Archive for the ‘My Disco’ Category

Chris Pearson’s Top 10 Albums of 2015

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2015

The host of PBS 106.7FM’s Po-Jama People shares his top picks from 2015.

Here are 10 nuggets from a year that brought shite loads of great music from home and overseas. Five Australian albums to start:

Tangled Thoughts of Leaving — Yield to Despair
A band that can only just squeeze five tracks onto a double LP is OK in my book. Tangled Thoughts play some of the most interesting proggie art-rock around. Check out ‘Albanian Sleepover’ parts 1&2

Fourteen Nights at Sea — Minor Light
Following on from their excellent Great North, released last year, Fourteen Nights at Sea carry the bleak and moving nature of their post-rock to infinity and beyond. I look forward to seeing how their sound evolves with a new band member.
Check out ‘Chiltern Justice’.

We Lost the Sea — Departure Songs
Since the death of We Lost the Sea’s vocalist Chris Torpy in 2013, the band’s reinvention as an instrumental behemoth has been achieved with great aplomb. This album as a tribute to Chris, intended or otherwise, has a darkness and a sorrow with a little glimmer of light.
Check out ‘A Galant Gentleman’.

Seedy Jeezus — Seedy Jeezus
Seven tracks of the best 70s-inspired psychedelic rock around with a big twist of stoner. Recorded live at the iconic Tote Hotel. Great songs, huge riffs and more hair than anything this side of ZZ Top.
Check out ‘How Ya Doin’.

My Disco — Severe
Five years since their last album, this latest offering has elements of post-rock and noise, with a little post-punk sprinkled in for good measure. Well and truly worth the wait, in my opinion.
Check out the track ‘Our Decade’.

And five international albums…

Elder — Lore
Their latest album Lore added a big block of prog to the already brimming bowl of psychedelic-stoner-doom-metal. Much cleaner sounding than the epic Dead Roots Stirring, this is an album recorded by a band wise beyond its years.
Check out the title track.

Mogwai — Central Belters
The Glasgow five-piece need no introduction. A band that can do no wrong (in this Scotsman’s eyes). I am usually doubtful about compilation albums entering the arena just before Christmas, but this is an exception to that rule. Central Belters is a three CD (or six LP) monster. It’s a 20-year retrospective, above and beyond the call, 2 CDs of album tracks and one of b-sides and rarities.
Check out the 20-minute long closer ‘My Father My King’ (recorded by Steve Albini).

Papir meets Electric Moon — Papermoon Sessions, Live at Roadburn 2014
Danish trio Papir are joined here by Sula and Lulu from Electric Moon and Mogens from Oresund Space Collective. Three of the best heavy psych jam bands rolled into one, recorded two massive slabs of the best improvised space-rock this side of Uranus.
Check out the track ‘Powdered Stars’.

Sunn O))) — Kannon
A late addition on many of this year’s best of lists I am sure. An album in three tracks, clocking in at just over half an hour. It may be short on time but lacks for nothing else. This trio of tracks manages to be subtly uplifting while conjuring the soundtrack to your worst nightmare. Do not listen to Kannon after midnight.
Check out the middle track ‘Kannon 2’.

Various Artrists — Electric Ladyland (Redux)
The classic Jimi Hendrix double album is reimagined by All Them Witches, Earthless, Wo Fat, Mos Generator, Gozu, Mothership, Elder and many more. This could be the best tribute album ever.
Check out all 15 minutes of All Them Witches’ version of ’Voodoo Chile’.

Chris Pearson presents Po-Jama People on Melbourne’s PBS 106.7FM.
All the psychedelic-stoner-post-space-doom-rock that can be squeezed into the last two hours of Wednesday night.

Cam Durnsford’s Top 10 Albums of 2015

Monday, December 21st, 2015

LIFE IS NOISE’s editor Cam Durnsford shares his top ten releases of 2015.

To pick just 10 records in a year with so many quality releases is not an easy task – here are my favourites as it stands at the moment, with honorable mentions for Royal Headache’s High, Protomartyr’s The Agent Intellect, Chook Race’s About Time, Power’s Electric Glitter Boogie and the self-titled debut from Terrible Truths. All more than deserving of a spot in this or any list.

1. My Disco – Severe
This really was untouchable as the standout release of 2015. The Melbourne band’s fourth LP – their first in five years – is both a major departure from their previous work and a logical evolution of their take on post-punk and math rock. It feels as though the monolith on the album cover could crush you under its weight during any of the loaded pauses the band utilise so well on Severe; the rush that comes when they break these silences is truly visceral. Robert Forster once said the classic three-piece lineup is rock and roll in its purest – here the archetypal power trio plumbs new depths of sound and form.

2. Föllakzoid – III
Chile’s Föllakzoid have been doing their take on the motorik rhythm for a while now, fusing it with space and desert rock motifs that are somehow distinctly Andean. It’s on III though that they’ve really found their groove – a propulsive and hypnotic beast of a thing that stays constant across three of the album’s four lengthy tracks. These are simple, repetitive songs that chug along at a dancefloor-friendly 120 bpm – they could very easily find their way into the crates of a minimal techno DJ as much as an acid-fried psychonaut’s bedroom.

3. Floating Points – Elaenia
I’ve been a fan of Sam Shepherd’s work since first hearing his earlier bass-heavy compositions a few years back – a long string of singles, EPs and production credits spanning deep house, techno, dubstep (think Burial, not Skrillex), and hip hop, so hopes were high for his debut LP. Elaenia completely surpasses these lofty expectations, despite being quite different from his earlier work, and better suited to introspective contemplation than losing one’s shit on the dancefloor. His absolute mastery of sound and love of jazz shine through; live orchestral arrangements result in a lush and immersive suite of songs that demand start-to-finish listening.

4. Gold Class – It’s You
Every so often a band emerges fully formed, seemingly from out of nowhere, ready to capture the attention of a public that didn’t even know they were waiting for said band’s emergence. Of course, it’s never that simple – it takes years of work to be an overnight sensation and all that – but all the same, Gold Class’ debut It’s You is an assured opening salvo from a band who seem to be destined for greatness. Much has been made of Adam Curley’s commanding stage presence and distinctive baritone (with good reason), though the incredible musicianship on display is really what sets Gold Class apart. Post-punk can be so broad a term that it becomes meaningless, though there’s certainly touchstones here of moody UK Rough Trade bands in style as much as delivery.

5. Lucy Cliché – Drain Down EP
With more than 10 years entrenched in Australia’s musical underground with bands like Naked on the Vague, Half High and Knitted Abyss, and previous, more experimental releases under this moniker, Lucy Phelan’s take on live techno was always going to resonate with the punk kids. The DIY assembly of hardware she uses to do this is a welcome change from the safety (and predictability?) of the omnipresent Ableton Live, or the quantized perfection of the modern digital DJ. Drain Down owes as much to Severed Heads as it does to Sleezy D – a kind of industrial acid techno that would go down just as well at Berghain as it does at The Tote.

6. Blank Realm – Illegals in Heaven
After 2014’s exceptional LP Grassed Inn launched the Brisbane avant-pop band on to the world stage, Blank Realm’s follow-up could have easily fallen victim to ‘difficult tenth album syndrome’. Thankfully Blank Realm don’t seem to give two shits about how they’re viewed by critics or the ‘industry’ more generally – they focus instead on crafting sublime songs with psychedelic flourishes and irresistible pop hooks, while never losing sight of their experimental roots.

7. Fuzz – II
It’s been an unusually quiet year for the ever-prolific Ty Segall, with only his contributions (drums and vocals) to Fuzz’s sprawling double LP and a Ty Rex reissue to show for it. II is much more than the product of a Segall side-project though – Meatbodies’ Chad Ubovich and Ty’s long-standing collaborator Charles Mootheart (Epsilons, Ty Segall Band et al) forming like voltron and employing a collaborative approach to writing the songs for their second LP. It’s not going to win many prizes for originality, but this is as good an example as you’ll find of Blue Cheer/Black Sabbath worship.

8. Taipan Tiger Girls – 1
Australian synth pioneer Ollie Olsen makes a welcome return to a live band setting and the result is some of the most exquisite noise you’ll hear. Skittish free-jazz drumming, mountains of demented guitar feedback and Olsen’s propulsive synth combining to give us something that sounds like the Large Hadron Collider powering up, just before it banishes us all to the black hole. It’s not all nihilistic though – you could just as easily imagine the whirling dervishes wigging out to TTG’s brand of minimal synth drone.

9. Batpiss – Biomass
Batpiss further refine their sludgy take on punk rock on album number two. I hear more Jesus Lizard in there than on their debut Nuclear Winter – not just the absolutely monstrous tone of Thomy Sloane’s bass or Paul Portal’s slide-inflected guitar parts, but a similar pathos on display here too. As constants on Melbourne’s live scene, this band has become a fearful live act – if you’ve somehow managed to avoid them you clearly don’t get out much. Rectify that.

10. Institute – Catharsis
Austin’s Institute had me with last year’s Salt EP – a definite 2014 highlight. Their debut LP – yet another outstanding release on the dependable Sacred Bones label – sounds less pessimistic than Salt, with an ever-so-slight polish on this collection of songs. There’s still a sense of foreboding here, and an anxiety writ large by song titles like ‘Admit I’m Shit’ and ‘Cheerlessness’. Another slightly deranged take on the great post-punk revival of 2015.

Noiseweek: David Bowie, The Saints, My Disco and David Lynch

Sunday, October 25th, 2015

The sights, sounds and words of the week in noise.

NEWS

Word is there’s a new David Bowie record coming out on January 8. The Times of London is reporting that there’s a seven-track LP due from the Thin White Duke, who’s been in the news recently for his work on the Last Panthers soundtrack and his compositions for an upcoming Off-Broadway show. The Times of London is the first outlet to report this news and there’s been no official confirmation, but at this point any Bowie news is good new.

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Full-time internet shit-fighters and occasional shoegaze band Whirr taught a masterclass in bridge-burning this past week. It began with a random shot at Washington punk band G.L.O.S.S. (Girls Living Outside Society’s Shit). It devolved into a series of transphobic comments, and after a torrent of negative feedback, Whirr’s label, Run for Cover Records, severed ties with the band. The band penned an apology, putting the blame on “a good friend” who the band let “have free reign of the Twitter account along with ourselves”. Head over to Noisey for a full blow-by-blow of what went down.

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Noiseweek: My Disco, Ought, Heat Dust, Black Wing

Saturday, September 19th, 2015

The sights, sounds and words of the week in noise.

READ

Hit Charade: Meet the bald Norwegians and other unknowns who actually create the songs that top the charts | The Atlantic

“Millions of Swifties and KatyCats—as well as Beliebers, Barbz, and Selenators, and the Rihanna Navy—would be stunned by the revelation that a handful of people, a crazily high percentage of them middle-aged Scandinavian men, write most of America’s pop hits. It is an open yet closely guarded secret, protected jealously by the labels and the performers themselves, whose identities are as carefully constructed as their songs and dances. The illusion of creative control is maintained by the fig leaf of a songwriting credit. The performer’s name will often appear in the list of songwriters, even if his or her contribution is negligible. (There’s a saying for this in the music industry: “Change a word, get a third.”) But almost no pop celebrities write their own hits. Too much is on the line for that, and being a global celebrity is a full-time job. It would be like Will Smith writing the next Independence Day.”

The slow death of music venues in cities | The Guardian

““It often starts from a relatively benign decision. The Troubadour in London is up for sale because they had a noise complaint related to their use of the garden. Kensington and Chelsea borough said they couldn’t use it after 9pm, their drink turnover went down substantially, and now there’s no guarantee it’ll be a venue in future. Someone wants to build next to the Fleece in Bristol,” he continues. “Bristol city council have fought hard for them, but they don’t have any support in law and flats are going to be built 20 metres from the main stage. In the next couple of years there will be noise complaints that will cost the Fleece £12,000 to £15,000 to handle, and it’s not making that in profit. The Point in Cardiff: they installed £68,000 worth of acoustic baffling to stop the complaints from a new development, and servicing the loan put them out of business. These little things just build up.””

LISTEN

My Disco — 1991

The second single from My Disco’s fourth album is the opposite of what a single is supposed to sound like. 1991 sees the trio exploring the same sparse sonic territory hinted at on Severe’s first single, King Sound, but here, that aesthetic is taken to its extreme. While Little Joy was all sunny, mid-ranged guitars, 1991 suggests Severe is ritual music — ominous, reflective and reverent, made not just to be heard but felt in the flesh. I can’t wait to see this new material live. Severe is out through Temporary Residence on October 30.

Heat Dust — I Warm My Hands

I’m putting it out there: The Flenser is the best record label in the world right now. No one else is putting out such a diverse swathe of exciting music, from extreme black metal to conceptual doomgaze to genre-bending electronica. Take a look at that stellar roster: King Woman, Black Wing, Planning for Burial, Sannhet, Kayo Dot and Wreck and Reference. Heat Dust are one of the more conventional additions to the venerable collective, but by the sounds of the brooding, cerebral post-punk on I Warm My Hands, they’re an ideal fit for such quality company. Heat Dust is out

WATCH

Black Wing — Luther

This one’s all kinds of fucked up. Agent Cooper and Laura Palmer become pawns for a Windows Media Player visualisation filtered through a conspiracy theorist’s fever dream in the clip for the opening track of Black Wing Is Doomed. There’s nothing more to say about this one.

Ought — Sun Coming Down

The title track from Ought’s second full-length album is all jarring rhythms and discordant guitars, so it’s fitting the video match that mood with narrative dissonance and uncomfortable lightning cuts. Three girls ride bikes on suburban streets, shooting heavy looks over icecream and milkshake breaks. Shattered plates and glass flash in time with the beat. It’s uncomfortable and unknowable yet somehow welcoming, much like everything we’ve heard from Ought so far. Sun Coming Down is out now through Constellation Records.

Noiseweek: Sunn O))), My Disco, Iceage, Pere Ubu, Heads.

Saturday, August 22nd, 2015

The sights, sounds and words of the week in noise.

READ

South Of No North: Greg Anderson Of Sunn O))) & Goatsnake Interviewed | The Quietus

“Honestly, I’m both surprised and grateful about it every single day. When we first started no one, and I mean no one, really cared. And, if I’m to be really, really honest, we didn’t really care. Especially about what people thought. We just wanted to experiment and play music together, really the audience, the idea that people would actually listen to it was kind of an afterthought, we were really making music for ourselves – in some ways Sunn O))) is a very selfish project. I mean, we weren’t even sure if we were ever going to play live, we imagined that it would just remain a studio project. And then when we did start playing live eventually it really started connecting with people and honestly that kind of gave me a lot of hope for people because it’s obviously very difficult, very challenging music – I was like, ‘Wow! People can get into this? That’s awesome!’ Because you wouldn’t expect most people – or really anyone – to be that into it. So yeah, I totally see where you’re coming from and I kind of agree. I think Sunn O))) somehow connects with people on this super primal level – it’s very real, but at the same time the music helps create this alternate reality, and people seem to want to be in that dimension for a couple of hours or so.”

Does Anybody Even Have Time For An 80-Minute Album? | NPR

“It’s interesting to think about the different ways that album length has evolved over time. For most of history in the album era, it was defined by format — first the 45 minutes or so of an LP, then the 80 minutes of a CD. In the LP era, you really had to justify the additional expense of production and the fact that you’d have to charge more. With CDs, that was no longer an issue, and in the ‘90s in particular you had some people feeling “ripped off” if an album only had 45 minutes of music, so in some cases artists would put on CD-only bonus tracks to make it seem like they were making the most of the format. But then of course file sharing and digital files changed all that, and suddenly, you could have albums be as long or short as you wanted very easily. There was an initial trend toward shorter releases, experimenting with a four-song or eight-song release, like the mini-albums Robyn released in the run-up to Body Talk.

But the longer albums now, in a lot of cases, and especially in all of these cases you mentioned, is a way to say, “This is important. You are going to have to spend time with this.” It’s a little harder to make an “event” out of a release if it’s 35 minutes long. The initial feeing is, “This is all I could do.” Whereas these [long] releases convey the idea of sprawling masterpieces, and by extension, they are presented as demanding art. I do think that, even though artists want to say, “This should be taken whole,” in the vast majority of cases the albums are rarely ever experienced that way. It’s a little bit of a thing where artists present the work this way and the listeners kind of play along, and may even pay lip service to the idea, but probably the truth of it is that people are picking and choosing.”

Pere Ubu’s Dave Thomas talks being an underground legend and why he won’t call himself special | Noisey

“I don’t like photos. I don’t want to waste my time generating the limitless supply the industry requires. I know what I look like. I know what my mother looks like. I recognize her every time. What do I need a photo for? The government wants photos. Whatever the government wants I try to avoid. Good basic policy. I’m not in the business of being a pop star. I am a musician. The eye is a deceiver. It relies on the physical world and can be too easily fooled. It takes only 24 frames a second to deceive the eye into seeing real motion. It takes a minimum of 44,100 frames a second to deceive the ear. Sound is the authentic expression of human consciousness. The world is silent. Sound only happens inside the head of conscious beings. It is the by-product of consciousness. Why waste time with anything less?”

LISTEN

Heads. — At the Stake

Chris Breuer’s bass sounds like oozing pus, and I mean that as the highest compliment. Heads. imbue this slithering Melvins track with intoxicating menace thanks to the snarling tone of Ed Fraser’s flat-out evil intonations, along with his swampy guitar tones and the plodding rhythms. If the future of Heads. sounds more like this — brooding, meditative and plain evil — sign me up.

My Disco — King Sound

This is the the darkest track My Disco have ever made. While everything on 2010’s Little Joy was vibrant, King Sound is a faded strobe light in an empty prison cell. There’s a distinct Swans feel here, from the ritualistic rhythms to Liam Andrews’ prayer-like repetition of the song’s title. King Sound is taken from Severe, out October 30 through Temporary Residence.

WATCH

Iceage — Untitled (Live at Pitchfork Festival)

Pitchfork saved the best footage of last month’s Chicago festival ’til last, finally uploading clips of Iceage performing this new, as-yet-untitled track alongside The Lord’s Favorite. Elias Bender Rønnenfelt is as magnetic as ever, slinking and slithering around the stage, singing from the floor and equal parts confidence and nonchalance. No one else right now is making music or playing shows that feel so fucking vital.

My Disco — “Wrapped Coast”

Thursday, October 18th, 2012

My DiscoA couple of months ago, we took a look at a remix of “Wrapped Coast”, a track from the new My Disco EP. Now we get to look at the original.

The EP is being released on limited edition vinyl, and features two new tracks in addition to remixes from Factory Floor and Justin K Broadrick.

Stream “Wrapped Coast” below.

My Disco — “Wrapped Coast” (Factory Floor Remix)

Saturday, September 1st, 2012

My DiscoAfter the brilliance of their last record, Little Joy, it’s pretty exciting to hear that My Disco are about to put out some fresh material. Out on limited edition vinyl, the band’s new EP contains two new tracks, as well as remixes from Factory Floor and Justin K Broadrick.

As you can hear, the Factory Floor remix holds true to My Disco’s penchant for repetition, albeit in somewhat less of a pummeling manner.

Stream “Wrapped Coast”, below.