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Although ostensibly a remix album, there is no need to be familiar with the source material to enjoy the remix work here. From what I gather, PureH are a successful electronic rock band out of Slovenia who invited a slew of electronic artists to rework a single track, "Signia." Not being familiar with the original track, I purposely avoided listening to the initial song to fully appreciate the remixes, which all vary greatly and, as a whole, make for strong, diverse tracks.
It is not hard to recall the all too brief existence of the so-called "isolationist" outgrowth of ambient music when looking at the artists charged with remixing PureH's track. Anyone who was listening to music of that ilk in the mid to late '90s (led by prolific artists such as Bill Laswell, Mick Harris, and Justin Broadrick) will recall names like Eraldo Bernocchi, P.C.M., D.J. Surgeon, and K.K. Null, who all appear on here. And along with these "big boys" there's a good mix of lesser known artists who show they have got the chops to hang with the established guys.
The established artists show that, some ten years after they first stepped on the scene (at least from this reviewer's perspective) they have largely refined and honed their work to stay contemporary, yet not alienate those who remember them from back in the day. K. K. Null takes the rather conventional sounding original material and pitch shifts it to a painful high end shriek as well as cutting up the rhythm section into dense, distorted loops that still allow a semblance of the original sound (via voical fragments and somewhat recognizable elements), but twists and turns it into pure sonic sadism in his "Signia Pagan" mix.
Another of the old recognizable names is the duo of P.C.M., who, though mostly limited to remixes and a single 12" on Mick Harris' old Possible label. They start out their "Signia Blue Waters Turn Black" mix with an opaque haze of thick reverb drenched loops that are met with a slow, monotone beat that eventually explodes into a hardcore blast of a drum n bass loop that plows through the mix like a pipe bomb. It has the manic intensity of vintage Squarepusher or Aphex Twin, but without the whimsical trappings and a sense of pure insanity. Unfortunately, Eraldo Bernocchi seems to have not developed his art as much as the others: while the dubby beat and subsonic bassline stay solid, there is simply less variation or development on here, and it's repetitive nature is among the gripes of artists from the time period.
The artists that I'm not quite as familiar with also hold their own among the big names. Chris Wood excerpts the electronic elements and tones from the original track and cuts them up with a high end skittering drum loop that morphs and changes throughout, making for an extremely dynamic track. Wodan takes the track for a more electro spin on "Signia H Light," throwing down an old school stiff monotone beat, swirled bass pastiches and an ordinate amount of distortion. Another unique take comes from Taiwanese artist MoShang, who uses the rock track as clay to sculpt into a light take on downtempo electronica, mixing in a hip-hop beat and additional samples. It's not really my thing, but it is well done. Clocking in at 16 minutes, Psychedelic Desert's "Signia Live Farce" mix comes across with good intentions, stripping the track down to only its most rudimentary sounds and tones, but over such a length it begins to drag and slow down. If it had been around the eight minutes that most of the other mixes were, it would have been a great contribution.
It is great to know that, even with my intentional abstention from checking out the original track, these artists can use that source material to design tracks that, while standing out on their own, still feel thematically linked by the occasional untreated elements of the original work coming through. Those who long for the days when dark textures mixed with hip-hop/jungle loops like peanut butter and chocolate will enjoy this stroll down memory lane. Now, to check out the original "Signia" track….
samples:
- Signia "Blue Waters Turn Black" (P.C.M. Mix)
- Signia "Ukwakha" (Chris Wood Mix)
- Signia "Live Farce Mix" (Psychedelic Desert Mix)
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Most of the discs that have been on Utech's ARC series have been consistently dark excursions in texture and noise. Never full on harshness akin to Merzbow, but generally bleak, almost punishing works (in the best possible sense). As it is drawing to a close, this seems to allow a bit of light to seep in, but only in the darkest shades of gray. Former Boredoms/Zeni Geva player Mitsuru manages to take a unique spin on the series that has a greater warmth and somewhat less density, but it is by no means inferior.
Book ended by the two-part "Mahhagogo" track, both of the parts open with Mitsuru and friends chanting the title before launching into a noise roar. While noisy, it isn't violently so—it is more of a humming, warm wall of distortion, like a forceful blast of hot air. Eventually the noise takes on the character of heavy blowing winds that have an alien, spacey quality to them, like being in the midst of a storm on Venus.
These beginning and end points of the album also make for the most challenging moments, as the middle are a little more comfortable and familiar. The untreated guitar playing of "Dust to Dust" is a bit jarring after the blast from before, but the gentle strums slowly give way to a building swell of feedback just a bit off from the mix that eventually grows to dominate and own the mix.
Also in the realms of conventional is the string plucking of "Tiovivo" that lend an almost spaghetti western soundtrack slant to the track. Honestly, this could almost be coming out of any coffee house in America if it weren't for the complex, dissonant guitar abuse that hides beneath the surface but slowly rears its ugly head to the point that it becomes the focus by the end. The title track is among the most bizarre of the disc, avoiding the plaintive guitar of the prior tracks and instead goes for the electronic treatment. The high pitched synth tones have a painful, tinnitus like sustain that stay the focal point from beginning to end, with more pulsing tones like radar beacons from deep, dark space.
The ARC series draws to its conclusion on a high note that is consistent with the previous releases. While there is a slightly different overall feel and vibe to Mitsuru's disc, it is by no means uncharacteristic of the series and is another fascinating installment. Why the Utech label isn't getting more recognition is a shame, and I hope the forthcoming fine art series that's planned helps to remedy this oversight.
samples:
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Not comfortable leaving well enough alone, living legend Richie Hawtin's preeminent minimal techno label drops one final compilation at the end of a year where the imprint appeared reinvigorated with a ramped-up activity level implying a surge in newfound capital. Contained within the eco-friendly packaging are all new tracks from seven dynamic artists on the roster, including one new high-profile addition.
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Here it is! The definitive list of lists. Why? Because it's the tenth year in a row that the readers nominated and voted! This is what you—not self-important hipsters or jaded old critics—picked, unaffected by the corporate ads and silly trends. 2007 was an amazing year for music, our poll had a ton of excellent entries, and once again, the cream has risen to the top.
Album of the Year
- Stars of the Lid, "And Their Refinement of the Decline" (Kranky)
"Brian McBride's and Adam Wiltzie's most doggedly serious recording to date. Compared to The Tired Sounds of... the music here is more direct, relying less on minutiae and emphasizing the power of their music as cleansing and consumptive. Their talent for drawing human qualities of what might be termed essentially un-human processes is impressive, both for its impact and for the consistency of that fact. That spilling over of emotional content requires the listener, though: this is not background music, it's far more exciting than that." - Lucas Schleicher
"This was a perfect album that grabbed me from the minute I heard it. It will be hard for Stars of the Lid (or anyone else) to better this." - John Kealy
"It is a completely unpredicted album to win: instrumental, quiet, slow, yet surprisingly versatile (this disc can be listened to at home, working, driving, going to sleep to, or just putting the headphones on and zoning out). Up until the middle of December, this 2xCD/3xLP set was rated by Metacritic as the most critically acclaimed album of 2007 Those fortunate enough to catch SOTL live know that with visuals it becomes a new level of experience." - Jon Whitney - Jesu, "Conqueror" (Hydra Head)
- Angels of Light, "We Are Him" (Young God)
- Throbbing Gristle, "Part Two: The Endless Not" (Mute)
- A Place To Bury Strangers, "A Place To Bury Strangers" (Killer Pimp)
- Burial, "Untrue" (Hyperdub)
- Grinderman, "Grinderman" (Mute)
- Om, "Pilgrimage" (Southern Lord)
- Einstürzende Neubauten, "Alles Wieder Offen" (Potomak)
- Panda Bear, "Person Pitch" (Paw Tracks)
- M.I.A., "Kala" (XL)
- Six Organs of Admittance, "Shelter from the Ash" (Drag City)
- Battles, "Mirrored" (Warp)
- Earth, "Hibernaculum" (Southern Lord)
- Boris with Michio Kurihara, "Rainbow" (Drag City)
- Caribou, "Andorra" (Merge)
- Deerhunter, "Cryptograms" (Kranky)
- Liars, "Liars" (Mute)
- LCD Soundsystem, "Sound Of Silver" (DFA)
- Animal Collective, "Strawberry Jam" (Paw Tracks)
- Boris with Merzbow, "Rock Dream" (Southern Lord)
- Faust and Nurse With Wound, "Disconnected" (Art-Errorist)
- Threshold HouseBoys Choir, "Form Grows Rampant" (Threshold House)
- Robert Wyatt, "Comicopera" (Domino)
- Shellac, "Excellent Italian Greyhound" (Touch & Go)
- Pan Sonic, "Katodivaihe" (Blast First)
- The Field, "From Here We Go to Sublime" (Kompakt)
- Einsturzende Neubauten, "Jewels" (Potomak)
- Low, "Drums and Guns" (Sub Pop)
- James Blackshaw, "The Cloud of Unknowing" (Tompkins Square)
- Thurston Moore, "Trees Outside The Academy" (Ecstatic Peace)
- Marissa Nadler, "Songs III: Bird on the Water" (Peacefrog)
- Iron and Wine, "The Shepherd's Dog" (Sub Pop)
- Volcano the Bear, "Amidst the Noise and Twigs" (Beta-lactam Ring)
- Blonde Redhead, "23" (4AD)
- Ghost, "In Stormy Nights" (Drag City)
- Deerhoof, "Friend Opportunity" (Kill Rock Stars)
- Beirut, "The Flying Club Cup" (Ba Da Bing!)
- Eluvium, "Copia" (Temporary Residence)
- Oren Ambarchi, "In The Pendulum's Embrace" (Touch)
- Wooden Shjips, "Wooden Shjips" (Holy Mountain)
- The National, "Boxer" (Beggars Banquet)
- Jesu, "Pale Sketches" (Avalanche)
- Akron/Family, "Love Is Simple" (Young God)
- Von Südenfed, "Tromatic Reflexxions" (Domino)
- El-P, "I'll Sleep When You're Dead" (Definitive Jux)
- Neurosis, "Given to the Rising" (Neurot Records)
- Sir Richard Bishop, "While My Guitar Violently Bleeds" (Locust)
- Do Make Say Think, "You, You're a History In Rust" (Constellation)
- Nadja, "Radiance of Shadows" (Alien8)
- Grails, "Burning Off Impurities" (Temporary Residence)
- Fennesz Sakamoto, "Cendre" (Touch)
- Nadja , "Touched " (Alien8)
- Kemialliset Ystävät, "Kemialliset Ystävät" (Fonal)
- Mogwai, "Zidane" (Pias)
- KTL, "2" (Editions Mego)
- Burning Star Core, "Blood Lightning 2007" (No Fun Productions)
- !!!, "Myth Takes" (Warp)
- Andrew Chalk, "The River That Flows Into the Sands II" (Faraway Press)
- Explosions in the Sky, "All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone" (Temporary Residence)
- Dälek, "Abandoned Language" (Ipecac)
- Yellow Swans, "At All Ends" (Load)
- Axolotl, "Memory Theater" (Important)
- Supersilent, "8" (Rune Grammofon)
- Irr. App. (Ext.), "Cosmic Superimposition" (Errata In Exelsis)
- Vic Chestnutt, "North Star Deserter" (Constellation)
- Whitehouse, "Racket" (Susan Lawly)
- The Tuss, "Rushup Edge" (Rephlex)
- To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie, "The Patron" (Kranky)
- Edward Ka-Spel, "Dream Logik Part 1" (Beta-Lactam Ring)
- Burning Star Core, "Operator Dead... Post Abandoned" (No Quarter)
- Chris Corsano / Mike flower, "Radiant Mirror" (Textile)
- Current 93, "Birdsong In The Empire (live in Toronto 2005)" (Durtro Jnana)
- Lichens, "Omns" (Kranky)
- Nadja, "Thaumagenesis " (Archive)
- Svarte Greiner, "Knive" (Type)
- Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O., "Crystal Rainbow Pyramid Under the Stars" (Important)
- High On Fire, "Death Is This Communion" (Relapse)
- Sir Richard Bishop, "Polytheistic Fragments" (Drag City)
- William Basinski, "El Camino Real" (2062)
- Richard Youngs, "Autumn Response" (Jagjaguwar)
- Wolves In the Throne Room, "Two Hunters" (Southern Lord)
- Colleen, "Les Ondes Silencieuses" (Leaf)
- Holy Fuck, "LP" (Young Turks)
- Merzbow, "Merzbear" (Important)
- Robin Guthrie and Harold Budd, "After the Night Falls" (Darla)
- Raccoo-oo-oon, "Behold Secret Kingdom" (Release the Bats)
- The Dead C, "Future Artists" (Ba Da Bing!)
- Charalambides, "Likeness" (Kranky)
- Electralene, "No Shouts, No Calls" (Too Pure)
- Richard Youngs, "Autumn Response" (Jagjaguwar)
- Magik Markers, "Boss" (Ecstatic Peace!)
- Carter Tutti, "Feral Vapours of the Silver Ether" (Divine Frequency)
- The Fall, "Reformation Post T.L.C." (Narnack)
- No Age, "Weirdo Rippers" (Fat Cat)
- Konono No. 1, "Live at Couleur Café" (Crammed Discs)
- Robin Guthrie and Harold Budd, "Before the Day Breaks" (Darla)
- Jens Lekman, "Night Falls Over Kortedala" (Secretly Canadian)
- Diana Rogerson, "The Lights Are On But No-One's Home" (United Jnana)
- Sutcliffe Jugend, "This Is the Truth" (Ground Fault/Hospital Productions)
"Light years beyond Burial's remarkable dystopian 2006 debut, the comparatively apocalyptic Untrue is easily one of the greatest LPs I have ever owned. Infused with a paranoid version of quiet storm soul, his music taps into those desperate late night hours felt by so many young brokenhearted men sitting shivering in the dark. An album worth dying to." - Gary Suarez
"Nick Cave and a few of the Bad Seeds decide to lose some of the pretense that may have peaked on Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus and dive headlong into scuzzy garage rock. And it works, very well. While it may be a bit amateurish at times and overwrought, it doesn't lack the humor and irony Cave is so good at." - Creaig Dunton
"Panda Bear uses the most basic elements (vocal harmonies, one or two samples), to create lush, melancholy suites. The mood is far more mature than what Animal Collective has been doing this past few years." - Matt Spencer
"A Place To Bury Strangers was unexpected a blow to the head. Where the fuck did Killer Pimp find this lot?" - Scott McKeating
"2007 was Jesu's year. There wasn't a band I was happier to be a fan of than Jesu this year, and Conqueror was a big reason for that." - Matthew Jeanes
"If only every band would mature as gracefully as Einstürzende Neubauten. I think this is their pop opus, catchy and up-beat, but still, undeniably, Neubauten." - Michael Barrett
Single/EP of the Year
- Sunn O))), "Oracle" (Southern Lord)
- Joanna Newsom , "And the Ys Street Band" (Drag City)
- Burial, "Ghost Hardware" (Hyperdub)
- Wire, "Read & Burn 03" (Pink Flag)
- Deerhunter, "Fluorescent Grey" (Kranky)
- Sigur Ros, "Hvarf/Heim" (XL)
- Michael Cashmore, "The Snow Abides" (Durtro Jnana)
- Jesu, "Sun Down/Sun Rise " (Aurora Borealis)
- Jesu, "Lifeline" (Hydra Head)
- Fovea Hex, "Allure" (Die Stadt)
- Jesu/Eluvium Split 12" (Temporary Residence/Hydra Head)
- Beirut, "Elephant Gun" (Ba Da Bing!)
- Scott Walker, "And Who Shall Go To The Ball? And What Shall Go To The Ball?" (4AD)
- Current 93, "Black Ship In The Underworld" (Durtro Jnana)
- Bonnie "Prince" Billy, "Lay & Love" (Drag City)
- Battles, "Tonto" (Warp)
- Animal Collective, "Peacebone" (Domino)
- Cloudland Canyon, "Silver Tongued Sisyphus" (Kranky)
- A Hawk and a Hacksaw, "And the Hun Hangar Ensemble" (Leaf)
- The Hafler Trio, "Who Gave You the Ability to Envision Perfection?" (Korm Plastics)
- Wooden Shjips, "Loose Lips/Start To" (Sub Pop)
- Grizzly Bear, "Friend" (Warp)
- Astral Social Club, "Super Grease" (Important)
- Gescom, "A1 - D1" (Skam)
- Strategy, "Future Rock" (Community Library)
"Through the two long tracks on Oracle, Sunn O))) manages to both recall their breakthrough Black One album as well as show the more abstract, musique concrete tendencies that have been developing recently. It shows the progression from the monotone Earth 2 aping of the earlier work into the more experimental leanings. Plus, it has Joe Preston playing a mean jackhammer." - Creaig Dunton
"In 2003, when Brainwashed bestowed upon the post-punk pioneers its Lifetime Achievement Award, I cheekily asked "Who's Wire?" Read & Burn 03 is more than a reminder of their potency and craft, and hopefully a preview of even greater things to come." - Gary Suarez
"Fluorescent Grey proved Deerhunter were as competent at writing hooks and melodies as soundscapes and grooves. Despite the hype driven mythology and biographical speculation, they were just a good pop/rock band." - Matt Spencer
"Joanna Newsom managed to record the sound of her touring band without sacrificing the songs. Great pun too, there weren't enough puns in 2007" - Scott McKeating
"I'll take just about anything from Joanna Newsom but this single was a particularly nice offering that got away from the long, wonderful stories of Ys and back to some fun, simple songwriting." - Matthew Jeanes
"I was expecting a Bruce Springsteen cover, but I got "Colleen" instead. Most pleasant surprise of the year. I think I played that song 800 times in a row before I got sick of it and now and again I still find the time to enjoy Newsom's pleasant little vocal noises." - Lucas Schleicher
Old/Vault/Reissue
- Current 93, "The Inmost Light" (Durtro Jnana)
- Nurse With Wound, "Homotopy to Marie" (United Jnana)
- Joy Division, "Unknown Pleasures: Remastered and Expanded" (Rhino)
- Fennesz, "Endless Summer" (Touch)
- Nico, "The Frozen Borderline: 1968-1970" (Rhino)
- Labradford, "Prazision LP" (Kranky)
- Nurse With Wound, "Insect and Individual Silenced" (Raash)
- Kevin Drumm, "Sheer Hellish Miasma " (Mego Editions)
- Nurse With Wound, "Gyllensköld, Geijerstam and I at Rydberg's" (United Jnana)
- The Pop Group, "Y" (Rhino)
- Seefeel, "Quique" (Too Pure)
- Foetus, "Nail" (Some Bizzare)
- William Basinski, "Shortwavemusic" (2062)
- Test Dept., "The Unacceptable Face of Freedom" (Some Bizzare)
- Tim Hecker, "Radio Amor" (Alien8)
- Skullflower, "IIIrd Gatekeeper" (Crucial Blast)
- Andrew Chalk, "Goldfall" (Faraway Press)
- Peter Brotzmann Octet, "The Complete Machine Gun Sessions" (Atavistic)
- Jack Rose, "Jack Rose" (Tequila Sunrise)
- Mimir, "Mimir" (Streamline)
- Laurie Anderson, "Big Science" (Nonesuch)
- Sun Ra, "The Night of the Purple Moon" (Atavistic)
- Pere Ubu , "Cloudland" (Umvd Import)
- Cranes , "Wings of Joy" (Cherry Red UK )
- V/A, "Twin Peaks - Music from Season Two and More" (Absurda)
"The Inmost Light is a perfect reissue package. No unnecessary bonus material and elegantly presented. This is still a haunting and gorgeous collection." - John Kealy
"One of my first encounters back in the late '80s with the industrial scene was with Nurse With Wound and Steven Stapleton, I still listen occasionally to some of the early material such as Insect and Individual Silenced, Gyllensköld, Geijerstam and I at Rydberg's, and Homotopy to Marie. It is no surprise that they are still as fresh and innovative (AND influential) today as they were then. I am glad that these three particular albums have been reissued, given the prices early NWW material fetches. It is nice to think that through them a whole new generation of appreciative listeners can sample material that was (and still is) very much ahead of its time." - Simon Marshall-Jones
"Y typifies the musical adventurousness of post punk that's usually lost on revival acts." - Matt Spencer
Boxed Set
- V/A, "Broken Flag: A Retrospective 1982 - 1985" (Vinyl on Demand)
- Lee Perry & The Upsetters, "Ape-Ology" (Trojan)
- Robyn Hitchcock, "I Wanna Go Backwards" (Yep Roc)
- Asmus Tietchens, " 4K7" (Vinyl on Demand)
- Magnolia Electric Co., "Sojourner" (Secretly Canadian)
- Mike Tamburo, "Language of the Birds and Other Fantasies" (New American Folk Hero)
- V/A, "Mute Audio Documents" (Mute)
- V/A, "Wattstax" (Stax)
- V/A, "King Jammy's Selector's Choice Volumes 1-4" (VP)
- V/A, "People Take Warning!" (Tompkins Square)
"Dancehall has rarely received the level of collector's appreciation that roots reggae enjoys, despite the fact that the sound continues to progress magnificently while unquestionably reigning supreme in Jamaica. King Jammy's groundbreaking contribution to this music cannot be measured, but this lovingly prepared eight disc collection of his production work takes a vital step towards rightfully legitimizing his legacy." - Gary Suarez
"I have no idea how Jason Molina pulls off touring either solo or Magnolia Electric Co. as much as he does and can still find time to write and record some of the greatest rock songs of our time. Unlike most items which are sort of billed as releases for the hardcore fans, Sojourner was a remarkable value—three full CDs of music; one CDEP; and one 20-minute DVD; wrapped in a box with a die cast metal piece—and there isn't a musical mis-step anywhere on it. The only reason I think this didn't make as many top lists this year is because Secretly Canadian probably invested way too much in the set to hand out any promos." - Jon Whitney
"Death and survival: It's hard to think of a more compelling theme to base a compilation, and reminder of just how tough people were in face of adversity." - Matt Spencer on People Take Warning!
"Jason Molina is a criminally unrecognized musician. This box sets the last couple of albums in a clearer light and proves that Molina should release more of what is laying around in his closet. Whereas some musicians sacrifice quality control and release everything they put on tape, Molina does the opposite much to my dismay. If only there were more Magnolia Electric Co. in the world." - Lucas Schleicher
Music Video
- Six Organs of Admittance, "Shelter from the Ash"
Photographed by Aaron Platt
Featuring Bryn Phillips
Directed by Cam Archer - Battles, "Atlas"
- Stars of the Lid, "Apreludes (In C sharp Maj.)"
- Grinderman, "No Pussy Blues"
- Panda Bear, "Bros"
- LCD Soundsystem, "Someone Great"
- LCD Soundsystem, "All My Friends"
- Liars, "Plaster Casts of Everything"
- M.I.A., "Boyz"
- Low, "Hatchet"
- Low, "In Silence"
- A Place To Bury Strangers, "I Know I'll See You"
- Caribou, "Melody Day"
- Battles, "Tonto"
- Low, "Breaker"
- M.I.A., "Jimmy"
- Low, "Belarus"
- Beirut, "Elephant Gun"
- Grinderman, "Electric Alice"
- M.I.A., "Bird Flu"
- LCD Soundsystem, "North American Scum"
- Liars, "Houseclouds"
- Von Sudenfed, "Fledermaus Can't Get It"
- To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie, "The Man with the Shovel, Is the Man I'm Going To Marry"
- Deerhunter, "Strange Lights"
"A combination of the availability of affordable equipment, popularity of YouTube, and video iPods has brought the music video back from being on the endangered list. There are amazing works of art being created right now that are ripe for more recognition. In the coming years I would like to see music videos in more places: in between programs on movie channels; at rock clubs between acts; or even movie theaters before the coming attractions when people are getting seated. The potential is definitely here." - Jon Whitney
"M.I.A. has single handedly made me feel bad about owning a closet of mostly black clothes. Boyz also made me hate my penis." - Lucas Schleicher
Recording label of the Year
This poll category numbers were tabulated from total points given to their collective total of releases.
- Important
- Kranky
- Beta-lactam Ring
- Mute
- DFA
- Temporary Residence
- Jnana (with Durtro/Jnana and United Jnana)
- Drag City
- Sub Pop
- Thrill Jockey
"The real winners are the artists who make Important Records what it is. Obviously, it wouldn't be possible without them. 2007 was a great year for Important and 2008 looks like it's going to be even better." - John Brien, Important Records
Artist of the Year
This poll category numbers were also tabulated from total points of their new releases.
- Jesu
- LCD Soundsystem
- Andrew Liles
- Nadja
- Stars of the Lid
"Justin Broadrick finally does what he has been hinting at for much of his career and meshes the lush experimentation of '90s shoegaze with his penchant for slow, pounding metal. It was an extremely prolific year." - Creaig Dunton
"Two albums ranking in the top 50, three singles ranking in the top 15, and two world tours. Justin Broadrick has put out more music in one year and done more shows than some bands have done in their entire career." - Jon Whitney
Lifetime Achievement Recognition: Einstürzende Neubauten
As chosen by the Brainwashed staff and contributors.
"They haven't stopped raising the bar from themselves (and usually used the bar on some piece of metal to make a rhythm). In 27 years they have released over 20 studio albums, each one mapping a new musical topography and each one reflecting a different facet of their home city at a given moment in time. They are heavy but tender, loud but restrained, danceable but intelligent, clever but not too pretentious and most importantly consistently brilliant." - John Kealy
"Too amazing to live in the shadow of Nick Cave, Blixa Bargeld somehow figured out how to go from an acned noisemonger into one of the most formidable frontmen alive. Romantically nuanced yet enigmatically charismatic, the former Bad Seed thankfully continues to lead this amazing band of experimentalists softly down a creative road not yet travelled." - Gary Suarez
"Rather than stagnating with their sound, they continue to evolve and develop and still manage to be as frightening, captivating, playful, and overall entertaining as they were back in the Stahlversion days. The subscription model they’ve also employed in the past few years is also revolutionary in the amount of fan interaction that takes place. It’s great to see a band that does realize it was the fans who got them to where they were and continue to support them" - Creaig Dunton
"Their music, their uncompromising approach to making it and their sheer tenacity plus the continuing drive to innovate and forge new paths means that, unlike many in the ‘music’ scene today, their name (however difficult to get your tongue around) will always be associated with fresh new musical explorations and directions." Simon Marshall-Jones
"It's hard to argue against Neubauten: the consumate innovators and experimenters. For a band who could probably coast on the value of their brandmark alone, Neubauten continues to take risks, and that's what the best artists always do." - Matthew Jeanes
"From their raw junk yard racket of Kollaps to the symphonic din of Perpetuum Mobile and now the off kilter pop of Alles Wieder Offen, EN continually destroyed what was in front of them, and left behind better, more beautiful things. For nearly 30 years, "Destroying New Buildings" has not only been an appropriate name, but a credo that they have stood by, and surpassed any expectations of." - Michael Barrett
"One of the most inventive bands ever and the only one capable of serenading me with a chainsaw, sand, and power tools. I would like a song employing a yankee screwdriver, however. You know, for the sake of completion. I still find myself listening to records released throughout their career and that in and of itself says a lot. Many bands have periods of real inspiration and genius, but EN's entire career captivates me. I wonder how you spell integrity in German." - Lucas Schleicher
The Absolutely Worst Album of the Year
These were the most negatively rated full-length albums in this year's poll.
- Dntel, "Dumb Luck" (Sub Pop)
- Stars, "Do You Trust Your Friends?" (Arts & Crafts)
- Console, "Mono" (Indigo)
- Supermayer, "Save The World" (Kompakt)
- Puscifer, "V is for Vagina" (Puscifer Enternainment)
- Der Blutharsch, "The Philosopher's Stone" (WKN)
- Von Thronstahl , "Sacrificare" (Fasci-Nation Recordings )
- Therion, "Gothic Kabbalah" (Nuclear Blast)
- Hella, "There's No 666 In Outer Space" (Ipecac)
- Devendra Banhart, "Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon" (XL)
"Supermayer was absolute fucking garbage. I couldn't believe that anyone seriously enjoyed this atrocious, unfocused effort from two of contemporary techno's most celebrated producers. Thankfully, enough of you fine readers agreed with me that this polished turd deserves our collective scorn." - Gary Suarez
"Dnterrible" - Jon Whitney
"Puscifer is a side project of Maynard James Keenan, even with Tool beginning to sound worse with every release its surprising how awful this album really is. Even the black-baked production can't cover this multitude of half-ideas. Shoot him before he fills up his audio scraps collection again." - Scott McKeating
"Dumb Luck was bad enough to break one of the CD players at the radio station." - Lucas Schleicher
Thanks again to all who participated and we wish you the best for 2008.
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Beginning like a collection of sellotaped Lee Perry 'before the band arrived' loops, Chainsaw cultivates a very obvious outsider vibe. With an unfledged guitar technique that he uses to strum out half-lost echoed melodies, the music sounds like a rambling weirded-out blurb.
Phased strings clog with rainwater are wrapped up in magnetic tape, Joey Chainsaw's music is the epitome of hands on: and there is dirt under those nails. This very un-pretentious, but wobbly record, sounds like the result of play/record numerous sessions. Post-production is for the sane.
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This is a reissue of a reissue, the original version of consolidated Burning Witch's two releases onto one CD. This new version splits them onto separate discs and includes other tracks recorded at the time that ended up on split releases with Goatsnake and Asva. Considering Burning Witch releases are now nigh on impossible to find, it is a good job Southern Lord have made this (rather lovely looking) package. The music is heavy beyond heavy; by the end of the two discs I am left with a feeling of having pushed a boulder up a hill for eternity and thinking that eternity is not long enough.
The first CD features the Towers… album along with "The Bleeder," which was recorded during the same sessions. Listening to this now is still an experience, extreme metal has not really moved on from the treacle black dirge of this album. Stephen O'Malley may have refined the formula along with the other members of Khanate but the blueprints are all roughly the same. There is a heavy dose of Norwegian black metal in the sound but combined with the brute, slow force of Swans; the mood is crushing, bleak and darker than the charred remains of a burnt witch. There is little evidence of the Sabbath worship that most doom bands go in for, the riffs are colossal but cut from a completely different form of rock than Tony Iommi etches his out of.
Fossils that would later evolve into Sunn O))) riffs can be heard on "Sacred Predictions": the gruelling chug that propels the track sounding like the precursor to the caveman riffs of The Grimmrobe Demos. Steve Albini captures the monstrous power of the music; the drums are immense, like they are bursting through reality, and the vocals rip through the mix like a razor. "Sea Hag" is this disc's best point, nearly a quarter of an hour of sludgy despair. Edgy 59's vocals sound more like the cries of the tormented than a living human and it is impossible not to feel uneasy during this song.
The second CD contains the material from the Rift.Canyon.Dreams sessions where Burning Witch change drummers to continue the bludgeoning. These songs have never quite hit me in the same way as those from Towers…, to say that Burning Witch became formulaic is wrong but that is the closest I can come to expressing my feelings on Rift.Canyon.Dreams. That being said, the group still absolutely slay all pretenders to the throne. The over-long "Stillborn" does take the wind out of this disc's sails, killing the atmosphere that is built up on Towers… but luckily "History of Hell (Crippled Lucifer)" finds the group pummelling their instruments (and vocal chords) to create a fantastic slab of doom.
Burning Witch remain as potent today as they were a decade ago. In fact they sound more potent now as they highlight how weak many metal bands are in comparison. Sunn O))) and Boris may have opened up the doors for a whole new generation of extreme metal fans but Crippled Lucifer will open up the gates to an underworld they did not know existed. This is a remarkable collection of recordings that has deserved the reissue treatment for some time. I knew what to expect but for a newcomer, this will blow their ears off. If it was not an old release this would instantly be my album of the year.
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With Heather Leigh turning her pedal steel loose on audiences across Europe, this live disc is more sonically aggressive than her previous releases. In performance Heather might have usually sat static at her pedal steel tearing at the strings, but the sounds still have the ability to rear up and forward like some venom sluicing cobra. Her evolution towards something between the state of song and primacy continues, but this time with sinews motorized by force.
Murray's music always brings to mind the idea of sinew, of something organic and muscular but twisted and reformed in a funhouse mirror. "It Dreamed To Me" is a howl, a tone screaming tail lash where treble and Murray merge. The phosphorescent glow of this amalgam pulls at time like strings of chewing gum, Murray delivering pre-folk modes of song. This unconscious primal lament turns to irrational rant, a disorientating swoon of psychedelic shimmer. This opener also features a respite of harmonica playing, the sound rooted to both the desert states of America and of the mind.
Americana is also present in the title of "Railroad Flats," a piece of straight up gone and a paean to slo-mo drowning. This blistering purge of creased light is a turned up roar, drowning out the world in a Haino overdrive. This lengthy tract of split blood and tension is probably her heaviest molten metal yet. Beginning with solo vocals, "Alto Purus Mashco Piro" is the odd lulling warmth of an instrument born for war. This choral melody is soon violated by the falling rain streaks of the accompanying pedal notes. While it is certainly loud, it is not fierce as it predecessor, relying more on tolling play than eye boiling.
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Dark, brooding music from Norway usually involves corpse paint and an obscure relationship with Satan or other so-called dark forces; indeed, restraint and delicacy are hard to come by in the world of spiked gauntlets and troll vocalists. On the other hand, bands like Ulver write albums like Shadows of the Sun, demonstrating that fragile arrangements and understatement are often more oppressive than any heavy-handed guitar riff.
Jester
Ulver have been reinventing themselves over the past 14 years, providing substantially varied records that would please everyone from the black metal enthusiast to the Vangelis junky. When the band's reach exceeds its grasp, the results are shaky at best, but when their focus overrides any tendency towards flamboyance, they're just as likely to seem brilliant. Shadows of the Sun represents their brilliance; despite a number of contributors and a string quartet, this record is ascetic and tightly knit. It resonates and hums meditatively, avoiding bombast in favor of careful dynamics and subtle crescendos. The environment of sound they build over 40 minutes is lethargic and murky, beginning with the icy "Eos." The simple melody of a cathedral-like organ burns slowly beneath Kristoffer Rygg's half-whispered, half-sung vocals before Pamelia Kurstin's beautiful theremin playing elevates the song and adds an oddly enchanting quality to it. By the time the string quartet has entered, it is difficult to distinguish the various instruments from each other as they all breathe together and create an immense gravity that gives the song an almost religious quality.
"Eos" makes the plain this album's strongest and weakest points. The arrangements are, from start to finish, elegant and simple without ever being dull. The lyrics, however, always leave a little to be desired. Rygg's voice is a pleasant tenor, but his poetry is sometimes over-simple and sometimes outright silly. As a human instrument he adds a priceless depth to many of the record's best songs (especially "All the Love"), but as a man of words he often fails to invoke much more than romantic idealism or youthful wonder. Nevertheless, songs such as "Vigil" call to mind hopeless scenarios and impossible odds rather than the vibrancy of life. "Vigil" in particular utilizes chanted vocals and edited sounds to evoke desolation and destruction; Christian Fennesz's contributions to the track are well-employed. As the tension of that track breaks, the swirling title track takes over and establishes a stasis that would not be as effective if it weren't for the way the band arranged these songs and drew them together.
Also of note is the band's exemplary cover of Black Sabbath's "Solitude." With melody and rhythm intact, Ulver take the song apart piece by piece and reassemble it with war drums, ravaged vocal chords, and a muted trumpet performance that speaks of more loneliness and pain than any flute ever could. I had not paid any attention to the tracklisting the first time I listened to this and when the cover came on it was both a shock and a welcome surprise. It fits in with the rest of the record and though it is perhaps the most conventionally arranged song on the album, it almost comes as a relief. The familiar bass line breaks up the suffocating elements of the record and give it a liveliness it would not have without the cover. The final songs are filled with extended string notes and bass-heavy piano performances that are as crushing as Sabbath's heaviest riffs; it is an uneasy ending to a record, but a fitting one. As morose as these songs are, I find myself returning to them over and over again. Gloom-ridden as it is, Shadows of the Sun is a spellbinding blend of careful composition and exact production.
samples:
- All the Love
- Vigil
- Solitude (Black Sabbath cover)
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Back in 1993, Inade released Burning Flesh on two cassettes which immediately made an impression on the underground music scene, with its blackest of black dark ambient sketches and soul-crushing gloom, and established the reputation and credentials of the two protagonists René Lehmann and Knut Enderlein. The follow-up, Aldebaran, originally released in 1996 equally caused something of a commotion when news of its imminent reissue–in a new third, unlimited, edition–emerged earlier this year. For those of us who missed it the first time around, myself included, this has been something of a much anticipated release.Aldebaran is eight tracks of gloriously gloomy and hellish doom ambience lasting for over an hour. Mikael Stavöstrand’s Inanna had also explored similar territory around the same time, but Inade had brought the genre to a pitch of perfection with this release; the duo floated to the top of the black pool that is the dark ambient genre and their reputation became totally entrenched, both in terms of their vision and the quality of the releases.
Aldebaran is based around the German Vril Society of the interwar years and their myths concerning the star. It was considered to be the Black Sun of the Secret Knowledge, in other words, unadulterated spiritual power. According to their doctrines the origin of that universal spirituality emanated from this very star—along with the human race—but given the later developments in German interwar politics and with the creation of organisations such as the Vril and Thule Societies the malign aspects of so-called 'spiritual' power became all too apparent.
With this in mind, there is, above all, a vast freezing coldness bestriding the entire album, a reflection of that malignity and the cold stretches of airless space in the gulf between our supposed origins and our home perhaps. It must be supposed that members of this society lamented the separation from their 'brethren' and that they keenly felt that separation. On here it is captured in that very freezing coldness to perfection. In keeping with history's view of later events, a streak of hidden malice runs through this, with walls of solid black tones, pulsating waves of bitterness, crushing explosions of noise, wails and voices dragged from the very depths of hell itself, along with blanketing swathes of night-encrusted hatred, alien skitterings echoing in dank cathedral spaces and, brooding over all, a coldly calculating demonic intelligence that is the inhuman heartbeat of the album. The word uplifting could never be applied to this release, the malicious vein of misanthropy is almost a tangible force that beats you around the head.
Just like any other type of music there are those whose output is merely competent and workmanlike. There's no pretence at originality—simply taking what others have done and regurgitating it—and they offer nothing ground-breaking. Inade however were forging a new style then, pushing the envelope to use the vernacular, and even today, nearly 12 years later and with all the developments within the genre during that time, it still feels fresh and innovative and can hold its own. I can almost guarantee that the same will hold true of Aldebaran in another 12 year's time.
samples:
- Signals from 68 Dimensions part I
- The Crushing of Earthly Foundations part I
- The End of the Beginning part I
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All the trademark stylings and sensibilities that have helped to propel Masami Akita's name to the top of the list of respected noise artists are here in abundance on this single 41:29 track CD, released on No Fun's own No Fun Productions label and wrapped in a gorgeous cover drawn by Akita himself.
Within those 41 minutes and 29 seconds is everything from explosions of harsh electronic grind, bursts of whispering static, and grating insectoid rasping; to screeching feedback, thick washes of overwhelming wall-of-noise blasts, siren wails, and rhythmic pulsing. The real trick though that makes this a successful release is the artfulness with which Akita constructs the piece. Rather than assaulting the ears with a constant barrage of barely listenable noise he has layered his material in such a way as to keep the listener constantly engaged, sculpting his creation carefully and precisely. I normally have to be 'in the mood' to listen to extreme noise, but a mark of the quality of Akita's music on this live recording is that I never once found myself thinking "When is this going to end?". Instead, I followed the constantly evolving musical landscape unfolding avidly, as well as the twists and turns, the building and breaking down. What's more—and this for me is something of a litmus test of quality—I can listen to this repeatedly and find something new every time.
I admit I'm a fan; I find Merzbow's music a form of sonic alchemy and Akita having been around for nigh on three decades—and having released somewhere in the region of 300 or more albums in that time—he has had the time to finely hone his craft and get to know the essences of his base materials. The finesse with which he marshals, molds, and creatively manipulates the lead of the raw sounds, finally transmuting them into the gold of his art is, for me, astonishing. Most of us go out of our way to avoid noise in our daily lives but artists such as Merzbow encourage us to look at noise in a different way, to embrace it and see it as a thing of beauty. That is what good art SHOULD do.
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This Portland, Maine based group are members of art-punk-prog-chaos collective Cerberus Shoal along with North East Indie labelmate Micah Blue Smaldone reinvented as a kind of mutant 'bluegrass/folky' quintet using traditional instruments (plus a few unusual ones) such as upright bass, banjo, piano, harmonium, and accordion in addition to harmonized vocals. This is anything but traditional bluegrass or folk, however, as there's a distinctly uneasy edge and fractured sense of reality bordering on dark psychedelia that removes it a million miles from the mainstream forms of those genres, while also acknowledging the debt owed to those uniquely American styles of music.
This is a Web site/live gig only release and comes in beautiful handmade packaging: an original piece of artwork by band member Colleen Kinsella and printed on good quality card stock while the lyrics and credits are printed on vellum. According to the Young God Web site Michael Gira—who also shared production credits with FoF's Caleb Mulkerin—has "an adamant belief in the music" and, to be blunt, I couldn't agree with him more.
This is startlingly haunting, atmospheric, shimmering, and scintillating music, channeling directly into the true heart of life and America, in much the same way as Britain's dark folk current does, scratching beneath the surface glitz and glamor to the hidden and unvarnished every day. Mulkerin's tremulous voice, reminding me of Neil Young without the nasally whine, is a perfect foil for the themes of liberty betrayed, life, death, the curse of old age, and amnesia. Running through each of the five songs is a frisson of edgy tension between the deliciously dark and poetic lyrics—often sung in male/female harmonization—that contrast sharply with the musical backdrop of picked banjos, guitar, piano, and simple percussion. I had shivers running up and down my spine, such was the effect of these offbeat tales of modern life.
Love, loss, friendship, pain, and just the plain old job of getting on with living: it's all there in buckets and delivered with an uncomplicated passion and, moreover, a simplicity that's refreshing. This is, quite simply, a breathtakingly beautiful set of songs.
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