The Dots have always been good at exploring the liminal borderlands between structure and abstraction, between dream and waking life, between nightmare and whimsy. The band's music always has one foot resting on each side, and they are not afraid to dance for extended periods on one side or the other. This album seems to synthesize a lot of the band's previous approaches: crepuscular nightmare monologues, extended noise jams, chugging electronics, twisted fairy tales, orchestral passages, surrealistic cut-up sequences and druggy excursions into nebulous Qlippothic realms.
We made it to 700 episodes. While it's not a special episode per se—commemorating this milestone—you can pretty much assume that every episode is special. This one features Mark Spybey & Graham Lewis, Brian Gibson, Sote, Scanner and Neil Leonard, Susumu Yokota, Eleven Pond, Frédéric D. Oberland / Grégory Dargent / Tony Elieh / Wassim Halal, Yellow Swans, Dental waste in Saigon photo by Krisztian. Get involved: subscribe, review, rate, share with your friends, send images!
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In this year's Terrastock, Detroit's Paik was once again one of the show stealers. While the instrumental combo's formula isn't the most original sound in the world, their songs are fun, the tunes are well-defined, the live sound is intense, and their stage presence is nothing less than godlike. Monster of the Absolute is easily one of this year's better instrumental rock records, as it's the sexy side of gritty: something you don't mind getting dirty for because it feels that good. 
Finally available to the general public on DVD, this movie is the quintessential film for any hardcore Boyd Rice/Non and Death In June fan. However, it's hardly any wonder this film only did the festival circuit and never went out to a widescale release.
This is the debut release from a quartet out of Helsinki who play buoyant instrumental electronic music. Swift and without a beat, the songs are like rushing rivers of tones and simple patterns. Since there aren’t necessarily any new sounds or styles to be found here, the songs are carried more by the band’s sheer exuberance.
As a kid I loved banging on things and making loud, annoying noises. I'd hit metal pans together, click my tongue, whistle, holler, and stomp my feet, twiddle my fingers on plastic bins, jiggle door handles, and make all sorts of funny sounds with my throat. It was a blast. Apparently that sort of attitude towards random sounds has stuck with percussionist Christian Wolfarth throughout the years.
Scott Morgan's greatest ally may very well be understatement. His work sits comfortably next to many of his label mates, especially Lichens and Bird Show, both of whom utilize unusual sounds and quiet drift to highlight the beauty of their melodies and rhythms.
"Do Not As I Do," the latest single from Hukkelberg’s 2005 album Little Things, has everything I could hope for in a pop song: a good voice, original lyrics, and a memorable chorus.
This Sunroof! docking with satellite ecstatica continues Matthew Bower’s exploration into the brighter side of drone experimentation. This is one of the best places yet to begin to attempt to keep up with Bower’s worldview and schedule. Programmed as a single track yet built out of many chunks of separate jams and studio tinkering this continues the Sunroof! tradition of gorgeously excessive bliss up against a sense of playful freedom.
So much of what Jim O'Rourke does is impossible to predict. His music either entices or disgusts and typically fluctuates between radical experimental work and more conventional "pop" records. With Mats Gustafssen and Thurston Moore in tow the result is akin to mechanical ambience: music that's probably best left ignored, but that announces itself too powerfully to be placed in the background.
Tom Carter made a revealing statement in his Eye interview, claiming that Charalambides has always been a fairly direct band. Whether they sound mysterious or not, returning to their material with this in mind has been an eye opener. On Charalambides' latest record, the band sounds more confident than ever, directing their energy into a powerful piece of musicianship, passion, and vision. and also recording what happens to be their best album to date.
