Permanently Mark My Face!

What to say about Face Tat, Zach Hill's latest hyper frenetic aural fuck fest?

Hmm, tough one.

Hill, possibly the greatest drummer on earth, and definitely the busiest, has here come closest to his Icarus-like devotion to reach the sun. His interlaid drum solos as always showcase his brilliant technical instrumentation behind the kit, but it is the way in which he has constructed his songs that is the true coup here. The manic mosaics are skewed beyond belief - skritching guitars, whorling loops, distorted and monotonous vocals - and it is one of the busiest, most disconnected, and fucking greatest albums released this year. It is so much fun.

But that doesnt mean its an easy listen. Oh no! Its disjointed, confronting, incredibly strange and fucking loud. Imagine, if you will, that Menomena went camping with Lightning Bolt, with Battles stoking the fire and cooking marshmallows and Angus Andrew from Liars dropping by for a brew and some peyote - and thats as close as the intricate spazzfest that is Face Tat can come to a descriptor. Or try this on for size: it all melts together like a fiercely burning cock candle, until all you have is a white hot pool of gloop with a flickering flame at its epicentre. Then its up to you to move the wax around and do what you will with it...

It does has its slight faults - Hill's vocals are still a bit one-dimensional, and he is yet to unlock the greatest mystery of all - a technically faultless yet melodic album with clear structured pop anthems at its core - but Face Tat proves without a doubt that he is perilously close. And if that means that this is a failure - then my 'achievements' haven't even left the petri dish.

Face Tat is out now on Sargent House - I implore you, get this album. Here's what it looks like:

And here is what it sounds like:

Zach Hill - Ex-Ravers
Zach Hill - House of Hits

And what's more, Zach Hill is touring the US incessantly in Jan/Feb 2011 with likeminded pop fucksters Deerhoof (whose drummer Greg Saunier - a brilliant skinsmith in his own right - appears on blistering opener 'Memo To The Man'), with current Prince Rama support act Ben Butler - I wanna go to America! February is my birthday - they play Nashville on that night - it'd be my 30th - who's coming?!?!

Once again - BUY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mapping Out Solid Ground

Perch Patchwork is the first fully fleshed 'album' by Chicago's Maps & Atlases, out through Barsuk (and Fat Cat Records), purveyors of avant garde pop tricksters such as Menomena. you can see what Barsuk are up to - focusing on acts that twist and subvert basic pop structures into a mishmash of genres, often within the one song, thus making something altogether new. But how new is it? And is it shiny - or is it shit?

So this year we saw Menomena bring out Mines, a hotly anticipated (in my eyes) LP that was...well, not shit, but certainly disappointing (again, in my eyes). Maps and Atlases have put out a lot of material in the past 5 years, so this album had a lot of hype riding on it. And I am yet to hear it in its entirety as yet - it comes out in September - but I have to say that the anticipation is much closer to being met here. The fusion of math rock, Don Caballero-esque guitar tomfoolery, and orchestrals, all aided and abetted by Dave Davison's very unique quirks on vocals, makes for a hell of an interesting ride. Im a big fan.

Willy Goldstein, I hope you get this post haste; the rest of you, sample below, and if you likee, pre-order it! They are also playing Cargo in October, keep an eye out for that!!!

Maps & Atlases - Solid Ground

I always knew those old guys on the balcony were cool...

Menomena are about to launch their much feted 3rd album MINES July 27th, out through City Slang and Barsuk. Three years in the making, MINES offers more of the eccentric instrumentation that they are known for, their individual parts coming together to make amazingly catchy gems. They are also playing at Hoxton Bar & Grill at June 7th, showcasing the new gear and dusting off some of their greats from previous LP Friend and Foe. This will be an amazing gig - make sure you get tickets while you can.

Menomena - FIVE LITTLE ROOMS

MINE-ing Muppets

Menomena are a band that I fell in love with last year, stumbling across 2007's Friend and Foe, embracing it wholeheartedly, and playing the shit out of it. The energetic, inventive, enigmatic and altruistic (?) Portland duo are renowned for their funk/punk/crunk (their words...) car crash anthems, and their clever, intricate structures are amazing considering the apparently minimal efforts exerted and the bubbling enthusiasm and inherent fun that permeates each track. There are nuggets of pure gold littered everywhere on this LP, a veritable Easter Egg hunt of incendiary musical noodling and tomfoolery that even the most ardent haters can find something here to indulge their sweet tooth.

They have been high on my 'to post' list since the inception of Sonic Masala, but some new snippets of info has finally spurred me into action.

1stly - they are about to release their new album, MINES, in July through Barsuk.

2ndly - it is their 10th year anniversary.

3rdly - due to the two points made above, they are saddling up the horses and, along with esoteric partner in crime Joe Haege (of 31 Knots (very good) and Tu Fawning (not so good...)), Menomena are hitting the frog and toad for their most extensive tour to date. They havent been to our shores since 2007, and whilst dates are yet to be announced, they are in the pipeline, and are well worth getting excited for!

4thly - a smaller but nevertheless awesome piece of info - Menomena, along with musical minstrel mates The Helio Sequence, released a 7" split for Record Store Day, showcasing B-sides from their respective upcoming albums. As I was marooned in a part of the world that was devoid of anything that resembled a passable record store, I missed the boat. I hope you guys didnt! But if you did...

Lastly - here is some choice cuts to feast on. Enjoy, yeah?

Menomena - Pilgrim's Progress

Menomena - Evil Bee

Menomena - Wet & Rusting