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VIRGIN PRUNES, "THE MOON LOOKED DOWN AND LAUGHED"
Mute
In 1986 the Virgin Prunes released The Moon Looked Down and Laughed, an album that turned out to be the band's swan song. (The group released a collection of outtakes and rare tracks later that year, but never again entered the studio.) Considered in context with the rest of the Prunes' albums reissued by Mute, The Moon was clearly a concerted attempt at a much more commercial sound than anything the band had previously attempted. Produced by Soft Cell's Dave Ball (and engineered by Flood), there is a distinctly pop veneer on many of the album's tracks, which stands in stark contrast to the demented, abrasive experimentalism of past albums. Layers of synthesized strings and crisp, multi-tracked production takes the place of jagged, wailing guitars and jackhammer drums. The Moon also found Gavin Friday edging ever closer to the sound he was to adopt for his solo material; emotive ballads and darkly romantic torch songs rather than the anarchic, confrontational material familiar to the band. For all of these reasons, this album will likely seem a strange departure for those more familiar with the Prunes of ...If I Die, I Die. However, fans of Friday's solo outings, Dave Ball's In Strict Tempo or Marc Almond's solo material will find much to like in the album's skewed pop sensibility. Like Almond, Friday and the Prunes freely borrow from the French chanson singer tradition, or Kurt Weill-ish 1930's Berlin cabaret. The synthesized strings also add a dose of Hollywood soundtrack style to many of the tracks, best exemplified by the Bernard Herrmann Psycho string stabs on "Our Love Will Last Forever Until the Day It Dies." As a lyricist, Friday is in fine form, transforming the disturbing imagery of "Sons Find Devils" ("Blood of baby must be spilt/To make up for our Daddy's guilt") into a rousing Irish sea shanty. The haunting melancholy of "Alone" is arranged to sound like an Ennio Morricone spaghetti Western soundtrack, an odd choice, to be sure. My favorite track by far is the utterly divergent "Just A Lovesong," with Gavin singing over a minimal arrangement of improvised piano and randomly strummed guitar. The song seems entirely improvised; an impromptu outpouring that entirely eschews melodic sense in favor of a direct, childlike emotional appeal. J.G. "Foetus" Thirlwell pops up on the title track, contributing snarling guest vocals to another classically theatrical Prunes composition. Though the mainstream pop aspirations of The Moon will doubtlessly turn off many listeners, it fits in very nicely as a bridge between earlier Virgin Prunes and the later solo work of Gavin Friday. - Jonathan Dean
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End, "Percussions"
Tigerbeat 6
It's surprising how little attention has been drawn to the parallels that exist between electronic music and lounge/exotica music. Musicians working in both genres often focus on creating a mood rather than on writing songs. Much electronic music also shares the bouncy, cartoonish quality of lounge music. While many modern electronic albums could be called "percussion" albums, it is rare that an artist actually makes a direct reference to the percussion albums that were so popular in the late 1950's and 1960's that they actually comprised a genre of their own. Rather than sounding as if he has raided dollar bins at thrift stores to find cool records to sample from, Percussions shows that Charles Peirce (End) is a true enthusiast of exotica and lounge music. These 12 short tracks (each of the six titles refers to two consecutive tracks) fuse samples of all kinds of percussion instruments (and some brass instruments and voices) with digital manipulation. The effects are usually used subtly and enhance the percussion, bringing the lounge music genre up to date. This is especially effective during "Go", in which bongo rolls have only a slight digital edge to their sound. Rather than manipulating the source sounds beyond recognition, Peirce has made familiar sounds seem slightly askew. Percussions features the intricate beat programming that is integral to Peirce's sound, but juxtaposes it with xylophone, harp, and various drums. Although mock-1960's cover art has truly been overused, this is one case in which that style of artwork actually complements the music. It's a lot more appropriate here than when The Smithereens used a "Living Stereo" logo on a CD from 1994. Percussions sounds more like a tribute to an era than an exploitation of it. One of its main strengths is that it reminds us that electronic music can be fun. While many electronic producers take themselves too seriously, Peirce is not afraid to make fun of the genre and of himself, as evidenced by the vocal sample "Well, let's all get together and steal each others songs" heard in "Music By Numbers." Percussions highlights the similarities between lounge music and modern electronic music, while not sounding like a stylish genre exercise. While lounge music samples were one aspect of his 2004 Ipecac CD The Sounds of Disaster, it's nice to hear Peirce fully realize a project focusing on this aspect of his sound. - Jim Siegel
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Rivulets, "You've Got Your Own"
Acuarela
It's horrible to expect someone to fail miserably, but logical to expect that as humans everyone has the ability to stumble a bit or fall completely. Realistically Nathan Amundson should have put out a record with at least one bad song by now. He hasn't, and the trend continues on his new five-song EP, as well as his trend of releasing material on as many labels as possible. Whether he has a huge backlog of material to support this or he just takes up any offer to release an EP is anyone's guess, but it matters little as the songs are always top-notch. Collaborations with Jessica Bailiff also seem to be a regular occurrence — and never a bad thing — as she provides backup vocals and drums on a few tracks. The only discernible difference from other work is a slight improvement in production, as Amundson's voice is clearer and fuller, making the harmonies with Bailiff even more delectable. Lyrics have always been a highlight, and this release includes some of the best: "You've got your own ego to feed... why can't you ever say what you mean?" Where Debridement comes off very introspective, these songs are more outward expression, and even storytelling to a certain extent. Threading it all together is Amundson's often delicate guitar work and passive demeanor. There's never a true emotional distance, but rarely does he sound very moved by the words: just plaintively presentational. The highlights are the final two tracks, however, as the drums on the first and the electric guitar on the second represent a more aggressive stance than I've heard from Rivulets in the past, and a welcome one at that. The haunting final minute of "Slight Return" is alone worth the price of admission, but the whole EP proves once again what a stunning talent is present in the here and now. More to the point, his songs are still torturous at times, but he seems less tortured and more confident, and that could be a dangerous proposition on a third full-length. - Rob Devlin
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Lena, "Floating Roots"
Quatermass
Sometime during the latter half of this year, and much to the displeasure of my incredibly attractive girlfriend, I developed a renewed interest in dub music. Picking through CD store bins, as I regularly do, I snagged copies of Horace Andy, Keith Hudson, and Lee Perry productions, eagerly immersing myself in the fantastic reverbs and echo chambers. The latest Dubblestandart album, which I reviewed a few issues back, as well as my rediscovering the original brilliant trilogy of Pole albums, sparked my appetite for new works in the genre. Thankfully, Floating Roots, Mathias Deplanque's second album as Lena for Quatermass, more than satiates my hunger with some of the best "digi-dub" outside of the ~scape label family. "Wax Model" opens the album with a slow, exacting beat amidst a moist palette of Vladislav Delay style synth beds. The Jamaican-influenced sound that is somewhat absent on the first track quickly emerges on "Under False Rulers," a bass-heavy number that features one of several appearances by MC Tablloyd. Known by some for his work with 69db of Spiral Tribe, Tablloyd's style and tone varies wildly at times, yet only occasionally interferes with Lena's busy, bubbly soundscapes. The highly danceable cut "Wah Gwan" features his most satisfying contribution, a vibrant and perhaps nonlinear riffing treated with delay effects. The only other vocalist on the album, one-time Black Dog collaborator Black Sifichi, contributes some deep-throat spoken word poetry to the head-nodding "Storm Blown". The instrumental tracks that close out the album, including two versions of "Mountain Dub", further shows off Lena's skills as a producer, but none more reverent of true dub music as the title track. "Floating Roots" grooves along with a dark tone and a keen, respectful understanding of the inspired and inspirational artists who came before him. While bridging the dub tradition with the clinical aesthetics of minimal techno is nothing new in 2004, Lena pulls together all the right elements for a balanced
modern album that begs for repeat listening and appropriate herbal accompaniment. - Gary Suarez
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Rafael Toral, "Harmonic Series 2"
Headz
Last I heard from this Japanese label was their release of Fennesz's Live in Japan, something of a surprise addition to that artist's catalogue, and one that offered both a glimpse at new developments in his too-familiar style, and a pleasantly indulgent rebuff against those critics ready to predict, or pounce on, a new masterpiece. On its latest release, Headz gives another digital guitar hero, Rafael Toral, a similar opportunity to avoid quick canonization and indulge some new ideas over the course of one disc-length track. On past records, Toral produced everything from ecstatic, shoegazing jams to multi-sectioned, epic-length textural explorations, often using the juxtaposition between his more intentionally rockist moments and the purer ambient passages to create an unique soundworld that embraces both with equal fervor. Harmonic Series 2 is a significant departure from the digestible, pop-length drones that filled Toral's last record, The Violence of Discovery, The Calm of Acceptance, though the switch to less-concise, more demanding composition is welcome. The 43-min. piece, for sinewave, guitar and analog electronics, marks the artist's first use of the computer as autonomous musical instrument, its waveforms acting as the synthetic equivalent of a guitarist's blending harmonic tones. Toral's use of the sinewave lies far from the alienating compositions usually associated with such pure and relentless sounds, and while Harmonic Series does avoid the cosmic elegance that has characterized the artist's work thus far, the piece remains surprisingly inviting. Weightless strands of e-bowed feedback and gently throbbing harmonic layers intertwine with the computer's tones to create the most substantial portions of the composition, a fluid surface of constant dissolve and regeneration. Through a meticulous cycle of blends and pans, Toral reaches a powerful sonic density from the tight flux of three or four blank tones rather than a congestion or distortion of the stereo field. The gritty, psychedelic edge that touched Toral's early work is totally absent; instead Harmonic Series seems to develop out of the resulting negative space, a lyric-less tone poem to the information age, full of haunting, passive currents. Parts of the piece even recall the warping effects in Coil's Time Machines. The artwork tells it best: gone are the floating passenger jets that graced the covers of so many Toral recordings; here he offers only dark futurism, an empty sky stalked by silent electrical towers. Given the track's length and the resistance of the pure tones to any recognizable or repeated dynamic, an overarching mood or directive within Harmonic Series is hard to locate. The steady flow and warm tonalities of the piece keep it inviting, but never to the rapturous extremes of the artist's other long-form composition, Wave Field. It seems fitting, if a bit predictable or even overstated on such a sprawling release, that the artist's embrace of new technology should lead his music towards more wayward, alien territories.
- Andrew Culler
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Vincent & Mr. Green
Ipecac
Someone in this band has been to hell and back; the vocalist emulates enough emotions to make a manic depressive feel good about the way life is going. Depravity, arson, prostitution, obsession, betrayal, manipulation, and alcoholism are just a few of the topics the lyricist conjures up in the first half of the album. The music is a fitting combination of manipulated beats, chamber music, sickly lounge deliveries, and darkly lit soundscapes fluctuating between old phonograph recordings from the 1920's and blazingly confrontational arrangements that could've only been born out of the heart of a psychopath. If the drama of the album is to be believed, the entire recording is for the father of the female vocalist. More than a few songs mention a father figure directly and one track is titled "Daddy." Whether houses are being mysteriously burnt down or someone is getting wrapped up in a love affair that is decidedly one-sided, there's little to be happy about on any of these songs. But the music is so damned intriguing and varied that even "Whiskey Bound," a song about a father leaving (the vocalist's?), feels absolutely spell-binding. After a slight lull right at the beginning of the album (parts of "Daddy" and "$2.50" sound forced), the album stays thoroughly consistent. At times there are violins and horns moaning away underneath the gaps, whispers, shouts, and moans of the singer and at other times heavily distorted guitars and slimy drums scatter about randomly. The first part of the album resolves itself into a twangy piece of melancholy that aborts itself and comes away sounding as like a soul, gospel, and funk song all wrapped into one. On the other hand, "Will" is a piece that recalls vocal jazz arrangements and all the glory of hip-hop beats pieced together to form the perfect, underlying groove. The music is sometimes desperate and forlorn and at other times it is absolutely cocky and incensing. There's no denying that some songs are outright sexy, but at the same time there are points on this record where everything sounds sleazy. That's part of the appeal; these musicians aren't afraid to get things a little dirty. Vincent & Mr. Green also happen to be provocative and smart enough to keep things varied. A lot of these songs are really pop tunes in disguise, but their arrangements and use of texture keep the album seductive, mysterious, and addicting from beginning to end. The end, in particular, is a superb one. "When We Were We" and "Dance (Part II)" both stand out as two of the best songs on the album. - Lucas Schleicher
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"Studio One Classics"
Soul Jazz
On the 4th of May this year Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd died. He is one of the most important figures in the history of reggae music; he opened and ran the now famous Studio One recording facility in Kingston, was present and perhaps partially responsible for many of the stylistic developments within reggae, and put out some of the first records from such individuals as the Heptones, Burning Spear, and the Wailers. "Studio One Classics" collects 18 tracks from 1964 to 1981 and it clearly demonstrates the brilliance, depth, and soul of reggae and all its variations. Carlton and the Shoes of 1968 are placed next to the Heptones of 1978 and the Wailers from 1965 are heard next to tracks from Sugar Minott and Lone Ranger from 1980 and 1981; while the styles change and shift from track to track and attitudes slip from relaxed to poppin' and feverish, what this compilation makes so evident is that there is more heart and love in these tracks than any dancehall or R&B performer today could ever hope to touch on. Hearing Dennis Brown perform "No Man Is an Island" or Sound Dimension bleed "Rockfort Rock" is like a slap to the face because its that much better than anything that's been thrown onto the radio or television screen. And while I can appreciate Bob Marley, listening the Wailers bop through "Simmer Down" makes me wonder why this part of his career hasn't received more attention than anything else. Every last track feels fresh, too, with songs like "Rougher Yet" and "Pretty Looks Isn't All" exhibiting all the sounds and feelings that a large number of future dub, reggae, soul, and jazz lovers would emulate and develop out of. This is an excellent set of songs from one of the most important, if not the most important, studios in all of reggae. The beginning of every change in reggae history can be heard here and at the top of its form - it simply doesn't get much better than this. If only Prince Far I and Toots and the Maytals had been includede on this compilation, then it could have been perfect. - Lucas Schleicher
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NAGISA NI TE, "THE SAME AS A FLOWER"
Jagjaguwar
Nagisa Ni Te is primarily the work of Shinji Shibayama and his partner and muse Masako Takeda. Over the course of four albums, the Japanese psych-folk duo has carved out their own niche among their more avant-leaning Japanese contemporaries, creating subtle and lovely pop music that floats by like a gentle summer breeze. Their name, which means "On the Beach" in Japanese, seems to be a direct reference to Neil Young's classic album of the same name, and they do seem to take some musical inspiration from Young as well. Though their music at time seems minimal and unadorned, there is a deceptive simplicity at work in their arrangements. A wide range of instruments is used, as well as genius multi-tracked vocal harmonies, but always in a refreshingly uncomplicated way that never seems too calculated. Their chief subject is nature, and love of the same, as evidenced by the included lyrics, given an English translation by The Wire's resident Japanophile Alan Cummings. The Same As a Flower evokes the pastoral simplicity of nature in understated surrealist terms, where the sky is "tall as a flower," "brambles taste sweet" and the sky is "shattered by fish." The album seems to be the duo's most gelled statement thus far, full of beautiful melodies that etched themselves into my brain quite naturally after only a few listens. The opening title track has a catchy chorus and a catchier melody, a simple sweet duet about the contemplation of a flower. Though Nagisa Ni Te's progressive tendencies and eclectic influences seem often to suggest Incredible String Band or other 60s acts, their consistently uncluttered arrangements put them closer in style to Belle and Sebastian, without the twee affectation. Using only an electric guitar and evocative vocal overdubbing, "River" is able to hauntingly evoke the gentle currents and eddies of the song's namesake. "Wife" is an instrumental intermission that recalls George Harrison's solo work, or the Beach Boys' "Fall Breaks and Back to Winter." "Bramble" floats by at a leisurely pace for 11 minutes, ending with a hypnotic guitar and mellotron duet. It's organically psychedelic without resorting to the tired repertoire of studio gimmickry that characterizes most modern psych. Truly, the album is lighter than air, and constantly threatens to float away like so many dandelion spores. But while it's still tangible, it's as lovely and uncluttered as any psych album you're likely to hear all year. - Jonathan Dean
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The Berg Sans Nipple, "Play the Immutable Truth"
Acuarela
When a band concocts a formula that is not easily classifiable and is almost indecipherable at times yet is complete compelling and causes long periods of not wanting to turn the repeat function off on the CD player, they are to be congratulated. Infectious, sinewy, ever-morphing and pulsing with energy almost describe any music from the Berg Sans Nipple, but these songs are particularly demonstrative of their creative abilities. The quiet chimes that start the proceedings are quickly augmented by beefy hip hop drums and falsetto vocals that are unrecognizable and cut up jitter-style as the need arises. Low keys are joined by high squelches and a lovely chimes breakdown, and the track drives on with the sinister underbelly of a corrupt afterlife. Perfect sounds for Purgatory, hence the track's title, and just when it seems like it's all over the wattage increases to 150% for the last two minutes. Then horns break the darkness open and usher in the holiness of "Hark, the Poonie Angel Sings!" Processed vocals mixed with keys create an eerie choir from the beyond, and tainted breathy whispers infect like the dream passages of REM sleep. The track does not overstay its welcome, luckily, though I found it puzzling that the angels get less say than the poor souls in Purgatory; maybe they're just less interesting. "Swordfighting" is a bit crunchier, with a noir backdrop, much like the theme music for a man on a revenge streak, searching out the next person in the group who ratted him out. The same ghostly choir is present, like the souls to be redeemed egging on the evil work to be done. At four minutes it is a bit repetitious, but not overbearingly so. The CD closes with the more experimental and quiet pulsing of "Memory Hole," and in just twenty minutes the group has raised hairs and slicked them back, applying a relaxing massage right at the end. It's a gamut to be run, and they pass without incident. - Rob Devlin
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Tanakh
Alien8 Recordings
On this double CD, their third release, Jesse Poe's Tanakh have abandoned songwriting and shifted their attention to creating dark atmospheric soundscapes. Seven musicians contribute to the project, including Pat Best, who must have felt right at home here, as the shifting drones sometimes recall his work with Pelt. The music sounds very much a product of the cavernous temple in which it was recorded. While listening I felt as if I had entered that space. The booklet's photographs of instruments and other constructions scattered about the dimly lit space enhance the perception of the recording. Although split onto two CDs, one 59 minute track and one 28 minute track, the music is best perceived as one piece. There is enough textural variety to make Tanakh a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience for the 90 minute duration. While it is not easy to deduce the exact instrumentation used, piano, hand percussion, guitar, distant moaning voices, and various low-end drones can be heard rising and subsiding during the piece. It seems that rather than focusing on individual instruments, the group was concerned with conveying a bigger picture that gives a sense of the space of the building itself. The resonances created by these instruments in various combinations, and at various volumes, recall both Organum and the Deep Listening projects of Pauline Oliveros. There are many levels of activity, making this a recording that will reveal different layers of sound with repeated listens. There is a haphazard, yet unified quality to the way the musicians interact with one another. A noisy, low-end rumbling sound is offset by the sound of piano strings being slowly plucked. Light percussion suggests a rhythmic element but does not set a tempo. The music feels both chaotic and calming at the same time. This sense of dynamics is what saves the album from becoming simply "ambient". It is difficult to record one piece that remains engaging for 90 minutes straight, but Poe has chosen musicians who fit the purpose well. The album benefits from having not been recorded in a studio, the immediacy of the sound being crucial to its' success. The abrupt stop at the end of CD2 implies that the tape ran out during what was possibly a much longer session. It also lends a timeless quality to the recording. There is a sense that Poe wanted the recording to be a document of what happened when a group of people gathered in a particular place at a particular time. This is a bold statement to make for someone who possesses talent as a traditional songwriter. - Jim Siegel
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Frausdots, "Couture, Couture, Couture"
Sub Pop
When I first looked at the cover of this CD and the title, my immediate thought was "Please kill me at this very moment and save me from the music inside, as it's bound to be incredibly pretentious LA glam pop with a European slant, and I can't stand any more of that. Thank you, whoever hears." I'm glad to say I wasn't entirely right, but there are elements of truth to it, and therefore the record surprised me, though ultimately I did not like it much. Brent Rademaker (Further/Beachwood Sparks) and Michelle Loiselle have a clear knack for pop songs and melodies, but they seem rather big on glitz and appearance as the liner notes show. This can be an indication of a band without much substance, and the beginning of the record almost reflects that. "Dead Wrong" opens with a slight rephrasing of "Horse With No Name" in a faux Gary Numan delivery. Then, something shocking happens, as the verse has horrible lyrics, but the chorus takes orbit and firmly finds its place among the stars ("Now everybody's doing everybody wrong, and everybody's singing everybody else's song"). So, in a way, it's an ironic parody that opens the record, and that's a bit acceptable, but the lyrics are still lackluster, and the overall aesthetic seems borrowed, as well. Plus, the song goes on 45 seconds longer than it should, into a "doo doo doo" breakdown that is more doo doo. Still, the concept delivers a benefit of doubt response, and a hope that other songs will improve it. Sadly, no. "Fashion Death Trends" is where the album gets its insidious title, and seems to be about changing attitudes with clothes, and has lyrics in places like "Hello Hello Hello" and "Goodbye Goodbye Goodbye." Other songs have promise, with better lyrics and more variation, like "The Extremists" and "Soft Light." Then "A Go-see" comes and destroys the momentum. Basically, it doesn't get anywhere, and it does it real quick. It's derivative, but it has promise; so that's at least one positive thing. - Rob Devlin
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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. |
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WEEK OF OCTOBER 31 - NOVEMBER 6
* ABC - The Lexicon Of Love 2xCD [deluxe remastered reissue with bonus material] (Universal, UK)
Amazing Grace - Revival Times CD (Desolation House/Relapse, US)
Ammoncontact - One In An Infinity Of Ways CD/LP (Ninja Tune, UK)
The Anomoanon - Joji CD/LP (Temporary Residence Limited, US)
Audion - The Pong EP 12" (Ghostly/Spectral, US)
Autistic Daughters - Jealousy and Diamond CD (Kranky, US)
Beakers - Four Steps Toward a Cultural Revolution CD/LP [anthology of singles, compilation tracks & previously unreleased material] (K Records, US)
The Blackouts - History in Reverse CD/LP [anthology of four singles/EPs plus unreleased tracks] (K Records, US)
Steve Bug/Various - Bugology CD [DJ mix] (Poker Flat, Germany)
Caduceus - Factory Sounds Vol. 2 12" (Zero G Sounds, US)
* Can - Ege Bamyasi CD [remastered reissue] (Mute, US)
* Can - Tago Mago CD [remastered reissue] (Mute, US)
* Can - Monster Movie CD [remastered reissue] (Mute, US)
* Can - Soundtracks CD [remastered reissue] (Mute, US)
Christina Carter - Living Contact CD (Kranky, US)
Cotton Museum - Crippled Sloth 10" [ltd edition of 300 copies] (SNSE, US)
Cul de Sac/Damo Suzuki - Abhayamudra 2xCD (Strange Attractors, US)
Jack Dangers - Loudness Clarifies + Music From The Tape Lab 2xCD (Important, US)
Dive - Behind the Sun CD (Daft/Alfa-Matrix, Belgium)
Drekka - Extractioning CD (Blue Sanct, US)
Flat Earth Society - Isms CD (Ipecac, US)
Foetus - (not adam) CDEP (Birdman, US)
Goldfrapp - Wonderful Electric 2xDVD (Mute, US)
Gravenhurst - Black Holes in the Sand CDEP (Warp, UK)
Lazarus - Like Trees We Grow Up To Be Satellites (The Backwards America) CD (Temporary Residence Limited, US)
Mafred Hofer - Nuors CD (aRtonal, Austria)
Hungry Lucy - Reigndance CDEP (Alfa-Matrix, Belgium)
Laibach - The Videos DVD (Mute, UK)
Mouse on Mars - Wipe That Sound 12" (Sonig, Germany)
My Jazzy Child - I Insist CD (Clapping Music, France)
Noah23 - Jupiter Sajitarius CD/2xLP (2.nd rec, Germany)
Okkervil River - Sleep and Wake-up Songs CDEP (Jagjaguwar, US)
* Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA's Desert Origins 2xCD [deluxe reissue with lots of bonus material] (Domino, UK)
Playgroup/Various - Reproduction Part 1 2xLP [Playgroup remixes of various artists] (Peacefrog, UK)
Playgroup/Various - Reproduction Part 2 2xLP [Playgroup remixes of various artists] (Peacefrog, UK)
Playgroup/Various - Reproduction 2xCD [Playgroup remixes of various artists] (Peacefrog, UK)
The Playwrights - Guy Debord Is Really Dead CDEP (Sink & Stove, UK)
Pressure Control - Vamp CD (Daft/Alfa-Matrix, Belgium)
Psychic Emperor - Skulls & Souls 12" (Imputor?, US)
Rainstick Orchestra - Floating Glass Key In The Sky CD/LP (Ninja Tune, UK)
Rebelski - Play the School Piano 7"/CDEP (Twisted Nerve, UK)
* The Residents - Commercial Album CD [25th anniversary remastered edition] (Mute, US)
The Residents - Commercial Album DVD (Mute, US)
Static Films - Love of Light CD (Blue Sanct, US)
Styrofoam - Nothing's Lost CD/LP (Morr Music, Germany)
Thievery Corporation - Babylon Rewound CD/2xLP [remix album with mixes by Kid Loco, Thievery Corporation, Manoah & more] (ESL, US)
Tarantel - We Move Through Weather CD/2xLP (Temporary Residence Limited, US)
John Tejada - Logic Memory Center CD/LP (Plug Research, US)
Two Lone Swordsmen - Big Silver Shining Motor of Sin 12"/CDEP (Warp, UK)
Ursula 1000/Various - Ursadelica CD [DJ mix] (ESL, US)
Various - What Is Hip? Volume 1 CD [tracks from the Warner back-catalog remixed by Jack Dangers, Philip Steir, Deepsky, Malibu, Mocean Worker and others] (Warner, US)
Tom Vek - If You Wanna 7"/12"/CDEP (Tummy Touch, UK)
Tim Wright - Oxygen 12"/CDEP (novamute, UK)
James Yorkston - Just Beyond The River CD/LP (Domino, 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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To round out their ongoing series of Cabaret Voltaire reissues, Mute has released Doublevision Present Cabaret Voltaire on DVD. Originally issued through Factory in 1984, this DVD is identical to the original VHS release: the same 14 videos in the exact same sequence. It's a shame they couldn't find something extra to slap onto the digital version, but it's still a welcome reissue for those who have no patience for the deterioration of their VHS collection. Doublevision was a communications company founded by Kirk, Mallinder and Paul Smith in 1982, with the express purpose of releasing music-based video for an affordable price, eventually transforming it into one of the first explicitly audiovisual record labels. This is not surprising for Cab Volt, who were always two steps ahead of their contemporaries, it seems. For these 14 videos, Cabaret Voltaire utilized nascent video editing technology, splicing together television clips, performance videos and archival film footage, gluing it all together with low-tech early video effects. The interesting thing about watching these videos in 2004 is that the primitive video techniques, which probably seemed piss-poor at the time of their release, now play into the current avant-garde video art obsession with early 1980's low budget pirate video aesthetic. 20 years on, this collection of random video cut-ups and ugly, jagged editing techniques seems positively vanguard. The tracks presented are from the finest period Cabaret Voltaire: "Diskono," "Obsession," "Nag Nag Nag," and "Seconds Too Late," among others, are represented. Televised nature and anthropology programs are intercut with images of war, death and destruction from new broadcasts. Clips of Leni Riefenstahl films and videos or surgeries rub shoulders with grainy, decayed video images superimposed over each other in a weird Burroughsian collage of overlapping transmissions, giving rise to a mysterious "third mind" of accidental coincidences and synchronicities. As experimental video, it all works amazingly well. As music videos, the effect is somewhat more muted, as the edits often out of sync with the beat structures of the music. Still, it would be hard to imagine a more appropriate visual accompaniment to Cabaret Voltaire's abrasive, subterranean, low-fidelity electronic music. - 
