The Rock Blogger

As regular readers of this blog already know, I have been infatuated with an album called Deathconsciousness from Connecticut’s mysterious Have a Nice Life. Despite having no mainstream press coverage, no Wikipedia page or any mention on Pitchfork, this duo has generated a sizable cult following their debut double disc album which is receiving accolades all across the Internet.

For those of us wanting to know a little more about this band and their strange blend of post punk and shoegaze styles, Scene Point Blank recently interviewed the guys to learn a little more about their ambitions, their writing process and their future.

The most striking parts of the interview for me was the duo’s personal and insular approach to crafting their sound, as they wrote the record for themselves, with little attention payed to how others would receive their work.

Scene Point Blank: Was it a conscious decision to release the album yourself? If so, why?

Dan: We always knew we would release the record ourselves. Outside of those closest to us, hardly anyone was even aware that we were writing music. It’s just something we do, and have done consistently since we met. There is never a point when we aren’t writing or recording music…releasing the record was, and always has been, secondary to the act of writing it in the first place. To be honest, I’m surprised anyone likes it but us.

…

Scene Point Blank: What do you hope people take away from the whole Deathconsciousness release?

Dan: We would’ve written the exact same record if we were the last two people on Earth. It was recorded assuming that no one would ever hear it. If anyone does and they enjoy it, that’s great. I hope that happens. But that’s about as far as it goes.

I found this approach and attitude rather inspiring, as it lends to a creative process that is honest and uncompromising. Leaving the pressures of industry expectations and recognition aside allowed Have a Nice Life to truly explore their own thoughts and feelings without inhibition, leading to work of great conceptual sophistication. Its refreshing to see more bands taking up the DIY ethos, taking up self release strategies to maintain their artistic independence. Hopefully I can take some of these ideals with me when I go back to recording my own demos.

Anyways, in case you haven’t heard anything from these guys yet, I found one of their songs on YouTube.

Enjoy:

Have a Nice Life. The Future.

The Sword. Gods of the Earth. 2008. 3.5 stars.

Texas’ The Sword are back with another furious stoner-rock album, bringing their own brand of Black Sabbath worship the forefront of the genre. The band’s 2006 debut The Age of Winters was one of my favorite releases of that year so naturally I was fairly excited to hear their follow up. The Sword live up to expectations with Gods of the Earth, with some speedy riffs and powerful drumming, but never manage to fully push their sound in a new direction. While the album is incredibly fun and fluid, it ultimately leaves you wanting a little more.

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Gregor Samsa. Rest. 2008. 3.5 stars .

Gregor Samsa’s latest offering is a gentle post rock album that carefully lures the listener into a somnambulist daze. Taking a page from the otherwordly Sigur Ros, Gregor Samsa’s second full length is an abstract affair, with minimalistic compositions consisting of quiet piano lines, subtle drones, strings and whispering vocals, coming together in sparse, low key arrangements, rather than the climbing bombast often associated with the genre.

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Brethren of the Free Spirit

All Things are From Him, Through Him and in Him. 2008. 3.5 stars.

An avant-garde acoustic collaboration between guitarist James Blackshaw and lutenist Josef Van Wissem, Brethren of the Free Spirit play classically inspired melodies that gracefully build and repeat in a hypnotic and psychedelic manner. The album’s 4 tracks delve into folk and minimalist traditions, with layered compositions leading into a sustained and relaxed trances, never pushing towards powerful climaxes or crescendos.

The restrained and meditative quality of the music here is almost religious in its execution, with its meticulous attention to detail and patient movements providing a soft backdrop for intense personal reflection. I first started exploring this album when I was walking alone in the woods by my house, feeling the waves of acoustic guitar build naturally, seemingly mimicking the precise and intricate patterns found in nature. The album’s pastoral nature favors solitary experiences and requires the undivided attention of the listener in appreciating its inner dramas.

While the moods and feelings given off by this record are lucid and well conceived, the album’s short duration (under 30 minutes) and general lack of variety hurts its overall impact. Certainly there are intense and complex moments, but the entire affair becomes quite repetitive if its not taken in within the right context. As far as avant-garde recordings go, Brethren of the Free Spirit are consistently interesting and accessible, if you are willing to find the right setting to listen to it. This is strong conceptual music for the Zen set.

Sculptured. Embodiment. 2008. 4 stars.

Sculptured’s latest offering is a solid prog-metal release that features intricate compositions and clear production, integrating complicated guitar riffs, symphonic keyboards and frantic drumming into a cohesive and dense package. While Sculptured’s impressive lineup features Don Anderson and Jason Walton from Agalloch, their sound is completely different, with labyrinthine song structures that dart from guttural metal to progressive passages in an instant, switching between time signatures and moods with surprising transitions.

The band also alternates between two vocal styles, one being the conventional death metal growl and the other being the clean alternative signing that may remind some of Mike Patton’s Faith No More days. The combination of the two is refreshing and consistently interesting, providing a emotional anchor for the spiraling keyboard melodies and cyclical drumming. The complexity of this album is not nearly as overwhelming as other efforts in the prog-metal genre, as the melodies are easily distinguishable amid the madness, making Embodiment an album that is actually fun to listen to rather than being an inaccessible maze of musical layers. The band truly sound like they are enjoying themselves.

Embodiment as a whole is an exciting and well produced effort that remains accessible despite its complexity. I would recommend this to both fans of prog metal (like Kayo Dot, Maudlin of the Well, Mars Volta) as well as rock fans more accustomed to alternative styles.

A Silver Mt. Zion. 13 Blues for 13 Moons. 2008. 3 stars.

A Silver Mt. Zion, easily the most celebrated splinter project from the Godspeed You Black Emperor crew, return for their fifth full-length outing, spouting more anarchistic diatribes over intense and dramatic orchestral instrumentation. The gorgeous strings, pulse pounding drumming (courtesy of new member Eric Craven) and searing blasts of electric guitar remain intact and interact beautifully with each other over the four, 13 minute plus epics found here. While the stirring compositions build gracefully, with a greater emphasis on the soaring guitar bursts, the band’s newfound sense of urgency ultimately falls a little flat in its execution and once again, Efrim Menuck’s grating vocals are largely to blame.

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Jarboe/Justin K Broadrick. J2. 2008. 2.5 stars.

When I first heard that Justin Broadrick (of Jesu and Godflesh fame) was collaborating with Swans vocalist Jarboe on a new EP, I was thrilled. Broadrick’s knack for crafting haunting and powerful drones and serene shoegaze riffs, along with Jarboe’s chillingly beautiful soprano voice, seemed like a match made in post-metal heaven. Unfortunately, after trying my damnedest to get into this record, I find myself being immensely disappointed, knowing that both artists have accomplished so much more in the past.

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Nine Inch Nails. Ghosts I-IV. 2008. 4.5 stars.

Holy crap, this one came out of nowhere. Less than a year after Trent Reznor released the politically charged Year Zero (and its the satisfying remix counterpart), another NIN album is upon us and it is easily one of the band’s most ambitious projects to date.

Following the lead of Radiohead’s In Rainbows, Reznor left his major label (Interscope/Universal) the pursue his own online business model (free downloads, expensive box set) and escape the creative boundaries associated with conventional distribution. The result is a four disc, 36 track instrumental album that sees Reznor laying down moody ambient pieces, melancholic piano compositions and full throttle industrial jams, experimenting beyond the traditional NIN sound and showcasing Reznor’s artistic maturity.

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The Gutter Twins. Saturnalia. 2008. 4.5 stars.

This stunning alternative album is a collaboration between grunge legend Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age) and Greg Dulli (Afghan Whigs) who have been working together on this project for over three years. The result is a refined, post-grunge masterpiece that boasts stellar songwriting, strong vocals and powerful rock hooks, drawing you into a murky and blues-inspired emotional trip.

Saturnalia has a gritty, dark gospel feel to it, touching similar nerves as Tom Waits and The National’s Boxer, with Lanegan’s moody baritone moaning over “being the devil’s plaything” and lamenting his eventual journey “seven stories underground”. With lamentations over sin, lost love and a general lack of options, the lyrics here are poignant, clever and reveal the duo’s sharpened writing abilities, coming from their years of experience in the underground.

The musicianship is also impressive, with slithering baselines, fiery guitar solos and impassioned vocal harmonies. The second half of the album moves beyond expectations, incorporating subtle electronic effects and piano lines to add to the album’s sonic palette. The sound of The Gutter Twins, while dark and bluesy, is not despairing, but rather plays sorrow with a cool and refined swagger rarely scene in alternative rock. Leagues ahead of the decaying grunge corpses that have dominated the mainstream since the main players faded away, The Gutter Twins return to that genre’s emotional core and revitalize it with intelligent songwriting, diverse sounds and a cathartic delivery that feels genuine, as if coming from real, desolate places.

Agalloch. The White EP. 2008. 4 stars.

Hailing from the misty forests of Portland Oregon, Agalloch has earned themselves a substantial cult following with their blend of atmospheric black metal that incorporates folk and ambient elements, producing several critically acclaimed albums and EPs over the last decade. The White EP continues on with the band’s distinguished tradition with a renewed emphasis on the neo-folk aspect of their sound, mostly relying on acoustic guitars, hushed vocals and atmospheric effects to get to black heart of this dark genre.

Taking a step away from the growls and punishing instrumentals often associated with metal, Agalloch’s ambient exercises mark a significant departure from convention. The shift is dramatic without betraying the quality of their past (heavier) work, as the acoustic compositions express Agalloch’s organic approach toward crafting evocative sonic landscapes, focusing on an aesthetic that sets the group apart from their many contemporaries.

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