A late addition to my favorite records of 2009, Gods Gift’s Pathology: Manchester 1979-1984 reissued this fall by Hyped2Death. My review is up at Dusted today:
There were plenty of good reasons why Manchester’s Gods Gift never made it big. They were, after all, a bit madder than the Fall, bleaker than Joy Division, and more apt to wreak havoc live than the Happy Mondays. (The liner notes have a fantastic description of a riot that Gods Gift started when opening for the Dead Kennedys in late 1981.) Just don’t imagine that it had anything to do with the music – harsh, droning, feedback-drenched, prone to chaos and, at least some of the time, claustrophobically brilliant.
More
Friday, November 20, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Cold Cave
I have another feature this week at Philly Weekly, this time a short interview with Wes Eisold of Cold Cave.
Couple of free mp3s
“Laurels of Erotomania”
“Life Magazine”
Couple of free mp3s
“Laurels of Erotomania”
“Life Magazine”
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Hush Arbors
Seems like every record I review these days has J Mascis sitting in (MV + EE, Hush Arbors and oddest of all, Jeffrey Lewis), but that’ s not such a bad thing, really. I’m finding this new Hush Arbors just a hair less compelling than last year’s self-titled (which was not the first Hush Arbors, not by a long-shot, this guy’s got an armload of small label/self-release/limited edition product floating around), but still fairly engaging. My review ran today at Blurt.
Keith Woods, who records under the name Hush Arbors, has played with many of psychedelic folk's leading lights - Current 93, Six Organs of Admittance, Sunburned Hand of the Man and Wooden Wand among others. His eleventh full-length (and second on Ecstatic Peace!) pulls away, a bit, from the transcendent folk loveliness of last year's self-titled, quickens the pace and jacks up the country two-step under another set of very strong songs. Yankee Reality opens with freewheeling guitars - in "Day Before" one of two tracks where J. Mascis sits in on guitar - and whispery vocals, its warmth as watery and uncertain and welcome as the winter sunshine of its lyrics. "Lisbon" brings in the skittery one-two beat of Saturday night country (it returns, with Mascis drumming this time, in with "Coming Home").
The rest
“Day Before” (guess who on guitar!)
“The Devil I Made You High” (my favorite)
Keith Woods, who records under the name Hush Arbors, has played with many of psychedelic folk's leading lights - Current 93, Six Organs of Admittance, Sunburned Hand of the Man and Wooden Wand among others. His eleventh full-length (and second on Ecstatic Peace!) pulls away, a bit, from the transcendent folk loveliness of last year's self-titled, quickens the pace and jacks up the country two-step under another set of very strong songs. Yankee Reality opens with freewheeling guitars - in "Day Before" one of two tracks where J. Mascis sits in on guitar - and whispery vocals, its warmth as watery and uncertain and welcome as the winter sunshine of its lyrics. "Lisbon" brings in the skittery one-two beat of Saturday night country (it returns, with Mascis drumming this time, in with "Coming Home").
The rest
“Day Before” (guess who on guitar!)
“The Devil I Made You High” (my favorite)
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Dan Deacon
I went to see Dan Deacon a week ago, at what turned out to be his last show before blowing out his back. I pretty much hated the show. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying it. That’s always sort of interesting, to be the only person who doesn’t like something that everyone else is clearly into. But it might have been an age thing. Everyone else looked like 20 or under. As my friend Bill Meyer put it: “There comes a time when you can’t go to college parties anymore. It may not be the end of college, but it will happen.”
Anyway, I wasn’t going to write about it, especially when I found out that he’d finished the show in terrible pain from sciatica and wasn’t going to do anymore for a while. It seemed churlish and cranky, and hell, I go to shows to have fun.
But I thought maybe, just on my blog, I’d make a couple of observations about the show.
First of all, Dan Deacon is a very serious musical guy, with some sort of advanced academic degree in composition. I liked Bromst. Everyone told me that he was better live.
Actually, he’s exactly the same live, in musical terms. The music is all recorded. He doesn’t play it. He mostly plays the crowd.
Which means that, for the first ten minutes of the show, we had this weird sort of Maoist aerobics class, where everyone is encouraged to express their uniqueness by making the exact same gestures: one finger up in the air, finger pointed down, knees bent, both arms up in the air…put your right hand in and shake it all about etc. There is going to be a countdown, how exciting! We are all directed to shout out the names of seven presidents not on US currency. Someone suggests Martin Van Buren. Turns out he’s on the $1000. Fuck Van Buren, says Deacon. It is not something you generally hear at rock shows.
Then it turns a little ugly as we are all directed to point at someone who is not participating. That’s right. There’s a penalty for not having a good time. (I have been participating up until this point, and have decided to yell out William Howard Taft when the time comes, but I’m not doing this.)
And then the music starts, from somewhere in the middle of the throng, and it sounds just like Bromst. Exactly like Bromst. Except the speakers aren’t very good and they’re turned way, way, way up.
And that sort of sets the pattern. There are long gimmicky intervals of audience participation and short blasts of recorded music. The crowd is very pleased with itself, as you get closer to Deacon (who is down on the floor and, hence, invisible to all but the first three rows of kids) more and more frantically into whatever it is that they are doing. On the fringes, where I have migrated after getting a mouthful of someone’s afro (you know the people who say “excuse me” and shove you out of the way so they can stand EXACTLY WHERE YOU WERE STANDING? There were a lot of them there.), people look bemused, puzzled, eventually bored. Everyone says about Deacon, “Oh you really have to be there.” But you really have to be in the first five rows.
So, I left, which is the main reason I couldn’t really write about the show. I can’t remember the last time I left a show because I was bored. It’s been a really long time.
But I did want to give points to Nuclear Power Pants, who also had a fairly high gimmick-to-music ratio, but at least their gimmick was wearing giant shark masks.
I have some photos, but my connection is so slow today, they're not going through.
Anyway, I wasn’t going to write about it, especially when I found out that he’d finished the show in terrible pain from sciatica and wasn’t going to do anymore for a while. It seemed churlish and cranky, and hell, I go to shows to have fun.
But I thought maybe, just on my blog, I’d make a couple of observations about the show.
First of all, Dan Deacon is a very serious musical guy, with some sort of advanced academic degree in composition. I liked Bromst. Everyone told me that he was better live.
Actually, he’s exactly the same live, in musical terms. The music is all recorded. He doesn’t play it. He mostly plays the crowd.
Which means that, for the first ten minutes of the show, we had this weird sort of Maoist aerobics class, where everyone is encouraged to express their uniqueness by making the exact same gestures: one finger up in the air, finger pointed down, knees bent, both arms up in the air…put your right hand in and shake it all about etc. There is going to be a countdown, how exciting! We are all directed to shout out the names of seven presidents not on US currency. Someone suggests Martin Van Buren. Turns out he’s on the $1000. Fuck Van Buren, says Deacon. It is not something you generally hear at rock shows.
Then it turns a little ugly as we are all directed to point at someone who is not participating. That’s right. There’s a penalty for not having a good time. (I have been participating up until this point, and have decided to yell out William Howard Taft when the time comes, but I’m not doing this.)
And then the music starts, from somewhere in the middle of the throng, and it sounds just like Bromst. Exactly like Bromst. Except the speakers aren’t very good and they’re turned way, way, way up.
And that sort of sets the pattern. There are long gimmicky intervals of audience participation and short blasts of recorded music. The crowd is very pleased with itself, as you get closer to Deacon (who is down on the floor and, hence, invisible to all but the first three rows of kids) more and more frantically into whatever it is that they are doing. On the fringes, where I have migrated after getting a mouthful of someone’s afro (you know the people who say “excuse me” and shove you out of the way so they can stand EXACTLY WHERE YOU WERE STANDING? There were a lot of them there.), people look bemused, puzzled, eventually bored. Everyone says about Deacon, “Oh you really have to be there.” But you really have to be in the first five rows.
So, I left, which is the main reason I couldn’t really write about the show. I can’t remember the last time I left a show because I was bored. It’s been a really long time.
But I did want to give points to Nuclear Power Pants, who also had a fairly high gimmick-to-music ratio, but at least their gimmick was wearing giant shark masks.
I have some photos, but my connection is so slow today, they're not going through.
Monday, November 16, 2009
2009 faves
So I made my 2009 lists, feel free to make fun of them.
Best of list: 2009
1. The Clean, “Mister Pop” Merge
2. Akron/Family, “Set ‘Em Wild/Set ‘Em Free” Dead Oceans
3. Lotus Plaza, “The Floodlight Collective”, Kranky
4. Fresh & Onlys, “Fresh & Onlys” Castleface (also Grey-Eyed Girls)
5. Jack O and the Tennessee Tearjerkers, “The Disco Outlaw”
6. Sharon van Etten, “Because I Was in Love,” Language of Stone
7. Tyvek, “Tyvek” Siltbreeze
8. Sir Richard Bishop, “Freak of Araby”, Drag City
9. The Bats, “The Guilty Office,” Parasol
10. A.C. Newman, “Get Guilty,” Matador
11. Ty Segall, “Ty Segall” Castle Face (technically from last year, but I don’t like Lemon as much as the debut)
12. The Ohsees, “Help” In the Red
13. The Reigning Sound, “Love & Curses” In the Red (also Live at Goner Records)
14. Tara Jane O’Neil, “A Ways Away” K Records
15. Mirah, “(a)Spera,” K Records
Reissues
1. Feelies, “Crazy Rhythms”/”Good Earth”
2. Red Red Meat, “Bunny Gets Paid” Sub Pop
3. Gods Gift, “Pathology: Manchester 1979-1984” Hyped2Death
4. Zero Boys, “Vicious Circle,” Secretly Canadian
5. Volcano Suns, “Bright Orange Years”/”All Night Lotus Party” Merge
Favorite song
“Widow of My Dreams,” Obits
Favorite new band
Fresh & Onlys
Best shows
Akron/Family
Dinosaur Jr.
Mum
The Ohsees
Ty Segall
Megafaun/Bowerbirds
Kurt Vile/Blues Control
Best of list: 2009
1. The Clean, “Mister Pop” Merge
2. Akron/Family, “Set ‘Em Wild/Set ‘Em Free” Dead Oceans
3. Lotus Plaza, “The Floodlight Collective”, Kranky
4. Fresh & Onlys, “Fresh & Onlys” Castleface (also Grey-Eyed Girls)
5. Jack O and the Tennessee Tearjerkers, “The Disco Outlaw”
6. Sharon van Etten, “Because I Was in Love,” Language of Stone
7. Tyvek, “Tyvek” Siltbreeze
8. Sir Richard Bishop, “Freak of Araby”, Drag City
9. The Bats, “The Guilty Office,” Parasol
10. A.C. Newman, “Get Guilty,” Matador
11. Ty Segall, “Ty Segall” Castle Face (technically from last year, but I don’t like Lemon as much as the debut)
12. The Ohsees, “Help” In the Red
13. The Reigning Sound, “Love & Curses” In the Red (also Live at Goner Records)
14. Tara Jane O’Neil, “A Ways Away” K Records
15. Mirah, “(a)Spera,” K Records
Reissues
1. Feelies, “Crazy Rhythms”/”Good Earth”
2. Red Red Meat, “Bunny Gets Paid” Sub Pop
3. Gods Gift, “Pathology: Manchester 1979-1984” Hyped2Death
4. Zero Boys, “Vicious Circle,” Secretly Canadian
5. Volcano Suns, “Bright Orange Years”/”All Night Lotus Party” Merge
Favorite song
“Widow of My Dreams,” Obits
Favorite new band
Fresh & Onlys
Best shows
Akron/Family
Dinosaur Jr.
Mum
The Ohsees
Ty Segall
Megafaun/Bowerbirds
Kurt Vile/Blues Control
Friday, November 13, 2009
We’re Gonna Change the World
Kind of a fun mid-1960s compilation of Quill Records’ Beatlemaniac garage pop out now on Sundazed…I my review ran yesterday at Blurt.
The British Invasion spawned local imitators everywhere it landed, with boys in bowl cuts picking up fuzz guitars from Belgrade to Buenos Aires. Chicago's Quill Records, founded by producer/promoter Pete Wright in 1965, fomented the Midwestern Beatles pop rebellion, finding, promoting, recording, even inventing flash-in-the-pan garage rock bands during a brief flare of mid-1960s three-chord creativity. This short, long-forgotten period is lovingly collected and documented by Sundazed records in a limited edition package that includes 19 songs from 14 bands, contemporary photos and an enthusiastic essay by Jim Jarema.
The only media I can find is this (apparently reunion) footage of the Ricochettes, which is just not very good.
So screw it, I’m uploading “Just out of Reach” (Zombies cover) by Delights.
The British Invasion spawned local imitators everywhere it landed, with boys in bowl cuts picking up fuzz guitars from Belgrade to Buenos Aires. Chicago's Quill Records, founded by producer/promoter Pete Wright in 1965, fomented the Midwestern Beatles pop rebellion, finding, promoting, recording, even inventing flash-in-the-pan garage rock bands during a brief flare of mid-1960s three-chord creativity. This short, long-forgotten period is lovingly collected and documented by Sundazed records in a limited edition package that includes 19 songs from 14 bands, contemporary photos and an enthusiastic essay by Jim Jarema.
The only media I can find is this (apparently reunion) footage of the Ricochettes, which is just not very good.
So screw it, I’m uploading “Just out of Reach” (Zombies cover) by Delights.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Pylon fan alert…
You may have heard that DFA is reissuing Pylon’s Chomp, the band’s 1983 second album. Perhaps it will surprise you (it surprised me) that Pylon was, up until about a year ago, an intermittently functioning band that still, occasionally, gave shows. There was even a side project, Supercluster, formed around Pylon alums Randy Bewley and Vanessa Briscoe Hay, actually pretty good and reviewed in today’s Dusted. (Bewley’s death early this year probably put a stop to Pylon reunions and maybe to further material from Supercluster, too, but who knows?)
Musically, Waves is a blast from a variety of pasts. You can hear the fizzy, chanted deadpan of late 1970s/early 1980s new wave, a la Pylon and the B-52s. Bill David puts a high flickering filigree of mandolin on many of these tracks, recalling REM. And a brace of E6ers – Will Cullen Hart, Heather McIntosh, John Fernandes – swaddle bright melodies with shadowy, multi-instrumented psychedelia. There’s even a flash of the 1960s in simple, if not simplistic, sentiments. Songs favor peace (“Peace Disco Song,” “Time to End the War”), environmental stewardship (“Brave Tree”) and female empowerment (“Mermaid’s Tale”), in cheerful, non-didactic ways.
“I Got the Answer”
Musically, Waves is a blast from a variety of pasts. You can hear the fizzy, chanted deadpan of late 1970s/early 1980s new wave, a la Pylon and the B-52s. Bill David puts a high flickering filigree of mandolin on many of these tracks, recalling REM. And a brace of E6ers – Will Cullen Hart, Heather McIntosh, John Fernandes – swaddle bright melodies with shadowy, multi-instrumented psychedelia. There’s even a flash of the 1960s in simple, if not simplistic, sentiments. Songs favor peace (“Peace Disco Song,” “Time to End the War”), environmental stewardship (“Brave Tree”) and female empowerment (“Mermaid’s Tale”), in cheerful, non-didactic ways.
“I Got the Answer”
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