Zs - New Slaves

Last.fm // Discogs

TMT Review

ZS from TERROREYES.TV on Vimeo.

High Wolf

High Wolf's fractal psychedelics evoke the infinite geometry that can be perceived anywhere in the natural world, if you look close enough. Traverse the path into the forest. It is damp from a recent shower. Drops of water rest on a leaf, magnifying its skin. You observe the distinct pattern of its venation. You imagine sucrose pumping like blood, tucked under the microscopic layers of what can be seen. Or is the blood below also visible? Or haven't you seen it before, where your own inner arm bends? It is true that the same basic elements compose organic compounds which act as fuel for both lives. You suddenly notice you have been leaning gradually closer to the leaf, and you feel an inexplicable compulsion to lick away its beaded coat. The urge quickly subsides, almost as if the plant has commanded it. You realize you are already connected to this creature, and its energy, as it senses your proximity, amplifies the bond. The particles that give you shape are rearranged in the plant -- and, indeed, in all things -- to trigger unique dynamic structures. The leaf is a symbol of the natural world that surrounds you. It is a pattern repeating, but it is also alive, its adaptations infinitesimal, undetectable.

Myspace // Last.fm // Discogs


High Wolf (2009, Winged Sun)


Incapulco (2009, Winged Sun)


Ascension (2010, Not Not Fun) -nml-

Green Bricks

FDVCE

Every Machine On

FDVCE is short for First Dog To Visit The Center Of The Earth -- so, you can certainly understand his preference for the acronym. Would you just look at the album cover for a second? And try to imagine that it sounds like that. Or like an oreo milkshake spiked with LSD and hooked up to electrodes. Or a cross between recent Black Dice and Dan Deacon before Bromst, but with a darker sense of humor. Listen to "Gator 5" and "Inner Dudsmind" on his myspace if you need more convincing. All of his other albums are free downloads on that page and his last.fm. If you like this, I recommend Colossus Archosaur, for starters.

Myspace // Last.fm

Caboladies

Earth Canal (2008)


Crowded Out Memory (2009)


Kind Glaze (2010)

RIYL: Black Dice around 2003, Emeralds, Dolphins Into The Future, Oneohtrix Point Never

Myspace // Last.fm

Endless Endless Endless

Things I Saw

Website // Last.fm

Another beautiful limited edition release from this "post-noise" duo. Don't make me try and convince you again, okay? This short mini-album is somewhat more fluid than Black Talisman. Vocal snippets and short squiggles of guitar and synth chords float around like gummy bears inside a jell-o gelatin of thick fuzzy atmosphere.

Vacation Dad

Vacation Dad EP

Post-noise side project from the drummer of Farms, a band I just fell in love with even though I still haven't found anything besides the songs on their myspace.

This EP is rife with jagged guitars colliding delays and looping into sunrise mirrors and fuzzy jumbles of jungle feathers tickling your bare feet but actually you are in a suburban backyard playing in the sand that spilled out of your sandbox and maybe five years later you're on your back looking at some vast blue expanse and your little brother pours a handful of it in your eye and it stings but you were supposed to be watching him anyway. Those clouds were totally distracting.

My point is, pay attention to this. It floats in an as-yet-undefined space between High Wolf and Ecstatic Sunshine and Peaking Lights and Julian Lynch and you'll love it, I know you will.

Myspace // Last.fm

Oneohtrix Point Never

Because Rifts seems like a heavy introduction to devote your time and money into on a whim (or a 4 1/2 star review, for that matter), I'm going to give you just a taste: My favorite three releases that happen to contribute their bulk to that 2-disc collection. If you are unaware, Oneohtrix Point Never (pronounced on-ee-oh-trix) is Daniel Lopatin, an extremely lovable ambient musician/cyborg equipped with his trusty Roland Juno-60 and miscellaneous effects. This is another artist I'm tempted (at the risk of coining a term) to describe as hyperactive ambient -- because, sure, all those swirling synth arpeggios and crescendos wash over you like a wave of meteor dust drifting in a vacuum, but it also feels like a swarm of TIE fighters* are slowly approaching from beyond the vast luminous hydrogen clouds that obscure your path. Or maybe that cloud is made up of nanobots preparing to absorb your organic fuel. I'm in a sci-fi mood, I guess. This is certainly the kind of music that'll take you there.


A Pact Between Strangers (2008)


Betrayed In The Octagon (2007)


Zones Without People (2009)

Myspace

*I really hope some knowledgeable nerd says something like, "Ha, that simile makes no sense! TIE fighters don't travel in swarms, idiot." There's possibly something scientifically inaccurate about "vast luminous hydrogen clouds" too, but that's a different story, and, well, I'm no astrophysicist. Even though I have a vague suspicion that's not even the right kind of scientist for this.

Smelly Magic

The 2nd Combing

BUY IT! -- Cassette or CDr, seven and eight dollars respectively. Either way, it comes with a free 11x17 poster. Really, you can't go wrong when a free poster is involved.

"Smelly Magic is a trio. Matt Wenzel (dj wisconsin, the good old fashioned sinners), Jared Meyer (painted snake, rad vibes, m. pyres), and Matthew Sage (m. pyres, tables & chairs) take an expansive journey behind a 1/4" 8track tape machine. Focused around two large movements, this record was recorded, dubbed, overdubbed and finished in the month of September. With a sound and fidelity stretching far beyond their first recording -- "the Prim Encounter" -- Smelly Magic reaches into the pockets of noise, jazz, krautrock, postrock, ambient and tribal music to find a good hairy nugget of soul for you to suck on."

Perfect for people who miss Raccoo-oo-oon and Jackie-O Motherfucker but also like their noisy psych-rock to have a little fun.


The Prim Encounter

Endless Endless Endless

"Our band is a post-noise duo that plays guitar and gameboyDS."

Try looking into those eyes and telling me you don't want to jam on a DS with those dudes.

Here are two of their sweet albums. Reminds me of early Black Dice mixed with newer Black Dice but also Wet Hair and other Not Not Fun Records psych/drone/noise. Also sounds like if the apocalypse was friendly and ice cream was milk churned until the infinite black parts of the internet where the data is stored were suddenly visible and tasty. Imagine that melting from a sugar cone onto your lap in the summer? Kinda blows the mind.


Black Talisman (2009) - Buy it!


Sprawl (2008)

Bongripper

Once again, a band from Chicago. They mix Doom, Drone, and Noise to create a really groovy, instrumental, and dissonant sound. I recommend starting with 2007's "Hippie Killer" as it has the most stand-alone gems. 2008's "Hate Ashbury" is one long piece split into parts.


Hippie Killer (2007)


Hate Ashbury (2008)

9/17 Megapost

Sure, I'm late with some of these, but aren't they all good records? And doesn't that goodness last beyond the "discovery" stage? I'd like to think so.

I tried to make this a noise/electronic post, but Bibio offered me an opportunity to transition into a few links I've been meaning to post for a while. Enjoy.

Eric Copeland - Alien In A Garbage Dump - Full length! Not the vinyl-only EP that was released last year. This album is that EP and the recently released companion EP, Al Anon (also vinyl-only). Pretty amazing. Buy the CD from Paw Tracks, or the Al Anon twelve-inch from Catsup Plate (only 500 copies pressed!).

High Wolf - Animal Totem - Killer cassette released last year (?) on Not Not Fun Records. Tropical loop noise.

Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue - Folk and IDM? In the best way possible, this dude on Warp Records marries the two. I don't know why I'm suddenly name-dropping all these record labels.

Ganglians - Monster Head Room - Part of that whole "lo-fi" thing, but ultimately, the songwriting here makes you forget it was likely recorded in someone's basement. Kinda like Beach Boys, Fleet Foxes, Woods. Buy the CD from Woodsist.

Hermit Thrushes - Slight Fountain - Maybe I'm off my rocker here, but this band reminds me of, like, if maybe Cough-era Black Eyes (I've spent about 10 minutes trying to find a better band for this analogy, but nothing else works) was really tired, so they turned off the distortion and invited Phil Elverum over to sing a little, and then all of them realized that Joan of Arc was pretty good. Buy the CD here.

Segue

More to come? Depends on campus upload times.

Stag Hare - Black Medicine Music - dream psych jungle.
Volcano Choir - Unmap - i'm not a fan of Bon Iver. this, however, is sweet. <--(dead link)
Wet Hair - Glass Fountain - gurgle organ synth with drum and wild vox.
White Denim - Fits - summer funk. sleepy blues.
Why? - Eskimo Snow - more orchestral and melodic than prior ventures. my favorite why? album.
Circulatory System - Signal Morning - fuzzy psych-pop perfection.
Lightning Bolt - Earthly Delights - frantic drums, pummel bass, meganoise, melt your face.
Atlas Sound - Logos - you know.
Bygones - by- - Zach Hill + Nick Reinhart (Tera Melos) = Techthrashmathlove.
Cold Cave - Love Comes Close - dark synth electro from Wes Eisold.

Eric Copeland - Alien in a Garbage Dump (2008)

EDIT: If for some reason google or someone else brought you here, know that this is only half of the full-length that was released almost a year after I originally posted this. That album can be found HERE.



The Black Dice member's recent solo release sticks close to the formula he perfected on his previous full-length, Hermaphrodite. Who am I kidding, loolllz. Anyone who has heard Black Dice knows it's their lack of any conceivable structure that really keeps their unique brand of noise interesting. This feels like another evolution, just on schedule. Worth downloading for the last half of the title track (Stream it here) but the rest is pretty killer as well.

Preview on Myspace
Stream another track (corn on the cob)
DOWNLOAD
BUY IT! (vinyl only)

Crass

Studio Albums:


The Feeding of The 5000 (1978)


Stations of The Crass (1979)


Penis Envy (1981)


Christ, The Album (1982)
-Disk One
-Disk Two


Yes Sir, I Will (1983)


Acts of Love (1985)

Live Albums:


Christ, The Bootleg (1989)


You'll Ruin It For Everyone (1993)

Special Treat:


Merry Crassmas (1981)

Crass were a largely influential Anarcho-punk band that delved in other genres, such as Classical, Noise, and Spoken Word. Here are all of their studio albums and both their live albums. I also added the Merry Crassmas 7", which is their cheeky little satire of Christmas consumerism. Enjoy!

AIDS Wolf - Cities Of Glass (2008)

This sounds like their other stuff except a bit evil. Here's a post from their blog with pictures of the artwork for the LP, it's really gnarly.

Preview on Myspace
[Download link removed at the request of band member.]
BUY IT!
(comes with free poster and pin!)

Pumice - Quo (2008)

Newly leaked album from New Zealander Stefan Neville. He describes the album as influenced by "two different accordians that [he] got for consecutive birthdays," "a $1 doo wop comp. from the warehouse," and "the parasite museum in Tokyo," among other things.

Preview on Myspace, Last.fm
LINK REMOVED AT THE LABEL'S REQUEST.
Buy it!

Eric Copeland - Hermaphrodite (2007)

Dude from Black Dice's solo record. Just as interesting as the full outfit, but more minimal, I think. Not necessarily any quieter. I'm pretty sure he's achieving sounds on this record in the same way as he does with Black Dice; samples, loops, and lots of effects. Check it out, definitely worth a listen.

Preview on Myspace
Try it - mp3, mediafire
Buy it!

Animal Collective, Part 1

Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished (2000)

Mostly written by Avey Tare. Panda Bear played drums. It was originally released under both of their names. There is a considerable amount of straightforward and poppy songwriting on this album, which is something that would largely disappear for Danse Manatee, and slowly come back in subsequent records.


Danse Manatee (2001)

The noisier second album was their first with Geologist. According to Wikipedia: "At the time of recording, the band was into extreme frequencies. Their goal was to experiment with intense high and low sounds and how they occupied space in the room and moved around in the listener's head."


Hollinndagain (2002)

Wikipedia says: "Hollinndagain is a collection of live, mostly non-album material from around the time of the band's second album, Danse Manatee. The first three songs were recorded during a performance on New Jersey radio station WFMU; the final four were culled from live shows in New York, Nashville and Austin with Black Dice in the summer of 2001."


Campfire Songs (2003)

Wikipedia says: "The album is comprised of five individual songs played back-to-back and recorded in one take. The recording was made on a screen porch in Maryland using three Sony MiniDisc players with Sony ECM-MS907 microphones placed strategically around the band. Ambient sound from the surrounding area was also captured and added later." This was their first album with Deakin.


Here Comes The Indian (2003)

This was the first album to actually be released under the name Animal Collective, as well as being the first of their albums on which all four members appear.

Raccoo-oo-oon

The three full-length releases that I'm aware of. I've been putting off posting these because I couldn't find adequate album art. In a moment of clarity, I looked at their official website. Duh.

If you like Pocahaunted or anything Animal Collective released before Sung Tongs, you might enjoy this. Or just click the "buy it!" link below to preview two of their songs. Never trust comparisons.



Is Night People (2003)



The Cave of Spirits Forever (2005)



Behold Secret Kingdom (2007)

Buy it!
These might be out-of-print. Information is sparse, or I'm lazy, but here's the label's myspace.