from Broom, practically an industrial track, recalling immediatelythe tinny shuffle rhythms and ‘crowd’samples used in Marilyn Manson’s “Beautiful People.”
Broom builds these elements (admittedlystrange and intriguing) into a clipped and stark techno headbanger that withits title makes me think of stadium venues rocking off their hinges, anextra-curious rounding-off for another worthy release for both artist andlabel.
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Self Released
I wish every bad emo front man in the world would suddenly up and decide their real calling in life had more to do with acting than it does with making albums that pollute already choked and diseased air waves. I can name maybe two bands in that "style" with voices impressive enough to pull off the whole crying bit and even their careers have descended into a mire of stale and fake sentimentality. So, with that in mind, a record like Hello Special Glowing World! might be made into an instrumental album instead of a pop record with sometimes clever lyrics, but piss poor performance. Over the course of the entire album it's quite obvious that Box_ wants to make a record like Stereolab used to, but with an ear to the instrumentation and arrangements employed by playful electronic bands like Plaid. The only problem is that they seem uncomfortable with the equipment and programs they employ, so instead of unfurling layers of lush orchestral samples, they simply stumble through rhythm after rhythm and synth part after synth part.
I can't fault the group for trying to do something unique and failing,but the instant their vocals come into the mix, I'm a little more thanrepulsed. Their sing-songy delivery and half-dramatic posturing soundmade for MTV and add nothing to the music. In fact, even if they hadmanaged to record more appealing utterances, the very presence of theirvoices wouldn't make much sense and would still clutter the music.Above all, their voices dominate the record, so any creative outputthey might've mustered this first time around is almost completelyobscured by their... singing. On the upside, there are some fairlydirect and amusing lyrics all over the record, one being from the song"When I Try To Impress My Girlfriends Sometimes They Burn To Death orDrown in Very Cold Water." Aside from the title giving me a good gutlaugh, the lyrics detail a pretty fantastic scene in which a couple ofgirls meet ill fates at the hand of a boy too preoccupied with hisoutward appearance to do anything about it. Another song details howthe singer would love to play mix and match with the body parts ofvarious women, constructing a perfectly sexy and alluring woman fromdifferent breasts, lips, arms, legs, and so on. It turns out to be arather endearing song, but everything leading up to the end is amusing.
Hello Special Glowing World! is only six bucks and, as such, might be worth picking up simply because it has entertainment value. As a record it fails, being both clumsy and under-written. I hesitate to call the record crap for a couple reasons, one of them being that I'm from St. Louis, Missouri and another being that I did get a couple of good laughs out of listening to it. Listening to it right now I find myself wishing that the duo would've taken more time to add more to their work. As it stands, too much of the record is bare boned and frail, resting on just a few tricks and some badly produced musicianship gone lazy.
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The Ultimate Destroyer starts off with a track with the veryapt title of “Juggernaut of Metal,” the band charge through it like abull in a china shop. Vocalist and guitarist Steven Rathbone soundsimmense as he screams about bashing brains, eating entrails and generalmayhem. The song finishes with him growling the lyrics like a beast.His guitar work keeps up with his vocals; the riffs are thick and full.Barrara’s bass is a wall of sludge, I can never pick it out but I canfeel it. The strings are more than adequately backed by Herweg’sdrumming. His pounding to “Grisly Hound of the Pit” is incredible.
One track that I really have to comment on is “Cannibal Massacre.” This was released in an extended mix as a singlea few months ago and I really couldn’t abide it. It was far too long.Thankfully on the album it has been chopped down to nearly half itslength and it works all the better for it. None of the tracks go on toolong; the album is short by today’s standards at minutes compared tothe compulsion of most bands to use up all the 80 minutes of space on aCD. The relative brevity of The Ultimate Destroyer adds to its appeal. It’s like a quick, hard punch to the nose.
Lair of the Minotaur pay homage to several of metal’s greats: thereare elements of Slayer in “Behead the Gorgon;” Sabbath’s influence iseverywhere; and Chuck Schuldiner’s Death are also lurking between theriffs. There is also a more modern bass-heavy production (they are onSouthern Lord for a reason) about them that keeps the musiccontemporary. Granted it’s no giant leap for metal but when Lair of theMinotaur leap, they land heavy. This is proven by the album’s closer“The Hydra Coils upon this Wicked Mountain” which crawls along at aMelvin’s pace. It’s a terrific end to a terrific album.
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