 |
|
Give us an hour, we'll give you music to remember. This week we bring you an episode with brand new music from Softcult, Jim Rafferty, karen vogt, Ex-Easter Island Head, Jon Collin, James Devane, Garth Erasmus, Gary Wilson, and K. Freund, plus some music from the archives from Goldblum, Rachel Goswell, Roy Montgomery. Rubber ducks and a live duck photo from Matthew in the UK. Get involved: subscribe, review, rate, share with your friends, send images!
|
It’s good to hear that some folks who are doing the whole "drone metal" thing are remembering where the roots of the sound are, as opposed to simply trying to ape the "big names" of the scene. This relatively new Greek band definitely wears their influence on their sleeves, creating this homage to the Church of Black Sabbath and the holy scripture of Earth’s 2.
On this album, Steven Wilson uses sounds made from Steve Hubback's metal sculptures to make underwater music. Presented in a lavish package that includes a DVD-Audio disc along with a standard CD, a perfect-bound book with photographs, and a sturdy slipcase, it's without a doubt a beautiful artifact. It is a shame, then, that these two tracks don't quite live up to their presentation.
Prolific artists Andrew Liles and Daniel Menche combine forces to tackle the subject of flies. Divided into four tracks named for the stages of a fly's life cycle, Liles and Menche blend their talents in a heady mix of drones and subtle textures, with vaguely melodic underpinnings. The album has enough unpredictability to make it both mystifying and alluring while still playing to the artists' respective strengths.
DJ Spooky's brand of audio-collage transcends his labors as archaeologist and cuckoo. With dozens of sound sources including Marcel Duchamp, James Joyce, Raymond Scott, Sun Ra, and Morton Subotnick, this companion to his Sound Unbound book balances theory with swinging music.
At one time, California pop-punk band The Mae Shi sold mixtape CD-Rs of their chopped-up favorite songs at gigs. They have certainly progressed from those days, and HLLLYH is their fourth album to date. Here, they shower us with their brand of rapid bounce-along pop-punk, full of catchy melodic hooks and string-breaking guitar riffs, in a concerted effort to bounce, grin, and charm their chaotic way into our hearts.
Jérôme Chassagnard is one half of French electronic/ambient act Ab Ovo, along with Régis Baillet. As a solo act, though, he has released two previous albums on Ant-Zen, 2005's Empreintes and last year's Mouvements. His latest, (f)light, highlights his eclectic mix of styles and influences, from ambient to electronica, and from hip-hop to drum n bass. This third album, this time on the German Hymen label, underscores Chassagnard's ability to blend all these disparate styles together into one seamless and effortlessly soaring whole.Usually I’d imagine something coming out on the Hanson label to be a bit more obtuse and rough than what is presented on this album. Instead of leaning to the noiser end of the spectrum, the two side-long tracks here instead define themselves via classic analog synth drone that is so thick and sustained that it almost becomes tangible, yet never mundane.
The content of this CD was a surprise. From the sleeve art, the record label and the picture of the band on the back, I was expecting harsh noise. Instead my ears were greeted with the most wonderful electronic murmurs. The two pieces here set my mind adrift on an ocean of warm synthesiser undercurrents and waves of gentle guitar. The feelings this music elicits bring to mind the sheer beauty of Stars of the Lid but with a stronger, denser sound.
