e a r p e a c e : audio reviews
buckethead
captain beefheart & his magic band
nels cline
kevin drumm
roky erickson
jaloppy
kronos quartet
los angeles free music society
mazinga phaser
thurston moore
mutant press
no neck blues band
the poetics
scanner
strangulated beatoffs
u.s. maple
(various artists) rearcar 2
- buckethead monsters and robots (cyberoctave)
the name buckethead is one that i have noticed, but previously ignored, despite his appearing alongside artists like derek bailey and tony williams. how could some guy called "buckethead" have anything relevant to my interests going on? then this seedee shows up at a local emporium at an attractive price, so i giver 'er a spin. dozens of listens later, i am now collecting discographical information and in full headlong pursuit of more of his stuff. firstly, this guy (alien? half-chicken?) is an amazing guitarist. Secondly, he has captured my attention with a very modern ensemble sound including (for want of a better word) a techno-dj, soundtrack stops-and-starts, an amazing array of hilarious voices that would give eugene chadbourne a run for his electric rake, and an overall aesthetic that is such a sweet combination of what is going down now...i am almost willing to make peace with bill laswell for his failure to realize material's promise.
the short version...this one is getting a decent amount of promotion and is readily available...get it. expect a trip thru an imaginary amusement park by a guy who absolutely worships disneyland. By a guy who has contributed mightily to the scores of such stellar movies as "mortal kombat" and "beverly hills ninja". and who inspires such a frenzied response that websites such as www.bucketheadland.com are devoted to his epic battles.
- captain beefheart & his magic band grow fins (revenant)
don van vliet as jim morrison-like media phenomenon, some fifteen years after terminating his musical career? seems pretty unlikely, but we have this 5 cd set, plus import reissues with bonus tracks on virgin, plus a new double cd compilation set following one after another...is there a market? i suppose, if there is any justice, there would be. not that the captain himself comes off as much more than an eccentrically brilliant cult-leader figure of a bandleader, if you can read the booklet that almost makes this set worth its price. despite this sad story, and bill harkleroad's book, none of the magic band members produced anything seriously rivalling what they did under captain beefheart's aegis. what is here, besides the revisiting of one of the more productive mythologies in rock-blues-art-youth-culture history is the music. well, a nice set of "enhanced cd" videos, but those are primarily of interest as a documentation of the aforementioned historical context. the sounds contained herein are previously unreleased demos and sessions by one of the more control-oriented figures in underground culture. it all is viewed thru the prism of the masterwork, trout mask replica, to which 2 of these disks are dedicated. those disks contain rehearsal sessions and tapes of playback discussions which shed light upon that legendary ellpee. ultimately, your hunger to hear trout mask replica must be sated by seeking that one out, not by scrutinizing these rejected recordings. the first disc contains early-early stuff, a boon to those who consider captain beefheart to be a lost and misguided blues artist who failed to realize amazing potential. the 2nd disc is better, oft-bootlegged stuff from the various runs at recording strictly personal. and where the fuck (pardon my john "drumbo" french) is the original bat chain puller, still in can in the zappa family archives? the conclusion: definitely get trout mask replica first, live with it (if you don't already), and then buy everything you can with beefheart's name on it (with the possible exception of the two mercury releases), cuz we will not see his like again.
- nels cline trio sad (little brother)
this cd opens with a nice outpouring of distorted atonal, tho harmonic guitar noise. it then proceedss to pay homage to the tony williams lifetime in a very sweet piece, anthony. additional homages and dedications are given for several of the 10 pieces, and the entire recording is dedicated to the memory of eric von essen. this cd is more subtly provocative than his other work i have heard. i hear more each time i listen, tho, such as the first section of the luxury of silk. much feeling is expressed, in a variety of approaches. recommended without reservation.
- kevin drumm second (perdition plastics)
this cd begins with a seriously high-frequency assault...barely audible to some ears...but there, causing some i have played this for to beg me to stop the cd. in my perverse scheme of things, i find this enjoyable...unexpected. persistence is rewarded with some surprisingly discreet events. according to a couple of the reviews i have seen, this cd incorporates sounds generated by synthesizers and accordion, along with the guitar. it really doesn't matter, because attempting to determine precisely which source originates which sound is a moot question. my impression was that there is an organic feel. i have enjoyed hearing how incidental environmental sounds have interacted with these 3 compositions. i am impressed by the originality of this. it sounds like no one else. the progression from the first solo cd is apparent...less frequent incidents of sound, but more meaningful. kevin drumm seems to be more confident here. definitely not for the casual listener, but recommended for the determinedly curious.
- roky erickson never say goodbye (emperor jones)
a collection of low fidelity "field recordings" of primarily acoustic songs, none of which i have heard before. most were recorded in the early seventies during his stay at a mental hospital. the lyric orientation is towards aliens and love songs, usually combined, so that the visitations seem metaphorical. i can imagine several of these tunes as ripe for hard-rocking cover versions. i would not recommend this as your first roky erickson purchase, but those who have already been bitten by his buddy holly-esque melodies and askew lyrical slant will want to add this to their collection. to the initiate, i would recommend the first 13th floor elevators record or the early eighties recordings of roky erickson and the aliens.
- jaloppy walkin off naked (womb tunes)
this is the same band who made the late nite songs (for truckers and fuckers) record, under their previous name, j. bone cro. this record has some interesting arrangements, at least where the instruments are concerned. the vocals, tho, are all processed thru a sqeazy/flange-y process that gets really annoying fast. and their is some unnecessary high-frequency noise on the first couple of tracks that makes it appear that someone was asleep at the switch during the mastering process. it makes me wonder if perhaps the hallucinogen intake has gone past he dangerous artist threshold right into the acid-causualty area. even tho i don't indulge, i usually appreciate the pyrotechnics of induced freakout musics, but this one is so blurred and indistinguished that i am left greatly disappointmented. i definitely recommend a rethink on applying that vocal processing without significant variation on every song. do we need to repeat the addled mistakes of the past? without improved quality-control, i cannot be too optimistic about future work by these folks.
- kronos quartet dracula (nonesuch)
soundtrack to a re-release of the essential bela lugosi silent, with the music composed by phillip glass. at this point i am hearing this in isolation, without the film, and it is holding up well enough, tho i expect the real test will be with the visuals. of late, i have been seeking out kronos quartet releases, spurred-on by finding a copy of dark angels, a 1990 release. if you are not familiar with kronos, their web site will be of interest. they have a well-established reputation for seeking out and performing works and commissions which blend the avante-garde with classical traditions. the body of work is multi-cultural, inquisitive and exploratory.
- los angeles free music society blorp essette (transparency)
4 cd collection/reissue of material originally released in a series of records where the artists (?) purchased space on the compilations. kind of a throwback to the old vanity recording services. the material is usually amateurish, always demented (at least as compiled), completely diverse, with twisted hillbilly ravings along with the scrapings by various avant-scenesters. this has been moving out of thefew stores carrying it well enough, propelled by the various rave reviews of the previous 10 cd set, the lowest form of music. me, i like to put as many of the discs as my cd player will hold and let 'er rip. there is so much here that it only penetrates my conciousness in fits and starts. did i mention the illustrations by don van vliet?
- mazinga phaser counting breaths (idol)
this cd contains 2 songs and one hell of a long repeating sample of a drum part. literally, it goes on for 40 or so minutes. i have actually sat and listened thru the whole thing- there was no variation, no hidden creative bit slipped in there. i like this group, but i wonder what possible idea could underly this intention. i suspect that it would have to be on the metal machine music level of put-on. too bad, they could have put the disk space to messier and less patience-testing use. the texas neo-psyche underground goes oh-for-two on this edition of earpeace.
- thurston moore root (lo)
this could be considered a various-artists release, since thurston moore turned guitar source material over to a variety of other artists for remixing, remodeling and remaking for root. and it works out supremely well. i originally saw this in a pricey multi-7" version, but i am pleased that i found this much more affordable cd version (got it used, too...nyuk, nyuk...). participants include derek bailey, stereolab and others. nicely contemporary and futuristic, electronic and organic, well worth searching out.
- mutant press ultra black (fleabus)
the reverend j.t. youngman requested that i review side two of this cassette ep, i suppose in reaction to my comments of last issue (see review of bring it to jerome), suggesting a little less organization, i suppose. side two contains a pretty-rough live-sounding recording of the rev and his buddy, the teenage satanist, who rants about tina and george being fed to the devil dogs in a pretty whacked-out voice, while jerome supports him with doses of his patented rockarama guitar damage and what sounds like a drum machine playing in another room. definitely spontaneous, and for sure not the kind of thing you'd do for the rocknroll masses. truly another (evil) flavor is brought to the proceedings. i continue to be impressed, despite my own pretensions, by jerome's success in creating and distributing a body of work which merits consideration. i wonder what the trouser press guide to new wave would say?
- no neck blues band atabu2 (new world of sound)
these folks played at the detroit contemporary earlier this year, and i missed it. i did search out these two (yes, 2) separate ellpees of compounded audible infractions. someone had hand-stickered these with vague titles which i have not seen mentioned anywhere else…does someone have a conduit to the "band"? i am very enamored of this sound work. the instruments are blended well, there is a rarified sense of urgency about the vision pursued. i think there is as much listening being done as playing by the participants. there is a very strong, deliberate approach of willful obscurity, including the lack of credits or any other info…so you just have to listen, uncluttered by points of reference. i am not sure describing the sound has much purpose. there is a coarseness to the textures and production values. there are unfolding events, which reward investigation by repeated listenings. there are guitars sounds, percussion, horns of various ilks…all pushed towards an uneasily strained mission. my recommendation, however, is without reservation.
- poetics remixes of recordings 1977-1983 (compound annex)
3 cd set of the tony oursler/mike kelley collaboration, which was released before the critical analysis in green, which was reviewed last issue. i guess i'm working my way backwards, which is nothing new. this one (or three) is definitely less-developed than critical analysis in green. the pieces are set apart from each other, rather than flowing together, and the instrumentation is similar thru each peace, tho there is lots of variation here. each time i listen, i hear a new texture or juxtapositioning of sounds. it has taken awhile, but i am even beginning to pick out the bits of tony oursler's tapes of visitation experiences, which are blended into many of the pieces. overall, i have to view this in the light of the multi-media approach of, having also been exhibited in the poetics installations, and also by the involvement with visually-oriented non-musicians and actors. which is to say i'm intrigued. i wouldn't know who to recommend this to, tho, excepting tony oursler fans and mike kelley completists.
- scanner lauwarm instrumentals (sulfur/beggars banquet)
i haven't seen a bad review of a scanner release yet, which may go to say that i am not as immersed in the annals of modern-day electronica asi want to be. i don't plan to be in disagreement here. in my tentative explorations of what many call "techno", this is one of the best things i have come across. rhythms, beats, sounds emerge and perambulate in a thoroughly modern and stimulating way. i find this to be very introspective, using the sounds to create an internal soundscape. absolutely intricate production. if this is the legacy of disco, i forgive. methinks it might have something more to do with john cage, varese and stockhausen. but what do i know? that's why we could use a few good reviews submitted by our more techno-enhanced peers. (see our email address to volunteer.)
- strangulated beatoffs strangulated beatoffs (skin graft)
ok (deep breath). stan seitrich's claim to fame: guitarist with st. louis' completely debauched drunks with guns, and, depending whether you believe him or mike doskocil, significantly responsible for that amazing groups mid-eighties catastrophic black sabbath-meets-the-stooges menagerie. this is stan seitrich's successor project (i'll ignore the various factional and insignificant lineups which intermittently represent themselves as drunks with guns). the typical reaction to this stuff is something along the lines of, "if only they would spend as much time on the music as they do on the song titles." after exposing myself to this cd, and to their previous days of our lives (on belgium's death blowjob label), i see some application of theoretical ideas here. the pieces, scarcely "songs" at all, have some sample phrase or two for texture, laid over a repetitive drum machine and bass/keyboard backing track. my reaction is that this is as antithetical to drunks with guns fans as they were to st. louis music fans of the eighties. the overall corpus has validity as an anti-statement, as anti-rock, and actually seems to fit with some of the other stuff around, like the poetics, or the los angeles free music society. i mean, if scanner had done this, there would probably be deep critical analysis of the content of the samples. or, stan seitrich may just be laughing his ass off while he burns another rock.
late note: just located a 1989 ep on chopper records which consists of beatles covers done in a style much more familiar to fans of drunks with guns. i had to snicker at the cover art emblazoned "the beatoffs" a la the white album, especially since the 3 of the 4 songs mistreated here are from that record.
- u.s. maple talker (drag city)
unfortunately, i was not able to attend their late-summer appearance in ann arbor, which i overheard discussed in reverent tones. this one finds them doing a "concept album", which is best explained via their www.usmaple.com web site. serious damage is done to song form, guitar sounds and vocals. a huge recommendation and endorsement from me on this one. expect a "skewed" approach…the mayhem is worthwhile. very fresh…i believe this is one of those recordings that will be talked about for many years to come.
- various artists rearcar 2 (leiterwagen)
german compilation released on albert oehlen's leiterwagen label out of germany, featuring david grubbs, tom watson, the red crayola and 3 others. david grubbs' contribution is very familiar-sounding, with his precise guitar playing to the fore. tom watson's piece is outstanding, a multi-tracked guitar with various background sound tour-de-force. i hope this is a foreshadowing of what his long-threatened solo record will sound like. the red crayola is very reminiscent, at times, of the sound experiments on coconut hotel. minimal guitar, incidental percussion and found sounds predominate. i am curious whether this dates from the fingerpainting sessions or whether it is comes from an older session. it ends with a bizarre episode of complaining about the noise, amidst whispers. the other three tracks, by don hobby, polizeiterror and alan jenkins continue in complimentary eclectic veins. i am drawn in by each a little more every time i listen. this cd is in heavy rotation here at the earpeace world headquarters.
b . w i l d e r e d
...let us know what you think...your opinions are invited... email: b.wildered@white-rose.net
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