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Following up Flesh Eating Ants' 2002 debut—an extraordinary double LP re-issue of Edward Ka-Spel's Tanith and the Lion Tree—are a trio of Cevin Key-related projects. Each has received the same aesthetically pleasing transition to analog: the audio direct-metal mastered to colorful 220 gram audiophile vinyl and the artwork altered and expanded to gatefold sleeves. Knowing those specs and just simply inspecting them, it's clear that it doesn't get any better than this. Each is well worth their price.
Involution was a 1997-98 collaboration with Bree and Paris (Christian Death, Shadow Project, EXP), the last to be recorded at the then Vancouver based Subconscious Studios. Key apparently served primarily as producer rather than a composer of the album. Regardless, it certainly sounds like Key-inspired minimalism as abstract electronics tangle with oddly timed blips and beats. As it did then, this disc still strikes me the same. Several tracks seem underdeveloped and/or lacking in depth, similar to Key's 1997 solo debut Music For Cats. Each side has two definite standouts. "Clairaudience" kicks into gear in the third minute as noise passes the passive beat like motorcycles on a highway constructed of synth pads. "Trapheezeeoh" nonchalantly switches from pleasant future funk to theremin ambiance and back, the latter third of the track stripped down to a taut bass figure. "Acid Clambake" is the lengthiest track at seven minutes and probably the moodiest. It begins and ends noisily but the mid-section eventually relies solely on the gentle strains of strings and tiny twirls of sound. "Blind Timefold" has Key's signature subtle melodies flirting about in the background and that makes the track. Fortunately, the CD's hideous artwork has been cast aside in favor of new collages and an alluring masked and silver body painted female on the back. This one is limited to 200 hand-numbered copies and the vinyl is translucent purple with light pink streaks.
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III Steps Forward was volume three of last year's Subconscious Communications "From the Vault" limited series. Key and Phil Western compiled unused and re-worked tracks spanning 1996's to 2000's Effector and beyond. Stylistically they combine the harder edged rhythms of pre and post-III work with touches of III's sleek ambiance and minimalism. "Sticky Glandstin" and "Walking, Talking" splatter percussion, sound effects, squelches and wide-sweeping synth waves to great effect. They're great reminders that no one else sounds quite like Download. "Dakota" methodically pumps along until it unexpectedly gives way to lush ambient billows. "Resilient" and "Ratail Comb" are lesser tracks more concerned with battling beats than progressive song structures. "The Itch of Trepanning" boldly staggers a mid-tempo groove while the driving bass line of "Manmade" is laced with Download style drum 'n bass. "Nor" is the lengthiest at six minutes and most atmospheric of the bunch, the rhythm taking a back seat to thick whorls of synth pad and a distant animal howl. It's a showcase in Download's gentler side and would have fit in nicely on III. "D.O.G." and "P.U.P." are loving tributes to Key's dearly departed cats, both tracks tamer and imbued with an appropriate sense of sadness. After some silence the brief but melodically cute hidden track "Bolantinis Pivoli" pleasantly caps the album off—and that's just what it feels like: an album (despite being a compilation). It's the perfect companion to III and Effector. New and improved artwork here as well with photos of a Buchla Electric Music Box modular synthesizer, presumably Download's and presumably used on these tracks. This one is limited to 420 hand-numbered copies and the vinyl is translucent blue with dark purple streaks.
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Plateau is Key and Western's project geared more towards the chill-out scenes of the dance floor or grass bars. Over the years the clear cut line between it and Download has been smudged some, but generally Plateau tracks are centered around hypnotic minimal grooves. Iceolator was volume four of "From the Vault" and it collects outtakes from 1996 to 2001. It was just begging for a vinyl release—the first Plateau to hit vinyl since 1997's Dutch Flowers. The album is split about half and half between ethereal and melodic tracks and harder and weirder tracks. The severe rhythms of "Manali Cream," "Peacemaker," "Great White Shark," "Sunburst," and "Sweet Tooth" might harsh your mellow some man. But then again, maybe not, depending on how much you've already smoked. My favorites are the title track, "Champagne," and "Nevilles Haze," which have milder rhythms and are sprinkled with pretty sound potpourri. "Buddahs Sister," "Kali Mist," and "Greenguy" are on the lighter side too, lighting up a variety of ganja-toking trances. Dance or chill, they work (I've happily done both). This one is limited to 420 hand-numbered copies and the vinyl is white with light green streaks.
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- Albums and Singles
The Monday night crowd at any bar is probably an interesting bunch. On their latest album, Arab Strap gives us their rendition of that crowd as thirteen songs comprised of their gloomy, downtrodden, and defeated thoughts. Amid drunken hazes and empty hookups, the pub patrons reveal the conflicts and regrets that led them to their early week retreat.Matador
"The Shy Retirer" kicks things off with a quick, programmed drumbeat and a bouncy acoustic accompaniment. Were it not for the lyrics, this could almost be an upbeat song. Instead, the speaker mourns his lack of social skills and longs for any kind of connection but finds himself incapable of doing what he needs to start one. The introspective bent continues with the stumbling, yet delicate "Meanwhile, at the Bar, a Drunkard Muses." The shots must start to kick in on "Fucking Little Bastards," as a furiously primal drum beat and a swirling noise-fest of guitar engulfs bitter words about the speaker's fake friends. The outburst fades quickly however, and the songs return to the somber mulling. "Loch Leven" continues Arab Strap's exercise in local color, beginning with ambient rain and a bagpipe introduction, setting the scene for yet another missed connection in the foggy streets of Scotland. The longing, lovelorn "Act of War" is a beautiful ode to a careless lover, with a straining violin counterpointing the speaker's world-weary attitude as he intones "you've always been clumsy / be it with tables at your work / or with my heart." Following that track is the far less poignant "Serenade," which spills out a leering advance over Casio keyboard drum beats. "You're the kind of girl I want to bathe and dance with" probably isn't going to score any points. Still, the song is an interesting character study, and musically intriguing. Monday at the Hug & Pint is a perfect album at three in the morning, after another unsuccessful night at a favorite club or bar (against better judgment). While the concept is a bit of a downer (we could have used just a little break from melancholy), Arab Strap captures it very well, from the articulate musings on love to the base, lecherous impulses that invade our minds in our weakest moments.
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It's almost as if he has re-tooled his thinking into making Four Tet sound like an actual group of a fixed amount of musicians. While the substance is still being created from pre-existing material, this fictitious ensemble now seemingly use as many sources as they can all play together. The result isn't a mindblowing extravaganza, but a cool, subdued treat. "Hands" serves as a perfect album introduction with shuffling drum beats while the first single, "She Moves She" delicately marries sampled guitar riffs with a steady drum beat. Somewhat expected Four Tet instrumentation springs up like the harp sounds on various tunes including "My Angel Rocks Back and Forth," which has got to be one of the most hypnotic songs I have fallen in love with this year, and the hurried fast-forward sounding digitized samples, which rear their head on "Spirit Fingers." I appreciate the chance to hear songs played to their natural demise and many of the album's 10 tracks thankfully stretch over the five minute mark, with slow builders like the 9+ minute "Unspoken" and the album's closer, "Slow Jam," which is oddly remeniscent of some of the finer Fridge guitar-driven album closers. For those with good connections, a video of "She Moves She" is available here. Hebden will be on tour as Four Tet with Prefuse 73 and Manitoba starting this month. All the dates are listed also at the Domino site.
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- Jan Jelinek - Silver Circle
- Kit Clayton - Etymon No
- John Tejada - Cyberspace Visual
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