Review: Originally recorded in September 1982, September 23rd would likely not recognise the DUMBO neighbourhood of Brooklyn in which it was conceived. Post-industrialisation, the area became known as a hotbed for artists due to the inexpensive loft spaces up for grabs, but today has been gentrified thanks to its position - Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass. One thing that hasn't changed in that time is just how spectacular William Basinski's pieces are. Comprising two parts, original piano sections played by close friend and world famous drag artist John Epperson (AKA Lypsinka) were recorded onto a handheld cassette machine, before being fed through a Frippertronics loop and feedback loop tape delay system, with incredible results. Rich, strange sonic textures, beautiful but fleeting moments of melody and a depth that sounds like you can dive into it.
Review: September 23rd is the debut release of William Basinski's new Arcadia Archive series and it features a previously unreleased gem recorded in September 1982 in his first loft in Brooklyn's pre-gentrified DUMBO. This early work, derived from a high school piano composition, evolved significantly after Basinski recorded it using a portable cassette deck on a piano owned by his neighbour, John Epperson at 351 Jay Street. Initially unimpressive, the piece transformed through Basinski's use of the John Giorno/William Burroughs cut-up technique and Frippertronics loop system to yield remarkable results. This discovery adds a captivating layer to Basinski's nearly five-decade career.
Review: September 23rd is the first release in William Basinski's new Arcadia Archive series. Recorded in September 1982 in his first loft in the DUMBO neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, September 23rd is a recently unearthed early entry in what has become a hugely inspirational and influential catalogue. Built from a piano piece that Basinski composed in high school in the mid-1970s, September 23rd quickly evolved into a vastly different work, upon its revisitation. Using the John Giorno and William Burroughs cut-up technique, Basinski fabricated an elaborate Frippertronics and feedback loop tape delay system, resulting in the quiet but dramatic set of sounds and resounds you hear here.
Review: Japan's Envy created one of the most respected post-rock screamo albums of all time with this third album of theirs. Originally released in 2001 on Japense punk label H.G. Fact and again as a limited released in 2003 on Dim Mak Records in the U.S., with not many physical copies printed they've been scarcely available. Thankfully, that's all about to change now that this enduring masterpiece of foreboding post rock and blisteringly powerful screams is getting repressed. Envy's strength lies in their ability to flip flop between introspective atmospheric passages and intense guttural aggression within a track and for it to be cohesive. That said, where they don't relent, like on 'Invisible Thread', the adrenaline really kicks in and it's a palpable reenactment of the atmosphere at their live shows.
Review: This reissue of Happiness hears a retake of the 1997 album by the British post-rock band Fridge. For those unaware, the band consisted of members of now notable UK solo acts: Four Tet, Adem, and Tarwater. The reissued edition features remastered versions of the original tracks, plus a bonus disc: its serene guitar-driven eclectics and incipient style of folktronica was instrumental in shaping the sound of much underground music to come.
Review: Anches En Maat is the first new album from Grails in over a half-decade - following the masterful Chalice Hymnal in 2017 - and their first album recorded with all members in the studio together since Doomsdayer's Holiday in 2008. A strange mixture of 1980s softcore, daytime soap opera lounge and nods to musique concrete make this the group's most challenging full-length project yet, with the likes of 'Black Rain' and 'Sad & Illegal' seeming to toe the lines of everything from lost cinematic soul to elemental prog, with the spectre of film seeming to haunt its every lilt and impact.
Review: Recorded at Portland's Type Foundry studio i where American instrumental experimental rockers Grails' earliest records were born i Miracle Music is the band's 12th long player and weaves acoustic and electric guitars, synths, brass, woodwinds, percussion and samples into an expansive, cinematic tapestry. Drawing from early industrial textures, classical elegance and psychedelic ambiance, the album crafts a heavy yet ethereal mood. Tracks like 'Silver Bells' pulse with vintage electro urgency, while others invoke a sense of reflection and grandeur. This balance of boundary-pushing intensity and airy melodicism reflects Grails' quarter-century commitment to reinvention. As both a nod to their origins and a bold step forward, Miracle Music stands as one of Grails' most personal and profound releases i a key to their ability to transform eclectic influences into something singular and deeply moving.
Review: Selene by Akira Kosemura & Lawrence English is a beautiful exploration of atmosphere and gravity, seamlessly weaving together expansive soundscapes with a grounding sense of stability. At its core, Selene is a contemplative journey that delves into the human desire for transcendence and new perspectives. Through its meditative compositions, the record captures the essence of celestial zones and the boundless visions they evoke. Drawing inspiration from various sources, including radio telecopy, filmic dreams, and fictional renderings, the album transcends traditional boundaries to create a rich tapestry of sound and emotion. As a collaborative effort, Selene builds upon a lineage of musical exploration, bridging past and future with its innovative approach to composition and production. Through its ethereal melodies and evocative atmospheres, the album embraces the beauty of the unknown.
Review: Travels In Constants was a wonderful thing. A subscription-only CD series from New York based record label Temporary Residence Ltd, as the new century dawned Low made their contribution to this audio saga with The Exit Papers. A quarter century or so later, and it remains one of the most stunning and powerful outings in the series. Originally just 1,000 copies were made of a collection best described as a "sparse suite of six mostly instrumental pieces composed for a film that never existed." Suffice to say, we have all read lines like that before, but rarely do they feel quite so apt. It's haunting, beautiful, tender, deep, floaty, and occupies some strange place that we've never been to before, but knew the moment we arrived. Electronic ambient, desolate dystopian Western score and lush serenity all at once.
Review: Canadian singer-songwriter June McDoom makes something rather unclassifiable; poppy-noisy smatterings of sound and melody with influences from jazz, blues and soul, but combined in such a way as to not be as easily categorisable as that combination might normally make out. Her latest self-titled project here collects a slew of personal intimations and ballads reflecting a wealth of young life experiences, relationships and emotions. The extent of its sensitivity can only be sought in between the grit, as there's a deep well of texture embedded in every track, but listen between the lines (and take a peek at its collaborations with artists like Sufjan Stevens, Neko Case, Iron & Wine and Andrew Bird), and you'll soon glean a solid idea for its stated, romantic intent.
To The Bin My Friend, Tonight We Vacate Earth (4:57)
Here We, Here We, Here We Go Forever (4:45)
Dry Fantasy (15:02)
Ritchie Sacramento (4:11)
Drive The Nail (7:12)
Fuck Off Money (5:54)
Ceiling Granny (3:58)
Midnight Flit (5:48)
Pat Stains (6:50)
Supposedly, We Were Nightmares (4:35)
It's What I Want To Do, Mum (7:21)
Review: Ask yourselves not whether Mogwai are just the tonic we all need in the middle of a particularly psychologically damaging pandemic. Instead, ask yourselves if there are any situations in which we don't need a new record from the Scottish space rock, post-rock, math-prog masters. Needless to say, then, As The Love Continues couldn't have arrived soon enough.
Marking the triumphant tenth LP, in many ways it's typical stuff from the band - commanding, epic, crashing, wooshing, flying, falling, loving, losing, dreamy guitar music that seems to open as many eyes as it does render listeners blind through sheer hypnosis. Packing some delightfully droll track titles to boot - for example 'F**k Off Money' - given most of us spent a good deal of time after the announcement last year wishing this would get here sooner it's our pleasure to confirm it's every bit worth the wait.
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