38.

John Wiese
Soft Punk
(Troubleman Unlimited, 2007)

My ultimate conversion to Soft Punk forced me to realize that I was indeed insane, bi-polar and possibly schizophrenic. I mean, is there any other explanation for being able to enjoy Wiese’s towering, manic noise collage? I guess that means there are a whole bunch of us roaming the earth because I know I’m not the only one. Regardless of its abrasiveness, Soft Punk is really just that, punk. All of its sentiments embody a true punk aesthetic while being both more artsy and more filthy. It is a weird place to inhabit, but Wiese pulls it off magically and Soft Punk has become the aural exercise of the decade because of it.

-Thistle

Blank Dogs - On Two Sides

Blank Dogs
On Two Sides
(2008, Troubleman Unlimited)
Verdict = Oh no! Run! It’s more lo-fi pop! J/k, pull up a seat and stay awhile.

Lo-fi outsider pop is 2008 as far as I’m concerned. It’s a bell I’ve rang about a million times by now and it’s become a pretty lazy tagline. Blank Dogs, a one man bedroom project, is certainly Lo-fi pop and he’s most definitely an outsider, but not of the trendy 2008 kind. First off, while No Age, Time New Viking and the Siltbreeze roster mine punchy punk influences, Blank Dogs finds a little more by way of new wave and The Smiths. Secondly, while the aforementioned trendsetters (and seriously, despite how trendy they are, I still love ‘em to death) produce jagged bits of feed back and occasionally abrasive, scuzzed out soundscapes, On Two Sides turns inward, producing hazy, muted pop gold topped with vocals that seem to be wrapped extensively with audio gauze. I'm kind of painting the record into a corner here because while the majority of the record unfolds in this manner there are still blissed out punk anthems wrapped in barbwire interspersed, granted, the barbs are a little sparser. However, the differences are clear and Blank Dogs is a completely unique project, following no path but its own. On Two Sides is essentially a sugary pop record that has been set out in the sun for too long, warped and melted into a syrup mess that is even more delicious as a result. Troubleman Unlimited has produced a limited run of the album on vinyl and tape so scrape one up while you can, you won’t regret it.

-Mr. Thistle

Blank Dogs blog

John Wiese - Soft Punk

John Wiese
Soft Punk
(01.2007, Troubleman Unlimited)
Verdict = Art Noise Perfection

Almost exactly one year ago, John Wiese finally allowed himself to release a “debut album.’ The idea of this should come as a bit of a bold statement considering Wiese’s extremely lengthy back catalog of releases on seemingly every record label and recording format known to modern man. That said, Soft Punk somehow reveals itself as a seminal statement in Wiese’s convoluted history and if this is his debut only the most exiting of possibilities wait in store. Exhibiting a cut and paste aesthetic dealing with various blunt textures and punk samples, Soft Punk opens up new possibilities for the structure of experimental sound (de)construction. The compositions ebb and flow through schizophrenic flurries of noise and waning alleys of lightly glistening silence create an engaging listen that moves away from the lazy drones that seem to be so easily perpetuated by anyone with a loop pedal. It is truly a breath of fresh air in an otherwise deadening scene filled with little innovation. It is with this approach that Wiese has created something that not only contains that early spirit of punk that seems all but completely lost to the modern landscape of musicians, but also seems to be something that would fit aptly within a hip white walled gallery. It is a dual nature rarely achieved in any format and one which can only be created by true artistic sensibilities. Soft Punk is that creation and a seminal, unfortunately overlooked album on the lapsed horizon of 2007. If I would have had these tones running through my headphones in 2007 Soft Punk would most assuredly cracked the top ten spots on my year end list. A terrific case of high expectations being not only matched, but trounced in the wake of something wholly original and inspiring; bravo!

-Mr. Thistle

John Wiese - Winter Vacation