BEN VON WILDENHAUS - 'GREAT MELODIES FROM AROUND'

Formats

• MOLMAN002LP - LP

  859706774483

Details

**FMD WILL BE GETTING A LTD QTY OF THE BEN VON WILDENHAUS CATALOGUE**Benjamin von Wildenhaus. Name sounds like a turn-of-the-century Prussian duke or peddler of curios, snakeoil and ersatz jewelry. Maybe not such a bad set of images to start by thinking about, rather than all his influences or whatever. Ben Wildenhaus is a guitar player, pianist and all-'round musical dude, on par with modern guys like Alan Bishop and older ones like Sandy Bull. All three were drawn to the vast space, windblown grit and non- Western twang of desert guitar/oud music. None went the tacky world [sic] music route, Allah etc. be praised. All three instead took gracefully and intuitively to the music's deeper structure -hazy or unmarked beginnings and endings, subtle dynamic rise and ebb, and unhurried play-and adapted it into their own idiom. They've given us ambitious wandering soundscapes, suitable for salt trading by caravan, qat chewing in humid caf?s, and walking to work with your headphones on ! To me, Wildenhaus has always made good use of tools like a light touch, melody and subtlety in his songs. Knowing full well that regularly placed lacks-of-music and well considered phrasing set a mood and give songs that much more oomph. This is music built around tones, careful dynamics and strange, non-linear melodies. These songs, and generally the guy's oeuvre, are genuinely and honestly playful. They have subtexts and ideas that don't easily emerge on a first or second lesson. Rather than riffs, this is music of melodies and timing, of odd and subtle beauty, and music that doesn't seem at all temporary. Not temporary, but strangely circular, bringing one back to the place where the thing started rather than some perfectly choreographed, linear end. These days Wildenhaus plays the electric guitar, sine wave generator and spare touch on a looping pedal. ! Wildenhaus's background includes some formal training and tours, beers and bands beyond number (notably, the blown-out fuzz of 2000s Northwest giants Federation X, or the country and western Quaalude County Country Band and Juanita Family and Friends). More recently, he has lent hands to established non-indie rock groups and artists like Bar Tabac, Two Dark Birds and Ozan Aksoy's CUNY Middle Eastern Music Ensemble, and has also released a series of home recordings via his Instrumental Quaalude podcast, which is one the best damn things on the Internet. "...creepy soundtrack ether, distilling bits of acoustic and electric guitar into swaths of slow, mesmerizing weirdness." SPIN "Von Wildenhaus offers a tantalizing alternative to CMJ's borough-spanning frenzy, a sonic k-hole from which recovery may not be possible, or even desired." CMJ "...employs a combination of haunting Americana, tons of effects and eye-popping visuals in his live show." BROOKLYN VEGAN "Sonic poems dissolving into ancient radio static..." MAGNET

Tracks

N/A

Press

?Von Wildenhaus [works] his influences -- modern primitive folk, cassette hiss, Angelo Badalamenti's Twin Peaks score --
into a tight confluence of meditative anti-shredding.? ? Spin

Audio & Video

OH SEES - 'LIVE AT THE CHAPEL SAN FRANCISCO 10.2.19'

Formats

• SC43OR - 2xLPs

  733102719517

Details

**WAREHOUSE FIND ORANGE/RED TRANSPARENT VINYL ** The Oh Sees at the peak of their prog obsession, super jammed out and totally dominating. The Chapel SF 10.2.19 is a 53 minute, beautifully recorded, hi-fidelity live explosion of orc puke and kraut-gone-punk rock dominance by one of the rippingest bands of the 21st century. 2 x LP set on limited edition transparent blue and bone colored vinyl with side D etching and faithfully (re)created TMOQ-style bootleg album art. 

Tracks

Static God
Jettisoned
Henchlock
Together Tomorrow
Animated Violence
Gholu
Plastic Plant
C
Nite expo
Encrypted Bounce

Press

Audio & Video

LADY NEPTUNE - 'NOZ'

Formats

• LSSN082 - 12"

  5060446128862

Details

6 face-melting gurners for the 21st Century’s, wilted and jilted generation. Glasgow’s Lady Neptune follows her New Gorbals Gabber cassette E.P. with her debut vinyl release NOZ. Over the course of 23 bloody fisted minutes, Lady Neptune’s – aka Moema Meade - hyper destructed take on Gabber and Happy Hardcore breaks down the genre tropes before rebuilding them as a new pop music. If 2020’s New Gorbals Gabber showed an artist building their own language from fragments of different genres, 2022’s NOZ goes harder into the cyberpunk-ass future and takes no prisoners. Recorded and mixed at Glasgow’s legendary Green Door Studios and mastered by Rashad Becker, here Lady Neptune evolves into a monster. With the classic weapons of Dutch Gabber – distorted 909 kick drums, bursts of noise and world-eating Rave-OMatic hoovering synth riffs, Lady Neptune’s 6 tracks constantly threaten to careen off the speaker into the sweatiest, most gibbering, messy corners of the club. The two years since her debut has seen Meade destroying festival dancefloors, training for the full assault that is NOZ. Live performances have seen foam guns, tequilapistols, neon stage dancers and a full, maxed-out orgy of fast-as-hell BPM, rave music burning up the cones. The experience reaps rewards from the outset on recorded form here. APOCOLYPS begins with monstrous vocals and the all-consuming kick, pulled back and taut for launch. The arsenal builds; warbling synths and high-pitched synth-strings before dropping into Bald Terror-sized hoovers and stuttering 4/4s. It quickly bleeds into MASTERER, with a looped, pitched up vocal intersecting with the synth riff. The aesthetics might be Happy Hardcore but the dynamic feels like a synthetic, evil Nu Metal-influenced Industrial music. Constantly evolving and twisting with its own natural drama, the drop at 2:15 is pure ecstatic release. fusing Meade’s inclination for pop hooks with the first out-and-out 180BPM (ish, who’s counting?) anthemic melter of the E.P., TELL ME has THE big catchy chorus, used sparingly and sung by Meade with angelic devilishness, coming at you in waves of XTC. It’s a repeater. It’s then massive fists in the air for the ruthless Side B opener WIT. In the Welsh-Brazilian artist’s adopted home of Glasgow it translates directly as WHAT!? Itt makes sense. g. Sharp, weaponised, rhythmic punishment abounds before OH responds. Pitched up vocals and another mid-frequency synth hook wipes the slate clean. Like the best Gabber, the tension and release dynamic is used to full effect by Meade, with the thunderous low end kick - expertly tweaked in the mastering by Rashad Becker – slipping into the ghostly cavern. Industrialized 4/4 and noise-snares propel onwards to be utterly squashed by that bloody synth, stinging and horribly brilliant. Proving her genius for a ridiculous A-N-T-H-E-M, TIME 2 MAKE U FEEL GOOD closes the 23 minutes of ragged, drugged glory with a festival-slamming chorus built from the wreckage. It’s a song that does that thing we all know and love but can’t put our finger on. Sad, happy, tragedy, ecstasy, joy, horror...There’s big, minor chord changes (yes there’s some CHORDS on this slammer), the kick is submerged in layers of pads and Meade’s actual secret weapon: her vocal and knack for writing a chorus line. In the listener’s mind it’s over before it’s begun, a track destined for the big rewind. Released on the weekend Lady Neptune debuts at legendary Bang Face festival, NOZ is a breathless, E-number riddled eternal ecstasy.

Tracks

1. APOCOLYPS
2. MASTERER
3. TIME 2 MAKE U FEEL GOOD
4. WIT
5. OH
6. TELL ME

Press

The Quietus Albums Of The Year So Far Chart 2022....
"Glasgow producer Lady Neptune's debut LP is a hyper-destructive rave banger. Mixing gabber with industrial tech and happy hardcore, the hybrid-hardcore pop of NOZ embodies the wild new sound of Glasgow, and it's gonna change shit up." - Mariam Rezaei

Audio & Video

KING BUFFALO - 'REGENERATOR'

Formats

• PSYCHOBABBLE124LP - LP

  4046661747119

• PSYCHOBABBLE124CD - CD

  4046661747027

Details

*LP ONLY*Regenerator is the fifth full-length from the Rochester, New York-based trio King Buffalo. Written and recorded by the band with mixing and engineering by guitarist/ vocalist Sean McVay and mastering by Bernie Matthews, the seven-song outing is the third in King Buffalo’s stated ‘pandemic trilogy,’ following 2021’s The Burden of Restlessness and Acheron. Both of those albums – like 2018’s Longing to Be the Mountain, 2016’s debut, Orion, and the various EPs and other offerings they’ve made over the last eight years – made bold declarations about who King Buffalo are as a band, and Regenerator is no different. As McVay, bassist/synthesist Dan Reynolds and drummer Scott Donaldson continue to explore the outer reaches of modern psychedelic music, melding progressive rhythms, drifting atmospheres and accompanying surges of electricity, this new collection only further establishes them as one of the brightest lights shining in underground rock today. As the third of three, Regenerator inherently ties together the previous two LPs, and as the band unfold the leadoff title-track across nine and half minutes, it becomes clear just how truly they have marked out their own sonic presence. The later melodic highlight “Mammoth” – with McVay’s most confident vocal performance yet – shimmers with hope that somehow doesn’t come across as desperate; on “Hours”, the group engages classic space rock, and the closing “Firmament” acts as a summary for all three albums, marking the final installment of this trilogy as the essential cornerstone of King Buffalo's work to date. Regenerator is available on 180.gr white vinyl (including download) and CD.

Tracks

Press

Following 2021's The Burden of Restlessness and Acheron, Regenerator is
the third installment of King Buffalo's pandemic trilogy.

Audio & Video

CASUAL DOTS - 'CASUAL DOTS'

Formats

• IX06 - LP

  711574917419

Details

**WHITE VINYL**The Casual Dots are a trio formed in Washington, DC in 2002, featuring Christina Billotte (Slant 6, Quixotic, Autoclave) on vocals and guitar, Kathi Wilcox (Bikini Kill, Frumpies) on guitar and backing vocals, and Steve Dore (Snoozers, Deep Lust) on drums. The band’s minimalist off-kilter pop sound is shaped by Billotte and Wilcox’s slashing and interweaving guitar parts, Billotte’s iconic tough-but-sweet vocals, and driven by Dore’s propulsive '60s-style beats. The Casual Dots are pleased to announce the reissue of their self-titled 10-song debut album. Recorded in 2003 at Inner Ear Studios with Don Zientara and Guy Picciotto, the album is at once of its time and timeless. It features standout tracks "Clocks," "Hooded," and "She's The Real Thing," as well as covers of songs by Etta James and LaVern Baker. Originally a CD-only release on Kill Rock Stars and long out-of-print, the album is now being reissued here for the first time on vinyl (white vinyl that is!) on Ixor Stix Records.

Tracks

Press

Audio & Video

CASUAL DOTS - 'SANGUINE TRUTH'

Formats

• IX07 - LP

  711574918317

Details

*CLEAR VINYL*The Casual Dots are a trio formed in Washington, DC in 2002, featuring Christina Billotte (Slant 6, Quixotic, Autoclave) on vocals and guitar, Kathi Wilcox (Bikini Kill, Frumpies) on guitar and backing vocals, and Steve Dore (Snoozers, Deep Lust) on drums. The band’s minimalist off-kilter pop sound is shaped by Billotte and Wilcox’s slashing and interweaving guitar parts, Billotte’s iconic tough-but-sweet vocals, and driven by Dore’s propulsive '60s-style beats. The band is excited to announce the release of Sanguine Truth, their second 10-song full-length album, on Christina Billotte's Ixor Stix Records and produced by Fugazi's Guy Picciotto. These songs were composed and recorded between 2004 and 2019, at Inner Ear Studios with Don Zientara and at Figure 8 Studios in Brooklyn with Eli Crews. Spread out between three of the western world’s largest cities, the band members would regroup periodically to add a song here and there. Although the songs were written over a long span of time about various events and themes over the years, many of the album's songs appear particularly relevant to recent times . For example, the lyrics for “Frequency of Fear” were written and recorded in January of 2016, when there was not more than an inkling of the political insanity that would be realized over the next several years. The instrumental “17 Year-Old Locust” was written in 2004, the year of the same locusts that spawned 2021’s Brood X. Then, “Palindrome” is a reminiscence of a friend who decided to depart this world too soon, a situation that seems to be more prevalent than ever in this day and age. This is on clear vinyl.

Tracks

Press

Audio & Video

VON WILDENHAUS - 'EVERYTHING IN FLOWER'

Formats

• GLOBOS00003 - LP

  843563128367

Details

**FMD WILL BE GETTING A LTD QTY OF THE BEN VON WILDENHAUS CATALOGUE** Tacoma, Washington guitarist/vocalist Ben von Wildenhaus is a masterly mood mediator, a debonair director of nocturnal melodic splendor, a patient explorer of deep emotions in song. His third album, Everything In Flower, is his most accomplished. Everything In Flower is also Von Wildenhaus' most song-based full-length, as he tailored his compositions to the supple voice of new singer Amanda Bloom. The first album since 2015’s II, Everything In Flower begins with the delicately beautiful “Working On My Novel,” which wafts into earshot with a vaguely Eastern melismatic lilt. Not unlike the Doors' “The End,” it bears a subliminal, seething sound that's demonically angelic. “Drones” exemplifies the record's eerie strain of romantic, exotic rock and slinky sophistication. The duel vocals of Bloom and Von Wildenhaus—the former's vibrant and creamy, the latter's deep and rich, redolent of David LaFlamme's of It's A Beautiful Day— commingle with pleasant friction. Bloom's opening gambit—“It's just a matter of time before we come undone/It's just a matter of time before we fall apaaaarrrrrttttt”—captures the record's tone of roiled feelings. “Farewell” is louche lounge rock that would make the hairs on Blue Velvet character Frank Booth's neck stand up. “Flowers” was written for Northwest Film Forum's competition to perform a live soundtrack to Alejandro Jodorowsky's 1973 opus, The Holy Mountain. The song didn't win, but Von Wildenhaus kept it in the band's repertoire. Its lyrics paraphrase that cult existential movie's dialogue and themes, e.g., “give up your pleasure/give up your pain/surrender your hate and what you desire/you're not alone/the grave receives you with love.” A gorgeously morose ballad, “Flowers” possesses the elegant lurch of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, and Bloom's tour de force emoting makes it a highlight. Another standout is “Low Grey,” a nearly 10-minute Low-like dirge, tempered with sparse blues solemnity. The sublime languor is shattered by cataclysmic guitar clangor redolent of Sonic Youth's SST years. It's the album's most outrageous move, a rare rupture in the prevailing exquisite poise. “Summer's Dream” eases back into mellow jazz mode, with Sampson's sax melody evoking a most languid reverie. It's Everything In Flower's most hopeful moment. In “Working On My Novel,” Bloom sings, “I'm working on my novel/ Feels like I'm almost done/I'm working on my novel/Like I've just begun,” forging a piquant metaphor for the restless creator enmeshed in an endlessly regenerative process. The sentiment applies in spades to Von Wildenhaus, who's attained a new peak with Everything In Flower. Its strange perfume becomes your blood. -Dave Segal

Tracks

1. WORKING ON MY NOVEL
2. DRONES [single]
3. FLOWERS
4. SUMMER?S DREAM
5. FAREWELL [single]
6. LOW GREY

Press

A gifted lyricist, and guitar player with a
penchant for weaving theatrics into songs and
shows, where unorthodox eastern guitar
patterns inform their western atomic era
exotica.? - Sean Jewel, American Standard
Time

Audio & Video

BEN VON WILDENHAUS - 'II'

Formats

• GLOBOS00002 - LP

  087169152771

Details

**FMD WILL BE GETTING A LTD QTY OF THE BEN VON WILDENHAUS CATALOGUE** After more than a decade touring with saturnine heavy-riffers Federation X, Ben von Wildenhaus turned his attention to a starker, lower – but somehow more menacing – sound. With guitar, sine wave generator, and voice Wildenhaus brings together Egyptian cinema music, Berber desert guitar, American folk melody, and film noir score material for a vivid stroll through evocative historical styles and laconic moods. His second record, II, written and recorded in New York City with his Professional Band, is a mirror record – meaning that side two is a mirror image of side one, physically, thematically, and melodically. The song breaks in the grooves on side one look identical to those on side two. Side one features the Brooklyn vocalist Clara Kennedy, and side two features the vocals of Scott Matthew (of John Cameron Mitchell’s Shortbus). Wildenhaus explains the mirror concept: “The first song on side one is ‘Bad Lament I,’ which is based on a three-note melody sung by Clara. Its flipside, ‘Bad Lament II’ contains the same threenote melody now sung by Scott. ‘The Knife Thrower I’ is the opening-credits theme song to an imagined ‘70s Italian western, and on side two, ‘The Knife Thrower II’ could be considered the score to that imagined film's tense finale. Likewise, ‘Tú’ is a dramatic Spanish language ballad about murder. ‘Two’ is in English – both are devastating.” The overall sound of II is crisp and deliberate. It plays out like a precise map without a note or tone in the wrong place.

Tracks

Side One (featuring Clara Kennedy)
1. Bad Lament I (2:40)
2. The Knife Thrower I (2:40)
3. Al Azif (3:28)
4. One Bad Motherfucker In His Day (5:17)
5. T? (4:37)
Side Two (featuring Scott Matthew)
6. Bad Lament II (2:40)
7. The Knife Thrower II (2:40)
8. An Nur (3:28)
9. Easy Opium (5:17)
10. Two (4:37)

Press

Plays and support from Iggy Pop, 6Music

Audio & Video