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"