The Abstractions: Sonic Conspiracy (CD)
Like the twisted and dark soundtrack to an archdiocese surveillance video of an alter boy being raped by a priest, this local improv+horrorcore combo's record will creep your ass out with severe genius. Psychotic and gorgeously bludgeoning take on improv death-jazz, with harrowing and paint-peeling vocals, careening, falling-down-the-stairs guitar, hair-raising sax shrieks, crazed strings, skeletal percussion, and so on. Plus, they're local. I do not think you'll be hearing this one on a Clear Channel station. Essential, chum. (cactus)
Arco Flute Foundation: Everything After the Bomb is Sci-Fi (CD)
Experimental outfit with a range that goes from Mogwai/Tarental-esque atmospheric guitars to walls of experimental noise reminiscent of Volcano The Bear or Nurse With Wound--often in the same song! The band hails from Edinborough, PA, and this is their third album. Mostly long improvisations, but with a couple short rockin' tracks thrown in for contrast. Highly recommended. (Stereo Steve)
Kevin Blechdom: I Love Presets (CD)
Local laptop nut is the poppy end of the duo Blechdom From Blectum. Nice cover of "Private Dancer," originally popularized by Tina Turner. (T.O. Ted)
Rhys Chatham: A Rhys Chatham Compendium (CD)
Another killer Table of the Elements release, this one collects a few excellent tracks from the upcoming box set 1971-1989 retrospective of this terrific no-wave electric guitarist. Fans of Branca, Sonic Youth, Wire, Mission of Burma, etc., will love this. Some tracks are minimalist and long and droning, with up to 100 electric guitars, and others are short, post-punk angle-and-edge explorations. Brilliant, and a great introduction to this oft-forgotten chap. (cactus)
Crawlspace: The Exquisite Fucking Beauty of Crawlspace (LP)
From 1995. Long, droney, stoner rock jams, and retarded-sounding, unintelligible vocals.
I played the entire first side this morning on my show and someone called and said it was the worst shit he had ever heard, which made me like it even more.
On the Sun City Girls' record label, Majora. (Stereo Steve)
Deerhoof: Reveille (CD)
Local art-pop-crash genius combo. This amazing record is their best yet, and it's like Captain Beefheart at the helm of a Gang of 4 cover band in an Osaka sake joint. At turns beautiful and delicate and squealing and fishtailing into a spectacular head-on collision. The blend of angular guitar, smashing drums, and that angel-bird's voice: wow. Get thee to the record shoppe. (cactus)
Elf Power/
Masters of the Hemisphere
/Wussom*Pow live at Bottom of the Hill
Elf Power, like Guided By Voices, likes to rock much harder in its live shows than its albums would lead one to believe. This time around the band boasted three guitars in some songs, and it definitely rocked. I confess, I would like to have traded in one of those guitars for a trumpet on "Jane," but that's a minor nit: I had a great time. If you were looking for some of the oddball numbers from the earlier albums--I wasn't, but I know someone who was--you were out of luck: this was a full-on, straight ahead indie-pop show. Unsurprisingly, there was a heavy emphasis on songs from the new release, Creatures, with a few older songs and a few telling covers (The Dwarves, David Bowie, and the Brian Eno song that really is on When The Red King Comes, Mr. Mystery Guest DJ) sprinkled in. Masters of the Hemisphere was a good match sonically for Elf Power (perhaps not surprisingly, as they shared a few members), but not being a fan of theirs until after the show I can't say whether they were particularly good or bad that night--though I can say I hope the composer and singer of "Poison" will commit the song to vinyl and/or aluminum sometime soon: it was a hoot. Alas, I missed Wussom*Pow entirely--though I would not have if there had been a full menu at the club that night, hint, hint. One small question for those of you who stuck around for Elf Power's set: were you all asleep? I know it was late, but it was a little embarrassing that we couldn't muster a little more enthusiasm, not to say a little more volume. (Owl)
The Epoxies: S/T (CD)
Fast-paced, well-produced, keyboard-heavy, punky pop. Catchy songs. (Miles)
Fred Frith: Freedom in Fragments (Performed by Rova Saxophone Quartet) (CD)
Smoothly jagged, jaggedly smooth compositions for multiple saxophones, witnessing moments of jabbery convolution, flowing quasi-exposition, and surreptitious collusions of both; Frith, never one to follow the well-traveled path, strays into the woods on this release, but remains within walking distance of civilization--these compositions, though by no means mainstream, temper the shocking dissonance and grit for which some of his recordings are known. (Prem)
Guided By Voices: Universal Truths and Cycles (CD)
Back on Matador, the Robert Pollard-led version of GBV gives you a bunch of short, melodic rock tunes. High points are "Christian Animation Torch Carriers," which has a relatively complex structure and some actual guitar solos, the title track, and "Storm Vibrations." (Stereo Steve)
The Kills: Black Rooster (EP)
Excellent stripped-down rock from this London duo. A la Pink and Brown. (Miles)
Leavenworth: Number Four (CD)
"Please remain seated with seatbelts securely fastened...we are experiencing turbulence...flight crew, please restrain terrorist in seat 14F to prevent further gyrations from his electric guitar and disarm terrorist in seat 14E of his drumsticks...malignant Leavernworth soundwaves destabilizing aircraft...cannot maintain flight path...structural integrity breach...cabin depressurization...oxygen masks deployment...assume emergency positions...covering ears useless...black boxes recording...Leavenworth sound assault not diminishing...chaos enveloping aircraft...ear drums exploding...death spiral...we hope you've enjoyed your flight." (Prem)
Le Tigre: From The Desk of Mr. Lady (CD-EP)
Feminist electro-pop. Drum machines, keyboards, guitars, and shouting against the internet, police brutality, media treatment of riot grrls, male record reviewers, dead-end relationships, lazy culture-consumers, and lack of real communication in everyday life. It rocks, too. This record would be surely banned by Clear Channel as un-American, un-ladylike, and quite obviously terrorist in nature. So, needless to say, it's real good. (cactus)
Little Axe: Hard Grind (CD)
Back in 1994 Tackhead's Skip McDonald and On-U-Sound's Adrian Sherwood created "The World's First Ambient Dub Blues Project" with Little Axe's debut CD. An intoxicating brew of dubbed-out beats and blues samples and soulful vocals, that album was nary a blip on the radar even after inferior attempts to merge blues samples and electronica (i.e. Moby's "Play") went on to sell billions of copies a few years later. Now it's 2002 and there's finally a second Little Axe album and it's even better than the debut. Think Dub Syndicate riding a raft down the Mississippi. (Stereo Steve)
Mega-Mousse: Musical Monogram (CD)
Hard jazz/rock with elements of Klezmer and Eastern European folk carefully woven in; for those who enjoyed the harder material of the Vandermark 5, this release will bring back fond memories with its blaring saxophones, twisted time signatures, and hevy rhythm section--but here, the time signatures reveal underlying Klezmer roots rather than, say, prog rock or the like, creating a unique amalgam that's both radical and traditional at once. (Prem)
Midnight Thunder Express: S/T (CD)
Rawk from Seattle with a southern flavor. See Nashville Pussy, Black Crows, etc. (Miles)
Ennio Morricone: Soundtrack from the film "The Antichrist" (CD)
More symphonic, all instrumental, masterful as always. (T.O. Ted)
Nashville Pussy: Say Something Nasty (CD)
Latest offering from these southern butt-rockers offers few surprises besides a new bassist. Kick-ass rock 'n' roll, this CD also offers a cover of Rick Derringer's "Rock 'n' Roll Hoochie Coo." (Miles)
Numbers: Numbers Life (CD)
Local folks offering up some fucked-up Devo-ish techno-punk. I like this, and so will you. (Miles)
Pidgeon: Hitchcock (CD)
Self-released CD from some local kids. The address is in the Sunset District near the beach, so I'll bet they have to deal with a lot of pidgeons flying around. The music is kinda emo-punk with Pixies-esque vocal harmonies and varying levels of fidelity, like most demo recordings. No relation to the band Pidgeon of the late 60s that showed a pidgeon sandwich on their album cover. (Stereo Steve)
Pong: Killer Lifestyle (CD)
A very new wavish spinoff of Ed Hall. Songs about Pac-Man and the new world order. Good, clean, rock and roll fun--and a hilarious and rather disturbing crank phone call hidden after the last song. Someone might like it and that someone might be you! (Stereo Steve)
Eric Glick Rieman: Ten to the Googolplex (CD)
Amazing record of manipulated Rhodes electric piano ambient tone paintings. One of the very best extended minimalist records of recent memory, it's out on Accretions from San Diego, though I believe Mr. Rieman in a resident of the East Bay. If you like dark ambient minimalism, then this record will be your bliss. Highly recommended. (cactus)
Jason Robinson: Tandem (CD)
If such a thing as "death jazz" truly exists, you'll encounter it here, as Robinson (usually on sax, but sometimes on flute/electronics/clarinet) pairs up with the other eight musicians featured here (on trombone, piano, contrabass, guitar, percussion, and a sea of electronics and analog synthesizers) for sessions of meningal scouring and mercilessly carcinogenic improvisation; speak softly, and carry a big sax. (Prem)
Rubber O Cement
/Leavenworth
/Masmelo/
Elders of Zion live at Bottom of the Hill
Elders of Zion opened this wide-ranging and fun/funny show with a great set of heavy and dark laptop dub mixology. The crowd absolutely ate it up, despite the early video meltdown. Masmelo played next--charming and noisy pop, filtered through the edgy, nervous sensibilities of the two Japanese gals on git and bass, with kick-arse drums and noisy electronics tossed on top. My little group, Leavenworth, played next. Rubber O Cement then burst onto the stage and mesmerized us all with crazy waves of bass and electronics delivered in somewhat disturbing dada costume amidst Residents-like sets, complete with an elaborate cardboard computer. Heavy and hilarious, Rubber O Cement was a death blow to rational thought, and after the set nearly every person I spoke to was all smiles and giggly in the aftermath of the such surrealist spectacle. Hail, Satan. Rock and roll will never die. (cactus)
Rudis/Custodio/Diaz-Infante: Crashing the Russian Renaisance (CD)
Local trio of noise-choppers. Electronics, guitar, percussion, violin, and voice collide in 30 pieces of varying length and scree-intensity. Quite blistering in patches. Not just idle wanking, either--it holds up to close and repeated listens. Fucked-up and punk rock destruction of jazz and electronic musics. Recommended. (cactus)
Pablo St. Chaos: When You Force Me Against The Breaking Earth (CD)
Hey, stoners! This guy's going for the Flying Saucer Attack sound, with buried vocals, feedback, etc. Lift-off time. (Miles)
Soft Machine: Backwards (CD)
The first Spotlight I ever did for KUSF was on this band a few years ago. This CD compiles unreleased and thought-to-be-lost recordings from around 1969-70, when they were first expanding their three-piece band to include horns and venture into what Spinal Tap fans would call "jazz odyssey" territory, but with a much higher level of musicianship than most of the wankers who would come later in the 70s. This is the missing link between Bitches Brew-era Miles Davis, and In Praise Of Learning-era Henry Cow. Unless you are already familiar with their work, the 20-minute long demo version of Moon in June or the 18 minute live version of Facelift might be a bit overwhelming, but there are shorter versions of these awesome tunes that everyone can enjoy here, along with the mind-boggling Esther's Nosejob and Hibou Anemone and Bear. Stimulate your mind. (Stereo Steve)
Swoon Doll: Wordless (CD)
Local experimental vocalist/sound collage artist Kaylee Coombs' second CD out on Red Net Records. Highly engaging and lo-fi mix of droning voice, electronics, percussion, field recordings, media snippets, and so on. Fans of Diamanda Galas, Joan La Barbara, Meredith Monk, FM Einheit, et al, will likely get off on this. (cactus)
T'n'amen2
/Leavenworth/
Time Life Crooks live at Kimo's
Time Life Crooks were late in getting to the fabulous Kimo's penthouse, so my group, Leavenworth played first, to be nice. Time Life Crooks played next--a kick arse local hip-hop/rap duo using a laptop for the tight beats and samples. Hilarious and seemingly quite progressive rap constructions, but I'm pretty out to lunch on the genre. Great beats, and excellent speed-rapping and all that shit. The crowd went beserk. T'n'amen2 played next. Sorta reminded me of The Jesus Lizard, but thrashier and more punk, but with that same enticing balance of humor, menace, and unpredictable danger. They were quite funny and completely rocked our collective ass. A fun Sunday night in old Yerba Buena. (cactus)
Uncle Tupelo: 1989-1993 Anthology (CD)
Ever wonder how Jay Farrar of Son Volt, and Jeff Tweedy of Wilco started their careers? Well, now you can enjoy a wonderful collection of acoustic and electric stuff of theirs. (T.O. Ted)
United Satanic Apache Front: Addressing the Corporate Fascist State (CD)
Excellent local noise and performance art group. They quite astutely and precisely attack Christianity/Religion, Capitalism/Consumerism, and Nationalism/Neo-Fascism, and I'm certainly down with that programme. Plus: it rocks. Especially funny and enlightening are the samples in the first track from indignant, trite, irate right-wing radio talkshow ass-wipes from KGO, KFRC, and so on, venting their moth-eaten brains with two-bit vocabularies about an infamous USAF live gig at (ironically) a private party for the most uptight (and completely aghast) 49ers top brass and Mayor Brown. We in the Muzzle war room can certainly relate to this CD, as this very e-zine was attacked by the same sort of censorship-loving, pea-brain, reactionary Christian thugs after we ran a positive review of Anton LaVey's CD recording of The Satanic Mass. So, needless to say, I highly recommend this piece of free speech audio art be added to each and every one of your private music/sound collections. (cactus)
John Vanderslice: Life and Death of an American Four-Tracker (CD)
Epic pop-rock from local boy genius John Vanderslice. I'm assuming this is some sort of concept album, though I don't get all the references. On some tracks John plays all the instruments and on others he is joined by a bunch of other people. My favorite track was "From Out Here," some sort of longing for a long lost childhood past, or something. Maybe I'll ask him what this album's all about when he gets back from touring. (Stereo Steve)
Various Artists: Apocalypse Always (CD)
To quote the music meeting: "Should we add this new Alternative Tentacles comp?" "Sure, there's always room for Jello!" But seriously, folks--this is a great comp. Everyone from Half Japanese to Zen Guerilla to Michael Gira and Jarboe are on this, and there's some thought-provoking spoken word bits from Mumia Abu-Jamal, Noam Chomsky, and others between the songs. Near the end, for comic relief, Biafra belts out a version of American Woman with ex-Guess Who Randy Bachman on guitar. Rock on! (Stereo Steve)
Wipers: Is This Real?/Youth of America/Over the Edge (CDx3)
3 CD set of the first 3 albums and lots of unreleased goodies from Portland, OR's seminal punk-proto-grunge trio. These recordings (which span 1980-82) were a huge influence on the music that came out of the northwest in the early 90s. The first disc (Is This Real?) is more punky, and features such great songs as Return of the Rat, Alien Boy, and Potential Suicide (which sounds like it was a big influence on Nirvana). The second disc (Youth of America) stretches things out a bit more. The title track is a 10-minute long manic backwards guitar and noise fest, while songs such as Not Fair, Pushing the Extreme, and especially When It's Over have some amazing guitar riffs and an urgent sense of tunefulness. The third disc (Over the Edge) has some of the Wipers most memorable tunes, including Doomtown and the single Romeo. Have you heard of rock and roll? (Stereo Steve)
