Nakama Agnes Hvizdalek‘s solo début Index is a 47-minute piece that explores the sonic possibilities of the human voice, recorded at the bottom of a 60 metre-high chimney in the ancient factory of Casa das Caldeiras in the heart of São Paulo, made during her residency there in 2016.
Young God (Americas) / Mute (Europe) With the latest phase of Michael Gira‘s Swans project drawing to a close, the bundled and remastered edition of The Great Annihilator and Gira’s solo album Drainland could hardly have come at a better time for new converts who are interested in learning about the band’s history.
Self-released There’s a handful of genres that, arguably, benefit most from never actually changing. Hardcore (punk), for instance, hasn’t had an idea since the ’80s. Gabber was perfect from the get to. Black Metal operates in some weird space in my head where I sort of assume it hasn’t changed since, like Xasthur or whatever…
Marionette Inaugurating the Little Mary series of collaborative vinyl releases on Marionette, Acosta is a split LP featuring label veteran Benjamin Kilchhofer on one side and Hainbach on the obverse.
Full Time Hobby The core duo of Venn have been together since 2013, with the current trio format since 2014. They have released a few 12″s and a CD-R which was distributed by hand in random places like HMV, Oxford Street, Soho House toilets and on Jack Kerouac‘s grave.
London 2 May 2017 What makes the difference between just another gig and a profoundly uplifting experience? This is the question that I am left pondering in the wake of Thor Harris‘s (erstwhile Swans) percussion and noise collective Thor & Friends show at The Lexington last night.
Bristol 28 April 2017 Stereocilia‘s haunted ambience has been hooking me in for some time now, the cinematic scope of his recent LP was blinding, but tonight’s show just blew me clean away.
Ponderosa (Europe) / Northern Spy (USA) A culmination of a thirteen-year itch to get back to business, Cuidado Madame cuts into some of the sweetness of previous outings to revel in skittish twists of modernity.
Rocket This is Swedish six piece Flowers Must Die‘s fourth album and the first to be made available outside Sweden. Rocket Recordings must have welcomed them with open arms after hearing the dramatic, expansive psychedelic masterclass that they have managed to squeeze into the nine tracks and forty three minutes of this LP.
Thrill Jockey Of all the so-called post-rock bands of the 1990s, Trans Am are one which can be relied upon to remain intriguing and interesting some quarter-century or so later. Completed in the week after the 2016 US presidential election, California Hotel (named in honour of the late Glen Frey of The Eagles, who died that year) still bursts with more energy and excitement than many far younger groups
Faber and Faber A long time ago, I wrote that Genesis P Orridge singing “marmalade” in Throbbing Gristle‘s “Hit By A Rock” on D.O.A. was the key moment in industrial music, a moment that most of the “industrial” artists that stomped around in the wake of TG utterly missed. You couldn’t imagine SPK or Clock DVA or Nine Inch Nails or whoever having “marmalade” in their lyrics
London 12 April 2017 Belinda Carlisle was right when she said “Heaven is a place on Earth”. David Byrne, however, despite the superiority of his recorded output, was wrong when he said “Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens”. Although he was KIND of closer to the money when he said “the band in Heaven play my favourite song, play it one more time, play it all […]
Adaadat / Drum Rider Hypnotic and dreamlike, Elephant House‘s début LP ambles in on a calmly unfolding ride through ticking, tickling and trickling percussion that sets the scene for the strange and beguiling journey that follows.
Sleeps Brothers The epitome of 2010s Steel City metal, You Are We will climb into your head and make itself at home. Full of rage and angst, this album is the soundtrack for modern youth’s opposition to the world right now.
Play Loud! It’s a miracle that any of this happened at all, given the claustrophobic nature of the (can’t believe it called itself Democratic) DDR/GDR. If you’ve ever seen The Lives of Others, you’ll get a good idea of the level of repression and fear the folks behind the wall were bombarded with on a daily basis.
City Slang It has been about twenty years since I last listened to Turkish pop music. A trip to Istanbul for a wedding saw us return with CDs by Sertab Erener and Tarkan, amongst others. The mysterious and impenetrable Turkish language made even the most basic pop sound exotic and mildly exciting. Jakuzi are one of a new wave of underground pop acts singing in Turkish
Zeitkratzer Productions / Karlrecords Continuing their long-running series of interpretations of avantgarde and electronic music through the ages, Reinhold Friedl‘s exploratory ensemble celebrate their twentieth birthday (and Karlrecords‘ tenth anniversary) with the first round of a selection of pieces
Impossible Objects Of Desire I didn’t ask for this, but it came anyway. I’d been a Fujiya and Miyagi sceptic: too accommodating, too precise, too Brighton.