Brainwashed Radio: The Podcast Edition

Aurora Borealis image from California by Steve

Look up

Music for gazing upwards brought to you by Meat Beat Manifesto & scott crow, +/-, Aurora Borealis, The Veldt, Not Waving & Romance, W.A.T., The Handover, Abul Mogard & Rafael Anton Irisarri, Mulatu Astatke, Paul St. Hilaire & René Löwe, Songs: Ohia, and Shellac.

Aurora Borealis image from California by Steve.

Get involved: subscribe, review, rate, share with your friends, send images!

Amazon PodcastsApple PodcastsBreakerCastboxGoogle PodcastsOvercastListen on PocketCastsListen on PodbeanListen on Podcast AddictListen on PodchaserTuneInXML


The Scientists, "Sedition"

An ATP-sponsored reunion of the dormant Aussie post-punk band is a revelation, and this live album shows just how many of the bands you know nicked from the Scientists' legacy. While packaged like a best of compilation, Sedition is actually the document of a May 2006 performance at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival. It covers their own "best of" material from their nine year career and it can easily function as such because the band still plays as tightly as one who never took any sort of break.
Continue reading

Sistrenatus, "Division One"

For those in need of a disc to spin this coming Halloween to scare the children, or simply can't get enough of clanging percussion and synth noise, this may fit the bill.  For the rest of us…not so much.
Continue reading

Ectogram, "Fluff on a Faraway Hill"

This sixth album is another firm step forward for Ectogram. While still firmly rooted in the Krautrock and post-punk spirit that is their hallmark, they keep pushing their albums into new places, challenging themselves and creating a treat for us in the process. It is easy to get lost in this album for hours; the eight songs that make up this album are meticulous in terms of sonic texture and each listening experience is full of new surprises. Not only that but Fluff on a Faraway Hill is fun too.
Continue reading

"Colombia!"

Since 1934, Fuentes has been the premiere record label of Colombia, home to the country’s rich legacy of music. Covering the years from 1960 to 1976, this compilation is instantly likeable and very enjoyable throughout, highlighting some of the best work from the Fuentes vaults.
Continue reading

Gui Boratto, "Chromophobia"

It would hard to live up to the level of anticipation surrounding this debut from Brazilian producer Gui Boratto after his string of tantalizing singles, so I wasn't surprised when it didn't quite meet my expectations. There are plenty of enjoyable moments, but not nearly as many as there should be.

Continue reading

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, "Living with the Living"

 Ted Leo breaks no new ground. I know it, he knows it, if you’re familiar with his music, then you know it.  Even when he was in Chisel back in the mid-1990’s, his band's influences were obvious.  Those influences were both clichéd and similar—the Who, the Jam, the Kinks.  When he went solo about a decade ago, he updated the influences, but the approach was still the same.  Starting out on Lookout! Records, Leo made songs referencing the Clash, the Pogues, Elvis Costello and almost all of the Stiff Records catalogue.   His apologists (and he has many) hide behind two rhetorical walls.  One, they say that he plays now for people who weren’t around the first time.  This is a common argument, used for artists like Green Day and the Rapture, but it’s not a convincing one.  It’s not like Leo is Alan Lomax, keeping alive a dying, unrecorded tradition—the Clash has left behind a bunch of CDs that anybody can get their hands on.   I was in pre-school when London Calling was being recorded, but I’ve still educated myself on that generation of musicians.  I assume that most people that would pick up an independent label CD would have, too.   The other—and somewhat more convincing—argument is that Leo is good at what he does.  And to be honest, he really fucking is.  Living with the Living is fantastically well done and had it been made thirty years ago, it would be a masterpiece.  The second song, “Sons of Cain,” sounds like a cross between The Replacements “Bastards of Young” and the Clash’s “Hateful” but you know what’s amazing?  It’s almost as good.  The same goes for the Costello-ish “Army Bound” and “Crying Over You,” which sounds ridiculously like the Clash when they were in reggae mode.  These songs have a certain brilliance, but it’s greatly reduced by their unoriginality--listening to this album is like kissing a beautiful, but stupid woman.   Poor Ted Leo.  Had he been born thirty years earlier, it’s possible he would be remembered as a genius.  But just as likely, he could have looked at the burgeoning punk scene of the late 1970’s and started a fantastic doo-wop band. 

Keef Baker, "Redeye"

With so-called intelligent dance music still inexplicably directionless to the point of being neutered and de-legitimized, purveyors of this once-promising sound seem to be throwing the kitchen sink at the problem in desperation. Emblematic of this rut, this pleasant and schizophrenic album attempts to embody an entire record collection's worth of influences, resulting in something neither fish nor fowl.
Continue reading

Schneider TM, "Škoda Mluvit"

Schneider TM attempts to broaden the palate with the help of Max Turner and grandmother Edith Kuss. Thankfully he doesn't abandon the machine-like vocal tendencies that can be so endearing. Not everything works on Škoda Mluvit, but there are moments of bliss and fun.

Continue reading

Kevin Drumm, "Sheer Hellish Miasma"

Repackaged, remastered and reissued with a 13 minute bonus track, this mighty release from Kevin Drumm sees the dark of night again. The five pieces are more varied and exciting than I believed noise could be; this is no lazy DIY noise made with a handful of effects pedals plugged into each other. Drumm has molded this immense sound into such an imposing form that I do not think even an army of Merzbows could stand up to.
Continue reading

Grails, "Burning Off Impurities"

Their fourth album sees Grails continuing to go from strength to strength. Even after last year's excellent Black Tar Prophecies collection I am completely gobsmacked at how far Grails have come on in such a short space of time. The title of the album is particularly apt as the group have shed all unnecessary fat from their sound. There is not a misplaced note or tone on this album, this definitely sounds like Grails have sold their souls at the crossroads in exchange for untold amounts of talent.
Continue reading