Music Reviews

Arabella – “Arabella” – [Spacement]

whngr   7/2/2021   7-inch, A Library

Crusty female-fronted Scream(?) Punk

Stoppy starty.

Clean/filthy vox.

Delicate/destructive.

Warbly and dissonant.

String harmonics.

Slow/fast.

Sweet/tortured.

Frenetic guitar (with up-strokes and angles) over note-intensive noodly bass runs.

Syncopated hand claps.One-two shuffles.

Passion meets lethargy like early west-coast Emo (Heroin or Indian Summer) with a bit of a Dischord Records sound. The innocence of youth corrupted by a lack of effectuality.

Dig the tripped out transparencies in the packaging, this might have felt pretty innovative at the time.

Their final release feels a bit dated for 2021, just like… your source (for convalescence).

No discernable FCC’s.

Reno, NV 2004

Nihill – “Grond” – [Hydra Head Records]

whngr   7/2/2021   A Library, CD

Longform Gnostic Black Metal from the Netherlands.

Clean, harsh, and artful in their portrayal of deep suffering.

Noisy interludes. 

Skulls crushed, serpents writhe, whispers hushed, sun dies.

Sounds large and perhaps high-minded but this does not detract from the power.

Hypnotically repetitive and demonically representative.

Nihill hung it up in 2019 when their lead screacher/bellower (Michiel Eikenaar) succumbed to cancer at 42.This album constitutes their second release in 2009.

Zone Six – “Live Wired 2004” – [Nasoni Records]

SlartiBartfast   6/29/2021   A Library, CD

Psychedelic, spaced out, jams from Zone Six circa 2004’s Live Wired. With ample progressive ear tickles, Live Wired is an exemplary musical specimen of stoner, kraut rock and psychedelia. This line up includes Dave Schmidt on spacebass, Martin Schorn on synth, Julius-K on guitar, and Walt Jahn on drums. Tracks 1-5 recorded live 8, Oct 2004 at Sudhaus Tubingen, and Track 6 at Schlachthof Lahr 16, Oct 2004. Grab your refreshments and enjoy the mindful, musical experience.

Octopus Inc. – “Mere Things & Mindless Creatures” – [Kracfive]

aarbor   6/29/2021   A Library, CD

Octopus Inc. is Noah Sasso of Chicago. This is his very first release from 1999. He’s definitely playing with sound here. The music is either gentle, subtle or sustained, then sometimes crunchy or chunky. He plays rough against smooth, metallic beats with a smooth melody. Or sometimes [as in track 5] squitchy liquid beats. Sasso is still creating and releasing records under several aliases. AArbor

Pas Musique – ‘Psychedelic Talismans’- [Alrealon Musique]

Thee Opinataur   6/29/2021   12-inch, A Library

This electronic sound image has a very psychedelic effect and with its beats and mystical sounds, which in addition to the computer and keyboards includes electric guitar.

Tense guitar notes that emerge twisted and strangled alongside the impatient palpating beats, with an emerging sense of unease that surfaces in places. For the most part, there’s a certain mellowness that permeates the album. 

Side 1

Track 1 – Splash of Red Touch – perhaps the inspiration for the luscious red vinyl this album lives, an appropriate opening of welcoming the listener to this psyched-out journey. An uneven, sporadic beat underlies this kaleidoscopic visionary piece. 

Track 2 – Collected Fictions Brightly -An urgent Deep bass foundation, tribal and primitive, inaudible voices yearning to connect.

Track 3 –In Likeness of Me – Acid Swirl Open, playful rhythm halfway through, Field Recordings of random casual conversations to create a dreamlike sonic state

Side 2

Track 1 –ABC of the Telephone – Throbbing, delicate color illuminations. Lost at times is the listener trying to find their way on this trippy, psychedelic listen. Tribal, Convoluted, frustrating journey of sorts as it dares to alter its course to suit your comfort zone. 

Track 2 – The Hour – A warning illuminated that the end is indeed near. Irregular beats, awakening your mind and giving you a glimpse of the final moments. 

Track 3 – La Bas – with its cloudy, psychedelic guitar riffs, it captures the essence of the artist’s spirit, wonderfully dark, with a peaceful close. 

Recorded as a solo project by Robert Pepper during the Covid Lockdown, April – June 2020, released in February 2021. 

Genres = Electronic, Experimental, Psychedelic, Krautrock

Thee Opinataur

Frater Ximenes Is Dead – “Demo II” – [Fragile Branch]

whngr   6/25/2021   A Library, Cassette

Dark ambient synth, samples, reverb,and Black Metal.

Honestly pretty relaxing… (track 1 weird and meditative) until it isn’t (track 2 devastative and weird).

Dreary drones, chanting, no fidelity grinding and churning with vomitous expulsions of sick, samples, conjuring(?), and then… bird-song. Self described “Ritual Black Metal”  by this disturbed and disturbing two-piece. Limited to 66 copies, a quantity that would make it difficult to refute any claim to the “cvlt” moniker. That’s right, have a “scare quote” or two, but at the end of the day it is night… and that is the only appropriate time to listen to this sinister cassette from Fragile Branch Records.

Campania/Calabria Italy – 2013

Human Failure – “Crown On The Head of a King of Mud” – [Caligari]

whngr   6/25/2021   10-inch, A Library

Werrrrrrroouuuuughhhh…

Downtuned cacophony, appalling aural battery. Fucking rough. No restraint, no fucks given. The chaotic noise death of one Daniel Cornejo of California is an abhorrent expression of sweeping contempt for human existence in these dark and most troubling times. Put down this beautifully shrouded, noose themed split 10″ from Caligari/Sentient Ruin on virgin white vinyl and get back into the jazz closet you fucking neophyte. This is not for you… unless your name is Honey Bear… and in that case, welcome back my Queen.

Rot In Hell – “Termini Terrae” – [Dark Empire Records]

whngr   6/25/2021   7-inch, A Library

Crushingly wicked HXC with a few nods to Black Metal and a full-on Black Metal aesthetic.

The skies part… and behold! The heavens raineth fire upon thee… and the earth is consumed in CONFLAGRATION!

Pervasive destruction at a blistering pace, samples, chugs, riffs, one guitar solo (borrowed from RATT?), and a bit of resonant feedback from this emphatic three-piece. 

U.K. 2012

Tirelli, Armando / El Profeta

carsonstreet   6/24/2021   A Library, CD

One of the most famous progressive rock masterpieces from South America carrying a resounding resemblance to the 70’s Italian prog scene. Armando Tirelli wrote this concept album and performed all the keyboard work on the album (piano, mellotron, synths, organ). The soft vocals are by Armando and are in Spanish. Inspired by the writings of Gibran Khalil – yes The Profit – required reading in the hippie codex. Often referred to as symphonic prog. Uruguay’s gift to progressive rock.

Sherpa / Tanzlinde

carsonstreet   6/24/2021   A Library, CD

Tanzlinde is the debut album of the neo-psych band Sherpa from Abruzzo, Italy. You can hear influences of psychedelia and Krautrock invoking thoughts of Popol Vuh and Robert Wyatt. Eastern culture’s traditional music is also reflected here. Tanzlinde means a linden tree under the leaves of which the people find time to get back to themselves and connect to their deepest feelings. It’s a metaphor for strength but fast growing and so is the music. This album becomes better and more intense with every listen… released December 27, 2016.

Liquid Visions/The Lost Recordings

carsonstreet   6/24/2021   A Library, CD

Studio recordings from 2000. Lots of long tracks with beautiful instrumental parts. Spacy, garage, fuzz psychedelic jam rock. Liquid Visions was founded in Berlin in late 1994. They developed their sound which basically is a blend of garage/fuzz rock and spacey trips in combination with a light show when playing live. They were both ahead of their time and behind it. An acid blast from the past and the present. Very nice booklet tucked into the inside cover with lyrics.

Q-moog – "Arc of Blueness, The" – [SSR Records]

aarbor   6/23/2021   A Library, CD

Q-Moog is Roy Parker who was born in Brooklyn and relocated to the Detroit suburbs at age 12 when his mother died. There he was influenced by the music and musicians he found there. This is his first full length release from 1997. Some have described it as “leftfield” I would call it experimental – in a good way. He’s playing with contrasting sounds like crisp or sharp beats paired with amorphous sustained sounds. For me the standout track is Angela [7] which has lovely warm strings with beats. He took a break from the music industry and has re-emerged in recent years with new tracks and releases. Definitely a guy to listen to and to watch. AArbor

Penza Penza -“Beware Penza Penza”- [Funk Night Records]

SlartiBartfast   6/22/2021   12-inch, A Library

High energy, fuzzed out, funky soul that will melt your face off. Penza Penza is a side project of Estonia’s multi-instrumentalist and creator of an ever evolving musical catalogue, Misha Panfilov.  Misha’s Penza Penza collaboration is a celebratory master piece of funky, fuzzed out, psychedelic soul and R/B. A full LP stacked full of 3 minute songs that explore the funky side of life, and expands on that early fuzzy, psychedelic soul. Each track seems to stretch into eternity only to reset your ear to a new tight, funky adventure. Beware of Penza Penza, your speakers and ear drums just might melt away.

Der Blutharsch – “Track of The Hunted, The” – [Wir Kapitulieren Niemals]

whngr   6/18/2021   A Library, CD

Fascistic Austrian Fetishism

Intermittently sullen and victorious war chants employing various synthesized instruments by one Albin Julius. Industrial/Ambient, minimal, hypnotic, and unnerving marches with folkish, martial underpinnings.

 
Beware the forbidden sounds venerating German heritage. What could be more dangerous than an idea? Julius has refuted any allegiance to the far right but has been connected with politically active conservatives, especially in the early years of Der Blutharsch, and would often utilize the imagery and symbology associated with National Socialism and German expansionism further strengthening associations with the likes of Douglas Pearce of Death In June and Boyd Rice. Curiously his output has more recently (d)evolved to include elements of a fuzzed-out (dark) psych outfit with several permanent players. However, “The Track of the Hunted” is an early work and thus is rife with the sounds that would one day trigger and propel Antifa into the streets to incite, harangue, bludgeon, and castrate any and all who refute their authority. Be careful what you think, modulate what you say, and suppress what you might do… they may be watching and they are prepared to persecute and to punish for the crime of wrongthink.

Owl, The – “#46 Hibernation” – [Owl Ripper Recordings]

whngr   6/18/2021   A Library, CD

Slightly Glitchy Drones

Barren and isolated. Hypnotic. Intermittently jarring. 

Remote. Hollow. The discomfort of dissociation.

Cold and digital. Brooding. Sonic paresthesia.

“Sound experiments since 1994. As THE OWL since Autumn 2018. Headphones advised.” States the bandcamp page of The Owl, also known as Paul Priest, an extremely prolific creator of albums veering through the realms of ambient, noise, and ambient noise. This album amounts to one of the few (and quite limited [30]) releases available on a physical format, it is interesting to note that The OWL primarily issues his sounds via a growing network of enthusiastic net-publishers and is readily available for correspondence if you are interested in making contact with a recluse who seems to possess indominable amounts productivity and dedication to his craft.

Someplace: The Remixes [coll] – [FameFame]

cinder   6/16/2021   12-inch, A Library

A remix and interpretation collection of The Blameshifter’s (Tasman Richardson, also label founder) track, Someplace. The range of sounds on this album flow from dark horror, ambient drone, spooky shadowy experimental, IDM quirks, minimal beat and gloomy urges. If you didn’t know that it was a remix project, you wouldn’t be able to tell, each track is a completely different take – a perfect blend between being right on the cusp of deep sleep, and entering that sinister nightmare. Original track is on the B side, plus his own remix, as well as fantastic journeys from others! 

Legendary Pink Dots, The – "Pages of Aquarius" – [Metropolis Records]

cinder   6/16/2021   12-inch, A Library

I’m pretty damn picky with singing, but Edward Ka-Spel definitely is one of my favorite vocalists. His voice is so charming, delicate and whimsical – perfect for telling haunted fairytales and forlorn stories. This album came out in 2016, and delve into introspection, narcissism and self-loathing, mortality and the afterlife, destiny and social media. Electronics, piano, mellotron, guitars… it’s another great trip from The Dots.  

Sarabia, Chelique – "Revolucion "Electronica" En Musica Venezolana" – [Pharaway Sounds]

aarbor   6/16/2021   A Library, CD

José Enrique “Chelique” Sarabia is a Venezuelan poet, musician, publicist, and television producer. He has written more than 1000 songs. In 1971, he recorded an album of traditional and folkloric songs but gave them a modern touch, using specially developed electronic equipment. Chelique took traditional Venezuelan instruments like the cuatro and the bandola llanera, filtered them through oscillators, playing with feedback, tape delay, synthesized frequencies, echoing sounds. The result was this album. Originally, the album was sponsored by the Shell Company in Venezuela, given away to customers, employees, and friends of the company as a Christmas gift in 1973. It was called 4 Phases of Four – Venezuelan Music Electronically Developed by Chelique Sarabia. Once the exclusivity period with Shell was over, Chelique did a commercial release, this time using the current name which translates to The Electronic Revolution in Venezuelan Music. As a result, Chelique and his team were considered electronic music pioneers in Latin America. This album is a classic, some would say it’s ahead of its time, even today. [Tracks to check out: 2,5,9,10, 11, 12] AArbor

Peru Boom: Bass, Bleeps & Bumps From Peru [coll] – [Tiger's Milk Records]

aarbor   6/16/2021   A Library, CD

Compiled by DJ Chakruna, this is an introduction to the movers and shakers of Lima’s tropical bass scene who are taking traditional folk music and cumbia into more modern dance styles like dubstep, techno, grime, house and electronica. Lima is where the Andean, African and European cltures meet, and that shows up in the music. These artists often use old rhythms and melodies, splicing and cutting up original tracks then adding in new electronic textures and beats. Chakruna’s ‘Sonido Chichero’ [12] is probably the standout track, but there are plenty of other worthy tracks [4,5,10,13,14,16] Enjoy! AArbor

Larynx Zillion's Novelty Shop – "Southpaws Unite" – [Farfetched]

aarbor   6/16/2021   10-inch, A Library

Another project/persona of Laurence Miller is Larynx Zillion’s Novelty Shop. Here’s how one critic described it: “Mozart meets Beefheart and starts a theatre punk band.” Adam & The Ant’s glam-slam punk pop LP, “Kings of the Wild Frontier” was definitely an influence according to Miller.  Other influences from his past: The poly-rhythms of Charles Ives, the maniacal ravings of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Captain Beefheart’s free-flow rhythms, Cheap Trick’s power pop, Killing Joke’s primal perspectives, and Frank Zappa’s unorthodox approach to music and Rock ‘n Roll parody. AArbor