Talons - Hollow Realm

One of my favorite albums of the year (right at the end). It placed 28th on The Silent Ballet's year end list. Check out my full review.


The fusion of punk, math, metal, and post-rock isn’t often achieved with such natural results. Just one listen to “Peter Pan” gives the listener a sense of how much fun the band had in scribing these tunes. A roiling, octopoidal drumbeat with violins as menacing zephyrs breaks down into a distorted, chugging trawl before a ferocious strumming section kicks into gear. Already the mind is dancing pirouettes. Then the sumptuous rock breakdown snaps into action, like a mechanical saber-tooth tiger racing through a canyon at mach three, ubiquitous explosions and gunfire barely making a dent in its magical hide.

Danny Saul - Kinison - Goldthwait

My review of this suspiciously good album by Danny Saul. It still haunts me, its sounds bewildering at times, stuck in my head, a gluey maelstrom.


This is music that clusters and billows. It has a deceptive speed to it, mutating in a clandestine fashion while it casts a spell. Melodies I could not place that were playing in my head turned out to be pieces from Kinison - Goldthwait. The album begins with a subtractive static that slowly births a swooning guitar melody drenched in sumptuous reverb on “Kinison (Part 1)”. It is quite beautiful, as if it is setting the stage for more exotic emotions, like those in Parts 2 and 3. Skeletal piano chords flock to the clouds before a wet electric acoustic guitar leads the ambient drift toward organ and drone. This melodic and delicate portion of the album is not where the story ends.

Teebs - Ardour

This album is great. Read the whole review at The Silent Ballet.

Before eventually adventuring to Los Angeles where Flying Lotus lay in wait to discover him, Mtendere Mandowa had only been creating beats for a short time. Within his artistry is an alchemical ease that makes a lot of hard working artists nauseated with envy. Teebs definitely likes instruments that sounds delicate. His affected, arpeggiated flutes, bells, and chimes spread like a network of mycelium through the thick hip-hop beat-driven soil.

Elisa Luu - The Time of Waiting

Decent electronic dreams from a lady in Italy. Here's the review I wrote.

It’s summer time, the county fair is on, and your nine-year-old hands grasp an aromatic serving of cotton candy. The line for the Zipper ride is short. It feels like freedom, marvelling at all the smells and blurred human forms. This warm and distant place is evoked by “r735”, which opens The Time of Waiting with the chatter of children, mechanical wheels, and tracks, whirring beneath the twinkles of a backward acoustic guitar. Wahed vocal tones make the track as memorable as the images it invokes. The honey-baked vocal-esque tones warm the chest like hot cider.

Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross - The Social Network

Oh Trent. My first review of your music after over fifteen years of listening. I was excited about you scoring a film almost ten years ago, and at long last we have it here. I still prefer Still, though I am hugely interested in seeing this film to witness how well the music fits. In spite of the decline of my interest in NIN, I am continuously compelled to listen to this soundtrack. It does have a hypnotic edge to it.

Good film scores create a consistent mood rather than upstaging the action on screen. This soundtrack certainly pulls it off, with many ideas packed into multiple versions of the Reznor/Ross method. For those disinterested in Reznor’s dark Dr. Seuss-like lyrics, or confounded by the density and glut of directions on Ghosts I-IV, The Social Network may be the panacea. This score may combine the lowest common denominators to achieve depth, but it does so for a cause, without compromising Reznor's musical fortés. It is safe, yet effective. The limitations of matching one’s music to another’s ideas was likely a boon to Reznor and Ross. Their subdued approach to this release makes this the pair’s most relaxed effort to date.

Brian McBride - The Effective Disconnect (Music Composed for the Documentary “Vanishing of the Bees")

I love me some Stars of the Lid, and for this solo effort, Mr. McBride has truly improved upon his craft. Read my entire review on The Silent Ballet.

McBride was asked by the George Langworthy and Maryam Henein to consider four different themes: “the gloriousness of the bees, the endurance and hardships of traditional beekeepers, pesticides and the holistic nature of non-industrial agriculture.” Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Piece of cake! In all seriousness, though, he attempted to focus on the gloriousness of the bees, to give the sad narrative a balancing serenity. A butterfly or a bee is beautiful to behold, but its life is temporary and fragile. McBride expertly captures this delicate aspect of life. His music hurts the heart, not in a bad way, but in a way that lets you know it’s still there. He felt that his tendency to make his pieces more mournful won out in the end, but these forty three minutes are too beautiful to wallow in sadness.

We depend on bees and other insect pollinators to have the varied diets and beautiful worlds that we do. While the documentary gets into the agricultural and political severity of this matter, it also celebrates humankind’s relationship with bees as well as honoring the benefits of “Colony Collapse Disorder”. The film is an earnest look at such a crucial facet of a fundamental part of our lives, and Brian McBride’s soundtrack is a worthy match, capable of fully resonating with a listener even without the benefit of seeing the film.

Aun - Black Pyramid

Here's my review of the new Aun. A mildly satisfying adventure into the depths of space.

Aun packs enough grit into its hokey star surfing to satisfy, and often the music shimmers divinely. It’s fascinating to hear something so vast and dark sound so wholesome, as it does on the title track. Still, Black Pyramid does not quite hit upon the organic vitality of the band's Motorsleep. It’s pretty, but it can feel like wearing a labcoat at the edge of the universe. Despite the band's sumptuous efforts to make the guitars and melodies sound like they are crumbling, the synth sounds can often sound primitive, infused with a Larry Fast (Synergy) vibe. Yet more often than not, this album’s delicate doom will help listeners to visualize monolithic temples migrating through swarms of ice crystals and sunbeams being swallowed in dark rifts of nothing. The subtle sound woven behind the main melodies makes a strong backbone for Aun’s trippy tales. Recommended for fans of Hecker, Aidan Baker, doomgaze, and darker climes.

Solo Andata - Ritual

This album is haunting and engaging, and I secretly want to go back to it again and again, though I am not sure why exactly. Read the review!

What is striking about this Australian duo is that they do not sound electronic. The overall effect of their audio science strikes one as being a completely natural phenomenon. It’s easy to conjure imagery while immersed in their rich, “sonic topographies,” which is a good sign of an engaging listen. Solo Andata have scripted another unique weave of sounds that, while invoking the natural world we humans coexist with, can only exist in its artful synthesis. The final track is full to the brim of sounds and ideas, but toward the end things drift off again into an unfocused somnambulism. Clearly this is the intent of the artists. What may seem like a letdown to the average person consuming a pumpkin spice latte can become for the focused listener a dance between the subtle and the intense. Given the right chemical guides or frame of mind, this album has the potential to cast a powerful spell.

Her Name Is Calla - The Quiet Lamb

This was a tough one to write. The album is just so massive. Hopefully it's not a tough one to read. Go ahead; read it! It's one of the year's best albums.

While this album behaves as a sorrowful witness to our lost traditions and civilized blindness, opening track “Moss Giant” reveals the playful storytelling Her Name Is Calla is capable of. Violins sustain, mallets gong cymbals, and a hopeful piano awakens in a clearing. “Oohs” and “aahs” drift in and out, and the scene is easy to picture as we look upon an ancient tree, wondering, “How can something so true be so fragile?” The strings creak like branches echoing in the canopy, and with nature as our base, we begin the journey.

The tone set on this album hints at an inescapable, pallid future, not unlike the worlds of Radiohead or Cormac McCarthy. Western culture favors the mindset that we are all individuals in contention with each other for an exclusive version of freedom. Her Name Is Calla, like many artists, rejects this, and devotes a musical landscape to faith and hope for us all to awaken before more unjust and brutal realities unfold. Vocals are often used as atmospheric support, and this element imbues the rather dire tales with a refreshing sense of optimism.

Concern - Cæsarean

I had high hopes for this record, but it wasn't the bag of chips extra than the "all that." It seems like Concern is best at writing drone EPs, as this record seems to be the combination of two strong EPs which max out at 76 minutes. Read the incredible break down of my amazing critical thoughts on The Silent Ballet!

Concern is very good at creating meditative drones fueled by perpetual energy. These typically possess great momentum, but when broken up after gaining so much speed, a veil or two drops. There is a lot of good work on Cæsarean, but in the artist's attempt to vary the landscape, things go awry. Nonetheless, as drone artists go, Concern is fundamentally glorious to listen to and a few speed bumps along this album’s arc needn’t deter listeners from checking it out.

Concern / Cæsarean by slowflowrec

Black Swan - Black Swan (In 8 Movements)

I may have gotten a little carried away with how good this release is (score wise) but I stand by the review's assertion that this is a really engaging drone record. Read it all on The Silent Ballet, the blog that keeps me blogging.

The anonymity of this New York-based artist has an effect on the listening experience. The music is given the right to exist on its own, as if it had always existed. It stakes its claim in the mind, making the listener a collaborator in a seductive narrative-noire that travels through a hall of horrors and memories, an escort to a final resting place. One might encounter spirit animals, forgotten lovers, faceless apparitions, leviathan rifts, or a cozy blanket of stars. It is easy to become comfortable in the soothing darkness, and when it seems like eternity has arrived, Black Swan pulls the plug. Listen to it here.

Fennesz Daniell Buck - Knoxville

Read the review in its entirety on The Silent Ballet.

Unlike the "magic carpet sound" of Fennesz, Daniell (who plays in San Agustin) provides a more grounded guitar sound, reminiscent of other electronic folkscapes in the American midwest. As these three strangers get a feel for each other in opener "Unuberwindbare Wande", it is Daniell who provides the first road to follow, as he meanders around his guitar's neck, finding chords and notes like one picks berries. Buck's drumming here features bowed strings, gnarled shapes and clattered atmosphere, but his precision is notable (which is no surprise since he plays for The Necks). As the piece builds, the drums begin to erupt like a warming mud pit. While Fennesz stretches his granulated limbs and settles into an ambient skree, the listener must note that this is a very dense and fascinating way of people saying "hello" to one another. The musicians, after all, had never met before the day this was recorded.

The Pharcyde - Drop

90's Flashback. Even though you know it's all played in reverse, it's intoxicating to forget.

Chris Abrahams - Play Scar

This review was enjoyable to write. There's more to it at The Silent Ballet.

Play Scar is a wonderfully adventurous ode to creative play. It plays out like a Room40 mixtape, collecting strange ideas from a larger pool of people, except that Chris Abrahams is instead one man full of Room40 artists. The album is a wealth of curious realities and questions: questions like, Where am I?, that bring an inquisitive smile to the face. This world is not full of dread, like so many other experimental noise records tend to be. Abrahams is not daring the listener; he’s telling stories or describing new places, lush with detail. Even after diving off a deep end or three, the final song “Leiden” comes in to seduce and stabilize the situation for a true sense of closure. This record is a fascinating journey, and with the piano leading the way, it is accessible and relaxed enough for someone new to unconventionally-structured music.

Sunwrae - Live At The Thornbury Theatre

Read this review on The Silent Ballet. Although I do admit it's probably my least spirited one in a long time.

Those who enjoyed Autumn Never Fall will undoubtedly enjoy Live At The Thornbury Theatre, recorded in Melbourne on the last night of the band's 2009 summer tour. Thanks to a seated and attentive audience, the sound is as clear as that on the studio album, and a few songs feel truly vibrant.

Aquarelle - Slow Circles

Read the tasteful review on The Silent Ballet.

There is not one flat moment on Slow Circles, an album that is as enchanted as it was loved in its making. Potts revised and re-did the album so many times over the years, and one can really feel how complete it is. The album kicks off with a sharp splash of an affected acoustic guitar strum, and forever after the listener is submerged into a densely satisfying world of sound. "In Days of Rust" thoroughly completes a strong album with waves of percussion-flecked static and a pantheon of guitars sailing to the undying lands. If Aquarelle wasn't on your radar before (This is his fourth full-length.) now is the time to perk up and take the plunge. The hard copies are gorgeously packaged, with artwork and photography done by Potts himself, making the album all the more special to be with. Slow Circles comes pretty close to inciting synesthesia, and "Aquarelle" (a drawing in transparent watercolors) couldn't be a more perfect moniker. Prepare to be caressed, listened to, and comforted by your own fuzzy introspection

1-bit symphony

I am very excited about this release. I think Jim would really dig it. It's an album that plays itself through a microchip. Just plug in headphones. Check out the link. It's by a fellow named Tristan Perich. Looks pretty cool. Certainly different than just another cd to play.

Oneohtrix Point Never - Returnal

I done smoked this review up on The Silent Ballet. I am fairly proud of this one.

The machines have won. Humanity has been assimilated into a scientific factoid without a history, which no longer exists thanks to the myths and stories of our kind yet violent species no longer being passed along. Yet, consciousness continues. Somehow, beings who are drawn to alternate existences with limitations continue to channel the happenings of our Earth, but through computers and android modes. The first track of Returnal is a complete disaster if one gives up during its maelstrom of chaos and fractured howls. Judging the album by this track alone would be a mistake, for while the piece is dense and challenging, it is merely the horrible portal we must pass through, the final crushing blow to our species, in order to reap the benefits of a synthetic consciousness. And this consciousness, this new dream being woven by the keys of Oneohtrix Point Never is a sumptuous and blissful experience.

The Glitch Mob - Drink The Sea

I done reviewed this on The Silent Ballet. Read more.

None of these tracks fall under five minutes, and never do any of the songs drag on too long. The pop aspect is prevalent, but the sounds that make up the structures are so succulent that any prejudice against the word "pop" collapses under their glory. "Fistful of Silence" is possibly the best example of how damn good things can be with this album. A delicious distorted guitar groove completely slays, and just when we get comfortable with a rocking beat or a catchy passage, The Glitch Mob throws in a cinematic curve ball to take things in a new direction. No pop motif is safe; The brain is just bound to love the energy and sonics on display. The pacing is such that the strongest songs emerge as the record moves along. The single is probably the weakest song, which speaks to the band's strength of writing expanded pieces that don't bog down on a theme. At times the band wears its influences on the sleeve, but Drink The Sea features a unique voice being broadcasted through layers of crunked out fuzz and phase-hopping shifts. It's an irresistible combination and sounds just dangerous enough to get even the most conservative of popular listeners to cross over to something new.

My Education - "A Man Alone"

Wiley Wiggins has made a music video, ladies and gents. And it's not for one of Richard Linklater's DVD Extras! It's for a My Education song. Both camps are from Texas, so it makes sense. Wiley always struck me as an actor with high artistic integrity, so it's no surprise to see these people as buddies or artistic associates. In any case, a music video for this highly underrated band is something to cheer for.

Ben Frost performs 'Leo Needs A New Pair Of Shoes' at the Greenhouse Studios

The Alps - Le Voyage

Read my entire review on The Silent Ballet. Oh yes, there's more.

Le Voyage begins like a Hallmark greeting card and ends with a slow burning raga of enchantment. The pedestrian innocence of the mostly acoustic opening number "Drop In" is inviting. It acts like a sugar coating that coaxes the weary into eating the matrix-revealing blue pill, because this album gets a little weird and trippy. The choice tracks feature in the second half, but in order to get there, The Alps puts together a collage of twelve-string guitar, piano, groovy bass, effects freak outs, self-referntial samples, and field recordings that, when listened to in the prescribed order, come off as a little sloppy. The sample-crazy, synth effect interludes are extremely busy and too long. They were apparently influenced by GRM's musique concrète archive and the Radiophonic Workshop, but without a film from the 1970's to anchor them, they feel unnecessary in the context of all the other gorgeously played pastoral pieces and spartan, guru grooves.

The Alps - Le Voyage by _type

Manorexia - The Mesopelagic Waters

Read the entire review on The Silent Ballet. This was a really tough one to grasp and write. Personally, i am glad it's over. Manorexia does not jive with my spring time.

Scuttling and bubbling off to the side in J. G. Thirlwell's tidepools of "other" musical outlets lies Manorexia. Begat on Thanksgiving of 2000, this was, until recently, a completely solo, electronic project. In 2001 Manorexia released Volvox Turbo, with The Radiolarian Ooze appearing the following year. These albums feature some highly experimental compositions filled with haunted environmental shifts and a kitchen sink's worth of sampled instruments. Mostly of the creepy or disturbing persuasion, these works are equivalent to several feature films' worth of dynamism and intrigue. With the lavish electronic-heavy versions as guides, Thirlwell was interested in arranging the pieces for classical musicians, but not until 2006 (for a few shows in Russia) did this ever happen. He's just so busy! Manorexia of today is not one band or group. Thirlwell has different manorexial ensembles in both New York and London, both of which have given a few special performances around the world. The Mesopelagic Waters is the first studio demonstration of what this all sounds like.

Waspette

Remembering Dio

I never listened to Dio or the albums he did with Sabbath, or really anything related to him; except for the tributes made to him by Tenacious D. In an allegorical sense, I respect the man and the legend and the music. My affinity for The "D" is 100% so whatever myth or legend they want to perpetrate is just fine with me. Dio was part of Tenacious D's existence, and I'm sure the two guys and all those associated in their circles are mourning the loss of one of the classiest gents in metal.

Ronnie James Dio. Thanks for the greatness I have yet to fully explore. I have laughed a ton at your expense. He was 67, and died of stomach cancer. Apparently peacefully. Julia and I have already sung the Tencious D song named after you, today.

Show: Red Sparowes and Caspian

At last Caspian! They came to Vancouver for the first time. They sure do look like a rock band. Somewhere between arty and blue collar, they exist and devote everything to their music. Their show was good, yet it was amazing that they did not play "The Raven". It's probably because they have played the piss out of it and wanted to salvage some magic from one of their best songs for future tours. They do tour a lot.
One of the guys in Caspian looks so much like Jim Smith, right down to the Chuck Taylors. With all those pedals, it was like having good ole Jimbo back in the Pacific Northwest. We miss you, Jimmy All The Time! Caspian's set was kind of average, to be honest - until the last three songs. "Brombie" just had something extra to it, and I was moved to head bang. The final two songs were some of fans' least favorites, but they were so good live I was quite pleasantly surprised. "Vienna" and "Sycamore", the final diptych of Tertia, closed the show, and it was one of the only moments that I was into the show, not overthinking things, not thinking "where is the raven, god dammit?" It slayed, and having everyone smash the drums together is an exhilarating way to end a show.

Julia was at this show with me. Beforehand we had a dinner date (our first in months!), drank some choice red wine, got all happy and jogged through some rain over to the Biltmore. We stood up at the stage for Caspian, but happiness was wearing thin as far as "standing" went, so most of Red Sparowes was taken in at the back on The Biltmore's nice velour couches. I have to hand it to Red Sparowe's design team. Their visuals were so professional and engaging this time around, and really, when a band moves this seldomly, the visuals are a huge plus. Nonetheless, we were so tired. Yet another show went down where I took my wife, and we either fell asleep, got morning sickness or jumped ship because one of us was pregnant and unsure of how a fetus would react.

I kind of decided after this show that I wasn't really into going to post rock shows anymore. Despite how much I love the music, the shows are just not compelling enough (I will probably still go to them anyway! On guestlists). I was extremely bummed out that Fang Island did not make it through the border to this show. Honestly, that was the band I was pumped to see. Now they're off with Coheed or STP or something, playing arenas. All you asshole Americans with criminal records constantly disappoint me! At least all of Red Sparowes made it through the border this time (unlike last time). Their new guitar player is a lady, but no more interesting than their former player(s). I like to think they added changed guitar players so they could come to Canada... and Europe and anywhere else. Ah well. We will always have the pedal steel. It truly makes watching this band worth it.

Cue the video (not from my show) (in fact none of these photos are either, but they are from the same tour)

Red Sparowes - A Hail of Bombs from Jon Mancinetti on Vimeo.

Fang Island - Daisy

This is a video for one of my favorite bands at the moment. FANG ISLAND. They are "fun" in a nutshell. Fun, however, is such a lame word. They describe their music as "everyone high-fiving each other." Their energy is infectious. I wish the music video was the whole album, because it is a joy to listen to. Everest loves to ROCK to this one. Check YouTube for the video of Fang Island playing in a kindergarten class. TODDLER MOSH PIT. Watch for the mystery spot in the video when the kids are playing the instruments.

65daysofstatic are awesome

In honor of 65daysofstatic's growing sensation, here's a video for, what I'd consider, their signature song. "Retreat! Retreat!" Pretty much one of the most awesome live bands on the planet. I really hope that since this new record is so heavily produced and features Robert Smith that it helps them explode big time (I mean, they toured with the Cure; come on, droves!) so they can tour on their own over here on the forbidden continent. Here's to wishing...

Olan Mill - Heavy Leg Cycle

One of my favorite unknown groups, Olan Mill, has created a stop motion-esque gesture of a video. It's only two minutes, but the lush strings and urgent ambience is on full display. My review of this record is apparently helping it blow up and sell like hot cakes, well before it has been released.

Olan Mill - A Heavy Leg Cycle from Serein on Vimeo.

How To Destroy Angels

Trent Reznor warned Earth that Nine Inch Nails would no longer be touring after last year. Already the first side project has emerged! With his wife! She can turn knobs apparently, showcased in the "teaser" video offered on the mini site. Of course, knowing Trent, they also have Twitter, Myspace, Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, DoubleSpeak, Avatar happy meals, laptops singing in random outhouses to unsuspecting campers, etc. The video has got to be the most boring teaser video ever made. It is devoid of intrigue. Such a salesman! He knows we're hooked already, he doesn't have to show us ANYTHING. At least the search for the next best logo (behind the NIN logo) has begun.

Mouth of the Architect - The Violence Beneath

Read the entire review of good at The Silent Ballet.

On their own, each song offers something unique. "Restore" feels like the ship has a broken rudder, leaving our dizzied, metalloid pirates to rage on about how distracted we have become that we cannot see things as they truly are. There is a lot of burning and breaking being foretold on the EP, as Mouth of the Architect unapologetically expresses that real change is only going to come about through suffering, destruction, and the like, on a mass scale. The many vocal textures seem more like instruments than vehicles for lyrics, and as with most metal, it is not easy to discern what is being said. The inclusion of Peter Gabriel's song at the end seems to indicate that the band members are in fact romantics, not exactly eagerly awaiting the crush of global cleansing; they likely believe in the power of love over all else. It also says that this group from Ohio is capable of trying anything, and now that over ten people can be called "former members" of the band, it seems ever more likely that the project will produce interesting and ego-smashing results.

Loscil live

What a treat to see Scott Morgan come out and play a set on Record Store Day. Loscil rarely does live gigs and prefers to keep a low profile. His whole family was there, which was great, as I brought Everest along, and he was actually really interested in the sound coming out of the PA speakers high above his head. He would point and say, "Dah." I said, "Soundwaves." Or, "Mixing Board." He then demanded to get into the expensive LPs. The people at Redcat Records left LPs everywhere, like they were going out of style! At least they were lined up in rows, looking somewhat organized. A few people paid money for them! I caught a glimpse at the round, black saucers contained in the paper sleeves. Curious, I purchased a copy of Endless Falls, the new Loscil (as well as the new Erykah Badu, which has a killer album cover. Hopefully Everest will get lost in there some day). Mr. Morgan signed it for me. Apparently he lives in my neighborhood.

Here is a link to a two minute interview with the photographer of Loscil's album cover. It's so cute, you simply must hear.

Interview with Bersarin Quartett

Bersarin Quartett was one of my favorite albums (from '08), and still is. I interviewed Thomas Bucker (who is in Germany), and he was really warm and receptive. He's re-releasing his record through Denovali, on vinyl, and as gratitude for doing a nice interview, the label is sending me a copy! So lovely.

Olan Mill - Pine

Read my entire review of awesome on The Silent Ballet

Good music is capable of frolicking in the unconscious mind. The Rihannas and the Timbalands can cook up a catchy batch of popcorn, but once the body excretes the sugars and salts, the satisfaction is lost. Pine speaks like a great story, in that, as the critic Walter Benjamin descibed, "It does not expend itself. It preserves and concentrates its strength and is capable of releasing it even after a long time." This album is surprisingly grand for being so short, and once the closer "Flume" has ever so slowly faded away, it resonates in the negative space of perception. Pine has great power within it. Benjamin might compare it, like a story, to seeds of grain that "have lain for centuries in the chambers of the pyramids shut up air-tight and have retained their germinative power to this day." Pick up this album if you seek the chalice of perpetual self-rejuvenation.

Olan Mill - Pine (Free Download) by Serein

Floyd for the NES

Godspeed You! Black Emperor say, "Fuck it, let's play."

Since I'm in the instrumental veins, I better put this up. The most influential of all bands in these circuits is reforming after about7 years of hiatus. They are curating All Tomorrow's Parties for three nights, performing each day. In ENGLAND. Not in Canada, their home turf. Hopefully they will play where I am (i.e. their home turf). Here is the official "press" release, if you can call it that. Godspeed are usually very opposed to The Press and all it stands for. Their public existence is enigmatic by rule.

I wrote up a pretty decent account of 2010's Cumulus Festival. I hope I did everyone involved justice and represented all the bands well. It's tough to balance real people in an article that also features bits of personal interests of my own. This was the first editorial piece I've really ever done. My first on the spot reporting kind of thing. I really enjoyed it. I was lucky that my wife encouraged me to go all three days and then some, while she took care of our son and our house... and our chickens. Thanks Julia!

It's finally published. As are the four interviews Steve and I did with some of the bands.

Grails: Black Tar Prophecies IV

Need I say more? Ok, I will. I invented a new term to describe Grails. Epiclectic.

Spartak - Verona

Read my entire review on The Silent Ballet.

Verona has many sounds, but it is one thing: a wonderful sounding experiment. Structures are as loose as they come, provoking folks to use terms like "high concept sound art." The pieces are a bit frenetic to be simple installation pieces, but it definitely would be neat to see the band playing in a Matthew Barney film. Australia's musical climate has helped forge yet another quality group crafting a listenable experimental release, and, while Verona feels like a stepping stone to the next big reveal for Spartak, it does not disappoint. This is quality sound adventuring.

Spartak - Verona by Low Point

Concentric - Immeasurable

Read my entire review on The Silent Ballet.

As an album, Immeasurable is both amazing and exhausting. One has to imagine these guys wouldn't play a show that lasted this long, and so the deluge of music is a little unrealistic. When studied in shorter breaths, the music is fantastic, and that's the preferable impression to leave here. This is the band's first album, and now that it's available to rest of us, it is recommended for everyone to check out these impressive musicians and wonder what might happen the next time they write something. Given the band's work ethic and ability to write melodic gems around their impeccable technical skills, it's only a matter of time before we compare every avant guard acoustic band to Concentric.

Jean-Michel - Berlin-Koblenz-Kassel

Let's hope Denovali come through and actually send me a promo LP of Bersarin Quartett's album! I'm in talks with them about it!

Efterklang - Live

Efterklang travel 200 days out of the year, and while those aren't James Brown numbers, not many bands are playing shows around the world so frequently. And so it is credit to their own enigmatic selves how they seem so delighted to be on stage, no matter where they are. Their new album Magic Chairs has an interpretable title and while the band sits on their tour bus for eight hours a day, bassist Rasmus Stolberg says, "you want to look at it in a positive way; you can look at that as your magic chair. I mean, it takes you on to new adventures every day." He's the dude with the sweet mustache. You gotta be happy if you're going to pull that thing off.

Efterklang (last year); note Peter Broderick on violin, and sister Heather Woods on flute.

Thanks to Sarah, I went to this show; she bought me a ticket! Efterklang were so awesome this past Friday night. Better than last year when they played with Peter Broderick. Maybe it was Peter's presence that upstaged them, because this year's opening acts were not nearly as good. The first band Aunts and Uncles were charming and sweet. I wanted to put them in my pocket. They express an eclectic naiveté, but are really solid, musically. The violinist seemed like she was not ready to give a "show" per say, merely standing and doing the minimum. The lead guitarist was androgynous in voice and talented, and the drummer was also really good.

The next band gets no love from me. I think I have been spoiled for a long time at shows, or I just know how to pick them. Balmorhea was supposed to open for Efterklang but due to a serious family issue they had to cancel their entire tour. I was bummed but optimistic. Certain Breeds opened with some nice synth sounds, but then........oh, shudder... the vocalist. I am highly open minded about how vocalists express themselves. I was giving this woman a big chance, several songs in, but when it became apparent that she had ONE NOTE that she liked to sing, somehow atonally, I became highly irritated.

Maybe she was going for a tribal take on things, or she subscribed to the mantra that repetition is the best, the best, the best. Whatever the theory, the execution was flawed and ugly sounding. The music even sounded good at songs' beginnings, but it never intensified to help give some kind of phantom meaning or intensity to this hollow, lupine whining. God I hope this band finds a new singer, or does something completely different. The problem is that they seem to be a pretty well known and (somehow) popular local band. They've played at Music Waste, been featured in the Georgia Straight. It will be just our luck that they never make it big and Vancouver audiences are stuck with them for decades. I was trying to describe the music to someone, and I couldn't. It was like it was devoid of style. Like a milkshake without flavour. Maybe some vanilla flavouring, but no bean and no love from grandma. This was Dairy Queen at 4am. Empty feeling and full of that dreadful knowing that, despite civilization's comforts, your happiness is doomed in this situation.

Speaking of future truckers and their empty milkshakes, I ran into a future Large Marge at the beer cooler. Having scrounged up $3.60 in coins, I strutted up to the open air basin full of ice and brews, hoping I could score a $3.75 Pabst can at a minor discount. A prolonged wag of the head, lower lip pressed into the upper; this young woman was immovable on the price. "I don't even know if I'm going to make 15 cents tonight," she lamented. I humorously offered her the first sip of my Pabst as penance, because we all know after that first sip, the honeymoon is over. You just have to pretend it's better beer after that. She pointed to her charts on the nearby wall, tallying every beer sold. She made it seem like she had bought every beer and was hoping to break even. I didn't know the Biltmore allowed entrepreneur beer girls. I even considered adding the two loose buttons in my wallet to my total. It's kind of sad to find what you think is a quarter, and it turns out to be a button. But then it's funny because beer is trivial.

Efterklang wore green. It was lovely.

Later I found a loonie in the Twilight Zone pinball machine, but I reasoned that it was better to have made money at the show rather than waste it on a shitty, overpriced beer. I made money at this show! And after seeing such a terrible band, Efterklang had to be great by comparison. And they were. Such awesome music these chaps can make. And so passionate, full of fun. They always look like they are enjoying themselves. Vocalist Casper Clausen plays his drum sticks on everything around him, acting on elfin impulses, aware of all the hipster black rimmed glasses scrutinizing his every move. Efterklang are glorious. The music is so rich and lively, yet you know the people who go to these shows. They stand, for the most part. Those black rimmed glasses don't bounce. But I moved. It was hard not to.

The guitar player they had with them was awesome. I can't remember if it's the same guy they always had, but I don't think so. This dude is the shit. He was belting the glorious lyrics that sound like they're in the back of the room. Heather Woods Broderick is so short! But it's not her fault I could barely see her. The Biltmore stage is like an uber widescreen viewing area. Like your vision is being pinched by god's finger and thumb. Sarah and I didn't even realize there was a drummer on stage until the fourth song when he stood up to play trumpet. I actually started to feel a buzzkill because of the "live" drums that were apparently being played through the P.A. but luckily there was a drummer after all! Buzz back on! Dollar in pocket. The Magic Chairs songs are really awesome live, and as usual, the electronics are of premium quality. Damn these people are good. I read a hilarious and inspiring quote from Rasmus about how the band isn't classically trained. "We—the four guys in Efterklang—are as untrained in music as you can be, almost,” he says, laughing. “But we are specialists in making Efterklang music."

The Resonance Association - Clarity in Darkness

Read the entire review at The Silent Ballet.

Everything on hand seems tailor-made to appeal to instrumental Nine Inch Nails fans (think Ghosts I-IV). Variety, faux-metal passages, electronic elements, and a ritualistic mystery — they're all here. Daniel Vincent's once-heard vocals are definitely much sweeter than Trent Reznor's, but there is something that Reznor does well that is missing here. For all its complex arrangements, great sounds, and varying parts, this album's labyrinth doesn't have a thread to hold onto. Everything changes before we've had a chance to get to know it (the exception being "Magick Is The Science," which does revisit a theme), and so the album has the effect of holding the listener at arm's length. "Look through this window, and behold!" it says. But pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. It's not an intimate experience.

Sunwrae - Chinook Winds

Delightful song, and a quality video/audio! Delight.

Blood Into Wine - The Arizona Stronghold

Will our fascination with Maynard ever end? I hope not. Even though this trailer looks legit, there's still a decent chance of it being a complete hoax. Even when you watch the film at an international film festival, there's still a chance of it being fake. It sure is nice seeing those dramatic shots of Jerome and Sedona, though. ~sigh~ Wish I was back there...

Ramona Falls - "I Say Fever" video

Never heard of Ramona Falls, and the song is pretty cool, but it's the ANIMATION that is just absolutely phenomenal. Directed by the uber talented Stefan Nadelman. You have to watch this!

Ramona Falls "I Say Fever" from Barsuk Records on Vimeo.

Richard Skelton - Landings

Read this entire review on The Silent Ballet. It's one of my best.

The ethereal breath and blurry edges of Landings is kindred with the music of Skelton's other pseudonyms, but what makes this album so good is its scope. At seventy minutes, it has the transmutational quality of changing size or shape to couple with the listener's mood. This is music of grieving and focus, but it is also ritualistic and gracious. It isn't going to make the listener cry and wish for something better; this is a tribute to the land in which it was recorded, and it behaves as an attentive listener, not an edict of expression. It offers itself to be explored, and what we find in listening is that the human heart, no matter the damage done to it, perseveres. Richard Skelton was truly compelled to play in this place. He would wake up at 5 A.M., drive to the moor and play guitar, violin, or concertina for hours in an old ruin or by a stream, in hopes that the environment would bestow itself into the recordings. He pressed individual CDs for himself, dressed them in little boxes, and stowed them in secret places where they were recorded, not wanting anyone to discover them. These private relics are still hidden in the landscape, and only he knows their locations!

Patsy Cline - Sweet Dreams (of You) - 45 rpm

Cumulus 2010 Part 3

Saturday night was definitely the most diverse and interesting of the three. Each of the bands was worlds apart from the others, so the idea of "festival" felt more true. Celebrating our differences, so to speak.
Bill Horist began the evening with a perfectly normal acoustic guitar. I say this because after a long period of time where he played highly avant-guarde music with a plethora of talented musicians from around the world, including prepared guitar where the neck is fitted with all kinds of gadgetry to make textural soundscapes, he decided to play guitar and not fetishize it.
Bill's expressions speak volumes as he plays, and his phrasings were so wonderful, at one point I got very emotional. After the show we talked to him about music and the nature of electricity, as well as the entities that aided in his soon-to-be-released album next month. The interview is incredible and I can't wait to share it with readers of The Silent Ballet. This is a wise man indeed.

Cue the fog machine...
I had heard a bit of The Diminished Men prior to the show; knew they were channeling the midnight exotica of an Angelo Badalamenti film score. Nothing compares to the live performance, however. With saucer effected guitar, baritone guitar and tight drumming, their set was exquisite. I could have listened to them play for another hour, they were so good.

The trio known as Bronze Fawn stepped up next, and while at first they seemed like a lot of post-rock bands, they had a few tricks up their sleeves. The main one being that they are very tight. The bass player had so many pedals (a majority being digital effects) he had to set them up on the floor, off the stage. Steve appreciated the guitarist's pedal transitions, which while subtle to the ear, were happening a lot on stage. The final song they played was a dynamic narrative with false endings and a great sound.

Lastly, we had Talkdemonic, who I met a few days earlier in Portland for coffee. I had water, but they are close to tracking a new album as well. The appeal of this band is improving, as a lot of the folktronica beats that accompanied their older material is giving way to a looser and wide open sound where Lisa's viola does a lot more of the lyrical aspects.
Kevin is an awesome drummer, and he always seems to look really happy. I am definitely stoked on their newer material as it is heavier and just more natural feeling. These two peeps are super nice and I look forward to seeing them again, maybe at Kevin's fusbol tournament this summer.