Podcast Episodes 717-720 are live!
After two weekends away, the backlog has become immense, so we present a whopping FOUR new episodes for the spooky season!
Episode 717 features Medicine, Fennesz, Papa M, Earthen Sea, Nero, memotone, Karate, ØKSE, Otis Gayle, more eaze, Jon Mueller, and Lauren Auder + Wendy & Lisa.
Episode 718 has The Legendary Pink Dots, Throbbing Gristle, Von Spar / Eiko Ishibashi / Joe Talia / Tatsuhisa Yamamoto, Ladytron, Cate Brooks, Bill Callahan, Jill Fraser, Angelo Harmsworth, Laibach, and Mike Cooper.
Episode 719 music by Angel Bat Dawid, Philip Jeck, A.M. Blue, KMRU, Songs: Ohia, Craven Faults, tashi dorji, Black Rain, The Ghostwriters, Windy & Carl.
Episode 720 brings you tunes from Lewis Spybey, Jules Reidy, Mogwai, Surya Botofasina, Patrick Cowley, Anthony Moore, Innocence Mission, Matt Elliott, Rodan, and Sorrow.
Photo of a Halloween scene in Ogunquit by DJ Jon.
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Atmospheric tones have always been the trademark of Climax GoldenTwins, and on their latest release the group, who make little effort toidentify themselves beyond their collective name, moves into the moreintimate side of their range. Maybe scoring the feature film Session Ninehad an affect on the band, as the film features one character listeningto old recordings of psychological evaluations; these songs are createdaround acoustic guitars primarily and interwoven with sampledrecordings from over sixty years ago. These samples can be gloriouslysimple, from a conversation to narrative storytelling, or a fathertalking to a child, and when paired with the Twins music andmanipulation they take on a whole new life beyond their quaintbeginnings. Even though the music is quieter and sweeter than otherreleases, there's still an undercurrent of darkness, or maybe just atwinge of mortality here and there. Ominous feelings appear on selectsongs, like the voice at the end of "Every Word in the Bible" or thechild's voice on "Billy McGee McGaw," but these sometimes seemunintentionally so, and the music just seems to fit wherever andwhatever happens. Occasionally, though, like on "Little Noreen," themusic sets the scenario, and in these cases it's almost always asinister undertone. Sparseness is a key element all over, with songsnot extending into grandiose affairs or snarls of noise, just speakingtheir minds with as little words as possible. The album's second trackis the keynote speaker in that regard: called "Upright," the song is avery simple melody played on an upright piano with brushed cymbals, thevery "trick of singularity" as Shakespeare put it. There's littlevocals besides the scratchy recordings, but when there are ("Solid GoldMicrophone," for instance) they fit perfectly, and it's as though it'sa cover of a golden oldie just discovered in grandma's collection,brought forth and updated for the new ears of today. Maybe that's thekey: using technology of today to make songs that could fit somewherelost in time; and that's always seemed to be this group's specialty,never as fully realized until now. 
The first thing that drew me to Japanese solo artist Takahiro Chiba(aka Slowly Minute) and his first official North American release wasthe connection with Adam Pierce (Mice Parade) and his NYC-based BubbleCore label. Being somewhat familiar with Pierce's unique approach toblending rhythms and music of diverse cultures, I was expectingsomething equally intriguing and exciting from Slowly Minute byassociation. Although not as high energy as Mice Parade, I was quitesurprised and definitely not disappointed. Tomorrow World'snear-raw mix of generic synth sounds, harp samples, hiccupping RolandTR-707 beats, acoustic guitar and piano add a certain charm to its lushyet strong compositions of weaving melodies and quirky arrangements.I'd been listening to this disc almost exclusively on headphones duringdaily commuting, so even the finest of details were apparent from theget-go. From the polyrhythmic programming and looping guitars andweaving keyboard of opener "The Song of the Sun in Autumn's Holiday,"Chiba sets a very relaxing and uplifting tone which carries throughoutmost of the disc. The repetitive guitar arpeggiation and jazzy ridecymbal motif of "Minutes Made!" lays down the foundation for bursts oflow-end synth squelches, distorted guitars and tom-tom rolls to playover and gradually shift into a more straight-ahead number. Thegorgeous "Little Bird" quickly became my favorite; itsBrazilian-flavored nylon string guitar and upright bass set to odd yetplayful machine beats and dense piano/keyboard/harp arrangements. Withits multiple melodic lines and feel changes, it's amazing that Chibamanaged to piece it all together without it sounding cluttered. "It'sthe Girl Who Goes to Do Some Shopping" turns on a dime from itstecho-esque rhythmic keyboard intro to sampled drum fills tofast-forwarded tape chirpings and dance beats. Although Chiba reliesheavily on the generic keyboard and drum machine sounds without muchaltering, what impresses me most about Tomorrow World is hisability to make the simple compositions sound complex and vice versa.Having recently formed The Lopops as a guitarist, I'm anxious to hearthis undeniably talented musician in a group setting or perhaps on afuture Mice Parade recording. 
Every once in a while an album comes along that is so unfortunatelyignored that it deserves reissue on a bigger label with more clout,hopefully widening the band's audience for future mayhem on albums tocome. Such is the case with Rogue Wave, whose line-up on their tenderdebut was a mere shadow of their current roster, but the songs arephenomenal nonetheless, giving indie pop a real shot in the arm withclever songwriting and warm sometimes playful arrangements. Zach Roguerecorded the album mostly on his own with a few friends over two yearsago, then released it on his own Responsive Recordings label afterforming a band to perform the songs in public. As it turns out, thelive band performs the songs with more depth and vocabulary, attractingthem attention as a well-versed and dynamic live act. The next album,then, will show the true face of the band that is Rogue Wave, but fornow the stunning debut will have to do. Every song on it is a perfectpop moment, with great melodies, harmonies, and the kind of magic thatformer tour mates the Shins or others have had for one or two songs.None of them lasts over five minutes, and many are three and under,keeping the whole experience short and quaint. Rogue, who changed hislast name from Schwartz, obviously has a knack for quirky sounds andsweet lyrics, though he also had a lot of questions in his head whenthese songs were recorded, as every song has a bit of a hope orquestion in it. It's the little touches that make it perfect: birdschirping, or faded harmonica, or layered vocals and backwardsrecording. Even the song titles have that little twist of a sense ofhumor piled in with earnest emotion ("Nourishment Nation," "Kicking theHeart Out"). It's an album recorded by a man who had no home and wasn'tsure what was coming next, but he had to get the noises out of hishead. Rogue Wave in this form was a tour de force even before othermembers entered the mix, so there's no telling what they'll come upwith next. Hopefully, with just enough luck, Shadow won't be an act too hard for them to follow. 
After making an international name for themselves as part of last year's collaboration with Jan Jelinek on his 1+3+1disc, Australian jazzers Triosk are now set to release their firstfull-length recording. Drawing on as much of the electronic elements asjazz in both composition and instrumentation, the ten tracks on Moment Returnsvary from subtle glitch and pinging soundscapes, intricate and swinginggrooves with dark, warm overtones and the shimmering beauty of classicpiano trio ballads. The static scratch and pop of a record stuck at theend of its groove acts as a metronomic click track on "ChronosynclasticInfundibula" while drummer Laurence Pike and bassist Ben 'Donny' Wapleslock into freeform rolls and trills that support pianist AdrianKlumpes' anguished lines which become taut and gradually relax intosome great classical explorations. The heavy-handed Rhodes progressionsof "Two; Twelve" are driven by a broken-up, slinky groove which tendsto tastefully "hide the one" without becoming too pretentious. Being asucker for a great Rhodes performance, this track also stood out for meas a catchy composition for its great dialogue as the playerscommunicate through their instruments. The sensitive treatment of theballad "Re-Ignite" brought on gooseflesh and a near-swelling of tearsdue to its hauntingly beautiful bass progression swaddled in rich pianochords. The secret weapon on this track is Pike's brushed sizzle cymbalwhich resonates throughout. For a group of twenty-somethings, thematurity of musicianship is shown here by their ability to underplay atjust the right time. The lengthy "I Am a Beautiful and UniqueSnowflake" swells from subtle ballad to clanging unison eighth notesthat compartmentalize its chord progressions. This track would not beout of place in accompanying a silent movie where the steam engineapproaches the damsel in distress tied to the tracks as the villainstrokes his mustache. Based on the strong compositions and finemusicianship throughout Moment Returns, it's safe to say that there'll be a lot more heard from Triosk and its group members in the years to come.
Elegant packaging and artwork adorn Constellation's label compilation, Song of the Silent Land,an album sold originally as a tour CD produced for and sold on a 2004European tour featuring a few of Constellation's lineup. Now, though,it is widely available to us colonials in the New World. Inside thecarefully wrought artwork, the CD features fourteen rare and unreleasedsongs by the roster of the label and then some. I am uncertain what theSilent Land in the title is, but if you take in the big picture, hereis what you get geopolitically: a defiantly Canadian label creating acompilation for a European audience. All of this amounts in America toa not quite palatable offering from a country whom we consider our slowcousin to the north intended for a continent whose countries are quitea bit more worldly and refined than America these days (if you canjudge a country by its current administration, that is). Perhaps it isthe reactionary and reckless American brashness in me, but I wouldstill not hesitate to dump this album off the side of the nearest tallship into the murky depths of Boston harbor. I would even throw sometea overboard along with the CD, just for old time's sake. The songs onthis compilation sound largely like throw-away material, dredged fromthe dregs of each artist's sound bank. Consumers will not doubt betempted to purchase the album on the basis of Constellation all-starslike Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Exhaust, A Silver Mt. Zion, and DoMake Say Think. Unfortunately, these bands provide some of the biggestdisappointments. Godspeed's uninspired live recording of "Outro" mightbe hampered by the imprecision of the, well, live recording of it, orit might just be a substandard composition. The sound is warbly,ill-mixed, and not up to the angelic and anthemic standards of theband's studio persona. Nor does it approximate the live experience ofseeing the band perform. A Silver Mt. Zion offer a wall of noise withsome strings operating underneath it all, though at an almostindiscernible level. Le Fly Pan Am in collaboration with Tim Hecker andChristof Migone execute one of the more pleasing songs for thecompilation: the perhaps haughtily titled "Tres Tres 'Avant'" is abouncy and nearly danceable number with about three of four differentaural levels of interesting sounds going on simultaneously. Some of themore obscure artists here might catch the ear of the more attentivelistener. 1-Speed Bike, Frankie Sparo, and HangedUp all seem tothreaten songs of quality, but punctuated by the flotsam around them,it can be a little deceptive and hard to tell.
On his sixth solo album for Touch, Jeck continues his perfection of using the record player as an instrument (not as a DJ) to create a long-form piece that has no sense of gimmick or cliché, but instead is a hazy, but warm and inviting piece of captivating music that is unlike the work of anyone else. Originally intended for live performance, this studio reconstruction is amazing on its own.
Originally released as a C90 and here spread across two LPs (and four tracks), Space Finale has a definitively analog quality to the sound, both in format and in the soft, obscure nature of the textures of each piece. While a very strong work, there are a few moments that hold it back from being as brilliant as it could be.
Pat Maherr is best known for his dark ambient detournements of Wagner cassettes as Indignant Senility, but his Expressway Yo-Yo Dieting project is probably as far from dwarves and valkyries as it is possible to get. In fact, the only common ground between his two guises is that something is being unrecognizably mangled and that there are probably some tapes involved. The "somethings" in this case are: a bunch of hip-hop songs, DJ Screw's legacy, and the whole mixtape tradition. Maherr has mischievously stripped 13 unnamed hip hop jams of everything fun and vibrant and turned them into the soundtrack for a slow-motion house party of the damned (which, of course, is perversely fun in its own right).
