New & Notable releases
People don't seem to comment on interesting new releases in Mutantis' daily updates anymore. This thread is to highlight new releases that you think look interesting or worth noting. Kind of like a group SFL.
I'll start off:
Langhorne Slim- Be Set Free I'm surprised no one else has mentioned this yet.
Tom Russell- Blood And Candle Smoke Hey Nanker, I think you'd be interested in this. Johnny Cash, Guy Clark, Dave Alvin, and Doug Sahm have recorded his songs. This is a new album and AMG's pick. Review says that was recorded with members of Calexico, though not obvious from the samples.
The Walkabouts- Ended Up A Stranger This was previously on my SFL, but then it got dropped from emu. Good to see it back.
Willard Grant Conspiracy- Paper Covers Stone I kind of have a soft spot for WGC's gloomy americana, but this one sounds like acoustic re-recordings of their own songs which makes it less interesting to me.
Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood- Out Louder MMW's new album is supposed to be real good. Too bad it's not on emu. This sounds pretty good if you're into their groove and haven't already OD'ed on similar stuff.
Of course, I'm excited about the Feelies reissues. I got chills listening to the Crazy Rhythms samples this morning. It brings back good memories. MP3's can't really replace my copy on white vinyl, but it will be good to hear the tunes again.
I'll start off:
Langhorne Slim- Be Set Free I'm surprised no one else has mentioned this yet.
Tom Russell- Blood And Candle Smoke Hey Nanker, I think you'd be interested in this. Johnny Cash, Guy Clark, Dave Alvin, and Doug Sahm have recorded his songs. This is a new album and AMG's pick. Review says that was recorded with members of Calexico, though not obvious from the samples.
The Walkabouts- Ended Up A Stranger This was previously on my SFL, but then it got dropped from emu. Good to see it back.
Willard Grant Conspiracy- Paper Covers Stone I kind of have a soft spot for WGC's gloomy americana, but this one sounds like acoustic re-recordings of their own songs which makes it less interesting to me.
Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood- Out Louder MMW's new album is supposed to be real good. Too bad it's not on emu. This sounds pretty good if you're into their groove and haven't already OD'ed on similar stuff.
Of course, I'm excited about the Feelies reissues. I got chills listening to the Crazy Rhythms samples this morning. It brings back good memories. MP3's can't really replace my copy on white vinyl, but it will be good to hear the tunes again.
Comments
I think he's actually meant to be on Letterman tonight ... ?
Exciting new stuff from Digitalis:
Black To Comm - Charlemagne & Pippin
Concern - Truth & Distance
Green Blossoms - Whiskey Leaves
North Sea - Crusades
Scott Tuma & Mike Weis - Taradiddle
Digitalis Fall 2009 Sampler
Some full track samples can be found at the Digitalis Recordings website
- And finally, links to the first and the second Digitalis thread.
- Enjoy !
Brighternow
@ hoosfoos: It's a wonderfull The Walkabouts release.
I've seen them live in Copenhagen many times, they are such loveable and kind people and Carla Torgerson's voice is just astonishing.
@Brighternow, I'll have to check out Digitalis a bit more. The Green Blossoms sounds like an Icelandic neofolk band. Barn Owl from the sampler sounds promising.
Ooops, I posted at the wrong thread...
Ptose - Ignobles Limaces-Night Of The Reptiles
- Released by the newly arrived Gazul label.
A few soundclips from this one:
Boule - Viens Ici ! - Eat Your Fish - Like a Mouse - What Was It ?
- Other notable releases from Gazul:
Etron Fou Leloublan - En Public Aux Etats-Unis D'Amerique (featuring Fred Frith)
Les Nouvelles Lectures Cosmopolites - Friesengeist - Part One
On a different note, Moon Duo - Killing Time EP sounds real good. Review from Other Music:
Such a killer record this one. Ripley Johnson from Wooden Shjips teams up with Sanae Yamada to create Moon Duo, and births a sorta Kraut-inspired (the motorik Neu!-beats especially) psych record that blows hundreds of stoner bands out of the water and back into their parents' basements. Recurring-era Spacemen 3 and Suicide (especially on "Speed," the second track) loom rather large here, with cascades of reverb fuzz and cavernous echo and organ (also known as "Jon McCafferty-rock"), this stuff is more concise and less drifting than a lot of the Wooden Shjips songs, and that's just perfect with me. Beautiful, hypnotic, nocturnal music. Best new record in a long, long while. By Andreas Knutsen.
Poppier melodies, yes. Poppier lyrics? No. Consider Boys Who Rape and Last Dance; very disturbing -- and some think offensive -- lyrics. (n.1) I love the new disc, BTW.
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(n.1) Offensive in the case of Boys Who Rape, since the poppy sound and flippant attitude of the lyrics trivializes the very serious subject matter. I'm not sure I agree with that criticism, but it's a debatable point.
O'Leary - Pasborg - Riis : Groenland (Greenland)
"Groenland has always intrigued Mark O'Leary, the vast and enchanting arctic tundra has for many years captured his imagination.
Its minimal ice terrain, fjords, creative urban spaces, northern light, abundance of nature juxtaposed with a colourful cultural fabric have been a source of curiosity and inspiration.
Given its historic relationship with Denmark, when Mark had the opportunity to record with drummer Stefan Pasborg and electronic artist Jakob Riis in Copenhagen Groenland would be the sonic subject matter.
The song titles point to many of the strong visual, historic and cultural images of Groenland.
Sirius Patrol - the brave, fearless Danish Navy Unit that patrol and protect the North-East with their beloved canines.
Inuit - the highly cultured indigenous people that inhabit the terrain, are one of the most resourceful, innovative and skilled races on earth.
Aurora, After Dawn, and Moving Towards The Light all allude to the special light that emanates from the region and its strategic importance during the Cold War and its vital environmental importance to the new world.
Finally Nuuk - the capital of Groenland and one of the most unique cities on earth with its kaleidoscope of urban landscape, Nordic influenced, but totally unique.
The music endeavored to encapsulate all of the above essences. It allowed for the spontaneous energy of the band to contour the conceptual terrain and develop into atmospheric soundscapes projecting an expressive dynamic minimalism that ebbs and flows very much like the cinematographic experience espoused by Andrej Tarkowski, juxtaposed with a micro-textural ambience coming straight from the heart of Ligeti in a post-industrial mantle.
The music is very much alive, the central core of the project was recorded in Copenhagen, with treatments added later in Cork by O'Leary and mix engineer Donncha Moynihan."
Lens Records.
Mr. Brighternow sez: WOW !
The Heavy - The House That Dirt Built. I'm digging the samples on this one, and suspect it will go into heavy rotation. Rock and soul.
Eric McKeown - Hundreds of Lions. She's always had that gorgeous voice, but I didn't warm to her earlier material. I only liked her swing phase on Sing You Sinners. I think this new album is going to change my mind.
The Holloways - No Smoke, No Mirror. This is one of my favorite styles of indie rock -- bubbly as champagne. This came out at the end of 2008, but it looks like eMusic just got it.
Non-eMusic:
Carsie Blanton - Bouy. John Oates calls her a "folky female Cole Porter." She has some great imagery in her lyrics: "Give me a thrill, I can't sit still, I already tried countin' to ten/ but it itches and tugs like a bag full of bugs/Baby, when can I see you again?" And of course, her voice is lovely.
And man what a motherlode is that Rounder add -- just did a quick swing through and added about 40 albums to SFL ....... but only 2 credits left until December ;-(
Its not just folk and country too, although thats what the labels known for, some great "world music", soul and jazz (Sun Ra at the Village Vanguard off the top of my head for instance).
Total earworm. Blake is a heck of a pop songwriter.
Hurdy Gurdy - Hurdy Gurdy
- Featuring the amazing Claus Boehling on Guitar, also known from Secret Oyster
Hurdy Gurdy arose out of the Danish group Peter Belli & the B.B. Brothers in 1967. Three of the B.B. Brothers -- guitarist Claus Bohling, drummer Jens Otzen, and English bassist Mac MacLeod, then temporarily based in Denmark -- split from Belli to form a psychedelic-hard rock-oriented trio. The band moved to England in 1968, after MacLeod had been deported. It's been reported that Donovan, a friend of MacLeod whom Mac had played with previously as a backing musician, wanted to produce a version of the band covering "Hurdy Gurdy Man," a Donovan composition. However, Donovan released his own hit version of the song, and Hurdy Gurdy didn't issue anything while MacLeod was in the group, despite doing some recordings produced by Chris White and Rod Argent of the Zombies. Two late-'60s tracks by the MacLeod lineup of Hurdy Gurdy, "Neo Camel" and "Tick Tock Man," eventually appeared on the 2003 MacLeod anthology The Incredible Musical Odyssey of the Original Hurdy Gurdy Man, and are rather loose and frenetic pieces of period guitar psychedelia. Bohling and Otzen had to go back to Denmark shortly after those recordings, owing to their inability to secure work permits. There they picked up a new bassist, and in the early 1970s recorded a self-titled album for CBS Scandinavia. The record, a routine, early-'70s hard rock offering with Hendrix-influenced guitar by Bohling, was reissued on CD by Akarma.
Richie Unterberger , All Music Guide
- Brighternow
Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath
It's a great blend of South African township jazz, big band and free improv. AMG Review.
Gazul/Musea / Believe Digital
- Link to the last Gazul drop in: Gazul / Believe Digital
Full streaming at: Helvet Underground
"Les Poissons Autistes continue to explore the possibilities of electroacoustic composition. On this release they dig deeper into their modern classical and electronica influences but keep also space for plenty of noise. To their usual bunch of instruments (electric guitar, trumpet, bass, treated voice, field recordings, laptops) they add this time acoustic guitar and baritone horn to widen their sound palette. As on their two previous albums ("Fort festif" on Deadvox and "Three Times Dead" with Hemlock Smith on Everest Records) the mood is dark, perhaps even more, but paradoxicaly it is also their most rythmic album to date, with three tracks sustained by a drum machine and one track with the live drumming of Arnaud Sponar"
- What can I say but OMG !
Edited after 2 hours.
Going Places by Yellow Swans
"In April 2008, American noise duo Yellow Swans (comprised of Peter Swanson and Gabriel Mindel) announced their decision to split. The news was a shock to the noise community, not least because the band had become a regular fixture in the live arena-touring incessantly and garnering a huge, dedicated following in the process. What the duo neglected to announce however was that a final album was already in the works, and while they would not tour together again, steps were being taken to finish off their crowning achievement. 'Going Places' is Yellow Swans' conclusion as an entity, and sees the duo looking inward to create their most introspective work to date. It shouldn't be surprising given the climate in which the record was put together, but without the constant touring Swanson and Mindel allowed themselves to take their time on the record and allow the tracks to breathe somewhat. The resulting collection is distilled and reflective, retaining the grit and damage of their earlier work but adding layers of harmony and, maybe more surprisingly, pulsing rhythms. The improvisational, psychedelic washes that have always enriched their sound are tempered and controlled, leaving an almost Kosmische narrative. The drifting, subtle beauty that characterised their last album, 'At All Ends', has emerged even further in the mix, and Mindels guitar is allowed to play foil to Swanson's piercing noise. Comparisons could be made to Tim Hecker or even Brian Eno in parts, but Yellow Swans' harsher edge sets them apart from many of their peers.?No doubt some listeners might be put off by Yellow Swans' noise background, but make no mistake, 'Going Places' is one of the most haunting and engrossing albums yet to appear on the Type label. Swanson and Mindel have proved, if proof was ever needed, that there is beauty in dense cacophony, and 'Going Places' is the perfect way to close a startling career."
Other Music
Variations Opportunistes by eRikm
Created entirely by looping small snippets of CDs and then treating them in the studio, the newest album from eRikm makes for a surprisingly atmospheric listen. "Correlation I" begins with the expected glitch effects, but as the five-second fragment (taken from a composition by Jean-Philippe Rameau) is looped back on itself at different pitches and drawn out by sustain, it takes on an ethereal character, less like damaged playback equipment than intentional ambience. Drawing the contrast between eRikm's own studio abstraction and the concreteness of the source material, the track blends seamlessly into the 13-second "Source C.1," revealing Rameau's original composition to be a technical harpsichord piece before dragging to a halt. "Correlation II" uses a small section from Igor Stravisnky as its source, looping a single section of violin into an everlasting hum. Gradual tonal changes in minor key give things a vague sadness as eRikm manipulates the loop. "Generescence - Soustractive" ends things with an even more extreme form of minimalism; for the first several minutes, the tones are barely audible, and eventually build into a quiet ringing. While it's tempting to write off eRikm's obsession with studio experimentation as mere technology fetishism, the fact remains that these compositions are subtly moving in their own way, and result in something greater than mere technical experimentation. This album has niche appeal at best, but anyone with an interest or appreciation for musique concrete and avant-garde ambient will enjoy what eRikm has created here.
Grave Concerns
Other links:
Ronda label
eRikm.com
In Stereo by Fenn O'berg
- Fenn O'berg is Christian Fennesz and Peter Rehberg (aka. Pita)
Edit:
I can't believe its only me finding new and noteworthy abums since november 2009
As far as new and notable - I usually use the "what are you listening to thread right no" instead, because I never think to post about something until it comes up on the ipod rotation.
Intransitive Recordings
"is an independent record label for experimental electronic, electro-acoustic, abstract, and otherwise unclassifiable sound-art and music"
- With names like:
Roel Meelkop - Howard Stelzer - Lethe - Frans de Waard (Kapotte Muziek) and nmperign (also on the 7 Things label)
Intransitive Recordings
Alva Noto - For 2 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- And from Taylor Deupree's 12K label:
Pjusk - Sval ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Btw: Did I mention that Digitalis has added 4 albums to their eMu catalogue ?
- And as usual with full track samples from some of them at their website.