Saturday, July 14, 2007
cave dudes
time to stop being lazy since review material is starting to make its way to me again. this cd-r is the first of a couple of albums sent in by paul of esnrl, a label whose presence had alluded me up to this point.
damn deer 3" cd-r
[2007, earth / space noise research laboratories]
i may not know much about toronto's cave dudes, but i do know about women in tragedy, and it's awesome. one cave dude, bob mccully [pictured], is responsible for that harsh project. he's also in another duo, flowers of the dead. for this group, bob is joined by kevin hainey, whom their doesn't appear to be much musical info about. my investigative prowess leads me to believe that kevin is a writer by day. probably by night, too. i could be wrong.. i doubt it, though. he's written for skyscraper, which, if i were to buy music magazines, it's one of the better ones in terms of overall music that they review. more on the rock side of things, but the occasional noise
review sneaks its way in there sometimes. amongst others, he also writes for exclaim!, maybe our canadian readers know something about that.
another thing that i noticed is that, apparently, a lot of people use the term cave dudes. strange.
so, we have one artist with a noise background and another with indie affiliations. hmm, i can easily see things not turning out very well. yet, logic be damned, they do! i'm really digging this disc. damn deer's made of just one, seventeen minute long, aural treat of a track. the dudes manage to make a very good noise album while offering up some new and interesting sounds to the listener. the main components of their music are really bob's synth, noise loops and guitars (from both guys), yet it sounds like much more than that. supposedly, there's also vocals, but i'll be damned if i can single them out (i'm wondering if the persistent droning sound in the beginning is vocal-made). what i'm liking the most on this cd has to be the guitar use. mostly affected to the point where the instrument's barely recognizable, it'll provide for some interesting noises in conjunction with the drones, background rumbles, beeps and whining tones. on more than one occasion the guitars are providing the disc's highlights. case in point, during the beep-filled breakdown which occurs around the nine and a half-minute mark. once the background drops off and it's just those aforementioned sounds and affected guitar strumming. i can dig it, but wait, what's that? sounds like someone ran their guitar through a lawn mower engine, then immediately after that they jettison us into a welcomed onslaught of dense noise. all the while that this is happening there's this otherworldly background music that i can only best describe as whimsy on acid... screw it, the whole fucking last half of damn deer, from that nine minute mark, onward, are great. awesome job on this disc, overall.
in addition to the music, i'm also liking the gatefold approach to the packaging. i have too many of those little three inch plastic sleeves. oh, i just went out and bought a scanner now, so expect some quality from here on out. no more putting things on the floor and taking pictures of them for me, no way.
as an added bonus, here's a live video of mccully's women in tragedy project from a few months back, for interested parties.
Damn Deer (excerpt from 6:19 to 10:17)
damn deer 3" cd-r
[2007, earth / space noise research laboratories]
i may not know much about toronto's cave dudes, but i do know about women in tragedy, and it's awesome. one cave dude, bob mccully [pictured], is responsible for that harsh project. he's also in another duo, flowers of the dead. for this group, bob is joined by kevin hainey, whom their doesn't appear to be much musical info about. my investigative prowess leads me to believe that kevin is a writer by day. probably by night, too. i could be wrong.. i doubt it, though. he's written for skyscraper, which, if i were to buy music magazines, it's one of the better ones in terms of overall music that they review. more on the rock side of things, but the occasional noise
review sneaks its way in there sometimes. amongst others, he also writes for exclaim!, maybe our canadian readers know something about that.another thing that i noticed is that, apparently, a lot of people use the term cave dudes. strange.
so, we have one artist with a noise background and another with indie affiliations. hmm, i can easily see things not turning out very well. yet, logic be damned, they do! i'm really digging this disc. damn deer's made of just one, seventeen minute long, aural treat of a track. the dudes manage to make a very good noise album while offering up some new and interesting sounds to the listener. the main components of their music are really bob's synth, noise loops and guitars (from both guys), yet it sounds like much more than that. supposedly, there's also vocals, but i'll be damned if i can single them out (i'm wondering if the persistent droning sound in the beginning is vocal-made). what i'm liking the most on this cd has to be the guitar use. mostly affected to the point where the instrument's barely recognizable, it'll provide for some interesting noises in conjunction with the drones, background rumbles, beeps and whining tones. on more than one occasion the guitars are providing the disc's highlights. case in point, during the beep-filled breakdown which occurs around the nine and a half-minute mark. once the background drops off and it's just those aforementioned sounds and affected guitar strumming. i can dig it, but wait, what's that? sounds like someone ran their guitar through a lawn mower engine, then immediately after that they jettison us into a welcomed onslaught of dense noise. all the while that this is happening there's this otherworldly background music that i can only best describe as whimsy on acid... screw it, the whole fucking last half of damn deer, from that nine minute mark, onward, are great. awesome job on this disc, overall.
in addition to the music, i'm also liking the gatefold approach to the packaging. i have too many of those little three inch plastic sleeves. oh, i just went out and bought a scanner now, so expect some quality from here on out. no more putting things on the floor and taking pictures of them for me, no way.as an added bonus, here's a live video of mccully's women in tragedy project from a few months back, for interested parties.
Damn Deer (excerpt from 6:19 to 10:17)
Friday, July 13, 2007
alvin curran and domenico sciajno
our ur
[2004, rossbin]
alvin curran, originally from providence, rhode island, now residing in rome, has a long history of involvement in the avant-garde scene, beginning in the 60s. he's amassed something like 150 works, and his history has involved some teaching, most notably at the famed mills college in oakland.
palermo, italy's domenico sciajno is the pupil to curran's teacher, having been an assistant and collaborator to alvin since 1994. as far as instruments go, his main interest is in the double bass.
normally, when an almost hour long album's finest moments come and go within the first minute, that's not a good thing, so it comes as an extremely pleasant surprise that that's not the case with our ur. alvin and domenico are making experimental electronic music and their particular brand isn't that conducive to individual highlights, but works rem
arkably well on a larger scale. bear in mind that this doesn't translate to the album needing to be absorbed in its entirety for anyone to be able to walk away from it with any sense of satisfaction. no, there are four tracks to our ur and each one has its own distinctions and unique draws.
let's get back to that opening track, someone to watch over what, there's a fantastic piece of violin that gets paired with a nice wave of noise that's over far too quickly. once that's finished they pile on noise, samples (?) from a variety of instruments as well as some affected vocals. it's all rather busy but the duo still manage to keep a grip on the composition's pace, slowing it down at times and then opting for noise when the time comes to kick it up a notch. the slower keyboard-led closing minutes are a calm and soothing way to transition out of the track.
outer cities picks up on the tranquility and multiplies it by oh, i don't know, let's say a lot. ambient electronic for maybe seventeen out of its nineteen minutes. despite its mostly subdued nature it's actually worth listening to due to its constant evolution. while that shift can be gradual, there's a couple of times during its lifespan that they'll throw in some noisy curve-balls to keep you on your toes. one such pitch'd be the piano terrorism that pops up during the second half. subtle highlight (okay i lied, there are two highlights) would have to be the echo of the last tickled ivory which resonates into twilight nothingness. if anyone other than myself appreciates this, i'll be surprised as hell. from that point on cities turns into the pessimistic sibling of what transpired in the beginning of the track.
we stay in the nineteen minute range for the chimes, static rips, hums and sample tweaking of anatolia centrale. this raises the noise ante considerably from outer cities (which the sound of one person clapping could also accomplish), but probably won't have you trying to turn it down as much as someone to watch over what will have most likely compelled you to do. when it's not threatening the future of your hearing, it's being a bit eerie with stark electronics and a manipulated and multi-tracked female vocal moan. i especially liked the bookending of the noisier segments with the darker ambiance holding down the middle ground.
rue de la gare 76 is just short of four minutes and is another noisy piece which is centered around vocal samples and is then seasoned with a variety of complimentary noises that'll gradually gain more of a foothold on the track as our ur winds down.
alvin curran and domenico sciajno have crafted a highly enjoyable album of computer based experimental noise and did so whilst avoiding that horrible obviously made with a computer sound. listen to bad laptop experimental electronic music and you'll know exactly where i'm coming from. they reached this plateau with finely implemented samples, especially noteworthy were the instrumental inclusions, superior track structure and composition which is including pacing, build-up, surprise and continual dynamics. even when there's not very much going on with the music, the slight shifts and transformations hold your attention. oh, they also did it with noise! can't forget the noise.
Someone to Watch Over What
[2004, rossbin]
alvin curran, originally from providence, rhode island, now residing in rome, has a long history of involvement in the avant-garde scene, beginning in the 60s. he's amassed something like 150 works, and his history has involved some teaching, most notably at the famed mills college in oakland.
palermo, italy's domenico sciajno is the pupil to curran's teacher, having been an assistant and collaborator to alvin since 1994. as far as instruments go, his main interest is in the double bass.
normally, when an almost hour long album's finest moments come and go within the first minute, that's not a good thing, so it comes as an extremely pleasant surprise that that's not the case with our ur. alvin and domenico are making experimental electronic music and their particular brand isn't that conducive to individual highlights, but works rem
arkably well on a larger scale. bear in mind that this doesn't translate to the album needing to be absorbed in its entirety for anyone to be able to walk away from it with any sense of satisfaction. no, there are four tracks to our ur and each one has its own distinctions and unique draws.let's get back to that opening track, someone to watch over what, there's a fantastic piece of violin that gets paired with a nice wave of noise that's over far too quickly. once that's finished they pile on noise, samples (?) from a variety of instruments as well as some affected vocals. it's all rather busy but the duo still manage to keep a grip on the composition's pace, slowing it down at times and then opting for noise when the time comes to kick it up a notch. the slower keyboard-led closing minutes are a calm and soothing way to transition out of the track.
outer cities picks up on the tranquility and multiplies it by oh, i don't know, let's say a lot. ambient electronic for maybe seventeen out of its nineteen minutes. despite its mostly subdued nature it's actually worth listening to due to its constant evolution. while that shift can be gradual, there's a couple of times during its lifespan that they'll throw in some noisy curve-balls to keep you on your toes. one such pitch'd be the piano terrorism that pops up during the second half. subtle highlight (okay i lied, there are two highlights) would have to be the echo of the last tickled ivory which resonates into twilight nothingness. if anyone other than myself appreciates this, i'll be surprised as hell. from that point on cities turns into the pessimistic sibling of what transpired in the beginning of the track.
we stay in the nineteen minute range for the chimes, static rips, hums and sample tweaking of anatolia centrale. this raises the noise ante considerably from outer cities (which the sound of one person clapping could also accomplish), but probably won't have you trying to turn it down as much as someone to watch over what will have most likely compelled you to do. when it's not threatening the future of your hearing, it's being a bit eerie with stark electronics and a manipulated and multi-tracked female vocal moan. i especially liked the bookending of the noisier segments with the darker ambiance holding down the middle ground.rue de la gare 76 is just short of four minutes and is another noisy piece which is centered around vocal samples and is then seasoned with a variety of complimentary noises that'll gradually gain more of a foothold on the track as our ur winds down.
alvin curran and domenico sciajno have crafted a highly enjoyable album of computer based experimental noise and did so whilst avoiding that horrible obviously made with a computer sound. listen to bad laptop experimental electronic music and you'll know exactly where i'm coming from. they reached this plateau with finely implemented samples, especially noteworthy were the instrumental inclusions, superior track structure and composition which is including pacing, build-up, surprise and continual dynamics. even when there's not very much going on with the music, the slight shifts and transformations hold your attention. oh, they also did it with noise! can't forget the noise.
Someone to Watch Over What
Thursday, July 12, 2007
villa valley
massive amounts of deadness
[2006, crucial bliss]
royal oak, michigan's matthew conzett and khristopher reinshagen comprise villa valley. khristopher runs the very nice looking nurse etiquette label and gets his solo noise on
in body collector. matthew's got a few things happening on the side too, there's the thrash band letters in binary (he plays bass) and the experimental outfit water thieves.
if sarcasm is the lowest form of wit (which is bullshit, by the way), then the wall of noise (thanks bortron for putting this into my vocabulary) sound is the lowest form of noise music. seriously, how fucking hard is it to change up your half hour long track into something that sounds like you put forth a modicum of fucking effort? i'm sure that my no talent havin' ass could give myself a misogynistic moniker (i have a few good ones in mind, actually, in case i ever find musical talent somewhere), make some boring ass dense garbage, put out way too many cdrs and feel shitty about my life. i won't though and you're welcome. for all the bitching that i do about that kind of music, theoretically, i don't hate it. i just firmly believe that it should be your starting point, not the grand sum of one's efforts. i have it on good faith that the villa valley boys feel the same way, and they've thrown us a hell of a bone with massive amounts of deadness.
once past the distortion draped vocals of the less than a minute long opener, villa valley get right down to the dense noise with the first deadness track. it's not my favorite since there's not a whole lot going on outside of that thick base. with hair on fire the duo definitely starts to warm up (gah, wasn't looking for a pun there). villa valley will take periodic breaks from their denseness to add some high pitched squeals and other nice noises i can't summon the proper words to describe. when they do go back to the dense noise, it's actually welcomed in regards to everything that's going on with the piece. revisted (not my spelling error) is this disc's big change of pace that doesn't consist of much more than some drone, reverb, a repetitious echoing noise, a shaker and the always welcomed feedback. quite druggy, i like. with the second untitled track we're back in the throes of earth moving rumbles. i appreciate the tones and screeching that are applied over the top of it to give it more shape. immediately following that, matt and khristopher aim to be a little harsher. the density is there, but it's different, like they opted for more treble instead of bass, and the results are interesting. the eleven minutes of lack of a face are further refreshing changes of pace. this is coming from more of an experimental noise slant. it's not harsh, nor dense, but expect to find lots of static attached to the noise on this one. what makes lack of face really fucking rad though are the ridiculously well used vocals that'll float through at random intervals. i don't know, everything they're doing with this track is perfect. lastly, we have the sixteen minute closer deadness (2). another great piece of music that isn't reliant upon dense distortion. there's lots of knob tweaking, but it's without any sort of background accompaniment, which this track doesn't need because now the focus is where it should be. great track through and through, but the clincher's got to be what they're doing in the last few minutes. those laser-like synth sweeps, my god man.
here's a video of villa valley playing at the house of tinnitus last month. i'm really starting to think that this place should relocate north...way north. f you, texas. anyways, check out these guys ruling.
Lack of Face
[2006, crucial bliss]
royal oak, michigan's matthew conzett and khristopher reinshagen comprise villa valley. khristopher runs the very nice looking nurse etiquette label and gets his solo noise on
in body collector. matthew's got a few things happening on the side too, there's the thrash band letters in binary (he plays bass) and the experimental outfit water thieves.if sarcasm is the lowest form of wit (which is bullshit, by the way), then the wall of noise (thanks bortron for putting this into my vocabulary) sound is the lowest form of noise music. seriously, how fucking hard is it to change up your half hour long track into something that sounds like you put forth a modicum of fucking effort? i'm sure that my no talent havin' ass could give myself a misogynistic moniker (i have a few good ones in mind, actually, in case i ever find musical talent somewhere), make some boring ass dense garbage, put out way too many cdrs and feel shitty about my life. i won't though and you're welcome. for all the bitching that i do about that kind of music, theoretically, i don't hate it. i just firmly believe that it should be your starting point, not the grand sum of one's efforts. i have it on good faith that the villa valley boys feel the same way, and they've thrown us a hell of a bone with massive amounts of deadness.
once past the distortion draped vocals of the less than a minute long opener, villa valley get right down to the dense noise with the first deadness track. it's not my favorite since there's not a whole lot going on outside of that thick base. with hair on fire the duo definitely starts to warm up (gah, wasn't looking for a pun there). villa valley will take periodic breaks from their denseness to add some high pitched squeals and other nice noises i can't summon the proper words to describe. when they do go back to the dense noise, it's actually welcomed in regards to everything that's going on with the piece. revisted (not my spelling error) is this disc's big change of pace that doesn't consist of much more than some drone, reverb, a repetitious echoing noise, a shaker and the always welcomed feedback. quite druggy, i like. with the second untitled track we're back in the throes of earth moving rumbles. i appreciate the tones and screeching that are applied over the top of it to give it more shape. immediately following that, matt and khristopher aim to be a little harsher. the density is there, but it's different, like they opted for more treble instead of bass, and the results are interesting. the eleven minutes of lack of a face are further refreshing changes of pace. this is coming from more of an experimental noise slant. it's not harsh, nor dense, but expect to find lots of static attached to the noise on this one. what makes lack of face really fucking rad though are the ridiculously well used vocals that'll float through at random intervals. i don't know, everything they're doing with this track is perfect. lastly, we have the sixteen minute closer deadness (2). another great piece of music that isn't reliant upon dense distortion. there's lots of knob tweaking, but it's without any sort of background accompaniment, which this track doesn't need because now the focus is where it should be. great track through and through, but the clincher's got to be what they're doing in the last few minutes. those laser-like synth sweeps, my god man.here's a video of villa valley playing at the house of tinnitus last month. i'm really starting to think that this place should relocate north...way north. f you, texas. anyways, check out these guys ruling.
Lack of Face
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
weak sisters
universal mirror c20
[2007, vile bile]
before i went on my little hiatus from the internet i managed to snag some albums that caught my interest. one such random download was weak sisters. what first garnered my attention was the sisters' release on turgid animal, that and obviously the awesome name
. that particular album, dream regions, is worth checking out as well, especially for the first three tracks. the remaining tracks were culled from live performances and the quality doesn't stack up, comparatively.
little did i know then that weak sisters is actually william van gorder, formerly of the fort collins, colorado, based other peoples children. score! also, apparently weak sister is what some would call the undependable person in a group. you learn something new everyday.
as for universal mirror, william's setting the bar incredibly high for himself from the jump with hidden arts. terrificly layered, it has a full sound to it while lacking the typical earmarks of dense noise. i especially like the repetitive beep that serves as a bit of cohesion during the first few minutes while screeches, squeals and distortion run amok. actually, for the bit of noise that weak sisters is summoning, it all seems well within his grasp, very controlled. after the first two minutes things shift, then shift again, from static drenched radio tuning to processed shrieking and high pitched whines. so very very good. the just shy of two minutes long she feels infinite is half blast of high tones, half static accompanied yelling and it's all good.
side b opener, gazing at the scars, is another keeper. there's more tone work, sputtering noise, shrieking and distortion. all common themes in this kind of music, sure, but it's the spin that william's putting on it that makes this tape very worth your while. the closing track, living memory, is actually his most conventional moment. a fairly straight-forward dense choker which, given his previous offerings, is a bit of a disappointment since by this point i know what he's capable of creating. ah well, i'm still quite impressed overall.
while i'd regarded opc as one of the better dense harsh noise acts, it's great to see will branch out and be a bit more experimental in his approach while still managing to knock you on your ass. speaking of knocking people on their asses, you should check out this live video of weak sisters at the house of tinnitus in texas...
Gazing at the Scars
[2007, vile bile]
before i went on my little hiatus from the internet i managed to snag some albums that caught my interest. one such random download was weak sisters. what first garnered my attention was the sisters' release on turgid animal, that and obviously the awesome name
. that particular album, dream regions, is worth checking out as well, especially for the first three tracks. the remaining tracks were culled from live performances and the quality doesn't stack up, comparatively.little did i know then that weak sisters is actually william van gorder, formerly of the fort collins, colorado, based other peoples children. score! also, apparently weak sister is what some would call the undependable person in a group. you learn something new everyday.
as for universal mirror, william's setting the bar incredibly high for himself from the jump with hidden arts. terrificly layered, it has a full sound to it while lacking the typical earmarks of dense noise. i especially like the repetitive beep that serves as a bit of cohesion during the first few minutes while screeches, squeals and distortion run amok. actually, for the bit of noise that weak sisters is summoning, it all seems well within his grasp, very controlled. after the first two minutes things shift, then shift again, from static drenched radio tuning to processed shrieking and high pitched whines. so very very good. the just shy of two minutes long she feels infinite is half blast of high tones, half static accompanied yelling and it's all good.
side b opener, gazing at the scars, is another keeper. there's more tone work, sputtering noise, shrieking and distortion. all common themes in this kind of music, sure, but it's the spin that william's putting on it that makes this tape very worth your while. the closing track, living memory, is actually his most conventional moment. a fairly straight-forward dense choker which, given his previous offerings, is a bit of a disappointment since by this point i know what he's capable of creating. ah well, i'm still quite impressed overall.while i'd regarded opc as one of the better dense harsh noise acts, it's great to see will branch out and be a bit more experimental in his approach while still managing to knock you on your ass. speaking of knocking people on their asses, you should check out this live video of weak sisters at the house of tinnitus in texas...
Gazing at the Scars
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
ax jexxee rixxee
music from the 13th maldoror c20
[2007, basement tapes]
super weird release i got from one of the dudes in dude war. i can't say i had ever heard of ax jexxee rixxee (also at jennie richie) before this came into my possession or even the basement tapes label it came out on, but i will be scoping both out in the future, that's for damn sure.
the creepy doll-head picture paste-on newspaper clipping cover made me think this was going to be an evil one, but i was pleasantly surprised by what i heard. both sides are super bass-heavy, droney jammers. there is definitely some sort of traditional instrumentation going on (at least i think so). maybe synths and some guitars? whatever the instruments they sound just fine together and create thick, atmospheric ambiance. in the last few minutes of the a-side the more melodic instrument starts to shine through and finishes off the track in a light, almost pretty manner. the b-side is a little heavier opting for some more dissonant tones and driving repetition, but not as satisfying a listen as the a-side. with one track described as a "live remix" and the other as a "live studio jam" it makes me kind of wonder what is going on instrumentally with this project. i would kill to know what the hell they are actually playing.
music from the 13th maldoror is a solid and worthwhile listen if you're in the mood for something a little different and a little more on the tame side. this cassette has definitely whetted my appetite for more from this project if for nothing else than sheer curiosity. for some info on ax jexxee rixxee or the basement tapes label, check their respective
myspace pages.
Pyru (Excerpt)
reviewed by bortron
[2007, basement tapes]
super weird release i got from one of the dudes in dude war. i can't say i had ever heard of ax jexxee rixxee (also at jennie richie) before this came into my possession or even the basement tapes label it came out on, but i will be scoping both out in the future, that's for damn sure.
the creepy doll-head picture paste-on newspaper clipping cover made me think this was going to be an evil one, but i was pleasantly surprised by what i heard. both sides are super bass-heavy, droney jammers. there is definitely some sort of traditional instrumentation going on (at least i think so). maybe synths and some guitars? whatever the instruments they sound just fine together and create thick, atmospheric ambiance. in the last few minutes of the a-side the more melodic instrument starts to shine through and finishes off the track in a light, almost pretty manner. the b-side is a little heavier opting for some more dissonant tones and driving repetition, but not as satisfying a listen as the a-side. with one track described as a "live remix" and the other as a "live studio jam" it makes me kind of wonder what is going on instrumentally with this project. i would kill to know what the hell they are actually playing.music from the 13th maldoror is a solid and worthwhile listen if you're in the mood for something a little different and a little more on the tame side. this cassette has definitely whetted my appetite for more from this project if for nothing else than sheer curiosity. for some info on ax jexxee rixxee or the basement tapes label, check their respective
myspace pages.
Pyru (Excerpt)
reviewed by bortron
Monday, July 09, 2007
birth refusal
phantom of the sewer cs
[2007, fag tapes]
i am a little ashamed to admit that this is my first fag tapes release ever. this midwest label run by heath moerland of sick llama fame has released just a slew of tapes and cdrs, nearly all in editions of 77, nearly always selling out as soon as they drop. i think i was a little intimidated by the fact that i did not get in on the ground floor of this label and did not want to jump in the game so late. but finally i gave up and dove in with ft107: phantom of the sewer by birth refusal. the cover art left much to be desired. it looked like a bad too-dark photocopy of a piece of paper with some water on it. kind of lame, but i was still hopeful. the actual tape was white plastic spray painted a rad sea-foam green so i popped it in thinking that maybe it didn't contain horribly desolate abandonment-jams. boy was i wrong. birth refusal is the duo of mike connelly (hair police, wolf eyes & failing lights) and john olson (wolf eyes, spykes, waves, graveyards, dead machines and god knows what else). together they make creeping, brooding horror score shit very much akin to connelly's solo failing lights project. having previously only heard their excellent one-sided 12" on troniks that came out not too long ago, i was excited to see what this tape had to offer.
this tape (a whopping 61 minutes total) picked up right where that aforementioned troniks record left off; a sea of oscillators, weird tones, feedback and scraping. the whole thing flows pretty damn good making it almost seem like there's structure, but nah, i don't think there's any of that. the only drawback is certain tones and sounds can go on for just a bit too long; going so far as to tread on the annoying. listening to this for just over an hour might grate on the average listener's nerves, (hell, i was going a little nuts at the end of this) but i doubt if this project has ever been about pleasing the average listener.
if you're already digging the cove-core sounds of birth refusal, then you'll dig this release, especially the long format and the overall variety of sounds you get. if you're new to birth refusal or even fag tapes, then by all means give this one a shot (i would recommend the troniks 12" over this for birth refusal virgins, however) and see what you've been missing, that's if you can still find a copy.
Phantom of the Sewer Side B (Excerpt)
reviewed by bortron
[2007, fag tapes]
i am a little ashamed to admit that this is my first fag tapes release ever. this midwest label run by heath moerland of sick llama fame has released just a slew of tapes and cdrs, nearly all in editions of 77, nearly always selling out as soon as they drop. i think i was a little intimidated by the fact that i did not get in on the ground floor of this label and did not want to jump in the game so late. but finally i gave up and dove in with ft107: phantom of the sewer by birth refusal. the cover art left much to be desired. it looked like a bad too-dark photocopy of a piece of paper with some water on it. kind of lame, but i was still hopeful. the actual tape was white plastic spray painted a rad sea-foam green so i popped it in thinking that maybe it didn't contain horribly desolate abandonment-jams. boy was i wrong. birth refusal is the duo of mike connelly (hair police, wolf eyes & failing lights) and john olson (wolf eyes, spykes, waves, graveyards, dead machines and god knows what else). together they make creeping, brooding horror score shit very much akin to connelly's solo failing lights project. having previously only heard their excellent one-sided 12" on troniks that came out not too long ago, i was excited to see what this tape had to offer.
this tape (a whopping 61 minutes total) picked up right where that aforementioned troniks record left off; a sea of oscillators, weird tones, feedback and scraping. the whole thing flows pretty damn good making it almost seem like there's structure, but nah, i don't think there's any of that. the only drawback is certain tones and sounds can go on for just a bit too long; going so far as to tread on the annoying. listening to this for just over an hour might grate on the average listener's nerves, (hell, i was going a little nuts at the end of this) but i doubt if this project has ever been about pleasing the average listener.if you're already digging the cove-core sounds of birth refusal, then you'll dig this release, especially the long format and the overall variety of sounds you get. if you're new to birth refusal or even fag tapes, then by all means give this one a shot (i would recommend the troniks 12" over this for birth refusal virgins, however) and see what you've been missing, that's if you can still find a copy.
Phantom of the Sewer Side B (Excerpt)
reviewed by bortron
Sunday, July 08, 2007
siren
living light c20
[2007, buried valley]
i don't think that there's been a project name this appropriate since squarepusher. this siren isn't the warning or signaling kind, but of the mythological variety. your obvious touchstone on living light is going to be christina carter's solo work. from there, we can narrow it down a bit more to her electrice ep, but why stop there? i think christina's words are not my own would conjure a decent image of what to expect from siren.
siren do have their own legs to stand on, thankfully, but their selling point is definitely the formless vocalizing of their enchantress. her ooohs and aaahs, gently reverberated beneath a sweet and slow-tempo guitar line that could've been lifted from slowdive's pygmalion create the musical embodiment of ethereal. you should only play this if your day's ambition is to lay on your couch all day with a huge grin on your face. lush, haunting and absolutely disarming.
side a's feather crown is the more static piece of music. on living light siren aren't showing that they've got very many tricks up their sleeve, but the few that they do pull out are executed very well. this isn't the type of music where anyone really needs to break it down and closely scrutinize it. truly, there's not a lot going on, all that's really necessary is allowing the music to wash over you.
spiral spell manages to be a bit more interesting. it retains the same formula: cooing plus a simple, but memorable guitar line, and then add to that a healthy amount of reverberation, only this time out there's a couple of dynamic shifts to give it some character. the shift comes by way of the two guitar layers, one is more of a pleasant background provider while the other is a bit more forceful. they're good together, but when the domineering one cuts out and you're left with just the backing one and the singer's beautiful wails, that's good stuff. when that guitar comes back, it's just as outstanding. spiral spell is a very nice track on a lovely album, the added bonus of the tape hiss works real wonders for this music as well.
Spiral Spell
[2007, buried valley]
i don't think that there's been a project name this appropriate since squarepusher. this siren isn't the warning or signaling kind, but of the mythological variety. your obvious touchstone on living light is going to be christina carter's solo work. from there, we can narrow it down a bit more to her electrice ep, but why stop there? i think christina's words are not my own would conjure a decent image of what to expect from siren.
siren do have their own legs to stand on, thankfully, but their selling point is definitely the formless vocalizing of their enchantress. her ooohs and aaahs, gently reverberated beneath a sweet and slow-tempo guitar line that could've been lifted from slowdive's pygmalion create the musical embodiment of ethereal. you should only play this if your day's ambition is to lay on your couch all day with a huge grin on your face. lush, haunting and absolutely disarming.
side a's feather crown is the more static piece of music. on living light siren aren't showing that they've got very many tricks up their sleeve, but the few that they do pull out are executed very well. this isn't the type of music where anyone really needs to break it down and closely scrutinize it. truly, there's not a lot going on, all that's really necessary is allowing the music to wash over you.spiral spell manages to be a bit more interesting. it retains the same formula: cooing plus a simple, but memorable guitar line, and then add to that a healthy amount of reverberation, only this time out there's a couple of dynamic shifts to give it some character. the shift comes by way of the two guitar layers, one is more of a pleasant background provider while the other is a bit more forceful. they're good together, but when the domineering one cuts out and you're left with just the backing one and the singer's beautiful wails, that's good stuff. when that guitar comes back, it's just as outstanding. spiral spell is a very nice track on a lovely album, the added bonus of the tape hiss works real wonders for this music as well.
Spiral Spell