THIS JUST IN!!!

So another beautiful morning got disrupted by no less than two trucks, delivering some nice wax to the office. Two new releases showed up, featuring 4 great bands. If you’ve been down with Vendetta for some time, most bands should be like old friends to you (if not, make room for some new acquaintances, you will NOT regret it). I have a feeling that split releases will soon be the new black.

First off, the OMEGA MASSIF / MOUNT LOGAN split LP.

OMEGA MASSIF stills moves within their comfort zone. They deliver 2 slow down tempo doom songs, both over 10 minutes long. If you like this kind of music, this band is one of the best in the business.

MOUNT LOGAN mixes it up and keeps it interesting with a new style. A bit more experimental this time around (for example added vocals), which is refreshing, to say the least. Instead of just doing a natural follow up to their old LP on VENDETTA, they find a new approach. It is something in the vein of earlier DON CABALLERO mixed with some SHELLAC. But without moving to far away from their “original” style. I’m sure a lot of metalheads will be disappointed, but who cares about narrowminded traditionalists? Without new approaches and influences I’m sure ‘metal’ would’ve never seen the light of day. So if you are conservative, maybe you should stick your head in the sand while I say that this is one of the most interesting releases that has come out of the doomscene in a looong time.

These two acts from Germany knows what they are doing, and you should of course check them out.

THOU / SALOME

These two bands from the US of A can’t have gone by unnoticed. They are brutal, heavy and could basically rip anyone a new a-hole. THOU has some great releases under their belt and they seem to put a lot of emphasis on pure and heavy brutality. This is really what this kind of music is all about. They don’t really bring anything new to the table, but that is not a bad thing in this case.

SALOME on the other hand seems to be all about repetetive snakes of guitar riffs, while walls of drums are being built up while totally insane (female) vocals are falling down upon thee like acid rain. This one is a equation that will blow your head.

CANADA, O(t)H(er thruths) CANADA

DO MAKE SAY THINK the other truths

What about Do Make Say Think? It would be easy to start off with the most obvious facts, where they come from, what bands they have connections to and so on. But personally I think they (and others along with them) have been standing in the shadow of GY!BE way too long. So enough said about that. In my opinion DMST has done quality records ever since their Constellation debut, ‘Goodbye Enemy Airship’. Some have been better than others, but they have always kept it interesting and unpredictable (and for themselves, I’m sure, fun).

‘DO’ is uptempo, positive and almost empowering with it’s drive. A fuzzy bass is giving birth to slowly growing choirs, while guitars are having a relaxing conversation. Break, and repeat. It seems like a hybrid of classic cst + kraut song structure, to put it in slightly generalizing and somewhat confusing words. The horn section is close to brilliant. On ‘DO’ DMST really did it.

‘MAKE’ starts out with a warm introduction. The foreplay is short but sweet, before a strange journey begins. Compared to the really classical DMST start, they show a lot of new sides here. Mysterious chanting and a more confident and patient build up that just seem to lead up to yet another build up. It is almost like an endless loop, that keeps expanding in wider and wider circles, taking the listener on a ride, through a forest and past a parade of trumpets. Finally everything comes together in what is a well orchestrated and mature crescendo.
I wish somebody could mkae a song that is a trip for all your senses and your soul. Wait, DMST already made ‘MAKE’…

‘SAY’ instantly makes me feel like something is wrong. It doesn’t really fit. And I think sometimes things need something that maybe seems like a good idea but in the end helps the “whole”. Some salt in sweet baked goods, something ugly to make something nice look even nicer. This song is not really enticing, not great, but it is not disgusting either. It is just there, and maybe it is more important for the record as a whole, than on it’s own right. It gives a balance, a contrast. This song might be the necessary step you need to take, in order for you to appreciate the next song, or the whole record. And even though it is not a super duper awesome individual song, it still matters. I wish somebody could say that most things matter, even the mediocre things. And that most small parts are connected to a bigger picture. Oh, DMST said it on ‘SAY’.

‘THINK’ seems like a nice mellow time-to-wind-down song. A natural thing in a lot of ways. People are tired from listening, maybe even from playing. Is it automatically sloppy and just something that needed to be done? Some cheezy guitars over a warm thumping beat. Wow, sounds great. I can see how this song might irritate certain people, especially if they just listened to ‘SAY’, but if you really give it a try, if you listen fully to what is actually there, even if it might be hard to hear it, you might find that the closing song is much more than just another closing song. It’s almost like a light version of a mystery. But I see some kind of core in this song, with an abstract skin around it, and it is trying to say something, and while it is trying it grows on me. And I even find myself playing it again and again. I am convinced that DMST thought ‘THINK’ through…

TIM COHEN TIM COHEN

TIM COHEN two sides of tim cohen

It feels like Tim Cohen is some kind of Emperor over rhythm and melodies. There is a serious distance in his music, but also a distant seriousness. How can it seem so sincere and honest? Probably because he is. And if he is not (what do i know, i’ve never met the guy) I’ll pretend that he is. That is how much I like this record, and I can’t really put my finger on exactly what it is that makes it so likeable. Or maybe that is the reason…

‘Haunted Hymns’ is insanely mindblowing, but the more times I heard it, the more I felt something missing. At this point I am pretty sure Mr. Cohen knew that, so he gave me ‘We Never Go In’ and it was close enough. But then he delivers ‘Burn My Martyr’ and everything became so clear. The song’s ambient layer of windlike sounds, desolate choirs and a positive uptempoish beat, all topped off with a scen of dystopian (and repetetive) guitar riffs really convinced me. I mean, how can you NOT like that?!?!

And I refuse to write something like “omfg, this is the coolest, trendiest *snort snort* record right now”. I don’t even wanna mention his other “trendy” band. I’m not gonna tell you that it is “a very well done (insert genre) record”. There is no way that I’ll try to explain how I’d categorize it. I want to make you curious; that should be the reason for your shown interest. I stumbled upon this one, it kinda fell into my lap (thanks robert) and I instantly fell in love with it. But I’m sure it’ll be even better when listened on with hungry ears. So ‘Bon Appetit’.

it smellz like updog in here.

what is updog?
not much playa, except these new goodies. consume!

GOOD IS GOD, GREAT IS SATAN?

OM god is good

OMG (haha – pun intended)! This one really took all of us by surprise here at the messerHQ. The records all three of us really likes is easy to count on one or two hands. But this LP is one of them…

OM is a band that I can play again and again and again. It is hypnotic and stimulating. Ever since the split 10″ with CURRENT 93 they’ve slowly evolved. I loved all of it, even the Pilgrimage LP which a lot of people seemed to dislike. When me and The Knife saw them at the Roadburn festival this year I had low expectations since I was sceptical about the new drummer. He did a great job though, but the whole huge stage in a huge room with a lot of stupid people turned me off. So when the new LP was announced I was prepared to give up. It took me at least two or three listenings before I appreciated his style of playing, but then it was instant love. The new “oriental” influences really suits them, and some people seem to think that the last track is too freaky, but it actually is totally awesome. It ties everything together, and leaves me wanting more. There is some hidden signs that the next release will be even more mind blowing, and while the Conference Live LP left me a bit disappointed, GOD IS GOOD will keep me company for many couch sessions to come.

Most people would probably complain about how they’re moving away from the classic OM concept, but hey, if you like that stuff, just go back and listen to Conference or Variations. In my book a band needs to keep moving and evolving, and this record is proof that it is possible and to a certain extent necessary.

autumn music

Seriously, it is getting cold, dark and kinda boring. So instead of killing yourself I strongly suggest two things. First: play video games like there is no tomorrow (final fantasy 15 hour marathons, anybody?!?!). Second: BUY GREAT RECORDS AND LISTEN TO IT!

Here’s what I recommend this time around:

STEVEN R. SMITH – cities LP

Steven R Smith is one insane man, at least in my book. He’s been part of 30-something releases these past 10 or so years. I’ve seen his name around, but I’ve never really cared that much. When we finally got the ‘Cities’ LP it was speaking to me in a soft voice. “Listen to me, and then love me!” So I played it, played it again and again. It is really one of these abstract records that is full of nuances, it’s not just this one long track that spans two sides of a vinyl, it actually has some structure to it, and some thought has obviously been put into the creation of these tracks (which seems kinda rare these days). ‘Cities’ a great mix of drone, soundscapes and border line-noise. Sometimes the songs are beautiful, sometimes dystopian and dark, and even though it is somewhat abstract, it seems hard to ignore it. Usually these experimental records end up in the outskirts of my consiousness, acting like a distant subliminal soundtrack, but Steven really manages to capture my attention.

Apparently most of the music is based around his guitar, but without really sounding like a guitar. It is the backbone on the majority of the tracks, and occasionly it takes the “center stage”, just to be drowned in other sounds after a while, we are talking cellos, different drones and just weird noise.

The whole record has this organic touch to it, and the beauty lies in the complexity of the individual tracks, as well as the record as a whole. This one demands attention, and for every time played, it grows.

VARIOUS ARTISTS – UTMARKEN 10″

Gothenburg’s (maybe even Sweden’s) finest get together to present a totally mind blowing compilation here. My favorite track on this one has to be the Ättestupa ‘änglamakerskan’. They played it live this summer, and this studio version is just as awesome. Think organ-orgasm and mystical chants. Reminds me of the best things about Religious Knives, without being a rip off or a sound-a-like.

White is Dan from Ättestupa and Sewer Election and this song is basically structured around a sweet ass loop.

Street Drinkers is Viktor, the organ orgasmer from Ättestupa. And the last band on the compilation is Källarbarnen, which consists of Matthias, the Baron from Release The Bats, and Sofie, the Baroness. Every song on this slab of vinyl is amazing. But I would easily buy it just for the Ättestupa song.

MOUNT EERIE – live in copenhagen 3xLP

Hmmm, what time is it? Oh, Mount Eerie time! This is a masterpiece. I downloaded this some years ago, and seriously 30+ songs, from the now dead squat Ungdomshuset in Copenhagen, Denmark. Some of the best live versions of his best songs from the best period. Three LPs, a nice fold out cover with drawings by Phil. Online there is a lot of Mount Eerie bootlegs available, but this is a rare official release. I know the price is kinda high, but just look at the coverdrawings: here

LITTLE GOLD ‘on the knife’ out soon on ADAGIO830

Christian DeRoeck spent most of the past decade writing, touring & recording with the Brooklyn indie/punk band Meneguar. In late 2006, He and bandmate Jeremy Earl decided to combine their bedroom recordings and release them together, as Woods. They recorded two albums together and toured the US and Europe. In early 2008, for several reasons, Christian left both bands.

He spent the summer of 2008 working as a carpenter in eastern Long Island. Inhabiting a tiny basement room, he began working on the songs that shape On The Knife. In the fall he moved back to Brooklyn and teamed up with his old friend, multi-instrumentalist Dylan Edrich (Chain and the Gang), and Little Gold was born.

Recorded to tape at Emandee Studio in Brooklyn, On the Knife is a deeply personal take on love and loss, and was very much shaped by Christian’s departure from his previous bands. Like his earlier work with Woods, the songwriting is earnest, and of course there are a few indulgent headphone tracks as well.

Now joined by stand-up drummer Patty Conway, Little Gold has begun to incorporate more improvisational and psychedelic sounds into their mellow, country-rock oeuvre, and in the process are becoming a notable live act around NYC.

—

The cover has some sweet glossy print on the back, and it looks totally amazing. A great match between sweet music and awesome artwork. This one will blow a lot of minds… We are just waiting for the inlays, should be here within the next 1 or 2 days, and then it is ready to ship. Then all y’all have to order it. And that is an order!

SLOW DAY

So slow day, and a lot of new stuff to flip through. While everybody waits for the next juicy suggestions, I thought I would post this:

It is the old swedish band OHM, who did their first rehearsal in 4 years. This song is on the 7″ that basically nobody cared about. Released by the Baron of great taste, Release The Bats. We still have one copy in the €2 bin. Get it before somebody else beats you to it!

RTB#4

Ohm is an instrumental four-piece (features two members from The Jam Session & the mastermind behind ALTAR OF FLIES), self described as ‘timeless electronica’. Think heavy progressive rock from the 70´s intersecting with modern electronica. A bit like a soundtrack to a fantasymovie from the 80´s. Goblin comes to mind at times. The result of those 3 songs are truly amazing.

punk is dead. metal is boring. indie sucks.

Today was a slow day here at the office, and since I was king of the hill I totally got to play whatever I wanted. Slowly I made my way through the news box, until my flying carpet landed on the new stuff from Kraak.

BEAR BONES, LAY LOW – vallee de dith LP

This one just opened up a huge valley through the middle of my soul. It is totally fuckin awesome. I wish that would be the only thing I had to write about it, but since most of you are unaware of my GREAT MUSIC TASTE super powers, I’m sure you want some kind of description before you spend your hard earned euros on one of the best piece of vinyl to ever appear on this planet. At least this year.

This seems to be a one man project. I really love it when one (wo)man can pull off something like this on his/her own. Most bands can’t even make good music, and then you have just this one person blowing your ears to some parallell dimension in space. Unbelievable.

This is the best of two (or more) worlds. It is the psykkedelik drone world, and the “world music” world. Mostly recognizable influences is India, and maybe North Africa. Noisy soundscapes compete with droney layers and wonderful melodies, while sometimes a synthesizer or drum machine breaks the repetitiveness.

So now you can get your krautrock/raga/psychedelic fix at the same time! Seriously, get this one. I am sure you have ENOUGH punk/hardcore records for this life, and the next!

NEXT!

KÖHN – we need more space in the cosmos LP

Holy crap! It is Jean-Michel Jarre. No it is no! But it is just as good. No, even better! Enough said. Get it!
And if you still wanna know more about it, here we go:
This one is krautpunk mixed with drones, melodies and atmospheres. Some parts are really beautiful and fragile, while others are creepy and strong. I can’t really define what it is about this one that makes me love it so much, since it reminds me of a lot of other contemporary records in the same style. If I was more of a hippie, I’d say it is because of some spiritual connection on the other side of a wormhole, or the power of a black materia crystal, but not today. Instead I think the explanation lies in the bombastic and dreamy blankets of analog synthesizer sounds, and the freaky drum parts. It really sounds like a less megalomaniac, and more emotionally clever underground Jarre. Plus it is not just the same song over and over again, which is a good thing, for some of us at least.

Some surprising “moshier” parts that seems to hail from the part of the instrumental postpunk scene that kinda crossed over with metal, kinda freaked me out at first. But after a while I started to like them. Some Don Caballero, Trans Am and The Fucking Champs comes to mind. Anyways, this one is lazer beams for your ears.

Little Girls, Mt. Sims & The Beets

Little Girls – Youth Tunes 7″

Apparently this is their first release, although reading some articles about them it seems like their discography is somewhat of a mysterious and confusing story. I just know it is one of those bands, that you can’t ignore. Really catchy songs, and an appealing lo-fi sound to go with them. I usually don’t like semi crappy recordings, but if the songs are great, it doesn’t really matter.

In my mind, Little Girls are a perfect mix of new wave and punk rock, with a lot of great melodies. The songs could just as well be the soundtrack to a foggy night or a late night walk. It could also be the songs that would make any party explode or the songs that’ll get you out of bed in the mornings. Seriously, without me writing four pages about it, just trust me and check it out. You can thank me later…

(We still have a handful copies of their LP. It is called ‘Thrills’ and would fit perfectly in your record collection)

Mt. Sims – A Grave 12″

Next up is this piece of wax that was already spinning this morning when i showed up at the HQ. At first it didn’t really affect me, but then one song had this kind of mellow Godflesh part in it, and I just had to listen to it again. Of course the rest of this 12″ doesn’t sound anything like Godflesh, but it is still totally amazing. It seems that I’m in this new wave mood today, but hey, if it is good it is good. Dancefriendly new wave punkrockish awesomeness. Obvious influences from The Cure, Joy Division, Sisters Of Mercy and so on. The music alone is amazing, it is dark and depressing at times,  but also warm and uplifting. And the vocals, they are to die for… Matt Sims has a voice that really ties everything together. So without further ado, I command you to buy this one.

The Beets – Spit In The Face Of People Who Don’t Wanna Be Cool

Jesus, this is yet another great garagepunk record. Captured Tracks seem to know how to find great releases. It is less punk, and more garage. Some songs are really stripped down to it’s bare essentials, and at one point it made me think of the chopped & screwed genre. You know, a bunch of big black guys from Texas who drank too much cough syrup and started experimenting with slowing & pitching down hip hop beats. There is of course no connection between The Beets music and the hip hop derivate that is chopped & screwed, but the similarity lies more in the fact that this is somewhat original. It is not just another record by a band that tries sooooo hard to sound like their idols. This is something unique, without losing it’s roots. It took me a few songs before I realized how good the band really is. In a simple but honest way, they deliver 12 nice songs. The cover also caught my eye. It is a somewhat childish drawing of a WWE wrestler named Carlito, and the back has a picture of him doing his trademark apple spit on The Undertaker, (anachronically) accompanied by his old manager Paul Bearer. The title of the album comes also comes from the world of professional wrestling, as it is one of Carlito’s catch phrases. And if this isn’t enough reason for you to pick this up, or at least give it a try, I don’t know what is…

On a side note, the Undertaker hasn’t done anything lately that doesn’t fall under the category “boring, predictable and cheesy”. Instead, check out this match from 2006. One of the best matches in the history of modern wrestling.

PART ONE
PART TWO