The Rock Blogger

Have a Nice Life. Time of Land. 2010. 4.5 stars.

The hidden kings of the American underground return with this deeply subdued EP. Gloom spreads over the lumbering ambiance of “Wizard of the Black Hundreds” with grim, deaden percussion and yawning distortion. The droning waves of black noise rise against ghostly vocals, offering a sacrificial hymn to this menacing occult ritual. The allusions to history here are fitting, as one can picture the processes of the Black Hundred,  the anti-revolutionary forces that cast a pall of violence over the Russian landscape.

“Woe Unto Us” is a beautiful piece of post-punk art, with the gritty buzz of its bass lines, the cold melodies of skeletal guitars and some of the best singing from the band yet. The second half of the song dissolves into atmospheric synth lines that glide over the stark, minimalist drumming. Perhaps HANL’s most accessible track since “Bloodhail”.

“The Parhelic Circle” is a densely layered dark ambient piece, with deep drones, terse crackles of the electric guitar and an eerie keyboard melody that sounds like the prolonged whistles of a factory. “The Icon and the Axe” begins in dark melodic bliss, sharing the somnambulist tenor of “Mogwai Fear Satan”. Haunting voices hover in the distance, reciting sparse poetic fragments about the Devil, bodies and the deep, freezing waters.

Like the preceding Deathconsciousness, Time of Land delves inward, crafting a blackened version of post-punk, left unbounded into a void of drawn-out abstraction. The result is inspired, taking cues from material as diverse as Sunn O))) and Sisters of Mercy to fashion something that has incredible depth and intensity. These guys have vision.

You can listen and download the album here.

The music of the Red House Painters set to scenes from Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams. Whether Mark Kozelek’s music is under Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon or his own name, it always has a dramatic effect on me. This song can be found on Down Colorful Hill.

Have a Nice Life. Voids . 2009. 4 stars.

Voids is a fan made compilation of demos and b-sides from last year’s stellar Deathconsciousness . This collection is split in two, with The Powers of 10 consisting of demos/remixes of older songs and What Came Next Was Worse featuring 5 unreleased songs. While the demos are a nice addition, they don’t compare to the raw, gritty energy of the "new" tracks, which is compelling.

"Human Error" is a catchy instrumental track featuring jangly shoegazing guitar riffs and stark percussion. "Trespassers W" is a punchy post-punk song driven by fluid bass lines and simple kinetic riffing, reminiscent of Joy Division’s minimalist dynamics. The urgent pacing of this track expands on the tense and claustrophobic feelings of Deathconsciousness with clearer direction and furor.

" Defenstration Song" follows along the same line, with dirty, distorted guitars and haunting vocals murmuring and wailing under the densely layered mix. The pounding percussion has become more sophisticated, and the crunch of guitars is also more ominous. With these two songs, Have a Nice Life seem to be following the punkish trajectory set out by "Waiting for Black Metal Records to Come in the Mail" and "The Future", showing a rougher and more immediate side of their complex sound.

"Sisyphus" is a cold, slow-boiling song that broods over droning guitar noise before leading in ethereal vocal harmonies that overlap and become ghostly ambiance (a la "Bloodhail"). It’s a long and patient song that shows off the band’s intricate use of layering to bring out deep and troubling emotions.

"Destinos", the final song, is the most distrubing, as it intersperses samples of a fundementalist sermon about Hell and Sin between forebodding acoustic strumming and drawn out synths. The echoing vocals build powerfully and capture feelings of resignation and defeat before crackling noise starts to rupture. Gloomy piano lines then hammer sparesly over the groaning distortion. The effect of these transitions is unsettling, evoking the vexing, demonic spirit that lurks within their work.

Overall, Voids is an intense and revealing collection that expands on HANL’s depressive atmosphere and shows hints at powerful things to come. While it is obviously not nearly as polished or detailed as Deathconsciousness , these offerings still cut like a knife. You can download it here .

Mount Eerie. Wind’s Poem. 2009. 5 stars.

“Show me shapes in the swirling dust…”

Singer-songwriter Phil Elverum (The Microphones) has delivered a powerful release that usurps the traditional folk/lo-fi indie sound with deep, menacing drones and dark naturalism. Elverum’s soft, intimate voice provides a stark contrast against walls of distorted guitars and drawn-out synth lines,drawing the listener down into the waters of resignation. The union between gentle folk and atmospheric “shoegazing” is inspired, presenting an intense melancholic vision that soars overhead and sinks into the ground.

Haunting lyrics call out to the wooded landscape in sadness, longing for depersonalization, turning to the wind, the river and the sky in repose. While we never know the concrete reasons why Elverum’s “heart is not at peace”, we can petition the daunting forests of the Pacific Northwest for an answer, letting nature speak our disquiet for us. The fixed subject is torn apart, strewn across ragged cliffs, leaving mysteries concealed and vexing. Getting lost in these spaces is not a despairing journey however, but rather a cleaning of the slate, a call to cast off our vanity like stones in a stream. The emotional and aesthetic achievements of Wind’s Poem, however understated they may be, should not be overlooked. A masterpiece.

What has become of all of us, all ceilings, all skies
is that, the stars can swim a thousand dark miles
before they ever see the floor again
with their backs against the wall on these last days
but then, we knew that would happen anyway
you drop that pitch-black pall
over us, one and all, again
to propel your national machines
giving us all the disease, but not the vaccine
a thousand tiny lives
disappear into the black depths
I guess I thought I’d feel something but I didn’t
yes, that’s a myth
I would give anything
for a cool glass of water
without this poisonous oil
no
it’s never going to be good enough
there’s no air anywhere
it’s all money now
wouldn’t you do the same?

- Have a Nice Life “Waiting for Black Metal Records to Come in the Mail” Deathconsciousness 2008

An intimate live performance of one Pygmy Lush’s most soothing tracks. If you’ve never heard of this excellent group, their sound is a meditative blend of drone, folk and lo-fi rock. Be sure to track down their latest LP “Mount Hope”.

Afterlives . A Ticking Clock I Couldn’t Stop . 2009. 4 stars.

This is a strange, lonesome and intensely personal debut from Connecticut’s William Barett. His project Afterlives consists of haunting lo-fi dirges that move from sparse guitar passages to squalls of droning noise, providing many jarring moments to catch the listener off guard. While it is clear that this album is a loosely knit sample of ideas, there are some stirring gems to found here. "Ever the Optimist" is one of the finer examples of how Afterlives can usurp expectations. Loose, jangly riffs dissolve into a wall of noise as Barett screams over the storm, yearning for hope and resolve in a darkening world.

"Still Lakes " is a stunningly vulnerable piece with distant, weepy vocals and sorrowful acoustic strums that move towards a resonant chorus that pushes the song into slow,  pulsating psychedelia. Sounding broken down and alone, Barett’s voice trembles across the yawning chasms lying between soft percussive beats, as the plodding guitars foretell imminent doom. It’s a subtly powerful song that seeps in ever so slowly, drawing you into the fractured psychology of its author. A clear highlight of this disc.

Songs like "Fireworks" move dreamily along as wiry riffs play hypnotically against harmonized vocals and slow-burning distortion before rising to an inevitable climax. "Distance Runner" follows with spacey atmospheric effects, shimmering post-rock guitars and unsettling vocalizations that buzz in the background. Other experiments, like the cacophonous drone exercises on "Sanderban Tigers" and "I Am the Heroic" provide occasional shocks to the system, shaking off sad stupors with blasts of blind catharsis.

Taken in its entirety, Afterlives’ debut is both brave and perturbed, weaving noisy experimentation with intimate, heart-tugging revelation. While its highlights are distinct, the entire work should be admired for its artistic abandon and honesty. The crackling home-recording aesthetic has offered Mr. Barett a unique vehicle to expose his darkest demons. For those fascinated by the post-rock amalgamations of Have a Nice Life, be sure to track down this brother project.

Afterlives is an acoustic/lo-fi rock project from William Barrett on Enemies List Recordings, the home recording label that produced Have a Nice Life and Nahvalr. This video is incredibly simple but it has an ominous, psychedelic feel to it. I’m looking forward to hearing the debut EP A Ticking Clock That I Couldn’t Stop, which can be streamed on Last.fm

Guided By Voices - Everybody Thinks I’m A Raincloud (When I’m not Looking) Live

Oh man, does Bob look old in this video.
He’s been running on beer for 20 years!
Haha, still a great performance.
For some reason I always get back into Guided By Voices this time of year
I have a feeling that I’ll look like Bob here when I’m done these exams.

Njiqahdda. Nji. Njiijn. Njiiijn. 2008. 4.5 stars

Njiqahdda (pronounced Nee Gee Kaa Daa) is a mysterious black metal/psychedelic act from Illinois that focuses on abstraction, experimentation and a dense layering of sounds to produce their ritualistic compositions. Underneath the drawn-out shoegaze riffs, bizarre percussive trances and waves of distortion lies an album rich with spiritual and musical concepts. Like the equally obscure offerings of Velvet Cacoon, Njiqahdda speaks its own artistic language far removed from decipherable convention - there are no allusions to nationalism, satanism or the occult to be pulled out from here. What remains in these 4 incredibly long tracks is pure and all-consuming catharsis, a rare and raw specimen of rock completely separated from image and meaning, one focused only on the exploding pools of color inside the mind’s eye.

Soaring symphonic lines, rumbling bass, tremolo guitars and distorted, garbled mantras blend together in a thick wash of noise. Despite there being no distinct musical element to lead Njiqahdda’s charge, the complex textures become accessible through hypnotic repetition, as the cyclical movements ring through like Phillip Glass’ notorious symphonies. While I initially found some of these moments to be monotonous and trying, they soon began to grow on me as I became immersed in their sheer complexity.

It has to be said - Nji. Njiijn. Njiiijn. is a challenging and often disturbing record. It is fanatically dense, opaque, often frightening and difficult to get into. Yet all these seemingly aversive traits make this work all the more rewarding, because as it is explored over repeated listens, and perhaps in different contexts, it reveals the incredible potential experimental music has for meditation, reflection and release. There are few albums, even within the fractious genres of black metal and post rock, that offer such mystical and organic dimensions as this one. Njiqahdda are the gate keepers for a mysterious and intense psychological experience that is difficult to shake off. There is great strength to be found from this record if you are willing to sift through its inner sanctums.

Njiqahdda - Aasklamatii Ligmett Aursag (excerpt)

As a side note, there is an interesting interview with Njiqahdda to be found over at Pagan Flames Productions. Be sure to check it out.