Typically, a 'DJ Mix'record will be a selection of other people's cuts strung together byone semi-popular artist in a continuous mix, sometimes the DJ will beusing their own remixes to somehow give the impression that their nameon the record makes it rather personal, in this case however, JackDangers has spun together a multitude of material that has beenswimming around on Tino Corp releases, all of which include productionin various capacities by Jack Dangers. Old collectors and new fanswould each find great things in this collection. Clocking in at over 61minutes, this collection pulls together not only some exclusive Tinobreaks, Meat Beat Manifesto songs, Loop Finder General tracks, remixesand other appearances, but the exclusive video "Tino's Factory"directed by Ben Stokes (DHS) adds the finishing touch. Also unlike tonsof other DJ mixes, many songs are included in somewhat close to theircomplete form with a refreshing varied tempo. For those who own theTino vinyl, this makes a perfect compact collection for bringing aroundon the walkman or for long drives. Others who have not yet heard theTino Corp records, a disc like this provides a great introduction tothe breakbeat experiments, collecting great dub, latin and tropicalbreaks along that have a flavor distinctly Jack Dangers. samples:
- Loop Finder General - Shave My Head
- Bo Square - Numbers
- DHS - House of God (Jack Dangers Remix)
Fans of Pere Ubu willdefinitely want to check out the latest from Panopoly Academy ofEngineers. Complete with David Thomas-esque shrieks and squeaks,Panopoly Academy's third full-length release paints (or splatters) anoff-kilter post-punk soundscape. Pounding basslines and grindingguitars divert into watery, wandering interludes before lurching backinto jittery assault. The album's nine songs are grouped into threes,each its own suite, so that one track and the next often collide.However, each song definitely has an unpredictable arc of its own. "TskTsk" begins with a ticking twisting together of drums (Ryan Hicks),chewy bass (Pete Schreiner), and guitars (Marty Sprowles) that unravelsas soon as Darin Glenn's vocals intervene, "Your culture co-opt,contain." After only a brief return to the tension of its openingstrains, the track explodes into a funky twitch that subsides intosilence before winding up for a final handful of crashing chords and anunsettling chorus of chirpy, layered vocals. The entire album is densewith twists, jerks, and unexpected directions, every musical spasmproducing its own bizarre pleasure. Mm, battering rhythms...bleatingguitars... Depending on your usual musical inclinations, this sort ofthing can also be exhausting. While it's possible that such jaggedterrain could use some more developed passages, it's more likely theband's frenetic style just takes a little getting used to. Check itout. Previous Panopoly Academy releases can also be found underPanopoly Academy Glee Club, and an upcoming album will sport the namePanopoly Academy Legionnaires. Schizophrenia by any other name.
Following the AC/DC kickstarted with his EP, "Rock 'n Roll Singer," Red House Painters' frontman, Mark Kozelek has completely re-rearranged an entire album's worthof tracks for solo voice and acoustic guitar. Once again his choice ofAC/DC cuts come from the old Bon Scott-era, including reinterpretationsof tracks that appeared on last year's EP. The tracks are original inthe sense that any fan of Kozelek's knows he has a knack of completelyrewriting the music while keeping the lyrics intact, a trend going wayback to Red House Painters' eponymous third album from '93. While thisalbum is a homage, and shows a side of him even softer and moresensitive than the frequent distortion-filled guitar solo-stretchedlabel-dropping songs from RHP, I'm really aching for a new trick. Tohis credit, he has essentially made these songs his, as the convictionis resounding true from his voice. His talents as an acoustic guitaristand arranger are shining bright, as these hard-edge rock and rollclassics have almost become endearing love songs. One of my complaintsis that these ten songs, which total exactly 30 minute, could haveeasily been released on the same disc as last year's EP. Other thanthat, longtime fans shouldn't feel let down, 'Old Ramon' is scheduledsometime very shortly.
Between the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s, the 'No Wave' movement surfaced, combining art-funk, punk and dance music into a mix which was not a commercial breakthrough, but was revered by many in the music community to be of great influence. One of the acts, ESG was comprised of four sisters from South Bronx, NY, and through many shows including gigs with The Clash, Public Image and Grandmaster Flash the group gained some attention across the water. Soon the group had a single produced by Martin Hannett, released on Factory Records, a gig at the opening night for legendary Manchester club, The Hacienda and more gigs with groups like A Certain Ratio and Gang of Four. Songs like "Moody" went on to become popular favorites in various night clubs while the b-side, a very 'Unknown Pleasures' Joy Division-sounding "UFO" went on to be sampled by rap acts including Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane, LL Cool J and Doug E. Fresh. After a few singles and years of playing out a full-length album was released in 1983, but the interest waned, hip-hop was in and nobody was paying for the samples. The group still plays around occasionally and even released a track in 1993, "Sample Credits Don't Pay Our Bills." This collection, from a division of Soul Jazz Records (UK) reintroduces to the public songs from their album and singles along with some other early tracks. Listening to the music, their influence on early Beastie Boys, Luscious Jackson and early Salt -N- Pepa can clearly be heard. While it's arguably primitive in parts, the soul and energy is present throughout the entire disc, songs like "Erase You" are feverishly catchy while the Spaced-Out album version of "Moody" are hypnotizing. 
"Iron" is the third full length from COH, aka Ivan Pavlov, follow-up proper to 1998's "Enter Tinnitus" and the second release from his own Wavetrap Records. It comes in a thin foldup with cover art created by hot iron pressed to media, the 'wavetrap' logo inside beneath the disc curiously misspelled 'wavecrap'. Past COH albums have been presented as 'pop' and 'disco' while this one is literally dedicated to 'heavy metal fans all over the world'. How serious are we to take this? Some track titles are obvious tongue in cheek takes on various 'classic' metal tunes: "Love Mites" ("Love Bites" by Judas Priest), "For Whom the Dell Falls" ("For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Metallica) and "Rubbing Free" ("Running Free" by Iron Maiden). Others seem to reference other things: "Annum Per Annum [Pärt 2]" pays homage, at least in title, to the organ work of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt while "Now! [4'19" into 2000]" serves as sequel/reaction to the raster-noton "20' to 2000" series which COH took part in. Obviously Pavlov's wry sense of humor and irony (pun intended) are, as always, at play here too. Regardless, I do think that much of this is indeed influenced by metal music. The 8 tracks are within the 4 to 7 minute range and are undoubtedly songs with refined structures. Layers of computer derived clean/distorted tones, drones, static, squiggles, pops and plunks replace guitars and double bass drums with buzz saw vibrations and rhythmic pulsations. It certainly sounds and feels more like COH than Slayer ... quiet and playful in some places and quite ominous and 'heavy' in others. The joke may be on me, but either way I love it. Pavlov is currently expanding "Netmörk" from the "emre [dark matter]" compilation into a full length album to be released by souRce research recordings later this year .
I admit that up until a few weeks ago I'd never heard of The Stick Men, an early '80s Philadelphia 5 piece that specialized in the same sort of no/new wave/punk/funk as NYC's infamous James Chance and the Contortions. The Cuneiform Records press blurb promised an even more energetic version so I had to hear it. They're right.
While browsing the website of a local record store, I happened to come across a soundfile clip of Ladytron's song "Discotraxx." This 90 second fragment was so impressive that I didn't hesitate to run out and pick up the Liverpool quartet's debut full-length, '604'. Slick, sexy, and well-produced tracks chock-full of synths and drum machines dominate the album, replete with absurdly contagious hooks. '604' opens with the erotic dissonance of sleazy instrumental "Mu-tron" and subsequently provides club anthems for the ebony-haired, black-clad sombre youths straight out of the Saturday Night Live skit "Sprockets." The vocals lend a dark side to the unadulterated electronic bliss: the icy, detatched lyrics, Ladytron's tongue-in-cheek salute to 80s materialism, are sung by the two female members of the group; one with a sugary-sweet voice which serves as an excellent contrast to the lyrics, and the other with a heavy Bulgarian accent contributing to the album's pervasive mock-Eurotrash aesthetic. '604' runs the gamut from Morodor-esque disco in tracks such as the brilliant "Playgirl" to the stripped-down pop sensibilities of Kraftwerk (Ladytron's "He Took Her To a Movie" bears a suspicious resemblance to "The Model"), yet manages add more unusual elements like bongos and a squeaky violin sporadically on various tracks. Despite all its marvelous melodies and decadent basslines, the one small disappointment of '604' is its anti-climactic finish: the two weakest and least interesting tracks on the album are the ones to close it out. Nevertheless, after it's all said and done, Ladytron does not fail to deliver a quite delicious release that hasn't left my CD player since I bought it. 
