I'm just starting to figure this blogging shit out so bear with me...It's Halloween, and I'm gonna try to write a couple more of my reviews which will most likely be read by few.


Pothole Skinny
Our Vanishing Landscape CDR
(Foxglove)

From what I've read this band is from Jersey City. I've been to Jersey City, and all I could think of was the Sopranos when I was there. Not to say it's crappy, but the landscape is fairly accurately represented on the show. It's a little old town surrounded by industry, in the shadow of NYC. Lotsa paving, lotsa dirt. I'm sure there are some nice neighborhoods, but nothing about it brings to mind quiet, rural sounding psychedelia. Of course, that's what this is. It does get a little menacing at times (as all good psych should), but for the most part it consists of repetive, acoustic based riffs, layered with flutes, electric guitar, effects, etc. This CDR consists of three tracks, the shortest of which is 14 minutes, so all of these tunes take their time building into droney weirdness. When I first heard this I thought it was good, but maybe a little too slight and un-threatening. The more I listen to it, however, I've found that it's actually quite layered. There's little guitar and flute (Or whatever instrument is making flute-like sounds) detours all over the place, and some general noise making that I missed the first time around. Pat Gubler (PG Six) contributes to the last track, and although this recording doesn't sound like PG Six or Tower Recordings (PG's other bands), it is a strong track. Nice guitar stuff, well worth investigating. This is limited to 150.

www.digitalisindustries.com/foxglove.html




Coleclough & Murmur
Husk
(ICR)

I picked up the 2CD limited edition of this release because I sold a bunch of stuff on eBAY, and I had a good amount of PayPal dollars (which almost always go right back into music purchases.) I start by saying this, because, if that wasn't the case, I probably wouldn't have shelled out the over $30 that this is selling for in the US. You see, I'm a cynical motherfucker, and I assume that a 2CD limited edition is going to consist of one good album (maybe), and an additional disc of lame remixes or shit that didn't make the cut for the "good" album.
Much to my suprise, in this case, the bonus disc actually overshadows the "good" album. The first disc consists of four pieces over 74 minutes. Of course, being a John Coleclough work, this is drone music, and it seems to be sourced from found sounds. I think a lot of the found sounds are Murmer's department. I've never heard anything by Murmur, so I won't pretend to be an expert. The first track starts with kind of a refrigerator hum, then slowly builds with the addition of eerie layers of sound. Throughout the disc, there's also storms, water sounds, kids voices, forest sounds (ala Monos), and other stuff which I couldn't identify. The first CD is cool, but the bonus disc is much more active and intense. It has three tracks, and is about 45 minutes long. It's harder to make out the found sounds, yet these pieces are almost melodic at times. I recommend selling some crap music, so that you too can afford the limited edition 2CD version. It's limited to 200.

www.icrdistribution.com/ or, in the U.S. try:
www.ominousdrone.com




We Jam Econo
The Story of the Minutemen DVD

It took me a while to watch this entire thing as there is over 5 hours of footage on both DVD's. The movie itself is a fairly straightforward documentary. It includes interviews conducted with the band over 20 years ago, and concert footage of the band in action. The quality of the concert action is raw, but the energy level is high, so it flows nicely within the framework of the film. The film also includes interviews with the surviving band members now, other musicians, and family members. The other musicians are people who either know them, or were influenced by them in some way. Some of the musicians are: Milo Aukerman (Descendents, All), J. Mascis, Joe Biaza (Sacharine Trust), John Doe (X), Flea, Henry Rollins (Black Flag), Richard Hell, Keith Morris (Circle Jerks, Black Flag) and the ubiquitus Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth, collaborations with every known musician on earth).
The most interesting aspect of the movie is the way it depicts the friendship between Mike Watt and D. Boon, prior to his untimely death in 1985. Mike Watt's interview segments, though rambling at times, manage to elevate this film above the typical rock documentary. Watt provides a tour of San Pedro, where he and D. Boon grew up, and met as teenagers. He explains how neither of them could play an instrument at the time, which makes for some pretty amusing stories. This film comes off as both a memorial to D. Boon, and a tribute to the DIY spirit that the Minutemen, and many of the underground bands of their day embodied. In short, if you're even remotely interested in their music, this movie is indispensable.
The extras are cool too. There's almost 4 hours of extra footage in the form of deleted scenes, all of their music videos, and two full concerts. Outstanding.

www.theminutemen.com/

Hi, this is my blog. Seems like a pretty ridiculous thing to do, but what the fuck? I'll just roll right into some reviews of some stuff I've picked up lately. I'll keep this up as long as my atention span will allow.




Charalambides
A Vintage Burden
Kranky Records

A Vintage Burden is Charalambides latest studio album, which comes two years after their last official album, Joy Shapes, and a few CD-R releases on their Wholly Other label (some of which I plan to review at some point). Unlike Joy Shapes, which included Heather Leigh Murray (also with Scorces), Charalmbides are Tom and Christina Carter for this release. This album is definitely less tense or "difficult" than the previous album, and therefore, it's their most accesible album to this point. Doesn't make it a commercial album though. The songs tend to build slowly, feature repeating guitar lines, and are for the most part pretty gentle. I've heard Charalambides described as psych/folk before, probably due to the fact that there's no drums or bass, and because Christina has a fairly reedy vocal quality. I agree that there a psychedelic quality to their music, but I think that vocally Christina is a little closer to Patty Waters, and, I may be insane for thinking it, but some of the songs here remind me a little bit of Bless It's Pointed Little Head era Jefferson Airplane. But it would be doing an injustice to this work to pigeonhole it in any way. I must say, the vocals on this album are beautiful. Christina Carter's voice is multi-tracked most of the time, creating these weird, just in tune harmonies.
"Spring" and "Dormant Love" are as close as this band comes to verse/chorus music, and because of their inclusion, this album feels a bit more structured than some of their other releases. The next two songs "Black Bed Blues" and "Two Birds" are slow, long tracks that each build to fascinating multi-tracked guitar explorations. I've listened to this album over and over, and each time I listen to it, I hear something new. The guitars throughout this album are meticulously placed. There's multitudes of sounds because of the use of picks, acoustics, pedal steel, ebow, slides, etc. It's impossible to tell what was improvised, and what wasn't, but everything comes together beautifully. My favorite album of the year by far.

www.kranky.net



Zaika
Recording From Il Corral CD-R
(Heavy Other)

Zaika is Tom Carter from Charalambides and Marcia Bassett from Double Leopards. This recording consists of one 29 minute piece, starts out with some nice feedback shaped drone, and eventually work its way up to an intense racket around the 18-20 minute mark. I wish I could describe it in more detail, but it's fairly impossible to tell who's doing what. Other than some Psych guitar and ebow, it's equally impossible to guess what instruments or effects are present here. This is a pretty heavy noisefest I guess, but I find it to be pleasant listening, despite Tom Carter's description of this as "a barbed wire q-tip". Yeah, it's got loads of feedback, but it all seems to fit together nicely, and it never gets boring or aimless. This CDR's limited to 205, on Heavy Other, which is an offshoot of Wholly Other.

www.wholly-other.com

Bardo Pond

Live

(aRCHIVE)

I have to admit I haven't kept up with this band since Dilate came out, however long ago that was. I picked this up because aRCHIVE seem to put out cool stuff, and just to see what these guys are up to these days. This CD is a live recording, made at somebody's house in Philly, to an audience of around 20 people. The first track, which clocks in at over 1/2 hour, starts and ends with a mellow psychedelic jam, which is droney, spacious and actually a little relaxing. The middle of the piece peaks with a bed of feedback, effects and violin, making it an immersive listen. The second track doesn't quite grab me quite as much as the first, not that it's bad or anything. It doesn't seem to get off the ground quite as much as the previous one, maybe because it's only 12 minutes or so in length, and doesn't have as much time to develop. The cool thing about this release is that it has a real you are there vibe. Listening to this CD, it's easy to imagine yourself sitting in somebody's living room with a beer (or whatever else is available), mellowing out to good music. Looks like it's time to dig up some Bardo stuff that I've missed out on these past few years.

www.archivecd.com