GRAVEYARDS - Endings Vol.3 - LP (American Tapes)

   
  Graveyards is the horrific free-jazz/noise project of Wolf Eyes/Dead Machines/American Tapes main man - John Olson. Ben Hall(Traum)and Hans Buetow run the awesome Editions Brokenresearch label,and also makeup this genre bending act.In the last decade they have released a literal slew of lp's,cassettes,seven inches,splits,and tour cd-r's on various labels,including their own American Tapes and Editions Brokensearch.They originated as a two piece and now travel with three,but often collaborate with other well known noiseniks from time to time,in a live setting.They are a mysterious bunch indeed.Their releases never include photos of the band,information on the who plays what,or any sort of real text whatsoever.Mostly just some disturbing images and GRAVEYARDS thrown in somewhere,but even that is a stretch.Their music is nearly as vague in the sense that their influences are nearly impossible to pin.The obvious free-everything pioneers Peter Brotzmann, Arthur Doyle, and even Earle Brown's sparse minimalism all come to mind,but they are like ever-changing chameleon,so nothing sticks with them for too long.

  Endings Vol.3 is a wild concoction indeed.It carelessly tosses a saxophone,cello,drums and a handful of nails into the blender,and forces us listen to it slowly liquefy.The loud,violent grind of metal shrapnel scraping against the glass,mixed with the whirring motor-hum is their aim,but it's only is the first half of their plot.After a while,a sweet and syrupy ooze drips very slowly into a bucket miles below.Spooky strings cry off in the distance,but it's unclear what they are saying.A tattered saxophone whispers a breathy hiss into your ear,and jabs at you unexpectedly.Close by someone is scratching their fingernails against a sheet of metal.Drums flutter with anticipation and eventually burst into tiny pieces on the floor.There are stints of accidental,cohesive jazz bliss that shine throughout this frightening journey.But damage is their game.It's hard to make out exactly what is being played here at times,and that is what they do best.This is a giant gasp of very fresh air.Watch your back music,Graveyards are coming for you.
MJO
 

CHILD ABUSE - "Cut and Run" LP/CD (Lovepump United)

Ok,I just read a review of this by some numbskull comparing them to Slayer!?!Actually the quote was something like "Not quite the Slayer of their sound"..WHAT does that even mean?First,Slayer IS the Slayer of their "sound"..Did you listen to more than 2 minutes of this?It's only 29 fucking minutes,dude!Ugh.Stop writing reviews,and stick to bad weed and shredding air guitar to Slayer jams in the mirror,in your skid-marked undies.But no later than 9pm,or Grandma will be pissed.

However,I actually DID hear this all the way through,a few times now.These boys have given us another brain melter of a record.If you are familiar with their past releases,you know the what kind of monster this might be.If you are green to these 3 lunatics,then yer in for a terrifying,yet oddly compelling half hour doom ride.Not unlike their first full-length,this thing scares me to death with each listen.More of that blown out-thrash-jazz treatment,only this time around things are much uglier.If this band is even capable of death,their headstone might read "distort the world" or "fuck you/kill everything"- Cut And Run is chock-full of their patent grinding bass rumble,razor sharp synth- confusion,and insane drumfuckery we've come to love and fear.This is prog-rock for intelligent scumbags,and free-jazz for short attention spans.The vocals come in the form of guttural growling,grunts,moans,and agonizing howls.Six songs of death and dying and much,much worse.For christ's sake,they are called CHILD ABUSE.If you think your favorite band is "brutal" or "tech",these dudes just called you a pussy to your face.Fits nicely along side of your Wolf Eyes ,Burmese, Health ,Lightning Bolt, and Tarantula Hawk albums.Another dirty gem from Lovepump United.

Zs - "New Slaves" 2xLP/CD (Social Registry)

Finally.The always shape shifting Brooklyn jazz-attack known as Zs has finally released their 3rd proper full-length.It's called New Slaves,and it's a KILLER record on all fronts.If you've been following their work as closely as I have for the last 6-7 years,you will know that they are notorious for their random lineup changes,genre bending skill,and ability to do just about anything they want to.Ever since The Hard EP,they have taken a certain path,one that just continues to soak itself in treble and distortion and continually reinvent itself.Such is the case for the majority of New Slaves.This is a harsh and intelligent,post-everything attack on the senses.

The title track is a 20+ minute workout of dynamic and harmonic free-anything bliss.It's precise and loose at the same time,and rarely repeats itself.Amazing riffage coupled with Hilmer's squeaky sax assault and those drums!Aye,I never want this to end.Some of the tracks are blatant segues to setup the next epic.Frantic drum and feedback workouts that wash into low-end rumbles."Acres of Skin" is a thudding piece full of counterpoint hand claps,and some killer bent-guitar string fuckery.Total metallic interplay.The last 60 seconds are mind melting to say the least.The last 3 tracks on the album are "personal pieces",in which each member of the band is doing their own thing entirely.There are some really beautiful moments throughout these.Most lean toward the more subtle,ambient side of the band,and rely on the silent parts more than music itself.Overall,this is surely their most impressive and personal work for me.Hypnotizing to say the very least.This will be in my player for quite some time.Apologies to my neighbors in advance.Thank you for Zs.