Reviews and Radio

Today I begin posting music reviews in order to archive my writing over the next year. My hope is to make my reviews from Brainwashed available to individuals who do not read that site and to use this blog as a tool to improve my writing. I encourage everyone to post comments and critical feedback. I will also be posting play lists from my radio show on WZBC 90.3 FM in Newton, Massachusetts. Currently I run the station on Thursdays from 10 AM until noon, but that will likely change in the forthcoming weeks. The show is called "Laughter" and, as you will see, I play a wide variety of experimental and rock music. With any luck I will also be posting mp3s from that show, soon. What follows are my first reviews of the new year and the first few radio shows, too. Brainwashed hosts one-minute sound samples of nearly every review they now publish; if you wish to hear samples of songs from these albums, please visit the site.

Rolan Vega, "Documentary"
on Community Library

Rolan Vega's ambiguous debut on Community Library suffers from its unfocused genesis. In part a tribute to movie and television soundtracks, Documentary is an intriguing compilation of Vega's synthesizer compositions but not an entirely successful album.

Released last year, Documentary wobbles between being an academic salutation and a directionless compilation of synthetic melody and rhythm. The music itself was composed at different times for different media and purposes; these songs were used variously as live scores, soundtracks for short films, and accompaniments to Vega's own video projects. The result is an uneven collection of songs. No matter how intriguing many of these compositions are, listening through from beginning to end can become a chore. While an emphasis on completion may have demanded the inclusion of many short and unique tracks, their inclusion on Documentary represents the majority of the album's disposable fare. Video may have originally given depth to these tracks, but standing alone they inspire little more than an anxious desire to move to the next song.

Fortunately Vega is an adept composer capable of producing uneasy moments, triumphant crescendos, fecund sound-scapes, danceable rhythms, and unique aural episodes. Given time and patience, Documentary blooms and showcases some undeniable gems.

Both "Viva Myria" and "Playlite" contain an enchanting depth and complexity. The former relies upon synthetic drift to weave its spell while the latter hums to the stuttering of a suffocated percussion section. Neither offers more than a minimal number of musical sources, but both call very strong images to mind with little effort. If it were not for the two intervening shorts, "4 Autiim" would have complimented them both nicely. For five minutes it pulses with electronic waves of sound and metallic snares, engendering a fleet of sci-fi memories as played by whirring robotic musicians. My three favorite pieces on this album call to mind sci-fi movies, actually, all of them dense and distorted with an undeniable element of foreboding included.

The disc closes with "Documentary," a piece sure to call some other soundtrack-obsessed musicians to mind. With the sound of chirping birds in tow, Vega ends his album with a warmth characteristic of the soundtracks composed for nature documentaries and PBS specials. It does not come as an unexpected surprise nor is it wholly un-listenable, but it's a bit of a disappointment; Vega is at his best when he's cutting his own path, not emulating someone else's. Documentary provides enough to enjoy, but lacks both continuity and consistent quality.

Marc Hannaford, "The Garden of Forking Paths"
on Extreme Records

Accessible, improvisational jazz is given new life at the hands of this exceptional quartet. Australian pianist Marc Hannaford leads his group through a variety of musical approaches, drawing a lively dialogue out of each of them that entertains with ease. This quartet reaches deep into their imaginative bag of tricks and pull out one stunning performance after another.

In some ways it seems all too easy to release an album of improvised music. With the advent of cheap recording it is possible for almost anyone to assemble a bunch of half-assed recordings produced over the course of a few extended jams and call it an album. Woe to the thoughtless noise-maker indeed, for his kind is populating the internet with increasing regularity. I expected so much from Marc Hannaford. I must admit a certain amount of cynicism when it comes to modern jazz recordings; all too often they favor technique over content and, as is the case with other genres that claim improvisation as a cornerstone of their craft, fail to provide much to appreciate beyond the technique itself. Hannaford, Scott Tinkler, Ken Edie, and Philip Rex know a thing or two about improvisation, however. They exhibit a thoughtfulness in their play that the likes of Albert Ayler and John Coltrane recognized as invaluable to the art form. With an eye on certain compositional principles and methodologies, each member of this quartet contributes their own character and reason to eight superb recordings of controlled chaos.

"Sauna Twins" begins with Hannaford's incongruous and drunken piano playing; he stumbles and careens across his ivory keys in seemingly random jumps, ranting with a persistent vigor that pretends coherence. Philip Rex soon answers his call on bass, entering open spaces in the conversation with light jabs and punchy deliveries. It's not hard to imagine that the two musicians are in conversation with each other, one calling out in a certain chord, the other responding with a quick urgency. The addition of Edie's drums and Tinkler's trumpet suddenly clouds this exchange, but soon each musician falls in with the other, filling in the gaps that one or the other leaves. In no time at all (and without introduction), the massive "G.E.B." is in full swing. The instruments have, in the span of just over four minutes, become characters of their own. Sometimes they compliment each other by falling into near silence together, other times they appear to argue, one yelling in order to claim dominance, the other three huddling together before launching a counter-attack. The beauty of many of these performances is that they feel genuinely organic, like the best written dialogues. For all the random components at play, however, there is a unifying theme at work in the background, a theme that each of the musicians manage to keep in mind as they parade through their own musical arguments.

Clocking in at over 17 minutes long, one might expect "G.E.B" to become boring or overwrought, but each of its varied movements not only seem necessary, they're downright beautiful. Tinkler's trumpet performance, especially in the last five minutes or so, is nearly epic in all its 64th-note glory. Rex's percussive force is immense, his hands creating a virtual parade of power throughout the entire piece. It might be argued that "G.E.B." lays too many cards on the table too early; both "Pure Evil" and "All Booze" seem small in its shadow, but both are appealing and set the rest of the record up quite well. The initial and deceptive calm of "I'll Go Down..." (Hannaford's solo piano performance) is all the more powerful because of the way it contrasts with "All Booze" and "Pure Evil" features some pseudo-funky bass and drum explosions that'd make Squarepusher more than just a little jealous. There's a lot going on throughout The Garden of Forking Paths. It's equally diverse, random, tight, well-conceived, and welcoming. I'm as impressed with the music as I am with the technique that spawned it.

Caldwell, Subbing (ZBC Rock) Jan 7th 2008, 10.00AM to 12.00PM

Artist	Song	Disk	Year	Label
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282	Selections from A Fistful of Dollars	Everyday / Selections From... 7"	1995	amarillo
Silkworm	Our Secret	The Chain / Our Secret 7"	1992	Aurora
Clearlake	Don't Let the Cold In	Don't Let The Cold In	2000	Dusty Company
Siddal	Angel Wars	7"	1993	Bedazzled URL
Pseudo Code	Far Away From My Own land	7"	1984	Waving Graphic
Disappointed a Few People	Dead in Love	Dead In Love	1986	Psyche
Ed Kuepper	Electrical Storm	Electrical Storm	1986	Hot Record
Peter Laughner and Friends	Me & the Devil Blues	Take the Guitar Player for a Ride	1995	Tim Kerr
Roni & the Jitters	Wild Weekend	7"	1980	Rockpool
Scout Niblett	Kiss	This Fool Can Die Now	2007	Too Pure URL
Salem 66	Across the Sea	7"	1984	Homestead
Misfits	London Dungeon	Collection I	1986	Plan 9
Ranch Hands	Stomp It	7"	1984	Egon Records
Songs:Ohia	The Big Game is Every Night	Magnolia Electric Co.	2003	Secretly Canadian URL
Bonnie "Prince" Billy & Dawn McCarthy	The Signifying Wolf	Wai Notes	2007	Drag City URL
The Raybeats	Instant Twist	It's Only a Movie	1983	Shanachie Records
Cabaret Voltaire	James Brown	Micro-phonies	1984	Virgin URL
The Residents	Kaw-Liga	Stars + Hank Forever	1996	ralph records
Orbital	Impact (The Earth Is Burning)	Orbital 2	1993	FFRR
Kinski	Argentina Turner	Down Below It's Chaos	2007	Sub Pop URL
Six Organs of Admittance	Jade Like Wine	shelter from the ash	2007	Drag City URL
Cranes	Shining Road	EP Collection 1 + 2	1997	Dedicated URL
Front Line Assembly	Big Money	Gashed Senses & Crossfire	1989	Wax Trax! URL

Caldwell, Subbing (ZBC Rock) Jan 9th 2008, 10.00AM to 12.00PM

Artist	Song	Disk	Year	Label
Mark Arm	Masters of War	7"	1990	Sub Pop URL
Archers of Loaf	Web in Front	Web in Front	1993	Alias URL
13 Ghosts	Movie Night at Brackett's	Movie Night at Bracketts 7"	1999	Babydoll
Majesty Crush	Sunny Pie	Sunny Pie / Cicciolina 7"	1992	Vulva
Love Camp 7	Huxley in Hollywood	7"	1990	Bowlmor
The Royal Macadamians	Relax in Lebanon	experiments in terror	1990	island record
Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy	Language of Violence	Language of Violence 12"	1992	4th & B-Way
Die Krupps With Nitzer Ebb	True Work - Mix	The Machineries of Joy	1989	BCM Records
Magnetophone	Monitor Rocket Science	You Should Write Music / Monitor Rocket Science 7"	2000	Earworm URL
Pinch	Widescreen	Underwater Dancehall	2007	Tectonic
Pole	Winkelstreben Ghislain Poirier Remix	Steingarten Remixes	2007	Scape URL
Burial	Raver	Untrue	2007	Hyperdub
Alasdair Roberts	As I Came In By Huntly Town	The Crook of My Arm	2001	Secretly Canadian URL
Eyeless in Gaza	Invisibility	Invisibilty	1981	Cherry Red URL
Echoboy	She	Pure New Wool	1999	For Us
Citizen's Utilities	King County Derelict	7"	1995	Shangri-La
Inspiral Carpets	Commercial rain	Joe EP	1990	Moo
Razor Penguins	The Math Professor	7"	1986	Ice Works
Sid Presley Experience	Public Enemy #1	Public Enemy #1 / Hup Two Three Four 7"	1984	I D
Man Or Astro-Man?	King of the Monsters	Welcome to the Sonic Space Age	1996	Clawfist
The Hate Bombs	Ghoul Girl	Ghoul Girl / She Bit Me	1997	Baby Doll Records
Jonathan Fire Eater	The Beautician	Tremble Under Boom Lights	1996	The Medicine Label URL
Daniel Johnston	Speeding Motorcycle	Yip/Jump Music	1983	Homestead Records
The Bloods	Button Up	Button Up 7"	1981	Exit International
Elephant	Dance on Me	7"	1998	Mock Rock
Electric Sound of Joy	Play Away	play away	1997	Earworm URL

Caldwell, "Laughter" (ZBC Rock) Jan 10th 2008, 10.00AM to 12.00PM

Artist	Song	Disk	Year	Label
Future Sound of London	We Have Explosive	Dead Cities	1996	Astralwerks URL
Test Dept.	New World Order	new world order	1991	Ministry of Power URL
Stereo Taxic Device	Soman	Stereo Taxic Device	1991	KK-Records Belgium
Strange Nursery	To Whom the Unit is Attached	Strange Nursery	1989	Strange Nursery
Penguin Cafe Orchestra	More Milk	Broadcasting from Home	1984	Editions EG
Dark	Drifting	Tamna Voda	1991	CMP
Can	I Want More	Flowmotion	1976	Virgin URL
Einstürzende Neubauten	The Garden	ende neu	1998	Nothing
Breather	Maya	Loves and Disloves	1984	Sonic Incision
Lida Husik	Billboard	Bozo	1991	Shimmy Disc
Dog Faced Hermans	Cactus	Humans Fly	1988	Calculus
The Leaving Trains	Hometown Blues	Well Down Blue Highway	1984	Bemisbrain Records
Husker Du	MTC / Don't Have a Life	Land Speed Record	1982	SST URL
Labradford	Scenic Recovery	Labradford	1996	Kranky URL
Valium Aggelein	Abheben in Stereo	Hier Kommt Der Schwartze Mond	1998	Audio Info Phenomena
Squarepusher	Do You Know Squarepusher	Do You Know Squarepusher	2001	Warp URL
DJ Food	Monocle (Silver Dub)	The Quadraplex ep	2001	Ninja Tune URL EMAIL
R.U.O.K.	The Job Interview	R.U.O.K.	1998	Quantum Loop
Faust Vs. Dälek	T-Electronique	Derbe Respect, Alder	2003	Staubgold URL
Fennesz	City of Light	Venice	2004	touch music URL
Blackgirls	Moonflower	Procedure	1990	mammoth records
John Fahey	Joe Kirby Blues	The Great Santa Barbara Oil Slick	2004	Water
Charalambides	The Good Life	Likeness	2007	Kranky URL
Dead C	Comme Toi Meme	The Whitehouse	1995	Siltbreeze