RARE
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[News]
New Joanna Newsom gets continually more exciting
“Have One on Me”, out February 23rd on Drag City will ring in at no less than 3CDs and/or 3LPs.
Eluvium adds vocals, courts controversy
New album, “Similes”, adds some singing into the mix of the ambient fan-favourite. Out February 23rd on Temporary Residence Limited.
Cap’n Jazz have only gone and got back together!
’90s emo legends, the mega-influential Cap’n Jazz, recently played a show under the guise of “Local Cover Band” in Chicago. More shows and re-issues by label Jade Tree are scheduled for later this year.
[Recent Arrivals]
The Album Leaf – A Chorus of Storytellers
I remember, back a few years ago, when the full breadth of the music world first opened up to me, it we The Album Leaf who were one of the first acts to strike me. I had a misspent youth listening to virtually nothing post-1979, so when I downloaded a couple of tracks that Amazon were giving away in the early part of the last decade, I was rather surprised by what I heard.
Jimmy LaValle, aka the guitarist from Tristeza, has a rare talent for the chill. To call The Album Leaf electronica would be misleading, though if I had to pick a genre, that would be it. I’m trying to resist using the word “lush”, but that’s what comes to mind. A mix of live instruments, beats, effects and laid back vocals take you away almost instantly.
The new record, due next month on Sub Pop Records, doesn’t mark a significant departure in terms of style, but it does take the depth of production up a notch. Recorded at Sigur Rós’ Sundlaugin studio in Iceland, you can tell a great deal of care was paid to getting everything sounding just right. If you were following their Twitter updates you’ll know the process took a while and it definitely shows. The delicate pluck of guitar strings jumps out from amongst violin swirls and drum machines to give the record a constant, albeit slow, momentum.
This is an album to unwind with.
CD and double LP out February 2nd.
Throats – Throats
A long time coming, was my first impression of the debut full-length (all 17 minutes of it) by the angry young men of England’s Throats. Previously their recorded output consisted of a couple of split EPs, one with fellow countrymen Maths and the other with New England grind outfit, the_Network – both of whom also have excellent debut’s out now, too. Those two EPs had me very interested for what was to come.
“Bile, rage and despondency have organically mutated an already bitter and angry band into something far more extreme, reckless and dangerous”, say their label, Holy Roar. Ne’er a truer word spoken. Dangerous it really does feel. If this album was a car chase the hero would already be on fire by now. It’s an intense, relentless shock to the senses.
An anecdote: I once had a child literally run away from me when he walked in on me listening to a moderately scary album by Blacklisted at work… this record is much, much scarier. It’s an album you need to stare full in the face. If you stand you ground you will be richly rewarded. Most obviously in the final track, “Oaken/Wait”. The only piece to clock in at over 3 minutes, it opens out rather unexpectedly and gives you a taste of more to come. A suggestion that there’s more to this band than short sharp shocks. Be brave.
Out in a couple weeks on CD and vinyl from Holy Roar.
[From the Archives]
A blast from the past. The records you might have missed and that I almost forgot about.
Earth – The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull (2008)
Earth have always been somewhat of an enigma. Formed in Seattle in 1990, they have influenced dozens of successful acts – Nirvana and Sunn O))), to name but two – yet have always treaded their own path. Lead guitarist, Dylan Carlson, is a man of few words, instead letting the music do the talking.
On the their fifth studio release, 2008’s The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull (Southern Lord #90), they took their long established style of long-form instrumentals to a higher compositional level. The pieces featured are their most inspired to date. The country influence that has been submerged in previous releases is brought to the fore on this record. Steve Moore’s piano and Adrienne Davies’ strutting percussion give the album that swagger, that quiet intensity of a stranger in a strange land. Like Clint Eastwood walking down the main strip looking for a score to settle.
While repetition has been the main body of their tracks throughout Earth’s career, there are more flourishes to enjoy this time out. “Engine of Ruin” is a particular highlight, with Carlson sounding totally in the moment. However, there are no throwaway notes here. Guitar legend, Robert Fripp, once said that “music is the architecture of silence”. That is, the notes you choose not to play are often the most powerful. This is a concept that Earth are masters of. You’re not sure where you’re being taken, but you’re aware that the band is always in control.
The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull is an album for last night drives and wide open spaces.
Available on CD everywhere.
