| It's been a long & weird month for
me here at DMG. Been ill with numbness on my right side, pain in my inner
right ear, tension in my neck & shoulder. Been through 4 doctors who
mostly had no clue as to why. Tons of advice from friends & family
but little relief. Finally, thanks to a chiropractor & dentist, it
seems I have TMJ. An illness due to grinding one's teeth at night while
sleeping. I'm getting fitted for a mouth brace I will have to wear at night
for 6 months or so. I quit smoking herb again, perhaps for good. &
finally have health insurance, a necessity at 43, I think. Plus, we had
about a dozen cds stolen, half of which I bought back from Kim's at $5.
each & my clutch in my Subaru station wagon blew out for good so it's
train time for this Jersey commuter. Oye! Still, business continues to
get better & more challenging. We got a soundcard for the computer
& an inexpensive scanner to keep Emperor Mike on his toes. Hope you
dig the graphics of this & future newsletters, those of you who actually
receive that format. Anyway, I mentioned all that personal stuff above
because I feel all of you are friends who on the same journey for new &
adventurous musics. Plus with the passing of some of downtown's finest
players, we all have to make an effort to take better care of each other
& ourselves. Once again I remain saddened by the loss of Tom Cora &
Dennis Charles. There will be a memorial concert for Tom Cora at the Knit
on May 20th with Fred Frith, John Zorn & Zeena Parkins, stay tuned
for more info. There will also be a memorial for Dennis Charles at the
University of the Streets on May 2nd.
NEW RELEASES NEW RELEASES NEW RELEASES
NEW RELEASES
1.WEIRD LITTLE BOY-s/t (Avant 043) Featuring John Zorn, Chris Cochrane, Mike Patton & Trey Spruance (from Mr. Bungle) and William Wynant. Includes a 46 page booklet with disturbing words from gay S &M writer-Dennis Cooper & the strange graphics of Nayland Blake. The music is also disturbing, brooding, with layers of focused feedback from Chris & Trey. No vocals, just those words to read & descend into. Extremely noisy, yet well selected sludge to paint the darkness with. $18. 2.TENKO/DRAGON BLUE-Hades Park (Avant 075) Featuring Otomo Yoshihide on turntable & Kato Hideki on el. bass, plus lead guitar & drums. Tenko is a powerful vocalist & collaborator with Fred Frith. She was just in town & did two excellent improv gigs with Ikue Mori & Eyvind Kang one night and Min Xaio-Fen & Christine Bard the next. This cd is the first studio recording by this amazingly tight, blasting quintet of Japanese giants. Although I am unfamiliar with guitarist & drummer, all are totally on throughout this entire excursion of superb Japanoise improv. Brutal & fascinating! $18. 3.EYVIND KANG-theatre of mineral NADES (Tzadik 7032) Outstanding & completely different than anything Eyvind has done before. No distortion or noisy violin here!?! From incredibly lovely acoustic medieval music & vocals, to enchanting world music excursions, to cosmic dub weirdness. Could this be the same dude who put out an over the top distorto el. violin power trio (Dying Ground) just last month? Instrumentation includes crumhorn, recorders, harmonium, tabla, oboe... This could easily pass for Euro folk psychedelic coolness from the 70's! One of the nicest surprises of the year. $14. 4.LUC FERRARI- Cellule 75 (Tzadik 7033) Legendary French musique concrete composer's first release in the US thanks to Zorn/Tzadik & what a fascinating gem it is! This cd consists of two long pieces from the 70's under the composer's supervision. The title piece a dynamic work for piano, percussion & tape, with Chris Brown (from the Hub) on piano & William Winant (Zorn & Thurston Moore sessions) on percussion. Throbbing, marching, mesmerizing & haunting. "Place des Abbesses" for magnetic tape is a fascinating electronic soundscape of shifting scenery, a collision of imagery from the church & odd psychosexual memories. Glowing ghosts glide through our minds! $14. 5.NELS CLINE TRIO-Sad (Little Brother 012) Fourth amazing release from this mind blowing el. guitar power trio from El Lay. This is a trio of extremes that goes from howling, fuzz drenched, dense & eerie sections/tunes to quiet, nimble, stunning west coast folk/rock/psych melodies. Incredibly tight, constantly shifting textures & tones, a perfect balance of ideas from jazz to rock to noise. Nels has an especially distinctive guitar sound, that often reminds me of human/monsters screaming in pain. His playing in Greg Bendian's Interzone & duos with Thurston Moore show two very different sides to this guitar hero, this trio shows both. $14. 6.MATTHEW SHIPP TRIO-The Multiplication Table (hatology 516) Matt stops by our store many times per week, checks to see how his releases are selling & generally brightens up my day with his quiet grace & good cheer. I am pleased/proud to see all the attention he's been getting in the press-on the cover of Jazziz & The Wire in recent months. He certainly deserves it, as each of his cd's prove. This new offering is his outstanding, organic trio with two local giants-the omnipresent William Parker on double bass & new wonder drummer Susie Ibarra. This is a perfectly balanced trio, that constantly shifts positions, everyone & no one in the lead. Pieces often begin humbly enough, before descending into the maelstrom, an undertow of currents push & pull as three magical musicians take us on their journeys. There is good balance of three dark/dense versions of standards & five originals. Not unlike both the human & automobile flow of traffic in this neurotic but exciting city. $17. 7.TIM HODGKINSON + OSSATURA-Dentro (ReR 01) A completely brilliant European electro-acoustic sound collage/construction. Tim was a constant member of Henry Cow, the greatest & most advanced of all progressive bands. Since their demise in 1979, he has recorded much less than his old associates-Fred Frith, Chris Cutler & Lindsay Cooper. He has only released one (superb) cd under his own name, a duo improv with Fred, co-led The Work (about 4 cds) & The Momes (1 cd). He is obviously very selective about each project. Ossatura are a 4 piece Italian unit that I am completely unfamiliar with, yet their collaboration with Tim is nothing short of spectacular. They appear very Henry Cow like with their well chosen sound fragments, constant panning, perfect production & magical use of sounds turning into other sounds. Although this music is mostly avant, there is a sense of purpose to it all, a consistent flow of ideas, almost mechanical in its precision. Is that an alien staring back at us from the cover?!? Who knows. Bravo! $14. 8.BUCKETHEAD-Colma (CyberOctave 45380) Quite a departure from speed/metal/thrash/funk guitar god-Buckethead. Mostly acoustic, often quiet & unusually melodic. Elegant music for a breezy spring day. Guests include Brain (Praxis & Primus)on drums & loops, Bill Laswell on one cut only and DJ Disc on a few cuts. Very restrained & actually quite lovely, but Buckethead only shows off his speed on acoustic on one tune, and there is only one cut where his electric fuzz tone gets near his usual dark area. CD 101 anyone? $14. 9.FRED FRITH/JEAN-PIERRE DROUET-Improvisations (Buda Musique 012) Outstanding improv duo of Frith on prepared guitars, violin & voice with Jean-Pierre on assorted percussion. They met through scenographer Claudine Brahem. These are two obvious masters of European style free improv. Ultra selective noise, small sounds and large explosions. A meeting of chance elements that erupt and combine forces, always adhering to an inner logic. Identifiable sounds, alien sounds, disembodied voices, odd string manipulation & percussive sonorities. An impressive avant excursion. Yeah! $17. 10.HASIDIC NEW WAVE-Psycho-Semitic (KFW 203) Second ridiculously cool offering by Frank London & Greg Wall's progressive/jazz/rock/funk/fusion mid east groove fest JWA (Jews With Attitudes) hipsters. This is an all-star quintet that also features Dave "The Fuse" Fiuczynski, local el. guitar god (from Screaming Headless Torsos & MMW offshoots), Fima Ephron on el. bass (from local fusion greats-Lost Tribe) & Aaron Alexander (from Babkas) on powerful drummage. The tunes successfully bridge the ancient with the modern, traditional Hebrew melodies psychadelisized!! From the slow burn slyness of "Trancendence" to the heavy metal tov of "Habibi", you don't have to be Jewish to dig Hasidic New Wave! $13. 11.LA 1919-Giorni Felici (Materiali Sonori 90094) Enchanting progressive mainly duo from Italy, with guests Henry Kaiser, John Oswald on alto sax & Franco Fabbri (from great 70's prog unit-Stormy Six) on more guitars. Although this duo mainly plays el. guitar/el. bass & drum machine/sampler, the intricate & layered parts are endlessly inventive & engaging, yet never too dense. The occasional vocals are also a treat & even Robert Wyatt like at times. Reminiscent of a Fred Frith solo project, like sort of like "Gravity". A most impressive myriad of ever changing guitar parts & sounds. They closed the Victoriaville festival a few years back & blew us all away. $17. 12.DAVID WATSON/THE WAX-Wax & Wane (Dr. Jim 21) David is a bagpipe player and guitarist from down under, currently living in NY. This is his second cd (both are recent) and it features Ikue Mori, Kato Hideki, Andrea Parkins, Otomo & others. It's nice to hear bagpipes in the center of an avant landscape, producing a hypnotic drone. All kinds of odd, weird improv sounds surround the bagpipes, thick funk bass lines from Kato & pounding drums, too. Some carefully crafted out scenery with David's subtle el. guitar, also fills out this disc. On sale for only a ten spot ($10.) . 13.STEVE COHN-The Beggar and The
Robot in Diamonds (ITM 970089) Featuring Jason Hwang on violin, Tom Varner
on French horn, Fred Hopkins on bass & Steve Cohn on piano & a
few other sundries on the first half and with Frank Lowe on tenor sax,
Bob Stewart on tuba, Karl Berger on vibes, William Parker on bass and Zen
Matsuura on drums. Very 70's loft/jazz like-the slowly building organic
flow of events of focussed but free jazz. Cosmic, swirling, deep, evolving,
strong and listening closely to each other. Powerful images abound. An
impressive aura of lovely spirits. Great stuff. $16.
15.JOE McPHEE-As Serious As Your Life (Hatology 514) Excellent restrained & oft lovely solo effort by Joe McPhee, in celebration of his first solo release "Tenor" from 20 years earlier. Joe plays tenor & soprano sax, bass clarinet, pocket trumpet & electronics. He dedicates the pieces to inspirational beings- Miles Davis, Sun Ra, Conlon Nancarrow, Marilyn Crispell, Guitar Shorty , Daunik Lazro and jazz writer Valerie Wilmer from where the cd title is taken. There is a deep reverence for each of these people, hence a special warm vibe flows through all of the tracks, his playing breathes, unfolds slowly and utilizes silence as a select part of the overall picture. Stand outs include a hypnotic kalimba sequencer groove with tenor sax on top of Gershwin's "The Man I Love" and quiet mesmerizing soprano sax with cornet on top of "Haiku Study 1". Pure & refreshing. Currently on sale for $14., about 7 bucks cheaper than Tower! 16.PERE UBU-Pennsylvania (Tim/Kerr 155) For once, the critical raves for this much anticipated cd are on target! This is a masterpiece of unique alien rock from our twisted collective future, bleak yet real. Since Fred Frith took me to witness their distinctive bizarre sound & look at CB's in '79, I've been a big fan ever since. Lucky for newer fans that two amazing box sets gathering their earlier greatness have been released in recent years. Both Pere Ubu's "Datapanik in the Year Zero" (DGC) and lead singer/leader/original member-David Thomas' "Monster" (Tim/Kerr) box sets capture their unique genius. Both are highly recommended & will not be in print for long. Now, after three disappointing comeback cds, comes their demanding, powerful, alien moodscape rock of "Pennsylvania"! Thanks to the return original guitarist-Tom Herman, plus the weird synth sounds of newcomer utilizing the gear of Allen Ravenstine, another original member, Ubu's special Beefheartesque fractured rhythms & slide guitar, have them doing things similar to their heyday (and my fave) "Dub Housing"! 70 minutes of totally demanding modern rock for $13. 17.DEREK BAILEY & JOELLE LEANDRE-No Waiting (Potlatch 198) Yet another superb release from two giants of Euro style improv recorded live at Les Instants Chavires in France (same place as Frith cd above). Is Derek over-recorded? I think not, since I dig all of his releases. Derek must really love the duo challenge, since he has recorded more duos than any other grouping. He's done duos with guitarists-Henry Kaiser, Haino Keiji, Eugene Chadbourne, Noel Akchote & Buckethead ; duos with percussionists-Tony Oxley, Milford Graves, Cyro Baptista, John Stevens, Gregg Bendian & Toshi Tsuchitori; also with trumpeter Toshinori Kondo, komungo player-Jin Hi Kim, as well as bass greats-Barre Phillips & now Joelle Leandre. 18.BEN GOLDBERG-Eight Phrases for Jefferson Rubin (Victo 057) In the last few years Ben Goldberg has become the most consistently splendid of all clarinetists. Each of his half dozen plus releases are superb & distinct in their own way. So far he has done two avant/klez cds the New Klezmer Trio, a duo cd with Kenny Wollesen, a live gig with Zorn as the West Coast Masada, an avant/bebop Junk Genius qt. cd, a double clarinet qt. cd with Marty Ehrlich, a trio improv cd with John Schott & Michael Sarin and another new cd on Music & Arts. This new effort was originally commissioned by John Zorn and features a double unit of two reeds-Larry Ochs (Rova) & Ben, the two acoustic basses of Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle), John Schott on el. guitar without effects and Michael Sarin ( for Thomas Chapin & Dave Douglas) on drums. This cd is dedicated to a childhood friend of Ben's who died too young in a truck accident. The pieces range from delicate, melancholy, shadows moving through fields of dreams to restrained explosions of well written ensemble passages. A well selected sextet that shines throughout. Often beautiful. $14. 19.MIYA MASAOKA ORCHESTRA-What is the Difference Between Stripping and Playing the Violin? (Victo 058) Miya is a koto virtuoso from the bay area. She has an excellent solo cd out, an acoustic trio cd with Henry Kaiser that I'm still trying to locate, a fine new tribute to Thelonius Monk cd with Reggie Workman & Andrew Cyrille and has been doing improv gigs in NYC with John Zorn & co. and a trio with Ikue Mori & Mark Dresser. Still, none of the above has prepared us for Miya the composer & conductor. This release is an ambitious effort for a multi-cultural, electro-acoustic, multi media orchestra conducted by Miya utilizing her entire body like Gagaku dancer. The 14 and 17 piece orchestras contain the instrumentation of erhu, sho, sheng, ney, shamisen, strings, reeds, turntables & electronics. "24,000 Years is Forever" commemorates the 50th anniversary of the bomb dropping on Hiroshima and paints pictures with many genres & feelings. It is both demanding, startling, disturbing and brilliant. "What is the Difference..?" was inspired by the brutal deaths of five prostitutes killed in Miya's neighborhood. Once again this music and its theme are thought provoking, powerful, ever-changing and fascinating. A brave move for all concerned, thanks to our fine friends at Victo. $14. 20.GLEN OR GLENDA-Reasons in the Sun (Shimmy/KFW 5136) My fave pop producer & songwriter-KRAMER is on a roll! This is his third release this year and it is another gem. Featuring the vocals of soap opera star Tammy Lang with Billy Ficca (from Television) & David Licht (Bongwater & Klezmatics) on drums and Deni Bonet on violin. Kramer continues his innocent, melancholy, 60's sound of memorable pop cuteness and somber psychedelic march grooves. The corny covers include "Dizzy", "Needles & Pins" and "Suzanne", nicely done but not nearly as fine as the tunes by Kramer & Tammy. Not unlike another fave pop combo of mine who also pull off that 60's psych/pop greatness-Tiny Lights. Enchanting use of layered strings and keyboards. Kramer has been doing a slew of fine gigs at the Knit as well. $13. 21.SETH JOSEL-Go Guitars (OO Discs 36) Fascinating & varied approaches for 4 to 6 electric guitars composed by James Tenney, John Cage, Lois V. Vierk, and Phil Niblock, plus two solo electric guitar feedback/noise blowouts composed by Seth. While Phil's piece features his usual long tone drones, Tenny's is characterized by clean repeating lines, Vierk goes for her usually mesmerizing bent note repetition and Cage's "Five" is the most skeletal with single note drones only appearing once in a while. This music requires patience; an appreciation of microtonal quirkiness also helps. The tortured electric guitars of Seth's solo pieces show the opposite end of the subtle spectrum. $14. 22.MUJICIAN/KEITH TIPPETT QT.-Colours Fulfilled (Cuneiform 102) Fourth magnificent release by this cosmic British improv quartet, yet this is their first studio effort. Pure organic flow from quiet to immense dense free jazz blasting. Perfectly chosen players: Keith Tippett's amazing acoustic piano excursions with woodblock used inside; Paul Dunmall's excellent tenor, soprano, clarinet & even bagpipe usage; monster acoustic bassist-Paul Rogers and the superb selective drumming of Tony Levin (not the Crims oid one). Each piece unfolds slowly and takes us on a long journey through the history of British free jazz at its finest. Beautiful! $13. 23.DOUGLAS EWART-Bamboo Meditations at Banff (Aarawak 003) Longtime AACM master of his many self-made flutes, this is an elegant, magical display of natural sounds floating through a pure environment. Solo meditative, ambient, ancient, acoustic, pure produced by bamboo, bass & transverse flutes, shakuhachis, and nature's own percussion. The breath of life blows through the winds of healing. Refreshing, delicate, tender, environmental reverberations only. Liner notes by Shaku Joseph Jarman. Thanks Douglas, for dropping these off. Peace. $14. 24.COMMA-(voices) (Metatron Press 101) An bizarre & challenging male vocal trio from DC who specialize in extended vocal compositions & improvisations. They cover relatively short pieces by Pauline Oliveros and John Cage, but it is their own longer original compositions where they really take off. From the first time I was blown away by the weird vocal ensemble passages of the Mothers' debut on "Help I'm a Rock", I've always marveled at what just vocals can do. These guys continually stretch the vocal chord into some odd shapes. I'm unsure whether some of the humor is intentional, but their absurdity & diversity do make me smile. Somber reptiles metamorph into creatures on controlled gibberishness. $12. 25.EUGENE CHADBOURNE-The Insect and Western Party (Charm School 005) The charming insanity of this free-wheeling trio & quartet, features Carrie Shull on oboe, Brian Ritchie (from the Violent Femmes) on acoustic bass guitar on one half & add Carrie Biolo on vibes on the other half. A unique hybrid of avant/bluegrass that is from its own world. Free-flowing mostly instrumental, and mostly original except for a Morricone and a Satie piece. Unexpected & hilarious twists & turns, Eugene's acoustic guitar & banjo seem to flow in & around the oboe Carrie's stream of insect-notes. There are some lovely tunes hidden within the web of weirdness. Sometimes it is a bit confusing, sometimes it makes perfect sense, well sort of. $14. 26.JOHN WOLF BRENNAN HEXTET-...through the Ear of a Raindrop (Leo 254) Brennan is an excellent Irish/Swiss pianist who organized this unique sextet of individuals from varied backgrounds. The cast includes an all-star line-up of Evan Parker & Peter Whyman on reeds, Paul Rutherford on trombone and my fave Chris Cutler on drums. Out front are the superb vocals of Julie Tippetts (formerly Driscoll), who has a long history-from her great pop/jazz voice of the late 60's with Brian Auger to her daredevil vocal improv experiments with SME and husband-Keith. Here, she gets to do it all & is as brilliant as always. The texts are taken from four centuries of British poetry, from Shakespeare and Poe to Seamus Heaney and Tom Paulin. The darker side of the human condition is brought forth most successfully. There is a fine balance of both written and improvised sections, often reminding me of the Carla Bley/Paul Haines collaboration-"Tropic Appetites," which Julie was once a part of. Splendid stuff. $14. 27.ELLIOTT LEVIN QUARTER-The Motion of Emotion (CIMP 153) The CIMP label is becoming the ESP of the 90's with over 50 releases of incredible often free-jazz, in the last few years. Hopefully you saw my last newsletter 21 update, where I went over the history of Elliott Levin and his Philly cohorts. I've known Elliott for over 20 years, he never ceases to amaze me. He is a beautiful free spirit who also seems to at that rare jam/gig/festival with his tenor sax/flute or even fine poetry in hand. His duo gig with bassist Akira Ando just last Sunday here at DMG was solid & powerful! Although a featured soloist with Cecil Taylor orchestra and a co-leader of one of Philly's finest harmelodic el. jazz quartet-New Ghost for over a decade, this is his first release as a leader. A joyous occasion it is! The duo acoustic bass throb of Dominic Duval & Akira, provides a dense bottom to this storm of activity, most Trane-like. The late Denis Charles also shines on his quietly propulsive, occasionally explosive drumming. $!4. 28. CLOSED ON ACCOUNT OF RABIES-Poems & Tales of Edgar Allan Poe (Mouth Almighty 536 480)-Another wonderful tribute compilation from ace producer Hal Wilner! Hal continues his tradition well selected characters to give birth to the vision of Thelonius Monk, Walt Disney, Charles Mingus and now the dark, surreal poetry of Edgar Allan Poe. The vocalists include the diverse crew of Marianne Faithfull, Iggy Pop, Diamanda Galas, Dr. John, Jeff Buckley, Ed Sanders, Deborah Harry, Christopher Walken, Gavin Friday & Ken Nordine. Attending musicians commence with Wayne Kramer, Howard Levy, Steve Bernstein, Greg Cohen, Chris Spedding, Marty Ehrlich, Marc Ribot & the Jazz Passengers. It is the spoken word, the haunted stories, that really draw the child in each of us into this dark yet magical world. $17. For a 2cd set. 29.EVAN PARKER-Live at "Les Instants Chaires" (Leo 255) This is Evan's 4th release dealing with live sound processing and/or electronics, and it is again a wondrous occasion. Evan concentrates on soprano sax here, with another fine European improviser-Noel Akchote on electric guitar ( a Frith, Bailey, Chadbourne & Ribot collaborator). Lawrence Casserley (on a Leo duo cd with Evan from last year) and Joel Ryan both process the live duo and add their own alien electronic sounds. An impressive array of sounds from another world that is often restrained, yet very focused and flowing. Excellently recorded so one can hear even nuance of weirdness. Not for the timid. $14. 30.EUGENE CHADBOURNE-Volume 2:Solo Acoustic Guitar (Rastascan 032) Finally! A reissue of Eugene's early solo works recorded in 1976, cleaned up from the cheesy long-gone vinyl version, with another 20 minutes of out-there sounds provided. Recorded in Boulder, Co. and Calgary in Canada before Eugene moved to NYC. His distinctive sound & vision were already in place, notes & ideas splattered like paint. He dedicates pieces to Roscoe Mitchell, Leo Smith, Johnny Shines, Henry Miller and Helen Brown. Things often unfold slowly & seem more serious than his later comical shenanigans. 74 minutes of free-non-genre based insanity for $14. NEWS FROM THE DOWNTOWN SCENE
Another old palomine-Dr. Eugene Chadbourne came to town for a couple of low key gigs earlier this week. He played at Alt.Café on Monday (May 4th) and here at DMG on Tuesday, where he premiered his cockroach manifesto. His sets are always loads of fun, filled with chaos & covers of country, bluegrass & jazz standards. He be back for three nights at the Knit's Old Office space from July 24th-26th. The 1st nite will be country & western nite, the 2nd will be Termite Control-an extended ensemble where everyone doubles on casio or drum machines, the 3rd nite will be return of the duo with old cohort-John Zorn-not to be missed! There are two Chadbourne releases mentioned above, while there are three upcoming releases: "Jungle Cookies" will be a 2cd set on the Old Gold label, with 4 different sax players, recorded on the streets of Amsterdam; his 2nd Insect & Western cd will be called "Insect Attracter" on Leo with 25-30 different musicians recorded all over and he just completed a duo cd with Henry Kaiser!! MASADA played four nights at the Knit last week, and mostly blew us all away. Yes they are broken up, with over 200 tunes in their songbook, their 10th cd will be out this summer. Zorn claims they will play 1 or 2 reunion gigs a year, since they enjoy doing it so much. Their 4 cd set of live in New York gigs should be out in January of next year, followed by two more 3 cd sets. Masada will play a free gig this summer at Battery Park once again and the Bar Kokhba Chamber Masada will be doing a gig with the Sun Ra Arkestra on June 6th at the Hudson Tent. DAVE DOUGLAS continues to challenge us & himself in a variety of settings & groups. Nice article in the Voice on Dave from great Sun Ra author John Szwed. Dave's new Mahfouz unit with Ikue Mori & Kenny Wollesen will be at the Old Office this week-May 8th-10th. Hopefully out soon will be Dave's Winter & Winter debut-"Charms of the Night Sky" which is half a duo with Guy Klucsevek & half a trio with Mark Feldman & Greg Cohen. Also upcoming in June will be "Moving Portrait" on DIW with Bill Carruthers, James Genus & Billy Hart and featuring three Joni Mitchell covers. In the late summer will be "Magic Triangle" on Arabesque with Chris Potter, James Genus & Ben Perowsky. We look forward to each of these!! M I K E S S P A C E #2 2 Once again I'm bored... with everything.
It's funny how boredom can sap all of your energy and creativity. That
said I'll be doing only reviews and they'll be a little different this
month. I'm offering the CROWN SYSTEM. I'm giving out crowns on a
scale of 1-5.
(RIYL: Chemical Bros., Portishead) Combining Big Beat and Trip Hop Noir (as
I like to call it) has proved here to be a winning combination. As you've
probably already heard, they even have a track featuring Miss Shirley Bassey
(an easy step into Phatness). A track here or there with De La Soul and
the Jungle Brothers doesn't hurt any, either. Yes, it's been done before
(including yet another 90's reworking of a James Bond Theme) but this addition
to my record collection hasn't hurt one bit.
Vidna Obmana- Crossing The Trail- Projekt
Vidna Obmana, much like Enya, has managed
to release the same album about 4 times. This here makes 5. Overall, not
at all bad, but if you own a couple of other titles by him you could easily
skip this one because you already own it. Play "The River Of Appearance"
by him or O Yuki Conjugate's "Equator" instead.
Steve Roach & Roger King- Dust To
Dust- Projekt
Imagine if "Evening Star" had been done
by, say, Hank Williams and Brian Eno. Imagine Ennio Morricone meeting Sam
Rosenthal (Black Tape For A Blue Girl) for a jam session. What you have
here is Ambient Western and although it takes a couple of listens to get
used to, this tribute the roads leading West and the ghost-towns that dot
them does let Steve Roach's contemplative synth swells and ebbs shine through.
Interesting and recommended.
Hawke- Namaquadisco- Sunburn
Hawke (aka Robbie Hardkiss) is best known
for the classic San Frandisco hit "3 Nudes Having Sax On Acid". While this
full-length offers only one or two tracks of that caliber the rest is steady
and consistent sonic wallpaper. I'm not crazy about some of the samples
he's chosen to pepper his tracks with nor do all of the songs perk my ears
up, I do, however find myself playing this piece about once a day here
at the store.
Pan American- s/t- Kranky
Hot on the heels of the outstanding "Mi
Media Naranja" by Labradford comes this solo effort by their leader (his
name appears no where on the disc and I can't remember it). Imagine Labradford
dub-mixed by Bill Laswell (on a good day). In others spots they get the
Jungle treatment by, say, LTJ Bukem. If you can't get enough of Labradford,
get this, if you can, get it anyway. Quietly mindblowing.
Pitchshifter- www.pitchshifter.com-
Geffen(?!?)
Hold it and put down that pitchfork. Yes,
I said White Zombie. Let's go back a few years shall we, back to the early
90's when "Industrial" (PS's first album) came out. Those of you who know
this piece of mastered aggression will remember the livid bruises that
it left on your body and smile. Then came "Submit", no less brutal but
slightly more polished. Followed by "desensitized", a streamlined Arnold
Schwarzenegger compared to the Franco Columbu and Sergio Oliva that proceeded
it. (Bodybuilding meets Metal, I knew I could do it). Things got weird
when they dropped a remix ep on us, good and challenging but unexpected.
Anyway, along came "Infotainment" which for me was a slight disappointment.
Even though it added Jungle to the mix and the songwriting had improved
it just lacked... something. It's 1998 again and here comes DA BOMB, what
a compact, gyrating, sucker-punch of an album this is. Dance rhythms abound,
PERFECTLY blended with sharp, aggressive guitar work and Clayden's whiny,
snotty, pissed-off vocal delivery (think of the first time you heard Cypress
Hill). This bad boy will get the metal heads slamming and the black-clad
industro/goths dancing in no time flat.
Cannibal Corpse- Gallery Of Suicide-
Metal Blade
You know how you could really go for a
Blimpie, foot-long Club Sandwich (Subway, for the rest of the free world
beyond NYC) sometimes but it's late at night and they're all closed? All
you can then do is make a sandwich yourself and hope for the best. The
result is usually the satiation of the hunger but you're still left with
a lingering CRAVING. That's the best description I can give for this recording.
It's got bread, meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo and salt and
pepper, but it just ain't no Blimpie. In its favor I must say that the
music on this CD is fast and tight as hell, just indistinct. They've also
snagged one of the best vocalists in the genre in the form of George Fisher.
Unfortunately, these guys have always been Death Metal 101 in my book and
this release is no different, it really only kicks butt when cranked. Save
your $$$ and go for the new INCANTATION on 4/28.
Moonspell- Sin Pecado- Century Media
Starting out as a Black Metal band, these
guys quickly moved on to the (more profitable) realms of dark, hard goth.
If "Wolfheart" was a step out of Egypt and "Irreligious" was a journey
through the desert then "Sin Pecado" is the 2 acre home$tead in the Promi$ed
Land. Alternating between a harder Sisters Of Mercy and Depeche Mode, these
guys seem at their most comfortable on this release. The old, die-hard,
"sell-out" screaming fans should be long gone by now and the more open-minded
of us can actually get some joy from this decent release.
Sully- I Have Much To Report- Nettwerk/A
Day For Honey- s/t- TVT/Building
What we have here are two fairly unique
bands. Sully employ a great flange effect to their female vocalists voice
over some great dream pop that runs the gamut from Cocteau Twins to Daft
Punk. A Day For Honey employ a warped sensibility that embraces all of
the above and adds some Long Island Hardcore and swirling psychedelia to
mix a pretty potent cocktail (one where you don't notice the alcohol until
it's too late). Both of these bands work well at forging ahead and claiming
some new ground. Good luck to you both.
Pro-Pain- s/t- High Gain
Lycia- Estrella- Projekt
More cream-of-the-crop, darrrk musings
by Mike Van Portfleet. This here is Goth, pure and unadulterated. Music
to brood by. The soundtrack for your last depressive episode. The CD you
play after you break up with your girlfriend. Underneath a Kansas thundercloud
dark. Kitten meow sad. It's brilliance gleams dully it's so dark...
V/A- Got Moose?- Re-Constriction/ V/A-
Slip This On And Rock Hard- Slipdisc/Mercury
"Digi-core" is a tongue friendly marketing
term describing the meeting of hard guitars with industrial dancefloor
sensibilities. These comps showcase the not-so-bad to the pretty-good bands
that comprise these labels rosters. Stand-outs on Got Moose? are Christ
Analogue and Collide, while Slip This... offers us Nihil and N17. Of the
two, I'd go with Re-constriction's more varied signings but if you're more
into the hard end of things the Slipdisc release is the background-music-for-your-study-nights
disc for you. (sorry no image for "Got Moose?")
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