A review of How to destroy angels' "Welcome oblivion"

Welcome oblivion sounds like a meticulously planned and programmed error, unlike anything I've heard before.

And I'd expect nothing less from Trent Reznor.

As far as lyrically...well, I really didn't know what to expect from his wife and the lyricist for the band, Mariqueen Maandig, not really. There was that EP they put out back in the summer of 2010, but, according to them, they've evolved and grown since then and that was just them finding their voices as they learned to work together, just "an artifact from that moment in time".

Musically, they have done everything they said they would: grown as a band, found their unique voice, discovered how best to work together...musically.

Lyrically?

Uh...

Man, is the music on here great...

The wake-up - Excellent introduction. Really conveys the feel of the album as a whole and gets the listener excited for what they're about to experience. The perfect sonic mission statement for HTDA. This is How to destroy angels_.

Keep it together - In the context of the whole album this is a very solid place to start; slow, dark and melodic, not too much of the dissonant electronic fracas found elsewhere to scare off people new to the band. Well placed and well played.

And the sky began to scream - The sounds and sound manipulation on here are just excellent. That frayed, thudding bass and razor sharp electronic cat scratch set against those frail, shuddering strings and flutes is perfect. Even if the lyrics aren't. I enjoy the build up at the end, but there's no real pay off.

Welcome oblivion - It's so great to hear Mariqueen screaming on this. I love to hear her doing something different from what we've heard thus far. The beat reminds me of Depeche Mode's Home and lyrics are steeped in apocalyptic consequences. I have problems with neither fact.

Ice age - Sonically, this is the most diverse track on the album; the clear, almost bluegrass plinks and plunks cut through the electronic haze that floods in towards the end. Again...the lyrics...not so much. Also, because this was released several months ago on their An Omen EP, I've become a bit overexposed to it. I need to come back around to enjoying it, but that's my issue, not that of the song.

On the wing - Also released in November 2012, I still think this is one of the stronger tracks on here, like "Ice Age" it sounds different from most of its surroundings. Reznor and Maandig's voices go together very nicely.

Too late, all gone - The vocal treatment on this is something I've never heard before. There are so many textures...it seems I hear something different every time I listen to it. Even if "the more we change, everything stays the same" isn't the most original or inspired sentiment/lyric, this is one of those rare moments when I'm actually hearing something new.

How long? - When this first came out a month or so before the album, it sounded overly 80's to me. In a bad way. Plus, those awful lyrics... As I've stuck with it though, it's grown on me and I've found some of the deeper, more subtle layers. It won't ever be my favorite, but I no longer skip it when it comes on either.

Strings and attractors - Despite a rough beginning (that high, fuzzy, metallic ping-PING get real annoying, real quick) and some cookie cutter lyrics (again), I like the harmony and sound of the chorus, specifically the softness of Reznor's voice. Once things open up at the end, I really start to like this a lot, even if it does sound like the melody from "And All That Could Have Been".

We fade away - It's so obvious from the start for anyone who knows SONOIO that Cortini is on this. The vocals (though not the lyrics..."let's record a song for which all the lyrics sound, phonetically, like "we fade away!") and build and piano are great. There's some guitar that sounds just like that used on the Dragon Tattoo score and it's more than welcome here. Cortini's muffled screaming is a wonderful surprise. But, although things get a little more lively, the payoff isn't enough; rather than something exploding out of the water, we get some pretty big ripples, but nothing else. This happens twice in the course of this track.

Recursive self-improvement- This sounds like a b-side from the score for The Social Network. Plus, the "you intentionally can't hear the vocals" approach to recording/mixing vocals always bugs me. Are you trying to cover up silly or unimportant lyrics? Is this just meant to be sonic texturing? I've tried getting into this, finding things tucked and layered in here, and there are a few slightly interesting moments, but not enough. This takes up six and a half minutes that could have been better utilized.

The loop closes - The programming, pounding beat and huge build up almost justify yet another set of uninspired lyrics...almost. But, said lyrics and, once again, the build up with no payoff massively detract from this.

Hallowed ground - Whereas "Recursive self-improvement" sounds like a Social Network b-side, this sounds like a reenvisioning of the last track from that score, "Soft Trees Break The Fall". Like...a lot. I mean, obviously, it's different; more organic and all that, but still...wow. Also, having a long instrumental, then a song with two lines of lyrics repeated over and over again and then another long instrumental as the last three tracks on your album? Youch. Did you really have nothing else? I would have been perfectly happy with a reinterpretation of "A Drowning" (the beautiful if straightforward closer from their 2010 EP), a perfect final track.

I have never experienced an album in which the visual and aural components are more perfectly married. You can hear the jumpy, VHS glitch art in the music, and see the distressed, pixelated sound in all the artwork.

It is flat out singular.

I also really enjoy hearing some of the sounds that went into both the Social Network and Girl With The Dragon Tattoo scores set to lyrics and in a more focused and melodic framework (except when they too closely resemble the source material). This album is a true amalgam and evolution of those scores and their debut EP.

There's also the themes: those of blind or lost faith, ancient religions, fulfilled prophecies, apocalyptic mistakes and old, forgotten gods reemerging and returning just in time for the end of days, perhaps summoned by believing (or not believing) in the wrong (or right) things.

In a nutshell, the fatal consequences of belief.

When set against the often overwhelmingly trite and uninspired lyrics, the lack of resolution on some of the songs and the fact that there are two long and lackluster instrumentals that account for almost a quarter of the album...yeah, this is still a really great album.

Yes, it doesn't end well, but the beginning and middle are just stunning, again, like nothing I've ever heard.

So, how about this:

Trent and Atticus? You guys are good to go, keep doing what you're doing. 

Rob? Keep up the good work, your visuals are just knocking it out of the park on every level.

Mariqueen? You sound great, but let's try and put a little more work into your lyric writing skills, okay?

Great.

I'll see you guys in 2024, when your next album comes out.

A review of Coil's EP collection

Sometimes longer than their albums but with less songs, sometimes less accessible than a block of mahogany encased in adamantium, these...are the Coil EP's.

In no particular order.

The Snow
The Driftmix mix and "As Pure As?" stand out here, but the rest of the mixes here have that awful, lazy early-90's club mix feel. Aside from those two good ones, I found my attention slipping almost instantly. The accordion on Driftmix and the programming on APA (thanks to Balance and Drew McDowall who also worked on some mixes from Further Down The Spiral) help them to shine while everything else can be skipped.

Wrong Eye/Scope
Driving beat, blips and bloops, throw in the vocals and "Wrong Eye" sounds like an intro to a Liquid Television skit. Call me an asshole, but I feel like not too much effort went into this track*...because it's fucking boring.
Apparently, "Scope" was the result of a jam session while the band was on MDMA.
I can believe this.
Much like the previous track, it doesn't seem as if a lot of time and work went into this one either. It reminds me of one of those really early, unlistenable Manson demos a bit. It also sounds like it could have been on Liquid TV.**

How To Destroy Angels
The first ever Coil release. Side A, the title track, clocking in at over sixteen minutes. Side B, a "song" called "Absolute Elsewhere"...which doesn't actually exist, the vinyl has no grooves.
I would rather have listened to side B, for sixteen minutes than side A.
How to describe this...okay: I'm picturing Balance and Christopherson waiting as their instruments are arriving. Only some of the drum kit arrives; the cymbals. One of them wants to wait for the rest of their stuff to arrive, the other says, "Fuck that! We're COIL!!!" and thus, HTDA was born. The actual track consists of someone gently running a brush over a cymbal and then punctuating that soft silence by, occasionally, hitting a different cymbal (or maybe it's just a pipe next to a cymbal) as hard as they can.
For a quarter of an hour.
The was the world's first impression of Coil.
One thing I will admit, while there is nothing here to enjoy, musically, one has to admire the size of their balls.

ELpH*** - pHILM #1
The first track ('pHILM #1 (vox)") is the vibrations of mystic crystals and the portals they open.
A spreading warmth, like blood poisoning, seeps in while wandering, ancient phrase of notes comes in and out. A siren, distant and lonesome, not threatening, floats in the background. There is a sound of elevation before an electric tide of static flows in, slightly obscuring the crystals. The tide recedes, leaving gleaming future things that speak prophecy, but their voices disintegrate before we learn the truth and are left wondering.
Track two, "Static Electrician", is metallic, glitchy, blippy. Something reminiscent of AFX or Analogue Bubblebath. Not as dramatic or threatening as one might expect. There is still a crystal element to this, but now, they are less sacred objects and more musical instruments; being plugged into computers in order to gauge their resonance.
The final track, "Red Scratch", has that eerie dilated sound that appeared on later Coil albums such as Black Antlers. It's lazy, but lurking, it clearly has the potential to harm. There isn't a lot here, the listener is left to do the work, fill in the gaps.
A funny little mindfuck to end this paragraph: originally, this EP was only available on vinyl and the third track, only about three minutes in length, ended in a "fixed groove", meaning that, once the needle reached that point, it would continue repeating those few seconds of music until someone stopped it.
Seeing as this is Coil, I wonder how many people even noticed...

Sadness of Snakes**** - Nightmare Culture
"Various Hands" begins with pipes in a temple. Soon after that, the strings and bass are introduced. The strings try (halfheartedly) to cover up the blood, but that bass is working against them. A chrunchstomp begins which tears away away all vestiges of sanctity. There was a murder here and the last survivor is trying to hide from the killer. The bomb sounds that come in toward the end are a bit much, but they add a hint of apocalypse to this, upping the stakes, making things bigger.
Next, "The Swelling of Leeches" explodes into existence, breaking through from Their dimension to ours, polluting it with horrible nightmare things.
Then, things switch gears in a massive way and the xylophone and wacky trumpet kick in. Suddenly, the track ends and you're left wondering what the fuck just happened.
Things wrap up with "The Pope Hung Upside Down", which seems to be a call back to those horrible nightmare tings I had mentioned. Here, they are swooping overhead through an ebon sky and trying to speak...or maybe they are praying. During the prayers, some pigs start squealing and one wonders if these are dinner or perhaps, how these beings view us. Then some more awful animals noises.
This might be what the Great Old Ones listen to when they're relaxing.

The Wheel/The Wheal & The Wheal/Keelhauler#
"The Wheel" is straight up industrial. Some aspects sound like very early Nine Inch Nails demos (specifically the background programming on "Maybe Just Once"). Oh man is Balance's voice bad on this... This is a great example of early Coil. Some really cool sounds utilized on this.
"The Wheal"## seems to be an alternate, instrumental version of "Wheel". The guitar on here sounds like 80's pop, very radio friendly. Under the noise and dissonance, there's a solid pop song here. Something about the chords reminds me of "Scary Monsters" by Bowie. With some different, less aggressive production and some tweaks and polish, this could be a super-catchy, radio friendly, industrial Brit-pop track.
Which feels so fucking weird to say...
"Keelhauler" is less accessible, but not horribly so.  Driving synth bass and overcrisp cymbals make up most of this. A repeated industrial clanking join in as well. It sounds a bit mischievous, specifically that bass...like the soundtrack to an old video game about a naughty porcupine trawling some abandoned mineshaft for pineapples...or something just like that. It starts to repeat itself, but isn't long enough for it to get annoying.
This was a surprisingly enjoyable set of songs.

ELpH vs. Coil - Born Again Pagans
My first utterance upon hearing the beginning of track one ("Protection") was "break out the neon fluorescent body paint!!!" ###. The dark, heavy laser bass is just amazing. When everything kicks in, you can't help but want to shake your ass. This is some really solid dark wave electronic. You can really hear Danny Hyde's Pop Will Eat Itself sensibilities on this, or, to put it another way: this track would have been perfect for the soundtrack to The Saint. Although ELpH is just an alias for Coil, this sounds nothing like any Coil I've heard. I like this song so much that, upon discovering there is a thirteen minute version of it (as opposed to this paltry seven minutes version here), I put that on as soon as I was done with this EP...and it was just a bit longer than I would have needed to sate my dance bone.
Moving on.
The second track, "Glimpse", is sort of a boring version of the beginning of the final track, "pHILM #1".
The third track, "Crawling Spirit" is a quick trip to the boiler room of Silent Hill, where one can find a huge piece of rotation machinery floating in outer space.
The final track, "pHILM #1" is identical to the one found on the EP of the same name, except this one doesn't have the detached, ghostly vocals drifting around in it.

Windowpane
This EP consists of two remixes and the album version from Love's Secret Domain.
Neither of the remixes are much to speak of; the first (the "Minimal Mix") follows your typical remix formula: hi-hat without the tom, bass without the snare, switch up the beat a bit, shuffle the remaining elements and toss in some distorted vocals and boom, and the second (the "Astral Paddington Mix") is almost exactly the same, but there is a lot of slidey, chewy weirdness thrown on top of things. It's a lot more interesting with the slidey weirdness. This one could have been called the "Drunken Rainbow On Acid Mix". Not uninteresting, not interesting, just, you know, a remix. Meh.

The Anal Staircase
Now, although the actual 12" had only one remix ("A Dionysian Remix") and then two tracks from the album, there was a second remix of Staircase released later on some so-rare-it-doesn't-technically-exist-today compilation, so I'm just going to pretend that there was a release with both remixes.
I'll assume that, since no one is still reading this, that no one will mind.
"A Dionysian Remix" is a bit like the "Minimal Mix" mentioned above in that it follows the formula: things are shifted, emphasized (the spotlighting of that bassy tuba is pretty great), muted, foreground stuff moves to background stuff and vice versa. The vocals are made clearer (and remain ridiculous). Things get chaotic as they evolve and this ends in a more interesting place than it began.
In the "Relentless Mix" some basic elements have been removed, giving the mix more space and making things more eerie. And now the lyrics are whispered, lessening the sense of silliness and incresing the sense of creepiness. This turned out to be a subtle and interesting remix.

Coil vs. The Eskaton - Nasa Arab
I'm not sure if this is meant to be read as "NASA Arab", as in, an Arabic person related to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration or not, so...there's that.
The first track, "Nasa Arab" begins with light bugs. Not lightning bugs, but insects, made of light. They bounce and caper and flitter and all that for a bit, more eerie than pretty, but still pretty, and then some medieval tooting, then some hooting, then some bongos, then some bass, then some beats and then, guess what, you've suddenly got a really great thing happening. All the elements wove together beautifully. Over the next few minutes, aspects come in and go out of focus, feeling Fae one moment and industrial the next. This track feels almost like a reel or audio resume. The whole thing, once it gets going, is hypnotizing, mainly thanks to those olde worlde toots that serve as a base for most of it. After an exciting musical journey, things sour and some vaguely carnivalian sounds come in.
Then, "First Dark Ride" opens with some sharp, dark pinging and mumbled radio chatter. A moment later, a music box melody seeps in, soon joined by some sounds that Nine Inch Nails fans will find very familiar%%. After this, everything rewinds and things switch up, becoming internal. A voice sample is abused via a Kaos Pad for a few moments, then "I'm God and I've killed everybody. Now what?".
Nice. The NIN sounds flood back in along with some percussion and then the fucking beat DROPS.
At this point, I imagine what Nine Inch Nails' Further Down The Spiral might have been if they'd gone down this route... 
This is some excellent dark wave dance shit.
The very end of Dark Ride seems to be a different song, one composed of crystal bells and something like chanting.
Finally, three chords played on an organ and we're out.
Very impressive EP.

Airborne Bells/Is Suicide A Solution?
The sound of wind through the teeth of some long abandoned piece of industrial machinery welcomes us to "Suicide". Balance announces that he is "the loneliest link in a very strange chain" before the watery, opium guitars float in and swaddle us in desolation and detachment. Think evil surf guitars on heroin. What follows is a recording of a friend of Peter Christopherson's% telling him how a close friend of his had just committed suicide by jumping off a cliff. He talks about how the friend left notes and broke up with his boyfriend and then goes on to ask Peter what must go through someone's mind as they're falling to their death.
To say this is dark is like saying...shit, I can't even put together a simile.
It's fucking dark.
Then, "Airborne Bells" drops us on a rattling, clanking ghost train, inhabited by skeletons playing a dark, tropical beat on drums and any other surfaces they can find. Once things get going, there is some really great percussion here and some even cooler keyboard melodies buried in the mix. The train slows down to pick up some more lost and broken souls (who also all happen to be great drummers) and then it speeds up and on into the everlasting night, leaving us to tap our feet and shiver at the same time...

Themes For Derek Jarman's 'Blue'

Some dark, echoing techno bass and...something I never thought I'd ever say with regards to Coil...the tambourines come in. After a moment of...just dealing with the fact that there are techno tambourines on this track, the beat comes in...and there are hand claps. After a moment of gay dance partying, the Coil kicks in with some razor laser and stuttery synth moans and electronic skritching. And it finally ends with something like violin Morse code. This is a very full two minutes.
The second track, 11 minutes,  starts with some straight funk which is quickly killed by Coil. Then, an extended and more churchy version of the synth moans from track one come in. THEN THE DISCO FUNK IS BACK!!! They even have those violin stings from the Bee Gees!
Then, back down to the basement with those synths from the start and the Morse code strings. The first track and first two and a half minutes of the second are basically different mixes of the same song...but...after some silence...some shit goes down and Coil's nightclub music starts playing.
Infected and sounding more urban than one would expect.
There's some nice use of space and darkness on here.
Throughout the whole thing, there is a low rumbling as if a subway is passing under your feet for several minutes.
Strobing club synths make you feel like dancing while covered in sweat and glitter.
Things get a bit repeaty and unfocused and I begin to lose interest. Before they win me back, it's over.
At least the first track and start of the second were worth it.
Wow.

ELpH - elph.zwölf
This EP consists on one, twenty minute track.
The beginning of this sounds a bit like the lonely, digital wind from NIN's "And All That Could Have Benn", but more shrieky. The sounds drifts back and forth between the channels for just long enough for me to worry if this is going to be the entire track, but then some blippy, gleeping beats start to flow slowly in; snow melting to revel a circuit board. Something about this reminds me of the second half of "The Beauty Of Being Numb", the muffled electronics probably.
There is also a printer jam and a modem disco.
A large...groaning...begins to overpower the bleeps as a Teletubby speaks the track's name three times.
Then, things kind of start over with that wind from the beginning, but with some other elements in there as well, like someone's cell phone going off and waking up the singing saws...the ones equipped with the sonic oscillators.
More modem chatter, some errors pitched up and down, then a brief hearing test, the cell again and then some...wiggles, I suppose you could call them.
That huge croaking pushes its way back in and, just as the listener settles in for more of the same with a few scant adjustments and additions, a distant, sandy hi-hat comes in, transforming this from a frozen tundra to a shady spot in a desert. Under the beat, everything that was still is. The beat reverses itself and some cool shit starts happening in the background, echoing notes played in a temple.
The elements drop out, one by one until we're left with some beeping.
The voice speaks again, reminding us of what we've just heard, and then a snatch of distorted (I swear to Christ) marching band/polka music carries us out.
You guys...I swear.





* Except for the artwork.

** Liquid Television aired from 1989 - 1991.

*** One of Coil's aliases, along with "The Eskaton".

**** What Balance and Christopherson called Coil before Coil was Coil.

# Two 7" singles were released in 1987, the first contained "The Wheel" and "The Wheal", the second contained "The Wheal" and "Keelhauler".

## A homonym of "wheel" which is defined as "a small, burning or itching swelling on the skin". Nice.

### Three exclamation points, no more, no less.

% I'm basing this on the fact that the caller addresses a "Peter" at the start of the message.

%% Listen to "The Downward Spiral (The Bottom)". I'm pretty sure these aren't references, but rather the actual sounds used in the remix.

End of the Month Music Bitchfest - February 2013

This will probably be the best month of the year for me (musically).
New albums from three of my top five bands* and the announcement of the eventual resurgence of one of my top five bands. Gosh, that phrasing sounded a bit roundabout, eh?
Who could I possibly be talking about?

Nine Inch Nails

A week before the release of How to destroy angel's debut LP (his side project fronted by his wife), Reznor dropped the news that Nine Inch Nails will return to touring in the summer of 2013, all the way into 2014, with an extensive U.S. arena tour.**
The band line up has also been announced with Eric Avery of Jane's Addiction on bass, Adrian Belew from King Crimson and fucking every other great band ever on guitar, Ilan Rubin on drums, Alessandro Cortini on keyboards and Joshua Eustic on...intrigue. This guy is one half of Telefon Tel Aviv and I am most intrigued by his presence in this line up.
Also by the fact that NIN has never had a six-man line up...the mathematic potential is...arousing...

Just today (2/28), Reznor launched the official Instagram and Tumblr sites for Nine Inch Nails, so now, along with the Nine Inch Nails Twitter and Facebook, not to mention nin.com, there are five different ways for Trent Reznor to tease/taunt/mindfuck his dedicated fans.
Shit.

Reznor has promised the Nine Inch Nails "best of" album***, including two brand new Nine Inch Nails songs in early 2014 and then a new Nine Inch Nails album...ha a-ha...ha.

*sigh*

I'm just going to go and grease up my asshole now...
They Might Be Giants
GROW THE NANOBOTS UP!!!

Beck
Okay, check this out.
Beck's reimagining of David Bowie's "Sound + Vision".
Pretty amazing, right?
Right.
You ready?
Read the sixth word in the title of this post...
Okay...now...why the fuck would you put all that shit together for ONE FUCKING SONG?!
You fucking cockteasing FUCK!

Moving on.
Cake
Who?

Eels
A kick ass new album?
Check.
An extensive world tour?
Check.
I don't need anything else from E.
But...what's that you say? One wish? Anything I want?
Well, if you insist...
Hm...if I had to ask for something on top of all this other stuff...you know...now that you mention it...those live tracks on the second disc of Wonderful, Glorious were great, but they were such a tiny taste and those were some pretty great shows, especially the 2011 tour...so...I guess...if I absolutely must ask for more...I suppose I'd dig...a live album?
WELL, FUCK YOU, PAUL! YOU'RE GONNA GET A FUCKING DOUBLE LIVE ALBUM! IT'S CALLED TREMENDOUS DYNAMITE, AND IT'S FORTY FUCKING TRACKS LOOONG!

E...your free pass just got extended.
Go with God.

In other news...

Earlier this month, I had a brief and torrid affair with the music of Childish Gambino AKA Donald Glover of Community...and then I stopped. Party because of all the new stuff coming out this month and partly because some of his albums are a lot less interesting than others. When he's on, he is ON. I Am Just A Rapper parts 1 and 2 go up there as my favorites.
Atoms For Peace released their album, AMOK, and, duh, it's pretty fucking amazing.
I wrote a review.
Read it.
Stupid.

David Bowie has a second song/video from his upcoming The Next Day out, this one directed by Floria Sigismondi and starring Tilda Swinton.
And it's fucking creepy.

And, finally, I'm nearing the end of my journey through the intestines of Coil.
Can't say I'm not looking forward to it...
ANS took a LOT out of me.
I'll say this, add one letter and you get what I would have rather eaten about half way through track three with two plus hours to go.
Ugh.
But, aside from that and a few choice moments, the overall process has been amazing and enlightening.
And I don't recommend any of you do it.
Ever.





* How to destroy angels is enough like Nine Inch Nails that I'm just going to got with it. I invite you to do the same.
Or to go fuck yourself.
Whichever.

** Personally, I'd be a little pissed off with the timing if I was his wife ("Seriously, Trent, you couldn't have waited two more weeks?!"), but, then again, there certainly wouldn't be any How to destroy angels without Trent Reznor so...yeah.
But still, way to piss on that parade.

*** Some of you**** will notice that the font used in the 2013 picture and on the new site is from The Downward Spiral and that the font used on their tour page is that of The Fragile.

**** None of you.

A review of They Might Be Giants' "Nanobots"

In recent years, I've had to face a couple of hard, awful truths.
Among them is the fact that The Simpsons will never be as funny as it used to be.
Why will The Simpsons never be as funny as it used to be?
For of a whole host of reasons: the show has different writers, they've been on the air for almost a quarter of a century and, the most hard and awful truth, I am no longer twelve years old.
Things will never be as good as they were.
Ever.
The sooner you stop hoping and expecting them to be, the sooner your life will improve.

So, when They Might Be Giants announced a new album, yeah, I was excited, I've been a fan of theirs for over twenty years, why wouldn't I be excited?
Was I hoping for/expecting another Lincoln or Apollo 18 or John Henry?
Of course not.
Things will never be as good as they were...remember?
But Nanobots is the closest They Might Be Giants has come in decades.

First things first, the whole album is great. So great, in fact, that, if I were you, I would order it first, and then read this review so as to hype yourself up for what you're about to hear.
But that's just me.

Okay, here goes; the really amazing songs are as follows: "Nanobots" (poppy and sunny and about how billions upon billions of self-replicating, microscopic robots are going to rise up and overtake the world), "Call You Mom" (too good to describe, just listen to it), "Stone Cold Coup D'Etat" (a song about role reversal, murder and revolution...sorry, a super-catchy, rock/pop song about role reversal, murder and revolution), "Sleep" (Linnell only needs forty-two seconds to get things done and done well), "Sometimes A Lonely Way" (a beautiful, heartwrenching Flans ballad that serves to remind folks that these guys aren't all "quirky" and "nerdy" and other adjectives they've come to loathe over the years), "Tick" (FLANSBURGH ONLY NEEDS ELEVEN SECONDS TO GET THINGS DONE AND DONE WELL), "Replicant" (a loungey, vibraphone-soaked swagger through a tale about, what else, a killer clone. One gets the unsettling feeling that Linnell is speaking from experience), "The Darlings of Lumberland" (not only is it a song about zombies, but I have never, EVER heard TMBG sound like this before. I'm assuming this has a lot to do with sonic collaborators, the Elegant Too. The whole thing...is robo-cyber horns...kind of?), "Stuff Is Way" (best way to describe this: it's like listening to an English professor's stroke), and "Icky" (a smarmy, surf-rock romp about that awful person we all know and detest...this might be a prequel to "When Will You Die?").

AND THERE ARE STILL TEN REALLY, REALLY GOOD SONGS ON THE ALBUM! Like a rampant footstomper about a guy whose head is on fire ("You're On Fire"), a kid's song that was too dark for TMBG's most recent Disney-funded kids' album, Here Comes Science ("Tesla"), a straight up Flans rocker reminiscent of "On The Drag" ("Circular Karate Chop") AND FREAKING SEVEN MORE SONGS!
Jesus, I feel like a hyperactive Time/Life salesman...

Every month, I write about my five favorite bands and what they are (or aren't) doing that month. At the end of 2012, I wrote what amounted to a musical wish list for the coming year. One of the things I wished for was that I would listen to a new album by one of those five favorite bands, and that I would love it the first time through; top to bottom, first to last, no "well, I kinda like this, but I think it needs time to grow on me", no "the first two thirds are awesome...but the rest...", love at first listen.
Nanobots did that for me.
Not even three months into the year, and that wish has been granted.
Are there songs that don't stand out as brightly and as proudly from the rest? Sure...but those songs are still good.
The only problem I see here...the only problem...is that I have no idea how They Might Be Giants are going to top themselves after this.

Go buy Nanobots.
And then go watch the eighth season of The Simpsons.
And remember that this is as good as it can possibly get.

A review of Atoms For Peace "AMOK"

As I've said before, I'm not the biggest Radiohead fan. I love some of their stuff, but, in general, I won't put on an album of theirs and just listen. I honestly believe that, if you went through their entire catalog, you'd have an amazing double disc or really, really good triple disc "Best Of" collection.
I bought The Eraser when it came out as, like them or not, Radiohead unarguably one of the most talented and interesting ground breaking etc. bands out there and I found myself enjoy it as a whole more than any one Radiohead album. So, when I heard that Thom Yorke was going solo again, but this time recruiting Flea on bass, Mauro Refosco (David Byrne, Brian Eno) on percussion, and Joey Waronker (Beck) on drums, as well as Nigel Godrich back on programming and production...I was anticipating a great album.
And...well, let's just say that if these five guys hadn't made something amazing, I'd have been more surprised than if they had.
And they did.
Make something amazing.

Of the few tracks that don't jump out at me, the opener, "Before Your Very Eyes...", is one of them.
It isn't bad, just not as good as what surrounds it and opening with a track that isn't amazing is kind of a weird choice, but, you know, Thom Yorke is kind of a weird choice.
The brightness and bass are pretty awesome though, so, you get a pass this time, Thom.
This time.
The first single, "Default", is still as absolutely brilliant as the first time I heard it and it's the main reason I've been so expectant and hopeful about this album. I can't say enough good stuff about this song, so I'll just move on.
Funny thing about "Ingenue"...I can't tell if I love it or hate it. I don't know if I like that little descending melody in the back or not, but, based on the fact that it keeps rattling around in my head for hours afterward...I think that's a good thing? Or I have a developmental disability.
Vocally though, I can't think of a time when I've heard Yorke so vulnerable...and, folks, this guy always sounds vulnerable.
"Dropped" made me think of Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" when I very first heard it, something about that continuous programming and doo-wop beat in the background. Try singing her track along with it. It's fun. I was caught up in that until the song unfolded like some groovy disco flower that makes you nod your head forever. I could not stop listening at that point. This one goes right up there with "Default". I love the bass on this...although...I'm thinking of just letting you assume that as a given unless I say otherwise...and I'm thinking of extending that to the programming and percussion as well...
Next, "Unless", another great track. It starts off sounding a bit like something from an 8-bit Haunted Mansion. Then there's the vocals, "I couldn't kill us"*. I love the boss fight feel of this...dark and evil and confrontational....like fighting Death Adder at the end of Golden Axe. At one point, Yorke's looped, layered, yammering vocalizations mimic keys doing the same thing and it is unnerving.
"Stuck Together Pieces" is sweet and warm and whimsical, really comforting; even more so when juxtaposed with what we've just heard. Like a summer jam in Greenland. Things get a little distressed when the guitars come in, and then settle back down. It ends in a place not as comfortable as where it started, but, come on, were you really expecting a happy ending? The buzzy synths at the end are perfectly placed.
Remembering that I'm not huge into Radiohead, "Judge Jury and Executioner" sounds the most like a Radiohead song to me...and I think that's because this was, at one time a b-side or something by Radiohead.
Or maybe not.
I also think it sounds a bit like Depeche Mode's "Dream On" (the beat and the guitar).
I really dig the chorus here and I think the mournful moaning in the background adds a lot. Also, the asymmetrical clapping works very well.
The piano on "Reverse Running" (which feels very Beck-like) and the final track, "Amok", stick out like sore thumbs from all the electronics we've heard thus far and I love it, it adds such a different mood... These two tracks provide an excellent ending to an amazing album. The barely audible vocals on "Amok" and the palpable sense of regret create an absolutely perfect feeling. There's a rising tide and then a quiet drop off and then we're through.
Too soon, in my opinion.

I deduced the reason why this is such a strong album, why it has such a unique and unified sound: it's the mathematics; it's the precise and masterfully planned placement of layers of simplicity and randomness. Nothing on here is accidental, every hand clap and metallic click you hear is exactly where it should be in order to have the most impact on the listener. This is what you get when you put such intelligent, calculating and exacting artists on one project. This is what you should get.
Here's how I know this is a great album: at this particular point in time, the end of February 2013, there is a lot of stuff coming out that I am very, very excited to hear: the new Eels album, Wonderful, Glorious, the debut LP from Trent Reznor's side project, How To Destroy Angels, the sixteenth They Might Be Giants album, Nanobots, and, of course, the totally unexpected and immensely anticipated thirtieth album from David Bowie, The Next Day...and yet I'm going to continue listening to AMOK after I've finished this review. I'm going to keep spending time with it because these guys have put a lot into it, and there is a lot more here for me to find.





* At least I think that's what he's saying. Surprise surprise, no lyrics in the liner notes!

A List Of Why Today Is Good

In no particular order.

1. In less than 30 days, I'm getting married (getting our license on Monday)

2. Tomorrow, my One and Only is going to surprise me with something here in the city. And I'm completely in the dark about what it could be.

3. I have another session with the wonderful and excellent Speakaboos next week.

4. My podcast (digressive_obscenity) is going strong, and I'm getting a bunch of new subscribers every day.

5. I'm in the midst of recording my second audio book and it's going great.

6. The new music I've been looking forward to isn't just not disappointing, thus far it's all been excellent (Eels, Atoms For Peace, How To Destroy Angels) AND it's not even all out yet (They Might Be Giants, Bowie).

7. Production has begun on the They Might Be Giants music video for "You're On Fire", starring Peter Firehead, who may or may not be the song's inspiration.

8. Seeing Eels LIVE in a week.

9. Had a psychic flash earlier today that, based on Reznor's promise of "big news next week", he'll announce Nine Inch Nails' return to the stage at the end of 2013...with opening band How To Destroy Angels.

10. I accidentally became a vegetarian (okay, pescatarian) for a few days and will continue being one, just to see what will happen. I hope this will somehow make up for my experience with Redbull some years ago.

They Might Be Giants to Peter Firehead: "You're On Fire"

Just a quick note to tell you that there's a new They Might Be Giants track (from their March 5th release, Nanobots) called "You're On Fire".
It might or might not be the theme for my web comic, The (Mis)Adventures of Peter Firehead.

Listen and look and then decide for yourself, but I will tell you that the music video is now in the works.

A review of Coil's "Worship The Glitch"

Originally this was released as Worship The Glitch by "ELpH vs. Coil", but, as ELpH IS Coil...shut up.
A lot of this album feels like multi-track elements for something else or snippets of songs or, in some cases, just sounds, so this is going to be short and to the point.


"Dark Start" - The birth of dark, digital angels. Great sense of space here.

"Opium Hum" - A word, trying to be spoken. A prayer. A phone ringing from inside someone's body.

"Caged Birds" - An open mic. With pops.

"The Halliwell Hammers" - Begins with breaking pixelglass, then, we rise up to see the angelic creatures creating the glass up on their mountaintop, casting down the malformed pieces.

"Clorax Hurd" - Starts off with a short, repeated, distorted tune, then switches to the choked, semimelodic, chuffing laughter of a sick and dying circus robot. Then, the track revisits "Caged Birds", but now there's a dark, yawning chasm behind the birds.

"The Halliwell Hammers (2)" - This sounds like a child's nightmare taking place in a church. Everything is warped. Resembles something from Aphex Twin's Drukqs.

"We Have Always Been Here" - It appears that some of the birds became uncaged and that they are supersonic. About halfway through, we hear their predator, a great, black maw; it's slow though, good for the birds.

"Manunkind" - Blowing into conchs to summon the elders. Not the Lovecraftian eat-the-world Elders, but the tribal elders... for a meeting...to discuss corn, or, as the Indians called it...maize.

"Bism" - Rain in a swamp about three miles from a cathedral where bells are tolling. Probably the most identifiable sounds on the album. Then, the rain stops, the bells stop, and we're left with the sounds of the swamp: it is filled with happy birds.

"Hydlepark" - This might be those same cathedral bells heard from the other side of some dimensional membrane. A lot more sinister than before. Then, more Drukqs stuff; higher and lighter in tone, but still pretty menacing.

"Hysteron Proteron Jewel" - Something large, dark and spinning entering our reality; distorting its fabric.

"Decadent & Symmetrical" - A jaunty (creepy) pipe toots out a little (horrifying night terror) tune while some woman tells a joke in what sounds like a mix of English and Gaelic.

"Mono" - More distorted tolling bells, maybe the same bells, but heard from yet another dimension...calling Things. At the very end, we get some squeaking...labeled thusly by some children saying the word "squeak". Hm.*

"The Halliwell Hammers (3)" - A church in Silent Hill. Bells, distortion, etc. While all the "distorted bells" tracks have their own feels to them, this does start to get a bit old. There's just not enough here... More birds from "Caged Birds" ends this track.

"Anything That Flies" - We follow a broken gear down and down and down through the bell tower we've visited so frequently on Worship.** The tower seems to go forever. There might be a circus outside (the same one from "Clorax Hurd" and "Decadent & Symmetrical").

"Ended" - A creepy, dusty recording of a woman (Leah Hirsig, the wife of Aleister Crowley***) singing something creepy and dusty ("For All We Know"****). As heartwarming/breaking as the entire Cash family singing "We'll Meet Again" is, this is that...but fear instead of heartwarming/breaking.

As I mentioned before, there's just not enough here. Some of this is interesting, but the rest...I don't know. It would work better tucked into a proper Coil release. This is just a collection of scraps, or, I suppose, if you want to wax artistic, a collection of glimpses into other worlds.
Tiny, tiny glimpses.
Like, strobe flashes.
Bottom line: This should have been more.





* So, apparently, this track is actually a completely fucked up cover of "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" by Nancy Sinatra. I won't argue...for fear the track manifests as a goblin and sucks the eyes right from my screaming face.

** I'm reading a lot into these but I'm just bored that's just me.

*** According to Wiki. Sorry.

**** See ***

A review of Coil's "The Restitution of Decayed Intelligence"

Two tracks, telling a before and after story of a robotic factory planet and the introduction of a virus to said factory planet.
Maybe.
I read a lot into this, but I think it works.
Listened and reacted to this track in (sort of) a stream of consciousness:

I
Inside a factory where pixels are made.
Assembly lines/robot arms.
Not a human to be ofund.
Factory getting bigger, expandig, maybe a whie planet?
Something emerges that sounds like a pixeldog.
There is a problem.
The workers are revolting, fighting back.
The boss might be a huge, dot matrix printer.
Screaming radio static floods in, modem noises, leaving in its wake a broken, crippled rhythm: a rusted, jagged knee.
Speed picks up.
A voice so manipulated I can barely inderstand it comes in, then screaming: the door to hell (elerctir robot hell) is torn open.
Organics beomce metal against their will.
ASIDE: If they ever have a moment in a Silent Hill game where the protagonist is in a facotry when the darkness comes and the whole factory starts chasing them, this is what their template should be.
The program running things tried to right itself, to purge itself of this virus, but it does not work, still trying as it dies.
Almost at the end and the creature arrives and begins consuming things.
Are the revolters responsible for this monstrosity, or is it a weapon of the humans meant to destroy this factory/planet and the robots that inhabit it?
A high, repeated, womanish screaming begins and is splintered.
The creaking builds and then a horrible alarm.
The whole system is under attack, but by whom?
systemdown
diagnostic
findvirus
corruption
Only way to save itself is self-destruct.
Erase all code and start over.

II

A shattered electric glass jungle.
We hear a voice, shattered as well: the voice of the robot jungle.
Everything is out of sync, like listening to a paradox, things from paralell universes trying to occupy the same space at the same time.
This could be the sound of the factory rebooting/rebuilding itself, seconds, minutes or millenia later.
The voice broadcasting from the radio stops (readytoexecute), and the foundations begin to dissolve; the earth, sky, even the air begins to shred itself into glittering ribbons of dirty sound.
The program was not ready to reboot, and these are the consequences.
The digital void rises, the dots and cogs tremble, but are swallowed.
The feedback loops gets smaller and smaller, until it deletes itself, a robot ouroboros.
Almost at the vert end, a printer prints; not sure we're meant to see what's on that printout...
Then, finally, everything quietly sinks into the cyberbog, not a bang, just a whimper.

This intelligence, no matter how decayed, will return.

A review of Coil's "Black Antlers"

The first iteration of this album had only six tracks, but, on the "deluxe" edition released later, three new tracks were added, all of them reflections of one another and the second track on the original album ; different elements appear in different places at different speeds behind different curtains of effects. For me, this makes the re-release of Antlers less impressive than the original, but there's plenty of stuff that more than makes up for that fact.

"The Gimp (Sometimes)" is just as eerie as a song by Coil with this title should be. In fact, this might be what a gimp hears inside his box: diseased, wavering band organ over a greasy, sodden warbling noise. The incongruous bass is a touch jazzy. Great vocal performance from Balance. Before your attention drifts away, some awesome, scary plinking shit comes in. It's not played, but, rather, being forced out of whatever instrument that is; maybe a toy piano. It sounds as if it's being abused by an angry child or a monkey. Then the vocals come back in with some scary effects on them, making this yet another pants-shitting opener to yet another Coil album.

Excelsior!

Thocking bass, mellow keys, great, infected programming and a bit of clacking in the back left comprise "Sex With Sun Ra (Part One - Saturnalia)". Balance sounds like a drugged and malicious David Bowie recounting a late night bar crawl which ended up with him getting taken advantage of (maybe? The drugged quality of Balance's voice makes me think date rape, but, you know Balance...) by Sun Ra*. After a while ("Sun Ra 1" is almost ten minutes long), this track gets old; you get the point and you want to move on, but there's still four minutes left. The oddest thing about this is that it makes me think of the beginning of Ghostbusters 2 when Bill Murray is hosting World of the Psychic and interviewing that chick who thinks she was drugged and picked up by an alien whose ship looked like a room at the Paramus Holiday Inn.

Is that weird?

Next, we have "The Wraiths and Strays of Paris", what might be my favorite track on here. Echoing marimbas and piano juxtaposed with some distinctive frayed sounds provide a beautiful canvas on which the synthesizers and violins are used to paint an exquisite and sad masterpiece. This sounds a bit like some of the stems from Nine Inch Nails' "The Day The World Went Away" and sections of "A Warm Place"; the chord progression here is just gorgeous. Occasionally, Balance will sing, sounding a bit like Stephin Merritt or Julian Cope. Suddenly, everything speeds up as the beat comes in with some distortion, and Balance begins to whoop and holler, yelling, "Shoot!" again and again. The metamorphosis from the wake to the post-wake celebration is exciting and revitalizes the whole track. The song is about nine minutes long, but I could have done with a few minutes more...maybe taken from "Sex With Sun Ra"...

The fourth track, "All The Pretty Little Horses", is a traditional lullaby about sleeping babies, lambs and pretty, little horses and, guess what, when Balance sings about sleeping babies, lambs and pretty, little horses, it's fucking creepy. The only real accompaniment is a beautiful and haunting melody played on the marimba, until it's joined by a terrible, dissonant screech which works great for juxtaposition as it actually causes you to focus more on the gentle, lonely tones of the marimba. Once you get past the eeriness of Balance singing this, it becomes strangely beautiful...but I still wouldn't play it for my children.

So, sometimes I'll look at a song title before I listen to the song, and sometimes I won't/don/t. I find both methods have their own effect on my perception of the track I'm listening to. In this case, I did not refer to the tracklisting beforehand and was therefore confused and then pleased to realize that this was "Teenage Lightning (10th Birthday Version)"**. This excellent recreation begins with looped and stuttering voices cheering over looped and stuttering beats. The harshness of these is mitigated by yet another act of juxtaposition; the soft, drawn out notes played on what might be an organ go perfectly with the frantic chattering and cheering. After a moment or two of this, the slate is wiped clean and some of the excellent marimba found scattered across the album returns with some squishy noises and some reverbed guitar, all very well arranged. Once the piano comes in, I begin to figure it out and then, finally, once the bass line drops, I remember that they had redone "Teenage Lightning" at one point, and that this must be that point.

It was, overall, a delightful surprise.

The title track, "Black Antlers (Where's Your Child?)" (originally done by acid house artist, Bam Bam) is menacing as fuck. It starts out sounding like a John Carpenter theme and gets nothing but more disturbing once the pixelated fan screaming begins.*** Like much of the album, this also sounds very...zappy; as if there is a loose, sparking connection that is absolutely a hazard unless someone fixes it...and soon. This track is actively pursuing you, looking to do you harm. It becomes even more Carpenter-y as it develops. Where's my child?

This track killed it.

And ate it.

"Sex With Sun Ra (Part 2 - Sigillaricia)" seems to be the other side of the story from part one, from the perspective of Sun Ra himself, although both songs would work much better, both on their own and in the context of the album if they were, in fact, about the Egyptian deity. This is the other side of the tale; not only is the speaker not drugged, but the music is bouncier, glitchier and faster (it could even be the exact same from "Sun Ra 1", just twice as fast). At least it's only five minutes and not ten.

Next is "Departed", a reflection of the title track. Much like "Black Antlers", this is full of menace as well, but it's far more repetitive, more present. This killer is more focused and inexorable. And he's running after you. There's also more of that dilated fan singing.  When the key changes, the blade sharpens. This track is, literally, trying to stab you to death.

The final track, "Things We Never Had", sounds like a lot of other music on the album, namely the two "Sex With Sun Ra's", "Black Antlers" and "Departed".  There's more to it, though. This is also menacing, dangerous. There's a strong sense of predator and prey, of being hunted by something both organic and metallic. The moaning and binary rhythm really gets under your skin. There's not a lot here for an song that's nearly twelve minutes, but there is enough to keep the listener interested, especially towards the end when the higher sounds come in; once that happens, I can hear a lot of Coil's influence on the Nine Inch Nails Downward Spiral remixes. After that point though, there is a very long fade out, which, I found, diminished the ending for me.

Most everything on Black Antlers feels as if it's being electrocuted for our entertainment. And some of the tracks want to murder us for it.

The repeating musical themes appear to be spooky marimbas, singing into a fan and that pervasive zappy, buzzing sound I'd mentioned earlier. This is a really great album with very strong and disturbing themes. I got bored a bit during "Sun Ra 1" and during the really long lead up to "Gimp", but that's it. 

* The jazz musician, apparently, not the Egyptian deity, although I can picture most of this album drifting through the tunnels underneath the pyramids.

** Updated/reworked/rerecorded version of "Teenage Lightning 1" and "Teenage Lightning 2" from Coil's Astral Disaster.

*** Remember talking into those oscillating fans as children? Okay, well, picture Balance moanhowling into one and you kind of have an idea what this sounds like.

A review of Eels' "Wonderful, Glorious"

In just under a year, from June 2009 to May 2010, Eels released three albums (Hombre Lobo, End Times and Tomorrow Morning). Despite the sheer volume of music (those last two had a handful of bonus tracks as well), I honestly believe that there was one really amazing Eels album there.
Then, they toured, then, they disappeared.
At the end of October 2012, the Eels website dropped a bomb: a brand new Eels album would arrive in just over three months.
Eels would return.
It would be wonderful.
It would be glorious.
I was worried that, with a title like that, E (Mark Oliver Everett III, the man behind Eels) had set himself up for mockery.
I thought, "What if it was neither wonderful nor glorious?! What then?!"
As it turns out, I am happy to report that I had nothing to worry about.
Because this album is fucking awesome.


The album opens with "Bombs Away", a strident declaration from E that he is tired of not being heard; he's going to "shake" and "rattle the house" and also stop "being a mouse". He's letting the bombs fall and blowing open the doors. While the lyrics (punctuated by his defiant, carefree howls) speak of exploding from the gate and damning the consequences, the music seems somewhat less enthusiastic. Is it weird to say that I would have liked more BMPs? There's a line, "Nobody listens to a whispering fool / Are you listening? I didn't think so", that is repeated and changed to reflect E's state of mind. It goes from a question, to a whispered statement ("You're not listening, I didn't think so") to the final, declarative "Are you listening? I know that you are", only the music, while it does build, slightly, throughout the song, doesn't seem to match that abandon and confidence. Hm, I feel as if I'm overexplaining this...okay, putting it another way: there aren't enough changes, musically, to warrant the changes, lyrically. With a name like "Bombs Away", a track opening an album called Wonderful, Glorious, I would have expected a little less restraint.
But.
This is only the opener, and E does like to take his listeners on a journey.
The journey continues with the excellent little funk number, "Kinda Fuzzy", which introduces the theme of fighting ("I'm feeling kinda fuzzy / but the sun's shining bright / don't mess with me I'm up for the fight") as well as the theme of dancing around uncontrollably while listening to this album.
Next up, a sweet, simple song called "Accident Prone", which serves as an interlude between the rollicking "Kinda Fuzzy" and the album's fuzz bass-laced love romp, "Peach Blossom". Listen to this song and try not to dance...go on.
"On The Ropes" is a brave and heartfelt song about not giving up and staying on your feet and winning your fight, no matter what. You can hear the age and fatigue in E's voice, but also the steel and determination lying beneath it.
Next is one of the best tracks on an album full of great tracks, "The Turnaround". This builds, slow and steady, starting at the lowest point and ending with E's triumphant, screaming defiance. Nothing is standing in his way.
Then, "New Alphabet", a harder sounding track with a softer message: when things in your life don't make sense, when you're lost, find a way to make them make sense. Carry on, you can do it.
The heavier tone of "Alphabet" is juxtaposed nicely with the frantic, foot stompin' feel of "Stick Together". Oh, those drums... Something about this feels almost like an old fashioned tent revival...or the scene in the buddy comedy when they accidentally rob a bank and are trying to get away with it. It feels...rampant.
Some more juxtaposition with "True Original", which sounds like a continuation of "The Longing" from Hombre Lobo. The last verse, the one that goes: "And if a gun was pointed at her / I would stand between the bullet and her / and if not being with me is what makes her happy / I'd take that bullet too" is just a bit too clunky and obvious to be effective, it sounds like something a heartsick teenager might say.
Which may have been E's intent.
So ignore me.
EVEN MORE JUXTAPOSITION with "Open My Present". If I had to sum this song up in six words they would be as follows: this dude wants to bone...now. The song itself is fun and sassy, but the simple and repetitive lyrics get old fast, which is a problem for a song that's just over three minutes long.
We get it, you're horny.
Next is another one of my favorite tracks, "You're My Friend". Just as with "Present" the lyrics are pretty simplistic, sounding a bit like Randy Newman at times ("you're my friend / you've done a lot of really nice things for me / and I won't forget 'em / do you know how much you mean to me?"), but the heart of the song is just so sweet and pure that it doesn't feel simple, it ends up feeling true, sincere. Also, musically, it's, by far, the most interesting song on the album, infused with plinking, blippy synths and guitars that sound like Casio clockwork...it's a veritable midi-parade, and it's just great.
Second to last, we have another really excellent track, "I Am Building A Shrine", which centers around bringing one's love for another into the afterlife; yet again, a subject that, if handled wrong, could come off as cheesy (or creepy), but here, coming from E, it comes off as nothing but genuine and loving.
The final track, "Wonderful, Glorious" is exactly what it should be: not the typical "well, the world is shitty and made of shit and everyone is dead and dying but, somehow, SOMEHOW, I will carry on..." *tear rolls*, but a huge, open festival of exultation. There is a choir and it fits perfectly. Towards the end, the ebullience is palpable; this is the sound of the sun rising on E's heart and it is just so beautiful...

And then, there are the bonus tracks...*
Usually, these are something to be tacked on to sell a few more records to the die hard fans who want...no...need...to own everything an artist does and are, for the most part, forgettable.
Not. Here.
The first sounds a bit like Eels covering a Screamin' Jay Hawkins remake of the old Eels b-side "Stepmother" (but with one's mother as the subject matter instead). It's called "Your Mama Warned You" and the git-tars contained within are dirty.
Love it.
Then there's "I'm Your Brave Little Soldier", which, continuing the trend, sounds like another band; Magnetic Fields, perhaps. This is a great upbeat track with an awesome and adorable little shuffling thump.
And I think it's about homeless people who are in love...I think.
Next, "There's Something Strange", seems to be E complaining about his neighbors.
Nothing more, nothing less. Some nice, slinky guitars and Doors-esque keys make this more than just an odd novelty. I have a feeling this might have been composed for a film...perhaps one about annoying neighbors.
Finally, there's "Happy Hour (We're Gonna Rock)". You know how, every once in a while, you just wish that a b-side had been made into an a-side?
Yeah.
This song...makes me want to twist. The fuzz bass will kill everyone...
You ever hear how E is always threatening to kill us with rock?
Well, he may have just done it with this track. Why this isn't on the album, I just cannot fathom.
After these four tracks which range from solid to brain-explodingly good, there are eight more tracks, some from their 2010 and 2011 world tours and some from in studio radio appearances, all of which make me want a full live album release like Eels did in the old days.

So.
Is this the best Eels album ever?
Does it top their earlier stuff?
No, but it's their best since Blinking Lights.
Do I have a few issues with Wonderful, Glorious?
Yes, musically, I wish there had been more experimentation as there was with "You're My Friend".
But, as I mentioned before: it's fucking awesome.
Now, I'm going to avoid the cliches that everyone is going to have to deal with in the coming days and weeks by not saying something stupid like "this album certainly is.......wonderful and glo-blah blah blah-jerk-spurt."
What I am going to do is tell you to purchase it.
I don't usually do that.
I tend to be more diplomatic and say something like "if you enjoy so and so" or "if you're a fan of such and such"...not in this case.
Buy this album; either the regular or the deluxe version, it doesn't matter (although the deluxe has more good music on it and why you wouldn't want more good music makes utterly no sense to me or anyone).
Buy it.
You will like it, because it's fucking awesome.
Then, go see Eels in concert and have the rest of your face blown off by their blistering rock show.





* If you bought the deluxe edition...which I did.

End of the Month Music Bitchfest - January 2013

Nine Inch Nails

Well, they did it. They said "Q1 2013" and, by Christ, they did it.
The full length How to destroy angels_ album,* "Welcome oblivion"** is set for release on Tuesday, March 5th...although I won't believe it until I'm listening to/complaining about its shortcomings on Thursday, February 28th when it leaks onto the internet.***
Also, I was just complaining that I don't have enough seizures...thanks How_to_^destroy$%%^___angels!!@$$#%
How to destroy angels_ - "The loop closes" music video.
Then, on the 31st, they released album covers, track listings and yet another new song and video. The song hasn't had a chance to grown on me yet and the video is what would happen if Gollum was in The Road in your nightmares.
How to destroy angels_ - "How long?" music video.

Oh, also, Nine Inch Nails is going to return to touring some time in 2013 with Adrian Belew as their guitarist.
No biggie.

Eels
Album leaked.
Sounds awesome.
Review soon.


They Might Be Giants

On a personal note: I've had the song "Nanobots"**** stuck in my head since December 29th.
Which is a very good sign.
On a less personal, more awesome note, with little more than a day's notice, TMBG dropped the first three tracks of Nanobots via Amazon and iTunes on Tuesday the 22nd. Along with the excellent and catchy-as-hell "Call Your Mom", fans can now check out "Lost My Mind" (a track I didn't love live but which sounds great on wax) and the Flansburgh helmed "Black Ops", which harkens back to "Spy", "Working Undercover For The Man" and "The Shadow Government", in content if not sound.
Also, the band released a free iPhone/iPad app called, simply, They Might Be Giants. The design is simply and darling and kinda sorta serves as a Dial-A-Song, but not really.
If you have an app-friendly device and are also into TMBG, check it, totally, out RIGHT HERE.


Atoms For Peace released a new track from their new album, Amok, arriving February 25th. While not as enthralling as "Default" was, this new one, "Judge Jury And Executioner" is still very solid.
AND a (secret) new track from the b-side to "Default" called "What The Eyeballs Did" which is superbassed to the MAX. To find it, you have to go to their web site (www.atomsforpeace.info) and click on the Arco Street clock tower.
Very cool stuff.
Hopes still up, anticipation still sizzling.
Check out the super geometric video for "Judge, Jury And Executioner" here.

And, finally, the biggest and most unexpected music news I've ever had the pleasure to share (not that anyone who knows what music is hasn't heard this yet): in a little over a month, we're getting a brand new David Bowie album.
At midnight on Tuesday, January 8th (his 66th birthday), a press release announcing his 30th album (dropping March 12th), titled The Next Day, was posted on the official David Bowie site as well as a link to a video for the first single, "Where Are We Now?" and pre-order options.
I'm not even going to say anything.
2013 can only go down from here.





* Originally slated for Q1 2011.

** Not sure if that's a suggestion, a command or a greeting.

*** Bless you, huge, sloppy, dying record industry!

**** The title track off their new album, also dropping March 5th.

A review of Coil's "Constant Shallowness Leads To Evil"

So...imagine if, sometime after the release of Musick to Play in the Dark, Vol. 2, a Coil fan sees John Balance on the street or in a supermarket or worshipping at the same blood-soaked, black mass as himself. Making sure not to corner him or bother him, the fan approaches Balance and shyly introduces himself. He tells Balance that he's a huge fan and he loves Coil; that Coil has changed his life, inspired him and everything else a great artist does for his fans and loves to hear about.
They chat back and forth and, at the end of said chat, the fan, feeling that burst of confidence one feels after meeting, talking to and discovering his favorite musician isn't a prick, while shaking Balance's hand, off handedly, says, "And, seriously, I don't think you guys have sold out."
Balance, who was genuinely enjoying this little exchange up to that point, falters and stops shaking the fan's hand.
"I'm sorry...what do you mean?" he says.
The fan, suddenly losing that confidence, stammers something like, "Oh...uh...n-n-nothing...I mean...n-no...uh..."
Balance, still holding the fan's hand, squeezes it, just enough.
He leans in close and just a whisper of the ranting psychopath he channels on the Coil albums creeps into his voice. "Tell me...what...you...mean...boy."
The fan, now shit scared, blurts out, "Well, you know, a lot, well, not a lot, but some, a few, several fans think that you guys maybe, kind of, well...you know, like those Musick to Play in the Dark albums...they...well, every song had vocals on the last one and you know some people, not me, think that, you know...maybe you guys have, you know..." he trails off.
"Sold. Out." Balance finishes.
"...yeah."
There is a long, considering silence as Balance, who is still clutching the fan's hand, looks off into the middle distance. Minutes pass and the fan has actually wet himself a little when, finally, Balance turns, slowly, back to him, a fierce grin on his face and fire in his eyes, and says, in a poisonous, deliberate voice, "You...just...fucking...wait."
Then he consumes the fan's soul, gets a spot of tea, enters the studio with dear "Uncle Sleazy" at his side and creates the following album.
Imagine all that.
Because I did.

"Higher Beings Command"*, a harsh and grating buzz like an error pitched low and drawn out, welcomes listeners to this latest work by Coil. Some chains jingle faintly in the background, contributing additional flavor. This is an orchestrated malfunction, a roar from a broken, digital maw, and, although it's little more than pure texture, it's an excellent opener, subtle and sinister. Plus, at just over four minutes, it doesn't outstay its (un)welcome.
The scrambled radio signal overlayed with the unsettling marimba on "I Am The Green Child"** does a great job of purveying a strong sense of disarray, confusion, that something is damaged, but it's when the muffled voice of your favorite grandfather, deep in the throes of late stage Alzheimer's and with his mouth stuffed with cotton, starts speaking that things get really fucking creepy.
Did you know grandpa was a priest in a suicide cult?
The marimba adds a lot to the atmosphere on this, but it really is Balance's vocals that take the taco.***
Oh, and, hey, if you weren't shitting yourself already, at one point, Balance just starts laughing., but not in a "we're sharing a joke" way, more like a "I've put my darkness inside of you and soon it shall hatch and bear oleaginous, ebon fruit" way.
Thanks, John.
Towards the end, those radio interference buzzes get more prominent and try to be scary, but their effort is wasted: the listener has already died.
But, just in case they aren't dead, Balance throws in one of his trademark moan/howls at the very end, like the cherry on the sundae...if the cherry is made of fear and the sundae is made of nightmares.
Next is "Beige", which consists of tidal waves of electronic discord****, slowly sloshing back and forth, ebbing and flowing, between the left and right channels.
And that's about it.
"Beige" flows right into "Lowest Common Abdominator" which is almost the exact same track, but with some added texture; the calm seas are frothing, menacing. Did LCA and "Beige" really need to be two separate tracks? Wait, I've got a better one for you...did LCA, "Beige" and "Free Base Chakra" really need to be three separate tracks?
Some backwards cymbal hisses are tossed in and some of the noises from "Beige" and LCA are pitched a bit differently at times, but, overall, there's not too much changing here. These three could have been one, sixteen minute track...but, then again, if it's good enough for Coil, it's good enough for me.
And speaking of good enough for me...the final eighteen tracks of Shallowness are one song.
It is called "Tunnel of Goats" and...hm.
Okay, originally, I was just going to post links and have you listen rather than waste space here just calling the whole thing "shitty, abrasive, awful, boring, noisy fucking noise", but then I considered that nothing is just "noise". Even the most nondescript noise has texture and depth and there has to be something that can be said about it or else it doesn't technically exist.
So.
The right channel is quiet, Silent Hill radio sounds letting you know there are monsters here. The left channel is a loud, repeating progression of what sounds like four "notes"*****. There are slight variations to the sounds coming from both channels; they phase, splutter, stutter and strobe. You want something positive about this? Nice texture. The noise in the left channel resembles a guitar at times. Some singing begins at the end of "Tunnel of Goats V"******, although it's more like monks alternately chanting and talking...about animals and dying and shit, but not about tunnels or goats. Which disappoints me.
The singing is finished by TOG 9 and, although I actively tried to pay attention, I started getting bored and tuning out by the end of 11; diminishing returns like a motherfucker. Another positive note: these guys really know how to make noise. In fact, I'll go a step further and say that this "music" would be just perfect for torturing prisoners of war with sleep deprivation.
At one point, some bugs start chewing on the right channel, but I don't really care.
In the end, listeners who have soldiered through this entire twenty plus minute thing are rewarded with......nothing.
Not even goats.
 Everything just stops.
Then, after about a minute of blissful, blessed silence, you get fifteen seconds of John Balance's disturbed/disturbing laughter.
And thus ends Constant Shallowness Leads To Evil

This album can be described as "textured" just as an ass studded with broken glass, rusty nails and the suppurating sores caused by said glass and nails can be called "textured".
I can't help but feel that the laughter at the very end of "Tunnel of Goats" is at me.
Not with me and not at the fact that constant shallowness does, in fact, lead to evil, but because I just listened to this whole thing.
You win this one, asshole, you win this one.




* An excellent song title

** Whether this is a reference to the green children of Wollpit, I have no clue; most likely, knowing Coil (which I do not), it is (or not).

*** The Taco of Inchoate, Screaming Horror

**** This might be a tortured guitar...

***** That's in quotes because every sound falls somewhere on a musical scale.

****** Each "Tunnel of Goats" varies in length from five minutes to about thirty seconds.