#4

Caligine – Ter cd-r

Fusing simplistic guitar melodies, eastern flutes, tribal rhythms, Caligine has crafted an impressive minimalist work with Ter. I know some of you were cringing when you read “eastern” and “tribal,” but not to fear; this isn't “world music” or any such nonsense. I'd actually be quite hard pressed to label Caligine's music, as it fuses a number of different elements together and each of the three tracks on this release has a unique sound. Limited to only 30 copies, jump on this fast, or you're going to have to wait till the fill length lp is released.

The Woolshop Productions


Great Slave Lake – A=B c10

From what I can gather, Great Slave Lake's instruments consist of a gurgling miniature fountain, some sort of machine that occasionally makes a metalic “clink,” and a dramatically played Casio. Now, someone could easily bullshit you and argue that Great Slave Lake is creating a composition of contrasting man-made sound. On one end of the spectrum is the acoustic environment, sound that is an unintentional byproduct of our creations, and on the other is music, art constructed in the medium of sound. This soundscape causes the listener to consider the relationship between environmental noise and musical sound. I, however, contend that Great Slave Lake is a bunch of bored Canuck kids fucking around with a 2nd hand synthesizer and whatever else they could round up to make some noise. If they put a little more effort into it, they might have been able to get away with passing this off as legitimate post-modern sound whatever.

Scotch Tapes

I Am Oak – On Claws lp

As I've started several times in earlier posts, I'm quite removed from the world of indie and folksy pop music. It's not that I actively dislike the genre, it's just that it's not my deal, you know? That said, when I heard I Am Oak's track on Ukulele Mekulele, Wekulele, I was blown away and knew this was a band I had to check out. Luckily they'd just released a new album in May and after several weeks of waiting, On Claws arrived to me from the Netherlands. A collection of 14 low-key pop songs, with a healthy dose of folksy Appalachian banjo, On Claws is outstanding. There's an undertone of sadness and loss on the album, but it doesn't leave you feeling depressed, just relaxed and calm. Easily one of the best releases of the year.

Snowstar Records

Moose/Wildfires – Within Realms cd-r

I hate the term “post-metal,” as it inevitably conjures up images of hipsters at a Baroness concert, but that's the tag that best fits the sound on the split. Up first are Moose with three tracks that mix atmospheric breakdowns with technical brutality. Niiice. Wildfires follows up with four tracks of heaviness that has a noticeable influence from late 90's hardcore. Rad stuff all around, but I suspect with many people's aversion to any bands that fall into this genre, this may go overlooked. Your loss, as both the bands dispel the “post metal = hipster metal” line of thought.

Self released

#3

A. A. Kibanov – Trash Trash Trash Noise-n-Roll c26

Have we reached the age of post-noise? Where an improvised harmonica played over amplified static constitutes an actual genre of music that's linage can be traced from “post-noise” to “noise” to “no wave” to “new wave”? Or, is this just a bunch of random sounds and annoying racket mashed together? You're going to have to be the judge of that. Either way, this is 11 tracks of static, harmonica, screaming, samples, guitars, and occasional percussion.

Felt Cat Records

Al Qaeda – Hundreds of Wives Only a Few are Dead c38

There's some pretty sweet rhythmic ambient stuff going on here. Lots of cool synth and guitar work that makes you want to sit back and drift off. Too bad this is limited to like only 25 copies, cause it should be in your collection.

Bum Tapes

Men Diamler – Live c44

Somewhat of a departure from my usual listening repertoire, Men Diamler is a one man folk/blues/gospel act out of the UK. This particular recording is a selection of live pieces from a recent tour and I suspect if the title wasn't Live, you wouldn't have guessed that it is. Enjoyable enough, but it wont find heavy rotation on my cassette deck simply because it's not my scene. You probably already know if you're going to dig this or not. I will say there are a couple of tracks, like Sagging Pets and Black Pudding River, where Men gets to stompin and really lets his voice go, which was rad. Like I said, you prolly already know if this is up your alley, but if you're up for something new, give this a shot.

Bum Tapes

Moloch - Misanthropie ist der einzige Weg zur Reinheit c85

There's a reason this is the 2nd reissue of this Moloch album in as many years. Raw black metal interwoven with impressive atmospheric sections, Moloch is way above most of the crap coming out of Eastern Europe's black metal scene. The vocals are especially memorable, sounding like a cross between a wolf howling into a child shrieking into a storm drain. That may sound goofy, but it actually works really well. Misanthropie... should provide you with your kvlt black metal fix for a while.

Husk Records

o/Taklamakan – Split c62

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill out in the gulf has nothing on the sludge being pumped out here by o. It's synth driven, but just a little gritty; entirely epic. Taklamakan follow with a single track of rumbling that ebbs and flows from barley audible to harsh, but stays reserved in the decibels. Normally I don't like it when noise bleeds over into drone, but Taklamakan is the exception. You need this tape.

Felt Cat Records

TxQxBx – SPONTANEOUSDEATH! C10

TxQxBx reminds me a lot of the American noisecore scene circa early 2000's. With the speed record having long been broken in the 90's by everyone from Deche-Charge to ops-psf, the emphasis shifted from being the fastest to sounding the harshest. Soaking everything in feedback was the reason for the season and what little song structure existed in noisecore was entirely forsaken for chaotic improvisation. Honestly, it's not a style of noisecore I'm into, but TxQxBx manage to play it skillfully, if you can fathom feedback being played skillfully. If you like it loud and sloppy, you need to get your grubby hands on SPONTANEOUSDEATH!.

Hair On My Food Tapes