REVIEWS

panda bearPanda Bear of Animal Collective returns with another solo album made with machines in Lisbon, Portugal. These songs carry the Beach Boys infatuated singing and sound layering to the next level, foregoing the dilly-dallying guitar for samples and sequences. In fact, early in the album it sounds like some lost Brian Wilson tracks layered with white noise and loop stations. The harmonies are also reminiscent of Ladysmith Black Mambazo at times, Panda Bear harmonizing with himself. This album, despite its catchiness, feels less indie-rock than certain other Animal Collective releases, which is a good thing. His thank you list seems to include all of his recent influences, which seems like a weird tactic, perhaps trying to put the album in a context amongst past greats. Though it's solid I'm not sure that this album, as Paw Tracks claims, is on the same tier as Paul McCartney, George Michael and Ghostface or that history will remember it ten years down the line. Still, for Animal Collective fans this is a must-have and will not disappoint. :: Panda Bear: Person Pitch - Paw Tracks/Cargo 

hellaHella's transition from a two-piece to a five-piece sounds the only way it could - quite drastic. The mathy drum and guitar work remains, but with vocals and added instrumentation the band of Zach and Josh Hill, Spencer Seim, Aaron Ross and Carson McWhirter has taken on a strangely psychedelic sound, though not necessarily in the way other bands have mimicked psychedelia in recent years. Though the label's press release compares their new sound to that of System of a Down and The Mars Volta (I guess they're trying to branch out?). I think that they've made a good choice with this new direction. The vocals of Zach are fairly consistent throughout, and give the whole operation a sort of unlikely Lungfish meets cockrock feel. The songs aren't as repetitive or catchy as those two comparisons, with a kind of spastic noodling underlying each new part which, along with the new members' contributions make this album fairly prog. The most impressive part for me, is the way the vocalist finds new ways to phrase his words over the technical backbone of the songs and give it a little more majesty. I'm so glad to see a band willing to take a risk and try something new for them, even if their label ends up comparing it to System of a Down. I don't think this is the easy way out. :: Hella: There's No 666 In Outer Space - Ipecac Recordings/Cargo

Wolf & CubPsychedelic-influenced rock from Australia. That kind with a driving beat and simple bass line that just keeps going and going to the guitarist's delight. The album cover is a panoramic photograph which is one of the better album images I've seen in a month. It looks like the 1970s, which is what this band seems to really like all around. The vocals sound a lot like Guy from Fugazi, though less dynamic. This is the kind of band that would be really fun to be in and practice in your friend's basement smoking pot and nodding and going and going and going. :: Wolf & Cub: Vessels - 4AD/Beggars/Indigo

hellaEin klasse Album! Sacramentos Lokalmatadoren Hella um Drummer Zach Hill und Gitarrist Spencer Seim puzzeln nun schon einige Jahre ihren spastic Jazzcore a la Flying Luttenbachers zusammen. Nach Acoustics und den irrsinnigen Drums/Gitarrengewitter auf Shred Earthship, der Kollaboration von Zach Hill mit Orthrelms Mick Barr, bietet There`s No 666 nun einmal mehr das volle Hella Band-Lineup. Songs wie World Series und The Ungreateful Death werden über ein extra-speedy Drumming und supernervös gedrechselte Gitarrenfiguren durch fantastisch anmutende Harmoniebögen zusammengehalten. Wären Janes Addiction und Lightning Bolt ein Paar, gäbe There`s No 666 den perfekten futuristischen Progrock-Soundtrack zur Hochzeit ab - ein Fest fürs hypernervöse Fingernägelabkauen am Bankett, zwischen flackerndem Stroboskoblicht und paranoiden Rauchschwaden. :: Hella: There`s No 666 In Outer Space - Ipecac Recordings/Cargo

DIY

Eine neue Compilation von Soul Jazz, 20 Songs der bisher übersehenen Bands aus der ersten Zeit des Post-Punk: Die Swell Maps proklamieren lapidar: I don´t mind to breakout, but there`s never enough time auf Let`s Build A Car, der zweiter Single auf Geoff Travis damals frisch gegründetem Label Rough Trade. Grandioser Song aber, so schluffig rollend wie energetisch. Bristols Glaxo Babies betreten mit Shake The Foundations das Polit-Funk Feld um Bands wie The Pop Group. Der nun wieder aktive Blurt Ted Milton bringt seinen kantigen No-NewWave mit The Fish Needs A Bike auf den Punkt. Thomas Leers Debut The Bridge ist 1980 auf Throbbing Gristles Industrial Records erschienen, sein sanft wogendes Elektronik-Tape-Echo mit dem Titel Tight As A Drum für D-I-Y gab es ein Jahr später auf Cherry Red. Auch Her Majesty Throbbing Gristle selbst sind mit der von Genesis P. Orridge so charmant-morbide gesungenen Single B-Seite von 1978 dabei: Distant Dreams (pt. 2). Natürlich steht bei Compilations wie dieser einiges an Fragen im Raum: Warum zu diesem Zeitpunkt? Für wen oder welche Zielgruppe? Und auch: Welcher tote Aal wird als nächstes aus dem See gefischt und dem "Independent"-Markt auf den Tisch geknallt? Was soll der ebenso irreführende wie nichtssagende Titel von D-I-Y wohl aussagen? Ich kann mich beim besten Willen nicht entsinnen, dass diese hier ausgewählte Rige aus dem Umfeld der sogenannten "Independent Music" über die letzten beiden Dekaden jemals so etwas wie einen konkreten Aufschwung hatte. Eine Compilation wie D-I-Y würde mehr Sinn machen, wäre sie entweder industrial-orientiert und die Auswahl der Tracks im engen historischen Zeitkontext chronologisch überschaubar geordnet, oder aber auf die Postpunk-Styles von Bands wie Swell Maps, The Fire Engines oder Kleenex konzentriert. Knallbunt zusammengeworfene Compilations der Marke Das waren die Eighties kennen wir ja zuhauf aus der latenight TV-Werbung der privaten Sender. Ergo: Sind wir am Ende alle Cyborgs, und hatten es nur nicht bemerkt, diese Erkenntnis wird uns dann auch aber sowas von egal sein? Ein Fisch braucht ein Fahrrad, ja, ganz sicher. :: D-I-Y: The Rise Of Independent Music Industry After Punk - Soul Jazz/Indigo

Greg Malcolm/Tetuzi AkiyamaThis is part of the Brombron series, a project which brings two or more musicians together as artists in residence in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Here New Zealander Greg Malcolm is paired with Tetuzi Akiyama and together they weave quiet and slowly flowing improvised acoustic guitar movements. Thoughtful and delicate, the collaboration seems very careful and honest, the two guitars feeling each other out, making complementing moves like two people nervously and excitedly building a snowman on a first date. The guitar styles remain sparse and dark, a lonely rattling highway at night. There is a balance of control within these songs, each player clearly in control of his own instrument, yet always slightly unsure of what the other will do next. This tension gives the pieces an unlikely beauty as there is no sign of a desire to one-up the other or boast showmanship. I think that seeing these two play together in an intimate setting, or say up in a tree house above the forest at night, would be wonderful. :: Greg Malclom & Tetuzi Akiyama: Brombron 12:Six Strings- Korm Plastics/Target 

AxolotlWay Blank ist Karl Marx Axolotl Bauers zweiter Release für das feine NY-Label Psych-o-path. Bauers vibrierende Fanfaren aus Loops und Distortion bewegen sich nun in noisige Gefilde. Waren die beiden zuvor erschienen Alben Axolotl und Chemical Theater noch tief in sanft-gleitenden Trance, Raga und Drone verwurzelt, wandelt Bauer heute thematisch zwischen den Skaters, Glenn Branca, Hisato Higuchi, Oren Ambarchi und Daniel Menche. Way Blank macht den Weg frei hin zu industriell angelehnten astralen Noise-Kaskaden, dafür aber turmhoch gebaut und kleinst komprimiert. :: Axolotl: Way Blank - Psych-o-path#16

mouthusSchlafes Bruder erwacht - mit Klirren, Kratzen und Schaben wie das Geräusch einer auf verbeulten Schienen laufenden verrosteten Dampfeisenbahn leitet der erste Track auf Sister Vibration sublim einen künstlich narkotisierten Schwebezustand beim Hörer ein. Die dubbigen Reflexionen aus dem Echo der Bassgitarrenschlieren erinnern an Neu! 2 sowie an (frühe) Neubauten. Auf Seite 2 bei Living On The Always fällt der hörende Patient O.T. in die R.E.M-Phase, Bild-Kluster samt zerlegter Worthülsen flirren in Gedankenfetzen vorbei, bei Non-Eagles wird das leidige Thema Rock durch das versetzte Tuckern des Beats und durch das Knirschen und Knacken der automatisierten Sandpapier-Gitarren-Endlosschleife systematisch entwertet. Exzellent. Siehe:Interview/Mouthus. :: Mouthus: Sister Vibration - Our Mouth#9/A-Musik.

dalekDälek create dense sound compositions, put a slow-paced beat over it and sit laid-back rhymes over the fuzz. Abandoned Language is ambitious, the backing sound well-thought through and the lyrics thoughtful and intentional. Dälek's flow is more similar, unfortunately, to Anti-con rappers and white "intellectual" backpack rappers than to Eric B or Public Enemy who are always listed as major influences. There is a lack of posturing in his rapping, something very honest, however it is that bit of threatening posturing, taking an extreme stance and running with it, which makes really amazing hip-hop what it is. What would Wu-Tang be without pretending to be from Shaolin, or Public Enemy without the relentless political anger or Biggie without talking about killing someone's ass in the mist. Dälek sounds a bit too lazy, and like other rappers who are described in the music media as "intelligent" - somehow seeming to imply that most rap is made by stupid people which is incredibly problematic in itself - his style is unintentionally angular, filled with bigger words, yet not going as far as presenting any new theoretical concepts or even a fresh take. The steps that the beats and music are taking are much greater, though the album sounds a little stoned in the wrong kind of way. :: Dalek: Abandoned Language - Ipecac Recordings/Cargo 

ddeaconAcorn Master, the first e.p. from Baltimore’s Dan Deacon is a kiddy-pool of compu-tunes, perhaps just as likely inspired by a mediocre mushroom experience as by Raffi’s children’s classics. Disney-character clad CD art aside, I couldn’t help but imagine my twin nieces giggling and clapping along with Dan to at least four of the six clownish, almost juvenile-with-a-whiff-of-self-awareness tracks. While Deacon adeptly layers samples from pop tv and video games, the product of his efforts is a grating, irritating aural mash, complete with Butthead’s “huhhuh huh” dollop’d on top. Though the album playfully bounces from jilted lover neo-ballads to classic cover songs on acid, when the haze clears, I was left wondering why people take joke bands seriously enough to fund legit releases. Wrapping up the album with an electro lullaby for Nintendo/Role playing Gamers to cull their damsels with was a soothing touch…perfect to put the twins to bed to. :: Dan Deacon: Acorn Master - Psych-O-Path