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"orang-utan"

Goppa
Various artist compilations can be difficult to peg down, especiallywhen the styles flip-flop from track to track. Goppa relaunched theirlabel earlier this month with this ten-song compilation of allexclusive pieces by musicians either from Ireland or who frequentlywork in Ireland. Thankfully it's not another one of those beer drinkingcomps with green covers that show up sometime in mid-March, but it doesopen with a piece by The Tycho Brahe, which is undeniably rooted infolk music. The high pitched voice and acoustic instrumentation is longforgotten by the time the short electronic bit by Daniel Figgis is infull effect. Surprisingly enough, Aranos' vocal/violin contribution andthe twittering, comical collaboration between King Camera and Volcanothe Bear (sounds like a muppet being spanked) are brief and over in ablink, while the following track from The Jimmy Cake is a welcomedlengthy bit of improv drones with bells and horns. The elusive MelanieFinch is perhaps unknowingly reaching for the Diana Rogerson award forthis comp, with an uncanny Aranos-like violinist backing her up alongwith drums, detuned guitar and sloppily played bass guitar. Nurse WithWound has donated the slightly shorter, slightly altered, 'slightlygreen librarian mix' of "Die, Flip or Go to India," which originallyappeared on the Current 93 collaboration, 'Bright Yellow Moon' lastyear, while PKD's track, "In Circles, Back to Back," is experiencingborderline techno disorder with it's thumping repetitive electronicbeat for the first half. The disc is rounded out by a short,forgettable dark post-goth bit by Belinda Quirke and a fantasticsurrealistic horror ride from Artificial Memory Trace equipped withsub-end rumblings and an arsenal of unidentifiable sounds which tenseup and break like a loose floor panel which cracks underneath you,plunging you to an impending doom right before you wake up. For anintroduction to a number of these artists, a little more artistinformation might be nice, but much like the tape-only compilationsback in the 1980s, the mystery is half the fun.

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3832 Hits

telefon tel aviv, "immediate action #8"

Hefty's Immediate Action series has almost been revived with this EP from Telefon Tel Aviv. The first wave of the series came as a flood of limited 12" singles, some were entirely of one artist and others were collaborative works matching up a couple Hefty frends and mainstays. While this disc keeps up the mish-mashing of folks—with remixes from Slicker, Prefuse 73 and the first appearance of female vocalist, Lindsay Anderson (of L'Altra)—its non-limitedness and CD format make it seem like a completely different beast. To me, this EP doesn't feel like it's part of a multi-part multi-artist compilation, but an appropriate stopgap between last year's fantastic debut from Telefon Tel Aviv and the follow-up, whenever that's due to arrive.

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4283 Hits

Big Tex, "Authentic Songs of the Old West"

Crunch Pod Media
IDM is easily be one of those styles that most people just don't get.And that's good. Because most people don't know anything about goodmusic. That's right: the vast majority of the populace is made up ofsheep that don't know any better. Or cattle. Cattle that need to beled. Cattle that need to be roped up and put where they belong. We needa cowboy. And sure enough, riding over the plains comes Big Tex, readyto bring us the sounds of cattle 'rassling. Welllll, not really. Thesound of Big Tex is one that can rope you in, but only if you're anintense lover of the machine-noise style. Otherwise, it's a real bigturn-off. There is certainly a lot of promise on this disc, andconsidering it took Tex a while to put it all together he's probablygot it in him to better this set. 'Authentic Songs' is really adisjointed set, with the album starting and stopping with all theprecision of a skipping CD player. In fact, there isn't a compositionwith real substance beyond knob-tweaking and squelching until theeighth track. There are a few interesting rhythms, but they eitherdon't last long, or they never build past the point of introduction."Gravy Mouse," though, is where Tex lets loose and the boogie gets laiddown. After that, it's a thoroughly enjoyable listen, with "Beat Me"and "10,000 Gallon Hat" leading the drive. There are some throwaways orinterludes in between here and there, but, again, a lot of skill andprowess at work that will someday blossom into a great album.'Authentic Songs' is a fine debut, though, and well worth aconcentrated listen.

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4009 Hits

Repeat, "Pool"

Repeat albums are never bad and never great, though it seems like each one is just a shade away from one or the other. I'm not sure what could push these guys over the edge into greatness, but perhaps there is a tension that I expect in contemporary improvised music which is just not present here. What I'm percieving as a lack of tension might also be an ambivalence on the musicians' part about what exactly the group is about; are they trying to be pretty and melodic? an electronic improv band? ambient music? It's hard to tell. What might, in some other case, be an interesting break in genre comes across here as merely an underdeveloped idea.

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3879 Hits

Robot vs. Rabbit, "Trading the Witch for the Devil"

Mandragora Records
I am a sucker for evil primitive psychedelic sludge. This obscure NorthCarolina crew is banking on the fact that there will be one of me bornevery minute to buy their records. Anchored steadfast in the darkerregisters of sound and philosophies, this band makes a lot from alittle, suctioning tribal rhythms and fierce winds through statickyburlap. This is unintended ghost voice recordings type of stuff—lots ofreversed sounds for the backmasking fans out there. Manybands/musicians out there could take a lesson in heavy atmosphere fromthese guys. If you are looking for points of reference, I'd saysomewhere between Gravitar and early scary Current 93 (sans vocals).They do have a unique sound, though, and an impressive range over the14 tracks on this CD. My only complaint is that some of the bestmusical ideas are cut short - I would love to see them expanded live.

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4031 Hits

PURE, "NOONBUGS"


Mego
This is the first Mego release which my ears have considered completelypointless. Pure are undeniably technically adept, but these eighttracks—mixed together in a nearly one hour long flow—build up nothingmore than a meaningless sinister ambience. 'Noonbugs' is a kind ofmicro glitch-meets-some-suffering-jazz-influenced crossover attempt butthere's nothing exciting about it, nor does it leave any impressionafter the CD is finished. The tracks take a long time for littledevelopment, and the use of voices in "Ivan" or the surprisinglystraight drift of "Flew" are sparse highlights which aren't rewardingenough for sitting patiently through the other seemingly endlesstracks. Pure stay clearly out of their possibilities and have presenteda perfectionist's work which seems to have lost all emotion duringproduction.

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3776 Hits

Fat Jon The Ample Soul Physician, "Wave Motion"

A largely uninspiring nodder that pushes all the right hip hop buttons but fails to ignite anything
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3377 Hits

Jaga Jazzist, "A Livingroom Hush"

Smalltown Supersound
Jaga Jazzist are somewhat of a Norwegian supergroup: a ten-pieceensemble of several multi-instrumentalists including drums andpercussion, guitar, bass, keyboards, horns, woodwinds and tuba, withmembers from Röyksopp, Motorpsycho, Jazzkammer and BigBang. They manageto beautifully combine both modern and progressive jazz with rock andelectronic music for some awe-inspiring compositions. The disc'sopener, "Animal Chin," is a busy blend of live drum 'n bass rhythmswith long-lined Wurlitzer and sax ostinatos under some cool,multi-layered woodwind arrangements that sound like Roni Size jammingwith Oliver Nelson. "Going Down" is driven by some busy, yet subtlejazzy drumming and low-end pedals while some doubled up sax and organlines weave through angular acoustic guitar progressions and space agebachelor pad-type synth and flute flourishes. "Airborne" would be thetune that had me hitting the back button on several listens, not onlyfor its inherent coolness but also for its multiple layers in whichsomething new is heard each time. The tune opens as a tender ballad,with shimmering keyboards and a melodic bass clarinette, graduallybuilding to a scratchy electronic rhythm with upright bass and flutesadding tension until it blasts off into a full-on orchestral climax,complete with wailing sax solo and stabbing strings. "Lithuania" movesfrom a laid back rhythm section, vibes, twangy guitar and severalongoing melodies from the horns and woodwinds to a kicking, double-timesamba feel that lets the orchestration and arrangements really shine.This disc grabbed me right from the first listen with its strongcompositions and unique sound and is yet to let go. The best comparisonin its direction would be in line with what the Cinematic Orchestra aredoing, but on a much broader and larger scale. That in mind, Ninja Tune(the Cinematics label) are set to release this disc which should makeit a little easier to find, even with a different cover. With the yearend fast approaching I'm glad to state that this disc has made my topten.

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3360 Hits

Christian Kiefer, "Exodust"

Extreme Records
A single piece spread across 14 tracks and nearly 67 minutes, this is aconceptual record based on the American dustbowl of the 1930s. Itinitially builds from a drone to a looping cycle of a simple ruralguitar lick and primitive percussion, with eerie whistles and ghostlyvocals weaving in and out. As the music progresses, the focus shiftsamong parts that eventually dissipate into the fog of something else,with a constant musical loop remaining relatively constant. Asmonotonous as that might sound, it's actually an interesting listen.Ranging from sparse arrangement to lush drones, there is a good varietyhere that defies categorization. I am somewhat reminded of GavinBryars' "Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet," another long record built ona constant loop. While I'd have to say that Bryars' record is better,"Exodust" is a good effort and has actually improved in repeatedlistenings. Kiefer should have left out the spoken samples, though -it's obvious they were put in to reinforce the sense of time/place, butI think they are superfluous and distracting. It's the kind of CDthat's great to have on in the background- simultaneously relaxing andchallenging.

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3301 Hits

curve, "the new adventures of"

Fatlip
It's no secret that the pop music world owes an apology to Curve. Inthe early 1990s, the group recorded some of the most incrediblealbums—fusing distorted guitars with throbbing, punchy, dancable beats,topped off with super sexy vocals and abstract lyrics. The productiondream team of Flood and Alan Moulder resulted in a number of noteworthysingles and EPs (see the compilation, 'Pubic Fruit') as well as theirfirst two albums, 'Doppleganger' and 'Cuckoo.' (Additional producersover the years have included Steve Osborne [Happy Mondays, New Order,Placebo, Suede] and Tim Simenon [Bomb the Bass].) Their music waspraised by critics, adored by fans, respected by numerous notablemusicians, and used for TV commercials and futuristic movie previews.Their formula was soon completely (and admittedly) stolen, dumbed downand mass-marketed as Garbage, which may or may not have contributed tothe gap in time between albums. In 1997, the core duo of Dean Garciaand Toni Halliday resurfaced as Curve and haven't slowed down one bit.After a somewhat lukewarm release last year on Universal's Hip-Oimprint, 'Gift,' 'The New Adventures of Curve' is almost completelyDIY, recorded and mixed at home and available currently only throughmail order. Once again paired with Alan Moulder, the album shows anevolution of Curve, branching out into more daring territories. On theopening track, "Answers," the duo more deftly expands on the deepsounds of the beat-saturated minimalism they tried on previous releasesthan 'Open Day at the Hate Fest' and Dean Garcia's Headcase albums.Electro ballads like "Signals and Alibis," and the hypnotic "Sinner,"are never weak or flat, while the Garcia-sung rocking closer, "Joy," istruly a shock. (I'm still not quite sure whether I think it fits or notbut it sure is fun.) Their signature guitar sound and quiet/loud styleis neither gone nor forgotten, rearing its head on songs like thepowerful, aggressive future-pop gem, "Till the Cows Come Home," and theslower paced, balls-out "Nice and Easy." I sincerely hope they canpiece together a touring band and come back around. In the meantime,however, the band are working on a remix for a Gary Numan 25thanniversary compilation, according to their web site.

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3989 Hits

gary numan, "i, assassin" & "warriors"

Beggars Banquet
Speaking of Gary Numan, Beggars Banquet completes theirremaster/reissue project this month with the final two albums Numanreleased originally on Beggars back in the 1980s. Originally releasedin 1982, 'I, Assassin' continues on themes Numan began the previousyear with his 'Dance' album. Fashionably, Numan was still dressing likea 1930s gangster (a makeover after he got sick of looking like a StarWars extra), while musically, the rhythm section is easily mistakablefor the lineup on the prior year's 'Dance,' which featured Japan's MickKarn on bass and Queen's Roger Taylor on drums. While this top 10 UKalbum was preceeded by three UK top-twenty singles, "White Boys andHeroes," "Music for Chameleons," and "We Take Mystery To Bed," the mosttimeless songs have got to be the side two openers, "This is My House,"with a simple yet hauntingly famous synth melody blanketing thefretless bass guitar mastery, driving drums and Numan's neuroticvocals, and the catchy title track. Perhaps it's because these are theonly songs on the original eight-song album which are -not- litteredwith the electronic drum sound exploited for years by Prince and theRevolution (you'd know it if you heard it). Seven bonus tracks gracethe reissue, including both early versions and B-sides.

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For 1983's 'Warriors,' Numan underwent another image reconstruction,stealing both the outfit and the backdrop of Mad Max from 'The RoadWarrior.' (Click here to judge for yourself!)Ironically enough, this album has got to have been his woosiest todate. The rhythmic drive from the powerful drums was erradicated:either lowered in the mix or completely removed in some cases. Inaddition, female vocals were added, guitars were reintroduced in theform of undeniable wishy washiness and saxophone was more prominent.Perhaps this was partially to blame on the production by Bill Nelson (AFlock of Seagulls, Be Bop Deluxe, David Sylvian), but even the lyricsreflected a young Numan (only 25 at the time) who was already jaded andcynical, now probably near the point of exhaustion after eightsuccessful albums in the course of five years. On earlier albums, Numanwould assume a fantasy persona, the subjects of the songs on 'Warriors'sound more like they're from a man who's been completely trapped,caged, and is not in control of his own world. This can be seen fromsome of the first few minutes of the album as the first words out ofGary's mouth are "I fall down, no control somehow, no help now, myfavour slides." It's unsurprising that in his own life, he was goingthrough a number of struggles and by the end of the year, he hadsevered ties with Beggars Banquet. Mastered from the original tapes,the reissue of this disc features all the B-sides from 1983, along witha single version of "Sister Surprise," and the full-length version of"Warriors," along with the previously unreleased, "Nameless andForgotten," a fate he seemed to have been sealing with this record.

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9535 Hits

love and rockets, "love and rockets/swing"

Beggars Banquet

Love and Rockets

Also out this past week from Beggars is their remaster/repackage/expanded version of Love and Rockets' eponymous fourth album. Thanks to the top ten smash "So Alive," this was their biggest selling record to date, but it was hardly a fave among fans. In all honesty, this was the first Love and Rockets record that I had to skip tracks because I disliked them so much. The album opens with the clumsy, bleeped out "**** (Jungle Law)" but then jumps into one of my favorite single tracks ever, the thumping beat-driven slick-riffed "No Big Deal." "Motorcycle"/"I Feel Speed" was the album's first single and is just a pair of amazing tunes: both with the same theme - the first being the metal-esque driving anthem, the second being a tripped out, drumless bit with nearly the same exact lyrics. Bonus tracks on the first disc are all the B-side tracks from the singles and the killer extended remix of "No Big Deal." The second disc is purely for the fans as it contains the long-talked about swinging EP, 'Swing,' which consists of five unreleased songs from an impromptu session. I fondly remember the lyrics of "Wake Up" as their encore at a concert in 1989 when the trio came out in drag singing, "It's a drag, drag, drag in the middle of a dream,..." and feel some sort of closure now that I have the recording and know what song this is! Disc 2 is completed by the inclusion of nearly all of the radio session from KCRW, two songs of which appeared on a promo 12" back in 1989, except it's missing my favorite line: after the band finishes "1,000 Watts of Your Love," the interviewer says, "wow, I've never heard that song," and Daniel Ash promptly responds with, "Nor have we!"

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5169 Hits

Victory at Sea, "The Good Night"

Kimchee Records
Victory at Sea are nota cheery band. The darkness and rain that seemed to possess them ontheir Kimchee LP 'Carousel' has not subsided, and it even feels likethe storm is getting closer. Theirs is a traditional rock sound, withguitar, bass, and drums, that is often augmented by violin and keys.Singer/guitarist Mona Elliott is out for blood, shrieking andsmoldering each song into your brain and veins. There seems to be nohope, no relenting, on the first three songs, as the poetic lyrics andsolid sounds pummeled at my ears. Mona sings on "Canyon," "I say thisplace isn't big enough for the two of us," and I believe it. Thepunishment continues through "The Liar," and then, things seem tomellow out a little. "Old Harbor" and "Proper Time" are simple, slow,and beautiful. Here, Mona's voice is stretched out, warbling andbreaking, like this is the way it's meant to be: "Get on with my life!"The power returns even in the slow pace, on "Sunny Days," one of thealbum's best tracks, with crunching guitar and low, thick bass. It'sgorgeous as she reaches for the sky with her words, singing of cloudsand rain. Following that are a few tracks with varied sound andarrangement. "A Song for Brian" features only guitar, bass, voice, andpiano, so it's nothing new for this album ("Old Harbor" has a similarpalette), but is still a pretty song. "The Bluebird of Happiness"sounds more like Denali (never a bad thing), and "Kelly's Landing"starts off as a rock tune and ends with children playing in the rain. "Firefly" closes the album with its"watch you die" ending, bringing the whole thing into perspective withits simple structure and sound. Victory at Sea are still growing,approaching that perfect release, and 'The Good Night' is just a narrowmiss.

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3368 Hits

Tujiko Noriko, "Make Me Hard"

Mego
It would be easy to dismiss Tujiko Noriko as a token female artist on amale-dominated record label and scene. But while neither her latestMego outing nor her previous full-length, 'Shojo Toshi' is likely toblow minds, this former waitress is certainly not without talent. Herwhimsical, airy electronic compositions have a warmth andexpressiveness that is unlike her label mates. Noriko's Japanese vocalswaft over slow and steady beats on nearly all of the tracks. Some ofthe most effective tools in her arsenal this time around includescratchy record atmospherics, otherworldly piano sounds, and flutteringdigital sounds, all of which are sophisticated and meticulouslyarranged. The songs, however, simply tiptoe all over the place, withouta clear direction, without going far from their starting point. There'sa better sense of togetherness of the songs that wasn't clear before.

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3513 Hits

Synapscape, "Raw"

Ant-Zen
Synapscape have long represented the sound of Ant-Zen, the ratherprolific post-industrial German label that has achieved a remarkablelevel of popularity and respect worldwide since the late 90s. The firstproject to release a CD on the label, Synapscape managed to, (andcontinues to) contribute a great deal to the catalog with 5 full-lengthalbums, a handful of singles and EPs, and countless productions fromtheir many side-projects and related projects (Templegarden's, ArsMoriendi, Morgenstern). Here on their fifth release, the duo present acollection of unreleased and compilation-only tracks from 1994 through2001. As with any CD of this kind, there's quite a bit of material herebetter left for the home studio vaults or the obscurity of a limitededition CD-R packed in a clamshell with barbed-wire, spraypaintedsilver, and hand-numbered. Beat-less dark ambient noisescapes are theultimate cop-out for industrial acts everywhere, and I, for one,fast-forwarded through the ones on 'Raw'. I scanned for theclub-friendly (a rather loose term when discussing this type of music)tracks, and was rewarded with the unintelligible vocals and filthybeats of "My Distance" and "Stop Yield." Other heavy rhythmic cutsinclude "Once Again You Die," and "Peter The Repeater," a remix forformer Ars Moriendi bandmate Asche. While this mediocre collection willcertainly not entice too many new fans, 'Raw' will definately find aplace in the hearts of Synapscape fans still awaiting newer material(which, as it turns out, will include another collaboration with fellowpower noise kingpin Imminent). Considering how much I enjoyed theirlast album ('Positive Pop'), I expect nothing but high qualitylo-fidelity sounds to come.

3361 Hits

Rivulets, "Thank You Reykjavik"

BlueSanct
I just can't get enough of Nathan Amundson's Rivulets. While Amundsonis a relatively new voice—with only one album and a handful of EPs,singles, and compilation appearances—healways sounds like he knows the deal. He's known it all his life andnow, finally, he's expressing his feelings on the matter. This EP onBlueSanct, recorded live on Icelandic National Radio (hence the title)features recordings of four songs from the Rivulets self-titled debutperformed by Amundson alone. Where the recordings on the debut werestronger for their arrangements and recording, this is the trueRivulets. The songs work best with just acoustic guitar and voice, aspleading and desperate as possible. It's funny, but they're moreexpressive this way, where Amundson can show off his most raw andemotional baggage. Where his solitary contributions on other releaseshave been sketchy, mainly due to weaknesses in the vocals department,he's more assured here, like he's finally protected by that blanketagain and no one can touch him now. The lyrics on "Four Weeks" are evenmore appropriate, with the "desperate" refrain, so much that it seemsAmundson is singing them out to anyone who will listen to join him,just so he won't feel so alone. The fragility of his voice on "How,Who?" and "Stead" is especially touching, even when he falters a bit.In fact, especially when he falters, showing us his weakness again.This EP works well for cold season, as it's clearly the mostappropriate time.

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3510 Hits

"Tryptaphonic Mind Explosion"

Mandragora Records
We are living in a golden age for mind-expanding, foundation-rumblingpsych chaos, as evidenced by this particular slice of aluminum. Inspite of coming from all corners of the globe, all 12 participants herehave obviously been huffing the same UFO vapors. Robot vs. Rabbitlumbers through a buzzing, Earth-like dirge. In perhaps the weirdestpiece on the disc, Interferents wring out some insane toy vocals over ahallucinatory jam. Pine Tree State Mind Control exhume the corpse ofearly Chrome and turn it into a conveyer belt. Escapade's loose,sprawling improv whips up a fresh black hole. Sure to make this comp abestseller, the ubiquitous Acid Mothers Temple crash land the mothership into heavy metal histrionics. Reynols' shamanic drone prayer makesearly Amon Duul seem coherent and tight (that's a compliment, by theway). Finnish band Circle finish things off by returning us to morefamiliar krautrockish territories, somewhat reminiscent of the live Canstuff released a few years back. What makes this comp so great is theheavy layer of outer space that all of this music travels throughbefore it reaches your ears. No duds to be found here. This music isunhitched, but not at all inept. They know where they are taking you.Like the liner notes say: "The path of pure psychedelic noise awaitsyou."

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3470 Hits

The Grey Wolves, "Blood And Sand"

Cold Spring
This is a reworked reissue of an early 90's tape which came out of acollaboration between The Grey Wolves and Shockcity as a comment on theGulf War. In these times, where a second one seems not very far away(depending on the daily news), it sounds astonishingly fresh andtimely. There is a certain bleakness in these two lengthy pieces.("Desert Storm" is slightly over 30 minutes long while "Gulf Breeze" isover 26 minutes.) There's a certain Rough Trade-era Cabaret Voltairequality about the songs, not particularly in the music itself, but inthe emotional landscape explored. The theme of war is clear, as is thebreakdown of communication. The Grey Wolves do this with delays,electronic distortion, distant ramblings, hypnotic loops, and echoes.Samples are clearly identifiable as vocals but only fragments areunderstandable.Absent are overused "aesthetic/artistic" shock tactics but the GreyWolves clearly point out with this atmospheric work that we are nothingmore than passive watchers from an armchair in (assumably) a safedistance. It's a subtly packaged critique which is an enjoyable listenat it's own terms. It both leaves me in thoughts and creates the spacefor it.

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5108 Hits

Drew Isleib, "Sounds Through the Wall"

Ernest Jenning Recording Co.
Drew Isleib is a singer-songwriter in the very traditional style whouses occasional untraditional (read: electronic) elements to bring hissound across. Recorded entirely by Isleib in his makeshift portablestudio, his debut is chock-full of good songs, from the downtroddenalbum opener to the fun-loving jangly pop of "Orion." Isleib plays allof the instruments on these songs, and it is the true mark of thetroubadour that he uses whatever he needs to get the song across.Programmed drums, guitar, electric piano, what have you; Isleib playsit with modest skill and intent. He's been billed as the guy who usedto show up at your high school and college parties with an acoustic andstart playing songs to anyone who would care, only better. I wish Icould have had Drew at my parties, because these songs are meant to beheard by that crowd. There is a slight preoccupation with alcohol onthis release (appropriate for high school and college parties), andenough variation that it would serve as a good mix. But I wasparticularly impressed with Isleib's voice and how expressive it is.Different songs feature a different voice, as his delivery changesappropriately to suit the song. It's a rare trait, as many vocalistsget stuck in the rut of writing music to match the voice. And even ifthe sound strays from the traditional sounds of acoustic guitar andmild percussion, the voice still fits. Isleib even tours the countryplaying at people's houses on their couches. It's ultimately the waymusic this familiar is meant to be heard. So kick back, check out thesamples, and relax. Cause Drew ain't goin' anywhere just yet.

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3389 Hits

Sonic Youth + I.C.P + The Ex, "In the Fishtank"

Konkurrent
The idea behind the 'In the Fishtank' series sounds really good: get two (or more) bands touring the area (broadly, the Netherlands,) and get them to record a live album in the studio, spontaneously. Like most things that look great on paper, the execution fails gloriously, and on many levels. Maybe Sonic Youth was having a bad day, or possibly the I.C.P. or The Ex took over a whole lot of the sound on this album, but please, if you have anything else you'd rather do, don't hesitate to do that instead of listening to this album. It has all the annoying qualities of a pretentious John Zorn release (and none of the positive, like the amazing musicianship of some of the early John Zorn stuff.) The rush of recording constraints forced on the groups probably didn't help the creation of their numbered tracks. The seemingly random numbering of the tracks gives me the impression that these pieces were just made with no intent in mind, just to take up time. Weird atonal honking horns are ok, but not if they're boring you to death. If you like Sonic Youth (or any of the other bands,) at all, avoid this thing like the plague.

 

4606 Hits