I'm Gone

And while I'm gone, you can listen to this little mix I made on Muxdos. BAM. See you bitches Monday.

Haiku Review: Dead Times - Midnight Glass (self released, 2009)

Dead Times - Warp Rhythm


Dead Times
Midnight Glass (download)
/avant freak gloom punk/
/fever ray plus nightmare noise/
/open eyes, clench teeth/

P.S. I'll be outta town this weekend. I'm going to the Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival tomorrow, hence the Haiku Review today. So no Show Worthy post Sunday. Sorry.

Nadja & Black Boned Angel - Nadja & Black Boned Angel (20 Buck Spin, 2009)

Nadja & Black Boned Angel - II


Well fuck. I only had to wait a fucking year for this to come out. May of '08, I reviewed Christ Send Light, the teaser EP these guys put out in anticipation of the full length, which was supposed to be out by the end of the year. Unfortunately, we ended up waiting until July for this bad boy to come out. The question is, was it worth the wait? Fuck. Yes.

Two epic 20+ minute tracks of raw doom bliss. However, these songs aren't quite as Jesu-esque as Christ Send Light and are much less accessible. They actually sound more like what you'd expect a collaboration between Nadja and Black Boned Angel to sound like.

The first track starts out all buzzing ambient, then it jumpstarts at about 6:30 and your walls start crumbling. Just gorgeous monster doom, tearing up your speakers. That doesn't last for too long, though. The beauty and percussion drop out and it morphs into a swarm of shrieking eels. An absolutely terrifying wall of sound that stays course for the last 10 minutes of the song. Like I said, much less accessible than the teaser.

As with the first song, the second begins with some ambience, an ocean breeze with a dark undercurrent, the impending doom easily recognizable. After what seems like an eternity of buildup, a slow drum beat makes it's way into the enormous mass of hiss. Seriously, this shit is fucking gigantic. Like a titanic black sun, pulsing in it's last moments alive, about to go supernova. Eventually you have no idea who's doing what. It's all one big fucking beautiful mess. But there is no final catharsis. Instead, all of that accumulation, the song itself is the explosion. And everything trickles out, loses steam, fades into nothing.

This doesn't even rank on a scale of epicness. It is too epic for labels. Regardless if you're a fan of Nadja or BBA or a total newb, this is fucking required.

MP3: Andrew Douglas Rothbard - Wisely Wasted

Andrew Douglas Rothbard - Wisely Wasted


Holy shit I have been listening to "Wisely Wasted" constantly for the entire week. It's fucking gorgeous. It's like if Citay made an IDM record. Just thick, lush, electronic psych that wraps it's warm bear paws around me and I just totally lose myself in it. The part around 3:30 where it stutters gets me every fucking time. I love this song so much. It's on Rothbard's (digital only) Exodusarabesque that came out back in February on Peaking Mandala. You should download it, like, now because it's fucking fantastic.

Prehistoric Blackout - Stone Reaper (Pizza Night, 2008)

Prehistoric Blackout - S.R.1


You get all the joys of rolling around in grime and then you just get to stand up when it’s over and say, “That was a fucking blast” and not have to worry about taking a shower or anything. Your palette is somehow already cleansed.

Full review on diskant.

Greg Kelley & Jason Lescalleet, Ghost Grass at Wire Sounds

I showed up late (couldn't find the place) and missed most of Ghost Grass' set. I left early (to catch the last train to Salem) and didn't hear a single note of Graveyards. So instead of reviewing this show, which I only saw slightly more than a third of, I'll just say that Kelley & Lescalleet were mind blowingly amazing. Shrill, unnerving, kidney rupturing chaos. And here are a couple of pictures.

Ghost Grass
Greg Kelley & Jason Lescalleet
Greg Kelley & Jason Lescalleet

Show Worthy 8/3 - 8/9

Monday, August 3
Daniel Striped Tiger, Get Laid, Planned Communities, Alocoholocaust, Fruit Salad at Charlie's Kitchen ($6, 8:00, 21+)
This show seems to be a bit of a clusterfuck right now. Not totally sure who's playing and who's not. It's most likely everyone is playing but don't be too surprised if you show up and Fruit Salad's not there. But this should still be a great show if only for ladykillers DST. Those dudes fucking rock. Totally worth going to just for them. Promise.



Animal Hospital via
Monday, August 3
Animal Hospital, Maine Coons at Weirdo Records (donate, 8:00, all ages)
I'm pretty sure Maine Coons is also playing this even though these Weirdo shows typically just have one performance. I know nothing about Maine Coons, though. Just the fantastically fantastic ambient experimental post rockishness from Animal Hospital.




Wednesday, August 5
Tech Noir, Yes Giantess, Treehorn, Road Apples at O'Brien's ($7, 9:00, 21+)
Hey! I just reviewed Tech Noir and now they're playing a show at O'Brien's. Sweet. Along with them are fellow local synth poppers Yes Giantess and sad bastard Treehorn. And Road Apples are like that red fruit you see when driving to your friend's house.... I dunno. I got nothing.



Casy & Brian by Dalton Blanco via
Friday, August 7
Casy and Brian, Unicorn Basement, Worldmap at The Cottage ($3, 9:00, all ages)
Woooo! Go celebrate the first show at The Cottage with some totally rad bands. Casy & Brian are coming all the way from San Francisco to play their synth drum dance fun for you. Unicorn Basement is a guy/girl duo that are a perfect touring match for Casy & Brian. The girl plays keytar, so that's cool. And there's a 4th band playing that they haven't figured out yet. Sure to be awesome, though.
Update: Rene Netherlands (formerly Guatemala City) has officially been added to the bill.



Perispirit
Saturday, August 8
Halflings, Perispirit, Sharpwaist, Corephallism, Pharmakon at Jacques Cabaret ($10, 8:00, 21+)
Fuck yeah dude. A night of pure drone noise awesomeness. How could you ask for anything more than this lineup? Well, except for the fact that Double Awake isn't playing anymore. But truthfully, that just might've been too much noise.

Haiku Review: Deastro - Orange Swimmer Red Summer (self released, 2009)

Deastro - Shield Whip


Deastro
Orange Swimmer Red Summer (download)
/echo synth fun times/
/hypno rainbow space fractals/
/dance in your moon boots/

P.S. I really like this record. Like, a lot. And even though it's not quite as orgasmic as his other releases, I Haiku Reviewed it instead of other Deastro records because it's a free download. You should definitely make an effort to check out stuff like Moondagger and Keeper's because they're amazingly awesome and I personally like them more than Orange Swimmer.

Skogar - Healer/Destroyer (Native Parts, 2009)

Skogar - Blast From The Past


I just got sent a couple releases from the unknown-to-me Swedish label Native Parts and since this is my favorite of the two, I figured I'd start with this one. Skogar (aka Johannes Brander), is the force behind Native Parts and apparently has serious musical creationism skillz. Healer/Destroyer was made while he was struggling with an undiagnosed sickness and it was actually never meant for public release. Thankfully, he changed his mind because this record is fucking wonderful.

This is a mostly melancholic affair filled with the kind of songs that play in your head as you stare forlornly out the window on a rainy day. It starts out halfway cheery with an organ/harmonium thing on "Blast From The Past" and some Casio beats and melodies on the short but sweet "Oh Ohh O."

After that, though, things turn a bit... atmospheric. Subtly dramatic guitars that fill up song after song. "50 MG" and "Remake Of Nothing III" meander through some thick cold forest haze, maybe hoping to find a bit of light indicating a warm cottage off in the distance. The title track begins in a similar way but towards the end goes into a strange fantasy land with bizarre ominous keyboards and fairy dust star twinkles. Then "With Vocals" comes on with it's relentless threatening guitar and you know shit just got serious. No more fucking around. You just got yourself caught in 6 minutes of eerie doom.

At least the last song, "Ditch" isn't quite as frightening. Just sad. A lonely guitar, dragging it's feet through the house, moping around, wishing it would stop raining. Having only heard this one release from Skogar, I don't know if his music is usually this gloomy. Regardless, though, Healer/Destroyer is pretty fucking great and I'm hoping his next release is longer and maybe a bit more cheerful.

Benny Nelson & Brandon Terzakis at Weirdo Records

Seriously guys, Weirdo Records is the place for live weekly experimental awesomeness. This is the third time I've been there within the past month and it looks like August & September are only going to be better. If you haven't gone yet, you're already missing out. This past show had Benny Nelson and Brandon Terzakis collaborating with a chord organ and prepared guitar (respectively).

They bookended their set with two pre-recorded pieces that they brought on CD. Regardless of how weird it was to sit there with the two of them doing nothing while their music played overhead, the music itself was pretty great. But the stuff they played live, that was something special.

It started out, literally, almost completely inaudible. The thunderstorm of pedestrians and traffic out on Mass Ave was either ridiculously distracting or added an interesting atmospheric/field recording feel to the music, depending on your viewpoint. Benny was pressing down on two organ keys, so I knew I was supposed to be hearing something, but Brandon was hunched over some electronics and his guitar so I couldn't be too sure if he was actively creating or not.

The music was so delicate and so subtle, I feel like even if I were listening to it at home or on my headphones, no matter how loud I turned it up, it would still be barely there. But slowly, very slowly, the volume increased. Every few minutes or so, I'd notice that it was louder than before, even though I couldn't pinpoint a specific time where it changed.

The piece lasted maybe 15 or 20 minutes, hardly changing at all, 95% static save for a slight wavering and the continual amplification. Benny's two fingers infinitely pressing those two keys, and Brandon doing who knows what with an e-bow and various pedals and knobs, doing almost nothing while making such light beautiful drone. Then, abruptly, the music cut out and I realized just how loud they got it cranked up. It was weird hearing nothing after I thought what I was hearing was bordering on nothing. They smoothed things out and cleansed your aural palette with a little more quiet tones before playing the last taped piece. The whole thing was simple, understated splendor.

Most likely you didn't see this show, as there were only a handful of people there (including plenty of local noise makers like KFW, Howard Stelzer, and Ophibre). So if you didn't, you can look forward to a split (not collaboration, sorry) between Benny and Brandon coming out soon courtesy of Mr. Whitman. Otherwise, just hope they'll do this again. And if they do, trust me, you don't want to miss it.

Technoir MA - Technoir MA EP (self released, 2009)

Technoir MA - Roundabout


Technoir MA, occasionally known without the MA, are a couple of dudes from Somerville that know how to put smiles on faces. They do the catchy indie electro popgaze really really well.

Their new EP is 20 minutes worth of truly wonderful tunes that are 100% danceable while avoiding the "dance" label, similar to A Faulty Chromosome or Radio Dept. They got the dreamy guitars, echoey electronic drum beats, and a singer who has no business in the 21st century. I have a feeling Kevin Shields will be throwing some Technoir on the next Sophia Coppola movie.

The first song, "Roundabout," starts out and I always think I accidentally put on White Williams' "New Violence." It quickly turns into something entirely different, though, and just as cool. "Lovers To Lepers" has a great fucking riff that for some reason reminds me of recess in elementary school. Yeah, I don't know either. The last one is a slower song with a tropical rhythm section and perhaps a slightly-too-obvious title: "Islands."

All in all, way too fucking short. It's an EP, I know. But I want more. Sue me. So would somebody sign these guys already? I want a full length.

P.S. This is under the Creative Commons License so feel free to chop that shit up and make your own kickass remix. They won't mind.

Oneida, Sunburned Hand Of The Man, Big Bear, Glenn Jones at Outside The Lines Studio

Glenn Jones

Big Bear

Proceeding chronologically with the recent shows I've been to (also saw Benny Nelson & Brandon Terzakis last night at Weirdo, review soon), here's a recap of what happened at the highly honorable Outside The Lines Studio, which, in case you don't know, is a gallery/studio space for adult artists with developmental disabilities. The place is a big warehouse that is overrun with art everywhere. Sculptures in every corner, paintings on every empty wall. Awesome, right? Even more awesome is the artists get %85 of all sales. That is fucking outrageous. In a really really good way.

Anyway, Glenn Jones (of Cul De Sac) started things off (replacing World Map). Apparently I saw him at Brainwaves last November and I didn't remember until he started his set. I was more than happy to see him again. This guy plays the most amazing guitar. It sounds like he's got 4 or 5 guitars all going at once. I have no idea how he does it but it's wonderful. Simultaneously dusty and clean, with a slight Americana sound. So good. I especially love when he plays the banjo. Because, well, I love the banjo.

Big Bear played next and HOLY SHIT I have never been able to hear all instruments and vocals live before. Whoever did the sound somehow made everything stand out from each other. I heard Jordyn's singing clear as day, both the keyboard and guitar, AND the bass. I never hear the fucking bass. It blew my mind. I have no idea what went differently but it was weird. I'm actually not even sure I liked it better or not. Either way, though, they mostly stuck to songs from their new record, with a couple older and newer than new ones. Fucking great. As usual.

I mentioned before that I thought seeing Sunburned Hand Of The Man live would push me one way or the other over the fence regarding whether or not I actually like them. Well, this performance definitely landed me on the "Sunburned is not my thing" side. I don't know if this is how they usually do things, but they had some bearded ponytail wearing guy come up twice to do some freestyle singing. That didn't go over too well with anyone I don't think. After coaxing everyone for too long to "fucking dance already" some guy in the audience ran up to the singer, grabbed the mic and yelled "I fucking hate you!" and threw both of his sandals at him. Taking it in stride, the singer said "Now there's a man with courage!" But even if it was all instrumental, I don't think I would feel any differently. I might be permanently writing Sunburned off after that night.

And then thee glorious Oneida stepped up, totally fucking outshining Sunburned's set. I didn't know this until Saturday night, but Oneida is seriously a band that can not be fully appreciated until seen live. They are a totally different beast. An amazingly beautiful beast of destruction. They played a bunch of stuff off of Rated O (which I just picked up at the show and can't wait to hear). The best part was seeing how much Oneida enjoyed playing live. They just radiate this sincere carefree joy that makes it's way into the audience. Everyone loved them. They were super tight. Kid Millions needs to get a fucking award or something. Dude is honestly one of the best drummers out there. Oneida is worth seeing live just to watch Kid smash his drums.

P.S. This show made me realize that I don't like to take pictures if I want to rock. So I apologize for never ever having any pictures of (especially) Big Bear and (specifically) Oneida.

L'Acephale - Malefeasance (Aurora Borealis, 2009)

L'Acephale - From A Miserable Abode (Alt Mix)


Portland's L'Acephale has a new release, Malefeasance, that comes just in time for Boston's summer. The heat is up, the sun is out, and we're finally done with all that fucking rain. Now it's time for some blissful sunshine via L'Acephale's wondrous tunes.

Malefeasance is full of charming upbeat melodies coming straight out of a John Hughes movie. The choruses are catchy as fuck and I swear "Väinämöinen Nacht" has been stuck in my head for weeks. Most of the songs fall somewhere between dance jam and ballad, the kinda of thing that will get played at every single high school prom next year. L'Acephale has really captured the essence of summer with Malefeasance and I guarantee this is the most charming record you'll hear all year.

Show Worthy 7/27 - 8/2

Benjamin Nelson on Rare Frequency via
Monday, July 27
Benjamin Nelson & Brandon Terzakis at Weirdo Records (donate, 8:00, all ages)
Nelson + Terzakis = prepared guitar + chord organ = sign me the fuck up


Quits
Friday, July 31
Magic People, Life Partners, Quits at Jacques Cabaret ($10, 8:30, 21+)
Magic People are fucking weird. But in a totally awesome way. Industrial minimal punk doom with a dose of hilariously absurd lyrics. Not too sure about Life Partners... But Quits are Wayne Rogers and Kate Village from Major Stars plus some crazy man on drums and they just fucking shred. No songs. Just insane psych meltdowns. Also, Kim Phuc might be playing?



Andrew Eckel via
Saturday, August 1
Andrew Eckel, Steve Walther at Lilypad ($10, 7:00, all ages)
Remember Eckel? The guy that did the crazy ass Make A Laser Sound? Now you can see that wacky shit live and I can pretty much guarantee that his live show will be just as awesome as the record. He'll be playing piano and joined by Jonah Sacks on cello and Louisson playing bass.



Max Lord by Jane Wang via
Saturday, August 1
Graveyards, Greg Kelley & Jason Lescalleet, Ghost Grass at Wire Sounds (donate?, 8:00, all ages)
I think Graveyards is normally John Olson, Chris Riggs, and Ben Hall but this incarnation includes Vic Rawlings on cello/electronics. Kelley & Lescalleet do amazing trumpet/tape stuff. And Ghost Grass is Max Lord, who's hosting the show at his loft in Downtown Crossing. He does awesome electronics shit with all sorts of crazy synthesizers and whatnot. This show is going to be killer. I know there's a lot of other things going on Saturday night but I think this one is where all the cool kids will be.




Saturday, August 1
Friends Forever Fest at Chatham Village Hall ($5, 4:00, all ages)
If you're going to be anywhere near South Chatham on Saturday, there's an awesome little fest going down with a bunch of cool bands. Totally worth it just for Animal Hopistal and Peace, Loving but there's also Total Bolsheviks (ambient coolness), Dead Rambler (folk/haunting/acoustic/etc), Brava Spectre (screechy psych nasty tribal stuff), Western Syndrome (high speed brutal punk metal), and The Zookeepers (totally awesome catchy indie pop with a free album). Lots of fun should be had. 3 rules though. "No drinks. No dope. No bad vibes." Easy enough, right?



Sore Eros via
Sunday, August 2
Sore Eros, Eat Cloud, Youngest at Great Scott ($8, 9:00, 18+)
Ducktails and Oneohtrix Point Never were originally scheduled for this show which would have made it 100% epic. They hand to cancel for whatever reason but this show is still mostly epic. All the info for the new lineup is somewhere on Lemmingtrail which at the moment is switching servers so I can't give you all the details. I know a Prince Rama side project is supposed to play, and that may or may not be Youngest. But Sore Eros is super great chill stuff from CT and Eat Cloud does hypnotic poppy electronics from Providence. So this show is still gonna rule. And there's also a little daytime thing happening around the corner at O'Brien's with Station Wagon and Kilojoule around 2:00 for $5. I think they're trying to incorporate both shows into one "event." Kinda weird but whatever. That just means more good tunes.
Update: Prince Rama side project is Prince Llama, features members of Prince Rama, Concord Ballet Orchestra Players, more. Also, Coralcola has been added. Fuck yeah dude. This shit just got real.

Haiku Review: Memory Cassette - Calls & Responses EP (Acephale, 2009)

Memory Cassette - Last One Awake (Friend Version)


Memory Cassette
Calls & Responses EP (download)
/super blog buzz band/
/puts out free remix ep/
/lights up, crowd goes wild/