Being thankful for an earful.
Brand new music by Marie Davidson, Niecy Blues (feat. Joy Guidry), CEL, Marisa Anderson and Luke Schneider, Stina Stjern, Carmen Villain, Murcof, A Lily, and Far Golden Pavilions, with music from the vaults by Tomaga, Ozzobia, Jan Jelinek.
Sushi photo by Lindsay.
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Anything that can remotely resemble widespread commercial success escaped the Frames for most of their career when their last album, Set List, broke into the Top Ten in their native Ireland. Almost a year later, it was released on these shores as the first album in a new deal with Anti, garnering the band more attention in America as a band to watch intently. Their newest album was released in Ireland several weeks ago, and Anti will release it in the US and Europe in February. Until then, rabid fans can order through select dealers linked on the band's website to absorb the finest work in the band's decade-plus lifespan, as well as their most coordinated and complete effort to date.Plateau Records/ Anti
Glen Hansard has grown by leaps and bounds as a songwriter in recent years, and the arrangements have slowly become more direct and openly ferocious than before, switching energy level on a dime and going full tilt before slowing for nigh-breathtaking moments of solemnity. In that regard he's found his voice two-fold, as subject matter turns from an argument that spawned a fight ("Happy") to relationship issues ("Fake," Finally"). At every turn, Hansard bears the potential to unleash into full-voiced howl, but he contains it for just the right moment each time, and sometimes opts for the more respectful and pretty falsetto. Meanwhile, the ensemble is beset with fine musicians who create an ebb and flow even in the hastiest of tempos, the highlight of which is the dissolution of "Dream Awake," where the drums approach the essence of breakbeat, the bass thumps with flurry, and guitar bends soar over it all until the violin takes its lead and betters it. To couple this with words like "For every time I came home screaming and got sent away with no warmth at all" creates the complete package that holds together under any scrutiny. The recording is the most faithful to the vibrant live shows the Frames are reknowned for, courtesy of new member Rob Bochnik and former member David Odlum, and the proper settings like Electrical Audio and Black Box Studios. Altogether, this set pulls back the curtain on their recorded output, revealing the Frames as the most vital band to come out of Ireland in twenty years at least, and maybe the most poetic that ever came from hence. It might just be their time, finally, to get the recognition they so richly deserve. 
Atmospheric tones have always been the trademark of Climax GoldenTwins, and on their latest release the group, who make little effort toidentify themselves beyond their collective name, moves into the moreintimate side of their range. Maybe scoring the feature film Session Ninehad an affect on the band, as the film features one character listeningto old recordings of psychological evaluations; these songs are createdaround acoustic guitars primarily and interwoven with sampledrecordings from over sixty years ago. These samples can be gloriouslysimple, from a conversation to narrative storytelling, or a fathertalking to a child, and when paired with the Twins music andmanipulation they take on a whole new life beyond their quaintbeginnings. Even though the music is quieter and sweeter than otherreleases, there's still an undercurrent of darkness, or maybe just atwinge of mortality here and there. Ominous feelings appear on selectsongs, like the voice at the end of "Every Word in the Bible" or thechild's voice on "Billy McGee McGaw," but these sometimes seemunintentionally so, and the music just seems to fit wherever andwhatever happens. Occasionally, though, like on "Little Noreen," themusic sets the scenario, and in these cases it's almost always asinister undertone. Sparseness is a key element all over, with songsnot extending into grandiose affairs or snarls of noise, just speakingtheir minds with as little words as possible. The album's second trackis the keynote speaker in that regard: called "Upright," the song is avery simple melody played on an upright piano with brushed cymbals, thevery "trick of singularity" as Shakespeare put it. There's littlevocals besides the scratchy recordings, but when there are ("Solid GoldMicrophone," for instance) they fit perfectly, and it's as though it'sa cover of a golden oldie just discovered in grandma's collection,brought forth and updated for the new ears of today. Maybe that's thekey: using technology of today to make songs that could fit somewherelost in time; and that's always seemed to be this group's specialty,never as fully realized until now. 
The first thing that drew me to Japanese solo artist Takahiro Chiba(aka Slowly Minute) and his first official North American release wasthe connection with Adam Pierce (Mice Parade) and his NYC-based BubbleCore label. Being somewhat familiar with Pierce's unique approach toblending rhythms and music of diverse cultures, I was expectingsomething equally intriguing and exciting from Slowly Minute byassociation. Although not as high energy as Mice Parade, I was quitesurprised and definitely not disappointed. Tomorrow World'snear-raw mix of generic synth sounds, harp samples, hiccupping RolandTR-707 beats, acoustic guitar and piano add a certain charm to its lushyet strong compositions of weaving melodies and quirky arrangements.I'd been listening to this disc almost exclusively on headphones duringdaily commuting, so even the finest of details were apparent from theget-go. From the polyrhythmic programming and looping guitars andweaving keyboard of opener "The Song of the Sun in Autumn's Holiday,"Chiba sets a very relaxing and uplifting tone which carries throughoutmost of the disc. The repetitive guitar arpeggiation and jazzy ridecymbal motif of "Minutes Made!" lays down the foundation for bursts oflow-end synth squelches, distorted guitars and tom-tom rolls to playover and gradually shift into a more straight-ahead number. Thegorgeous "Little Bird" quickly became my favorite; itsBrazilian-flavored nylon string guitar and upright bass set to odd yetplayful machine beats and dense piano/keyboard/harp arrangements. Withits multiple melodic lines and feel changes, it's amazing that Chibamanaged to piece it all together without it sounding cluttered. "It'sthe Girl Who Goes to Do Some Shopping" turns on a dime from itstecho-esque rhythmic keyboard intro to sampled drum fills tofast-forwarded tape chirpings and dance beats. Although Chiba reliesheavily on the generic keyboard and drum machine sounds without muchaltering, what impresses me most about Tomorrow World is hisability to make the simple compositions sound complex and vice versa.Having recently formed The Lopops as a guitarist, I'm anxious to hearthis undeniably talented musician in a group setting or perhaps on afuture Mice Parade recording. 
Every once in a while an album comes along that is so unfortunatelyignored that it deserves reissue on a bigger label with more clout,hopefully widening the band's audience for future mayhem on albums tocome. Such is the case with Rogue Wave, whose line-up on their tenderdebut was a mere shadow of their current roster, but the songs arephenomenal nonetheless, giving indie pop a real shot in the arm withclever songwriting and warm sometimes playful arrangements. Zach Roguerecorded the album mostly on his own with a few friends over two yearsago, then released it on his own Responsive Recordings label afterforming a band to perform the songs in public. As it turns out, thelive band performs the songs with more depth and vocabulary, attractingthem attention as a well-versed and dynamic live act. The next album,then, will show the true face of the band that is Rogue Wave, but fornow the stunning debut will have to do. Every song on it is a perfectpop moment, with great melodies, harmonies, and the kind of magic thatformer tour mates the Shins or others have had for one or two songs.None of them lasts over five minutes, and many are three and under,keeping the whole experience short and quaint. Rogue, who changed hislast name from Schwartz, obviously has a knack for quirky sounds andsweet lyrics, though he also had a lot of questions in his head whenthese songs were recorded, as every song has a bit of a hope orquestion in it. It's the little touches that make it perfect: birdschirping, or faded harmonica, or layered vocals and backwardsrecording. Even the song titles have that little twist of a sense ofhumor piled in with earnest emotion ("Nourishment Nation," "Kicking theHeart Out"). It's an album recorded by a man who had no home and wasn'tsure what was coming next, but he had to get the noises out of hishead. Rogue Wave in this form was a tour de force even before othermembers entered the mix, so there's no telling what they'll come upwith next. Hopefully, with just enough luck, Shadow won't be an act too hard for them to follow. 
After making an international name for themselves as part of last year's collaboration with Jan Jelinek on his 1+3+1disc, Australian jazzers Triosk are now set to release their firstfull-length recording. Drawing on as much of the electronic elements asjazz in both composition and instrumentation, the ten tracks on Moment Returnsvary from subtle glitch and pinging soundscapes, intricate and swinginggrooves with dark, warm overtones and the shimmering beauty of classicpiano trio ballads. The static scratch and pop of a record stuck at theend of its groove acts as a metronomic click track on "ChronosynclasticInfundibula" while drummer Laurence Pike and bassist Ben 'Donny' Wapleslock into freeform rolls and trills that support pianist AdrianKlumpes' anguished lines which become taut and gradually relax intosome great classical explorations. The heavy-handed Rhodes progressionsof "Two; Twelve" are driven by a broken-up, slinky groove which tendsto tastefully "hide the one" without becoming too pretentious. Being asucker for a great Rhodes performance, this track also stood out for meas a catchy composition for its great dialogue as the playerscommunicate through their instruments. The sensitive treatment of theballad "Re-Ignite" brought on gooseflesh and a near-swelling of tearsdue to its hauntingly beautiful bass progression swaddled in rich pianochords. The secret weapon on this track is Pike's brushed sizzle cymbalwhich resonates throughout. For a group of twenty-somethings, thematurity of musicianship is shown here by their ability to underplay atjust the right time. The lengthy "I Am a Beautiful and UniqueSnowflake" swells from subtle ballad to clanging unison eighth notesthat compartmentalize its chord progressions. This track would not beout of place in accompanying a silent movie where the steam engineapproaches the damsel in distress tied to the tracks as the villainstrokes his mustache. Based on the strong compositions and finemusicianship throughout Moment Returns, it's safe to say that there'll be a lot more heard from Triosk and its group members in the years to come.
Elegant packaging and artwork adorn Constellation's label compilation, Song of the Silent Land,an album sold originally as a tour CD produced for and sold on a 2004European tour featuring a few of Constellation's lineup. Now, though,it is widely available to us colonials in the New World. Inside thecarefully wrought artwork, the CD features fourteen rare and unreleasedsongs by the roster of the label and then some. I am uncertain what theSilent Land in the title is, but if you take in the big picture, hereis what you get geopolitically: a defiantly Canadian label creating acompilation for a European audience. All of this amounts in America toa not quite palatable offering from a country whom we consider our slowcousin to the north intended for a continent whose countries are quitea bit more worldly and refined than America these days (if you canjudge a country by its current administration, that is). Perhaps it isthe reactionary and reckless American brashness in me, but I wouldstill not hesitate to dump this album off the side of the nearest tallship into the murky depths of Boston harbor. I would even throw sometea overboard along with the CD, just for old time's sake. The songs onthis compilation sound largely like throw-away material, dredged fromthe dregs of each artist's sound bank. Consumers will not doubt betempted to purchase the album on the basis of Constellation all-starslike Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Exhaust, A Silver Mt. Zion, and DoMake Say Think. Unfortunately, these bands provide some of the biggestdisappointments. Godspeed's uninspired live recording of "Outro" mightbe hampered by the imprecision of the, well, live recording of it, orit might just be a substandard composition. The sound is warbly,ill-mixed, and not up to the angelic and anthemic standards of theband's studio persona. Nor does it approximate the live experience ofseeing the band perform. A Silver Mt. Zion offer a wall of noise withsome strings operating underneath it all, though at an almostindiscernible level. Le Fly Pan Am in collaboration with Tim Hecker andChristof Migone execute one of the more pleasing songs for thecompilation: the perhaps haughtily titled "Tres Tres 'Avant'" is abouncy and nearly danceable number with about three of four differentaural levels of interesting sounds going on simultaneously. Some of themore obscure artists here might catch the ear of the more attentivelistener. 1-Speed Bike, Frankie Sparo, and HangedUp all seem tothreaten songs of quality, but punctuated by the flotsam around them,it can be a little deceptive and hard to tell.
Ectopic Ents is proud to announce the release of the long awaited new studio album by Foetus, entitled HIDE.
HIDE features ten new compositions by JG Thirlwell, who describes it as a “neo-symphonic avant-psychedelic concept album informed by the culture of fear”. Kicking off with a nine minute operatic opus featuring the guest vocal talents of opera singer Abby Fischer, HIDE is an immersive album infused with strands of progressive and contemporary classical, as well as Thirlwell’s twisting cinematic journeys, bombast and sombre interludes.
Thirlwell produced the album and performs most of the music. Also guesting on the album are long time collaborator Steven Bernstein on trumpet and Leyna Marika Papach from Thirlwell’s Manorexia ensemble on violin. In addition Elliot Hoffman of Carbomb plays drums on a track, and there are appearances from Ed Pastorini, Jeff Davidson and Christian Gibbs (Lucinda Blackbear).
Initial quantities of HIDE will come with a free 5" x 5" sticker of the album front cover, signed by JG Thirlwell.
Currently we are selling the album on CD only.
Go to The Foetus Shoppe to hear previews and order.
New release from aranos is a live recording of a concert in Prague in April 2010.
through firehouse warsover tree formsI did fend off bird feet.Like blessed studio memberin daily been-gin companyincluding all thieves of cavalshooting crackssee also: http://web.me.com/aranos/aranos.org/archarcha.html
On his sixth solo album for Touch, Jeck continues his perfection of using the record player as an instrument (not as a DJ) to create a long-form piece that has no sense of gimmick or cliché, but instead is a hazy, but warm and inviting piece of captivating music that is unlike the work of anyone else. Originally intended for live performance, this studio reconstruction is amazing on its own.
Having never seen performances nor read intimate details of his compositional technique, I’m fascinated by exactly how Jeck coaxes the sounds he does out of his rudimentary instrumentation.On this album, the requisite record players were used, along with the infamous Casio SK1 keyboard, mini-disc recorders, and a bass guitar with only a few effects.How this becomes the gauzy atmospheric music that is presented here, I don’t know, and I think I’ll be happy not knowing as long as the music keeps coming.
A recurring motif throughout the seven "main" songs here is a lo-fi melodic undercurrent that is absolutely immersed in reverb, giving a feeling that’s not unlike the Cocteau Twins or My Bloody Valentine but without sounding like either one of them.In these massive and heavy, but warm waves of sound, occasionally a bit of music is allowed to pass through.Percussion is hinted at on "Pilot/Dark Blue Night" but never fully appears until the closing "The Pilot (Among Our Shoals)" where it takes the form of snappy snare drum loops, with what resembles time-stretched harp plucks and violin notes as accompaniment.
As aforementioned, sometimes the musical source material shines through to the surface, such as on "Twentyninth," where the big reverberated sounds and cascading guitar tones could be a careful study and dissection of 1980s hair metal, reduced to its most base elements and rebuilt into something entirely different and far more compelling."Thirtieth/Pilot Reprise" continues this, focusing on hidden melodies and Jeck's overdriven bass guitar playing with a guitar-like squall and a thin, brittle closing section.
Other pieces are less discernable, such as the dramatic swells of indecipherable sound of "Dark Rehearsal," which are preceded by some subtle, delicate melodies."Pilot Reprise/The All of Water" is a chaotic pastiche of layered sound, immediately surging heavily and then continuing on with the same intensity, the sharp waves of sound battle one another over the dramatically drifting undercurrent.
For the album's coda, two remixes of tracks from Suite:Live in Liverpool are included, sounding noticeably different than the preceding album, but just as strong on their own.Mostly eschewing the hazy ambience of the other tracks, "All That's Allowed (Remix)" shapes shimmering passages of crystal sound into swirling melodies, keeping a very clean, sharp feel over a dynamic undercurrent."Chime, Chime (Re-Rung)" focuses on beautifully tactile static bursts covering a bell ringing alongside twinkling wind chimes with the occasional bit of squealing feedback. There is a different sort of audio grime that appears, and the whole song is more loop/sample focused than the other ones, which felt like they had more of an organic drift to them.
Philip Jeck's work continues to sound like no one else's, in the best possible way.Regardless of the instruments used, he constructs beautiful, tactile sound that spreads out and engulfs its surroundings, demanding full attention.Few albums I have heard this year are as immersive and captivating as this one.
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Originally released as a C90 and here spread across two LPs (and four tracks), Space Finale has a definitively analog quality to the sound, both in format and in the soft, obscure nature of the textures of each piece. While a very strong work, there are a few moments that hold it back from being as brilliant as it could be.
Side one of the first LP opens the album very effectively.Wobbly melodic tones cascade around, like the sound of a 1970s educational film strip, the woozy pitch fluctuations occasionally pushing it into darker, horror movie soundtrack territory.This is only amplified with the addition of a low bass rumble a bit into the piece, adding a sense of menace with the undulating rhythms.Eventually this gives way to a hollow industrial collage, with slight hints of feedback and the occasional fragment of an untreated field recording making itself known.The sound lightens with a heavily reverberated ring that gives way to a soft, melodic outro.
The flip side is a bit less sinister and more melancholic, keeping the unidentifiable churning thumps and thuds, but focusing on buried melodies that are extremely somber.No clear instrumentation is at play here, but the shimmering notes sound like the music of an ancient civilization that has just been excavated, crafted with instruments unlike any in use today.The two sides of this LP are very different from each other, yet feel unified in their approach.
The material on the second record isn't quite as enchanting, however.It opens with sparse, chiming sounds that are eventually transmogrified into dense, bass heavy layers of noise.The murky reverberated textures eventually part to reveal what resembles plucked string instruments uncovered from a ton of audio grime.However, the transition into humming machinery sounds feels like it could be lifted off any so-called dark ambient album, as it lacks any identifying quality.While its evolution into heavier, more overdriven textures that eventually dissolve into raw noise helps the situation, it still sticks out as a sore spot on an otherwise well crafted side.
It's on the fourth side of the set that things feel as if they're falling apart.The hollow, echo-ey textures and occasional radar blip sound like the most generic of experimental ambient music.The opening field recording elements and the melodic bells and incidental sounds that close the track are strong, but everything between them is just dull.It almost seems as if Nilsen and Stilluppsteypa lost their creative drive at the end and instead fell prey to using filler to pad out the album.With this excised this would have been a very powerful hour long work, but stretched to 90 minutes, it has some dull spots.
When Space Finale is "on," it's very good, emphasizing the analog textures and sounds used to create this very atmospheric work. However, the dull spots that occur in the second half really caused my attention to drift away from the record and onto other activities, which is never a good thing.It's a strong, but flawed album.
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