Hey Kidz,

 

Hope everyone’s 2008 is starting out well.  I’m running a little behind my goals as always, too much to do in too little time. 

 

The mwvm Ambient Ping Things Almost Live Radio Session is now permanently up at http://pingthings.blogspot.com/2008/01/exclusive-almost-live-set-by-mwvm.html & of course it’s free to listen to.

 

Origami Arktika just did an interview with Chris Dahlberg for Cosmos Gaming at http://www.cosmosgaming.com/articles.php?id=81&articletype=feature

 

The new Vlor is in its recording process & should come out this fall.

 

The new Remora disc Mecha will be coming out on the Italian label Centre of Wood possibly as early as next month.

 

Below are some recent reviews.

 

Hrt
Brian John Mitchell

 

LYCIA: COLD
The Silber Records Lycia series continues with this reissue of the band's 1996 Cold album. Though Lycia have been around for many years, the Silber releases have been my introduction to their music. I was particularly keen to hear this one after reading in the promo sheet that Cold was popular among the Black Metal and Space Rock crowds, and that older rockers in Hawkwind and Motorhead t-shirts were seen side-by-side with teenaged Goths at concerts on the tour for the album.
The music on Cold is definitely Gothic/Darkwave in nature, though there's also a heavily symphonic keyboard presence and some Space Rock flavored synths. The atmosphere is dark and somber, yet dreamily melodic. Among the highlights is "Bare", which has a Gothic core, plus Space-Prog keyboards and nice dual vocals from Tara Vanflower and Mike VanPortfleet. Lycia excel at beautiful melodies surrounded by majestic symphonics, typically delivered at a slowly drugged pace. Real sweep you away kind of stuff. I do tend to prefer Tara's vocals, although I must say in general that the best Goth music I've heard has female vocals. One exception is "Drifting", which I think Mike's vocals were ideal for (Tara does join in later in the song). "Polaris" is another one of my favorites, being a spacey, orchestral Gothic exploratory piece, with chanting vocals from Tara.
So yes, I can easily see where Cold would appeal to a Space Rock audience, and really their previous album, The Burning Circle and then Dust, would as well. In fact, the two are excellent companion albums.
~ Jerry Kranitz, Aural Innovations

 

MWVM: ROTATIONS
Switching gears, we run into mwvm, which is actually British-native Michael Walton. On his proper debut "Rotations", the guitarist goes knee-deep into guitar wave manipulations of the most tranquil kind. Some may mistakenly label this ambient music [it's quiet and audaciously still], but Walton ensures there is plenty of variety in the ten tracks present on the record. Layered meshes of guitar fuzzing is interspersed with the rise and fall repetition of delay pedals. Textures are key to Walton's music as every single piece is centered around those. Surprisingly enough, though the sounds are quite minimal in nature, there is an unspoken warmth that is apparent from beginning to end, welcoming the listener in for a repeat helping. Highly satisfying and very essential to those madly in love with unspoken possibilities of composed sound.
~ Tom Sekowski, Gaz-eta

 

mwvm is a solo project form British guitarist/electronic musician Michael Walton. Rotations is his debut CD. Throughout the album Walton takes basic themes and gradually builds on them, exploring all their possibilities. Multiple guitar elements, both crisply melodic and soundscape ambient, come together to create mood building voyages that are like sonic brushstrokes on a cosmically pastoral aural landscape. The music is completely free in its exploration, yet always struck me as having a sense of direction. It's both abstract and well defined in its structure. Space ambient fans will find much to enjoy here. Some of it brought to mind a blend of Eno and early Tangerine Dream. Other parts are like minimalist Pink Floyd. We've got massive earth shattering drones. But the music is for the most part thoughtful, calm, and highly image inducing. Much of this would make excellent film soundtrack music. The CD includes 10 tracks, though each transitions smoothly into the next. That's a plus for me because I like to settle in and surrender my thoughts to music like this, and the continuity makes for a fuller album experience.
~ Jerry Kranitz, Aural Innovations

 

ORIGAMI ARKTIKA: TROLLEBOTN
Origami Arktika are a Norwegian seven-piece supergroup specialising in a distinctive brand of leftfield avant-folk. Providing an ethereal soundtrack brimming with avant-garde dynamics for nu-Hippies and anti-scene revolutionaries since 1992, Origami Arktika have steadily built themselves a niche within the burgeoning Norwegian underground. This has contributed to a devout fan base across Europe and America. Origami Arktika’s lineup consists of vocalist Rune Flaten, Tore Bøe (Origami Republika), Kai Mikalsen (Kobi), Kjell Runar Jenssen (Motorpsycho, Del), Kjell Øyvind Braaten (Varde, Ehwaz), Kjell-Olav Jørgensen (Salvatore), and Bjarne Larsen (Salvatore). ‘Trollebotn’, a 8 track album weighing in at 49 minutes, was recorded in Vesleøy, an island in the Seljord lake. The site overlooks a geographical Tollebotn and in the immediate vicinity there are several Bronze Age graves and a lake in which there is reputedly a sea-monster, the Seljordsorm. ‘Trollebotn’ was recorded as much as possible in an open air situation, to include the sounds of the lake and wilderness.  
The sound of Origami Arktika is one of otherworldly splendor. It is not restricted by time, style or fashion but instead is carved out of natural and timeless elements. It is psychedelic pagan ritual folk for shaman revolutionaries who live free of capitalist trappings. It is Circle at their most tender fused within the aesthetic of Neurot Record’s best post-rock bands. It is a warm, fuzzy and life-affirming sonic brew which disengages you from the fast-paced, market driven world outside your window. It is what a good soundsystem, a spliff and a spare 50 minutes where created for.    
The first thing that will hit you when listening to this release is Rune Flaten’s unique vocal styles. Sitting somewhere between a stoned Irish leprecon  and a youthful Norweigan Wizard, Flaten’s vocals will divide listeners and may prove to be an off-point for some. Personally, I found myself rather bemused by the vocal styles at first but as the album progressed the vocals became more and more intertwined within the music and drew me in (apart from the second track which still makes me cringe).  Opener, ‘Anne sit heime’ opens with a subtle, looping and electric melody which is shrouded in exotic mysticism. As Flaten’s soft vocals begin, the melody acts like a magnet, attracting a synergising range of twings and twangs from other instruments. As the track progresses, more emphasis is placed on the melody and percussion, and tones are accentuated to create a increasingly pressing and darker sounding soundscape which develops into a subtle sonic-maelstrom of instrumental post-rock dynamism. Really jarring and captivating stuff.  
‘Fanteguten’ is a ghostly track which lilts along a linear soundscape of percussive micro-motiffs. Utilising a tinkling backdrop of what sounds like milk bottles, steel triangles and chunks of wood, the group manage to effectively distill the sound of the forest into an eerie and captivating musical environment.  Flaten displays an enchanting vocal prowess on ‘Guro heddelid’ which sits on a subtle yet stirring avant-garde backdrop of dark atmospherics, eruptive bass and clattering instruments.  ‘Sterke-nils døyr’ is an extension of the previous track and sees the rich avant-garde tapestry morph slowly into a more folk-rock orientated aesthetic. Images of a post-war, space-age spaghetti Western wasteland appear in the distance and start to drift closer as the percussion intensifies and the guitar strings are plucked with more vigor. ‘Som lindi bærer lauv’  is an undisputed standout track with the band undertaking a remarkable showing of subtle restraint which when combined with deftly crafted atmospherics and soft drawn out vocals, results in 5 minutes of emotive majesty. The thick three-dimensional percussion and rounded, meandering bass sucks the listener into a warm yet watery netherland whose effect is compounded with subtle shafts of melodic light and drifting, heartfelt vocals straight from natures bosom. The closer, ‘Haugebonden’ is a work of shimmering beauty, existing in a dark timewarp spun with gold. Flaten’s deep vocals are haunting and the vocal tones are drawn out over the twinkling, propulsive melodies, to mesmerising effect.
With ‘Trollebotn’, Origami Arktika continue successfully on their mission to carve a beautiful and emotive soundscape brimming with captivating dynamics, exotic experimentalism and enchanting melodies. The recording strategy has contributed to a wide and warm soundstage which has successfully allowed the beauty of the natural surroundings to seep in to the recording. ‘Trollebotn’ demands the listeners attention and sucks them into a state of paralysis, where they and the music exist in a state of oneness, disengaged from any outside influences.
~ Kamyar Sadegzadeh, Experimusic

 

From Norway, Origami Arktika play traditional Norwegian folk music mixed with a variety of experimental/avant-garde and psychedelic influences. Trollebotn, the band's seventh album and their second for Silber Records, was recorded on an island in the Seljord lake, mostly in the open air to include the sounds of the lake and wilderness. "Anne Sit Heime" opens the CD and sets the tone for the album with acoustic instruments, percussion, wind instruments and Norwegian language vocals. The band play a repetitive, slowly developing theme that gradually builds in volume, and even starts to rock out a bit. There are folk-psych elements and touches of soul, which brings to mind a sort of avant-folk take on Traffic's "Low Spark of the High Heeled Boys" (I"ll bet the band have never heard that analogy). "Fanteguten" has a playful feel, like children's instruments, but also a variety of drums and percussion that are the instrumental driver of the music, as well as the vocals that make the actual song. This would have held up well as an instrumental sound and rhythm piece, but the addition of the vocals make for a curious but very interesting combination. These guys have a real flair for playing avant-grade music that also happens to be melodic, trippy, and oddly accessible. Another good example of this is "Guro Heddelid", which gets even deeper into the playful experimental rhythms and percussion interplay. Another highlight track is "Som Lindi Baerer Lauv", a dark avant spacey atmospheric piece, with a head throbbing bass and eerie keyboard lines.
This was my hands down favorite of the latest batch of Silber CDs and one of the more interesting albums I've heard this year. It's really difficult to accurately describe what these guys sound like. I love psychedelic influenced folk music, but also have a taste for free-improvisational experimental music, and Origami Arktika have a unique and creative way of bringing these worlds together.
~ Jerry Kranitz, Aural Innovations

 

PLUMERAI: WITHOUT NUMBER
When the late ‘70s indie-flavoured, avant-garde art-rock New Wave blast began to kick in, there were a world of experimental talent that may have garnered just a few adherents overall, but it didn’t stop them from being universally recognized by the cultish respect of those fans, who were clearly devoted.  Since, avant-garde-ism has never really faded away; it just remained underneath the radar.
The music of Boston’s Plumerai is highly avant-garde with its willingness to merge unusual instrumentation with unconventional vocals.  Plumerai extend their musical reach by mixing accordion with a shimmering Cocteau Twins-like guitar, or by blending a Chinese table-like, multi-stringed instrument called the guzheng (seen in films like Hero), with standard rock instruments.  Add the intriguing voice of Elizabeth Ezell to the depths of their lyrics and you have a notable band worth paying attention to.
Without Number contains 9 tracks, all adroitly fascinating but never intended for the ears of the masses.  The opening song, “Home Again,” starts off accessibly enough, making it a well-placed song, a snare of sorts.  Once you’re hooked by the song, with its time-bomb ticking guitars, you are then escorted through a collection of songs that, at times remind vocally of Bjork and musically like few others.
The music of Plumerai bears noting as their style will attract the attention of music fans interested in music not-by-numbers.  I have a devout interest in such music because it keeps it all fresh but not subscribing to the known formulas of bands seeking to stay within a box for the sake of discovery.
The real question is…how much experimentation can you handle?  If you can do Radiohead, you could enjoy Plumerai.
~ Matt Rowe, Music Tap

 

Plumerai's Elizabeth Ezell has a persuasive set of vocal chords. If anything, she could pass for a harsher Kristin Hersh or perhaps a more decisive Tanya Donelly. Musically, the quartet is an abrasive post-rock, neo-gloom version of some of the college bands on the circuit in the US during the late 80's. While the choppy guitars go hand in hand with the rhythmically pounding percussion, it's the band's use of the accordion and keyboards that they get an A + for. I want to rave about the release - I really do - but the subject matter wears me down each and every time. Recommended for those under the influence of the just arrived colder weather.
~ Tom Sekowski, Gaz-eta

 

Plumerai are a quartet from Boston that play a brand of alt-rock/pop music that transcends those genre labels with well crafted art-rock influences. Reading the promo sheet and reviews on the band's web site I see references to The Cure, Radiohead, Portishead and Cocteau Twins, and while I'm not familiar enough with those bands to comment on the analogies, they probably do give a reference point. I also see references to shoegazer, a style I am familiar with. There are definitely shoegazer elements to Plumerai's music. The tag helps explain the spacier elements in the songs, though I'd say that overall the music is much richer and more detailed than most shoegazer bands I've heard.
Among the highlight tracks is "Illuminata", which rocks out but also includes an orchestral backing. I really like the combination of standard rhythms and choppy pulsating guitar that pervades throughout the song. I love the spacey, surreal carnival motif on "Blues & Greens". Especially later in the song when the band go even deeper into space, accompanied by a bouncy accordion jingle that soon devolves into a demented meltdown at the end. Excellent song! "Avernal" is another standout, taking a basic accessible song and propelling it into the cosmos. And with its 7 minute length the band is able to stretch out and really develop the music. Plumerai really rock out, but even when the guitars are bashing and the drums flailing, there are other bits and pieces that accentuate the color and character of the music. More accordion, shifting chordal patterns and more. A nice combination of song and structured jamming. "Lavinia" is the other lengthier track of the set and again takes a basic song and does a great job of making it into a virtual construction job. Elizabeth Ezell's vocals don't dominate the music like most pop singers do. Instead, she functions in tandem with the music, particularly the simple yet entrancing and ever shifting guitar melodies. And once again Plumerai soar into deep space and get ultra freaky, while always retaining the core song. "Iris" would be a great candidate for radio play. "Sin El Lagarto" is a little different, being a high energy, frantic paced sort of avant-gypsy song. Very cool. And with "En Vole" I'm now really diggin' the way Plumerai incorporate the accordion into their music. It gives the song a traditional feel, yet all this alternately dreamy and intense spaced out rock is going on around it. Yeah, this is my idea of pop music.
~ Jerry Kranitz, Aural Innovations

 

Le sonorità indie del quartetto di Boston sono l’eccezione che conferma la ferrea regola ambient/dark che vige in casa Silber, la label che li ha lanciati nel 2006 con l’EP “Res Cogitans”. L’apertura di “Home Again” promette bene, mentre in “Avernal”, “Lavinia” e “Iris” riemerge l’unico limite dei Plumerai, che è un’eccessiva deferenza stilistica verso modelli ormai abusati come PJ Harvey ed Alison Shaw dei Cranes. Quando prevale il coraggio di spingersi oltre i confini del genere, i risultati sono più che apprezzabili, e la fisarmonica suonata a rotta di collo in “Sin El Lagarto” mi fa pensare che l’ultima parola sul gypsy punk non la diranno i Gogol Bordello. Un plauso al brano di chiusura, un’intensa ripresa di “Kill My Way Outta Here” dei compagni d’etichetta Remora.
~ Raffaele Zappalà, Rockerilla

 

Che sorpresa un album pop su Silber! I Plumerai vengono da Boston e propongono un alt-rock venato di vellutate screziature darkwave e shoegaze. La voce di Elizabeth Ezell - qualcosa tra Cat Power e PJ Harvey - mantiene l'atmosfera delle canzoni ben ancorata a terra, anche quando le chitarre prendono il volo senza sentire il peso della forza di gravità, come nella celestiale “Blues & Greens”. A metà scaletta i quattro di Boston piazzano gli oltre otto minuti di “Lavinia”, un condensato di dream-rock che chiama in causa i Cure e i Cranes. Atmosfere decisamente cupe e romantiche anche su “Iris”, una delle più belle canzoni dell'album. Altrove i Plumerai danno prova di sapersi muovere anche tra i ritmi desertici delle musiche di confine alle Calexico (“Sin El Lagarto”), sebbene i risultati non siano sempre degni di nota.
~ Roberto Mandolini, Losing Today

 

SILBER ON SILBER
As an aficionado of the internet it always fills me with adulation when Independent labels create new releases that are purposefully designed to be available on the internet for free. With so much stiff competition from all over the globe it makes sense to give away at least some free material and if you’re lucky you may just pick up some devoted fan bases in the process. There are many creative labels that follow this ethos at present but perhaps none (at least that I have encountered) that give up so much material so freely as the Silber label. While most online labels will give a few free songs away here and there Silber have consistently provided free downloads on a fair few of their artists’ albums as well as some pretty good themed compilations (anything from songs about the end of the world to their recent Christmas compilation, all of course with Silber’s usual dark and unique twist).
Their latest compilation, Silber on Silber is yet another two CD compilation, this time taking tracks from Silber artists and having them re-imagined by others, both on and off the label.
Anyone unfamiliar with Silber’s content will get a good impression of their modus operandi from the offset, with John Costello’s version of Vlor’s ‘Wires’ opening up the album with a brilliantly moody dark wave/ post rock concoction. Followed shortly thereafter by CJ Boyd’s guitar drone version of Alan Sparhawk’s ‘Sagrado Corazón de Jesú’, sprinkled ever so slightly with a Mediterranean, if not Latin sound and flavor.
While each track is a reworking of an artist’s previous achievement, lack of knowledge on this front should not be something to put off listening as while the esoteric nature of each track will give extra interest to fans, on a general scale the album acts as a great opener to many different styles of outsider sounds. Take North Sea Navigator’s version of ‘Edward’ (featuring Rose Kemp), as truly ethereal and haunting as Black Happy Day’s original and a song Silber should be proud of in its own right, regardless of any intricate back story this and all other tracks featuring may come with. In short, a layman need not fear listening due to their lack of Silber knowledge as a good piece of weird folk is a good piece of weird folk regardless.
That said, familiar names do appear upon the compilation’s first CD (I say familiar hazily, perhaps in recognition that they should be familiar to the discerning listener) that, as well as either contributing by performance or reworking, adds a little solid ground to what, debatably, could be considered a very taciturn compilation. Firstly Fornever’s reworking of Lycia’s, ‘A Presence in the Woods’ takes the band’s recognizable dreamy dark wave riffs and samples them with a Wax Trax! records industrial sentiment. Including aggressive drum loops and synthesiser motifs evocative of the works of Wumpscut or Front Line Assembly.
Perhaps most recognisable on the first compilation is Jessica Bailiff with her track ‘You’re Landlocked My Love’ (a reworking of an Aarktika track). While less then two minutes in length, its resonance lasts much longer with several loops of Bailiff’s voice circling one another into a redolent soundscape that stands out as a distinctive piece when compared to her usual works.
CD two also provides similar weird yet great moments with some more well-known faces of Silber coming out to add their own unique mark on previous artists’ creations. For example Plumerai are unmistakable when they and their idiosyncratic harpsichord sound take on Remora’s ‘Kill My Way out of Here’, creating a slow, sauntering track heightened by Elizabeth Ezell’s husky vocal talent.
Look out too for Recorded Home’s version of ‘Songs for Elena’. A once halcyon slice of ambience and drone from Aarktika turned into an equally as spacey and sombre slice of Americana Folk. Also Rivulet’s version of Remora’s ‘I Told Jesus Christ How Much I Love Her’provides not just a sincere and melancholic Folk sound but also one of the more accessible tracks on both CD’s. If the drone and oddity is getting too much for you then stopping by this oasis of unperturbed tranquillity is highly recommended.
With so much variety of style and talent appearing here there’s sure to be something for everybody. That said even if, on the slim chance, you find nothing of interest here then at least all you’ve had to do is right click and select save as. And surely for that it’s worth a look from just about everyone regardless of their musical interest or preferences. Because finding something of high quality and for free these days is a rare thing indeed.
~ Michael Byrne, Left Hip

 

ALAN SPARHAWK: SOLO GUITAR
If For a Few Dollars More had been set in a post apocalyptic landscape then surely Sparhawk’s offering of tense atmospheric guitar would fit the bill as the score to the futuristic Wild West wasteland.
And while the above analogy may seem a little trite I challenge anyone to listen to Solo Guitar without getting images of the Leone style west, albeit with some barren industrial tweaks.
Step into Solo Guitar, with its first offering, “How the Weather Comes Over the Central Hillside” a contemplative and haunting sound driven predominantly by stressed guitar distortion.
“How the Weather…” pretty much sets the scene for the rest of Solo Guitar, as throughout the album, Sparhawk’s guitar work oversees and conducts the echoing and desolate soundscape. “Sagrado Corazon De Jesu (Second Attempt)” being another example of the sombre spirit inherent, the track sounding like a chilling eulogy with the added bonus of a slight Latin twist.
How the Weather Hits the Freighter brings a slightly more intense feeling to the ambiance, creating a whirl of guitar reverb and other sounds that go with the aforementioned title poignantly.
“How the Engine Room Sounds” continues in a similar vein and is arguably the most disquieting to listen to. A repetitive wall of mechanistic sound which at times allows a faint sound of human voices (I think) to creep through, only for the intensity to end abruptly.
Peace however only arises at the end of Solo Guitar via “How It Ends”. A still, composed and petite track, positioned with great effect after the bombardment of edgy distortion before.
Sparhawk is probably better known for his work with the band Low as well as working along side his blues band The Black Eyes Snakes. However it is more than likely that Solo Guitar will provide Alan Sparhawk with enough fuel to drive him onto playlists of those already fans of Remora, Aarktika (A good percentage of Silber’s artists in general) Earth and any other drone based bands I’ve failed to name drop!
~ Michael Byrne, Left Hip

 

BLACK HAPPY DAY: IN THE GARDEN OF THE GHOSTFLOWERS
Black Happy Day is the collaboration between ex-Lycia member Tara Vanflower and Stone Breath’s Timothy Renner. A creation which, despite being a relatively new release, will surely find a niche home for those into apocalyptic folk what with the influence of bands like Current 93 and Death in June apparent from the outset.
The archaic, “The Leaves of Life” starts our transportation into this paganistic plane, with Renner’s singing deep and chant-like while Vanflower’s voice haunts in the background, providing a twisted helix to a very old song. A modus operandi that is used to great effect throughout most of the tracks.
While the atmosphere of “The Leaves of Life” is almost certainly rooted within European folk sound, Vanflower and Renner’s own writing creates a much more American roots feel. “In The Garden of Ghostflowers”, being the first example that provides simple and sweet guitar work mixed with harmonious bittersweet lyrics that creates a cohesion of Americana folk and the sort of hallucinogenic lyrical content common in the works of the aforementioned bands.
“Edward” is perhaps the first stand-out track via a strong Mediterranean element within the musical composition (and choice of instruments used) that pulls together Renner’s and Vanflower’s own quirks and weaves them into a yielding and mesmerising track, full of depth and durability.
There’s something definitely Louisianan (or Mississippian respectively) in the guitar work on “How They Weep and Moan!” and while the track is only one minute and twenty-nine seconds long, it’s still enough to make you want to start eating Cajun chicken while performing voodoo rites!
“How Many Hours ‘Till the Spiders Work is done?” (a reference to Coil’s Plastic Spider Thing LP I’m sure…or maybe I’m just reading into titles too much), is another superbly strange track, with more world music sounds warped into a dark and brooding atmosphere (the atmosphere increased via Vanflower’s enchanting hums) creating the kind of audible space one would expect to hear within a iniquitous temple ceremony far from the beaten track.
“Wolf & Hare” (A name referenced heavily via the albums brilliant sketched art work) is perhaps the most experimental of the tracks, its’ surreal hallucinogenic repetitions and monotonous dictations closer to the kind of work NON produces than any of the more folk-based bands like Band of Pain, Of the Wand and The Moon (and the aforesaid groups). Regardless, “Wolf & Hare” has enough oddity about it to warrant further listening and contemplation.
While many bands have been mentioned here, Black Happy Day have mastered the art of identity at least, via producing an album that is both a homage to the genre it so closely follows as well as being perfectly unique product in its own right.
To put it as simply as possible, if you’re a fan of the genre, anything weird or idiosyncratic, taxidermy or getting up to no good in Necropolises then this is the album for you.
~ Michael Byrne, Left Hip

 

PLUMERAI: RES COGITANS
Plumerai’s latest release may only be a small four-track EP but to the band itself it marks big changes. Two years after their first release, Plumerai are much more defined and sturdy, having solidified their line up to four members and, perhaps most importantly, gained more artistic control over their production. All of which has given Plumerai an altogether more dynamic sound which is clearly evidential on Res Cognitans.
“Avernal” opens the EP and is a delightfully dreamy creation, the drums gentile and inoffensive (until the last two minutes that is) mixed with soothing guitars, all complimenting the arousing, sultry voice of Elizabeth Ezell.
While Plumerai have developed their own sound their influences are clearly defined, whether it’s the music compositions that share similarity in sound to new wave acts like The Smiths, to Ezell’s voice that is already being compared to PJ Harvey’s. “Linear” is a fine example of their influences hitting the mark perfectly, the catchy guitar work that is both pop and anti-pop simultaneously due to its melancholy feeling yet danceable beats. Mixed with the soft vocals of Ezell, “Linear” is a track that The Cure would certainly be proud of.
There is definitely a cabaret quality to Ezell’s vocals and throughout it suits the mood of the music perfectly as with “En Vole” a piece where even the accordion gets a little more prominence than before. It’s unsurprising however that the cabaret element is there as Res Cognitans was recorded live, copying to CD the true untouched elements of the band which makes for a much more interesting and powerful release than just another studio outing.
With retro electro rock (et al) being the big fad that it is at the moment, Plumerai will certainly have to put the hours in to ensure they don’t fall victim of its ephemeral and superficial charms. Yet if the four tracks on Res Cognitan are anything to go by, they are miles ahead of the majority in both sound and concept already
~ Michael Byrne, Left Hip

 

SILBER SOUNDS OF HALLOWEEN
When Silber media scouted for collaborators on yet one more mp3 release from their mother ship website, the response from groups both on and off their label to participate was so overwhelming that us lucky peeps now have a 30 track long album, and it’s all completely free!
This, plus the added bonus of artists appearing such as Attrition, Tara Vanflower and Small Life Form (to name a minuscule portion) and you have not just a great album but a crowning achievement in what not for profit music making can accomplish.
Starting with the heavyweights of the label, Sounds of Halloween opens with lycia and their track, ‘The Dreaming Body’, an ethereal and ambient track that through fuzzy feedback static jumps into a blissfully gothic darkwave sonata, followed not too shortly by Bryce Eiman’s tribalistic, drum focused ‘Itaint’, brimming with IDM sensibility and neo-pagan themes. Glissade meanwhile provides their usual shoegazer fuzzy post rock sound to maximum effect, creating a tune that has the harrow and disquiet of a forgotten seventies ghost story.
But where the album really finds its Halloween feet is with The Undermasks’ ‘Have You Seen the Ghost of John?’, a diminutive one minute and twenty track that echoes of old folk pioneers, Pentangle and Comus, perfect for this dark festival. As too is Planet Cock’s ‘Haunted House Song’ that takes a B-movie Psychobilly twist to the Halloween festivities with a dirty bass line and a kitsch keyboard whine that creates a trick right out of a horror themed sexploitation movie.
The Wades on the other hand, while not particularly Halloween inducing, none the less provides a blissfully psychedelic stoner track, perhaps reminding us that for most, Halloween is about party, beer and the devil’s weed.
Attrition of course is a punctuation mark of complete fineness within the epic scale of the album and definitely a skip to track if ever you hear one. Their industrial pioneer status well and truly evidenced with a loud and menacing hum mixed with whispered and vague children’s monologues. Place the addition of a haunting piano piece and you have one of the more effective tracks on the album, a stand-alone work.
Second only to Attrition’s effort on the album is Tara Vanflower’s ‘Three Witches’. Obviously influenced by the early industrial recordings (and indeed her own career in Lycia), Vanflower has found herein a track that within its warped soundscape is an intriguing fascination that draws the listener in, like one would perhaps cautiously sample the disturbing excitements of a sideshow for instance.
Remora too, another great noise group within Silber’s rogue’s gallery, while not providing a lengthy track, creates enough atmosphere in their 48 seconds long ‘A Few Notes from a Grave’ to chill you to the bone.
Needless to say this review has only skimmed the surface of what is a huge album and while those foolhardy enough to download the low kbs versions of these tracks will come away disappointed, those putting the effort in over Samhain and beyond will find a thirty track wonderland of atmospheric, creepy and spiritualizing sounds that fit perfectly the aesthetic of All Hallow’s and the winter days that have yet to come.
~ Michael Byrne, Left Hip

 

LOST KISSES
Writer / artist Brian John Mitchell plays out a bizarre narcissistic hate-fest in this story dealing with the death of an ex-girlfriend. There’s an extreme contrast between the overbearing self-importance he expresses in losing a woman who he hasn’t dated for years, and the blame that he assumes for a death that was certainly not his fault. The more uncomfortable moments deal with his treatment of cancer-related issues. He seems to dislike his ex-girlfriend’s widowed husband simply for running in a Race for the Cure marathon. In another awkward display, he ponders if keeping his ex away from the microwave may have saved her life, as if cancer was so easily prevented as the common cold.
It’s these strange thoughts that create an endearing yet revolting feeling while reading the tale. More often than not, the hand scrawled words of the character contrast greatly with the text printed below, developing new meaning as the two forms of communication merge. The art in this issue is more about the word balloon than the characters or their actions.
I can’t help but want to watch more as the Mitchell examines his own uncomfortable thoughts and feelings with brutal honesty. It’s not that this story is about the eye-opening journey of losing someone close to you. Rather, the tale is about the nagging thoughts in the back of your subconscious that may not play out politically correct, but they come from the same place that causes people to crack jokes at a funeral and mock someone from beyond the grave. These are healthy emotions, albeit undeveloped, which will hopefully only become healthier through expression. I praise the creator for being brutally honest even at the expense of his own creative security.
~ Nick Marino, Nasty Musings

 

XO has strong human interactions and incredible drama.  Lost Kisses #4 is a lot of philosophical insight of the world around us.  Worms #1 contains a lot of mystery.  It entices you to keep flipping the pages to see what is actually going on with the story.  These cute little books are enjoyable to carry around in your back pocket and when boredom sits in, pull one out and ENJOY!
~ Paul Dale, Jazma Online