Frequency - “Frequency ” - [Thrill Jockey Records]

Whoa! This was a drop-everything-else-I’m-listening-to kind
of release… Breezy yet powerful. Lucid melodies rival solo
flights for attention throughout, man this one focuses you
like a prism. Windy City wonder, everybody in this quartet
comes packing a flute, and this release has as much air as
Michael Jordan. The first two tracks start by flexing muscle,
with Avreeayl Ra splash battering and dry rolling the charge,
stellar numbers with Harrison Bankhead delivering that sort of
stately funk that Malachi Favored on the opener, while on
“Take Refuge” he’s buzzing up and down fretlessly and hitting
some big thwaaaangs especially at the end, that’s a triple
ganger off the diving board. Then on “Satya” the piece/peace
penned by Ra, the drums are stashed away in favor of a chime
intro, but eventually he whips up some wrist flurries and
Edward Wilkerson’s tenor goes for broke with Nicole Mitchell’s
flute nipping at its heels. Then the quartet goes celestial,
clockwork of the cosmos with kalimbas climbing. Epic! “From
the Other Side” has Bankhead skelter bowing, with squeaky
shrieks and tweaky reeds. Overall I think Mitchell’s flute
(and harp, vocals and such) are what give this release a
vibe of ceremonial bliss, but as the last cut “Serenity”
shows, she is not alone, that might be Ra on the primary
flute…definitely a “together” release.

-Thurston Hunger

Brazda Brothers, the - “Brazda Brothers, the ” - [Void Records]

Bucolic and pastoral sounds from European duo, as
recorded in RCA studios in Toronto, 1973. Bystrik
(B. Gin) and Andy Brazda rolled this entire LP into
the can in just under six hours (along with five other
musicians) for a 1974 release on the label;
‘Walking in the Sun? b/w ‘20th Century? saw a 7″
release that same year, with LP and single gaining
but slight airplay (and a bit of a cult following), mostly
in Canada. With succinct honesty and melodic (often
political) conviction, this collection of decidedly mellow
songs showcase a wonder of nature and a belief in small
(and not always random) kindness; though this was the
pair’s only album, they resurfaced with a 1977 single,
‘Time is Only a Setting Sun?, and were represented in
the NOW SOUNDS OF TODAY series. Ontario soft
rock, touched by fuzz and a meditative optimism.

MITCH July 2005

Boyskout - “Secrets ” - [Isota]

A-side here from band’s debut LP; also found on the
[Alive] compilation, ‘Sounds of San Francisco? ?
a by-now familiar tale of lead singer Leslie Satterfield’s
infatuation re: a girl made known through mutual
acquaintance, and bartering an infectious playfulness
amidst undeniable gloom. Bassist Daniel Deitnick,
singer/keyboardist China Lajczok, guitarist Satterfield
& drummer Caroline Walker Mills coupled their girl-on-
girl garage pop with a punk/goth/synth amalgamation
which originated in SF before relocating to Brooklyn.
B-side ‘Pictures from the Moon? came about earlier in
the BOYSKOUT canon (and is unavailable elsewhere).
Harmonically aggressive & lyrically subversive, these
tracks are both standouts in the ever-popular, limited
edition 45rpm format.

MITCH September 2004

Bovine Over Sussex W. - “Solid Space Inverse Universe ” - [Oska]

Members of Patcham UK outfit BOVINE OVER
SUSSEX W, ecclecticists all, began their own
[Oska] label a few years ago as a vehicle for
releasing copious self-made material without
hindrance of quality control or label interference.
To wit, this long playing episodic example of
sequencer abuse/dubious drum programming/
synth rumble/treated sounds/jungle chaos/weird
pulsations/non-linear pastiche & occasional
groove, all of it spilling over both sides like an
overloaded tour bus on the way to Experimental
Freedonia ?. Assembled in 1998 & undoubtedly
distributed by hand, BOVINE keeps it mysterious,
paradoxical and perplexing as to chemical in-
gredients & research techniques - only their
chemists know for sure. The rest of us can
only loop and find.

MITCH June 2002

Blue Pine - “Blue Pine ” - [Global Symphonic]

A posthumous release from British Columbia’s
BLUE PINE on Vancouver label of whacked
genius (ATLAS STRATEGIC, HACKSAW,
A LUNA RED, etc.). Roughing up a bevy of
roots-sources with the rumbling, indecipherable
Carey Mercer falling apart on lead vocals, and
featuring Carolyn Mark on a couple of tracks,
the band meanwhile contributes an impenetrable
backdrop of tremolo, slide guitars & much
snare-smashing amid the carnival-fed horror of
lyrical dementia. Frenetic, howling, non-sensical
and strangely beautiful in tearful, bloody portions,
BLUE PINE call to mind a vein that would have
to include THE RESIDENTS, JERK WITH A
BOMB, SOUL JUNK, etc., snarling with bizarre
juxtapositional culture-clubbing, bible-bashing &
raging melancholy. Some of BLUE PINE have
formed a band called FROG EYES.

MITCH July 2001

Bloodthirsty Lovers - “Delicate Seam, the ” - [French Kiss Records]

Savory, memorable and texturally adventurous second release
from David Shouse (GRIFTERS, THOSE BASTARD SOULS), Steve
Selvidge (BIG ASS TRUCK) and Kevin March (DAMBUILDERS,
GUIDED BY VOICES), a trio who seem to radiate outward in
concentric musical rings, while at the same time eluding easy
melodic summary. Shouse, who considers the BLOODTHIRSTY
project as much fun as ‘my rehab stint out of the numbing
world of major label sickness?, recorded this loose and keyboard-
drenched effort at home in Memphis, with assistance from pianist
Ross Rice (JILL SOBULE) and alluring vocalist Katie Eastburn (of
YOUNG PEOPLE) on # 8’s ‘Medicated?. LANGUAGE # 6
Spacious, digitally smooth/spontaneous, sarcastic/sincere,
romantic/self-deprecating and always deliciously amorphous,
the BLOODTHIRSTY LOVERS successfully combine veteran
acumen with an eclectic + contemporaneous sense of vision
that completely ignores genre continence or simplistic
categorization. Great stuff, this second one.

MITCH January 2005

Bitter Bitter Weeks - “Revenge ” - [My Pal God Records]

Producer/recording engineer Brian McTear (who of
late has recorded MAZARIN, CAPITOL YEARS, etc.)
used to front a band called MARINERNINE; this is the
second LP from BITTER BITTER WEEKS (following the
self-titled debut of 2003), again featuring partner Amy
Morissey. Along too, are a batch of crack Philadelphia
musicians such as Beth Case (SHE-HAW) & her backing
voice, pianist Brian Christinzio + drummer Ruth Keating
(MALARKIES). Romping ( # 3 - LANGUAGE), living for
the moment ( # 5), pensive ( # 10) and generally quite
desolate ( # 2, 6, 9, 11) throughout, McTear succeeds
with a talent for songwriting and sparse underproduction
(in the vein of Tim Kasher/Jason Molina/Will Scheff)
that is way above average. Live LUCYS cover ( # 7); anti-
war anthem ( # 1). Grim & courageous. R.I.P. Sara
Weaver (SWISHER).

MITCH October 2004

Bird By Snow - “Antlers and The Sun and All The Things That Grow Old and Pas ” - [Gnome Life]

Sidereal and wintry work hewn by Fletcher Tucker (vox, gtr,
autoharp, banjo, keyboards, loops, whistle) & Spencer Owen
(percussion, bass) whilst awaiting the arrival of Spring in Santa Cruz,
2004-2005. Languid and impossibly spent, musty in antiquarian
repose, a funereal banjo-[as-ukelele] below blackened skies,
winter-as-denouement, & sedulous mortality begetting the guile
inside hibernation?..dead deer & termites, the fern host to bark
beetles, BIRD BY SNOW is to folk what cave paintings are to
post-expressionism - a foreshadow of gestalt whose configuration
is so unified & elemental, that its properties cannot be derived ?
neither by a summation of parts or even by the detritus of modern
malaise that made this project necessary?.. blustery and just
possibly, the New Archaic.

MITCH July 2006

Wells, Bill - “Pick Up Sticks ” - [Leaf Label Ltd]

Glasgow’s BILL WELLS, whose OCTET & TRIO have been
crossbreeding floral filmatics & epic rock inside loose
jazz contexts for some years, collaborates here with the
famed trombonist Annie Whitehead ( WORKING WEEK,
CARLA BLEY VERY BIG BAND, PENGUIN CAF? ORCHESTRA ),
German keyboardist Barbara Morgenstern ( a noted vocalist
& songwriter ) and Dusseldorf’s Stefan Schneider ( KREIDLER,
TO ROCOCO ROT, MAPSTATION ) in a series of eight warm,
Intimate and brief improvisations. Armed with a background
palette of computer sounds recorded with the aid of Norman
Blake ( TEENAGE FANCLUB ), WELLS met the others in Berlin,
the sessions running to five days with the engineering expertise
of Bernd Jestram ( TARWATER ). Wells says, ‘We had a lot in
common; strong melodic sensibility and a desire to keep things
simple?.’ Building from synthetic samples & beds of soft
clicking, Whitehead’s trombone in multi-track (check the ostinato
on # 3) is a very human and muted set of tones in quiet shift with
Morgenstern’s keyboards ( # 5 + 8 ) and Schneider’s weightless
bass (and subtle warmth). Compelling, all in all - and surprising.

MITCH August 2004

Bevel - “Down the Puppet String, Mario ” - [Jagjaguwar Records]

Via Nuon (MANISHEVITZ, CURIOUS DIGIT) dips backward and
forward for his third solo release (following 2002’s masterpiece,
‘Where Leaves Block the Sun?, mainly with some work began as
long ago as 1998, remixed & upended with the able assistance
of Michael Krassner (piano, etc.), Gerald Dowd (drums) & the
mournful sounds of Deanna Varagona (baritone sax). Included
here is the DONOVAN cover meant originally for the
tribute compilation ( # 2) and five other most afferent fragments
heavy in Day Residue and a memory of a dream-day still immersed
in its own construction. Nuon’s sense of avoided trauma is, as
always, heightened by his first line of defense mechanism, which
is an unfailing sense of melody in the service of art (could Varagona
sound more like a cellist?) where colors and textures subdue the
most rampant of fears manifest in his musical subconscious, and
therein lies the secret - of a gentle soul whose perceptual powers
address a kinesthetic imagery of tracked thoughts (people & places)
and tasty guitar licks that are ever >outro in a life of farewells - sad,
denuded and somehow out of the reach of fantasy or primogeniture.
Flashing with simple beauty like the purest of gestures, BEVEL is a
most subtle and inspired genius in his own right. Noncancomparesville.

MITCH December 2003

Cossa, Benji - “Vault Volume One ” - [Magic Marker Records]

The cream of the crop from ten years of home taping, BENJI
COSSA gets a proper full-length release at last with these 17
tracks (recorded between 1995 and 2000). Mostly stripped to
the bone production-wise, with ukulele/guitar/potluck percussion
joining bittersweet relationship reveries of the luckless-in-love
variety?.
‘When you said our love was like lightning
here comes the thunder
and ‘I’m afraid of the noise?.’

Written amidst peregrine wanderings taking him from Providence
RI to Portland OR to Sacramento CA & finally Brooklyn (where he
currently resides), COSSA bears his heart with unabashed tales
of melodic misadventures and covetous constraints - all quality-
crafted, listener friendly & back burner warm. MITCH November 2005

Below the Sea - “Les Arbres Depayseront Davanta ” - [Where Are My Records]

Crucial second release nearly dispels Montreal ‘post-rock? tag
for instrumental trio Patrick Lacharite (gtr, sampler, keys), Pascal
Asselin (drums) and Mathieu Levesque (bass) - that is, find most
of the muscularity in the first 5 tracks, then the trap kit and bass-
lines solve the disquiet, moving from the wrestling chair to the sea
where flight soars over linearity in a long series of poignant arcs?.
dipping here, grieving there (# 7, with Maude Smith Gagnon),
terminals separated (#10, Sylvain Chauveau piano) and tracing
the course of a distant and heavenly body (# 12) in desolate orbit.
Beyond the Valley of ‘The Loss of Our Winter? (2000), this is the
band’s follow-up - wider, deeper, longer PanaVisions of Patrick
Lacharite that free themselves from depayse geometry to a per-
meability less than that of vacuum - magnetism opposite to
iron - less metal, more diamagnetism in the physics and a class
of emotional substances wholly subjective. Film music better than
films, where you make your own. Asselin also in GLIDER with
guitarist Gavin Baker (BILLY MAHONIE). Opacity finds emulsion.
MITCH October 2002

Bella Vista - “Midway ” - [Orange]

BELLA VISTA was a Washington, D.C. trio whose
sole output was limited to 7″ vinyl : their first (and
best) EP for [Matinee], ‘Was the Last? (1998), this
record [released the same year] and a split EP with
the BEST WISHES on [Turn Up the Treble!], 1999.
These three songs recorded in Philadelphia and
engineered by Ben X. Kim (CLOCK STRIKES
THIRTEEN), including a surpassing cover of ‘My
Boy and His Motorbike?, written by the estimable
Elizabeth Price & found on the final CAROUSEL
LP (vocal here by Jenny). Mark Powell has since
moved on to New Cross Gate (South London) and
become half of PIPAS (decidedly more bossa-pop),
but BELLA VISTA left much to cherish in the way
of indiepop taste and leisure, evidenced by lead track
‘Midway?'’it’s not the end, it’s just the beginning?’
Tender trappings to remember them by.
MITCH December 2002

Beequeen - “Gund ” - [Plinkity Plonk]

BEEQUEEN (Dutch duo of Frans De Waard [see
also his recordings as KAPOTTE MUZIEK, QUEST,
SHIFTS + CAPTAIN BLACK] and [staalplaat] staff
member Freek Kinkelaar, publisher of Vital Weekly)
make with the sonic artifacts here (tracks # 1-4 are
delicate examples of static drift, recorded back in
early 1998 for an aborted 12″ release; tracks # 5
(BEEQUEEN edits MSBR) and # 6 (MSBR edits BEE-
QUEEN) were originally meant for a collaborative
project with Japanese noisemaster MSBR (ongoing
saga of Koji Tano). BEEQUEEN, with many another
release for [infraction], [korm Plastics] in the
Netherlands and elsewhere, keep it all distant ?
letting the low end rustle and thrum in a modicum
of tasteful, minimal pulsations. These are prolonged
atmospherics of mid to higher waveforms, filled with
a sort of atheistic respiration?’? MITCH July 2004

Beans - “Crane Wars ” - [Zum Media]

Vancouver quintet returns with second LP (after
‘Tired Snow’EP in 2000), continuing their blend
of standard/experimental rock instrumentation,
homemade string/percussion, electronics, turn-
tables + tape machines. A compelling work of
studio craft & musical spontaneity, BEANS use
textural guitars/drums to great effect, providing
the occasional voice almost as afterthought to
punctuate the clashes and closures. BEANS
(Damon Henry on bass, Ida Neilson on trumpet,
piano & accordion, Andrew Herfst with drums/
loops/f/x, guitarist Stefan Udell + vox and gtr.
from Tygh Runyan) have scored two Canadian
films (’Red Deer? and ‘13 Trains?) and are
collaborating with David Crompton on a third.
A multi-media sensibility connects it all, from
dissonance to blaring horns to running water;
weariness dashed to bits by dizzying frenzy in
an unbalance of random tempo & eerie lyricism.
Courageously confounding. MITCH
September 2001

E*Vax/B. Fleischmann [coll] - [Audio Dregs Records]

First release in postcard series couples America’s E*VAX
with Austrian B. FLEISCHMANN, with fine work from
both represented. ‘Water to Our Ankles? from the
U.S. side features complex beat structures rife with
the usual subtlety. E*VAX has released singles on
[adr] & [static Caravan]; also appeared on last
year’s fine [moor Music] compilation. He does
amazing things with sound manipulation of various
household auditory sources, inventively twisting
them into rhythmic patterns. B. FLEISCHMANN favors
the amalgamation of abstract experimental electronics
and pristine, wistful melodics. On ‘Le Desir?, he lets
the slow-motion beat become a rolling mellow organ
wave, interspersing it with fizz and clicked bits - all a
bit like a mint sprig floating on ice. Split this.
MITCH July 2001

William Bolcom “Songs of Innocence and of Experience” [Naxos]

This release is superlative in all facets. It deserves your attention.

William Bolcom, a reigning dean of American composition, is only found in our library as pianist (on an album of Gershwin). We finally welcome his music to our library with his magnum opus, an award-winning recording of his complete (3 CDs) setting of William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience. It was recorded live in Ann Arbor in 2004 with Leonard Slatkin conducting the small army of orchestral musicians, choirs (plural!), and soloists. The usual orchestra is supplemented with a drum kit or two, some electric guitars, a banjo, and a few harmonicas… you get the idea. Performances of this piece, which took Bolcom 20 years to write, are rare and qualify as an Event. Bolcom took liberties with the order of the various songs, which have also inspired countless other artists (see albums by Greg Brown & David Axelrod, and many many individual song settings: search our library for ‘Tyger? to see one of the more inspirational of Blake’s poems).

The music is amazing. A wide variety of moods is established, most commonly a cowboy/life-on-the-plains sensibility (that’s where the banjo & harmonicas come in). Most of the singers are understandable; don’t be afraid of the tenor or soprano who unleash the unintelligible opera voice. Sometimes there’s clever melding of music to text, like the flittering fluttering of The Blossom. Most of the time, it’s simply powerful music: lyrical song passages, frantic choral passages, and sweetly dissonant orchestral passages.

Nearly all of the tracks clock in under (and even well under) 5 minutes. DJs, this is magnificent modernish classical music that fits easily into your break clock, and there’s plenty of room for creative programming. I listed a few individual highlights below, but if you don’t have time for lots of Bolcom, try playing corresponding Innocence/Experience songs (e.g. The Lamb/The Tyger, or Little Boy Lost/Little Girl Lost), try playing other pieces inspired by the same Blake poem (e.g. Bolcom’s Tyger, Tangerine Dream’s Tyger, Henry Cowell’s Tiger - search our library), or try playing 2 or 3 in a row, the music as a whole has an excellent flow. You especially can’t go wrong at the work’s climax in Part VI (Disc 3 from track 10 on), a blood-pumping finale to a landmark American work.

A few highlights to help you get started:

The Shepherd (CD 1 Tr 4): Country fiddle tune
The Little Black Boy (CD 1 Tr 6): Underpinned by a motowny electric bass and punctuated with harmonica
Holy Thursday (CD 1 Tr 11): Triumphant fanfare with the chorus
The Chimney Sweeper (CD 1 Tr 14): Cocky narration
The Divine Image (CD 1 Tr 15): Gorgeous lullabye for soprano.
Nurse’s Song (CD 2 Tr 5): Simple minstrel ballad for soprano and guitar
The Tyger (CD 2 Tr 7): For frantic narrative mixed chorus and rumbling drums
The Little Vagabond (CD 2 Tr 12): Catchiest melody of the whole set, more electric bass lines and harmonica interjections while the mezzo (Joan Morris, Bolcom’s wife) sings a carefree lilting tune.
Vocalise (CD 3 Tr 10): a capella wordless chorus, short melodic fragments interrupted with great sighs
London (CD 3 Tr 11): Terrifying vision of London, delivered ?-la-Lloyd-Weber, except better.
A Divine Image (CD 3 Tr 16): Constantly rising fragments to a calypso beat, crashing drums, triumphant finishing fanfare.

From CD 3 Tr 10 to the end is a phenomenal 30 minute block.

-Cujo, KFJC, August 2006

Willem Breuker Kollektief with Vera Miles and the Mondriaan Strings “Gershwin/Breuker/Morricone/Schlippenbach” [BVHaast]

The Kollektief continues to play jazz like it’s going out of style. On this release they continue their Gershwin tribute with the Mondriaan Strings (see other Breuker CDs), offering An American In Paris, Promenade (The Real McCoy), Lullabye, and the Cuban Overture. These pieces succeed (or don’t succeed) on the same level as their previous Gershwin disk: great energy, an old school jazz ensemble, and captivating changes of mood, but underwhelming tutti passages.

There are 4 non-Gershwin numbers on the disc too. As much as I hate to pass over George, they are more interesting. Leading off is Breuker’s Sahara Sack, an elephant-borne trek through a humid northern Thai jungle. Sweat drips over distinctly southeast Asian swinging riffs, all the while Andy Altenfelder plays a delicious pachydermic trumpet . I expect Indiana Jones to come crashing through the undergrowth.

Then there’s Ennio Morricone’s Revolver (we’ve got the original in the library). What ought to be a jaunty ride peppered by fierce timpani, piano, and string attacks alternating with a smooth sax second theme instead turns out to be a frustratingly repetitive nightmare. Never having heard the original, I felt let down by the promise of the first 3 minutes. While definitely still Cool, this track maybe needs more electric/electronic sounds (there’s just a hint here and there) or a video projection of Steve McQueen, gun in hand, chasing bad guys on the 110th floor of a skyscraper that’s under construction.

Breuker’s Hallo Tokyo, Hallo Van Agt is bizarre and the least Kollektief-esque I’ve ever heard. While the ensemble weaves its way through some pentatonic world, a battery of Asian gongs are randomly struck while several people interject with wordless guttural Japanese-y interjections. An aimless shenanigan about an eccentric Dutch prime minister turned ambassador to Japan.

Von Schlippenbach’s Minor Double Blues is the most successful track on the album. On top of the infectious melody and the drummer riding the cymbal, this track has what is sorely lacking on the rest of the album: solos. When the saxophone first starts to wail, I can’t describe what a relief it was to hear after listening to the album from the beginning. But the bass solo that follows is greater; maybe the best bass solo I’ve ever heard (disclaimer: I have not heard a lot).

-Cujo, KFJC, August 2006

Note to future biographers: In case you think I slight Gershwin in this review, I note that the Cuban Overture is my favorite Gershwin, it brought me much pleasure to hear it (and the others), and that the bridge out of the slow middle movement is one of my all-time favorite moments in music.

Konitz, Lee / Talmor, Ohad String Project - “Inventions ” - [Omnitone]

Alto saxophonist Konitz has had a long, distinguished career on the international jazz scene. No matter what the setting, his impeccable musical instincts are always on display. This CD combines his smooth, always in control alto with fine work by composer/ arranger/ reedman Talmor and an Austrian string quartet. The classic collaborations of Miles Davis and Gil Evans were used as a working model for this project, and, great as those recordings were, I prefer the immediacy of this material; instead of the huge spacious orchestras favored by Evans, we get a rough little ensemble of strings and reeds, with improvising tendencies, supporting the soloist. The setup works especially well when Talmor is adding his bass clarinet to the mix.

Espvall, Helena “Nimis & Arx” [Fire Museum / Pax Recordings]

Laborious avant classical sawing cello action slits the throat. The spirit escapes through the slash wound to gather its surroundings. Faintly whispering strings moan & mourn. Moving forward beyond death’s door finds us hovering through ethereal alter realities both foreign & stunning. Serene Central Asian recorder glides smoothly over plink & pluck harp tones and deeply chilling audio manipulations. Venial violoncello sins are cleansed and pronounced purgatorial sounds flicker down vaulted marble corridors. Lamenting liturgical litanies grieve out from Espvall’s inspired instruments. Her angelic voice sobs softly, frustrated and torn over death’s bittersweet invitation into the afterworld. Rather than embrace Heaven or take the straight line leading to Hell, her tormented ghost climbs from the crypt, clinging to an empirical realm where she wails woeful cello psalms and semi-disturbing haunted hymns. This might just creep you out as well as offer strange comfort. 3WR: Devotion Through Damnation.