Ripped From Death, Forced to Live, and Die Again [coll] – [Hospital Productions]

2013 split between two Black Metal bands from North America. Akitsa are from Montreal and Ash Pool, fronted by the prolific Dominick Fernow (see Prurient, Vatican Shadow, Taylor Bow, Cold Cave, others), are from New York. Both sides of the split have the same (grammatically awkward) title, but Akitsa’s renders it in French and Ash Pool’s in English. Akitsa’s side is fuzzy, punky, dipsomaniacal forest mysticism with veins of Burzum and Ulver and a suggested kindship with newer bands like Urfaust or Bone Awl. Burzumic loyalties are especially apparent in the instrumentals (A2,A4), which are classic low-fi war-march death-jangle walls of gain. It keeps a nice mid-tempo and all three of its main tracks (A1, A3, A5) end in psych-rock solos that are so out of place they fit perfectly, while also feeding a comparison to Enslaved that gets reinforced again by A3′s folky clean singing. A4 is sort of like a six-minute Motorhead song where Lemmy is possessed by a demon– which is awesome. All tracks on Akitsa’s side run together. I read just enough French to tell you that the lyrics make aesthetically appealing use of the lexicon of militarism, but not enough to really say what they’re ‘about.’ Ash Pool, meanwhile, were a band I had dismissed (without hearing!) as a vanity-project of Fernow’s, but no– these guys can really fucking play! Unlike Akitsa’s, their side picks up the more aggro (but no less icy) Northern-Euro threads of a Darkthrone, a Mutiilation or a Katharsis, conjuring a surprisingly apt facsimile of the Nordic school’s melodic gloom, upon which they throw a slightly progressive spin (and a higher production value) before dashing out to meet Pale Chalice for drinks. Their side has very intellectual, kind of tasteless lyrics that seem to explore theology and the notion of sexual violence as a religious and philosophic abstraction, emerging incomprehensibly as ever from Fernow in shrieks befitting the best of Bergen’s bedroom-suicides. Big-ups to Kris Lapke, too, for knowing how to play blast-beats real good. Despite a certain ‘studied’ quality, things were looking up for Ash Pool until B4′s second half, when melodic vocals drop into the mix that can only be described as ‘nu-metal-indebted.’ Congratulations, Akitsa!

Philippe Petit – “Hitch-hiking Thru Bronze Mirrors” – [Aagoo]

Eery interdimensional post modern-classical dreamscapes. This is Part 3 of a trilogy of albums that chart the nonsensical journeys of a fantastical lemon girl through oneiric lands. Inspired by Homer, Lewis Carroll and James Joyce, Philippe Petit provides a wide ranging sonic palette through a variety of acoustic and processed instruments that all complement the narrative and thematic framework. Our heroine is slowly drifting back to reality through post-industrial piano preparations tinkering with phantom dances on dulcimer string serenades. Hidden outer-universe film score orchestras and interstellar folk ballads lurk amidst the pulsating cosmic drone clouds of stardust pollution. Delicate textures washed with corrosive layerings, this is equally accessible and alienating.

Mr. Wilcox – “s/t” – [Self-release]

Mr. Wilcox, on his self titled CD “Mr. Wilcox”, comes from Oakland via Virginia and Vermont. He is a one man band of sorts because he writes, performs, produces, engineers and self releases this work. All of this “me” focus is often a red flag but not in this case. These are eight musical experiences which play like tone poems with observations and poetry recited over the sounds. The sounds: real and falsified field recordings, drumming, electronic dabbling and guitar strokes all create strange, sometimes unclear emotional settings for Mr. Wilcox to talk about…. relationships, of course, but also family, nature, time, change. These are poems more than lyrics so it is all a bit obtuse (and his voice, with it’s Virginia accent adds just the oddest inflection.) He states that in the last six years he has “endured bouts of cancer, bankruptcy and homelessness” and the CD encapsulates that time. Definitely. This is truly DIY at it’s most interesting, experimenting with different ways to express ideas and create moods.

Pan Gu – “Primeval Man Born of The Cosmic Egg” – [Utech Records]

Pan Gu hatched from an egg comprised of yin and yang, just as the music on this album exploded into being during the second improvisation between noise musician Lasse Marhaug and guitarist/singer Leslie Low. Low tempers the harshness of Marhaug in ways that make this an exquisite (and yes, pain is part of beauty) listen. 3 and 5 are particularly worth a listen, especially as you contemplate the cover art depicting death, which leads to life, in a neverending cycle. There is noise, and there is quiet, and the interplay is where the charm lies.

Meursault, Pali – “Offset” – [Doubtful Sounds]

There’s something oddly comforting about the sounds emanating from what I believe are printing presses (thus the album title “Offset” that compose these field recordings from Meursault. Granted, I love the printed page, but I’ll bet you a baby would nod off to this in no time flat. It made me appreciate the artistry of knowing what sounds would make for interesting listening. It also made me respect even more those artists (like Cactus) who create the sounds/noise they play from scratch. A whole new dimension opens!!!

Moon Lay Hidden Beneath a Cloud, The – “Rest On Your Arms Reversed” – [World Serpent Dist.]

This 1999 compilation album collects rarities from one of the most compelling beasts in the storied World Serpent stables of yore: a very angry then-couple from Austria who entertained fixations on war, Satan and Medieval Europe, paving the way for some of the ‘less fun’ acts of the so-called ‘martial industrial’ genre. The band split up when their romance split up: Alzbeth (words) is now a reclusive far-right ‘anti-immigration’ activist (not cool!) and Albin (music) is now drunk, also occasionally taking the time to release records as Der Blutharsch (creepy but kind of cool!). Yes, while you probably wouldn’t see them at a neo-Nazi rally (they preferred, bless them, to play in abandoned churches and castles) various interviews show them as a pair who at least HAVE held somewhat, ahem, ‘fringe’ views; thankfully it doesn’t really bleed into their music. As has been observed elsewhere, TMLHBAC’s genius lay in their ability to create musical textures that sounded absolutely organic by entirely ‘industrial’ means. This was accomplished with a lot of looping and sampling, a great deal of it drawn from Medieval music and instruments. Albin’s anachronistic compositions may be excellently menacing (t.s 5, 8 + 15 are awe-inspiring even as instrumentals), but Alzbeth’s vocal presence cannot be understated, and is ultimately what makes this work: at various points she’s an evil Queen gleefully sending young men to their deaths (t.1, 9, 10), a crazed nun chanting at the altar of nothingness (t.2, 12), a bloodthirsty Nico (t.3, 6), a withered witch calling up the Dark One (t.4, 7, 13, 14), and a hard-assed sergeant marshaling troops for the next assault (t.11, 16). The texts, some maybe drawn directly from Medieval sources, express a morbid fascination with (mostly Medieval) nationalism, superstition and war. Several songs deal with The Crusades, although (I hasten to add) not in an approving light: the picture painted is not of some questionably glorious European victory over Islam, but rather of wretched hordes of rabble, brainwashed by an evil Church, going pointlessly to their dooms in foreign lands. T.12′s unbearably spiteful narration of the infamously disastrous Child Crusade of 1212 is a good example of this. The only 20th-century war story we hear actually seems to be told from the point of view of British soldiers (t.11)– but if you think that somehow makes Alzbeth ‘less fascist’ you should probably brush up on your British history. Cited as an influence by everyone from Dispirit to Menace Ruine, TMLHBAC present a deliciously nihilistic vision of a world plunged into darkness that should seduce all fans of evil music, be they jackbooted or Birkenstocked.

Cactus – “Night Is Rising On The World” – [Resipiscent Records]

Like the plant after which this band is named, the four tracks on this CD are thorny and not at all comforting. Each lasts about ten minutes, and each is guitar noise in pure form. Although I know nothing about the noise genre, I tried hard to make sense of what sounded to me like a head-splitting version of the spin cycle on an industrial washing machine. At times I could make out rhythms, but mostly I just wished I could watch the music being performed live, because I would have more appreciation for what goes into its making. I may not love this, but I do respect it.

Hussy, The – “Pagan Hiss” – [Southpaw Records]

Let me start by saying these are short, fun garage/punk tracks that occasionally sound pretty 60s retro (see 4). “Woodland Creature” (7) clocks in as the longest track, but even then it’s still short enough to leave you wanting more. Bobby Hussy on vocals, guitars, keys, and Heather Hussy (no apparent relation other than great musical chemistry) on vocals, drums, percussion. Really cool walking guitar and tambourine. Lots will like–I sure did.

Sauvage, Tomoko – “Ombrophilia” – [Aposiopese]

There’s nothing more relaxing than the soothing sounds of water. Tomoko is a Japanese sound artist currently living in Paris. For this release, she’s filled various porcelain bowls with different amounts of water, and began experimenting with their sounds. Droplets dripping, ripples, bubbles, echoing, resonating… using wooden spoons and metal wires. Has the beauty of singing bowls with the bell-like ambiance, and the charm of wind chimes. The bowls are multi-tracked, along with the occasional field recordings she made from South India. I could easily take an afternoon nap in the meadow, listening to this while making shapes with the clouds.

Gravetemple – “Ambient / Ruin” – [Ideologic Organ]

“Gravetemple is a sacred metaphor & psychedelic spiritual abstraction”.
Attila Csihar, Stephen O’Malley and Oren Ambarchi formed this trio, as a side project of Sun O))) in 2006.
Matt “Skitz” Sanders joined in the regurgitation in 2008.
Dark, spooky, eerie, haunting doom drones. Sickening gloomy ambient heavy bass soundscapes.
Dripping water, moaning words, wind tunnels of fog, field recordings.
Hyper drums on the C side, the most “metal” of the album. Black in style, with diluted screaming ghouls.

Aranos – “Every Bright Body Gleams Green” – [Noise Museum]

Pronounced aranyosh, from Bohemia (now Czech Republic).
Third album, recorded in 1999.
Known for collaborations with Nurse With Wound – which influences you can definitely hear here.
He plays violin, viola, cello, bass, guitar, mandolin, piano and more. Electronics present as well.
Experimental soundscapes, eerie and spooky at times.
Tracks 2 and 8 are 20+ minutes of hauntings.
Tom Waits-esque circus stylings on track 3.
Track 8 is blissful beautifulness.

Greenlief, Phillip – “Lines Combined” – [Evander Music]

Bay area saxophonist and composer.
Edgetone… Trevor Dunn, Scott Amendola, Kyle Bruckmann, etc…
This is every sound you could imagine a saxophone could make. Total sound explorations.
Blowing, sucking, squonking, breathing, wind, and the mechanics of the sax. Layered and floating over one another.
Skittering, scampering, reeds, frantics. Rhythm in its own source.
Great on its own, or perfect for mixing. Definitely more experimental than jazz.
Phillip is the founder of Evander Music, which presents original composition, improvised music and jazz.

Kitchen + The Plastic Spoons – “Screams to God” – [Dark Entries]

Killer catchy art-damaged pop-punk with tworky analog
synth way out front, but some snappy drumming provides
crisp pulse to most of the tracks. Emergency girlfriend
vocals Anne Larsson are so good in that nervous but
not afraid way. The lead-off cut, “In Bars” feels like
two songs that collided into something spectacular.
Oddball audio on the last track closing side A, befitting
a band from the early 80′s that was more prank than
political. And evidently too good to hold it together
for a proper release, but Dark Entries to the rescue
again! On some tracks Linda Motsieloa and Iodine Jupiter
trade-off singing, adding to the playful vibe. No matter
who is singing, Helena L??nnqvist and Iggo Karlsson squiggly
synths really get this cartoon cavorting (again, I can
taste the Devo in the batter, but I ain’t complaining.)
“Happy Funeral” indeed… All of Side A rollicks, but
the flip side scores as well. “Filmen” with its gusts of
middle eastern melodies eventually turn “Midnight Express”
into a dance movie. “Psch” with the wet decay of old
angsty keyboards and a flair of secret agent guitar hit
the spot as well, delivering a death wish disco dirge
delight. Love the Stockholm Syncopated Syndrome delivered
here, a truly great find.

-Thurston Hunger

Big Blood – “Radio Valkyrie 1905 – 1917″ – [Feeding Tube Records]

Behold a Russian author’s mystic reprieve? A lost Jodorowsky
soundtrack? No the latest full flight from a band that had me before
their very first drop (talking walking Cerberus Shoal blues). As much
as I dug the revelation of the earliest donttrustheruin CDRs this double
12″ drop from the fine folks at Feeding Tube sounds like a crowning
achievement. Plus the packaging captures the motif of those homespun
art project CDRs. More music from the family hearth and ancestral
meadow in Portland, Maine of Big Blood. Patient psych, drawn out
without being strung out, outside folk with swells of voice and rustic
guitar. Field recordings, home cassette memories and sleepy music
boxes drift in. “Secret Garden” could be some electrified caveman’s
proto lute or a slide sitar, Caleb Mulkerin untangles the notes well,
and retangles them when needed. Colleen Kinsella’s voice, inherently
so pretty and soothing, forsakes bouquets and garlands for a trek
through brambles and weedy overdubs. Each of the four sides here
hold a spiral of songs, no breaks other than psychic ones. Personalitles
emerge, demiurges splurge. Muse meets muse, inspiration ping pongs
back and forth, themes are born and reprised, children are born and
harmonizied. Flutes fly in on “Ice Swells” even when a vocal stays
the same, “Everything is Improving.” This duo knows their mantras,
and it appears many of the lyrics here are tight phrase reductions from
the writings of Yevgeny Zamyatin, It’s more about how they are sung
then the words themselves, and how they recur as the musical themes
do here. Whether they deliver rocking chair anthems knitting kaleidoscopic
blankets, or spooky lullabies for vampire children hanging upside
down on backwards guitar, or ballads for dissident phantoms from
EVP broadcasts, Big Blood bleeds a rainbow of beauty. Valkyrie Eleison!

-Thurston Hunger

Higuchi, Keiko – “Ephemeral As Petals” – [Utech Records]

Whatever Egyptian priestess’ soul possessed Diamanda Gala
looks like she’s time-sharing with Keiko as well. Honest,
I tried to delete my memory of Galas rumble-screech
cocktail hour in hell piano blues/ballads when listening
to this, but every time some defunct synapse would sprout
a new axon. Higuchi is new to me, but apparently she’s made
complicated music with folks from Merzbow to Alan Silva.
She’s lithe but a force, check out the heavy improv at

From that, guitarist Masami Kawaguchi shows up here on #2
and #6, cool broken fingers on the frets. But Higuchi and
her power-gargled, nasal-flaringhell bent laments over
polished piano (its pedals are less ephemeral) are the
the supreme focus. Drums attack her, and she slings them
off. She sings in English some of the time, Japanese too
and the rest…maybe it’s Klingon? Or Martian, but from
the rough side of the red spot. Plus she’s either occupied
by multiple spirits or perhaps multitracked, but I the
listener was definitely outnumbered, even in the quieter
moments. The mandatory cover of “My Funny Valentine” is
about as straight as this album gets, but it still features
plenty of menace. Great use of dynamics throughout, and an
excellent surprise from the Utech label. How her stiletto
heel tore off my ear lobe while listening, I still don’t know.
-Thurston Hunger

Algiz – “Claire-Voie” – [Tursa]

1996 recording, not only produced by Tony Wakeford but released
on his Tursa label. Algiz, a quartet+ from Belgium, return the
favor and cover Death in June’s “Fall Apart.” That is the one
song in English, and the only one sung by Jean-Francois Brohee.
Everything else is in French, singer Leila Janssens offers fairy
tale madrigal voice over music that may have an earthy pagan folk
core (behold the 12-string guitar), but works in a lot of programmed
percussion in a deft, but not overpowering manner. So you get the
medieval rush of an artful joust with laser precision. For a variety
of reasons, I wish the lyrics were in English. Most of the second
half of the album, sans “Fall Apart” has no words (though some
excellent disembodied work by Janssens.) Mourning in the meadow
violin (Brohee) and cello (Alexandra Debert) join in fray. Check
the digital thunder stomp and tabla roll at the end of “Dehors, La
Plenitude I” (DJ’s may want to let that flow into II with Janssen’s
yearning vox.) “Organique” has an icy Projekt kind of feel, and
“La Chaise (sur l’eau)” floats on a weird chomping loop before the
renaissance festival hits. Actually that instrumental was my favorite
track, covering a lot territory and it sets up the Death in June
cover very nicely.
-Thurston Hunger

Body, The – “Master, We Perish” – [At a Loss Recordings]

Demonic duo of doom deconstructionists originally from Providence, RI and relocated to Portland have been belting out their broke-down, volatile, spare monolith of metal for a few years now. Overblown air-raid alarms over shredded sludge slop subduction wrought with tortured wretch vocals. Trk 2 starts with haunted choirs and voices creeping out the back of your head (FCC?) and settles into some disjointed drum machine blundering and blunderbuss blasting. Trk 3 is a Maori feedback war party ritual that induces some more delusional digressions and eventually explodes into one final outlash of fury before retreating back into trembling paranoid psychosis. Some truly disturbed music for supremely disturbed souls!

Insane Warrior, The – “We Are The Doorways” – [Electrical Connections]

Some say it’s an alter ego, I say it’s his genius. In 2011, RJD2 released this album as the Insane Warrior. It is supposedly inspired by 70???s sci-fi and horror flicks. The insanity may be the full indulgence , a head on leap into the lap of cheesy, whipped up, superr sick synth. I consider this more of a concept album. It has to be. The synth takes the spotlight. And when it does you get everything from blacksploitation, Beverly Hills Cop(3), 2001 A Space Oddessy(4), (1)Steve Wonder???s album, The Secret Life of Plants (one of my personal SW favorites), nearly the stairway to heaven on xylophone with rainsticks? NO? NO.. (6), yacht rock(7). Still RJD2 sounds are ever present(2) Six months ago this album was near rejection but second and thirds listens really made this album stick. AllI had to do is wait for it. All tracks instrumental.

Hermit of The Woods – “Land of The Lotus Eaters” – [Endemik Music]

What does the midwest and Halifax, Nova Scotia have in common? First, they are both light years from Hollywood. Second, it seems that the decca decade has yet to invade the culture. Hermit of the Woods, is Canadian rapper and spoken word artist who, in my opinion, cherishes the isolation from consumer culture. There is a mix of dark interludes with spoken word raps that will throw you back to the early aughts. The album is not perfect and it is better off for it. Track 2 reaches a place where it seems Busdriver met theDeftones in a smoky bar. But it works, only because it wasn???t the whole album AND there are music lovers who cream over that shit. Fortunately, other tracks may reminisce of Tricky, Sleep, and for that it???s a fair release. If Hermit stays in the woods, I expect it will just get better.

Camping [coll] – [BPitch Control]

This is the first in BPitch Control’s “Camping” collection series, celebrating their 100th release and focusing on artists from their inception in ’97 until 2002. Great stuff here and quite varied. Beats range from upbeat dance oriented like Sascha Funcke and Sylvie Marks & Hal2000 to the more contemplative like quirkiness of Ellen Allien and IDM-ness of Modeselektor, Paul Kalkbrenner and TimTim. “Blutenspab” starts off with an interesting country style into and morphs into a Kraftwerk with female vocals (very Miss Kitten, except German), Housemeister’s “Do What You Wanna Funk” is totally Peaches singing about not being a midget, Smash TV “What About Me” has vocals about sunbeams and rain falling with all processed vocals/autotune, its interesting and the disc ends with a not quite expected TimTim doing a folksy track with slide guitar. Something for everyone!

FCC: Housemeister “Do You..” “Bitch and possibly a muffled “Fucking” in a thick German accent at the beginning