Miles Davis-On the Corner (1972)

There's no introduction necessary, is there? I mean, he's MILES. But I wanted to draw some attention to this one, which kind of seems like one of those "lost" albums that a minority discover in a classic musician's massive discography. I'm probably wrong but that doesn't change how fucking incredible this is. Possibly more psyched out than "Bitches' Brew." Essential.

Vote for Miles

Deep Turtle-There's a Vomitsprinkler in My Liverriver (1994)

"Carrying possibly one of the most bizarre titles ever to grace an album, the disc is loaded with almost an hour of Deep Turtle's trademark eccentricity which begins right from the album's back cover. The tracklist contains 18 titles divided into six groups of three. And the disc itself actually only contains six audio tracks... Yes, you got it. Each track contains three songs, separated from each other with funny little instrumental interludes.

1. Tiodt / Ha-Tuzta / Tostroid
2. Bay Zutus / Cardiako / Iim
3. Valz / Hot Mambo / Antivalz
4. Ørsentipede / Supraberber / Carrier
5. Pendulum / Mikrozufé / Bourno
6. Ultrabularit / Hogtar / D'kues

(Yep, most of the titles do not make much sense. Some of them are understandable for English speakers, a few are mangled Finnish words and the rest ... they just are.)

The eighteen songs twist, turn and writhe in a complex but sensible manner. The noisier, punky numbers are offset by a few moodier songs and a couple of instrumentals. A great amount of stylistical variance keeps the music interesting: Valz starts off with a folky acoustic waltz with obscure Spanish lyrics (I only recognize the word huevos which stands for "balls"), while Hogtar incorporates a surf guitar line over a twist beat.

Rhythmic complexity is abundant all over the record and is best shown by the strange time signatures on songs like Antivalz (5/4) or Carrier (9/8). And they are never there just for the sake of being "weird"; they all make perfect sense. The drummer has all the necessary chops to keep things nicely rolling, and is augmented by the bassist who skillfully provides both a rhythmic and a melodic counterpart for the drums and guitar respectively.

The sad thing about this album is the difficulty of obtaining it. Deep Turtle are and have always been a rather unknown band, albeit a celebrated and admittedly influential one. But if you ever have a chance to give this record a spin, I suggest you do it. It just might open your eyes."

What a killer band. Nothing out there sounds quite like it and, most importantly, they know how to write songs. Sweet band.

What the shit is a vomitsprinkler?

Mandatory Repost: Reeks & the Wrecks-Knife Hits (2005)

"An old drum kit. Homemade amps. A dented old trombone. A bucket and a handful of firecrackers. The Reeks make a sound that is otherworldly. Dark and stumbling, folk-flecked basement blues. A mix of woozy slide guitar, swampy trombone, sparse and erratic percussion, tape hiss, amp buzz, shortwave interference and dark doomy brilliance. Like a ghostly, indie rock New Orleans funeral jazz band or Roland S. Howard fronting the Dead C. Haunting, mesmerizing, gorgeously raucous, dreamily creepy and absolutely unlike anything you have ever heard. For years the Reeks played all up and down the West Coast, basements, back porches, living rooms, pizza parlours, with only a 12" and a battered old suitcase full of hand dubbed cassettes to their name, spreading their warm cloak of pulsing, droning creepy crawly throb over anyone lucky enough to be packed into the same sweaty space. At once jubilant and danceable, but at the same time, dark and lugubrious, ominous and somnabulent. Lovers of weird music couldn't get enough, but eventually, even dyed in the wool indie rockers began to embrace the Reeks, having perhaps found something that still smacked of their beloved indie rock, but was a little darker and a whole lot weirder than they were used to. But by then it was too late. The release of Knife Hits is truly bittersweet. After years of recording and re-recording, mixing and remixing, when Knife Hits was finally ready to be released, and the rest of the world would finally get to hear the Reeks' amazing off kilter avant indie funeral folk, Orion Satushek, Reeks mainman, guitar player, instrument builder and one of the nicest guys ever, was tragically hit and killed by a drunk driver. The personal loss, is indescribable, a deep sting everytime we think about him, his band, his music, his friendship. But the loss to music, to the music community, is immeasurable. Years of playing, and practicing and rocking and sweating in tiny cramped basements and doing with a crappy old drum kit and a couple of homemade amps what most bands can't do with all the equipment in the world is somehow all crammed onto this single disc. These ten songs. The passion, the playfulness, the dark moodiness, the spaced out droniness, the wild sweaty chaos, the sheer joy of making an unholy racket. This record is not only a totally unique chunk of damaged outsider rock brilliance, but it's also a fitting tribute to a friend we will never get over losing. We miss you, Orion." (Taken from Andee's discription on his tUMULt website)

Not much I can say then, huh? Great description, sums it up perfectly. Not quite sure how to feel when I listen to it but I love it and if you dig intriguing sounding stuff, well, what are you waiting for? Needless to say, very highly recommended.

*New link*

Hit me like you mean it!

Ephel Duath-Through My Dog's Eyes (2009)

This one is for Joe specifically since we were talking about Ephel Duath a few weeks ago and I had nothing to report. Lo and behold, a new album! And Marco Minnemann is drumming. Killer.

" Few bands within the metal genre can claim to be true innovators these days. One of these bands is EPHEL DUATH, who have managed to truly take their music to where no one else has ever gone before. Starting with their Black Metal-infused music, continuing with their interesting Jazz-Fusion approach and Electro-Dub vibe, they release a worthy successor to their previous masterpiece "Pain Necessary To Know". This time though, they take the whole concept album to an extreme, as the whole album is written from the perspective of a dog (!!!). Basically, what we have here according to Davide Tiso is the soundtrack of a dog's thoughts... talk about extreme now!
To be quite honest, only these guys could successfully release such a crazy concept and such an experimental album, often bordering with extremity, but always within the realms of the avant-garde - as we have been accustomed to all these years. EPHEL DUATH are no doubt one of the true innovators in the metal scene today and if there was ever an "Award for Innovation" they would keep winning it with every release. "

Fetch boy!

Reeks and the Wrecks-Kinfe Hits

"An old drum kit. Homemade amps. A dented old trombone. A bucket and a handful of firecrackers. The Reeks make a sound that is otherworldly. Dark and stumbling, folk-flecked basement blues. A mix of woozy slide guitar, swampy trombone, sparse and erratic percussion, tape hiss, amp buzz, shortwave interference and dark doomy brilliance. Like a ghostly, indie rock New Orleans funeral jazz band or Roland S. Howard fronting the Dead C. Haunting, mesmerizing, gorgeously raucous, dreamily creepy and absolutely unlike anything you have ever heard. For years the Reeks played all up and down the West Coast, basements, back porches, living rooms, pizza parlours, with only a 12" and a battered old suitcase full of hand dubbed cassettes to their name, spreading their warm cloak of pulsing, droning creepy crawly throb over anyone lucky enough to be packed into the same sweaty space. At once jubilant and danceable, but at the same time, dark and lugubrious, ominous and somnabulent. Lovers of weird music couldn't get enough, but eventually, even dyed in the wool indie rockers began to embrace the Reeks, having perhaps found something that still smacked of their beloved indie rock, but was a little darker and a whole lot weirder than they were used to. But by then it was too late. The release of Knife Hits is truly bittersweet. After years of recording and re-recording, mixing and remixing, when Knife Hits was finally ready to be released, and the rest of the world would finally get to hear the Reeks' amazing off kilter avant indie funeral folk, Orion Satushek, Reeks mainman, guitar player, instrument builder and one of the nicest guys ever, was tragically hit and killed by a drunk driver. The personal loss, is indescribable, a deep sting everytime we think about him, his band, his music, his friendship. But the loss to music, to the music community, is immeasurable. Years of playing, and practicing and rocking and sweating in tiny cramped basements and doing with a crappy old drum kit and a couple of homemade amps what most bands can't do with all the equipment in the world is somehow all crammed onto this single disc. These ten songs. The passion, the playfulness, the dark moodiness, the spaced out droniness, the wild sweaty chaos, the sheer joy of making an unholy racket. This record is not only a totally unique chunk of damaged outsider rock brilliance, but it's also a fitting tribute to a friend we will never get over losing. We miss you, Orion." (Taken from Andee's discription on his tUMULt website)

Not much I can say then, huh? Great description, sums it up perfectly. Not quite sure how to feel when I listen to it but I love it and if you dig intriguing sounding stuff, well, what are you waiting for? Needless to say, very highly recommended.

Hit me!