ISON : "Stars & Embers"

This band featuring ex-members of Crippled Black Phoenix is releasing a new slab of ethereal wonderment. It also finds Irish singer and former Sister of Mercy backing vocalist Lisa Cuthbert at the microphone. The opening track rides a wave of atmosphere. It is a very ambient form of alt pop, that flirts with the elements of shoe gaze and dream pop without conforming to either. There is less movement to the second song which is more like a less radio friendly version of Sarah Mclachlan. Cuthbert still maintains emotional urgency to her voice, the song it self , feels more like it works off a sound. I am sure if you were on the right drugs it would make more sense. 

"Peregination" works more of synths, this time with a low baritone vocal joining in. You would think that they would be trying to emulate Sisters of Mercy here, and while that might be some of the inspiration they are doing more of their own thing as the dancey elements are not in place. They hit you with dramatic punches when the guitar kicks in that is more like waves crashing from a coming storm. "Radiant Void' has more of an electronic pulse. The chorus drifts off when song begins to kick in. This might focus more on the ambiance and not enough on the beat for fans of dark wave, though in some ways it is moving in that direction mood wise. "ASTR" finds a smooth balance of atmosphere and riding the understated groove . The moodier vocal melody coasts nicely over it. 

"Formations" is the first song where it feels like the mood and ambiance is overpowering the songwriting. The synths drown the more organic elements as the clouds descend to carrying everything into a dream like state. Perhaps that does not sound that bad to you and it is what you want from music. I understand but do you think it is going to be a song that you are going to want to hear in your car this time next year? "Beings of Light" fall in the gray area of that question as it is cinematically dramatic. The grandiose feeling borders on being like Lacuna Coil or Nightwish in it's massive rock undertones.

 The almost 17 minute final track of this album is a great deal of simmering ambiance to pack in a song that would make you want to hear it again. Especially when it feels like the first five minutes could have been dialed back . To write something this sprawling you need to give the listener more meat to sink their teeth into in order to justify investing the time it takes to listen to it. While I appreciate the elements that make me think of the Gathering, it's not until seven minutes in that we get to it.Overall this is a pleasing listen and I will give this album an 8.5.  

Zola Jesus : " Arkhon"

 

One of my favorite singers of the past decade, I breathed a sigh of relief when I pressed play and found this album is another step into the darkness instead of taking a poppier turn. This time rather than taking everything on herself she worked with producer Randall Dunn, and former David Bowie drummer Matt Chamberlin.  The former's influence can be felt the most. The second song moves with a more organic fluidity to its groove. Are some of her vocal passages more accessible here? Yes, but I am not sure I would call this pop music as it is more complex in both arrangement and laying.  Something similar could be said of "Undertow". How her vocals sit in the mix, is not pop either nor is the ambiance weaved in the song. 

"Into the Wild" sets her voice more against ambiance than groove. It reminds me musically of Bjork in the intangible sparseness that floats around her voice, which has greatly matured. The song doesn't really become solid until the last minute. "Dead and Gone" is a little more dramatic and straightforward, with strings backing her. It showcases her belting it out in a more conventional sense. "Sewn" is a more interesting song due to the darker sonics and actual groove that moves it.  When it comes to the more delicate piano ballad " Desire" it is hard to deny her vocal talent. It almost reminds me more of something Kate Bush might do. Is it what I prefer when it comes to her music? No, I want something more like the previous song, but I can not fault her for doing this and respect her talents.  

"Fault" reminds me the most of her earlier work, though gone are any of the 80's Siouxsie and the Banshees ghosts haunting the sounds. "Efemra" falls someone between her past and present. In so doing it is a highly effective song as it reaches a blend of sonic colors she excels at . The vocals sit back in the reverb, but are stil forward enough in the mix to be the focal point. This album is very well produced as it aids in creating a sonic balance. I had to hear the last song few times before it sunk in,. There is almost a shoe gaze like vibe to it's haze. I approve of this as it offers a more surreal swirl of shadows to envelope her.  I will round this up to a 10, which makes it perhaps take more warming up to in some places than her past work, but she is much more sure of her voice.This album comes out May 20th on Sacred Bones .   

Trash Deity : "Cross & Divide"

 Here's one from Groovie Mann the lead singer of My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult and John Norten of Blue Eyed Christ. The first two songs do sound like Thrill Kill. Less of a disco groove and more like their earlier work, though not as dark. "Fame Games" has a little darker pulse with it's more cynical commentary. "Frantic Child" has more drive , but the vocals are getting a little stale at this point. I like the use of samples , but the song itself feels a little regurgitated. I'm not sure if I would call this industrial. I never thought of My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult as industrial just sometimes darker electronica. "A Perfect One" feels more like an interlude from a Revolting Cocks album.

While it doesn't have the strongest chorus, I like "Hard Drive". I think they could have perhaps benefited from taking other musicians on , rather than trying to do all of this themselves. "Finger on the Trigger" grooves along with a very 90s feel. It's in a weird gray area. Not really that dark, but still not pop. "Emotion Matters" has enough groove in it's futuristic drone to keep my interest. When we get to "Icons & Idols" I realize my only qualm with this album is the production on the drums could have been better. I feel if these beats really hit you then the entire album would have a greater sense of urgency to it.

I'll give this album a 7.5. Some of the songs work really well. I think the production value doesn't hold up to where Thrill Kill was at back in their day. It would be nice for Mann to have to measure up against himself in that manner, but he has a legacy to up hold. I thinks he likes the idea of being a rock star more than he seeks to invest into some of the sounds committed to this album. He more of less lives up to his end of the bargain, as he does what he does. I did not go into this expecting him to have become an incredible singer, I just wanted him to do what he does. Where he is accountable is more of an issue with quality control unless he was too high during the final mix. Granted I am not cranking this through studio speakers at present so maybe louder makes it better. I am not saying it sucks . I am saying he has to bring it like he used to.

Night Club : " Scary World"

This duo from LA takes the Halloween trapping of gothic dark-wave and pairs it up with some pretty banging pop beats that have drive to them. This is layered with sugary sweet female vocals not unlike Chrvches. Lyrically their is more an edge looking at the underbelly to the City of Angels, with lyrics looking at drugs and mental illness. Though in an almost cartoonist way. The smooth 80s inflected grooves begin to run together on "Your Addiction" with the more whispered vocal on the verse the only separating it. The frequently synth arpeggio patterns do create this more uniform sound against he grooves. While this formula is infectious the deeper we move into the album it begins to lose a little of the edge it first delivered.

They get some of this back with more Nine Inch Nails influenced beat of "Candy Coated Suicide". Their vocalist might have a voice that drips with Lolita like sex appeal, but her range is also limited to this.This doesn't mean there is no sense of dynamics as they do capture a wider range than say the new Lords of Acid. "Therapy" finds the synths taking on more of the Stranger Things synth wave feel while keeping a pulse with more in common with the groove the Eurythmics used to use.If we are still tracing back this music's origins the slight disco feel of "Imaginary Friend" is not unlike Blondie.Granted this is Blondie through the filter of modern pop.

"Vampires" is marginally darker, I mean it would have to be that is pretty much a no brainer. Aside from that it does little to set itself from the uniform formula applied to the other songs. There is piano to "Survive" that provides a little different color , but it's the more aggressive beat that wins me over.This provides the kind of dynamic contrast these kids would do best to implement more of .     Despite this being a pop album posing as dark wave for Halloween in Hollywood, I think they are good at what they do regardless of the band wagons they may or may not be hopping on. I'll give this album an 8.5 and see how it grows on me.

Fever Ray : "Plunge"

It opens in a manner not unlike her other work. She is sticking to what she does as a singer. Which is along the lines of Cyndi Lauper being remixed as she is in the process of singing. The electronic backing tracks do not seem to have as much depth as her previous work. "Musn't Hurry" is not bad , but it sounds like she is running in place rather than moving forward as an artist. Their is an oriental feel to the intervals of the synths bubbling around "A Part of Us" . There is some more experimental ambiance around the corners of "Falling" . The song just throbs off of the one groove without going anywhere. "IDK About You" is more upbeat . Her vocals take on more of a sing song cadence. The backing track just seems like it's there and not really giving her much support even when it builds up.

On "This Country" the synths continue with their journey into the Orient. The vocals have a more desperate sexuality to them. There is not really a chorus to speak of so nothing really hooks you in . I do like the lyrics to this song the most of what I have heard six songs in despite their extreme leftist slant. Her primary sentiment is this country makes it hard to fuck. Oddly the title track  is an unneeded instrumental that sounds like video game music for kids. "To the Moon and Back" is the odd single I first heard from this album that left me under whelmed. The vocal shows more of her Bjork influence. Listening to the song in the context of the album it sits a little better with me, but is far from being her most compelling work.

She goes back to a more familiar sound on "Red Trails". With lines like "waiting on your love to happen/ is like waiting for a drug that never kicks in" this might be the album's strongest song. It also has strings on it so the first song with some kind of organic instrumentation. "An Itch" also falls more along the lines of what we expect here. The vocal draws you into the otherwise sparse instrumentation.This album took time for it to grow on me. Eventually it connected with me like her previous work, but it took some warming up to. I'll give it a 9.

Bjork : "Utopia"

Bjork has made an album of lullabies for Snow Fairies. "Vespertine" used to be one of my favorite albums to take naps to and this one picks up where she left of with that album. Surreal coos and whispers color her multi-tracked vocals. The production is amazing. Everything sounds great , but it is the fluff of cotton candy floating by your ears.It soothes them with it's sugar.  Very heavy with synthetic flute sounds you might imagine a dancing fountain with colored water shooting up with the notes of "Paradisa" which is just an interlude. "Claimstaker" is a slight shade darker. Her light vocals which sound as if  age has not touched them. At 52 her voice retains it's perpetual pixie like quality.

  I like the lyrics to "Tabla Rasa" where she is a mother telling her children "I hope to give you least amount of luggage". It's a ballad but also a feminist anthem. Something I would normally roll my eyes at ,but her it is done with such dreamy smoothness I can't hate on it.  There is a glitchy quirk to "Sue Me". It is almost like she wants to prove she can sing over any beat no matter how bizarre it might be. Lyrically it returns to the sins of the father seem, though here, it doesn't work as well. I don't get a sense of loss from "Loss". I hear that it's the subject matter in the lyrics that come through, but that is not make the sonics of this convey. The song begins to drag a little in the last two minutes. "Courtship" is yet another flute driven song. The vocals meander around a shifting beat , but never invite you in.

According to "Features Creatures" it doesn't take much for Bjork to be five minutes away from falling in love. Things like accents and beards are said to induce this.The ethereal float of atmosphere helps keep "Body Memory" wandering in a pulse even when the minimal patter of the beat comes in. Of course the title track has to keep the flutes alive. It floats by with less meat on it than the rest of the album so far.  Once I get to "the Gate' the album begins to blur into flutes and overdubbed layers of choral like vocals. The "care for you... refrain draws you in more than some of the other ramblings on this album. "Blissing Me" also holds my attention more than many of the songs which fade into the background with the twinkle of their harps. Her vocals have more prescence on the last song, but it is not as focused as the previous song. I'll give this album an 8.5, I think it's ambiance could grow on me and inspire naps to come , but don't think it's as good as "Vespertine".

Gothtober -Tricky : "Ununiform"

Yeah, I am going to file this album under the Gothtober banner, most of the kids who are adults now that were into trip-hop were also goth kids, so here we go. "Pre-Millennium Tension " is the album I always return to by him and lost track of Tricky over the years. The intro seems like business as usual, then there is sung vocal in "Same as It Ever Was" that is poppy in the most indie -hipster way, think Gorillaz or Flaming Lips, so this song doesn't connect with me as strongly as it could if they had gone somewhere else with the vocals. "New Stole" a lazy guitar riff to it. The vocals have a soulful twist to them, it makes me feel like I am in a seedy club in France.

The more subdued "Wait for Signal" is dark enough to work for me with calm shadowy groove and whispered vocals of Asia Argento joining in.  "Its Your Day" is only an actual song for about a minute so it's more of an interlude. "Blood Of My Blood" is almost a ballad , though the drug tinged pulse keeps it from being too sentimental. There is more of a rock feel to the beginning of "Dark Days" but this morphs into 80's sounding new wave. It's driven by a thick synth riff. They return to a more ballad like approach on "the Only Way". Strummed guitar and piano carries the song as Tricky whispers over it, never actually singing. This is a little too straight forward and conventional for him.

The pace picks up for " Armor" . Which somewhat poppy with a strong female vocal courtesy of Terra Lopez, which might be the album's best vocal. What is odd is "Doll" which is a cover of Hole's "Doll Parts".  It's not as wildly re-imagined as it leads you to believe and vocalist Avalon Lurks really doesn't take it anywhere new with what she does.  "Bang Boogie" is another interlude it sounds like the backing track for a Die Antwoord song. "Running Wild" didn't wow or repulse me on first listen, on second listen Mina Rose , who handles the bulk of the female vocals on this album is under stated to the point of being bland. I think the fact that Jay-Z helped produce this album took a lot of the dark edge to it and that is why some of the songs sound sterilized for the radio and bringing the same quality I dislike in the XX's production. The last song embraces his classic sound perhaps the most as it features Martina Topley-Bird. I have to round this down to an 8.5. There are good songs on it , but we know what Tricky is capable of so I expect greatness. If this was some unknown pop artist I might be more impressed.

Gothtober - Stoneburner :"the Agony Box"

One half of Ego Likeness, who has also graced Dragon con with this project, though I failed to catch him this year. I think he has been on their State of the Goth scene panel , so that alone means he qualifies for this column. On the first song samples stand in the place of where vocals would normal be the focus is more on the beats and mood than Ego Likeness. This works well enough to keep my attention and vocals are normally what I listen for. This album is a tribute to Frank Herbert's Dune book series which is not horror , though dark for sci-fi. He keeps the spice flowing with the grooves and sometimes chanted vocals. I really like the middle eastern vibe that drives "Tales of the Great Cryptogram". The exotic nature of add a darker tone, like a techno version of Dead Can Dance.

Its time to report to the dance floor on the more techno tempo of "Shishaklis Hooks". It hits that fist pumping dance drone before breaking down into something more ambient. The glitched out vocals going into "Test of Possession" are pretty awesome. The beat that comes in compliments it enough to make the whole thing work.So I am impressed by the first minute , but can it hold my attention for the next three is a better question to ask of it. The answer is it starts to become a blur until the ambiance of the next song breaks things up again. "the Diamond Tattoo" has a odd angular beat that feels like some Oghr would do. This album finds it self at the peak of it's powers when blending the ambiance with a darker more exotic current. 

The groove sweeps you away and eventually leads you down a path to the dance floor. In so doing it relegates it's self for being background music. It ends with a more cinematic tone, which is cool, but the album third act is more background music that the kind of groove that demand to be on my iPod. I will give this one an 8.5 as it is strong enough on the front end to make it a solid listen as even the songs that are more soundtrack like are not bad just to draw me in or interest me as much.  However if electronica is your thing then you might be more into this. 

The Agony Box by Stoneburner />

Android Lust : "Berlin"

So in holding to the theme of creating a sound track of sorts for various cities, this one is Berlin. It sounds more Blade Runner and I typically don't think of Berlin as being so futuristic, maybe Japan. There is a cold starkness to it that feels right and this is juggled with a thick swathe of atmosphere. The first things that feels like a song is three tracks in . It is carried by a future pop bass line. Shikhee's layered vocals have an almost chanted quality to them. The song oddly drones as most as it grooves. The production is interesting and I recommend listening to this album through headphones as it's well panned. "Insects" is more tense. I am not sure if feels like Berlin. Some of the layered vocals have a more anguished tone to them. The groove and the ghostly vocal melody work together to make  "Heart Tunnel" really work. "Crawl" is more timid with the mood having a more subtle creeping feeling to it.

"In Memory" is an instrumental with an interesting beat, it might linger in the soundtrack atmosphere to much to be more than an interlude and not something I would listen to cruising around on my Ipod. Vocals return for the thick atmosphere of "Plaza Steps". Lyrically it seems like there is personal attributes as she is singing about something some one said , is this a person or the city? The beat shifts to something more club-centric. After a minute and a half of sounds we get into the thick of "Madness in Men". The vocals are more hushed and focused on the poetry of her words rather than melody until we get to what would be the chorus.

The album ends with the instrumental "Eventide". Which is pleasant background music, I just wish this album had more actual songs, many of the songs on this albums are great to pretty decent so would like to hear more from her, considering time can pass between albums with this project. For what this is I will give it an 8.5. It is certainly worth another listen or two as it is well crafted and a success for her, though I am split as it's not really 100 percent what I want from this project but I might be stuck in 90s industrial anyway.

Night Riots : "Love Gloom"

Some people are confused as to why these guys are on Sumerian Records, which is a metal label. My answer as a die hard metal head is ...who the fuck cares. Now moving on, we can hear right from the first song "Nothing Personal" it's obvious we are going a more Gotye pop route with this. There might be a little more gain on the guitars, but don't fool yourself if you want to make this more rock than it is. I love pop music. This might come as a surprise, but after I have been sitting in front of a computer listening to death metal all day that is the last thing I want to hear on my walk to the gym. With that stand their is some excellent song writing at work here and vocal hooks galore. Despite the ode to vampires in the lyrics the indie rock of "Fang" works best off the bass driven verses, but the chorus doesn't do as much for me. The lead single "Contagious" has a quirkier side to it. The chorus might swing for the fences too hard with it's anthemic drive.

I can here Taylor Swift singing "Work It". The groove has a similar cool slide to it as "Style", but at the end of the day it's just a really well written song. The vocals flow really well and the bigger chorus doesn't come across like they are trying to hard. There is a very "Enjoy the Silence" like guitar to "Don't Kill the Messenger". The up tempo verses work well on this one as it ramps up into more of an indie rock thing going into the chorus. They back off a little on the more introspective"Breaking Free".  They fake you out on the bridge and allow things to build a little more. The lyrics are this songs strong point. The vocals are really well produced. They also get some pretty cool guitar tones on this album. "All For You" starts in a moodier direction than the more typical radio direction this veers over into. Vocally this guys has a brooding emotive tenor. It hits some lower baritone like notes and then wavers near a head register in phrase similar to many post- Arcade Fire influenced bands.

There is more of a noticeable turn towards electronica on "Pull Me Down". There is a more up beat under current on this one as well. "Everything Will Be Alright" leans are a beefier synth groove on the verse and then soars on the chorus. For it to be a song called "End of the World" it's really happy. It dances around some of it's new wave influence. "As You Are" is somewhat of a piano ballad. It is better than the bland shit Coldplay pumps out, but is also not one of this album's stronger songs. I'll round this one up to a 9 as it is a really fun album that is growing on me.

Hollow Sunshine : "Bible Sea"

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The drugs must have really kicked in on this one as gone is the last shadow of the band they used to be on the previous album and now there is a more electronic vibe taking over. Things grow a shade darker on "Masks of Saturn", though the vocal melodies don't have as much invested in them. With each song it sounds like the album is slipping into a deeper and more distant lethargy with the delicate hesitancy of the title track making a project like Massive Attack seem upbeat in comparison. There is more focus to the song writing of "Jewel After Another" that floats out of the more trip hop feel into something closer to a sedated Cocteau Twins.

The pace picks up rather marginally with a distorted synth that reminds me of the backing track to "the Hills" by the Weeknd. He verses seem very clear cut in their direction. Lyrically it's all rather vague. Most of this is due to where the vocals sit in the mix. This keeps the album from coming across poppy, but also keeps the lyrics in a veil of secrecy. Things become more obscured in a misty murk on "Hades" that closes the album. The vocals become another texture thanks to the opaque production which really only provide clarity to the more tribal beat layered over the song. I'll give this album a 9. I quit doing drugs years ago so I am not sure how much use I would get out of some of the moods created here, but I'll likely give this a shot on my iPod. Fans of forward thinking shoe gaze will like the new direction this duo has taken and it's a good lazy album to nap to by the pool this summer.

Kel Valhall : " New Introductory Lectures On The System Of Transcendental Qabala"

Hunter Hunt Hendrix is putting the guitar down and stepping away from even the metal trapping that clung to the last Liturgy album "Ark Work" to release the first album from his electronic project. If you are a Liturgy fan there is two ways this will go. Either you like experimental music and appreciate Liturgy as more of an experimental project than a cvlt as fvck black metal band, if this is the case your were more than likely not really phased by their last album and can proceed into something stepping even further into left field. If you like the first couple of Liturgy albums, but feel more at home when they are blast beating and heard "the Ark Work" had "rap" on it and cringed away at the sheer mention of it. In this case you are wasting your time by even bothering to read this review and go check out the new Fistula or Nails. Ok, not that we are moving along into this album. It does take a few listens to absorb it so I'm going to dip my head into it a third time before I can really describe what I am listening to.

My first thought with "Tense Stage" was this is like a white light version of Skinny Puppy. By that I mean everything after "the Greater Wrong of the Right".As it has plenty of glitch to it. Things weave around both forwards and backward. The beats are more on the lo-fi side and... Yes, you read right in the title of this review that the album is called "New Introductory Lectures On The System Of Transcendental Qabala". I'm not sure what the sing song rap of the lyrics is really about, but I think I heard mention of Jesus. When it comes to actual songs, there are only three real ones, the second of the three being "Ontological Love" . This song takes the first five minutes to get started so some of the fat could have been trimmed for sure. At six minute mark trap styled rapping comes in and is quickly washed away by synths before the song builds back up into some more trap styled rap. Wouldn't say Brooklyn has the hardest dope traps so will not call it trap rap, as it seems likes it more of a commentary on the current state of affairs, he does chant something about the bees losing their honey. "Karios" which is Greek for the supreme moment, is more like an interlude than an actual song. "Bezel 2" is the third of the actual songs though the most disjointed and challenging of the three. The vocals are glitch riddled mumbles of metaphysics. The final minute of "Bezel 2" is just a bleeping and blipping bunch of crazy droning on. My wife asked for me to wear headphones when listening to this album, so it's not for everyone. I'll give this album an 8, which is a lower score than what Liturgy album's have traditionally gotten.

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.

Public Memory : "Wuthering Drum"

I've been in more of a metal mood with the cold weather, but always looking for something dark. I cam across this project that is helmed by Brooklyn based;Robert Toher. It opens with a shadowy take on trip hop. With ghostly chimes ringing through the opener the song has a solid pulse and unique vocals. The second song "Mirror" came closer to floating by me as it's so ethereal it's almost not there. The vocals are more of a layer to the atmosphere than a focal point. More grit is added as the beat are dirtied up a bit to put " Ring Leader" into more of a Massive Attack place sonically, though the vocals hang in an emotional purgatory that reminds me of Thom Yorke. More organic elements creep in creating more of a Cure like sound. The synths give a lower pulse as "Domino" takes on a more minimalist approach to its composition. It's so minimal and atmospheric until it becomes intangible. There is more marrow to the bones of  "Cul De Sac" .  It has a more up beat melody until the despondent vocals come in and haunt the song.

"As You Wish" is more fragile, until the beat comes in to seal everything together. There is more groove to this one which allows the vocals to occupy more of atmospheric space in the sonic picture being painted. This song offers the album a stronger sense  of dynamics.There is an even more solid and creeping beat to "Interfaith" that gives the song and an almost erotic slither. The vocal are not dominant like a pop song, but a somewhat more defined role. He ebbs back out into a spacier place on "Zig Zag" that finds the beats a little more muffled as the song takes on a more lo-fi sound. The vocals are more distant, like they are being sung from out in the hallway. The melody does use some interesting intervals. This same sonic space is inhibited on "Earwig" though the song is more straight forward in its approach. The album closes with "Lunar" which brings the album around full circle as it has a similar bell like jingle as "Heir". The vocals take on a more conventional role in guiding the verses. The lyrics are more distinguishable and some organic guitar tones bubble up from the chiming wall of sound circling the fey melody. Toher's reedy tenor is vulnerable and moody and gracefully hovers in the holes left by the oddly opaque instrumentation.I'll round this one up to a 9. It was an enjoyable listen, very low key and laid back think it will provide a better soundtrack when I'm working rather than running around on the iPod wedged in-between Anthrax and Skinny Puppy. The album drops on March 18th via felte records. Check out the single below.

Up From the Underground Dendera Bloodbath's "Xaoate Ep"

This was brought to my attention and I tend to let a lot of my Atliens music go unacknowledged around here because it is rarely dark or dynamic enough for me. This starts off certainly being dark enough. It reminds me of the time I ate a bunch of mushrooms and thought I was on the moon.Funny enough I was playing music in my friends basement when that occurred and this album was recorded in the Basement of Bad Decisions so this leads me to conclude that basements are the portal to the moon. There is a very lunar feel to this. The album is a self professed chaos majick spell, the first ritualistic sounds occur on the second song "Legacy" that throws samples behind the sonic experiments transpiring here. This is an instrumental release, so what I listen to on things like this or the Be the Hammer album I reviewed last week, is how the space is being filled. You can not talk about the music directly using terms like melody or dynamics since that is not really the point of something that has more in common with performance art, though there are times when the sound manipulation can be likened to a project like Negativeland.


The drone has well placed synths layered over one another with a pulse deep within the mix. "Soul Mate" pretty much just drips out of the previous song. The vibrations here are creepier and sound like a dirge that might be played at a funereal on Mars."Triumph" ebbs from the drone of "Soul Mate" . It is more minimal using blips of sampled noise to paint a sparse landscape of a barnyard set in a haunted hell. Give a hundred aliens a typewriter and they might have come up with the intro to "Riches". While this might be an invocation of chaos majick, I feel their are more sub -genius like forces at work, because it takes me back to when I would drop acid and listen to the Church of Sub-genius's hour of slack. There are some sparse synth melodies of sorts set back behind the ghostly murk of shadow filled sounds.

If you are looking for a soundtrack to warm yourself up for the second coming of the X-Files, then here is the soundtrack for you. I am not sure why I keep returning to alien imagery when I listen to this album but my synesthesia keeps bringing me back to neon green, a glowing neon green set against black when I hear this , which are also colors I associate with aliens.  This is very a-sexual music, similar to how I envision aliens without having genitals. Rock music is very genital fixated so this is a palate cleanser from that . I am not sure if these descriptions make sense , but this album is about making sensations and not making sense.

Puscifer : " Money Shot"

Tool used to be one of my favorite bands. A Perfect Circle was up there as well. Puscifer seemed like Maynard's stab at doing his own Massive Attack , but heavy on the jokes. The first album he mainly used his lower range and further separated himself from being the voice of Tool.  First off the album sounds great but sounds best through head phones. More focused on songs and less focused on jokes , with more of an emphasis placed on songs. Closely harmonized with female voices it sounds like this could have been written for a Perfect Circle album that never happened. Former Ministry bassist Paul Barker lays down a groove to "Agostina" is slinky and dark setting the perfect ground work for Keenan to croon over. I don't think Keenan's pipes are going to be in question, he brings the vocals up into a mellower mid-range tenor. "Grand Canyon" is pretty transcendent , but it not as dark as the previous songs so it takes a little to get use to it.

 "Simultaneous" opens with a sampled narrative. Its a less organic composition relying on the synths. Its until four minutes in that vocals comes before the over driven bass line and it turns into a real song. Title track whose video is featured below has a more 90s rock like beat to it. It's not metal or anything like Tool, in fact it's closer to something Tomahawk might do. There is some electronic weirdness that collides with it before going into the second verse. There is more atmosphere to "the Arsonist" that comes close to being a ballad. Lyrically this might be one of the better songs, the line "Your social skills resemble arson". It does build at the chorus and the synths get hard with the bass in manner that Perfect Circle might have been more eager to stomp on the distortion for. The despite the driving drums there is a kraut rock feel to the intro of "the Remedy" before dropping down to an ode to unruly house guests. Things get a shade darker with "Smoke and Mirrors". But this is not the albums most interesting song. In a similar dynamic range somewhere between the Cure and darker electronic the vocal work on "the Life of Brian" works much better.

 Dynamically "Autumn" takes a few cues from the "13th Step" album. Things have found a better balance here. We will see how this one stands the test of time, Puscifer has generally not last long in my iPod as much like his other projects is in a middle ground that I don't normally dwell on. It's either heavy or ethereal and surreal. I think since this is not a rock album that makes "Money Shot" relevant in a way I am afraid the next Tool album won't be if it ever sees the light of day. I'll round it up to a 9.

no:carrier : "Ghosts of the West'

This is our second look at this band. Last time around we were pretty pleased about the futuristic dark wave this duo was cranking out. Their newest offering which was released back in May is something very different. In most cases you would think that making a cover album would be taking the easy way out, but no: carrier isn’t easy on themselves, they not only pick songs that are not what you would expect from an electronic duo, but they approach three of the four songs using different singers. While there are still elements of the dark wave sheen that marks the sound, of their previous album, there is a more organic rock feel to most of the songs. Another creative choice the band has made is the albums thematic nature, which pays homage to the west coast.


 The first of the cover songs in the band being their take on "Don Henley's "Boys of Summer". It carries the hushed introspection of Henley's original, but you can imagine Billy Idol having a similar approach to the song if he covered it, as the song rides the line of new wave and rock like "Eyes Without a Face". Audio Terrorist singer Kalib Duarte certainly gets the job done and adds his own brand of passion to the performance rather than serving up too much tribute to the former Eagles drummer. The programmed drums on this song shift around the pocket that the straight radio rock beat would slavishly adhere to. With the help of Melissa Harding they take on Belinda Carlisle's "California". This song is executed with a steamy pulse in the same Hollywood zip code as the likes of Lana Del Rey. The backing vocals are well layered and used like another instrument rather than just to bolster her voice. They convey both the glamour as well as the darker cloud of unclenched dreams that haunts the city. This is followed by Laura Lee Brown's husky approach to Toney Carey from Rainbow's classic "Room With a View". They have darkened the song up to reflect the desperation in the lyrics, which tell the tale of the ever growing homeless population, that was mild when this song was written compared to the cities with in city that are cropping up under bridges through the urban landscape.


 The projects lead singer Cynthia Wechselberger finally appears on t traditional Irish folk song " She Move Through" is pretty haunting. She sings with the same reverence to the traditional versions of the song much like Dead Can Dance does when they approach timeless folk songs that span the ages. The electronics provide atmosphere in the background, but allow her voice to shine. They show surprising restraint and seem to be playing it pretty straight until the final forty-five seconds where they blast into full-blown electronica. This album might not fit neatly into your preferred genre, but it is a bold new step for the band and deserves as listen to fans of edm, goth or dark wave, as it is none of those things and yet all of those things. Bands use to be this adventures and unafraid to color outside of the lines so it's good to see that no:carrier was brave enough to give this a shot as it pays for them and pushes them forward to a limitless future.


 

Cold Showers : "Matter of Choice"

Five years later and the California band Cold Shower continues to polish their dark dream like sound. Rather follow all the other Joy Division imitators they pull from a wider range of influences. You can hear elements of Jesus and the Mary Chain, the Cure and Echo and the Bunnymen lurking in the shadows. They use synths in a manner that while  they are a prime ingredient and often  prominent in the mix, it never comes across as being over indulgent . This is balanced out with the guitar and vocals in a way enabling them  even in their starkest passages to never push this to the point of becoming  melodramatic club oriented dark wave. There is a more aggressive electronic pulse to "Only Human".   Which carries a groove that propels the song into the slow build it throbs on.Lyrical they explore the frailties of human interaction rather than really moping about. The often dead pan vocal delivery narrates this  in a cold detached perspective.The only similarity I can hear to Joy Division is in the bleak tension that manage to drone on. As the guitar balances out the synths on "Plant Life " it  serves as a prime example of how they are able propel even some of their dance floor oriented moments with a more post-punk intensity, discarding all the flowery drama that Robert Smith would so lovingly bestow upon them. But they are not about the make up and carry  more of  a wearing sunglasses at the back of the smoky club vibe.

"Crowds" carries more of rock tautness that bands like Joy Division excelled at . The vocals give the song more movement that Curtis more narrated delivery. The guitar echoes with a western re-verb. The "heaven can wait" takes them into the 80s with a similar nostalgic flair that War on Drugs employs. There is a lush no wave pulse to "Whatever You Want" that recalls Gary Numan. It becomes unintentional pop with a wink to the 80s. On the song "Cease Fire" they take their stab at a club song , tackles it in a manner like the Cure, where it happens on their own terms. The bass line drives "Undone" as the singer declares that he is never coming down. They close out the album with a "redux" of "Crowds" . This is not just a remake , but an entirely different take on the song as sax simmers out of the dense shadows this one is haunted by. If David Lynch ever needs another song for a seedy bar scene this is the one he should go for.

I get drawn back in with more listens . This album has just the right cynical indifference in its cold attitude to give it a personality that sets them aside from their peers in the post- punk revival and even makes me hesitant to reference them along side of that, since these guys have enough of their own thing going on better fans of anyone from Interpol to Night Sins to War On Drugs can find something to latch onto here.

Bjork:"Vulnicura"

Once upon a time I was a huge Bjork fan, then after 2004's "Medulla", she fell off my radar. So this morning I went back a listened to some of the stuff she has put out between then and now on Spotify, it all seemed like a rather logical progression. Even then the opening of her new album seemed a little soft to me. Her vice has not changed a bit. The backing tracks are just airy, synth and minimal percussion. I'm not expecting "Army of Me" going into this, so I am still keeping an open mind and hoping the rest of the album isn't like the first song. I don't adhere to Bjork can sing from the phone-book and it will still sound good.

The second song brings us more of her quirk. It's minimal beats , with over dubbed and effected vocals which influenced the likes of Imogen Heap. The melody to this song is stronger than the first, but I am not sure it is up to the level of her most classic work. This is followed by more ethereal ballad. They are well sung and dreamy. I think the reason this sort of thing works better for me with the Cocteau Twins, aside from the fact they invoke a different emotion, this the fact Robin Guthrie's guitar fills the spaces more for Elizabeth Frasier. Another problem with this tangent of sticking to string synths, is it makes all of the songs begin to sound the same by the time we get to "Black Lake". I think Bjork is also capable of creating more entrancing melodies some of these are just boring. The staggered beats that come in at the end of "Black Lake", but it's nothing we haven't heard from her before.

There is something to "Family" that reminds me of "the Dancer in the Dark Soundtrack" which was the last Bjork album I wore into the ground. This is also the first song on this album that really wins me over on the initial listen. Sure it's disjointed and experimental, but all the elements that need it to work are there. She continues to get her mojo back on "Notget" , which takes a slightly darker turn. The album seems to find it's legs as "Atom Dance" has interesting accompaniment. The beats slither like dark fairies around her crystalline vocals that have retained every ounce of youth since the days of the Sugar Cubes. Bjork must be a vampire. This is a particularly compelling song when it morphs into a duet with Antony of Antony and the Johnsons fame. Which makes sense not a lot of artists aside from Thom Yorke have the hipster cred  and pipes to show themselves worth of such. This also might be the best song on the album. It makes me begin to think about keeping it for this song alone.

The album doesn't end with as much of a bang. The sounds and songs it closes with are filled with her trademarks, but they feel a little dialed in here. The beats buzz and swirl with glitched out chaos, but what else would expect from her? I had to listen to the final two songs a couple of times to get more of an impression of them. "Mouth Mantra" might be the most interesting of the two and a lot of that has to do with subtle mix, as sounds fade in from odd corners of the song and the vocals teeter at those edges. The almost  industrial meets Philip Glass under tones the vocals drone over midway through are the high light. If you are a fan who has stuck with her over the years and want every thing to sound almost all too familiar with none of the risk or edge she once had then this will fit in with all of her other releases after 2004. If you are that person then you will want to add a point to the 7.5 I'm giving this album, which is not bad, but I know she is capable of more.

Report to the Dance Floor- Gazelle Twin : "Unflesh"

Elizabeth Burnholz has gone off the deep end into full blown electronica on her sophomore release. The Brighton goth siren already had one foot in the door ,so this is neither as shocking or as awkward of a transition as it was for Liars. The title track opens with some dark wobbling and harmonized vocals, before almost industrial beats start rocking it. The cadence to her vocals , reminds me of Peaches, perhaps if she was having a lesbian love in with Imogen Heap. The vocals are heavily alter and overdubbed, this is the sort of weirdness Mike Patton would be proud to call his own. The ghost of witch-house haunts this one .

Things take deeper and darker turns into insanity "Guts" is almost like a cross between Death Grips and Die Antwoord. The effects some of the synths have slathered on them will dizzy you. If Fever Ray took more drugs it might come out like this."Exorcise"  takes a page from Pink Floyd's book in it takes it time to  to bubble up from "Guts". This finds the albums first real hook sinking. Where was this album when I was doing drugs?  The fragile vocal of "Good Death" shows  Bunholz's desire to to find a balance between capturing cool sounds and actually writing songs. Not that she has to shy away from being abrasive in doing so or follow any conventions. The synth has an almost industrial hammer on the syncopated "Anti Body". This album wants to lure you out onto the dance floor floor and into a k-hole.

There's the all to brief vocal mesmerism to the  dream like interlude of "Child"'s that is basically the  intro another display of her delicate vocal centric "Premonition". Hard pressed to find an album more atmosphere than this one, it's almost like building castles in the clouds as there is little to support her vocals, aside the pitter of electric rain in fairy land. This album works best under the bizarre throb of songs like "Belly of the Beast. Bunzholz's phrasing sometimes fools you into thinking she is not speaking English.The narcotic of pulse of "Human Touch" shows roots in 90's trip hop. She is both darker and more surreal than  the icons of that genre such as  Tricky or Massive Attack.She throws dashes of world music into her cauldron.

"I Feel Blood" has no shortage emotion to make up for moments when Elizabeth might have been more invested in the sonic phantasmagoria than putting her soul into torturing her effects unit. She returns to more industrial leanings on "Still Life". Her layers of spectral vocals continues to prove just as effective on the last song of the album as it was on the first. This album also continues to keep a good thing going, it's no sophomore slump, in fact it is one of the more spell binding experimental albums you will hear as it carries a very tangent melancholy. I'll give it a 9.5, some of her side trips into the noise spawned at the edges of the songs takes her focus off the song at hand, but overall the album balances itself out in a way that makes this forgivable.