this show brought to you by the number 8

This show got far crazier than any I’ve seen in Brooklyn recently. (okay, technically the Silent Barn’s in Queens) The headliners here were a super-group merger of Sewn Leather and Dog Synth/DJ Dog Dick – both dudes who trade in weird noise/beats mergers – into one band known as DOG LEATHER. Somehow this duo seems instantly more popular than both of those guys together, which seems weird but makes sense. This is just an idea that as soon as you hear it, you know it’s going to be amazing. Everyone came to this show just knowing it was going to be amazing. And it was. Things got kind of crazy. How crazy?

That crazy. Now let me back up and mention some of the other stuff. The first act, filling in for Shams who had to cancel, was Guardian Alien. I recognized these people from other Brooklyn acts but hadn’t seen this one yet. Improvised blast beats, some kind of stringed instrument that sounded somewhere between a lap steel and a sitar, and some free vocals and interpretive dance. That combination might sound like it could go either way, but this had tons of energy and ended long before it needed to. (always good)

Guardian Alien at Silent Barn

Then came Buddy Bag, who played really, reeeeaally rudimentary sludge rock. So caveman-style that the drummer just dropped 2 toms flat on the floor and played with one drum stick and one random big piece of wood. Depending on who you are, you might think that sounds like it would be either awesome or horrible.

Buddy Bag at Silent Barn

Then came Narwhalz (of sound), whose performances I always look forward to. They generally involve a combination of confusion, technical difficulties, freakouts, and “crowd work.” Narwhalz plays Gameboy programming that has been sounding heavier and noisier every time I see him. In fact, this time things sounded so blown out and distorted that it wasn’t clear what parts were the buzzing and popping of a faulty connection or the intended sound.

Narhwalz (of sound) at Silent Barn

For reasons I couldn’t make sense of at the time, the crowd just went nuts for him! Not that they shouldn’t, and I’ve definitely seen a crowd of like-minded friends go nuts in Philly to Narwhalz once, but I usually expect something like this (from the last time I saw him play Silent Barn):

Narwhalz at Silent Barn 06-23-10

but instead the crowd did this:

Narwhalz mosh pit at Silent Barn 02-17-11

A nice surprise. In retrospect I think the combination of a generally excited audience and a few in-the-know instigators is the combination that triggered this. Up next was Nonhorse (Or is it Non-Horse?) which is G Lucas Crane’s tape manipulation project. It’s super-fun to watch, as he juggles multi-colored tapes spilling out of a suitcase and works a pair of cassette players (with some effects) like an expert DJ would cut records.

Nonhorse at Silent Barn

And then Dog Leather was up.

The Dog half of Dog Leather at Silent Barn

Their show was actually something of a slow build, starting with a mish-mash of noises before breaking into some of their rap songs. Set to blown out beats, primitive electronic sounds, and not-quite-on-the-beat samples, all mashed together into a fuzzy wall of noise – but yeah – rap songs. Rapping that sounded kind of like Skinny Puppy vocals, but still.

The Leather half of Dog Leather at Silent Barn

And it just got wilder and wilder. A sledgehammer appeared. A chair appeared. And then a gigantic number 8 appeared. Lots of crowd-surfing happened. My show-organizer instincts almost kicked in several times, but I resisted the urge to remove objects or take down boot-swinging crowd-surfers when I noticed that the people primarily responsible for the chaos were all the people who lived at the Silent Barn! They were loving it. EVERYONE was loving it. I didn’t see anyone in there who wasn’t laughing and smiling even while they were getting knocked over and piled upon. We all knew this was absurd and ridiculous and goofy and the best thing ever. The perfect antidote to the self-conscious, second-guessing, people-watching attitude that NYC has a bad reputation for.

And I leave you with a video of a Dog Leather song from early in their set, before things got quite so out of hand (though you can tell people are already rocking to it). This video strangely came out sounding really good.

XBXRX have made their new album, “Un Usper,” available for “FREE” download direct from their website:

http://www.xbxrx.com

This album is a nice mish-mash of punk rock moves, noise-rock attitude, free-jamming, synth sounds, and is that a xylophone? Nice.

Those quotes around free are, however, intentional. While you are permitted to download it for free, XBXRX ask that you make a donation in return. I know that sometimes it feels like digital music should be completely free, but I reasoned with myself as follows: I would blow 4 bucks just to make a round-trip subway ride to the record store, and that’s more than most bands on a label get from each CD sale, so heck, it seems reasonable to throw those few dollars to XBXRX and support really, truly DIY music. But hey, don’t let me discourage you from donating more… or less…

Next up, AIDS Wolf “Pas Rapport”:

It’s a tour-only tape of improv jams, or maybe they’re not totally improvised. The boombox quality recording is not too much different from the blown-out sound on their album proper and the tracks are all punctual full-band jams. So if you liked the albums, you will definitely want to grab this while the download link still works.

Get it here!

AIDS Wolf ask for nothing in return, but you might consider following their blog (http://aidswolfs.blogspot.com) so you can find out about things like this, and of course go see them when they come around on tour!

ENJOY.

Stellar 30 minute tape from Richmond, Virginia’s Gameboy-freakout noise artist Brian Blomerth, aka Narwhalz. Having heard his earlier stuff, I can tell you that this tape shows a much more evolved and refined Narwhalz.

Maybe someone reading this has seen Narwhalz perform before. This reader may wonder how I can use words like “evolved” and “refined” to describe an artist whose performances involve rolling on the floor while punching Gameboy buttons, humping Pomeranian stuffed animals, repeated “technical difficulties,” and periods of extended, rambling, semi-surrealist, self-deprecating monologues that approach a form of MySpace-culture beat poetry. Meanwhile, the music is a torrent of chaotic videogame sounds in a fast-forward jumble.

These points are noted. However, just listen to this tape. There is an ebb and flow to this chaos. Long periods (relatively) of repetitive sounds almost start to hypnotize you before things explode and insanity breaks out. Then there’s some time to catch your breath, the music settles down and starts to sound almost pretty, or Brian shares some words of wisdom before the next round. Then you start to notice that the music has the same pacing and flow as everything Brian writes, and everything he draws as well. Nothing is quite as random as it seems here. A lot of care has gone into putting the sounds on this tape together.

For another thing, unlike earlier recordings I have, this one is all at the same volume level, or at least it gets loud only when it’s supposed to get loud. I also like how the vocals are mostly obscured by distortion, letting you believe that maybe he’s screaming about some truly HARSH power electronics shit. Then there’s one very clear part where he addresses Snoopy and you realize it’s actually the same bizarre nonsense it always has been.

Bottom line, if you have seen Narwhalz and you thought it was amazing then you’ll love this tape. It edits down and distills all the best sounding stuff and most successful moments. If you saw Narwhalz and thought it was the most inane bullshit ever, this tape JUST MIGHT CHANGE YOUR MIND … maybe. Probably not. On Flish Records, nice yellow tape and full-color illustrated art.

http://www.myspace.com/narwhalsofsound
http://www.myspace.com/flishrecords

The first side definitely drops you into heavy drone territory with what sounds like an infinite-sustain vibrato keyboard note and some hissing/whistling that sometimes sounds like a tea kettle or a distant jet plane gradually taking off. It’s actually well-paced for the length of the side, building (or achieving lift-off) and then gently settling again just before the side is out. Then the piece starts to fade into some guitar strumming and vocals and I almost thought this was going to transition into some kind of moan-wave/new-weird-america/retro-hippie thing. But then the side abruptly ended.

Then strangely side 2 starts off sounding like it’s rewound 30 seconds and you’re still in the same drone, except instead of fading into some kind of meandering hippie jam, it (thankfully) transforms instead into what sounds an awful lots like a John Carpenter soundtrack. Gradually shifting and melodic plink-plonk 80′s synthesizer notes keep the tension at a slow boil. The knobs get tweaked a bit here and there and everything gets a little Moogey until the piece fades out. Then as a final head-scratcher, there’s some low, distant droning and what sound like the beginning of a new piece of music begins to fade in, but the tape ends before it becomes very audible.

This is definitely background or soundtrack music, though there’s a slow constant shift to everything. The mysterious end of each side also makes me wonder if my tape got dubbed wrong. Is it just a fake out, or a genuine mistake? I guess if you get a copy of this tape I can’t guarantee it will sound exactly the same as what I describe, but then that would be in keeping with the Lazy Magnet anti-aesthetic. You really do never know what you will get.


http://www.ijustlivehere.net
Lazy Magnet on MySpace

If you’ve seen Head Molt live, you know they’re a pretty ferocious act, with lots of rolling around, screaming, basically taking cues from the Cock ESP school of noise performance. So it’s pleasantly surprising that their recordings sound so planned and well-composed. “Police Dhajaal” starts out fierce with overblown fuzz noise and shrieked, almost black-metal-style vocals (something like the style both Wolf Eyes and Hair Police now employ), but from there it moves through a nice variety of crazy sounds. A synth bass-drop sound keeps things heavy with some BOOM… BOOM… Either some post-editing went into this material, or the four credited band members showed impressive restraint and organization because often all but one sound will drop out before new noises emerge.

The b-side is more restrained, or at least less dense. It’s just as loud, but walks a razor-thin line between tense drone and piercing harshness, tipping back and forth throughout. The track ends before the side is finished and there’s a long period of silence (or sounds too quiet to be heard while listening on headphones at the Laundromat) before a brief, fierce squall of noise closes out the side. (bonus track?) The whole tape makes for a nicely paced listen and feels like a complete album, despite the 22 minute length, some of which is silence.

This would make a perfect sample and introduction to Head Molt, in my opinion one of the most exciting and consistently rewarding bands making noise today. I am always surprised by how well their recordings hold my attention and reward repeat listens. Highly recommended for fans of early Hanatarash or Gerogerigegege (Perhaps a giveaway, one of the lead Head Molters, Gary, goes by Garygegege) as well as more “song-based” Wolf Eyes. The tape is on Gary’s anti-everything label and has nice rainbow-pop-vomit cover art.

Aww shoot, it’s sold out! Don’t sweat it, just grab some other Head Molt release, it’s all quality. I guess in that case I can tell you that the “Police Dhajaal” track is a free download at their last.fm page! Grab it now!

http://www.last.fm/music/head+molt

http://ratward.blogspot.com

Unicorn Hard-On largely uses these devices called Electribes, which I believe were originally intended for making techno music. Here they are put to much better use, making sounds and music which is technically “electronic” but sounds and feels much more organic. We’ve got 2 long tracks on this tape, one per side. Side A is called “secret snarls” and starts off with a slow-motion, off-kilter beat and some unidentifiable buzzes and hums. Eventually a mid-tempo funk beat sneaks up on us and the ominous buzzing becomes background to some bird-call-like lead synth sounds. This is the part of the show where the audience would start nodding in unison, then maybe tapping their toes, loosening up little by little.

Side B starts out with some serious Dr. Who sounds with a heavy pulse-beat lurking in the background. Based on the slow-build style of side A, the side B track title (“all into it”) and that lurking beat, I though for sure this was going to spontaneously drop into some heavy, rave-style dance jams but it never quite did. Instead the echoey synthesizer sounds just keep heading further and further out into deep space. I’m sure at a loud, live show this would also compel people to start grooving in rhythm but on tape here it seems to play out more as a head-trip than a body-mover. The sounds of video games, laser battles, and alien swamp creatures calling to each other continually morph throughout the track.

This comes in a nicely tactile fabric wrap with some yarn, fur, and an attached title card. Very cool.

http://www.myspace.com/unicornhardon

The drums are usually either pounding out rock beats or building up to that point, and the noises are largely harsh, swirling analog sounds with laser sounds well-represented. As you might guess because of the similar methods used, this probably comes closest in sound to Mindflayer, although the Mugu Guymen sound is much more varied. You might call this psychedelic, although definitely not “nice psychedelic.” The fact that it’s improvised and the techniques in use are quite literally experimental means you get moments that were probably just as much a surprise to the band as to the listener. During one song there is a sudden surge in guitar volume and a totally evil crashing sound washes over everything. I’m guessing it was a fluke but it sounds perfect at the same time.

This tape is full of those kinds of moments. It must be some combination of genius, dumb luck, and smart track editing. There are 4 tracks on side 1, which are all pretty hard-hitting, then one long track on side 2 which gives you some slightly more low-key moments in between the cacophonous moments and also provides more evidence for the “genius” assessment since it’s consistently awesome. Some really funny stereo things happen on side 2 also which might make you wonder if your tape deck is chewing up your tape. If you hear something like that, don’t take a chance, make sure your tape is okay! You’ll want to give this one some repeat listens.

http://myspace.com/muguguymen
http://www.soundsfromthepocket.com/catalog.htm