Earth “There are some great female voices around now, but I’m not one of them, and I wish I was…” states Shirley Collins, sadly, on the opening of the LP to the sound of bonfire sparks, following it sincerely with “…but I believe when I was singing at my best I was the essence of English song
Michael Rodham-Heaps
448 posts
Cherry Red The second deluxe instalment of Momus albums from the Cherry Red archives (umbrella(ed) as Recreate) spans a period of transition for our protagonist that begins by pushing the boundaries before travelling out into previously uncharted radio-friendly territories.
4AD Head Over Heels Absolutely loving the saturated colours of this re-pressed artwork, definitely more reactive than the icy grey of my ’83 original. The spray-painted water waltzing the eye in hiccupping fissure and blurring nitrate. A suggestion of fossilised form and rupturing collapse
three:four This is a sparse beauty. Eudaimon explores the magic and mysticism of Kathleen Raine‘s poetry in multi-tracked voice and unadorned piano. Delphine Dora‘s borrowed words melt in a melancholic sweetness, floating out on a mandolin of needled ivory. The Nico comparisons are hard to avoid, but
Nonplace When it comes to drumming, the late Jaki Liebezeit is up there with the likes of Stomu Yamashta and Charles Hayward. So when I heard his cult-like percussive collective Drums Off Chaos was finally releasing two sweet EPs’ worth of tracks upon the world, I was more than stoked.
City Slang That organ vibe is immense, reverbs the Copenhagen church it was recorded in a solemn flood, crested by a bewitchment of voice. A vocal that brings to mind His Name Is Alive‘s Karin Oliver, then shifts in with Kendra Smith inflexions, gymnastically leaping to elsewhere, soaring on singed syllable.
4AD I’m feeling wooozy; Kim and Kelley Deal‘s deadpan is killing me again, that no-nonsense nudge hyena(ing) my inner diva. When it comes to The Breeders, it’s almost impossible not to mention their previous track record.
Swindon 22 February 2018 The good people at the latest of Swindon’s venues, The Tuppenny, have been brave enough to unleash the might of two of the town’s finest sons on an unsuspecting public. First up is the extremely affable Tom, who when donning his magic wolf’s hat becomes sonic terrorist Grasslands, defender of the faith of the open veldt and ex-employee of the month at Safeway in Aberystwyth.
Trilithon On headphones this Transits remix album rules, even better blaring through the speakers. Really needles the betweens, plucks aspects from its tidal original, spectrum-snakes its brooding intent, kicks out a dance of contemplative delectables. Over two and a half hours of music derived from the same twenty-three minute source material
Bristol 12 February 2018 Divorcing us from context, Carter was like a travelling salesman peddling dismembered arithmetics, a volatile dance of irregularity from the inside of a wooden suitcase. That awkward caress of pipping bubble wrap and shuffling sandpaper was an intriguing proposition, a parade of mutated modulars bathed in palpitating reverses, guillotined gallop.
Aphelion Editions Straight out of Bristol’s thriving underground comes this forty-minute slice of unnerving ambience from EMEI, AKA Louise Brady. Vexing her inner witch, this fine example of tonal paganism more than matches the haunting abstractions that package it all up.
Care In The Community The conversation on Improvisations is first rate, smarting with witty crosswires and argumentative animals. Charles Hayward‘s percussive verve is more than a match for Thurston Moore‘s mauling muscle, both parties templeing temptation fluidly, seeding your mind in animated gusto.
Bristol 23 January 2018 Loved Microdeform‘s haunted weathers. A lovely bubbling piano lighting the shadowy architectures, a trembling edifice beaming in the cross-pollination of plunging crevices and sonic apparition. Morphic memories lingering in them stretching keylines
Upset The Rhythm The fruits of a musical collaboration between Mikey Young and Raven Mahon, The Green Child début LP is a delightfully melodic beast with rounded percussives that shaves off the acuteness of life’s right-angles.
Cherry Red After the major retrospective of last year, Cherry Red have decided to treat us to reissue frenzy from Momus‘s back catalogue. Divided into two deluxe three-CD packages aptly entitled Procreate, the first of which gives you a lusty and languid taste of the 1980s via a trio of albums Nick Currie did for Alan McGee‘s Creation label.
Buried Treasure Kept underground by the Soviets for too many years, Yuri Morozov‘s legacy is finally spreading its wings and flying into your ears. His Inexplicable and Human Extinction albums house some of the most unhinged electronic experiences I’ve tasted for a long while, and this teasing compilation from Buried Treasure scoops a lot of the same, whilst getting fruity with the progressive tinkles.
Bristol 10 December 2017 I wake to blizzard conditions, and a transport system buckling under a four-inch surprise of snow and ice. The UK has the worst coping strategies when it comes to sudden changes in weather, it really does; so I decide against my usual journey down the M4 for a cramped train journey
Consouling Sounds Thighpaulsandra and Massimo Pupillo (of Zu) have conjured a lovely bit of ambience here as Uruk, heavy fruit rotten with cankerous rainbows. I Leave A Silver Trail Through Blackness is a dark joy best suited to making merry with the other side of the witching hour. Crank that dial to the right and sink into its dronic pleasures, a thirty-eight minute journey lit in tubular shackles and […]