Tales from the Attic
Volume XLIII
Revolutions of a 45 and 33 kind…..
This one features…..
Cheval sombre, Justin Robertson, time and space machine, tom furse, ros and vas, full of hell with merzbow, emperor yes, klaus morlock, vacant lots, jack adaptor, involved, laughing eye weeping eye, happy orange balloon, bête noire, school, nlf3, brace / choir, janitors, paul cook and the chronicles, brother earth, nnmie, wild smiles, delia Derbyshire, Anthony newley, espher, stillwave, animal house, regal worm, today is the today, the luck of eden hall, slow down molasses, forms, is / is, halsan bazar, gregory curvey, red plastic buddha, attempt, cross wires, kryshe, camera, rosy crucifizion, ben soundbag, tygerstrype, the beards, palace of swords, charlatans, lutine, obliterations, extreme precautions, zurich, roadside picnic, marc ford, allah la’s, the cheek of her, lud o, garden of elks, allegories, whyte horses, st agnes, asteroid no.4, sea hawks with tim burgess
As promised that latest nugget from Chicago’s finest psych heads the Luck of Eden Hall. Judging by messages received from Greg from the band a hectic release schedule is afoot with all manner of happenings in the TLoEH base camp which will see the bands recent ‘Victoria Moon’ full length (still light around here alas) given a gatefold sleeve and coloured vinyl treatment (3 different colours no less) via Headspin, there’s also word of something new for fruits de mer with ‘postcards from the deep’ being mooted as a single in November. In addition Mr Curvey’s own original soundtrack work ‘the stream’ gets an airing via cinedigm and Shindig are rumoured to be doing a celebratory 25th anniversary piece for publication in the near future. Oh and there’s talk of the band contributing music to a kids TV show to be aired via Chicago’s WTTW and lest we forget a new single just out via the bands own website. Entitled ‘the happine$$ vending machine’ – its TLoEH doing what they do best – decorating your listening space in kaleidoscopic swirls – an effervescent earworm exacting a sensory overload of colourful tapestries which aside fizzing like a lemon popsicle biff bang pows its way into your affection with an acutely cute gorging of 60’s saturated beat pop grooving motifs blessed and teased with some deliciously hairy freakbeat fuzziness, Floydian nods (mid way through as it happens citing ‘lucifer sam’) and woozy progtastic keys. Wowzah.
Admit to being somewhat taken and smitten by this shimmering sortie. Pulled from a forthcoming debut full length entitled ‘burnt black cars’ which is due for release sometime early next year, this is slow down molasses and ‘summer fun’ which just as it says on the tin radiates with the kind of sunburnt feel good effervescence that we here feel it ought by rights to come pre-packed with its own sun lotion. However griping aside this honey comes bleached in the kind of fever pitched panic stricken gusto that’s liable to stop pulses at earshot coming sprayed in a subtle west coast tanning to spar and sting atop a formidable muscular musicality that’s aligned to Ariel Pink with a tweaking of Avi Buffalo. https://soundcloud.com/slow-down-molasses/summer-sun-radio-edit
Some kind of bad ju ju afoot here for formes are set to emerge with a debuting platter ‘dysphoria’ November time and with it a whole heap of unsettling groove if that is ‘tumult’ is anything to judge by. That said we were forewarned via a message on twitter which almost apologetically hinted ‘it’s a little heavier though than our earlier material’. No shit – sounds as though they’ve journeyed upon a crusade to the dark side and unwittingly brought back souvenirs from the underworld, a 7 minute Pandora’s box of tricks is what you get, this bad babe literally sucks out light dragging with it their stoned out swamp dragged take on psychedelia in to ever darkening doom draped territories where even the likes of Gnod and Goat fear to tread, amid these grooves an ancient primordial manifestation lurks in the cavernous shadows brooding and festering tamed only by the ensuing wooing of archaic lullabies uttered in lost tongues. Formidable stuff.
We like coincidences for earlier today word reached us of a forthcoming Tara King th split with Halasan Bazar for the adored around here Moon Glyph imprint which prompted us to gather up the bunting in expectation. And just as we were settling down smugly satisfied that all was well with the world with this news an email was intercepted from said label announcing their latest release. Alas not the desired Tara King th split but instead something truly special from Is / Is which by rights should entrance, allure and bewitch all who hear and push them front of crowd attention amid the blogosphere scribes. Entitled ‘shadow days’ and again strictly limited in nature (100 I think) this honey kissed 6 track cassette is the heavenly handiwork of Sarah’s Rose and Nienaber who together cultivate a divinely spectral and ethereal psych folk dream coat that purrs shy eyed and bitter sweetly softly reclines between Galaxie 500 and Cheval Sombre. Not that we want to tease but we are – if its all the same with you – leaving a full review for this gem till the next missive – for now singling out the closing cut ‘Palmers’ – a seductive sparsely woven homely hued prairie blues cutie arrested by a smoking cool alluring warmth to flutter coyly and affectionately like a super chilled Haight-Ashbury – sublime in a nutshell. http://moonglyph.com/
Staying with Moon Glyph a little wee while longer, here’s quite a spiffing cut pulled from a 300 only vinyl re-issue of Halsan Bazar’s ‘how to be ever happy’. Entitled ‘tin foiled’ this 60’s shimmered sortie arrives tastily turned in the same kind of stripped back lo-fi day-glo dimpling that once upon a time occasioned the grooves of releases by the much missed Doleful Lions albeit here as though in a studio sparring event with the Apples in Stereo, oodles of crystalline jangly twangs kaleidoscopically drenched in lashings of keys under the watchful eye of a shade adorned Meek. Perfect.
Hopefully we’ll have links in time for the next missive on what promises to be a very special releases. With proceeds going to ‘save the children’, Jet Schizo Fun Addict has unveiled details of the bands split cassette release with the Bordellos. Entitled ‘cassette for the children’ – this joint venture tape release is strictly limited to 100 numbered copies – two tracks from the release will be available as a free download single via the small bear imprint and will feature ‘hit it’ by the Bordellos and ‘her name is love’ from Schizo Fun Addict. What makes the release all the more interesting is what Jet calls the forced collaboration element. Inside each cassette will be a cut up piece of artwork taken from a limited John Squire lithograph from the Roses gig at Phoenix Park, the hand numbered by Squire part of the litho will be inside the cassette number 1/100. The hope is that those purchasing said cassette will try to get Mr Squire to sign them – every cassette that secures a signature will earn the save the children fund an additional £5 donated by Jet himself. As to the cassette 1/100 if they succeed in getting this one signed it’ll be put up for auction on ebay will all proceeds going to the charity.
And quick message from Greg of TLoEH which included download files for that soundtrack to ‘the stream’ which if we have our information sources firing on all cylinders is due for limited release shortly and stars Rainn Wilson. The film is in 1981 and beyond that the information trail runs stone cold safe to say it benefits the boys and girls club of America. Anyhow not rightly sure whether this set is being officially made available, the tracks should appeal first hand to admirers of Cooder, Atwood, Reilly and the likes Gnac given they are brief mood altering instrumental guitar refrains sometimes haunting, sometimes mellowing and occasionally fracturing as found on the final part of the three sequence cycle that makes up ‘the garden’. Be warned those here expecting variations on a TLoEH theme think again, for this is more intimate, insular and often – more introspective. That said we here found ourselves particularly smitten by the track ‘crossing the log’ which greets the listener with a curiously sleepy headed elephantine oompah before momentarily blistering in all manner of Barry-esque spy themed prog dipped realms to soon ease off journeying to the dark side of the subconscious to go all trance like, earthy and dreamy replete with mind weaving woozy monastic chorals, sprays of dissipating woodwinds and ambient pulsars which when gathered together exact the effect of leaving you disorientated as though your footing and navigational lines are forevermore dissolving and morphing anew in altered states. Those wanting to delve a little more can find an assortment of tracks via http://fandalism.com/curvey/ctKg
Staying with the Curvey one a little while longer, we managed to unearth this little slice of extra curricula work. Described in passing as an apocalyptic doom goth pop neo psych rock combo, seven piece the red plastic Buddha feature Mr Curvey on guitar – no doubt sneaking along after various farewells and call it a night sessions with his fellow Eden Hall-ers, the blighter just can’t leave that six string alone. Anyhow these dudes have an album just out via Space Cat entitled ‘songs for Mara’ from which we eyed this little nugget by the name of ‘Go’. Mind expanding stuff, a positive kaleidoscopic explosion of sound and the kind of stuff that such esteemed underground publications as freakbeat and Ptolemaic terrascope used to turn minds and ears onto in the early 90’s – indelibly English in sound, style and vibe and something we here feel ought to prick the more curious lobes of those once admiring of the murmurs of Irma. http://redplasticbuddha.bandcamp.com/album/songs-for-mara
First of two stone cold nuggets – not that the rest of the stuff featured here is anything but…..
Picked this up on a quick peruse of that there twitter – you know how these go, you are one minute minding your own business the next finding you’ve unwittingly spent three hours watching videos of your fellow human race making arses of themselves and being cajoled into checking out ‘hey this is what I’m eating’, ‘hey this is what I’m drinking’,’ hey this is what I bought today – aren’t I great’ photos – frankly no – not in this life, or the one after – I mean why do people have to share daily report montages – is your life so empty that you need social network permission to do something. Grumbles aside we nabbed this off a tweet from tiny mix tapes – a cassette single no less limited to just 50 copies featuring the synth solo antics of hair police dude trevor Tremaine here found masquerading as Attempt. Okay who remembers a scouse band – early 80’s or thereabouts – by the name of – I think – 3d a fish in c – recorded a Peel session – that featured a bit of a killer in ‘the garden’ (again I think – yea I know it would be easier to check the dedicated Peel site but hey I’m testing my long term memory given my short term thingymajig is up the er…whatever). I say all this because ’another day’ is a ringer for them, what first appears like something thawing from a DIY electro mix tape c.79 a la Passage et al with subtle side servings of the Teardrops – I kid ye not – and subtle mutant funk trimmings soon begins to blossom into something darkly sultry not unlike something very Modern Eon if you must know. http://www.tinymixtapes.com/cerberus/attempt-another-night-bw-up-to-no-good?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Alas absolutely no information on these dudes – typically smashed and grabbed on a recent twitter ramble – a quartet – we think – hailing from East London who go by the name Cross Wires with what might be their second EP following hot on the heels of ‘Assembly’. What we do know is that this is the best thing of this ilk to drop in our lap since the days of the Scratch. Indelibly schooled in all things late 70’s new wave / punk opening cut ‘modern art’ has that rarefied pop attrition that used to electrify the grooves of a Jam albeit here rephrased by the purple hearts – raw, testy and brimming with enough cocksure street wise swagger and hook happy melodies aplenty to have the most posing and preening of parka lords to start tapping a winkle picker. Better still ‘shades of light and dark’ superbly catches upon the vibe of the Ruts splicing spikey punk pop with a skanking rumble that had us drawing comparisons to a keen eyed attrition pop savvy XTC. ‘tab clear’ is your secret era Chron Gen nailed niftily to the spot all said I’m much smitten by the over you like a rash unhinged panic attacking frenetic art pop oblivion of the parting ‘vultures’ kinda Pooh Sticks in a bar brawl with Stiff Little Fingers – oh yes…. https://crosswires.bandcamp.com/album/your-history-defaced
Is this not something else. New via the ever adored Hidden Shoal imprint – purveyors of sublime sonics – this is taken from a new EP entitled ‘in between’ by Kryshe – beyond no more information with which to impart sadly except to say that ‘Africa’ is as near to heavenly perfection you’re going to get this missive out. Pressed with the poise and steeled with the atmospheric tenderness of Antonymes and softly coaxed by the delicately yearn of Vini Reilly this gem provides one of those rare occasional moments which once veered into earshot has jaws dropped agape and clocks literally frozen still. https://soundcloud.com/hidden_shoal/kryshe-africa
To mark the festivities at this years Liverpool Psych festival there’ll two specially pressed up releases – the first a 7 inch finding Zombie Zombie sharing the grooves with Orval Carlos Sibelius while the other a twelve inch commemorative compilation gathers together nuggets from Goat, Allah – La’s, black mekon, nueva costa, bonnacons of joy and camera – the latter of whom are serviced by ‘salamantra’ – a Neu-tropic mind expander that managed to miss the cut on their recent Bureau B full length ‘remember we were carbon dioxide’ – featuring all manner of trip wiring and pulsing motoric hypnotics which amid its lolloping locked looped motifs a wonderfully chill toned kraut gouged road trip hybrid emerges dot joining elements of Slipstream and 90 degrees south. https://soundcloud.com/pzyk/pzyk0003-camera-salamantra/s-jCMK8
Seriously. You actually thought we’d get through a whole missive without the mere mention of roadside picnic. You poor deluded fool. Actually this is quite – er – poppy – by normal roadside picnic standards. Still weird and wired enough to have you scuttling beneath your bed or behind your sofa and still recommended for daylight listening. ‘myth sound trailer’ just posted is fused amid an array of sourced sound manipulation – tweaking frequency modulations, eerie apparitions pertaining to fairground follies, Deutsche accordion recitals, motivation speeches and all manner of cooking pot stirring samples combine to playful instil an impish unease which on the surface hints at attractions aplenty yet just behind the curtain something sinister and macabre lurks. https://soundcloud.com/justin-wiggan/mtyh-sound-trailer
Frantically hitting all the buttons at once, we’d be hard pressed to recommend anything currently orbiting record world right now that sounds so damn smoking cool, purring blissfully haloed by the fading glow of setting Americana skies this easy on the ear homely slice of mellowing wood cut goodness comes from off the latest platter ’holy ghost’ from Marc Ford and is entitled ‘dream #26’. Pushed to us with the words ‘dreamy country tinged pedal steel’- hell I think they were underselling it for this is distilled in the finest of southern rock ingredients unto its palette the delicate essences CSN blow smoke holes. Just bet you that Petty dude is kicking up his heels in envy.
Twang-a-licious west coast uber groove from soft psych alchemists Allah-Las who I guess are readying themselves for their keynote appearance at the Liverpool psych festival shortly. ‘follow you down’ comes prized from their recent ‘worship the sun’ full length via innovative leisure – an authentic 60’s beat shimmying kaleidoscopic kutie phrased with the kind of fuzz kissed vintage sound and cool as you like seasoning that sees these dudes head, shoulders and shades above their peers.
Just on the off chance that there is some soul out there who is disturbed by sleepless nights wondering what would happen if in a studio fantasy band type line up you could gather up say shakespeare’s Sister, Lene Lovich and the Strawberry Switchblade with a dash of Petunia Liebling MacPumpkin. Would that person by chance be the cheek of her. Musical merriment with a heart of playful gold undercut by a subtle and sinister macabre, there’s a perversely attractive tug towards the wired and wonderfully warping world of Helen Dooley – for it is she who the cheek of her, aside the fact that ‘another guy I buried in the woods’ features gravel being dug over – the first I guess on record since a certain Mr Bowie’s ‘mr gravedigger’ – this gem radiates with a sweet viciousness that lilts you along with its twinkling symphonic grace and full on passion, cutely taken by its fairytale sepia tweaks and shy eyed cuteness until of course you realise at the parting the true gory detailing – a kind of pop Baby Jane – and with that deceptively clever and acutely crafted, there’s an album ‘Adult Angst Anonymous’ which I’m suspecting we need to hear before we get much older. https://soundcloud.com/tom-brumpton-pr/the-cheek-of-her-another-guy-i-buried-in-the-woods
Seems that it’s not just us who are rather fond of this, last count approaching 35,000 had checked in to Lud o’s ‘crystal’ which features on the celebrated fat cat demo player – all at once ghostly, statuesque and veiled in magic and mystery, it is by far the best thing we’ve heard since those early career No Ceremony demos started eking our way a few years ago. At once ethereal and supernatural, this tenderly shy love note comes haloed in a yearning bitter sweet tremble framed in the hushed pulse freezing sensitivity of crystalline chords, an utter beauty frail, fragile and lovelorn and much like a demurred youthful smoke fairies all said. http://www.fat-cat.co.uk/index.php/downloads/acid%20tape%20masters.zip
Staying with the fat cat demo player, latest addition to the set list is the kick ass rumble provided for by the garden of elks whose ‘yoop’ chugs, spits and wires like a psychotically animated variant of the Fall in a Turbines headlock, frantic and frenetic and straight up close and personal – has the label stumbled upon the rabid offspring of the Mazes. https://soundcloud.com/fatcat-demo/garden-of-elks-yoop?in=fatcat-demo/sets/recent-additions-1
i’ll be totally honest in saying that our little hearts skipped a tad at perchance the re-emergence of electric sound of joy. Alas our jubilance and joy was a mite shortlived in discovering that the electric sound of joy was not the mysterious combos of the early 00’s who sneaked out two rather extraordinary platters for the adored earworm imprint, but rather more a blog site with attuned ear apparel working their way through the chaff of pop to harvest the good stuff. As be the case with Allegories who, alas no information with which to dazzle your eyes, have just dropped the quite divinely devastating ‘funny way of loving you’. Sonorous vocals, atmospheric murmurs, spectral chill tipped electronics and the kind of hymnal presence that makes jaws drop followed by the hushed gasp of ‘what the f… is that’ greet this beguiled ballad, in short the intersection point as to where walker brothers, the lover speaks and the church converge. Need I say more. http://www.electricsoundofjoy.com/2014/09/allegories.html
is this irresistible or what, sun fried hazy psych pop done to crystalline tipped perfection that radiates with affection to flicker through a would be scrapbook of lost summer childhoods of innocence and hope, can’t think them why on occasion it had us momentarily whistling terry jacks’ ‘seasons in the sun’ but last time I checked that was not altogether a bad thing, anyhow curdles with jangly pop loveliness this and something else that had us much recalling the chime chirpy Clock Strikes 13 albeit here backed by the Busy Signals suspiciously retro’d into a dayglo 70’s setting of Double Deckers meets the Monkees and the Go Team landscapes, very cute – tasty vid and all……oh and before I forget the band are called Whyte Horses, the singles called ‘the snowfalls’ and it appears etched upon a 7 inch via CRC next month….
Quite frankly just what was needed around here – a nifty spot of cold war industrial grind electro, ‘untitled 03’ is being sent on a scouting mission ahead of an imminent full length set entitled ‘I’ by French producer Mondkopf here under the alter ego Extreme Precautions – at only a minute and a half in length there’s enough of a creative bomb going off here to have you scurrying frantically for your Clock DVA, DAF and Front 242 platters of old while simultaneously digging out old M A Hobbes ’Breezeblock’ cassettes (Atari Teenage Riot, 70 gwen party and Aphex) for kudos acquiring comparisons….stunningly bleak. https://soundcloud.com/inparadisum/03-untitled-03
Mentioned duo Jon and Kitty a little while back when their debuting ‘old bone rattle’ hit us straight between the eyes. Several months on and St Agnes are primed to release the dark hearted ‘a beautiful day for murder’ via energy snake records, twisted in shimmering reverbs and grave raved twangs this slinky slice of 60’s noir rock-a-hula purrs with the exquisite chill of Zombina and the Skeletones albeit zapped with a seizure stricken hollowed infusion of the insect guide for added panache with a side serving of Mazzy Star for smoking cool bliss. Essential ear gear. https://soundcloud.com/saintagnes/a-beautiful-day-for-murder/s-TS6Yy
This intricately layered lovely is the title track to NLF3’s imminent full length entitled ‘pink renaissance’ which I’m certain we have a physical copy of somewhere here about our person which, I guarantee, will be getting plenty of turntable love especially if it sounds half as gorgeous as this deceptively demurred dandy. In truth it does veer into the sonic pathways of Plaid had they of course seen fit to forge alliances with Battles, yet beneath the cleverly detailed contours there’s an overt playfulness that blends a shy eyed chill tipped glacial warmth with a blossoming childlike fondant to rekindle lost memories of chirping lullabies landlocked deep in the midst of consciousness impishly spray painting your listening space in delicate swirls of dreamy kaleidoscopics, very alluring.
This comes pulled from by our reckoning one of our favourite full length platters so far this year, from their debut for the tapete imprint titled ‘turning on your double’ this is Brace / Choir’s ‘1 is 2’ –admittedly one of the albums quieter moments – a hulking progian hyper cruiser blissfully voyaging the cosmic voids and tuning their star crossed headspaces to porcupine tree / floydian wavelengths, immense and mesmeric and frankly just out there.
A sub seven minute fuzzed out head trip emerging frazzled from out of a lysergic haze – this bad assed slab of locked grooved dark psych ju-ju sounds like the bastard offspring of an impromptu bunk up between Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Black Angels and is ripped from an incoming 12 inch EP by the Janitors entitled ‘evil doings of an evil kind’ through the admired bad afro imprint. Limited to just 500 copies it’s the second instalment of Bad Afro’s 12 inch psych series following critical love for the Dandelion earlier this year. Literally awash in all manner of wig flipping feedback and reverb ‘here they come’ is a mesmeric mantra clipped in desert dry psyche snake charms all stoned out in the kind of mind wiping vibe that most will be lucky to appear the other side of with their faculties intact.
Weren’t they all sun fried jangly pop last time we heard them, these days taking on a darker and more brooding perspective it seems judging from the edgy undercurrents peppering the cyclical grooving of happy orange balloon’s aptly titled ‘incoming clouds’.- there’s an album shortly to emerge called ‘unique’ though not before the ominous gasp of this slab of shadowy metronomic white noise instils a degree of creeping chill. https://soundcloud.com/happyorangeballoon-happyorangeballoon/incoming-clouds
Angular riffs oozing smother like shadow lined atmospherics all pierced in sinew snapping post punk edginess and clipped in dark seduction, this panic attacking slab of blister kissed infection is the latest single from the hotly tipped London combo Bete-Noire. ‘d level dirt’ is the first of a promised series of singles to be released over forthcoming months with this stratospheric sortie setting the benchmark on a full on flame on intensity, blessed with the rage of the Chameleons and the brooding friction of a ‘seduction’ era Danse Society this hollowing and howling honey should appeal first port of call to those much admiring of Gene Loves Jezebel. https://soundcloud.com/betenoiremusic/d-level-dirt/s-yohzj
Smitten the minute it kicked into life, bracing skip, jump and swoon indie dream pop that spreads its exuberant effervescent radiance upon you like an infectious rash, impossible not to love. School hail from Gothenburg and ‘so long’ is their debuting UK single which across its fragile sub three minute framing ought to have all who hear surrendering and affectionately purring with its softly teased union of noodling jangle shuffles and, sun surfing joyousness which to these ears in truth sounds like some Sarah records super group headed up by Knife’s Karin Dreijer Andersson. https://soundcloud.com/s-c-h-o-o-l/school-solong/s-Owf9X
I’ll be honest in saying that I missed this first time of asking, aside the fact that its out on grandpa stan records who have been missing from our turntable for so long that we considered issuing a missing persons notice – this being the label that introduced us to the joys of the Heartstrings all those years ago – in fact members of the Heartstrings actually feature on production credits here, it also chimes with that age old dilemma of being with someone who doesn’t exactly rock your world. I for one am expert in rooting these out – though will say there’s nothing better than finding that one person whose totally on your wavelength in terms of music loves, humour and frankly everything else – trouble is they are usually taken no doubt by those of the opposite sex who really don’t rock their worlds either – frankly I’ve given up I suspect the quest to find the Holy Grail would be less challenging by half . Life is cruel. Get over it. Anyhow before we ramble and get any more maudlin I’d just like to say that this is ridiculously perfect – pristine pop that purrs with the kind of production gusto and soft centred seduction to have the most steely among you affording it a second glance, its by Paul Cook and the Chronicles and is entitled ‘a real thunderbolt’. Taken from his ‘thunderbolt’ EP this honey swoons amid a bitter sweet mistiness that’s tenderly caressed in all manner of demurred snow drop symphonies dimpled as though a hushed prayer that thaws and blossoms into a becoming pulse racing radiance. https://soundcloud.com/paulcookchronicles/arealthunderbolt
We’ve encountered this lot in previous musings. I guess mystic witchy avant-folk is as apt a description as you could ever muster for this bewitching slice of spell craft and that’s not my handiwork but rather more its authors Laughing Eye Weeping Eye. Prized from a 12 inch vinyl EP entitled ‘beway’ this brief but beautiful beguilement goes by the name ‘Knight’ and reveals the duo to be well versed in all things Preterite, Men an Tol and Reverb Worship – to name but three reference markers, all at once stilled in a ghostly aura and inscribed in a lost and archaic folk alchemy there’s a becoming nod to dead can dance flickering amid this haze drenched portal to the past. Safe to say we need to hear the rest as a matter of urgency. https://laughingeyeweepingeye.bandcamp.com/track/knight
expect fond words for their latest opus ‘left’ which arrived here somewhere while we were off radar, for now though a spot of sublimely chilled smokiness which we’ve featured in previous musings entitled ‘the day I went to bed for 10 years’ which finds the Morton Valence ones traversing into ‘witching hour’ era the Crimea territories simultaneously taming the grooves with the woody lilt and lull of an intimately turned campfire hymnal. Quite exquisite if you ask me.
Now this quite sublime and has us back in the chill tipped confines of the hidden shoal imprint, this comes prized from the debuting full length ’revolving maze’ from duo involved entitled ‘Machiavella’ – an alluring and dare I say beguiling slice of porcelain primed future visions that blends together a panoramic precision with a statuesque soundtrack velour whilst splicing together the cold wave dystopia of Vangelis’ ‘blade runner’ with the silken symphonia of the ‘adjustment bureau’ soundtrack to sumptuously morph from kosmiche chill to spectral romance in one trick of the ear apparition like movement. Expect fond words for the album when we get to it. https://soundcloud.com/hidden_shoal/involved-machiavella
There’s a new album on the way from Jack Adaptor entitled ‘J’Accuse’ which we’ll try and wrestle from their press folk, so while we wait for that with fingers a crossed here a little pre-teaser in the guise of a second single from the set by the name ‘number one record’ which by rights should send toes a tapping and hearts a swooning especially if your chosen musical poison happens to be that of Kevin Tihista with the housemartins in a headlock for this provides for a spot of lightly refreshing sunny side up two step buzz bleached power pop deceptively shimmying its way on the blind side through your defences – consider yourselves well and truly warned.
With a debut full length ’poison everything’ straining at the leash awaiting release via Southern Lord shortly and news finalising a European tour schedule to pick up the baton in Liverpool mid-November, Californian hardcore punksters obliterations have deemed the time just right to serve warning of what’s to come in the shape of pre-teaser ‘mind ain’t right’ – one hundred and eight seconds of lamp you around the chops speed freaking sonic butchery served up at the kind of velocity and intensity that’ll cause stylus’ to warp and leave your stereo in shreds, absolutely mental, unrelenting, feral and nasty – pure turntable carnage.
I’m guessing this should be ringing alarm bells of interest for those much attuned to the progtastic work of thumpermonkey. Here’s a sneak preview of something forthcoming and tasty from Regal Worm in the shape of a mini album ‘neither use nor ornament (a small collection of big suites)’ out soon via quatermass, described in passing as’ a quintych featuring two 18 minute guardians book-ending a trio of unruly children’, it promises to be an aural odyssey like no other, an unfurling full on radiant sonic tapestry pressing upon its broad swept free flowing musically mutant spectrum elements of prog, psyche, lunar funk, opera, kosmiche and floral pageantry to carve out a lushly out of time dream coat that nods to past pioneers soft machine and os mutantes- the set – due out mid-October comes pressed as a CD and a specially limited ‘box of suites’ edition. https://soundcloud.com/regalworm/mini-album-trailer
Now here’s something both strange and sinister yet deceptively tasty not least if your ear buds stray and purr to the hauntologist sounds of duke st. workshop, anything on ghost box and matters of the broadcast variety. Just out via reverb worship a rescued collection of sounds which according to their author Klaus Morlock where recorded during a year long stay at the Bridmore Lodge in Wiltshire at the invitation of a certain Jimmy Page in 1977, there’s also mention of the occult, dark practices and a person going by the name Holger who appears intent on instilling a degree of creeping paranoia to the proceedings. Morlock himself active in the 70’s crafting low budget horror film scores, spent the year in total isolation at the haunted cottage his memories blurred and fractured between reality and fantasy brought to bear by the antecedent events of the previous residents. For your listening love two tracks have been prized from ‘the bridmore lodge tapes’ collection and posted on soundcloud the first of which ‘night sweats’ is a sepia twisted slice of 70’s Radiophonic eerie sparseness replete with psych soaked lullaby recitals grained in tripping psychosis apparitions all etched in a detached disturbia. Personally we are quite taken by ‘watching the girl from the village’ – a marimba murmured slice of Mancini cool that seductively terraforms from a playfully dinked daydream romance as though crafted by a late night studio soiree of pram and l’augmentation types to dissipate and dissolve ominously in to some form of disturbed and shadowy stark and sparse nightmarish acid fried flashback. https://soundcloud.com/the-bridmore-lodge-tapes
I’m fairly certain we’ve a copy of this snuggled about somewhere which I hasten to add will be getting the affection it deserves very shortly. This comes courtesy of the Front and Follow imprint and it’s by Lutine and it comes peeled from the Brighton based duo’s imminent debut full length ‘white flowers’. ‘sallow tree’ is at once enchanting and ethereal not least seductive and almost supernatural. Delicately demurred as though trip wired from another age or dimension emerging from a twilight haze this frail folk posy casts a siren-esque calm traced by measured hushed chorals and the genuflecting cascade of snow flecking piano motifs to achieve a graceful high end classical calibre and provide a heavenly nature toned hymn to these spring trimmed autumnal days. Exquisite.
More doom draped demonic happenings from the Southern Lord imprint, not quite your happy in the sun holding hands as you skip carefree along type groove and neither is it something you feel lends itself to daytime listening rathermore some sick ceremonial séance where dark deeds are perpetrated amid apocalyptic bedlam, and then some more. New thing from today is the day ripped asunder from their newly cremated ‘animal mother’ set is ‘masada’ – a tormented slab of grizzled grind no doubt dragged by its hair roots and spewed from the bowels of hell, an unrelenting lights sucking and hope extinguishing bastard replete with dread drilled video which can be viewed optionally from the safe confines afforded for by the back of the sofa though do remember to nail all loose objects in expectancy of seismic tremors and uninvited visitations.
And from Animal Mother to Animal House – seamless links a-go go – this lot hail from Australia – well Brighton as it happens as they’ve just relocated here – ‘sour’ is their debuting release – an infectious blighter that chugs, puffs and see saws dizzily upon a shimmying radio rollicking needle picked skiffle grooving like some ricocheting 50’s fire cracking throwback that ought by rights if truth be known to prick the ears of those among you admiring of Edmunds and Lowe platters of yesteryear – but hell can that dude howl – Ronnie Dawson anyhow. https://soundcloud.com/animal-housing/sour/s-yJX0H
Last featured in these pages a few months back when we were wowed by that killer split with Alan Vega, since then they put out a debuting album ‘departure’ via sonic cathedral which I suspect we need to hear very soon for fear of spontaneously combusting. Anyhow here’s the hymnal sounding ‘paint this city’ by the vacant lots clearly still experiencing flashbacks from that encounter with the Suicide man, a glacially enigmatic slo-mo brooding and mellowing psych soul ballad done to darkly sparse and found freewheeling into latter career Spacemen 3 territories. For those preferring turntable matters a little more forged in feedback scowls and smoked out lip curls will do well to seek out the flip side ‘departure’ – strangely not on the album despite its title but sounding very much like a prowling and mooching Lou Reed heading up some softly fuzzed out psych reaction cooked up by those dudes Sonic Boom and Sunray.
Here’s a bit of curio for all you Slowdive aficionados. Seems that somewhere around 1994 a lot of file sharing and tape swapping was afoot between Neil Halstead and Tony Wilson, the former busy working on the final Slowdive set the latter djing and promoting in South London booking in acts such as Autechre and Pan Sonic. Techno was all the rave – pardon the pun – and between studio sessions the duo started collaborating under the guise Zurich on what even by today’s standards would be considered abstract and austere aural visions. The disbanding of Slowdive and Halstead’s subsequent shift in musical direction resulted in the two going their separate ways and the project was left unfinished and forgotten, until that is when a handful of tracks turned up on CD’s given to Mark Van Hoen by Wilson. The album now fully restored is being released by Important next month. This particular track – ‘too scared to breathe’ features vocals by Seefeel’s Sarah Peacock and provides for a nifty slice of technoid earthbeat which should appeal to old school admirers of a youthful Wagon Christ though midway through in truth sounds not unlike a deeply alluring and softly toned Arabesque spiritual finding Muslim Gauze re-calibrating the invaders of the hearts and taking them to the next level of mystic consciousness. https://soundcloud.com/importantrecords/zurich-too-scared-to-breathe-from-zurich-cd-featuring-members-of-slowdive-seefeel
I don’t mind saying that both sides of this are devastating. Download only twinset by Asteroid No 4 via bad vibrations reveals a band still able to mix it with the mercurial and the sublime and into the bargain still after 15 years steel a march on their peers. ‘the windmill of the Autumn Sky’ over on the flip is steeled in the same heart hugging homely glow and radiance as once upon a time greeted and bedevilled the grooves of releases by the likes of the Butterflies of Love and Homescience, a gently strummed countrified head bower traced in subtle spectrals and succulently dinked with a Church like statuesque phrasing that’ll leave many a jaw agape. That said it cowers to the flight to oblivion odyssey provided for by ‘back of your mind’ – a full on fuzz fused cosmic-a-delic dream coat that sets its dials upon a seductive shimmer toned and hulking psychotropic progian kraut cruise for a glorious head warping hallucinogenic trip. The dogs danders by our reckoning. https://soundcloud.com/badvibesuk/sets/the-asteroid-no-4-digital
You ought to recall the rosy crucifixion from a killer split album they shared with the Wharves via the much adored Soft Power imprint (incidentally I’m certain we’ve received an email in recent weeks mentioned a new Wharves release in the offing) some time at the tail end of last year. Our turntable has been pining for them since and so there was – as you can imagine – much bunting being festooned around the gaff at the news that they feature on a specially crafted cassette store day tape compilation impishly titled ‘now that’s what I call music 666’ through fuzzkill records. Alas we have for now mislaid all details about the release except to say it features a gathering of 16 ensembles all with a love for fuzzy surf twang with rosy crucifixion rounding up the spool space with an utterly purring cover of Frankie and the Hitchhikers’ lost ’61 classic ‘Sinners’- here trimmed with a deliciously darkly demurred b-movie mooching twang all sultrily iced by Emily’s warning coos and applied with the kind of vintage classicism you usually only ever find on records with the name Flaming Stars emblazoned on their hide. There’ll be more of this once we nail copies.
Many thanks to Cam at Hidden Shoal for sending over this ‘un, Brother Earth is a collaborative meeting of minds between Todd Tobias (Circus Devils, Robert Pollard) and Steve Five (the library is on fire) who between them have rustled up a soon to be released full length entitled ‘positive haywires’ from which by way of a pre-teaser ‘city of gold’ has been handpicked and sent on ahead to do a scouting sortie. Don’t be fooled by the fact that it’s just 69 seconds in length, references to Guided by Voices are apt at this point – yet for what initially shapes out to kick with a power pop burn soon blossoms into a glorious kaleidoscopic haze that at once at various junctures nods to the Porcupine Trees, neutral milk hotel and of montreal which by our humble reckoning is a pretty neat trick to be able to pull. https://soundcloud.com/hidden_shoal/brother-earth-city-of-gold
heaven alone knows why we are drawn to unpronounceable releases but this roughly translates as ’dream of spiral’ according to our online translate and its by NNMIE who we believe resides in Japan and beyond that little is known – or at least little known that we can unearth. Still this slice of playfully sunny folk fancifulness ought to appeal first hand to those among you somewhat suffering withdrawal symptoms brought on by through the relative silence emanating from the bearsuit imprint of late, can someone run along and give them a shake. Anyhow this little gem twinkles to a delightfully crooked clockwork framing where wheezing Fischer Price toy instruments chuckle, chatter and coo to the lulling lunar lullaby at work which we here are very much minded to compare to a chill toned and affectionately shy eyed Gulliver. http://nminmi.bandcamp.com/album/-
the story goes that Mr Burgess laid down these vocals the day after a particularly wild Charlatans gig, fearing he wasn’t up to the challenge he asked the Seahawks dudes exactly how they wanted to play this – ‘imagine you’re sharing a hot tub with Nancy Sinatra and David Crosby’ came the response. Peeled from their ‘paradise freaks’ set this is the Seahawks with Tim Burgess on ‘look at the sun’ – a simply blissful and dare we say wasted and woozy slice of drifting and lulling soft psych pop spiked in hazy tropicalia mirages all delectably light headed and perfect for reclining shade adorned beneath sultry sunsets arrives replete with dissolving saxophone fanfares – absolutely smoking cool.
Talking of the Charlatans, the band have just completed recording their 12th album from which ‘talking in tones’ is being prepped as a taster of what’s to come and is being primed as the third release for the online resource the Quietus’ newly forged imprint Quietus Phonographic Corporation and will be backed by a dubbed out mix cobbled together by label mates Grumbling Fur. As to the single itself a bit of a slow to burn cutie that rather than hit you between the eyes with a full on pop brashness instead it stirs, swirls and slyly smokes away deceptively needling itself beneath your defences setting itself up as a nifty earworm primed to party in your headspace just when you least expect it. That said amid the pristine production and the creative chops and despite the fact it comes oozing cool whilst sultrily invested with subtle 60’s kaleidoscopic breezes and fading summer shimmers there is a telling bitter sweet casing to overcome that may well leave you somewhat numbed and purring for more. http://thequietus.com/articles/16288-the-charlatans-taking-in-tones-single
Oh yes, just what the good doctor ordered, palace of swords’ ‘new hyperborea’ getting a dream machine makeover by those impish souls midwich youth club, skin up time I’m afraid for this honey sets out on a cosmic cruiser piloted by the Tangerine types only to somewhere along the line dissolve and re-forge itself into a gargantuan dub phrased chill tipped trippy gem to sound like a flotilla of discordia’s and landshipper’s woozily navigating deep into the core of some magic mushroom band meets the orb ultraworld.
In our lengthy absence we somehow missed out on a few nuggets released over the summer time not least this one by Utrecht based three piece Stillwave. Sounding initially as though it’s been drop kicked from a late 70’s post punk mix tape there’s more than enough of a beautified brooding bleakness attaching to ‘rich ones’ that would suggest it had spent its formative years donned in overcoats surveying the crushed landscapes of a north west England, there’s certainly a Factory vibe restlessly rippling in the mix that nods ever so obviously towards Joy Division. Spectral electronics, chilled tipped atmospherics and that sonorous croon, but then there’s a thaw, riffs splutter into stratospheric formations and something hymnal and hope hooked parts the crestfallen malaise, a purposeful change in tide, a new found destination assuming quietly epic proportions much like a subdued Swimmer One all said. https://soundcloud.com/stillwave/richones
I blame Quiet Marauder for this, their facial furniture opus espousing the joys of the moustache from last year or thereabouts has I suspect led to a levelling of the score from the bearded community headed up it seems by the anarchic and crookedly surreal Aussie combo the – er – Beards. Prepping themselves for a UK tour where evangelist like they will no doubt be spreading the beardy word and bringing with them an assortment of beard wigs for those who can’t quite get it on, the band follow up their acclaimed ‘if your dad doesn’t have a beard you’ve got two mums’ (I kid you not) with ‘all the bearded ladies’ (timed to coincide with world beard day 2014 which was on Sept 6th – look I couldn’t make this up if I wanted to). Impishly taking shots at your musical heroes (not mine I should say) we’ve spotted within 15 seconds sly digs er – nods – to Queen, Van Halen and Europe, frankly so much fun emanating from this that you can’t fail to being swept along by its feel good gusto and don’t think that even by nailing your feet to floor that that’s going to help you – believe you me it won’t we’ve tried. If only to add to hysteria the videos even more barking than the song which judging by the way they joyously accost innocent bystanders I’m guessing flights to Australia this fall will be sold out in nanoseconds.
Curios certainly don’t come any more curious than this rare archive gem. Never before released, it has remained locked in the archives and forgotten since its recording in the summer of ’66. A pop collaboration between Delia Derbyshire and Anthony Newley, yes you read right a ‘pop’ collaboration. Of ‘moogies bloogies’ the press release details specifically its timeline, even how much work Derbyshire afforded to her part of the collaborative bargain (64 and half hours in case you were wondering with a particularly lengthy and productive day on the 9th August and a total rethink session rethink the following day) and of the meeting at Derbyshire’s Maida Vale flat where the plans were hatched – Newley arrived there driven by then wife Joan Collins and sister Jackie who waited outside during the meeting. What remains unknown is to how such a recording – (Newley’s star was still high at the time (Dr Doolittle, Willy Wonka and Sweet November were still to come) and Derbyshire who fresh from acclaim at her electronic realisation of Grainer’s musical stem for the Dr Who theme was busy with the ill-fated Unit Delta Plus would go on to achieve cult status as part of White Noise) has remained so far untouched despite the extensive plundering of both artists’ back catalogues. Pairing together Newley’s strangely surreal voyeuristic lullaby with Derbyshire’s waltzing pulsars and playful childlike enchantment ‘moogies bloogies’ crafts together a curiously disorientating musical box that sits neatly between wonderment and weirdness. Out on the esteemed trunk imprint shortly.
PS the photo credits on the you tube image are not of Delia but of that other electronic sound pioneer Suzanne Ciani.
A little something that ought to be high on the listening list of those among you much admiring the output of hidden shoal, this elegiac slice of crunchy glitch porcelain pop comes from Espher who is really Ben from Moses Gold conducting a spot of extra curricula activities. ‘this simple gesture breaks my heart’ is a trembling and tearful slice of tenderness sent out as an early warning herald to announce the coming of a full on EP in the very near future, though you have to gather up the emotional wherewithal to survive this first coming as it does traced in regret and a bruising that’ll we feel and fear will crush the more sensitive, all frost tipped key cascades and glacial widescreen symphonics set to heartbreak and very much couched in the fragile classicist framing of a youthful fortdax – the crescendo at the finale of which is something to swoon to. https://soundcloud.com/espher/this-simple-gesture-breaks-my-heart/s-PwRBS
Got admit I can’t get enough of this, up close and personal and upon you like an insanely itchy rash, in truth faced with having my arms forced up my back and forced to say who this reminds me of I’d be putting my money on a studio squaring up of controller.controller and the clerks types. Debut single ’can we talk about this?’ from duo Ros and Vas who collectively go by the name deux furieuses is the damnedest slice of acutely edgy agit pop we’ve had the pleasure of grooving our hides to since the last arrivals from vomitface and art trip and the static sound and comes gouged and emblazoned in the same kind nagging menace and pristinely turned seizure pop as that which used to adorn such much missed imprints as marquis cha cha and art goes pop many moons ago. Anyhow all you need to know about this caustic cutie is that its frenetic, urgent, frantic, angry as fuck and drilled with the precision of a militarist assault – to be filed under resistant, insistent and persistent.
Perhaps the closest you’ll get to aural annihilation, total white out sonic butchery courtesy of the much missed – around here anyway – Merzbow found here in cahoots with Full of Hell with what promises to be the most wretched, most wicked and terrorising all-out assault the listening community will hear all year. Out in November via profound lore will be unleashed ‘full of hell and merzbow’ – a brutal meeting of noise dynasties certain to melt heads and trepan the crap out of your turntable. In anticipation the label have sneaked out the unrelenting fury that is ‘Gordian knot’ – a 56 second seething sonic sledgehammer to pour vengeance and war upon your head. Easily filed under – pure unadulterated torment. CD versions of the album will come accompanied by a bonus five song set of Merzbow extensions. https://soundcloud.com/profoundlorerecords/full-of-hell-gordian-knot
Looks absolutely scrumptious, a visual trip if ever there was one, a strictly ultra limited 12 inch from those purveyors of ethereal psych – Sonic Cathedral. ‘madder love’ EP arrives pressed on translucent berry coloured wax all housed in a transparent paper sleeve featuring Sharon Lock’s original ‘mad love’ artwork re-tweaked by Marc Jones. Upon the finite waxen grooves three specially commissioned remixes of Cheval Sombre’s ‘couldn’t do’ by Justin Robertson, Time and Space Machine and the Horrors’ Tim Furse all rounded off with a recalibration of ‘someplace else’ reworked as ‘someplace slow’ by CS himself. If the images are exquisite they then are aptly married by the sounds which are divine. First up Justin Robertson’s floaty mind morphing deadstock 33’s edit slinkily slipstreams into what can only be described as kaleidoscopically hued Australasian techno drone-scape hazily dipped in mystical Celtic folk flashings for what is a gloriously tripping head phonic spectacle which at various points somehow manages to touch base and join the dots between a blissed out Paris Angels and a lost in the moment Sunray. When confronted with the same track Time and Space Machine go all sitar swirly and woozy cutting dissolving psychedelic shapes across dust traced Arabesque backdrops before going off on a hypnosis inducing cosmic sea trip , quite sultry if you ask me and dare I say very Sonic Boom. In truth the most adventurous of the trio comes courtesy of Tom Furse whose ‘extrapolation’ remould shimmers in as though it’s emerged from the dark side of Jean Michel Jarre’s psyche before setting the controls to journey deep into the void aboard a hulking leviathan star cruiser piloted by a seriously zoned out Craig Padilla reading off Tangerine Dream star charts. Cheval Sombre wraps up the set in a typically sedate and bliss kissed fashion with the intimate and frailly re-trimmed aural apparition ‘someplace slow’ nee ‘someplace else’ – so fragile that aside making Galaxie 500 sound like speed freaking metal heads has you fearful it’ll shatter and splinter into tiny pieces just for being in the same room as it.
Incoming shortly the second full length from Philly based electro experimentalists Tygerstrype. Entitled ‘we learn to love our chains’ the duo have sent ‘prince’ ahead on a scouting sortie, emerging from a distorted and dislocated psychotropic haze drizzled in shimmer toned drone glazes the mists begin to clear to shape shift into floor thumping cosmic carousel rippled in buzz sawed ruptures and the shower of cavernous riff hook loops hoodwinked from Joy Division’s ’24 hours’ enlisting along the way to their formidable tapestry the sultry snake wind of arabesque struts to finally complete the circle once again shedding its skin towards its fall to bow out amid a fractious collision of pulsar grooving and frying mindsets – will destroy the cooler more in tune dance floors of the pulse feeling underground. https://soundcloud.com/viciousbuzz/04-prince/s-aEcBJ?in=viciousbuzz/sets/tygerstrype/s-aEcBJ
We’ll just mention this ‘un briefly while we try and bag a full finished copy, that said from what we’ve heard so far there shouldn’t be a problem with this getting affectionate fond words festooned its way. It’s by London three piece Emperor Yes among whose ranks lurk members of three trapped tigers – they’ve an album ‘this island earth’ due to dock shortly via alcopop which by all account has been wooing the brighter lights of the listening community with an occasional nods to a youthful flaming lips being a favoured reference marker. Whatever the case to these ears we are of the thinking it’s a kaleidoscopic cosmic opera popsicle smitten by the handiwork of Will Cullen Hart’s Circulatory System. Alas no links as yet though we’ll admit to being a tad in awe of the eighth track ‘intergalactic quarantine’ – a lo-fi fuzzed out cosmic snow burst which – wait for it – sounds to these well-worn ears like some psychotic Guided by Voices flashback going all supernova Rush – I kid ye not.
I’m fairly certain we’ve had occasion to feature the Wild Smiles in missives previously despatched, anyhow this comes pulled from a forthcoming full length debut ‘always tomorrow’ for Sunday Best and is called ‘girlfriend’ – a killer scuzzed up power popping garage growling bastard of a cut with nods aplenty to ‘end of the century’ era Ramones and lashings of Spector-esque shh-bop albeit run through at a blurring 100mph 3 chord dash – does it for us. https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/168442230&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true
Some lovely kick back and chill out easy listening vibes radiating through the speakers straight out of the green man radio room courtesy of ben soundhog, I mean be honest where in the hell are you going to find the likes of ty segal, beach buggy and the human league rubbing shoulders with gilbert o’sullivan, roger whittaker (in French) and Kenny lynch (a surprisingly nifty 60’s rocker) not to mention a cover of ‘the theme from robin’s nest’ (70’s sitcom loosely a follow up to man about the house if I recall rightly starring Richard o’sullivan and tessa wyatt) by the shows platter player masquerading under the guise of loose capacitor – now even the freak zone ain’t that weird. And if that isn’t enough to get the pulsing jangling there’s an utterly gorgeous and sensual version of ‘I go to sleep’ by Marion. http://www.mixcloud.com/greenman/ben-soundhog/
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