Plenty of new music to be had this week from Laetitia Sadier and Storefront Church, Six Organs of Admittance, Able Noise, Yui Onodera, SML, Clinic Stars, Austyn Wohlers, Build Buildings, Zelienople, and Lea Thomas, plus some older tunes by Farah, Guy Blakeslee, Jessica Bailiff, and Richard H. Kirk.
Lake in Girdwood, Alaska by Johnny.
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Some CDs beg to be played over and over again. This is one of those times when the disc absolutely refuses to go back into its case and demands to go back in the player. Normally I cannot listen to an album more than once a day but Larkin Grimm's third album makes for a rare exception. It is perfectly performed and the recording itself is flawless, this is one of those rare albums that impresses from every conceivable angle.
Grimm’s music is as oddball (in a good way) as her description on the Young God Records website makes her out to be (brought up in a cult, tales of the Alaskan wastes, a shamaness and a vagabond lifestyle either make for a very interesting person or a highly contrived back story; Grimm seems genuine). There are no pretensions of weirdness here, just the feeling that she knows her own path but it does not necessarily cross with the main road. Label mates Fire On Fire play on the album, as do members of the Angels of Light, which makes for a familiar mood from the offset but that is not to say that Grimm’s music is overpowered by the distinctive styles of the many players here. Her personality and quirks shine through undiminished.
For an album full of energy and life, the opening song “They Were Wrong” paints a very different picture. It is a quiet and chilling song, Grimm intones “Who said to you you’re going to be all right/Well they were wrong, wrong, wrong/In my mind you’re already gone.” With this as my first exposure to Parplar, I was expecting a soul-wrenching descent into deeper and darker places. Yet almost immediately after “Ride That Cyclone” brings the album around full circle in mood (although lyrically it is still dark) and style. The lurching rhythm is like one of Michael Gira’s (who produces the album) but like a cyclone the music spins around the listener in a dizzying and breathtaking manner. Elsewhere on Parplar, cartoonish vocals and distinctly off-kilter lyrics make for a strange listening experience; songs like “Dominican Rum” and “Mina Minou” add a surreal vibe to the album and make Grimm’s musical persona as interesting as her biography sheet.
As refreshing as the odder moments on this album are, thankfully Grimm balances the weirdness with some exceptionally strong songs in a more “serious” style. “Anger in Your Liver” and “All the Pleasures” are a pair of brief but enjoyable songs in the middle of the album that show Grimm in a more traditional songwriting light. Both songs make it evident that Grimm does not have to hide behind some absurd mask, she has enough talent to let the songs speak for themselves when she wants them to.
It is hard to find any fault with Parplar. Granted, the freak folk scene has been flogged to death and whose corpse has been dragged through the streets in a macabre mockery of itself but like any style, there is always going to be someone who can pull something of worth from something that seems exhausted. Grimm fits this bill and I urge anyone with even a passing interest in good, honest music to go out and buy this.
This duo of the classically and modern compositionally inclined Simon James Phillips and The Necks' less formal but equally brilliant Chris Abrahams have created quite an intriguing collection of improvisations. Every piece is a piano duet and the album crosses a wide spread of styles and quality; moving from cold, modernist works to pieces with a bit more swing and heat to them, Pedal are inconsistent in ways that both help and hinder their music. While there are a couple of less than stellar moments on this self-titled album, they are more than counterbalanced by the mesmerising and evocative pieces that make up the bulk of the music.
Things get off to a rough start with “Security,” which sounds a little like one of John Cage’s sonatas for prepared piano (minus the prepared bit) but is not as engaging by any stretch of the imagination. This fairly insipid opener does not reach out and grab me on the first encounter nor does it become any more appealing on returning. It nearly put me off pursuing this album fully as it does little justice to the pair’s talent and potential, especially when there are some gems peppered throughout the disc. Abrahams and Phillips can come together well to create beautifully haunting duets such as “The Afterwards” (which should have been moved forward by one track and opened the album). There are elements of Morton Feldman’s piano works seeping through and the music sounds like swirling water, the currents building up to create torrents before settling into a calm drift again.
Pedal never get as fired up as The Necks, the white heat that Abrahams can generate has been kept in check by Phillips’ more restrained approach to the ivories. That being said, the music never becomes so frigid as to put me off. There are times when the music does come close to being ignorable such as on “Herzog,” but for every dull moment on this album, there are at least another two which are fascinating. And for such a rocky start to an album, the final piece is as close to perfect as is humanly possible. “The Passenger” is only slightly less good than “The Afterwards” from earlier on in the album but these two pieces alone make the album worth trying.
It would be a shame if this was the only fruit stemming from this meeting of Phillips and Abrahams. Delicate and sombre, this album hints at the future of this project and how good Pedal can be.
K-The-I??? offers the world "Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow" for the world's listening pleasure. K-The-I??? hopes that all that juicy, golden listening pleasure doesn't cause the world to explode out its ears as he rather likes the world and eats most of his meals there.
Check out the track "Decisions" from Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow here .
Mush Records is proud, like a father who just gave birth through his penis on purpose, to announce our second full-length from K-The-I???, Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow. The album will be in stores Nov. 7, 2008 which, by all human measurements of time, means that IT IS ALREADY OUT! Imagine that!
His debut, Broken Love Letter, garnered much critical acclaim (and some insignificant acclaim), including over 20 positive reviews and a handful of internet and print based features, including Urb's Next 100, and features in Boston's Weekly Dig and the Boston Phoenix, and more. Also, I put his poster on my bedroom ceiling so...
His latest album, produced is entirely by Thavius Beck, and featuring guest appearances from indie hip-hop luminaries like High Priest (of the newly reuinited Antipop Consortium), Busdriver, Subtitle and Chicago upstart Vyle as well as up-and-coming Los Angeles MCs Nocando (winner of the 2007 Scribble Jam) and Mestizo (projected winner of the yet-to-be-created 2015 Scrabble Jam). We believe this record will continue K-The-I???'s critical and commercial stature, and would like to pitch him for feature press as well as reviews.
To confirm any reviews or set up an interview, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. That's me!
Enjoy!
Here is the blurb from our website about sexy, sexy Kiki (K-The-I???) Mush Records About Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow K-The-I??? marks a thunderous return to Mush with his latest full-length, Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow. Production on the album is handled entirely by Thavius Beck, his first project since he finished work on Saul Willaims' Niggy Tardust alongside Trent Reznor. Where his debut, Broken Love Letter, focused on past loves gone wrong, Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow is a collection of songs about the MC's cross country relocation, and trying to come to terms with how his life has changed from that. The result is a work of singular focus that catches K-The-I??? at his strongest, dropping ingenious lyrics over Blade Runner beats. The album features a stellar line-up of guest MCs as High Priest of a newly reunited Antipop Consortium, Busdriver, Subtitle, Scribble Jam winner Nocando, Vyle, and Mestizo all drop in. Thavius Beck even leaves the producer's desk and steps in front of the mic for a track. For fans looking for an album that ties hip-hop's past, present and future, K-The-I???'s Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow delivers. About K-The-I??? Hailing from Cambridge, Mass., but a musical nomad of sorts, K-The-I??? has traversed the USA pushing sonic boundaries with his unique brand of densed-out boom-bap. Armed with a commanding voice and a gritty production aesthetic that recalls Bomb Squad-era Public Enemy and signature Def Jux recordings, he crafts tracks that swell and pulse with an immersive gravity. Making an appearance on Bigg Jus and Orko Eloheem's recent NMS album, Imperial Letters of Protection, K-The-I??? has earned the respect of many of indie hip-hop's elite, including Thavius Beck, who offered to produce his latest full-length. Whether writing epic love letters or harnessing bugged-out electric currents, K-The-I???'s music has a personality and urgency that demands your attention.
Mush Records, KFM Records, and The Magnificents have struck a deal, creating The Scottish Legion Of Illuminated Magnificents, a label to release the Magnificents' music in the United States for the first time.
The first release will be the Magnificents' full-length, Year Of Explorers, on December 9, 2008. The coming months between now and Summer 2009 will see a deluge of Magnificents material, as we give proper American releases to their full-length The Magnificents, as well as EP releases Ring Ring Oo Oo, The Apollo Creed, Last Gasp Of Revenge, 4 Claws Of The Underground, and Kids Now.
The Magnificents have been much-lauded as the best live band - nay, the best band period - in Scotland. Yes... including all the more popular bands. We have collected much of their back press, including heaps of features and live reviews, and selected some bits about Year Of Explorers and the Magnificents'... well... magnificent live shows for this email.
If you have not recieved the album yet and would like to give it a listen, please click the album cover to download it. If you'd like to confirm a review or set up an interview with the Magnificents, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Put simply, this is a f***ing brilliant follow-up to their eponymous debut. It might just be the best thing you hear all year. 5/5 - Reverb / Jaw-droppingly ace music. - NME / The Magnificents have no murky lines - they're just really f***ing good. - The Skinny / Could yet be huge - Scotland On Sunday / Instantly, gratifyingly catchy - The List / A record well capable of taking them above ground - The Big Issue / This is intelligent rock with punk's rebellious spirit still throbbing at its heart - Is This Music? / The Magnificents should never be allowed to slip through the fingers of those who matter - Drowned In Sound
click cover to download The Magnificents - Year Of Explorers
Year Of Explorers, the latest from daring Scottish band, The Magnificents, is an epic saga of stolen synths, left-handed guitars, trans-European expressways, covert product placement, and serious studio tomfoolery. Following months of touring, twiddling and general sonic invention, The Magnificents are finally ready to unleash their long-awaited second LP. Employing a bewildering array of dusty keyboards, wires, boxes and buttons, The Magnificents have meticulously crafted Year Of Explorers with a little help from esteemed producers Damian Taylor (Bjork, Unkle) and John Cummings (Mogwai). Whereas their eponymous debut was primarily fuelled by raw punk power and electrifying excess, the sophomore LP demonstrates a more measured method. Not to say the boys have mellowed with age... Year Of Explorers will still have the indie-disco young pretenders quaking in their Converse. Only act to have ever toured with the Beta Band, plus previous tours with Mogwai, Stereolab, and Trans Am. Produced by Damian Taylor (Bjork, Unkle) and John Cummings (Mogwai). The Magnificents met at Edinburgh Art College near the turn of the century. Figuring that music would be the least degrading post-college career choice, they began work creating a legitimate band. By marrying differing performance techniques with the desire to make people dance, they have built a reputation as one of the most exciting and unpredictable live bands around. Tour partners have included Stereolab, Trans Am, The Beta Band (the only band ever to do so) and Mogwai. Following a year of experimentation, code breaking, alchemy and the continued search for enlightenment, they have taken to hiding under the streets of Edinburgh in the rat and fungi infested M-Bunker, where they have recorded their 4 EPs, and both of their full-lengths, including their latest, Year Of Explorers.
Watch the clip for "Ring Ring Oo Oo" the lead single from Year Of Explorers Magnificents are without question the best live act in Scotland - Daily Record / Make no mistake, the Magnificents are the best band in Scotland - Evening News / While they might never be as big as Mogwai or the Beta Band, they're still the best Scottish live band you'll see - The Scotsman / Theirs is a fully-fledged, no-holds-barred Event, a gloriously inspired happening - NME / The most exciting thing Edinburgh has produced in years - Evening Times / The most exciting and enthralling coming-of-age I've ever seen - Noise! / Savage, ear-splitting and more edgy than, well, something really f***ing edgy. If they don't break in a big way soon there's truly something wrong with music. - Is This Music? / Best live band in the country? Quite probably. - The List / One of the most riotously exciting groups on the Scottish live circuit - The Mail / This Edinburgh synth-punk quartet are boldly, gloriously extraordinary... the best band to storm a Scottish stage in many a year - Metro
<font size="12" face="Courier New">
Mush Records, KFM Records, and <strong>The Magnificents</strong> have struck a deal, creating The Scottish Legion Of Illuminated Magnificents, a label to release The Magnificents' music in the United States for the first time.
The first release will be the Magnificents' full-length, Year Of Explorers, on December 9, 2008. The coming months between now and Summer 2009 will see a deluge of Magnificents material, as we give proper American releases to their full-length The Magnificents, as well as EP releases Ring Ring Oo Oo, The Apollo Creed, Last Gasp Of Revenge, 4 Claws Of The Underground, and Kids Now.
The Magnificents have been much-lauded as the best live band - nay, the best band period - in Scotland. Yes... including all the more popular bands. We have collected much of their back press, including heaps of features and live reviews, and selected some bits about Year Of Explorers and the Magnificents'... well... magnificent live shows for this email.
If you have not recieved the album yet and would like to give it a listen, or if you'd like to confirm a review or set up an interview with the Magnificents, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
<em>Put simply, this is a fucking brilliant follow-up to their eponymous debut. It might just be the best thing you hear all year.</em> 5/5 - Reverb / <em>Jaw-droppingly ace music.</em> - NME / <em>The Magnificents have no murky lines - they're just really fucking good.</em> - The Skinny / <em>Could yet be huge</em> - Scotland On Sunday / <em>Instantly, gratifyingly catchy</em> - The List / <em>A record well capable of taking them above ground</em> - The Big Issue / <em>This is intelligent rock with punk's rebellious spirit still throbbing at its hear</em>t - Is This Music? / <em><strong>The Magnificents should never be allowed to slip through the fingers of those who matter</em></strong> - Drowned In Sound
<font size="12" face="Courier New">
Mush Records, KFM Records, and <strong>The Magnificents</strong> have struck a deal, creating The Scottish Legion Of Illuminated Magnificents, a label to release The Magnificents' music in the United States for the first time.
The first release will be the Magnificents' full-length, Year Of Explorers, on December 9, 2008. The coming months between now and Summer 2009 will see a deluge of Magnificents material, as we give proper American releases to their full-length The Magnificents, as well as EP releases Ring Ring Oo Oo, The Apollo Creed, Last Gasp Of Revenge, 4 Claws Of The Underground, and Kids Now.
The Magnificents have been much-lauded as the best live band - nay, the best band period - in Scotland. Yes... including all the more popular bands. We have collected much of their back press, including heaps of features and live reviews, and selected some bits about Year Of Explorers and the Magnificents'... well... magnificent live shows for this email.
If you have not recieved the album yet and would like to give it a listen, or if you'd like to confirm a review or set up an interview with the Magnificents, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
<em>Put simply, this is a fucking brilliant follow-up to their eponymous debut. It might just be the best thing you hear all year.</em> 5/5 - Reverb / <em>Jaw-droppingly ace music.</em> - NME / <em>The Magnificents have no murky lines - they're just really fucking good.</em> - The Skinny / <em>Could yet be huge</em> - Scotland On Sunday / <em>Instantly, gratifyingly catchy</em> - The List / <em>A record well capable of taking them above ground</em> - The Big Issue / <em>This is intelligent rock with punk's rebellious spirit still throbbing at its hear</em>t - Is This Music? / <em><strong>The Magnificents should never be allowed to slip through the fingers of those who matter</em></strong> - Drowned In Sound
Year Of Explorers, the latest from daring Scottish band, The Magnificents, is an epic saga of stolen synths, left-handed guitars, trans-European expressways, covert product placement, and serious studio tomfoolery. Following months of touring, twiddling and general sonic invention, The Magnificents are finally ready to unleash their long-awaited second LP. Employing a bewildering array of dusty keyboards, wires, boxes and buttons, The Magnificents have meticulously crafted Year Of Explorers with a little help from esteemed producers Damian Taylor (Bjork, Unkle) and John Cummings (Mogwai). Whereas their eponymous debut was primarily fuelled by raw punk power and electrifying excess, the sophomore LP demonstrates a more measured method. Not to say the boys have mellowed with age... Year Of Explorers will still have the indie-disco young pretenders quaking in their Converse. Only act to have ever toured with the Beta Band, plus previous tours with Mogwai, Stereolab, and Trans Am. Produced by Damian Taylor (Bjork, Unkle) and John Cummings (Mogwai). The Magnificents met at Edinburgh Art College near the turn of the century. Figuring that music would be the least degrading post-college career choice, they began work creating a legitimate band. By marrying differing performance techniques with the desire to make people dance, they have built a reputation as one of the most exciting and unpredictable live bands around. Tour partners have included Stereolab, Trans Am, The Beta Band (the only band ever to do so) and Mogwai. Following a year of experimentation, code breaking, alchemy and the continued search for enlightenment, they have taken to hiding under the streets of Edinburgh in the rat and fungi infested M-Bunker, where they have recorded their 4 EPs, and both of their full-lengths, including their latest, Year Of Explorers.
Watch the clip for "Ring Ring Oo Oo" the lead single from Year Of Explorers Magnificents are without question the best live act in Scotland - Daily Record / Make no mistake, the Magnificents are the best band in Scotland - Evening News / While they might never be as big as Mogwai or the Beta Band, they're still the best Scottish live band you'll see - The Scotsman / Theirs is a fully-fledged, no-holds-barred Event, a gloriously inspired happening - NME / The most exciting thing Edinburgh has produced in years - Evening Times / The most exciting and enthralling coming-of-age I've ever seen - Noise! / Savage, ear-splitting and more edgy than, well, something really f***ing edgy. If they don't break in a big way soon there's truly something wrong with music. - Is This Music? / Best live band in the country? Quite probably. - The List / One of the most riotously exciting groups on the Scottish live circuit - The Mail / This Edinburgh synth-punk quartet are boldly, gloriously extraordinary... the best band to storm a Scottish stage in many a year - Metro </font> Read More
Matt and Erica Hinton spent seven years making their essential documentary about Sacred Harp hymn singing. This companion set comprises the soundtrack of gloriously raw a cappela music from the film, with a second disc of interpretations by artists such as Doc Watson, The Innocence Mission, Richard Buckner, Woven Hand, and John Paul Jones. It is a win-win situation.
I can’t pretend to understand the details behind the theory of shape notes. It’s enough, though, that they make it easy for people who don’t read music to somehow, well, read music. The only allusion I can come up with is i.t.a. the much-maligned reading learning process which basically said it is foolish to insist that children learn correct spelling of words, instead let them write ennyway dey fink iz ryte. These are the Scrabble opponents I long to play! But I digress. There is an unbridled power to the voices on Awake, My Soul and the roots of their singing goes back beyond the Deep South to the plainsong of Northern Europe. Many of these songs begin with what seems to be a period of limbering up followed by a section which sounds more like a standard hymn. On wonderful pieces such as "Stratfield" the limbering up part is bracing, full of discordant power and a beguiling, organic, complexity.
Luckily, detail and intellect should be left at the door when approaching Sacred Harp or shape note singing, since it is less about understanding or analysis and more about instinct and full-hearted participation. The form also has the democratic appeal of devotional music without a separate choir of ‘good singers’ and, best of all, no cold organ obliterating the human voices. In that sense, Sacred Harp singing reinforces the notion that all are equal in the eyes, and ears, of God. Not that belief in God or in the existence of a soul is necessary for enjoyment. Far from it. Indeed, an appreciation of this music can rely totally on delight at these pure and visceral sounds; rather like hearing the shifting pulses of Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians without being a Buddhist. In theory, taking part in the singing would feel better than listening, and singing when imbued with a conviction of faith might be even better. To put it in secular terms, The Kop singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” is impressive, but being there and singing along must be more affecting. Furthermore, doing so with the conviction that Liverpool FC is the greatest team in England must top that. There are just some leaps of faith that agnostics (and Manchester United supporters) cannot (or will not) make!
The Hintons (as filmmakers and curators of the compilation) feel that the second disc of interpretations might hook a new audience for the real thing. Maybe, but the interpretations are very different; paler and less intense. At first, I found that Help Me to Sing seemed feeble compared to Awake, My Soul but eventually some of the power of the latter fell away and the gentle songs of the former acted as a healing balm. Perhaps it depends on mood. Ultimately, Sacred Harp singing has an effect that is beyond description: to quote Emily Dickinson:
The murmur of a bee A witchcraft yieldeth me. If any ask me why, 'Twere easier to die Than tell.
Some people fail to question the pitifully crude stereotype that only black people make passionate music for the gut whereas whites compose intellectual music for the mind. Sacred Harp singing is yet another refutation of that nonsense. It has been largely a rural Southern pursuit but is practiced in some US cities (including Dallas) and also in England. It ranks as one of the most exhilarating, exuberant, life-affirming rackets known to human beings. If the walls of Jerico did indeed fall, well, we now know how. Whether this music is part of salvation and eternal life depends upon your point of view. In the here and now, research has shown that three group activities are particularly beneficial to a person’s health and well-being: camping, dancing and choral singing. Those researchers might not have been camping in the wet Cornish summer of 1974 or tried dancing in the booze-soaked environs of Stoke-on-Trent circa 1981, but pulling together and belonging is undeniably important and Sacred Harp singing fits right in. It has survived widespread disinterest until now and I’m sure it will flourish despite fifteen minutes in the spotlight of a superficial media who will gobble up the DVD and this set before moving swiftly on.
Operating within and between the rather loose conventions that dominate electronic and rock music, Skye Klein continues to map out a musical style capable of putting equal emphasis on every genre it employs.
Extreme . Klein's latest musical venture showcases an unevenness that was less evident on Compressor, released last year on Extreme. On that album, Terminal Sound System sounded like a project dedicated to giving rhythm and timbre their time in the sun. Though many of the songs featured no strong melody, themes and hooks were still developed through the smart use of texture and atmosphere. I liked that album despite its flaws: Klein was clearly looking to restructure drum 'n' bass and employ its strengths in new environments. It was also unremittingly dark and brooding and filled to the brim with rumbling and exaggerated beats. That coherency explains why Constructing Towers comes as such a shock to me. Klein's purpose isn't nearly as clear on this album and his modus operandi is frustratingly scattered. Seemingly at odds with himself, Klein utilizes both familiar and idiosyncratic techniques to form a patchwork album that features camp, aggression, and trepidation in equal doses.
"In Your Planet" is a barnburner of an introduction. With an epic organ part, a flurry of brushed percussion, and a massive low-end, the song boils and recedes in a succession of tense and meditative moments. Texture is still Klein's strong point, but melodies are more prominent on this record from the get go. Light pianos and bass pulses exchange melodic duties with reversed synthesizer effects and orchestral crescendos, all of which lend the album a strong immediacy. This immediacy continues throughout the record, but in wildly different ways. "Constructing Towers" features a muffled vocal performance and the kind of drum breaks you might remember from Luke Vibert's various releases or from the odd Venetian Snares' song. Not content to reproduce good drum 'n' bass, Klein inserts wah-wah pedals into "Year of the Pig" and tempers the whole thing with bright keyboards; the song is jumpy and unpredictable, but everything still feels tightly connected at this point. When "Alaska" comes on, I feel like the ground is pulled out from under my feet and the whole album is set adrift. Suddenly Angelo Badalamenti joins the band, rock 'n' roll guitars become part of Klein's vocabulary, and the mood developed over the first three tracks is eschewed in favor of something completely different.
Just like Compressor, much of Constructing Towers is haphazard; the first three songs sound like they belong on an EP together, "Alaska" belongs in a world all its own, and everything afterwards feels like a coherent statement, but from a project quite different than Terminal Sound System. The acid-tinged electronica and jazz-like influences showcased on the second half of the album feel far more cinematic than the first half and demonstrate Klein's ability to warp and bend familiar sounds and conventions. The second half of the record is also a far more relaxed affair than the first half thanks to the low, cool horns and vibraphones that dominate it. In trying to blend so many influences and ideas, Klein went a bit off the deep end and forgot where he was going once he started. He ends up in some interesting places and with beautiful results, but he does in a haphazard and confusing way. Constructing Towers is a dark, beautiful record with several moments of brilliance (the walking bass line on "Duchamp Falls" comes unexpectedly, but works perfectly), but it is uneven both conceptually and stylistically.
With this long player, Nigel Ayers has produced the musical equivalent of a sexual fever. Unbidden, while listening I became aroused by its somnambulatory exhortations and caressed by rhythmic undulations that continuosly excite.
The three long pieces that compose the first side are perfectly tinged tones, vibrating in the same hypnagogic blue color as the record cover. These tones hover and sway in an ionosphere swollen from lunar tides, while metallic chirps reverberate in the background. The sounds build up with an equipoised pressure as their drifting sonorities dance in stereo fields of microscopic static. Lost accordions transmigrate from a brighter astral plane and it begins to feel as if I am encased by a ringing halo of light... And time stands still.
When I flip the record over to its backside, what I have heard before I hear again, but in a different and recycled fashion. Nothing is wasted; the first few minutes sound ominous but soon morph into a transcendent joy, a stirring dirge recalling the vitality of the human spirit. The chirps echo in again, electronic crickets of possibly alien origin sound off and as I travel through the four songs of this second half of the album, Mr. Ayers moves me back into my physical body with free flowing guitar loops and buzzing inarticulate voices straining to communicate in a nonlinear language. Proceeding through a track of clinks and clanks I find myself billowed for a moment in the warmth of a feathered bed. Chiming sounds arrive again, swelling with a warm dissonance. These nightscapes spin me into action even as the detritus of dreams swarm around me. Listening to this album I feel as if my brain is cradled in the capable hands of an esoteric neurosurgeon, proving once again that Nocturnal Emissions will bring me to the edge of a spiritual climax and hold me there steadily. As if in by a primal tantra, meditating on his electric plainsong, I am coaxed back into a promised land of earthly delights.
Long after the album is over memories of beautiful sound swirl in the afterglow.
This LP was released in a limited edition of 555 numbered copies.
Masami Akita sounds his most creative, dynamic, and colorful when he works with other accomplished musicians. Merzbow's collaboration with French pioneer Richard Pinhas features some of his best music and gleefully amplifies the psychedelic tendencies of both composers.
Hearing Keio Line for the first time engendered the same excitement in me that Sleeper Awakes on the Edge of the Abyss did. That album, co-authored with H.N.A.S. and Mirror veteran Christoph Heemann, witnessed Akita's onslaught of noise mayhem tempered by Heemann's less destructive tendencies. The result was a finely tuned album of abstract noise that revered moments of muted beauty as much as chaotic splendor. Pinhas and Akita have accomplished the same thing on this double-CD, albeit in a completely different manner.
Though not without its more damaged moments, Keio Line is a beautifully quiet and streamlined record boiling over with harmonic and melodic streams of noise. Pinhas' penchant for ambient composition and Fripp-esque guitar takes center stage throughout the record with heavily processed strings and analog synthesizers dominating a supporting cast of varied and mashed instruments. There is no doubt that Pinhas took the lead role on this album. At times the instrumentation is surprisingly naked; the typically wrecked sounds found in Merzbow's vocabulary are laid wide open and exposed for the listener to enjoy. Clear solos thus emerge from layers of confused drum machines and cascading feedback, providing a far more musical dimension than I am used to hearing on a Merzbow record. This added dimension is a boon and one that I hope Akita utilizes on more of his records. With melody and psychedelic bits of ruined machine music complimenting the junk-box destruction most associated with Merzbow, 26-minute songs become approachable entities that command repeated listening. All of Akita's more colorful tendencies emerge very clearly on Keio Line and sync up with Pinhas' aesthetic choices incredibly well. I don't mean to argue that the more typical Merzbow album doesn't require deep listening, but Keio Line is more welcoming and rewarding than the sometimes flat nature of Merzbow's pure noise assault.
There are moments of all-out war on Keio Line, too; this isn't anything like an ambient or less potent Merzbow. On the contrary, all the added dynamism provided by Richard Pinhas makes Merzbow seem more potent and exhilarating. "Fuck the Power (and Fuck Global Players)" is filled with hissing vitriol and rumbling low end, but it's tempered by a never ending ribbon of shuffling paper ruckus and undulating harmonic moans. The interaction of these elements is breathtaking at times. That interaction is also the reason this album has kept my attention for so long. By providing an extra layer of intrigue to the familiar and freeform aesthetic of noise, Pinhas and Merzbow have crafted a shining highlight in Merzbow's ever-growing catalog. It is a clear example of Pinhas' compositional and technical ability and, simply put, one of my favorite Merzbow-related records.
All the best love songs are about heartache and Windy & Carl have seized on that. The latest addition to their canon was recorded at the same time as Windy Weber’s solo album I Hate People (released earlier this year) and unlike the sentiments of Weber’s solo album, this is an album about love. Although this is the idea of love that Lord Tennyson famously wrote: “better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”
In referring to this album, Weber writes:”This is an album about love. Everyone has known love, and everyone has known loss. Love is not just about warm fuzzy feelings, although that would be the part people say they like the best. And in any span of time, love changes and means different things to different people.” This album certainly captures the less savoury aspects of love (although track titles like “My Love,” “Forever” and “Champion” are misleading) and there is a palpable sense of anguish here and a bittersweet mood runs through the album’s ten songs. Windy & Carl are never anything if not sombre but Songs for the Broken Hearted is particularly solemn. Vocals feature prominently on this album but are always hushed and deferent to the feel of the songs. Each line is like an element of a dream, difficult to keep in mind after it has passed. Weber’s voice on “My Love” sounds like it is calling from the inner recesses of a memory long crumpled up into a ball and thrown into the farthest corner of the mind; distant yet familiar.
Like 2005’s Dedications to Flea, Windy & Carl tug at the heartstrings using the same approach to guitars that they also use to bring contentment. The sustained guitar notes that they are famed for swirl together to make a dirge for love, the guitar and bass coming together to sound like a mighty harmonium. The album’s highlight, “Snow Covers Everything,” takes all the usual Windy & Carl elements but it resonates even more powerfully than usual (both in acoustic and emotional senses of resonance). I tend to love everything I hear from these two but “Snow Covers Everything” is remarkable even by their standards. From the vocals right down to the twinkling bells, there is not an element in this song that does not sound perfect.
Songs for the Broken Hearted is a haunting addition to an already spectral back catalogue. Windy & Carl continue to impress and move me with their music (and I cannot see that changing in the future). The genuineness of their feelings and beliefs is always apparent in their music, something which separates them from other artists exploring the same tones and approaches to guitar craft. It is possible to connect with their sentiments on a real level when listening to their albums and this is true to a larger extent than normal on Songs for the Broken Hearted. I do not know if I can listen to this album often but I know it will leave a mark every time I hear it.
Micah's third studio record seems a big departure from the old-time rag country blues styling of his jaunty debut. This time he has produced a series of dark ballads around the themes of faith, misfortune, trickery and wisdom.
The Red River is a short recording of seven songs, devoid of clutter and benefiting greatly from Harris Newman's bright and sympathetic production. On the title track, Newman ensures hypnotic acoustic guitar plucking is to the fore while a tale of goodness and slaughter sneaks into focus. The lyrical weight and sadness of the song are reflected by Jerusha Robinson's cello. Some of the songs create simple mystery through repetitive guitar and clear yet perplexing storytelling. The characters are believable and the songs have arrangements which allow their voices to be heard. In the past decade or so, Alasdair Roberts and Richard Youngs have done this almost without peer. Smaldone's work implies a similar integrity and growing confidence.
Another stand out is "Pale Light". This languid track juxtaposes a sparse soul arrangement (featuring Tim Harbeson's lovely cornet playing) against strange folk lyrics such as "I ask not forgiveness/it was never of malice/nor to jeremiad ends." The rhythm sort of begs for a slightly hysterical falsetto vocal. Smaldone doesn't quite go that far but he does use the top of his range (his "head" voice rather than his "chest" voice) and it works very well. "Pale Light" is the most fun here and the best praise I can offer is to say that it might have dropped off Sandro Perri's Tiny Mirrors disc. There are some nifty guitar fills, a slashing rhythm, and a series of peaks on "A Derelict (That Bore Your Name)" but despite hearing every word I'm unclear what the song is about.
Micah Blue Smaldone has previously gained inspiration from US music of the 1920s but on this record he crosses the ocean and draws upon earlier European. The pieces which open and close the album, "A Guest" and "A Drink," both have a chiming quality that the aforementioned Mr. Roberts might appreciate, and the former adds instruments one at a time to build into a full band piece.
The cover art shows a woman with antlers. The image suggests the kind of transformation which has long been a staple of such unforgettable folk songs as "The Famous Flower of Serving Men". The Red River doesn't contain anything quite in that league but it is a high quality record with enough hazy ambiguity and contrast to ensure repeat listens.
The second release by Peter Christopherson under the Threshold HouseBoys Choir name is a collection of rough soundtrack works. These have been made in anticipation of a new film project he is working on about tattooing. Although the mixing and the mastering of these discs are less than stellar (they sound very much like the works in progress that they are touted as), the music is loaded with that magic that Christopherson always brings to whatever project he is involved in. The direction he is taking his solo music had been hinted on with the posthumous Coil releases and with the first Threshold HouseBoys Choir album yet here it is beginning to form fully.
The set looks pretty special; the four 3” CD-Rs are enclosed in a clear, plastic amulet with a gold band holding the container closed. Also inside is a small, signed piece of paper with the tracklisting and a sticker. A black velvet-like bag keeps the whole thing safely snug. Once I had pried the amulet open and had a listen, I was immediately impressed. While the note with the set clearly states that these are sketches for a new soundtrack Christopherson is working on for a film he intends to shoot about temple tattooing in Thailand, the pieces hang together particularly well.
Overall, Christopherson has continued with the post-Industrial exotica style (to borrow a phrase from Jonathan Dean’s review of the first album) but things are less hectic here. The mutated Thai boys’ voices are again a key feature and Christopherson’s beloved string samples make another appearance but a far calmer course has been taken by this choir. Of course, it is impossible not to compare Christopherson’s current work with the music of Coil and fans of Coil will not be disappointed in his current direction. There are nods to Coil classics, the mood is similar in vein to the Musick to Play in the Dark albums and "Distonto" on the fourth disc is very much reminiscent of “Chaostrophy” (on Love’s Secret Domain). The strings and liquid, nocturnal mood capture the same nightly essence of the LSD album.
However, it would be a mistake to simply write off The Threshold HouseBoys Choir as Coil Mk.2. Christopherson is clearly being affected by his new life in Thailand and this shows in the music. This collection and the Form Grows Rampant album have a far more languid and tropical vibe to them compared to the pastoral and urban directions that Coil went in (and I get the feeling that Christoherson’s exotic side is tempered in SoiSong by Ivan Pavlov’s colder approach to music). What is most striking about this music is the joy that shines through it. “The Hangman’s Ball” starts off as being quite restrained in tone but before long a powerful and undeniably ecstatic trumpet erupts from the heavens (albeit the trumpet sounds programmed but the sentiments still ring true).
Although initially only available at the Brainwaves festival, a further 155 copies are to be made available online for those unfortunate souls who missed out on a rather extraordinary live performance by Christopherson. Those despairing of the limited numbers can take solace in the fact that this music is intended to be finished and (by my reckoning) most likely will appear in a similar fashion to Form Grows Rampant. Completists can head over to the Threshold House store and start hitting the F5 key now...