Bureau B I think the first thing that should be mentioned about this record is the press release. Breaking all form and convention, it’s readable, witty, descriptive and — get this — actually tells you some information about the record.
Monthly archives: May 2017
27 posts
File 13 I must confess The Poison Arrows are a new one on me, but a great discovery because they ply the kind of slinky bass-heavy American post-hardcore that the likes of Girls vs Boys (GVSB) and The Jesus Lizard put out years ago.
Bristol 26 May 2017 The stage may have dwarfed her stature, but Little Annie‘s cabaret queen antics were larger than life, completely over-spilling the place. Cloaked in Eastern silk, her waist a blaze of African bracelets, Annie’s hoarse vocal was something to be treasured – both warm and vibrant, bursting […]
Dais “This is what it’s like.” A softly whispered, wraith-like voice appears during one of the tracks and it’s an exemplar: this is one (relatively) short descent into a steaming woodland of madness. There’s great chasms opening up all over the land and we’re listening to ourselves being swallowed.
Paradigm Discs These recordings make up part of the Kymatik archive and were recorded nearly 20 years ago, yet are timeless and unfold at our leisure.
Adaadat White was the pairing of percussionist Shenggy Shen and guitarist and singer Zhang Shouwang, and this, their first album, was originally released in 2007. Now Adadaat have given White its first outing on vinyl, and it not only sounds but looks good ten years later, the striking cover image […]
Constellation This is Do Make Say Think‘s seventh album for Constellation since their inception twenty years ago and the first in eight years and it is a glorious, Technicolor addition to their already wonderful pantheon. For me, no other band sounds like DMST
BMG When Nick Cave experienced the tragedy above all tragedies as a parent in 2015, it would be no surprise that all artistic output would be set on hold. This compilation was in the process of being finished, but was yielded maybe because the need of finishing Skeleton Tree that […]
Thoofa If this was a knitting pattern it would be full of lopsided colour, tangled dimensions and probably more armholes than really necessary. This second helping from Prescott has been well worth the wait. The musicianship is blinding, each track built up on little stabbing motifs playing footsie with Commodore […]
Sub Rosa It’s becoming a little unpopular, and there seems a tiresome insistence creeping in that music should stand for itself (I completely disagree), but I love electronic music that’s about something; I love a history and a context. The words surrounding a release are as important to me as […]
London 11 May 2017 There’s a scene towards the end of John Carpenter’s turbo-charged 1982 creature feature The Thing when the titular metamorph – just before being blown to shit by Kurt Russell’s vengeful sticks of dynamite – writhes and transmutes in all its slimy, gory glory.
Optic Nerve There seems to have been a lot of bands returning to action over the last few years, but surely one of the most welcome must be The Wolfhounds.
Bristol 12 May 2017 French violinist Agathe Max warmed things up with a stunning set of looped riches, her bow floating with the gymnastic gait of a trapeze artist as she filled the canvas with different textures and tonal depths.
MIG Music Klaus Schulze is one of the pioneers of electronic music; his expansive cosmic music from the 1970s changed the face of modern popular music, and along with Tangerine Dream, it gave the world the Berlin School sound.
London 4 May 2017 Einstürzende Neubauten are a band very close to my heart — indeed, they reside in tattoo form on my left arm, so it’s literally a matter of inches. So I am delighted when, having given up on seeing what’s billed as a Greatest Hits set due to […]
Gizeh Less is more, so they say. But as facile as that gnomic wisdom is to state, successfully — satisfyingly — putting it into practice, musically or otherwise, can be another thing altogether. This is what the pairing of Aidan Baker and Karen Willems achieves here.
Fourth Dimension Some of the best things come about from unplanned events: Lisa Jayne and drummer Andy Pyne (from Kellar, Medicine and Duty and more) first manifested as an impromptu performance at Supernormal in 2013 and this is their latest cassette together as Map 71
Rocket Girl Originally released as a 7″, a 12″ and an LP, these tracks were then compiled as a CD back in 1992 and have since been out of print for a long long time. Is this a 25-year anniversary re-issue? If so, it is one of the most worthwhile that […]
It’s the time of year in Europe when days grow longer, spring blossoms multiply andthe Eurovision Song Contest heaves into view; which also entails Kev Nickells going through each and every entry with a vengeance.
London 28-30 April 2017 Friday GP: It’s the one date on my calendar that I look forward to each year. Three days of having my ears pummelled by some of the heaviest bands around and a chance to see some artists perform in the UK for the first time, this is Desertfest. […]