VARIOUS Fit for Kings Series Two (Crawlspace)
The New Zealand underground continues to thrive nicely in these
post-Xpressway label times, with various imprints like Metonymic,
Crawlspace and Corpus Hermeticum continuing to explore seedy underbellies
of free rock, jazz, and pure noisemaking as it exists in the Southern
Hemisphere. While Crawlspace's new compilation does not have any really
well known names like the Dead C or Gate, it does offer the next wave of
some great explorers. Crude is a one-man cosmic rollercoaster, Pit Viper
overload spuzzy amps most pleasingly, Lapdog visit
some Barrett areas with lo-fi weirdness, and Sandoz Lab Technicians seem
to mine some AMM territory. Hopefully someday one of these labels will get
around to doing a retrospective on Garbage & the Flowers, who were a
totally insane NZ outfit, but for now the new sounds keep floating out
from down under in some innovative ways.
VARIOUS Friday Night at the Hideout (Norton)
Once again, leave it to Norton to put on the archeological digging
helmets and come up with more fabulous rockin' sounds on the past you
didn't even know existed. Here, Detroit circa 1964-67 goes under the
microscope, in particular the scne surrounding a suburban label and club
called the Hideout. Indeed, a document the early stomping grounds for the
likes of Glen Frey and Bob Seger is not something to be fearful
of; instead, 21 excellent chunks of primitive pop & garage offer a glimpse
into what was a great scene (and the club also provided early support for
the likesof the MC5 and Mitch Ryder). Also, this is yet another chance to
dip into the slim-but-great output of the Pleasure Seekers (Suzi Quatro
and sisters, one of which was mom to Sherilyn Fenn on a side note), whose
shout-out anthem to beer "What a Way To Die" remains one of thee all-time
great garage punkers.
FRANCISCO LOPEZ/ZBIGNIEW KARKOWSKI Whint (.Absolute.)
Lopez is the sick puppy who lasy year came up with the CD of an hour of a
piledriving blackmetal loop that punched you in the face, and now he and
fellow sound constructor Zbigniew Karkowski come up with new material
that blows. Literally. THIS CD BLOWS AIR ON YOU. SERIOUSLY, A CONSTANT
STREAM OF AIR, AS IF YOU WERE SITTING IN FRONT OF A FAN. How this is done
is as mysterious yet quite explainable: you know how certain low-end bass
frequencies can pummel you from speakers with their beats, well, here is a
case of a continual rush of compounded, low end frequencies (that WHOOSH,
not rumble) and the result is a slow hour-build of subsonic tones to a
full on, hair-blowing maelstrom of sound. I called up whoever was in the
building, and sure enough, Volunteer Director Scott, and two guys from a
live band Diane was taping sat between the speakers and had a nice breeze
for a while. As of now, I do not have the report on whether this works
over the radio, or whether all the various broadcast limiters and such
will eradicate the tones. Would be great if it worked over the internet
stream, eh?
HYDROPLANE The Sound of Changing Places (Drive-In)
An on-again, off-again, on-again Australian project of members of Cat's
Miaow & Huon members, landing perfectly in its attempt to create indie pop
with intimate trippy, and ambient leanings with a smattering of dancefloor
potential. If you're a fan of the wooziness projected by bands like Pram,
Broadcast, and Dymaxion, Hydroplane's assertion of minimalism, invention,
and gorgeous textures (especially those offered by the female vocalist
Kerrie), this should satisfy.
SKYWAVE Don't Say Slow (Cherry Coated)
A new EP from a DC-trio much beloved around these parts. Unabashed
worshippers of pure British noisy guitar pop, the heavily processed kind,
Skywave evoke the ghosts of Ride, My Bloody Valentine, and early 80s
Creation label (especially in the bubblegum noise of the Jesus and Mary
Chain). These influences aren't new, obviously, and show up in everyone
from All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors to the Lilys, but I
especially love Skywave's raw attack, crashing into noise chorus after
noise chorus, guitarist Paul Baker both anarchic and ultra controlled
in the sounds of what seem to be like six amps (it's only one); with
the melodies just poking their heads amidst the chaos. Their approach to
it all is so clearly from the point of view of guys who revel in this
sound (they even cover the bands they obviously adore), and I can't recall
a band so giddily rolling around in noise since the late great Faith
Healers.
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