OVAL/LITURGY - "Split LP" (Thrill Jockey)

 

   

WOW.Just...wow.Markus Popp, aka: Oval, has been dubbed the pioneer of  the "glitch" movement, that swept the electronic music genre in the early 90's.He's very well respected, and a staple among various music publications, and fellow electronic musicians alike.These four new tracks are the first we've herd from him in almost ten years, and despite the long hiatus, it's obvious that Popp has continued to grow musically, expanding on his minimal skittering electro, in a big way.He returns with a much bigger, beefed up sound, with the use of stringed instruments and real percussion."Kreak" opens Oval's side of things, with a scattered acoustic guitar stumbling over live drums, hinting a possible free jazz excursion about to take place.Add his carefully crafted skittering glitches, and that's just what you get.The drums continue to come in random bursts, along with colorful clicks and crackling electronic warble, with the acoustiguitar strumming out of time and slightly off key to create a mesmerizing flood of sharp, sporadic melodies.It's the longest of the bunch, clocking in at just over six minutes, and it's a nice re-introduction to Oval's new organic instrumentation.The next three tracks are short snippets of mini-movements, with the same acoustic vibe of the opener.It's good to hear from Popp again, and hopefully this project will turn out a new LP from Oval.Fingers crossed.

  The B-side offers a brilliant contrast to Oval's subtle warmth, courtesy of Brooklyn 's Liturgy.Originally a solo project of guitarist and singer Hunter Hatchet Hendrix, he's since become quite the live spectacle, with a full band backing him on stage and in the studio.The band has recently released their monstrous new full length, also for Thrill Jockey, called "Renihilation".It's their first recording as a collective, with each member contributing to the recording process,it's a definite first for Liturgy.Here, this forward-thinking black metal act gives us a nineteen minute tidal wave of ethereal movements and open spaces, blending their abrasive guitar assault with hushed electronic drones, and nods to world music."Untitled" starts out with a slow and crushing guitar riff, slightly changing octaves each time it repeats itself.It's got all the elements of modern doom metal pummeling, with some interesting drum syncopation scattered throughout it.After what seems like an eternity's worth of crashing drums and brash riffing, things take a very unexpected turn.As the chords fizzle out and melt into ringing feedback, a loner analog pulse cuts through the pink noise, with no particular melody or tempo, it's just scattered random bleeps.Eventually this single note takes shape, and creates a steady blip, similar to a radar's hum.A slow-rising choir begins to chant in a dark and affected tone, as a jumbled tribal bump enters the picture, beating along at a stumbling pace.Enter the steady build of distant guitars, and all the sudden things being to burst with color.We are now in the midst of epic post-rock bliss, with soaring melodies and thick walls of heavy chords.An electrifying feeling lies within every note of this rise, and the movement holds strong for a solid 7 minutes, before changing tempos on us more than a few times.Eventually fading out into nothingness, we are left with a single male voice that hums repeatedly, sounding like some kind ofaboriginal campfire chant, as it wanders off into the dark.This is Liturgy, free of rules and regulations.Forward thinking black metal has arrived.

WET HAIR - "In Vogue Spirit" LP (De Stijl)

  Wet Hair have crafted for us their most playful and colorful record to date.This time for the ultra-busy De Stijl label.Shawn Reed and Ryan Garbes have been playing together for quite a while now, both being ex-Raccoo-oo-oons, they display an effortless and natural syncopation, and their musical chemistry is in full bloom on In Vogue Spirit.They seem to find their way back to one another at every turn, whether locked into a deep groove, or spiraling through a ten minute free-form tangent.Their last few releases have shown them gravitate towards a more streamlined, palatable sound, focusing more on carefully structured movements.Reed's low, mumbled vocal style has been transformed into a bright and colorful instrument, and his range has certainly widened quite a bit, too.Garbes' drumming is spot on, as usual, keeping things right n' tight on all fronts.Where as with the earlier, and exceptionally minimal WH releases, it seemed as if he was filling in the gaps and open spaces with his controlled chaos, In Vogue Spirit barely has any of them.The songs are full and fully realized, with the occasional jaunt into abstract improvisation, but the majority of the album is focused and free, tightly wound and coming apart at the same time.

  "Echo Lady" is a perfect example of that statement, with it's breezy organ run and steady bass rumble, jogging along to a simple drum groove.They've taken a poppy psych-rock approach, and traded in the electric guitars for a pile of homemade electronics and deep vibrato organs.Reed's voice has a bit of stylish swagger to it, similar to one-time Night Person -Dead Luke's slightly tone-deaf crooning.It's right where it should be, and perfectly out of tune.Reminds me of La Dusseldorf's less mechanical repetitive pop perfection.THIS is how you start off a record.The following track is somewhat of a return to their minimal kraut leanings, with a breezy tune called "The Garden Room".That old Wurlitzer percussion fades in, possibly set to "Rumba", bringing along a drive of melodic bleeps and blips for the ride.It's a slow and steady drift down a river of analog trickling and casio ripples, and things are starting to sound like Wet Hair.The vocals are a bit incoherent and warbled, but delivered in an uplifting tone, creating some good vibes.There's a bit of knob twisting at one point, as they stray into more free-form synth runs, and then it's right back into Ralph and Florian style chorus hooks.This sort of awesome, stop and go control is all over this record, and the songs just seem to get better and accessibly weirder as it plays on.I wouldn't exactly call them polished, I would call them carefully spit-shined.They've taken their deep electro-collages down a few new uncharted territories, and the results are epic.The days of Suicide-esque blankness seem to be ancient history for Wet Hair, but they are an unpredictable machine, so we will just have to see.Check out their recent splits with NOTV, Rene Hell, and Peaking Lights, and an upcoming 7"/art book on NNF.Total ear and eye candy.

PEAKING LIGHTS - "936" LP/CD (Not Not Fun)

  Indra Dunis and Aaron Coyes are Peaking Lights.The husband and wife duo have been feeding our eyes and ears with their ever-evolving concoction of minimal psych and dub, for quite a while now.With more than a few handfuls of releases on various US labels in the past few years, they return with a stunning new full length, and have found a new home in L.A. based label -Not Not Fun.An all too perfect fit, in our opinion.

 936 in unlike anything you've heard from PL in the past.Without venturing too far from the reggae-soaked psych jams we love them for, the couple have conjured up a somewhat tame and accessible approach, and their music feels more calculated and focused than ever.Those of us who were taken in by the grainy, minimalist charm of the Imaginary Falcons LP, as well as other early releases, shouldn't let the term "polished" scare you away from this gem.For the lack of a better word, that is exactly what it is.Everything has been somewhat revamped, and the results are epic.Coyes' collection of rewired/circuit bent electronics are the very foundation of Peaking Lights' rhythmic sorcery, holding together the layers of swirling melodies with steady, minimal beats, and rather hypnotic percussive looping.Drum loops have a tendency to either hide just below your music, serving as more of a dull and boring metronome, quietly keeping time, rather than an actual percussive instrument.Coyes' collection of pedals and other manipulative gadgets allow for some serious knob tweaking, which gives these clicks and thumps some character, without drowning out their charming simplicity.The machine drums have been pushed into the foreground a bit, instead of hiding below a sea of tape hiss, feedback and fuzz.

  Dunis' subtle and woozy vocals have been cleaned up and shined a bit, as well.Her voice is as clear and full as we've ever heard it, and her placement remains sparse and minimal, leaving plenty of room for Coyes' keys and guitar tones to dance around freely.The vocals are mostly clean and untreated, but for a bit of delay.Her words are coherent, hazy lullabies about life and love, dreams and dreamers, and the sun, moon, earth and beyond.Peaking Lights have surely reinvented certain elements of their craft, but they haven't changed their sound all that much, as if they had a particular "sound" to begin with.The fuzzy, future-tropicalia and dubbed out psych-pop that was spread throughout Imaginary Falcons and Space Primitive has all but disappeared.936 is chock-full of deep, dubbed-out bass lines, coupled with soulful, low-end organ pulses.Sharp, delayed guitar jabs bounce off in the distance, and create a heady, reggae vibe ala- Lee Scratch Perry.They pull this off quite well, and cleverly incorporate these elements into their sound collage, without sounding cheap or generic.Fans of this group are going to lose their shit over this one, and virgin ears will soon be playing this on repeat for days on end.Fans of Young Marble Giants, Pocahaunted, NOTV, Gang Gang Dance, and Pearl Harbor will hook on this.936 is overflowing with creativity and good vibes, and it just seems to be getting better with each listen.Amazing cover art and insert to boot.

JEANS WILDER - "Nice Trash" LP (La Station Radar)

  
  Andrew Caddick, aka: Jeans Wilder returns from the land of cassettes and 45's, this time with a dazzling new long player entitled Nice Trash.This man is no stranger to breezy melodies, having spent time in the breezy folk-pop outfit Fantastic Majick (with Nathan Williams of WAVVES fame), he's since released a ton of tapes and vinyl on various labels like Night People and Bathetic, and we just can't seem to get enough of him.Nice Trash is a deeply personal affair.Haunted lullabies for teenage ghosts to fall in love to.Somber pop ditties recorded inside of a patch of gray clouds.Every bit of this album shows a completely natural progression for Caddick and his craft, and nothing sounds forced or premature.It's deinitely a bit more "grown up" than previous recordings, on all fronts.Yet it retains a naive and youthful charm.His subtle voice has definitely come a long way, and just floats throughout the songs quite effortlessly, almost as if the polite instrumentation was written around his words, with some of them barely reach a loud whisper.Hushed guitars tiptoe down a shimmery path paved with lightly brushed percussion and low end vibrations, crafting beautiful, yet eerie chords that dance sway in the distance.

  The chemistry that flows between the instruments is quite mesmerizing at times, and Caddick takes advantage of the many open spaces, to create more than a few twists and turns.Small pieces of Nice Trash tend to remind me of more delicate sounds of recent Ducktails output, with those sturdy, lightly strummed guitar melodies and steady, lite-handed drumming right along side of them.Past releases have leaned more toward drifting bedroom recordings and drone music, relying on lengthy synth tones and quiet clicks and thumps, but this new material shows us that Caddick is indeed a great songwriter, singer, and all around talented musician.Nice Trash is deep and honest, a fantastic record that could appeal to anyone who dares to embrace it's audible fear and wonder.A surprise party for longtime fans, and an extended invitation to new ones.Don't miss out on this one.Check out his equally wonderous Relics (Bathetic) cassette, while you're at it.

White Ring/oOoOO - split 7" (Emotion)

 

  Witch Haus...yup.You've heard of it.I'm sure your weirdo friends who pretend to be neo-goth introverts, but are really cool as a fucking cucumber, spit this term out at random.It makes me giggle.
White Ring is a talented young gal from NYC, who is sometimes joined by friends in a live setting.On "Roses", she conjures up some fairly dense, ultra thick synth blasts, and throws them up against crispy, bangin' machine drums.Her voice lurks somewhere between soaring melody and horrifying shriek.Both seem to work rather well next to the giant walls of analog synth wash and the heavy boom-boom-clap.I am a huge fan of their demo cd-r, which is probably long gone by now, but worth the hunt for sure.
  The flipside offers up a brand new studio track called "Seaww" from our beloved beat lurks, oOoOO.This act has been dick-stroked by just about every "top-notch" music blog you can think of, and they are about to get the same treatment with this one as well.I just love this stuff.I've seen them compared to Salem more than a few times, and I suppose it's not so far off base, but they've got their own thing going on for sure.I've even heard people compare them to "Art of Noise in drag"...pretty rad.Slow moving, tattered 808 beats, coupled with other random shakers, bass drops, and things that rattle wildly are laid out as the foundation for some rather dark and ethereal tones.
  Weird film  and voice samples are slowed down, sped up, disassembled, and reconstructed into catchy rhythms and chilling synth swells.Their music is for the most part a very dark and haunting affair, but they are good at sneaking in these very faint, uplifting melodies amongst the haze of their psyched-out whirls and ghostly beat collage.This stuff has a tendency to drift into nothingness, and stay there for the remainder of the song, or album, but oOoOO are kind of stellar songwriters, or producers, rather..whatever works for you..and most every bit of this is a compelling, ritualistic listen.Recommended.After you soak in this for a while, check out their recent ep on the young Tri Angle label..Stunning.

PEAKING LIGHTS/WET HAIR - "Bored Fortress(year 4) split 7" - (NNF)

  I will just say this ahead of time.I've been a big fan of both of these acts nearly since their inception, around the mid 00's, and this release is by far their best to date.In my opinion.It was part of Not Not Fun's amazing Bored Fortress split 7" club, and has recently been released on it's own, along with the rest of the series.I will get around to reviewing them as they come to me.Be patient.Or, just go buy them, they all pretty much kill.
  Peaking Lights is a blazing mystery duo from CA.They have a slew of releases out there, including a great 12" and cassette on Shawn Reed's Night People label.On "Birds of Paradise", they keep it deep and creep with a wash of hazily soaked synth-jabs, and sprawling drone-devices that come in flux.This track is kind of similar to earlier Ducktails ventures, with some awesome low-end machine clatter and heavily stretched out dub worship to top it off.A choppy reggae guitar-clank rides over top of things, and keeps it lite and breezy.They are sort of known for their semi-tortured/woozy female vocal styles, and they are pretty prominent here, with some help from a slurred sample that i can't make out.All in all, a pretty cohesive slow crawl into the muck.Awesome stuff indeed.
  Shawn Reed and Ryan Garbes' Wet Hair project fills up side b, and they take us for a few wild turns on this one.I am kind of a sucker for this band.They effortlessly take all my favorite bits and pieces of Suicide, Throbbing Gristle, classic kraut, and their former beloved animal guise Raccoo-oo-oon, and throw them all into a circuit-bent blender.The result is a heavy, dubbed-out, minimal psych groove-machine called Wet Hair.Their homemade analog machines and treated synths push them a step ahead of others trying to swing this kind of stuff, indeed.Shawn Reed's croon is not too far off from Martin Rev's low mumble, and it works good for them.On "Blessed", the duo take an even deeper dive into beat worship, with a thicker, more heady machine bounce.They cleverly split the 808 swagger between the left and right channels, giving off a sweet stereo-panned vibe, with one side a half step ahead of the other.It gives the song that "second drummer" groove, that Fugazi and Black Eyes(R.I.P.) sucked us all in with time and again.Glad to see someone is out there is thinking.
  This new, more tuneful approach to their craft reminds me of the more sprawling Kraftwerk project, Ralph and Florian.The beats begin to double and triple, as the keys continue with a lush, simple melodic drive.The vocals aren't anything too out of the ordinary for them, with some distorted delays added to the howls.A definite bump in production, and slightly catchier, and even more uplifting than their previous efforts.I'm already stoked on what they will do next.Killer art layout by the band.Look for a new Wet Hair/Naked On The Vague split 12", out via Night People, now!

Stolen Thunder/Notorious Lightning: This is NOT NOT FUN.

The Not Not Fun label, based in L.A., is comprised of the nicest, inventive, and hard working people I have had the pleasure of communicating with.Each of their releases is a strange and colorful journey into the bubbling tar pits of your subconsciousness, and all the hype that surrounds them is more than well-deserved.They just released a grip of new records to marvel over/sink into.Try something new, or try five or six somethings new..

 

Sex Worker (ex-Black Eyes/current Mi Ami) - waving goodbye lp

                                                         Topaz Rags - crown center 7"

Bored Fortress- split 7" club

                                                   Robedoor - burners lp (this kills.)

                                                         LA Vamps/Matrix Metals  - collab lp

                                                    The Deeeep -life light cs

                                                         Angel Eyes - cs

                                                      LA Vamps/Zola Jesus  - collab lp

                                                       Swanox - dawnrunner cs

TOPAZ RAGS - "Crown Center/You Go On" 7inch (NotNotFun)

  The amazing Not Not Fun label has been producing some of the most unique and inventive underground psychedelic gems for just shy of ten years now.Each of their intensely unique releases holds a certain free-thinking charm, free of guidelines, both aesthetically and musically.Personally, I get just as much satisfaction out of glaring at their carefully constructed packaging and elaborate inserts, as I do listening to the contents of the medium they house.The good people that run this fine institution are, and always will be doing things on their own terms as a collective, and I admire them dearly for it.8
  A personal favorite, and surely the most overlooked and mysterious member of their family tree, is Topaz Rags.Sharing members of psych-juggernauts such as Pocahaunted, Robedoor, L.A. Vampires, and Vibes, this lurker ghost-jazz trio has conjured up a total blazer of a debut cassette, a mind-altering full length lp, and a handful of great singles and comp. tracks.They return with yet another slab of audible ESP, in the form of a seven inch entitled "Crown Center".Total mind control.Just as haunting and patient as their "Capricorn Born Again" LP, if not more.This isn't just an excuse to dish out leftover tracks either.The tone and vibe that slowly emanates from this record is rather uncharted territory for them, and a much blacker, heavier molasses drips from the speakers this time around.
  Crown Center is a slow moving animal, a vibrating, wobbly dirge that sneaks up into your ear and gently nudges massages brain, before a chorus of chanting witches begin their ceremonial croons.Their bubbling cauldron is much bigger than before, leaving room for more of their random ingredients.A foamy goth-tinged substance floats at the surface, as a beatnik skeleton drums along patiently.All of these elements twist and twirl around each other, and rarely drift out of sync with one another.Things begin to double, and even triple in numbers, opening up secret passages to new melodies.The rattling bass run begins to teeter and give out, and finally the track collapses into a low hum.
  The flip side, an equally foreboding brood, opens with a wah-wah-drenched bass gurgle.A sharp piano stab pierces your gut, and introduces some seriously layered chanting that is more than seance-like.This track too finds the depths of their decaying rhythm section, relying on minimalist drone-lounge and blown out howls.There's an organic, almost supernatural feel to their black magic, and at times I am so blown away at how perfect their chemistry can be.They cast their spells with such ease and confidence, that it's almost as if this group were something predetermined by a higher power, or a random meeting of three hooded nomads looking for a dark, damp cave to master their craft.Whatever brought them to our world, is worthy of my blind faith for sure.Stunning.

HIGH WOLF - "Ascension" LP/CD (Not Not Fun)

 
  The NNF label is by far one my favorites out there, as they continue to belt out a seemingly endless supply of brain melting psych and drone acts, by the truckload.In 2009, they released High Wolf's Animal Totum cassette, a thirty minute plus mystery ride, deep into rich,warm electronics and red clouds of acoustic/analog swells.It was rather well received by weirdo noise blogs,and drone fans alike.It's dense synthesizer workouts and gentle layers of percussion have since been compared to the sounds of Brian Eno, James Ferraro, Ralph & Florian and the like.
   With the growing popularity of this outsider genre,as well as a slew of tapes,cdr's and split records, High Wolf  has returned with another slow-burning brain candle entitled Ascension.This subtle, yet unpredictable animal comes in the form of five long songs, clocking in at just under 45 minutes.Meeting of the three Seas starts things off with a gentle sunrise drone, slowly creeping up over the treeline and warming your face.A clicking percussive loop makes it's way into the picture and things slowly start to come together.The tiny melodies begin to swell up and multiply, creating something deep and intense.By the five minute mark, there are so many layers of soft-synth bleeps, swirling treated brass instruments and tabla thudding, you will think you are deep into some ceremonial Native-American spirit worship.Absolutely hypnotizing.
  As Ascension begins to unfold, more worldly sounds are unearthed.The frequent use of woodwinds, brass, analog synths, as well as a shit ton of shakers and noise makers, keeps this from coming off as just another Ash Ra Temple or Popol Vuh tribute album.It's full of dense melodies and earthy instrumentation, and steers clear of previously covered ground whenever possible, without being contrived or a boring novelty.A massive album to truly get lost with.Best if listened to while levitating.

POCAHAUNTED - "Make It Real" LP (NotNotFun)

Amanda Brown and Bethany Cosentino are back with one BAD ASS MOTHERFUCKER of an album.This thing seriously slays.If you are somewhat familiar with any of their past releases,forget what you know about these ladies and enter this under the assumption that it's a different band.They have given us something rich and stunning here.Songwriting.I think their time spent with their other song-based projects (Best Coast,L.A. Vampires..) has rubbed off on these girls in the best way.This is what Pocahaunted really sounds like.Awesome.

Following that same semi-structured songwriting path on Passages and Chains has finally led the band to a magical place called Make It Real.They have strayed away from the long,drawn out,flat-chanted-epics that made them so lovable in the past.Here,they go for the gold with really solid song structures.Carefully meshing garage,psych,boogie,blues,and vintage rock styles into one VERY listenable record.Not to say that they don't sink into those heavy,deep drones from time to time,it just isn't the basis of these songs.The songs are really catchy,and show off the natural talents of the musicians involved,rather than relying on their effects and
production tricks.And it pays off handsomely.

With the addition of a full backing band (bass,drums,keys,guitar) Pocahaunted are now more stage-ready than ever.Their live drummer gives these songs some nice grooves and rhythm that the band may have been lacking for a while there.The bass guitar crawls right along side the percussion with a vibrant tone.The chemistry between the two really amazing.The guitars are perfect and loose,the riffs are clear,rather than drowned in reverb/delay.They've added a nice vintage organ to the mix,and it brings some serious depth to this album.Heavy on the church-like vibrato and thick chords,it reminds me of Sun Ra's random keyboard freak outs.
All of this accompanies their melodic vocal harmonies and cult-like chants perfectly.A new love for melody?Whatever the case,Make It Real is surely the most cohesive effort in the band's existence.A totally solid psychedelic R&B album.Out now.