Tusk - The Resisting Dreamer (2007)

Atmospheric post-metal with epic songs that do

not just bludgeon the senses but have an almost

dreamlike (a very heavy dream!) feel for passages

before the drums and guitars crash in.

Doomy drones give a background tapestry to the

slower tracks while as things speed up, noisy

hardcore textures help give this a satisfying heavy

end to everything.

I had a lot more to write but I keep getting bombed out

of Blogger, so will take this chance to post when I can!

Band Info

Posting problems

Blogger has not let me sign in for the last 3 days and it seems to be affecting other people as well.

Some people have fixed this by changing browsers but it did not work for me.

I use a Mac and Safari and was only able to post this by using an ancient, emergency work PC which is slower than a slow thing being very slow indeed.

If anyone else can crack this, let me know.

Ufomammut - Eve (2010)

This is the Italians 5th album and is made up of a

single 45 minute track divided up into 5 movements.

With the sound firmly cemented in Doom, this starts

off with ambient sounds that slowly build up with

layered guitars that gradually explode into a sonic

explosion of dense heaviness.

I am quite new to the world of doom, so have no idea

about comparisons or the correct termonology ..... but

the riffs are killers in the sense that the notes not only

somehow sound heavier than normal but they evolve,

bringing new sounds of chord progressions in a very

organic way, nothing seems forced, everything just flows

into the next track.

You get chanting vocals, slow frenzied solos, deep grooves,

drones, organ stabs, samples and throughout, plenty of

distortion and feedback.

Did I mention the heaviness?

Band Info

Public ImageLtd - Metal Box (1979)

Whatever Lydon does in the future - or has done

in the last 10 years, "Bollocks" and "Metal Box"

can stand as hugely influential albums.

His grating vocals and abstract, doom laden

lyrics set the scene for the jagged Kraut-rock

rhythms, dub bass lines, droning keyboards

and Keith Levene's twisted, spiraling, harsh

brittle guitar work. Was this the first comprehensive

album to herald post-punk?

I remember interviews with them saying that they

recorded late at night, speeding off their tits and

just trying anything that did not sound like "rock".

All the songs have a minimal production which build

up the tension with a feeling of claustrophobic

suffocation that the repeated riff lines help to produce.

Jah Wobble weaves his bass lines in and out with the

guitar and the resulting songs are ahead of anything

I had heard before.

I got the Metal Box which contained 3 "12 records

which were a real fucker to get out without snapping

them in half. How proud I was with my shiny collectors

item sitting proudly with my other records. I am less

proud 32 years later now that my once-oh-so-shiny

tin is now covered with some sort of rust that marks

anything it touches! How proud PIL must be of that fact!

Bastards............ now enter a world of brilliance.

Band Info

If you want to see someone using the tin as a cookie mould - Watch

The Flaming Lips - Dark Side of The Moon (2009)

I bet this had Floyd fans frothing at the mouth.

For over 35 years, this album has ingrained itself

into everyday life and I'm sure as some sort of

benchmark for how a "proper album" should sound.

Hey, don't get me wrong, the original is a fucking

classic and anyone who thinks otherwise is a dick

but here, The Flaming Lips have torn it apart and

given it a reconstructed kicking!

This was part of the Record Day event held in the

States in 2009.

Teaming up with Stardeath and the White Dwarf,

they also got Henry Rollins to provide vocals for

all the speaking parts.

"Breathe " starts off with a heavy distorted bass line

and a sparse wailing guitar - straight away you are

made aware that this is not a slavish copy but their

own take on the masterpiece.

Where you would expect alarm bells for the beginning

of "Time", you get electronic klaxons and warning sounds

before the reflective, quiet vocals start.

"The Great Gig in The Sky" with the famous Clare Terry

vocals, has Peaches reining in her trademark banshee wailings

and giving a restrained - and very good - performance.

"Money" is brought down to its bare bones and the vocals

are heavily processed - very much like Gilmours on "Sheep"

from the "Animals" album.

Reaching the end, "Us and Them" is sung with a wistful vocal and

backed with keyboards that would not sound out of place in a

small church, having a sunday service!

This can stand alongside your copy of the "Easy Star All Stars" version

and should be of interest to most people who read this blog.

Band Info

Kong - Snake Magnet (2009)

Brought for you from the fantastic Brew Records

label, this is a twisted, brutal and intense album,

full of chaotic and technical workouts that have

lashings of distorted guitar.

Sounding like the bastard son of Shellac and the

Jesus Lizard, these boys also have enough of

their own identity to produce something that

stands on its two own feet without feeling like

a direct rip-off.

Don't look for the normal verse / chorus as

Kong hammer out riffs that twist and turn,

making each song follow its own peculiar logic.

Give this a deserved listen while waiting for

something new to emerge this year ... hopefully.

Band Info/Record Label/Purchase

MC5 - Saginaw Civic Centre 1st Jan 1970

History according to the book of Maim.

1st album "Kick Out The Jams" was one of the

greatest live albums ever.

3rd album "High Times" was a sonic masterpiece,

a stab of proto-punk and psychedelia.

The 2nd album "Back in The USA" was a limp,

tired, thin sounding piece of shit, that with the

exception of a couple of songs, sucked hugely.

For those of you who agree with me, here is a live

recording of the Motor City Boys performing most

of "Back in The USA" as it should of been played

the first time - with power and passion and an urgency,

NOW these songs sound good.

If any one actually reads these reviews, this CD is

from the boxed set "Purity Accuracy" and is CD 3.

If you prefer "Back in The USA" over the other albums - get the fuck off my blog!

The Blood - False Gestures for a Devious Public (1983)

Saw these guys a lot - they seemed to always

support The Damned.

This was high-octane punk, high on memorable

tunes, wicked fast guitar licks and solos, great

thuggish singing with a lot of backing vocals

sounding like a drunken football crowd - this

sometimes earned them the "Oi" tag which

was pretty unfair.

The singer would dress up as a Cardinal, (very

suitable as his name was Cardinal Jesus Hate!) covered

in fake blood and I am pretty sure I remember that

the album release date was delayed as the pressing

plant refused to go ahead, objecting to the lyrics

and cover!

This features high on my top punk albums which

have driving songs and killer tunes rather than

my crust/anarcho albums!

Basically, if you like any songs from "Machine Gun

Etiquette", give this a listen.

Beautiful People - If 60's Were 90's (1994)

This has disaster written all over it - a bunch of

ravers let loose on Hendrix tunes!

But before you set fire to your guitar and hunt them

down ..... have a listen.

Rather than a cheap cash in, these guys took their

ideas to Jimi's father who gave his complete permission

for them to go ahead.

This has been done with respect and care and the

end results take the Hendrix legacy into a different genre.

Using many snippets of riffs and vocals as a template, they

are woven into ambient/acid beat tracks that have a real

groove to them. The Jimi samples are not smothered or

hidden underneath the songs, rather they become the driving

force in the loops and should appeal to guitar or electronic fans.

Or maybe not - I do not care.

Band Info

The Future Sound of London - Lifeforms (1994)

A double album from the electronic experimentation

band, The Future Sound of London.

This is full of epic, ambient soundscapes that flow

from song to song with phrases that repeat throughout.

Unlike The Orb, percussion and drums do not dictate

the rhythm or tempo of the tracks (unlike their next record

- Dead Cities), instead pacing is achieved by sound effects,

gentle drones, snippets of speech, rainfall and wind to give

a organic feel.

Mix in trip-hop, ambient dub and an almost dreamy psychedelic

feel - this is music to bliss out to.

Band Info

Pneu - Highway to Health (2011)

A compelling mix of Math-rock, instrumental

and Noise-rock.

Strong, frantic, heavy and chaotic all spring to mind

when these French guys do their thang.

I am having to go somewhere shortly, so:

This band is very much like a more tuneful "Lightning

Bolt".

You will either know what this means or you are reading

the wrong blog.

Band Info

Faust - Faust is Last (2010)

A very strong album from the Kraut-rock vetrans.

I hate reading reviews that just say "This is really

hard to describe" but this is really hard to describe!

This is not a nostalgia trip - it is very firmly set

in the "now", smashing through genres often in

a single song.

Sun-Ra meets grungy rock and takes a trip into

noise passages before ambient drones float through

the speakers ......guitars, noises, keyboards ....... each

track leads somewhere else.

No point in reading this, if you want to try something

different or just to dip your toe into kraut-rock - listen.

Band Info