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Belgian Arne Van Petegem is also making an attempt to graduate from theclass of instrumental group of European laptop nerds with his latestEP, a prelude to his forthcoming second full-length album. In the threeyears since his last LP, Arne has been recruited by a number ofmusicians and labels to do remixes, singles and compilation tracks.It's probably through this that he reached two conclusions: #1) it'snot so bad to start including organic sounds like guitar back into themix and #2) my voice isn't so bad that I can't start singing the songsI write! Arne even harmonizes with himself on the title track of thisEP, a blissfull introduction to the more evolved Styrofoam sound. Thepretty melodies and robotic percussion have not been forfeited and thevocals and guitars just add a much nicer dimension on this, a moreradio-frendly version of a track of the forthcoming album. "Fade OutYour Eyes" is a live recording of what sounds pretty much likeStyrofoam remixing himself: letting his vocals and instruments twitterand waiver in a beat-less tapestry of digitally echoing samples whichcould easily go on forever. The disc is rounded out by two charmingtechnologically-enhanced cover tunes: "Hard to Find," originally byCodeine and "Snow Crush Killing Song," originally by Mountain Goats.The full-length I'm What's There to Show That Something's Missingis due out this week, but those lucky enough to catch the Notwist ontour right now can catch both a set by Styrofoam and his place in theNotwist, filling in for Martin Gretschmann, who's off doing stuff withConsole right now. While I still might have reservations when it comesto laptop performers, Styrofoam deserves credit for having a rock clubaudience attentive and interested, something most laptoppers can stillonly fanticize about.Read More
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What's immediately striking about the third album by Michael Gira's Angels of Light is the visual presentation. The six photos—an empty chair, a cluttered desk, a room full of plants, a bookcase loaded with CDs and books, a rosary draped over a thermostat, and, perhaps most tellingly, an empty bedseem to paint a picture of a sufficient but lonely life.
Coupled with the title, one can't help but construe that Gira is sending out a clarion call to former partner Jarboe. Does he want her back or has he found peace on his own? Further lyrical clues are open to interpretation as Gira's songs often blur the lines between autobiography and fantasy. The opener, "Palisades," inquisitively details a suicide in which "reasons won't come, and no one will regret that you're gone." Gira whoops and hollers most on the climactic "All Souls' Rising," and "Nations," 2001 tour favorites. Conversely, he softly sings "with the rhythm of your breathing, with the rhythm of my thinking," over the tumbling, tender electric guitar notes and strums of "Kosinski." "The Rose of Los Angeles," another paean to Gira's mother, has drastically changed into a stomping romp with a decidedly Irish flavor. The crack of percussion and bluesy guitar disrupt the bleak reminiscences of "What You Were." "Sunset Park" repeats the single enigmatic line "she'll bring some, she brings some, she brings one, she'll bring one" ad nauseam in a swirling wall of sound march. Gira concludes the album with the half droned, half near-whispered, semi-optimistic prayer, "God save us, from what will come." Musically and thematically Everything feels more haphazard than the previous albums, and with none of the tracks exceeding seven minutes, it lacks the epics that made How I Loved You so stellar. Comparisons to the past aside, it's still a fine album. An impressive orchestra of cohorts was once again assembled to add varying degrees of layers to his voice and acoustic guitar, including everything from standard rock band instrumentation to mandolin, accordion, harmonium, flute, trombone, harmonica, banjo, fiddle and even a children's choir. A new version of the band sans drums—Gira (vocals, amplified acoustic guitar), Devendra Banhart (electric guitar), Christoph Hahn (lap steel and electric guitars) and Patrick Fondiller (bass guitar, mandolin, mandola)—is currently on tour in North America through late April with Banhart opening with a solo set.
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Seemingly out of nowhere comes this 21-year-old oddball whose fourtrack demo tape piqued the interest of Michael Gira and thus thisrelease on Young God and membership in The Angels of Light. Banhart'sbiography reads like a transient David Lynch. He has lived everywherefrom Texas to Caracas to Paris to a NYC squat, attended art school inSan Francisco and played gay weddings and Ethiopian restaurants.Somehow it all makes sense. Selected for this disc are 22 of the 75 orso songs recorded over the past three to four years. Gira wiselydecided not to polish the diamond in the rough, i.e. he has simplyreleased the original demos rather than quarantine Banhart in a studiofor new versions. This is bare Banhart: double tracked voice andacoustic guitar with whistles and hand claps, plus tape hiss andwhatever else happened to be going on in the background for extracharacter. Most of the time the finger picking is plaintive and thevocals are hushed (recalling Nick Drake some), at others it's much morefrantic with wild strumming (recalling Syd Barret some) and thefalsetto morphing into the call of some yet to be discovered rainforest bird. The lyrics are suitably simple and/or surreal withdeceivingly naive plays on words and word associations that reveal asharp mind. Prime examples are in "Roots (If The Sky Were a Stone)":"when the roots of the tree / are as cold as can be / when the wind andthe sea / are the moth and the bee / when the rays of the sun / lickyour skin with its tongue / and the grass with its green / and theshine with its sheen / and the trains with their tracks / and thespines with their backs / and your sway with its slow / and the windwith its blow" and in "Michigan State": "well my snail has my favoriteslow / the shell helps the snail still the skin lays low / and if mysnail has my favorite slow / then my cold has my favorite snow / but ifmy snail is cold and comes to a halt / then my sea has my favorite salt/ the salt keeps the sea from feeling sweet / and my toes have myfavorite feet / and if I sweat salt and the Earth sweats heat". Inaddition, there's "Lend Me Your Teeth" with it's strange single linemantra: "I'm lost in the dark / lend me your teeth / come on!"Everything is fair game as subject matter for Banhart's songs (10 areless than two minutes long and many come to a sudden, unexpected end)including lovers, teachers, friends and family. I never get theimpression that he's being weird for weird's sake—it's eccentric butgenuine, child-like but brilliant, raw but real. These songs areextraordinarily touching, melodic and infectious. Read More
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Coil is easily playing some of their most haunting, spectral, hypnotic, and sublime material ever, combining the new with the old and doing so without the outcome sounding muddled or too disparate.Threshold House
The cohesiveness of the album is achieved in a couple of ways: "Last Rites of Spring" gets overhauled completely and extended into a 10 minute noise-fest. "Amethyst Deceivers" and "Ostia" are altered in small ways that result in a new sound but retain the spirit of the original. "Are You Shivering?" is the perfect misnomer; its glowing tones and soft, simple drum part are the perfect warm blanket. The firey, yet cleansing attack of "A Warning From the Sun," on the other hand, with its scratching and violent pandemonium easily reduced my brain to rubble and at the same time soothed it by way of whimsical melody. The extra treats, however, are three of the previously unreleased songs. "The Universe Is A Haunted House" begins with quiet echoing synths, water leaking from ceilings, and absolutely threatening promises of mischief from Jhon Balance. It later turns into a rhythm propelled freak-out session of LSD-like proportions. "Bang Bang (Sonny Bono)" is, strangely enough, a cover of a Cher tune. It is composed of piano, Balance's singing, and patches of serpentine glitchery that slither in and out of the air. It's also the closest Coil has ever come to performing a ballad. The album ends on a very high and exhilirating note with "An Unearthly Red." Here an explosive Balance screams and shouts over dissonant and jarring rhythms while fits of ecstatic decomposition bounce and detonate everywhere without remorse. Melody battles against a wall of distortion and tension builds and builds to a boiling point that just might make you sweat; this is one hell of a way to end a record. At this point I've almost completely forgotten that this is a live recording because the quality of the sound and the songs are so absolutely fantastic. Go buy this album, turn out the lights, turn on this record, and prepare to have your ears and mind blown away. 
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Canadian born London dweller Dan Snaith has reintroduced Manitoba with his second full-length release. Up In Flamesis a fantastic surprise, as it is a complete turn around from themeandering simplicity of the relatively trendy instrumental electronicmusic on earlier releases. With vocals, guitars, bombastic organic andsamples drums, feverishly catchy melodies, and a complete overload ofcollected sounds, instruments and an excess of quirky samples, thiscould easibly be one of the most maximalistic recordings by one personin a long while. With the keen skill of roping everything into ablissful melodic soup, this album is easily poised to be thebreakthrough hit of the spring. From the opener "I've Lived on a DirtRoad All My Life," there is no irony, no pulled punches, as the musicjust barrels in with nearly no introduction. A gorgeous interlude endsthe piece with a moment to let things settle in and stays rather lowkey for the instrumental follower. "Skunks" opens and closes with thesounds of frogs (what identifiable sounds do skunks make after all?)but is propelled along with bass and guitar playing, layers of drums,screechy sax, The energy blasts back in with the one-two punch of thetwo vocal tracks "Hendrix with KO," and the single "Jacknuggeted,"which could easily be two of my fave songs on the disc. Snaith isn'tafraid to stack killer drum samples upon drum samples, hand claps, fillthe rest in with gorgeous harp sweeps and always make it a point to endon a good note. With songs like "Bijoux," this one man army hasachieved what numerous multi-member ensembles have only ever dreamt of.If anything, on the vocal tracks, Snaith probably could try and get alittle more confident with his voice so it's not as buried in the mix.Other than that very, very minor observation, this album is flawless.Manitoba is set to tour North America with Four Tet and Prefuse 73.Promises have been made to turn Manitoba into a fully realized liveband with two drummers, guitars and a whole mess of other people. Let'shope this happens.Read More
- Chris Lopreste
- Albums and Singles
2002 was a good year for James Murphy. Not only did his label, co-ownedwith Pat Mahoney, release some of the year's best records (Black Dice'sBeaches and Canyons and The Rapture's "House of Jealous Lovers"), buthis own self-proclaimed "electro-disco" one-man group, LCD Soundsystem,put out the underground dance hit of the summer. His second release asLCD Soundsystem simultaneously caps off a spectacular 2002 for Murphywhile hinting at an even better 2003. "Give It Up" begins where the"Losing My Edge" 12" left off, but with some minor adjustments. Goneare the Casio beats and the hipster-scene criticism, and much of theelectro influence. Instead, we're given a fuller, more band orientatedsound (although it's Murphy who plays all the instruments), featuring apropulsive, funked-up bass line and an all-around fiercer rhythmsection. The result is an instantly danceable track, engaging from thevery first notes of the opening drum roll. One would expect more of thesame on the flip side of the 7", but "Tired" delivers a pounding, dirtyrocker that is quite befuddling at first. But after a few listens, it'sclear that Murphy (along with Mahoney on this track) can just as easilywrite songs that sound more appropriate in a dank bar than at a chicdance club. Yet, even though Murphy has proved he can do more than justwrite a good dance tune (although it's still what he does best), Iwould hate to see LCD Soundsystem release a full-length anytime soon.After two singles as good as "Losing My Edge" and "Give It Up," I'd bebegging to hear an LP, but I have a nagging feeling that these tunesare best served up in small doses.Read More
- Steve Smith
- Albums and Singles
While I love sociological criticism woven into art, if it is so deliberate that it is an album's strongest point, I'm bound to be disappointed after the first listen. That being said, Lovebomb is an extremely well-founded concept album about love and the expression of culturally specific social processes, an overarching thesis that I won't attempt to evaluate. Thaemlitz covers many angles and perspectives in his exploration of this ubiquitous emotion, using generally interesting, but sometimes run of the mill, electro-acoustic music.
The listener is first welcomed with some glitched-up, timestretched-out pop music; the meandering piano line and horribly distorted vocals reference music's obsession with "love." The track is convincing without coming off as overly clever. The second song, constructed from an African National Congress radio speech calling for "reactionary violence" against colonial oppressors, uses cut-up and lightly flanged spoken word in a result that slightly resembles the tonalities of traditional African singing. It's interesting at first but not something I'd like to listen to repetitively. "SDII" begins with Sammy Davis' computer-processed call for restraint following the assassination of Martin Luther King; then the dialogue fades into an immense, and slightly unsettling, drone. "Lovebomb" is incomprehensibly lush, progressing though gentle washes of synthesized and edited sound, orchestral samples, and chaotic walls of noise, without the music ever being truly interesting. The subsequent track contains some simple, plaintive piano melodies and a recording of Italian Futurist F.T. Marinetti, all subjected to digital manipulation so that they're entangled in a gentle web of sound, as it explores relationships between futurism, fascism, and racism. This piece probably contains the most music-driven emotional impact. "Signal Jamming Propaganda" combines the word "love," excerpted from various pop songs, for an amusingly schizophrenic, but quite expected, montage. The last few tracks continue to be thought-provoking in their perspective and material, but not so much in their music, and the final "bonus dance track" is catchy in a non sequitur and superficial sort of way. Lovebomb, as a whole, is good but inconsistent, and its sociological criticism is almost too overt for me, so in the end it is just a slightly above average electronic album. 
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- Steve Smith
- Albums and Singles
After my first listen to this album at a low volume level, I was alittle worried because there didn't seem to be much going on; butluckily, subsequent listens on a decent system revealed a great levelof detail, much of it buried under immense low end. The focal point isthe periodic repetition of a low-pass-filtered percussive sound,stretched out to such an extent that its booming decay lingers longenough to reveal the slow fluctuations of a vibrating membrane. This isaccompanied by a harmonically rich, but somewhat muted, midrange dronethat very slowly fades from complete silence to full volume and thenback again to nothingness, bringing new layers of sound with eachiteration. The tonal elements resemble Köner's more recent Unerforschtes Gebietrecording in their texture and evocation of abandoned places. Here theyare softer. The percussion and gradual variations in amplitude lend amysterious—and somewhat human—element to an otherwise uninhabitedlandscape. Midway through the piece, the drone descends ratherconspicuously through four closely-spaced notes, in what is reminiscentof a threateningly futuristic movie soundtrack. After this big event,some quiet, almost mechanical, filtered noise emerges, along withrepeated bass-rich volume swells that sound like more stretched outpercussion, this time played backwards. The slight hissing and patientrise and fall in volume are like breathing; and the middle part of thisrecording is really quite beautiful, despite the abundance of low-endmaking it almost claustrophobic and morose. Shades of the descendingmelody are audible as the original sounds return, and the drum soundre-enters and grows more and more extended throughout the remainder ofthe piece. It finally ends with a sustained rumble. Even with thelimited range of sound that Köner seems to have confined himself to, Daikan is quite stunning and is a fine addition to the Köner collection. Read More
- Steve Smith
- Albums and Singles
This two disc set is comprised of installations and live performances and, despite some interesting departures from Köner's recent output, is encumbered by its scope and formlessness.
It starts with some whispered vocals, which unfortunately are scattered throughout the entire recording, never really adding anything or fitting in. Köner moves through some very nice ambient themes over the course of the first disc, accompanied by a noisy background that sounds suspiciously like the radio crackle from Unerforschtes Gebiet, while mostly unprocessed environmental sounds—including birds, insects, and water—fill out the "topographie sonore." The rattling of branches provides a suitable, but almost overwhelming, counterpoint to the gracefully shifting melodies in the background. My main complaint is that, although there's enough activity and detail to keep me interested, the piece as a whole doesn't really reach out to the listener—it just exists formlessly on its own, without any need for effort or interpretation. Köner, as usual, synthesizes some great sounds, but this is not one of his better pieces. The variety on the second disc is a reward for patience, as these installation soundtracks feature better structure and more creative manipulation of field recordings. "Des Rives" is a refreshingly rhythmic track incorporating the sounds of traffic and a busy train station into an amalgamation of minimal techno beats and industrial noise. "Zyklop" opens with some filtered tones, popping noises, and what sounds like a few slow-running lawn sprinklers; after a few minutes a pure-sounding drone emerges and then plays a slight variant of the main progression of Köner's Daikan. Continuing with the variations on past work is "Tu, Sempre," which combines an apparently unaltered Unerforschtes Gebiet with some effective elements (something that sounds like a woodpecker) and some ineffective elements (more out of place French vocals). Despite the hypnotic low bass and layered rhythmic elements, the vocals ultimately succeed in annoying me by the track's end. The highlight of the album is the final track, another version of "Zyklop." Köner maxes-out the filtered static and radio noise to hide some slow volume swells and an incredibly epic melody filtered through distance and bad reception. Its brief emotional impact almost makes up for the previous 100 minutes, and then the lawn sprinklers and slight digital glitches take over again for the album's finale. I'm glad to see the incorporation of more elements into Köner's sound, but this recording could use some judicious editing, and is probably not essential.
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This Michigan group can also be added to the list of unexpected treatsduring the Terrastock 5 festival. Their new full-length album is also aburst of instrumental rock energy, introduced through a wall ofoverdriven guitar noise in a short introductory track "Detroit." Fromthe start, the instruments are tactfully given their own breathing roomfrom each other so the ebbs and flows of repeated phrases don't easilyfade into a dreary oblivion. The band picks up speed with the morelavish "Tall Winds," incorporating more movement within the melodies,and by the third and fourth track, the group has shifted gears into alive performance mode, blurring the lines between songs' endings andbeginnings. Songs like "Purple," and "Ghost Ship" open with a melodyprovided by bass guitar, with creative and consise drumming, but eachare predictably overcome by the gritty sounds of loud guitars, theformer ending in an anthemic wash that turns into an almost directionedimprovisation. While I'm fond of the appropriate production decisionson this album and can hear a group which uses a bit of restrain when itcomes to stepping on each others toes, I feel like there's somethingmissing which was clearly "there" at their live shows. Perhaps this ishow I will constantly feel about recorded drone rock albums, but it'sthat intangible further development which could hypothetically be acatalyst to something incredible.Read More
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I have no problems with countlessly referring to the awesome Terrastockfestival last year. With Terrastock, as opposed to pretty much anyover-hyped multi-band fest, it's an opportunity to see some uncommonbands mixed in with the more popular fanfare. Sure, everybody lovestalking about ATP, CMJ and SXSW, but nearly all of those bands tourextensively and play sizable shows all their own. Bands like Kinski,Motorpsycho and this San Franciscan quartet were some of the unexpectedtasty treats the crowds were wowed to in September in Boston, alongsidethe omnipresent Sonic Youth (do they -ever- turn down a fest?), Damonand Naomi, and Acid Mothers Temple. While SubArachnoid Space are hardlya new band, the sound that night was somewhat of a new sound for thegroup. While they dished out the instrumental distortion-heavy guitarwork, the rhythm section was doing something quite exciting andrefreshing. The drummer and bassist had a dub thing going on betweenthem which worked in a peculiar yet delicious way. Talking to the groupand some fans afterwards, I was disappointed to find out that theirolder recordings, some of which were available that night, were notrepresentative of the show. It's now almost April and their currentalbum is finally available. Unfortunately, that dub-like vibe remainsonly a fading memory as it was clearly not captured. "The Harsh Factsof Life" is a strong opening to the album and showcases a tightly-knitgroup with a bass and drums clearly in sync with each other while theguitars drone on. While SubArachnoid Space's sound is clearly takingthe bombastic, quiet/loud approach popularized by numerous angryinstrumental rock bands over the last few years, the group's melodictendencies are more towards long, drawn out parts more remeniscent ofmusic from a couple decades back. Much like an improvisationalensemble, the band begins with a strong idea and lets themselves getcarried away. This is a tactic which works well in a live setting, butappropriately capturing rehearsed improvisation for a studio albumisn't the easiest task. Unfortunately, the down side is that to me thismusic becomes almost too predictable at times, with songs that startoff strong but end up in a rather sparse and directionless wash whilethe band often repeats themselves, meandering through hollow, lengthydrones. With that in mind, I'm anxious to see the band live again,because in that environment it works much better. On top of that I needsome sort of indication that my memory isn't lying to me at this point. Read More
