- Mark Weddle
- Albums and Singles
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- Jessica Tibbits
- Albums and Singles
I must admit that although I consider myself a big fan of Laub, I was a bit put off by the title of their latest release, which initially seemed like just another electronic artist's gratuitous nod to trendy internet jargon. Upon further investigation, however, I learned that Antye Greie-Fuchs and Jotka, who comprise Laub, actually created most of the album in separate locations, infrequently together. Taking this into consideration, 'Filesharing' makes more sense as a title.
Musically, it is as impressive as Laub's two previous albums: Antye's smooth vocals at first seem a vivid contrast to the jagged, stripped-down beats. Interestingly, a clean starkness, almost to the point of sterility, pervades this release, which has heretofore not been present in their work. This quality is even reflected in the album artwork, which pictures severe, sanitized portraits of the duo dressed in white on a white background. It is without doubt that the vocal stylings of Antye are the centerpiece of 'Filesharing', and thanks to this antiseptic approach, their subtlety can be fully appreciated. She runs the gamut from balladry (on the lovely "Wortspur") to exhibiting a heavy rap influence (on "Getriebe" and "Morgen"). Something for which I have always greatly respected Laub is their insistence on using their native German tongue in their music; whether or not it is comprehensible to the listener becomes irrelevant on account of the way the rhythms inherent in the language compliment the band musically. As a bonus, 'Filesharing' contains a CD-rom track which includes photos, discography and English translations of the lyrics (for those who can't bear not knowing what they mean). The really exciting addition, however, is the inclusion of audio file samples of several individual loops from each of the songs. Laub notes that their intent in providing these is so each listener may engage in some filesharing of her own. -
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- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
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- Mark Weddle
- Albums and Singles
- Mark Weddle
- Albums and Singles
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- Rhythm Sound - No Partial
- The Wailers Band - Higher Field Marshall
- The Wailers Band - (dub)
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- Jonathan Dean
- Albums and Singles
Then, all at once, the package arrives, like an enormously belatedX-Mas present. You hold your breath as you tear open the package withthe trademark Threshold House stamp affixed to it. Inside: a plasticsleeve housing the white cardboard slipcase the CD-R is housed in. Onthe outside of the package, thick mottled paint forms abstractpatterns. Bright colored splotches and dark, veiny paint traces coverits surface. Each sleeve is an original artwork created by Coil. Insideeach sleeve is a poloroid taken during Coil's Winter Solstice musickritual. Yours probably contains a sunrise, a plastic reindeer, a churchsteeple, electrical high-wires, or maybe even a UFO...who knows? Eachcopy has a different name; mine is called 'It Dries Up Everything ItComes Across." Maybe yours is called "Harry Potter's First Dose of LSD"or "Marrakech Mouthfuls." So far, so good...
The CD-R is completely blank, no art or track names printed; justtranslucent iridescent plastic. Track one begins: your fear and anguishimmediately subside with the rise of warm, attenuated bell tones. Thissixteen-minute ambient track sounds like wind chimes slowed down amodulated for maximum pleasurable drone. Then suddenly, Jhon Balancedarkly intones: "You look on it with a sense of dread." His voiceshifts positions and replies: "Gazing upon it with a sense of dread."Then the bell tones are drawn out for an eternity, it seems, whileBalance weaves his beautiful and disarming monologue about ediblebirds. The second track begins with profoundly haunting orchestralsynthesizer drones overlapping as Balance dramatically interprets amystical/existential poem by Angus MacLise. Incredibly haunting. Trackthree is all instrumental, with some playfully cosmic vintage synthmelodies, reminiscent of Kraftwerk's "Spacelab." This track develops ina complex, kaleidoscopic way towards its ghostly conclusion.
Bottom line: Coil has not disappointed in the slightest with thisrelease. They continue to reward their devoted listeners with some ofthe most innovative and inspiring electronic experimental music beingmade today. This CD-R is worth the money and the wait. Coil is veryaware that the total exclusivity of projects such as these adds anextra, "occult" esotericism to the experience that makes the musickthat much more amazing. Bravo.
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- Nate Smith
- Albums and Singles
- Carter Adams
- Albums and Singles
Anchoredby the Ben Lord's bombastic drumming, the band gives every elementequal weight in the mix, tothe extent that the vocals become lost in the mix. While this couldprove to be a deathkissfor some bands, Kilowatthours have consciously decided to place thelyrics on the same levelas the music. Becuase of this, I refuse to call the band's sound 'emo,'although this label isoften applied (mostly due to the fact that one of the members of theband was formerly inElliot). The instrumentation, which includes piano, organ, and variouselectronics to the morestandard guitar, drums, and bass, allows the band to experiment andpush the boundaries of the music's space and depth. The beauty of "TheBright Side" liesin its ability to meld influences from a variety of bands (differentparts of the album remindof bands from Radiohead to Lali Puna to Console) into a cohesive andseamless album. "TheBright Side" is one of the first great albums of this year, each songamazing me with itselectrifying depth, its energy, and its sheer dynamics.
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- Graeme Rowland
- Albums and Singles
Opening with the 'Fog Detonator' sounding like ashort field recording of doomed chickens lte loose on a minefield, it'simmediately clear that this is going to be a bumpy ride. Thesecond track is a Coil mix / collaboration in homage to'Hobgoblins'. John Balance asked Mount Vernon Arts Lab to contribute toan as yet unreleased compilation (possibly the elusive "Star ShapedIndividual in Society"?) and in return Coil did this remix, ameandering quirky snakecharmer gothic synth melody over a simplemedieval squelching pulsebeat. At first it seemed quite slight but grewinto a more monstrous merry-go-round pervride as day became night. It'salso one of the two most conventionally tuneful tracks here. It'snot surprising that John Balance should like the Arts Lab, as anearlier release "Warminster" in cahoots with Portishead's Adrian Utleyactually sounded surprisingly reminiscent of Coil, and at the time Iwas playing it a lot followed by the elpH 20 to 2000' CD which itseemed to compliment very well. There's an excerpt from "Warminster" onhere, although I'm not sure why. Maybe the original's deleted now andit was too good to leave behind?
There's also a collaboration with Barry 7 of Add N to X on 'TheSubmariners Song', which is an eerie moonlit descent to the bubblingdepths of synth burble. It's a shame it's so short as the oxygen supplygets cut just as the vessel's penetrated the murky unexplored depths ofthe oceanic abyss.'The Mandrake Club' pitches Norman Blake's guitar playing into far moretempestuous expanses than Teenage Fanclub could envisage in AlexChilton's worst hungover nightmare. It sounds like heavy effects boxshenanigens slung over a stylus stuck in a run out groove. Maybe theyjust found the most interesting noise on a Teenage Fanclub record...There is also a member of twee popsters Belle & Sebastien involvedbut there's no need to leap off the nearest roof as it's not thesinger. Isobel Campbell's descending cello runs are showcased alongsidesome erratic harpsichord fills on 'The Black Drop'. This ode to theVictorian slang for opium brings fitting respite from the storm ragingaround it and seems to give the CD a structure like a tarnishedalternate universe reflection of Coil's first "Unnatural History"compilation. Cut to 'Sir Keith at Lambeth' presiding over a furiouslyimmolating satanic mindbrain noise generator, which continues it'sturbulent thrum 'While London Sleeps'. When the Arts Lab adds Coil to Xthere's Hell and Sebastian in Mean Rage Bang Pub!
'Dashwood's Reverie' is an earlier spot of bother, radar blipsindicating giant vampire lizards crawling up the beach by night. Theinfluence of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop's groundbreaking soundtracksfor 'Dr Who' certainly pokes through on this eerie soiree! It'dbe very surprising if Mt Vernon hasn't heard and been heavilyinfluenced by the stunning Evan Parker Disinformation collaboration'London's Overthrow' that opened the second Ash Internationalcollection of Disinformation remixes "Al-Jabr". Evan Parker improvisedsome stellar sax over a repeating bludgeoning VLF radio recording. MtVernon must've thought it was a great idea because he pulls off a verysimilar trick on two tracks here, with Raymond MacDonald improvisingsax over thudding electronic noises. There's no techhead breakdown ofwhich device made what noise, so whether this is actually atmosphericelectromagnetic radio storms just like Disinformation or severelydistorted analog synthing remains a mystery, but Mullholland hasrevealed in interview that his gadgets are Moogs, a Synth VCS3, atheremin and a custom built Turbine Generator. Hats off to monocledmutineer 'Percy Topliss'! The tribute to the officer impersonator wholed an uprising against WWI insanity gets an emergency siren synthblast for the sax to wail over on full red alert. Raymond has a goodbash at Percy, however neither he nor the spookier 'Vauxhall Labyrinth'approach the intensity of Evan Parker, but what does?
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- Rob Devlin
- Albums and Singles
Now, almost twenty years after TheReplacements left Twin Tone and 11 years after they broke up, Vagrantannounced they had signed Paul Westerberg, and that his first solorelease on the label, "Stereo," would include this CD, "Mono," byWesterberg's alter-ego, Grandpaboy. They also claimed they could notconfirm the latest rumor, that Westerberg had recorded the album withsome or all of his former bandmates. Rabid fans demanded answers, somuch that it seems Vagrant decided to release the CD on its own in alimited pressing. So, are the Replacements recording again under thename Grandpaboy? Westerberg and his new label aren't saying, as allplayers listed in the liner notes are pseudonyms. But it's hard to denyon hearing the release that they may be there sporadically on sometracks. Here and there, the bass/backup vocals sound like TommyStinson, the drums could be Chris Mars or a reasonable substitute (JoshFreese, anyone?), and that "Superfluous Lead Guitar," as the linernotes say, might be Slim Dunlap. But who can say? And does it matter?Not really. True to its title, "Mono" was recorded in "Dynamic Mono,"which sounds far better than any other Mono recording I've heard. Andit is easily the best record Westerberg has recorded since the heydayof the 'Mats. A straight rock record in the best sense, there are noslow piano meanderings or ballads here. There are a few mid-temponumbers, bust mostly it swaggers right along. And there are missteps,as Grandpaboy admits in the liner notes, like songs starting or endingawkwardly, and a few weird passages, notably the break in the middle of'AAA.' The songs are worthy of merit, however, as they possess solidhooks, quirky lyrics, and that Westerberg wail, all true to 'Mats form.Who played it? Who cares. As the Grandpaboy says, "It feels right." Andthat's all that matters.
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