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News & reviews (3rd February 2012)

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Happy Friday everyone. Another work week is done with and we can all return to our homes for rest, relaxation, sandwich making and, off course, a spot of record shopping. As usual we have a fine selection of records in a variety of audio formats for you to peruse and enjoy. We’ve pretty much gone review crazy this week as there’s so much to get through. Hopefully you have the time/patience to slog through it all and find what you’re after. Word is it’s gonna be a snowy one up in Leeds so get them sledges out of the loft kids - it’s winter party-time! See you next week gang. Business lady and the Norman Boys Club Initiative.x

The Excitement levels are rising as the Steve Moore/Majeure split LP has arrived from Temporary Residence. Much easier to acquire on vinyl than Zombi’s ‘Escape Velocity’ so snap ‘em up while you can.  We have a Tom James Scott LP on the ever dependable Carnivals records - these guys don’t release bad records - FACT. Matt Mondanile’s New Image label hits us with an LP of demo recordings by The Babies (1 x a Vivian Girl / 1 x a Woods boy) that won’t be around for long. Expo 70 have a new CD entitled ‘Journey Through Astral Projection’ on Immune. Also on Immune we have a  new LP’s from Ilyas Ahmed and Cleared. Maurizio Bianchi has a new collaborative effort with Andrea Farraris on Farmacia 901. The new Cloud Nothings CD/LP on Wichita is killer and comes fully recommended by the Norman boys club. We have copies of Magdelina Solis’s ‘Hespiria’ on CD (Tape also available). Also on Dying For Bad Music we have a ltd 7” from Daniel Bachman and a spaced out CD effort from Dronaement. Shaun Hencher (Murder Of Rosa Luxemburg / Lovvers) reveals a new solo guise Virals. His debut 7” is available now on Sexbeat.  Orgasm records have mailed over a tiny batch of 8” lathe cuts by Moulin Roti. Only 29 in the world and cut by Peter King in NZ. BAMM!!  Psych Parisians Dalai Lama Rama Fa Fa Fa  hit us with a limited 7” on Close Up Productions. ‘Rapture Adrenaline’, a VHS movie by James Ferraro sees its way to DVD this week and includes a bonus featurette about OJ Simpson.  Local leeds illustrator Graham Pilling gets serious about vinyl with his range of killer ‘Buy More Records’ tees - available in a range of sizes suitable for humans. We have new albums from Will Haven (on Holy Roar) and Therapy? which should keep you 90’s rockers rockin’. Chris Weisman has a new collection out on Autumn records that’s very Elliot Smith-esque. Sharon Van Etten’s third album ‘Tramp’ is available on Jagjaguwar, Twilight Sad return with ‘No One Can Ever Know’ on Fatcat, Harmonious Thelonious returns with a second album on Italic. Asthmatic Kitty continue their Library Catalog Music Series with three new installations from Effacer, Ero Gray and Alfred Brown - they all include downloads too. Ladytron return with a new one on Nettwork Records. Soul Jazz hit us with their ‘Voguing’ compilation. It’s in two parts and features classic House Ballroom tracks from the late 80’s and early 90’s. This is the accompanying LP to Soul Jazz’s book on the same subject released a couple of weeks back. This comes highly recommended by me...and probably others too. Mark Lanegan’s first LP for 4AD has arrived and it’s a lovely looking package. Pop Ambient 12 drops this week with contributions from Bv Dub, Simon Scott and Superpitcher among others. Goth Trad have a 3x12” + CD release on Deep Medi Musik. It’s well bumper!  Lindstrom has a bonkers new 2LP on Smalltown Supersound that Mikey prefers at the wrong speed cause he’s always super baked n’ shit. The Magazine label continues it’s series of releases with an LP/CD from Axel Willner's (aka THE FIELD) Loops Of Your Heart, Of Montreal return with another installment of prog-party madness with ‘Paralytic Stalks’ on Polyvinyl, Southern Lord hit us with a collection of early recordings by Hardcore pioneers Poison Idea that looks triple rad, Beth Jeans Houghton and her group The Hooves Of Destiny have a new folky LP/CD on Mute, got a kickass looking new album from Dimlite on 3x10” in a swanky box. Also got LP’s by Subheim, Petrals, Jasmine Kara, A collection of Nick Nicely tunes on Captured Tracks, Boy Friend, James Levy And The Blood Red Rose, Plimsouls, Wymond Miles (Fresh And Only’s guitarist), Hannah Cohen, A Vazz / La Bambola Del Dr Caligari split on Forced Nostalgia. We also have LP’s by Crippled Black Phoenix, Perispirit and John Doe And The Sadies and CD’s from Andrea Belfi and Erikm on Room 40, Akke Phallus Duo on Apollolaan, Mirel Wagner, Burnt Friedman, Vaporous Light on Akoustik Anarkhy, Oren Ambarchi, New Age Steppers, The Azusa Plane (2CD+ DVD set) and Wire. Oh, and loads of excellent Swell Maps reissues on mute. Oh, and a couple of last minute additions...two Django Django 12”s, one featuring Tom Furse and Optimo mixes plus a new one from Dustin O’ Halloran record that looks to be a soundtrack jobby.

Got sweet looking 12”s in from Kirk Degiorgio and Xosar on Rush Hour, GB (Gifted And Blessed) on All City Dublin. We’ve got a repress of Jamie XX’s remix of Adele’s ‘Rolling In The Deep’ on XL. The Battles ‘Gloss Drop’ remix series begins this week with Gui Boratto & The Field first in line. Raffertie has a mad decent new 12” on Ninja Tune. Fucked Up’s Chinese New Year series continues with ‘The Year Of The Tiger’ 12” on Matador. Peaking Light’s 100% Silk 12” has arrived with mixes from Cuticle, Ital and more, Mickey Pearce has a 180g 12” single on Swamp 81, we’ve got Scuba’s ‘The Hope’ 12” on Hotflush, WANG Trax hit us with a Radioactive Man 12”, Mark Ernestus returns with a 12” on Ndagga, The Time And Space Machine hits with mad psychedelia on Tirk, Distance rocks a newy on Tectonic. Father Murphy have a 10” on Aagoo, Justice’s ‘On & On’ gets the remix treatment from all sorts of lads inc. Rick Rubin on both 10” & 12”. We also have 12” by Funkystepz on Hyperdub,  Sun Glitters, 2 Bears, Richard Devine, Homeboy Sandman on Stones Throw and ‘Tade Gauge’ by EP-4

Got a 10” split of Punk Rock goodness from The Homosexuals & Melody Nelson on Goldmine. Ted Leo teams up with other American Punk dudes for a 7” of Misfits covers under the name TV Casualty on Matador. The Olafur Arnalds ‘Living Room Songs’ finally arrives on Erased Tapes. Also have 10” from Heirs, Hidden Orchestra, Petrels,

Got split 7”s from Christina Carter / Islaja and Richard Youngs / Valet on Root Strata as well as a ‘Glass Armonia’ by Zach Wallace and ‘The Conjurer’ by Barn Owl on CD.  King Creosote And John Hopkins have a new 7” on Double Six, OH OH OH!!! We’ve got a 7” ft. new cuts from Ultramagnetic MCs and Kool Keith. It’s fucking MINT! Also got new cuts from Guilty Simpson on (iN)sect, a Lucky Dragons charity picture disc, ‘Crime Pt 1&2’ by The Pine Hill Haints,  A Dub Narcotic Disco Plate of Mount Eerie stuff, ‘Hey Tiffany!’ 7” from Punks On Mars. We also have 7”s from Jasmine Kara, Zammuto, Los Bansais, Kokoscha, Captain Sunrise, Laura J Martin, Eunice Davis, Blue Rhythm Combo.

Kinda short on tape releases this week but we do have a newy in from Caroline Park on Bathetic as well as a restock on the recent Sun Ark tapes.

Oh, and we got shedload of The Brian Jonestown Massacre LP reissues on A.

That’s about it for this week. Enjoy.

Album of the week

Brainstorm by Steve Moore And Majeure

OH! Steve Moore / Majeure (a.k.a A.E.Paterra) split LP on Temporary Residence? Yes please sir. As you may know these two characters are the also known collectively as Zombi - a group who extend upon the works of Horror/Sci-Fi soundtrack pioneers such as John Carpenter, Vangelis and Goblin to name but a few. Steve’s work is always a pleasure to hear, his composition skills are truly outstanding and his synth work encompasses the age of 70’s/80’s film score work so effortlessly that he seems unable to produce a bad song. He’s basically succeeding where everyone else has failed. His side of Brainstorm is a fantastical as any of his previous works. He begins with an arpeggio heavy driving number in a similar style to the tracks that make up last years ‘Escape Velocity’ Zombi LP before vee...read full review.

Add to cart (£15.59, LP (vinyl))
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Single of the week

You Make Me Crazy/ Sun by Dalai Lama Rama Fa Fa Fa

It’s Hookworms (France Edition)! Damn! That was quick. So, Dalai Lama Rama Fa Fa Fa are young Parisians with a taste for all things Spacemen 3-esque. Infact, they are pretty much wholesale ripping on their style. Totally valid in my mind as long as it’s done right. Opening tune ‘You Make Me Crazy’ dives head first into the psych-rock abyss and sees the lads steadily groove their way through an ocean of echo and wahtar with relative ease. Flip it things progress as you’d expect with ‘Sun’, a drowsy groove reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine and early Ride. The chorus riff is alarmingly familiar but I can’t quite put my finger on where I’ve heard it before. So, to summarise, I’ve heard these songs before but they still sound good played by French hippy...read full review.

Add to cart (£5.69, 7" (vinyl))
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Staff reviews this week

Brian's reviews this week...

Whisper Not / The Wrong Holiday by Vazz / La Bambola Del Dr Caligari

Rating: gaveth Brian on 2nd February 2012

Now this is something quite special, I was intrigued by the brief clips I managed to crowbar off Boomkat's Fort Knox-like cryptic site of esoteric goodies and as far as the collection of tracks by Vazz go I am not remotely disappointed. This Glasgow outfit flitted around the post punk and new romantic scene in the early 80s and really do sound like they've crash landed in a time capsule and come wearily knocking on your door at five in the morning. Imagine how startled they'll be when you're stood there bemused in your dressing gown eating a pot noodle, the one thing they'd never expect to have lasted from those halcyon days! So yeah, wild funky bass lines, ethereal moods, 23 Skidoo, shimmering dubby textures, Tuxedomoon, psychotropic funk, Antena, puttering dream machines (sic), Chris & Cosey.....thinking all these wonderful things! Hey, one song is like Young Marble Giants remixed by Sun Araw whilst A Certain Ratio lounge in a hammock gazing through an opium fog. Quite startling really how these tracks have just sat there in little nook somewhere. Look Stew, I said NOOK! Flip over for a taste of Italy's La Bambola Del Dr Caligari who are a more enigmatic proposition but no less engaging. Slightly eerier sounding, not surprising from the sinister name and the vocals sound really bizarre like the echo'd intonations from a coven of witches. 'Strawberry Creeps' resembles swirling seductive darkwave electro with a slightly mystical Eastern element to it. subsequent tracks are murky, brooding gothic things with torch song vocals, funeral drum machine and frosty tendrils of sombre synth. The track Satan's Pride is an odd ponderous number with a spoken word vocal and some fabulous escalating synth action. It's like a PVC clad Lali Puna almost. So for my money, the Vazz tracks are UTTERLY indispensable and the Italian outfit's songs are also a most intriguing bonus. A real archive surprise this baby....

Don’t Ask, Don’t Get by Mickey Pearce

Rating: gaveth Brian on 2nd February 2012

Shortstuff. Oi! Don't be so rude I'm between 5' 6" and 5' 7" I'll have you know!! Well, I'm just being silly ain't I? This is the moniker Mr. Pearce once went under for his more wobbly dubsteppery outings. He's now indulging in that tight electro/house/garage hybrid sound that has wrapped it's delectable booty shaking tendrils around the mainframe of bass music of late. You know, that sparse zinging punchy music that has everyone dancing like they've a madly itchy ringpiece? I can't describe it as anything other than the Swamp81 sound and this Wiley sampling stomper is one of the strongest and most excitable numbers i've heard to date on the label, ranking alongside Footcrab & Fall Short in the vibrant production stakes but maybe not up there with quite the truly memorable groove. It's got a powerful punch has this tune but i'm a little unsure about how it stumbles to a close, kind of waiting desperately to be mixed in to something I know but I think it could have done with some tweaking I reckon but hey-ho I'm no producer. The flip is much shorter and has a sort of kuduro swagger to it, still a cool little number too with that all-intense production.

Engine EP by Radioactive Man

Rating: gaveth Brian on 2nd February 2012

Now long term sufferers, I mean readers, of my reviews (if there really is anyone still trawling through the word-porridge I habitually cough up these days) will recall my old fondness for Kevin Badmintonforest of Trotters Tennis Club fame. He's the one who made 2 Lone Swordsmen cool for about ten minutes around the millennium. His records are still in my collection which is a sign of some quality waxage I tell thee, I am such a fickle bugger sometimes when it comes to the latest electronic fads and only the strongest tunes survive the 3-4 year culls which any vinyl junkie must surely put him/herself through. This is a brand new vinyl EP, his first for a few years to my knowledge, and although he's been gone a while, he hasn't at all doctored his sound to suit any contemporary tastes. He's still doing solid mind-flaying electro-tech with a braindance sensibility. Much like the Cornish contingent and the Chelmsford Massive, he has a really distinctive sonic template. 'Flying Fuck' is like breaking electro with a strong AFX acid squiggle and some evocative keys. '20,000 Whats?' is a playful, zinging ass-shaking breakbeat stalker. Flip over for 'Knows up Mr Brown' and you're straight back into android hyper-breaks and cyborg synth-ray territory, he hasn't altered one bit and you know what? He doesn't fucking need to as this baby sounds as fresh as the morning dew, proper rocking shit with absolutely monster dystopian synths and a Galaxian hyperdrive appetite. If that makes no bloody sense it is because my head has been ripped off and flung out far into the cosmos where the stars are exploding in my stupid face. This record is easily a match for any of his earlier ones and if you always loved his style then you'll definitely be needing this four tracker, the concluding track deploying that mad marauding snaky bass groove and some shit hot technoid rhythms for maximum party effect. Welcome back you wonderful old sod....x

The Hope by Scuba

Rating: gaveth Brian on 2nd February 2012

I am DanceBrian (tm) today. I just found out Orbital have been lined up to headline my fave festival this Summer in Lancashire, I've never had the opportunity to see the headtorch sporting egghead boffins so I'm super-stoked to learn of this tremendous news. Scuba is one of those guys who’s always getting ranted about, I tend to like approximately half his material and be indifferent to the other half. Another of those guys, much like Martyn, who seems to morph chameleon-like throughout electronic genres. ‘The Hope’ is a pulsating thudder of a techno breakbeat track with a catchy vocal hook and loads of skyscraping euphoric synths. It doesn’t sound particularly groundbreaking but is a sure-fire dancefloor slugger with a hefty bass throb. ‘Flash Addict’ is more my thing with an insistent techno strut and lots of gorgeous hypnotic hollow clinking/chinking effects circling above all Detroit style. It’s a proper cosmic beaut is this, far more engaging and deep than the more commercial ‘A’ side. Worth it for that track alone methinks.

Ghosthaus / Rainy Day Juno Jam by Xosar

Rating: gaveth Brian on 2nd February 2012

Oh here we go, here’s the goths. No I don’t mean the floury stetson and petunia oil brigade, I mean the ethereal Eurowitches and their sinister take on electro. I like it but the imagery always makes me chuckle. This one’s of particular interest as it contains no less than two distinct Legowelt remixes on a blood red 12” platter. Legowelt is a bloody genius really, working within the confines of a sound that stretches from disco-noir to stomping stately electro, his refix of the eerie ‘Ghosthaus’ here has some of the most beautiful spectral wisps and flows of classical synthery languishing on top of a thrilling ever-evolving techno pulse. Danny’s version of ‘Rainy Day Juno Jam’ is totally wicked as well, a really emotional and melancholic odyssey infused with ghostly murmurs and lonely cries of heartbroken Juno synth over a mesmerising European 4/4 march. Really, I don’t mean to be ignorant of the source material here but it’s all about the Wolfers here...

Presents Jeri Jeri by Mark Ernestus

Rating: gaveth Brian on 2nd February 2012

Wow this is wicked, I’m trying out the dub version first. He’s working with some Senegalese musicians here is Mr. E and the furious polyrhythms are undercut with some real rugged organic woody sounding bass grooves, the dubbed-out snippets of vocal mantra beautifully riding the relentless hypnotic percussive groove. The original seems even more frantic and trancelike, this is one marvellous inspirational record that totally draws you in. Please breathe very deeply, it’s an intoxicating spiritual journey!! Top drawer future/primitive African music played with passion and a real fervour that leaves you stunned and moved.

Transfall by Erikm

Rating: gaveth Brian on 2nd February 2012

Oh my first non-rhythmical recording of the day from Erikm. On the ever dependable sound-art stable Room 40, this is a mad sounding disc of organic improv, insectoid scrunch, free jazz squawk and shuffle, wild-eyed primitivism and throbbing manic glitch. I always enjoy this stuff more on headphones where it isn’t forcing Business Lady to gnaw her delicate fingernails down to the quick whilst rolling her crazed bloodshot eyes manically from the floor to the ceiling like the demented old tart she is. She’d not like this one iota although I, on the other hand, am really enjoying the cascading, clanking, chirruping, crumbling chuntering sonic fall-out of it all.

Underrated Silence by Ulrich Schnauss & Mark Peters

Rating: gaveth Brian on 2nd February 2012

The Schnausser eh? He’s back is Uncle Ulrich and his slippers and pipe Guthrie-isms are as tranquil and balmy as ever. Making the bridge between ethereal shoegazing moodscapes and shimmering post Cafe Del Mar tranquility more sturdy underfoot, his work in the field of glistening cyclical chillout is not to be underestimated. Here he plays footsie with some geezer who was in the bafflingly popular Engineers (still better than Editors, at least they did some bloody graft ha ha) and the result is something akin to taking a shower under a warm waterfall with butterflies flickering round your private bits. Or Boards of Canada with all the interesting bits taken out and replaced with the gusset of Enya’s perfumed undercrackers. It’s all really pretty and lullaby-esque but somewhat suffocating and easygoing for a grizzled dangerhorse such as myself. He always was terribly popular mind and I’m thinking this simpering mind-massage may well appease his rabid fanbase as he doesn’t exactly flood the market with this sentimental airy twinkly guff.

Business Lady's reviews this week...

Brainstorm by Steve Moore And Majeure

Rating: gaveth Business Lady on 3rd February 2012

OH! Steve Moore / Majeure (a.k.a A.E.Paterra) split LP on Temporary Residence? Yes please sir. As you may know these two characters are the also known collectively as Zombi - a group who extend upon the works of Horror/Sci-Fi soundtrack pioneers such as John Carpenter, Vangelis and Goblin to name but a few. Steve’s work is always a pleasure to hear, his composition skills are truly outstanding and his synth work encompasses the age of 70’s/80’s film score work so effortlessly that he seems unable to produce a bad song. He’s basically succeeding where everyone else has failed. His side of Brainstorm is a fantastical as any of his previous works. He begins with an arpeggio heavy driving number in a similar style to the tracks that make up last years ‘Escape Velocity’ Zombi LP before veering of into more reflective, purist soundtrack territory - very much on a Vangelis ‘Blade Runner’ tip here with dramatic synths, light arpeggios and super spooky chord progressions dominating the final three tracks. Why this guy isn’t scoring films already is beyond me...he must be at least trying for the work?  Majeure’s ‘Timespan’ LP proved that A.E Paterra is more than just a awesome-o rock drummer with synth skills rivalling his fellow bandmate. Here he delivers one long piece in three parts. It begins on an Ambient tip with found sounds used to great effect, building tension within the music that’s eventually broken by a s-weet power synth melody in the vein of 80’s Tangerine Dream. The arpeggio here is well Steve Reich in it’s prickliness. In the final part Paterra gets the big guns out with the kit making it’s first appearance of the day. From here I’m in familiar Zombi territory with electro influenced rock drums trading off with arpeggio bassline’s and cosmic synth melodies. Majestic stuff. Both sides are triple awesome. A must album of the week. Now lads...about those ‘Escape Velocity’ LP’s...

‘TV Casualty’ by TV Casualty

Rating: gaveth Business Lady on 2nd February 2012

This is part of Matador’s ELO series and sees Ted Leo team up with Brian Sokel (Franklin, AM/FM), Andy Nelson (Ceremony, Paint It Black), Atom Goren (Atom and His Package) & Chris Wilson (Ted Leo & the Pharmacists) for a run though a bunch of Misfits covers with all proceeds going to The Attic Youth Center, Philadelphia’s only LGBTQ Youth Center. Ted Leo’s Glenn Danzig impression is second to none and, as you’d expect, the songs are respectful delivered and sound pretty much as they should - fast and super melodic. They are tighter than the Misfit’s too with ‘We Bite’ and ‘Teenagers From Mars’ sounding particularly on the ball. Probably shouldn’t mention it but it is a bit dad. Not that it will put you off if you like The Misfits or Ted Leo but it is odd that Punk is so dad now. Forgotten how much ‘Some Kinda Hate’ rips on The Buzzcocks ‘Ever Fallen In Love?’ Cheeky. 

The Hangman Tree by Laura J Martin

Rating: gaveth Business Lady on 1st February 2012

This is an intriguing little release. I’ve come to expect to certain level of quality from the Static Caravan and Laura J Martin’s debut for the label is no exception.  LJM uses a loop station, flute, mandolin and her almost magical voice to translate her take on what the press release describes as ‘Dark Folk’ but to me sounds much quirkier and progressive than that. Her voice is hard to pin-down. Comparisons to Kate Bush and Bjork are in the right ballpark but to my ears her voice is reminiscent of Joanna Newsom’s pixie-esque delivery. Musically this brings to mind the experimental folk arrangements of Tattie Toes, though not quite as unpredictable, it’s certainly has that level of versatility. It also has moments of complete Booshness. In way of explanation - it’s when you write a tune that sounds like it could appear in an episode of The Mighty Boosh - in this case ‘Listen To Your Heart’. I can imagine a Matt Berry collaboration working out nicely. Talking of collaborations, Laura is occasionally assisted by Gorky’s man Euros Child who contributes an excellent counter voice that really brings out the Canterbury prog vibe. Excellent stuff.

Magic Happens / Comes The Night by Virals

Rating: gaveth Business Lady on 1st February 2012

YO! So, Shaun Hencher of Lovvers (and more importantly The Murder Of Rosa Luxemburg) fame licks his wounds and returns to the old recording biz under a solo guise - Virals. From the opening chords of ‘Magic Happens’ it becomes apparent that Virals is poppier than previous outings as Hencher singing (audibly) over a doo-wop pop number - albeit performed with a little more gusto than the Captured Tracks crowd.  He still knows his way around a catchy melody and plays all the instruments here (bar the drums) so props to that shit. Flip it and ‘Comes The Night’ sounds like a breezy American indie pop number in the vein of early Lemonheads with a little of the quirk of Blur thrown in for good measure. Both tracks are mad decent and prove there’s tons of mileage left in the boy.  Could be the start of summat real magikali.

You Make Me Crazy/ Sun by Dalai Lama Rama Fa Fa Fa

Rating: gaveth Business Lady on 1st February 2012

It’s Hookworms (France Edition)! Damn! That was quick. So, Dalai Lama Rama Fa Fa Fa are young Parisians with a taste for all things Spacemen 3-esque. Infact, they are pretty much wholesale ripping on their style. Totally valid in my mind as long as it’s done right. Opening tune ‘You Make Me Crazy’ dives head first into the psych-rock abyss and sees the lads steadily groove their way through an ocean of echo and wahtar with relative ease. Flip it things progress as you’d expect with ‘Sun’, a drowsy groove reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine and early Ride. The chorus riff is alarmingly familiar but I can’t quite put my finger on where I’ve heard it before. So, to summarise, I’ve heard these songs before but they still sound good played by French hippy kids.

Bugler Gold Pt 1 by Madteo

Rating: gaveth Business Lady on 1st February 2012

Big news in the music biz this week - Will Bankhead and Joy Orbison have teamed up to do a label and this s-weet sucker is the first slice of wax to hit the stores. Not heard Madteo before but his sound is flipping mental! A real murky mash-up of House, Techno and Hip-Hop influences turned on their head, fed through audio destruction software, slowed to an inappropriately chongy speed then burnt onto a CD-R that skips like crazy. It’s body music for people with an incredibly short attention spans. Flip it and the B-sides are slightly more forgiving in-terms of beat consistency. They’re also much livelier in a melodic sense with ‘Scream Seq. 2’ being a stand-out moment of sampling genius. I’m really enjoying these skitterish instrumentals but I’m not entirely sure what the rest of the world will make of ‘em. Guess you’ll have to give it a spin to find out. Make that sampler break fool!

Rapture Adrenaline (& Extra "Welcome To Candyland" Exclusive Interview) by James Ferraro

Rating: gaveth Business Lady on 1st February 2012

I got this on VHS last year for some stupid price (28 duckets i believe...thanks David K) so I was mildly bummed to discover a DVD with bonus material was gonna hit us anytime - mainly ‘cause my VHS player is now fucked...shouldn’t have played that moldy copy of Teen Wolf I taped off telly in 1988. Anyway, ‘Rapture Adrenaline’ is a video mash-up project that echo’s Ferraro’s work as a musician. Here Ferraro takes classic visual stimulus and kinda chucks it all together in an adhoc way. The majority of the footage looks ripped direct from Youtube (thanks you Youtube down-loader) though I prefer to believe they’ve been re-dubbed direct from Ferraro’s private stash of VHS tapes. It’s a fairly retarded affair but it’s a triumph in terms of directing peeps attention to rare/lost/under appreciated movies of the 80’s and early 90’s. This includes snippets from Class Of ‘99 (a favourite of mine that desperately attempts to cash-in on the Terminator craze of the time), Mortal Kombat, Cybertracker II, Stargate, AWOL...the list goes on. There’s probably bits from Prayer Of The Rollerboy, Demolition High, maybe They Live and shit like that...i don’t remember. There’s a particularly good snippet of kids failing miserably to pull off 180 kick-flips. So yeah, daft but enjoyable stuff especially if you’re a fan of straight to VHS stuff and appreciate the quirks that come with this style of budget sci-fi and action adventure flicks. The big selling point is the bonus interview material. I‘ve only had time for a quick scan but it looks pretty good and it features Ferraro walking about smoking cigs dressed in Parade era Prince ruffles. What a dood.

Listen by Harmonious Thelonious

Rating: gaveth Business Lady on 1st February 2012

Stefan Schwander a.k.a Harmonius Thelonious returns with his sophomore effort on Italic. I was super impressed by his debut ‘Talking’ so it’s a pleasant surprise to see him on the review pile again so soon. ‘Listen’ picks up where ‘Talking’ left off with it’s fusing of hard hitting African rhythms, American structural minimalism and quirky European sequencing sounding as fresh to my ear as it did first time around. The sequencing is so intricate and melodic it brings to mind the Shangaan Electro crews programming sensibility. The tracks aren’t as pacey and abrasive as on ‘Talking’, if anything, ‘Listen’ is surprising polished in it’s production which takes the edge of a bit but enables Stefan to enhance the versatility of his repertoire. Opener ‘Angwohnische Muziek’ for example is a tropical treat and much more laidback than on previous tracks and ‘Drums Of Steel’ is surprisingly reserved in tempo terms. When abrasiveness is called for it’s better than ever with ‘Marak’ being as good example - it’s almost Nightrider-esque arpeggio and chunky beats insist you move your feet. Elsewhere we are treated to Congotronic grooves ramped to dance-floor intensity and hypnotic rhythmic patterns worthy of Steve Reich’s ear. Digging the fact that he’s still including those crowd sounds too. Excellent stuff. 

Tramp by Sharon Van Etten

Rating: gaveth Business Lady on 1st February 2012

Don’t recall hearing Sharon Van Etten’s previous two LP’s though I have packed quite a few copies so it’s fair to assume she’s a popular young lady. ‘Tramp’ is her first LP for Jagjaguwar and boasts The National’s Aaron Dessner as producer and Zach Condon (Beirut), Julianna Barwick, Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak) as guest players. With or without these excellent contributions it’s unlikely that Sharon Van Etten would ever make a bad record. Her voice is strong and ever so slightly husky and her songwriting hits on all the classics from Patti Smith to Cat Power to Low whilst eluding any direct comparison to any one artist...though she gets pretty darn close to PJ Harvey from time to time. ‘Tramp’ already sounds like a classic LP and I’ve only heard it twice. Heartfelt without being overwhelming or cheesy and jam-packed with solid tunes, ‘Tramp’ is likely to be one of Alt-Country’s big-hitters this year. You should take a listen.

No One Can Ever Know by The Twilight Sad

Rating: gaveth Business Lady on 1st February 2012

I won’t lie, I struggle with The Twilight Sad. They’ve got the ambitious sound and good sensibilities interms of influence and approach but their music leaves me cold, like it was meant for someone else. That’s fine with me, I’m happy with my Dilla rekkids. Saying that, I gotta try and be impartial here and on first listen I’m surprised by how much I’m enjoying the instrumentals on ‘No One Can Ever Know’. This may be down to Andrew Weatherall sitting in on production duties though it’s more likely it’s down to the hints of kraut-rockism’s I can hear creeping into the groups repertoire - though at times these propulsive rhythms and chunky bass-lines bring to mind the likes of NIN or Placebo as opposed to Can. As with previously releases vocalist James Graham’s voice soars over these tracks dominating the final out-come with his almost Interpol-esque Goth ting delivery. They’re too overtly dramatic for my liking but if you’re a fan you should give it a listen as it definitely touches on new ground.

Pop Ambient 2012 by Various

Rating: gaveth Business Lady on 1st February 2012

I don’t feel qualified enough to review this Pop Ambient collection. Sure, I dig ambient sounds but with Kompakt we’re talking serious business - proper studious Ambient music made by proper grown-ups. You’ve only got to look at the contributing artists to know they ain’t messin’. We’ve got BV DUB in the house, WOLFGANG VOIGHT is in the house, SIMON SCOTT and MARSEN JULES are in the house to name but a few. Mohn kicks things of in a surprisingly aggressive fashion with a doom ridden industrial sound-scape entitled ‘Manifesto’ - it’s pretty gnarly. Things soon chill out though with Superpitcher’s ‘Jackson’ teasing the ear with it’s blissful combination of sparse grand piano chords, scattered two note arpeggio and haunting vocal harmonies. It’s heavenly beatless house music for dying peacefully too. Morek’s ‘Pan’ takes piano themes a step further, drenching them in warped delay and reverb to create an unending peaceful drone that leads on nicely to Magazine’s edit of ‘The Visitor’s Bureau’ - another fine example of heavenly minimalism. Elsewhere Wolfgang Voigt’s abstractions on the genre are taken to their logical extreme with loops of orchestral performance layered in a fashion that will no doubt disorientate. Bv Dub’s ‘Your Loyalty Lies Long Forgotten’ also makes great use of orchestral loops, this time focusing on melancholic strings saturated in ghostly reverb. Marsen Jules is kind enough to break things up with the addition of drums. Combined that with rich piano variations and the result is a woozy jazzy affair amusingly titled ‘Swans Reflecting Elephants’. Simon Scott steps in and prevents any danger of things getting too ‘upbeat’ with ‘For Martha’, a particularly sombre affair that focuses on a drifting string led motif. Loops Of Your Heart end the LP with ‘Riding The Bikes’, easily the most carefree jam of bunch with a Balearic guitar loop that gently makes it’s into the depths of the cosmos thus concludes this years collection beautifully. Almost definitely a benchmark for the years Ambient contenders.

Year Of The Tiger by Fucked Up

Rating: gaveth Business Lady on 1st February 2012

More Matador goodness for me. This time it’s Fucked Up’s ‘Year Of The Tiger’ 12”. After last years epic The Who meets Bruce Springsteen rock opera ‘David Comes To Life’ I was hoping for something unexpected from the groups next installment of their annual Chinese New Year 12” EP but it looks like they’re sticking with the progressive style with this sprawling 15 minute beast. To me this sounds very much like an extension of ‘David Comes To Life’ with tense melodic build-up’s making way for crescendo’s and massive chorus’s...very typical of the Rock Opera format. Can’t knock the ambition mind. Got some cool guests on this one too with Jim Jarmusch, Annie- Claude Deschênes and Austra all making appearances. Flip it and it’s another mammoth track entitled ‘Onno (Excerpt)’. At 22 minutes long it begs the question - how long is the original? I’m guessing it’s an excerpt looped to make a new tune though I don’t know for sure. It begins with a drone of reversed guitars and drums that carefully unravels itself to reveal a shoe-gaze-tastic synth and guitar wig-out that seems to last forever before eventually revolving back to it’s reversed state. It definitely ticks of another box for the group and works better for me than the Rock Opera stuff. Well psychedelic. What these punks been smoking brah?

Dross Glop 1 by Battles

Rating: gaveth Business Lady on 1st February 2012

Last years ‘Gloss Drop’ LP didn’t really register with me for some reason. I guess it seemed a little patchy with all the personnel issues and what not. Saying that, they still sounded amazing live so perhaps I should revisit the beast. First, lets chunter on about the remix 12” a little. I’m guessing this is the first of a series of 12”s that will eventually be compiled as a CD ala Radiohead’s ‘King Of Limbs’. The first installment sees the lads get the remix treatment from Gui Boratto and The Field. Boratto’s takes ‘Wall Street’ and gives it a much steadier tempo and delivery. The beats are solid but the melodic element is a little bit coffee table dub for my liking...wouldn’t sound out of place on a Massive Attack album or summat like that. The Field’s take on ‘Sweetie & Shag’ takes an equally downbeat approach with minimalist beats and bizarre loops creating a mongy industrial dub-disco feel. Again, very Massive Attack in it’s suspension of musical tension. I can feel the track baring down on me. I’m gonna turn it off.

Mass Appeal by Raffertie

Rating: gaveth Business Lady on 1st February 2012

Raffertie returns with a sweet new EP on Ninja Tune. Here yer boy displays his fine skill for chopping and breaking. ‘Mass Appeal’ is an almost funkified take on the Dubstep genre with Prince-esque pitched up soul melodies battling for room in the clutter of scattered beats and orchestral synth hits. Once you get used to the stuttered approach the groove really hits. Brings to mind a Dubstep equivalent of Debruit’s funky cut-up style. ‘One Track Mind’ is decidedly more low-key with sub-tropical beats and little arpeggio’s playing on a canvas of ambient voices and intertwined pads. It’s a tense, dramatic affair that builds to a logical but satisfying Carpenter-esque conclusion. Flip it and ‘Brevity’ begins with a barrage of found scrapes and bangs that evolve into an abstract Electro-Funk workout with undeniably mental beats. This is topped off with a vocal loop that commands you to ‘Come On’ and ‘Lets Go’. It’s the standout track here and a testament to the possibility of minimalist Electro-Funk. Dam_F would be proud. This evolves into ‘Courage Boy’ and sees the electro vibe evolve into an intellectualised Dubstep groove full of minimalist surprises including a ghostly vocal that drifts in and out of the mix with alarming regularity. All in all you gotta hand it to Raffertie - the guy knows how to mix it up and on ‘Mass appeal’ he does just that. Right, that’s enough. I’m well reviewed out. I’m full of reviews.

Hesperia by Magdalena Solis

Rating: gaveth Business Lady on 31st January 2012

Magdalena Solis is a two-piece audio-visual experiment that combines elements of Psych-Rock, Drone, Ambient and Kosmische with eastern melodies and instrumentation. The result is an arid sound you might associate with Grails, Master Musicians Of Bukkake or White Hills. ‘Hesperis’ sounds like a hands on, labour of love type affair with a home/budget produced sound yet the variety of ideas on display here implies a great level of talent and patience from the musicians involved. This stuff can only be described as cinematic in nature and would benefit greatly from the visual accompaniment that I’m sure the duo make good use of live. The wah-heavy guitars form dense layers of hazy drone, synths colour and spookify and the drums play the ever consistent roll as the catalyst for movement. Found sounds and ambient effects play a significant roll in setting the scene and again, imply an emphasis on the visual. Other than that there’s not a huge amount to say. If you like your psych epic in tone and eastern in delivery then you should definitely check this out. 

Clinton's reviews this week...

Elegant Daze - Songs From 1976-1986 by Nick Nicely

Rating: gaveth Clinton on 3rd February 2012

When the internet was first up and running I once spent several evenings trying to find an mp3 of ‘Hilly Fields (1892)’ by Nick Nicely. It’s one of those eerie, dreamy tracks that somehow is totally out of its time, transporting hazy late 60’s marijuana soaked psychedelic pop to the post punk days of 1981. A record which was justifiably lauded at the time and purportedly kickstarted Andy Partridge (XTC) into starting the Dukes of Stratosphear project. Sensibly, ‘Hilly Fields’ opens up this pleasing compilation of Nicely’s work from 1978 to 1986. Nicely was never quite able to repeat the trick but this comp still provides evidence of a singular eccentric pop mind. He dabbles with Broadcast style pop retroism on ‘DCT Dreams’, madcap electronic meanderings on ‘Treeline’ that sounds simultaneously ahead of its time and hopelessly dated. ‘49 Cigars’ is another  classic; sounding like Syd Barrett transposed to the synth age - its druggy melody married to all kinds of sonic detritus, laugh out loud brilliant in places. Skip the stylus further on and you get the title track which somehow reminds me of a home made take on 90’s Depeche Mode. Throughout the album there are examples of home spun brilliance, a lone maverick holed up in some quiet hole in southern England producing slabs of sheer brilliance that will appeal to fans of experimental 60’s pop as much as it will 80’s synth pop, At times like the ace ‘On the Beach’ its like chill wave before chill wave was invented with haunting synths and a melody not dissimilar to Double’s ‘Captain of Your Heart’ all fed through the sonic blender. File under: ummm....The Beatles, Syd Barrett, ELO, Broadcast, OMD, Silver Apples, Broadcast.

Montauk Variations by Matthew Bourne

Rating: gaveth Clinton on 3rd February 2012

Undoubtedly a superior tinkler of the ivories, I’m finding this album just a little sophisticated for my tastes. Bourne’s up and down that keyboard, showing the flair and dexterity that would come from someone who won the ‘innovation’ gong at the BBC Jazz awards in 2002. It plays a jazzy hand with discordant chords, speedy flourishes and an experimental mind. It is though at times truly horrid. Like the lost recordings of Richard Clayderman during a particularly severe mental breakdown. Will appeal much more to your fans of classical and jazz rather than to the more conservative ‘neo classical’ crowd.

Child Bride by Hannah Cohen

Rating: gaveth Clinton on 3rd February 2012

For your listening and collecting pleasure we have advance copies of this forthcoming album which contains exclusive artwork (apparently but it just looks like a black sleeve to me). Never mind because the music contains within is truly gorgeous. Opener ‘Don’t Say’ is a beautiful slice of haunting melancholy. Its like Mazzy Star relocated to a smoky New York jazz club. The arrangements are exquisite with lightly brushed drums, finger picked guitar and subtle instrumental flourishes. A really organic sounding record and in this day of barely discernable singer songwriters and non existent melodies I’m already struck with the songwriting on the first two tracks which is very immediate and memorable. Apart from the obvious Mazzy Star reference (her voice isn’t quite as ‘full’ as Hope Sandoval’s but its a good try, I’m also reminded of Laura Veirs, Suzanne Vega and strangely Jeff Buckley. There’s something in the musicality and ability to create a twisting melody. I’m not as taken by some of the later tracks which are a little jaunty and unmemorable and Cohen’s vocals are a little shrill and samey but there still plenty of strong tracks throughout of interest to suggest that the excellent opening double salvo wasn’t a fluke.

936 Remixed by Peaking Lights

Rating: gaveth Clinton on 3rd February 2012

What a delightful moment I had on Christmas day when I unwrapped that Peaking Lights LP I’d wanted. Actually a more exciting moment occurred when I put the needle on the record and realised what I suspected all along that it was a very very fine record indeed. Here we have a new remix 12” on Silk records which contains mixes by Ital, Xander Harris, Innergaze and Cuticle. The Ital is a little bland, generic house, the Xander Harris ups the ante with some squelshy synth and some lovely reverbed vocals. Both Innergaze and Cuticle continue the housey synthy vibe. Cuticle is certainly the most successful of the mixes - transporting the excellent  ‘Tiger Eyes’ to the dancefloor, beefing up the bottom end, adding some synths but keeping the vocals intact. This is a remix record aimed squarely at the dancefloor and so there’s not too much musical invention on offer. Mainly it proves happily that Peaking Lights brand of dubbed out bliss can be manipulated into separate genres and is a worthy addition to the essential album and previous remix 12”.

Tahoutine/ Tahoutine (Gulls remix) by Mdou Moctar

Rating: gaveth Clinton on 3rd February 2012

This is odd. Mdou Moctar is a Nigerian singer, guitarist who had a local hit with this autotune addled tune. The dude from Sachel Sounds was over there, heard it brought it back with a load of other tunes which are compiled on this weeks ‘Music from Saharan Cellphones’  compilation (see glowing review elsewhere). This, however, is out on 7” with a futuristic beat driven Gulls remix. If you want a pint sized taste of the album then this would be highly recommended. Its an excellent, hugely original form of music that is at one traditional and very forward thinking, a nagging melody but subtle and evocative

Music For No Reason by Lucky Dragons

Rating: gaveth Clinton on 3rd February 2012

Right, this is a three track 7” that I can’t find any further information about on the internet so I’ll have to think for myself for a change. Its a picture disc with striking photos by David Horvitz. It really does look quite the business. The music is the usual beautiful ebb and flow of electronics provided by the Lucky Dragons, skittering synths, ethereal, blissed out melodies and a third track which begins with the sound of a futuristic flushing toilet before being joined by someone humming.

John Taylor's Month Away by King Creosote And Jon Hopkins

Rating: gaveth Clinton on 3rd February 2012

Try as I might, I’m just not overly keen on this King Creosote and Jon Hopkins album that has been lauded by everyone, everywhere it seems. I certainly can’t hear the Talk Talk influences that have been bandied around. This is not at all to say its awful, Quite the opposite - its very pleasant folky music with a nice spaciousness which builds simply and surely. It just doesn’t inspire, I find King Creosotes voice thin and the nautical subject matter tiresome. The flip is more accordion-led folky matter but stomping along nicely with a few subtle electronics. Nice although a conversation about the preposterousness of the packaging of the new Swans album has proven more entrancing and so the single is relegated to what it is, nice, pleasant background music.

Distorted Cymbals by Mount Eerie

Rating: gaveth Clinton on 3rd February 2012

Not heard much from Mount Eerie for awhile or maybe I’ve just had my head in a sewer. This has been recorded with low voiced Beat Happening/K Records legend Calvin Johnson and head Eerie Phil Elverum returns a little towards his old The Microphones sounds with thrashy drums underpinning a pastoral cut up slice of indie rock that recalls the split seam compositional explorations of The Red Krayola. The flip as is the want with these Dub Narcotic contains a dub reworking of the main track with Johnson’s melodica squarking all over it like a deranged goose. The A side however is a low key gem.

The Hangman Tree by Laura J Martin

Rating: gaveth Clinton on 3rd February 2012

Album reviewed elsewhere by Business Lady so I’ll keep it brief. This is a single from said album. She has a very high pitched voice one part Kate Bush, one part Newsom and one part dingly dell dwelling big eared pixie. Its a pleasant folky romp without really threatening any life changing event or world domination. Contains what is possibly a piccolo. Be warned.  On the B side she covers Shaggy’s ‘Tease Me’. Whatever next? I was going to say that she’s put that goddamn flute down that littered her previous records but here it is, fluttery as ever. I once saw Shaggy play live at Leeds Reggae Festival. He played for 11 and a half minutes, wandering off half way through a song.  Never to return.

Spiritual Church Movement by Perispirit

Rating: gaveth Clinton on 3rd February 2012

The press release says that these two have been ‘haunting’ the North East of the United States for a couple of years now. Certainly if I’d stumbled across these two whilst enjoying a quiet pint I’d be suitably haunted. The best comparison again is stolen from the press release (look we’re bloody busy right!) - its like Autechre attempting to make a noise record. Its clattering dysfunctional shrapnel  - like the sound of someone dismantling a car engine then throwing it down a set of metal stairs.

Adrift by Caroline Park

Rating: gaveth Clinton on 3rd February 2012

I bought a tape the other week. Probably the first tape I’ve bought since ‘The Best of The Housemartins’ back in ‘88 or whenever. It was by prime US songwriting genius Bill Fox and caused me to re-configure my sound system in order to incorporate a tape deck so I could hear it.  If I’d put this tape in instead of the fantastic Mr Fox I would have serious concerns as to whether it was working. There’s the sound of the tape going round (which presumably is not part of the music) and theres a low end hum. In the time its taken me to write this unwieldy review, the hum has continued unabated. I think it might have been joined by another hum but I’m not sure. Phil says it sounds like Eleh. Its a very pleasant hum though and may be used to solve my sleeping problems. I’m finding it most relaxing.

Mike's reviews this week...

Black Mass Rising by Various

Rating: gaveth Mike on 3rd February 2012

Wow, what an epic undertaking. On this DVD Shazzula has put together two hours of dark and psychedelic visuals to accompany a soundtrack of almost entirely unreleased music from the likes of Master Musicians of Bukkake, Sylvester Anfang II, In Zaire, Burial Hex, Kinit Her, and various other masters of the nightmarish incantation...basically what we’re being treated to here is a succession of droney, ritualistic, bongwater-drinking, murky psychedelia of the dark and heady variety. Ace stuff. The visuals have been filmed on a camera phone but the quality is surprisingly good and it’ll only look particularly pixellated if you’ve got a really massive TV or home cinema situation going on. The first half is in colour, often with the colours massively saturated and psychedelic, and often with a mirrored effect that makes hypnotic, kaleidoscopic patterns that really suck you in...in fact the first half is more therapeutic than creepy and quite light-sounding in some ways. In the second half, however, there’s more of a dark ambient feel with the music, taking us to nightmarish places as Shazzula’s black-and-white films of skulls and swords and people in robes doing dark rituals plays out. Someone gets a tattoo at one point as well. I do sometimes get the feeling that the visuals have been stretched out to accommodate the epic soundtrack but the music is of such a quality that I can’t blame her at all. A massive and impressive piece of work indeed.

Attack On Memory by Cloud Nothings

Rating: gaveth Mike on 2nd February 2012

I like this! Cloud Nothings are bringing back the post-grunge tones with a modern epic indie slant to them on this lively little album. When they really kick off there’s definitely a mid-’90s power-pop feel, but then there’s also these krauty psychedelic passages that are really moody and absorbing with simple, churning grooves that build into bubbling psych-rock workouts. With Steve Albini twiddling the knobs it sounds great, too...massive drums and trebly guitars. It’s always propulsive and tuneful enough to keep it from coming across maudlin or angsty, but when Dylan Baldi really lets loose with his vocals there’s more than a touch of Cobain about his throaty croak, and sometimes it’s got this snotty nasal thing going on that reminds me of that band Stony Sleep, do you remember them?...and I’m sure I can hear shades of Archers Of Loaf in places... The balance of the tracks over the course of the album is excellent, too, with the more expansive drawn-out parts bookended by indie pop gems with big hooks and sweet harmonies. I wish there were more bands like this around who would keep the tones and grooves fresh and varied without forgetting to bring tunes along. Plus as a child of the ‘90s there’s something about this kind of bouncy, chunky power-pop that I find very hard to resist.

Six Cups Of Rebel by Lindstrom

Rating: gaveth Mike on 2nd February 2012

Brian keeps trying to make me listen to this record at the “right speed” of 45rpm, where it’s a technicolour romp of bouncy “cosmic disco” that flashes by at a queasy pace, but you should try this shit at 33. Seriously, it’s a squelchy dub-disco workout with weird detached pitched-down vocals and bubbling arpeggios and filthy primal dance grooves that’s bringing to mind that amazing Aristocrat P Child tape on Sun Ark. Even when the swelling horns and hard soul vocals start cutting through on ‘De Javu’ there’s still that hypnotic tribal disco stomp underpinning everything. It’s one of those records where the bright, fun tones are the focus and at “full speed” it comes across like an ADD Apparat Organ Quartet tackling the works of Jason Forrest. Completely brash party mayhem with a spacey psychedelic hypnotic quality to it. Some of the beats and tones are pure ‘80s cheese-funk relics delivered with such aggressive conviction that it’s hard not to get swept along in it all, but please take my advice and at least give the dubby 33rpm option a try. That’s what’s really getting my five stars. Oh, and there’s an amazing gatefold sleeve with printed inners with lots of clean lines and bright colours from design titan Kim Hiorthoy, to boot. Luxurious indulgence all round!

With Endless Fire by Ilyas Ahmed

Rating: gaveth Mike on 1st February 2012

Super tasteful psychedelic gatefold sleeve on this one, and some mystical loveliness on the wax, too! Ilyas Ahmed is back to weave more of his slow-burning spirituals with rock and drone and psych-folk elements, but always beautifully measured and hypnotic. This is music that really takes you somewhere interesting, with Ahmed’s hushed voice peeking out over layers of twinkly repetitive acoustic guitar and simple, primal rhythms, occasionally joined by searing fuzz guitar to take things up a notch, or floating spectrally over a washed out 12-string stomp, while in other places drones and intermittent fingerpicking hold together fragile melodies. It’s quite nostalgic-sounding stuff, with echoes of the ‘60s, but there’s a burnt-out aura of resignation and a layer of murky haze that’s very modern too. The guitar sounds here are beautifully captured and when he takes it down a notch on ‘Every Minute Of Every Hour (For Jr)’ the depth of tone on the beautifully picked steel string refrain is quite transcendent, as a gradually swelling drone grows over his unobtrusive vocals. Really quite magical stuff. This track’s the highlight for me but the whole album is just indulgently pretty and will seduce folkies and minimal/drone-heads alike with its silky charms. And in an edition of just a thousand I can’t see this hanging around for long...

Breaking Day by Cleared

Rating: gaveth Mike on 1st February 2012

Well, when I first started spinning this record I thought I was in for a long and uncomfortable ride, since it starts with an almost concretey intermittent static noise and little else, but then that was joined by a fast, regular cymbal to create a rhythmic structure as drones and creaks are gradually layered on top, to be joined by pulsing sub-bass drum beats and electrical howls as the fast and frantic cymbal beats become more intricate. You’d think this’d be a pretty dark and disturbing listen but there’s something about it that’s really comforting. It’s like the music you make in your head out of the sounds around you has somehow crystallised and come to life. The second track centres around a churning, rumbling, overdriven bass drone that becomes a little queasy, but then it’s followed by the tribal churning drums and sparse electric guitar buried under a haze of fuzz and reverb that rumble away steadily and calmly on the title track. The second side centres a little more around the industrial-sounding drones of that second track, but they’re given more space here to morph and develop and there’s a constant barrage of curious tones over the top which I presume have been field recorded about the place by these two, or are being electronically generated, or probably both I guess. Either way for a record this experimental it’s not only absorbing and engaging intellectually but also a surprisingly enjoyable listen that tone enthusiasts are gonna lap up.

Dead Organ Music - The Cosmic Tapes by Dronaement

Rating: gaveth Mike on 1st February 2012

Got a few CDs in this week from Dying For Bad Music including this little number from cosmic synth droner Dronaement. It comes packaged with a totally rad little 10”x10” poster and a couple of tarot cards. The album itself comprises four ‘Organ’ tracks and two ‘Cosmic Tape’ ones. The organ tracks are all slowly shifting synth drones in the high and mid registers with a tasteful sense of balance and pace that you can really space out to. My favourite of these are the third and fourth, where he layers lots of tiny high pitched loops together to create stumbling, pulsating rhythms. In contrast the ‘Cosmic Tape’ sections have hiss and crackle and delayed twitches underpinned by throbbing bass pulses and simple, slow melodies. It’s these tracks I like best, as they have a kind of Sun Araw-esque post-dub feel about them that’s pushing all the right psych-minimal buttons for me right now. Good shit!

Message From Work: by Chris Weisman

Rating: gaveth Mike on 1st February 2012

We’ve got a delightfully understated album here from singer-songwriter Chris Weisman. I had no idea what to expect at all when I put it on and was half-expecting some kind of awkward experimental business, but no, he comes straight out on the first track with a friendly little guitar-and-banjo shuffle that brings to mind a less tortured Elliott Smith with his softly-sung little vignettes. The way the songs are structured melodically brings to mind Jon Brion, but with less varied instrumentation...there’s that same simple, bouncy, nostalgic feel to it, though. Weisman has a habit of sending his melodies off in unexpected directions that sound slightly jarring and awkward, which makes for an interesting sound with these gentle, lilting melodies. It gives proceedings a sense of sinister tension, which is used to good effect when he resolves into the chorus with something more comfortable, and often the unintuitive melodies coupled with pretty vocal harmonies gives it a kind of Beatlesy feel. An understated but massively likeable album full of dreamy alt-pop loveliness.

Cry Along With... by The Babies

Rating: gaveth Mike on 31st January 2012

New on Matt Mondanile’s New Images imprint we’ve got this six-song mini-LP of acoustic demos from indie-rock supergroup The Babies, recorded in 2010 and 2011. We’ve been shifting their recent split 7” with His Clancyness by the bucketload (and rightly so because their song on that split is an absolute beauty). On this platter we’ve got a hushed acoustic take on that and five other Babies songs. This one’s as lo-fi as they come; the guitars aren’t always particularly in tune, and the singing is often cracked and tentative, but there’s still a lot of charm poking out of the shambling mess. The gain-heavy tape recordings actually bring to mind Daniel Johnston in a way, and the best moments on this record are when they hit a kind of Woods-esque minimal psych-folk stride. It’s definitely MUCH folkier with acoustic guitars. It’s reminding me of bands from the short-lived New York antifolk explosion like Dufus or that first Jeffrey Lewis album. Carefully written songs captured with an approach to recording that borders on self-sabotage. It’s actually so sloppy and rough around the edges that it’s taken me a couple of listens to really warm to it, but kind of like with the Strange Boys, once you get inside the songs a little there’s a real warmth to the clumsiness that somehow keeps it just on the right side of that invisible line between likeable and annoying. I wouldn’t say it’s as good as the album or that split but as a snapshot of these slackers at their slackest it’s a shambling little gem.

Crystal by Tom James Scott

Rating: gaveth Mike on 30th January 2012

Well, this one’s lovely! Tom James Scott has here put together three lengthy pieces of experimental minimal type goodness that falls very much in the soothing and therapeutic camp. Opener ‘Skire’ has a repeated chiming guitar refrain with heavy reverb over high, glassy drones and field recordings of waves crashing onto a beach, while its counterpoint on the first side, ‘Lown’, has swelling processed and synthesised chords over gently lapping water, giving a stiller and calmer sensation than the opener. Flip it and we’ve got the side-long title track, which layers undulating mid- and low-end drones for an ethereal, gradually shifting tone experience as the relationships between the notes gradually reveal points of resonance and dischord, unity and chaos. Melodies emerge out of the shifting waves of sound only to be lost again. This whole LP is a really well thought out and relaxing exercise in cerebral minimalism. Totally worth a go if you like your records soothing and repetitive.

Phil's reviews this week...

Terroir/ Pissoir by Akke Phallus Duo

Rating: gaveth Phil on 2nd February 2012


These saucy guys are Jon Marshall who also stars in The Hunter Gracchus, Le Drapeau Noir, Singing Knives Records, Vampire Blues etc and Ben Morris from Chora and Le Drapeau Noir. Here the two experimentalists’ swapped recordings with each other and the remit was they could do what they like to each others recordings. Sounds like some fun could have been had! Essentially there’s some strange squealing vocals, ethnic sounding instruments, some distorted business and a whole load of clattering. A lot of clattering in fact!! It’s a cathartic listen and one which I suspect a lot of people would struggle with.  But there’s plenty of people out there who love things a bit mental and freeform and those people should check out this crazy bunch of random noises instead of watching something shit on telly which is probably all you’d end up doing. Widen your periscope people and stop being so lazy!

Wege by Andrea Belfi

Rating: gaveth Phil on 2nd February 2012

Andrea Belfi has been knocking about for a bit now. This is his fourth album and he creates experimental soundscapes whilst being the king of all things percussion. The music has been created using a new device created by Belfi and in his own words... “This device creates feedbacks on two drums on my drum kit, and I can modify it by stopping and stretching the drum skins with hands and various kinds of sticks, mallets and brushes, and/or by filtering the feedback with an a modular synthesizer.” So that’s all cleared up now. It’s a lovely listen actually and only 4 minutes into the 1st track I’m in some percussive trance with a shuffly beat being smothered in electronic bleeps and swirls. It’s strangely hypnotic as is the whole album in fact. There’s a gorgeous electro acoustic vibe running though the album with some beautiful strings (guitar, violin, cello). A lot of the strings are quite dour sounding but then coupled with the intense percussion and electronics everything works together really well to make some unique swampy sounding tracks. Anyhoo if you’re into percussion then you should definitely try and listen to this as there’s some really interesting rhythms on there. It also features Greg Haines & Rutger Zuydervelt and it’s mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi which is nice.

And Never Ending Nights by Loops Of Your Heart

Rating: gaveth Phil on 2nd February 2012

This is a dude from The Field who are well popular now. If I hear another person banging on about the Field I’m gonna proper stab someone up. Nothing wrong with ‘em at all... in fact I quite like ‘em it’s the banging on I have a problem with. The album is supposed to reflect Alex’s experience in Germany (he’s from Sweden you see). This sounds pretty lush from what I’ve heard. Essentially it’s decent European experimental synthy electronica. Lots of nice old synth sounds create some pretty amazing soundscapes. It reminds me of some of the old Astralwerks Ambient Techno comps at times though the majority of the tracks are beatless (there are one or two with a techy vibe) the rest of it is largely ambient sounding. The track called ‘End’ reminds me a lot of ISAN with it’s chilled melodic electronics. The whole thing is bursting with Kosmische style space melodies from the future. I’m going to end by saying this is very good.

Paralytic Stalks by Of Montreal

Rating: gaveth Phil on 2nd February 2012

I used to love these guys. Their skewed take on psyche pop music wasn’t really like anything I’d heard before and those early albums rocked my world for a period of time. Since they’ve become more poppy and dare I say commercial I’ve not been feeling it as much. I thought I’d check the newie out to see if I can rekindle the love. I’m not sure why I went off them as the songs are still all over the shop. I think it might be the production as it’s got more hifi and the Prince esque style tracks I never really felt. ‘Paralytic Stalks’ seems chocka full of old style Of Montreal pop tracks which turn on a sixpence. It’s all very psychedelic, it’s all very pop and it’s kinda prog in parts with the time changes.. So far it’s winning for me!  The final track on the album is a 13 minute opus which is like an entire album recorded in one song. In a word it’s nuts (good nuts though!) I’ve just been reading on the sales notes that Hissing Fauna sold over 100,000 copies. That’s a lot of records!

Journey Through Astral Projection by Expo '70

Rating: gaveth Phil on 30th January 2012

Expo 70 has been releasing Kosmische style drone for knocking on a decade now. That’s ages... seriously that’s a long time. ‘Journey Through Astral Projection’ was recorded at the same time as ‘Where Does Your Mind Go?’ with the able bodied help of Matt Hill (Umberto) on bass and drum machine. Justin Wright locks into his groove with guitar, realiistic moog and crumar (an Italian vintage synth from the 60’s). This sounds sweet! I was expecting some blissed out drones but instead we have a more moogy proggy krauty affair. On the opener the drum machine is very much like Suicide with it’s pulsing fuzzyness and it’s swathed in widdly guitar. Nice! ‘Seven Serpants’ has a more churchy disturbed vibe to it with a wonky sounding organ and that mixed in with a 70’s Italian horror vibe.  ‘Growing Mushrooms of Potency’ is a psychedelic sounding hotch potch of organs, moog frequencies and a bontempi style beat. It’s fucking good! The whole CD is actually. It’s a lot more interesting and varied than his other albums I’ve heard and overall it’s his most cosmic and psychedelic. So if you fancy 52 minutes of psychedelic funtime then get on the magic bus. Strong work indeed!!

Vir-Uz by Maurizio Bianchi & Andrea Ferraris

Rating: gaveth Phil on 30th January 2012

The CD is credited as MB and ICS but we thought we’d introduce a few more characters in the mix so you could find ‘em easily on the site. Why?? cos we’re nice... that’s why. This is largely comprised of field recordings taken from a Jewish cometary in Alessandria. Both Maurizio and Andrea are experimental pioneers in the field of electronics so this is an interesting one to fritter time away with. It’s not for the faint hearted though as it’s not a particularly easy listen. Dark foreboding ominous sounds, strange electronic buzzing, strange noises crop up out of nowhere making this an unsettling and dark listen. As ever with headphones on you get truly immersed into the world the artist(s) are trying to take you and you end up with a much more intense deep listen. There’s a strange sort of beauty in the music and one that I suspect will bare itself under repeated listening. But if you like dark sounding electronics and strange drones then this is something that would be well worth checking out!