Swan Lake - Enemy Mine (Jagjaguwar, 2009)

by Michael

8

Released 24/03/2009

Somewhat of a supergroup on our hands here. With this Canadian trio the vocals and composition are provided by a revolving cast of Carey Mercer (of Frog Eyes fame: wailing, beast-like, amazingly emotive), Spencer Krug (of Sunset Rubdown fame: starkly assertive, military, equally emotive), and Daniel Bejar (of Destroyer fame: weary, earnest, sounding a bit like Torquil Campbell if he wasn't in Law & Order, and had never watched Law & Order). As Mercer's dayjob as an English teacher would suggest, the band's lyrics and reputation are somewhat literary - this was even consciously avoided in not naming this album, as originally planned, Before The Law after a Kafka short story.

Enemy Mine, released in March of this year, opens with remarkably spikey guitars - acoustic and electric, gentle and aggressive, all merging seamlessly through slapback delay and distinctive picking, making for an exciting initial texture over a big spacious drum beat. The frantic oration of Carey Mercer spews forth, as if unmediated anguish, bringing to mind a less human-sounding and much less horny Jamie Stewart. A controlled disregard for voice-cracks and any syllabic confinement makes each of Mercer's vocal contributions an instant album highlight. Epic closer 'Warlock Psychologist', is another example, featuring menacing fuzz bass, visceral drums and grimey guitar tones, supporting Mercer at his most preacher-like. The images and references are so obscure as to give the impression that each word may have been chosen meticulously for its sound alone, and the delay adds even more impact to Mercer's devilish diction.

Krug's contributions sometimes don't venture far enough from the Sunset Rubdown palette, e.g. the rhythmically driven keyboard parts in 'Settle on Your Skin' could be straight off Random Spirit Lover, although this isn't particularly insulting, what with Sunset Rubdown also being amazing. The album's ballad 'A Hand at Dusk', also Krug-penned, has a harmonically adventurous piano part as its backbone, attemptedly subverted at the halfway point by powerful swirling synth drones. The subsequent refrain 'It's getting old, I know, I know / but you still look good to me in that knee-length checkered dress' is nothing short of heartbreaking.

Overall, a highly successful and distinctive collaboration, although appropriately or not, Mercer seems to tower above the other two contributors. Probably the second best 9-track LP of the year so far *cough Bitte Orca cough*. In addition, it is worth checking out the other projects featuring these three musicians, most notably Sunset Rubdown, Frog Eyes, Destroyer and Wolf Parade. Each offer their own distinctive dose of this brand of emotive and carefully thought out pop music.

Links:
Swan Lake at Jagjaguwar

Lightning Bolt. Earthly Delights (Load Records, 2009)

by Michael

7

Released 13/10/2009

This latest work from the Rhode Island pair of Brians is a Lightning Bolt record through and through - noisy, riffy, and maintaining the impression that they would be even better live (which they are - see them, or failing that, YouTube).

Promising opener 'Sound Guardian' displays their unwavering allegiance to the minor third and the distorted telephone receiver, as Brian Gibson's idiosyncratic bass sound (crunchy, phased, and very DigiTech) provides a stalwart and cycical backdrop to Chipperdale's frankly insane drumming (yes, not the other way around). The overall effect is nigh on transcendental, with a jam-like feel and a very easily recognisable sound that impossibly straddles the virtuosic and anti-virtuosic. 'Colossus' certainly lives up to its name, the uncharacteristically slow tempo transforming that Lightning Bolt sound into a menacing stomper of a track. A similar impression is also created with the epic closing track 'Transmissionary'.

There is a slight sense of Lightning Bolt-by-numbers in some of the tracks – the adrenaline fuelled 'The Sublime Freak', for example, presents as an uncomfortably accurate replica of 'Dracula Mountain', perhaps the band's most well-known offering, having been covered live by Muse. Having said this, there are morsels of a new approaches scattered throughout the album, for instance the spacious and almost ambient vocal texture that opens 'Flooded Chamber', the short serene stasis of 'Rain on Lake I'm Swimming In'.

Generally speaking, Lightning Bolt leave a little to be desired, particularly in variation. It is difficult to become obsessed with them, but if you do it would be far from a balanced musical diet. Likely, resulting in riff-based scurvy. Earthly Delights is, however, a vastly driving/energetic opus, where a cracked veneer of 'business as usual' is shone through by a few rays of sonic variation.

Those interested in Chipperdale's fantastic drum work may wish to check out his appearance on Björk's 'Náttúra', which also features heavily processed Thom Yorke vocal samples, and one of the best bass drum sounds of all time.

If in search for drummers that share Brian Chipperdale's speedy/spastic style, I recommend looking into the work of Zach Hill (of Hella fame, and recently working with Wavves) and Deerhoof's Greg Saunier, whose Tourette's shows in his rhythms. These two along with Chipperdale make up some kind of holy trinity resembling the best drummers in the world. Like the G3... but with less chronic masturbation, and not totally shit.

Links:
Laserbeast
Load Records

Tyondai Braxton. Central Market (Warp, 2009)

by Michael

7

Released 15/09/2009

Tyondai Braxton is the son of Anthony Braxton, a highly praised (and equally shunned) experimental jazz musician whose prolific output spans the last half a century. Tyondai also fronts Battles, whose first and only full-length Mirrored has received substantial acclaim and was lauded among any press outlet afflicted with the list-making compulsion as one of the more prominent releases of 2007. So. Eccentrically named Tyondai Braxton has a lot to live up to in more than one area.

'Opening Bell' is a piano driven shout out to American '60s minimalism, with a jazzy opening piano cell reminiscent of the Esbjörn Svensson or Brad Mehldau - his father's influence at work no doubt. It's barely half a minute, however, before the trademark processed whistles of Mirrored come into play, instantly gripping the Battles umbilical cord. The track soon moves into jagged march-like rhythms, however, and impressive orchestration comes to the fore.

The ambition of this solo project is evident from the start, with diverse use of the sonic palettes of both the Western orchestral tradition (particularly film soundtrack rhetoric) and his own pop (fine... "post-rock") ventures. According to the Warp site 'Uffe's Woodshop' alone features "vocals/whistling, kazoos, violins, violas, synths, electronics, piano, 6 guitars, bass and drums/percussion" - the successful orchestration of these forces is even more impressive than the unpredictable harmonic and rhythmic use they are put to. The orchestral strings and winds are treated cinematically, with the any distinct flute or horn (or err, kazoo) lines sounding extremely familiar, in timbre if not more. At times the influence of more aggressive Stravinsky or upbeat Shostakovich is clear, although 'Unfurling' and 'Dead Strings' are more reserved affairs, bringing to mind the slower moments of Jonny Greenwood's Bodysong.

Highlights include the lovely, lazy string glissandi and surf-like guitar treatment in 'The Duck and The Butcher' (which bring to mind the impression of its title with impressive vividness) and the infectious vocal sliding gestures and menacing rhythms in 10-minute epic 'Platinum Rows'. 'J. City' is another standout track, with its pilfered Doctor Who bass line, and pop song feel. There are instances, however, where the orchestral writing comes across as pastiche. Parts of the cinematic and upbeat 'Uffe's Woodshop' could easily make Final Fantasy boss music, and some of the more playful passages throughout can be a little on the Danny Elfman or John Williams side.

This album is an interesting endeavour, and an impressive feat of orchestration by anybody's standards, although it is not to be dipped in and out of. If one listens to a track in isolation it can seem very gimmicky; listen to the album in one sitting, however, and Braxton's compositional idiosyncrasies take on a cogent character, and the album takes shape as a uniquely exciting work, taking influence from 19th-21st century orchestral repertoire and early American minimalism, not to mention popular math-rock and free jazz. Adventurous stuff.

If you enjoy this record you certainly want to look into Battles, and I would recommend Jonny Greenwood's Bodysong if you're into such eccentric pop appropriation of Western orchestral forces.

Links:
Tyondai Braxton at Warp