Homosexual artwork and unconventional approaches aren't enough to get me badmouthing the newest from Liars. Plenty of complaints have been unfairly leveled upon this now awkward trio, most of them having to do with the fact that the music sounds intentionally difficult and unfocused. Drum's Not Dead is devoid of shock tactics, however, and the music is a shimmering, chaotic, and surprisingly pretty mess.
Two new shows just for you. We have squeezed out two extended release episodes for this weekend to get you through this week. They contain mostly new songs but there's also new issues from the vaults. The first show features music from Rider/Horse, Mint Field, Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, Anastasia Coope, ISAN, Stone Music, La Securite, Bark Psychosis, Jon Rose, Master Wilburn Burchette, Umberto, Wand, Tim Koh, Sun An, and Memory Drawings. The second episode has music by Laibach, Melt-Banana, Chuck Johnson, X, K. Yoshimatsu, Dorothy Carter, Pavel Milyakov, Violence Gratuite, Mark Templeton, Dummy, Endon, body / negative, Midwife, Alberto Boccardi, Divine. Cow in Maui from Veronika in Vienna. Get involved: subscribe, review, rate, share with your friends, send images!
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Alex Neilson (Directing Hand, Taurpis Tula, the One Ensemble of Daniel Padden) and Frank Janiurek’s new project magnificently combines acoustic experiments, digital breakdowns, slow drone and vocal melody. This 3" CDR’s single 22 minute long track further reinforces the idea of free percussive playing as a thing of beauty, not of noise.
The last time around Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss delivered what everyone thought was their scathing political record. Reading interviews with them, however, suggests the band are far more personal than that and therefore more exciting and insightful. Quasi's latest on Touch and Go is stripped down, grittier, and perhaps just a little brighter than anything else they've done. Quasi may have found some room in their music for hope.
Acid Mothers Temple have no shame, and that's not such a bad thing.They've taken aim at their idols before by approximating the albumcovers or titles of Hendrix, Zappa, and King Crimson, among others, andhave paid tribute to the likes of Hawkwind and Gong. This time they settheir sights on Black Sabbath, even going so far as to reenact thecover of Sabbath's first album, with Acid Mother guru Kawabata Makotoenrobed before a countryside home. With their other tributes, theobject of reverence is a starting point, not a destination in itself,and this one proves to be no exception.
With lyrics hinting of violence, repression, and longing, Liz Durrettmaintains an air of soured innocence, as if grappling with thetransgressions she's witnessed and whether or not forgiveness ispossible. She mines decidedly different territory with her evocation ofa haunted South. Personal tragedies, hiding places, and the unravelingof mysteries infect her second album with a melancholy as insidious asthe kudzu she invokes on her track "Creepyaskudzu." Although she playsguitar on all but one of the tracks, her use of the instrument servesmore as a backdrop since the emotional weight of the material restsalmost solely on her voice.
Ivan Pavlov’s new album evokes the feeling of flying. Above Air is an apt title for this release. The music here sounds like it could almost be recordings of stratosphere. There is a vast spaciousness in the music that I haven’t detected before in Pavlov’s work. It is reminiscent of Coil’s work as ELpH, it is not quite of this world but not quite alien either.
Although Cave is listed first, the influence of Warren Ellis dominatesthe songs. Many are instrumentals constructed from gentle violindrones, with occasional piano, plucked guitar, and drums. Thearrangements bring to mind imagery common to Westerns: dust, anoverbearing sun, sweat. 
Likethe one done for Schoolhouse Rock several years ago, this tribute toDimension 5 Records features current artists covering (or remixing)educational children's songs. From army ants to using your imagination,their songs taught about the world outside (and inside) and made it fun.
Before I found the solo releases of Heather Leigh, the only solo pedal steel player I was familiar with was American Music Club’s Bruce Kaphan. Where he built a bed of sound and fleshed out songs with single colour washes of sound, Leigh is an all-around more powerful, complex, and unreserved player. This is not only a reinvention of the instrument, a yanking from its subtle country roots, but also her best recorded work to date.
Mush'srecent reissue of Pedro's debut album brings the UK producer's subtle blendof downtempo beats and minimalist pop melodies to a stateside audience.If the album's nine tracks of superbly produced mood music aren'tenticing enough, Mush has been kind enough to throw in the "Fear andResilience" remix single for good measure.
