- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
It's important to pace a record properly so that it doesn't becomestiff and monotonous. Peter Maybury begins his twenty-three minuteopener with a steady, meandering, and almost viscous series of soundsall seperated from eachother and mostly melodic. The charm of the pianoplaying and the babbling computer-speak all hint that this is going tobe a slow ride through electronic composition; everything will dependon how well the sounds are arranged in relation to eachother. Not muchhappens though and the sounds don't interact with eachother in anyinteresting manner. There are moments of unattenuated beauty, but thealbum simply never changes. To make matters worse, I tend to think thatopen-ended albums like this need some kind of unique palette, somethingakin to a unique signature. Many of the songs on these five songs soundfar too familiar, as though they've become parts of an electronic bankavailable to everyone who has a computer and a desire to move varioussamples around eachother. After about ten minutes of listening to"Rain" a second time, I was feeling quite anxious to move on. Thefour-part "A Leaf Spiral" doesn't provide anything in the way ofrelief, though. They're very much a "more of the same" series of songsand don't manage to make anything sound or feel any more exciting. Ilove lush soundscapes and I enjoy relaxing to very minimal-type music,but this just doesn't cut it. The sounds that were picked forutilization are lame at times and there's no emotional or visualcontent. In some ways the rather dull album art says everythig thatneeds to be said about this album.
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
You Hold the World Like a Gun is Texan Greg Reynaud's selfdescribed "actualization of maximum potential." Loosely translated,that means it's the results of his first solo foray into the studioafter doing beats as a part of electropop outfit Lovetron and spaceyboombap minstrels The Town Drunks. So, now that his potential isactualized—and Reynaud has already proven he does indeed hold promisingpotential as a producer—he presents a dense, mysterious five track,nineteen-minute EP that thumps and pounds its way from track to track,occasionally pausing to reflect but nevertheless holding a boot to yourthroat and not letting go until it's done. Among the slick break beatsand crashing hi hats Reynaud flawlessly slips in the obligatoryotherwise-out-of-place sample, whether it be a few guitar chords, apiano key, a jazz break or even a Darth Vader inhale/exhale.Ostensibly, the EP is a concept album concerning the current Americanpolitical situation, a fact that isn't necessarily clear with a listenand not much clearer when perusing the liner notes. Still, what is aknown known (thank you, Department of Defense) is that Reynaud knowswhat he's doing, and perhaps there is some truth to that whole"actualization of potential" line. Released from the bounds that comewith working with other musicians, Reynaud is able to let hismultitalented production skills roam free, with compelling results.Most impressive, however, is his ability to tread the thin line betweenimprovisation and complete anarchy. His music wanders, but neveraimlessly. He is able to make out of what might be an unrecognizablemishmash with another producer into a thrilling blend of surprisinglyorchestrated adrenaline-laced sound.
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
After several years as a member of the Chicago UndergroundDuo/Trio/Quartet/Orchestra, along with several recordings as acompetent and inventive sideman, drummer Chad Taylor has penned andrecorded a disc's worth of tunes under the name Active Ingredients. Attimes a sextet featuring Underground partner Rob Mazurek on cornet andSteve Swell (William Parker/Baron Down) on trombone, it's easy to viewTitrationas a free jazz recording due to the lack of any chordal instrumentsoutlining progressions and form. As a leader, Taylor's unique,polyrhythmic drive and fluid performance are central, although this isnot your stereotypical drummer record. His approach and outputon the kit is dynamic and very musical, which is not surprising as he'dbeen a classical guitarist in his youth; the same musical sensibilitycomes through in his compositions. "Song For Dyani" opens withblistering latin rhythms and busy, staccato upright bass laying thefoundation for unison horns to state the sweet and slurring melodybefore breaking off for both individual and simultaneous soloing. Thelightning fast cross stick and tom fills kicking off "Slate" areaugmented by percussionist Avreeayl Ra's fills to convey a true Africanensemble feel for saxophone shrills and trills play off. Bassist TomAbbs' melodic lines set things in motion off the top of "ModernMythology" which in turn supports a brief big band ensemble motifbefore stripping down for sax soloing an unison crazy-go-nutsexplorations. Taylor's use of bare hands, mallets and sticks on hissolo performance "Dependent Origination" convey several different tonesand textures. Having spent a great deal of time listening to him onseveral recordings and seeing him in performance on several occasions,it's safe to say that although spontaneity figures heavily in such asituation, his ability to convey melodic ideas and structure isuncanny. The group assembled on Titration are all competentmusicians and soloists that give strong direction to Taylor's sometimesminimal motifs. The excitement generated in performance for thisrecording has them coloring outside the lines with a free jazzapproach, but without going completely off the page into cacophony.
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
If I was making a compilation to introduce a friend to the work of Killing Joke, it's track listing would overlap with that of For Beginners by only three tracks, "Fun & Games", "The Wait" and "Night Time". Never before have I encountered such a willfully obscure selection masquerading as a perfect entry point to a band's back catalog.Caroline
Although compilers were possibly trying to avoid including tracks that appeared on the 1992 compilation Laugh? I Nearly Bought One!, which collected the band's UK singles, they could have used a title that better reflected the material included. The classic debut album, 1980's Killing Joke is represented by "Primitive" and "The Wait". I have a suspicion that the latter opens this collection due to the fact that it was covered by Metallica. While it is certainly a track worthy of inclusion, and one of the best on the 16 track compilation, Killing Joke does not need to use the Metallica reference as a way to gain new fans. By including stronger material, such as "Requiem", "Wardance", or "Complication" this early period would have been better represented. Had they included the excellent "Change", a UK single from 1980 (which was also included on the US version of Killing Joke), they could have drawn parallels with the "dance/punk" revival that is a current trend. What's THIS For...!, the band's 1981 second LP, is represented by a live version of "The Fall of Because" and "Butcher", a second-rate album track as compared with "Unspeakable" and "Follow the Leaders", also from that LP. It is baffling why no tracks from 1982's amazing live 10" "Ha" Killing Joke Live were chosen. That set was my introduction to the band in the late 1980's, and from the opening blast of "Pssyche" through to the end of the driving "Wardance" those six tracks of Killing Joke at their most energetic are still some of my favorites. The middle period of 1983-1985 is given better treatment here, with the inclusion of "Fun and Games", one of the best tracks on 1983's Fire Dances and the title track from 1985's Night Time. The reason why the same album's "Eighties", "Love Like Blood" and "Kings and Queens" are nowhere to be found is a mystery. The latter two tracks were each originally issued in the UK on two different 12" singles. It is hard to understand why tracks on which so much importance was placed do not qualify as recommended listening "for beginners". The compilation ends with two tracks each from 1986's Brighter than a Thousand Suns and 1988's Outside the Gate. The former was a mediocre version of past glories, and the latter, intended as a Jaz Coleman solo album, was only released under the Killing Joke name to fulfill contractual obligations. Skipping the inclusion of tracks from these two albums would have made room for some of the singles to be included. While For Beginners does introduce listeners to the band's sound, it does not include many examples of their best songwriting. I can only imagine what they might include on a compilation for "advanced listeners" (excerpts from The Courtauld Talks anyone?)
samples:
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
With or without the visual context, Heresie is probably the least essential disc in Mute's reissue series, but is not without its share of interesting moments. Part one consists of seven studio tracks, most brief sketches, only three which could be described as songs. The emphasis is very much on the aesthetics of insanity, the band utilizing strategies of French playwright/madman Antonin Artaud. It was Artaud who created the concept of the Theater of Cruelty, in which actors hurl words at the audience, deliberately altering and twisting their voices to ratchet up the visceral intensity of the confrontational dialogue. Throughout this too-brief recording, Gavin and Guggi regress into infancy, uttering childlike phrases like idiot man-children, suddenly lapsing into inarticulate mumbling, or raising their voices to bone-chilling shrieks and stomach-churning growls. The record is framed by a pair of spoken-work sketches about someone named "Deirdre," whom the lunatic Prunes very much want to play with, it seems. "Rhetoric" is the centerpiece of part one, a seven-minute noise-rock maelstrom that bears an unmistakable resemblance to Looney Runes-era Current 93. Lupine howls and eardrum-piercing shrieks are pulled through an echo chamber as metronomic industrial rhythms and crunching noise guitar chug relentlessly forward. Just to enforce the pure insanity of it all, "Down the Memory Lane" follows closely on its heels, a wickedly brutal satire of Irish pub sing-a-longs, with the whole band adopting nasally voices for an inebriated paean to the "good ole days." Seeing as this is the only time the Prunes explicitly acknowledged their Irish heritage, it seems pretty clear they had nothing but contempt for everything that lay outside their Lypton Village bubble. Part two of Heresie is a live recording from a 1982 performance in Paris, a set of Prunes songs drawn from A New Form of Beauty and ...If I Die, I Die. Classic tracks like "Pagan Lovesong" and "Walls of Jericho" are given appropriately maniacal live renditions, the band falling all over one another in gales of perverse glee. It's less essential than the others, perhaps, but no less entertaining.
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
On their debut album, John Tejada and Takeshi Nishimoto displayed aclever grasp of electronic-tinged instrumental music, virtuoso-style,with tasty guitar and bass flourishes layered over real drums andwhatever the laptop pushed out as the master controlled it. They'vecontinued their regular regimen of playing and recording together onWednesdays, no matter what their schedules had in store, and the fruitsof that labor, their second record, receives its title from the veryprocess that produced it. With these songs, it seems thelaptop-produced elements have become more of a basis for the songs,rather than skeletal remains that were thrown in for flavor. Theopening track, "Walk Through Walls," starts with a manipulated andglitched sample that provides a basic beat, then "real" instrumentstake it over, guitar/bass/drums in full lock-on mode with gorgeoussolo-like flourishes. Every once in a while that sample or anotherreturns, just as a reminder that it was the catalyst, but it's mostlybusiness as usual. The two pile on the processed guitars, variousguitar tracks, and the slapped bass, add some delay and echo effects,and stride comfortably towards the finish line, knowing full wellthey're ahead. "Every Moment is Ours" begins much in the same regard,with computer magic and deep bass followed by gentle guitar, thenhypnotizing bass chords and that familiar guitar tone join the fun.Halfway through, live drums kick in briefly, only to relent to theirmore processed brethren. Ultimately, the process is slightly differenton this record, but the music is very much the same, which is to sayclearly produced and recorded and excellently played. The songwritingis a bit limited to the aforementioned format, however, and though thechill-out lounge style form bursts into jazz-like improvisations, thebasic structure is very much consistent with most songs, as is the toneand presentation. That's the only complaint, however, and it's not muchof one, as the songs are still pleasant enough to listen to. It wouldjust help to hear a bit more variety in this art, and not have to waituntil the next day in the week to get it.
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
It's rare that a group of musicians can start crafting a score for a movie about a famed clay animator, braving new territory musically in the process, and end up with an album that transcends every move they've made in the past. That it comes from Shark Quest is no real surprise, as they've been wowing audiences in/outside of their native North Carolina towns for almost a decade. The resulting music is an amalgamation of styles and features the band's first use with piano, synthesizers, and various types of unique percussion.
 
It's a particularly interesting ride as the album progresses, and the new choices bolster their typically schizophrenic shifts with new languages to draw from. This near-Faustian music experience started as songs for a documentary about Bruce Bickford by some other Carolina natives, and the band re-worked their sketches to fit into timed segments in the film. The songs stand on their own just fine, but listening to them it is easy to envision the master hard at work on his clay creations, and then see the lifeforms themselves come to life off the table and go to play in a whole new universe created just for them. Guitars frolic and roll over playful melodies, the percussion breathes a rhythm that summons all to follow like a monarch, and suddenly it's a world music festival better than any ever imagined. The seven-minute opener "The Rosetta Barrage" is perfect: showing a taste of the licks and chops while shifting style and rhythm internally for a mandolin break, then re-coagulating for the climactic conclusion. "Sin the Moon" heads into surf guitar territory with a gentle progression, and retreats for the same kind of reprieve with dueling guitars. Before long the mix is full of so many sounds you could almost go for a swim in the air. There's somber moments, livelier moments, and a touch of bombast, but for the most part these songs are just right, with variety in spades and a high listen again quotient. As much an adventure as it was to make comes through in the speakers, and takes anyone who listens along for the ride.
samples:
Read More
- Drew Wright
- Albums and Singles
Despite a rich history dictating otherwise, the average music listeneris likely to express shock or, depending on the snobbery of saidlistener, outrage at the idea that classical compositions andtraditional metal are perfect compliments to each other. For nearly twodecades, most of metal's finest have at one time or another employedthe services of forward thinking conductors (and vice versa, anyoneremember the ballet scored by Entombed?) or, at the very least, broughta keyboardist on board in the attempt to simulate a string section. Andthen there is Haggard, one of the largest "bands" on the planetclocking in at just fewer than 20 full-time, classically trainedmembers and a vast roster of recurrent guest musicians assembled tobring the two worlds together like no other. On Eppur Si Muove, thecollective's fourth full-length in ten years, founder and mastermindAsis Nasseri and company have once again managed to combineconventional Northern European folk, galloping melodic metal, andoperatic themes to extraordinary effect. To accommodate the Galileanmotif (which almost explains the absurd art), Italian imagery andbaroque orchestration are prevalent throughout the album. Theirdedication to this is such that some pieces are sung in Italian,bringing the languages represented to four, including the group'snative German, Latin, and English. While logic might dictate that theextensive ground which Haggard traverse over the course of one albumwould sacrifice cohesion, this couldn't be more from the truthconsidering this is a band that has made a career out of it. The firsttrack, "All´inizio è La Morte," is as good a demonstration of this asany. Opening with a Latin choral/classical arrangement and gruff Germanvocals, the song explores more placid territory before crunchy electricguitars and Asis' menacing growl are introduced, only to give way to asoaring Soprano and lush strings, all of which are brought back intothe mix for a climax rarely found in single eight minute tracks. Whileit would take far more space than provided here to explore theintricacies of each of the other eight tracks, suffice it to say thesame level of complexity exists throughout this juggernaut.
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
EHC started, essentially, as a casual outlet for an undefined number of active, Boston-area musicians. Boasting current and former members of the Thalia Zedek band, Willard Grant Conspiracy, The New Year, Molasses, and even Godspeed You Black Emperor, EHC enjoyed a humble genesis, organizing around brunch dates at the home of central member David Michael Curry. Since 1997, the group has attracted over 30 contributors in the creation of moody, improvisational music that bridges the gap between the potent emotional directness of its parent groups and the recklessness and vulnerability of the live setting.Sedimental
This session, selected from the many hours of EHC tape archives, is a particularly melancholic trio performance from 2000 featuring Boston guitar-champion Chris Brokaw, cellist Jonah Sacks, and Curry, who plays primarily viola, but contributes splashes of horn, guitar and live sampling to round out what is still a rather sparse affair. Curry's viola owns each of these six extended pieces, and his style will be familiar to fans of The Dirty Three or Godspeed, with enough of a studied, melodic base to cover for his frequent drifts into trance oblivion. He sets himself apart by rarely locking into a repeating structure or calling on too "easy" or explicitly emotive phrases. Brokaw's and Sacks' strings make up a grounding layer of droning interplay, a seamless shuffle between quietly plucked harmonics, tempered feedback, and swooning runs that rise to match Curry's more exultant moments.
The songs borrow from the drifting, autumnal chamber style of Willard Grant, and from Godspeed's anthemic surging, but any references are never more than suggestions in the music, its intimate character leading always back to an unpredictable present. EHC's improvised doctrine places them in a territory as complex and difficult-to-reduce as anything I've heard from their closest comparisons. The feeling, throughout this disc, is an ultimate trust in the players' intuition, and when a track ends, miles away from where it began, never does a certain section feel neglected or the song led through aimless motions. This is a record for the new winter mornings, a treasure of golden amplification, rich string resonance, and playing that is powerful without wearing out its welcome; my hope is only that this debut signals more to come from what is surely an impressive stockpile of recordings.
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
In a just world David Thrussell would be one of Hollywood's top paidfilm score composers. In our world, however, he remains confined torelative obscurity, although he has several musical projects operatingconcurrently. His latest solo album as Black Lung, The Grand Chessboard, could easily be the soundtrack to a science fiction film. Although he often addresses social and political topics directly in hislyrics, this time Thrussell has chosen to present political issues onlyin the liner notes (in the form of several quotations dealing withAmerica's place in the overall global structure, from the book "TheGrand Chessboard" by Zbigniew Brzezinski). By making an instrumentalalbum, he has allowed the music to be timeless. It would have been easyto use samples of speeches made by world leaders, or other obviousreference points. Thrussell seems to understand that issues he hasaddressed in the past, such as Capitalism and vegetarianism, areongoing issues, and therefore music which deals with these topicsdirectly won't sound dated ten years from its creation. However, if hehad referenced the problems in today's global structure within themusic directly, it may have reduced the life span of the album.Musically, most of the album is based around repetitive, heavy,danceable rhythms, although there are abstract, beat-less sections,such as the last two minutes of "Despotic Heroic Diversion." Thrussellholds my interest, however, with the multitude of sounds and texturesthat he places on top of the beats. The music sounds linear instructure, yet it is constantly changing. During "Sickly SeratoninSqueeze," patterns shift and electronic sounds ooze out from all placeswithin the stereo field, while a constant 4/4 techno beat propels thetrack forward. The male and female choir voices used on "NeitherDominion Nor Exclusion" reveal that Thrussell has a wider range ofinfluences than most electronic producers. These voices bring to mindboth Greek theatre productions and the exotica of Les Baxter and MartinDenny. After almost five minutes of industrial techno beats, the last30 seconds of "The Multiple Contest" give way to percussion samplesthat recall Jerry Goldsmith's soundtrack to "Planet of the Apes". At 51minutes, The Grand Chessboard is just the right length to holdmy interest for its entire duration. Thrussell resists the temptationto fill the compact disc's 80 minute capacity. Instead he has presentedhis ideas in a concise ten tracks which are at once forward-thinkingand highly enjoyable to listen to.
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
Pure Trash's one flaw as an album is its lack of continuity.Despite attempts to reel it in, Dosh does let his emotions ebb and flowspontaneously, and the result is that his music takes an almostJoycian, stream of consciousness feel in their meanderings. Dosh keepsbetter focus on the outpouring of emotion that serves as his responseto Bill Cosby's Fatherhood, the EP Naoise. Named afterDosh's newborn son and created as a response to his conception, time inthe womb and eventual birth, the seven track disc includes remixes of"Naoise" and "Rock it to the next episode," two of the highlights from Pure Trash,as well as two live performances. One of which, "Contractions," is adelightful gem (though this reviewer allows it might not have been sofor Dosh's wife) that is as good as anything that Dosh has done.
Read More