Sweet Drown

Iridescent wordless spaces expanding folding like exotic origami,
from Panagiotis Spoulos, half of the Reverse Mouth duo, who just happen to be one of my favourite guitar re-evaluators of this year. Here we have two shifting phases of moody twilight, which cumulate in a third of high-end abrasion... as, if Stockhausen only had power tools to work with.

More tasty nuggets are for sale over at his CDR/Cassette imprint Phase including the Tanzprocesz cross over of Placenta Popeye and other unusual textures, but more on these a little later.

releasing baby butterflies

Selbstzerstoerungssystem

I’m really loving the vocals on this two tracker from Selbstzerstoerungssystem, a short-lived, but fruitful collaboration with the prolific Ohmnoise. Guessing Fake mistress is the one supplying that lush sex-change Vega vox. Sort of edges towards mild Galas hysterics in places and nuzzles nicely into that undulating bed of industrial beats with malfunctioning trinkets cruising around in the background.

Madame P , Andrea Marutti , Roberto Bellatalla

like a vocal spider creeping all over me

Gtr Sax Spectre

Turn that racket up

This is a fab 10 minute plus slice of bizarre outsider vision from Solavanco Da Primavera, combining the talents of a 77 year old vocalist and some delinquent homemade instrument abusers. Chaotically tuneful and worth it’s weight in gold.

No Alto da Montanha Verdejante.mp3

Reverse Mouth - Ballades Pour un Patriote CDR

By far the best packaging yet from those people over at Tanz Procesz, loving its glowing copper sheen and handsome bookish binding which is a bit of a departure from the usual red splatter cake and newspaper textures.

Both the pic on the front (a hint of the music inside) and the blurred photocopy of Ronny Reagan (or an incredibility young John Wayne) on the back are great to stare into whilst listening. They have that odd sense of detachment/ movement you get from film stills, their double edges sorta shimmer along to the string based sounds contained within.

The music is baked in places with an invigorating amp purr, showcasing a fabulous series of guitar tinkerings, drones, frazzled amputations, and spacey clatterings, mostly of the semi abstract variety. All expressively charged; a few of these mood enhancers slip towards a deliciously frayed tunefulness that teeters nicely on the point of collapse. Track three - The Dragger, is my favourite with its wildly oriental flavour, those loose percussive sounds hinting at Japanese theatre - all twisting Geisha bodies and demon masks, like half deciphered readings - the spaces gleaming in possibility.




Reverse Mouth on myspace

No more talk of deaths heads or apocalypse

A mist of rain outside flowing diagonal, the tap of the piano like the dripping sill reminiscing/regretful to the gentle patter, Tibet’s semi-veiled autobiographical voice stark with vulnerability, calm moments to stretch back through your life as someone else’s history slowly enfolds yours.

I must remember not to play this too much for fear the magic will disappear.

four for today or tomorrow

Elin - Impressions

Itchy, under the skin vibes from Elín, Reykjavikian ice shadows that reverberate nicely in the mind’s architecture. Floating forms that latch onto forgotten memories, stretching beyond time like a shooting star whose colour fades on your retina.


Brian Lavelle - M.V. (Towers Conning)

If uber-nerve end judders are your thing you should give this Mr Lavelle release a listen. The sounds here glide with an Eno inspired smoothness tinged in some tasty Lilth inspired cerebral shards – emotional entrapments, shape-shifter streams of semi-conscious oblivion.


Crank Sturgeon - Motion Pictsaur

At the opposite end of the spectrum you could flush all this smouldering ambience outa your system with a simple Crank Sturgeon chaser, a noise jigsaw that juggles with your head whilst pulling the carpet from under your feet…


The Felicity Syndrome/The Linger Effect - Always Sick

…maybe followed by some bedroom indie to bring you back to earth with a cushioned landing.

Car Booty

A CBS 1983 re-issue of this classic DO IT records release, with a great picture of Marco sporting a rather fetching knife point quiff.



Terry Edwards salutes the Fall???
This could be brilliant but I don't want to play it just in case my expectations collapse in a shower of James Last/Ska pastiches... Bingo Masters and Container drivers - i muuuust resist.




A Finitribe 12 inch from 91, does anybody remember these industrial turncoats?



and a pristine 70's copy of Dark Side of the Moon, couldn't be arsed to take a pic though as the world and his mother has seen enough of that crappy prism cover.

Azalea City Penis Club

Saw this band in 2004 supporting Numbers (whatever happened to them?) at the Croft, Bristol. They were a great cross genre concoction then, and appear to be carrying on the good work with this new release on Dreamboat.

You’d probably be thinking with its 'all black' cover and minimal type, that this would be an odyssey into doom-meister territory, maybe short of the usual satanic references. Even the first bars of track one with its old-style Earache guitar fuzz would have you thinking you’d have them nailed as fitting to formula, but then the soft vocals slip in over some easy instrumental pleasantries and it’s like ‘woo’ didn’t expect that...

... 'Coffin Years' seems riddled with this sort of fun, messing with yer head and expectation as easy listening ballads are grafted to shouty vocals then drowned in weighty guitar, hissy cymbals and precipitating drums. Ambient washes are slipped under King Crimson work outs, to be eaten up by electronic 'zzzzt'. Folkish meanderings are hijacked by classic 70’s rock guitar and post rock flutterings are thrust into distorted hedges.

For me it takes a bit of getting use to (not because of the above), as it's not as 'out there' as my usual fare, maybe its the slightly commercial tinge, but to tell you the truth this isn't a bad thing, just a perfect situ to exercise a bit of switcheroo subversion. After a few listens, such pre-conceived notions are easily shrugged off as you bask in that perfect execution and shiny production with a smile on your face at the fact this could never be easily pigeon holed.

My only gripe would be that they never really lose their heads and descend into the luscious bedlam of instrument abuse I was expecting although they do hint at such in places. The 10min 'Coconut Calypso' being a superb example with it’s excellent Congo style drumming and guitar amp sizzle upping the improv stakes, a track I’ll never get bored of re-listening to.