Peaking Lights, Themselves, David Cunningham & Yasuaki Shimisu

Peaking Lights
Imaginary Falcons
(2009, Night People)
RIYL = Oneohtrix Point Never, Wet Hair, Ducktails

There is something tropical and swampy and humid about Peaking Lights. On Imaginary Falcons, everything is muddied and meandering like it was lost in a gorgeous analog fog. And analog it is. This stuff is really amazing, blissed out and probably best heard within the confines of a mosquito net. Out on Night People, the album art work was created by printmaking master mind and generally all around awesome artist, Shawn Reed. With the demise of Reed’s former band, Raccoo-oo-oon, Peaking Lights are the perfect band to inherit the Night People crown. To be clear, this isn’t a Raccoo-oo-oon record. No no, Imaginary Falcons is ultra relaxed. No psych freak outs here, just psych dream outs and what not. Another of my very favourite releases of the year.

Themselves
theFREEhoudini
(2009, Anticon)
RIYL = Subtle, Jel, Clouddead

Whaddup suckas? You didn’t know? Yeah, that’s right, Themselves dropped a free mixtape that is pretty darn great. In classic mixtape form (or so I’m told) Doseone and Jel join forces with plenty of guests from the Anticon roster and elsewhere. Lovely morphing proggy hip hop that makes you think to yourself: “yeah, I could start listening to hip hop again!” Because hip hop is pretty lacking for me right now. Someone do something worthwhile – please!!!! And then there was Themselves. Available free (for a limited time I think, so click away):

Download theFREEhoudini here

David Cunningham & Yasuaki Shimisu
One Hundred
(2009, Staubgold)
RIYL = Arve Henricksen, Philip Glass

Sick improvisations from two sick improvisationalists. Both have been around for decades, notably screwing with the boundaries of experimental jazz and succeeding. I’ve never heard their previous stuff, but I assume it is good because this is really great. Cunningham is bombing some electro-acoustics on the geetar and Shimisu is breaking down a saxophone like an austere army drill instructor. Straight glory. It has a great home on Staubgold, but would be equally well received on Rune Grammofon or the like. Just really solid if you’re into contemporary free jazz or whatever.

-Thistle

Raccoo-oo-oon - Raccoo-oo-oon

Raccoo-oo-oon
Raccoo-oo-oon
(11.2008, Night People/Not Not Fun)
Verdict = Earning their oo’s with an expansive swan song

2008 has been miraculous as any year of music in regards to exciting new tunes from fresh new faces and inventive musical genius from old torch bearers alike. However, despite all the standard pomp, there has been some casualties along the way that have been particularly devastating for me. As I mentioned in my review of Millipede’s Hyrule, experimental stalwarts, Yellow Swans and Wzt Hearts, both announced their respective dissolutions this year (though Yellow Swans have promised their last word in a release for 2009). No band can continue forever, and personally I wouldn’t want them to, but it is still sad to hear of bands bowing out in the midst of such wonderful output. Unfortunately, Raccoo-oo-oon, the eponymous noise rock troupe has added themselves to the list of glorious bands who went their separate ways in 2008. Wooly Mammal alerted me to this first in a somewhat bittersweet announcement of Raccoo-oo-oon’s most recent and final release. It is hard to reconcile the great excitement of a new full length Raccoo-oo-oon album with the fact that it will also be the last that we’ll ever hear. It has been a relatively brief, though richly fertile run for the band and the idea of this being their swan song brings with it some hefty baggage. The album contains seven untitled tracks, the first of which threatens, quite literally, to devour the whole of music released in 2008. After meandering unassumingly for about three or so minutes, the band locks into a primordial groove reminiscent of A Silver Mount Zion when they’re bearing their teeth, granted, Raccoo-oo-oon carry a few extra rows of teeth. It’s just ferocious. However, in the midst of their powerful fit of rage, the band members seem to become confused and disoriented on subsequent tracks like wild animals in the grips of some mortal wound. With gaping bloody holes Raccoo-oo-oon spends the remaining hour+ passing in and out of consciousness, staggering and hallucinating, amassing grizzly strength only to suffer its gory depletion in a harrowing scene of wide eyed grief and frenzied rage. It’s simultaneously exciting and bewildering. The band hasn’t pulled any punches here. Every raw ounce of energy has been summoned and funneled into these tracks and, for better or worse, they have filled every last second available on the disc. It is a hard album to eff with. You really have to know what you are getting into when you get started or you’ll probably get injured - mentally and physically. It is simply unpredictable. One moment the band is locked into a furious jam that seems fit to tear down the wall of China by sheer audio fervor alone and the next minute the group has wandered, each in opposite directions creating some incomprehensible instrumental jargon. At first I was elated, I mean that first track is just about the best thing the band has ever done, but then I was disappointed by the magnified disorder that directly followed it. My feelings continued to fluctuate after through that first listen, however, with a patient and open ear, and several repeat listens, I believe that Raccoo-oo-oon has done something brave here. The album is the emotive embodiment of the celebration and sorrow of a band in the twilight of its life. Without the desire to please not a soul but themselves, Raccoo-oo-oon has thrown themselves and all the blood and sweat that they contain into a glorious requiem fit for the microcosm of noise rock of which they were deities. I would offer a “rest in peace,” but I hope that the ghost of Raccoo-oo-oon continues to haunt the souls of men for a long long time.

Mr. Thistle

Raccoo-oo-oon Website

Ryan Garbes - Freedom Now

Ryan Garbes
Freedom Now
(2008, Night People)
Verdict = Freak Jazz

Ryan Garbes is the drummer of seminal deranged psych-punkers, Raccoo-oo-oon. As such, he seems to be infected (along with his band mates) with some sort of fantastic disease that propels him to be constantly producing ridiculous amounts of DIY gold in the form of cassette tapes, zine style art books and now this here freely downloadable album titled Freedom Now. It is wondrous disease to be sure, marking Garbes as a preciously idealistic artist compulsively creating to his wits end. The ailment is probably pretty similar to zombification by my estimation so Garbes is probably decomposing as we speak, but if you’re one of the lucky ones to catch hold of the spoils prior to Garbes’ early demise it seems more than worth it (Um, you don’t really have a life threatening disease which simultaneously compels you to create records and results in the decomposition of your molecular structure, do you Mr. Garbes? Because, if you do, I am going to feel like a dick). Anyway, if you are familiar with Raccoo-oo-oon your entrance to Freedom Now will be a bit more familiar, however, Garbes still follows his own particular muse here. Freedom Now spans six tracks of propulsive, chaotic, animalistic “freak jazz.” Can I coin that as a term? Maybe I don’t want to, but either way Ryan Garbes embodies that. Combining a flurry of percussion and a din of guitar abuse swimming in healthy pool of tape rumble. Garbes exercises his demons here gloriously providing receptive light despite his potentially terminal, compulsive-art-producing-yet-decaying disease. Oh, and did I mention that this download is free (check link below)?

-Mr. Thistle

download Freedom Now from Night People now!