review: godspeed you! black emporer- 'allelujah! don't bend! ascend!'

Yup. I tracked down the leak of this album. It took maybe two minutes. I’ll still be buying the 180gm vinyl with the bonus 7”. That should be evidence enough of how much I like this record. When ‘Yanqui U.X.O.’ came out in 2002 I found it to be a touch unsatisfying and fatigued-sounding. In retrospect it’s no surprise that they took a lengthy hiatus after touring in support of it—it had absolutely no reason to not be great—‘Rockets Fall on Rocket Falls’ and ’9-15-00’ were both featured prominently during their 2000 tour in support of ‘Lift Yr Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven’ and were consistent set standouts and the album was recorded by Steve Albini. The truth is that how could a nine-person ensemble playing music as emotionally intense as this on as consistently rigorous touring schedules not get to a point of burnout after such a lengthy run? I recall reading an interview in a fanzine (remember those?) where Efrim Menuck stated quite matter-of-factly, “Yeah, we’re a nine person band. We argue a lot. With that many people involved in anything there are going to be clashes.” The non-news of a hiatus (I remember a two-year long black hole of updates in the wake of their 2003 tour before the words ‘hiatus’ even appeared on their website) was finally broken last year with a brief but highly effective set of tour stops. Having caught them at the Vic here in town I found that it appeared to have reinvigorated them in ways I hadn’t imagined. Their local stop proved to be more intense than when I’d seen them in London in 2000 in support of what I’ve always considered to be their strongest recorded effort (2000’s ‘Lift Yr Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven’).

While ‘’Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!’ is still not strong enough to dethrone the sprawling ‘Lift Yr Skinny Fists…’ (kind of a heavy task as it’s like a 90-minute statement of eternal purpose) as their best record, it certainly stacks up as their most lean and effective to date. It’s built on four tracks—two of them within the 20-minute range and two more clocking in as more focused ambient drones. The juxtaposition of scale between the four tracks plays up to the band’s greatest strengths of recognizing the impact of both huge, theatrical moments of epically unhinged emotional setpieces and tiny, spare snapshots of beautiful, overlooked moments. ‘Mladic’ (aka 'Albanian' in old setlists) is one of the new tracks I saw them play at the Vic last March. In a rare turn of circumstance I find the recorded version to be longer, yet more focused and satisfying. It makes clear what they’ve done with the track since revisiting it over seven years on, as it was started in 2003. ‘We Drift Like Worried Fire’ had seen previous live incarnations as well (titled ‘Gamelan’ on previous setlists) and is one of my favourite extended tracks of theirs since the fourth track of ‘Lift Yr Skinny Fists…’. The production is invigorated, raw and incredibly emotional. They have always been a band that has excelled at capturing the emotional impact that their music has on tape, but this record seems to be one of the best examples of their skill at this so far. I’m particularly fond of the earlier half of ‘Mladic’ as it pounds away for nearly half of the length as a two chord drone worthy of the Warlocks in their more hypnotic moments.

All-in-all it seems to deliver on the promise of the announcement of their reunion last year. In spades. While I’d been overjoyed to hear that I’d get to see them live again I felt doubtful that they would be putting out any new music. Now that I’ve heard the results that doubt seems incredibly foolish to me. There couldn’t be a better foundation laid for their second act as a band.

Click here to read the review of their show at the Vic in March.

review: jessica bailiff- 'at the down-turned jagged rim of the sky'

Since the first new record from Jessica Bailiff in six years is getting so little press I figured it might not be out of line to post my own review of it even though it’s been out for almost a week now. Only a week before its release did an entry appear on the Kranky records website that Jessica Bailiff’s new record would be landing. It’s notable to mention that even they had no idea Bailiff had been working on a new record, but that she had merely dropped them a line to see if they were interested in previewing it for possible release. The ‘appeared-out-of-thin-air’ arrival of the record only adds to its allure.

‘Feels Like Home,’ Bailiff’s last record, was released in 2006 and saw her offering up a compact set of her most stripped-down material. It was practically all acoustic and retained that ‘created-in-complete-isolation’ quality that all of Bailiff’s releases have. One of the greatest assets of her records is that they seem to be created in a complete trend vacuum—there is always a complete lack of consideration for anything even remotely resembling a musical trend or movement from the era that it sprang from. Her self-produced albums (the last three—the self-titled record from 2002, ‘Feels Like Home’ and ‘At the Down-Turned Jagged Rim of the Sky’) all have this magical quality, which, let’s face it, is sorely lacking in music these days. Even the best new music seems to have readily identifiable source material (except for Thee Oh Sees maybe, but even they have been operating from a fairly evident self-built base). Bailiff’s new record couldn’t be more distinctive in her own discography—she has created nothing resembling it. Preview track ‘Your Ghost is Not Enough’ sounds like a mix of material from her self-titled record and the Clear Horizon (her trans-Atlantic tape-trading collaboration with Dave Pearce of Flying Saucer Attack) record, but the other eight tracks are practically a world all their own. ‘Goodnight’ moves from a spare, meek keyboard and vocal figure into a sludgy dirge of detuned fuzz bass and loping drums. The fuzz bass and highlighted presence of drums are what set this record apart from her others. Previously Bailiff seemed to purposely bury what little drums or percussion she would use in blankets of ambience and drifting texture, but here they are clearly the stars of the show.

Several tracks evolve into some pretty heavy and epic moments—the last half of ‘Sanguine’ with Bailiff’s overdubbed chanting in the background over a slogging but insistent beat or the intense waltz-time scuzz of ‘Slowly.’ The only moment on the album that approaches ‘weak’ to my ears is the keyboard/fuzz guitar intro to ‘This is Real’—the juxtaposition of the guitar and keyboard figure seems a bit awkward until Bailiff’s vocals enter. The sun-drenched ‘Take me to the Sun’ and closing track ‘Firefly’ get as close to radio-friendly pop as Bailiff has ever been. The truth of this fact has always been what’s made her records so special to me—she COULD go that route if she wanted to, but instead she sticks with what she’s trying to convey musically. This creates a dynamic that is missing from the music of most artists of her ilk—that she will take such pure pop jewels and use them purely to her own ends is entrancing.

While I enjoy the fact that such a talented artist is willing to toil in obscurity seemingly forever, it would be nice if her music would garner wider recognition. The music industry is full of such characters, but rarely are they so purely isolated and obscure as Bailiff has always been. She’s never courted mainstream acceptance even though she easily could. She’s never been anointed with the crown of acceptance by the big guns in the indie music blog universe. Her records get notable reviews on pitchfork but she plays artspace/house/living room venues in her hometown of Toledo, Ohio. The news of her every move is received eagerly, but only by a very tiny niche. It’s a faithful audience that seems to have endless patience, which is incredibly encouraging. It’s about time the floodgates were thrown open, though.

repost- my bloody valentine- 'surround'

Since this post from 2008 has gotten the most hits of any of the live mbv bootlegs that I've posted here I've reupped it. This CD is cursed as I am continually losing it and finding it again. Apparently when I edited the tracks (the CD is just one continuous track) I didn't bother to save them on my backup drive. Sadly the original CD that I had has some corroding audio all the way through. I had to get a new copy from someone I had traded it to before the CD got all fucked up. There are still some glitches, but they don't start until after '(when you wake) you're still in a dream.' There are clearer sounding recordings from this tour out there, but this one (to me) has always been the best. Enjoy!

1. intro
2. emptiness inside
3. you never should
4. cigarette in your bed
5. sueisfine
6. cupid come
7. lose my breath
8. nothing much to lose
9. thorn
10. soft as snow (but warm inside)
11. feed me with your kiss
12. (when you wake) you're still in a dream
13. slow
14. you made me realise
15. lovelee sweet darlene
16. paint a rainbow

http://www.sendspace.com/file/ij15ep

review- the dirty three at lincoln hall 9.26.12

Few news items this year have brought me as much joy as the return of Dirty Three with their new and excellent LP ‘Toward the Low Sun.’ With every project that Warren Ellis was wrapped up in with Nick Cave it always came with a bit of a bitter pill for me. As much as I loved Grinderman and all of the countless jaw-droppingly beautiful and terrifying movie scores that the pair collaborated on the news would always reach me with a twinge of sadness. Would Warren Ellis ever be able to find the time to get together with drummer Jim White and guitarist Mick Turner to make another Dirty Three album? Until that could happen the likelihood of getting to see them live again grew more and more hopelessly remote.

Seeing them in 2005 at the Metro was an unexpected delight that I wasn’t fully prepared for despite being deep in the throes of being swallowed up by the varied brilliance of their back catalogue. They played for two and-a-half hours and it was over in the blink of an eye.

‘Toward the Low Sun’ has logged repeated spins on my turntable and in my headphones. ‘Ashen Snow’ has been earmarked for my ‘best-of’ mix since I first heard it. The moment they announced a tour stop at Lincoln Hall (aka the best music venue in Chicago) I plunked down the money to make sure I got to go. Stefanie and I arrived early as always, got a few beers and staked out a balcony spot before openers the Cairo Gang. For this set they were in a full-band Crazy Horse-inspired type of setup. It was vastly different to the first time I saw them at the Empty Bottle when they were just an acoustic duo opening for Angel Olsen.

A friend found us on the balcony and pulled up a chair beside us. He had never seen the Dirty Three before; we regaled him with stories of Ellis’ affinity for truly odd stage banter. As we were recalling some examples I was beginning to worry that we were playing it up a bit. Then the band came out and Ellis asked the sound man to make him sound like Jim Morrison before launching into an extended story about how the first song was about being a hemorrhoid on Bono’s ass and wanting to play a song but ‘you can’t because hemorrhoids don’t have fucking arms or legs so it’s impossible’ before they launched into a blistering version of one of the more restrained tracks on the album, ‘Rain Song.’

From there they went right into the chaotic maelstrom of album opener ‘Furnace Skies’ without so much as a nod between the three of them. The beautiful songs grew into ferocious monstrosities with teeth and the chaotic, stormy songs revealed subtleties of raw, fragile emotion. This was serious business. How they are so in sync seems mind boggling and impossible. The control they exert while everything seems like it’s veering off into chaos is unparalleled. Ellis loses one of his shoes while kicking the air, only to casually walk over to where it’s fallen and slip it back on without missing a note. White stacks a tambourine onto every cymbal and drum in his kit, switches from brushes, to sticks, to mallets and back again in between beats, knocking things every which way and all with an effortless efficiency. Turner lopes in the corner pigeon-toed, switching from fingerstyle by pulling a pick out of his back pocket during a downbeat—I watched him wait until the right moment to recover a dropped pick from the floor at one point.

Finally, the graceful calm and aching sadness they can convey simply seems unreal. Case in point was the version of ‘Ocean Songs’ standout ‘Sea Above, Sky Below.’ It was impossible not to be held at rapt attention on the edge of your seat. Ellis would switch from kicking the air repeatedly while attacking his violin into a concentrated hypnosis where he would pull those beautiful melodies that are so familiar but never lose their affect. They played nearly every track on the new album save a few; all of them were extrapolated from their sparse arrangements to great effect.

When they played ‘The Pier’ they went right into ‘Rising Below.’ During ‘Sometimes I Forget That you’ve Gone’ Ellis and White communicated through the cacophony with anguished screams. All of the usual suspects made an appearance, but in nearly unrecognizable forms from their recorded versions or the live versions I heard in 2005—‘Some Summers, They Drop Like Flies,’ ‘Hope,’ ‘Sue’s Last Ride’ as well as the main set-ending couplet of ‘Doris’ and ‘Ashen Snow.’ Every song played as if it were the last they would play.

Before ‘Hope’ Ellis launched into one of his stories only to stop, turn to Turner and say, ‘Wait, what are we doing?’ to which Turner replied, ‘Do a request.’ ‘We don’t have a song called, “Do a Request,” Mick,’ replied Ellis. Throughout the night, people would simply say, ‘Wow’ with each song that ended. It was truly inspiring and special.

When the breakup of Grinderman was announced last year, the first thing I thought after the initial disappointment was, ‘Oh well, at least there might be another Dirty Three album and tour.’ It was worth the wait, most definitely. At the same time, I hope that we don’t have to wait another seven years for their next album and tour. This is music that I need.

repost- my bloody valentine live at the axis in boston

http://www.sendspace.com/file/cojm9g

I've noticed that this entry from 2008 still gets a fair amount of traffic. In the interest of that, and of sharing this thoroughly awesome show from their 1989 American tour, I've reupped the show to sendspace and reposted this entry (and also updated the old entry). setlist-

1. emptiness inside
2. you never should
3. cigarette in your bed
4. sueisfine
5. cupid come
6. lose my breath
7. nothing much to lose
8. thorn
9. soft as snow (but warm inside)
10. feed me with your kiss
11. when you wake (you're still in a dream)
12. slow
13. you made me realise
14. lovelee sweet darlene

I'm planning on reupping the Detroit St. Andrew's Hall recording from 1989 as well- just need to re-edit it into individual tracks. Stay tuned. And enjoy!

'fuck it, i'm just going to say it...' a review of sloan on behalf of the taken-for-granted-who-don't-really-give-a-shit

Last night something truly odd happened- I left my house and went out to a show by a band that I'd always felt a massive, yawning apathy toward at a venue that I have never been terribly wild about. I have a feeling a lot of people feel this way about both as well, so let's just get the ugliness out of the way- I went to see Sloan's two-and-a-half hour show at Subterranean. They played all of their classic album that I've never heard 'Twice Removed.' During my courting phase with Stefanie she made me a copy 'One Chord to Another' after we went to see 'The Virgin Suicides' as our first date movie (go ahead and bask in the irony- I am). The album kind of confused me. It was made up of tightly-constructed, retro-sounding songs. It wore its heart on its sleeve. They didn't care about being cool, they just seemed to care about writing songs that they loved and that others would (hopefully) love as well. Plus, they were so damned Canadian with their earnestness and admiration of American and British music. It didn't really rope the 21 year-old me in, I have to admit.

Fast-forward to last night. On a lark Stefanie asked if I would like to go and, while at work, I said, 'Yes.' Once we walked in the door I saw a sign that read 'An evening with SLOAN 9:00- 11:30.' My terror at having to sit through a two and-a-half hour set by a band I didn't really care about filled me. Then they started playing 'Twice Removed' in order and announced after the second song that they were going to take a brief break after playing the entire record and then come back to play a 'party set.' One of my great beefs with Subterranean is similar to that of the Metro's- louder does not always= better. At least not if you have a cheap and shitty sound system (which both do). What's more the place smelled like a fucking toilet the entire night. No exaggeration. An odd thing happened when Sloan took the stage- the sound was subdued in volume. Their live sound was air-tight. They used vintage instruments and amps more effectively than most bands I've seen (possibly more effectively than even the Brian Jonestown Massacre) and didn't use the same stuff that most 'cool-dudes-playing-vintage-shit-you-could-never-afford-in-a-million-years' play. They all sang. They all switched instruments (except for the lead guitarist on stage left). Their harmonies were perfect. They switched styles on a dime with not a single visual cue. How many 90s bands can this be said about? FUCKING NONE THAT'S HOW MANY!

I feel safe in intimating these truths as this was a band I had NEVER claimed to like for many, many years. I can't even begin to explain how completely they won me over in a miserably crowded room that I loathe that smelled like a sewer. Plus, these were SONGS. One can see a million hot-shit young-dude bands, but rarely do they have a fraction of the volume of fantastically-crafted songs as were on display here. This show could've gone on all night and it would've been riveting. They lightly cajoled the audience into clapping and singing along and it wasn't cheesy or annoying in the least. Maybe the Canadians can teach US something about music after all. I certainly learned my lesson. Bless Sloan for being such a top-tier band with almost no recognition. I am now one of their biggest devotees and I walked into the doors with such a huge chip on my jaded, old, grumpy bastard shoulders. I hope they read this review because I mean every fucking word of it!

shalloboi- 'swing low'

Hoping this might help fund the 'field of flowers' 7" set. The first single from that bunch is coming up in a few weeks. Hard to believe it's so close. I also posted a trailer for the 7" set on the youtubes-