Their 2004 debut album “Exploring the Dangers of” was literally recorded as a live-dub experiment and the band managed to deliver their own unique interpretation of dub and push it further to the another level of an art form. DP – Dave Holmes (guitar & keyboards), Stu Brooks (bass & keyboards) and Joe Tomino (drums & Melodica) break down the walls between raggae, dub, electronica, rock, punk and heavy metal to bring to the surface their own powerful and breathing music.
Although I’m generally avoid any instrumental rock album because I consider them usually kind of meaningless and boring, Dub Trio have some kind of secret magic power, have that primal, ancient and natural force to keep your interest constantly high, to crush you down with their massive sound and expressive compositions. Read more Dub Trio – IV (2011)
avant-garde
Brazda Lui Novac – Dizzy (2011)
It took almost 13 years since Victor made up his mind and last year he released his first self-titled album, although, previously he released several EP-s and featured on several other compilations and releases. “Dizzy” follows surprisingly soon, and this time Victor further down deeper into the dark side of IDM, the new album explores a more cinematic and subtle area of electronic music, actually this is not even close some dancing music, but food for thoughts – and spirit.
“Dizzy” will be released on Raumklang Music, Thursday, on October 20th at The Silver Church Club in Bucharest, Romania starting at 21 PM, local time.
The big release party will featuring 3 live acts and DJ set including Luntaire, Dirk Geiger and Matze with a DJ set. At the location will be on sell not only the fresh album by BLN, but also the previous self-titled album – first physical release, previously available exclusively in digital format on various online music stores -, different merchandises, but Read more Brazda Lui Novac – Dizzy (2011)
Tom Waits – Bad As Me (2011)
It’s been seven years since “Real Gone” (2004) and ladies and gentlemen, Tom Waits are back and he’s brutally fresh. “Chicago” is a noisy opening track with garage rock pulse and horn-fueled cabaret rock after-taste and the whole album flows glowing and pumping, it’s like a radiography of Wait’s whole career and his best moments projected into the future. If “alternative” and “avant-garde” rock actually means something, then Tom Waits makes sense. Nowadays nothing means anything and nothing make sense, except commercials and music is nothing, but ultimately additional accessory to our iPods. And this is the world we use to say we’re against, but we’re accept it. Tom Waits said sometimes ago: “Apparently, the highest compliment our culture grants artists nowadays is to be in an ad ideally, naked and purring on the hood of a new car”, and he added: “I have adamantly and repeatedly refused this dubious honor.”
There’s no room for artificial intellectual bullshit, for faking alternatives. If you don’t actually feel it, better… “Get Lost”. 😀 Read more Tom Waits – Bad As Me (2011)
Trunks – On The Roof (2011)
“Hardfiscurry” is one of the most glowing and exciting record opener track I heard lately. It has an excellent and tensioned groove and something quite hypnotic which keeps you nailed for everything what’s coming up next. “Screaming Idiots” kicks out as a punk rock anthem, but the screaming saxophone reminds me of Morphine and shift the mood from Crass to Last Exit. Trunks is one of the best bands I had the pleasure to listen recently, they are alive and do not fit in into the trendy patterns. And each song is a different path into another universe.
As they say, they are not actually a band in the classic sense, but more a creative collective building music and gathering around the poetry of Jack Kerouac. Read more Trunks – On The Roof (2011)
Eyeswithoutaface – Monotoneoteny (2011)
A self-titled EP from 2010, their debut album, “Monotoneoteny” released this year in May and a remix album, “Tone Debris”, released this month, all three for free, can grab them from the band’s Bandcamp Page. Their music is a sick blending of Nine Inch Nails with sludge metal, some twisted modern psychedelia and criminal, pitched, black metal growling. Pretty rough mixture in deed, but definitively creative and quite original. So, these guys from Toronto have no connection with Billy Idol, but eventually with the 1960s film of Georges Franju, “Les yeux sans visage”. Definitively “must have” category and not only because it’s free, but they are brilliant. Read more Eyeswithoutaface – Monotoneoteny (2011)
Radiohead – TKOL RMX 1234567 (2011)
Radiohead gone to Ibizia? Surprisingly obsessive, minimal and gloomy, “The King of Limbs”, the eighth studio album by Radiohead now got a remix “brother”, the two-CD of “TKOL RMX 1234567″ which compiles a series of seven 12” vinyl singles/EPs, also released as digital downloads from the band’s website in both MP3 and WAV file types.
Dense and tense, “TKOL RMX 1234567” is not a friendlier version of some of the gloomy songs of “The King of Limbs” as some might expected, there are no dubstep, techno, house or euro-trance remixes, but quite gentle and full of consideration reassembles of the original tracks. I actually expected something more creative and less ambiental. Most of these 19 bands involved in this project seems to be quite intimidated by Radiohead and the appetite for experimentation with these songs seems to be reduced to simply apply their usual sonic tricks to the songs, eventually changing some rhythmic schemes and adding some additional sonic layers, but staying in the same weird and minimalist approach as the originals.
While I’m still not quite comfortable with “The King of Limbs”, this remix album only raise few more questions. Read more Radiohead – TKOL RMX 1234567 (2011)
Puscifer – Conditions Of My Parole (2011)
I wonder if Keenan and his bodies will ever again find the resources to put together another Tool album? When back in ’95 Keenan describes Puscifer as a series of musical ideas he did not have an opportunity to explore with Tool or A Perfect Circle, but “Telling Ghosts”, “Toma” and few other moments, for instance, might quite fit onto a Tool album. Although “Conditions Of My Parole”, is a quite colorful trip between Tool, A Perfect Circle, Puscifer and a few other influences from Radiohead to The Smashing Pumpkins, juggling between trip hop and industrial metal, defines genres, merging sounds and delivering – once again – something quite different and unique.
This time Keenan and his long list of contributors including Mat Mitchell, Tim Alexander, Jonny Polonski, Danny Lohner, Josh Eustis, Gil & Rani Sharone, Jeff Freidl, Matt McJunkins, Lustmord, Laura Milligan, Carina Round, Jackie Harris, Paul Greenberg, Micah Player, Juliette Commagere, Mike King, Ainjel Emme, Meats Meier, Evil Joe Baressi, Trey Gunn, Milla Jovovich, Lisa Germano, Tim Cadiente, Ford Englerth, Jeffrey Brooks, Micah, Eddie McClintock, Joe Nagy, Satan’s Muse, and more, delivered a quite dark and tensioned album. Read more Puscifer – Conditions Of My Parole (2011)
Magazine – No Thyself (2011)
Listening “No Thyself” it’s like a time capsule, a trip back to the late 70s, early 80s. And surprisingly, Magazine sounds fresh, this post-punk mixture with psychedelia still sounds authentically, have the right vibe and that particular glowing, deep groove. Once again, when everybody sweat to be more futuristic, more avant-garde and post-everything and post-whatever, the returning pioneers proves that some good ideas are more meaningful that the sophisticated sound, all the digital shit and eventually some fancy producer. I’m some freak nostalgic? Maybe, but I don’t really think so. I’m just sick of everybody sounds just the same. Sick of all those post, alternative and so-called core – actually fake plastics the industry lately delivered. Magazine are kind of dinosaur? Possibly, but while it seems we lost the direction, we might need them now more than ever. Read more Magazine – No Thyself (2011)
Peter Gabriel – New Blood (2011)
Roughly one and a half years after “Scratch My Back”, the magician is back with another album recorded with orchestra and not classic rock, electronic instruments. Peter Gabriel after the release of “Up” back in 2002 said that he had a lot of songs and “I/O” will be released “within 18 months”. I’m still waiting that follow-up, but at least that “trick” of two albums within 18 months succeeded with “New Blood”. Still, I rather wished for listening the Gabriel I used to know. And don’t get me wrong, I grew up half on my mom’s symphonic, half on her’s rock (and not only) vinyls, but with all respect, Gabriel is not “some” – quite unappropriated way to put those things – Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Prokofiev just as Sting never ever gonna be a jazz musician, but nothing else than a punk rocker – and it’s absolutely not a bad thing to be yourself. I guess Gabriel being bored by electronic experiments and the rock s*it and this symphonic adventure seems to be his ultimate challenge. Read more Peter Gabriel – New Blood (2011)
Skinny Puppy – HanDover (2011)
From the classy industrial area slipping to the post-industrial and more cinematic, dark electronic segment of music, Skinny Puppy, the pioneer Canadian band, remains one of the leading motors of the genre. Al Jourgensen of Ministry was part of the band back in 1989, also Bill Leeb of Front Line Assembly, Noise Unit, etc as many other famous figures contributed to this band since their formation in 1982 and till now. The band almost disbanded in 1995 when drugs and internal conflicts and ultimately death strikes the band which moved from the safety of Vancouver to the temptations of Malibu, but they managed to regroup after a five year gap and since 2000 Nivek Ogre (vocals) and cEvin Key (synthesizer, guitar, bass guitar, drums) reunited and performed live extensively.
Mark Walk (keyboards, synthesizer, guitar) joined in 2003 and in 2004 they released the ninth studio album entitled “The Greater Wrong of the Right”, followed in 2007 by the album “Mythmaker”. “HanDover”, the upcoming eleventh studio album of the band will be officially released on October 25, 2011 in the United States and an October 28, 2011 in Europe. Read more Skinny Puppy – HanDover (2011)
