Warp
This frenetic one-sided 12" containing a single unlisted track showedup around the end of last year with a robo-processed Jenkinsonproclaiming what sounds like "Squarepusher with all the difference ondrum 'n bass." With this offering, it's quite true. After the mixedreviews of "Go Plastic," Jenkinson has nailed it with what comes acrossas all the high points of said disc to form a great five minutes of hisown take on drum 'n bass. The clipping of shifting rhythms, thick basslines (including a sneaky disco bit), flurries of squelching synths andcut 'n paste vocal textures groove along just nicely. Well worthchecking out.
This frenetic one-sided 12" containing a single unlisted track showedup around the end of last year with a robo-processed Jenkinsonproclaiming what sounds like "Squarepusher with all the difference ondrum 'n bass." With this offering, it's quite true. After the mixedreviews of "Go Plastic," Jenkinson has nailed it with what comes acrossas all the high points of said disc to form a great five minutes of hisown take on drum 'n bass. The clipping of shifting rhythms, thick basslines (including a sneaky disco bit), flurries of squelching synths andcut 'n paste vocal textures groove along just nicely. Well worthchecking out.
Landing has finally emerged as a band with not only a lot of fantasticnoise to be thrown around, but a great deal of melody to accompany it.Their last full-length, "Circuit" (yes, I know there was one afterthat, but it was recorded before "Circuit"), was a bit disappointingonly in that many of the songs hit their mark and just stayed there,never striving for more, never trying. Then, they released a split tourEP with Windy + Carl, and there was promise. The drone was there, buttheir use of melody was just astonishing! Where did it come from all ofa sudden? When I read the concept behind this album - songs andmovements dedicated to each season - I couldn't wait to hear it. Andthe payoff is indescribable. The Snows' melodies improve with everyrelease, and on "Seasons" they've reached a new height. They blendtogether with ease, and fit into the music just so, that there's littledoubt that that's the way it was always supposed to sound. The drumsare a little more pronounced this time around, and the guitars are lessshrill. Most importantly: very often on this release the guitars aren'tdistorted or treated with effects, which makes for some lovely moments,like 'Can't Hide Forever (Into the Woods)' and 'Encircled (ThroughFallen Leaves)'. The best part of the release has to be the promiseheard in this music. Landing has returned, they're a little differentand better for it, and they have quite a ways to go to achieve create atrue masterpiece of modern music. And on "Seasons", Landing has gottena little closer, and it seems all the more possible for them now.
Very little can be found on Sote when scanning the Warp website (theydon't even have sound samples for this one!), but that's prettyirrelevant once you pop this CD into your stereo. The best way todescribe "Electric Deaf" is this: splattering chunks of acid noise heldtogether by chaotic rhythms and disemboweling bass frequencies.Overdrivensquelches and electronic death rattles leave a grisly mess intheir wake, to say nothing of the massive aneurysm it will induce inyour speakers. The b-side, "Subconscious", takes a short step away fromthe bloodbath. Here, playful oldschool arpeggios dance aroundbludgeoning breaks and otherworldly vocal snippets. During thebreakdown, there is a certain calm as airy pads and the aforementionedarpeggios fill the space as best they can. It's a welcome, albeittemporary, relief for hemorhaging ears. With Warp's increasingly shoddyoutput of late (Vincent Gallo... 'nuff said!), it's nice to see thatthey can still pump out some hardcore eviscerating shit. Let's hopethere's more of this to come... like a Sote full-length!
Not actually a newcomer to the electronic world neither as producer,artist nor as remixer (Fatboy Slim, Ashley Beedle, Vladislav Delayf.e.) Hakan Lidbo presents here his own vision of artificiallistening/electronic intelligence. 6 tracks, each 10 minutes long make60 minutes (hence the bludgeoning original album title) - but actuallythere are no separate tracks, as the index points simply indicateconcept. It's an hour of hi-tec equipment out of bounds, a carnage ofsounds on the edge of commercial appeal thrown in a steady flowunderlined by a minimal tech funk beat that never stays away for toolong but could have been more savage and challenging for my tastes. Thealbum is basically a producer's DJ mix with his own material but HakanLidbo plays it safely in the middle between dancefloor and homelistening. The sound quality is perfect, cultivated through a technicalexpertise not splattered by the stench of leaving any gadgets rot inthe corner. This has some of the clinical charm remeniscent of mostKraftwerk releases and will please fans of early Warp stuff too, thoughin comparison, it is a much updated, reinstalled and expanded version.
Without trying to come across as schmaltzy, I find it interesting that,as music fans, there are those particular discs which have become thesoundtrack to a time and place, be it a courtship, road trip, party,etc., in which fond memories are tied to. With a timely release, mynomination for the soundtrack for this summer is in. Although heappears on several records for Thrill Jockey (Sea and Cake, SamPrekop), "Three" marks the solo debut on the label for Mr. Prewitt. Inkeeping with the well-crafted pop sensibility of 1999's "White Sky",there are some of the disc's fourteen tracks which could be said tohearken back to the 1970's (without making any direct comparisons) bothin composition and full-sounding instrumental arrangements. Opening thedisc with sparse crashes, "Over the Line" grabs the ear and leads itinto a pleasant, mid-tempo pop song which is plump with strings, layersof guitars and vocals, keys and harmonica. The choppy guitar, weavingbass lines and solid drumming of "Second Time Trader" make for greatmusic to be driving to. The distinct analog-sounding synth and backingvocals are the icing on this one. "Behind Your Sun" starts as a gloomy,odd-time signature shifting, acoustic guitar driven piece whichgradually becomes very upbeat, complete with horns and a subtletriangle. "No Defense" is the rocker which shifts comfortably throughseveral sections as if it were a prog-rock epic, but in the span offive minutes. The beautiful backing vocals of guests Kelly Hogan andNora O'Connor make this tune melt in your ears. Some other notableguests augmenting the live band include Paul Mertens(arranger/woodwinds/saxes), Alison Chesley and Susan Voelz (strings) ofPoi Dog Pondering and Brokeback/Chicago Underground bassist NoelKupersmith. Pull up a deck chair, grab a cool beverage and press play.
For some strange reason, several sites reported that the BeachwoodSparks EP I reviewed last week had Arlo members on it. Searchingthrough the liner notes, I could see none of the names of Arlobandmembers, and I have received no confirmation that they did. I alsocan't see how that's possible, given that the Beachwood Sparks EP waslackluster at best, and this new LP from Arlo is so fantastic. Yeah,they know how to rock, and they aren't afraid to use it. It's indierock; it's catchy, hooky, with great harmonies; it's like Built toSpill but harder and a little more tongue-in-cheek. Yes, it's thatgood. Nate Greely, Ryan "Shmedly" Maynes, and Sean Spillane are allfantastic songwriters with their own quirky edges, and this CD showstheir sides off well. It does have moments of hard rock largesse thatalmost bring to mind hair metal bands of the eighties, but in a goodway. You can almost see these guys synchronizing their thrashing, withno hair, in a garage somewhere in Los Angeles, where Greely andSpillane are from. This music out-rocks Weezer, out-hooks Jimmy EatWorld, and out-quirks Cake. Listener-friendly grunge pop in 2002? Itexists beyond the scope MTV2 covers, and if you haven't heard it, giveArlo a try. They're working hard to make music better.
For the first official live archive from Matmos, the duo have presented a number of exclusive tunes recorded live in various locations all around the world with fellow San Franciscan electro-cowboy, Jay Lesser. They make no obstruction of the fact that nearly all of these tracks are improvised, but as the A-team of electronica, you can rest assured that this is a hand-picked collection of the uttmost quality control.
Not to be confused with the crap soft rockpops combo whose unwantedpromotional singles are overflowing from the bargain bins ofManchester's biggest secondhand record shop, this Ultrasound feature aformer member of Stars of the Lid (Kirk Laktas) scrawling out lushviola infused slo-mo ambient terrain. 'Hamesh' is the Hebrew for fiveand this is their fifth album, but having not heard the previous ones Ican't compare and so lazily fall back on the obvious ploy of comparingthem to Labradford and Stars of the Lid, which is apparently somethingthat happens to them quite a lot. If you can imagine a marriage of themore string driven drones of The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid tosome of Mark Nelson's almost-whispered vocals on A Stable Reference youmight see a portion of the picture. It's hard to imagine fans of thosetwo bands being disappointed by 'Hamesh,' which is a gorgeously craftedalbum. There is a bouyant feeling of calm immersive bubble charm in thedeep textural washes, which is appropriate considering that 'Hamesh' isalso a Hebrew hand shaped charm that keeps away evil spirits.
It's been a while since I've heard something as delightfullymind-altering as this split record between Szkieve (also known asDimitri della Faille, of Hushush fame) and Ammo (also known as JohnSellekaers and C-Drik, of Xingu Hill/Ambre/Dead HollywoodStars/many-others fame). Szkieve's piece is, truly, a masterpiece. Itbegins subtly enough with some warm and inviting drones, but the funbegins soon after when gentle high frequencies (and I mean "gentle" -there are high frequencies present, but with my sensitive ears, mosthigh freqs drive me nuts, and these didn't) begin to massage yourbrain. The drones multiply, spreading quickly, and changing so subtlyyou only realize it once you think about how attention-grabbing thepiece is. For some reason the whole of 'Perturbacée' left me feelinglike there was a UFO hovering outside my window, locking me in astasis-field. In other words, this is damn powerful stuff (all 20minutes of it). Ammo's side is decidedly different from Szkieve's; theambient approach is still taken, but Ammo focus on using samples andcut-ups (including some beautifully somber small orchestral snippets)to create a mood. And they quite wonderfully do so. Sometimes lush andrelaxing, sometimes skittery, the Ammo piece was a nice cool-down afterSzkieve's mind-melding track. Further props must go to the lovelypicture disc (yum, moths!) and the excellent pressing: usually ambientmusic and picture discs go together like oil and water (Inade's"Quartered Void" 7", anyone?), but this record sounded wonderfulthroughout. A top-class release from the under-rated Ad Noiseam (andlimited as well, so snag it now)!
For his sixth solo album Scottish born, Chicago based singer-songwriterChris Connelly really goes it alone. Save for some trusty old drummachine and specks of effects and female backing vocals, these vocaland guitar based songs are shorn of any other adornment. Connelly'ssolo compositions are poetic, melodic and romantic with vivid lyricsand rich vocals - quite a bit different from his work with industrialstrength rock clans such as The Damage Manual, Ministry, the RevoltingCocks, Pigface and KMFDM. Most of these eight new songs are of a jauntymood despite a bit of heartbreak here and there (women and lovenaturally being dominant themes throughout) and the waterfront is nevertoo far off. Chris confesses with a stuttered bellow "and it kills meto say I love you!" in the climax of the eight and a half minute opener"Harbour Days". The subject of "About the Beauty of Laura" isapparently one of the many lovely but indifferent girls that "have awonderful day capsizing the men". By the chorus of "Fortune StrikesAgain" you would be forgiven for thinking it's a classic early '70sBowie tune you've somehow never heard. "Lipstick in Labyrinth Park"best sets a love struck liaison: "a good night for perfume predictions/ my fictitious accomplice is wearing a dress colored sweet by the moon/ off her slim frame it falls and the light kissed her skin / Isubmerge in her anthems and labyrinths". "Samaratin" [sic] and "No OneIs Scared" are slower paced and maybe a bit more serious, Chrisadvising "when they cut within you / the farthest place to be is stilloutside" and "nobody's frightened even when you change for good". Oh, Icould go on and on but I'll spare you. Connelly is one of a handful ofcontemporary singer-songwriters whose every song is like magic to me.And like any songsmith worth their salt he proves his talent for thecraft here with just the essentials. Connelly will likely hit the roadalone in August in support of the album and a rarities enhancedretrospective is also in the works.
