Haiku Review: Tim Fite - Watch Your Mouth (self released, 2009)

Tim Fite - That's MY Name


Tim Fite
Watch Your Mouth (download)
/crazy fucklery/
/halloween horror fite style/
/there's no other way/

Belong

I'm home, in my new home, where I should've been all along. I'm still settling in, lots of painting and unpacking and shit, but I thought I'd share with you the two records I christened 33 Roslyn with. Belong's Colorloss Record and Same Places (Slow Version). Absolute beauties that are 100% amazing but still can't touch the masterpiece that is October Language. Technically Colorloss is still available (maybe only digitally, though) so you should certainly spend your hard earned dollars on it because it's totally fucking worth it.

Anyway, I'm just proving I'm still alive and AGB isn't stagnating. Don't expect daily posts for a while. But things should be getting more active around here soon. Just enjoy this for now.

German Shepherd - Alpine Melodies (Sunrise Acoustics, 2009)

German Shepherd - Brutalist Chalet


Last I heard from German Shepherd, he was putting out a 4 way split with MOTH, Millipede, Brian Grainger, and himself. Now he's got a full length of his own out and another split (this time it's free & digital) with the same 4 dudes, plus one Bog Man. Clearly he wasn't using these past 5 months to dick around. He's getting shit done.

Alpine Melodies takes the 3 tracks Shepherd had on Traveling and BAMBAMBAM enhances the shit outta them. Except in not such an enthusiastic way. More like a super chill sleepy way. You know what I mean.

The half hour's worth of guitar drone on this record is exquisite. Hazy melodies that glide face up across the tree tops, grazing on the low hanging clouds. I can totally imagine something on Alpine being used in a Miyazaki film, like when an innocent but imaginative child finally stumbles upon some magical nook in the forest. These are the sounds that kid would hear while glowing dust floated around in the bright sun rays filtering through the canopy.

If that doesn't sound appealing to you, then you have a heart of stone and are probably too "mature" to be bothered with such dreamy gorgeous drone to begin with. Otherwise, hop on this. Only 100 copies, sweet & cheap ($6!) from Sunrise Acoustics, each one with a different cover made from cut-up Childcraft Encyclopedia pages.

P.S. I'm moving, bitches! I'm going to be really busy for a little while so no posts until I get shit in order.

Show Worthy 10/19 - 10/25

Looks like we got some decisions to make come Thursday night...


Mike Bullock by Invisible City via
Monday, October 19
Mike Bullock at Weirdo Records (donate, 8:00, all ages)
Jack of all trades Bullock will be doing a solo set at Weirdo. Here's hoping he'll be playing banjo, like on those tracks available at Compost & Height. 'Cause banjos rule.



Hawnay Troof by la-underground via
Thursday, October 22
Hawnay Troof, San Serac, Bone Zone, Party Master Policy (DJ) at Pozen Center (Mass Art) ($8, 8:00, all ages)
Crunchy synth punk Hawnay Troof is making his way to Boston all the way from California. San Serac throw down some funky disco beats for booty shakin. And Bone Zone is just a fuckin mess. No use trying to describe that shit.



Jozef Van Wissem via
Thursday, October 22
Jozef Van Wissem, Jay Sullivan at The Mills Gallery (BCA) ($10, 7:45, all ages)
Incunabulum head Van Wissem plays a motherfuckin lute. And he does crazy shit with it. Awesome processed folky Baroquey stuff. Sullivan is the dude you see with 3 records on a turntable making fantastic Jeck-ian drone. This show is gonna rule. Thanks to Non-Event.




Thursday, October 22
Ming Ming Dance Co, Kenney & Neff, Eat Cloud, Derrka, Coralcola (DJ) at PA's Lounge ($7 21+ / $10 18-20, 8:30, 18+)
This is the show you go to for listening to weirdo electronics and maybe get fucked up on hallucinogens if that's your thing. Or dance. If you like dancing.




Friday, October 23
Expo '70, Brian S Ellis, Manners at Whitehaus (donate, "hoot o'clock," all ages)
To celebrate their 3 year anniversary and the return of Manners & Brian Ellis from their world tour, Whitehaus is hosting Expo '70. Yes, that Expo '70 (who else were you thinking of? idiot...). Clearly, this show is going to be amazing. Because Expo '70 is playing. OH! And Expo '70 is playing, too. Expo. Seventy. !



Myrmyr via
Saturday, October 24
Myrmyr, Baba Yaga, The Glass Shivers at Spectacle ($5, 8:00, all ages)
Myrmyr is Agnes Szelag and Marielle Jakobsons, touring in support of their new album The Amber Sea. They make electro-acoustic tunes with all sorts of (non) classical instruments, including one of my favorites, the accordion. Beautiful work. Baba Yaga are the local chill folk female duo with enchanting vocals, occasionally using, among other things, a mandolin and harmonium. Yeah! The Glass Shivers will conjure space dreams while JP's Architecture Of The Sun throws some magical old fashioned projections on the walls.

Haiku Review: Light - Life Is Meaningless & Goes On Forever (self released, 2009)

Light - Life Is Meaningless & Goes On Forever


Light
Life Is Meaningless & Goes On Forever (download)
/relentless hatred/
/falcons screech in agony/
/hopeless plodding doom/

OOPs: Cloaks - Serene (Students Of Decay, 2008)

Cloaks - Dream Tape Number One


DOWNLOAD

Another absolute beauty from Students Of Decay. Cloaks has made an album full of swirling washes of piano and bright blissful drone. The real magic happens on the half hour long epic "Dream Tape Number One" but there's still the 5 minute "Improvisation For Guitar And Piano" to cleanse your palette before starting again. Since I'm a bit pressed for time, I'm going to be lame and copy what the label has to say...

"Doran truly has crafted an unique and inspired voice of his own, weaving clouds of piano with spiralling plumes of FX and warm gushes of plaintive guitar. Positively magical."

Serene is, obviously, serene. And gorgeous. You totally want this, trust me.

FREE SHIT GALORE!

For some reason, I've been bombarded with a ton of free downloadable releases that are awesome lately. I don't know if there's some sort of surge (bring it back!!) in artists being kinder or what, but this shit is up for grabs and you need get on it asap. Keep in mind just because these releases can be free, doesn't necessarily mean they should be free. Some of these even have physical copies available. Donate whenever possible. Show your appreciation and bands are more likely to keep it up.

Look forward to some of these showing up in my Saturday Haiku Reviews. 'Cause that's what I do.




Corey Larkin - Body Tensor (Abrash)
Super minimal high end ambient drone

Herv - Not Figuratively, But Literally In Love With Music... (Cock Rock Disco)
Breakcore dance tunes

Orchards & Ponds - Preparations (Panda Fuzz)
Murky loopy guitar drone

Bermuda Bonnie - Bermuda Bonnie (self released)
Tropical girl pop




Tobias Hellkvist & Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - White/Grey/Black (It's A Trap)
It's a free Dead Letters track man. Wtf more do you need?

Ultimate Thrush - Ultimate Thrush (Winning Sperm Party)
Intense Locust-style craziness

My Brother Daniel - Live At The Gulu Gulu Cafe (Just Not Normal)
Strange electronics, audience participation, bizarre slightly-danceable electronica

Saskrotch - I'll Have You Naked By The End Of This ROM (8bitpeoples)
8 bit chiptune breakcore awesomeness




timwarrenmusic - under_score (Square Root)
Beatless layered ambient drone

Sparks & Spools - visions--magic--trees (Mooondial)
Bang clank folk

Silver Antlers / Seven Feathers Rainwater Split (Mooondial)
Wonder psych haze drone

Dinosaur Feathers - Early Morning Risers (self released)
Super fun AnCo tropical pop




Have A Nice Life - Voids (Enemies List)
Demos and rarities from the (second?) best band to come out of Middletown, CT. Epic gloomy shoegaze pop

Light - Life Is Meaningless & Goes On Forever (self released)
Bleak funeral black metal doom

Few Quiet People Promo Sampler
Awesome new experimental netlabel sampler with a Tomasz Bednarczyk track

The Most Powerful Telescope In The Universe - The Moonlight's Fair Tonight (Data Was Lost)
Hypnotic indie rock

Ata Ebtekar & The Iranian Orchestra For New Music Performing Works Of Alireza Mashayekhi - Ornamental (Isounderscore, 2009)

Ata Ebtekar & The Iranian Orchestra For New Music - Ornamental


Ata Ebtekar & The Iranian Orchestra For New Music have put out possibly the most challenging record who's genre wouldn't include the word "power." They make listening as difficult as possible while still making it entirely rewarding and enjoyable.

Ornamental is a mind fuck of an electro-acoustic record. Ebtekar does all sorts of electronic shit and then there's the orchestra playing traditional instruments. It reminds me a bit of Greg Kelley's Self-Hate Index in the way that you're never sure if the sounds you're hearing are from analog or digital instruments (except in Kelley's case, it was almost all analog). The lines are blurred so much that if there were no liner notes, I might assume this was a 100% electronic record.

The sounds on Ornamental are fucking nuts. It's almost total anarchy. The speed goes from slow chugging to amped up giddyness in one explosive second. Crazy arpeggios, shrill tinny blasts of nonsense, and piano smashing that take you by surprise every fucking time. The crunchy electronics sound like if Tristan Perich made his 1-Bit Music back in the '60s. And the regular instruments that I do recognize seem processed to oblivion.

Every time I listen to this, I make just a little bit more sense out of it. The first time it just knocked me the fuck down, without so much as a "sorry." The second time I was at least able to hold my own. And each time I hit play again, I have more confidence than the last that I'm gonna make it my bitch. But it never happens. Ornamental is somehow always, like, 10 steps ahead of me.

And did I mention that this is on double vinyl? Look at that cover art up there. Super slick. So gorgeous. You need to buy this.

Show Worthy 10/12 - 10/18

Karlheinz
Monday, October 12
Cowards, Karlheinz, Sharpwaist, Howard Stelzer & Luke Moldof, Double Awake at O'Brien's ($6, 9:00, 21+)
Killer local noise show. Cowards are Nick Pace (from Diaphragm) and Jesse Allen (from Cathode Terror Secretion) and they play some serious drone noise. Karlheinz destroys everything he touches with his ferocity. Sharpwaist is just fucking brutal. Moldof & Stelzer is going to be a supremely unique experience, with Stelzer messing with his tapes and Moldof fucking around with his crazy guitar stuff. And Double Awake just has some of the best power drone in town. This show is going to be fucking amazing.




Monday, October 12
Sexual Janitor, The Waifs, The Needy Visions at Charlie's Kitchen ($5, 9:00, 21+)
On the other hand, if you're feeling less like noise and more like super fun garage rock pysch pop stuff, then head to Charlie's Kitchen. Some more bands are supposed to be playing, possibly Maine Coons and Life Partners. Nothing's set in stone yet, though.



Om via by ronaiandras
Monday, October 12
Om, Lichens, Six Organs Of Admittance at ICA Boston ($16, 8:00, all ages)
You must know about this show already. If not, here's your heads up. I've seen both Om and Lichens before and I can attest to the fact that their music is enhanced 10 fold when performed live. Go to this is you're not feeling like rocking out at Charlie's or getting your ears fucked at O'Brien's.



Benjamin Nelson via by Susanna Bolle
Tuesday, October 13
Benjamin Nelson at Cafe Fixe ($5, 8:00, all ages)
DROOOOOONE. You love it. I love it. Cheap. Delicious coffee. Home in time for bed. Thanks Non-Event.



Former Ghosts via
Wednesday, October 14
Former Ghosts, White Hinterland, Boy Without God at The Middle East Upstairs ($9, 8:00, 18+)
Former Ghosts is about to blow up because it's Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu, Freddy Ruppert of This Song Is A Mess But So Am I, and Nika Roza of Zola Jesus. I'm not a huge fan of Xiu Xiu, I don't know TSISMBSAI, and I love Zola Jesus. Doing the math, I expected to be pretty ambivalent about Former Ghosts but somehow their album Fleurs is fucking fantastic. Love it. But I'm pretty sure Roza's not going to be playing with them live, so...



Jim Haynes via by Randy Yau
Thursday, October 15
Jim Haynes, Murmer, Ophibre at Axiom ($8, 8:00, all ages)
More awesome dronings. Jim Haynes is half of Coelacanth (with Loren Chasse (of Jewelled Antler)) and has a new CD out on Intransitive, who's putting on this show. Murmer has done lots of work, including a CD with the genius Jonathan Coleclough, and makes wonderful minimal drone. And Ophibre, well, if you read this blog and don't know who he is, then you're not reading this blog. I love that man. Everything he touches is gold.



Achim Wollscheid via by Asier Gogortza
Saturday, October 17
Achim Wollscheid, Jason Lescalleet at Goethe-Institut Boston ($10, 8:00, all ages)
An experimental artist of the highest caliber, Wollscheid does installations, festivals, performances, records, everything. He is all over the fucking place. It's an absolute honor to have him perform in Boston. And with Lescalleet nonetheless! The man who fucks with tapes and microphones and amplifiers and tons of other shit to make some totally awesome drone. Gonna be a great show.




Saturday, October 17
Craig Colorusso's Sun Boxes at Important Records (FRREEEEE, noon-dusk, all ages)
Colorusso will be installing a mess of huge solar powered speakers, each with a different guitar loop playing through it. The idea is that it will sound different wherever and whenever you stand, due to the angle and placement of the speakers and that each loop is a different length, so at no time will the whole thing repeat itself. It runs from noon until sundown, because obviously the speakers won't be able to continue playing once they lose power. Anyway, this sounds so fucking cool. Not very accessible without a car though, so if you're going through Salem on your way to this, pick me the fuck up and we can have a good time. I promise good company and maybe I'll buy you lunch or something. I just have to be back to work around 5ish. Deal?

Haiku Review: Andy Hofle - Arcade Ambiance 1981-1992 (GDG, 2005-2007)

Andy Hofle - Arcade Ambiance 1981


Andy Hofle
Arcade Ambiance (download)
/nostalgic chaos/
/endless lo-fi explosions/
/just one more quarter/

Video: Bats - Shadow Fucking

That elk is furious. Or maybe he just wants some friends... not sure. Either way, I think he was drawn to the nasty shredding goin down in the chapel and decided he had to come and show off.

Bats - Shadow Fucking


via

MFMB - MFMB (La Bulle Sonore, 2009)

MFMB - The Tune On


You know what I love about Sweden's MFMB? Their name. I'm normally against the letters-for-a-name thing (The XX is the stupidest name ever) but for these guys I'm making an exception. Notably because it starts out with MF, which everyone knows stands for motherfucker/motherfuckin. And since I'm pretty sure MFMB haven't come out and said what their name stands for, I get to make up all sorts of crazy shit and make their name as awesome as I want. So far, Motherfuckin Moon Boots is making rank.

You know what else I love about Motherfuckin Magical Beasts? Their music! It's the best. It's like a perfect hybrid of disco shoegaze punk. Or something. It's epic and dancey and rockin in all the right ways. And their self titled EP is full of the kind of tunes that I could play in the presence of both my younger and older sisters and all 3 of us would like it. They'd all be like, "Oooh, it's dark and moody" and I'd be like, "Whatever. I'm gonna dance." So if both my sisters and I can get into it, my guess is you can too.

Ten Thousand Things, Stillbirth, Ouest, Ricardo Donoso at The Piano Factory

After a brief silence from Semata, they're back with a couple of 7 inches, one from label head Ricardo Donoso and a split with Stillbirth & Prurient. Last night was the record release party and it seemed like everyone who was available and gave a shit showed up.

Ricardo Donoso: mixed up chronology, staring in awe at the majesty of the perfect storm

Ouest: all the infinite sounds that could possibly come from your broken radio, TV, lawnmower, fire alarm, and washing machine

Stillbirth: sweet guitar drone lullabies, processed to hell and back

Ten Thousand Things: delicate almost blissful canvas with smatterings of nothing, eventually encrusted in thick static

Ricardo Donoso

Ouest (Howard Stelzer, Brendan Murray, Jay Sullivan)

Stillbirth

Ten Thousand Things (Geoff Mullen)

Ten Thousand Things (Scott Reber)

More pictures on Flickr.

João Orecchia - Hands & Feet (Other Electricities, 2009)

João Orecchia - Midnight Serenade


João Orecchia - Gold To Green


When was the last time you were absolutely floored by a record? I think that might have been the first time I heard Street Horrrsing last year. Since then, I've gone on enjoying records like a regular dude. That is until I got a little e-mail about João Orecchia's new album Hands & Feet. Attached was an MP3 for "Midnight Serenade" and after hearing the first 20 seconds, I e-mailed the guy girl back and said "I NEED MORE." He She lent a helping hand.

Now don't think I'm a fucking idiot or anything. I know "Midnight Serenade" isn't the most original thing out there. It's not gonna win any awards. But there's just something so special about it that really gets me. Some sort of unabashed enthusiasm swarms over me and I become the happiest guy in the room.

And every song on Hands & Feet gives me that same feeling. It's soft roadside glitch makes me glow. Banjos and toy pianos and flugelhorns and melodicas and violas play in sweet synchrony with crunchy electronics. It's the most lush and charming electronic record I've heard in a long time.

I get the feeling that Hands & Feet isn't going to strike as resonant a chord with everyone as it has with me. But fuck that. I am so in love with this record. I have listened to it countless times in the past few weeks. Of course I'd like to spread the Orecchia gospel but I'm not gonna go all missionary and force it down people's throats. There is a simple test you can take though. Listen to "Midnight Serenade" and "Gold To Green." If you're not totally enchanted, don't bother with the rest of the record. And then get the fuck out of here.

Video: Har Mar Superstar - Tall Boy

Har Mar's a motherfuckin genius with the slickest dance moves on the planet. And there's a sweet cameo, too. It has been WAY too long Mr. Superstar.



(via)

Show Worthy 10/5 - 10/11

Maine Coons via
Monday, October 5
Maine Coons at Weirdo Records (donate, 8:00, all ages)
One guy playing scuzzy tunes with a guitar, drums, and mic all at once.



Ricardo Donoso by Susanna Bolle via
Tuesday, October 6
Ten Thousand Things, Stillbirth, Ricardo Donoso, Ouest at The Piano Factory (donate, 8:00, all ages)
This show is gonna be awwwwesooomme. TTT is rock star Geoff Mullen and Scott Reber (of Work/Death) making wonderful drone. Stillbirth is Luke Moldof, also making wonderful drone. Ricardo is the man behind Semata, plays in Perispirit with Moldof, drums in Ehnahre, and runs all the shows at The Piano Factory. Apparently he'll be doing something slightly different for this show. And Ouest is the supergroup of Howard Stelzer, Brendan Murray, and Jay Sullivan making, you guessed it, wonderful drone. There's only one reason you shouldn't be going to this and that's if you're going to...



Eugene Mirman by Mc-Q via
Tuesday, October 6
Eugene Mirman, more at PA's Lounge
I have, like, zero info on this show. The extent of my knowledge comes from one of Sub Pop's Twitter status updates that reads "Join Eugene Mirman @ PA's in Somerville Tuesday October 6th for a last minute super special surprise filled record release party!" That's it. Neither Sub Pop's, Mirman's, or PA's site lists anything on this. But knowing Sub Pop and Mirman's expansive friend network, one can assume this will be pretty fantastic.




Thursday, October 8
Girlfriends, Dan Wholey & Phriends at Boomerangs (FREEEE, 7:00, all ages)
Girlfriends play charming lo-fi garage pop stuff and this is their first show ever. Clearly, a band that makes music as fun as Girlfriends is guaranteed to make for an equally entertaining show, especially when it's their first.



Animal Hospital by Mike Burns via
Friday, October 9
Animal Hospital, Brendan Murray, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Double Awake at Big Fun
How the fuck did this line up ever happen? It's like super epic Boston noise show over here. I shouldn't even have to tell you who all these dudes are. They're all totally famous. Except for Double Awake. He's still up and coming. But trust me, he'll be famous pretty soon too.



Greg Kelly by Seth Tisue via
Saturday, October 10
Greg Kelley & Jaime Fennelly, Vic Rawlings, Chris Peck at Nom D'Artiste ($6, 9:00, all ages)
A duo of trumpet and harmonium/electronics? Fuck yeah. Kelley & Fennelly are gonna kill it. Rawlings is awesome, too, with crazy live processed cello shit. And Peck seems like a cool dude, but I know nothing about him other than that he's half of Manpack Variant (along with Fennelly). This show is going to be fucking great.

Haiku Review: Extinction Algorithm - Extinction Algorithm (Asiluum, 2009)

Extinction Algorithm - Silence Killed This Endangered Life Sequence


Extinction Algorithm
Extinction Algorithm (download)
/drum-less dark metal/
/guitar on top of guitar/
/rainclouds overhead/

OOPs: Drag Boats & Hot Rods

DOWNLOAD

I've been really interested in some old field recording albums as of late (like that Folkways Sounds Of Insects one). These two are from the '60s and sound pretty similar to each other, with loud engines fading into the distance, the occasional announcer commentary, audience applause (like when someone beats a world record), and in the case of the drag boats one, some seagulls.

The sounds of engines, taken out of context, is a very pleasing sound. It's a roaring drone that I'm pretty fond of. Someday when I have more free time, I'd like to edit both of these so that it's only the engines, without all of the silence and commentary in between, like what I did with the insects record.

Strangely enough, both of these records had the A side in playable condition while the B side is scratched to hell. That's why I'm putting up both of these records at once, because it's only one side each and, at least to the regular dude, most engines sound the same.

Honestly, I have no idea if these are still in print. My guess is not, but if they are I doubt anyone's really going to care that I have these shitty damaged vinyl sounds for free when whatever they're selling is probably all remastered in quadraphonic hi-fi and all that nonsense. But this is fun stuff. Nice and crackly, good for sampling (if you're into that), and for some reason reminds me of the opening scene in Flight Of The Navigator when they're at the Dog Frisbee Contest.

P.S. No sound sample because it's pretty self explanatory and you can just download it if you wanna hear it. Yeah, I'm lazy.

Dimmer - Remissions (Isounderscore, 2009)

Dimmer - Sun Dog


Dimmer is a couple of guys from California who've gotten far enough in their tape manipulating life to put out Remissions as their second full length. And with 4 epic side long noise pieces, I have a feeling this slick double vinyl might be pretty fuckin hard to follow up.

All together, Remissions runs about an hour and it's one of the most teeth clenching experiences you'll ever have listening to a record. "Sky Wire" is a song full of tape hiss and electronic washes, that sounds like the wind blowing through humming electrical wires (Aeolian effect!), creating enough static electricity to shock down telephone poles.

With the exception of flipping the record over, things move seamlessly into "Sun Dog." It starts out all sweet and chill, but builds up this ghostly alien forcefield around it. And god help you if you want to go through it, 'cause shit gets nasty. Shrill squeals and laser rays penetrate your skull, until you back off and start seeing phantoms made of reverse photons. And then the bees come. The multi-dimensional bees that only pop into our reality for seconds at a time, just long enough to scare the shit out of you and think you're suddenly surrounded by a swarm of pissed off stinging insects, and then they just pop back into some other reality, leaving you alone to contemplate your sanity.

"Gases That Emit Light" is one of those so-appropriate-it's-crazy song titles. It sounds, quite literally, like gas emitting light. Except the gas is mustard gas and it's emitting ultra-radioactive infrared light. IT'S KILLING YOU AND YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW IT. Slowly, your ears fall off, then your skin starts dripping from your bones, and by the end of the song, you're a glowing pile of liquid carbon. All while listening to this seemingly innocuous piece of tape noise with a pretty name.

The final track, "Giant Eagle," is, of course, the most unsettling. You know that moment in horror movies, right before something really terrible happens? Like, the killer is about to jump out from behind the counter wearing a mask made the pet dog's ass and kill the innocent teenager with a meat cleaver? Well, the music leading up to that scene is always really unnerving. The kind of music that puts you on the edge of your seat grinding your teeth and turning your knuckles white (if it's done right). The reason that's tolerable is because it only lasts for a minute or two, tops. "Giant Eagle" is over 15 minutes long and is made entirely of those sounds that come just before awful things happen. It's fucking cool but certainly not an easy listen.

So, yeah, Remissions is a fuckin beast, albeit a super subtle beast. It's non-blissful tape drone noise that never gets too uppity. And sometimes it's hard to find bands that do that well. Dimmer is one of those bands. Here's hoping the third record can be even more awesome.