Mark Nelson has shed some layers for the latest full-length release as Pan•American. No longer is he trading tapes with friends like the first or recruiting other players to guest like the second album. Much like the last Labradford album, this time it's all him. For those who have been following his career with the various singles and compilation track contribututions, the sound should come as no surprise. The influence from various other "micro-house" type people can be felt as there's more non-musical outside sounds like underlying electronic hiss, clicks and pops. What separates Nelson from the rest of the crowd is his undeniable talents as both a great musician and composer. Despite the overall quiet nature of the disc, his subtle synthetic organ melodies are lush and involved, inviting and even sexy. I'm almost embarassed to admit that 'The River' makes for a great record to underscore quite a romatic evening to. While many other uses can include schoolwork, housework, or quiet time, it is a fascinating album to completely tune the world out and zone out to. Yummmm.
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After a critically acclaimed EP, a single release, and severalcompilation appearances, 27 release "Animal Life" their debutfull-length on Kimchee Records. Recorded "at home" by the band andself-produced, "Life" shows off the same elements listeners alreadyknow and love about 27, but here the band spreads its wings anddelivers its first masterpiece. Seeing 27 live, you hear a lot more interms of dynamics than what was heard on "Songs From the Edge of theWing." Those dynamics are heard here, in all their glory, plus someinteresting additions to 27's sound. There is a greater integration ofsamples (including one from Charles Mingus on the first track), andsprinklings here and there of horns (drummer Neil Coulon playsclarinet) and strings. Overall, though, the songwriting has improved,though the subject matter is still very much the same. Songs of frailtyand failed relationships never sounded this lush. There is also anattack in these songs, hidden just below the surface, that can utterlydestroy you, and should, were it not for the sheer beauty of it all.And everywhere, Maria Christopher's voice is clear and soaring, asalways, even when double-tracked and softly sung. There is anothervoice adding flavor on these songs, too, as Ayal Naor harmonizes andfollows Christopher's lead on select tracks, most notably on 'Undone.'These songs are more striking than anything 27 have put to tape so far.The intimacy seems more enveloping, the instrumentation warmer. By thetime you reach 'Cavalla,' the album's ten minute closer, with itshaunting crickets and whistle that gradually fade into the band'ssteady and heavy rhythm, you're utterly a believer. "Didn't youlearn?/It's supposed to burn" sings Christopher, right before theybring the wall of sound back in to show you how it's done when it'sdone right. There are no missteps or weaknesses here. This is slow rockmusic of the highest quality. Don't miss out. "Animal Life" isavailable now on 
Soon after the inaugural 'Spiral Scratch' EP, Pete Shelley and HowardDevoto parted ways, Shelley carrying on with the Buzzcocks and Devotomoving on to Magazine. A quarter century later they've reunited forlive shows and this album, possibly a one-off. Firstly the duo are tobe commended for not retreading their punk origins, choosing instead toexplore a more contemporary direction. Unfortunately that direction islame electronica. Devoto's peculiar voice is the same as ever, but Ifind it much more annoying here with a backdrop of bland beats, datedsynth textures and cheesy wanking. The handful of short instrumentalsdon't fare too much better, even with the addition of saxophones on "OnSolids". A computer and software does not an electronic musician make.It's either ironic or telling that the two songs most faithful to theirroots - "Can You See Me Shining?" and "'Til The Stars In His Eyes AreDead" - are by far the best, especially the latter with its high energyand heavy guitar riffage (if you heard or bought the single, don'texpect the rest of the album to sound like it!) Sure, they would havebeen lambasted by most critics and fans had the entire album been like"Stars", but sometimes it's best to just do what you do best. The videoportion of the disc is live footage of two songs, Shelley and Devotolooking about as bored as I am with the material. Get Magazine'sbrilliant career retrospective 'Maybe It's Right To Be Nervous Instead'box set instead! 
Historically, the Rephlex label has defined and embodied the term"taking the piss." With tongues planted in their cheeks, the notoriouslabel owners Richard D. James and Grant Wilson-Claridge release, onaverage, nine questionable albums for every good one. So it's always awelcome relief to see a new Global Goon album at the record store.Though often, and incorrectly, rumored to be an Aphex Twin project,Jonny Hawk is his own man, wearing his influences on his sleeve like ageezer's cufflinks. Global Goon doesn't seem to mind promoting thatdated Artifical Intelligence sound, and for that we are thankful. Whileluminaries like Autechre continue to stray further and further awayfrom melody, the opening track on 'Vatican Nitez' ("Business Man")brings us back to when Warp was in its heyday, dropping classic uponclassic. Warbly analog synths, flatulent stabs, and coherant drumscarry this album for the most part, most noticeably on songs like"Stan's Slaves" & "Crudulus". The memorable "I'm On The 73" recallsa time before trip hop and downtempo, with an old-school hip hop grooveplaying awkward yet pleasant games with delay effects. With 'VaticanNitez', Global Goon confirms his place as one of the strongest acts onthe label (which isn't saying all that much) and one of the most uniquein today's IDM scene. I'm looking forward to a time in the future whenpeople rediscover the 90's; a time when Jonny Hawk can be regarded forholding down the fort while even the generals defected. 
Somewhere, right now, indie rock kids are overjoyed beyond belief listening to this record. Why? Because Go Back Snowball is a project by two men that they readily worship for the music they release with their full-time bands. And people have often wondered in conversations at coffee shops and record stores what it would be like if they actually made a record together. The wonder is over, as Bob Pollard and Mac McCaughan, of Guided By Voices and Superchunk/Portastatic respectively, have joined forces for "Calling Zero." And it's almost as good as you'd expect it to be.
Music nerds need to have fun some times. Unfortunately I think thoseare the only people who would find entertainment in the "irony" of thisrelease. No, this isn't a brand new full-length from the long-forgottenkickass On-U Sound dub band Playgroup from the 1980s (despite the onetrack which experiments with instrumental dub), it's the project byTrevor Jackson, owner of Output Records and former remix artist knownas Underdog. If there's anything to express on this recording, it's thefacts that #1: he's either got a ton of money or a lot of productionskills and connections and #2: he's a rather dull writer, with mundanelyrics, oversimplified beats and repetitious riffs that wear out theirwelcome 30 seconds into every track. The self-titled debut album isclearly a post-post-disco record: just a few years shy of making asplash. (Note: the trend has clearly moved onto the 1980s-retro, duh!)Months ago, I thought this was a seriously feverish heavy recording,but take my warning, that feeling fades quick. Further listens invarious environments show its limits, as it's really only heavy whenplayed in loud volumes with the bass turned way up. Some times a goodfeel gets going, but out-of-place guitar riffs, saxophones or othersounds almost always seemingly taint any attempt at purity. In manyways I'm reminded of the Malcom McLaren from 20 years ago: a whiteBritish music businessman and producer who regurgitated black cultureand was praised by the white music press and higher-brow music fans,but was never authentic enough to really break down the boundaries thatkept him an "artist" rather than the "superstar" he was shooting to be.Guest vocalists like Kathleen Hanna and Shinehead don't do the albummuch help and the cover of Paul Simon's "18 Ways to Leave Your Lover"is downright painful. I couldn't help but cringe every "yahoo" shout in"Front 2 Back" or each time some tough-acting guy spoke "bounce,""scram," and "uh huh," in between the sung lines of the ghastly PaulSimon cover. Jackson's got a great ear for production, a ton of supportfrom the highest paid music critics, and probably tons of managerstrying to land him TV advertisements, but at the end of the day I canhonestly say that I'm personally embarassed to own this record,nevermind play it around others or in the car with the windows rolleddown.
Series 7 is a project on the UK-based label Bella Union, formed byformer Cocteau Twins Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde. Over sevenreleases, seven artists will take seven days to record seven songs. TheMeat Beat Manifesto founder/front-man's contribution is probably theclosest he has ever come to the Meat Beat sound while recording as JackDangers. While it's hypnotic and infectious and a much anticipatedsound, it's not, however, a Meat Beat record. The beats are here,Jack's production has without a doubt presented for our listeningpleasure that signature sound fans all know and love, but there'ssomething just not quite there. It could be the absence of sung orvocally sampling tracks, strong lead instruments, or heavy tune riffs.This isn't a bad thing, however, as it seems to be that the goals ofthis series is to harness what these few musicians are able to come upwith in a short time without countless chances to change, modify,retouch, etc... It's enough to wet my personal appetite for now whilewe wait patiently for the next big MBM offering.
The "5 Tracks" CDR, published in a tiny edition of 100 copies in abeautiful silver-on-black circular sleeve, documents a solo guitar andelectronics concert by improvising guitarist Giuseppe Ielasi in Athens,Greece. Ielasi's improvisations do not contain many typicallyinstrumental gestures; every track sounds like a composed piece of tapemusic, with careful attention paid to the stereo field and to suddenshifts in dynamics and texture. Only a few times do we hear arecognizable volume pedal or a hand rubbing some glass on a guitarstring. For the most part, the level of detail and patience here arethe kind most often found in meticulous studio creations. The highpoint for me is the fourth track, a lengthy piece that starts as hightones and feedback and very slowly (VERY slowly!) adds percussiveelements and crackling synthesizer; the sense of assured calm thatpervades every piece is rare, and just wonderful. There are certainlyaffinities between "5 Tracks" and Kevin Drumm's seminal "Guitar" CD,but I don't think any improviser with an interest in electronic musicwasn't inspired in some way after that album came out. 
Recorded after "5 Tracks', the "Right After" CD does not appear tocontain any guitar at all (at least, not according to the credits).Ielasi's partner on this album is Domenico Sciajno, formerly a bassistand currently one of the most musical and interesting of allimprovising laptop players. Sciajno's computer and Ielasi's electronics(a tableful of gadgets, I imagine) are integrated here into a seamlesssingle voice. I can only assume that the music is improvised due to thehistory of the publisher, Erstwhile Records, but if I had no suchbackground I might not guess as much. If "5 Tracks" only occasionallybelies its uneditted live and improvised nature, "Right After" does notat all. The high sine tones are out in force right from the start,which can be either exhilirating or annoying, depending on yourpatience for such things. The second half turns somber, with calm quietprevailing over the jarring cuts that open the disc. Much moreaggressive and strange than Ielasi's other recordings, "Right After" isalso one of the very best and most cohesive releases on the Erstwhilelabel. More info at 
A very different improvising group from Italy is the strangelypunctuated tu m'. There is virtually no information given on thepackage of tu m's debut CD, but it sure sounds like a laptop to me(that telltale digital high-pitched whine is unmistakable). The groupmoves carefully through six relatively beat-oriented improvisations.The pieces develop slowly and deliberately, with loops rising up andfading out, sine tones entering steadily and cutting out, muted beatstaking a place somewhere in the background and thump thump thumpingalong. Though the music is improvised, it sounds more similar to theabstract Mille Plateaux or Ritornell bands (Neina springs immediatelyto mind) than to what one might think of as "improv". The recordingquality is muddy at times, especially when tu m' brings out the heavybass, so many of the digital details are lost in an undifferentiatedmurk. This could have benefitted from a cleaner production, but theideas still come across. More info at 
Raised form the semi-ashes of Red Red Meat, Califone started as a soloproject of sorts for that group's Tim Rutili. Eventaully, however, hestarted to bring other people in to play, adding dimension and flavorto the sound, and, eventually, two of the other three members of RedRed Meat, Ben Massarella and Brian Deck. After the release of theircohesive and coherent debut LP "Roomsound" last year on Rutili andMassarella's own Perishable imprint, this year Califone reissues theirfirst self-titled EPs on Flydaddy and Road Cone on Perishable, addingtwo tracks and an official title. "Good Weather" is a view into theCalifone of before, and having heard "Roomsound," it's a great lookinto how jaunting and disparate their sound was early on. Yes, there isclearly a Bowie influence, as well as rural mountain geetar-pickin'.But work it all together with some driving percussion, samples andpiano here and there, and change direction on virtually every track,and what you get takes on a life of its own. You can almost hear aconscious shift between tracks 1-7 and 8-12, where the productionvalues went up, the vocal harmonies move to the front seat, and theinstrumentation is more varied. It's a fascinating listen, evolution ofsound-wise. Of the two bonus tracks, one is a remix of the earliertrack "To Hush a Sick Transmission" sans vocals, and the other is thebest Califone track you've never heard, as it's never been heard untilnow. All in all, a great reissue that shows the early potential of thisensemble considering where they are now. 
These two are the latest 7" singles in a series initiated by Tonschachtto showcase different strategies of contemporary—not necessarilyelectronic experimental—music. The design is the same as the previousreleases: a white typewriter font on black and vice versa on the infosheet enclosed. Nothing shall distract the listeners attention fromlistening itself. No. 009 features Auckland, New Zealand resident RosyParlane with "Kees.1" and "Kees.2". Side one sets a reduced breakbeatagainst an approaching intense swarm of electronic drones. On theflipside, "Kees.2" continues with an almost orchestral drone fadinginto distraction. Carefully selected sounds are introduced at first,while more sounds are seemingly randomly brought in, step by step,until a new structure evolves. As soon as the piece has completelymutated into something different, it stops. At first both pieces seemto be a bit short but each get to a point which gains and rewards yourattention without having to wait a full CD length for it.
Thebetter known Vibracathedral Orchestra from the UK grace No. 010.Working with a variety of more traditional instruments, they sound abit like an outtake of the fictive 'Industrial Unplugged' Series."Oblong Two" is the far darker and heavier one of the two. It's mood isan ambiguous drift leading your ears towards amazement. The title trackleaves the impression of optimistic ignorance in midst the wasteland.This is not really my pair of shoes but I'm sure lovers of freestylepost-everything will enjoy it. These editions are numbered and featureexclusive tracks and should be available at normal 7" single prices.For more info on this extraordinary series check out 
