HARM ON IKAH/
"swarming density"-byron and thurston/
"Deep resonant swells, drift and shimmer, melodies are pulled apart, the constituent notes allowed to float freely along the mysterious black tide, dramatic, melodic and strangely cinematic, you can almost imagine some vocalist like Nick Cave, crooning over the top, some hellish end of the world balladeering. Mysterious and mystical, a muted mumbly soundscape of rumble and shimmer, a gauzy low end smear, through which all sorts of subtle sonic colorings are visible, everything druggy and subtly psychedelic, an ominous creeping crawl into some dark pit of sound, glowing red, lit from below by some mysterious fire below."-my old and current job.///
FINALLY, the long awaited follow up to Usputuspud's "Liturgical Alcoholik", the side project of the mighty Wildildlife's, and Aquarius' own, Matthew J. Rogers. It actually hasn't been that long, but the otherworldly allure of his first tape had more than a few of us wondering where he would go next. With his new tape, Disco, gone is the delicate, breathy, gauzy, and windy washes of harmonica, replaced by much more muscular and present tones, as well as an entirely new commitment to rhythm. Anyone who has enjoyed the last couple Astral Social Club releases will be pleasantly surprised by this tape, as it has a similar angle on club music, but stretches the palette elsewhere. Where ASC has employed a program of smooth digital disorientation, Usputuspud invigorates the 4/4 dance tradition with incredibly warm, tapey washes of distorted harmonica, accented by the skitter and sputter of rhythmic clusters careening through the mix.
The A-Side, "Cherished Wig," begins with a spare collection of dubby rhythmic ingredients, all persistently staking their claim to the track, before the 4/4 beat and harmonica washes flood the stage. As the track progresses the harmonica builds and bleeds through the entire spectrum of the track, resulting in a droney bedlam of bleary eyed tones, wandering the far reaches of the red. The b-side, "Fetish Ball", begins with an amazing and infectious loop of what sounds like a heavily distorted gamelan instrument. It's an entirely globular and bulging phrase, occasionally giving way to warm waves of distortion and losing its phase, but then coming back with buoyant and propulsive revolutions. In the loop's periphery Usputuspud accents the rhythms with surging bass tones, and watery percussive paddling sounds. As the song progresses, the variety and intensity of peripheral sounds grow, to include exalted vocal howling, and more established percussive counterpoint. The track ends with a fantastic and surprising coda that employs a more diverse array of tones, and a production approach that removes the distorted obfuscations from his sometimes belied interest in dance music. "Disco," is a nuanced affair, finding a soft spot between the ethereal drone of his previous work, and the uhhh... post-proto-motorik gabber he has infused it with! The results are mesmerizing, and recommended indeed. And to boot, it may be the most handsomely packaged tape we've received this year, with a beautiful layout, accented by vintage black-ink stamps, and some seriously decorative hole punching.-aquariusrecords on DISCO(caligulan)//
The Usputuspud tape is on the Caligulan Records label (which I've posted about before, use that handy search function up there), and it's "the solo endeavor of Matt Rogers, guitarist of Crucial Blast and [oops, torn press sheet]rdo's Wildildlife." That doesn't mean much but the terse next line, "It's all harmonica," pretty much guaranteed that I would listen (that and Caligulan's suave packaging). Not that "all harmonica" meant that it would be good, in fact, I listened more to just see how bad it could be. But you know what? It's good. Very good, in fact. The harmonica is slowed down and stretched out and overdubbed and stacked up until it gets louder and thicker and heavier and becomes some cosmic railroad-in-your-bedroom-closet type shit. Seriously, check it out. -blogs/blastitude//
harmonicas tight, check that out (ed.)
Much appreciation on the friend approval!! Dwale brings you our brand of NO-CORE METAL!!! Our debut EP "Atropa" is now available at CDBaby. com!! Here is a live clip so you can get a taste of what Dwale is about!! Let us know what you think!!
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