Normally live albums fail to capture the magic of being at the show, instead they end up as souvenirs for those who were there or extra materials for completists to collect like archaeological specimens. However, this CD documenting a meeting of two legends of minimalism is a beautiful recording that seems to capture much of the magic that went on that night. Maybe those who were there would contest this statement but An Aural Symbiotic Mystery is still a stunning composition. |
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Normally live albums fail to capture the magic of being at the show, instead they end up as souvenirs for those who were there or extra materials for completists to collect like archaeological specimens. However, this CD documenting a meeting of two legends of minimalism is a beautiful recording that seems to capture much of the magic that went on that night. Maybe those who were there would contest this statement but An Aural Symbiotic Mystery is still a stunning composition.
9180 Hits
Foregoing complacency in favor of motion, the single track on this disc takes its time heading from outer space back to earth on a trajectory that encompasses seemingly everything in between. Even though it’s a mostly mellow affair, by no means is it stagnant.
11064 Hits
I have to admit that this band has always been hit or miss for me. More often than not, I have enjoyed their live shows more than their recordings, and this long, single track is unfortunately no exception.
8667 Hits
The album is packaged in a gorgeous sleeve made of white embossed card with a beautiful sepia-toned photo of Rose's musician ancestors (the whole thing smells of bubblegum, not intentional I am sure but pleasant nonetheless). The old time vibe from the photo sets the mood for the album as Rose fingerpicks and slides his way all over his guitar. His playing is infused heavily with bluegrass and blues techniques and styles.
6196 Hits
It's winter, and while it's been a rather warm one, it's still been rainy and of course, dark. As I look around the piles of recent and forthcoming releases and loads of mopey bedroom-made electronica demos in boxes I'll never open, it's painfully hard to find solace from dreariness. Thankfully I've got some time to catch up on Aberdeen.
10851 Hits
Describing Dada is a paradox, like a proverbial wet fish in the palm of your hand certain only to be lost in an attempted securing grasp. As Greil Marcus details in Lipstick Traces, subsequent efforts in art and music contain echoes from Zürich, Berlin and elsewhere; not least the urge (first and foremost) to destroy, or as Orange Juice sang: to rip it up and start again.
12100 Hits
Captivating from start to finish, this latest Low Point CDR is perfect coming-out-of-winter listen. Like an especially slow thaw this disc seems to make everything crawl along t its own pace. The faded net curtain photograph cover art helping to coat the green trees in the distance in a chilly wrap of opaque fog. This one man and guitar effect pedals three tracker carves a pleasant little niche out of the currently massive drone renaissance thats sweeping the world.
7791 Hits
This is a fantastic compilation that shows the range and talent that Bates is in possession of. Cold, post punk songs sit comfortably beside real English folk songs that are full of warmth. Impressively, despite covering over 25 years of his career, the different styles and periods of Bates' works still sound like they were recorded all in one go.
8909 Hits
After a coincidental 17 year absence, Jackson Del Rey and Louise Bialik have revived the 17 Pygmies name, returning with a seasoned elegance, not a vengeance as might be expected from hints by both Del Rey's vigorous 2005 release I Am the Light and for a collective once noted as a reference point to a young Godspeed You Black Emperor.
16074 Hits
This double disc set from Jandek's live debut on US soil (August 28th, 2005) is the least entertaining of his live releases to date. The upwards quality trajectory of this documentary series seems to have faltered here due to a combination of some poor songs and an unsteadily flailing rhythm accompaniment from a duo of drummers.
6635 Hits
Back when many techno and electro producers operated in perpetual pseudonymity and even anonymity, the intent was to put the focus on the music and not on the people behind it, as well as to add a certain underground mystique to these rebellious sounds. Sadly, many of today's labels cannot help but exploit the secrecy behind their artists' identities, cheapening the legacy of the Underground Resistance posse and like minded artists.
7428 Hits
The artwork of this split CD-R wins the award for creepy package through the post for this week. A card sleeve with scarlet stencilled skulls inside a red flecked bandage runs a close second to receiving dead rodents in a jiffy bag. Out of the three pieces here (two Robedoor tracks and the single piece by Bologna Pony), only one piece, the Robedoor finale, fails to balance on the awkward line between a riveting listen and a generic elongated feedback blow-out.
7152 Hits
An aberration among their label mates, Silk Saw has consistently managed to operate on the fringe of the so-called rhythmic noise scene, with compelling sonic consequences. Thankfully, Ant Zen founder Stefan Alt continues to stand by the often difficult listening crafted at Laboratoire Central, collaborators Marc Medea and Gabriel Severin's enduring Brussels studio.
13861 Hits
The good ship Archive has reissued another great Japanese underground release, this time an album by Astral Travelling Unity. As the title suggests it is half live, half studio; one long track from each. The quality of both pieces is high but a little samey. I am intrigued, however, and keep coming back for more.
12204 Hits
This Italian three-piece combines electronic beats and sampling with some beautifully menacing guitar and saxophone in a very pleasing way. They are not breaking down barriers but they are certainly no chore to listen to. The six pieces included here all work around the same mid-paced jamming style, the same patch of ground being covered but from alternative angles and viewpoints.
5726 Hits
Originally released as a seven inch and two CD-Rs on the American Tapes label a couple of years back, this is a gratefully received reissue. Combined into one ugly genetic mishap and flesh hacked covered package by Aaron Dilloway's Hanson label, this is a disintegrated release full of blossoming black sounds. Collection is another piece of weighty evidence in the already inexorable case for Wolf Eyes' limited items needing to receive the same sort of press as their Sub Pop releases.
10490 Hits
This long awaited, much delayed "best-of" release doesn't come close to the grandeur of the new Fad Gadget package, though it satisfies a long overdue need to formally acknowledge Nitzer Ebb as groundbreaking revolutionaries, the shockwaves of their speaker-rattling, dancefloor devastating diatribes still being felt in electronic music today.
22098 Hits
Andy Cabic finally steps out from under the shadow of pal Devendra Banhart on this follow-up to Vetiver's self-titled debut. While there are some standard folk moments, much of the album points to an expansion of the band's sound.
6234 Hits
Campbell Kneale’s one man doom project is a work of immense force. Taking some influence from his other project, Birchville Cat Motel, Bliss and Void Inseparable is an intense and atmospheric journey through the dark. I must point out that the title does not capture the mood of the album, I can identify the void components but the bliss is well hidden. This album is desolate and soul destroying, I love it.
10161 Hits
The beautiful photographs of little houses in the countryside capture the vibe of You Are My Home succinctly. The album very much encapsulates the feeling of being very small in a wide open space, unable to do anything but sit and take in the splendor of the surroundings. Nathan Amundson's songs are deceptively simple. They are gentle but with a hidden strength that only occasionally erupts (and when it does come through it is impressive to say the least).
10503 Hits
