White Reeves - Ultimate Pleasure Til Death [Dynamo! Sound]

So, I don't watch David Letterman so I can't tell if there's a specific reason why his face is plastered all over this tape. Is "White Reeves" a gag he does, or is "ultimate pleasure til death" a catchphrase of his? Is his goofy face just scratching that ironic-pop-culture-icon-on-a-tape itch we all have? Ah, just a few of the so many pressing questions we ask in this cockeyed caravan we call life. Boy...

I'm late to the game on getting this review done, as usual, but the only review I've seen on this tape didn't really "get it" so I am here to set the record straight. Getting down to brass tacks, White Jeeves is a duo of Ryan Emmett (Hunted Creatures, head of the Dynamo! Sound Collective) and Micah Pacileo, also of Hunted Creatures, and their sounds here are deliciously weird. The tape features a bunch of miniatures grouped into two 10-minute sidelong pieces making for an enjoyable 20 minutes of loop-junk. Everything is heavily processed but at least some of the sounds seem to have been acoustically produced in their initial iteration. There's a good dose of chirpy and sputtering synth than manages a groovy, almost record-scratch-esque quality. Behind every great chirpy synth there's great lo-mid textures and the ones here are so good you don't necessarily pick up on them; they have just enough going on to fight off any stagnation but enough modesty to be felt and not noticed. White Reeves views each miniature on simple terms and is really successful along the lines they've laid out. The thirdish piece slowly morphs into a lurching, hypnotic opiate-addled whirlpool and is awesome. Things take a seriously weird turn when the side ends on a muffled recording of a motivational(?) speaker.

The piece that kicks off the second side is pretty sick. Lots of pitch manipulation, lots of percussive loops and lots of SPACE. Even a little cosmic keyboard riffage. None of the elements should work but they definitely flip me the bird and just go ahead and gel. Love the ragged vibe and the track is practically an epic in comparison to the miniatures it's in bed with. The final piece whips out some plucked piano strings, 20 100ms delay pedals and mild-mannered oscillator hum. It's a real smooth way to go out.

Man, I just love the vibe of this band and even though this tape is a collection of sketches more or less, it's still pretty goddam cool. There's a no-nonsense vibe to their nonsense; they aren't gonna waste your time by releasing c60 after c60 of them dicking around--only the golden hits will reach your ears my friends. I'm hoping to the heavens this isn't some one-off thing cause I can totally imagine these guys expanding on their work here and dropping a pretty stellar 33 minute record. There it is; there's my challenge: go make a stellar 33 minute record, you boys got it in ya. And don't forget to thank me in the liner notes when you do.

Extraoridnary Pigeons/Regosphere - Split [Pigeon Coup International]

Northwest cassette team-up between Seattle trio Extraordinary Pigeons and Portland's Regosphere.
In addition, to graphic noise experiments the ExtraPigeons can deliver some real nice, brooding all-acoustic drone pieces, as they do here. It reminds me a smidge of those good ol' days when GHQ was ruling the blogs and Soulseek. Despite the acoustic clue, I'm not exactly sure what instruments are in play here, they all sound pretty otherworldly my guess is they are probably more out-of-the-box than "guitar & viola" or something. Maybe some bowed cymbals? There's something super deep and dense, I don't know, bowed timpani? Is that even possible? Either way, it's a pretty sweet caveman meditation, plenty of smoke from the fire pit and some hallucinations to go along. After the eerie environment has been pretty well established, a guitar provides a few plucked notes that even resemble a melody. It mingles with the spirit voices for while before an ultimate ascension to a new realm.
Regosphere a.k.a. Andrew Quitter is a name I feel like I've heard around for years but this is my first experience with his sounds. I think he runs Dumpster Score records but I'm not positive about that. The material on this tape was recorded with analog synthesizers and shortwave radio although it's not a cosmic journey of synthpads and static messages intercepted from other planets. This is noise motherfuckers. From the get-go, Regosphere grinds like a stalled jet engine. Turning over relentlessly. After establishing the thump-thud-thump-thud dynamic, Quitter takes things up a notch with some analog freakouts and alarm clock/telephone ring bleats and then cakes on the static like he's pouring concrete. Every so often there's a hint of melody buried 50 feet below but you gotta listen for it. Instantly grabbing your attention, the second track is even more aggressive with some pissed off insect leading the charge. It chugs and chugs with a perversely hypnotic rhythm. Nice!
May still be available from Pigeon Coup International

Lasse Marhaug - Angelica 2011/05/20 [Robert & Leopold]

Robert & Leopold has put out quite a few high-quality cassette editions by various noise artists in its short lifespan but this tape by Norwegian artist Lasse Marhaug just might be my favorite. The crisp, sparse visual design is a perfect complement to the sounds within. As the title suggests, this tape is a document of a live performance on May 20, 2011 at the Angelica Festival Internazionale di Musical in Bologna.
To be entirely honest with you, I don't recall ever hearing any of Marhaug's solo work prior to this tape but I love this stuff and I love Marhaug's style. There's so much space in the sound spectrum and Marhaug attacks it dynamically. Metal fragments clatter and jangle and deep bass tones percolate all in a bitter, uneasy air. The first fourth of the tape is probably my favorite, particularly because I love its restrained, minimal arrangement. As Marhaug's performance progresses, more elements are incorporated; waves of static agitation eventually coating the circuits and ultimately subsiding, once again revealing a bewitching aural environment.
The second side creates a thick, twitchy base of, well, bass. Blurred violin appears after some time and, later, on the other end of the stereo spectrum, strings are scraped and ground to a pulp. Halfway through, Marhaug starts in with alarmed, synthetic oscillations to play counterpart to the acoustic mangling. This is over violin sustain, whose consistency gets increasing unnerving as all other elements go into severe seizures. By the final minutes crumbling electronics have engulfed the audience.
What makes this tape so great is its overall sound is more akin to a cassette of solo percussion. Acoustic instrumentation/experimentation, percussive and non-, is vital to the performance and major props go to Roberto Monari who did a fantastic job recording the performance with dynamic clarity. The tape is not particularly aggressive, which is one of its strengths. Everyone loves a good old-fashioned mauling but Marhaug accomplishes something more difficult and infinitely more engaging. The tape is all about the details, of which I've barely scratched the surface. You hang on every peak and crag, you relish the momentary drops into semi-silence and the controlled tampering of electric and acoustic sound sources. "Atmosphere" seems an ill-fitting descriptor in this case; I prefer "presence." Angelica sounds like the work of a master at his craft.
Gone from R&L, but I'd certainly recommend testing the distro market.

Potier. - Einsicht in die Notwendigkeit [No Label]

Alright so bear with me, this project is from western Canada, has a French moniker and writes its titles in German. Maybe that person who first theorized about globalization is onto something after all.

This tape is harsh harsh harsh and if it was any longer than 20 minutes some serious damage might be done by these aural icicles. The first side "Deutsch/Weiss/Heterosexuell/Reproduktionsbereit" is seriously prickly. There's not much low-end just a rage of metallic daggers. This might be the ethereal version of harsh noise as it seems to float, untethered. It's a poisonous cloud. It shimmers while it thrashes. It tickles as it stings. This is the midpoint between peeling an onion with a cheese grater and exfoliating with a cheese grater. This is acupuncture with rusty nails. Well, you're probably getting the idea. I particularly like the end of the track where the reins are pulled a back a bit and the momentary relief makes the affair all the more unsettling.

The second side "Politisch Unauffaellig/Produktiv Arbeitend" is more forceful. It's actually trying to clean your clock instead of tease and torture you. Ear-splittingly and unapologetically rough, the track could probably cut you up a few different ways but it prefers just the one. It can cut deeper if it keeps stabbing the same wound. Total sonic wreck. Positively murderous.

I appreciate the no-holds-barred/no-fuckin'-around attitude of this tape. If you're in the mood for punishment, it's happy to oblige. And really, all self-respecting listeners out there enjoy getting the shit beat out of them sometimes. This is one of those times.

The tape is self-released and pro-dubbed chrome so its spikes are extra sharp. Get it here

German Army - Papua Mass [Night People]/German Army - Body Linguist [Skrot Up]

I'm not sure who this German Army is that keeps sending me tapes (well apparently it's two people named Chin Genie and Meatball Maker,) but I hope they don't stop. I wasn't even sure Germany was allowed to have an army yet after that whole World War II debacle.
First, they sent Body Linguist on the Danish Skrot Up label. Then they followed up with Papua Mass on the renowned Night People label. I like the first tape but I LOVE the second. I'll say it right now; these guys sound a ton like Excepter but, if you ask me, I think they're probably better. That's no insult to Excepter, just my feelings bro. Anyway, onto Papua Mass...
"Guinea Strong Arm" sets the tone. Hypnotic two-tone xylo-synth loop, dark organ melody, an ominous cascade of guitar swells and sloshed vox uttered through four or five pedals. The recipe is simple and seriously fuckin' potent. "Calypso Host" is a mess of echoing and/or reversed drum machine emanations. It grooves like a cripple, I don't know how it stays on its feet. Queasy synths roll in over the stomache-churning bass line as the singer dude drools out "I can't see the future." Perhaps not, but you're definitely onto something. This track reminds me of some of the stuff on Liquid Swords and that right there should send yr ass on a quest for this cassette right away. The cave-like "Nonsecular Wall" is consumed in a dank mist of reverb making it the most smeared track on the side, like hearing a drum circle down the longest hallway in the world. In classic iconoclast fashion, the side ends with an annoying stuttering that goes on for far, far too long.
The second side features "Tan Lines" a total Forbidden Planet-goes-dub jam. Primitive synths boop and streak over an echo-chamber snare. "Folded Skin" gets the most minimal of all with a pair of barely-there keyboards, until a flanged march fades in. A two-note bass line starts up adding a pulse to the strangely sparse arrangement. The vocals get the full chop/stop/screw/repeat treatment against an elegant, slowly building bed of synth-tones/samples. The closer, "Roman Lover" sounds like a slo-mo club track. An insectoid synth-loop burrows its way into yr brain underneath the spoken word story of disease. One of the real strengths of this tape is the way German Army never overdoes anything; they understand when they only need 2 or 3 elements to get their point across and when to expand the palette for effect, as in the final minutes of "Roman Lover."
All in all, this shit is really good. It sounds like some other stuff I've heard but I'm not sure if I've heard it done this well. German Army finds the delicate balance between junk-dub abstraction and actual listenability. To the German Military-Industrial Complex, keep pumpin' these motherfuckers out. I need more.

Gleefully demented, Body Linguist sounds like a predecessor to the more "refined" Papua Mass. Kicking off with the loopy "Earwigs" the first of 9 tracks to fill a 15 minute side, German Army makes no secret about the fragmentary of nature of the tape. "Horn Head" seems to peter out right when it hits it's stride. Same for a highlight, "Great Basin." The glowing embers of the keyboard melody in "Slave Worship" seems to promise a full-on move into "song" territory but instead it yields to the chilly keyboards and bent synth squeaks of "Ottoman Nurse." "Sick Standard" is rather raucous with a fuzzy synth riff and a menagerie of electronic pops and splashes. "Natural Space Skin" mashes some square pegs into round holes and "Throat Bender" chooses to fill the sound spectrum with sustained keyboard tones and heavily effected drum machine. The final track, "Peeling the Foot," is probably the longest and benefits from the length. It's given a bit of time to unfurl itself even if the ground underneath its feet is constantly shifting. The vocalist trails off and the side is over. The program repeats on the next side.

Body Linguist begs for an extended cut or for Germany Army to "remix" it or something. There's tons of great material throughout the tape, and while I respect the fragmentary nature, I can't deny it always leaves me wanting more of it and more from it. Maybe this was a trial run of sorts before moving into the longer songs of Papua Mass but as I said, there's lots material here worth developing or refashioning in future endeavors.

Definitely check this band out, Papua Mass is the first must-hear of the year from my perspective.

Steve Baczkowski - Tone Arm [Cae-sur-a]

Here's the deal, Cory Card known for his Foxy Digitalis scribin' and his Stone Baby vibin' launched a cassette label earlier in the year christened Cae-sur-a. They've been rollin' right along droppin' a bunch of cool tapes all over the sonic map. Some killer noise from York Factory Complaint, perhaps even more killer drones from Hering und Siene Sieben and Pine Smoke Lodge and even some rock bands are in there. However, the crown jewel in my estimation fits firmly in the "other" category.

The inside flap describes Tone Arm as "a solo improvisation for turntables, prepared records, tone arm, bells, implements, flutes, vibratube, baritone sax ..." Wow, I shudder to think what that ellipsis implies. In case you didn't glean it from the tape's own description, Tone Arm is bonkers! I'd never heard any of Steve Baczkowski's work before this. I know he did a record on baritone sax with Bill Nace that I should track down but otherwise, the guy's a mystery to me. How representative is Tone Arm of his repertoire? No idea. Does this guy crank out madness such as Tone Arm with the ease in which others eat breakfast? That's a scary thought indeed.

I give up, this is too difficult to pin down; I'm sitting here at my keyboard trying to catch as catch can with little success. Um, where can I start? Where's a foothold? I think there might be some bird calls in here. Maybe? But then again they could be sounds that only sound like bird calls. After an initial trial by fire--wild speed manipulation scree--at the outset, the first side settles into a nice little abstract riverboat trip. The aforementioned birds are chirping, a slo-mo record creates the ebb and flow of the swampy current; it makes for some pleasant traveling, observing the exotic locale. That is until Baczkowski pops his lid. There's an explosion of sound, among it violently clattered bells and a severely trash'd and slash'd old timey song--could be a TV show theme for all I know. All the fragmented non-music cues are subsidized by flute pieces and other more "recognizably" musical elements, perhaps wisely. No one without a taste for the bizarre will probably dig this but to Baczkowski's credit, this is pretty accessible for being so far off the deep end. Tone Arm sounds like it was recorded/created in real time, and considering how well paced and composed it sounds this Baczkowski seems like a real proficient mind warper.

There's a pause as the tape reverses course but the second side brings back the energy instantly. A series of percussive loops lope along in hypnotized cave man bliss while Bacz regurgitates all sorts of movie monster moans and twisted whistle sound mess. The side gets more and more discombobulated as it moves forward, concussing itself, slipping itself into its own coma. Oddly enough, out of this fog of uncertainty Baczkowski winds up these strange, dare I say, catchy loops and lets 'em fly. He's obviously digging it; he grabs his baritone and wails away over his makeshift backing band until pressing stop.

This cassette is really wild and I'm not at all sure how to succinctly describe it. It's plunderphonic, sure, but that's far from its defining trait. It has some of the left-field, psychedelic sample-clutter feel that Tomutonttu has pioneered, and then there's guitar "players" like Nace and Brian Ruryk that share the penchant for dynamic use of noise. Of course I can't leave out West Mass weird fucks like Chris Cooper and ID M Theft Able in my spaghetti-throw. Are any of these sticking? Well, regardless, this tape is sticking in my deck because for a mere 20 minutes Baczkowski covers miles of too-little-if-ever-seen territory.

As these things go, the good ones are always gone, so hit the distros to track down a copy of this son of a bitch. Cae-sur-a is still stocked with a bunch of other good tapes of all stripes, so I recommend giving the site a peep.

Idaho Joe Windslow - Smoke Your Fear [Psychic Sound]

This record came out of nowhere. It is almost like some spirit out there guided it into my unknowingly open arms.

Armed with a bevy of gear including a home-made "gongtar" along with tabla machine, lehara machine, "Arabic Casio SK8-A," Pakistani Bul Bul, Tibetan creaking drum and more, Windslow integrates each element of his sound perfectly. His droning, metallic gongtar, the trippy grooves of his tabla and lehara machines, his deep voiced, lethargic delivery of lyrics about ghosts and out-of-body experiences.

Lead off track "Out of Body Experience" is still probably my favorite as it's such a perfect nutshell of what Idaho Joe does and does so well. A seriously infectious melody emanates from the lehara machine (I think) while Joe wields all sorts of creaks and glistening grind from his gongtar. His beyond sloshed vocals lay out the LPs main aim as he petitions you to "experience an out-of-body experience." This really is a track you gotta hear, gotta feel as words don't do justice to its trifecta of creepiness, trippiness and catchiness.

"Arabic Casio (Sk8-A) Sampling Function" is an instrumental interlude showcasing the, you guessed it, Arabic Casio's sampling function. Joe throws his metallic gongtar daggers over a tight match-up of tabla and lehara machines in "When Fear Overflows Into Ecstasy". He sings about fear making you feel warm and fuzzy but this song sure doesn't make me feel that way. Dude's gonna hurt someone with that gongtar.

After the 45-second warbly drum solo of "Ektar Solo," another album standout called "My Own Ghost" wraps the first side. I had never thought of "Hey this guy has a pretty good life" being a catchy refrain but man it is here. The gongtar sounds jangly rather than grisly here too which certainly contributes to its sing-along quality.

The second side opens with a fantastic piece of analog electric tamboura called "Analog Electric Tamboura." It's highly evocative, so much so I think it could be fleshed out into a film score. It makes for a perfect midpoint in the record.

"Poltergeist" brings the tabla machine hard and heavy (you may recognize it from Punch-Drunk Love) as Windslow waxes about feeling spirits around you. "Sk8-A with Distortion" makes for a surprisingly weird little interlude. I tend to have a set idea of what can be done with a Casio but Windslow wrings out some weird and squirming sounds from it.

The lehara machine crawls a lot slower on "Great Great Grand Brother." The gongtar drones come long and slow as well. I love that it ends with "you feel like the entire youniverse"

"Heaven's a Booby Trap" details what to do if you see a light at the end of the tunnel. Windslow's advice? "Don't go. Heaven's a booby trap." Windslow sounds most convicted on this track. Perhaps it's because the Casio beat and gongtar stay far enough in the distance that Windslow's voice twists comparatively naked in the wind.

This is a seriously bitchin' record. Nothing else like it my collection. Definitely do what you can track this down.

Psychic Sound did a great job putting this package together: multi-layer screenprinted front and back covers, thick vinyl, sweet labels, and very informative insert with lyrics and instrument listing for each song. Contact Psychic Sound and berate them until they repress this spooked out monster.

Parashi - The Wine is Safer than the Water. [Skell]

Parashi is the project of NY-based Mike Griffin who I gather, based on a couple of CDrs from his Skell imprint, is a righteous dude. (He also dropped a tape on the famed Stunned imprint this year that I somehow missed out on.) Griffin also collaborates with Ray Hare (Fossils From the Sun, Century Plants etc.) which is a match-made in heaven if I've ever heard one. Need I continue?

On The Wine is Safer than the Water. which Griffin "recorded live using synthesizers, metal objects, contact microphones and various percussive devices" is a killer little disc. Namely what's so killer about it is the restrained presence of the synthesizer. Now, I love synths as much as the next guy but it's really exciting to hear someone, such as Griffin here, working with such dynamic sounds and minimal, reasoned structures rather than flooding a tape with synth sustain.

The top jam, "And the People are Often Drunk" unfurls itself over the course of 7 minutes. Ever so slightly, the once small clicks, clacks and crackles become agitated, and begin to burgeon and swell sucking up the formerly plentiful amounts of space. From manipulated percussive clatter at the front of the track to the grinding machinery at the end, Griffin plans a well thought-out route and then navigates and paces the trip wonderfully. "This Results in an Increase" begins somewhere around where "Often Drunk" ends. A low rattle gnaws away, wisps of sounds scrape by occasionally. Midway through, a synth tone becomes discernible but is quickly plucked apart, tendon by tendon, cannibalized by its own sonic surroundings. "In Their Pronounced Tendency" over multiple layers of sputtering machinery, the synth gets another shot and sirens away gently, relatively unharmed. That is until a rabid a hyena gets into the circuit boards. The cackling and screeching are offset by a deep, smoothly throbbing basstone that makes the whole affair all the more queasy. "Toward Violence" cuts its length to under for 4 minutes for a more distilled kernel-ing of the ideas that preceded. Various percussive sounds trip and stumble, emanating through delay pedals keeping slurred, synth washes at bay throughout the duration. The most radio-ready track of the bunch! Nice!

The ever reliable Eric Hardiman wasn't blowing any smoke when he praised this guy. With this CDr, Griffin shows a much appreciated sense of adventure and a sheer knack for complex, thoroughly engaging compositions/performances. We may have a real talent on our hands, folks.

Edition of 50, Skell looks like it may still have some copies.

Froe Char - A New Swan's Death [Free Loving Anarchists]

This was a good lesson to never judge a tape by it's cover. There was a picture of a super goth'd woman on the inside who I gather is Froe Char, the title A New Swan's Death was not givin' me good vibes (perhaps because I really hated that fuckin' Black Swan movie which was fresh in my mind at the time) and I really had no clue what Froe Char meant or how I was supposed to pronounce it. I guess that goes a long way to expose my prejudices of goth-looking album photos, the word "swan" used in conjuction with "black" or "death" and, of course, band names that confuse me. You know what showed me the error of my ways? Actually listening to the tape. It's a brief one but pretty dang good too.

Released by Texan label Free Loving Anarchists, Froe Char drops 8 songs in 20 or so minutes. Each is steeped in reverb but never really sounds spacey or euphoric to its credit.

"Morning Rax" pounds away on a rudimentary acoustic guitar with multi-tracked voice, practically drowned out by all the echoes surrounding them. "In Waste" rolls along on a two-chord guitar progression, sloshed vox and minimal drum machine taps with a fantastically subtle counter-melody appearing midway through that really sells me on the jam. For as simple as the song is, Froe Char did a hell of a job creating a ton of depth and texture in the arrangement. This has slowly become one of my favorites on the tape. The following track, "Seppuku," which may or may not be about samurai, I can't tell, was the instant stand-out my first time through. It really hustles. Sharp organ tones and a relentless drum machine keep the energy jacked from the get go and from there the artist has a lot of fun arranging soft, melting vocals and other subtle, nearly subliminal instrument parts. Not too much fun though, as the track feels like it only lasts for a minute. The title track seals up the first side. Plenty of flanged whooshes fly through track which is built around a basic acoustic arpeggio.

I can almost understand the lyrics in "Saying Again" which is a first for the tape. It's a very pretty ballad, with all the instrumentation blending into an almost effervescent coating. "The Arsonist" is another favorite. A sizzling, uptempo drum machine pump-pump-pumps underneath an excellent bassy guitar riff. Aside from multi-tracked vocals, that's the extent of the arrangement but, damn if it's not a potent combination. "Resume" cools it down a notch with a keyboard beat, round organ tones and slurred, spoken lyrics. "The Burial Song" is a great choice to close on. The most open sounding guitar on the tape appears, strummed gently with a really great (and a little bit eerie) keyboard melody leading the way.

All in all, this is a really cool tape. There are certainly some standouts but the more important quality to note is there are no duds. Froe Char has a great sound (I hesitate to make a comparison to Grouper or someone of that ilk since Froe Char seems to approach her music with a more energetic viewpoint) but most importantly there are some great ideas underneath the reverb. A promising voice in the blandscape of hushed, reverb-buried songwriters.

It looks like Free Loving Anarchists still has a few copies of the tape on sale for a fiver. Edition of 80 copies.

Sunflare - Sunflare [Cubic Pyramid]

This raw debut tape by Sunflare on the up & coming Portuguese label Cubic Pyramid is two sides of fun. Earlier in the year, I reviewed another psych tape by dUAsSEMIcOLCHEIASiNVERTIDAS also on a young Portuguese label A Giant Fern, where the group experimented with different styles and instrumentation; that is not the case with Sunflare, the trio know exactly what competition they're participating in and they go for the gold.

You will be able to decide if you like the first side "On the Red" literally from the opening seconds. There are three elements: 1) relentless, swinging drums 2) a chunky, clutch bassline 3) a free-wheeling, wah-soaked six-string burning rubber all over the goddam place. That right there is all you need to know really. Not into that? No need to bother.

Sunflare goes at it with gusto which I really appreciate. Too many psych bands out there don't have enough balls for me. If I'm gonna listen to your 15 minute jam you had better not waste my fucking time.

The last couple minutes get really good when the dude with the ax really starts to shred and eventually just settles into slammin' out power chords before opening up for some more shredding. The rhythm section is rock solid to the core until they eventually call it quits as the tape runs out.

The second side is titled "Into the City (Night Vision)" and the name is fitting as its much chillier despite still being completely fuzz drenched. After the gutsy energy of the first side it's nice to transition into moodier territory. There's a healthy dose of reverb and whammy bar providing Twin Peaks-esque dark surf moves every so often. The rhythm section kicks in and the jam is in motion all of a sudden retaining the chiaroscuro lighting of the intro. The guitarist goes way off in his own world, leaving it to the bassist to navigate the track through it's various movements and eventually guide the ship home. The back half of the track mellows things out in a really effective manner, building tension before laying on some burned-out psych wreckage before pulling the plug.

The group has a raw knack for this kind of stuff and I think there's a lot of potential to be developed by the trio. They aren't afraid to get wild and really go for it, and that's a quality that can never be valued highly enough.

Cubic Pyramid has since released a 12" by Sunflare but this tape is still available it looks like and it comes with cool paper and vellum overlay artwork. Psych-heads take note

Che Chen - Che Chen [Pilgrim Talk]/Bridesmaid/Sunsplitter - Split [Bastard Sloth]

I'm pairing up these two 7inches for review for two vague reasons. They both have ties to Illinois and their covers look vaguely similar and alien to me. Otherwise, I'm not sure these have anything else in common whatsoever other than their size.

I'd never heard of Che Chen before but record features a complex system of "violin, sine wave generators, feedback and tape delay" which definitely got me excited and I always expect Nick Hoffman's Pilgrim Talk label to offer something interesting. I like violin quite a bit and it's rare I get to hear it in a solo or semi-solo context such as this. The first side "Pulaski Wave (Violin Halo)" features a beautiful pairing of overdubbed violins. They teeter back and forth between drones, half melodies and skronky aggression. The sine wave generator provides a round, near-constant hum which, while subtle, fills out the lower end of the spectrum to complement the sharper violin notes. I think the oscillators are somehow rigged to interact with the violin, though that whole business flies way over my head. Overall, the side is really tastefully considered. The range of sounds available from a violin are employed while keeping within the mellow context dictated by the sine wave generator.

The second side "Newtown Creek Mirror Lag" features tape delay in addition. It's more melodic that it's predecessor without sacrificing any edge or interest in the less "pleasant" sounds violins have to offer. There's a jaunty beat created via the electronics manipulation of the violin. I'm reminded of Cajun violin when the player's feet are constantly tapping a rhythm along with his action on the strings. Here, with the help of tape in the form of delay and overdubbing Chen applies this principle in a more integrated fashion, where the rhythm is derived directing from the instrument its supporting.

This is a great little record and I'll have to be on the lookout for Chen's name now. The artwork is super-minimal but the record comes with awesome blue labels which feature detailed diagrams of the systems used for each track. My favorite detail, on the second side, is "Violin Tuning: ?"

This split from the Bastard Sloth label is a small slice of metal.

I've never heard of Bridesmaid before but it's a double bass and drums trio. Something that's kind of funny to me is the two bassists play exactly the same thing almost the entire track. I am guessing they have no pretensions about doing some kind of dueling bass thing, they're just trying to sound fucking heavy. Who can't get down with a band that wants to sound really heavy?

The band's totally in sync; since it's one big rhythm section the drums follow pretty closely to what the basses are doing. The first half of the track "Vilkin' it for All it's Worth" plays around with a heavy lurch & groove riff, with sort of an ebb and flow to the rhythm eventually transitioning to a tighter arrangement. The band kicks into the next gear in the second half of the track which I really dig. They launch into "pummel" mode, with a surprisingly melodic touch. There's not a lot to report, just that Bridesmaid is rollin' hard and heavy, riding the riff to the end groove. Not too shabby.

I have a full length Sunsplitter tape on Land of Decay that I still need to give the review treatment but the band's offering here is probably the best track I've heard from them. On "Plum Blossom" (a pretty metal title if I do say so myself) you notice instantly that instead of basses SS has two guitars. In fact neither band shares an instrument. It's almost like a 6-person metal band split in half and put out a 7 inch. The guitars duke it out with their own slo-mo riffs while the vocalist sings and delivers swathes of noise and loops. A. Dunn's vocals are a good match for this sort of thing, they are low and sort of lethargic (only word I can make out is "flower") and they exist inside the mix rather than on top of it. Minimal drum programming occasionally kicks into full-on double-bass drum mode but it's the guitars that do the heavy lifting here from every angle. They really hold down the rhythm, the melody and control the dynamics of the song. Sometimes content to pound away at a measured pace other times delivering twisty leads. All in all, it's a pretty badass track with a lot going for it. The more I listen, the bigger the fan I become.

I dig the vibe of these guys because they retain a certain "classic-ness" but they aren't afraid to tuck vocals into just a single section of a song, or use a drum machine or smear acrid coats of noise over their arrangements at times. Also props to Bridesmaid for doing their own thing as well. And there's no cookie monster vox on either side; I'm in metal heaven.

Both records are available from their respective labels. The Bridesmaid/Sunsplitter record is also available in gold which is pretty sweet. Pilgrim Talk put out the Che Chen record in an uncharacteristically large edition of 300 so you can definitely get your hands on a copy and grab the deeply strange Psychophagi LP while you're at it.

Remnants - Vision Being [Imminent Frequencies]

Got a lovely-looking noise tape from Remnants to discuss from the Imminent Frequencies label. I dig the whole visual vibe of this thing; top notch inspiration, design and execution.

This is the only release I've heard from Remnants but based on the sounds on display here, it's a quite a fitting name. The feel of the tape is noisy but at a distance. Either it was recorded in a large space or more likely there are a few reverb pedals in the effects chain. Short, constant delay drives the side as waves of feedback ebb, flow and crash. Apparently, the only sound sources on the tape were a pair of contact mics. The aim of the tape is interesting because despite the basis in noise electronics it's also trying for some of that resonant temple drone feel (that goal is confirmed by the artwork.)

The first side is a good deal stronger than the second. It begins with copious amounts of decayed, blurry feedback, but a little ways in the piece settles into a deeper, darker place. The feedback crust is wiped away somewhat, and vocals and other noises are able to come through. Vocals create a nice melody sounding almost like an incredibly bassy pipe organ. I'm definitely feeling this section of the tape; it sounds much richer and infinitely more expansive. The tape begins to rupture towards the end; stuttering, crackling in danger of getting torn from the face of the earth.

I think in seem some ways all the reverb does a disservice to the second side because it smooths out the dynamics so much. You can do a lot of interesting things with contact mics but all the sounds get kind of flattened out here. Furthermore, the first side doesn't really have much of an arc to me. A side doesn't have to have an arc necessarily but on the other hand it doesn't really hit that deep drone sweet spot either.

Imminent Frequencies has been trucking along quite well it seems dropping tapes from the likes of famous "C" names: C. Spencer Yeh, Chapels and an upcoming one from Collapsed Arc that should be good. Based on the high-quality production value and the variety of sounds emanating from it, IF could be a label to watch.

Joe Kile - So Many Nights [Unread]

It's not too often I end up with a tape like Joe Kile's in hand. I mean the cassette world of raging noise, euphoric tones, grimey rock & roll, 70s analog synth revivalists, wingnut instrument abusers etc. is awesome and I love all those sounds. But you know what? Sometimes there's nothing better than popping in a tape of sweetly classic folk tunes.

I mean there's not really an angle to take on Joe Kile. He's not a certified outsider weirdo, or at least his music doesn't give me that impression. He doesn't bury his songs in lo-fidelity scuzz or howl demented lyrics. He just writes some good songs.

Released on Baltimore's Unread label, Kile crams 20 tracks onto a c32. The lead off "title track" features a far away thump-crash rhythm and the occasional six string embellishment. Proving to be a defining characteristic throughout the album, Kile's voice and its gentle twang is the center of the action with perfect, subtle accompaniment from the instrumentation. "Feeling So Tired" has a nice organ procession as a weary Kile hums "I'm so tired of feeling so tired." "Heat of Misery" is absolutely my favorite. It's one of the most "country" tunes and it's quite an elegant, understated ballad about the death of a relationship. Kile is at his best lyrically, speaking as an omniscient narrator delivering poetic commentary and even manages to squeeze a guitar and banjo solo in there too. The gently warbling organ of "Feeling So Tired" appears on "I Heard it When You Called Me" but the whole thing cut offs after a half minute. "Living on Mars" changes things up considerably with a super crunchy electric guitar that practically drowns out Kile's voice.

Kile cuts through the next bunch of tracks quickly. "Balloon" is brief and nearly an a capella. "Firey Red" in addition to a dirty guitar, muffles Kile's drawl in fuzz. "Glass Bulb" is one of the bigger head turners as all of a sudden you're dropped into a crispy disco beat louder than both the guitar and voice. Just as quickly you're yanked out for "You n' Me" a plaintive ballad about "doin' some honkin' tonkin' just like old times" which features quite a pretty piano/organ arrangement in the outro. The instrumental "Bad Time" is an odd guitar/organ pastiche and closes the side.
The second side opens with "Bend and Peel" which is an a.m. radio pop tune basically. Jaunty strums, jaunty drum machine and even jauntier organ stabs make for an incredibly buoyant pick-me-up that contrasts well with Kile's typical mellow, wearied style. One of the finer tunes on the tape. A dose of warbly strings make their presence known on the brief "Takin' Off". "Southern Heat" ought to be climbing the charts with its timely topic; "You can't beat Southern heat" is a refrain many would agree with. "North Brook" features a searing little riff which Kile cools down with his soft coo. "Old Tom" vacillates between fragmented strings and becoming a rising stomper. The closer, "Sometimes All the Words Come Out Wrong" is another good one. It's one of the more layered arrangements on the tape with multiple guitars and organ cascading and subsiding, and it's all the better for it.

The criticism I have to level at So Many Nights, is it's put together pretty roughly and cramming so many songs into a short amount of time causes some to bleed together. Maybe that's the idea, bleeding together like memories from so many nights. Either way, a significant amount of songs don't hit (or barely hit) the minute mark so quite a few feel underdeveloped. There's certainly a gap between the best, most developed songs and less developed ones. The fact that songs are often cut off a tad prematurely due to the dubbing causes things to be a occasionally jarring as well. Those points said, they are small complaints. I am glad I have this tape and have been introduced to Kile's work, perhaps he's the sort that puts out more polished records and then scrappy, rough-hewn tapes like this.
It's hard to pinpoint a good reference point because Kile's style is so classic and steeped in tradition; he sounds like everyone, in a good way. I'm thinking his music is maybe a little like Pumice but thoroughly inspired by Americana? I may just be reaching for a comparison there but Kile is a voice worth hearing if you like classic Western song forms on cassette. Unread seems to be quite a neat little label as well. Check 'em both out!

Clay Man in the Well - Kupe's Sail [Peasant Magik]

This warbly, hissing mess is one Antony Milton's latest works, and amongst his finest.

The first of many untitled racks is a highlight with it's backwards noises, unintelligible vocals, and a killer guitar/drums combo that drops in in the second half. Milton follows that up with some loose guitarin' , augmented by shards of feedback and melted organ tones. It's a really great track that has revealed itself more on repeated listens. Changing gears, the third track spotlights a couple of layers of organ (AM dropped a whole record of chord organ so you know he's into the instrument.)

One of the best things about the tape is that its looseness is a defining factor and strength. Milton makes the listener feel at home in his musical wanderings, the steady stream of new approaches is never jarring. The fourth piece for instance features a sizable build-up. In fact, almost the entire track is a build-up, basically a journey-not-the-destination sort of thing. Milton does change directions though, delivering a fantastic resolution without resorting to providing answers. The piece is a gorgeous little number with a fractured, faraway melody. There's a warmth certainly , but with forlorn trappings. I imagine it soundtracking a vacated farmhouse, the emptiness consequent of tragedy. Really just utterly gorgeous. Milton provides soft vocals but wisely leaves the focus on the central melody allowing his voice to fade into the track's ether. The final piece works in AM radio trance mode. It almost sounds like Milton's version of "Dream On" but I think he's just borrowing the phrase. It turns out to be a rather epic jam with a nice organ-led coda following it up.

The second side opens with a fragile little folksy tune. Wispy voice, intertwined guitar and piano lines and footsteps keeping time. What begins as fragile feels convicted by its end. Nice work. The track that follows is a weird one. Plinking piano keys are featured upfront as Milton delivers speedy, rather incomprehensible spoken word. A lot of feedback and scuzz takes over, rumbling along on a deep bit of drumming. Hot string bends fall all over each other as Milton whips out ragged riff after riff. Milton's brief vocals are barely detectable under the racket but I really like that they make it in, you get a true sense of how heavy the din is. The next piece is quite nice. An unwound, just out-of-tune ballad of guitar, voice, field recordings and a sawed violin. The mellow vibes perfectly follow up the previous wreckage. Slipping into something a little more warbly, multi-tracked acoustic arpeggios vie for control over manipulated field recordings until a new guitar takes the lead with a stomper. Some violin shreddin' and a great vocal melody from AM bring the track home. One his best quieter tunes on the tape. A shiny, ramshackle folk thing is stretched out with soft, bowed drones and organ tones and various guitar melodies making for a fantastic send off. The second side doesn't offer as many high points but it's still incredibly consistent throughout.

The tape is a really cool little journey but seems to have flown under the radar a bit. It's got that rustic, cassette-coated guitar wanderer vibe of Ignatz records but with a penchant for noise rock. Not a bad combo in the least, give this thing a look.

In Rotation #8

Dang, it's been a while since I've done one of these In Rotation things. And since, so much incredible stuff has found its way to me one way or another so I'm gonna spew it all out at you.

I caught Chicago free jazz crew Tiger Hatchery at Seattle's best show so far this year (they shared the bill with an amazingly free and melodic set by Wally Shoup and Don Berman (dude's got one of the coolest drumming styles I've ever seen,) Jason E. Anderson (Brother Raven) did live analog modular processing of saxophonist Wilson Shook and Panabrite closed the night with deep synth vibes.) The Hatchery blew the roof off the place, still one of the most intense, relentlessly energetic jazz ensembles I've ever encountered. Dudes were all super nice too, I complimented Andrew Michael Young on his solo Catholic Tape and I was pleasantly met with news of a second tape to be released in the future. Ben Billington also gave me his recent tape as Quicksails on Deception Island, another sweet entry in his unique percussion-inspired solo synthery. While I was there I obviously clutched a bounty of proper Tiger Hatchery stuff too: an insanely good one-sided LP on Pizza Night, a cassette on Baked Tapes, the best bang for the buck, with a live set on each side, and a split 7inch split with rock band Lechuguillas (who they modestly stated delivered the better side; modesty is great and all but please allow me to disagree, Tiger Hatchery.) Killer band, if you missed their tour, well, that was dumb.

More killer Chicago shit (is there something in the beer over there?) Running's self-titled 45rpm LP on Permanent. A wailin' and wall-shakin' Chicago noise rock record. Sloshed, uptempo Jesus Lizard-on-amphetamines gnarlyisms. Some of the cuts barely qualify as songs and others drop the catchiest riffs and most inept drum solos in ten counties, all the while feedback bleeds all over the record even between its 13 tracks. There is no silence on this record! Awesome. Check this band out already!

Speaking of silence, I gotta talk about this new Rale LP on Isounderscore. First of all, fuck. Have you seen this record? Like for real seen it in person? If you haven't, you won't be able to begin to understand what I'm talking about. Seeing a picture of the jacket online will give you an idea of what it looks like but make no mistake, the record in person is simply gorgeous. It's so simple, so elegant and just perfect. Kudos to Brandon Nickels's design work. As far as the sounds go they are quite stately as well. Rale aka Bill Hutson has created quite a fantastic drone record; one that does not lull (or dull) you into submission with constancy or repetition but it instead breathes. Hutson constructs it meticulously to move through stretches of sculpted sounds and pure silence seamlessly. I just got this and can tell it's a good one. I am looking forward diving in many more times.

"Meticulous construction" and Sightings are two terms that I've never really thought about together until now. "Now" being since I got Future Accidents the latest LP by Sightings, released by Our Mouth. This is the best Sightings record I have heard. It's got all the good things about Sightings but revamped into a more studied, cerebral brand of noise rock. The side-length track "Public Remains" on the B-side (which features help from Pat Murano) could pass for (or in fact is rather) an excellent example of modern abstract composition. It's dense and complex stuff but immediately listenable. Really outstanding work. Shahin Motia and Kid Millions engineered this record which reminds me when are Ex Models gonna drop another record?

Moreso than any other label this year, Weird Forest has been blowing me away. Of course part of that is me digging through their back catalog as well but still, props. One of the smartest moves made by Davy Bui when he became the new CEO last year was instituting tapes into the Weird Forest pantheon. Matt Kretzmann (Garrincha & the Stolen Elk) dropped a tape earlier in the year which is a great cassette-concrete thing he had done like a decade ago or something, glad it finally saw the light of day! I can hear traces of its style in Garrincha, but it's definitely a path of its own worth traveling down. And damn man, Bui went 3 for 3 with the new tapes he dropped recently. Colour Buk delivers a half hour of intermingling avant-junk skronk rock with super-weird and really awesome songs. The Preterite dropped a hearty two full hours of magical piano/tape manipulation pieces. It's always nice to have another reason to add a double cassette to the collection. The crown jewel of the three for me is Kevin Corcoran's Haptic Music, an absolutely stunning tape of solo percussion. It's the kind of thing that not everyone will be down with but they fuckin' should be. Corcoran's approach to his instruments (or "objects" may be more apt) is patient, tender (sometimes) and fascinatingly detailed. His subtle manipulations make for extremely engaging aural gestures in the headphones. It's music for people who love to listen. One track is actually pretty too, as Corcoran pulls drones out his drums. Along with the tapes, Weird Forest dropped a to-the-letter reissue of Symphony for a Genocide by Maurizio Bianchi (billed as M.B.) which was gone in a flash (all 520 copies!) I had never actually heard any M.B. stuff which is why I picked it up. Apparently Bianchi is a pretty conceptual guy stating "The moral of this work: The past punishment is the inevitable blindness of the present" and, well, whatever. I'm not exactly seeing what the gnarled tones and relentless beats contained on the record have to do with that. Good thing I only really care about gnarled tones and relentless beats. This thing seems like it could have been made today and it's 30 years old. Modern experimental music you are really behind the times. Also, Noveller released a new album of her trademarked tangled guitar strings called Glacial Glow. Weird Forest collected a bunch of Terrors cassette tracks, forming a new CD/LP of barely-fi, heavy-on-the-lethargy tunes called Qagan Lord. A few keepers on the record for sure. Perhaps the most interesting of the new full lengths is Garrincha and the Stolen Elk's Void. In some ways it has a touch of a post-rock feel. Not the shitty neo-prog stuff but the classics like early Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Of course, where there was like 20 people on a Godspeed record you got two here; though the two, the aforementioned Bui and Kretzmann, are products of the current multi-tasking, 17-instruments-to-every-person scene. Long story short the record is still a bit of an enigma to me as it is, and when you think about it in context with their previous releases, well, that makes it all the more enigmatic.

No strangers to blowing me away, Stunned dropped their second to last batch of tapes and well the batch probably couldn't be any more flawless. A.M. Shiner drops a weirdly musical tape (is that an actual instrument, and not a stalled transmission, that I hear?) Super Minerals go straight off the deep end with Contacteer and continue their hot streak of one-upping the release that came before. Not sure if you caught that, but basically each successive Minerals release has been better than the last, at least for a while now anyway, not many bands you can say that about. M. Geddes Gengras and Jeremy Kelly play analog synth-sparring partners as Voder Deth Squad to masterful, mind-blowing effect. Think Gengras's other Stunned tapes and then imagine him dueling with some kind of alternate reality doppelganger. Santa Cruz, CA's Ugly Husbands (which I haven't heard since their very nice debut cassette) delivers an abstract spectacle of lo-fi bedroom songwriting while on the flipside resides Gul Bara, a Warm Climate side project--need I say more to entice you? A duo of Seth Kasselman and Caitlin C. Mitchell, Gul Bara is maybe a little like an expansion of those interludes between "songs" on the Warm Climate records, but where as those interludes were strategically calculated, each piece here is left looser to thrive on its own accord.

The Rise of Elklink delivered by, you guessed it, Elklink is a LP reissue on KYE of a cassette released way back in 1998 (yes, "My Heart Will Go On" was stilling ruling the airwaves when this initially came out.) Graham Lambkin, thank you for reissuing this. This record is way too fucking nutty to get lost in the past. The duo of Lambkin and wife Adris Hoyos (Harry Pussy) have created something that hasn't gotten any less confounding in its 13 years of existence. The source of practically all sounds on the record is the human voice but, it's most likely not what you imagine it is after a description like that. This is a record for someone who loves tactile sounds, minute sounds magnified and all textures that can be derived from physically manipulating something i.e. me.

Blanche Blanche Blanche, the metamorphosis of a Zach Phillips project I loved to pieces, GDC, delivers lots of good homemade minimal pop pieces ("Heroes of the Microphone" probably being the definitive statement thus far for a few reasons) on their debut tape (pictured) for Night People. The duo seem on the verge of blowing up, Night People are dropping an LP later this year and Pitchfork and Vogue are already drinking the kool-aid. Looking forward to more.

Avant Archive has been all over the map of good shit this year. Take a gander for yourself. Recently Mr. Michael Jantz dropped tapes by Talk West, Bret Schneider and HMS. They're all so different it is hard to rank them. Talk West was initially my favorite with its patient pedal steel meditations but now, I don't know, Schneider's balls-to-wall loopy computerisms are really sticking in my mind and that doesn't even take into account the staggering showmanship of HMS' guitar/synth/drums improvisations. How about you take a listen and tell me for a change?

Seattle-area crew Extraordinary Pigeons and Regosphere (who is PDX-based if I'm not mistaken) just dropped a split cassette via Pigeon Coup International. The last I heard from the X-Pigeons was a Zine/Flexi-lathe which was a short track of harsh, grainy noise derived from an "audio-ization" of the images in the zine. Their side here is a spooky acoustic-drone piece reminding me of the days of 2008 when everyone was high on GHQ. Needless to say it caught me a bit off-guard but I like it. Regosphere contrasts EP's acoustic activities with a nasty wall of noise. Concocted with analog synthesizer and shortwave radio, the two pieces have guts to back up all the noise and sometimes even lock into strange hypnotic places. Nice work.

Also got a weird tape by Chica X on HeWhoCorrupts Inc. who is an eight year-old girl who raps over home-made beats by her pops. That sounds like a gimmick but most of the tracks are pretty sweet such as opener "Da Bank (1, 2 Step)" Chica X is at her finest when she's droppin' lines like "on my malibu bike and I'm feelin' kinda happy" or sneers "It's not that hard to get a library card" and taunts "How's that job at micky dees treatin' you?/Guess you shoulda been hittin the books instead of skippin' school" on stand-out "To the Library..." A couple tracks aren't as strong but overall the tapes a lot of fun.