End of the Month Music Bitchfest - May 2016

Nine Inch Nails
Well, it's fucking June and, aside from his name (and that of his wife and long-time guitar player) popping up on a list of folks involved with the new Twin Peaks, we've heard jack shit from Trent Reznor/Nine Inch Nails/How to destroy angels/Tapeworm. I figured, when Reznor tweeted about "new stuff in 2016", that he'd either drop some shit at midnight on January 1st, or do the opposite, and post a blurry photo at 11:59 pm on December 31st. Sometimes you eat the bar and so on and so forth.
Guess we're looking to Q4 for this stuff...

Beck
Go here.


After over a year, I finally imported Time Machines II** from the USB stick embedded in the piece of wood set in the hand-carved pewter slipcase inside the leather wallet that's been sitting on my desk.* And reviewed it.

I also finally got around to checking out Soisong, yet another project from the late Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson of Coil (a collaboration with Ivan Pavlov aka CoH). It's so unlike anything I've ever heard from him...  Their one LP Xaj3z is just jaw droppingly disparate from either of their normal fair. There are elements of Reznor and Ross ("Amkhapaa"), Danny Elfman ("T-Hu Ri Toh"), an after hours casino, famous for its android floorshow ("Paer Tahm"), early Gorillaz ("Dtorumi") and, finally, "Ti-Di-Ti Naoo", a quiet, fragile send off, reminiscent of Thai sky lanterns; the very end of which is downright endearing. Almost childish feeling. This is almost a perfect collaboration.
And the packaging is something I've never seen before.

Dat new Radiohead album tho. I feel like A Moon Shaped Pool is the band's Morning Phase, and I think that's why I like it so much. I will admit to having cooled on it since its release, but those Greenwood strings, man... A lot of this feels like Yorke's solo stuff (maybe because just under half of it originated as just that), which I dig more that the majority of Radiohead's catalogue. Review here.

And, finally, Mother Feather has unleashed their dragon and it is taking huge, wet bites out of the pop music scene. Favorable reviews all over the place (including this one here) and shut up and get the album.

* Not ever to be confused with Tin Machine II, although, fuck me would that have been weird...

** Not even kidding.