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Eyeless in Gaza's latest release is a two-album set bundled in a colorful and lavish hinged box. The discs each come in an oversized, book-bound jacket and, along with a thick lyric booklet, make for an impressive package. It's a shame, then, that the music isn't nearly so stunning as the presentation.
Although they were completed a year apart, these two albums mine remarkably similar territory. The sparkling production values are noticeable, but the result is that all of the rough edges have been polished away, leaving a somewhat uniform sheen to even the most disparate tracks. Not helping matters are small things like field recordings that are too glossy to lend any real texture or canned drums and dated keyboard sounds that appear throughout these songs. Sometimes Martyn Bates' over-earnest singing borders on melodrama, and his upfront delivery doesn't change much from song to song. In smaller doses it's fine, but over the course of two albums, some sort of significant variation would have been nice.
Yet the real problem is that these albums lack any real urgency or excitement. Despite the strong, multifaceted arrangements and attention to detail in the mix, these songs take the safe road far too frequently and don't take enough chances. With too much of an emphasis on delicate atmospheres, yearning vocals, and strained beauty, noticeable tempo changes or even a tiny bit of genuine abrasion would go a long way toward making these albums more dynamic and fulfilling. The sameness in mood and execution simply wears thin.
Even so, there still are some enjoyable moments to be found on these recordings. From Summer Salt, "Whitening Rays" combines many of Gaza's best qualities and fuels anticipation for what follows, while "Antipathy Whisper" is probably this album's most upbeat and fully realized song. Despite their similarity, Subway Sun has slightly better tracks, yet isn't without its drawbacks. "Antiphony in Whispers" begins with great textures, but the excessive delay and reverb on the drums makes it sound like an experiment from twenty years ago. But "Zeal" possesses real purpose and exuberance, followed by the instrumental "One-Legged," which uses tapes and manipulated guitar to create the most engaging track of either album.
These albums are by no means terrible, just a bit too polite and boring. The lush yet undifferentiated production unfortunately makes the songs somewhat bland and forgettable, leaving me wishing for something with a little more bite.
samples:
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Honest Jon's third compilation of early 78s from the EMI Hayes Archive is an eclectic survey of the collection, spanning enough time and geography to cover a lifetime of travel. The selections date from 1903 to 1957 and cross the globe many times over. No dull history lesson, this is vibrant music of uncommon beauty.
Not only does this compilation present a broad variety of styles, it also captures many different moods, like Fernando Vilches and Ramon Montoya's proudly insistent yet touching flamenco "Flor De Petenera," the kaleidoscopic "Lagu Kebiar" by Bali's Gamelan Gong, or the majestic drones of Jonuzi Me Shoket of Albania's "Vome Kaba." Keeping things light, most of the English-language songs reflect a sense of humor, such as Cliff Edwards' "I Ain't Got Nobody But You," Sam Mayo's "Things Are Worse in Russia," and Mighty Sparrow's "The Queen's Canary." Also funny is Vengopal Chari of Madras' impersonations of "Different Kind of Motor Car Noises." Disconcertingly unfunny, however, are his attempts at "Laughing."
Every track has some unavoidable sign of age, and the sound quality does vary a bit, but the sequencing creates enough continuity that it never distracts for long. The most noticeable example starts with the track that inspired the collection's title, Joseph Taylor's "Sprig O' Thyme." Since it's from 1908, some surface noise is understandable, but its poignancy lends presence before giving way to the eerie and haunting but even older and equally hissy "Seigaiha" by Tokyo's Imperial Palace Band from 1903. Then comes the whimsical organ of "My Darling Rose" from Mr. Ero of Georgia and Fatma Ben Meddah of Morocco's hypnotic "Zeza Barkak Melbeka," spinning heads so fast that small differences in sound quality are of little consequence.
This travelogue can be a whirlwind sometimes, but it's one that continually engages the imagination despite the lack of a specific theme. Sprigs of Time is dense but never heavy, and it only gets more fascinating with every listen.
samples:
- Fairuz - "Yo Honaina"
- Noubar Bey & Party - "Fantasie Maggiar"
- Sexteto Habanero - "Romantic Mujer"
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A reissue of a reissue, this newest version of the band’s original singles collection couples most of the tracks from the original vinyl issue, as well as the separate Just Like Everybody Part Two from the late 1980s to create a definitive anthology of material. Along with the two other reissues by LTM, this not only presents the classic material, but also most of the tracks from the previous The Gospel Comes to New Guinea compilation (the remainder of witch are scattered on the other releases). Such a sprawling track list is good in some ways, but in others feels a bit too long.
Disc one comprises the classic material, and from the first synth noises, ring modulated/spring reverbed drums and sneered vocals of "Kundalini" (produced by Genesis P-Orridge and Peter Christopherson), it’s easy to hear the parallels of contemporaneous Cabaret Voltaire, but with a more notable ethnic and tribal bent. This is unsurprisingly even more obvious in the Stephen Mallinder produced "Last Words" which, on the 12" mix here, links a tribal percussion piece with a sharp disco beat and dubby production elements, and later a chaotic bit of noise. This same beat pops up again on "Assassin (Shugyosha Step)," though in a more processed, delay heavy instrumental mix.
Of course the classic "Coup" appears here in its original JLE Mix form, and it remains the funk behemoth of horns and jazz elements, looped Apocalypse Now samples, and the bass line that the Chemical Brothers borrowed that has a timeless James Brown meets proto-industrial vibe that could never quite be matched. "Vegas El Bandito" and "IY" both slap together tribal beats, funk influenced guitar and dubbed out bass into a compelling mix.
The Turnbull brothers’ love of martial arts and Asian ethnic music is clearest on "Language (12" Dub)" and "Kongo Do," the former being all percussion with Indonesian gamelan elements, while the latter uses traditional Japanese instrumentation in an untraditional song structure. "Ooze" however is a track that now sounds a bit dated (compared to the other pieces) with its traditional 1980s hip-hop beats, orchestra hits, and turntable scratches, putting it right next to Grandmaster Flash and Herbie Hancock’s "Rock It" in execution. Originally released in 1986, it was cutting edge at the time, but 20+ years later, it feels too traditional. Unfortunately, this is a definite precursor for what is to follow.
The second disc, originally issued as Just Like Everybody Part Two, compiles tracks issued as singles and EPs throughout the late 1980s and 90s that unfortunately don’t show the band as confrontational or groundbreaking as they previously were. Instead, they took their early flirtations with hip-hop to the next level and released a series of instrumental tracks, mostly built on a framework of rap percussion, but with the overreaching sonic textures being less unconventional and safer. “Roninstep” is a perfect example of this: traditional rap beats and vocal samples that are almost TOO hip-hop. However, the combination is an undeniable mix of cheesy and catchy.
The loops and synthetic horns of "Meltdown" don’t reach the same level, however. Instead, it feels like much of this disc does: background music. The slightly new age influenced tracks and hip-hop beats just feel too much like interstitial music that could be in any film, TV show, or video game. It’s not bad at all, “Return of the Dragon” even conjures up a twisted take on 1970s cop show funk, but it doesn’t feel as captivating as the early work, and presented in this format, the two discs will inevitably be compared.
Perhaps most interesting of all is the two tracks on the first disc that comprised the band’s first single: "Ethics" is a straight forward post-punk track that really eschews the ethnic elements of the later work for Joy Division influenced guitar music, in a good way. "Another Baby’s Face" takes the similar blueprint, but adds the early UK flirtations with reggae that bands such as the Police adapted to a much more commercial sound. It’s a very different set of tracks compared to the remaining 33 songs, but still an interesting historical post-script.
While the first disc does have a few missteps, it is far outweighed by the high caliber of remaining tracks. The second disc feels like a nice afterthought, but it doesn’t quite match the first in terms of variety or creativity. However, I think most will be happy with one superb disc and one adequate one compared to the mediocrity of many releases this day and age, and LTM once again have put together a package that celebrates the legacy of a band that has somewhat been forgotten in lieu of their contemporaries.
samples:
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Stars of the Lid-Music for Nitrous Oxide
compact disc, 79 minutes (sedcd023)
first pressing 1000 copies
History: This of course, was our first cd release from all the way back in 1994. Robert Ovetz (Ultrasound) mentioned this guy Adam who was doing amazing 4-track stuff at home. I think the name of the tape he gave me was called “Ombudsman”. The success of this release was a nice surprise and certainly having Joel at Cargo champion it, who was just getting Kranky going as well, certainly put us both out there. Ultimately, SOTL ended up at Kranky and are still making amazing recordings for them. Many say this is still their favorite Lid release, although I am partial to the “Ballested Orchestra” too. It certainly remains a powerful touchstone for and precursor to, the post-whatever independent music scene and sounds incredibly good still today.
Though Stars founder Adam Wiltzie has admittedly distanced himself from the release in terms of artistic terms he felt it was time to re-visit and re-fresh the work with a new mastering job, as well as having new artwork designed by longtime visual collaborator Craig McCaffrey. Sedimental has always kept the document in print in its original form with a remarkably steady stream of sales, but we welcomed the opportunity to update the release and make it more widely available to a new generation, so to speak.
Below are excerpts from the original press release which still seem quite relevant and accurate:
Sedimental announces the first CD from Austin drone stars Stars of the Lid, an amazing 4-track recording that is created in the spirit of Eno, Main, and Spacemen 3. Produced without keyboards, this lo-fi ambient journey employs predominately guitar, avoiding typical rock elements while still possessing the “home” recorded feel of so much independent music.
Being based in Austin, a town loaded with so many heavy guitar bands, one wonders how they came to make such hypnotic and engaging sounds. Especially when Stars mastermind Adam Wiltzie is involved with so many “rock” bands himself, having recorded Ed Hall’s Motherscratcher and its forthcoming release, the Flaming Lips Peel Sessions, as well as running sound for Bad Livers, and Doo Rag tours. Citing Cage, Spacemen 3, Robert from Main and Loop, nitrous oxide, and Bedhead as artistic inspirations, he also comments the group is a reaction against the “muscle” rock and C&W that dominates the Austin music scene and a way to withdraw from it.
Despite their current unknown status, we at Sedimental were so impressed by the music of Stars of the Lid , we felt it worthy of our first CD release. After giving this a few listens(especially the brilliant trio of tracks 7,8, and 9), we are sure you will think they belong on the same plateau as EAR, Labradford, Main, and Organum.
www.sedimental.com
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Artist: Prurient
Title: The Black Post Society
Catalogue No: CSR85CD
Barcode: 8 2356644892 1
Format: CD in jewelcase
Genre: Black Industrial / Power Noise
Shipping: 27 November 2008
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"The Black Post Society" embraces and accepts the depression of not having anything left to hunt. The mask without a face to hold. The depression of the hunter after the deer is killed. It is better to be hungry than to have eaten. As fantasy shatters under the whip of reality, erotic malaise settles in the nest of the mind inverting this dormant fuel to rekindle the endless cycle of sexual chaos.
Black Industrial / Power Noise from this highly respected US act!
Tracks: 1. Specter Of A Child | 2. Forever Hate | 3. Domina Milking | 4. Egyptian Bondage | 5. Rose Comet |
6. Wooden Weapons | 7. Mask Of The Boys | 8. Months Lengthening Into Years
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Artist: Nadja / Atavist / SatoriTitle: Infernal Procession... And Then Everything Dies
Catalogue No: CSR111CD
Barcode: None
Format: CD in 6-panel sleeve
Genre: Shoegaze / Drone / Doom / Fortean Electronics / Dark Ambient
Shipping: 27 November 2008
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Split release from Canadian Shoegaze / Droners Nadja (Aidan Baker and Leah Buckareff), Manchester Doomers Atavist and UK Fortean Electronics / Dark Ambient act Satori.
Released to coincide with their UK joint tour.
Ltd x 1000 copies in a 6-panel outsized sleeve.
Tracks: 1. Nadja - 'Time Is Our Disease' | 2. Atavist - 'Certitude' | 3. Satori - 'Abyss'
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Artist: SatoriTitle: Contemptus Mundi
Catalogue No: CSR113CD
Barcode: 8 2356647152 3
Format: CD in jewelcase
Genre: Fortean Electronics / Dark Ambient
Shipping: 27 November 2008
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Brand new CD from UK Dark Ambient / Fortean Electronics act Satori - Neil Chaney (Pessary) and Justin Mitchell (Cold Spring boss). This is a collaboration between Satori and Magus Peter H Gilmore, High Priest Of The Church Of Satan. Satori provide their trademark deep, underground, pounding electronics, here with a ritualistic dark soundtrack atmosphere, while Gilmore bestows a seething tirade against the weakness of the modern world!
Two 20+ minute tracks, the 2nd being a deeper, instrumental mix of the title track.
Tracks: 1. Contemptus Mundi | 2. Contemptus Mundi (Nameless Wrath Mix)
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Artist: SatoriTitle: Kanashibari
Catalogue No: CSR95CD
Barcode: 8 2356647162 2
Format: CD in jewelcase
Genre: Fortean Electronics / Dark Ambient
Shipping: 27 November 2008
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CD version of the 2007 album from UK Dark Ambient / Fortean Electronics act Satori - Neil Chaney (Pessary) and Justin Mitchell (Cold Spring boss), originally issued on LP by Dogma Chase, Japan.
"Kanashibari" is the Japanese term for sleep paralysis (literally "bound or fastened in metal"). The album explores this phenomena, manipulating Fortean sounds and deep, dark ambience.
CD version contains a bonus track 'Pavor Nocturnus', not available on the LP version.
Tracks: 1. Hypnagogic State | 2. Nocturnal Fury | 3. Unseen Force | 4. Entity | 5. Paralysis | 6. Pavor Nocturnus |
7. Threshold Consciousness | 8. Kanashibari
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Boston-native Daniel Lopatin produces a unique and gripping, but nebulous brand of ambient-noise. His proclivities span the spectrum from hazy, drone-like tones and noise orchestras to heavily sequenced and layered synthesizer pieces reminiscent of nature documentaries and Boards of Canada. The integration of these two approaches gives Betrayed in the Octagon an uneasy feel, like a science fiction nightmare come to life.
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Boston-native Daniel Lopatin produces a unique and gripping, but nebulous brand of ambient-noise. His proclivities span the spectrum from hazy, drone-like tones and noise orchestras to heavily sequenced and layered synthesizer pieces reminiscent of nature documentaries and Boards of Canada. The integration of these two approaches gives Betrayed in the Octagon an uneasy feel, like a science fiction nightmare come to life.
Deception Island
"Woe Is the Transgression I" reminds me of Ridley Scott's Alien. Lopatin's textured drones howl and moan in an eerie fashion, sounding half organic and half synthetic. I can picture Ripley sneaking down long, unlit corridors with a murderous stalker close at hand; its shape, its movements, and its utterances also a hybrid of the natural and the technological. Lopatin's opening song for Betrayed in the Octagon could've been used as the score for the scenes in that movie where we're first introduced to the planet's surface. Or perhaps it would've better fit the scene where we see an enormous, alien "gunner" dead in a room to which he is seemingly fused. The trembling synthesizers on this album emulate such desolate locations and conjure up images of static, almost too-still environments wrecked by the passage of time. Lopatin's preference for severe austerity and decaying textures is perhaps not totally unique, but he handles them well and utilizes them to affect feelings of fear and uncertainty.
Contrasting this pseudo-industrial, desolate sound is Point Never's more melodious side. Songs like "Behind the Bank" and "Betrayed in the Octagon" are nothing more than pleasing, synthetic sonatas. I mean that quite literally. They're not composed of multiple movements, but they are solo pieces for the synthesizer or for synthesizer and sequencer. These more lively pieces tend to be calming; they do not lack intensity, but are generally less anxious. I find it difficult not to mention Vangelis and the Blade Runner soundtrack at this point. Lopatin's work isn't as ornate as Vangelis' nor is it as slinky/sexy, but there is a shared aesthetic present. The sci-fi connotations in Lopatin's abstract pieces bleed into these more conventional songs, bringing to mind data banks or overly-complex hovercraft controls alive with blinking lights and useless displays. If they weren't situated next to more menacing songs, it would be tempting to think of them as future-pastoral pieces meant to accompany or detail the racket of every day life. In any case, they're alluring songs that serve to alleviate the brooding quality of the rest of the record. They also increase the sinister atmosphere of the noisier songs by providing an extreme contrast.
If all the references to soundtracks or films seems extraneous, I bring them up for a reason: Lopatin's music is highly cinematic. Though no narrative is provided by Lopatin, his music suggests the presence of one. The constant shifting between highly structured music and abstract noise provides a sense of character, environment, and struggle. It's impossible not to imagine sinister atmospheres or alien creatures when listening to the chirps and wails of Lopatin's machines and loops. Betrayed in the Octagon escapes being incidental music, however. In this case, the music is the occasion for the film. It is so full of life and so evocative that it demands some flight of fancy. This music aims straight for the imagination and manipulates it as deftly as the best filmmaker or novelist.
Betrayed in the Octagon might be a difficult record to find. It was produced in severely limited quantity and, so far as I can tell, flew off the shelves. In addition to that, it was only available on cassette. Yet, Lopatin has developed quite a name for himself and it's not difficult to see why: his music tends to be of the highest quality. Lopatin also records with Infinity Window and Astronaut and has a number of releases under some variation of the Magic Oneohtrix Point Never name. Google might be the best way to search him out, but the last time I checked there were more than a few releases available through various well-known distributors.
samples:
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On their much-anticipated follow-up to Cryptograms, Deerhunter are mellower but more focused than ever. A greater transparency in their songwriting reveals tighter arrangements and considerable restraint in their use of strange textures and ambient noises, instead saving them and their loud guitars for moments of maximum dramatic impact. Relying on clarity rather than obfuscation, they manage the rare feat of evolution without sacrificing their unique qualities in the process.
While the anticipation of this album has deprived it of the element of surprise that caught audiences pleasantly off-guard with their previous album, the band immediately disarms listeners with greater emotional involvement. The voice of guitarist Lockett Pundt is first heard on "Agoraphobia" asking for cover and comfort, while later vocalist Bradford Cox sings about children wanting to grow older on "Little Kids" and the redemptive power of nostalgia on "Saved By Old Times." Cox's presence is more noticeable on this album, but the whole band's playing at a high level.
Although there is a more laid-back atmosphere on many of these songs, the band still strike up the volume when it suits them. The title track perfectly epitomizes this duality. Starting with quiet introspections, it erupts into a blissful despair that makes it the album's most immediately memorable track. The band also tosses lightning on the fiery finale of "Nothing Ever Happened" and uses cathartic feedback on "Never Stops." These single-worthy tracks are set at intervals throughout the album to keep things moving in all the right places. There is a small section that might be too quiet for some, beginning with "Calvary Scars" and ending with "Activa," but the tracks are decent and brief enough that it's more of a pause for breath than a delay. Otherwise, the pacing is just about perfect.
Not only has Deerhunter perfected the qualities that brought them attention in the first place, they've also developed their songwriting further. Cryptograms may indeed be a memorable record, but the songs on its successor are even better.
samples:
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