Pelican - "Forever Becoming" album review

One always has expectations when listening to a new album by an established band for the first time. Chicago’s Pelican have a reputation for expansive oceans of sound that quite literally are the sound track to some gargantuan military like operation. On first hearing “Forever Becoming” those distinctive swathes of sound are still pummelling the ears, but now they have an edge to them. Where once they may have been ethereal in their majesty, Pelican are now showing their teeth. The departure of founding guitarist Laurent Schroeder-Lebec, replaced byDallas Thomas, may possibly have been the catalyst to spark this metamorphosis. It has been argued elsewhere that by 2009’s “What We All Come To Need”, the band had hit a creative brick wall, too comfortable with their niche sound and content to meander. Whatever one’s feelings about this, the arrangement here seem cohesive and feed off many of the elements of their previous releases. Whereas other bands that are known primarily for instrumental sheets of guitar are possibly becoming more melodic in their approach, Pelican have gone back in to the garage.

‘Terminal’ is a lugubrious opener, which draws on an industrial like template to gain its’ atmospherics. It is not until you hear the demented progressions on ‘Deny the Absolute’ that you realise what the band have achieved here. It has tight momentum, an ominous riff and could be argued to be one of the most ferocious pieces the band has ever committed to release. This is no longer music for melancholic contemplation, this is music to unpack the air guitar, close the doors and let go. The pace does not let up either on ‘The Tundra’ which barges forward over its’ five minute duration, before exploding into chaos. ‘Immutable Dusk’ does hark back to a more reflective Pelican, whilst ‘Threnody’ explores the changes in dynamic, which may have come to be associated with bands such as Mogwai….

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Cave - "Threace" album review

Chicago band Cave, over their six-year history, have earned themselves a reputation as being the torchbearers of the contemporary “Krautrock” sound. Locked progressions and riffs that repeat just long enough to be irritating to hear, or fascinating to immerse into, depending upon the listeners’ proclivity. In many ways it would be too simplistic to make reference to such seminal, and oft cited names such as Can, Faust, Neu and Amon Duul. Reference has also been made to the similarities between their style of playing and bands such asStereolab. Sadly comparisons such as this can a hindrance in putting contemporary music such as this into context. Far from harking back to a golden era of repletion in music, Cave brings motorik right up to date.

The five tracks that make up “Threace” each clock in at around the nine or ten minute mark, and palpably push the listeners perception of what may be possible with repetition. The compositions themselves are in no way particularly complex or angular in structure in the way that some “post rock” outfits take on the hypnotic. ‘Sweaty Fingers’ for example is laden with a funky groove, which owes as much to early 1970’s Miles Davis and the relentless momentum of “Rite” by Julian Cope, as it does to the German experimental scene. The repeating motifs genuinely get deep inside the listeners psyche, as sparse guitar and bass lines scratch away for four or five minutes. Again, depending upon the listeners’ point of view, this repetition is absurd, or a deeply spiritual experience.

‘Silver Headband’ quickly puts its’ cards on the table and lets the listener know that what you will be hearing here is unadulterated repetition, with no obvious change in dynamic and no significant layering of sound. Here we have music that is trying its hardest to be interesting and different, but music which is giving the listener space to immerse themselves and allowing them permission to indulge. It could be argued that compositions such as ‘Arrows Myth’ and ‘Shiaawka’, with their suggestion of mystical jazz-rock, do benefit from, and become more accessible because of, layers of instrumentation, which bring to mind the mid-1970’s jazz-rock of Frank Zappa on albums such as “The Grand Wazoo”…

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This is where Christmas music begins and ends…..

Dylan Thomas - Poem on His Birthday

A reading of the Dylan Thomas poem "Poem on His Birthday" by Twitter users (including yours truly)...

...as part of the dylanthomas100.org celebrations.

DylanThomas100

Trance Lucid - Palace of Ether album review

Trance Lucid is a suitably enigmatic name for a band that plays music that is defiantly their own. Anyone expecting grandiose metal with gothic imagery, as suggested on the album cover, will be in for a surprise. A three piece from Oakland, California, featuring Dave Halverson on guitar, Terry Lee on percussion and Richard Bugbee on keyboards, “Palace of Ether” is their fifth release, and can be summed up as a carefully crafted collection of memorable, and sharply intelligent, selections of raw funk underpinning complex arrangements, which may be categorised as “jazz funk” or “jazz prog” if such a label were necessary.

Opening with “TM” which scythes a gorgeously angular riff across rock solid beats with attitude and careful consideration, “Palace of Ether” progresses with music that deviates in depth and complexity. “Spyglass” utilises a similar “funk” template but adds guitar soloing of fire and intensity. “Illumination” and “Pocket” bring to mind the work of guitarists such as John McLaughlin or, to some extent, Jeff Beck, albeit with a tension and an abrasiveness that gives these pieces their distinctiveness. Anyone concerned with the possibility that “Palace of Ether” may feature guitar soloing that never fully reaches a satisfactory conclusion, will be happy to know that each piece on this release is no more five or six minutes long. Conversely, anyone concerned with the possibility that these pieces may not be self indulgent enough will be pleased to know that within that tight framework there is economy of composition to allow liberty of expression.

Elsewhere, the album has been criticised for allowing the instruments to disappear before they have fully established themselves in the music, which may or may not be the charm of “Palace of Ether”. Each piece is almost a vignette in sound evoking a mood or situation individual to the listener. Listening to a piece like “The Crossing” illustrates this perfectly, there is space within the piece, almost stark in its’ instrumentation, but the space is used efficiently. There may be a rough edge to the production, but there is also fragility as evidenced on a piece such as “Many Rooms”. Occasionally the essence moves away from what could be described as “jazz rock” to a more straight ahead blues influence. Indeed, it seems as the album progresses, so the myriad influences seem to slide carefully in to place...

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Devin Townsend Project - The Retinal Circus album review

ne of the first things to strike this reviewer, on hearing this audio recording of theDevin Townsend Project, is how much of the overall experience is lost without visual accompaniment. Recorded live, in October 2012 at The Roundhouse in London, at a concert that was simultaneously broadcast online and featured circus performers, puppets, fire breathers, pole dancers, a choir and a giant vagina and inflatable penis, all narrated by Steve Vai, there is no doubt that this was a performance that had to be seen to be believed. There is a palpable sense throughout that there is something going on onstage that we the listeners are not a party to, but leaving that potential disappointment aside “The Retinal Circus” is essentially a musical utilising Devin Townsend’s material over the years. But this is in no way a simple “Best Of” project. “It’s a musical, how gay can you get? …Right?” he declares during a thunderous version of “Planet of the Apes”. This is precisely the right way to approach this set. “It was an absurd project to start. But it was an even more absurd project to finish”.

Apparently conceived over a year and rehearsed in one and a half days, “The Retinal Circus” is “a story about a young man who goes to sleep and through characters dreams and the emotional metaphors that climax into the realisation that life is all about relationships”. As the journey begins with “Effervescent/True North”, the songs narrate the saga with equal part humour and sincerity. “Lucky Animals” features a beautifully catchy sing-a-long chorus that bounces along taking the willing riders along with it. This is grandeur theatrics that, in the hands of any other artist, could potentially be an embarrassment, but in the hands ofDevin Townsend is a glorious occasion. “Planet Smasher” is dark and severe but still maintains a tongue in cheek edge and helps illustrate the breadth and depth of Townsend’s vocal ability.

There are some stunning performances cherry picked from a variety of sources throughout Townsend’s catalogue. “Lucky Animals”, “Kingdom” and “Grace” from the more recent “Epicloud” are boisterous in performance, whilst live versions of “The Greys” and “Colour Your World” from his “Ziltoid the Omniscient” project are surely a treat for listeners familiar with his work. The “Infinity” album is well represented by “Soul Driven”, “Truth”, “War” and “Colonial Boy”, with “War” providing evidence again, if it were needed, that Devin Townsend can pull off an unruly good time song with assurance. The atmosphere is given depth however with the inclusion of songs of a more affectionate nature such as “Ih-Ah!” from the “Addicted” album. There are a number of performers who will be familiar to the devotee, Anneke Van Giersbergen is a Devin Townsend Project regular whilstStrapping Young Lad’s Jed Simon takes the stage in the second half of the show....

Link to the full review

Russian Circles - "Memorial" album review

The label “post rock” is one that is rather dissatisfying when it is levelled at so many artists who create broad guitar based soundscapes. This generalisation will most probably be used to define the sound of Chicago based three-pieceRussian Circles. “Memorial” is their fifth release, and far from feeling formulaic, the album shows a band that have many disparate layers of sound at their disposal.

Opening with the gently lilting ‘Memorium’ which weaves an almost sinister guitar line through fragile layers of keyboard, ‘Deficit’ fills the space with a downpour of guitar, bass and thundering percussion. Chord progressions aggressively propel the tune forward, increasing passion and tension, and leaving nothing in their wake.

“Post rock” can be characterised by a sense of drifting in sound and intensity, whereas the overall sense here is impetus and pushing ever onward. The tension is broken on ’1777′ but the underlying unease remains. The overall ambience could not be described as heavy and dense, as the guitars in particular have a heavy lean towards the treble, but the ethereal is never far from the mix. Again, the intensity builds, ebbs and flows, which holds the concentration and the attentive listener....

Full review here at This Is Not A Scene