Brothers John and Michael Gibbons of Bardo Pond take an exquisite and enjoyable side trip into harmonious interstellar regions with this low-key study of vibrations. With stripped down instrumentation, they drift into shimmering passages of temporal displacement.
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10807 Hits
After several months of hefty improv submersion it’s possible to cultivate the taste buds enough to be able to sift out the quality from the claptrap. This is most definitely the former, a 21 minute improvised freak out wrapped in a brain-splurge primary colored aggro cover
7764 Hits
The three brand new songs on this 12" only release continue in their movement away from more free-form noise bursts and pursue the beat-laden retro industrial/dub hybrid sound often explored by the Throbbing Gristle and Cabaret Voltaire sounds of the late '70s.
11568 Hits
Crushing drone and noise into a static mash, John Schofield (if indeed it is him, the credits are sketchy) builds a formidable psychedelic wall on this cracked three-tracker.
11008 Hits
Not a mysterious Frenchman in fact, Benoit Pioulard is Thomas Meluch, another Midwestern boy mutating folk tradition through personal mythology, only this time it’s not founded on states in the Union or suburban Americana but on the fuzzy sublime of forests and oceans, cryptic continental romance and Bergman films.
10363 Hits
Perhaps Planet Mu's clearest attribute is founder Mike Paradinas' willingness to put out diverse releases from artists he believes in regardless of where they lie on the electronic music spectrum. Yet as this budget-priced compilation demonstrates, it's also the label's most obvious weakness.
8021 Hits
Although as per usual, the performance is short (only around 30 minutes) this is a powerful and exciting album. Slowly building up like a stalker moving through the bushes before ending in a bloody mess, this is Wolf Eyes at the top of their game. Braxton fits in perfectly, adding an extra dimension to the noise that lifts Black Vomit from being just another Wolf Eyes live CD to an essential release.
16848 Hits
She was a tightrope walker, a writer, performed with Coum, was billed next to This Heat, and appeared in Derek Jarman's film Jubilee before becoming a musician of any kind, and yet none of these facts could prepare anyone for the quirky and sultry music on this, her second album. She was called unmusical, considered unprofessional, and never once sat herself along side the French royalty to which she was compared, but most of all she was blatantly playful and 22 years removed she's still as intriguing and confusing as she must've been then.
9301 Hits
Black metal has always been associated with archaic or dying idealism, murder, violence, and generally over-the-top theatrics, but Urgehal takes it all to a new, disgusting level. Their artwork, unlike previous releases, isn't immediately repulsive, but just a glance at the lyrics will reveal some antisocial, perhaps misanthropic Norwegians in desperate need of a girlfriend or reading material that has nothing to do with either Satan or the Marquis de Sade.
7203 Hits
Tom Jenkinson returns as Squarepusher with a cheery and chirpy collection of songs. While the madness that runs through his music is still present, it has taken a backseat to more sedate musicianship. Most of the songs rely more on melody with the chaotic drum rushes and squawks of noise used to punctuate the pieces. While I wouldn’t call it commercial, it does sound like it could be a chance for Jenkinson to emerge a little more into the mainstream.
8090 Hits
The music here is a very hip combination of drones and folk although it doesn’t sound as generic as I feared. There are times when it sounds run-of-the-mill but equally there are times when it’s out there on its own. Nirmala’s talent is evident but, as good as it is, something about his music doesn’t sit right with me.
10627 Hits
There is an infinite amount of combinations of notes, keys, instrumentation and rhythms to avail of and some bands insist and going down the path well trodden. The Clientele not only go down the path well trodden but pace back and forth on its most worn out section. Strange Geometry is a disappointingly average album.
5942 Hits
Like last year’s Mirages, Harmony is further refinement of the charred, static airscape that’s been in steady unveiling since Hecker’s first under his own name. An album of suites, it’s still all the same stuff: a grand-scale drift along the broken strands and injections of melody stretched through a globe’s worth of radio interference and churning chaos-drone. Whereas before the artist disrupted the sweep of his work with pop culture jabs (My Love Is Rotten) or more direct appeals to ambient or field sounds (Haunt Me), his last two records go straight for the head, kept still, buoyant, but in a suffocation of pinging dronal overtones and unending static tide.
8121 Hits
This record is a resounding success. From the first note, the sound is cavernous, and entombed beneath some of the most mournful orchestration imaginable are musical secrets and recycled sonic treasure.
17390 Hits
As a household name for anyone who knows his or her electronic music, it’s a surprise that its taken this long for Andrew Weatherall’s to drop his first solo record. Aside from a few remixes and mix records, he’s always been a team player in projects like Sabres of Paradise and Two Lone Swordsmen. Always seen as more of an ideas man than a knob twiddler, this five track EP reveals again his skill for crossing the genre gaps and keeping his vision as eclectic as ever, but this time on his own.
15322 Hits
This reissue of an insanely obscure and rare album by Susan Christie is very welcome. While I don’t pretend to have even heard of her before, I’m glad I’ve heard her now. Paint a Lady is a top quality album; it combines all sorts of styles and influences (but mainly folk) to make a nearly perfect pop album.
16019 Hits
Celebrating the 10th anniversary of Lion and Roots, Style Scott's independent imprint, this double disc release spotlights classics from this long-enduring reggae act and rewards dubwise devotees with unreleased goodies and alternate mixes.
11983 Hits
The first Four Tet compilation succeds as a decent demonstrational project, highlighting better Kieran Hebden's versatility with others' music than others' versatility with his own creations. While it is a good listen and a fantastic deal for two discs worth of material, I can't make a compelling enough argument for its absolute necessity.
10032 Hits
Newcastle-upon-Tyne’s Dressed in Wires (aka Simon Earp) continues his one-man mission to inject digital hardcore with his own special brand of I-don’t-really-get-it humour. This cassette’s title track may begin as a one trick assault on the John Williams theme, but thankfully soon reveals much more going on.
11558 Hits
This overlooked album by Serge Gainsbourg collaborator Jean-Claude Vannier is as close as composing gets to stream of consciousness. Seemingly dipolar pieces of music have been sandwiched together with deft skill and grace to make an album so rich in sound that ears everywhere will feel like they’ve just had their last meal care of a Michelin star restaurant. It’s rare that the kitchen sink approach to writing music works but Vannier pulls it off in style.
6698 Hits
