Navigator - Bad Children (Magic Goat, 2009)

Navigator - Promised Land


Whether as WYLD WYZRDZ, Navigator, or anything else, Braden McKenna always has some tricks up his sleeves. You never know what this guy's gonna do next. He's done the looped drone thing, he's paid homage to a brilliant Japanese director, and now he's gone and made the most lo-fi Navigator record yet with Bad Children. And you'll never guess who drums on a bunch of tracks. Garrick Biggs of Stag Hare. Don't even pretend like you saw that one coming.

McKenna's newest release is one of the most blown out affairs I've heard him produce. But like many other things out there at the moment, the foundation upon which the fuzz is laid is made of super catchy folk pop songs. And with McKenna's voice going to the extreme, it reminds me quite a bit of O'Death, if they decided to let go their desire of fidelity. Bad Children has a special old-timey feel to it, like it came straight from The Dust Bowl, especially with it's semi-religious themes. Throw in some classic '50s/'60s melodies and you got yourself a very unique record.

There's something special about the quality of recording on this album, too. It's not your average blown out lo-fi. No, it actually sounds like they recorded the songs properly but you're listening to it on the pair of headphones that came with your '92 Walkman. There are hints of clarity that make me question just how the fuck they recorded this.

Navigator has literally never released a bad record. This is the third and arguably best. Here's the clincher: it's free. You can download it right here. It will get a physical release in a few months, though. And trust me. This is one you'll want to grab when it gets printed up.

WYLD WYZRDZ - Light Upon Light, Wave Upon Wave (Magic Goat, 2009)

WYLD WYZRDZ - Entering Universe
Link removed.

You may remember the WYLD WYZRDZ (Braden McKenna) from when I reviewed his then latest record, We Are Everyone in September. But then again, that was about 6 months ago so I'm not gonna fault you if your mind is like a sieve. Not everyone can a memory as fucking ridiculously encyclopedic as mine.*

I described We Are Everyone as a noise/drone record and it certainly was but Light Upon Light finds Mr. WYZRDZ laying the pop on real thick. It's jangly and psychedelic with lots of lyrics that make this a lot more song oriented than tracks like the 20 minute epic "I Am Ocean" found on We Are Everyone. And hearing this record has lead me to a theory I developed...

There's this scene going on here in the Boston area that I thought might be self contained within this city of ours. It's one that involves bands like Guatemala City, Many Mansions, Turtle Ambulance, Truman Peyote, and quite a few others. They all seem to have a similar sound that's based on beat oriented raga psych drone. Or something like that. Anyway, when I heard Light Upon Light, that was the first thing that came to my mind. Not that I thought it was impossible for this to be more than just a local trend, but hearing a record come out of Utah with such a similar sound made me do a double take.

So there's your RIYLs. And throw in some Wolf Parade, too, because McKenna's vocals kinda remind me of one of those Paraders (can never get the two of them straight). But to balance out the blatant pop of Light Upon Light, McKenna mixed in some floating ambient tracks to better tie in his history as a drone man and what you end up with is a fucking grade A crowd pleaser.

Light Upon Light is another really great album from McKenna. This WYZRDZ guy isn't intent on letting things get too boring and the new sound he's got is pushing all the right buttons. And one person projects make me weak in the knees so there's always that. Oh, and did I mention it's free? Yeah, like totally free. Download this shit ASAP along with the rest of the McKenna's stuff as both WYLD WYZRDZ and Navigator or any of the other ridiculously cool freeness at Magic Goat.

*there are no such things as encyclopedic memories

WYLD WYZRDZ - We Are Everyone

WYLD WYZRDZ - I Am Ocean


I found this freebie over on Forest Gospel (aka one of the best music blogs ever). WYLD WYZRDZ (caps required) is a one man noise/drone project, who also happens to record under the name Navigator. He's from the city of Salt Lake and he really knows how to make some uh-maze-ing music.

We Are Everyone opens with the gorgeous "Slope," an 11 minute guitar drone piece with plenty of thick high end feedback and soothing plicks. And it's very appropriately named because it's a track that starts out full force and slowly drops a layer or two every so often until all of the electricity is gone you're just left with quiet acoustic strums and an (occasionally layered) voice chanting/moaning with no rhyme or reason.

There's a few more tracks that are good in their own way but I feel like they're more filler than anything else, because it's the last song, "I Am Ocean," that complements "Slope." "I Am Ocean" is almost 20 minutes long and is one of the most soporific, sleep inducing songs I've heard this year. I'm pretty sure WYLD WYZRDZ meant for that description to be attributed to the song "Dream Sequence" though. And while "Dream Sequence" really does a really good job of evoking the, uh, dream sequence thing, "I Am Ocean" is the one that's getting the standing ovation from me.

This song is seriously awesome. It sounds like some weird guitar/organ/harpsichord hybrid being strummed/keyed at regular 1.5 second intervals throughout the whole track. Of course, there's your traditional guitar pleasantries that give the song some depth, but this is really about the hypnosis. I actually go into some sort of trance when I hear it and if I'm not careful, I will find myself asleep only 4 minutes into the song. Literally. It's probably not safe to listen to it while driving and only while you're lying down if you plan on taking a nap.

"But wait, you called this record a freebie..." Yes, it's free. Go download it now from WYLD WYZRDZ' website. And while you're at it, grab Beach Party Forever!. Also, on the Magic Goat website, you can grab some Navigator albums, including Loop Dreams: Volume One. I doubt you'll regret it. And if you ever felt like being a good person, you could always buy one of the physical copies from A. Star.