THE DAMAGE MANUAL

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Albums and Singles
This is the debut selftitled album by The Damage Manual, following up the debut "1" EP fromthis past April, due out September 5th. The band'soutput, not surprisingly, draws heavily upon the collective input ofthe lengthy, intertwining resumes of it's four members - Chris Connelly(Ministry, Revolting Cocks, Murder Inc., etc.), Jah Wobble (PublicImage Ltd., numerous solo and collaborative projects), Geordie Walker(Killing Joke, Murder Inc.) and Martin Atkins (Ministry, Pigface,Murder Inc., etc.). A neatly packaged dream come true for many fans ofpunk/post-punk and modern 'industrial' rock. "King Mob" and "Denial" doit slow and hard with PiL "Metal Box" era slow bass lines and schrapnelguitar, thunderous beats and Connelly's half spoken/half sung and sexysmooth crooner vocals, respectively. "Age of Urges", "Sunset Gun" and"Stateless" explode with guitars and beats while Connelly resurrectshis Revco primal screams, especially on the latter one. "Top TenSevered", an observation on the sad state of affairs in the world ofmusic, alternates between lush, quiet sections and heavy guitar drivensections. "The Peepshow Ghosts", which was originally a solo Connellylove song, is now an even sexier, rockin' love song. "Expand" and"Broadcasting", both fairly tedious, really remind me of the moreexperimental drum and vocal driven PiL of the early '80s. Some violin,saxophone, sitar, vinyl scratches and drum loops appear here and there,as well as synth work by Lee "Bagman" Fraser of Sheep on Drugs, butalmost as an afterthought when compared to what the main members aredoing. There are too many hands at the mixing desk for the album's 9main tracks (Bill Laswell, Atkins, Walker and engineer Jason McNinch)which makes for a strange sounding album as Laswell's mixes are heavyon the bass and the others moreso on the guitar. Laswell, The Orb andJah Wobble also man the desks on the final 4 tracks, which are simplyoverkill remixes of album and EP tracks, all of which are good but nonebetter than the originals. "The Damage Manual" isn't perfect, but it'sa fine debut and makes good on what the hype promised. The bottom lineis this: these guys might be in their mid '30s to early '40s but don'tput them out to pasture just yet. They still want to rock and theystill do rock. I'm really looking forward to being pounded by thislive. A North American tour will hopefully commence later this fall ...

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SPRING HEEL JACK, "DISAPPEARED"

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Albums and Singles
Spring Heel Jack push forward with their fourth release of this year.
  Disappeared is thefirst brand new full-lengther with all-new material to surface however.I guess it's taken this time for Thirsty Ear in the USA to catch up totheir European output... Regardless, the depths of their music hasexpanded in range over the last few releases. This CD of all-newmaterial has carried over their fondness of organic instruments (bothlive and sampled) and jazz rhythms but has left the overused samplesand pre-programmed sound synths behind. No longer is this the "drum andbass" band it used to be, with a collection of 4-8 minute songs justtossed together. Conceptually, this album flows and moves like an albumshould, with songs appropriately placed - mixing up songs of bombasticbeats between songs of deep introspection, flowing naturally into eachother rather than sounding like a collection of 12" singles. After afew more listens for myself, this will definitely become one of thosememorized instrumental albums—where you always know what's coming next.

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MARC GARTMAN, "THE HORRIBLE COCOANUT GROVE DISASTER"

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Albums and Singles
Two CDs this week I've pulled from the home-made bin as I think these folks are moving in the right direction.
  NYC's Marc Gartman has pieced together a one-offensemble to complete the pictures on his first full-length CD. Thepackaging that showed up at my door had the disc housed in a paintedtyvek sleeve with plastic printing and a hand-printed image of afactory looking thing, a neat fastener was glued onto the back to keepthe sleeve closed when not in use, but it sure is uncomfortable in theCD collection next to everything else. The music itself could easily bea session of seasoned jazz musicians playing a tribute to Louisville.Improvisational while introspective in nature, not afraid to play quietand meaningful. Instruments showcased include violin, melodica anddouble bass alongside acoustic guitar, drums and piano. LookoutRachel's! Through more investigation, I find out this ensemble as itexists on this disc will most likely never happen again. It's a shameas I would love to hear this incarnation live. The production isastonishing for a homemade release. Added effects on certain tracksinclude crickets and possible gunshots in the distance. Hard to believethis is a NYC based collective, as it could easily be music conceivedwhile sitting on a back porch at twilight, staring out into the fields,watching fireflies in the sunset! I'd love to flood this issue withmore sound samples, but hopefully three will be enough. For moreinformation (including how to get your very own copy), check out www.pushpinmusic.com.

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WILKES LAND, "DERECORDED"

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Albums and Singles
Second home-made release this week comes from Tulsa, OK?
  Remember listening to what was to bethe final Skinny Puppy insult, 'Last Rites' for the first time, andthat incredible piece called Download that at the end drifted off intoelectronic drones you wished could go on forever? Whether they'reconscious about it or hate Skinny Puppy, I finally feel like this hopehas been somewhat fulfilled with this album. Precious electronic dronesand soundscapes wash over this disc, and unlike other discs of dronea'la electronique, these songs start and end without going on way toolong. Sublime and dreamy, chimes and echoes play wonderful tricks withyour mind late at night with all the lights off. The titles make mecurious, however, with all of them sharing titles with popular classicrock hits of the 70s. It leads me to wonder if the originals providedinspiration or sound source... Drop an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you want a copy all your own.

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FUTURE BIBLE HEROES, "I'M LONELY (AND I LOVE IT)"

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Albums and Singles
This is the 80's synthpop side of Stephin Merritt - another excellent project by the gloomysourpuss that everyone now knows and loves.
  Christopher Ewen createsthe wonderful OMD-styled bouncey music, which blends quite nicely withStephin's hopelessly romantic words and voice. Claudia Gonson is alsoon this release, adding a nice variety to the EP by singing solo in thesong "Cafe Hong Kong" and backing Stephin in the remake of "Hopeless(remix)," which was previously on the last Future Bible Heroesfull-length, "Memories of Love." For fans of the Magnetic Fields, orheavily synthesized music, with a humourously depressing twist. Picturethe Pet Shop Boys meeting Leonard Cohen, but with smirky lyrics like"There's no use even trying, because it's hopeless. All of our dreamsare dying of overdoses."
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CURD DURCA, "ELEVATOR 3"

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Albums and Singles
This is the 4th album byVienna based artist Curd Duca for electronic label Mille Plateaux, 3rdin the "Elevator" series of 'digitalanalog mood music' and my personalfirst. The 48 titled tracks range from 6 secondsto a little over 2 minutes for a grand total of under 40 minutes. Thealbum samples an interesting variety of sources such as easy listeningswing and jazz records (elevator music), atmospheres and found soundswhich he then proccesses and/or adds subtle electronic accompanimentsto. The more musically oriented samples are generally messed about withand given new environments while the less musically oriented samplesbecome music through Duca's ability to make them sound appealing andpiece them all together. It's not all that much unlike something V/VMwould do except that most of this is much more subtle and seems moreserious. Munich vocalist Carin Feldschmid also adds hauntinglybeautiful and sultry tones to 5 tracks. The result is similar to thatof an old film score and is surprisingly cohesive considering theamount of tracks and diversity of sounds. And that is where Duca'stalent really lies. He's able to maintain a level of interest and rangeof moods throughout with evocative sounds in short doses. Random playalso seems to be just as effective and lets me extend the total playingtime to however long I desire. "Elevator 3" is curiously relaxing andmysteriously entertaining, soothing 'background' music for more thanjust vertical journeys ...

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SONOVAC, "HIGH-ON-TECH" EP

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Albums and Singles
You ever hear a name so much that you really should indeed check them out?
  You ever trust alabel given everything they've released you've really liked? Have youever come home drunk, checking email and seeing an announcement of newreleases from an online store and chose things without thinking much?Well, here's a perfect case. This CD single has me confused whether Ithink it's the next big thing or it's so fucking awful I think I willstart peforming stress and endurance tests on it. Loads of 14 year oldsare making music like this in their parents house, although I've heardlots of teenagers making music less weak and cliche than this shit. Ithas some weird enjoyable element to it, all the same... Maybe I justdon't get it. To me,it sounds like discount kitsch, with predictablesimple beats and trashy lyrics. Then again, people do indeed buyterrible music. (Cylob fans will enjoy this.) As for myself, morelistens and I'm more confused. Listen to the sound samples and decidefor yourself.

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SONIC YOUTH?, "MUSICAL PERSPECTIVES 5"

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Albums and Singles
Well, maybe it's not really Sonic Youth, but it does follow along the whole theme of the Musical Perspectives series.
  Number 5 is a full-length collaborationbetween Kim Gordon, DJ Olive and Ikue Mori. The chosen language of thisseries is, of course Japanese, but unlike volumes 1-3, this one comeswith translations. (Sell-out!) From the first minutes of the release,it feels as if the magic is back: the noise, the experimentalism that aguitar band always wants to do. 60 second sound samples do this albumno justice as each song has a multitude of parts and sounds, allentirely wonderful this time around, utitlizing Gordon's voice andguitar work, alongside electronic Japanese fuckery with environmentalsound sources and samples. Leave the pop records behind and exploresome Musical Perspectives today!

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"INVISIBLE SOUNDTRACKS 3"

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Albums and Singles
The latest in Invisible Soundtracks collections, volume 3, features Rothko, 310, Bass Communion, Bob Ellis and many many others.
  Next to each track on thedisc, the artist has listed their favoritecomposer/director/actor/film—whether it is related to their compilationsubmission is unknown by me at this time. I can hear influence forexample in 310's cut on here which gives the nod to Badalamenti/Lynchand the film "The Sheltering Sky." At over 74 minutes, this collectionof instrumentals from 16 excellent artists is worth having for acollection and for study-hall time music this year in school.

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"L'AGE D'OR (THE GOLDEN AGE)"

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Albums and Singles
Eleven years of German rock comes together for this medium priced sampler from label L'Age D'or.
  I can't say I've heard of any of these bands but they sure dorock a lot more excitingly than a lot of the post-kraut-rock to surfaceover the last couple years. This isn't to say that stuff is bad oranything, but there's more to German rock than noodling at keyboardsand bass guitar, keeping your mouth shut. I'm now interested in findingout more about various bands on here like Tocotronic, whose openingsong just jumps out of the speakers with a pop style almost ready forprime time and an electronic element faking skipping sounds, all inrhythm. The energy continues with entertaining interpretations of TheJams' "That's Entertainment" and a 7-banjo cover of Kraftwerk's"Autobahn" by Fink. Look for it, hunt for it and if you give up, harasswww.lado.de.

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DRUMS & TUBA "WATER DAMAGE RE-ISSUES"

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Albums and Singles
Two brand spanking new reissues from My Pal God are the rereleases of Drums & Tuba.
 Imagine if the tubist and drummer from a high school band got togetherwith a teenage guitarist and decided to record whatever came to mind,and there you have Drums & Tuba. Somehow I get reminded of theKLF's "Fuck the Millennium" ending and three guys running behind themtrying to catch up. The tunes are fun and I'm sure this is a great bandto see live. Box Fetish collects the original 1999 record plus threenew tracks exclusive to this CD release. It starts out high schoolish,but towards the end, the songs become more adventurous with use oftrumpets and other percussives.
Volume 2 of the Water Damage Re-Issues is The Flying Ballerina,recorded in 1998. This disc seems to have more of a jazz influenceright off the bat while rocking out a little more. The formula'sbasically the same yet I find it more charming and variable. Thesediscs are ideal for those students who have to commute on busses ortrains. Certainly some great morning cup of moccaccino-blast heldwithin...

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  1. BRIGHT, "FULL NEGATIVE (OR) BREAKS"
  2. FRED GIANNELLI, "TELEPATHIC ROMANCE"
  3. LIVE HUMAN, "ELEFISH JELLYPHANT"
  4. KIM CASCONE, "PARASITES"

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