Shearing Pinx Poison Hands (2007 Gilgongo Records)
FIRST ROCK REVIEW!!!
From the first few seconds of this album one can already begin to gather that Shearing Pinx is not a typical punk band by the Sonic Youth-esque guitar tones. I feel that this group is very heavily influenced by Sonic Youth, considering the vocalist (while male) sounds like Kim Gordon. But instead of being influenced by the melodic structure like most bands, Shearing Pinx seems to be a child of Sonic Youth’s punk rock sound. With Poison Hands Shearing Pinx makes a pretty strong contribution to both punk and experimental music. The punk appeal comes in a lot of the guitar distortion, short songs, yelling vocals, and fast tempos. The experimental element is found in songs like “Blood Corridor” and “WhiteMud.” The group’s songwriting is also above the typical punk band, found in some of the syncopated guitar riffs in songs like “Cursed Love Matter.” One of the best tracks on the album is “Pumpknot” which has a great guitar drone bridge. One of the most intense tracks is the closer “WhiteMud” which has a very cool fast opening, which eventually dissolves into about nineteen minutes of very fast, loud, improvised noise. While this album is very cool, the band deserves more of a recommendation. They play a fantastic live show, and one can get a better sense of their musicianship live. Anyone interested in punk/hardcore music should check this band out, and I’m sure Moonchild fans will love it too.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
John Zorn
John Zorn Six Litanies For Helioglobus (2007 Tzadik)
John Zorn (Alto Sax, Composer)
Joey Baron (Drums)
Trevor Dunn (Bass)
Ikue Mori (Electronics)
Mike Patton: (Voice)
Jamie Saft (Organ)
Martha Cluver (Voice)
Abby Fischer (Voice)
Kirsten Soller (Voice)
In some ways I feel like this is the album I’ve been waiting to hear for so long. First of all it is indefinable. Zorn has somehow combined hardcore, free jazz, medieval music, and noise into one album. Even though this is the third album with the Moonchild band, Zorn added composer/laptop player Ikue Mori, organist Jamie Saft, a three-woman choir (Martha Cluver, Abbey Fischer, Kirsten Soller), and himself. The album starts out aggressively with distorted riffs, thunderous drums, and Mike Patton’s intense screaming. The first track also includes Mori’s wind chime-esque electronics and Saft’s organ, and also an ambient break featuring the choir. But towards the end of the track is when Zorn breaks out his big surprise, himself. He comes in playing the most insane sounding saxophone in history. “Litany II” is one of the best tracks on the album, starting out with Patton and Zorn battling to make the most intense noises. Then Saft drives the track while the choir, Mori, Dunn, and Barron follow his lead, which is probably some of the prettiest parts of the album. “Litany III” is probably one of the most unsettling tracks on the album. It starts with some of the fastest blasting and intense distortion. Then Saft takes over again, but this time playing darker chords over Patton’s demonic chanting. The track quickly breaks into a loud as possible free moment, then into another creepy ambient moment, this time featuring Mori and the choir. When this portion ends the tracks moves into a pretty funky breakdown, and ultimately closes with every member improvising, especially Zorn and Patton. “Litany IV” is probably one of the more interesting tracks on the album, considering it is Patton solo for eight minutes. I won’t really elaborate on it specifically, but this track is pretty mind blowing. I think “Litany V” is an attempt to put the most notes in the shortest track, because the intensity stays consistent for most of the tune. One of the first noticeable things about “Litany Six” is that it starts out slow, and surprisingly stays slow most of the time. Only at three points is the track really loud either. After one choir feature Dunn plays slow epic chords. And then after an ambient portion lead by Saft, Dunn comes back in with the epic chords. This segues into one final manic session, probably so Zorn can squeal to his hearts content. After a repetition of the choir part from the beginning the band has a quick loud moment that ends the album. The abruptness of the conclusion is similar to the sensation the listener gets after hearing the album. Many will be dumbstruck, some amazed, others probably frightened. If this album displays anything about Zorn, it is his incredible ability to neglect the concept of musical genres, and create music that is indefinable.
Points of Interest
John Zorn has done extensive work with member of Japanese noise group Boredoms
Ikue Mori has worked with Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, and has also played on stage with Sonic Youth.
Trevor Dunn and Mike Patton are in the experimental metal group Mr. Bungle
John Zorn (Alto Sax, Composer)
Joey Baron (Drums)
Trevor Dunn (Bass)
Ikue Mori (Electronics)
Mike Patton: (Voice)
Jamie Saft (Organ)
Martha Cluver (Voice)
Abby Fischer (Voice)
Kirsten Soller (Voice)
In some ways I feel like this is the album I’ve been waiting to hear for so long. First of all it is indefinable. Zorn has somehow combined hardcore, free jazz, medieval music, and noise into one album. Even though this is the third album with the Moonchild band, Zorn added composer/laptop player Ikue Mori, organist Jamie Saft, a three-woman choir (Martha Cluver, Abbey Fischer, Kirsten Soller), and himself. The album starts out aggressively with distorted riffs, thunderous drums, and Mike Patton’s intense screaming. The first track also includes Mori’s wind chime-esque electronics and Saft’s organ, and also an ambient break featuring the choir. But towards the end of the track is when Zorn breaks out his big surprise, himself. He comes in playing the most insane sounding saxophone in history. “Litany II” is one of the best tracks on the album, starting out with Patton and Zorn battling to make the most intense noises. Then Saft drives the track while the choir, Mori, Dunn, and Barron follow his lead, which is probably some of the prettiest parts of the album. “Litany III” is probably one of the most unsettling tracks on the album. It starts with some of the fastest blasting and intense distortion. Then Saft takes over again, but this time playing darker chords over Patton’s demonic chanting. The track quickly breaks into a loud as possible free moment, then into another creepy ambient moment, this time featuring Mori and the choir. When this portion ends the tracks moves into a pretty funky breakdown, and ultimately closes with every member improvising, especially Zorn and Patton. “Litany IV” is probably one of the more interesting tracks on the album, considering it is Patton solo for eight minutes. I won’t really elaborate on it specifically, but this track is pretty mind blowing. I think “Litany V” is an attempt to put the most notes in the shortest track, because the intensity stays consistent for most of the tune. One of the first noticeable things about “Litany Six” is that it starts out slow, and surprisingly stays slow most of the time. Only at three points is the track really loud either. After one choir feature Dunn plays slow epic chords. And then after an ambient portion lead by Saft, Dunn comes back in with the epic chords. This segues into one final manic session, probably so Zorn can squeal to his hearts content. After a repetition of the choir part from the beginning the band has a quick loud moment that ends the album. The abruptness of the conclusion is similar to the sensation the listener gets after hearing the album. Many will be dumbstruck, some amazed, others probably frightened. If this album displays anything about Zorn, it is his incredible ability to neglect the concept of musical genres, and create music that is indefinable.
Points of Interest
John Zorn has done extensive work with member of Japanese noise group Boredoms
Ikue Mori has worked with Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, and has also played on stage with Sonic Youth.
Trevor Dunn and Mike Patton are in the experimental metal group Mr. Bungle
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Powerhouse
Powerhouse Sound Oslo/Chicago Breaks (2007)
Oslo:
Ingebrigt Haker Flaten (Electric Bass)
Lasse Marhaug (Electronics)
Nate McBride (Electric Bass)
Paal Nilssen-Love (Drums)
Ken Vandermark (Tenor Sax)
Chicago
John Herndon (Drums)
Nate McBride (Electric Bass)
Jeff Parker (Guitar)
Ken Vandermark (Tenor Sax)
This double album features two Powerhouse Sound lineups lead by saxophonist Ken Vandermark. The first disc features a band based out of Oslo. The instrumentation for the first album is not typical, two electric basses, electronics, drums, and tenor sax. Whenever electronics are part of the instrumentation the listener has to expect noise, and this group delivers it on the first track “Shocklee.” As a whole I would call the sound atonal free fusion. On tunes like “2-1-75” the whole band will play all out to a consistent break beat, and then have a noise interlude while the drummer keeps a beat and throws in random accents, but then go back into the funk with noise blaring full force. Throughout the whole album Vandermark not only displays his compositional ability, but also his chops. He plays fast runs, complicated rhythms, and also some of the most out noises one can make with a sax. One trend that the group incorporates is having a repeating baseline in the background of free rants by the other players, it happens in multiple tracks like “Acid Scratch” and “ALP177,” I always tend to find these parts interesting. One track that I find intriguing is “New Dirt” which is apparently for the Stooges, and I assume named after the Stooges song “Dirt.” The song is definitely the heaviest on the Oslo disc, so perhaps Vandermark cannot deny the pre-punk drive the Stooges did as an influence. The Stooges definitely use the heavy baseline that Vandermark likes using.
In the second disk there is one immediately noticeable difference, Jeff Parker is a monster. The only track that is different from anything on the first disc is the opener “Old Dictionary” where Parker starts out making a variety of odd dissonant tones on his guitar. And also provides almost nonsensical rhythm guitar over Vandermark’s solo. Another thing that Parker brings is distortion, making the second disc heavier with the occasional metal riffs. Even though many of the tunes are repeated from the first disc, one can definitely tell that this is not the same group playing. Overall this double album is innovative, energetic, and most of all fun.
Points of Interest
Jeff Parker and John Herndon are members of Chicago post-rock band Tortoise
The Chicago version of Powerhouse Sound played at the 2007 Pitchfork Music Festival
Oslo:
Ingebrigt Haker Flaten (Electric Bass)
Lasse Marhaug (Electronics)
Nate McBride (Electric Bass)
Paal Nilssen-Love (Drums)
Ken Vandermark (Tenor Sax)
Chicago
John Herndon (Drums)
Nate McBride (Electric Bass)
Jeff Parker (Guitar)
Ken Vandermark (Tenor Sax)
This double album features two Powerhouse Sound lineups lead by saxophonist Ken Vandermark. The first disc features a band based out of Oslo. The instrumentation for the first album is not typical, two electric basses, electronics, drums, and tenor sax. Whenever electronics are part of the instrumentation the listener has to expect noise, and this group delivers it on the first track “Shocklee.” As a whole I would call the sound atonal free fusion. On tunes like “2-1-75” the whole band will play all out to a consistent break beat, and then have a noise interlude while the drummer keeps a beat and throws in random accents, but then go back into the funk with noise blaring full force. Throughout the whole album Vandermark not only displays his compositional ability, but also his chops. He plays fast runs, complicated rhythms, and also some of the most out noises one can make with a sax. One trend that the group incorporates is having a repeating baseline in the background of free rants by the other players, it happens in multiple tracks like “Acid Scratch” and “ALP177,” I always tend to find these parts interesting. One track that I find intriguing is “New Dirt” which is apparently for the Stooges, and I assume named after the Stooges song “Dirt.” The song is definitely the heaviest on the Oslo disc, so perhaps Vandermark cannot deny the pre-punk drive the Stooges did as an influence. The Stooges definitely use the heavy baseline that Vandermark likes using.
In the second disk there is one immediately noticeable difference, Jeff Parker is a monster. The only track that is different from anything on the first disc is the opener “Old Dictionary” where Parker starts out making a variety of odd dissonant tones on his guitar. And also provides almost nonsensical rhythm guitar over Vandermark’s solo. Another thing that Parker brings is distortion, making the second disc heavier with the occasional metal riffs. Even though many of the tunes are repeated from the first disc, one can definitely tell that this is not the same group playing. Overall this double album is innovative, energetic, and most of all fun.
Points of Interest
Jeff Parker and John Herndon are members of Chicago post-rock band Tortoise
The Chicago version of Powerhouse Sound played at the 2007 Pitchfork Music Festival
Thursday, July 12, 2007
David Torn Prezens
David Torn Prezens (2007)
David Torn (Guitars, live-sampling and manipulation)
Tim Berne (Alto saxophone)
Craig Taborn (Fender Rhodes, Hammond b3, mellotron, bent circuits)
Tom Rainey (Drums)
Review
This is a pretty unique album. One can hear influences of Bill Frisell, hard-core, and electronic music. A lot of the affect of the album I assume comes from Torn and Taborn, considering they are the ones using electronics. It’s vary interesting to see how jazz musicians are embracing technologies in their pursuit of noises. Some of the electronic elements stand out in tunes like “Them Buried Standing” (David Torn) which has a nice groove that Tortoise fans will love. Also Torn uses live sampling quite a bit on tracks like “Rest & Unrest” (Torn) and “Sink” (Torn, Berne, Taborn, Rainey) which include affected drum kits and even moments when what you make think is a mad playing skips. “Sink” uses this technique towards the beginning, but then erupts into every player being fast loud and abrasive. The track “Rest and Unrest” uses the sampling more like The Books, repeating a melody and including sound bits of people talking. Another influence present in the album is Indian music, found in the track “Miss Place, The Mist…” (Torn, Chamberlin). The track opens with beautiful yet dark string opening, and then moves into a repeating sitar like idea. When the strings come back in, over the sitar, and also a highly affected drumbeat, the album hits one of its most innovative points. There are even some funk like moments in the albums opener “AK” (Torn, Berne, Taborn, Rainey) so it is hard to pinpoint one overarching influences for these musicians. I really think this album could potentially pull a lot of electronic music fans into the jazz scene, and I recommended it to anyone who can stand abrasive noise.
Points of Interest
David Torn plays guitar on David Bowie's albums Heathen, Reality, and Slow Burn
Craig Taborn's Junk Magic will be playing at the 2007 Pitchfork Music Festival
Tom Rainey play's with Wilco's Nels Cline on Ash and Tabula (2004)
David Torn (Guitars, live-sampling and manipulation)
Tim Berne (Alto saxophone)
Craig Taborn (Fender Rhodes, Hammond b3, mellotron, bent circuits)
Tom Rainey (Drums)
Review
This is a pretty unique album. One can hear influences of Bill Frisell, hard-core, and electronic music. A lot of the affect of the album I assume comes from Torn and Taborn, considering they are the ones using electronics. It’s vary interesting to see how jazz musicians are embracing technologies in their pursuit of noises. Some of the electronic elements stand out in tunes like “Them Buried Standing” (David Torn) which has a nice groove that Tortoise fans will love. Also Torn uses live sampling quite a bit on tracks like “Rest & Unrest” (Torn) and “Sink” (Torn, Berne, Taborn, Rainey) which include affected drum kits and even moments when what you make think is a mad playing skips. “Sink” uses this technique towards the beginning, but then erupts into every player being fast loud and abrasive. The track “Rest and Unrest” uses the sampling more like The Books, repeating a melody and including sound bits of people talking. Another influence present in the album is Indian music, found in the track “Miss Place, The Mist…” (Torn, Chamberlin). The track opens with beautiful yet dark string opening, and then moves into a repeating sitar like idea. When the strings come back in, over the sitar, and also a highly affected drumbeat, the album hits one of its most innovative points. There are even some funk like moments in the albums opener “AK” (Torn, Berne, Taborn, Rainey) so it is hard to pinpoint one overarching influences for these musicians. I really think this album could potentially pull a lot of electronic music fans into the jazz scene, and I recommended it to anyone who can stand abrasive noise.
Points of Interest
David Torn plays guitar on David Bowie's albums Heathen, Reality, and Slow Burn
Craig Taborn's Junk Magic will be playing at the 2007 Pitchfork Music Festival
Tom Rainey play's with Wilco's Nels Cline on Ash and Tabula (2004)
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