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Although rooted in traditional songwriting, the album has many nuances that elevate it above the recent deluge of "new folk/americana." "I'll Be On The Water" appears at first to be a simple, lovely ditty sung by one man with an acoustic guitar to his significant other. As the song progresses it reveals layers of field recordings and subtle instrumental accompaniment which place it in a landscape that enhances the sentiment of the lyric. The first verse of "Suchness" sounds like a dusty recording of someone singing on his front porch. Alien percussion, vocal harmonies, swirling electronics and, ultimately, a full electric band, pop up from underneath the floorboards at the 3 minute song's halfway point to take it into a realm that is at once surprising and natural. Akron/Family have a knack throughout the set for smoothly transforming songs from one mood to a wholly other without disrupting the flow. "Lumen" begins as a sparse dialogue between vocals and a melody led by bells and violin. It suddenly switches to build toward a climax of epic proportions by employing military drums and persistent guitar picking, achieving a sense of propulsion. This same sense of forward motion runs through "Running, Returning," during which the repeated, wordless chant which accents the song's persistent rhythm seals the deal that this bunch is an appropriate backing band for Michael Gira on his current Angels of Light tour. The group's mastery of a wide range of instruments lends this set a full sound. These muti-instrumentalists use guitars, banjos, piano, organ, melodica, various percussion and electronics to give a true sense of the outcome being more important than the means. By leaving themselves open to use any instrument or compositional idea that fits the moment, they effortlessly combine threads of traditional and modern music into a new whole. Some of the melodies, particularly on "Suchness" and "Afford," sound as if they are ancient song forms that have been stumbled upon by Akron/Family. "Afford," for example is introduced as a gorgeous and forlorn song. At the mid point, it descends into 30 seconds of eerie ambience where it seamlessly fuses traditional song structure with modern minimalism. This midsection also allows for reflection upon the song's only lyric, the repeated line "The power I afford you is the one I wish I had over you." By enhancing their songs with so many different subtleties, Akron/Family has set a course on a path that could convincingly fork in several different directions.
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Planet Mu
Upon further inspection it isrevealed that these are in fact Hungarian titles, as this album wasinspired by a trip to Hungary, during which Funk had some sort ofepiphany involving imagining himself as a pigeon. As absurd as thatsounds, it has fueled the most cohesive effort by Funk to date, onwhich Eastern European melodies dominate and his trademark blastbeatsare used to accent orchestral composition. "Hiszekeny" is a beautifulminiature, which features bells and harp rhythmically dancing aroundmelodic string patterns. "Felbomlasztott Mentokocsi" features nopercussion at all, and instead features weeping cellos and violinswhose sweeping tones play against each other to echo the tension inlife through rhythmic and melodic tension. Funk's take on RezsoSeress's Hungarian suicide song "Ongyilkos Vasarnap" ("Gloomy Sunday")manifests this sense of sadness and loss in a more direct way, bycombining stuttering beats with Billie Holiday's vocals from the 1941recording of the notorious song. Jazzy drumming and downright pastoralwind instrumentation figure prominently in the first half of "Hajnal,"before strings combine with hectic breakbeats. As chaotic as therhythmic programming often becomes, these tracks are always grounded bythe melodic elements. This is most effective on "Szamar Madar," duringwhich a gorgeous melodic theme recurs throughout the track's six minuteduration. Much of Funk's music is centered around beats in odd timesignatures played at break neck speed, keeping listeners on their toes.These pieces, although rhythmically challenging at times, aspire toachieve a higher sense of compositional cohesiveness. Funk iscommunicating in a language that will appeal to more than just thosewho are breakcore enthusiasts. Although he has not abandoned the use ofintricate rhythms, he allows these tracks more breathing room. Mostpieces have long beatless passages during which all manner of acousticinstruments create a tension that makes the rhythmic bombasts moreeffective when they appear. This is not to suggest that he has simplydistilled his usual fare to reach a wider audience. Instead, he hasfinally shown that he is capable of, or interested in, combining hisskills as one of today's most advanced beat programmers withunprecedented foreign elements. In the process he has broken out of theholding pattern his prolific career was beginning to settle into andproduced an accomplished work of incredible depth.
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Matador
Without the benefit or detraction (it depends on yourperspective) of meticulous post-recording tinkering and mixing, thesongs sound a little less polished than a proper studio album but stillrather robust, proving that the beast Mogwai is unable to be laid lowby something as trivial as a live, synchronized recording session.Matador bills this release as "a virtual Mogwaigreatest-hits-without-actually-being-one." Once past the obviousvacuousness of that statement, at least two things become clear: one isthat greatest hits compilations are almost always culled from theoriginal studio versions of the songs (I don't think that Matador'smodified vision of this album as a "virtual" greatest hits collectionwas based on the fact that these songs were alternate versions); two isthat while these songs are a representative array of Mogwai's career(from such early releases as the third seven-inch to as recent as thelatest album), they are not indicative of the best material Mogwai hasreleased. There are too many older omissions and perhaps too equal aconcentration of recent songs. In fact, the selection of songs here israther inscrutable without being unpleasant or disappointing. The albumbegins with a kind tribute to the fallen John Peel (he introduces theband to the listening audience) who championed the band from theirbeginnings. Peel's intro leads into "Hunted by a Freak" from Happy Songs for Happy People,indicating that this collection is not in the typical chronology fromearliest to most recent recordings (nor is it from most recent toearliest). Though the drums are a little more tinny here, "Hunted"sounds very similar to the original version including the ghostlyeffects-processed vocals. "Cody" is the first song which has a trulydifferent feel from its original counterpart. This version is milky,lustrous, and shockingly warm, providing a nice balance to the morechilly and precise version from Come On Die Young. The originalversion separates the drum track in one stereo channel and everythingelse in the other, while this version mixes everything together withoutthe post-production aesthetics. The warmth lies in this amalgam. Theambient "Superheroes of BMX" from the 4 Satin EP is a strangechoice for inclusion because of its drifting and soporific nature (Ialways thought the song was largely aided by the prenominatepost-recording tinkering) but it works surprisingly well and seeminglydid not put the studio engineer to sleep. Young Team's eminent"Like Herod" has an expanded eighteen-minute treatment here, but Iwould just as soon throw it away and listen to the original versionwhich is sufficiently brutal (in the good way) and mesmerizing. As itis on the Ten Rapid collection, the gem here is "New Paths toHelicon Pt I": this song breathes its own life and, as it inflates andeventually explodes, my attention is rapt. Background and foregroundcompress into one dimension and my head feels a little smaller but justbig enough to contain the cosmic reality of listening to nine musesdancing and frolicking down a cypress-covered mountainside in Greece.
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Alien Transistor
Most notable in this assembly are his breathyvocals, delicate and ethereal, at times reminiscent of the late JeffBuckley's quieter moments in performance. With heartfelt lyrics basedon cornerstones such as time, hope, friendship and love, Chen touchesupon moments and senses that we can all easily identify with."Bellyfull" [sic] lifts the lid off the disc for beautifully melodicand poetic lyrics such as "An age of silence, dribble on chin / Thefate of the universe, a bellyfull end" to permeate throughout theseemingly complex arrangement of acoustic guitar and drawn outprogressions from what sounds to be a harmonium. This particularinstrument appears again amidst the heavier strumming of "Stay Awake"to carry a simple yet pleasant counter-melody that weaves against thevocal line and occasionally leads the tune's progression. The rockin'"Epilogue" gives the disc a swift kick in the arse with driving, snappyJungle-inspired beats and fuzzy low end from guests Craig Mod and MattRào on drums and bass respectively, while the Boy bangs out the dirtytones and ringing power chords on the electric guitar while inquiringwith "I hope they're satisfied." Having expanded this project with afull band, as seen a couple of weeks back on The Eye, Chen'sBoy In Static, though a complex concept on paper, appears to have beeneasily adapted for live performance. Perhaps the Notwist or one oftheir member's other projects would consider taking Chen and company onthe road so that those of us outside of the Boston area can experienceBoy In Static first-hand.
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Jagjaguwar
It's no secret thatNagisa Ni Te have been inching ever closer to 1970s psych-rockterritory over the course of their last three albums, and this albumreflects this slow transition. At various times, the tracks on Dream Soundsevoke the Laurel Canyon sound, Neil Young and Pink Floyd: dreamy popsongs given a crisp rock sheen, with resounding electric guitar solos,multitracked choral backing and loads of spacious, canyonesque echo. Inthe midst of all this production sheen, however, the voices of Shinjiand his artistic muse Masako arrive untouched, with all their roughimperfections and flat intonations intact. Though the music clearlywears its Western rock influences on its sleeve, it's still peculiarlyJapanese, not least because the lyrics are sung in Nagisa Ni Te'snative tongue. The lyric translations provided in the sleeve notes byJapanophile Alan Cummings are almost extraneous, as one could easilyguess that the lyrics are full of light, breezy imagery about natureand romantic love. Three of the tracks are from the 1998 Japan-onlyrelease True World, with the track "The True Sun" extended intoan epic, sidelong exercise in folk-rock dynamics. Shinji mounts thisfinal track as a sequel to Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer," stretchingout its length with grandiloquent guitar soloing and soaring melodieson Fender Rhodes piano and various synthesizers, interrupted by quietacoustic passages. Five albums deep into their career, the onlycomplaint that could be leveled against Nagisa Ni Te is the deja vufamiliarity of many of their songs from album to album, which tend tosound more alike than different. This tendency is emphasized on thisalbum, which puts together several songs with similar sounding vocalmelodies. Since the majority of Western listeners won't understand thelyrics anyway, this places an emphasis on Nagisa Ni Te's arrangements,which do vary quite a bit and provide much of the richness and nuanceof the album. Even at their most rock n' roll, as on the track"Anxiety," there is still a light, insubstantial feel to a lot of thismusic which may ultimately prove the be the band's undoing. Theillustration of a cute pink Teletubby riding a wave on the album'scover doesn't help the problem, but with a track as epic andmagnificent as "The True Sun," Nagisa Ni Te prove that they still havequite a few pleasures in store.
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Loren Mazzacane Connors/Christina Carter, "Meditations on the Ascension of Blind Joe Death Vol. One"
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Ecstatic Yod
The artworkis absolutely gorgeous, imitating the style of many of Fahey's recordcovers down to the small essays sometimes included on the back of hissleeves. The music, however, does not recall the material on Fahey's Blind Joe Deathrecords. Instead, Connors and Carter have opted to stick their guns andrecord the music as they know best. This undoubtedly works to theiradvantage as any attempt at copying Fahey's style on these recordswould be both redundant and futile. The record is broken into twoside-long pieces, each of which is broken into several parts. The firstside, entitled "Smoke," includes piano and a guitar whose tone iswhite, but distorted by some blanket, as though I'm only catchingechoes of the actual performance. The movement of both instruments isslow, cold, and somber, invoking Fahey's ghost in a series of drawn outtones and shadowy folds. The guitar playing, at times, is reminiscentof Fahey's latter work, but remains far less complex and more focusedon atmospheric effect. Haunting in its slow creep, the seven-part trackslowly fades away and leaves a feeling of complete emptiness andabsence; Fahey is obviously missed. The second side is entitled"Mirrors" and is broken into five pieces. The guitar and piano on thisside move with a certain grace that reminds me entirely of Faheywithout being an actual copy of his work. The mood is still solemn insome ways, but the instruments have more life in them and each notesomehow vibrates and harmonizes with Fahey's attitude and approachtowards music. The album ends with a sample of a recording from whatmight be an old 78 playing in the background. It simultaneously makesreference to Fahey's love for the history of blues and folk music andto Death himself, still responsible but unknown for so much greatmusic.
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Ecstatic Peace
It's messy, beautiful, and recalls all the effects and variables of apsychedelic painting or a hyper-real physical experience. Theinstruments swim in and out of each other while a clattering of sheetmetal provide a point of reference or a singularity through which allthe random sounds can be filtered and processed. "Yota" and "SheepDust" together and together they sound like one fantastic side-longepic of feedback and blossoming pseudo-melodies. The second side,however, fails to provide anything too interesting. More solid andcomplete rhythms come from this duo on the last three tracks and theirguitar work ruins the moody and elemental nature that they introducedon the first half of the record. It's difficult even saying thisbecause the first two tracks have been spinning for about eightrotations now and I can't bring myself to stop the constant onslaughtof the keyboard-like melodies and the ear-splitting bursts of static,whines, and hellish winds. "Must Anubis" and "Throat" both have theirmoments, but less vibrant and seemingly less thought out ideas manifeston them. If only these songs hadn't been released on this record; theydon't even sound like they belong on the same album as "Yota" and"Sheep Dust." Those two songs have me absolutely spellbound and standout as two of my favorite songs I've heard this year.
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I have to admit that I'd previously never been a huge fan of Tarwater, despite their being an integral part of the German electro/pop scene with a direct connection to one of my favorite groups in the last five or so years: To Rococo Rot.
For some reason, the bits and pieces I had heard over the span of a few of their discs just did not appeal to me, although all the key "cool" elements were there: slick, programmed minimalist grooves augmented with drum kit; simple and punchy bass lines occasionally performed on the upright; lush layers of synthesizers drawing out interesting chord progressions. With their recent move to the Morr label, I can now say that I've quickly fallen for them thanks in part to the subsequent release of their brilliant The Needle Was Traveling disc. All the same elements as before are present, only now with a clearly defined direction, clever hooks, swifter tempos and catchy guitar riffs figuring in more heavily on their tunes. The duo of Bernd Jestram and Ronald Lippok spent the better part of a year working out a pile of compositions; the thirteen originals on this disc having a definitive pop song structure in comparison to older material. Throughout the disc, various guests (some of whom had just happened by Jestram's studio during recording) turn up on a bevy of instruments including violin, cello, guitar and (of course) the trombone to tastefully augment the already voluptuous tracks. Lippok's deadpan, near-spoken word vocal performances, although a juxtaposition in comparison to the instrumentation, are well-supported by the backing tracks and are perfectly blended into the mix. Perhaps it was the move to the Morr label that raised the bar for Tarwater to yield such a strong collection of tunes and become more song-oriented rather than just turning out musical beats. For the disc's token cover song, the timing couldn't have been any better in choosing Minimal Compact's "Babylonian Tower." With a heavier guitar/bass combo and lower-key treatment, Tarwater have cleverly transformed it into an ominous musical metaphor for the U.S. superpower's encroachment of the Middle East. Although there's no measuring when musicians and bands have "paid their dues", Tarwater are poised for a well-deserved break out of their micro electro/dance club scene to take it to the world stage. Can I get an Amen?
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The disc begins with one of those singles, the Robert Racic produced album mix of "All Saints Day." Over an infectious bassline that is as much EBM as it is acid house, Heads' mastermind Tom Ellard sings airily and hopefully while keyboard flourishes and echoed handclaps run amok. The second track, "Triangle Tangle Tango," warps and warbles in a stew of playful cacophony held together by a steady beat and a few key melodic elements. "Greater Reward," the album's first single, brings to mind some of New Order's like-minded material from that same period, particularly on the chorus and in the track's outro. "Big Car" follows afterwards and continues along that same logical route of new wave-inspired grooves with squirmy panning synths, distant sampled voices, and Ellard's repeated "shine a light on me" vocal hook. While still catchy thanks to Ellard's voice, the title track's lamentful bells and ominous atmospheres manage to give off a quasi-gothic feel not found elsewhere on the album. Middle-Eastern chants and oppressive bassy drones set the tone for the beatless "Chasing Skirt," the final song from the original album, leaving a gloomy aftertaste to this largely bright album. The five bonus cuts that accompany this reissue include the original version of "All Saints Day" and the non-album instrumentals "Star Spangled Bradbury" and "Bombs Fell." The booklet features an impressive abridged version of Bernie Maier's biography of the band, found in its entirety on the LTM website. Those who recall Severed Heads' far more experimental albums like Since The Accident and City Slab Horror (the latter recently self-reissued by Ellard) might very well be turned off to something that is so decidedly reaching for more mainstream success. Nonetheless, music lovers not limited solely to difficult listening and elitist esoterica will find Rotund For Success both a worthwhile treasure and, on another level, an upbeat throwback to a time where electronic dance music was still going through growing pains.
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Tietchens is again working within the pop format to produce warped,retro-futurist jingles from an intimidating collection of antiquesynthesizers, but here, as on Spät and its successor In Die Nacht,he toys more and more with the a-melodic fragments and jagged, sinisterrhythm tracks of a developing industrial personality. The mood is stillall fun, but for the first time Tietchens seems involved in creating amystery, allowing the pop context to assert itself only for reasons ofparody. Rhythm remains flat and static throughout, the music's tune-fulelements accomplishing little more than a program of retarded waltzes,coated in plastic echo and hideously pixilated accents. Songs areshort, but feel long, drawn into a distant nocturnal sprawl,de-energized by the metallic flavor of the sounds and their explicitlymechanical construction. Though criticized for exposing a fusion of theartist's interests too uneven to be enjoyable, Litia soundstoday like an odd voice of dissent, dark and harsh enough to reject thepop perspective, yet immediate beyond the visceral associations ofindustrial music. A punk sensibility enters, encouraged by Tietchens'reliable deadpan presentation, lending the album some of itspredecessors' light-heartedness without a sacrifice in the coldexactitude of the music. New comparisons might include the more lo-fiwork of Flux Information Sciences whose own brand of cut-up,industrialized pop reaches a similar apex of plasticity, self-parody,and gritty self-indulgence. And while the music simply does not achievethe same addictive quality of Biotop or Spät, the Litia reissue attaches more bonus material than any before it, including Rattenheu,a 10" from the same sessions. Without the stifling rhythmic linearityof album tracks, these become some of highlights of the reissue,sounding much less dated (not surprising, as the 10" was released in1996, years after the 1983 recording), similar to the looserpop-oriented late 90s work Tietchens did with the Hematic Sunsets andthe Scorpions.
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Three Lobed
The seventh and final trackwas originally available only as an excerpt, and is here presented inits full, epic 31-minute length. All of these tracks were recordedaround the time of 1999's Set and Settingalbum, and thus reflect the band's sound during that time. The BardoPond sound has not changed all that much over the course of theirprolific career: a heavy, atonal rock sound characterized by mountainsof hypnotic feedback, reverb and drone. Typical of bands comprisedlargely of non-musicians, they focus more on the textural quality ofsound and less on melody and dynamism. Though their lyrical imagery andsong titles often reference psychedelics, their sound is much closer toSonic Youth or My Bloody Valentine: more artsy noise rock than spacerock. One of the problems with Bardo Pond is that their liveperformances have always been vastly superior to their recorded output,much of which sounds stiflingly uniform. And these tracks are noexception, playing up the band's tendency towards churning rock pushedinto the red zone of distortion, with singer Isobel Sollenbergerproviding indecipherable, vaguely bluesy vocal moaning. There are a fewmoments scattered across this collection where Bardo Pond goes outsideof their usual repertoire, notably with the sparse, subtle ambience of"Nomad" and "Quiet Tristin," which seem to be drawn from freeimprovisations, providing some quietly hypnotic moments that stand outon an otherwise routine album. "YaYaYaYa" is an interestinglydeconstructed funk track, which is a study in layered chaos, butdoesn't really go anywhere. "Black Turban" begins with a verytraditional-sounding blues-rock riff that could have been lifted fromany number of Jimi Hendrix albums and repeats it ad nauseum whiletaking several tangential trips into aimless improvisation. "From theSky" is the album's behemoth final track, a slow burning epic thatmakes the most of the interplay between dual guitars and drums,endlessly riffing as the noisy sediment compounds and buriedalmost-melodies bubble to the surface and fade away into the heavy,oppressive hash smoke once again. As could be expected from materialthat is nearly six years old, nothing here is earth shattering, andBardo Pond continue to be in no danger of igniting any trends. Instead,they rather relentlessly pound away at their same signature sound,which is this current market of trendspotting and postmodernchameleonism, has got to be worth something.
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