If you're one of the many (humans) that have a myspace then, you know very well that if you don't block band friend requests you will be barraged daily. I, being someone that is not a complete douche and still loves music created and promoted by diligent young ones, decided to keep myself open to these friend requests. Instead of just fishing through them and keeping the keepers and kicking the shitters, I've decided to briefly review these bands. Sweet right? Nice little plug. Butt plug.
1. Counting Planes Oxnard, California "Pop punk, Hardcore, Trip-hop"
"Gary Wayne's Starship Enterprise" I used to like this type of music. For some God awful reason this makes Counting Planes terribly mediocre music relatively nostalgic. There are a few okay guitar riffs and the drums aren't horrible but, I'm already over this song.
"Dick Roshendo" Cute little guitar solo. Boring.
"Drinkability" I don't know why but, I love gang vocals. And then...kaput!
That's actually all that I could handle. I appreciate the quality of the recordings but as for musical creativity and lyrical talent are concerned...you fellas are up shit creek. I guess that will teach you to go mass adding people won't it? Remember, there's no such thing as 'bad publicity'. Good luck. Oh and another cutesy guitar solo at the end of "drinkability". Unimpressive, boring, mass molded music.
www.myspace.com/countingplanes
2. Darkest of Days Spartanburg, SC "Rock, Metal, Alternative"
Judging by the profile default picture, I'm going to hate this.
"Fuck You" Clever title. Too much cheap distortion pedal output. Vocals sound like an ugly mix between Lemmy and Special Ed. This is absolutely the most obnoxious shit... omg you actually recorded that guitar solo? "You got your mind all tied and bound." Well. Next band please.
http://www.myspace.com/darkestofdaysofficial
Wait, darkestofdaysofficial? As if there are unofficial pages on myspace? As if there ever will be? Oh my.
3. Hollows Spartanburg, SC "Experimental, Psychadelic, Metal"
Just an overall view here but, I absolutely love it. NM the conflict of interest or mysterious connections lol. Sleepy time music.
http://www.myspace.com/dirgesc
4. Joe Grizzley Durham, North Carolina "Pop Punk, Hardcore"
"Joe Bros Vs. the Failing Economy" First of all, excellent song title. Despite these type of tunes having been done before...first impression, not bad. Well, that is, until the chorus came along and destroyed it for me. Let's try another track because there's a fucking break down.
"Save Tonight" I love Eagle Eye Cherry. Well, I love this song. I could do without the metalcore growl. Other than that, so far so good. Singer of second verse, stop singing. Screaming, cut that shit out. Quick crash or cheap china, also stop. Come tomorrow, I'll be wishing I hadn't listened to this cover because it will forever fuck up this song for me. Alright, decent gang vocals...a bit of a redeemer. Holding out, "Saaaaaaaaaaaaaavve toooniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight!!!!!" not a good decision. I like the drums a great deal. Not too bad.
http://www.myspace.com/joegrizzleync
5. Rotten Bark Wlodawa, Lubelskie Poland "Pop Punk, Rock, Alternative"
I must give off that 'I'm totally into pop punk and pop punk only vibe', huh? Well although I can't pronounce the name of your hometown, at least this is truly what I consider pop punk to be. Thank you for appropriately labeling yourself. I'm always one to appreciate 3 part harmonies. However, this is really goofy music and Sum 41 did it a decade ago. Blink 182 did it much better before that and I'm sure a million others before them. Thank you for making mediocre music.
http://www.myspace.com/rottenbark
6. Ixtlan. Noisetrack Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil "Melodramatic Popular Song, Indie, Black Metal"
I'm afraid to even listen to this judging by the name of the band, their place of origin and the genres that they have placed themselves in. What the fuck is melodramatic popular song anyway? That shits not on my XM stations, I don't think.
"The Waiting Song" Sad and depressing guitar riff that would make the joker cry. Tremolo effect and here comes the drums. Holy shit, I kind of like this. Spacey sounds dancing around a nice driving rhythm and distantish vocals about this guy and how he won't be around. Abrupt ending. Take me on to song #2 I'm intrigued.
"Ao Longo Da Estrada Pt.2" I'm not sure if multi-part songs are like ...to be continued sitcoms or sagas and such but I feel like I should have listened to Pt.1 first. Should I have? Very short song, uninteresting. Thanks anyway.
"Terra Baixa" Judging from the first 15 seconds of the song, I'll be hitting the old dusty trail now.
http://www.myspace.com/ixtlannoisetrack
7. Nightlights Orlando, Florida "Punk, Rock, House"
"Ghost Town" This sounds like the years where I would skateboard around town. I love it. Short and sweet like "punk" should be.
"Buzz Your Girlfriend...Woof!" As for the title, I happen to love Home Alone. I don't really feel like I have very much to say. This type of music has definitely been played and played out long ago but, I can't quite let go. This is fantastic. Gang vocals, "I have no where, I have no where, no where else to turn!" Awesome, next song.
"Ghost Town (Acoustic)" I really wish you hadn't done this. It's definitely a good song but, please no acoustic damn you!!!!
http://www.myspace.com/nightlightsfl
Wow! That's all of them. I know these aren't fancy or in depth reviews by any means but, it's 3:43 am and honestly, I could give a shit less. Good night 2009.
-DHAGZ
30.12.09
12.12.09
THE DECADE IN MUSIC
As the first decade of the aughts draws to a close, I figured I would do a quick write-up on my personal 100 best releases from 2000-2009, which is in fact a decade if you count out the years from 00 to 09. These are ordered as best as I could, but try not to get too upset if you think no.50 should have been no.47 or something, okay?
crossposted at RIGOR MORTIS SHUFFLE
100. Kala by M.I.A. (XL, 2007)
99. 13 or So People Who Need Chances by Vollmar (Bluesanct, 2004)
98. The Letting Go by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy (Drag City, 2006)
97. Island Diamonds by Pocahaunted (Arbor/Not Not Fun, 2008)
96. The Greatest by Cat Power (Matador, 2006)
95. Turn on the Bright Lights by Interpol (Matador, 2002)
94. Vespertine by Björk (Elektra, 2001)
93. Accumulation: None by (Smog) (Drag City, 2002)
92. Getty Address by The Dirty Projectors (Western Vinyl, 2005)
91. Advisory Committee by Mirah (K, 2002)
90. Has A Good Home by Final Fantasy (◘◘◘◘◘◘ Recording Club, 2005)
89. Stories For Owls by Badgerlore (Free Porcupine Society, 2005)
88. Nukkuu by Lau Nau (Locust, 2008)
87. Wind's Poem by Mount Eerie (P.W. Elverum & Sun ltd., 2009)
86. All Reflections Drained by Xasthur (Hydra Head, 2009)
85. Crosses/Spenking by Viking Moses!/Spencer Kingman (Marriage, 2005)
84. And Their Refinement Of The Decline by Stars of the Lid (Kranky, 2007)
83. Holy Holy by Lightning Paw (Now Hereness, 2007)
82. On Vacation by The Robot Ate Me (Swim Slowly/5 Rue Christine, 2004/2005)
81. At All Ends by Yellow Swans (Weird Forest/Load, 2007)
80. Cask Strength Black Metal by Dead Raven Choir (Weird Forest/Supernal, 2007)
79. the Pissmop LP by Yellow Tears (Hospital Productions, 2008)
78. Descension Yellow Swans by Descension Yellow Swans (Acuarela, 2007)
77. At Rear House by Woods (Woodsist/Troubleman Unlimited, 2007)
76. Tout Seul Dans La Forêt En Plein Jour, Avez-Vous Peur? by Woelv (K, 2007)
75. Medúlla by Björk (Elektra, 2004)
74. Fantastic Illusions Worth Dying For by Assacre (Awthum, 2005)
73. Swimming Back To Shore Without Me by Bunkbed (Turn, 2002)
72. Guitar Trio Is My Life! by Rhys Chatham, et al (Radium, 2008)
71. The Observer by Mecca Normal (Kill Rock Stars, 2006)
70. Pamplemoussi by Geneviève Castrée (L'Oie De Cravan, 2004)
69. He Poos Clouds by Final Fantasy (Tomlab, 2006)
68. Embittered Darkness / Isle De Morts by Striborg (Displeased/Southern Lord, 2006)
67. Shrine To The Possessor by Robedoor (Music Fellowship, 2008)
66. Sleep Has His House by Current 93 (Durtro, 2000)
65. Plays the Book of Revelations by NVH/Chasny (Yik Yak/Zum, 2005)
64. The Music From Matthew Barney's Drawing Restraint 9 by Björk (One Little Indian US, 2005)
63. Defixiones - Will And Testament by Diamanda Galás (Mute, 2003)
62. Five Electrical Walks by Christina Kubisch (Important, 2007)
61. Yahweh Or The Highway by Arab on Radar (Skin Graft, 2001)
60. Devil If You Can Hear Me by Heather Leigh Murray (Not Not Fun, 2007)
59. Black Blues (violent) by Keji Hanio (Les Disques Du Soleil Et De L'Acier, 2004)
58. A Gate Through Bloodstained Mirrors by Xasthur (Hydra Head, 2007)
57. Beasts Will Have You by Law of the Rope (Not Not Fun, 2008)
56. ( ) by Sigur Rós (FatCat, 2002)
55. Wide by Grouper (Free Porcupine Society, 2006)
54. Way Their Crept by Grouper (Free Porcupine Society, 2005)
53. Helder by Annelies Monseré (Bluesanct, 2005)
52. The Tired Sounds Of... by Stars of the Lid (Kranky, 2001)
51. Black Blues (soft) by Keji Hanio (Les Disques Du Soleil Et De L'Acier, 2004)
50. Horses in the Sky by Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra + Tra-La-La Band (Constellation, 2005)
49. The Glow, pt. 2 by The Microphones (K, 2001)
48. Nefaria / A Tragic Journey Towards The Light by Striborg (Displeased/Southern Lord, 2006/2007)
47. Macy's Day Bird / Black With Green Leaves by Diane Cluck (Important, 2006)
46. Creepshow by Xiu Xiu vs. Grouper (States Rights/Slender Means Society, 2006)
45. Recurring Dream And Apocalypse Of Darkness by Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. (Important, 2008)
44. Shalabi Effect by Shalabi Effect (Alien8 Recordings, 2000)
43. Sings Reign Rebuilder by Set Fire To Flames (Alien8, 2001)
42. Slaves' Graves & Ballads by the Dirty Projectors (Western Vinyl, 2004)
41. Wonderful Rainbow by Lightning Bolt (Load, 2003)
40. Always Wrong by Wolf Eyes (Hospital Productions, 2009)
39. End of Autumn by Sutcliffe Jügend / Prurient (Troubleman Unlimited, 2008)
38. Amlux by Merzbow (Important Records, 2002)
37. Black Ships Ate The Sky by Current 93 (Durtro, 2006)
36. Thanksgiving by Thanksgiving (P.W. Elverum & Sun ltd., 2005)
35. Good World by The Robot Ate Me (5 Rue Christine, 2006)
34. Bleak 1999 by Tomas Jirku (No Type, 2003)
33. He Has Left Us Alone but Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms… by A Silver Mt. Zion (Constellation, 2000)
32. III by Darkspace (Avantgarde Music, 2008)
31. Reveal'd To None As Yet - An Expedience To Utterly Vanquish Consciousness While Still Alive by Keiji Haino (aRCHIVE/Important, 2006)
30. The Golden Chamber by Prurient (Hospital Productions, 2007))
29. Rose Pillar by Prurient (Heartworm Press, 2009)
28. Dømkirke by Sunn O))) (Southern Lord, 2008)
27. Rotting Nepal by Aaron Dilloway (Hanson Records/Blossoming Noise, 2005/2006)
26. An Evil Heat by Oxbow (Neurot, 2002)
25. Merzzow by Merzbow (Opposite Records, 2002)
24. Nobody's Ugly by Consumer Electronics (No Fun Productions, 2007)
23. Worthless Recluse by Jandek (Corwood Industries, 2001)
22. The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast by Matmos (Matador, 2007)
21. Didn't It Rain by Songs: Ohia (Secretly Canadian, 2002)
20. Fabulous Muscles by Xiu Xiu (5 Rue Christine, 2004)
19. Desert Doughnuts by Metallic Falcons (Voodoo Eros, 2006)
18. Mi and L'au by Mi and L'au (Young God, 2005)
17. Bird Seed by Whitehouse (Susan Lawly, 2003)
16. Operation Hummingbird by Death In June (Ner/Tesco, 2000)
15. No Flashlight by Mount Eerie (P.W. Elverum & Sun ltd., 2006)
14. Ágætis Byrjun by Sigur Rós (FatCat, 2000)
13. Birth Canal Blues by Current 93 (Jnana/Durtro/Coptic Cat, 2008)
12. Children of the Black Sun by Non (Mute, 2002)
11. Cruise by Whitehouse (Susan Lawly, 2001)
10. Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven by Godspeed You Black Emperor! (Constellation, 2000)
09. Welcome Nowhere by Thanksgiving (P.W. Elverum & Sun ltd., 2004)
08. Black One by Sunn O))) (Southern Lord, 205)
07. Manhattan Tuesday by Jandek (Corwood Industries, 2007)
06. Black Vase by Prurient (Load, 2005)
05. Human Animal by Wolf Eyes (Sub Pop, 2006)
04. Mount Eerie by The Microphones (K, 2003)
03. A Promise by Xiu Xiu (5 Rue Christine, 2003)
02. Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill by Grouper (Type, 2008)
01. The Drift by Scott Walker (4AD, 2006)
crossposted at RIGOR MORTIS SHUFFLE
100. Kala by M.I.A. (XL, 2007)99. 13 or So People Who Need Chances by Vollmar (Bluesanct, 2004)
98. The Letting Go by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy (Drag City, 2006)
97. Island Diamonds by Pocahaunted (Arbor/Not Not Fun, 2008)
96. The Greatest by Cat Power (Matador, 2006)
95. Turn on the Bright Lights by Interpol (Matador, 2002)
94. Vespertine by Björk (Elektra, 2001)
93. Accumulation: None by (Smog) (Drag City, 2002)
92. Getty Address by The Dirty Projectors (Western Vinyl, 2005)
91. Advisory Committee by Mirah (K, 2002)
90. Has A Good Home by Final Fantasy (◘◘◘◘◘◘ Recording Club, 2005)
89. Stories For Owls by Badgerlore (Free Porcupine Society, 2005)
88. Nukkuu by Lau Nau (Locust, 2008)
87. Wind's Poem by Mount Eerie (P.W. Elverum & Sun ltd., 2009)
86. All Reflections Drained by Xasthur (Hydra Head, 2009)
85. Crosses/Spenking by Viking Moses!/Spencer Kingman (Marriage, 2005)
84. And Their Refinement Of The Decline by Stars of the Lid (Kranky, 2007)
83. Holy Holy by Lightning Paw (Now Hereness, 2007)
82. On Vacation by The Robot Ate Me (Swim Slowly/5 Rue Christine, 2004/2005)
81. At All Ends by Yellow Swans (Weird Forest/Load, 2007)
80. Cask Strength Black Metal by Dead Raven Choir (Weird Forest/Supernal, 2007)
79. the Pissmop LP by Yellow Tears (Hospital Productions, 2008)
78. Descension Yellow Swans by Descension Yellow Swans (Acuarela, 2007)
77. At Rear House by Woods (Woodsist/Troubleman Unlimited, 2007)
76. Tout Seul Dans La Forêt En Plein Jour, Avez-Vous Peur? by Woelv (K, 2007)
75. Medúlla by Björk (Elektra, 2004)74. Fantastic Illusions Worth Dying For by Assacre (Awthum, 2005)
73. Swimming Back To Shore Without Me by Bunkbed (Turn, 2002)
72. Guitar Trio Is My Life! by Rhys Chatham, et al (Radium, 2008)
71. The Observer by Mecca Normal (Kill Rock Stars, 2006)
70. Pamplemoussi by Geneviève Castrée (L'Oie De Cravan, 2004)
69. He Poos Clouds by Final Fantasy (Tomlab, 2006)
68. Embittered Darkness / Isle De Morts by Striborg (Displeased/Southern Lord, 2006)
67. Shrine To The Possessor by Robedoor (Music Fellowship, 2008)
66. Sleep Has His House by Current 93 (Durtro, 2000)
65. Plays the Book of Revelations by NVH/Chasny (Yik Yak/Zum, 2005)
64. The Music From Matthew Barney's Drawing Restraint 9 by Björk (One Little Indian US, 2005)
63. Defixiones - Will And Testament by Diamanda Galás (Mute, 2003)
62. Five Electrical Walks by Christina Kubisch (Important, 2007)
61. Yahweh Or The Highway by Arab on Radar (Skin Graft, 2001)
60. Devil If You Can Hear Me by Heather Leigh Murray (Not Not Fun, 2007)
59. Black Blues (violent) by Keji Hanio (Les Disques Du Soleil Et De L'Acier, 2004)
58. A Gate Through Bloodstained Mirrors by Xasthur (Hydra Head, 2007)
57. Beasts Will Have You by Law of the Rope (Not Not Fun, 2008)
56. ( ) by Sigur Rós (FatCat, 2002)
55. Wide by Grouper (Free Porcupine Society, 2006)
54. Way Their Crept by Grouper (Free Porcupine Society, 2005)
53. Helder by Annelies Monseré (Bluesanct, 2005)
52. The Tired Sounds Of... by Stars of the Lid (Kranky, 2001)
51. Black Blues (soft) by Keji Hanio (Les Disques Du Soleil Et De L'Acier, 2004)
50. Horses in the Sky by Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra + Tra-La-La Band (Constellation, 2005)49. The Glow, pt. 2 by The Microphones (K, 2001)
48. Nefaria / A Tragic Journey Towards The Light by Striborg (Displeased/Southern Lord, 2006/2007)
47. Macy's Day Bird / Black With Green Leaves by Diane Cluck (Important, 2006)
46. Creepshow by Xiu Xiu vs. Grouper (States Rights/Slender Means Society, 2006)
45. Recurring Dream And Apocalypse Of Darkness by Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. (Important, 2008)
44. Shalabi Effect by Shalabi Effect (Alien8 Recordings, 2000)
43. Sings Reign Rebuilder by Set Fire To Flames (Alien8, 2001)
42. Slaves' Graves & Ballads by the Dirty Projectors (Western Vinyl, 2004)
41. Wonderful Rainbow by Lightning Bolt (Load, 2003)
40. Always Wrong by Wolf Eyes (Hospital Productions, 2009)
39. End of Autumn by Sutcliffe Jügend / Prurient (Troubleman Unlimited, 2008)
38. Amlux by Merzbow (Important Records, 2002)
37. Black Ships Ate The Sky by Current 93 (Durtro, 2006)
36. Thanksgiving by Thanksgiving (P.W. Elverum & Sun ltd., 2005)
35. Good World by The Robot Ate Me (5 Rue Christine, 2006)
34. Bleak 1999 by Tomas Jirku (No Type, 2003)
33. He Has Left Us Alone but Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms… by A Silver Mt. Zion (Constellation, 2000)
32. III by Darkspace (Avantgarde Music, 2008)
31. Reveal'd To None As Yet - An Expedience To Utterly Vanquish Consciousness While Still Alive by Keiji Haino (aRCHIVE/Important, 2006)
30. The Golden Chamber by Prurient (Hospital Productions, 2007))
29. Rose Pillar by Prurient (Heartworm Press, 2009)
28. Dømkirke by Sunn O))) (Southern Lord, 2008)
27. Rotting Nepal by Aaron Dilloway (Hanson Records/Blossoming Noise, 2005/2006)
26. An Evil Heat by Oxbow (Neurot, 2002)
25. Merzzow by Merzbow (Opposite Records, 2002)24. Nobody's Ugly by Consumer Electronics (No Fun Productions, 2007)
23. Worthless Recluse by Jandek (Corwood Industries, 2001)
22. The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast by Matmos (Matador, 2007)
21. Didn't It Rain by Songs: Ohia (Secretly Canadian, 2002)
20. Fabulous Muscles by Xiu Xiu (5 Rue Christine, 2004)
19. Desert Doughnuts by Metallic Falcons (Voodoo Eros, 2006)
18. Mi and L'au by Mi and L'au (Young God, 2005)
17. Bird Seed by Whitehouse (Susan Lawly, 2003)
16. Operation Hummingbird by Death In June (Ner/Tesco, 2000)
15. No Flashlight by Mount Eerie (P.W. Elverum & Sun ltd., 2006)
14. Ágætis Byrjun by Sigur Rós (FatCat, 2000)
13. Birth Canal Blues by Current 93 (Jnana/Durtro/Coptic Cat, 2008)
12. Children of the Black Sun by Non (Mute, 2002)
11. Cruise by Whitehouse (Susan Lawly, 2001)
10. Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven by Godspeed You Black Emperor! (Constellation, 2000)
09. Welcome Nowhere by Thanksgiving (P.W. Elverum & Sun ltd., 2004)
08. Black One by Sunn O))) (Southern Lord, 205)
07. Manhattan Tuesday by Jandek (Corwood Industries, 2007)
06. Black Vase by Prurient (Load, 2005)
05. Human Animal by Wolf Eyes (Sub Pop, 2006)
04. Mount Eerie by The Microphones (K, 2003)
03. A Promise by Xiu Xiu (5 Rue Christine, 2003)
02. Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill by Grouper (Type, 2008)
01. The Drift by Scott Walker (4AD, 2006)
18.11.09
BEST RELEASES OF 2009
Originally I was going to wait until mid-December to post this list, but D-Hags gave me free-rein to go ahead and share my wisdom'd opinions with the world. Citing that I've had nothing substantial to do with my day, and the only major up-coming record I'm psyched about (Xiu Xiu's Dear God, I Hate Myself) doesn't drop until 23 February 2010, well ... here you go.
Rose Pillar by Prurient (11" + Hardback Book, Heartworm Press)
The question isn't really where on this list Prurient should go, but which 2009 release should be on the list. Hands down, Rose Pillar earned its place as the year's best release. First of all, multimedia releases tend to get me wet, so when Heartworm Press announced that the new Prurient LP would actually be part of a book, needless to say I got pretty excited. 500 copies, no less!
This entire work is a dedication to a recently-deceased uncle, drawing on text from a memoir written by his Mother about "Stephen Feraca, the brilliant but troubled older brother, an anthropologist who was adopted into a Sioux tribe" (Heartworm Press). Text appears in stark white on black, accompanied by dreary photos of plants, insects, decaying machinery, collapsing buildings.
Visually, this project conveys the sort of dark loss and helplessness that so many other musical
projects try to convey by screaming about being lonely. "Feraca’s text is juxtaposed with Fernow’s collages of fallen empires, plant-life and industrial decline. The imagery presented is both stoic yet strangely profound and revealing as an analogy of death." (Heartworm Press) Prurient makes you feel lonely, without ever having to tell you he is.
Then comes the record: easily some of the strongest material as yet recoded. Similar in tone / feel to 2007's The Golden Chamber cassette, which vanished in a limited run of 44 copies. Dark symphonic loops and sounds of upturned earth, rusted plows, cracking mortar surround, attempt to bury, Fernow's own howling from the edge of human endurance. If "Spins The Worlds Wheel Again" isn't the track of the year, then I'm obviously far more gone than even I fear. The line "what does one do in paradise" has become a mantra to my year; whispered, pleading to the universe for direction; shouted, begging for a hand-out, hand-up, hand-me-down, anything to crack the void. I won't lie: I probably listen to this record far more than is healthy.
Always Wrong by Wolf Eyes (CD/LP, Hospital Productions)
Do I even listen to conventional music anymore? Sometimes, but what really stands out is more interesting to listen to. "Is that a drum? Broken synthesizer? Tape loop?" "Cymbal? Rusted metal? Guillotine?"
Wolf Eyes is up there with Prurient in the obscene-amount-of-releases category. So far in 2009, they've got 15 tapes, CDrs, lathe cuts, LPs, 7"s, CDs to their name, and that's only the stuff I can track down. 20 is probably a safe bet. That being said, Always Wrong is probably the closest thing to an "album" that they've released. Between live recordings, untitled single-sided lathe cuts, splits, and ongoing sound projects, Always Wrong feel like an album, though true to form, the Wolf boys use a limited palate of sounds for the recording.
Honestly, this falls somewhere between the electronic schizophrenia of 2004's Burned Mind (Sub Pop) and the disgusting open-grave of 2006's Human Animal (Sub Pop). Where Burned Mind came across as time spent in the studio goofing around, huffing Dust-Off and doing speed, Human Animal felt like a project, a singular idea fleshed out across eight tracks. Always Wrong is the marriage of the two, and yet individually neither; bastard whelp, perhaps, huddling on a dark stoop at the edge of Apocalypseville.
Percussion fills in for tapes and synth. The highs seem sharper. The lows seem deeper. The beat goes on. Mike Connelly's presence is palpable, but at the same time, Dilloway's absence is noticeable. Not that this is a weaker album because of it; FUCK NO. Always Wrong is a solid-jam, and I'm proud to say I've puked on the side of the road while "Broken Order" and "Always Wrong" pulsed in my car.
Wind's Poem by Mount Eerie (CD/2xLP, P.W. Elverum & Sun, Ltd.)
Have I mentioned that Phil Elverum is going to single-handedly save songwriting? I haven't? Oh, well Phil Elverum is going to single-handedly save the age-old art of songwriting. He is.
Remember "Samurai Sword" off of The Glow, pt. 2 (K Records) from way back in 2001? I love that track. The beat eluded me for months on end, and the guitars are less tonal than textural. That being said, you can tell that Phil's time in Norway a few years ago, and his interest in black metal, à la acts like Xasthur and Malkuth, is paying off. BUT: do not misunderstand. This is a Mount Eerie record. A "metal" Mount Eerie record is still a Mount Eerie record. Phil donned no corpse paint, shredded no vocal chords. He still sings about the night, and the dark, and the wind, and MOUNTAIN, and the sort of Zen introspection that convinced a lot of us at What-The-Heck Fest 2006 (when No Flashlight was unveiled) that Mr. Phil Elverum was the savior of lyrical-meditation, finally wrenching the title away from that hack, John Updike.
Also, he quotes Angelo Badalamenti's Twin Peaks compositions on "Between Two Mysteries," which pretty much makes me a bigger geek than you might think I am, but also cements a slightly sonically-uneven track when considering the album as a whole. Stuck between tracks of atmospheric whisp and amp rumble, "Between Two Mysteries" seems out of place with its marimba (?) line and synth brass. However, if you ever watched Twin Peaks, then the citation of Badalamenti's compositional work almost INSTANTLY keeps the post-paranoia mood that wafts between the trees of Wind's Poem.
Dead Times by Dead Times (cass, Aum War)
I found Dead Times by pure accident. Since I have no sort of solid spiritual / mystical beliefs, I can't thank fate or GOD or anything. I just have to say "oh, neat," which is great because this tape proudly declares that "Dead Times supports the war against the self and the other. Death to false."
Anyway, I have a cassette fetish, I do. When I see that a good band has a 250 limited run of hand-numbered cassettes with hand-screened inserts, I basically wet myself; better than sex, I swear.
This tape opens with a tentatively plucked minor-key progression on acoustic guitar. Enter the
weeping, then the slowly multiplying voice, repeating "I'm so devastated / I get nothing out of life / I can't see anything in the future / I wish that they had just killed me too that day."
From there on, Dead Times turns into some sort of weird offspring from Law of the Rope, whom would have been on this list, but released nothing at all in 2009. BUMMED? Not really. Dead Times make up for LotR's (ha ha) inactivity.
Dead Times is part tape-loop, part power electronics, part plundercore (at least from
Bergman's Det sjunde inseglet, as far as I can tell), weirdo black metal, evil dance music. Guitars cover a chanting funeral procession in plague-swept Medieval Sweden, ceremonial death-drums keep the march, and Belial splits a skull and offers some shriek-soaked advice about something. I really can not get over how good this tape is. I have high hopes for Dead Times and I sincerely hope there's more in the future.
Sefirah Gevurah by Malkuth (CD/LP, Hospital Productions)
When you mention American Black Metal, you run into the same sort of drama that follows scene-kids, the world of gay-dating, and high school. Don't believe me? Allow me to take a very small cue from Pitchfork Media (I know, I'm sorry) and show you this. As a musician, I don't really give a shit about what country or continent you're from when it coms to being TRÜE. If you're good, I'll listen to you; if you suck ass (in the bad way), then you suck ass (in the bad way).
That being said, Malkuth do not suck ass in the bad way. They suck huge cock, which I would consider a positive attribute, and fairly pleasurable to most parties involved. Who doesn't like a good blowjob? Well, me, but that's not the point. Enough sexual word-play.
Sefirah Gevurah consists of six tracks of blistering black metal in the vein of Darkthrone, if Darkthrone had better equipment when they started and turned down the high-end on their amps. At first, I found it really weird that these guys are from NYC, but when I stop to consider how I feel about visiting / living in NYC, I realize that black metal is a pretty good expression of my feelings. Sure, living in a cabin and singing about how much you hate everything works; you're working out of (self-imposed) exile, talking from experience. But what if you're surround by millions of people? That makes you some sort of masochistic warrior, right?
That being said, there are no lyrics posted anywhere (that I've found), so maybe they're doing the whole Wolves In The Throne Room thing. Probably not. Hard to tell. I feel pretty safe assuming that they have misanthropic lyrics because, goddamnit, they're a black metal band. HAIL.
Imperial Horizon by Kevin Drumm (CD, Hospital Productions)
By now I realize that I basically should have just posted the 2009 Hospital Productions catalog and been done with it, right? Look, don't blame me because Dominick Fernow runs one of the best damn labels / stores in the country.
Kevin Drumm: maybe you know him from Gastr del Sol and Brice-Glace, or even his more recent, 2007 collaboration with Prurient, All Are Guests In The House Of The Lord.
If you don't know of him, what you need to know is that he's straddling, sometimes strangling, the borders between Art Installation, Musician, and Scientist. Lately he's been working with suspended tonality, digging into a few notes / frequencies as possible and then seeing how far they'll reach.
Imperial Horizon is such an experiment. Consisting of one track, "Just Lay Down and Forget It," Drumm explores a very warm chord for one hour, four minutes, fifty-three seconds. Frequencies get boosted, reduced, doppler waves build, pulse, vibrate your body. This is what I imagine sensory deprivation must be like. The label description echoes my sentiments: "Imperial Horizon by Kevin Drumm is a further examination into sustained tone ... stretching out minimalism to unreached heights of serene ambient.lulling electronic drones slowly transform over the course of the hour plus piece in constant flux,echoing both an existential terror and Zen calm. mutations grow so quietly only the body opens to identify this change while the mind closes. the ephemeral and seeming lightness of the tones hang with taut balance in contrast to the method in which they are overlapped and rotated with deadly weight. How wildly divergent emotions rise, hover, and fall using so little is a mystery that only Kevin Drumm can provide. While you may not find an answer, you can certainly get lost in the question." (Hospital Productions)
Blizzard by Robert Turman + Aaron Dilloway (CD, Hanson Records)
I was skeptical at first. The Turman/Dilloway cassplit from 2008 is fairly perfect, all things
considered, so when the duo put out a CDr collaboration, I got a little worried. I like tapes; the hiss is always there, due to the physical act of the tape running across the stereo head. Aaron Dilloway works with tape loops. They are dirty, grimy, and they rumble with purpose. My concern was either A., this would be a rumbly CD that only hoped to sound like a tape, or B., this would be a far too polished affair.
Actually, it's a little bit of B., but un/fortunately, since I live in South Carolina, I never got to be anywhere close to where Turman/Dilloway toured, meaning I never heard any of this initially tour-only material.
Synthesizers and tapes are all that go into this CD, which I find confusing to a degree; I swear there's more going on. Granted, Turman's tape work is a little more precise than Dilloway's, and with Aaron manning the synths, that jumbled tape-decay I was expecting is absent.
So: what do I think? Blizzard is appropriately named. This release is cold and dark. I wish this release had existed when I was living in Fairbanks, AK. What sounds like Shakuhachi drifts over slowly pulsing synth drone. Short tape-loops flutter in bursts through delay FX. In all honesty, this is what it sounded like walking to B.C.'s cabin in -40°F weather. The pulsing crunch of legs moving through snow. Doppler waves of cars / trains passing in the distance. Static crackle in the air created by snow and ice. Too cold to stop, too cold to really want to keep walking, so you go on auto-pilot and keep. fucking. walking. The promise of beer, cigarettes, and sex is enough to get any college student through thigh-deep snow, I suppose.
Monoliths & Dimensions by SUNN O))) (CD/2xLP, Southern Lord)
Sunn O))) is a project that, by all accounts, should have run its course by now. In the hands of less musicians, men of infinitely more limited vision, 2005's Black One would have been the first release and, more than likely, the last of any interest from a one-trick-pony.
Fortunately, Stephen O'Malley et al are fiends of purpose, men (and women) of vision! Sure, working to sustain guitar rumble is central to the project, but the way in which they wield this tool is what manages to keep Sunn O))) at the forefront of modern, avant-garde composition.
Monoliths & Dimensions hands over the opaque blackness of the grave in exchange for the strangely vacant blackness of medieval mass in a barely-lit cathedral. You hear the crushing chime of the bells, the voice of the deacon calling you to rise, but all around you the rats scurry under pews, nails dig at slate walls, and from somewhere behind you a ragged breath creeps across your neck. Attila Csihar's vocals are not only welcome, but as much a staple of Sunn O))) as O'Malley + Anderson's SUNN brand amps now. That raspy cry from beyond, that deep growling, near-raptuous glossolalia. When the End of Days arrives, Sunn O))) will echo the Archangels' horns.
All Reflections Drained by Xasthur (CD/2xLP/cass, Hydra Head)
Really quickly: Xasthur is a black metal band. Most of what is released by Xasthur is done by one man, Malefic, a.k.a. Scott Conner. So: Malefic is Xasthur. Sort of like The Representative from Corwood plays at Jandek concerts. Okay?
What makes Xasthur so impressive is that the metal made by Malefic isn't of the same ilk as post-1988 Bathory, or Mayhem, or Gorgoroth. Overt violence towards others becomes violence towards the self. Aggression and strength are alchemically transmuted into depression and weakness. Misanthropy is the name of the game, and instead of an axe, Malefic wields his own isolated persona. What sets All Reflections Drained apart from other Xasthur releases is that the drums are real, which didn't start happening until 2007. Also, there are way more keyboards and synths on this album than on pretty much any other Xasthur release (which is a lot, considering).
This release is pretty draining--physically, mentally, emotionally. Xasthur is known for long, meandering tracks, but the overabundance of synth reverb makes me feel less like moshing, more like I'm being suffocated in a stuffy room, attending the wake of some distant relative. The Stranger anyone?
Passage by Pocahaunted with Bobb Bruno and Cameron Stallones (LP, Troubleman Unlimited)
This is not my favorite Pocahaunted release by far. However, this is one of their most focused
releases and, sadly, their last full-on, honest-to-god full-length releases. R.I.P. Pocahaunted,
I'mma gunna miss you.
Anyway. Passages is basically what people expect from Pocahaunted. Reverb-drenched vocal wailing hidden behind simplistic guitar patterns and some percussion. Very trance inducing, neo-tribal, psychedelic-fueled spirt quest sort of stuff that seems drenched up for the secret parts of the 1960s. This isn't Haight-Ashbury, this is a sweat lodge in the Lakota nation. This is Quetzalcoatl rising out of you peyote soup and buring an axe of pure light in your chakra.
Fortunately, this release brings good production values to the table, as well as some pretty
interesting guitar / keyboard / percussion flourishes that you won't find on other Pocahaunted
releases. Also, this is one of their slowest burning releases. When I was ripping this vinyl onto my computer, I didn't realize the record was playing at half-speed until I was about halfway through the first-track. Even then, this is what I imagine it must be like to have your chakras cleaned thoroughly.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
The Lucifer Rising Suite by Bobby Beausoleil (4xLP, The Ajna Offensive)
This incredible box only gets honorable mention because all the music was recorded in 1976 (in
prison) and has slowly been releases, re-released, and bootlegged over the years. Worth having (and damnit, one day I will), but the presentation is what's new.
Michigan by Various Artists (6xLP, Hanson Records + RRRecords + Chrondritic Sound)
Partially, I feel like this would have been cheating. 6 LPs, one artist per side, which makes this a relatively evil box set of music from Michigan's best noisemakers (literally). Besides, I already put Dilloway and Wolf Eyes on the list. Is that fair to give them double slots?
A. Princess Dragon-Mom
B. Raven Strain
C. Redrot
D. Aaron Dilloway
E. Tovah D-Day
F. Charlie Draheim
G. Hive Mind
H. Mammal
I. Evenings
J. Cotton Museum
K. Sick Llama
L. Wolf Eyes
Rose Pillar by Prurient (11" + Hardback Book, Heartworm Press)
The question isn't really where on this list Prurient should go, but which 2009 release should be on the list. Hands down, Rose Pillar earned its place as the year's best release. First of all, multimedia releases tend to get me wet, so when Heartworm Press announced that the new Prurient LP would actually be part of a book, needless to say I got pretty excited. 500 copies, no less!
This entire work is a dedication to a recently-deceased uncle, drawing on text from a memoir written by his Mother about "Stephen Feraca, the brilliant but troubled older brother, an anthropologist who was adopted into a Sioux tribe" (Heartworm Press). Text appears in stark white on black, accompanied by dreary photos of plants, insects, decaying machinery, collapsing buildings.
Visually, this project conveys the sort of dark loss and helplessness that so many other musical
projects try to convey by screaming about being lonely. "Feraca’s text is juxtaposed with Fernow’s collages of fallen empires, plant-life and industrial decline. The imagery presented is both stoic yet strangely profound and revealing as an analogy of death." (Heartworm Press) Prurient makes you feel lonely, without ever having to tell you he is.
Then comes the record: easily some of the strongest material as yet recoded. Similar in tone / feel to 2007's The Golden Chamber cassette, which vanished in a limited run of 44 copies. Dark symphonic loops and sounds of upturned earth, rusted plows, cracking mortar surround, attempt to bury, Fernow's own howling from the edge of human endurance. If "Spins The Worlds Wheel Again" isn't the track of the year, then I'm obviously far more gone than even I fear. The line "what does one do in paradise" has become a mantra to my year; whispered, pleading to the universe for direction; shouted, begging for a hand-out, hand-up, hand-me-down, anything to crack the void. I won't lie: I probably listen to this record far more than is healthy.
Always Wrong by Wolf Eyes (CD/LP, Hospital Productions)
Do I even listen to conventional music anymore? Sometimes, but what really stands out is more interesting to listen to. "Is that a drum? Broken synthesizer? Tape loop?" "Cymbal? Rusted metal? Guillotine?"
Wolf Eyes is up there with Prurient in the obscene-amount-of-releases category. So far in 2009, they've got 15 tapes, CDrs, lathe cuts, LPs, 7"s, CDs to their name, and that's only the stuff I can track down. 20 is probably a safe bet. That being said, Always Wrong is probably the closest thing to an "album" that they've released. Between live recordings, untitled single-sided lathe cuts, splits, and ongoing sound projects, Always Wrong feel like an album, though true to form, the Wolf boys use a limited palate of sounds for the recording.
Honestly, this falls somewhere between the electronic schizophrenia of 2004's Burned Mind (Sub Pop) and the disgusting open-grave of 2006's Human Animal (Sub Pop). Where Burned Mind came across as time spent in the studio goofing around, huffing Dust-Off and doing speed, Human Animal felt like a project, a singular idea fleshed out across eight tracks. Always Wrong is the marriage of the two, and yet individually neither; bastard whelp, perhaps, huddling on a dark stoop at the edge of Apocalypseville.
Percussion fills in for tapes and synth. The highs seem sharper. The lows seem deeper. The beat goes on. Mike Connelly's presence is palpable, but at the same time, Dilloway's absence is noticeable. Not that this is a weaker album because of it; FUCK NO. Always Wrong is a solid-jam, and I'm proud to say I've puked on the side of the road while "Broken Order" and "Always Wrong" pulsed in my car.
Wind's Poem by Mount Eerie (CD/2xLP, P.W. Elverum & Sun, Ltd.)
Have I mentioned that Phil Elverum is going to single-handedly save songwriting? I haven't? Oh, well Phil Elverum is going to single-handedly save the age-old art of songwriting. He is.
Remember "Samurai Sword" off of The Glow, pt. 2 (K Records) from way back in 2001? I love that track. The beat eluded me for months on end, and the guitars are less tonal than textural. That being said, you can tell that Phil's time in Norway a few years ago, and his interest in black metal, à la acts like Xasthur and Malkuth, is paying off. BUT: do not misunderstand. This is a Mount Eerie record. A "metal" Mount Eerie record is still a Mount Eerie record. Phil donned no corpse paint, shredded no vocal chords. He still sings about the night, and the dark, and the wind, and MOUNTAIN, and the sort of Zen introspection that convinced a lot of us at What-The-Heck Fest 2006 (when No Flashlight was unveiled) that Mr. Phil Elverum was the savior of lyrical-meditation, finally wrenching the title away from that hack, John Updike.
Also, he quotes Angelo Badalamenti's Twin Peaks compositions on "Between Two Mysteries," which pretty much makes me a bigger geek than you might think I am, but also cements a slightly sonically-uneven track when considering the album as a whole. Stuck between tracks of atmospheric whisp and amp rumble, "Between Two Mysteries" seems out of place with its marimba (?) line and synth brass. However, if you ever watched Twin Peaks, then the citation of Badalamenti's compositional work almost INSTANTLY keeps the post-paranoia mood that wafts between the trees of Wind's Poem.
Dead Times by Dead Times (cass, Aum War)
I found Dead Times by pure accident. Since I have no sort of solid spiritual / mystical beliefs, I can't thank fate or GOD or anything. I just have to say "oh, neat," which is great because this tape proudly declares that "Dead Times supports the war against the self and the other. Death to false."
Anyway, I have a cassette fetish, I do. When I see that a good band has a 250 limited run of hand-numbered cassettes with hand-screened inserts, I basically wet myself; better than sex, I swear.
This tape opens with a tentatively plucked minor-key progression on acoustic guitar. Enter the
weeping, then the slowly multiplying voice, repeating "I'm so devastated / I get nothing out of life / I can't see anything in the future / I wish that they had just killed me too that day."
From there on, Dead Times turns into some sort of weird offspring from Law of the Rope, whom would have been on this list, but released nothing at all in 2009. BUMMED? Not really. Dead Times make up for LotR's (ha ha) inactivity.
Dead Times is part tape-loop, part power electronics, part plundercore (at least from
Bergman's Det sjunde inseglet, as far as I can tell), weirdo black metal, evil dance music. Guitars cover a chanting funeral procession in plague-swept Medieval Sweden, ceremonial death-drums keep the march, and Belial splits a skull and offers some shriek-soaked advice about something. I really can not get over how good this tape is. I have high hopes for Dead Times and I sincerely hope there's more in the future.
Sefirah Gevurah by Malkuth (CD/LP, Hospital Productions)
When you mention American Black Metal, you run into the same sort of drama that follows scene-kids, the world of gay-dating, and high school. Don't believe me? Allow me to take a very small cue from Pitchfork Media (I know, I'm sorry) and show you this. As a musician, I don't really give a shit about what country or continent you're from when it coms to being TRÜE. If you're good, I'll listen to you; if you suck ass (in the bad way), then you suck ass (in the bad way).
That being said, Malkuth do not suck ass in the bad way. They suck huge cock, which I would consider a positive attribute, and fairly pleasurable to most parties involved. Who doesn't like a good blowjob? Well, me, but that's not the point. Enough sexual word-play.
Sefirah Gevurah consists of six tracks of blistering black metal in the vein of Darkthrone, if Darkthrone had better equipment when they started and turned down the high-end on their amps. At first, I found it really weird that these guys are from NYC, but when I stop to consider how I feel about visiting / living in NYC, I realize that black metal is a pretty good expression of my feelings. Sure, living in a cabin and singing about how much you hate everything works; you're working out of (self-imposed) exile, talking from experience. But what if you're surround by millions of people? That makes you some sort of masochistic warrior, right?
That being said, there are no lyrics posted anywhere (that I've found), so maybe they're doing the whole Wolves In The Throne Room thing. Probably not. Hard to tell. I feel pretty safe assuming that they have misanthropic lyrics because, goddamnit, they're a black metal band. HAIL.
Imperial Horizon by Kevin Drumm (CD, Hospital Productions)
By now I realize that I basically should have just posted the 2009 Hospital Productions catalog and been done with it, right? Look, don't blame me because Dominick Fernow runs one of the best damn labels / stores in the country.
Kevin Drumm: maybe you know him from Gastr del Sol and Brice-Glace, or even his more recent, 2007 collaboration with Prurient, All Are Guests In The House Of The Lord.
If you don't know of him, what you need to know is that he's straddling, sometimes strangling, the borders between Art Installation, Musician, and Scientist. Lately he's been working with suspended tonality, digging into a few notes / frequencies as possible and then seeing how far they'll reach.
Imperial Horizon is such an experiment. Consisting of one track, "Just Lay Down and Forget It," Drumm explores a very warm chord for one hour, four minutes, fifty-three seconds. Frequencies get boosted, reduced, doppler waves build, pulse, vibrate your body. This is what I imagine sensory deprivation must be like. The label description echoes my sentiments: "Imperial Horizon by Kevin Drumm is a further examination into sustained tone ... stretching out minimalism to unreached heights of serene ambient.lulling electronic drones slowly transform over the course of the hour plus piece in constant flux,echoing both an existential terror and Zen calm. mutations grow so quietly only the body opens to identify this change while the mind closes. the ephemeral and seeming lightness of the tones hang with taut balance in contrast to the method in which they are overlapped and rotated with deadly weight. How wildly divergent emotions rise, hover, and fall using so little is a mystery that only Kevin Drumm can provide. While you may not find an answer, you can certainly get lost in the question." (Hospital Productions)
Blizzard by Robert Turman + Aaron Dilloway (CD, Hanson Records)
I was skeptical at first. The Turman/Dilloway cassplit from 2008 is fairly perfect, all things
considered, so when the duo put out a CDr collaboration, I got a little worried. I like tapes; the hiss is always there, due to the physical act of the tape running across the stereo head. Aaron Dilloway works with tape loops. They are dirty, grimy, and they rumble with purpose. My concern was either A., this would be a rumbly CD that only hoped to sound like a tape, or B., this would be a far too polished affair.
Actually, it's a little bit of B., but un/fortunately, since I live in South Carolina, I never got to be anywhere close to where Turman/Dilloway toured, meaning I never heard any of this initially tour-only material.
Synthesizers and tapes are all that go into this CD, which I find confusing to a degree; I swear there's more going on. Granted, Turman's tape work is a little more precise than Dilloway's, and with Aaron manning the synths, that jumbled tape-decay I was expecting is absent.
So: what do I think? Blizzard is appropriately named. This release is cold and dark. I wish this release had existed when I was living in Fairbanks, AK. What sounds like Shakuhachi drifts over slowly pulsing synth drone. Short tape-loops flutter in bursts through delay FX. In all honesty, this is what it sounded like walking to B.C.'s cabin in -40°F weather. The pulsing crunch of legs moving through snow. Doppler waves of cars / trains passing in the distance. Static crackle in the air created by snow and ice. Too cold to stop, too cold to really want to keep walking, so you go on auto-pilot and keep. fucking. walking. The promise of beer, cigarettes, and sex is enough to get any college student through thigh-deep snow, I suppose.
Monoliths & Dimensions by SUNN O))) (CD/2xLP, Southern Lord)
Sunn O))) is a project that, by all accounts, should have run its course by now. In the hands of less musicians, men of infinitely more limited vision, 2005's Black One would have been the first release and, more than likely, the last of any interest from a one-trick-pony.
Fortunately, Stephen O'Malley et al are fiends of purpose, men (and women) of vision! Sure, working to sustain guitar rumble is central to the project, but the way in which they wield this tool is what manages to keep Sunn O))) at the forefront of modern, avant-garde composition.
Monoliths & Dimensions hands over the opaque blackness of the grave in exchange for the strangely vacant blackness of medieval mass in a barely-lit cathedral. You hear the crushing chime of the bells, the voice of the deacon calling you to rise, but all around you the rats scurry under pews, nails dig at slate walls, and from somewhere behind you a ragged breath creeps across your neck. Attila Csihar's vocals are not only welcome, but as much a staple of Sunn O))) as O'Malley + Anderson's SUNN brand amps now. That raspy cry from beyond, that deep growling, near-raptuous glossolalia. When the End of Days arrives, Sunn O))) will echo the Archangels' horns.
All Reflections Drained by Xasthur (CD/2xLP/cass, Hydra Head)
Really quickly: Xasthur is a black metal band. Most of what is released by Xasthur is done by one man, Malefic, a.k.a. Scott Conner. So: Malefic is Xasthur. Sort of like The Representative from Corwood plays at Jandek concerts. Okay?
What makes Xasthur so impressive is that the metal made by Malefic isn't of the same ilk as post-1988 Bathory, or Mayhem, or Gorgoroth. Overt violence towards others becomes violence towards the self. Aggression and strength are alchemically transmuted into depression and weakness. Misanthropy is the name of the game, and instead of an axe, Malefic wields his own isolated persona. What sets All Reflections Drained apart from other Xasthur releases is that the drums are real, which didn't start happening until 2007. Also, there are way more keyboards and synths on this album than on pretty much any other Xasthur release (which is a lot, considering).
This release is pretty draining--physically, mentally, emotionally. Xasthur is known for long, meandering tracks, but the overabundance of synth reverb makes me feel less like moshing, more like I'm being suffocated in a stuffy room, attending the wake of some distant relative. The Stranger anyone?
Passage by Pocahaunted with Bobb Bruno and Cameron Stallones (LP, Troubleman Unlimited)
This is not my favorite Pocahaunted release by far. However, this is one of their most focused
releases and, sadly, their last full-on, honest-to-god full-length releases. R.I.P. Pocahaunted,
I'mma gunna miss you.
Anyway. Passages is basically what people expect from Pocahaunted. Reverb-drenched vocal wailing hidden behind simplistic guitar patterns and some percussion. Very trance inducing, neo-tribal, psychedelic-fueled spirt quest sort of stuff that seems drenched up for the secret parts of the 1960s. This isn't Haight-Ashbury, this is a sweat lodge in the Lakota nation. This is Quetzalcoatl rising out of you peyote soup and buring an axe of pure light in your chakra.
Fortunately, this release brings good production values to the table, as well as some pretty
interesting guitar / keyboard / percussion flourishes that you won't find on other Pocahaunted
releases. Also, this is one of their slowest burning releases. When I was ripping this vinyl onto my computer, I didn't realize the record was playing at half-speed until I was about halfway through the first-track. Even then, this is what I imagine it must be like to have your chakras cleaned thoroughly.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
The Lucifer Rising Suite by Bobby Beausoleil (4xLP, The Ajna Offensive)
This incredible box only gets honorable mention because all the music was recorded in 1976 (in
prison) and has slowly been releases, re-released, and bootlegged over the years. Worth having (and damnit, one day I will), but the presentation is what's new.
Michigan by Various Artists (6xLP, Hanson Records + RRRecords + Chrondritic Sound)
Partially, I feel like this would have been cheating. 6 LPs, one artist per side, which makes this a relatively evil box set of music from Michigan's best noisemakers (literally). Besides, I already put Dilloway and Wolf Eyes on the list. Is that fair to give them double slots?
A. Princess Dragon-Mom
B. Raven Strain
C. Redrot
D. Aaron Dilloway
E. Tovah D-Day
F. Charlie Draheim
G. Hive Mind
H. Mammal
I. Evenings
J. Cotton Museum
K. Sick Llama
L. Wolf Eyes
15.11.09
The Blueprint 3
As my fellow music reviewer, Thomas, here at the B.E.A.R.D, said in the car to me on the way to a bar, "I think this is the appropriate time for a white boy to say, Keeping it real." Indeed, and as always, Jay-Z is keeping it real. Really real. I first heard 'Death Of Auto-tune' in my S-10, on my way to work. Immediately I was spellbound by the idea that anyone had the balls to annihilate the new industry standard for hip-hop and R 'n' B that is auto-tune. To make this slap in the face to T-Pain, Lil' Wayne and the rest of the goof troop even better is Jay-Z being the hero that has come, yet again, to save rap.
I could have chosen to just destroy Lil' Wayne's "No Ceilings" but that was just far too easy. Instead, I figured I would allow H to the izzO V to the izzA to handle that. Rap, for the most part, is obnoxious and incessant rambling about hos, guns and money also, rap, which I thought came from poetry which is supposed to be a way of expressing...deep things or something, has now become a way of making lots of money by doing absolutely nothing but being a billboard for...everything really...
Basically, if you haven't heard "Empire State of Mind", go bash your own skull in because if a promising rap song was every written, this is it. Seriously, it's got everything.
A. Great beat. Sweet instrumental.
B. Solid verses.
C. Viciously addictive chorus.
It seems that everyone that frequents the genre is just looking for a simple 4/4 "dee da deet da dee" and some lyrics about shit that they'll never afford and lifestyles they'll never understand. Even better if they can shake their booty and cease synapse fire. Well, too bad heartless androids, Jay-Z, yet again, is, has and will continue to keep it real.
To make this song, this album and this artist even better, Jay-Z is suggeting (very bluntly) that he is the new Sinatra and pushing to make this song the new anthem for New York. You're right Paris, that's hot.
So, if you're not bothered by the "serious business" that is Jay-Z's alledged connection with Satan and the occult...please, go buy this album or steal it off some sweet torrent site. Trust me, you'll be doing yourself a favor.
Susej redrum redrum and stuff.
I could have chosen to just destroy Lil' Wayne's "No Ceilings" but that was just far too easy. Instead, I figured I would allow H to the izzO V to the izzA to handle that. Rap, for the most part, is obnoxious and incessant rambling about hos, guns and money also, rap, which I thought came from poetry which is supposed to be a way of expressing...deep things or something, has now become a way of making lots of money by doing absolutely nothing but being a billboard for...everything really...
Basically, if you haven't heard "Empire State of Mind", go bash your own skull in because if a promising rap song was every written, this is it. Seriously, it's got everything.
A. Great beat. Sweet instrumental.
B. Solid verses.
C. Viciously addictive chorus.
It seems that everyone that frequents the genre is just looking for a simple 4/4 "dee da deet da dee" and some lyrics about shit that they'll never afford and lifestyles they'll never understand. Even better if they can shake their booty and cease synapse fire. Well, too bad heartless androids, Jay-Z, yet again, is, has and will continue to keep it real.
To make this song, this album and this artist even better, Jay-Z is suggeting (very bluntly) that he is the new Sinatra and pushing to make this song the new anthem for New York. You're right Paris, that's hot.
So, if you're not bothered by the "serious business" that is Jay-Z's alledged connection with Satan and the occult...please, go buy this album or steal it off some sweet torrent site. Trust me, you'll be doing yourself a favor.
Susej redrum redrum and stuff.
"This might need a verse from Jeezy, I might send this to the mixtape weezy,
Get somebody from BMF to talk on this, give this to a blood let a crip walk on it,
50 thou to style on this, I just don’t need nobody to smile on this,
You rappers singing too much, get back to rap you t-paining too much."
Get somebody from BMF to talk on this, give this to a blood let a crip walk on it,
50 thou to style on this, I just don’t need nobody to smile on this,
You rappers singing too much, get back to rap you t-paining too much."
14.11.09
COLD CAVE
Based on D.'s introduction regarding Owl City, I felt the urge to repost this review / critique from Rigor Mortis Shuffle, which is a wacky, disturbing blog. Appropriately enough we've both decided to look at Electronic music, albeit a narrower sense of the oft-bandied term.
Electronic music, distinct from electronica and noise and techno, is somehow coming back around, even though I remember concept being pretty popular in, say, 1970s Berlin, and the 1980s, and oh yeah, in the early double-aughts when bands like The Postal Service and DNTEL started to make noise, similar to The Human League and the Pet Shop Boys before them.
Now, here we are, not even done with the decade, and somehow this trend is making a resurgence. Brooklyn / Philadelphia's Cold Cave has broken onto the "scene," and suddenly everywhere I turn are white kids playing KORG and MOOG synths, again.
I'm baffled that Cold Cave has managed to snag a deal with Matador Records.
Don't get me wrong. I like Cold Cave, I do. I have a copy of their Cremations compilation from Hospital Productions, as well as Love Comes Close on Heartworm Press, which is now out of print (SCORE).
I suppose I'm just bothered that a "super group" featuring Max G. Morton, Caralee McElroy (Xiu Xiu), Wesley Eisold, and Dominick Fernow (Prurient) would get signed to a major label after only 18 months (most of which was just Morton and Eisold).
It's not that I'm bitter or jealous, but that this whole sythn-pop cum darkwave noise hybrid seems a little tired on my end of the spectrum. Spartanburg, SC has Backseat Dreamer (Stickfigure Records), and 27 miles away there's Culture Prophet who, while less dark / more dance, has managed to carve out enough of a following to continually book paying gigs as well as tour Europe.
I played a show in Asheville, NC, Saturday night. Aside from the facts:
1. Incompetent "promoter" switched the venue less than a week prior.
2. No one got paid.
3. Two-plus hours of laptop techno-glitch-pop are too much.
4. The '90s rave scene is dead. Anarchist coffee shops are not appropriate venues to attempt a resurrection.
Two of the bands on the line-up were doing roughly the same sound. One of them had basically discovered 1984 and stuck with the sound. The other was a little darker, more inventive, but still basically a synth-rock duo.
I know people like to dance in public (for some reason), but what is it about this genre that won't seem to go away? I don't mean to nitpick. Most of the artists or bands I've seen attempting this do it well-enough, but in my eyes, not enough to stand out from one another. Head Trip Conception is good, but not any better than Backseat Dreamer who I sort of like better than Cold Cave (if only because I knew Sean years before Cold Cave even existed).
New Order did this decades ago. It's still a genuinely enjoyable sound (when done with some depth and thought), but is it really something that deserves a major label debut? Anymore, who even needs a major label? Sure, K, Kill Rock Stars, and even to a degree Sub Pop are still alive and kicking, but what good is a major label anymore? Aside from the potential tour support, distribution, and lightening the burden of album production, labels don't need to grab someone for them to "make it" anymore. Wolf Eyes were a pretty big deal before they signed to Sub Pop for Burned Mind, y'dig?
I won't lie. I'd love to be on a semi-major label if only to get a second national tour booked. I'd love to have someone else help foot the bill for endless amount of blank cassettes and norelco boxes. The digital age has greatly reduced the need for studio time. Sure, a good studio with competent engineers never hurts, but it isn't the end all be all anymore. Johnny Cash couldn't hook up a condenser mic to his laptop and go for it. The studio was his only hope. Now is not then, however.
Case in point: Cold Cave.
18 months of obscure cassette, vinyl, and CD releases were more than enough to get this band national attention. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have famous friends, does it?
Is this sudden explosion of interest really due to them being in the right place at the right time? (e.g. Brooklyn + Philly / RIGHT NOW) Can I just blame Pitchfork Media and be done with it?
Electronic music, distinct from electronica and noise and techno, is somehow coming back around, even though I remember concept being pretty popular in, say, 1970s Berlin, and the 1980s, and oh yeah, in the early double-aughts when bands like The Postal Service and DNTEL started to make noise, similar to The Human League and the Pet Shop Boys before them.
Now, here we are, not even done with the decade, and somehow this trend is making a resurgence. Brooklyn / Philadelphia's Cold Cave has broken onto the "scene," and suddenly everywhere I turn are white kids playing KORG and MOOG synths, again.
I'm baffled that Cold Cave has managed to snag a deal with Matador Records.
Don't get me wrong. I like Cold Cave, I do. I have a copy of their Cremations compilation from Hospital Productions, as well as Love Comes Close on Heartworm Press, which is now out of print (SCORE).
I suppose I'm just bothered that a "super group" featuring Max G. Morton, Caralee McElroy (Xiu Xiu), Wesley Eisold, and Dominick Fernow (Prurient) would get signed to a major label after only 18 months (most of which was just Morton and Eisold).
It's not that I'm bitter or jealous, but that this whole sythn-pop cum darkwave noise hybrid seems a little tired on my end of the spectrum. Spartanburg, SC has Backseat Dreamer (Stickfigure Records), and 27 miles away there's Culture Prophet who, while less dark / more dance, has managed to carve out enough of a following to continually book paying gigs as well as tour Europe.
I played a show in Asheville, NC, Saturday night. Aside from the facts:
1. Incompetent "promoter" switched the venue less than a week prior.
2. No one got paid.
3. Two-plus hours of laptop techno-glitch-pop are too much.
4. The '90s rave scene is dead. Anarchist coffee shops are not appropriate venues to attempt a resurrection.
Two of the bands on the line-up were doing roughly the same sound. One of them had basically discovered 1984 and stuck with the sound. The other was a little darker, more inventive, but still basically a synth-rock duo.
I know people like to dance in public (for some reason), but what is it about this genre that won't seem to go away? I don't mean to nitpick. Most of the artists or bands I've seen attempting this do it well-enough, but in my eyes, not enough to stand out from one another. Head Trip Conception is good, but not any better than Backseat Dreamer who I sort of like better than Cold Cave (if only because I knew Sean years before Cold Cave even existed).
New Order did this decades ago. It's still a genuinely enjoyable sound (when done with some depth and thought), but is it really something that deserves a major label debut? Anymore, who even needs a major label? Sure, K, Kill Rock Stars, and even to a degree Sub Pop are still alive and kicking, but what good is a major label anymore? Aside from the potential tour support, distribution, and lightening the burden of album production, labels don't need to grab someone for them to "make it" anymore. Wolf Eyes were a pretty big deal before they signed to Sub Pop for Burned Mind, y'dig?
I won't lie. I'd love to be on a semi-major label if only to get a second national tour booked. I'd love to have someone else help foot the bill for endless amount of blank cassettes and norelco boxes. The digital age has greatly reduced the need for studio time. Sure, a good studio with competent engineers never hurts, but it isn't the end all be all anymore. Johnny Cash couldn't hook up a condenser mic to his laptop and go for it. The studio was his only hope. Now is not then, however.
Case in point: Cold Cave.
18 months of obscure cassette, vinyl, and CD releases were more than enough to get this band national attention. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have famous friends, does it?
Is this sudden explosion of interest really due to them being in the right place at the right time? (e.g. Brooklyn + Philly / RIGHT NOW) Can I just blame Pitchfork Media and be done with it?
13.11.09
Introduction
Music, in it's present state, is grim overall. That being said, it is a difficult task trying to write an appropriate intro and a review in one swift swoop. Especially, if one were attempting to not appear conceited and dreadfully sardonic. It's probably no coincidence that those words are applicable to this endeavor that, if not terribly contrived, is biased and highly unfair. My name is Daniel and I am a music snob. Let's begin.
The honor of first post reviews goes to the malevolent entity that is responsible for the hideous pulses that are Owl City. Upon researching this band after hearing about them on that dick of a channel MTVU, I did read the www.somethingawful.com review. I am aware that, much like the music of Owl City, which is an obvious and embarrassing rip-off of the Postal Service, I am inches away from copy and pasting from someone else as well. But, as a concerned citizen of the world that just so happens to listen to music and frequently critique said music, also, I owe it to the 4 people that I tell about this blog to actively search out the jewels and ghouls of modern music. Owl City is by far the easiest and most important "band" or "artist" or, "lack thereof" to review.
The perpetrator of the atrocity that is Owl City is a youthful Christian fellow by the name of Adam Young. While tugging on Ben's Gibbard he seems to have found a comfy niche in the forgetful ears of mentally handicapped hipsters and small children with no direction or decent parents. Somehow, the musically blasphemous anthem for soulless teens is the single 'Fireflies' which, out of all of this bag's "songs", sounds the most (identical) like the Postal Service. In interviews he does in fact cite Death Cab for Cutie as an influence while being all cutesy and joking about how he's "never heard of the Postal Service". HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Now, I'm well aware, as a musician, that people typically have terrible tastes in tunes. Furthermore, I recognize that most musicians are either neurotic, stupid, unoriginal or all of the above. I read somewhere in a review of Owl City that some elite group of people are really excited that pop electronica is coming back. I find it difficult to believe that anyone is excited about the return of electronic music and I find it even more difficult to believe that anyone listens and are excited about this asshole who I have no titled 'Bowel Shitty'.
In this picture;
A. He's so impressed with his own music that he just can't contain himself and his mere inches from having a coronary or,
B. He realizes that he has deceived a great deal of extremely dumb people and, like Bernie Madoff, knows he's going to make far more money off of this bull shit than should be legal. Unlike Bernie Madoff, this is legal. Sadly.
And finally, this is a video for 'Fireflies'. The "official video" has, by request, had embedding disabled because the butt plug doesn't want people like me posting his stupid faggot video and assault vigorously. Please have a friend or family member hide shoe laces, ropes, guns, knives and other sharp and dangerous objects from your direct reach before viewing.
The honor of first post reviews goes to the malevolent entity that is responsible for the hideous pulses that are Owl City. Upon researching this band after hearing about them on that dick of a channel MTVU, I did read the www.somethingawful.com review. I am aware that, much like the music of Owl City, which is an obvious and embarrassing rip-off of the Postal Service, I am inches away from copy and pasting from someone else as well. But, as a concerned citizen of the world that just so happens to listen to music and frequently critique said music, also, I owe it to the 4 people that I tell about this blog to actively search out the jewels and ghouls of modern music. Owl City is by far the easiest and most important "band" or "artist" or, "lack thereof" to review.
The perpetrator of the atrocity that is Owl City is a youthful Christian fellow by the name of Adam Young. While tugging on Ben's Gibbard he seems to have found a comfy niche in the forgetful ears of mentally handicapped hipsters and small children with no direction or decent parents. Somehow, the musically blasphemous anthem for soulless teens is the single 'Fireflies' which, out of all of this bag's "songs", sounds the most (identical) like the Postal Service. In interviews he does in fact cite Death Cab for Cutie as an influence while being all cutesy and joking about how he's "never heard of the Postal Service". HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Now, I'm well aware, as a musician, that people typically have terrible tastes in tunes. Furthermore, I recognize that most musicians are either neurotic, stupid, unoriginal or all of the above. I read somewhere in a review of Owl City that some elite group of people are really excited that pop electronica is coming back. I find it difficult to believe that anyone is excited about the return of electronic music and I find it even more difficult to believe that anyone listens and are excited about this asshole who I have no titled 'Bowel Shitty'.
In this picture;
A. He's so impressed with his own music that he just can't contain himself and his mere inches from having a coronary or,
B. He realizes that he has deceived a great deal of extremely dumb people and, like Bernie Madoff, knows he's going to make far more money off of this bull shit than should be legal. Unlike Bernie Madoff, this is legal. Sadly.
And finally, this is a video for 'Fireflies'. The "official video" has, by request, had embedding disabled because the butt plug doesn't want people like me posting his stupid faggot video and assault vigorously. Please have a friend or family member hide shoe laces, ropes, guns, knives and other sharp and dangerous objects from your direct reach before viewing.
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