Sons Of Magdalene is Josh Eustis' (of Telefon Tel Aviv) solo project. Epically minimal organic tape loop drones like Belong or Basinski. I'm fairly certain this is the only release he's put out under this name. IT IS AWESOME. Seriously, if you have any fond feelings towards either of those RIYLs then fucking download this immediately. Here's what I had to say about it back in '08 if you're interested.
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.
Sons Of Magdalene - Pourquoi Tous Les Hommes Sont-Ils Des Laches? (excerpt)
Sons Of Magdalene = Joshua Eustis = 1/2 of Telefon Tel Aviv. Simple enough, right? One of the guys from Telefon Tel Aviv (Josh) has a solo project (Sons Of Magdalene). I found out about this little project of his because he had some info on his MySpace regarding Belong's Colorloss EP, which was mixed in Josh's studio. I listened to the one track he had on his page, "Quartet For Erhu And Tape," and immediately added him as a friend, waiting for him to announce any sort of release.
Well, that day came, just over a week ago. I placed my order (which you can also do, info right here) and received my limited edition, hand numbered CD-R copy (number 8 ftw!) of Ephemera yesterday. Hooray!
I love it. It's gorgeous and beautiful. And you know what it sounds like? It sounds a helluva lot like Belong. Which is certainly not a bad thing. Actually, the world could use a lot more music that sounds like this. Ephemera has two tracks, both similarly titled (something in French about men and women) and they're both long enough to develop sonically (about 20 and 17 minutes) but just short enough so that it leaves me craving more. The first one, "Pourquoi Tous Les Hommes Sont-Ils Des Laches?" sounds more like Belong, while the second track sounds more like William Basinski. And I'd say being compared to those two puts you in very good company.
I believe his technique is to record a live orchestra on tape, and then process and loop the tape. It definitely has that looped tape sound, much like William Basinski, who I know is a major influence on Belong (have you ever compared "Who Told You This Room Exists?" to any of the Disintegration Loops?), and must be for Eustis as well. And since I'm such a fan of both Belong and Basinski, I have immediately fallen in love with Sons Of Magdalene.
However, sometimes while listening to Ephemera, I feel like I could easily be listening to either Belong or Basinski, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but maybe Sons Of Magdalene needs to distinguish itself a little bit more. I know these are (I think) only his third and fourth recorded songs, so it's possible he just needs a little more time in the oven. I have no problem with that, given that he releases all of his future work. I would be very interested to follow Sons through an illustrious and prolific career of gorgeous tape drones. From the sounds of it, I'm sure it would be a good time.
I Want To Review Your Music If you make music and you want it reviewed on my blog, just send me an e-mail. I would love to hear what you're making and give you a little more exposure in the process.
Disclaimer All of the music on this site is for promotional and sampling purposes only. If you enjoy it, please consider buying the record or going to see the band live. They will appreciate it, I promise. If you own the rights to a song on this site and you would like it removed, please contact me and I will do so as quickly as my tiny paws allow.
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