YOUNGS, RICHARD & SIMON WICKHAM SMITH - '5 YEARS'

Formats

• VHF99 - CD

  783881009927

Details

FIRST ALBUM IN NEARLY FIVE YEARS FROM PREVIOUSLY HYPER-PROLIFIC DRONE DUO. FEATURES FIVE NEW TRACKS, ONE FOR EACH OF THE INTERVENING YEARS SINCE THEIR LAST RELEASE, 2001'S LAMMERGEIER. RECORDING AND RELEASING NEARLY TWENTY ALBUMS BETWEEN 1990 AND 2001, RICHARD YOUNGS AND SIMON WICKHAM-SMITH ATTEMPT AN OPPOSITE APPROACH TO MUSIC MAKING - AN ANNUAL MEETING TO RECORD A SOLITARY TEN-MINUTE TRACK. THE RESULTING SONGS, EACH NAMED FOR AN INTERVENING YEAR, SHOW THE DUO REMARKABLY UNAFFECTED BY THE ELAPSED HALF-DECADE. THEIR SIGNATURE MIX OF ELECTRONICALLY TREATED PERCUSSION, ULULATING NOISE, AND HAND-ON-THE-KNOB TWEAKING CONTINUES TO ADAPT "REAL HUMAN" INSTRUMENTAL EXPRESSION TO MUSIQUE CONCRETE SENSIBILITIES.

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JACK ROSE - 'RAAG MANIFESTOS'

Formats

• VHF85 - CD

  783881009828

Details

new reissue of guitarist jack rose's super-limited 2003 tour cd. compiled from a variety of sources, raag manifestos presents much of rose's rawest and most experimental music. the songs cut across a wide variety of acoustic styles, from dense, serious, assaults on the 12-string and epic modal journeys to calming traditionals.

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THE VELVET TEEN - 'GYZMKID'

Formats

• SDC026CD - CD EP

  899833002622

Details

WHILE THE THREE MEMBERS OF THE VELVET TEEN MAKE THEIR HOME IN SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA, THEIR HEARTS LIE IN TOKYO, JAPAN. THIS HAS NEVER BEEN CLEARER THAN WITH THE BAND'S NEW 3-SONG EP, 'GYZMKID', WHICH FEATURES THE FIRST SINGLE FROM THEIR NEW ALBUM, 'CUM LAUDE', DUE OUT IN JULY ON SLOWDANCE RECORDS. ALTHOUGH THE BAND'S SOARING INDIE-POP STYLE HAS WON THEM MUCH ACCLAIM IN THE USA, IT'S NOTHING COMPARED TO THEIR POPULARITY OVERSEAS. 'GYZMKID' SHOWCASES A NEW MATURE SOUND FOR THE BAND AS THEY STILL CLING TIGHT TO THEIR STRONG INDIE ROOTS, BUT CONFIDENTLY SURROUND THEMSELVES WITH EXPANSIVE DIGITAL ELEMENTS. THE VELVET TEEN PLAYED A STORMING HEADLINE SLOT AT THIS YEAR'S SXSW AND HAVE TOURED WITH DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE, JIMMY EAT WORLD, AND CURSIVE.

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CAMPFIRE SONGS - 'S/T'

Formats

• CPR716 - CD

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NEW TITLE TO FORTE! THIS SHOULD BE FILED UNDER ANIMAL COLLECTIVE, FOR 3/4 OF A.C. ARE BEHIND THIS RELEASE. RECALLING THE EARLY WORK OF THE THIRD EAR BAND, '70S GERMAN COMMUNE-MUSIC, AND SIMILAR FOLK-PSYCHEDELIC EXPLORERS. BUT THESE ARE ALL MERE STARTING POINTS: HERE, THERE IS REAL INSIGHT INTO NOTIONS OF 'NATURAL' SOUND, A RETREAT FROM TECHNOLOGY AND A RETURN TO TRADITIONAL INSTRUMENTATION, AND CONVENTIONAL SONG STRUCTURES BROKEN DOWN, DRAWN OUT, AND REASSEMBLED.

RECORDED LARGELY ON A SCREENED-IN PORCH IN RURAL MARYLAND, CAMPFIRE SONGS REPRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN SOUND AND TECHNIQUE FOR THE ANIMAL COLLECTIVE. ACOUSTIC GUITARS HAVE REPLACED THE ELECTRONIC EFFECTS OF PREVIOUS RELEASES LIKE DANSE MANATEE AND SPIRIT THEY'RE GONE, SPIRIT THEY'VE VANISHED, CAPTURED LIVE ON THREE STRATEGICALLY PLACED MINI-DISC RECORDERS (WITH FIELD RECORDINGS ADDED TO TWO TRACKS AT A LATER POINT). THOUGH THE SOUND IS RADICALLY DIFFERENT FROM THE DIGITAL PROCESSING AND SOUND MANIPULATION PREVIOUSLY EMPLOYED, THE RESULTS ARE CLEARLY OF A PIECE WITH THE PERCUSSIVE, ALMOST INCANTATORY FEEL OF THEIR EARLIER RECORDS. FROM THERE, THE TRIO (3/4 OF THE COLLECTIVE APPEARS ON THIS RECORDING) KNITS TOGETHER THREADS OF GUITAR STRUM AND PLUCK; CHANTED, NEARLY WISTFUL VOCAL HARMONIES; AND OFTEN A PULSING RHYTHM THAT SEEMS LIKE IT MIGHT BREAK APART AT ANY MOMENT, AND SOMETIMES DOES. THE MELODIES ARE SIMPLE AND REPETITIVE, THE RESULTING RECORD IS BEAUTIFUL, HEARTFELT, MOURNFUL, AND BRIMMING WITH SPONTANEOUS ENERGY."

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