Women are a band from Calgery in Canada with a name that is impossible to google. (Is ungooglable a word?) More importantly, they have made an incredible debut album. Apparently recorded on ghetto blasters in a basement. Its 29 minutes are crammed with moments of beautiful noise and tape hiss that seek to disguise its moments of nearly perfect pop. Albeit a skewed lo-fi pop perfection. 

Opener "Cameras" finds an irresistable groove that finishes as quickly as it sucked you in. Women do that a lot on this album. They show you a beautiful melody that any other band would a base a whole song around before swiftly breezing onto something else. By the time the pounding "Lawncare" descends into noise you know you are listening to something special. This is confirmed when, after almost four minutes of noise, they launch into "Black Rice" Easily the most accessible song on the album and one of the best pop songs i've heard in a long time, its like The Shins on acid...Really strong acid.  

Women's debut aches of the summer but somehow sounds like it was written during a dark winter. On first listen you feel like an outsider looking in, but with each listen it delves a little deeper into your conscience, in the same way as Deerhunter's Cryptograms did, it slowly takes you over.

This album contains enough pop moments for those who want to skip the noisy bits to fall in love with, for example, songs like "Group Transport Hall" will hit you instantly and brighten your day when your ipod finds it on random.  Although for me, listening to the noise only heightens the beauty when it kicks in. This is fast becoming one of my favourite albums of the year and almost sounds like the precursor to a great career. With a debut like this Women are definately proving themselves to be a band to watch.    

9/10

Listen to them on myspace:

 http://www.myspace.com/womenmusic

Order the record:

 http://www.flemisheye.com/

OK, as has been widely publisized, is predominantly recorded in the Malay language. This should however not deter listeners from being interested. Before expanding further, it is necessary for you listeners out there to fully comprehend one thing: Malique, as a musician is a perfectionist in every sense of the word. This can be seen in the Too Phat recordings and I have personally witnessed the man's work ethic. Therefore, it comes to no surprise that when he decided to make a solo album, it would result in something monumental no less.

This two disc album contains 20 tracks and features Malique touching on topics ranging from love, life, Kuala Lumpur and everything close to his heart. The first track released to the public, Kau Yang Punya is a definite radio winner and I hear it is getting mad radio play in Indonesia. Another standout track is Matera Beradu featuring the legendary M. Nasir. I feel M. Nasir did not compromise his style to fit with a hip-hop vibe, and the result was a perfect mix of hip-hop and traditional malay folk music. The album's namesake track, OK, which features Cat Fabuloso, and KL Streets featuring Lah are also notable songs.

I personally enjoyed Pergi Jauh and Layu.  This album is generally defined by the honesty of its lyrics, the smooth delivery and clever wordplay so representative of Malique and the simplicity of the message in each track. Also, many talented vocalists lent their gifts to this albums production i.e. Elvira, Najwa, Zaf and Lah.

There's no need to hesitate. OK is definitely better than OK. It is both seminal and a must have. Listeners will be left with only one question in their minds:

Who is Chi Qa? :)

06.07.09. OK.

Not the easiest of Google searches, that one, but amazing what useful advice it turns up. Now, you know my sparkly new record label that I'm slowly levering into existence? Well Catbird Records were pretty much all the things I am trying to do myself, only at least three years older. So in other words, respect and deference due.

Of course around here, like most music blogs, it comes down to one thing: tunes any good? Fucking yes indeed they are, crikey this is a terrific album.  The presence of The Shaky Hands' Nathan Delffs comes as no surprise, listening to it.  I don't know how much he had to do with the songwriting, but the lazy, confident rhythm definitely evokes their vibe.

Shimmering, vaguely uncomfortable  guitars build the atmosphere in a manner somewhat reminiscent of a less thunderous version of The Low Lows, and the vocal delivery chimes with a similar kind of unease.  You could be in a half-awake feedback-oppressed dystopia one minute, and a lovelorn dustbowl romance the next.

The combination of that tension with the romanticism is about as squarely perfect an approach for someone like me, it's untrue.  If they'd been aiming for my kind of music I doubt they could have scored any more direct a bullseye.

Forest Fire - I Make Windows[audio http://www.matthewjamesyoung.com/sbt/IMakeWindows.mp3]
Forest Fire - Fortune Teller[audio http://www.matthewjamesyoung.com/sbt/FortuneTeller.mp3]

MySpace | More mp3s | Buy from Catbird Records

It's 2am on a cold and wet November night. Outside the rain lashes down with a steady hiss coupled with the pop, pop, pop as large droplets hit the windows and drip on to the sill. You're sat there listening to some mashed up mix tape of avant-ambient, neo-classical and drone music while someone somewhere is playing techno records at high volume – the muffled bass and thud,thud,thud leaking through the walls into your room. Sleepily, it seems that all the sounds are merging. That's the sound of Gas.

Wolfgang Voigt's Gas project lasted for four albums, all released on Mille Plateaux between 1996 and 2000 and all long out of print. Nah und Fern gathers them together as a four CD box set. It's a beautiful package, illustrated with close up photos of Voigt's beloved Königsforst near his home city of Cologne. There's minimal information – each CD has its title printed on it, but that's about it. None of the tracks are given names. All in all, there is something like four and a half hour's worth of music contained within.

Gas was a very singular vision. Take samples of (mainly) classical music and layer, distort, stretch them into fluctuating drones and melodic loops, leaving in any static hiss and vinyl pops and clicks. Underpin (most of) them with a muffled, bass heavy techno beat and let them run their course for anything from six to fifteen minutes. The results are eerily homogenous and yet full of nuance, colour, melody and individual flavour. It's truly beautiful music – hypnotic and strange, and yet almost womb-like in its enveloping warmth. Picking out highlights is near impossible. The music ebbs and flows like a single, gargantuan piece. The tracks work individually, but their identities and peculiarities are easily submerged when listened to as a whole.

Nah und Fern is an amazing ride – organic and otherworldly, dark and threatening and yet warm and inviting. This is music with so many layers that new things will pop up with every listen. It's astonishing that some of it is twelve years old. There are echoes of this music in loads of contemporary works from Biosphere to Burial, Stars of the Lid to Murcof. But it's still the benchmark that few have come close to equalling. It really is that good.

Tracks
CD1 Gas 1-6
CD2 Zauberberg 1-7
CD3 Königsforst 1-6
CD4 Pop 1-7

Website
http://www.kompakt-net.de/

For one thing, it's a reminder that Beck considers everything he does very seriously, which includes the people he collaborates with-in this case, current it-producer Danger Mouse. Fresh off of projects with Gnarls Barkley and Black Keys, Mouse is a natural fit for Beck, not because he helps the artist move in some new direction so much as he helps Beck tap into a dimension of his music-the dark, sinister undercurrents-that have always been just below the surface. Certainly Modern Guilt is a creepy, paranoid album, capturing the same sort of spooky vibes as Danger Mouses's work with Gorillaz and The Good, the Bad and the Queen. It's a hushed, twilit feel that suggests the imminent setting of the sun-a good fit for Beck's songs, which mourn the steady decline of our culture, ominously but not hopelessly.

The album art also suggests a throwback to the 1960s, which is also true of the album, albeit not in the ways one might think. There are some stray elements here-the surf guitar in "Gamma Ray," the handclaps in "Orphans"-that sound like they could've fit into the patchwork of sounds on Odelay or Guero, but Danger Mouse keeps the whole thing wrapped in a kind of narcotic haze, a sinister atmospheric that imbues every song with a sense of dread. It's not unlike The Information in this regard-there's a wide variety of sounds assimilated into Beck's style, but they all seem very carefully chosen to create a very specific mood, not random or pieced-together like they were on Odelay, nor deliberately classicist like on Guero. These ten tracks are very much of a piece, as much the result of Danger Mouse's spooky production as Beck's cohesive songwriting.

And that' another thing that the modest album artwork suggests-the record's leanness. At just ten songs and barely half an hour of music, this is by far the most direct, concise statement Beck has ever made, which is both a relief after the sprawl of The Information and a bit of a letdown, as it prevents the album from feeling as substantial as some of Beck's other works, even if it's just as effective in creating a mood and communicating a specific set of emotions.

Indeed, the album is at once one of Beck's most artful recordings as well as his most minor. Certainly he and Danger Mouse have created a powerful, memorable sound that is all the more affecting for its short duration, but it must also be said that the unrelentingly sinister feel of the album keeps it from being as much fun to listen to as his last couple of albums; even when Chan Marhsall shows up to sing on "Orphans," or when Beck pens a particularly catchy song like "Gamma Ray" or "Walls," it's all masked by the druggy feel that permeates the whole record. It's also one of Beck's least meaty albums, focused more on creating and maintaining a certain feeling than on exploring its themes with much depth; the lyrics, then, create a series of images, images constructed out of references to suicide and war, to violence and terrorism, and in general to feelings of paranoia in a modern world-but they never go much beyond those images, which keeps the album direct but also makes it seem a bit slight.

But maybe that's what Beck was aiming for. His cover art is clearly meant to evoke a particular time and place, and so, too, do these songs; taken as a whole, the album is an unsettlingly accurate soundtrack to life in the modern world. And if it doesn't quite stand up as one of Beck's more enjoyable or meaningful albums, it must also be said that it's a strong testament to his focus as a writer and as a recordmaker, two aspects of his talent that often get short shrift.

Well well, this is rather good. Johnny Lynch has spent so long slaving away at the Fence Records coalface that it seemed he might keep his own musical endeavours on the backburner forever. Well he's pulled his finger out and spat something out at last, and the results are bloody excellent.

This record is quite Fencey in many respects, with a fairly familiar combination of acoustic balladry teased and perverted by electronic glitchery and atmospherics. The Earlies play on a few of the songs here too, as they did on labelmate King Creosote's breakthrough KC Rules OK.

It's a different animal though, Secret Soundz.  It leans more toward the bleepery of Found, and Johnny's love of Hot Chip shows through immediately on the introductory instrumental Secret Sound #2.  As if to reassure us that he's not going to do anything too weird he slips from that straight into the gorgeous All I Own, followed by the equally excellent I Don't Know Where to Begin.  In fact, this record is forever slipping back and forth between these two places, such that it's almost like a naughty schoolboy who occasionally catches himself gazing wistfully out across a misty harbour, and instantly resolves to do something mischievous immediately lest he be seen as going soft.

As with the latest/forthcoming King Creosote album, this particular gem is only going to be available at gigs until early September, when it is properly released.  KC and PT are touring together this Summer, and Johnny is playing some live shows with Bristolian Rozi Plain as well, so there's plenty of opportunity to do yourselves a favour.

It's been a while, but it's definitely been worth the wait.  I may not warm to maybe one or two songs - Winter Home Disco never quite seems to hit stride, for example - but this is a really good album.

The Pictish Trail - I Don't Know Where to Begin[audio http://www.matthewjamesyoung.com/sbt/ThePictishTrail-Idontknowwheretobegin.mp3]
The Pictish Trail - Words Fail Me Now[audio http://www.matthewjamesyoung.com/sbt/ThePictishTrail-WordsFailMeNow.mp3]

MySpace | More mp3s | Buy from Fence Records

• Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Lay Down in the Light  Someone's been on a roll lately. It's a shambling and shimmering sound. Perfect summer album for this guy. Beardy continues the very nice formula of dueting with a quirky indie female vocalist (Faun Fables lady on "Let Me Go" and Meg Baird on "Ask Forgiveness"). But this time it's my personal fav Amber Webber (of Black Mountain and the canonical Lightening Dust) with a set of pleasant--even cheerful--songs.  And did I hear a jazzy clarinet? The public fellatio tune aside, of course. 
• Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Ask Forgiveness  I'm a sucker for cover albums, and still for Will Oldham albums, so this one had me on the Tuesday it came out. Meg Baird of the great freaky-deaky Espers and her own efforts (who I think I would really like) joins Beardy this time. So this should be much more awesome than it is. I don't think Bill is good at covers. That Tortoise cover album was terrible. This one's not as bad, but you can hear it's lost potential more clearly. It seems like Meg's parts were kind of tacked on. She doesn't even get to do the duet on the lamey version of the best Bjork song ever. Instead, Bill sings both the Bjork and Thom York parts on "I've Seen It All". What does that make the song about? And btw, that song title is an appropriate response to the R. Kelly cover. Did you know he played a cop in one of those gross "In the Closet" episodes?  
• Cloud Cult - Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes)  Another ecstatic ensemble celebrating life as it is, I think. Still, it's pretty great. They live in a commune.
• Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles  "Crimewave" to me represents the best of electronica or whatever this genre is. Repetitive, incomprehensible, and vaguely robo-erotic. I'm down, but this makes feel old.
• Crystal Stilts - Crystal Stilts  This one hits me just right. Nothing groundbreaking. Sounds like I should have been listening to this with my The Clean album.
• Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours  I don't think I would have got this if they weren't going to be at the Pitchfork Festival. It's kind of cheesy. But it's playing on that newly discovered love of 80s synth pop exploited better by Glass Candy in March. I never liked New Order or any of that in their heyday, but now I'm digging the imitators. Maybe they're better dressed.
• Darondo - Let My People Go  I think Darondo is/was actually a pimp, I'm told. So was Al Green, of which he sounds like a cracked-out version. And I'm no hebrew scholar or nothing, but Moses kind of seemed like a pimp. So it makes sense.
• Extra Golden - Hera Ma Nona  I swear to you on my life that I only long for Extra Golden to punk the hell out of Vampire Weekend at this year's Pitchfork Festival. I don't care how they do it. Maybe by washing the Vampire cardigans in hot water. Or midway through Weekend's set of the most offensive appropriation of a heritage (they're the hipster Jar Jar Binks), they could like throw blood on their loafers. Or they could just completely blow them out of the water with their sound so superior to the VDub's Gap Ad-version. And they do the "Obama" song.
• No Age - Nouns  Somewhere along the way, I got it in my head that these guys were a garage band. Maybe it was the picture of  garage (or is it a storefront?) on their album cover. Whatever. My expectations were defied and I refused to listen further. But they kept creeping back in my zune shuffle (oh wise Shuffle) and forced a reconsideration.  This one is better from the pretty good "Weirdo Rippers." And their's something to be said about the packaging (I actually bought the CD old school), which is pretty worthwhile. "Teen Creeps" is my summer anthem.
• Jay Reatard - Blood Visions  I love it. 2 years old, but still kicks ass. Like my son*. Appropriately on the same label as the morekickassing Reigning Sound. That should be enough. Cover's a little gross, though. 

To be continued...

*Artistic license...I really want to use this simile, but I don't have any children, nor do I know any two-year-olds that can kick ass with any particular skill. I assume mine would, though.

Oi Γερμανοί Lacrimas Profundere είναι μια μπάντα που παίζει goth 'n' roll δηλαδή χρησιμοποιεί τις διδαχές των Sisters of Mercy και το sleaze των Motley Crue. Πιο κοντά βρίσκεται σε συγκροτήματα τύπου The 69 Eyes, ενώ δεν έχει καμία σχέση με Paradise Lost και σία. Αυτό δεν είναι απαραίτητα κακό, καθώς η μουσική τους είναι διασκεδαστική. Κατά το παρελθόν έχουν γράψει καλά κομμάτια, αλλά δεν έχουν κυκλοφορήσει έναν ολοκληρωμένο δίσκο. Ούτε τώρα το καταφέρνουν αν και είναι πιο κοντά από ποτέ. Έχοντας πίσω απ' το μικρόφωνο νέο τραγουδιστή, φιλοδοξούν να γίνουν γνωστοί σε περισσότερο κοινό, χωρίς όμως να αλλάζουν το στυλ τους.

Υπάρχει μια ιστορία πίσω από τον τίτλο, ενός ανθρώπου που ζει ταραχώδη βίο και αυτοκτονεί. Εμείς παρακολουθούμε την ζωή του που περνάει μπροστά από τα μάτια του, κάτι τέτοιο τέλοσπάντων. Τα τραγούδια είναι καλά στην πλειονότητά τους: To "A pearl" που επιλέχθηκε για πρώτο single, το "The shadow i once kissed" με τα γυναικεία φωνητικά να συνοδεύουν στο refrain, το μελαγχολικό "And God's Ocean" με το υπέροχο solo στο τέλος, τα "Suicide Sun" και "Dear Amy" με τις ωραίες αλλαγές, το πένθιμο "A dead man", ο επίλογος του "While" που έχει κινηματογραφικό χαρακτήρα. Γενικά το ατμοσφαιρικό/μελαγχολικό στοιχείο βρίσκεται σε ισόποσες δόσεις με το rock, τα βαθιά φωνητικά μαγνητίζουν, οι κιθάρες είναι riff-άτες για το στυλ που παίζουν και πιο βαριές σίγουρα σε σύγκριση με συγκροτήματα όπως οι Embraze. Nομίζω πως οι Lacrimas Profundere αξίζουν παραπάνω αναγνώριση ειδικά σε μια εποχή που οι Him κάνουν επιτυχία, καθώς παίζουν πιο δυνατά, γράφουν επίσης hits και διαθέτουν και το atittude αλλά και καλή μουσική προσιτή τόσο σε κοινό που ακούει περιστασιακά αλλά και σε ροκάδες-μεταλλάδες. Πάντως το ακούω και κατεβαίνει σαν νεράκι.

THE PIT: 7,5/10

Artist: The Mars Volta
Album: De-loused In The Comatorium
Release Date: 23 Jun 2003
Link: www.myspace.com/themarsvolta

De-loused In The Comatorium will always be filed under the ‘What the hell did I just listen to?’ category. Well for me anyway.

Forming out of the ashes of At The Drive-In, Cedric and Omar would re-join the world of music by creating an homage to 70’s prog rock and any other genre of music they could get their hands on.

Being such a big ATDI fan I should have been disappointed by this record because when I heard Cedric and Omar would be starting a new band I just assumed it would be a continuation of ATDI’s sound. Although musically they sounded nothing like ATDI they somehow took the aggressive and exhilarating feeling you got when you listened to ATDI and applied it in a completely different manner.

A few albums later they’re still creating breathtaking music but for me this was and still is their best work.

Highlight/Download: Take The Veil Cerpin Taxt

Tελικά φαίνεται να το έχουν ακόμη! Όταν έχεις κυκλοφορήσει δίσκους που στο παρελθόν πούλησαν εκατομμύρια αντίτυπα (Hysteria, Pyromania) και γεμίζεις στάδια κι αρένες για πλάκα, μπορείς να έχεις και την κάμψη σου. Οι Leps εδώ και χρόνια είναι σε κατάσταση κορεσμού. Όμως ο νέος τους δίσκος είναι ελαφρώς πιο σκληρός από τους τελευταίους, πιο μοντέρνος και με τραγούδια που στέκονται μια χαρά στο σήμερα. Τα "Go", "C' mon, c' mon" , "Hallucinate" μοιάζουν να βγήκαν απ' το ένδοξο (μακρινό) παρελθόν τους, ενώ το "Love" που θυμίζει ολίγον Queen είναι η απόδειξη πως ακόμη μπορούν να γράφουν "γκομενιάρικες" μπαλάντες με τον αέρα του κλασικού.

Το καλό με το νέο album είναι πως rock-άρει αρκετά και έχει αρκετά κομμάτια για συναυλιακούς σκοπούς, περιέχει κάμποσα hit-άκια, δεν υπάρχουν fillers ή προχειροδουλειές κι αν μη τι άλλο είναι ένας αξιοπρεπής δίσκος από μια μπάντα της εμβέλειάς τους. Μην ξεχνάτε πως δύσκολα τα παλιότερα γκρουπς κυκλοφορούν νέους δίσκους μη προσβλητικούς για το παρελθόν τους. Αρκετά καλοκαιρινό το "Songs from the sparkle lounge" και αρκετά...εφηβικό. Για να είμαι ειλικρινής το περίμενα χειρότερο...

THE PIT: 7/10

It has to be said that if everyone took as much time over producing the packaging for their records as Tartaruga do, then there would probably only be about six albums released a year in the whole world (obviously, four of those would be by Machinefabriek). As with their first release by Bleeding Heart Narrative, this comes housed in chunky hand-stitched cardboard. Inside are some individual artworks representing each track, all by a different artist. A little origami tortoise seems to have fallen out of the packet, and is making a painfully slow bid for freedom across the carpet (it'll be lucky to escape the attention of the cat for much longer). In amongst all this, there seems to be a shiny metal coaster too.  Oh hang on, that’ll be the CD. I should listen to that.

Brassica is the nom-de-guerre of London-dwelling sometime-blogger Michael Anthony Wright; we came across him recently via his remixes for the Highpoint Lowlife label. This is his full-length debut as Brassica; although at just over forty minutes, it isn’t actually that full in length. It is full in other ways however, as he covers a lot of ground across its ten tracks, gathering in disparate sonic material (and a fair few sets of parentheses) with kleptomaniacal glee as he goes. Opening track “Conveyor Belt (On The Way In)” comes on like The Books’ esoteric electronic folk twinklings, before giving way to an abstract Icarus-ish found sound collage entitled “Objective 1(Tangible)”. In “The First Education (September)” strings grate, seemingly scarred by the ravages of time; in contrast “Welcome (A Piss In The River)” spits beats with youthful exuberance. “Mull (Until The Mind Begins To Blister)”, which musically and titularly may be my favourite, rises from the deepest of drones to the whitest of noise accompanied by a muffled drum beat; this is set off against - what else – the airy melodies and delicate drum-machine patterns of “Thank You, Mr Francis”.

It takes commendable bravery to attempt to weave anything coherent from all these colourful threads. Especially if you are sewing through some thick cardboard. Microvictories is a very well put together little treasure, dig for one over at Tartaruga.

I'm old enough to remember Erich Von Daniken and his potty theories about how earth's civilizations were brought about through alien contact. There was quite a hoo-ha about it all when I was a kid, and his books flew off the shelves. I've just glanced at Wikipedia and was surprised to learn that he's still with us, and only the same age as Leonard Cohen! Bizarre. Panspermia is the hypothesis that the seeds of life exist all over the universe, and that life on earth is nothing unique, nor even originally from here. Nice theory, but it hasn't a whiff of evidence to support it (nor to discount it – it's one of those hypotheses which are simply acts of faith). Exogenesis is something else entirely – the theory that life originated elsewhere and came to earth during the asteroid bombardment of the Pre-Cambrian era, before the planet had an adequate atmospheric shield. Anyway I digress. The reason I brought the topic up at all was that the panspermia theory is the inspiration behind Alien Genome Project, a self-released album by Craig Murphy (whose band Shoosh are featured on the Phantom Channel compilation) under the moniker ch.pm.

The album consists of drones, cosmic synth chords, and disembodied, distorted vocal samples. It has echoes of Kosmische Musik acts like (early) Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schultze as well as their spiritual descendants such as Pete Namlook. But there are equally nods to Stars of the Lid, Eno's Apollo and Murcof's Cosmos projects. The eight tracks unfold slowly. Some are short and fragile; others, like the title track, have a suitably cosmic grandeur. “Hybrid”, the closing section, has a slowed down echoing voice that has the rhythm of whale song, and sounds like the last, fading sounds of a dying civilization. It's quite a spooky end to a seriously trippy suite of music. Only it isn't quite the end. There is also a bonus 36 minute mix of the album entitled “Alien Genome Project (Full Blown)”. The album is available from Musiczeit at the address below.

Tracks
Part One:
1 Source Of Light 1:33
2 Junk Code 7:20
3 Transference 5:19
Part Two:
4 Replicate 1:36
5 Mystic Structure 6:33
Part Three:
6 Source of Light (Reprise) 1:52
7 Alien Genome Project 10:18
8 Hybrid 6:29
Bonus Track:
9 Alien Genome Project (Full Blown) 36:07

Websites

http://www.musiczeit.com/directory.php?artist=439&title=ch.pm

www.myspace.com/solipsism

Lotte Kestner - China Mountain  (Self-released)

From Bubblegum to Sky - A Soft Kill (Eenie Meenie)

Joan As Police Woman - To Survive (Cheap Lullaby)

PRESTO: STATE OF THE ART

Judging by the sound of this album, Cali-based producer Presto obviously spent a lot of time studying the low-end theory of groups like A Tribe Called Quest and Gang Starr during his teenage years. Packed with boom-bap beats, jazzy samples and deft scratches, ‘State Of The Art’ confidently straddles the divide between throwback and contemporary.

The opening ‘Conquer Mentally’ sets the tone of the project, as true-school heavyweights Sadat X, O.C. and Large Professor resurrect the craft of real lyricism over Presto’s rolling drums and melodic keyboard stabs with impressive results. Equally compelling is the atmospheric play-this-only-at-night vibe of ‘Street Sports’, which finds the raspy-voiced Ark weaving clever sport-related metaphors into his gritty rhymes. Elsewhere, Wayward Saints deliver some slick guitar work on the cool breeze instrumental cut ‘Altered States’ and The Pharcyde’s Fat Lip drops some playful verses on the Kim Hill-assisted ‘What’s What’.

If there’s one criticism of ‘State Of The Art’ it’s that, on a couple of occasions, Presto’s admiration for his musical heroes sometimes overshadows his own identity, blurring the line between drawing inspiration from an influence or simply recreating someone else’s trademark sound. ‘Part Of Greatness’ resembles the style of Pete Rock so closely that, with or without its appearance from CL Smooth, the track could still easily pass as a leftover from the ‘Soul Survivor II’ sessions. Similarly, the punchy ‘Mass Quality’ bears similarities to the work of DJ Spinna, complete with spacey sound effects. However, whilst meant as constructive criticism, such comments could also be taken as a backhanded compliment regarding Presto’s production prowess.

Overall, ‘State Of The Art’ (Presto’s third album) is a lively, organic set that definitely cements the West Coast resident’s reputation as a talented beat maker.

7.5 Outta 10

Out Now On Concrete Grooves

Ryan Proctor

LITTLE BROTHER: …AND JUSTUS FOR ALL

Following their failed major label deal with Atlantic and the departure of producer 9^th Wonder, many were possibly expecting remaining Little Brother members Phonte and Big Pooh to give up on their rap dreams and return to everyday North Carolina life. But if anything, the last couple of years have seen the pair releasing some of their most focused and potent music to date, first with last year’s don’t-call-it-a-comeback project ‘Get Back’ and now with the impressive ‘…And Justus For All’.

Whether you want to view this latest LB release as an official album or a glorified compilation (it’s effectively a revamped version of the Mick Boogie mix-CD of the same name) ‘…And Justus For All’ easily stands up against the duo’s previous efforts, with quality control remaining as high as always. The opening Marvin Gaye-sampling ‘Can’t Stop Us’ features a hard-hitting verse from Phonte which wavers between egotistical and revolutionary, whilst the brilliant ‘Delusional’ mixes the catchy with the credible, as the twosome target the ladies with their mature mack rhymes and an infectious hook. The Nottz-produced ‘Life Of The Party (Remix)’ finds the LBs celebrating their industry underdog status with a sly smile, accompanied by a typically witty verse from subterranean stalwart Skillz. ‘Too Late For Us’ features Phonte and Tiye Phoenix digging into personal territory as they offer some relationship therapy over heavy drums and dreamy keys.

Bolstered by a talented production squad (Oddisee, RJD2, DJ Spinna, DJ Babu etc), this latest addition to the Little Brother catalogue contains enough musical goodness to satisfy the appetite of the most starved rap fan. Justus is served.

7.5 Outta 10

Out Now On Hall Of Justus / Traffic

Ryan Proctor

Heidevolk - Walhalla Wacht (2008, Napalm Records)

1. Saksenland
2. Koning Radboud
3. Wodan Heerst
4. Hulde Aan de Kastelein
5. Walhalla Wacht
6. Opstand Der Bataven
7. Het Wilde Heer
8. Naar De Hallen Der Gevallenen
9. Zwaarden Geheven
10. Dageraad

Band Lineup:
Joost Vellenknotscher - Drums
Joris Boghtdrincker - Vocals
Mark Splintervuyscht - Vocals
Reamon Bomenbreker - Guitar
Rowan Roodbaert - Bass
Sebas Bloeddorst - Guitar
Stefanie Speervrouw - Violin

Total Time = 41:34

Heidevolk official website
Heidevolk MySpace page
Napalm Records

Until this album arrived at my doorstep, I had never heard of Heidevolk. WALHALLA WACHT marks the band's second album and is the follow-up to 2005's DE STRIJDLUST IS GEBOREN. This band from The Netherlands plays a very melodic brand of Pagan/Folk Metal that relies on clean vocals, traditional folk instruments, a heavy guitar and drum sound, and the use of their native Dutch for all the lyrics. Unfortunately, I don't speak the Dutch language so understanding the lyrics is a problem but it's the upbeat battle cry of the music and the way the words are sung that catches the ear.

The music is melodic, upbeat and very grand sounding. The blend of the electric and acoustic guitars with the double bass drumming gives the listener what I like to call the "gallop" effect. Think of Iron Maiden, Manowar, Tyr.....there's an adventerous epic feel to the music like you're riding into battle or starting some sort of adventure. This gallop rhythm drives the songs and, when put together with the choir singing style, it moves you. Throughout many of the songs more traditional instruments like flutes and violins can be heard giving the songs a more cultural feel ('Hulde Aan de Kastelein', 'Naar De Hallen Der Gevallenen'). The album is heavy as most of the songs are full of heavy riffs and some pretty cool solos to go along with the heavy backline.

As I mentioned, the vocals are sung in Dutch and are mainly a gang/choir style that almost sounds like a chant. Everything is sung cleanly except for the occasional heavy growls ('Walhalla Wacht', 'Opstand Der Bataven', 'Het Wilde Heer') that lend another dimension to the battle-cry. Most of the time both Boghtdrincker and Splintervuyscht sing together and that adds a certain operatic power and depth to the words. I envision the vocals as soldiers singing in unison as they ride into battle, a very powerful image.

Bottom Line:
I'm only starting to explore the realm of Epic/Folk/Pagan/Viking Metal so I'm fairly new to the genre. What strikes me about Heidevolk, and the genre, is the ease at which the band incorporates the traditional instruments and their native language with the heaviness of the music. I have listened to some Folk Metal that is really more like Power Metal-light but every song on WALHALLA WACHT has a heaviness and a depth to the music, there are layers of sound to explore, different instruments to hear. The only negative is that I can't understand the words but that is a small problem because I learned many years ago that the music is what drives Metal, not so much the words, and the music on WALHALLA WACHT is very good. Heidevolk will be a band I watch in the future and I will be tracking down their first album for a listen.

I have lost so many friends
I have gained so many memories
I have lost so many friends
I have made so many enemies

So somewhere in the grand shuffle of life are some good times, even if they aren't here right now. Presumably, there will be more of those fleeting moments. Just not today.

I Know You're Married is lushly produced--on first listen it may sound overproduced, but after a few more the production sounds quite natural as a bed for the melodramatic material. It works particularly well on "You Cheated Me," which somehow manages to be a gorgeous song about being betrayed by a lover.

At fourteen tracks--twelve originals and covers of the Barrett-era Pink Floyd song "See Emily Play" and the Eurythmics' "Love is a Stranger"--I Know You're Married is a bit too long--"The George Song" could have easily gone by the wayside, and one or two others are at best borderline. That's a minor complaint in this era of 79-minute albums. Overall, a solid effort with some great moments, and likely to garner some attention.

* * * 1/2

[To be replaced by cool star graphic once I find one I like]

For now, you can listen to the whole album at Martha's official site, although I had trouble getting a couple of the tracks to work.

And here's "You Cheated Me." Video most assuredly not gorgeous:

Update: Oh, for the love of Mike! YouTube really sucks sometimes. I don't know about your browser, but mine is telling me that the video is no longer available, despite the fact that I pulled it from the record label's official YouTube page. Of course, it is still available. Here's the exact same link without the embedded browser. This should work. The song is worth hearing, so click through.

But don't think of it as a sequel; if Keystone was meant to be a sort of revisionist's silent movie soundtrack, Moonshine simply uses Arbuckle's films as a starting point for a set of songs that take on life far beyond the parameters of their starting concept. This is jazz music in the fullest sense of the word-undeniably American music that takes into account what came before it and dares us to imagine what might come next. In other words: It's jazz music that makes us reconsider what jazz music is in the first place.

Opening track "Dog Star" sets the agenda for the rest of the album-it's at once dark and mysterious, elegant and a little spooky, slinking its way through jazz, funk, and soul with no regard for genre lines. Its sultry rhythm can be traced back to On a Corner-era Miles Davis, but Douglas' trumpet solo is more akin to the brilliant improvisations of Miles Ahead or Kind of Blue. This is the fulfillment of fusion jazz's promise-hip and irreverent in one sense, but tuneful, accessible, and totally respectful of the rich history of jazz.

The title cut continues the same ideas, but with a stronger presence from turntable and loops guy DJ Olive. His studio craft adds further dimension to Douglas' full-bodied compositions; notice how Olive's post-production work pulls this song back and forth between different tempos, giving it the kind of inebriated feel that the title suggests before it finally locks into a thick, swampy groove powered by bass and Adam Benjamin's Rhodes piano.

The rest of the album follows suit; this is undeniably cool, edgy music, deeply indebted to funk and rock music but still jazz through and through. It's got a sultry, late-night feel that is effortlessly maintains, to the point where the thumping, pure rhythm track "Kitten" sounds like futuristic funk, while "Flood Plane"-with its samples of disembodied voices floating through the ether-is a spooky epic that occupies the same sonic terrain as a Portishead song. And that's what makes this music great-sure, it's moody, but it's also wonderfully evocative, and totally unencumbered by genre boundaries, all the while tipping its hat toward a deep appreciation for the conventions of jazz. This is no faux-soundtrack or sequel-this is the sound of modern jazz, a jazz that's grounded in the past but looking toward the future.

Artist - Satvik Sequencers
Title - The Middle Path
Label - Audio Ashram, India
Catalogue - CD AA00001
Format - CD
Genre - Electro-Classical
Credits –
Music Director – Balkrishan Sharma
Flute - Pundit Ajay Prasanna
Sarod - Pundit Mukesh Sharma
Vocals - Pundit Bholenath Mishra
Release Date - 30th June 2008

Tracklist -

1. Raga - Ahirbharavi (18:40)
2. Raga - Bhimpilasi (17:42)
3. Raga - Durga (18:12)

CD Text -

The middle path is an attempt to bridge the gap between two different ages, the classical and the digital age. All three compositions are based around the pure Indian classical ragas that are blended with groovy melodious digital atmospheres. The ragas used were carefully chosen keeping the three basic times of an average human’s day – Morning, Afternoon & Evening, thus maintaining a comfortable relaxed environment to listen to the genre of music we have come to call ‘Electro-classical’.

Review -

‘Saatvik Sequencers’ is a conceptual music project by Nikhel Kumar Mahajan and Hari Singh. Both the artists have a vivid background in electronic music. Nikhel has released 2 critically acclaimed albums under his alternate avatars of Sattyananda (Ambient) & Kalyug (Progressive) and has performed at festivals all around the globe while Hari has a sound engineer degree from SAE Chennai & a diploma degree in music production from Manchester Midi School in the UK. He has also played an active role in the Manchester club scene as a sound engineer & organiser. He is going to release his solo debut album on Audio Ashram in 2008. Both the artists have had the honour to work with top classical artists like Amaan & Ayaan Ali Khan, Anoushka Shankar, Subha Mudgal & Ustad Amjad Ali Khan.

‘The Middle Path’ is synthesized to be an evolving journey that uplifts the listener in every way possible. All sounds are comfortable, relaxed & groovy with a sense of shamanic mysticism. The album maintains the uncompromising production quality listeners have come to expect from the duo’s other projects.

Each of the three18 minutes compositions are built on a solid framework of intricate Indian classical music ragas blended with layers of electronic atmosphere drifts that induce dreamy nonchalance.
Raga Aheerbharavi symbolizes the morning cycle of a human’s day. It focuses on the flute by Pundit Ajay Prasanna which is introduced by an array of pads that rise out of the darkness to announce the incoming beat. The sounds are accentuated by soothing vocals and hazy atmospheres that are interspaced with precise mechanical percussions.

The second track Raga Bhimpalasi symbolizes the afternoon cycle & focuses on mesmerizing vocals by Pundit Bholenath Mishra. It starts off with a thick blend of chants & ethereal synths. The digital mix of groovy break-beats and glitchy overtones overlay the organic flute & sarod, teleports our conscious minds to realms of uncompromised quality and cutting edge electro-classical music.

Raga Durga, symbolizes the last cycle of the day, the evening cycle and focuses on the Indian instrument Sarod, played skillfully by Pundit Mukesh Sharma. The track can be best described as an epic. The build up from cinematic ambient bliss to up tempo ethno-chill is impeccable and would best suit a festival audience.

The artwork for the album is warm and pleasant with different shades of orange as a background for digital wire frames. Exploring the CD inlay we find thoughtful quotes such as “We are what we think. All that we are arises with out thoughts. With our thoughts we make our world – Buddhist Quote” which explores the artists thought process and the parallel musical dimension they create & “Just as the highest and lowest notes are equally inaudible. So perhaps is the greatest sense and the greatest nonsense equally unintelligible – Allan Watts” that symbolizes the path between different genres the artists have chosen for painting this sonic canvass.

The Middle Path is a mature and innovative album that has been released by India’s latest Independent Music Label/ Production House ‘Audio Ashram’ which is an initiative by Nikhel, Bawa & Joey Matthew to promote the crème of electronic musicians across different music genres and help the electronic music culture in India morph into a truly global phenomenon. Audio Ashram is also donating a percentage of all the album sales to ‘Cankids Kidscan’ a family support group for children with cancer and their families (http://www.cankidsindia.org/).

Hello!!!

I've been away for a week in the sunshine and now I'm back and better (plus a tan) and ready to kick start the site into the next level. While i've been away all the staff here have been doing a great job and my thanks go out to them. Secondly thanks to everyone that came to our site over the last week and sent us nice comments.

I had set up a weeks worth of posts to be automatically published but for some reason Wordpress didn't kick in. But lets not get all crazy, i still have the posts and over the next few days you'll be able to read my awesome posts on the albums that mean the most to me!

Enjoy

Oliver x

Artist: Silverchair
Album: Diorama
Release Date: 29 Jul 2002
Link: www.myspace.com/silverchair

The story with this album is as follows…

I was 17 and had seventy-ish pounds in my pocket, which was the amount of money it cost me togo from Norwich to Bristol to see my Dad, and I had time to kill before my train. This led me to HMV.

I entered the store and was browsing the latest CD’s when my eyes gazed upon the debut album by Hundred Reasons and a sense of dread came upon me. At that point in my life they were a band I truly believed in and I just had to have it. Unfortunately this was a time in my life when downloading from the internet wasn’t quite as easy as it is now, so that wasn’t an option. I had to buy the album, with money.

So as I was walking around the store, with the CD in my hand, I was trying to figure out how I could see possibly pay for it with the impending purchase of a train ticket ahead of me. AHH I’ve got it! I’ll buy a child’s ticket!! This option, although risky, would give me an extra thirty pounds to spend! I’ve beaten the system!

Looking back now, the clever thing would have been for me to go buy the train ticket first to see if it worked out but you know that feeling you get when you need something so badly you can’t imagine waiting any second longer to have it? I had that feeling. But let’s get back to the story. I was about to pay for the CD when auto-pilot mode kicked in. Every time I’m in a record store my eyes automatically scan the Silverchair section to see if anything new has been released and this time something wasn’t right. Like someone had added a new colour to the rainbow without telling anyone. “Fuck” I thought, it’s a new record! But wait! It’s an import and costs twenty pounds!

An hour or so later…

I’m on a train (it worked out ok!) and I’ve just listened to Diorama. Wow. Not only was it a drastic change from anything they’ve done before but was amazing. Cinematic and other wordly, Diorama, in my opinion, is a master piece. Ok, being a Silverchair fan I have to constantly defend them and the music they made when they were young but seriously, no matter what you think of the band, or have heard before, please check it out.

It took me a while before I listened to that Hundred Reasons album…

Highlight/Download: Tuna In The Brine

]]> http://rockofages.wordpress.com/?p=1063 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:06:29 +0000 rockofages http://rockofages.wordpress.com/?p=1063 Details : 2007, Esoteric, CD

Once again www.peacedogman.com, specifically a forum chat subject of space rock, lead me to finally give this album some significant attention. Released last year and appearing on a number of year ending best of lists it's notable not only for finding ex-Hawkwind members Nik Turner, Dave Anderson, Del Dettmar and Terry Ollis recording together again but also for it containing some excellent music that draws influence from the very Hawkwind album that gives the band it's name.

Some reviews I've read have actually gone as far as terming this "more Hawkwind than Hawkwind themselves" although for me it falls short of that band's best mainly due to a lack of real hard riffing moments that mark many early Hawkwind albums. Instead there is a mix of ambient rock, classy saxophone leads courtesy of Turner and some impressive imagery conjured up by the mixture of off-worldly soundscapes, classic sci-fi sound effects and extremely descriptive lyrics.

Atmospheric throughout its a particularly strong opening with "The Return" drifting across the speakers before giving way to the excellent, dreamy title track "Otherworld". Lyrically superb if unconventional ("Art with his smile like a frozen fish" for example) it's a fine piece that meanders through the verses to a memorable chorus that lives on in the mind long after the album has finished.

There is a notable presence in the shape of lyrics courtesy of Michael Moorcock on a number of tracks. "The Black Corridor" with its legend of "Space is infinite, it is dark. Space is neutral, it is cold" clearly stands out amidst a swath of keyboard effects and impressive guitar work. "Ritual Of the Ravaged Earth", "Arrival In Utopia" and "Notes From A Cold Planet" mark the other must hear songs for Moorcock officiandos.

The epic "Sonic Savages" provides compelling reason to progress at least to the middle of the disc even if your not convinced by the strong opening to the album. A six minute plus epic combining Turner's words with Anderson's music I'd rank it one to download to sample the albums more offbeat offerings. "Bubbles" beats it as the albums highlight for me though. A fine piece of music that really seems to capture a sense of universal space, not just with it's inter-stellar travel reference but by recalling The Eagles' "Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy" gracing piece "Journey Of The Sorcerer" too. Soaring, evocative music rising to near Floydian levels thanks to Nik Turner's saxophone solos.

Overall the album is an interesting listen and will certainly appeal to Hawkwind fans of course but overall it's closer I think to the more laid back Pink Floyd approach than classic Hawkwind. One or two tracks that built up to the hard rocking intensity of say "Silver Machine" or "Motorhead" and we could have been looking at a classic. Worth checking out though without a doubt.

Highlight : Bubbles

Score : 3/5

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"Sonic Savages" performed live. Taken from the DVD "Satiricon".

-----

BL

Return To Main Page

I didn't really care for either album this time around, but I was less harsh on them than some.

If you'd like to read the full review here, check out my Reviews and Freelance Work section.

Tελικά αυτό το folk/pagan υβρίδιο είναι πολύ της μόδας τελευταία. Οι Tyr που χρόνια βγάζουν το ψωμί τους παίζοντας το στυλ αυτό, τραγουδούν στην γλώσσα τους (προέρχονται απ' τα νησιά Φερόε) και βασίζονται στην παραδοσιακή μουσική της χώρας τους (και άλλων όμως χωρών) περασμένη από ένα prog πρίσμα. Προσωπικά το νέο τους album το βρήκα αρκούντως βαρετό, αρκετά "λατέρνα και σανδάλι" , με επαναλαμβανόμενα κιθαριστικά θέματα, μονόπλευρες δομές κομματιών και έλλειψη έμπνευσης. Όχι η γλώσσα δεν παίζει ρόλο, απλά έχουν ξεχειλώσει τις συνθέσεις τόσο που φαίνονται ανούσιες ενώ μοιάζουν απελπιστικά μεταξύ τους!

Σίγουρα πιο σοβαροί από άλλους, αλλά η viking θεματολογία δεν επαρκεί. Στον προηγούμενο δίσκο τους "Ragnarok" υπήρχε νόημα, εδώ κάτι -για να μην πω πολλά- δεν πάει καλά. Αυστηρά και μόνο για οπαδούς του είδους.

THE PIT: 5/10