Kold Krush Groove, yall. Literally! Individually Liles and Menche have torn the experimental world many new ones, but as a unit they achieve a critical mass so monumental that they deserve their own Hollywood-style canoodling name. That name: Linch-Me-Eels. The graceful ferocity that oozes out within the first few seconds is such that well, lets just say that if you called friends and told them you were on the moon, they would believe you. A vicious, celestial-cathedral rumble gapes its maw and spews forth into a sluggish river of electro-magma, reshaping landscapes once carved out by Cremaster Cycles and the gravitational forces of the planet Solaris. While Menches test-tones defying low-end slowly compresses the woofers into diamond earrings, an emerging theme for tack piano cautiously stabs at the din. And just before cowboy-robot-gone-mad Yul Brynner shows up to kill all humans, the piano slinks away to make room for the buzzing progeny of the flies, whose crescendo of wing-beats quietly, subtly rises and rises the swarm to Jupiter and beyond the infinite. After multiple listens a Xen(akis)like state is realized and there should be a giant Star Fly-Child in your living room. Brutally cosmic!!! - blrrecords.com
I think that the weakest points of this album was the inclusion of the Hyphy pieces, more precisely, the actual Hyphy rapping, it sort of sinks the album.
The liner notes read, "This recording is numerologically accurate and anagrammatically active." It's a journey from the recesses of the human mind to the world of words and sounds; Andrew Liles has resurrected his love for the anagram and created two discs of inverted uneasiness practically bathing in the dread and fear of every human psyche. If a model were to look into the mirror and see past all the make-up and fake admiration, he or she might see their face arranged into something dreadful, like the sounds Liles swoops up and twists into shimmering strands of crawling self-doubt. Beginning with a "Journey" and ending it in the same (but massively rethought) place, Liles deconstructs an already geographic puzzle of locations and ideas in order to reveal the parodies inherent within communication, thoughts, and recordings. Voices pan, distort, and stretch to their limits, connecting the seemingly empty space between aural recognition and the dead maze of concentrated mass that floats through the soul of the drone. New York Doll has been around for awhile, now, and as much as I love Liles' work, I've been absolutely afraid of this piece. All the loose ends and contradictory paths lurching beneath the electric activity of the mind are pieced and sewn together on this record. The entire album reeks of a discomfort that places my head in a discrete and incredibly uncomfortable position, much like viewing the whole of an enigma, which simultaneously does and does not make sense. I've found myself listening to this record more out of curiosity than out of enjoyment and, with but the second disc excluded, much of what Liles has done on this full-length feels more like a puzzle than a record. The notes on the sleeve, the titles of the songs, the hauntingly robotic words, and the general ghastliness all add up to a kind of riddle, beseeching me to move around inside of the album and find its bones, discover its DNA, and finally unravel it in a self-destructive fit. The album pans between consistent tones, clicks, static, and eerie atmospheres composed of pianos, telephones, and urban pandemonium. Never confident than any one approach will exact the necessity of his paranoia, Liles fills this album up with all the conspiracy and awkward connection of the most damning philosophical theories. After finishing the record it is impossible to deny that everything is connected by necessity, a limb of some central organism throbbing and decaying, pulsing through every heartbeat and uttered word in human and animal history. There is something waiting in the spaces between this album and its the most unnerving portrait of the soul he's yet to conceive. Even as recognizable voices fill the stereo spectrum on the second disc, Liles is laughing at the opinion that it must be terrestrial, of this world, and not some product of the mind extracting itself from nothing.
- Lucas Schleicher / Brainwashed.
Hello All Stations by Terrapin Pond: a lot like mid-period Byrds, especially Notorious Byrd Brothers (when chamber pop and country were competing with each other.) 5-6 great songs ... not quite enough for a full album.
This piece for two pianos and a viola was one of the last pieces Luc Ferrari wrote and this recording documents its posthumous premiere along with a rehearsal performance. The two sides of this LP demonstrate that Ferrari was by no means running out of steam by the end of his life. The music as captivating as any of his other works for conventional instrumentation. Tense, violent and beautiful, Didascalies 2 is a potent reminder of Ferraris talent as a composer - Sub Rosa
The first side of the LP features a rehearsal performance for Ferraris wife, Brunhild Meyer Ferrari, and covers a lot of ground in 18 minutes. Beginning with a dual piano pulse that sounds like a number of Morse code signals copulating, the piece slowly begins to fan out as the pianists (Jean-Philippe Collard-Neven and Claude Berset) incorporate clusters of notes around the central piano motif. "Didascalies 2" is at times ferocious; an atonal pounding erupts throughout the piece which is reminiscent of some of Ferraris earlier scores. When Vincent Royers viola appears towards the end of the piece it sounds like war has broken out; the viola is an oncoming bomber making a raid as the pianos replicate the explosions on the ground.
The world premiere performance of "Didascalies 2" takes up side B and the piece takes a different trajectory despite only a day between this and the aforementioned rehearsal performance. Emerging from the same one note pulse as described in Ferraris score, when Collard-Neven and Berset begin to develop the piece, it does not sound as jarring as in the rehearsal (not that jarring is a bad thing). Thunderous chords erupt late in the piece as lighter, melodic refrains pour from the pianos like rain. As the storm hits fully, the violence of "Didascalies 2" becomes apparent in a very different way to the other version of the piece; these recordings highlight the power of a good performer in interpreting and realising Ferraris works. The viola is far more intense here, Royer sounds like he is weathering the storm with the tenacity of someone desperate to push through the floods to safety.
Not only are the performances full of vigour and deftly played but they are immaculately recorded; the pianos sound like they are in the room with me. Although, the viola does sound a little flat compared to the two pianos but it is not clear whether this is because Royer is playing that way or because he was not recorded as astutely as the pianos. Yet this is only a small problem in an otherwise terrific release. - Brainwashed.
James Blackshaw's single track, four movement piece--I. harmonium droning and noodling, II. shimmering guitar, III. phased out strumming and noise, IV. triumphant minimalism
Counselor, let me know what you think of this album. I liked their previous one, and was tempted to get it when it dropped last night, but all the reviews I saw just trashed it.
froggie - After one listen (while at work, so not fully focused) I'd say it is good, not great, and certainly not as good as The Rhumb Line. I read the Pitchfork review, and it's actually fairly on the money regarding the lack of hooks outside of "Shadowcasting". Unlike Pitchfork I'm not so positive that this is because they are reacting to the criticism of their debut, though. Most of the writing for The Rhumb Line was done by their now deceased drummer John Pike, so the lack of hooks could just be the band's direction now with new writing. "Shadowcasting" is good enough, though, that I'm crossing my fingers this is not the case. All in all I'd say this is likely a transitional album that could grow on me (albums without hooks are more likely to be "growers" in my opinion), but as of now is a bit of a let down.
I'll be giving it a more thorough listen this evening, so I'll let you know if my thoughts change.
I got the Wildbirds & Peacedrums last night for free about a minute after it dropped (I REC'd the hell out of it , of course). I'm looking forward to listening to it, as I thought their last one was really intriguing .
eta: Froggy & am2: I didn't see your comments to my post until about 30 minutes after having posted and was simply dumbfounded as to what possible relationship existed on any level between John Cage and Swirl.... I figured I just wasn't hip enough to 'get it'. Now, 4 hours later it dawned on me that both of you must've viewed the thread and posted your comments in the 30 second window where my initial attempt to post the album image that currently shows here was non-functioning and my post showed absolutely nothing. So now that I finally 'got' the joke I figured it might be helpful to explain what had transpired so that anyone else innocently reading through this thread after-the-fact doesn't unnecessarily start doubting their own or even your hipster status.
Comments
Andrew Liles & Daniel Menche - The Progeny of Flies - (Beta-lactam Ring Records 2008)
Late start to my [listening] day...
I used to be pretty indifferent to Yo La Tengo, but they seem to be growing on me. Not sure why.
Craig
I think that the weakest points of this album was the inclusion of the Hyphy pieces, more precisely, the actual Hyphy rapping, it sort of sinks the album.
Between this, Ra Ra Riot, Menomena, Viva Voce, David Bazan, etc., Barsuk is becoming one of my favorite labels.
Craig
I fancy myself having a stronger aural constitution but damn hyphy is unlikeable in my book. Jaga Jazzist to the rescue.
Andrew Liles - New York Dolls (infraction 2004)
Hello All Stations by Terrapin Pond: a lot like mid-period Byrds, especially Notorious Byrd Brothers (when chamber pop and country were competing with each other.) 5-6 great songs ... not quite enough for a full album.
Luc Ferrari - Didascalies 2 - (Sub Rosa 2010)
Cat pissed in my shoe, dog shit on the floor, and we ran out of milk. This album makes up for all of that.
Weeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Epic swing.
James Blackshaw's single track, four movement piece--I. harmonium droning and noodling, II. shimmering guitar, III. phased out strumming and noise, IV. triumphant minimalism
Snagged it this morning on Amie before heading out for the day. I love this band.
Craig
balanced by...
I'll be giving it a more thorough listen this evening, so I'll let you know if my thoughts change.
Now listening to:
Gorgeous. This band never ceases to amaze me.
Craig
Perfect for October in August.
eta: Froggy & am2: I didn't see your comments to my post until about 30 minutes after having posted and was simply dumbfounded as to what possible relationship existed on any level between John Cage and Swirl.... I figured I just wasn't hip enough to 'get it'. Now, 4 hours later it dawned on me that both of you must've viewed the thread and posted your comments in the 30 second window where my initial attempt to post the album image that currently shows here was non-functioning and my post showed absolutely nothing. So now that I finally 'got' the joke I figured it might be helpful to explain what had transpired so that anyone else innocently reading through this thread after-the-fact doesn't unnecessarily start doubting their own or even your hipster status.