12XU
It is sometimes interesting to know the motivations behind things, andthat is certainly the case with this EP from the multi-instrumentalistand member of at least half a dozen stunning bands over the years. WhenI read the spine of the CD, I thought "Wasn't this a song off his lastrecord?" Indeed, it was, but Brokaw was inspired to re-record it andupdate it to an electric, full-band status. Accompanying it is histribute to female songwriters, as he records songs by former bandmateThalia Zedek, Liz Phair, and Holly Anderson and Lisa Burns. All ofthis, apparently, is due to the inspiration of Greg Weeks, whodiscussed a compilation of men performing songs written by women withBrokaw a year ago. Now, perhaps this comes off as Brokaw rhyming on theidea a bit, but it's no matter, as it is easily the most electrifyingwork Brokaw has ever produced. His interpretation of these songs isfull of strong choices and a clear vision, with his own twists andturns thrown in just for fun. The update of the title track is the waythe song was meant to be heard: multi-tracked guitars, powerhousedrums, and a confident yet slightly flawed vocal. It blows the previousversion away easily. Brokaw has chosen artists he greatly respects aswell as songs that he loves, and his partnership with Zedek in Comeproduced some great songs and records, so it's a fitting choice as wellas a straightforward interpretation. On Zedek's "1000 MPH," a punked-upenergy level suffers only slightly without the vocal presence of itsauthor. "In Love With Yourself" predates Phair's seminal Exile in Guyvilleand it shows, as it's a cheeky and almost corny song that's just cleverenough to be amusing, which she'd never dare approach today. Itbenefits from this re-envisioning of just guitar and voice, and it evenshows a little sense of humor on Brokaw's side. It is the last songthat is the cornerstone, though, as "Across the Blue" is grandiose andlabored, with a relaxed performance with great guitar lines andatmospherics. Brokaw has a new solo album due in 2005 and a soundtracklater this year, but it just may be that he does his best work withother people's songs. If that's the case, it's hardly a negative if theresults are this good.
It is sometimes interesting to know the motivations behind things, andthat is certainly the case with this EP from the multi-instrumentalistand member of at least half a dozen stunning bands over the years. WhenI read the spine of the CD, I thought "Wasn't this a song off his lastrecord?" Indeed, it was, but Brokaw was inspired to re-record it andupdate it to an electric, full-band status. Accompanying it is histribute to female songwriters, as he records songs by former bandmateThalia Zedek, Liz Phair, and Holly Anderson and Lisa Burns. All ofthis, apparently, is due to the inspiration of Greg Weeks, whodiscussed a compilation of men performing songs written by women withBrokaw a year ago. Now, perhaps this comes off as Brokaw rhyming on theidea a bit, but it's no matter, as it is easily the most electrifyingwork Brokaw has ever produced. His interpretation of these songs isfull of strong choices and a clear vision, with his own twists andturns thrown in just for fun. The update of the title track is the waythe song was meant to be heard: multi-tracked guitars, powerhousedrums, and a confident yet slightly flawed vocal. It blows the previousversion away easily. Brokaw has chosen artists he greatly respects aswell as songs that he loves, and his partnership with Zedek in Comeproduced some great songs and records, so it's a fitting choice as wellas a straightforward interpretation. On Zedek's "1000 MPH," a punked-upenergy level suffers only slightly without the vocal presence of itsauthor. "In Love With Yourself" predates Phair's seminal Exile in Guyvilleand it shows, as it's a cheeky and almost corny song that's just cleverenough to be amusing, which she'd never dare approach today. Itbenefits from this re-envisioning of just guitar and voice, and it evenshows a little sense of humor on Brokaw's side. It is the last songthat is the cornerstone, though, as "Across the Blue" is grandiose andlabored, with a relaxed performance with great guitar lines andatmospherics. Brokaw has a new solo album due in 2005 and a soundtracklater this year, but it just may be that he does his best work withother people's songs. If that's the case, it's hardly a negative if theresults are this good. 
As a violinist, Eyvind Kang has played with the likes of Sun CityGirls, Bill Frisell, Secret Chiefs 3, Laurie Anderson and many others.As a composer, Kang has carved out a unique position for himself,releasing a series of studio albums drawing on his concept of the NADE(a concept which I won't attempt to explain here, mostly because Idon't understand it). The albums combined elements of disparate ethnicmusic forms with esoteric spiritual ideas, and sudden, unexpectedtransitions into fully-formed pop songs or long passages of pastoralambience. I've liked most of his work that I've heard so far(especially 2000's The Story of Iceland), but it appears that Kang has outdone himself with Virginal Co-ordinates,a beautiful recording of an ambitious live performance staged in Italylast year. Kang composes and conducts a 16 piece ensemble—called thePlayground—augmented by himself on violin and several guest musicians,including Mike Patton on voice and electronics, Michael White (formerSun Ra Arkestra violinist) and Tim Young on electric guitar. I supposethe inclusion of Mike Patton is the only reason this album has surfacedon Ipecac Recordings, seeing as it's otherwise entirely different fromthe label's usual output. It's quite an impressive work, split up intoten movements of varying lengths, each gently joined to the next withgossamer instrumental threads. The title of the work evokes images ofuntouched glacial expanses, secluded valleys and mountains untouchedand unadulterated by the progress of man—Virginal Co-ordinatesin which the mind and spirit are free to find connections with naturebeyond those limited ideas inculcated in us by the artificialstrictures of society. The album artwork is pure white, the color ofvirginity, with a white cobra in the center, appearing poised tostrike. The cobra is a perfect symbol for the current of hidden menacethat runs through much of the music. There is a spiritual yearningthroughout, but it is often joined by vibrating undercurrents of dread."I am the Dead" transforms into a full-blow orchestral pop song withechoes of Brian Wilson, but its lyrics presage the death and rebirthrituals of the Bardo Todol. Mike Patton's voice lends anethereal beauty to certain passages, and Walter Zianetti steals theshow with his acoustic guitar solo on "Taksim." Elements of Spanishguitar, Indian raga, tonal Oriental scales, film soundtracks andAmerican pastoral symphonies all weave their way into Kang's work,culminating in the majesty of the title track, a magnificent,shape-shifting wall of orchestral noise in which musical phrases fromearlier movements are recycled and juxtaposed to hypnotic effect. At 73minutes, Virginal Co-ordinates is never boring, which issomething that cannot often be said for works of modern composition. Infact, its appeal goes well beyond the usual modern classical crowd, andI imagine it would be enjoyed by anyone interested in thetransformative and magical possibilities of music. 
While both Bardo Pond and Tom Carter should be names that everyone familiar to The Brainshould recognize, perhaps it's a bit of a shock to see the two of themlisted together. Although Bardo Pond and Charalambides contributedtracks to the seminal Harmony of the Spheres compilationreleased in the late 1990s on Drunken Fish, this is the first time thatthe two groups have collaborated together, and the result is an hour ofpsychedelic improvisations whose whole is greater than the sum of itsparts. Throughout the disc, Carter's guitar weaves in and out of BardoPond's music, adding his patent e-bowed and reverberated sound to thetextures created by the band. Carter's guitar doesn't stand outabruptly against the other sonic elements as much as it adds anadditional dimension to the multi-layered sounds and textures thatBardo Pond creates. Of the disc's five tracks—which are simply labeledby their length—only one is shorter than ten minutes, with two tracksclocking in near the 20-minute marker. This gives the improvisationsample room for development, with ideas being fully fleshed out and allpossibilities explored. Fans of the two groups shouldn't bedisappointed by this release, as both Bardo Pond and Carter retaintheir unique sounds while creating a release that has a singularcharacter.
Monumentstarts off with a barely noticable track entitled "Monument 1(Memorial)." It only last for a couple minutes and sort of eases theears into the following series whistles, whale calls, Japanese flutes,and chants . "Monument 2" is approximately 47 minutes of intenselywarm, meandering, and amorphous guitar. Carter slips on ten or twelvedifferent masks over the course of this song, each rendering his guitara new kind of instrument. The song opens with a strange tremble thatprovides the illusion of multiple guitars phasing in and out of eachother until reality finally syncs up and the sound rolls out into thatair smoothly and harmoniously. As the guitars wobble to and fro,struggling and distorted roars reach out from behind the noise to speakof pseudo-melodies and breathless spaces stretched out wide andindefinitely. The lap steel is a wonderful instrument in Carter'shands; his manipulation of its signature sound renders the instrument afar more diverse one than I thought possible. At times it sounds like abell being struck slowly and in the distant, in other places it soundslike lasers beaming through a science-fiction film, and at other timesit could easily be mistaken for a heavily edited piece of keyboardtrickery shaking in and out of earshot. Only at certain points does thelap steel make itself known as such and this allows Carter to refocushis composition and lead it off in new directions. The song is verybusy at times and, at others, it is quiet and marked by pockets ofsilence. The first time through I listened to the music with the volumeturned down quite low, but turned way up all sorts of intricategestures became obvious and the record took on a more physical andcarnal attitude. The quiet rings from the first time around suddenlybecame consuming bellows and hypnotic waves full of whales and deepbreaths. Carter switches back and forth between formless stretches ofsound and rhythmic stroking that vibrates and bends wildly out ofcontrol at times. I could go on at length about all that sounds Cartermanages to pull out of his lap steel, but I'd be ignoring a specialsomething that makes this record so beautiful. For all of itswanderings and lack of structure, Monument is full of melodicmoments and genuine heart. The exploratory nature of this record doesnot eclipse the emotional pull of the music. When the sound tightens upand nearly bubbles over with energy, I feel a tightening in my chestand anxiety takes me over for a minute. When the sound opens up andbreathes deep and sensuous breaths, I get butterflies in my stomach andsway forward with the music before the release eases itself away.Forty-seven minutes might seem like an exercise in patience, but whenthe record is over with it doesn't seem nearly long enough. -
Following Biotop as the third in Die Stadt's ongoing Tietchens reissue campaign, Spät-Europashows Asmus Tietchens again preoccupied with a bizarre space-age popsound, exceedingly retro even by 1981's standards. Tietchens' imaginarytroop of antique synthesizer idiots return in the album's thoughtfullyduplicated sleeve notes, ushering in the same twisted humor and bouncymelodies of its predecessor, with a similar, if not more dominantdegree of mechanical (German?) remove. The distance that separatesTietchens' two-minute robotic jingles from virtually all electropopapproximations past and present (save maybe the work of Felix Kubin) isthe result of that rare, hard-to-locate, and thoroughly inhuman charmfound in the grainy science fictions and forgotten prog records ofdecades past. Asmus seems intent on pushing the aloof cinematic edgethat confused Biotop's buoyant flow to an even greater extreme on Spät,incorporating more alienating atmospherics to divide the album's fewermoments of jubilant Moog abuse and out-pop reverie. Songs become stiff,programmatic waltzes for robot retirees, conjuring images of obsoletestainless-steel models left to their own tired dinner parties, dustyveteran lounges, and silent card games. Tietchens' melodic styleresponds accordingly, toned down since Biotop and more in tunewith the minimal, near-industrial percussive backing of many tracks.Repeated listens reveal a new harshness that was perhaps hidden withinthe previous album's spacious glide and will become more pronounced asthe artist gradually lets go of the pop format. At least for now,though, the light-hearted Tietchens rules, and it's a great pleasure tovisit this side of such a prolific, diverse musician.
Not long after releasing their largely forgettable 'Big Hit' album in1995, electronic body music pioneers Nitzer Ebb called it quits. Savefor some work with Recoil, Alan Wilder's non-Depeche Mode project,founding member and vocalist Douglas McCarthy disappeared altogetherfrom the music scene. A couple of years ago, Mute decided to capitalizeon Nitzer Ebb's back catalog of label releases by issuing a series of12" records featuring new and unreleased remixes of classic cuts like"Join In The Chant," "Let Your Body Learn," and "Shame." Thatsuccessful endeavor brought about a partnership between McCarthy andremixer Terence Fixmer, a techno producer with releases onInternational Deejay Gigolos and his own Planete Rouge imprint, theresult of which comprises the hour-long Between the Devil...Nearly every track here contains a throbbing, if not downrightpounding, 4/4 beat, as should be expected by those familiar withFixmer's prior work, much of which comprises his phenomenal Muscle Machinealbum. Previously released as the A-Side off a limited 12" single,"Destroy" builds up from a guttural whisper into a roar of focusedrage, lashing out at a deliberately unnamed enemy in such a furiousmanner that it could accompany an actual beating. Similarly, thelive-sounding vocal performance on "You Want It," appropriatelyaccompanied by a menacing EBM-bassline, shows off McCarthy'stried-and-true repetitious lyrical minimalism. On tracks like "ThroughA Screen," and the incredibly catchy "I Run," the anthemic goldenshouts that defined much of Nitzer Ebb's are balanced by a great dealof actual singing, showcasing a diversity that some listeners mightfind surprising. Inadvertently taking after Laibach's successfulcomeback pairing with underground techno figure Umek, Fixmer/McCarthyperfects the formula and offers a new vision for modern industrialdance music that many of the current scene stars and cookie-cutter gothclub darlings should take their cues from. Surely Between the Devil will rank highly on my Best of 2004 list. - 
Some of the most rewarding music is worth being patient for, andCharles Atlas is one of the most patient and disciplined contemporarybands. After five releases, the ensemble returns with perhaps the mostdense and developed album to date. To the Dusteases in on the opener "Neither Nor" with a hypnotic guitar, piano, andorgan interplay before cello, drum machine, glockenspiel, and layeredguitars build and build to some unexpectedly grand levels. Although theinstrumentation hasn't changed, it seems like there's simply more depththan before. The cello and strings on songs like "Signal Flags" makesfor a more cinematic, more climactic sound. Even when there's lessinstruments, a seemingly louder mix makes for a much more upfront anddirect feeling despite some of the tracks being completely absent ofdriving drums or percussion. It's rare, but when electronic rhythms areintroduced to songs, like the soothing "Corona Norco" or fast-paced"Chapultepec," they're kept simple, minimal, and thankfully primitiveenough to avoid mimicking real drums. Although it's mainly instrumentaland introspective, To the Dust is a very summery record. It's afleeting summer, however, painted mainly by an artist who knows thatsummers don't last long. The music is uplifting and moves along ratherquickly in places. Songs like "Photosphere" and "Chapultepec" are veryscenic and could easily score images of children playing in the sun orthe rushing rapids high in the mountains while songs like "Demus"conjures the comforting, relaxing and blindingly bright feelings ofhaving a rewarding beer at sunset. The majestic piano on the nearlyeight-minute simple piano/organ duo of "Primo Levi" is breathtakingwhile the album closes with the windy and wistful +10 minute closer"Dipole Moment," where sounds of acoustic guitar, organ, cymbalstrokes, and sound effects mimic a temperate evening breeze withcrickets in the distance. By the eighth minute, everything builds to aroar and then trails off just as calmly as it came in. Now on the sixthrelease, it confuses me how Charles Atlas hasn't become more popular,but I guess since they never toured with super popular Icelandic bandsor played drifting festivals, it makes sense as they haven't beenexposed enough to the people who don't actively seek out new sounds.While I hate comparing bands to other bands, I must make the point thatfans of Pygmalion-era Slowdive, The Album Leaf, Labradford andPan American, or the classic 4AD sound, Morr, Kranky, and Constellationlabels who haven't heard Charles Atlas yet are severely missing out.
Charles Wyatt is no stranger to collaboration. Before forming Charles Atlas, he played guitar for groups both in the USA and the UK. The fifth Charles Atlas release ironically slightly mirrors the debut Two More Hours as it contains remixes/reinterpretations of Charles Atlas music, however, this time there is nothing exclusively by Charles Atlas and the sources all come from the fourth release, last year's Worsted Weight on Ochre.
This awkwardly named ensemble is the collaboration between three ofBowindo's central players and co-founders, Stefano Pilia, ClaudioRocchetti, and Valerio Tricoli. The latter's Did They Did I?is one of the young label's best releases so far, and his comrades areno strangers within the budding Italian scene, Pilia with a CDR ofbeautiful droning guitar pieces on the Last Visible Dog label andRocchetti with at least one lauded recording as Kitano. And while itmight not be appropriate to call this disc the work of a "supergroup,"as the sixth and latest Bowindo release it feels, at least, like thelabel's first truly essential product, the trio matching each other'stalents to create a seven-part cycle of radiant acoustic imagery. 3/4HadBeenEliminated's45 minutes unfurl in a graceful, gripping sweep that combines theItalians' tendencies towards lyrical improvisation and colorfulelectroacoustics, with a grounding in the kind of baroque assemblagetechniques championed by people like Dean Roberts and Jim O'Rourke. Itis a roomy collage of found sounds, entranced piano and strings,featherweight percussion, and the small-yet-tactile electronicmanipulations most Bowindos manage with the such grace. Whole tracksare swallowed within drones of unquenchable warmth, carryovers fromPilia's Healing Memories record but without as grand apresentation, suggesting rather the distant, saturated golds of a Klimtpainting. As with previous Bowindo releases, field recordings getincorporated in such a way that they guide or introduce certainportions of the piece rather than float along as surface filler, asubtle but effective way of carving an environment from the workitself. The result is the same kind of unreal ambience labelmateGuiseppe Ielasi regularly produces, an unpredictable landscape thatreveals, only in afterthought (or aftershock), the rigorous method ofits creation. At points during the disc a beautiful chamber ensembleemerges, picking apart minimal, plaintive lines, as if at the cue of aparticular broken glass or cheap electronic whine. The effect of thisinvented troupe of players, slinking ghostly between so many goldenguitar drones, sheets of harmonium haze, and assorted earthenresonance, only to appear with the arbitrary quickness of a twigsnapping underfoot, is simply breathtaking, many listens over."Bedrock" travels from a tender, big-band shuffle sounding almost likethe Bad Seeds at their most sublime, to a lengthy area of abrasiveshatter and pop, garage ambience that still manages to feel like justanother station along the disc's narrative. When the associativestrains of guitar and percussive foundations disappear, more discretepatterning of electrical hums, engine turnovers, and minor tapetreatments become attempts at maintaining the momentum and sonicdensity of a particular moment, a method aimed at continuity ratherthan clash, and one that helps to create an incredibly fluidsound-world, full of juxtapositions, but ones which provide anindecisive magical middle passage. It's rare that works this complexalso succeed in feeling as direct, regardless of particular directiveschanging with each listen, a compliment that can be paid to most of theBowindo/Fringes releases I've heard. Discovering this label has been ajoy, and both of its 2004 releases will rank among my favorites for theyear. 
This is the absolutely flooring debut album of bassist/guitarist AdemIlhan's own four-piece band, and of a truly unique and powerful voiceall his own. Not that he's thought of as the quiet one or anything, butlive and on record with Fridge, Adem rarely ever lets this other beinginside of him be heard. His is a mannered but driven style of folkrock, prone to lush and full passages with varied instrumentation. Itis the vocals that make this album's beauty, however, with clear andimpassioned melodies from Adem and near perfect harmonies that embodythe words and themes being conveyed. From the first track, where theline "Let this be a moment that you won't forget" is stated severaltimes, I was hooked, with lyrics that pull everything around towardsthem and rhythms that crawl, sway, or jangle their way through life. Avariety of subjects are covered in what can only be catharsis, from theargument that remains long after the voices are quiet to the end of arelationship or those tender moments that will always remain. The heartreaches out to these characters, as they continue to stumble andmisdirect their ways around. "You tried to help yourself, but you gotit wrong" is followed by the extended "Everybody needs some helpsometimes" on "These Are Your Friends," the album's first single, andit could easily become the new "Lean On Me" of independent rock, as thesong builds and builds to a full-voiced near stomp at the end. Thereare little touches that show a clear grasp of theatrics withoutmelodrama or pretense, like the organ at the beginning of "EverythingYou Need," which leads in and disappears but has a lasting impression.The quirk of not often heard instruments, the uplifting as well as thecrushed, and the lyrics of a true poet make this a record I will notsoon forget. It also serves as a reminder to me of what anextraordinary group of talents Fridge is, and it makes me long for anew release from them soon. - 
