Music Reviews

Donkey – “Show” – [Accretions]

Thurston Hunger   5/29/2006   A Library, CD

Two Sound Diego pioneers, circled the wagons,
laptops, and amps to create the Trummerflora
Collective, flowering upon mechanical and
computer decay. Hans Fjellestad (keys and
circuits) & Damon Holzborn (secret guitarist)
emit transmissions that evolve and evolve
quickly! Percussion plied by signal squelch
or waveform attack…kinda like legend Oscar
Sala in that manner maybe using samples too
or some sorta electroacoustinc whacking? Some
element is giving this more definition than
buzz, bleep, scritch, flick. The landscape is
cold, but not a vacuum. Matt Ingalls is a
welcome guest, killer-on-a-catwalk violin on
#6, crazy juggling jumps of clarinet to match
Damon’s guitar on #2. #4 is a foggy funhouse!
-Thurston Hunger

Ultra Living – “Transgression” – [Bubble Core Records]

Thurston Hunger   5/29/2006   A Library, CD

Two Nonakas attempt to make a right. This
albums grasp may be hampered by its reach.
I mean there’s packaged soul/R/B vox from
Kyoko Brown on tracks 5/9, an Ornette cover
with saxes rollerskating around laptops,
the lead track is footsteps in the lowkey
Bossanova expeditions of Arto Lindsay.
There’s hip hop pop and poetry stuttersplice
on #2. Gotta cite beatbox on #9 too. A lot
of electronic cooking, and crossing of
signals on all cuts. Are these two brothers
the bastard sons of Riuchi Sakamoto?
Working to earn that “Ultra” -Thurston Hunger

Robochanman – “Struggledriver” – [Ground Fault Recordings]

Thurston Hunger   5/29/2006   A Library, CD

Imagine everything crashing. A harsh clamour
with an essence of the grating of chains. At
times you can almost hear a scream, but is
it out of fear or exhillaration? Each song
tends to start with a brief sort of sonic
vision that generally gets waylaid. The last
two cuts oscillate more discernibly to their
bloody ends, at the very end of the closer
the applause itself is odd, so perhaps this
was processed post-performance as well. Very
extreme. -Thurston Blister

Slusser/Utah Kawasaki [coll] – [Dolor Del Estamago]

Thurston Hunger   5/29/2006   7-inch, A Library

Intriguing bandido label that may have been
started by Charlie Ward back in 1986 near
New Hampshire?’ But did the Nafta shuffle
at some point…or did they? Releasing
avant material, that may not be licensed
to them? A mystery wrapped in an enigma,
deep fried in a chimichanga. ?’s continue
here as I’m not sure if Slusser is David
Slusser, a dash of theremin on one side
might suggest it is. Someone enlighten us.
Meanwhile the music
Mask side is a live audio adventure –
cathode arcing, wood creaking, speaker
freaking, Mexican radio thefts, dancing
mainframe LED’s, theremin curlicues, a
digital waiting room, vocal percussion,
harpsichord terpsichore, wobbly analog
waves. Recommended headfun.
The flip (Utah Kawasaki?’) is high
pitch twitchy glitchiness. With the
feel of a series of false starts at a
track race. Irritainment. -Thurston Hunger

Jarboe – “Disburden Disciple” – [Self Produced]

Thurston Hunger   5/29/2006   A Library, CD

Sepulchral chanteuse weavers her venomous voice
through a forest of hunting basslines, harpies
on harps, wolves beying, guitars spraying blood.
The cuts are deep here, hidden beneath the
flesh this time. Self-inflicted, self-produced,
self-owned. Songs build slowly, teasing like
mountains poking through clouds, glistening
eventually at the tops. That sonic shimmer of
latter Swans/M. Gira releases. Programmed
tribal drums and her high priestess self
channelling multiple voices of ache, of age,
of anguish…of tormenter and tormented. I am
transfixed by her strange range of voice. Jarboe
journeys to Israel and discovers the irony and
ire of “Pure War”, she journeys to hell and hands
the damned torch songs. -Thurston Hunger

Bonefied – “Trombone Revenge” – [Zerx]

Thurston Hunger   5/29/2006   CD, Jazz

Tar pit swoon, dem bones, dem bones, dem trombones.
Five of ’em! Sure flutes flutter by at times (#5),
tuba tumbles and tabla traipses in too. But it’s
all about the slide, the smurt, the thamp, the meat
and gristle of the t-bone. Mostly free form save an
initial incantation, an Ellingtoon (#4) and a sort
of bump and grind doo-wop to close up shop recorded
in gymnasium-fi. Raga transplant on #5 was my fave.
Those sliding bumps/bursts are just lewd…whether
rising like an eyebrow, or slipping down like trousers.
Tar pits, taffy and trombones. -Thurston Hunger

Clocked Out Duo – “Every Night the Same Dream” – [Self Produced]

Thurston Hunger   5/29/2006   A Library, CD

Experimental link of piano and percussion from
upside-down-land. While the Dream may remain the
same, the “songs” here don’t. Lead track leaps
into your ears and through alleys chased down
through a drip-drop faucet beat. Exhilliratatatat.
“and now for the news” shows the pretty pachinko
plink of Vietnamese, triggering instant percussion.
“Practice” brings a sort of David Moss, inhale
and intone vocal improv in. “Bonedance” has a
runaway player piano pulse, and the album ends
with a steep drone. Erik Griswold piano and
Vanessa Tomlinson perculaticussion. Play some
clock around your rock. -Thurston Hunger

Polar Goldie Cats – “Polar Night Stress” – [Up Records]

Thurston Hunger   5/29/2006   A Library, CD

Skating on a frozen lake music – ice is cracking
along broken guitar string lacerations. As artwork
indicates, not a lot of color to this release…
harsh mechanical melodies. All instrumental,though
you can almost hear the band counting off on some
songs. Isonote and chordless, “Debut” builds an
amazing glacial pyramid of sound. Music to shiver
to? Goosebump and snowgrind. Herky gypsy feel.
Tundra abundance, algorithmn and arctic blues.
-Thurston Hunger

Black Sun Ensemble, the – “” – [Camera Obscura]

Thurston Hunger   5/29/2006   A Library, CD

Instrumental, sun-dazed, desert psyche…Jesus
Acedo wanders out in the baking sands and peyote
oases to deliver guitar mirage barrages. He’s
followed by John Brett on some steady executioner’s
drums…and mellow mantra bass from Michael
Gilderwell. Sunshine sustain, distorto-dust storms,
Jesus’ guitar rings clear as the sky at noon…
fierce as the wind at night. A brilliant yet rough
trip, which evidently mirrors this talented artist’s
life as well. Ghost guest violin on track 7,
lap stolen slither on last track. Mystic music,
add to our guitar god pantheon bonfire. -Hunger

Resonance Vol 7 Num 2 [coll] – [Resonance]

Thurston Hunger   5/29/2006   A Library, CD

CD accompanying excellent UK magazine, this
issue focusing on the stuff we’d file as
“international” music…i.e. the majority
of music in the world. Co-edited by jazz
saxstar Evan Parker and Robert Reigle. We
start close to the shores of Resonance, the
three lead tracks are airs sung in English,
“She Moved Through the Fair” is crystalline
in its longing and beauty. Sudden transport
via Mexico, a walking dream stolen from
Oaxaca…found sonic footage. The pieces
from the Reite villagers (Papua New Guinea)
seem otherworldly, the product of all-night
ecstatic celebrations. Weird production on
John Wynne’s 2nd contrib #7 make that a
murky stand-out. Album grows in fervor and
number of participants and then the end is
again a solo, this time a powerul Kiowa
chant. Born alone, die alone but we live
with music. -Thurston Hunger