This is the debut from a trio who could easily be considered the supergroup of strings for Montreal. Sophie Troudeau's name should be familiar to anybody who follows Godspeed You Black Emperor, Silver Mt. Zion, or Kiss Me Deadly; Genevieve Heistek's name is on Molasses, Hangedup, and Set Fire to Flames releases; and Beckie Foon has also worked in Silver Mt. Zion and Set Fire to Flames, as well as being one half of both Fifths of Seven and Esmerine.
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Over the course of only four songs, this former Cocteau Twin has managed to rope me back into being a fan after Continental—the disappointing LP released earlier this year, also on Darla.
Black metal has officially disintegrated and transformed into a genre that's as deserving of the adjective "metal" as it is of "ballet." Malefic's dense, foggy, and self-abusive Xasthur project might feature guitars, unintelligible vocals, and all the drama a high school student could ask for, but it is a creature deserving of its own musical kingdom. All the Sunn O))) relationships and mentions of Darkthrone in the world won't make this a metal album.
With songs about drowning, roadkill, and nails in the head, the second album from Made Out of Babies finds the group assaulting the ears, leaving welts and bruises as tokens of affection.
Processed sound of this nature pales in comparison to what z'ev has done in the past. The album begins with a bang, thrusting an assault of metallic sound out of the speakers immediately. As it progresses, and true to the rather esoteric liner notes, this symphony of sorts descends into a calm stillness that does not grab my attention in the same way that much of z'ev's work has before.
Grails show the extent of their skill on the nine songs included here with a departure from their established sound. Black Tar Prophecies is easily the best thing they’ve done so far. They’ve found their own distinct sound and are all the better for it.
Hats off to anyone who managed to collect all 13 lathe cuts that this LP compiles, but you can now file them away for a rainy ebay. It’s refreshing to see a label that’s specialised, so far, in miniature runs of lathes attempting to get the music out to a wider audience. As well as being considerably lighter on the wallet, Aryan Asshole Records Compilation Volume 1 is an excellent snapshot of the current cream of the crop in the American underground. Stick this in a time capsule, give it twenty years and it’ll be the new Nuggets.
Yet another posthumous Arthur Russell release from Audika, this two-disc set collects rare and unreleased orchestral material by the late NYC artist. Because the material presented here is, at least ostensibly, the most "avant-garde" in form and content yet released from the Russell archives, I expected the music to be difficult, abstract and academic. However, nothing could be further from the truth, as Russell again utilizes avant-garde techniques only as a method of approaching popular music obliquely, creating music that is as ingratiating as it is unique.
