Triptych Trencher - Hallway For Chronic Liars (Grimeology, 2009)

Triptych Trencher - Hallway For Chronic Liars


My wife brought this back from Mass Market as a gift after meeting the creator. Carl Annarummo, aka Triptych Trencher, and his wife were there as part of The Greying Ghost selling their wares (poetry zines, etc) in addition to this lonely 3" CD, Hallway For Chronic Liars. What a fantastic surprise it was to have my wife do some (semi) blind buying for me and have it turn out awesome.

I absolutely fucking love how this album starts out. It's one of those slow claps, oft parodied in cheesy comedies, that gets more and more chaotic as it turns into flatout applause, and as the claps get rowdier, a static buzzing gets louder. Eventually they both drop out and crazy oscillating electronic factory sounds are joined by strange radio transmissions. Then shit only gets weirder from there. So awesome.

You endure everything from the operator informing you that you have the wrong number to nightmarish thunder storms, and high end insect chirping to thick enveloping crunch. And that's all in the first 5 minutes. The following 10 are fucking intense insane noise lying somewhere between the physical and the ethereal. But at about 15 minutes in, after some laughing children fade out, all goes silent until the final 3 minutes where we're treated to some throbbing disharmonious screeching. These crazy noise guys, always keeping you on your toes.

I love discovering new noise, especially when it's local, and I also love finding out about new labels in the process. This one's on Grimeology Records, based out of Burlington, VT, who also happen to have released stuff by A Snake In The Garden and Vestigial Limb's recent Divine Wind. Sadly, I think Triptych Trencher is no more, but we'll always have Hallway For Chronic Liars.

Surfland

Gary War - Good Clues


There's a not so new trend going on right now. And not just in music, either. All media. It's new and old at the same time. I know I'm not the first to point it out and I'm also a year or two late in doing so, but I'm doing it now because it's relevant to me.

There's a new exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum right now called Surfland that features the photography of Joni Sternbach. Her work is focused on what I consider to be a dated pastime, surfing, and she uses a photographic technique that originated in the 1850s, the tintype. The photographs are portraits of modern day surfers from New York and California. The tintype process used makes the images look as old the process itself. There are so many layers to her work that it's almost easy to overlook just how stunningly gorgeous the photos are.

The independent music biz is currently thriving on the mixture of vintage and contemporary themes and techniques. I know that has always and will always be the case, but it feels to me that for the first time, everyone is taking their ideas from the 60s folk/garage scene and the disco-laden 70s. I know it's obvious but I'm only pointing it out because it seems so similar to what Sternbach is doing with her work.

You should really go visit Sternbach's first solo museum exhibition. Seeing the physical tintypes in person is absolutely amazing. It's going on until October at the PEM so you got some time.

P.S. Gary War is part of the Homegrown Fest going down at Church in July. He'll be playing Friday the 17th along with Sightings, Bobb Trimble, Infinity Window, Magic People, and a bunch more.

The Skull Defekts - The Temple (Important, 2009)

The Skull Defekts - Waving


When I saw The Skull Defekts play at PA's Lounge last year, they changed me. I didn't realize it at the time, of course. But as the days and weeks progressed, I knew there was something missing in my life. That was because most of the material they played live hadn't been released yet. But I needed to hear to this music again. There was a certain je ne sais quoi that could only be achieved when listening to "Waving" or "Six Sixes" or any other song off of The Temple.

The Skull Defekts have made a rock record unlike any other I've heard. It's sexmagic. It's powerthrill. It's everything a rock record should be. I had no idea what I was missing until I heard this. The percussion is so tribal and propulsive and the guitars are buzzing electric raw. This is the record you crank all the way up and fucking pound your chest to. The Temple is something that deserves it's own place on your shelf, perhaps even on a pedestal set atop your mantle.

Here is a video I shot of them playing "Six Sixes" last October. If and when they come back to the US, this is proof that you need to see them.

Video: Marilyn Roxie - Indigo

Marilyn Roxie's got a legit video for "Indigo," one of the choice piano tracks from her full length freebie New Limerent Object (you want to download that shit right now). The video is directed by E.K. Wimmer and features a tiny little piano that, by the power of suggestion, seems like it's being played by tiny little forest bugs.

Show Worthy 6/22 - 6/28

After a lengthy lull due to numerous circumstances, the Show Worthy posts return.



Truman Peyote at MassArt
Tuesday, June 23
Team Robespierre, Chinese Stars, Big Digits, Truman Peyote at The Middle East Upstairs ($9, 8:00, 18+)
Warning: this show is only for those ready to fucking dance. Every single one of these motherfuckers is going to bring it and bring it hard. Do, like, 5 lines of Coke and slam a dozen Red Bulls before you head to the Middle East Tuesday night otherwise you'll never be able to keep up.




Thursday, June 25
Tiny Vipers, Balmorhea, Arms & Sleepers, Henry Gale at TT The Bear's ($9, 9:00, 18+)
You know Tiny Vipers. That cool chick that's been buzzing like crazy lately. New record coming out on Sub Pop, eerie acoustic shit ala Grouper. This'll be a good show. And if you miss her now, who knows where you'll have to see her next time. She's on her way to Europe! She'll be at the House Of Blues in no time. TT's is where it's at. And this would be a good show to chill at in between that crazy night with Team Robespierre and the noise disco party at 119 Gallery on Saturday.



Manners at The Pierre Menard Gallery
Thursday, June 25
Manners, Dearest, The Accident That Led Me To The World, Mariee Sioux at PA's Lounge ($7 21+/$10 18-20, 8:30, 18+)
Kind of a toss up between this and the Tiny Vipers show. I mean, here you got Mariee Sioux all the way from CA. And she just played with Brightblack Morning Light at Zomes. But the other 3 you're likely to see again sometime soon. Not so with Tiny Vipers... Still, these are all really awesome bands that are totally worth seeing.



Johann Johannsson via
Friday, June 26
Johann Johansson at Cambridge YMCA ($10, 7:30, all ages)
First ever US tour. The fucking Icelandic genius on piano/organ/electronics with a string quartet and percussionist. DO NOT MISS THIS.



Work/Death at DPZ via Gold Pony
Saturday, June 27
BelltoneSuicide, Work/Death, Xiphoid Dementia, Trachypithecene Entity, DJs Death & Taxes, Holly D, Peter Lee (from Force Of Nature) at 119 Gallery ($5, 8:00, all ages)
Noise Disco night at 119. Noise bands start around 8 and that's one helllll of a fucking lineup. Killerkillerkiller show. "Dancers, come early for noise. Noise fans, stay late and dance."

Haiku Review: Kanin Krusete - Like A thing (Twilight Luggage, 2009)

Kanin Krusete - Veteran Plates


Kanin Krusete
Like A Thing (download)
/thunder and lightning/
/white noise to destroy your ears/
/static with a brain/

Nature - Nature (self released, 2009)

Nature - Growing Season


But Nature is so much better than the dime-a-dozen bass/drums duos. They’re a bit more metal and really into the groove. Lots of repetition that oozes the stoner doom vibe without being too cliche or ridiculous.

Full review on diskant.

Homegrown

Alright guys. Here's the deal. July 16-19. At Church. CRAZY SHIT. Dan Shea/BOWAAC threw together a fucking amazing festival with a ton of awesomeness. $28 for 4 days. $28! That's like almost a dollar a band. Just send the money through Paypal to bowaac@gmail.com. But you gotta act quick, 'cause that price is only good until July 1. Afterwards, you'll have to buy single day tickets for $10 a pop via Church. Oh, and because Church is kinda lame, the fest is 21+. Yup, all 4 days. Anyway, check out this (mostly) completed lineup. It's like a fucking who's who the of Boston/Providence/NY psych/noise scene.

I think I'm most excited about Friday night. Fucking Infinity Window, Sightings, and Trimble? With Gary War and Magic People? Fuck man this fest is going to DESTROY.

Thursday, July 16th
6:00-6:30 Double Awake(boston)
6:45-7:15 Alec K Redfearn and the Seizures(provi)
7:30-8:00 Ice Dragon(boston)
8:15-8:45 Truman Peyote(boston)
9:00-9:30 Head of Horns(provi)
9:45-10:15 Magic Magic(boston)
10:30-11:00 Colin Langenus Orchestra(ex-usaisamonster)(nyc)
11:15-12:00 Major Stars(boston)

Friday, July 17th
6:00-6:30 Quits(boston)
6:45-7:15 Peace, Loving(boston)
7:30-8:00 Doomstar!(boston)
8:15-8:45 Gary War(nyc)
9:00-9:30 Magic People(boston)
9:45-10:15 Reports(boston)
10:30-11:00 Infinity Window(nyc)
11:15-12:00 Bobb Trimble and His Flying Spiders(ma)
12:15-1:00 Sightings(nyc)

Saturday, July 18th
6:00-6:30 Mind Yeti(boston)
6:45-7:15 Many Mansions(boston)
7:30-8:00 Bezoar(nyc)
8:15-8:45 Needy Visions(boston)
9:00-9:30 Titan(nyc)
9:45-10:15 Mmoss(nh)
10:30-11:00 Sunburned Hand of the Man(ma/vt/ny)
11:15-12:00 Kurt Vile(pa)
12:15-1:00 Blues Control(nyc)

Sunday, July 19th
5:45-6:15 Concord Ballet Orchestra Players(boston)
6:30-7:00 Baba Yaga(boston)
7:15-7:45 Exusamwa(boston)
8:00-8:30 Omon Ra(halifax, ns)
8:45-9:15 Geoff Mullen/Keith Fullerton Whitman duo(boston)
9:30-10:00 Prince Rama of Ayodhya(boston)
10:15-11:00 Fat Worm of Error(ma)
11:15-12:00 Debo Band(boston)

News Flash: ICA On Fire!

Prefuse 73 - Smile In Your Face


The Institute Of Contemporary Art in Boston is cranking up the heat this summer. And it's about fucking time! Someone needed to take the place of "museum that has awesome shows" because whoever was the booker at the Museum Of Fine Arts up and left. In the past couple years, the MFA treated us to such wondrous concerts as Matmos and Stars of the motherfucking LID. Thanks for that. But it's been way too long since anything decent has happened at the MFA music-wise and the ICA must've noticed as well.

Between now and September, the ICA will give us the opportunity to see Prefuse 73, DJ/Rupture & Matt Shadetek, Fauna & Uproot Andy & Oro11, Black Moth Super Rainbow, and Dirty Three, not to mention amazing movies like They Live, Bomb It, Scratch, and Stoked: The Rise & Fall Of Gator. Fuck yeah! Major props to the people behind the scenes at the ICA for giving us some high quality entertainment this summer. Now if only they could lower their ticket prices a smidge...

Andrew Eckel - Make A Laser Sound (self released, 2009)

Andrew Eckel - Scene On A Beach


This Andrew Eckel character is special. I can honestly say I've never heard anything like Make A Laser Sound. Ever. It's got me thinking Beck at his weirdest, mixed with some Ben Folds, and lots of Barr. The craziness and absurdity found in Barr's songs are definitely shining through on Laser Sound. It's like fucked up funky trip hop with spoken word and a million outrageous sounds packed into a single song.

I feel about this record the way I did when I first listened to Barr. I kinda didn't like it because it's not easily recognizable as "good" music. It sounds like some 15 year old just grabbed every instrument he could get his hands on and had fun in Garageband. And I actually wondered whether or not Eckel was serious. Could Make A Laser Sound just be a huge joke?

But again, as the same as it was with Barr, multiple listens revealed the genius. And it's not the type of genius that can be easily explained. The only thing that can be said about it is it's sincerity. Eckel had a vision and went with it, disregarding any and all rules. I have no idea what his vision was but I can tell you the end result is a great piece of work. I gotta say, I'm really glad Laser Sound exists. For some reason, it just makes me really happy.

Predator Vision, Oneohtrix Point Never, Sudden Oak, Swanox, Gemstoned, Fluffy Lumbers at The Butcher Shoppe

Predator Vision
Oneohtrix Point Never
Sudden Oak
Swanox
Gemstoned
Fluffy Lumbers

More photos on Flickr.


The Butcher Shoppe is a DIY venue geared towards a very specific audience. Namely, those who already know about it. But if you've never been, there's still hope for you. Saturday night was my first venture to the strange place and my fears of pretentious people and feeling like an unwanted party crasher were unjustified. It was exactly like all of the parties I used to go to when my wife was at Montserrat, except I didn't know anyone here. So if you're not a fan of art school house parties, then maybe you should wait until whatever band you wanted to see plays another show.

As is probably the youzh with The Butcher Shoppe, a couple of bands were added at the last minute. The first band didn't start playing until 11 (Note: don't plan on taking the train home) and at that point everyone headed down to the smoke filled basement/cave where the magic happens. Their name was Fluffy Lumbers and they were part of the ultra reverb laden echoey as shit super catchy garage pop scene like Wavves and the them. Even after their hour long setup time, they still had major technical problems and only played for 15 minutes to a mostly indifferent crowd. I liked 'em, but just kinda wish they didn't show up at the last minute to play and take forever setting up.

Next up were a duo that I believe might be called New Yoga but when someone yelled out "What's your name!?" they replied "Gemstoned. Either Gemstoned or blahblahblah." I can't remember what the other name he said was so I'm going with Gemstoned. There was no band that played that called themselves New Yoga (even though they were billed) so I'm doing the process of elimination thing. Anyway, they were pretty great. The drummer had a beat/sampler pad through which he did some live processing of the guitar. Very weird. And he would fuck with the guitarist all the time, changing shit up and randomly turning him off and stuff. What a joker!

Swanox played next. One guy with 3 pedals and a old keyboard that musta been a tag sale find or something because it had old stickers of unicorns. The first piece he played was some fucking evil Satan in the graveyard shit. Totally awesome. The next piece was a bit lighter but no less rad. Great great stuff. And I'm pretty sure he runs the Caligulan label that put out Usputuspud's Disco tape that I love so much it makes my nips hard just talking about it.

Then Sudden Oak came on and they were working the sax/guitar sound. Totally psychaotic noise with roots in scarily experimental jazz. The sax player just dropped the mic right into the bell. No need for a mic stand (which was actually a mic taped onto a broomstick that was stuck onto a mic stand base). Totally crazy awesome.

Oneohtrix Point Never set up his stuff and fucking dazzled everyone with his unmatched synth skills. The first and last piece he played sounded like some fucked up version of the dungeon music in old school Zelda games. So, obviously, I fucking loved it. The middle piece was some totally nasty glitched out nut buster that could've been long lost radio transmissions between the ancient Mayans and their alien friends.

2 am rolls around and Predator Vision are just starting it up. Apparently they brought along Julian Lynch to play with them. Yeah, the same Julian Lynch who did that wonderful Born 2 Run CD I reviewed a while back. So weird meeting him there. Small world. Anyway, live PV is not like PV on tape. Nope. This was a fucking monstrosity of killer face melting jams. In short, I came home looking like this. See them live. They will make you happy.

Haiku Review: Ash Pool - Saturns Slave (Hospital, 2009)

Ash Pool - Origin Of Man


Ash Pool
Saturns Slave
/awesome black metal/
/with fernow of prurient/
/grand blazing brilliance/

Red Horse - Red Horse (Rel, 2009)

Check out some more of the beautiful packaging on Flickr.

Red Horse - Side B (untitled)


Red Horse is a band that has gained a mysterious cult appeal, at least in the Boston area. The duo of Eli Keszler and Steve Pyne rarely do live performances and they've been around for years before they finally released their self titled debut just a few months ago. There have been plenty of people (not so) patiently waiting this record. Well, if you had any expectations of this album, I assure you now that they have been surpassed. Red Horse is brilliant.

Half of the fun of listening to this is figuring out wtf the sounds are coming from. Pyne is a regular DIY engineer, crafting "massive hand-constructed string instruments, motor-automated resonances, homespun multi-layered Leslies, speaker arrays and sculptural electronics." And then Keszler's got his bowed percussion and drumming the shit out of anything within arm's reach. So before you hear any of the music, Red Horse already has an appealing aesthetic behind it.

But the music is so much more than novelty, which could easily be the case with whacked out home made instruments. Red Horse walk the delicate line of nonsense noise and the freest jazz your brain can imagine. There is a cohesive form that works it's way into the skittery droning realm that Keszler & Pyne have firmly planted themselves in. They take the dabbling of your regular basement freak's CD-Rs and BAM take it up a few dozen notches.

Red Horse is so much more than I ever could have hoped to have on a Red Horse record. Listening to Keszler go all spazzlike with his drumming that sounds like the endless rain of Kerplunk marbles is pure heaven. And I can only assume that it's Pyne who's throwing down that positively disturbing drone.

The two of these guys are like fucking heroes. Anyone who has any dreams of making avant garde/experimental/noise/ear fuckkking music should start taking notes. And start practicing. 'Cause Red Horse have brought the fucking thunder.

Keith Fullerton Whitman - Dream House Variations (Arbor, 2009)

Keith Fullerton Whitman - Dream House Variations


I can't tell you how lucky I feel to live within the same vicinity as electronic grandmaster Keith Fullerton Whitman. This guy is an honesttogod genius and I get the opportunity to see and talk to him frequently at shows and the like. I feel like I get some residual cool rubbed off just by living within 20 miles of him.

Dream House Variations, his newest solo release, is a real doozy. I'm talking super epic here. It's 4 tapes, which is cool enough, but they're meant for simultaneous play. You're supposed to play all 4 tapes at once. Now, forget the practical conundrums for a minute (who actually has 4 tape decks?), and just imagine the grandeur of such a thing. It's a fucking dream come true! 4 times the KFW, 4 times the electronic mayhem, 4 times the beautiful artistry!

But wait, it gets even better. Each tape is a different length (C44, C40, C36, C32) so one tape will stop and flip over while the A side on the others is still going. I'm no math wizard, but I can tell you that it would be a very long time before you reached the original starting positions for all 4 tapes again. So that means the possibilities are endless and you can listen to these tapes for, like, ever and never hear the same thing twice. In the liner notes, Whitman recommends putting the 4 sets of speakers in each corner of a room and to use different brands of tape decks and boom boxes. "Use of fast-forward, reverse, & tape-speed manipulation encouraged." I love him so much. Fucking brilliant.

Now, the problem with this is actually trying to review the music. The fact that it's constantly changing makes it difficult to say concrete things about it. Yes, it's electronic based. It's pretty unsettling, lots of throbbing and whistling and static and modular this and that. You get the idea. It's Keith Fullerton Whitman. And that should be all you need to know.

What I did for you, instead of putting up one side of one tape, I made a single track with each tape starting simultaneously so you get the idea of what it sounds like when they all play at once. What you're missing with this MP3 (besides everything) is the looping concept. Because when the shortest tape ends, I didn't restart it. It just ends and you're left with the sound of 3 tapes. Then 2. Then the last few minutes are just the end of the longest tape. Obviously, this is not the way you should listen to it. What you need to do is go and fucking buy this thing already. There's only 150 of them and you know you need one.

Harry And The Potters, Previously On Lost, Anamanaguchi at The Middle East Downstairs

Hello My Name Is Jumpin Justin

Anamanaguchi

Previously On Lost

Previously On Lost

Previously On Lost

Plenty more photos on Flickr.

Anamanaguchi
*Best 8-bit rock band out there
*Super charming nerdy hipster guys
*Great taste in shirts (lead guitarist was wearing a new design from Seibei)
*Sweet 8-bit visuals
*Played intro to Lit's "My Own Worst Enemy" in between songs
*Crowd ate it up, even those who had no idea who they were
*Actually sound better live
*Side note: Go to their Myspace page and listen to their cover of "So Bored" by Wavves because it's fucking awesome

Previously On Lost
*100% songs about Lost
*Ridiculous stage setup
*Panda Bear Theremin (I have no idea how it still works)
*Enormous cardboard plane flew threw then crashed in the audience
*Inflatable palm trees
*Silly costumes
*Huge picture of JJ
*Super fun tropical rock music and I've never seen Lost

Harry And The Potters
*Lotsa energy
*Played some obscure stuff like "The Enchanted Ceiling" and new weird songs from Priori Incantatem including "Bacon"
*Very small yet faithfully devoted crowd
*Tons of fun, as always
*Young Harry made me the best name tag ever