I have a couple of Wooden Wand & the Vanishing Voice records. I highy recommend Buck Dharma above all the others, some of which are quite spotty but still good. Jackie-O Motherfucker has an excellent record called Flags of the Sacred Harp that is a good place to start in their catalog. No-Neck Blues Band has a record called Qvaris that you should check out. As for Sunburned Hand of the Man, most of their releases have been very hard to find and I haven't taken the time to try ordering one. I think they are pretty good now, but I reviewed one of their records for Delusions of Adequacy a few years ago and totally trashed it and got some hate mail from one of the labels that put it out. I have a feeling that if I went back and listened to it now it might seem better. As far as the Boredoms are concerned, I highly recommend picking up both Vision Creation Newsun and Super AE. They're different sounding from one another but I think they're probably the best two in the band's catalog. If you want to talk about stuff like Keith Fullerton Whitman, you might want to investigate the Touch label in the UK. They put out some similar artists that are a little harder to get into. I like Phill Niblock, Rafael Toral, and Jacob Kirkegaard but it's pretty difficult stuff. The first time I listened to a Niblock record I couldn't tell that anything was going on beyond one lone drone note for an hour. It isn't nearly as (relatively) easy to listen to as Keith Fullerton Whitman and you won't find any melodies in their work. All of the Vibracathedral Orchestra stuff is good. I love the Double Leopards stuff that I have, but pretty much all of their records were limited pressings on CD and vinyl except for A Hole Is True and you won't be able to get them from any distro now, believe me I've tried. Hopefully they'll repress some of it eventually. I haven't bought the Eluvium record yet, I'm a little apprehensive about it but I don't know why. I highly recommend the Belong October Language record too if you're at all into Fennesz or Tim Hecker.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: jonathanbrisby,
First off, great thread, I've seen a lot of bands/albums mentioned that I have been meaning to check out or was wondering 'who else would be listening to this?'
For example, The Joan of Arc album alluded to earlier The Gap or (although infinitely more popular in crtical acclaim) Black Dice's Creature Comfort.
Just to quickly expand on the discussion, what do you guys think about the distinction made in the genre between pure "Noise" and "Noise-Rock". I'm talking about bands like Hella, Lightning Bolt, and Melt Bannana, should they be separated from artists like the aformentioned Black Dice, Merzbow, etc.?
Originally posted by jonathanbrisby: No-Neck Blues Band has a record called Qvaris that you should check out. As for Sunburned Hand of the Man, most of their releases have been very hard to find and I haven't taken the time to try ordering one.
Yep, I enjoyed Qvaris, great disc. I'm sure there's cheaper places to buy them at, but I've either picked up a few or learned about such music as No-Neck Blues Band and Sunburned Hand of the Man at Aquarius Records. I've been trying to find an interesting looking, related V/A comp, Space Is No Place, with no luck. Anyone heard this?
Posts: 9853 | Location: State of Insanity | Registered: 22 September 2005
Originally posted by Failureninja: First off, great thread, I've seen a lot of bands/albums mentioned that I have been meaning to check out or was wondering 'who else would be listening to this?'
For example, The Joan of Arc album alluded to earlier The Gap or (although infinitely more popular in crtical acclaim) Black Dice's Creature Comfort.
the joan of arc album is not noise at all, but i would say that in the path from four piece standard indie/alt/college/emo/etc rock to ambient/drone/noise, joan of arc's the gap served as a bridge in that path for me personally.
to rephrase: this comment about joan of arc was in response to and part of the idea that there is a path to ambient/drone/noise (listed by ease of listenability, in my opinion) and it's not just something where you get into it right off the bat. but again, because so many indie music people hate joan of arc, i would feel bad recommending it to anyone, even though i love it almost as much as any other album i own.
what are some other albums of this sort (that may be more agreeable than joan of arc) that bridge indie rock and noise for those who haven't listened to noise or need a way to ramp up to noisier music?
This message has been edited. Last edited by: not eric,
Posts: 171 | Location: Phoenix | Registered: 05 September 2004
I think groups like Liars and Animal Collective are great for people who want to test the waters so to speak. They're primarily indie rock, but difficult to classify. Both of them have some records that are easier to listen to and some others that are more difficult. Also, any of the noise groups mentioned in the above post that utilize drumming like Melt-Banana or Lightning Bolt or The Locust. Those bands are more structured and definitely another way to bridge the gap to straight up, beatless noise.
[Pitchfork hates Joan of Arc = "Indie Rockers" hate Joan of Arc, Coincidince?]
I have a bunch of suggestion of albums for a bridge between rock or electronic to "pure" noise or beatless noise, I would say that most of this music falls under the category of Noise-Pop, here are a few to check out now:
Sufjan Stevens-Enjoy Your Rabbit, It is an electronic album, but a lot of the music is very formless, doesn't sound at all like any of Stevens other records (which in this case is suprisingly a good thing)
Xiu Xiu-Faboulous Muscles/La Foret (catch them live) Another band people love to hate, the music can often be challenging to get into (vocally/rythmically), but the musicians will alway bring the (electric/programmed) beat back in the end.
The Ladies-They Mean Us And Zach Hill & The Holy Smokes-Masculine Drugs Zach Hill is the percusively expressive everyman you know from "Noise-Rock" duo Hella. He is also a prolific musician, who on these records taps more into the poppy side of rock at incredible bpms. (If you haven't checked out Hella, it's top notch sloppy rock, start with one of their studio albums...)
Another great way to prepare yourself for getting into 'Noise' music, is to listen to a lot of free jazz, but i'll expand on that in my next post.
Originally posted by not eric: i like eluvium's talk amongst the trees quite a bit. from almost strictly guitar based drone music, i think, off the top of my head, that record and windy and carl's consciousness are the best there is, although i suppose i tend to like more electronic/computer manipulated stuff like wind-up bird's whips (which also uses guitar) or fennesz's endless summer a little more. but eluvium's talk amongst the trees is a fantastic ambient/guitar drone type album for anyone looking to crack that style of music. i wouldn't really put it under noise, but i think ambient/drone is a good starting place for anyone interested in going down towards noisier stuff eventually.
I know Eluvium isn't noise but more ambient drone however I don't want to start another topic and I figure noise heads are probably the ones equally interested in ambient drone. Fennesz and Wind-Up Bird are awesome. I know Wind-Up Bird is definitely more subdued on record but I saw him live and it was straight noise. I actually wrote a paper on it for my english class it was so amazing.
Originally posted by jonathanbrisby: I think groups like Liars and Animal Collective are great for people who want to test the waters so to speak. They're primarily indie rock, but difficult to classify. Both of them have some records that are easier to listen to and some others that are more difficult. Also, any of the noise groups mentioned in the above post that utilize drumming like Melt-Banana or Lightning Bolt or The Locust. Those bands are more structured and definitely another way to bridge the gap to straight up, beatless noise.
I completely agree. there are songs on Animal Collective's Here comes the Indian that fuse some noise with some great melodic music. Also, a band like Lightning Bolt does a great job of lending discernable melodies to noise-ish music
I actually read that review (along with every other one written for it). Good stuff. I dodn't know you wrote for DOA. It seems like everyone is advertising for writers now adays. How did you get into that/like it?
I don't know if anyone else here maintains a list of bands/albums that they have found and want to get but I definately do and was wondering if anyone actually has any of these that pertain to more avant-garde/noise/home-listening. Some of them have already been mentioned in this forum so if you have commented about them previously don't worry about it.
Deaf Center - Pale Ravine Wind-Up Bird - Whips Jackie-O Motherfucker - Liberation Gang Gang Dance - Hillulah Belong - October Language Mise En Abyme - Jesquibel William Basinski - Disintigration Loops (I have Melancholia. I'm interested in any information on any releases anyone may have heard) The Dead Teaxan - s/t Magik Markers - I trust My Guitar ect. Susumu Yokota - Symbol Tim Hecker - Haunt Me, Haunt me, Do It Again Mountains - s/t Excepter - KA
Obviously some of a lot of them may be nowhere near being classified as noise but avant none the less and probably more familiar to those in this discussion.
I have some of those records. I definitely recommend the Belong - October Language album. It sounds very similar to William Basinski's Disintegration Loops I-IV actually. I have those as well, very highly recommended. Mountains' self-titled record is good but if you don't have either of them, I recommend getting Sewn first, in my opinion it's slightly better. The Wind-Up Bird's Whips is good but nothing that I was super impressed with, I've only listened to it a couple of times and I bought it when it came out.
As for Excepter, I really like Throne, and I just recently bought KA at one of their shows despite the fact that they were possibly the single worst band that I paid money to see and expected to be good or at least entertaining. After watching them live, I really hate their new stuff even more than I already did. They sounded like Jimmy Buffett covering Black Dice with two guys dressed up like they were from Nine Inch Nail's Downward Spiral era 1995 and John Fell Ryan looked like he stepped out of an ad for Abercrombie and Fitch, which is beside the point except for that it seemed like he cared more about how he looked than what the band was doing. Most boring show I've ever been to, and one of the only shows that I've ever walked out on.
Originally posted by Sicnarf: Deaf Center - Pale Ravine Wind-Up Bird - Whips Jackie-O Motherfucker - Liberation Gang Gang Dance - Hillulah Belong - October Language Mise En Abyme - Jesquibel William Basinski - Disintigration Loops (I have Melancholia. I'm interested in any information on any releases anyone may have heard) The Dead Teaxan - s/t Magik Markers - I trust My Guitar ect. Susumu Yokota - Symbol Tim Hecker - Haunt Me, Haunt me, Do It Again Mountains - s/t Excepter - KA
I know a few people who thing Wind Up Bird's Whips is essential. I myself can only say that I like it a lot, and it deserves to be heard. I think the way he makes music is more interesting than the music he actually makes...an unfortunate result of too much academic musical pursuits?...perhaps.
Belong's October Language is one of the three or four absolutely essential records I've heard this year, in any genre/style.
Basinski kind of put me to sleep, so I only listened to one of the Loops albums...maybe the others were better and put the one I heard in a different context?...perhaps, but I'm going to try to find out.
The Dead Texan's s/t is a a little too same-y for me, but the textures are great. A few of the songs are pretty awesome, but some feel like repeats of other songs. I think it's mostly treated guitar and electric keys, which are a great match. Definitely worth checking out, particularly if you like Stars of the Lid.
I think Haunt Me... is my least favorite Hecker album, Mirages and then Radio Amor being my first and second choices. But if you're a fan of his, you'll definitely find 4 or 5 great songs.
And I second the notion that Sewn is better than the Mountains' s/t album. It just doesn't have the same spark as Sewn. Has anyone heard the song "Mountains (Edit)" from the Wire Tapper 11 comp? This is easily their best song, and I was so bummed to find neither of their albums sounds like like this song. That song is maybe the only song I listen to on a nearly weekly basis. It's just a drone, but it's SO rich.
Posts: 171 | Location: Phoenix | Registered: 05 September 2004
Also, has anyone checked out Chihei Hatakeyama's Minima Moralia (Kranky)? It's more electronic/ambient than noise, and it's just a very nice listen.
Does anyone else listen to Polmo Polpo? He delves into some static-y noises under which beats and slide guitar (interesting artistic choice) reside. Like Hearts Swelling is definitely worth checking out. I'm beginning to think Sandro Perri is criminally over looked in the avant/electronic scene from what I can tell (his latest is under the name Glissandro 70, guitar funk and chants, and it's out of this world)
Posts: 171 | Location: Phoenix | Registered: 05 September 2004
Basinski kind of put me to sleep, so I only listened to one of the Loops albums...maybe the others were better and put the one I heard in a different context?...perhaps, but I'm going to try to find out
I love Basinski, but if you didn't enjoy one of the Disintegration Loops records I definitely wouldn't encourage you to listen to the others. They all follow the same motif. Long winding passages of slowly decaying pastoral piano/synth and static. Each one only has like one or two tracks that keep repeating until they sputter out. I love it, but I can also see how someone else might be bored by it, but since you (not eric) and I have similar tastes I might suggest listening to it again...
I completely agree that the Belong record is one of the straight up best of the year. I also agree with you on the Tim Hecker records. Mirages is my personal favorite. Have you heard his Van Halen record, My Love is Rotten to the Core? It's pretty cool too, definitely the least essential but highly entertaining if you're into early Van Halen like I am.
Chihei Hatakeyama's Minima Moralia is a fantastic record too.
Hey Sicnarf, When you mentioned that Deaf Center record above, have you actually heard it? I read a description on Forced Exposure and it sounded like it was some real William Basinski, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Belong type shit that would be right up my alley.
I've just listened to Boomkat samples and they also have a Myspace page with a couple tracks. I'm far too lazy to be ordering cds online and I'm afraid when I start I won't be able to stop but the moment I see that thing I would snatch it up. Seems a little more musically ambitious than a Basinski record as far as melody is concerned. A little bit less on the looping side. Super beautiful stuff though and definitely experimental.
