womblife

2012-01-14T19:18:00.004-06:00

I decided to assemble a top metal list of 2011 too, if for no other reason so I can praise the greatness of Locrian's latest album. I dug a lot of things on the heavier side in 2011 but wasn't sure how to classify them on the other lists, so here we go. Probably the most interesting metal/noise band for me this year was Horseback, but they (he) didn't release a full length, unless you count the excellent Gorgon Tongue 2CD (Relapse), which combines two releases from 2007 and 2010.

Top Metal of 2011

10. Leviathan True Traitor, True Whore (Profound Lore) CD - Wrest works out his domestic angst with another screaming blitzkrieg of blackened prog thrash hate. Sounds like the last Leviathan record -- that is to say it kicks ass muchly.

9. Liturgy Aesthetica (Thrill Jockey) CD - The most polarizing metal album of 2011. In spots Liturgy is a pretty average black metal band that I can take or leave, but when they turn up the mathy post Zeppelin time signatures and let 'em rip for 7 minutes without interruption (as they do on "Generation"), I'm down for the count.

8. Aluk Todolo Ordre (The Ajna Offensive) CD - Their metal origins are barely perceptible by this point. Equal parts psychedelia, metal, industrial and beyond across two epic dirges.

7. Krallice Diotima (Profound Lore) Cd - Something of a black metal super-group with connections to lots of classy NYC metal and noise acts (Behold...The Arctopus, Orthrelm, Flying Luttenbachers, etc). Diotima is black metal to its core, but progressive (and weird) enough to transcend the genre entirely.

6. Cultus Sabbati Descent Into The Maelstrom (Land Of Decay) CS - Definitely one of the most original black metal releases dropped in 2011. See here.

5. Der Blutharsch and the Infinite Church of the Leading Hand + Aluk Todolo Untitled (WKN) CD - Creeping, crawling industrial fuzz splay meets a haunted hall of mirrors.

4. Wolves In The Throne Room Celestial Lineage (Southern Lord) CD - They still matter, and this is probably their best record yet.

3. Yob Atma (Profound Lore) CD - Doom quotient fulfilled.

2. Locrian The Clearing (Fan Death) LP - A fine followup to the excellent Crystal World that combines ambient textures and full on doom sludge with the occasional black metal squall. Slow and grim, but narcotically alluring thanks to its massed layers of textured distortion. And lest we forget, their excellent cover of Popol Vuh's Dort Ist Der Weg that dropped over the Summer.

1. Blut Aus Nord 777: The Desanctification (Season Of Mist) CD - Of the two Blut Aus Nord records released in 2011, this one is less likely to make you want to kill yourself. Actually it's a moody psychedelic groover that holds sway from beginning to end while rarely kicking up faster than mid-tempo. The Desanctification is pretty mellow for Blut Aus Nord but never boring.

2012-01-12T15:19:00.001-06:00

Check Out These Amazing Movie Posters From An Alternative World | nerdbastards.com

This is awesome.

2012-01-08T14:40:00.004-06:00

Top Pop of 2011

(with all due respect to Fleet Foxes and P.J. Harvey)

25. Destroyer Kaputt (Merge) CD - A narcotic light art pop blend from Dan Bejar and company in which all vestiges of David Bowie worship have been stripped in favor of a lazy guitar and synth (and sax!) shuffle that lands somewhere between prime Luna and classic Steely Dan.

24. Matt Valentine What I Became (Woodsist) LP - See here.

23. Coppertone Best Of The First Six Months (Night People) CS - 2010 release, but who cares? See here.

22. Ford & Lopatin Channel Pressure (Software) LP - While Daniel Lopatin's other project hogs all the critical spotlight, his synth art pop duo with Joel Ford is where the real gold is found in '11. Heavily indebted to "the '80s," but to call this mere pastiche would do a disservice to its otherworldly electro-pop rhapsodies.

21. Arborea Red Planet (Strange Attractors) LP - See here.

20. Miminokoto Hitoyogiri (Important) CD - Lumbering garage psych workouts that are a little bit doom, a lotta bit PSF guitar psych and all awesome, bursting with eruption after eruption of fuzz catharsis in every song.

19. Six Organs Of Admittance Maria Kapel (Pavilion) LP - This limited vinyl self-release sold out in the blink of an eye, but don't let that stop you from seeking out its devotional string and harmonium meditations. Beautiful aural succor that's ideal for laying down in The Light.

18. U.S. Girls U.S. Girls On Kraak (Kraak) CD - Grimy, infectious art pop noise racket from Megan Remy with her amazing vocal melodies up front, loud and proud.

17. Real Estate Days (Domino) CD - Matt Mondanile's (Ducktails) other band delivers a wonderfully breezy guitar pop album which offers a worthy alternative to the bloated excesses of, say, The Arcade Fire (who I just can't stand). File alongside Galaxie 500, Yo La Tengo, The Clean.

16. TV Ghost Mass Dream (In The Red) LP - See here.

15. Ralph White The Hanged Man (Sloowtapes) CS - Sneaking in just under the wire, Austin's Ralph White continues to mine bluegrass country gold with his ornamental tapestries of guitar, banjo, fiddle, vibes, voice winding and whirling their way through the backwoods of the human soul.

14. Sic Alps Napa Asylum (Drag City) CD - Another grungy slab of stumbling art punk/garage psych from these Frisco weirdos that continues their carefully choreographed trip through ramshackle post Royal Trux psychedelic revelry.

13. Wooden Wand & The Briarwood Virgins Briarwood (Fire/Mad Monk) LP - An abrupt shift from the more stripped down acoustic Death Seat, but I'm all for movin' on. Briarwood is rife with loud full band arrangements and hooks galore and delivers another bold step from the indie margins into that big shiny spotlight that is rock 'n' roll.

12. Renderers A Rocket Into Nothing (Ba Da Bing!) CD - Another stellar noir country bad trip from these legendary New Zealanders (currently occupying the USA, along with the rest of the 99%) and their strongest record in well over a decade. Moody, stark seasick melodies with Brian Crook's distorted grime billowing up like dark clouds and engulfing Maryrose's world weary croon to dramatic effect. Fantastic.

11. Skull Defekts Peer Amid (Thrill Jockey) 2LP - To call this pop might be a stretch, but I loved it all the same. See here.

10. Hot Knives Hot Knives (Grown Up Wrong) CD - Flamin' Groovies freaks will love this killer dish of folky power pop circa 1976, which makes for a fine companion piece to the Groovies' classic Shake Some Action but stands proudly on its own two feet thanks to a healthy injection of West Coast sunshine (they cover Moby Grape's "Hey Grandma" here). The lineup features two original 'Groovies (Danny Mihm and Tim Lynch) along with siblings Mike and Deborah Houpt. Unreleased till now.

9. Peaking Lights 936 (Not Not Fun) LP - See here.

8. Jerusalem and the Starbaskets Dost (De Stijl) LP - See here.

7. Willam Tyler Behold The Spirit (Tompkin's Square) CD - There are dozens of quality guitarists occupying the post-Fahey realm today, but Tyler sets himself apart with an album that's at once emotionally resonant and masterfully performed across rolling symphonic constructions (accented at times with violins drums, bass, synth and tapes) that defy simple rock-geek description. Timeless melodies with undeniable nods to UK greats like John Renbourn and Bert Jansch mixed in with the more recognizable American counterparts make it a genuine treat to these ears.

6. Dan Melchior Assemblage Blues (Siltbreeze) LP - Awesome psych garage blues weirdness from the Mighty Mr. Melchior. I'm not sure how to describe this other than damn fun and highly addictive. Or in Dan's words: "It's so good, it's so good. It's so good, it's so good. It's so good..."

5. D. Charles Speer & The Helix Leaving The Commonwealth (Thrill Jockey) LP - See here.

4. The Bats Free All The Monsters (Flying Nun) CD - One more timeless classic of jingle jangle brilliance from Robert Scott and his Bats. Essential is an understatement.

3. Metal Mountains Metal Mountains (Amish) CD - See here.

2. Charalambides Exile (Kranky) 2LP - Maybe the finest Charalambides record of them all, definitely the most heartfelt and immediate since Market Square. Christina's vocals dig deep while both Carter's pick and strum some of their most memorable guitar lines to date. "Into The Earth" is as close to soul therapy as a song can get.

1. Alvarius B Baroque Primitiva (Abduction) CD - See here.

2012-01-03T13:17:00.004-06:00

2011 Year Ending

I was impressed by so much music in '11 that I decided to have two lists of favorites: one for what I'm loosely calling noise (experimental composition, free/improv, etc.) and one for pop (pretty much everything else). In rock terms this was the year of Sacred Bones. If you didn't hear the new Religious Knives, Amen Dunes, The Men or The Human Eye albums you missed out on some prime underground psych dishes. It was also the year of John Fahey, thanks to the release of a boxset chronicling his Fontana years, Your Past Comes Back To Haunt You on Dust-To-Digital.

For me personally more out there records took center stage. Bill Kouligas's Pan label out of Berlin continued to push aural envelopes and defy expectations with an astounding series of beautifully presented abstract noise releases. And Jon Abbey's Erstwhile label continued to mine its own unique niche in the harder to classify regions of the electronic subsphere.

In pop terms it's nice to see an official version of the original Smile finally hitting the shelves, though I don't know if I can see myself spending the big bucks for the boxset. The 2CD expanded version on the other hand... Also totallydigging the 2CD reissue of Some Girls. Nice to know some things don't need to change. You can have your Black Keys. I'm stickin' with my 'Stones. First up:

Top Noise of 2011

25. Jürgen Müller Science of the Sea (Digitalis) LP - The mysterious album, with an in depth back story that may or may not be true, invokes memories of classic electronic library records, New Age synth concept albums and the wonder of childhood (for some of us). Tom Ewing's excellent article for his Poptimist column goes into greater detail and explores the creative possibilities of imaginary musical personas.

24. Angus Maclise / Tony Conrad Dreamweapon III (Boo-Hooray) LP - Clattering proto No Wave and scorched earth minimalism released concurrently with the Angus Maclise's Dreamweapon exhibition in New York City, features some incendiary spoken word from Jack Smith on top of Maclise and Conrad's screeching psychedelic sprawl. Your Death Cab For Cutie loving bestie will hate it.

23. Sir Richard Bishop Graviton Polarity Generator (Social Music Records) LP - Though a late 2010 release, I didn't hear this till well into '11. Bishop explores electronic compositions outside his typical instrumental sphere with entrancing results.

22. Aaron Dilloway Lip Syncing To Verme (Hundibuss) LP - See here.

21. High Wolf Atlas Nation (Holy Mountain) CD - The most satisfying collision of electronics and Indian raga trances from this French composer to date.

20. Ricardo Donoso Progress Chance (Digitalis) LP - Sparse minimal compositions that come off like a cross between early techno and the soundtrack for a PBS science documentary circa 1980.

19. Rick Reed The Way Things Go (Elevator Bath) 2LP - Six stunning extended electronic pieces from one of Austin's finest.

18. Valerio Tricoli / Thomas Ankersmit Forma II (Pan) CD - See here.

17. John Wiese Seven Of Wounds (Pan) CD - Hypnotic meld of power electronics and modern composition from one of the best weird noise guys making a racket today.

16. Bill Orcutt The Way The Thing Songs (Editions Mego) CD - More spastic guitar blurts, blasts and moans from Master Orcutt. Tormented string meditations that sound like nothing you've ever heard before (except maybe his last record).

15. Ben Vida / Keith Fullerton Whitman - AGGREGATEPULSERIPPER (DAMAGED III) / 0808114 (Amish) LP - Two live performances by each artist on synth, computers and effects, both delivering fierce, rhythmic electronic workouts that sputter and grind their way through sequencer oblivion right into the frontal lobe.

15. Volcano The Bear Hotbites Live At The Nightlight (Blastocoel Sound) LP - See here.

14. Chris Forsyth Paranoid Cat (Family Vineyard) LP - See here.

13. Jim O'Rourke Old News No. 6 (Mego Editions) 2LP - My pick for the most interesting release bearing O'Rourke's name this year (and given there was roughly 6 such albums, that's saying something), incorporating guitars, electronics and tape manipulations into four sides of absorbing Music Concrète.

12. Jérôme Noetinger / Will Guthrie Face Off (Erstwhile) CD - Twelve workouts combining Noetinger's electronics with Guthrie's everything (and the kitchen sink) homemade percussion to create living sound worlds of jarring juxtapositions, found sounds and a wide array of electro-percussive strangeness. It's all meticulously assembled in such a way that belies its compositonal origins. Then again maybe they edited it down from extended improvisations the way Can used to do it. Whichever, consider my mind blown.

11. Loren Connors Red Mars (Family Vineyard) CD - Stark, droning guitar-scapes somewhere between classic early minimalism and lost in the haze ghost blues.

9. Greg Kelley / Olivia Block Resolution (Erstwhile) CD - Another brilliant duo chance meeting from the always dependable Erstwhile finds Block's Electroacoustic compositions merging with Kelley's minimal trumpet to conjure a sustained sense of dramatic tension and release. These pieces build from collages of rumbling ambient textures to full on jazz eruptions and well beyond.

8. Tim Hecker Ravedeath 1972 (Kranky) CD - See here.

7. Jason Lescalleet This Is What I Do: Volume 1 (Glistening Examples) CD-R - Fantastic collection of material that showcases Lescalleet's reel-to-reel and early electronics performances in the live setting.

6. Ashtray Navigations Deadicated to the Sensory Armada (Memoirs of an Aesthete) LP - Most recent missive from Phil Todd's free psych whats-it unit sees his combo bringing in more synths and sequencers into their hallucinatory feedback sprawl.

5. Joe Panzner Clearing, Polluted (Copy For Your Records) CD - Abrasive noise compositions from one half of Scenic Railroads covering a wide range of volumes and emotions as Panzner goes from screaming white noise to the most transportive minimal trances and back again. Not for the faint of heart, but well worth the trip for those up to it.

4. BJ Nilsen & Stilluppsteypa Big Shadow Montana (Helen Scarsdale) LP - See here.

3. Mind Over Mirrors The Voice Rolling (Digitalis) LP - See here.

2. Michael Pisaro / Greg Stuart Hearing Metal 3 (Gravity Wave) CD - Another masterful minimal excursion from Pisaro and Stuart marrying electronics and percussion into one sublime composition that's as transcendent and accessible as anything I heard in 2011.

1. Graham Lambkin Amateur Doubles (Kye) LP - An engaging slab of syrupy sound art recorded in Lambkin's car, which isn't hard to believe when you wrap your ears around its busy ambient life-scapes -- voices in everyday conversation, wind blowing, traffic sounds, highway noise and more. Lambkin combines this with two different extended tracks of source material, his own odd tonal textures and instruments to conjure a dramatic sound journey that combines the mundane and the transcendent into compositions that deliver every second of its 38 minutes.

2011-12-09T17:04:00.001-06:00

Arcane Rifles Green Eyes Will Save You 7" EP (Self Release)

Here's a raging blast of pure garage mayhem from a Lexington unit which boldly rides the line between screaming off the rails psych punk and a Kentucky tornado. Dead Boys, Stooges and early Red Krayola can be heard in the pummeling squall which comprises both sides of Green Eyes Will Save You, and I can't really pick a fave as they both kick my ass. Highly recommended for real rawkers everywhere, procurable via digital download or vinyl 7" at their Bandcamp page.

2011-11-28T14:53:00.002-06:00

RIP Ken Russell, visionary director of "The Devils" and "Altered States." "Altered States" is the first movie that freaked me the fuck out as a young impressionable pre-tween. "Dawn of The Dead" was the second.

Ken Russell, Controversial Director, Dies at 84 - NYTimes.com

2011-11-25T15:03:00.005-06:00

Fossils / Darksmith Million Year Spree (Kye Records) LP

This recent split from Graham Lambkin's Kye label brings together two of the more interesting dark-weird-noise projects of recent times onto one platter of found sound scrape and drone. With literally dozens of releases under its belt, Hamilton, Ontario's Fossils specialize in a handmade abstract noise that creeps and crawls its way into the listening space like a viral contamination. I'm thinking very early Sandoz Lab Technicians gone trash ambient or the Shadow Ring at their most minimal; but where both those ensembles are more concerned with structure vs. anti-structure, Fossils is all about jagged textures and surging post-industrial landscapes, or perhaps more accurately, pre-human landscapes.

The source of all these strange sounds is questionable at best, but that's part of the fun. Wind blows and distortion crackles throughout "Wider Knowledge of Man I-III" as post-industrial rhythms clank and groan beneath a surging tone that sounds like some sort of archaic engine revving to infinity. Things get more sinister with the subterranean excavations of "Snared On Broadway," which opens as a piercing high pitched whine that slowly dissipates to an inevitable drone death. It's the best thing found here, though too short. Graham Lambkin mixed both tracks, and his fingerprints are evident to anyone who's spent some time with his work with Jason Lescalleet or his recent solo outings.

The Darksmith side is a good bit subdued compared to the excellent Total Vacuum, which dropped on Hanson last year, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Its tense sheen of low murmurs and metallic scree invokes the quieter side of The New Blockaders one moment, the ambient bass hums of an interstellar trash compactor nestled away in the deepest reaches of space the next. It's less intense than what I've come to expect from Tom Darksmith but no less dramatic and requires maximum volume for proper sonic submersion. Mastered by Jason Lescalleet and highly recommended for fans of the rougher side of electro-acoustic sound art.

"Million Year Spree" Side A / Side B (excerpts)

2011-10-15T12:24:00.013-05:00

More Minis

Matt Valentine What I Became (Woodsist) LP - Dropping roughly around the same time as MV & EE's Country Stash, What I Became is MV's first solo album in seven years, which makes it long overdo with its bearded mystic sitting atop the Holy Green Mountain vibes, but far be it from me to complain. MV continues his fascinations with pan-ethnic trance states, bong smoke and Philip K. Dick dissections across six tracks of hazed out mountain psych folk.

Matt Valentine - PK Dick

Jim O'Rourke Old News No. 5 (Mego Editions) 2LP - Sprawling in more ways than one, ONN5 actually spans 20 years of Jim O.'s recorded output with two tracks from the early '90s and two from the last couple years seamlessly merged together to tell a continuous aural narrative. Employing analog synth and tape works across sidelong pieces of deeply immersive sound sculpture, these pieces run the gamut from cycling corrosive drone workouts to fluctuating trance synth lines with a multitude of chiming, clicking points dropped in between. Not to be missed.

Jim O'Rourke / Christoph Heemann Plastic Palace People Vol. 1 / Plastic Palace People Vol. 2 (both Streamline) both CD - Two fine platters of minimal duo work from these masters of avant-garde shadow drone. These two releases feature pieces that are nearly 20 years old but tweaked and mixed more recently. Specifically for Heemann, they offer a snapshot glimpse at his progression from the cut-up/industrial work of HNAS to the more minimal environmental drone work he mastered in Mirror (also featuring O'Rourke at times). O'Rourke was newer on the experimental scene at the time, but there's no denying the kinship both exhibit across these evocative drone pieces. Vol. 1 has a more mechanized Surrealist NWW/HNAS feel. Vol. 2 features one extended track that proves equally compelling while throwing tribal percussive pulse on top of the expected blissed out hums and whirrs. It's probably my pick of the bunch, or at least the more inviting of the two.

Jim O'Rourke & Chrisoph Heeman - Plastic People Part 2

Call Back the Giants The Rising (Kye) LP - Wonderfully odd collection of minimal synthscapes and detailed scifi dream composition from Tim Goss (The Shadow Ring), gathering influences from all over the sonic map (early ambient Eno, a dash of Suicide, Heldon and early industrial) to arrive at something that's at once (mostly) seductive but still suitably weird.

Call Back The Giants - The Rising/The Lizard

Concern Truth & Distance (Digitalis/Latrogenesis) CD - Another fine slice of ambient drift from the Digi-folk, courtesy of Gordon Ashworth, brother of Owen (Casiotone for the Painfully Alone); starts with a quiet celestial hum and breaks right on through to the stellar plane on the 17 min title track, a monumental head cleaner. The next two shorter tracks provide more rousing pathos and enveloping shimmer to drift off to.

Concern - Heartsink

Wet Hair In Vogue Spirit (De Stijl) LP - Wet Hair inhabits a vintage sonic space with In Vogue Spirit, evoking classic Neu, Silver Apples and Spacmen 3 across 8 tracks of blissful motorik psych pop. This is their first LP for the always dependable De Stijl, and finest long player to date by my count. Bubbling, pulsating trance rock from top to bottom.

Wet Hair - Echo Lady

Gunn-Truscinski Duo Sand City (Three Lobed) LP - Gotta love Steve Gunn. Gotta love the Gunn-Truscinski Duo which is Gunn on acoustic raga blues guitar and John Truscinski on percussion. Here they weave spectral raga spells in the vein of John Fahey, Sandy Bull, Six Organs of Admittance and the late, great Jack Rose to glorious effect across 4 tracks of jangling, hypnotic bliss that brings light into the dark space and ultimately leaves the body behind. Highly recommended for this sort of thing.

Factums Guilding The Lilies (Night People) C45 - Fine collection of early Factums musical weirdness ranging from bedroom art noise experiments to rinky dink new wave and third eye tickling pseudo raga jams. I'm into it.

Cultus Sabbati Decent Into The Maelstrom (Land of Decay) C30 - The place where ambient black metal and doom meet free noise. Cultus Sabbati do not perform as much as document dark rituals, or something to that effect. Whatever the case, this 6 track grim noise fest is one of the more original documents that's come across my desktop of late and is assured to put the deep listener into a despondent hallucinatory haze.

Skullflower Fucked On a Pile of Dead Bones (Cold Spring) CD - Took me a bit, but I cannot deny the fury of the destroyed harsh noise/black metal hybrid found here. Rudimentary riffs and percussion beneath screaming distortion squalls recast as tribal trance states. Face-melting hate grind so far over the top if's not even funny (yet, it is). At lower levels these "songs" become something other than sheer noise terror -- oceanic ambient skree, let's say.

Amen Dunes Through Donkey Jaw (Sacred Bones) LP - Feels like the second coming of Syd Barrett fronting the Velvet Underground instead of that other band. Dreamy, broken, lost, sad, harmonic voyages for the affectionately disillusioned. Destroyed torch songs for sad drifters and stoned bedroom dwellers alike.

Amen Dunes - Sunday

Various Gaman: A Ceremony For Japan (Electric Temple) 2CS - Very happy to see this benefit comp finally materialize. I know ET ran into some production issues, and I'd all but forgotten about it before finding it in my box a cpl weeks ago. The last time I was this bowled over by a various artists collection might just be the first time I chanced upon the Succour comp, released by The Ptolemaic Terrascope some 15 years ago. Gaman is an epic set, two full albums of material that easily represents some of the most important music in the psych underground today (Steve R. Smith, Glenn Jones -- here tackling Fahey's "Portland Cement Factory," Sic Alps, Amen Dunes, Hive Mind, Lorren Conners, Zelienople, etc) and newer but no less exciting folks like Angel Olson, doing the ghost of Townes Van Zandt proud with her rendition of "She Came And She Touched Me," Forma, Animal Hospital, Derek Rogers and the woefully under-heard Phantom Family Halo. Even Pete Stampfel of the Holy Modal Rounders gets in on the beauty with a fingerpicking bluegrass oddity, "Castor and Pollux," performed in duo with Eli Smith. The rest of the tracks run the gamut from dusted ambient folk drift to bleary eyed free jazz, PSF- like mellow guitar psych, Komische electronics, holy organ meditations and much, much more. A heartfelt sonic message of healing and love, beautifully packaged, and delivered right on time. I hope there's a second pressing on down the line. Though the tapes are sold out, you can still purchase the digital version at Bandcamp.

Coppertone Best of the First Six Months (Night People) C32 - This is the kind of tape that comes out of nowhere and burns its way into the gray matter for longer than a minute. An otherworldly hybrid of synth pop/cold wave, early industrial, homespun art pop with distorted fem vocals that sound piped in from an alternate dimension ruled by gleaming robot Goddesses of the ethereal night. Delightfully warped and engaging.

Coppertone - Every Night Club

Locrian "Dort Ist Der Wig" / "Frozen In Ash" (Flingco Sound System) 7" - Stellar single featuring a humdinger of a Popol Vuh cover (taken from their heaviest album, Letzte Tage - Letze Näcthe) recast as a blistering hybrid of Spiderland era Slint and early Flying Saucer Attack distorted squall. The guitar dynamics on this one remind me of Wire circa 154 in a wonderful way. The flip is an inspired black metal wind storm with tortured vocal howls that give way to some beautiful Paganist acoustic guitars. Wonder what Florian Fricke would think of all this?

Locrian - Dort Ist Der Weg

Blasted Canyons Blasted Canyons (Castle Face) LP - More ginchy San Fran garage syke via John Dwyar's (The Oh Sees) label featuring a former member of Bare Wires (and other folks I don't know), harnessing a mighty thunder across these 13 high energy fuzz punk onslaughts. As we all know, Hawkwind really did invent space punk. Bands like Blasted Canyons provide the next evolutionary step up the cosmic ladder. Destroyed yet infectious psych anthems for the tomorrow people.

Blasted Canyons - Death And a Half

2011-10-11T13:30:00.003-05:00

May you live in interesting times, as the old proverb says. The Occupy Wall Street movement and all the other occupations happening throughout the States qualify as interesting. I don't know what will come of it all, but this graphic -- nabbed from a Facebook wall -- suggests things are way out of whack, assuming it's even remotely accurate. Who knows? I'm usually not one for taking political positions, but I always pay attention to what's going ahn. For more on the game changing implications of this movement and why things may never be the same again, check out this article by Douglas Rushkoff, a one time member of Psychic TV(!) and media theorist. Also amused by all the Youtube clips of various media outlets' coverage and attempts at ridiculing the movement.

(furthermore)

Deeply saddened by the passing of Scottish string bender Bert Jansch, one of the most laid back and understated of all the great guitar gods. Jansch was simply a giant of folk, blues and jazz and pretty much defined the British folk rock sound as a solo performer, in duo with John Renbourn, and finally in his incredible group Pentangle, an intricate, soulful mix of all of the above that released a string of highly influential albums in the late '60s and '70s such as Cruel Sister, Pentangle and Basket of Light (the first one I ever heard). For a supposed folk rock band, Pentangle was always so much more. Solo Jansch blazed a trail that stretched from 1965 to 2006 and proved equally inspirational. Some clips:

Here's a tasty clip of Jansch (with a glimpse of Mike Nesmith) during the sessions for L.A. Turnaround

And a fond farewell to the great square jawed Charles Napier (of Russ Meyer films and well beyond), Steve Jobs and Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth.

Finally caught up with Breaking Bad, and loving it. Walter White enjoys the unique position of being the shows protagonist and antagonist. In each passing season he becomes increasingly harder to like or care about, but there are other rad characters (Hank, Jesse, Gus) to latch onto and keep us guessing. Walt is what we're all afraid of becoming in our rise to the top, and what some of us became long ago. I'm glad there's one more season left. I also recommend the movie Drive, which is kind of a cross between Michael Mann's Thief and Monte Hellman's Two Lane Blacktop with gorgeous night shots of LA, a bare bones narrative and excellent score that combines Angela Badalamente's dreamy synthtopia with memorable synth pop gems that came out today but sound like some sort of alternate version of the 80s where everything was cooler and had more depth (even if it didn't). It's a throw back that's actually something of a step forward. Killer supporting work from Albert Brooks and Bryan Cranston, Gosling's all steel and ice as the quiet driver. Carey Mulligan literally glides through the frame as the unconventional love interest. Keep it practical, Keep it to the point. Director Nicolas Winding Refn is one to watch.

2011-09-06T20:56:00.018-05:00

Wombcast 1: Oh Lord Please Let It Rain...

Oh Lord Please Let It Rain... is what I hope will become a regular thing here at Womblife (if everybody else can do it, so can I!): Wombcasts are mixes of songs and pieces I like lately strung together like pearls on a string to tell a sort of audio prose poem story about whatever and whenever. In this case, a rumination on the weird burning times we're living in (mostly) inspired by fire, water and Texas.

Right click individual tracks to download.

Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band - The Dust Blows Forward 'N The Dust Blows Back

Jackson C. Frank - Blues Run The Game

Primitive Motion - Amplify This Thought

Jürgen Müller - Wasserwelt [Waterworld]

Alastair Galbraith - Poem For Moondog

Alastair Galbraith - Money Is So Sad

Giant Sand - El Paso / Out On The Weekend

Blaze Foley - Clay Pigeons

Amen Dunes - Bedroom Drum

Cultus Sabbati - Beneath The Waves

Aaron Dilloway - A3 Untitled

Factums - Another Place

Sir Douglas Quintet - Oh Lord Please Let It Rain In Texas

*earphones recommended if listening on crappy laptop speakers.

2011-08-09T11:49:00.009-05:00

Mini Reviews Pt. 3

The Men Leave Home (Sacred Bones) CD - Latest from this Brooklyn 4 piece offers up squealing old school noise punk with an anthemic edge riding stomping bass/drums and wiry post punk guitars, buried in so much angular riffage you'll never guess what the hell their singing about, though the first track appears to be a mantra of the words "Die, I don't wanna die" over a hypnotic psych punk squall like a garage Hawkwind (or Spacemen 3). Speaking of which,"()" is almost a destroyed cover of "Revolution". Hear The Men live on WFMU here.

Birds of Maya Ready to Howl (Richie Records) 2LP - Mike Polizze's (Purling Hiss) other band, so you might know what to expect: less pop and more PSF garage snarl across three tracks (one short, two long) that open on a semi-controlled note and dissolve into white noise oblivion. Scuzzy, vintage, fuzz drenched Stooges worship cracked over the head with a bottle and bleeding out all over the puke green shag carpet.

Art Yard "The Law" B/W "Something In Your Eyes" (Ride The Snake) 7" - Sweet single of two cuts originally dropped on a Propeller Product comp cassette way back in 1981, offers up a convincing blueprint for what would become the classic Matador Records sound or identified as Paisley Pop soon after. Somewhere between Mission of Burma and early Teenage Fanclub. Very tasty.

White Hills Live On WFMU (Who Can You Trust?) CS - Oh hell yarss, Live... is a fine live set by Brooklin's White Hills recorded for the legendary WFMU. Features choice cuts from Heads on Fire and the excellent self-titled LP, among others. Nodded heavy jamming and deep space Hawkwind worship, plus a fine little interview too! Live... shows us a psych power trio operating at full capacity, course set for the heart of the nearest sun.

Gnod Ingnodwetrust (Rocket) LP - Fresh off their dandy 2LP collaboration with White Hills, England's mighty Gnod returns with this amazing two track psych rawk opus that's as fun to look at as it is to freak to. Strobe lit pulsating grooves, stomping heavy psych freakouts, post Loop guitar trances, from the void vocal howls and socio-religious commentary all compressed into a tight green ball and stuffed into the bong of God (Gnod), and that's just the first track. Serious contender for psych freakout of the year. Pressed on cocaine white wax.

Eternal Tapestry & Sun Araw The Night Gallery (Thrill Jockey) LP - Brilliant meeting of the heads across four tracks of spontaneous smoke and dust looks to be the single most important collaborative psych record since Tom Carter set foot into The Lemur House to record 4/23/04.

Boris Attention Please / Heavy Rocks (2011) (Sargent House) both CD - Two new blasts from these former monsters of doom. No doubt, some heads feel betrayed by Boris's development in the last few years, but I'm not one of 'em. Attention Please offers a decent mix of shoegaze, high velocity electro rock and J-Pop (that's Japanese Pop), which makes it perhaps the farthest outside the realm of expectation so far, though a couple of the dreamier tracks on Smile hinted in this direction. Guitar Goddess Wata handles most vocal duties; the mood is bubbling and kind'a mellow. WTF!

Heavy Rocks (not to be confused with Heavy Rocks 2002) is more in line with what you'd expect from the groop, perhaps closest in spirit to Rainbow (w/ Michio Kurihara, playing on half the tracks here), split down the middle between up-tempo metallic crunchers and more spacious, erm, heavy jams. Heavy Rocks if you will. Not essential but not crap.

Li Jianhong Classic of the Mountains and Seas (PSF) CD - Outstanding solo guitar work from China's Li Jianhong comprised of blistering smokestacks of distorted howls and endless acid leads that sound like a chance meeting between Keiji Haino and Roy Montgomery. Transcendent and visceral as all get out.

Horseback / Locrian New Dominions (Utech) LP - Lovely/grim collaborative LP from the mighty Chicago noise ambient trippers Locrian and the equally monolothic Horseback, split down the middle between defeated black metal/drone hybrid and stoic apocalypse doom mantra.

Wire Red Barked Tree (Pinkflag) CD - The long playing follow-up to Object 47 sees these art punk legends coming full circle and returning to the oblique perfection of their most vital period (Chairs Missing, 154). Further down the road and not as rabid as their classics, but still compellingly recorded, alternately snotty, brash, ethereal and completely worth my time.

2011-08-01T18:49:00.000-05:00

Tidbits

David Tibet Interviewed on the Thelema Now! Podcast

Old news but still Worthy of Womblife Recognition:

Vegan Black Metal Chef!

Episode 1 - Pad Thai

Episode 2 - Easy Meal Ideas of The Ages

And finally a fond farewell and best wishes to my dear friend and soul brother, Travis Johnson, who will be leaving Dallas for the sinewy byways of The Crescent City in two short days. I'll be visiting occasionally come Hell or High Water, rest assured. Much love, and may the waters of good fortune rain upon thee, my friend.

2011-07-26T00:38:00.006-05:00

Mini Reviews Pt. 2

Earth Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I (Southern Lord) 2LP - The first of two proposed Earth albums in '11 offers dusted gnostic space blues from Dylan Carlson and company, and is likely the deepest, most hypnotic Earth record to date. It's a literary trip through the dark spaces where every drum strike, cello trill (courtesy of the same player that backed Nirvana during their Unplugged performance) and carefully placed guitar note bleeds with a foreboding resonance across the ages. The 180 g vinyl version (mine was pressed on red and features an awesome etching on side D) is a sheer delight on every level.

The Body Anthology (Corleone) CD - Over the last 8 years this Providence duo has released a handful of CD-Rs, splits and such -- all compiled here. More lo-fi and gnarled than the exultant/wretched All the Waters of the Earth Shall Turn to Blood, Anthology is 16 tracks of destroyed apocalypse doom, hardcore sludge and power electronics with shrieking witch howl vokills. Includes five covers by the likes of Danzig, Crass, Judas Priest and Sinead O'Connor(?).

Aaron Dilloway Lip Syncing To Verme (Hundebiss) LP - Excellent package from this Italian label of what's easily the most satisfying Dilloway solo platter I've heard to date (not that I've heard many); the weird tape music and found sound post industrial collages displayed across these five tracks are simultaneously spine tingling, hallucinogenic, mind bending, never boring. A triumph of experimental sound sculpture top to bottom.

Umberto Prophecy of the Black Widow (Not Not Fun) LP - Amazing record of scifi synth splay and soundtrack music by a fellow named Matt Hill aka Umberto. It's safe to say he's obsessed over the music of Goblin and Fabio Frizzi with endless fascination while throwing in a few German progressive moves to keep it stoned to the bone. One of the finest synthscape soundtrack records I've heard all year.

The Oh Sees Castlemania (In The Red) CD - Probably should'a got the vinyl on this one as it also comes with a wicked etching on the 4th side, but can't have 'em all. This is a KILLER slice of psych punk folk what's-it that delivers hit after hit of garage fuzz plop delights with amazing titles like "I Need Seed", "Pleasure Blimps", "Spider Cider" and so on.

Puffy Areolas / Purling Hiss "My Hell" / "Walking Down the Street" (Permanent Records) 12" Single - This is one of them hot-shit Record Store Day releases. Ty Segal's Ty.Rex was another, and of course Big Star's infamous Third, etc and so on. So while the wax may be impossible to find, that in no way diminishes the fact that it features two of my favorite modern psych slop groops, each offering up two ripping epics to the old gods that kick ass and melt face. Got to give the Golden Gloves to Purling Hiss, though, with the righteous Stooges worship of "Walking Down the Street".

TV Ghost Mass Dream (In The Red) LP - Another excellent splatter from ITR. Mass Dream is equal parts art punk slop and no wave surf. Warbling Pere Ubu vox and lashing through the smokey darkness distortion are the order of the day across ten unhinged ragers that run the gamut from the deathly dirge of the destroyed squall of "The Inheritors" to the angular garage surf riffage of "The Degredation of Film". The mood throughout is fucked and caustic, but I still can't help but shimmy my ass off through every second of its 35 mins.

The Flaming Lips with Prefuse 73 The Flaming Lips with Prefuse 73 (Warner Bros./Lovely Sorts of Death) 12" EP - Heavy wax on many colored vinyl. No two are the same. Limited to 2000, so it's already gone. I was shocked by how much I liked the 'Lips' collaboration with Neon Indian, and this is even better as Wayne and Steve's synthonic art pop gets dosed in Prefuse 73's electro noise hop to conjure drill 'n' bass Suicide homages, acid muzakscapes and spaced out glam folk oddities. Mighty weird Oklahoma disco right here.

Religious Knives Smokescreen (Sacred Bones) LP - So nice to see this quartet back in action. New drummer, but not much else has changed (thankfully). The vibe is still about simple, repetitious trance riffs built around guitar and organ and hammered into your brain with slamming percussion and bass beneath echo drenched vocals that invoke a hostile dread in the classic New York watch-your-back vein. Zoned fuzz smokestacks from the paranoid basement.

Rene Hell The Terminal Symphony (Type) CD - Seemingly scattered electronic sound sculpture is actually a careful assemblage of quasi-symphonic rhythms, noise and strings across ten compact journeys through glitchtronic psychedelia. Top picks: the bubbling Kraftwerkian "E.S. Des Grauens In Fifths", the synthedelic chamber bleeping "Baroque Ensemble Coda", the fragile crystal chandeliers of "Juliard Op. 66". More fun than Switched-On Bach, and a whole lot more stoned.

Various Artists Pacific Support (Draft) CS - Another excellent comp to benefit the victims of the tsunami in Japan that rivals Thrill Jockey's Benefit for the Recovery in Japan in terms of quality (if not quantity). Some of the same names on said comp appear here (Greg Davis, Keith Fullerton Whitman) along with Rene Hell, The North Sea, Carl Calm, Flower Man (CC and FM are solo projects related to Caboladies), Golden Retriever, Make a New Memory and so on across what amounts to a more electrocentric journey through bubbling ambient space, minimal drone wormholes and quantum sonic mechanics.

2011-07-23T01:52:00.004-05:00

Mini Reviews Pt. 1

Tim Hecker Ravedeath, 1972 (Kranky) CD - Translucent clouds of minimal shimmer and electronics conjured from computer, piano, guitar feedback, pipe organ and synthesizer. Glowing portals to an imagined nostalgia for the time right before the analog world became a digital nightmare. Here's an excellent video for opening track, "The Piano Drop".

Mind Over Mirrors The Voice Rolling (Digitalis) LP - 7 tracks comprised of Indian Harmonium and effects by Jaime Fennelly (of Peeesseye) that totally destroy any notions of what a meditative harmonium/noise record should sound like. The Voice Rolling is a highly visceral, hypnotic ride that feels like something of a landmark with its mixture of the most zoned out Komische synth drones and third eye tapping minimalism. Get a taste at Soundcloud. And a companion tape just dropped on Gift Tapes.

Twells & Christenson Coasts (Digitalis) LP - John Twells of Xela/Type Records and Matt Christensen (Zelionople) get together in a room and play a host of instruments, captured to vintage 8 track before Twells takes his sweet time mixing and tweaking it all down into two mammoth side long epics. The mood is dark and hypnogogic with dense clouds of feedback and murky distorted electronics, with enough texture and buried melodies to reward repeated deep listenings. Check out the wunderbar second side here.

Eternal Tapestry Beyond the Fourth Day (Thrill Jockey) LP - Latest levitated vinyl release from these trance inducing cosmonauts offers steady growing space mantras indebted to Amon Düül II, Träd Gräs och Stenar and early Pink Floyd. Quite fine for those enamored of late night lavalamped bong sessions and the mighty Bardo Pond. Review of their collaboration with Sun Araw forthcoming.

The Spits Kill the Kool (In The Red) LP - This odds and sods collection from these fuzz punk veterans came in an issue of 600 and sold out in a matter of weeks, but it can still be heard via other means. Rip roaring scifi garage punk for weirdos and spazz freaks alike, and one of the most addictive long players I've heard all Summer. Highly recommended!

Apache Dropout Apache Dropout (Family Vineyard) LP - Awesome minimal garage boogie trio from Bloomington, IN arose from the ashes of Hot Fighter #1 and John Wilkes Booze (remember them?) to deliver a balls out masterpiece in their self-titled debut. Sounds like the Velvets gone off the Bo Diddley deep end, occasionally blasting everything apart with frenzied walls of white noise distortion, but still compact and boogielicious every second. Easily the debut of the year.

BJ Nilsen & Stilluppsteypa Big Shadow Montana (Helen Scarsdale) LP - This drone noise trio's seventh (!) studio album is just what you'd expect from the revered Helen Scarsdale Agency -- a cryptic mass of analog drones, indecipherable source material and other found sounds sculpted into two side long journeys through the pscychedelic void. It's all very hazy and disorienting, though halfway through the second side a lovely carnival melody appears that one hopes will never end and elevates this strange beast into the higher realms of post industrial psychedelic brilliance.

Greg Davis States (2) (Goldtimers) , States (1) (Cassauna), Eyebright (Agents of Chaos) all CS 40 (or so) - Man alive, third eye voyager Greg Davis has been one busy tape recording psych noise explorer in 2011. I found no less than three 40 min tapes bearing his name in my mailbox over the last few weeks, all reproduced on hi-bias chrome cassettes. These suckers sound as good as vinyl. States (2) (though released first, the second part of the series) introduces us to Davis's recent sojourns into the modular synth multiverse, which means it's not far from Keith Fullerton Whitman's recent output: playful, discombobulated computer music that covers a wide variety of moods and topographies (from full on power electronics to deep space minimal surges and all points in between) with only hints of melody rising from the synapse-frying sonic melee.

States (1), via Important's in-house tape label, offers basically the same in a slightly more subdued form and is probably my pick of the two, though both are quite similar in tone and execution. It's a bit less schizophrenic but no less disconcerting with jarring erratic tones giving way to minimal skittering/bleeping soundscapes that sound like the inner workings of some primitive mainframe piped in from an alternate dimension. Throw in a few bliss-inducing arpeggios and an all around air of unpredictability, and you've got yourself a tape of delightful computer music.

Eyebright collects two live recordings from last year, "The Identity of Relative & Absolute" being more in line with the above two releases, though Davis incorporates some mind-bending spoken word into things and does it all in real time with no overdubs. The flip, "Full Spectrum (Part IV)" is a live continuation of the two gorgeous minimal/New Age pieces found on his Digitalis tape of the same name, which is easily one of Davis's finest meditative bliss-outs, and this piece follows suit nicely. Absolute and beautiful.

* I use the term "computer music" above more in a descriptive sense for a particular sound as I hear it, and not in the sense that any actual computers were used in the production of these recordings.

Imaginary Softwoods Imaginary Softwoods (Digitalis) 2LP - Definitive version of this modern classic (not to mention the one you can still find). Imaginary Softwoods is one of John Elliot's (Emeralds) most revered solo projects, and it's not hard to see why based on these 12 tracks. Simple repeated synth lines buried in fuzz and grime, warped via pitch shifting and other effects to reveal the dark machine hum of the deepest stellar regions. Mastered by James Plotkin. Call it deep space garage ambient.

Outer Space Outer Space (Arbor) LP - It would appear Elliot has a thing for, erm, space. If Imaginary Softwoods is the darker side of his synthedelic wormhole trips, then Outer Space is an altogether cleaner and more pristine journey through the fabric of existence with its glass houses of intricately assembled melodies and driving electro harmonies riding waves of phase shifted distortion and motorik grooves. I'd be lying if I said this wasn't highly indebted to the late 70s/early 80s synth explorations of Manuel Göttsching, Wolfgang Reichman and of course Kraftwerk, but make no mistake Elliot is owning the genre here and even taking it to bold new regions in the process. Glorious.

2011-07-11T12:34:00.005-05:00

Sagas Between Worlds (Greenup Industries) LP

Sagas is the most recent solo incarnation of Matt McDowell (Dire Wolves, Arco Flute Foundation, etc), and Between Worlds is his debut foray into the vinyl format. So far I've heard a couple of McDowell's tapes under the Sagas name, and everything I've heard by Dire Wolves has delivered the goods via lumbering smokestacks risen up from the most zoned cosmic depths.

Between Worlds is an old school acid rock freakout -- vintage to its core, trancedelic one minute, head charging into the Dead C void the next -- with a few oud-inistic ethnic detours along the way.

The first side features three fresh-from-the-primordial-aether jams. "The Hidden Variable" is a levitated organ/acid guitar soaked chant that wastes no time invoking a sense of otherness and sacred devotion, while "Scrapyard" offers collapsing free jazz deconstruction. The real standout though is "Bad Karma Blues" with melting Blue Cheer acid leads and a rampaging space punk climax. Fans of the most destroyed Komische rawk (Amon Düül II/Ash Ra Tempel included) and PSF Records will eat it up. On the flip, off kilter banjo raga is dispersed with subtle percussion and effects on "Hope Springs Vernal" and "In The Hall of Mandos". The harsh distorted oblivion of "Better Times" invokes the spirit of McDowell's earlier solo guitar rippers (such as the Headlong Into The Fire EP on Mike Tamburo's New American Folk Hero imprint). It's surely a good thing McDowell hasn't abandoned this more abrasive side of his sonic persona, as the resulting contrast only further heightens the drama of what's happening here. This makes plaintive closer "Soon A-Comin" that much more of a sweet come down with solo acoustic in the country blues vein, though the whole record's primitive and homespun every second with McDowell playing all instruments in his home studio. The under water sonar-infused cover art is by Brad Rose of Digitalis Records/The North Sea fame. Between Worlds is the real deal, out of space/time holy psych for those who like to dig deeper and roam off the beaten paths.

* Check out Inez Lightfoot's video for "Bad Karma Boogie" here.

2011-07-04T13:25:00.002-05:00

The Return of Indie Pop (Just in Time for Summer)!

Ducktails III Arcade Dynamics (Woodsist) LP - Dreamy post shoegaze from this one man band is more song-based than past releases; ideal for a day by the pool or laying under your favorite shady tree in the cool afternoon breeze. 11 tracks that alternate between barely there instrumental sketches and actual strummy songs that drift by like mossy landscapes seen on riverbanks from inside an inner-tube on a daylong glide down your favorite lazy winding river. Plus there's a song called "Art Vandelay". Possibly the ideal Woodsist release.

Jerusalem and the Starbaskets Dost (De Stijl) LP - This is the second official LP by this awesome duo from Columbus, Missouri and first that's widely available. I actually still have a CD-R that came out on Digitalis's Foxglove series back in '05? '04? Must say they've come a good long way since then, as this fucking ROCKS! Stoned to the bone fuzz anthems one minute ("Pretty Patty"), lost in the West Coast summer heat Byrds worship the next ("First Cigarette In The Morning") and plenty of distorted melodic strange bits and wild eyed jams crammed in the spaces in between. The lazy fuzz groove of "Chinese Rifles", which erupts into an awesome mid-tempo blast off halfway through, is fuzz pop at its finest, but the whole record is a joy to behold every second of its 31 minutes. Highly recommended, in fact!

Low C'mon (Sub Pop) CD - So good to see these veterans back doing what they do best (and sounding more like Galaxie 500 than ever). If you haven't seen the video for "Try To Sleep" by now, then you officially live in a cave somewhere sans wifi. The rest of C'mon may not match that level of narcotic shimmer, but as the title suggests, Low is actually lookin' to have some fun these days. This is almost their Summer record with something like "Witches" (complete with banjo pickin') and the aforementioned gem kicking up to a nice shuffle. Elsewhere they unspool the classic Low formula of simple guitar melodies beneath timeless harmonies. "Done" features syrupy pedal steel. The 8 minute "Nothing But Heart" is Neil Young gone shoegaze and builds to a hair-raising crescendo that you hope will never end. Closer "Something's Turning Over" is just as good. C'mon is Low renewed, at their brightest, and occasionally ready to rock.

Times New Viking Dancer Equired (Merge) CD - A kinder, gentler Times New Viking is still worth my time. The GBV influence is felt more strongly than ever on many of these scruffy pop gems, which just means you might think of Wire or The Clean as well as past TNV anthems when cycling through these 14 tracks. One thing that you wont really find is any annoying feedback or skree to derail the sweet pop parade of gems like "Try Harder", "California Roll", "Fuck Her Tears", or "No Room To Live". Not bad at all.

Woods Sun and Shade (Woodsist) CS - The followup to Woods' awesome At Echo Lake is another sweet groover of hippie psych/indie pop that has enough tuneful moments crammed into its hazy veneer to make it appeal to the Matador crowd just as easily as it does the mushroom brigade. What that means are fuzzy slices of folky pop with hooks galore that nod to West Coast country psych (then and now), The Kinks, Krautrock and even 80s Creation Records (Felt and Jacobites) all wrapped up in a warm, vintage production and doled out at a nice easy pace. Nothing here is revolutionary, but then who really wants to blow anything up? Sit back, relax and enjoy the Sun and Shade.

2011-07-01T11:15:00.004-05:00

Cross-Legged Hippie Mystics and Subterranean Astral Goddesses

Theo Angell Tenebrae (Amish) CD - I meant to scribble a few words about this one ages ago, but that's okay since this is a one man operation. Angell of Hall of Fame and whose Aeraplinth album for Digitalis made such a striking impression a few years back, here weaves a more mystical spell of wandering acoustic apparitions lead through the dark spaces via his eerie naked vocal and understated minor key strumming, at times accented by percussion and Samara Lubelski's abstract violin, as well as the Hillside Tabarnackle Singers (this time including Matt Valentine, P.G. Six, Tom Greenwood and Lubelski). Elusive lyrics as inspired by mountain song, religion/theology and outside folk songwriting as they are avant-garde cinema and Dadaist worldplay coalesce into roving journeys through the backwoods of the mind. At once deeply esoteric and all too accessible -- welcome to the strange and wonderful world of Tenebrae. Stand outs to this listener, the gorgeous meander of "Never Heard That Baby Cry" and the sinister title track.

Arborea Red Planet (Strange Attractors) LP - The fourth album from the husband wife duo or Buck and Shanti Curran is a meditative slice of introspective astral folk as inspired by the great woods as the old troubadours (Patty Waters and Tim Buckley are given nods) and the new weird folkies that I've championed here over the years. I'm not really sure what to say about Red Planet other that it's a minimal soul-stirring knockout, with languid beauty anchored on Buck Curran's steady string work (guitars and many stringed things) and Shanti's ethereal vocals as exemplified on their stunning rendition of "Black Was the Color" and Buckley's "Phantasmagoria in Two" and Shanti's plaintive banjo picking. "Spain" (featuring Helen Espvall of Espers on cello) and "Careless Love" are soft, simple lullabies for the brokenhearted, while tracks like "Arms and Horses" and the hidden final, "Torchbearer" -- written in response to the loss of Shanti Curran's father -- offer more instrumental and emotional resonance to wander through. A record for letting go and accepting whatever's next.

Current 93 Honeysuckle Aeons (Coptic Cat) CD - How strange Honeysuckle Aeons sounds at first, even by Current 93's standards. Compositionally, it's something of a return to the stripped down piano ballads of Soft Black Stars and Sleep Has His House, but with new accents in the form of a ghostly theremin whir that haunts half the tracks and droning organ the creaks through the rest. It's a sensible enough progression from the hazier passages of last year's Baalstorm, Sing Omega, but I like this more. It's more stripped down and focused at the same time, and David Tibet hems in his vocals a good bit over more memorable melodies. In its own quiet, understated way this just may just be the best C93 album since Black Ships Ate the Sky, and the most softly haunted since Soft Black Stars. Listen to it late at night by candlelight.

Metal Mountains Golden Trees (Amish) CD - Helen Rush was one of the main contributors to the legendary Tower Recordings, but then so were PG Six and Samara Lubelski at different times. They comprise the trio of Metal Mountains, which makes this half a Tower Recordings reunion, or at the very least a psych supergroup of some note. To say Golden Trees is minimal hypnofolk masterpiece is no exaggeration. Its mix of ethereal fem vocals, acoustic/electric guitars doused in vintage reverb and fuzz, all rendered in immaculate yet vintage hi-fi production, is destined to send chills down the spine and elliptical spirals through the gray matter. At least that's the case with opener, "Structures Inside the Sun", a knockout of acid folk splay that's as good as anything along these lines I've heard recently. The rest of of the album follows suit and honors the Tower Recordings/Hall of Fame (Sabelski's other avant-folk trio, also featuring Theo Angell) tradition to admirable, eloquent effect.

Marissa Nadler Marissa Nadler (Box of Cedar) CD - Nadler's fifth album, first for her own label, is getting recognition all over the place, though I have to wonder what all those NPR worshiping coffee sippers in their adirondacks would've thought of her contributions to last year's Xasthur album, Portal of Sorrow. This is much more, hmm, digestible. Stronger influences from 50s country crooners and 60s pop chanteuses are felt, along with a heavy dose of the dark shoegaze drone glaze that's been seeping in since her third album. This is easily Nadler's most produced and sonically accomplished record yet (and that's really saying something), but she still manages to sound like something dug up from many decades past, her velvety mezzo-soprano lost in sad wonder of what could've been, eternally unsatisfied and looking to the horizon of come what may. Surely not for everyone but I'm still buying it. A solid mix of fingerpicking old world folk craft and modern soft pop for sad eyed dreamers.

Six Organs of Admittance Asleep on the Floodplain (Drag City) LP - Asleep on the Floodplains is Ben Chasny's follow-up to the masterful Luminous Night, and it's once more a fine mix of stellar songcraft and textured primitive raga jams. It could be said there's nothing really new here, but then there's nothing really new under the sun. The way Chasny manages to continue to matter is via his rich sound palette (every instrument is played by him this time 'round) and memorable melodies -- "Hold But Let Go" is yet another keeper in his considerable catalog of keepers -- while "S/Word and Leviathan" delves more deeply into mindless devotion with a droning wash of blazing raga picking, organ and vocal chant, the kind of dark mystery Chasny's been exploring since the beginning. It's dedicated to Process Theologian Catherine Keller, which doesn't surprise me in the least. She's the kind of thinker we could use more of during these uncertain times. Yet another gemstone in the Six Organs psych folk crown.

Jesse Sparhawk & Eric Carbonara 60 Strings (VHF) CD - Jesse Sparhawk plays 38 string lever harp. Eric Carbonara plays 22 string upright Chaturangui guitar. Together they weave a delicate spell of meandering raga that stretches out across two epic duets that maintain a constant, evolving balance of plucked straight from the aether harmonies across 35 minutes of vibrant string meditations landing somewhere between new American psych folk and a more Eastern tinged Popol Vuh. 60 Strings is another minimal beauty from VHF that manages to stand out from the psych folk heap, and I hope merely the first of many fruitful collaborations from this promising new duo.

2011-06-27T18:44:00.006-05:00

Various Observational Musings and Cornucopic Dabblings

I sure love me some coffee. Keeping it under 3 cups a day these days though. Not getting out as much on the social scene but still trying to be semi-active and by and large a good bit healthier. Drinking less. Not smoking at all (mostly). Longevity is the key my friends. I miss a lot of folks, but I keep in touch through other means and keep soaking up the sights and sounds. As a result, I'm mostly spending all my saved bar money on records and DVDs. The new pile is high and deep! Trying to work through it inch by inch this Summer and catch up with some promos as well. Many, many amazing releases have passed over my threshold in the last few months, some listed below:

MV & EE Country Stash (Three Lobed)
Matt Valentine What I Became (Woodsist)
Woods Sun and Shade (Woodsist)
Sagas Between Worlds (Greenup Industries)
TV Ghost Mass Dream (In The Red)
The Spits Kill the Kool (In The Red)
Thee Oh Sees Castlemania (In The Red)
Angus Maclise/Tony Conrad Dreamweapon III (Boo-Hooray) LP - a definite highlight of the year so far.
Religious Knives Smokescreen (Sacred Bones)
Apache Dropout Apache Dropout (Family Vineyard)
Umberto Prophecy of the Black Widow (Not Not Fun)
Rene Hell The Terminal Symphony (Type)
Jerusalem and the Starbaskets Dost (De Stijl)
Wet Hair In Vogue Spirit (De Stijl)
Parasites of the Western World Parasites of the Western World (De Stijl)
Boris Attention Please and Heavy Rocks II (both Sargent House)
Group Doueh Beatte Harab and Zayna Jumma (both Sublime Frequencies)
Jim O'Rourke Old News #5 (Editions Mego)
Seijaku Mail From FUSHITSUSHA and You Should Prepare to Survive Throug Even Anything Happens (Doubtmusic)
Psychic Frost Psychic Frost (Deep Water)
Evening Fires Holy Ghost Explosion (Deep Water)

...and a whole slew of tapes. Hope to get a good chunk of these reviewed in the coming weeks. Without a doubt, one of the most amazing things I've picked up this year is the Van Kaye + Ignit career spanning 5LP boxset, Anthology 80 - 85, lovingly packaged and remastered by the always excellent Vinyl On Demand label out of Germany. Connoisseurs of Cold Wave, Synth Pop, Experimental New Wave on down the line definitely should check it out. The wax is heavy, the package stunning, and the music quite incredible. Also found myself pleasantly knocked out by the uber-gay '80s synth pop stylings of Ford & Lopatins's Channel Pressure (Software) -- one half of which is Daniel Lopatin of Oneohtrix Point Never. Get a taste here. In the same listening session I discovered the Turkish Psych rock/surf explosion of Hayvanlar Alemi's Guarana Superpower (Sublime Frenquencies), which bears more than a passing resemblance the ethnic acid eruptions that Rangda has been unleashing on the masses in recent times.

Otherwise, I dug Season 1 of Game of Thrones so much, that I'm now reading the first book of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. Call me crazy. Really digging Treme this season, and happy to see True Blood back among us. Witches, necromancy, fearful fairies and vampires with political ambitions -- what a tangled web Alan Ball weaves! Loved Takashi Miike's 13 Assassins, Malick's The Tree of Life (filmed partly in and around Dallas) and still need to see Herzog's Cave of Forgotten Dreams, preferably in 3-D. X-Men: First Class gets an endorsement, as does Super 8 (barely), and Bridesmaids was, of course, hilarious. I've not seen much else new stuff beyond that. Hangover 2 was okay I s'pose.

Been mostly watching a bunch of Netflix streaming movies of late. Terrorvision, Irreversible (blegh but pretty good), Masters of Horror: Cigarette Burns, Yojimbo, Black Death, They Live, Sling Blade, John Lennon: Plastic Ono Band and My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done all provide moderate to high levels of art and entertainment, especially that last one for Herzog/Lynch freaks. That's all for now with more to come. And congrats to the Dallas Mavericks. Guess you guys finally earned it. Dirk FTW.

2011-06-14T22:36:00.001-05:00

Valerio Tricoli / Thomas Ankersmit Forma II (Pan) CD - From the same label that brought us Keith Fullerton Whitman's Disingenuity b/w Disingenuousness LP comes Forma II, recorded across two years by Ankersmit and Tricoli, here exploring the electro-acoustic/music concréte micro-verse via Serge Modular Analog synth and saxophone, run through a barrage of computer and tape manipulation across six tracks ranging from 6 to 15 minutes. The results are deeply textured sound dreams that merge the organic and mechanic into a blur of abstracted tones that sound as "natural" as the para-mechanical world we live in, where subatomic events are an every day, perceivable occurrence. Here they're blown up under the microscope, dissected and exploded apart before being reassembled into gorgeous minimal/drone/noise hybrids ideal for high-fidelity submersion thanks to Rashad Becker's excellent mastering job. This sounds incredible on the proper system. Pan's proprietor Bill Kouligas (Family Battle Snack, Sudden Infant) and Kathryn Politis provide the brain-tickling cover art. Not a second (or sound) wasted.

Æthenor En Form For Blå (VHF) 2LP - The latest dispatch from Stephen O'Malley's abstract drone/doom/improv ensemble is another moody trawl through the dark waters of atmospheric spontaneous live performance. Percussion, guitars, bass, Fender Rhodes and who knows what else are employed with two members of Ulver -- Daniel O'Sullivan and Kristoffer Rygg -- and Steve Noble rounding out the quartet. These seven tracks were culled from three live shows captured in Norway in 2010, though you'd be hard pressed to discern such given the sound quality and music concréte like detail of much of what's captured here. The results offer up at times nightmarish, bass heavy delirium, and at other time almost skeletal prog metal infusions -- see the ghost doom mid section of "One Number of Destiny in 99" -- which almost immediately drift back into the foggy depths from whence they came. En Form For Blå may not be as strikingly formidable as its predecessor, Faking Gold and Murder, but what it lacks in immediacy it more than makes up for with progressive scope and surreal mood. A worthy addition to this ensemble's legendary discography. Pressed on lily-white vinyl to make it all go down that much easier.

2011-05-29T17:10:00.004-05:00

This Is My Music: Vol 8, Part 2

Alvarius B Baroque Primitiva (Abduction) CD - I sadly missed the boat on this beauty in its vinyl format for the legendary Poon Village label, but Abduction pulls no punches with the CD version which comes housed in a heavy, lush book styled package that's as fun to hold and flip through as it is to molest with your eyes. The 6th release from Alan Bishop's long running solo project is a stoned cold masterpiece of ethnic Middle Eastern weirdness meets other worldly (and World) folk blues. Tracks like "Humor Police" and "Well Known Stranger" are classic Alvarius B by any measure, though every thing found here is absolutely beautiful and ranks with Alan Bishop's finest. He tops things off with a gloriously deranged cover of "God Only Knows" appropriately retitled "God Only Be Without You" that builds to some finely fucked effects weirdness and tape trickery. A serious contender for top of the pops in 2011.

D. Charles Speer Arghiledes / D. Charles Speer & The Helix Leaving the Commonwealth (Thrill Jockey) both LP - David Charles Shuford's (of the No-Neck Blues Band and other mysterious subterranean ensembles like Eno's Slaughter and Egypt is the Magick #) inaugural TJ long players offer what are easily two of his finest works to date. Arghiledes is a weird trip to the Greek underworld, offering a his own unique take on roots music with Shuford on an arsenal of ethnic instrumentation (trichordo bouzouki, balamas, worry bead percussion on whiskey glass and more), acoustic/electric guitars along with a heavy dose of studio trickery and his at times treated vocals to conjure something quite unlike anything else I've heard from him. It's clear Alvarius B. doesn't have a monopoly on odd reinterpretations of Mediterranean folk music, though "Wildlife Preserve" actually does sound kind of like a D. Chares Speer song. Shuford plays and mixes everything himself, and surprise, surprise, this one gets the highest recommendation for fans of the weird. Extra bonus points for the most excellent song-by-song notations by Mr. Shuford himself.

Besides sporting the eeriest cover art of 2011, Leaving the Commonwealth gets my vote for the most rewarding album from The Helix so far. Shuford's vocals are crisp and upfront, and his band plays with a loose grooving cohesion that would make giants of the fusion enthralled '70s blush in envy. The Grateful Dead, Flying Burrito Brothers, even The Allman Brothers could be dropped in the influence pot, but I personally like this more than I ever liked the Allmans. What ya get is rollicking country rock mixed to fluid post boogie perfection. There's even a couple nods to Zeppelin and UK prog folk thrown into the mix, but deceptively so. You can tell these guys have been playing together for years and have just really cohered as a jamming unit. Of particular note is ivory tickler Hans Chew's work on the keys -- he dropped a beautiful solo record last year for Three Lobed which is long gone on vinyl but still available on MP3 -- but that in no way defers from the magnificence mustered here by the rest of The Helix.

Elklink Rise of Elklink (Kye) LP - Here is a truly fascinating document from the duo of Adris Hoyos (Harry Pussy) and Graham Lambkin (The Shadow Ring), originally issued for the Polyamory tape label almost 10 years ago. Utilizing nothing but the sounds of their voices and various effects, these two weave a concoction of unsettling surrealist rumbles and whispers that starts out like some perverse Dadaist spoken word dissertation on bodily corrosion -- "Tension Tec" -- before slowly dissolving into a blur of gastric groans and creeping, hissing tones that become all encompassing and completely entrance as the duo plays with volume and tonality, yielding all manner of textual sonic mayhem. Words can't really do it justice, but the results are highly recommended all the same, and it's actually a lot of fun once you get past the initial shock of the opening. Somewhere between field recordings of the jungle at night, a whistling tea kettle and the inner workings of the human digestive tract.

Alastair Galbraith Mass (Siltbreeze) LP - So nice to see Alastair Galbraith busy composing and releasing songs again, as he's one of the most compelling tunesmiths on the planet, offering up a strange stew of tonal abstraction and lonesome outsider folk gems that strike at the heart of human sadness with an authentic voice and a soulful piety that's all but absent in modern music today. Sure you hear something approximating Galbraith's heart in larger scale releases, but so much of it's for show and clearly designed to rake in the dough, while Galbraith continues to work his magic seemingly in a void down in Dunedin, New Zealand, indifferent to whether anyone is paying attention or not. He weaves spectral elegies for heroes fallen -- the brief hypnosis of "Poem for Moondog" -- and timeless anthems for a broken world -- "Money is So Sad" -- while the rest of the world keeps on barreling down the tracks, oblivious to the bridge out sign directly ahead.

Mark McGuire Living With Yourself (Mego Editions) CD - One half of Emeralds gets down to business on the solo tip with this haunted exercise in guitar and field recordings which alternates between vibrant guitar pieces, such as the exquisite opener, "The Vast Structure of Recollection", going from acoustic strums to massed distorted squalls before settling into a mantra of looping Riley-esque formations, and on to the bubbling post Frippian tone spheres of "Moving Apart". Mix in some field recordings (which appear to be taken from McGuire's own domestic space and family gatherings), actual melody, composition, and even crashing percussion on closer "Brothers (For Matt)" and you've got yourself an undeniably human slice of modern psychedelia for lovers of guitars, noise and nostalgia the world over.

Peaking Lights 936 (Not Not Fun) LP -- Aaron Coyes and his partner Indra Dunis -- who just welcomed their own little ball of light into the world -- have dropped their dub psych magnum opus with 936, the second official Peaking Lights album (third if you include Clearvoiant, more an odds and sods type collection), which continues the great illumination through electronic sounds, monolithic bass and beats. Dunis's vocals come more to the fore here as the duo marries their trademark minimalist electro song craft with dubbed out percussive thwacks and bumps with results that fall somewhere between mid '70s Eno and the Lee "Scratch" Perry if such a collaboration had actually dropped on Xpressway in the mid 90s. Ultimate dance party space groove for head-jammers and space-dwellers alike and destined to be thee party record of 2011.

Vincent Over The Sink Dust Studies (Kye) 7" - Another brilliant excavation from Graham Lambkin's Kye label, Vincent Over the Sink is an obscure Australian duo I know nothing about that specializes in a hazy minimal abstract dream music across the 4 tracks found on this 7", striking a delicate balance between detached melody and dissonant otherworldly visitations that land somewhere between early Dead C, Omit and Lambkin's own outer communiques with his brilliant Shadow Ring project, but somehow Vincent Over the Sink manages to be deeper, stranger and more lost than all of the above. How is this even possible, ye wonder? Buy this 7" and find out. Highly recommended indeed!

Volcano the Bear Hotbites Live At the Nightlight (Blastocoel Sound) LP - The latest live album from the always stellar Volcano the Bear is simply a stunner and easily rivals their recent studio output in range and execution, and performance wise it just may do the studio albums one better with its white hot spontaneity, which begs the question why, oh why was this fantastic package limited to just 100? Soooo glad I scored a copy as its many revelations have left my mind stretched, poked and kneaded like fine dough. A masterpiece, me thinks, and if you haven't procured your copy by now, better luck next time, although it looks like Time Lag may still have a few copies.

2011-05-24T22:03:00.009-05:00

This Is My Music: Vol 8, Part 1

Chris Cogburn / Bonnie Jones / Bhob Rainey Arena Ladridos (Another Timbre) CD - Arena Ladridos is one of the many artifacts I picked up at the Nmperign show that happened last March in Oak Cliff. These two compositions were captured in Austin and Marfa, Texas by the trio of Cogburn (percussion), Jones (electronics) and Rainey (alto sax). As with Rainey and Cogburn's other ensemble work, the trio merges ambient noise and instrumentation, composition and improvisation so deftly that it's all but impossible to tell where one ends and the other begins. Arena Ladridas is about dissolving these boundaries in the same way that wind and erosion eventually break down rock, plant and bone into fine grains of dust. It's a gradual process. The same could be said for the sonics explored across these two extended pieces. "Govalle" is the quieter of the two with Cogburn's ringing bells and abstract percussion bumping up against Rainey's wind and Jones' electronic bleeps and bloops to reveal haunted portals of textural fascination, while "Marfa" builds to something more piercing and atonal as the album's title would suggest. It honors its namesake as Marfa is both a landscape marked by intangible, breathing lifeforms but also harsh and uninviting as only the high deserts of West Texas can be. This one works very well at louder volumes for deep immersion but is also perfect turned down low for reading, writing or folding laundry.

The Doozer Great Explorers (Siltbreeze) CD - The Doozer is a young fellow from Cambridge, UK who clearly has an affinity for Syd Barrett and off kilter home recording, but like Alastair Galbraith and Mudboy, he manages to take that inspiration and recast it as something fairly unique and playfully his own. Great Explorers sneaks up on you and digs into your skin like a small woodland creature you've mistakenly fed cheese nips when you knew you shouldn't have. Its mix of tinkering percussion, acoustic/electric guitars, vintage synths, pipe organ, effects and Simon Doozer's own eccentric vocals are undeniably charming and affecting with a sound palette that's alternately hummable pop and outer collage.

Ensemble Economique Psychical (Not Not Fun) LP - One of two EE LP's dropped in 2010 (the other Standing Still, Facing Forward on Amish sold out at the source, as did this one, but you can bet your original private press copy of JD Emmanuel's Wizard that both are still haunting your favorite mail order catalogs if you do the digging). Ensemble Economique is Brian Pyle of The Starving Weirdos in Holger Czukay solo drone abstraction mode, and Psychical is a fine mind-bending slab of avant-strangeness, honoring its vintage video box art cover with old school scifi themes rubbing up against Delia Derbyshire synth splay, percussive clatter and Tom Carter's fuzzed out string bending to conjure haze-inducing portals to other worlds that are weird enough to disorient without ever being harsh or unsettling. Psychical easily rivals the best The 'Weirdos have dropped (including their stellar live album with Tom Carter and Shawn McMillen) and is the best thing released in '10 that I didn't actually hear in '10.

Chris Forsyth Paranoid Cat (Family Vineyard) LP - Hot on the heels of the most excellent Pestilence & Joy LP with his stumbling groan behemoth, Peeesseye, Philly's Chris Forsyth steps out from the shadows once more with the enchanting Paranoid Cat. I've really only just gotten wise to this guy's solo work in the least couple years, but it seems there's no better time than the present, as this fine four track platter proves, Forsyth's sonic fruits are ripe for pickin'. Each one of these groove flights are wonders of ecstatic post roots / Velvets evocation. Whether zoning in on the side long building space raga break-through of the title suite or cutting loose and shimmying to the Canned Heat/John Lee Hooker trance of "Pharmacist Boogie (For Jack)", Forsyth and his band -- including the great Hans Chew -- strike a compelling mix between tightly wound blues and loose abstraction with an appropriately baked tone that fits in well with today's current crop of unclassifiable roots revisionists.

Jason Lescalleet Music for Magnetic Tape (Arbor) C20 - Music for Magnetic Tape offers a stellar 20 min drift of aural hypnosis from this master of music concréte and tape loops. Side A is a wash of effected piano strikes dispersed with bleary feedback runs that crashes into a wall of jarring distortion like a burst of shattered glass before faintly drifting into entropic dust and a few more well placed piano strikes. Side B is the faint resonance of said explosion, a murmur of enveloping cosmic hum before the final chilling fade. An elegiac piece that would fit perfectly over a collapsing Tarkovsky dream sequence.

OoioO Armonico Hewa (Thrill Jockey) CD - There's some question as to the proper pronunciation of the name of Yoshimi P-we's Boredoms offshoot, something of a spastic cross between the The Slits and Fela Kuti's Africa 70. It's tempting to sound it out in three continuous syllables, but apparently it's said more like the ladies sing in their wordless song mantras: o-o-i-o-o. This actually makes sense if you're in any way familiar with the strange other worldly vocal histrionics that OoioO specializes in. Armonica Hewa, their 6th full length, is a freakbeat blastoff from the opening note that really hits its stride by the time of the jungle squawking of third song "Irorun" -- its "oooahhhhs" over King Crimson guitars, random key strikes and weirdly timed percussion coming to the fore. The new age synth sound-bath opening of "Ulda" is a slight reprieve before exploding into glorious solar siren song and settling into a mellow groove that alternates between tribal percussion and modulated synth whoosh. Besides that, at only 90 seconds, the glorious "Hewa Hewa" might just be the best thing on here.

Weird Weeds Help Me Name Melody (Autobus) LP - This Austin ensemble hits their stride on their third long player which sounds less oblique and more hummable than previous efforts, and that doesn't bother this listener one iota. Imagine a world where Slint never died, joined forces with Gastr Del Sol and left the gothic nightmares and Dadaist word-strings behind in favor of sheer mood and mesmerizing pop musical interplay. Easily their best, most infectious platter to date. No pretension, uplifting and refreshingly out of step with so much of what's going on today. What art rock's s'posed to sound like. Also, coolest hedonistic album cover award of 2010 right here, folks!

2011-05-13T16:15:00.001-05:00

Marissa Nadler - "Baby, I Will Leave You In The Morning" from Alec K. Redfearn on Vimeo.

2011-05-10T19:54:00.006-05:00

As we all know 1973 is the most important year of recorded media of all times, yielding multiple profound sonic documents of immeasurable virtuosity -- Houses of the Holy, Future Days, Here Come the Warm Jets, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Ralf & Florian, the list goes on -- not to mention the year of my birth. More proof of this assertion found below:

Dangerous Minds | Listen to a superb recording of Can live in Paris (1973)

DM strikes gold again with this fabulous streaming recording, nabbed originally from Doom and Gloom from the Tomb (where you can download it).

2011-05-10T12:47:00.008-05:00

And Then The Was This: From Delta-Slider

Delta-Slider: Glenn Jones on "John Fahey - The Fonotone Years"

The details of Glenn Jones' long and difficult road to make this mammoth project a reality is gripping to say the least. Looks to be the most important archival release of the century, or at least since Albert Ayler's Holy Ghost Boxset dropped on Fahey's own Revenant label.

* Furthermore

** And Then Some

(actual new reviews imminent)

2011-05-10T12:33:00.003-05:00

The World's Largest Record Collection - Streaming

Library of Congress and Sony Music team for 'National Jukebox' free streaming of vintage recordings | Pop & Hiss | Los Angeles Times

2011-04-26T10:18:00.001-05:00

In Between The Notes: A Portrait of Pandit Pran Nath (1986)

In Between The Notes: A Portrait of Pandit Pran Nath (1986) from Maxime Guitton on Vimeo.

2011-04-24T10:12:00.001-05:00

Happy Easter, Friends.

Goodbye, Dad.

2011-04-09T16:17:00.001-05:00

Love Sidney: Sidney Lumet (1924-2011) PopMatters

R.I.P. to the Patron Saint of New York and Good and Evil.

2011-04-04T22:55:00.006-05:00

R.I.P. Danny McClain, Grand Ulena Drummer - St. Louis Music - A to Z

I first heard Danny McClain play drums with Grand Ulena via a promo that was sent to me when I was writing for The Broken Face. Grand Ulena was truly a force a to be reckoned with in the avant noise multiverse. Over the years I felt like I got to know him through one of my closest friends, Travis. I met him once and saw him play on the same night in September of 2010. Though I didn't know him well, I know he will truly be missed. He died too young. He rocked so very hard.

* For more on McClain, see this article in the Riverfront Times:

http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2011-04-14/music/danny-mcclain-died-grand-ulena-drummer-march-28/

2011-04-02T13:09:00.003-05:00

Since I missed SXSW deathfest this year I decided to post this awesome audio visual collage, courtesy of Monofonus Press.

2011-03-27T19:55:00.002-05:00

35 years ago today, this monster dropped. I decided to celebrate by purchasing this.

2011-03-25T20:31:00.009-05:00

Benefit for the Recovery in Japan - Various

Benefit for the Recovery in Japan - Various

Truly an awesome undertaking featuring tons of the best musicians making music today, including Oneohtrix Point Never, The Ex, D. Charles Speer, Grouper, Tape, Chris Forsyth, Greg Davis, Alan Licht, Scott Tuma, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Spires That in the Sunset Rise, Lau Nau, Oren Ambarchi, Fennesz, Akron/Family, Giant Sand and over 40 more. 100% of the proceeds to go the Recovery in Japan.

2011-03-25T01:39:00.015-05:00

Daniel Higgs Sightings

It's nice to know that as some people continue their decent down into the interminable depths, others just keep reaching higher and higher. One such ascender would be the great tattoo artist, musician, poet and mystic, Daniel Higgs. He's definitely one of the most fascinating poets making a racket these days, whether with his long running band Lungfish, or via his incredibly diverse solo works. The recent 2CD Say God (Thrill Jockey) was a head-scratcher of the highest order that a mad mystery embracer such as yours truly found much to dig into and mull over across its gleaming silvery grooves.

Equally inspiring is the more recent Ultraterrestrial Hymns cassette for the Moonglyph label, which comes in a gorgeous package with the ominous but somehow comforting Sun-Ra quote adorning it's inner sleeve, "The apocalypse has already happened. Don't you know that yet?" signaling a patch-work collage of Higgs in supremo acid-kissed home recording mode, as he goes through many musical detours from piped-in-from-alt-dimensions instrumentals, music box tidbits, collage oddities to spoken word call signs, bluegrass hymnals and minimalist howls spread out across 2 half hour suites simply entitled "He" and "She". It's a sheer joy to behold and highly recommended for every Holy Spirit touched one of you. Even if you're not into the the Godhead and just dig weird lo-fi tape fuckery and playful home recorded experimentation, dig it my friends. I know I do.

Also worth noting is Higgs' duo recordings with Twig Harper (Nautical Almanac, Scheme), which pronounces a much more jarring and prismatic electronic bedding beneath Higgs' processed spoken word to unleash some truly otherworldly sound trips that further reinforce Higgs' fascinations with the Unknown Other through sound and word in such a way that defies textual explanation but invokes images and thoughts that might be glimpsed through a DMT trip while sparing the listener the harrowing roller-coaster that ingesting such a chemical might require. If you ever wanted to hear what Higgs might sound like mashed up with some prime Wolf Eyes cuts, proceed directly Clairaudience Fellowship (Thrill Jockey) and hang on tight. Harrowing and trance-inducing in the way the that only Higgs (along with strong contributions from Harper) can be.

And if all that wasn't enough, Higgs recently joined Sweden's Skull Defekts for an album of primal trance inducing experimental rock that should sate those hungry for more Lungfish like guitar crunch with cycling mantras that invoke the raw prog fury of the last Lungfish album, Feral Hymns, along with the Swedish drone noise maestros' penchant for tribal post kraut blast-offs. As heard on 2LP Peer Amid (Thrill Jockey), it's undeniably a match made in freak Heaven. I feel a bit like a fool myself, as the Defekts already have a pretty dense catalog (including a split with Wolf Eyes!) and I've been sleeping on the job, but this 2LP splatter makes for a sublime entry into their world. The title track makes every hair on my body stand up at once and "Fragrant Nimbus" is even better. Hope they tour behind it far and wide. Stone cold mind blown. Job well done, gents!

The Skull Defekts - Fragrant Nimbus by ranxeroxxx

The Skull Defekts w/ Higgs are on tour now in the US. Also joining the bill is recent Thrill Jockey signee Zomes (Asa Osborne of Lungfish).

Wed Mar 30 St. Louis, MO - Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center w/ Zomes

Thu Mar 31 Chicago, IL - The Hideout w/ Zomes, Mountains

Fri Apr 1 Pittsburgh, PA - Howler's Coyote Cafe w/ Zomes

Sat Apr 2 Buffalo, NY - Soundlab w/ Zomes, Mountains

Sun Apr 3 Brooklyn, NY - Littlefield w/ Zomes

Mon Apr 4 Boston, MA - Great Scott w/ Zomes

Tue Apr 5 Providence, RI - Machine with Magnets w/ Zomes

Wed Apr 6 Scranton, PA - Embassy Vinyl w/ Zomes

Thu Apr 7 Philadelphia, PA - Danger Danger Gallery w/ Zomes

Fri Apr 8 Baltimore, MD - Floristree w/ Zomes

Sat Apr 9 Chapel Hill, NC - Nightlight w/ Zomes

Sun Apr 10 Knoxville, TN - The Pilot Light w/ Zomes

Mon Apr 11 Atlanta, GA - The Earl w/ Zomes

Tue Apr 12 Asheville, NC - Harvest Records w/ Zomes

2011-03-23T23:39:00.002-05:00

I was going to post some sort of roundup of Bro Fest (I hate the name too!) which happened Sunday at Club Dada, but I only attended less than half of it, and I don't really like typing the name so I don't think I'll say much beyond The Body were pretty awesome, DUDE. Seeing a rotund balding bass player scream like a young woman being sexually assaulted over a rumbling din of tectonic bass and percussive crush with power electronics was...something, tell you what. White Hills were as good as I hoped they'd be (and looked great while being great) on the outside stage. And then there was Liturgy, a Brooklyn band that a lot of metal heads love to hate for some reason. I can guess why that may be since they don't look or act very metal and they're on Thrill Jockey records. On record they're a bit underwhelming, but by the third song, a thrash instrumental splicing of "The Immigrant Song" and Rush's "YYZ" I was actually won over. Good times, bros ('n' hos)...good times.

* And The Castanets were heavy as shit.

A smattering of images as captured by myself and (mostly) T-Boz:

2011-03-22T17:02:00.006-05:00

Reflections and Visitations of Spring

Brothas and Sistas, I hope you were all safe among the SXSW sights and sounds down in A-town. I wanted to be there more than once this past week, but you knew that already. As life and times have grown more difficult, I've found my view of things widening considerably. It's nothing new really. I meditate more. I spend more quality time among family, friends and places that enrich me and make it all more interesting, but things still keep getting harder. They're supposed to, of course. I figured that out some time ago. I'm just glad I'm not alone, and I'm so thankful for my memories. That's why this blog survives more than anything else. As it all grows more complicated, new worlds still emerge. New faces appear from the fog. Some old chores may be becoming easier and old fears are finally starting to die, but there's always some new challenge or affliction waiting just around the corner. For so many the future remains bleak and uncertain. I wish it wasn't so. I wish this shared understanding of all the pain could somehow sustain us all together. Maybe it does. I know I miss people. I'm afraid of losing what and who I have. I wonder if I ever had anything at all. I'm pretty sure I did, and I do.

I've become one who rides many lines and sees mystical occurrences happening all around him on a near daily basis. I may have simply gone mad, but regardless I know it sustains me to a degree. I have a good heart, and I remain articulate and able to communicate it all here to you now. Where would we be without sharing -- the mysteries, the miseries, the strange events and alien communications? Degrees of ego destruction have set me free over the years, my friends, especially with friends. Best when not alone. I wish I weren't alone right now.

I feel sad and uplifted simultaneously. I had a wonderful weekend, yet in my heart there remains a longing. I long to meet someone, and I fear I have lost someone. I still may meet her. Who knows? I hope she doesn't forget me wherever she goes. I don't think she will. I enjoyed every second I talked with her, in a way like no one I've ever talked with before. That's so very rarefied to find on this plane. And apparently so fleeting.

On Saturday my brother-man Travis and I went on a Spring voyage out to Dido Cemetery about 15 minutes north of Ft Worth to visit the final resting place of Townes Van Zandt. I'm not afraid to say he's probably my favorite songwriter of them all, and I'm not really one for favorites, so there you have it. We loaded up the Toyota and grabbed a burn of Blaze Foley songs and a bag of dried up fruit chips and hit the road a little after 4:00 on what was one of the most beautiful (almost) Spring days to bless us here in Texas so far in '11. It was right on time, too, after all the weird and trying times we'd ALL been dealing with in the preceding weeks.

Somehow neither of us had ever done this, visited the grave of a hero, let alone Townes, which was just 45 mins down the road give or take. It was an easy drive -- down I-20, up 287, west on I-30 for a mile or two, then we exited Henderson and went straight up the west edge of downtown and through the 'burbs before taking a right on Boat Club road which turns into Dido road and runs right straight to the cemetery. Turns out Townes didn't build himself a houseboat in heaven, but he did manage a final resting place on the edge of Eagle Mountain Lake in the town where the West began, and it was actually a quaint little spot, not all built up and polluted by the vagaries of modern cheap, fast and out of control living. It felt like a small miracle.

Also interesting was the ride up there, especially after we'd gotten above downtown Ft Worth. I'd brought a tape or two, a couple CDs and had no idea what else was in the changer. We listened to The Volebeats' Like Her. As it finished Travis remarked on the awesome view just outside the window to the left -- a panorama that was like something out of Giant or No Country For Old Men, sprawling wide open fields beset by rolling hills in the distance that really did feel like what one might expect the beginning of the West to look like. He said "Finally, this is what I've been waiting for." And I echoed the sentiment myself. I'd always had to drive out further west of Ft Worth to see something that beautiful, where there wasn't a housing development or strip mall in sight for what seemed like miles. Just to the right of the car as we were driving were these massive electrical towers that streamed along forever, but to the left lay another world, seemingly untouched by progress and the encroaching future.

In this reflective moment, the CD changed over to a bootleg of The Stones Live in Ft. Worth (which I'd downloaded weeks/months before) from around '73 or so and it opened on none other than "Dead Flowers" -- I shit you not! A raw, rip-roaring version of said classic, and it's not just that it happened to be this song that Townes himself did such a memorable version of later in his career, but it was a boot that opened up with this specific song, which was somewhat uncharacteristic of The Stones' set lists of that era. Serendipity could be the word, or fate or destiny. Who knows? Things like this do happen to me all the time though these days, alone or among friends, and I must say, I like it. Makes me feel like I'm part of something grander than my own piddling narcissistic existence. And that's a beautiful thing.

After we made it to Dido Cemetery, located directly across the street from Dido United Methodist Church, we pulled off and cracked a beer. We found his family plot easily enough, to the left of the entrance about 30 yards up, near the drive-path. The breeze was perfect in the afternoon haze. We each poured Townes a sip and said our piece to someone who still means so much to us. Someone who could never really die it seems. Travis remarked on how he couldn't help but see him in the later years, older and more broken down. I somehow saw him throughout his life, younger, as a young man, growing older, and in those final broke-down days so close to the end. And it felt like visiting a real friend. And sure enough, there just at the bottom right corner of his gravestone were some dead flowers, remnants from his last visiting brethren who'd said "what the fuck" and gotten off their asses and bothered to make the trek on some near-perfect almost-Spring day back who knows when. Rest easy, old friend.

Not all of TVZ's earthly remains lay there in his family plot. The rest of his ashes were spread throughout Ft Worth and Van Zandt County. Clearly he had a great affinity and much respect for the place he came from.

Japan Tsunami: 20 Unforgettable Pictures

2011-03-15T15:12:00.000-05:00

Japan Tsunami: 20 Unforgettable Pictures

2011-03-15T12:30:00.002-05:00

Deepest prayers and condolences to those in and around Japan during this incredibly difficult time. It's a horror to watch and think all we can do is just watch and pray. Go here for information on how to send aid.

2011-03-09T12:08:00.000-06:00

Colds suck, but this sure looks tasty:

LP released may 10, 2011 in a limited edition of 625 copies. $19.00.

three lobed recordings is stoked to be involved with blatant obviousness in the release of country stash, the latest studio album from the psych stalwarts matt valentine and erika elder. rather than bore you with our own words on this fantastic album, three lobed turned to label friend pete coward, one of fandom’s leading experts on MV+EE as well as the united kingdom’s foremost underground live music archivist, for his well-informed opinion.

“studio-recorded albums from MV & EE fulfill a singular role in the development of their music. the steady stream of live releases, whether on their own craft imprint, heroine celestial agriculture, or elsewhere provide snapshots from the road, vital for their immediacy and for the insight into how those songs sounded with the feeling of that place on that night. but it's when the bags have been un-packed, zuma has been given his tour bones, and they recuperate with the only means of r&r that these guys know, playing music, that the studio magic happens. there they can really reflect on where they've taken their music each night, and been taken by it, and distill some of that knowledge into classic versions of live jams and the birth of new ones, future classics themselves. that's exactly what's happening here on country stash.

it's fitting that this record should be released in part through three lobed. the album is redolent with a sense of friendship and home, and the label is a home of sorts, having had a particularly long and fruitful relationship with MV & EE. it also features contributions from a number of long-time friends, collaborators and road travelers, from both sides of the atlantic and of the us/canada border. and listening to this record you feel right at home in their musical parlor, safe and warm in the welcoming, instantly familiar, glow of spectrasound. right now i can't think of any other place where i'd like to stay and linger for a while.

you're deep in that zone right from the moment the pulsing bass of mick flower kicks the first track, "foxy (one)," up a gear and it coasts along on the beautiful three-way harmonies of MV, EE and jeremy earl and waves of tambourine from coot moon. the mellow vibes and those harmonies continue through "crash palace of records" (click here for a downloadable preview), here the rhythmic momentum provided by canadians mike smith on bass and doc dunn on drums. up next is the title track (...as every crash palace needs a stash, right?), which provides the centre-piece of the record and its longest track. and this is some potent stash. the return of three members of the mighty wolf pack -- rongoose, rafi bookstaber and paulie g -- is felt most markedly in a pastoral flute motif from the latter which drifts hazily in & out of focus, subsumed by the weight of rongoose's bass. the tempo drifts likewise, from a woozy crawl to a wide-eyed tumble of bass, drum and hi-hat. throughout it all MV and EE bust out incredible guitar moves, from some particularly garcia-esque riffing to the blasted scree that brings the track to an exhausted close. i'm not going out on any limbs when I predict this will soon be a live MV & EE favorite.

the comedown to that comes in the shape of a long-standing live favorite, "tea devil." the tempo here is uniform, a graveyard stomp laid down by the uk team of mick flower and andy ramsay. the tension between that earthbound rhythm and the sinuous guitar lines enact the eternal, inescapable blues cycle of temptation and damnation. EE's vocals, at their most languidly sensual since "freight train", make the latter seem unbearably attractive. the redemptive coda to that and to the album comes with "no there, there", a dense, multi-layered piece where acoustic and electric guitars drift above shifting foundations of bass, lap steel, synth and percussion. its deep kosmische resonance provides an oddly comforting close, a long exhalation drawn out over 11 minutes. the only hint of anxiety comes in the gertrude stein reference of the title; that and the sublime short outro, which mirrors the intro to the opener, provide a reminder that soon it will be time to leave these home comforts, saddle up the palomino and hit the road to allow new places to breathe new vibes into these songs. when that happens i look forward to taking my spot in the tapers' pit to hear the songs on this masterful album take flight."

-pete coward, notable MV+EE head-

country stash is from an edition of around 625 copies and is pressed on 140 gram dutch vinyl. the album is housed within gorgeous multi-color silkscreened jackets bearing new original artwork by both jenny mcgee dougherty and lucy isabel graves. the album will be accompanied by both a collage / text insert and a download coupon for DRM-free MP3s of the album. country stash is a joint release between three lobed recordings and blatant obviousness.

And don't forget Three Lobed's 10th Anniversary 4LP Boxset at Kickstarter, featuring cuts by Sun City Girls, Steve Gunn, Sonic Youth, Comets on Fire, Bardo Pond, D. Charles Speer and The Helix, Eternal Tapestry, Mouthus and Wooden Wand. 22 days left to pledge as of this blog.

2011-03-08T13:20:00.001-06:00

Thank You Thank You Thank You

I've been laid up in bed for the last few days with one of those awful Spring head colds. The Nmperign/Lescalleet, Shawn David McMillen, Zanzibar Snails show was a resounding success by any measure of the word, especially for a Dallas area concert. Thanks to EVERYONE who lent their services, equipment, came out, bought merch and anything else. You know who you are. Bhob Rainey, Greg Kelley and Jason Lescalleet were total gentlemen and great players who brought the goods and rolled with the punches. Shawn David McMillen and company played a barn-burning set of smoke and fire (glad the bass amp worked, Josh!) including an excellent down home version of COB's "Spirit of Love" that practically had me in tears. It was just in time. Zanzibar Snails tore the fabric of reality with their electronic whoosh and skree. Thanks to Travis for driving. Thanks to the OC3 for providing the perfect venue.

I recorded the whole night on video, as did fellow attendee Greg D. on audio. I'll try to get some choice cuts uploaded to Youtube in the next few days. I still have a few of Nevada Hill's original posters available for sale. If anyone wants one, leave a comment and I'll get in touch. Below is just the prototype, not the exact final design. They're big and beautiful.

Wish I could do SXSW this year, but there's too much going on right now, and I'm too broke. Lemmy rocks! More to come soon. This is completely insane. One Love, ya'll.

2011-03-03T15:55:00.003-06:00

Nevada Hill's original poster promoting our special event happening tomorrow night at the OC3

2011-02-17T15:35:00.004-06:00

Lunar Lee Is Free

Peeps, don't forget to check out my Youtube channel, if you wanna get freaky.

2011-02-11T16:36:00.004-06:00

The Dead C Patience (Ba Da Bing) LP

Have a little patience. Yeeaaahhhh. Fuck that noise. The Dead C remains the most potent rock band on the planet. Patience is their blumpteenth splatter of meditational groove skree since the DR503 tape dropped nearly 25 years ago. Like '08's Secret Earth (Bad Da Bing), it also features four songs -- two long ones, two short ones -- and it's all killer, no filler. Clocking in at 16 plus minutes, "Empire" is a bleary-eyed trudge through the waste we have wrought. Its diffusion of guitar fuzz decay and lost in the dark riffage is as potent and hypnotic as anything the trio has released yet. Robbie Yeats' heavy-as-a-bag-of-bricks drums are unrelenting and omnipresent while Bruce Russel and Michael Morley ring every ounce of desolation and trance-inducing rot from their respective 6 strings. Then come the shorter but no less enthralling "Federation" and "Shaft" before the final "South" offers some almost-solace across nearly 15 mins of stagger and drift, bringing to the fore just how much of an influence these lads have had on Bardo Pond, Sonic Youth and other like-minded souls over the years (or vice versa). Who knows at this point? It's all starting to bleed together. The Dead C is as proper a place as any for ground zero of modern avant noise fuckery, and its shadow still looms larger than ever.

2011-02-02T01:42:00.003-06:00

Ghost Opus Eponymous (Rise Above) CD

Ghost (not the Japanese band) is yet another Swedish import in the retro doom scene, a scene that has by now become so saturated with lightweight pretenders and progressive pagan hucksters, that I'd all but given up on its vitality. I still like Electric Wizard and a lot of the heavier side of things (Salome and Monarch kick ass), but I take issue when doom tries to get all witchy and progressive in a cutesy retro fashion, which is what makes this Ghost such a breath of fresh air.

Opus Eponymous is kind of a joke. It's a record enamored of the dawn of the Satanic age in pop culture when rock and metal were inching ever closer to the slope of grim blasphemy. The hilarious/awesome cover art (itself an homage to black metal and the cover of Stephen King's Salem's Lot) is the first hint. The bewitched retro harmonies found all over the record are the second. Their theatrical live show the next.

Somehow these lads actually deliver on the promise of said cover art with a sound firmly entrenched in '70s hard rock and proto-thrash, right on the verge of emergence of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Yet their primary influence isn't British at all. It's none other than the mystic masters of Blue Öyster Cult (who I've always had a soft spot for, of course). This is so much the case that these guys probably should thank Buck Dharma in the liner notes. All bands should probably do that now that I think about.

Combine these post BÖC harmonies and Sabbathian cult fixations with memorable proto-thrash riffs, solid/tight rhythms, some psych and electronic flourishes (remember, Kraftwerk were all the shit in '75) with a virulently Satanic streak that almost feels like camp, and you've got yourself something quite interesting to bang your head to.

2011-01-23T16:27:00.001-06:00

Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson's Final Transmission

FIRE IN THE SKY (Final Transmission)

2011-01-21T22:55:00.003-06:00

Bill Orcutt A New Way To Pay Old Debts (Mego Editions) CD

Oh my golly. I finally understand. Though I must admit it took me a few months to really get my head around the ragged collection that comprises A New Way to Pay Old Debts. I'm not exactly sure why that is. This blues has precursors in everything from Django Reinhardt, King Crimson, John Fahey and Rick Bishop on back to the Mississippi Delta and all the way back to the primordial dawn.

Orcutt made a gnarly racket screeching and grinding as guitarist/vocalist in Hairy Pussy during most of the 90s, a Florida noise band whose mission was primarily to aggravate and polarize audience members. Since those days, he's spent the time cultivating a particularly unique, and very visceral primitive blues jazz whats-it string pickin' approach. No words can really capture the spontaneous blurting eruptions of what's going on here. The line between composition and improvisation feels all but erased. Orcutt's blues is off-balance and contorted, delivered like a lightning-fast boxing combination more than performed. It's rough around the ages, frayed and tattered like I think only real blues can be. It ain't yo daddy's white-boy-got-da-blues-so-he-gonna-make-dem-strings-cry-like-a-river blues. This is closer to the fury at the tornado's edge --unrelenting and gripped by real pain but also wrapped in a blanket of transcendent need. What Orcutt does song after song here is nothing short of a miracle. Deeply inspiring, weird fucking shit called the blues.

2011-01-19T01:46:00.002-06:00

Sun City Girls on Lebanese TV

Well this is amazing.

2011-01-18T23:54:00.001-06:00

DOWNLOADS DOWNLOADS DOWNLOADS!

Who finds the time, right? Blast you Internet and all your infinite data retrieval possibilities. I guess one just need manage his time a bit more wisely these days, eh?

Here are some Rolling Stones Live Boots from '71 - '73 posted last Summer by our old friend Evan at The Real Nitty Gritty, where, clearly, it is all happening. They soundboard quality -- Mick, Keef, Mick, Bill and Charlie keepin' it loud and tight with a little help from their friends. There's even a cpl Texas gigs up there. Sweet.

Tokyo Flashback Vol.'s 1 -7 and more were posted a while back over at We Have No Zen and they're still good. In the early to mid '90s, long before the age of Rapidshare and Informational Social Networking, such albums were more whispered about than heard, and now they lie in wait, ready for your perusal. Secret sonic history at your anxious fingertips. Buy 'em if you like 'em.

2011-01-14T23:29:00.006-06:00

RIP Trish Keenan

Without a doubt one of the most unique and heartfelt vocalists in experimental pop today. If you haven't heard Broadcast, please do so.

And this: Anyone remotely familiar with Keenan's work in Broadcast knows she was as much a student and fan of esoteric art pop as she was a purveyor, which makes the following all the more worth noting:

(via Facebook)

Further to Trish Keenan's passing: a friend of Joe Muggs has passed this on so I'm spreading the word -- quoting his friend: "Before she went to Australia Trish sent me a mix CD of bonkers pop music she compiled, I never thanked her. Its called Mind Bending Motorway Mix and I want to share it with you, please pass the link on, share it far and wide, its a little tribute to a (as a friend referred to....

http://rapidshare.com/files/442571226/Trish_s_Mind_Bending_Motorway_Mix.zip

rapidshare.com

2011-01-10T00:03:00.006-06:00

Glad I finally got around to reading this...

"What is this film about? It's about a man. No, not the particular man whose voice we hear from behind the screen...' It's a film about you, your father, your grandfather, someone who will live after you and who is still "you". About a man who lives on the earth, is a part of the earth and the earth is a part of him, about the fact that a man is unanswerable for his life both to the past and to the future. You have to watch this film simply, and listen to the music of Bach and the poems of Arseniy Tarkovsky; watch it as one watches the stars, or the sea, as one admires a landscape. There is no mathematical logic here, for it cannot explain what man is or what is the meaning of his life."

2011-01-09T18:31:00.003-06:00

RIP Christina-Taylor Green 2001 - 2010

2011-01-06T01:59:00.007-06:00

I know you guys love Ubuweb, right? Aside from the wealth of information to be found there, there are amazing rare/obscure video clips of many an experimental filmmaker and musician, including this one by the never before seen (by me) Taj Mahal Travelers.

Also be sure and zone out to the Zoom Quilt. Open that sucker in a browser and throw on some Outside the Dream Syndicate (or whatever) and see where it takes you.

Furthermore, bit interested in checking out The Heart is a Drum Machine, which Steven Drozd did the soundtrack for. Pitchfork has more info, including an MP3 of a track from the album. Don't you want to hear what Elijah Wood and Jason Schwartzman think about modern psychedelia and electronic composition? I do! ;-)

2011-01-02T23:08:00.001-06:00

Sun Circle Lessness (Arbor) 2LP

Sun Circle is the duo of Greg Davis and Zach Wallis. Their work under the Sun Circle name is steeped in the minimalism of the New York loft scene of the 60s and more recently Pelt and Davis's own solo work. The results are ultra stripped down one note sidelong workouts, each named for the instrument employed -- Opener "Drums," two tracks called "Tambouras" and closer "Gongs." As expected, the tambouras offer the most density -- 1 a monstrous one note raga trance, 2 offering a tad more variation with similarly hypnotic results. The closing "Gongs" offers perhaps a more solemn kind of hypnosis across nearly 15 mins of deep inner/outer space mind probing. Ideal for meditation and staring at fixed objects continuously. Sun Cicle - putting the New back in New Age.

2010-12-30T23:47:00.018-06:00

Hurdling towards death, in love with fear.
The more we know, the further we get.
The less we know, the closer we come.
Unravelling, rewiring.
Evolving, rewinding.
Conflict/Resolution.
Another year.
Another tear.
--Unknown

Top of the Pops in '10 (in no specific order)

Purling Hiss Public Service Announcement (Woodsist) LP

U.S. Girls Go Grey (Siltbreeze) LP

Sun City Girls Funeral Mariachi (Abduction) CD

Puffy Aereolas In the Army 1981 (Siltbreeze) LP

Michael Pisaro & Taku Sugimoto 2 Seconds / B Minor / Wave (Erstwhile) CD

Failing Lights Self-Titled (Intransitive) CD

The Body All the Waters of the Earth Shall Turn to Blood (At a Loss) CD

Blaze Foley Sittin By the Road (Lost Art) CD

Swans My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky (Young God) 2CD

Jack Rose Luck in the Valley (Thrill Jockey) CD

Oneohtrix Point Never Returnal (Mego) CD

The Dead C Patience (Ba Da Bing) CD

White Hills Self-Titled (Thrill Jockey) CD

Graham Lambkin & Jason Lescalleet Air Supply (Erstwhile) CD

Bardo Pond Self-Titled (Fire) CD

Kemialliset Ystävät Ullakkopalo (Fonal) CD

Ghost Opus Anonymous (Rise Above) CD

Sabbath Assembly Restored to One (The Ajna Offensive) LP

La Otracina Reality Has Got To Die (Holy Mountain) 2LP

Sun Circle Lessness (Arbor) 2LP

Bare Wires Seeking Love (Castle Face) CD

Sylvester Anfang II Commune Cassetten (Blackest Rainbow) LP

Voice of the Seven Thunders Self-Titled (Holy Mountain) CD

Evan Caminiti West Winds (Three Lobed) LP

Barn Owl Ancestral Star (Thrill Jockey) CD

Deathspell Omega Paracletus (Norma Evangelium Diabol) CD

Fabulous Diamonds II (Siltbreeze) CD

Vas Deferens Organization Ninth Ward Fourth World (Free Dope and Fucking in the Streets) LP

Melvins The Bride Screamed Murder (Ipecac) CD

Imaginary Softwoods Imaginary Softwoods (Digitalis) 2LP

Cyclobe Wounded Galaxies Tap At The Window (Phantam Code) LP

Jon Mueller The Whole (Type) CD

Electric Wizard Black Masses (Rise Above) CD

Neil Young Le Noise (Reprise) CD

Endless Boogie Full House Head (No Quarter) CD

Reissues

Kevin Drumm Self-Titled (Thin Wrist) 2LP

Thomas Koner Nunatak / Teimo / Permafrost (Type) 3CD

JD Emmanuel Wizard (Important) LP

Short Form and Cassette

Pink Reason Winona (Woodsist) 7"

Various Artists Solo Guitar (Winebox Press) 3C.20

MV & EE Sweetheart of the Nascar (Electric Temple) 7"

White Rainbow Night Tracer (Bandcamp) MP3EP

The Mantles Pink Information (Mexican Summer) 12"EP

Live

Puffy Areolas / White Drugs / Kaboom @ Rubber Gloves in Denton

Neil Young / Bert Jansch @ Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas

Fat Worm of Error / Zanzibar Snails @ House of Doom in Arlington

Christoph Heemann / Rick Reed @ Ceremony Hall in Austin

Koboku Senju / The Watchers @ Pheonix Project in Dallas

Biggest Bummer

Captain Beefheart and half of Big Star (Alex Chilton and Andy Hummel) dying. And Sleazy. So long, Dennis Hopper.

Biggest Unhealthy Fixation

Female dance pop divas like Robyn, Gaga, Rihanna and that slut Ke$ha, who I would probably actually like if she'd ease up off the autotune, but not Katy Perry. Never Katy Perry!

Records I Will Probably End Up Liking Anyway, Despite All My Best Efforts Not To

Kanye My Beautiful Nightmare

Katy Perry California Gurls

Movies

Black Swan
True Grit

Winter's Bone
The House of the Devil
Splice
Inception
Toy Story 3

Easy A

Also liked The Social Network and The A Team, haven't seen 127 Hours yet

2010-12-23T23:25:00.006-06:00

MINI-REVIEWS (woot!)

This is not a year-end best of list, but it could be...

Blaze Foley Sittin' By the Road (Lost Art) CD - Solid collection of early demos from this Austin ghost. Features strong renditions of some of his best songs ("Clay Pigeons," "If I Could Only Fly," "Cold, Cold World") and more.

Clockcleaner Auf Werdersein (Load) CD - Blistering last blast from these Philly noise rockers with a dirgey nihilistic groove equally indebted to Swans and The Birthday Party. Great wiry guitar sound and awesome crushing rhythms beneath howling post punk vocals. Sorry I never got to see them live.

Pyramids Pyramids (Hydra Head) CD - Black metal and shoegaze hybridized successfully to invoke the lost soul of Kevin Shields after he's been banished to the bottomless depths as punishment for never delivering a proper follow-up to Loveless.

Thomas Köner Nunatak / Teimo / Permafrost (Type) 3CD - Type continues their reissue series of this dark ambient tone-weaver with a collection of three of his mid '90s works. Rumbling subharmonic voids for getting lost and never found. Darkest outer reaches of noise space but accessible and even "pretty."

Cyclobe Wounded Galaxies Tap At The Window (Phantomcode) LP - Masterful post-industrial sci-fi sound sculpture from this Coil related duo; offers up the expected and unexpected in equal measure from industrial, minimalism and harsh noise to prog rock, free noise, childlike lullabies. Should be available in the States through Forced Exposure next month.

Kevin Drumm Imperial Horizon (Hospital Productions) CD - One epic decaying celestial crawl from this master of lowercase amp hum and buzz.

Caboladies Live Anywhere (Aguirre) LP - Killer live document from this young duo sees samples, electronics and even some beats intricately (and spontaneously) assembled from thin air to invoke living, breathing hyper-realities.

Graham Lambkin and Jason Lescalleet Air Supply (Erstwhile) CD - Yet another top notch collaboration between this unlikely duo yielding visceral sound mappings of the crossover between domestic living space and deeper terrestrial planes. Covers a lot of ground and a multitude of sound environments.

Sailors With Wax Wings Sailors With Wax Wings (Angel Oven) CD - Somewhere between black metal, post rock and classic shoegaze but really none of the above; it features some folks I really dig (Prurient, Marissa Nadler, James Blackshaw, Aidan Baker, etc), but more importantly, it rocks and rolls while always lulling with a detached lidded beauty.

Jesu Heartache & Dethroned (Hydra Head) 2CD - Far out, Jesu's using drum machines again! This 2CD is a monster -- one disc of two long Godflesh like trance metal trudges, and the second disc features more compact workouts that sound more Godflesh than Jesu, with the mellower vocals of recent releases intact. *Ed. note - Der, this is actually a reissue of two early EPs.

Giant Sand ProVISIONS (Yep Roc) CD - The master of dusty desert rock returns with another solid batch of broke dick country blues. Howe's Gelb's mumbling spoke-sung voice is an old friend, sympathetic and understanding, and on songs like "The Desperate Kingdom of Love" and "Spiral" as undeniable as the sunrise.

Altar Eagle Mechanical Gardens (Type) CD - Melodic dream pop with a cold wave feel at times built around simple beats, new wave fuzz organ, guitars, dynamic vocal interplay and bubbling electronics. More than enough hooks to go around. Very nice for this sort of thing.

La Otracina Reality Has Got To Die (Holy Mountain) 2LP - More psychedelic space metal mayhem from this Brooklyn trio; like the lost love child between early 'Maiden and the first Ash Ra Temple record. Love the sidelong title track and righteous prog metal cover art.

Bardo Pond Bardo Pond (Fire) CD - Been a minute since BP dropped a full length of all new material, and this one brings the goods and then some. Very possibly the most melodic and accessible long-player from these Philly heavies to date.

Failing Lights Failing Lights (Intransitive) CD - Mike Connelly of Wolf Eyes and Hair Police delivers with the first widely available CD from his solo project. Failing Lights is the sound of darkness seeping in, slowly and methodically taking over like a viral contamination. Only you don't get real sick when you listen to it.

Dark Smith Total Vacuum (Hanson) CD - Corroded murky power drones and surrealist gore movie soundscapes. Utterly grim and wrong but fascinating, like good dark ambient's s'posed to be.

Wooden Wand Death Seat (Young God) CD - JT hits the big time, wrangles Gira into the production seat, sounds kinda like Wooden Wand and The Angels of Light, and that's all right, brother.

Big Blood Dead Songs (Time-Lag) LP - Timeless psych folk duo with awesome guitars, banjo and the striking vocal stylings of Colleen. Some undeniably great hooks here. These two were also members of Cerberus Shoal.

Voice of the Seven Thunders Voice of the Seven Thunders (Holy Mountain) CD - Fierce tight prog rock workouts with a classic rock sensibility, but far from just another Led Zeppelin wannabe. Well rehearsed and lysergic at heart, third eye cast to the morning sun.

Crazy Dreams Band War Dream (Holy Mountain) - Wicked cult grooving heavy rock experimentation. Repetition and throbbing trance states with freaked out fem vocals. For fans of early Royal Trux, The Doors, Patti Smith and early '70s Nico, yet truly modern and unclassifiable.

Wet Hair / Naked On the Vague Split (Night People) LP - Awesome pairing of these two, operating in mellower trance pop mode here. Special mention to Wet Hair for turning Popol Vuh's "In the Garden of the Pharaohs" into sweet post Spacemen 3 electro pop.

Sylvester Anfang II Commune Cassetten (Blackest Rainbow) LP - Far and away the most impressive thing I've heard from this more recent incarnation of SA. Deep, tribal psych folk revelries.

White Hills White Hills (Thrill Jockey) CD - More righteous space sludge from this awesome trio with fairly conventional but seriously levitated psych that takes fuzz mantras to magical new realms. White Hills is never afraid to sound like a real rock band, a very stoned rock band. One track's called "Let the Right One In," and it smokes.

Jon Mueller The Whole (Type) CD - Brilliant latest solo effort from the owner of Crouton Music and drummer for Collections of Colonies of Bees and Volcano Choir. I like Mueller solo best, and this collision of percussion, voice and strings is a brilliant illustration of his many gifts with its hypnotic melding of driving percussive mantras and skeletal left field folk pieces.

Michael Pisaro / Taku Sugimoto 2 Seconds / B Minor / Wave (Erstwhile) CD - Fantastic duo explorations of mid to high register minimal drones unfolding across sidelong pieces. Time killing, deeply transportive, pristinely recorded and quite melodic at times.

2010-12-17T23:57:00.009-06:00

Don Van Vliet 1941 - 2010

So Captain Beefheart aka Don Van Vliet has gone to his reward. Don is incredibly important to me, to this blog, to how I listen to music and see things. How many times in life do we ever meet a true original? Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band may not be the easiest to get into at first, but once The Captain and his pesky band of bearded freaks work their broken blues mojo, there's just no escape -- you've been booglarized for life. Rest well old friend, amid the dust and the wind.

Some links:

(1966)

(1968)

(1969)

(1972 or so) This slays...

John French's Tribute to Don Van Vliet

Dangerous Minds

Captain Beefheart's Ten Commandments of Guitar Playing

Other Folks Remember Beefheart at Soundspike

(BBC documentary)

(on Letterman circa '82) "You wanna be a different fish, you gotta jump out of the school."

2010-12-13T11:15:00.005-06:00

Swans My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To the Sky [Special Edition] 2CD (Young God)

I wasn't too surprised when Michael Gira announced that he was reviving the Swans project once more. The world's all messed up again, but then maybe it always was. Demons need exorcising. Imbalances needs balancing. My Father Will Guide me Up a Rope to the Sky (yeah, I like it too) is Gira's latest attempt at contemplating such dilemmas, and despite the familiarity of his voice and approach, it comes from a place further along his unique musical path.

Despite the Swans stamp on the spine, one really can't overlook the past 10 years of Gira's recorded output, and the leaps he's made as a songwriter and composer since introducing the world to the more translucent Angels of Light. 'Course, Swans sound pretty hot on Soundtracks for the Blind, and those Body Lovers and Body Haters discs still rank as some of Gira's finest aural concoctions to date, but for me it was the discovery of the more soulful, trad-fixated folk rock of the Angels that revealed a truly complete artist, offering a nice counterpoint to the atmospheric assaults of the earliest (best) Swans recordings at the same time. That's in no way meant to short-change the invaluable contributions of Gira's collaborators over the years. Some are present and accounted for here, including Thor Harris and Phil Puleo on drums and percussion, Bill Reiflen on bass and other instruments, and long time Swans mainstay Norman Westberg on guitar along with a host of other contributors playing everything from jew's harp to trombone and violin. Gira's adorable daughter even gets in on the fun with a little spoken singing.

The songs themselves are a potent mix of late period Swans and the softer, more somber works of Angels in Light. What's worth noting is the heavier dynamics of a few tracks, combining the brutality of the earlier Swans with the seasoned compositional quality of their late '90s work. In the case of opener "No Words/No Thoughts," the repetitious throb is in full effect with pummeling rhythms swelling amid a torrent of shrieking horns and guitars before down-shifting into a brooding slow burn with Gira's unmistakable vocal front and center, excoriating all men for the sin of thinking at all. Now that's killing the problem at its source!

Other places we get the goth country one-two punch of "Jim" and "My Birth," both closer to the latest Angels of Light records, not a bad thing at all. Then there's the lovely "You Fucking People Make Me Sick" which opens on a trickle of bouncing jaw's harp and tremolous strings before the voice of an angel signals the apocalypse and all hell breaks loose with shrieking brass screams and thunderous percussive rolls. Genuinely fucked. Nice of them to wrap things up with the mellow shuffle of "Little Mouth," a foreboding kiss goodnight before a tumultuous night's sleep.

If you're serious about the noisier aspects of Gira and company's oeuvre, do yourself a favor and get the 2CD version for its inclusion of "Look At Me Go" (christened such by Gira's daughter), an extended suite of trickling pianos, searing guitars, power drones and more all mangled and squeezed from the original source tapes into something much more formless and miasmic. It may very will be the # 3 hinted at but never delivered by the title of the Body Lovers' first album, One of Three, but it's still all Swans. Not bad at all or their first missive in 12 years.

2010-12-13T01:22:00.005-06:00

So, I love The Doors as much as the next guy, but this is just too little too late, don't ya think?

Ladies and Gentleman, I give you the AWESOME and ALMIGHTY...

\m/ MAP OF METAL \m/

...which basically covers it all, from heavy psych and bombastic prog to depressive black metal and funeral doom. Sure, not every band in the world gets a mention, but the graphics and interactive set up make for a much more fun perusal than Encylopedia Metallum (which still rules), and Map of Metal literally rocks.

You can go here (via Weedtemple) and find links for downloading prime cuts from White Rainbow's bandcamp site. White Rainbow is of course Adam Forkner's pulsing minimal electro-space project, definitely one of the finer ones going today. "Night Tracer" is 30 mins of primo celestial acid-new-age minimalism that's ripe for late night chemically propelled mind cruising.

And looky here: Know Your Conjurer uploaded Bardo Pond's set from last week's Godspeed You Black Emperor! curated All Tomorrow's Parties in Minehead, UK, and it sounds pretty good after some EQ tweeks - one of the best inner/outer space sound dwellers on the planet today, without a doubt! Can't wait to really dig into their new one on Fire, which just may be their best long player yet.

And if you're really bored and love your prog rock as much as your camel toes, be sure and check out Prog Off.

2010-11-30T01:52:00.004-06:00

Well, this is the shit. Over at Dangerous Minds, Richard Metzger posted up clips of isolated tracks of the Stones' anti war behemoth "Gimme Shelter," so you too can hear how singular and mind-blowing the individual parts are that add up to one of the greatest songs of all time. Enjoy.

Oh yeah, Dangerous Minds is probably the best blog out there these days. They also just deconstructed "Helter Skelter."

2010-11-25T11:06:00.004-06:00

Peter Christopherson 1995 - 2010

Sad to report the passing of Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson of Coil and Throbbing Gristle. He was one of the most unique and visionary music makers I ever obsessively fixated on. I don't think that fixation will end any time soon. More at Brainwashed.

Ned does some remembering also over at Foxy Digitalis.

2010-11-24T12:25:00.005-06:00

Needles in the Haystack

Friends 'n' foes, reports of my demise hath been greatly exaggerated. I continue to peck away at the feed of life, exploring a little here and and there, eating tacos and getting out to shows when possible. Finally got to see Christoph Heemann live in Austin last month along with a brilliant solo set by Rick Reed (Heemann wasn't too shabby either) and the Guided By Voices (classic lineup)/Times New Viking gig (TNV was better) here in Dallas. Was thoroughly impressed by a Zanzibar Snails double set I caught a couple weeks ago at Good Records, new release forthcoming on Finland's revered Ikuisuus label. I love the new Purling Hiss record, Public Service Announcement (and anything else bearing the Woodsist stamp lately -- Royal Baths, Ganglians, etc, etc). Purling's gig with Kurt Vile a few nights ago was a fuzzed out guitar rock screamer that didn't disappoint.

What else? The new Swans record is the ALBUM OF THE YEAR -- I recommend the Special Edition 2CD with the awesome Body Lovers like bonus CD featuring a 46 min post industrial noise pscyh freakout that rewards deep listening with layer after layer of shifting instrumental madness. I also really like Neil Young's Le Noise, and that's not just because I saw it performed live back in June. Good songs, good production. I'll be lucky to still be breathing at 70, let alone making good tunes. Also love the new La Otracina, Reality Has Got to Die on Holy Mountain. Fans of recent Circle need it. The new Dead C, properly christened Patience (Ba Da Bing!), is a slow-burner that's coarsely needling its way into the frontal lobe as I type. A fine, FINE follow-up to Secret Earth, me thinks. Sun City Girls' Funeral Mariachi (Abduction) -- their final studio album recorded with the late Charles Gocher -- is measuring up to be the king daddy closing salvo of all the 'Girls' ethno-psych freakouts to date. Very snazzy, indeed. They will be missed. Cloudland Canyon's Fin Eaves (Holy Mountain) is everything I hoped it would be; examiners of the line between modern day shoegaze and vintage electro art rock should be duly bowled over. Daniel Higgs' Say God (Thrill Jockey) is a warbling psychedelic examination of all that is holy in the great mystery we call being. Watain's Lawless Darkness (Season of Mist) is something more abysmal and cursed entirely from these old lords of Swedish black metal. And for God's sake, lest we forget mention the dark folk rock revelries of Sabbath Assembly, whose Restored to One (The Ajna Offensive) is the most original and "classic sounding" record of 2010.

Some random used finds on my last jaunt to CD Source: Giant Sand Provisions (Yep Roc), Jesu Silver (Hydrahead), Grimble Grumble S/T (Bouncing Corp), Woods Songs of Shame (Shrimper).

I finally got around to making a contribution to Marissa Nadler's new album fund, as listed at Kickstarter. This is a great idea, of course, that lots of folks are taking advantage of in this new hands-on do-it-yourself technocratic age. Can't wait to hear the final results!

As some of you know I'm a fiend for pre WW2 country blues and I must send out a big "howdy" to Womblife's Patron Saint of The Blues for forwarding this delectable morsel my way:

Various Artists - White Country Blues 1926-1938

Album: White Country Blues 1926-1938
Styles: Old-Timey
Released: 1993
Label: Columbia
File: mp3@320K/s
Size: 167.4 MB
Time: 73:07

Disc 1:

1. Frank Hutchinson/K.C. Blues [3:04]
2. Frank Hutchinson/Cannon Ball Blues [3:23]
3. Charlie Poole With The North Carolina Ramblers/Leaving Home [3:04]
4. Charlie Poole With The North Carolina Ramblers/If The River Was Whiskey [3:07]
5. Cauley Family/Duplin County Blues [2:40]
6. Tom Darby & Jimmie Tarlton/Sweet Sarah Blues [3:01]
7. Tom Darby & Jimmie Tarlton/Frankie Dean [3:13]
8. Riley Puckett/A Darkey's Wail [2:55]
9. Clarence Green/Johnson City Blues [2:59]
10. The Carolina Buddies/Mistreated Blues [3:09]
11. Tom Ashley/Haunted Road Blues [3:15]
12. Roy Acuff & His Crazy Tennesseans/Steel Guitar Blues [2:52]
13. Carlisle & Ball/Guitar Blues [3:01]
14. Carlisle & Ball/I Want A Good Woman [3:21]
15. Cliff Carlisle/Ash Can Blues [2:58]
16. Val & Pete/Yodel Blues (Part 1) [3:14]
17. Val & Pete/Yodel Blues (Part 2) [2:51]
18. Mr. & Mrs. Chris Bouchillion/Adam & Eve (Part 2) [3:16]
19. W.T. Narmour & S.W. Smith/Carroll County Blues [3:01]
20. Charlie Poole With The North Carolina Ramblers/Ramblin' Blues [2:59]
21. Frank Hutchinson/Worried Blues [3:22]
22. Frank Hutchinson/Train That Carried The Girl From Town [3:01]
23. Roy Harvey & Leonard Copeland/Lonesome Weary Blues [2:53]
24. W. Lee O'Daniel & His Hillbilly Boys/Bear Cat Mama [2:19]

Disc 2:

1. Blue Ridge Ramblers/ Jug Rag [2:52]
2. Prairie Ramblers/ Deep Elem Blues [3:19]
3. Clayton McMichen/ Prohibition Blues [3:03]
4. Larry Hensley/ Match Box Blues [2:55]
5. Callahan Brothers/ Somebody's Been Using That Thing [2:48]
6. Homer Callahan/ Rattle Snake Daddy [3:04]
7. Homer Callahan/ My Good Gal Has Thrown Me Down [2:42]
8. W. Lee O'Daniel & His Hillbilly Boys/ Dirty Hangover Blues [2:20]
9. W. Lee O'Daniel & His Hillbilly Boys/ Tuck Away My Lonesome Blues [2:32]
10. Asa Martin & His Kentucky Hillbillies/ Lonesome, Broke And Weary [2:28]
11. Cliff Carlisle/ Chicken Roost Blues [2:32]
12. Cliif Carlisle/ Tom Cat Blues [2:52]
13. Bill Cox & Cliff Hobbs/ Oozlin' Daddy Blues [2:55]
14. Bill Cox & Cliff Hobbs/ Kansas City Blues [2:47]
15. Ramblin' Red Lowery/ Ramblin' Red's Memphis Yodel No. 1 [2:48]
16. Anglin Brothers/ Southern Whoopie Song [2:26]
17. Allen Brothers/ Drunk And Nutty Blues [3:08]
18. Allen Brothers/ Chattanooga Mama [3:35]
19. Smiling Bill Carlisle/ String Bean Mama [2:25]
20. Smiling Bill Carlisle/ Copper Head Mama [2:26]
21. Bill Cox/ Long Chain Charlie Blues [2:47]
22. Bill Cox/ Georgia Brown Blues [2:47]
23. Al Dexter/ New Jelly Roll Blues [2:33]
24. The Rhythm Wreckers/ Never No Mo' Blues [2:39]

Notes:
White Country Blues 1926-1938: A Lighter Shade of Blue is an excellent, revealing 48-track, double-disc collection culled from the Columbia, American and OKeh vaults. All of the material on this double-disc set was recorded by country artists that drew heavily from the blues, whether it was incorporating the genre into their own compositions or covering blues and hokum songs. Though there are several stars, such as Roy Acuff, many of the performers on White Country Blues are obscure, especially for listeners whose knowledge of country music stops at Hank Williams. That is one of the many reasons why White Country Blues is invaluable. It's a thoughtfully compiled and thorough historical reissue that presents a wealth of rare, fascinating material. While it might not always be an easy listen, it's remains an essential purchase for any comprehensive country collection.

Get it courtesy of the On Muddy Sava Riverbanks blog.

Was poking around the Youtube last night, and I stumbled upon this sweet clip of High Rise live in 2002. I was supposed to see them that year, but they had customs difficulties and never made it all the way to Texas. Boo!

Apparently, in more recent times the leader of High Rise, Nanjo Asahita, has basically fallen off the face of the earth. He's still around (he answers his phone occasionally), but he wont play any more live shows or release any new music, so I guess High Rise is officially a disbanded project. That sucks, but it's nice to see lead acid axeman Munehiro Narita and his new band, Green Flames, keeping the High Rise tradition alive and screaming. A very good thing!

2010-09-03T17:00:00.004-05:00

Rollin' Out Dem Bloody Bones

Here's some choice cuts that lean towards the grimier side. No dub-step allowed. Keepin' it real, you guyz:

Purling Hiss Purling Hiss (Permanent Records) LP - These Filthydelphia space blasters bring the face-melt sort'a like a cross between San Fransisco's Monoshock and Tokyo's Mainliner. Energy and distortion are completely off the charts on this self titled slab o' squall, replete with vintage wah-wah leads, a goofy sense of humor (one song is called "Almost Washed My Hair") and distorted rhythms that flail about like some drunk guy that can't find his way to the toilet and accidentally stumbles onto the dance floor just in time to let it spew. I recommend throwing this on the turntable at your next dance party if you can find a copy.

Endless Boogie Full House Head (No Quarter) CD - These Brooklyn blues hounds are at the top of their game on this their 4th (by my count) long player, second for the awesome No Quarter label. It's tempting to see Endless Boogie as a throwback since they sound like something that could've only emerged from 1972 when the acid had all but dried up while the British Blues Invasion was still visible in the rear view. The MO is one of surging rhythmic precision beneath dueling banjo blues licks (actually played on electric guitars) and gnarled vocal yelps and howls. Raw and sealed tighter than a Vegas dealer's grill, the 'Boogie excels whether kicked out at high velocity in epic distorted globs or slathered on slow like hot butter (check the extended hypnosis of "Slow Creep"). I'd say they just don't make 'em like this anymore, but then that would completely defeat the purpose of this here review. It's nice to have an excuse to really dig on some electric blues again. Work, son!

La Otracina Space Metal Vol. 1 (Colour Sounds) CD-R - Here's another sonic dispatch meant to help sate the masses till Reality Has Got To Die drops on Holy Mountain in a few weeks. Things range from the crunchy cycling mantras of the opener "Snowblazin'" to post Hawkwind Korg whoosh on "Moxoaaoxom" (guess that's actually a 'Dead reference, eh?) and the aggro biker assault of "Twisted Branches." Extra credit points for the sweet Heldon ref in the title of closer "Voyage to Heldonia," a gorgeous prog psych blastoff totally worthy of the name which is also the best thing here. Richard Pinhas is coming to the States this month -- got your tickets yet, Adam?

The Mantles Pink Information (Mexican Summer) LP - Classic but raw Paisley Underground inspired West Coast fuzz jangle for pot smokers and melody lovers alike. Back in the '60s they called this psych pop. In the '70s it was power pop. Today I guess I call it classic rock. And if the first four gems weren't enough, closer "Waiting Out the Storm" (no doubt another surfing tribute) sounds like the long lost love child between Yo La Tengo and The Clean. Hummable, infectious good times you can clap along to while your heart sighs and your scruffed surf board rests in a corner. Pink Information is a solid follow-up to their self-titled debut for Siltbreeze. In fact it's better.

Pink Reason Winona (Woodsist) 7" - Pink Reason and the sweet misery. I'm still convinced that PR's Cleaning the Mirror LP (Siltbreeze) will go down in the annals of alienated freakdom as one of the great lost downers of the '00s, and the live experience I enjoyed a cpl years ago remains a defining moment (in my life and theirs, no doubt). With music this good and utterly soul-destroyed the question eventually becomes, just how long can you hold it together? At least long enough for one more defeated howl in the form of this tasty 3 song treat. The title track is a left in the dust folk pop trudge with sad-sack vocals and glazed over harmony hums -- devastatingly great. On the flip behold the detuned skronk pop mastery of "Give Yerself Away," which sounds like Peter Jefferies clanking around in the cellar and approximating his best Ian Curtis, though such a description in no way captures the utterly stoned pop desolation that's conjured. Keep on keepin' on, my sad brothers! Some of us just can't get enough.

Cave Pure Moods (Drag City) 12" - Cave brings it like few Chicago rockers today (Plastic Crimewave aside). Somewhere between the cycling post-Kraut mantras of Circle and the future-shock drug punk of Oneida you will find the ecstatic Pure Moods of Cave. Experimental and psychedelic in equal measure, Cave's gift comes in its ability to marry so much strangeness with catchy melodies and tight, propulsive dynamics that sing to the inner freak within us all, which it does mighty well on the appropriately titled sidelong "Brigitte's Trip (White Light/White Jazz)."

Puffy Areolas In the Army 81 (Siltbreeze) LP - What is it with them Ohio punks today and their love of slop? The excellently monikered Puffy Areolas are a quintessential Siltbreeze band -- destroyed, in the red fuzz punk with more energy than technical ability (thank goodness), snotty shouted vocals and glue-sniffing acid leads. Every song here is fast and blaring like your Eat Skulls and Times New Vikings, but there's an extra heapin' helpin' of sun-damaged fuzzy muck to properly fog up the receptors and burn out the speakers. "Get Me Out of Houston" is a fucking monster, but I love it all, and they can do it live too. Earplugs optional.

U.S. Girls Go Grey (Siltbreeze) LP - According to Discogs.com, this is the second proper long-player from U.S. Girls, but I'm not entirely sure about that. I saw this band -- one woman actually -- a couple years ago at the Siltbreeze showcase at SXSW, but I had no idea just who or what U.S. Girls was at the time. It was actually one Megan Remy adjusting a bevy of effects pedals while simultaneously singing tales of woebegone and ecstasy your author can't begin to imagine. Speed things up to now and I find myself digging into this newest delectable morsel with ever-growing fascination. I now realize that even back then Remy had already tapped into her own personal tonal paradise where the great songs echoed for eternity and We are all Gods. I have no idea what I'm trying to get at really, other than to say Go Grey is something a sad little masterpiece. Wrap your ears around "Red Ford Radio" and you just may just chance upon the most brilliant post industrial folk pop tune you've heard in a decade. Bury your face in the grimy echo chamber plod of "Sleeping on Glass" and marvel at that moment when coarse bristles of discomfort morph into cold spikes of echoing despair. High drama on the distorted seas, my friends. A truly impressive melding of strange clang and timeless pop melodies.

The Body All the Waters of the Earth Shall Turn to Blood (At A Loss) CD - The Body sounds both familiar and like nothing else out there on the grim horizon. The doom mantras of the riff-driven parts have their precursors in the sludgeiod repetition of later Sleep and Atavist, and there are also the expected lunatic howls. What grabs me is the more traditional vocal parts -- not traditional in the doom sense but traditional in a choral sense. Opener "A Body" floats on a drift of Renaissance era polyphony (courtesy of the Assembly of Light Choir) for what seems like a small eternity (actually 7 mins) before exploding into the more expected stomping sludge onslaught of screeching howls and cursed angel cries. Words don't do the overall effect justice, but it's something to behold all the same. Second track has almost a post rock feel with its steady pulse and distant organ drones, but the skeletal black metal scrawl of the guitars and shifting bass groans make sure things get dark fast. Throw in crushing percussion, some disjointed tape effects and plenty more vocal insanity, you got yourself something undeniably fucked, hypnotic and ritualistic.

2010-08-25T23:55:00.005-05:00

Two More Live Aktionz

White Drugs / Puffy Areolas / Kaboom Live at RGRS 8/19/10

This I was looking forward to mainly for the set by Ohio noise psych punks, Puffy Areolas. Their In the Army 81 (Siltbreeze) is a real humdinger in the hxc skree scene and one of my favorite platters of '10.

Friends and I convened at Snuffers on Lower Greenville for a burger and fries before we headed up the road to Denton and RGRS. Interestingly, this was the first venue I'd ever attended with my good pal, Travis, in town for a couple days along with his girlfriend, Tara. Travis remarked on how things seemed to have come full circle and he was right. Only real difference was we were all hairier now and the previous gig we'd attended at this place some 7 + years ago was no good (Octopus Project/snore/wince). Enjoyed retelling a recollection of my one and only encounter with said club's proprietor, which I won't go into here. Ask me sometime in the great out and about and I just might.

First up was Kaboom, one of them noise punker sort'a groups that mixes a healthy dose of aggro angularity with gallons of ball sweat and mean riffs. Like headliner White Drugs, Kaboom is all herky-jerky with the stop-start rhythms and tough guy vocals designed to kick out the jams as much as intimidate the wimpier segments of the audience. Not bad, far from life-changing.

The Puffy Areolas did not disappoint. Their vibe is one of blaring, screeching punk rock cacophony. Bands that come to mind during their set: Wire, MC5, The Stooges and Comets on Fire to name a few. Hawkwind and Krautrock also popped in the cranial space, but that's probably more a reflection of my own fixations. What matters here is the quality of the songs, and there truly isn't a stinker in the bunch. 40 mins/5 songs of furious screaming real rock for the anti-masses that leave an indelible impression and far transcend any possible Nowave/Krautrock trappings. Sometimes originality is just a matter of turning the amps up to 11 and completely meaning every second. The Puffy Areolas are the shit. Believe every word.

From here there's really only one way to go. White Drugs plays a tight set that draws from their debut album on Amphetamine Reptile (remember that label?). Their short, choppy bass-heavy sludge punk reminds me of classics in the genre, including The Jesus Lizard and Tar, but it somehow feels almost limited after the infinity squalls offered up minutes before. Or maybe my head was still too high up in the stratosphere to properly appreciate their down 'n' dirty noise punk sound. 10 years ago I'd have been all over it. Still, all in all it was a wonderful night spent among friends -- new and old -- and even though we narrowly avoided legal troubles on the way home (got pulled over and promptly sent on our merry way), it was one of those nights where everything seemed to go just right. Glad T & T were there to see it too.

Fat Worm of Error / Zanzibar Snails / Depths Live at The Leisure Womb 8/21/10

This gig marks the arrival of yet another new venue for house shows in the North Texas area, this time on the edge of Ft. Worth. It's a big place...comfy. When I arrived to The Womb there was boxed wine and five large pizzas sprawled out across the kitchen. Saw some of me m8s (none of which had made it out for the Puffies two days before -- bad m8s) and stumbled into the performance space/bedroom just in time for the Zanzibar Snails' trio set (arrived too late for duo Depths), which offered up an undulating soundbath that spiraled through the industrial/drone/noise multiverse with intergalactic grace. Rising tonal tides brush up against distant clarinet, radio crackle and low end guitar groan. Was really struck by Nevada Hill's work on guitar here, alternating between almost doom to more lowercase hum and crackle straight out of the Kevin Drumm handbook (got the 2LP reissue of his self titled on Thin Wrist? Got mine), but every member (including Michael Chamy and Nick Cabrera) brings something compelling to the table. Hope they recorded it. Hope they release it.

Then it was time for the one, the only...Fat Worm of Error. The Massachusetts art skuzz unit has been thrashing around making a racket for years now, and they seem to have evolved from a more formless experimental approach to full on rawk bombast. Either way, this show was my first proper introduction to their sonic delirium. As they insisted, we got off our duffs and got ready to lobster walk to their post Troutmask Replica squawking. Stand we did and rocked we were for a good hour of intense spindly string bending and lurching rhythms through the broken Dadaist void. I was reminded at different points of Henry Cow, King Crimson, Sonic Youth, Beefheart, The Residents (who I've barely heard at all, but why not, since Fat Worm's singer is prone to donning ridiculous costumes from song to song). All in all, the quintet managed the seemingly impossible task of being fierce, heavy, weird, experimental, ridiculous and non boring to great effect. Even better was hanging out afterwards and watching members of the band and audience break into impromptu musical revelries on the player organ in the middle of the dining room. I actually sort of live for nights like this one. Thanks, Fat Worm and The Gang for making it possible.

2010-08-18T16:37:00.003-05:00

Hallogallo 2010 Live at Primevera Sound

HOLY SHIT! Wish I could see this live. You can listen to Brian Turner's Michael Rother special here.

2010-08-12T01:58:00.005-05:00

More Music for Those Who Hate:

The Bastard Noise & The Endless Blockade The Red List / The Bastard Noise A Culture of Monsters (Deep Six) both CD - Bastard Noise is a group I came too late, but I've gotten a crash course in the last couple months. Now is the time since the revered Chicago power noise institution has returned to its roots by kicking out bowel-thrashing hardcore doom in studio and on stage that touches on everything from The Melvins to the heyday of Earache and earlier Man is the Bastard power violence epics.

So what we get on these two blasts of prog thrash -- one a split with the equally mind blowing post hardcore spazz freaks, The Endless Blockade -- are brutal rhythms with screeching vocals and pummeling double bass percussion and bass (no lead guitars) punctuated by eerie electronics crackling like hot geiger counters at ground zero of a nuclear detonation. It ain't pretty, but you can't turn away from the ferocious doom noise onslaught of tracks like "Fallen Species" if you're into that sort'a thing. Gotta say The Endless Blockade is even more insane, like maybe a little too insane for my ears these days, but if you love blistering prog infused hardcore and electronics you could do much worse than their "Advanced Directive."

A Culture of Monsters, BN's latest long player continues the feel of the The Red List with monster rhythms smashed to pieces with thrashing beats and eerie minimal electronics. There's a perverse sense of humor about it all that makes it go down easier than one might expect with this sort of thing. Not something I'll pull out regularly but excellent enough for fans of evocative power noise with crushing blastbeats and all the ugly in between.

Locrian Rain of Ashes (Basses Frequencies) / Territories (At War With False Noise/Basses Frequencies/Bloodlust!/Small Doses) CD / LP - Two more doses of dismal metallic drone from Chicago's mighty Locrian, a band that possibly takes its cues from the bad boys mentioned above, Wolf Eyes, early Swans, black metal and even Fripp/Eno. Rain of Ashes offers an hour of live delirium captured for a radio broadcast. It opens on a sedated repetitive note with distant minor keys crawling up the spine like tiny black spiders before immersing the listener in an enveloping cacophony of tortured howls and feedback blizzards designed to disorient and overpower at extreme volumes. It's not a bad soundtrack for trailing off into a nightmare slumber if you can pass out before the screams come in.

Even more satisfying is the newer Territories, a Locrian big band affair that features members of Bloodyminded, Nachtmystium, Velnias and Yakuza along with the core of Andre Foisy and Terrance Hannum. As a result things definitely get opened up in terms of dynamics and diversity. "Inverted Ruins" offers a lurching funeral march of murky electronics and feedback beneath vocal howls that grow more intense and pissed off with each cycle across its 8 plus minutes. "Procession of Ancestral Brutalism," with Blake Judd on guitar and vocals, is a straight up black metal howler the likes of which his own band (Nachtmystium) has never conjured before -- atonal, screeching, howling at the bottomless black void metal -- designed to make your head explode before your soul crumbles into a ball of ash. How fun! Combine this with the more spectral hypnotic vibe of earlier Locrian disks, and you have something that's hard to ignore in the experimental drone metal realm. Territories comes in an edition of 500 on black vinyl, so don't dilly dally, you doom fixated dregs.

2010-08-05T20:07:00.007-05:00

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti Live @ Hailey's in Denton (W/Puro Instinct and Magic Kids, both missed!)

I knew back when I first heard Worn Copy (Paw Tracks) that Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti just might catch on big some day. This was like five years before Pitchfork admonished him new pop savior and marketing terms like "chill-wave" and "glo-fi" were invented to help blow up the memetic bubble.

Flash forward a couple years -- I see an Ariel Pink concert at Hailey's where maybe 40 people turn out. It's not bad. Flash forward to three nights ago -- I see an Ariel Pink concert at the same place, and it's packed to the rafters with indie kids, arty acid rockers, and bored booty-shakers alike. It also is not bad.

I always wondered what would happen if Pink ever got a budget and some classy session people to work on an album, and the well received Before Today (4AD) offers a glimpse into the results. It's a decent enough record -- ever-approachable as one pal put it -- but perhaps more importantly it's an Ariel Pink record. Sure, it's got the 4AD logo on the back, and Pink isn't playing every instrument (including beatbox) himself, but that same oddball tinny guitar sound and tinker-toy disco beat pervades, all fleshed out with truly glorious post Beach Boys harmonic eruptions. Much of the nihilism of the earlier records is gone, fodder for the cutting room floor in the wake of bigger market demands, no doubt. But that's not really a problem given who's on board this time for collaboration/production duties -- including Dallas's own Yells at Eels led by the great Dennis Gonzalez (who also plays with Added Pizzazz, a kind of Ariel Pink/Y@E jazz thing spin-off), and Matt Castille of Ft. Worth's space rock titans Vas Deferens Organization (he's also a contributor to the revered Mutant Sounds download blog) handling production duties. That's right, kids! One of Mutant Sounds' very own is subliminally programming the minds of suburbanite pot smokers via the mysterious properties of pop music. Not much has really changed, has it?

It could be argued that as flash in the pan as Ariel Pink and his band of merry freaks seem to be, this is all actually long in the making, and the pedigree that went into the recording of the songs on Before Today is as varied and outside the mainstream as any you will find, which makes its (seemingly) surprise success all the more satisfying. Whether Ariel really is a pop savant or just an astute observer of weird-rock-with-hooks through the ages (rendering him all too willing to throw Prince, Giorgio Moroder, Krautrock, Beach Boys and Cheap Trick into a blender and click puree), the infectious yet alien charm of his songs speaks for itself. It still works and with less filler this time, but in true Pink form, the end results remain as polarizing as ever.

What I liked about the gig:

Seeing the great Dennis Gonzalez share the stage with the band for an extended cool drone during set opener, "Hot Body Rub."
Noting how the band repeatedly recreated the cheap studio sound of songs like "Hardcore Pops Are Fun" with ease in the live setting.
Seeing so many cool friends come out on a hot as Hades Summer night -- the hugs (and the drugs - thank you, Benadryl!)

Ariel signing my friend Greg's CD "To Miette" to make up for his daughter's nonattendance. Miette actually saw Ariel Pink live when she was 7 or so. Miette is clearly a very cool rocker, but it was still a school night.

What I did not like about the gig:

How goddamn hot it was.
Amazingly long bar lines.
The creepy, mumbling girl who sat across from me with her legs apart.
All the dorky party boys who kept jumping on stage, crowding the band and diving into the crowd. Don't get me wrong, I like kicking strangers in the face while being magically transported on the arms of dozens of people I don't know as much as the next guy, but this wasn't really that kind of show, was it? It's a freakin' dance party. Freakin' dance!
Getting lost on the way home as my friend was hunched over and passed out, unable to give directions.
Shouting my friend's name repeatedly while driving aimlessly through the Texas night. Actually enjoyed this too.
How goddamn hot it was.

2010-08-02T01:56:00.002-05:00

RIP Tony Dale -- friend, music/culture explorer, mentor, husband, brother, son, indie record label honcho, fan. You will not be forgotten.

You can read Ned Ragget's obituary for Tony here.

2010-07-25T02:41:00.005-05:00

Happy birthday to me. Thanks everyone for the kind wishes! Sorry to Nick and Evita (and anyone else that was expecting me) for not getting by for the rad art party live show, but I found myself mostly illin' today after a long Friday of drinking and rocking in the out and about. Typing these words is the first thing I've really managed to do with any proficiency all day. Phosphorescent is really a great band now, and it was a very fine to see The Kessler almost filled to capacity for their laid back country rock set. Smart choice opening with latest album closer, "Los Angeles," an epic slowburn of building Neil Young guitars and weeping pedal steel moans. Thanks to DeeJay Ceepee for his fine spins between sets. To Mike Tamburo -- thanks for the Birthday chant! Really means a lot my friend. I'm coming up there sooner than later and getting my ass gonged. And congrats to Mike on his recent spiritual union! Very cool, indeed.

Just a few things to report here, beginning with an apology for the delay in updates. You know how it goes. The backlog isn't getting any smaller. Lots of newbies (and not so newbies) to report on, starting off with some drone metal in the next post, then some garage rawk and what should be a fine little spotlight on my old friends at Deep Water, who continue to release awesome underground psych folk drone type recordings that defy easy categorization and indulge the mind and spirit in equal measure.

Some passings of note: Harvey Pekar of American Splendor fame. See the movie and read the book if you have not done so and get an inkling as to why he matters as much as he does. Here's a fond remembrance by one of his friends, Anthony Bordain. Fuck David Letterman.

And farewell to Tuli Kupferberg of the legendary Fugs, still a serious contender for my favorite ESP band and that's definitely saying something. Can't recommend their first two albums enough.

Andy Hummel died! Just four short months after Alex Chilton, too, and they were both 59. Sad times for sure. Only Jody Stephens remains...sigh.

Here's a couple items you can file under Shit I Never Thought Would Happen in My Lifetime:

David Gilmore to Join Roger Waters for One Show on Wall Tour

Roxy Music, Brian Eno Reunite

Movies: See Inception on the big screen or don't see it all. I liked it but can understand some of the criticisms I've come across. Still it's rare that mindless Summer popcorn fodder has so much intellectual curiosity and manages to reference Philip K. Dick and Tarkovsky's Solaris among the other more expected fodder (The Matrix). Also highly recommend A Single Man which just dropped on DVD. Definitely one of the more probing looks into the mind of suicide you'll come across in a mainstream film, but it's hardly what I'd call a downer. Colin Firth is really unforgettable, as are many of the images he sees and the way he sees them. Liked The Runaways, and no that does not make me a pervert. Liked Chloe too, and that's not just because of the lesbian love scene between Julianne Moore and Amanda Seyfried. It's a decent piece from Aton Egoyan, whose Sweet Hereafter is one of my favorite sleeper gems of the late '90s.

I love this song!

And farewell to Twisted Village, a Boston institution and one of America's most revered freak music emporiums. They close their doors today (July 25th). You guys will be sorely missed!

2010-06-12T20:49:00.009-05:00

Thoughts on Neil Young and Bert Jansch Solo Live

Bert looked and sounded great. His voice was clear, his fingerpicked, rolling melodies as indelible and definitive as those classic albums from the '70s (two of which are reviewed here). My friend was new to Jansch (he's not an obsessive like some of us), but as I said, "even if you're not familiar with the Bert's music, you've still heard it." Anyone who's followed 60s/70s prog rock and folk over the last 40 years knows his music. And let's not forget that Jansch was one of the guys who always championed Jackson C. Frank and helped turn a lot more people on to him in the process. Sitting there in the Meyerson and hearing him explain who Frank was to the nearly packed house (of mostly yuppie fucks) and play "Carnival" from The Black Swan was something of a dream come true. I felt like the only guy in that big room that even knew who Jackson Frank was, but I'm pretty sure I wasn't. Thanks to Jansch, maybe more folks will go digging and find something new that just might change their lives all over again.

Young also played with no accompaniment. We reasoned that the high ticket prices were as much to handle the considerable transport costs of Young's amazing stage set up (including two pianos and a pump organ!) as well as a way to weed out the skeptics who might not really dig the opportunity to see/hear a legend in such an intimate, albeit large scale, setting. Even though the set was almost two hours, it felt like half that as Young spent a considerable amount of time strolling about the stage, surveying various instruments and occasionally picking one up and playing it. We were meant to see this as Neil at home, spontaneously trying out this and that. Still it was a carefully choreographed and planned performance (he didn't really stray from the set list) and as such felt like more than just a rock show. This was a a one man stage show: The Story of Neil Young. Whether sitting hunched over his acoustic, kicking out the jams on Old Black or gently walking the stage with his down-tuned resonator guitar, Young showed the packed house scenes from his life and that, yes, he can still play a guitar, and even though he's nowhere near the virtuoso that Jansch is, he has just as much to say and just as much passion backing those notes. Really dug "Love and War" and the unreleased "Hitchhiker" was definitely a monolith. And it's hard to beat "After the Goldrush" on pipe organ. Thanks for a night to remember, Mr. Young.

Also wanted to mention Galactic Zoo Dossier, which remains my favorite print zine today, though there are a few great ones still knocking about (Yeti, Signal to Noise, Dream among them). What makes GZD so darn special is Plastic Crimewave's (aka Steve Krakow) love of all things graphic art and especially vintage comics. So you get key interviews with Guru Guru, Peter Walker and awesome pieces on Eddie Hazel, The Gods (proto Heep!), Hoyt Axton and many more nestled alongside comic panels about acid tripping superheroes and psychsploitation curios from the 60s and 70s, with every single word written (legibly) by hand! And let's not forget the Guitar God and Astral Folk Goddess trading cards! Plus a CD. It's an institution. Order it here.

Shit I'm a' diggin' lately: UNSANE! Aaron Dilloway posted an Unsane clip on Facebook yesterday, and as a result I've downloaded their recorded output on the Ipod and been raping my mind with their noise-core delights. Such an amazing band! I never did get around to scribbling some words on those two (Wooden) Wand records that dropped last year, but I like 'em a lot, 'specially Hard Knox (Ecstatic Peace) and wanted to congratulate James Toth for making the move to the legendary Young God Records. That reminds me -- Swans are back! But then maybe you knew that.

I'm happy that The New Pornographers are making good music again. I'd say Together (Matador) is their best record since Mass Romantic. And just to prove that their hearts are in the right place, they've simultaneously released an EP of Outrageous Cherry covers! Not sure if it's digital only or what, as I've only been able to find it on Itunes. Also in awe of the new Exile on Main St. expanded reissue. It's a monster and the "rebrushed" new songs (actually old takes with some slight mix tweaking) sound pretty stellar. I agree with those who wonder why can't this classic lineup reconvene and do it one more time? Give Woodsy his walking papers and get Mick Tayler back in the saddle where he belongs. Yeah, right! I want to see this too. Other things I love right now: Woods At Echo Lake (Woodsist), Phospherescent Here's To Taking It Easy (Dead Oceans), Jack Rose Luck in the Valley (Thrill Jockey), Rangda False Flag (Drag City), Ohioan High Country (Infinite Front), Bonnie 'Prince' Billie and The Cairo Gang The Wonder Show Of The World (Drag City) Voice of the Seven Thunders s/t (Holy Mountain) and the reissue of The Cleaners From Venus tape, Midnight Cleaners (Burger Records), in its original format no less. Sounds sort of like Ariel Pink, but about a gillion times better. Never a dull moment, folks!

In honor of Neil, I leave you with stellar live version of "Get Right Church" from MV/EE with The Canada Goose Band:

2010-06-05T14:10:00.007-05:00

This is My Music Vol 6, Part 2 (Spirit of Love)

Alela Diane To Be Still (Names Records) CD - Another amazing discovery from this past year -- I saw Diane share a bill with Marissa Nadler in Ft. Worth, and she made a definite imprint on the gray matter with her old soul voice, impressionistic lyrics and delicate touch on guitar. With To Be Still, It all coalesces into a warm, gentle slice of Americana that falls somewhere between the hazy country folk of Townes Van Zandt and more recently Gillian Welch. Diane makes it sound all too easy, but I know better.

Ex-Reverie The Door Into Summer (Language of Stone) CD - Killer Philly ensemble here performing a spectral psych folk/glam rock hybrid that conjures a dark minimal magic that's inescapable as heard in the stripped down harmonies and hand claps of "Dawn Comes for Us All." Its austere chorus erupts into an awesome post Sabbath snarl with Gillian Chadwick's ethereal vocals serving as the perfect foil to all that demonic fuzz. They come off sort of like Sandy Denny fronting Bardo Pond at points. The Door Into Summer (its title, I'd guess, taken from the Robert A. Heinlein novel of the same name) is pervaded with a kind of solitary mysticism that references Fairport Convention, Jefferson Airplane and modern day misty eyed psych folkies like Espers (whose Greg Weeks is a big fan). This is the kind of album I thought they stopped making back in '76. Glad I was wrong!

The Kitchen Cynics Flies One / Flies Two (Perhaps Transparent) 2CD-R - I still have fond memories of watching Alan Davidson, who basically is The Kitchen Cynics, having an intense discussion about Mississippi blues with Jack Rose in the basement of a taqueria in Providence, RI. That kind of passion isn't fabricated. And as a songwriter Davidson is all passion and aching emotion with his sepia toned visitations of moments passed but not forgotten. From his home base in Aberdeen, Scotland, he's labored in relative obscurity through the years, releasing 20-plus fuzz tinged trad psych folk collections for the faithful in various formats, showcasing his soft croon and slightly outsider perspective on life, love and the passing of time. His songs are centered around his trusty acoustic and voice, both doused in reverb, along with some effects, flute, piano and bells woven in.

Flies plays like a greatest hits 2CD, only it's entirely new material recorded over the past two years specifically for this release, and I'd say its as fine a summation of what Davidson's been up to as any I've heard so far. He's operating at the peak of his abilities here. Flies One finds sleepy folk melodies draped in reverb and effects with fingerpicked melodies which reach an emotional crescendo on "Green Grows the Laural2," a long lost meeting of psych folk Donovan and the Incredible String Band. It's a masterpiece that takes its time telling a story of youthful longing refracted through the prism of age over a meticulously crafted musical backdrop. Davidson's playing and singing here are destined to leave a lump in the throat of even the most die-hard rationalist. Also remarkable from One is the 16 min "Conversation Pieces" which unites a renaissance air with exploratory prog and improv in a way that should appeal to lovers of spaced out MV/EE. Two is just as good with a combination of delicate instrumentals and even some banjo in the case of the haunting "Miss Tiptoe." Fans of Roy Harper, Incredible String Band, COB (whose "Music of the Ages" is covered here) really need this one, me thinks.

Ben Nash The Seventh Goodbye (Aurora Borealis) CD - Here's another one that's been bouncing around the cosmic corridors for a while now. The Seventh Goodbye is some primo astral folk and blues with a strong debt to Six Organs of Admittance that still manages to sound like something more than just an awesome knockoff. Nash has a great tone within a dense mix of effects, ethnic flourishes, odd percussion and chants, and the results across these eight tracks offer a diverse mix of more song-based morsels and epic trance psych jams that transfix without wearing out their welcome. Nash was just 23 when he recorded this. Impressive.

Shawn David McMillen Dead Friends (Tompkins Square) CD - Dead Friends is the followup to McMillen's solo debut, Catfish, also on Tompkins Square. Where that one evinced a more broken free noise feel, which wouldn't sound too shocking to anyone familiar with McMillen's Ash Castes on the Gulf Coast, this one has a more shambolic country blues feel, with debts to Neil Young, The Band, Stones and McMillen's time with Warmer Milks (which yielded the ridiculously under-heard Soft Walks LP on Animal Abuse). Rickety folk space gives way to the beat down loner blues with slowly cycling basslines and acoustic embellishments before we're dumped in the grime with the damaged industrial psych of "The Moth," which gives way to the Exile on Mainstreet country glory of "No Time Left in This Place," featuring some soaring fiddle action from Ralph White. The more I listen the more I realize this is basically a kind of musical summation of McMillen's psychedelic interests over the years, and as much as I want to try to classify or tag it, it's impossible. Thumbs way up.

PG Six Live at VPRO Amsterdam (Perhaps Transparent) CD-R - PG Six is one of the main contributors in the mighty Tower Recordings (originators of fractured post industrial folk bliss); solo he offers something a bit more controlled and structured in the trad UK psych folk mold. His first two solo albums are classics in the genre -- then and now -- and this awesome live session, captured crisply at VPRO's Dwar's Festival in Amsterdam, comes from right around that fertile period in PG's solo timeline in late '04. The songs here are drawn mostly from his debut, Parlor Tricks and Porch Favorites (Amish), and feature the stripped down duo of PG Six on guitar/voice and Tim Barnes (also of Tower Recordings, Jim O'Rourke, the Quakebasket label, etc) on percussion. PG has since moved on from this sound into a slightly more folk rock sound, but I always hope solo (or in this case duo) PG Six isn't too far from sight, as there is clearly always magic in the air when these two combine their considerable talents. Also very happy to see Townes Van Zandt's "High, Low and In Between" featured here, as PG covers it better than anyone. His voice is an old friend I'm always ready to catch up with. Thanks Transparent Radiation for making it possible!

Skygreen Leopards Gorgeous Johnny (Jagjaguwar) CD - It's been a minute since we last heard from the Jeweled Antlered psych folk butterflies in Skygreen Leopards, and it's been worth the wait as Gorgeous Johnny is the most focused and tuneful fuzz folk diorama they've turned out yet. Along with the expected folk and pop influences (from Donovan to Dylan and Nagisa Ni Te) is a more pronounced vintage psych pop feel (The Kinks, Love, The Zombies) and the arrangements are stronger, the hooks sharper, and Glenn Donaldson has never sounded better with his acid kissed higher register vocals. A very fine folk drift for lazy Sunday afternoons that should appeal to fans of classic folk pop and modern twee strum at the same time.

2010-05-29T22:00:00.002-05:00

RIP, Dennis Hopper, American Icon. Here's a series of videos, as assembled by our pals at Soldier Disease:

And don't forget to check out Matt Zoller Seitz's moving video essay, The Middle Finger in Life:

2010-05-26T22:20:00.000-05:00

I am severely blown away by the audio/visual possibilities of the extended trailer for Christopher Nolan's new film, Inception. WOW!

2010-05-23T18:58:00.002-05:00

Watching the LOST Finale Extravaganza right now. Well I will be in just over an hour. One long strange trip it's been! Truly an awesome show for mainstream pulp sci-fi melodrama. It will be missed. Where do we go from here?

Addendum: For those who haven't yet, check out Doc Jennings' well researched and deeply felt Recap of The End and the entire series over at Entertainment Weekly. It's very long and right on. My appreciation grows as my understanding does, with fear and trembling...

Here's one possible destination: Tom Lax recounts the recording of The Dead C's Clyma Est Mort, the live album that should've never been (and never was when you get right down to it). As the intro says, Lax and his Siltbreeze label rival classic outsider indies like ESP and PSF in terms of subcultural influence the world over, and he is gentleman, a master chef and weaver of fine tales. Don't pass up on that bbq if you get the invitation! Thanks to Volcanic Tongue for the link.

2010-05-23T16:35:00.002-05:00

Five More Randoms

Enumclaw Opening of the Dawn (Honeymoon Music) LP/Digital Download - Enumclaw is the minimal trance drone project of Norman Fetter from Philadelphia's Niagara Falls, operating in tranquil meditative mode across these six tracks of minimal electro-acoustic tones that gather inspiration from the elements, inner space, early minimal composers and Popol Vuh. Florian Fricke is a glowing light source when it comes to merging modern electronic composition with the sacred, and in Fetter's hands, it's s a sound that goes beyond words to another plane of cosmic awareness. There are some earthier moments -- tribal hand drums and shaking percussive passages -- but mostly Fetter stays head deep in the thick cozmik soup with cycling synth mantras from the Terry Riley school of drone gracefully gliding over a panorama of shifting melodies. Highly recommended for fans of early ambient Eno, Harmonia and newer synth-psych head-trippers like Oneohtrix Point Never and Emeralds.

La Otracina Blood Moon Riders (Holy Mountain) CD - Been meaning for a while to scribble a few words about this biker metal heavy prog syke opus. These Brooklyn cats continue their natural evolution from amorphous prog psych fusion to some of the most head-smashing, mind-expanding space metal I've blinded my third eye with in recent moons. Blood Moon Riders fuses the best of both sides of the Brooklyn trio's sonic personality while setting the controls for the heart of the nearest supernova. Followup imminent, but this is still highly recommend for heavy psychonauts the world over.

Clair Cassis - Clair Cassis (Startlight Temple Society) Former members of Velvet Cacoon, the Portland, OR pagan metal band it's okay to smoke pot to, recently called it a day only to reconvene under the name Clair Cassis, a self described "pop answer to Velvet Cacoon," which is an amusing thought, as this sounds pretty dang doom 'n' gloom, even when compared to the spacier metalgaze atmospheres of VC. Still, there is a certain self contained charm to some of these blackened morsels, along with necro-fixated witch-hag vocals and lulling prog ambient interludes that meld into a highly recommendable late night excursion through the swirling dark smoke of your mind. Let there be starlight.

The Ritualistic School Of Errors Sweat Stained Fancy Heaps For First-Rate Ladies (Resipiscent) CD - Now this one is difficult with a capital D, but then there is no progress without struggle. The Ritualistic School of Errors understands this undeniable axiom better than most. The cut-up weird noise collages found inside Sweat Stained Fancy Heaps for First-Rate Ladies assume many guises and offer no easy path to illumination. Instead we get jarring pastiches to the absurd and cartoon dementia with juxtapositions of every kind of twisted sample, honk and weird sound under the plunderphonic sun dropped in a blender with cracked accordion, piano, pipe organ, flamenco guitar, screwball operatic vocals, insanity chorales and much more. It's complicated to say the least, assembled with meticulous mixing precision and actually quite recommended for those who like their tonal insanity multiplied to the nth degree. File somewhere between The Sylvie and Babes Hi-Fi Companion, irr. app. (ext.) and early cracked Sun City Girls.

Cadaver in Drag Raw Child Animal Disguise LP - Lord have mercy! This is the meanest, grimiest, most fucked up slab of doom I've rattled my cage with in years. Where to start? Take the Melvins and cover them in shit, set them ablaze and roll them into the nearest tar pit. Sidelong opener "Walking Through the Gates of Hell" sounds like the resulting explosion stuck in a relentless soul-crushing lockgroove of ugliness and despair. Screaming gut wrenching howls and shrieks are the order of the day over massive lumbering sludgeoid grunge riffs. For fans of early Unsane, Black Flag and doom of every kind. I'm totally serious. The last track sounds like Skepticism! This has been out a couple years, but its primal rage demands attention like it dropped yesterday. No shock to see this was one of Julian Cope's Albums of the Month at Head Heritage.

2010-05-18T14:15:00.001-05:00

One more quickie: Rangda's False Flag comes out today on Drag City. This is the mythical in our time super noise free psych trio explosion of masters Ben Chasny and Richard Bishop (both guitar) and the incomparable Chris Corsano on hands everywhere splatter percussion, though my cursory exposure to their sound suggests he may actually play some almost-conventional beats on this record, which for Corsano would be downright freaky.

2010-05-18T13:27:00.002-05:00

RIP, Ronnie James Dio. Here's his explanation for the origin of the devil's horns, which he's often credited with first bringing into the metal arena. Must say his pre metal days are pretty surprising. Rest well, Elf! \m/

Howdy! I actually spent a whole lotta cash on two Neil Young / Bert Jansch tickets a few weeks ago. Insane. I swore I'd never be that guy, but timeliness, this and the fact that it's happening here convinced me that it's now or never. See ya there. Also had fun at the Hair Police / Awesome Color / Hawk Vs. Dove concert the other night. Finally got my Wolf Eyes cherry popped (almost)! Mike Connelley rawks! Hope he and the boys comes back to Tejas soon. Bought some rad merch from the table, more on that later. Was also happy to score a new vinyl issue of Mainliner's Mainliner Sonic (Assomer) at the Acid Mothers Temple/OGOD gig just before that. Mainliner is of course one of the all time great blown amp fuzz punk noise bands to come out of the PSF scene, and I think this is the first time Mainliner Sonic has been available on vinyl, clear in this case. Looks like I blew my own no new records in 2010 challenge. Come back, Asahito Nanjo! The world neeeeds yooouuuuu!

Thanks to fellow Womblifer T-boz for pointing out this neat little trick. It would appear Sunn O))) actually does have a sense of humor. I've maintained from the start that Spinal Tap was a huge influence, live if nothing else, so the similarities found here seem to be definitely more than just coincidental. You only need to hear the first 45 secs or so of the Sunn O))) clip to get the gist...

and on to The 'Tap...

Also, a quick shout-out to old friends, The Green Pajamas, for doing the right thing and releasing the digital single, "The Red, Red Rose (Song for Phoebe Prince)," a remarkably heartfelt tribute and memorial to Phoebe Prince, whose story is really too sad to bear, but you've probably heard it by now anyway. The evils of bullying and victimization have been a subject close to my heart for many years. It's good to know it's close to Jeff Kelly and Laura Weller's as well. Here's the story from Blurt, and the song...

2010-05-12T14:01:00.006-05:00

Age of Disinformation Age of Disinformation CD-R / D and N D and N 2 CD-R (both Mayyrh) / Zanzibar Snails Vitiligo (Tape Drift) CD-R - There's still lots of activity happening in and around the Zanzibar Snails camp these days. There's live gigs, and more gigs from side trio, The Watchers (debut release imminent?). The 'Snails even received a perfect 10/10 grade from Foxy Digitalis for their Journey Into Amazing Caves! CD/DVD combo last year.

The Age of Disinformation offers something of a detour from the usual ZS trajectories. AoD is actually a local "supergroop" that features members of the 'Snails, The Great Tyrant, Akkolyte, Yells at Eels and others across 47 minutes of creepy-crawling drone, improv and ambient noise, which as orchestrated by multi-instrumentalist, Aaron Gonzalez, leaves plenty of space for embellishments and exploration. These mutating oscillations, surges and crackling tones make me think of the frothing pools of analog electronics glimpsed on those early Cluster and Tangerine Dream records, along with hints of harsher noise, radio sounds and early industrial grime worked into the mix. The results are a dark, enveloping mind swirl that ebbs and flows with primordial currents every step of the way. Perfect for rewiring the synapses for a more celestial perception of the absolute. Welcome to the new dark age, my friends.

D and N 2 is the second installment from the duo of Nevada Hill (of the Zanzi's and Drug Mountain) and David Price (also of the Zanzi's) operating via postal collaboration before, captured live in a weekend in an old church in East Texas this time. And there's a twist: The master recording of that session was chopped in two at the halfway point and then each half laid on top of one another, so what we have here is essentially a free noise collapsed folk industrial mashup. It's a mouthful, but at 30 minutes the oblique trajectories of 2 manage to mostly fascinate, offering a fractured web of odd found sounds, broken guitars, harmonicas and the like which together sound more raw and abrasive than the excellent debut 3" CD-R and lands them in the same jagged terrain found on Richard Youngs and Simon Wickham-Smith's mythical Lake (which basically sounds like Jandek gone prog).

Vitiligo is the name of the condition that causes people to lose pigment and turn white. Michael Jackson claimed to have it, but we may know better. As much as anything else, Zanzibar Snails are about reducing elements to their fundamentals. Boundaries, barriers, matter itself is obliterated within their dark currents. These five tracks offer the expected scrape and scrawl dementia designed to fuck with minds and obliterate egos, and they're pretty spooky at times. In fact, the end results are some of the most cathartic raw noise excursions I've heard from the 'Snails to date, with Nevada Hill's electric violin screaming through dense electronics and stumbling percussion like a noise punk Tony Conrad. Sarah Alexander's acid-opera vocals and effects really start to work their magic by the second and third tracks, as the ensemble alternates between cryptic Dadaist noise intervals and full on brain bleeding sonic mayhem. It's awesome to finally get to hear Alexander on a 'Snails release as she brings an entirely new dimensions to the proceedings. The closer is all about the subdued come down and a worthy conclusion to what amounts to a truly harrowing journey. Vitiligo works remarkably well and simultaneously honors the uncompromising quality of past Zanzibar Snails recordings. Awesome packaging once again from Hill. Thumbs way up, peoples.

2010-04-11T19:38:00.002-05:00

A few different family members and friends are dealing with some hard shit right now, mostly of a medical nature. You know how that goes. Up and down but always looking for the level ground. I don't want to go into detail, but I do want them all to know they're in my thoughts and prayers daily.

SUPERHYPED for the premier of Treme on HBO in a couple hours. The latest new show from The Wire creators, David Simons and Eric Overmyer, is all about New Orleans and its culture/music in the wake of Katrina. This is a subject I've been interested in since it all went down five years ago, so I'm looking forward to seeing some familiar faces from Simon's stable of actors over the years, along with new ones like Johnathon Goodman and Steve Zahn. Here's a teaser: And RIP to David Mills, a writer/co-producer who worked on Treme, The Wire, NYPD Blue, etc. He died of a brain aneurysm almost two weeks ago.

2010-04-09T20:23:00.006-05:00

This is My Music: Vol 7, Part 1 (Rainbow Electronics)

Æthenor Faking Gold And Murder (VHF) CD - Faking Gold And Murder is the strongest Æthenor long player since Deep in Ocean Sunk the Lamp of Light. Along for the ride this time is David Tibet of Current 93 (he's made more guest appearances on more records in the last year than in the previous 10 years combined) doing his cryptic apocalypse prose thing over Stephen O'Malley and company's dense swirls of electronics, synth, guitars and percussion. The atmosphere is grim and surreal as squiggly keys and prepared guitars dangle over jagged percussive spikes and massed cymbal gales. Minimal melodies materialize and seduce like sirens only to fade out and leave us lost once more and hurdling through space with only Tibet's lunatic narrator as our guide through this spontaneously improvised wasteland.

Emeralds What Happened (No Fun Production) CD - No Fun has definitely emerged of late as drone merchants of the finest kind of celestial transcendence. As has Oneohtrix Point Never, Ohio's Emeralds has been bouncing around those subterranean wormholes for a while now with bubbling concoctions of synth modulation meets minimal guitar backing to reveal luminous star portals to worlds rarely glimpsed in our dimension but apparently visible all the same. FIve tracks/almost an hour of continuous deep space meditational overtone. Definitely worth a listen for folks in awe of the golden age of Minimalism and early electro-washed Krautrock.

Esperik Glare As the Insects Swarm (Static Hum Records) 7" - An interesting new arrival on the Dada/noise/ambient tip, Esperik Glare is a one man sound sculptor hailing from somewhere deep in the Midwest. He comes from the Nurse With Wound / irr. app. (ext) school of domestic creepy crawlings, which means he keeps one foot planted in murky industrial waters, the other in more minimal found sound space. The title track is exactly what it promises -- a babbling brook of clicks, shivers and windy whooshes that brings its subject matter to life on a molecular level. It's basically impossible to tell what is making what sound, but the overall caustic atmosphere breathes with a Beginning of The End Complete air. The flip offers spooky minimal tones and synth drones beneath a spoken work description of said cataclysm that sounds almost like a sparser ambient answer to some of the scariest moments of Current 93's Dog's Blood Rising LP. Pretty tight.

Jim Haynes Sever (Intransitive) CD - Jim Haynes first came to my attention as the "weirdo noise maker guy" in Thuja and via his fantastic ambient field recording work with his duo Coelacanth and contributions to the surrealist supergroop The Sleeping Mustache (wiith Steven Stapleton and Matthew Waldron among others). He also runs the Helen Scarsdale label (see the irr. app. ext. review below) out of his home base in San Francisco, which releases new music that falls somewhere in the minimal noise/ambient/industrial spectrum and pretty much always subliminally kicks ass. His recent Sever for Boston's Intransitive stretches out over four tracks that waver from machine hums massed with crumbling percussive clicks and crackles to more organic stretches that weave field recordings of wind and sifted earth into precise animated worlds where rationality and logic crumble away till all that remains is a glowing, effulgent aum. Like "looking" at the world on a subatomic scale through an electron stethoscope.

irr. app. (ext.) Kreiselwelle (Helen Scarsdale) CD - Oh, golly, this is just wonderful. An ode to dark joy, the third release in Matt Waldron's amazing trilogy assembled under the influence of German philosopher and psychologist Willhelm Reich is an absolute masterpiece of shifting mechanical sound dreams that alternates from warped nightmare throngs to the most stunning post NWW industrial mechanical pulses and back again. Kreiselwelle is a meticulously composed sonic investigation that spans nearly two years of collecting and collating data and assembling it into a piece of music that is alternately overpowering, resonating, horrifying, uplifting and in every way an amplification of the most mystical properties of existence itself. This is an industrial noise record. A surrealist music concrete Dadaist dreamhouse. A tunnel of love. A carousel of dreams. A world of sound. I love this CD!

Nmperign Ommatidia (Intransitive) CD - Nmperign is one of my very favorite duos when it comes to tearing down the walls between genres and breaking completely free from the restrictions of trad jazz idioms. Ostensibly a jazz duo (trio with the addition of sound artist Jason Lescalleet on reel to reel / see the brilliant Love Me Two Times 2CD, also on Intransitive), Ommatidia is actually its first studio recording as a duo in its 10 plus years of existence. These six pieces breathe with the wind, spatter with concussions of bursting raindrops and ultimately engender the spontaneous poetry of nature itself. That is Nmperign's great feat -- its ability to make jazz music that sounds unlike any other jazz music in the world, but utterly transfixes, draws the listener in and instead of providing a means of escape offers a portal to complete and total perceptible reality. It's the harmony of the spheres, as heard through the wind and captured on tape.

Nurse With Wound The Surveillance Lounge (Dirter Promotions) CD - Steven Stapleton and all his ol' ghosties (Andrew Liles and David Tibet among them) bring out the dead with these four epics of messed up horror-ambient that are something of a return to form given the overall NWW catalog, including Stapleton and co.'s recent Gas-Huffing Blues, which teetered a bit too close to novelty schlock minus the mad genius that made the comparable Sylvie and Babs Hi-Fi Companion such a recommendable side trip through the Nurse With Wound multiverse. The Surveillance Lounge's four extended nightmares are closer in spirit and tone to the earlier dread atmospheres of long lost classics like Homotopy to Marie and the skeletal decay of Salt Marie Celeste, plus the more mechanical feel that helped make Thunder Perfect Mind such an inescapable industrial jackhammer. Then come foreign whispers and shrieking howls over foghorn drones and death-rattle percussion and we know we're slowly sinking into the nightmare muck. It'd all be a bit much if there wasn't such a captivating compositional depth to what's going on here. Somehow Nurse With Wound continues to not just matter but to give us a cerebral investigation into paranormal sound that more often than not hits the listener on a primal, gut level. Every time I listen to this in the dark, I think I see apparitions in the corner hiding in that fuzzy area between real and imaginary. This is a dangerous record.

Jim O'Rourke Long Night (Streamline) 2CD - Here's an early O'Rourke gem that finds our man lost in the space between the notes. This is some seriously static drone not for the faint of heart (or short of attention span), but those with an ear for texture, and the kind of sloowllly spiraling overtones that emanate from the heart of the darkest celestial night should find some haunted melodic progressions buried deep inside the seemingly static dissonance. With two discs topping out nearly 80 minutes each the listener is tested for sure but ultimately taps into a highly rewarding listening experience that's ideal for sleep or meditation, foreground or background reception. Long Night offers a boundless wall of glacial drift that ultimately serves as a worthy precursor to Mirror's impressionist tone work that would emerge a few years later. I think O'Rourke was just 21 when this was recorded. Deep, yo.

2010-04-02T02:21:00.003-05:00

It's pretty sad that there are already uploaded copies of the Chris Knox benefit album, Stroke, floating around the blogosphere. Please BUY IT from Merge or don't listen to it at all. As I'm sure most of you know, Knox recently suffered a life-altering stroke that has left him partially paralyzed. I enjoyed a pretty amazing night/morning hanging out with Chris and his wife Barbara about 10 years ago in Austin. I interviewed hims for The Broken Face, and we enjoyed a great breakfast at the Magnolia Cafe and got them both to the aeropuerto just in time for their flight, despite my dunderheaded non-realization that Austin had just opened the new Austin-Bergstrom International airport some months before, which was nowhere near the Austin Municipal or whatever the fuck I was looking for (looser). Chris is an amazing, intense performer/songwriter with a deep catalog of weird home-made psych pop, art punk and whatnot songs -- solo and with his duo Tall Dwarfs -- that comes with the highest Womblife recommendation for anyone even remotely interested in weird pop/folk/punk/psych (from The Beatles to Elephant 6 'n' beyond). Recommended records: Chris Knox solo - Meat, Seizure, Beat. Tall Dwarfs - Hello Cruel World, Weeville, 3EPs, The Sky Above The Mud Below. His work with early Kiwi punk bands The Enemy and Toy Love also should not go ignored. The tribute has a stunning roster of some of my favorites: The Chills, David Kilgour, Stephen Merritt, Pumice, Hamish Kilgour, Bill Callahan, Jeff Mangum, Bonnie Prince Billy, The Bats, AC Newman, Lou Barlow, Lambchop, The Verlaines, etc.

Here's one of my fave live clips of Chris from Youtube, complete with broken guitar string:

There's also a benefit concert happening in New York next month (already sold out) with a stellar lineup. Major props to Ben Goldberg of Ba Da Bing for making that happen!

A group I've been meaning to write more about here one day is Philly's charred to the bone Pissed Jeans. They merge psych slop and punk trash better than just about anyone else makin' records out there today in the US. Think somewhere between newer La Otracina and Pussy Galore. Here is a killer live set recorded on Brian Turner's show on WFMU which offers a potent example of their mongrel sludge fury.

I also feel the need to mention Fort Worth's Drug Mountain, probably the scariest band operating in the DFWD triangle currently. Definitely the loudest. After seeing this quintet of sax, sax, bass, drums and electric viola (played by Nevada Hill from Zanzibar Snails, who joined the band after it recorded its debut 12" at Steve Albini's studio in Chicago), I was so gleefully pulverized by their Contortions-meets-Jesus Lizard skronk attack that I went and threw down the bucks for their lovely one sided LP, which features an archaic etching on the flip by maestro graphic artist Hill. You can snag your own at the Myspace site above if that's yr cup of joe, and yessir, it'll make ya go. Edition of 111.

And let me close it with a thank you to friend Aaron Gonzalez -- he of the Gonzalez brothers, who plus their father Dennis are thee fabulous Yells At Eels free jazz/fusion trio -- for throwing me a rough copy of his duo (with his brother Stefan) Akkolyte's forthcoming debut LP, which comes highly recommended for weirdoz into early Napalm Death, Takashi Miike and Ornette Coleman, to name but a few possible influences on their pummeling/absurd grind/jazz/thrash.

2010-03-31T01:50:00.003-05:00

Not sure if I ever mentioned the greatness of Gram Parsons W/ The Flying Burrito Bros' (hey, that's how it's listed!) Live at the Avalon Ballroom 1969 (Amoeba Records). This 2CD is Volume 1, so I hope there's more to come in the series from around this period. Taken from the Grateful Dead's live vaults, these two shows from early April '69 showcase The 'Bros in peak form with their classic lineup intact and Sneaky Pete Kleinow's fuzz-box pedal steel raining down like liquid phosphorus all over the Avalon. Even better you can compare the two similar but distinctly different sets from the same tour and see how utterly in the coZmik boogie zone these boys really were, even if only for a short while. Beautiful, beautiful performances captured at soundboard quality. Classy album styled packaging with vivid recollections from the period in the liners.

Some Live Aktionz

Made it out to a few sweet shows this past week, including Woven Bones and Tinsel Teeth (at Brofest). I hung out for a little more action (including Naam and White Mice), but didn't really feel like watching 10 plus bands straight through on a Sunday, so bailed pretty early. That's right, no Sleepy Sun. No Liturgy. The horror (or non horror as it were). I'm sorry I missed Liturgy actually but also have a feeling their brutalistic blackened onslaught might've been the death of me. Old fart right here. Tinsel Teeth's singer (TT is a hXc noise rock nightmare with a small female screamer on vox) stripped nearly to nothing but bra and torn tights and screaming in the faces of/collapsing on various audience members was both hilarious and kind of pitiful to behold, as I'm sure was the intention. She came off like a rape victim trying to get anyone to call for help, or maybe the last survivor from the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre just after she'd jumped out of the window and finally made it out to the highway. So, naturally, when she slammed into me, I did my Kung-Fu Panda SKADOOSH thing and she flopped right off the belly and smacked the floor like a fish. I went to help her up, but some valiant buck beat me to it. Tinsel Teeth provided one of those what-the-fuck(?) train-wreck type live experiences that left me wondering if people too often confuse creative expression with seething, mutilated rage. Regardless it's neat to see all the hipster stoics in their tattered hoodies holding their own like billiard pins in the wake of her elephantine bumper-car angst. Woven Bones were less...complicated. Minimal bass/guitar grooves with reverb-drenched vox and a cute lil Mo Tucker chick w/ glasses smacking the snare and floor bass (no cymbals per Mr. Reed's instruction), and though they sadly did not play "Let it Breathe" from the Janie 7", I was still adequately rocked 'n' rolled in a Wooden Shjips meets early JAMC kind'a way.

The next night -- a Monday night mind you -- it was time to get Pocahaunted, drench the Wet Hair and get raddled by Rene Hall at The Lounge on Elm. Blissed Out and local mellow psych merchants eyes, wings and many other things rounded out the bill. I guess I arrived too late for Rene Hall, but Blissed Out brought their big fuzz/beat driven sonics down on the Lounge like a thousand com satellites crashing to Earth at once. Maybe I just don't do enough drugs anymore to really enjoy these subliminal noise barrages, but it made for an agreeable background whitewash while smoking cigarettes and sippin' mixed drinks on the porch. Headed upstairs for the bird's eye view of Wet Hair, Shawn from Night People/Racoo-oo-oon's (rip) new-ish duo project of banks of synths with live drums and echo-drenched vocals. Three long tracks ranged from gooey glowing dollops of Spacemen 3 worship to further refracted beams of syncopated beats and komische drones. Pocahaunted (who I'd not seen before) were operating in a slightly more conventional mode with the release of their rockin' new Not Not Fun platter, Make it Real, featuring some real eye-popping cover art to go with its groovy Raincoats-gone-West-Coast-psych vibe, and live these three ladies and two lads are a sight to behold. Musically we got grooved out goth rainbow trances and methodical tribal rhythms graced with ceremonial war paint and sparkly sequined wraps and gowns. I was reminded of the incomparable awesomeness of The Spires That in the Sunset Rise with less witch and more squaw, but as the wording suggests Pocahaunted aren't exactly up to the Spires comparison just yet, but at least they're reaching and in the process teaching.

Then just this past Saturday made it out to the Phoenix Project for a night of jazz -- two performances, one a quartet the other a trio. The quartet of Norwegian bassist Ingerbrigt Haker Flaten (also of The Thing with Mats Gustafsson), Stefan Gonzalez (drums), Jason Jackson (sax) and Nick Cabrera (clarinet) started with the revered bassist playing upright acoustic for half the show, then plugging in the electric for a while. The brass players were a bit more low-key and distant beneath the Haker Flatten/Gonzalez rhythmic low end, alternately punctuated and robust and flickering like a prairie fire in the wind. The final track with Inger on electric bass went deeper into mid '70s Kraut fusion territory and pulled me in nicely. The closing trio of Vancouver's Gordon Grdina on guitar and oud, Haker Flatten on bass and a phenomenal Canadian percussionist whose name I can't find (bad!) offered more trad swing interspersed with stellar region string eruptions that tempered the primal rumbling builds of Sonny Sharrock with the gale force winds of Sonic Youth. Every player in this trio delivered stunning, world class performances that kept me tuned throughout on a sonic level and completely fascinated in terms of physical dexterity and observational telepathic precision. All in all, another memorable night of world class jazz at the Phoenix Project here in Big. D.

2010-03-22T20:32:00.007-05:00

Been neglecting blogo duties of late. A lot of events have come and gone, and I've dug on a few. Too many folks have died lately. Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse, him I definitely had some time for, and just before that Dallas's own Tommy Aldridge of The Great Tyrant and Yeti, and others still, near and far, including an actual relative. Farewell to my cousin, Bettie Claire Winters.

Decided to forgo SXSW this year to save some $$$ and avoid that all around madhouse for a change. Turns out Alex Chilton couldn't make it either. He died of a heart attack Wednesday at 59, and was scheduled to play the fest Saturday night. According to WFMU's Brian Turner, Big Star played anyway -- well kind of -- with original bassist Andy Hummell, Auer/Stringfellow/Stephens (the remainder of Big Star's current lineup), John Doe, Chris Stamey, Evan Dando, Curt Kirkwood and others. Sorry I missed it.

When people ask me, as they still do time to time, "Just who the heck is your favorite band anyway?" 90% of the time I say, "Big Star, of course." I'm not going to go all into specifics as to why that is. It's all in the music, three remarkable albums released from 1971-'75 for Memphis's Ardent Records: #1 Record, Radio City and Third/Sister Lovers that capture so many conflicting emotions, sounds, styles and images of an era that's special for so many reasons, and not just because I was born right in the middle of it all in 1973. Music simply sounded better before the encroachment of the digital age. Let's just leave it at that, but I like a lot of the digital shit too.

"Nighttime," "For You," "Big Black Car," "Blue Moon," "The Ballad of El Goodo," "September Gurls," "Thirteen," "Watch the Sunrise," "I'm in Love With a Girl," "Way Out West," "What's Going Ahn," "Mod Lang," "Holocaust" and, of course, "Kangaroo" (to name just a few) define pop excellence that rivals and arguably surpasses heavy hitters like The Kinks, The Byrds, CSNY, Buffalo Springfield and The Who on some deeper, more achingly existential level. I may be a little biased, but I'd waver that less than ten bands in the rock world actually have a Sister Lovers in 'em. The Velvet Underground's self titled comes to mind. So does Chris Bell's I Am the Cosmos and maybe Tim Buckley's Starsailor. Very few others.

(A vintage clip, featuring Alex and Chris, from the #1 Record sessions)

Rhino released a new Big Star 4CD box-set recently, Keep an Eye on the Sky, which consists mostly of early alternate takes and live material from the '70s era, but I've only just started digging into that stuff. Then there's Chilton's work as a teenager with soul garage teen idols The Boxtops, and his later more discordant solo work of damaged post-punk abandon. The Big Star story could probably be converted into its own HBO miniseries, complete with all the layered revelations, unexpected reversals and ironic ambiguities that make something like The Wire so profound. It can be heard in a song, such as Chris Bell's "You and Your Sister" on which Alex lends a harmony vocal long after the two had had their own version of the typical rock band falling out. It's the kind of healing that has to be sung instead of spoken. And for me that's what the music of Big Star is really about -- poems of hope sung in the darkest hour, just before the crack of dawn when the night is chased back into the dusty corner where it belongs. It's questionable whether Chilton or Bell ever really made it through to that bright morning, but then that's the point. It's not about getting there. It's about going as far as you can as long as you can, and maybe feeling a little love along the way.

Here's a recollection from an email of a Big Star/Posies concert I was lucky enough to attend on New Year's Eve Y2K in New Orleans just over ten years ago now. Jesus, where do da time go, mah peoples?

I saw Big Star play the Y2K New Years Eve show w/The Posies at the Howling Wolf in NO and for some reason it felt like a golden moment. My friends and I had rolled into New Orleans a few hours before and made the mistake of hitting up Pat O'Briens for a Hurricane or two. During most of Posies set we were irredeemably sloshed. I was afraid of this too, shooting our collective wad to soon so to speak. My friends actually dared to suggest an early retreat before Big Star even took the stage. How dare they! Ever the rocker soldier than I was (and still am), I insisted that if they could just hold on a little longer, that the band would start and the resultant power of the music and those classic melodies would revive the spirits of all in attendance (and kick in the endorphins too) and all would be well. And all was well.

After the Posies agreeable, low-key all acoustic set, it was time for the main event. As I said before this night felt special. One night you see a band firing on all cylinders/not missing a beat, the next you see a bunch'a pissy crybabies throwing things and blaming the sound man. But more than that it felt like seeing a boxer or old cowboy who'd come to terms with an affliction and slowly wrestled his way back to a place of contentment and even temporary nirvana. They were well rehearsed yet loose, exploding like it was 1972 all over again -- Jody's drums as crisp and metronomic as in the old days, Alex's guitar reverberating out across the packed house and filling the room like a chorus of church bells. He was all smiles too. He drank a toast from the stage at midnight and then broke into an appropriately stumbling version of "Auld Lyne Sang." Probably played close to 2 hours, nothing but hit after hit -- pow! pow! pow! Hadn't seen such a consistently enjoyable pop type set since Nirvana in late 1993, and let's just say Chilton looked like he was having a lot more fun that night than poor ol' Kurdt did back in '93. I've seen Big Star since and it was, dare I say, one of those sloppier, phoned in kind'a gigs. The kind of gig that has to get worked into the mix every once in a while so that the good ones burn so brightly. But that night, amid all the paranoia of impending doom and so forth revolving around Y2K (what a joke that was, right?), it was the stuff of rock 'n' roll dreams and a genuine life saver. So thanks Alex, Jody and the Posies for one of the best shows and most memorable nights of my life, and a lot of great music besides.

From Boing Boing, via Moistworks:

Ben Greenman remembers singer and guitarist Alex Chilton, who died tonight at age 59.

Alex Chilton, who died, wrote songs. He recorded songs. He made songs. He unmade them. In the end, the life was largely in song, and the songs all had life, and that's all there is to say, and there isn't anything that can be done. Once he covered "Let Me Get Close to You," which was Goffin-King via Skeeter Davis:

How long I'll never know
I've waited to tell you that I love you so
Now I have finally said it
Come on baby don't make me regret it

"It's Your Funeral" is an instrumental. There are no words.

RIP, Alex Chilton

2010-02-25T18:39:00.005-06:00

Four Tapes

Greg Davis Full Spectrum (Digitalis Ltd.) C-40 - '09 is the year I really started to dig deeper into this Vermontster's discography of celestial minimal noise and electronic dreams. His influences are vast yet sort of simple too: The Dead, La Monte Young, Jim O'Rourke and Mirror styled ambient hazes, and raga of any kind. He strikes an especially dulcet glow across the two glacial drifts of tonal haze that comprise Full Spectrum. This is as transcendent/beautiful as anything I've heard by Davis, which means it's better than the recent Mutually Arising (Kranky), though that same sense of meditative tranquility is found here. As suggested, every hue of the color spectrum gets its space-time due via these magnificent portals.

Dire Wolves Dire Wolves (Secret Eye) 2xC-30 - It's been a treat seeing the new wave of lumbering Cozmik pSych groops come wafting up from the basement like so many black smoke monsters. Pittsburgh's Dire Wolves definitely fit the bill with their sprawling psych jams owing to Träd, Gräs och Stenar, German Oak, Amon Düül II and the like (including Earth before the smoke cleared). The quartet -- featuring members/former members of Arco Flute Foundation, Black Forest/Black Sea, Forest Dweller, Sagas, etc -- that is Dire Wolves somehow manages to explore the corroding line between earth/sky, heaven/hell, order/chaos and show how limitless and vast that seemingly small space can be. What I truly dig about these 4 sides is how easily the group shifts gears from a hypnotic on-'n'-on caveman stomp to something more formless with the most insane/feral acid leads cutting through all the dense smoke -- a sound that was made to be heard on tape. Apparently sold out some time ago, but more releases are forthcoming on other labels. Keep your ears out! Righteous sample time!

Thurston Moore Blindfold (Destructive Industries) C-30 - Blindfold is one of the more interesting tapes I grabbed at the harsh noise fest I attended last Summer. It's quite the monster of creeping ominous 6 string electric guitar dread, somewhere between sadistic Silence of the Lambs informed ambient shades and a much deeper spiraling sound sculpture that for me personally ranks as some of the coolest, most arresting guitar work I've heard from Moore yet. I'm not sure if Blindfold is more intended as a kind of tonal death march, or creeping exploration of the mind of sadism, but it does breathe with an ominous groan that gets under the skin and digs its hooks in deep. Before it's through, the torture drone gives way to a more ecstatic breakthrough, possibly emblematic of the spirit leaving the body of our victim. Either way, a viable transcendence occurs.

Sun Araw In Orbit (Stunned) C-30 - This one will be hard to find and costs a little more than maybe it should, but hot damn if the two 15 min live tracks captured herein do not completely honor Sun Araw's school of less is more groove-ology. No, In Orbit isn't as complete a spiritual transformation as the massive Heavy Deeds, but it still honors that tradition and keeps the lunar module in its proper orbit across 30 minutes of pulsing, clanking see-sawing effervescent splooge. And that's really all any cosmonaut can ask for, ain't it?