ÆTHENOR - 'EN FORM FOR BL'

Formats

• VHF124 - 2xLPs

  738810124158

• VHF124CD - CD

  783881012422

Details

?thenor is comprised of Stephen O'Malley (Sunn0))), KTL), Daniel O'Sullivan (Ulver, Mothlite, Guapo), Kristoffer Rygg (Ulver) and Steve Noble (N.E.W., Company, etc.). En Form For Bl? documents the continued evolution of this unlikely collective, a collision of players from various avant, improv, metal, and "other" threads who together make a unique and arresting sound. Documenting three gigs in Oslo recorded in 2010, the album is deep and weird, with liquid sounds juddering around the occasionally identifiable percussion or Rhodes motif. In the evolution from a side project / studio group to a frequently working live act, ?thenor kept their sound intact, taking the musique-concr?te-style transitions and "what's that sound" ethos of their three previous efforts directly to the stage. Noble, having spent a couple of decades playing drums with Derek Bailey and other well-known UK improvisers, moves the music along subtly, keeping much of the focus on the burbling sound mass. O'Malley's guitar, an instrument of extreme viscera in Sunn0))), is used with restraint, providing occasional low menace but mostly mixing it up with O'Sullivan's thematic lines and Rygg's sound treatments. The overall effect is atmospheric rather than sedate- something like a modern, small group version of Miles Davis' classic "He Loved Him Madly" or Nurse with Wound's Spiral Insana. Other than perhaps Supersilent, no one else is working this sonic vocabulary today. Designed by O'Malley, the deluxe double-LP version is pressed on white vinyl and packaged with printed inner sleeves; the CD is in a card folio. ?thenor will continue to tour extensively in support of their catalog! ? Fourth album from members of Sunn0))), KTL, Ulver, Mothlite, Guapo, N.E.W., Company, etc.

Tracks

1. Jocasta
2. One Number of Destiny in Ninety Nine
3. Laudanum Tusk
4. Vivarium
5. Dream Tassels
6. Vyomagami Plume
7. Something to Sleep Is Still

Press

UK PR handled by AMPERSAND, already trailed in the WIRE,..

Audio & Video

WHITE FENCE - 'IS GROWING FAITH'

Formats

• WOODSIST049 - LP

  655035044910

• WOODSIST049CD - CD

  616822097229

Details

Woodsist, start 2011 with Ducktails, and then this...this is the album the Coral have been trying to write for 6 years, the album the Sights promised but didnt deliver, this is the most perfect psych pop record thats graced out subwoofers ever.. "Those who expect Tim Presley's White Fence project to be an extension of Darker My Love are in for a lysergic surprise. Sure, listen to Is Growing Faith, and you'll hear the same '60s love that's in Presley's day-job band. But replace the boogie bass with The Velvet Underground and Nico guitars, ramp up the weirdness-you'll start to feel all the brown acid in your brain melting into your pineal gland just in time for the bad trip lyrics to kick in. That and the laughter, and the reverb, and the echo, and the feeling that this is a nightmare Presley's welcoming you to enjoy. "Few albums in the recent past have had such a bleeding, in-the-red mystery (Ween's The Pod comes to mind, as does Alex Chilton's Like Flies on Sherbet, or most of the Ariel Pink catalog). Is Growing Faith has a calmbefore- the-storm feel, albeit a paisley one filled with hashish-laden clouds of wonder. Aside from a few well-placed punk drums and vintage guitar sustain that stretches as late as 1978, this could be the great lost Teenage Shutdown or Pebbles compilation, with fantastic, fanciful ballads and faded odes to lost friends all wrapped up in a stoned-ground aural husk rough enough to wear down one's teeth. The individual songs each tell their own story, sometimes in Kinks style, sometimes like a Voxx Records band from the '80s, and sometimes like a third-generation Dylan-buzzed teen who only recently learned two chords on the Farfisa. Is Growing Faith is so creative, so enjoyable, so deep, one wonders how Presley does it, what with Darker My Love and The Strange Boys being just some of his many other projects. Clearly White Fence takes some go-go-go with its linger-linger-linger. As Presley says in 'Tumble, Lies & Honesty': 'There is a power in me: I never look behind.'" -Dan Collins, L.A. Record)

Tracks

1. And By Always 2. Growing Faith
3. Sticky Fruitman Has Faith
4. Your Last Friend Alive 5. Enthusiasm
6. A Pearl Is Not a Diamond
7. Tumble, Lies & Honesty
8. Lillian (Won?t You Play Drums?)
9. Get That Heart 10. Harness
11. Stranger Things Have Happened (To You)
12. Body Cold
13. The Mexican Twins/Life Is? Too $hort
14. Art Investor Collector
15. When There Is No Crowd
16. You Can?t Put Your Arms Around a
Memory

Press

?Darker My Love and The Strange Boys... do variations of dirtied-up psychedelic
pop. White Fence is [Tim Presley?s] third band and much more idiosyncratic.
It?s just Mr. Presley making songs as complicated as he wants,
with his multi-tracked asthmatic voice and his gift for weird, wayward song
hooks.? ?Ben Ratliff, New York Times
?[Presley?s] debut under the moniker White Fence is absolute ramshacklescatterbrain-
chaos, revealing an equal affinity for the acid-soaked psychedelia
of Syd-era Floyd and the noise-caked post-punk of The Fall. Even while
traversing a wide variety of moods and personalities, this kaleidoscopic LP is
masterfully complete, and an understated portrait of the savvy genius behind
it.? ?Altered Zones / Weekly Tape Deck

Audio & Video

DIRTBOMBS - 'PARTY STORE'

Formats

• ITR200 - 3xLP

  759718520019

• ITR200CD - CD

  759718520026

Details

2011...a new Dirtbombs album..2011 gonna be a good year! Nearly ten years after their critically-acclaimed album Ultraglide in Black helped kick-start a renewed interest in all things Detroit and rock 'n' roll, The Dirtbombs release the de facto companion piece entitled Party Store. Where Ultraglide was a covers collection of '60s and '70s soul gems centered on the ideas of African-American identity and politics of the era that made an impression on a young, pre-musical Mick Collins as he listened to them on 45s in the family basement, Party Store is an assortment of liveband interpretations of classic Detroit techno music of the '80s and early '90s-songs Collins digested as they were originally released, when he was already making waves with garage-punk legends The Gories. The subject matter runs the gamut from materialistic future-disco braggadocio ("Sharevari," originally by A Number of Names) to cold, post-industrial isolation ("Alleys of Your Mind," originally by Cybotron) through the instrumental optimism of a worldwide house classic ("Strings of Life," originally by Derrick May). All these themes encapsulate the climate of Detroit both now and at the time of their initial release. Let it be said clearly: this record addresses both the past and the future of Detroit. The players' recreation of the sequenced, digital rhythms and melodies stems from an Oblique Strategies card pulled during the recordings: "Humanize something that is without error." They do so with a crisp, krautrocklike precision on originals that all featured drum machines, sequencers and synthesizers. The two clear standout tracks are "Good Life" and "Bug in the Bass Bin." Collins recontextualizes the upbeat modern dance ?lan of the former, originally by Kevin Saunderson via his Inner City outfit, to echo with post-punk zeal as the zest of doubled harmonies resonates throughout. "Bass Bin" (originally by Carl Craig as Innerzone Orchestra) features modular synthesizer programming by Craig himself and is the album's pi?ce de r?sistance. Clocking in at more than 21 minutes, the track's original light jazz underpinnings are diffused into a martial, militaristic backbeat coupled with fire-raining feedback screes from Collins's trusty Kent guitar. ? Collection of covers of '80s / early-'90s Detroit techno classics, reinterpreted by a live band ? Companion piece to 2001's Ultraglide in Black ? Vinyl includes digital download coupon Triple vinyl package...amazing...Welcome back!

Tracks

1. Cosmic Cars
2. Sharivari
3. Good Life (Basement Roots Mix)
4. Strings of Life
5. Alleys of Your Mind
6. Bug in the Bass Bin
7. Jaguar
8. Tear the Club Up
9. 謎のミスタ-ナイソ (Detoroito Mix)

Press

UK press handled by Goldstar, reviews / news / features in MOJO, Uncut, Guardian, everywhere,..its the Dirtbombs, Detroits' finest!
On the next WORD mag, covermount. Guardian: Brief Encounter feature confirmed. more tbc

Audio & Video