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Band name like Child Abuse is bound to turn heads and for all the wrong reasons, unfortunately (though far worse examples exist). Fret not, however, as the show they’re playing on Oct. 19 at St. Vitus indicates that CA is well aware of negative connotations – the event is both kids friendly and portion of proceedings will be donated to an organization fighting child abuse.

With that out of the way….lets talk about “Imaginary Enemy”, brand new LP from long-running Brooklyn trio. Imagine, if you will, a universe in which Tom Waits started a death metal band (with both Ornette Coleman and The Residents joining the lineup) and you can start getting an idea about the kind of mayhem taking place on this record. Its not metal per se, but the growls and the manic drumming point in that exact direction.

While its hard to say whether there any political statements included on IE (the vocals are mostly indecipherable and there’s no lyric sheet anywhere in sight), its absolute refusal to bow down to times could be seen as a political gesture in itself. To all those that grew on a steady diet of Locust, Melt-Banana and Flying Luttenbachers this record would be a welcome treat.

Imaginary Enemy is out on Oct. 18 on Skin Graft Records

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Our first taste of guitarist/improviser Tashi Dorji’s work arrived via performance we witnessed at 2017 Hopscotch.

This September will mark the release of Midden – his collaboration with John Dieterich of Deerhoof fame and here’s a small glimpse into things you’ll find within:

While the excerpt is rather stormy and discordant (think Ranaldo/Moore/Haino school of thought) overall the album is evenly split between noise/chaos and calmer moments. Yes, Midden is very much a guitar album – just don’t go in expecting to hear shredding a-la Yngwee and don’t even bother expecting your parents to approve of this one.

Midden is out on Sept. 3rd. via Moone Records / Gilgongo Records 

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neon demons feels like a soundtrack to a great film I’ve never seen. Equal parts ethereal and assertive, the music invites and engages the listener. It always impresses me when instrumental music outside of jazz can hold my attention for that long, but neon demons has enticing synth sounds and progressions. Even at it’s most abrasive, the album doesn’t alienate the listener. This choice always presents itself to an experimental musician, but solarein made something very palatable and enjoyable here.
Usually, I’m able to see reference points in someone’s work but I’m not sure who else solarein sounds like. At times neon demons reminds me of the soundtrack to 28 Days Later. The cinematic quality of the music reminds me of the ambient parts of Another Green World, which I think is ambient music at its best. ‘Evergreen’ is a particular highlight and great choice for the penultimate track on the album. A sense of calm washes over the listener. On this track and this track only, I feel the influence of Arthur Russell’s World of Echo. Whatever music influenced solarein for this project, they did a great job at making something original.
The song lengths on neon demons don’t go on for too long. Actually, looking at the tracks now I wonder if it’s a coincidence that tracks 1 and 4 are 1:44, tracks 2 and 3 are 4:44, and the final two tracks are 5:55. If this was planned intentionally, it only ads to how impressive this record is. I’m also left wondering what synthesizers were used to make neon demons. They have a nice full sound regardless of whether they’re virtual or real instruments. In my opinion, part of the beauty of music today is one can make an album like neon demons entirely on the computer.
All of the songs on neon demons seem to be pointing somewhere, or like the listener is being led on an adventure. I really liked this album and look forward to exploring solarein’s other releases. I would recommend this for people who are new to ambient music, as it isn’t a challenging listen, but it’s interesting enough to engage with.

Closed Circuits – Encoder

I was unaware until halfway through Encoder that it was a collection of covers. Having missed that part of the Bandcamp description initially, the fact that I didn’t pick up on that is a great sign. There’s a thematic unity to all of these records like their all Closed Circuits originals. Two obvious reference points for me with Encoder are Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits. There’s a lot of reverb on the songs with provide the songs with the space they need to wash over you. This aspect provides an ambient drone quality to the work that separates it from what I see as it’s two greatest rock canon influences.
As always, I can never be sure where Closed Circuits draws their inspiration from, but I think especially the Waits comparison gives listeners an idea what they’re in for. However, Closed Circuits’ voice is more melodic and not really gravelly in the same way Waits is. Nick Cave’s solo work is a glaring omission in my musical knowledge and I think that may be the only other popular artist this record reminds me of.
It’s interesting then that Closed Circuits chose to cover Cave’s old paramour PJ Harvey on this album. Harvey and Nick Drake are the only artists whose work I know of all the covers on the album. One of my favorite parts of Encoder is I can’t tell what instrumentation is synthetic and what is “real.” I hear bowed strings which could be actual processed strings, analog synths, or VSTs, and the percussion if synthetic is powerful enough that it doesn’t have a tinny quality that one finds in a lot of electronic music. Encoder is a warm record that invites the listener into a very melancholy world, but one as the Bandcamp description writes, with space. I don’t even want to look to see which song is performed originally by who until I’m done with this review, because Closed Circuits really made these their own. Recommended somber listening.

Lime Eyelid – Week of Wonders

Lime Eyelid’s album Week of Wonders is an enjoyable exercise in heavy psych. Lime Eyelid appreciates the value of a good riff and they’re sprinkled hypnotically throughout the album. I think Week of Wonders is at its best when all the band members are playing in tandem. There were more ethereal parts of the record I enjoyed as well, but the riffs are what make this record. I can’t tell how many members there are of the band which is always a good sign. Something of note also is the reverb-drenched drums played skillfully but sparse.
The second half of the album is mostly a drone that reminds me of what Bowie and Eno did to the second side of Low. Gone are the riffs until a few minutes from the end when they return triumphantly but also gloomier than ever. Doom psych?

Tapes & Tubes – Horse Trailer

Horse Trailer immediately invites the listener with undulating guitars and lovely steel guitar on ‘Tabletop Moon.’ The spoken word part fits the song nicely and helps add to the ambience. As an opener it does a good job of not overstaying its welcome. The titular song, ‘Horse Trailer,’ starts similarly but with more pronounced guitars and reverb. I really like the lyric “horse trailer parked in the spot behind the house—no one has ever used it” which Tapes & Tubes chose to highlight on their Bandcamp page. The song conjures up nostalgia for a country past that I don’t have. Again, the steel guitar is a big highlight here. I hear traces of Neil Young in the music but the spoken word does a nice job of making the music unique. The final track, ‘Mike, Henry, and Hank,’ sounds like the narration to the beginning of a movie. The entire EP is really cinematic which impresses me that 3 songs can capture enough of a distinct flavor to exist on their own. I’m a big fan of the EP format and Tapes & Tubes did a great job making a statement with 3 songs. Highly recommended for fans of folk, country, ambient, and the intersection of these genres

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Listening Room – music suggestions from our followers!
Pt. 1 – featuring Bergsonist, Turvia, Junklight, Action Swingers, Scenic Recovery, James Wolf, Zomes, The Flesh Eaters and more.
Pt. 2 – featuring Slapp Happy, Carl Stone, Birchville Cat Motel, The Gun Club, Xander Harris, Small Life Form and more.

Moogfest 2018
Armen Ra – reliving the glory of his performance at the First Presbyterian Church.
Madame Gandhi / Aurora Halal – photos courtesy of Belly Full of Stars + tweets

Reviews
Constellation Tatsu Batch – Jim Moon (aka Taxxess) takes on the latest 4 releases from Oakland, CA label. Featuring Alex Crispin, Chihei Hatakeyama, Endurance and Lunaria.

Videos / Video Premieres
Video Premiere: Ricardo Dias Gomez – Precipicio – classic industrial meets modern-day drone/glitch meets strange, but hypnotizing choreography in this video by Caetano Veloso associate RDG.
Dead Trains – Shake ‘Em On Down – Boston hillbilly punks causing mayhem all over the place.

Misc
Burn My Letters – Report Card #2 – talking all things Burn My Letters, our latest release.
Root Strata Tribute – remembering Brooklyn label that was run by  Jefre-Cantu Ledesma and Maxwell August Croy.
Interview with Mark Van Hoen + review of Invisible Threads – Grant / Psalm69 interviews legendary British musician + reviews his latest on Touch.
Label Profile – Fish Prints – talking all things Fish Prints, new label run by Petridisch.
My Guide to Afrofuturism – Massive video playlist from Chris Bynes / Lightning Pill + back story where he explains his approach to compiling the guide.

The post Summary – June 2018 appeared first on I Heart Noise.

Cryostasium – The Possessor

As Encyclopedia Metallum archives attest, Cryostasium has been active and quite prolific for the last few decades. Since its inception in 2000s this one-man Boston act produced countless splits and collaborations with the likes of Xasthur and Earthenwomb as well as his own material.
It should be noted, however, that with time the emphasis in Cryo’s music shifted from pure BM to a mix of crust, BM and experimental/electronic music. The Possessor is clearly latter / Cryostasium Mark II – a blend of black metal and vocaloid, sure to scare off the purists, but still capable of attracting more open-minded listeners.
Further Reading: Indy Metal Vault | Wonderbox Metal | Metal Addicts | Blackened Horde Zine

Future Plans
Two more releases by two legendary performers are said to be in the FP pipeline – one by Barbara Morgenstern and one by Lida Husik. Barbara recorded for Domino, Leaf and Karaoke Kalk and currently works with Berlin-based Monika Enterprise (run by Gudrun Gut). Lida Husik recorded for Shimmy Disc, Caroline and Astralwerks in the early 90s, but she recently returned with motheroceanmorning, an album that FP is planning to reissue on tape.

shhhhhhh………i’m printing the fish pic.twitter.com/QVDjsh4ELq

— Petridisch (@petridisch) June 27, 2018

Also worth reading – an interview that Petridisch did with The Witzard/Matt Horovitz. We also put together a video playlist of trailers/videos produced by FP, Cryostasium and Petridisch.

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