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australasia
diy tour circuit |
just because some people said it, doesn't make it true
the night crash 12"
originally recorded three years ago, it’s taken until now for the night crash’s debut 12” to reach the public. for the most part instrumental, the brisbane two-piece strafe recklessly between and beyond extremes, exploiting every notch of dynamism inherent in the technical metal that influences them, while stifling any inclination towards gratuitous showmanship. the compact drums and guitar ensemble achieves a rather subtle, minimalist complexity, even when the sawing guitar is riding gratingly at the top of the neck.
the night crash’s approach is effective for one significant reason: the percussionist is liberated. in fact, the drummer practically runs this show, often trailblazing ahead, leaving the guitar sounding a bit befuddled or confused. sometimes the guitar appears to skid a few feet when brashly chasing the percussion around tight bends, losing precious time in the race to finish each song. the fact that it manages to snap back like some thick cumbersome elastic every time is impressive and lots of fun.
despite citing my disco as an influence, this band doesn’t play like the rhythmic arm of their forces need hold strict tenure of the melodic. there are occasional moments of song-like coherence – especially during the spiderland-centric third track – but for the most part the night crash seem determined to fit as much energy and chaos into the smallest sonic area possible. the results are raucously entertaining.
shaun prescott
for mess and noise
pure evil trio + cd
pure evil
trio
s/t (spin control/tenzenmen)
this cd has it all, literally... everything sydney's pure evil trio
have done so far on vinyl, as well as some new stuff to sweeten the
deal. john, aaron and abel (apart from sharing some swell, biblical
names) share a love for the infinite musical horizon, mixing hardcore
with noise and jazz (not in a shitty, "dad's record collection"
way) and sheer pissed-off-ness. if you are into by-numbers punk, this
is going to do your head in. it twists and turns away from the comfort
of that sort of common ground, retaining a lot of the spontaneous energy
of their live shows. i'm not going to compare this to anything out of
respect for the band and your intelligence. if you've witnessed these
guys live, you'll buy this just hoping it'll floor you in the same way...
and it will. the boutique packaging is done through the mighty dualplover
and is a fitting wrapper for this weird-tasting lolly. give this cd
to a stranger.
glenno + unbelievably bad
pure evil trio + cd
okey dokey, to start with, calling this collection of works an album would be something of a misnomer as this cd collects all of pure evil trio’s previously recorded material into one spiffy little package; the artwork on the digipack perfectly suits the crusty-improv-mess it snugly houses.
with a collection this broad – everything from demo tapes to noise collages and their latest offering the evolution of everyday strife, it’s a lot to take in, even though most of the ‘songs’ are quite short and those of you with musical add may find the repetitive nature of some of the works a little hard to take – it’s pretty unforgiving listening after a while, a mash up of grind, art and hardcore.
production is as varied as the actual collection of songs – it’s all in the minute differences - and can largely be brought into the housings of ‘raw’ at the best of times and ‘scratchy’ when things aren’t quite working out.
considering the band’s strong diy attitude, it’s commendable that the group have managed to stay together for the past six years or so and are obviously not interested in throwing themselves on the mercy of the scene point distributors lurking in the world where most sub-categories of music are smacked with the ‘core’ suffix.
this comprehensive release serves as not only a great introduction (for the newcomer) or retrospective (for the long time fan) but as an exclamation of separation from mainstream excess.
luke monks (drum media)
ni-hao! + red blue green
japanese frolics in the park giving us an all-girl trio stereotype just as expected (do you think they all smile cutely in quirky poses or look like fucked-up hardcase morons on the inserts? take a wild guess...). comprising dual bass guitars, electronics and drums, simple and sometimes effective songs, with fuzzy bass rumbles and little girl vocals, alternating between oo-oo-la-la and shouting at the cat. a theme of red, blue and green tracksuit tops gets stylistic points in the band photos. lots of writing in japanese, with some translation. although i think the japanese made more sense to me - "romantic scratch” and “i love smurfy” indeed. they didn't quite sustain my interest, but i liked their humour and i could see what they were trying to do. it may yet grow on me.
tenzenmen presents: eccentrics, issue #1
so here we have the first of a series of cds showcasing 3 bands each time, across as many tracks as they could be bothered to contribute by the looks of it.... hinterlandt made me smile straight away. how seriously can i take this? “chuck it out” indeed – a title like that is asking for trouble, but i'm sympathetic this evening. sound with a bit of instrument thrown in (literally), and then coming on like a ravaged depeche mode. what are you playing at? no really, what are you playing at? anyone? hello? zu impress with the opening song title (wait for it) “tom araya is our elvis”. and i hear they've supported joe lally on tour. aside from that, it's musical chunks and bit-part riffs to construct their 7 improvised jam-tracks. electronics, saxophones, bass and cello heading off in different directions over the hills and down the dales, sometimes meeting up for a pint of ale and a chat at ye olde musical interlude public house. some points of interest along the way, but otherwise head down and keep on walking. can can heads give us their 13 short cameo instrumentals. for the one minute or so that they can maintain their interest in each song, they do it well, holding on to that early minutemen feel, but lacking the romance and charisma of d. boon's vocals, and slightly less sophisticated musically. if you're struggling to work out whether i like this or not, then you'll be pleased to know that i am too.
tenzenmen presents: eccentrics, issue #1
"what's
that sound?", p asked upon entering room. "this is the record
raine gave me", a answered. "just don't make it any louder"
p warned me. this short and revealing dialog was inspired by this compilation
and especially the first band, hinterlandt, who seem to get lost within
themselves while producing different kids of squeaking & screeching
sounds. the band consists of german expatriate jochen gutsch from australia
and his modus operandi seems to fluctuate between the ethereal and the
disturbed. with drum machine producing the rhythms, hinterlandt travels
through many kinds of moods. there are only three songs, but one of
them is over 15 minutes long. to call this interesting might raise some
questions? maybe this is original and strange but not very good? more
and more questions arise, so I guess I'm just left bewildered. lost
and found in light and sound and the balance of too much and not enough
just float aimlessly with some edgy distortion thrown in. for some reason
i want to put on black sabbath's solitude right after this. listen to
that song and sonic youth, jefferson airplane and young gods and you
will get something like hinterlandt.
zu from italy play free jazz, or something. saxophone is used ruthlessly.
this sounds much more like improvised music than hinterlandt. works
better in a dark club than in your living room. well, you could always
turn off the lights… this is edgy, even menacing stuff. i really
enjoyed the song anatomy of a lost battle. listening to that song, i
kinda forget that i'm listening to jazz, thinking this might as well
be no trend or flipper. well, "jazz". without looking at the
cd-player an amateur in this field like me wouldn't even necessarily
notice where one song ends and another starts. i was going to say that
this isn't really my kinda music, but after putting on the headphones
the music started to sound exciting. really, and i'm not saying this
just to prove i can understand "art". really. i really mean
it!
our own can can heads offer us total diy stuff. not just because it's
rough, but it's original too. so what is this, you ask. not too many
of you would call this music, i'm sorry to say. music it is tho, whether
it's droning on and on with the same riff or being just plain unpredictable.
there's roaring sax and crashing drums. truut-toot and kolkutikilikili.
add some mumbling. improvised avantgarde rioting. once, when listening
to the repetitive starpowerless someone made indefinite, banging sound
just outside. it's very telling that first i didn't know if the noise
was coming from the record or from somewhere else. anyway, it fit more
than well. so maximize the experience. play this in an urban environment
or near a construction site, let the hum of the cars passing by or hammers
banging away add their own atmosphere to the sounds produced by can
can heads.
the so-called end result: to access the universe these bands have created,
you have listen to this compilation more than a couple times.
(arto hietikko/toinen vaihtoehto #176, translated by jmt)
dilettante´s
digest #2
tenzenmen
presents: eccentrics, issue #1
this is a compilation of three bands. the first one of them is hinterlandt,
and they're completely worthless. they have drum machine, electronic
effects, distorted guitars, lame vocals, etc, and the music changes
between experimental electronic rhythmic stuff and crappy cyber-grind
or something. their three overlong tracks take up more than a third
of this 65-minute cd. seriously, one of the worst bands i've heard.
that's an accomplishment, too.
then it's luckily time for something completely different: zu! they
start with a track titled tom araya is our elvis, and with that it's
impossible to go wrong. bass, drums, saxophone and cello intertwine
together in a way that just has to be heard to believe it. it's heavy
but still true to the spirit of (free) jazz - totally uncompromising
stuff here. zu are definitely the most interesting of all the "punk
jazz" bands around at the moment. their second track continues
in the same vein with an addition of a sample of some psychiatrist guy
talking about "subconscious manifesting itself in psycho- masturbation",
"satanic tendencies" and other funky stuff. unfortunately
the following zu tracks are not as good, they're a bit aimless and lack
in heaviness of the first two and don't really bring anything else to
replace it. they're still not bad, and it would be difficult to top
the first two in any case. well, the last track is in the vein of the
first two again, but it's still not as good as them.
the third band here is the finnish no-wave kings can can heads. they
play altogether 13 tracks which are full of jerky, twitching rhythms,
screeching guitar noise, occasional saxophones, retarded vocals, etc,
and i'm loving it. all of their tracks aren't obviously masterpieces,
and their whole is a bit too varied, but there are some real gems like
double talkin' maybe (which ithink has been already released on some
of their 7"s, but i'm not 100% sure - the title just sounds so
familiar), the swivel spout's angle swings (my favourite and one of
the band's very best, a real no-wave masterpiece), hilarious banana
(with a guy talking about the price of bananas backed by freejazz),
starpowerless (that does not sound like sonic youth but like motörhead
who try to play funk but notice they don't know how and just rock out
instead) and sawdust brain (which would make captain beefheart proud).
if you didn't get the point already, this is definitely worth purchasing
because of zu and cch.
tenzenmen presents: eccentrics, issue #1
this is
certainly one of the strangest compilations i have come across recently.
i don't recall ever hearing can can heads, but i was aware of hinterlandt
of course, and also zu i saw play live some time ago, and it is a strange
combination to see them on a cd together.
but the cd opens with hinterlandt and that's a real surprise. i knew
jochen plays around with the notions of popmusic, but the three cuts
here are entirely sampled from death metal, pop and symphonic rock with
just that tiny bit of experimental electronica. after 'poprekordt' maybe
the thing to expect but i just dislike death metal and symphonic rock,
also when they are sampled. i must admit though that hinterlandt does
a fine job in what he does.
zu are free rock trio from italy of drums,
guitar and saxophone. they play free rock or free jazz, you don't have
to call it anything if any terms shocks you, but they play whatever
they do with great power. seven relatively short cuts of intense playing.
maybe the sort of thing i wouldn't play often, but their concert left
me a good impression, so maybe i am positively influenced by that while
enjoying this.
as said, i never heard of can can heads, who are a five
piece band from finland, on guitars, drums, bass, vocals and saxophone.
they also play free rock music, and this time it's a bit more traditional,
less jazz and a bit more punk related. of the three bands, this is the
one which i had much trouble with. too traditional for my taste to enjoy
these free punk reputations too much. but the renewed connection with
hinterlandt and zu made this well alright for me.
tenzenmen presents: eccentrics, issue #1
primo episodio della saga eccentrics a cura della tenzenmen, neonata etichetta australiana. la raccolta, che in realt? sarebbe pi? indicato chiamare split a 3, va indubbiamente a soddisfare palati eterogenei pur avendo essenzialmente un'anima rock, almeno da quello che trapela ad un primo ascolto filato. quasi una versione su cddi un possibile - e auspicabile - concerto dal vivo.
si parte con hinterlandt, qui presente con tre tracce alquanto spiazzanti quanto a intenzioni e soprattutto per un uso accentuato del campionamento. diversi gli spunti interessanti comunque. "the balance of too much and not enough", nei suoi 15' e 33" di durata, pur manifestando talvolta umori non proprio esaltanti che guardano al rock sinfonico cos? come al deathelettropopmetal, offre un voriopinto sampling di suoni e suggestioni del progetto di jochen gutsch.
tocca poi
ai romani zu, che macinano concerti e creano occasioni in quantit?,
qui arricchiti dalla presenza del violoncellista fred lonberg-holm.
da "tom araya is our elvis" tributo al seminale bassista e
cantante degli slayer a "every seagull snows" tutta la compattezza
e la potenza del zu-sound viene confermata.
a chiudere, la formazione dei can can heads da kauhajoki, finlandia, con 12 ottimi brani dal periodo 1994-2004. come per hinterlandt anche qui gli anni 80' sono dietro l'angolo, questa volta per? si guarda alle prime pubblicazioni sst records come alla no wave di arto lindsay, tracce dalla breve durata a bassa (a volte bassissima) fedelt? che ci lasciano decisamente rinvigoriti.
valutazione: * * * *
tenzenmen presents: eccentrics, issue #1
was diese bands eint, ist dem untertitel zu entnehmen: drei acts, die auf ihre jeweils eigene weise ungewöhnliche musizierweisen vorfahren.
da wäre zum einen hinterlandt, mal ein vielköpfiges improvisationskollektiv, mal, wie hier, die ein-mann-und-sein-rechner-nummer. die kranlieder auf dieser cd sind ein ziehmlich bizarrer mix aus rock, pop, elektronik und deathmetal. die elemente - ein mascis-solo, ein spielzeugbeat, ein metal-riff, eine surfgitarre, you name it - stehen in den möglichsten und unmöglichsten kombinationen vor-, über- und nebeneinander, ohne je wirklich in das jeweils andere aufgelöst zu werden. die daraus resultierende spannung trägt auch über die 15 minuten von the balance of too much and not enough.
über die italienische jazz-free-core-band zu hattom an dieser stelle schon einiges geschrieben. sieben neue stücke - das erste heißt tom araya is our elvis - in denen zu, ergänzt um den cellisten fred lonberg-holm, in mahlender brachialität zu werke gehen. langsamer als auf früheren alben, gleichwohl meist von beeindruckender intensität.
can can heads aus finnland schließlich spielen einen grandios gestärten rock in flipper-manier, zuckend, verdreht und mit archaischem equipment aufgenommen.
stone
tenzenmen presents: eccentrics, issue #2
Following the format set in “Eccentrics 1”, 3 bands showcase: LIMITED EXPRESS (HAS GONE?) (I'm a big fan of bands with brackets) with a slightly less manic than Melt Banana feel, stop-starty party shrieks with delicate nice bits here and there. Songs within songs, it's difficult to know where things are heading next. My CD player says track 2, but I swear we're 5 songs in. Two parts Dawson, one part Guapo, one part Deerhoof, they were doing something right according to my ears. STALWART up next. Stoner recordings from beyond the sewer: minimal, hypnotic, repetitive riffage, with pounding rhythmic drums and occasional vocals. Some parts have a mid-period Dischord feel, but not enough to keep it interesting. Or put you off, depending on your point of view. PLATYPUS give us minimalist recordings of sounds that left me with pins and needles in my head. When you tire of music (whatever that is), put this on for a change.
tenzenmen
presents: eccentrics, issue #2
australian-based indie-label tenzenmen seems to have a thing for finnish
underground music. this three-way split, released last november, is
the second cd in the eccentrics series. the first release featured can
can heads, the third one will contain more blue n' white rhythms in
the form of astro can caravan and the cd at hand features no less than
two finnish bands, stalwart and plat ypus. the main idea with the eccentrics
series is that each band has 20 minutes of running time at their disposal.
this slot they can fill any which way they see fit. each band has also
given a title for their part on the cd.
limited
express (has gone?) – leads you
limited express (has gone?) is true jap mayhem in the vein of melt banana
and boredoms. for those not familiar with the term ”jap mayhem”,
here's a description: a japanese woman screaming in a manic, high-pitched
voice, noisy electric guitars and chaotic jazz-punk song patterns. anarchic
with a capital a, irritating with a small i and nice with a big n. very
cool. very japanese. sax bonus.
stalwart
– digested floods and mutinies with well-rounded toleration
stalwart of pori surprises me yet again with another high quality, varied
offering. the release history of stalwart isn't a very long one, but
the members are experienced, having played in various finnish bands
in the past. the seven new tracks on this aussie disc form a great set
of stylistically individual, eclectic alternative rock. the members'
past in circle doesn't shine through as strongly as on the band's debut
effort torment non plus, but an element of hypnotic repetitiveness is
present here as well.
during
20 unpredictable minutes, the trio explores the middle ground between
hard rock and avant-garde weirdness. girl parade trainee includes surprisingly
coherent, but nonetheless strange singing. in sickened by symbolism,
stalwart goes for a high speed assault, harkimo moves features free
form noise and zeitgeist of a loudmouth is a metallic rocker. wow! stalwart
is rapidly developing into a brilliantly original rock-group.
plat ypus
– black hand rising
i 'm aware of the existence of this band, and that pretty much is the
extent of my knowledge of plat ypus. creating some sort of lo-fi minimalist
noise soundscapes seems to be their thing. after two short, and very
obscure tracks we get to the real deal as the noisy world of black hand
rising unravels to the listener's bewilderment. the production sounds
really primitive. it sounds like the whole thing was recorded in the
cellar with a cassette radio. somewhere in the distance you can hear
drums and guitar. above this a sporadically re-occuring, heavily effect-laden
voice hovers hazily. i'm reminded of the countless sound experiments
of läjä äijälä. there is a certain sympathetic
home-made feel and an air of adventurousness in plat ypus' music, but
the 14-minute title track is just too much.
from psychotropic zone psychedelic music club
tenzenmen
presents: eccentrics, issue #2
ex-circle guitarist jyrki laiho (now in kuusumun profeetta, among other
things) was friendly enough to sell me his archive copies of the first
two circle vinyls, and in the same package he also sent me this weird
three-band split release.
tenzenmen is apparently an australian label so far focused on releasing
this kind of record. their web site says they are interested in all
extreme, outrageous, amusing, adventurous, improvised etc. music. this
cd is well in between those lines.
the album starts with six tracks by japanese limited express (has gone?),
and I've never heard anything of them before. rather heavy, noisy, technical
and fun stuff. the female singer's very high-pitched and theatrical
voice is the thing that stands out. strange.
then it's time for a trio called stalwart formed by jyrki laiho, veli
nuorsaari and janne peltomäki. their cd ep torment nonplus released
a little while ago was a promising preview of their heavy and hypnotic
rolling also present on this album. they have packed seven merciless
assaults into twenty plus minutes. you can still hear some old circle
in there, but there's a lot of other stuff, as well. jyrki also sings,
especially in a track called "girl parade trainee". "sickened
by symbolism" is a pretty fast track, phew! then follows some heavy,
slow riffing, but cacophonic, psychedelic elements are always present,
as well. this is rather experimental, heavy as hell and odd stuff. i'm
a bit scared if the possibly pretty soon-to-be-released full length
will also be this merciless head banging all the time, but this works
like an evil kübel in 20 minutes long dosages. it would also be
nice to get this band to play live, maybe with some reinforcements.
the last orchestra on this cd is also from finland and called plat ypus,
and I'm ashamed to say that I don't really know much about them. a couple
of shorter tracks were recorded already in 1997, the over 14 minutes
long "black hand rising" in 2002. this quartet plays rather
noisy and weird, obviously improvisation-based stuff. there are also
some programming and sound college-like elements in there to give nice
extra colour to their sound.
this is rather confusing compilation, but I'm sure this kind of stuff
has plenty of listeners!
tenzenmen presents: eccentrics, issue #3
Familiar set up by now – EXPERIMENTAL DENTAL SCHOOL are first up with ringside circus-time tunes recalling the softer parts of Mr Bungle, Tomahawk and Fantomas, managing that bizarre shift between eerie and comical. Easier on the ears and less metal than Mike Patton's posses though, with jazzy guitar rumbles, and casio-inspired stop-start. I liked this lot, and something appealing about the song titles. SABOT commit a single tune, the title obviously Mary Poppins inspired. Opening grumbles on a downward slide, then hitting a creepy blues of four interwoven musical parts in ever decreasing circles, picking up and dropping the pace as they feel like it. The Leeds guys That Fucking Tank come to mind. It grew on me (like moss?) the more I listened to it. SABOT also give us a “video presentation” but it wouldn't show for me. Fuck 'em and fuck technology then. ASTRO CAN CARAVAN are a 16-piece orchestra giving us their version of a film soundtrack, “Suite Charukeshi” in 3 parts. At first fooling us into Tortoise-muzak for aspiring lounge lizards, kicking off with stretched orchestral notes punctuated with a low rattling snare. Then moving into Charlie Mingus/Miles Davis territory, before finishing up with a more manic Zorn/GOD 8-minute composition which gradually creeps its way towards a finale of screech saxophones, screechier keyboards, frantic drums. The back cover had already warned us of a bonus mystery track, and sure enough, after the last track and 31 3-second tracks of silence, we're treated to two 20-second trashy punk numbers, one instrumental. Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building.
dilettante's digest, musically incorrect fanzine issue # 2
tenzenmen presents: eccentrics, issue #2
hey, more
eccentrics just before the deadline! it’s three bands again, and
the first one of them is limited express (has gone?). oh well, they´re
japanese so i guess you can give them certain privileges with naming
things and stuff like that. they also sound very japanese, being some
kind of ”lite” version of melt-banana, boredoms and such.
and godco too,definitely. it’s nice jerky rhythmic postmodern
no-wave or something with crazy vocals and song structures. good stuff,
but I guess that a longer whole than the ca. 20 minutes here would start
getting on my nerves.
then it´s time for stalwart. compared to their earlier mcd (see
below) the material here is perhaps a bit more experimental and less
rocking and catchy. it´s still great though. minimalist heavy
yet groovy music with enough talent and vision to separate them from
the grey mass of millions of fucken krautrock clones/clowns out there.
oh , their first track sounds almost exactly like alice in chains (anyone
remember?) – stop smirking, at their best aic were great!
a nd to the last band: plat ypus. their first two tracks leave me scratching
my head, being short collages of experimental electro, no-wave and such
weirdness. luckily their last track, the epic ”black hand rising”
(what a great title!!!) is sincere krautrock worshipping with lo-fi
sounds, some great wah-guitar playing and amateurish-in-a-good-way approach
to the whole thing. good stuff! i hope the future eccentrics will also
be of this good quality. (pekka)
from
fakejazz
kroko + rabia
rabia, the group's second disc, finds kroko as a duo, though ylikoski's
still featured on a third of the album. it's more of the same, with
rampaging prog, mellow tracks that, surprisingly, are still a welcome
addition to the album, and trashy, noisy slabs of improv. the departure
of ylikoski's bass isn't a huge factor for hissa and dassum, it seems,
as their music shows no ill effects due to the loss. dassum's guitar
is even more at the forefront of the music, with searing flurries of
notes, and soaring arcs of flaming sound. as with the band's debut,
much of rabia is made up of live recordings, this time made even more
convoluted and clamorous with a stereo mix featuring different live
performances of the track in each speaker (the twelfth track is actually
split three ways). the music in the different channels, of course, isn't
always in sync, though this little imperfection and the disorientation
it can create are some of the album's best moments. "burning soul,"
one of the disc's few studio tracks, is the best of kroko's more relaxed
material, though, as with all of rabia, it would fit well on the band's
debut, as well. this second effort isn't too far a stretch from what
kroko had accomplished on their introductory release, but kroko's compositional
sense is varied enough that they still manage to cram more stylistic
touches into one or two songs than many bands do in a whole career.
kroko + rabia
instrumental soundscapes with scraped together sounds, accompanied by occasional tunes and atmospherics. if you worked down a mine with a diamond drill vibrating inches from your face for most of the day, this could be your background music. recalls dawson and orthrelm.
limited express (has gone?) + live at 101 bar
no paperwork with this one, so the only thing I have to go on is the title and the music. the title explains itself quite neatly i think. so that leaves the music: 11 songs of relentless shouting, scratchy guitar and drumming from this japanese trio, these recordings drown out any interest i could possibly show them. having said that, i think it's a bit unfair to try to get to grips with a band from a live recording, and consequently i prefer the stuff that appeared on “eccentrics 2”. this however, left me cold. orchid versus deerhoof, if you're interested in a vague comparison.
