a weekly digest from the staff and contributors of brainwashed
V08I11 - 03202005
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| SITE |
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ULTRAHANG WEEKEND IN BUDAPEST
Antony will be performing on Saturday, March 26th and Thighpaulsandra on Sunday, March 27th at the Ultrasound Festival in Hungary. Other performers include Keith Fullerton Whitman, Pan American, Noxagt, Jesu, Radian, and a whole lot more. For more information see http://www.fest.uh.hu/.
DANNY HYDE ALBUM AVAILABLE NOW
Coil alumnus Danny Hyde is self-releasing his debut solo album as Aural Rage. A Nature of Nonsense features originals as well as interpretations of songs from Coil's back catalog. Two tracks feature some of the late Jhonn Balance's last vocal performances. Ordering information can be found at the Aural Rage site, auralrage.com.
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCES TWO NEW RELEASES
Two upcoming releases have been announced by Important Records. The first is a new Merzbow disc
heavily influenced by Studio One dub entitled Merzbuddha. The second is a CDEP by The Hafler Trio called Being A Fireman Isn't Just..., which is being offered in both a standard and special version. More information and sound samples can be found at the Important website.
otology update
BRAIN005 (Sybarite, "Dolorous Echo"/"The Mast") is ready to go, BRAIN007 (Aranos, "No Religion"/"Spitting Revivalist Dreams of Everlasting Pain") is still waiting for sleeves, and BRAIN006 (Jessica Bailiff Live at VPRO Radio) is still waiting the final pressing on the records and sleeves. There are only four weeks left to take advantage of the pre-order special. Otology: The Brainwashed 7" Singles Collected comes free ONLY with the pre-order of all three limited 7" singles and presents on CD for the very first time the music from BRAIN001 (Coil remixes by Thread), BRAIN002 ("Share the Day"/"Dream Stealer" by Edward Ka-Spel) and BRAIN003 ("Bloodstream"/"Airstream" by Greater Than One). Sound samples and the awesome cover artwork images (thanks to Ben Palmer once again and Brain contributor Jim Siegel) are available at Brainwashed Recordings. Copies can be reserved with a purchase at the commerce page at brainwashed. Thanks for your support, we need new rollerblades.
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| THE EYE |
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pit er pat
Starting in 2004, the trio of Pit er Pat—Rob Doran, Fay Davis-Jeffers and Butchy Fuego—have been releasing music on a number of different labels, including their latest full-length on Chicago's Thrill Jockey. Their brand of music has drawn comparisons to Blonde Redhead, Soft Machine and Slapp Happy, among others. Plus they're nice people.
19 Minutes, Quicktime Streaming Video
TECH SPECS
Necessary:
- A current web browser
- A modern computer
- The latest quicktime plugin for streaming media (hint: use the latest Mozilla if other browsers aren't working)
Recommended:
- A fast connection
- A willingness to learn
Unnecessary:
If you see a blank window without anything streaming, don't complain to us. You don't have the latest version of Quicktime for streaming media. Go download it. It's free.
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| MUSIC IN REVIEW |
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AFX, "ANALORD 01-05"
Rephlex
Richard D. James may have made the most clever move of his entire, inconsistent career with the release of this series of twelve 12" vinyl EPs. Only the first five are available as of this writing, but it is already obvious that the grinning, tank-driving egotist is producing music that is unashamedly and resolutely anachronistic, kitschy and retrograde. For an artist like RDJ, who almost out of the gate was being referred to by overenthusiastic critics as a mad genius, being called "maestro" and drawing comparisons to Mozart, it must be refreshing to produce music that is in no danger of ever being referred to as genius by anyone. The music on the Analord platters is vintage AFX, produced with analogue beatboxes and synthesizers, recalling early 1990s underground Detroit and Chicago acid techno. These tracks do not represent an attempt to reinvent the wheel, nor is it a hyperkinetic digital blur of fractured, overcomplex rhythms. No prepared pianos were harmed in the production of this music, and there are no self-aggrandizing, aggro-industrial pop singles along the lines of "Come to Daddy" or "Windowlicker." Most refreshingly, these five pieces of wax contain no financially motivated remixes of major label artists or annoying post-gabbercore dancehall drum n' bass mashups. Instead, each contains a full compliment of squiggly, buttery retro-acid groove, each track more deceptively simple than the last, all of them eminently entertaining. Thick, rubbery basslines slide over subterranean keyboard melodies echoing through abandoned metal buildings. At turns slinky, sexy, seedy and druggy, this is a pitch-perfect recreation of the classic underground techno sound that informed all of RDJ's early work. Ever since the release of I Care Because You Do, Aphex Twin seemed to be involved in a dialogue with his critics and fans, constantly trying to live up to the ridiculously exaggerated praise heaped upon his merely competent work. The Analord series is a conscious step out from under the shadow of his reputation, and though this will inevitably draw ire from critics and fans who think RDJ owes them a masterpiece, I'd rather listen to these five singles than nearly anything that Aphex has released in the last few years. "SteppingFilter 101" immediately creates a paranoid undersea atmosphere akin to the finest work of Drexciya, all old-school drum machine kicks and slippery, lubricated acid lines with beats randomly dropped into the echo chamber. AFX's intuitive sense of simplistic, almost subliminal melody is in fine form throughout the five platters, most especially on the killer sidelong retro-electro oddysey of "Phonotacid." I almost started laughing when I first heard "Pissed Up in SE1," a cheesy, emotional new wave excursion that shamelessly lays it on thick and maudlin. The beautiful "Bwoon Dub" submerges distant horn fanfares into a thick, substantial stew of dubby, infectious techno. Analord 03 ups the Nintendo quotient by several degrees, sounding like childlike tossed-off videogame theme music on "Boxing Day" and "Midi Evil Rave." "Halibut Acid" is a particularly compelling track from the otherwise tame fourth volume, and the fifth single is possibly the weakest of the lot, containing only two tracks, which both seem a bit too hyperactive for their own good. At their very worst, however, the Analord EPs are always fun and energetic, effortless in their ability to recall the days when underground techno was fun and hadn't yet been co-opted by pedantic critics and fascist IDM listees. - Jonathan Dean
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Dälek , "Absence"
Ipecac
Absence is the heaviest hitting release to date from hip hop's loudest collective. For the first time, the words come close to matching the sounds in weight. According to the eponymous frontman, the record is a statement on hometown Newark, NJ, and suffice to say it won't be promoted by the Chamber of Commerce. Absence is perfect background music for urban blight: the dirty drum breaks and jazz loops hung on walls of blinding white noise and screeching industrial droning are as hard and unpalatable as the Garden State's water supply, and simply seethe with anger and indignation. Rising barely discernible above the din comes Dälek's lyrics, denouncing the landscape around him, without stopping at the Turnpike for social and political damnation. With a new, savage directness reminiscent of Boogie Down Productions and Public Enemy, he tackles all comers in a cultural "war of survival." Poetically, Dälek is still in a class of his own, dealing the complex and varied material with aplomb and brutal honesty. Justified white anger scalds on "Permanent Underclass": "What, now we equals cause we have a King's holiday?/ Coming storms here to stay/ They turned the noon sky heron gray/ Africans into slaves/ Say we free/ but if we speak like Malcolm X they assassinate"; and "Culture for Dollars" paused to muse but still demands tough answers: "Who trades his culture for dollars?/ The fool or the scholar? Griot? Poet? Or White collared?" The newfound lyrical directness is a welcome change, and perfectly suited to such in-your-face music. Dälek still requires considerable fortitude from their listeners. "Distorted Prose" alternates lyrics with noise in a chaotic call and answer that after six minutes leaves the aurally weak begging for mercy. War of survival, indeed. However, out of all the madness seep bizarre harmonies—the symphonic hook in "Ever Somber" is hypnotic and absurdly catchy, a revelation that surprises and rewards an unsuspecting ear. Absence is Dälek at their best: consistently harsh, grim and bleak but disquietingly irresistible. - Chris Roberts
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Akron/Family
Young God
Proficiency at editing is just as prominent on the list of this quartet's skills as is their songwriting ability. Rather than presenting results along the way since recording commenced in 2002, Akron/Family have waited and produced a work that lends the project the air of appearing fully formed from out of nowhere. Although rooted in traditional songwriting, the album has many nuances that elevate it above the recent deluge of "new folk/americana." "I'll Be On The Water" appears at first to be a simple, lovely ditty sung by one man with an acoustic guitar to his significant other. As the song progresses it reveals layers of field recordings and subtle instrumental accompaniment which place it in a landscape that enhances the sentiment of the lyric. The first verse of "Suchness" sounds like a dusty recording of someone singing on his front porch. Alien percussion, vocal harmonies, swirling electronics and, ultimately, a full electric band, pop up from underneath the floorboards at the 3 minute song's halfway point to take it into a realm that is at once surprising and natural. Akron/Family have a knack throughout the set for smoothly transforming songs from one mood to a wholly other without disrupting the flow. "Lumen" begins as a sparse dialogue between vocals and a melody led by bells and violin. It suddenly switches to build toward a climax of epic proportions by employing military drums and persistent guitar picking, achieving a sense of propulsion. This same sense of forward motion runs through "Running, Returning," during which the repeated, wordless chant which accents the song's persistent rhythm seals the deal that this bunch is an appropriate backing band for Michael Gira on his current Angels of Light tour. The group's mastery of a wide range of instruments lends this set a full sound. These muti-instrumentalists use guitars, banjos, piano, organ, melodica, various percussion and electronics to give a true sense of the outcome being more important than the means. By leaving themselves open to use any instrument or compositional idea that fits the moment, they effortlessly combine threads of traditional and modern music into a new whole. Some of the melodies, particularly on "Suchness" and "Afford," sound as if they are ancient song forms that have been stumbled upon by Akron/Family. "Afford," for example is introduced as a gorgeous and forlorn song. At the mid point, it descends into 30 seconds of eerie ambience where it seamlessly fuses traditional song structure with modern minimalism. This midsection also allows for reflection upon the song's only lyric, the repeated line "The power I afford you is the one I wish I had over you." By enhancing their songs with so many different subtleties, Akron/Family has set a course on a path that could convincingly fork in several different directions. - Jim Siegel
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Sam Prekop, "Who's Your New Professor"
Thrill Jockey
If the truest goal of any one artist is to have as much complete control and freedom over their art as possible, it would seem this Sea and Cake frontman is as close as it gets, and the results are nothing short of inspirational. If Sam Prekop's total artistic vision—writer/arranger/musician/singer and artwork painter—was a joyride on his debut solo album, this time he's apt to change perceptions and set the whole image on its side, making the whole listening audience second guess every move. The same musicians who worked on the debut return, but with a completely new captain at the helm, as Prekop creates a truly original work with shifting styles mid-song, laid-back rhythms, and super smooth accents that surprise as much as or more than they entertain. These songs are not completely different from what he has done before, but merely the logical next step and expansion of what he does best. The album's fourth track "Dedications" starts out like a lost Motown groove hit of the 1970s until his voice and bright playful guitar come in. Next it's a singalong on the choruses, where universal feelings touch a chord that all can appreciate, double-tracked vocals matched with the right harmonies. Then, almost imperceptibly, at the end of the song, a blend of synthesizers appear from out of nowhere to close out the track in a nigh-drone that instead tickles the cerebral cortex. One song, unlike all the others but that still fits, as every track fills the formula by not being like the last. Instruments come in and out, tempos change, and the whole sonic color wheel might be askew from before but it's alright: Prekop never treats the song like a mistress, using the technique and casting it aside. Every tone, every word, every note, every beat is a faithful lover, just with different back stories. "A Splendid Hollow" builds to a gorgeous climax from a quiet beginning; "C + F" is pure pop with handclaps and thudding bass; and "Density" is almost hip-hop, but done with pure lounge grooves instead of big beat drums and processed bass notes, with the always welcome addition of Rob Mazurek. Some of the songs don't hit right the first time through, but that's mainly because the intricacies of the arrangements are not immediately apparent. This is becoming Prekop's strongest suit, and the lack of a question mark on the album's title is a sly wink, as well. It's a statement, as in "Sam Prekop is your new professor," and class is in session. - Rob Devlin
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BLACK LEOTARD FRONT, "CASUAL FRIDAY"
DFA
This week brings three new slabs of heavy DJ vinyl from DFA Records, with this one by Black Leotard Front sounding the most adventurous to my ears. "Casual Friday" is a massive 15-minute groove that starts out as ingratiatingly slick metropolitan disco and ends up as ingratiatingly slick deconstructed electro-funk from planet weird. Just like last year's "Yeah" by LCD Soundsystem, "Casual Friday" puts all of the obnoxious stuff right up front, as if to scare off potential squares: world-weary whispered French narration with a mind-numbingly repetitive, despondent chorus of "Bonjour, bonjour, bonjour, bonjour, comment allez-vous." The track slowly shifts into more interesting territories as a glassy synth peal announces the arrival of the juiced-up funk combination of bass and guitar. The frankly laughable lyrics about putting on a dress and taking off an overcoat are meaningless, merely an excuse to keep things focused on the glittery surface of things, so that it comes as a shock when the vocals are suddenly stretched into monstrous, echoing shrieks and a snarling German voice pops into the mix. The track shifts through a series of distinctly Moroder-esque transformations, recalling a halcyon time when rhythmic Krautrock synthesizer workouts were not in a vastly different world from mainstream NYC disco-sleaze. Delia Gonzalez and Gavin Russom should be familiar to DFA enthusiasts who sought out their fine "El Monte" single, and together with artists Christian Holstad and Daniel Schmidt comprise Black Leotard Front, a performance art dance troupe. Those who expected another synth-only, Tangerine Dream-esque affair may be disappointed by the more dancefloor-friendly aspirations of "Casual Friday," but careful attention to track provide weird thrills aplenty, especially when the cheeky vocals are stripped away on the single's instrumental flip side, which in my humble opinion is vastly superior to the vocal version. - Jonathan Dean
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THE JUAN MACLEAN, "I ROBOT/LESS THAN HUMAN"
DFA
This new single from The Juan MacLean has the distinction of being the DFA label's first 10" release, even though the music itself is not terribly distinct otherwise. "I Robot" is a significant departure from Juan MacLean's familiar brand of floor-filling electro-dance, most of which had a live, analog feel. This time around, and true to the track's title, MacLean clears a more cybernetic causeway, creating a Trans-Europe Express-on-methamphetamine energy that pushes the track into dizzyingly hyperactive and synthetic territory that might have been better left unexplored. Along this futuristic highway, MacLean takes a few short off-ramps into stuttering beat deconstructions, intriguing vocal samples and Commodore 64 anachronisms, but ultimately the trip left me with nothing more than a sore ass and a coin tray empty of toll money. "Less Than Human" on the flip side is even more self-consciously retro, a vaguely Teutonic (again) house exploration heavy on the analog side of things, that feels like it was tossed off very quickly and cheaply. This is not necessarily always a bad thing, but in the case of this single, a little more attention to detail might have been in order. Juan MacLean has a full-length LP due out this summer, and I can only hope that this 10" is not an indication of a complete style change, as I honestly preferred the early stuff. - Jonathan Dean
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LCD SOUNDSYSTEM, "YR CITY'S A SUCKER"
DFA
The third platter of stinky, petroleum-derived vinyl recently released on the painfully hip DFA label is this one from LCD Soundsystem. James Murphy's pet project has elicited some amazing, epochal dance singles in the past—I'm thinking here of "Losing My Edge," "Yeah" and "Beat Connection"—which is why his long-awaited LP released earlier this year on EMI could not help but come as something of a disappointment. At full album length, Murphy's Mark E. Smith vocal affectations and predilection for obvious style parody, whether it's The Normal ("Thrills") or Brian Eno ("Great Release"), became somewhat tiresome. "Yr City's A Sucker" is a non-album track originally released as a B-side to "Movement," but here it is released in an extended mix with an instrumental mix on the reverse. At nine compelling minutes, the inclusion of a few more tracks like this one might have saved LCD Soundsystem's album. As it stands, this one track is superior to anything that made it to the album, a slowly percolating, loosey-goosey groove with nonsense lyrics and loads of attitude. Murphy and crew seem to not even care if the various programmed rhythms, handclaps and synth arpeggiations ever gel and form a danceable song, which paradoxically is what makes the track succeed. "Your city's a sucker/Your city's a creep," Murphy dispiritedly intones repeatedly, as the various elements of the track fall in and out of synch, providing many deliciously noisy moments of abstraction, even as the bassline and beat form a consistent backbone that lends itself to dancing. The instrumental is exactly as advertised—the same groovy shit with all of the vocals filtered out for your mixing convenience. This track is destined to be the set opener for weeks to come at all of those glamorous Williamsburg loft parties that you won't get invited to. - Jonathan Dean
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Roots Manuva, "Awfully Deep"
Big Dada
After releasing 2001's Run Come Save Me and its 2002 companion Dub Come Save Me to universal acclaim in the UK and deafening silence in the US, Rodney Smith (as his mother calls him) has reportedly suffered several nervous or mental breakdowns, spent time in a psychiatric hospital at the bequest of his label, and nearly walked away from the music industry forever. Fame may finally be taking its toll on the man, or perhaps it's his heavy touring schedule, or just good old substance abuse. Or it may all be hearsay, as the rapper himself has yet to directly address the subject. The only explanation the public will receive is on the resulting intensely personal and uncharacteristicly emotional record. At first glace, little has changed: Manuva's signature style remains constant, his authoritative patois commanding respect and attention from track to track, whether he's getting the ladies to dance, warning would-be steppers to steer clear, or crying out to the higher powers for salvation. Never a technically dazzling rapper, Manuva's three quarter speed cadence and stacatto delivery are perfectly suited for his sound, simple but infectious and truly unique: obvious reggae, dub and dancehall influences pervade the fourteen tracks, but not without a healthy dose of UK electronic. The combination serves to make Manuva at home delivering stomping dancehall tunes, violent diss tracks or thoughtful inner monlogues alike—and sometimes all on the same track. At times, the diversity is borderline schizophrenic, threatening to disrupt Awfully Deep's balance. It may be intentional or a result of Manuva's emotional frustrations: "I can't figger out what they want from Smith," he laments in "Thinking." Either way, despite of or maybe because of his side issues, the South London steppin razor has delivered his best album yet, a sonic and emotional rollercoaster. - Chris Roberts
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By the End of Tonight, "A Tribute to Tigers"
Temporary Residence
By the End of Tonight have been tagged with a variety of sub-genres in their short existence: math rock, prog, emo, metal, thrash, post-rock. All of this labeling has resulted in the coinage some interesting and unique hybrids like "math-prog." Such intricate taxonomy can make any music critic both gag and delight at the same time but rarely does justice to a band's sound. By the End of Tonight's style is most reminiscent of mid-90's post-rock maestros like A Minor Forest and Don Caballero. The songs are generally instrumental indie-rock suites with various parts making up the whole. The marriage of these parts within the suites is where the band sometimes missteps. Individually, these parts sound great. But when coupled together or sequentially following one another, they sometimes clash and lose a little of their logic and, thus, their impact. The mashing together of these parts is akin to toddler jamming unmatched jigsaw puzzle pieces together, creating a forced harmony and an unnatural synthesis. The band's music writing lacks a certain discipline just as the toddler lacks a certain jigsaw puzzle faculty, but the absence of this discipline lends something else to the music which is largely lost on similar bands: youth. By the End of Tonight have a youthful brilliance and vibrancy which is entirely refreshing and fun. When you get beyond the kitsch of drummer Jeff Wilson using a child's drum kit, the band's youth is better considered an advantage than a detriment. Though the songs can result in an entropic collection of sound, there is a lot to appreciate within them. "4's, 5's, and the Piano That Never Made It Home" is a custom-built, hardcore-band opener. It begins contemplatively with dueling guitar parts, a measured bass line, and drums which set the pace humbly for a while and then break out in an eruption of primordial pounding. The other instruments follow obediently. Halfway through the song, the tempo switches glaringly and this is when you first get the sense that the band's glue does not always hold the songs together perfectly. "Stop, Drop, and Roll Does Not Work in Hell" begins calmly enough but is heralded soon by some distant emotive vocals (shouted at instead of into the microphone) and then explodes into some more metallic signatures, all the while remaining quite playful. The most memorable song is "Setting Sail in April" because the song's syntax is the most jarring and pleasing at the same time. The disparate parts here are not welded seamlessly and yet they are so catchy and compelling that it does not matter. There are moments of pure pop-punk beauty here. One minute into the song, you could be listening to The Descendents. Twenty seconds later, there are guitars so triumphant it could make even the most hardened indie-rocker shout out in unrestrained optimism. The song then descends (or, perhaps, ascends) into a mathematic jam session until, with about a minute left, there is an unamplified guitar break-down worthy of the most sentimental Blink 182 riff (dispel your prejudices about Blink 182; their sometimes careful tunesmithing can produce some honest pop punk gems and their membership in the emo club is hardly ever recognized justly). It is a fitting benediction for the six-minute suite. The final two songs follow along in a similar style and do no less to both confound and contain the listener's expectations. By the End of Tonight are endlessly playful, surprisingly energetic, and certain to stimulate either ire or interest with this latest offering. - Joshua David Mann
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A Frames, "Black Forest"
Sub Pop
Why does it seem to be necessary to remove any affection or human emotion from a musical composition in order to sound modern or futuristic? As of yet, the future isn't composed of robots or oiled hearts (well, ok...) and there's nothing particularly appealing about this record's aversion to personal feeling or even soul. Lars Finberg, Erin Sullivan, and Min Yee play a distinctly steel and automatic brand of music marked by some ultra-repetitive drumming patterns and melodies that are pumped out monotonously and monophonically one after another on the bass and six-string. The performance on A Frames' latest could be called sloppy, except it follows an annoyingly predictable pattern of basic and pounding rhythms and excessively dissonant melodies that go nowhere and barely change over the course of a song. Sullivan's vocals are bellowed out over this rather noisy cascade of sound like some campy narration of a bad Frankenstein movie and the result makes me want to flip straight through many of these already short and narrow songs. "Black Forest I" and "Experiment" aren't too bad in and of themselves; the first begins like a factory getting ready to churn out the most evil and nasty of monsters and the second is an all-engines-firing burn that wheezes by in a haze of static and bumping low-end frequencies, but Black Forest rarely escalates into anything exciting beyond those tunes. Half way through the album (when the dull gray color of the entire album begins to show through most strongly) I'm ready to turn it off and by the end I'm twiddling my thumbs waiting for something to happen that I didn't see coming from two songs away. Over time certain songs become more tolerable, like "Galena" and "Death Train" or even "U-Boat," but in the end the whole package just sounds like an underperformed, cold, and distant take on the basic formula of guitars, drums, and voices. - Lucas Schleicher
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We know that our music picks may be somewhat challenging to find, which is why we have a community section which can be used to obtain nearly everything available on this site. |
| NEW RELEASES |
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WEEK OF MARCH 20 - MARCH 26
A Frames - Black Forest CD/LP (Sub Pop, US)
Akron/Family - Akron/Family CD (Young God, US)
The Angels of Light - The Angels of Light Sing 'Other People' CD (Young God, US)
Basement Jaxx - Singles CD/2xCD/DVD [singles collection - 2xCD version is limited] (XL Recordings, UK)
Bizzy B - Science Vol IV 2x10" (Planet µ, UK)
Bizzy B - Science Vol III + IV CD (Planet µ, UK)
* Bloc Party - Silent Alarm CD (Dim Mak/Vice/Atlantic, US)
Boris - Boris At Last (Feedbacker) CD/LP (Conspiracy, Belgium)
Bright Eyes - First Day Of My Life 7"/CDEP (Wichita, UK)
British Sea Power - It Ended On An Oily Stage 7"/CDEP (Rough Trade, UK)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - B-Sides & Rarities 3xCD (Mute, US)
Creature With The Atombrain - Kill The Snake LP (Conspiracy, Belgium)
Daft Punk - Human After All CD (Virgin, worldwide)
Data 70 - Space Loops v.1 2x7" (Enraptured, UK)
Decemberists - Picaresque CD/LP (Kill Rock Stars, US)
Dizzee Rascal - Off To Work two CDEPs (XL Recordings, UK)
Tod Dockstader - Aerial CD (Sub Rosa, Belgium)
Matt Elliott - Drinking Songs CD (Ici dailleurs, France)
* Brian Eno - Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks CD [remastered reissue] (Virgin, UK - Astralwerks, US)
* Brian Eno - Music For Films CD [remastered reissue] (Virgin, UK - Astralwerks, US)
* Brian Eno - More Music For Films CD [remastered reissue] (Virgin, UK - Astralwerks, US)
* Brian Eno - Thursday Afternoon CD [remastered reissue] (Virgin, UK - Astralwerks, US)
Erasure - Don't Say You Love Me two CDEPs/DVD (Mute, UK)
The Field - Things Keep Falling Down 12" (Kompakt, Germany)
Ghost - Metamorphosis: Ghost Chronicles 1984-2004 CD+DVD (Drag City, US)
Isis - Oceanic: Remixes/Reinterpretations CD (HydraHead, US)
Jesu - Jesu 2xLP (Conspiracy, Belgium)
E. Lebleu - Two Years Off CD (Sound Sister, Mexico)
John Levy - Tibetan Buddhist Rites From The Monasteries Of Bhutan 2xCD (Sub Rosa, Belgium)
Lights of Euphoria - Gegen Die Strom CD (Metropolis, US)
The Locust - Safety Second, Body Last CDEP (Ipecac, US)
* Lycia - Estrella CD [reissue] (Silber Media, US)
Mace - Mr. Grimsdale 12" (Superstonic, UK)
M.I.A. - Arular CD/LP (XL Recordings/Beggars, US)
Mice Parade - Nights Wave CDEP (Bubblecore, US)
Moby - Mulholland 10" (Mute, UK)
Moby - Hotel CD [initial copies include bonus Hotel Ambient CD] (V2, US/Canada)
New Order - Waiting for the Sirens' Call CD (Warner, Japan)
Nostalgia 77 - The Garden CD/LP (Tru Thoughts, UK - Ubiquity, US)
Out Hud - Let Us Never Speak of It Again CD/2xLP (Kranky, US - !K7, Germany)
Marco Passarani - Sullen Look CD/2xLP (Peacefrog, UK)
Prefuse 73 - Surrounded By Silence CD/LP (Warp, UK/US)
Prhizzm - Prhizzm CDEP (Benbecula, UK)
The Propositions - Funky Disposition 2xCD/2xLP (Luv NHaight/Ubiquity, US)
Proswell/Various - Merck Mix 4 CD (Merck, US)
Queenadreena - F.M. Doll 7"/CDEP (One Little Indian, UK)
Ramp - Saint Ockwell/After The Flood 7" (Enraptured, UK)
Alasdair Roberts - No Earthly Man CD/LP (Drag City, US)
* The Robot Ate Me - On Vacation 2xCD [reissue] (5 Rue Christine/Kill Rock Stars, US)
Roc & Robots - Blac Plastic CD (Sound Sister, Mexico)
Rollerball - Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause CD (Silber Media, US)
Roots Manuva - Too Cold 7"/12"/CDEP [7" is ltd edition on yellow vinyl] (Big Dada/Ninja Tune, UK)
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band - Horses In The Sky 2xLP (Constellation, Canada/US)
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band - Horses In The Sky CD (Constellation, Europe)
Solvent - Think Like Us 12" (Ghostly, US)
Someone Else - Something Else 12" (foundsound, US)
Soft Machine - Breda Reactor 1971 2xCD (Voiceprint, UK)
Spiral Realms - Crystal Jungles of Eos 2xCD (Hawk/Voiceprint, UK)
Sunray - Retrospective In Stereo LP (Enraptured, UK)
Tiefschwarz - Issst two 12"s/CDEP (Fine, UK)
Amon Tobin - Chaos Theory: Soundtrack to Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell DVD-Audio [in 5.1 surround sound] (Ninja Tune, Canada/US)
Various - Endzeit Bunkertracks: Act 1 4xCD (Alfa-Matrix, Belgium)
Various - Kompilation 2005 CD (novamute, UK)
Various - Poker Flat Volume Four 2xCD/2xLP (Poker Flat, Germany)
Various - Polymorphik Piece II/III LP [with Exillon, Somatic Responses, ALF, Shore, Dev/null, Mad ep, LFO Demon, Cdatakill, Kirdec, Kaebin Yield] (Puzzling/Timeless Network, Belgium)
Various - State of the Union 2 12" (Spectral/Ghostly, US)
Ben Watt/Various - Buzzin' Fly Vol. 2: Replenishing Music for the Modern Soul CD (Buzzin' Fly, UK - Astralwerks, US)
White Circle Crime Club - Written in Black CD (Conspiracy, Belgium)
Yo La Tengo - Prisoners of Love: A Smattering of Scintilliating Senescent Songs, 1984-2003 2xCD (Matador, US)
Yo La Tengo - Prisoners of Love: A Smattering of Scintilliating Senescent Songs, 1984-2003 PLUS A Smattering of Outtakes and Rarities 1986-2002 3xCD [limited edition] (Matador, US)
ZZZZ - Palm Reader CD/LP (Polyvinyl, US)
This is simply this week's highlights from the NEW RELEASES provided by Greg and Feedback Monitor. For a more detailed schedule stretching into the future, please check out the page, since release dates can and will often change.
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| CONCERT REPORT |
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slint
Boston, MA, Sunday, March 20, 2005
If Helmet quit after Meantime, they too would be this legendary. - Jon Whitney
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| POLL |
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Results from last poll:
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| LINK OF THE WEEK |
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add some new filters to your dialect
Dialect filters predate the WWW, but there's always new ones popping up. Rinkworks allows for Redneck, Swedish Chef, Elmer Fudd, and a few others. Now people from Uppsala and Appalacia can actually read The Brain!
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hours, days, weeks go by...
Subject: the brain
i just want u to know that i really enjoy reading your magazines and i epreciate the quality of the stuff that you
choose,every time that i open your site i discover alot of suprises about musician that i never know ,now im listening to
tarental and their cd is just great for this hour in the morning.
you r great ' thank you very much.
thank u. may u live 2 c the dawn. i would die 4 u.
Subject: The Brain RSS
I'd like to set up The Brain a a synchronized mobile favorite on my Pocket PC, but I'm unable to do so as each issue is its own separate URL, so I need to re-subscribe each time a new issue comes out. I was wondering if you ever plan to make this functionality (or RSS) available.
Plan? No. Hope? Yes. Every week somebody asks us to do something like this and every week it's made clear we need more volunteers and every week nobody volunteers, so, sorry, it's not going to happen anytime soon at this rate.
Subject: low
so yeh, i saw low last night. it was the first time i got to see them and i was really excited, but i'll be damned it was
like i was at a frat party with low playing for background music. during thats how we sing amazing grace i got to hear some
girl talk about how she hates all her ex boyfriends and some guy going whoop whoop while throwing an arseno hall fist and
spinning around and doing a booty shake. i finally found another spot to move to and low and behold there was a group of
people just being louder. during a song break they started yelling at the singer to two-step and calling him napoleon (i
guess cause he had horses on his shirt). i finally told them to shut up, but that lasted breifly and it just ruined my mood.
throughout the rest of the show there was just too much chatter to hear the band well, and it seemed the quiter the band got the louder people became. by the end of the show you couldn't even hear the band.
so i guess my question is, is it this bad everywhere, i hear stories of how bands hate playing in denver because the audience always sucks. and after the past couple shows i've been to, i can understand why.
With any band whose audience is still growing, there will be growing pains like this. People come to Low shows not knowing them but curious and the venues are larger than the rock club venues the band played last decade: this results in people who might not be as courteous to other audience members or might not care enough to pay attention. At some point it levels off and the crowd become more attentive, then the band needs to grow their audience again if they're going to survive. Next time, arrive sooner and stand closer to the speakers is the best advice at this point.
Subject: tg - RE: The single that may have been released on Red Ronnie's fanzine.
At one time I owned a poorly constructed LP with a large drawing of the pope on the cover which featured music by TG (that
was far from their best) There was also a magazine inside that had TG (or at least Genesis) being interviewed by Red Ronnie.
I recall it because I remember scratching my head and wondering who this Red Ronnie guy was.
Also, my singles of Adrenalin and Subhuman only appear to be on black vinyl but if you hold them up to the light they are
revealed as blood red. I was sure at the time I bought them that it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen.
Sounds awesome, sorry, this should be updated soon.
Subject: Explosions in The Eye
Just wondering if there is any more information you could give me about volume 3 and Explosions in the Sky's contribution to it. Thanks!
Other than Volume 3 is green and the video can be seen online? There was a lunar eclipse that night, they played some great songs, and all that information can be seen in the video. What more informaion is necessary?
Subject: podcasting pothole
I cannot get to download any of the software to get hold of
your podcasts, I have tried messing with the firewall but to no effect it just wont do it, any help please.
Ask the people at podcast.net and ipodder.org and other people who make Podcasting software type things. Maybe a Podcasting forum/email list might be a good idea to set up for people to help each other?
Subject: podcasting
Hi!
The RSS of your podcast feed is broken.
Could you fix it ? I can't download your lovely podcast with Blogmatrix Sparks!
Thank you very much
Fixed, sorry.
Subject: the brain
Hi, just wanted to point out that your most recent issue of the Brain includes the word "interesting" in three separate
reviews; a fourth includes "interestingly". Also the Bardo Pond review includes the word "really". Maybe I'm not the only
one to point this out.
I'm wondering how seriously some of these rules should be taken.
Stuff slips by, we're only human.
Subject: brainwashed
Hi ...I love that you guys have all these great artists on your site....but one thing came to mind...i noticed that you've
not really updated the Nurse section with the Beta-Lactam Ring releases?? I was wondering why they haven't been listed??
They've been putting out the bulk of Nurse material....and would be nice to see the releases added to the discography as i'm
sure many others (completists)would like the same. I always check the site for the newest stuff to come out and it seems to
be a little behind by sometimes months if at all. Well just a suggestion ....but keep up the good work on all the other
sites....suggestion: you guys sould try and do an eye on Christoph Heemann/Mirror/H.N.A.S.---a kind of who's doing what now
with P.Li Khan too.
We are admittedly behind, yes, trying to work on it, yes, but once again, there are not enough volunteers and we're always seeking to have better communications with record companies. However, Beta-Lactam Ring Records has been contacted numerous times to include Brainwashed on announcement emails but it has yet to happen, so you might wish to consider talking to their customer service department about this one. As for Heemann Eye, Heemann has declined an on-camera interview at this point. Don't give up all hope though.
Subject: the brain
I've been reading brainwashed for many years now. Love the reviews; thank you for pointing me towards so many new finds.
And I'm always excited to check out the Link of the Week, first thing every Monday morning.
Thanks a ton. First thing Monday morning was a struggle this week though (it's actually last thing Sunday night when we usually publish), and thanks for your patience!
Subject: the poll
This poll sucks. One gets an error message when trying to vote the most obvious answer: "Lemmy".
Agreed, the polls have been sucking lately. Notice a couple weeks ago the entire poll got lost? The poll hosting company seems to be having some issues, but that's what you get with a free service.
Subject: brainwashed recordings
Hello -
i had pre-ordered the upcoming 3 Brainwashed singles + Otology CD awhile back when you first announced them. was
wondering if these will ship on or around the April 16th release date? i'm moving house at the beginning of April (don't
know new address yet), so don't want to miss out incase they don't get forwarded, etc.
if they will ship around April 16th, shouldn't be a problem as i can email you my new address once i know it.
Expect everything to ship on April 16th unless something unavoidable happens and it's announced.
Subject: the brain
hi,
want to send digipak cd for review.
will sedn to this address below.
who do i put 'for attention of'
Check the contributors page to see whose tastes might most accurately match your music. The Brain's resources are here for you to use!
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| GET INVOLVED |
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sponsor, donate, or buy from brainwashed
Click here to find out how you can help keep The Brain going. Every penny helps.
become a contributor
We're always looking for more writers and are welcoming applicants who meet the criteria. Have a look at our new section, Write for The Brain and don't be shy.
sign up for the announcement list
Do you want to be the first on your block to hear about special limited pressings and happenings of Brainwashed? An announcement list has been set up at www.hollyfeld.org/mailman/listinfo/brainwashed. It's not a forum and subscribers will be the first to hear about new releases on Brainwashed Recordings, a new Brainwashed Handmade imprint, the hopefully soon to launch Brainwashed Archives label, and any music fest(s) to coincide with Brainwashed's 10th Anniversary (which is only a year away). Thanks again for the support, it keeps us going.
join the audioscrobbling community
Share your playlists with other readers/fans at the Brainwashed Group at Audoscrobbler.
let us know what you think
Communicate with us, tell us what's in your player, tell us what you want more/less of, send recipes.
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| WHAT'S IN YOUR PLAYER? |
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electric dairyland
Matt Elliot - Drinking Songs
Out Hud - Let Us Never Speak of it Again
Pola - Meme
Subtle - A New White
Bill Wells Trio - Pick Up Sticks
Howard Hello - Don't Drink His Blood
Masha Qrella - Unsolved Remained
Nate Ritter, Stevens Point WI, USA
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