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- Albums and Singles
From a seed of a gentle warm up drone this single untitled track becomes a wrenching guttural live thing that just won’t settle. With all this spiky movement the track doesn’t have an overall feel to it; it’s more like a smeared splurge of sound across the disc. It works but it’s not giving anything away.
In its early stages a heavy languor rolls through the air as chimes of tin and steel slowly rattle around its core. These free percussion rolls come forwards in rushes as cymbals pick out glints of light. As this metal icing slides up and down, there’s a fierce choleric underlying hum that pervades much of the eighteen minutes.
This feedback rends through the arbitrary structures emblazoning it with almost comprehensible rock sourced sound. There are stretches of busted balled trio wrecking performance in here, but its lack of overall tone means it comes over as a little unsure of its destination or even its purpose. Still its punchy and thick enough at times to keep me engaged even if its isn’t giving any easy paths/atmospheres to follow.
The artwork is an outstandingly smart accompaniment, a black and white Vertigo / Damien Hirst crossover. It’s a vast improvement on the label’s second release art, which was a yellow wallpaper sample.
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When I first heard that Current 93 and OM were releasing a split EP, I tried not to get my hopes up as I was sure I was going to be disappointed. Luckily, the final product sees both groups in fine form. OM provide a trademark hypnotic mantra while Current 93 throw a curveball with an entirely unexpected piece that is heavier and sludgier than the vast majority of the Current 93 back catalogue.
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New Buffalo is the project of Australian Sally Seltmann, who not only sings but also creates almost all of the music as well. This self-titled EP, featuring a few new songs as well as an alternate version and a remix of a track from her full-length The Last Beautiful Day, includes contributions from Jens Lekman and Broken Social Scene.
The jazz-inflected opener “Inside (The Corrections)” finds Seltmann singing in the role of a child while Lekman answers as the adult, overshadowing her with his confidence and pleasant voice. The inequality is more evenly balanced when she accompanies him, but he clearly steals the show on this one. Likewise, Broken Social Scene’s remix of “I’ve Got You and You’ve Got Me” is the highlight of the EP. After initially turning her voice robotic, the song becomes a surprisingly delicate, dreamy pop tune that transcends the original, which itself has the dubious distinction of appearing in a television commercial. Seltmann’s other version of this song also included here has a likeably weird intro and the music’s performed on distorted guitar, a genuinely different take that slowly disintegrates as the melody gets lost in the feedback. The other three songs are all respectable, if not terribly memorable.
The prettiest of these, “Trigger,” is an adaptation of a song by Rae Howell, who also plays the mellophone on this track. “The Beginning of the End” finds Seltmann strumming a guitar in her most chanteuse-like moment, singing what’s very nearly a lullaby. Although slightly marred by a few awkward phrases, the song’s redeemed by her earnest sincerity. On the other hand, the chamber pop of “Stay Here While You’re Gone” feels somewhat too earnest and goes on longer than necessary to get the point across. Seltmann’s child-like voice and light arrangements may not have won me over completely, but there are enough fine moments on this EP to keep me interested.
samples:
- Inside (The Corrections)
- I’ve Got You and You’ve Got Me (Broken Social Scene Remix)
- Stay Here While You’re Gone
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Label compilations should be compulsory in some cases, a necessity imposed on those labels that release too much music for the average college student to keep up with. Unreleased tracks by Kid 606, Tarwater, Charles Atlas, Nudge, Signaldrift, Strategy, The Sems, Stars as Eyes, a killer cover of a Yes song by Grizzly Bear, and many others all help make this compilation truly great, both as an introduction and a retrospective.
Audraglint
One look at the roster put together for this celebratory release had my mouth watering. Perhaps my laziness had gotten the best of me, but I had no idea that Audraglint had released music from so many fantastic bands. Upon listening, I was practically jumping for joy because all those fantastic bands I did know were joined by a gaggle of spectacular sounding bands I was entirely unfamiliar with. If Audraglint is a label that has you scratching your head, then here's the quick rundown: among other things Brian Foote of Nudge is the co-owner and label manager, they've been releasing their music in the same format from the start (white wax vinyl only, matte digipaks for compact discs, and all artwork by David Nakamoto), and they've released music from artists who have also appeared on labels like Kranky, Kitty-Yo, Community Library, Tigerbeat6, and Morr Music.
All songs are exclusive to this compilation and nearly all of them are little gems that run the gamut from sexy and seductive to goofy, funky, and unexpected. Grizzly Bear rises out of a fog of soft vocal delivery and strummed acoustic guitar only to reveal that they are covering a song from one of Yes' worst albums. "Owner of a Lonely Heart" turns out to be one of the highlights on the disc. It is a balladic, minimal interpretation of a song that was known for its excess and remembered fondly by me for its outrageous drum solo and weird use of synthesizer. As the disc continues, the diversity this label has represented really begins to show. Some bands give you what you might expect from a compilation with Kid 606 on it, others deliver a song or a piece of music so unexpected that it's hard to believe the whole comp fits together as well as it does.
Signaldrift contribute a smooth, nocturnal and club oriented track that rumbles with Bowery synthetic work and all manner of twitching glitch accompaniment. Caural invokes a breath of the exotic, Tarwater tap into the robotic and monotonous only to come away with a unexpectedly sweet result, Magwheels bring vocal harmony to a world of drift and desert swarms, Marc Hellner unleashes sweet programmed melodies and feather-soft percussion, and just about every second each of the other bands put to this disc is equally worth mentioning, but if I were to mention them all in the detail they deserve, you'd be looking at a book of a review. All anybody needs to know is that Audraglint and all the bands involved filled up 73 minutes of compact disc with nothing but solid, entertaining, surprising music. The last time I heard this kind of quality all in the same place it was Kranky doing the compiling. A great part about the whole deal is that this is a great place to start with the label, a great way to learn about some bands that obviously need a bit more exposure, and a chance to catch some new material even if all the bands on this disc have already made their way to your ears in one way or another.
samples:
- Grizzly Bear - "Owner of a Lonely Heart"
- Charles Atlas - "The Snow Before Us"
- Magwheels - "Ice Build the Sky"
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When I first heard that Current 93 and OM were releasing a split EP, I tried not to get my hopes up as I was sure I was going to be disappointed. Luckily, the final product sees both groups in fine form. OM provide a trademark hypnotic mantra while Current 93 throw a curveball with an entirely unexpected piece that is heavier and sludgier than the vast majority of the Current 93 back catalogue.
“Inerrant Infallible (Black Ships at Ninevah and Edom)” continues the lyrical themes found on Current 93’s most recent album. Musically it has little in common with that album, apart from the grinding riffage found on the title track. In addition to some wonderfully bizarre vocals (ranging from the biblical to the hallucinatory to Reese Witherspoon), Tibet also contributes a great repetitive bass line and a shroud of dissonant guitars. Catriona MacAffer plays some powerful bagpipes which complement both Tibet and the mood of the song. This is further proof that Tibet is at the top of his craft right now.
On the other side, OM’s “Rays of the Sun/To the Shrinebuilder” is exactly what I was expecting from them. Al Cisneros provides some seriously killer bass and his lyrics, although still impenetrable, are better than on OM’s two albums. Chris Hakius’s drumming is impeccable as usual. I was a little disappointed with their last album, Conference of the Birds but this has dusted away any doubts that they had lost their way too soon.
Inerrant Rays of Infallible Sun (Blackship Shrinebuilder) is an imposing and impressive release. Current 93’s side is slightly better than OM’s but both are of a high quality. I look forward to the forthcoming CD release as I imagine this 10” will become well worn over the coming weeks.
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- Matthew Amundsen
- Albums and Singles
The Cherry Point and Comets on Fire’s Noel von Harmonson create a monstrous cauldron of noise on this one-sided 7" record.
 
Recorded live in Los Angeles, the piece begins with a small voice before what sounds like a revving motorcycle kicks in. Pulsing chaos, feedback squeals like tortuous wails, and rifling electronic exhaust combine in a miasmic fog that could erase memories. Ending in a prolonged screech, the cacophony seems but a short-lived nightmare once the needle lifts.
Part of me appreciates the uniqueness of such a slab of one-sided vinyl, yet the other part of me wonders what further mischief this pair could get into were they allowed more room to grow.
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- John Kealy
- Albums and Singles
This is my first time hearing O’Reilly and, while I’m not particularly bowled over by it, “Take Care of Each Other” is a nice, simple song. The keyboard melody backed by a drum machine is delicate and relaxing and his lyrics are engaging but it didn’t really click with me. I’d have to hear more of his work to make my mind up on whether I like him or not.
As for (retards), “Ich bin ein Shitlander” is a bit of a break from their usual headfuck. It starts off with a minute or so of a discordant refrain which doesn’t go anywhere in particular. It then breaks into the song proper which sounds more familiar but lacks the full noisy assault that they normally employ; usually samplers and synthesiser are rattling my skull. However a new drummer does bring a new element to their sound that is promising. As I know (retards) are capable of better, this release wouldn’t be top of my list of tracks to recommend to someone unfamiliar with them.
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- John Kealy
- Sound Bytes
Packed with far more tunes than the typical Wackies re-release through Basic Channel, this extremely accessible CD comprising two long out-of-print albums will surely satiate reggae lovers.
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A record built from distorted, screaming renditions of Christian and Catholic prayers could’ve easily ended up buggering an already stiffened concept. Having already been thoroughly pillaged by bearded Norwegian sociopaths through the late eighties, this turns the concept into something beyond ineffectual ranting at the already converted. This re-released and reformatted six track disc sees Dominick Fernow spewing venom and generating tension.
The opener’s surprisingly melodic beginning soon belches into life with furious on-the-verge-of-vomit vocals. Musically, on this track and a good meaty chunk of the rest of the material, this genuflects loudly at the altar of noise. Higher tones mangle and bugger anything attempting to sit still, entreating the skies to rain fire, popped toads and dog shit from the sky.
The vocals on Point and Void veer between staccato shrieking, calling out the rest of humanity as spineless quislings via perverted prayer, through to a queasy alien voiceover disturbing evening reality TV viewing. As well as the noise, there’s also the use of unidentified field recordings (an early a.m. café, backstage, a studio mic left running?) that reveals occasional background noises and accidental TV / radio chatter.
Repeating this idea, the closing "Thou Hast Created Me" builds on this mystery of the where and why as US police sirens slip by. This subtler use of mystery, and a partial reliance on the listener’s ideas / fears / desires, shows that even back in 2000 (when the two cassette’s were originally dropped) he was ahead of the noise pack. Punishment is always worse if the recipient is kept hanging on.
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Packed with far more tunes than the typical Wackies re-release through Basic Channel, this extremely accessible CD comprising two long out-of-print albums will surely satiate reggae lovers.
As with most albums originally releases under the direction of Lloyd "Bullwackies" Barnes, Rootsy Reggae / Visions Of John Clarke showcases a strong selection of talented musicians to support the poppy vocals that make these tunes so memorable. Clarke's lyrical abilities, while somewhat limited, sometimes distract with their simplicity, yet provide no real obstruction to appreciating his work. On the other hand, some of his clearly presented messages might polarize or alientate some of his potential listenership, a problem best evidenced on the glibly titled pro-life plea "Abortion." Surprisingly, Clarke offers very little in the way of "Jah praise," save for the reverential "Creator," though hints of Rastafarianism might be inferred from "Good Collie Weed," a track whose high-minded contents can be easily deciphered as more akin to addiction than benediction. For the most part, the subject matter of most of these topical songs stick to somewhat basic reggae music premises, such as social commentary ("Recession," "Pollution") and male-female relationships ("You're Just The One," "Shack Up With You"). Despite all that, Clarke almost always delivers the goods, crooning and wailing unhindered throughout.
It is difficult to say definitively which of the two albums presents Clarke's better collection of material, though the Rootsy Reggae half seems tighter and more coherant. Devotees of the reissue campaign ambitiously and admirably undertaken by Rhythm & Sound cohorts Moritz Von Oswald and Mark Ernestus will find some of this material here familar, as two of the tracks on this CD, "Recession" and "John Brown," were featured on the repackaged Reggae Goodies Vol. 1 & 2 compilation, though that probably wont stop any of them from snagging this on sight. For those entirely new to Wackies, this 76 minute CD offers a phenomenal value, but dub purists seeking more ascetic terrain might opt to give it a pass.
samples:
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