Quote from: andy vomit on October 20, 2014, 09:32:08 PM
BRIGHTER DEATH NOW - With Promises of Death CD
i'm not sure if this is widely available yet, but i picked it up on the second night of the BDN/DEUTSCH NEPAL/raison detre US tour ... fantastic album that hasn't left my stereo in days. karmanik proves he's still got fucking got it-- oppressively heavy, repetitive without being boring and an overall pummeling sound that just destroys you... classic BDN. highly recommended.
The way merch was set up last night, I couldn't see more than 10% of the table. So bummed to realize today that there were new discs from him and raison d'être. Oh well. I think this has a vinyl release slated, if I remember correctly.
Desiderii Marginis -
Procession (Cyclic Law): Still burrowing deeper into the rabbit hole of dark ambient. Still mostly uninspired duds. How many acts can say their work is inspired by dreams or "the dark side of _____" or be related to this in some way? How many labels can resort to the same tactic? I think this genre proves that the sheep mentality is ever-present in all places. ("Black Sheep Is Still Sheep" I saw on the backdrop of that SS performance. Yes, so true.) But alas, this disc is a juicy one. 52 minutes being a perfect length for this style (I'm a little weary about this double-disc
Hypnosis he's just released). The juxtaposition of field recordings, stark rumble and minimal harmony are all very well sewn together. You've got those ethereal synths and chimes going, but none of the listed elements ever feel overdone. This is crucial in a genre that seems to cater to the basest emotions. There's lots of synthesized wind and wood instrumentation that manages to never feel overtly kitschy/martial. It's more light versus melancholy than anything else. Each of the 8 pieces opens up another inhabitation that allows the album to evolve and reflect gracefully. The image that pop up (in my mind) are of the material world, and not the chthonic abysses that are typically the intent. I sense hazy Saharan dusk, brisk Northern Pacific coasts, the spiritual poverty of a mistaken travel East, intense betrayal in love and conviction to keep on. Obviously, just my projecting... Not sure where this stands in contrast to his earlier works, but this is a standout to me!
Troy Schafer -
Anubis Come In (Earjerk): I've been reflecting heavily on Troy's work lately, and it struck me that even his first solo release is full of eclecticism, power, beauty, terror and the Absurd just as all his current work is, yet this album is (akin to his entire output) seated in a place all its own, separated from his entire massive catalog. This is decidedly Troy's most blatantly "psychedelic" work that I can think of. Maybe his duties in
Second Family Band were rubbing off still. That's not to suggest it's a mediocre release though. He's still able, despite a multitude of emotional/sonic shifts, to pull you weightily down into convincing structure after convincing structure. Despite the fact that there are easily a dozen instruments on this tape, his whole canon hasn't been presented. Even when he utilizes humor, I feel that Troy is able to keep you believing and feeling strongly. Something that keeps the "psychedelic" vibe present is the lo-fi quality of the dubbing. I think this is the only gritty recording I've ever heard of Schafer. Usually there's a strong clarity. It works for these pieces though. Shift after shift (and not nearly as frequent as he's been able to manage now) is carried through by this slight murk, and this slight sense of the Beyond. It's easy to find your mind in a foreign sphere while drifting through both sides. A strong document of that free-form "Madison sound".
Joseph Hammer -
Albany/Philadelphia (Dungeon Taxis): Mr. Hammer has definitely been one of my favorite discoveries in '14. Yes, I am very, very late to the game, but oh well. The fascination started with the collaboration with
Crumer. When I first began to spin
I Love You, Please Love Me Too though, I almost felt offended. After having dropped a slightly hideous amount of Discogs bucks on a Pan back-catalog LP, I was hoping for something not too unlike the harsh acoustics of
Show Me The Door. Instead I'm greeted by a playful collage of radio sounds and whatever else he may construct his work from. After many replays (to justify my money spent, haha), things began to click. I picked up
Roadless Travel, and while having already discovered quite a lot to love about his work, those liner notes were vital in getting a better grasp on Joseph. Of course, that disc is also easily his best yet. But about this tape... As the title suggests, we've got two performances in said places. While certain structures are absent from what you'd hear on his studio albums, it's difficult to fathom just how it is that he's able to emulate that so well. Obviously his work has developed through constant live experimentation. I would have taken him for more of a studio re-organizer judging by the complexity of some of his records. I really enjoyed the inclusion of those wailing 2000's punk/hardcore vocals that go between chipmunk phasing and original pace. Heads up: his new live tape on Idiopathic is even more worthy than this one.
Victor Eremita -
A Study For Transcendental Commubication (Black Horizons): After hearing
Hour Of The Wolf and his tape on Lust Vessel, I'm quickly developing a fascination with Joel Danielsson's work; graphic and sound-based. This cassette, put out by the inimitable Black Horizons, allows both artists to pair their visual prowess rather well. Joel's series of four grainy spectral photographs are laid inside an overly-white translucent sleeve featuring a guiding text and suggestive swirls of black. It's refreshing to have work that is so muted and isolated be presented in a way that doesn't simply suggest that vapid darkness I mentioned above. This sets a tone for the four studies where you can potentially keep your headspace out of genre pitfalls. What makes Danielsson so interesting for me is that he utilizes so very little in his music to the point that you feel you just have to stop whatever distraction you may be wrapped up in and affix your ear to the speakers' pronunciations. In a vain very, very similar to his other works, these recordings are the sound of venturing vacant spaces; deep in the wood, deep underground, deep in the wall. Nothing to get chummy over with your pals, but more of a soundtrack to an empty head (or the desiring for one). Primitive and concentrated.
