Orthlong Musork /
Tigerbeat6
If Cex is the laptop incarnate of Kool Keith, then Gold Chains must bethe equivalent of Sisqo. The first I heard from San Franciscan TopherLafata (the brains behind the chains) was "Burn Babylon" from theTigerbeat6 Inc. compilation last year. It featured sung vocals from amiss Nina Oppenheim and actually had no rap on it. However, theundeniable sass pulsing from that fat, pumpin' jam made me long formore. If that's your only exposure, do not expect a similar club smashon the first two EP releases from Gold Chains, do expect that rawkusattitude and some phenomenal programming. On the self-titled EP, Topheris accompanied by the production assitance from Joshua Kit Clayton,scratching from DJ Bre-Ad (who's credits include work with Mick Harris)and the occasional backing female vocalist. The result is far moredense than any Kit Clayton records and the rhymes are witty,entertaining and after a number of listens become drilled in the head,busting out when singing along. From the thunderous opener, "I ComeFrom San Francisco," to the closing nod to Stereolab, "Rock the Parti",there isn't a weak moment. With each listen, there's actually somethingnew to discover: "Did he say ebonic karate?" Jessica asked me during"The Wonderful Girls of Hypno" before the bombastic chorus sounds in,"San Francisco USA / to Berlin in Germany / Tokyo to Paris France /Hypno babes rule my pants". The self-titled EP came out last Octoberand is a bit of a task to locate but it's well worth it.
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Less than a year later, a second EP has surfaced from Tigerbeat6.Coming from such a strong, stunning debut, this release seems somewhatanti-climactic. The rhythms and tunes here are produced entirely byTofer this time around and, while the songs are still punchy andenergetic, are somewhat flattened by the lack of content. There's farless rap, and more repetitious vocals this time around. The sex anddrug obsessions are way more explicit than the other EP, with trackslike "Mountains of Coke" and "I Treat Your Cootchie Like a Maze" ("Lickthat cootchie, lick that cootchie, lick that cootchie,..." —okay, weget the point). The titles seem more promising but maybe I wasexpecting a little more meat. 'Straight from Your Radio' isn't terribleby any means, and can still provide an entertaining 25 minutes, but isnowhere near as over-the-top as the eponymous debut. Slap all 11 tracks(and "Burn Babylon") onto one CD and you've still got a pretty strongfull-length albm!
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David Marhana, known for his work with his brother Andre as the duoOsso Exotico, here presents a new composition that seems equally asinformed by Swans and Godspeed You Black Emporer! as by minimalistclassical music. Throughout the "Lullaby"s hour (nearly) of music,several patterns cycle over and around each other. The content of eachis taken from (melo?)dramatic rock music; a steady bass drum kick,three succinct high-hat hits, a peel of guitar feedback. There's nomistaking the oppressive death-rock gloom that hangs over the work,with rhythmic bass thud anchoring it to an unchanging pace. Images ofguitar distortion pedals (most notably a DOD pedal, conspicuouslymarked "Heavy Metal"), 1/4" guitar cables and a snare drum serve tohammer home the RAWK connotations. Yet, despite the many references towhat might be percieved as an energetic or cathartic genre, the musicdoes not evolve or build to any climactic noise; rather, all of theelements present at its beginning of the CD make appearances severaltimes, and then "Noe's Lullaby" simply ends. The composer includes thephrase "to play LOUD" (caps are his) in the sleeve text, but the musicisn't loud-sounding at all. So volume doesn't seem to affect the musicvery much (I resent a composer telling me how to listen to his or hermusic, anyway). Neither is it particularly narcotic, as its titleimplies. I tried going to sleep to it, but the threat of a big loudclimax, while never actually arriving, seemed possible at every moment.
Fez Dispenser is Matt Thorne, one of two brothers that make up PsychicEnemies Network. With this project he dissolves the darkness andartfully expands upon the eclecticism already found in PEN's work.Fifteen instrumentals freely juxtapose played and programmed genreelements within tracks and track to track. But in the slick guitarriffs, vibes and grooves a jazz influence represents throughout. Thorneseems to be striving for songs that mix things up so much as to defyall pigeonholing and, more importantly, are just plain fun to play andlisten to. Drum and bass backdrops the busy jammin' of "Thank YouWould've Done Nicely" while horn-y dub and hazy dub make up "CastillianFennel Dub" and "Really I Do", respectively. "Smoothin'" slips intooverdriven overdrive with a stompin' spy thriller theme and "Watch forFalling Doors" percussively jazzes it up, both reminding me of BarryAdamson's recent imaginary soundtracks. Hip Hop beats and breaks addflava here and there, especially in "Everything Works", while the titletrack sets up camp near Muslimgauze territories. "He Speaks" dips intoelectronic whimsy a la The Orb with cute samples of helpful Englishphrases. "Lake Placidyl" offers a short-term treatment for insomniawith a slow moving quasi-psychedelic lullaby. And just to makeabsolutely sure I walk away happy, the lovely Stars of the Lid-like"And Fade" conjures up similar tired sounds as a finale. A little bitof everything goes a long way.
Radar Brothers create slo-core guitar music with almost saccharinevocals and harmonies on top, songs that explore a variety of subjectswith aplomb and spirit. Members Jim Putnam, Senon Williams, and SteveGoodfriend have been in or worked with bands as diverse as Medicine,The For Carnation, Matmos and Maids of Gravity, and the music theycreate now makes them out to be a modern version of The Band.Everything is rooted in a melancholy beauty, but everything has a hopeor dignity to it that breaks through and keeps you warm. In otherwords, these songs are not full of complicated arrangements or densesubject matter that will be lost on you. So the trick is to not borethe hell out of the listener, and to not sound entirely formulaic.Radar Brothers do this admirably on this, their third full-length andfirst for Merge, sounding familiar but not like they're copyingsomeone, and making the most of their slight sound. Keyboards are addedfor effect, guitars fuzz and wail, and all while the music just lopesalong. They do manage to be pretty chilling here, as well, as at leasttwo songs deal with murder or savage killing: "They've been missing fora week/but here the weapon looks clean/too bad the older sisters aretaking it home" on 'Sisters' and "for you are still evil in my swordyou'll be caught" on 'Still Evil'. It's very cohesive, mostly quaint,and beautifully executed music from a band that has no business beingbased in Los Angeles. It is worth your time, I assure you.
Some of you may have Merzbow fans pegged as masochists. Sure, serfsloyal to the noise king may find his prodigious output hard on both theeardrums and the wallet. And true, he has played with S&M themes onseveral of his releases — the 18 CD Merzbox is wrapped in kinky blackrubber, for crying out loud. But the pleasure of Merzbow is not justthe extreme volume and frequency with which he attacks—but the varietyof sounds he sets his cat o' nine tails to. To the casual listener, thecollective work of Merzbow may sound like a solid block of steel wool.I admit there are a couple of Brillo's in the pile, but no singleMerzbow release can represent the whole catalog. Take Amlux, forexample. While the trademark violent squall is still here, much of thisalbum has a more gradual pace, built heavily on samples and loops."Takemitsu" starts off as a ride inside a phonograph needle across ascratchy jackhammer lock-groove, while someone shovels snow in thebackground. It ultimately gets sucked through a jumbo jet engine, whichproceeds to jam up and disintegrate. The warm tar guitar lines of"Looping Jane" get whipped by sharp digital wires into a driving rockfrenzy. "Cow Cow" is Satan on CB Radio squelch through a teapotwhistle. The final track, "Luxurious Automobile," pits swirling loopsagainst chain rhythms, crickets, Star Trek consoles and Asteroids fuzz.It's almost danceable. If I had to pick out a good starting point forthe uninitiated, I might very well recommend Amlux.
Merzbow's split release with Kouhei Matsunaga finds Masami Akita takingup a slightly more aggressive posture than on Amlux. Pensive piano on"Nakasendow" is repeatedly interrupted as the man in charge tears metalphone books in half with his bare hands, then decides to start blowingnew pockmarks into the moon with his laser cannon. The poor piano hasno choice but to turn into a dot matrix printer. "Earth Nazareth"mangles a death metal riff with phased drum beats into an oompah band.Screechy violin joins in at about repetition 2000, just as a washingmachine starts pumping through the wah wah pedal. The sub-bass swellsand drums of "Shadow Barbalian" find a staticky midpoint between therhythms of Tortoise and Brise Glace, with an abundance ofstrangled-tape samples popping up and getting punished. Very fun andquite catchy, if such can be said for Merzbow. A good counterpoint,Matsunaga's half of the disc spans many locations and elevations. Atriptych entitled "Garden of Earthly Delights," the sounds here take onan almost spiritual feel. From quiet studies of steam-powered robotinsects, to plodding machine bursts, to dramatic swelling drones andclipped sighs. Both pure sound and musical themes are explored andsuperimposed, and the three pieces work as one in an easily flowingseries of movements. Certain moments here could be compared to the workof Merzbow, Christoph Heemann, Tetsuo Furudate, and others. But it'sthe successful marriage of such diverse elements into a cohesive workthat makes it uniquely Matsunaga's. I will be keeping my eye out formore of this man's work in the future. A solid listen the whole waythrough, this disc will definitely enjoy more time in my stereo.
This song could easily be one of my favorite songs from one my favoritealbums of last year: the fuzzy music of Dntel's rumbling frequenciesand distorted beats matched with the timid, wistful vocals by BenjaminGibbard of Death Cab for Cutie (thankfully included as the first trackon the EP) in a vividly visual story as surreal and dreamlike as thetitle suggests. This CD EP is set up like a traditional 12" single offour remixes sandwiched in between the A and B side of its own 7"single. While this approach works great for DJs or fans making theirown mix tapes or CDs, listening straight through can be a bit ofoverkill. The first reinterpretation is probably my favorite: it comesfrom Safety Scissors, with the Kings of Convenience singer (Erlend Øye)slightly adjusting the lyrics into a moderately altered story. Themusic is bumpy and reminds me well of that Kings of Convenience remixrecord I adored last year. Barbara Morganstern almost uncomfortablyforces a duet on her take while Superpitcher leaves the vocals just asthey are, but transforms the song into a modern techno anthem a'la theKompakt style. Lali Puna finish the job off by completely removing thevocals and softening the music into something more languid, laid backand cool. Rounding out the EP is the track "Your Hill" which was on thecompilation 'The Asthmatic Worm' (reviewed in June), which would saveany Dntel fan from having to buy an entire compilation for one songpreviously unavailable elsewhere. At the end of each listen, I cancompletely appreciate all the attempts at reinterpretations, but safelysay that none can really touch the brilliance of this song in itsoriginal LP version.
And from the "What the fuck is this?" file comes this CD from JohnRifle. John Rifle is an enigma. He's obsessed with rabbits, as thealbum artwork shows, and pop culture, as the music shows. He's nothappy with the way things are going in this world of ours, and he'staking action. Mostly minimal piano and drum-created music with soundsamples on top, "Fracas Nurture" is a pretty strange and frighteninglisten, completely devoid of warnings or clearances. Most samples aretaken from television source material like ABC News and VH1 Behind theMusic, and the CD is assembled like one long radio broadcast frominside the mind of a lunatic. It's socially conscious, it's got itssights set on many different targets, including the music industry,fame, drug use and the media, and it's completely and totally out ofits gourd. Never has sound collage music sounded this urgent, thisdriven, or this insane. It's like Negativland making the soundtrack fora reality TV/horror movie. Bob Weston recorded this music, and he hasdone an admirable job given how this material could drive anyoneinvolved over the edge. Tom Waits once created a track like this withsamples of Dan Rather, and this is like the dream that track touchedupon fully realized. Occasionally the music takes on a real structure,like on 'Intercom', but not often. Mostly, it's spoken wordperformances, with a little music for good measure. It's a message, notexactly for the faint of heart, that has some music with it. It's agood project (can't really call it an album because it defies even thatmoniker), but needs to be absorbed in doses. This is too much for onesitting. Try it out, though, because it needs to be heard to bebelieved or understood.
Late twenty-something Kåre Pedersen was born in Brazil but raised inNorway where he became an integral part of the local scenes in variousbands, probably most notably with Kåre & The Cavemen (akaEuroboys). A year after their split in 2000, Pedersen began work on'Sideman', his solo debut. I've learned to expect the unexpected whenit comes to music from Scandinavia. Yet I'm still a bit shocked by thecatchy pop and rock hooks of Kåre's tunes (kinda like when I firstopened the insert to discover him holding a gun to his head). Somereference points are easy: Spiritualized / Spacemen 3, psychedelic eraFloyd and Beatles, The Cure, My Bloody Valentine, etc. Anders Borne'ssomewhat whiny vocals are a quickly acquired taste but Kåre's (andnumerous Norwegian guests) multi-instrumentation is immediatelypleasing to the ear. Solid drums and fat bass guitar propel the melodicgrooves as they gather layers of guitar and atmospheric swirl. Subtleproduction highlights like piano, slide guitar, horns, bird song andrunning water exquisitely enhance the moods, often building up into awonder wall of sound. The album feels musically happy and upbeat, evenin the blues of "Channel Five". Wearing his heart on his sleeve, Bortneunabashedly confronts the confusion of love on "Sunshine Blues" and"Love Report". You gotta love the organ stabs, guitar soloing and BeachBoys-styled backing vocals of the infectiously giddy "Frank Furius"."Dark of Heartness" ends it all much like it began with "CaptainTrips", a longer track with several minutes of ambient decay/growth.Just another nugget from the Nordic frontiers. 
Over the last few years and few releases on Alien8, Substractif andForce-Inc., young Jirku has been pushing his music into deeperexplorations into post-glitch electro-dub. On this, his fourthfull-lengther, the sounds are simply phenomenal. Lazy beats,constructed from strong bass kick sounds and sharp high-end ticksperfectly compliment languid bass lines and simple keyboard loops. Thesame formula is repeated for different tracks of varying styles—somemore upbeat, like the beefy "Isothermal," or the somewhat harsh,downbeat "Isobaric." Unfortunately, as is the case with all of hisother albums, it goes on way too long. Around the half-way mark (36minutes into the album), the fascination experienced from the openingtracks begins to fade and I long for coffee-shop conversation orheavily drug-induced chill-out room experiences. This could indeed beconsidered "head music" instead of body music, as with listening,there's strong voices in my head telling me to do various things like"Go for a bike ride, Jon;" "Work on your screenplays, Jon;" "Get abetter sound system;" or the always popular, "Update some web pages,damnit!"
Imperial Teen started as the side project of Roddy Bottum, the keyboardplayer extraordinaire of Faith No More. It seemed, almost, that Bottumwas desperately trying to explore some pop rock roots with the band,because although Faith No More had their own hits with 'We Care a Lot'and later with 'Epic', they were definitely nota pop band by any means. So, Imperial Teen began, releasing two albumsthat were seemingly well received by journalists and audiences alike.Now, however, the game plan has changed a bit. Faith No More are nomore, and Bottum has nothing else to concentrate on, so the stops havebeen yanked out and the fun can begin. Hear me: "On" is Imperial Teenat their best, accentuating the pop sensibility while placing their ownkitschy stank on it, and all the while seeming to present it all withtongue planted firmly in cheek. Yes, this is a band that knows not totake itself too seriously, but still plays out the favorites for thereal fans. Things start strong on the CD, but really get underway by'Million $ Man', showing the true colors of the discotheque moment wellwhile including the flavor of the past. The presence and prescience ofproducer Anna Waronker (formerly of That Dog) is definitely felt, asthe pop has a gloss that carries her signature. Not that the band isoutdone or overshadowed by it: they have their own agenda. These songsare crisp, concise, and they make you tap your feet and sing out loudlike the whole world was your shower. It's the perfect rock record foryou to take to your summer cookout, and no one will criticize you foryour personal choice of hot dog. If you don't believe me, check out thepoppy sound samples for a little of that boy-girl harmony simplicity.More than likely not their best work, but certainly a step in the rightdirection.
It'll mostly be fans of Jarboe's contribution to the last few Swansalbums who'll want to get a hold of this. Although it is a collaborativework, the music being created by John Bergin and Brett Smith (ofc17h19no3, Trust Obey and Caul), it's Jarboe who makes her presence felt.The intention was to create a dark, minimal backdrop, over which Jarboewould be let loose to do her worst. This idea is where the album falls for me. After a few tracks it'sobvious the she's doing most of the work, letting the music becomedistant, which, given how her vocals violently divide people, is adangerous idea. I wish sometimes that she could take a back seat, butmost of the music is uninspired and straightfoward...maybe theirkeyboards are mysteriously broken in such a way as to only allow minorchords to be played, who knows? She is a strong and individual vocalist, and is on top form (lyricallyclose to the later Swans stuff "..you suffocate me honey..you'll destroyme, so now I lost you..") , but the unrelenting gloom seems synthetic andquite forced in places. There are some great moments, especially when they seem to be aware ofthis and try different approaches, like the drifting, washy effects onthe opener " The Conversion-Silent", the multi-layered vocals on sometracks, and the once or twice a real musical instrument pops up, but theyjust highlight how a warmer, less clinical approach would have added themuch needed layer of depth. A tour de force for Jarboe fans, though Ijust can't help thinking what could have been achieved had the music beenapproached with the same vitality and inventiveness.
Part of Staaplaat's rigorous CDR re-issue seres, Dan Burke's sonic mayhemnow can be yours at a reasonable price. As CDRs go, it's well producedand not really distinguishable from a regular CD. The title is apt, as the music is all over the place- in a good way.It's a bombardment from start to finish, never really letting up, andconstantly throwing new ideas and snatches of sound at you. He must havea warehouse somewhere filled with endless hours of tapes, and bits, andreels of forgotten films. Whereas any jackass with a sampler can throw endless cut-ups togetherinto and unearthly messy stew, it takes a fair amount of insight andcohesion to get it to work right, knowing when to introduce what, or howabstract sounds relate to each other. Dan Burke's the only musician I'veheard who uses volume as a musical instrument. It seems as important asthe choice of sounds, because he really knows how to build and keep uptension, something which is maintained and holds the thing together. Themost unnerving things are the long field-recordings, or static bits, cos'you can tell he's just waiting to puncture it with somethingear-shattering. Some of it does come-across like a horror-film, with thedirector an old hand at knowing when to pull back and when to throw inthe surprises.
Good music of any kind is a product of taste and restraint. It doesn'tmatter if you're working with a single contact mic or a fullorchestra—if you lack taste and restraint, you won't end up with decentresults. Unfortunately, this collaboration really lacks. I've enjoyedStorey's work in Zoviet France and Rapoon, so this was a let-down. Amyriad of samples and loops are employed, so it's a bit perplexing tofind an overwhelming sameness throughout. I think this arises from thefact that most of the loops seem identical in length, and resultingchunky rhythm confines it from ever going anywhere. Embarrassingcheesiness emerges in the poor attempts to inject a sense of placethrough the use of native music samples—sort of like dark ambient'sanswer to world music. Also troublesome is the appearance of datedsynth lines and choir voices. Poor sound quality plagues the wholething, and really flattens the sound. But I'm not sure that fullersound would make this any better. I would have enjoyed this much morehad it been stripped to a more subtle, minimal approach. There are someinteresting sounds here, but they are overwhelmed by the uninterestingones. At least some restraint was shown in limiting this release to 500copies.
Benjamin Diamond, the strangely overlooked vocalist behind the smashStardust hit "Music Sounds Better With You," has quietly been releasingsome excellent French house singles on his Diamond Traxx imprint.Having enjoyed his solo releases, I was pleased to discover this 12" ofelectro-disco from The Eternals, a group who previously recorded forDaft Punk robot Guy-Manuel's Crydamoure label. "Walk For Me" is a deep,groovy track of warm squelchy bass pads and retro drum hits. Aneffected vocal sample echoes the title of the song repeatedly,sometimes seeming to be a command, other times more of a request orplea. It becomes all too easy to get entranced and lost here. "TheAndromeda Gate" the B side picks the tempo up considerably withcomputer voices spouting statements and status reports over oddarpeggios, haunted synth lines, and a funktastic house beat. During thebreak, the machine seems to take control, but it cannot hold back thebeat for much longer. It's a bit kitschy, but there's definitely anaudience for it. Electroclash fans should keep in mind that beforeAmericans embraced the sound popularized by Fischerspooner and MissKittin (and renamed it for their own purposes), French groups like LesRythmes Digitales and Superfunk were already writing electro-tingedunderground club classics that bubbled over to the mainstream.Therefore, The Eternals aren't trying to jump on our bandwagon. Infact, they're astro pioneers in their own right.
Die Stadt has finally made this limited 12" picture disc available tothe world, originally released at the Mirror performances in April ofthis year. There are certain characteristics to be expected on MirrorLP releases: approximately 20 minutes of a drone graces each side whichcome in quietly, swell and then die softly. There is some sense ofbalance in all Mirror recordings, however, which has kept people likeme addicted and coming back for more. Fans might be alarmed to hear theamount of non-droning abrasive sounds contained herein. Joining thecore duo of Heemann and Chalk this time around is longtime friend andcollaborator Jim O'Rourke, a man who is either loved or hated it seems,with nobody simply on the fence. Subsequently, while the context issomewhat familiar, the sound is much different. Open microphones insidea room open the first side as the drones begin to be set into motion,silently. Perhaps it was a hot day in das haus von Heemann, as I couldswear I'm hearing an oscillating fan move back and forth while somebodyrustles through utensils in a kitchen drawer. The drones are low, slowand bell sounds are kept in the distance. Over time, faster,higher-pitched drones are layered in, vibrating almost like horn soundsor a quickly-bowed stringed instrument. The drones drift off andsuccumb to the microphone recordings. The bell sounds ring in thesecond side and once again join the proverbial drones, along with thetrain engine-mimicing sound of what could easily be breathing throughwind instrument mouthpieces. By the end of the second side, the droneshave taken over as the field recordings give in. Surprisingly enough,this release is limited to a whopping 400 copies! (Unlike previous livespecials occasionally found on eBay in the hundreds of dollars,...)
Three of the most well-known and talented musicians in modernelectronic music reunite to follow up their 1999 release 'The MagicSound of...'. Their newest collaborative effort once again allows thetrio to exhibit their respective distinct styles in a way that is bothamazingly well balanced and beautifully matched. The playfulness andhumor found in both Rehberg and O'Rourke's work is evident, and whencombined with Fennesz' skillful subtlety, create an uncanny convulsivebeauty. The four pieces on 'The Return of...' total just over 40minutes. The first two, "Floating My Boat" and "A Viennese Tragedy"exemplify the all-over decoupage nature of the album. A collage oftwitters and low tones are enmeshed in orchestral touches, which lend aquirky and charmingly outmoded element to the digital noises. "FloatingMy Boat" is a marriage of the slow and the frantic, while theaptly-titled "A Viennese Tragedy" has something melancholic in itsinsectival chirping, metallic and aerial blares, and sublime patches.Also prevalent on this track is a heavy use of organic sounds, and theassembly of all these elements gives the sensation of an adroitlycontrolled chaos, which continues into the third piece, "Riding Again".Along with the final track, "We Will Diffuse You", the album evolvesinto an understated ocean of drones, interspersed by occassionaltwitchy bursts. The album's impishly abrupt ending is also strangelysuitable. 'The Return of Fenn O'Berg', with the charactistic warmth andaccessibility of its collaborators is a welcome one amongst the all-toofrequent distant and overly academic leanings of some artists in therealm of the laptop. Thankfully, some of the most gifted in themicrosound genre have decided to venture outside the ivory tower.
Jim Thirwell's third album under the guise of Steroid Maximus is anepic, cinematic vacation from the razor-gargled industrial pound ofFoetus. The underlying thread of irreverent and sophisticated humor(throughout all of Thirwell's work) is immediately apparent in thealbum title's play against the Futurist (utopian) cover art. Ectopiameans "a morbid displacement of parts." Unsurprisingly, this mostlyinstrumental album splices a multitude of parts: unlikely genres,samples and sounds into a compelling collage. Various parts includestrains of horror strings, sci-fi theremin wailing, jazzy synths, 70'scop-chase rhythm piano, funk drums, whimsical toy whistles, ecstaticswing band crescendos, mournful operatic vocalizations, hawaiiansunrise, gypsy music, and even a straight-up sample of James Bondsuspense-moment near the end, just to name a few. One of my favoriteparts of the disc is "WM ," where a couple of shortwave radio samplesform a bouncy passage over tribal drums and xylophones. Thirwellclearly maintains his proclivity for cartoonish dynamism (he did abang-up cover of the classic Raymond Scott tune "Powerhouse" on 1992's'Gondwanaland'), as the pace rollercoasters throughout the disc's 52minutes. It's an energizing listen, and reminded me at times of IgorWakhevitch , or the soundtrack work of Goblin ('Suspiria', 'Dawn of theDead', etc) and Alain Goraguer ('Fantastic Planet'), with big bandsplash and modern synth lines. Someone needs to hurry up and hire thisguy to start scoring films—or maybe start making movies to go alongwith these soundtracks. 
This second full-length album from New York City's J-Live showcases an increasingly popular brand of hip-hop music: competent, decidedly independent and exciting like a standardized test. I picked up this album because it was touted as an Independent (with a capital "I") parallel to early De La Soul albums and I had heard some of his early tracks which were enjoyable and promising.
Sometimes I wonder when this market overflow of LPD and EKS materialwill lighten up and allow for the fans to catch up. Unfortunately whenthere's scarecely limited releases that spring up terribly often, thisis becoming an increasingly difficult task. Does the words "economicrecession" mean anything to psychotic record pimps like Chris McBeth?Limited to 600 copies, this super-thick LP is described as continuingwhat was introduced on the CD issued last year on World Serpent byKa-Spel, 'Cast O'Grey Skreens.' While the LP is broken up into oneside-long track on side A and two on side B, I personally feel themusic echoes an older style of solo EKS recordings, with whimsicalcalliope-esque music, loops and gorgeous drones, rather than thesomewhat recent trend: a hodgepodge of almost sketchwork-like songsstrewn together as one super-lengthy track. "An Ill Wind" opens with adull roar, builds, then quiets down to a tinkling piano melody, prettyenough to can give any old-school fan goose-bumps. What followsincludes more shimmery instruments swaying along with Edward's vocalpleadings for a miracle. Then comes the unavoidable build-up and returnto the quiet melody again, this time with more haunting coloration andblurring. Side B begins with the 11+ minute "O'Reilly's Comet," with adriving looped pulse which has almost become a signature rhythm for themore experimental loops the Dots are prone to. There are a few momentswhere it picks up to an excited pace, but the 4/4 clanging onpercussive sound effects becomes somewhat monotonous for the duration.Almost predictably, the monotony is overtaken by sheer beauty in the11+ minute closer, "Safer than the Open," where drones of reverberatedvoices are layered with arrhythmic sound effects which give way to athundering few beats, a drop, and a fantastic return with some trulystunning string sounds. If form is more important than function, actquick on this release, as the deluxe package includes loads of goodies,but it might be worthwhile to wait for a forthcoming CD release whichwill hopefully include the tracks from the limited accompanying 7"record and that 10" out last year. Come on, Chris, didn't your mom everteach you to share?
