The first thing that comes to mind when reading about modern Jewish music born out of a multitude of influences, backgrounds, and traditions including both Eastern European Gipsy and 20th century jazz/improv matched with lyrics which come from Jewish poetry is Klezmer, but Black Ox Orkestar, formed from members of Silver Mt. Zion, Godspeed You Black Emperor, and Sackville, does not play Klezmer. Klezmer is vocal dance music, often used for festive occasions like weddings, born from hardship but designed to lift spirits while the Orkestar take a much more solemn approach.
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I would like to claim that the central rift of opinion on the solo career of Scott Walker falls between those who think that the aging crooner's music has become ridiculously pretentious, and those who think he's a genius. Actually, though, this would be inaccurate, as even those who love Scott Walker and think him a genius are also likely to find him pretentious. The only difference between admirers and detractors is that admirers can look past Walker's many pretensions, and the detractors either refuse to or can't.
If Jesu is any indication, putting Godflesh in the grave was the best thing that Justin Broadrick could have done with his lumbering behemoth of a legacy. Jesu's latest is a return to the slow grinding despair of Godflesh's Merciless EP, something that Broadrick does better than most.
By my count this is the third version released of this 'infamous' Belgian Magik Markers show. The interest in this particular May 9th 2005 show stems from the fact that it ended with Elisa Ambrogio impersonating Carrie at her bloodiest after a bass in the face. This may not be the definitive release, but with Prurient editing and remastering the gig for, and I’m quoting here, "maximum dog shit sound" it’s the heaviest.
It was about a year ago when I first stumbled upon the Numero Group, and finally after months of begging to get the true insides on them, they've finally answered my emails and come around to getting some of their stuff to us. Numero 001 is the first part of an indefinite Eccentric Soul series. It's a series of out of print soul music criminally ignored or lost for years in vaults and basements, and part one is a representation of Columbus Ohio's Capsoul label and their releases from the early 1970s.
The second album by Pateras and Fox finds them raiding the human body for sounds and reorganizing them in convulsive detail. Their improvisations logically find the duo favoring texture over form, yet after a while the constantly shifting dynamics becomes a form of motionlessness in itself and at times I found my mind wandering.
This release, the second in a seven inch trilogy, sees a further distillation of the band’s gorgeous organically structured songwriting. These two pieces are instantly noticeable as more electronic sounding than the first instalment, even though some of the strongest melody lines here are analogue in origin.
This is the second album from Denmark’s Jens Berents Christiansen as Rumpistol. Mere Rum is a listenable but boring album. Each of the eight tracks are forgettable. They work as background music they're but definitely not anything I could sit down and listen to properly again.
The latest instrumental offering from Robin Guthrie is a beautiful example of his evocative songwriting and production skills, and a testament to why his work has been the creamy center of the dream pop world for years. It's also a reminder of how much better his work is with the right vocalist.
