The Rock Blogger

Turning on the left indicator:
On Up the Yangtze’s politics in the chicken-in-the-corner doc mode

By Tyson Stewart

A cabin boy working on the ship tells a joke early on that goes something like this: the Chinese and American presidents are driving along the road of life. They arrive at a crossroads. A left turn means Communism. Right is Capitalism. The American president says let’s go right and the Chinese president says sure, but let’s turn on the left indicator. There is one thing in common with all the subtle moments tied together so effortlessly in Yung Chang’s film. The outer appearance of something surely doesn’t say everything there is to say about the thing’s function. Whether that thing is the political system, poverty, education, job protocol, or nature. Layered contradictions are everywhere. And when the cabin boy tells the joke, the film cuts to a shot of the back of ship going down the Yangtze River with a Chinese flag waving in the wind, denoting Communism. Then, to signify Capitalism, a shot of two Western tourists sitting in a lounge on the boat not paying a second’s thought to the two humongous Cosco containers that go by. The biggest political adversaries are intricately bound to the same vision of industry. The joke’s not-so-apparent, second hypocrisy has to do with the beginning. The US is riding in the same boat with China.
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Venetian Snares. Detrimentalist. 2008. 3.5 stars.

As the slick cover art demonstrates, the latest album from Winnipeg’s Venetian Snares is a symposium of space age sounds, robotic chatter and futuristic breaks. While Venetian Snares’ previous albums My Downfall and Rossz csillag alatt született were rooted in neoclassical compositions, the busy electronica found here leans closer to trip-hop and the caustic sounds of Aphex Twin. With the shift in aesthetics, Detrimentalist is more of a ‘fun’ record that rides sliding oscillations and pitches to all kinds of crazy.

The use of soul, blues and film samples keeps the human element intact amid the technological mayhem, although their use can become somewhat repetitive, acting like a crutch for the wild, drilling beats to fall back on. Aside from these somewhat forced moments, most of Detrimentalist is addictive and hypnotic.

Aaron Funk’s painstaking attention to detail is remarkable, compiling layers upon layers of blips and squawks and squeaks unto each other to form hyperactive bursts of energy. From the chaos comes a compositional consistency that keeps up with the rapid tempo and envelopes you in the strange, video game atmosphere that never lets up. Detrimentalist sounds like the alternative soundtrack to some forgotten Sonic title, or even an episode of Futurama, seen through the bloodshot eyes of an acid fiend. Even though I prefer the darker, more classically inspired VS, longtime fans will surely welcome the lighter side of this album. Look for this if you want a taste of something really different.

Venetian Snares “Gentleman” - set to ‘Death Wish 3′ (lol)

Snowman . The Horse, the Rat and the Swan . 2008. 4 stars .

I followed a glowing Pitchfork Media review to land on Snowman’s Myspace page, and despite the shrill, abrasive noise that greeted me there, I couldn’t turn away from it. My first reaction to Perth Australia’s Snowman was both of shock and admiration. They’ve managed to take some of the snarliest, sickest and most disturbing post-punk sounds imaginable and give them an infectious, surf-inspired spin.

Their sound can be poorly described as the spooky artiness of Liars mixed with the Gothic industrial sounds of Coil. Even some traces of New York’s avant-noise scene slip in here, with some of the bleaker psychedelic passages reminding me of early Swans (White Light, Children of God). Far from being a mere encyclopedia of rock’s darker corners, Snowman is compellingly original, with foot-stomping darkwave grooves pounding behind psychotic vocals and eerie guitar work. Despite the gritty asylum atmosphere haunting the whole affair, this album is surprisingly accessible, as the songs are direct and full of alternative hooks to keep them focused. "We are the Plague" shows the band’s tight cohesion between punishing beats and fractured melodies. Other moments verge even closer on the side of madness, with songs like "The Gods of the Upper House" sounding like clamors from a bloody horror film kitchen.

Whether they are hell-bent on laying down powerful post-punk rhythms, or dabbling in the rolling ambient of tracks like "The Blood of the Swan", Snowman offers a highly defined, profound and menacing listening experience. Its steady arrangements and pacing will also keep you on your toes throughout. Like any good, sinister work of art, The Horse, the Rat and the Swan grows on you over time. If I wasn’t so keen on getting this review up here, I might wait to give this a 4.5. But oh, well - this is good, scary stuff thats sure to be generating some critical praise as it finds its way across the globe.

Snowman - We Are The Plague

Crippled Black Phoenix. A Love of Shared Disasters. 2007. 3.5 stars.

A Love of Shared Disasters is an incredibly difficult album to get into. It’s not that its songs are really that obscure, unconventional or abstract, its that each one sounds completely different from the other, making it seem uneven and beguiling at times. The eclecticism in the material may come from the diverse membership of Crippled Black Phoenix, featuring a few folks from Mogwai, Electric Wizard, Portishead and others. The band touches on everything from ambient to folk to explosive post-rock all across the album’s lengthy running time.

When CBP are at the top of their game, like on the rollicking “Suppose I Told the Truth”, they sound inspired and ambitious as they blend clear alternative-rock hooks with spiraling post-rock ambiance. The effect, on that song in particular, is quite moving, sounding like a cross between the infectious melancholy of The National and the star-gazing wonder of Explosions in the Sky. Moments such as these are plentiful, albeit scattered, across this album, with each effort brimming with tension and cool, nightly atmosphere.

Its just unfortunate that these shinning moments are fitted between indulgent experiments that don’t really lead anywhere interesting. Long, barren ambient interludes, awkward spoken word samples and drawn out ’slowcore’ passages fill out the album. While these moments are certainly moody, and occasionally gripping, they drag down the record’s overall flow and detract from the genuinely epic numbers.

If the collective had decided to trim 15 minutes or so from the record, they may have had a definitive and essential post-rock record on their hands. When this band plays tightly, they are on another astral plane, drawing avant-garde and alternative rock sounds together in wildly original and beautiful compositions. So until they produce a more cohesive album (fingers crossed for a followup), you’re pretty much skipping through half of the songs here to get to the gems. Still, they are definitely worth searching for.

Red Sparowes. Aphorisms EP. 2008. 4 stars.

The latest EP from Red Sparowes is not only a fine step forward for the band, but its also one of the most solid post-rock releases of the year. Taking the Isis-meets-math rock approach even further, Aphorisms has all the shimmering tones you would expect from a modern post-rock album yet the rhythmic quality and metal influence here distinguishes their melodies from the rest of the pack.

The three instrumental tracks here are far more streamlined than those on previous albums, as Red Sparowes trims away the drawn out intros, crescendos and sound effects to keep the focus on tight song craft. This new found cohesion gives their work a more refined sense of urgency and is just more listenable overall.

Even after this progression though, its still difficult to break away from the general formulas shaping this genre - you’d be hard-pressed to identify a Red Sprarowes song played between those of say Pelican or Russian Circles. But the band are moving forward, so in consideration of where they have been and where they are going, Aphorisms is definitely worth checking out. Whether you want to rock out to something celestial or just want to veg out to some stoner jams, this EP should provide the right type of experience.

Krallice. Krallice . 2008. 4.5 stars .

When I first heard Mick Barr’s impenetrably fast guitar shredding on his experimental Ocrilim project, I thought his wall-of-sound technique would be perfect for atmospheric black metal. Now, just a few months later, Barr has found just the right niche for his unconventional style with Krallice. Each of the six punishing tracks here run long, most over 10 minutes, extending into suffocating fits of mania.

The trace-like effect of Barr’s wailing riffs, along with the pounding drums and raw, distant screams is quintessentially black metal, yet startlingly unique at the same time. Barr doesn’t just play with impossible speed, he plays as if he is hypnotized, scaling across patterns with an almost inhuman precision. While this may all sound very cold and detached, the fluidity of Krallice is incredibly powerful, carrying you along its relentless current rather than drowning you in a wash of white noise.

Despite its undeniable virtuosity, I found Ocrilim to be too thinly produced and inaccessible to warrant repeated listens. Krallice on the other hand retains the avant garde ambition of Barr’s previous work and props it up with clearer production and the robust accompaniment of actual band mates (what a concept!). Krallice’s debut is a tremendous experiment that has a serious edge over the countless other black metal projects popping up across the US. While you may not want to call them ’songs’, the compositions here are complex and immersing. Even with all its arty aspirations, Krallice’s intensity will still burn the place down. Recommended.

Wolf Parade. "I’ll Believe in Anything" Apologies to the Queen Mary 2005.

I’ll start off by apologizing for the lack of pictures and video from the show, I don’t usually drag my camera along to venues, so I’ll try to convey the concert experience with mere superlatives. In short, Wolf Parade’s live show puts their already excellent recordings to shame - the energy and speed of their set was simply electrifying. Spencer Krug’s spacey keyboards dueled marvelously with Dan Boeckner’s high-strung guitar work, keeping up with each other as they burned through their dancable anthems. All the nuanced vocals, with the harmonized yelps, falsettos and ‘la-la-las" were pulled off perfectly as the duo traded roles as the band’s front man.

Arlen Thompson’s drumming was also impressively frantic and gave their songs a crackling urgency. Hadji Bakara’s sound manipulations were produced with precision, giving the band that oddball, regal quality that hearkens back to the glory days of 70s prog-rock. Dante DeCaro’s bass thundered along without overpowering the others, and gave their whole performance a strong, powerful backbone.

While the band was in top form, the audience wanted to make their voices heard as well - which was both a good and a bad thing. The fist-pumping, chanting and singing along certainly added to the epic and raw quality of Wolf Parade’s set, especially the barn-burner encore of "I’ll Believe in Anything’ with its life-affirming refrain, "Because nobody knows ya, and nobody gives a damn". The crowd was in full agreement. That being said, there was plenty of jackassery to go around, with all the drunken shoving, pushing and falling taking place. I guess indie rock brings out some of the worst in hipster crowds, specifically those who are just there to get plastered and look ‘cool’. Fuck them. And did anyone else notice that water was dripping from the ceiling? Whatever maintenance problem the Kool Haus was having was distracting to say the least.

Despite the annoyances, which were far beyond the band’s control, Wolf Parade put on an incredible show, running through every song off At Mount Zoomer and the most notable fan favorites from their groundbreaking debut. All the bases were covered (see set list below). With their latest tour ending stint in Toronto, Wolf Parade showed that they possess both stellar musicianship and the ability to get people’s hands in the air. It’s just too bad that those hands were spilling Budweiser down my back.

Set List

You Are A Runner And I Am My Father’s Son
Soldier’s Grin
Call It A Ritual
The Grey Estates
Dear Sons And Daughters Of Hungry Ghosts
Language City
An Animal In Your Care
Shine A Light
Bang Your Drum
Fancy Claps
Fine Young Cannibals
California Dreamer
This Heart’s On Fire
Kissing The Beehive
Encore:
Grounds For Divorce
It’s A Curse
I’ll Believe In Anything

Equilibrium. Sagas . 2008. 3.5 stars .

Sagas is probably the most over-the-top metal album you’ll come across this year, with blaring synths, pan flutes, and even accordions rounding out epic tales about viking conquests and battles. Even with the snarling black metal vocals and blistering drum patterns, Equilibrium’s sound is not as much dark as it is adventurous. Feverish pacing, soaring melodies and wild musicianship make this a surprisingly fun, if not downright silly, soundtrack for your daily pillaging. With so many musical elements layered against each other in every song, its remarkable that things sound as fluid as they do. Thankfully, the band’s performance is as virtuosos as it is raucous, barely letting up in intensity across these 13 tracks.

While Sagas may seem too busy or ham-fisted in its attempts to be epic, its speed and eclectic instrumentation is certainly daring and refreshing in a genre vastly populated by the glum and the suicidal. It may not have the viciousness of Bathory’s groundbreaking Viking albums, or even the incredible scope of Moonsorrow’s work, Sagas still stands as a unique, and strangely satisfying effort. So, if you can stomach the unrepentant saccharine flavor, Sagas has plenty to offer.

Equilibrium - “Wurzelbert”

Coldworld. Melancholie². 2008. 4 stars.

Germany’s Coldworld (aka Georg Börner) has created a highly accomplished black metal album with dense melodic layers and spooky ambient flourishes. While Coldworld clearly fits within the genre with its relentless blast beat percussion and tremolo riffs, its use of symphonic elements and strings (”Tortured by Solitude”, “Escape”) makes this album stand out. In its more atmospheric stretches, Coldworld seem to blend drone, post-rock and shoegaze elements together in well crafted torrents. The clear production work reveals Börner’s talent for composing, drawing in disparate sounds to direct an expressive musical vision. While many of these passages are certainly bleak, they do have a ghostly beauty to them, as distant choral samples and keyborads give off an icy sheen.

Overall, Melancholie² is one of the most effective (and non-ideological) black metal albums to come along in recent months, and carries the same hefty emotional weight as the much gritter Paysage d’Hiver and the more elaborate Wolves in the Throne Room. For its thematic clarity, fleshed-out arrangements and powerful, frosty atmosphere, Coldworld’s first full length is an important gem and easily one of the best metal releases of the year.

Coldworld - Tortured By Solitude

Odawas. Raven and the White Night. 2007. 3.5 stars.

Odawas play wispy psychedelic folk songs that are tinged with subtle symphonic and harmonic elements. While their sound fits nicely along the dreamy shoegaze of bands like Grouper, Odawas’ take is slightly more complex, and also more confounding. They certainly don’t seem to like sticking in one place for too long, as their ethereal acoustic moments can take flight into bluesy jam-rock solos (”Getting to Another Plane”), often sounding like a bizarre cross between Neil Young’s Crazy Horse and the haunting melancholy of Jeff Buckley. When they do decide to settle down on a singular vision, they have incredible emotional clarity, like on the heartbreaking “Alleluia’ where gentle whistles and mournful vocals take on a hypnotic effect.

There are odd left tuns taken as well, like the bombastic orchestral intro of “The Maddening of Raven” or the speech giving samples on “Love Is… (The Only Weapon With Which I Got to Fight)”, accomapnied by electric instrumentation. These tracks point towards some overarching narrative or theme for the album, but they don’t seem to blend with the more cryptic and fluid sounds of their pared-down acoustic counterparts. Once again, the band’s often unnerving sense of dread and tension is better expressed in the quiet, rustic corners of their songs, where their humble tones lead to humbling passages.

Fortunately, the band’s shining moments outnumber the confusing ones, and they frequently take on the astral quality that shapes and defines the modern psych-folk movement. So if you are looking for something heady, trippy and pastoral, Odawas will be sure to satisfy. Once you get past the stranger fixtures of this record, the eclectic musicianship and experimental edge will lift you up. How high you go may depend on the environment in which you take this in.

Odawas “Alleluia” - set to Reuters’ best photos of 2007