Zombi : "Direct Inject"

The Kraut Rockers 7th album finds them drifting into a more prog direction. The synths to the title track that opens the album sounds like they might bust into "Tom Sawyer" at any moment. "So Mote it Be" finds the drums laying down the groove to keep things moving in a manner that never allows the electronic ambiance to the drone. The instrumental nature of what they do sometimes creates a uniformity of mood, so the songs run together unless I am paying attention to the computer screen. The only thing that helps to break this up is the moments where they are more intentional rather than allowing themselves to sail off in their own ambiance. 

This album needs more moments where they do things like bring a sax in to help break the sonic colors up and not rely on synths as much. When they default into a more kraut rock mode and just let analog synth pads ring out, things are not as interesting, no matter how hard the drummer tries to compensate for it. They are good about layering sounds in a cinematic manner and would be great at composing soundtracks, so I am not sure why that is not more of a thing for these guys. There are things like bass lines that need to stand out to break the dynamics up. They are effective at doing this with "Post Atomic Horror" which gives off a vibe that reminds me of King Crimson's "Red" album. Though the syncopation leans in a more Zeppelin vibe. 

They fall back on a wave of synths with "Insurmountable Odds" It takes them time to get ramped up into this six-minute song. They linger on the synths a bit too long. Then it is once again up to the drummer to break this arrangement up. The cosmic ambiance is effective at creating a mood, but as an instrumental it needs a little more to really keep my attention. It feels like the drummer is this album's star player, who really digs in to make these songs work. The last track is really just more of an outro, as the song does not gain more momentum. I will give this album an 8.5, it's good at what it does, what it does as an instrumental album, is just that rather than hooking me in, but they captured an excellent atmosphere here for what this is. Being released on Relapse Records. 

pst122

Pinkish Black : " Concept Unification"

The title track that opens the Texas duo's 4th album is both darker and more organic sounding than previous releases. More Hawkwind than Black Sabbath. The synth sounds carry an almost kraut rock drone. There is a harder drive to the groove of "Until". The vocals have a more defined croon than I recall hearing from them. They back off for a darker slink with "Dial Tone". Since darkness is such a large part of what I listen for , the fact that there is a less metallic intent to these songs, works for me. The synth frequencies can distort enough to get the point across in terms of dynamics . The more retro synth sound finds them cruising towards bong laden prog landscapes on "Petit Mal". As an instrumental it does have a cinematic feel, but I feel like his voice is so unique that I prefer when he is singing.

The album sounds amazing. All of the sounds are really dialed in and the mix finds them sitting where they need to be, though the vocals can fade into the wall of sonics the synths summon. "Inanimatronic" has more swirling ambiance. It is once again another instrumental, though this one doesn't resonate with me as much as the previous song, or perhaps I am not stoned enough. The album closes with the 12 minute "Next Solution". They switch over to a piano sound. Fortunately this one is not an instrumental. The song starts off with a more Nick Cave feel, before a dynamic shift finds them locking into a more space age groove. Where the other songs kept to the same throb this song takes more turns.

I will round this one down to an 8.5 and see how it sits with me. I am mainly rounding it down for the instrumentals which I think is time better spent with a more focused song. There were two bonus songs on the version of the album I got , but for the purpose of the review I am only counting the six songs that actually comprise the album, though I think the bonus tracks are stronger than the instrumentals.



5.3

 

Survive : "RR7349"

These guys are now on your radar because two of their members scored "Stranger Things". The question is what can they do as an entire unit? It's very similar to what you heard with 'Stranger Things" vintage 80's synths that take you back to the time when horror movies where innocent fun. It's highly atmospheric with more groove than drone though sonically sometimes comes closer to krautrock than say dark-wave. The second song "Other" is slower and more ghostly than the opener. It sounds like the kind of music that robots would do drugs to. "Dirt' weaves a similar web though it doesn't feel quite as compelling, I am beginning to feel like a need a laser show to go with this album. The 808 drum sound to "High Rise" and the arpeggiated synth sound gives this one better sense of movement, but the chord progressions are beginning to sound the same.

"Wardenclyffe" has more of a stomp to it's groove though never comes close to the kind of kick most industrial has. The synth melodies in this song get a little more interesting and almost have me bobbing my head despite their best efforts to drone me out with some of the narcotic sonics. "Sorcerer" is darker, but more abstract and ambient as it hangs on the lush synth pad sounds. It never really takes as much form as the other songs and has a more minimal arrangement. "Low Fog" even pushes the envelope of ambiance further and lives up to the title.

"Copter" is one of this album's strongest songs thanks to it's powerful pulse.It fades out in a wave of ambient muck, but keeps it's momentum for the bulk of the song. "Cutthroat" closes the album. It is more foreboding, but also sounds like old school arcade game music. I'll give this album a 8.5. It's not something I need to listen to on a daily basis and wouldn't make it over to my iPod, but for what it is does a great job of using analoge synths to paint these bleak landscapes.

7.7

Horseback : "Dead Ringers"

Things have continued to evolve for this one man project out of Chapel Hill. The guitar sound that made the album "Half Blood" is dialed back and doesn't appear until three minutes into the first song. It is well played and this time around have grown into more of an "Obscured By Clouds" like sound. Which coming from me is high praise as next to "Animals" its one of my favorite Pink Floyd albums. Guitar leads off the title track to invoke a sound that will comfort fans of the projects earlier work. The 70s synths still haunt the song like a soundtrack from an early 80s lo-budget horror movie. The vocals take on a darker whisper. The synths go full on kraut rock when it's time for them to take a solo.

If you are going to drone, this is the way to do it as layers weave in and out of these hypnotic jams. It's back to the space age as the drugs really kick in for "A Bolt From the Blue" to help solidify this as one of the year's best albums to do drugs to. The vocals begin to make me think of Psychic TV.  They are a little less androgynous and a little more indie rock. There are less layers to this one. The last vestiges of metal seem to have been shed on this album. There is a more fuzzed out guitar tone on "the Cord Itself", but it is far from being heavy. He takes his time actually developing this one in a song and instead opts to indulge more in bathing you in the sound. "Lionkiller" is a more formed song and catches an appealing dreamy groove. The first song that has a more rock edge to it is "In Another Time..." then there is the drifting daydream of "Larkspur" that reminds me of a more chilled out version of the "Half Blood" era.

The almost 17 minute "Descended From the Crown" closes the album. The hushed vocals come in  behind the jammy atmosphere of the guitar. It fuddles and bubbles around for the duration. While the first thing was easy to write off as an interlude, when you devote over 16 minutes to something you are committed to it.I'll around this album up to an 8 , even though no hints of metal are anywhere near it. This album sounds good and if I still did drugs I would find it even more impressive. Not something in my current phase of life I would put in regular rotation, but it still needs to be acknowledged for the piece of work it is.




 

Kayo Dot : "Plastic House On Base of Sky"

You can fool some of the people some of the time. It never fails to surprise how many members of the music press have very limited knowledge of music. When you hear an album that i totally derivative of another band and you not able to put your finger on it when it is glaringly apparent then there is a problem.The culprit here is Metal Sucks. For these guys to not recognize how the new Kayo Dot is pretty much a tribute to early Roxy Music is ridiculous. These purveyors of click bait are more concerned with being trolls and social justice warriors, than to recognize the obvious. Kayo Dot does try to obscure this fact by creating chaotic Brian Eno like waves of synths. But Eno played with Roxy Music so we are in the same ball park, the first song that has an originality to it is "Magnetism". It takes some 80s synth sounds and makes a more aggressive form of kraut rock.

Their singer still tries to imitate Bryan Ferry. The guitar tone on this album isn't bad it just sits a little too far back in the mix. They continue to coast along with disjointed atmosphere keeping these songs from congealing and varied synth pulses just swirling around without making contact. It begins to try to rock a little by the end of the song, but gets bogged down in the synths. The albums goes back to wanting to pay homage to Roxy Music on  "Brittle Urchin", which closes out the album. This band is known for being experimental and has changed with every album. This is a turn for the worse here. The song writing and heaviness are gone. They don't have to have the metal elements to be a good band, there previous album was dark. This is just a scrambled mess that never really goes any where. I'll give it a 5. I like Roxy Music , but I'll just go listen to them when I am in the mood. This was just released on the Flenser.


\

Radiohead : "A Moon Shaped Pool"

The rule of thumb for Radiohead after "OK Computer" has been when the bar is high, then it's time to get weird. Expect more electronic than anything coming close to "the Bends".  Piano paves the way for ethereal trickle of "Daydreaming", which going for a ballad on the second song is dialing it way back. Sure Thom Yorke has a great voice. He is still able to sing in a fragile tenor that borders his head voice in order to convey an emotional vulnerability that makes him one of music most unique voices. Not sure any one else aside from maybe Robert Smith or David Bowie could have really pulled this song off. There is another minimal atmospheric drift anchored only by the vocals on "Decks Dark". It is the first song where I begin to hear hints of guitar. The guitar picks up the groove and makes a very subtle entrance. Acoustic Guitar starts off "Desert Island Disk" has has an almost Led Zeppelin like feel to it. Don't hold your breath waiting to rock out. Like the bulk of their catalogue this would sound great on chemicals and it's hard to imagine them writing "Ful Stop' without being high. It does build up nicely, but weird wise it's on the dark side of the spoon.


The lines between Radiohead and Sigur Rios, become more blurred by the time you get into "Glass Eyes" and it's really Yorke's voice that makes that distinction. The bulk of the album's weight really rests on Yorke's voice which is what sells" Indentikit". Guitar finally finds it's way into the song , but the show has already been stolen by the crystal pipes of Mr. Yorke. The songs are all fairly to the point with the five and a half minute "the Numbers" being one of the album's more ambitious moments and another point where the ghosts of classic rock past come to haunt them. It's like ghostly gospel in some places. "Present Tense" doesn't find them breaking any new ground, but doing a variation of what they have given us on previous albums. It continues to be well done and is hard to arguing against if this is their version of re-hashing. There is a slight country feel to it. By country it's been shot past the milky way and landed in a crop circle out side of Nashville.

There is less holding "Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor..." together. When people say they don't like Rush because of Geddy Lee, I can understand. When some one says they don't like Thom Yorke this song and the one that follows "True Love Waits" are good arguments against him, though his voice is also the glue that holds the best of these songs together. This album is not as good as "In Rainbows", and Radiohead fans will try to convince themselves tis is even though it is closer to the being the band's "the Final Cut". Every Radiohead album should be a 10, but this one is sadly only a 7.5, as high as some bands can aspire to climb, but this is a band who made perfect albums and is now dialing in these lullabies, so perhaps the band took down all their social network sites so the backlash of snoring to come would not be felt by this snooze fest.

Ulver :"ATGCLVSSCAP"

It's safe to say at the point in time you never know what kind of album Ulver is going to put out. It's also a safe guess that they will never be a black metal band again. The album opens with a swell of atmosphere is is almost hard to call a song, if I passed out on my synth and became a restless sleeper I'm sure the results would be similar. They do pull it together and write "Glammer Hammer " that is very cinematic, it's instrumental world music mixed with electronic and with a few hits of heavy guitar. It is a powerful piece of music and good to here hints of a heavier dynamic incorporated. There is an almost King Crimson meets the Labyrinth soundtrack feel to "Moody Stix" , it morphs into more of a march, not as compelling as the previous song, but not bad for the soundtrack to a fantasy game perhaps. "Cromagnosis"  has a bass line merge from the buzz of electronic noise. A guitar part begins to form around it as it swirls into something with more of smoothed out Cure like post-punk groove before escalating into tribal drumming.

I like the fact that they are involving a darker current to the songs this time around.They do continue to litter the album with atmospheric interludes, that Brian Eno already did better. A whispered vocal finally surfaces on "Om Hanumate Namah" which carries an exotic Middle Eastern that spirals through it in places. The guitar tone is great and the song is dynamic for something meant to drone. Yeah , I'm not sure why there are sound effects of frogs opening the song "Desert/Dawn" since there are no frogs in the desert. This one falls closer into krautrock and is very electronic and drones in the same vein for most of the song only adding more layers of synth.  "Gold Beach" is a more stagnant and less dynamic take on krautrock. "Nowhere ( Sweet sixteen) redeems this one with actual singing that is very influenced by Depeche Mode. Distorted guitar comes in over a baritone chant of "nowhere...catastrophe" . The guitar tone is a echoing hollow body that is pretty chilling. There is a slight Faith No More feel to this song as well, but dipped in 80s pop like Tears For Fears.

There are spoken word vocals that sound like something from post-prison Burzum on "Ecclesiastes" . The song it self if a minimalist drone for the first four minutes until actual singing returns and its the soulful almost George Michael style of singing .It makes me think of what it might sound like if Tears For Fears covered "Planet Caravan" .  Of the 12 songs on this album only 8 of those are real songs the others are ambient interludes some of those I did not even care to acknowledge in this review. So when you trim the fat, this album gets an 8 when it comes down to the actual songs. More vocals would have been nice , but the cinematic quality is pretty captivating at times.

they've cracked down on everything from Youtube to Bandcamp on this ,will post audio when it surfaces.

6.4/8

Pop 1280 : " Paradise"

Things are getting darker and weirder on the new one from Brooklyn's Pop 1280. The opening song "Pyramids on Mars" is synth driven drone, that evolves into a more surreal melody. Then they drop things down for a more lo-fi take on new wave with "Phantom Freighter" with the vocals returning to a more familiar ranting. Not as David Yow as Singer Chris Bug went on " Imp of Perversion" there is a little more Jello Biafra mix in with almost Mike Patton like vocal spasms. Not quite industrial the more upbeat "In Silico" sounds like it could have come from a Lard re-mix of "Pretty Hate Machine". The song writing finds the band in a tightly coiled chaos with the guitars going nuts on the edges of the songs. Three minutes into this one I begin to wonder how long that can maintain this kind of crazy. Bug declares that he dreams in infra-red, which is just a sane of a thought as any the drummer might be having as he assaults his kit as the song's punches have a punk anger to them.

The bass holds together "Chromidia" together with it's persevering pound. Bug chants that " pain and pleasure won't last forever"  The song swells into a heavier pulse, that might not be industrial , but it has a similar sonic slap. I finally place the twang in Bug's voice  and realize it reminds me of Gibby Haynes from the Butthole Surfers, who must be one of this band's influences as like the Surfers they maintain their identity while shifting like a bi-polar bull-dog in need of meds and ready to snap at you with no provocation. They get heavier in mood, but not in metal on "USS ISS". The synths are more aggressive than even the burliest dark wave with the cleaner tones of the guitar carrying more post-punk desperation. They dive down into an even darker place on the title track creating something that can only be described as kraut rock for a horror movie. It feels more like an interlude than an actual song.

"Rain Song" is not a Led Zeppelin, but a drunken minimalist excursion that finds Bug ranting in a bath room stall somewhere, before atmospheric effects come in to give the feel of two separate songs colliding. It's easy to call a band that deviates from their normal formula as experimental until you have heard something as crazy as this. While it might not be a song that I would ever feel compelled to revisit the fact they are creative enough to attempt creating this kind of performance art is worth something. They smooth things out for the chilly synth groove of "the Last Undertaker" .  The drums keep them from taking off in what would be the most obvious direction. When they finally give you a Bonham like beat it's all the more rewarding, before it's pulled back out from under you. They close out the album with another more conventional song in the pulsing "Kingdom Come". It hammers relentlessly reluctant to give you the powerful groove you sense they might be leading you on toward, but the tension is all in their tease. This album is likely to be unlike anything else you will hear this year. It's dark enough for me and takes enough risks to keep me happy so I'll give this one a 9.

Pinkish Black : "Bottom of the Morning"

Just when you think it's safe to start making your end of the year lists something that I had been waited for so long that it slipped my mind came out. The new one from the Fort Worth synth drone duo, who really defies most genres , but that won't stop me from trying to peg one onto  there dark brand of synth drive post-punk. On their debut for Relapse Records , the vocals are even more prominent coming out from behind the wall of murky effects and over driven synth swirl that dominated previous releases. Due to this the lyrics are more discernible than previous releases. Before you are too quick to compare them to Joy Division they are much more like a darker version of "Obscured by Clouds " era Pink Floyd. I read one review of this album where Mike Patton was brought up and I wonder what album they were listening to.If anything there is sometimes more of a Josh Homme feel to the melodies.  They take on a heavier drive with "Special Dark" that finds their singer dropping down into a more ghoulishly goth croon. It's pretty murky even with the hammering pulse of sounds like a bass, but knowing these guys is more likely over driven synths thickening the low end.

"I'm All Gone " is the most reminiscent of their previous albums with droning groove, the generally balance out retaining their trademark sound while reaching towards new heights, but this is achieved much better on "Burn My Body" that follows. This song is more hypnotic, yet still packs plenty of punch and leaves room for the singer's croon. It spins out into something more proggy around three minutes in taking me back to the previous Pink Floyd comparison. This is also the first song that really hooks me in on this first listen. They returning to the creep of a more driving bottom end sound with "Everything Must Go".  One thing that is different on this is the fact that I never think of this as being heavy as in metal.The vocals take more of a back seat here, not coming in until over a minute and a half into the song. The stay in the background like the ghost of Jim Morrison.

The title track continues the haunting of the Doors, due to the almost jazz like nature of the drumming.The vocals take a back seat in a hushed murmur. The hang on the same groove with the synth melodies bubbling around it. In the final three minutes of the song things get a little more intense as the dynamics build. The chant of "every things the same again" rises. While their Bandcamp lists the cover of "New Dawn Fades"  the did for Cvlt Nation's Joy Division tribute its not on the promo I got so for the purpose of this review the last song is the kraut rock like " the Master is Away". It has a a big industrial strength beat , but not the groove. It instead floats on an opium cloud over the dmt dreamt city of the future. This could be from the Labyrinth soundtrack or really any early 80s sci-fi flick. For an instrumental it's got a nice surreal drugged out drone, but not a song I need on my iPod , so for the songs that will get more of a shot I'll round this up to a 9 and see how it holds up. If you are a fan of their previous work, they have not sold out by a long shot.

Ecstatic Vision : "Sonic Praise"

For some reason I had it in my head these guys were an industrial band. Not a stoner jam band. Not really sure where the first song ended and the second song began it ran together in one jam. These guys are good at what they do , the mix seems like it could more balls to it. The vocals are throaty but sung, very similar to Lemmy's backing vocals in Hawkwind, with more effects on them.They hang on a bass line in "Astral Plane" which at twelve and a half minutes is the longest song. They throw in some sax to further the Hawkwind comparisons. At times the drone comes across like the live version of "Dazed and Confused" when the bongo linger in the back ground its more "Sympathy for the Devil".

The have more drive on the chanted "Don't Kill the Vibe" , but still I can't help but think a more organic sound in the production department would put this more in your face. More atmospheric than Monster Magnet's trippier moments, but not as effective as the Devils Blood. The title track and the last song also run together though the last song runs into more kraut rock thing and while it drones it hits a different groove.The guitar goes into a Indian scale while the bass latches onto a more Tool like riff, the combination is pretty effective. They close it with a very pyschonaut lyric about freeing their minds.


 If I still did drugs I would be all over this , but seeing as how I haven't touched them in 13 years I can appreciate this but don't feel the urge that this album is pulling me back to it .I am well adapted to psychedelic music and prefer that elements in music as long as it is dark and I think the thinner digital sounding production takes away from capturing a darker vibe, which Hawkwind had, to the point of where they eventually crossed over and influenced many latter day goth bands. I'll still go ahead and round this one up to an 8.




3.9

Hateful Abandon:"Liars/Bastards"

This has been sitting around as a draft for some time so in tying last years loose ends I decided I had better finish it. I am always scouring the inner webs for that perfect band . I know they are out there.  They are dark and heavy. They combine elements of all my favorite music, Industrial , goth, post-punk, shoe gaze, doom, and black metal. I was lead to believer that Hateful Abandon was that band. The duo of Vice Martyr and Swine occupy a similar realm as bands like Pinkish Black and Wreck& Reference. Vocally, the harshness never reaches beyond pissed industrial. Some times taking on a slight croon to the Ian Curtis like monotone baritone narrative. They are supposed to be a really politically minded band but nothing stuck out to me which is just as well since I steer away from politics, since they are about as real as professional wrestling.

 By the middle of the album you begin to realize what you see is what you get from a compositional stand point, the just gradually add layers in varied levels of subtlety. Though this trend is broken on the last song as "Winter" defrosts from the icy "Running Up that Hill" beat to a womb like pulse of synths. This is a little anti-climatic as is just kinda fades out in a wash. Where are the black metal elements I kept hearing this band possessed , was one question that went unanswered. So in accepting them for what they are, there are elements I like, however I need a few more surprises. Some of the edm and darkwave elements buy them enough time to provide a pay off in this direction, but it never comes into fruition.


This album didn't last to long in my iPod. On the first few listens , it worked for me and even now as I re-listen to this album as I write this I don't mind it, but it is not as gripping as I want it to be. I don't want to be satisfied with pleasant background noise, I want something to fucking rock me. I'll round this down to  a 8.5 . They capture cool sounds the songs are dynamically flat  due to the limitation of their drum machines.

6.5