End of Year Round-Up for The Sleeping Shaman

It’s kind of preposterous that of all of the dedicated writers here at the Sleeping Shaman that I should be one of the ones to attempt to round up the year in heavy music on its behalf. For starters, I am one of the new kids on the block, having only joined the writing staff here in June and even I would have to admit that I’ve not been the most prolific of writers (as the Sleeping Shaman himself will no doubt attest.) But as a critic, a fan, and a member of an active band I think I’ve seen this year’s releases and events from a variety of angles, so I’ll try to summarise the year in a well-rounded and “Universal” way. As an added disclaimer, I should mention that my ‘area’ is doom, stoner and sludge so apologies in advance if your musical preferences or favourite bands get severely over-looked.

However, I think most of you will agree that it’s been an excellent year for alternative music. There have been new releases from bands like Earth, Electric Wizard, Boris, Ramesses, Weedeater, Wolves in the Throne Room, Rwake, Yob, Mastodon, 40 Watt Sun, Thou, Atlas Moth, Cave In, Cannabis Corpse, Sourvein, Sepultura, Machine Head, Premonition 13, Chelsea Wolfe, Orange Goblin, All Pigs Must Die, Hank Williams III, Primus, Anthrax, and even reunited nu-metal arse-clowns Limp Bizkit. Best of all, Lou Reed and Metallica inexplicably teamed-up to release one of the most talked-about [translation: derided] albums of the year and James Hetfield surely won “The-most-preposterously-earnest-vocal-delivery-of-a-preposterous-lyric” award for “I am the table!” As a life-long Lou Reed fan I at least got a small amount of joy out of the sheer ridiculousness of it all although it seems that a few Metallica fans now want Reed dead. At this point I don’t think either artist can sully the other’s career…

On the other hand it’s been a great year for up-and-coming bands such as Conan, Sigiriya, Slabdragger, Serpent Venom, Cultura Tres, Wiht, Wizard’s Beard, Undersmile, Grifter, Dopefight, Dead Existence, Alunah, Pombagira, Dopethrone, Windhand, Desert Storm, Tree of Sores, Five Will Die, Banda de la Muerte, Gurt, Meadows, and Bastard of the Skies who’ve all either gained praise for their recorded material or live performances, or both. Again, apologies to any of the hundreds of excellent new bands I’ve missed – it’s a good sign that there are literally far too many to mention here.

On the live front Download Festival was met with a mixed response, while Damnation, Supersonic, and Roadburn 2011 went down extremely well. The fact that next year’s Roadburn Festival sold out in seven minutes is a testament to the strength of the frankly ridiculous line-up which includes (the reformed) The Obsessed, Sleep, Yob, diSEMBOWELMENT, curators Voivod plus far too many other excellent bands to even begin listing. In short, it’s going to be fucking ace and it sucks to be you if you’re not there.

In other news, stoner-legends Kyuss returned to the live circuit (albeit under the probably legally-imposed name Kyuss Lives! and minus original guitarist Josh Homme). On the 11th of the 11th (possibly at 11.11am) heavy metal doom kings Black Sabbath announced that the original line-up was to reform to headline Download Festival 2012, to undergo a world tour and to record a new album. Whether this means we’ll get some classic Black Sabbath/Paranoid/Master of Reality/Vol. 4-era riffage or Never Say Die! era rock n’ roll drivel remains to be seen. Fingers crossed that it won’t suck a huge fat one.

Finally The Sleeping Shaman itself has gone from strength to strength, particularly since it got a revamp in July, and now has more visitors than ever thanks to you lot and an ever-expanding group of writers and music enthusiasts spreading the word. As well as new reviews appearing on the site almost every day, there have been more news stories being reported, and exclusive streams of albums by the likes of Paul Catten (Lazarus Blackstar, The Sontaran Experiment) with plenty more where that came from in the New Year. Everyone at The Sleeping Shaman would like to thank you for reading and sharing the site and allowing it to expand into a one-stop shop for all of your metal, doom, sludge and general alternative music needs. Don’t forget that you can show some Sleeping Shaman love by purchasing a Sleeping Shaman exclusive t-shirt – you know you want to stuff one in your loved-one’s stocking. Get them here!

So until the world comes to an end (possibly during Bongripper’s Satan Worshipping Doom Roadburn set), here’s to 2012 kicking as much arse as 2011 did.

[Originally published on The Sleeping Shaman, 22/12/11]

http://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/articles/tom-mckibbin-reflects-on-the-year-that-was-2011/

Listing Ships - The 100 Gun Ship

(American Steam Company, 2011)

One of the musical revelations of music in Oxford in 2011 has been the emergence of Listing Ships, a band whose 90s-post-rock-leaning demo ‘Maiden Voyage’ we enthused about earlier in the year. Along with a couple of god-awful nautically-themed puns, we said that record was like “a nineties alternative and post-rock nostalgia trip, combining elements of Siamese Dream-era Smashing Pumpkins and Tortoise to create [anthemic, vast soundscapes]“.

The 100 Gun Ship is Listing Ships’ first EP and the debut release on their own American Steam Company label. Considering that the three songs from their demo appear on this EP in their original forms, there’s no point regurgitating the praise we lumped on them last time (especially when you can just go read the review here). So onto the new. Opening track ‘The 100 Gun Ship’ is the most ferocious thing the band have released so far, beginning with a driving bassline that anchors the layers of guitar and electronics, giving them free reign to expand out and muddy the atmosphere. After such a ferocious start, ‘Melusine Romance’ is, in stark contrast (and for lack of a better term), the ‘loveliest’ thing we’ve yet heard from the band; all fluttering guitars and sudden unexpected bursts of distortion. The song conjures up the various bittersweet emotions associated with the choppy waters of love, which is especially appropriate given the song name, and there is plenty of tension thrown in for good measure. ‘Then Venice Sank’ brings it all back to Krautrock territory (think Neu!) – the dominant influence on this EP.

For my tastes, the New Rose Hotel remix of ‘Equus Ager’ that closes the EP is a little superfluous; perhaps the band felt that it was a worthy or necessary inclusion because The 100 Gun Ship is essentially an expanded version of ‘Maiden Voyage’ – but for all its pleasant atmospherics, the song doesn’t particularly add to the collection besides to create a feeling of being submerged under water. Never mind, it’s a minor gripe on what is an otherwise great EP from a band who are getting better with each release.

[Originally published on MusicInOxford.co.uk, 09/12/11]
http://www.musicinoxford.co.uk/2011/12/09/listing-ships-the-100-gun-ship-american-steam-company/

Banda De La Muerte - ST

(Self released, 2010)

Argentina’s Banda De La Muerte are a testament to the strength of the growing and diverse metal scene in the South American continent, the same scene that boasts bands such as Los Natas [Argentina], Cultura Tres [Venezuela] and Avernal [Arg]. When I recently spoke to Cultura Tres front-man Alejandro Londono he spoke about the sense of camaraderie between this community of South American metal bands, bands who actively support and promote one another.

This network of like-minded musicians recently manifested a successful festival in Buenos Aires called South American Sludge, an event that brought these bands together and which helped to establish the scene as a credible and palpable entity. Banda De La Muerte are something of an anomaly, however, because they play Rock n’ Roll with a stoner twist .

Case in point is ferocious opening track “Dos Huesos” which comes across like a combination of Kyuss, Pantera and Queens of the Stone Age with the groove of the former two and the drive of the latter. It’s a great kick-start to this eight-track album and a real statement of intent from a band that may be new to many European listeners. Very soon into this quick-blast of an album it becomes apparent that while Banda De La Muerte are far from musical innovators, they’ve taken a desert scene framework and built a collection of interesting, arresting songs full of ideas, unexpected melodies and Latin flavour. “Cuando No Hay Mas Que Perder”, “De La Muerte” and “Esqueleto” all have plenty of Songs for the Deaf-era QOTSA pomp and velocity about them, which can only be a good thing, but there are also plenty of little surprises along the way.

It’s not fair to say that all of the songs on the album are desert grooves either; “Madera Sagrada” is an unadulterated hardcore punk song, thrashing along in less that one and a half minutes, kicking your teeth-in in the process. Likewise, “Los Ojos Del Diablo” starts off like Kyuss but half way through the song takes an unexpected turn, sounding like early Korn with John Otto behind the kit. In a good way, surprisingly. Many of the songs on the album would be best described as stoner-punk as they have too much passion and intensity to be straight-up stoner tunes and too much groove to be conventional punk songs. Final track “A Traves De La Sangre” is a slow-burner, a kind of ballad but packed with riffs.

Where the album might divide opinions is in the vocal delivery of singer Xon. His singing style veers between a power-rock holler and a Lemmy-style growl and some of the vocal melodies may seem a bit too familiar and middle of the road for some listeners. I must admit that at first I didn’t think much of the vocals either way, but eventually the melodies won me over and I actually found myself enjoying the unabashed retro quality of Xon’s voice. Listen to the first few songs and, just like your first taste of marmite, you’ll soon find out whether you love it or hate it.

It took a few listens for this album to click – perhaps it was the language barrier but more likely it was the subtleties in the songs that only revealed themselves after the third or fourth play. The vocal melodies that at first seemed shamelessly retro and cheesy actually became ingrained in my head, riffs slowly fell into place in my mind and lead guitar parts buried in the mix sprung forth to add a new dimension to the songs. This isn’t an album that’s going to blow your mind but it’s a solid stoner rock album that will serve you well on car journeys, whether down long, straight roads through the Palm Desert or up the M5 on a wet Tuesday morning. The quality of the performances, the crisp production and the accessible feel of the album make this a fantastic introduction to those of you wishing to dip your toes into the South American Sludge scene. But as we’ve already established, this ain’t South American Sludge, this is South American Rock n’ Roll.

[Originally published on The Sleeping Shaman, 7/12/11]
http://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/album-reviews/b/banda-de-la-muerte-st-cd-2010/

Noothgrush - S/T

(Fuck Yoga, 2011)

An interesting one, this; independent label Fuck Yoga have gotten their grubby mits on one of Noothgrush's very first recordings – a self-recorded demo that was only ever released on a handful of cassettes – and are releasing it on limited edition CD and vinyl. Fans of the band will probably have heard bootlegs of this demo by now but for newcomers and collectors the vinyl looks too good to resist (check out the Fuck Yoga website for more details). Indeed, it seems like Noothgrush have had a bit of a revival this year, first reforming for a handful of gigs, then having a compilation of radio sessions released on Southern Lord – their first widely released record. So this re-release is especially timely because it gives us a chance to see how the band developed from their early days, before the final and most well-known Noothgrush line-up formed.

Recorded shortly after forming in 1994, this self-titled demo features Noothgrush vets Chiyo and Gary along with Tom Choi (of Sleep-precursor Asbestos Death) on guitar and Luis DeVilla on second bass and moog. As a result the sound is significantly different from the band's later, most well-known material. The pace is still cripplingly slow and the mood still depressing and full of contempt for life but there are more psychedelic moments and vocal melodies than in the band's later work. Final track “8d8”, for example, is twenty brutal minutes of tortured, twisted riffs, guitar feedback, tape manipulation, samples, moog and general freak-outery.

The most striking thing about the record, however, is Gary's clean, clear vocal style which, surprisingly, brings to mind Tool's James Maynard Keenan on crushing opening track “Life Shatters into Pieces of Anguish”. Not only are the vocals clean but they are multi-layered and, dare I say, tuneful. Again, “Dungeon” is classic Noothgrush – an apprehensive intro of low rumbling bass followed by suspenseful distorted guitars, and tribal drums – but where Gary's voice would normally be oppressive and guttural, here it's more commanding, harmonising with itself for dramatic effect throughout most of the song. An early version of “Deterioration”, which would later feature on their only album Erode the Person, is also present here but in a shorter and more bombastic form. I'm sure many, many bands wish that their first demo was as accomplished and well-rounded as this document to damnation.

As is to be expected of a self-recorded demo which was handed out on cassettes, the sound quality isn't that great (it certainly won't please you audiophiles) but for me the gritty quality of the recordings acts like another instrument contributing to the general musical malaise. And regardless, the songs shine through on their own merit. The main thing that you will likely take away from this record is that Noothgrush had a clear vision of what they wanted to do from the start and quickly got to making some of the most underrated sludge and doom tracks ever made. With so much of the band's recorded material out of print this is a welcome re-issue – let's hope more of those elusive EPs get the same treatment soon.

[Originally posted on The Sleeping Shaman, 29/11/11]
http://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/album-reviews/n/noothgrush-st-reissue-cd-lp-2011/

[Later reposted as Roadburn Festival's 'Album of the Day', 29/11/11]
http://www.roadburn.com/2011/11/album-of-the-day-noothgrush-st-reissue-2011/

Von Braun / The Graceful Slicks / The Old Grinding Young / Seabuckthorn @ The Wheatsheaf, Oxford, 25/11/2011

Photo (c) Pier Corona

A excellent line-up of contrasting yet strangely complementary local talent gathered for Von Braun’s EP launch at the Wheatsheaf, a night that slowly built up to Von Braun’s triumphant headline set.

Starting the evening off was Seabuckthorn, an artist who has impressed several MusicInOxford.co.uk writers with his recorded output of exotic, otherworldly soundscapes. His music is somewhat lost on a mostly apathetic opening-slot crowd, and his set perhaps slightly too long and meandering to hold their Friday-night attention, but those of us who surrendered ourselves to his hypnotic music were transfixed. For the first half of the set, he was joined by Duncan Scott who provided a constant drone with a Shruti box (a kind of Indian harmonium) which proved to be the perfect grounding for Seabuckthorn to improvise around a distinctly South American framework of flamenco flourishes and moody minor keys. Towards the end of the set he began to command the attention of the audience by creating distorted loops upon which to build screeching siren calls and a constant beat with a stomp box. It’s a shame that more people didn’t give Seabuckthorn the attention he undoubtedly deserved because his warm musical excursions are the perfect cure for the winter blues.

Next up was The Old Grinding Young which is the moniker of Ollie T, formerly of ute. Although this was one of his first solo outings, you wouldn’t know it, for Ollie commanded the stage with just an electric guitar and a microphone. Oh, and a late-Movember moustache: indeed, I soon found myself surrounded by a sea of them. The first impression left by the opening song is that The Old Grinding Young sound rather like ute, and I assumed that the set would be a series of confessional, if slightly warped, singer-songwritery type songs. But the set went from strength to strength and further away from the ute sound. ‘The King and the Knave’ had a Warpaint-go-medieval feel to it, while the set reached its manic high-point with set-closer ‘Down Daddy Down’. The hushed, melancholic tone of the rest of the set gave way to a frantic, bluesy one and Ollie’s mumbled croon became crazed – like the darker side of Jeff Buckley. The crowd give him a justifiably enthusiastic response. He ended on a high note.

The Graceful Slicks came with their own lighting (a kind of lava lamp affair) and immediately set the mood for their riotous ’60s garage rock freak-out. Opening song ‘Wasted’ had an authentic 13th Floor Elevators energy, which soon gave way to a relaxed bounce on ‘Rubbernecking’ (in which the band played tribute to Von Braun by incorporating a section of their song ‘Henry’s Girl’). By the time the band came to a stomping rendition of ‘Fire’ it was impossible not to get in on the fun of it all; they may not be one of the most original bands in Oxford, but they’re one of the most entertaining live bands I’ve seen in some time. For tonight’s set, at least, they moved away from the Haight-Ashbury, drugged-out vibe in favour of a high energy collection of songs with fuzz bass and excellent drumming providing a pulsing rhythm for the majority of their set. Great stuff.

Now, when one of the singers takes to the stage with a pint and a few shots of whiskey, the set can go one of two ways. Fortunately for Dave Anderson of Von Braun, the rush of whiskey to the blood seemed to do a world of good, giving their set a loose but explosive energy. From the aptly named ‘Opener’ to encore ‘Black Saxon’, Von Braun commanded the room with a set full of songs that many other bands in Oxford and elsewhere would envy. From the angular bounce of ‘Henry’s Girl’, ‘Folk Devil’ and ‘Mustard Picasso Man’, to the sweet melancholy of ‘Mr. Seaweed’, Von Braun proved themselves to be one of Oxford’s rising stars. Breakneck renditions of the poppy ‘End of Ecuador’ and ‘Cat/Dog’ threatened to self combust (drummer Gary Atkinson giving himself a particularly hard job in the faster moments of the latter) but somehow the band managed to come through in what can only be described as a thrilling performance. At one point, I turned around to see a packed Wheatsheaf cheering and nodding along to one of the songs, even demanding an encore at the end which the band coyly agreed to. Job done, go buy the EP.

A great night that displayed the wide spectrum of musical talent that Oxford has to offer. Truly fantastic.

[Originally published on MusicinOxford.co.uk, 27/11/2011]

http://www.musicinoxford.co.uk/2011/11/27/von-braun-the-graceful-slicks-the-old-grinding-young-seabuckthorn-the-wheatsheaf-oxford-25112011/

Elliot Fresh & Legoman - Elliot Building with Lego

[Illgotit Records, 2011]

Elliot Fresh has always been a technically gifted MC with a good ear for an interesting beat (see his previous work with Jerome Alexander and Capskey) and in that sense towers above some of the stale new breed of Oxford MCs. Saying that, Elliot’s verbal dexterity can sometimes make his bars stumble out awkwardly. Thankfully on this release with Legoman both MCs are on point as they take on the Oxford scene, their own pasts and the bullshitters. When they drop the machismo act they become infinitely more endearing rappers, particularly on the soulful “Paula and Laura” in which both MCs recall unrequited schoolboy crushes. Summer tune “Poussins and Rum” contains the ingenious chorus: “Not even Flava Flav could tell us the time”. The DJ Premier-meets-Pete Rock production throughout is excellent and Elliot, Lego and guests rock the tracks with precision, humour and skill. Cop this album now all Oxford hip-hop heads.

[Originally published in Oxford Music Scene magazine, issue 16]

http://www.oxfordmusicscene.co.uk/images/oms_issue16.pdf

Listing Ships Feature from OMS Magazine

Listing Ships arrived on our shores unannounced earlier this year, making waves with their nautically themed Tortoise-inspired post-rock stylings and all-star cast of musicians. Or perhaps not. True, the original line-up of the band was made up of former members of such bands as Sunnyvale Noise Sub-Element and Witches but bassist Stuart Fowkes was more bemused than anything else by the attention this gave the band.

“The funniest thing from the beginning was a couple of people calling us a ‘local supergroup’, given that Jim’s never played a gig before this band, Mike’s last band played live about three times, and none of the bands Dave or I have been in have exactly set the world alight. Still, helped us get a few gigs...”

A few high profile gigs too, one should add. As well as doing the rounds in Oxford and London, this summer saw the band play slots at the Truck and Supernormal Festivals. As guitarist Mike Bingham recalls: “I loved every minute of Truck. It was probably our most energetic performance so far and went down really well. Such a shame it was the last Truck. I hope it re-emerges in another guise next year. Supernormal was an odd one, we didn’t all fit on the hay bale stage so we spread out all our synths on the grass in front.”

Stuart continues: “I absolutely love festivals, and playing them is a treat. Festival audiences are great, they’re all full of cider and enthusiasm so it’s a load more fun than a wet Wednesday at a shitty venue in north London.”

But they do concede that it's not always easy to play for an audience who are expecting a band with vocals. “Most music from the last 60 years or so has relied heavily on vocals so people can find it difficult to accept music without them in,” says Mike. “We have to work a lot harder without vocals though as they tend to carry a lot of musical deadweight which you only notice when they’re absent.”

“The criticism of our band I find the most difficult is ‘you need a singer’, which drives me mad,” Stuart admits. “I can understand people feeling that they personally need a vocal hook to get into a piece of music, but to suggest that instrumental music is somehow incomplete or even irrelevant is missing a trick.”

Drummer David Balch elaborates: “Writing instrumental music gives us space for the songs to be their own stories, rather than having direct exposition through lyrics.”

The band are now readying their next release, The 100 Gun Ship EP, which will expand upon the 3 tracks from their demo, Maiden Voyage, adding 3 new songs and a remix along with 2 new videos and a hand-printed sleeve. Mike says that he is “really pleased with [the new songs] and can’t wait for the launch,” while Stuart hopes that the record will be their “defining opening statement before we move on to recording our even newer stuff.” The mini-album will be the maiden release on their own American Steam Company Recordings

Before we parted ways I asked the band about their feelings on the local music scene, considering their part in it and Stuart's roles as a music writer and an organiser of Audioscope. Mike admitted that while he had “not been blown away by a local band for a while” he still tries to “see as many as [he] can.” Stuart was a bit more optimistic:

“There’s not much instrumental guitar stuff around these days as it’s not quite as in fashion. But the scene in Oxford seems to rise and fall in waves and right now it’s definitely at one of its peaks – there’s loads of interesting stuff and great bands doing things across a load of genres, and seemingly a lot of people up for doing more interesting stuff than just regular gigs. So yeah, it’s in a pretty healthy state right now.”

The 100 Gun Ship EP is released on American Steam Company Recordings on 21 November 2011.

[Originally published in Oxford Music Scene magazine, issue 16]

http://www.oxfordmusicscene.co.uk/images/oms_issue16.pdf

Listing Ships - 100 Gun Ship EP

[American Steam Company, 2011]

Listing Ships' demo Maiden Voyage impressed many local critics earlier this year and now we're presented with The 100 Gun Ship EP which is basically an extended version consisting of three new songs and a remix. The opening track is perhaps the band's most immediate song yet, starting with a driving bassline before a beautiful cacophony of synthesisers and bending guitars cloud the air. “Then Venice Sank” is the closest thing to krautrock that a band from our fair city has produced for some time; an urgent, shifty bassline once again providing the perfect anchor for the guitars and synthesisers to wander off in all directions. “Melusine Romance”, as the title may suggest, is the loveliest song the band has released so far and serves to prove that there is plenty of room for tension in romance whilst also demonstrating that the band is becoming masterful at their craft. Another excellent release from a band more than fulfilling their early promise.

[Originally published in Oxford Music Scene magazine, issue 16]

http://www.oxfordmusicscene.co.uk/images/oms_issue16.pdf

Borderville - Metamorphosis

(Self released, 2011)

No-one asked them to but Oxford's chief cabaret band has gone and created a soundtrack to Kafka's The Metamorphosis. Naturally, Borderville's interpretation of the novella is more Freddie Mercury than Philip Glass. “Open the Door”, with its nods to new-wave, is fast-paced and fun, “Capitalypso” is dementedly bombastic, “Anchor” and “As It Is” are pretty and lilting, “The Human Way” is trance-like and in-between there are plenty of surprises, both pleasant and otherwise. The overall effect is knowingly incongruous to the subject matter but that doesn't mean that it always works, at times coming across like Monty Python does Kafka. This is no doubt an album that would benefit from the inevitable theatrics of the band's live show, an element which is palpably missing for the most part (album highlight “Uneasy Dreams” being a notable exception). So for a musical adaptation of a much-misunderstood novella, Metamorphosis is an ambitious and surprisingly accessible starting point to the much-misunderstood Borderville.

[Originally published in Oxford Music Scene magazine, issue 16]

http://www.oxfordmusicscene.co.uk/images/oms_issue16.pdf

Von Braun - Folk Devil EP

(Big Red Sky Records, 2011)

Folk Devil EP, the long overdue debut-proper from Von Braun, is an excellent showcase for one of the best bands in Oxford - one that finally captures the band at their nervous, twitchy best and touches upon the reflective, melancholic side of their sound. Previous demos seemed to over-compensate for the band's lack of a bass player by being bass-heavy to a fault. The results, while fine recordings by anyone else’s standards, were slightly underwhelming given the energy of their live performances. Now, under the patronage of Martin Newton's Big Red Sky Records, the band have been able to record their songs completely live in an unused factory to faithfully capture the essence of their sound.

Starting evocatively with the chimes of increasingly distant church bells, as if the band are leading us away from a world of civilisation, they launch into “Folk Devil,” a song that deals with the implications of being led astray by those things that your family warn you about. The result, in Von Braun's ambiguous world, is to be left “[lying] there, struggling to breathe.”

Live favourite “The End of Ecuador” is the song that best demonstrates the band's way with a catchy, urgent melody. There's an underlying sense of romance to the song, particularly in the exchange of Dave Anderson and Adam Bates' voices in the chorus, singing over one another in contrastingly crazed and melodic fashions. Few bands could or would dare get such mileage out of a lead guitar part consisting of four notes but the simplicity of it, bouncing above the fast-shifting minor and major chords, is what makes the song great. Other local bands would do well to take notice.

“Arronax” is joyous white-boy funk that references 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in the chorus to illustrate a kind of oceanic nightmare, albeit one that the band seems to be revelling in. The EP ends in understated fashion with “Mr. Seaweed”, a beautiful song featuring a solemn, finger-picked guitar, close vocal harmonies and, as we've come to expect by this point, oblique lyrics. I can only assume that the “Mr. Seaweed” they are speaking of is not the character from Spongebob Squarepants...

But you can never be too sure; Von Braun's lyrics are full of allusions to literature, film, history and culture so any real-life emotions are implied through the guise of these references. Ute recently described how mishearing the line “You are not Annie Edson Taylor” in “Folk Devil” inspired their own “Innocent Tailor” and it's certainly true that Von Braun's lyrical turns-of-phrase worm their way into your subconscious, regardless of how obscure the words may be (seriously, you'll soon find yourself unable to stop singing the chorus: “Oh Arronax, take me back to the Nautilus”).

The Lynchian worlds that Von Braun portray in their lyrics lend the band an air of mystery, an air that is reflected in the curious musical worlds that they create. While it is true that on “Arronax” and “Mr. Seaweed” the Pixies link is hard to ignore (particularly those Joey Santiago guitar bends), it is now only a reference point – the band have long outgrown the Pixies comparisons that were probably the bane of their early career. Yes, Dave Anderson's pained yelps and impassioned delivery recall Surfer Rosa-era Black Francis but Anderson is now his own monster at the microphone. In fact, Anderson's wild outbursts and Bates' flat, melodic delivery work beautifully together as contrasting forces as well as for the close harmonies which are key to Von Braun's dynamic.

The sympathetic way in which these songs have been recorded has ensured that one of the most exciting live bands in Oxford have an EP that captures that same live energy. Drummer Gary Atkinson, who continues to channel Keith Moon, is Von Braun's secret weapon, giving their songs a wild, driving power. The inherent chemistry between the three musicians is the result of five years of playing together which in turn has ensured that the song-writing is tight, efficient and never clumsy (unlike this sentence). It's been a while since a set of songs has stuck with me for so long, repeating in my mind and giving me so many points of interest to return to. Until the follow up (which is due out in February) this is the best EP released by an Oxford band this year.

[Originally published on Music In Oxford, 17/11/11]

http://www.musicinoxford.co.uk/2011/11/17/von-braun-folk-devil-ep-big-red-sky-records/

Five Will Die - Worth and Soul

(Self-released, 2011)

There are few more commanding ways to start an album than by screaming “BOW DOWN!” in the way that Five Will Die guitarist Daniel Howard does on Worth and Soul's opening track “Wrecks of Men”. But when 'singer' Andrew Forrestal takes over with his rumbling, vomit-crusted roar, it becomes clear that we've not yet scratched the surface of the ceremonial death-march that is Worth and Soul.

First things first, it must be said that we’ve been a bit slow on the uptake with this one. Cork’s Five Will Die have been around since 2005/2006 but this, their second album, has slipped through our fingers for two months since the release date which has been partly down to ignorance and partly to sheer laziness, so apologies. Having recently witnessed one of the band's live shows it was immediately obvious that Five Will Die had a clear musical vision – namely of grinding you down with oppressive, gloomy riffs and then to freak you out – but how well that would translate onto record was yet to be seen.

After scooping around the internet for more information on the band, the consensus seemed to be that they were more of a ‘live’ band and that their previous releases had somehow failed to capture the essence of their live sound. But here Five Will Die seem to have succeeded, balancing their instrumental punch and the brutal vocal interplay between Howard and Forrestal to tremendous effect.

But the thing that sets Five Will Die apart from many of their peers, both live and on record, is the way that their sludgey, mid-tempo onslaught gives way to moments of quiet introspection (“Wrecks of Men”, “Sons of Horus”, Blame the Martyr”). Indeed, the melodies in their songs are also pleasantly hard to second-guess, developing and progressing in unusual ways to create paranoid, intoxicating atmospheres. This is reflected in the philosophical nature of the lyrics (thankfully the album contains a lyric sheet, otherwise I'd have been pretty lost trying to decipher words from Forrestal's chainsaw-delivery). Any talk of 'demons' in the lyrics are purely of the 'inner' kind and the songs are all the better for being devoid of metal clichés.

If there was a criticism to be lumped at the album it would be that the track-listing groups the songs together in great blocks; even though there are great riffs in every song, when you're confronted with a voice like Forrestal's you tend to blank everything else out. Saying that, “Blood and Soil” does a good job of breaking the album up by being shorter and faster than the other songs and the spoken-word section in “Great Minds and Fools” is a welcome addition but the album can be hard to sit-through in one sitting, especially if you're already on a downer.

However it's ultimately a testament to their single-minded bludgeoning-instinct that the onslaught is never-ending. Five Will Die's live sound has been well-translated on Worth and Soul so now the experience can stay with you long after the tinnitus has worn off. Now, bow down.

[Originally published on The Sleeping Shaman, 15/11/11]
http://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/album-reviews/f/five-will-die-worth-and-soul-cd-2011/

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - The Ripper At The Heavens Gates Of Dark

[Riot Season, 2011]

There are many uncertainties in life but you can always be sure that Acid Mothers Temple will continue to crank out album after album of claustrophobic, psycho-psychedelia from atop their Japanese mountain retreat, like crazed astronomers sending out distorted signals into the vast expanse of space. If you're familiar with the band at all (and if not just re-read that opening sentence) then you know the drill by now – this is shamelessly retro, trippy stuff, put down on record with reckless – almost maniacal – abandon.

On opening track “Chinese Flying Saucer” the guys lock into a series of Led Zeppelin-style grooves and ride them out for twelve minutes while bass-playing singer Tsuyama Atsush yelps like Robert Plant intermittently. After that exhaustive trip, the brief “Chakra 24” is a moment of inner calm and and tranquility; gently bluesy acoustic guitars form a melody while the constant, earthy drone of a sitar, drenched in reverb so that the twang rings out forever, lingers reassuringly in the background. Again, this is kind of a spiritual cousin to Led Zeppelin's “Battle of Evermore” although without any sense of urgency - Atsush scats care-free somewhere in the midst of the mix.

“Back Door Man of Ghost Rails Inn” runs the gamut of 'out-there' late sixties, early seventies bands, sounding like a hoarse Jim Morrison fronting The Grateful Dead whilst running through “Paint it Black” with Ravi Shankar. “Shine on You Crazy Dynamite” is a 22-minute freeform jam with a distinctly grind-house, B-movie horror feel provided by the organ, subtly funky bass and the babyish, improvised freakout vocal stylings of Atsush. Album closer “Electric Death Mantra” is a slowly lurching, typically 'Indian' raga, based around a cyclical sitar riff. As the song speeds up to a frantic pace it implodes.

And so ends another sonic chapter in the topsy turvy tale of Acid Mothers Temple, although by their standards this is a pretty laid-back outing. The accompanying press release makes a point of mentioning that the album was recorded in the aftermath of this year's disastrous Japanese earthquakes although you wouldn't know it to listen to it - as if no tremors could penetrate the mountaintop hideout of these curious monks. As per usual the main reason to come to AMT is for the genuine authenticity with which they deliver their sonic workouts so as long as you're not expecting anything new then you're in safe hands with these Acid Mothers.

[Originally published on The Sleeping Shaman, 09/11/11]
http://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/album-reviews/a/acid-mothers-temple-the-melting-paraiso-ufo-the-ripper-at-the-heavens-gates-of-dark-cd-lp-2011/

[Later reposted on the Roadburn Festival website, 09/11/11]
http://www.roadburn.com/2011/11/album-of-the-day-acid-mothers-temple-the-melting-paraiso-u-f-o-the-ripper-at-the-heavens-gates-of-dark/

Aun - Phantom Ghost

(Denovali Records, 2011)

Taking Aun’s Phantom Ghost at face value you could probably do a fair job of predicting the sounds within. The cover image is an out-of-focus picture of two young girls in white gowns; one sits looking at something out of sight while the other stands, almost hovering, in the foreground. I’ve not listened to a second of it yet and already Phantom Ghost has me on edge, expecting a spooky old time. A few seconds after pressing the play button it sounds like the girl on the album cover is singing, alone in a dusty village church accompanied by the spirits of those who rest in the graveyard outside.

If album opener “Phantom” is the ghostly apparition that intrigues you to come closer for a better look, “Out Of Mind” represents the jolt of being dragged by the spectre into the spirit world. Bombastic programmed drums, swirling guitar textures and airy synths create an expansive atmosphere that is palpable and eery, while enigmatic, barely-audible vocals repeat the song’s mantra throughout, sounding like a language that can’t be comprehended by the living. The initial rush of adrenalin is soon affected by the sinister synths which weave in and out of the song, supplementing the off-kilter melody and adding to the overall sense of unease.

As the album progresses it is the synthesisers that form the real backbone of the material with only occasional guitar or vocal punctuations. The French vocals at the end of “Travellers” help to make the explicit connection to French sound-smiths Air whose influence, along with the likes of Cocteau Twins, Future Sound of London and Boards of Canada, can be felt throughout this ambient album.

Aun also prove that you don’t need a down-tuned guitar, a Fuzz Factory and a Neanderthal singing some nonsense about Satan to create a feeling of foreboding doom. “Orga II”, with its crackling, stuttering percussion, repetitive, bubbling bassline and Angelo Badalamenti-esque synthesisers, evokes a sense of being stuck in physical and mental limbo, while the album as a whole feels like a metaphysical journey through the aforementioned spirit world, stopping fleetingly at familiar milestones along the way.

Some people might not appreciate the amount of work that goes into producing ambient music like this – in many ways it’s a far more complex art than most other musical forms. But it’s a tough balancing act that involves many factors – use of repetition, length, variation, melody and the absence of it. Too often purely ambient, atmospheric artists can burrow too deeply into their little worlds leaving the rest of us looking in wondering what we’re missing. When Aun get the balance right, like on the My Bloody Valentine homage “Out Of Mind” or the powerfully evocative “Orga II”, they create music of real emotional weight. However songs like “Nineteen Eighty-Four” and “Light Years” tend to outstay their welcome without offering us much more than a pretty diversion. I came to this album and this band with no prior knowledge of them and I came away just slightly underwhelmed but pleasantly surprised by what the band was doing. Your best bet is to let this album wash over you and either shake it off or bask in its otherworldly embrace.

[Originally published on the Sleeping Shaman, 02/11/2011]

http://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/album-reviews/a/aun-phantom-ghost-cd-lp-dd-2011/

Deer Chicago - "Lantern Collapse"/"Rolling of the Ocean"

(Self-released, 2011)

Deer Chicago frontman Jonny Payne (he should have been a punk-rocker) will no doubt have been sad, as many local music fans were, at the news of Winchell Riots calling it quits. Even if the Phil McMinn show didn’t have a direct influence on Deer Chicago’s sound then we can safely assume that the two songwriters have a similar record collection. Moreover, both songwriters rely upon a glacial, emotive, and deceptively simple post-rock framework to build pop songs which allow their lofty, urgent and vowel-heavy vocal deliveries to take flight.

That’s a rather roundabout way of saying that the two bands are quite similar. But fortunately Deer Chicago have just enough of their own stuff going on to give them their own unique charm. ‘Lantern Collapse’ is a very well written song, even if it doesn’t reveal itself immediately. On repeated listens the vocal and bass melodies subtly weave their way into your head while the surprising powerhouse drumming manages to avoid drowning-out the elegant majesty of the shimmering guitar or undermining the soft, thoughtful bass-line. The unexpected explosion of distortion in the chorus is a welcome addition too, adding a splash of colour to the otherwise autumnal scene that the song evokes.

‘Rolling of the Ocean’ follows in a similar fashion, albeit at a faster pace and with a glockenspiel solo for good measure. Lyrically, both songs risk becoming parodies of typical indie fodder (oceans and distant, flashing lights) but the sentiments accrue a hint of poetry in the spacious musical backdrop. Truth be told, ‘Rolling of the Ocean’ is the lesser of the two tracks, sounding like a rehash of the title track, although one can imagine a place for both songs in the live setting where Deer Chicago have become an increasingly appealing local prospect.

On one hand, there’s nothing on offer here that you won’t have heard before, and you will either want to get in on the Deer Chicago action or leave them well alone. But if you spin that around, Deer Chicago do what they do very well and their songs are well written, structured and executed. As far as the local indie pack goes, these boys have earned their spot as one of the bands to watch. Considering Deer Chicago formed on a whim it’s all the more impressive that they’ve turned into the hardworking band they now are, honing the emotive sound of their early material to create the focussed, craftsman-like music that the humble three-piece now makes. Perhaps the Phil McMinn-shaped hole in the local music scene could soon be filled by a Jonny Payne-shaped one.

[Originally published on Musicinoxford.co.uk, 01/11/2011]

http://www.musicinoxford.co.uk/2011/11/01/deer-chicago-lantern-collapserolling-of-the-ocean/

Mike Patton - The Solitude Of Prime Numbers OST

(Iepac Recordings, 2011)

Reviewing the soundtrack to a film that you’ve not seen presents a number of problems to the objective writer. Film scores need to be approached in a different way to ‘normal’ pieces of music because they are created to evoke specific moods, utilise a wider variety of instruments and often carry a narrative along a certain path. Sometimes the power and depth of a piece of music is indelibly tied to the images it was inspired by and some of the most iconic film scores of all time instantly bring images to mind.

Enter Mike Patton and his soundtrack to a film about prime numbers and we’re more befuddled than usual. Of course most alternative music fans will be familiar with Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantomas et al), a man whose versatile voice has been lent to everything from renditions of 1950s Italian show-tunes to the infected characters in the Left 4 Dead games. But some of Patton’s more casual fans might be surprised to find out that he is also an accomplished musician and composer in his own right having scored two previous films: 2008′s orchestral A Perfect Place and 2009′s hyperactive Crank: High Voltage.

All of this suggests that it’s probably unwise to attempt to second-guess Mike Patton because some of the music on The Solitude of Prime Numbers seems to take inspiration from the jaunty-yet-melancholic film score works of Jon Brion (particularly the I Heart Huckabees and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind soundtracks) but Patton lends proceedings a dramatic, minor feel on pieces like “Radius of Convergence”. Indeed some sections of the album are quite tense and pensive, consisting mostly of sparse piano and strings, with some moody, woozy progressions sounding like the soundtrack to an unreleased David Lynch film.

Patton also introduces several recurring musical themes (“Calculus of Finite Differences” and “Abscissa”, “Twin Primes” and “Isolated Primes”) which give the collection a sense of cohesion when listened to from start to finish and which no doubt establish recurring themes within the film itself. It also suggests that Patton has become something of a sophisticated composer, recognising that familiarity and repetition can serve a purpose beyond pushing the listener. However the fact that this soundtrack was made by Patton is ultimately quite irrelevant – even ardent fans of Patton’s work might not be able to tell that he had made this record if they listened to it blind, so to speak.

And therefore there is little point dissecting it with Patton in mind – it’s a thoughtfully made, if slightly dull soundtrack which will probably be of little interest to anyone who isn’t a hardcore Patton fan, or a fan of the film. There are no conventional ‘songs’ here for you to get your teeth into and the music isn’t quite compelling enough that you’ll want to blast it for its instrumental qualities. Final track “Weight of Consequences” summarises the album’s extremes, beginning with a lengthy ambient section before closing the album as it started with a light, breathy section with Patton singing “la la la la” over shifting minor and major chord progressions.

It came as a bit of a surprise when I finally got round to watching the film’s trailer that the music was more compelling than the film appeared to be. From the title I assumed the movie was some art-house film or a maths documentary but it comes across like a tarted-up romance and so it’s hard to reconcile the two forms. Perhaps this is one of those cases where the film and the score are better off left to their own devices. Given that the film is about isolation and solitude, this is a strangely fitting arrangement.

[Originally published on The Sleeping Shaman, 29/10/11]
http://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/album-reviews/m/mike-patton-the-solitude-of-prime-numbers-ost-cd-2011/

Little Fish - Wonderful

(Estupendo Records, 2011)

‘Wonderful’, the debut single from Little Fish’s (Fishes?) second album, is a pleasant surprise in every way imaginable; it presents a more mature, catchy, and personal side of the band who sound more accomplished than they have before with the addition of an organ player who gives the band an almost spiritual lift on this song. Juju has never shied away from giving her a voice a bit of the old Patti Smith treatment but now she sounds comfortable with her voice (think Smith on ‘E-Bow the Letter’ rather than the yelps on ‘Gloria’). Some may say that ‘Wonderful’ is a ‘safe’ record as it deviates from the band’s more garage rock background in favour of a more commercial sound but it demonstrates the band’s ability to make a personal sentiment seem universal. Fantastic stuff from a band that are clearly still on the rise.

[Originally published in Oxford Music Scene magazine, issue 15)
http://www.oxfordmusicscene.co.uk/images/oms_issue15.pdf

Secret Rivals - Make Do and Mend EP

(Kittiwake, 2011)

Secret Rivals are likely to divide opinion if you’ve never heard them before. A painfully ‘indie’ band, the guys have their influences emblazoned on their foreheads and dance excitedly back and forth over the line between being inspired by and being derivative of their influences. For example, “These Are Only Obstacles” pretty much IS an early Idlewild song mixed with some Blink-182 guitar melodies and vocal interplay while “Blisters” could be an Interpol song if you took away the boy/girl dynamic. On the plus side the songs are chirpy, upbeat and full of energy which makes Secret Rivals a welcome change from the droller indie bands that the city has to offer. On the downside the affected, mockney vocals become tiresome after the first two songs. If you like twee, earnest indie pop in the new-millennial mould then Make Do and Mend will surely melt your heart.

[Originally published in Oxford Music Scene magazine, issue 15]
http://www.oxfordmusicscene.co.uk/images/oms_issue15.pdf