DÂM-FUNK - Invite the Light (2015)

Review by: Ed Luo
Album assigned by: Markus Pilskog

Retro 80’s funk/R&B - it’s pretty fun, but kinda cheesy for me and it’s looooooong, at least for my current semi-fatigued state. The only tracks I can recall at the moment is “The Hunt & Murder of Lucifer” for the fuzzy bassline and “Missin’ U” for the flutes in the background. But yeah, good album if you’re endeared to this sort of 80’s funk aesthetic.

Oh yeah, Q-Tip, Ariel Pink, and Snoop Dogg guest star on a few track, that’s pretty fun too.

2 8 1 4 - 新しい日の誕生 (Birth of a New Day) (2015)

Review by: Nina A.
Album assigned by: Syd Spence

"A collaboration between Vaporwave producers Hong Kong Express and t e l e p a t h テレパシー能力者, ２８１４ is a project that creates cyberpunk-esque, dystopian yet psychedelic and relaxing ambient soundscapes. Drifting off into a daydream is hard to avoid as each track flawlessly flows into another, each with its own unique atmosphere." says a description of this record on youtube. Yeah, well...

… Well, let's look at what we have here. "Birth of a New Day" may be a vapourwave cyberwhatever something but to the untrained ear it basically contains about three varieties of soundscapes. The opening track, Recovery, is more hustly-bustly than most of the others, and I'd go as far as guess that this is not yet the birth of a new day but the conclusion of the old day. And if visions of a late-night timelapse of a busy Asian city play in my mind, it is mostly because this is what is vaguely advertised on the cover. Oh and because of the sirens and traffic noises. Obviously.

The second track is called "Distant Lovers" but it more reminds me of that background music they play in a planetarium while a someone with a pleasant voice and excellent diction asks rhetorically whether we are alone in the universe. So what kind of distance are we talking about here? Is this a metaphor? Are aliens our distant lovers? I don't know. I also don't know whether I have accidentally started listening to F♯ A♯ ∞, so this is your second type of soundscape - a F♯ A♯ ∞ urban dreamscape soundalike, possibly with some public transport samples thrown in for good measure.

And already the following track "Shinjuku Golden Street" displays the third type of soundscape we have on this album, which I have decided to call "the sophisticated urban teahouse / art shop background music". Seriously, the samples are the same. And the percussion. I've heard this thing in a fancy teahouse in Sofia around 2005, I am sure of it. Well, okay, maybe the dreamy psychedelic and relaxing ambient soundscape was slightly less layered and therefore less psychedelic but the essence is surely the same.

Halfway through the album I start thinking of a quote from one of Isaac Asimov's apparently lesser known novels - "The End of Eternity" - in which Noÿs adjusts "the controls of a musical instrument that played soft and complicated strains out of its own creative bowels by striking notes and chords in a random manner: the randomness weighted in favor of pleasant combinations by intricate mathematical formulae. The music could no more repeat itself than could snowflakes, and could no more fail of beauty." Now obviously this sounds like a bit of an overreach even if we assume that the advanced science of the future can make it possible but it does outline what I feel about the music on this record here: I am sure that this beauty has been arrived at by meticulously planning out and expertly timing sounds and samples, in other words, a considerable artistic effort. But why then is a fleeting moment of human warmth ultimately destroyed in my mind by the following rote sampled sound? 

But let me quote another thought I found in the youtube comments (by someone writing as timeparadox888): "The night train back from work. You look at the passengers around you. A man covered head to toe in mechanical body modifications sits to your left, fiddling with a display set into the flesh on his forearm. To your right, an anxious extraterrestrial, its antennae curled back in discomfort at the heavy scent of humanity filling the air. Across the aisle, a wide-eyed child of indeterminate gender watches intensely as the sleek blue android next to them polishes its own detached leg. And holding the child's hand, an old woman, modestly dressed with an unaltered figure, appearing, in general, out of place in her surroundings. She peers straight ahead at nothing in particular, her face fixed in an expression of longing. You put on your headphones."

So apparently this music is capable of inducing tumblr-feels in some people. You know how I know? Well, this person used a descriptive sentence without a verb, a ton of superfluous but evocative adjectives, some annoyingly overused keywords, and decided to address some unspecified "you". I personally give up on any implication that futuristic would have to mean bodies with machine implants and extraterrestrials with antennae.

Meanwhile, the three types of soundscape that I've outlined above have flawlessly flowed into each other more than once and we're back to a hustle-bustlier sound for the birth of a new day, that seems to in this case get born as gradually and in as a gracefully uneventful fashion as the way in which the sun makes its ascent into the sky each morning.

And the reason I quoted other people so much in this review is that I have nothing in particular to say about this predictably pleasant and pleasantly predictable electrofest. Apart from the fact that letterspacing latin lowercase characters and numbers is kinda pretentious.

A YEAR IN MUSIC: MEREDITH MONK - Book of Days (1990)

A YEAR IN MUSIC: 1990
Review by: Andreas Georgi

Meredith Monk is a vocalist, composer and choreographer who is a truly singular artist. Monk uses her impressive vocal chops to weave wordless vocalizations that involve all possible “extended techniques” to create abstract soundscapes that evoke the feeling that she is tapping into some primordial communication beyond language and rationality. Personally, I find I have to shut off the part of my brain that wants to analyze and categorize things, and allow the music to tap into something deeper.

“Book of Days” is basically the soundtrack to a film of the same name, done two years earlier. The theme is roughly the story of a Jewish girl in Medieval Europe somewhere. The album’s tracks are extended versions of pieces used in the movie. The accompaniment is relatively sparse, using mostly instruments that are consistent with the Medieval theme and feel of the album. The music ranges from delicate to surreal to harrowing as themes of hope, wonder, fear and more. The feel and subject matter are decidedly Medieval, but the sparse use of synthesizer with the period instruments ties the themes to modern concerns.

If you haven’t listened this Meredith Monk it may take a bit of work to get it. This is as good as any place to start exploring her work. I’ve only seen short bits of the film, but it’s quite surreal and interesting. My knowledge of her work is hardly comprehensive, but other works of hers that I can recommend are “Songs of Ascension” and “Facing North”, both of which show different aspects of her artistry.

Thumbs up for sure!

DUKE ELLINGTON & JOHN COLTRANE - Duke Ellington & John Coltrane (1963)

Review by: Andreas Georgi
Album assigned by: Jaime Vargas Sánchez

Let’s start by saying this album is great. All-too-often highly touted collaborations fail to meet the expectations. This is not the case here. Coltrane and Ellington are both very deserved in the “master” category, obviously. At the time Coltrane was reaching the peak of his career, which was sadly cut short. At this stage, dating roughly to the “Africa Sessions” & “Crescent” album sessions, Coltrane was still very much on this side of tonality, but he was already pushing the boundaries with extended techniques and freer structures, which would culminate with “A Love Supreme” before his jump into free jazz and atonality.

Ellington’s importance to jazz music can hardly be over-stated. His contribution to the repertoire and to the musical language and depth of the music are enormous. To be sure this album finds Ellington in the later years of his career, long after he made his most crucial contributions. Nevertheless, Ellington was an explorer throughout his career, who repeatedly absorbed new developments into his own style, as is also evidenced on the crucial trio session, “Money Jungle” with Max Roach and Charles Mingus, also from 1962. This album also brings home Ellington’s hugely important contributions as a pianist.

All but one of the tracks are written or co-written by Ellington (or his writing partner Billy Strayhorn), with one Coltrane composition. The album opens with a delicate version of “In a Sentimental Mood”, before switching into a higher gear with the original “Take the Coltrane” and on “Stevie”, where Coltrane fully dives into his own aggressive & progressive style, and Ellington is right there with him. “My Little Brown Book”, a Billy Strayhorn masterpiece, is another highlight of the album, but it’s all great.

Ten points, five stars, thumbs up, whatever you like!

A YEAR IN MUSIC: WEEN - GodWeenSatan: The Oneness (1990)

A YEAR IN MUSIC: 1990
Review by: Francelino Prazeres de Azevedo Filho

I had already listened to The Mollusk a few times before I tried this album, in my opinion it was a good album, but nothing spectacular. I got to download GWS more out of George Starostin’s praise of this album rather than anything else. The first two or three times I put GWS on my headphones, nothing came out but disappointment: it was a huge cacophonous mess.

To give it one last chance, I put it on the USB drive I use on my car, as I like to discover new music on my routine driving. It came up when I was going from home to college one day, and this time it was different. You Fucked Up, Tick, I’m in the Mood to Move, it was trully a mess, but not cacophonous, or at least the good kind of cacophonous! Somehow the album finally got to me, and I could see both the trees and the forest! There are few things one can experience in their life better than when you first perceive an album’s greatness, it is a sublime experience, and that day will always be in my memory. By the time the album diversified into stuff like Up on the Hill or Nicole, it felt like my mind was being opened to a whole new musical universe, but with an axe! I actually got to college before the album was through, but the rest of it surely didn’t disappoint, with Squelch the Weasel being a prog-parody better than the whole of The Mollusk. I’ll never forget that day, and I’ll always treasure GodWeenSatan as the musical marvel it is!

A YEAR IN MUSIC: LLOYD COLE - Lloyd Cole (The X Album) (1990)

A YEAR IN MUSIC: 1990
Review by: Charly Saenz

Well Lloyd Cole is not losing his charm with the years. His voice is even better and his sound is even more classic. This album came out in 1990, after the Commotions split up so it’s an important step in his career. 

“Don’t Look Back” is a somehow laid back beginning with that guitar sweetly jangling along and the classic Cole sound all over, but this time with more punch, the voice and sound is more direct. The female chorus marks the melody hook and the lyrics are the now usual pessimist/realistic Lloyd (“I used to wake up early, now it’s hard to sleep”).

“What Do You Know About Love” is a little darker and it’s a gem the Commotions should have recorded. Great vibe and it must be better when heard on the walkman in the rain. Yeah the walkman. “No Blue Skies” is another radio classic and “Loveless” the easygoing ballad about.. “You fall back into the english way of feeling guilt only ‘cause you feel no pain/You’re crying’ and pleading’ and you’re hell just to be with”, I bet you’re singing to yourself, old boy. Or to me, well, who knows.

Things get a little tougher with “Sweetheart” and a bitter but slightly satisfied goodbye (“I got your letter baby the one that said you’ve been loving me too long/Maybe we should kick it in the head”). But the real winner in this album for me is “Downtown”, an amazing, rolling song where the girls sing their lungs out to accompany an infectious chorus, that killer harmonica and the ever present organ. “Undressed” is another stolen Commotions bit, adorable and engaging.

The rest has some filler, here and there, but the guy tries things, “Mercy Killing” is a great ending with an almost psychedelic vibe and that hanging note in the end.

This is, ladies and gentlemen, first class Pop. LOTS OF HOOKS and a fantastic company for your iced tea (it’s hot like hell in here) or a cool Mimosa if you’re more adventurous.

Don’t let it waste with other trash from its time. Lloyd still has a lot to say, he did electronica, instrumental stuff and more these days. This was only the beginning after a great career with the Commotions. Good pop is like the salt of the earth in music. Let’s drink to that.

HAIL SPIRIT NOIR - Pneuma (2012)

Review by: Jonathan Birch
Album assigned by: A. A.

My first impressions of this album were along the lines of "Dear Lord! What is this horrendous cacophony?!" You see, I have an aversion to generally all things black or thrash metal. My impression of those genres is something involving endless, repetitive guitar riffs, tinker tonker / whizz bang drum solos, bass work that shakes the very foundations of buildings, and a sweaty long haired man doing his best to make his voice go hoarse. But off this album, only the latter is really present in any magnitude. 

The record starts off as one would expect, with a track titled “Mountain of Horror”. From the cover, it's apparent that the subject matter involves some degree of satanic witchcraft and masonry, and what little I could make of the growled lyrics certainly pertains to this idea. However, I had an inkling that this Greek outfit didn't take themselves too seriously, as there is a slight tongue in cheek inflection to some of it, as though they are purposefully going over the top (or at least I hope). I'd be inclined to believe progressive death metal and Devilry have gone hand in hand long enough that any more releases are to be treated flippantly/ironically by the artist. 

While the subject matter is about what I expected, it's the music and production that surprised me the most. There is enough variety added in the form of keyboards (mostly organ or mellotron) that is atypical of most modern rock/metal, but is probably the norm for progressive style. It gives the music a nice layered effect, and each track likes to change things up with some added acoustic guitar codas or tasteful solos. And when the singer isn't doing his best impression of a werewolf, he turns out to possess a pretty melodic and pleasing voice. The closest comparison I could make would be if you combined King Crimson, Van Der Graaf Generator and Cannibal Corse. It's the band's willingness to incorporate classic Prog aesthetics that makes the album most enjoyable.

One of the longer tracks, "When All is Black", begins heavily enough, before morphing halfway through into an almost folksy metal ballad that brings to mind early 70s Genesis, with lyrical ideas that also ring of The Stones's "Paint it Black." With the singer even having a Peter Gabriel-ish inflection in his voice, one could almost imagine Genesis performing this if their music revolved around rotting sores, matricide and summoning the spirit of Beezlebub, instead of Carpet Crawlers and Watchers of Skies. In fact, the second track "Let Your Devil Come Inside" even has a xylophone solo, which added plenty of needed charm to counter balance the imagery of killing one's own mother while inside the womb.

The biggest surprise for me though was the opening of “Into the Gates of Time.” The gentle plucking of an acoustic guitar, with the sinisterly lush orchestral backing of a mellotron, is so jarring in its tranquility that it jerks me into a happy place of sunshine and rainbows. This lasts but a few seconds before the rest of the band comes in with heavy psychedelic guitar and relentless drums shattering the harmony into oblivion. Right away I am whisked off through “the pale gates of time” to someplace not far removed from the Court of the Crimson King… only this place is far, far darker and less inviting. The song continues in a languid, hypnotic fashion, before morphing into this brief jazzey interlude, with a funky Weather Report-ish bass, that lasts oh so briefly. It’s the small moments that are like small slices of delight, to alleviate the relentlessness of “stepping into the darkest gates… amid the strings of time in the candelight”. And yet just when you think it’s over, the track continues with these amazing sounding moog-synthesizer effects amid the crashing instruments, and the song hasn’t even really taken off yet. More strange time signatures and polyrhythms occur, jerking you around until everything is engulfed in the nighttime sounds of crickets and cicadas, with the gentle strumming of a six string to send me peacefully off to sleep; my ears still ringing from the demented lullaby that just ensued.

The last song has a funereal feel to it due to what sounds like a pipe organ, although it’s still a headbanger of a number where the band gets to namecheck themselves in the lyrics a few times. It acts as a nice resolution to the near forty minutes of utter mayhem that has transpired. It ends with the singer whispering “Hail spirit, spirit NOiiiiiir” in your ear a few extra times for effect, before it comes to a close, leaving you with the feeling that someone, somewhere, is busy slaughtering a lamb in a pentagram while listening to this same album. I consider myself a pretty level-headed individual, but the music certainly put the fear of the occult within me, which I guess means the band were successful in their objective.

And that’s the story of my experience with Hail Spirit Noir’s Pneuma. I certainly got the impression that this group were seeking to do things with the genre that most other bands are too lame to even attempt. The variety in instruments, the technical skill and stylings of their playing, the sheer ballsiness of combining 70s avant-garde with no-holds-barred Satanism is what kept my interest for the relatively brief running time. It’s a real adrenaline rush of a record that leaves me feeling a little bit unclean and unholy, which means I couldn’t recommend this enough for black metal fans who are also interested in a bit more complexity.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to listen to some Enya for a bit.