RECORDS CONT.
also by Larry "Fuzz-O" Dolman
BLACK
FOREST/BLACK SEA: Radiant Symmetry CD (LAST
VISIBLE DOG)
Representing
the other Olneyville, Rhode Island, Black Forest/Black
Sea are not a crazy costumed noise rock band -- they're one
of them new psych folk bands you keep hearing about! I'm surprised
to say that this is my introduction to them, other than the
one comp track on The Invisible Pyramid, because
a lot of people seem to like 'em -- at least, their self-titled
debut CD went out of print rather quickly. And so far I like
'em too. Melancholy free improvisation that is built around
classical sad melodies instead of the more in-vogue sound
and noise. But of course, there's tons of sound and noise
in there too, because each track stretches from melodies into
sound and noise and back, it's just the formulas and progressions
that mysteriously change. All tracks are from live shows on
a Spring 2004 European tour, and feature the group's core
duo of Miriam Goldberg (cello, omnichord, voice) and Jeffrey
Alexander (guitar, banjo, omnichord). Three tracks are just
the two of 'em (including one of the very best, #4, recorded
in Newcastle upon Tyne, England), but the other six feature
guests. For two fine tracks, recorded in Tampere, Finland,
they are joined by that town's resident jam maven Jan Anderzén,
and track #9 "Talbot Hotel, Stoke-on-Trent 4/11/04"
is a real beaut, a rolling and unfolding series of yearning
improvised major chords, filled out by the "electric
tamboura, harmonium, percussion" of guest Harry Sumnall.
Reminds
me of the Charalambides song "Joy Shapes" (which
makes sense because Christina Carter Madonia of the Charalambides
has also played with Black Forest/Black Sea).
GUTTERS
CDR (YEAY! CASSETTES)
Um,
is it okay if I think this band is better than Big Black?
I only ask because they're kind of from that era and are no-doubt
similar to Big Black, right down to the drum machine, the
tin shrapnel guitar flare-ups, and the disaffected/affected
suburbane white guy vocals. But the differences are key --
where the Big Black guitars were trebly, shredding, and speedy,
Gutters mute the tones and play in a somber style. In fact,
it's more like Joy Division, and that includes the vocals.
But anyway, who the hell are/were Gutters? Well, they were
an unknown Western Mass. band of suburbane nihilists who put
out one cassette back in 1992, here given the 'deluxe CDR
reissue' treatment, complete with jewel case and booklet with
liner notes and lyrics. Indeed, the Gutters seem to have been
much-loved by those few who loved them -- maybe everyone who
bought their cassette went on to form a band! Guitarist Bill
Shafer is excellent, and the real hero is the singer Adam
Rachie. You've gotta hear the way he opens the first song,
"She's A Killer," in an inimitable pissed deadpan:
"Fucking kill / Likes to kill all the neighbors / Gonna
kill all the neighbors she sees...." (I'm sure you're
already in agreement that "Fucking kill" is a wonderful
opening line for a song, but wait 'til you hear the way Rachie
sings it, it gets even better.)
HAIR
POLICE/CRYSTAL FANTASY split 10-inch (LIQUID
DEATH / HELLO PUSSY)
Oh
man, I know I always give Hair Police records rave reviews
(actually, I wasn't that crazy about Blow Out Your Blood)
but this is IT. This might be their very best thing. Aw, fuck
that, it's a split 10-inch, it's only one track and it's under
10 minutes, how could this be their best release, I'm just
raving, I know, I know, their very best thing is Obedience
Cuts . . . but this is a damn fine track. "Straps
and Straps." It seems to condense every approach on Obedience
Cuts into one 10-minute jam. This is their "In Memory
of Elizabeth Reed," their "Dark Star," their
"Impressions." The musical language just happens
to be not 1970s jazz-influenced hippie guitar rock but post-2000
stark raving doom-psych gut-noise.
Dunno who Crystal
Fantasy is, but I already like the record, so they'd have
to really be bad to screw this one up, and . . . . . hmm,
they're not bad at all, but they are markedly different from
Hair Police. This is a much more benign bit of electronic
weirdness, one with a slow (trip-hop??) groove, bubbly electro-nerd
squiggle-tones, and such words as "forests" and,
um, "crystal fantasy" intoned a lot, in a slightly
British accent. The influence of both Animal Collective and
Kraftwerk can be surmised, which means some of the more "gnarly"
HP fans might reject it on principle, but kudos to Liquid
Death/Hello Pussy Records for not matching Hair Police with
just another crazy noise band. Good record, I just listened
to both sides twice in a row. (I also just learned that Crystal
Fantasy is apparently a Neon Hunk alter ego.)
PRINCESS
SWEEPSTAKES: I Love You In Case I Die This Christmas, Man
LP (SCENERY AUDIO ARCHIVE)
Reviewed
a garbage-packaged CDR by these guys a year or more ago, and
praised it for it's low-fi garage Beefheart worship that planked
out fearlessly into it's own aggressive thrash-space. Now
they've thrown together the scratch to put out a nice LP and
I'm pleased to say it picks up right where the CDR left off.
(The grotty and lovely color-silkscreen cover even continues
the garbage theme, due to the strangely . . . . moist way
it feels to the touch.) I don't know what it is I dig so much
about these guys, but it's something about how they take weird
riffs and, instead of hammering them in perfect tight sync,
elongate and elasticate them until the song melts before your
eyes without ever actually losing its shape. It's like Michael
Morley and Bruce Russell joined the Hampton Grease Band, and
the new four-guitar lineup started working on Caroliner covers.
KITES/PRURIENT:
Load Split Series #4 (LOAD)
Excellent
graphics that give either band an opportunity to have "sole
front cover treatment." Love that witchy Kites "night-vision"
photo. And the Prurient cover has lyrics on it -- often a
rad touch, as here. It also has a bunch of milk cartons on
it too -- always a rad touch. Kites side is a great
mix of freaky noise styles (I'm still having a hard time picking
out the campfire/folk song aspect that's apparently threaded
through this guy's work -- to me it's all freaky freenoise).
Prurient track goes through some low-key movements before
building into a slow-drilling electronic pattern over which
Dominick Fernow screams -- and I realize that what makes Prurient
great is that Fernow is a great rock'n'roll screamer. And
he doesn't overdo it, spending most of the track letting the
slow-drill dominate and tweak through sublime degrees of harshness.
GATE
TO GATE/DEVILLOCK 2CS (TONE
FILTH)
"Instructions:
Match up the sides and play at the same time for maximum mind
melt!" says the insert -- hey, I'll take the challenge,
even if it means dragging the family boom box into the, ahem,
Blastitude Editorial Offices. Alright, here goes, gotta push
both "play" buttons at the same time . . . alright,
Devillock starts with full-on crushgrind while Gate to Gate
starts with a more subtle high-pitched tone . . . . nice,
nice, now Gate to Gate is amping it up with their own sick
brand of crushing grindcrush -- total shit static! Wow, this
IS melting my mind! This is better than Zaireeka!
Seriously folks, Tone Filth is definitely a label to watch
-- not only is the artwork great, this double cassette release
even comes in one of those old-school double-sized boxes like
the one Slayer's Decade of Aggression came in. Devillock
is the solo noise project of the Tone Filth perpetrator, one
Justin C. Meyers, while Gate to Gate is a power duo of Mike
Connelly (Hair Police, Gods of Tundra label, etc.) and Greh
(Hive Mind, Chondritic Sound label, etc.). An all-scar line-up
brings you an all-scorched sound-stream.
DEVILLOCK:
March of Slimes CDR (TONE
FILTH)
One track just under 20 minutes, starts with prototypical
Devillock buzz which REALLY smooths out to some glorious space-shit
around the 9 or 10 minute mark, then by the 11 minute is real
loud again, a high-pitched metal-tone particularly crying
its ass off. "Recorded June 2004 using only weirdo tape
players and Charlie Draheim's March of Slimes." Gotta
love music made using only weirdo tape players, created for
weirdos with tape players (even though this one happens to
be a CDR). As for Mr. Draheim, Tone Filth is going to be putting
out a full-length 12-inch by the Michigan-based gore-guitar
specialist soon. We're certainly looking forward to that,
as we are to digging through the rest of the large stack of
sickness Tone Filth sent our way. Stay toned!
SUNN
O))): White2 CD (SOUTHERN
LORD)
Been
reading about these guys as much as you have, but until this
disc I made it a point not to pay attention to their music.
I just figured we've already got about 19 Melvins records
and three or four Earth records and a couple Thrones records
and about 39 low-end drone records from New Zealand or whatever.
(Surface of the Earth, anyone??) But this one was lying out
at the radio station and the graphics were excellent, so I
started looking at it. And I noticed that the last of the
three tracks was 25 minutes long, and I needed to play a long
song to end my show so I could take off early and get to work
on time. So, I threw it on, a number called "Nihil's
Maw" and boy, did it sound good in the car going up Lake
Shore Drive. Then a couple weeks later the stars aligned and
a friend in the right place flat-out gave me a free copy,
so here it sits in my player, and it's a knockout. First track
is the simplest of circular Joe Preston-era Melvins riffs
but it's just so HEAVY. Second track is almost too mellow
but, if it even does err at all, it errs fully on the side
of evil. And the third track, "Nihil's Maw" again,
wow -- it's the evil-est of the three, especially when guest
vocalist Attila Csihar comes in with some crazy black Tuvan
shit and it all goes down several notches more.
VARIOUS
ARTISTS: Million Tongues Festival CD (BASTET)
I'm
a little disappointed in the packaging -- awesome cover art
by Chicago psychedelic superhero Plastic Crimewave, but I
just don't like the flat cardboard slip-case things. I think
the digi-pack is the only way to go for artwork like this.
But hey, it ain't my label, and other than that quibble, this
is a great comp! A nice beneath-the-hype treatment of the
contemporary acid folk scene. Because it reminds you that
a lot of today's rock music is still just (plugged-in) folk
music. This is the companion CD to an incredible festival
that P. Crimewave put on at Chicago's Empty Bottle in August
2004, and the only reason I wasn't there is because I happened
to be out of the country that month. Highlights, in order,
are Nissennenmondai (metal rhythm and drone duo rock from
Japan), Inner Throne (super heavy lumber metal), Plastic Crimewave
Sound (a version of what I consider their most central number,
"Caged Fire Theme," that is better than the one
on the LP, except the LP vocals are amazing), Josephine Foster
& The Supposed (very inscrutable rock track), Matt Valentine
& Erika Elder Medicine Show (a lot like Sea Ensemble We
Move Together, and, I think, just as good!) . . . . the
Simon Finn song (new? I think?) is good, but the next song,
by Frankie Delmane (who's she?), is better. The song after
that, by Espers, has really grown on me. Slow brooding chamber
folk played tight and doomy. As a Tower Recordings fan since
1997, I've always been surprised to not really get into PG
Six solo material, but his track on here is great -- maybe
because it's an instrumental -- great folky improvising on
some sort of zither or autoharp -- tell Richard Fariña
the news! The track by Für Saxa is terrific -- I've got
to get a real album by her, all I've heard are comp tracks
(and, most notably, one great live show). The album ends with
two tracks from the harsh noise end of Chicago psych, by M.V.
Carbon and Panicsville respectively -- a nice Crimewave touch
from a city where it ALL ends in (harsh) noise.
TEXT
OF LIGHT CD (STARLIGHT FURNITURE CO.)
When
I first heard this CD it was from the next room, on shuffle
with four other discs in the changer. I listened to it for
a good 30 minutes without knowing who it was, and it
sounded good, sturm-und-klang electric-guitar-based free music
running full steam with no sign of ending anytime soon. Occupied
some of the same scorched space as Pelt's Burning Filament
Rockets album, but with an enticingly lower notch of
meditative intensity. (Sorry to those for whom that's an obscure
reference, but that's the album I kept thinking of.) Anyway,
it was such a nice listen, because I didn't even know who
the personnel were, so I wasn't concerned with how I was going
to write about them in this review. Like Alan Licht, who for
some reason I always end up dissing, or Lee Ranaldo, for whom
I would have to write a lengthy aside about how Sonic Youth
has never lost it or even so much as slipped in their entire
career, or DJ Olive, which would tempt me to make fun of Illbient™
and the Knitting Factory®, or the Starlight Furniture
Co. label and how, even though they always put out excellent
records, and they're connected with far and away the best
post-noise magazine of all time (Bananafish), I don't think
their records ever look very good from a graphic design standpoint.
Sort of like how Thinking Fellers LPs always looked funny
with the type-faces -- come to think of it, it's probably
the same designer. Anyway, that's just it, I didn't have to
worry about all that atrocious fanboy detail, I could just
sit back and enjoy some brooding high free drone klang music
with other elements flickering, such as some saxophone, I
think, and really, just other mysterious sounds that I can't
even recall. For example, I can't specifically recall hearing
any turntables, even though DJ Olive is on two of the three
tracks and replaced by Christian Marclay on the third. Even
the drums by William Hooker are much less of a powerhouse
presence than Hooker usually is, probably because he's not
the leader here, because no one's the leader here. It's a
real non-hierarchical sound, possibly because the real leader
of the band is the films of Stan Brakhage, which this band
always screens live, which come to think of it is another
bit of rather loaded baggage I was able to shed on my first
listen, the whole 'bands in the 90's and 00's showing films
while they play live' thing. Which is a whole 'nother line
of critique that I won't go into with this review. Suffice
to say that there is an interesting disclaimer about the Brakhage
thing in the liner notes, and that this disc does look pretty
good graphics-wise.
reviews by
E.W. HAGSTROM
CERAMIC HOBS –
“SHERGAR IS HOME SAFE AND WELL” CD
During my hardcore hometaping/trading days of the early 1990’s,
I had the pleasure – and misfortune – to be exposed
to hundreds, perhaps thousands, of underground artists from
all over the globe. Of all these artists, I believe the Ceramic
Hobs have progressed the most, and refined their sound to
the greatest level imaginable. This is the Hobs' third proper
album, after 19 years of demo cassettes and 7-inch EPs,
released four years after “Straight Outta Rampton”
which many fans – myself included – had considered
their masterpiece. “Shergar,” however, takes their
music one step further, creating an album which achieves classic
status beyond their underground roots. This recording easily
rivals, and probably outshines, any of the landmark post-punk
albums which were so influential to so many of us. Although
the songwriting and production value immediately stand out
over previous Hobs efforts, the performance itself is the
most striking aspect here. This is the band’s first
release on which the guitars really stand out as being excellent.
In addition, Simon Morris’ voice has never sounded better
– no doubt thanks to years of smoking and shouting out
requests
for “Ass Destroyer” at Whitehouse concerts, it
has developed into a quite superb grittiness ideal for rock
vocals. Despite the nostalgic attachment I have for all those
early records from the Fall, Gang of Four, etc. – I’d
actually rather listen to this disc in their place. Highly
recommended. Pumf Records, http://www.pumf.net.
- - -
- -
CONTRADICTION
– “CONTRADICTION” CD
Andy
Ortmann (Panicsville, Plastic Crimewave Sound, etc.) and Weasel
Walter (Flying Luttenbachers, XBXRX, etc.) collaborate on
this new release of classic power-electronics. Although largely
comprised of vocals and electronics, the duo nimbly summons
the spirit of early to mid-80’s Whitehouse and Sutcliffe
Jugend with long instrumental interludes of feedback-based
noise – something which is often neglected by all but
the most serious devotees of the genre, of which I count myself
among. While the music itself is pure macho muscle, the lyrics
in contrast contain more
humor, irony and heart than power-electronics is generally
known for -- hence the “contradiction” I suppose.
Ortmann and Walter are perhaps more on the same level as Mark
Solotroff’s Bloodyminded project than anyone else; Solotroff
explores the most stereotypically comedic and absurd elements
of the genre, brilliantly setting himself up for ridicule
and mockery in the process. Contradiction takes this premise
one step further by mixing such self-mocking themes and lyrics
with a far more potent and forceful sound than Solotroff ever
achieved, albeit sans his trademark leather pants, resulting
in a recording of greater depth and personality than any power-electronics
release I’ve heard in recent years. Whereas Whitehouse
once crooned “Get down on your knees and suck my cock!,”
Contradiction declares “When I told you I liked you,
I wasn’t joking!” – thus
injecting a much-needed element of realism, perfectly reflecting
the modern noise man in all his emotionally sensitive and
politically-correct glory. Nothing short of a genuine masterpiece.
Noted Chicago experimentalist Kevin Drumm also contributes
to one track. Breathmint
Records, P.O. Box 1, Southampton PA 18966-0001, USA,
http://www.breathmint.net.
- - - - -
TO
LIVE AND SHAVE IN L.A. -- “GOD AND COUNTRY RALLY!"
CD
Back in the mid 90’s TLASILA was the cream
of the American noise crop. As one of the few acts to exhibit
any sort of rock energy in their performances, not to mention
a level of production values to their recordings, they stood
head and shoulders above the likes of lo-fi knob-twiddling
geeks such as Macronympha and Taint.
The past decade has,
however, seen the noise genre develop in leaps and bounds,
leaving the Shave sound hopelessly out of date. New standards
in recording and production quality, not to mention the emergence
of true noise/rock crossover performers such as Hair Police,
Other
People’s Children and the Laundry Room Squelchers (which
features TLASILA’s Rat Bastard), have set the bar far
higher than any 1994 noise scenesters could have imagined.
Listening to TLASILA today is thus a painful journey down
memory lane, lacking even the self-effacing nostalgia value
of a bad haircut in an old yearbook photo.
Not surprisingly,
the last two “new” Shave releases to reach my
hands (the “Wigmaker” double CD, and now this
“God and Country Rally!” disc) are remastered
vintage lo-fi recordings which may have been interesting on
a 1994 cassette-only release, but sound like total shit on
a 21st Century compact disc. As a vocalist, TLASILA leader
Tom Smith remains stuck in whiny 80’s scum-rock terrain,
which gets pathetically annoying after several tracks. As
a lyricist, Smith is the ultimate bullshit artist, masking
his lack of ideas with vain attempts to appear clever or insightful.
Likewise, recent
Shave tours have been shameless attempts at coolness-by-association
featuring seminal celebrities such as Andrew W.K., Weasel
Walter and Don Fleming. This tactic backfired amusingly a
few years back when the rest of the band quickly decided Smith
himself was the weak link in the line-up, and began touring
without him.
Being a true fan
of the group in a past life, I’ve always yearned to
see and hear them progress with the times and produce some
worthwhile new music. Sadly, this CD proves that TLASILA remains
the vanity project of a creepy, oversexed middle-aged man
deluded into thinking he’s some sort of intellectual
poet-genius. I’d recommend buying a real rock CD instead
of trying to enjoy this mess. The Smack Shire, http://smackshire.com.
- - -
- -
LIVE REVIEW
Pauline
Oliveros at the University of Minnesota Rarig Center, Minneapolis
- December 4, 2004.
Pauline Oliveros’ piece “--the fierce
urgency of now--“ and her subsequent performance of
this work, neatly illustrated to me much of what’s wrong
with experimental / avant-garde music today. Both in concept
and execution, this piece was an exercise in mediocrity which
inexcusably fails to live up to even its own modest potential.
Avant-garde music
is, by definition, supposed to be challenging and risky –
attacking the prevailing conventions of the day. This is especially
true in America today, with a conservative government forcibly
encouraging conformity and dampening personal expression.
There are many new and dramatic ways to express one’s
distaste on this subject. And within the small world of underground
music, there is an even greater potential considering most
of the audience is already on the same page.
Oliveros, however,
takes the safest and least interesting path available to her
by making a generic dedication of the piece to a “world
without war”, and taking inspiration from a speech by
Martin Luther King Jr. Such a concept would be fairly commendable
if it were presented by, say, the Dixie Chicks, who may actually
reach people with their message. But in the context of an
avant-garde music performance, it’s as unnecessary as
describing the color of the walls around the stage, not to
mention being grossly typical and clichéd. War sucks!
Child abuse is bad! Hitler was evil! Saying such things isn’t
taking a stand or offering any solutions.
In
addition, the execution of the piece illustrates the worst
elements of using a Powerbook in a live performance setting.
Packing such a machine full of emulators and effect plug-ins
can be a convenient and inexpensive way to perform without
the need for hauling around a load of equipment – however,
for most Powerbook acts, Oliveros included, the machine becomes
such a crutch their performances can’t stand on its
own legs.
Oliveros
played accordian through a pre-programmed MIDI setting which
created six delayed, effect-laden outputs to six different
speakers. The end result was akin to uninteresting, random
notes being fed through an elaborate delay unit. In fact,
I swear one of the six outputs was using factory setting A2
on my cheap, plastic bass multi-effect pedal. If Oliveros
had instead conducted an ensemble of six accordian players,
for example, there at least would have been the potential
for some interaction between the players themselves, and between
the composer and players. Letting a machine do all the work
resulted in a listening experience so dry and lifeless it
could be compared to receiving a computer-generated form letter
from one’s credit card company.
There
was nothing “fierce” or “urgent” about
this performance. It offered nothing remotely new, and even
failed to present its clichés in an interesting way.
Not recommended.
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