Although firmly rooted in the realm of power electronics, Morgenstern'slatest release tends to use this footing more as a springboard forother ideas and actions, rather than as an end in itself. Unlike Slogunand Control, just to name two others who use power electronics,Morgenstern is using this framework as the building blocks that enablethe exploitation of rhythm, distortion, tribal trance and other,darker, elements. Atmospherically, 'Cold' is all about opposites;aggression vs. meditation (or loud vs. quiet).The first track, which gives the album its name, is a good example ofthe quiet side of this release. Calm, brooding, trance-like, but in theend very unsettling. This trance atmosphere, with the help of somebackground voices, ushers in the second track, which uses similartechniques to heighten the sense of disquiet. The electronics are alsointensified, so while this is not an assault of the type Whitehousemight produce, the sense of serenity is now missing. This bridgebetween the two tracks also a microcosm of the overall release. Worksslowly build and fade, forming a unique texture and flow. It is thethird song "Hypnotized," however, in which the potential of the firsttwo is in bloom. The distortion is way out there, the rhythm ispounding, driving, and the vocals are handled in such a way as to leaveany goth fan speechless (that and the constant church bell in thebackground). This track is a marriage between power electronics attheir finest, and all the best of Muslimgauze's later distortion, withthe fourth track takes expanding on this theme. Thundering, pounding,weaving in and out, the harsher elements are actually somewhatdiminished here, yet the distortion and rhythm are magnified.Furthermore, whatever is being done with the vocals, both in theforeground and background, is a flowering of pure evil. After a ratherghostly ending, an even harder song, the centerpiece of the album'saggression, "Insight" begins. Here the power electronics are at theirmost impressive, the distortion is constant, and the droney elementsare turned way down, which allows the vocals to take center stage.
The unique flow of this release is then restored on the next song,aptly titled "Interlude." Near playfulness a la Nurse With Wound over aheavy undercurrent. Here we are given time to rest and collectourselves, yet when we become aware of our sonic surroundings, they areno less disturbing than everything that has come before this. On theseventh song the slow build starts again. By the ninth track, after asuccession of builds, the intensity subsides again. Swirling anddreamy, the rhythm resembles the beat of a human heart, and one getsthe sensation of gaining entrance to another realm. The last piece,"Over," brings the listener back to the mood created by the one withwhich Cold began. More rhythmic than the first, but is no lessparadoxical, and just as its title suggests, that is how Morgensternleaves us.
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How long after an album is completed does it take to be released? A few weeks? A few months? Red House Painters' sixth full-length album came out earlier this week - three years to the month of its completion, tied up in major label buyout limbo and searching for a worthy new home. Thanks to the folks at Sub Pop for realizing this record, a warm welcome after years since Songs for a Blue Guitar.
Enough of my reviews have come over the Brian for most of you to realize
one thing: my reviews suck. So before I fumble to explain what makes Cowboy
Bebop great, trust me on this one fact: Cowboy Bebop is the single greatest
story-telling feat of the late-twentieth century.
Exactly 57 minutes. Ten songs. Slightly sinister. Very sensual. Damn depressing. Though the title refers to the Eastern supposition that each of us is connected to our one, true love by an invisible cord, 'The Red Thread' unravels a fascinating and devastating mess of frayed relationships and tattered egos. It's like watching a violent movie spectacle: you can't help getting sucked in, as much as you believe in real life you'd turn the other way. Aiden Moffat's lyrics, often muttered or tossed off in a thick Scottish accent, grow gradually decipherable with each listen.
Kandis is the first of at least three monikers to date for electronic artist Jens Massel, his releases as Kandis, Senking and Fumble making up the bulk of Karaoke Kalk's 5 year deep back catalog. This digipacked disc collects 14 tracks from the four 12"s spanning 1996-1999, which seems to be the year Massel retired the project. Honestly, it doesn't much matter which name he uses as the differences among and quality of the music of each is negligible.
"Did You See" is the third various artists compilation from Surrey, UKbased label deFocus. As the title implies, this disc collects tracksyou might have missed from already released deFocus albums and singles,as well as a few tracks from the two v/a 12"s "Do You See" and "Two YouSee". Six artists - Lackluster, Aphelion, CiM, +one, John Tejada andEsem - produce a dozen tracks interspersed with cute half minute'intervals' by CiM. Their work is very reminiscent of the more sublimemoments in Warp's 'Artificial Intelligence' electronic mood musicseries of the early '90s. Lots of space-y pads, warm melodies andmellow beats. In fact, the aural aesthetic of these artists is sosimilar it almost sounds as if all the tracks could have come from asingle one of them and a single rack of gear. But that's more of anobservation than a complaint really. Aphelion's "Click" rolls with adriving, funky drummer rhythm. CiM bring in some scratching and mildfunk hop grooves. Lackluster's "Ix Pen" is the most, well, lacklusterof the lot while the 'brothomstates remix' of "Suntrap" steps up andout with rapidly sequenced synth notes and beats. And Jon Tejada's"Disappear" adds a bit of jazz and house flavor. All in all a niceselection. I still dig this sound nearly a decade after I firstdiscovered it. It's good to hear someone continuing to explore it ...
Ulver continue to expand beyond and free themselves of their metalroots with this, their 5th full length album, the subtitle referencingan imaginary film that this music provides the soundtrack for. The pastfew releases ("Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven andHell" and the "Metamorphosis" EP, all on Oslo's Jester Records) havealready proven their music to be wide-ranging, elegantly produced andcinematic and epic in scope, but "Perdition City" concentrates evenfurther on subtle and dramatic intensity, atmosphere and decay. Strainsof John Zorn's "Naked City", Vangelis' "Blade Runner" and John Barrysoundtrack are present as emotive piano, strings, saxophones,electronics and the sounds of the city permeate much of the seamlesslyflowing 53 minutes. The first few tracks open the album with fluidjuxtapositions of all the elements, including big live drums andpassionate vocals (in English, a presence on about half the album)."Hallway of Always" and "Tomorrow Never Knows" couple distorted synthswirls with heavy, somewhat hip hop rhythms. "The Future Sound ofMusic" drastically switches from quiet piano motif to a full on bassand drums assault. "Dead City Centres" is the most outright jazzy witha smoky swing and climactic narrative. And "Nowhere/Catastrophe" closesthe album as the most structured 'song' with a crushing vocodedbass/synth chorus being the focal point. Superb. Ulver's music isgenuine regardless of what genre they're dipping into or what directionthey choose to tread. Also included on the disc is a near 4 minute mpgvideo clip for "Limbo Central (Theme from Perdition City)" (from thepreceding EP) full of Revelations quotes and treated car ride visuals.Ulver will begin recording their new EP "Silence Teaches You to Sing"soon ...
