the ground
where the proving gets proved and the doing gets done
it's a cassette if it doesn't say otherwise
ACTIVITY PALS
PO Box 376 East Northport NY 11731 USA
brighttoy@aol.com
http://www.geocities.com/sunsetstrip/mezzanine/8131
“Night Into Light (Activity Pals Theme)” is a jump-up take on Luscious
Jackson’s bogus honkey funk with a dude rapping and fuzz bass! “No
Feel” is a lo fi acoustic track that recalls, er, Violent Femmes with
its self-loathing lyrics and whiny-ass delivery. “Ewok Ebonics”
takes a more Soul Coughing approach with nonsensical wordplay over a throwaway
groove. “King Midas’ Daughter” uses a Casio and sounds like
The Fall! Like it was thrown together on the spot. “Time-Share Sue”
is lofi-er than heck and may have been recorded live. Pure new wave with a
vocal line that sounds like 1979 XTC! With which I am currently unable to
argue. “Nuclear Extinction” too! “Deathlips” is song title
of the month! Jumpy lo fi new wave! Get with it!
Ian C Stewart
A MURDER OF ANGELS
WHILE YOU SLEEP CD
Middle Pillar PO Box 555, New York, NY 10009 USA
info@middlepillar.com
http://www.middlepillar.com
Though a more apt title would be WHILE YOU LIE AWAKE NERVOUSLY WATCHING THE
SHADOWS, this album is a traumatic, extremely impressive piece of work. It’s
a virtual soundtrack to a nightmare... suffocating, claustrophobic, doomed.
Not even the scariest, most twisted Current 93, Coil, or Skinny Puppy album
could compare to the perfectly orchestrated fright on this CD. I swear I won’t
be able to sleep for weeks! The music is a contorted mesh of soundscapes,
blending what seem like harrowing moans at times with cellar banging and thunderous
tones. This is the kind of thing that gets you locked up.
Hyacinthe L. Raven-Douleur
AURAL TORTURE MECHANISM
| VITA-VERBUM-LUX split
ATM PO Box 527 Jarrettsville MD 21084 USA
VVL 1720 Tallyrand, Brossard QC J4W 2J2 Canada
This is one of the best splits I’ve heard, ever! Both sides are very
well structured and inspiring to go create more noise myself. ATM kick this
puppy into gear with “Lost Children Seek A Greater Force,” filled
with throbbing pulses, at times get rather bassy, and whirling static that
could throw your cat into an epileptic seizure. Wheeeeee! On the flipside
VVL whisk us away to audio heaven with a more spacey sounding track. Lots
of digital delay and tonal manipulation. Trippy at times with the reverb but
interrupted with violent blasts and decayed high-end whirls and bleeps. Very
talented material from both entities. I am looking forward to hearing more
from both.
E Crowe
JOHN T BAKER
WOODS CD
Ivey DeMilo Recordings 2411 Woodson Dr
Knoxville, TN 37920 USA
Hey, I’m warning you now, if you don’t like gushing reviews, just
skip on to the next one. John T Baker rules. This guy does it all himself,
and like C Browne Jr or Sean Padilla he’s got it all; great songs, decent
drumming, guitar hooks up the wazoo, vocal harmonies, catchy-quirky pop sensibilities,
yada yada. Get this CD.
JH Christ
THE BEST OF THE BEAST
& COMPANY VOL 1 CD compilation
Slipstream Presents PO Box 331351 Miami FL 33233-1351 USA
http://www.slipstreampresents.com
Boy, I hate to trash something, but I didn’t really like this at all,
and I’m a big fan of the acoustic singer-songwriter genre. These folks
are all singers but maybe not songwriters. This CD features one track from
each of twelve artists, all performing solo acoustic. My favorite track was
“Shiny Town” by Diane Ward. I’d love to hear more stuff by
her.
JH Christ
BINDLESTIFF
LOUD CD
Studio Seventeen Productions PO Box 461363, Escondido, CA 92046 USA
ambient@home.com
http://listen.to/ambience/
Not exactly mimicking the title, this CD is really a collection of positive
ambient songs. Bubbly and energetic at times, it reminds me of something playful
Edward Ka-Spel would want to get his hands into. Other songs gurgle their
way between engaging beats, though never sounding cluttered. I found this
to be great background music to activities that are usually quite boring,
and not only did it help me get a lot of stuff done, but it also got me hooked!
My CD player wants to play this baby constantly!
Hyacinthe L. Raven-Douleur
BINDLESTIFF
EARLY CD
Studio Seventeen Productions PO Box 461363, Escondido, CA 92046 USA
ambient@home.com
http://listen.to/ambience/
Uterine ambient plonky noises, not unpleasant at all, but sounding like a
zillion other blippy, trippy things we’ve all reviewed to death during
many years. Ambient-heads: enjoy. Normal, balanced people: use only to accompany
candlelit baths.
Paola
BIOTEK
PUNISHMENT FOR DECADENCE CD
Mission Control PO Box 12 Maryport Cumbria CA15 6GA UK
kaq97@dial.pipex.com
http://bio.terrorist.org/mission-control
Any CD that features handcuffs, fishnets and a gagged woman on the sleeve,
plus some tasteful graphics and overuse of that Gothic font that’s everywhere
(I don’t know its name, but if you saw it you’d know what I’m
talking about), never fails to attract my attention, so I confess this was
the first CD I listened to out of the bunch. The content is 100% pure EBM.
No more and no less; just 10 slightly overlong exercises in orthodox British
EBM, with EBM killer thumpa-thumpa-thumpa rhythms, EBM groaning voices, the
lot. I never understood people who listen to EBM at home, because I think
this kind of music only has some meaning in an overcrowded Goth disco and
at ear-splitting volume (though you’ll see me walking out of the dancefloor,
because I’m one of the old school). It is, however, within its genre,
a huge blast, and violently recommended to any fan. Bio-Tek even wants to
show you it’s got a sense of humour, by covering PLACEBO’s “Pure
Morning” (let’s teach a lesson to that lipsticked sissy midget!),
not that we felt any need for it. As in any EBM CD, all the songs are rather
indistinguishable, (or is it me?) but the quality remains outstanding throughout.
Second best of this month’s bunch (my first are PICTURE THE BEAUTIFUL,
because I’m mellowing out with age).
Paola
THE BLIND MIME ENSEMBLE
RAIN COME DOWN CD
2148 Texas Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84109 USA
bryan@gajoob.com
Bryan Baker’s CD features various songs he’s recorded over the years,
with a variety of styles that veer from Roger Waters-Comfortably Numb-era
Floyd to up-tempo Glenn Frey rockers to big electric guitar riff rock to Hunky
Dory-esque quirk rock. The music demonstrates Bryan’s dexterity with
a variety of instruments as well as the recording process itself. Some of
the lyrics are pretty heavy. The most intense moment is when you hear a hand-clap
stomp ala Queen’s “We Will Rock You” suddenly veer off into
a spacerock suicide lament. Homemade classic rock from the editor and publisher
of Gajoob. What more could you ask for?
JH Christ
THE BORG
Black Apple 156a South St #11 Jamaica Plain MA 02130 USA
A concept tape about The Borg. It’s as bad as it sounds. I don’t
know what prompted these people to spend hours recording this, probably it
was an inside joke between them, in which case, I hope they had fun. The “music”
reminds, in its best moments, of those kitschy old sci-fi movies and, not
surprisingly, of the sounds in Star Trek (the _good_ Star Trek, not that modern
pile of heavy-dialogue crap). The scary thing is that these people don’t
even sound like imbeciles, even when they chant “noooo aaaaniiiimaaaaaalsss”
for five minutes straight. Are they real musicians who did this for a laugh?
In this case, where is the real music? And how many brothers are there in
the Esposito family? I count here, Charlie, Echo, Augie and Anthony Esposito.
Come on, Italo-Americans can do better music. Like, uh, Bon Jovi. Or Gary
Cherone. Or Frank Stallone. Or Gino Vannelli. Or .....<snip list of useless
Italian musicians>.
Paola
ROB CHRISTENSEN
AT THE END OF THE DAY CD
PO Box 3728 Eureka, CA 95502 USA
robc@northcoast.com
A live set from November 14, 1998, in the best folk-rock singer-songwriter
tradition — right down to the Dylanish harmonica (on “Kiss and Run”).
And like many another such, the “songwriter” side is generally stronger
than the “singer” — he can carry the tunes and everything,
and sometimes gets the right emotional effect on me, but at other times he
sounds sort of, I don’t know, too sorry for himself or something. I like
the tunes and have even found myself walking around singing “Janie Sims”.
The near rhyme “emotion’ly/close to me” is pretty memorable
all by itself. Rob’s a strummer as opposed to a picker (again in the
best tradition): the guitar is there to get you to listen to the lyrics. Rob
Enge sits in on bass on the last four (of eleven) tracks. It says here there’s
a couple more albums (SMILE SLIGHTLY and THE TRUTH HURTS); I like this one
well enough to have played it several times and look forward to hearing the
others.
Indy Ana Jones
ROB CHRISTENSEN
THE TRUTH HURTS CD
PO Box 3728 Eureka, CA 95502 USA
robc@northcoast.com
THE TRUTH HURTS falls into that category between country, folk, and rock which
sounds a little like each, but fits into none. The sound on the album recalls
early American Music Club musically, flavored with Bob Dylan on such tracks
as “Free for All.” The lyrics stick to this obscure category as
well; most of the songs deal with unrequited love mixed with anger and regret.
The songs have a slow, lingering sound, which is almost a hindrance, as most
of the tracks exceed four minutes. The result is an album which is exhausting
at times. Unlike the aforementioned AMC, which provided variety in the form
of musical experimentation and lyrical humor, there is no real respite from
the slow songs with aching lyrics. An exception is the track “Promises,”
which picks up the tempo and may make the listener wish Christensen had supplied
the album with more diversity. However, the songs that are there are good,
and for fans of the co-fo-ro sound, it may be well worth trying.
Megan Heller
ROB CHRISTENSEN
THE TRUTH HURTS CD
SMILE SLIGHTLY CD
AT THE END OF THE DAY CD
PO Box 3728 Eureka CA 95502 USA
robc@northcoast.com
Rob is a singer-songwriter in the fashion of those for whom that tag was invented;
Dylan, Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Randy Newman, etc... In fact, Rob’s
vocal style puts me in mind of Randy Newman by way of Jim Shelley. Rob writes,
plays and records his own songs which employ a straight ahead folk-rock approach.
The lyrics explore the singer’s emotions regarding various relationships,
and like the songwriters I mentioned above, Rob is usually able to coin a
phrase for the chorus that sums up his attitude about the situation, an attitude
that most listeners can identify with. Of the three CDs, AT THE END OF THE
DAY is recorded live in front of a bar/pub audience, and features Rob alone
on the acoustic guitar. The up-tempo rock tunes suffer a little here, but
the more folky tunes really come alive.
JH Christ
CIRCULAR FIRING SQUAD
OXIDE CD
Artifact Recordings 1374 Francisco St. Berkeley CA 94702 USA
info@artifact.com
http://www.artifact.com
A treat for noise fans who can’t quite go all the way, this layered composition
repeatedly pulls itself back into its ambient womb between kicks. The juxtaposition
of itching clamor and creeping silence gives the whole album a marked uncomfortable
feeling, kind of like being alone in a subway at 3am. Disjointed, the three
songs scatter their way from clanging metal junkyard noise to distant, nervous
near-silence and back again. An interesting piece, but steer clear if you
can’t handle a bumpy ride.
Hyacinthe L. Raven-Douleur
THE CLEARS LP
Clears HQ PO Box 41953 Memphis TN 38174 USA
Holy Casio rock! Wow. If the little clay renderings on the cover are anything
to go by, this band uses all vintage analog synths, live guitar + bass and
drum kit to craft their organic candy-pop ear-confection. The first track,
“Frozen Fun” kicks off rather dirgily, sounding like Swans jamming
with Devo. By track 2 it’s time out for fun with “The C.L.E.A.R.S.”
and everybody knows that when bands spell out their names in songs it’s
generally a time to do that little head-bop dance. They ain’t playin’
around when it comes to the Casios and other low-end keyboards either, every
song has some manner of chimpy keyboard action on it! Where has this band
been all my life? The tracks are catchier than all hell and the production
is damn fine. Very playful and fun! Toward the end they get all arty with
an unnamed track that basically consists of a long synth drone with a ton
of effects and shit thrown at it. In a good way I mean. “Ties Me Up”
opens side two and is very huge! The main verse riff almost sounds like Godflesh!
Almost. Relatively. If Godflesh played on Casios, of course. “Blue Doctors”
sounds like first-album Ministry with coed vocals! It’s that good! Needless
to say I have a new favorite album...
Ian C Stewart
THE COCKER SPANIELS
LITTLE WHITE TRUTHS CD
Tangerine Tapes PO Box 84642 Waco TX 76798-4642 USA cockerspaniels@hotmail.com
http://www.cspaniels.addr.com
A 20 (!!!) song throwdown of post-adolescent angst over post-MBV shoegazing
frenzy. The performances are all quite furious and note-perfect. Math-rock
leanings. Sean’s lyrics are the same obsessive documentarian style as
always. The songs are crazy, sometimes it seems like everything is harmonizing
with everything else. The wide-ranging styles hint at an almost immediate
assimilation of prevailing styles of modern rock. His voice sounds like that
dude from The Charlatans at times. The beginning of “Your Secrets”
gives the fuzz bass all the melody. “Graduation Day” comes on all
hoptronica with tambourine and a vaguely hittin’ drum loop. But then
there’s that xylophone sound and those chords! Very not big-beat! “Alone
In The Apartment” sounds a little Portishead; mopey torch song with a
phat beat. Sean Padilla is the fucking master, that’s really all there
is to it! Listen to this highly awesome album and you’ll get to know
everything about him!
Ian C Stewart
THE COCKER SPANIELS
LITTLE WHITE TRUTHS CD
Tangerine Tapes PO Box 84642 Waco TX 76798-4642 USA cockerspaniels@hotmail.com
http://www.cspaniels.addr.com
Sean Padilla’s new CD picks up where the last Spaniels collection of
songs left off-our hero has finished high school and is now adjusting to college
life. The beauty of the CS series of albums is that you follow the narrator
through the tough teen years via some great sub-indie pop-rock. Sean plays
all the instruments, sings, writes all the songs and records the whole thing
himself. He’s a solid, creative drummer- something you don’t hear
on too many recordings, let alone those where the artist plays and records
everything himself at home. Sean also excels at sound manipulation, getting
great Bloody Valentine-esque guitar treatments along with some other sounds
entirely his own. The songs are catchy and always tell a story; the textural,
melodic and tempo stylings are mostly mid to late ‘90’s alt-rock.
Sean’s voice takes a little getting used to, but his approach to layering
multi-track vocal harmonies is worth hearing. The lyrics may seem corny at
first, but he comes up with some surprisingly mature and lucid insights for
a nineteen year old songwriter. If you like the homemade pop-rock of C Browne
Jr or John T Baker then you’ll be right at home with The Cocker Spaniels.
JH Christ
CONSUMER PRODUCTIONS 1999 CD compilation
GPO Box 2118 Hobart Tasmania 7001 Australia benthec@yahoo.com
http://consumerproductions.webjump.com
Davros G wastes no time in getting down to some rhythmic soundscraping with
squelchy guitar and feedbacky rhythm patterns. End Show’s “Near
Life Experience” is more broken, ghouly dreamscapes for multiple guitars
and digital delays. The Gentlemen’s “Hostage” takes lo-fi to
uneasy extremes with a focal bass line eclipsing all else: drums, singing,
guitar... The vocals are yelled but are buried in the mix so who knows. Page
27 “Elevator” is one reverby keyboard piled atop another... Kind
Winds “All Moons I” is lofi space rock improvised through a big
reverb tunnel or something. Do You Mind If I Stab This is the band title of
the century! Although the same cannot be said for their track “Yellow
Food Day,” which is so much endless guitar noodling and overdone feedback.
Rent Boy “2000” is uptempo sampledelica though the samples all sound
like they were recorded from about 3 blocks away. So the drums sound very
distant indeed. The Connected Mind of Hollowed’s “Post-Modern Love
Song” is 8 minutes of drums, guitar feedback and screaming. I mean, what
did you expect?
Ian C Stewart
CONTROL WORKSHOP
Daron Key 2108 1/2 Lincoln Ave, Alameda CA 94501 USA key@diabolist.com
Sounds like an orchestra warming up at times. Total free flowing free form
experimentation with the use of a variety of instruments, like percussion,
violins, horns and whatever else. I wasn’t really all about this when
I first got it, but it grew on me rather quick.
E Crowe
THE CURIOUS HAIR
SAY HELLO TO HAPPINESS CD
Evol Egg Nart Recordings PO Box 570763 Miami FL USA nartmail@juno.com
Say hello to the mutant offspring of Funk 49-era Steve Walsh and Decade-era
Neil Young, with a little ‘90’s style retro-psychedelia thrown in.
The Hair is Jeff Rollason’s band project and features Maria Marocka’s
female vocals complimenting Jeff’s trademark whine-twang. The way-cool
‘70’s riffs here are held together here with some solid drumming
and sturdy rhythm guitar, plus that great keyboard sound like Beck uses sometimes.
SuperGOLD.
JH Christ
CYANOSIS
GALLOWS DANCE CD
Torture Music Records PO Box 685, Cannon Beach OR 97110 USA
22 tracks for 72 minutes. No song titles, just descriptions, which is pretty
cool actually. Nearly everything is based on playing the guitar in a nonstandard
way. Prepared guitar pieces abound. Some are cool in a spooky way, others
just sort of diddle along for a few minutes before fading out. Roger Hayes
and Robert Clutter get into some seriously scattered damage on the songs where
Clutter guests. Man. Also the tracks with the classical guitar run through
the Whammy pedal sound like convoluted music boxes! Track 14 is a full band
treatment with guitar, bass, drums and sax. Hayes’ guitar action sounds
like all of Sonic Youth rolled into one headstock-snapping axefuck. Yeeowch!
Ian C Stewart
DEVEREUX
BONUS SAMPLER 2000
PO Box 14078, London N17 9WR, UK
The first song is a piece of eerie folk/blues-tinged music set to a sampled
rhythm loop. And it works. The next track is an instrumental, not quite as
successful, kind of a bland, jazzy blues-rock piece, with a spoken sample
showing up part way through. The third song blends folk and rock with some
pedal steel, “a 60s thing, without the sex.” Like the mildly distorted
guitar, but it doesn’t do much for me otherwise. Song four is more folky
stuff, a couple of acoustic guitars and a tambourine with multitracked vocals.
Onions, God, no God, don’t try to understand it...okay. Fifth song. Bad
synthesized bird call starts it off. I’m going to stop now.
Kevin J. O’Conner
ERNESTO DIAZ-INFANTE &
ROTCOD ZZAJ
VEDUTA REITER
Zzaj Productions 5308 65th Avenue SE Olympia WA 98513 USA
http://www.olywa.net/rotcod/CDS.htm
This is what they call a “spoken word” recording, with Ernesto’s
poetry delivered by himself over a smattering of midi-clean synth noodles
courtesy of Rotcod. To be fair, I’m not the biggest fan of the spoken
word/improv genre, but I would’ve liked this better had the vocal delivery
been a little less monotone and the synths a little more noisy. My favorite
track was “Escape Our Minds” due to its greater dynamic texture.
JH Christ
DJ PANTSHEAD
A REFRESHING SOUND RECORDING OF DJ PANTSHEAD CD
PO Box 10391 Columbus OH 43201-0391 USA
ecc@pobox.com
http://evolution-control.com
A DJ mix CD that fuses all kinds of disparate elements into a fun and funny
hour of body rock and uh, straight-up lounging. Like that Quincy Jones song
with drum ‘n bass action all over it. Hyper-groovy! The beats start and
then are added to and subtracted from along with other related (or not) music
and sound effects. Audio collage in the truest Meat Beat Manifesto sense.
It’s fat and funky and very good with potato chips and a pickle!
Ian C Stewart
PAT DULL AND HIS MEDIA WHORES
GIMME THE WHORES CD
Break Up! Records PO Box 15372
Columbus OH 43215-0372 USA
Bridging the gap between The Damned at their most pop and Cheap Trick at their
least - crunchy pop rocks that, if the band all had long blond hair, could
slip in undetected between Enuff Z Nuff or whatever the hell that band was
called. Add some Replacements too for bad measure just because. The production
is veddy nice indeed, leaving nothing to the imagination. Attack of the 3
Minute Pop Song! Times twelve! “The Chills” sounds less like the
band The Chills than early Social D. And “Oh Robyn” sounds nothing
like Robyn Hitchcock! How’s that for truth in song titling! More like
a campfire Warrant with a better image! The energy level is very high throughout
and the performances rock like a mutha. “Tell It To My Gurl” sounds
like that Twisted Sister remake of that doo-wop song, with verses borrowed
from the Stray Cats?!? “She’s With Me” is a jumpy yeller of
a song, pogo pop to hell or something. Which can pretty much be said for the
whole CD!
Ian C Stewart
PAT DULL AND HIS MEDIA
WHORES
GIMME THE WHORES 7"
Break-Up! Records PO Box 15372 Columbus, OH 43215-0372 USA
This record is a trip back to the late 80s and not just because it’s
an actual record. Unfortunately it’s one of those trips you used to take
with your parents where instead of going somewhere new and exciting, you wound
up spending the summer with your grandparents. “It’s About Time”
is very reminiscent of Poison’s “Talk Dirty to Me.” I’m
not sure why. PDAHMW’s song is played at a more frenzied, undanceable
pace. But every time I listen to it...man, sometimes flashbacks are a bitch.
“Declaration” is Bon Jovi all the way. If there was a good way to
be like Bon Jovi, this would be it. But we all know that’s impossible.
Don’t get me wrong, I think this band is talented, just not all that
original. And originality wins over talent every time. I wish.
Michelle Nollan
TERRY EASON
VIA SATELLITE
Reticulated Records PO Box 580878 Minneapolis MN 55458 USA
Via Satellite features a newer, more robust Eason sound, with Terry playing
alongside some great drummers, bass players and a violinist. Since my whole
review style is based on comparing stuff to well known commercially available
recordings, I’ll do it again here and say Terry works in the fashion
of Robyn Hitchcock.
J.H. Christ
ECHO IS YOUR LOVE | KEMIALLISET
YSTAVAT split LP
Lo-Finn Rooftops Are My Heaven, Karukantie 2, 33800 Tampere Finland
echoisyourlove@hotmail.com
The Echo half of this clear vinyl LP is dirgey, damaged art rock with a chickie
singer. The songs have the air of improvisation to them. The playing is fractured
and fragmented and distorted. “A T-Shirt Pass To Heaven” opens the
record with a slow, spinal drumset patter (yes, patter) and a couple of feedbacky
guitars loping together. The singer sounds about 12 years old and 2 inches
tall. “There Was An Evil Christ On Me” sounds like a Swans 1981
throwaway. Distorted bass clumps and minimalist tribal drumming. But then
there’s that singing. “We Have The Power To Darken Their Stars”
builds up a squall of treble noise at the climax. And that’s it from
Echo Is Your Love! Swans 1981 with a young Bjork singing. Kemialliset Ystavat
just basically don’t give a fuck. “Scubadiving In Oxford, Bali”
opens with a simple drum beat followed by a distorted guitar and...er, penny
whistle. Okay. Heavy on the scree. Recording quality be damned! The rest of
the “songs” (well, they’ve got titles, so they must be songs!)
fare no better, with most consisting of little more than acoustic guitars
strummed vigorously, atonally and with no purpose whatsoever!
Ian C Stewart
EI MAGA compilation
Timo Palonen Hepokuja 6 B 26, FIN-01200 Vantaa, Finland
Why does Finland have so many great underground bands, yet we seldom hear
anything from other countries in Scandinavia? Geko leads off the tape with
a creepy rock song called “Mary Likes The War Zone” which features
a female vocalist and effects-laden wailing guitar. Punisher kicks the shit
out of your speakers for a few songs with their nasty thrash metal. They’re
pretty good as far as choppy-guitar-and-grumbling-vocals bands go, and “Ignorance
is Bliss” is pretty catchy at times. Side two features a few songs from
W.O.R.M., a good punk band that wouldn’t have sounded out of place in
the San Francisco punk scene of the late 1970s. Proton Burst is a psychedelia-meets-death-metal
band that fucks your shit up with “Stone,” which features a chorus
that sounds like a lion roar and a vocalist who could be the understudy for
the guy in Laibach.
Ken Miller
ELECTRIC COMPANY AND THE
VAS DEFRENS ORGANISATION
MORE PELVIS WICK FOR THE BALONEY BONERS CD
Tekito PMB #432, 828 Royal St, New Orleans LA 70116 USA tekito@excite.com
http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/wuthering/98
Stultified improv skronk for guitars, percussion, drums, guitar. Wah wah action.
Bass. A timestretch here and there for effect. Sax? “Tinsel Termites
In Barbed Wire Brassieres.” Sure. “Mind Of Ashes” launches
with some tribal drumming and primal yelling over squibbly synth blips and
backward soundfuckage. A psychotic jam session relaunched into a digital sound
editor and then multiplied by itself. The odd yelling and fake singing/screaming
are very cool touches. Oh yeah, there’s a bass in there somewhere too.
This shit is OUT THERE. “Hushed Plateau Of Celid Elves” opens with
a barge of feedback or something flapping in the wind, reverbed out to hell
and back. Percussive tapping back up in there somewhere. And a floaty sax
in and out. Hmm. All of the CD tracks seep together to form one big fucking
glop of scree. “Snappy Smarm” fades in with a nice live drum beat
and some dub bass stabs with guitar splay that’s in need of defragging!
What? And the yelling dude returns to perform some totally guttural vocalizations
that sound like Robert Wyatt on Viagra. “Extracting Epiphanies From The
Thicket Of Implausibility” fades in with flanged, backmasked action that
turns itself back around about a minute into it. Where it becomes a Built
To Spill dirge with buzzing guitar solos, pizzicato strings and more of that
dude singing! Very awesome. “A Hep Cat’s Electric Hair Ball Apparatus”
is space-tek-jazz of sorts. A cut ‘n paste drum beat under sampled and
clipped horns, strings, keyboards and whatever else. Ambient dub later. With
horns. “Deglazed And Malaised” recalls Talk Talk’s more soundscapey
moments, though this takes it pretty far out. This CD is amazingly original
and awesome! It fucks with your head and cleans your teeth!
Ian C Stewart
ELEGY #4 CD compilation
EE Tapes, c/o Eriek Van Havere, Clement Heirmanstraat 10, 9100 Sint-Niklaas,
Belgium
The title of this album suggests that it is “a moody collection for dark
ambient souls,” but it’s far more dynamic than that. ELEGY #4 is
introspective, but not at all broody, and it sports some very interesting
pieces. Ranging from tribal to electronic to atmospheric, this compilation
contains songs composed well enough to create distinct images and talent to
make their length (average about 6 minutes) an asset. I also appreciate the
fact that EE Tapes took the time to carefully position each song so that,
despite the eclectic mix of pieces, there exists continuity and solidarity
in the work as a whole. For those of you looking to add something a little
different to your music collections, I recommend this CD. It is a very high
quality offering.
Hyacinthe L. Raven-Douleur
EXPOSE YOUR EYES | THE
IMPLICIT ORDER split CD
Fiend 18 Canal Rd, Sowerby Bridge HX6 2AY UK
Wholeness Recordings PO Box 155 Smilax KY 41764-0155 USA
First up is Expose Your Eyes, an explosive, well-structured collage of sound
that stretches out 23 minutes. Grinding and scraping, intense static chaos
and layers that build up into a wall of noise then recedes into minimalistic
noise. Experimentation with sonic waves and blasts mixed along with tape manipulations
and so much more. Very interesting material. The Implicit Order is much in
the same vein in the varied sounds and experimentation. This track runs just
over 25 minutes long and is filled with rhythmic pulses, tones/drones, tweets,
blurbs and some music thrown in for good measure.
E Crowe
FLAMING JUNE
REJOICE CD
Anchoress Records Po Box 19510 London SW11 5WR UK
http://www.flamingjune.co.uk
Gothic Dexy’s Midnight Runners? Ha, just kidding. Sort of. I mean, it’s
a rock band with prominent violin bits and layers of lush female vocals. REJOICE
is a pro-produced EP that sounds crisp and clean. The lyrics to “Round
And Round” are introspective and almost self-loathing in a manner not
seen since Robert Smith was at his peak. “Jilted At The Altar” is
an uptempo crunchy rock number with fiddly drumming (but, oddly, not drummy
fiddling). It’s like Sarah Mclachlan with a distortion pedal. “Lifer”
rounds out the disc - another moody rocker. Mmm yeah. The violin line sounds
almost like, er, Metallica in a way, just that little riff. Mmm yeah.
Ian C Stewart
BILL FOREMAN
BUILDING ST PETERSBURG CD
3342 Brockton Avenue, Riverside, CA 92501 USA bill@generalludd.com
http://generalludd.com
More folky, freaky, flaky Dylanesque music made for the grandfather in all
of us. I just don’t get it. Who listens to this stuff really? “Talking
Ballroom Blues” is a spoken word bit that’s slightly silly and slightly
more annoying. Did you see the Saturday Night Live when Dana Carvey played
Jimmy Stewart reading from his book of poems while drunk? It’s like that,
but less funny. The songs are just more of the same, except not. Very retro
60’s hallucinogen-induced melodies with alcohol-induced lyrics (or is
that the other way around?) kind of stuff. Bill Foreman is a talented guitar
player, but I think he should leave playing the recorder to the third graders.
Mr. Foreman certainly doesn’t let his lack of singing ability stand in
his way either. It seems that he enjoys throwing his gravely, off-key voice
in my face. As a matter of fact, there are times when I think he’s yelling
at me! Or was that Paola’s gnome?
Michelle Nollans
FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET
ACCIDENTAL GOAT SODOMY
Jason Campbell 553 Ontario St, London ONT N5W 3X7 Canada
Hello and welcome to the wide world of noisetronics. This is a C-60 with 2
tracks. 1) “Dedicated to the trench coat mafia”, yayee, these guys
need credit for what they did; fighting back! This track about captures what
they were possibly where feeling at the time of retribution. Lots of low-end
rumbling, blasts mixed with slightly shrill tweaks and furious pulsating bursts.
Seems like most of all from a digital delay. 2) “Dedicated to the basque
witches” is more chaotic digital delay! This track has more pauses and
changes in tone, switching from high end to low distortion. Both tracks are
30 minutes, but neither wear thin nor become redundant.
E Crowe
FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET
| COCK ESP split CD
Jason Campbell 553 Ontario St, London ONT N5W 3X7 Canada
COCK ESP PO Box 580218 Minneapolis MN 55458-0218 USA
First up is Four Flies On Grey Velvet with some signal manipulation experimentation.
Pretty much laid back which is unusual for Jason’s work, until track
4 and 5. It has a darker feel with a lot of high-end signal squelch and some
low end booming, sorta reminiscent of Merzbow. #9 is an all out audio assault.
I love this the best; a lot is going on here. There is a lot of metal smashing/scraping,
frequency squelching, high-end ear blistering action. Cock ESP serves up some
excellent electronic destruction. The first track switches back and forth
from a sample with lots of reverb that gives it a real dreary sound/feel to
high-end static blasts. From there we move on to a more cut and paste super-choppy
kind of thing, mixing people talking, music and electronic blasts. The other
tracks weave in and out of sanity with clips of samples and grinding audio
terrorism that can be quite raw at times.
E Crowe
FRANKIE DEATH AND THE
PHOTON BELT
SOUNDTRACK FOR THE FILM FUTURE UNSEEN CD
Subversive Records PO Box 341 Fivedock NSW 2046 Australia
Man. These guys went to a lot of trouble! All of the tracks run together to
make one grand unit of the individual songs. There’s even a little kid
doing narration on the first couple of tracks! Track two, “Future Unseen,”
is an epic ballad type thing that just soars. It’s like Queen with better
synths and more imagination. “Caught Between” is incredibly bizarre:
funky bass-heavy drum machine action, acoustic guitars, choirs of vocals,
synths from every direction, a nice ‘n tight bass line and an almost
psychedelic air of melancholy! “Lovekult” just bubbles under until
it reaches the chorus and blows up! It’s even funkier and more psychedelic!
The singer sounds like Brett Anderson from Suede. The song itself is a cross
between T Rex and Jesus Jones. Separating the song are “dream sequences”
— ambient soundfack to further develop the plot. “Guided (Conclusion)”
combines all of the above elements — tech-folk-rock and ambience —
to stunning effect. This is an incredibly original album! And the production
is basically amazing. It’s approximately 200,000 times better than THE
WALL. Not that I’ve ever seen it.
Ian C Stewart
GLOBAL LO-FI UNDERGROUND
VOL 1 CD compilation
Duckweed Records 2442 NW Market St. #354 Seattle, WA 98107 USA
duckweedseattle@yahoo.com
http://members.tripod.co.uk/duckweed
Duckweed Records has put together a lo-fi compilation that puts the “vary”
in “Various Artists”... or something like that. Covering 71 minutes,
27 tracks, 11 bands, and five countries, the entirely home-recorded collection
ranges from the sublime (Brazil’s Grenade, whose “Basson Boogie”
is the high point of the album) to the ridiculous (Seattle’s Down With
The Ants, and California’s now-defunct The Busted Fans), with some variations
on folk in between. Somehow, with the range displayed on this CD, it does
not suffer from a lack of consistency. The “thank you” to Ween in
the liner notes is fitting, because that duo’s strange inner diversity
is reflected in this collection. “Orange Peel Headache (Shecky Montague)”
by Bill Foreman, a funhouse treat with speaker tricks, is easily followed
by the underproduced and vaguely shoegazer “Leonard Cohen” by Air
Hockey Injury. While there will no doubt be tracks that a listener will not
enjoy, with twenty-seven, it’s likely bad will be well outweighed by
good.
Megan Heller
GOAT THROWER
CULT OF THE GERMANIC HORDE CD
Axction Black PO Box 425623, Kendall Square, Cambridge MA 02142-0012 USA
Dude! It’s black metal and they obviously love Satan! And they sound
like a more together version of Venom. So it should be painfully clear that
I already love this band. One dude drums and the other one does all the guitars,
bass and singing on the disc. Based on all the knives, nails, swords and who
knows what else they’ve got behind their backs there in that graveyard
photo, one would be forgiven for thinking that there’s probably no room
for anyone else in the shot! Though even I must concede that no amount of
face paint and Satanic lyrics are worth crap if the songs aren’t there.
So it is with great pleasure that I report that the songs ARE in fact there.
Musically, it’s pretty much riff-based metal that’s probably more
ornate than I’m remembering Venom to be. The production is damn fine,
especially the drums. But what’s up with that wack-ass harmonizer on
all of the vocals? That’s not very ghouly! Personally I’d prefer
a wall of moaning and shrieking to the mechanized clamor herein BUT it’s
yo thang, Goat Thrower. Also not sure about the borderline Nazi sentiment
of “Pure Hate” but then again, I mean, if a band is going to worship
Satan, they might as well kiss some Hitler ass while they’re at it. These
dudes should be on the ball enough to make Lady Firethorn the fulltime vocalist.
She’s fucking crazy on “Praise Be Thy Goat.” The keyboards
are highly, powerfully ghouly. I think they’ve pointed the way to the
follow-up. I hope! Fewer Nazi implications. More Lady Firethorn, more keyboards
and more Satan!
Ian C Stewart
GOGOBOTS
NOISE PRESCRIPTION CD
710 Stinaff St. Kent OH 44240 USA
gogobot@yahoo.com
NOISE PRESCRIPTION preserves most of the repertoire of this sadly defunct
college band —a power trio featuring Mike Dee on bass, Greg Herlevi on
drums, and Fred Wright on guitar, with vocals by all three. Fred, by the way,
is a fellow zinester (drinkdrankdrunk) and author of a Lacanian analysis of
zines and zinesters (his master’s thesis). But never mind that. What’s
important for us here at AUTO is that these guys rock, rock, rock. Herlevi’s
unrelentingly crisp, driving beats are the most outstanding feature musically;
the lyrics are often entertaining in a “hey, yeah, that’s true —
and I never heard anybody sing about that before” kind of standup-comic
way. It seems pretty likely that Devo was a major influence (though the only
cover song I recognize as such is from The Cars). There’s 29 studio tracks,
plus 4 live songs from their last show. Maybe a little much to listen to straight
through, but perfect for short car trips.
Indy Ana Jones
AMANDA GREEN
THE NINETEEN HUNDREDS CD
Y&T Music 9475 Sunset Drive, Suite 220, Miami FL 33173 USA
http://www.amandagreen.com/
Wow, um Sheryl Crow? Crossed with Paula Cole? I kind of wonder if this CD
wasn’t sent to AUTO by mistake. It’s obviously got a great deal
of financial push behind it (those CD-ROM videos don’t come cheap! And
those posters don’t fold themselves up and insert themselves into digipak
covers!) which means absolutely nothing in the scheme of Good Music Vs Bad
Music. This here is pro-produced pop rock like VH1 plays. Commercial music.
What more can be said? Female college freshmen will enjoy this, as will the
brother in law who got dragged to the Lillith Fair show and is only now getting
around to expanding his CD collection. I will say this: I’d rather see
her on VH1 than the repulsive Beth Hart who looks like somebody chewed up
her face and stuck it back on with their eyes closed. Oh yeah, there’s
that Devo cover too, but it doesn’t save the day. Bob 2 is spinning in
his gravy.
Ian C Stewart
GRUNTSPLATTER
PEST MAIDEN 7"
Scott Candey PMB 105, 4644 Geary Blvd San Francisco CA 94118 USA
crionic@pacbell.net
http://www.crionicmind.org
Whoa, this is excellent. Cold and desolate soundscapes, either to plot a murder
to, or murder yourself to. Atmospheric, but not in a hippy psychedelic way.
Laid back, deep and haunting cold winds and echoes mixed with a bit of a harsher
element, (only on side 2), to create a great apocalyptic sound track.
E Crowe
HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR
Carlo Furii, fraz. Castagneto 1, 64010 Teramo Italy cafurii@tin.it
I recently read a very bad review of this tape in an Italian Gother-than-thou
zine, but I think they missed the point. HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR are a toy band,
the Furbys of Goth bands. Their goth-rock is pleasant, bubbly and ultimately
useless, but you can listen to it several times with a mild feeling of entertainment.
They just sound like some pretty jolly guys who just happen to own a CURE
bootleg more than you. The tape offers five tracks, all reminiscent of one
ancient Goth band or the other. “Aspettando Domani” sounds like
“Killing an Arab” backwards, and I hope they did it on purpose,
I mean, it’s too shamelessly evident. “Embryo” is their short
KRAFTWERK moment, which they probably invented as a test when they bought
their brand new keyboards, and it can make you smile (but only once). The
rest is average; it could be a moderately fun party band - more precisely,
a party-in-your-living-room band, nothing more ambitious.
Paola
HOMEMADE MUSIC SAMPLER
ONE CD compilation
2148 Texas Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84109 USA
http://www.homemademusic.com
Bryan Baker has started an online record store for artists who record their
own music at home, and this is a CD sampler of all those on the label. If
you are a hometaper you should get involved, and if you’re a fan of unpretentious
new music you should get this CD. The stuff is all over the map (literally;
the artists are from all over the world), noise, spoken word, pop, rock etc...
Okapi Guitars do African Pop with an electro-Brit sensibility; John T Baker
is Tennessee’s own one-man-pop-powerhouse; Joseph Benzola makes avant
garde soundscapes; and these are just a few in this musical salon.
JH Christ
HOMOGENIZED TERRESTRIALS
SOUND PORES CD
6 On The Dot PO Box 313 Peru IL 61354 USA
Dark, epic, rhythmic ambience! And it’s purty too! “Skin Corruption”
is the 14 minute opener. There are several themes explored that sound like
separate pieces. And they all is hott! “Triggers” is more sinister
though no less engaging. Bells and other unidentifiable percussion sounds.
“Abandoned Web” is pure melodic ambience that slowly shifts across
the uh, sonic horizon or something. There might be a guitar in there somewhere
amid the patient pillars of synthetic strings and whatever else. “Sounds
Of A Mind” is a psycho little soundtracky piece that’s a little
unsettling. Okay, a lot. “Dissecting The Magician’s Hands”
is half an hour of flanging and tittering synth sounds and effects at the
end of the CD. Very sexy overall. Good music for worshipping Satan to, I’d
bet.
Ian C Stewart
HOP ON POP
HOME DEMO COLLECTION CD
Kevin Debolt 16651 88th Ave, Orland Park IL 60462 USA
hoponpop@ync.net
Mature, handcrafted homepop taking its cues from mid-period XTC, Robyn Hitchcock
and whoever else. Opens with the herky, chiming acoustic guitar/drum machine/synth
bass/layered vocals alt-rocker “Stay With The Horse,” which has
rather splendid backing vocals and a highly sweet chorus. Don’t ask me
why any pop song that sings about horses reminds me of The Icicle Works, just
nod like you know what I mean. The Icicle Works, man. A great song to open
the album with. The MIDI sequencing seems a little stiff at first but the
guitar and vocals humanize the songs back to a comfortable level. The songwriting
itself is definitely the focal point here. “Lose The Pain” is uptempo
folk-rock I guess. I mean, the acoustic guitar is prominent so it must be
some type of folk derivative. Many of the tracks (like “Everyone’s
Named”) tend toward the serious, almost to the point of being dramatic.
Sometimes (“Little Faith”) overly so, to the point of almost being
cheesy. “All I Want To Feel” is an insane Thomas Dolby/Bob Seger
hybrid that I must confess I didn’t think was possible. “The Moon
Has Nothing On You” is an interesting response to Andy Partridge’s
“You And The Clouds Will Still Be Beautiful” (or perhaps it isn’t);
piano ballad with delay-soaked singing that comes off like a nocturnal Yazbek
or um, uh, like, uhhhhhh that other piano guy, Ben Folds Five. So yeah. Good
song. A couple of tracks remind me of Irish homepoppy guy Daniel Prendiville.
Despite being recorded from all chronological points in the 1990s, the production
remains consistently fine throughout. Stay with the horse, dude!
Ian C Stewart
HOUSEHOLD NAMES
THE TROUBLE WITH BEING NICE CD
http://www.householdnames.org
Holy fuck, this shit rocks!!! This is without a doubt the best independent
music I’ve heard so far. I can’t stop listening to it long enough
to write about it. Obviously influenced by the Beatles, there isn’t a
bad song on the whole album. I was instantly hooked by “Secrecy”,
because it has a Three Dog Night feel to it. I think it’s the organ.
The slightly mopey “I’m Just The Rain” has some more of the
organ thing surrounded by upbeat guitar playing and depressing lyrics. “God,
Athena” and “Heart Set On Sunday” are awesome XTC/Beatles-inspired
tunes. Close your eyes while you listen and try not to think of John and Paul.
I dare you. You can’t do it, can you? Me either. Whatever, it’s
still an album full of guitar-driven, kick-ass songs that Jason Garcia describes
as “infectious pop, some fast and loud, some not.” Yeah, I’d
say that about covers it.
Michelle Nollan
THE HOWARDS
SWITCHBLADE ROCK AND ROLL CD
136 Woodland Drive Hampden, MA 01036 USA
dannydix@aol.com
The Ramones. The Donnas. The Howards? This is fresh competition for bands
with three power chords and an attitude. This trio is all about rock ‘n’
roll, with a huge ’50s influence and some street-smart romance tunes
like “Sara” and “Jumped By Love.” Most of the ten tracks
are less than two minutes, gone before you realize how much they kicked the
establishment’s ass.
Kenyon Hopkin
THE INVASION
BRAIN DRAIN
Composing a description of Brain Drain is not an easy task. At times it sounds
like Severed Heads without the lyrics. At times it sounds like the background
music to an experimental piece by a film school student. Unfortunately, it
is never very intriguing. Most of the songs seem to consist of synths and
speaker tricks that don’t go anywhere. About half of the tracks use guitar,
and these show the most potential on the collection. The play between the
guitar, electronic beat, and distorted synth create a style that draws the
listener for a moment, but only a moment before the repetitive nature of the
music causes interest to wane again. There is a potential in this cassette,
and a lo-fi experimental sound yearning to breathe free — do not write
off The Invasion entirely. Unfortunately, BRAIN DRAIN proves too apt a title
in this case.
Megan Heller
JERK & THE OFFS CD
907 Caser Dr., Sykesville, MD 21784 USA
http://www.jerkandtheoffs.com
Man, with a name like that, I was really hoping to like this band, unfortunately,
they’re just sad. “Lets Go Shopping” starts off the 4-song
CD and sets the pace of poor vocals, dumb lyrics and barely competent “high
energy power-pop” music. Are they being sarcastic about wanting to go
shopping and spend a lot of money? Do I even care? It’s like your friend’s
brother’s band that your friend is always trying to get you to listen
to, you know? Just barely able to play instruments and sing, without a hint
of an original idea that would make up for the lack of talent, so you make
polite comments like “that was a good guitar solo” or “I like
that intro” when all you really want to do is throw the tape out the
fucking car window because it’s just painful to listen to something so
pathetic and unoriginal. These guys would lose the community college “Battle
of the Bands” competition to a band that does nothing but Pink Floyd
covers.
Sven Golly
THE JOKES
DUNGEON TAPES
Insane Records 7670 NW 15th Court Pembroke Pines, FL 33024 USA
http://listen.to/insanerecords
Unquestionably some of the most hilarious music I have ever heard. The Jokes
claim that this album is intentionally awful, which explains all the irritating
feedback, crappy sound quality and the extra songs at the end of each side
of the cassette. Hidden tracks or a recycled tape? I can’t decide and
that just makes it better. I am curious to hear what would happen if/when
they actually tried. Anyway, the entire album sounds like it was recorded
on a Mr. Microphone with instruments purchased at Toys R Us. Everything has
something to do with being in a dungeon: “Meeting the Phantom And Talking
It Over In The Dungeon,” “Nintendo In The Castle,” “Let’s
Run Away From Th’ Bats” - that’s some funny shit!!! And it
goes on for eleven songs! Even though I won’t ever listen to it again,
this tape will definitely never be forgotten.
Michelle Nollan
KARDA ESTRA
A WINTER IN SUMMERTIME CD
AM PO Box 1428 Swindon SN2 1ZY UK
kardestra@barclays.net
http://members.xoom.com/ammag
Holy moody soundtracky ambience! Beautifully done I might add. Pianos and
string fluorishes and female vocals! Yow! That’s just track one (“From
A Deep Sleep”) too! Track two, “Covert,” (no, not the Lush
song) is no less cinematic, adding a live drum and bass guitar groove to the
mix. Equal parts Barry Adamson and Dead Can Dance and Massive Attack and Rain
Tree Crow. Or a very slow Propellerheads. With a female vocalist. “Second
Sight” (no, not the Lush song) adds classical guitar and female-vocal
oohing and aahhhing. Ditto for “Transference.” This gorgeous EP
is just a half-hour taster. I’m ready for a whole album now...
Ian C Stewart
KILLION MILES
BAGGAGE CD
Blue Hat Records PO Box 250649 New York, NY 10025 USA
Its too bad they used a drum machine on this recording instead of a real drummer.
The songs that have no drums are actually better. Anyway, this CD features
a Mr Paul Braus singing and playing his own songs in multi-tracked line-in
electric guitar style, with the aforementioned drum machine cheesing things
out bigtime. I don’t know how I’d describe Paul’s songs- he’s
got some quirk-rock that’s kinda like a lofi ZZ Top; a cool C&W poprocker
called “Get Me To Nashville”, and a ‘50’s stylee guitar
ballad called “Binge”: “I didn’t mean to binge, I didn’t
mean to get as drunk as I did and shoot him.”
JH Christ
KINGFLY
AQUAMARINE SCENE CD
Ding Ply Records 549 Second Street #1 Brooklyn NY 11215 USA
kingfly@kingfly.net
http://www.kingfly.net
“MTV” should become a musical genre - you know, pop, punk, metal,
ambient, etc, and MTV. The MTV band is easy to spot in the wilderness of contemporary
music. It will be irritatingly goody-goody, have catchy melodies and a permanent
endearing smirk. The production will, of course, be hyper-professional and
immaculate (the MTV band won’t settle for less - there is so much competition
out there, and after all MTV only transmits 24 hours a day; such high standards,
such little chances for an airing). The MTV vocalist will sing earnestly and
with the aid of perfect little choruses and harmonies, and will sometimes
sound, as is the case here, like Bon Jovi (which is already bad enough in
the case of Bon Jovi, but at least he’s got the tight butt and the floppy
haircut). MTV music is not painful to the ears, and is not bad in the real
sense of the world (I’ve heard bad, trust me), but it’s just generally
cloying, and we’ve heard it all before. Your 17-year-old little brothers
may buy it (literally and figuratively).
Paola
KLIMPEREI & PIERRE
BASTIEN
MECANOLOGIE PORTATIVE
Prikosnovenie, BP 50113, 44001 Nantes Cedex 1, FRANCE
This is one of those arty French instrumental lofi things. I’ve got my
beret on now and I’m sipping some espresso. Toy sounding instruments,
woodwinds. Lovely instrumental songs that grow up around beats generated by
small non-electric household appliances.
JH Christ
KREISLER
THE HISTORY OF ELECTRONICS
Star Destroyer Recordings PO Box R363 Sydney NSW 1225 Australia sdr@live.com
At first listen, Kreisler sounds like it’s going to be some sludgy metal.
But hold on a minute! It’s instrumental post-rock ala Trans Am! Credit
for only bass and drums are given, but there is an occasional passing of vocals
and some kick-ass sound effects. These guys prove minimalism is the max and
it’s remarkable what they have accomplished here. The recording is a
little muddy, but other than that, THE HISTORY OF ELECTRONICS is an excellent
concept and a great title for a record. I like the stickers that came with
the tape because they are shaped like band-aids. Not to be confused with electronic
act Kriedler.
Kenyon Hopkin
LITTLE GRUNTPACK
LURKING CD
Serious Records PO Box 24564 Baltimore MD 21214 USA
Think gritty R&B, then blend in apalachia and the US Civil War. Take it
all to an underground bohemian art gallery boutique poetry jazz thingy. The
Gruntpack has that tight, dry r&b sound but they write songs with an arty,
post-rock sensibility. To say that I liked this CD would be the understatement
of the year. I listen to it constantly. The singer has that strung-out but
hopped-up urgency in his voice, and the lyric imagery is vibrant, surreal,
funny but not in a corny or jokey way. These guys rule.
JH Christ
LOCKWELD
ULTRA GO 7"
PO Box 360811 Strongsville OH 44136 USA lockweld@aol.com
This is ultra awesome. Harsh noise consisting of power tools, keyboards, samplers
and a buttload of yelling and screaming. Side one is “Ultra Go.”
Side two is “Lost In Space,” which is not as corrosive on the ears.
It takes a step back. It’s mostly done on keyboards and has a ambient
feel with a harsh edge seeping in there. Both sides end with lock-grooves.
If you’re not familiar with those, they make the 7" longer, so when
you’re listening you think like 20 minutes later, “fuck, this sure
is a long 7”.” I personally recommend this to anyone with an ear
for ear torture. This thing hasn’t left the turntable for like 3 weeks
now!
E Crowe
MARTOC
FOR ALIEN EARS
5 Chapel Lane, Wicken, Ely Cambs CB7 5X2 UK
Cassette reissue of vintage 1983 vinyl album (complete with vinyl crackling
in a couple of spots!). Most of the tracks are sparse instrumentals based
around analog synths. Vocals do appear eventually in the form of narration
on “Nightmare Trip.” “Absolute Zero” is like a 50s sci-fi
version of The Fall. Not in a good way either, I’m afraid. “Drowning
In Quicksand” is a drum machine/vocal workout that sounds like Devo doing
doo-wop, also recalling Fad Gadget along the way. “Oh God” continues
the Fad Gadget comparison with a whispery little melody and chorus of vocals.
“Helen Is A Hologram” is like a lost Syd Barrett/Gary Numan collaboration
on 2 Moogs and a snare drum. Hmm. “Kiss And Break Up” is punk rock
on proto drum machine and vocoder synth. Ditto for “Slash My Wrists.”
“Beware Of The Darkness” drives it all home with another great Fad
Gadget arrangement. Great lost relic of mid period electronic music!
Ian C Stewart
MELANGE
CD EP 2.1 CD
51-B Roosevelt Ave, East Northport, NY 11731USA
kadrock@pipeline.com
http://www.pipeline.com/~kadrock
Like the name implies, Melange is a mixture. But it’s not your standard
mixture of pop or rock. No, for that you must look elsewhere. Melange is electronic,
molding together ambient, trip-hop, industrial and drum ‘n’ bass.
The man behind the curtain is Atom, who spends his time tweaking his front
line assembly of synthesizers, groovebox and high-tech computer software.
The result is a well-mixed, hypnotic journey of airy strings and inventive
beats that permeate the mind via tracks like “Android” and “Cloud
World.” Musique non-stop, yo!
Kenyon Hopkin
MENTAL ANGUISH AND NOMUZIC
PO BOYS WITH GOBOT WAR TOYS CD
Harsh Reality PO Box 241661 Memphis TN 38124-1661 USA
chris.phinney@gte.net
Uh-oh, Thee Inevitable Reeissues are coming now that everyone has a CDR on
their computers. This here is/was a collaboration between Chris Phinney and
Carl Howard from 1987-89. This CD is a compilation of 3 previous releases.
It’s all synths and more synths and synths on top. Repetetive stabs.
Some melodic action but mostly it’s about texture. Track two adds vocals.
Track three: “-Four-” has some very nice ambience over a synth arpeggio.
“Pigs In The Barnyard” is an odd slice of analogue synth doom with
distorted guitar off to the side. “Arliss’ Country Kitchen”
is proto-industrial dance like early Ministry. “Look Ma, No Software”
opens with a riff straight out of Devo’s playbook but also has some odd
sonic tentacles flailing around it. “Too Early For Words” is six
minutes of knob-twisting...
Ian C Stewart
MIKE MERZ & THE CAN
O’ WORMS
BUZZKILL NATION CD
Archangel Media Empire PO Box 50392 Minneapolis MN 55405 USA
arch@bitstream.net
Singer-songwriter type stuff with loads of guest musicians. The best part
of BUZZKILL NATION is the lyrics. They are so true, sincere, and pretty damn
introspective. Mike Merz likes to sing about music, the good old days, death
and heartbreak. It’s a good thing he printed the lyrics in the sleeve,
so you can check out lines like, “All my clothes are dirty so a shower
makes no sense.” or “There’s bread crumbs on the rug, to match
the debris of my heart.” Righteous, dude.
Kenyon Hopkin
MOLOCH
FATALIST BURLESQUE CD
Duckweed Records 2442 NW Market St #354 Seattle WA 98107 USA
duckweedseattle@yahoo.com
http://members.tripod.co.uk/duckweed/
“Heavy content!” “No overdubs!” “featuring all 1st
take vocals!” “wretchedly lo-fi!”. Don’t say you weren’t
warned. There follows a tiny three-track tape. What is it like? Deranged old-style
electro sounds (like Tuxedomoon, for lack of a better comparison), a snarling,
heavily distorted voice, jolly-folky ditties. They try to sound like Stan
Ridgway but sorry, the final effect reminds me more of that irksome little
SOUTH PARK theme by Primus. Are the songs bad? Not at all. Did the world,
however, need this tape? Not really.
Paola
MONOBRAIN | SONIC DISORDER
SPLIT
PFC Rec 1911Redondo Ave, Salt Lake City UT 84108 USA
Monobrain is from Holland and is all about ripping shit up, apparently. There’s
a no-fi narration running through that side of the tape, a guy introducing
the various elements he’s going to use on particular tracks. The tracks
themselves are disjointed pure noise made even more disjointeder by being
digitally manipulated, maybe on a computer. There’s a stuttering quality
and interesting/odd use of repetition like old Max Headroom in the 80s. But
noise is noise and this is still pretty much a shortcut to annoying the hell
out of anyone around you. Furthermore, this HEADFINCH of COVALENCE is nothing
less than a ORBICULAR SPHINGID! So there! The Dictionary Of Noize has spoken.
Sonic Disorder? You want some too? Okay: your FIBROMA LINEATION recalls the
early SPLANCHNIC MARLITE of the TELUGU. Which is to say that y’all sample
the same Steve Martin record I do! D’oh for you! Note to potential listeners:
the credit to Erik and Kira for “sex” is no joke! She’s clearly
audible from the start, uh, gettin’ it on. So be warned. Or whatever.
Heavy breathin’ ahead. That would be “This Is Real.” On “Cybertroll
Orgy In Outerspace” it goes all spacy ambient noise, with the overall
effect of a space shuttle mission being overtaken by feedback. Bad feedback.
Not the kind of feedback like “look, I’ve been noticing a few things
about you for the past few months.” The outro, called “Outro,”
is a microsecond vocal loop of/by Amanda Parker-Ford. And it’s the winner
because it rules and there’s no feedback on it! And it’s almost
Eyelighty in its delectability. Almost. This should be the whole next Sonic
Disorder tape right here! And I’m out.
Ian C Stewart
MOUTH BANDITS
PRODUCT CD
DSP Ltd, 56 Darwin Rd., Carbondale, IL 62901 USA
http://www.digidak.com/groovy/source.htm
This album is a brilliant concept piece about consumerism with catchy songs,
excellent instrumentation and great lyrics. There’s a few funny spoken
word pieces throughout as well. “One of These Things” is the first
song, and a great one at that, which even has a bass clarinet. “Workin’
Like A Jerk” has a groove most musicians would kill for. “Directory
Assistance” is a hilarious 30-second spoken word piece. “Product”
is a rockin’ instrumental with samples of Frank Zappa thrown in. “Teenage
Wife” is an excellent understated jazzy piece. “Apaxia” is
a brilliant piece of work that makes me envy the shit out of these guys for
their great songwriting skills and musical ability. How do they DO that?
Ken Miller
J MUNDOK
ARTICHOKE CD
Jack Kettle Records 125 S Barbara St, Mt Joy PA 17552 USA
kettlerecords@hotmail.com
Big, simple pop tunes that feature acoustic guitar, orchestral synths and
a spare drum track all done up nice, big and simple. Like a minimalist Psychedelic
Furs with no saxophone. If you like ‘80’s pop or are a 4AD fan I
think you’d dig this. I did.
JH Christ
NARBENERDE | LEFTHANDEDDECISION
split 7"
Stephen Widmann, Kriegsstr 236F 76135 Karlsruhe, Germany 101.139158@german.net.de
Phil Blankenship 2590 Durant Ave #240 Berkeley CA 94704 USA
tenebrae@jps.net
http://www.troniks.com
Narbenerde is kinda eerie and dark. Not so much ambient as it is creepy. Low
and rhythmic pulses mixed well with a sort of a generator sounding whirling.
There are vocals involved, but in such a way that they blend in with the other
sounds. The vocals have a super wet swamp monster-phaser kind of thing going
on. Lefthandeddecision is harsh-o-rama! Distorted hard-hitting pulses of static
with a hint of it possibly “red lining”. Tones pulsate deeper and
deeper and then turn rather rhythmic with delay, possibly. All this layered
with giblets of samples and radio. This is a pretty hoss split, worth checking
out if you dig noise.
E Crowe
NIXON’S HEAD
GOURMET CD
Groove Disques PO Box 271 Haddonfield, NF 08033 USA
http://www.groovedisques.com
I don’t know why I thought I was going to like this CD. Maybe it was
the band name which is mildly amusing. Who knows. I guess I was expecting
too much, because I hated it from the first (and only) listen. Basically it’s
charm free. Imagine the Beach Boys + Jackson Browne. Now make it suck twenty
times more than that and you’re almost there. At least the songs are
relatively short. The melodies are incredibly simplistic which isn’t
always a bad thing. But the lyrics are not sophisticated enough to carry the
lack of musical distraction. The whole album sounds amateurish in my opinion,
like it was recorded by junior high school kids in someone’s basement.
But hey, if you like that kind of thing...
Michelle Nollan
THE NUDE BOMB
The Nude Bomb 126 Justice st Chapel Hill, NC 27526 USA
Pleasant! A tape of slightly 4AD-ish instrumentals, like THIS MORTAL COIL
outtakes. We may be in the presence of real talent here, but more material
would be needed to make a serious judgement. Also, some vocals would be nice.
I play this very often, which does not happen frequently with AUTO stuff (as
sad as it may seem).
Paola
ROBIN O’BRIEN
40th BIRTHDAY BOOTLEG
Lonely Whistle Music Po Box 9162 Santa Rosa CA 95405 USA
campaudj@jps.net
Happy birthday Robin!!!!!
But on to the music.
Prologue: during my first year of university, in prehistoric 1988 (a century
ago, you can rightly say now) I was traumatized by a roommate who listened
to Tracy Chapman all day. The result is that now I abhor any angry young woman
with a guitar and “issues”: Alanis, Ani, Sarah, Joni even poor Beth
Orton (whom I barely tolerate with the Chem Bros), and all that whiny kind.
I’d wait for the next Lilith Fair just to drop a stink bomb in the dressing
rooms (talk about killing many birds with a stone...). Despite this, I managed
to listen to the whole tape - an alarming 16 tunes - by Robin. What can I
say? The woman has vocal talent, but her diamond-clear voice should be applied
to something better than these self-important, embittered lamentations with
just a couple of skeletal notes from an acoustic guitar to “flesh it
out”. I was secretly hoping for “Marianne” to be a Sisters
Of Mercy cover, but well.... On the other hand, the simple existence of Lilith
Fair means there are women out there who like this music, and find it meaningful
and worth listening to. They should contact Robin right now. (Outraged feminists:
please pick your number.)
Paola
KEVIN J O’CONNER
MEDITATIONS ON THE INESCAPABLE SELF 2xCD
6813 Weedin Place NE #101, Seattle, WA 98115 USA
stntmusic@halcyon.com
http://www.halcyon.com/tntmusic/welcome.htm
Deep and hypnotic soundscapes that range from soul cleansing to soul reaping.
This, at times, can sound eerie and great to play “creepy crawly”
to with some unsuspecting neighbor, to a powerfully soft college. Filled with
lots of whirling winds that surround you and accents of drones that whisper
sweet murder. This is superb and well worth the fuckin’ cash.
E Crowe
OKAPI GUITARS
CHOKO CHOKO CD
68 Applebee St, St. Peters NSW 2044 AUSTRALIA
The African pop music that this band plays usually features bands with about
20 guys on stage. Okapi Guitars are two guys in Sydney playing it MIDI style.
Which could be a disaster or art depending on how you listen to it. Anyway,
they’ve got a cute catchy tune called “Fast Driver” that transcends
all that.
JH Christ
CHRIS OSBURN
HOMEWRECKER CD
Jack Kettle Records 125 S Barbara St
Mt Joy PA 17552 USA jkettlerecords@hotmail.com
Heartfelt acoustic ballads. Most are in the same key and same tempo but are
distinguished by lyrics tinged with nostalgia and loss. The strumming is keenly
morose and the chord changes all tend to make one very very depressed if not
already so. “Summersong” is the high point, a relatively upbeat
song. “If Your Dad” is a goofy sendup of the rest of the set basically...
Very good, very dramatic folky acoustica.
Ian C Stewart
THOM OWEN
LEON’S PARTY MUSIC
Serious Records PO Box 24564 Baltimore MD 21214 USA
I’m never sure if Mr. Owen is a naïve genius or a deft stylist.
He’s got this 13 year old nerd from 1963 singing about supercomputers
and rock music thing down so well. Imagine a pre-teen Brian Wilson but transported
to 1999’s hometaping scene. Its great stuff. The lyrics are incredible
and the songs are all catchy and short.
JH Christ
PANGLOSS CD
13 Park St., Westfield, MA 01085 USA
kingkevin@mediaone.net
This here’s yer straightforward two guitars, bass, and drums rock band.
I’m not going to call them “alternative”, ‘cause that
would be insulting; nor are they a corporate rock or dinosaur band, even though
their songs do have guitar solos. I’m not really sure who I can compare
Pangloss to (though “Nothing Left To Give” has sort of a Cheap Trick
feel to it, and the way the vocals are mixed is slightly reminiscent of early
Lush), which is probably a good thing, because it means Pangloss have their
own personality, dammit - something sadly lacking these days amidst all the
boy bands, Britney Spears clones, and post-gangsta hip-hop landfill poisoning
the musical landscape. Like Todd Rundgren following the Motown example, Pangloss
have put the best song of this four-track demo CD first. “Ghost In My
House” is pretty freakin’ catchy, and is the reason you’ll
want this in the first place, though “Hitchhiker” has a supremely
cool distorted bassline intro that will have you cranking up the volume in
order to enjoy it in all its distorted gloriousity.
Kevin J. O’Conner
PAN PIPES
TRANSMISSION FORM CD
Andrea Tabanelli Via Lume 30/C Bubano (BO) 40020 Italy
At first I thought “wow, this is a brilliant band, sort of Italian Talking
Heads”, but with repeated listening I decided it wasn’t as fantastic
as it seemed. Which is funny, because usually it’s the other way round
(a CD does not appeal to you immediately but grows on you later). There are
moments of greatness: one song has a small loop that’s like one of those
maddening Johnny Marr guitar ditties in a Smiths song, repeated endlessly
to delirium, and made me smile. “Yoshi” features a solo by a pained
cello (and there are never enough of those in pop music, in my humble opinion).
The general atmosphere is inventive and can’t be labeled in any way.
What Pan Pipes needs to rise from obscurity is, let’s face it, a vocalist;
Andrea’s voice is too wispy to match the inventiveness of the music,
so the whole CD sounds like yet another sad case of “the writer insisted
on being the frontman too”, which is rarely a good thing.
Paola
FRANK PECK | TIMO
20 GOLDEN GREATS split
KAW 2 Carmuir, Forth, Lanarkshire, ML11 8AR UK
What an interesting match-up between Frank Peck (aka Mark Ritchie) and Timo.
It’s like chocolate and sauerkraut, completely different tastes, smells
and textures, but a person could like both. Ritchie’s side of the album
is some of the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard. Incredibly moving
and depressing (I mean that in the good way!), the songs are all amazing.
So well-written and delivered, it makes me want to give him a hug to make
him feel better. Flip the tape over to hear Timo coughing and hacking up phlegm
in the middle of a song. Intentional? Who knows. Hilarious? Hell yes! Bronchitis
aside, the Timo stuff is interesting, but in a different way. By the way,
are you allowed to start a song, stop and then start over for no apparent
reason? I just wondered. Side two is mostly some dude trying to be creepy
and psychotic and a little silly and succeeding. I hope I don’t have
nightmares now. Seriously.
Michelle Nollan
PICTURE THE BEAUTIFUL
HEY MR JONES CD single
AIGN Management, Po Box 18, Porth CF399YX, Wales UK
aign@infowales.com
http://www.picturethebeautiful.com
Welsh Band In “Bloody Good CD” Shock! That’s the title that
should appear in all the British tabloids, and eventually all over the world
(perhaps in smaller fonts). The comparison with other Welsh glories Stereophonics
seems unavoidable. It is, in fact, the same brand of clever guitar pop, but
this CD is much better than the slightly pompous Stereophonics because it’s
full of energy and attitude, good tunes and big roaring sounds. The EP features
three songs and a “bonus track” called “Supermodel” (I
told you about the attitude...); all the songs kick ass equally, but I should
say my personal favorite is track 2, “Blue Car Riot”. Frontman Damien
Scott Owens (ain’t it a rockstar name) has a pleasantly subdued, raspy
voice, as if Billy Corgan woke up one day and decided that life was worth
living after all. “Another rich production from Le Mons, Newport, Wales”.
I read on their Web site that they are doing already pretty well in the UK,
so you may hear from them soon. Where can I buy the t-shirt?
Paola
PLEDGE DRIVE
I GAVE AT THE OFFICE CD
Feast of Weeds 1685 1/2 Church St. San Francisco CA 94131USA
http://www.feastofweeds.com
A curious blend of (1) They Might Be Giants-esque material (offbeat, literate,
ironic wit; devilishly catchy tunes) sung by David Hearst on the one hand,
with (2) perfectly sincere Celtic-sounding folky stuff sung by Rebecca Marculescu
on the other. How these tracks ended up on the same album must forever remain
a mystery, but I’m glad they did: it’s all really good. Marculescu’s
singing, like, say, Linda Thompson’s, is moving not so much in spite
of as to some extent because of its “untrained” quality. On some
tracks (“Willie McGee McGaw”, for example), the two styles sort
of merge together with a sort of Jethro Tull-like effect. Hey, it’s even
got a cool package design. Check it out.
Indy Ana Jones
THE POOLAN DEVI EXPERIENCE
THE WAY TO A MAN’S HEART IS THROUGH HIS RIBCAGE
Macka PO Box 356 Brunswick Vic 3056 Australia
Mixed bag of mixdowns dating from 1991, 1993 and 1998. Nearly everything here
is nice drum machine-driven postpunk instrumentals on guitars and bass. “Deadline”
sounds like the guitars are tuned down to a low H. “I Like Treble”
is uptempo and causes the listener to bop about. It’s a sinister cousin
to The Cure’s “Primary.” “Death To The Sun” sounds
like Red Lorry Yellow Lorry on a Black Sabbath kick. “The Fear Of Death”
continues this theme with some tribal drum machine action and thick slabs
of distorted guitar and bass eventually giving way to a spare double bass
groove. A little something for everybody.
Ian C Stewart
PRAYING FOR OBLIVION |
THE VIOLET GRIND
THE GREAT SERPENT split
Praying For Oblivion, 94 Fayette Ave., Buffalo, NY 14223-2708 USA
The Violet Grind, 2605 San Carlos Ave, San Carlos, CA 94070 USA
Praying For Oblivion starts off with “The Great Serpent,” a two-part
stupefying noise blast, part one of which features midrange hydraulic sounds
and high-pitched grating wind sound. It reminds me of what it would sound
like on the wing of an airliner at 30,000 feet. Part two is a bit more sparse
and a bit more interesting, with more delay-looped noise which wobbles and
changes pitch. The Violet Grind takes the second side with the eloquently
titled “black serpent’s tongues are like icy razors,” a bit
of heavily distorted atonal synth noise that reminds me of Throbbing Gristle.
Very creepy and great for annoying your downstairs neighbors.
Ken Miller
PRAYING FOR OBLIVON
THE FEAR EXPERIMENTS 7"
Final Judgement Church Ov The Great Oblivion PO Box 22103 Nashville, TN 37202-2103
USA
It was very difficult for me to listen to this record more than once or twice.
Mainly because it doesn’t tell me at what rpm to play it. Every time
I listen to it, I’m thinking “this can’t be right.” But
after I change the speed, I don’t notice a damn bit of difference!! Also
Side I and Side II aren’t labeled so I really can’t tell what I’m
supposed to be hearing even though one side was allegedly recorded live. Maybe
that won’t matter to the average listener, but a novice reviewer like
me needs a little more help. Cut me a fucking break next time, huh? As for
the actual music, picture yourself in a spooky movie. You’re walking
alone at night through the woods when you see an old abandoned farmhouse.
The song that would be playing right now...that’s this!
Michelle Nollan
PULPIT RED
LURK CD
Syncretist Records, 1112 NW 49, Oklahoma City, OK, 73118 USA
http://www.mp3.com/pulpitred
Pulpit Red is a gothic punk band from Oklahoma City that friggin’ kicks
ass. The songs are catchy pieces of dark fun, right from the first song, “Zero
Night.” There’s not one but two songs (“Cocked and Ready”
and “Massacre On The Train”) about a guy going nuts and shooting
people on a train, and both of them are great. “Freak Show” is my
favorite song on the CD, with a sideshow theme and a great carnival barker
part in the middle and a refrain that goes, “baby, baby, baby baby baby!”
“Indestructible Boy” has a slick rockabilly feel. The whole album
has excellent music and exceptional vocals (kind of a cross between Peter
Murphy, Iggy Pop and Lux Interior of The Cramps). My only complaint with the
CD is that a couple of the songs seem like filler material, but overall it’s
a hell of a piece of work.
Ken Miller
RARE BLEND
INFINITY CD
TSM Productions PO Box 609105 Cleveland OH 44109 USA
http://www.rareblend.net
I seem to have drawn the instrumental rock hand this round, which is too bad,
since that’s not really my thing. But I digress... This particular card
is an album by the highly musical folks who call themselves Rare Blend. These
folks can really play their instruments - and they’re a lot funkier than
the Throat Wobbler Mangrove peoples I reviewed earlier. The sound quality
of this CD is also very good, if a little too midrangey (something that should
have been fixed at the mastering stage) for my tastes - my ears were tired
after only the fourth song. I’ll be honest - I hated this CD the first
time I listened to it, and the obvious synth presets on a couple of the tracks
still bother me tremendously. But, on second listen, it’s not too bad,
even though it’s probably not something I would choose to buy. The music
is sort of a prog-rock/fusion hybrid, ranging from funky to generic; I could
see these guys developing a small but highly devoted following, particularly
on the festival circuit. Or something like that...
Kevin J. O’Conner
PHIL REAVIS
DRIVE THROUGH THE FIELDS CD
PO Box 502674 Indianapolis IN 46250 USA
jpr@iquest.net
http://members.iquest.net/~jpr
Opens with the title track, an acoustic/acoustic/bass (?) strum-along that
initially recalls The Ventures but then drifts off to...er, wherever, basically.
“Highway 17 (Driving To Santa Cruz)” is more a cross between The
Ventures and a relaxed Dick Dale. Drums. Somewhat traditional guitar solos.
Several of the songs are broken down to just a couple guitar tracks; recalling
the openness of a desert road or something. “It’s Alright”
is an eight minute epic of acoustic guitars and bongos...and singing! Co-ed!
And backward guitars. “A Walk In The Woods” is a happy bit of instrumental
acoustica. Actually that goes for pretty much the whole CD. It’s not
lo-fi but it’s not cold and distant either. It’s a comfortable set
of songs...
Ian C Stewart
REDFIVE
STANDING BY...
Star Destroyer Recordings PO Box R363 Sydney NSW 1225 Australia
stardestroyerrecordings@hotmail.com
Now this is more like it! I’m only up to the second song, but I can already
tell that STANDING BY... is a seriously twisted spasm of joyful weirdness.
Short songs with all sorts of weird effects and noises and loopy energy behind
them. Imagine listening to Beck on acid while on acid. This guy should get
together with the guy who does the Radiskull toons. Imagine it - Redfive with
Radiskull and Devil Doll. “Now it’s time to kick it...!” You
need this tape NOW.
Kevin J. O’Conner
REVERSE CD
2039 Washington Street Wilmington, NC 28401 USA
It took about a hundred listens for me to decide that I’m rather indifferent
about this CD. But since I already wasted the time, here are the highlights.
Song one “go radio” is highly reminiscent of Blue Oyster Cult (is
that a highlight? I’m not sure). “Complex Conversation” is
decent I guess. Except that it lasts for 6+ minutes! About one-third of the
way through, it takes an interesting turn with a little Freddie Mercury action
(you know, the overly dramatic delivery of lyrics), building up to some twangy
guitar stuff before finally calling it quits. “Another No” is No
Doubt without the chick. The rest of the songs just kinda lie there like you
do when you’re having sex with someone you don’t really like but
for some reason married. It’s not bad sex, just nothing to scream about.
Don’t act like you don’t know what I mean.
Michelle Nollan
SHY RIGHTS MOVEMENT
VANITY RECORDINGS
KAW 94 Main Street, Forth, Lanarkshire ML11 8AB UK kawtapes@hotmail.com
The prolific Mark Ritchie keeps up the pace — but hey, wait, I thought
these guys broke up! I’m so confused! And very happily so! The merchants
of mope return (or continue, I guess) with more of the sound that’s made
them infamous. Acoustic ballads at a snail’s crawl. This time adding
keyboards to the mix. About three songs in it turns into a full-band deal
with live drums and bass and it’s easily the best thing ever from this
lot. “Delta Forever” sounds like a suicide note pretty much. But
that chorus digs deep. “Failure Is My Business” sounds like the
big radio hit of this bunch — acoustic guitar and distorted bass. “When
did I become somebody you used to know?” You see what I mean. “Something
Strong” is bolted down tight with a drum machine groove. “First
Light” is slow ‘n sulky and features some sweet violin and keyboard
action. Feelin’ moody and low? Or just wish you were? Here ya go.
Ian C Stewart
SIX AND MORE
OISI VOCI CD
Archegon, Muhlgasse 31, 60486 Frankfurt/M, Germany
Don’t you hate reviews that start off by firing a bunch of numbers at
you? Well, try this shit on for size: 47 musicians from 5 concerts in three
years making 18 tracks using 20000000 instruments and filling 61:42 of 1 CD.
I mean, it’s all true. The premise is interesting on paper: get a roomful
of dudes and gear together and just kind of see what happens. And that’s
pretty much what the CD sounds like. Nothing planned. Just the sound of a
bunch of dudes winging it. Some of the pieces are ambient enough to slip through
unnoticed. Most have at least one or two aspects which make them annoying/interesting.
The instruments are mostly electronic, with the occasional burst of processed
percussion. Real time sound collage. Some tracks sound like the stuff Skinny
Puppy used to do between proper songs. Sounds like the stuff Skinny Puppy
used to do between proper songs.
Ian C Stewart
SORTSIND
SAR CD
BTB Valdemarsg. 56 St TV, 1665 Copenhagen Denmark
Black grind doom! It wouldn’t have seemed possible before I actually
heard this that you could have such a thing as moody grindcore metal but here
it is! Which is another way of saying that I’m in love! The guitars are
all reverby and there might be some keyboards for further meloldic enhancement
in there too. The singer is all screechy and pukey sounding while the drums
and bass just blast away. “Blot” consists of dreamy upper register
ambience later joined by a choir of screams and voc-gurgles and hissy narration
off in the distance. Natas liah. Were it not a sunny day outside I’d
probably be shitting in my pants right about now. “Dromme Om Evig Nat”
gets back to the matter at hand with some fairly severe thrashing action.
Sounds like a drum machine but that’s not a bad thing. My guess is that
they had to sacrifice the drummer to Satan and were therefore stuck with the
machine in the studio. And we all have to make sacrifices. The song breaks
down to an epic old school guitar bit in the middle, which is eventually joined
by some tympani or something. Okay, fuck the sun, I really am shitting in
my pants now. The vocals sound like three dogs eating each other’s heads
at the same time. Natas liah. The production is kind of odd, with the drums
and guitars representing the majority of the mix. Maybe they toasted the bassist
too. “Blandt Gra Monumenter” opens with a scrubby guitar riff that
could’ve been from any Sonic Youth album, followed quickly by that incredible
screaming! Hey! Somebody release that man’s testes from the blender!
He’s obviously had enough! “Sar” features some plaintive piano
playing that could be from any of Nick Cave’s records. Or old Dead Can
Dance. With distorted guitar scrunge in the background. And bells? Natas liah.
“Sorte Tarer” is some toasty mechanized thrash with horrific screaming.
Sensing a theme here? “Skumring” is all ghouly rain sound effects,
acoustic guitar and piano. Mmm yeah baby. And guess what else! There’s
screeching too! I love that guy’s voice. It sounds like pure hell.
iAN c StewArT
SPAM ALLSTARS
PORK SCRATCHINGS
Spam Allstars PO Box 414890, Miami Beach FL 33141 USA
Alright, this was one of my all time faves of the last few years. These guys
take scratchy old r&b records, sample the best grooves, and mix in all
kinds of inane instructional and kids-type found sound. For example, on “Spankings”
they get this goofy, funky riff going and then you hear this hilarious edit
from Howdy Doody talking about spankings. I guess I’m easily amused.
Fans of DJ Shadow, Fzzy Pmpr and Negativland will dig this.
JH Christ
SPOD
SPODEMONIC
Star Destroyer Recordings PO Box R363 Sydney NSW 1225 Australia
stardestroyerrecordings@hotmail.com
Eccentric and occasionally bizarre, Spod’s SPODEMONIC comes off as a
lo-fi, bedroom version of Ween. Whether the tune is acoustic or rocks out,
the fairly decent recording quality allows their subtle sound effects and
sometimes angsty vocals to come through. The offbeat and interesting “Transfer
Of Spectral Line Radiation” throws off the album with helium vocals and
synth, but for the most part, Spod sounds as if it just got its heart broken
and has had one too many drinks. The second side of the tape starts to waste
time, with the lengthy “Playin’ With A Pussy” and people talking
too much in between songs. It’s all nicely packaged with cover art of
Bill Clinton holding photos of nude women.
Kenyon Hopkin
SQUEAKY
TEN SONGS WE FORGOT HOW TO PLAY
PO Box 12256 Gainesville FL 32604 USA
Okay, this sounds like it was recorded in a real studio with the guitars actually
plugged into an amp turned up loud. Which is a good thing. Pavementy. Which
is cool, hey, Pavement is one of my all time faves, but it’s like a Pavement
wrapper with nothing inside.
JH Christ
DAVE STAFFORD
SONG WITH NO END CD
Studio Seventeen Productions PO Box 461363, Escondido, CA 92046 USA
ambient@home.com
http://listen.to/ambience/
Stafford is an official AUTOreverse Usual Suspect (reviews in AUTO7 &
8; an interview in # 9). This is my first exposure to his actual music; I
like it pretty well. It says in the liner notes “I am primarily an instrumental
musician, specializing in looped and ambient atmospheres,” whereas this
is “a vocal pop album”. A lucky break for me since I’m not
all that ambient myself. I’m guessing I’d like some of his other
work anyway, though —the instrumental track “Prebendary” is
far more interesting than the usual “hey, check out the cool sound my
synthesizer can make (over and over)”. Reminds me of JS Bach. Track 9,
“Song With No End,” is pretty soporific, on the other hand. As for
the vocals, his singing reminds me of John Lennon, as do some of the arrangements
(check out “Don’t”). And, in fact, there’s a song here
(“John”) dedicated to the man himself. Instrumental credits on certain
songs go to Bryan Helm (bass, keys, & loops) and Tom Freeman (drums),
but mostly Stafford does it all. He plays one wicked guitar, too, in a wide
variety of styles. I hope to hear more from this prolific and talented artist.
One-and-a-half thumbs up.
Indy Ana Jones
THE STEPFORD FIVE
MESH CD
PMB 250, 30 Dillmont Dr, Worthington OH 43235 USA
info@stepfordfive.com
http://www.stepfordfive.com/
Rock! Rock! Rock. The CD opens with a big fat beat that sounds kind of like
an octopus with two floor toms. The drums sound damn good, like a vintage
Steve Lillywhite job like XTC BLACK SEA or that one Big Country album I’m
thinking of. Much strumming of loud guitars playing open chords and backing
vocals that remind me of Bob Mould. Many songs start with one guitar playing
a riff or chord alone. Er, suggesting it’s a singer/songwriter/guitarist’s
show here. The songs are fully-formed and rock where they’re supposed
to but me personally I was never a fan of The Replacements or any of the bands
that formed in their wake and there’s something very Mats-ish here. It’s
not you, guys, it’s me. I’m sorry. I just need some space right
now to think about things.
Ian C Stewart
STONE PREMONITIONS SAMPLER
CD compilation
Stone Premonitions 271 Park Road, South Moor, Stanley, Co Durham DH9 7AP UK
terrib@stoneprem.freeserve.co.uk
15 track compilation from this moody bluesy spacy UK label. The set opens
with two songs from Terri B’s WRAP ME IN YOUR SKIN CD reviewed here previously,
followed closely by two songs by Body Full Of Stars, who were also reviewed
previously! And loved! Several cuts from BFOS’s CD are exceptionally
great, though the two here aren’t my own picks for the A-list. Mark Dunn’s
fretless bass and immediately identifiable voice hold it all together. Paul
Rose’s “Take A Mile” recalls early 80s MOR like Michael McDonald
or even mellow Don Henley; followed by “Demons,” which sounds like
a sequenced Guns N Roses spinoff or something! An instrumental excuse for
a very long guitar solo anyway! Spacehopper goes all pop-rock with their tracks.
“Aeroplane” is especially catchy, almost shoegazey in it way. Then
“Harmonian Love Song” goes all dreampop. Blissed out instrumental.
Oh yeah. Mr Quimby’s Beard were also reviewed before, but yeah: sci-fi
space rock. For ten minutes! The Rabbit’s Hat then pulls a coup by doing
a Nick Drake cover! “Strange Meeting II” with backing vocals by
Terri B. Their version adds a bit of rhythm and, er, “soul,” whatever
that means. The guitar playing is right on! And anything at all to further
the music of Nick Drake is a good thing. “Sweetmeats Of The Dead”
gets all breakbeat-y and dancey. Breakbeats good. Krom Lek actually reminds
me of Dif Juz with “Dragonfly.” There’s at least one uptempo
track on the Dif Juz album, and it sounds like this! Drum machine plus live
everything else, including sax! This song and “Taking Warmth From A Star”
both have wonderful reverby atmosphere. Mmm. Neon “Don’t Eat Bricks”!
Great title! The production is very good and the chorus sounds like, uh, Free
or something. It’s very 70s whatever it is! “Hanging Off An O”
is more uptempo and recalls Deep Purple, I think. This disc is a great starting
point for checking out Stone Premonitions.
Ian C Stewart
STRESSHEAD
DEMO 1998
Chris 7 Petrel Way, Blyth, Northumberland NE24 3QL UK
Rock band action! “Turn Around” is either a slow Green Day or a
fast Silverchair. “Lifeline” is like, uh, like, uh, like Bad Religion
or anything else on that thar label of theirs. Melodic, hard rocking rock.
But not “hard rock” in the sense of hair bands, you know? “Freak
Friendship” makes nice use of a prominent bass line and rocks out a bit.
The production is good and the performances all do what they’re supposed
to. Yep.
Ian C Stewart
DAN SUSNARA
MAYPOLE 2xC90
Mumble Mumble Music 7806 S Kilpatrick, Chicago IL 60652 USA
Anybody who can pack two (two!) c-90’s full of actual pop-rock songs
that he wrote, sang and played all the instruments on deserves, well, he deserves
something. Maybe a producer, or better yet a band. Dan Susnara creates Pink
Floydy style bedroom spacerock complete with a faux Brit accent. I’d
like to hear this stuff with a full band, real drums and a different singer.
Dan’s a great songwriter, but he’s bitten off more than he can produce.
I liked his tape collaboration with Micky Saunders better than this stuff-
she brings a solid live drumming and pop sensibility to the thing.
JH Christ
TEM OHP AB | PHYCUS |
VITA-VERBUM-LUX
I KILL YOU I KILL YOU I KILL YOU split 7"
Spasmoparapsychotic Records 1720 Talleyrand Brossard, QC J4W 2J2 CANADA
I was slightly curious as to what the phrase “sounds conceived and executed
by Phycus” meant exactly. Obviously this is not your typical record.
My answer is this: high speed percussive noises with some low-pitched rumbling
in the background, a girl repeatedly screaming “I kill you” and
a drill, just incase you were wondering too. As for Tem Ohp Ab, I played their
song at 33rpm because the other side sounded better at that speed. This one
could go either way, but they both sound like Captain Kirk firing his phaser
(on STUN) for about three minutes. All things considered, an interesting choice
of bands to share a record. I sometimes wonder how and by whom these decisions
are made.
Michelle Nollan
THROAT-WOBBLER MANGROVE
LUXURY YACHT CD
Studio Seventeen Productions PO Box 461363, Escondido, CA 92046 USA
ambient@home.com
http://listen.to/ambience/
Throat Wobbler Mangrove are guitarists Bryan Helm and Dave Stafford (previously
known as The Dozey Lumps), and freelance drummer Tom Freeman. LUXURY YACHT
is an album of “electric-acoustic power trio” arrangements of Dozey
Lumps songs, all recorded live over a three-day period in April 1990. Judging
by the songs on this CD (not to mention the almost verbatim lifting of the
standard DGM copyright notice), Messrs. Helm, Stafford, and Freeman are huge
Robert Fripp devotees. Shades of Fripp (particularly in Crafty Guitarist mode)
and/or King Crimson are everywhere. That means there’s some fine musicianship
on display here (with some occasional Beatlesque overtones), but the music
often lacks that emotional subtext needed to connect with the listener (or
should I say, in the manner of the aforementioned Mr. Fripp, audient?) on
a deeper level. And, like Crimson, I suspect this music is best experienced
live. On the other hand, “Languid” is sublimely so, and the far
too short title track rocks. And, unlike Crimson, Throat Wobbler Mangrove
keep the pointless noodling to a minimum. Still, I’m fairly indifferent
about this album. But then, as the song says, no one expects the Spanish Inquisition.
Kevin J. O’Conner
TINTY MUSIC
THE LEARNING CURVE VOL.1 CD
6813 Weedin Place NE #101, Seattle, WA 98115 USA
tntmusic@halcyon.com
http://www.halcyon.com/tntmusic/welcome.htm
Live recordings, most of which taken in Tokyo (now I’m impressed) in
1989. By now, you should all know what to expect from Tinty Music: sparse,
ethereal instrumentals, like doodles in space. It’s elegant and aquatic,
and the bits have, as an added toy, cute Cocteau Twins-like titles such as
“Discovering the Scene of the Crime”, “The Day I Spent Alone”,
“Hacking The Boss’s Body To Bits (The Prolonged Agony Version)”.
Even though ambient never had me screaming with enthusiasm, this one is agreeable
and, dare I say it, New Age (now Kevin will get offended...).
Paola
TINTY MUSIC
THE LEARNING CURVE, VOL II CD
6813 Weedin Place NE #101, Seattle, WA 98115 USA
tntmusic@halcyon.com
http://www.halcyon.com/tntmusic/welcome.htm
This here offering is a 22-track CD of electronica. All of the tracks are
engaging compositions, either upbeat and playful or cold and crisp, but most
are so short they don’t reach their full potential. It’s almost
like a sampler of song tidbits than a full album (many of the songs are under
a minute long). The mix is also quite scattered, with a beat-oriented piece
placed right next to a slow, introspective piece. I found this placement doesn’t
establish a consistent mood/theme/idea and would have been better set up as
two separate works, one with the more upbeat songs, and one with the more
lowkey songs. But, hey, that’s just my 50 cents’ worth. All in all,
it’s a good start, and I’d definitely be interested in hearing this
artist expand on what he’s created.
Hyacinthe L. Raven-Douleur
TINTY MUSIC
THE LEARNING CURVE, VOL IV CD
6813 Weedin Place NE #101, Seattle, WA 98115 USA
tntmusic@halcyon.com
http://www.halcyon.com/tntmusic/welcome.htm
A four-track work of synthesizer and space, THE LEARNING CURVE, VOL IV dispels
any lingering myths that it is easy to listen to ambient music. It recalls
Harold Budd at times in its minimalist beginnings and structure in movements
— the two principle tracks, twenty-six minute long “Penumbra”
and thirty-six minute long “The Wonderful Mysteriousness of Unexpected
Developments,” are subdivided in the liner notes. “Penumbra”
is certainly the more difficult of the two. Its dark instrumental illustration
of the space between light and shadow is sometimes hindered by the starkness
of the synthesizers, which produce less an affect of mystery and more the
affect of a Japanese CD-ROM mystery game. It is repetitive, but it neither
reaches a proper level of intrusiveness for melody nor does it fade into the
background; it may eat at the listener in a way that is not particularly intriguing.
The latter track is much more pleasing. For one, it manages to capture the
mood to which each movement strives, and even the feeling described in the
lengthy title, something that was lacking in the previous track. The Budd
comparison remains, but this track also adds something of a scaled-down Vangelis,
or even the synth-pop leanings of an instrumental White Town. For the fan
of ambient, it makes up for “Penumbra,” and makes this CD worth
seeking. For the listener who is not a fan of ambient — this CD will
probably not change your mind.
Megan Heller
TINTY MUSIC
THE LEARNING CURVE, VOL V CD
6813 Weedin Place NE #101, Seattle, WA 98115 USA
tntmusic@halcyon.com
http://www.halcyon.com/tntmusic/welcome.htm
This album is so hard for me to categorize. Is it ambient? How should I know?
I don’t even know what ambient is. What I do know is that this CD tells
a great story with its huge, flowing, open orchestral sounds. I hear the decline
of civilization followed by the end of the world and then some kind of re-birth.
Prehistoric, renaissance, industrial, modern and futuristic...it’s all
there, just not in chronological order. Or maybe not at all. Maybe none of
it is there and I’m totally full of shit. You decide. Sorry, but stuff
like this says nothing to me, I don’t get it. I need to feel an emotional
attachment to my music and this just leaves me cold. Great songs to fall asleep
to, but a little impersonal for my taste. The artwork rules though.
Michelle Nollan
FRANCO TURRA E I CUORI
ESAGERATI
ANCORA COMPLIMENTI CD
Via Castiglione 91, 40136 Bologna Italy
francoturra@iol.it
http://www.francoturra.tsx.org
Fuck objectivity, a new Franco CD is cause for celebration! So let me put
my clothes back on and try to form some sentences regarding this album beyond
“fuck yesssssssss.” It opens with “P.I.A.N.G.O.” which
starts with pensive acoustic guitar strums and singing. Then the fretless
bass, drums and percussion slip in like a thief in the night. Oh yeah. Even
though Franco’s been proffering this sound since long before their rise
to prominence, these songs sound a bit like Dave Matthews Band. Lots of acoustic
guitars, fretless bass, great playing, somewhat melancholy melodies. That
sort of thing. But better. Track two, “Per Un Ombra Ucciderei” throws
down over a drum n bass loop! Despite the bangin’ tempo of the drums,
it’s basically a mournful pop song at heart. “Dopa Cenerentola”
features some emphatically strummed acoustic guitars and...er, tropical birds
in the background. World Beat Folk! Yeah right. Not really. “Regina Do-Re-Mi”
is a massive swinging ballad. “Tutta Colpa Di Silvia” sounds like
The Beatles covering The Go-Go’s. Upbeat tambourine rock. “Non Mi
Passa Piu” goes all grunge and shit! It sounds not unlike Stone Temple
Pilots to me. Nearly seven minutes of slow rock action with atonal guitar
and a spurty little bass line over open-hi-hat drumming. Except the chorus
is just big and weird! “Conto I Giorni Che Mi Separano Da Te” actually
sounds like a different Stone Temple Pilots song. It’s fueled by this
propulsive internal rhythm that you’d just have to hear. The production
on the entire album is glittery and gorgeous. “San Valentino” borrows
some of Andy Partridge’s vocal atonality with a spine-tingling effect.
Holy cow, this album rules. It goes without saying that Franco Turra is the
man!
Ian C Stewart
FRANCO TURRA with DANIEL
PRENDIVILLE
ECCO FRANCO CD
Via Castiglione 91, 40136 Bologna Italy
francoturra@iol.it
http://www.francoturra.tsx.org
http://listen.to/reincheque
This recording sounds so much like XTC at times it’s scary. Franco not
only sings like Andy but the songs he and Daniel have come up with are right
out of the ORANGES AND LEMONS songbook. The recording sound is impeccable-
is it live or Memorex? There’s complex, multi-layered instrumentation
based on a solid bed of acoustic guitar/electric bass. They’ve avoided
that midi-sterility that I hate, so however they did it, they did it right.
JH Christ
VERANO DEL 99 CD compilation
Elefant Records PO Box 331 Las Rozas 28230 Madrid Spain
http://www.elefant.com
Holy sunny pop! This CD blinds me. La Pequena Suiza adds the first layer of
suntan lotion with “Viviendo En Los 90,” which features tagteam
coed vocals in Spanish! It’s all very Austin Powers in a way. Me Enveneno
De Azules pretty much makes even Katrina And The Waves sound like Nick Cave
by comparison. Retroer than your mama the second time around! Les Tres Bien
Ensemble get all French when nobody is looking on “La Fille La Plus Douce
Du Monde.” Me neither. Says here they like Gainsbourg and Francoise Hardy.
Me neither. Le Mans “Ay que Triste Estoy!” throws down something
like a slow Santana pimp jam with chickay vocals. Mmmm yeah. It goes without
saying. Niza “Niza” is Burt Bacharach at Taco Bell ordering french
fries! “But Burt,” they say, “we don’t sell french fries.”
Burt just huffs and goes away and writes another song... La Monja Enana “Cartas
De Amor” is the techno eurotrash float in the parade, which is indeed
charming and not unlike Pizzicato Five in its way. Gasca sounds like a continental
The Cure! Very nice! Anti “Ride The Tiger” also opts for hints of
the eurotech trash disco effect, which is very very hott. Probably what Mark
Robinson from Unrest etc has had in mind for years. Magnetic Fields minus
the irony? Patrullero Mancuso “Mi Vida Va Bien” opens with a bit
of funeral organ action, which is then swallowed whole by the tropical fish
that is the rest of the song. It’s uptempo and happy and has a chorus
of singers on the chorus. Vacaciones “Imperfecta” is punk trash!
Wheeeeee! With female vocals! Juniper Moon is practically a thrash band compared
to most of the others on the disc. But I’ve said it before and I’m
underlining it now: Beef is the band! Beef “Cosmopolitan” is more
dreampop than Bacharach revivalist, almost like early New Order. Very very
very niiiiiiiice. Jackson gets the biggest laughs with “Real Cool Boy,”
which opens with some New Order synth octave action followed by a dude saying
with a hard French accent “Yesss... I Em Famoussssss...” and then
something about girls wanting to fuck him! Nice! And everybody knows by now
that a great choon don’t hurt none either! Spring “Today” the
singer girl makes the Alison from The Cranes sound like an old lady! Don’t
play this CD for too long without some sunscreen...
Ian C Stewart
VERMIN ENGINE
KREEEUHL
Macka PO Box 356, Brunswick Vic 3056 Australia
Some interesting guitar and noise experimentation going on, perhaps a bit
excessive at times but overall it works well. “Dancing Comets” starts
off the tape with some great guitar sample-and-loop rhythms accompanied by
drums, building slowly into a wall of noise. “Time Taker” has guitar
with a bit of Theremin-sounding accompaniment thrown in for a kind of “Dr.
Who” vibe. “Altrun” has some distorted-and-delayed guitar noise
with some strange thumping percussion for an interesting sound. “Vh’ree”
has a drum machine rhythm, bass, a flanging guitar sound, unintelligible creepy
vocals and reminds me a bit of Suicide. “Space is Dangerous” is
the second side of the tape, with a cool shimmering wall of noise which is
great fun to listen to if you like generic ambient noise with occasional sci-fi
sounds.
Ken Miller
VETRAN
Lighthouse Cassettes 13587 Osprey Point Drive, Jacksonville FL 32224 USA
This cassette features the songs of one named Bren. I thought it was Plundershop
under a pseudonym at first. If you like him or let’s say The Laces you’ll
like Vetran. This stuff is good, skiffly surfy pop with real drums.
JH Christ
VIOLET GRIND | CIPHER
UTOPIA | THE END split
Troniks 2590 Durant Ave #240 Berkeley CA 94704 USA tenebrae@jps.net
http://www.troniks.com
The End: here we have what seems to be hardcore/industrial/techno. Fronted
with strong, driving drum (machine) beats with lots of bass and hi-hat action
and synths. There are vocals, mainly repeated phrases and screams. All this
mixed with a hint of noise type soundscapes in the background. Aggressive
yet able to rave all night long. Topics revolve around suicide, murder and
death. This side ends with 15 minutes of lo-fi guitar cable/line manipulation.
The Violet Grind: terrific blend of sounds and the layering is super clean.
In the beginning is a sorta lengthy synth piece that’s followed by a
more ambient feel with a lot of delay and high feedback. Some vocals are present,
but are more for accent, along with rhythmic tapping. It really flows well
and guides you effortlessly through this somewhat relaxing piece. Cipher Utopia:
sounds are somewhat reminiscent of The Violet Grind with a bit more disturbance
in the ambience. It breaks up a little more with a pinch of harsher aspects.
E Crowe
WAGSTAFF WITH ANDY JARVIS
THE NEW FLESH
Face Like A Smacked Arse 216 Dividy Road, Stoke On Trent ST2 9JT UK
Let’s see, Jarvis did the keys and guitars and Mr Timid Wagstaff did
the voices. “Sex Changers” gets the party started with a highly
annoying keyboard toot pattern over which Mr Wags delivers some upper register
rhythmless rap. “One Way Out” features a solid bed of organ sounds
(or accordion or something else near it on the keyboard presets). Again featuring
the buried vocals of Wagstaff who could be reciting a shopping list for all
I know. “Back Home” is acoustic guitars and metronomic bass drum
loop with yelled/shouted vocals. And so it goes across 15 tracks in all...
Ian C Stewart
WE ARE NOT ALONE: SONGS FOR THE LO-FI GENERATION compilation
Best Kept Secret c/o Alessandro Crestani via Biron di Sotto, 101 36100 Vicenza
ITALY
acrestani@telemar.it
The twenty-seven track WE ARE NOT ALONE consists of as many artists performing
an enormous amount of music. There are hints of XTC and the defunct Judybats
in the upbeat guitar pop, while Robin O’Brien and Don Campau perform
an experimental piece called “Herb Recitation” (a very literal title)
which is beyond description. Mike Landucci’s “Ultimate Two-Minute
Mystery” echoes Kraftwerk, while Paul Nini performs a fairly faithful
cover of Gene Clark’s “With Tomorrow” (later covered by 4AD
project This Mortal Coil). This collection should appeal to fans of 4AD, as
it resembles that label both in range of styles and consistent quality. The
album closes with Kenyata Sullivan’s “And She Whispers,” a
beautiful piece which recalls Leonard Cohen as performed by John Cale. There
is more quality on this compilation than can fit in this review; simply put,
it is splendid.
Megan Heller
WHALEMAN
HEROES IN THE SEAWEED
Right-Fi Stereo 2 King Street West, PO Box 57053 Hamilton ON L8P 4X1 CANADA
Imagine a dreamier version of Violent Femmes. Yep, its that good. I mean think
about it, the Femmes on slow speed. The bass sound on this recording is one
of the best I’ve ever heard. Whaleman has cool songs, good drums, good
vocals and great bass.
JH Christ
WUNDERKIND
HELLO...MY NAME IS BEAUTIFUL CD
PO Box 48214 Athens GA 30604 USA
wunderkind@athens.net
http://www.athens.net/~wunderkind
Very nicely produced modern guitar rock that hits REAL hard. Like Sugar. Except
“Open Spaces” which kicks off with a real tight part that recalls
Jawbox. Some of the chords employed are highly large. Likewise for “This
Song Sounds The Same” which is rhythmically twisty-turny. And kinda hard-hittin’
in spots. Ya know. Hard, energetic guitar rock! And who can’t get with
that!
Ian C Stewart