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Black Music, an LTM Compilation
LTM
Whether one enjoys these label-sampler compilations depends mostly onhow one's taste agrees with that of the person who runs the label.There are no record labels whose taste I agree with 100%, but I like alot of what LTM does, enough to keep me interested in what label-bossJames Nice decides to issue next. This CD compiles tracks from therecent batch of LTM releases with a few otherwise unreleased songs tosucker in the completists. Hell, it works for me, why not. LTM and itssub-label Boutique seem to have several related missions: to reissuemusic originally released by Factory (other than the bigshots, JoyDivision, Durutti Column, and New Order) to music by bands who might atsome point have had a record (even just a 7") on Factory, and torelease new music by bands who were on Factory long ago and are eitherstill going or who have been ressurected due to Nice's enthusiasm. Oneof those bands, Crispy Ambulance, has donated a live album from thierreunion tour as a bonus CD that comes free with the first run of "BlackMusic" CDs.
I don't love all of this, of course. My taste runs more towards thelate 70s/early 80s industrial post-punk sounds, so the tracks here byDepartment S (a foot-tapping punk-disco anthem called "Going LeftRight") , the amorphous fuzz noises by Ludus (one of the exclusivetracks), and especially Crawling Chaos and Artery's skewed punkappealled to me. The comp is successful in that it's certainly got myinterest enough to seek out more CDs by these bands, which areforthcoming in the months ahead. The reunited Crispy Ambulance and theproject currently calling itself the Wake (now a duo containing onlyone original member) sound tired and reaching, not particularly asinspired as those bands early 1980s music. The Graham Massey (of BitingTongues and 808 State) remix of a newer Crispy song just plods alongwith seemingly random effects and some movie samples....Section 25's track from a recent incarnation sounds great, though; it'sa lo-fi stomper with electronic drums (yeah!) and fuzzy synths, manysteps back from thier New Order-like proto-house single "Looking From aHilltop", and frankly much more interesting. I could do without CathCarroll's or Blue Orchids' singer/songwriter blandness, Paul Haig'sopaquely smooth disco pop (I can hardly believe that he's the same guywho was in Josef K!), Blaine Reininger's melodramatic, pretentiousschmaltz (again, worlds away from Tuxedomoon), or Ultramarine's shinytechno. What are they doing on this CD? I'm not sure. But then thedarker stuff, like Royal Family & the Poor, the Passage, andStockholm Monsters, keeps me interested enough to remain attentive toLTM's output.
Whether one enjoys these label-sampler compilations depends mostly onhow one's taste agrees with that of the person who runs the label.There are no record labels whose taste I agree with 100%, but I like alot of what LTM does, enough to keep me interested in what label-bossJames Nice decides to issue next. This CD compiles tracks from therecent batch of LTM releases with a few otherwise unreleased songs tosucker in the completists. Hell, it works for me, why not. LTM and itssub-label Boutique seem to have several related missions: to reissuemusic originally released by Factory (other than the bigshots, JoyDivision, Durutti Column, and New Order) to music by bands who might atsome point have had a record (even just a 7") on Factory, and torelease new music by bands who were on Factory long ago and are eitherstill going or who have been ressurected due to Nice's enthusiasm. Oneof those bands, Crispy Ambulance, has donated a live album from thierreunion tour as a bonus CD that comes free with the first run of "BlackMusic" CDs.I don't love all of this, of course. My taste runs more towards thelate 70s/early 80s industrial post-punk sounds, so the tracks here byDepartment S (a foot-tapping punk-disco anthem called "Going LeftRight") , the amorphous fuzz noises by Ludus (one of the exclusivetracks), and especially Crawling Chaos and Artery's skewed punkappealled to me. The comp is successful in that it's certainly got myinterest enough to seek out more CDs by these bands, which areforthcoming in the months ahead. The reunited Crispy Ambulance and theproject currently calling itself the Wake (now a duo containing onlyone original member) sound tired and reaching, not particularly asinspired as those bands early 1980s music. The Graham Massey (of BitingTongues and 808 State) remix of a newer Crispy song just plods alongwith seemingly random effects and some movie samples...
- Crawling Chaos - Arabesque
- Ludus Rosa - Luxemburg
- Section 25 - Part Primitiv
