While Current 93 has morphed from monolithic terror to majestic spirituality from album to album, David Tibet and consistent contributor Steven Stapleton (Nurse With Wound) beckon the dark side with How He Loved the Moon. An homage to the late Jhonn Balance of Coil, this two-disc set drones through a remixed version of the early Current 93 album In Menstrual Night. With a host of players (including Balance himself), this post-industrial ode to a beloved friend resurrects the essence of a group of true artists pushing through creative boundaries, all while scaring the living hell out of you.
Gregg Kowalsky Through the Cardial Window
Oakland’s Gregg Kowalsky has quite a penchant for creating engaging noise and ambient compositions. Through the Cardial Window barrels through a buzz of minimal feedback, ghostly cymbal swells, and decadent build-ups that capture life’s most tumultuous times. Often ubiquitously serene and ravenously heavy at the same time, the Mills College MFA graduate employs a dense amount of textural techniques, from filtering his work through an acoustic guitar pickup to reworking source material from the brutal ambiance of the band Isis. From beginning to end, Kowalsky’s potent blend of feedback loops and psychedelic chiming leaves you feeling medicated and breathless.
Dalminjo One Day You’ll Dance for Me Tokyo
Norwegian producer Ole Roar Granli’s passionate, desperate cover of The Smiths’ “There is a Light That Never Goes Out” sets a tone for all 10 tracks on this album: pretty, fun to listen to, but largely stripped of meaning. Not that the album, Dalminjo’s sophomore effort, isn’t enjoyable; it’s just that it doesn’t go deeper than that. The tracks, leaning toward downtempo and deep house, would mostly do well on the dancefloor, but none would be the standout track you go to the record store dying to find. Ear candy: tasty, but devoid of nutritional content.
Various Artists Om: Miami 2006
Om has earned a rep as one of the most solid house labels out there and this album, showcasing new material for March’s Winter Music Conference, only polishes their good name. Standouts include Andy Caldwell’s made-for-the-floor “Don’t You Love Me?,” Colette’s hypnotically sexy version of Robert Palmer’s “Didn’t Mean to Turn You On,” and Samantha James’ vocal-driven joy, “Rise.” Actually, it’s hard to find a track here that wouldn’t be a star on any number of lesser albums.
Murs Murray‘s Revenge
These days, finding a talented MC with zero interest in a major label deal is like going to a Diddy party with no Cristal. Luckily for hip-hop fans, Living Legends’ frontman Murs shrugs off commercial intrigue yet again. Revenge finds this 13-year indie hustler in a storytelling mood: Each joint offers stilled snapshots of Murs’ life, crystallizing moments that feel both candid and personal. His love for LL Cool J’s relaxed thug-style flows through Revenge, especially in the affectionate, rosy-hued memories of familial love (“Love & Appreciate”) and the thoughts of a young man first startled by violence (“Dreamchasers”). Producer 9th Wonder‘s ’70s soul casts a warm, soft glow onto Murs’ prickly lyrical prowess, turning Revenge into something bittersweet. It’s like Murs observes on “Murs Day,” “It don’t take much these days to master the mic/Most of the rappers trapped in the hype.” Be glad Murs won’t make the MTV rounds anytime soon.
Various Artists Nature Sounds Presents Natural Selection
It looks like ’06 is going to be a real breakout year for up-and-coming Brooklyn indie label Nature Sounds: Not only have they scored the next Pete Rock LP, but they also have the MF Doom and Ghostface collabo, Swift and Changeable, in the oven. Natural Selection provides a first look at these projects (Doom and Ghostface’s “Angeles” is solid, yet slightly disappointing) and future releases, like the upcoming debut of L.A. supergroup Strong Arm Steady (whose “Gold Chain Music” appears here). The highlight, however, is “Ringin’ Bells” from Masta Killa, who helped put Nature Sounds on the map with 2004’s No Said Date.
Ellen Allien + Apparat Orchestra of Bubbles
Orchestra is full of ace electro-house that beautifully pools the talents of Allien and Sascha Ring (Apparat) into sad melodies and strident, humanity-imbued rhythms. “Do Not Break” demands immediate breakdancing while the standout “Metric” resembles a Busta Rhymes joint pitted against a string symphony. If it weren’t for “Leave Me Alone,” where Ring’s sports-bar pop croon better is suited to an after-school TV special about making the right choices about sex and homework, this record might’ve been a masterwork.
Mike Shannon Possible Conclusions to Stories That Never End
In Mike Shannon’s “Remembrance,” vocalist Anais walks through the streets and mourns past summer rains. A stranger follows, cracking the earth with each step in a dub rhythm. It’s only one moment in a record full of ominous vibes, one that finds the Canadian techno producer fusing noir jazz, rickety digital-dub, and hallucinatory field recordings (i.e. snippets of newscasters morphing into rainfall). Possible Conclusions is haunted by an overall sense that somebody is looking over your shoulder but will not touch you just yet.
Alias & Tarsier Brookland/Oaklyn
“I will not hate you, but I’ll soon wear you down, down, down”, sings Rona “Tarsier” Rapadas. Too bad I was already worn down after the album’s opener, “Cub,” a juvenile number where Tarsier sings about a little kid she saw on a train. OK, I’ll be fair: producer Alias makes decent music here; he maintains an odd tension as his gentle ballads, tinged with distortion and nimble hip-hop beats, seem to nearly collapse. The chaos is particularly palpable on “Luck and Fear,” as labelmates Themselves interrupt the song with yammering influenced by CIA truth serum. But no matter how many tricks Alias has up his sleeve, Tarsier’s lullaby voice is not strong enough to carry this record.
Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid The Exchange Session Vol. 1
Following a short series of completely improvised performances in Europe, Kieran Hebden (a.k.a. Four Tet) and legendary jazzman Steve Reid headed straight into the studio, and this is the exciting result. “Experimental” doesn’t begin to describe what these two create by coupling Reid’s drumming with Hebden’s electronic wizardry, which was all done on the spot, without any post-production sequencing. Four Tet fans be warned: This is a considerable departure for an already progressive instrumentalist. Nevertheless the three lengthy, free-flowing “exchanges” between Hebden and Reid do not cease to fascinate, even if they can become a bit hectic.
