Important Records
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.
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.
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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.
