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THRILL JOCKEY
Barry Walker Jr. is a pedal steel player and guitarist whose roots in Americana, Country and Folk traditions influence his melding of minimalism, ambient and spiritual music. The Portland-based instrumentalist is also a member of the Rose City Band, known for his gorgeous phrasing and deft interplay with guitarist Ripley Johnson. On Paleo Sol, Walker demonstrates his singular voice as a pedal steel player and composer. Evoking the American western ranges and basins, the album embodies a longer, geologic view of time that patiently marvels at the ripples of change throughout lifetimes and ages. Walker is joined on Paleo Sol by drummer Rob Smith (Rhytion, Pigeons) and bassist and Mouth Painter bandmate Jason Willmon (Fruited Planes). Paleo Sol’s tranquil landscapes glide, built on warm finger-picked guitar figures and pedal steel swells coupled with deft percussion and bass touches by Smith and Willmon respectively. The trio plays with exceptional fluidity either completing each others phrasing or working together to build momentum. Smith notes: “The drums are not keeping time as much as evidencing its elasticity, mixing into the other instruments, changing phase states.” Every gesture on the album is rich with intention, moving with grace and playing with timbre and time. The pieces of Paleo Sol were composed during a monumental shift in Walker’s own life, around the birth of his first child. Walker’s compositions are guided by a serenity and gentleness that makes for a dreamy soundtrack. His acumen as a composer and instrumentalist are on full display on Paleo Sol. The album is a gorgeous reflection of Walker’s own internal world as well as the detailed environment he’s spent so much of his life exploring as a field geologist.
TRACK LISTING
Quiessence
Son, Don't Brighten The Bear Creek Rhyolite
Leaving Lower Big Basin
A Trip Into Town
Under Leaf Hill
Peridot, Call Me
Sentient Lithosphere
Aether Ore
‘Black Bile’ compiles some of Umberto’s most resplendent, sanguine music to date. The solo work of LA composer Matt Hill draws heavily from the world of cinema, spinning immersive narratives and rich atmospheres using sound alone.
Hill, an active composer for film and television, recently scored the 2022 Jerry Pyle film ‘Loveseat’ (soundtrack was released in 2023). Other recent scores include the 2020 thriller ‘Archenemy’, from the producers of cult classic ‘Mandy’.
Inspired by the ancient Greek theory of the ‘four humors’, an early medical theory linking the inner workings of the human body to the elements, ‘Black Bile’ specifically links the feelings of melancholy with autumn. Hill’s celestial compositions are an autumnal soundtrack conveying beauty, yearning, reflection and comfort.
Many of the album’s phrases are constructed from just two notes or sounds, arranged by Hill into complex patterns that undulate with an organic pulse. The spare melodic structure holds myriad small and beautiful details. The songs began with Hill improvising on the piano, to find the notes and patterns that created the musical and emotional structure from which he could expand with textural detail. Hill then would often remove the initial structure leaving a sparer, more skeletal one which he could again expand upon to create a full piece. The careful attention to each detail gives his minimal compositions emotional heft.
The album masterfully stakes Umberto’s claim among other avant-ambient boundary pushers such as Lawrence English or Laurel Halo.
“There is real compositional variety and intrigue in his songs… elaborate and unpredictable... it’s hard not to be impressed with Umberto’s evolution of late, as lacerating experience as it may be at times.” - The Quietus
“Songs that are subtle yet unsettling, like a horror film that rattles your psyche without relying on tired shock tactics.” - Self-Titled
“Masterfully polished and skilfully arranged... dazzling” - Brainwashed
Hill, an active composer for film and television, recently scored the 2022 Jerry Pyle film ‘Loveseat’ (soundtrack was released in 2023). Other recent scores include the 2020 thriller ‘Archenemy’, from the producers of cult classic ‘Mandy’.
Inspired by the ancient Greek theory of the ‘four humors’, an early medical theory linking the inner workings of the human body to the elements, ‘Black Bile’ specifically links the feelings of melancholy with autumn. Hill’s celestial compositions are an autumnal soundtrack conveying beauty, yearning, reflection and comfort.
Many of the album’s phrases are constructed from just two notes or sounds, arranged by Hill into complex patterns that undulate with an organic pulse. The spare melodic structure holds myriad small and beautiful details. The songs began with Hill improvising on the piano, to find the notes and patterns that created the musical and emotional structure from which he could expand with textural detail. Hill then would often remove the initial structure leaving a sparer, more skeletal one which he could again expand upon to create a full piece. The careful attention to each detail gives his minimal compositions emotional heft.
The album masterfully stakes Umberto’s claim among other avant-ambient boundary pushers such as Lawrence English or Laurel Halo.
“There is real compositional variety and intrigue in his songs… elaborate and unpredictable... it’s hard not to be impressed with Umberto’s evolution of late, as lacerating experience as it may be at times.” - The Quietus
“Songs that are subtle yet unsettling, like a horror film that rattles your psyche without relying on tired shock tactics.” - Self-Titled
“Masterfully polished and skilfully arranged... dazzling” - Brainwashed
TRACK LISTING
Grasp
Spoonwood
Empty Shell
October
Monkshood
Vestige
Dying Honey & Linden
Over the course of 20 years, German artist Black To Comm (Marc Richter) has pushed the limits of / and merged the aesthetics of art, conceptual installations, and music, coming in a wave of innovation alongside his peers Pita, Fennesz, and later Sarah Davachi to name a few.
Through it all, Richter as Black to Comm has challenged assumptions, explored identity, and confronted the concept of authorship itself. ‘At Zeenath Parallel Heavens’ finds Black To Comm contemplating the hybridity within each and every one of us, be it sexual, racial, cultural, or linguistic.
Richter mirrors personal dualities musically with a combination of sounds he created and manipulated samples, blurring their boundaries. “I always try to blur the line between sampling and my own recordings, also between ‘real’ instruments, MIDI, electronics, editing, between authenticity and theatrics/artificiality,” says Richter. When recording he became aware of how AI text programs processing resembles his own methods. “I had the realization recently that the way I compose is not too dissimilar to what AI software is doing nowadays - especially when the AI is hallucinating (this is the term used when the AI is overloaded / overcharged / inundated and comes up with made-up results).” Human behaviour reflected in a computer facsimile of human intelligence appealed to the ethos of Black To Comm, whose titles and concepts are often oblique and tongue-in-cheek.
Through it all, Richter as Black to Comm has challenged assumptions, explored identity, and confronted the concept of authorship itself. ‘At Zeenath Parallel Heavens’ finds Black To Comm contemplating the hybridity within each and every one of us, be it sexual, racial, cultural, or linguistic.
Richter mirrors personal dualities musically with a combination of sounds he created and manipulated samples, blurring their boundaries. “I always try to blur the line between sampling and my own recordings, also between ‘real’ instruments, MIDI, electronics, editing, between authenticity and theatrics/artificiality,” says Richter. When recording he became aware of how AI text programs processing resembles his own methods. “I had the realization recently that the way I compose is not too dissimilar to what AI software is doing nowadays - especially when the AI is hallucinating (this is the term used when the AI is overloaded / overcharged / inundated and comes up with made-up results).” Human behaviour reflected in a computer facsimile of human intelligence appealed to the ethos of Black To Comm, whose titles and concepts are often oblique and tongue-in-cheek.
TRACK LISTING
1. Then Began The Harp To Fashion
2. Steep Thy Plumage In His Sweetness
3. Never Heed The Tongues Of Wooers
4. Time Will Fly On Equal Pinions
5. La Société Des Rêves
6. Musik Im Schatten
7. Schleim Des Nichtwissens
8. On The Grass Her Shoes Of Deer-Skin
Multi-instrumentalist Sally Anne Morgan, known for her work as part of The Black Twig Pickers, and half of House and Land (with Sarah Louise), cultivates seeds sown by folk musics and psychedelia.
‘Carrying’ tills the rich soil of Appalachian traditions and her rural North Carolina surroundings into warm, reflective songs about the weight people carry with them, as well as Morgan’s own pregnancy and the birth of her first child.
Bridging the more freeform, expansive leanings of 2021’s ‘Cups’ and the lucid beauty of her acclaimed 2020 debut, ‘Thread’, ‘Carrying’ finds Morgan imbuing her masterfully crafted songs with more subtle and intricate arrangements.
The album’s exploratory nature is anchored by a full band, comprised of some of the most thoughtful players in the psychedelic folk and ‘cosmic country’ spheres, including a guest appearance by Ripley Johnson (Rose City Band, Wooden Shjips, Moon Duo), and the foundational rhythm section of fellow The Black Twig Pickers collaborators: drummer Nathan Bowles (Steve Gunn Band, Pelt), guitarist Andrew Zinn, and bassist / engineer Joe Dejarnette.
Morgan finds unity in the burdens and joys, tensions, and releases of modern living as a common thread that people bear in their day-today lives. “So much of what we accumulate and carry around with us burdens us, but we also can’t or don’t know how to let go,” says Morgan. The profoundness and mundanity of that weight ran parallel for Morgan as she literally carried her child to term: the utter commonality of enduring what billions of parents before her had, and the awesome power of the human body and spirit, the complicated and unpredictable wash of emotions that come with nurturing and nourishing another life.
“Breathtaking, string-laden psychedelic folk” - Brooklyn Vegan
“Meditations on folk music, rather than the thing itself, stern and cerebral at times, but intermittently lush and beautiful...” - Dusted Magazine
‘Carrying’ tills the rich soil of Appalachian traditions and her rural North Carolina surroundings into warm, reflective songs about the weight people carry with them, as well as Morgan’s own pregnancy and the birth of her first child.
Bridging the more freeform, expansive leanings of 2021’s ‘Cups’ and the lucid beauty of her acclaimed 2020 debut, ‘Thread’, ‘Carrying’ finds Morgan imbuing her masterfully crafted songs with more subtle and intricate arrangements.
The album’s exploratory nature is anchored by a full band, comprised of some of the most thoughtful players in the psychedelic folk and ‘cosmic country’ spheres, including a guest appearance by Ripley Johnson (Rose City Band, Wooden Shjips, Moon Duo), and the foundational rhythm section of fellow The Black Twig Pickers collaborators: drummer Nathan Bowles (Steve Gunn Band, Pelt), guitarist Andrew Zinn, and bassist / engineer Joe Dejarnette.
Morgan finds unity in the burdens and joys, tensions, and releases of modern living as a common thread that people bear in their day-today lives. “So much of what we accumulate and carry around with us burdens us, but we also can’t or don’t know how to let go,” says Morgan. The profoundness and mundanity of that weight ran parallel for Morgan as she literally carried her child to term: the utter commonality of enduring what billions of parents before her had, and the awesome power of the human body and spirit, the complicated and unpredictable wash of emotions that come with nurturing and nourishing another life.
“Breathtaking, string-laden psychedelic folk” - Brooklyn Vegan
“Meditations on folk music, rather than the thing itself, stern and cerebral at times, but intermittently lush and beautiful...” - Dusted Magazine
TRACK LISTING
Beekeeper
The Center
Dawn Circle
Summerwater
Awake
Streets Of Derry
Diamond Joe
Song For Arthur
On Garden Party, Rose City Band’s country psychedelic rock evokes the wide-open spaces of the American west and free spirits who call it home. Lead by acclaimed guitarist and vocalist Ripley Johnson, Rose City Band are some of the best players in contemporary rock: pedal steel guitarist Barry Walker, keyboardist Paul Hasenberg, bassist Dewey Mahood (aka Plankton Wat), drummer Dustin Dybvig, and features Sanae Yamada of Moon Duo on Synthesizer. At its inception Rose City Band focused on what songwriter Johnson calls “porch music”. Recorded largely at Center for Sound, Light, and Color Therapy in Portland and mixed by John McEntire, Garden Party features guest appearances by Moon Duo bandmates John Jeffrey on drums and Sanae Yamada on synths, as well as Rose City Band live performers Hasenberg on keyboards and Walker on pedal steel. With the musicians in his life in mind, Ripley’s porch has opened up for each player to step into. Despite being tracked primarily as a solo endeavor the recordings capture the twists and bends of a fully realized ensemble, and in a nod to bands such as the Grateful Dead it doesn’t stop there. “The songs won’t really be finished until we play them on the road,” says Johnson. Like all great music, Garden Party taps into the listener’s emotional center and takes them to their happy place – their sunny spot. The album is an invitation to recalibrate, a joyous ride where the band’s sounds surround and embrace you. Ripley says it best: “I always like when an album starts in one place, and ends in another” What a beautiful journey it is.
STAFF COMMENTS
Barry says: Another languid slice of new country from the brilliant Rose city Band. Evoking a sense of hazy road trips and bristling summer sunshine, these pieces flow and bloom from dusty lounge jazz into full groove-led psychedelic territory. Another smash hit from Johnson & co.TRACK LISTING
1. Chasing Rainbows
2. Slow Burn
3. Garden Song
4. Porch Boogie
5. Saturday’s Gone
6. Mariposa
7. Moonlight Highway
8. El Rio
Oozing Wound are comprised of members Zack Weil (guitar, vocals), Kevin Cribbin (bass) and Kyle Reynolds (drums).
The members of Oozing Wound are veterans of Chicago’s underground scene, having played in Cacaw, Unmanned Ship, ZATH and Bad Drugs
The members of Oozing Wound are veterans of Chicago’s underground scene, having played in Cacaw, Unmanned Ship, ZATH and Bad Drugs
TRACK LISTING
Bank Account Anxiety
Total Existence Failure
The Good Times (I Don’t Miss ‘Em)
Hypnic Jerk
Crypto Fash
Between Cults
Chudly
Midlife Crisis Actor
Old Sludge
Face Without Eyes
'VMAK' is the first ever solo album by acclaimed bassist Douglas Andrew McCombs.
McCombs is one of the most highly regarded bassists / guitarists working today, known for his pioneering band Tortoise, his bass playing in Chicago’s Eleventh Dream Day, and his innovative instrumental group Brokeback. He has released albums with guitarist David Daniell and collaborated with the likes of Tom Zé to Yo La Tengo, Stereolab to Daniel Lanois. In addition to being the touring bassist for The Sea and Cake, McCombs has somehow found time to form a new trio Black Duck with guitarist Bill MacKay, and percussionist Charles Rumback.
Douglas McCombs’ ‘VMAK’ is a window into one of the most distinguished and distinct voices in guitar music for the last three decades, effortlessly stretching the boundaries of the guitar while staying firmly grounded by blissful, uncanny melody.
McCombs’ debut solo album is a mix of improvisation, textural explorations and recurring melodic themes. The album title was lifted by the well-travelled McCombs from one of the visas packed into his current passport, the stamp a reminder of how far his music has taken him - literally all over the world. Not since McCombs’ solo outlet Brokeback blossomed into a full-fledged rock unit has his singular approach to solo guitar playing been exhibited in such striking detail. Taking after Brokeback’s classic ‘Morse Code in the Modern Age: Across the Americas’, ‘Two To Coolness’ is a piece that McCombs refined through a series of improvised performances and features Calexico drummer John Convertino, as well as singer / guitarist / synth player Sam Prekop (also of The Sea and Cake). ‘Green Crown’s Step’ was largely improvised working through melodies and patterns. The stately ‘To Whose Falls Shallows’ reshapes three key themes that Tortoise and Brokeback fans will find to be signature McCombs, buoyed by fellow Brokeback member James Elkington (Tweedy), who also engineered and mixed the album.
On the album, McCombs plays with spare instrumentation and primarily plays electric and acoustic guitars as well as the Bass VI, drawing out textures that stretch the scope of his instruments. McCombs’ work is pastoral and expansive, his playing is refined and nuanced, and his melodies often bely his admiration for Ennio Morricone as his guitar imbues endlessly sprawling fields of the Midwest with the same sense of magic. It is a true pleasure to hear him perform in such an intimate way. This is an absolute essential for followers of McCombs and newcomers alike, as the album lays bare his influence on each of his groups as well as firmly stakes McCombs as a force all his own.
McCombs is one of the most highly regarded bassists / guitarists working today, known for his pioneering band Tortoise, his bass playing in Chicago’s Eleventh Dream Day, and his innovative instrumental group Brokeback. He has released albums with guitarist David Daniell and collaborated with the likes of Tom Zé to Yo La Tengo, Stereolab to Daniel Lanois. In addition to being the touring bassist for The Sea and Cake, McCombs has somehow found time to form a new trio Black Duck with guitarist Bill MacKay, and percussionist Charles Rumback.
Douglas McCombs’ ‘VMAK’ is a window into one of the most distinguished and distinct voices in guitar music for the last three decades, effortlessly stretching the boundaries of the guitar while staying firmly grounded by blissful, uncanny melody.
McCombs’ debut solo album is a mix of improvisation, textural explorations and recurring melodic themes. The album title was lifted by the well-travelled McCombs from one of the visas packed into his current passport, the stamp a reminder of how far his music has taken him - literally all over the world. Not since McCombs’ solo outlet Brokeback blossomed into a full-fledged rock unit has his singular approach to solo guitar playing been exhibited in such striking detail. Taking after Brokeback’s classic ‘Morse Code in the Modern Age: Across the Americas’, ‘Two To Coolness’ is a piece that McCombs refined through a series of improvised performances and features Calexico drummer John Convertino, as well as singer / guitarist / synth player Sam Prekop (also of The Sea and Cake). ‘Green Crown’s Step’ was largely improvised working through melodies and patterns. The stately ‘To Whose Falls Shallows’ reshapes three key themes that Tortoise and Brokeback fans will find to be signature McCombs, buoyed by fellow Brokeback member James Elkington (Tweedy), who also engineered and mixed the album.
On the album, McCombs plays with spare instrumentation and primarily plays electric and acoustic guitars as well as the Bass VI, drawing out textures that stretch the scope of his instruments. McCombs’ work is pastoral and expansive, his playing is refined and nuanced, and his melodies often bely his admiration for Ennio Morricone as his guitar imbues endlessly sprawling fields of the Midwest with the same sense of magic. It is a true pleasure to hear him perform in such an intimate way. This is an absolute essential for followers of McCombs and newcomers alike, as the album lays bare his influence on each of his groups as well as firmly stakes McCombs as a force all his own.
TRACK LISTING
Two To Coolness
Green Crown’s Step
To Whose Falls Shallows
Multi-instrumentalist Sally Anne Morgan tills the soil of old timey music, folk practices old and new, and psychedelia to sow music that reaches out beyond its roots.
‘Cups’ dives headfirst into the waters of the Morgan’s unconscious mind and plumbs those depths for swells of fertile brilliance and awe.
In stark contrast to the traditional and pop-informed structures of her previous album, ‘Thread’, ‘Cups’ adopts a free-flowing approach intuitive and receptive, brimming and shifting and changing across a fragile equilibrium of pieces both improvised and composed.
The fluid pieces twirl from pensive, looped fiddle to tiptoed banjo to patient, sunny parlour guitar arpeggios to droning dulcimer and a litany of percussive ripples with gentle ease.
By distilling her most immediate inspirations into layers of sparkling timbre and buoyant rambles, Sally Anne Morgan’s ‘Cups’ builds a sense of community from within, like a back porch jam with her own subconscious.
“Meditations on folk music, rather than the thing itself, stern and cerebral at times, but intermittently lush and beautiful... [‘Cups’] captures essential bits of folk music, frames them in stark, repeating ways, and makes us look at them differently.” - Dusted Magazine
“[‘Cups’ is] a totally charming album that bares the unspoiled essence of its creator, a thoroughly engaging artist forging her own singular path upon the resilient precepts of the past.” - No Depression
“Morgan has created a record that’s a meditative idyll... If you need a bit of spiritual realignment, then ‘Cups’ is a necessity, a moment of peace in a punishing world.” - Raven Sings The Blues
“breathtaking, string-laden psychedelic folk” - Brooklyn Vegan
‘Cups’ dives headfirst into the waters of the Morgan’s unconscious mind and plumbs those depths for swells of fertile brilliance and awe.
In stark contrast to the traditional and pop-informed structures of her previous album, ‘Thread’, ‘Cups’ adopts a free-flowing approach intuitive and receptive, brimming and shifting and changing across a fragile equilibrium of pieces both improvised and composed.
The fluid pieces twirl from pensive, looped fiddle to tiptoed banjo to patient, sunny parlour guitar arpeggios to droning dulcimer and a litany of percussive ripples with gentle ease.
By distilling her most immediate inspirations into layers of sparkling timbre and buoyant rambles, Sally Anne Morgan’s ‘Cups’ builds a sense of community from within, like a back porch jam with her own subconscious.
“Meditations on folk music, rather than the thing itself, stern and cerebral at times, but intermittently lush and beautiful... [‘Cups’] captures essential bits of folk music, frames them in stark, repeating ways, and makes us look at them differently.” - Dusted Magazine
“[‘Cups’ is] a totally charming album that bares the unspoiled essence of its creator, a thoroughly engaging artist forging her own singular path upon the resilient precepts of the past.” - No Depression
“Morgan has created a record that’s a meditative idyll... If you need a bit of spiritual realignment, then ‘Cups’ is a necessity, a moment of peace in a punishing world.” - Raven Sings The Blues
“breathtaking, string-laden psychedelic folk” - Brooklyn Vegan
TRACK LISTING
Night Window
Prune
Hori Hori
Pythagoras
Sandbox
Through The Threshold
Home Soup
Angeline
In Come A Bee
Word For World
Available on vinyl for the first time since its original CD-only release in 2007.
The closest of relationships gives its members space to expand, change, develop and play. Tenor saxophonist Fred Anderson and drummer Hamid Drake have just that kind of partnership, one that has seen them periodically move apart and work extensively on other fronts - Anderson tending to the recent relocation of his major jazz venue the Velvet Lounge; Drake in a dizzying array of globetrotting ensembles - but always returning to the fold, digging in together and checking out what’s been learned in the interim.
Over the course of some three decades, the master saxophonist and the prodigy percussionist have continued to reconfirm their commitment to their joint project.
The closest of relationships gives its members space to expand, change, develop and play. Tenor saxophonist Fred Anderson and drummer Hamid Drake have just that kind of partnership, one that has seen them periodically move apart and work extensively on other fronts - Anderson tending to the recent relocation of his major jazz venue the Velvet Lounge; Drake in a dizzying array of globetrotting ensembles - but always returning to the fold, digging in together and checking out what’s been learned in the interim.
Over the course of some three decades, the master saxophonist and the prodigy percussionist have continued to reconfirm their commitment to their joint project.
TRACK LISTING
Planet E
Strut Time
For Brother Thompson
Sakti/Shiva
From The River To The Ocean
The Body and BIG|BRAVE are both bands possessed with an unequalled ability to convey overwhelming weight with simplicity, repetition and detailed sonic atmospheres; artists who continue to alter the definition of what it means to be a heavy band.
The Body are consistently prolific while increasingly ambitious as untethered producers and collaborators. BIG|BRAVE shape sound with dense waves of guitar and feedback, minimalist and hypnotic crashes and emotionally exacting vocal melodies. In collaboration, The Body and BIG|BRAVE shift the gravity of their compositions to woven layers of percussion and unspooling guitars that sprawl through stark frameworks of earthy folk.
Their debut collaborative album, ‘Leaving None But Small Birds’ distils the two ensembles’ pioneering approach to heavy music into psalms for the forgotten, threnodies of lost love and odes to vengeance.
Recorded, mixed and produced by Seth Manchester at Machines With Magnets (Liturgy, Battles, Mdou Moctar) and mastered by Heba Kadry (Björk, David Bowie).
“Emotionally coherent but tricky to categorize. BIG|BRAVE are the sound of the raw unconscious, turned up loud.” - Pitchfork
“The Body have become one of the most interesting and difficult to pin down groups in extreme music.” - Rolling Stone
The Body are consistently prolific while increasingly ambitious as untethered producers and collaborators. BIG|BRAVE shape sound with dense waves of guitar and feedback, minimalist and hypnotic crashes and emotionally exacting vocal melodies. In collaboration, The Body and BIG|BRAVE shift the gravity of their compositions to woven layers of percussion and unspooling guitars that sprawl through stark frameworks of earthy folk.
Their debut collaborative album, ‘Leaving None But Small Birds’ distils the two ensembles’ pioneering approach to heavy music into psalms for the forgotten, threnodies of lost love and odes to vengeance.
Recorded, mixed and produced by Seth Manchester at Machines With Magnets (Liturgy, Battles, Mdou Moctar) and mastered by Heba Kadry (Björk, David Bowie).
“Emotionally coherent but tricky to categorize. BIG|BRAVE are the sound of the raw unconscious, turned up loud.” - Pitchfork
“The Body have become one of the most interesting and difficult to pin down groups in extreme music.” - Rolling Stone
TRACK LISTING
Blackest Crow
Oh Sinner
Hard Times
Once I Had A Sweetheart
Black Is The Colour
Polly Gosford
Babes In The Woods
Jan St. Werner is one-half of legendary electronic duo Mouse On Mars. Werner records music as well under the name Lithops and has released records with Oval’s Markus Popp as Microstoria. Jan has collaborated with a wide range of artists from Mark E Smith and Stereolab to The National.
Kid Millions, aka John Colpitts, is a prolific drummer, known for his work in Oneida and frequently performs with Laurie Anderson and Marnie Stern. Colpitt’s past collaborations include Philip Glass, Royal Trux, Boredoms, White Hills and Spiritualized. Under the moniker Man Forever, Colpitts collaborated with acclaimed groups So Percussion, Greg Fox, Tigue, Yo La Tengo and more.
Together, the works on ‘Imperium Droop’ are a joyful listen and an exhilarating foray into the unknown; Kid Millions’ (John Colpitts) tireless rhythms and subtle gestures mirror Jan St. Werner’s boundless textural palette and together drive each piece towards transcendence. Exploring a liminal space between improvisation and composition, the duo expand their musical dialogue beyond the physical limitations of space and time.
LP is available on opaque purple with white coloured vinyl with art by Frieda Luczak, whose designs have been featured on many classic Mouse on Mars albums.
“Kid Millions has become a ubiquitous force in a constantly changing scene.” - New York Times
“Mouse on Mars have never let their concepts eclipse the music; part of the pleasure of the duo’s output is its very inscrutability... the sounds beckon in their mystery.” - Pitchfork
“Mutant, microtonal... [Jan St. Werner] explores one area of sound with great intensity and nuance” - Uncut
“Experimental percussion genius” - Village Voice on Kid Millions
Kid Millions, aka John Colpitts, is a prolific drummer, known for his work in Oneida and frequently performs with Laurie Anderson and Marnie Stern. Colpitt’s past collaborations include Philip Glass, Royal Trux, Boredoms, White Hills and Spiritualized. Under the moniker Man Forever, Colpitts collaborated with acclaimed groups So Percussion, Greg Fox, Tigue, Yo La Tengo and more.
Together, the works on ‘Imperium Droop’ are a joyful listen and an exhilarating foray into the unknown; Kid Millions’ (John Colpitts) tireless rhythms and subtle gestures mirror Jan St. Werner’s boundless textural palette and together drive each piece towards transcendence. Exploring a liminal space between improvisation and composition, the duo expand their musical dialogue beyond the physical limitations of space and time.
LP is available on opaque purple with white coloured vinyl with art by Frieda Luczak, whose designs have been featured on many classic Mouse on Mars albums.
“Kid Millions has become a ubiquitous force in a constantly changing scene.” - New York Times
“Mouse on Mars have never let their concepts eclipse the music; part of the pleasure of the duo’s output is its very inscrutability... the sounds beckon in their mystery.” - Pitchfork
“Mutant, microtonal... [Jan St. Werner] explores one area of sound with great intensity and nuance” - Uncut
“Experimental percussion genius” - Village Voice on Kid Millions
TRACK LISTING
Color Bagpipes
Apotropaic
Laffen’ Death
Hexaco Inversion
Dark Tetrad
Astral Stare
Nuclei Melodies
Sorrows And
Compensations
Colleen is an aboundingly inventive composer and artist. For two decades Cécile Schott, as Colleen, has crafted welcoming, enchanting, and bewildering music. The multiinstrumentalist and vocalist’s timeless compositions make use of carefully selected tools to mold memories into transcendent splendor. The Tunnel and the Clearing finds Schott at her most vulnerable and confident, invoking contemplative and swirling organ processed through analog electronics, steady drum machine syncopations and her distinctive voice. On an album centered on processing the complicated washes of emotion through tribulations and revelations Colleen presents a vision of breathless clarity.
The Tunnel and the Clearing was developed over a period of transformative change. Colleen began work on the album in 2018 but was all but halted by extreme fatigue from a previously undiagnosed illness. Years of treatment and adjustment eventually led to relocating to Barcelona, soon followed by lockdowns and then the dissolution of her longtime partnership. Reflecting on these cumulative experiences she reimagined her compositional practices, spending months in near complete silence. Says Schott, “Never before had I felt so profoundly the power that music has, through harmony, melody, rhythm and sound itself, to express the whole range of human emotions.” The resulting seven pieces investigate the complex, at times contradictory relationship between excitement and fear, anger and understanding, struggle and triumph, all focused on a reconstruction of the self.
Colleen’s albums are unified by distinct and personal instrumentation, built around music boxes, viola da gamba, or electronics, they somehow all remarkably share a dreamlike modern quality. For The Tunnel and the Clearing Schott restricted herself to using analog electronic instruments including the Elka Drummer One, the Roland RE-201 Space Echo and Moog Grandmother synth, coupled with Yamaha organ keyboard. Stunningly, Colleen achieves the rich emotional intricacy and the lush density of textures on The Tunnel and the Clearing through almost entirely live performance and processing. These detailed and affecting compositions mirror Colleen’s grappling with her own psyche. Schott elaborates “I found direct correspondences between my internal discourse, its obsessive, frantic attempts at making sense of what I could not understand, and the music I was making, with motifs functioning as questions and answers, doubts and assertions.” Clicks, hums, warbles and throbs emulating our evolving internal worlds, an “emotional noise.” A musical journey through the tunnel toward the clearing at its end. The Tunnel and the Clearing is a work of lucid reverence, a constellation of marvels suspended in air.
The Tunnel and the Clearing was developed over a period of transformative change. Colleen began work on the album in 2018 but was all but halted by extreme fatigue from a previously undiagnosed illness. Years of treatment and adjustment eventually led to relocating to Barcelona, soon followed by lockdowns and then the dissolution of her longtime partnership. Reflecting on these cumulative experiences she reimagined her compositional practices, spending months in near complete silence. Says Schott, “Never before had I felt so profoundly the power that music has, through harmony, melody, rhythm and sound itself, to express the whole range of human emotions.” The resulting seven pieces investigate the complex, at times contradictory relationship between excitement and fear, anger and understanding, struggle and triumph, all focused on a reconstruction of the self.
Colleen’s albums are unified by distinct and personal instrumentation, built around music boxes, viola da gamba, or electronics, they somehow all remarkably share a dreamlike modern quality. For The Tunnel and the Clearing Schott restricted herself to using analog electronic instruments including the Elka Drummer One, the Roland RE-201 Space Echo and Moog Grandmother synth, coupled with Yamaha organ keyboard. Stunningly, Colleen achieves the rich emotional intricacy and the lush density of textures on The Tunnel and the Clearing through almost entirely live performance and processing. These detailed and affecting compositions mirror Colleen’s grappling with her own psyche. Schott elaborates “I found direct correspondences between my internal discourse, its obsessive, frantic attempts at making sense of what I could not understand, and the music I was making, with motifs functioning as questions and answers, doubts and assertions.” Clicks, hums, warbles and throbs emulating our evolving internal worlds, an “emotional noise.” A musical journey through the tunnel toward the clearing at its end. The Tunnel and the Clearing is a work of lucid reverence, a constellation of marvels suspended in air.
STAFF COMMENTS
Barry says: A beautifully produced juxtaposition of Space Lady-esque echoing vocal shards and slowly pulled organ swells, flickering drum machines and psychedelic reverb, 'The Tunnel..' is both brilliantly propulsive and warmingly lysergic, ending up somewhere between an arm-waving midday festival slot and loose, chillout room ambience. Really lovely stuff.TRACK LISTING
1. The Crossing
2. Revelation
3. Implosion-Explosion
4. The Tunnel And The Clearing
5. Gazing At Taurus - Santa Eulalia
6. Gazing At Taurus - Night Sky Rumba
7. Hidden In The Current
Over the course of two decades The Body - Lee Buford and Chip King - have consistently challenged assumptions and defied categorization, redefining what it means to be a heavy band.
On ‘I’ve Seen All I Need To See’, they test the boundaries of the studio to explore the extremes and microtonality of distortion to find its maximal impact.
Their most incisively bleak album to date, a towering monolith of noise, Buford’s booming, resolute drums paired with King’s obliterated guitar and howl.
Course, bristling distortion contorts every instrument, with samples of spoken word, cymbals, toms and King’s already noxious tone emerging from layers of feedback.
Features guests Ben Eberle (Sandworm) and Chrissy Wolpert (Assembly of Light Choir). Recorded with long time engineer Seth Manchester at Machines with Magnets (Lightning Bolt, Battles, Daughters) and mastered by Matt Colton (Sumac, Brian Eno, Uniform, Sunn O)))).
The Body have collaborated with many, including Full Of Hell, Thou, Uniform and Bummer.
“The distortion has this ability to envelope you, and not push you away. It has this strange kind of beautiful timbre... once you give into the sheer power of it, and let it take you on a ride then it becomes this whole other kind of sonic experience.” - Matt Colton
On ‘I’ve Seen All I Need To See’, they test the boundaries of the studio to explore the extremes and microtonality of distortion to find its maximal impact.
Their most incisively bleak album to date, a towering monolith of noise, Buford’s booming, resolute drums paired with King’s obliterated guitar and howl.
Course, bristling distortion contorts every instrument, with samples of spoken word, cymbals, toms and King’s already noxious tone emerging from layers of feedback.
Features guests Ben Eberle (Sandworm) and Chrissy Wolpert (Assembly of Light Choir). Recorded with long time engineer Seth Manchester at Machines with Magnets (Lightning Bolt, Battles, Daughters) and mastered by Matt Colton (Sumac, Brian Eno, Uniform, Sunn O)))).
The Body have collaborated with many, including Full Of Hell, Thou, Uniform and Bummer.
“The distortion has this ability to envelope you, and not push you away. It has this strange kind of beautiful timbre... once you give into the sheer power of it, and let it take you on a ride then it becomes this whole other kind of sonic experience.” - Matt Colton
TRACK LISTING
A Lament
Tied Up And Locked In
Eschatological Imperative
A Pain Of Knowing
The City Is Shelled
They Are Coming
The Handle/The Blade
Path Of Failure
In just over a year since their initial inception, Eye Flys have established themselves as a force beyond reckoning. Their debut full-length ‘Tub of Lard’ is stunningly potency full of piss and vinegar, scientific in its ability to pulverize everything in its path. Due in part to the considerable pedigree of the band’s line- up (including members of Full of Hell, Backslider, Triac), the East Coast-based quartet chew through steel-barbed riffs and off-kilter rhythms with exponential force. Their 2019 debut EP ‘Context’ set an early precedent for just how lean and ruthless they can be. On ‘Tub of Lard’, Eye Flys launch that potential into 10 songs of maximum impact that find both raw power and subtlety in their simplicity.
For fans of Unsane, Cherubs, The Melvins.
For fans of Unsane, Cherubs, The Melvins.
TRACK LISTING
Tubba Lard
Guillotine
Predator And Prey
Not Ready For Tomorrow
Reality Tunnel
Nice Guy
Chapel Perilous
Extraterrestrial Memoradum
BLS
Perception Is Gamble
Sightless Pit may be a new name in heavy music but its members are some of the most groundbreaking artist of the genre. Lee Buford (The Body), Kristin Hayter (Lingua Ignota) and Dylan Walker (Full Of Hell) recorded their debut ‘Grave Of A Dog’ at Machines With Magnets with Seth Manchester (The Body, Lightning Bolt). Fans will recognize immediately Buford’s singular percussion and production, Walker’s venomous howl and Hayter’s virtuosic voice. The three share a bleak vision of existence and a willingness to follow each other into the musical abyss. Sightless Pit are a group of expansive ideas, extensive experience working together and shared vision. Over the course of the eight tracks the trio reflect the extremes and emotional weight of their world view through elegiac dirges, driving beats and explosive crescendos. Together, three strong voices unite to create a work of remarkable clarity of expression of enormous sorrow, futility and, most of all, beauty.
TRACK LISTING
Kingscorpse
Immersion Dispersal
The Ocean Of Mercy
Violent Rain
Drunk On Marrow
Miles Of Chain
Whom The Devil Long
Sought To Strangle
Love Is Dead, All Love Is
Dead
For their seventh full length, ‘Sonic Citadel’, Brians Gibson and Chippendale have done the daring, stripping away some of the distortion mask to reveal the naked pop forms as never before.
Throughout their 25-year history Lightning Bolt have toured the world, performing at Coachella, ATP, Festivals, Pitchfork Music Festival, Austin Psych Fest and FYF Fest, to name a few.
Brian Chippendale has collaborated with Björk, Boredoms, Andrew W.K. and Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry. Brian’s comics are published with Drawn & Quarterly and Picturebox. Brian is also in Black Pus.
Brian Gibson’s game Thumper, produced by his own company Drool, was awarded the 2019 Apple Design Award, was on Gamespot, Hardcore Gamer and IDN’s Best Of 2016 lists and won countless other awards.
Throughout their 25-year history Lightning Bolt have toured the world, performing at Coachella, ATP, Festivals, Pitchfork Music Festival, Austin Psych Fest and FYF Fest, to name a few.
Brian Chippendale has collaborated with Björk, Boredoms, Andrew W.K. and Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry. Brian’s comics are published with Drawn & Quarterly and Picturebox. Brian is also in Black Pus.
Brian Gibson’s game Thumper, produced by his own company Drool, was awarded the 2019 Apple Design Award, was on Gamespot, Hardcore Gamer and IDN’s Best Of 2016 lists and won countless other awards.
STAFF COMMENTS
Barry says: With the grinding guitars and machinated percussive blasts, Lightning Bolt have always proved an intimating presence. 'Sonic Citadel' sees them embracing more of the rapid-fire punk aesthetic than their more dirgy stoner sludge, and is all the better for the glimmers of melody and old-school thrash-punk fire within.TRACK LISTING
Blow To The Head
USA Is A Psycho
Air Conditioning
Hüsker Dön’t
Big Banger
Halloween 3
Don Henley In The Park
Tom Thump
Bouncy House
All Insane
Van Halen 2049
Eye Flys brings together the minds of four musicians known for their work in some of the most extreme, blistering bands today. The quartet was initially started by Full Of Hell guitarist Spencer Hazard and former Backslider drummer Patrick Forrest as an outlet to play aggressive music with equal intensity that would contrast the breakneck speeds of their other projects. After asking Backslider bassist Jake Smith to join on guitar and vocals and Triac’s Kevin Bernsten on bass, Eye Flys’ potential for crafting impossibly heavy songs was solidified.
Eye Flys’ debut ‘Context’ was written and recorded just a few short months from the band’s inception, drawing on each members’ considerable experience and driven by the excitement of playing in uncharted territory. This is an album of commanding, lean noise rock absolutely brimming with vitriol.
The direct, raw energy of Eye Flys’ music is simultaneously menacing and intoxicating. Drawing immediate comparisons to bands like Unsane, Cherubs and The Melvins (where they take their name), the quartet’s bludgeoning sound is underpinned by a razor sharp edge. Smith’s vicious lyrics are paralleled by his unrelenting barks with passages like the opening of ‘Weaponize’ literally spat through grinding teeth. Their taut, muscular riffing and pummelling drums lay atop a foundation of deceptively intricate arrangements.
Eye Flys’ ‘Context’ stands as a testament to its members’ abilities to produce music that is as ferocious as it is addictive. In just six songs Eye Flys not only prove their place among their peers but stand out as a force of sheer, immovable power.
Eye Flys’ debut ‘Context’ was written and recorded just a few short months from the band’s inception, drawing on each members’ considerable experience and driven by the excitement of playing in uncharted territory. This is an album of commanding, lean noise rock absolutely brimming with vitriol.
The direct, raw energy of Eye Flys’ music is simultaneously menacing and intoxicating. Drawing immediate comparisons to bands like Unsane, Cherubs and The Melvins (where they take their name), the quartet’s bludgeoning sound is underpinned by a razor sharp edge. Smith’s vicious lyrics are paralleled by his unrelenting barks with passages like the opening of ‘Weaponize’ literally spat through grinding teeth. Their taut, muscular riffing and pummelling drums lay atop a foundation of deceptively intricate arrangements.
Eye Flys’ ‘Context’ stands as a testament to its members’ abilities to produce music that is as ferocious as it is addictive. In just six songs Eye Flys not only prove their place among their peers but stand out as a force of sheer, immovable power.
TRACK LISTING
Stems
Dosed
Crushing Of The Human
Spirit
Weaponize
The Triumph Of Hagbard Celine
Fuckface
The incomparable duo, Matmos, have done it again! Their new album, Plastic Anniversary, was created using only plastic. Highlighting the crises of convenience, the Duo make music from our refuse. True to form, the band have assembled a promiscuous array of examples of this sturdy-yet-ersatz family of materials: Dominos, Styrofoam coolers, police riot shields, polyethylene waste containers, PVC panpipes, pinpricks of bubble wrap, pills, silicone gel breast implants and most horrifically synthetic human fat. Where did this idea come from? Drew Daniels and M.C, Schmidts own “plastic” anniversary as a couple.
Matmos glide from the tongue-in-cheek fun of “Breaking Bread” (literally smashing Bread LPs) to Cronenbergian body-horror of “Interior with Billiard Balls & Synthetic Fat.” The album is playful and poppy while conveying a very serious message and on the darker implications of ignoring the havoc we are imposing on the earth all for the sake of convienience
A super special limited edition set will come with a sculptural album, embedded with plastic bottles, that while is the actual album, is rendered viruatlly unplayable by the pastic floating within. This edition also includes the album on a exclusive multi color mashup vinyl, a t-shirt, and a bonus track, all exclusive to the box. All proceeds from this special edition will benefit The Ocean Cleanup.
Matmos glide from the tongue-in-cheek fun of “Breaking Bread” (literally smashing Bread LPs) to Cronenbergian body-horror of “Interior with Billiard Balls & Synthetic Fat.” The album is playful and poppy while conveying a very serious message and on the darker implications of ignoring the havoc we are imposing on the earth all for the sake of convienience
A super special limited edition set will come with a sculptural album, embedded with plastic bottles, that while is the actual album, is rendered viruatlly unplayable by the pastic floating within. This edition also includes the album on a exclusive multi color mashup vinyl, a t-shirt, and a bonus track, all exclusive to the box. All proceeds from this special edition will benefit The Ocean Cleanup.
TRACK LISTING
1. Breaking Bread
2. The Crying Pill
3. Interior With Billiard Balls & Synthetic Fat
4. Extending The Plastisphere To GJ237b
5. Silicone Gel Implant
6. Plastic Anniversary
7. Thermoplastic Riot Shield
8. Fanfare For Polyethylene Waste Containers
9. The Singing Tube
10. Collapse Of The Fourth Kingdom
11. Plastisphere
Chicago’s Oozing Wound are a mass of contradictions: weed lovers whose music hits you with its breakneck head banging force. The band deal with nihilism, yet remain addictively fun. Their music is equal parts sludge and thrash, noise and riff-loaded rock. High Anxiety is an unabashed mocking of the madness of modern living, its chemical induced adventures and establishment absurdity, deriding the industrial complex behind established institutions such as NASA while savaging those who deny science. Oozing Wound on High Anxiety are nihilistic pied pipers making us laugh our way to the apocalypse. The album finds guitarist and vocalist Zack Weil drummer Kyle Reynolds and bassist Kevin Cribbin blending their ferocious energy, sonic experiments and blunt lyricism for a pummeling enjoyable head-banger with an irresistible sneer.
On High Anxiety, Oozing Wound’s songs have become more complex, their attacks more ferocious, and bass and guitar lines more captivating. The album was recorded in four days at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio studio. The trio ripped through live-tracking and overdubs, leaving space to experiment with new sounds and effects. The band, having an affinity for the complexities of prog music, managed to bring prog elements to High Anxiety without sacrificing any of their songs punch. Subtle layers of saxophone, flutes and synths were blended into guitar tones, adding depth and texture without cluttering arrangements. Fist-pumping blasts of whitehot riffing become a Trojan horse for sonic weirdness. The resulting recordings are at once some of their most sonically rich, immediate, and impactful.
High Anxiety drips with a caustic vitriol that is both riotous and intoxicating
On High Anxiety, Oozing Wound’s songs have become more complex, their attacks more ferocious, and bass and guitar lines more captivating. The album was recorded in four days at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio studio. The trio ripped through live-tracking and overdubs, leaving space to experiment with new sounds and effects. The band, having an affinity for the complexities of prog music, managed to bring prog elements to High Anxiety without sacrificing any of their songs punch. Subtle layers of saxophone, flutes and synths were blended into guitar tones, adding depth and texture without cluttering arrangements. Fist-pumping blasts of whitehot riffing become a Trojan horse for sonic weirdness. The resulting recordings are at once some of their most sonically rich, immediate, and impactful.
High Anxiety drips with a caustic vitriol that is both riotous and intoxicating
TRACK LISTING
1. Surrounded By Fucking Idiots
2. Filth Chisel
3. Tween Shitbag
4. Die On Mars
5. Birth Of A Flat Earther
6. Riding The Universe
7. Vein Ripper
Endon is a band as mercurial as they are ferocious. Comprised of the quintet of vocalist Taichi Nagura, guitarist Koki Miyabe, drummer Shin Yokota and electronics/noisemakers Taro Aiko and Etsuo Nagura, Endon’s music is contained chaos, bending and colliding genres into one another atop a bed of thunderous distortion, feedback, and unearthly squeals. Vocalist Taichi’s voice embodies an unreal number of personalities with wordless howls seething one moment and agonized cries the next, before desperate gasps for air. It comes as no surprise that they have been credited as the most extreme band in Tokyo.
‘Boy Meets Girl’ was envisioned as a soundtrack to an imagined horror film about love. The core of the ensemble’s song structures are often built around Koki’s fuzz-laden guitar and Shin’s drum bombast which propel torrents of hisses and squelches from Taro and Etsuo. Taichi’s largely lyricless screams, moans and whimpers are potent messengers of the songs’ emotional heft. There lies an ecstatic, excited energy amidst the anarchic defiance Endon's music exudes. Born of the same Japanese scenes that gave rise to the likes of Merzbow and Boredoms, their sound is equally diverse and abrasive. ‘Boy Meets Girl’ demonstrates Endon’s singular faculty to produce music that is at once tortured and transcendent.
‘Boy Meets Girl’ was envisioned as a soundtrack to an imagined horror film about love. The core of the ensemble’s song structures are often built around Koki’s fuzz-laden guitar and Shin’s drum bombast which propel torrents of hisses and squelches from Taro and Etsuo. Taichi’s largely lyricless screams, moans and whimpers are potent messengers of the songs’ emotional heft. There lies an ecstatic, excited energy amidst the anarchic defiance Endon's music exudes. Born of the same Japanese scenes that gave rise to the likes of Merzbow and Boredoms, their sound is equally diverse and abrasive. ‘Boy Meets Girl’ demonstrates Endon’s singular faculty to produce music that is at once tortured and transcendent.
TRACK LISTING
Boy Meets Girl
Heart Shaped Brain
Born Again
Doubts As A Source
Love Amnesia
Final Acting Out
Red Shoes
Not For You
Through his output both as a sound artist and through his eclectic Dekorder record label, Black To Comm (Marc Richter) has established himself as a singular voice of new music. His Thrill Jockey debut, "Seven Horses For Seven Kings", is Richter’s most direct and visceral to date.
A relentless sonic explorer, he approaches the studio as his instrument, using sampling, analogue production and digital manipulation to sculpt audio fragments into surprising new shapes. Samples from Richter’s contemporaries like German composer Nils Frahm are bent and compounded with elements of early recorded music and medieval song, creating pieces that transcend time and genre. Richter blurs the lines between organic instrumentation and digital production to the extent that the two become inseparable.
"Seven Horses For Seven Kings" was completed during a particularly prolific period for Richter. Working on a broad range of commissions since his last album - from writing for film and theatre works to composing for art installations, apps and sleep music - generated a flurry of new ideas and influences. Extensive touring would equally come to inform a key shift in Richter’s music, simulating the raw, unpredictable energy of live performances on record. While rhythm has been largely absent from previous Black To Comm releases, here the music seems totally bound to it. The album’s breathtaking pace drives Richter’s music to new levels of intensity.
'Black To Comm is... like an abandoned museum of late-Twentieth Century instruments whose exhibits are still running at half power.' - New Yorker
A relentless sonic explorer, he approaches the studio as his instrument, using sampling, analogue production and digital manipulation to sculpt audio fragments into surprising new shapes. Samples from Richter’s contemporaries like German composer Nils Frahm are bent and compounded with elements of early recorded music and medieval song, creating pieces that transcend time and genre. Richter blurs the lines between organic instrumentation and digital production to the extent that the two become inseparable.
"Seven Horses For Seven Kings" was completed during a particularly prolific period for Richter. Working on a broad range of commissions since his last album - from writing for film and theatre works to composing for art installations, apps and sleep music - generated a flurry of new ideas and influences. Extensive touring would equally come to inform a key shift in Richter’s music, simulating the raw, unpredictable energy of live performances on record. While rhythm has been largely absent from previous Black To Comm releases, here the music seems totally bound to it. The album’s breathtaking pace drives Richter’s music to new levels of intensity.
'Black To Comm is... like an abandoned museum of late-Twentieth Century instruments whose exhibits are still running at half power.' - New Yorker
STAFF COMMENTS
Barry says: Pulsing doom-laiden ambience, rickety industrial echoes and foreboding strings form the backbone to Black To Comm's most evocative and absorbing work to date. Stunning stuff.TRACK LISTING
Asphodel Mansions
A Miracle No-Mother Child At Your Breast
Lethe
Ten Tons Of Rain In A Plastic Cup
Licking The Fig Tree Threshold
Fly On You
Double Happiness In Temporal Decoy
If Not, Not
The Deseret Alphabet
Semirechye
Rameses II
Angel Investor
The Courtesan Jigokudayu Sees Herself as A Skeleton In The Mirror Of Hell
‘Luck In The Valley’ is the 10th and final album by Jack Rose and is the yardstick by which many contemporary acoustic guitar albums are measured. This 2018 re-issue makes this contemporary classic available again for the first time since 2010.
Jack Rose first rose to prominence with the drone/noise/folk unit Pelt. Pelt can be counted among the early influential new music underground bands such as UN, No Neck Blues Band, Charalambides, Tower Recordings and Six Organs Of Admittance. Along with the influences of John Fahey and Robbie Basho, Rose also incorporated North Indian classical, early American blues, bluegrass and minimalism into his singular style.
‘Luck In The Valley’ came right as Rose’s influence was just beginning to take flight but was sadly his last album before his unexpected death in December of 2009. Still, his music and influence, much like his person, bold, hearty and rooted in traditional American music continues to be a source of reference for guitarists and musicians carrying traditional American music into modern times.
“Jack Rose, Versatile Master of the Guitar” - New York Times
“The energy behind ‘Luck In The Valley’ all emanates from Rose himself: you can almost see his fingers flying across his guitar strings... energy resonates from within his melodies and his songs, giving ‘Luck In The Valley’ a radiance.” - Washington Post
“It’s a big, bold work, just the way Rose was a big, bold guy - confident, honest, and forthright.” - Pitchfork
“Jack Rose is acoustic music... Without ever singing a word. Jack Rose could communicate in a way few musicians can.” - PopMatters
Jack Rose first rose to prominence with the drone/noise/folk unit Pelt. Pelt can be counted among the early influential new music underground bands such as UN, No Neck Blues Band, Charalambides, Tower Recordings and Six Organs Of Admittance. Along with the influences of John Fahey and Robbie Basho, Rose also incorporated North Indian classical, early American blues, bluegrass and minimalism into his singular style.
‘Luck In The Valley’ came right as Rose’s influence was just beginning to take flight but was sadly his last album before his unexpected death in December of 2009. Still, his music and influence, much like his person, bold, hearty and rooted in traditional American music continues to be a source of reference for guitarists and musicians carrying traditional American music into modern times.
“Jack Rose, Versatile Master of the Guitar” - New York Times
“The energy behind ‘Luck In The Valley’ all emanates from Rose himself: you can almost see his fingers flying across his guitar strings... energy resonates from within his melodies and his songs, giving ‘Luck In The Valley’ a radiance.” - Washington Post
“It’s a big, bold work, just the way Rose was a big, bold guy - confident, honest, and forthright.” - Pitchfork
“Jack Rose is acoustic music... Without ever singing a word. Jack Rose could communicate in a way few musicians can.” - PopMatters
TRACK LISTING
Blues For Percy Danforth
Lick Mountain Ramble
Woodpiles On The Side Of The Road
When Tailgate Drops, The Bullshit Stops
Moon In The Gutter
Luck In The Valley
Saint Louis Blues
Tree In The Valley
Everybody Ought To Pray Sometime
West Coast Blues
OOIOO’s seminal album ‘Gold & Green’ is finally widely released on vinyl for the first time. Presented as a deluxe double LP in a gatefold jacket with spot metallic ink and full colour inner sleeves featuring glorious artwork. Pressed on virgin vinyl with free digital download coupon.
OOIOO have always created a musical language all their own. Under the leadership of Yoshimi, a founding member of Boredoms, the group have recorded six albums that have subverted expectations and warped perceptions of what constitutes pop and experimental music.
‘Gold & Green’ features guest appearances from Sean Lennon, Seiichi Yamamoto (Boredoms) and Yuka Honda (Cibo Matto).
OOIOO’s Yoshimi is to release an exhilarating new album this Autumn with her group SAICOBAB, featuring sitarist Yoshida Daikiti, bassist Akita Goldman and percussionist Hama.
“‘Challenging’ music doesn’t get more fun than this.” - NPR Music
“OOIOO traffic in a crafty kind of post-punk primitivism… the synths, power chords, polyrhythmic drumming and wordless chants building into an irresistible, throbbing whole” - The Wire
“An extraordinary band.” - New York Times
“OOIOO is tight, lithe and anything but robotic.” - Washington Post
OOIOO have always created a musical language all their own. Under the leadership of Yoshimi, a founding member of Boredoms, the group have recorded six albums that have subverted expectations and warped perceptions of what constitutes pop and experimental music.
‘Gold & Green’ features guest appearances from Sean Lennon, Seiichi Yamamoto (Boredoms) and Yuka Honda (Cibo Matto).
OOIOO’s Yoshimi is to release an exhilarating new album this Autumn with her group SAICOBAB, featuring sitarist Yoshida Daikiti, bassist Akita Goldman and percussionist Hama.
“‘Challenging’ music doesn’t get more fun than this.” - NPR Music
“OOIOO traffic in a crafty kind of post-punk primitivism… the synths, power chords, polyrhythmic drumming and wordless chants building into an irresistible, throbbing whole” - The Wire
“An extraordinary band.” - New York Times
“OOIOO is tight, lithe and anything but robotic.” - Washington Post
TRACK LISTING
Moss Trumpeter
Á
Oozing Wound are a thrash trio featuring veterans of Chicago’s underground scene who have played with High On Fire, The Body, Ash Borer, Wolf Eyes, Nazoranai and Black Pus, among many others.
A horrifying concoction of apathy and malaise wrapped in a delectable sheet of hatred drowned in a bath of contempt.
“Oozing Wound are the Chicago trio ripping up the rule book of thrash.” - The Guardian
“Chicago trio Oozing Wound play loud, brash and snotty crossover thrash with a penchant for the kind of big, obnoxious riffs that can’t fail to plaster a huge grin across your face.” - Terrorizer
“Their songs barrel along like Iron Lung bitch-slapping the first Megadeth album or meaty Testament-like guitar gallops infused with an air of frenetic power violence irreverence.” - Metal Hammer
“A whole sweaty, stinking ruck of basement smashing fun” - The Quietus
“So refreshingly anti-bullshit are Oozing Wound that they could conceivably turn out to be the Nirvana of thrash.” - Noisey
A horrifying concoction of apathy and malaise wrapped in a delectable sheet of hatred drowned in a bath of contempt.
“Oozing Wound are the Chicago trio ripping up the rule book of thrash.” - The Guardian
“Chicago trio Oozing Wound play loud, brash and snotty crossover thrash with a penchant for the kind of big, obnoxious riffs that can’t fail to plaster a huge grin across your face.” - Terrorizer
“Their songs barrel along like Iron Lung bitch-slapping the first Megadeth album or meaty Testament-like guitar gallops infused with an air of frenetic power violence irreverence.” - Metal Hammer
“A whole sweaty, stinking ruck of basement smashing fun” - The Quietus
“So refreshingly anti-bullshit are Oozing Wound that they could conceivably turn out to be the Nirvana of thrash.” - Noisey
TRACK LISTING
Rambo 5 (Pre-Emptive Strike)
Diver
Deep Space
Mercury In Retrograde Virus
Weather Tamer
Everything Sucks, And My Life Is A Lie
Eruptor
Tachycardia
You Owe Me, Iommi
Sky Creep
Grumbling Fur are the UK based duo of Alexander Tucker and Daniel O’Sullivan.
Alexander Tucker’s solo releases on Thrill Jockey include ‘Third Mouth’ and ‘Dorwytch’. A prolific artist, his latest graphic novel, the acclaimed ‘World In The Force Field’, is out now via Breakdown Press.
Daniel O’Sullivan has been at the core of the wildly successful This Heat reconstitution and with Massimo Pupillo of Zu recently realised Laniakea. As part of Norwegian experimental collective Ulver he released the ‘ATGCLVLSSCAP’ album and later this year there’ll be a new album from Æthenor, his ongoing project with Steve Noble and Stephen O’Malley of Sunn O))).
‘Furfour’ is the band’s second release on Thrill Jockey, with previous releases on Aurora Borealis and Latitudes alongside their last highly successful output on The Quietus Phonographic Corporation.
On ‘Furfour’, Grumbling Fur are joined by This Heat’s Charles Bullen and Isobel Sollenberger from Bardo Pond. The band have also recently collaborated with Charlemagne Palestine.
‘Furfour’ gradually emerged over three years of writing and recording at 147 Tower Gardens, the mystical, ivy-shrouded house that Tucker and O’Sullivan once called home.
The band’s music is shaped all this are their long-standing shared musical affections, encompassing orchestrated poptones, collage, dub and beatmaking as well as experimental and drone elements - touchtones might include Faust, Arthur Russell, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Moondog, Michael Nyman, Gate, Syd Barrett, Stereolab, Vibracathedral Orchestra, Ashtray Navigations, CC Hennix and Madlib.
Alexander Tucker’s solo releases on Thrill Jockey include ‘Third Mouth’ and ‘Dorwytch’. A prolific artist, his latest graphic novel, the acclaimed ‘World In The Force Field’, is out now via Breakdown Press.
Daniel O’Sullivan has been at the core of the wildly successful This Heat reconstitution and with Massimo Pupillo of Zu recently realised Laniakea. As part of Norwegian experimental collective Ulver he released the ‘ATGCLVLSSCAP’ album and later this year there’ll be a new album from Æthenor, his ongoing project with Steve Noble and Stephen O’Malley of Sunn O))).
‘Furfour’ is the band’s second release on Thrill Jockey, with previous releases on Aurora Borealis and Latitudes alongside their last highly successful output on The Quietus Phonographic Corporation.
On ‘Furfour’, Grumbling Fur are joined by This Heat’s Charles Bullen and Isobel Sollenberger from Bardo Pond. The band have also recently collaborated with Charlemagne Palestine.
‘Furfour’ gradually emerged over three years of writing and recording at 147 Tower Gardens, the mystical, ivy-shrouded house that Tucker and O’Sullivan once called home.
The band’s music is shaped all this are their long-standing shared musical affections, encompassing orchestrated poptones, collage, dub and beatmaking as well as experimental and drone elements - touchtones might include Faust, Arthur Russell, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Moondog, Michael Nyman, Gate, Syd Barrett, Stereolab, Vibracathedral Orchestra, Ashtray Navigations, CC Hennix and Madlib.
TRACK LISTING
Strange The Friends
Acid Ali Khan
Heavy Days
Molten Familiar
Milky Light
Pyewacket’s Palace
Perfect Reader
Silent Plans / Black Egg
Golden Simon
Sapien Sapiens
Come Down And Watch Them
Suneaters
Jan St. Werner, the well-respected artist and musician known for his solo compositions, his work with Mouse On Mars and art pieces, has created a beautifully rhythmic, instantly gripping work with his new album ‘Felder’.
Werner has created sounds that are listenable and inviting, complex but approachable and, mostly, completely unidentifiable. ‘Felder’ means ‘fields’ in German and here the word refers to conceptual frameworks and subjects and sound fields. Werner mixes organic sounds from French horns and cellos seamlessly with synthesized notes created with one-of-a-kind programs. He builds layers of sound with differing cadences upon one another, creating intricate patterns that connect with each other structurally, rhythmically, semantically and historically. Suggestions of jazz, industrial music, drone and even folk float in and out of the electronic compositions in a seemingly effortless manner; paradoxically, ‘Felder’ was meticulously constructed over the course of four years.
“Music that makes you hyper-aware of your place in relation to it and something that removes you from thinking about yourself altogether” - Pitchfork
Werner has collaborated with Markus Popp (Oval), Mark E Smith (The Fall), Damo Suzuki (Can), the scientist / writer Oswald Wiener and the theorist Siegfried Zielinksi on pieces that were premiered at the Chicago Symphony, Phiharmonie Cologne, Barbican London, Radialsystem Berlin, HAU Berlin, Akademie der Kunste Berlin and the German public radio stations WDR, SWR, BR, and DLF. Werner has also shown works at Kunstverein Munich, Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin, Museum Abteiberg Monchengladbach, Cubitt Gallery London, Kunsthalle Dusseldorf and Cornerhouse Manchester.
In addition Werner has worked with the visual artist Rosa Barba on pieces premiered at London’s Tate Modern, the MIT List Visual Arts Center and the Reina Sofia in Madrid.
Werner has created sounds that are listenable and inviting, complex but approachable and, mostly, completely unidentifiable. ‘Felder’ means ‘fields’ in German and here the word refers to conceptual frameworks and subjects and sound fields. Werner mixes organic sounds from French horns and cellos seamlessly with synthesized notes created with one-of-a-kind programs. He builds layers of sound with differing cadences upon one another, creating intricate patterns that connect with each other structurally, rhythmically, semantically and historically. Suggestions of jazz, industrial music, drone and even folk float in and out of the electronic compositions in a seemingly effortless manner; paradoxically, ‘Felder’ was meticulously constructed over the course of four years.
“Music that makes you hyper-aware of your place in relation to it and something that removes you from thinking about yourself altogether” - Pitchfork
Werner has collaborated with Markus Popp (Oval), Mark E Smith (The Fall), Damo Suzuki (Can), the scientist / writer Oswald Wiener and the theorist Siegfried Zielinksi on pieces that were premiered at the Chicago Symphony, Phiharmonie Cologne, Barbican London, Radialsystem Berlin, HAU Berlin, Akademie der Kunste Berlin and the German public radio stations WDR, SWR, BR, and DLF. Werner has also shown works at Kunstverein Munich, Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin, Museum Abteiberg Monchengladbach, Cubitt Gallery London, Kunsthalle Dusseldorf and Cornerhouse Manchester.
In addition Werner has worked with the visual artist Rosa Barba on pieces premiered at London’s Tate Modern, the MIT List Visual Arts Center and the Reina Sofia in Madrid.
TRACK LISTING
Beardman
Kroque AF
Osho
Foggy Esor Pt. 1
The Somewhere That Is Moving
Slipped Through Heaven
The Abstract Pit
Foggy Esor Pt. 2
Singoth
Rain Deer
Revered Chicago-based instrumental group Tortoise, comprised of Dan Bitney, John Herndon, Doug McCombs, John McEntire and Jeff Parker, have spent 25 years making music that defies description. While the quintet have nodded to dub, rock, jazz, electronica and minimalism throughout their acclaimed and influential six-album discography, the resulting sounds have always been distinctly their own.
It’s a fact that remains true on the hotly anticipated forthcoming new album ‘The Catastrophist’ (Thrill Jockey) and Tortoise’s first studio album in nearly seven years.
Recorded at McEntire’s famed Soma Studios, it’s an album where moody, synth-swept jams like the opening title track cosy up next to hypnotic, bassand- beat missives like ‘Shake Hands With Danger’ and a fantastic cover of David Essex’s 1973 hit song ‘Rock On’ sung by U.S. Maple’s Todd Rittmann. Throughout, the songs on ‘The Catastrophist’ transcend expectations as often as they delight the listen’s eardrums.
‘Rock On’ isn’t the only vocal moment on the album. Yo La Tengo’s Georgia Hubley distinctive tones are on the bittersweet classic soul/R&B vibe ballad ‘Yonder Blue’. this also marks the first time a Tortoise album will feature a guest vocalist singing original lyrics.
‘Gesceap’, the first track premiered from ‘The Catastrophist’, is a stunning seven-minute long, minimalist rhythmic piece, morphing from two gently intersecting synth lines into a pounding, frenzied full-band finish.
There’s a deeply intuitive interplay between the group that comes only from two decades of experimentation, revision and improvisation. At a time when our minds are constantly bombarded by myriad distractions, ‘The Catastrophist’ reminds us that there’s something much greater out there. All we have to do is listen.
It’s a fact that remains true on the hotly anticipated forthcoming new album ‘The Catastrophist’ (Thrill Jockey) and Tortoise’s first studio album in nearly seven years.
Recorded at McEntire’s famed Soma Studios, it’s an album where moody, synth-swept jams like the opening title track cosy up next to hypnotic, bassand- beat missives like ‘Shake Hands With Danger’ and a fantastic cover of David Essex’s 1973 hit song ‘Rock On’ sung by U.S. Maple’s Todd Rittmann. Throughout, the songs on ‘The Catastrophist’ transcend expectations as often as they delight the listen’s eardrums.
‘Rock On’ isn’t the only vocal moment on the album. Yo La Tengo’s Georgia Hubley distinctive tones are on the bittersweet classic soul/R&B vibe ballad ‘Yonder Blue’. this also marks the first time a Tortoise album will feature a guest vocalist singing original lyrics.
‘Gesceap’, the first track premiered from ‘The Catastrophist’, is a stunning seven-minute long, minimalist rhythmic piece, morphing from two gently intersecting synth lines into a pounding, frenzied full-band finish.
There’s a deeply intuitive interplay between the group that comes only from two decades of experimentation, revision and improvisation. At a time when our minds are constantly bombarded by myriad distractions, ‘The Catastrophist’ reminds us that there’s something much greater out there. All we have to do is listen.
TRACK LISTING
The Catastrophist
Ox Duke
Rock On
Gopher Island
Shake Hands With Danger
The Clearing Fills
Gesceap
Hot Coffee
Yonder Blue
Tesseract
At Odds With Logic
Dommengang are a Brooklyn-via-Seattle rock trio fronted by Pacific Northwest psych mainstay Sig Wilson (Holy Sons, Castanets, Scout Niblett) and Brooklyn musicians Brian Markham and Adam Bulgasem (currently members of Holy Sons’ live band).
While the trio’s affection for electric blues and proto-punk bombast is clear, their music abandons traditional song structures and replaces their recognizable tropes with progressive frameworks. The band’s debut, ‘Everybody’s Boogie’, pivots between gloriously inventive riffs and fuzzed-out experimentation, a combination so potent that the listener hardly notices that they rarely sing.
‘Everybody’s Boogie’ was recorded live in the studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn with minimal overdubs.
Recommended for fans of Pontiak, Endless Boogie, Earthless and Goat
While the trio’s affection for electric blues and proto-punk bombast is clear, their music abandons traditional song structures and replaces their recognizable tropes with progressive frameworks. The band’s debut, ‘Everybody’s Boogie’, pivots between gloriously inventive riffs and fuzzed-out experimentation, a combination so potent that the listener hardly notices that they rarely sing.
‘Everybody’s Boogie’ was recorded live in the studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn with minimal overdubs.
Recommended for fans of Pontiak, Endless Boogie, Earthless and Goat
TRACK LISTING
Everybody’s Boogie
Hats Off To Magic
Slow Hat
Her Blues
Wild In The Street Blues
Extra Slim Boogie
Burning Off The Years
Have Luck Will Travel
CC
Lost My Way
'Glitter Glamour Atrocity' is a snapshot of the band in the midst of an incredible burst of creativity, and was recorded during the same sessions that produced 'Heads On Fire' and 'Abstractions & Mutations'. Sonically, it is radically different from anything else coming out of the New York underground at the time, and it set the template for the singular concoction of heavy psychedelic music, krautrock, and a worship of pure sound they have explored in different variations ever since.
Throughout the album the band explores themes of greed, misinformation, war, hypocrisy and their outcomes within the world’s political and economic systems, presenting these weighty topics with the same air of mystic understanding that underpins their music. Glitter Glamour Atrocity includes the song “Under Skin Or By Name,” the longest running staple in the band’s live set, which the band performed in the acclaimed film Only Lovers Left Alive at the request of director Jim Jarmusch. It is one of only two performances in the movie, which is enamored with the music making process and record collector culture.
Following the mood-setting intro track and the meditative bombast of “Under Skin or By Name,” WHITE HILLS settle into the sparse groove of “Spirit of Exile,” an expression of a desire to live apart from a culture that one does not fit into. These songs glow with the burning vitality and passion of free thinkers trapped in the waning years of the Bush administration. Those sentiments are perhaps most compellingly expressed on “Love Serve Remember,” a warped, surreal vision of life after 9/11 seen through the eyes of someone who witnessed the event first-hand, interspersed with a brilliantly edited speech by Bush himself in which he admits “I was a threat to the United States.”
Glitter Glamour Atrocity was recorded with the first iteration of the trio line-up with Dave W on vocals, guitar, synthesizers, and sound collage, Ego Sensation on bass and vocals, and Bob Bellomo on drums. It was recorded at Bellomo’s studio in Passaic, NJ, and produced by Dave W.
Throughout the album the band explores themes of greed, misinformation, war, hypocrisy and their outcomes within the world’s political and economic systems, presenting these weighty topics with the same air of mystic understanding that underpins their music. Glitter Glamour Atrocity includes the song “Under Skin Or By Name,” the longest running staple in the band’s live set, which the band performed in the acclaimed film Only Lovers Left Alive at the request of director Jim Jarmusch. It is one of only two performances in the movie, which is enamored with the music making process and record collector culture.
Following the mood-setting intro track and the meditative bombast of “Under Skin or By Name,” WHITE HILLS settle into the sparse groove of “Spirit of Exile,” an expression of a desire to live apart from a culture that one does not fit into. These songs glow with the burning vitality and passion of free thinkers trapped in the waning years of the Bush administration. Those sentiments are perhaps most compellingly expressed on “Love Serve Remember,” a warped, surreal vision of life after 9/11 seen through the eyes of someone who witnessed the event first-hand, interspersed with a brilliantly edited speech by Bush himself in which he admits “I was a threat to the United States.”
Glitter Glamour Atrocity was recorded with the first iteration of the trio line-up with Dave W on vocals, guitar, synthesizers, and sound collage, Ego Sensation on bass and vocals, and Bob Bellomo on drums. It was recorded at Bellomo’s studio in Passaic, NJ, and produced by Dave W.
TRACK LISTING
01. Air Waves
02. Under Skin Or By Name
03. Spirit Of Exile
04. Distance
05. Somewhere Along The Way
06. Long Serve Remember
07. Passage
08. Glitter Glamour Atrocity
The Soft Pink Truth is the solo alter ego of Drew Daniel, one half of celebrated Baltimore-based electronic duo Matmos.
After a decade of silence in which Daniel concentrated on Matmos and becoming a Shakespeare professor, The Soft Pink Truth is set to release ‘Why Do The Heathen Rage?’, whose subtitle ‘Electronic Profanations Of Black Metal Classics’ reveals its bizarre agenda as an unrequited love letter to a justly divisive genre.
A gleeful queer travesty of black metal’s undying obsession with kvlt authenticity, ‘Why Do The Heathen Rage?’ is also a formally precise homage executed with a scholar’s obsession. With the guitar chord transcription assistance of Owen Gardner (Teeth Mountain, Horse Lords) and a coven of guest vocalists including Antony Hegarty (Antony And The Johnsons), Terence Hannum (Locrian), Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak) and M.C. Schmidt (Matmos), Daniel meticulously transposes the riffs, structures and patterns of black metal chestnuts and deep cuts by Darkthrone, Venom, Mayhem, Sarcofago, Beherit and more into oddly hybrid new forms. Cruising camp absurdity by forcing a sticky tryst between the two mutually incongruous early 90s subcultures of rave and black metal, the results are bracingly strange on first listen but curiously addictive as the album sinks in.
After a decade of silence in which Daniel concentrated on Matmos and becoming a Shakespeare professor, The Soft Pink Truth is set to release ‘Why Do The Heathen Rage?’, whose subtitle ‘Electronic Profanations Of Black Metal Classics’ reveals its bizarre agenda as an unrequited love letter to a justly divisive genre.
A gleeful queer travesty of black metal’s undying obsession with kvlt authenticity, ‘Why Do The Heathen Rage?’ is also a formally precise homage executed with a scholar’s obsession. With the guitar chord transcription assistance of Owen Gardner (Teeth Mountain, Horse Lords) and a coven of guest vocalists including Antony Hegarty (Antony And The Johnsons), Terence Hannum (Locrian), Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak) and M.C. Schmidt (Matmos), Daniel meticulously transposes the riffs, structures and patterns of black metal chestnuts and deep cuts by Darkthrone, Venom, Mayhem, Sarcofago, Beherit and more into oddly hybrid new forms. Cruising camp absurdity by forcing a sticky tryst between the two mutually incongruous early 90s subcultures of rave and black metal, the results are bracingly strange on first listen but curiously addictive as the album sinks in.
TRACK LISTING
Invocation For Strength
Black Metal
Sadomatic Rites
Ready To Fuck
Satanic Black Devotion
Beholding The Throne Of Might
Let There Be Ebola Frost
Buried By Time And Dust
Maniac
Grim And Frostbitten Gay Bar
THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2014 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.
Brand new 16 minute 12“ EP from Glenn Jones pressed on virgin vinyl and packaged in a full colour LP jacket with free download coupon.
Limited to only 1,000 worldwide.
All exclusive, never before released material.
Limited to 120 copies for the UK and Ireland.
Brand new 16 minute 12“ EP from Glenn Jones pressed on virgin vinyl and packaged in a full colour LP jacket with free download coupon.
Limited to only 1,000 worldwide.
All exclusive, never before released material.
Limited to 120 copies for the UK and Ireland.
TRACK LISTING
Medley : Island III / Against My Ruin
From A Forgotten Session
The Orca Grande Cement Factory At Victorville (with Cian Nugent)
D. Charles Speer, aka Dave Shuford, is a founding member of both Rhyton and No Neck Blues Band, and also known for his work with Enos Slaughter, The Suntanama, Egypt Is The Magick #, and Coach Fingers.
On ‘Doubled Exposure’ The Helix take their loose and free country rock boogie and enhance it with the blistering psych Speer explores in Rhyton, and the traditional Greek melodies delved into on the Speer solo album, ‘Arghiledes’ (also on Thrill Jockey).
‘Doubled Exposure’ was recorded by Jason Meagher at the increasingly legendary Black Dirt Studios in upstate New York, where Blues Control, Expo 70, Jack Rose and Psychic Ills have also recorded.
The Helix band member Hans Chew (keyboards) has released solo music on Three Lobed, while Marc Orleans (pedal steel) has performed with Catherine Irwin, Steve Gunn, Meg Baird and Chris Forsyth.
On ‘Doubled Exposure’ The Helix take their loose and free country rock boogie and enhance it with the blistering psych Speer explores in Rhyton, and the traditional Greek melodies delved into on the Speer solo album, ‘Arghiledes’ (also on Thrill Jockey).
‘Doubled Exposure’ was recorded by Jason Meagher at the increasingly legendary Black Dirt Studios in upstate New York, where Blues Control, Expo 70, Jack Rose and Psychic Ills have also recorded.
The Helix band member Hans Chew (keyboards) has released solo music on Three Lobed, while Marc Orleans (pedal steel) has performed with Catherine Irwin, Steve Gunn, Meg Baird and Chris Forsyth.
‘Drifter’s Temple’ is Plankton Wat (aka Dewey Mahood)’s second album for Thrill Jockey, following last year’s ‘Spirits’.
Mahood utilized 6 and 12 string guitars, lap steel, bass, organ, and synth to realize these richly detailed songs. ‘Drifter’s Temple’ harkens back to Mahood’s childhood in Northern California, both sonically and conceptually. A loose narrative is woven through these ten instrumental tracks, touching on the Gold Country and Mt. Shasta that populate his native countryside.
The album unfolds with the grace and contour of the landscape that inspired it, with fingerpicked melodies slowly growing to gigantic peaks of lysergic bliss. His guitar style is as far reaching as ever on ‘Drifter’s Temple’, which shows him seamlessly integrating his love of the Appalacian folk music of Dock Boggs and Roscoe Holcomb into the subtle Grateful Dead-isms, nods to 70s cosmic music, and overt Crazy Horse moves he has explored on recent releases.
‘Drifter’s Temple’ features contributions from Dustin Dybvig (Horse Feathers and Edibles), Matt McDowell (Sagas) and John Rau (Royal Baths and Edibles).
Dewey Mahood was a founding member of Eternal Tapestry and has performed in Gärden Söund (with Barn Owl), Edibles, Bloodbiker, and Jackie-O Motherfucker.
Mahood utilized 6 and 12 string guitars, lap steel, bass, organ, and synth to realize these richly detailed songs. ‘Drifter’s Temple’ harkens back to Mahood’s childhood in Northern California, both sonically and conceptually. A loose narrative is woven through these ten instrumental tracks, touching on the Gold Country and Mt. Shasta that populate his native countryside.
The album unfolds with the grace and contour of the landscape that inspired it, with fingerpicked melodies slowly growing to gigantic peaks of lysergic bliss. His guitar style is as far reaching as ever on ‘Drifter’s Temple’, which shows him seamlessly integrating his love of the Appalacian folk music of Dock Boggs and Roscoe Holcomb into the subtle Grateful Dead-isms, nods to 70s cosmic music, and overt Crazy Horse moves he has explored on recent releases.
‘Drifter’s Temple’ features contributions from Dustin Dybvig (Horse Feathers and Edibles), Matt McDowell (Sagas) and John Rau (Royal Baths and Edibles).
Dewey Mahood was a founding member of Eternal Tapestry and has performed in Gärden Söund (with Barn Owl), Edibles, Bloodbiker, and Jackie-O Motherfucker.
TRACK LISTING
Toward The Golden City
Changing Winds
Klamath At Dusk
Nightfall
Empire Mines
Hash Smuggler’s Blues
Dance Of Lumeria
Western Lament
Bread Of Dreams
Siskiyou Caverns
Limited deluxe LP edition (150 copies for the UK, exclusively available to independent retailers) includes a bonus 7” with two unreleased non-album tracks (‘Night Train To Tuscan’ / ‘Believers II’). The 7” is packaged in its own jacket and included with the LP.
Peals is a new band led by William Cashion (Future Islands) and Bruce Willen (Double Dagger), members of two of Baltimore’s most dynamic live bands.
The instrumental music on ‘Walking Field’ was created with acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards, tambourines, toy pianos, and other sonic tools to create a stripped-down, warm living room atmosphere.
The music that sprang from these sessions, simultaneously exultant and cerebral, took the duo into unexpected territory. While the emotional intensity of their other projects is on full display here, a more gentle, melancholic and often abstract expression recalls Robin Guthrie and minimalist recordings from the sonic pioneers of the 1970s German scene - all direct inspirations for Peals as the songs that would become ‘Walking Field’ took shape.
‘Walking Field’ was recorded with no bass guitars or drums - all percussion sounds were generated by contact with guitars and microphones - the emphasis here is placed on texture and feeling.
Peals is a new band led by William Cashion (Future Islands) and Bruce Willen (Double Dagger), members of two of Baltimore’s most dynamic live bands.
The instrumental music on ‘Walking Field’ was created with acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards, tambourines, toy pianos, and other sonic tools to create a stripped-down, warm living room atmosphere.
The music that sprang from these sessions, simultaneously exultant and cerebral, took the duo into unexpected territory. While the emotional intensity of their other projects is on full display here, a more gentle, melancholic and often abstract expression recalls Robin Guthrie and minimalist recordings from the sonic pioneers of the 1970s German scene - all direct inspirations for Peals as the songs that would become ‘Walking Field’ took shape.
‘Walking Field’ was recorded with no bass guitars or drums - all percussion sounds were generated by contact with guitars and microphones - the emphasis here is placed on texture and feeling.
TRACK LISTING
Floating Leaf
Blue Elvis
Belle Air
Pendelles
Tiptoes In The Parlor
Lonestar
Believers
Koan 1
Peals is a new band led by William Cashion (Future Islands) and Bruce Willen (Double Dagger), members of two of Baltimore’s most dynamic live bands.
The instrumental music on ‘Walking Field’ was created with acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards, tambourines, toy pianos, and other sonic tools to create a stripped-down, warm living room atmosphere.
The music that sprang from these sessions, simultaneously exultant and cerebral, took the duo into unexpected territory. While the emotional intensity of their other projects is on full display here, a more gentle, melancholic and often abstract expression recalls Robin Guthrie and minimalist recordings from the sonic pioneers of the 1970s German scene - all direct inspirations for Peals as the songs that would become ‘Walking Field’ took shape.
‘Walking Field’ was recorded with no bass guitars or drums - all percussion sounds were generated by contact with guitars and microphones - the emphasis here is placed on texture and feeling.
The instrumental music on ‘Walking Field’ was created with acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards, tambourines, toy pianos, and other sonic tools to create a stripped-down, warm living room atmosphere.
The music that sprang from these sessions, simultaneously exultant and cerebral, took the duo into unexpected territory. While the emotional intensity of their other projects is on full display here, a more gentle, melancholic and often abstract expression recalls Robin Guthrie and minimalist recordings from the sonic pioneers of the 1970s German scene - all direct inspirations for Peals as the songs that would become ‘Walking Field’ took shape.
‘Walking Field’ was recorded with no bass guitars or drums - all percussion sounds were generated by contact with guitars and microphones - the emphasis here is placed on texture and feeling.
TRACK LISTING
Floating Leaf
Blue Elvis
Belle Air
Pendelles
Tiptoes In The Parlor
Lonestar
Believers
Koan 1
Survival are a New York trio featuring Hunter Hunt-Hendrix (Liturgy), Greg Smith, and Jeff Bobula.
This self-titled debut was recorded by Colin Marston (Krallice, Dysrhythmia) at The Thousand Caves and mastered by Heba Kadry at Timeless Mastering.
‘Survival’ is an album of dark and meditative heavy rock. Syncopated riffs, intricate rhythms and atypical time signatures create dramatic and complex melodic lines that provide a bed for chant-like lyrics. The group operate as a collective, writing lyrics, riffs and singing with one voice. The album is a unique document that harkens back to post-hardcore, Black Sabbath, Magma, Aphrodite’s Child, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Aaron Copeland, The Smashing Pumpkins, and the first wave of math rock.
Survival were formed out of the ashes of Birthday Boyz, whose 2007 tour of China was documented by Vice TV for an instalment of the Music World show ‘Rock Under The Red Flag’.
This self-titled debut was recorded by Colin Marston (Krallice, Dysrhythmia) at The Thousand Caves and mastered by Heba Kadry at Timeless Mastering.
‘Survival’ is an album of dark and meditative heavy rock. Syncopated riffs, intricate rhythms and atypical time signatures create dramatic and complex melodic lines that provide a bed for chant-like lyrics. The group operate as a collective, writing lyrics, riffs and singing with one voice. The album is a unique document that harkens back to post-hardcore, Black Sabbath, Magma, Aphrodite’s Child, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Aaron Copeland, The Smashing Pumpkins, and the first wave of math rock.
Survival were formed out of the ashes of Birthday Boyz, whose 2007 tour of China was documented by Vice TV for an instalment of the Music World show ‘Rock Under The Red Flag’.
TRACK LISTING
Tragedy Of The Mind
Original Pain
Freedom 1
Second Freedom
Since Sun
Our Way
Freedom 3
Tragedy Reprise
Triumph Of The Good
Stygian Stride is the solo guise of the New York based musician Jimy SeiTang, who was a member of Psychic Ills and is currently a member of New York experimental / improve / psych trio Rhyton with Dave Shuford (D. Charles Speer & The Helix, No Neck Blues Band) and Spencer Herbst (Messages, Matta Llama). Rhyton released albums on both Thrill Jockey and Three Lobed in 2012.
Stygian Stride is an album of gauzy electronic music reminiscent of Gas and the classic era of Mille Plateaux and Chain Reaction, with nods to Manuel Göttsching, Tangerine Dream and Popul Vuh.
The album artwork was created by Arik Roper (Sleep, Sunn O))), Howlin Rain, Earth, High On Fire, Weedeater).
The album was recorded entirely on analogue equipment, without MIDI synching, at Black Dirt Studios by Jason Meagher (D. Charles Speer, Jack Rose, Expo 70, Blues Control).
Stygian Stride is an album of gauzy electronic music reminiscent of Gas and the classic era of Mille Plateaux and Chain Reaction, with nods to Manuel Göttsching, Tangerine Dream and Popul Vuh.
The album artwork was created by Arik Roper (Sleep, Sunn O))), Howlin Rain, Earth, High On Fire, Weedeater).
The album was recorded entirely on analogue equipment, without MIDI synching, at Black Dirt Studios by Jason Meagher (D. Charles Speer, Jack Rose, Expo 70, Blues Control).
TRACK LISTING
Celestial Stems
Hindsight
Drift
Taiga
Athanor Ascension
Fade Into Bolivian
White Hills newest and most energized recording to date is bursting with raw energy packed into their most concise songs to date. Fear not long time White Hills fans, there is still loads of killer guitar work and fuzzed out psychedelia on 'Frying on this Rock. The album opens with an under five minute scorcher and closes with a 15 minute track that reminds us why space rock gatekeepers like Julian Cope were very early supporters. The end result, Frying on this Rock, is an invigorating deep space rock album. An album that is at once able to channel the energy born of a collective anger into a swirling psychedelic, brutalizing musical statement that mainlines the thrill of defiance straight to the listener’s heart.
“...White Hills have established themselves as some of America’s foremost proponents of fuzz-driven space rock... Its latest effort H-p1 expands upon the the legacies of Hawkwind, Can, and early Tangerine Dream with synapse-frying deepspace epics” - SF Weekly; “A darkly hypnotic mix of churning guitar, distant vocals and swirling synth drones, this record conjures a riff-heavy psychedelic vibe that picks up where the Velvet Underground and Spacemen 3 left off. Far out.” - Los Angeles Times.
“...White Hills have established themselves as some of America’s foremost proponents of fuzz-driven space rock... Its latest effort H-p1 expands upon the the legacies of Hawkwind, Can, and early Tangerine Dream with synapse-frying deepspace epics” - SF Weekly; “A darkly hypnotic mix of churning guitar, distant vocals and swirling synth drones, this record conjures a riff-heavy psychedelic vibe that picks up where the Velvet Underground and Spacemen 3 left off. Far out.” - Los Angeles Times.
STAFF COMMENTS
Darryl says: More epic fuzz-psyche onslaughts from the current leaders of the pack, the White Hills. Molten guitars and a pummelling rhythm section, create a swirling wave of noise taking space rock to new dimensions.TRACK LISTING
1. Pads Of Light
2. Robot Stomp
3. You Dream You See
4. Song Of Everything
5. I Write A Thousand Letters (Pulp On Bone)
