22 January 2006

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Albums and Singles

samples:

• Fire Fire
• $40,000 Plus Interest
• Red and White Bells

22 January 2006

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Albums and Singles

4AD
 
The first couple of minutes of the opening track “Muesli” were not at all promising. The clarinet (which I didn’t like on any of three tracks it appears on) and percussion do nothing for me; the arrangement is far too fussy. Only in the last thirty seconds or so of the song does it gel together when the accordion kicks in. This problem of finicky arrangement thankfully doesn’t continue throughout the record. The tracks fall into one of two groups: the “really laid back and enjoyable” group and the “trying to be imaginative and innovative but failing miserably” group. An example from the first group being “Hilly,” which is good but slips too much into Aphex Twin patented blips, beeps and washes of synth. The second group is mercifully the smaller of the two with the aforementioned “Muesli” being the worst offender.

That being said there were many tracks that engaged me. “Vigo Bay”is a quirky, fun, and uplifting piece. It doesn’t rewrite the rules ofmusic but it bops along delightfully. The track that follows it, “SixFoolish Fishermen,” continues this feelgood vibe. The music soundsbouncy, like something that would be played in a cartoon about sailingaround exotic places having adventures with an animal sidekick(whatever animal that may be).

The biggest problem with Maritime that, when listening to the album in one go, many of the tracks don’t sound that distinct. In smaller doses the little idiosyncratic moments become more noticeable. Unfortunately they are normally hidden under the similar synths and beats that populate all the tracks on the album. As a mood enhancing album this works a charm, the January gloom is lightened considerably whenever I play Maritime.

samples:

• Muesli
• Six Foolish Fishermen
• Somebody Once Told Me It Existed But They Never Found It

22 January 2006

Albums and Singles

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20 January 2006

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Albums and Singles

Well, the end of 2005 came and went and we unfortunately couldn't coordinate a big hoopla this year for the Brainwashed Year-End Readers' Poll.  However, with the new system, we've organized what has been the most popular articles from our site to arrange some kind of a list.  Of course, it will differ from everybody else's, but then again, we gotta be us!

Keep in mind, this is the Readers' Poll, this isn't what the staff list as their faves of 2005.  (If you want to see that, see the Meet The Staff section and find out more there!) In fact it might not even be what the readers think is the best, but was the most popular reviews they read this year.  Kinda lame but it's something....

So, without further adieu, here it is!

Top 50 albums of 2005:

1. Coil, "The Ape of Naples"  
2. Sunn O))), "Black One"
3. CocoRosie, "Noah's Ark"
4. Boards of Canada, "The Campfire Headphase"
5. Merzbow, "Merzbuta"
6. Thighpaulsandra, "Chamber Music"
7. Ween, "Shinola Vol.1"
8. Autechre & Hafler Trio, "aeo3 & 3hae"
9. Earth, "Hex (or Printing in the Infernal Method)"
10. Murcof, "Remembranza"
11. Nurse with Wound, "Shipwreck Radio Volume Two"
12. Broadcast "Tender Buttons"
13. Dirty Three, "Cinder"
14. Mi and L'au
15. Señor Coconut, "Coconut FM"
16. Merzbow, "Senmaida"
17. Tape, "Rideau"
18. Lightning Bolt "Hypermagic Mountain"
19. Windy and Carl, "The Dream House"
20. Prurient, "Black Vase"
21. Animal Collective, "Feels"
22. Wolf Eyes, "Live at Banfields East"
23. Akron/Family & Angels of Light
24. Khanate, "Capture & Release"
25. Noise/Girl, "Discopathology"
26. DJ Scotch Egg, "KFC Core"
27. Kid 606, "Resilience"
28. Vex'd, "Degenerate"
29. Black Dice, "Broken Ear Record"
30. The USA is a Monster, "Wohaw"
31. VVV, "Resurrection River"
32. Architect, "The Analysis of Noise Trading"
33. Ellen Allien, "Thrills"
34. XXL, "Ciautistico!"
35. Mirror, "Viking Burial for a French Car"
36. Boris with Merzbow, "Sun Baked Snow Cave"
37. Jandek, "Raining Down Diamonds"
38. Tactile, "Bipolar Explorer"
39. Lichens, "The Psychic Nature of Being"
40. T.Raumschmiere, Blitzkrieg Pop
41. Edward Ka-Spel, "Happy New Year"
42. Mouse On Mars, "Live 04"
43. Danger Doom, "The Mouse and the Mask"
44. Brian McBride, "When the Detail Lost its Freedom"
45. Fovea Hex, "Bloom"
46. Cobra Killer & Kapajkos, "Das Mandolinenorchester"
47. Deerhoof "The Runner's Four"
48. Drazen, "Visions Ov Anarcadia"
49. Long Live Death, "Bound to the Wheel"
50. Earth, "070796 Live"

Top 10 Singles of 2005:

1. "Grief"
2. Stereolab, three 7" singles
3. The Magnolia Electric Co, "Hard To Love A Man"
4. Black Dice, "Smiling Off"
5. Afx, "Analord 01-05"
6. Current 93, "At Sunset Black Ships Ate The Sky"
7. Lcd Soundsystem, "Yr City's A Sucker"
8. Black Leotard Front, "Casual Friday"
9. Nudge And Strategy, 12" Singles On Community Library
10. The Hafler Trio, "Being A Firefighter Isn't Just About Squirting Water"
11. The Juan Maclean, "I Robot/Less Than Human"

Top 5 Compilations of 2005:

1. Love, Peace & Poetry: Turkish Psychedelic Music
2. The Free Design: The Now Sound Redesigned
3. Camping 1 & 2 (BPC Compilations)
4. But Then Again
5. 4 Women No Cry

Top 10 Reissues/Old Things of 2005:

1. AFX, "Hangable Auto Bulb"
2. Comus, "Song to Comus: The Complete Collection"
3. Bill Fay, "Bill Fay" and "Time of the Last Persecution"
4. The Hafler Trio, "An Utterance of the Supreme Ventriloquist"
5. Erik Satie, "Vexations"
6. Múm, "Yesterday was Dramatic, Today is OK"
7. Gina X Performance, "Nice Mover" and "X-Traordinaire"
8. Burning Star Core, "Mes Soldats Stupides '96-'04"
9. Galaxie 500, "Peel Sessions"
10. Asmus Tietchens, "Formen Letzter Hausmusik"

Top New Artist of 2005:

• Akron/Family

Lifetime Achievement Recognition:
This category was chosen by the Brainwashed Staff and not the readers.  Each year we collectively agree on who to recognize for their devotion to innovative music and this year, once again, we chose to honor a person who's not known for the music he's released but the mark he's left on the world of music.  Unfortunately, this year's honoree is also no longer with us to see our appreciation but we know those close to him will.

• Bob Moog

A lot of names were tossed around in the discussion of this year's Lifetime Achievement recognition, and nobody on our lists came as close to truly defining what it means to have a lifetime of achievement as Bob did.  Some of our dear friends were very close to him, and we are all very sad at the world's loss, however, much more important we feel is the world's gain.  Bob Moog has effected nearly all the music we geeks listen, mostly indirectly but often directly. 

20 January 2006

Administrator

Albums and Singles

• Ch' Ching
• Random
• LIttle Bit of Shhh

20 January 2006

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Albums and Singles

Troniks
 

The Cherry Points work with Yellow Swans was loud as hell, but lacked the confrontational edge Blankenship has molded on his latest full-length. For over forty minutes a steady stream of feedback, white noise, and the sounds of fire turned up to ear-bleeding levels pours through the speakers. It isn't lazy noise, it's noise bound and determined to tear some things to shreds, to remove limbs from bodies, and to generally wreak havoc. The cover art and accompanying stickers suggest Blankenship is trying to fuse some B-movie horror with his noise, but I can't imagine this noise as a soundtrack to anything but an orgy of blood. (A real orgy of blood, not a movie version.) The intensity feels so real and unhinged that I finally got a glimpse of how the most extreme of metal and noise gets compared.

I've seen people dance and head bang at noise shows before. I watched and thought it was supposed to be ironic or sarcastic somehow, a product of the scene's disgust for convention. Only a few times have I ever felt noise move my body and that was usually in a violent manner. The Cherry Point convey a heaviness, though, that makes me want to throw up my hands and bang my head until my neck is sore. The ferocity Blankenship has unearthed in the static and rumble of his machines isn't unlike the blister forming guitar work of the heaviest death metal bands. Gone are the growling vocals, replaced by the sheer sound and a total disregard for listenable melodies or conventional rhythms of any kind. Death metal took sound further away from the norms of rock and pop, but noise has sent it over the edge. A live show like this might inspire head banging; it might also cause bleeding ears, spontaneous violence, and rioting. This does not bode well for Hollywood, Blankenship's base of operation. I find it interesting that some of the most extreme music this side of the Pacific is coming from the land of plastic surgery and generally fake dispositions. Either Blankenship is tapped into the violence that is bubbling just below the surface or he's giving everyone a taste of where that senseless, star-worshipping, shallow approach to everything can go.

That said, I'm surprised by how many times I've hit the play button on this disc. There are plenty of noise records I enjoy listening to about once a month. Night of the Bloody Tapes has found its way into my car, onto my computer's play list, and into my walkman when I go running. I've listened to it three times in the last two days. For all its violent destruction, the constant stream of noise it provides eventually blanks my mind completely. I wouldn't say it puts me in a safe or contemplative place, it just completely zaps my memory and my ability to function. I wouldn't make this my first noise purchase, nor would I heartily recommend it to anyone already listening to noise. This is for the enthusiast, for the noise addict who simply needs something more insane and more intense. Night of the Bloody Tapes is abusively harsh noise and one of the only records of its kind that I've come to enjoy.

samples:

• Untitled 1
• Untitled 2
• Untitled 4

19 January 2006

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Paw Tracks
 
Instead of naming the ten or so bands that immediately came to mind while listening to whatever song, I'll just be quick to point out that sometimes imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and that Ariel Pink is at least flattering bands I like on House Arrest. I was tapping my foot on many of the songs and, after listening to the album about three times, I learned to skip the ones that just bored me. This makes the album a hell of a lot more enjoyable; it eases the pain of Ariel Pink's forced delivery, cooling his pseudo-sexual pout and extending the shelf life of the decent songs by quite a lot. After three listens, however, House Arrest as a whole loses all of its appeal. Whatever gimmicks caught me ear the first few times lose their glimmer and suddenly even catchy songs like "Alisa" are cast in a new, and not so shining, light.

I have a hard time understanding why anyone would want to devote their time and album space to musical endeavors already explored by other bands in the first place. Anyone with talent like Ariel Pink has should be writing music that tries to go somewhere new instead of wasting that energy on pop rock that's been done better elsewhere. So few bands can improve on another band's style without sounding contrived, anyways. Why not just take some chances and make an album you haven't heard before? That aside, I know some people like hearing nostalgia. Ariel Pink is good at it, but the spells he might cast on listeners won't last long after everyone wakes up and decides they want to hear something new and exciting. Consider this a temporary fix for music enthusiasts that just can't get enough of what Ariel Pink has to offer: bopping, rattling, synth-laden, catchy pop melodies with dance rhythms.

Until this whole nostalgia thing passes over, Ariel Pink's name will get tossed around a lot; the name itself will evoke a kind of indie awe, I'm sure, because Ariel Pink is the real underground deal doing the real underground pop. It doesn't matter who is doing it, though, nostalgic music for people who weren't even around when the original musical movement happened is the same no matter who is making it or what label they're on. Some just handle their influences better than others. I'm surprised the throwback syndrome has reached as far as the Paw Tracks label and Ariel Pink. I understand his style is of a strange heritage, but honestly there is nothing amazing or particularly "out there" about Ariel Pink except for his strict worship of AM radio. Maybe once every year or so I'll get the urge to hear some of these songs, but the rest of the time House Arrest will remain locked up in a box or on a shelf somewhere, waiting to be played and collecting dust.

samples:

• Flying Circles
• Alisa
• Oceans of Weep

19 January 2006

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Sideways is the Underarms disk remixed into a blurry drone. It's a smooth river rock of an album, with few of the rough edges of Underarms.It's pleasant and enjoyable, but it's not radically different from,say, the "Sweet Medicine" tracks on Underarms, with the spacey blurpsof "Iota" arising on "Sideways 4."

I can see myself often putting on these CDs for an evening curled upwith a thick book, a glass of chianti, and maybe a dozing cat at myfeet.

samples:

• Sweet Medicine
• Dagger Strings
• Sideways 4

19 January 2006

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Divine Frequency
 
The title is a bit of a misnomer. Yes the music is ambient but it’snot something that should be played as ambience. The music here needsthe attention of the listener. Its subtleties were lost on theoccasions I was listening to it passively. When I had it on in thebackground it wasn’t that interesting. When I sat down with a cup oftea and gave it my full attention the music opened up fully. Grassowmakes very spacious compositions. I mean spacious in both a sense ofbeing without boundaries and a celestial feeling. “Siddharta” is a slowand detailed piece that sounds like astronomy. It appears infinite andblank at first but Grassow dragged me closer towards the stars and thecomets to revel in the detail. This feeling of vastness may seem atodds with Grassow’s statement in the sleeve notes saying that Ambience is an “inner document of [his] self.” Though, like the great astral artists (Sun Ra and Coil), Grassow manages to link up endless space with the much more intimate setting of the mind. “(Famine Road To) Port” is the most intimate sounding track and it is almost transcendent, it doesn’t quite evoke the same feelings of immensity as the rest of the album.

However there are times when I find the album hard going. It’s a lotto take in sometimes, especially with the longer tracks. Once I stoppedpaying attention, the music became slightly dull. By the time thesecond last track (called “The Old Park”) comes on, I am weary. Ambience requires an all or nothing involvement by the listener. Sometimes I’d have to turn it off and come back to it. This isn’t a negative criticism; the music is so dense that I can only fully appreciate it in smaller doses. It’s like a book of poetry, it’s impossible to take in the meaning and the language of all the poems by reading them all in one sitting.

Ambience is a very interesting album but it requires a lot of work to recognize the value of Grassow’s work. This is not an album that should be thrown onto an mp3 player for the walk to work. This is an album that should be played on an adequate stereo at the appropriate volume.

samples:

• Dreamland
• Siddharta
• (Famine Road To) Port

19 January 2006

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Alien8
 
In a fit of excitement I tossed Dinosaur Dinosaur into my player the moment I noticed the first song was called "Noise is Political." I waited and expected the whole album to launch into the stratosphere from this point forward. Let it be known, however, that Drootin isn't political at all, at least not on album. Instead he comes away as a mad scientist, mixing fairly straightforward beats with all manner of circus sounds and nightmare samples that would send Mystery Science Theatre 3000 fans into a frenzy. Computers beep to life, animals unexpectedly croak, and robots come to life only to let out a laser beam yell and then shut down again. Anyone that's heard any kind of electronic music that focuses its attention on mashed up beats and widely repeated motifs will half know what to expect from Books on Tape. What will come as a surprise is how fresh it sounds despite every last one of the songs having a fairly similar structure and straightforward approach. Drootin's musical success comes from the attitude he suffuses into the music, not from any radical innovation.

Allthe usual suspects are here, of course: the drum imitating a drill bitat a billion miles an hour; the pretty piano part; the modified vocals;and the massively edited orchestration of instruments so varied thatthey wouldn't normally fit together within the same song, but somehowmanage to find themselves squeezed together in the same second. Drootinshifts from first gear to sixth in three seconds flat and has theability to toss around phrases, loops, and samples like they were asack of potatoes to be handled with extreme force. All this makes Dinosaur Dinosaur passable: a fun album to thrown on now and then. His comedic approach to the music is like a vortex from which my imagination cannot escape, though, and that feature of his music pushes it past ordinary. If his brand of humor isn't immediately evident, then chances are the album is going to sound dull and come away as being another in a long line of decent electronic albums with nice melodies in them. If, however, the nonsensical and sci-fi, b-movie approach he's managed to harness without a single recognizable movie sample is readily obvious, be prepared to spend a lot of time with songs like "Surly Ambassador" or "When Siblings Attack." His goofball programming and razor sharp shifts have ended up occupying large portions of my brain, slowly taking it over with all the weirdness I could ever ask for.

Don't expect to be blown away immediately. Dinosaur Dinosaur works slowly despite being fast paced and unusual. It will take time for all the wires, tentacles, and madness to take root, but they will surely take over. At times Drootin can sound a little flat, his compositions not always ready to give up their secrets right away. Closer observation, however, will reveal a whole world of sound blistering away beneath his beatcentric music.

samples:

• Killing Machine
• Fat Face
• Kingston