Built on a Weak Spot

Took me awhile to actually find a place I could order this album from Sister Iodine without it having to be shipped over a large body of water. Thankfully I eventually stumbled across it in the NY based Other Music online store and had it here within a few days. Aside from being troublesome to find, it has also been a bit of a pain to get recorded on to my computer as well. I was in the middle of doing that when I realized that my computer was in the middle of going belly up in which I lost whatever I had already recorded. However, the whole ordeal left me with multiple listens to Flame Desastre, which apparently is the bands fourth album. Seems like there is more than that, but I’m not certain. Anyway, Sister Iodine’s latest effort here was more than fitting for the situation. It sounds like mechanical or structural failure…a really bad one at that. It’s almost like listening to a suspension bridge with its wires snapping and flying everywhere as it eventually collapses sending a deafening rumble that can be heard for miles. That’s Flame Desastre over its ten tracks of violently played style of twisted metallic noise. It’s extremely harsh and it doesn’t waver a bit from the path it sets forth from opening track “You/Lacerate” to the cold robotic noise of finale “Chromata Vein”. There is almost a sense of determination within the record, with the tracks somehow documenting a struggle to reach an apex that they won’t see…cracking and devolving into a mess of guitar/electronic distortion only to loop right back and try it all over again. For the listener it can be challenging, but as with any horrifying spectacle you want to see how it plays out and Flame Desastre is no different. For the most part it succeeds in being able to draw upon that sick interest inside all of us.

Sister Iodine – You/Lacerate [MP3]

Currently Flame Desastre is only available on vinyl through Premier Sang, however it was recently announced that the album will be released on CD this coming November. I don’t know where it will be available though, it’s supposed to have some bonus tracks as well. Anyway, in the meantime I think Other Music still has copies. Otherwise, you can try the many overseas distros that seem to have it by simply Googling the album. Enjoy!

There are records that are noisy and then there are records that manage to go past that and take on a whole other level of disgusting. I would imagine there are also very few areas where an adjective like “disgusting” could be considered a positive. However, this is just the case with the debut LP Born Pregnant from the Brooklyn, NY trio of Drunkdriver. There is absolutely nothing pretty about Born Pregnant and I think fans of noise-rock or just noise in general will be fully appreciative of that. Just released on the solid Parts Unknown label, Born Pregnant from start to finish lays waste to ear drums, stereo speakers, and most importantly any sort of fidelity. This is a blown out affair that often times has the sound quality akin to a YouTube video that someone has uploaded from a cheap camera phone. However, the only difference here is that you can actually hear the separate parts of the band and it’s probably less tinny and twenty times more powerful than most of those shitty videos anyway. Seriously, why do people even bother uploading those anyway?

Featuring nothing but guitar, drums, and a singer who spits out equally venomous and vile lyrics, the whole package is basically a match made in heaven for those that can’t really get enough of bands like Rusted Shut, Cherubs, and Royal Trux. I imagine you’ll either be really glad you listened to this or musically offended. Either way, that probably is a compliment to Drunkdriver.

Drunkdriver – Secret Eater [MP3]

Anyone that is looking to pick up Born Pregnant can do so by heading over to Parts Unknown. It’s pretty safe to say if you dig the above posted song, then you’ll definitely want to check out the rest of this record. Enjoy.

It’s tough when a bands discography is littered with enough highlights and good albums that it makes it entirely too hard to go back and justly cover it all. In that case I have to make the grand old hard decision of plucking one album out of the bunch and using it as reference point of some sort. Facing that dilemma today for Detroit avant-garde noise/psych greats Gravitar, I decided to go with one of my absolute favorite records they put out, You Must First Learn to Draw the Real released on Monotremata Records in 1999.

You Must First Learn to Draw the Real is sort of one of those albums that I feel could divide opinions among pure noise enthusiasts. It’s definitely full of noise and packs enough visceral punch to it that it’s by no means going to be mistakenly filed under “pop” in a record store. However, there is a structure here and even the occasional riff buried underneath all of the fuzz and tumbling feedback. It all falls on borderline noise, but it’s a hefty slab of very well done skronk that takes on a psychedelic groove in more than few instances. As with almost all Gravitar albums though the one constant highlight is the freaked out free jazz inspired drumming by Eric Cook. The track “U.R.R.” is worth listening to alone for that very reason as he basically drives the whole 8 minute tune with a barrage of beats and crashing cymbals. The live track tacked on to the end of the disc is another favorite that displays Gravitar’s overpowering and relentless volumed attack.

As a bonus I uploaded one of my favorite tracks by the band off their split with Universal Indians on American Tapes. Great stuff.

You Must First Learn to Draw the Real:
Gravitar – U.R.R. [MP3]

Split w/ Universal Indians:
Gravitar – Automaton [MP3]

You Must First Learn to Draw the Real is still available over at Amazon and most other online retailers. If that doesn’t happen to work out, then it’s also available through Emusic. Enjoy!

Yeah, I have been slacking with the blog lately, well…sort of. I took the past couple days/nights to emerge from behind this desk and step outside and participate in some social interaction with friends. I know, it’s amazing, but I felt it was time. Seriously though, stuff came up and that sort of takes priority over the blog, as much as I hate to admit it. But now I am back to doing nothing and that means turning full attention back on here.

There have been a whole slew of new releases that I’ve managed to get my hands on this week, one of them being the new self-titled album from LA’s HEALTH. I’ve been hearing more and more about this band over the past year or so after hearing a single or two and their ’06 Tour only EP. Not until maybe the past couple months did I fully begin to realize that they were starting to draw quite a bit of attention. I started getting slammed with e-mails about their split with Crystal Castles, which is quite good by the way, and then it pretty much just started to accumulate from that point on. But anyway, I imagine it all makes sense as these guys are coming from the same LA scene that so far includes bands like The Mae Shi, Captain Ahab, BARR, and Abe Vigoda.

Musically they have taken their unpredictable noise making and kicked it into high gear for their first full-length album. Featuring 11 tracks in just under 30 minutes, they run the gamut of free form noise, chilled beats, world music, dance-punk, and much more. A song like “Tabloid Noise” goes from buzzing electronics and pounding drums to a shimmering guitar line that hums in the background momentarily before the sonic assault is unleashed back onto the listener. HEALTH continues to display this sort of controlled freak out through the entire album and it pays off greatly. While I want to say it’s what I could have imagined it sounding like, there is no way I can honestly do that as that’s part of HEALTH’s game and they succeed in it quite easily all the while giving the listener something of substance to take in.

HEALTH – Crimewave [MP3]
HEALTH – Tabloid Scores [MP3]

Their debut just came out this week so, if you’re into the tunes above head on over to Amazon and pick it up. There is also a limited release of 200 for a cassette version of the album, which is being done by DNT Records for those interested. If so, obviously check out their site to order that.

Finishing off the week is a record that I had been looking forward to for a little while now, and that is the newest from the noise/avant-rock all-star collection Death Unit. Their latest album Infinite Death was just recently released on Important Records and by no means does it disappoint.

The word “supergroup” gets tossed around when speaking of Death Unit, and I suppose that is what they are in a way. The group features electronics specialist Carlos Giffoni, guitarist Brian Sullivan (Mouthus), Trevor Tremaine (Hair Police) whom plays drums on this album, and drummer extraordinaire Chris Corsano. That is definitely a hefty lineup.

Infinite Death is two tracks of about every possible exploration in noise that someone could think of. It dabbles in every area it can within its short 35 minute time frame. The first track starts off with some fairly impressive interplay between the two drummers before it is completely interrupted and skewed by the electronic and guitar distortion mish mash of Giffoni and Sullivan. From there it’s a no holds barred rush of noise and chaos before the next track sets in.

The second track opens with a sludgy and downtrodden squall of distortion that sounds as if it were being played in the depths of someone’s cellar. The guitar sound that Sullivan achieves on this track in particular is just sickening and at times terrifying like something not from this world. Eventually the track soars into more feedback and an impressive display of power electronics, but really that could be said for both tracks on this album. Regardless, Infinite Death is a great collaboration and will almost surely have something for just about everyone. Give it a listen if you’re a fan of any of the bands that these guys are a part of. Each member’s talents are brilliantly showcased on here. Pick it up, it’s definitely worth it.

Death Unit – Untitled 1 [MP3]

For those interested, Infinite Death can be picked up over at Important Records. With that, I am out for the weekend!

I’ll come clean; I wasn’t totally sold on the Goslings at first when I listened to them sometime last year. I thought their music was intriguing, however I never spent enough time with it. Now, here in 2006 I’ve finally opened my ears up to their newest release Grandeur of Hair which has been put out through the amazing label aRCHIVE.

Much like last year when I heard the Boris/Merzbow collaboration of 04092001, Grandeur of Hair hit me like a fucking freight train. Immediately on the first track “Own a Car”, they lay into you with an obscene amount of fuzz and distortion that is poured on thick. It’s some of the heaviest and most overblown crunching guitar abuse I’ve ever had a chance to hear. Sure, there might be something out there that out does this, but for now this has my full attention. Underneath all that distortion and noise is where the Goslings do some of their most impressive work. They pull off the difficult task of making something so incredibly abrasive to start with and mold it into a giant warbling ball of beautiful blissful noise. I know, it sounds absolutely absurd, but it’s true. Listen and don’t just do it for a few seconds.

Interestingly enough all of this comes from just a husband and wife duo from Florida, whom after a few hard to obtain CD-R releases have seen the majority of their output re-released this year, which is great. I highly suggest picking those up, as I know I will be going back and trying to get anything I can by these two. They are simply amazing.

Goslings – Own a Car [MP3]
Goslings – Golden Stair [MP3]

For anyone looking to purchase Grandeur of Hair or basically any other of their releases that are still available, head on over to Aquarius Records.