Album Review : John Carpenter’s ‘Anthology: Movie Themes 1974-1998’
I believe we’ve entered the John Carpenter renaissance. Five years ago the man was on the bitter end of a film career that had seen better days. To those in the know the man was and is a filmmaking icon. His subtle nuances, patient tension building, exquisite camera work, and of course his film scoring …
Album Review : Tangerine Dream’s ‘Quantum Gate’
It’s not very often that a band can continue on after the heart of that band passes on. There’s just something that goes when the center of a musical universe supernovas into the next existential plane. It seemed that when Edgar Froese passed on in early 2015 his constant musical project for the last 45 …
Album Review : Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile’s ‘Lotta Sea Lice’
Maybe you were like me(or maybe you weren’t) that when you heard Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile were making a collaborative album together it just seemed like the perfect match. There’s a care-free quality about both of them that a coming together of these two seemed like the right thing. The essential thing, even. I’ve …
Album Review : Carlton Melton’s ‘Hidden Lights’
Whenever you drop the needle on a Carlton Melton album you can almost always expect to be taken on a journey. Their albums are these sonic doorways into alternate realities that are sometimes serene and sometimes gritty. The musical world of Carlton Melton is an often gauzy trip into hazy synths, swaths of guitar, and …
Album Review : John Carpenter’s ‘Anthology : 1974 -1998
I believe we’ve entered the John Carpenter renaissance. Five years ago the man was on the bitter end of a film career that had seen better days. To those in the know the man was and is a filmmaking icon. His subtle nuances, patient tension building, exquisite camera work, and of course his film scoring …
Album Review : Primus’ ‘The Desaturating Seven’
When Primus put out their musical tribute to the Gene Wilder classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the aptly-titled Primus & The Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Orchestra back in 2014, everything about the Bay area prog/funk/freak trio seemed to make perfect sense. Les Claypool, the elastic bass genius and singer for the band has …
Album Review : Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s ‘Luciferian Towers’
It’s always been difficult for me to describe the listening experience involved with Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Talking about their records as merely collections of songs doesn’t work. Each album is more like a visceral experience. A complex stream of emotions and feelings that come over you. Joy, menace, confusion, resilience, contentment, and chaos are …
Album Review : The Clientele’s ‘Music for the Age of Miracles’
Before listening to the new Clientele album titled Music for the Age of Miracles I wasn’t all that familiar with the London band. I imagined some dark, brooding group with pale skin and weathered suits playing music that was somewhere between Bauhaus and This Mortal Coil. Maybe there were goblets of blood and incantations involved, …
Album Review : The War on Drugs’ ‘A Deeper Understanding’
I don’t think a songwriter has excited me more about the future of music in the last few years more than The War on Drugs’ Adam Granduciel. It’s ironic, too, given that his music feels more like looking back into the past than forward into some unknown future. I guess I’ve been known to wallow …
Album Review : LCD Soundsystem’s ‘American Dream’
There’s always been something about James Murphy that I’ve been drawn to. Ever since I bought LCD Soundsystem’s Sound Of Silver on a whim back in 2007 I’ve been enamored with the guy. Maybe because he’s close to my age. Maybe because he’s a middle-aged guy acting like a middle-aged guy. He’s not posturing the dude-isms …