I'm not gonna lie, folks, I don't know where I'm going with this entry. I just got a bunch of kewl new muzak, but it's all on vinyl and I can't be arsed to find downloads or lug my turntable down here and make my own MP3s.
First item of business: Have a Nice Life's Deathconsciousness is finally on vinyl and up for pre-order! Get yourself a copy now; I know I sure as hell am not missing out on this again. If you haven't heard of this, it's basically a pitch-black shoegaze double album put out in early 2008 that took certain online music communities by storm (although it's fallen slightly out of favour and is not longer "album of the decade"). Lo-fi, homemade, and beautifully lush in a paradoxically dark way. It's a fucking beast of a record in every sense of the word. Download "Bloodhail" and start the Enemies List love.
Second item: yeah, I've splurged a bit and got me a handful of new records that I'll be talking about in the coming while. Prurient, The Mile End Ladies String Axillary, MV+EE, Woods, Nadja... if, for some reason, any of you have a preference as to which (if any) I write up, lemme know.
Final item: ok, I've got a thing! All this talk of shoegaze reminds me of a swell find: Toma. Unassuming name (although a quick Google search brings up "TOMA Foundation for Burned Children", which is equal parts horrifying, funny, and sad) and the fairly Explosions in the Sky-looking artwork aside (not an insult, mind you), this album is actually unique in the remarkably overcrowded post-rock genre. Shock! Gasp! Awe!
Opener "Sins Of A Solar Empire" sets the pace nicely, with a typical feeling post-rock sort of jam, but without the same quiet-build-intense formula; instead, Toma have some actual balls and keep it loud with a wonderfully blissed-out, expansive, and remarkably full sound. They mix up their other songs a lot, too, so if this record is anything, it's continually (and pleasantly) surprising: "This Day" is a fairly straightforward shoegaze song, not totally out of line with A Place to Bury Strangers (i.e. loud guitars, quiet vocals, good times), whereas "This is the End of Everything" is a beautiful, piano-led pseudo ballad.
One of the things that makes Toma stand out are the vocals. The singer (sorry, I can't find any proper credits for this record, so I'm going to continue making vague references like that. You know, when you're at a party and you forget a chap's name, so in a hilariously sitcom-esque fashion you do your best to always refer to him as "man" or "dude" or "brodawg"? Yeah, like that. I should also note that I am led to believe that this is a solo project, based on the write-up on the band's Myspace? If so, this whole shebang is fivefold as impressive as I thought. Holy fucking parentheses.) has an astounding, deep, rich voice perfectly suited for the massive music; sounds a lot like the fellow from iLiKETRAiNS (I still do not get that band name whatsoever), and times, like a slightly less polished Scott Walker (but to compare anyone to Scott Walker is sort of silly.) I can honestly say that, when he really pushes his voice, it's absolutely chilling; I literally got goosebumps in the climax of "Terrorforming", and it's definitely one of my favourite music moments of this year so far.
Could it get better? Hell yes it could: the whole thing is free. Do yourself a favour and give it a shot.
music is ok
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
SHOW REVIEW: MV+EE w/ Woods, $100
Folk rock extravaganza at my favourite local art gallery for $10? Sign me up.
First and foremost: the Whippersnapper Gallery is a fantastic venue. It is easily accessible by public transit (I'm looking at you, Sound Academy), suitably intimate (read: small), and since it is, at its core, an art gallery, it makes for a lovely place to see a show. As if that weren't enough, there's a very nice bunch of folks who run this place, and do their best to support local talent at a minimal cost to both the artists and the visitors. Seriously, catch a show or exhibit or party or anything you can there; this place deserves your support.
As for the show, it opened with $100, a local alt-country band getting a decent amount of buzz about them lately. That being said, I can in no way appreciate the genre they play, so I don't feel as though I can fairly say anything about their performance another than "I didn't like it" and "the free nachos at the makeshift bar were delicious and free."
Woods were undoubtedly the band that people came to see, as the crowd ballooned to twice its size after $100. They're the latest little buzz band, I hear? Whatever, it's well deserved: these guys write some viciously catchy fuzzed-out folk-pop, and balance it nicely with some psychedelic/jam elements. And, as if I needed more reason to love them, their live tape... player? Performer? Tapist?... is wildly entertaining: some sort of noise S&M enthusiast, masking himself with sideways headphones and abusing the shit out of a pedal-board-cum-DJ-set-up-cum-noise-factory. But despite the image, his drones and squeals and back-up vocals were tasteful and subtle, and added a ton to their live show, especially when things got far out, man.
I was kinda saddened that literally 75% of people left before MV+EE even began setting up, but fuck 'em, the hipsters only missed out on a great set. (I must also shamefully admit I had to leave somewhat early to catch the last bus home) They played with whatever band it is they have now (I believe it's the Golden Road) and kicked out jams from Gettin' Gone and the recent Drone Trailer, with each song being twisted and stretched into extended country-fried jam sessions, the highlight for me being the reinterpretation of the folk song "Hammer", with Erika Elder sounding as lovely live as she does on record, and Matt Valentine grabbing the Telecaster for some downright heavy fuzz riffage.
In addition to playing amazing sets, both Woods and MV+EE are composed for an extremely friendly bunch of people who manned their own merch booths and were more than happy to have a chat, and seemed genuinely grateful to everyone who talked and bought merch (and, y'know, certain drummers from certain jam bands gave props to certain bloggers for wearing a certain Comus shirt, which was also cool (certainly).
Great bands, great sets, great venue, great nachos... what's not to like?
Check 'em out if they come to your neck of the woods, and definitely stop by the Whippersnapper if you're in the GTA.
P.S. sorry it's been all live reviews lately; I'll get back to the usual this week!
First and foremost: the Whippersnapper Gallery is a fantastic venue. It is easily accessible by public transit (I'm looking at you, Sound Academy), suitably intimate (read: small), and since it is, at its core, an art gallery, it makes for a lovely place to see a show. As if that weren't enough, there's a very nice bunch of folks who run this place, and do their best to support local talent at a minimal cost to both the artists and the visitors. Seriously, catch a show or exhibit or party or anything you can there; this place deserves your support.
As for the show, it opened with $100, a local alt-country band getting a decent amount of buzz about them lately. That being said, I can in no way appreciate the genre they play, so I don't feel as though I can fairly say anything about their performance another than "I didn't like it" and "the free nachos at the makeshift bar were delicious and free."
Woods were undoubtedly the band that people came to see, as the crowd ballooned to twice its size after $100. They're the latest little buzz band, I hear? Whatever, it's well deserved: these guys write some viciously catchy fuzzed-out folk-pop, and balance it nicely with some psychedelic/jam elements. And, as if I needed more reason to love them, their live tape... player? Performer? Tapist?... is wildly entertaining: some sort of noise S&M enthusiast, masking himself with sideways headphones and abusing the shit out of a pedal-board-cum-DJ-set-up-cum-noise-factory. But despite the image, his drones and squeals and back-up vocals were tasteful and subtle, and added a ton to their live show, especially when things got far out, man.
I was kinda saddened that literally 75% of people left before MV+EE even began setting up, but fuck 'em, the hipsters only missed out on a great set. (I must also shamefully admit I had to leave somewhat early to catch the last bus home) They played with whatever band it is they have now (I believe it's the Golden Road) and kicked out jams from Gettin' Gone and the recent Drone Trailer, with each song being twisted and stretched into extended country-fried jam sessions, the highlight for me being the reinterpretation of the folk song "Hammer", with Erika Elder sounding as lovely live as she does on record, and Matt Valentine grabbing the Telecaster for some downright heavy fuzz riffage.
In addition to playing amazing sets, both Woods and MV+EE are composed for an extremely friendly bunch of people who manned their own merch booths and were more than happy to have a chat, and seemed genuinely grateful to everyone who talked and bought merch (and, y'know, certain drummers from certain jam bands gave props to certain bloggers for wearing a certain Comus shirt, which was also cool (certainly).
Great bands, great sets, great venue, great nachos... what's not to like?
Check 'em out if they come to your neck of the woods, and definitely stop by the Whippersnapper if you're in the GTA.
P.S. sorry it's been all live reviews lately; I'll get back to the usual this week!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
SHOW REVIEW: Wolves in the Throne Room w/ A Storm of Light, Krallice, & Thrones
Alright, updates should be back to normal now that, as of tomorrow, my school year is done (finally). And yeah, Tuesday updates aren't "normal", but I know all 4 of you are pining for something new to sate your need for my inimitable prose.
Normally, we all know the role of an opening band: to waste time before you get to see the band you paid to see. Ok, or bands the headliner respects and wants to expose to a wider audience, whatever. But by and large, these are not particularly groups you care about (my last show review completely notwithstanding, mind you.) Well, and to break some internal structure and acknowledge those last parentheses, this line-up was another exception: thee almighty eco-friendly epic black metal ensemble Wolves in the Throne Room, supported by A Storm of Light, Krallice and Thrones (just in case you didn't read the title, natch.)
A Storm of Light are a Neurosis-worshipping trio who, unsurprisingly, feature the ex-visuals... guy (visualist? visionary? visionsman?) from Neurosis themselves, who has also served stints in Red Sparowes and Battle of Mice, so the sludgy-credentials here are at waste-thick ooze out ofthat scene in Saw III with all the pig guts. (Which reminds me, I just saw Saw V, and how bullshit was that? (Along with Saws II-IV, mind you (but I digress!). Part of me wanted to think "oh my god, this is going to be so boss! And this album art is bomb, too, this will be the best damn thing since Isis!", while part of me knew that "all of these post-Neurosis bands are the same, ugh." Well, the latter turned out to be true, and while the female guest-vocals gave them some distinction, its by-and-large the same pseudo-atmospheric dirge tuned to drop-whatever.
(However, I did pick up their gorgeous Primitive North split with Nadja for a cheapo $20 (and you all laughed when I put off buying it!) and it's definitely worth your time, especially for the sidelong Nadja blissy, fuzzed-out drone that they do oh so well.)
Krallice were definitely set to impress, too, since they're the closest thing to a black metal supergroup since the short-lived Twilight, although curiously none of the members have any blackened credentials: the "ex-member of..." rollcall includes Astomatous, The Flying Luttenbachers, Orthrelm, and, inarguably the biggest draw, Colin Marston, of Behold... the Arctopus and several more-or-less interchangeable post-everything tech-wank bands. While I expected some sort of iffy, tech-black sort of deal, I was pleasantly surprised that there was nothing overly showy and the emphasis was on fierce, riff-heavy black metal. Shame about the minor sound problem (the vocals would overpower the stage-right speaker), but done well enough to spark my interest in the band. Well done.
By this point it seems like I could devote an entire entry to just listing the former projects of the acts on this bill: take Thrones, the solo project of Joe Preston. It would probably be easier to list the bands he hasn't worked with, but his resume includes tenures with the Melvins, High on Fire, Earth and Harvey Milk. And when you've played jackhammer on a Sunn O))) track, then no one will ever question your bad-assery again (and since apparently a bunch of you are questioning just how boss this guy is, he's loaded his everything with fucking bears.) Stylistically he was the odd-man out, opening with a lengthy drone/doom sort of thing that audibly confused some of the crowd, but this sort of thing is right up my alley, and goddamn did he make an oppressive layer of noise just looping his bass and fiddling with some samplers. Immensely powerful drones, followed by some extremely Melvins-esque "stoner rock" or whatever the tag is that one gives meaty-sounding, low-end heavy hard rock.
And finally, Wolves in the Throne Room have come out of whatever backstage ritual they were performing before the show and... well, carry it onto stage, as they dimmed the lights, lit candles, and cranked the fog machine to 11 to create a wicked atmosphere; this is how black metal is meant to be heard. For a bunch of outsider pseudo-hippies, Wolves can, to put it lightly, tear your fucking head of with raw black energy. Incredibly tight and remarkably aggressive compared to some of their recorded output, they were able to get heads a-banging' more thoroughly than any other band on the bill. (As a side note, $15 shirts are definitely the way to go; way to go, guys.)
For an open-minded metalhead, I'd dare you to find a better evening for $18.
Normally, we all know the role of an opening band: to waste time before you get to see the band you paid to see. Ok, or bands the headliner respects and wants to expose to a wider audience, whatever. But by and large, these are not particularly groups you care about (my last show review completely notwithstanding, mind you.) Well, and to break some internal structure and acknowledge those last parentheses, this line-up was another exception: thee almighty eco-friendly epic black metal ensemble Wolves in the Throne Room, supported by A Storm of Light, Krallice and Thrones (just in case you didn't read the title, natch.)
A Storm of Light are a Neurosis-worshipping trio who, unsurprisingly, feature the ex-visuals... guy (visualist? visionary? visionsman?) from Neurosis themselves, who has also served stints in Red Sparowes and Battle of Mice, so the sludgy-credentials here are at waste-thick ooze out ofthat scene in Saw III with all the pig guts. (Which reminds me, I just saw Saw V, and how bullshit was that? (Along with Saws II-IV, mind you (but I digress!). Part of me wanted to think "oh my god, this is going to be so boss! And this album art is bomb, too, this will be the best damn thing since Isis!", while part of me knew that "all of these post-Neurosis bands are the same, ugh." Well, the latter turned out to be true, and while the female guest-vocals gave them some distinction, its by-and-large the same pseudo-atmospheric dirge tuned to drop-whatever.
(However, I did pick up their gorgeous Primitive North split with Nadja for a cheapo $20 (and you all laughed when I put off buying it!) and it's definitely worth your time, especially for the sidelong Nadja blissy, fuzzed-out drone that they do oh so well.)
Krallice were definitely set to impress, too, since they're the closest thing to a black metal supergroup since the short-lived Twilight, although curiously none of the members have any blackened credentials: the "ex-member of..." rollcall includes Astomatous, The Flying Luttenbachers, Orthrelm, and, inarguably the biggest draw, Colin Marston, of Behold... the Arctopus and several more-or-less interchangeable post-everything tech-wank bands. While I expected some sort of iffy, tech-black sort of deal, I was pleasantly surprised that there was nothing overly showy and the emphasis was on fierce, riff-heavy black metal. Shame about the minor sound problem (the vocals would overpower the stage-right speaker), but done well enough to spark my interest in the band. Well done.
By this point it seems like I could devote an entire entry to just listing the former projects of the acts on this bill: take Thrones, the solo project of Joe Preston. It would probably be easier to list the bands he hasn't worked with, but his resume includes tenures with the Melvins, High on Fire, Earth and Harvey Milk. And when you've played jackhammer on a Sunn O))) track, then no one will ever question your bad-assery again (and since apparently a bunch of you are questioning just how boss this guy is, he's loaded his everything with fucking bears.) Stylistically he was the odd-man out, opening with a lengthy drone/doom sort of thing that audibly confused some of the crowd, but this sort of thing is right up my alley, and goddamn did he make an oppressive layer of noise just looping his bass and fiddling with some samplers. Immensely powerful drones, followed by some extremely Melvins-esque "stoner rock" or whatever the tag is that one gives meaty-sounding, low-end heavy hard rock.
And finally, Wolves in the Throne Room have come out of whatever backstage ritual they were performing before the show and... well, carry it onto stage, as they dimmed the lights, lit candles, and cranked the fog machine to 11 to create a wicked atmosphere; this is how black metal is meant to be heard. For a bunch of outsider pseudo-hippies, Wolves can, to put it lightly, tear your fucking head of with raw black energy. Incredibly tight and remarkably aggressive compared to some of their recorded output, they were able to get heads a-banging' more thoroughly than any other band on the bill. (As a side note, $15 shirts are definitely the way to go; way to go, guys.)
For an open-minded metalhead, I'd dare you to find a better evening for $18.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
SHOW REVIEW: Animal Collective w/ Grouper, May 16 @ the Sound Academy (Toronto)
Yes, yes, Animal Collective are the hipster garabe I've ever heard, but I wanted to believe it was just the Internet being the hate machine that it is wont to be. But fuck, Animal Collective have amassed the douchiest fan base ever, and yes, it's because of Merriweather Post Pavilion (and no, it is not the next Pet Sounds, goddammit.)
Don't get me wrong: I earnestly do like the band, and have for quite sometime. The last time I saw them was back in 2007 when they were on the verge of releasing Strawberry Jam. It was a good show, by all accounts: good sound, good set, good crowd.
Yeah, good crowd. I wish this remained true but alas, no. Grouper opened the show with a (slightly overlong for an opening act) set which I wish I could say I enjoyed, but it was drowned out by drunken chatter, sober chatter, booing, cries of "ANIMAL COLLECCCCTIVE!" and frankly disrespectful behaviour all around". I hate to sound like that bitter old man telling all the kids to git off his lawn (again), but seriously, some ounce of decency would be nice.
When Animal Collective did finally come on, I was pleasantly surprised they opened with "Chocolate Girl"; I'd like to think it was a conscious choice as a big "fuck you" to everyone there for "My Girls", and it did seem to leave the crowd a little disarmed (though it, unfortunately, didn't stop random "WOOOO!"s in the middle of the goddamn song). And guess what, folks? Your shitty cell phone pictures are going to look just like everyone else's. Put away your phone and enjoy the show. Did you really pay $25 so you could text in a new, exciting locale?
Though speaking of "My Girls", it was abundantly clear that that was why the majority of the crowd was there; that was when people starting dancing, that is when people did (could only?) sing along, that was when people decided it was a good idea to rush the stage. Same during "Brother Sport". And "Summertime Clothes". Hey, wait a second...
All in all, it was a decent set with decent sound (highlights being "Leaf House", "Comfy in Nautica" and the extended "Fireworks" jam) marred by the most obnoxious crowd I've ever counted. And as if I needed more reason to hate the Sound Academy (besides its absurd location, bottleneck exit and overpriced shows), what sort of venue allows drinks to be taken into the main concert area? The designated drinking area is designated as to keep drinks out of the show so you aren't stomping on cans or getting Heineken spill on your legs.
Fine enough show, but I'm not sure if I could deal with another crowd like that should they come back to town.
Setlist:
1. Chocolate Girl
2. Comfy In Nautica
3. What Would I Want Sky
4. Lion In A Coma
5. My Girls
6. Guys Eyes
7. Fireworks
8. Leaf House
9. Brother Sport
Encore:
10. Chores
11. Summertime Clothes
Don't get me wrong: I earnestly do like the band, and have for quite sometime. The last time I saw them was back in 2007 when they were on the verge of releasing Strawberry Jam. It was a good show, by all accounts: good sound, good set, good crowd.
Yeah, good crowd. I wish this remained true but alas, no. Grouper opened the show with a (slightly overlong for an opening act) set which I wish I could say I enjoyed, but it was drowned out by drunken chatter, sober chatter, booing, cries of "ANIMAL COLLECCCCTIVE!" and frankly disrespectful behaviour all around". I hate to sound like that bitter old man telling all the kids to git off his lawn (again), but seriously, some ounce of decency would be nice.
When Animal Collective did finally come on, I was pleasantly surprised they opened with "Chocolate Girl"; I'd like to think it was a conscious choice as a big "fuck you" to everyone there for "My Girls", and it did seem to leave the crowd a little disarmed (though it, unfortunately, didn't stop random "WOOOO!"s in the middle of the goddamn song). And guess what, folks? Your shitty cell phone pictures are going to look just like everyone else's. Put away your phone and enjoy the show. Did you really pay $25 so you could text in a new, exciting locale?
Though speaking of "My Girls", it was abundantly clear that that was why the majority of the crowd was there; that was when people starting dancing, that is when people did (could only?) sing along, that was when people decided it was a good idea to rush the stage. Same during "Brother Sport". And "Summertime Clothes". Hey, wait a second...
All in all, it was a decent set with decent sound (highlights being "Leaf House", "Comfy in Nautica" and the extended "Fireworks" jam) marred by the most obnoxious crowd I've ever counted. And as if I needed more reason to hate the Sound Academy (besides its absurd location, bottleneck exit and overpriced shows), what sort of venue allows drinks to be taken into the main concert area? The designated drinking area is designated as to keep drinks out of the show so you aren't stomping on cans or getting Heineken spill on your legs.
Fine enough show, but I'm not sure if I could deal with another crowd like that should they come back to town.
Setlist:
1. Chocolate Girl
2. Comfy In Nautica
3. What Would I Want Sky
4. Lion In A Coma
5. My Girls
6. Guys Eyes
7. Fireworks
8. Leaf House
9. Brother Sport
Encore:
10. Chores
11. Summertime Clothes
Monday, May 11, 2009
Zero sleep = zero insightful blog(ging)
Again, my schedule is taking a hit because of school; my poor time management skills meant I was up til roughly 4:30 am scrawling out an essay on art philosophy (Weitz vs Collingwood, for those keeping score at home.) Not to mention I'm at school from 7:30 am until 7:30 pm, so I've just got this quick apology on break before handing in my essay & sitting through a 3 hour lecture. So yeah, sorry folks; anything involving any remote creative effort will likely be... bad. See? I can't even come up with a clever way of telling you of the bad-ness.
Oh God, it's getting worse!
Here, how about something totally passive?
This is what my summer concert schedule is looking like so far, and seriously, it grows by the week. I'm incredibly excited, and you viewers at home can expect reviews of all of 'em.
May 16 - Animal Collective w/ Grouper
May 18 - Wolves in the Throne Room w/ A Storm of Light, Thrones, Krallice
May 21 - Unwigged & Unplugged: An Evening with Christopher Guest, Michael McKean & Harry Shearer
May 22 - MV+EE w/ Woods, $100
June 4 - Secret Chiefs 3 w/ Kayo Dot
June 7 - Isis w/ Pelican, Tombs
June 11- Do Make Say Think, Final Fantasy & Robert Lippok
June 13- Bell Orchestre
June 17- Patrick Wolf w/ Jaguar Love
June 18- Absu w/ Glorior Belli, Rumpelstiltskin Grinder, Sothis
June 20- Circle Takes the Square w/ Titan, Lords
July 10- Holy Fuck w/ Winter Gloves
July 11- Broken Social Scene & Explosions in the Sky w/ Apostle of Hustle, Thunderheist, & more!
July 16- Fucked Up w/ Women, Vivian Girls
HOLY SHIT.
Oh God, it's getting worse!
Here, how about something totally passive?
This is what my summer concert schedule is looking like so far, and seriously, it grows by the week. I'm incredibly excited, and you viewers at home can expect reviews of all of 'em.
May 16 - Animal Collective w/ Grouper
May 18 - Wolves in the Throne Room w/ A Storm of Light, Thrones, Krallice
May 21 - Unwigged & Unplugged: An Evening with Christopher Guest, Michael McKean & Harry Shearer
May 22 - MV+EE w/ Woods, $100
June 4 - Secret Chiefs 3 w/ Kayo Dot
June 7 - Isis w/ Pelican, Tombs
June 11- Do Make Say Think, Final Fantasy & Robert Lippok
June 13- Bell Orchestre
June 17- Patrick Wolf w/ Jaguar Love
June 18- Absu w/ Glorior Belli, Rumpelstiltskin Grinder, Sothis
June 20- Circle Takes the Square w/ Titan, Lords
July 10- Holy Fuck w/ Winter Gloves
July 11- Broken Social Scene & Explosions in the Sky w/ Apostle of Hustle, Thunderheist, & more!
July 16- Fucked Up w/ Women, Vivian Girls
HOLY SHIT.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
The hollow mountain
As I'm sure you may have inferred by now, I'm a big proponent of buying records and physically owning music: artwork and packaging is absolutely vital to fully experiencing an album the way it was meant to be heard. And what arrived in my mailbox the other day is, perhaps, the greatest affirmation of that fact: The Hollow Mountain by TwinSisterMoon.
Scans aren't quite going to do this thing justice, but give it a look. In person, the booklet is a huge 8"x8" piece of screen-printed gorgeousness, tucked inside a beautiful hand-screened sleeve with a slab of hand-numbered vinyl (19/105 here.) Let's just say thank goodness it came in a protective record sleeve.
I was almost hesitant to play this thing: what if my hand slips? What if the needle scratches this beyond repair? FUUUUUUCK. But yeah, eventually I found my testicles and played the thing and wow. Like most releases by Natural Snow Buildings and all related projects, this is truly a record to crank to 10 and get lost in.
The structure of this album is a lot like that on his portion of the 3-way split, The Snowbringer Cult: eastern-tinged drones interspersed with acoustic folk. The drone numbers are standard fare for Mehdi Ameziane, which is to say, fucking awesome. All matter of instruments I can barely pronounce ebbing and flowing like a Lightbright melting underwater on acid. Sure, it's pretty same-y to his Natural Snow Buildings stuff which, in turn, is pretty same-y to isengrind (aka Solange Gularte, aka the lady-half of NSB) but when it's all so great I can't really be bothered by it. It's the shorter, simpler folk tunes that make TwinSisterMoon stand out: although technically unremarkable and all following a similar arpeggiated chord pattern, Ameziane's falsetto is gut-wrenching, and to have the lyrics finally printed only adds to the experience, giving grounding to the otherwise indistinct wailings.
I daresay this is the most accessible material from the project, and certainly from the whole NSB collection: the folk songs are beautiful, and the drones are all soothingly psychedelic (as opposed to some of the stuff found on Nigh Coercion...) and in digestible lengths of less than 10 minutes (sorry, no 46-minute "Song for Laurie Bird" here). Probably the perfect gateway to anyone who's had this project. The vinyl sold out immediately, but there is going to be a CD version on Ultra Hard Gel with a bonus track to boot.
In the meantime, you can get your TwinSisterMoon fix with the 3-way split The Snowbringer Cult, still not sold out (?!) which is actually a better introduction to this French psychdronefolkgaze madness, so ignore what I said before.
From The Hollow Mountain:
TwinSisterMoon - Bride of Spirits
Note: Dull Knife, thankfully, made sure this LP was sold only to people who wanted the record, not to the notorious eBayers who re-sell these things at several times their original price. As such, I am respecting their wishes and only giving you the sample MP3 they have on their own site.
From The Snowbringer Cult
TwinSisterMoon - Amantsokan
TwinSisterMoon - Kingdom of the Sea
Scans aren't quite going to do this thing justice, but give it a look. In person, the booklet is a huge 8"x8" piece of screen-printed gorgeousness, tucked inside a beautiful hand-screened sleeve with a slab of hand-numbered vinyl (19/105 here.) Let's just say thank goodness it came in a protective record sleeve.
I was almost hesitant to play this thing: what if my hand slips? What if the needle scratches this beyond repair? FUUUUUUCK. But yeah, eventually I found my testicles and played the thing and wow. Like most releases by Natural Snow Buildings and all related projects, this is truly a record to crank to 10 and get lost in.
The structure of this album is a lot like that on his portion of the 3-way split, The Snowbringer Cult: eastern-tinged drones interspersed with acoustic folk. The drone numbers are standard fare for Mehdi Ameziane, which is to say, fucking awesome. All matter of instruments I can barely pronounce ebbing and flowing like a Lightbright melting underwater on acid. Sure, it's pretty same-y to his Natural Snow Buildings stuff which, in turn, is pretty same-y to isengrind (aka Solange Gularte, aka the lady-half of NSB) but when it's all so great I can't really be bothered by it. It's the shorter, simpler folk tunes that make TwinSisterMoon stand out: although technically unremarkable and all following a similar arpeggiated chord pattern, Ameziane's falsetto is gut-wrenching, and to have the lyrics finally printed only adds to the experience, giving grounding to the otherwise indistinct wailings.
I daresay this is the most accessible material from the project, and certainly from the whole NSB collection: the folk songs are beautiful, and the drones are all soothingly psychedelic (as opposed to some of the stuff found on Nigh Coercion...) and in digestible lengths of less than 10 minutes (sorry, no 46-minute "Song for Laurie Bird" here). Probably the perfect gateway to anyone who's had this project. The vinyl sold out immediately, but there is going to be a CD version on Ultra Hard Gel with a bonus track to boot.
In the meantime, you can get your TwinSisterMoon fix with the 3-way split The Snowbringer Cult, still not sold out (?!) which is actually a better introduction to this French psychdronefolkgaze madness, so ignore what I said before.
From The Hollow Mountain:
TwinSisterMoon - Bride of Spirits
Note: Dull Knife, thankfully, made sure this LP was sold only to people who wanted the record, not to the notorious eBayers who re-sell these things at several times their original price. As such, I am respecting their wishes and only giving you the sample MP3 they have on their own site.
From The Snowbringer Cult
TwinSisterMoon - Amantsokan
TwinSisterMoon - Kingdom of the Sea
Monday, May 4, 2009
Of boy bands and sludge
How exactly a sludge/doom band adopted the same name as a boy band I suppose isn't the most important thing about this band, and certainly something that's been pointed out so many times before it's incredibly unfunny by now, but... c'mon, what the fuck?
Anyways, the 5ive in question (or 5ive's Continuum Research Project as I believe they are now known, for reasons entirely unrelated to the pop group, I am certain) are an instrumental sludge/doom duo from Boston, who yes, you're right, can be compared to Pelican in that both bands write vocal-less epics with molasses-thick guitar tone. This is something you'll dig if you're into the whole Neur-Isis set of bands ("post-metal" or "metalgaze" or whatever god-awful portmanteau you want to sick upon this sound), or if you just wanna straight-up smoke a bowl and orchestrate it with some sludgy, stoner riffage.
The thing that, for me, really sets this band apart, besides the plain fucking awesome riffs is the drumming. One thing that almost prevents from fully enjoying a similarly-styled album, The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw (by Pelican, natch) is the drumming. It's so thin and bland and if there's anything interesting going on, it's overshadowed by the guitar work. 5ive is a duo, and while the guitar is absolutely huge, the drums are, both literally and sonically, responsible for half of the sound, and they establish themselves from the get-go. After the faux-drone into in "Gulls", when the riffing comes, the bass drum makes it's presence felt and makes sure the low-end dominates for the rest of the record. My drum terminology is at best uneducated and at worst flat-out fucking wrong, but Charlie Harrold definitely seems to focus on creating huge rolling tom/bass backgrounds which, compared to others in the genre, is really damn awesome. Not that he doesn't mix it up, mind you; the uplifting cymbal smattering on "Polar 78" is entirely responsible for the song's feeling and direction.
Not to put the guitar aside; after all, Ben Carr is the entire rest of the band, and has six strings to compete with a whole drum kit, and does a perfect job with a huge, fuzzed out tone that is de rigueur of the genre. I'd be curious to see if it holds up without the benefit of studio overdubbing, but as the record stands, it sounds fantastic. And goddamn, if "Gulls" isn't one of the cooler riffs I've head in a while, although by and large this album seems more focused on a wall of sound than distinct riffing, which is absolutely fine by me.
As if you needed more motivation to buy the record, the cover art is absolutely fantastic.
So it seems my school's internet is hella slow, to the point of barely functioning, for some reason. MP3's will be uploaded later tonight, sometime after 9.
Anyways, the 5ive in question (or 5ive's Continuum Research Project as I believe they are now known, for reasons entirely unrelated to the pop group, I am certain) are an instrumental sludge/doom duo from Boston, who yes, you're right, can be compared to Pelican in that both bands write vocal-less epics with molasses-thick guitar tone. This is something you'll dig if you're into the whole Neur-Isis set of bands ("post-metal" or "metalgaze" or whatever god-awful portmanteau you want to sick upon this sound), or if you just wanna straight-up smoke a bowl and orchestrate it with some sludgy, stoner riffage.
The thing that, for me, really sets this band apart, besides the plain fucking awesome riffs is the drumming. One thing that almost prevents from fully enjoying a similarly-styled album, The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw (by Pelican, natch) is the drumming. It's so thin and bland and if there's anything interesting going on, it's overshadowed by the guitar work. 5ive is a duo, and while the guitar is absolutely huge, the drums are, both literally and sonically, responsible for half of the sound, and they establish themselves from the get-go. After the faux-drone into in "Gulls", when the riffing comes, the bass drum makes it's presence felt and makes sure the low-end dominates for the rest of the record. My drum terminology is at best uneducated and at worst flat-out fucking wrong, but Charlie Harrold definitely seems to focus on creating huge rolling tom/bass backgrounds which, compared to others in the genre, is really damn awesome. Not that he doesn't mix it up, mind you; the uplifting cymbal smattering on "Polar 78" is entirely responsible for the song's feeling and direction.
Not to put the guitar aside; after all, Ben Carr is the entire rest of the band, and has six strings to compete with a whole drum kit, and does a perfect job with a huge, fuzzed out tone that is de rigueur of the genre. I'd be curious to see if it holds up without the benefit of studio overdubbing, but as the record stands, it sounds fantastic. And goddamn, if "Gulls" isn't one of the cooler riffs I've head in a while, although by and large this album seems more focused on a wall of sound than distinct riffing, which is absolutely fine by me.
As if you needed more motivation to buy the record, the cover art is absolutely fantastic.
So it seems my school's internet is hella slow, to the point of barely functioning, for some reason. MP3's will be uploaded later tonight, sometime after 9.
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