The Rock Blogger

Natural Snow Buildings. Shadow Kingdom . 2009.

Another masterpiece (if not their finest achievement to date) from this prolific avant/drone duo. Delicate, ethereal folk songs are interwoven with wispy psychedelia, eastern-tinged guitars and mysterious, ambient noises. A soundtrack for levitation. Shadow Kingdom is an incredibly exhausting and expansive album (over 2 hours) that is full of awe-inspiring moments. It may take dozens of dedicated listens to unearth all of its riches.

Oceanus Procellarum. Amidst Nature . 2009.

Low, rumbling drones and minimal acoustic accents run through this deep and challenging album. Subtle transitions lumber in the caverns of these five evocative pieces, sounding like lost requiems, left to rot in the woods.

Starbird. Nanook of the North. 2007.

A very unique piece of drone/ambient/free-folk music inspired by the famous Canadian documentary about the Inuit in Quebec. Strange percussive instrumentation, chimes and woodwinds grant this album an authentic, indigenous atmosphere. The sonic landscapes may be sparse, cold and foreboding, but Starbird’s eclecticism also makes them strangely inviting, finding a primordial connection with the open North.

Francis Bacon (1909-1992). Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion . 1944.

Below is a fascinating documentary about one of the most influential figurative/surrealist painters of the 20th Century. His work contains overwhelming dread, transmogrification, and decay. He once described his paintings as the residue of life, like the slime behind a snail.

Sleepwalker. S/T (?). 200?. 5 stars .

Sleepwalker is a mysterious project out of Santa Cruz California that I know little about. I do know that it incorporates the stark post-rock of Slint and the droning black metal/ambient of Velevet Cacoon to produce one of the most mesmerizing records of its kind.

It’s mostly raw, lo-fi instrumentals that have a strange, cosmic expansiveness to them. Three tracks that move from punchy cresecndos to hit a gritty, wall of sound. In the more aggressive passages, repetitive waves of guitar become earthy texture as distant, ghostly voices hover over. When I listen to this, I feel meditative, out of my head, see-through, or like seeing-through. Sleepwalker takes the most obscure and subtle elements of their respective form and revels in it. Both dense and transient, a deep, emotional hole to hide in.

I found this strange gem here .

Three dollar anarchist poetry
Reminds me of the leaf-strewn paths
And lonely quarters
where I used to rest

The spark was found there
And the fire, the godly warmth, the godly risk
Around my hands
The ecstasies of fear and joy, so wonderful, so necessary
For everything that’s bright and rare.

So much of that mysterious place…
The greatest parts, didn’t look so great on paper
Wind carries off the brutal word
Smug and exhausted signs cannot bear
A swift and lifting gesture

A Place to Bury Strangers. Exploding Head . 2009. 4.5 stars .

Brooklyn’s A Place to Bury Strangers deliver an incredibly stylish sophomore effort with Exploding Head , a slick and dynamic tribute to everything post-punk. Taking fuzzed out cues from The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Cure, My Bloody Valentine and Joy Division, APTBS play heavily distorted jams centered on fluid bass lines and intense washes of guitar noise. The music’s pace is unrelenting and the noise is glorious. The vocals are cool and detached, cruising over surf-inspired riffs and roaring pedal effects with ease. While the lyrics are nothing consequential, they still complement the band’s drugged-out atmosphere, evoking the rush of late nights in the city, strung out under trails of streetlights.

APTBS, like their influences, successfully strike a balance between spaced out experimentation and catchy songwriting. By underpinning their squalls of energy with hammering percussion and sinewy riffs, Exploding Head retains its focus, offering direct and precise assaults on the senses. Highlights include the whirling romance of "In Your Heart", the jangly melodies of "Keep Slipping Away" and the airy tones of "I Lived My Life to Stand in the Shadow of Your Heart".

It may not be the most original effort, wearing its late 80s sheen with pride, but Exploding Head has an infectious energy to it, serving a satisfying cocktail of noise, texture, melody and psychedelia. Amid the cacophony of sounds, there is a lofty spirit to this album that fashions the vehicles of the past with a newer, faster engine. It’s a fucking sweet ride.

The Twilight Sad. Forget the Night Ahead . 2009. 4 stars .

A solid sophomore effort from this underrated Scottish band. Like its brilliant predecessor Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters , the music on this album evokes cold, rainy and grey spaces, where traumatic childhood memories collide with the fractured relationships of adulthood. The lyrics are cryptic, lonely, vaguely menacing, as singer James Graham cloaks his brooding anger and disappointment with a very distinct Glasgow accent.

The music itself is gloriously loud and melodic, combining the distorted post-rock styling of Mogwai with the soothing waves of My Bloody Valentine. The exchanges between Graham’s bellowing voice and the crescendos of guitar noise are weaved together beautifully, creating an unique and dynamic sound that blends together shoegaze and post-punk elements.

The album’s first half contains some of the band’s best material to date. First is the slow-burning "Reflections in the Television" with jangly guitar noises and terse, restrained verses that build suspense, with warnings of "people downstairs". Post-punk aficionados may hear shades of Joy Division’s "Atrocity Exhibition" in the grim spaces of this track.

"I Became a Prostitute", the first single, picks up the pace with careening riffs and aggressive percussion, producing a dark and catchy tome about some poor and used-up soul left "bawling her eyes out" on the rain-slicked streets of some shitty town. "Seven Years of Letters" is slightly more optimistic, with strong melodies underlying the coy exchanges of some failed love affair. "Made to Disappear" begs us to "forget the night ahead" as Graham follows the movements of lost, shadowy figures struggling with guilt and dishonesty.

After the hazy instrumental interlude of "Scissors", the second half of the album shifts between slow piano-driven balladry and cathartic outbursts. "That Room" is a haunting track that recalls the tormented spaces of some uncertain youngster, underpinned by plodding keys that hammer down like foreboding steps outside the bedroom. "Floorboards…" and "At the Burnside" follow a similar, creeping dynamic.

"That Birthday Present", "Interrupted" and "The Neighbors Can’t Breathe" are faster, grittier tracks that swirl around lean Interpol-style riffs and mournful lyrics. While all of these tracks are tense, atmospheric and intoxicating, the lyrical phrasing and instrumentation is not as focused as their earlier counterparts. Most the second half bleeds together, losing some of the sharp distinction that the first half showcases so well.

Despite the unevenness of this record, it still packed with strong melodic movements, passionate vocal performances and intense personality. Overall, Forget the Night Ahead is a worthy follow up to one of 2007’s most earnest albums and an emotional display of the band’s talents. As the temperature drops this season and the chill sets in, this slow-growing album may provide just the right therapeutic release. These gloomy fellows are likely to be sharing your pain.

Matthew Good. Vancouver . 2009. 3.5 stars .

On his latest record, Matthew Good takes revenge on his former hometown, attacking the pervasive ignorance and ennui that lies in the political struggle between new affluence and extreme poverty. Evoking scenes of mountain wildfires, needle-strewn fields and claustrophobic spaces, Good’s lyrics are direct statements against the extreme disparities of urban life.

Despite the openly political nature of his songwriting, the music itself doesn’t carry the same subversive edge as his earlier work. Good’s music has always swerved between two poles, passing from caustic dark humor (Load Me Up, Born Losers, Everything is Automatic) to haunting emotional frailty (Apparitions, Blue Skies Over Badlands, Fated) with remarkable ease. On Vancouver however, the contrast is softened and diluted, opting instead for grand symphonic excess that, while sounding lush and epic, ultimately loses its urgency.

The strongest tracks on Vancouver are the most restrained, like the stunning "Silent Army in the Trees" that paints a sad portrait of the disillusioned soldier, far removed from the heroic fantasies of their childhood. The message here is clear and unequivocal, supported by lean guitar riffs, rousing vocal harmonies and gentle acoustic arpeggios."Fought to Fight It" comes out swinging with a post-punk verve not unlike New Order, with electric percussive elements pushing the song to its rollicking climax where Good’s voice rings with incredible confidence. These are the moments that appropriately showcase Good’s instrumental and vocal talents with intense precision.

As a long time fan of Matthew Good, the general shift towards the climatic aesthetic is somewhat disappointing, given that he can do more with a lot less. It is not that this record is overblown, on the contrary, it is focused and intelligently written. It just comes off as being uneconomical and overly self-conscious, standing in a confused space between Neil Young’s "Keep on Rocking in the Free World" and the conventions of radio-friendly alternative rock. Nonetheless, this record is a noble effort, opening some space for reflection and action on troubling social issues that extend far beyond British Columbia. Here’s hoping that his music remains a hallmark in Canadian culture, even if it lacks the macabre tones that made him famous.