The Third Monthly Report: March 2016

By this point, 2016 has started to develop its true character, mainly based on famous people dying and political and religious extremism: halcyon days! Ah well, never mind, I’ve listened to, looked at and read lots of things which passed the time pleasantly and helped to block out the nasty stuff: so that’s nice. Re those things, more below…

Sweatshop by Peter Bagge (Fantagraphics Books)

1 baggeAt first, Sweatshop feels more like one of Peter Bagge’s more lightweight, knockabout strips like Batboy or Studs Kirby, and compared to the brilliant Woman Rebel it is, but there’s more substance to the characters in Sweatshop than you’d think. This is perhaps because the situation (a group of ambitious young cartoonists working for a grouchy, reactionary, but famous old cartoonist to produce his well-known but trivial newspaper strip) is one close to the hearts of Bagge and his own team of artists. It’s funny and silly, but also well plotted and with some sharp observations about the world of cartooning as well as human relationships etc; a good book in fact.

 

 

Various short stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald 

fsfThe selection I have was collected by Penguin Classics in Bernice Bobs Her Hair and other stories) I first read Fitzgerald’s short stories when I was a teenager and have gone back to them every now and then. I’m always surprised by how funny and sad they are. I bought Bernice Bobs Her Hair because of the beautiful photo of Louise Brooks on the cover and I’m glad to see Penguin are still using it for a similar book of Fitzgerald’s stories.

 

 

 

 

Anthrophobia by Godhole/Crozier & Godhole’s s/t EP (Mind Ripper Collective)

godhoI had already heard both of these great releases but when I saw that Mind Ripper were selling them on vinyl 7″s ridiculously inexpensively. Anthrophobia is a brilliant meeting of two very different musical personalities, with Godhole’s intensely emotive and strangely catchy powerviolence being distorted almost to the point of non-music by Crozier’s harsh noise; it’s bracing and not at all pretty, but it has a real impact and is worryingly addictive. The same is true of the Godhole EP, although it is relatively more disciplined insofar as it sounds like a band, rather than a catastrophic nightmare.

 

 

 

 

Islands by The Cosmic Array (Folkwit Records)

cosmicFor 99% of the time, a complete contrast with the above (though the second half of Drones is surprisingly noisy and atonal), I was especially impressed by the forthcoming Cosmic Array album because I didn’t expect to like it at all. “Alt country/Americana”, ‘immersive and cinematic’ or not, is not really my thing* but in fact this album brings together a beautifully peculiar space-age melancholy that has (to me) hints of the Flaming Lips, Spacemen 3, My Little Airport and even the BMX Bandits and a sound that is a hybrid of UK indie and alt country (Fire Up The Sky is, strangely, almost shoegaze-alt country; actually, Moose’s XYZ was a great shoegaze/Americana album, so maybe not so strange?). Anyway; the songs are catchy and nice, Paul Battenbough and Abby Sohn are really good, expressive vocalists and it really is a big, widescreen cinematic sound as advertised; so put aside anti-country prejudices (if like me you have them) and give it a listen.

*BUT: check out Hale (2012) by The Sterling Sisters if you’ve never heard it: great

 

 

 

Gensho by Boris with Merzbow 

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From mellow Welsh-American music to Japanese heavy noise; Gensho includes a cover, swathed in echo and delay, of perhaps my favourite My Bloody Valentine song, Sometimes and that kind of sums up the album; it’s beautiful and haunting and harsh and (only occasionally) nearly unlistenable, but it’s great. Merzbow’s harsh, but essentially malice-free abstract noise takes (to say the least) the slightly saccharine edge off of the more pop/shoegaze direction Boris has been making over the last few albums and Boris’ essential musicality makes Merzbow feel less like an experiment to test the capabilities of your speakers/ears; less background/white noise-like. It’s a great partnership and I’d like them to explore it further.

 

Changeless by Gail Carriger (2010) 

gail

 A lightning-fast re-read for possibly my favourite of Gail Carriger’s brilliantly witty and tongue-in-cheek steampunk novels concerning the soulless heroine Alexia Tarabotti; I don’t really believe in having crushes on fictional characters, but if I did, I would. I think it was at the end of this book that I realised how much feeling I had invested in the characters. Although she is often compared to PG Wodehouse (fair enough in a way), I’d say (if forced to compare) that for me, Gail Carriger combines the lightness of tone and depth of feeling that I find in two of my favourite ever books; The Rock Pool by Cyril Connolly and Afternoon Men by Anthony Powell.

 

 

 

 

Bacteria Cult by Kaada/Patton (Ipecac Recordings)      

kaadabacteria The third collaboration between Mike Patton and John Erika Kaada is, despite the ominous title, an extremely wide ranging and often light-toned (if moody, in the film-soundtrack sense) collection of dramatic and sometimes operatic (but not always melodramatic) pieces, ranging from the strangely Tom Waits-like Papillon to the Morricone-ish Black Albino. It’s a perfectly judged album, Mike Patton’s voice(s) interweaving with the orchestra to create individual pieces that are at the same time short and vast;too involving to be ‘background music’ it really does sound like an epic soundtrack in search of who knows what kind of film.

 

 

 

 

 

I also rediscovered to mix CDs (never sounds as good as ‘mixtape’) made for me by a friend years ago which embody all that is great about a classic mixtape; I didn’t know all the songs (or bands) before I heard them and I didn’t end up being a fan of everything on them, but there’s something about a home-compiled (nowadays people would probably say ‘curated’) tape of someone else’s music that is fascinating and entertaining, plus these have fantastic collage artwork. I hope the ‘youth of today’ still makes these kinds of things! Anyway, offered here as a kind of playlist not of my making: much of which is recommended –

WEIRD MIX

  1. VHS or Beta – Heaven  weird
  2. Toadies – Possum Kingdom  
  3. This Mortal Coil – Holocaust 
  4. Thee Headcoats – I’m Unkind
  5. The Locust – Skin Graft At 75
  6. Strung Out – Tattoo
  7. The Specials – Too Much, Too Young
  8. Sneaker Pimps/Portishead – Water
  9. An Albatross – The Great Sarcophagus
  10. At The Drive In – This Night Has Opened My Eyes
  11. The Buggles – Video Killed The Radio Star
  12. Billie Holiday – On The Sunny Side of the Street
  13. Billy Bragg/Wilco – Ingrid Bergman
  14. Blondie – One Way Or Another
  15. Bouncing Souls – Break Up Song
  16. Bright Eyes – Something Vague
  17. Cat Power – Where Is My Love?
  18. Cranes – Lilies
  19. The Faint – There’s Something Not As Valid When The Scenery Is A Postcard
  20. Fugazi – Waiting Room
  21. Go-Gos – Lust To Love
  22. The Mars Volta – Son et Lumiere
  23. Mates of State – I Got A Feelin
  24. Mates of State – I Have Space
  25. The Misfits – Scream
  26. Screeching Weasel – Zombie

STUFF + THINGS

  1. Bright Eyes – The Calendar Hung Itselfstuff
  2. Gogol Bordello – Bulla Bulla
  3. Ima Robot – Dirty Life
  4. Ima Robot – Twist + Shout
  5. Frou Frou – Breathe In
  6. Placebo – Blind
  7. Devandra Banhart – My Ships
  8. Devandra Banhart – Legless Love
  9. The Cramps – Eyeball in my Martini
  10. Nightmare of You – Thumbelina
  11. Nightmare of You – In The Bathroom
  12. Jets To Brazil – Chinatown
  13. Sleater Kinney – Funeral Song
  14. Sleater Kinney – Dig Me Out
  15. Sonic Youth – 100%
  16. Tegan and Sara – Walking With A Ghost
  17. Tiger Army – Never Die 
  18. Tilt – Libel
  19. The Weakerthans – Wellington’s Wednesdays
  20. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Date With The Night
  21. William Shatner – I Wanna Sex You Up
  22. The Smiths – The Boy With The Thorn In His Side
  23. Scarling – City Noise
  24. Roy Orbison – In Dreams

and there you have it: March 2016 – onwards!

 

WAIT! Best releases of 2015; those glaring omissions in full*

*disclaimer; not in full

I somehow forgot these eminently worthy records when compiling my end of year list and I couldn’t leave them out. So much for brevity!

Gentlemans Pistols – Hustler’s Row (Nuclear Blast)

Gentpis‘Retro’ without being an exercise in pure nostalgia, Hustler’s Row was that rare ’70s hard rock’ styled album that doesn’t feel like its trying to be any band other than themselves; and most importantly, the songs are up to the standard of those bands that lesser artists try so hard to emulate.

Troyka – Ornothophobia (Naim Jazz Records) troyka-ornithophobiaTricky, angular and unfunky jazz that is the opposite of background muzak; unless you want to feel perturbed. Not at all relaxing, not exactly exhilarating, but strangely addictive.

Bolder Damn – Mourning (reissue, Guerssen Records)

BolderFirst proper issue of this 1971 Florida obscurity; songs are ‘fine’ rather than great, but really its appeal is all about Blue Cheer-inspired, Grand Funk-flavoured heavy hippy fuzz and period atmosphere.

Rachel Grimes – The Clearing (Temporary Residence Records)

TRR242LP_Jacket_RE11183Ominous, brooding and sometimes awkward chamber music; initially it felt a bit perfunctory, but then kept recurring in my head after I thought I’d forgotten all about it in a way that felt significant. And it grew from there

Godhole – Godhole (Mind Ripper Collective)

godho This double EP kind of converted me to powerviolence, a genre that never really held my attention before; seismic, unpleasant noise for sure, but feeling and substance too; this never becomes background in the way pure noise can. The Anthrophobia collaboration with Crozier is equally worthy of attention, for the same reasons.

And more of those honourable mentions…

Colin Stetson & Sarah Neufeld – Never Were The Way She Was (Constellation Records) – kind of sparse & bleak, but sometimes violin, saxophone & clarinet is all you need

Gorgoroth – Instinctus Bestialis (Soulseller Records) – Not the best-ever Gorgoroth album, but pretty strong; and I love Infernus’ guitar playing

Steve Vai – Stillness in Motion – Vai Live in LA (Sony) – somehow not boring; shocked.

Melechesh – Enki (Nuclear Blast) – thrashy, middle-eastern inflected black metal nastiness; as good as anything they’ve released.

Pete Oxley & Nicolas Meier – Chasing Tales (MGP Records) – two brilliantly contrasting guitarists at their best

Napalm Death – Apex Predator – Easy Meat (Century Media): another intelligent, informed and powerful Napalm Death album; still at the top of their game after 15 albums

Spiritual Beggars – Mantra III (reissue) (Sony) – welcome reissue of the classic Swedish stoner/psych masterpiece

Inquisition – Into The Infernal Regions Of The Ancient Cult – Reissue  (Season of Mist) – okay, a reissue, but a very welcome reminder of one of the cornerstones of atmospheric (but very un-soft) black metal

An Autumn For Crippled Children – The Long Goodbye (Wickerman Recordings) – This album didn’t really improve on the excellent Try Not To Destroy Everything You Love, but its mixture of desolate, atmospheric shoegaze-influenced music and harsh BM bits was just as effective.

Venusian Death Cell – Honey Girl (self-released) – People always seem to think I’m joking when I recommend VDC, but I’m not

Bjork – Vulnicura (One Little Indian) – More personal, revealing and emotional than most recent-ish Bjork albums, not sure if I prefer it to Biophilia though.

Blasphemic Cruelty – Crucible of the Infernum (Hells Headbangers) – a short blast from the depths of the US underground, Blasphemic Cruelty have lost none of their power or potency; and their musicianship is outstanding.

Night of the Demon –  Curse of the Damned (Steamhammer/SPV) – There was a LOT of 80s nostalgia in 2015, but metalwise this was one of the best; NWOBHM-influenced metal with heart and looking like a release from Mausoleum Records c.1987; nice

Acherontas – Ma-IoN – Formulas of Reptilian Unification (World Terror Committee) – The orthodox black metal revival lumbered/wafted on throughout the year, producing lots of great albums along the way; like this one.

Árstíðir Lífsins – Aldafǫðr ok Munka Dróttinn (Van Records) – A sombre, wintry collection of folk/classical/BM influenced songs

Leviathan – Scar Sighted (Profound Lore) – pretty much the album fans expect from Wrest at this point, but none the worse for that; brooding, stern, focussed and never comforting.

Goat Semen – Ego Svm Satana (Hell’s Headbangers) – Long awaited and worth the wait, but for me their 2007 live album had an unnerving, sweaty intensity that puts it just ahead of this

Mastery – Valis (The Flenser) – invigoratingly unpleasant, yammering, disorientating black metal noise

Tribulation –  The Children of the Night (Century Media) – melodramatic, cinematic but catchy black metal; like Watain used to make

Drudkh – A Furrow Cut Short (Season of Mist) – For me, probably the 3rd best Drudkh album, but that only shows how great they are; post-Burzum black metal at its best

Blaze of Perdition – Near Death Revelations (Agonia Records) – A good, strong album imbued with a feel of grim, hard-won authenticity

 

Inevitably, the releases of the year 2015 (grand finale!)

 

Kristian Harting – Summer of Crush (Exile on Mainstream)

KH_Summer_Of_Crush_4pDigiSleeve.indd
Danish singer-songwriter Kristian Harting’s 2014 debut album, Float, was an intriguing, atmospheric collection of dark and sometimes harrowing but somehow insubstantial (in the ethereal, rather than qualitative sense) songs. Summer of Crush is both more conventional (the songs are more complete, the tunes more tuneful) and also more accomplished. There’s a cinematic, sweeping, Bad Seeds quality to some of the material here, which heightens the enigmatic quality of the songs, while also rendering them more solid and memorable than his previous work. A masterly album – haunting without being grim -which will hopefully get the exposure it deserves and significantly raise the profile of this unique and talented artist.

kristian
Aphex Twin – various releases

aphex
Not new as such, but throughout the year, Richard James released over 200 unreleased Aphex Twin tracks through his Soundcloud account and although the sheer quantity of music released makes it hard to evaluate as a whole, much of the material was every bit as beautiful, enigmatic and unique as his more orthodoxly released music.

 

 

 

Haar – The Wayward Ceremony (ATMF)

haar

This excellent debut album by Edinburgh black metallists Haar is inventive, intelligent and utterly free from the many clichés of the genre. Philosophical, perfectly contructed and brilliantly played, this was one of the debuts of the year.

 

 

 

 

Louise Le May – A Tale Untold (Folkwit Records)

louise

A haunting collection of songs which can be (and is now being) lazily compared to Kate Bush. Beautifully composed and arranged, it’s an immersive, dreamlike record that has a rich and varied texture, but ultimately relies on Le May and her stunning voice for its poignant, evocative impact.

 

 

 

 

Myrkur – M (Relapse Records)

myrks

M effortlessly overcame the hype and anti-hype surrounding its release, instantly establishing Myrkur as a major player on the black metal stage; beautiful folk and classical-influenced melodies, Danish folklore and black metal that sounds like Ulver used to; this was something like a master(mistress?)piece.

 

 

 

WAIT! NEARLY FORGOT!:

Obsequiae – Aria of Vernal Tombs (20 Buck Spin)

obseq

If this album hadn’t already been so widely acclaimed it would have feature here in more detail. A brilliantly conceived, played and recorded work, Tanner Anderson is one of the very few musicians in black metal who has both a deep knowledge of medieval music, and no desire to utilise it in a cosplay-ish kind of way.

 

 

 

OLD ALBUM OF THE YEAR: contender# 5

Hardingrock – Grimen (Mnemosyne, 2007)

grimen

This collaboration between StarofAsh, Ihsahn and fiddler Knut Buen is a perfect mix of tradition, experimentation, electronica, folk, rock, metal and spoken word elements that sounds like nothing else. I wish they’d do it again.

 

 

 

 

So, that 2015 top five again…

I tried to put them in some kind of order but couldn’t decide which was the best. I think Jarboe/Helen Money has the edge but it would depend what kind of mood I was in, so here they are in no order again:

albz
1. Jarboe & Helen Money – s/t
2. Secrets of the Moon – SUN
3. Oblivionized – Life Is A Struggle, Give Up
4. Enslaved – In Times
5. Kristian Harting – Summer of Crush

There were of course many, many more excellent releases in 2015;

VERY HONOURABLE MENTIONS:

Le Butcherettes – A Raw Youth (Ipecac Recordings) – great, scuzzy, post-Iggy punk with a hint of Birthday Party-like drama; great stuff.

Godhole – Godhole (Mind Ripper Collective) – this double EP by Edinburgh trio Godhole announced the arrival of a major new talent on the powerviolence/noise scene

Mongol Metal (compilation) (Mongol Metal) – great trio of bands mixing the styles of Mongolian folk music with various shades of metal

Horna – Hengen Tulet (World Terror Committee) – Excellent Horna album, to me not quite as good as Sanojesi äärelle, but great nonetheless

Orwell – Exposition Universelle (Folkwit Records) – complicated to play but easy to listen to, Exposition Universelle is a multilayered and very French progressive/baroque pop album.

Scythian – Hubris In Excelsis (Hell’s Headbangers) – a brilliant album which could easily have made the list had I not forgotten about it until now

My Dying Bride – Feel The Misery (Peaceville) – Especially impressive as I’ve never really been a fan of the band, this is an immense, cathartic work of art

Sufjan Stevens – Carrie & Lowell (Asthmatic Kitty) Stripped back to (almost) its basic elements, this is an incisive indie folk masterpiece

Drowning The Light – From the Abyss (Dark Adversary Productions) – The best work so far by the Australian BM terrorists; big, confident and (at times) surprisingly subtle

Shining – Everyone, Everything, Everywhere, Ends (Season of Mist) – you have to respect Kvarforth for not caring that I want him to make another Halmstad. Wish he would though – but this was good.

Sleater-Kinney – No Cities to Love (Sub Pop) – the ten year hiatus since The Woods seems to have been good for the alt-rock stalwarts – as good an album as they have ever made

Barshasketh – Ophidian Henosis (Blut & Eisen Productions) – a strong album, especially notable for the way the band makes a coherent whole out of unpredictably serpentine song structures

Vargnatt – Grausammler (Eisenwald Tonschmiede) – Derided by some for its pleasant qualities, this was a perfectly balanced work of nature-inspired black metal

Faith No More – Sol Invictus (Ipecac Recordings) – Okay, it wasn’t Angel Dust (or even the best album Mike Patton has made in the last 10 years) but it was Faith No More, and pretty good overall….