AIR CONDITIONING - DEAD RAILS, CD, 2007, LOAD RECORDS, USA

Full-on gritty onslaught from Pennsylvania noisemakers/noisebreakers, Air Coniditioning, in what seems like a daunting exercise in feedback drenched, static slamdance endurance. This trio knows how to get some shit started, and they don't waste any time in doing so. From the first track, Where to Litter/Trash is Burning, the band lays down the first abrasive signpost on their twisted junk-piled journey into evacuation procedure mayhem crushing. The ethos is simple, make a ruckus and tap into those areas most bands fear to tread, mainly because they might blow-out their equipment or their hearing. Air Conditioning couldn't give half a fuck about either one of the two, and the viciousness that the album provokes is proof enough. Like a battering ram, the first two tracks blast and bite any hand that feeds, and the third track is a brief moment of floating in the vacuum of space right before the supernova hits, which becomes the fourth and last track, Accept Your Paralysis/Cephalexin. Hold on tight, and if you're still cowering in the corner by the time this behemoth finishes, I think it might be a good time to towel off and do it all over again. Check out the short snippet of the collaboration between them and American Band below. (i lurve when he chugs the beer)

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THE SEA AND CAKE - THE FAWN, CD, 1997, THRILL JOCKEY RECORDS, USA

Upon revisiting this album again for this review, one thing always stands out to me on this phenomenal album, and that is that it is absolutely, breath-takingingly both euphoric & peaceful. The Sea and Cake have been kicking around for quite a few years now, and I have been hard pressed to be disappointed by any output that they have unloaded on their devoted listeners. This band truly has a way with rhythm, and it always rises to the surface while the band is carving out it's splendid melodies. The two compliment each other a little too well, and the band manages to pull it off with ease. It would make anyone jealous, because they sound like they're having a lot of fun doing these complicated yet beautiful arrangements. Plenty of drum machines, live drums, groovy bass lines, airy vocals, jazzy overtones and electronic oscillations flung about in perfect sequence on this mid-90s long-player. It still seems fresh after all these years. The Sea and Cake are in top form here, and if you haven't heard this album, get on the cake-wagon and do your cochlea a favor. Catch them live when they come to yer town as well, you won't regret it.

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LICHENS - OMNS, CD, 2007, KRANKY RECORDS, USA

Electronic insect-chatter never sounded so soothing before, that is until Robert Lowe of 90 Day Men released this, his second solo album on Kranky, Omns. What we have here, in spades, is a lot of eerie vocal loops layered with the occasional electric guitar or piano to more or less fill in the gaps and provide some direction to Lowe's ambient passages. Close your eyes and picture floating yerself down the Nile in ancient times, awaiting the mystical fates that might happen upon yer way. Robert knows how to create the perfect atmosphere of both intrigue and frontal lobe massaging with his electronic arias of pleasure-center conditioning. It's a simple concept executed to sublime perfection. The lengthy track, M St R Ng W Tchcr Ft L V Ng N Sp R T, is a standout for it's exotic acoustic instrumentations coupled with narcotic-inducing tones weaving this way and that throughout the duration of the passage, among other sounds. Omns is certainly worthy of it's meditative name. Robert Lowe, thanks for gracing our ears with a fantastic record that's hard to pigeonhole, and that comforts with both it's ambiance and moody outshines.

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BEDHEAD - WHATFUNLIFEWAS, CD, 1994, TRANCE SYNDICATE RECORDS, USA

The perfect soundtrack to laying around, driving, playing hackey-sack or sleeping; Dallas' own Bedhead were the slowcore pioneers that brought this quaint and distinct album on the scene back in the golden days of grunge. Mumbley-joe vocals, light percussion and plenty of guitar interplay on this one, basically all of the staples of why we love Bedhead, and this debut pretty well establishes their fine craft. Obvious highlight, Powder, also emphasizes the optimism that the band carries through their use of extended jamming and just plain slackin' the day away on the highs of a lazy sun-soaked Dallas weekend. The album feels like that point of your friends barbecue when you've realized you've had a few too many beers and chicken wings, and you just want to sit by the kiddie pool lightly splashing your face and laying on the cool grass; it may be a bit rollicking at times but it always evens out to a smooth kilter. Fry up the grill, string the patio lights up, turn on the bug zapper, and call your friends; it's going to be a laid-back kind of evening.

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MOHA! - ONE-WAY TICKET TO CANDYLAND, CD, 2008, RUNE GRAMMOFON, NORWAY

Duck and cover! Norwegian duo, MoHa! have come for your cavity-filled youth and they're leaving behind robotic debris of intestinal tract all over your carpet. Assaulting the senses in a skronk overload only Pee Wee Herman's robot, Conky on meth, could muster from the garbled spew and what could maybe be a keyboard, sampler or infected humidifier, (based on the video below it appears to be all three); we get the textural industrial strengths of this album paired with some of the sickest drumming from Zach Hill's school of bash. It's a simple set-up executed with extreme difficulty and precision; a prog schizopolid screaming from the primordial soup, and grab your attention it does! (and does not let go really). Don't wear the short shorts around this filthy beast, you might get a testie or two yanked.

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NUCLEAR DEATH - BRIDE OF INSECT/CARRION FOR WORM, CD, 2000, EXTREMIST RECORDS, USA

Picked up this putrid little gem a couple weeks ago and haven't been able to stop listening to it since. The re-release of Nuclear Death's first two LPs (originally released under Wild Rags, the former home of Norway's Emperor) perfectly encapsulates the band's early grind/death metal sound.

Lori Bravo, as always, is in perfect form. Her lyrics forgo straight up gore in favor of slightly more subtle yet much more horrifying abstract themes, containing references to rather violent episodes of incest and deformed humanity. Particularly visible in Carrion for Worm is Bravo's penchant for creating a Lovecraftian atmosphere of insanity in her vocals, which matches perfectly to the schizophrenic style of the instruments.

There are some moments of thrash influence (most palpable in Bride of Insect) on the record, and the mixing of the snare gives it the perfect amount of echo for the lo-fi vibe. Occasionally the vocals are reminiscent of Show No Mercy-era Tom Araya, giving the record a very 80s metal feel (despite its components having been released in 1990 and 1991).

Definitely worth a buy. For a slightly trippier experience, check out ND's later releases The Planet Cachexial (1999, Cat's Meow Records) and Harmony Drinks of Me (2000, Cat's Meow Records) which veer heavily into prog and space rock.

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AARON DILLOWAY - BAD DREAMS, CD, 2005, PACREC/TRONIKS RECORDS, USA

It's an Aaron Dilloway double-header today, and Bad Dreams certainly lives up to its name, with the noise fodder you've come to love from this guy/demon. 4 untitled tracks and plenty of cassette garbles, metal scrapes and all around electric kool-aid acid fuckery. Deviously home-recorded, and not a moment to catch your breath on this one. It's a full on sick-sickle from start to finish. It might as well be a field-recording of a death factory, with bone-grinding evil machinery doing all of the dirty work. Enough of me talking, I'll let the album take the reins on this one. Bad dreams? You bet your sorry ass they are.

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SPINE SCAVENGER - PIGS, CASSETTE TAPE, 2008, CHONDRITIC SOUND, USA

Exquisite analog wanking from ex-Wolf Eyes member, Aaron Dilloway, under a heinous moniker: Spine Scavenger. Side A is mostly made up of the title-track Pigs, which during its 14 minute runtime, Aaron takes a simple synth-scrapped blueprint and builds a chaos castle of whooshing atmospherics that gradually evolves in it's own serpentine way, down to the bellows of hell. Dilloway is the king of fusing the grotesque negativity he's been known for, into this bite-sized lo-fi morsel, with plenty of oomph, zest and straight-up ear crunching. Ambiance takes on a different meaning when treading the playgrounds of his warped sonic fun-zone, and Aaron finishes Side A with a great vacuum sucking track complete with indecipherable vocal warblings intricately placed. Side B takes an even more abstract turn for the worst, and it's the side that eases the fear a tad and lets the mind drift into the outskirts of bubbly, fragmented death-noise. Pigs, on the whole, is a delightful fright-nugget for the harsher consumer, and with the twisted finisher, The Embryo, it would make anyone want to climb back into their mother's womb for sheer bloody comfort. Kudos noise-kins!

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DEREK BAILEY - CARPAL TUNNEL, CD, 2005, TZADIK RECORDS, U.K.

The first question you will ask yerself upon hearing the first track of this album: "What happened to this Derek Bailey guy?" Aside from his history of being a dissonance devotee with his guitar craft, something isn't write with good ol' Der. Seriously he sounds so out of his mind on unfathomable medications that his pudding brain turned into pudding rain and glopped and splattered on whatever ramblings came to his cranial cavity first. The explanation of this record, which the late Derek explains after talking about nothing for about, oh, four minutes, is that he has carpal tunnel syndrome. When you hear him play his guitar, it becomes pretty clear that he's not lying. Now, a lot of athletes and musicians have overcome impossible physical disabilities to great success! Derek however muddles into his disability to wrench out this 'clumsy' temple scratcher. Would you trust me if I said it grows on you? One way to find out ->

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PHELAN SHEPPARD - HARP'S OLD MASTER, CD, 2006, THE LEAF LABEL, U.K.

Cascading beauty from electro-acoustic troubadors, Keiron Phelan and David Sheppard, hot on the heels of the duo's other project, State River Widening (with percussionist Jon Steele) and their record, Cottonhead (released a year prior to this release), Phelan Sheppard have dug deep into the emotional recesses of their psyches to produce a finely crafted and gorgeously stunning long-player. Plenty of bells and whistles on this one amidst the simplicity of the acoustics and the occasional Spanish vocal contributions from an uncredited female vocalist, there is a lot of rich texture derived from a multitude of organic and electronic instruments really satisfying the palette of the 'adventuresome' listener. Nice blends of found-sound, and other twinkles and scrapes coalesce into music for both the heart and the head. Tracks like, The Weaving Song and Lady Never City create a mood of intrigue and mystery, then have it all come crumbling down with unnerving beauty. Sure there are plenty of strings, and if you're the type who doesn't want to succumb to the predictable heart-string tuggings that said instruments usually shoot for, it's never used too blatant or generically just to provoke those responses. Phelan Sheppard is a collaboration that sounds wholly of it's own, and gently carves out a nice niche in the electro-acoustic scene. I am looking forward to what this group has to offer in the not-too distant future, but in the meantime I hope they take their time at crafting something that was as free-thinking and flowy as this superb excursion.

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LANDING - SPHERE, CD, 2004, K RECORDS, USA

Husband and wife duo, Aaron and Adrienne Snow, comprise the 'core' of the 'slowcore' outfit known as Landing, and on Sphere, their fourth record and second for K, the ethereal qualities shine through over carefully arranged minimalist guitar, sparse drumming, space synths and hovering vocals. What makes Sphere an interesting record is how involved everything sounds; every synth-wash, repetitious guitar rhythm and wind-carried voice add to the construction of something supremely beautiful, and right when it peaks, the whole damn thing melts away into oblivion, only to be carried off by some acoustic pluckery or synth horizon-drifting. If you're one of the hazy types that doesn't mind getting lost in the aural blankets that this group wraps its listeners in, then Sphere might be the drug-induced answer to your Saturday post-afternoon boredoms.

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POLE - STEINGARTEN, CD, 2007, ~scape RECORDS, GERMANY

Downtempo never sounded this upbeat. Don't get me wrong, neither of those 'tags' does this music justice, as Stefan Betke, who goes by the moniker Pole, really created a nice patchwork of some über-groove space-out chill tunes, and stuck a famous German castle on the cover. What Betke does best is maximized on this release, and there are plenty of drippies, bleeps, bloops and slurps, giving his record a natural, by way of drain bramaged laptop keystroke, ambiance. The layers don't hide anything, like most psychedelic records utilize to their advantage, but instead compliment each other quite well. Don't believe me? Check it for yerself. This IDM tide-washer will certainly hold you over if you're a Kompakt records fan, or if you like the German electronic output of the last ten years. Steingarten! If you haven't garten it, you need to. Man, that was a bad pun...

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BLACKOUT BEACH - SKIN OF EVIL, CD, 2009, SOFT ABUSE RECORDS, CANADA

Carey Mercer, from the underrated groups Frog Eyes and Swan Lake, released his second solo album, Skin of Evil, in '09 and it is just as tremendous and cryptic as one would expect from this soliloquy spouting spire. Drenched in a cavernous reverb and filled with sneaky guitar puzzles, the album tells the story of a woman named Donna who destroys every man she comes into contact with, typically in a disturbing fashion, and Mercer comes to us as a tormented chorus detailing each exploit in forceful ferocious fashion. Though this 'violent' record feels sparse with its instrumentation, it's also packed with a whopping dread-inducing atmosphere, whilst Carey goes along with his howling rants, making the untrained listener feel as if he were making shit up as he went along. Despite the fact that this record is only 30 mins long, it carries the weight of a double-LP concept record; quite the feat! If you're a die-hard Frog Eyes fan or enjoyed the Mercer tracks off of both of the Swan Lake albums, you'll want to give this a listen. You won't be disappointed, but you might raise your sacrificial goblet to the stars and claim a dead virgin for yourself; I guess it comes with the territory.

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HOWE HOME - THE LISTENER, CD, 2003, THRILL JOCKEY RECORDS, USA

The astounding mastermind behind Giant Sand, Howe Gelb, marks his entry here with this sublimely gorgeous offering ripe with gloom, sadness and the most beautiful self-wallowing this side of Leonard Cohen. The arrangements here are equally lush and sparse, and manage to capture the obscure smokey lounge environment where this album was most likely conceived. The jazz/lounge set-up is ideal for Howe to let loose with his cannon of sharply bent lyrics and his trademark downward-slanted voice, and once he gets going it's hard for him to stop (not that I'm complaining). There is so much in this album that feels natural and gorgeous that it carries an air of mystery to it, and it's these qualities that always keeps me coming back. This record really flew under the radar upon first release, but every review I have read for this album has been nothing short of glowing. It's well-deserved as well, because this is one of those records you can throw on after a really bad day, and though you might not 'feel better', you definitely won't feel alone.

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THE RED KRAYOLA WITH ART & LANGUAGE - SIGHS TRAPPED BY LIARS, CD, 2007, DRAG CITY RECORDS, USA

The legendary 60s Houston psychedelic wunderkind, Mayo Thompson, along with the associated Arts & Language, released this oddly interesting folk-pop album a few years back on the Drag City label and the result is perplexing. For one thing, Mayo is not the central vocalist on the album, in fact his vocals are completely absent, and instead we get the soothing and lovely breathings and cooings of Elisa Randazzo and Sandy Yang, which makes the album sound drastically accessible to unknowing ears unfamiliar with the Red Krayola's varied discography. Lyrically, most of the tracks are predominantly centered around cats and mirrors; two themes that seem simple but tangent off in humorous and spacey contemplation. Some of the songs even harken back to the indie-folk of The Finches or the indie-pop of The Postmarks, but every now and then they let loose with a jazzier side of operating, and the two vocalists drip with both sensuality and intoxication leaving a very pleasant aftertaste. Regardless of the many directions Red Krayola has taken over the years, this is truly a strange step for a strange band to produce something so normal, yet still oddly weird.

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BOHACK - IT TOOK SEVERAL WIVES, LP, 1982, FAMILY FRIEND RECORDS, USA

Way back in 1982, before Vincent Gallo was 'Vincent Gallo', there existed a little three-piece outfit known as Bohack that churned out some abrasive, textural, percussive-heavy freak jams. Their only release was this, It Took Several Wives, and it is truly a gem. What we have here are some very self-contained ideas of unlimited jabberwocky presented as an organic industrial opus. Minimalistic in its delivery yet sonically appeasing, it seems that Gallo was riding a different wave than the one he was on while releasing 'When' on Warp Records in 2001. This LP is distinctive in that it brings to mind a lot of Neue Duetsche Welle and 80s cassette artists such as the XX -UU album and Ich Und Die Wirklichkeit through its wankery and manipulation of metal banging and odd percussive fragrances accompanied marginally by piano or even a slithering vocal on one track. Bohack were a very interesting trio and will hopefully be recognized in time as another significant side of the coin, Gallo.

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MOUTHUS - FOLLOW THIS HOUSE, CD, 2007, IMPORTANT RECORDS, USA

Brooklyn duo, Mouthus, have had a pretty prolific stream since their birth in 2002. The group has been known for cranking out the sludge and maximizing the bizarre with a steady stream of releases from a wide variety of labels such as Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace! as well as Psych-O-Path, Troubleman Unlimited, Load, Music Fellowship and many many others. This release, which came out on Important Records, is a highlight in the catalogue with it's murky tone, eerie vocals and crunch-skronk atmospherics; it feels like the coming of the apocalypse, if you were trapped in a cave the whole time. A truly adventuresome yet dark as night terrain-crossing plasma feast. Throw it on, light some candles and get haunted with your bad self.

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DANIELSON FAMILE - A PRAYER FOR EVERY HOUR, CD, 1995, TOOTH & NAIL RECORDS, USA

Well folks, here is the genesis (in more ways than one) of arty-Christkid, Daniel Smith, and his collaboration with however many brothers and sisters decided to make music with him on this go-around. It's all here: the arts-and-crafts approach, the squeaky vocals, the random 'amens' called out, the xylophones; this is where it all came together! Those who never thought this band was accessible will be surprised to find that this album is the toughest, artiest and most jagged crag to emerge from Brother Danielson. Initially comprised as his thesis for Rutgers, this 24 track adventure is supposed to be played one track every hour to complete a 24 hour devotion to God. I'm sure a lot of Christians would shut this off after hearing 20 seconds of the first track, but to all of you that crave the strange, there is more than enough here to write home about. Heavily focused on rhythm, and even having a somewhat klezmer tinge, these tracks range from just about everything to just about everything, and though it mainly centers on guitar, there are some funny field recordings of Dan's fam thrown in the bunch. Through and throughout, this album is jam-packed with ideas, and whether they work or not is all up to you; judge not lest ye be judged. however if you're brave enough to take the trip you might just recognize the genius young Daniel Smith had early on. Here's the instructions below to demonstrate how to listen to this contraption:

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ELEKIBASS - WELCOME WONDERFUL WORLD, CD, 2005, HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME RECORDS, JAPAN

Let me be the first to say if you haven't downloaded this already based on the zany-ass cover art alone, then you are indeed missing out on an Elephant 6 influenced pop spectacle, filtered through the vocals of the most heavily-accented japanese people singing the most joyous and hope-filled tunes of fantabulous child-like wonder. This record never loses its stride and would make any listener jealous that they aren't having as great of a time as these 60s pop-inspired weirdos. Many an odd instrument comes into play on this album, though mainly it's the kazoo. It's fun to play the 'what the hell is that sound' game while listening to this splendid warped saturday-morning odyssey. Tracks like, I Don't Want to Clap My Hands and Not to be Taken Away, can make anyone feel young again, and the records standout, Almanack, is filled with so many hooks it's hard to sit still. The best thing about this album is how each song drills its way into yer brain and mixes things up a bit. It makes me glad that every song on here is a sing-a-long, because you'll be joining in before you know it...well maybe that's too much to hope for, but 'hope' is really what Elekibass is all about.

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THE GOLDING INSTITUTE - FINAL RELAXATION, CD, 2006, IPECAC RECORDS, USA

Way back in '07, I was working at the local Good Records here in Dallas and after rummaging for my next employee-discounted purchase in the used CD section I stumbled upon this treasure. The beached whale on the cover juxtaposed with the words Final Relaxation in huge caps above really sums up what this record is all about. What we have here is quite simply a relaxation CD, narrated by a man (the late great Neil Hamburger) with a voice that borders on soothing and sinister. He will detail to you, over the next half-hour, how to relax yourself into a state of sleep that you might have a little trouble waking from, because you will be dead. That right there is the gimmick to this splendid little tease of a self-help CD. The most amazing thing about this record is how hard it is to shut off and not listen to all the way through. The narrator is consistently funny in his vocal delivery and the ominous tones in the background actually make this CD slightly relaxing, but you'll be laughing too hard to notice. By the end of the CD he completely lets loose with tantalizing instructions of how to self-mutilate and strangle yourself. All in all a very interesting & hilarious find, and one that will be hard to forget soon after.

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PANDA BEAR - S/T, CD, 1998, SOCCER STAR RECORDS, USA

Before he was breaking hearts with Person Pitch, and shortly before Animal Collective started gaining traction, Mr. Noah Lennox dumped this full-length on the world, issued out by friend and other AC member, Josh Dibb, on his Soccer Star label. The result is an uneven yet intriguing and at times vastly beautiful piece of acoustic balladry and electronic fusion hazed over in bedroom reverb and dewey-eyed nostalgia. The rawness of Noah's vocals really captures the disillusioned period most of us experience growing up in America and figuring out how to do that whole relationship thing without getting too hurt. The tracks without vocals however are the little gems that make this record more than a man's musings on girl woes, and tracks such as Liebe Auf Den Ersten Blick combine both the acoustic and electronic with surprising fluidity. Since Noah was on the brink of becoming a twenty-year old and it was also 1998, a year that brought such films as Armageddon and Can't Hardly Wait to mainstream audiences, it could easily be known that Panda Bear's self-titled would be the perfect thing to listen to if your music tastes were starting to veer off of whatever the local Blockbuster Music had as its top picks. Sure it might not sound like the best record production-wise, and that really packs it with an intimate charm. In a pre-Napster world, I'm sure I would have cried myself to sleep spinning the track, A Musician and a Filmmaker, many a night.

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TRIPPING DAISY - BILL, CD, 1992, DRAGON STREET RECORDS, USA

Before Tim Delaughter and company were making lysergic-drenched hippie sunshine pop with Dallas-based, The Polyphonic Spree, they were known around these parts as the magical space-grunge psych-pop, Tripping Daisy. Pre-choir and pre-robes, these sonic youngsters rose to quick fame due to a mediocre pop hit, I Got a Girl, then got completely screwed by Island Records when they decided to explore the interstellar boundaries of pop music and released their cult-acclaimed Jesus Hits Like the Atom Bomb. Way back before any of this, Tripping Daisy was still an adventuresome quartet and they dropped a solid nugget on us via the now defunct, Dragon Street Records.

Bill is a record that sounds very much of its time and very much of the funtastic pop-rock that grew out of the early '90s. Like-minded bands such as Jellyfish and Waxing Poetics also bring to mind the chorus-effected guitar pluckies and vocal warbles. Tim himself sounds like a cross between Wayne Coyne and Perry Farrell. What makes Bill stand out is the hints of experimentation on tracks like, The Morning and Triangle, mixed with straightforward sugar sweets like the lead-track, My Umbrella or the incredible, Miles and Miles of Pain. Included on the Dragon Street release, and what makes this more rare than the Island re-issue is the inclusion of a cover of Green Tambourine by The Lemon Pipers, and the last track which is a hilarious voyage into Tim Delaughter's story psyche when he details his journey with friend, Pink Jelly, as they climb a mountain made of shit and spit colors on each other.

Bill is certainly a memorable ride, and yes that is a picture of Tim's grandfather on the cover.

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