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.

Video: To Kill A Petty Bourgeoisie - The Needle

Ambient psych folk gaze rockers To Kill A Petty Bourgeoisie have a video for the single "The Needle" off of their newest record on Kranky, Marlone. They take the road of old school German Expressionist films like The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari and make a (mostly) black and white video with lots of layers, shadows, and tons of shit that doesn't make any sense. Floating letters + skulls + sledgehammers + horseback riders = SUCCESS!

Ava Luna - 3rd Avenue Island (Cooling Pie, 2009)

Ava Luna - Six Seven (I Want To Hide Away)


I listen to as much crazy shit as possible. Most of the time it borders on the music/not-music line. I would say I'm used to weirdness found in music. But I most certainly never, ever thought I would hear anything like Ava Luna. This bunch is totally unlike anything I've ever heard before.

3 guys and 3 gals, some drums, and a synth. That's it. What comes out of 3rd Avenue Island is rhythm heavy synth gospel punk. Recorded in a church, no less.

The synth reminds me a lot of the flash-in-a-pan DFA79, although nothing on 3rd Ave ever gets quite as spastic and amped up as them. The drums are pretty straightforward, nothing too adventurous. They're either there to keep time, add the occasional flair, or go completely fuckin nutty when shit gets crazy. What makes Ava Luna so different, though, are the vocals. There's a male lead and 3 female backups. All of their voices are so smooth and soulful, and their harmonies are something straight out of a '50s doo-wop group. Maybe imagine if Todd Lewis of Toadies had some old fashioned glee club girls join him in his church of synth punk to sing hymns. That's Ava Luna.

The moment you put on 3rd Avenue Island, it's instantly recognizable as some truly unique shit. And I'm pretty sure it's gonna be a "love it or hate it" record. For me, it's obvious. I can't get enough of this. I hesitated for a split second on that first track but I made up my mind pretty quickly. Ava Luna is fuckin boss. And I can only imagine what sort of insanity goes on at their live shows.

Summer Breeze

Braden J McKenna - Taken Away


It's come to the point where I don't even need to listen to this stuff before I post it. I just got an e-mail form Braden J McKenna informing me that he just put up a new solo EP and WYLD WYZRDZ album for free downloading on Magic Goat Music. So I immediately pass word along to you so you can revel in the newest awesomeness from Braden.

Here's a quick refresher: Braden J McKenna's work under his own name is jolly lo-fi fun garage rock folk and he's got a crazy unique awesome voice that makes every song magic.

WYLD WYZRDZ is McKenna working under a different name, which he considers to be his phsych/pop/drone/cool/ambient/noise/loop/whatever project.

I've never heard anything bad come from this guy. Ever. So hurry up and download Alien Summer and Millenium Breeze before they're all gone.

Show Worthy 9/28 - 10/4

[Photo removed by request]
Jarrod Fowler via by Susanna Bolle
Monday, September 28
Jarrod Fowler at Weirdo Records (donate, 8:00, all ages)
Just... go listen to the samples on his Myspace page. Seriously. He also has a "percussion" CD. I guess. I have no idea what's going on at Weirdo, but it'll probably be awesome.



Andrew W. K. via by drivenbyboredom
Tuesday, September 29
Andrew W. K. & The Calder Quartet at Coolidge Corner Theatre ($25, 9:00, all ages)
AWK playing piano. With a string quartet. There should only be one thing stopping you from going to this. That $25 ticket price. YIKES. But if you can swing it, it'd certainly be worth it.




Tuesday, September 29
Ho-Ag, Battle House, Jordan, Mind Yeti at O'Brien's ($8, 9:00, 21+)
Local spazz heroes Ho-Ag are playing a show with Boston post-punks Battle House, so that's cool. Jordan's a garagey band from Paris. And Mind Yeti is the real reason you should go to this. Because they're so mysterious. And cool.



Mochipet via by 3rdCircle
Wednesday, September 30
Mochipet, D-Sub at Goodlife ($?, 10:00, 21+?)
Mochipet's just back from his tour in Asia, and he's stopping in Boston for your dancing pleasure. Crazy awesome bass heavy breakcore dub glitch hip hop shit that will blow your mind. Thank BASSIC for hookin you up.



The Besnard Lakes
Friday, October 2
The Besnard Lakes, Thalia Zedek, New Numbers at TT The Bear's ($?, 10:00, 18+)
I saw The Besnard Lakes at TT's last time they came around but only because I tried to see Dan Deacon at The Middle East Upstairs and it was sold out. But it worked out better that way because I've seen Deacon a couple times since whereas The Besnard Lakes have been pretty quiet. They're amazing live, though. And I'm sure they'll be playing a bunch of new stuff. And with Thalia Zedek opening, this'll be a great show.




Saturday, October 3
Many Mansions, Coralcola, Ming Ming Dance Co, Alaskas, Nameless at Whitehaus (donate?, 8:00?, all ages)
Fuck that is one awesome fuckin lineup. A couple of out-of-towners and some locals playing highly danceable tunes. Many Mansions does the weird loopy tropical thing, Coralcola is Worcester's answer to minimal techno-gaze, and Ming Ming, well, they're just Ming Ming. Killer bands, you'll have a totally rad time, go support Whitehaus 'cause they rule.

Haiku Review: Nuggies - The Sound Of Explosions From The Northeast (Gorilla Ointment, 2009)

Nuggies - Water


Nuggies
The Sound Of Explosions From The Northeast (download)
/fucked up shape shifter/
/nonsense art and drippy beats/
/have fun, shit your pants/

AIF: Steven Flato - Owl Creek

Steven Flato - owlcreek01


"An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce as .txt becomes .aif via Steven Flato (download) becomes .mp3 via me (stream).