Video Goodies

GOODIES
It's time to watch some awesome videos!

Seabear - "I Sing I Swim"


Efterklang - "Mirador"


Colleen - "The Happy Sea"


The National - "Mistaken for Strangers"

Venetian Snares - My Downfall (Original Soundtrack)

Venetian Snares
My Downfall (Original Soundtrack)
(10.2007, Planet Mu)
8.0/10

I have a little soft spot for drum n’ bass (surely an extension of my mounting ADHD) but had the hardest time in the past finding releases that I properly enjoy. Then Aaron Funk, AKA Venetian Snares released Rossz Csillag Alatt Szuletett, an emotive Hungarian love letter filled with violins and ridiculously incredible drum breaks. The release was heaven for those of us who were desperately seeking the meshing of drum n’ bass mechanics with some level of humanity. Now, a couple years have past and Funk has, after a fair share of deviations (Venetian Snares is wildly prolific), finally returned to the structure I first fell in love with. My Downfall is being regarded as Rossz Csillag Alatt Szuletett’s follow up, and for good reason. Back are the sad violins, the Gregorian chants and, of course, those drums! Marked as an ‘Original Sountrack,’ the album does take on some more cinematic elements in its flow and whether it is a film soundtrack or not, there definitely feels like a narrative. The one difference in My Downfall is that Funks drum breaks are limited to four of the albums tracks, the remainder of which play out tortured classical mourning. The decision works well in spacing out the hyperactivity so as not to drill its listeners into the ground before they can feel the full weight of the album. Following well in its predecessor’s footsteps, My Downfall reminds of why I fell in love with Venetian Snares signature spastic drum n’ bass in the first place; a gigantic recommendation for anyone with drum sympathies.

-Mr. Thistle

My Downfall (Orignal Soundtrack) samples on Boomkat

Albino Father - Self Titled

LOCAL REVIEW
Albino Father
Albino Father
(2007, Self Released)
8.5/10

Albino Father's profile picture on Virb is, presumably, that of the man behind the alias blurred out of focus. The scene is definitely identifiable, a musician and his guitar, but the details are removed. There is no way to truly know or identify the occupant in the picture by the photo alone. This I think is an apt representation of Albino Father’s music, definitely identifiable songs just slightly blurred, minutely contorted and delicately tampered with. Albino Father takes the darker side of folk and Americana and peppers it with a flavorful dose of resolute acoustic experimentalism. Deftly lo-fi, Albino Father has carved a unique niche in recording aesthetics to supplement his simple, driving songs. The trick accomplished here is that the songs are never overshadowed by their treatments (or lack thereof) only constantly the better for them. The album is truly an unexpected treat and one not to miss, first because it is some of the best music of the year, local or otherwise, and secondly because the album (along with a similarly wonderful Enterrement Ep) is free to download on Albino Father’s Virb page. Don’t lax on this one, hurry over through the link below and download every track, you’ll be better for it.

-Mr. Thistle

Albino Father on Virb

Shuta Hasunuma - OK Bamboo

Shuta Hasunuma
OK Bamboo
(11.2007, Western Vinyl)
9.0/10

Shuta Hasunuma is an electronic artist of the organic, glitched out variety. If those descriptors come off as a deterrent, I would encourage you reconsideration because where a sea of similarly labeled artists have created an almost eternal amount of mediocre soundscapery, just good enough to lure you in before you realize that it is another bored waste of time, Hasunuma has somehow sidestepped the pack and created something of substance; something of soft penetrating power. OK Bamboo is some kind of beautiful amalgamation of Fennesz, Kallikak Family, Shugo Tokumaru and Four Tet all set to the instrumental backbone of Hasunuma’s tinkling piano. Interchangeably playful and shyly downtrodden, Hasunuma covers the full spectrum of emotion through his chameleonesque meditations, using electronic means to bring about the most palpable of human emotions. OK Bamboo is a masterwork of electronic construction and expression as a true and endearing art form and musical process. It is albums like OK Bamboo that make you feel good about life on earth; that make you feel hopeful that there are still people in the world creating and sharing positively beautiful works of art amongst the overwhelming amount of shameful destruction. In the end, OK Bamboo is a quaint album to cuddle up with on a Saturday morning. Absolutely wonderful.

-Mr. Thistle

Shuta Hasunuma - "Prelude"

Subtle - Yell & Ice

Subtle
Yell & Ice
(10.2007, Lex Records)
8.0/10

Subtle’s For Hero: For Fool was one of Sassigrass and my favourite releases of 2006. I am positive that it was in the top ten of each of our year end lists; top five come to think of it. A blazing rampage through every avenue of hip hop, pop and indie rock that you could feasibly imagine, the album marked the continued evolution of one of our favourite bands. In proper form Subtle have taken on the task of completely remixing, rewriting and rearranging the whole of the record in similar fashion to what Wishingbone was for their debut full length, New White. The result, as with its predecessor, is a conglomerate effort filled with friends who assist in the contortion of a terrific album into something completely unique in its own skin. Yell & Ice actually has a possibly more difficult task of reinvention. Where Wishingbone could rely on much of the hip hop remix trickery present in the more formally (by Subtle standards of course) hip hop songs of New White, Yell and Ice has to fumble with the structurally progressive genius of For Hero: For Fool. Despite never being able to match its original, Yell & Ice is a must for Subtle fans. The most prominent and successful collaboration on the album come from Dan Boeckner (of Wolf Parade/Handsome Furs fame) on the crown jewel of Yell & Ice: “Middle Class Haunt.” However, Subtle surround themselves with plenty of wonderful friends including Chris Adams of Bracken, Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio, Markus Acher from the Notwist, Yoni Wolf of Why?. Each adds their own unique voice and artistry to the album. While not perfect, there is nothing that could allow this much creatively driven talent to fall flat. Another great experiment to hold us over till the third full length installment of Subtle’s majesty is revealed.

-Mr. Thistle

Subtle on Myspace

And as a bonus goodie, enjoy this awesome video from For Hero: For Fool animated by SSSR

Clipd Beaks - Hoarse Lords

Clipd Beaks
Hoarse Lords
(11.2007, Lovepump United)
8.5/10

Thank you Clipd Beaks for stepping up to the plate and making the album that Liars should’ve made. With Hoarse Lords the band has created a monster. The album is an atonal mess filled with a rupturing bombast of no wave deconstruction. Gritty and dark, Clipd Beaks scare up a storm of wonderful peaks that are still accessible even after being dragged through empty train yards, abandoned factories and numerous bar fights. Anchored with jarring drums and pulsating base, Clipd Beaks have the hallmarks of similarly deft rock experimentalists but with enough of their own unique presence to marks them as the new leaders of the pack. And with a year marked by a heavy presence of bands in this genre that is saying something big. The monstrous quality of their sound and aesthetic is a force to be reckoned with; the kind of force that will steal away all your other rock records and destroy them. Watch out for Hoarse Lords because once they get their hooks in you there is no escape. A wild ride that only gets weirder and more enjoyable on every listen.

-Mr. Thistle

Clipd Beaks - "Melter"

Oh Astro - Champions of Wonder

Oh Astro
Champions of Wonder
(11.2007, Illegal Art)
7.0/10

Married couple Jane Dowe and Hank Hofler are both sound experimentalists. On their first full legnth, Champions of Wonder expect the eltronic mess to scramble your brain into oblivion. Seriously, this album makes no sense, in a good way. Fragmented samples shatter anything that could resemble a steady rhythm into a dizzying jagged sound collage. Oh Astro is on the same label as another sample working electro artist, Girl Talk. Although there are parallels between them, Oh Astro sets themselves apart because of how experiemental it is. Every sample is sliced and diced into an almost unrecognizeable form. Every sound is tweaked from its original form into a glitching seizure inducing loop fiasco. Oh Astro also take their work into the realm of fine art by performing in museums as sound artists. Champions of Wonder has taken electronic music one step further and has set Oh Astro apart as an act to watch in the elctro world.

-Sassigrass

Oh Astro - "Snow Queen"

Tenniscoats - Totemo Aimasho

Tenniscoats
Totemo Aimasho
(07.2007, Room 40)
8.0/10

Beautiful music needs no translation. Such is the case with the Tenniscoats, a duo from Tokyo and current purveyor of delicate avant pop that despite the language barrier, is emotive and entrancing. On Totemo Aimasho (which their label says translates to “Lets Meet Very Much”) Tenniscoats seem to follow an interesting world feel in their compositions but never overwork their formula. In addition, much of Totemo Aimasho has the excitement and refreshing quality of musicians who just learned how to play – that is not to say that the music is not well played or constructed, but that there is a certain unseen innocence that permeates the tracks. With a childlike whisper, the female lead vocals also capture a delicacy that can occasional tip toe into uncomfortable territory as it is coupled with frozen pianos and unconventional melodic motifs. Tenniscoats show immense promise and with Totemo Aimasho being the first of two full lengths released in 2007, the band seems bent on reaching their full potential. With the beautiful statement of Totemo Aimasho they won’t have far to go in order to get there.

-Mr. Thistle

Tenniscoats on Boomkat

Shows This Week

Thursday (11/29), Billy Joel will be playing an intimate show at the Energy Solutions Center for your parents and their rich friends. Regardless of that fact, I would go if I could afford the tickets. Billy Joel is the man and also one of the first musicians I saw live (the first two shows being Chicago)! But this goes beyond sentimentality, Joel is amazing. Time to bust out that 3 disc greatest hits collection again…

Saturday (12/1), Slowtrain is providing another absolutely awesome local night featuring Paul Jacobsen, Tolchock Trio, Calico and The Lionelle who will be releasing their much anticipated debut CD that very night! Arrive early because it is free and standing room fills up fast.

Have a show that you want listed among our weekly updates for Salt Lake shows? Email us or post it in the comments section.

Burial - Untrue

Burial
Untrue
(11.2007, Hyperdub)
7.5/10

I am not even going to pretend that I know anything about the vast universe of UK techno. With more spliced up subgenres then I could keep track of and a very distinct taste, entry into its dark underworld is virtually impossible. Yet, even with its uninviting labyrinthine artist directory, Burial was still hard to avoid. When last year’s self titled debut hit, those who took noticed almost unanimously marked it as the savior of electronic music and a crossover akin to Portishead’s Dummy. Despite my curiosity at such a rare reaction, Burial’s “Dubstep” was far from the home grown Brooklyn indie that I have been familiar with and even with my much prided openness to new musical forms, Burial provided a difficult listen to swallow without employing preconceived notions of dark clubs and glow sticks. Basically, Burial proved me the pompous music snob that I am. Well, in effort to expand and destroy any hidden pretensions that are constantly a part of any opinion, no matter how honest, I have collapsed to the even more highly lauded follow up: Burial’s Untrue. Now I won’t be able to give you a rundown of the differences of these two albums because I still haven’t heard the self titled debut yet (but will). All I got is a newbie assessment of something almost completely foreign and insidiously provocative. Burial’s beats are crisp, rhythmically beating the pavement like the mechanics of placid rainfall in a dark city. Accompanied by a dark wash of synths, the album occupies an introverted headspace making the album perfect for oversized headphones. While variation obviously infects each track the album doesn’t stray too far from it roots. My biggest stumbling block here is the vocal samples. Harkening too easily the dreaded dance floors that I previously alluded to, the vocals come off as stale and tactless. Granted, a few tracks somehow make these same cheesy vocals work, such as album opener, "Archangel," one of the best single songs of the year, but the album still drags slightly with these samples on the majority of tracks. Burial’s claim to fame is the ability to still make a highly listenable, downtrodden dubstep album that you can’t help but listen to even with the knee jerk reaction to the samples.

-Mr. Thistle

Burial on Myspace

Enon - Grass Geysers Carbon Clouds

Enon
Grass Geysers Carbon Clouds
(10.2007, Touch & Go)
6.5/10

Enon fans waited four years for Grass Geysers Carbon Clouds, Enon's fourth full legnth, and from reading multiple reviews, it seems the majority were very disappointed. Having never really listened to Enon before my views are not tainted by expectations from a back catalog. Upon first listening to Grass Geysers Carbon Clouds I was immediately reminded of a more hyperactive Bunky. It's bass heavy pop rock with twists of new wave, punk, and electro. Switching between female/male vocals nearly every other song, it's difficult to tell whose voice I prefer. The female vocals, provided by Toko Yasuda tend to get slightly annoying when she starts sounding like a twelve year old girl, but on some songs I really like her voice. John Schmersal tends to start sounding like Hot Hot Heat singer, Steve Bays, when he sings loudly. The album lacks variety and is easy to get lost in. Maybe I am just getting old, but it's too much for me. Like co Touch & Go signees, Ted Leo, it's slightly too energetic and hard to keep up with. Like The Go! Teams' latest, there are singles I love, but I can hardly digest the album in one sitting. The composition is lose and sloppy, which adds to the appeal of their garage sound. Overall I enjoy their sound, but their songs don't have enough movement in them to keep my attention and if you aren't listening closely the album all sounds the same.

-Sassigrass

Handsome Furs - Plague Park

Handsome Furs
Plague Park
(05.2007, Sub Pop)
8.5/10

For me, everything the Wolf Parade crew touches turns into something beautiful but subtle and difficult to catch. They have created a kind of new rock. It's not in your face, it's not necessarily catchy, not too poppy, and not incredibly skilled, but for some reason it's remarkably appealing. There is something in the way that these Canadian's are composing music that is interesting. It's the layering, the disenchanted almost muttered vocals of both Dan Boeckner and Spencer Krug, and the distorted guitars, all in their simplicity that gives every project they touch an instant charm. Handsome Furs, Boeckner's project along side fiancee Alexei Perry is no exception to this eerie, hard to place charm. It's minimal brooding drum machine laced tracks all topped off with Boeckner's crackly almost scared sounding vocals. There is something in his voice on Plague Park that reminds me a bit of Beck particularly on "Handsome Furs Hates This City." Plague Park is an easily overlooked release because of it's subtlety and simplicity, but becomes very rewarding to the faithful listener. There isn't a stand out track on the album, it needs to be consumed as a singular work. It doesn't get old on repeated listens; there is always something new to discover in its composition.

-Sassigrass

Handsome Furs - "Cannot Get Started"

Pandatone - What Has Nature Done For Me Recently

Pandatone
What Has Nature Done For Me Recently EP
(11.2007, Creation Centre)
8.0/10

If you have followed FG for any unreasonable amount of time you will be well aware of our affection for the free, web only label Creation Centre who have provided us with some of the most amazing little EPs we have laid our ears on. Today, I discovered the most recent of their tremendous offerings with “lost songs” of Pandatone’s What Has Nature Done For Me Recently EP, and what an offering. The collection strays from the mostly instrumental glitch electronica that I am used to and lays out six slowish experimental pop songs akin (and I apologize for the reference) The Postal Service. Each track is laden with Pandatones audio expertise and flourishes in the simplicity of their melody and the complexity of their swollen synths. Aside from Pandatone’s own vocal input, the featured angel vocals of Michi on “Two Piece” are an absolutely show stopper. The EP also contains remixes of two of the tracks by Praveen and Tonetraeger, both of which I am unfamiliar, but both of which absolutely kill it (especially Praveen) in their rearrangements, creating wholly new experiences. The final track of the six featured follows a simple track of layered synths as they melt heavily into a short pool of bleeding sound. The entirety of the offering is amazing and will have you replaying ad infinitum. One of, if not thee best Creation Centre release yet.

-Mr. Thistle

Pandatone - What Has Nature Done For Me Recently EP (Download Zip File)

Goodies - Leslie Hall

GOODIES
I've never gotten into Leslie Hall's music, I;m more interested in her as a performance artist, or a comedian. Today a new music video for "This Is How We Go Out" was featured on youtube, recieving user comments like: "I think I just died a little inside," from user demogorgon 1313, "eww youtube sure does feature some CRAP! >:O" from Caliburdragon, and "FCKING NASTY, I SWEAR SO NASTY" from user mfsweb. With such rave reviews how could I not post it. One of the best things I've seen in the last 3 hours of surfing the web.

James Blackshaw - The Cloud of Unknowing

James Blackshaw
The Cloud of Unknowing
(06.2007, Tompkins Square)
8.5/10

As a part of a group of new weird American guitar gurus including Sir Richard Thomas, Jack Rose and Glenn Jones, James Blackshaw is subtly unique. Still harkening images of eastern guitar ragas and incorporating the spirit of John Fahey, Blackshaw playing is unique among his peers because it allows the listener to see the beauty of his compositions before having to meditate on his virtuosity. In fact, if unwanted, Blackshaw’s virtuosity (for documentation of said ‘virtuosity’ see the YouTube video below) never even has to enter into the equation. This has always been the winning factor of Blackshaw’s instrumentals for me. However, Blackshaw has been as susceptible as any of his contemporaries for becoming occasionally tedious in his noodling. This is why The Cloud of Unknowing is such an accomplishment. Progressing ever so slightly from the terrific O True Believer, Blackshaw’s latest outing sees him successfully incorporate supplemental instrumentation into his normally purist guitar ruminations. On “Running to the Ghost,” Blackshaw may have created his most beautiful song to date, incorporating Bells and eventually strings to the equation. The transitional “Cloud Collapse,” in the middle of the five song set, sees Blackshaw exploring a far more dissonant, abstract composition than is usually common of him and the fifteen minute “Stained Glass Window” closes the album with voluminous barrage of collapsed violins. However, even with these progressive elements, the album is distinctly Blackshaw’s and retains his signature guitar mastery. So, it is with just minor adjustments that The Cloud of Unknowing has become James Blackshaw’s best album to date, engaging from start to finish.

-Mr. Thistle

Citay - Little Kingdom

Citay
Little Kingdom
(11.2007, Dead Oceans)
7.5/10

Citay makes squealing guitars sound like sissy mellow pushovers. Little Kingdom, Citay's sophomore release, is one of the most chill psych albums I have encountered. An ever steady slow 4/4 pace produced by maracas, bongo drums and other such hippie instruments keep all the songs marching passively along for choral anthem type vocals to be softly sung to. Citay's classic rock sounds a bit like Comets on Fire taking a large dose of Ritalin. Cascading harmonic guitars, electric and accoustic, are played flawlessly and hypnotically. It's classic rock, but it doesn't sound old. Little Kingdom has a refreshing swelling sound to it that makes it hard to compare to anything. A perfect fit into the Dead Oceans line up, Citay makes psych for nappers.

-Sassigrass

Citay on Myspace

Show Update!

Down on the live shows list this week? Best turn that frown upside down because we have just been notified of a Peter & the Wolf house show! Here are the base details:

Peter & The Wolf
Tues. Nov. 20
480 Douglas Street (1240 East)
SLC
starting 7:30-8 PM
suggested donation: $5

Thanks to Dainon for tipping us off to the event. You can check out more info on the show here. So remember, the show is Tuesday - meaning tomorrow - meaning probably tonight by the time you read this. So head on over and check it out. Should be terrific.

Julianna Barwick

Julianna Barwick
Sanguine
(2007, Self Released)
8.5/10

Subject to some recent blog hype, Julianna Barwick’s music is like the love child of Panda Bear’s Person Pitch and Grouper’s Cover the Windows and the Walls. Looping her choral vocals into gorgeous pastoral hymns, Barwick has created thirteen varied slices of heaven with her debut Sanguine. The tonal quality of the tracks is otherworldly in its beauty, reimagining blue skies and clouds. The one draw back to Sanguine is its length. At just 25 minutes, many of the songs sound like sound samples that you would hear on a website advertising a full length album. With a little bit more room to develop Sanguine could have reached the top spot this year. Even so, the tracks are so robust with their own miniature loveliness that it is hard to stay disgruntled for long. With Sanguine Barwick has bestowed the world with a wonderful gift that will hopefully prove to be the beginning of a series of work that will continue to grow and progress.

-Mr. Thistle

Julianna Barwick - "Dancing With Friends"

This Week in Shows

Seems as though the winter months are taking their toll with the sharp decline in scheduled shows. Aside from the few shows I feel comfortable listing here, the only other news I’ve got for you kiddies is that anyone excited for the upcoming Mt. Eerie show can now officially become unexcited because the tour has been cancelled.

Saturday (11/24), Provo talent will invade Kilby Court as Seve vs. Even, Drew Danburry, OK Ikumi and Forest World take over Salt Lake City for the evening.



Saturday (11/24), Tool will be supported by indie experimental legends Trans Am. So, uh, I guess I’ll see you there…

11/29 - Billy Joel – Energy Solutions Center
12/1 – The Lionelle - Slowtrain
12/3 – Team Sleep - Avalon
12/4 – David Bazan – In The Venue
12/4 – Most Serene Republic – Kilby Court
12/7 – Vampire Weekend – Kilby Court
12/7 – Iron and Wine – Salt Air
12/14 – Eyedea and Abilities – In the Venue
1/4 – Band of Annuals, Joshua James – Kilby Court
1/10 – Stag Hare, The Groom, Chaz Prymek – Kilby Court
1/25 – The Future of the Ghost – Kilby Court
1/31 – The Lionelle, Dead Horse Point, Patterstats – Kilby Court

Rhys Chatham - A Crimson Grail

Rhys Chatham
A Crimson Grail
(01.2007, Table of Elements)
9.0/10

Released earlier this year, Rhys Chatham's A Crimson Grail is the live documentation of a 2005 performance in Paris that was written for 400 guitars. The scope and awing magnitude of the event is a difficult one to grasp. The most similar, comparable American performance that I can think of is the recent 77 person drum circle organized and orchestrated by Eye of the Boredoms. Continually products of genius proportions, it can be difficult to attempt documentation of these type of one time only events. I mean how do you properly mic and record 400 guitarists playing out in the open? A Crimson Grail definitely carries the air of musical notes drifting off into the night sky, but as a recording the nuances make this listen an experience of its own. Minimalistic in composition and maximalist in its sonic power, Chatham's A Crimson Grail is a weighty composition of intense beauty. The added underlying echoes of occasional voices and the applause that accompanies the end of each track enhance the respectable feel of the pieces. I almost feel like I should be renting a tux while listening to them. Similar in pace and structure of what you might hear from Stars of the Lid combined with the climactic compositional structure of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, A Crimson Grail is a glorious reflection of redeeming human spirit. So, while a sea of musicians are using pedals to try and make their guitar sound like 400, Chatham has already trumped the lot and shown the world what it is really like; a triumphant slice of bliss that floats on in your mind ling after the receding applause.

-Mr. Thistle

Rhys Chatham - "A Crimson Grail Pt. 1"

Thurston Moore - Trees Outside the Academy

Thurston Moore
Trees Outside The Academy
(09.2007, Ecstatic Peace)
7.5/10

For a man pushing fifty years of age with an innumerable amount of output to his credit it is pretty amazing that Thurston Moore has remained a relevant figure in the modern musical landscape. In fact, the past few years have seen a resurgence of critical success for the living legend that is Sonic Youth. With Trees Outside the Academy Moore continues this streak of success with a group of vibrant guitar led songs that break into some pretty territory with the help of some violin accompaniment and more pared down feeling than on Youth-ian recordings. In a sentence, Moore’s latest recording isn’t necessarily groundbreaking but is an undoubtedly solid group of wonderful songs; pretty straight forward. What I can’t quite grasp is what has compelled Moore to continually record music for as long as he has. I mean he is well past the age when his songs might see the light of day on MTV or the illustrated glory of The Simpsons. I think the short answer is a true love for music. That is what is respectable and what makes his continued contribution to the music world relevant. When music is created for the love of the craft that passion tends to bleed through and push the context of the songs beyond their preconceived parts; a notion for which Trees Outside the Academy is a perfect example.

-Mr. Thistle

Thurston Moore - "Wonderful Witches"

Grouper - Cover the Windows and the Walls

Grouper
Cover The Windows And The Walls
(2007, Roots Strata)
10.0/10.0

Grouper is the musical mystery of Portland native Liz Harris. With a purposely limited palette Harris has created and spectral feast that relies completely on her vocals after they are drowned in reverb and manipulated with multiple layers and effects, with occasional guitar and piano strumming or plunking their way along like a noble lapdog. The simple idea of it has always been a strong persuasion for me but has, up to this point, fallen slightly short of what I wanted from it, making me ache for want of the fulfilled potential it harbored. With the super limited (only 300 copies!!) vinyl only release of her most recent full length, Cover the Windows and the Walls, Harris has not only reached that much desired potential but has created a whole new mark for music of any type to reach for. Aside from the maddening fact that you will never be able to find a copy of the long sold out vinyl (fortunately, I have received word that a CD version of the LP is expected to be released from Roots Strata soon), Cover the Windows and the Walls is the most pleasing album I have heard this year. It is almost instantly relaxing and increasingly beautiful as it drifts like an abandoned ship on an empty lake. Harris is more accessible here than ever and may have stumbled upon some of the most perfect sounding tones and melodies that I have heard in a long while. Cover the Windows and the Walls ranks up there with personal audio sedatives like Eluvium's (also of Portland) Talk Amongst the Trees and Fennesz's Endless Summer. Cover the Windows and the Walls is a perfect musical statement and is deserving of a much larger audience.

-Mr. Thistle

Grouper - "Cover the Windows and the Walls"

Mouthus - Saw A Halo

Mouthus
Saw a Halo
(10.2007, Load)
8.0/10

Mouthus created Saw a Halo (along with everything else they have released since their inception) as the solution for bad neighbors. You know, the kind that have innumerable occupants that are awake at all hours of every day - that never learned how to use their "indoor voice" - who seem to be endlessly and obnoxiously laughing outside your bedroom window. Mouthus is for the kind of people that seem to feel that since they are outside they should just open up the backdoor and turn up the bass on their stereo so that they can hear it while they talk with their cousin who is pounding her own tunes in the car parked five feet away from that same backdoor…and all at 3 in the morning. I obviously have an axe to grind here and Mouthus is the solution. They always have been when the battle gets dirty because dirty is basically synonymous with Mouthus. However, on my first listen of Saw a Halo I was shocked. The opening track, "Your Far Church," is a virtual U-turn for the band, with Mouthus appearing to be turning a sympathetic leaf to those who have endured their crushing audio shrapnel. The opener is drifting acoustic ditty that actually resembles a song. For Mouthus that means vocals with discernable lyrics and instrumentation that can be argued as melodious. You might even be able to pass it off as pretty. However, a minute before "Your Far Church" closes, Mouthus' signature audio destruction begins to leach in and the following track, "Armies Between," transforms into what we have come to expect of the grizzly duo. The remainder of the album tracks a glorious progression in production (the album is their first recorded in a studio) and textured gristle from 2006's The Long Salt with additional depth and movement (including another track featuring discernable lyrics!). The album is another successful speaker destroying, neighbor defeating machine of a record. Turn this up to eleven and watch your neighbors moving trucks arrive. Recommended for noise addicts with no sympathy.

-Mr. Thistle

Mouthus - "Your Far Church"

Tim Hecker - Norberg

Tim Hecker
Norberg
(2007, Room 40)
9.0/10

Noberg will inevitably go down as a little miniature release for Tim Hecker because of its short length and obscure label. This is a tragedy because Norberg is one of the most beautiful musical excursions released this year. A singular track spanning just past twenty minutes, Norberg embodies everything that is wonderful about Tim Hecker. Following the absolutely devastating wonder that was last year’s Harmony in Ultraviolet, Norberg carries on the granulating deterioration of its big brother with a far more inviting quality. Gone is the severity of Hecker’s previous beauty replaced with a constant feeling of warmth like the flawlessly acclimated temperature of some hidden island cove, a minor beach that secluded and perfect like it was created just for you. Norberg was recorded live in similar nature to Keith Fullerton Whitman’s Lisbon in the summer of 2005. Like Lisbon, Norberg shows no signs of this, playing out like a meticulously crafted studio composition. The ambience is perfect in that it completely transports you to your own little paradise. Short as it may be, Norberg is the top tier of ambient bliss.

-Mr Thistle

listen to it free atwww.rhapsody.com

Shows

Shows This Week Tuesday (11/13), The Velvet Teen will be playing at Kilby Court with Say Hi To Your Mom and The A-Sides. The Velvet Teen always put on a good show and are a worthy experience if you have any inclination towards going.



Tuesday (11/13), the grandparents of all things weird and freak folk in the world today, Charalambides will be haunting the Urban Lounge along with Alasdair Roberts. This should be an incredible show from the legends from Kranky records.



Wednesday (11/14), Sea Wolf, Kid Theodore and Saturday Looks Good To Me will be playing the Urban Lounge. A good mix of local and touring bands for this all star lineup.



Wednesday thru Sunday (11/15-18), you have probably seen this on our upcoming shows list and been drooling as much as us. Starting Wednesday, High School Musical on Ice will be storming Salt Lake City with their run of shows at Energy Solutions Center. FG pick of the week!



(11/16), part one of the Friday quadruple (if you count HSMoI) header, Celebration will be rocking Kilby Court for an intense show at an intimate venue.



Friday (11/16), Of Montreal and Grand Buffet will be hosting this weeks most danceable and bizarre party. We are going to dismiss the horrible set Of Montreal played at Sundance the last time they came because of the circumstance and pray that the smaller size of In The Venue will serve them well.



Friday (11/16), the true all star show of the week will be presented by The Urban Lounge with Fog, Old Time Relijun, Vile Blue Shades and The Soundtrack Scene. This is one line up that is worth staying up till three in the morning for. Plus, the following day is Saturday! Everybody wins…



11/24 – Seve vs. Evan, Drew Danburry, OK Ikumi, Forest World – Kilby Court
11/24 – Tool, Trans Am – E Center
11/29 - Billy Joel – Energy Solutions Center
12/1 – The Lionelle - Slowtrain
12/3 – Team Sleep - Avalon
12/4 – David Bazan – In The Venue
12/4 – Most Serene Republic – Kilby Court
12/7 – Vampire Weekend – Kilby Court
12/7 – Iron and Wine – Salt Air
12/8 – Mount Eerie, Watery Graves if Portland, Genvieve Castree/Woe – Kilby Court
12/14 – Eyedea and Abilities – In the Venue
1/4 – Band of Annuals, Joshua James – Kilby Court
1/10 – Stag Hare, The Groom, Chaz Prymek – Kilby Court
1/25 – The Future of the Ghost – Kilby Court
1/31 – The Lionelle, Dead Horse Point, Patterstats – Kilby Court

Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala

Jens Lekman
Night Falls Over Kortedala
(10.2007, Secretly Canadian)
7.0/10.0

I really enjoy Christmas music for some reason. Maybe it is the sentimentalism or the implied good nature that the songs promote or a combination of both. Whatever the reasoning, the music somehow manages to resonate optimism and with an almost supernatural charge, alters my mood to grinning contentedness. It is so cheesy though. Perhaps it is the great lengths at which the music is put away and its brief reappearance that allows it to be palatable or maybe it is just the subconscious realization of new toys that accompanies it. I bring this up because it is not even Thanksgiving yet and I already heard my first earfuls of Christmas music and I was thinking to myself (unable not avoid the happiness it produced), "this stuff is going to kill me before I make it to December 25th." It's a true silent killer, even though I love it, it's a drug and an overdose would induce madness. Though largely tangential, this is mostly what I feel about Jens Lekmans most recent release, Night Falls Over Kortedala. For some reason it resonates the same overwhelming, pompous joy that I get when I overhear Christmas tunes. Wildly over orchestrated and unashamedly cheesy, Lekman has managed an odd guilty pleasure. Where Lekman's previous release, Oh You're So Silent Jens managed to sidestep the guilty pleasure status, Night Falls Over Kortedala runs headlong into each track, shamelessly adding theatrical bursts of strings, horns, synths, bells, pianos and Lekman's own angel voice. The album is wonderful, always sparking smiles, even in its melancholic, love obsessed lyrics, and yet, if I tried to listen to this more than couple times a week I would probably go mad with an overdose of Lekman's dramatic charm. Still, it is a wonderful record while the charm lasts.

-Mr. Thistle

Marsen Jules - Golden

Marsen Jules
Golden
(07.2007, Genesungswerk)
7.0/10

In the last few years it seems like a dump trucks worth of electronically infused neo classical minimalism has be dropped onto the avant landscape creating a vibrant, sometimes overwrought sub genre of downtrodden instrumentals. Marsen Jules was on the forefront of this movement and continues the sentiments here with Golden. Still incorporating the autumnal, frostiness of his previous releases to layers of strings and glitch electronics, Jules seems to be wading in the water a bit, progressing at Jurassic speeds, if at all. Golden moves in and out of its tracks from the simply gorgeous to others that are overly straining in their minor chord chill. The question becomes this: do I really need another overtly emotional indie classical album (Granted that may be more personally applicable than it would be to listeners generally)? The answer, I suppose, is sure. While it is definitely not breaking into any new territory, Golden still maintains a high standard of composition and an undeniable beauty. The album would work well as any casual listener of the genre's token album but probably wouldn’t add much to an enthusiasts table. Marsen Jules maintains the status quo here; fortunately he has set that standard fairly high.

-Mr. Thistle

Marsen Jules on Myspace

Counterpoint - Phosphorescent

Counterpoint

Phosphorescent

Pride

(10.2007, Dead Oceans)

8.5/10

We have often discussed dueling reviews here at Forest Gospel but have yet to find an album for which we held widely divergent views while maintaining similar interest levels. I think Phosphorescent's Pride is now the first instance where this has been the case. We have both been sincerely interested and now, after viewing Sassigrass' review, have differing views on the album at hand. A burst of meandering avant country, Phosphorescent's third album should be the album to breakout him out of his previous undercover status. Lulling you away into a dream land, the album is brimming with atmosphere and space in its nooks and crannies. Phosphorescent is no hurry. Each track carries layers and layers of almost choral vocals from Phosphorescent and friends creating an organic entity that flows like a powerful stream. The effect is beautiful and beguiling. The album manages to haunt without being scary and sooth without being soft, finding that sharp edge between overly accessibility and alienation. In contrast to Sassigrass, I feel that "Wolves" is perhaps one of the most charming tracks. As one of the singular songs that has Phosphorescent leaning on his sole vocals without the choral layering, "Wolves" embodies the strength of his voice when stripped of embellishment. Each track reveals something new, something different making Pride an easy album to listen to from start to finish. In an admission, Pride can become a little belabored toward the end but manages to hold onto its vitality solely because of the strength of Phosphorescent's voice. Not perfect, but definitely worth the attention it seems to be getting as of late.

-Mr. Thistle

Yellow Swans - At All End

Yellow Swans
At All End
(10.2007, Load)
9.5/10

Beauty is not usually the first word associated with guttural noise produced by Yellow Swans. Last year's Psychic Secessions saw the band careening through extended blasts of distortion heavy industrial electronics that must have been the envy of their contemporaries. Yet even with a long history of setting polluted gristle to tape and clearing rooms playing it live, Yellow Swans' latest Load Records release, At All Ends, is actually...pretty. Now I need to insert a qualifier here: this is the Yellow Swans. Nevertheless, gone are the deep guttural growls and screeching electronic squabbles of previous albums. The beauty Yellow Swans have made here is buried deep with deafening walls of multiple layers of distorted guitar, beauty that is waterlogged in trenches of feedback. At All Ends contains a deafening grandeur whose terrible magnificence spreads ominously throughout its pieces. The album spans five tracks, each a heavy sheet of glacial gorgeousness. Each sings sorrowfully like a glorious sea liner sinking into frozen waters, inch by inch, to the horror of its passangers. A definite shocker, Yellow Swans have produced one of the great surprises of 2007 and marked themselves as one of the most dynamic groups on the modern experimental noise-scape. At All Ends is a revelation of gorged heaviness that sparkles with undeniable heart; a work of intense depth and beauty.

-Mr. Thistle

Yellow Swans - "Our Oases"

Phosphorescent - Pride

Phosphorescent
Pride
(10.2007, Dead Oceans)
5.5/10

Pride has me so confused. I am incredibly split on this album, probably more so than ever. There are tracks that I love and can listen to on repeat all day long, but there are some tracks that make me cringe. I can hardly get through them in order to review the album. It's a complete Dr. Jekyl/ Mr. Hyde transformation as Matthew Houck voice goes from hauntingly beautiful to nails on a chalk board obnoxious, and the music goes from mellow experimental to the slowest most boring and whiny alt-country you've ever heard. The sleepers number in about half, but the tracks that are good are SO good that it's definitely worth a listen. Opener "A Picture Of Our Torn Up Praise" sounds exceptionally good on vinyl. It has a layered howling Houck, a low bass percussive rumble, a gorgeous melody and beautiful movement between chorus and verse. "Be In The Dark" and "The Waves At Night" are slow, but not quite to unbearable yet. they still contain the layered folk yips and tunes, and are very reminiscent of being inside cuddled up during a thunder storm, or walking along an Oregon coastline. "At Death, A Proclamation" is a modern day Paul Simon's Rhythm Of The Saints, and my favorite track on the album. It's a redemptive track with swelling vocals and rudimentary percussion. Those are the four best tracks. Those along with the incredibly annoying "Wolves" are the first five tracks of the eight track album. The last three songs slowly sinks into monotonous country with crawling brush stick drumming. I can't finish the album very often. I'm not joking when I say it's unbearably slow and whiny. So there it is, leaving me confused and wondering.

-Sassigrass

Phosphorescent - "A Picture Of Our Torn Up Praise"

Life on Earth! - Look! There is Life on Earth!

Life on Earth!
Look! There is Life on Earth!
(05.2007, Subliminal Sounds)
7.0/10

Life On Earth! is the solo project of Matthias Gustavsson. The guitarist of the Swedish retro psych rockers, Dungen, reveals himself as an able one man show on his first album. Maintaining the timelessness found in Dungen, Gustavsson waltzes Life On Earth! into multi instrumental psych folk territory with uber proficiency. On the opening track of Look! There Is Life On Earth! (watch out for those exclamation marks!) Gustavsson plays a blazing jazz flute solo that turns into a homage a little too reminiscent of a recent Will Farrell scene. Fortunately the unintentionally humorous moment transitions into a solid collection of worthy songs. It is obvious from the get go that Gustavsson is well practiced; however the ambition this affords him occasionally walks the album through rough territory. Unnecessary flourishes including extended outros on a couple of songs seem to bog down the flow of the album and detract from some songs that would hold up well without them. Gustavsson also sings in English on this album which occasionally makes me wish he held to his native Swedish to spare me from understanding some of the lyrics. Fortunately, Gustavsson's talent is so great that the album doesn't suffer too harshly from its occasional missteps. I have been trying to suppress the idea of a time machine but it is uncanny how fully Life On Earth! transports you back in time. I just can't help but feel like a major hippy touring the country in a Volkswagen bus when listening to it. It must have been a beautiful, awkward time to be alive. -

-Mr. Thistle

Life On Earth! - "Sell Your Soul To Me"

WZT Hearts - Threads Rope Spell Making Your Bones

WZT Hearts
Threads Rope Spell Making Your Bones
(09.2007, Carpark)
9.0/10

I'm having too great of a year and its making me look like a critical softy. It's not my fault that 2007 has virtually bombarded me with some of the most exciting and imaginative music of my short life. In any other year WZT Hearts (pronounced 'Wet Hearts') would be the crown of their class but they will just have to enjoy the brotherly love at the top this year. What's more is the fact that the top of this year's list is wrought with some of the loudest most frantic musical oddities of this or any year. WZT Hearts is a compatriot of this theme. As wonderfully enjoyable as it is titled, Threads Rope Spell Making Your Bones is brimming with laser guns, trash compactor clatter and a humming sea of static. The whole of the concoction is quite blissful, frequently boiling over and exploding then simmering then stretching threateningly to the edges of its capacity again as if you hadn’t already been flattened by previous volcanic blasts. The whole album is a quaking, tremulous storm of electronic buzz n' rumble, sloshing like witches brew gone haywire. There are some reference points here but none of them really matter because when WZT Hearts is destroying it they own their sound. The whole of the album tromps about with layers and layers of superlative electronics grit, frenzied drumming and a grab bag of unidentifiable objects contributing to the dissonant delight (see laser guns and trash compactors above). The resultant grandeur makes me feel young with adoration. Threads Rope Spell Making Your Bones is a beautiful album of composed confusion for the kids.

-Mr. Thistle

WZT Hearts on Myspace

Black Dice - Load Blown

Black Dice
Load Blown
(10.2007, Paw Tracks)
8.5/10

With Load Blown, Black Dice has finally made the full transition into head nodding noise that they started with on Broken Ear Record. This is dance music for the beat disoriented; a record for those who are perennially off beat when bouncing to the rhythm. The music is a service really – Black Dice have mashed together so many grooves of alternate tempos into each track that no matter the rate or pattern you nod your head or shake your hips there is inevitably some line of rhythm within the disharmonic bombast that your motions will align with. Essentially a singles collection culled from three previously released vinyl singles, Load Blown lays track after overwhelming track of awkward booty groovin' madness. Maintaining their penchant for the weird and their status among the New York avant garde underground, Black Dice have still managed to be as accessible as ever. I mean I can listen to Load Blown as easily as M.I.A.'s Kala…well, that's kind of an odd comparison in that it is simultaneously true and false (as in M.I.A. and BD are alternately difficult and easy to listen to in their individual ways). In the end Load Blown is truly a singles affair; easier to digest but also never hitting the risky high points of some of their previous efforts. Still Black Dice hasn’t made a bad album yet and Load Blown is a great entry point for newcomers and a pleasant progression for long time fans.

-Mr. Thistle

Shows This Week

Shows This Week Wednesday (11/7), Ghostface, Rakim and Brother Ali will be up at Harry O’s in Park City droppin’ bass and perpetuating Wu drama. If you have any inclination toward hip hop you will probably be at this show.



Wednesday (11/7), Do Make Say Think will bombard the Urban Lounge with their brand of Canadian instrumental rock with Apostle of Hustle. DMST are one of the last active bands that came from the first wave of Constellation mayhem and still one of the best. Live pick of the week!



Friday (11/9), Park City loves their hip hop and this show will reunite legends. De La Soul will be invigorating The 23rd Floor flaunting their crown as underground kings of the mic and tables.



11/13 – The Velvet Teen – Kilby Court
11/13 – Charalambides, Alasdair Roberts – Urban Lounge
11/14 – Kid Theodore, Sea Wolf, Saturday Looks Good To Me
11/15-18 – “High School Musical” on Ice Tour – Energy Solutions Arena
11/16 – Celebration – Kilby Court
11/16 – Of Montreal, Grand Buffet – In the Venue
11/16 – Fog, Old Time Relijun, Vile Blue Shades, The Soundtrack Scene – Urban Lounge
11/24 – Seve vs. Evan, Drew Danburry, OK Ikumi, Forest World – Kilby Court
12/3 – Team Sleep - Avalon
12/4 – David Bazan – In The Venue
12/4 – Most Serene Republic – Kilby Court
12/7 – Iron and Wine – Salt Air
12/8 – Mount Eerie, Watery Graves, If Portland, Genvieve Castree/Woe, Grizzly Prospector – Kilby Court
12/14 – Eyedea and Abilities – In the Venue

If you would like us to add anything to our list of upcoming shows let us know.

Supersilent - 8

Supersilent
8
(10.2007, Rune Grammofon)
8.0/10

Supersilent have always reminded me of free jazz robots (of which I am an expert), with their mechanically wrought experimentalism and numerical labeling. After a near 5 year hiatus from the release of 6 (the DVD release, 7, not included), the group has finally released their latest studio album, wait for it…8. Predictable album and track titling aside, Supersilent continues its knack for inventive, challenging music. Something of an epic (we are talking about Supersilent here), I am just going to take this one track by track: The opener, "8.1" is a slow building wave of skittery distortion that takes more time than usual to sink its teeth in, but ends with a satisfactory grind. The voluminous weight of the sound is contrasted starkly by the immediately following tracks. "8.2" wanders lengthily, a little overly minimalistic for its own good and is followed by "8.3" which starts similarly but is eventually addled with mindless drums and a laser skronk climax. "8.4" dips again into sparse, low volume drone before gradually emerging trumpet and dim percussion save the lull and eventually peak with a brief synth line. It is at this point that the album begins to shed a bit of its metallic skin and capture some narrative. "8.5" returns to the distress of the opener with an incoherent android incantation (cursed jazz robots) prior to releasing some synthetic wooziness and pleasant guitar ruminations. Adding scrupulously planned layers and morphing beautifully, "8.5" turns the album on its top with a soft hand of slowly redemptive chords oscillating wonderfully to the addition of some incredibly delicious drumming. The surprising arrival of emotive composition seems to fry the inner robotic circuitry of 8, sending "8.6" into dizzying glitch electronic spasms. The clutter is empathetically overseen by an angelic voice, primitively swooning over the rubble, but never reassembling it. The impending destruction is blindsiding. "8.7" bursts at the seams spewing forth a blitzkrieg of fiery indignation. The contortions swell madly; bubbling over with intensity, deleting all previous notions of minimalism with is disparaging display. Completing the wild rollercoaster, "8.8" is a short reflection the waste laid of a gregariously malfunctioned beast. While 8 defiantly tests your patience, the exquisite adventure would be tragic to miss.

-Mr. Thistle

Listen to clips from 8 on Boomkat

Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals

Yeasayer
All Hour Cymbals
(10.2007, We Are Free)
8.5/10

Yeasayer’s debut album, All Hour Cymbals, is something of an enigma, listening to it something of an otherworldly transportation, aptly describing it something of a quaint impossibility. And yet here I am, engrossed in All Hour Cymbals with my Microsoft Word cursor blinking at me tauntingly. In all honesty, my first impression of Yeasayer was, ‘this sounds like a Fleetwood Mac injected with experimental world music.’ I still haven’t completely disregarded this sentiment but All Hour Cymbals is quite a bit more than a simple rock equation. All Hour Cymbals is definitely not your average indie rock record. It's upbeat and contains a kind of foreign spiritualism that floats lightly like cumulous clouds in a deep blue sky. Structure that spiritualism with a melting pot of folk, progressive rock, electronic, gospel, world and pop influences and somewhere on the other end you will have Yeasayer. In the end, when all my misguided descriptions show their faults, what you will have is an immensely enjoyable, thoroughly consistent album that would fit perfectly into any music collection. Simply put, All Hour Cymbals is one of the most surprising and refreshing releases of 2007.

-Mr. Thistle

Yeasayer - "2080"

Retrospective - I See A Darkness

Retrospective Guest Review
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
I See A Darkness
(01.1999, Palace Records)
10.0/10

When I become acquainted with an incredible album I generally have one of two immediate reactions, inspiration or devastation. Some albums inspire and motivate my creativity, or at least my desire to be a creative person. Other albums devastate any notion that I might be capable of the type of creativity presented. I See A Darkness is one of the few albums that in some ways inspires, in some ways devastates, but in all ways demands your attention.

I came upon I See A Darkness a few years after its initial release. Music is a constant process of catch up, and in an effort to retrace the musical landscape in which I live I read a critics list of the best albums of the 90’s. It was somewhere on the list, and for an unknown reason this album peaked my interest. Acting on this cursory introduction I bought the album without any notions of what I might encounter. The physical album only added mystery to my approach. The ominous cover was black with a strangely shaped gray skull. On the back was an anything but ominous picture of a goofily smirking, mustachioed Will Oldham sitting on a porch with an old straw like hat on his chest. The disk went into my car stereo.

The first song begins with sparse drums, echoing piano, and simple acoustic bass and guitar. Without much introduction the voice and words arrive. Will Oldham’s warbling, nasal voice sings "Well I’ve been to a minor place." He later clarifies this isn’t an insignificant or small place, it is "minor in a sound alone." From this foreboding start, I See A Darkness proceeds to enthrall, charm, and stupefy with its simplicity, beauty, and conflict. Although slow and dark, with song titles such as "I See a Darkness," and "Death to Everyone", the album is less depressing than one might expect. Will Oldham’s eccentricities color each song, and his smirk seems to pervade the entire album.

To me, the brilliance of the album is epitomized in the chorus of ‘Another Day Full of Bread’ in which Will sings "nip! nap! It’s all a trap. Bo! Bis! And so is this," followed by "ding! dong! A silly song. Sure do say something’s wrong." Now, if you haven’t yet heard the album, try and imagine musical accompaniment and a voice that could legitimize such silly lyrics. Then you will have a vague idea of what this dark yet quirky album is all about. Regardless, it is one of my favorites, and an album that to this day hasn’t relinquished its grip. Also worth notice is Johnny Cash’s cover of the song "I See A Darkness" with Will singing backup.

-Spruce Lee

Bonnie "Prince" Billy - "I See A Darkness"

Amiina - Kurr

Amiina
Kurr
(06.2007, Ever Records)
8.0/10.0

Have you ever been charmed to the point that you develop literal butterflies in your stomach? I mean just really get your socks charmed off? Kurr, the debut release from Amiina is soaked in this type of charm. Being the backing strings for the seminal Icelandic powerhouse Sigur Ros, Amiina have simultaneously been brought into the spotlight to many otherwise oblivious listeners and left in the critical shadows because of their associations with the former. The effect produced an unnecessary taste of mediocrity in some reviewer’s mouths, and, on a cursory listen, I was ready to jump on the band wagon of luke-warm appraisal. In my initial haste I neglected the subtle elegance that absolutely enchants these songs. The album is instrumental (though voices as instrumnets are used), but avoids the down-tempo moodiness of most post rock and neo classicalism that Amiina could be grouped with. Amiina's instrumental delicacies are actually quite warm, comforting you like a favourite blanket next to a winter fireplace. Each note of the album has been placed carefully and each instrument added thoughtfully to beautiful results. Kurr is relieving, its fragile layers deftly reaffirming the power of well composed music.

-Mr. Thistle

Machinefabriek - Weleer

Machinefabriek
Weleer
(05.2007, Lampse)
9.0/10

Machinefabriek's Weleer is gigantic in scope. Rounding up tracks from the seemingly endless amount of limited 3" CD-Rs he has released, the Dutch sound composer has created a two disc juggernaut of sweeping beauty and granular destruction. Machinefabriek's range is so wide that comparisons range from the elated beauty of Eluvium to the coarse electronic treatments of Yellow Swans, and everything in-between. However, where most artists who dip their hands into multiple genres find their works watered down, Machinefabriek somehow keeps everything extremely fresh and rewarding. Nothing on Weleer seems second rate or quickly produced. The entirety of the two discs (spanning over and hour and a half) is the crème de la crème of soundscaped experimentalism. Listening to Weleer is relentlessly euphoric and seems to have the ability of sinking deep into your subconscious, soundtracking the moments you wander the earth sans headphones. I say 'wander the earth' because Weleer is biblical, transforming and affecting in its reach. The impact can become difficult to describe because of the peak of its effect. The people at Lampse have done a wonderful thing releasing this collection of recordings to be consumed as one.

-Mr. Thistle

Machinefabriek – "Oi Polloi"