tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60606784019398954152024-03-05T21:25:57.931-08:00THE ACTIVE LISTENERMusic news, reviews and more for the eclectic listener.Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.comBlogger1765125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-91728642513948637132020-04-11T21:58:00.000-07:002020-04-11T21:58:55.108-07:00The Return of The Active Listener Sampler<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hi folks. I hope everyone is doing OK in these crazy, uncertain times.<br />
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It's been a few years since you've all heard from me, but I figured everyone (myself included) could do with a little distraction, so I put a few feelers out to see if anyone was still interested in our old samplers. To my surprise, I received an overwhelmingly positive response from readers and artists alike so here we are with a brand new sampler. No idea at this stage whether this will just be a one-off or the start of something that appears on at least a semi-regular basis. To a certain extent that will depend on you and the response this receives.<br />
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So, assuming this is the start of something, I'm now open to receiving submissions for future samplers as well. If you're an artist who would like to feature on a future sampler please feel free to email me at theactivelistener@hotmail.com with download codes / links etc. Please note that these will only be used for sampler purposes - I have no plans to start reviewing again. And that due to the number of submissions I receive, I cannot guarantee a feature.<br />
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But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's the new sampler. Enjoy it. 26 tracks from artists familiar and new, including teasers for upcoming albums and lots of demos, outtakes and otherwise unavailable material from a host of your favourites.<br />
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And please remember that it's pretty tough being a musician at the moment. With widespread gig cancellations and few outlets currently available to sell merchandise, artists need a bit of a helping hand right now. If you hear anything you like here, please visit the individual artist links on the Bandcamp page and buy some merch and music.<br />
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<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=52240049/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://theactivelistener.bandcamp.com/album/the-active-listener-sampler-2020">The Active Listener Sampler 2020 by The Active Listener</a></iframe>Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-64104880234987963372018-09-11T14:20:00.002-07:002018-09-11T14:20:47.783-07:00So long, and thanks for all the fishHi All.<br />
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I just wanted to make official what you've all probably suspected for months now.<br />
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The Active Listener has closed up shop and ceased operations. There are a number of reasons for this, but mostly it comes down to the time it consumes, and my lack of time to commit to it.<br />
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So there will be no further posts on the Active Listener. I hope you've enjoyed what we've done over the years. If we've turned you on to one thing that you wouldn't have found out about otherwise, then we've done what we set out to do.<br />
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The website, Bandcamp page and Facebook account will all remain active resources for your use so hopefully they will continue to spread the good word about these wonderful artists in that capacity.<br />
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I'd just like to offer a big thanks to all of the contributors, artists and labels that have helped spread the word and create a community which I hope will continue to thrive.<br />
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Most of all though I'd like to thank you, the reader, for your continued support through our various ups and downs. You're all champs.<br />
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Live well and be happy x<br />
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<br />Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-39338977454809835972018-05-22T14:20:00.001-07:002018-05-22T14:20:43.440-07:00Thin White Rope - Exploring the Axis / Moonhead<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Tempus fugit. It seems scarcely credible to me that I first listened to <i>Exploring The Axis</i> by Davis, California guitar heroes Thin White Rope some 33 years ago. Now remastered by the good folks at Frontier Records and unleashed on limited vinyl runs, the first two Thin White Rope records emerge once more blinking into the light of a red sun reclaiming their rightful place at the very forefront of what we call great independent guitar music.
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Context is a good thing. There are two main narratives that are generally considered when we examine California as a centrepoint for musical excellence. The first is the one that radiates in the sunlight and the surf and took the likes of Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks into the realms of odyssey - mythologizing a place of endless summer and good vibrations where fun,fun,fun can be had with reckless abandon. The second narrative is less settling and juxtaposes worldliness and black humour with emotional entropy and the mundanity of violence both real and imagined. This is the one picturing a Venice Beach with Jim Morrison lashed to the joists of Venice Pier, blood spewing from his mouth, of Arthur Lee alienated and sitting on the hillside watching all the people die, of punk rock disaffection with posters strewn at Johnny Mathis' Feet.
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This dystopian California, of loathing and bittersweet wonder is the territory that Thin White Rope would pitch up in and proceed to rule for the best part of a decade. Their studies of personal dysfunction, mental illness, relationship breakdown, chemical hallucination and (barely suppressed) violence are shot through with some of the most original guitar playing you will ever hear anywhere. This marked them out from their sunny 'Paisley Underground' contemporaries like the black sheep of the family that they probably never belonged to in the first place. This was underground rock from the magma under the desert soil, claustrophobic and often dark. At times they resembled a desert baked Television, at others a peyote chewing Steely Dan but always and ultimately Thin White Rope transmitted their own new and thrilling musical language that once tuned into can never be vanquished.
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<i>Exploring The Axis</i>, the bands 1985 debut, remains amongst the best debut LPs recorded and released in the 1980's. This probably shunts it comfortably into the best debut LPs ever recorded. The band's principle songwriter and dual lead guitar player Guy Kyser writing almost all of the songs with a keen eye for dissonant melody and in partnership with key ally, Roger Kunkel, probably the most consistently intelligent use of controlled feedback that I have ever heard. Opener 'Down in the Desert' is the story of the bands associate 'Karl' who drives into the desert one day and has a nervous breakdown, coming back to his friends profoundly changed but unable to tell them what happened or why. This narrative sits astride a melody and arrangement that I can only describe as a really rather pissed-off/sawn-off 'Alone Again Or'. As a first sonic signal to the wider world it was bold and new and brilliant. 'Disney Girl' is about as far away from The Beach Boys as you can get, its unsettling feedback drones and detached analytical vocal/lyric giving way to sumptuous guitar interplay and flagging another of their innovations - feedback as a swooping, swirling, background vocal - no one had pulled that before. 'Lithium' is the best song with that title from many contenders with its beautiful guitar interplay and feeling of high plains drifting - an essay in distance to borrow a phrase. Awesome. 'Dead Granma's On A Train' poses the question of what might happen if you soul mate's antecedents were killed generations before you came around. This is framed in what would become a classic 'Indie-Americana' arrangement with spangling country-fried guitars and a fiery Kyser vocal reminiscent of Johnny Cash at his most snotty. A gem. The title track closes the record and is just monolithic. It is to <i>Exploring The Axis </i>what 'The End' is to The Doors debut. A chilling tale of hallucination, madness and possible (imagined) murder wrapped in a melody and vocal performance that relentlessly stalks you and reels you in to it's utterly terrible climax. Its "Marquee Moon" meets <i>The Shining</i>. A ridiculously powerful closing statement and one that had me desperate waiting for the follow-up.
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By 1987, the speed at which Thin White Rope were evolving into standard bearers at the vanguard of intelligent independent guitar music was becoming abundantly clear. If <i>Exploring The Axis</i> unveiled a Pandora's Box for our inspection then <i>Moonhead</i> not so much opened it as detonated it into a million tiny pieces. The music on this sophomore release is pulled deeper into the earth with terrible certainty, sulphuric and volcanic plumes of guitar ejecting across the night sky. The performances captured here crackle and smoulder with an incandescent and dazzling fury .
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Opener 'It's Not Your Fault' looms into view on a truly gargantuan and twisted feedback laden guitar riff, its accompanying narrative setting the tone for the remainder of the record with its feelings of guilt, disappointment, bemusement and fatalism. The ante is upped further on the following detonation of 'Wire Animals'. This is a conflagration posing as a primitive hoedown that scorches your ears and blows your head off before those amazing twin guitars relent, squalling to a molten finale. In my humble opinion it is as good a song as you will hear. Ever. 'Thing' on one level is incongruous and perverse with its simple acoustic guitar and brief, tender vocal disarming you but ultimately it's still a song about disappointment and unresolved feelings. The titular 'Moonhead' is spectacular - a beautiful construction that builds on silvery guitar lines before pulling back the covers to expose a terrible secret. 'Wet Heart' is a dilemma, surgically removed from its author on twin incisions of feedback guitar. 'Come Around' provides an almost light relief with it's conversational, bar-room tone and lightly skipping Nashville beat. This is soon discarded 'If Those Tears' is as dark as a Mojave midnight, swinging and dangling shards of guitar that endlessly criss-cross over an intensely delivered vocal focused on betrayal. 'Crawl Piss Freeze' closes the set - a grindingly abstract Lynchian prose piece that leaves the listener stranded by the side of the highway in the starry silence of the night as the tail lights of the battered pick up truck you were hitching a ride in fades away. <i>Moonhead</i> has changed you but like most of the protagonists in its collection of songs you aren't completely sure how or why.
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And there we leave the story for now. Two crucial outings from the 1980's that defined much of what would follow have been cleaned up and sent back into battle.<i> Exploring The Axis </i>and <i>Moonhead </i>are available directly from the label here or from selected stockists around the globe. It's worth noting that the label is selling some super limited vinyl variants (150 of each on vinyl) so if that floats your boat go straight to the source.<br />
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<i>Shaun C. Rogan </i><br />
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<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1437428876/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://frontierrecords-thinwhiterope.bandcamp.com/album/exploring-the-axis-2018-remastered-edition">Exploring The Axis - 2018 Remastered Edition by Thin White Rope</a></iframe>
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<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2266936439/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://frontierrecords-thinwhiterope.bandcamp.com/album/moonhead-2018-remastered-edition">Moonhead - 2018 Remastered Edition by Thin White Rope</a></iframe>Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-9207465253963330952018-05-22T02:19:00.003-07:002018-05-22T02:22:21.336-07:00Bong Wish EP<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Before the end of 2017, Beyond Beyond is Beyond Records released Bong Wish’s self-titled EP on a limited-edition cassette. It’s now in its second limited-edition run.<br />
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Bong Wish is the moniker of Boston-based musician Mariam Saleh, and is enigmatic in scope, splitting the difference between the counterculture folk-rock of decades past and the modern conundrum of existence particular to the 21st century. Just <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o62Ti-ZxFq8" target="_blank">take a look at the video</a> for the wonderful cassette opener, “My Luv,” in which Miriam both wanders through nature and contemplates her smartphone.<br />
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Lyrically, Bong Wish leads listeners through universal themes, themes familiar to the genre’s followers – interpersonal relationships, loneliness and nature – but there’s mystery in the familiarity, particularly in ambiguous and beautiful lines like “When the night hasn’t left in days… The light is just a door away.”<br />
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Everything is delivered with such confidence the result sounds almost prescriptive, a cure for age-old ennui and new skepticism – and perhaps it is. With both whimsy and assurance, Bong Wish is a small dose, at four tracks, of just what’s needed now.
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In just four songs, Saleh and friends cover a lot of ground, but standout track, “Conversation with Business People,” sees the most divergence from its peers. With a tight rhythm section as a background, layers come and go across its full six minutes. There’s room for some interesting experimentation and instrumentation in its middle, though its use of minimalism over maximalism maintains the earthy core that ties everything so neatly together.
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I’ve sat with this review for a long time, and these songs just keep getting better.
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Highly recommended.<br />
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<i>Joseph Murphy </i><br />
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The Bong Wish EP cassette and digital files are available from the Beyond Beyond is Beyond Bandcamp page. Stream it all there, too.
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<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1369389152/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://bongwish.bandcamp.com/album/bong-wish-ep">Bong Wish EP by Bong Wish</a></iframe>Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-3854867562922599062018-04-15T01:48:00.000-07:002018-04-15T01:48:01.295-07:00Retep Folo - Galactic Sounds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ah 2018 begins to really swing into action with a new release on the ever dependable Clay Pipe Music. 'Galactic Sounds' by Retep Folo (or Peter Olof Fransson to you and I) signals a departure from the rather more earthbound and hauntological releases we have come to expect from this most exquisite East London based label. This new offering is concerned with more celestial matters although, it must be said, the fit with Clay Pipe is as strong as any other output despite a rather more cosmic frame of reference. It is a match made in the heavens.
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So, 'Galactic Sounds' - a series of 16 often joyful soundscapes and playful sonic riddles, mainly driven by vintage keys and synths evoking that wonder of the universe many of us begin to engage with in childhood and often retain throughout the rest of our lives. Part reminiscence, part homage to 70’s library music and part futuristic hymnal musical adventure. The pieces here are simply constructed, allowing the visitor to wander in and out of them and to luxuriate in the gently compelling thinking space they offer. This approach, tastefully deployed, contributes to 'Galactic Sounds' being a resounding success and very worthy of your time.
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As with any mission to the stars, a smooth take off is absolutely essential and opener ‘Galactic Pulse’ performs this feat perfectly, gently lifting off from the launch pad and sending us up toward the heavens. A combination of sparkling synth and vintage electronic rhythmic accompaniment providing all the fuel and direction we need. This is a first class sonic cabin and the only way is upward – would you like a Martini?
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Picking out particular pieces for praise can be a rather futile exercise on this particular mission as everything hangs together beautifully but perhaps the dazzling optimism of 'Galactic Spring' is a good place to start. Its shimmering drifts of sound gently orbiting the listener, decorating the mind with all manner of lovely pictures. ‘Galactic Friends’ flutters and drifts gently across your minds eye, its awe and musing hidden beneath gaseous clouds of musical neon. 'Galactic Dream' recalls Bacharach as imagined by Isaac Asimov with its insistent major chord refrain giving it an almost 'Walk On By' quality. 'Galactic Cruise' is as close to a romp as anything on this fine record with a strange dislocated groove - part swinging bossa-nova and part bluesy supernova.
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Elsewhere, the mood is more contemplative such as the interstellar waltz of 'Galactic Children' which threatens to send us into a lunar orbit that places us permanently witnessing a corona rather than dazzling sunshine. Similarly, 'Galactic Flare' has an undertow that warns the passenger that not all in the Universe is benign and that respectful distance is sometimes the order of the day.
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Our tour of the galaxy is brought to a suitably cosmic conclusion by the deeply impressionistic and infinitely monolithic 'Galactic End'. A backdrop of deeply ecclesiastical organ drones coupled with an icing of starry skied twinkling filigrees of sound. Its a sonic message in a bottle sailing gently away from the gravitational pull of our Sun and heading serenely toward other distant, perhaps more peaceful worlds.
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Thanks to ‘Galactic Sounds’ you, the active listener, have found your spot in the firmament and Retep Folo waves you a fond farewell as he recedes into the infinite distance. This has been a very satisfying voyage and one that I will be seeking to make again soon. I suggest you buckle up and do the same, after all, we are all made of stars.
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'Galactic Sounds' is available on vinyl (with download) <a href="https://claypipemusic.greedbag.com/buy/galactic-sounds-0/" target="_blank">directly from Clay Pipe</a> and from independent retailers of taste and discernment. Don't snooze on this one if you want a physical copy, Clay Pipe vinyl releases invariably sell out shortly after release.<br />
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Shaun C. Rogan
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<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/398217579&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true" width="100%"></iframe>Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-88176859034748180192018-04-04T19:00:00.001-07:002018-04-04T19:00:51.845-07:00Trappist Afterland - Se(VII)en<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Trappist Afterland, the vehicle for the sound and visions of Melbourne based Adam Geoffrey Cole and his fellow travellers, have subtly and gradually become one of the most crucial and critically acclaimed psych bands of modern times. Album such as 2015’s essential ‘Afterlander’ and their most recent masterwork ‘God’s Green Earth’ have spread the word, as have extensive European tour schedules and a carefully and beautifully presented repressing of their back catalogue by both Sunstone and Sugar Bush Records. Trappist Afterland’s richly detailed and esoteric instrumentation (bowed psaltery, hammered dulcimer, cittern), not to mention their spiritual and existential convictions and themes and their enduring melodies have placed them in the position of an Incredible String Band for our times. This new opus then comes at a time when their critical fortunes have never been as high and not only does it not disappoint it adds to their deserved reputation and takes the band into new and deeper territory.
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Opener '1+1=3' begins with the hypnotic and circular mantra style guitar that Trappist have become known for, hand drums and tabla picking out a steady, processional pace as Cole's distinctive vocals intone and incantate, with flutes and strings weaving in and out of view. Heady but also tight, economical and without indulgence, there is a quiet, inherent brooding power to be found in Trappist’s singular and inspired vision. 'Burning Bushes' guitar is yet more insistent, building and layering amongst violin and finger cymbals, hinting at some of the early work of Six Organs of Admittance (such as Dark Noontide), a dark hued tension developing as the song grows and loops, lost in its own trance. Sounding more haunted than 'God's Good Earth' and sparser and more stripped back than its predecessor, the opulent and esoteric 'Afterlander', 'Se{VII)en' is Trappist Afterland distilled, refined and at their most pure. 'Elm And Bracken' is a case in point; with its haunting Jew’s harp and harmonium this is a ghost of a song, walking the earth in its percussive earthly chains, every footstep a funereal drumbeat. Here Trappist have much in common with their spiritual and musical brothers Stone Breath, the persistent and rhythmic strum and beat becoming its own heartbeat.
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Next, 'Forest Mass' enters on a hushed bed of finger picked guitar, Cole's vocals yearning and desperate, moss covered and rooted in the heart of the woodland. Eerie backwards sounds drift through like mist between trees, a lament to the shadows, leaves and branches. 'Knot In Wood's mandolin march is hugely stirring and deeply emotive, the eastern tinged strings whipping the song into a dervish of pleading and devotion whilst 'Sundog', a paean to a lost companion, is bookended by a moving spoken word piece by Alan from Kitchen Cynics, the piece a funeral mass of quiet dignity and beauty. 'Stickboy' meanwhile is a delicate and wistful work that reminds this listener of Joseph Budenholzer's Backworld project, both pensive and wounded but filled with earthy beauty. 'The Blood in the Wood' begins as a chant or prayer, before the steady, hand drum calls time to a swirl of strings and percussion. As the song builds pace you can feel the hairs on your neck rise; Trappist Afterland are an immersive experience, they are not and will never be background music. 'This Clock, Tick Tock' broods and buries itself into the soul, vintage synth punctuating the guitars with a spectral melancholy until album closer 'Trace Your Root' offers a brightness, sitar and flute emerging into sunlight, reminiscent Mike Heron's 'Audrey' and a thing of genuine loveliness.
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<br />
'Se(VII)en' then is a further triumph for Trappist Afterland, a new jewel amongst their already burgeoning treasures. Perfectly formed for newcomers and old hands alike there is a profound vision and cohesion to this work that suggests a timelessness, that in twenty or thirty years this album will be seen as a classic psych release of this (or indeed any other) era. Seek this out without hesitation; highly recommended.<br />
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<i>Grey Malkin </i><br />
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Available through Bandcamp (below) and from the splendid <a href="http://www.sunstonerecords.co.uk/shop/trappist-afterland-seviien" target="_blank">Sunstone Records</a>.<br />
<br />
And UK folks have still got a couple of chances to catch him over the coming few days, performing with the illustrious Keith Christmas, Kitchen Cynics, David Colohan and more. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/trappistafterland/photos/a.382808901731225.99751.199615200050597/1791979067480861/?type=1&theater" target="_blank">Info here.</a> <br />
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<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3997061840/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://trappistafterland.bandcamp.com/album/se-vii-en">Se(VII)en by trappist afterland</a></iframe>Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-5629582350173672902018-03-27T20:54:00.002-07:002018-03-29T22:29:08.903-07:00Premiere - Our Solar System - Monte Verita<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6_2q1iw0MidL7cnL_9D0kcmU4aE9t43TmMtP9qfPt3GBEJ_dBbfFBGhIlZamG3SAyge36Dx6npvb-ZDGR_QDXfXyeknpyLaexNOT25sI9_R8VkGVU0Yi7ZOOQDhDAsedD0baUoka2nA4Q/s1600/OurSolarSystem-pressphoto2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1580" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6_2q1iw0MidL7cnL_9D0kcmU4aE9t43TmMtP9qfPt3GBEJ_dBbfFBGhIlZamG3SAyge36Dx6npvb-ZDGR_QDXfXyeknpyLaexNOT25sI9_R8VkGVU0Yi7ZOOQDhDAsedD0baUoka2nA4Q/s640/OurSolarSystem-pressphoto2018.jpg" width="630" /></a></div>
<br />
Here's something to get excited about: a new album (the fifth, to be exact) from Swedish psych - jazz - prog collective Our Solar System.<br />
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Dungen followers will already be familiar with Our Solar System, as they count Mattias Gustavsson among their number.<br />
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"Origins" is undoubtedly their strongest album to this point, a communal outpouring in a manner that will be lapped up by those that appreciate efforts in a similar spirit by the likes of Amon Duul and Sun Ra's Arkestra.<br />
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"Origins" is out in a multitude of formats from the wonderful Beyond is Beyond Beyond Records on May 11, but pre-orders are up now and selling fast.<br />
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We've got an exclusive premiere of the album's closing track "Monte Verita" for you right now, and you can follow the links below to pre-order. <br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2832710946/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/track=3231096727/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://oursolarsystem.bandcamp.com/album/origins-pre-order">Origins (PRE-ORDER) by Our Solar System</a></iframe>Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-57321125692863256122018-03-22T02:45:00.000-07:002018-03-22T02:45:04.002-07:00Pansies - Cascade of Colors<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Many records purport to be psychedelic. Many record label people and record dealers bandy the word psychedelic around like confetti, sprinkling records with fairydust that the sonic evidence contradicts. A lot of so-called psychedelic music is blues rock, hard rock, prog rock, straight folk, AOR, lounge or something else. Pansies are a psychedelic band channeling classic psychedelia and their debut LP, which sneaked out just as 2017 morphed into 2018, is a true and instant classic of the genre. It is totally utterly and wonderfully psychedelic. Pansies blow minds for a living.
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Opener, 'Just Like Yesterday' snakes out of the speakers on waves of gently descending Hammond chords and Leslie-speaker treated vocals that frame much of the following songs. Think Procol Harum jamming out with July aboard a not-so Jolly Mary and you are beginning to dig their scene. It is drenched and spins with beautiful thoughtfulness on its own pulsing axis before taking flight and heading off into the clouds. 'Golden Day' follows in its wake and its insistent crashing organ/drum riff reminds me of Five Day Rain's classic 'Leave It At That'. This may be my favourite on the record - its an absolute gem of mind crushing proportions that has me hitting repeat over and over. 'Green Apple Eyes' follows and is stoned to the point of obliteration - its deliciously sloppy double tracked vocal opening drives me insane. I swear there is a trombone in the mix somewhere but the rational part of me says 'no'. Either way its a real swinging affair with a trademark 'Carnaby Street' girl-boy- beat-psych chord progression - all drainpipe jeans and paisley shirted strut. And a pair of beautiful white leather shoes.Fabulous.
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"Crystal's Nightmare" is moody and shot through with shadows and reflections, that driving, splashing Hammond organ and spidery guitar stabs giving a phantasmagorical edge - a delicious downer that somehow manages to execute a great double take at the end. "Shoreline Of Your Mind" is a chamber psych trip that evokes the ghost of Felius Andromeda and J.K. & Co. in equal measure. Pansies know the wisdom of meditating in eternity and are happy to share it with you. "Hobbit's Song" is wistful and bounces along on a day-glo trampoline of organ and drums, a perfect pick me up. "Strange Dream" is a doozy - slowly unfurling it's charms in an seemingly endless fractal pattern with a neatly buried vocal line that places its velvet deep underground, navigating a meandering course through the gently wavering synapses of your mind.
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<br />
Matters are brought to a suitably wasted resolution with the massive, lumbering asteroid of sound that is "Another Time" which seems to float by and through the listener. The smell of incense is heavy and entangled up in swirling organ before setting off with soft explosion into the indeterminate, star spangled distance. Somewhere at least 2,000 light years from home.
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<br />
So there you have it, the record released at the death of 2017 that should be on every shortlist for best record of 2018. Pansies have captured it, distilled it and recorded it for your listening pleasure. They are a truly psychedelic band, they are a synaesthesia and they are my clowns who I love more than you know. You like psyche? You need this record - go to it.<br />
<br />
<i>Shaun C. Rogan </i><br />
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<i>Cascade of Colors</i> is available here:
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<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1666108497/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://ongakubakarecords.bandcamp.com/album/cascade-of-colors">Cascade of Colors by Pansies</a></iframe>Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-52644303270523053522018-03-19T11:20:00.001-07:002018-03-19T11:20:07.103-07:00Dead Sea Apes - Recondite<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEF779YaNaIyuGY0FIlaemiF6S8avgNnOBIALu0ryO-gadbKGCgQrGTtqTBxZ4fUCM3QVqTEFX_G8dvHXgi_uSUKTwtOZVAfz1-HZsmkiuhBwVvjxvaHnp_g2AoDvzWu6oL0pwI2L0mXf8/s1600/tm3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEF779YaNaIyuGY0FIlaemiF6S8avgNnOBIALu0ryO-gadbKGCgQrGTtqTBxZ4fUCM3QVqTEFX_G8dvHXgi_uSUKTwtOZVAfz1-HZsmkiuhBwVvjxvaHnp_g2AoDvzWu6oL0pwI2L0mXf8/s640/tm3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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If you’re reading this here, Dead Sea Apes is likely a household name to you by now. Since 2009, the Manchester instrumental three-piece has built an impressive back catalog of heavy psych that both defines and transcends the genre, absorbing along the way adjacent sounds: lush post-rock, ambient dub, Krautrock and experimental punk – see last year’s <i>Sixth Side of the Pentagon</i> or their collaboration with writer and artist Adam Stone for <i>In the Year 2039</i>.
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<br />
These latest additions on <i>Recondite</i> – 11 tracks, 80 minutes – represent a broad swath of their permutations, including alternate takes and covers. Tying these all together is a dedication to experimentation and musicianship. Dead Sea Apes can do heavy, but they can equally soothe and meditate.
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<i>Recondite</i> opens with an alternate take on “Tentacles (The Machine Rolls On),” once again featuring Adam Stone. Against some serious reverb and experimentation, “Tentacles” stretches out and eases through its dub-infused rhythm, while Stone narrates like a mad preacher, unrelenting until the song dismantles itself. “Coronal” follows and builds upon a drone to a crashing outro, remodeling post-rock into psych madness. Standout track, “Lupine Wavelength,” runs the gamut of guitar styles and tones. It lacks nothing. For guitarists – and all musicians really – it’s a must-hear.
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Overall, <i>Recondite</i> works as a summation of Dead Sea Apes’ work thus far, sprawling and heavy, but it might also be a fine introduction for new listeners who might choose a branch to follow back through their catalog. In addition, covers appear throughout, grounding the rest in a tradition: an Organisation/Kraftwerk deep cut, “Rückstoß Gondoliere;” Harmonia’s “Vamos Compañeros;“ and one of Skip Spence’s last recorded songs, “Land of the Sun.”
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<br />
<i>Joseph Murphy
</i><br />
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<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=623425420/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://deadseaapes.bandcamp.com/album/recondite">Recondite by Dead Sea Apes</a></iframe>Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-1761415886083494002018-03-13T17:40:00.003-07:002018-03-13T17:40:50.750-07:00Mt. Mountain - Dust / Stephen Bailey - Silo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC9ACu2N0pW1X8PWtXdQQBK9rtX7qS-UHpF-MwBnm3AN6h-fSMJiKnXCjLHIpipejL9NavO1MygXgouXMdBy7qgZCPxoJKjPAHg6KsLzGOdH322Iayg7cMSkXByatrIhfkZPD4UalL3oPP/s1600/09+mt+mountain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC9ACu2N0pW1X8PWtXdQQBK9rtX7qS-UHpF-MwBnm3AN6h-fSMJiKnXCjLHIpipejL9NavO1MygXgouXMdBy7qgZCPxoJKjPAHg6KsLzGOdH322Iayg7cMSkXByatrIhfkZPD4UalL3oPP/s640/09+mt+mountain.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here's a couple of things I've just caught up with over the last few weeks which came out during our extended hiatus but are very worthy of mention.<br />
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First is Perth quintet Mt. Mountain's album <i>Dust</i>. (which is almost a year old now).<br />
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If someone had described <i>Dust </i>to me before I heard it -
the press release describes it as "capturing the atmosphere of the red/orange landscapes that consume the Australian outback" - I'd likely have thought
something along the lines of "That sounds like my sort of thing", but I'd be lying if I didn't also admit that there would be an inner voice whispering "This sort of thing has been done to death, this sounds pretty unnecessary".<br />
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Repeat plays
however have revealed <i>Dust</i> to be not only necessary, but essential listening. Sure Dylan Carlson's Earth have been doing this sort of thing for ten, fifteen years now - the cinematic, widescreen, windswept vista, but Mt. Mountain's take has an immersive, meditational quality that I've never experienced while listening to Earth.<br />
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Over four long tracks Mt. Mountain create and sustain a desolate atmosphere via simple structures that those who aren't quite on the right wavelength may find repetitive, but those who are will find intoxicatingly hypnotic.<br />
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The seventeen minute opener threatens to derail the listener's inner peace by bursting into a furious cacophany of noise midway through, appropriately demonstrating the outback's unforgiving qualities, but the remaining three tracks create an unspoiled mood that will slow the most feverish heartrate. From "Floating Eyes" with its appeallingly trippy Doors vibe (think "Riders on the Storm"), to the sustained mellotron drone of "Kokoti", this really ticks all of the right boxes for me.<br />
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Vinyl and digital available through the streaming link below.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Ag49qLKbYe-FvRBUQbducsk2pxUXQm_yYhrLWV3MfxnwE4Rei-PWjwOBf_kzd7PvKWX6-D2quQ9D-lU1DR3OShvqMbATc94iwAUFmIJUH190o0VJX35PxXTsC5Fk27hyAYTfo7QFXLwo/s1600/09+stephen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Ag49qLKbYe-FvRBUQbducsk2pxUXQm_yYhrLWV3MfxnwE4Rei-PWjwOBf_kzd7PvKWX6-D2quQ9D-lU1DR3OShvqMbATc94iwAUFmIJUH190o0VJX35PxXTsC5Fk27hyAYTfo7QFXLwo/s400/09+stephen.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Given how much I'd enjoyed <i>Dust</i>, I was naturally interested to see that Mt. Mountain's singer/guitarist/organist/whistler Stephen Bailey had followed it up with a solo debut at the end of June.<br />
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<i>Silo</i> shows Bailey (who plays everything on here) to be a very diverse character indeed. There's little here to connect this to <i>Dust</i> in anyway. <i>Silo</i> is a much more song orientated affair for a start, but it's also an intriguingly fractured record with some tracks appearing to be very carefully structured while others sound like fragmentary sketches, awash with the excitement of the new.<br />
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It's a beautiful sounding record too which reminds me a lot of Richard Swift's production on Damian Jurado's recent albums, although the folky nature of those albums is not apparent in Bailey's appealing psychedelic pop confections.<br />
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Opener "Demure" is probably the stand out track here and would be a hit in a world where guitar based music still charted. It's got a pleasing Real Estate vibe to it, but this Real Estate grew up with the output of the Brain label rather than Flying Nun. "Sub Zero" on the otherhand showcases a falsetto that Jim James would be proud of over a vintage organ and flute backdrop with lashings of flower power.<br />
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More by good luck than good management this is a judicious time to draw your attention to "Silo". While the cassette edition is long sold out, a vinyl edition of only 80 copies is still available tthrough the widget below. Digital too. <br />
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<i>Nathan Ford </i><br />
<i> </i><br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=932014445/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://mtmountain.bandcamp.com/album/dust">Dust by Mt. Mountain</a></iframe>
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<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=339072591/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://stephenbailey.bandcamp.com/album/silo">Silo by Stephen Bailey</a></iframe>Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-84401434909897445492018-03-06T02:07:00.000-08:002018-03-06T02:07:08.156-08:00Prana Crafter - Bodhi Cheetah’s Choice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDPkX0vDN3XzohpyPxpx8wV3mAPvpWGidbu5y3oHBc7SCieQ-AgSpGV5DdB1CBE5msubOoY3EuRBqbFofnG2Tx2jaAwPyNaosg-9QlBq8cNXs74FoZtD6owGzQLDPuoIcyD8RHL-1ZeBs/s1600/tm1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDPkX0vDN3XzohpyPxpx8wV3mAPvpWGidbu5y3oHBc7SCieQ-AgSpGV5DdB1CBE5msubOoY3EuRBqbFofnG2Tx2jaAwPyNaosg-9QlBq8cNXs74FoZtD6owGzQLDPuoIcyD8RHL-1ZeBs/s640/tm1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Prana Crafter, the one man psych project of Washington Woods resident William Sol, has provided some of the most visceral and exciting guitar based releases of recent times. 2015’s haunting yet ferocious ‘Rupture of Planes’ and 2017’s atmospheric and detailed ‘MindStreamBlessing’are perfect introductions to Sol’s work and ‘Bodhi Cheetah’s Choice’, just released on the splendid Beyond Beyond is Beyond label, is more than equal, an able and essential counterpart.
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The album opens with ‘Bodhi Cheetah's Boogie Blues' amidst an explosive churning of molten guitar, sparks and debris scattering and dissipating, until an unholy scorched earth blues tears along the horizon that is both distorted and thrillingly exciting. Like fellow travellers Six Organs of Admittance there is an (un)easy alliance and movement between effective moments of calm, genuine beauty and melting, corrosive guitar work. Both add tension and power to the other in turn. Midway through this nine minute opus a saloon style piano emerges and picks out a lonesome and haunted melody, framed by a backdrop and symphony of feedback and waves of electrified hum. Gradually, the twisted blues refrain returns and fades, leaving a distinct impression of something primordial stalking the land, a roar from the woods themselves. This is music from the mud, the roots and the gut. 'Blooming of the Third Ear' follows, beginning at a canter with percussion framing the reoccurring harmony and swells of analogue synth, not unlike the theme from some folk horror western. Footsteps and distant voices merge into a Floydian cosmiche mass of keyboards and chimes before fading into a delicate and ghostly guitar motif that truly lifts the hair on the back of the neck. William Sol has an unnerving skill of making his music sound both intimate and universal at the same time and this track speaks of the vast emptiness of the night sky above the Washington Woods as much as it sits alongside you by the campfire.
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'Holy Temple Of Flow’s melancholic keyboards and trebly guitar notes remind this listener of the atmospheric and spooked apocalypses of Godspeed You Black Emperor, the track morphing mid song into a furious, electrified solo that seems to summon the end times in all its wrath and anger. Here again is the dichotomy in Prana Crafter's carefully wrought songs; the quiet and the storm. 'Crystal Sky Wooden Cloud' is a case in point, its urgent acoustic rhythms and intense string bending propels the track into terrain inhabited by the likes of Jack Rose or Sun City Girls, before the clouds part and a quiet, reflective harmony breaks through. Next, 'Pandimensional Drifter' echoes into being, unhurried and deceptively languid until a truly epic guitar and organ melody arise from the darkness of the forest. Sounding not unlike an unhinged and inspired Ennio Morricone, in an album full of highlights this perhaps stands as a pinnacle moment. There is genuine dread, tension and release distilled here as the guitar howls against the encroaching night and the darkening of the woods.
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<br />
'Old Growth Fortress' pits urgent piano against dynamic, multi layered guitar runs that you can feel in the pit of your stomach; indeed, there is real emotional force to these songs, something not always associated with instrumental or guitar based music. This distorted crescendo builds to almost Sabbath-ian proportions until a mournful drumbeat brings the piano back for a bare, funereal conclusion. Both affecting and exciting, you need to hear and experience this; the powerful ebb and flow of Prana Crafter. Finally, closer 'Vajra Mountain' is a brooding acoustic mantra, cascading waterfall like into calmer pools before descending and swirling, bubbling once more. As a conclusion it is as breathtaking as any of its predecessors and serves to remind the listener of just how special this album is.
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<br />
Prana Crafter have once again sent a missive from their forests that both resonates with and transports the listener to their world and their surrounds. Whilst close and intimate at times, there is something larger, grander and more cosmic suggested in the nuances and scale of their output and vision that marks Prana out from other travellers on the same roads. William Sol creates a spell that seems both ancient and eternal, something human and something endless. Join him; you will not be disappointed.<br />
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<i>Grey Malkin </i><br />
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Available now as a limited cassette and download now:<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3098537300/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://pranacrafterbbib.bandcamp.com/album/bodhi-cheetahs-choice">Bodhi Cheetah's Choice by Prana Crafter</a></iframe>Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-89179409013932506792018-02-22T16:28:00.001-08:002018-02-22T16:28:36.953-08:00Lake Ruth - Birds of America<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I started my research for this review by listening to Lake Ruth guitarist Hewson Chen's other band, The New Lines. As I swooned to the intricacies of the fantastic song “Weatherman’s Apology”, I hear the commonalities with Lake Ruth. You see, the body of work presented herein and every other song I have heard by the marvelous Lake Ruth is glowing and gorgeous, painted with an ethereal, otherworldly light that I find it hard to describe adequately. The music transports you to a dream state infused with warmth and light that is both rare and precious. It is like stumbling upon a one of a kind gem and holding it fast lest it get away from you. While I want to share my affection for this band with the world, I also am tempted to keep it close.
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Lake Ruth formed with two members of The New Lines (Hewson and Matt Schulz the drummer) and vocalist Allison Brice (The Eighteenth Day of May). They now have two full lengths and a smattering of EPs and singles. All are available from <a href="https://lakeruth.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">their Bandcamp page</a> and should be imbibed as the musical crack that it is. But wait, what does the music sound like beyond the superlatives I am tossing down? I think it’s an amalgamation of all the best psych pop, folk, and dream pop you have heard down through the years, along with an almost tropical and sunny feel in spots. This band’s music listening cuts a wide swath through many styles, as I happen to know they adore Beautify Junkyards, Stereolab, Fairport Convention (they’ve covered "Tam Lin") and lots of soundtracks. They seem highly intelligent and two members love cats (Allison is allergic).
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My response to "Birds of America" will be based on what I feel when I listen, rather than a technical dissection of each note, how it was recorded, and what influenced it. That is not how I operate, and I have only a layman’s knowledge of Krautrock or Hauntology. So I won’t be citing any sources, and won’t be dredging the lyrics for hidden meaning. Because you see, for me, this record is a sensory engagement, one best experienced by you the listener. Of course, the dichotomy between some of the dark lyrical elements and the sprightly melodies can be a bit startling, as is Allison’s unusually lovely, chipper vocals. So take that however it works for you, and strap in for a delicately rendered, exquisite ride through ten great tunes.
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It starts off with the cool, fey strains of “VV”, meshing intricate instrumentation with what sounds like an oboe. And when Allison chimes in, the transition from the mortal realm to the hollow hills is complete. “Julia’s Call” is more immediate, and one of the first singles from this record. It reminds one of the aforementioned Beautify Junkyards, albeit with a faster pace and a care given to meticulous production and playing. “One of Your Own” veers into the same retro territory inhabited by Death and Vanilla and other purveyors of this genre. Fast moving synth lines wrap around spacey guitar and Allison swoops in between this fine tapestry of sound. “The Cross of Lorraine” is another favorite of mine, and it’s quite possibly the best song on this record. It sucks you straight in with Allison’s siren song and an appealing mesh of guitar and synths. “Radiant City” expertly combines bright, jazzy keys and guitar, and you’ll find yourself bobbing along with a smile on your face. The title track is an impressive example of psych filtered through noirish dream pop. Its expansiveness lend a cinematic air that I find greatly appealing. I can envision the Mother ship touching down as this marvel of a tune unfolds. And that unusual shading you hear on “Under the Waning Moon” is a mellotron, which melds perfectly with the somewhat unsettling but enthralling music. “Walter and the Taxi” is another favorite tune of mine, both for the Byrdsian guitar and the way it nestles around your ears like a favorite comforter. And I really dig the bubbles of synth that flit through the mix. “White Wall” is a glistening psych folk gem, and the ornate but trippy backdrop suits it perfectly. The hook at its heart will grab hold and never let go. “Westway” ends it all, and its shining jangle pop should be a hit. A fine conclusion to a magical and mystical journey through the hearts and minds of this wonderful band.<br />
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Highly recommended!
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<br />
<i>Elizabeth Klisiewicz
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Vinyl and digital available here:
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<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1999891684/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://lakeruth.bandcamp.com/album/birds-of-america">Birds of America by Lake Ruth</a></iframe>Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-50683685871405396242018-01-16T01:17:00.001-08:002018-01-16T01:17:12.773-08:00Looking At The Pictures In The Sky – The British Psychedelic Sounds Of 1968<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In 2016, Cherry Red issued a 3-CD clamshell box set with the curiously unwieldy, if ultimately accurate, title of Let’s Go Down and Blow Our Minds – The British Psychedelic Sounds of 1967. In that collection, familiar touchstones from psychedelia’s year in the sun sat comfortably alongside a connoisseur’s selection of demos, alternate versions and bona fide rarities. This year’s sequel moves on to 1968 and follows a similar pattern, both in its cumbersome title and noble agenda.
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Clocking in at nearly four hours, Looking At The Pictures In The Sky – The British Psychedelic Sounds Of 1968 is a lovingly picked collection that yields many rewards both for longtime fans and newcomers. While it’s true that a handful of the tracks are either overly familiar or frustratingly over-comped (e.g. Procol Harum’s ‘In the Wee Small Hours of Sixpence’, The Factory’s ‘Path Through the Forest’, Fire’s ‘Father’s Name Was Dad’) there is also surfeit of truly inspired choices, oddball one-offs, and legitimate lost gems. Circle Plantagenet’s ‘I Will Not Be Moved’ is an example of a song with all three of these attributes. Featuring duduk-like keyboard, spidery guitar lines and a powerful chorus, it’s a welcome addition to any psych fan’s collection. I’m truly grateful for finding it here. Thankfully, there is a clutch of mini revelations like it scattered across the set.
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One of the delights in a box that collects tracks from the same year comes in detecting the impact of contemporaneous sounds upon a wide assortment of bands. It’s the musical equivalent of watching seeds planted in spring bear fruit in the summer and fall. Of course, the Beatles always figure heavily in discussions like this, as one imagines groups scrambling to emulate everything from George Martin’s elaborate production touches to Ringo’s deceptively hard, always hypnotic drum fills. In a way, it’s almost comical to think how many bands seem to have heard McCartney’s ‘Eleanor Rigby’ and thought, “Right, let’s pen a thoughtful, quaint character study of a doomed English eccentric.” And so in Ms. Rigby’s wake, we are introduced to a cast of titular characters that includes Messrs. Pinnodmy, Lion, Dillbury and Partridge; Felicity Jane; Sycamore Sid (a song by Focal Point that shamelessly appropriates the piano riff from ‘Drive My Car’!); and a chap named Maxwell Ferguson. The Attack’s ‘Mr. Pinnodmy’s Dilemma,’ easily the best of these portraits, is perhaps too well-known for those who have been collecting psych for years, but it’s always a pleasure to hear John DuCann’s truly energizing, innovative guitar work. DuCann – who unfortunately passed away in 2011 without receiving due recognition for his contributions, having played pivotal roles in bands like the Attack, Andromeda, Atomic Rooster and Hard Stuff – holds the distinction of being at once the most ubiquitous and underappreciated guitar player in all British rock music (look for him on another standout track from the set, ‘Sunday Morning’ by Five Day Week Straw People and ‘Magic in the Air’ by the Attack, from the Let’s Go Down and Blow Our Minds collection).
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It should be pointed out that this is not a collection aimed at chin-stroking audiophiles. Most of these tracks were not sonic marvels in the first place and were, in some cases, sourced from pop-and-crackle-addled acetates and treasured 45s. Quibbles about sound quality are rendered irrelevant, however, when discovering a track as darkly ethereal as ‘Yesterday Was Such a Lovely Day (Elsie)’ by Sadie’s Expression. Pops and sibilance abound, but it’s stop-you-in-your-tracks discoveries like this that make deep-dives into box sets worth your time and money. ‘She’ by Tuesday’s Children, ‘Nightmare’ by Gass Company and ‘Ice Man’ by Ice are all newfound favourites in this vein.
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With sets celebrating 1967 and 1968, Cherry Red has created a formidable and affordable six-disc series. On top of delightful discoveries, the package is well annotated/illustrated, and provides a thorough overview of British psych that’s a must-buy, both for comp-hardened veterans and lysergically-curious neophytes.
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<br />
<i>Tom Sandford
</i><br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0744YXZPD/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B0744YXZPD&linkCode=as2&tag=theactlis-21&linkId=e189b8864eefb87155d518d68573b188" target="_blank">Get it here.</a>
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<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="340" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/U_6T8glov84?ecver=1" width="650"></iframe>Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-39632859544325279142018-01-07T23:53:00.001-08:002018-01-07T23:53:36.251-08:00Listen to the Citradels New Album "God Bless"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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STOP THE PRESS!<br /><br />
We're extremely lucky (blessed even) to be able to share the new album by Melbourne's hardest working psychedelicists The Citradels with you all today.
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The Citradels have been on an impressive upwards trajectory over the last few years, with each new release besting its immediate predecessor. It's no surprise then to find that "God Bless" is their best yet by a considerable margin.
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Their's has been an impressive and rapid evolution, from the densely packed shoegaze of their earliest recordings through to the sunny psych-pop symphonies of "God Bless".
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But don't take my word for it; psychedelic bible Shindig Magazine had the following to say:<br />
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“....Brian Wilson-inspired psych/pop genius mastery....”<br />
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"...a tumbling delight of reverb drenched magnificence..."<br />
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They know what they're talking about.<br />
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"God Bless" is available today on Gatefold vinyl or as a 'name your price' download through the streaming link below which I strongly urge you to click right now.
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<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1276782448/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://thecitradels.bandcamp.com/album/god-bless">God Bless by The Citradels</a></iframe>
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<a href="https://thecitradels.bandcamp.com/album/god-bless" target="_blank"><img alt="https://thecitradels.bandcamp.com/album/god-bless" border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="851" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdw4-MjmL6FWvgbKbYQZjNbsaWsFaUFg3NT3Ng_Qwks_5zItRY0PIAh5F0uBx_zsoQsuiOVDcFOYmS65okZ5vqFyFc1IJSOuR2UwztFAh5vMhDWZk-zVgzAmT6h5V1WR_shy0GQ5dSoPfu/s640/23755433_1940255769334969_2099646449122137560_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-45357523227926713652017-12-21T03:20:00.002-08:002017-12-21T03:20:57.514-08:00Sospetto - Il Sonno Eterno<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Not content to churn out the same album over and over again like some Italo worshippers, Germany's Sospetto have made another abrupt course change on their latest, <i>Il Sonno Eterno</i>.<br />
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2015's <i><a href="http://active-listener.blogspot.co.nz/2015/08/sospetto-quattro-specchi-opachi.html" target="_blank">Quattro Specchi Opachi</a></i> saw them expand their Goblinesque giallo palette to include sci-fi, eroticism and cop thrillers, albeit with a healthy dose of Giallo still. <i>Il Sonno Eterno</i> is a different kettle of fish entirely, soundtracking an existential drama in which Sospetto investigate the different levels of consciousness triggered by the insomnia of a young woman, portrayed by Christien Marks, whose haunting wordless vocals can't help but recall the work of Edda Dell'Orso.<br />
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Musically, this is a lush, often sensuous soundscape, betraying the influence of key works by Ennio Morricone and Piero Umiliani, without appearing overawed by the illustrious company it sets out to keep. Check out opener "Il Sonno Sano", a lovely, sighing exhalation of a thing with a flawlessly vintage sound that you'd swear was recorded at least 45 years ago, a running illusion that isn't shattered at any point throughout this album's playtime.<br />
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There are still moments of the unease and suspense that Sospetto have demonstrated their mastery of on previous releases. The mounting tension of "Disturbo Del Sonno" shows that they've lost none of their ability to keep us on the edge of our seats, but that's not their priority here. Generally this is a cosy, romantic, cinematic experience which sounds like big money and utter class. Witness the gorgeously swelling strings which usher in finale (and title track) "Il Sonno Eterno", recalling as it does the very best of Wally Stott's orchestrations on Scott Walker classics like "Montague Terrace in Blue".<br />
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Absolutely gorgeous and a must-hear record.<br />
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<i>Nathan Ford </i><br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B075M12L37/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B075M12L37&linkCode=as2&tag=theactlis-21&linkId=d5f17fccce109218164f1c9ef365cb0e" target="_blank">Vinyl with free CD available here</a> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B075M12JHZ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B075M12JHZ&linkCode=as2&tag=theactlis-21&linkId=45218060921972ada22b2541c4bfa3b1" target="_blank">, also available on CD here.</a>
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/307063746&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true" width="100%"></iframe>
Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-48765092348650522552017-12-19T00:52:00.000-08:002017-12-19T00:52:40.577-08:00dbh – Mass <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Reviewed by Shaun C. Rogan<br />
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‘Mass’ is the name of the new LP on Thread Recordings by multi-instrumentalist Dan Bridgwater-Hill and it’s a beautiful travelogue of small ensemble soundscapes and (acoustic) guitar workouts unfiltered by needless sound manipulation. This is pure alchemy, this is why Albert Ayler was so very right when said that music was the healing force of the Universe shortly before climbing the cosmic staircase to the infinite. In its wordless totality ‘Mass’ represents a celebration of the human spirit, of this Eden we call Earth, a divination of the human condition. It contains much beauty within its grooves as, for example, the quiet meditative drone and picking of the beguiling and explanatory track ‘Light Pools’ suggests. At its best moments ‘Mass’ it is an intensely soulful and cleansing experience.
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The great thing for me about dbh the guitar player, multi-instrumentalist and composer is his approach to impressionistic song writing. ‘Mass’ is never flashy or overwrought as dbh is sure of his technique and ability to deploy musical colour with light and space concisely and to great effect. As Miles Davis once famously said, ‘its not the notes you play but the ones you don’t play’. dbh intrinsically understands this and so the purity of his musical vision is never diluted by extraneous diversion, whichever instrument is at hand.
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Since his last record, 2015’s equally impressive “Mood” our man has been on his travels playing clubs and venues across Europe and further afield. This has undoubtedly infected his approach and widened his musical palate as evidenced by the joyous Latin undertow of ‘Med Sun’ with its dancing horses of guitar and violin. ‘Guitar Limb’ is a lovely rural saunter through country lanes and endless fields of green. ‘Ghost of Eyeless’ is a left hand turning - strange and opaque. It’s simple opening figure evolving into a frieze of bucolic strings, half heard piano lines and shady mental pathways of dried sticks and leaves that lead the listener past sleepy hollows and weeping willows. It’s ambition is impressive and its delivery hits the spot - never outstaying its welcome even though clocking in at just shy of 7 minutes.
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Elsewhere, ‘Faith’ is dissonant and dense whilst ‘Blues II’ is dreamlike and distorted. The latter brilliantly evokes that feeling of synaesthesia and otherness – somewhat akin to listening to a musical box playing in an adjacent room whilst simultaneously finding yourself falling into unconsciousness in front of a fluttering fire. Its one of my favourite moments on a record littered with high points – a thing of rare beauty.
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‘Hike’ sobers the active listener back up with its simply stated and resonant modal piano motif, a distant relative of Bill Evans perhaps. Its gently dissipating clusters of contemplative chords, are allowed to breathe out across the room to speak directly and clearly to your heart. Gorgeous. The closing ‘Mass Appeal’ heads for the turnstiles that enclose a foggy moorland, its brief interlude taking us past the deserted hillside village to the ruins of an abbey where the ghosts of the past congregation still gather in silent homage. It’s been a beautiful trip and I immediately think about playing it all over again.
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So there you have it, 10 tracks of compelling and sonically literate music from dbh. He comes and stands at every door. You should find it within yourself to let him in. A joy.
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<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2937412688/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://threadrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/mass">Mass by dbh</a></iframe>Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-59710285029967589022017-12-18T10:57:00.001-08:002017-12-18T10:57:13.076-08:00Sproatly Smith - 11:59<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Reviewed by Grey Malkin
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In anticipation of a brand new album from Sproatly Smith, Herefordshire’s finest acid folk exponents, comes a timely round up of some previously released material from compilations as well as some old classics and a couple of newbies. Many moons have passed since Sproatly’s last agricultural opus , 2014’s ‘Thomas Traherne’ although they have filled the intervening years with their essential Weirdshire compilation albums of local artists and their popular live festivals, featuring acts such In Gowan Ring and Trappist Afterland.
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'The Highland Widow's Lament' (which may be familiar to you as the opening song in The Wicker Man) begins the album, a gentle drone and picked guitar framing a truly lovely vocal performance, xylophone chimes drifting overhead. Sproatly make this song their own and demonstrate their ability to inhabit traditional folk whilst also making it distinctly 'Sproatly'; indeed there is a pleasant, otherworldly edge that pervades. 'Lost Villages Of Holderness' (from the A Year In the Country compilation ‘The Quietened Village’) begins with sweeps of urgent harp and strings, birdsong and waves crashing underneath to conjure up a Powell and Pressburger style lament that could easily grace the soundtrack of their magical 'I Know Where I'm Going'. Cello, ripples of analogue keyboards and guitar frame Sarah Rarah and Kate Gathercole’s delicate harmonies as the song builds and layers to a heartbreakingly beautiful crescendo. 'Beetle' follows, a small slice of atmospheric wyrd folk that serves as a warm yet uncanny interlude before 'The Land of Green Ginger' enters with film samples and a circus organ, a twisted merry go round that both intoxicates and unnerves. Oscillating synths gather like flocks of birds as the song culminates, a mummers play in musical form.
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Returning to The Wicker Man as source material, a spooked and haunted version of the alluring 'Willow's Song' adds a whistling theremin and the sound of creaking machinery to an already spectral interpretation. Sproatly do this with ease; on the surface things feel pleasant enough and yet...underneath there is a hint of rural menace and of something unsettling in the village. 'Tomo's Tale' finds echoed glockenspiel and vintage synths chiming and twisting around a truly gorgeous vocal line, a song that could perfectly have soundtracked the folk horror sci-fi of The Quatermass Conclusion. Next, electronic drums propel the stirring 'The Bonny Bunch of Roses', a vintage recording given the full Sproatly treatment, almost dub style. Theremin wisp’s around the aged and sampled vocal whilst bass and guitar add a hint of mischief and texture. 'Ribbons' follows and is a wyrd masterpiece, a slow build hum of electronics and acoustic guitar with voices reverberating within to create something almost sacred; a folk hymnal. 'Lonely Scapa Flow' is a rustic calypso, fiddle curling around the siren vocals to create an effective and unusual folk blend. 'Willoughby's Combination' is a pulsating synth piece of bucolic electronic that utilises vocal samples and an earworm melody to great effect whilst 'Wassail' is hearty and dark tinged plea for a bountiful harvest, cascading guitar and harmonies drifting over an organ drone; one can imagine this being performed on Summerisle in years past. Penultimate track 'The Mistletoe Bough' is a spoken word ritual, a ghost story set to a heartbeat drum and a shruti box before 'Lullaby' closes the album, the very melody that sees Edward Woodward anointed as he nears his doom in Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Man, our third visit to this film. Sproatly once again make this track their own, indeed their blend of acid folk, electronica and experimentation feels like a direct continuation of soundtrack composer Paul Giovanni's questing spirit.
<br />
<br />
An interim album this may be but 11:59 is one which ably stands on its own as a masterful release in its own right. Full of nooks, crannies and genuine curios this is a haunted treasure trove of an album, a dusty and dark curiosities shop filled with hidden delights. It is close to midnight, why not lift the veil and see what lies beyond?
<br />
<br />
Available now as a download and CD from Sproatly Smith’s Bandcamp page.
<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2413680660/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://sproatlysmith.bandcamp.com/album/11-59">11:59 by sproatly smith</a></iframe>Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-81706800566067977222017-12-06T17:55:00.000-08:002017-12-07T11:28:03.994-08:00Lake Ruth - Intervention, Displacement & Return<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrdE5xEg9DrAN7cu8zs9S_2ieBKPjOAFFmSxsksYf-yvlnywe3xfbFHHKS7idpA1sUKgL4Yw_D5BwSz8K22r4tn2v_R7l-I0KNhrXhTnTltILXShxCPbtQs1pC15Avh6-BTH9Zf18ngCcX/s1600/14+lake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1134" data-original-width="1200" height="604" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrdE5xEg9DrAN7cu8zs9S_2ieBKPjOAFFmSxsksYf-yvlnywe3xfbFHHKS7idpA1sUKgL4Yw_D5BwSz8K22r4tn2v_R7l-I0KNhrXhTnTltILXShxCPbtQs1pC15Avh6-BTH9Zf18ngCcX/s640/14+lake.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Reviewed by Nathan Ford<br />
<br />
Those who enjoyed "Chante" the other week will want to pay attention for the next few minutes.<br />
<br />
Lake Ruth has a long relationship with the Active Listener. We like them an awful lot. They seem to like us too. Everyone wins. Especially you because we're not going to let them release anything without you knowing about it. Which brings us to their brand new release "Intervention, Displacement & Return" - not an album proper I guess, but every bit as good as one.<br />
<br />
Available as a limited edition cassette from French label <span class="title">WeWant2Wecord, </span><span class="title">"Intervention, Displacement & Return" features eight tracks, a combination of new recordings and a few covers that have appeared elsewhere. Best of all are three tracks recorded in collaboration with <a href="http://active-listener.blogspot.co.nz/2014/10/album-review-listening-center.html" target="_blank">Listening Center</a>, a music blogger's dream combo, but not a dream that one would ever expect to come true. Lucky us then.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="title">Debut "<a href="http://active-listener.blogspot.co.nz/2016/09/lake-ruth-actual-entity-garden-gate.html" target="_blank">Actual Entity</a>" should really be quite a hard act to follow, being one of last year's better albums. Lake Ruth has cheated just a little bit in that regard by bringing us this sort of stop-gap release now then, but truth be told, it's every bit as good as "Actual Entity". Or better. While it doesn't harbour the same ambition or the same unity of purpose as a full album, it shows a band growing more comfortable and confident with who they are and the musical lineage that they follow in.</span><br />
<span class="title"><br /></span>
<span class="title">Even the two covers here, Stereolab's "Monstre Sacre" and Le Superhomard's "Dry Salt In Our Hair", are tackled with such confidence that they instantly become Lake Ruth tracks - I challenge anyone who doesn't know the original versions of either of these tracks to pick them out in a line up as the imposters that they are.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="title"><span class="bcTruncateMore"><span class="peekaboo-text">Vocalist Allison Brice continues to be a commanding presence, unusual given the delicacy of her voice, but whether it be the moody ambience of "A Captive Reaches The Sea" or more driving fare like "Dry Salt In Our Hair" she's able to command attention with barely a whisper. Full marks to Hewson Chen and Matt Schulz too for providing the wonderfully diverse backdrop here, equally well versed in psychedelia, space-pop, library music - you name it. Whatever the musical equivalent of well read is, these boys are it.</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="title"><span class="bcTruncateMore"><span class="peekaboo-text">At only eight tracks I was left wanting a whole lot more, but isn't that a sign of the best records? And the good news is, we don't have very long to wait for more with Feral Child lining up a vinyl release for Lake Ruth's second album shortly, but more to come on that soon.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="title"><span class="bcTruncateMore"><span class="peekaboo-text"> </span></span></span><span class="title"><span class="bcTruncateMore"><span class="peekaboo-text"><span class="title">"Intervention, Displacement & Return" can be purchased on cassette and streamed in full at the first link below, or bought digitally for the bargain price of just $6 via the second link. </span></span></span> </span><br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=505570294/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://bandcamp.ww2w.fr/album/30-wecord-intervention-displacement-return">#30 Wecord - Intervention, Displacement & Return by Lake Ruth</a></iframe>
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2583580293/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://lakeruth.bandcamp.com/album/intervention-displacement-return">Intervention, Displacement & Return by Lake Ruth</a></iframe>Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-70534754165659072222017-12-04T00:19:00.000-08:002017-12-04T00:19:01.526-08:00Trappist Afterland - Afterlander<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxEld6jBjNUUy48t4o-wm-_vAh4aGl1DPIHeOgTLZLNlxEgO4yd_GFcYA10AEL1MGvqarHeQ2uBJbTQsjaEav4ZeqMTRXOoe9U3-GynFk0yCdiAyElggiT0NmMhG6RF3loRsAsXDElx0mX/s1600/trappist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxEld6jBjNUUy48t4o-wm-_vAh4aGl1DPIHeOgTLZLNlxEgO4yd_GFcYA10AEL1MGvqarHeQ2uBJbTQsjaEav4ZeqMTRXOoe9U3-GynFk0yCdiAyElggiT0NmMhG6RF3loRsAsXDElx0mX/s640/trappist.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Reviewed by Grey Malkin <br />
<br />
<i>Originally published September 2015, reshared to draw attention to Sugarbush Records new vinyl pressing, following up Sunstone's long sold out first pressing.</i><br />
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Melbourne based psych folk artists Trappist Afterland have been quietly but consistently releasing some of the most outstanding and distinctive albums in underground circles over the last four years or so. Consisting effectively of the trio of Adam Cole, Phil Coyle and Nick Albanis along with various friends and musical accomplices their use of unusual instrumentation and unique sound (as well as their easy but persistent way with a melody that will get its hooks in and not let go) marks them out as one of the most important and visionary bands currently working in the psych scene. Their new opus 'Afterlander' not only builds on the successes and strengths of past albums but takes the Trappists into a whole new realm of their own, with a set of assured, powerful and majestic songs tinged with mystery, ritual and beauty.
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<br />
Album opener 'Lucifer Mosquito' begins with the simple sound of chimes before complex layers of dulciters, ouds, a hand drum and Adam Cole's distinctive and emotive vocals enter in a psyche haze of immense grace and beauty which then continues to layer, grow and build into a stunning and transcendent climax. It left this listener absolutely transfixed, let me be clear at the outset; this is mindblowingly good. At once otherworldly and yet also immediate and persuasively melodic, Trappist Afterland ably suggest a dark mysticism and esoteric sound whilst also maintaining a tight, rhythmic and controlled mastery of their song craft, similar perhaps to contemporaries such as Stone Breath, Six Organs Of Admittance or James Blackshaw. 'Saint Peter And The Rainbow's eastern drone leads into tense and intricate, inventive string work (instruments present on this album include bell citern, hammered dulcimer, bowed psaltery and lute), eerie backing vocals and strident tabla, propelling the song ever forwards. Fans of the afore mentioned bands, acid folk acts such as the Incredible String Band and COB and also of Michael Gira's work with Angels Of Light will find much to adore here.
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'Where The Willows Weep' enters with a pleasingly disorientating backwards loop before a processionary beat begins, an air of unease and incense pervading amongst the dulcimer and oud's raga melodies. 'Jessie's Root (Isaiah 11:1-10)' rides on a moving carpet of bells, sitar drones and chanted backing vocals, sounding both haunted and haunting in its vast and lysergic soundscapes; this is music for when the sun goes down and candles can be lit. Next, 'A Jar On Mystics' is a more reflective, hushed piece of wyrd folk with Naomi Henderson's spooked flute weaving Will O' The Wisp style throughout, a truly unique slice of bucolic beauty. Trappist Afterland are clearly masters of both dynamics and atmosphere and have crafted a perfectly paced and formed album which ebbs and flows with gentle force throughout, sometimes surging with a thrilling intensity and sometimes floating delicately but addictively with measured restraint. 'Black Dog Coast' is a case in point; starting with gentle washes of acoustic sound and fragile vocals this then breaks into an increasingly insistent sounding drum-led symphony, delivering shivers down the spine and huge emotional power. The following 'Feathers' tabla rhythms, eastern air and melancholic edge is absolutely hypnotic whilst the brilliantly named 'The Psalms Remain The Same (Psalm 31)' is a plaintive, gorgeous spectre of a song, resplendent with ghostly backing vocals and a sense of hazy doom. Album closer 'Hillsong Leeches' layers tanpura drone upon drone, string upon string, and vocal upon vocal to create a blissed out wyrd and wonderful reverie that is genuinely moving and close to anthemic. A suitable and fitting finale to what is a hugely impressive and highly evocative piece of work and an album which I guess will not just be one of the best I'll hear this year but one that I will hear for many a year to come. Really.
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<br />
Trappist Afterland have many <a href="https://theactivelistener.bandcamp.com/album/trappist-afterland-like-a-beehive-the-hill-was-alive-al002" target="_blank">extremely fine releases</a> already under their relatively young belts and a back catalogue that amply rewards investigation, however with 'Afterlander' they must (if there is justice) become much more of a name to be reckoned with in psych circles and underground music in general. A seriously superb album that needs to find a home in your record collection without delay.
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<br />
Available now as a digital download from the Trappist Afterland Bandcamp page (below). A limited number of copies of the Sugarbush vinyl reissue are available directly from Adam via the Bandcamp link below (if you're nearer to Australia), or the vinyl can be bought <a href="http://www.sugarbushrecords.com/p/buy-sugarbush-label-lps-part-two-2012.html" target="_blank">directly from Sugarbush Records here</a> with free postage worldwide.<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3691183648/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://trappistafterland.bandcamp.com/album/afterlander">Afterlander by Trappist Afterland Band</a></iframe>Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-71739912097631309662017-11-29T00:30:00.001-08:002017-11-29T00:30:30.212-08:00The Stroppies -S/T<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYxexeJ3x0iwD22Z6VbqoFnZS82KaZRSMOsr5aa7EMa4Ou5KJ2e9sq1WGRVQKe_Ba6gQXipH3h-LhAOqNr6nYozTQs5MzyDMc7qDHLR4cVnh-GJdCj1jGi5LcCbBenvuReU22_1l2nat8/s1600/Stroppies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYxexeJ3x0iwD22Z6VbqoFnZS82KaZRSMOsr5aa7EMa4Ou5KJ2e9sq1WGRVQKe_Ba6gQXipH3h-LhAOqNr6nYozTQs5MzyDMc7qDHLR4cVnh-GJdCj1jGi5LcCbBenvuReU22_1l2nat8/s640/Stroppies.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Reviewed by Shaun C. Rogan
<br />
<br />
A change of tack for me dear readers. It was 31 years ago today that 'C86' taught the world to fey. Well almost. Anyway, new Melbourne band The Stroppies are here to get you olds to fish your anoraks out from the bottom of the cupboard, grow your fringe back and tell your now super-annuated mum that she still doesn't understand you, your friends and especially, the music you like.
<br />
<br />
Yes, I am really pleased to announce that The Stroppies gem studded seven track mini LP is packed with infectious, yet ever so effete lo-fi riffs and fabulous 'barely out of bed' vocals. You really can't go wrong with this approach in my view and if this is spearheading a renaissance for concise, jangly, intelligent guitar pop then count me in.
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<br />
'Gravity Is Stern' is a joyfully half-arsed opener that shuffles along like my 15 year old self once did, punctuated by one of the most glorious peals of ringing guitar heard this side of the last millennium. An absolute and instant classic worth the price of admission on its own.
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<br />
"Go Ahead" is a sulky teenager's riposte to their older siblings constant playing of Stereolab records in the bedroom next door. A two chord stomper replete with some tasty keys and submerged vocals. Touch of glam, touch of Velvets, touch of class.
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<br />
"No Joke" is half a Television riff away from a Pavement song and chugs along like a good 'un before unleashing a short and very sweet guitar break close to its denouement.<br />
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"Under Your Sweater" gloriously nails that 1980's 'Sarah Records'/thrift store indie vibe to perfection - its delivery all lemonade and sherbet fountains.<br />
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"Courtesy Calls" is resplendent in its feel good, motorik driven reverie before unfurling its chorus/bridge that descends as beautifully and politely as a maple leaf gently floating to the ground.<br />
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"Celebration Day" is darker and carries a sense of cautionary story telling.
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<br />
Matters are brought to a suitably charming conclusion with the chipper "All The Lines" which again features some of that chiming guitar that runs through this thoughtfully brief outing like a stick of (indie) rock.
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<br />
So there you have it. The Stroppies. A band your teenage self would have been devoted to, and one your adult self is genuinely pleased to welcome into your record collection.
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<br />
Now, can I really get away with trying to brush my hair forward from this far back on my head?
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<br />
<a href="http://toughloverecords.bigcartel.com/product/tlv108-the-stroppies-the-stroppies-limited-edition-ruby-tuesday-colour-vinyl" target="_blank">Available on limited vinyl here</a>. <br />
<br />
And unlimited download here:<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=524474158/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://hobbiesgalore.bandcamp.com/album/the-stroppies">The Stroppies by The Stroppies</a></iframe>Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-79079766774129697152017-11-20T23:42:00.002-08:002017-11-21T16:11:47.375-08:00Claude Lombard - Chante<div>
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<br />
Reviewed by Nathan Ford</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Claude
Lombard's reasonably obscure 1969 debut "Chante" has recently been
reissued on vinyl and CD by Guerrsen's offshoot Sommor label. While the sheer
number of titles that Guerssen releases makes it impossible for all but
the most dedicated listener to keep up with them, the occasional release
like this and <a href="http://active-listener.blogspot.co.nz/2017/10/cozmic-corridors.html" target="_blank">Cozmic Corridors</a> which we've focused on here at the Active
Listener must make it clear that the label are providing a considerable
service for the discerning listener by bringing to light some of the most
fascinating and worthwhile obscurities that I've had the pleasure to
hear in recent times.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Belgian chanteuse Claude Lombard had represented Belgium in the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest and would go on to record tunes for kid's cartoon television shows, so the content of "Chante" is something of a surprise.</div>
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Lombard effectively invents Broadcast, and to a lesser extent Stereolab on "Chante", and a lot of the credit for this must go to producer Roland Kluger (Chakachas, Free Pop Electronic Concept...), and arranger Willy Albymoor who have created an envelope pushing masterpiece here that embraces chanson, psychedelia, avant-garde and pure space-age pop in a way that confused listeners in 1969 but sounds like a delightfully nostalgic view of the future now.</div>
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The theremin-like sounds of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ondes_Martenot" target="_blank">ondes Martenots</a> features predominantly here as do chimes, David Axelrod style bass guitar leads and adventurous orchestral flourishes. And the end result sounds very much like Broadcast's "Work and Non Work" which would appear 28 years later.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Highlights are plentiful, but the delightfully breezy, almost tropicalia "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vR-c6Lc6v0" target="_blank">La Coupe</a>" must be very near the top of the list with its spacey keys and swooping ondes Martenots. "Sleep Well" (below) meanwhile is a gorgeous, lysergic dream sequence of a song delivered by Lombard with the perfect balance of melancholy and detachment.</div>
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</div>
<div>
It's not all delivered on dreamy, wistful pillows of sound though; "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC4XIMK-ty0" target="_blank">L'usine</a>" is significantly busier with a much more progressive approach, perfectly complimented by Lombard's increasingly avant garde shrieks.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
A groundbreaking classic that deserves to be heard by a much wider audience, and the significantly long shadow of Broadcast's influence on current bands shows that there is a huge audience just waiting to discover "Chante".</div>
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<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B073RFDKY2/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B073RFDKY2&linkCode=as2&tag=theactlis-21&linkId=ebafcb1b8f694829b2f6ec46c41c981d" target="_blank">CD and vinyl available here.</a>
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<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="350" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mIvmo0zEkEc" width="650"></iframe></div>
Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-36242572162432507042017-11-08T23:07:00.003-08:002017-11-08T23:07:53.453-08:00This Month's Active Listener Sampler<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV1f94f0f1bTY8B8cWyEvO9OtJ8Oo-fsWSQPgpAlGnW4zeBhIjp3CrQ1cOWg0qgrklXzZEIxyQR8SCOk7tDAJF2FLksYoGUcHOuHS4DrKwN3YVcYcVkIWXrKn5W7hg06S7I-uF8iO-4ws-/s1600/sampler2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV1f94f0f1bTY8B8cWyEvO9OtJ8Oo-fsWSQPgpAlGnW4zeBhIjp3CrQ1cOWg0qgrklXzZEIxyQR8SCOk7tDAJF2FLksYoGUcHOuHS4DrKwN3YVcYcVkIWXrKn5W7hg06S7I-uF8iO-4ws-/s640/sampler2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Hi Team. We're back with the second in our revived and revitalised sampler series. This month we've got exclusives and premieres from Active Listener favourites Balduin, Psychic Lemon and The Blue Giant Zeta Puppies, as well as some new faces.<br />
<br />
Here's the full tracklisting.<br />
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1.
Garden Gate - Saturn (version) 03:15
2.
Balduin - Norman Stanley James St. Clair 02:40
3.
Pansies - Feels Like Yesterday 06:49
4.
The 1910 Chainsaw Company - Good Friend 03:56
5.
Zombie Girlfriend - Echo Echo 01:38
6.
The Striped Bananas - Swirling Colors (In My Mind) 03:12
7.
The Blue Giant Zeta Puppies - By The Light Of The Moon 02:59
8.
Psychic Lemon - Interstellar Fuzz Star 09:53
9.
Hermitess - Black Lake 03:21
10.
Flange Circus - Kwak 03:07
11.
Void Watcher - Succour 07:05
12.
Peyote Coyote - Mirrors 04:43
13.
The Soap Opera - Eggs To Hatch and Cats To Kill 01:28
14.
Blue Hole - Strong Current 04:16
15.
Sleepyard Feat. Judy Dyble - Rainy Day Vibration (Woodland Version) 03:08
16.
Kosmo-0 - Black Lodge 13:49<br />
<br />
Its a $1 or donation download with all funds raised helping to cover our running costs.<br />
<br />
Get it here:<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=369448341/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://theactivelistener.bandcamp.com/album/the-new-improved-active-listener-sampler-vol-ii">The New & Improved Active Listener Sampler Vol. II by The Active Listener</a></iframe>
Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-77323770560970166242017-11-07T23:32:00.000-08:002017-11-07T23:32:20.873-08:00In Gowan Ring - B’ee’s Pent Pouch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Reviewed by Grey Malkin
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In Gowan Ring’s main man and wandering troubadour B'ee, whose artistic vision has borne countless masterful psych folk releases over the last two decades, returns with the curious and intriguing new release ‘Bee’s Pent Pouch’. Describing In Gowan Ring’s music as ‘symbolist folk; music within a magico-poetic-folk tradition utilizing acoustic instruments, voice, and poetry to convey transcendent experience and to engage the listener in mythic realities’, B’ee ably delivers here on both this promise and description. There is also a curious history to this release, recorded back in 2012 in a specially constructed five sided tent/ dwelling behind a 16th century French chateau. It was within this structure that B’ee determined to record a five sided sound project. The album, initially given to those who helped fund the project, now sees the light of day in a variety of five sided packaging options, from vinyl to a pouch or box encased CD.
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'Dream' opens the album with a drifting sitar drone, a steady hand drum and an unsettling, otherworldly chant that layers and builds as if a choir of ghosts, ever increasing in number. It is both tranquil and eerie, the sound of darkness falling and of dusk; magical yet ominous. A fitting beginning, it is followed by an able cover of Donovan's 'Wandering Aengus', solitary voices and acoustic guitar proving a powerfully bare setting for Yeats’s lyrical and evocative words. Nick Drake's little known outtake 'Blossom Friend' is another acoustic treasure, a delicate and yearning slice of fragile, bucolic beauty. B'ee is past master of interpretation with such songs as these and he doesn't disappoint here; indeed he never over-elaborates but rather inhabits the song in its stark and simple sadness.
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Next, ‘The Open Door Of The Grand Invitation' uses B'ee's warm and emotive vocals to significant effect both as a lead and also as a multi-layered choral backing, recollecting such seminal acid folk artists as Perry Leopold (especially his ‘Christian Lucifer’ period) or Simon Finn. 'The Half Lumined Path' starts with the sound of leaves underfoot and distant crow song before percussion and subtle drones enter, creating both a nature ritual and an effective field recording. A re-reading of the stunning 'Leaf Patches On Sidewalks’ (from B'ees 2005 'Beirth' album) is most welcome and absorbs a new potency and poignancy in its stripped back form. 'The Moon Is Shining On My Guitar' offers a lament from B'ees tormented troubadour soul, a melancholy sliver of wyrd folk magic where such is the intimacy that it almost feels that B'ee is in the room with you, the sound of him taking off his guitar at the end only adding to this sense of connection. The album closes with a reprise of the opening ‘Dream’, the drone darker, stronger and more urgent as the circling chants float in and out of consciousness.
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A true gemstone of an album, this is B'ee at his most minimal and nakedly genuine; recorded with mostly just his voice and guitar it only emphasises his mastery of his muse and musick. One then for sunsets on hilltops, dusk by rivers or sunrises over woodland; this is music that connects with something innate in both the heart and with nature.
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<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=986655209/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://ingowanring.bandcamp.com/album/bees-pent-pouch">B'ee's Pent Pouch by In Gowan Ring</a></iframe>Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-69960680665631651542017-11-06T23:02:00.001-08:002017-11-06T23:02:53.636-08:00Let The Electric Children Play: The Underground Story of Transatlantic Records 1968 - 1976<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Reviewed by Nathan Ford<br />
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While it's primarily thought of these days as a folk label, an argument can be made that Transatlantic Records was one of the first and most influential underground rock labels too. Anyone wanting to present this argument would do well to have a copy of this new three CD box set on hand to silence any naysayers.<br />
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Nat Joseph originally started Transatlantic to license American jazz records on the Prestige and Riverside labels for UK release (hence the name Transatlantic I guess?). They then moved into sex education records before Joseph signed Bert Jansch and John Renbourn and started releasing ther records that they're remembered for today. Joseph continued to pursue other music that interested him however, releasing the Purple Gang's popular jug band psych hit "Granny Takes a Trip" in 1967, and within a few years he had an impressive range of underground acts on his roster.<br />
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"Let The Electric Children Play: The Underground Story of Transatlantic Records 1968-1976" focuses on these acts, with some crossover to some of his folk acts' more experimental material. There's some busy proto-prog from the ass-end of the sixties from Jody Grind and Circus as well as the Deviants representing the Ladbrook Grove scene, but things get really interesting amidst the offerings from the start of the next decade. The menacing prog-folk of Jan Dukes De Grey is represented by the title track from their second opus "Mice & Rats In The Loft" while highly rated prog rockers Marsupilami demonstrate their versatility on "Prelude to the Arena" from their excellent "Arena" LP. And while we're focusing on the progressive side of things, there are two excellent cuts each from CMU and Skin Alley. Elsewhere, there are very interesting experimental folk tracks from Mr Fox, whose "Mendle" is deeply sinister, as well as former Mr Fox vocalist Carolanne Pegg whose Transatlantic album "A Witch's Guide to the Underground" is a must hear.<br />
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There was more to Transatlantic's underground roll call than prog and folk though; there's McCartneyish pop from a pre-Stealer's Wheel Gerry Rafferty, hard rock from Stray, even a touch of glam from Metro, whose "Criminal World" (featured here) made enough of an impression on David Bowie for him to cover it on his zillion selling "Let's Dance" album.<br />
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Just a folk label eh?<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B072ZB1YL8/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B072ZB1YL8&linkCode=as2&tag=theactlis-21&linkId=5800f4b7b7fd02182249a98a46557452" target="_blank">It's a bargain and can be had here.</a>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zaQRtGSk_jQ?ecver=1" width="650"></iframe>Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-27123763283521133722017-11-03T16:18:00.000-07:002017-11-03T16:18:21.798-07:00Kontiki Suite – The Greatest Show On Earth <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Review and interview by Tom Sandford<br />
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<i>Originally published November 2015, reshared to draw attention to Sugarbush's brand new vinyl reissue, replacing Sunstone's out of print first issue. </i><br />
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The Byrds’ wingspan of influence stretched across three full decades and flew through the sounds made by some of the most important bands in the history of rock, including Big Star, the Jayhawks, R.E.M., Matthew Sweet, Hüsker Dü, Echo and the Bunnymen and countless others. For a time it was de rigueur – if not downright cliché – to see the Byrds name-checked in almost any band’s bio. They were part of the holy trinity of influential B-named bands: Beatles, Beach Boys, and Byrds.
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But to everything there is a season, and an apparent decline in the band’s influence on popular music seemed to coincide with the deaths of two of its original members, Gene Clark (in 1991) and Michael Clarke (1993). Notwithstanding this decline, the Byrds have always flown high and commanded serious respect among certain pockets of fans and bands alike – folks in Northern England especially, for some reason. Since 1990, we’ve seen the likes of the La’s, the Stone Roses, the Coral and Shack flying the jangle-pop flag. Since 2007, Kontiki Suite, a talented sextet from England’s Lake District, has continued in this tradition, evidence of which can be readily found on their sophomore release, "The Greatest Show On Earth".
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As with their debut release (2013’s "<a href="http://active-listener.blogspot.co.nz/2012/10/kontiki-suite-on-sunset-lake-review.html" target="_blank">On Sunset Lake</a>"), Kontiki Suite proudly flies its Byrds banner via some obvious stylistic hat-tips to 1968’s "The Notorious Byrd Brothers". This time out, the band boasts a batch of impressive new Rickenbacker-based janglers (mainly from the pen of guitarist Ben Singh) and a tougher sound from the rest of the band (Jonny Singh, lap steel guitar; Marcus Dodds, guitar; Mario Renucci, bass; Chris Brown and Craig Bright on drums and percussion respectively). The result is a cohesive, 50-minute flight high above exquisitely atmospheric psych/country-rock/chamber pop soundscapes.
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The opening moments of guitar/rim shots in the rousing, Golden Smog-like opener “Bring Our Empire Down” recall David Crosby’s serene “Dolphin’s Smile,” after which some Neil Young-like crunch is thrown in as the song gathers steam. “My Own Little World” features the kind of textured ‘n’ trippy triple-guitar interplay (including lap steel and 12-string Rickenbacker) that characterizes the overall tone of the album – tone that is often upended by deliciously abrupt shifts in tempo: the lads in Kontiki Suite are more than happy to jolt you out of the hypnotized state in which they deftly placed you. Occasional, judiciously chosen blasts of harmonica tug on the same heartstrings as in Big Star’s “Life is White.”
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“Free From Sound” and “Here for You Now” are tremendous pop songs, the kind of tracks that, back in the day, would’ve jumped out of an AM radio and grabbed you by the throat. The former features a keening pedal steel hook that’s hell-bent on becoming your next earworm. The latter blends a “Ticket To Ride” beat with power-poppy rhythm reminiscent of Gene Clark’s evergreen “I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better.”
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Elsewhere, the band flexes its muscle on two lengthy guitar workouts, “Burned” (with its nod to Younger Than Yesterday’s “Renaissance Fair”) and the slow-burning “Under the Rug,” while “All I Can Say” shows the effortlessness with which Singh’s vocals can reconcile an ostensibly bouncy rhythm with a melancholic melody. In places he sounds uncannily like Gary Louris. Fans of "Sound of Lies"-era Jayhawks would feel right at home with this release.
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Ultimately, "The Greatest Show On Earth" reveals increased depth, both in Ben Singh’s writing and the band’s collective vision. Kontiki Suite has created much more than a simple paean to the legacy of the Byrds; they have taken vital steps in forging a legacy of their own.
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<b><i>Chatting up the Byrds with Kontiki Suite’s Craig Bright and Benjamin Singh
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<b>Tell me about the cover/title concept for the new record?</b>
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<b>Craig Bright:</b> During the time period in which we wrote and recorded The Greatest Show On Earth, three of the six band members have been fortunate enough to become parents. One of the lucky fathers, Jonny Singh, wrote the opening song on the album, Bring Our Empire Down, about the juxtaposition of the joy and virgin challenges of parenthood and, one line in particular in the song, refers to "the greatest show on earth"; Jonny's way of describing the wonder of witnessing the miracle of your own child being born.
Moreover, when we identified the title of the album, it served to conjure a vision of an old school creepy freak-show in our minds.
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So, looking at the front cover of the album, you will see a couple of key elements: One, a crowd observing the show; and two, the decidedly freaky dream sequence of a child at peace, asleep. Our brief was realised by the fantastic Luke Insect, a U.K. based designer.
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<b>Tell me about the Byrds’ influence on the band. </b>
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<b>C.B.: </b>The Byrds, and their various related bands and solo projects, are very important to Kontiki Suite. As children of the nineties, we were able to discover and appreciate The Byrds vicariously through a love of the bands they themselves inspired and influenced, in which I would include The Stone Roses, Ride and Rain Parade, among many others.
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It never fails to blow my mind when I consider the volume and diversity of the music The Byrds produced, particularly between 1965 and 1969. I guess we would cite The Notorious Byrd Brothers as the zenith of their output, as it is a beautifully perfect culmination of all of the best elements of their albums (folk, pop, psychedelia and country). Undeniably, [it is] the template for our sound.
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Of course, the consistency of The Byrds' output weakened thereafter, but the void was more than filled by the solo albums of McGuinn, Crosby, Gram Parsons and most importantly to us, Gene Clark. For me to attempt to tell you how vital Gene's post-Byrds music is would be complete folly. Personally, my favourite Clark song is “The True One” (from 1974’s No Other). Pretty much musical perfection in its simplest form as far as I'm concerned.
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So, yes, The Byrds are a significant, direct influence on us, musically, aesthetically and culturally.
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<b>Take me through the steps in which a Kontiki Suite song typically comes together.
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<b>Ben Singh: </b>A Kontiki Suite song will almost always start life as an acoustic piece – a folk song, I guess. If it sounds good with just the vocal and an acoustic it gives the song a good chance of sounding good embellished. The song is usually complete in terms of structure and groove before being presented to the rest of the band and if it's a song I've wrote and I've a strong idea of how it should sound I will sometimes record a demo in my home studio.
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Down at the rehearsal room I'd play a handful of tunes to the band, either the recorded demos or just with the acoustic and we'd just jam through them. It's always nice if we hit the groove instantly. If it feels good we'll run with it and then we'll start to work on the guitars in more detail.
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With the song beginning as an acoustic song I'll play the rhythm guitar while singing the melody. Jonny Singh plays a lap steel adding a kind of 'movement' to the sound, swooning in and out. We usually add a quite a bit of reverb and delay to give it more texture. Marcus Dodds plays a Telecaster for the majority of this album, usually either a clean tone with a touch of reverb or a classic fuzz. He tends to play the fills in between the vocal lines and more often than not he takes the solos.
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<b>Guitar textures are an intrinsic part of your sound, especially in terms of the interplay between them. Is this something you spend a lot of time consciously working on? Or is it just a natural by-product of how the band writes? </b>
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<b>B.S.: </b>The interchange between the slide and the lead occur quite naturally and aren't overly worked on; I guess that has came with the experience of playing together for the length of time we have. All the guitar lines are based around the vocal lines and melody and we try not to have too much going on at the same time.
On the recordings I'll put down an acoustic track, this adds a percussive dynamic and then a picking 12-string Rickenbacker. I tend play this through a compressor with reverb. On a lot of the songs this is the main guitar of the track and other guitars play off it. The sound is very deliberate and we do consciously work on it but it does come very naturally to us. I think the reason why the three electric guitar parts work together so well is due to contrasting styles we play.<br />
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CD and digital available here. <a href="http://www.sugarbushrecords.com/p/buy-sugarbush-label-lps-part-two-2012.html" target="_blank">New vinyl issue from Sugarbush Records available here.</a> Includes free postage worldwide.<br />
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<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3661274906/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://kontikisuite.bandcamp.com/album/the-greatest-show-on-earth">The Greatest Show On Earth by Kontiki Suite</a></iframe>Active Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.com0