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.
I have finally stumbled upon a few small blocks of time; with it I've put together a selection of albums from 2011. While I could write pages of praise about Feist's Metals, Fleet Foxes' Helplessnes Blues or Obscura's Omnivium, I'd rather put some effort into picking out some perhaps less obvious releases that haven't showed up on most of the top 2011 lists that I've seen. This list is in no way ordered or ranked - they are each great records in their own right. I hope you enjoy.
Tones Small Sur
The latest release from this Baltimore, MD band is very warm, mellow, and rich with a vibrant and appreciative energy. Their lyrics are simply beautiful, undeniable, and powerfully recharging. Tones reminds you of how absolutely wonderful it is to be a living human animal being amidst the lush landscapes of earth. I LOVE this record.
The Long Procession Amia Venera Landscape
This technically came out in December of 2010, but I cannot help but include it here. Technical, bludgeoning, and massive riffs meet with sweeping ambient interludes, dissonant cyclones of noise, and melodic melancholic doom. This album is relentless, and dare I say perfect. AVL's more-than-impressive self-released debut is a monumental triumph of modern metal.
Your Name In Secret I would Write Red Heart The Ticker
Heartwarming and homey New England folk by husband and wife duo Robin MacArthur and Tyler Gibbons. With a mixture of mostly traditional and some contemporary instrumentation Your Name... recreates several "lost" Vermont folksongs which MacArthur's Grandmother spent many years tracking down. You can read and/or listen to the story behind this very unique record on NPR Music.
The Volume In The Ground Adeem
Hiphop from New Hampshire...learn it. This LP keeps you swaying from beginning to end with original beats, catchy loops, smooth grooves, and thoughtful words. Hiphop with insight is the best best hiphop and Adeem does it right. The Volume In The Ground is forward-stepping recognition of what is, with a realization of positive intent for what will be created...for what is at the leading edge.
CONC has a classic aesthetic - a vibe that resonates with a simple and introspective expression. I can't help but hear these two records with a mental movie being projected in my mind. There's something theatrical yet understated here - like montage music in an artsy indie film, or the backdrop to a solemn actress providing a lonely stage performance - a lovely monologue mirror to the soul.
Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light Earth
Ambient psychedelic stoner rock at its finest. Slow, repetitive, and sonically rich tapestries are carefully woven over three sides of vinyl. Ghost tones swell and ebb between guitar, cello, and various "devices". The result is a creation of intimate and warm space, in which each musical movement breathes with the listener in appreciation of presence.
Acrobats Peggy Sue
Poppy, brilliant UK indie rock chock full of amazing songwriting, creative twists, and musical exploration. Acrobats is gorgeously melody rich and impeccably heartfelt. Vocals are cute, sultry, and very well trained. Each piece of well-varried instrumentation works for the whole of each song in a beautifully balanced way...and each song, offering a distinct flavor, complements the others, making for a diverse but cohesive work of art. This album is an absolute joy.
Experimental psychedelic black metal...maybe. I don't know what to call this except quite interesting and quite good. Here Blut Aus Nord provide an intense artistry to the mathematics and mystery of musical sound: overlapping repeating illusionary patterns, majestic and cryptic motifs, grating dark dissonance, and odd time changes. These elements combined with gritty guitars, sweeping eerie keyboard ambiance, and haunting vocals comprise the sound of the two 777 records.
I fell in love with Daughter toward the end of last summer; I listened to His Young Heart's four catchy tracks too many times to count. Daughter's work is concise, passionate, soft, and bursting alive with the human experience. There is a vulnerableness and yet also a fierceness present in Tonra's lyrics - her voice carries them into your heart where they settle in as your own. These two EP's are simply beautiful.
Night Gallery Eternal Tapestry & Sun Araw
Lustrous, sensual waves of shimmering, living, meditative celebration. This collaboration is an uncanny match made in heaven. Droning organ, airy scrambling synths, reverb soaked electric guitars, drumming bass, and subdued percussion repeatedly climb into space and slowly glide down again. This record is like the lost live interlude outtake from the most tranced-out Doors show imaginable. That is all you need to know.
They Will Find You Here Sleepy Vikings
This Tampa Florida band has quite a fantastic debut album of somewhat shoegazey, melodic tunes. Mixed male and female vocals harmonize over acoustic strums and clean electric leads whilst percussion sets the pace, sometimes picking things up a notch. A softness and loving acceptance pervades the energy of the whole record - it's a great way to refresh and recharge the soul.
Eylsian Magnetic Field Dirge The name Dirge is a perfect reflection of this French band's sonic character. Eylsian Magnetic Field is hugely epic "post-metal" funeral dirge doom. Ambient, droning, and heavy - this record creates a weighty, introspective, crestfallen space. Keyboards, choirs, and organs add an airy breathe to the sludge and dirt of tuned-down guitars and downtrodden percussion. Vocals crown the mix with gruff cathartic wails and desperate laments. This record leaves you empty and ready to move.
We Will Start A Storm Loch Lomond
Portland Oregon's Loch Lomond are in the studio right now working on the followup to this record...and they indeed have their work cut out for them. This album is a treasure-trove of charming and melodious songwriting. They have reached a pinnacle here: each song is just what it should be - no more, no less. With varying depth of instrumentation and voice, Loch Lomond have served each song just so. The result is passionate art: wonderfully lovely to the ears and heart.
Well...that's it I suppose. There were so many amazing records in 2011 it's impossible to choose a small selection and not leave something out. I've done my best to pick out the records that I had not already written about, and that seemed to have evaded the praise of many popular bloggers and critics. 2012 is looking to be a powerful year for music; many great artists and bands have already announced releases and projects in the works. I am very excited to find new and inspired sounds to fill my ears.
I've been told I have developed a spending habit. Clearly not true, though over the last few weeks I've been augmenting my vinyl collection in various ways. While this post proves, indeed, that I am more hipster than you, it also proves that I am nowhere near as hipster as this person.
Deliciously swirled, translucent, vinyl discus.
I've recently retrieved some old favorites from storage at my parents' house. These gems have been in waiting, faithfully counting the days in the closet of my old bedroom until they see the light once again. The most note-worthy among them are some original pressings: Master Of Puppets (Metallica - 1986), ...And Justice For All (Metallica -1988), The Number Of The Beast (Iron Maiden - 1983), Powerslave (Iron Maiden - 1984), Sad Wings Of Destiny (Judas Priest - 1976), Blizzard Of Ozz (Ozzy Osbourne - 1980), and March Of The Saint (Armored Saint - 1984). Listening to these classics has been a real treat of nostalgic delight.
I've also been hunting for some very particular titles...records that mean something special to me. Comus' First Utterance is a very unique and inspiring album. It's been repressed a few times since its first reralease in 1971, but always in short quantities; it sells quickly and immediately goes up in price when stock diminishes. My 180g copy is from Rise Above Records (Relics). I think it was a failure of a grey/white swirl, but I like it that way - it adds to the charm and oddness of this strange record. As you can see the artwork is very 70's and just gorgeous. The quality of the pressing is quite good as well; the audio sounds very clean and robust.
In a previous post I linked to a Youtube rip of Song To Comus. Here's Drip Drip...
Lou, oh, Lou. I would love to track down a vinyl copy of Beloved One if such a thing exists, but in the meantime I have managed to snag a copy of Lou Rhodes' One Good Thing. It still seems to be floating around on the internet in various places for around $16...get yours while you still can. This record sounds quite a bit different from its digital counterpart - perhaps partly the product of vinyl mastering. The end result, to my ears, is a more smooth and mellow mix; the additional instrumentation and reverb feel more organic.
Opeth's Deliverance and Damnation...I purchased both of these at In The Moment Records, a locally-owned shop in Brattleboro, VT that specializes in vinyl. These two albums were recorded at the same time, July through September of 2002. I was a Senior at Ithaca College when they were first released and I very much associate that time of my life with these records. They inspire within me creation and excitement for new opportunity. Here and now they are found on 180g double LPs. The first disc of Deliverance only contains two songs (one per side)...now that's how you do it! The 1970's prog/psych vibe of Damnation is a wonder to observe on vinyl.
Baroness finally rereleased their first two EPs, First and Second, on vinyl in the form of one 12" disc. This is Baroness before the multi-part harmonies...in fact these two EP's are more abrasive and metal than anything else they've done. That said, while they lack some of the signature characteristics of Red Album and Blue Record, they do contain the necessary elements that make Baroness what they are...brilliantly awesome.
In my last post I mentioned Barn Owl...my order from Thrill Jockey Records came in. Along with Ancestral Star I also ordered Eternal Tapestry's lastest, Beyond The 4th Door. Both of these records are guaranteed to chill you out rather nicely.
Ancestral Star, Barn Owl's third album, is a lush and layered drone, teaming with minimalist beauty. Here's a sample that I believe speaks that which my words cannot...
Beyond The 4th Door has been my introduction to Eternal Tapestry and I am quite satisfied - their third record provides a vibrant soundscape of psychedelic garage ambiance. These guys do what many other bands try to do, but they do it right...and rather fantastically well. The disc is a really cool translucent yellow/black swirl that can be seen in detail in the first image of this post.
Last Saturday, April 16th, was Record Store Day - a true holiday for us analog music fanatics. Rosie and I woke up early to drive out to In The Moment for when they opened specially at 9am. I had three titles as my top priority, all of which I am very happy to report are now within my possession. This first is the new Between The Buried And Me, The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues, which I shared in my last post. The RSD exclusive pressing of 1000 copies were 180g colored vinyl records (mine is clear, as you can see below). According to an interview with Paul Waggoner, Hypersleep Dialogues is part one of a two-part concept. No word yet as to when BTBAM plan to release the second volume or if it has yet been recorded.
The next disc on my hit list was Neurosis' Sovereign rerelease, limited to 600 copies. The vinyl is a 180g disc in a light violet (pink?) swirl. Sovereign, which has been long out of print, was originally released in 2000 as an EP - though its four songs, recorded in the same sessions as Times Of Grace, clock in at around 33 minutes. It will be released again shortly on regular black vinyl and CD by Neurot Recordings.
Finally, what would RSD have been without an Opeth single containing a song that has only ever been released in a video game soundtrack? The Throat Of Winter is not what I was expecting at all. The song is an acoustic jam with a 70's vibe, and offers quite an interesting listening experience. Hear for yourself...
The 7" disc (yes disc) contains just the one song on one side. What's on the other side? A laser etched Opeth logo of course!
So with all of these recent purchases you may ask what's still on my vinyl short list? The new Storm Of Light for sure, some Decemberists, the new PJ Harvey, Bloom by Lou Rhodes if I can track one down, Obscura's Omnivium, Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger, Isis' Wavering Radiant, and lots and lots of Patti Smith! Oh..and this. ...so...styluses at the ready..."VinylinumHabitus!"
