It seems that nine times out of ten whatever instrument Keiji Haino turns his hand to (or whoever he collaborates with) he comes out of the experience with an hour or so of brilliance. This electronics-based recording features a bundle of obscure black boxes and a digital theremin that he uses and investigates to create more than just your average everyday abstract soundscapes.
Hotter than July. This week's episode has plenty of fresh new music by Marie Davidson, Kim Gordon, Mabe Fratti, Guided By Voices, Holy Tongue meets Shackleton, Softcult, Terence Fixmer, Alan Licht, pigbaby, and Eiko Ishibashi, plus some vault goodies from Bombay S Jayashri and Pete Namlook & Richie Hawtin. Solstice moon in West Midlands, UK photo by James. Get involved: subscribe, review, rate, share with your friends, send images!
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bravecaptain’s full-on dalliances with glitch, techno and breaks have over time become infused elements within his songs instead of headfirst jumps into sonic territories. Trying to hold the man down to an easy to tag sound is difficult, but at a push its melodic pop with a fucked up expansive structure and a warm digital simple production. Even that description leaves fat big holes in the home studio sound.
This double live album came as a total surprise to me. I’m more familiar with Haino’s guitar work and these two live performances are from a totally different place to his six string performances. One disc is dedicated to the hurdy gurdy and the other to an instrument called an air synth (it’s new to me and now I want one). Both overlap in terms of mood but the different sonic characteristics of these distinctive sounding instruments make for interesting listening.
Little doubt can be cast upon the fact that nursery rhymes are of a rather Grimm history. As innocent as they may sound, the most unusual of subjects find their way into these couplets and tales of misguided, punished, or otherwise confused youth. Andrew Liles, with the help of Lord Bath and Thighpaulsandra collaborator Sion Orgon, has recorded the audible equivalent of that awkward and dark thread that plays inside the mind of every child's sleeping head.
This self titled debut is possibly one of the worst records that I’ve heard in a long time. Everything about this album is hackneyed and unoriginal. There is nothing redeeming to be found on any track. I don’t normally dismiss an artist outright based on one release but I’m quite happy to do so in this case.
In re-releasing the Washington, DC band's single full-length effort,Polyvinyl brings back a morsel of guitar-laden goodness that's stilltasty 10 years later. I for one am damn glad they did.
This collection of the Leeds, England band's Rough Trade singles andmore showcases a hard-edged and unique sound that's more thanworth digging out of out-of-print oblivion.
Whenthe previously obscure scores were widely released on CD by MotelRecords and Crippled Dick Hot Wax in 1995 as the compilation Vampyros Lesbos: Sexadelic Dance Party,its newfound popularity was in large part responsible for thesubsequent wealth of ‘60s and ‘70s European B-movie soundtracks to bereissued. 
One of the inevitabilities of putting together best-of year-end listsis that there’s always one or two albums that don’t make it on theresimply because it didn’t surface until it was too late. Volcano!, ayoung band from Chicago, make music akin to a nervous fit of rage andare a perfect example of such an unfortunate circumstance.
Minotaur Shock’s second album (third if you count the compilation of previous EPs and related tracks) is an above average album that slips into self indulgence a little too often. Luckily the album is redeemed by having a strong smile inducing effect thanks to a lot of cheery and buoyant tracks.
