In this ever-expanding musical world, there’s a wealth of 7-inches, cassettes, CD-Rs, and objet d’art being released that, due to their limited quantities and adventurous sonics, go unnoticed by the public at large. TMT Cerberus seeks to document the aesthetic of these home recorders and backyard labels. Email us here.
Psychobuildings
Psychobuildings [12-inch]
[All Hands Electric; 2011]
http://www.allhandselectric.com
By Gumshoe
I don’t remember wishing for a refresh on the Supersystem (please don’t mention El Guapo; it’s too painful) sound, but I’m not going to complain now that it’s here. Psychobuildings are everything you want in a Friday night if you’re young and sleek these days — which I am not — and they don’t suffer for their influences (unapologetic new wave, post-post punk, dance-rock). If anything, they breathe new life into them like an audio version of what happened in that fuckin’ Mannequinn movie (I think there was a sequel, right? Starring, like, that small dude from Two and a Half Meatballs, right? Agree to disagree). Back to the discotecha: If you’re going to thump this 12-inch lady-pleaser in public, be ready to drop your inhibitions like drawers and dance until the cristal POPs like a love-cork. King God notwithstanding, I never could have anticipated how much the 80s would invade the indie sensibilities of the all-too-present. Just go with it, we must.
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Dusted Lux
Attic Visions [3-inch CDR]
[Kimberly Dawn; 2011]
http://kimdawn.blogspot.com
By Jspicer
Like a babe from the woods (iconically stenciled upon Attic Visions’ cover), Dusted Lux gingerly walks onto the Kimberly Dawn with an equally gentile and careful two-song debut. “Through Old Growth” is a docile creature, though it does raise its fur and give a threatening hiss as it unfurls its tired body for a new audience. The song is built upon a searing-in-its-passivity drone as piano and guitar meditations sooth the once-frightened faun. “The One You Love” works in much the same manner, heaving its weighty and layered melody out in waves, never quite ready to make a confident, strident run across the forest highway for fear of being slammed by a Mack truck. The tune is much darker than its predecessor, forgoing organic instrumentation for a more sinister appearance. The innocent dear is not going to be victimized by its predators, just as Dusted Lux will not bear the brunt of vicious critics laying into his flesh.
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Kyklooppien Sukupuutto
“Kusisessions Vol. 1” [7-inch]
[Kissankusi; 2011]
http://www.kissankusi.com
By Gumshoe
It’s flat-out staggering how dry-mouthed and wanting I’ve been for a nice stretch of bolt-tightened hardcore (kind of like when you realize you’ve been hungry for hours); Kyklooppien Sukupuutto go a long way toward slaking my thirst on their own. They’ve got this treble-worshiping lo-fi character and they rarely deviate from it, but they also know how to keep things in frenzied, full-gear mode, so Minor Threat/Bad Brains devouts and even some of the power violence crowd (Spazz-oids in particular) will jive all over this bile-stuffed turkey. I also remember Bum Kon and some of the other bands of their ilk rocking a bit like this. JAM it, brothers — if you can produce rock this contagious on a consistent basis, you deserve better than to wait FIVE YEARS to release your studio nuggets (much of this was recorded in 2006). Then again, if I had to choose between waiting the wait or missing out on Kyklooppien Sukupuutto, well, we both know what I’d have to do: wait. Import-style, 320 copies, knowing punk grins…
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Vacation Club/The Kemps
Vacation Club/The Kemps split [7-inch]
[Glory Hole Records]
https://www.facebook.com/GloryHoleRecords
By Jspicer
Lafayette, Indiana has its fair share of mythical record shops, aimed at bringing in the misunderstood and music hungry. It must be from these bastions of taste-making that foursome Vacation Club forged themselves — within stacks of old surf, garage, and beach rock from the bins of JL Records or the hodgepodge of Von’s. Thanks to the efforts of new 7-inch label Glory Hole, the anti-Annette & Frankie orgies of Vacation Club are now available for a new set of kids stuck in modern times with whims of living out their lives in the past. VC’s cut continues the band’s beached vibes even as they begin to strike out across the Atlantic with a few splashes of mod culture. The Kemps, another stranded foursome — both by geography and ancestry — channel the dark biker culture of the 60s and 70s with the stripped-down “Graveyard Kitten.” Tatted up with rat finks, black leather, and a kink sex appeal, “Graveyard Kitten” evokes the imagery its title implies, thanks to old-fashioned distortion mixing with cat women couture. That such steady, impressive sounds continue to find themselves at odds with the growing culture malaise at work in much of the Midwest is just what Kilgore Trout would’ve wanted.
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Popol Gluant
Solo Piano [One-sided 12-inch]
[Hundebiss; 2011]
http://hundebiss.altervista.org
By Gumshoe
If you plug-and-play a lot of synthonies, you may have found the ultimate post-Tangerine Dream/Popol Vuh/Cluster pleasure center to plug into with “Solo Piano.” These instrumental songs replace words and voices with sheer current, then devolve into stretches of samples-followed-by-applause madness (which is hilarious enough not to repeat too often all the way through), recovering just in time to send us off with a deeply rousing cycle that kicks off with almost vindictive pitch-shifting, flattens out into a steady, glitch-filled sample pattern, hits the road with a dead-ringer-for-Pole Position drone, and never looks back. Would’ve loved to have heard two full sides from these guys, but the one was lovely, thanks. Three-hundred copies, natch.
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Adderall Canyonly
The Ascension of Saint Diamond and the Battle of Oxtest [CS]
[Field Hymns; 2011]
http://fieldhymns.com
By Jspicer
The last we heard from the mysterious Adderall Canyonly, he was mixed up in some heady pop. And though It was a Dark and Stoney Night was an apropos title for the menagerie of sound at play, the lack of attention span throughout the cassette lent itself more to Adderall’s namesake rather than the hazy incantations of dark and stoney. That title may have fared slightly better with Adderall’s newest collection. The latest cassette is a trip into the wormhole, down the rabbit hole, and outside the glory hole. Mixing branches of warped psychedelia, spacey drone, and rash electronic, The Ascension of Saint Diamond and the Battle of Oxtest is the realization that all your fantasies can coexist and can come true. This is finding out Narnia exists — Aslan now some amalgamation of Max Headroom dial-up technology, glitching out at the right intervals to turn lag into cool. It’s the same Blade Runner awe that injects The Ascension, as Adderall has thrown all fantasy into a blender and come out with a viscous concoction only the most thirsty of blazers could scarf down. Gone are the pop tendencies, replaced with the multi-dimensional sound of living in fantasy world. Space and time colliding and pulling apart at once — this is the genius of Adderall Canyonly. He is everywhere and nowhere; he is stoner and teetotaler; he is pop and noise. It’s all funneled through the same wardrobe, and we are all kings and queens of Fillory.
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Polvere
Polvere [10-inch]
[Minority; 2011]
http://www.minorityrecords.com
By Gumshoe
Ukelele straight out of McCartney’s “Ram On”? Sure, sounds good. What’s that you say — more acoustic instruments? Well, I guess that’s alright, but where is this go-… oh, my filthy-loving god, there it is: It’s like Fahey is missing two fingers for awhile, then twinkle-twinkle fuzz-dust and vavooom, you’re watching the snow fall and cursing the curfews of the calendar and getting all introspective. Very clean, a new sensation that can fit in your pocket (as long as you don’t mind a little glitter). Side B is a more traditional, more satisfying (in this case) composition. The sample-sense of The Books is there, albeit in a much more majestic fashion. There’s something grand about these glistening echoes and sweeping, grandiose swoops from style to style. When it all comes together, you wonder why it can’t always be this way. But that’s half the fun. Order out, import fans: The Czech Republic has a record for you.
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Innercity
Prisoners of Memory [CS]
[Animal Image Search; 2011]
http://animalimagesearch.bandcamp.com
By Jspicer
Innercity, hot stuff on the Belgian block, burns his wick at both ends on AIS minimal synth mantra Prisoners of Memory. Much like the jacket hints, the tape is a Spartan affair with the synthetic twinkles of keys guiding the listener on their own complicated journey. Whether the outcome breeds discovery or confusion is not in the hands of Hans Dens, but in the mind’s eye. The beauty of Prisoners of Memory (aside from the fair maiden that graces its cover) is that it allows for one to supplant Innercity’s dictation with their own. Plenty of synth jams lend themselves to tales of the cosmos, of summer reflection, or dystopian futures — PoM exists on all planes in all realities. Moments of suspense, sensuality, and intrigue dot Innercity’s composition, but it plays as a soundtrack to the images in your own mind. Fantasize about the lovely woman on the cover, dream of a Mediterranean vacation, or splash your own color upon PoM’s deceptive drab artwork — it’s the nature of Innercity’s work: to arm you with the tools necessary to enliven and enlighten your imagination.
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Warmer Milks
“Margaret is Blind” b/w “Filthy Actor” [7-inch]
[Animal Disguise; 2011]
http://animaldisguise.com
By Mangoon
With once prolific experimental imprint Animal Disguise Records on the slow burn for the past few years, your remission regarding its recent reemergence might be excused. But with label head Gary Beauvais (a.k.a. throb-core master Mammal) relocating to Seattle, the ADR presses have been kicked back into action and first through the ringer is this new Warmer Milks 7-inch. The two songs here have been in deep incubation since 2009, recorded shortly after the group’s syrupy 2008 triumph Soft Walks. While undoubtedly sharing a kindred spirit with its preceding song-cycle, this collection also showcase a clear step sideways from the cleanly produced Grateful Dead and Neil Young inspired singer/songwriter style of Soft Walks towards a more lo-fi, free wheelin’ power-pop that invokes contemporary groups à la Eat Skull and ADR alum Sic Alps. From the art-rock destruction of 2006’s Radish on Light to the sunny shoe-gazing folk-punk of Margaret is Blind, the Milks have been an ever-evolving group, a band who in the true American spirit were constantly forging its own new frontiers, a trait no doubt attributable to mercurial band leader Michael Turner. The record (limited to 200 copies) comes with an eye-popping line drawing by Beauvais, a guest appearance from Hair Police’s Trevor Tremaine, and might possibly be the final recordings ever released from Turner and company under the Warmer Milks moniker.
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Metal Rouge
Then in Shadow [CS]
[Bezoar Formations; 2011]
http://www.bezoarformations.com
By Gumshoe
From issuing an LP on Emerald Cocoon to quietly putting out a CD-R on Not Not Fun a few years back, Metal Rouge know how to stay in the sub-level indie-noise news. “Then in Shadow” dispenses with story and goes straight for the gripping headline over and over. It’s Landed playing post-hardcore with John Wiese on effects. Drums are being played somewhere in the goo — they pop up like potatoes in split pea sometimes with a skronk strut, others with a more measured gallop on the ride and snare. The spazzy, seance-style vocals aren’t anything new — try a Book Of Shadows tape or a Spires That In The Sunset Rise LP — and yet I miss them now that they’re not crinkling my ears. OOP — they’re back. I think she’s hiccuping now (you can never tell with these damn things), really frothing at the mouthpiece. I suppose it’s what this din requires, small, chippy abrasions to match large, gaping maws of expansive sound. Seriously though, lady: The world’s done caved in and you’re just going to shriek? Time to bury your dead and start a new life; maybe… maybe I can help you.
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Annelies Monseré / Richard Youngs
Three: Four Split Series Vol. 3 [10-inch]
[Three: Four; 2011]
http://www.three-four.net
By Jspicer
The name of the Volume 3 of Three: Four’s split series game is patience — the compositions of Annelies Monseré and Richard Youngs tests the limits of your stereo speakers and your desire for progression. Monseré slowly swallows the A-side with multiple interpretations of one song. “Sand” is put through the wringer, carefully etched out melodica, guitar, piano, cello, and organ. The song is manipulated not only by Monseré’s choice of instrument but also by tempo and lyrical variants. The melodica version is quick and kitsch, counterbalanced by the hauntingly beautiful guitar version that likens itself to the icy refrains of Grouper. The highlight lies in the organ version, combining the frightful melody with a dark carnival tinge, lending “Sand” features of both good and evil; the ultimate dichotomy. Youngs’ 10-minute “Be Brave, This World,” is a strange combination of Donovan’s “Hurdy Gurdy Man” and Peter Gabriel’s most experimental works. The song, despite its rather rigid backbone, remains an attention grabber in large part to the heavy tremolo that envelopes the sparse guitar and the errant lyrical afterthoughts of Youngs. Everything bleeds into one, sharp guitar vibration. The only sad thought with this particular split is how made-for-collaboration Monseré and Youngs are. Their skill set would be much better served producing 5 songs together — let’s make it happen.
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Shit And Shine / Expensive Shit
Shit Split [7-inch]
[Monofonus Press; 2011]
http://monofonuspress.com
By Gumshoe
If I’m remembering correctly, Shit And Shine’s 12-inch on Badmaster played a lot softer — then again, it doesn’t get much harsher than their side of this burnt shish-kabob of a timeshare, “Romantic and Maybe at the Same Time.” This thing is a shard of glass stuck in flesh and getting deeper with every movement, a steady glob of tense, urgent static whose sudden shifts and high-pitched bursts will… to be honest, wake up your family (which … COOL!). Likely familiar to many as a Load band (though S&S put out most of their stuff on Riot Season), Shit live up to that torture-sound tag on Side A. Side B … well for fucking out loud, this is more like it. Expensive Shit — I hate to be so smitten but I’ll just go with it — make music that does what I like music to do these days. Very dubby, but as if dub has been broken and can’t get up. A lumbering beat, several elements spiraling and fluttering like multi-colored sparklers, general creepiness? Check, check, and check. Works on 33 and 45? Fuck you, YOU LIED TO ME.
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Kon Tiki Gemini
Azure Maze[CS]
[Hooker Vision; 2011]
http://hookervision.blogspot.com
By Jspicer
Hooker Vision, the dream of musicians-extraordinaire Grant and Rachel Evans, has been conjuring good feelings since its launch. A whispered secret at first, the Evans’ profile of late (thanks to their joint output as Quiet Evenings and Rachel’s solo work as Motion Sickness of Time Travel) has equally given Hooker Vision its rightful place as the next great cassette label. So when Grant allowed me the honor of checking the new batch, he made sure that I noticed the Russian-based gems HV was sporting. It wasn’t hard to be drawn to Kon Tiki Gemini, largely based on the tape’s art. The minimal collage — large blue sky anchored by the ringed beauty of Neptune and a few Greek busts — seems to also speak to the work of duo Ivan Karib and Sergei Dmitriev. Stuck between space and time, Azure Maze is the sort of mindfuck that does its mind fucking gently; on the down low. The line between the classics and the cosmos is bridged by A-side thinker, “Path Curves.” The drizzling synths act as the wormhole between old and undiscovered, with percussive ticks and tocks counting off the days, weeks, and years of traveling the paranormal. The B-side is where things get nutty, with the futuristic vibe enjoying a pit stop at an Old West saloon, with a player piano adding an eerie camp to the exploration of space and sound. Whether Karib and Dmitriev are long lost Cosmonauts trying to find their constant through Azure Maze is anyone’s venture; at least we get to enjoy the strange trip with ‘em.
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Last Remaining Pinnacle / Pan Galactic Straw Boss
Split
[Custom Made; 2011]
http://www.custommademusicva.com
By Gumshoe
This easily could have slid to the back of the pile, but… it got lucky, and so did I, I suppose. Last Remaining Pinnacle: Jesus/Mary Chain guitars, a syrup container pouring over and over, a stonefaced vocalist content to be anything but the focal point, nonexistent bass; stop me if you’ve endured this one. Better than most examples of this BRMC madness on the club roster and deceptively catchy. Pan Galactic Straw Boss are a post-rock band with a busy-bee drummer and some tricky, dick-kicking climaxes that sound to be an update on the Mogwai school of closing a deal (rumble, build, CRASH-EXPLODE-CRUSH-MUSH), with young musicians determined to not just sound like the genre’s leading lights (though they mostly resemble the original model with a few spruced-/juiced-up components). Nothing that’ll have me joining the convent just yet, but if you put this next to, say, the latest Explosions In The Sky record it would hold up just fine. Split decision; later taters.
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Fallen Axe
Moments Together [CS]
[Calypso Hum; 2011]
http://calypsohum.blogspot.com
By Jspicer
Is there anything Frank Ouellette can’t do? Honestly, the rhetorical nature of such a question must be squashed at this point. As Hobo Cubes (and curator of the Hobo Cult label), a member of Velvet Chrome, Ouellette has used several noms de plume as a means to reach new musical plateaus. As Fallen Axe, Ouellette allows warped guitar passages do the talking. The results are rough — more like idea sketches that often find themselves fully realized in other Ouellette personas — but the glimpse into the creative process yields some gems bridging the spatial with the concrete. Much of Moments Together disassembles Ouellettet’s inherent pop synth sensibilities, transforming his guitar into a jackhammer. Notes are heavily plucked or barely touched, left to waft among the dust and disease. As is the case with most of his projects, there is no rival to Fallen Axe. The mechanic strums of haphazard approach yielding some new form of abstract pop art, the sort that not even Andy Warhol would have dared to create. In ugliness, we find beauty; in decomposition, we find growth. Yet another flag planted by Ouellette for the modern French [Canadian] musical revolution, one worth submitting to.
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The Sandwitches
Duck Duck Goose [One-sided 12-inch]
[Empty Cellar; 2011]
http://www.endlessnest.com/empty_cellar
By Gumshoe
The Sandwitches are in the right place at the right time… if they were a garage-psych band. As it stands, they are a beat apart from many of their counterparts, standing strong as a folk act with trippy tendencies that are by no means played to the hilt. Except in the in-between-song skits, which feature, apparently, ACTUAL duck-duck-goose audio and tantra-video wave sweeps and sonic whirls. Did I mention Cat Power? Yep, gotta be said, as an influence. The Fresh & Onlys? Yep, should be mentioned because of certain connections I’ll let you flesh out for yourself. But remember, this is gentle, morose music with a meek-sad combo tough to resist no matter which genre(s) you call home. Surprisingly full for a one-sided LP, too; it lasts. Liz Janes, Neko Case, Devendra Banhart, Yo La Tengo, Brightblack Morning Light (it’s been too long since I thought of them)… feast your ears and use your imagination to fill the blank Side B. 500 copies to buy, yourself.
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Horse Marriage
“Pee-Chee”/”I Need to Tell You…” b/w “Lay Your Hands on Me” [7-inch]
[Avant Archive; 2011]
http://avantarchive.com
By Jspicer
By Jove, those damn Yanks are at it again. Raising their raucous and being a general menace to society — what with their Christian Republicans and comedians-as-politicos. And what’s with their music? They’ve gone through styles so often that it’s a wonder they haven’t adopted recycling more readily considering all the borrowed nostalgia that fills their noggins. But I say, what ‘ave we here!? Those damned boys from Horse Marriage! Those boys run the wonderful Roll Over Rover label and they’ve gone and made and released a 7-inch, featuring the old time rocker “Pee-Chee” from the jolly Eisenhower Interstate? Pee-Chee,” with its classic jangly guitars and open road charge while we’re all stuck on A1 — it’s quite a fist to the ol’ knocker. At least they rekindle their ‘experimental’ hearts with “I Need to Tell You,” a mello-yello’d collage of answering machine messages and subtle guitar strums that ease into a hypnotic drone. Then they go and muck it up with the slacker anthem, “Lay Your Hands on Me.” Who do they think they are, trying to blend alternative rock with Bay Area cool? I guess we’ll just never understand those beer-swilling, Palin-loving, Puritanical ‘Mericans. Now pass me the spotted dick.
