Sunday, February 26, 2012

Technical Ecstasy

While I somewhat regret not having ordered this from Relapse when it came out, perhaps picking up Obscura's limited vinyl pressing of Omnivium recently from a mom-and-pop establishment worked out for the best.  I ended up with the amazing mossy green splash colored vinyl, which may now be my favorite colored piece of vinyl...it's too wonderful for words.
If you're a fan of technical metal, you already know Germany's Obscura, who have embarked on an epic artistic undertaking of a multi-album concept - the scope of which essentially includes the creation, evolution, and destruction of a (the?) cosmos.  This, of course, wouldn't work at all if they weren't completely astoundingly talented as musicians and songwriters.  Some of what you hear in Omnivium will scramble your brain - harmonies that rotate intervals between the two guitars and bass, sweeped semi-harmonic arpeggiated chords, odd time signature changes complete with off kilter percussive rolls and fills, out-of-the-blue dissonant guitar breaks, and bass leads that creep in and out of the mix.  Other bits of what you hear will tap into the primordial self - bludgeoning caveman-simple thrash, palm-muted guitar chunk with double-kick backbeat ferocity, tight-knit rhythm grooves, and powerful guttural vocals.  Everything is sorted and organized just so by the collective science of the band, and yet still bares the emotion and soul of truly heartfelt music.  This is a combinational balance that very few bands can pull off...and even more rarely do it as exquisitely as Obscura have here.  Like the work of a master carpenter, everything fits together perfectly; joints and edges are square and finely matched with a precision of superior craftsmanship and love - their are no glue spots or unsightly gaps...only the marriage of art and form.  Here's the nearly instrumental penultimate track from the record...


Obscura are about to release a collection of demos and covers called Illegimitation and hit the road in Europe with Spawn Of Possession, Gorod, and Exivious.  Here's to hoping they make it back to the States for another leg before we have to wait for their next record.

Thrifty Instincts

Some months ago I picked up an old disheveled record cabinet from Murray's in Peterborough.  It was somewhat abused and seems to be amateurly hand made: a bit wobbly and covered in wax candle drippings...a hippy artifact of yesteryear?  It had far too much character to pass up.  Since then it has been my on and off again project.  I disassembled it to removed the sliding doors, sanded it down to the bare wood, double stained it, smoothed the finish, painted the feet black, double matte sealed it, reinstalled the doors, and tightened things up a bit to eliminate the wobble.  I never took a before picture when it was all the color of the inside portion, but here's what it looks like now in English Chestnut...
She still needs a few extra finishing nails and maybe some wood glue, but I am very pleased with the results for my total of ~$20.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

The Owls Are Not What They Seem

I was not aware that this record existed until Jon Porras mentioned it to me last autumn during the Lost In The Glare tour stop in Allston, MA.  Garden Sound was a one-off collaboration project by Barn Owl (Evan Caminiti & Jon Porras) with Dewey Mahood and Jed Bindeman of Eternal Tapestry.  When hunting down the quite limited pressing of Black Summit, I surprisingly stumbled upon a like-new copy which I purchased for fifteen American dollars.  A great find.

Knowing both the sound of Barn Owl and Eternal Tapestry, Black Summit sounds pretty much like one would anticipate...and this is not a bad thing in the slightest.  Dewey and Jed are here providing ET's garage psych rock foundation - even steady beats and percussive accents to repeating guitar motifs and variations on thereof.  Barn Owl fill in the gaps with drone and feedback, topping off the mix with light touches of entrancing chiming nuances left to ring out.

The record exudes a mystic atmosphere - not overbearingly dark, but heavily foreboding.  As the observer it is often easy to feel as though you are on the edge, waiting for the break, fall, or spill to take take you to a plateau of resolution.  This may be because, though relaxed, there is often more going on than at first glance.  The three guitars overlap, complementing and augmenting each other in a way that embraces the leading edge of presence...something often experienced in good improvisation; Black Summit has a bit of that live vibe.  You can feel each piece working to carry things through from one section to the next quite naturally...but also that it could have happened in any number of ways.  The percussion seems to effortlessly reel things in and keep it grounded - from getting too drawn or too stagnant.  The second track (found below) is the heaviest and most immediately intense of the four, in which each element is more narrowly focused on creating a particular and singular whole sound movement.
I'm very happy with my purchase.  Black Summit has made a lovely and unique addition to my collection.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Lost In The Sky's Dream

I was introduced to San Francisco's Sleepy Sun a couple of weeks ago and cannot stop listening...nor could I resist the sweetness of their sound on vinyl.  Both Embrace and Fever, their first two albums, arrived by post this weekend.  Their third, Spine Hits, will be released April 10th and supported by a lengthy tour.  I've preordered my copy at The End Records' webstore for a mere $12.99.  Rumor has it that we came very close to getting a tour date right here in Peterborough, NH that fell through...quite disappointing.
I love high grade vinyl...too much, perhaps.  Both these discs are top notch pressings and filled with classic rock haze.  Like when the sun is muted behind a veil of passing clouds that eventually break and give passage to the intensity of light, energy, and warmth - Sleepy Sun oscillate beautifully between the shimmer of mellow psychedelic hippy jams and an electric cascade of stoner fuzz rock-and-roll.  The softest moments are stripped down to acoustic folk ditties, while the heaviest are rich with warm distortion and falling-tree riffs.  It's quite possible that Sleepy Sun are equally as influenced by Simon and Garfunkel as they are early Black Sabbath.  Vocals throughout are smooth and robust, featuring male and female voice in duet and lush harmony.  The integration of all these elements couldn't be more fluid and natural; Sleepy Sun make lovely, lovely work.
Wild Machines (Fever)

Golden Artifact Official Video (Embrace)

I highly recommend checking them out, with Fever as a starting point.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Birds & Trees: Redwing Blackbird & Arborea @ Mindful Books

February 4, 2012.  I had not been to Jaffrey's Mindful Books in years.  Last night I finally made my way back to scope out The Listening Room - a series of intimate musical performances.  This instance featured New Hampshire's own Redwing Blackbird and Maine's Arborea.

Redwing Blackbird had indeed been busy since the last time I caught them.  That I could tell, their set featured only new songs - Austin putting down his six nylon strings in exchange for solid-body electricity.  The folky acoustic duo here offered a hybrid flavor: strumming and plucking was married to shimmering and warmly driven amplified textures.  Mellow, humble songwriting and sincere words sung true and harmonized, remained present and unmistakable.  Hearing RWBB play is like getting a hug from a good friend: inviting, calm, refreshing, and reassuring.  I'm very much looking forward to their next record, and you should be too.
Redwing Blackbird - Nightingale live on NHPR

Husband and wife Buck and Shanti Curran, a.k.a Arborea, play a delightful blend of airy psychedelic folk/folk rock.  A wide variety of instrumentation lends itself to the sweet and sweeping musical backdrop as the duo switch on and off.  The twanging of banjo or ukulele, droning of harmonium, or combination timbre of ban-jammer is paired with guitar - sometimes an electric played with EBow or glass slide, other times a steel-string acoustic carefully strummed.  This is all transcended by Shanti's crystalline empyrean voice that effortlessly moves through the room and into your chest.  Arborea soaks in to your heart and finds it's way to the part of you that resides below surface-level patterns and drama.  There it steeps, adding strength to one's purpose and ease to unfolding.  Just close your eyes and be.
Arborea - Black Is The Color

Last night was much needed.  I've lately found myself in a restricted space, out of tune...unmotivated and unaligned with love.  Meeting some new people and sharing the gift of these two band's music, energy, and motion has helped to remind me of where I am called to be - floating along again as my own vector of life's great current, rather than an entity separate and caught in its tides.  Thank you.