REVIEWS

human bellThe self-titled debut from the collaboration between friends Nathan Bell (Lungfish) and Dave Heumann (Arbouretum), HUMAN BELL is a play in restraint and exploration, the kind of patient, cyclic music of two friends on a back porch somewhere, friends who evidently share the same love of early U.S. folk and blues, friends who make music with clean electric guitars rooted in the unhurried simplicity of old Takoma records, songs that gain momentum but never really ignite. Which is fine. Heumann and Bell add the kind of intuitive detail to each other’s playing that makes the record’s seven longish tracks — all but two clock in at over five minutes — survive on their own terms, the songs all the stronger for not flying off into the endless soloing that made Arbouretum’s otherwise strong Rites of Uncovering such heavy going. Though backed on drums for half the tracks, the record is always Heumann and Bell,  circling each other at a measured pace, talking without raising their voices, their fluency so seamless as to make it impossible to know who’s playing what.
Working from such a simple palette, the two allow just enough outside flourishes to prevent the mesmerising from becoming the soporific, the swampy trumpets of ‘Ephaphatha (Be Opened)’ a kind of unhinged call to arms enveloping the guitars, the song’s forbidding murk a welcome respite from the record’s measured front half. Things start getting noisier, looser as they go on—the record’s closer, ‘Singing Trees’, finds Heumann and Bell busting some cathartic stoner-rock, the two sounding like a reined-in Bardo Pond over a woolly drone before letting it all go to wash. But even as they start to kick it out a bit on tracks like ‘Hanging From the Rafters,’ an insistent 10-minute cycle of circular riffing and the record’s longest track, for all their notes, the songs themselves are still relatively minimalist in their intent, each piece trying to put flesh on the bones of just one or two ideas, confident enough in the rudiments themselves :: Human Bell/self titled - Thrill Jockey/Rough Trade.

joe lally What should i expect from a punk band's (Fugazi) bassist? Bass heavy? Well, a little but that's not all bad, i like bass! It did however take me a few tracks to warm into it, it's quite a minimalist CD and i thought the 1st track wasn't the strongest for an opener, but they're all relatively short tracks so it didn't matter too much. The drum and bass sound on this CD are very good, very real, and also very clear and concise but still contain complexity. There is also some excellent guitar feedback work that creates some rich soundscapes whilst retaining that minimalist feeling. A selection of other instruments including some synths and especially a very interesting distorted Fender Rhodes on track 7 help this to be not just a post-polished-punk record. Yeah, i suppose it still has the punk elements through the simplicity and force of the bass from Joe but also has heavy Jazz and Funk elements which are exaggerated through the quality of the recording. Lyrically, there is obviously lots of, mostly hidden, political messages which is relative to Joe and Fugazi's heritage, but in keeping with the record he's minimalist with them too, and they're not musically nonsensical in the way some political lyrics are. All in all, i quite like this. I'm not really a punk person, but from a recording and quality perspective i have a lot of time for it, and as it includes some great collaborations (Ian MacKay, Guy Picciotto - Fugazi; Ben Azzara - Capitol City Dusters, DCIC; Andy Gale - Haram; Eddie Janny - Rites of Spring; and many more) it has a lot of quality and experience behind it :: Joe Lally/Nothing Is Underrated - Dischord/Southern/Cargo.

artanker convoyA real treasure of a “CD”. A 6 track disc plus a 9 track DVD with videos which mainly consists of live visuals from MUX (www.muxme.com), a group of individuals and collaborators who design and enhance visuals with the aim to “exemplify the beauty of the human element in a new media environment”. MUX do light, dare I call them installations, along with conceptual dance which focuses very strongly I believe on the human, nay, female form. When put together, it’s basically, very, very cool. The music of Artanker Convoy is what I would call, Dope Funk. They have that trippy, steady Stoner Rock repetitiveness, but also a very fluid jazz/funk style which I believe comes from the percussionist and I guess, inspirer for the band name, Artanker. The saxophony of Jake also leans towards the Jazz side of the musical sphere. Its build gradually through most songs with motifs, all centred off the heavy but simple basslines. Their use of Fender Rhodes and deep clavichords adds to the jazz/funk feelings I get from the music. Also there is a nice way of “breaking” halfway through (or more towards the end actually) of a track and bringing things back down after the motif build ups with a different beat which just forces you to give an enjoyable head nod. That’s the beauty of “Dope Funk”, because it’s quite repetitive, although enjoyable, when a break or change is noticed it’s like someone is slapping you round the face with wet drumstick. So, if you’re into trippy, tribal, jazzy beats with heavy, hypnotic bass lines and mixed with funk and jazz jingles in your melodies and motifs then Artanker Convoy is definitely for you, you will float away with them on their multicoloured sexual flying carpet to whatever stop you want to get off. Live-wise, they’re on a UK tour from the middle of January, coming to my home-town Sheffield on the 19th, which is an absolute bummer as I’ll be back in Berlin by then! Artanker, fährt dein Convoy nach Deutschland, bitte! :: Artanker Convoy/Cozy Endings CD/DVD- The Social Registry/Cargo.

nadjaUltraverlangsamte, überschwer schleifende Dronemantras pflügen sich hier episch geladen und atmosphärisch verdichtet übereiander. Mit dem Opener Now That I Become Death, The Destroyer Of Worlds aus dem inzwischen dritten Album des aus dem Kanadischen Toronto stammenden Duos um Leah Buckareff (Bass, Voc) und Aidan Baker (Guit, Voc, Woodwinds, Drum Machines, Strings) entern NADJA die Szenerie die Earth, SunnO))), Godflesh und Epigonen vorgegeben haben. Metal ist ja eigentlich Jazz heute, und Drone/Doom/Black Metal erst recht, denn die Aufmerksamkeit richtet sich nicht auf die vordergründig bratzende Masse aus schleifendem Metall, knirschendem Glas und pulverisiertem Granit, sondern auf die subtilen tonalen wie atonalen Nuancen, den Zwischengeräuschen aus Gold. Bei Radiance Of Shadows kommt es auf Abstufungen wie kontrapunktierten Klangschattierungen an, um die Dramatik zu heben, aber auch das Bauchfellbrummeln kommt nicht zu kurz. James Plotkin hat die Scheibe gemastert, der ja schon neben seinem Job als Bassist bei Khanate (Things Viral/Southern Lord) über diverse Soloscheiben auch mit Kazuyuki Kishino Null (Aurora 1994), Mark Spybey, Brent Gutzeit oder David Fenech zusammengearbeitet hat. Radiance Of Shadows passt vorzüglich in die Alien8 Reihe neben Tim Hecker, Masonna und Merzbow, und noch vorzüglicher als Soundtrack zum grau im grauen Winterhimmel, oder demnächst auch alternativ über den Epilog von Bladerunner, der Voiceover Version :: NADJA/Radiance Of Shadows – Alien8recordings/Cargo.