Cristopher Cichocki/Kevin Shields/Rale – Artist Series Vol. 1 [Deathbomb Arc/Table of Contents]

This is the next installment of the Kevin Shields-related round-up…
To clarify the title of this review a bit, Cristopher Cichocki is the filmmaker behind this 3” DVD-r of which he created visual accompaniment to a Kevin Shields piece as well as a Rale piece. The goal of the project is to translate the “micro-grain obsessions” of the two composers into a visual medium. This is done through serious, split-second editing working at maximum frame rates. (I stole that bit from the press release, I actually don’t know shit about film editing)
The Kevin Shields track goes first. “Motorhands” was also seen on the vinyl bonanza Thrash Sabbatical but here it’s delivered in spiffy, digital quality (though through my crappy TV speakers). I’m gonna try not to focus too much on what all the visuals are and a bit more on the overall effect the video creates. That said, as a starting point I’ll mention that much of the raw footage from this video looks to be images taken during a Kevin Shields performance. That metallic crank she’s so fond of (apparently a “film synchronizer”, if I can trust internet research) makes a prominent cameo appearance early on. The audio begins with a steady sine tone. When the noise breaks, an image (well actually it’s like a hundred really similar images) of Eva Aguila’s gear begins shaking erratically, moving between images drenched in red light and soft pink. What freaks me out is the way all her gear seems to be continually “slipping” across the table. It is a very disorienting feeling, much like one gets from hearing Aguila’s music. There’s a jump from that relatively static image to a series of images where the camera appears to be swooping in close to Aguila, though that may just be the editing. This set of images is disorienting as well but in another manner. The juxtaposition (sorry if I sound like a tool) of the nearly static image with the next set of short moving images almost creates the sensation in my body of being stationary (which I am) and then suddenly, repeatedly being jolted forward. That isn’t even the real brilliance here; that set of moving images is positioned perfectly with a part in the audio where Aguila repeatedly breaks the flow of noise with a hi-pitched tone, an adrenalized lurching if that makes any sense. The video ends with a frantic, psychedelic mindfuck of nature images with things of various colors: a cool blue, a pale green, a grey and a kinda orange-red-gold. The composite of the frenzied alternation of all those images looks galactic to me which is pretty rad to behold.
The second video is titled “Tattered Syntax” with Rale, which is a project of noise artist and Cassette Gods scribe, Bill Hutson’s. As far as I can tell, this is the first time this track has been released, though I’m far from a Rale expert. No matter. The majority of the footage used here seems to be images of metal, light, earth, modern architecture and probably some other stuff that I’m not catching. There’s a recurring section with what looks like a wall of light bulbs, where their varying intensities in the different images of the bulbs are cut to a shimmering, digital crackle in the audio. Patterned metallic flooring is intercut causing the columns of lights and embossments of the floor to interact, almost as if those little things could dance. The interplay of these two images begins to break up as the audio gets more intense, until it explodes along with a new group of images that are deceptively clear but still play tricks on my mind. There’s a brief lull before the video/audio elements both just go off, for lack of a better term. Each time I watch this I catch a different image I didn’t see before which leads me to the conclusion that Cichocki has weaved a near infinite amount of images here. Both the audio and the video blow right past me which leads to the best part of the video for me. Hutson takes an unexpected break and in that short-lived silence there’s a few images (I’m guessing an upclose shot of a burning joint but who knows) that barely last for a nanosecond and it’s a really dramatic, eerie feeling to suddenly hear silence and see a few beautiful, though still unclear, images. It feels like my heart stops every time I reach that point, even when I know it’s coming. After this there’s a brief return to the light/metal theme before more images jump in, this time geologic, which are increasingly more smeared than the ones before. The track ends how it began with flashing lights and static crackle.
Cichocki has done a great job adapting the work of Aguila and Hutson into visual forms and that is a weighty accomplishment. Watching this DVD-r made me ponder the difference between the way we interpret sound and images. I guess I can only speak for myself but when I look at something visual I try to “make sense” of it as you can see by my preoccupation with figuring out what single images composed these videos. Anything goes for sound, however. While I can often be curious of what is making the sounds I’m hearing, I just accept the sounds as sounds more often than constantly trying to figure out what is producing it. Anyway, I don’t actually have a point about that, just an observation.
I have to mention the packaging as well because, well, it should be mentioned. This 3” DVD-r comes mounted on a 5x7 sheet of aluminum! This is then wrapped in a vellum cover with info and so forth. It looks killer and there’s nothing like holding a DVD mounted on aluminum in yr palm to give a boost to the old self-esteem. Trust me on that one. The release is limited to 75 copies and already sold out at Table of Contents; Deathbomb Arc still has some in stock though so hurry if you want one. It appears Volume 2 has been released as well with audio by Warm Climate and I Heart Lung.
The official theatrical (ha!) trailer

Brian Miller & Kevin Shields – We Had a Baby and It Will Die [Deathbomb Arc]

Here comes the next exciting installment of the Kevin Shields files...
This is the first DVD-r release I’ve ever seen and I can’t think of a more overjoyed/scarier pair to initiate me. Case in point, when you reach the menu an incredibly loud noise loop starts playing and the first time I put the dvd in, it made me jump ten feet in the air. So I’m a wuss, whatever, let’s move on.
We Had a Baby and It Will Die is a “short film” comprised of footage from a handful of BM+KS live sets recorded during a west coast tour, and it is fucking insane.
One of the first images you get features Eva (who also edited the film) manipulating electronics and Brian rolling an amp around on the ground, walking around in circles with a dazed and simultaneously manic look on his face. I’m pretty sure the amp would be safer in GITMO. The first “set” is similar with Eva working with a small array of electronic devices creating strangled, pitchshifted swoops. Brian Miller is a tape fanatic (adhesive not magnetic); he’s never seen with out a roll of packing tape in the entire thing. Anyhow, he tapes all the equipment together and the duo begin rolling around in the pile of equipment against an almighty cacophony. The next set is really short and about half of it is Miller introducing the name of song they are going to play, which is “Possessions are Fleeting”. It’s a Simpsons reference apparently. They start raging and are done after a minute or two. Onto the third set, which sounds like it is raining nails. The video footage is edited together from a number of different sets it looks like. Actually I think I’m gonna give up on trying separate these as “sets”. One performance is amusing where Miller with his trusty tape roll begins wrapping it around everyone/everything in sight eventually becoming caught in his own web and with the help of Eva’s army of sine waves he finds the strength to break free from his self-adhered shackles. The last show of the tour is my favorite because it’s equally chaotic and destructive aurally and visually. There’s an absolutely wrecked speaker cabinet and a guy in a suit with a bowler that’s doing a vaguely interpretive dance. And Aguila is an out-and-out monster with her circuitry, even watching her I have no idea how she does what she does.
It seems to me that this DVD-r is a great summation of Miller’s and Aguila’s attitudes toward making music, particularly noise music. They make music with supreme positivity. Despite the harsh textures they summon and their destructive tendencies, it’s all done in good-natured expression—you know, for fun. There’s no sort of angst or obsession with violence or misogyny that seems to be bound to harsh noise music way more often than not. And the two have my total respect for their approach.
While “short film” isn’t the most accurate term to bestow upon We Had a Baby and It Will Die it beats “concert film” or “album”—and I’m not even sure what term would be accurate. The DVD is more about the spectacle of the performance as a whole; the noise, the venue, the crowd, Miller’s spasmodic disruptions of Aguila’s concentration all evenly make up the experience of watching this. It’s a unique artifact.
Like any DVD worth its salt, We Had a Baby and It Will Die has special features! Miller and Aguila each contribute an extra short. Aguila’s is called “1st Live at Il Corral” and it features music by Brian Miller set to home video of a southwestern wedding and then cuts to a long continuous shot while a camera is pushed through a drain pipe. It’s impossible to describe why but I have a very creeped out, almost physical reaction to the shot in the pipe. I don’t know if that was the goal, or if I’m a closet claustrophobe or what but, man, it freaks me out every time I see it. Brian Miller’s video is titled “I Can Expand My Universe Without You: an I/O composition in the key of I” which is basically signal destruction on film. I’m pretty sure there’s live footage at the center of this but you’d be hard pressed to make anything out through distorted colors and video glitches. The special feature I’d really like to see though is a DVD commentary; here’s to hoping for a 10th anniversary collector’s edition!
This has been long sold out but, hey, long gone stuff pops up in distros randomly all the time, although so you can taste a bit of the insanity yourself…
Peep this and absorb it, keep the planets in their proper orbit

Brian Miller & Kevin Shields/Pump Kinn & Don – Virgin Passwords [Weird Forest]

So I have accrued a number of slammin’ Kevin Shields-related projects (yes!) and initially I was gonna do a massive roundup review of them all. But in a misguided attempt to create suspense(?) and keep the audience hungry for more(???) I am going to post a review of one of the items once a day for the next however many days. Sound like a fun idea? Probably not; though at least you get to read about Eva Aguila’s and her friends’ excursions into the weird forest of noise! (see what I did there?) Oh, and before we get any further, in case you're unaware Kevin Shields here refers to Eva Aguila's noise project not the guy who is actually named Kevin Shields. And I might add, her work is way better than anything that guy ever did, for serious.
Virgin Passwords is an LP split between a pair of signal crushing duos/collaborations. The Brian Miller & Kevin Shields side consists of three tracks recorded after a massive amount of touring—9 months apparently. “Noise like Weight” begins with shards of static and occasionally stable hi-pitched feedback. Competing with semi-steady arrhythmic shuddering, Brian’s vocals are repeatedly beaten down to the point of almost non-existence but a few lucky syllables slip through the cracks. Near the end the track erupts a little, blowing off steam before an almost pretty passage where vocals return with a slightly stronger presence against a loop of a half-formed melody. It’s actually rather reserved for a BM+KS recording. I’m always amazed by the duo’s ability to control their sound and the sheer amount of sounds they conjure up with a pretty simple, stream-lined set-up. The brilliantly titled, “Ain’t Never Been Down With OPP”, is a bit more confrontational with a thick wave of static before some scurrying pitch-shifted, tape-fucked sounds explode blowing out the walls of wherever they were playing. Lots of other stuff is going on too but it all goes so fast, I’ll be damned if I can get down two words before something new happens and distracts me. The track is over too quick but it ends with brief but seriously groovy stuttering sine waves; making me long for the day when BM+KS put out a dance record. The final piece “Virgin Mafia” may be best of the three but that’s a contentious issue in my mind. This track is heavy; I can’t help jamming it way too loud. It has a relentless forward drive and sticks to developing a few main ideas. That is until it takes a sharp left turn beginning with slowly building hi-pitched feedback before cresting, dropping out, bringing in some sing/speak vocals, and slowly building the whole thing over again but this time extra batshit insane. I’m afraid this fucking thing is gonna set my eardrums on fire or something, but that’s a risk I’m willing to fake. The piece ends in a sublime, ecstatic freakout of charred circuits and synapses. Fuck, man, it’s amazing. This side is the best piece of the Brian Miller & Kevin Shields collab discography I’ve come across and like all Kevin Shields works, it only gets better with time.
On the flip side resides a track by Pump Kinn & Don, neither of which was I previously acquainted. The side is one track, untitled as far as I can tell. It begins with pre-recording chatter and rustling. When things get moving there’s a low synth-y totally seasick groove cycling and slowly feedback bleats overtake it. There’s a kind of distant hypnotic element in the piece which is really strange for a semi-harsh noise track like this one. The piece unsuspectingly coheres with looped percussive clanks buried in distortion pedals before it, just as unsuspectingly, disintegrates before cohering again. The noise maintains its general temperament to sustain but becomes sharper. There is an almost drone-like quality to the piece (in a Hototogisu type way I guess) marking it with a certain patience and slow dynamics that definitely works for the track. There are enough patches where a rhythmic thrust materializes briefly and dissipates not allowing the track to get stagnant. That said though, the track does feel a bit long overall. I’m gonna have to keep my eyes out any more releases by these two though.
Pairing the two artists’ styles of noise is an interesting contrast of the way each assemble their work; BM+KS creating hyperactive—though ingeniously constructed—pieces while Pump Kinn lets their track ebb and flow a bit, coming together gradually. The LP is available for cheap through Deathbomb Arc and through Weird Forest and comes in a classy, multi-layered screen printed cardboard sleeve. If you like noise and vinyl this is the best deal you’re gonna get.
*If you are interested in buying this release, I encourage you to buy it through the Kevin Shields webstore, Eva and Brittany Gould had all their gear stolen in Europe on their Caldera Lakes tour and anything bought through Eva will benefit the extra costs now facing her.

Auxiliary Out Radio Programme #26 (10/12/08)

"Untitled" Daniel Clough A Trip to the Mountain Shark (CD) [Sentient Recognition Archive, 2008]
"Lil John Carpenter Tribute Song" Mudboy MUDMUX Volume 1 (7") [DNT, 2008]
"Cancun" Christian Science Minotaur Map 2 (of 9) (CD-r) [Little Fury Things, 2008]
"Mary Ann" Soft Shoulder Hit Single (7") [Gilgongo, 2008]
"Black Cat Lament/Sexy Music" Ex-Cocaine Ex-Cocaine/Yellow Swans Split (LP) [Not Not Fun, 2008]
"Wavves" Wavves Wavves (CS) [Fuck it Tapes, 2008]
"Bitch Pitch" Night of Pleasure Night of Pleasure (7") [Columbus Discount, 2007]
"Raboual" Bill Diakhou Tani (CS) [Gadiaga, ????]
"Video Kids" Black Orphan Video Kids (7") [Hozac, 2008]
"Side B" The Skaters Physicalities of the Sensibilites of Ingrediential Strairways (LP) [Eclipse, 2008]
"IV" Katchmare Ghost Frequency I (CD-r) [Scissor Death, 2008]
"Crow Call" Foot Village Friendship Nation (LP/CD) [Gilgongo/Tome, 2008]
"Freezing Styles" Blank Dogs Mirror Lights (CS) [Drone Errant, 2008]
"Cock" Gay Beast Disrobics (LP) [DNT, 2008]
"Untitled" Slasher Risk Triple Jesus (CD-r) [Kass/Jamps, 2008]
"Comedy Hypnosis" Yellow Swans Ex-Cocaine/Yellow Swans Split (LP) [Not Not Fun, 2008]

*This show is dedicated to all the tape decks in my life that haven't crapped out on me.
mp3: part 1 part 2

Auxiliary Out Radio Programme #25 (6/1/08)

(Somehow this never got posted back in June. Weird.)

“Samaan Aikaan Toisaalla” Tomutonttu Bound with Skin (5xCD) [Skulls of Heaven, 2007]
“Points of View” Country Teasers The Empire Strikes Back (LP) [In the Red, 2006]
“Elegy for Breeze Von Goodyear/The Gravedigger’s Dance” Maths Balance Volumes Bound with Skin (5xCD) [Skulls of Heaven, 2007]
“Waiting for the Hesitation” Eat Skull Sick to Death (LP) [Siltbreeze, 2008]
“Hung from the Moon” Earth The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull (CD) [Southern Lord, 2008]
“Strickfadens” Bulbs Light Ships (CD) [Freedom to Spend, 2008]
“Dreamcatcher” Weirdo Begeirdo with Gabe from Yellow Swans Dreamcatcher (3" CD-r) [Not Not Fun, 2005]
“I-5” Nothing People Anonymous (LP) [S-S, 2008]
“Hosianna Mantra” Popol Vuh Hosianna Mantra (CD) [OHR, 1972]
“The Movement the Second” Bobby Beausoliel & the Freedom Orchestra Lucifer Rising Soundtrack (CD) [M.O.R., 1972]
“The Wind Did Blow” The Cherry Blossoms The Cherry Blossoms (LP) [Apostasy/Black Velvet Fuckere/Breaking World/Consanguineous/Hank the Herald Angel/Yeay!, 2007]
“Untitled 3” The Skaters Gambling in Ohpa’s Shadow (CD-r) [Pseudoarcana, 2005]
“The Reservoir” Larkin Grimm after you men explode the world we women will sing it to sleep (split with the beautiful babes in springtime brainwave band ft. earl monster) (CS) [Sloow Tapes, 2006]
“Paint a Babe” Jana Hunter Carrion (LP) [Woodsist, 2008]
“Herrons” Ecstatic Sunshine Way (CD) [Cardboard, 2008]
mp3: coming soon

Locrian/Continent – Split [No Label]

One of the dudes in Chicago’s Locrian, don’t know which, sent me this tape. I was previously unaware of both these projects but this tape turned out to be a nice little surprise.
Locrian’s piece “Burying the Carnival” takes the A-side. It begins unassumingly with a creeping drone. Rather quickly a light shroud of prickly noise begins to swallow it. Meanwhile, a weird fucked-with, barbed wire guitar provides an unusual counterpoint to the looming dark swirl of distortion pervading the track. There is something that sounds like acoustic guitar but it also sounds extremely distorted but not really like a distorted acoustic guitar which confounds me but whatever, it’s working wonders. I’m a big fan of guitar-centric drone so this is right up my alley but there’s one part where there’s even a bit shredding(!/?). “Shred-drone” seems like an oxymoron (and impossible) but Locrian has invented it here and it’s blowing my mind. The organ/keyboard/everything else should be recognized as well because I think they really make the guitar parts work because they have enough of a presence to balance the piece between guitar/non-guitar elements without necessarily being at the forefront or raging against the guitar. It's essential without over extending itself. Locrian spikes the same black vein that Hototogisu or Family Underground do, and this piece is up there with the best stuff of both those acts. Locrian is definitely working in their own minefield which is really neat to see, cause sometimes when artists go for the scathing, black noise/drone thing they end with similar results but that isn’t the case here. Oh yeah, this piece was recorded live too. Holy shit.
As for the other side, I’m not sure I’m qualified to review it but, hey, I’m a renaissance man, I’ll give it my best shot. Continent (totally dig the name) plays what I’m going to guess is called “metalcore”. I think that’s a real genre, but I really am not versed in all the “–cores”. Continent does the cookie monster vocal thing which unfortunately I think I’m innately averse to but no matter. “Widow Insitania” begins with heavy calculated riffing and keeps it coming. Other than the vocals, the track is quite fun to listen to. Continent seems to know how to balance raw energy/volume/whathaveyou with melodically sensible songwriting. “Gulf of Baine” may be my favorite track here cause man, fuck, there are just some awesome riffs here, provoking nonstop foot stomping/head nodding/imaginary moshing. The riffs keep coming, seeming to shift slightly before my ears, getting better and better. “Bel Amica Rolls” has one of those classic speedy, low-end shockwave riffs I’ve always dug in metal. “t44-9w” closes the tape with some raucous, revved up passages of dexterous fingers and muscular double bass drum. The track has a dizzying amount of tempo shifts and split second twists and turns. It would be the perfect soundtrack to a rollercoaster ride in pitch black. (I apologize to Continent and to the readers for the utter ineptness of the reviewing in this paragraph.)
So there it is, quite an anomalous tape, for my collection anyway. Now I have a tape where I can study the sounds a black hole being destroyed and flip it over to get pumped up to go find my own black hole to beat the shit out of. The release is on a yellow tape with labels and a doubled-sided fold-out j-card with info on one side and a photo of Eraserhead-esque urban decay. The tape is self-released so I’d try going to Locrian’s myspace to pick it up.

Night of Pleasure – Night of Pleasure [Columbus Discount]/Night of Pleasure/Day Creeper – Split [No Label]/Soft Shoulder – Hit Single [Gilgongo]

If you made it through the jungle of brackets and backslashes in the title, you’ll know 3 7inch shotblasts are the subject of tonight’s review. To get mathy for a moment, 1/2 of the sides belong to Columbus, OH’s Night of Pleasure, Tempe, AZ’s Soft Shoulder is responsible for 1/3 of them and Day Creeper, also from Columbus, accounts for the last sixth. All groups involved could be called punx to varying degrees, whether it's the lively neo-no wave mode of Soft Shoulder, the lo-fi, bent power pop of Day Creeper or the beautiful basement scuzz of Night of Pleasure.
The self-titled Night of Pleasure 7inch is everything I’ve come to expect from Columbus Discount: raucous, infinitely listenable, totally feel good music—kinda like what jam bands are going for but fail miserably at. The “auteur theory”-inspired track “Godard vs. Truffaut” opens the record. Distorted unintelligible, though probably clever, vocals, guitars steeped in static and a rhythm section with just the right touch of sloppiness. The awesome chorus has flashes of “Whatever Happened to Pong?”, the old Frank Black tune, if yr familiar with that. “Caesar’s Palace” pushes the needle even further into the red, threatening to totally subsume the vocalist’s caterwaul in a downpour of feedback. It almost sounds as if the entire band is running through the same dying fuzz pedal and it’s a wonderful, hissy hulking mess. I thought that side was my favorite until I flipped the record and heard “Bitch Pitch”. This side is pure, sticky ear candy but dropped in the dirt and slightly melted due to harsh solar rays. There is an awesome guitar break, an awesome bridge, an(other) awesome chorus, an awesome verse, and an awesome thumping outro. [Not necessarily in that order] It is just the pinnacle of this kind of shit—it can’t get any better. Listening to this record makes me want like 20 more records of this ilk (and quality) but I have no problem redeploying the needle every time it hits the end groove. You need this.
Two more Night of Pleasure tracks appear on their self-released split with Day Creeper. “Spasm Chasm” opens with an extended intro before lurching into a pretty angular scrape and smash affair before dismantling again and lurching to a stop. “Hipster Downgrade” has a bit more in common with the self-titled record in that it’s a pretty straight ahead, no nonsense, mega-catchy track though there is some brilliant, broken speaker madness near the end breaking up the flow nicely. Night of Pleasure sounds… dare I say it, more sophisticated on this release. I’m not exactly sure what I mean by that but they sound simultaneously more refined and more ready to swim against the current and deconstruct their songs a bit. On the flip, Day Creeper answers with two tracks. “And How!” distinguishes itself from the previous side with a kind of bubblegum garage sound (and with a glockenspiel!). It reminds me a bit of one my favorite Portland groups Exploding Hearts (r.i.p.) but less conscious of/preoccupied with the history of modpunk. “My Blue Screen” is great and bombastic, with some tremendously expressive vocals and anchored by a crunchy Farfisa type organ. Really wonderful chorus that acts on a much grander scale than you’d think the lo-fi production could facilitate.
Hit Single comes classic style, 45rpm with those big annoying holes in the middle that make you look for that little adapter/spacer thing for the middle of yr turn table. I don’t mean that to sound negative though, cause it matches my old Beach Boys singles (cool!) Anyhow, the A-side is titled “Mary Ann”, right away yr dropped into some kind of loose limbed free jazz jam before the drummer signals to get things goin’. A female vocalist sing-speaks to Mary Ann—whoever that is—amongst steady drums and a monster four-note guitar riff before an awesome little sax solo at the very end. The track is way too short but I have to say that the guitar tone is one of coolest I’ve ever encountered. It’s a radio tower broadcasting thunderous, speaker ripping Velcro fuzz. A totally amazing sound. “Temperary” is on the B-side and features all the elements from the previous side but smashes them all together at once. There is a lot more saxxxing which I’m loving and, after a riotous refrain, another free jazz breakdown pops up this time in the middle. It has an odd fairytale type feeling like a detour on yr way to Neverneverland or something. It’s cool though. The guitar leads the charge to bring back the earlier refrain one last time before cutting the power.
The first two 7inchs come packaged in photocopied sleeves with inserts and the Soft Shoulder one features a seriously superb splatter job and an insert as well. All records are still available which is really nice. Night of Pleasure and Hit Single are available for cheap through Columbus Discount and Gilgongo, respectively. And the Day Creeper/Night of Pleasure album is available from the artists’ myspaces as well as a few distros.

Ixchel – Dreams Of [Leaf Trail]

This CD-r is the first release of the duo Ixchel, the newest project by Tim Hurley (known for his work in AuxOut favorites Quetzolcoatl, Bonecloud, and the Leaf Trail label) and Barry Semple.
My favorite track starts the album off. “Landing Hallucinations” is drenched in sound (a characteristic of Hurley’s projects), thick with field recordings, reverbed synthiness and a distant harmonica. The title is fitting because the track sounds like oceanside audio hallucinations. The track is a bit on the meandering side but, to its strength, the guys keep it brief. The albums longest track “The Bubble Hiders & Rainbow Ocean” slowly builds glistening waves on top of each other including a ghostly piano and a muted but insistent percussive pulse before breaking off 3 minutes in, giving way to strummed guitar and glockenspiel. That combo in turn is built upon reaching a gentle zen. There’s a nice contrast/balance between sharper plinking sounds and smooth sustaining tones. Everything dissipates once more. A simple and amazingly hypnotic guitar passage leads the first half of “Globe of Leaves in Sky of Sea” before it’s augmented by piano increasing the hypnotic factor. There’s some non-effected vocalizing that crops up near the end as well. “Clockwork Castles”, after some quickly strummed electric guitar morphs into a languid dream pop tune. I’m really digging the accordion/harmonica/whatever that accents the track. Additionally, I like how, near the end, the background instrumentation shifts and discombobulates, subverting the sweetness of the vocal’s intent. “War Paint” is an extended interlude with clattering drippy sounds being blown at each from all directions. “Sun Bridge Believer” is another episodic track, the first bit is quite good though those uneffected vocals don’t gel with the proceedings an kinda get in the way rather than blending into the murky beauty of everything else. After the first part fades, the rest of the track is a dark little cavernous crawl to the light of “Dreaming New Colours”. “Dreaming New Colours” is quite a cool piece featuring a well executed tempo pickup in the second half. The vocals fit a little better here, but don’t quite find their place. “Surf of Awakening” seems like the companion piece to opener “Landing Hallucinations” and closes out the album rather abstractly with shoreside field recordings and lots of other sounds hiding behind reverb pedals. The album reaches its roughest, stormiest point with low rumbling jutting against a sample of breaking waves. The last few minutes achieve what I think was the goal of the album—to combine experimental/drone with more song-based pop type stuff—there’s a plaintive ballad trying breakthrough the aquatic cacophony but just can’t quite do it. And it’s sound rad.
I respect Ixchel’s approach to making music—they have the whole abstract soundscape down—but, on Dreams Of, the more “pop” elements, namely the vocals, are a liability more often than not.. However, based on that final track the guys are definitely capable of pulling it off and I’m betting on subsequent efforts they’ll have it perfected. Still the pros vastly outweigh the cons, and overall Dreams Of is another example of the uniquely great sounds that only come from Tim Hurley and his collaborators.
The CD-r comes in an oversized pro-printed slipcase with an insert and artwork by Hurley.

Bulbs – Light Ships [Freedom to Spend]

I'm a bit late on this one but no matter. This is the inaugural release on Pete Swanson’s pretty new Freedom to Spend label. Apparently this crew is a (electronic) drums and guitar duo and Pete assured me they even pulljavascript:void(0) this shit off live which is hard to fathom (though I found some proof on youtube).
“Gold Ropes” starts things off about the best they can be with a nice ten minute work out. It’s tough to adequately describe everything that’s going on but I can tell you it is a lovely menagerie of sound. I haven’t thought about Black Dice in a while but this track kinda reminds me of those guys when they were making stuff like Beaches & Canyons and Cone Toaster with the odd tumbling forth of sound but I wouldn’t say they sound like Black Dice per se. Bulbs is really kinda mining their own sound here; which is totally respectable and entirely awesome. It’s a bit airy and relaxing but not droney in the least, there is a constant (ar)rhythmic pulse and a mindboggling array of sounds floating by or spitting themselves at you. Over the ten minute runtime the track somehow changes vastly and stays exactly the same save for cloudy minute long outro. The track is an anomaly just like the band. “Wind Conditions” furthers the skittering, blippy beat dynamic of “Gold Ropes” which makes me wonder if they constantly jam Burial on road trips. The drums and guitar don’t sound quite find the unity they do on the previous track though. Guitar takes the lead on the brief “The Green Flash” and instills the album with a lovely, fleeting spot of beauty. “Swinsons” brings the beats straight ahead and really puts you in the zone before splicing the groove, crossing your wires and frying your brain. There’s a short guitar lick in there that sounds really familiar too but I can’t place it. Anyhow, it pops up a few times providing a melodic point to orient yourself in the ever shifting sea of terse tones. The title track is much quieter and more open sounding, based around a stuttering but lilting guitar figure that despite it’s reluctance to sustain any tone or rhythm is drowsily catchy. The duo is back to grooving on “Strickfadens” with a samba-ish thing crossed with a distorted techno, um, thing. It’s weird but an unsuspectingly great sound pairing. The guitar acts as a foil with heavily delayed high-end bleats. It starts busting heads at the end too. “Uamanas” closes the album out. The guitar/chameleon disguises itself as an mbira before turning itself inside out against a surprisingly constant and rhythmic fuzzy tom tom march. Everything accumulates into the most coherent offering of the album and certainly one of the better tracks before ending with a bit of solo guitar-as-violin action.
Light Ships is one the best albums I’ve heard this year because you can’t put your finger on it. Each listen is more mystifying and mesmerizing, making you think “I need to listen to this way more” regardless how often you do. Bulbs have successfully made an album with pop-sensibilities completely unpredictable. I don’t even know when the last time that happened was.
Swanson also mentioned to me that idea behind Freedom to Spend is to release very few albums and only ones he feels are of the highest quality. Based on this release, yr probably gonna end up owning the entire Freedom to Spend catalog. Speaking of which, Mr. Swanson has made it pretty easy for you to do so. This album seems to be pretty widely available and there doesn’t appear to be any of that limited to ___ shtick. The release itself is a professionally pressed CD in a digipak type case with radddd Comic book+Dali+Escher+Alien illustration by Matt something or other whose name I can’t make out due to the incredibly minute font. All in all it’s a handsome release.

Shepherds – Bush Babies [DNT]/Gang Wizard – I Remember You From the Party in Long Beach [DNT]

7 inches are a reviewer’s dream in a lot of ways, well one major one: they’re short but still substantial (and usually rad—is that 3 ways?) Anyway, it’s not important to talk 7 inches in theory when you got a real one on yr turntable. Lucky me, I got two.
The first comes from Shepherds, which is Jeremy Earl (of Woods and Meneguar; who both know how to make awesome 7inchers in their own right) and G. Lucas Crane a.k.a. Nonhorse. Despite the greatness of the duo on paper I’ve always been a little on the fence about them but Bush Babies has firmly swung me to the pro-Shepherds side of aisle. I think I remember reading that this piece of primal aggression and beauty was supposed to be part of DNT’s split 3” cdr series but it was too long/awesome Tynan (DNT’s head honcho) rightly decided the world needed 700 copies of this sucker. “Side A” starts with a driving, tribal drum workout. I’m guessing this is Earl. When Crane’s contributions finally poke their heads out things go momentarily apeshit. There are friendlier smoother sounds clashing with rougher distorted ones with the drums in the eye of the storm. At one point a trumpet (99% sure) suddenly appears, I’m wondering if this is a sample from Crane’s bag of tapes or what cause it sounds live but there is definitely other manipulation and whatnot going on so I think it’s impossible. Meanwhile, Earl is just pounding the shit out of the drums and I’m loving it. Then on a dime, the drums sputter out and a morose wash of brass seeps in.
The b-sides takes up “Bush Babies” where the a-side left off, seeing the brass get more active/jazzy with the drums following suit. A nice little jam ensues, particularly nice for the appearance of a backbeat in the midst of the freejammin’. The track really hits its stride here, locking the listener into its hypnotics. I’m curious to know what exactly Crane was up to here (if it’s all tapes) because there is a grinding distorted violin-type sound amongst the spurts of brass and rounder keyboard-esque tones. A impressively broad mix of sounds while keeping up such a fiery improv attitude.
My next subject is Gang Wizard’s I Remember You From a Party in Long Beach—DNT’s second foray into the 7inch world. Beginning with the end of another song, lead off track “Lemonade Folly” easily, immediately stakes its claim as my favorite track here. With a super catchy, slippery/sloppy slide guitar riff leading the pack, the rest of the band gets the message and follows with their own ramshackle pounding and whirring, resulting in a deliciously pseudo-atonal, pseudo-arrhythmic treat. The title-track is a brasher affair. I’m digging the clanging guitarkeyboarddrum brew but the Magik Markers-esque female vocals kill my buzz a bit. The track doesn’t get very far before the cut but “I Remember You From the Party in Long Beach” continues with “I Remember You From the Party in Long Beach (cont)” on the b-side. There’s an excellent breakdown with sustaining feedback, plinking keyboard hits and a drum solo where things really come together for a while dissipating into extended coughing(??). However, things pickup again for the finale with another drum solo this time mainly dueling with a squealing oscillator.
So there you go, DNT has given you two options to feed your primal 7inchin' desires. The Shepherds one as mentioned earlier is limited to a generous 700 copies available on white vinyl and comes with a full-size insert. The Gang Wizard is packaged minimally with “Fang Wizard” stamped all over the orange label. There are only a few copies left apparently so jump on that if you’re interested. Both are available postpaid for the super low $4-5 price range i.e. get ‘em.

Christian Science Minotaur – Map 1 (of 9) [Little Fury Things]/Christian Science Minotaur – Map 2 (of 9) [Little Fury Things]

Christian Science Minotaur is one of my favorite joke band names, and like all the best bands with joke band names, Christian Science Minotaur’s music is serious and seriously great. These are the first two installments of a nine part series—as I’m sure you gathered—and both are excellent.
Map 1 consists of 3 tracks and would actually be short enough to fit on a 3incher. Nevermind that however. CSM reminds me of my favorite non-Charalambides Tom Carter project Spiderwebs, and on average I think they might even eclipse that project. There’s no info about the Minotaur’s membership on either release so I’m gonna guess it’s two people playing heavily reverbed, clean-toned guitar. That is what it sounds like at least. The first track “Benji” is rather airy, floating by rather quickly though not before hitting all the proper pleasure buttons in my brain. I’m sort of a sucker for this kinda stuff but Christian Science Minotaur do it about the best I’ve heard it done. The second track “Ooh Doo Daa” is the immediate standout. It is loveliness taken to the extreme and improvised on guitar. It commences with two guitars each playing their own improv’d cyclical melodies. The atmosphere present on the previous track gradually filters in. This is a hard track to put into words because you can’t really. What’s so great about it is exactly what language fails to capture—the subliminal beauty that can occur when certain sounds are placed next to others. Sorry for my failing at my part here but that’s all I can give you. The last track is a quick little ditty called “Pappy Drumb” with a nice repeating melody and a strange sound in the background that sounds like a heavily processed and cut up duck quacking. I don’t know, weird but cool. Although Map 1 is relatively short, it is pretty much endlessly playable and there is no fat to be found anywhere, which I’ll take over an overlong release any day.

The full-length, Map 2, puts its best foot forward with “Cancun”. “Cancun” is like what Cancun is cracked up to be—a warm, sunny paradise. It’s a tough call to say whether this or “Ooh Doo Daa” would win in a showdown so I’ll just say they are equally matched. “Cancun” has a more composed or collected nature as it unfurls it’s limbs. One guitar works from a pretty arpeggio and the other dances and glides around it. There also a bit more emotion or longing tied into it than rest of the tracks on Map 1 or 2. Another glistening piece of gold. “Little Women” follows at more than twice the length “Cancun”. Here the typically excellent sonic glimmer is met with is strange hard panned alien guitar noises conjuring a not-quite-eerie not-quite-somber but still affecting mood. Around halfway through those alien noises takeover completely and, though it takes a minute to find it’s footing, the rest of track takes on a bit of calmed down Bill Nace vibe. “Isn’t it a Pity” goes straight for that bittersweet “awww” jugular in it’s 3 minutes and finds complete success. So far all of these tracks would be perfect in conjunction with a visual component perhaps a route CSM should explore. “Foosball” is an ominous, minimal piece that initially left me a little cold but I have since warmed up to. One guitar mimics the string pad setting on a keyboard while the other uses it’s six-string for all its percussive potential. The extended “Mysteron” finishes off the cd-r. Christian Science Minotaur takes it up a notch with this one, exploring and expanding upon the sound/style they’ve already perfected. Whereas their previous highlights focused on a semi-repetitive melody, “Mysteron” takes you on a placid, silver-streaked ride that, at ten minutes, doesn’t end a moment too late. The forty seconds in particular contain a wonderful, all-too-brief tremolo’d melody. Sign me up for Map 3.
Little Fury Things gives off a nice vibe with their packaging—there’s a certain enthusiasm and ingenuity to it. Like how Map 2 looks like a totally professional printed cardboard slipcase but it’s actually just a piece expertly designed/folded textured paper. Or how each of these cd-rs are colored with color pencil. I dig the thought of Nat (the guy behind it all) hanging out and coloring each cd-r himself; that’s dedication. Both releases are still in stock for cheap (3-5 dollars) and you can also download Map 1 digitally for a measly dollar.

Fat Legs/Terror Tank – Split [Big Fat Noise]

This is a hyper-limited cd-r (12 copies!?) that is probably all gone never to be seen again. Although, since I’ve never heard of either of these acts until this cd-r arrived I figure there’s the off-chance you haven’t heard of them either and I’m only too happy to fill you in. This release is quick and blistering which is how I prefer my cd-rs. One track of metallic wreckage each from Fat Legs and Terror Tank.
Fat Legs strikes first. Creeping in with an oddly soothing grind of prickly pulsing drones (my apologies for the unintended tongue twister). Fat Legs seem completely content to swim around this lightly whirring pool of grainy noise—that is until a serious whale of a juggernaut of an earthquake of a jackhammer of a drum machine (or something) begins pummeling; ripping holes in your speakers, yr brain and probably the ozone layer. Seriously, holy fuck man. Even after I listened to this track over and over Fat Legs never ceased to rock me/scare the shit of out me. Utterly awesome.
So that’s quite an act for Terror Tank to follow—and they don’t even have the benefit of the moment it takes to flip a tape or record over—but they do a commendable job. TT shares a similar tonal palette with Fat Legs but hangs a bit looser in comparison to FL’s single-minded dynamic shifts. A dirty smog permeates the track though there’s plenty of creak, rattle and clang slipping through. The piece is anchored by a subtle but pretty melody wandering around the lower registers which is juxtaposed with some rather sizable spikes of feedback. The buzzy din snakes around a while longer before evaporating.
Anyway, as I said, good luck tracking this release down. It’s begging to be reissued as a 7inch as far as I’m concerned but I don't make the rules. Apparently there’s a Fat Legs/Family Underground release looming in the future though which is music to my ears. But, if you aren’t already, keep an eye out on both of these acts.

Human Adult Band – Impotent & Filthy [Abandon Ship]

Looking over Abandon Ship’s pretty much impeccable discography; you’ll find that they specialize in sounds that go pretty easy on your ears. When I first popped this tape in way back when, I found it to be a surprising, though pleasant, punch in the face. According to the j-card, Impotent & Filthy was recorded live in Philadelphia (at a place called the Big Pink) on April Fool’s day two years ago. Don’t know why the recording sat on the shelf so long but I’m grateful it’s now been given a cozy cassette home.
The first track, “Schizophrenics Control the Weather”, is a loping, minimal affair. The piece consists of an incomprehensibly muffled vocalist dueling in slow-motion with off-kilter guitars/various other soundmakers refereed by mid tempo drums. In the final moments, everything crashes together in a combustible climax without betraying the track’s initial sleepiness. The real jewel of the tape comes next.
“Scurvy Seaman” is fucking awesome. The track reminds me of the best stuff the Jesus Lizard put out which is a compliment I don’t dispense lightly, or often, for that matter. Human Adult Band have the fiery caveman clatter down this is the tape’s best example. Things are way uptempo in comparison to “Schizophrenics…” and the vocals and instruments take lacerating turns rebelling against the relentless monster of a groove set forth by the drummer. If I ever made one of those top singles of the year list, this one would make the cut no doubt.
On the B-side, “Hoops”, a song “about playing basketball” apparently, gets things rolling. I’m a bit lost how the song relates to basketball though it has an excellent subliminal creep factor like a number of NBAers. The guitar provides a constant quiver of feedback casting an uneasy light over everything else. The electronics are used perfectly here, the moments of strange squelch are placed flawlessly. You can almost dance to the rather mellow, “Deep South”, with its cyclical rhythms and unintelligible but groovy vocal phrases. And “Hot Hands” closes the tape like a thundercloud—heavy, unhurried and looming. That is, except for a tremendous burst of crumbling noise at the end.
The tape comes very professionally done as is Abandon Ship’s style, a double-sided j-card and a labeled tape. Abandon Ship still has copies in stock at their everyday low price, but I should also mention the insane blowout sale their having right now apparently to make some room for upcoming vinyl releases. Buy one 7inch get two releases free anyone?

Traum Ecke - Traum Ecke [Goaty Tapes]

This is an insanely overdue review of one of the best tapes of the year in my humble opinion. The conspirators behind the tape (brought to us by Goaty Tapes, the most bitchin' young label around) are Traum Ecke which is a duo I was unfamiliar with prior to this tape. They also bear some relation to the outfit known as Ducktails which are, as a sampling of their myspace page leads me to believe ("Pizza Time"!!), different but as awesome as Traum Ecke. Perhaps even more so?
If my memory and ears serve me correctly Traum Ecke is a duo comprised of a dude on guitar and a dude on keyboard. The first side is 15 minutes of mesmerizing foggy bliss. These guys have an amazing intuitive touch when it comes to drone. They know exactly when to let a tone linger and when to bring in melodic flourishes. I can't really explain why but this track always gives me the image of watching a light snow turn blustery, but like in the middle of space or some otherworldly realm. It echoes the Gown side from his split tape on Arbor that I was in love with last year in its complex layering and fantastic pacing. The track builds rather stealthily to a crescendo. By the end there is some legit blues-infused guitar shredding floating just below the mist. It feels like a 15 minute joyride around Venus, one worth taking again and again.
And that's only the first side of the tape mind you. On the flip they switch up their style to equally successful effect. The piece has a sweet groove from the get go and is a bit reminiscent of the solo tapes James Ferraro put out way back in 2007, though without the overt weirdness. The keyboard swells around the jaunty guitar riffing clouding it in a haze of reverb. It sounds like there is some sort of looped percussion underneath but it's hard to pick out. The rhythmic bed allows the both guitar and keyboard to get aggressive and let loose a bit. The track builds a la the first side but overall carries more forward thrust and ends with a nice keyboard+delay pedal melody/solo breaking everything up beautifully. These boys have a future.
The presentation of the tape is entirely topnotch just like the music. It features a double-sided pro-printed j-card cut in an interesting shape and an insert. The tape itself is bright yellow (my favorite color) with a sweet fishscale type design printed directly on the tape. Certainly one of the coolest, most professional packaging job of a cassette I've seen, and all Goaty Tapes come this way. Definitely a label to take notice of.
It looks like the tape is still in print from Goaty (along with other awesomely packaged tapes), but there are only a 100 copies in existence so act fast. Actually, it's probably safe for me to say, just buy anything with the words "Traum Ecke" and/or "Goaty Tapes" on it.

Auxiliary Out Radio Programme #24 (5/25/08)

“La Oracion del Muerte, Part 1” Hetero Skeleton En la Sombra del Pajaro Velludo (CD) [Load, 2007]

“Silver Moon… Shine Sun! Sun! Sun!” Ignatz II (CD/LP) [(K-RAA-K)³, 2007]

“Nga Ley” Khun Kaung Kay Maung Guitars of the Golden Triangle: Folk and Pop Music of Myanmar (Burma) Vol. 2 (CD) [Sublime Frequencies, 2005]

“Apple Cores” Vampire Belt Bored Fortress Split (with Magik Markers) (7") [Not Not Fun, 2008]

“Side B” GHQ Square Growth Sessions (CS) [Sloow Tapes, 2007]

“Borrowed Time” Pink Reason Borrowed Time (7") [Fashionable Idiots, 2008]

“Bird’s Nest” Christina Carter Texas Working Blues (CS) [Black Rainbow, 2008]

“Vrouwe Des Kwaad” Hellvette Een Duvelse Zak is Nooit Gevuld (CS) [Sloow Tapes, 2007]

“Your Cities, Your Tombs” Skullflower Desire for a Holy War (CD) [Utech, 2008]

“Wormland” Blue Sabbath Black Fiji Node #1 - Wormland (3" CD-r) [sqrt, 2007]

“Untitled” Mountains Saturnus Untitled (CS) [Pluim, 2007]

“In a Web” Blank Dogs In a Web (7") [Daggerman, 2008]

“My Clown” Belong Colorloss Record (LP) [St. Ives, 2008]

“Double Blackberry” Time Life Double Blackberry (CS one-sided) [Meudiademorte, 2007]

“Untitled” Woods Family Creeps Woods Family Creeps (CD/LP) [Time-Lag, 2008]

“Chateau Bandit” The Intelligence Debt and ESP (7") [Plastic Idol, 2008]

“Lam Lah Lo May Shoke” Saing Saing Maw Guitars of the Golden Triangle: Folk and Pop Music of Myanmar (Burma) Vol. 2 (CD) [Sublime Frequencies, 2005]

“Untitled” God Willing Unicorn Love (4xCS) [Hatestate, 2007]

mp3: Part 1 Part 2